a/n: This was my submission for HMS Harmony's Quick Quotes Quest. It's a culmination of 51 prompts, but I'm combining some chapters together to make it flow a bit better over here.

Prompt 1: I barely hexed him
Prompt 2: Oh god. You gave it a name.
Prompt 3: I can't say this is exactly the surprise I was hoping for.
Prompt 4: I'm not stuck.

Chapter 1

Platform nine and three quarters was packed with families and barely contained chaos. Harry found the annual visit bitter sweet. There were ghosts from the past everywhere. Reminders of old friends reflected back at him in the faces of their kids getting ready to embark on their own adventures. Fond memories of those early years when magic was new and exciting. His first taste of freedom away from the repression of the Dursley's. Meeting Ron and Hermione. They'd gone their separate ways but they stayed in touch. A little less each year. The train made him regret the distance between them.

"Dad. You didn't have to come here this year. I didn't even have to take the train," a voice said behind him.

Harry turned and noticed Teddy's hair had changed to royal blue with pale blue streaks. It was always easy to see the similarities of Tonks in the teenager. But Harry more often than not saw the evidence of Remus. Teddy was pragmatic and if given the choice would be content to stick to his small circle of friends whom he trusted. "I know it seems silly coming here when you could just stay at the castle but this is part of the school experience," Harry said, stepping closer to his godson. "We've done this every year since your first year."

Teddy rolled his eyes. "You're not taking the train this year though. I could have stayed at Hogwarts with you and helped Hagrid get ready for the first years."

Harry put a comforting arm around Teddy's shoulder and led him deeper into the crowd. He tried to see if from Teddy's perspective. It was one thing to be the son of Harry Potter and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but he'd be starting his fifth year as the son of the headmaster. That was a lot of unwelcomed pressure and attention. "You haven't seen the Weasleys all summer. Get a compartment with them and get whatever you like from the trolley. You'll be fine once you're on your way," Harry encouraged him and pulled out a stack of galleons, placing them in Teddy's hand.

"Atticus! You stop that now," a borderline hysterical voice caught Harry's attention. His head turned to see a small group of red-haired parents and students.

"Mum," an exasperated voice pushed back. "I barely hexed him."

Harry steered Teddy toward the Weasley's. It didn't take long to see what had happened. Ron's youngest was missing an eyebrow and a long strip of hair running down the center of his head. Susan was alternating between calming the crying child and reversing the hex. Harry sidled up to Ron, unsure if he should try to help the desperate mother or stand back. Susan Bones was a competent dueler dating back to her time in Dumbledore's army. Her heightened emotional state seemed to be impeding her efforts.

Ron paused his lecture, admonishing his older son to nod his head at Harry. "Now don't pick on Caleb. You know he's nervous about his sorting. Standing in front of everyone missing his hair might put him in a state that will confuse the sorting hat."

Teddy broke off to show Bill and Fleur's twins his new telescope, and Harry relaxed. Teddy would enjoy time to talk to someone other than his dad and gran, he just needed the push.

"There, see, he's fine," Atticus said, pointing to Caleb's restored full head of hair.

Ron flashed his son a warning look, hugged him, and shooed him along. "Honestly, I'm not sure how you deal with it all," he said to Harry. "The summer holidays feel like an eternity now that they're all school age."

Harry shrugged, "The prefects do a good job providing order. Professors only have to get involved when it's serious. A scalping hex can be reversed easily enough. It's the joke boxes that cause the most chaos."

The two friends shared a knowing smile. Finally, kids started shuffling onto the train, bringing the noise down on the platform. "Headmaster this year," Ron continued, looking his friend up and down.

"Who'd of thought," Harry said, never dreaming he'd be in that position when he'd been a student. Dumbledore seemed ancient and larger than life. He was barely thirty-three. "Minerva deserves a long vacation."

"I'm sorry I missed your birthday. The kids were on a summer quidditch team. We were running all over Europe. The changing time zones messed me up."

Waving it off, it hadn't bothered him much. "Teddy and I spent most of the summer helping Andromeda with her estate. I almost missed my birthday."

"Did you hear from Hermione?" Ron asked quietly.

The note from their friend was in fact the reason he remembered what day it was. "Like clockwork. The owl arrived nearly at dawn. She's still in France. She talks about taking a position in London."

"Yeah. She mentioned that in her birthday message to me in March. It'd be nice for the three of us to get together again. Maybe during a Hogsmeade weekend. I'm usually at our shop in Hogsmeade during those weekends. If she moves back to England… we could see."

Harry looked at the train. It was hard to believe their lives had diverged so significantly that they had reduced their communications to birthday messages. A few times he thought about traveling to France to see Hermione. He worried she was too busy. And she had never actually invited him to visit. The train pulled away. The students were safely on their way to the school. His work was about to start. "We should see," he said. "I'll keep an eye on the boys. I'll send an owl after the sorting. Let you know where Caleb ends up."

Ron smiled, "Nah, mate. He's a Hufflepuff like his mum. I'd bet my entire savings on it. I'll let you know the next time I'm in Hogsmeade."

"Please," Harry answered and turned on the spot to apparate to his office. He'd placed the temporary apparition exception before he left the school. There was much to do before the train arrived. Glancing at the wall of paintings all the former head teachers looked on expectantly. It was oddly comforting to have their support for his first welcoming ceremony. His eyes lingered on Dumbledore and Snape. "They're on their way."

"You're ready," Albus said with a nod.

"Best to be prepared for the unexpected," Snape countered.

Harry let out a small laugh. It wasn't a surprise to him that the copy of Dumbledore would respond with nonspecific encouragement while Snape would offer a cynical warning. Donning his neutral robes, he'd decided to avoid any appearance of preference toward Gryffindor. Tucking his speech in the inside pocket he had a fleeting wish that Ron and Hermione would be there with him. Just one more time. Life didn't turn out that way and it wouldn't change regretting their distance or their choices.

~~/~~

Heels clicked on the tile floor made to look like ancient wood. Small groups gathered around displays secured behind ancient artifacts. Whispering patrons discussed the museum pieces with the reverence of church goers. Hermione walked past an impressive collection of drinking horns. As she surveilled the National Museum of Denmark, she was oddly more aware of the date. September 1. And it was very nearly eleven. While she looked for security cameras and alarms she imagined the excitement around the Hogwarts Express. She was pretty sure Ron and Susan's youngest was starting that year. Making a mental note to send Caleb a care package, she also thought Harry might also appreciate something special for his new appointment. As much as she loved her job, it was hard not to miss that other life.

Sensing motion to her right, Hermione's right hand rested on her left lapel. Her wand was safely hidden in a small pocket of her silk blazer. Her partner greeted her as if they were old friends meeting up for a day in the museum.

As she hugged him, he whispered in her ear. "Did you find Velma?"

Pulling back to get a look at Cyrus, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Velma?" she asked quietly. "Oh god. You gave it a name?"

"We can't go around calling it what it is," he said, impervious to her lack of humor. "Are we doing this then? It would be nice to head home early. Working on a Sunday is a drag."

She didn't disagree, Hermione just knew it couldn't be helped. The cursed item was scheduled to be added to a traveling exhibit and would more than likely undergo some minor restoration once removed from its current display. They ran out of time to find a less offensive way to switch the comb. A couple moved out of the small hall, leaving only three other muggles. It was likely as sparse as the space would get. With a smooth motion, a wandless, nonverbal spell paused all the recording devices. Then she took out her wand and temporarily froze all the people while Cyrus put in place a muggle repelling charm to keep anyone new from entering. "There's an alarm hatch. We can't use a switching spell until we know the true nature of the curse."

Cyrus nodded, used his want to short circuit the security while Hermione gingerly plucked the wooden comb out of the case, replacing it with an exact replica. The fake was even magically aged to pass scientific inspection. Once the swap was made, Hermione placed the artifact in an enchanted satchel to protect her and stowed it in her beaded bag. With a few more smooth motions, the freezing charm and repelling charms were lifted and the cameras were restored. The two agents stood still for several seconds to ensure they hadn't raised any suspicion and would need to take more aggressive steps to cover their actions. No security showed up, no museum staff came to check on anything deemed suspicious.

"Another job well done. Should we get some lunch?"

Hermione shook her head. "You go on. I'm going to bring this to the vaults. If we can get a better runic interpretation we might be able to remove the curse and return it."

They pair walked toward the exit. "They'll never know they don't have the real artifact."

"That's not the point. If we can return it, we should. It's their history." She knew her words were falling on deaf ears. Cyrus had made clear on multiple occasions that he viewed their job done once the dangerous magical objects were recovered. She didn't want to argue with him. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said and went her own way toward a small alley where she could use her portkey to their secured vaults.

"Agent Granger. I was surprised to see you on the schedule so soon after that last operation," the guard greeted her, handing her the signing in parchment.

Hermione unconsciously rubbed her healing side. It wasn't the first time an assignment landed her in the hospital and she figured it wouldn't be the last. "The healers took good care of me. I have an item to deposit in the research department," she explained and listed the artifact in question on the dangerous object declaration section.

"I thought Cyrus was with you?" The witch asked, handing Hermione the all access badge she needed.

"He stopped for lunch in Copenhagen," Hermione explained, and stepped aside to wait for the vault doors to open.

The reinforced doors swung open. "I'm glad you're in one piece," the witch said before waving her through.

"Thanks, Claire. I'm feeling good," Hermione assured her and moved into the labyrinth under the ICW's muggle protection department. As she followed the signs to the research labs, her mind wandered again. She thought about Harry a lot, hoping he was happy. She knew he agonized over leaving the English National team to teach. It was hard to know exactly how he felt about his decisions now. Letters weren't nearly good enough to get a sense for his mind set. Becoming the headmaster so young was bound to be full of conflicting thoughts. Her paperwork was already filled out to transfer to the London office. They'd been complete for months now. Every time she thought about shredding the request she thought about Harry and Ron. She missed them both terribly and felt bad she was missing out on some many of their family milestones. Each year she missed more.

Waving her badge near a brass knocker, the wall at the end of the hallway disintegrated revealing rows of benches down the center of the cavernous room. The walls were lined with containment areas and archaic devices designed to run experiments and safety protocols. Only a handful of staff were in on the weekend, a contrast to the bustling activity during the week. Hermione preferred this calmer environment. Pulling out her beaded bag, Hermione stepped up to a bench occupied by her favorite lab tech. "Hey Andre. Do you have time for an intake?"

"Of course. Is this Velma?" the wizard asked.

Hermione knew he was teasing her. She put her arm inside her bag up to the elbow and searched around for the pouch. "We're not calling it that. It's the Vimrose Comb," she explained, and liberated it from the crowded extension charm. "I think you'll have some luck clarifying the runes up close."

Andre took the pouch and nodded. "We'll put it through the full assessment and will send you the report."

"Perfect, thanks," she said and continued on her way through the labs to the lift on the opposite end of the room. "Bullpen," she said, letting the car take her up and around to her office space. The bullpen was as deserted at the labs. It was a painful reminder that many of her coworkers had a life apart from their job. Something she knew she should focus on someday. Sitting heavily in her chair, she leaned back and closed her eyes, massaging the twinge in her side. More often than not, her job was dangerous. Her days were long. Both of those were often my choice. She took the hard assignments. She wasn't sure if she did that because she knew she was in the best position to take the risks or if she took the risks to make her forget about the fact no one was waiting for her at home. She was about to turn thirty-four in a little over two weeks. She still had time to find a balance. To have her own kids to see off on the Hogwarts Express. She just didn't know if she wanted that. Or who she'd share it with. Leaning forward again, she pulled open the drawer to her right, and pulled out the transfer request. Her life was still back in England. She'd be happier being closer to that life. Using her wand, she signed the request, and sent it to the internal mail service.

~~/~~

Diagon Alley on September first was a radically different place than it was just the day before. The shopkeepers looked strung out, inventory was severely depleted, and the crowds were reduced to small groups of parents not sure what to do with themselves now that their kids were off for a new term. Ron knew a mess was waiting for him at the joke shop. He walked hand in hand with Susan down the cobblestone street. He worried about her now that all three of their children were off to Hogwarts. She enjoyed raising them so much, it would be hard to go home to an empty house now. She'd mentioned returning to her job at Saint Mungo's and Ron would be happy for her to return to healing if that's what she wanted.

"Do you want to get ice cream?" he asked his wife wondering how he could make the day easier for her.

She squeezed his hand. "I'm going to be okay. You go to the shop. I'm going to pick up some things for the picnic at The Burrow tomorrow."

Ron gave her a quick kiss. They had plenty of nieces and nephews that needed attention. If she wanted to offer child care for the Weasley brood, he'd support that choice too. "Come to the shop when you're ready to leave." He watched her disappear down the walkway and turned toward the bright shop front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He wondered what sort of surprises would be waiting for him now that they'd survived another summer of Hogwarts students stocking up on their joke items. He almost felt guilty about the chaos that was in store for Harry. Almost.

The bell above the door rang pleasantly. That was knew, he thought, completely failing to question why. As the door closed behind him, a giant paddle swung around and smacked his ass so hard he pitched forward into a display of joke boxes. The boxes scattered across the floor, spilling a thick goo that resembled caramel.

"Watch out there," George said from his stool behind the register. "If you break it, you buy it."

Ron got to his feet, the goo surrounded his shoe, making it come off as he tried to step away from the invading substance. He rubbed his backside as he tried to extract his shoe. "I can't say this is exactly the surprise I was hoping for," he grumbled. Limping up to his brother he pointed toward the paddle. "That might need some calibration."

George looked his brother over and then laughed. "I think it worked alright. The kids got off alright?"

"Yeah. Atticus tried a scalping spell on Caleb just before they got on the train. Susie got it straightened out," Ron explained, opening a large book to check their inventory. "Harry and Teddy were there."

"Yeah? How is the new headmaster?" George asked, looking up from some small machine lying in pieces in front of him.

"He looked good. Teddy didn't seem happy he had to leave the castle just to ride the train back to the castle," Ron commented as he noted how well they did their last Saturday before school started. "We need to restock everything."

George turned around to look at the bare shelves. "We can put some of our older inventory out for now. We need to talk about our holiday packs this year."

Ron smiled. He loved brainstorming with his older brother and enjoyed creating the new product even more. "I have an idea for a series of climate Christmas crackers. Each one makes a different weather effect. A blizzard bomb, a sleet slushy…" he explained.

George's eyes lit up, "Parents will hate it. We might need to offer a clean up kit."

"Susie would appreciate it," Ron acknowledged. "I'm not sure Harry's happy." The observation was blurted out. Ron had always been concerned by how isolated his best friend chose to be. He quit quidditch after only three years to teach and then when he took on raising Teddy full time, he basically lived at Hogwarts. And when the pair weren't at the castle, they were at Andromeda's mansion. Alone. Now he was the youngest headteacher in a hundred and fifty years. Ron worried Harry would just get more isolated each year.

"Harry loves Hogwarts. And he'll keep teaching," George pushed back, not sure where his younger brother was coming from. "He seems happy every Christmas."

"No. But he's alone. I know he has Teddy, but he's not going to find a girl holed up in the castle. I mean, Hogsmeade doesn't have a great dating scene."

"Some people are happy single."

Ron rolled his eyes, "You might be single but you're not celebrate. Harry… he hasn't dated anyone since he and Ginny split."

"He decided to focus on giving Teddy his attention. Maybe when Teddy finished his seventh year, the Wizarding World's most eligible bachelor will settle down," George said and then he got a mischievous look in his eye. "Oooh. I like that. We should make some joke products just for Harry. Make him think we're developing a dating game for him. That will give him the nudge he needs."

"Ah, we can't do that to him. I was just saying. I'm worried he's not trying to take care of himself. He's always so busy watching out for everyone else. Now he has the entire school. We should try to get him away from Hogwarts more this year. Even if it's once a month in Hogsmeade."

"Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. And maybe we can bring some friends. Get him back in the dating game," George agreed.

Ron wanted that to be a good solution. He suspected he knew the real reason Harry wasn't looking for a relationship. He was already in love, but she was out of reach and he respected her too much to ask her to settle down in a drafty castle.

~~/~~

Harry walked though the taller grass near the forbidden forest, a scroll of parchment gripped in his left hand, his wand in his right. It didn't bode well for the school year if the centaurs were reaching out to him already. He didn't think any students had time to breach the dark forest already, but the older students may have been planning during their summer holiday. Venturing into the wooded area didn't hold the thrill is once did for him when he was a student himself. Maybe he was more confident in his ability to face whatever he encountered. Or maybe he knew there weren't many things within that were actually dangerous. He was forced to also consider he was walking into the off limits area alone. Without Hermione and Ron. And there was no fun in that. Veering left toward the closest centaur encampment, he was grateful they decided to set up a post closer to the school grounds. They could be the first line of defense for interlopers. The headmaster might not be worried about the creatures within, but the younger students weren't prepared to face off against the inhabitants.

A small fire glowed within a circle of trees. Harry was surprised to see several forms gathered. He assumed only Firenze would be waiting for him. Stepping through the darkness, he tried not to let a foreboding feeling from taking over. Before he reached the clearing, he was stopped short. Harry let out a small cry of surprise at the tugging on the hem of his robes.

"Headmaster?" a concerned voice called out, stepping closer to the darkness. "Are you okay? Are you stuck?"

Harry shook his head before realizing the centaur wouldn't be able to see the motion. "No. I'm not stuck. There's… it must be a bush," he said, trying to see what snagged his clothes. Lighting up his wand tip, the ground was bare. There was nothing. Pulling up the edges of the material, he ran his hands over the fabric. There was no damage, no dirt. A faery, possibly? Or some other small creature that was long gone. Shaking it off, he continued forward. "Good evening, everyone," he greeted the five centaurs gathered in a half circle, stomping their feet. "Should I have brought Hagrid?"

The group shook their heads in unison. "This isn't a matter for Rubeus," Firenze said seriously.

Thinking through the reasons the centaurs wouldn't reach out to the gamekeeper first, Harry landed on two possibilities. Hagrid was the issue. He brought in some beast that was wreaking havoc. Or it was a beast or creature issue. It was a human issue. "Tell me."

"There are invaders in the far edges of the forest. They're doing damage. Destroying sacred spaces," Firenze explained.

"Muggles or wizards?"

"Wizards," Bane answered, the disgust was evident. "Groups of them."

"Do you know what they want?" Harry asked, already deciding he'd need ministry support. Now that the school year had started, he needed his professors focused on the students, not participating in an exploratory taskforce.

Several of the centaurs stomped the ground so hard, Harry felt the vibrations flow from the soles of his feet up his legs. "They're taking material out of the forest. Timber, herbs, metals. And they're venturing into an ancient cave system no one should go."

This was the first Harry had heard of such a thing. It didn't surprise him that there were hidden reaches in the vast forest. "Because it's dangerous?"

"Yes," Firenze said and continued, "But not just for them. For all of us. There are areas that have been sealed since before the founders. The thieves don't know the dangers. To all of us."

Curiosity peaked, Harry longed for the day he'd go blazing in himself to investigate. "I'll need to ask the aurors to look into it," he warned the cloistered herd. "Can you send me a map of where they should look? To limit the disruption."

The chimera-beings exchanged glances. They weren't thrilled with the arrangement. But they were even more concerned with the unknown threat. Finally, Bane nodded at Firenze. "We'll send a map. There are areas even we don't go. Warn the wand carriers," Firenze said.

"I understand," Harry said. But he didn't really understand. He wanted to talk to the portraits of the headteachers to get a better sense of what might have the centaurs so worried. "I'll send a warning when I know what the ministry will do. Thank you. For telling me." Harry turned back toward the castle, already thinking about the steps he'd need to take that night to get the bureaucracy moving. It could be several days before anything happened. He didn't want to make stricter rules about avoiding the Dark Forest. That was the quickest way he knew to encourage the rule breakers to enter. It sounded like the dangers were too far within the forest to pose an immediate danger. He'd warn the staff to look out for trouble. It was going to be a long night.