Chapter 945 - Ch: 9 Part 1

Chapter 9

The Granger Residence, Oxford, England, Dec 23rd 1997...

Harry stepped into the room and dropped his tie on the night table, then loosened the buttons on his shirt. "I never knew family parties could be so exhausting," he muttered as he sank tiredly onto the bed.

Hermione smirked at him. "You'll get used to it in a few years, I imagine."

When he shot her a sour look, her grin broadened. "You're not used to family parties, Harry. They aren't really meant to be fun. It's more of an exercise in which you see people you don't like and haven't seen in the last year and hear all about their illnesses, operations, who died and who's divorcing who."

"Hermione Jane!" exclaimed Emma from the doorway. "Please tell me you don't think like that?"

Hermione turned to look at her mother. "It's true, isn't it? You said it yourself often enough when we were going to these parties when I was little."

Emma stiffened for a moment, ready to rail at her daughter, then suddenly seemed to wilt. "Damn, I didn't think you were listening when I complained to your father," she said softly.

"So, you don't like those parties either?" asked Harry incredulously.

Emma sighed and walked over to sit on the bed next to Harry. "You have a problem with the idea because your family is very small, like mine. My parents had no brothers or sisters. I have no one but my Mum, Dan and Hermione. Dan comes from a big family with a lot of cousins, aunts and uncles."

Hermione moved to sit next to her mother, watching her.

"I know this confuses you. You think family means people close to you, people who love you. In truth, in the larger families, that won't always be the case. Your friends, the Weasleys, will continue to grow apart until such time as they will be people with a common ancestry, but little else in common."

Harry frowned. "I never thought of it that way. It doesn't seem right."

"No, it probably isn't right. But then, consider Hermione and her cousin, Frances. She's a sweet girl, but she's never liked Hermione and I know Hermione has given up trying to be friendly to her. Just because they're family it doesn't mean they like each other or that they have to."

Harry leaned back against the headboard. "So if you really don't like going to those yearly parties, why do you do it?"

Emma opened and closed her mouth several times, struck by both the simplicity of the question, and complexity of the answer.

Hermione laughed. "He's got you, Mum. Admit it." She turned to Harry. "Sometimes we do things not because we want to, but because we have an obligation to the concept of family."

Harry frowned. "Well, my family isn't going to be like that if I can help it."

"That's an admirable goal, Harry," Emma said. "But it isn't always possible."

He set his jaw defiantly and crossed his arms. He knew he was being stubborn, but he had a particular idea of what a family should be, where everyone was loved and supported. Family, in his mind, was the exact opposite of his life with the Dursleys.

"It's all right, Harry," Hermione added. "Your idea of family is what it should be and you'll be able to make it happen."

Emma looked at her daughter, alarmed. "Hermione?"

"Mum," she replied, "Harry's idea of family is totally opposite from what he had with the Dursleys. He and I have spoken about it before. I recognize that we Grangers have a close family to a point, but when you shove us all together for that annual party, I'm reminded each year that most of those people are strangers to me."

"You, Dan and Hermione are a family. Anyone who sees you together can see it. You might not think it, but in everything you do, you support each other," Harry said softly. "I saw it right away when you first came to Wainuvu. You and Dan flew around the world just so your daughter could reconnect with her friend. Most parents wouldn't have done that, even with the free tickets that Sirius sent you."

Harry reached across bed, touching Hermione, then Emma on the shoulder. "The three of you have something special, but it seems to vanish the moment you join the Christmas party." He shook his head and looked pensive for a moment. "Size isn't the problem. The number of people shouldn't matter. The Weasleys have a close, supportive family and they have a lot of people. I think... I think it's more a case of recognizing the bond you have with the people close to you and actively working to keep that bond alive.

"Hermione's right. Those people are as much family as the Dursleys were. You share common bloodlines, but have little else in common."

Emma frowned and crossed her arms. "You're right. Most of them are strangers."

"Do they have to be?" Harry asked intently.

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Hermione's told me stories about visiting her Grandma, your mother. You don't seem that close anymore. Why is that?"

Emma looked at Hermione, who shrugged. "Well, the whole thing about keeping Hermione's secret is part of it, I guess."

Harry nodded, then turned to Hermione. "You're an adult now, even though you haven't left school. The Ministry recognizes that fact. As such, you're allowed to inform Muggles of our world, as long as you follow the guidelines. If you're capable of deciding who you want to marry, aren't you also capable of telling some of your relatives about magic?"

Hermione stared at him, a bit shocked. "Break the Secrecy Statutes?"

He grinned at her. "No, you know I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that if you were able to share your secret with your Grandmother, you'd be able to bring her back into your life like she once was."

When her mother looked at her, Hermione couldn't deny the appeal she saw in her eyes. Keeping Hermione's secret had affected their family and, in a way, hurt all of them. The need to keep things secret resulted in them growing apart from everyone.

Hermione sat for a moment, thinking hard, then she looked at her Mum. "Do you think Granmum would like to come to Christmas dinner? I know it's short notice..."

Emma's eyes grew moist and she hugged her daughter. "I'll give her a call right now," she replied softly. "Thank you."

Hermione nodded and looked at Harry anxiously while Emma left the room. "How long have you known that Mum was missing Granmum?"

Harry stretched and she laid a hand on his leg, sliding it up under his pant leg for a moment.

"I thought I saw it when we went to last year's Christmas party, but I wasn't certain until tonight," he said, then he looked down at his feet. "I have a family that I sort of made. I realized after we visited my parents' grave that family, either by blood or by love, is too important to waste."

He looked up into her brown eyes. "Your Mum needs her Mum, just like you need yours. If she can't come on Christmas day, we'll go visit her and I'll help you tell her about our world. Your Dad didn't seem that close to any of his family, but I could see your Mum wanting to be with her mum."

"It was selfish of me to want to keep the secret, wasn't it?"

Harry smiled gently and she felt her insides melt. "No, just human. Besides, you couldn't make that decision until this year anyway. The Ministry doesn't mind seventh years telling their relatives, but doing it in your sixth year would have caused problems."

Hermione smiled, then turned away from him and lifted her hair. "Unzip me, please?"

He grinned. She knew a spell that would allow her to zip and unzip her fancy cocktail dress, but she preferred Harry's method. He rolled off the bed and stood behind her. He slowly lowered the zipper, kissing the exposed skin. She leaned back and sighed loudly when he wrapped one arm around her waist.

He leaned away long enough to slip the dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Then he started to kiss her bare shoulders. His hands slid upwards to cup her breasts.

"You're teasing me," she whimpered.

"Only a little," he replied with a grin.

She turned in his arms. "Two can play that game, Mr. Potter," she said huskily.

His eyes widened when her hands went straight for his belt buckle and he leaned in to kiss her. His pants fell to the floor next to her dress and she pushed him backwards onto the bed, then she crawled in next to him. With a casual wave of her hand, she placed silencing and locking charms on the room, then turned to kiss him again.

Christmas is coming early, she thought happily. For both of us.

The Shrieking Shack, Hogsmeade, Dec 24th 1997...

Severus Snape sprinted the last one hundred yards to the building. He had been watching it for months now and he knew that it was occupied once a month. The people of Hogsmeade were starting to avoid the shack again and when they spoke of it, they did so in fearful whispers.

Fools, he thought. It doesn't take a Merlin to see that the shack is occupied by a werewolf. That slut, McGonagall, must be letting Lupin use it. I know he's around somewhere.

"Dammit, Goyle, you're stirring those Ravenclaw guts backwards!" he growled to himself. Then he wrenched the door to the shack open and slipped inside.

"Luuupin," he crooned. "Here doggy, doggy."

Nothing moved in the shack.

He wasn't entirely sure why he felt compelled to come to the school, but he was nearly there. A noise drew him to a window and he was surprised to see the Hogwarts carriages heading towards the train station.

"The students can't be coming back this early. The dunderheads still haven't eaten their Christmas pudding yet. Oh, I do hope for some Christmas pudding."

Snape chuckled, then stopped himself and looked around warily.

"Luuupin. Here doggy, doggy," he crooned again.

After a thorough search of the shack, he returned to the window in time to see the carriages return to the castle. Occasionally he spoke to himself and muttered about the dangers of teaching dunderheads.

The Granger Residence, Oxford England, Dec 26th 1997...

Cassandra Kensington sat in the living room of her daughter's house and sipped her tea. She was a little confused, but would never admit it to anyone. Her husband, Earl, had passed away years ago, leaving her mostly isolated from her daughter, since they lived so far away. When Hermione started going to her school for gifted children, the isolation deepened and it saddened the older woman because she couldn't understand the reason for it.

Now, unexpectedly, she had been invited to spend the holidays with her daughter. It was a welcome change to spending the holiday with her friends and neighbors, but it puzzled her. Something had changed and the only obvious change she could see was that Hermione was growing into a beautiful woman, and she had a sweetheart named Harry.

When she first met Harry, she had questioned him as best as she could at the family Christmas party. He obviously thought the world of Hermione. He was a fine looking young man with the deepest green eyes and a faint scar on his forehead that was barely noticeable. She learned that Harry had met Hermione at her mysterious school, then he'd had to leave because of troubles with his old guardians. He kept in touch and, despite the distances between them, they started dating. Overall, she approved of him, but she thought there was a strange mysteriousness about the boy.

Christmas turned out to be a wonderful experience with her family. Dinner had been cooked by Hermione and Harry, to her surprise. Hermione cooked many of the standard holiday dishes under Harry's watchful eye; somehow he had managed to include a few exotic tropical dishes, too. She was astonished to find he managed to get fresh fish and fresh tropical fruits. It was one of the best meals she'd had in many years.

She spent a lot of time in the kitchen observing Harry and Hermione, and was pleased to see how well they worked together. Hermione was a decent cook, but it was clear that Harry was the master chef in the kitchen and Hermione the helper. They worked and joked while preparing the meal. And to Cassandra's intense pleasure, Harry stopped every so often to kiss Hermione on the cheek, embarrassing her in front her grandmother.

She had lived a long life and was very happy to be reconnecting with Emma and her family. It was clear to her that her granddaughter was very happy with her boyfriend. And she was observant enough to note that when they retired for the night, she went to the one guest bedroom, while Harry followed Hermione into her room.

That wasn't as much of a surprise to Cassandra as Emma might have thought. She was a product of World War II, where people lived and loved hard. Cassandra wasn't about to complain to her daughter about her granddaughter's behavior, when she herself had had a sweetheart she had spent many a night with at Hermione's age. And she'd never tell her daughter about that Yank Airman she dated for a while. Had he survived the war, it was quite possible that Emma wouldn't have grown up in Britain at all.

She looked up when the young couple stepped into the room. Hermione walked over to the couch and sat down next to her, while Harry took one of the arm chairs across from them.

She looked at Hermione and arched an eyebrow. "So, I guess it's time to get some answers?" she asked.

Harry chuckled and glanced at Hermione, who blushed. "What did I say about the apple not falling far from the tree? I thought she knew something was up five minutes after she arrived."

Emma came into the room carrying a tray with drinks and some pastries. She placed the tray on the table where everyone could reach it, then she sat down on the other armchair. Harry reached forward and grabbed a drink from the tray.

"Mum, there's something we want to tell you," Emma said hesitantly.

Harry leaned back on his chair and looked uncomfortable. Cassandra caught his motion, then looked at Hermione intently. "Child, are you pregnant?"

Hermione blushed to the tips of her ears and Harry started choking on his drink. Emma stood and walked over to him and pounded on his back a few times. After a moment, he nodded thankfully to her, then he remembered why he had been choking and blushed brighter than Hermione.

"What? No, Granmum, I'm not pregnant. Harry made a comment the other day and we've decided to remedy the situation," Hermione said hurriedly.

She paused and looked at her mother, unsure how to proceed. Harry shook his head and sighed, then he leaned forward.

"Mrs. Kensington..." he said.

"I thought I said to call me Granmum, like Hermione."

Harry scowled and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am, you did. But for now..." he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than ever. "Well, to cut to the chase, your Granddaughter is a witch. She attends a school that teaches Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your daughter wanted to tell you, but it is against the law for a Muggle to tell another Muggle about the magical world."

Emma and Hermione turned to stare at Harry in astonishment.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione.

"What ever happened to easing her into it?" demanded Emma.

"It's easier to blurt it out and deal with it, rather than approaching it from the sides and hinting around the edges," Harry said apologetically.

Hermione turned to her Granmum, trying to gage her reaction.

"A witch," Granmum said dryly.

"Yes'm," Hermione replied softly. She raised a hand and used her ring to pour a glass of juice from the tray, then the glass lifted and floated over to her open hand.

Cassandra watched her granddaughter perform magic and one eyebrow slowly inched up her forehead. She turned to her daughter. "And this is the reason why you cut me out of your life for the past six and a half years?" she asked incredulously.

Emma flushed and looked down at her hands. She always had a problem when her mother used that tone of voice.

"It's not entirely her fault, Mrs. Kensington," Harry offered, trying to deflect her anger. "The law is very strict about telling Muggles... er Non-Magical people. Emma couldn't tell you - had she done so, she would have been punished severely. She could have lost custody of Hermione. It would have been different had you lived here, but since you didn't, the law was against you learning about magic."

Cassandra blinked and stared at the raven haired youth. Harry was a bit intimidated by this formidable woman, but he held his ground under her stare.

"And you're a what? Warlock? Sorcerer?" she asked acidly.

"He's a wizard, Granmum," Hermione said meekly. She hadn't expected this to be easy, but she never dreamed her grandmother would be angry.

Cassandra opened her mouth to say something. Six years of being kept at arms length was about to boil to the surface.

"You're angry and hurt," Harry said, jumping in before anyone else could. "I can understand that. But you need to know that, as much as your daughter wanted to tell you, she couldn't. The punishment would have been extreme. It might have even cost her her life. Her only choice was to keep the secret, and to stay away so that it wasn't accidentally revealed."

Cassandra's head whipped around to stare at him.

Harry shrugged. "I would be hurt, too, if she did it out of spite. But she was protecting you, Hermione and herself. Now the time has come to reveal the truth and try to heal the breach. Emma and Hermione want you back in their lives. That's why they are revealing the secret to you."

Cassandra closed her mouth and stared at him. He had just undercut her anger entirely! The hurt was still there, but it was lessened with understanding. She turned towards her daughter. "Emma?" she said, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

"It's true, Mum," Emma whispered. She couldn't help the fact that her own tears started half way through Harry's explanation.

Harry shot Hermione a glance and she immediately stood and moved away from the couch. A moment later Emma took her spot next to Cassandra and hugged her mother.

Hermione smiled and sniffed a few times, then she took her mother's seat in the armchair near Harry.

Harry grinned at her, then he reached into a pocket and pulled out a form, which he quickly filled out.

"Harry?" Hermione said softly, watching him. She was surprised to see him press his badge against the parchment, causing it to glow for a second. When the light faded, the parchment had shrunk down to a small card, which he passed to her.

"Part of the stuff they made me take. I never thought I'd need any of the Auror forms until today. Your Granmum is now a card-carrying Muggle," he replied softly.

She looked at the card which identified her grandmother as a Muggle who was privy to the secret about the magical world and should not be Obliviated. She grinned at him. "I knew there was a good reason for keeping you around," she teased.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm sure I'm good for other things too."

She blew him a kiss in reply and turned her attention back to her mother and grandmother, who had finally separated from their embrace. She nodded in satisfaction and conjured a box of tissues, which she passed to her mother.

Emma smiled in thanks and pulled some tissues out of the box before passing it to her mother.

"Mighty handy talent to have," Cassandra said, then she opened her arms to Hermione. "Now come over here, granddaughter."

Hermione bounced out of her chair and rushed to embrace the old woman.

After several intense minutes of mutual hugging between the Granger women, they finally settled down. Granmum had moved to the center of the couch with Hermione and Emma on each side, holding her hands.

Cassandra looked at Harry with a happy smile. "Why do I have this feeling that you're somehow at the heart of this? Oh, I don't mind, but I had thought I was losing my family."

Harry blushed slightly and shrugged, embarrassed to be singled out. He might have said the words for them, but it really was Hermione and Emma who had done the hard work. "Families should be together," he mumbled.

She arched an eyebrow and glanced at her daughter.

"Harry noticed that neither of us seemed very happy at the Christmas party," Emma explained.

Cassandra cackled with laughter. "No one is happy at those parties, my boy. I only go so I can see Emma and Hermione. The rest of the time they're downright boring. Although, I did like it when Frances got smacked down last year by this young buck."

Harry found the carpet especially interesting. He didn't want to be reminded of that particular incident.

"Harry asked some pointed questions and convinced me it was time to tell you," Hermione rushed to add. She had also enjoyed Harry's response to Frances, but now wasn't the time to gloat. Later maybe, but not now.

Cassandra turned back to Hermione. "So you don't go to a school for the gifted?"

"She does," Emma replied. "Just not gifted in the usual sense."

"Hermione could have easily gotten a scholarship to any private school and from there on to Cambridge or even Oxford," Harry said hotly.

Hermione smiled at him.

Emma nodded in agreement. "That's true, but going to Hogwarts was the best decision for her, considering her talents. An untrained witch is dangerous to herself and others due to accidental magic."

Cassandra gripped Hermione's hands tightly. "I always knew she was special. Did you know my Grandfather told me his great grandmother claimed to have special powers too? Maybe he wasn't pulling my leg, after all."

Harry leaned forward with an interested expression. "I knew it! I always thought it came from your mother's side of the family."

Emma grinned at Harry, then she turned back to her mother. "Mum, you can't tell anyone about Hermione and her abilities. You can tell your bridge club how well she's doing in school and brag all you want, just don't mention magic or the name of her school."

Cassandra nodded slowly. "It's that dangerous?"

"For us it is, Mrs... Granmum," Harry said, catching himself.

Cassandra smiled, noting the slip. Had he been closer, she would have patted his knee.

"Witches have been persecuted and burned at the stake," Hermione said quietly.

"Yeah, but some of them enjoyed it," Harry added with a grin, thinking back to the witch who had enjoyed being burned at the stake so much she did it five times.

Hermione shot him a quick grin, then turned back to her Grandmother. "There is a whole magical world out there and I can show you some of it. But you mustn't tell a soul."

Cassandra snorted and eyed her granddaughter with a touch of disdain. "I take it your Mum never told you what I did during the war then?"

Hermione shook her head and even Emma looked perplexed. "You worked for the Ministry of Defense, I thought."

Cassandra chortled and shook her head. "I did, in a way, since everyone in uniform worked for the Ministry. I was a cypher clerk for the SOE. I coded the messages and typed them up for the radio operators. If I can keep those secrets, even after fifty years, I think I can keep yours."

Harry raised an eyebrow. He had read the histories of the war and knew that the Special Operations Executive handled only the most secret missions of the war. Some of what they did was only just coming to light, even after fifty years. "I'd say so," he muttered.

Hermione and Emma shared a surprised look that was tinged with relief.

Cassandra gently poked Hermione in the shoulder. "So? Show me what you can do. I'm sure that you must be a special witch to attract a fine looking sweetheart like Harry."

Hermione blushed heavily and Emma laughed. "Granmum!"

Harry laughed and sat back to watch Hermione and Emma reconnect with Cassandra.

12 Grimmauld Place, Dec 26th 1997...

Tonks stumbled from the Floo and was caught by Remus.

He had arrived with just enough time to put down his packages and prepare for her expected arrival.

"I'm going to have to put a permanent cushioning charm on you if you ever become pregnant," he murmured in her ear and she blushed to the roots of her hair.

"Hey now," Cindy called from the doorway. "No dirty comments until after dinner, when you can go home to your own bed and do something about them."

Remus chuckled and Tonks' hair turned bright red to match her skin tone.

"Happy Christmas!" called Sirius, brushing past Cindy in the doorway. He carried a large bottle in his hand and four glasses hovered behind him.

"I thought Harry would be here?" asked Remus who was looking around for him.

Cindy shook her head. "He canceled. He's performing his first official Auror duty today."

Sirius sat and poured four drinks, then motioned for everyone to take one. "Yeah, he's sorry about missing today, but this was important to him."

"What was?" asked Tonks, obviously burning with curiosity.

Nearby, Dobby, wearing a NASA jumpsuit with his name stenciled on it, stoked the fireplace. He had discovered the joys of being the highest paid elf in history and he used his wages, with Cindy's help, to purchase costumes from Muggle retailers.

The jumpsuit had been a compromise between Cindy and Dobby, who, unfortunately, hadn't seemed to grasp the concept of gender-based costumes. Cindy was not going to allow the little elf to wear a Playboy bunny outfit, ever.

Cindy curled up next to Sirius and picked up one glass. "You know how the Grangers attend a family Christmas party every year?" she asked.

Remus and Tonks both nodded.

"Well, Harry noticed that Emma and her mum weren't happy at the party. Under some rather tough questioning by Harry, he discovered that they were estranged, mostly because of Hermione being a witch."

"She doesn't approve of witches?" asked Remus. It was a common issue in many Muggle families.

"No, they never told her. They were so concerned about keeping Hermione's secret that they were losing touch with her and the rest of the family," Cindy replied.

"And what's Harry doing?" asked Tonks.

"He's witnessing them revealing the secret, and issuing her the Official Muggle-In-The-Know card," Sirius replied smugly. "It's the first time he's done anything officially as an Auror. He may be only a reserve Auror, but he can perform the witnessing and issue the card. Granted, the card is standard issue for an Auror stationed in Wellington, New Zealand, but it's still valid."

"He's tickled pink that he can do something like this for Emma," added Cindy.

"Huh," said Tonks. "Harry got off easy. My first official task as an Auror was to break up a party run by Mundungus Fletcher. As you can imagine, everyone was drunk and most were undressed. Let me tell you, there is something really off-putting about having not one, but three drunken witches throw up on your brand new uniform. I think I went home that night and cried."

Sirius and Cindy laughed at Tonks' comment.

"All right, so Harry is missing. What about you two? You've been back from Madrid for less than a week and it doesn't look like you got much in the way of a tan," Remus teased.

Sirius sighed. "I wish. I swear these conferences are better at putting me to sleep than any potion. We met daily from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon. Cindy and I got to see the sights and we managed to enjoy the hotel pool, but we didn't have much free time during the day to lie about in the sun."

"Did you accomplish much at the conference? I always thought they were mostly excuses to hold fancy parties in the evenings," Tonks said.

"Actually, we accomplished quite a lot. You know that potion they wanted to ban here? The Veela modification to your Wolfsbane? Well, we've increased the tariff slightly on it, but they are going to allow it to be imported," Sirius said proudly.

Remus stared at him in surprise. There had been rumors for over a year about a Veela colony that had developed a new version of Wolfsbane that made the transformation much easier. The British Wizengamot had originally been against its import because it was created by Veela, for werewolves. Neither group were much respected in the British Isles.

"Oh, Remus," exclaimed Tonks. She had been horrified by his state following a full moon, and anxious for him to start using the new potion.

"It's one of the things we managed to accomplish," Sirius said, then he sighed. "I haven't convinced Amelia to drop the werewolf restrictions yet, but every little bit is progress. As it stands, it took nearly two weeks to hammer out an agreement. The potion was just one small part of the economic package. That's why I didn't see much of the city."

"It's a beautiful city," Cindy said, jumping in to continue the conversation, "but I did find myself curious, Sirius. Why did we always find ourselves in the same restaurant as the French delegates? And why did embarrassing things always happen to them at dinner?"

"Embarrassing?" echoed Remus, his eyes narrowing speculatively.

"Embarrassing," repeated Cindy. "Like the French Ambassador being attacked by his lobster dinner. Now, I might be bit concerned when a five star restaurant serves up an uncooked lobster that nearly snapped off the Ambassador's fingers. Wouldn't you be suspicious?"

When Sirius looked around innocently, Tonks snickered loudly.

"Around Sirius? Being suspicious is a way of life," Remus replied.

Sirius looked at his fingernails for a moment, letting the silence in the room build up. Finally, he looked up. "I don't understand why the French had so many problems, but it wasn't my fault. I didn't hand the man a live lobster. Nor did I cause his elevator to jam for eight hours while he suffered from extreme flatulence. Besides, anyone that stuffy deserves to have a little lesson in humility now and then."

"Does that include you, my husband?" asked Cindy silkily.

Sirius blanched and looked at her nervously. "You wouldn't."

"Uh oh, she must have new dirt on him," Tonks said with a chortle.

"All right, let's be serious here," Sirius said plaintively. "What's going on at Hogwarts?"

Remus sighed and shook his head. "We still don't know for certain if the snake is in the castle or not," he replied unhappily. "Snake or Acromantula, either would be hibernating by now and there hasn't been a single incident since the elf child vanished. The students are jittery, but since they haven't experienced anything directly, they don't understand why the staff is nervous, and we don't dare tell them."

"You think it's bad there? You should hear from Emma. Since Harry returned from Scotland, he's been burning up the air lanes with his owl. Poor Hedwig has been going non-stop. He spends half his days combing through books, and the other half writing letters for Hedwig to deliver," Cindy offered.

"What's he up to?" asked Tonks.

"According to Emma, he's been in touch with a Professor at the University of Melbourne, in Australia, getting advice about what a tropical snake would do in a temperate climate. That particular correspondence has been going out from, and coming back through, the Japanese Embassy in London. He's getting a crash course in Herpetology."

"Herpawhat?" Tonks asked, staring at Cindy.

"Herpetology. It's a Muggle science; the study of snakes and their behavior. Actually, it's really a smart idea for him to learn this stuff. The snake is venomous, after all," Cindy said.

"Why not go to someone local? Surely there are Herpawhosits in Britain," Tonks commented.

"There are," agreed Cindy. "But Australia is home to the most venomous snakes in the world. He went there because he could use the Pac Rim Ministry to help open that particular door, and he needed an expert who worked with venomous snakes a lot."

Tonks nodded thoughtfully.

"So what's he using Hedwig for? He can't be sending love notes to Hermione," asked Remus.

"He's looking for someone to make a cloak that will conceal his face and voice so he can search the castle without revealing his identity," Sirius replied.

Tonks blinked. "Do they make such a thing?"

"They do now," Cindy said with a grin. "Harry had it made special. He even gave the company that made it the charms to disguise his face and voice. And he's commissioned a dragon hide suit that will cover him from his neck to his feet."

Remus leaned forward, placing his drink on the table. "I don't know if I like the idea of Harry rooting around in the castle alone. And the risk of his identity being discovered is huge."

Sirius shrugged. "Talk to him about it, then. He'll be here with Hermione for dessert later."

"I think I will," Remus said thoughtfully. Some of Harry's plans he agreed with, like learning more about snakes. But he didn't think it was wise for Harry to enter the castle.

"Dinner is ready Sirs and Siresses," Dobby said from the doorway.

The Shrieking Shack, Hogsmeade, Dec 31st 1997...

The locals avoided the shack because of its reputation. Until recently, the shack had been silent for several years and the local residents of Hogsmeade were convinced that the ghouls that haunted the place had been sated for a while. Then, suddenly this past August, an awful howl was heard coming from the shack again. The ghouls were back.

That end of town was once again terrified, and a committee of strong, ably trained wizards were dispatched to double check the fence around the building to make sure no one could get in or out. No one wanted to acknowledge the fact that the fence was worthless if there were real ghouls in the shack.

As in so many cases of legends, the tales far outstripped the facts. Local villagers swapped tales about children snatched in the middle of the night, but when asked, none would ever be able to provide proof. The few who knew the actual truth, mostly staff members of Hogwarts, kept quiet. It was better to keep people afraid and away from the building, than to turn it into a tourist attraction.

In one corner of an upper floor bedroom, a head appeared as if from thin air. A gaunt Severus Snape peered around cautiously and sniffed the air.

Last night was a full moon and Lupin should have come to the shack for the evening. If all had gone according to his plan, right now Lupin was sleeping in one of the bedrooms, recovering from the after effects of the transformation.

Snape crawled out of his tent, which shimmered and become visible when he left it. He stood quietly and smiled to himself. It was a good plan; it was a perfect plan. He'd capture Lupin and force him to assist him in entering the castle. After that point, his plan became a little more fuzzy. He had vague ideas of "showing those dunderheads" and "teaching them not to underestimate the great Severus Snape". And that was about it.

As far as plans go, it left a lot to be desired, but it was the best his twisted mind could come up with.

He crept stealthily from the room, carefully searching for his victim.

Meanwhile, his intended target was sound asleep in the arms of his future wife, recovering from a particularly difficult transformation at Grimmauld Place. Tonks held him and carefully massaged muscles that had been stretched to their limits. Next month he would begin taking the new potion, Harry had prepaid for the coming year for him as a Christmas gift. Both of them were eagerly looking forward to seeing how well it helped.

The townspeople of Hogsmeade scattered in terror when, for the first time in living memory, the ghouls of the Shrieking Shack lit off during the daylight hours. Several of the more logical people wondered why the ghouls were so interested in deducting points from Gryffindor.

The Granger Residence, Oxford, England, Jan 1st 1998...

"I've been talking to my daughter and granddaughter, and both seem to agree that, without your influence, they might never have told me about Hermione's abilities," a voice said from behind him.

Harry looked up from the textbook he had been studying, he turned in his chair to see Hermione's grandmother standing in the doorway. He motioned for her to come in and sit down.

"I don't know how much Hermione has told you about me."

She smiled. "She's had a lot of good things to say about you, although I admit I haven't seen the wings she thinks are there."

Harry blushed. "I'm not an angel," he mumbled, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Cassandra grinned. He was so easy to embarrass! "I'm curious as to why you pushed them."

"Did Hermione tell you I'm an orphan?"

She nodded, her lips pressed tightly together.

"I hardly remember my parents, and the only things I do remember are fragments from the night they were killed. My only living relatives believed that they could force the magic out of me by abusing me. As a result, I have two views of what a family is. On the one hand, I have my relatives and their abuse. On the other, I have my real family; people with no blood relationship to me, but who love and support me just the same."

He looked at her and for a brief instant there was a flash of remembered pain in his expression, then he smiled. "I'd like to think that my parents would have loved me like my family does. The most important lesson I've learned from my Godfather is that family is the most important thing."

He paused and took a breath. "Emma deserves to have her mum in her life and Hermione her grandmother. And you deserve your family back. In a way, I'm partially at fault because Hermione spent so much time with me instead of her family. Reuniting you with your family was the right thing to do."

Cassandra nodded, satisfied with his answer. "All right. Now, tell me how you feel about Hermione."

Harry looked down at his feet for a moment before looking up. Cassandra had an imposing stare that neither Emma or Hermione had.

"I love her. She means everything to me," he said softly. "I've asked Dan and Emma for their permission to marry her when she leaves school."

Cassandra looked at him intently. "Don't you think she's too young? Or you, for that matter?"

Harry's expression hardened. "No, I don't. She'll be eighteen when she leaves school and I'm already out of school. People in the wizarding world pair up earlier than Muggles. My own parents were married right out of school."

Cassandra leaned forward in her chair. "How do you know she's the one for you?" she asked, stabbing a finger at him.

"I know," he replied defiantly. "I can feel it." He thumped his chest with one fist. "I'd do anything to make her happy."

"And if that meant leaving her?" she asked, watching him like a hawk.

He looked down. "It would kill me, but I'd do it," he whispered.

"Granmum! What are you doing?" exclaimed Hermione from the doorway. She was horrified by what she had heard.

Cassandra looked up at her granddaughter. "I'm testing his commitment. I want to make sure he's good enough for you."

Hermione rushed into the room and scowled at her grandmother. She pushed Harry back slightly and sat down on his lap. He automatically wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply.

"My mum asked your grandfather the same question," she replied with a soft smile. "And he answered in the same way."

Hermione looked shocked and uncomprehending and Cassandra stood and walked over to the pair. She leaned down and kissed Hermione's forehead. "Be true to each other and you'll do fine."

Cassandra straightened up and walked from the room.

"Old bat," Harry murmured without any rancor.

Hermione looked at him, then laughed. "Maybe," she whispered. "But Granmum is a smart one. When she gives advice, people tend to listen and with good reason." She looked around and noted they were alone. She waved her hand and sealed the door closed, then swiveled in Harry's lap until she was straddling him.

"I want to ask you something, but it's sort of embarrassing," she said.

He looked into her gaze worriedly. "Go ahead."

"You're a Metamorphmagus."

"I'm aware of that," he replied dryly.

She frowned at his tone and plunged ahead anyway. "I'm curious. When we're together, do you use it to... umm... enhance things?"

He arched an eyebrow at her and smirked. "Would you like me to?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "You haven't already done so?"

He shook his head. "I haven't felt any need and you never seemed to complain. From what I've read, I'm only a little larger than average." He leaned forward as he spoke, whispering his reply against her ear. She shivered in his lap and a wave of desire rushed through her. He was right, she had no reason to complain.

"I would have thought, with your being able to change things, you would."

He kissed her neck, slowly moving down to her shoulder. "Why change what seems to work so well?"

He paused and leaned back and she moaned slightly when he stopped. "Are you asking me to change?"

"No!" she said immediately. "I just thought that you would take advantage of it."

He grinned and rested his forehead against hers. "Someday, maybe we'll play like that. But I promise you, what you've seen so far when I'm not Evan, is totally me. Even Evan is basically me from the neck down. Tonks has different ideas, but she grew up with the talent. I didn't."

"What do you mean different ideas?" she asked, her curiosity now piqued.

"She was six when she first discovered her talent. Since then she's been changing every day, sometimes multiple times in a day. She really doesn't have a sense of self. She has a few favorite forms, but none that really say, 'This is me, this is who I was born as.' As a matter of fact, if you ask to see the real her, the best she can do is give you an approximation of what she thinks is the real Tonks. Once her ability kicked in and she started using it, she lost touch with her original form. Don't forget, she was only six."

He ran a finger down Hermione's cheek and she watched him intently. "It's hard to explain, but to a metamorph, there is a real risk of losing your base identity. I don't mean that one day I'll wake up and think I'm Sirius, but rather sooner or later you lose touch with the form you were born with.

"Remus understands that Tonks changes shapes the same way most women change outfits. He knows that she no longer has a true shape; it's been long forgotten. Tonks is change. I could fall into the same trap. Are you loving Harry or Evan? Does it matter? Are they the same people?"

He tapped his head lightly. "It gets confusing because I am used to being Harry, but Evan is nearly as comfortable for me. Sometimes I think it would be best for me to stop changing into Evan when this is all done and never change again. And then I remember what Tonks said. Being a metamorph isn't like being an animagus. Its more like a gender. We are born to a gender and that is what we are. Refusing to morph would be like refusing to be me."

"But when you sleep, you always return to Harry," Hermione protested.

He nodded. "That's true, but only because Harry is what I believe is my real form, the real me. Tonks doesn't turn back into something else at night. According to both Remus and Tonks, she either maintains her current form, or randomly changes when she sleeps. Tonks thinks she changes to reflect her dreams and Remus doesn't mind. She's always beautiful to him, no matter what her form is."

"So you're afraid of forgetting who you are?"

He looked at her seriously. "It's a real possibility for metamorphs," he replied.

She pulled him into a hug. "I won't let you forget that you're my Harry," she whispered. She was intrigued by the fact that he resisted the temptation to enhance himself. She didn't think he'd succumb to the same trap that Tonks had fallen into, mainly because he started so late and had a firm sense of self.

She realized she needed to rethink his metamorph talents. There were some intriguing possibilities, but those possibilities weren't totally risk free.

Headmistress's Office, Hogwarts, Jan 5th 1998...

The conference hadn't gone off like the Ministry had hoped.

With the exception of a small contingent of countries, mostly European and Northern European, the Ministry found itself snubbed and rejected by many of the delegates. The Americans were openly advocating the inclusion of new Muggle topics in their curriculum. And despite the noises coming from the British Ministry, the bulk of the delegates agreed to consider the changes. Then, to add insult to injury, the delegates voted to meet again in a year at the Salem Institute in the United States, despite Hogwarts offering to host it again.

The final result of the conference forced Minerva to write several reports to the Ministry explaining in detail why she felt they should agree with the conference's agreed upon goals. The Wizarding Education Administration had taken a very dim view of her stand on the subject. In their eyes, it looked especially bad when the Headmistress of Hogwarts failed to toe the party line like the rest of the Ministry. And unfortunately for Minerva, she was no Dumbledore; she didn't hold the same level of awe that he once held. Her position on the matter severely jeopardized her job at Hogwarts.

Minerva closed the reports and placed them in the folder, then she stood and took the folder in her arms. Another year past, and another set of reports to be filed in Hogwarts' infinite file cabinet. In previous years the reports were meaningless tripe sent to the Ministry, then filed and forgotten. This year they were read, and approved by Minister Bones herself. Bones had stepped in and put a leash on the WEA, preventing them from sacking Minerva for not following their position.

She stepped in front of a bookcase. A portrait on the wall noticed her and nodded. The bookcase slid into the wall and off to the side, opening a passageway. Sconces flared to life, lighting the way and she walked down the corridor.

After a short walk of about ten feet, she entered a room with several portraits, and the infinite file cabinet.

"I say, it's Minerva!" said one portrait.

"Yes, Oswald, another year has passed," she replied to the portrait. There were six portraits of former Heads of the school in the room. Of the twenty two former Heads in the last one thousand years, six had left the position in disgrace. Those six portraits were in this room.

Oswald Biederhurst had been a headmaster from 1742 to 1778 when he married the Head girl after she became pregnant with his child. That in itself wasn't bad enough, but he made the mistake of insulting King George III by suggesting he should grow up and let the colonies go. That was the last known contact between the magical world and the royal family.

She glanced up at the other portraits, including the one of Dumbledore. The portrait had been shocked to discover that it had been banished to the room with the other disgraced Headmasters.

Dumbledore looked at Minerva, his expression full of hope. "Minerva, I would like to..."

She held up a hand, silencing him.

"No, Albus. Apologies aside, we're still living with the results of your inactions and manipulations. You completely drained the accounts of several orphans and would have drained Potter's accounts had Gringotts not stopped you and alerted the Ministry."

She paused and looked at the painting intently. Dumbledore sat on a chair looking chagrined and contrite. The other portraits looked on and gloated.

"In a way, it's probably a good thing you were caught when you were. Harry has graduated, a full year ahead of schedule and is one of the most powerful wizards I have ever met. Had he discovered your deception, he would have probably killed you."

"Minerva! I assure you, what I did wasn't all that bad. I wouldn't have done it at all if it hadn't been the best for our world,," Dumbledore protested.

Minerva snorted. "And that, ladies and gentlemen of the court, is why the mighty Albus Dumbledore is relegated to the wall of shame, instead of occupying a place of honor in the Headmaster's office."

"Hear, hear!" said several portraits.

Minerva glared at them and they hurriedly hushed, then she turned back to Dumbledore.

"I don't know why I bother. You still think what you did was the right thing. You bankrupted four children to finance your little Order of the Phoenix. You placed Harry Potter into an abusive environment when you knew his parents had other plans for him. I swear, Albus, if I didn't know that the magic would create a new one, I'd order your portrait burned!"

She opened the file cabinet, placed the file inside, then she slammed it shut. She hated coming into this room; she made a mental note to speak to Pappy about relocating the dishonored Headmasters to a new room. Perhaps Myrtle's bathroom or the broom closets closest to the Slytherin dorms.

Daily Prophet Headline, Jan 6th 1998...

Hogwarts Receives Failing Grade!

Ministry Officials presided over the close of the one hundred and second International Educational Conference, only to find themselves and most of the European community snubbed by the other Magical Ministries.

The office of the Minister, still high from its success at the European Economic conference, was stung by the harsh reception given to Ministry officials at the conference. 

Hosted at Hogwarts, the fifty six delegates met to discuss changes to magical learning and new advances that might be incorporated into the standard coursework. This year, however, there was a problem. Right from the onset of the conference, a large block of Ministries, led by both the North American Department of Magic and the Pacific Rim Ministry, pushed an agenda that any normal wizard would find offensive.

The Americans want to include Muggle learning, mathematics, sciences and their new field of technomancy into the standard coursework. Such changes are in direct opposition to the Ministry's position. The Ministry and the European community opposed the changes vehemently, with one notable exception. The Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, refused to denounce the American proposal.

"I feel that the American proposal deserves to be examined, rather than dismissing it out of hand. I have recently come to believe that we are doing a disservice to our students by limiting what we teach. We are educators, first and foremost, and therefore we, of all people, should not be turning a blind eye to new ideas," said McGonagall. 

WEA officials were quick to attack McGonagall's position, citing her close working relationship with the disgraced former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, as a possible source of her tainted thinking. One official said, on condition of anonymity, that, "She's spent too much time under Dumbledore, if you catch my meaning. I bet she knew what was happening to Harry Potter, too!"

Perky Weatherbee, reading a statement from Minister Bones, had this to say. "The Ministry recognizes that the WEA is an autonomous agency. However, we reject the calls for Headmistress McGonagall's resignation. While her comments were perhaps different than current Ministry policy, she is a private citizen, employed by a private organization and therefore not under the auspices of the WEA or the Ministry. Finally, we note that Headmistress McGonagall was asked her personal opinion, which she candidly gave. Yet she has taken no action to institute new classes and will not undertake such actions until approved by the Hogwarts Board of Governors."

(Continued on Page 2)

Several Azkaban Escapees captured. One still at large. Page 2

Drunk German Wizard Disillusions middle third of Eiffel Tower. Page 3

Hogsmeade, Jan 8th 1998...

Gustav Chesterfield was considered an eccentric even by wizarding standards. Well past a century old, the wizard appeared one day in Hogsmeade and purchased a run-down old home on the outskirts of town. It was one of the places furthest from Hogwarts and the train station that could still be considered part of the town.

Few people went near the Chesterfield home. It was rumored to be heavily warded and dangerous. Its owner was often seen scurrying around town, running mysterious errands that only he knew or understood. Chesterfield had proven to be impossible to come to know.

Gustav wasn't a powerful or imposing wizard; in fact, few could recall him ever doing much magic. He was anti-social to an extreme. He hated people; wizards, Muggles, everyone. Unfortunately, his odd habits would be his undoing.

It was late evening and Gustav had spent his time at the Hogshead Inn, sitting in a corner, drinking and glaring balefully at the other regulars. The new owner had renamed the Inn, but changed the name back when people refused to use the new name. When he left, he failed to notice the black shape that detached itself from the shadows and followed him. Snape caught him just as he was about to enter his house.

"Imperio," hissed Snape.

Gustav paused and for the first time in his life, he felt a pleasant sensation and an utter sense of relaxation.

"Let me in," Snape said.

Gustav nodded and opened the door wide. Snape glanced around and then darted inside the run down dwelling.

"Enter and close the door."

Gustav entered the home and closed the door, then he stood silent, waiting for his next command.

Snape looked around the room. He would not have risked this at all, but the little tent he had been living out of had run out of supplies. It had been two days since he'd eaten last and he needed food badly.

The room he was in was incredibly cluttered. Old Daily Prophets were stacked from the floor to the ceiling in several places, along with Muggle newspapers and magazines. One wall was covered in calendars dating back to 1931.

He could see the corridors nearby were cramped with all sorts of junk. The place felt downright creepy and he shivered slightly.

"Take me to your kitchen."

Gustav nodded happily and Snape followed him into the crowded corridor. He paused next to one door, which vibrated. "Stop!" he commanded. "What is that mysterious ticking noise?"

Snape eyed Gustav warily. He could feel a strong sensation through the soles of his shoes. Gustav turned and opened the door. Suddenly Snape reeled back, assaulted by the sound. The room contained hundreds of clocks, all ticking, gonging and ringing.

"Close the door!" he screamed, pressing up against a stack of rusted cauldrons.

Even under the Imperius curse, Gustav couldn't help but smile. He knew his new friend would be impressed by his attempts to save time. Thanks to his clocks, he had hundreds of years stored in that room.

Snape straightened up and glared at Gustav for a moment, then his foot lashed out, kicking the old man's feet out from under him. He ignored the pained cry as the man hit the floor. "No more funny business or I'll deduct points from you and give you detention!"

The old man gasped and nodded, waiting for the pain to ebb away. Then he slowly climbed to his feet and led Snape into the kitchen.

At a command from Snape, Gustav set about preparing a meal for his new friend.

"The days of Gryffindor's end are nigh," Snape muttered to himself.

"The badger will kill the snake," Gustav told him in a low growl. He had not attended Hogwarts, but he knew enough about how the school was structured.

"Yes, but not before the snake delivers the killing bite! And then all will know that I, Severus Snape, am all powerful! All will bow and worship at my feet and Draco will fix my hair."

"But the Eagle cannot outrace the snail without help," Gustav replied sagely.

Snape paused and stared at Gustav. He had not thought of that!

"Meh! Then I will let Parkinson worry about my hair. Draco can be in my harem."

Gustav nodded, pleased that he had helped solve his new friend's problems with his love life. Then the pleasant feeling started to ebb.

Gustav blinked and swayed for a moment. Snape pulled his wand and reapplied his Imperius curse. He didn't need his new servant getting away now. Besides, there were more important things to do, like catching Lupin.

The Granger Residence, Oxford England, Jan 20th 1998...

"Are you decent?" Dan called from the door.

Harry looked up from his desk. He was packing away several important items he had purchased for himself in the past weeks.

"Yeah, come on in, Dan," he replied.

Dan stepped into the room and watched Harry packing away the heavy gloves and snake hook. "I take it everything went according to plan?"

Harry grinned. "Even better than I expected. Professor Miller's letter opened doors real quick."

Recognizing the need to learn how to handle venomous snakes, his contact in Australia had provided him with a letter of introduction to the Curator of Herpetology at the London Zoo and he had spent the day watching and helping the snake handlers there. For the next few weeks, he'd be assisting in caring for all of the reptiles at the zoo while learning how to handle the venomous species.

"I'm not an expert by any means, but give me a few more weeks and I'll be able to handle the worst snakes safely. Today all I did was move fairly safe species, then clean out their enclosures."

"How'd you manage to convince Professor Miller to help like that?"

Harry walked over to his bed and sat, then he motioned to Dan to sit at his desk.

"The Pacific Rim Ministry approached Professor Miller at the University. They said they needed an expert for a snake problem that had some political difficulties tied to it. As far as Miller is concerned, there is a snake that needs to be caught in a very high profile location and no one can know about it, which explains why none of the usual experts are being called in.

"He sent me some recommendations on books to read, and has answered a number of questions I've had concerning snakes. Finally, he suggested that I approach the Curator of Herpetology at the Zoo and he provided me with a letter of introduction. They were basically given the same story Miller was given. Only in this case, it's being done as a favor to the Australian government."

Dan motioned to the leather gloves and the plastic noose stick. "Is that going to be much good against Nagini?"

Harry frowned. "No, not really. But I never planned on using it. Tonks has put me in touch with a company that makes armor for Aurors. It's expensive, but I've bought a suit of the stuff. I'll be protected from my neck to my feet. Not even Nagini will be able to bite through dragon hide. The snake hook is just a prop. I'm going to kill the snake, not collect it for a zoo." He shuddered slightly. "I have a bit of a confession," he said softly.

Dan arched an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked, wondering what Harry was going to say.

"I really don't like snakes. If I had my choice, I'd rather be able to talk to Hedwig or Crookshanks instead of snakes," he said.

Dan shook his head and laughed. A moment later, Harry joined him.

"So, have you learned everything that Emma wanted to know?" Harry asked with a sly grin.

Dan's lips twitched. "She's concerned. Up until now it's all been talk and plans. But now that you're really chasing after Nagini, she's terrified for you and for Hermione. She's had several very bad nightmares. She's worried sick about you."

Harry nodded somberly. "I know. I also worry about what would happen to Hermione should anything happen to me."

He stood and walked over to his trunk and placed a hand on it. "My Will is in the first compartment. Sirius also knows where it is, and Gringotts has a copy on file. Should anything happen, Hermione gets most of what I own."

"She doesn't want what you own, Harry. She wants you," Dan protested.

"I know. This is just a precaution. Besides, I'd rather decide who benefits, rather than seeing it go to the Dursleys. They don't deserve anything."

Dan nodded unhappily. This part of the conversation he would relate to Emma, but he'd never tell Hermione about it. His daughter was a realist, but this was a dose of reality that no one wanted to discuss. He stood and walked to the door. "Dinner will be in about an hour."

Harry looked up from staring at his trunk with that uncomfortable piece of parchment. "I'll be there," he replied.

Dan walked from the room, leaving the door open and Harry moved over to sit back down at his desk. He flipped open the textbook on snakes. The answers are in here, he thought sourly, I just have to find them.

12 Grimmauld Place, Jan 25th 1998...

Harry tumbled out of the fireplace and frowned. He was lying on his back and mostly covered in soot.

"I thought you didn't use the Floo anymore?" Cindy asked. She sat on the couch looking at him in amusement.

She had been asked to join a partnership of doctors that consisted mostly of Squibs or wizards passing as Muggles. Until her office was completed, she was working from home, examining cases that she'd be taking over from a retiring doctor.

Harry climbed to his feet and cast a cleaning charm on himself. "I don't use the Floo if I can help it. But Floo is the only way in and out of the office at the Embassy."

"The Embassy? I would have thought you'd be snake handling today."

He shook his head. "No, I had to take the day off to go down to the Embassy to initiate a search for some information."

He looked at her intently. "You do know I'm not really serious about learning to handle snakes? I mean, I'm not going to capture Nagini. If I have my way, I'll find her and set the room on fire to kill her."

Cindy nodded. "I had wondered why you seemed so intent on learning something you weren't going to use."

Harry sat in a chair opposite from her and ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "It's something to do, I suppose. I can't spend any time searching the Forbidden Forest around the school. It's hip deep in snow and she's hibernating. According to what I've learned, she'll hibernate until sometime in April."

He paused and looked down at his hands. "I'm not used to being idle like this. I have a few items still to do, but none of it can be done now."

"So all this running around of yours is just something to keep you busy?"

He looked sheepish and nodded.

Cindy chuckled and closed the folder on the case file she was reading. "You know, you have a lot of people worrying about you."

He nodded. "I know, but keeping busy is the only thing keeping me sane. Otherwise, my only option at this point is to sneak into Hogwarts and search the school from top to bottom."

"Let's say you find the snake. What then?"

"Easy. I kill it and remove the Horcrux," he replied.

"Can you destroy it? I know Sirius said they were very difficult to destroy."

He frowned and nodded slowly. "I think I can. We think the object inside the snake might be a gem that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. If that's the case, then I think I know a way to get the Horcrux out of the gem. If not, I'll have to seal the Horcrux in a box and take it to a blast furnace to destroy it."

"Will destroying it banish him or just free up his avatar?"

"No one knows," he replied with a shrug.

"You want this very much, don't you?" she asked gently.

He looked at her. "I want what you and Sirius have - what Dan and Emma have. Once this is done, I can really live with Hermione at my side. I just want to be normal, like everyone else."

"But none of us are really normal, Harry," she said softly. "Sirius is an animagus, and an ex-convict. Dan and Emma have their own quirks; even I have my foibles. No one is really normal. You're a metamorph and you're famous. Hermione is very intelligent and will be famous simply because she's your girlfriend."

Harry's expression darkened and she held up a hand, holding him silent. "Let me try it this way. You're a metamorph, right?"

"Yes."

"Can Hermione be one?"

"No. You're either born to be one or your not."

Cindy nodded. "True. You were born a wizard. Can you become a Muggle?"

He frowned. "No. I could swear off using magic, but it would always be there."

She leaned forward on the couch. "So, you'll always be a wizard and you'll always be a metamorph. You became famous, but the public is fickle, their memory won't last. What will last is what you are."

She paused and drew in a deep breath. "I'm an Internist. When I was studying, I thought about Oncology as a possible field."

At Harry's puzzled look she smiled. "An Oncologist treats cancer patients. I didn't go into the field because there is so much pain and suffering. Too much for me to bear. I've had patients die on me before, but not like some who work in that field."

She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I always thought I was a failure because I couldn't hack one of the most difficult fields in medicine."

He watched her intently. They'd had many conversations in the past, but none like this.

"It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized that there really wasn't anything wrong with me. This is who I am. That's all we can ever be.

"We can't change our fundamental makeup. You hate that you're the Boy-Who-Lived, but when you finally kill off Voldemort's soul, you'll have earned that title for real. Think about it. Even if no one knows what you did, you will have earned the name they gave you as a toddler."

Harry stared at her for a long moment, then he sighed heavily. "Just live as best you can because there is no normal?"

She smiled. "Tonks would say normal is boring. Just live, Harry. Take Hermione off to someplace where you won't be hounded by the press and learn to live a regular day. Stop worrying about what's normal and what isn't."

He nodded. "I can do that. Maybe we should go back to Fiji for a few weeks after she leaves school. Bring her grandmum along..."

He trailed off, thinking hard.

Cindy grinned, then stood and picked up her folders. She patted him on the shoulder before she left the room.

He was so caught up in what he was considering he barely noticed her leaving.

Upstairs, Dobby, dressed as a vampire, including enhanced teeth, smiled happily as he prepared a room for his Harry Potter Sir.

Headmistress's Office, Hogwarts, Feb 5th 1998...

"Come in!" Minerva called from her desk. She was happy to have visitors. She was in the middle of another report to the Ministry, explaining why they couldn't give lessons in how to handle a Nundu in Care of Magical Creatures class.

The door opened and Remus and Tonks entered. Tonks was floating a large crate behind her.

Minerva arched an eyebrow at the sight.

Remus sat down in one of the chairs facing her, while Tonks gently lowered the crate, then took the other chair.

Tonks waved her wand a few times, setting up privacy wards, then she nodded to Remus.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Minerva, but Harry had this box delivered and he wants to talk to all three of us," Remus said.

Minerva nodded. "Is he coming here?"

"No. We'll use the mirror to talk to him," he said as he pulled a small mirror out of his pocket. With a wave of his wand, he expanded it so it was nearly as big as a single printed sheet of paper. He propped the mirror against some books, then touched the corner, activating it.

"Harry Potter!" he called.

The surface of the mirror rippled like water and Harry's face appeared in the mirror.

"Remus, do you have Tonks and the Headmistress with you?"

"We're all here and we're burning with curiosity about the box," Tonks said.

Harry grinned. "I've been doing a fair amount of research concerning the behavior of snakes in the last month, and surprisingly some of it paid off. The box contains something we can use to help draw Nagini out."

"So you do think she's in the castle, Mr. Potter?" asked Minerva.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Honestly, Headmistress, I don't know. Wherever she is, I do know what she's doing right now and I know what she'll be doing when the winter ends and she wakes up."

Tonks stood and walked over to the crate. She used her wand to lift the top off and place it to one side.

"Normally, she'll hibernate until the ground temperature reaches anywhere from ten to fifteen degrees. If she's indoors, she'll wake sooner because the castle has a warmer temperature than outside.

"She's going to wake and will have one extreme priority. She'll need to eat, and that's where the contents of the crate come in. Has anyone opened it yet?" asked Harry.

"I've got it open," called Tonks. She held up a small white package.

"If you open one packet, you'll find that it contains a Muggle pest trap. It's meant to capture mice and rats. Each trap contains a triggered Portkey that will take the rat or mouse away from the castle. I don't want to be totally cruel, so the Portkeys will remove the rodents from the castle, dumping them in Sherwood forest. The traps themselves will reset after they send off a rat or mouse. My original thought was to dump the pests at Privet Drive, but I decided against it. That would be cruel to the animals," he said with a smirk.

"Starting in mid-March, we need to saturate the lower parts of the castle with those traps. Nagini should wake up around early to mid-April. If we fill all of the lower levels with these traps, we can cut back, maybe even eliminate, her food supply. With a little luck, the lack of lunch will force Nagini to leave the castle to find food.

"Remus, you need to pull that ward in until it covers just the castle itself and none of the grounds."

Remus leaned forward in his chair. "I can do that, Harry, but won't she see the ward? She must have spotted it when she came close to it. That's why she took an underground route."

"I'm hoping she won't see it mixed in with all of the other magic. Right now, the ward is a unique piece of magic and not intermixed with any other magic," Harry replied.

"How do you propose we distribute these things, Mr. Potter?" asked Minerva.

"You still have house elves there. Get them to do it, Ma'am, just make sure they don't do it alone."

"What will you be doing then, Harry?" asked Remus.

Harry's image in the mirror shrugged. "There's not much I can do until she comes out of hiding, Moony. Sometime in April I'll come back and set up camp in the Forbidden Forest. Once it gets warm enough, I may root around the castle some, but not a lot. And I still have some more research to do. This is effectively a double Horcrux. The soul component released will be stronger than usual. That means we can't just throw it into a blast furnace without extra precautions."

Remus took the small package from Tonks and opened it. Inside was a pop up plastic box with bait and a one way door. "We could have used these to catch Wormtail," he murmured.

Harry grinned in the mirror. "He received his justice, Moony. That's all that matters."

Minerva looked up with interest. She had not heard what happened to Pettigrew. "What happened?"

"I found his body in the old Riddle home," Remus replied. "As near as we can figure, he was killed by Nagini sometime around October of 1994."

"Right around the time of the tournament," Minerva said thoughtfully.

Harry nodded.

"So we start laying these traps out in March and hopefully we can drive Nagini out into the open," Tonks said. "I like it. I'd really like to see the end of this."

"You and me both, Tonks," Harry said. "I'd like to get on with my life."

"Speaking of that, Mr. Potter, I just thought I'd let you know Miss Granger is doing well. She's organized several study groups for all four houses. She looked a little tired, but not like earlier in the year."

"Thank you, Headmistress. I can't help but worry about her. I've only been able to visit once since she's returned to school. At least she won't have exams like I did. In the cold weather, my arm aches now thanks to that DADA exam."

"Yes, our exams are little more sedate. We don't expect our students to storm an Auror training camp," Minerva replied with a hint of a grin.

Harry blushed. "It wasn't my fault they didn't explain all of the details of the test."

Minerva glanced at the two grinning Professors in front of her and smiled tightly. "Yes, I'm aware of what happens when Professors fail to provide sufficient instructions."

Remus and Tonks looked away. They knew she wasn't talking about the Girls Dorm ward breaking; that was ancient history. No, she was still annoyed by the sixth years who hid a disillusioned hippogriff in her office. That was another project where they'd taken the lack of instruction and run with it.

"Remus, unless you need me for anything else, I'm going to go. I need to stop by the Japanese Embassy and see if there has been any response from my request for information."

"What are you looking for, Harry?" asked Tonks.

"I had an idea that the North American Indians might have magic that can deal with Voldemort's wraith. The request for information was sent through Embassy contacts. Once the Horcrux is broken, it will release a double fragment. In all of the previous Horcruxes, the soul fragment just dissipated because there was no consciousness associated with it. But this fragment contains a soul fragment and the independent wraith that existed when he was originally cast from his body. Will it just dissipate? I don't know, and unless Remus has changed his mind, he doesn't know what will happen, either."

Remus shook his head. "We just don't know what will happen. If we were destroying a regular Horcrux, the soul fragment would dissipate and that would be that. His wraith would lose its ability to anchor to this world and move onto the next plane. But like Harry pointed out, this isn't a regular Horcrux."

Harry waved and the mirror rippled again before turning a dull gray. The three sat silent, contemplating the possibility that destroying the Horcrux might not be the end of Voldemort.

From the Journal of Hermione Jane Granger (Private Entry), Feb. 15th 1998, Hogwarts...

It's been a very hectic month and a half and I haven't had much chance to write any private entries during that time. But I need to record these events.

Harry's been working extraordinarily hard, trying to learn about snakes and about spirit magic from North America. He also devised a rather clever plan to deny Nagini any food when she wakes up. He wants to force her into the open so that he can find her easier.

On the other hand, he nearly got caught here in Hogwarts!

I love Ginny, but she is turning out to be the nosiest girl I know. Ever since the announcement of her arrangement with Neville, she's been hanging out in my apartment a lot. She's been studying, but she also decided to use my little common room as a perfect place to plan her wedding, since she didn't have to deal with all of the Gryffindor girls and the catcalls from some of the less mature boys here.

I didn't mind, since I had agreed to her using the room under some strict rules and, for the most part, she willingly followed those rules. But one day she forgot her planner in the common room and she stopped by to pick it up before she went down for breakfast.

Unfortunately, she discovered Harry's invisibility cloak! She came into my bedroom demanding to know why I had it. I could feel the blanket next to me still settling to the bed because Harry had teleported away barely a second ahead of her entering the room. Naked.

I managed to get her to wait out in the common room until I could get dressed, and while I dressed, I quickly shoved all of Harry's clothes under my bed. I am certain she didn't notice them. I think. I hope.

Out in the common room, she confronted me about the cloak and I told her that Harry had sent it to me, which lead to me admitting that Harry did occasionally contact me through Sirius. She grilled me for nearly twenty minutes before I figured out that I could distract her by asking her a question about her wedding.

The problem is, I'm not sure she bought my story. She's a Weasley; she can smell a lie from a mile away, for Merlin's sake! And here I'm feeding her a tall tale about Harry living on a ranch in Wyoming and dating a Muggle cheerleader named Buffy. All I can do now is hope she didn't watch that Buffy movie like Harry and I did this summer.

All right, I'm smart; everyone says so. But I never said I was good at lying. After all, an eleven year old claiming she can take on a fully grown mountain troll? Honestly! How good of a liar can I be? I mean, I honestly thought blaming spilled milk on the cat would work with Mum. And I'll conveniently forget to mention that I was four at the time and we didn't have a real cat, just my imaginary cat named Bubbles.

And all the time I'm making up fairy tales, Harry has teleported someplace naked! I later learned from my Mum that he went to my house. My Mum stumbled on him coming out of my bedroom wearing my bathrobe. He crossed the corridor into the guest room where he kept his trunk.

The end result of this is that now Ginny watches me. I know she has more questions and she's just waiting to pounce.

After that, I changed the password to my door and now Ginny has to knock to enter the Head apartment.

The second time Harry visited was yesterday, on Valentine's Day, and I still smile just thinking about it. It was a night I'll never forget. We've had some pretty great sex before and I have absolutely no complaints about him as a lover. But sometimes he does things that don't involve sex that leave me totally stunned and I end up asking, when did my Harry take lessons in romance? Does he secretly watch romantic comedies when I'm not around or read the romance novels I keep on my night table? Well, I think I know the answer now.

He arrived here and the first thing he did was kiss me in a way that made me want him so badly. Afterwards, he didn't say a word, he just led me into the bed room and pressed his fingers to my lips, telling me to say nothing.

What followed was like nothing I've ever experienced. He conjured a huge wooden tub full of hot scented water, then he undressed me and helped me into it. He bathed me, from my toes to my ears. As he did, the lighting in the room lowered until there was just enough light to see by. From somewhere, I don't know where, music played softly. And he never once said a word!

When he was done, he lifted me from the tub and dried me off with the softest terry towels I've ever felt. He had even managed to remove the ever present chill from my room. For once the stone floor wasn't cold against my bare feet.

I'll admit, I've never been so pampered before and he had me so turned on. I expected him to take me to bed and make love to me, but that wasn't what he had in mind.

He laid me down on the bed on my stomach and started to massage my feet. I was startled for all of twenty seconds and then I relaxed. He slowly worked his way up my legs, massaging me. Every so often he'd stop long enough to apply a small dab of scented oil.

I melted. I became Hermione-the-Puddle. By the time he reached my shoulders, I was nearly asleep and he was showing no signs of stopping.

The next morning I awoke, still naked, from the best sleep I've ever had. There were several blankets covering us and the bed was so warm and toasty. I didn't care that I didn't have a stitch of clothing on.

It took me a long lazy minute contemplating the previous night before I realized that he had reenacted a scene from one of the novels I keep by my bed. He must have known from the way that book falls open to that particular scene that it was a favorite of mine.

When I finally focused on him, I found myself staring into those deep green eyes of his. He was awake and holding me loosely in his arms.

"You didn't stay up all night, did you?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Not at all. Once I was sure you were asleep, I joined you. You've been working too hard again."

I looked away. He had somehow managed to learn how to look at me and leave me feeling ashamed of myself. It reminded me of the way Daddy can look at me and I know without him saying a word that he's disappointed. Harry rarely uses that look, but when he does, I know he's doing it because he cares what happens to me.

"I know, it just snuck up on me," I replied. Then a thought occurred to me and I smiled at him. "But if I start working too hard, you'll come along and do like you did last night, right?"

He leaned closer and kissed me with a chuckle. "My witch," he whispered.

I snuggled closer with him and kissed him hard. He was going to have to leave soon and after last night I wanted him so bad it hurt. He left an hour later than he had planned and I think he was almost as content as I was.

I'm already deep into a plan to turn the tables on him next time he comes here. He's also agreed to help me with my studying. He told me he wrote up what he remembered from his Transfiguration N.E.W.T. exam. I know his exam will be very different, but the quality of the questions will be a big help in preparing for the tests.

Hogsmeade, Feb 18th 1998...

Soon now, very soon,thought Snape. He suppressed the urge to cackle and he looked at Gustav, who was busy making dinner for both of them. For more than a month, Snape had been hiding in Gustav's home, which he found fascinating.

Besides the clock room where Gustav saved time, there was the sacred repository of missing socks. Gustav explain that the room contained all the socks that go missing. Snape believed him; the room was full to the ceiling and the walls bulged ominously. Gustav earned extra money by pulling out the socks and selling them to Gladrags.

Another room was filled with balls of all shapes and sizes and which he, appropriately enough, called the Ballroom.

Needless to say, Gustav was playing with a short wand and he turned out to be an excellent playmate for Snape.

Snape had found that Gustav had a potions workshop in the basement, although he spent the majority of his time experimenting with Muggle chemicals. Keeping Gustav under the Imperius was tedious, so he brewed dose of Liquid Imperius, which bound Gustav to him permanently. Unlike the curse, which left the victim performing in an obviously controlled manner, the potion allowed the victim more freedom. An astute Auror or Potions Master might suspect the victim of being controlled, but Gustav's normal behavior was sufficiently strange so that no one noticed as he went about his business in town.

"Gustav," Snape said from his chair.

The man turned to eye his friend eagerly. "Yes, my wonderful Master?"

Snape winced. No matter how many times he had told him to simply call him sir, the man's insanity was preventing the potion from assuming unwavering control.

"Have you found the key to that room in the basement yet?"

Gustav's expression fell. He hated failing the wonderful and powerful master. "No, Master. The locking spell is the best there is. It is, after all, the Holy room. How could I buy anything less than the best?"

Snape scowled. He had investigated every nook and cranny in this strange house, including the attic, where gravity was reversed, and the second floor bath, with miniature alligators in the bathtub. The only room he hadn't been able to enter was a room in the basement.

Snape blinked and his lucidity waned. "Curses! I'm sure there is something important in there."

"It is the Holy room, Master. Of course, it's important," Gustav said in agreement.

"Important enough to decimate those fool Hufflepuffs? I hate badgers."

Gustav nodded and peered at Snape with watery eyes. "Truly, the Holy room contains a wondrous means for you to bring your enemies low."

Snape bolted upright. "Like Gryffindors?" he hissed.

"Especially Gryffindors," Gustav said smoothly. He knew exactly what to say to please his master.

Snape leaned back, relaxing. "Gryffindors," he murmured. "They sneak into your rooms at night and fill your socks with the pudding you weren't allowed to have at dinner." His head cocked slightly and his eyes became unfocused. "Oh, hello, Draco. Why are you wearing such a large codpiece?"

"It provides room for his fish, Master," Gustav said.

Snape nodded understandingly. He should have thought of that.

12 Grimmauld Place, London, Feb 20th 1998...

Sirius stopped when he passed the open doors to the main sitting room. Harry sat on the floor between the coffee table and the couch. On the table he had several books spread out and a long rolled up parchment.

"Harry? I didn't know you were coming over today."

He looked up and smiled at seeing Sirius. "Dan and Emma are taking a long weekend, so I figured I'd crash here, if you don't mind. I could go up to the Manor, but no one's there except for a few elves."

Harry had visited Potter Manor and found it in need of many repairs. Remus had been able to keep the grounds around the cemetery neat and well maintained, but only a Potter could enter the Manor. Because of that, it had been unattended all these years. Harry had hired several friends of Dobby's to fix up the Manor, but it still felt like a large tomb to him. He hoped that someday he and Hermione would be able to call it home, but that wasn't today.

Sirius nodded then walked over to the couch and sat down. "You know you're always welcome here," he said. Then he leaned forward and eyed all the parchment and books. "What are you working on?"

Harry turned to the parchment on the table and nudged a bit of it. "I got this stuff a few days ago through my contacts at the Embassy. I have no doubt I can destroy the Horcrux when we find it. Now I'm more concerned about being prepared to destroy the soul fragment."

Sirius leaned back and looked at him. "You don't think it will simply go away like the others did?"

"The other fragments didn't have the consciousness that this one has. That's a big difference."

Sirius looked pensive for a moment before acknowledging Harry's point. "All right, but since we're on the topic, there's something else I think we need to consider."

"What's that?"

"Your reintroduction to the Wizarding world in general. Once the last Horcrux is gone, Evan Black should slip into obscurity and Harry Potter should reenter the world. I'm sure Hermione wants to be Mrs. Potter, not Mrs. Black."

Harry sighed and leaned his back against the couch. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. What do you suggest?"

Sirius grinned. "Well, since you're asking. I used to say to your dad, if you have to do something, do it with flair."

Harry stared at him for a moment then groaned theatrically. "Oh, no. You're thinking of something real showy, aren't you?"

Sirius chuckled. "Well, think about it, Harry. We have to convince the Internationals and the Ministry that you've succeeded. Once they're convinced, they'll handle it from there."

Harry lowered his head to the table and banged it a few times. Then he looked up at Sirius. "You know, sometimes I think life was simpler when it was just me and Moony."

Sirius' face fell and he placed a hand to his chest. "You wound me!" he cried in mock anguish.

"Not mortally, unfortunately. All right, let's hear what the Marauder in your head is saying."

"What we need is a group from our Ministry, someone acceptable to the Internationals, and maybe one or two from the press who we can trust. Are you still sure you can destroy the Horcrux? It would be mighty silly to gather all these people and find you can't do it."

Harry's expression turned grim. "I can do it. Since we're dealing with some kind of gem, I've run a few tests. I'm afraid that I used up some of those loose gems that I found in the vault."

Sirius grinned. "Don't worry about it. Some of that stuff was downright ugly. You didn't break anything important, did you?"

He shook his head. "No, just loose gems, and some common stones I found in a stream while searching the Forbidden Forest. I made sure all my Mum's jewelry was put away before I even started looking."

He paused and looked thoughtful. "How are we going to do this, Sirius? I mean, I'm not happy about having the press there, but I guess it's necessary. But getting everyone together is going to be a problem."

"Let me handle it, Harry. I have the contacts we need. I just need you to create the Portkeys when the time comes."

When Harry nodded, Sirius stood. "I think I'll go see what Cindy is up to and when dinner is."

He walked out whistling a happy tune and Harry shook his head in amusement. He knew that Sirius was a real showman at heart. Whatever he thought up would be a surprise to nearly everyone. That's what frightened him.