The Guile of the Traveller

by Kingmaker'sUmbreon

After being hit by the Killing Curse, Harry finds herself in a limbo that looks a lot like Kings Cross station. Deciding that the remnant of Voldemort's soul does deserve a chance at redemption, Harry finds herself in London, 1944. However, Harry soon makes a name for herself, and discovers that adventure and drama followed her everywhere, including into the past.

62. Chapter 62

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

The Friday following Dippet's announcement that one Gerald Alsop was the new groundskeeper, and that Rubeus Hagrid was going to be his apprentice, was one of the most challenging and difficult Fridays Harry had ever had to endure. She was doing everything in her power to not get angry at the comments that were being flung left, right and centre over the entire school about Hagrid and tried to remove herself from the situation as much as possible. Because this was one discussion that Harry knew she was not going to enter willingly without making sure that her magic was not going to lash out due to an ill-timed comment. This time, it wasn't just narrow-minded Knights she had to deal with – it was the fear and anger of almost the entire school. It was a whole different ball game.

Harry had banned discussing Rubeus Hagrid and Gerald Alsop during her History class; for two glorious hours, her fellow seventh years were more concerned about the History of Magical Education than they were spewing bile about a half-giant who had been expelled for a crime he did not commit. Well, Harry, Tom and Altair knew this – the rest of the school didn't.

"OK," Harry stated just as she closed the session. "I want all of you to write me an essay on the influences of the political environment in a country of your choice where there is magical school and deduce what the influences on changes or additions to Magical Education was. I also want one practise paper done."

Her class did groan at hearing that.

"Good grief, Harry, you're turning into the Professor Merrythought of History," Ignatius grumbled.

"Yes, well, I want you all to succeed and be able to write an essay on any topic without panicking internally too much," Harry answered crisply. "Plus, all of you have been giving me a headache so I think it is only fair that I provide a bit of a headache in return. Now, let us go down to dinner and hopefully the conversation will not make me want to turn the hair of everyone at the Gryffindor table orange because I am bored."

The Lions and her friends had the decency to pale at hearing this.

"Yes, the air has been getting rather stale in a day," Orion agreed with a sigh as the seventh years departed the Room of Requirement. He lit up and turned to Malum and Felix. "How has training been going? I heard you managed to book the pitch this morning."

"Well enough. Grey had a bit of a hiccup when it came to one of the recorded quips of yours and Harry, but other than that nothing major," Felix informed with a grin.

"She didn't fall off her broom this time?" Caius smirked.

"Nope!" Malum informed happily. He then regarded Harry and Orion with an amused but worried expression. "Can we at least get a clue about what the pair of you are going to pull next so we can repair?"

"Hey! That's unfair!" Ignatius protested. "Commentators are not supposed to support one side over the other."

"How has that been going so far?" Arcturus pointed out in a dry tone.

Harry and Orion exchanged a knowing glance and a smirk.

"We are not telling anyone anything," Harry stated with a tone of finality. "You will just have to wait and see until the match. An art piece or a composition cannot be rushed – this cannot be rushed either."

"Since when has making Dumbledore lose the will to live become an art form?" Ygraine snorted with laughter.

"Since Harry Evans set foot on Hogwarts soil," came the easy answer from Heron, causing everyone to chuckle in agreement.

Harry could only thank Hekate, the Moirai or any other deity who had listened to her silent pleas that all opinions on Hagrid and Mr. Alsop were dropped from the discussion list at dinner. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws obviously had not gotten the memo and snide comments drifted into Harry's ears now and again, but at least she wasn't continuously bombarded with them. She actually had enough energy to join in the conversation on how broomstick models need to be improved with Artemis, the Weasleys, Heron and Katie Huxley.

"I am telling you, Huxley, combine the reliability of the Oakshaft 79 with the speeds and agility that the Cleansweeps have, the broom would be a force to be reckoned with," Artemis insisted.

Harry smirked knowingly at this.

"No one would allow such a broom to enter tournaments. It would be banned out right," Katie Huxley shook her head.

"No one would ban it, because it would be used by every team with a brain," Heron countered easily.

Billy Prewett interrupted the debate for a moment with a blunt comment. "Is it just me, or does it look like Headmaster Dippet is about to fall asleep on his dinner?"

The eyes of the group momentarily turned to look at the three-hundred-year-old man, who indeed looked like he needed to go straight to bed after dinner. Harry grimaced visibly; poor bloke clearly had a very crappy day.

"I think we would all look like that after a day of receiving Howlers," Artemis commented, shaking her head as she cut into her meat.

"He did bring it upon himself," Huxley sniffed. "I mean, what was he thinking? Allowing Hagrid back into school after what he did?"

"I think some of my Housemates are onto something. Dippet must have been swayed by Dumbledore, in some way," Heron sighed as he sipped his pumpkin juice.

Harry followed his example, her hand curling quite firmly around her goblet. She started singing internally to try and keep her countenance as neutral as she could manage. So far her magic had shown no signs of lurching up – good, Harry was doing something right.

"They had better-"

"-check Hagrid's bags-"

"-before allowing him-"

"-onto Hogwarts land," the Weasleys grumbled.

The Lady Peverell shoved the anger that was boiling in her blood into her forest of dark feelings as she focused on the tune in her head. Of all the songs, Running Up That Hill had gotten stuck in her head and Harry found herself humming to the rhythm. And although she didn't have to say anything, the Traveller's friends took the hint and dropped the subject of Hagrid once more.

"What song is that, Harry?" Billy asked curiously. "I have never heard that tune before."

"Is it another song that you and Luna wrote, or sang?" Artemis added.

"No, actually. I heard the song growing up," Harry smiled sadly. The music channel had been her favourite on the radio, but she made sure to always keep herself composed when Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley were around to make sure they couldn't take that simple pleasure away from her.

"Oh! Was it one your parents sang?" Billy pressed curiously.

"Billy!" Tessa hissed. "That is none of our business."

Harry decided not to say anything more; Billy took his sister's hint and dropped the matter, despite not being happy about it at all. The Traveller distracted herself with a treacle tart and reading a book before she excused herself under the pretext of finishing her homework before the weekend.

In actuality, Harry was going to see what manner of monstrosity Grindelwald had sent her as his first test. When she got back to the dorm, the Cursebreaker found Atty hard at work with her ink paintings for the story Harry came up with for Ophelia's box; Seraphina was snoozing on her bed while Sigyn watched Atty work. When Ophelia's familiar and Harry's Gargouille noticed her presence, they gave her a quick greeting before turning back to the paintings. Harry smiled softly as she dumped her bag onto the chair in front of her desk and flinging her blazer onto the back of the chair.

She went round to her trunk, opened it and carefully lifted out the object in question, which was still wrapped in its paper. Harry gathered her Cursebreaking items and books as well as her Invisibility Cloak and set off to find a place to work. The Room of Requirement was now the first place anyone would look for her, so Harry thought it was best to perhaps find somewhere else. Other than the Forbidden Forest.

That left her with a couple of options: Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the Serpentine Corridor and, perhaps stupidly enough, the Chamber of Secrets. True, the Basilisk responded only to Tom's wishes but Harry found herself being extremely reluctant to go back down into that place with a live Basilisk lurking down there. She had too much Post Traumatic Second Year Disorder for that!

So that left the bathroom and the Serpentine Corridor. Harry quickly found herself reluctant to deal with a young ghost who was incredibly mopey and bad tempered – plus, something told her that Myrtle was not going to want her anywhere near the bathroom once she sensed the Mistress of Death aura around Harry. Harry knew that Tosti had reassured her ghosts wouldn't know directly, but she still didn't want to risk it with Myrtle.

That left only the Serpentine Corridor. Uncharted territory; so much so, that it had barely shown up on the Marauder's Map. Apparently, not even the Marauders had the guts to go down there. In a way, it was perfect, though Harry could not help but feel a little nervous. When she was at the entrance of the Corridor, the Traveller incanted a quick Leoht before stepping a foot down there.

There were several doors lining the Corridor; Harry tried each one. First one would not budge, even after several Unlocking Spells. Not even a Tospringe opened the damn thing! The second door was just as bolted shut as the first and Harry was not going to waste any more energy on trying to open it.

Third time's usually the charm, and in this case it was as well. The third door opened with ease, causing Harry to sigh with relief. What she did not expect, was that the moment she stepped foot into the room, the torches nailed into the wall all simultaneously lit up. Harry got rid of the ball of light and looked around at her surroundings. There were diagrams on the wall drawn in the style of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man of all manner of Dark creatures. There were several cupboards with skeletons of magical creatures on top of them. All the desks and chairs in the room were pushed to one side, as if they were unimportant to the classroom. Etched into the stone was an intricate sigil that Harry could tell was composed of more than one type of sigil.

I am getting a weird feeling from this place, her Slytherin voice commented.

Harry shoved her eerie feeling and apprehension to the side of a moment as she dropped her Cloak and knelt on the sigil as she began to set up the suppression chamber for the object. Once everything was ready and in order, Harry cautiously began to unpack her test from the Dark Lord, her magic at the ready to strike. She didn't allow the innocence of the box that she unwrapped to fool her.

Harry narrowed her eyes at the detailing of the box. It was deceptively plain, except for the sigils and runes carved into its sides. The top of the box had a little bit more of a warning: there was a snake with bat wings carved into the wood. The Cursebreaker first turned her attention onto the runes and sigils, deciding to see just what kind were used. Fortunately, Harry managed to discern at least half of them were the "protect", "lock" and "indestructible" runes and sigils.

So, whatever was contained within needed to be kept in at all costs. Wonderful.

Without further ado, Harry frowned in determination and incanted her History Revelation spell. The golden magic played her a scene that made the Traveller frown in confusion: a hooded figure frantically searched around a room that looked like a study or a library, holding something close to them. Harry watched as this person finally stumbled on the wooden box in front of her, only the top was not as intricately carved in the scene. The person placed the object they were carrying into the box and proceeded to carve as many runes and sigils as they could into the wood. Finally, they carved the top of the wooden box with an intricate seal.

Whoever this was, had placed fail safe upon fail safe on the box. That was rarely ever a good sign. It meant that Harry needed to dismantle them one at a time or the entire box with the object in side could be damaged.

Why would Grindelwald send something that contains something? her suspicious Gryffindor voice rang in her ears. Something really does not add up here. What was that thing the person was trying to hide?

Harry began fiddling with her signet ring as she began to ponder but very soon frowned in determination. Whatever it was, it needed to be dealt with. No doubt it could cause just as much havoc as the Time Compass, perhaps even more. It needed to go, sooner rather than later.

The Cursebreaker rolled up her sleeves, opened several books and flicked to the chapters on sigil and rune disenchantment and got to work.

###########################################################################

"Can you sense her?"

"No. I have tried twice already. You?"

Tom felt his jaw clench for a moment before he answered. "No. I have a slight suspicion that Harry really does not want to be found at the moment."

Tom and Altair were heading for the Room of Requirement. They had no idea how, but they got the idea that they were being summoned by Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë. The pair of them had been suddenly let out of the Realm of Hypnos at around twelve-thirty for seemingly no reason. Deciding to follow the funny feeling they had been having, both boys had gathered their weapons and had snuck up towards the Room of Requirement while trying to see if they could sense if Harry was already there, considering that they didn't meet her on the way.

"Correct as usual, my love!"

Tom and Altair practically jumped out of their skins; musical laughter rang out. The boys mock-glared at their lady as she put off her Invisibility Cloak, Athenaïs also laughing away at their expense.

"Did you have to do that?" Altair huffed, laughing in embarrassment at the fact he had momentarily forgotten that the Mistress of Death had access to her Invisibility Cloak.

"I didn't have to, but it's good fun," Harry grinned. "It was already worth that reaction!"

"Have you no compassion for our nerves?" Tom asked, semi-dramatically.

Harry snorted. "Tom, are you actually reading the books Orion gave you for your birthday?"

"Professor Chattox has been unbearable lately," was Tom's only defence as he turned rather red at being caught out at the fact he had actually started reading Jane Austen – willingly!

Altair chuckled. "You should have taken Ancient Runes! We did tell you."

"The prospect of reading the future was enticing," Tom offered as his defence.

"Be that as it may, only Seers with True Sight can fully do that," Harry pointed out as they continued towards the Room. "You should have chosen Ancient Runes. Much more useful."

"In hindsight, definitely," Tom agreed. He frowned. "Harry, why did you take Divination then if you knew it was useless."

"Honestly?" Harry turned rather red. "I honestly didn't know what to pick and I wanted a lesson where I didn't need to think as much. Problem was, not only was our teacher completely batty but the work load was actually more than Charms or Defence or Transfigurations. One assignment that I hated above all was the dream diary one – like I wanted to actually write about all my nightmares and visions that I had."

"So what did you do?" Altair wanted to know, blanching.

"I did the homework, but I made random dreams up," Harry answered with a grin. "I based some of them on the scenarios Hermione, Ginny, Luna and I created and in some cases it was just a moment of madness. One of my favourite fake dreams I wrote down was one about singing and dancing unicorns!"

Tom chuckled and Altair laughed. "Oh, Harry," Tom sighed as the three of them entered the Room, followed by Atty.

"What? It was better than actually describing all of my nightmares in graphic detail," Harry pointed out.

"Absolutely," Altair agreed whole-heartedly.

As expected, Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë were waiting for them, looking rather disgruntled. Harry frowned when she noticed this. "What has gotten your divine weapons in a twist?" she asked bluntly. "Did Nyx and Persephone demand some baby grandgods again?"

Tom and Altair exchanged a look of disbelief. Melinoë sighed. "No because that we can actually talk our way out of," the Goddess of Ghosts grumbled. "No, this is far worse than that."

"What is it?" Altair asked carefully.

"The entire bloody day we have been bombarded with letters and Howlers from other parents and guardians. Mostly, the parents of your friends. I am only glad my customers were not as annoyed by it as I was," Thanatos stated grumpily. "They plan on talking to Dippet about rescinding his decision to make a certain Rubeus Hagrid the apprentice of the new groundskeeper-"

"-and they want our bloody participation!" Hypnos added irritatingly. "I mean, really!"

Altair frowned. "Did … did my father also send one?"

"No, nor did your mother," Melinoë reassured with a sharp exhale. "They were the only ones."

Altair nodded, looking slightly pensive.

"As if the Headmaster would listen to us for a single moment," Hypnos scoffed.

"I think they all know that the Headmaster has a soft spot for Harry, and thus would be more inclined to listen to you," Tom theorised.

"That could be," Harry found herself agreeing out loud. "After all, he wanted my opinion on the matter."

"What?!" everyone chorused. Even Atty looked surprised.

"Yeah," Harry laughed shortly. "Dippet once summoned me to his office to ask me my opinion on whether Hagrid should be considered amongst the candidates he had in front of him."

"Why did he do that?" Altair could hardly believe his ears.

"Because I am the only one who wasn't at Hogwarts when Myrtle died," Harry answered easily with a small shrug. "My head is clear on the subject."

"That makes sense," Tom admitted, nodding.

Thanatos sighed and forced the subject away. "Let us focus on something a little bit more pleasant: training! Altair, Hypnos will help you work on Dream Walking and communicating via dreams. Tom, Melinoë and Athenaïs will first help you some more with your Shadows before testing if other powers have been transferred. Harry, you and I will continue with your Animancy work."

The three young magicians nodded in agreement and understanding, then followed their mentors to different parts of the Room. Tom mentally prepared himself – Melinoë was a tough but fair task master; she was not going to go easy on him. The Goddess of Ghosts clapped her hands together as Atty took the other side of the arena.

"All right, Tom. Let us first see how your Cloaking has improved!" she stated. "So, Cloak Atty in your Shadows and we will ask her to go and test if it has worked."

Tom nodded in agreement. His previous attempts at Cloaking had not gone very well. The Cloaked broomstick was half visible and half invisible, and the second was Cloaked only for around a minute before it became visible again. He hoped that the effect would at least last a little longer this time.

The last Gaunt turned his attention onto his lover's Gargouille. Atty regarded him with a confident look, a small smirk on her draconic countenance. Tom took a deep breath, before he closed his eyes and began drawing the Shadows towards Atty. He opened his eyes – the irises a bright ruby – and watched as black tendrils blanketed the Gargouille, who was chirping away in encouragement.

Once fully Cloaked, Athenaïs happily ran out of the Room to take a flight around Hogwarts. Tom and Melinoë had to wait a good two minutes for Atty to come back, the Gargouille looking pleased with herself. Tom hoped this was a good sign.

The Goddess of Ghosts grinned at the young dragon. "Status report, Atty!"

The Gargouille rapidly started writing.

I THINK IT WORKED!

ANNOYED THE CARETAKER – DIDN'T NOTICE

BOTHERED DUMBLEDORE – ALSO NO REACTION. HE CAME TO THE WINDOW AND LOOKED RIGHT AT ME. NOTHING!

LORELEY NOTICED BUT SHE SEES STUFF ANYWAY

Tom blanched and Melinoë chuckled. "Well done, Tom! Told you that you just needed to have some more practise."

"Yes," Tom flushed a little.

"All right, Shadow Manipulation next. Have you had any more accidents with your Shadows recently?"

Tom chuckled nervously. "Felix was snoring quite loudly a couple of days ago and my Shadows tried to … blanket him," he felt compelled to admit.

"OK, good to know," Melinoë half chuckled. "I think we should then start with some defensive techniques since your Shadows enjoy offensive a little too much."

Tom nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, as you would normally do with spells, visualise your Shadows becoming a shield, or a shield wall – whichever you prefer," Melinoë instructed. "Keep your mind fully on what the intention behind the shield is."

The Heir of Slytherin followed the Goddess's instructions to the letter. His Shadows took the form of a dark veil, which made Athenaïs cock her head at it with interest. The young Gargouille's eyes then flashed with determination and mischief. Before Tom could fully prepare, Atty launched several consecutive attacks at the veil, from enchanted tail swipes to balls of Soul Fire. Much to Tom's relief, his Shadowy veil neutralised the attacks upon impact.

However, what the veil could not protect him from was Atty's elemental attacks. The Gargouille's eerie whirlwind dissipated his shield and his focus because Tom was more focused on remaining on his feet than to keep his shield up. It wasn't just Tom's shield that the dragon had managed to blow apart, but several of Harry's animated bird skeletons as well. Once the winds had faded and the bones had been dropped to the ground, much to Tom's amusement, the skeletons started scrambling to put themselves together.

"Well," he commented dryly, looking at the delighted familiar. "Guess I will have to work on my shields."

Atty grinned.

"Awwww, I had them that time!" Harry pouted, shaking her head at the bird skeletons.

Atty howled an apology.

Tom turned to look if he could see how Altair was doing. However, his other future Consort was still on the makeshift bed, unmoving. Hypnos was in the chair next to the bed, the god's eyes dancing like a kaleidoscope. Which meant both Hypnos and Altair were still in the Realm.

"Tom, let us try your shields again. Harry, can you assist please?"

Tom paled. Oh boy.

##########################################################################

Saturday morning was greeted by Sigyn meowing angrily at her abstract ink art, thus waking up Ophelia, Druella, Walburga and Ygraine. Harry and Atty had been awoken by the grumbles of her friends and the quiet hissing of Seraphina. The Mistress of Death and her Familiar got to work finishing their artworks while their friends bagsied the showers first. Druella and Ophelia were last to take their showers on account of the fact they opted to have a look at Harry and Atty's work.

"I take it that Occlumency lessons will be first before we head into Hogsmeade in case people need to drink away the trauma?" Harry stated dryly as she carefully painted the eyes of Ophelia and the details of the dress.

"Indeed," Druella answered with a snort, chuckling.

"I am getting the feeling that may actually be the case," Ophelia stated with a sense of foreboding. She then took in Harry's appearance a little more closely. "Did you even get some sleep last night? You have dark lines under your eyes again."

Harry smiled reassuringly. "Got a few hours in, but I forgot I had a training session with Tosti and the others, with Tom and Altair. So I went to bed late and got two and a half hours in before I was summoned."

"Oh, Harry," Druella rolled her eyes. She sobered a little. "Did you find anything out about that Dark artefact of yours?"

"Other than the box is acting like a prison for something inside with so many sigils and runes on it to keep the damn thing in, nothing," Harry huffed. "I need to disenchant and dismantle each one or something could – in theory – go very badly wrong."

"Oh," Ophelia paled a little.

"Well, try not to blow up half the castle, if you can," Druella drawled with a hint of amusement.

Harry snorted. "Thank you for the advice, Dru."

"Hey, just want to have it said," Druella grinned as Walburga finally emerged from the bathroom. The Rosier heiress was the next to take the shower.

"I really hope I don't get partnered with Tom again any time soon," Ophelia found herself confessing softly.

"Why?" Harry frowned. "Did something happen the last time you were in each other's heads?"

"Not exactly, but your future Consort is a nosey little Niffler," Ophelia confessed. "He was poking his nose in one of my mental fortresses that in hindsight I think I have made a little bit too interesting."

"Did he see anything that you … didn't want him to see?" Harry asked carefully.

"Well, he saw some memories of Rollo and Malum," Ophelia flushed. "But he wasn't really interested in them. You'll probably think that I am mad, but it felt like he was specifically looking for something."

"And he knows that you know," Harry finished with a frown. "He could have been trying to find out if you know my little Peverell problem … or he suspects you know something else about me."

"Indeed," Ophelia confirmed in a whisper. "I mean, I have been working on my shields but I would rather not have to battle your beau again."

"Well, if you are paired up and he goes too far, let me know and I will have a word with him," Harry promised.

"No, no, it's OK," Ophelia's eyes widened. "I don't want to cause trouble."

"Lia, the lessons are not supposed to be used as some kind of reconnaissance opportunity," Harry stated firmly. "If he tries it again, I will have a word with him."

Ophelia dropped the matter, especially when she could see that Harry was not going to be dissuaded. The Rowle heiress took the shower next after Druella was done and Harry set the miniature aside to dry – she would finish it later. Ophelia didn't take too long in the shower, fortunately.

The girls beat the boys to breakfast. War joined them that morning because she wanted to ask some questions to Minerva about the Transfigurations homework she set for the fifth year Revision session. When the boys arrived, Harry was surprised to hear what the topic of their discussion was: the Imbolc Festival.

"-I am glad that all those effigies went up in flames because mine was garbage! I mean I am surprised Brighid wasn't offended by how bad it was!" Arcturus exclaimed as he plonked himself down opposite Harry.

"I really hope we get to decorate some of the floats this year," Orion stated hopefully. "I don't see why the younger ones get to have all the fun!"

"You can take my place if you want, Orion," Billy offered happily.

"Nonsense, Billy. You will be helping," Tessa informed with a tone of finality.

"Look on the bright side, Prewett, if you let Black do his thing, you will have a finished float in record time," Caius grinned.

"I am already sweating at the prospect of having to do another bloody effigy, let alone a float," Malum shook his head. "It took me bloody ages to come up with the idea of a dancing wolf and getting it to work."

"It was a good one though," Druella stated as she peeled her apple. "I haven't got the foggiest idea what to do either. I used my last dosage of inspiration up last year."

It was at this point that Artemis gently nudged her doppelgänger. "Have you got any idea what you are going to do for your first and last effigy at the Hogwarts Imbolc Festival?" she asked curiously.

Harry found herself smiling mischievously. Ever since Walburga and Ygraine had taught her about the significance of the effigy – that they were meant to be as unique and creatively made as possible to honour the goddess Brighid – she had already put some thought into it. Harry was not going to be caught out as she had been at Samhain! "I do, actually. I thought about doing something with butterflies."

"Ooooo that's a good one!" Orion's eyes shone brightly.

"You would have loved the idea if she had wanted to make a slug," Caius huffed.

Artemis, without so much as looking in the Russian's direction, put a non-verbal Silencio on Caius, which earned her a pointed look from Heron and Harry. Artemis continued eating her orange without so much as offering a faux-innocent smile. She certainly didn't see the dirty look Arcturus was sending her – Harry did.

"Was that really necessary?" Harry drawled.

"Yes," came the predictably blunt answer.

After breakfast, the group headed to the gazebo for their Occlumency practise. Walburga and Druella did not waste much time splitting everyone up.

"All right, let's see – Ophelia, you will partner with Loreley today. Orion, you're with my brother to start off with," Druella stated, sounding a little like a teacher who wanted to make sure everyone did not automatically work with the same people on a class project. "Harry and Malum; don't think you two have been partnered yet."

"No, they haven't," Walburga agreed. "I also think Tom and Abraxas have been partnered up yet, so let's change that today. Altair, this may be a challenge for you, but you will be partnered with Dolohov today."

More than a couple of people blanched at that – Altair, Caius and Arcturus most of all. Artemis started chuckling. "This should be good!"

"Artemis, you're with me," Druella immediately continued. "Ygraine, you're with Mulciber."

"Lestrange, you'll be my partner to begin with," Walburga added. "I think that is everyone, so let us all begin! No point in dilly-dallying!"

The group split up. Harry swallowed a little as she unsheathed her wand; Malum faced her with a look of determination. "You ready, Mal?" she asked, mostly for the sake of slowing down her heart's nervous rate.

"Ready when you are," Malum reassured.

Harry directed her wand at him. "Legilimens!"

The first thing that she noticed was that Malum's shields were deceptively simple: they took the form of walls and labyrinths. Harry proceeded to test the sturdiness of the walls by finding areas of weakness and then pushing and prodding at them to see if it would have any effect. She managed to see a couple of memories because of this: Malum meeting Tom and Malum setting up the fledging version of his spy network. Malum's walls fought back quite quickly, but Harry saw what she needed to see. She moved onto some sturdier looking walls; clearly they guarded some more important memories.

Harry used a couple of psionic techniques to see if she could dismantle them enough to gather some information from them. At every point she felt the walls resisting – whatever they contained, Malum was pretty determined to protect them, even more so than the two memories before. Curiosity spurring Harry on, she pushed through Malum's mental resistance. However, Malum was much more determined to protect this particular treasure and much to her own surprise, Harry found herself forced from the Avery heir's head because of the effort put in.

Once out of his head, Harry regarded her friend unblinkingly. Malum was breathing heavily, as though he had just been lifting weights, his face slightly pale. He was watching her as though she were a lioness that could strike at any moment.

"Well done," Harry finally spoke up after what felt like an eternity. "Your shields are very well maintained."

Malum grinned wryly. "You flatter me, my Lady. I am sure you would have gotten through eventually."

"Perhaps," Harry smiled softly. "Shall I try them again, or do you want to test my shields?"

Malum flushed. "Erm … my Legilimency skills are not something to be desired, so I don't think it's a good idea."

"Well, perhaps I can give you some advice?" Harry suggested. "Try it, and we shall see what happens."

Malum appeared to be debating something internally before he drew his own wand. "Very well, but don't say that I didn't warn you."

Harry smirked. "That's the spirit!"

Malum directed his wand at her. "Legilimens!"

Of all the places Malum went first, he came across her Forest of Dark Emotions. Like with Tom, Malum allowed himself to feel all those feelings that Harry had hidden in the very depths. Once again, she only managed to eject Malum out of the Forest once he had experienced her suicidal thoughts. However, unlike Tom had done, Malum did not withdraw from her head, even after receiving a nasty shock to the system.

The Avery heir was soon trying to navigate through her Wall of Thorns, like Tom did, except Malum had approached from the west instead of the south. There were some very different memories being protected there and Harry had no issue mentally constricting the Wall of Thorns to become tighter around Malum in order to make his efforts a little bit more difficult.

Unfortunately, Malum did manage to gain access – almost by accident – to her memory of attempting to rescue Arben, her Durmstrang friend, Hermione and Gabrielle Delacourt from the merpeople in the Black Lake during the Second Task of the TriWizard Tournament. Harry had managed to push Malum from her head before he could get any clear details. Again, once to his senses, her friend looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"What the hell …" was all he was able to say. "Harry … what the hell did they do to you? Why were they down there?"

"It was a test," Harry decided a half-truth was the best option here. "Can you survive under the water for an hour and bring back your kidnapped loved one and make sure no one dies in the process?"

Malum's eyes flashed angrily. "Those animals! They had no right to do that to you."

Harry smiled softly. "What is done is done," she stated simply.

"And those … feelings? Thoughts?" Malum lowered his tone but his voice was no less urgent, his eyes dancing with concern. He was clearly referring to her suicidal ones. "Have you … had them recently?"

"No," Harry reassured firmly.

"Are you sure?"

"Malum, if I did, I would have at least let Tom and Altair know," Harry answered with a reassuring smile.

"They know?"

"They do, though aren't too happy about it."

"No surprises there!" Malum scoffed.

Harry grinned wryly. She sobered up quite quickly, clearing her throat. "So, shall I try your shields again or shall we just spy on the others for a bit?"

"Have another go at them and then we'll see how the others are doing," Malum smirked.

"As you wish," Harry readied her wand once more.

###########################################################################

Ophelia had been relieved when she was not partnered with Tom Riddle a second time but had been downright terrified the moment she got to hear that Loreley Malfoy was her next training partner. While the Malfoy heiress had smiled serenely at her, Ophelia could not shake the feeling that she was being offered like a lamb to a hungry wolf. She knew that Loreley was going to be twice as determined and ruthless as Riddle.

After all, Loreley was going to make doubly sure that Ophelia's mental barriers could sufficiently protect Harry's most dangerous secrets. The girl was too much of a Malfoy to allow a liability to walk around.

"Do you want to begin, or shall I?" Loreley asked whimsically, derailing Ophelia's train of thought.

"I don't mind," Ophelia answered simply, resisting the urge to gulp, shifting nervously.

Loreley hummed. "I think you should go first. I haven't had my shields properly tested in a while."

Ophelia wasn't an idiot. She knew that Loreley was trying to still her nerves, but it only made Ophelia more nervous. What if she saw something that she … wasn't meant to? What if she saw a segment of the future that … could pose a problem? In general, looking in the head of a Seer or Seeress was problematic at best, and downright dangerous at worst.

Reluctantly, Ophelia drew her wand and pointed it at Loreley. "Legilimens!"

Almost predictably, nothing in Loreley's head made any logical sense to Ophelia – there was one mind-boggling riddle after the other. Some of these riddles weren't even in English but in bloody hieroglyphics! It was maddening, and very quickly was giving Ophelia a massive headache. She ignored the riddles in favour of these strange puzzles kept on pedestals. There was a colour alignment puzzle in the form of a cube that Ophelia went to first.

Ophelia attempted to solve the puzzle at least five times but the actual number must have amounted to around twenty before she started to get frustrated. Before she fully knew what she was doing, Ophelia tossed the puzzle to the aside in frustration and when it hit the mental walls, it cracked open like a duck egg.

Memories – well, visions – escaped from the puzzle and Ophelia's eyes widened as the images played before her eyes and the words began ringing in her ears.

THE THIRD REICH IS DEAD!

NEW ATOMIC BOMB LOOSED ON JAPAN

"The King is dead, long live the Queen!"

"The President has been shot!"

Ophelia barely registered everything she had heard and seen – visions of events, newspaper articles that were not printed yet, voices of people not yet alive or dead – fear and disbelief racing through her. In that moment of slight weakness, it gave Loreley the opportunity to throw Ophelia out of her head. The Rowle heiress's breath was shaky and her eyes were bugging out of her sockets.

"Well, now I know what to improve!" Loreley stated jovially, eyes silently apologising.

"Did she manage to get through a few of your shields?" Druella questioned while Artemis was messaging her temples, not looking all too happy.

"One," Loreley replied dreamily. "It was one of my more difficult ones so Ophelia deserves quite a bit of credit for her skill."

Ophelia barely paid attention to her friends as she went to take a seat on some of the pillows on the floor, breath still shaking and her body physically vibrating with what she had seen. Loreley joined her quite quickly.

"Everything all right?" she asked quietly.

Ophelia could only shake her head.

"Do you need something to drink?" Loreley pressed gently.

"No," Ophelia whispered. She took a few deep breaths as Loreley carefully petted her right arm. "How many of those … do you have protected?"

"As many as possible," Loreley answered lowly.

Ophelia nodded. "So it is true. You have True Sight."

Loreley hummed, nodding a little. Ophelia scoffed. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Loreley frowned.

"Live with what you have Seen," Ophelia clarified, swallowing. "How do you go around each day, being as normal as possible, while still knowing what you do?"

"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Loreley smiled softly. "You can't live your life curled up in a ball due to fear. Besides, not all of my visions are horrific or historically significant. They led to me meeting Harry."

"I would consider that historically significant!" Ophelia snorted.

Loreley chuckled. "You could say that," she agreed.

Ophelia considered for a moment. "Do you want to test my shields now?"

"I would be honoured," Loreley beamed. "I am rather looking forward to seeing if I can see a snippet of what you're Courting Box will look like."

Ophelia laughed shortly. "Good luck trying, Loreley!"

The Malfoy Seeress smirked at the challenge and Ophelia almost regretted her big mouth. Perhaps Harry was influencing her a little too much?

###########################################################################

"Why do I feel like we are heading towards battle?"

"Because in some ways we are."

"As I thought. Athena and Ares must be having the time of their lives right now."

Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë could honestly say they had better things to do with their immortal life than to meet with a bunch of jumped up mortals witches and wizards demanding a meeting with the Hogwarts Board of Governors to complain about the choice of apprentice of the new groundskeeper. However, the evening before they had gotten a threat from Lord and Lady Black that they would have to come shopping with the Blacks the next time they wanted to go on a spree if they did not attend the meeting.

None of the gods wanted to take any chances; word was that Melania and Lucretia could shop Aphrodite under the table. The three chthonic deities would prefer to escape that fate! Which was why they were heading towards Arcturus Black the Elder's club, Prestige, where the meeting was taking place, instead of reading, baking, or spending time with Rollo, in Hypnos' case.

They tried not to roll their eyes when Black's security searched them – it wasn't like these mortals could find their divine weapons anyway – and simply smiled serenely when they were told to enjoy themselves.

Why a club? Hypnos grumbled.

Not everyone can come into Prestige, Thanatos answered. I don't think the parents want any old eavesdropper to be able to listen in on this conversation.

Hate to admit it, but it is actually rather clever, Melinoë exhaled sharply. Let's just get this over and done with.

I half hope that the Governors decide they have better things to do at a weekend than getting dragged to listen to parental complaints, Hypnos stated grumpily.

Did you have to postpone a date with Rollo, brother? Thanatos teased.

No, Hypnos flushed.

It was at this point that the God of Sleep was saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of Lord and Lady Black, who appeared to have been waiting for them. The pair had ambushed them the moment they had entered the grand room. None of the disguised gods got a moment to properly take in their environment because of it.

"Messrs. Burke and Miss Rollins! Right on time," Melania Black stated, looking incredibly relieved.

"We were just contemplating starting without you, but Melania practically hexed anyone who voiced that notion out loud," Lord Black added. "Follow us. Arcturus has reserved a few tables for us upstairs. Much more private."

Goodie, Hypnos stated snarkily in his head as he, Thanatos and Melinoë followed the mortals.

"How are your studies going, Miss Rollins?" Lady Black asked kindly on the way.

"Going well, but there is a lot of stress," Melinoë answered easily. "Currently have to balance four essays at the same time as well as getting back to Thomas' apartment each day on time before it gets dark. Not always fun, especially in the winter."

Lady Black nodded along. "I can imagine! Is it a similar situation with your students, Mr. Henry?"

"Absolutely," Hypnos laughed shortly. "My office has become part confessional, part therapist's office, part place to start crying. Even for my colleagues!"

"Indeed?" Lord Black's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh yes," Hypnos smiled softly. "Their nerves are also torn to shreds by so many years of war and stress. I am more than happy to serve as an outlet for when a limit has been reached."

"That is … unusually kind of you," Lady Black beamed. "But then again I suppose one should not be too surprised. You are the Lady Hera's guardians, after all."

By this point they were approached three round tables at the back of the raised platform above the bar. Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë spied the parents of most of Harry's friends – Altair's mother and father were both missing, predictably. They were rather surprised to see the Prewetts, the Weasleys and Artemis' parents and deputy parents were there too. There were also a few couples there that the gods didn't recognise.

The Governors – all twelve of them – were sitting opposite the disgruntled parents, either looking annoyed themselves or looking rather tired. Lady Malfoy, who was sitting with the Governors, was the only exception; when she saw the guardians of House Peverell, she brightened further. "Ah! The last of our party has arrived. We can begin!" she stated brightly.

Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë exchanged a look before they sat down with Orion's parents.

Almost immediately, the complaining began.

"Why the hell are we even sitting here like a bunch of duraki when you should be going to that old fool Dippet and demand he rescind his Dumbledore-influenced decision?" Ivan Dolohov started everyone off.

"That boy is a liability!" Mrs. Weasley added. "Hasn't Hogwarts learned nothing from the events from two years ago? Half-giants should not be in the same school as normal children!"

"Oh, and where are they supposed to go then?" Thanatos raised an eyebrow. "There are no other magical schools in Great Britain."

"Send him to Ilvermorny for all I care!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Just keep him and his dangerous monsters away from my sons!"

"Gyda," Lady Malfoy stated warningly. "You promised to keep things civil."

"I hate to agree with a Weasley on anything, she has a point," Yolanda Mulciber sneered. "That boy has proven himself incredibly foolish and gullible around magical creatures to a dangerous level. Hogwarts already had one fatality; is it really ready to risk another?"

"Mr. Hagrid's activities will be monitored and a new rule will be instated that no creature above XX rating will be allowed on the grounds," a slightly overweight man answered matter-of-factly.

"Don't be a fool, Diggory, it doesn't suit you," Mr. Mulciber responded coldly. "We both know that Albus the Great Nit-Wit will try and undo that rule once he gets his paws on the Headmaster's throne! That rule is no guarantee."

"Are you saying that Dumbledore will simply be able to walk all over us?" Lady Zoë White raised a challenging eyebrow. "Ever since Headmaster Everard, the Board of Governors has had the ability to override and even remove Headmasters who fail to do their duty. Or have you conveniently forgotten that, Mulciber?"

"Who is to say your power will not be challenged by the man? Everyone goes around as though he is the second coming of Merlin!" Mulciber spat.

"No one is untouchable, no matter how much power they perhaps wield," Hypnos spoke up. "Moreover, no one can command the loyalty of everyone. It is simply impossible to the human condition."

"Mr. Burke has a point," Mr. Prewett agreed immediately. "House Prewett is traditionally Light, yet we have chosen to ally ourselves with a Dark House. Furthermore, we are not Dumbledore supporters. Not by a long shot!"

"Which made the decision a whole lot sweeter!" Lord Black stated jovially.

"Can Gerald Alsop even handle a half-giant child?" Henry Potter decided to move the conversation along. "What if the kid flies off the handle?"

Melinoë snorted at this, causing Thanatos to facepalm. Eyes turned on her immediately.

"Something amusing, Miss Rollins?" Ivan Dolohov sneered.

"Yes, actually – the fact you have the nerve to be so patronising to Mr. Alsop, and through him to both the late Mr. Ogden and the Headmaster is so staggering that it's funny. I highly doubt you would be talking like this if the child in question was half-Veela or a dhampir or part elf!" the Goddess of Ghosts retorted. "First of all, I doubt Dippet rushed this decision. I am fairly certain that he even waited until Mr. Ogden's lawyer got in touch with him before making his mind up! Secondly, if you are all so concerned about your children coming near a magical creature, why in the name of everything good and holy is Care of Magical Creatures a subject then? Thirdly, we are holding a meeting that concerns a child – we are ganging up against a freaking kid!"

"A child whose giant spider killed another child," Lord Lestrange rebuked gently.

"Wait, a giant spider?" Melinoë frowned. "How in the name of the Seven Rivers of the Underworld did this boy manage to sneak a giant spider into Hogwarts? Was it his familiar?"

"No," Lord White was the one who spoke up next. "Mr. Hagrid had no familiar."

Melinoë's eyes flashed. "Then why are you blaming the spider's actions on the child? Unless this child is a Beast Master, there is no earthly reason that he should have been able to control the creature's actions!"

"Melanie," Thanatos stated warningly.

"No, Thomas, I think I have heard enough," Melinoë jumped to her feet. "What this comes down to is that this lot are surprised that an animal acts like an animal, and that people can get hurt because of it! Plus, it sounds like this kid was way in over his head and he and another student paid the price for it!"

"You can say that again," Charlus Potter agreed candidly.

"The boy has to live with what he has done," Melinoë stated firmly. "I think that is already a punishment of a lifetime, don't you?"

The Goddess of Ghosts didn't even wait for an answer before making a rather dramatic exit that very nearly had Hypnos giggling out loud.

"I hate to say it, but Miss Rollins has a point," Lord Rowle spoke up with a sigh.

"I still do not understand why none of you are indignant about this," Mr. Weasley had rounded on Thanatos and Hypnos. "We have heard about the kind of danger your ward had to face in the past. Are you really prepared to let someone responsible for the death of another student near her?"

Thanatos and Hypnos glowered at the mortal wizard.

"If you think our ward puts any stock in her own safety than you do not know her at all, sir," Thanatos answered coolly. "Furthermore, the Headmaster has gone to great lengths to keep her safe within the castle walls, although – admittedly – with a few hiccups. Indeed, Harry informed us not too long ago that Dippet actually came to her with concerns regarding Hagrid."

"WHAT?!" came the loud chorus.

"Yes," Thanatos continued nonchalantly. "Because Harry was not present two years ago, thus could look at the situation a little bit more objectively. From what she told us that she said to him, it was actually her idea to make the no-above-XX-rating-creatures rule."

"Merlin's saggy Y-fronts!" Charlus Potter started splitting his sides laughing, as did his wife.

"I would like to know how she managed that," Lord Rowle shook his head in disbelief. "Dippet rarely listens to anyone except his staff, especially Dumbledore."

"Harry has a good head on her shoulders, sir," Hypnos shrugged.

"Indeed she does!" Lord Lestrange readily agreed with a chuckle.

Ivan Dolohov scoffed. "The girl should have advised Dippet to not even consider the option of that half-breed being allowed back onto Hogwarts soil!"

"Oh that had nothing to do with her head, but her heart," Henry stated crisply. "Harry is forgiving by nature."

"A little too forgiving if we have to ask Violetta," Lady Black added with an amused smile.

"Once again proving the heart makes foolish decisions," Dolohov Senior growled.

"Ivan, with all due respect, shut up," Lord Black stated with a tone full of authority, giving the Russian a cold look. "That is still the Lady Hera you are referring to. A friend and ally to many of our children, if I am not mistaken. So at least attempt to remain cordial."

Dolohov Senior bristled but he did as he was told when he saw the cold, warning looks of the rest of the parents who had children in Lady Hera's inner circle.

Lady Malfoy took control of the situation again. "So, are we going to lodge a complaint with the Headmaster, or shall we consider this matter dropped for now?" she asked silkily. "We are all very busy people, after all."

There were a lot of disgruntled and unhappy faces but no one said anything. It would appear that the matter would be dropped – at least, for now.

"Well then," Lady White stated serenely. "Then I wish you all a pleasant rest of your weekend."

Thanatos and Hypnos jumped quickly to their feet with the intention of finding Melinoë. However, Arcturus and Melania Black were not going to simply just let them escape, it would seem.

"Well, that was more entertaining than I expected!" Melania stated jovially. "Shall we find where Melanie has gotten to and then go for a nice cup of tea and just simply catch up? We haven't done that in a while."

I am not saying no, Hypnos already stated. Are you?

I am not risking Black retribution,

Thanatos reassured.

"Sure," Thanatos answered easily.

"Excellent!" Lady Black beamed. "We are out and about anyway, right? Might as well make the most of it, I say."

###########################################################################

Minerva knew she was likely going mad. She had spent the majority of the weekend pondering everything that Athenaïs, Sigyn, Seraphina and Frey had said to her about Dougal and about Harry, each thought sometimes crossing with each other to the point that Minerva was forced to take a potion to calm her mind. Part of her had actually contemplated going to Dumbledore about her problems, but the Cat Animagus quickly realised that her mentor was not going to be able to help her with this problem.

There were times that Minerva envied the familiars; it was probably why she had started to withdraw into her cat form more and more often. The familiars had a very simple way of thinking – human problems such as overthinking matters were not something that bothered a dragon, an owl or even a Gargouille. Problems that were problems to humans were not problems to them at all. The fuss created was the actual problem. While Minerva was more than inclined to agree, she found that her human mind was insisting that telling Dougal the truth about herself was not something to be undertaken lightly.

Should I right to Màthair and ask for her advice? was a thought that had crossed Minerva's mind more than once.

However, each time that Minerva thought about writing to her mother, she chickened out at the last minute and opted instead to start pacing and worrying again. It had irked Artemis and the rest of their dorm mates quite a bit. None of them had said anything until Sunday evening.

"Seriously, Min, what the hell is up with you?" Artemis had slammed her Potions book shut and folded her arms, giving Minerva one of the steeliest looks that she ever had. The pair were fortunately the only two people in room. "You are acting like you are waiting for a bad grade or for Dumbledore to actually give you some criticism for once in your life!"

Minerva had first gave her friend a pointed look before answering. "I have a lot on my mind. That's all."

"Uh-huh," Artemis drawled. "Well, start spilling because you are making us dizzy just by watching you pace."

Minerva had considered for a moment. She had gingerly sat on her bed, eyes looking anywhere but at Artemis. "I got some advice from Athenaïs and her friends about a problem I have been having," she eventually confessed.

"About what?" Artemis frowned.

"About a … boy I like," Minerva flushed in embarrassment. The red tinge only deepened when Artemis started grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"What's his name?" Artemis asked in a sing-song tone.

"Dougal McGregor," Minerva sighed.

Artemis's brow furrowed. "I don't think I know him."

"You don't. He doesn't attend Hogwarts," Minerva began fumbling with her hands nervously. "He is … a Muggle. A boy from the town I live in."

"Oh," Artemis frowned in confusion. "I fail to see the issue."

Minerva blanched. "Arty, what part of he is a Muggle don't you understand? If I marry him, I will be no better than my own mother! I will have dragged him under the Statute of Secrecy without his consent!"

"What advice did Atty and her friends give you?" Artemis's eyes narrowed slyly.

Minerva sighed once more. "That I should tell him the truth."

"I concur," Artemis stated simply.

"Excuse me?" Minerva very nearly toppled from her bed in shock. "Are you out of your mind?"

"No, for once I am not!" Artemis huffed, sitting bold up right. "For once, I am the one out of the two of us who sees much more clearly than the other! If this boy means that much to you, you will do him the courtesy of letting him know you – everything, magic included. And if it makes him run away in screaming terror, a) Obliviate the sucker and b) it's his loss. Atty is right: you need to tell him. If being like your mother concerns you that much, the answer is simple: don't make the same mistake your mother did!"

Minerva visibly deflated. "Yeah …"

"And here I thought the Hat wanted to put you in Ravenclaw," Artemis could not help but tease.

"Shut up," Minerva answered reflexively, though she allowed herself to smile.

"Probably a good thing it didn't or your dormmates would have suggested you tell him by means of a nice complicated puzzle that only Leonardo da Vinci could solve."

Minerva spluttered. "Shut up, Arty!"

"Tell me I am wrong!"

Issue was, Artemis had been entirely correct – on all counts, and Minerva knew it. She just didn't want to admit it to herself. She went to bed Sunday feeling pensive and found that her mood had not lifted Monday morning. For more than half her lessons, Minerva was on autopilot. Her mood was noted: by her friends and by her teachers. Though Artemis was decent enough not to mention anything, Minerva knew it was a matter of time before she was confronted about it.

That she was – by Harry.

Minerva was early for her Ancient Runes class and – much to her surprise – she found Harry waiting outside the classroom, leaning against the wall. This made the Cat Animagus halt in her tracks for a moment. "Harry, what are you doing here? I thought you are taking the self-study option."

"I am," Harry confirmed readily. "But I hoped to catch you before your lesson."

"Oh? Why?" Minerva tried to play innocent.

"Because I want to make sure you're all right," came the dreaded answer. "You were not yourself at breakfast, and frankly you have not been yourself the whole bloody day." Harry's brow furrowed. "Did something happen at home?"

"No," Minerva reassured quickly. She swallowed a little and pursed her lips. "Did Atty not tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Harry frowned.

On one hand Minerva couldn't believe that Athenaïs had kept her secret, but on the other hand, she had hoped that the Gargouille would have had least dropped hints to make this a little easier. Minerva exhaled sharply. "I have boy drama."

Harry blinked a few times in shock before she started smirking. "Anyone I know?" she asked teasingly.

Minerva huffed. Why did doppelgängers have to be as annoying as each other? "No," she answered as she sunk to the floor next to Harry. "He is a Muggle boy from my town."

"OK," Harry stated with a tone of uncertainty.

"I swear that if you say, "I don't see the issue", I will transfigure your shoes into skates," Minerva grumbled.

"But I genuinely don't see the issue!" Harry protested.

"Harry, I am being put in the exact same position as my own mother!" Minerva wailed. "If I tell Dougal the truth about me, I could be putting him in danger and he will be forced to live under the Statute of Secrecy. If I don't tell him, I would be as bad as my mother."

"Tell him the truth, then!" came the irritatingly blunt answer. "Take it from someone who knows what it is like to keep secrets from loved ones: it's horrendous, even if the secrets are meant to be kept! And may I remind you that there are plenty of half-bloods who have parents living under the Statute of Secrecy? Plus, if that is an issue for you, then I suggest moving to Rowena's Sanctuary."

"So Athenaïs wasn't joking?" Minerva could not believe her ears. "There really is a place where Muggles and wizards live openly together?"

"Yep," Harry confirmed simply. "Been there several times myself with my family and Tom. Atty loves that place! Mostly because of all the attention she gets, and she loves the music played at the local pub."

Minerva's head was now spinning.

"Look, Min," Harry continued gently, "you have to live your life the way you see fit. If you don't want to risk a relationship with a Muggle, then don't. But you shouldn't be driving yourself away from a chance to have happiness because you fear being like your mother. You never know, Dougal may be extremely accepting because – if I have to take a stab in the dark – he genuinely likes you. Maybe even loves you already. I don't know, I have never met him. I don't think it is very fair that you are not giving him a chance to prove himself because of fear."

"And if it goes wrong?" Minerva whispered.

"Then it goes wrong, and Arty, Atty, me and everyone else will be there for you," Harry stated firmly. "We will even help you Obliviate the sucker."

Minerva snorted. "Why do you and Artemis have the exact same line of thought?"

"Because we're family?" Harry reminded her with a grin.

"Memo to the wizarding world: beware the girls with Potter and Peverell blood in their veins," Minerva chucked lowly.

"A little too late for that memo, Min!" Harry pointed out, laughing.

"Fair point!"

Harry left just as the rest of Minerva's Ancient Runes class arrived, leaving Minerva to feel once again slightly stupid about her fears and feeling utterly at a loss at what to do. It seemed to her that whatever higher power there was, they were trying to tell her that she was probably overthinking things and that there were options open to her. Fortunately today's lesson was on Gothic runes so that gave her a moment to completely switch her brain off and focus entirely on something else.

Once the lesson was over and Minerva's free period started, she hid herself in an alcove to turn into her cat form and went to find Athenaïs, starting with the Astronomy Tower. Despite its reputation, Minerva was quietly surprised that no one has figured out that there was a Gargouille training some unusual powers up there! Then again, most people did stay away unless they had lessons there because of its reputation.

Inadvertently, Athenaïs had chosen the ideal training ground.

Her Gargouille friend was busy training her telekinetic control when Minerva arrived. It seemed that the dragon had been sneaking stuff from the Lost Property cabinet because the dragon was levitating brooms, robes, books and notebooks. How Athenaïs had managed to get these objects up to the Tower was a mystery to Minerva, but she decided it was best not to think about it too much.

She already had enough on her mind – trying to suss out the mysteries behind Athenaïs the Gargouille was liable to make her brain melt.

The dragon lit up when she saw her. "Hey, Min!" The objects all plummeted to the ground as soon as Atty's concentration broke. She pouted. "Damn it, not again!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Most of us are jealous you can even keep so many objects up in the air at the same time," she meowed bluntly. "Cut yourself some slack. Magic needs concentration in order to work; you lost concentration, that's all."

Athenaïs hummed in agreement and then cocked her head curiously. "May I ask why you are joining me again? Not that I don't like your company but – oh did you talk to your mate?"

Minerva sighed. "Not yet. Have been talking to Artemis and Harry about … my problem, but …" She shook her head.

"You know Arithmancy, right?" came the question Minerva didn't expect.

Minerva blinked. "Yes. Why?"

"Shall we try and calculate how your mate will react to the truth?"

Minerva considered for a moment before nodding. She had not even thought about doing that – it was worth a shot. Minerva and Athenaïs got to work, and it momentarily crossed Minerva's mind that they must have looked utterly ridiculous. It was probably a good thing no one saw them like this or it would be the talk of Hogwarts.

About ten to fifteen minutes into doing their Arithmantic equations, Minerva and Athenaïs' ears pricked up as they heard the door to the Tower open. Both of them had a slight suspicion who it could be so they barely looked up; they only did so once the person had joined them.

Caius Dolohov, crucially without Arcturus Rosier with him.

Atty frowned and quickly scribbled WHERE IS ARC? on a leaf of parchment.

"He is preparing for Tom's next lesson," Dolohov answered with a look and tone of clear conflict that made the Animagus and the Gargouille exchange a glance. "Came up here to clear my head, if that is OK with you two."

While Minerva nodded, Athenaïs continued writing.

ARE YOU OK?

Dolohov's already dark expression darkened further. "It's the stupid Imbolc Festival that is coming up. Everyone is already planning their effigies and their partners and all I want to do is just skip this stupid Sabbath and hide in my dorm when it's Valentine's Day," Dolohov's lips curled into a sneer. Minerva's eyes widened when she saw tears begin to form in his eyes. "Rosier has his eye on someone, Atty. I can just see it – he practically admitted it! I am just done watching from the side lines… And Nott knows how I feel about him! He saw it in my head during our Occlumency training. Fuck!"

THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! BEFORE ALTAIR DOES!

Minerva unfortunately was not in time to stop her friend from writing that.

Dolohov blanched. "I can't, Atty! He isn't interested in me-"

The Russian didn't get to finish that sentence because he was being whacked by Arithmantic books being telekinetically controlled by the Gargouille, with Atty howling mystically in absolute frustration.

"OWW – Atty, what the hell? – Stop, what has gotten into you?" Dolohov protested as he shielded himself from the book. "Mordred's oversized chainmail! Chill, Atty!"

TELL HIM THE TRUTH!

IF HE SAYS NO, HE IS AN IDIOT!

OR MAKE HIM REALISE HIS MISTAKE!

Both Dolohov and Minerva's eyes widened at these messages.

Guess Athenaïs is taking matters in her own claws, Minerva said to herself wryly.

But it did seem to be working because the cogs were whirring behind Dolohov's eyes. The Russian looked solemn. "There is no one in their right mind who would be my partner for the festival, Atty."

Athenaïs pondered for a moment and then she lit up. ASK HARRY FOR HELP!

Uh-oh,

Minerva thought.

"How can Harry help with this?" Dolohov frowned.

HARRY ALWAYS HAS A PLAN

Minerva had to force herself not to facepaw. This could end pretty badly!

###########################################################################

"I warn you now, Henry, he is very likely still studying Cymede and Jason – I mean, I don't blame him since they are absolutely fascinating but I just wanted to give you fair warning."

Rollo had to smile to himself when he heard Katerina's voice drift into the room even through his closed office door. True, he was busy studying the mechanical grimoires and he readily admitted that he had spent most his weekend trying to replicate the techniques Harry and her friends had done to get Jason and Cymede to start coughing up information. However, Rollo had not zoned out completely.

He looked up rather expectantly as Katerina came in – once again without knocking – grinning from ear to ear, with a rather bemused Henry, much to Rollo's quiet delight but also surprise. Didn't Henry have classes to teach today?

"Rollo! Look who I bumped into!" Katerina stated in a sing-song voice, eyes dancing. "A good thing too because I was about to forcibly drag you away from those two cute automatons to go and have some lunch. I am glad that someone else is taking over that duty for once!"

Rollo rolled his eyes. "Yes, thank you, Kat," he responded dryly, shaking his head.

Henry's eyes danced with amusement. "Some of my classes were unexpectedly moved to a later date due to midterm re-sits so I found myself free for lunch and I thought I would come and see if you are free."

"Oh, he is free," Katerina promised on his behalf, giving her boss a pointed look.

Rollo grinned lopsidedly. He knew very well he was not going to win this fight against both Katerina and his lover. The Head Cursebreaker put Jason and Cymede to sleep before getting to his feet. "Very well. Kat, you may go now – I know that you have more than enough to attend to."

His friend smirked. "Yes, I do, sir. Enjoy your lunch!" she stated happily before practically skipping out of the room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door was closed, Henry started chuckling. "You were not overexaggerating when you said that Katerina likes to talk!"

"I did tell you," Rollo smirked. "You historians and sometimes mistrusting your sources."

"Oh, I didn't mistrust you," Henry reassured with a grin. "I just like seeing and finding the evidence for myself."

"Much like I am doing with your ward's research," Rollo looked back at his rather cluttered desk with a wry smile. "She is a natural at this, and her friends have raw skill as well. It is sometimes difficult to believe that they are seventeen-eighteen-year-old Hogwarts students." Rollo then turned back to Henry, who was observing him with an unreadable expression. "Does the term Operation Sparta mean anything to you?"

Henry looked surprised for a moment but he quickly sobered. "No," he answered. "I can't say that it does."

Rollo hummed. He had expected as much; according to Meg, not even the Resistance had been sure of its existence.

"Why do you ask?" Henry inquired quietly.

"Just curious to see how much the Lady Hera talks about her past," Rollo admitted. "My apologies."

"You're forgiven. Harry doesn't like talking about her past all too much, which I think is understandable. It's still raw," Henry got Rollo's cloak from the cloak peg. "But shall we go before you have to attend another meeting?"

"I don't have any meetings today, thank Hekate, but yes," Rollo agreed, approaching to take the cloak from his lover's hands.

Issue was, Henry had other ideas. He held the cloak out of Rollo's reach with a smirk. "You have to pay the toll first."

Rollo raised an eyebrow and then grinned. "Now look who is wasting time."

"Pay the toll and we will be on our way."

The Rowle heir scoffed quietly under his breath before pulling his lover into a loving, tender but passionate kiss. It didn't last as long as either Rollo or Henry would have liked, but then again the History professor failed to specify the exact amount of toll. Rollo smirked at this as he plucked his cloak from Henry's hands.

"Thank you, darling," he teased.

Henry scoffed with laughter and then looked about Rollo's office. "No goblin guards?" he only just noted.

"No, Goldheart has many of his goblins on a top secret assignment for the King," Rollo's face darkened. "I have no idea what it is but I get the impression that it is something bad. The last time I saw Goldheart, he looked set to faint. No idea why."

Henry didn't answer; he looked rather pensive.

As Rollo put on his cloak a thought suddenly jumped into his head. A mad one, but he at least wanted to see if Henry was open to the idea. "Hey, do you mind if I invite someone else along?"

Henry looked surprised for a moment but that expression was quickly replaced by one of curiosity. "Who did you have in mind?"

Rollo felt himself flush a little. "Meg."

"Meg?!" Henry had definitely not seen that coming. "One of the Hit Wizards?"

"Yes. They are currently 'guests' of Gringotts," Rollo admitted. "Meg has been … helping to keep me sane now and again. Especially on the more quiet days. She, Ghost and Goliath are providing us with information on Grindelwald."

Henry blinked a few times before his expression darkened a little. "They have dropped any notion of trying to get close to Harry?"

"It seems so," Rollo replied. "Meg has not asked me about her at all except in the context of Cursebreaking."

Henry considered for a moment. He then nodded in consent. "Let's ask her."

Rollo found himself beaming. Henry smiled at his expression and they set off to find the Hit Witch. They ended up finding Meg in the room that the goblins had filled with some books for their 'guests'. She too did not have any guards in the room, though goblins did patrol the corridors. The goblins gave Rollo and Henry an odd look but didn't say or do anything and simply continued with their duty.

As for Meg, she really did not expect the pair of them to come and see her. When they had come into the room, her eyes bugged out. "Rollo? Mr. Burke? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We are going out for lunch. Would you like to join us?" Rollo asked casually.

Meg blinked, shocked. "Erm … I highly doubt that your Goblin King wants me to set foot outside the bank."

"We will Glamour you and leave an impression of you behind – an illusion," Henry suggested. "Please? I have a feeling Rollo would really like you to join us."

"I don't wish to impose on your private time," Meg flushed.

"You aren't," Rollo reassured. "Please?"

Meg considered for a moment more before relenting. "Very well. If you insist."

Rollo wasted no time in applying a Glamour to the Hit Witch while Henry conjured an illusion of Meg exactly as she had been when they had entered the room. Meg then incanted the Disillusionment Charm and followed Rollo and Henry out of the bank. All the while she could have thought Henry mutter something in what sounded like Ancient Greek until they were outside.

The three of them went to the Higgs family owned restaurant down in Knockturn Alley. Meg was rather relieved to be able to lift the Disillusionment Charm quite quickly. When the three of them entered, a few eyes lifted to look at them but very quickly looked away. People in Knockturn Alley knew better than to stick their noses where it didn't belong.

"How are your students doing, Mr. Burke?" Meg asked after they were left to peruse the menu.

"Stressed but fine, on the whole," Henry answered with a smile. "How are you, Ghost and Goliath … faring?"

"Lorcan and Victor are both prone to boredom, but the goblins have managed to accommodate them," Meg replied with a small smile. "On the whole, we are doing all right."

"Good," Henry smiled softly. He lowered his tone. "I must ask: are you three still … trying to find a cure for your friends?"

Meg scoffed quietly. "No. We were ordered to drop it a while back. Wisp said we had bigger fish to fry, essentially. Typical."

Rollo and Henry exchanged a glance.

"Rollo told me that Wisp collected you all when you were children," Henry continued.

Meg nodded in affirmation.

"What was he like? Growing up?" Henry wanted to know.

"Like a military General," Meg answered candidly. "He rarely showed us any affection, if ever. Everything about him, and about the place we grew up, was cold and austere. Durmstrang was a luxury by comparison."

Their waitress came back to take their orders at this point. Once she was gone, Rollo turned to Meg. "How many of you were there?"

"Around ten," Meg replied with a cold smile. "We lost one at Durmstrang though. Charles was a Shapeshifter, not an Animagus, and his transformations – well, they were painful to say the least. The more he used his ability, the more painful it became." Her expression darkened at this point. "Hardly mattered to Wisp and it didn't matter to the Durmstrang faculty. One student, Karkaroff, wanted to test Charles' abilities and put him through a series of …" She pulled a face of disgust. "Let's just say, what that boy did took a toll on Charles and he … ended up dying after one of his transformations."

Rollo and Henry listened in stunned silence. Meg chuckled coldly. "Karkaroff was only suspended for a term, pending investigation into what happened. Charles' funeral was almost a hurried affair – we were ordered not to cry in public too."

"What?" Rollo could hardly believe his ears. "Why?"

"So as not to appear weak," Meg answered simply.

It was probably fortuitous that the drinks were brought over at this point. Henry decided it was best to steer the conversation to something more pleasant. "What did you like to do in your spare time, when you got the chance?"

Meg flushed. "Dance, mostly. Reading too. I liked cooking and baking too – sewing and knitting also gave me a peace of mind. Plus we didn't have much funds for clothes so I would try and revamp all of our clothes with what we had."

"With or without magic?" Rollo asked curiously.

"Both," Meg grinned. "I also designed most of our armour and uniforms."

Both Henry and Rollo looked set to ask another question when suddenly an all too familiar voice drifted into their ears.

"-I have not the foggiest idea who they are, Bertrand, but they have information damaging to me and my family."

Both of them tensed; they knew that voice. Lord Mattheo Nott.

"I pay you to find secrets, not to give me half-conjured excuses!"

Covertly, Henry and Rollo looked in the direction of the voice. Lord Nott was sitting a few booths over with his back to them. Meg too frowned in the man's direction.

"- I don't care what you need to do, Bertrand; you find them, any means necessary. They need to be found before they threaten my family further – I don't know, they are only known as Farkas and Valerion!"

Rollo's eyes widened at hearing those names. Thanks to his uncle's dealings, he knew exactly who those two men were: the Greyback brothers – mercenaries who had a reputation for discovering dirt on anyone. All they needed was a big pay check and they would hunt down everything from the date of someone's birth to whether or not they ordered their cloaks in a certain way.

If the Greyback brothers had been hired to target the Notts, then that meant only one thing: major trouble.

"-keep me up to date – I expect a full report!" Lord Nott then hung up, put some Galleons next to his empty goblet and then marched out of the restaurant, barely paying attention to anyone around him.

"Oh boy," Meg commented.

"You can say that again," Rollo agreed wryly. "Those two men, Farkas and Valerion? They are not the types one just simply messes with. And if they have been commissioned to target you – let's just say it is best to start warding anything and everything you own."

Meg's eyes widened. It was probably a good thing that their food arrived at this point.

"I think I will get in touch with Amaris then," Henry frowned. "She needs to be warned."

Rollo nodded in agreement and forced himself to concentrate on his food and the time he had with his lover and his friend.

##########################################################################

Amaris knew that most people saw her as a fool or a nervous wreck – in most cases she was. However, Amaris was not as blind as some people thought her to be; after all, she had ordered Ava to follow her husband to this meeting and discover anything she could. What her old friend had uncovered, Amaris indeed had not seen coming but knew had opened a door that she never would have considered.

Alexander Avery had teamed up with Electra Potter, who had seemed to be on Mattheo's tail for a while and had managed to commission some rather ruthless sounding mercenaries – Henry Burke's letter stated they were the Greyback brothers – to help her get the dirty laundry of her husband and his mistress. Mr. Burke's letter assumed they were after her and Altair, but Amaris was certain this was not the case. These brothers were after Anne and her bastards. But why? Amaris knew that Henry Potter's second daughter was an investigative journalist so she knew Electra was motivated by a good story.

What did Alexander Avery, a lawyer and a fearsome one at that, stand to gain?

It was this that had Lady Nott pacing up and down her chambers, wrecking her brains to find a motive for why the husband of one of her oldest friends had executed one of his famous schemes to extract a confession out of someone. It had to be on behalf of a client, but which client would be interested in Mattheo's infidelity?

More than half of wizarding Britain, Amaris' common sense supplied.

If this got out, Mattheo's reputation would be in tatters! There were more than enough families who would be over the moon to witness that. But there was something off about all this; Amaris had no idea why, but she had the feeling there was more to this than mere political slander. She wanted to know what it was – for once, not for Mattheo's sake, but for her own mental wellbeing.

Alex Avery was involved – it was highly likely that Regina knew exactly what her husband was up to. With a sense of determination, Amaris went to her desk and began quilling a letter to her friend, hoping upon hope that Regina would happily put her out of her misery.

##########################################################################

Orion: I am betting Lord Nott wasn't even in Slytherin at this point, the bungling idiot!

Tom: Indeed, that was quite foolish.

Harry *snorting*: Lord Nott doesn't stand a chance against a bunch of werewolves!

Orion: Harry, no spoilers! The readers need to stay excited for the next chapter. Which will have lots of legal drama, Dolohov and Rosier drama and of course Imbolc. We will also see Aragog-

Tom: Orion, no spoilers also goes for you!

Oh boy. See you in the next chapter guys.

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