A/N

Juliano2991: No need to apologize. I know that the point of Harry's character will be the most important one regarding 'like/hate this story'. One heavy flaw I have to admit: in my story Harry is way too cool-headed and lacks the typical temper. I'll try to correct that error in the future.

About the fight/battle prowess: in my opinion Harry did well considering his age. At the start of book four he simply doesn't know many spells (remember all those lessons with Hermione that year) and these two Deatheaters weren't low-ranks. Hermione only survived thanks to Bill's amulet.

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Regrets and train ride (Part 2)

Hogwarts Express – 1st of September

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"This Mrs. Phagg you mentioned…" Hermione began, staring thoughtfully at Harry.

"Figg, Arabella Figg is her name," Harry corrected her. "What about her?"

"You said that she worked for Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"She said so. But I don't know for how long. I've known her for only…" Harry tried to remember. How long had the cat lady been living there? "Mmm, I don't really remember. A few years at least, she had been with her cats in that shabby house."

"Do you think that she knew about your… way of living?" Neville asked. He sensed Harry's unease about speaking of that part of his life, an uneasiness that had prompted the boy-who-lived to avoid certain discussions since he entered the Gryffindor tower three years ago. That Neville, shy Neville, participated in a discussion like this was a surprise in itself. Perhaps the struggle with Ron an hour ago had opened him a bit more than usual.

"That's what I was thinking about too," Hermione shortly pressed Neville's hand thankfully, totally ignorant of the boy's blushing. Harry shortly grinned in Neville's direction, but hastily turned towards Hermione again as his friend looked around in confusion, apparently wondering what had caused Harry's reaction.

"I'm not sure. She claimed that she didn't know; that she was sorry about not seeing it. Inherently she should have realized that something had been amiss, that my life wasn't… as hoped by the Headmaster. But on the other hand…" Harry sighed. He grimaced and thrummed on the armrest with his fingers: "I don't have the impression that Mrs. Figg is a very good liar and she had always been nice to me, weird but nice, especially after that summer with Balou's accident."

The tomcat, rolled-up in Ginny's lap, yawned shortly but otherwise seemed to be quite disinterested in the story.

"And in a way she always reminded me of Mr. Filch. Naturally not in the 'I'll-flay-you-alive' way, but she's a Squib too, more than a bit odd and not too bright. And she's more interested in cats than in humans."

"It sounds like a bad idea to assign such a person to oversee your wellbeing," Neville commented, prompting nods from Ginny and Hermione. Luna appeared to listen without really understanding, her dreamy eyes resting more on Neville than anything else.

"Perhaps the Headmaster had nobody else available for the job," Hermione assumed.

Harry agreed: "It had certainly not been a very well-paid or interesting job so far. Perhaps he simply wanted to… I don't know… sustain her; give her a task to feel needed. I've never seen her family around. Even with her cats flooding the house it had certainly been not the most fulfilled life to her."

"But the Headmaster had never visited you in all those years," Hermione asked. "And neither did Professor McGonagall?"

"Not as far as I knew. And Uncle Vernon, at the very least, certainly would have said something disgusting about such a visit."

"This all makes no sense, I'm sorry," Hermione groaned.

"I understand that he send you to your Aunt to protect you," Neville started hesitantly. "Perhaps he thought you would be safer in the Muggle world. Certainly some Deatheaters would have loved to kill you after 'His' death and pureblood mages most often have difficulties to find their way in the Muggle part of the world."

"Most of them, yes," Hermione agreed. "Even Mr. Weasley has issues and he is really interested in Muggle technology."

"But," Neville continued, "to simply drop you there and forget you for a full ten years…"

"Something is amiss," Harry consented, his face now a bit red with anger. Since his first conversation with Mrs. Figg this summer he had tried to understand, tried to explain to himself how all of this had happened and why Dumbledore had acted this way. But admittedly he wasn't convinced by his own arguments and was slowly losing his patience.

"Some pieces of the puzzle I simply don't know. Headmaster Dumbledore had been quite adamant about sending me back to that house every summer at least for a few weeks. And I'm sure that he would have denied my visit to Pinegrew Manor without that contract. On my birthday he had been there and Agatha more or less had to kick him out – politely, but still."

"That's only because of the dangers. They're Deatheaters," Ginny intervened. These words had been her first input to the discussion and the faces around her showed quite obviously how lonely she was with her opinion.

"Daphne isn't a Deatheater," Luna said with a small frown. "She's quite nice."

Hermione blinked in confusion. Luna knew Daphne? How?

"Roxanne and Agatha aren't Deatheaters either. Hell, they don't even agree with all this pureblood nonsense. Their only 'fault' – if you want to call it this way – is their dislike towards the Headmaster," Harry's face reddened even more. While he was still not fully convinced of the (non-)existence of the Pinegrews' 'Gryffindors-are-evil' prejudices, he was quite unwilling to bear another sentence about their 'dangerous Deatheaterness'.

Ginny noticed his reaction and apparently thought about a way to press the 'Deatheater-matter' or to turn the discussion into another direction to calm him. Her face showed how her mind was racing and she looked around, hoping for other opinions, hoping that someone would end the uneasy silence that followed to Harry's statement.

So – as Harry leaned towards her and fondled the head of the sleepy tomcat – Ginny used the moment and the sight of Harry's wrist. "By the way: What's that? It looks nice. I haven't noticed it on you before. Is it new?"

Harry looked down at the wrist where Ginny's hand was pointing. His sleeve had ruck up and his new leather bracelet had become visible to all. It was nearly two inches broad, crafted from a dark red dragon hide and three rows of silvery ornaments were running around the length. To the untrained eyes these ornaments seemed to be no more than senseless signs but someone like Hermione would be able to realize that they were a string of old runes.

"It is new," Harry responded pensively, "a gift."

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This morning at Pinegrew Manor

At Agatha's request, Hermione and Harry had stayed at the breakfast table after finishing their meal. Neither Roxanne nor Daphne had been willing to comment on Agatha's wish and Astoria had already left for her room. In silence they had to wait for a while until Lady Pinegrew returned with two jewelry boxes in her hands. Gently she put them down in front of Harry and Hermione.

"After what happened to you both at the Quidditch finals Roxanne and I wanted to offer these bracelets to you." While Hermione only watched Agatha in focused silence, Harry opened his box and saw an ornamented leather bracelet resting on a small cushion of silk.

"They had been crafted for members of this family some years ago. To be exactly that leather bracelet had been meant to be worn by your father, Harry. We ordered it before your father decided to choose another woman to be his wife. Since then it rested in our family vault."

Stunned Harry stared at the bracelet that had been crafted for his father. In a way it was his heirloom. Tenderly, he touched the leather and the silvery ornaments.

"I never wanted my 'dear' Cyrus to wear this. I had hoped that perhaps someday a son of mine would wear it. In a way I was right – I hope," Roxanne smiled at Harry. He reciprocated the smile and gently lifted the bracelet, apparently not listening very closely to Agatha, being too distracted by the object in his hand.

"The ornaments are runes of protection. They won't protect you against a killing curse, but they will dampen the impact of most dangerous curses. They are especially not meant to protect against smaller jinxes as not to give away their special abilities. So a tripping jinx will hit you while a Crucio or Reducto will be lessened," Agatha explained. Hermione understood and stored the information away, knowing that she would have to speak with Harry about this at a later time.

In this moment he was simply too occupied staring at the bracelet. Nearly lovingly he placed the bracelet around his wrist, prompting Daphne to groan deeply.

"Harry," she yelled and threw a piece of bread at his head, hitting him with deathly accuracy. "Don't be so… trusting, so Gryffindor-ish. You can't simply…"

Another yell from Daphne, this time even louder and more piercing, stopped Hermione. The girl had started to open her own box and was just about to touch her own bracelet, this one more girly and crafted from a silvery alloy.

"Stop, Hermione," Daphne groaned.

"Hey, you can't…" Harry started but was stopped by Agatha's hand placed softly on his shoulder.

"Hermione, be more careful." She went at Hermione's side and put the box away from the confused looking girl. "Think about it: You're in an old pureblood household. That box contains a piece of Jewelry meant for a pureblood. And you're a Muggle-born. What does it mean for you?" She spoke very seriously now and a lot of concern was in her voice.

Harry shook off the hand on his shoulder as he stood up, his face red with anger. "I really thought you would…"

"Shush," Daphne glared at him, punching the table plate with her small fists. Her mother and grandmother only smiled in her direction, certainly doing nothing to soothe her. But at least Harry had stopped to speak.

"No, it is not about this pureblood rubbish, Hermione. I thought we had sorted it out that I don't believe this crap. But you can't simply ignore that many purebloods believe in it." Daphne took the box again and stared at it for a moment. She pressed the box into Hermione's hands and locked eyes with her: "Hermione, never… ever… touch a piece of pureblood jewelry without examination. Inherently that applies to every piece of jewelry. Too often have curses been placed on them. Naturally Grandma wouldn't give you something dangerous willingly, but it is a matter of principle. Many Purebloods protect their jewelry with curses against Muggleborns. The Black family is especially infamous for their use of the 'Toujours pure' curse regarding their family heirlooms. A touch can curse you; putting such a piece of jewelry on your skin may kill you. Careful examination… understood?" Daphne asked Hermione with a great amount of concern and urgency in her voice.

Hermione nodded slightly, her stance tensed.

"Good," Daphne allowed herself to relax a bit. "Sorry if I overreacted a bit," she smiled apologetically. "I'm sure that Grandma examined the Jewelry." She shortly threw a questioning look in Agatha's direction and her Grandma affirmed. "But I expect you to ask someone else too. Perhaps you could ask Professor Flitwick. You could tell him some story about buying this in your holiday and that you wanted to be certain about possible dangers. Then, and only then, you're allowed to wear it. Okay? Really, please don't forget that. Pureblood jewelry is dangerous" Daphne sighed again, a bit exhausted by her outburst.

"I think she understood your concern, Daphne," Roxanne interjected. "The bracelet, Hermione, was meant to be worn by Astoria. Daphne has the same."

The addressed girl lifted her arm and really there was the same bracelet, only a bit more worn out.

"Cyrus wanted to give Astoria something else and so it was waiting for someone to wear it. I hope it will protect you in the future."

"I thank you very much… Agatha… Roxanne." Hermione smiled towards them gratefully. "I'll wear it… after an examination through Professor Flitwick," she added after some moments to Daphne's joy.

"Daphne, really," Harry shook his head, playfully throwing back the piece of bread at Daphne. "Next time try to be a bit more… you know… polite… patient."

"I'll try," Daphne grinned, "but I can't promise."

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Present

"I wondered about something…" Hermione started. Harry had been deep in thoughts about the bracelets for a while and the train was nearing Hogwarts.

"And what's the matter this time?" Harry asked with only a small amount of humor in his voice. The memory of this morning and how he had received his bracelet had been troubling, especially the memory of Daphne's warning about Pureblood curses.

"Last year," Hermione continued, apparently oblivious to Harry's mood, "Sirius took a high risk as he tried to lay his hands on Ron and Scabbers. To trespass in Hogwarts in order to catch the rat and turn him back into a human… why did he do this? I mean: Why did he choose this way?"

A bit confused, Harry tried to concentrate more on Hermione's words while the others stayed calm. They only knew the basic story so far.

"Remember: Sirius saw this picture of the Weasleys in the Daily Prophet. He knew that Ron had this rat and he realized that it was Peter Pettigrew. He knew that his only chance to be acquitted would be to unmask Pettigrew. But why did he try it in such a dangerous way? He could have simply written a letter. Dear Headmaster Dumbledore, I know that you have no reason to believe me. But please give it a try. If I'm wrong you'll only use a small amount of your precious time and nothing will happen. But if I'm correct you'll detect the truth about the betrayal twelve years ago." Expectantly Hermione stared at the slightly blank expression of Harry.

"Hermione means that he could have asked Dumbledore to cast this spell on Scabbers. You know, that spell Professor Lupin used on him," Neville explained, showing again how much he understood. How often did he know something, Harry wondered, and stayed silent because others were more forthcoming?

"Exactly," Hermione added. "He could have asked Dumbledore and I see no reason why the Headmaster wouldn't comply to such a wish. He had nothing to lose and, as far as we know, Sirius – like the rest of the Marauders – had been very dear to him and Minerva."

"Perhaps the idea simply didn't cross his mind," Harry shrugged. "I'll ask him… should I ever meet him again." He tried to sound nonchalant but Hermione sensed that he really hoped to see his Godfather soon, if only to speak with him about the Pinegrews. But Sirius was far away now. Away but secure, she hoped.

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Hogwarts – Headmaster's Office

His guest had arrived at last. Contrary to their former arrangement, he had bade him to arrive this afternoon in order to have some peaceful time together before the hordes of students stormed the castle. With a small smile, but without the usual twinkle of his eyes, Headmaster Dumbledore filled two cups with herbal tea but left the plate with candies on his side of the table. He knew better than to offer them to his guest.

"I assume the voyage went well and you're ready to start," he started the conversation.

"Yes and yes, as can be expected." The tone was bland, but the eyes examined the expression of the Headmaster with the utmost meticulousness. This conversation could very easily change the possibilities to continue with his own plan, and he expected some sinister motives of the Headmaster to alter the time of his arrival in the last moment.

"I've spoken with Severus and Minerva about the Potter-boy."

Ah, right to the matter, his guest grinned inwardly without showing any reaction. "I assume it didn't go as well as you hoped?"

Dumbledore sighed in disappointment: "No, not in the least. They said something about 'we'll think about it', but it had been clear that they wouldn't be helpful."

"This you should have expected. They allow love and hate to influence their behavior. Even now they don't understand the realities of war. Resources must be used to the utmost benefit; else you'll lose in the long run."

The Headmaster agreed completely: "You've always been able to see the necessities. We don't have to like this… really we shouldn't like this… but we can't always be the Mister-nice-guy. Yes, I would like to see Harry in a happy home. We all would like to allow him his happy childhood…"

His guest didn't share this opinion but veiled his reaction through a sip of tea.

"… but he is far too valuable. It is of utmost importance that Harry is solely under our control. The Pinegrews have never been supporters of the Order and we can't allow them to hold sway over him and the Potter inheritance."

It was quite obvious that the Headmaster with 'our control' only meant 'my control', but this came to no surprise to his guest. And apparently it also troubled him to potentially loose his access to the Potter fortune, especially the estates that had been used by the order in the last decade. But this conversation about Harry could perhaps be used to promote his own plan in an unexpected way.

"Perhaps it is time to have someone else to influence the boy, to let him see him reason. Not some lovey-dovey house Mistress, I mean."

"Exactly what I thought," Dumbledore smiled. "He needs guidance. Potter has quite some potential but he's more like an uncut diamond."

Ah, the opportunity, his guest rejoiced. "I heard about his talents. I'm eager to experience them myself. There had been some interesting reports about his former… adventures, especially that one about the Philosopher's stone."

A tiny reaction of Dumbledore was all he needed to have a confirmation of his suppositions. "Am I correct that this whole affair with the stone was fairly… convenient? I always wondered about a boy – or a trio of students – being able to overcome the security around such a precious and rare item."

Dumbledore allowed himself to smile. It wasn't a surprise that his guest was able to deduce the truth so easily. "It was a test. You certainly assumed as much."

"I thought so. The real stone had never been there, I suppose?"

Dumbledore only continued his smile without answering the questions. Even now he should be allowed his small secrets.

"But your test was flawed, wasn't it?" It was time to go in for the kill.

"Why do you think so?"

"Two points… no three actually: At that time he had been in the magical world for less than a year, so it was more a test of his problem solving abilities, than of his magical prowess. Second: He hadn't been alone but worked with two friends. He won't be able to rely on them all the time and in the end he will be alone to fulfill his prophecy. And for the last point: The test was more or less child's play – interesting child's play but child's play nonetheless."

"And do you have a solution to these flaws?" Dumbledore's expression had soured in the last minutes. It wasn't very often that someone dared to criticize his plans and – as he had to admit – correctly so.

His guest leaned back and sighed deeply. "To my regret: no, I don't have an answer." After a sip of tea he continued a little depressed: "Naturally the tournament would be very appropriate to test him. Real dangers, challenging enemies and able contestants – not like that Quirrel-fool. But unfortunately this isn't an option. The Goblet will chose the participants and he's simply too young. Regretfully the Champions aren't chosen for ability alone but the Ministry in its endless wisdom decided on this age barrier."

Another tiny sign on the Headmaster's face and his guest had to struggle not to show his satisfaction. Bait, hook and line – the Headmaster was his. As he left the office he knew that it was only a question of time before the Headmaster decided to send Harry Potter into the tournament. He would probably ask him to help, if only to avoid suspicions. But in the end he would reach his goal: Harry Potter, the tournament Champion. His master would be pleased.

That Dumbledore not only allowed, but even demanded, that he spend time with the Potter-boy was only the icing on the cake.

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Hogwarts – 1st of September evening

The usual bustle dominated the area between train and coaches. Hagrid tried, not very successfully, to bring order into the chaos and some – certainly not every – Prefects supported him. For a short moment Hermione missed Percy Weasley. Last year, with Percy being Head Boy and his former girlfriend Penelope Clearwater being Head Girl, the Prefects had been much more vigorous in their actions.

From somewhere Ron reappeared again and those voices could only belong to the twins. As Harry looked for them he detected Fred and George following the beautiful Tracey Davis and the dark-skinned Blaise Zabini. Between the twins gracefully paced Daphne Greengrass. She appeared to be quite relaxed and her expression froze only for a split second as her eyes wandered about Ginny and Ron. Not that the youngest Weasleys wouldn't reciprocate in kind. They glared at the girl and their 'traitorous' twin brothers, but were fully ignored by them. Galleons were exchanged for a dubious looking bundle and even Hermione seemed to be happy about the improved relation and refrained from any comment about pranking articles. Fred, astonishingly elegant, blew a kiss onto Daphne's knuckles and hurried away.

"Hi Harry," she greeted him. "Hermione," she added with a smile, before she turned around and pointed towards her friends: "You know Tracey and Blaise? They are mighty evil Slytherins but almost harmless if sufficiently fed."

One dreaming, two glaring and three smiling pair of eyes accepted the greetings of Tracey and Blaise. The dark-skinned boy even bowed slightly towards Hermione: "Please don't listen to her, kind lady, we're… ouch." Someone had snipped against his ear and now glared at him with narrowed eyes: "Behave," Tracey growled. She addressed Daphne: "See you later. Come on, Blaise, my trunk is waiting for your strong arms."

"He seems to be quite whipped," Hermione grinned.

"As he should be," Daphne agreed.

Slowly they followed the others towards the coaches and searched for places. Ron had vanished again after a last angry growl and while Harry helped Hermione and Ginny to enter one of the coaches with their baggage, he noticed how Neville gave the front of the coach a wide berth. It looked as if he would be avoiding something not visible to Harry. He narrowed his eyes and made two steps in the direction but still there was nothing in sight.

"You're able to see them, aren't you, Neville?" Daphne asked the shy boy with a kind and caring voice.

Neville shot a short glance in her direction but hastily looked down again and went for the coach.

"See what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"The Thestrals, Harry," Hermione explained from her seat. "Have you forgotten what Luna told about them?" Her voice showed some insecurity about the matter but since the Quibbler discussion some hours ago she had tried to trust Luna's opinion more. Perhaps she should ask Hagrid about Thestrals later.

Luna heard Hermione uttering her name and looked up with a small but a little sad smile. In the meantime Neville had reached and entered the coach and took a seat across from Hermione. He still stared down and seemed to be quite unhappy about the discussion.

"I'm a tad envious of you, Lovey," Daphne explained, "that you're able to see them. But on the other hand I'm quite happy that I can't."

"Her name is Luna, Daphne, not Looney," Ginny growled, who apparently had misunderstood the nickname used by the girl.

Daphne frowned in the red-head's direction and Harry sensed her inner struggle about correcting Ginny or ignoring her. "She said Lovey not Looney," he tried to help. Turning around towards the girls he saw Daphne dragging Luna towards the next coach – this one being cramped with Ginny, Hermione, Neville and Harry – and added quietly: "Lovey, I like that nickname."