DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…

A/N: Actually, this chapter was originally to occur later. But it made sense to do most of it now - at least to me. Please enjoy…

Don't worry - pace really is picking up.

P.S. - no lists at the end…

CHAPTER FORTY: ABOUT HOGWARTS

MONDAY, AUGUST 28th, 1989 - POTTER HOUSE, LONDON, U.K.

"What I don't understand," Rose Granger said, "is why any of these children need to return to their magical schools. I mean they already have their N.E.W.T.s in most cases, right?"

"Because until they pass their seventeenth birthdays, they are too young to hold jobs," Sirius replied.

"But Clarice will be working," Rose protested.

"For the Muggles," Sirius replied. "They are willing to let her because she has your permission and the necessary qualifications. Even with your permission, she is still too young to work in the magical world."

"But she has her N.E.W.T.s"

"Which means she can use magic without violating the underage magical laws. But for her or the others to leave school, they would also have to prove they are seventeen."

"Aren't they?"

"Not according to their birth certificates," Sirius said. "Those are presumptive evidence of their age."

Rose nodded. "Still…"

"True, you could ask for an age detection charm."

"What does that do?"

"It would show how many days they have lived," Sensei said making his appearance. "In Hermione's case, that would be 6,631 days as of today, or eighteen years and two months. In Harry's case, he is 6,315 days old or seventeen years, three months and nineteen days. And Clarice is 5,919 days old or sixteen years, four months and seven days. She becomes seventeen this coming April 21st."

"So why can't they do that?" Rose asked. "It seems silly to send children to school to study what they long ago passed. That's why Bob and I pulled the students from non-magical school."

"If their real age in days were revealed," Minerva said, "it would have to be reported to the Ministry of Magic as it would show exposure to time magic."

"So?"

"Time magic is heavily regulated throughout the world," Minerva continued. "It is because all forms are inherently dangerous."

"And yet we've allowed children to be exposed to it?" Rose practically shrieked.

"The Time Compression at the Watanabe School is approved both by the Japanese magical government and the I.C.W. as it is well within safe margins," Minerva replied. "Magic can be abused and of all magics, time magic is the most susceptible. We have a device called the Time Turner. It allows a person to actually go back in time anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. It is highly controlled because there have been problems. Time Compression can also be abused. That magic allows a magically stable person to gain months and even years of experience in a matter of days or weeks. As you have seen, the kids have not aged beyond their real time ages. Yet, there is a limit. If you are under Time Compression for too long, you will begin to age at an accelerated rate. The Watanabe School limits it to 1,500 accelerated days per year. Around 2,000 to 3,000 accelerated days, your body and magic gets used to the new rate and you will age at accelerated speed. At 4,000 accelerated days or so in one year, depending upon the person, you will not be able to stop the process even if you leave the Time Compression. You will continue to age at the new rate and die of old age within a couple of years or less. Hence, it is highly regulated."

"And what does that mean?" Rose asked. "Are my children in danger?"

Harry could not help but smile at this comment. While he had suspected it for ages, Rose Granger had just said he was one of her children.

"No Rose, they are not," Minerva said. "That school is well within safe limits. But, the point is that kind of magic is regulated. Were the children to be tested for their assimilated ages here in Britain, the Ministry of Magic would become involved and launch an investigation."

"Investigation?" Rose asked.

"Use of Time Compression out side of a Ministry approved facility is illegal," Minerva said. "The kids did not break the law as they were both overseas and in an ICW approved facility. But, they arguably broke the spirit of the law."

"How so?"

"The Ministry is all about control," Sirius answered. "As and organization, it fears the masses - as few as we may be. We do not live in a true democracy. Control of our people is the goal of the Ministry. So long as we are sheep, they stay in power. Should we learn magic they cannot counter effectively with their Auror's, well … They fear revolution. They control information and access to it. A lot of the magic these kids learn in Japan is banned here because were it known by the general public, they could - er - revolt."

"And again," Minerva said, "we are not technically breaking any law. There is no law that bans studying overseas. But the law assumes that they would be studying on the Continent which, while not as oppressive as here, still limits the age at which one can buy a wand and formally study to age eleven. Our government does not see that we can conceivably send our children somewhere more liberal - like Japan."

"But this is why we are keeping this secret," Sirius said. "Right now, there are only four Watanabe students in our schools. Should they be discovered, our Ministry could well pass laws to ban further attendance. Minerva, Marcus and the others at the other schools are to run interference. This is for our future. We know we will be discovered one day, but by then there will be too many children in the Program for the Ministry to stop. Stopping four is easy. Stopping hundreds is not. Even with their control of the press, the Ministry will be hard pressed to stop hundreds."

"You're hoping for a fait accompli?" Rose asked.

"For lack of a better word," Sirius nodded. "Prank the whole lot of them!" he added with a grin.

"So I assume you mean that these three will have to attend Hogwarts when the time comes?" Rose asked. "Even though by then they will be so educated they would have nothing to learn there?"

"They are on the list," Minerva said. "It would raise questions if they did not. True, as of right now there are few who can connect the dots and associate Harry with the Boy-Who-Lived - few adults at any rate. But, Harry Potter is still on the list and his absence would be noted."

"Unfortunately," Sirius said, "should Harry enter that school as a student, the collective amnesia will be lifted."

"What?" several voices asked.

"Looked it up," Sirius shrugged. "The physical protections on this house and family will remain. But the moment Harry or Clarice 'come out' in our world - as in either declaring themselves publicly or entering a public institution like Hogwarts, the memory blocks will be lifted and the likes of Dumbledore will remember them."

"Is that a good idea?" Rose asked. "I mean with all Harry went through and all?"

"In the end it's unavoidable," Sensei said. "Delaying it until the summer of '91 is advisable, but they need to go."

"Why?"

"Several reasons. First off, two of the horcruxes are there. True, Minerva might be able to arrange for them to get in earlier to hunt for them, but that would only collapse that aspect of the ward sooner. Make no mistake. Dumbledore may not remember Harry now, but I have no doubt he remembers he forgot something. The man's a bloody genius. If Harry crosses the Hogwarts wards, the memory charm will collapse. It's part of that warding system as I understand it. I don't trust that old codger. I am certain he wanted Harry isolated, alone and therefore easy to mold into his little weapon. Should Dumbledore remember Harry before we are fully ready, he will use his considerable influence to return Harry to a less than ideal situation and separate him from his sister and friends."

"But he's an adult in the magical world," Robert protested.

"He is," Sensei agreed, "but Clarice and Luna are not. Neither is Neville for that matter. Even when they become adults, they would have to disclose that fact to him and to the Ministry to avoid his schemes. It would be best if we delay that date until Harry has to go to that school. Right now, Dumbledore could affect Harry's living situation. Once Harry is in school, what can he do? He cannot do anything - particularly if Clarice and Luna start school with Harry and Hermione."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"If Luna, Harry and Hermione start school together, the four Founders Heirs will be in place. They are friends. As such, the school will answer to them. That means that Dumbledore can take no action against them unless he wants to be replaced as Headmaster."

"A situation he would not want," Minerva added. "He holds three significant positions in our society: Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the British Wizengamot and Headmaster of Hogwarts. While he devotes most of his time to the former two, the latter is more important to him. The former two he retains, but he does not truly control as they are very political and he knows he has enough enemies to remove him if they ever got organized. In his position as Headmaster, however, his only concern is the Board of Governors. There are twelve. Five are in his pocket. There used to be three who generally do not like him, but the one with the most influence, and the ability to affect the opinions of the four I'd call neutral, was Lucius Malfoy who lost his post when he pled guilty last year. If the heirs - or when the heirs return - the Board of Governors by charter cedes its authority to the true owners. They only exist as caretakers in a way who 'mind the store' until the heirs finally get together.

"Hogwarts is important to Dumbledore because he is unassailable there. If he loses that position, he is vulnerable. In addition to his lost prestige, he would also be evicted and would be hard pressed to find as secure a place to live. He has many enemies. Some would love to see him dead, but will not attack him in public. They cannot attack him otherwise so long as he lives under the protection of Hogwarts and its wards. Were he to lose that position…" Minerva shrugged suggesting things would not go well for Dumbledore.

"The magic that controls Hogwarts is ancient," Sensei said. "It is also complicated. Ordinarily, if a magical heir has no parents or living ancestors who could claim such rights and attains the age of eleven, they come into their magical inheritances. For the founders, this is different. While a Founders magical heir can claim that lines' rights, they cannot come into the full inheritance alone. They must enter Hogwarts as a student and as friends with the other three heirs. If those conditions are met, they can as a group claim what is theirs - Hogwarts itself. Another condition is that they each are young enough to - er - produce their successors. Although the heirs are now friends and are each over eleven in days, they cannot claim that inheritance for they are not and will not be students at Hogwarts anytime soon. Harry and Hermione will not be invited to attend until the fall of 1991. Luna the following year…"

"Actually," Minerva said, "we can work around that one. As Deputy Headmistress, I can allow a student to attend a year early if I feel they are up to the challenge, and no doubt they are, and if I believe there are extenuating circumstances. The Headmaster delegated admissions to me long ago."

"That means Luna could start school with us?" Harry asked.

Minerva nodded. "And Clarice."

"Why me?" Clarice asked. "Not that I mind, you know. I'd really hate to spend that time separate from my brother and best friends."

"Last thing Dumbledore asked me to do before the wards went up was find Clarice," Minerva said. "He told me it was important with you supposedly dead, Harry. I'd like to think it was because of your bloodline, although I fear it may have been that he saw her as a potential replacement pawn for you. He will remember of Clarice when that part of the ward falls and probably want to scheme regarding her again. He also knows Clarice is a year younger than Harry. If a Clarice were to show up in Harry's year from a Muggle background, I doubt he'll figure it out right away."

"All we need is twenty-one days," Harry said.

"Why that many?"

"Luna would turn eleven twenty-one days after we start on September 21st, 1991. Once she does, we could claim our rights as heirs and prevent Dumbledore from messing with us. Getting the two horcruxes that are there and keeping Dumbledore from messing with us are two good reasons to go, if you ask me."

"Three horcruxes," Sensei said. "A third should arrive there in September '92. The conditions that led to its arrival remain unchanged."

"And how did that occur?" Minerva asked.

"Lucius Malfoy slipped it to an unsuspecting First Year student who then brought it to Hogwarts."

"But he's in prison."

"For now," Sirius said. "He is due to be released in early 1992 at the latest."

"Still, what makes you think he'll still…?"

"The conditions that led him to slipped that horcrux remain unchanged," Sensei said. "While a lot has changed since my time, many of the conditions remain unchanged and cannot be changed. Arguably, some of them should not be changed for now."

"You never really told us much about what you actually did," Harry said.

"Indeed," Sensei said. "Given what I am going to be asking you to do starting this year, perhaps I should now."

This piqued everyone's interest.

"As you may recall, prior to my eleventh birthday, I knew nothing about magic," Sensei began. "About a week before, my Hogwarts letter arrived, but my Uncle prevented me from reading it. It was my Aunt and Uncle's intent that I never attend. Needless to say, that did not work out as planned.

"I met my first magical person literally at about the stroke of midnight on my birthday. His name is Rubeus Hagrid and he's the games keeper at Hogwarts. He was sent to make sure I got my letter and then to take me to Diagon Alley to get my school things."

"Dumbledore sent Hagrid?" McGonagall asked. "But he never sends Hagrid to do that!"

Sensei shrugged. "He did that time. Hagrid is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but he is fiercely loyal to Dumbledore and is frequently used to run errands. Getting me was one of two that day. The other was to pick up something from a vault at Gringotts. That something was an object that if it fell into the wrong hands would have allowed Voldemort to return. Years later I learned it had been placed in the Vault only a few weeks before by Dumbledore himself. It was bait for Voldemort. A professor at Hogwarts had returned from a year's travel and had been possessed by what remained of Voldemort's soul. Dumbledore used that object as a trap.

"Now what I don't know is whether that object was the whole scheme or not. I mean, if you know Hagrid, he does not keep secrets well and can be a little careless about some things." This earned a chuckle from Sirius, Remus and McGonagall who knew the man well. "While I did not see the object, I was there when Hagrid retrieved it. I also later read about an attempted break in at Gringotts involving the very same vault. It is possible that I was part of Dumbledore's scheme as well. But, it is also possible that Hagrid was just sloppy and I was more curious than expected.

"The object was hidden beneath the school and access to it was guarded by seven traps, five of which were potentially lethal. Yet so formidable were these traps that Hermione, another friend of ours and I were able to figure them all out. Only one of them was probably beyond that ability - a troll. Although a friend of mine and I were able to beat one months earlier. The relative ease we had getting through to the object suggests Dumbledore made it easy on purpose. Although that might have been because the professor in questions was hardly the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"I also don't know what Dumbledore had in mind for the possessed professor. I doubt he intended the outcome. In the end, I wound up killing the professor - not intentionally mind you and it was in self defense as the professor was trying to kill me at the time. Still, I doubt that was part of Dumbledore's scheme. My guess is he wanted to catch the possessed professor and have him locked away in Azhaban. If there is one thing you should know about Dumbledore it is that he abhors killing in any form and for any reason. I can say this with some confidence. At that time, Dumbledore did not know about any of the horcruxes. I believe he suspected that Voldemort might have one, but he was not certain.

"End of second year was when he became certain. That Diary horcrux was the key. As I said earlier, Lucius Malfoy slipped it to a first year in Diagon Alley. The sould fragment eventually took possession of the girl."

"That's the story about the Chamber of Secrets, right?" Harry asked.

Sensei nodded. "So you know the end. I wound up killing a sixty foot basilisk at the age of twelve. What I did not tell you was why that whole thing happened.

"I'm fairly certain Lucius Malfoy has a good idea what that diary is. He knew what would happen to the girl at the very least and that she would open the Chamber and set the beastie loose. The beastie was set upon Muggle Borns with the intent to kill them or drive them from the school."

"Sweet Merlin!" Minerva said. "Were any … were any killed?"

"No. Four students were petrified by it including my Hermione, but none were killed."

"Why would Malfoy do such a thing," Sirius wondered. He knew Malfoy hated Muggle Borns, but to kill them like that? True, Malfoy had killed Muggle Borns before during the last war. But in peace time when he was not "protected" by Voldemort and Death Eaters, it did not make sense.

"Malfoy was trying to disgrace a political rival," Sensei said. "Sounds rather callous, but that's it. The rival had seen to the passage of numerous laws that Malfoy found offensive and the girl was his daughter. The laws promoted Muggle Born rights…"

"Ginny Weasley!" Minerva gasped.

Sensei nodded. "Ginny's father saw to the passage of numerous pro Muggle and Muggle Born laws. Had his own daughter been implicated in the murder or attempted murder of Muggle Borns, his efforts would have been discredited and many of the laws might well have been repealed."

"That's just sick," Rose Granger said. "Killing children!"

"Malfoy is a true believer," Sensei said. "Death Eaters had little if any regard for human life - aside from their own that is. They are a sick bunch. What is disturbing about them as a group is they espouse Pureblood beliefs and supremacy, yet ignore the beliefs at the same time. Children are considered sacred under wizarding tradition. It is an unwritten law that they should be spared at all costs. Yet the Death Eaters made no such distinction. They routinely wiped out whole families, including infants and pregnant women.

"Now I mention these two events in detail because the conditions giving rise to them cannot and should not be changed. That professor must be possessed…"

"Why?" Rose asked. "I mean if that professor was warned, couldn't that be avoided?"

"And it sounds like if not warned, then the Professor in question must die," Remus added.

Sensei nodded gravely. "Whether Harry kills him is not certain, but yes he will still have to die."

"Why?" Minerva asked.

"Voldemort was seeking a witch or wizard to possess. He happened upon said hapless Hogwarts professor. In some ways it was fortuitous as the professor in question was not particularly powerful or skilled. Had the Professor been more gifted, there are other ways Voldemort could have tried to return - ways that would not have exposed him to Hogwarts or Dumbledore. Should Voldemort take possession of another witch or wizard, it is probable he could return by 1992. Were that to happen, in all probability Malfoy would not practically deliver one of the Horcruxes to Hogwarts. Unless that dairy comes to Hogwarts, it will be very difficult if not impossible to locate."

"Maybe Malfoy would send it along anyway," Clarice suggested.

"A remote possibility," Sensei said.

"Why?"

"I will admit I do not know how much Malfoy knows about that diary. I can assume he knows it is dark and that if it is used it can take possession of the user. I also think he knows that if the user happens to be a Hogwarts student, that student might be compelled to open the Chamber of Secrets and attack Muggle Borns. He might even know it's a horcrux, in which case he knows that if if takes full possession of the victim it can use that victim to return Voldemort to a corporeal state.

"That being said, Malfoy at the very least knows that diary is important to his former Master. He would not have given it to Ginny if he believed his Master had returned. Likewise, Voldemort is not about to risk losing any of his horcruxes. Consequently, the key events leading to Ginny gaining possession of the diary must be allowed to continue as before."

"That means a friend and colleague of mine must die?" Minerva asked.

"As far as I know, you were not friends," Sensei said. "But probably. The possession must be allowed to happen as before. Much as I'd like to and as much as I believe you would like to, not everyone can be saved. Some deaths are inevitable. Some may even be necessary. Any death that would lead to Voldemort's own death sooner rather than later when things spiraled out of control will save lives - millions upon millions of lives. For those who must die or cannot be saved, this is harsh. But for millions, they will enjoy lives they never had in my timeline."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Harry spoke. "Hogwarts does not sound like loads of fun. I mean, what kind of school is it where you face real life and death stuff that young?"

"My fault mostly," Sensei said. "I went looking. Not for the danger stuff, but the curiosity got the best of me and landed me in trouble. But you're right, Harry. Even though I don't remember actually killing that Professor my First Year - I passed out before he died as he was strangling me - I know I did kill him. No eleven yer old should have to deal with that, although to be honest I never lost sleep over it. And my Second Year, facing a twenty meter basilisk with a sword that was both too big for me and I did not know how to use? Again, not my idea of a fun time."

"You said you're were not trying to really change things until 1995," Hermione said, "yet you just told us about your first two years suggesting without saying we should."

Sensei nodded. "The years will start the same. The end result as long as it's one Dark Lord defeated and one horcrux destroyed can change from the day school starts without messing things up too much. My only suggestion now is when the time comes deal with those situations sooner rather than later."

"And Third Year?" Harry continued, "I assume that'll be the same?"

"It's already different," Sensei replied. "Third Year for me was the one year in seven that I never had to face Voldemort or his Death Eaters or both."

"Sounds almost normal," Clarice observed.

"Except it had its own drama," Sensei replied. "During the summer Hols before my third year a vicious Death Eater and mass murderer escaped from Azkaban - the only prisoner who had ever managed that without outside help. Everyone in our world was convinced he was after me, including me. His name was Sirius Black."

"Oi!" Sirius protested.

"We all know that was a pack of lies," Minerva said.

"But no one did then," Sensei continued. "The Minister for Magic at that time - one Cornelius Fudge - thought it would be a good idea to send about a hundred or more Dementors to Hogwarts…"

The magical adults all gasped and Sirius noticeably paled.

"I need not tell Sirius here how much fun that can be," Sensei continued. "Those things apparently liked me a little too much…"

"Tell me about it," Harry sighed.

"What do you mean?" Sirius and Minerva asked in unison.

"Master's Level Defense we are exposed to a Dementor," Hermione said. "The first time is to show us how they feel when they are around and to show us just how nasty they can be. The other times are to practice driving them off with a patronus charm. It was … unnerving to say the least."

"Down right horrible," Harry said. "I can now remember the night my parents died thanks to that thing. I was in a crib, I guess. Mum was with me for some reason and I heard Dad's voice calling out that he was here and telling Mum to take me and leave. Mum did something - I don't know what - and then picked me up just as a man in dark robes entered the room. He told Mum to put me down so he could kill me and promised that if she did he would let her live. Mum didn't believe him. She screamed at him. A green flash of light and I am on the floor and Mum is next to me not moving. A wand in my face and another flash of green light and…"

Sensei nodded. "They did the same thing to me."

"Why didn't Dad tell Mum to take me as well?" Clarice asked.

"Voldemort didn't know about you, Clarice," Sirius replied. "Only your Mum, Dad and I did. Well, us and Madam Pomphrey."

"Who?"

"She was the Healer for your family at the time. Dumbledore didn't even know about you until he arrived there after. Had Voldemort succeeded, he would have not bothered searching the house for any survivors. You were asleep in another bedroom. I was the first to arrive and found you moments before Dumbledore showed up. Your parents knew Harry was the target. They also knew or believed Voldemort would not bother himself with you at the time."

"No one knew?" Minerva asked.

Remus nodded. "Sirius was the only one allowed in to that house even after the change of Secret Keepers. Pettigrew hadn't been there in many months and neither had I. I only found out about Clarice later in a letter from James and Lily that was only to be delivered in the event of their deaths."

"So anyway," Harry said hoping to change the subject.

Sensei nodded. "That whole year I was certain Black was out to kill me. Then we - er - ran into each other so to speak and the truth came out. He was not the traitor or murderer, it was Pettigrew. Unfortunately, before the truth could be told the damned dementors attacked and Sirius, Hermione and I were damn near killed… We weren't, but Sirius was captured and was to be executed forth with upon orders of the Minister for Magic."

"It didn't happen?" Sirius asked.

Sensei shook his head. "It was my first foray into time magic," he said with a grin. "My Hermione had a Time Turner. She was taking every course offered and needed one to attend all her classes as at least a few met at the same time. McGonagall gave her one at the beginning of the year and she never told anyone until that night. We used it. We went back in time, rescued a Hippogriff from execution and then…"

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"'Cause it was innocent," Sensei replied. "Long story for another time, okay?"

Hermione nodded.

"Then we went to save Sirius. The Dementors were trying or getting ready to kill our past selves so I cast my patronus - which Remus taught me as he was our DADA professor that year and the best one I ever had…"

Remus beamed.

"Hermione said there must have been a hundred or so…"

"How old were you then?" Remus asked.

"Thirteen."

The magicals were all impressed.

"Is that good?" Rose asked.

"Few if any adults could have done that," Sirius said. "Seems Sensei was quite the young wizard. Harry is at least good. Better trained, in better health. Blimey!"

"Then, we flew up to the tower where they were keeping Sirius and set him free as well," Sensei continued.

"How?" Remus asked.

"Hippogriff," Sensei said. "Gave it to Sirius for his escape."

"What happened to the rat?" Sirius asked.

"He turned into a rat and scampered off," Sensei said. "Without him, we could not prove Sirius was innocent. While Sirius was free, he would be a fugitive for the rest of his life…"

"That's obviously changed," Sirius began.

"Yeah," Remus said with mischief in his voice, "now you're just a lay about."

"I will have you know that I am not!" Sirius shot back. "Just 'cause I don't have a job yet…"

"What? Can't this old Werewolf give you the mickey?"

"Three days a week I look after my godchildren and my 'adopted' godchild Hermione so her Mum can work. I took the job in Japan to be with them. It's not like I need the money, but once Sophie and I are married - and come home from our honeymoon - I will take the job with Office W. These kids - well, they don't need me as much as they did."

"We still want you, Siri," Hermione said honestly.

"I know, Dove. I will always be there for you three - even if I become a Dad to someone else. You are my first children and I thank you for that chance and will always be a part of your lives - whether you like it or not," he added with a chuckle. "But until my wedding day, you'll still have to put up with this old dog."

Sensei continued his talk about the changes. Harry paid attention, but not nearly as much. He would remember how Sensei said that Fourth Year had changed as well. In Sensei's time, Peter Pettigrew had escaped and apparently left in search of Voldemort. They were joined at the end of the summer before Fourth Year by another Death Eater named Barty Crouch Jr. This man had supposedly died in Azkaban, but had been 'rescued' by his father about a year after his incarceration for the torture of Neville Longbottom's parents. The body moldering in an unmarked grave at that prison was actually that of his mother. She was dying from some fatal disease and had replaced the Death Eater using polyjuice potion.

"Stupid," Harry said, rejoining the discussion.

"How so?" Robert Granger asked.

"Aunt Minnie said earlier about abusing certain magics. Well, that potion is one than can have disastrous consequences if abused."

"Really?" Rose asked. "What does it do?" Apparently, Sensei had not explained that bit.

"It is designed to allow a person to transform into another. The transformation is almost perfect. You will look like the other person, regardless of size and such. For example, were I to take the potion, I could turn into anyone here with just a hair sample - except maybe Sensei, as he has no hair to sample."

Harry earned a chuckle for that.

"I would be indistinguishable from you in almost every way," Harry continued. "Only my DNA would remain unchanged."

"And magicals know nothing about that," Remus supplied. "He would be who he appeared to be."

"Right," Harry continued. "But, the effect only lasts about an hour or two. To continue, you must take the potion again. And there is the rub. The potion is a poison. Nasty stuff if abused. Taken sparingly, it is harmless. But taken over and over and over again, it is suicide. Your body will get used to its new form over time. Now we are talking weeks or months, but still. Once that happens, you go off the potion and you will suffer from potentially fatal withdrawal. By that point, however, the poison has built to a level where if you don't go off the potion, it will kill you as well. Basically, take it long enough and you're dead."

"How long," Robert Granger asked.

"Varies from person to person," Harry said. "A few months, though, and you're in serious trouble."

"And how do you know this?" Minerva asked.

"Honors in Potions," Harry said with a smile. This seemed to placate everyone.

"Barty Crouch used it for several months," Sensei continued. "He used it to assume the form of that year's DADA Professor."

Harry listened as Sensei explained the plot to kidnap him and use him in a Resurrection Ritual. This Crouch character was the means to make this happen. He altered something called the Tri-wizard Cup to accept Harry as a contender in a dangerous competition. Then this Crouch guy stacked the deck so that a young Harry could win the competition even though he was only a marginal student and was up against top students from three schools, each of whom was three years older than he was. Harry touched the cup with another - one Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts. It was a portkey. They were taken to a graveyard. Cedric was killed and Sensei was bound and forced to partake in the ritual which brought Voldemort back.

This had all changed, Sensei continued. Pettigrew was in prison and Barty Crouch Jr. had been captured. It was part of the crackdown that had followed the acquittal of Sirius Black in this timeline. Crouch Sr. had raised suspicions and was investigated. A search of his house and Crouch Jr. was found, suffering under the imperious curse his own father held him under. Crouch Jr. was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. He died a couple of months later. Crouch Sr. was now doing time in that prison and was not due for release until 1998.

Following Sirius Black's release and the scandal surrounding Harry's abuse at the hands of his now dead relations, the current Minister for Magic held a 'house cleaning' series of investigations that had all but destroyed the original timeline. Scores of former Death Eaters, including twenty-five major vote holders in the Wizengamot and thirty-two Ministry officials were now in prison serving thirty to three hundred year sentences. Many of them had played a roll in Sensei's time. Several others were also gone. They had not been sentenced, but just sacked. These included Cornelius Fudge and his right hand 'man' named Dolores Umbridge.

Sensei said that the world had indeed changed, but could not say for certain if it was for the better. The imprisonments and sackings would have little effect over the next few years. They merely erased Sensei's later years. He stressed that none of these events would prevent Voldemort from trying to return. The priority now was to prepare for that return.

"Prepare the battlefield," Harry said.

"Indeed," Sensei agreed.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"Von Molke said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy," Hermione replied to her parents surprise. "Yet the competent commander wins the battle before the forces engage. His forces are trained - better trained than the enemy. His forces are trained to adapt to changing circumstances. They are deployed in whatever way gives them the greatest advantage and places the enemy at the greatest disadvantage. When they engage, thus they can and should win the day."

"Where did you…" Rose began.

"A superior force can lose to an inferior one," Harry continued. "It is all a question of preparation. Your troops must be well supplied and commanded. But there is more. If you know yourself and your enemy, you need not fear the outcome of any battle. If you know but yourself, for every battle won, there will be a battle lose. If you know not yourself, you cannot hope for success."

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"Sun Tsu, The Art of War," Robert replied. "And they are right about that bit."

"Who?"

"He was a mercenary Chinese general who lived around 500 B.C.E.," Hermione said. "Standard reading his book is in Defense at school. There was once a King whose sought a good general. Enter our author, Sun Tsu. He offers a challenge to the king. He will pit one hundred of the King's concubines in pitched battle to the death against one hundred of the King's best soldiers. He asked for a couple of months to train. The King agreed. The training was rather brutal at first as Sun Tsu had to behead a concubine or two for insubordination. But his army of women slaughtered the army of the King in the end. His book is mandatory reading at school in Defense."

"So, how do we win this coming fight?" Robert asked.

"Already begun," Sensei replied. "The kids' little club is a huge step. Time - that is what we need now. Time. My guess is the changes have given us that, but we cannot count on that. Thus, the first two years at Hogwarts must play out to some extent to prevent the enemy from coming back too soon.

"That being said, I have some projects for you lot this year."

"You do?" Rose asked.

Sensei nodded. "Before Sirius is distracted with his soon to be new wife and job, we need to get to the one horcrux that is attainable right now. Then we need to see the two destroyed. The kids learned and ancient spell this last year which can see that done."

"Li Huan's Spell," Hermione replied.

"Exactly!"

"And where it this other horcrux?" Hermione asked.

"It's buried under the floor of a shack outside a town called Little Hangelton," Sensei replied. He gave a detailed description of what he knew about that place including the graveyard where he had been taken and what he remembered about the Gaunt shack - the home of Tom Riddle's mother. It was not much as he had never been there and his trip to the graveyard was by portkey. He knew there was a Manor House nearby and as the village had a cemetery beside the church, the cemetery of the Riddle family was somewhere else, most likely near the Manor which overlooked the valley where Little Hangleton lay. "Beyond that, I have no idea. I think it's in England proper, but I don't know. I do know it's protected by powerful curses and such. One is fatal if not broken. It was killing Dumbledore in my time as he failed to detect it before… But that's another story. You have a fully qualified Curse Breaker in Sirius now. You can avoid that fate. Just be sure that no one tries to wear that ring until all curses are broken and the horcrux within is destroyed."

"You want me to go with them?" Sirius asked.

"It is essential. Unless and until one of them is a Curse Breaker too…"

"While I intend to get that mastery," Harry said, "we're looking at the summer after next at least! I want my Potions first."

"You know me," Sirius said. "I'm in."

"Your other mission this year involves Luna," Sensei continued.

"Luna?" the three kids asked.

Sensei nodded. "Unless something changes, her mother dies this year."

"What do you mean?" several voices asked.

"My Luna only told me a little," Sensei replied. "She told me her Mum is a spell crafter and that when Luna was nine her Mum died when a spell she was working on went wrong. Luna was there. She saw her Mum die and it definitely had an effect on the girl. She never told me when it happened. She never told me the details. What little I could gather suggested that had a witch or wizard been there who could do magic, Luna's Mum might have survived. It was just a nine year old Luna then. No wand, no magic, and Luna's Mum died. Please find a way to prevent that?"

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Don't know," Sensei replied.

"Should we tell her?"

"Don't know," he replied again. "Your call. But be there for her, please?"

The three kids nodded. On their own they each decided to help their friend. They would save her mother if they could. If they could not - for they all knew there was no way to know when this would happen and all agreed in their own minds that telling Mrs. Lovegood to stop spell crafting was not an option - then they would be there for Luna if the worst came to pass.