Disclaimer: Harry Potter is NOT MINE! It all belongs to JK Rowling, Warner Bros and Scholastic Books, and I am not them. I only own several copies of the books and films. I am just having some fun JK Rowling's wonderful sandbox, and trying to add my own ideas to the amazing world that she created.
It had been two weeks since Harry and Hermione had crashed the Order of the Phoenix meeting but their appearance and their information dump had caused quite a stir. From what they had heard from Lily and James, Dumbledore had fought with the upper levels of the Order after they had left; the upper levels had wanted to tell the world immediately about Voldemort's real identity but Dumbledore had urged caution. He claimed that attacks by the Death Eaters would escalate if Voldemort's real name was released, that Voldemort would be furious and order more attacks in retaliation.
But the Headmaster was overruled by a majority vote amongst the members of the Order, and word got out into the public that the Dark Lord Voldemort was not a pureblood like was believed, but that he was actually a half-blood named Tom Riddle who had gone to Hogwarts from 1938 to 1945, and had been Head Boy in his final year at Hogwarts.
The reveal that the Dark Lord, the man who espoused on the belief that purebloods were superior to all others, was a half-blood sent shockwaves through the wizarding world. Many of those who had agreed with Voldemort's ideals quickly began distancing themselves from the man they now claimed to be a charlatan and deceiver. They also claimed that they had been hoodwinked into agreeing with Voldemort, but not very many believed their claims.
"There was another attack last night," Hermione said. "In Lincolnshire. The Dark Mark was spotted over a house, inside was a family, all dead. Harry, we need to start finding and destroying the Horcruxes. The longer we wait, the more people are going to die and get hurt."
"I know Hermione but what exactly can we do?" Harry asked. "We can't get the diary or the cup because we don't know if Lucius or Bellatrix already have them. And we don't have a way to destroy them anyway; we need to find out a way to do that first before we go after the Horcruxes. That was the plan Hermione, your plan."
"I know that Harry," Hermione snapped. "But I can't just sit here and let Riddle go around killing people, not when I know that I can help."
"I know it is hard Hermione," Harry said. "It is hard for me too but if we start going off on our own, we will just make things worse. We have an in with the Order now thanks to my parents, and people are leaving Riddle's camp faster than they did after he was first defeated. That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Yes…I think," Hermione answered. "Harry, I know we came back to change things, and we have but now we don't know how things are going to happen due to these changes. Sure we have reduced Riddle's support group by revealing he is a half-blood instead of a pureblood but what is he going to do now?"
"I don't know Hermione," Harry admitted. "What I do know is that we will figure it out Hermione, we always do."
"Riddle is smart Harry, he will not let this revelation stand," Hermione said. "These attacks the past week are just the beginning. I wouldn't be surprised if Riddle is changing his support base; I have honestly always wondered why Riddle didn't fight against the purebloods. There are a lot more half-bloods and muggleborns than there are purebloods, he could have easily rallied an army of half-bloods and muggleborns and toppled the pro-pureblood Ministry pretty easily. From what I have researched, there has always been a belief that being pureblood, or at least being from a magical family, is better than being solely muggleborn, though it only really became so prevalent and accepted since the Grindelwald War."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Many of Grindelwald's followers were muggleborns, or half-bloods that felt they were being discriminated against," Hermione answered. "Grindelwald didn't believe in the pureblood nonsense that most people claim he did. He believed that magic was magic, regardless of where it came from. Grindelwald only believed that magic was superior, and by having magic meant you were superior to the muggles."
Harry blinked. He had always thought that Grindelwald was just another Voldemort, a monster who only cared about himself and his own power and ambition.
"Of course Grindelwald was a brutal killing machine and pure evil," Hermione continued. "He almost caused the magical world to be discovered by the muggles, and there are rumors that he killed enough people to create an entire army of Inferi, and was behind some of the most disgusting and despicable acts that the Nazis committed during World War II."
"How do you know all this Hermione?" Harry asked. "I don't remember any of that History of Magic or whatever."
"You know me Harry, I am able to find out a lot that people don't want known," Hermione said. "And I was able to find all that I needed in the Black family library. It seems that Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know about his relationship with Grindelwald, and had any information pertaining to Grindelwald confiscated or destroyed to protect his reputation. Couldn't have the sheep thinking less of their Great White Wizard," she spat.
Harry glanced down at his watch. "Hermione, we need to get moving," he said. "We are supposed to meet my parents for lunch."
"Oh right," Hermione said. "You know Harry, you need to call them by their names or people will start asking questions."
"I know, it is just hard," Harry said. "I mean, they are my parents for Merlin's sake, I should be calling them mum and dad not Lily and James."
"I cannot imagine what you are going through Harry but you need to focus," Hermione said. "We know that Dumbledore is already suspicious of us, we cannot afford anymore mistakes."
"I know Hermione," Harry said. "I am not trying to mess up, and I know that Dumbledore is suspicious but there is nothing I can do about that right now. Let us just worry about getting through with this lunch."
Hermione nodded. She stood up and walked into the bathroom, throwing shut the flap that was the door. Harry turned back to the small kitchen table and with a swish of his wand sent the dishes and mugs soaring into the kitchen sink. For the past two weeks, the ten had been both their home and base of operations. Harry and Hermione weren't proud of the fact that they had stolen the tent from a shop in Diagon Alley after the Death Eater attack but they had had little choice. They had only the clothes on their back and their wands when they had returned to the past, though Hermione's beaded bag somehow came back with them. The bag was filled with books and scrolls of parchments, their notes and plans, but nothing else. And so, Harry and Hermione had no options except to resort to stealing what supplies they needed.
The bedroom flap was thrown back open and Hermione stepped out, dressed for a brisk, early September afternoon, wearing a pair of dark jeans with low-heeled boots. A thick, crimson woolen sweater was partially hidden underneath a black dragon-hide jacket completed the outfit.
"Ready?" she asked, picking up a crimson and gold scarf from the back of the chair and tossing it around her shoulders.
Harry nodded, grabbing his own jacket from the back of a chair. He followed Hermione out of the tent, and past the wards that they had erected to keep themselves safe and hidden from prying eyes. Hermione stuck out her hand for Harry to take without a word. Harry sighed but took Hermione's hand and an instant they were gone.
"Patrick! Juliet! Over here," Lily called out as she spotted Harry and Hermione entering the small pub, the Fox and Hound.
Harry and Hermione wove their way through the pub over to the booth where James and Lily were sitting along with three others. As Harry and Hermione rounded the bar, they froze slightly at the sight of the three others sitting with James and Lily.
"So glad to see you," Lily said, pulling Harry and Hermione into firm hugs. "So glad you both could make it. I am amazed at how difficult it is to contact either of you."
"Well, when you have been through what we have, you learn to hide very well," Hermione said. "Um, who are you friends?" she asked, even though she and Harry knew exactly who they were.
"Oh right, introductions," Lily said. "These are James' best friends from Hogwarts, and now they are my friends as well. From the right we have Sirius Black, James' best friend and Auror partner," Lily pointed at a younger looking Sirius Black who looked back at Harry and Hermione through a curtain of black hair that hung down over his eyes.
Harry's throat went dry at the sight of Sirius. He looked exactly like the young, laughing man that Harry had seen in his parents' wedding photos, not the emaciated, gaunt man who escaped from Azkaban. Sirius, in the future, had been the closest thing to a father that Harry had ever known.
"Well hello there beautiful," Sirius smiled, his gray eyes raking up and down Hermione's figure. "What's your name?"
"Down boy," Hermione said, pointedly ignoring Sirius. "I am Juliet, Juliet Watson."
"Ah, 'that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet,'" Sirius said, taking Hermione's hand and quickly kissing the back of it, causing a faint blush to appear on Hermione's pale cheeks. Harry frowned as he stepped around Hermione to her side.
"I am Patrick, Patrick Daniels, nice to meet you," Harry said, extending his hand toward Sirius.
"Nice to meet you," Sirius said, though his voice was slightly flat as he shook Harry's hand.
"Next to Sirius is Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew," Lily finished the introductions. Remus gave Harry and Hermione a friendly nod and smile while Peter barely looked up from stuffing his face with peanuts, only stopping when Lily slapped him on the back of the head.
"Hello," Remus spoke up. Harry had to once again fight down some raging emotions at the sight of Remus Lupin, the young man who would become the father of Harry's godson. Remus looked much healthier than he had in the future, his face less lined and drawn, and the young man's eyes were not clouded with despair and depression. Hermione ended up having to pull Harry down into a seat after Harry had kept staring at Remus.
"So Juliet, Patrick, how did you find out that You-Know-Who's real name was Tom Riddle?" Remus asked.
"After he killed my parents, I wanted revenge," Harry said. "I wanted to know everything that I could about the monster that had murdered my parents, to discover how to destroy him. It took a while but I finally did, though I couldn't have done it without Juliet's help. She's honestly the brain of the group."
"Brains and beauty," Sirius grinned, "looks like you are the total package Juliet, why are you hanging around this ragamuffin when you could be with a stud like me?"
Harry grit his teeth as Hermione's face became fixed.
"Sirius Black! Would you stop acting like such an immature prat?" Lily snapped, "Merlin, you are such a dog, chasing after every bone you see."
"It is all right Lily," Hermione said. "I can handle a prat like Sirius. But I was wondering why you asked Patrick and I here today? There isn't a meeting tonight, is there?"
James, Lily, Sirius and Remus all froze while Peter looked up from his bowl of peanuts.
"Don't worry," Harry said. "We are not new to this sort of thing. I set up an anti-eavesdropping ward before Juliet and I sat down. No one can hear what we are saying."
The Marauders all relaxed, James and Sirius' wands returned to their pockets.
"You know a spell like that?" Lily asked, a gleam appearing in her green eyes, a gleam that Harry had seen in Hermione's eyes quite often. "Can you teach me?"
"Another time Lily," Hermione said. "Now can you please tell us why you had us come here?"
"Look Juliet, Patrick, you are both already aware that Sirius and I are Aurors," James said. "And we both know that you, Patrick, was the one who fought off the Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley a couple weeks ago."
"And?" Harry asked. "Am I in trouble?"
"No, no nothing like that," James assured Harry. "But I want to know why you gave Frank Longbottom a copy of your memory from the battle. No one just gives a stranger, even if that stranger is an Auror, their memory, especially a memory of a fight."
"Oh, well thank you for the advice I suppose," Harry said. " But why are you asking me about the memory if you have already seen it?"
"It's not the memory that I am really asking about," James said. "What I am asking you about is that I want you to teach Lily how to fight like that."
"What!" Lily, Harry and Hermione cried.
"What are you saying James?" Lily demanded. "You think I can't fight?"
"Lily, I know that you are smarter than any of us, probably combined," James said. "And you are a whiz at Charms, and know more spells than any of us but in a fight, you are not going to have time to think about the spells to use. A fight is all about instinct and your guy feeling, and Lily, I don't want you to get hurt because you weren't ready or in over your head."
"James Charlus Potter, I am not some helpless damsel in distress who needs a prince to come charging in to save her," Lily hissed. She suddenly pushed her way free of the booth and stormed out of the pub.
"Lily, wait!" James called after her.
"James, I will handle this," Hermione said, getting up from her seat. "I know exactly what Lily is going through."
"Don't worry James, Juliet will talk Lily down," Harry said. "She knows exactly what to do. Anyway, why would you want me to teach Lily how to fight? Why can't you or Sirius, you are both Aurors."
"Patrick, it is because we are Aurors that we can't teach Lily," James said. "Both Sirius and I, when we became Aurors, made a vow to not share any secrets or spells with those outside the Auror Corps. And we are also limited by the spells we know and can teach. Some of the spells that we know that aren't covered by the Auror vow are familial magical spells that can only be taught to members of the family, through blood or marriage."
"Oh," Harry said. He had no idea that these safeguards were even in existence. "But surely there are other spells that you could teach Lily?"
"Patrick, Lily is the most accomplished witch of our generation, possibly going back several generations," Remus said. "There isn't a spell taught at Hogwarts that Lily doesn't know or hasn't perfected. And there isn't any spell that any of us know that Lily doesn't already know."
Harry felt a surge of immense pride fill him at Remus' words but that was followed quickly by a sense of shame. His parents were amazing, so smart and successful and here he was, a boy who only got one Outstanding on his OWLs, and had failed two other subjects. "James, I only got one Outstanding on my exams, and I failed two others," he said. "I am not the person who should be teaching anyone, let alone someone of Lily's abilities, if what you are telling me is true."
"Who cares about some stupid exams," James snapped. "Patrick, I saw your memory, I know you can fight and probably beat most of the members of the Order, including Sirius and myself. Look Patrick, I love Lily, so much that it scares me sometimes. I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if that means making her hate my guts, as long as she is alive to do so. You are the best person to protect Lily, so please can you at least try?"
Harry had to look away, knowing that if he looked into James' eyes, his resolve would crumble in an instant. After a few moments of thinking, Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "All right James, I'll teach Lily but only if she accepts it," Harry said.
"Thank you," James said. "I just hope that Juliet will be able to calm Lily down. She has a really fiery temper, and can say some things that she doesn't mean when she is wound up."
"Don't worry, Juliet is good at getting people to calm down," Harry said with a fond smile, thinking back to all the times Hermione had calmed either himself or Ron down.
Meanwhile outside the pub, Hermione was discovering that Harry hadn't only gotten his green eyes from his mother; he had also gotten her explosive temper.
"I cannot believe that…that toerag!" Lily shouted as she stomped down the curb, Hermione trailing behind her. "How dare he think that I can't protect myself?"
"Lily, he's doing this because he loves you," Hermione said. "He is not saying you are not capable but there is always someone better. Trust me, I have learned a lot from Har…Patrick; he was the best at Defense at…our school. You couldn't ask for a better teacher."
"I don't need a teach Juliet!" Lily snapped. "I know more spells than all the Marauders put together!"
"Fighting for your life is not about the number of spells you know," Hermione said, hiding a small smile at the similarities between herself and Lily. "That was another thing that Patrick taught me. I was a lot like you Lily; smartest in the class, always picking up spells first, they even called me 'The Brightest Witch of the Age' but that title didn't allow me to save my boyfriend or my parents. Merlin's beard, if it hadn't been for Har…I mean, Patrick teaching me how to fight, I would probably be dead, or worse."
"I know how to duel Juliet, we were taught in seventh year," Lily argued though Hermione could tell that she was beginning to falter.
"This isn't a duel Lily," Hermione said. "This will be a fight, a fight to the death. In a duel, there are rules and penalties for breaking those rules. But in a fight, there are no rules, only that you survive. These Death Eaters will stop at nothing to hurt or kill you, they won't fight fair and neither should you."
"But won't that just make us as bad as the Death Eaters?" Lily asked.
"No," Hermione said. "Death Eaters and those like them deserve whatever is wrought upon them. They would not be merciful to their victims, so why should we show them mercy?"
"But…" Lily began.
"Lily, there is a quote by an American general from their Civil War, Sherman," Hermione said. "He said 'War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.' There is another American general, Patton, from World War II. He said 'The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.' War is hell Lily, the only way to win this war is to send the Death Eaters to hell where they belong."
Lily looked at Hermione with wide, and slightly fearful, eyes. The brown-haired girl met Lily's gaze with a firm one of her own. In the hard brown eyes of Juliet, Lily saw the tiredness, the despair, the anger and the determination that sent shivers racing up and down Lily's spine. The only time she had ever seen such eyes was whenever she talked to her grandfather about his time in the RAF during the muggles' World War II. They were the eyes of someone who had seen and fought in war, and had seen friends and family die.
"Lily, I am not trying to frighten…actually that's untrue. I am trying to frighten you," Hermione said. "Not so that you will run away but in a way to show you why you cannot give any mercy to the enemy since they will not show you any."
Lily looked down; she knew Juliet was right, she had seen how deep the prejudices ran in the magical world up close. It had been the cause in the fracture of her long friendship with her childhood friend and neighbor, Severus Snape. Severus had been the one to introduce her to the magical world where they were eight years old, showed her the wonders of magic and she had latched onto Severus for his guidance. But even as children there were signs that Severus was not as understanding as Lily thought him to be.
When the pair finally got to Hogwarts, and were Sorted into separate Houses, Lily began to see how Severus acted away from Cokeworth and her. He had told her, before they had come to Hogwarts, that there was no difference between those who came from magical lineage and those who did not, and certainly not to him. But he had lied to her; it did matter to him.
As their years at Hogwarts passed, Lily and Severus' friendship drifted apart. Lily knew that she and Severus would drift apart as they grew older, made other friends and spent less time together but the space apart gave Lily perspective she hadn't had before. She saw that Severus was quickly falling under the sway of the Dark Lord's, Voldemort's, Lily corrected, followers. And she could see that Severus was enjoying the power that he was gaining and she began to see the real Severus, the one that he had kept hidden away from the world and her, the one that believed he was better than her and all other muggleborns because he had a magical bloodline.
"Lily, are you all right?" Hermione asked, putting a hand on the redhead's shoulder.
"I am ok Juliet," Lily said. "Just some bad memories about an old friend."
Hermione's eyes widened when she realized that Lily was talking about Snape.
"We should go back inside Lily," Hermione said. "I am sure that James is worried about you, and wants to apologize."
Lily sighed. "I suppose you are right," she said. "And what about Patrick? I am sure that he is worried about you as well."
"Not this again Lily," Hermione huffed. "There is nothing going on between me and Patrick, we are just friends."
"Believe what you want Juliet but I have seen how he looks at you when you aren't looking, and how you look at him when you think no one is watching," Lily said. "But let's get back inside, I'm hungry."
Hermione smiled and followed Lily back inside the pub where James, Harry and the others were waiting, still at the booth.
"Lily, I am sorry," James said, getting up from his seat and hugging Lily. "I didn't mean to say that you weren't capable of defending yourself, I just want you to be protected. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. And I can't teach you the spells that I've learned in the Academy but Patrick can. Please Lily, just…"
"James, please stop," Lily said. "I understand what you are suggesting James, I just needed some time to think it over. I am sorry that I stormed off like I did. Juliet was able to talk me around, and Patrick, I would love to learn from you."
Harry glanced at Hermione, who gave him a small nod. "Ok Lily, I am sure that we can work something out," he said. Lily smiled at him, while James clapped Harry on the shoulder in thanks.
"So when do we start?" Lily asked.
"We will figure it out," Hermione said. "We will need to find a place to train, away from anyone who might be spying on us, and somewhere we can practice in safety."
"I know just the place," James said. "My parents' place, my childhood home. We have a large dueling room that my grandfather used when he was teaching my father to duel, and my father taught me and Sirius as well."
"That would be perfect," Sirius agreed. He turned to Harry and Hermione. "You two will love it. The Ranch is great, but the Kiln is even better."
"What?" Harry and Hermione asked.
"The Ranch? The Kiln?" Harry continued. "What is he talking about?"
"It is what the house and the dueling room are called," James answered. "The house is called the Ranch because my great-grandfather, Archibald, lived in the States for sometime and he fell in love there, my great-grandmother Anne. She lived on a ranch in Missouri, and so Archibald built a ranch house for his wife when they came back here, as a wedding gift. And the family has lived there since. The Kiln is just a pun on our name, Potter."
When Harry looked around, Hermione explained, "A kiln is where pottery is sent to be hardened and finished. Clever."
James just shrugged. "You both can come by after lunch," he said. "My parents will want to meet you both anyway."
Harry froze for a second at the thought of meeting his grandparents, the Potter ones. He had meet his maternal grandmother a week ago, though she didn't know it but his Potter heritage knowledge was limited to the small amount he know about his father, and what he had learned from his family's books before he and Hermione traveled back in time.
"I guess we have a plan then," Hermione said.
"All right then, let's eat," Sirius boomed.
"All right here's the plan," James said. "Patrick, Juliet, I will have to Side-Along the pair of you to the Ranch since you haven't been there before."
"Are you sure you will be able to take both of us?" Hermione asked. "Side-Along Apparition is difficult with just one person."
"I will be fine Juliet," James said with an easy grin, one that Hermione had seen on Harry's face in the future. "Now, we all ready?"
Harry looked at Hermione, who just sighed and nodded. Harry grinned and he and Hermione stepped to James' side and each took hold of one of his arms.
"Hang on," James said. Harry and Hermione tightened their grip as James spun on his heel.
One gut-wrenching, bone creaking trip later, Harry, Hermione and the Marauders were standing at the front steps of a two-story house with a covered porch that went all the way around the house.
"This is the Ranch?" Hermione asked, looking around. "It is beautiful."
The house looked out over a wide expanse of land, mostly open fields though there was a small thicket of trees at the base of a mountain, and peeking out from behind the house was a pond with three Quidditch hoops behind it.
"It's home," James said. Something was niggling in the back of his mind, like he knew he had forgotten something but couldn't recall what it was.
"Mum! Are you home?" James called out as he led the group inside.
I am in the kitchen honey," the strong voice of James' mother echoed down the hall.
"Hey mum," James said as the group entered the kitchen. Harry and Hermione looked around, they had only been in two wizarding kitchens before; the Burrow and Grimmauld Place. And this kitchen was much closer to the Burrow's kitchen than the basement kitchen at Grimmauld Place. A large window looked out over the backyard, with an old-fashioned wood stove was in the corner and there was an icebox in the opposite corner. A long wooden table spanned nearly the entire kitchen while pots and pans hung over the counter.
"Hello dear," James' mother said as James gave her a peck on the cheek. "Who are your new friends?"
"This is Juliet Watson and Patrick Daniels," James answered. "Juliet, Patrick, this is my mum, Annabeth Potter."
Harry found his throat go dry at the sight of his grandmother. She looked much like he had imagined her to be; brown hair that had a light dusting of gray in it, and kind and warm bluish-gray eyes that had laugh lines at their corners.
"Hello Mrs. Potter," Hermione said, noticing that Harry had frozen up. "You have a lovely home."
"Thank you," Annabeth said. "Are you hungry? I can whip something up."
"It is all right mum," James said. "We just ate. We are actually going to the Kiln for a bit."
"All right dear, be careful and send one of the elves if you need someone to heal you up," Annabeth said.
"We will mum," James said, rolling his eyes fondly. "Come on you guys."
"Nice to meet you Juliet, Patrick," Annabeth waved as the group left the kitchen.
"You as well Mrs. Potter," Hermione said before elbowing Harry in the side to get him moving.
"Yes, nice to meet you ma'am," Harry said before following the others in a rush, Mrs. Potter watching him go with a concerned and confused expression.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Hermione snapped, grabbing Harry's arm as they followed the others down the hall.
"Sorry, it is just that was my grandmother," Harry whispered. "It all just hit me back there, that this might have been where I grew up if Riddle hadn't come that night."
Hermione sighed and gave Harry a quick hug. "I know it is tough Harry," she said, "but you need to stay focused. We cannot let anyone know who we actually are. It could cause a temporal paradox, and wipe us from existence."
"I will do better, I promise," Harry said.
"I know you will," Hermione said.
"Here we are, the Kiln," James announced as he pushed open a thick, dark wooden door.
"Wow!" Harry and Hermione said in unison as they entered the room.
"Space-Expansion Charms," James answered Hermione's unasked question. "They are rooted into the walls, floor and ceiling with runes, so that they don't wear off."
"This is amazing," Hermione said. The room was roughly one hundred feet long and fifty or so feet wide with a raised wooden platform in the middle of the room that was about thirty feet long and ten feet wide, just like the dueling platform that Lockhart and Snape, and Harry and Malfoy had dueled on in second year. The opposite wall looked out over the backyard through windows that spanned nearly the entire length of the wall. The walls at the other end of the room were covered with photos of people, all moving and obviously all Potters from the hair.
"All right Patrick, why don't you show us all what you can do?" James suggested.
"Um, ok," Harry said. "Who do I…"
"Not one of us, you would most likely wipe the floor with us judging from your memory," James said. "You can duel that." He pointed his wand at a wooden statue in the corner that came to life with a jerk.
"What is that?" Harry asked, though he thought that the statue looked a bit like the moving dummies that the DA had practiced against in the Room of Requirement.
"It is a prototype training golem that the DMLE uses to train Auror recruits," James answered.
"And how did you get your hands on one of those?" Hermione asked. "I am sure that the Ministry would never let one of those out of their possession."
"My grandfather was the one who helped create the ones that the Ministry uses," James said. "But of course he didn't give the Ministry all of his plans and ideas for the golem."
Harry and Hermione noticed the troublemaking grin on James' face and chuckled. It seemed that the Potter troublemaking gene stretched back farther than just to James Potter.
"Unless you don't think you are up for the challenge?" James asked.
"Let's see what this thing has got," Harry said, pulling off his jacket and tossing it to the side. He hopped up onto the platform, drawing his wand. The golem stiffly walked up the opposite steps.
"I have it set to level 8, the highest level I've ever faced it at," James said. "My father said that my grandfather is the only one who has reached the golem's highest level of 15."
Harry gave James a sharp nod as he readied himself.
"Begin!" James ordered. Instantly the golem raised its arm and began firing red spells at Harry.
"They might only be Stinging Spells but they pack something else," James said. "My dad always said to treat them as the worst curse you can imagine to make sure that you don't get hit by them. A curse can't affect you if it doesn't hit you."
Harry would have nodded but he was consumed by concentration on shielding or dodging the spells coming from the golem. He wasn't being overwhelmed but he knew that he couldn't spilt his concentration against a lesser opponent. If Harry had to rank the golem's skill, he would have to say it was that of a mid-level Death Eater. He ducked under a spell and sent his own Stinging Jinx back at the golem. To his surprise, the golem ducked the spell and rolled forward, firing a set of spells back at Harry.
Harry raised a shield that deflected the spells back at the golem. It was a shield spell that he had learned from his ancestor's books, and certainly not one that was taught at Hogwarts. He followed that up with a spell that created a tornado and sent the tornado at the golem. The golem, not knowing how to react, just sent more and more Stinging Spells at Harry but the tornado spell that Harry had cast knocked all of the golem's spells away.
James frowned as something about the spell that Patrick used seemed familiar but he couldn't place where he knew it from.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted as he ducked under another Stinging Spell. A thick beam of red light shot from Harry's wand and slammed into the golem, sending it careening into the wall where it slumped to the floor with a clatter.
"Well done Patrick," James said. "Can certainly see that your skills are not just for show. Juliet, why don't you give it a whirl?"
"Oh, I don't know," Hermione said. "I am no where near as strong or skilled as Patrick is."
"Don't sell yourself short Juliet," Harry said. "You know way more spells than I do, you were always the first one to get a spell down in class. If I could take that golem, you certainly can do it."
"Yeah, come on Juliet," Sirius cheered. "Show us what you got!"
Hermione sent Harry a hidden glare before walking up onto the platform. James gestured with his wand at the golem, which came back to life with a clatter. It climbed back up onto the platform and assumed a dueling ready stance. Hermione drew her own wand.
"Begin!" James shouted.
Hermione quickly began casting as fast as she possible could, sending a flurry of spells at the golem, which raised a shield. The shield held but barely, and when Hermione paused to catch her breath, the golem switched from defense to offense with lightning quickness. Hermione barely had time to raise a shield of her own to block the golem's spells.
Harry winced as he saw Hermione stumble backward under the onslaught of spells from the golem. He knew that Hermione was better than what she was showing, she had always been the next best in the DA and during the war, Hermione had been the one who had taken down the most Death Eaters. But ever since Hermione had been tortured by Bellatrix, and had seen Ron die, she had become a different person, almost two separate people, her normal confident and demanding self, and a meek and scared version of herself.
"Come on Her…Juliet, you are better than this," Harry shouted. "Show this hunk of wood what you are made of!"
Cracks began to appear in Hermione's shield, her arm shuddering under the strain of keeping her shield up. She heard Harry's shout, urging her on and offering his support. Hermione grit her teeth as she stabilized her shield, Harry was right, she was better than this, and she would not let this think beat her! With a swift twirl of her wrist, Hermione reversed her shield and curved its edge, so that any spells it reflected were funneled back at the caster.
Hermione knew that she couldn't hold this shield for very long, she didn't have the sheer magical strength that Harry had, but she knew more spells than he did and was quite creative when it came to using those spells, something that Hermione had learned from Luna, who was the most unorthodox person that Hermione had ever met.
"Incarcerous!" Hermione cried, dropping her shield and sending a stream of chains at the golem. The golem raised its own shield but instead of the chains dissolving against the shield, they seemed to come alive, writhing like snakes and wrapped around the golem, causing it to topple to the floor.
Hermione got to her feet, slowly, and turned to the spectators, with a tired but satisfied grin on her face.
"Way to go Juliet!" Lily clapped. "That was amazing! I've never seen anyone do something like that. How did you make those chains move like that? Can you teach me that?"
"Of course Lily," Hermione said.
"What is going on here?" another voice asked from behind the group. They turned to find an older man standing in the doorway, wearing dark robes with a patch on the right lapel.
"Hi dad," James said.
'Dad!' Harry thought in shock as he looked at his grandfather, paternal, for the first time. He looked almost exactly like James, except for darker brown eyes and a sprinkling of gray in his unruly black hair.
"James, Sirius, Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew," James' father said. "Who are your new friends?"
"Right, dad, this is Patrick Daniels and Juliet Watson," James said. "Patrick was the one who stopped the Death Eater attack in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago, and he and Juliet have discovered some information that will help us defeat Voldemort." He turned then to Harry and Hermione. "Patrick, Juliet, this is my father, and the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Charlus Edward Potter."
Harry shivered as Charlus Potter turned his gaze on him and Hermione. His brown gaze was much like Dumbledore's gaze, piercing and feeling as if he was looking through your entire being.
"Hello Mr. Potter," Hermione said. "You have a wonderful home."
"Thank you Ms. Watson," Charlus said. "I must say you are quite talented for someone so young, to be able to defeat our training golem. James, what level was it set at? 6, 5?"
"Level 8 dad," James said. "Both Juliet and Patrick did it. You should have seen it."
"I am sure I will hear all about it, though I am confused why you brought two strangers here James?" Charlus asked, his voice deep and demanding.
"Well, they are obviously skilled and Juliet and Patrick said they would teach us spells and how to better protect ourselves from the Death Eaters," James answered meeting his father's gaze.
"I see," Charlus said. "Why haven't you gone to the Ministry Mr. Daniels, Ms. Watson, if you have information that can defeat the Dark Lord?"
"Because we don't trust the Ministry," Harry said.
"But you trust my son and his friends?"
"Yes," Harry said, meeting his grandfather's gaze like James had. "We know that Riddle has infiltrators, informants and supporters inside the Ministry, and if we were to give the Ministry our knowledge, Voldemort would know within days."
"Quite true," Charlus said. "As much as many of my co-workers refuse to believe, this Dark Lord has managed to find support within the Ministry. So you were the ones who released the information about Voldemort's real name and heritage, or at least forced Dumbledore's hand, am I right?"
Harry, Hermione and the Marauders looked surprised at the elder Potter's observation.
"Don't look so surprised, I might not be part of the Order or an Auror any longer but I have friends in several places," Charlus chuckled. "And I know Albus Dumbledore better than most, he would not release such vital information unless he was forced too. Albus has always believed that he, and he alone, possessed enough wisdom to guide people."
"Is that why, dad, you don't like the Headmaster?" James asked. "You have always had this look when anyone talked about the Headmaster, like you couldn't believe people liked or looked up to the Headmaster."
"There are things about the Headmaster that you do not know James, that none of you know," Charlus said. "While the Headmaster is a very powerful wizard, and knowledgeable about a great many things, he forgets that the world is made up of people, not pawns. I want you to realize that just like any other person, Dumbledore can and has made mistakes. He is not the all-powerful person that many believe him to be."
"But he is the Headmaster!" Lily said. "He is the most powerful wizard alive, the one who defeated Grindelwald."
"Power doesn't make him right," Charlus said. "If being powerful meant you are always right, then the purebloods who believe that they are the only ones worthy of magic are right as well."
Lily's mouth fell open in shock.
"You can't honestly believe that dad!" James cried.
"I do not believe that rubbish James," Charlus said. "But believing that power equals being right is a very dangerous path, a path that can lead to some very dark places. Just because one has the power doesn't mean they should use it."
Harry and Hermione glanced at one another, both noticing the similarities between what Charlus had just said and what Dumbledore had become and preached.
"Are you talking about the Grindelwald War dad? Is that why you don't like the Headmaster?" James asked.
Charlus gave James a long, searching look. "I suppose you are old enough, and the fact that you have joined both the Aurors and the Headmaster's little club, you should know the full story. Bring your friends as well, if they are joining you on your foolhardy adventure, then they should know as well."
A/N: Well there you have it everyone, the newest installment of History is Written. Summer has finally arrived, and hopefully I will be able to write a bit more and post a bit more rapidly, though I am also searching for a new job, so it will be a trade off, and writing these stories don't make me any money so my stories might fall back. But hope you all enjoy this chapter, and til next time,
SlyNinjaKnight