Disclaimer: I do not, in anyway own the wonderful world of Harry Potter, or Charmed. I am just dabbling in the world they left for us.

(just an fyi, the memory is in italics...)

Chapter 53

The Known

Last Time...

Harry looked back and forth between the man, who he could have sworn he had seen somewhere before and the room. 'My mom…and Ginny are going to kill me.' This was the only thought to pass through Harry's head as he stepped through the open door and into the unknown.

"Ouch Ron, you stood on my foot…again! Why can't you be more careful?" Hermione chided, but before Ron could retort Harry had already begun to speak and it was clear that he was a little more than irritated.

"Look you guys, I have stopped this memory and restarted it too many times already and I don't want to have to keep doing it. Now, I love you both, but you two have got to chill or I will kick you out of this memory and not let you see the rest of it."

"We're sorry mate; we'll be good, promise." Ron said.

"Thank you." Harry replied and with a flick of his wand the memory picked right back up and the four friends watched as the 'memory' Harry looked around the stone, gray room while the man in front of him read a letter that had just appeared on his desk.

"I am terribly sorry to do this Harry, but I am afraid that I must cut our meeting short. There is something that requires my immediate attention." Ezekiel said as he stood up from his chair.

"But you can't just…you're the one who wanted me to be here remember. You are the one who set up this meeting and saw to it that I was here and now you are just going to end it. I have been here an hour and the only thing that you have managed to explain to me is how your people can travel by Blinking."

"I understand Mr. Potter, but I…"

"Have other things to do, I understand." Harry stated as he rose from his chair, "I wish that I could say that it was a pleasure, but I can't. Good day."

"Mr. Potter," Ezekiel called out sternly just as Harry was about to open his office door. He watched, with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, as Harry turned around and sent a glare his way and the smile that had been threatening to make itself known vanished. He hadn't been glared at like that in quite some time and it was unsettling to say the least.

"What!"

"I was simply going to apologize for my need to cut this meeting short and ask you if you wouldn't mind having your questions answered by one of my associates." Harry just stood there, not sure of what he should say say. He felt stupid, not to mention embarrassed, for jumping to the conclusions he had. "Oh" was all that came to him, followed closely by an apology.

It is quite alright my boy, I am sure that had I been in your shoes I might have reacted the same way." Harry only nodded. "Now, as soon as what needs my attention is taken care of, I shall do my best to catch up with you and your guide."

"That sounds good sir."

Ezekiel smiled and clapped his hands together, "Wonderful, now if you will excuse me, I must be off."

"Um sir…"

"Yes Harry."

"I was just wondering about my guide, the one who is supposed to answer my questions…"

"Yes, what do you wish to know about him?"

"Well do I need to find him or is he supposed to meet me here?

"Ah, I knew I was forgetting something, please forgive me." And with a snap of his fingers, a figure, dressed in all black appeared between them.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes, I was hoping that you would be able to answer Mr. Potter's questions."

"No problem sir, you can count on me."

"Thank you Spore, I shall catch up with you as soon as I can Harry." Ezekiel said before he vanished into thin air without so much as a sound.

"How does he do that?" Harry asked as he turned to face his guide.

"He's the boss." Spore said as he conjured a chair for himself. "Now, my name is Spore and I will be answering your questions today, so what do you want to know first?"

"What are you going on about Nev?"

Neville shrugged, "Just trying to make you feel more at ease I guess. I mean, I have been avoiding you ever since that night in Ottery St. Catchpole and I am sorry for that, but it was necessary. So how about we start with something a bit easier…what has Ezekiel gone over with you?"

"Oh, um…he told me about how you all have learned how to blink, but there is still something confusing me."

"And that would be…"

"Well, you're all Wizards right? So why Blinking, I mean, you all could just apparate to wherever you need to go right?"

"Well the main difference is when you go to apparate you have to think of the three "D's" and that takes too much time, so we 'Blink instead. And the reality is that it is a lot faster. Besides, there are some here that 'Blinking is just in their blood."

"Meaning…"

"Meaning that there are more than just Wizards here."

"You mean that…?

"Yes, though you do know that there are those out there that have the same powers as a demon but aren't demons. For example; the Phoenixes are a coven of assassin witches, yet they are not demons, just witches with the same powers a demon might have."

"I know about the Phoenixes, but what I want to know is do you have demons in your ranks?"

"Before I answer that," Neville said with a sigh, "What did Ezekiel tell you about us or what he said that he could tell you?"

"Well he said that I could ask any question that came to mind and we really only briefly covered the whole 'Blinking thing before he got called away."

At hearing his friends answer, Neville shook his head and gave a light laugh. "That is so like him. Okay, do you want the long or short version?"

"As short as possible if you could, I'm no Hermione."

"And I am thankful for that, it would take way too long to go over the whole story. So, tell me what you know about the Knights of Salem?"

Harry blanched, "You're kidding me right?" when he saw Neville look at him pointedly he continued, "I only know what Hermione was able to find in the Library when researching the name for the new DA."

"To be fair, most if not all of the information regarding the Knights has either been destroyed or lost to time. Hermione came by the information she did by utter luck and even then the information she did glean from the book she found it in only gave a brief of disclosure of what we are.

"And what would the extended version say about them?"

"The Knights of Salem was and still is a group of families specially selected by Gryffindor himself. And these families were charged with two tasks; one was to protect the lands from anyone that might wish her or her people harm and the second was to protect him, his family and his descendants and the bit about protecting him and his family was added later because of…an issue that arose. Now, while Godric was a formidable wizard, skilled in all aspects of magic there is some information about him that was left out of the history books. You see, Godric Gryffindor had the ability to create and control the element of fire and…"

"He was a fire elemental or firestarter if you want the technical term, yea I know, Hermione found that out and told Ron, Ginny and me."

Shaking his head, Neville continued, "But what she doesn't k now and didn't find in her books was that Godric Gryffindor was the first firestarter."

"And this wasn't documented because…"

"Because there was a time when his ability was public knowledge and that didn't do him any good. You see, back in Godrics time the magical world was not split into what it is today. Everyone with any sort of magic and even those without were able to live together in peace, but that all went to hell when someone, whom Gryffindor trusted, broke that trust and…well… suffice it to say that the previously un-split world became split and the rest as they say…is history."

"Right, history" Harry said off-handedly as "So aside from Gryffindor and the split, what can you tell me about the Knights as a whole?"

"Right, sorry about that, anyway Gryffindor, at seeing the darkness that was fast approaching our world, the world, he chose to create the Knights and he chose those who he felt would best uphold…and protect our world. The families that he chose were those that he had known for some time and each of them, the families that is, had a unique way to contribute to the Knights."

"But you said that you had demons in your ranks?" A confused Harry asked.

"Well at the start of Knights it was strictly those who Gryffindor chose, and it would be their husbands, wives, their children and their children's children and so on and so forth that would carry on the legacy of the ancient order. It was several generations, after the founding of the group, that the families got together to discuss the option of widening their ranks-and while it had been a good thing all of those ages ago that the families decided that they should not intermarry- they realized that even if each family of every generation had a couple of kids their numbers would eventually dwindle into nothing and then the magical world would be left defenseless. So they decided that it was time that they called in all of the debts from those they had helped over the years and even those from past generations that had not been collected."

"But demons…?"

"It was after all of the markers or rather debts, whatever you want to call it, were collected that the families of that generation made whoever owed them swear an oath so tight before they would allow them to join the ranks of the magical protectors. So yes, there are demons in our ranks because all those years ago our ancestors made a decision that helped preserve our cause and allow our numbers to grow. But not all of those debts collected back then were from demons, in fact, the majority of said debts came from wizards and witches, plus more than half of those witches are the type of witch that requires a Whitelighter."

"You all know about Whitelighters?"

"Harry, this group has been around since almost the beginning, of course we know about them."

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry. Please go on."

"Well that's about it."

"Well, you said that your numbers have grown, so how many of you are there?"

"As of about a year ago we totaled just over 900."

"You're right, that is a lot." Harry chuckled.

"So Harry…"

"Yea"

"Why the choice of name, I mean for the DA, why did you choose the Knights of Salem?"

"Oh, um, no real reason. Well to be honest I didn't come up with the name on my own…"

"So you took it…"

"No, I did not take it from any book I can promise you that. "

"So then how?"

"As much as I would like to tell you that, I can't. There are some things that are better left alone…for now."

"Like you, Harry Potter, being able to orb." Neville commented with a smirk.

"Yea, you see, I have been going over it in my head for the last three weeks and I still can't figure out how you knew about me being…well, who I am."

"What, you mean knowing about how you can orb?"

"That and you calling me the Chosen One and the Twice-Blessed…"

"Ha, well you see Harry; you have been on the Knights radar ever since the night Voldemort first tried to kill you. And it has only been within the last couple weeks that you have been referred to as the Chosen One and as for us knowing that you can orb, well, we have known that you can do that ever since the battle at Diagon Alley."

"And you called me Twice-Blessed because…?"

"Actually, I can honestly say that I have no idea what that means. I was told that if you and I were to ever cross paths out in the field that I was to…"

"Was to what?"

"I was told to call you that to you to get your attention and do you want to know what's funny about that?"

"What?" Harry asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"The person who told me to call you that pulled me aside just before I left to rescue Professor Lupin. It was like they knew I was going to run into you."

"Really, who told you this?"

"Oh, um…"

"It's okay if you can't say; I can understand the need for secrets."

"So speaking of secrets… how is it that you can orb?"

Deciding to take a leaf out of Neville's book he said, "Do you want the long version or the short?"

"The short version if that's okay?" Neville chuckled.

"Well, my last name isn't Potter."

"Wait…what?" Neville asked, clearly confused.

"Okay, so a semi long version, but first…" Harry then cast the same spell that he had cast on his friends on the train.

"What was that spell?"

"Just a spell to keep my secrets safe from any sort of outside influence and believe me it was not an easy spell to create."

"I am proficient at Occlumency Harry; I have to be for what I do."

"I don't doubt that Nev, but I like knowing that the things I will tell you are as safe as they could possibly be. Okay, so where should I start?"

"At the beginning is usually a good place to start."

"Right, so my last name is not Potter… it's Halliwell." Harry then told his friend all of what happened to him over the summer and needless to say, Neville was shocked.

"You mean that you are the son of a Charmed One?!" Harry simply nodded and allowed his friend to continue. "They are like the most powerful force of good ever, well, aside from you now I guess. Man, you won't believe the reputation they have around here…"

"That bad huh…"

Neville shook his head "No, that good. People around here love them, they are legends and you're their son…that is just…I dunno, I can't even begin to tell you what will happen when everyone around here finds this information out."

"And that, my boy, is something that will not happen for quite some time." Both boys nearly jumped out of their chairs when Ezekiel had appeared and spoken right behind them. After a small smile, Ezekiel walked behind his desk, sat down and turned his attention to the two, still slightly shaken young men in front of him. "Now, what have I missed?"

"Well, Neville here," Harry replied as he repositioned himself in his chair, "had just finished explaining to me about the Knights and then I told him who my parents really are, but I am sure that you already knew that."

"I did. Now, you have heard what your friend has told you but I am sure that he left a few things out."

"I only gave him a brief overview of the Knights and their history."

"Did you tell him about the families?"

"Not really." Neville said with a shake of his head.

"What else is there to tell about them?" Harry asked.

"Quite a bit my boy and I will do my best to not leave anything out. So I am sure that Neville told you that each of the families were chosen because they were close to Gryffindor and had a unique set of skills."

"He did."

"Well the families themselves had been around since even before Gryffindor and that is another why he chose them. Now let's see, there were the Bones', the Blacks, the Carmichaels, the Lupins', just to name a few."

"When you say Lupin…"

"I am speaking of your former Professors family, yes. That is why a rescue mission was mounted to save him. And while he is the last of his blood relatives, he now has the biggest family anyone could hope for."

"You mean he has taken up his families spot within the Knights?"

"Indeed he does."

"Why didn't he tell me this?"

"He, along with everyone else in the Knights is bound to the laws that govern us."

"So basically," Neville cut in, "because you are not a member, Professor Lupin canot speak to you about us."

"Oh, well that makes sense I guess."

"In a round-about way, yes it does." Ezekiel said with a smile.

"So what could these families do that allowed them to fight for Gryffindor?" Harry asked.

"Each family had their own brand of unique magic; take your Professor Lupin's family for example, they were shape-shifters although they only managed to transform into one animal. A Werewolf, a true Werewolf to be more exact."

"But I thought that professor Lupin was bitten when he was just a kid?"

"And so he was and that twisted his family gift into something it was never meant to be. However, I am pleased to say that when you had your dad heal his injuries, which he acquired while held captive, he unknowingly healed Remus and took all traces of the 'Dark Wolf' out of his system. Remus Lupin is now, as he was always meant to be, a True Werewolf and is no longer bound by the moon. He can now transform whenever he feels the need or want to do so, not unlike that of an Animagus."

"My dad's healing touch cured Professor Lupin?!" Harry said in awe.

"Well, not really. The best that we can guess is that when the "True Wolfs" healing abilities is mixed with a Whitelighters healing touch it could be the source for a potential cure, but we do not know yet if that is limited to just the true wolf or if a wizard that has been afflicted can be cured."

"Our best researchers are doing what they do best and we hope that something can be figured out soon." Neville said.

"Everything has its time, though I do share with your friends sentiments."

"Speaking of time," Harry said off-handedly as he looked down at his watch and at seeing the time he paled, "I have to go."

"You have been here for some time, though before you go I need to show you something. Neville if you could…"

"Yes sir. Harry, I will see you back at school." Neville said as he stood up and banished his chair and left the room.

"See you mate." Harry replied before he turned his attention back to Ezekiel, who, had stood up from his chair and was walking over to an ornate cabinet.

"If you wouldn't mind joining me over here Harry; I trust that you know how to use a pensive."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The four friends landed in a heap on the Room of Requirements floor. "Ouch, that hurt Harry." Ron said as he began to rub the back of his head.

"Sorry." Replied Harry as he went to help Ginny up.

"Why did you have to send us out of the pensive so fast? It sounded as though…"

"I was going to be told something else? I'm sorry Hermione, but until the time is right, and I have sorted through what he told me, no one will know. Now, it might interest you guys to know that Ezekiel is pretty sure that a battle is looming on the horizon and he has said that when the time comes he wants us to be ready and that I should be ready to lead my troops."

"What, he wants you to lead the other Knights?" Ron asked.

"That's what it sounded like, but I think it is more likely that I will keep my focus on our Knights and delegate the leadership of their group to someone else. It just makes the most sense."

"Two groups, with the same name fighting the same battle…that will get confusing fast." Ginny put in.

"I am sure that there will be a way to tell them apart." Hermione said as she stretched. "Now, it has been a long day and it is going to be an even longer day tomorrow so I suggest that we all head to bed. We still have to get back to the tower."

"I could always get us there." Harry suggested.

"No thank you Harry, but I kind of want to stretch my legs. Do you want to walk with me Ron?" Hermione replied as she headed towards the wooden door with Ron following close behind.

"Night mate" He called out just as the door shut with a soft click.

"Going for a walk? Yea, right" Ginny said smirking as she turned to Harry, "Fancy a walk?"

Harry smiled back at her, "I would love to, though I must say that it has to be an actual walk 'cause there is something that I need to tell you."

"That is what I meant. What kind of walk did you think I was talking about?"

"Well I am Harry Potter, Dragon tamer, and Chosen One, any girl would love to "take a walk" with me."

"You also seem to think too highly of yourself."

"A walk then…" Harry said as he opened the door and led Ginny out into the hall.

"So what was it that you wanted to tell me?" she said as she linked her hand through his.

"Well, it mainly has to do with something else that Ezekiel told me."

"What did he say?"

"That Potty is a right git and is going to lose to the Dark Lord." A disembodied voice taunted.

"Really Malfoy, you really need to come up with some new stuff." Harry called out as he withdrew his wand and gave it a wave. There was a slight shimmer of magic as the Disillusionment charm was cancelled. "What do you want?"

"Well I'm glad you asked because you see I was having trouble falling asleep and was hoping that you could lend me your girlfriend. I am sure that she should be able to help me. I would even be willing to pay you for her."

Harry just stared at the blond-haired boy in front of him with a slight frown and look of confusion on his face as though he was trying to solve a problem, "What are you up to?"

"Come now Potter, I will give her back. What do you say?"

"Goodnight, come one Ginny." Harry replied as he guided Ginny past the Slytherin prince. Neither of them even looked at him as they passed. As they continued to walk down the hall Harry had begun to count backwards from five and it was as they were almost to the corner when a voice called out to them.

"Mudblood lover!" Draco shouted down the hall after them, "Blood traitor! At least one of your brothers has some sense. Percy was right to leave your ridiculous family behind, especially your crack-pot, muggle obsessed father."

Harry tightened his grip on Ginny's hand, and when she didn't respond he glanced her way. Her hair hid her face, but when a single tear dropped on their joined hands, rage bubbled up in his chest and ruptured something in his brain. He kissed her hair lightly and dropped her hand.

He strode toward Malfoy, fists clenched, stopping not six inches from the platinum blonde's face and just stared while the Slytherin laughed.

"Turn around and walk away Potter, just walk away." Draco said.

Harry looked him in the eyes for a brief moment, and then punched him square on the jaw.

Draco fell back onto his friends, and Harry turned to walk back to Ginny, but he'd barely gone a foot when Draco jumped on his back. Harry's glasses went flying and they both tumbled to the ground. Harry's muscles ached, straining for control as they punched and kicked wildly at one another.

"Agh!" Malfoy broke away and kicked hard at Harry who slid away, only to lunge back at him.

A echoing bang filled the Seventh floor corridor. "Stop!" Professor Sparks suddenly stood between them.

They froze.

"I may be new at Hogwarts, but I know brawling in the corridors is strictly forbidden. I think that will be a loss of fifty points from both of your houses. There will also be detentions, which are going to be served in my office tomorrow evening, for the both of you."

"What?" Draco spat.

"Did you hear what he said? What he called her?" Harry protested.

"I am well aware of the conversation." she said, kneeling beside him. His lip was swelling fast.

"But I..."

As the Potions professor knelt down, Harry noticed that she was mumbling to herself and caught just enough of what she was saying to do a double take.

"I…wait…what?"

"Now then, up you get," she said, ignoring his question as she rose from the floor. "Miss. Weasley, please escort Mr. Potter to the hospital wing. And you," she said, turning to Draco, "I suggest that you get to your House as quickly as you can. Silently if you think you can manage that."

After Ginny had helped Harry up and rounded the corner they heard Professor Sparks yell and a small yelp, "I heard that Draco Malfoy, you are coming with me to see your head of house."

'Well at least he is going to get in more trouble' Harry thought to himself, though he soon came to regret it because Ginny had poked him in the ribs. "Ouch, Ginny, that hurt."

"Well, it serves you right. Why did you do that Harry? You have been doing so well with keeping your temper in check. What if you had lost control and let loose your power?"

Harry flinched, "I know Ginny, I'm sorry. I just tried to ignore him, I knew he was just baiting me, but it just killed me to see you cry."

Ginny sighed, "Come on, let's get going, we don't want Professor Sparks to come by and see we aren't there."

"Something tells me that she is going to be preoccupied long into the night." Harry said with a smirk.

After they got to the Hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey practically banished Harry to a bed with the warning that if so much as a toe touched the floor before the morning he would be strapped to the bed indefinitely. With a quick goodnight and a promise to return in the morning, Ginny left the Hospital wing.

"Do your worst to me Madame Pomfrey." Harry exclaimed, letting his head fall back onto his pillow.

"Oh believe me Mr. Potter I will, you can count on that." With that said the hospital matron handed him a vial of green-looking goop.

"Oh, come on, you could have at least made it look like it was going to taste good." Harry said with a frown.

"Just drink your potion Potter."

As Harry rose into a sitting position, he took another look at the small vial in his hands and then plugged his nose and downed the entire contents. "Blech, that was gross…"

"But it will help you heal. I also suggest that you lay your head down."

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

Instead of answering him, Madame Pomfrey simply looked down at her wrist and began to count. As soon as she heard a soft 'thump' she lifted her gaze and smiled at the now sleeping form of Harry Potter. She watched him for a moment more and when she noted the constant rise and fall of his chest she smiled again-

"Yes, that will do quite nicely." as she waved her wand, shutting off the lamps for the night.

A/N: Well, here it is, chapter 53. I will be the first to admit that it is not the greatest chapter that I have ever written, but it gets the job done that I wanted it too. Anyway, I did need to tell all of you that this will be the last chapter until the New Year. I am working on the next one already, and I for one hope tht it will be longer than this one, but you know as they say, "The best laid plans of mice and men...often go awry..." I hope that each and every one of you (whoever reads this story, or this chapter) has a wonderful Christmas, or whatever you may celebrate...and I shall see you all once again in the New Year!!!

Mudbloodpotter