AN: Standard disclaimer everyone, JKR owns the toys, we just get to play with them.

AN2: This is the next instalment of The Deception series (Part two to be precise) It begins with Harry Potter and the World of Deceit, which can be found on my profile. A lengthy disclaimer and important chunk of story sits there that you really should read before this one as many of the same warnings apply, I will place appropriate warnings at the start of each chapter for anything particularly grim or steamy so that you can avoid it if you wish. Now, without further ado, let it be my proud pleasure to present Part Two of The Deception series; Harry Potter and the Web of Lies.

-:-

Chapter One: Moving on

Bone white fingers, elongated beyond the length of normal proportion, wrap tensely around the stem of a crystal goblet. A thick aroma of wine exudes from the crimson liquid within and it is unhurriedly brought to pale lips, staining them with its passing. The sound of swallowing is audible in the gloom of the manor house.

Naught but a moment later the goblet is placed back to its resting place atop a small marble topped side table with an equally audible clinking sound. Then a horrific sound fills the air, obliterating the nerve wracking silence with abrupt abandon.

"You failed Us those many years ago Severus."

The voice was fear itself, layers of discordant tones and timbres overlapping in disharmonious cacophony. In truth it would be more accurate to call the voice a choir, as several distinct voices can be heard, over talking one another and jockeying for position in volume and audibility. At present the tone that held sway over the dissident mass was a silky tone filled with barely controlled disgust and disdain.

"And because of it We are uninformed, cripplingly so. We have heard rumour, that the information you gave Us, is incomplete. The truth of it lies within the bowels of our beloved Ministry, here on the very shores of England."

The pale complexion of the sallow faced man before the dais flushed with supressed emotion. Severus Snape did not speak however, to do so now would invite a fate worse than death.

"We will forgive you this once, our most loyal of servants, because despite Our plans being shattered so long ago, by this unfortunate circumstance. You are not to blame. You were removed from the tavern within which you acquired this information before it could be completely divulged. Are We not correct?"

A single sentence, dripping with subservience, fell from Snape's lips.

"You are precisely correct my Lord."

Voldemort's face split into a thin smile, the few teeth that showing are pointed and when he opens his mouth again to speak, many other teeth can be seen in concentric circles like those of a shark disappearing into his mouth and three tongues, pink and thin, forked at the ends like snakes, flicker in the gloom.

"As it should be, and shall always be. Avery."

The spoken summons was like a death knell to the Death Eater standing by the door. The thin man nervously replied, but with as much spine as he could muster.

"Yes my Lord?"

Voldemort's smile returned.

"Bring me Lucius, I have a goal for him, the Minister's pockets are a little empty right now."

-:-

Feet pounding on pavement, two sets of them, disturb the morning silence in Oxford's suburbs. The feet belong to two young people, a girl and a boy, or more specifically a witch and a wizard. Even more specifically they belong to Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. In the intervening terms between the summers of this year and the year past, Harry's body had undergone a winter burst of growth, powerful but wiry muscles, clear skin that Harry refused to allow acne to grow on by using a simple charm. Equally well shaven skin, although that was more Dan's choice than anything else, as the older man insisted that Harry used a razor until he went back to school as a rite of passage into young adulthood.

His hair, which before was unruly and would refuse to stay flat, is now sleek and straight, Hermione making sure to have him wash it properly in the shower. It was cut short in a stylish shape that Harry knew he would have to abandon when he got back to Hogwarts, the students would give him far too much grief about the hairdo for it to be worth it. Lastly he is wearing a pair of well fitted running shorts and a tight singlet apt to display his burgeoning chest muscles and abs that he only wore for Hermione's benefit. Lastly his eyes, before a vivid poisonous green, are now a softer shade of dark forest green and above them, a clear forehead free of his trademark scar.

All in all this young man was very much different to the one who roamed these streets last year, less of a boy, now more a man. His companion, a somewhat plain brunette with sparkling eyes, was much the same. She had a softer body, more curves instead of planes, but she was equally sturdy, thick thighs and calf muscles built from years of stairs and running. Slightly broader shoulders than you would normally see on a girl, developed from carrying bags filled with heavy tomes. Her hair, naturally very bushy, was now sleek and wavy thanks to a charmed hairbrush given to her by a friend.

She was not the most striking of girls, a little on the tomboyish side for most given her pastime of jogging in the morning and lifting surprising amounts of weight in her book bag on a daily basis. But feminine nonetheless, usually her more boyish attributes would bother her, but her man, her wizard, had shown her time and time again that she was beautiful, sexy even, and that was enough for her.

These two young teens ran in silence together, they rarely had need for words anymore when they were alone; thoughts ran between them like water in a cake tin. Ideas, emotions, memories, hopes and dreams, all shared with no effort whatsoever between the magical couple. How is this possible? It's possible because of a magical bond linking their minds, their magic, and their very souls: Born of love and compassion, built from trust and hard work, and strengthened with constant use.

A slightly haunted look was about the two teens, eyes set, jaws clenched as they force air from between resistant lips with each stride. Just a week past Harry had been battling for his life in a graveyard with his fated nemesis. Furthermore, on the shoulders of the young teens was the weight of prophecy:

Born of the sixth month, on the fifth sixth day;
Against the Dark Lord a single man will rise.
His victory shrouded his defeat unclear;
Strength of purpose shall carry him through.
Born of the light, raised in darkness, not knowing his own name;
His name will be legend, his actions will be myth.
A power which the dark lord knows not;
Born of suffering and companionship:
That shall be the Dark Lord's bane.

The words hung around them like a pall of darkness, there was no doubt that Harry was the man mentioned by the prophecy; the various lines seemed to be written from his life. The power mentioned was a mystery to them but what really got their attention, or Hermione's at least, was the concept that his victory over Voldemort was by no means a certain thing. When Dumbledore had told them the details of the prophecy that Valmortis had mentioned during Harry's captivity, the both of them had been stunned to silence for the longest time, and Harry himself had been detached in a way that made Hermione truly scared for her soul mate.

The two teens halted abruptly and leaned back against the low brick wall beside them catching their breath. Hermione looked up at the tall peaked gable of her family's tutor style Oxford townhouse and smiled, there in the window of the top floor she could see her mother sitting on the window seat looking out over the street, a book held loosely in her hands. She shared a wave with Emma Granger as Harry caught his breath fully and enveloped her in a sweaty hug from behind. His soft slightly husky voice permeated through her whole being like the warmth of a heater on a bitter winter's day.

"Enough of all this grim thought sweetheart, let's just enjoy what time we have before Mad Eye starts bashing our skulls around shall we?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh softly as she leaned back against him, still breathing heavily and laid her hands atop his where they rested, wrapped around her waist. She felt a tingle as his lips pressed a small feathery kiss to the crook of her neck.

"That sounds lovely, come on you, we need a shower."

-:-

Clean and recovered from their morning run the two meandered downstairs whereupon Harry began shuffling around the kitchen cooking a batch of eggs and breakfast sausages for himself and Dan when the older male finally came down. While they were cooking he slid Hermione's usual cereal in front of her and smiled at his adopted mother as she came downstairs.

"Hi mum, tea for you? Or do you want to try coffee?"

Harry grinned cheekily, it was such a fantastic feeling to have a family to interact with that he often found himself getting lost in it. That Emma swept into the kitchen herself to begin making a morning tea didn't surprise him at all, despite the small size of the kitchen Harry and Emma seemed to be able to move around each other comfortably to get things done, more out of practise than anything else as neither allowed the other to do all of the cooking themselves. Emma's reply was equally humorous to Harry's cheeky question.

"Now I know Daniel has gone round the twist with that horrible drink but you can't expect madness from all of us Harry, it's just not done."

Harry grinned into his own cup of tea that was proffered to him by Emma. After a long draw on the hot beverage he set it down on the counter top to continue cooking his and his adopted father's breakfast.

"Of course not mum, but to be fair, we never expected dad to lose his marbles either. Where's the harm in checking you still having yours?"

"What's this about me losing my marbles? I assure you they're around here somewhere."

Harry turned to see Dan Granger walking down the stairs rotating his neck until an audible 'pop' was heard. Hermione's happy laugh was enough to stretch Harry's grin to almost painful proportions.
The family sat down to breakfast, Harry and Dan munching away at their protein rich diet, Hermione and Emma both opting for lighter fare. Harry knew that Hermione disapproved of his choice of breakfasts, claiming it was too heavy for a morning meal. But he never felt ready for the day until he'd indulged in his one culinary vice.

He stayed away from sweets, never having a chance to develop a taste for them as a child, and as a general rule he ate well. Hermione made sure he ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, the grangers had a small herb garden in their back yard and Harry had taken to putting all manner of herbs into his cooking. They ate mainly chicken and fish as their evening meals, occasionally lamb or beef but very rarely pork. Crisps and biscuits were totally absent from their diets, Emma and Dan often had biscuits in the house for having with their evening tea/coffee, but the teens shied away from them so as to avoid missing them at Hogwarts.

All in all Harry ate well so he steadfastly held to his tradition of a heavy British breakfast, often adding a muffin (English muffin mind) or crumpet into the mix with some jam and butter. He never told the elder Grangers, but Hermione knew full well, that one of the major reasons why he stuck to it was that for several years at the Dursleys he had cooked similar fare for breakfast every morning and never seen a bite of it to eat. In the back of his mind this small rebellion was the only thing he allowed to remind him of his formative years.

As the family of four finished up their meal and Emma swept the plates away before Harry could even get up to move Dan broached the topic that had come up over dinner the night before.

"So tell me about this teacher who's going to be giving you two summer instruction."

-:-

Said teacher was Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody, his unique moniker coming from an equally unique electric blue magical eye that could move independent of his other, normal, eye and even see through walls and other solid objects. It was renowned for staring straight through the back of his head or whizzing about sickeningly. The rest of his body was just as grizzled, shoulder length dirty brown hair, enough scars to turn his face and upper body into a sick tapestry of cuts and lacerations and topping the whole image off, a peg leg in the shape of a clawed foot, hewn and carved from a single piece of oak.

Accompanying his fearsome appearance is a fearsome reputation; world renowned auror, soldier of the light against Voldemort's first rise, and paranoid to boot. All of this of course makes him the ideal person to teach two young magical prodigies and craft them into true warriors. Never mind the fact that said prodigies are only just scraping into their mid-teens and living in Muggle London.

Already a letter had come from this tutor, detailing exercises, magical ones, which the teens could to prepare themselves for the real training ahead. How they were going to achieve the 'real training' amidst the statue of secrecy was anyone's guess. But practise they did, and bewilderingly, they saw progress. Already powerful spell casters and sorcerers the pair find themselves reaching for their magic less and less and having it leap to their hands more and more, and yes, literally to their hands, previously Harry was the only one between them who could practise any form of wandless magic, and even then it was limited to levitation, lights and so forth.

Now Hermione was at that point, and Harry was already transfiguring things wandlessly much to their bemusement. After mailing Mad Eye about this phenomenon they got a two word response; 'Keep going', and so the first two weeks of the holidays passed in something of a blissful haze of relaxation, training and family communion. It was tinged with sadness however, the anniversary of Ron's death was fast approaching and the two felt the keen bite of sorrow at the memory of his passing.

-:-

Harry woke in pitch darkness to the sound of screaming. Light burst from his hands like human flashlights and the young man looked around frantically only to bump into Hermione beside him, curled into the foetal position and uttering the keening wails that were reverberating off the walls. Anguished he swept his beloved into his arms, her mind kept him out even as he tried to comfort her emotionally. Stymied he resorted to doing that which most boyfriends have to, holding on and whispering as many comforting words as he could as quickly and calmly as possible.

Her body was tense, like all of her muscles had seized and her eyes were clenched shut, tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks. The door to their room burst open to reveal Emma and Dan in their nightclothes, Emma moved forwards quickly to collect the two of them in her own embrace. She and Harry kept talking to Hermione and eventually the young witch calmed down and collapsed into their arms. Her previously tense muscles fell limp, like she was a ragdoll, and Harry took her full weight in his arms as Emma backed up a bit to brush Hermione's hair from her face and gently ask her.

"What's wrong honey? Are you okay?"

Hermione's eyes remained panicked however and she twisted about in Harry's arms, searching blindly for something. Harry loosened his grip slightly and suddenly she was there, her face inches from his, her eyes boring into his own like two miniature lasers designed to pierce to his very soul. Her gaze softened instantly and her hand came up to his cheek, touching him intimately and a handful of words rolled from her cracked lips.

"I thought I'd lost you, the dream… It was so real."

Harry let his mind sweep over hers, obliterating the barriers she had thrown up accidentally and flooding through her being like a warm wave of affection. He was dimly aware of Dan motioning Emma out of the room as he took the time to actually open his mouth, searching for words to comfort her with as he was desperately trying to convey the same with his mind. He started slightly when she laid a slim finger to his lips.

"Hush, I know what you're trying to say love, you're here, you'll always be here, you love me."

Harry nodded numbly and brought a hand up to take hers, clutching it tenderly and kissing the finger.

"Maybe you do know, but I need to say this, actually put it into words. I love you Hermione. I will always love you and there isn't a damn thing on this earth that can take me away from you. Not permanently, I'll always come home to you my love. You mean too much to me for me not to."

He watched as, unbidden, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled forth over her cheeks like a pair of miniature streams rolling over the smoothest of unblemished plains. Tenderly he reached up and brushed the tears away with his hand, rubbing the moisture out between his thumb and forefinger.

How long they stayed like that Harry would never know, staring into each other's eyes, forging anew the connections between them and tempering them in the pain of their recent ordeal. They were broken still, but slowly, they were healing.

-:-

The nightmares continued for weeks, after the third night Emma stopped rushing into the room, trusting Harry to look after her daughter like he had so many times before. It didn't hurt that Hermione barely noticed when Emma was in the room and had eyes only for her beloved.

As those weeks passed their training surged ahead, soon Harry was cooking with wandless charms as practise in fine control. Hermione was writing her assignments with it, and between them they had begun to truly plumb the depths of their bond; the deepest and most private parts of their beings they shared with one another, things normally kept separate through habit or fear.

Then, a month after they had arrived back from Hogwarts, they received a thin envelope sealed with a small dab of sealing wax imprinted with a strange crest. A phoenix surmounted over a pair of crossed wands superimposed on a circular background. The letter arrived by the usual black and brown owl at breakfast one morning and it was dropped squarely between the two young teens.

Hermione got to it first, as was her habit, and nervously broke the seal. The letter inside was something of a shock;

To Mr Harry James Potter and Miss Hermione Jane Granger

I trust your summer has, thus far, been a restful one. Moreover I hope dearly that you have begun to recover from the ordeal suffered so recently by you both. I understand that Alastor has been giving you private, if stunted, instruction during the summer break and he has asked me if I would permit you to join us of the Order of the Phoenix here at our London Headquarters for further instruction.

We shall discuss more upon your arrival, and to this end, should you be willing, a representative party will meet the both of you at your Oxford residence at five o'clock in the evening on the ninth of July, (A Saturday unless I'm very much mistaken). You will be returned to your residence no later than nine o'clock that same evening to discuss between yourselves any decisions that you may need to make and will be given the opportunity to meet here with us at our headquarters once again for any subsequent training you may require.

Yours' sincerely

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (And assorted titles too tedious to mention in such a correspondence)

P.S. Please RSVP at your earliest convenience.

Hermione looked across at Harry, heart thudding in her chest with bewildered eyes. Judging by his 'did pigs just fly?' expression he'd read the letter through her eyes. Here was Dumbledore, not only acknowledging Hermione enough to suggest she not only accompanies Harry, but is recognised equally by the missive, but he was also offering to provide venue for the pair to train in during the summer break. It was so out of character for the aging Headmaster to include them in any kind of plan that they were both a little flabbergasted.

The mention of decisions needing to be made weighed on Hermione's mind like an iron shroud designed to cripple her thought process with errant strays to be chased. But despite that the offer was clear, the insinuation was clear; this wasn't a letter to a student or to a subordinate, this was a letter to a colleague, an equal. Two equals to be precise and it blew Hermione away with the sheer novelty of it. There was no disagreement between them, they were going, but what would they find there beyond the promised training? And who were the Order of the Phoenix?

-:-

The ninth arrived like any other day in the middle of July, hot, windless, and muggy. The two teens spent the meat of the day with their parents, going over what Harry and Hermione would need for the coming term, things they could purchase ahead of time. Few details were shared; Emma and Dan wouldn't have understood much of it anyway, not yet at any rate. Harry and Hermione had been doing their best to give their parents a crash course on magic in the last couple of weeks, going over basic spellcasting, sorcery, this that could be easily explained or had parallels in the mundane world, household charms for example.

As it was the two adults knew more than most parents of first generation witches and wizards and they were handling the discussion well. Discussions of new robes and textbooks were easy enough to get their heads around, quills and parchment were just like pens and paper, potions ingredients were a little trickier, but they were totally lost at runestones and lodestones, though arithmantic tables were similar enough to maths texts to be understood.

Lodestones in particular were fascinating to them once they understood the basic principle; semiprecious gems like quartz and moonstone were able to hold great amounts of pure magical energy, like batteries. They could then be carved with spell runes to give them a purpose, and then activated with the tap of a wand. The imitation gas lamps in the magical world, as well as most plumbing, were controlled by these tiny devices charged with potent spells. They had to be recharged semi regularly depending on their frequency of use and the amount of power required to charge their spells, but all served a purpose.

The two teens had begun to learn of their usefulness at the end of the previous term, Harry in particular was excited about their use as their uses were nearly infinite with enough creativity, and between him and Hermione he was the more creative, if only by a hair. Hermione was more interested in optimising existing functions, whereas Harry was something of an inventor, constantly trying to find new utilities from combining different spells together.

It first manifested in his obsession with creating new sorcels the year previous; experimenting with different wand movements and focuses was something of a hobby, and the small magically powered mechanical spider that was his new constant companion was another example of his craft. Hermione often commented that if he spent as much time studying as he did tinkering he would probably have a better academic record than even her, but as he succinctly pointed out that was one of the key, and treasured, differences between them; Hermione would forever be the one more interested in the future, the potential for them, and Harry would be the one to bring her back to the present, to keep her grounded in the here and now.

-:-

As five o'clock approached the Granger residence was wound tight with anticipation; Harry and Hermione anxious to find out more about the mysterious Order of the Phoenix, and their parents concerned for the safety of their daughter and adopted son. The tolling of the hour found the three Grangers and one Potter male seated around the kitchen table, conversing in low, quiet tones. Despite the sun still shining brightly in the sky the occasion seemed to warrant a hushed demeanour and the household was nearly still with anticipation.

The grandfather clock in the main hallway of the two storey house tolled the hour and promptly, as if waiting for said timepiece to single its arrival, a sleek, but dated, forest green hatchback pulled into the driveway. Harry flicked his thoughts at his bond-mate and nodded at the window.

"They're here."

None of the four moved, as a tall reedy man and a much younger woman with eye wateringly pink hair, both wearing long coats that could easily pass for mundane clothing, stepped out of the car and moved towards the front door. Harry's eyes widened slightly and his familiar crooked grin slipped over his features as he recognised the man. Standing from the table, Hermione close behind he favoured Dan and Emma with a happy grin before darting down the hall to swing open the front door and greet Remus Lupin with a grin and a quick, manly hug.

"Remus, it's been too long, how are you?"

The older man gave Harry a wan smile before answering

"Better, much better than usual thanks to a few good friends, and yourself? I understand I should be congratulating you about your bond with Hermione."

Harry blushed crimson, it was the first time an adult from the wizarding world had openly acknowledged his and Hermione's relationship in such a positive light and he was unsure how to take the praise. Thankfully Remus seemed to understand and simply clapped a hand to his shoulder and continued talking.

"You've got so much of your father in you now. I haven't seen that hair since my third year; I'd forgotten what it looked like."

Harry frowned as they headed inside, some things still didn't add up about the way people had reacted to him in the past; comments like 'you have your mother's eyes' seemed so ridiculous now that he knew that it was only now that he truly shared that trait with his late mother. Hermione soothed him with her thoughts as they walked with the idea that perhaps it had just been a long time since they saw her eyes and got confused, that coupled with a bit of wishful thinking could easily account for the discrepancies.

-:-

As the two men caught up Hermione looked over Remus and his companion, who was introduced only as 'Tonks'. Remus in particular was looking better than she last saw him, someone had stuffed him into some decent clothes for once and his face had less of the haggard appearance that it usually bore. There was still the same darkness behind his eyes though, the kind of darkness that threatened something violent if pushed too far.

Tonks on the other hand seemed to be the most enthusiastic bubbly person Hermione had ever met, considering she had shared a dorm with Lavender for four years that was saying something, although perhaps Hermione was desensitised to Lavender's personality through overexposure. Either way Hermione couldn't imagine two people more different, Remus' rather staid laid back demeanour as opposed to Tonks' extremely extroverted personality. They seemed to get on well enough though.

The four of them headed indoors whereupon the two teens introduced Remus and Tonks to the Granger parents. They talked briefly over tea before Remus indicated that they should be getting a move on. After giving her mum a quick hug goodbye and her dad a kiss on the cheek she whipped up to their room to grab a notebook and a pen so she could take notes, between her and Harry they both loathed using parchment outside of Hogwarts, it was just so inconvenient to lug around.

When she got back down it was to the three travellers waiting for her in the entranceway of the Oxford townhouse. Harry held his hand out to her as she joined them and she took it with a smile, comfortably lacing her fingers with his. Looking up into those comfortingly warm green eyes she mentally sighed as Harry's thoughts bumped up against her own, questioning her happy grin curiously. In reply she simply tossed her emotions at him, happiness at seeing Remus again, excitement about where they were going, genuine enjoyment after meeting Tonks, and the general happiness about being with him that never seemed to abate.

She couldn't help but grin even more widely as a happy smile washed over the curious expression on his face, obliterating it and leaving only his crooked grin behind. She did so love that grin. Remus' words brought her back down to earth.

"All right then Harry, Hermione, we've a shorter trip ahead than you're expecting, get in and we can get started."

Hermione beamed at Harry as he held the door for her before going around to the other side. She never would have thought that she would be interested in being doted on like Harry did for her. She was a strong person in her own right and had been the one to support harry through many troubles. But Harry's constant gentlemanly approach to her took her off guard, made her blush and smile, brought out the feminine side she never knew she had. If she had to admit to herself she loved it, loved not having to be the strong one in their relationship all the time. Oh sure, she was there for Harry when he needed her, but at the same time it gave her a rush of feminine pride and sense of beauty when Harry treated her with such respect and adoration.

Harry slid into the seat beside her and laced their fingers together, rubbing the pad of his thumb against the back of her hand. She glanced at him and realized that he wasn't watching her, or paying any especial attention to her, it was just second nature to him to take her hand, to touch her and be intimate with her. Fighting back a happy sigh she looked forwards to see Remus fiddling with a variety of knobs on the dashboard. When he finally turned the key in the ignition she knew this was no ordinary car. She could feel the engine humming beneath them but there was no sound. The gearshift had altogether too many selections, and there were only two pedals… in an obviously manual transmission.

But it was the small device sitting above the rear-view mirror that caught Hermione's attention.

"Is that a time turner?"

She saw a ghost of a smile flicker on the sides of Remus's moth as he twisted in his seat, handing her a piece of parchment.

"Read that, both of you."

She looked down at the paper and read a single line of text in Albus Dumbledore's elegant spidery handwriting.

'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at number twelve Grimmauld Place London.'

Uncomprehending she passed the paper to Harry who also read the note before handing it back to Remus, who promptly burned it with smokeless magical fire. He checked that they had their seat belts on, then reached up and spun the small hourglass four times. Abruptly the world shifted through the glass; it appeared to melt, colours running amongst each other before solidifying into easily recognisable patterns and shapes. The streets of Oxford dissolved and were replaced with the typical roads of London, houses disappeared only to be replaced with others, and the sky brightened considerably, even considering the light smog.

"What on earth just happened?"

The words slipped from her lips before she could contain them and she blushed crimson at her forthrightness, but she could feel Harry's agreement coming across their bond. Remus's reply was typically dry. She noted that Tonks was now nowhere to be seen.

"Open the door Hermione."

Nervously she stepped out of the car onto a concrete driveway. The house to her right abutted onto two others, one on each side and the unkempt garden in front of it looked like it hadn't been cared for in decades. She felt harry take her hand and looked at him questioningly, he simply shook his head, sharing his feelings of bewilderment. His strong voice rang out in the night air.

"Where are we Remus? How did we get here?"

Wearing that self-same wan smile that so often adorned his face Remus simply gestured them indoors, speaking softly in the darkness.

"We're somewhere safe, but we should talk indoors, this place is being watched."

Nodding Harry headed indoors and Hermione could only follow as he gently tugged her along behind him, her spiral bound notebook and pen shrunk and in her back pocket, wand in hand and a defensive sorcel running through her mind ready to snap off if needed. She trusted Remus, but one could never be too trusting. She was comforted by the fact that Harry's wand was resting in his easy grip; the fact that that grip was a duellist's hold not a charms position comforted her further. If this went pear shaped and things weren't as they seemed Harry wouldn't be fighting with his kid gloves on.

The hallways was somewhat grim to behold as they moved through the now open door, snake heads were everywhere, on the banisters, the door handles, the candlestick holders, even the curtain rails were serpent headed. More gruesome still were a line of particularly mummified house elf heads that lined the staircase, the whole situation invited hushed voices and a proclivity for cautiousness. Hermione noted from the corner of her eye that Harry was giving Remus a raised eyebrows questioning look. Would they have to go on the offensive in a moment?

Fortunately it wasn't necessary as a tall black haired man came out of one of the doors and, upon seeing Harry, swept him into a joyous embrace. Harry's hushed exclamation reassured Hermione more than anything, despite her having recognised the man.

"Sirius, oh it's good to see you, you're looking healthier!"

"Good to see you too Harry, we'll catch up later, for now how about you reintroduce me to this lovely young woman."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's Godfather

"You know full well who I am Sirius, but by god if it isn't good to see you with some flesh on those bones of yours."

She grinned as she stepped forwards into the older man's embrace for a brief hug before backing away, she had a bit of a soft spot for Harry's Godfather, not a romantic one mind, but he was the last of Harry's guardians in the magical world, and he and Remus were Harry's last remaining connections with his family. Aside from that it was hard not to like the happily grinning man who had such an honest face, the shadow of Azkaban still lurked behind his eyes but Hermione knew that wouldn't last forever; he would be whole soon enough.

She felt Harry's arms slip around her waist and she twisted her head and smiled at her lover before reaching behind her to cup his cheek, Harry's slightly throaty voice made her beam.

"Thing is Sirius, as I'm sure you've heard she's a bit more than just my friend now. Sirius I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger, my girlfriend and bond mate."

The older man's face moved from shock to happiness, then to mischievous annoyance

"Moony, now why wouldn't you tell me about this hmm?"

Hermione felt herself being turned as Harry pivoted on the spot to keep both the older men in view just as Tonks was getting the door closed with all its associated locks. Remus' face was as equally crafty as Sirius'.

"Because Padfoot I was rather looking forward to seeing how you'd react to it, and I dear say you didn't disappoint me."

Hermione felt Harry's chest shifting behind her as he stifled a laugh. Sirius' eyebrow rose comically before the shaggy haired man shrugged and turned back to the teens who were now both eyeing him with amusement.

"Regardless, congratulations you two, I knew you'd be good for each other the moment I laid eyes on you. This can't have happened long after we parted then?"

Hermione started slightly in Harry's arms; of course, it had really only a bit more than a month after they had parted ways from Sirius atop the astronomy tower that she and Harry had had their first kiss. Grinning, she nodded to the man,

"A bit more than a month later we got together, I'd say a couple of months after that our bond started forming, maybe even sooner."

Sirius looked right chuffed about that for some reason; the answer to the mystery was forthcoming as he buffed his nails on his shirt

"See Moony? Told you the old boy was still good luck"

Hermione snickered as Remus just rolled his eyes before turning to her.

"Didn't you want to know how we got here? And where we are?"

Harry answered for them both

"I think we'd like to know that very much, is there anywhere we can sit down and talk?"

Hermione's eye glanced to Sirius as he interjected

"Yeah, come on into the dining room we can talk before everyone else arrives."

-:-

Harry had a riot of emotions running through him, the twin wonders of seeing both Remus and Sirius again after over a year of their absences, the shock of however they had travelled to London so quickly, the interest in the strange house they were in, for the place was undoubtedly a house. All of this was rushing through the young man's mind like so much wildfire, he could feel Hermione's emotions colliding with his own and mingling, and to his relief he then felt her drawing them away, locking both of their emotions away for a time so that Harry could concentrate.

She was so much better at shoving emotions to the side to get whatever needed to be done, done, whereas Harry was far more ruled by his passions, and so they had figured out how to remove Harry's turmoil for a while in times of stress so that he could do what needed to be done, whatever that was at the time. It was, in part, a defence against the kind of trauma he had suffered at the graveyard, more than that though it was to make sure that if Hermione was injured, Harry would be able to continue fighting, to make sure they were both safe before going to her.

Initially Harry had loathed the idea of separating himself from his emotions to her; it was abhorrent to him to even contemplate. But over time, and with much coaxing from Hermione, he eventually agreed that it would be a good skill for them to have. So it was that Hermione had practised with him, locking individual emotions of his away behind the walls they could put up between one another. It was arduous work and they had not yet progressed far, as it was Harry could still feel shadows of those emotions roiling through him, the separation wasn't perfect. Part of him wanted it to stay that way; he still never wanted to be totally emotionless, ever.

As they left the hall and moved into a room that appeared to be a cross between a dining room and a kitchen Harry noted that the two older wizards were talking merrily between one another, completely at ease in the strange house. He wasn't yet sure whether that put him more at ease or less. Regardless they all ended up sitting around the large dining table and Sirius served them all tea. Once they were settled Hermione finally asked;

"So what on earth was in that car of yours Remus? How did you manage to transport us from Oxford to London instantly, inside a car no less? "

Harry watched Remus carefully as he shifted in his seat looking for the first time, slightly eager.

"Well as you so correctly guessed Hermione, that was a time turner, have you looked at one of the many clocks around the place since we got here? It's a bit past half past one and, in a few minutes more, myself and Tonks will apparate into the front garden, then drive the car to Oxford."

He heard a muffled gasp of understanding sound from his left and Harry turned his head slightly so that he could watch his witch. He could see the gears turning inside her head. His own mind was clumsily snapping the pieces of the puzzle together but it felt like there was one vital piece missing.

"So we've gone back in time, four hours to be precise, and not only that, but only us three, Tonks was left behind. Furthermore, not only have we gone back in time but we've moved locations. Most of it I can understand, the last bit though, that's bothering me."

Remus laid his hands flat on the table, peering at the wood between his splayed fingers.

"The car is a bit of a masterpiece really. Dumbledore, Sirius and I have been working on it all year. It has a great number of modifications, the major one of course being that time turner. Now I'm sure you know, after your third year and everything involved with that, that time turners, the regular kind at least, keep you within a fixed location on the earth and then take you back in chronological time. The magic is tricky enough keeping the traveller in place on a rock that's moving so rapidly through space and spinning, normally if you were to travel back in time an hour without all the extra magic holding you in place you'd end up in the middle of space the planet is travelling that quickly; either that or in the core of the earth if you were really unlucky."

He took a breath and Harry had to smile at the way he could see Remus organising his thoughts, as if ticking them off on the fingers displayed before him.

"The kind of magic involved in this is tricky enough without having to try and incorporate spacial shifting into the equation. Question, how do you normally take multiple people back in time?"

Harry grinned in spite of himself, his sense of humour still intact and held by himself rather than his bond mate. He and Hermione both knew that answer. But of course, Hermione answered the question.

"You place a length of continuous material, either a string or a chain that is also connected to the time turner, around the neck or wrist of each person participating."

Remus nodded and tapped one of his fingers on the table

"Exactly, and tell me, what did I make sure you had on before we travelled?"

Hermione gasped again and Harry's grin grew wider as he beat his girlfriend to the punch

"Our seatbelts."

Remus' own smile radiated forth, the pride of teaching on his face.

"Exactly, exactly, and I don't know if you noticed, but Tonks' seatbelt was unfastened, leaving her in the future whilst we travelled back in time."

Harry nodded along with what the man was saying

"Ok that's all straightforward enough, when you get around the idea of time travel itself. But how did we shift in space as well? That seems like it would be tricky to pull off."

Remus shook his head slightly before grinning

"It's actually quite straightforward; the usual housing of a time turner is a small golden frame. Now gold, as I'm sure you both know, as a noble metal is an excellent conductor of magic, thus making it an ideal material to hold the magical sands of a time turner. But what are cars made from? Steel mostly these days, and we all know that steel, an alloy of carbon, and Iron, the most magically inert substance on the planet. Usually a time turner frame made from Iron simply wouldn't work, it would shatter and be left behind in translation and the time turner would shatter upon arrival in the past. But because the car is such a large and sturdy object it refuses to break from the magical strain, and instead of the time turner simply going backwards in time in the same location, it's actually dragged back along the physical travels of wherever the car was in the past. In our case four hours before we got to your house in Oxford the car was parked outside this house. And so that's where the time turner took us. Quite a convenient method of transport all things considered. "

Harry's head was spinning, the concepts Remus was discussing were newt level at best and, while smart, he wasn't Hermione. His witch on the other hand, was indeed Hermione, and she had latched onto what Remus was getting at straight away.

"That's how we're going to get back tonight isn't it? Tonks is going to drive the car back here and we'll use the time turner to go back to Oxford before she even leaves."

Remus nodded, his grin threatening to cause permanent damage to his face.

"Exactly right, it's a perfect and fool proof way of getting you from place to place without Voldemort's minions being able to intercept you. It then becomes up to us to keep the car out of their hands; which isn't as difficult as one might think with the way old Tom and his minions ignore everything Muggle, tossing it out of hand as being beneath them. That Valmortis character is a bit more on the ball but we're certain that he hasn't wised up enough to make the connection."

Harry felt he had to be the devil's advocate.

"And what if he does? What's to stop him simply following the car and attacking our home? What's to stop him attacking here?"

Remus tapped the side of his nose in the classic gesture.

"Exactly what I asked Albus Harry, what would be to stop the prat from simply following it to either end of the loop; The Fidelius charm that's what. Albus is the secret keeper for Grimmauld place and, with his help; we're going to make you the secret keeper for the Oxford house."

Harry felt a huge weight settle on his shoulders as Hermione realized he would need his emotions for this decision, to weigh things over properly in his mind. The turmoil returned and he spent a moment battling with himself, alongside Hermione who helped keep things in check for him as he sifted through his thoughts. Eventually he nodded slowly.

"It's safe, both ends of the loop are closed, and I assume the car is untraceable?"

Remus nodded grimly

"Its steel construction is untraceable by wizards, Muggles could to it easily enough with their ways but we feel confident that Valmortis and Tom wouldn't know a Muggle tracking device from a toaster."

Hermione had a frown on her face and when Remus nodded to her with an amused expression on his face she launched into her question immediately.

"If the car itself is so hard to charm, track or otherwise affect with magic how on earth did you make the other modifications to it?"

Grinning Remus pointed to the small mechanical spider sitting on Harry's shoulder

"Exactly the same way that thing was made, we built it from the ground up by engraving shaped runestones and then transfiguring them into the steel parts. It's a crying shame the statute of secrecy is such a big deal else we could make a fortune selling the things to the Muggles. They're more efficient, more reliable, and safer than any mundane creation. But they're so heavily magical that no unaware mundane would ever be able to sit in one without breaching about a dozen international magical treaties."

Hermione slumped back in her chair grinning

"You've covered all the bases haven't you?"

Remus nodded again, and Harry wondered if his neck was getting sore from it all.

"You're damn right we have, your safety, and the safety of your family is paramount to us, speaking of which, do you want to ask any questions about the Order before Mad Eye and Albus get here?"

-:-

Hermione's head was abuzz with possibilities of what 'the car' could do but she shoved it out of her head for the time being, she could think about that later, for the moment Harry needed her in the here and now. His first question was, to Hermione's ears, a pertinent one.

"Who else is involved?"

She watched as Remus glanced at Sirius who was counting absently on his fingers and rolled his eyes at the slightly younger man.

"Well, there's myself, Sirius, Tonks, Mad Eye, both Weasley parents, Vance and Kingsley, Diggle, Minerva, Dung, Hagrid, Snape, Rogers…"

He listed off another ten names in which there were no names Hermione recognised until…

"And of course Albus, but he very rarely has time to step in these days, ironic considering he's our founder, leader and otherwise organiser."

Hermione frowned at that, yes, she knew Dumbledore had a lot on his plate; it had been all over the papers how he had been ensconced with the Wizengamot for days at a time trying to convince them of the impending threat of Voldemort's return. As such she could understand why he had little time on his hands to keep his own organization in line, but really, what else was suffering in his absence? He was the supreme mugwump of the ICW after all; sure that was a full time job all on its own? Never mind the time he spent at Hogwarts as its headmaster, surely that was suffering in the interim as well? Though there would be less required of him on that front because of the holidays at the time.

All in all it was a bit baffling that Dumbledore thought he could do all of this, gain the positions and run out of time to do anything but one of his jobs in such a monumental fashion. That was of course assuming that they were handling ordinary Wizengamot business as well in those cloistered meetings. It could very well be that none of his responsibilities were being met. She became aware that Harry was speaking again and wrestled her thoughts into cohesion so she could concentrate on him.

"So what exactly is the Order of the Phoenix anyway? I can pretty much get the gist of it from what I've heard already but I'd like to hear it from you two."

Sirius fielded this question with a slightly sombre expression

"We're the resistance, vigilantes who'll do what the Ministry can't or won't to protect innocents from the predations of Voldemort, his Lieutenant Valmortis and their minions. Furthermore, we're the organisation who'll, hopefully, bring about his end should the ministry or Dumbledore's personal plans not prove up to the challenge, don't tell the old man I said that though."

Hermione snickered under her breath and she felt rather than head Harry's deep rumbling laugh as he tried to supress it. There was more to be said and asked, much more, but she had a feeling that Harry had enough to think about for the time being, so she spoke up again.

"When is Mad Eye getting here anyway?"

She watched Remus glance at his wristwatch with a bemused expression

"In all reality he should be here already."

"I am"

Everyone around the table shot back and drew wands at the sound of Alastor's voice coming from the shadows, when they realised who it was they relaxed somewhat and Harry walked up to the grizzled veteran

"God Mad Eye you nearly gave us all heart attacks, what were you playing at?"

The older man growled out in his usual gravelly voice

"Constant vigilance you lot, been under a disillusionment spell this whole time. But, that said this is a safe house and you were told you were safe, I'm not sure you two even know about disillusionment charms yet so you can be forgiven, and the two yokels here who do know about the charm were well aware that this is a safe house… So I guess you're off the hook, this time. Enough of that, we need to get started. Have you been continuing with the exercises I sent you?"

Hermione nodded from behind Harry but let him answer the question, like it or not she knew Harry was the one Mad Eye was interested in, she was smart yes, but she didn't have the same talent for sorcery that Harry did, she made up for it with her spellcasting though.

"Yeah we have, I'm not really sure how to progress from here because we're at the limit of what we can do as underage magic users."

Hermione watched on silently as Mad Eye nodded once, before answering Harry's question

"You know anything about the Fidelius Potter?"

Harry shook his head

"Only that it was used to keep my parents… safe. There's a secret keeper but their exact role isn't totally clear. But I understand they're the one who can give the information of the place away."

"That's right Potter. The charm is cast over a location or object, sometimes even an idea or concept, and one person is designated as the secret keeper. All knowledge of the thing the charm is cast on is removed from the world except for the mind of that one person, and only that person can give the information about the thing away. If the secret keeper is trustworthy it's a fool proof defence, if not then well."

He didn't need to continue, Hermione knew exactly what he was referring to; Peter Pettigrew's betrayal was fresh on everyone's mind. Harry cleared his throat audibly

"That's all well and good, but what does that have to do with us training?"

Moody growled slightly, clearly a bit frustrated.

"Think Potter, if no one outside of the order knows this place exists, how can the ministry possibly ping you two for underage magic? To them, while you're here, you're completely invisible."

Things clicked into place in Hermione's mind rather suddenly then.

"Then we'd be able to practise at home too once the Fidelius is cast there."

Moody nodded, a ghost of a smile appearing on his lips

"Exactly, by the time you get back to Hogwarts you'll be ready for almost anything."

Hermione saw Harry rubbing his hands together in a somewhat gleeful fashion and she couldn't help but smile, he'd been looking forward to throwing some sorcery around. She couldn't help but feel a bit excited that they would be able to show their parents some more advanced magic too.

"Then let's get started shall we? Do you have somewhere for us to practise?"

"I do, come with me."

-:-

They soon found that the place Moody had in mind was a room on the third floor of the building that had the appearance of a bunker. The walls were lined with a thick metallic material that Harry suspected was lead, and the ceiling lights were miniature globes filled with multi-coloured fire that Hermione informed him in the back of his mind was Gubrathian fire. The floor was perfectly smooth and slightly springy, more of Moody's typical duelling surface. The ghosts of scorch marks were scattered around, curse damage that would never truly be restored, this room had already seen action, and not of the gentle kind.

Moody pointed them to a side door where they went in and found a small changing room with several dozen lockers. They were both a little shocked to find two of the lockers already had their names on them. They got rid of their outer garments and stowed any extra items away ending up in their jeans and tops. A plaid button down shirt for Harry and a dark green blouse for Hermione made of loose cotton. When they returned to the main room, wands in hand, Moody was sitting on a thick stool of simple design, getting the hint Hermione hexed them a pair of stools from the air and they sat down opposite him.

Wasting no time he began talking immediately.

"Up until this point we've been covering fairly stock standard sorcery in our defence classes, I want to step away from that now. We're going to get stuck in to advanced theory and practise that isn't usually covered until at least sixth year, and sometimes not till seventh. Are you confident you can both handle that?"

Harry looked briefly at Hermione and grinned, she looked more eager than perhaps he had ever seen her before. Of course they were able.

"Yes sir we are."

"Good, in that case listen closely. Today you travelled back in time four hours to get to this place by using the car. Do either of you have any idea how it was accomplished?"

Harry raised an eyebrow

"We've been told about the details of the car itself but the core mechanics of the time turner are still a mystery to us."

Moody didn't look put out; clearly he'd been expecting this

"Not to worry, few do at your age, perhaps another question, what do either of you know about radioactive decay?"

Harry had read about this in his physics text books but wasn't totally savvy with the information, or at least he hadn't been until Hermione and he had discussed it in depth and gotten other source material to research.

"Simply put sir Radioactive decay is the process by which the nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy, atoms that undergo this process emit energy and are describes by Muggles as being radioactive."

Moody had conjured a chalk board behind them and written down Harry's definition of radioactive decay.

"Close enough for our purposes. The Muggles have been able to measure this rate of energy loss extremely accurately and have determined that the rate of decay of some elements is so constant that you can measure time by it. Now, as a follow up, what did we learn towards the end of last year about sorcery?"

Hermione fielded this question happily

"That all magic is simply a different kind of energy, and if enough is present with enough will we are creating mass from it, i.e. physical matter."

Moody was excitedly scribbling on the board

"Exactly right Miss Granger, keep that all in mind now. The Unspeakables in the department of mysteries learned about fifteen years ago how to force magical energy into physical matter in its pure state. Don't ask me how they do it they'd never tell the likes of me anyway. What results are tiny grains of radioactive material that have a huge amount of energy and, like previously mentioned, suffer from radioactive decay. These grains of magical matter are the 'sand' that you see inside a time turner."

He pauses here and takes a deep breath before continuing

"Because the magical matter loses energy at a constant measurable rate, spells can be used to track its progress and measure the current energy of the magical matter within the glass. This energy is measured in once every hour and an imprint is left on the spell in an arithmantic formula of the energy measured at that time. When you turn the frame of the time turner, which is enchanted with these spells, the frame searches back through its magical log going back incrementally, one turn for one hour, two for two hours etc. Then once the frame stops turning a spell is powered that forces magical energy back into the magical matter up to that pre-set amount. Where does this magical energy come from? The past is where. I don't know the details, they've been explained to me before but I just get confused by all the numbers, always was terrible with Arithmancy. Regardless the spell forces any matter connected to the time turner back in time to the point in which the magical matter inside the glass had the indicated energy levels."

Harry's head, frankly, was spinning. He was following the concepts easily enough, even if Moody wasn't the greatest teacher of them. But the idea of what they were discussing was somewhat insane.

"Are you telling us that all of time, all of existence, is tied to magical energy? When you force the time turner back to the point at which it last had that energy you're not just changing that one time turner are you? You're forcing all creation back along the timeline."

Moody nodded once, his shaggy mane flopping

"It's an amazing concept, one that not many people comprehend. I still have trouble wrapping my head around it. As far as we're aware however, it's not the entire universe that gets sucked backwards, just this planet. Which is a weird thought all on its own but there you go. Regardless that's not what I need you to get out of this and we've gone a little off track. Rather I want you to consider the implications of the fact that all matter, is magical energy made manifest."

Harry and Hermione both ran the idea through their heads but it didn't make any new connections, slightly frustrated Moody snapped his fingers, searching for a way to explain.

"Potter, back in the graveyard Tom was moving faster than you could get your head around, he was blocking spells from both you and Miss Delacour who I understand was casting through your wand?"

Harry swallowed back the lump in his throat at the painful memories and the still raw wound of their broken bond, but nodded

"That's correct sir."

"How do you think he managed that? You're in the prime of your youth, you're a frantically fast fighter, one of the best in my opinion, and you had another fantastically fast fighter casting alongside you. How then do you think Voldemort could move quicker than both of you to block all of your attacks, or parry them, and fire back his own attacks?"

Harry mulled it over for a second before answering

"He must have been moving quicker than both of us combined, which seems obvious until you figure that I struggle to complete all the forms with my wand and keep them clear and precise when casting sorcery at that speed, any quicker and you'd begin to lose definition in your casting and it would become useless."

Moody sat back down on the stool, his hands on his knees looking at Harry with both eyes, it was quite unnerving.

"Exactly, how then do you propose he was able to achieve such a feat? What would have had to have happened for him to be able to both cast more quickly and maintain definition in spell form?"

Hermione answered before he could, her lightning fast mind connecting the dots before Harry could even begin to think of the problem.

"He had to have been acting within a different sense of time to harry. He would have to have slowed things down around him so that he could react to spells, form the wand motions correctly and then respond with his own attacks, also forming the wand motions correctly. That would all be impossible if he was reacting to spells coming in at normal speed."

Moody growled deep in his throat and sat back eyes at the ceiling.

"And that's the issue here. That's why Voldemort is so unbeatable, because he has the ability to manipulate time to his advantage, to speed up the radioactive decay of his own magical core so that he reacts at a faster rate than everything else around him, and, magic being magic, this means he exists at a different rate of time, he moves reacts and thinks quicker than anyone else on the planet. It's not even a secret how he does it, there's actually a fairly simple spell that does the job adequately, unfortunately for most witches and wizards it's deadly. Why? Because they don't have the control required to regulate the speed at which their core decays. Normally our magical cores decay at a constant rate, losing energy, which is then refreshed by our bodies naturally. When we cast spells we drain that core a little quicker, losing energy although not through decay, which is a different process. Over time our bodies regenerate that energy and we get back to top shape.

But what would be to happen if your core decayed quicker than your body could naturally restore the energy to it? You'd waste away, your cells aging and your body weakening until you're nothing more than a pile of dust. That's what happens to most people who cast that spell, it consumes them. Question, how old do you think I am?"

The non sequiter caught them by surprise but Harry tentatively said

"Fifty maybe? Early sixties at the latest."

A barking laugh came from the ex auror

"Flatterer, I turn a hundred and thirty next Monday. Why do I look so young? Half my age even? It's because of my core. I'm strong, stronger than most wizards save Dumbledore. Chances are I'll live into my eight hundredth year if battle doesn't do me in first or sickness doesn't take over my body and make me waste away. Dumbledore won't thank me any for telling you but he grew up with Nicolas Flamel, they were childhood friends. Aberforth, normally toted as being his brother, is actually something closer to a great nephew, well several greats anyway. Grindlewald is a mere child compared to Albus. Why then was Nicolas' life bound to the elixir from the Philosopher's stone and Albus' isn't?

Power of course, Dumbledore is one of the strongest wizards to ever live, save Merlin of course. Why do you think he holds so many offices? He took his hereditary Wizengamot seat when he was eighteen, as the oldest living member he automatically gains the Chief Warlock position. He was inducted into the ICW at age eighty, same thing there, oldest most powerful member, Supreme Mugwump. Headmaster of Hogwarts is something of a valued title to him as it's the only one he keeps on merit. Why am I telling you this? Because Albus was the only other person to successfully cast the Tempus Personae spell and not die horrifically. If he hadn't there's a good chance he would have lived well into his two thousandth year, as it is he's at the end of his time.

As we age our body's natural ability to restore our core weakens and eventually it peters out entirely, and when that happens, we die. The Tempus Personae spell accelerates this considerably; there is a high price to pay for the level of power gained by such a spell. Voldemort is a completely different story now, and it's what makes him so difficult to overcome. Did you see him cast the spell after he was resurrected? Keeping in mind that it needs to be spoken aloud?"

Harry wracked his memory and shook his head

"No, of course not, because when he died he had already cast the spell, and when he was resurrected it was already a part of him. Surely you noticed his appearance; more demon than human? Over time he's undergone dozens of rituals to enhance his power and extend his longevity, losing some of his humanity as time goes on. When he was resurrected all of those rituals, the Tempus Personae spell included, were already factored into his body to deal with naturally. Simply put he could live for thousands of years, potentially indefinitely, because his body will never not be able to replenish his core. He's a nigh unstoppable lifeless demon whose soul goal is to eradicate all resistance from the world and crown himself king, then begin to remake it in his image; Muggles, first generation witches and wizards, half-bloods, squibs. They'll all be wiped out. Only purebloods will remain."

Harry felt Hermione's hand lace into his and clench tightly, the meaning was clear, not an option.

"Why am I telling you all this? Because Albus thinks, and I agree, that between you, your soul bond, the massive magical energy you possess, one of you could cast the Tempus Personae spell, and not suffer any true magical penalty, because you'd have your bond mate supporting your core and preventing it from degrading. And between you, you have the will power to regulate the amount that you increase your rate of decay and not lose control of the spell. We think that Harry, you could equal Voldemort's speed."

Both of them sat there, stunned. This was not how they thought their training would begin.

-:-

AN3: I'm a bastard I know, the worst kind of cliffy. Well, not quite, but getting there. Big start to the new instalment huh? Ah well, we'll see how it goes.

AN4: if anything about the nuclear and atomic science in this chapter is outright false please correct me I'd be happy to hear how to improve it, but remember that these are wizards talking about Muggle concepts, they know what happens but not exactly how it works. And Mad Eye isn't the most scientifically inclined person. Also did the discussion of time travel give anyone else a headache? I tell you writing this chapter was one of the most physically painful thing's I've done in literature to date.

AN5: Review responses to the final chapter of HPatWoD

Josephus: Thank you! Here it is, enjoy!

XtDemon666: Dawww warm fuzzies, thanks.

Jmsjns32: Thanks, that's encouraging

NathanHale: Indeed, she's going to be a major player too. Also here's the next instalment, enjoy

Starboy: Thanks

Anotherboarduser: I knew you'd come around eventually :D Also here's the first teaser of the explanations behind Dumbledore's actions… Obviously he's a lot older than anyone expected, what does that entail?

Dark0w1: Very, Very undead. Also I have to admit I have no idea whether Harry is going to stay put in England or not, that's probably going to be the meat for a later story. What I can say for sure is that for this one he's staying here.

Astrological Stars: And? Ignore it if you must, I won't apologise for replying to reviews or sharing my thoughts.

Shukokage: Dawwww thankyou!

Beyondthesea: Daww thanks, can't get a higher compliment then that. Also yeah… I hate doing this to Fleur but at the same time I really want to put some more… yanno, deadly threats into the series (Like the protagonists didn't have enough of those to worry about.)

Beautifultyrant: :D *Looks left and right* :D Grinning all day long, thank you

Ilovetoph4eva: I must admit I'm waiting anxiously for that 'more' you had to say, thanks for the review

Ak: Merci!

Cateagle: Not as much slander this time as this Dumbledore is on a better footing to fight tooth and nail with the Wizengamot having actual memories to show them. Thanks for your continued support, I hope this is all you were hoping for as the beginning to the next instalment.

Pandaman: Thank you for writing that review of yours, it was a nice read and I'm touched you made the effort. You did a wonderful job conveying your thoughts.

Batmanrishi: Eh… weak characters? Ok, your thoughts are noted, move along please.

Queserasera: Too much there for me to reply to all at once. Suffice it to say that the mistakes you've mentioned I either already had my eye on or am quite happy with accepting as fuck ups. There were a few things that came completely out of left field from your reviews and smacked me about the face to say "Hey, look at this, you screwed up, go fix that shite." But at the end of the day I'm just too lazy to go fix the issues and deal with that ;.; I really wish I wasn't but there you go. Thanks regardless. Also nice to hear someone commenting on sorcery, as I've previously mentioned I don't feel that it gets nearly as much feedback as it deserves after all the work I put in, so thanks again.

Kkerklaan: No, she didn't deserve it, she didn't deserve any of that, but this is a tragedy, and that is kind of the definition of what happened. You were warned that there would be character death at the start.

Lightskiller: Does this answer your question?

MrsH: Ok, let's tackle this issue you have with my lack of noting to the reasonable restriction of underage sorcery etc. Firstly I mentioned in my author's note in the first chapter that I was modifying the rule to allow school students to use small amounts of magic outside school for homework and ease of living purposes. The magic that is done outside of Hogwarts in the story falls under this category. As for the long Author's notes and responses that's a personal thing, I like replying to my reviewers and building writer/reader relationships with them. Sorry fi that offends you feel free to skip these sections. Otherwise thanks for your input, greatly appreciated.

Guest: *Facepalm*November, I meant to write November. Sighhhhhhh

Gcps: Harmony ftw indeed! More is here, control your spasms friendo

Darkheart: No worries mate, happy to explain, a more note is in my profile if you want more info

Mionefan: *Nervously squeeing* Senpai is noticing me. Thanks for your reviews I can't tell you how excited I was when I noted that someone who I've read work from deigned to comment upon my own work. As for my horrific tense control and grammar I'm well aware of it, don't worry. It's my greatest failing as a writer that my control of the finer points of the English language is lacking. Nevermind, thanks for your time and effort spent reviewing!

Mighty Pen: I seem to get mixed responses about my descriptions, some people say too much, some people say just right, I like them personally so I'll keep in the same vein, thanks for your review.

Guest: ;aojdhfoadsf thanks, you made me squirm happily all over the place for a moment there. Keep reading, please.

Lairenna: aofhsdfhaodhfodhf Squirming intensifies

Kelwin: Yanno I considered this after I wrote the chapter, and then figured that Hermione and Harry (being as close as they are) probably talked about this kind of thing in the past and so it's not really an issue. I get that that's copping out a bit but it's just so much more natural to write it this way.

Specky Clarke: Thanks! I always hoped people were on the same page with that

Fan Forever: Ah, now this is an interesting point, and it's deliberate, here today we have systems in place for rape victims or victims of near rape or torture including counselling etc. But in the wizarding world none of that exists especially for a part Veela. Remember, we aren't in Kansas anymore.

Okaayyyy that took awhile. Thanks for reading and other shenanigans everyone. The next chapter: Training, will be coming soon. Although perhaps not too soon, depends on how hard the sodding thing is to write. Toodles!

LGreymark