New Poll up on my profile page regarding the idea of reposting my original ANP story, after a thorough review and rewrite from myself as a side project, to be done in addition to TSR and RoDV. Please go check it out and state your opinion there. Many thanks to those who review constructively, your words are appreciated. ~F

Edited: Many thanks to those who pointed out the continuity error... the failing of writing two drastically different, yet dynamic stories with similar leads. It has been corrected ~F

Chapter Twenty One

Partial Answers

Draco was shocked by how quickly the year had flown by from September to December. It was already time for the winter break to begin, and it felt as though little had happened regarding the Hogwart's curriculum. Although, to be fair, he had been extremely busy between the Chamber of Secrets events and training a new round of warlocks in the ranks of Slytherin house to counter Granger and her mages.

Oh yes, he had learned what she was calling her people, and the magical of the 'Arcane' that they practiced. It was interesting that Harry, ever the aloof Ravenclaw, had decided not to comment on that little fact that he knew another completely different aspect of magic that he just happened to forget when training Draco, Theodore, and their fathers back the previous summer.

There would need to be words about this… that was a certainty.

It was a surprise that the Headmaster had actually allowed Harry to come back to Malfoy Manor for the entire Christmas holiday, perhaps the man as going soft in his old age, but Draco refused to look a gift hippogriff in the mouth, he would just take Harry and run when the day came to get back on the Express.

Surprisingly that plan went off without a hitch when the time came for it, with assistance from Theodore, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. Cornering Harry just inside the entrance hall with his things already shrunken and in his pocket, the five Slytherin warlocks surrounded him and purposefully started the trek out of the castle, only pausing long enough for Harry to wave at Granger and some of the boy's other friends as they passed, but nothing more.

Draco caught the irritated look in Granger's eye for their move, and smirked at his little victory. She obviously wanted to acquire a little more tutelage from the boy before heading back to the muggle world, but he had denied her that opportunity. All the better for him and his group then…

Corralling Harry into an empty compartment, Draco, Theo and Blaise surrounded him while Crabbe and Goyle blocked the entrance, "Well Harry, you have a bit of explaining to do it seems," Draco said, only the slightest hint of irritation and betrayal shown in his voice.

"Oh, I do, do I?" Harry retorted, still looking for all the world as though he were in charge of the situation, and not Draco, "and what makes you think that all of you combined are strong enough to make me do anything?" he added threateningly.

But Draco was prepared for this show of force, "You are correct that you could probably kill us all without breaking a sweat," he said, but smirked, "However, you'd rather hang onto your most loyal group of supporters in the school so you won't be doing that. Now then," he added, pointing a seat for the stronger warlock to take, and Harry paused for only a moment or two before sitting, Theo and Blaise taking positions on either side of him while Draco paced the frightfully short aisle of the compartment.

"Tell me, when were you planning on letting us warlocks in on the secret about the magic of the Arcane that you so willingly shared with Granger of all people…?"

Draco had been ready for many types of responses, but one of the few he was not ready for was Harry to burst into fit of laugher. Draco blinked, unsure how to respond, even as Theodore and Blaise looked uncomfortable.

"You honestly believe that I felt the need to hide the Arcane from you?" Harry said, wiping a small tear from his eyes, amusement still clear in his face, "You are learning the Arcane, or at least the opposite side of the coin when it comes to the Arcane, Fel Magic and that of the Void is the darker nature of the Arcane, so your thinking I've cheated you from learning the weaker aspect rather than only the more powerful one?"

Theodore and Blaise looked suitable abashed at that, but Draco was not fooled, "You know both, so why can't we learn both?"

Harry sighed, "That entails part of where I grew up, and the magic of that world, which greatly eclipses that of here, combined with our nature allowed me to absorb so much extra magical energy that I was capable of reverting excess energy to forming the pathways required for both aspects. Because you learned it here, and not on that world, your options are limited, so forgive me for selecting the more useful of the options for you…"

Draco keenly caught that the boy had said 'most useful' and not 'best' but he didn't comment upon it. It was growing obvious that while Harry may have not done what was in their best interests, he had still given them all a leg up on the world by teaching them this in the first place.

"But why Granger?" he continued regardless, earnestly wanting to know.

"Who else to lead your competition?" Harry answered immediately and honestly, "Warlocks grow through trial and combat, so inevitable I can see the eventual requirement of some sort of inevitable struggle to make you all ready for what is to come…"

Draco wanted desperately to ask, 'and what is to come,' but he had a sinking feeling that, not only wouldn't Harry tell him that, but that it would end up being part of what had to do with the artifacts that Harry needed to gather for the demon lords.

"Once we return after the winter holidays," Harry continued, "I will see to actually getting our expedition into the dark forest underway. With a bit of luck I can slip away from Dumbledore's notice soon and we will have free reign to train you in survival skills regarding your demonic partners and abilities."

Draco finally took his seat, satisfied that he had learned all he could, and that Harry was taking control of their group directly again. "Due to the observation I have under Dumbledore, I need to stay somewhat distant from you for a while longer," Harry said, almost as though reading Draco's mind, "but I am with you over the Mages. They are proving their worth as an effective distraction for Dumbledore, who is not focusing on the Chamber of Secrets and learning their magic enough to be too concerned with your movements, which is our advantage."

The rest of the train ride was spent plotting and preparing for their next stages of growth, and making sure that Blaise was going to be included when the former Death Eaters turned warlocks gathered to practice over the winter vacation.

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Lucius waited stoically on the train station for the Hogwarts Express to pull into view. Spread throughout the crowd of parents and young children, he spotted the occasional other Death Eater turned Warlock, but they made no move to contact each other directly, under Lucius commands no less. They would only approach when their children arrived, as to avoid scrutiny for their old secret lives, which were sure to attract attention if they were seen together in public too often.

This sort of paranoid manipulation was Lucius' specialty, and he did truly have another reason for seeking solitude before Harry and his son arrived. He was sure that there was something afoot with the demons and Potter, but he needed to collect himself before approaching the boy for answers, and be prepared to wring the boy thoroughly to make sure that he was not lied to in the process. the only issue with that was that Lucius had no idea how powerful the boy was as a warlock, and his current affiliation with the dark power of the void led him to believe that it was far superior to incantation based wand magic, which would lend the boy terrible advantage if he proved hostile to any sort of interrogation.

Not that Lucius wanted it to boil over to that point, but one must always be prepared for such a thing. The Death Eaters had greatly feared and respected Alastor Moody for a reason during the first war.

Soon enough the scarlet engine appeared, and the parents started to crowd the platform, waving and calling for their children, but Lucius remained where he was. Draco knew their chosen location to meet, and Lucius had planned this to be a routine for his entire stay at Hogwarts. Better to know where to look than to be running all over the platform like a pack of Weasleys, trying to scoop up this or that brat with impunity as they scattered like chickens.

Soon enough the blond hair of his son was visible, alongside his companions, who all flanked the raven head of Potter like a vanguard. Lucius approved the effect that it had on those around them, student and adult alike. A channel of sorts was created, allowing their group to move freely toward Lucius, as though bringing a prisoner to his warden, which naturally was not the case.

Lucius had made arrangements for Potter to be given whatsoever freedoms he desired, especially after learning of how Dumbledore had striven to contain the child 'for his own good.' There were limits naturally, as to where Lucius would allow the boy to go alone, but he intended to discuss that with Potter at the same time that he breached the topic of the Burning Legion, probably before even, so that he had a renewal of trust from the boy as he started to ask difficult questions.

"Welcome home, Draco, Theodore, Harry…" Lucius said, even as the other three Slytherins, Crabbe Jr. Goyle Jr, and Blaise Zabini splintered off to locate their respective parents.

"Greetings Father," Draco said, even as the others nodded graciously with the unspoken greeting. But Lucius merely nodded in reply to the group, and set off toward the apparition point, where adults were legally allowed to side-along apparate their children to and from the station. Theodore Nott broke off along the way to meet with his father, who shot a concerned glance at Lucius, which spoke volumes for the other former Death Eater.

Lucius guessed that perhaps the other man had guessed at some of the signs and questioned his personal demons regarding the Legion, in which case he would be most interested in knowing what explanation that Potter had for himself regarding that.

Offering his arm to the pair, Lucius noted that while his own son immediately took hold, Potter hesitated, as though he greatly disliked the aspect of magical transportation. Nevertheless, Lucius waited for the boy to prepare himself, and turned on the spot, whisking the three of them back to Malfoy Manor.

House elves appeared immediately to deprive the boys of their luggage, apparating it up the three flights of stairs to their rooms. Draco immediately went to find his mother, and announce that they had returned, while Lucius had, conveniently placed his own hand over Potter, hindering his ability to move away from the Pureblood Lord. "A word if you please, Mr. Potter…" he said coolly, leading the boy to his private office, closing the door with a resounding snap behind him.

"What is the meaning of this Lucius?" Potter asked, feigning a look of surprise and outrage.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Potter, I think you've been expecting this conversation since you started teaching us all to use your fel magic…" Lucius countered, which deflated the boy's attempt at bravado.

"Ah, figured some of it out, have you… and what? You've come for questions, perhaps demands of me then? Mayhap I will be in a position for certain leniencies, when the time comes." Potter said, switching tactics to a far more sinister attitude, which did startle Lucius somewhat, but under his impenetrable mask of ice he appeared unfazed.

"Why are you so intent on allowing the Burning Legion onto our world, especially if they only aim to destroy it?" Lucius asked without preamble, despite his original desire to ease into the topic, as it seemed that would no longer be possible. "What do you plan to gain from it?"

"Oh, if only you knew Lucius…" Potter sneered, and Lucius caught a sense of long practice and tutelage in this particular art of sinister intimidation, but he would not be shaken from his questions. Eventually, Potter continued, "very well, as what I can consider my most trusted, if not slippery, friends, I will enlighten you to the real plans I have for the Legion, and how I will use them to achieve my own goals, although it will take much time to explain everything and impress the importance of secrecy upon you."

Lucius was no stranger to such secrets and merely nodded, urging the boy to continue with his tale.

"Across the vast Nether that separates the worlds, lies the jewel of the lust of the Legion, the world Azeroth, upon which my old master, Gul'dan of the Stormreaver clans of the orcish Horde waits I hope even now, for the power of the Dark Lords of the Legion so that he can subject worlds without number to his will, creating a paradise for his people. He raised me, although I do not have a clue how he came to be in possession of me, since it is clear that I am from this world." Potter started quietly.

Lucius tried to follow the narrative as the boy illustrated the almost fanciful world where he had lived, with almost medieval human kingdoms and creatures that he had never considered even existed. Of all the madness, he was chilled by the concept of the Death Knight the most, although it was equally strange to consider elves that were slaves to no one, as well as being tall and beautiful, although Potter… no, Nobu'tan, didn't describe them as such.

Once the boy was finished, Lucius stood for a solid moment in silence, digesting everything, before immediately going for his liquor cabinet behind his desk, and pouring two tall glasses of firewhiskey, offering one to the twelve year old. "Normally I wouldn't consider such a thing," he said as the boy sniffed the strong drink, "but I feel you are long overdue for something to dull all the madness you've endured since returning here, if even a portion of what you've told me is true."

"I assure you, it is all true," Nobu'tan replied, taking a long swig of the liquid, before choking slightly, though not dissuaded from finishing the beverage.

Lucius drank more slowly, contemplating the madness that the boy was already planning just to connect these worlds. "So that's the key to all the riddles, Azeroth, and the warlock Gul'dan. You want to connect our world to Azeroth, and you need the Legion to teach you the magic to do so before you can accomplish it."

Nobu'tan nodded, accepting the summary of his story. "But that begs the question," Lucius continued, "Do you truly need to uphold your end of the bargain to the Legion then? Once they give you the magic to open a portal to them, just open one to Azeroth instead and be done with it…"

"One does not simply double cross the Legion…" the young warlock said coolly, and Lucius shivered in spite of himself. Having witnessed one of their demons first hand, he supposed that it would indeed be most unwise to intentionally pit oneself against them unless you were confident that you could hold off their assaults.

"I suppose that is true, but can these demons be trusted…" Lucius said, growing desperate to have some sort of solid ground to understand the future of their world.

"Of course we cannot trust them," Nobu'tan replied, "That's why they must teach me the magic before I allow them into our world, so that I become useful to them once again, to reenter Azeroth as their agent."

"But would it just be easier to continue this Gul'dan's work here on earth in his stead?" Lucius asked, still greatly concerned by the madness that boy seemed to cling to.

"If you, Lord Malfoy, were separated from your family by the dark eternity of the Void, would you stop at nothing to reunite with them?" Nobu'tan challenged.

There were no words. Lucius sat there like one punched in the stomach. The level of extreme measures that he would take, even had taken, to protect his family seemed to wither away in the face of this level of devotion and love that the boy gave to this orcish warlock.

"You misunderstand the situation I think," Nobu'tan said after several moments of silence. "The Legion had already set its sights on this world long before they approached me to bring them here. Even if I were to fail, they would simply find another, and start over again. The Legion may not seem it, but they have patience to last eons after we are all dead. This world will burn, eventually, but we are securing an escape for those of us who will willingly allow them access to this world, in exchange for safe transport to another. Think of it Lucius, an entire world that is even more outdated than this one, ripe for the taking. Your control over the Minister of magic will pale in comparison to the human kingdoms that you could assist the Horde with perverting and turning against one another. And you family will be far safer there than here…"

Nobu'tan turned to leave the room at that point, "I think Draco may come searching for us soon, think on my words Lucius, but know that I will work on collecting the artifacts with or without you, and the Legion will win in the end. Do you wish to strand in their way, or at their side?"

And without another word, the boy departed from Lucius' office, yet the aura of heaviness that had accompanied the exchange and the terrible truth remained. Now Lucius had to make a terrible decision, and then convince the other Death Eaters of his choice. Work for the Legion, or burn with this world in its defense?"

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Nobu'tan smirked as he exited Lord Malfoy's office. The man was cunning and sly, yet when faced with the bold truth the man was as easy to read as any other. He would take his time, but in the end his slimy skin would want some way to slip out of the catastrophe that was to come, and he would return to Nobu'tan's aid. It was guaranteed to happen.

Instead of actually looking for Draco, Nobu'tan turned toward the massive Malfoy library, keenly interested on seeing what knowledge concerning Runes, Arithmancy, and the transportation methods of their world had to offer. He was close, Nobu'tan thought, to discovering a way to create portals, if only temporary ones through the use of the Arcane or Fel magic, but he would need great stores of power to create a fully functional, permanent portal.

From his guess at the memory of the Dark Portal, Runestones would be the key to powering it, along with a massive charge of Void energy. From what Gul'dan had told him, it had taken over a hundred warlocks months to build and set everything in place, then thousands of slaves sacrificed their souls and life forces to tear the hold in space and time to Azeroth. Naturally Nobu'tan wasn't about to start that large of a scale, and be noticed by those he'd rather not have on him just yet. Definitely start small, a portal from Hogsmeade to Diagon or something equally simple.

The mountains of books were gratefully enchanted to assist in directing Nobu'tan to what he desire, and the selection of Rune based tomes and scrolls was quite impressive. Pouring over the different texts, Nobu'tan was able to decipher that there was indeed a great deal more to the art than he had suspected, but it boiled down to a simple understanding of the language, and weaving magic into the runes to suit his purposes.

A figure appeared in the doorway to the library as he read, and Nobu'tan looked up to see the elegant face of Narcissa Malfoy. "I've found him Draco," she called gently down the corridor, "like any Ravenclaw, he is holed up in the library."

Nobu'tan smiled slightly, not caring about the edge of teasing in her words. "Good day, Lady Malfoy," he said, rising from his seat and giving the lady of the house a moderate bow.

"And good evening to you, Mr. Potter," she replied, further mocking him as he turned to realize that he had been both speaking with Lucius and researching far longer than he had thought. "Dinner is almost prepared, and Draco was growing concerned when he couldn't find you. I believe he wants to work on your summer assignments together for a bit before we eat."

"Ah, of course, thank you, Lady Malfoy," Nobu'tan said, setting the book on Runes aside on the small table next to the leather armchair he had been sitting in. Narcissa glided forward a bit, turning her head to catch the title of the book, "You have an interest in the study of ancient runes?" she asked, a smile flashing on her face momentarily.

"Oh yes," Nobu'tan said, an idea forming in his mind, "more so because of something I had seen before, that I was surprised that was not part of the wizarding world already. I'm sure Draco has told you all about my personal project of creating large scale transportation portals to eclipse all know forms of magical transportation."

"Oh, yes, he had mentioned something to that nature…" the woman responded.

"I didn't think that Lucius was that big on such an art," Nobu'tan stated, looking thoughtful, although he knew exactly who had supplied such a large collection of the tomes. "So I suppose you much be an expert on the subject."

A soft smile returned, "I did specialize in Runes while at Hogwarts, although it was more for the sake of the subject rather than intent to do anything with them. As a Pureblood witch, it was more important to keep the bloodlines going and raise a family rather than chiseling away runs into stone and wood to create wards for others home and buildings."

"But it is a hobby you still greatly enjoy," Nobu'tan gently pressed, quickly spotting the flash of intense interest in the woman's eyes. After that, her answer was unneeded, as Nobu'tan was almost certain that he could use her in his quest to understand how to adapt orcish script into runes, a process that he had only started with Gul'dan before the Horde set off to Lordaeron and the unfortunate fallout due to his time in Dalaran and with Kel'Thuzad, which ended his tutelage with Gul'dan prematurely.

"I would be very grateful to see some of the work you've done with runes since leaving Hogwarts," Nobu'tan added as an afterthought, even as he passed Narcissa to go and locate Draco for himself, leaving the topic open to return to at a later date.

Draco turned out to be relatively easy to find, as the boy was waiting in the medium sized dueling hall on the ground floor of the manor, and Nobu'tan slipped in without a sound, watching as Draco practiced his abilities on a transfigured opponent that was enchanted to react as a living creature for the purposes of understanding effectiveness in spell work. Closing the door, which magically sealed itself, Nobu'tan paused to watch the Malfoy heir.

The boy was nimble dodging the weak stinging hexes that the automaton would throw at him, even as his own Voidwalker impeded the mobility of his opponent, continuously casting and maintaining spells of corruption and affliction, weakening and sapping strength of the magically enchanted object. It was impressive, although Nobu'tan knew he was able to perform every spell that Draco was doing at this moment, but it was an odd sort of pride to watch a student practice and find them acceptable.

Soon enough, the boy was able to drain away the residual magic that powered the golem, and it deactivate, slowly beginning the process of repairing and recharging off the wards of the Manor, and Nobu'tan allowed his presence to be made know. "You're learning well," he said as he walked forward into the light of the room, causing Draco to turn in surprise.

"Harry…" he said, looking relieved.

"Expecting someone else?" Nobu'tan taunted jokingly. "You mother says dinner is almost ready, so you may want to go and get cleaned up before she wonders why doing schoolwork is so taxing as to have you sweating…"

"I… ah, yes you're right…" the boy said, dismissing his Voidwalker with a small gesture and running to one of the off-shooting rooms that did indeed have facilities required for his need.

Nobu'tan studied the row of enchanted golems for a time, before tapping into the power of the Arcane to manipulate time temporarily. Setting a small spell to recall his current state and energy levels, the orc raised warlock viciously attacked the construct, summoning a stream of imps with one hand while flames surged forth from the other, melting the false flesh of the golem even as it staggered into readiness from the surprise attack.

It seemed that he had managed to pick one of the more advanced automatons, as it fired out spells that were of a much higher caliber than simple stinging hexes, not that it mattered when Nobu'tan allowed his built up demonic energy unleash itself, transforming into the massive demonic form that he recalled from his flight from Dalaran.

Back then, he had simple gained some small increases in magical strength as well as size and physicality, but since then things had drastically changed. Where once he only stood a few feet taller with massively built arms and the usual contemporary of wings, horns and hooves to mark him as a demon, now Nobu'tan felt himself completely engulfed in demonic flames, making his abilities with both regular and fel fire far more dangerous and powerful, and he grinned with a mouth filled with razor sharp fangs.

Leaping through the air with just a single beat of his wings, Nobu'tan landed heavily behind the training automation, which slowly started to turn and fire at him, when the flaming claws from Nobu'tan's body latched onto it. With a simple grunt of exertion, Nobu'tan physically threw the golem across the room, the places where he had latched onto it seared and blacked from the fire consuming his body.

Volleys of fireballs and the snaking blasts of incinerating fel flames launched themselves at a thought from the transformed demon of fire, rapidly extinguishing all fight from the construct, and only when his opponent was reduced to a smoking ruin did Nobu'tan let up. With disconcerting effort, he transformed back to his human form, exhausted and drenched in sweat. But unlike Draco, he would not need the usage of a shower to hide his efforts. With a flick of his hand, Nobu'tan activate the time magic he had prepared prior, physically teleporting the short distance back to where he started, his clothing fresh and his muscles relaxed once more, as they had been before he started.

The wild imps he had summoned all disappeared when they realized that the fun was over, and Nobu'tan turned in time to see Draco emerge from the showers, still rubbing at his hair with a spare towel. "I thought I heard something and…" he paused when he spotted the ruined mass of magical flesh against the far wall, slowly attempting to repair itself.

"Do I even want to know what that did to you to deserve that?" he asked, and Nobu'tan chuckled.

"Hurry up Draco; it would not be wise to keep your mother waiting." He added, hurrying the boy back to return his towel, so that they could go and attend dinner with Lord and Lady Malfoy.

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Hermione found that, even with all her knowledge and power of the Arcane which she could not only study but practice without the Ministry's knowledge in the muggle world, she still grew extremely bored from the time away from Hogwarts. Normally, her parents would go on some vacation for the winter holidays, usually under pretext to get away from all the sugar filled cavities that they'd inevitably have to clean once Christmas and New Years were past, but this year they opted for a quiet holiday at home, which only assisted in Hermione's boredom. There were only so many times that one could perform the same bits of magic safely, without threat of burning down her own house and that of the rest of the neighborhood.

Even her parents were currently unaware of her continue study of the Arcane, let alone that she knew such magic to begin with, so she was even more restricted in what she could or couldn't do regarding her new projects. So, to fill the time, she had written all of the members of her group of Mages, making sure that they knew to keep practicing what they could, and that the trace couldn't detect arcane magic at all. Granted, all of this had been within the first three days, and she was already out of new things to keep her engaged.

Thus, when the tapping of an owl at her window drew her attention, Hermione practically flew to let the creature in and get the letter from it. The beautifully regal eagle owl shook itself once before holding out a leg with a small scroll tied to it, before the bird shuffled to the back of a chair and waited patiently for a reply to take back to the sender.

Hermione took no time in quickly pouring over the letter, her own smile widening as she recognized Harry's careful and purposeful handwriting. The other Mage was inviting her to the Malfoy's Yule gathering, where many influential political and cultural people would be attending. 'As one of the upcoming forces that will shake the foundation of the world, it is only natural that you should attend as well.'

Hermione was elated, more so for being able to see Harry over the break rather than the gathering itself. She had explicitly noticed how Draco and his band of Slytherins had dominated every moment of Harry's time throughout the trip back to Kings Cross, and she had not appreciated the desperate move to monopolize the boy's time in the slightest. Now however, she would be able to ask some of the burning questions she had had regarding deep Arcane theory, and possibly even rub Draco's pointed, pale face in the fact that Harry had specifically invited her to his fancy Christmas party, regardless of what the Purebloods wanted to call it.

Writing a hasty acceptance on a fresh piece of parchment, she folded it around the owl's leg, which went very still for her to do this, before she opened the window once more for the bird to soar out over the lawns of the neighborhood.

She watched it for a short time, until it was hard to see as the bird arced over the distant trees and buildings, before she closed the window and sank happily onto her bed, energized once again to study some more in preparation for meeting with Harry on Christmas Eve.

She was more than sure her parents wouldn't mind, so long as she was home at a decent hour, if anything they'd probably give Harry the third degree about taking their daughter out for an evening, not that she viewed Harry in that light. He was more of an intellectual college rather than boyfriend material, and they were both far too young to even bother considering that aspect of a relationship anyway.

Naturally, she was correct in her presumptions, and upon the appointed day was seated in the family room, occasionally watching the clock as she waited to see how Harry would arrive to take her to the Malfoy's manor for the party. She wasn't the only one to be there waiting. Both her mother and father were lingering, both to see for themselves what boy was so interested in their daughter and know exactly how to expect her to return later that evening.

Hermione already had several ideas of how Harry could arrive, but she was not surprised when the whirling blue glow appeared momentarily outside, shortly before there was a knock at the door. Hermione's father moved like a flash of lightning to answer it, peering down at the person that was standing on the doorstep, "Can I help you young man?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as her father tried in vain to unnerve Harry. "Perhaps you can sir. May I presume to be speaking with Dr. Granger, father of Miss Hermione Granger. I am Harry Potter, and I am here to escort her to the Yuletide Celebration that I am sure she's mentioned at least once… every day since I sent her the invitation."

Hermione flushed, even as her father laughed aloud, "Hermione, it seems that this one has your tendencies down pat… Please come in, let us talk for a few if you have the time," he added to Harry, and Hermione resisted the urge to go over and drag Harry back out of the house the moment he came into sight.

Her mother was giving the boy slightly odd looks, but that may have been more about the elegant acromantula silk robes that he was wearing, complete with emblems of the Potter house and other obviously wizarding things hanging from various belts and sashes that were all wrapped together into a rather tasteful display. Or else it could be the unusual look of awe and wonder that the boy was giving the appliances and other devices that were not part of the wizarding world, although it seemed even more extreme with Harry, as though he had never seen things like the telephone in Hermione's mother's hand, or the live news cast that was playing in the background.

"Well, he certainly is a handsome boy," Hermione's mother said, as she hung up the phone, much to Hermione's embarrassment.

"Thank you, milady…" Harry replied, rather formally from what Hermione knew, sweeping a light bow of respect before checking an elaborate pocket watch. "We have a few minutes before we must leave, so if you have any pressing questions, I will try my best to answer them…"

"How do you plan to bring Hermione back after your little party?" Hermione's father piped up at once, "And how late will you be keeping her?"

"I am not certain of how late the festivities will be running, as I am currently living at the manor where it is being hosted, but I can assure you I will have her home no later than midnight, and we shall arrive as I have, via Portkey, which will deposit us right outside on the sidewalk." Harry responded immediately, without even a thought of the implications of his words.

Hermione was bright crimson at the looks both her parents were giving the boy. "I believe it's about time for us to go, isn't that right Harry?" she spoke up quickly, jumping to her feet and taking Harry by the wrist.

"Be safe, and don't overeat on any sweets, you know what they'll do to you?" her mother called as Hermione dragged the boy out the front door, and down the street. She didn't stop either until they were well past the corner, and out of sight of both the street and nearby houses.

"I think this will do," Harry said, pulling them to a stop in the darkened alleyway and pulling the small medallion with another Pureblood symbol upon it. Hermione, recognizing the portkey, quickly placed her own hand upon it as the blue glow started to shine, before they were lifted off the ground in a rush of wind and color.

It felt like several moments, but soon enough they handed heavily upon gravel and flagstones set into wide sloping grounds around a rather majestic Manor house. Even as she looked around, Hermione could sense the thrumming magic far beneath that indicated that ley lines were present here, powering wards and reaching out to the magi to give them strength, should they desire it.

There were plenty of people maneuvering about the rather temperate gardens, and the doors around the side of the manor were thrown open, giving a view of the spacious ballroom inside. "Impressed, Granger?" said the cool, if not somewhat condescending voice of Draco Malfoy from just behind Hermione.

She turned, not even giving the comment her notice as she curtsied to the son of the host, "I thank you for allowing me the honor of an invitation, heir Malfoy, even if you choose to be discourteous about it…" she said silkily, smiling as the boy performed a double take at the sight of her face.

While still very much recognizable, she had started using a combination of Arcane magic and the collection of her mother's hair care products to tame her wild mane into a more presentable cascade that flowed with the cool breeze, obviously accomplished by magic this far north, but the effect was nonetheless pleasing.

"I…uh…" Draco swallowed, seeming to regain his composure, "You look quite lovely, Miss Granger…"

"Why thank you, Draco…" she replied, taking the boy's arm to be escorted inside, Harry smirking as he followed in their wake.

Despite her improved appearance, in her own opinion, and being on the arm of the son of the host, Hermione was still the focus point of a great deal of the more staunchly bigoted purebloods in the crowd. It didn't take much to be able to overhear their angered mutterings. "So Draco," she murmured quietly, to not be overheard, "what is the likelihood of some fool getting a little too high spirited and trying to… what would be the phrase, foist out the Mudblood from this regal gathering?"

Draco winced slightly, as though she had elbowed him in the solar plexus, but otherwise did not react, "Do you want the truth or a placation…" he responded, which told Hermione all she needed to know.

"Extremely high then, the longer I remain here…" she concluded aloud.

"It will be upon mine and my father's duty to protect you from such a vindictive response, and I do not doubt that Harry will do anything within his power to forestall any such problem." The boy said, attempting to reassure her.

"No offense to the chivalry of the subject," Hermione replied, "But I am more than capable of defending myself if the need arises, not that I will prevent you from gallantly coming to my aid if the situation warrants such a thing, but do not for one instant underestimate me, nor my power in the arts of the Arcane…" Hermione could guess that the boy had sent several spies to scout out her group and their meetings, so she had absolutely no problems discussing it with the boy present.

It was even likely that he had his own group of magi in Slytherin, being assisted by Harry as well as Hermione's, but to what end she wondered?

"I never doubted that for a moment." Draco said, confirming her heavy suspicions. "I do indeed pity the fool who would willingly stand against you for any reason…"

As if on cue, when they entered the ballroom, such an attempt took place. An older gentleman, face red from the alcohol he had been consuming, swaggered toward them, muttering incoherently about Malfoys and Mudbloods. Hermione did nothing until she saw the pompous old bigot drawing a wand in her presence.

Pushing Draco to the side, she drew herself up and called upon the magic of the Arcane that lay dormant in the manor around her. She knew that people could visibly see the lines of arcing energy as they pulsated around her, as the crowd leapt away from her in surprise. Brandishing a hand at the advancing man, Hermione envisioned what she wanted, and with a most humorous plumb of smoke and a small pop, the man vanished, only to be replaced with a harmless…

"Sheep?" someone in the crowd said aloud, before they all started murmuring about what they had seen Hermione do. She was well aware of what they might have thought she had done. Wandless human transfiguration was supposed to be incredibly difficult, well above N.E.W.T. standards, and she had done it not only instantly, but effortlessly as well.

It was little to be said that no one else dared to challenge her after that. Draco reappeared, after seeing to the man turned sheep, who Hermione assured would turn back to normal within an hour or two, and it would be best to just put him out to pasture in the wide lawns for the time being.

Harry reappeared as well, beaming at her controlled and quite effective response to the threat. Hermione smiled along with the two boys, and accepted the Butterbeer in a Champaign glass that was offered to her by a passing waiter. This would be quite the party, it seemed, and who better to spend it with than her best friend, and her future rival as well.

A quite interesting way to usher in a new age of magic it may be, along with the New Year, but Hermione was content for now.