Disclaimer: That's right, head on back to Chapter 1! And thank you J.K.R.

Chapter 3 – Plotting in the Dark

19 September 1994

Harry Potter woke up just before the crack of dawn to get ready for his day. Life over the past year here on the ranch was… interesting to say the least. Then again, his life was always interesting. As far back as he could remember, he, Sirius, and Moony would move around every year or so. 'Around' usually meant around the globe. New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, Morocco, Fiji, the United States, India, Australia, Japan. They even moved back into their old house in South Africa for a year once he started his magical education in earnest at the ripe old age of 8. He remembered his Aunt Minerva objecting rather passionately to starting his training at such a young age, but he always knew he was different from other kids his age. His unusually strong magical core for his age, mixed with an affinity for basic wandless magics largely killed his auntie's objections. The reason for waiting until children reached eleven in most countries was that their lack of control resulting in accidental magic until about that age. She finally dropped it entirely when Albus Dumbledore weighed in on his uncles' side.

When he was around five years old or so, he started asking more questions about his parents. His godfather and uncle Remus had both decided they weren't going to lie to him when the time came, and told him that Voldemort, the darkest wizard in centuries, had murdered his parents and meant to kill him too. They explained why they moved around so much and the rules they all had to follow to keep him safe. Of course, none of that much mattered to the young boy who would still wish he could stay with the few friends he did manage to make through the fake names, glamours, and knowing there would be an expiration date on their time in whichever location they were in.

That's not to say he hadn't had a good life growing up. His uncles always made sure he knew he was loved, both by his parents and them. They played with him, taught him, explored with him, and took care of him when he was sick. When Sirius rescued him from the destroyed home in Godric's Hollow, he was only twenty-two years old. Sirius and Remus together were like a combination of best friends, older brothers, and fathers Looking back, Harry wouldn't trade his life with them for anything. He might just make a few changes, but it didn't help to dwell on the past too much.

Tying up his boot laces, he stepped outside and took in the brisk New Hampshire air. Fall was rapidly approaching up here in the mountains of the American Northeast this far into September. He made his way up to the paddocks just as the sun was cresting over the top of the nearby Owl's Head Mountain. That name always made him snicker at the irony.

Unbeknownst to the local non-magical populations, a hidden valley near Owl's Head Mountain contained one of the very few Hippogriff breeding ranches in North America. The not so cleverly names "Eagle Horse Ranch", was owned and operated by a retired M.A.C.U.S.A. Auror names Nathaniel Collins and his wife Lindsey.

Since Hippogriffs were a crossbreed between giant eagles and horses, Harry's main chores for the morning were focused on keeping the magnificent creatures calm and well fed. A lot of Hippogriff owners back in Europe had to cast daily disillusionment charms or risk the ICW coming down hard on them for breaching the International Statute of Secrecy. Nathaniel's ancestors who set up this ranch had worked with a local Algonquian tribe 150 years ago to weave some very impressive concealment wards over the valley. Because of that, Nathaniel told him that their only real concern was keeping their beasts happy so they didn't fly off. Keeping containment wards in good enough shape to actually stop the Hippogriffs from leaving would've required a lot of time and money that the small operation couldn't afford.

Once he was done properly greeting the prideful animals, Harry fed them and headed off towards his training area in a wooded glen past open stables. When he arrived, he started his basic warm-up of stretching, then moved on to calisthenics, followed by some light work with iron weights. Sirius as always remarking that he was going to be sought after by witches everywhere, a prospect that slightly terrified the young man, but Nathaniel warned him off becoming a 'hulking muscle-bound brute', as winning fights was often down to speed.

Harry had worked with the retired auror a number of times on muggle reflex and agility exercises, saying it would be better than starting out the 'hard way.' The hard way, as it turned out, was Nathaniel lining up with Sirius and Remus to fire off stinging hexes at him with him only being able to swat or dodge the spells. No area covering shield spells were allowed. Speed, strength, adaptability – these were all core tenets of his last instructor too. Master of the magical martial arts, Ito Kimura. Nathaniel just reinforced these ideas a little more bluntly.

Nathaniel and Sirius walked up just as he was finishing his last set. "Good morning, Pup!" Sirius greeted him with a wide smile.

"Morning, Uncle Siri, Nathaniel." he nodded back putting the weights down.

"Good morning, Harry! It's been a few weeks now since your visit with Lindsey's folks over in the old village. Linds wants to do a final checkup on your levels this morning after breakfast, but if everything's looking good what'do ya say we get back to some wand work today? Maybe we'll get into a little trouble with some aerial tactics too." Nathaniel said with a grin.

Harry matched his grin and took off back to the house. Calling over his shoulder, "Well, come on then! What're you two waiting for."

The two older men laughed at the younger's antics and followed him back at a more sedate pace.

"Woah there, Harry!" Lindsey Collins laughed as Harry burst through the back door into the farmhouse's kitchen. "Go wash up and then I'll have breakfast on the table by the time your back down!" she told him with mock sternness.

Harry gave her a pouting look but she just smiled and shook her head. Figuring that trick wasn't going to work on her anyways since all healers seemed to have a much stronger resistance to his charms, he rushed up the stairs to do as he was told.

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

Once he was cleaned up and back in his room with a pair of black jeans on, he took a moment to examine his reflection. Standing at just shy of 182 centimeters, filled out with lean but defined muscles, bright green eyes that were unencumbered by the glasses of his youth since he now wore magical contact lenses, he thought he didn't look so bad. His hair was slightly longer on top and cut much closer on the sides, but it helped hide the fact that it would stick up in every direction. This way it could pass as more artfully tousled rather than looking like he stuck a fork in an electrical outlet.

Walking closer to the mirror to look at this iconic lightning bolt shaped scar, he was happy to see that it was much less red than before his visit with Lindsey's family at the Algonquian tribal village in Maine a few weeks previously. He shivered a bit thinking about what he had learned regarding it.

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

Harry had collapsed at the dinner table on the evening of the 22rd of August from an extreme pain in his cursed scar. He had a vision of himself speaking in a high, cool, voice to a man he recognized as none other than Peter Pettigrew, and another stranger. The spoke about a plot to get to 'the boy', how a Ministry witch named Bertha Jorkins had helped with planning the entire tournament. The man he did not recognize told him he had turned the tables on his father and was in position to make sure their plan succeeded. Harry's name was mentioned too, but that didn't make any sense, did it?

It was all very confusing to Harry who thought he was simply hallucinating, but the pain in his forehead was so strong he figured he was about to die so it made an odd sort of sense.

The vision was nearly ended just as Harry told 'Wormtail' to turn him around and so he could greet their unexpected guest properly. As his field of view shifted, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and wanted to throw up at what he saw there. He looked like a deformed, raw skinned, reptile/human baby homunculus. His last recollection was of throwing the Avada Kedavra at an old man. A vivid green light filled up his vision and then everything went black.

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

Harry woke up about a day after that incident and to his great surprise, Albus Dumbledore was at his bedside. It wasn't so much that Dumbledore was there which surprised him, the old man did make it a point to visit with them and help tutor him a few weeks every summer after all. What surprised Harry was that he'd just seen the man not two weeks previously and given that the Quidditch World Cup was coming up, his duties for the Wizengamot and the ICW had forced him back to Britain.

Noticing Harry stir, the man gave him a warm smile and spoke. "Harry, my boy, how are you feeling?"

"Alright, I suppose… I do have a headache?" he answered sounding a little confused. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, sir, but aren't you supposed to be back in Britain right now? Did something happen?"

Dumbledore chuckled and peered at him over his halfmoon spectacles. "Why yes, I am and yes something did. Tell me, what do you recall from your incident yesterday evening?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Yesterday evening? You mean to tell me I've been unconscious for…?"

"Nearly a full day, yes."

"Well then…" he cleared his throat a little nervously, "I was sitting at the table with Sirius, Remus, and the Collins. We'd just finished up dinner and were just chatting really. Mainly about the day and the training Nathaniel had me doing. Then… I remember getting a shooting pain through my scar… it was, well it was nearly blinding. It felt like it was on fire. And then I had a sort of… vision I guess?"

He paused to look up at Dumbledore who gave him a nod to continue. "In the vision it was all from my perspective, but I don't feel like it was me, if you follow? My voice was different, and I felt such powerful emotions… mainly hate and rage. I was speaking to Peter Pettigrew! There was another man there too, I didn't recognize him or catch his name."

"His name is Bartemius Crouch junior, and he was thought to be dead." Dumbledore interrupted gravely, causing Harry to look at him sharply. Before Harry could say anything the older man continued, "You see, Harry, when you fell unconscious, Sirius, Remus, and both Collins were unable to wake you. Your scar had apparently started to bleed as well. Now, you are well aware Lindsey Collins is a remarkable healer. Particularly in the way she blends traditional techniques native to these lands with more European influenced ones. When Lindsey got stumped, I'm afraid Sirius called me on my mirror in a rather agitated state."

Harry scoffed ruefully, "I bet! Uncle Siri can be a bit dramatic at times sir, you know that!"

"Indeed, I do! However, in this case I'm glad he erred on the side of caution. Lindsey got ahold of the mirror after a few minutes and relayed to me what happened and that you didn't appear to be in immediate danger. She did find that your magic was very unstable but was settling. What unsettled them all even more though, and what got an old man to travel across the Atlantic in the early hours of this morning, were your eyes… For a brief moment during the episode Remus pushed open your eye lids and discovered that they were a scarlet red…"

He wasn't sure what to make of that bit of information… so, yes. That obviously didn't sound what he would call good exactly. But that's what made Dumbledore come running in the middle of the night? He voiced as much to the headmaster.

"My boy, we know you are sensitive to Tom Riddle. Connected in a manner of speaking. Your ability to speak Parseltongue for one example, your sensing of the Diary's evil for another. Your Holly wand even has a brother core to Voldemort's old yew wand. When the others called me last evening with two more clues as to the nature of this connection, it was enough, I believe, for me to draw a conclusion." Dumbledore paused and Harry thought he'd never seen the old man look… well, so old before. Tired.

"My theory as you know started out that on the night your mother gave her life for you, offering you love's protection, the destruction of Voldemort's physical body caused some of his powers to transfer to you. He 'marked you as his equal', not just with your scar, but with his magic as well. I now believe the connection the resulted between you is even deeper than that. I'm now afraid it's rather more concerning too."

Harry felt a chill go down his spine now. If Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard alive, was truly concerned about something… what chance did he have? "No!" Harry thought to himself. "Dumbledore wouldn't be telling me this unless he had a solution, or at least a very good lead on one…"

"I must ask your forgiveness, Harry."

"Okay… maybe not?" Harry thought, now looking very worried.

"When I arrived, I performed a Legilimency scan on you to see if I could ascertain the state of your mind. You had still not stirred after several hours even though your magic was mostly settled by this point."

Harry nodded. Not something anyone ever will really feel comfortable with, having your innermost thoughts be at the complete mercy of another person. But he had a fairly advanced grasp on Occlumency for a 14 year old, and he was aware of Legilimency's use as a diagnostic tool for the mind. If anyone had to do it, Albus Dumbledore was up near the top of his list.

"I was able to reconstruct the vision you mentioned earlier. That is how I knew the identity of Barty Crouch Jr. who you saw."

"So, you think that what I saw really happened then? And it had something to do with Voldemort, sir? I've never heard about Barty Crouch having a son… I'm positive I've never seen him before."

"I do, Harry, and if I'm not mistaken you were seeing those events through Voldemort's eyes as they were happening."

Harry gulped and grumbled some of Remus' favorite swear words under his breath. Fortunately, Dumbledore was too polite to comment on them.

"I'm positive that is why your eyes shown scarlet. Voldemort twisted his body and soul so much towards darkness that by the beginning of the war, there was nothing of Tom Riddle left. His eyes' glowing scarlet was just one side effect of his experimentations.

Your connection with Voldemort appears to be growing stronger because he is growing stronger, feeding it from the other side. We'll discuss the implications of the plotting you witnessed later with your uncles, but I want to assure you that we have an avenue to explore for severing this connection you share. I'd like to let Lindsey explain that more to you as she's the one who presented the idea. I will say I have great confidence in it though!"

Harry felt relieved to hear the professor say that. He didn't want to be seeing anything through Voldemort's eyes! Not if he felt like his head was being split in two every time it happened, and especially not if this connection might go both ways!

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

Harry was now settled on a comfortable old couch in the Collins' parlor, flanked tightly on either side by Sirius and Remus. His godfather and uncle's relief at seeing him awake and walking downstairs on his own two feet was written all over their faces. They also had an undercurrent of worry there as well but were doing a good job at hiding it. Lindsey and Nathaniel looked quite happy as well to see him. Lindsey seemed much more confident, which made sense to Harry since Dumbledore told him she was the one who brought up a potential way to cut off his connection to Voldemort.

After all the greetings were exchanged, Lindsey was the first to speak. "Alright, Harry, so Albus has explained to you his theory on his apparent connection you have with Voldemort, yes? She paused, waiting for confirmation which he gave with a nod. "Good, well you know some of my history and the history of my people. Our approach to healing often focuses not just on the body but the spirit, or soul, as well. I believe that your connection is on a spiritual level, which is why your healers would have missed it when examining your cursed scar as an infant. Or if they did notice something which they could not explain, it was chalked up to it being the only scar recorded from the Avada Kedavra."

Dumbledore indicated his agreement with this assessment with a grave nod on his head.

"While I am not an expert in the spiritual arts by any measurement, it is fortunate for you that the village I grew up in just so happens to have one!" She said with a reassuring smile. "Here's the plan… I've contacted my father and requested a council with the shaman from my village. We will make the trip tomorrow and ask the elder to examine you. If anyone can cleanse you of this connection it will be her. If all goes well, and I believe it will, in a couple days' time you should be wholly yourself again and you won't have to deal with anymore visions again!"

The wave of relief that shot through him at the had him sagged back into the couch. Remus and Sirius both squeezed his shoulders reassuringly and he leaned into their touch. He'd known about this 'connection' for under an hour now and they already had a plan to deal with it. The love he felt for this group around him at that moment left him feeling awed.

"Thanks, Lindsey… Really. I can't even put into words how much your help means to me." He glanced over at Dumbledore. "From what the professor told me, my connection to Voldemort seems to go two ways. I'm terrified that if I can see into his mind, he will eventually figure out that he can do the same to me… it would make they lives we've led over the past 12 years," He indicated the men to his sides. "All the moving and secrets to stay hidden seem a rather epic waste of time…"

Remus spoke up. "Harry, don't doubt for a second that Sirius and I would trade a moment of raising you even given what's been discovered. I can confidently speak for both of us when I say having you in our lives has been our greatest source of joy for over a decade."

"He's right, pup. I know you haven't led a normal life or been able to make as many friends as we would've wished for you. But those were our decisions, don't go feeling guilty again for choices Remus and I made and would make again in a heartbeat. Plus," Sirius added with a grin. "I got to introduce so many women of the world to my charms." He winked. "We wouldn't want to deny them that!" He finished with hand dramatically over his chest in mock horror.

Harry rolled his eyes at his godfather but couldn't suppress a smile at the man's antics. He put up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright!" he laughed. "I'm not about to get all broody over this. I've gotten to see more of the world than most people do in their whole lives. I was more concerned about Voldemort using the connection to discover our friends who've helped us and targeting them." He bit his lip nervously.

Dumbledore smiled indulgently at him. "You remind me so much of James at times it's like I'm looking into the past. Not just in your looks, but in character. James would've been more concerned about his friends than himself and would have thought anything less the height of dishonor."

Nathaniel cleared his throat and broached the second topic of the evening. "Don't worry, Harry. Linds is confident in this plan and so am I. Even if Voldemort learned about us in the next couple of days, which is unlikely, we signed on to help you with our eyes wide open. I'm sure your other friends and teachers before us were the same. Albus let us know before we agreed to take you on that you were training for a purpose, a job that wasn't finished yet. Now, based on the vision it seems old Morty is plotting from the shadows. That's nothing new as it's all he's been able to do since you blasted him out of his body. What is new and what concerns me is that he, along with these Pettigrew and Crouch guys, is putting a plan in motion to get access to you as far as I can tell."

The headmaster took up the explanation from there. "There is an event coming to Hogwarts this year known as the Tri-Wizard Tournament. A witch by the name of Bertha Jorkins who works for the Department of Magical Games and Sports has been missing for some time now. What we saw has, unfortunately, surpassed our worst fears for her fate. Alas, Bertha was also deeply involved with the negotiations and planning for the tournament. All that information is now apparently known to Voldemort. The question becomes whether we seek to stop this plot in its tracks…. Or let it unfold with our foreknowledge and turn it to our favor."

Harry glanced up at Sirius and Remus. Both wore expressions that said they were not at all in favor of the second option presented. The fact that they hadn't immediately shouted it down though meant that the wily old man must have presented a strong case for it.

"Alright, sir." Harry sighed. "let's hear it then."

"We could make a move against Crouch Jr at any time if he is indeed impersonating his father, however, that will without a doubt cause Voldemort to change tactics. Pettigrew was quite desperate to simply use another witch or wizard for their purposes rather than go through with the high-risk plot to draw you out. Their purpose, I believe, is the restoration of Voldemort to a corporeal form… should we expose and arrest Barty Crouch Jr. I fear Peter will get his wish. Voldemort will probably achieve his restoration much sooner and without any knowledge on our part until after the fact. If we offer the appearance of ignorance, yet monitor the situation as closely as possible…"

It all clicked into place in Harry's head. "We'll know exactly when they plan to strike and can turn the tables on them at the best opportunity! Instead of them drawing me out, we'll be able to lay a trap to grab all three of them at the same time!"

"Precisely!" Dumbledore looked pleased with him drawing the same conclusion. "Given both Bertha and Barty Crouch Sr.'s involvement with the tournament, the logical assumption is that Voldemort's plan will involve getting you selected as a champion. Due to the nature of Goblet of Fire, the item used to select champions, if your name comes out of it you would be entered in a binding magical contract and forced to compete or forfeit your magic."

Sirius growled while Harry gulped. "Well, that definitely raises the stakes!" he thought.

Dumbledore raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Harry, I have every faith that you will be able to complete the tasks admirably. Being the headmaster of the host school means that I am on the panel of judges. I will aid you in whatever way I can should this come to pass, but I am under oaths not to directly assist any of the champions after they have been chosen. That being said, you have not been chosen as a champion yet so we can make plans for your training based on the information I have now." He finished with a mischievous gleam in his eye that was worthy of the marauders.

The group then spent the next several hours discussing what they knew and how Harry should be focusing his time in preparation for his return to wizarding Britain. There were a lot of details to iron out, contingencies within contingencies to put in place, discussions on security and their allies they could rely on if needed. When Harry went to bed that night, he felt more excited than anything. He trusted his uncles to see him through and knew he the people around him would work their hardest to make sure they nailed Voldemort, Pettigrew, and Crouch when the time came.

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

On the 24th of August, Harry woke early with a nervous energy. He'd slept well through the night, thoroughly distracted by all the discussion surrounding the Tri-Wizard Tournament and a few bets placed on the Quidditch World Cup final which was taking place today. Today their group would be travelling to the hidden Algonquian tribal village in Maine to see the healer Lindsey mentioned.

After breakfast, Harry, Sirius, and Nathaniel went up to the Hippogriff paddocks. They decided to fly for the relatively short trip, while Lindsey, Dumbledore, and Remus were apparating.

Harry absolutely loved flying, brooms, beasts, motorcycles. It didn't matter. The mountains and forests in this part of the world were beautiful too so when the choice was between that or side-along apparating, it was never really in doubt.

Forty-five minutes later they landed in the village and dismounted their Hippogriffs. Harry had been to the village once before for a short stop when Nathaniel was training him in 'land-navigation'. Considering the two of them had spent the better part of a week making their way back to the ranch on foot at that point, Harry wasn't really in the right state of mind to take the village in.

The village had a fairly traditional layout, with homes in concentric circles and a wide-open area in the center which had a magnificent sculpture of a Horned Serpent weaving through a pool of water. running up the center. At one side of the village center stood the tribal meeting hall. A long, low, curved building that had various colored smoke floating up from the chimney holes in its roof. The people he could see all seemed very friendly and were waving to him or admiring the Hippogriffs they rode on.

Lindsey was surrounded by some of the smaller children who were thrilled to see her. Remus and Dumbledore stood nearby speaking with some of the older villagers. When Harry approached, she greeted him. "Allow me to officially welcome you to my hometown, Skitôpák' village, Harry! We'll be heading inside to hold council with Na Yáhsháq Skitôpák, which roughly translates to 'the breath of the people'. She's an elder and the spiritual guide and healer for the community." she said, indicating the long hall behind her.

Once they were all inside the hall, the group trooped into smoky room where they sat with an ancient looking witch that Harry rightly assumed was the person they were there to see. She was wearing a traditional garb of animal skins, beads, feathers, and bones. Everyone else in the village thus far had been wearing more contemporary clothing, favoring jeans and T-shirts that were so popular with the American muggles. Introductions were made and they all followed Lindsey's lead in being deferential to the ancient witch, who they were told to call Naesha.

"Come closer, child. Let me get a good look at you." The old woman said turning her milky eyes towards Harry. She placed one hand gently over his heart and one over his scar and closed her eyes. After a few moments of soft, guttural chanting, she spoke again. "I feel a malicious presence in your mark young one. So much hate… so much pain."

He wanted to speak up and ask her if she could remove it, but Lindsey motioned him for patience. Several minutes later the old woman dropped her hands to his and opened her eyes. "Don't worry, child. I can feel that you're frightened, but I've got you. Banishing evil spirits is difficult work when they are attached to someone in such a way. I'll need time to prepare and rest for the ritual we will perform together, but your soul is strong and pure, and we will put all of our energies together and overcome, yes?" Harry nodded. "Go now and conserve your strength. Lindsey will show you all a glade where you will meditate and center yourselves. At last light today we will begin."

With that the group thanked her and departed. They spent the next seven hours resting in what Harry could only describe as a magical glade. It was filled with vibrant plant and animal life all vivid in their coloring. He felt at peace there and let the calm tranquility wash over him. They ate a small meal for lunch and shared a few quiet conversations, but it seemed all who entered the glade were content to listen to its sounds instead of speaking.

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

At seven that evening, Harry and the others made their way back into the hall to meet with Na Yáhsháq Skitôpák. He was given a pair of animal skin trousers and to change into them leaving his upper body exposed. Once he had done so the old woman painted intricate patterns across his skin using a fragrant mixed of ash, water, and crushed flowers. "To help direct the energy up towards your mark." She offered as a way of explanation. The others arranged themselves on their knees in a circle around them. When she had finished, she addressed him again.

"Child, this will be painful for us both. I'll be calling on the strength of the ancestors and your friends will be channeling their magics through us but be prepared to fight. Once we start, we cannot stop, or this parasite will have a stronger hold and you may never be rid of it."

He nodded with a look of steely determination in his eye. "I will not let you down, Naesha."

"Good boy. Lie down and us begin."

What happened next was the most surreal moment of Harry's young life. As soon as the old woman placed her hands on his heart and head she began chanting. It felt like raw energy burst up and throughout the room. Harry wasn't aware of anything but the coursing energy swirling around him and the old woman. It was like pressure was building up higher and higher with no where to go, and he lost sense of how long they had been there.

Then it happened, one particularly loud note in the chanting and it felt like a torrent of righteous flame flowed through his body coming to a point where his scar sat. It was the most incredible feeling of pain in his scar mixed with the cleansing fire flowing through the rest of his body. He could feel the connection with Voldemort's soul fighting back and he understood what the old woman had meant by him needing to fight.

Gasping in a breath he focused with all his might on the connection, trying to widen the small tears he could almost see forming in. Dripping with sweat after what felt like an hour, he finally reached the last strand in the connection and pushed all his magic into it to finish the job. When the final strand severed his back arched up off the ground and for a brief moment, he felt free, lighter than he had ever felt before in his life!

Then everything went black.

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

Harry blinked, his eyes opening slowly. He looked around the room he was laying in, taking in the unfamiliar location. Maybe something had gone wrong with the ritual? Forcing himself up on his elbows, he took stock of how he felt. There was some stiffness in his muscles, much like the day after some extreme workout. His head felt a little foggy, but there was no pain there. "That has to count for something at least." Sitting up fully now in bed he noticed that he did feel different, there was a lightness to him he hadn't felt before. "Alright something has definitely changed! I think it worked!" he thought giddily.

Sirius poked his head through the door and seeing that he was awake, walked in followed by Remus. "Pup! How are you feeling? You've been asleep for twelve hours straight." He said with a broad smile.

"I'm feeling like a million galleons, that's how!" Harry answered with a grin.

"Good," Remus said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Lindsey and Albus weren't able to pick up on any remaining connection to Voldemort. It appears your soul is the only one inhabiting your body now." He reached out and ruffled the younger man's hair.

"You did give us a scare there for a moment, Harry." Sirius continued. "You and Naesha both let out a chilling scream before collapsing at the end of the ritual."

"Oh Merlin, please tell me she's okay?"

"She is Harry, don't worry. She's a tough old bird and was able to make her own way to bed after a few minutes to recover."

Harry was glad to hear it. If Naesha had been injured or worse helping him, he didn't know how he would deal with that. The woman was clearly so important to her community. He would've been devastated.

"Don't call her an 'old bird' Sirius! She just saved your godson's life" Remus reprimanded sharply. He turned back to Harry with a soft smile, "We'll go see her in a bit and get you looked over one more time to be sure. You can see how she's doing for yourself then. After that we'll be heading back to the ranch. Albus had to get back to Britain in a hurry to deal with some fallout over riots after the World Cup. Ireland won by the way. He said to give you his congratulations and if everything goes to plan, he looks forward to seeing you at Hogwarts this year."

~HP~GW~ ~HP~GW~

19 September 1994

Shaking his head, Harry looked away from his reflection and finished getting dressed. It was still earlier enough in the day that we put on a grey long-sleeve T-Shirt. On his way back downstairs to the kitchen he paused by his magically expanded trunk to grab his dueling kit, though he left the full robes behind.

Breakfast was a lively affair, and everyone was in good spirits. Lindsey gave him the all clear to full use his magic today and he couldn't get outside fast enough to the amusement of the others. Shrugging on his Basilisk skin chest armor and affixing his spare wand to it, he was nearly pulsing with excess energy. Naesha had warned him that he was likely to see a boost in his casting power now that the parasitical force of Voldemort's soul piece was no longer a drain on him. Almost four weeks of letting his magic settle, he was now very eager to get back to work training.

In a month and a half's time he'd be back in Britain and competing in the Tri-Wizard tournament. "And I can't wait." He thought with a grin.

A/N: Sorry if the time jumps are a little confusing. I'll try to stop using them so much moving forward. At best I can say they'll be shorter and used to explain a skill or experience Harry has. It's easier to show important events as they happen rather than just have Harry or Ginny give a monologue describing the event.

Additionally, I'm trying to write a Harry who has had years of magical training in a variety of disciplines taught by master's around the world. Basically, the way I think he should have been raised had Sirius not gone after Pettigrew. He'll definitely be very powerful for his age, but he's still miles away from Voldy or Dumbledore who have many decades on him.

A/N #2: Updates will be coming hopefully on a weekly or biweekly basis. I have this story mapped out to around 12 total chapters but we'll see where it takes me :)