Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any character, story element or plot item originally published in the Harry Potter books or movies that I may refer to in this story. I'm merely playing in the sandbox.

Harry found himself learning that portkeys did not involve falling off. The fact that the group were not taking one, but several portkeys may have been part of that, though, he wasn't sure. As the flare of light faded off, the group appeared in a quiet room in a small house. "This is a safe arrival point. People see this house as a shack and see no one leaving it. Aurors have something like this in every large town or place of historic presence. Godric's Hollow has a well-known association to Hogwarts."

"Gryffindors," Cedric said, chuckling as he spoke.

"Tell me about it. I had to live with them for more than three years."

Hermione turned to look at him again, shocked. "You really are leaving, aren't you?"

"Hogwarts? I have no idea. Gryffindor? Probably. I had considered Ravenclaw, but...I might as well sort into Slytherin after January. Either way, I'll be dead in a week," he said with a shrug as they walked out of the house. "I'd try Hufflepuff, but let's be honest, the badgers were probably ready to shove me into the snake pit when they thought I was drawing attention away from Cedric. I may not have been around where people could see, but I saw the badges."

"You don't stink." Luna said, sniffing as she took his arm.

Cedric laughed. "Remember, Harry. Loyalty. Besides, your bookends were diligently keeping everyone away from you. Most of us know nothing about you."

Harry thought about that for a long minute. "That makes sense. Why did they do that?"

"You weren't very outgoing." Hermione frowned. "You're different now. Harder."

Harry had actually forgotten for a pleasant moment that she was there, viewing this as a conversation with Luna and Cedric. How quickly things change, guess Moony was right.

"No, Granger, he's standing up for himself. He hasn't harmed anyone without reason and nothing major." Cedric shook his head as he spoke, another statement muttered under his breath. Harry could clearly hear him saying something about loyalty.

"He attacked an entire House."

"That same House attacked me, and I'm supposed to be part of it." Luna spoke softly. "What did he do for you and Ginny when the basilisk attacked you?" The bushy haired witch was silent, then straightening the dark red blouse over dark colored jeans she wore. "If you think about it, he's not all that different."

Harry patted Luna's shoulder. "Thank you." He turned away from Granger. "I dunno, Cedric. They might have to make a new house for me. I'm thinking of Outcast House. I could live in the Shrieking Shack."

Moony had been silent during the exchange, but proved he'd been listening by laughing. "I'll have you know that it can be very comfortable when the charms are kept up. I'll show you."

"What?" Cedric asked, but Harry was laughing, deciding not to answer. He noticed that Luna was smiling again, the odd look from before gone. I really need to have a talk with her about this.

Lunch was very good; Harry especially enjoyed the sausages. They were off In a corner table. Laurant set a familiar looking stone on the table touching it with his palm. "This will conceal our conversation."

"Ah, a Concealment Stone." Amelia nodded appreciatively. "I've not used one personally but have always wanted a few for the Aurors when on undercover assignments."

"That's a good name," Harry said, looking directly at Moony.

"Fine." Moony said, not responding to the questioning looks by the others. The conversation was light, Moony had been staring intently at the stone. Laurant offered to let him examine it further. It was one of his own designs. Harry wondered if the Go Away Disk Mark III had just been born.

The afternoon had no ulterior motive, which made him relax. The others were just people. There were no politics other than the quick discussion between Bones and Laurant, which Harry found that little part interesting. He was distant enough with Bones to think of her as that, while Laurant immediately gained the familiarity of his first name. Idly, he wondered after watching him with his daughters if his father had been the same way. Luna had squeezed his hand at the thought, then whispered a question. "I'm okay."

Dessert was just a simple platter of biscuits. He enjoyed his, then got to watch the show as Gabrielle piped up, then snatched the biscuit from Fleur's hand. "I will not get fat!" She cried in English, then switched to French in a nonstop tirade.

"I think that's a good sign. Gabrielle may have nightmares, but she has bounced back."

Harry nodded as Luna had spoken. "Yeah. How about you?"

"I'm..."

"I'm the king of saying 'I'm fine'." He shook his head. "I'm not going to push. I've had enough of that. I just want you to know that I'll listen. I'll probably say something immature and stupid, but I'll listen."

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I haven't had that in a while. Ginny...tries, but she's wrapped up in her own life."

"I was too. I had to have everything taken away to see outside of me." He shrugged. "Ginny will grow up, too."

Luna's smile became a little more playful. "See, you were wrong. That wasn't stupid or immature."

"Harry?"

He sighed as the pleasant moment was broken. "Yes?"

"Can we talk?"

"Sure," he said, making no move to leave his seat. The others were studiously ignoring them, focusing on the French sisters' display and Laurant's laughter.

Luna nudged him. "Harry, you were doing good, don't ruin it."

"Fine." He rose and was followed by Granger. Moony glanced at him, but Harry waved his left hand. That was a sign to him that he'd make use of the stone.

The pair walked outside, and Harry casually edged closer, "So we won't speak too loudly." He decided the claim would hide his hand slipped in his pocket as he toggled the runes carefully, expanding the stone's effect to encompass the pair of them. That limited the effect, meaning that people would see them and simply not be interested in them. Wish we could have done this in Hogwarts, the ambient magic there made concealment magic so much easier.

"Viktor and I were speaking about what happened…you know, after you walked away from me at the Yule Ball." Harry nodded. "I realized on the day of the First Trial that you were as much at risk as I was during our adventures...and you didn't want to be there for any of it. You either were dragged in or felt you didn't have a choice."

"That's a pretty good view of it."

"I was afraid of being dragged into this Tournament." She exhaled. "I thought that if I stayed away from you, distanced myself and made other friends, that I would be safe. I was scared, Harry."

"Didn't really work, though, did it?"

"No." She shook her head. "I can't believe that Dumbledore allowed this."

"Viktor was angry. You didn't see Fleur, though. They knew what was going on when they went to the dock. I had no clue. Luna knew and hid it from me." He frowned. "She was the only choice for me, since they couldn't find my tutors. They don't even know who one of them is."

"Is it Sirius?"

"Sirius wrote to me in the beginning of the summer and let me know that he left the country. I can't imagine a smart way to come back without getting caught. What is he going to do, hide in a cave in his dog form? There's a kiss on sight order for him," he said the last very calmly, slamming his growing Occlumency skill into suppressing any concern that she'd figured things out.

"How are you hiding in the school?"

Harry acted like he was pondering how to explain it, then spoke. "People see what they want. Most of them want me gone." He knew that she was going to guess his cloak, but he had a good response for that.

"So, you're walking around in your cloak?"

"Dumbledore is also unaware of how I'm doing it, remember? He can see through my cloak." Harry left out that the older wizard actually couldn't. He found a tracking charm on the cloak, which Harry had moved to his trunk on discovery. Then, he moved it to the empty classroom, attaching it to a piece of parchment that he had left in the room, writing on it "Nice try, but you'll have to work harder."

"You won't tell me, will you."

"Maybe someday, if it is pertinent." He shrugged. "Why do you care?"

"I want to fix things."

Harry stared at her for a long uncomfortable moment, internally counting as he watched the young woman squirm. "Why?"

Her jaw dropped, then snapped shut as she snapped a response. "What do you mean? We were friends for years."

Harry nodded. "We were." He turned to face the street, leaning against a building on the sidewalk and watching the area carefully. "I was furious with you the first week. Moony worked with me on that. I've had four months where no one talked to me except that they were tutoring me, they had to talk to me or Luna. Four months of habit of simply carrying on as though I am basically the one person in the world that is interested in my existence. It's easier to carry on like that than to let you in and hope you don't turn on me." He looked back at her. "So, I ask again, why?"

She put her hands on her hips. "You did last year over a broom."

Harry frowned as he considered that he was being ignored. She has a target. "Yes, I did." Harry was silent as he turned back to face the street. "I'm told that boys are less mature than equally aged girls." He canted his head. "Let's look at that situation. You snitched on me for getting a gift from an unknown giver, it was taken from me, and I thought it was going to be destroyed."

He paused and she piped up. "I thought it was going to harm you."

"I understand that but think about what it looked like to me. I'm not the quidditch nut that Weasley is. I do love to fly, though," he said, then smiled faintly as he considered the sky now and wondered what the winds were like up there. "I never received a gift the entire time I lived at the Dursleys. My first gift since my parents died was a sweater from Mrs. Weasley." He was silent. "I liked them. I wish they hadn't banished me from their lives.

"You turned on me for something I can't help. Something I'm starting to wonder if someone is guiding me into, maybe even Dumbledore. My life was pretty miserable before Hogwarts, but I never had my life threatened for real. Words, yes. Actual danger? Only if I went too close to the street."

Hermione started to say something, then stopped.

"Weasley, both Ronald and at least two others, are done. You...I don't know. I can see your point. I'm ready to leave all this. I may have deliberately broken the rules of the competition if I'd known where Luna was. She meant it. I would have lost my magic. That would make me less interesting to all of you magicals."

"I'm muggleborn."

"You're a witch. That's enough to lump you in with them." He shrugged. "You did what they did. Why would you think you're different?"

"I..." She sagged. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

He had slipped and inwardly, he cursed at himself. "I... I don't know. I have a couple of people I'm going to ask for advice. I'll see."

"I really want to fix our friendship."

"Maybe we can. Not today. I'm not angry, I just don't trust you."

He stared at her for a moment, watched as she struggled with what he said, then turned and walked back in, the crunching of the snow and a light sound of surprise from a passerby as Hermione became more noticeable the only sounds behind him. He sat back next to Luna, then looked at the cookie on the plate, a bite taken out of it. He was no longer interested.

"Not go well?"

"Not really. I don't think she gets it." He kept his voice quiet but knew Moony was listening. "We'll see if things change."

Luna nodded. "She's scared and confused. Things aren't what she expected."

"I get that. I've felt that way since the first day of First Year."

"Me, too."

Later, they all moved to leave, and Laurant asked Harry to wait. "You did our family a great favor today, one I don't know how to explain to you. I intend to try to repay you as possible." He paused. "My wife and I would like to invite you to join us for part of the summer. I know my daughters would appreciate it if you joined us."

"I'll have to find out my situation this summer. With the things going on with this Tournament, I am not sure if I have to go back to my relatives or if I'm on my own now. So much of the rules are convoluted...I'm at the point of needing to hire a goblin to review the contract to find out my status."

He nodded. "I looked at this contract. My daughter should not have competed." He frowned. "Thank you for not speaking ill of her for her heritage. Your country is not known for its warm welcoming to those who are different."

"I know. I am a half blood in their eyes. I'm starting to like the 'magical' and 'nonmagical' term that they use in the Continent."

"Nothing stops you from moving to Beauxbatons when you pass your OWLs."

"Language? I only speak English."

"There are things that can be done, Harry. I know someone who would teach you." The man smirked and Harry wasn't sure what that look meant. He was certain that the same sense of danger that had guided him through the last years just flared into the red.

Back at the castle, Dumbledore had tacked a note to the castle door, asking Harry to join him for a hot cocoa in his office. "Care to go, Luna?"

"Yes. I've never seen his office."

They walked up and, as Harry had suspected, "Hot Cocoa" moved the gargoyle, allowing him to lead her up the stairs. If Dumbledore was surprised by Luna's presence, he didn't show it.

"I think I now know how you have been navigating the castle."

"Moony gave it away, right?"

"I did teach it to him, you know." Dumbledore smiled. "You've also removed the tracking charm on your cloak." He took a breath. "I thought that when you could remove it yourself, you were safe to not need it."

Harry nodded, settling back in the seat a little. He had worried the man was spying on him. He was actually being responsible. Dumbledore still didn't have the full picture, so he decided not to finish it out. "And your tutors?"

"Moony is very good."

"His dog is poorly behaved. I think he has a serious flea problem. Demented little thing, really."

Harry chuckled at Luna's insertion. She had to do it. She's been tempting the mutt for weeks with that. Dumbledore's eyebrows raised and Harry laughed harder. "Surprise."

"She knows?"

"He gave it away. Laughed a little hard in doggie form."

Dumbledore sighed. "I would love to see him back out of the country for his own sake."

"I agree. I'm hiding him very well, plus he has an unstoppable escape plan."

"Plans do tend to fall apart despite best efforts."

Harry shrugged. He'd noted the passive Legilimency, but his usage of the "Song that Doesn't End" as a defense had that end quickly. The fact that it was a memory of Dudley singing it probably helped. That boy couldn't carry a tune if it had handles.

Dumbledore looked away and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I wanted to let you know that we interrogated Bagman. We had authorization from the French Ministry, despite the charges being in France. One of Laurant Delacour's associates joined us for it. He did this to get back at you."

Harry frowned. "The gambling?"

"No one would bet on you, so he couldn't get good odds. He is in deep with Gringotts, who are politely requesting we hand him over. Britain won't, but France will." The older man sagged. "He is not a good man, but to see him enslaved is a poor usage of a wizard of any talents. However, we can regret his life choices and accept that he must pay for his actions."

Harry sighed. "So, to get back at me, he emotionally tormented three others, potentially kidnapped one student barely of school age, plus all his plotting failed to affect me because I didn't go to breakfast in the Great Hall...what an idiot. No wonder I'm tired of the British magicals."

Dumbledore frowned. "I know you've seen the worst of us, Harry, but please give us a chance." Dumbledore seemed to consider things for a moment. "You know, your mother had expressed similar concerns with me once. After they went into hiding. She missed a dear friend of hers." He reached into his desk. "I found this the other day, taking note of the occupants of this image after the events of the Ball. I arranged a few copies, thanks to a talented student."

As he slipped the simple wooden frame across the desk, Harry lifted it. The man continued as he took in the picture. He was a baby, cradled in his mother's arms. A woman next to him held a much smaller blonde baby. "Your mother asked me to help find a friend of hers who had gone into hiding. Without James knowing, I helped her have one last meeting. It was not long after her daughter was born."

Luna leaned over to look at the photo, then stiffened. "Mum?"

"That's...that's you and your mum."

"Your mother was Harry's mother's best friend in school. They were different years, but they were tightly bonded, originally through a study group. After Pandora graduated, she met your father and they fell in love, marrying soon after. Before Lily graduated, your parents were travelling on expeditions to find the creatures he wrote about n the Quibbler. Lily only caught up to her in July, a few days before Harry's birthday."

A second frame slipped across the desk for Luna. "I thought you might like this, though I am surprised to give them both to you at the same time."

"Moony was just talking about a Pandora before. She had your gift."

"She did. It was difficult when she died. I couldn't sense anything for weeks after...I was there and felt all the pain and fear after the accident."

Harry turned and wrapped his arms around her, thinking that this was the right thing to do in this situation. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Luna's shoulders gave a single heave, then she took a breath. "She wasn't alone, though. It was worth it for that." Regardless of her tone, she didn't let him go.

"I wish we'd known long ago. If everything hadn't happened, maybe we could have grown up as friends."

Luna pulled back and gave him a smile despite the tears silently tracking their way down her face. "I would have liked that."

Dumbledore was silent during the moment. "And your meeting with the Delacours?"

"It was nice to get away, just be teens instead of the Tournament stuff." He was silent. "Granger tried to talk to me, to patch things up. I have no idea if I can trust her."

"Forgiveness is a good thing."

"I know," Harry was silent for a long moment. "I don't hate her, I'm not angry, I just don't feel anything." He shook his head. "She basically said she didn't believe me about not being in the Tournament. Same with you, for that matter, when you told them I was innocent. Then she avoided me for four months and the main part of her conversation was trying to figure out how I'm turning in assignments. She was even trying to find out where Sirius is."

"In the Chamber?"

"The wards?"

Dumbledore smiled casually, then gestured to a few of the whirling items on the wall. "Several of these monitor the wards. I knew that we had two extra adults here. There's an oddity in the reading, but I assume that's from the presence of two animagi. It reads strangely when there are multiple of them."

"So, you knew when Pettigrew was here?"

"Alas, no. It is not that accurate. There wasn't even the oddity. He had been a rat for so long, he didn't register as human." The man frowned. "Plus, it may have been damaged by the presence of the dementors. I had to recalibrate it as it was constantly in flux last year, reading the dementors as individuals and half individuals fluctuating over every few seconds. I had to ignore it last year. Prior to that, I believe it was his mind at the time."

Harry nodded. He'd wondered how the Weasley twins had missed him on the map, which may have been the same thing. Even he had only noticed Pettigrew the one time, when he was acting on his own accord and not as a pet. "What about the basilisk? The troll?"

"The troll was brought in and sent immediately on its mission. I would have seen the effect of the entry had I intentionally checked the wards or been in here, but I wasn't. I was at the meal. As for the basilisk, I think your friend may have figured out how it was hidden."

Luna nodded. "It was created by a founder, so its magic would fade into the wards and be virtually invisible unless it left the castle and the ward ring."

"I'd give you points, Ms. Lovegood, but I suspect that you are not ready yet to reward your Housemates."

Luna nodded. "That is correct. I only eat at the end of the table when I'm not with Harry and his tutors."

Harry felt a lot better about his suspicions. "If there's nothing else, sir? I'm sure I need to have a conversation with those same tutors. Sirius is probably chasing his tail right now."

"No, please, enjoy your day, Harry. You did well and you earned your score if I may say so. I would avoid the lake, though, from now on. The merpeople are rather unhappy with you threatening them." He shook his head. "So much of that could have been avoided if Ludo had not behaved the way he did."

"I have an idea that can help, Headmaster. I haven't had a moment to tell him about it yet."

Dumbledore glanced at Luna, then gestured. "Please let me know if I can assist. They are as much part of Hogwarts as the forest and the grounds. Anything that promotes harmony is something I will gladly participate in."

Harry stood, nodding to Dumbledore. On a whim, he picked up both pictures, then offered his arm to Luna. Luna smiled, then took It, waving with her free hand as they walked out. Harry could hear the older man's chuckle as the door closed behind him.

"He's mad, but he's a good kind of mad."

Luna shrugged. "I think we're all mad here."

They walked down to an isolated room, Harry checking the map quickly. Granger was stalking the hallways near the corridor with the gargoyle, but he'd hidden them with their proximity and pushing the stone to its edge, pushing magic into it to hold the effect at its full power until they were on a different floor.

"She never gives up. It's annoying." Closing the map, he put it away and called for Winky. "Let's go back to the Chamber and show the others the picture."

"Maybe…maybe they'll have stories about my mother."

"I think that'd be nice. I've enjoyed the stories I'd heard about my parents."

They popped down and met with the two adults, showing them Harry's picture. Winky packed Luna's copy in her trunk for her. Soon, they were seated with mugs of hot cocoa and telling stories about their family interacting in school. Harry noticed that she was relaxing, and the idea made him smile.

I'll need to have that conversation with her at some point, but not today. She's happy.

Hermione frowned, sitting at her table. "What's wrong?" Ginny sat next to her.

"I can't figure it out."

"Is this about the detention you got in McGonagall's class?"

"No. So, yes, it was not a good idea to spread flour around the classroom. I just thought I had him."

Ginny was silent for a moment. "Is this about Harry?"

"Yes, he wouldn't tell me how he's doing it."

Ginny just shook her head. "Why should he? Other than the day of the second task, when was the last time you spoke to him?"

"The Yule Ball." She sighed. "How could I? How could anyone? He was just gone."

Ginny sat back in the chair, noticing Neville watching her. They'd been an item since the Ball, something she had decided she was perfectly happy with. Some part of her was still interested in Harry, but that was fading day by day. "Hermione, it's been half of the school year, basically. You and he haven't been friends since a day or two after Halloween." She was silent for a long moment. "Does it matter?"

"He basically asked the same thing." Hermione shook her head, unable to comprehend them all. "For three years, I was one of his closest friends. How could it not matter?"

"That was then. Now, you were dismissive of everything. You blamed him for your friendship falling apart with Ron for a while." She was silent for a long moment "I know Mum sent Harry a Howler over everything that happened over that class. I wish I hadn't listened to her when she said to stay away. After I heard the explanation for it, that question made sense. You even said once you would have asked if you weren't afraid of the reaction."

"I'm not Harry Potter, though."

Ginny edged back. "No, but I don't think he is either. Not the Harry Potter of the books. Or the myths. Or even the images put together by silly little girls." She was quiet as she said the last statement. "Maybe you were one of those silly little girls?"

"I never had feelings for him."

"That's a problem in a friendship. There has to be some sort of feeling in it. Otherwise, you are just stuck with each other."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Hermione shook her head. "I'm meeting with Viktor now. I need to go. If I don't solve this mystery though, I'll…"

"Go crazy? Hermione, I think you're halfway there now." Ginny rose and walked over to Neville, taking his hand and walking to one of the couches furthest away from Hermione. That had been a habit in the tower more and more lately, something she'd not failed to notice.

After a moment, she made an annoyed sound, threw her books into her bag and stalked out.

A few days after the Second Trial, Luna and Harry strode into the water. This time, they were using Bubblehead charms and towing a raft with several boxes on it. The boxes were wooden and waterproof, the raft magical that was linked to a rune stone in his pocket. Everything was prepared to have him only draw his wand in self-defense.

They stood, weighed down by simple ankle weights to keep them at the bottom of the shallow part of the lake until they were noticed.

Three merpeople swam forward, tridents drawn. "What do you want, human?"

"I wish to apologize and explain my actions. I come bearing a gift for the leader of your people as well as a gift for the entire village."

The warriors seemed to regard him for a moment, then looked in Luna's direction. "You were a hostage."

"I knew I was going to be a hostage. The others did not. The four who came down to free the hostages had been told that we would die if we were not rescued."

Whatever was said next was lost in translation as it switched to a songlike speech, the three arguing amongst each other. "You swear this?"

"I will not draw my wand to swear an oath if you are concerned that I will attack." Harry spoke slowly. "I give my word. I rescued the smaller girl after rescuing her sister from the waters near here. Grindylows had her pinned and were going to kill her."

The tallest of the warriors, nearly eight feet in length, straightened. "Wait here, human. I will pass your message on."

Harry bowed slightly, joined by Luna just visible in his periphery. They waited, Harry using calming breaths from his training to keep his mind clear. Soon, a dozen more warriors and a gray haired merperson joined them. Harry found he was having trouble telling the difference between male and female in this species, and just hoped that he wouldn't make a fatal error. "You are the one who attacked my people."

Harry bowed. "I apologize, I was led to believe that if the little girl had been left, she would die. Further, due to her heritage, she was more susceptible to cold and water. She was a Veela."

This caused the others to still. "Who would dare? A child of fire here?"

Harry could guess the meaning of his words, Luna pinching his arm causing him to hold for a second. "One of our own kidnapped her and put her down here without considering that fact. He is to be tried for his offense and most likely handed over to the goblins for justice."

"As it should be. We do not like the Veela, fire is anathema to us. We would never harm a child in such a manner…simply being in our depths would do so." The leader raised his head. "I accept your apology. I wish you had told us, but we could not sense her fire. She was too young…" The being was silent as he seemed to consider what to say next.

"If I may, I have a gift for you." Harry slipped his hand into his pocket and squeezed the stone, causing the raft to slowly sink into the water without tipping. It began to float near the surface, and he gestured. "The large box is a large supply of saltwater fish. I am told by a reliable friend and lover of all life magical that this is a rare treat for you. By the Headmaster's estimates, this should be enough for a several days of feasting for your village."

His hand moved to three other boxes as there was a melodic murmur amongst those gathered. "These are for yourself and the families of the warriors I attacked. Inside each are several music boxes, all charmed by the Headmaster to function underwater and with many songs each. Each box is different, and you may trade them amongst yourselves to determine who gets which or share them, whatever your custom is."

One of the warriors looked at the leader, seemingly for permission, then approached at the sound of a quiet whistle. "I was one of those you struck with a spell. I respect your prowess and your reasoning. I hold no hard feelings, wizard." It held a webbed hand out and Harry grasped the being's forearm and shook, having been advised by Luna on how to act in that possibility.

The leader approached and nodded. "You are brave, wizard. You could have died by our hands reentering our waters. Do not challenge us again."

Harry bowed. "I have no intention to. Wit your permission, I may like to swim in the shallows again or skip rocks, but I will never attack without being attacked first."

The leader nodded. "That is acceptable. Continue with respect to those like us, wizard. You give us hope for a better future with the land dwellers."

Several of the warriors approached and Harry handed over the lead for the raft, but they guided it with hands on the wood directly. As soon as they were out of sight, Harry and Luna walked back to the shore.

Surfacing caused the bubble to fade and Harry took a deep breath of fresh air, shedding his weights on the rocky shore and casting drying charms on both of them. "That…was terrifying."

"You did well, Harry Potter. We should let the Headmaster know."

Harry nodded, vanishing the conjured weights and walking to the castle entrance.

A/N: So…this was bigger than I remember.

First, Hermione. I got a pretty irritated review when I had someone apologize to Snape. To be fair, Remus was probably about to kill him and had been lured there by Sirius in a "prank" which, whatever you think of him as a teenage version of himself, probably not a good idea to kill him. I knew of some girl in my high school shove another girl in front of a moving bus over a boyfriend, so I feel it's wise to clear things up. This doesn't mean Snape is going to offer to adopt Harry, but it's the mature thing to do. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll just kill Snape in another story…a little something for everyone.

That being said, Hermione needs to recognize the consequences. I think I like book version better, though in my mind, I think Emma Watson will always be the face of her. Same with…I'm not Googling it, but whoever it was that played Luna.

Second, Dumbledore. Let's knock out another one that everyone has strong feelings about. This version, just a flawed man. He was one of the antagonists in Forging, but not here. He is absolutely wrong about a few things and the whole ward conversation…he needs to recalibrate, obviously.

Also, my magic…my system is a bit more IT related, but bear in mind, that's what my Masters is in. August marks twenty years in the field. I'm most likely going to think that way.

Can't think of anything else, we'll see what any reviews that crop up have to say. Hope you are all enjoying and, until next time, have a good one.

PS – Oh, wait…do you think it's Grindylows or Grindylow plural? I wonder about these things. Like, is a group of dragons, a herd? A flight? A weyr (a cookie for the Pern fans)? My wife suggested a group of dragons was a barbecue, which is currently my favorite.