Chapter 23: Now We're Getting Somewhere

October 13th, 2011 - Lunch

Sirius Black Pardoned!

All crimes committed by Sirius Black have been shifted onto Peter Pettigrew!

Order of Merlin, First Class, removed from Peter Pettigrew and given to Sirius Black for his efforts during the war!

Title of Lord Black returned to Sirius Black the Third from the still "missing" Harry Potter!

Amelia Bones calls for a manhunt for Peter Pettigrew, an unregistered Animagus!

Lord Black calls for modification to Azkaban wards to close up holes discovered by him, a now registered Animagus!

Lord Black admits to taking his Wizengamot seat after extensive treatments at St. Mungo's to ensure no aftereffects from his "incarceration" in Azkaban!

All this and more as written by Rita Skeeter.

Hermione finished reading the articles before putting down her paper and looking at Neville – they were sitting at the Ravenclaw table today – and asking him, "I thought Rita Skeeter was a muckraker at best – I barely saw anything twisted up or any outright lies this time."

"She does tend to play fast and loose with her Quick-Quotes Quill - they are like Self-Writing Quills except they exaggerate spoken words for use in journalism, so watch out for those – but honestly, it's what isn't said that speaks volume to the right people."

Hermione looked at Neville in confusion, "Really, how so?"

Neville put down his knife and fork before whipping his mouth. He was trained as Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, despite his mother suspicions of him being a squib.

"First, notice the quotes around the words 'missing' and 'incarceration.' To the general public, it could be misconstrued as an emphasis on the word. To others, however, it's a giant Lumos on something secret."

Hermione, a fan of puzzles, inquired further. "I can see how that would apply to Lord Black, him being thrown in prison without a trial and under suspicious circumstances. But how does that apply to Harry Potter?"

Neville nodded and straighten up, confidence slowly flourishing in the boy ever since he got his new wand. It turns out, he wasn't a squib at all; instead, the prolonged use of practice wands and wands of other witches and wizards had shot his self-control to shambles. The fact that he has been forced to use his father's wand to practice since turning eleven only made it worse. It would take time, but with the help of Professor McGonagall, both hoped he would achieve some level of stability by years end.

They were both getting annoyed by his blinding Lumos spells to check his control.

"You are partially correct on Lord Black, Hermione. But you also must realize that such an injustice isn't just thrown under the rug, as it were. There will be inquires, there will be questions, and most likely, there will be blood."

Hermione nodded at that, "I can see how that would relate to Cornelius Fudge and Millicent Bagnold since one was responsible for throwing him in there and another for keeping him there illegally…"

"Ah, exactly Hermione – illegally. There has to be restitution for such a crime, should there not?"

Hermione tapped her chin, "So both are paying fees and fines to Lord Black… but why isn't that mentioned?"

"Because, my lovable little redhead," stated Harry as he sat down at the table with his meal, "the DMLE doesn't want a trial regarding that to be known to the public."

This confounded Hermione, "And why not?"

Harry gave her the critical eye, "Despite your outright admittance of being a bookworm, have you never read a mystery novel?"

Hermione shrugged, "Not really – they were usually graphic, so my parents didn't really allow me to read them."

"Tisk, tisk, such a rule follower – I thought we managed to get through to you about respecting authority and figureheads?"

Hermine blushed at that statement. While still not precisely blossoming, Harry's seeds of doubt have been planted quite deep within her. Using Quirrel as a perfect example, Harry attempted to justify that respect for a title should be earned through character, not past accomplishment and the word of others. Using famous Muggle figures helped cloud Hermione's perception of who deserves respect and for what. Eventually, she finally admitted to Neville and Harry – under fear of castrating both of them if they told anyone else – that she believed that Quirrel was, in fact, a poor teacher, despite whatever knowledge he may possess and whatever he has done in the past.

Both boys were also flabbergasted when she admitted that despite his record-breaking achieving Potion Mastery, Professor Snape simply could not teach nor nurture student growth. His misuse of power and favoring of his Slytherin was the cherry on top of the disappointment sundae for her. She kept up appearances of respecting him, but that was a façade he most likely already saw through.

Harry liked to quote Einstein to get the point across to Hermione: "I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."

Neither Snape nor Quirrell has ever done so.

"Alright – should I explain Neville or do you want to take a crack at it?"

Neville raised a hand, "No, no, go ahead – you seem to possess a talent for this sort of thing."

"Very well. You see Hermione, Amelia Bones most likely wants to track down where the Galleons that paid for Bagnold's and Fudge's silence came from. If the public were aware of this through the Daily Prophet, then the individual responsible for bribing one or both of them would have taken action to ensure it wasn't tracked back to them. Granted, one of such affluence most likely already possess means to find this tidbit of knowledge on their own. But since no word has gotten out about any Pure-blood disappearing, the public would be at a loss – unless of course, the perpetrator has already taken steps beforehand to ensure there were no loose ends. However, since we three are aware of certain information protected by a secrecy oath," said Harry a little louder to the students around them trying to listen in. "We know that the one responsible for the werewolves trying to attack this school already managed to escape. The capture request, however, is kept strictly in-house – not even Rita Skeeter is aware of this."

"Speaking of which, did they ever figure out what the werewolves were being paid to actually attack the school while Dumbledore was in it? I heard of Kamikaze attacks but still…"

"Oh no, you are correct for asking Hermione - that attack was a clusterfuck if I ever saw one."

"HARRY! LANGUAGE!"

Harry smiled, waving his hands apologetically, "Sorry, sorry. It's better then what Dean used to say when he got annoyed. In any case, according to what Poppy heard, the amulets had compulsion and confusion charms laced on top of them. Fun fact, while werewolves are immune to magic and have ridiculously powerful mental defenses against Legilimency, they are still susceptible to mental manipulation – be it through potions or if they simply don't realize it's there. Awareness is a big chunk of resistance."

Neville chuckled, "Explains the one that got away. They confirmed it was Greyback, right? He was probably the only one who didn't need to put it on to willingly attack Hogwarts."

Harry smiled at that. Finding out that the most feared werewolf in the Wizarding World was named Fenrir – real name or otherwise – made him suspect that the Maw of Fenris cult still existed at some point in the Wizarding World, with him being one of the last followers left. He never figured out why they kept changing the name back and forth - Fenrir and Fenris - but logically it fits: the Norse were European, and the notion of global dominance by werewolves sounded like Blood-purity propaganda.

In any case, no one questioned what happened that day Harry emerged for breakfast two days after the attack. His friends told him that the staff informed them that he was involved somehow with the werewolves, but since the DMLE put the whole incident under a secrecy oath, the students figured it was above their pay grade as it were. Plus, since it was under oath, they couldn't tell their parents about it, which made it a self-contained. Besides, no one was injured, and only the werewolves died, what was to report?

Neville and Hermione didn't tell anyone about Harry's blood nature either.

Hermione argued that he would tell others about it when he got to know them better.

Neville just didn't wont to lose the betting pool.

Hermione gave him a smack in the back of the head for that, but in all fairness, even Harry laughed at that tidbit.

That wasn't to say that others weren't suspicious of what happened. Rumors were already circulating about the school of what transpired. Some said that Harry was an undercover DMLE agent working inside the school who was sent to protect Harry Potter when he expected to arrived. Others argued that he is a Dark Wizard in the making. A few even asserted that he was already a werewolf who merely defended his territory against outsiders infringing.

Harry cracked up at the absurdity of some of them. He did, however, markdown November 10th for when he had to appear in front of everyone basking in the full moon's light just to end the nastier once.

"Alright, so I get the Lord Black issue – tracking the gold to see where it came from to see who was responsible for filling the Minister's pockets. But what about Harry Potter being 'missing'?"

"I can answer that. Wotcher, Hermione, Neville, and Harry."

All turned to see Tonks approach them from the side.

Harry smiled, "You know, we should really pick a new nickname for you since you technically are no longer a Tonks per se. Have you considered going by… I don't know… Dora or something?"

The newly christened Nymphadora Black chuckled as that. As Harry predicted, Ted and Andromeda Tonks did, in fact, take the Black name – with no protest on Ted's side, as Tonks liked to joke. The fact his practice suddenly boomed in popularity was not lost on anyone.

"I've thought about it but… I've gotten used to Tonks. I can accept that when I start working for the DMLE, I will be called Auror Black and such… Maybe be I will give 'Dora' some consideration."

Neville looked up, "So it's true? They already got their claws in you?"

"Please," waved Tonks as she sat to Harry's side, "They had their so-called claws in me not a day after my mom filled the necessary Healer paperwork to have me registered as a Metamorphmagus. Truthfully, if I were taken back into House of Black sooner, I wouldn't have been surprised if an Unspeakable turned up at our doorsteps to offer me a post."

"Your that smart?" inquired Hermione.

"No, just that dangerous. But I am somewhat clever – have to be to get the necessary NEWTS to get into the DMLE. You do realize just how useful this ability of mine is, don't you?"

Hermione dropped her shoulders, "I am aware of it but… not much is actually written about it."

"Understandable, Hermione," interjected Harry. "However, through observation and deduction, one can at least gauge what Tonks is capable of."

"Oh? Do tell, MacLeod. All that I know about Metamorphmagus is by word of mouth and from what I could gather from journals of past ones."

"Well, let's start with the obvious. She can shapeshift any part of her body: hair, skin, nails, eyes, face, body, etc. If she had the proclivity for it, she could even hypothetically switch genders. That already means that if she could morph fast enough, she could escape from anyone and get in anywhere. You can change genders, right?"

"I can, but since they haven't made clothes and robes that change with you, it seems counterproductive when you try to make a clean escape. Granted, it could work with certain Muggle garments, but I want to work as a Hitwizard or Undercover, so it is unlikely that will ever come up. Plus, why would I want to willingly change into a guy? Sure, I got curious once, but honestly? Not much of difference. I will at least acknowledge that with all the nerve endings I had to add to the… groin area as it were… that it would, in fact, hurt like hell if one was to be hit there."

Harry and Neville quickly made a fist-bump (something Neville thought was a brilliant creation on the Muggles part) while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Getting back on track. I can also assume that she can change her height and weight within reason. I don't see her being able to shrink to a size of a mouse or become as tall as a giant, but theoretically, if she had enough mass, she could do the latter. She could even become any animal she wants."

"Also true," nodded Tonks. "A predecessor of mine did, in fact, determine through experimentation that if one has more mass to work with, they could, in fact, become larger and create more muscles for strength. The issue came when he needed to become smaller. There was simply no easy way to get rid of that excess weight. And you are right, Harry – we can shrink ourselves to a limit, but we would be very pudgy as a result. We can try to shift into animals, but that particular talent is usually reserved for Animagus since it's challenging actually to move like an animal through shapeshifting via Metamorphmagus – it's a mental thing. Combine that with the fact that with the fact that every Metamorphmagus already has difficulty with our balance due to constantly shifting the center of balance and equilibrium, well…"

"You could get a hefty person falling and not being able to get up. When you have the chance, ask your father to explain the concept of 'density' to you, that might give you some idea."

This got the trio to look at Harry in confusion. On cue, Harry took out a sheet of parchment. "Watch."

He slowly started to fold it on itself, until eventually, he couldn't fold it anymore. "Notice how I managed to make this large sheet of parchment take up this little square of space? It still weighs the same, but folding it on itself makes take significantly less space. Can the same be done with excess mass?"

Tonks looked at Harry's hand in shock. "I… I never even considered that… I have to write my uncle, he may have access to some books in the Black Library that can support this." She quickly got up and started to walk towards the Owlery, mumbling "folding in on itself" to herself.

Hermione leaned in, "You do realize that you just created a monster, right?"

"Only if she manages to get around the female issue of being fat."

"Do none of you realize that never actually answered Hermione's question?"

"That was, in fact, my intention, Neville." chuckled Harry. "I wouldn't be surprised if it only dawned on Dora after she finished writing her letter to Lord Black. So I'll answer on her part."

Harry turned to a refocused Hermione as he continued his meal. "The Wizarding World was always aware that The-Boy-Who-Lived was alive based on the word of the Goblins. Then there was the letter he sent to Wizengamot when Lucius Malfoy tried to get the Potter Vaults. Finally, there was the fact that acted as temporary Lord Black while Sirius Black was getting his trial. All evidence points that the Wizarding World savior still lives and yet, where is he?"

"In hiding," said Hermione as it was the most logical thing in the world

"You would be correct since he would assume that all the Death Eaters who got off with the Imperius Defence still have very close ties to the Ministry and sit in Wizengamot. But honestly, he could easily get protection from the 'Light' side, the DMLE, or even Albus Freaking Dumbledore."

"Makes sense," slowly nodded Hermione.

"I personally think that the only reason they want him back is because of what he represents."

"How so?"

"It's simple. To the Wizarding World at large, Harry James Potter is one of three things: their savior from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the killer of the Death Eaters master, and - personally my favorite reason for him being in hiding – Most Eligible Bachelor in Europe."

Hermione nearly did a spit-take with her pumpkin juice. "You are kidding right?"

"Hermione, you must have realized that the Wizards are at least a hundred years behind Muggles socially, right? I mean, that still use quills and parchment. They still care about titles and landholdings, and they have magically binding Marriage Contracts. Think about it: Harry Potter's parents got married at 18 and had him at 20. Plus, he will be Lord Potter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The only two people who will even come close to his social, political, and financial standing will be Lord Black and Lord Longbottom."

Hermione slowly turned to face Neville, as he waved playfully at her.

"That's right – you are currently sitting with Most Eligible Bachelor in Europe #2, with Sirius Black in #3 due to his advanced age of… 32?"

"He is 33 next month, Harry. But you forget, we magic folk live much longer than Muggles and maintain our prime for much longer, so age isn't really an issue."

"Thank you, Neville. Do you know see why so many of the female students give you the evil eye, Hermione?"

Hermione quickly blushed at that, "But… but… we are just friends! I am too young to think about marriage!"

"That's because your Muggleborn, but that doesn't change the fact that you're a girl who is in currently in the best position in this entire school – and pardon my language here – to get her hands on Heir Longbottom."

Hermione blushed even further while Neville smiled and turned, "Stop that Harry, look what you're doing to her."

"Fine, fine, I am sorry for insinuating something that isn't there Hermione, but you should still be aware of this. Didn't a Prefect explain this to you already?"

"I was told about social etiquette and proper behavior around wizards, not about this!"

"Acknowledge, but consider this as well – what if Harry Potter has the same mentality?"

This caused Hermione and Neville – as well as the rest of the students eavesdropping – to go silent. "What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone knows that Harry was raised by Muggles, right? What if he was still being raised Muggle to this day? What if he found something in his family vaults that disagreed with his Muggle values – like an existing Marriage Contract?"

Neville rubbed his chin, "The Potters are well-known for marrying out of love rather than agreement but still… that's a recent trend."

"Define recent."

"Four generations so… 100 to 120 years, give or take."

Harry nodded, "So it's still very likely that a distant ancestor made an agreement and it merely never kicked in. But in any case, that's still a theory – an unlikely one at that. It's more likely that as the last Potter, he realizes that he would be hounded by families coming after him to marry their daughters. I wouldn't even be surprised if they made him marry more then one."

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"Don't give me that look, Hermione. When European's still had royals in charge, they just called them mistresses. At least other countries are open enough to admit that their kings married more than one – just look at King Solomon. Hell, if Neville's parents weren't still technically alive, the same would be applied to him as well."

Hermione turned to her friend, "Is that true?"

(Neville had told Harry and Hermione about his parents when they inquired about his Winter Break plans. It is not something they want to bring up again, but it brought the trio closer together still.)

Neville rubbed the back of his head. "He isn't wrong. Legally, they can't force me to marry multiple wifes. But since my parents aren't exactly capable of making more heirs at the moment, certain parties have been pushing for a loophole. So far, my Gran has managed to fight off the vultures, but… she can only push back for so long." (1)

"You have to understand Hermione, in this society, blood and name mean everything. If they have to, they will demean themselves to ensure their line continues rather then watch it die off with their honor intact. Hell, why do you think they used to marry off young girls to men significantly older than them? It was partially politics and favors, but it was also because the girl understood that she had to carry on the family name. Remember the old saying Hermione: 'an heir, a spare, and a girl.' An Heir for the main branch, a spare for the branch family or if the heir dies, and a girl to marry into another family."

Hermione slumped into her seat. "So… you think Harry Potter is afraid to be married off to multiple wifes?"

"More than likely. As a nonactive Lord – one who has had someone represent him via his proxy for these years without his permission – it possible that the majority of the Potter funds have been locked away for safety by the goblins. Can you imagine what can be done with that fortune – in the right and wrong hands?"

Neville nodded, "Didn't Headmaster Dumbledore hold the seats for House Potter as their proxy?"

"If he did, he isn't going to have them for long. Lord Black is probably going to receive a lot more power in the coming days – we can only wait and see. Do you understand now why Harry Potter is in hiding, Hermione? Yes, his life is in danger from the Death Eaters and other forces, but it also equally possible that one way or another, he would be pulled into some bizarre and awkward harem-like situation. I mean, men boast of wanting to have multiple partners, but it doesn't work in practicality, especially if more then three people are involved. That's not even considering the incredibly unlikely and equally horrifying thought that can break all the fair maidens hearts."

"Which would be…"

"That he is gay."

Utensils dropped all around them, causing Harry to look around. "Oh don't give me that, I've read your books."

Harry turned to Hermione, "Amazingly, while also very accepting of other religions, the Wizarding World is also ironically somewhat open regarding same-sex marriage. They have stipulations and rules to follow, but as the saying goes, 'out of sight, out of mind.' They do however have one clandestine rule though – never the heir."

Hermione tilted her head.

"If the actual heir ever showed the proclivity, then the spare would simply become the heir. But if there isn't a spare…"

"Then you better pucker up and deal with it and make an heir regardless of your sexual preference," spoke Neville nonchalantly. "Wouldn't be the first time. It was practically an open secret with some families – more so often than not with the Lestrange House."

"Well with a name like that, can you be surprised? Honestly, it because of these backward politics and laws that people like Susan are going to be put in a very awkward spot in a few years."

This finally caught Neville's attention as he was acting more of an observer as he was already aware of everything that Harry was saying. "What are talking about?"

Harry leaned in, "You recall that Amelia Bones is from the branch family, right?"

Neville suddenly went bug-eyed, "SHITE! I forgot about that."

Hermione leaned forward, "Something I should know?"

Neville whispered to Hermione, "As long as the Heir of the Bones family – ie. Susan – is alive or part of the Bones family, legally, the future child of Amelia Bones won't be eligible for consideration."

"Huh?"

"In basic legalese, the future heir of the Bones family has to be conceived by Susan, regardless if her Aunt – as the member of the branch family – has children or not. Unfortunately, since Susan and her Aunt are the last of the Bones due to them being killed off during the war by You-Know-Who and his followers, she is in a very tricky situation with only two options. One, she either marries into a family that has a spare, which limits her choices considerably, since most magical families only have one child. So either she marries into a low-standing family that has kids to spare, or she finds a Half-blood or Muggle-born to marry. But knowing the people who make up the rules in Wizengamot, they will find a way to prevent that. The second option is that she marries whoever she wants but enters into an agreement where the first born becomes the heir of the family she married into, and the rest of her children take her name. Of course, the flaw in that plan is that she would have to conceive the first child and then manage to convince her husband to father more. You can see where that's going."

"Unless they manage to specify in the agreement exactly how many kids they can have, the husband can simply not give her anymore?"

"Correct Hermione. Which means lengthy negotiations and exchange of galleons will take place. That's of course not even taking in the fact if she can even conceive more then one child. This makes the second option rather like playing the long and risky odds. Personally, knowing all of this and talking with her aunt, she will most likely take option three."

Hermione was dreading hearing this, "And what exactly is option three?"

Harry shrugged, "Mistress."

Before Hermione got a chance to shout, Neville covered her mouth with his hand, "Hear him out, Hermione. Legally, it is her best choice. Mistresses don't necessarily have to marry into families."

Hermione slowly sat down thinking this over.

Harry went back to eating, "Hermione, wizards have worded their laws in such a way that a mistress can be recognized legally or not. Meaning, a legal mistress can be considered a wife of a wizard with all the necessary obligation vis-à-vis a normal marriage. Naming heirs become a challenge, but option two can be applied here much more liberally. But then there is the 'social' mistress as it were, in which a wizard merely gives a witch a child with no obligations and recognition to the baby what so ever. Think of it as a single mother raising a child after an accidental one-night stand."

"But… that's so barbaric." whimpered Hermione.

"Ah, but only in the short run Hermione. You forget, I said the wizard has no obligations for that baby. That child's children, however, become fair game in the future. Remember, goblins have ways to track family lineages through their magic. Which means that if say, a family has no eligible heirs or dies off, well…"

It dawned on Hermione, "They have a spare in another family."

"DING, DING, DING! Give the lady a prize! It doesn't matter if the father willingly or unwillingly fathers an heir other then through his wife, laws are laws. Social mistresses are essentially long-term insurance policies for certain families. They may have hard lives in the beginning, but they get very powerful bargaining chips in the future if they play their cards right."

"But… that makes them sound like gold-diggers."

"Only to us Muggle-raised. You forget, they acknowledge this notion as the norm here. Plus, it is better than marrying into the family as the Black's did. I mean, Lord Black's parents were cousins – I am surprised he came out as healthy as he did," Harry quickly turned to Neville, "Bellatrix Black being the obvious exception."

"I am aware, Harry. Honestly, I thought her sister Narcissa was the same until she was divorced from Lucius – boy, was that an eye-opener for Gran!"

"Indubitably," stated Harry as he wiped his mouth. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a free period during which I would like to catch up on some reading in the Hogwarts Library. Our talk with Tonks suddenly wants to make me look up Animagi spells in the Charms Section."

"We will see you in class later in class, Harry," said Neville.

"Yeah… I'll see you guys later…" mumbled Hermione.

"I really did do an info dump on her, but she had to know," thought Harry worryingly. "Hopefully she gets over it."

As he was walking down the hall, a particular thought also crossed Harry's mind, "Why do I feel like I've been rather exposition heavy in my talks and explanations lately?"

October 13th, 2011 – A few minutes later

Harry was sitting in the corner of the library away from the ever-vigilant eyes and ears of Madam Irma Pince. In any case, Harry managed to find a particularly dark corner in the Charms Section of the Hogwarts Library.

He started flipping through an advanced book of charms before he finally asked, "Were you followed?"

Out of the darkness emerged the Terror Twins of Hogwarts.

"How did you know…"

"…we were in the corner?"

"I have an outstanding awareness of my environment, which is how I knew you guys were giving me 'the look' during the meal, which is why is said where I would be out loud."

"Very clever…"

"…and astute of you, Harry."

"Thank you, but can we cut out the twin speak? It's hard enough as it is."

Fred chuckled, "You'll have to forgive us, it's a habit that's rather hard to break."

"Indeed. Plus, it helps to put up a rather nice façade, does it not?" continued George.

Harry chuckled, "Indeed it does. Should I be worried that I happened to catch the attention of the Weasley Twins?"

"You caught our attention when you flipped off the carriage and caught your cat when you were boarding the express."

"Your speech regarding families and inbreeding is what caught our notice later."

Harry took on his business face. "I repeat, should I be troubled about your intentions?"

"You do not," answered George.

"The reason for this meeting is four-fold." finished Fred.

This caught Harry's notice. "Go on…"

The twins nodded, taking turns making their points. "First off, we would like to apologize for our ponce of a brother Ron – we know he is an ass, but there is nothing we can do about it."

"Believe us, we tried."

"Trust me, he is a non-issue, but thank you none-the-less for apologizing on his behalf," acknowledged Harry. "Truthfully, I see him flunking out in the following years with his grades and study habits."

Fred shook his head, "Don't be so sure. Our mother Molly is somewhat close to the Headmaster, and our father is rather whipped. She makes a racket loud enough, Dumbledore will find a way to keep in him school to keep her calm."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "That bad?"

"Our eldest Bill ran away to Egypt to work as a Curse-Breaker and our second oldest Charlie ran off to Romania to study dragons, what do you think?" deadpanned George.

"That does, however, relate to our second point, which involves our sister, Ginny."

"Is she going to be a problem?" wondered Harry.

"You – not likely. Neville however…"

Harry rubbed his face down with one hand in annoyance, "My speech to Hermione hit rather close to home, didn't it?"

Fred nodded, "When the 'Harry Potter Adventure Book Series' was still in publication, our mother used to read them to her every day. She was convinced that her sweet little red-headed Ginny would be the perfect Lady Potter to be. When he went into hiding, she switched her persuasion on to Neville. From what she has gathered from her spy Ron, she is already starting to teach Ginny about Herbology so that she can talk to Neville about something he likes. So… you know… warn your friend if you could?"

Harry nodded, "But… seriously? She thought Harry Potter would marry her daughter because she looked like his mother? What, did she think he would have an Oedipus Complex or something?"

George shrugged, "We don't know what that is, but based on context, it's not something anyone wants to have?"

Harry rubbed his brow, "She is a Prewett, right?"

George nodded, "The last one of the once proud Ancient and Noble House of Prewett of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. How the mighty have fallen."

"I blame Roanoke," deadpanned Fred.

"Same," stated Harry.

Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a long piece of parchment and held it out to Harry, "We've been working on this little genealogy project ever since we heard your talk on the express."

Harry took the parchment, unfurled it, and was surprised by what he saw. "Impressive…"

"Not really," answered George. "We only had a month to work on it with what books we had available in school. We figure with your connection to Longbottom, you could manage to get access to those old-bloodline books."

"I'll see what I can do, but should you really be giving away your only copy to me?"

Fred shook his head, "Charmed parchment – its linked to a hub we keep locked away. Anything you write on that one will be updated to the main one, and anything we write on ours will be sent to you as well. We also modified it so that you can apply the Geminio Charm to it and give to someone else. The copy will automatically link to the hub and so forth."

Harry smirked, "Neat. Maybe I can make a copy for Hermione and see if she can track down the descendants of Squibs in the Muggle World."

The twins paused. "That actually never occurred to us."

Harry smiled, "Don't worry, people always miss the little things. Besides, the fact you managed to make this in only one month already shows that you two are smarter then you appear."

"Well, the Sorting Hat did want to put me into Slytherin and George into Ravenclaw, but we argued it would be better if we were both placed Gryffindor." (2)

"Ah, so a True Slytherin and a Humble Ravenclaw. Any other surprises you want to drop on me?"

"Our brother Bill wanted to go to Ravenclaw, and Charles almost got sorted into Hufflepuff. Honestly, I think only Ron got into Gryffindor because he had nothing that would have put him into other houses. We were honestly surprised that Percy didn't get into Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but he has been mellowing out ever since he started dating Clearwater, so we're giving him some slack for wanting to work in the Ministry as Mom expects. Maybe we will ask him where the Hat almost put him."

Harry was surprised, "Huh. So the oldest goes where no one dares to go for hidden secrets, and the second oldest is a hardworking and brave dragon tamer… it does line up rather well, doesn't it? I mean, it's too soon to tell with Percy, but still."

"We found it funny too, which is why we didn't tell anyone else about it. If mom knew that her eldest almost didn't get into Gryffindor, she would have blown a casket."

Harry smiled, "Must be your grandmother Cedrella Weasley née Black influence. Should I be concerned that both your dad and mother technically have Black blood?"

Fred shook his head, "Very distant cousins, we checked. Cedrella Black – Dad's mom – was from the Arcturus Black's end and Lucretia Black – Mom's aunt – was from Sirius Black the First's end. There is a hundred years of dilution and no direct connection, so no issues there."

Harry nodded, unfurling the parchment more and more, realizing it was charmed to be more massive then it appeared, "Have you guys considered petitioning Lord Black to add Cedrella Black into the family again? I heard she was banished since she married a Weasley, but I doubt Sirius has the same preconceptions as his ancestors. Plus, Lucretia Black was never taken off when she married a Prewett, so maybe something can be worked out from that end." (3)

"We thought about it, but George and I agree that while it wouldn't do much since Dad would have to ask Lord Black to be recognized as a Black, Mom would do everything in her power to prevent that. I mean, she wants our family to appear as 'Light' as possible by siding with Dumbledore and Blacks are still considered a 'Dark' family."

"We did, however, agree that the notion has merit," added George. "Just not yet."

Hary shrugged, "Wouldn't hurt to at least inquire. Besides, I heard somewhere that Sirius was a prankster of renown when he attended Hogwarts. Maybe you can try to connect to him through that channel."

Fred was surprised, "Really? Who knew."

"Apparently Professor McGonagall – why do you think she refers to you as the second coming of the Marauders behind your backs?"

Fred smiled, "I guess getting to our next point suddenly got much easier. In essence, we want to work with you."

Harry furled up the parchment, "With me?"

"We are not foolish enough to believe that you will work us," continued Fred.

"You know things," pressured George. "Things we will never have a chance to find out locked up with our family or while studying in this school. Everyone knows you were somehow responsible for stopping the werewolves from getting in."

Hary raised a finger, "But that wasn't with magic."

"True, but that doesn't deter from the point. Newton Scamander was a lowly Ministry employee until Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books commissioned him to write the first edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It took him years of studying and travel, but eventually, he became the famed Magizoologist everyone in the Wizarding World knows. We want you to be our Augustus Worme."

"I don't follow," pressed Harry.

"We keep telling our mother that we want to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley – that is partially true," started Fred. "What we really want to do is set up a laboratory to experiment with magic, with the shop serving as a front and for funding."

Harry slapped himself in the head, "That's why you keep pulling pranks! You're not doing this for fun, your performing experiments, and product testing!"

George gave his best attempt at an impish smile, "I thank Merlin every day when that Muggle-born 7th year Ravenclaw explained the Scientific Method to me back when I was a firstie."

Fred took out a folder and presented it to Harry, "We are still 3rd years, but we managed to read ahead with our brothers older books during the summer. We do our potion experiments in school by pilfering from Snape. Never anything big – for that, we order from what we make by selling to others."

Harry looked up as he was flipping through the files, while Fred pressed on. "Did you really think that we alone could pull off as many pranks as we are accused of? We are occasionally telling the truth when we say that we aren't responsible for a prank gone wrong."

Harry chuckled as he kept reading, "I got to say, some of these ideas have potential George."

"Hey! Why can't I be the one who makes the ideas up?"

"Because Fred, you are clearly more of the businessman compared to your twin - he most likely is the executioner of the ideas you come up with. Without you two finishing each other's sentences and acting like the other with your Forge and Gred shtick, your differences are rather apparent."

Fred smiled, "Fine, fine, that wasn't a jab or anything – we admit that we each have our strengths."

"And I wasn't kidding when I said there some good ideas here. If the DMLE ever catches wind of your idea for Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and Shielding Cloths-Line, they may actually steal them and make Unspeakables create them."

"Are you serious?" asked Geroge almost in wanderlust.

"Oh, most definitely. Some of the stuff here for your joke products like the Skiving Snackboxes could make you a lot of money. Your Explosive Enterprises may run into some issues since some of the ideas you have here are dangerously close to crossing from 'Grey' to "Black' in danger level. I think the WonderWitch Line is definitely going to be an issue with Love Potions – even if fake or underpowered – legally wise, and I would altogether get rid of the Muggle Magic Line."

"That's more for Dad than anything else," pointed out Fred.

Harry took close their folder, took out one of his notebooks and started writing down things on paper for them. "In that case, consider instead going into the Muggle World at your earliest convenience and buying some Muggle board games and the like. The Wizarding World has no laws against using Muggle ideas to influence your work, so you get some samples and your turn them 'magic.'"

Fred and Geroge looked over to what he was writing, "And your writing what, exactly?"

Harry finished up before giving the twins the folder paper, "Consider this my first contribution as part of the New Marauders – just some ideas as to what you can turn magical from the Muggle World without Wizengamot rising a stink regarding misuse of muggle items. The laws are written in such a way that as long as the items maintain their original use, they don't violate the laws. Ergo, if a muggle toy is made magical but still works as a toy, it doesn't violate the law. But if say a car is made to be able to fly, well then that's an issue – unless of course, you make it unnoticeable to Muggles." (4)

Harry noticed that the twins visibly paled when he mentioned the flying car as they took his paper, "We will remember that."

Fred opened up the paper and started reading the list Harry made, "We will have to ask the Muggle-raised students about these items, but since you wrote them done, there shouldn't be much issue right?"

Harry shook his head, "None that I am aware of. You could write to your brother Bill to make sure since he is a Curse-Breaker and works at Gringotts… or ask Percy since he is already studying to work in the Ministry."

"Why should we ask Percy?" Fred asked Harry.

"Consider it like an olive branch, a sign that you trust him enough with this to inquire and make sure what you plan to do is legal. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have a man on the inside who would tell you ahead of time if Wizengamot planned to change certain laws that would hinder or benefit you."

Now Fred gave his best attempt at an impish smile, "That's very Slytherin of you, Mr. MacLeod."

Harry pointed at his House Crest, "I may be a Gryffindor," pointing at his green tie, "But I was and still technically a Slytherin – never forget that."

Fred did his best to contain his laugh, "Only a fool turns his back on a snake."

George pressed on as he pulled a differently folded parchment from his pocket, "And only a bigger fool comes to a negotiation without an ace-in-the-hole."

Before he got the chance to ask, both twins pointed their wands at the parchment and spoke in unison, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Writing quickly appeared on the parchment as it opened up. Names, hallways, guides, words – all appeared before Harry's eyes as what seemed to be a map opened up before him.

"Something we knicked from Filch's office our first year here," began Fred.

"Took us a long time to figure out the activation and deactivation phrase but it was worth it. This here is our 'inheritance' from the greatest group of pranksters that ever walked these halls – the Marauder's Map!"

Harry looked on the front page and noted that it was in fact that it was in fact called that.

Which pissed him off.

"Shouldn't it say Marauders' Map instead of Marauder's Map?"

Fred facepalmed himself, "Oh not this again…"

George, on the other hand, was ecstatic, "I knew! I told you it was wrong! Since there were more than just one Marauder, the name is grammatically incorrect!"

"Fine, I owe you twenty galleons. Can we please get back to our fourth point for talking to our fellow New Marauder?"

"Oh, right sorry. Proceed Fred."

"Thank you, George. Now… you see Harry, this map here shows us every nook and cranny of this school. Every hidden passageway and password, everyone's name and location, every dirty little secret this place has to offer. Basically, if we want to find something or someone on school grounds, we have means to do it."

"The enchantments on this parchment are so powerful, that it can even show us a person's name regardless of what they try – Disillusionment Charm, Invisibility Cloaks, Polyjuice Potion, Metamorphmagus, and Animagus; can't confirm the last one, but it makes sense. So, can you guess what happened when we tried to see your name, Harry?"

A chill actually ran up Harry's back as he stared at the map as it showed the three of them in the library. Or rather, it showed 'George Weasley' and 'Fred Weasley' talking to 'Harry -.' His name apparently was just a black blob.

He didn't want to kill the twins – actually liked them.

Harry slowly looked up at them, weighing his options.

"Now it scared the crap out of us when we saw this back in September, but instead of telling a teacher and exposing our greatest asset, we decided to see what you would do."

This actually shocked Harry, "Didn't see that coming."

Geroge continued, "So here we are, observing you for over a month, and what do we see? Nothing that screams imposter, evil-doer, Dark Wizard, or anything in between."

"Protecting the school from werewolves sort of sealed the deal as it were," finished Fred.

"So, knowing that have already warned you about our family, invited you to be part of our group, AND showed you our greatest weapon for mischief…" started Fred.

"… can you please explain why your last name is blobbed out of something that is most likely linked to the school's wards, something that we never imagined could actually be confounded?"

Harry looked at the twins, fear present in their eyes despite the joyful smirks of their facades. They evidently considered their options on this gamble, hence why they waited a day after he got out of the Hospital Wing to present themselves.

"King's Gambit, huh? Left themselves completely open to defeat if anything goes wrong… well, nothing ventured, nothing gained as the saying goes… something like this should be rewarded."

"Tell me… how good are your Occlumency barriers?"

Fred smirked, "Managed to make sure the Headmaster and his pet snake can't rummage in our minds, what does that tell you?"

George pressed on, "Admittedly, we focused more on mental defense rather than the side benefits of Occlumency, so our expertise is rather skewed. If anything, we simply figured out how to hide our thoughts specifically from the two, so hard to tell how we would deal with others."

"Already better than most admittedly," pondered Harry. Before either got a chance to rebut, Harry had a finger on both their heads, a slight glow coming from all three set of eyes. What felt like hours to them was actually seconds in real time.

"What… how…" started Geroge.

"What did you do?" finished Fred.

"Just tested your shields."

"But… that wasn't Legillimency."

"I am aware, Fred. But as Professor Snape once asked, I can't perform Occlumency nor Legilimency. He never asked if I can perform something similar," smiled Harry. "And you two weren't kidding: your shields are up to par. It seems like your sparring matches with the like of Albus and Snape have made your shields top-tier. Took me a while to get in without the brute-force approach, but I can truthfully say that no one can sneak into your minds without alerting you guys."

Fred and George smiled, "We owe Bill so much for sending us those Occlumency books."

"I am honestly thankful he only sends you the books on Occlumency; if you were that creative with mind protection, I would be terrified to think what you could do with mind intrusion."

"That good?"

Harry pointed at each brother, "George seems to have more leanings toward Occlumency, but you Fred are one sneaky bastard… you both ever get a chance, I am so introducing you two to my Uncle Gabriel. He can teach you things about the mind that would terrify Voldermort."

Shock and bulging eyes were all that Harry saw in the teen's faces.

"Now comes the hard part," Harry said as he clapped his hands. "Are you two willing to step over the edge?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have no fear that you two can keep my secret. I dread that knowing my secret, you would be dragged into my gravitational pull. Are you two ready to travel to the ends of the Earth with me?"

The twins looked at each other for confirmation, "As the saying goes, 'May you live in interesting times.'"

"We came to you because we want to work with you – everything said since we have started, has only strengthened that claim."

Harry smiled, "Good. As a wise man once said, 'The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.' Loyalty is nothing without trust. And for there to be trust, there must be no secrets – besides the few we truly can't share. So, I ask again…"

Harry closed and opened his eyes to reveal his Sight to the twins, "Can you two keep a secret?"

October 20th, 2011 (5)

"Huh," said Harry as he read Dean's latest letter. "So you can cure vampirism, but only before the first feeding. Wouldn't want to be Dean in that position."

October 24th, 2011 (6)

"Hey Remus, come take a look at this."

"What is it, Sirius? I am kind of busy prepping for Ted's and Andromeda's move here."

"Oh, calm down Moony. Were just labeling all the necessary stuff before the clean-up crew Riplclaw recommended comes in to fumigate and cleanse this place of all the dark juju my mom left behind with Kreacher."

A dust-covered werewolf finally entered the foyer to see Sirius sitting in a chair and reading a letter, "So who wrote to you, Padfoot? A missus you once knew claiming you fathered her child?"

"Don't even joke about that Moony – I have my heart set on Amelia for that. Besides, I read and burn those letters in private, while making a ledger for blackmail if the need ever arises. No… this is a letter from Hogwarts by two kids named Fred and George Weasley."

"Weasley? As in Molly's kids? She made more?"

"Hey, she was always the ambitious one. They are writing to see if there is any way they can meet up and talk with me, their great-uncle. I mean, I knew Arthur was a Black through Cedrella, but to think they want to actually associate with me… In any case, read this line here."

Remus took his letter and read at the line he indicated, eyes widening, "We solemnly swear that we are up to no good'… you don't think…"

"Peter did lose it in our last year. We didn't need it by that point but still… to think it managed to survive for so long…"

"If they managed to find the map, you think they managed to find our other stashes as well?"

"No, we never got the chance to charm the map to lead to them. It's up to chance for anyone who gets lucky and actually finds one of them or not."

Remus read further, "Still… they seem willing to open up lines of communication… maybe their mother doesn't know?"

Sirius nodded, "Makes sense – her head is firmly up Dumbledore's arse. Arthur, however… yeah, I can work from that angle. Let me look into his boys first before I make any rash decisions; Albus has eyes and ears everywhere at the school. It's a wonder they managed to get this letter to me as it is."

"How did you get the letter since I didn't hear an owl come?"

"Funniest thing actually – they got a Hogwarts elf to deliver it to me. Apparently, Grimmauld Place doesn't prevent elves from popping in, only witches and wizards. It seems like they managed to find the secret path into the kitchen and befriend the cooks there so that Dumbledore won't know about."

"Huh… never would have even considered it; they have potential as Marauders. Still, this last passage here about keeping an eye on the school on Halloween, what do you think that's about?"

"Seeing as it is Halloween and the anniversary of Voldemort's defeat, my money is on the Potter Luck somehow kicking in and causing a storm. I'll pass my concerns to Amelia so that she has a team on standby, but it's hearsay for now."

"Fair enough Padfoot. By the way, where's Narcissa? I thought she was helping us out."

"She went shopping. Said something about pre-ordering furniture to replace the horrible decor Aunt Walburga left behind."

"That's nice of her. Maybe she'll buy something for herself as well. I saw her asking Dobby to burn all the clothes and jewelry Lucius brought for her when they were married that had charms and hexes attached to them… The number was more then I felt comforted with."

Sirius frowned, "I'll make a note of it and increase her allowance when I stop by Gringott's next time – I will not have my cousin counting pennies and looking over her shoulder ever again. For now, I got a letter to write to the New Marauder's…"

"It's Marauders', not Marauder's, DAMN IT! Every day I regret not spellchecking the thing before we finalized our spellwork."

October 28th, 2011

"So the Alpha Vampire is African American… The legend of vampires burned by sunlight seems ironic considering he probably lived in Africa for the majority of human history. But Dad… what are you playing at? I get resurrecting Sam and Samuel to make everyone else your personal 'Charlie's Angels,' but what can possibly be so important in Purgatory. Gabriel must have warned you about the shit in there. And what about Sam's soul? You pulled his body out of Lucy's cage, but not his essence? No, something is going on here, someone is pulling strings from behind the curtain…"

October 31st, 2011 – Dinner

It had been a fascinating few weeks for Harry after he told the Weasley twins some of his secrets.

No, he didn't tell them he was Harry Potter, but he was an open book about most other things.

The talk about Hunters and supernatural monsters frightened them, but knowing there were people out there keeping Muggles safe alleviated them somewhat. They wanted to write a letter to a second cousin on their Mom's side in the Muggle World. They weren't even sure if he still had the same position since or was even alive since he wasn't talked about in the household nor have they heard from him in years. They knew he was a squib and that he married a Muggle somewhere in America and had a kid named Garth, but that was it (7). He assured them that if they could track him down without their parents knowing, they could ask him about it but it was a longshot.

His explanation of angels and demons and Heaven and Hell actually got them to stay away from him for a few days. Not out hate, of course, but more so out of the fact that the world was so close to Armageddon and no one even knew about it. When they met up again after processing everything, they said that they looked up if seers could see the end of the world.

Turns not, there's no clear answer on that matter.

That actually scared them even more since technically, the world could still end and a seer would predict it.

Playing Quidditch with them calmed them down after a while.

Despite not understanding the sport and having the ability to fly by his own power rather than brooms, Harry still had unnatural skill at using the cleaning utensil. Wood happened to catch their practice and chastised the fact that one had to be 2nd year to join the team. Frankly, he was looking for anyone to replace the poor excuse of a player they found for a Seeker – not even the brooms Harry got them could help out.

He at least promised Wood to give Quidditch the benefit of the doubt and try out for the team next year.

In any case, Halloween finally arrived. The school woke up to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus, which got him excited since he has been trying to be friendlier with the rest of Gryffindor. Ron, however, was working with Neville; it was hard to tell whether Ron or Neville was angrier about this.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

Harry quickly got the House points when he demonstrated his wordless casting of the spell – something that nearly got Flitwick to fall off his chair. If they only knew he wasn't using his wand for that but instead his natural abilities.

Seamus had some difficulties at first, but Harry quickly showed him how to do it properly.

He still managed to somehow set it on fire – in the air no less. Flitwick gave him points and told him to see him after class.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Neville snap. "It's Wing- gar-dium Levi- o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Neville rolled up the sleeves of his robe, flicked his wand, and said, " Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and floated above their heads till it reached the ceiling.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "That's wonderful Neville! You finally managed to get your magic under control. Oh, Minerva will be so pleased."

Ron was in a terrible mood by the end of the class.

The rest of the day was surprisingly quiet. When Harry and Neville met up with Hermione during the feast – not each others table since a feast required everyone to sit at their House tables – she told them she managed to get her feather up on the first try as well. Managed to get Ravenclaw a sweet point infusion before month's end. (8)

"Haha, 'sweet'… candy pun on Halloween."

Harry still couldn't help but take in the sights as he sat in the hall. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was an uproar.

"Seriously? Do they not realize that people don't fall forward when they faint?" thought Harry (9). Technically, he was already aware through Mímir that 'Quirrell' would most likely carry out his plans today of all days, but it was still funny to see.

It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy was in his element.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through!"

Hary quickly shouted, "But aren't the Hufflepuff and Slytherin dorms located in the dungeons?"

This caused everyone to freeze up and look at the Headmaster.

"Oh… of course Mr. MacLeod, forgive for my oversight… it was made in a moment of panic. Professor Snape, Professor Sprout, please escort your Houses to their respective dormitories. Twenty points to Gryffindor for that observation, Mr. MacLeod."

As they climbed the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, Percy leaned into Harry, "How did you notice?"

"Notice what?"

"Notice that Slytherin and Hufflepuff shouldn't have left with just their Prefects?"

This caught Harry's ire, "Why didn't you?"

"I don't know – I already asked the other Prefects, and none of them noticed either. What whispers I heard from Ravenclaw makes it seem that they didn't notice as well."

"That's not right… Something is very wrong here…" thought Harry. "How certain are you that an outside force is at play?"

Percy started sifting through his pockets. "Most don't know it, but a Remembrall glows other colors for different things we forget (10). Red for something physical, blue for something mental, green for something planned, and yellow for an answer that has been forgotten. But there's another color that almost never comes up since it is usually too weak to pick it up magically."

Percy took out a little babble from his pocket. "I got this high-end model the moment I was declared a Prefect to help me out in such situations. Look at it."

The smoke inside the glass ball was pure black.

"Black for when one is spelled to forget. For it to be so much smoke for one little snippet of info to be completely ignored makes it seem like someone was determined to make sure that either Hufflepuff or Slytherin was attacked. I may not like Slytherin, but even they don't deserve to be attacked by a troll."

Harry looked at Percy in a new light, "You do care about the students."

"I may have a stick up my ass at times, MacLeod, but it's not without reason. We live in a world where one can die with a wrong flick of the wand or one wrong ingredient in a potion. Someone has to make sure rules are followed, and everyone is kept safe – even if the rule enforcer has to be despised for it to work."

Harry nodded, "You have earned my respect, Percy Ignatius Weasley. This is not something I say lightly."

Percy stopped outside the entrance to Gryffindor Dorms as he took count with Harry at his side, "That's everyone. Get in Harry."

Harry pulled Percy to the side before he could get the picture frame to open up. "How much do you trust me, Percy?"

The Prefect paused and considered his words, "You got my brothers to open up and actually ask for my advice about the legality of some of their ideas. If you managed to convince them actually to think in regards to the harm they could bring, then you have already earned my gratitude."

"Go easy on the twins; they actually have a pretty brilliant reason for their 'hobby' as your mother puts. When they trust you enough, ask them for their real plans after they finish Hogwarts. In any case, I need you to wait outside for me."

"Why?"

"Tell the rest of the Prefects and Professor McGonagall your keeping watch to make sure the troll doesn't come up here for some reason. I need to go to Hufflepuff to make sure Susan is okay."

"Susan Bones? Why would you… Oh…"

"Yeah. Her aunt is the head of DMLE and the werewolf attack earlier this month did fail. Nice way to get back at her confounding a troll to go to Hufflepuff dormitories after sneaking it inside the school."

Percy weighted his options as he clenched his fist open and shut. "Can you sneak back without anyone noticing?"

"The twins have shown me how."

Percy nodded, "Go before anyone notices. I'll make sure they don't notice you're gone."

Harry nodded, "Thank Percy, I owe you. By the way, did the Sorting Hat want to place somewhere else besides Gryffindor?"

Percy looked around to make sure no one was listening, "He said I would do well in any House, but I choose Gryffindor since my brothers were already there."

"Oh, you sweet naïve fool. You have got to ask the twins were the hat actually wanted to sort your family. But that's a talk for another day – I have a Hufflepuff to save!"

Percy started to turn before thinking, "How are you going to get there without…"

"Frustrationes deflectere!" chanted Harry as he became invisible. (11)

"Huh… Disillusionment Charm… that will work."

While chaos was occurring in the school, a shadow was crossing down the third-floor on the right-hand side of the castle. As he approached the door that at the beginning of the year Albus Dumbledore said was forbidden, the figure took off his hood, revealing a turban covered head.

"Soon Master… soon you will have what you desire…"

Professor Quirrell took out his wand and pointed at the locked door. "Alohomora"

As the door unlocked, the possessed Professor entered the now open room to see the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor.

It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at him.

"Oh, my…"

"Leave Quirrell… I am too weak to help you against this beast…"

"Of course Master."

Before Professor Quirrell even had the chance to close the door, someone pushed him in. Quirrell never saw the face of the one who did.

Which was technically the point since Harry was camouflaged to near-invisibility.

Quickly casting a Silencing Charm and an overpowered Anti-Alohomora Charm on the now again locked door, Harry pushed against the pounding frame.

Only he heard the screams and breaking of bone that sounded through the door. To the rest of the school, there was only silence. Harry didn't stop pushing until he felt a dark entity finally leave his vicinity.

"Well, that was somewhat anticlimactic. Figured the spirit would have a backup plan or something for such a situation. Oh well, Mímir will know by tomorrow that whatever was possessing Quirrell is gone now."

Harry silently undid the two charms that he practiced the last two weeks for this very situation. Mímir knew that the entity that was possessing the dead – yes, dead, possession is a one-way deal, no way to rescue the possessed – professor was after whatever Dumbledore has hidden in the room. He didn't know how he managed to convince the staff to set it up like this, but Mímir thought that memory charms or compulsions were involved.

It was only when Harry started to walk away when he thought back to the Headmaster's beginning of the year speech. "You know, its funny – he did say that anyone not wishing to die a very painful death shouldn't enter that room. Guess Quirrel didn't listen."

Same time, a certain pizzeria in Chicago

Death didn't know why he favored this particular pizza joint all places, but he preferred their pies over others he has tasted over the years. In any case, he was enjoying his meal in peace and quite when he suddenly sensed a dark presence on the other side of the world.

Slowly chewing his pizza piece, he thought out loud, "Haven't felt that soul in some time… Seems like he split it into multiple pieces…"

He wiped his mouth with a napkin before taking a glass ball out his coat that held a black mist inside of it. "Always wondered what crept out of that boy's scar all those years ago. Hope he manages to get the rest of Tom soon – less paperwork for me."

Death slowly went back to eating his pie after putting away the soul fragment of one Tom Marvolo Riddle. (12)