Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The ship you are about to embark on is the HMS H/Hr. If that is not your intended vessel, abandon ship now, there will be no life rafts provided.

The following story is not Weasley friendly, consider yourself warned.

Year 1 Chapter 3

19 August 2005
Scotland

The writer looked across the small table separating her from the pair and shook her head. This was supposed to be a story she knew. One that she knew like it was her own, but the news of their true relationship with Ron was so startling, that she was having a hard time accepting all the changes. "You'll have to forgive me. This is all so new. When I was first approached to write this story, Harry's story, I was told that it was a sort of coming of age tale about a boy and his two best friends. It was made clear very early on that those two best friends were Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. It is going to take some time to get used to the idea that Ron was not as I was led to believe."

Harry glanced at his wife and with a gentle squeeze of her hand, looked at the writer and replied, "I understand that it is all coming to you as a shock and we aren't even halfway through first year yet, but I am sure that you can see why we were concerned with the direction your books took."

"We are sorry that it went on for as long as it did," stated Hermione. "We really should have read them as they were released."

The writer nodded. There were still a few more things she needed to know about their first year. "You mentioned that Professor Snape found you with the troll, did you notice at that time that his leg was bloody?"

Harry looked confused. "Why would he have had a bloody leg?"

Leaning over and showing him the passage in the book, Hermione explained, "She thinks that Snape was trying to learn what protections were guarding the stone. You remember, Flamel's stone."

Harry ran his hands through his hair and shook his head.

"By mid November Harry was playing in his first Quidditch match and he was brilliant," supplied Hermione as she found the appropriate chapter in the book. "Most of it is in here. Since he had to miss the game because he was in detention with Filch for flailing his wand around in Transfiguration, we didn't have to worry about dealing with Ron. Augusta sent Neville a pair of Omnioculars so we could keep track of the game better and he was kind enough to share them with me. We watched as Harry's broom began to buck him off and figuring that it was one of the older Slytherins, I scanned their stands. I was surprised to see Snape muttering under his breath and maintaining eye contact with Harry's broom."

"Right, because Professor Quirrell was trying to kill him," supplied the writer.

Harry shook his head. "That would have been a little too obvious, even for him. It turns out that Marcus Flint's older brother had come to see the game and he was sitting in the same section as Snape. Slytherin was already loosing pretty badly at that point and he wanted to make sure that they won, at any cost." Harry gestured to his wife and began to snicker. "Hermione ran him over when she set fire to Snape's robes."

The afore mentioned witch raised an eyebrow. "Not one year went by that you didn't have some sort of near fatal broom accident," sighed Hermione, then she grinned at a memory. "I still can't believe that you didn't choke on the Snitch."

"So you did at least actually catch it in your mouth?" clarified the writer.

"I think catch is a little generous," teased Hermione, "considering that he fell on it, but he did."

"Thanks, Hermione," muttered Harry.

"Anytime. Just keeping you humble."

"Right. Anyway, the next day, the three of us were invited for tea with Hagrid."

*~*HP*~*

17 November 1991
Hogwarts School
Scotland

"We need to hurry or we'll have to stay there through dinner and I don't think that I can stomach more than tea," commented Neville.

"I know what you mean," said Harry as they headed through the portrait hole and out towards Hagrid's hut. "I don't think my teeth have recovered from the rock cakes he tried to give us."

Harry knocked on Hagrid's door and they immediately heard barking. Turning to the sound of Hermione's giggle, Harry asked, "What?"

Neville had jumped behind Harry and was looking at the door with fright. Upon seeing the amused looks on his friends' faces, he said, "What? You two didn't have to stare down that dog."

Trying unsuccessfully to hide her grin, Hermione said, "I'm sorry, Neville. I didn't realize that you would have flashbacks every time you heard a dog bark."

The door lurched open and Hagrid's face appeared before them beaming. "Hello you three. Don' mind Fang. He's jus' glad we've got some company."

They sat and talked about how classes have been going since the first time they had visited him. Harry told him of Snape's lessons.

"Not ter worry. Snape, he don' seem ter like many students," assured Hagrid.

"But he hates me," said Harry.

"Rubbish," said Hagrid. "Why should he?"

Taking his eyes off the huge dog that was staring at him, Harry said, "Snape tried to jinx my broom yesterday."

Before Hagrid could protest, Hermione jumped in and said, "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! Professor Snape wasn't even blinking. That is one of the key parts. It was him."

"I'm telling' yeh, yer wrong," said Hagrid. "Snape is a teacher and he isn' goin' ter go 'round hexin' students."

Figuring that they weren't going to get anywhere, Harry picked up the previous day's Prophet and asked, "Hagrid, do you mind if I read this?"

Neville grinned, "Still haven't read your current event for Binns yet?"

"Haven't had time," said Harry. "We had an extra practice on Friday because of the game." Thinking that Hermione was going to start tutting, he quickly assured her that he would get on the assignment right after dinner.

"Go ahead," the large man said with a chuckle, "I don' wan' yeh in trouble with Hermione now. Use it fer yer homework."

"Thanks Hagrid," replied Harry. Just as he was about to fold it and slip it into Hermione's ever present book bag, he saw the headline. "Hang on. It says that there was a break in at Gringotts."

"Goblins are right upset 'bout it too," said Hagrid. "Didn' take nothin' though."

Harry read the short article then handed it over to Hermione. "1 August. That was the day we were there. We even went into the bank. I wonder if we saw the thief."

"The vault had been emptied earlier in the day," said Hermione. "Well this doesn't tell us anything."

"I wonder what it was," said Neville.

"It won' do yeh any good to think 'bout it. It's Professor Dumbledore's business and between him and Nicolas Flamel. You three need ter be leavin' it alone," said Hagrid firmly.

Harry saw Hermione watching him and he realized that she'd figured out that he knew something about it. He knew that she would corner him later as there would be no point in doing it now. It wouldn't do them any good to point out to Hagrid that he had just given them a major clue as to what was going on.

*~*HP*~*

19 August 2005
Scotland

The writer poured herself another cup of tea and began nibbling on a scone. "You didn't discuss the dog?"

"Fluffy? No," stated Harry, "admitting that we were out of bounds, violating curfew, and had planned an illegal duel was not something that would have gone over well, even with Hagrid. Besides, it is much more fun to let our imaginations run away with us than have someone spell it out."

The writer chuckled and said, "That is true."

"Nothing exciting happened the rest of term. I told Hermione and Neville about the little package that Hagrid picked up from Gringotts when he took me to buy my school supplies," said Harry.

"We'd pretty much decided that whatever it was, the dog was guarding it. I think that our final conclusion was that the trapdoor led to a room with a huge safe in it," added Hermione with a self-deprecating chuckle. "That was not even close, but it does tell for a good story."

Nodding in agreement, Harry said, "That is true." After thinking for a moment, Harry said, "The Saturday before end of term exams, we played our second game. It was against Hufflepuff. After we were ahead by three hundred, the girls stopped scoring and I was trying to find the Snitch just to put them out of their misery."

"That was a horrible game," said Hermione, "and cold too. Luckily, Hagrid came to the game and Neville and I sat on either side of him. We both huddled under his coat and I cast a Heating Charm."

"Speak for yourself," said Harry looking at his wife. "We didn't have Heating Charms on the brooms. My hand was almost frozen and wouldn't close around the Snitch. I was convinced that it would take all of Christmas hols to defrost." He turned his attention to the writer and stated, "Autumn term was over and after a small confrontation with Ron about my holiday plans, we joined the queue outside Minerva's office and Flooed home."

"Floo?"

Hermione frowned. "I thought you had been made aware of the varying types of magical travel." Sitting up straight, she began, "The Floo system is travel by fireplace. There is a series of Runes inlaid into each fireplace on the inner hearth that is specific to said location. By using a charmed magical powder that activates the Runes, a person calls out the name of the destination and travel is enabled," said Hermione in her standard lecture tone.

The writer blinked. That had been a somewhat surreal experience. She'd written Hermione lecturing about some obscure fact or another in her books, but never thought she, herself, would be subjected to one of them. "No, I knew it existed."

"Oh, sorry," said Hermione blushing. "It's just that you looked confused."

"No, I appreciate the explanation as to how it works, but you didn't travel by train to and from school?"

Harry answered, "No, not for Christmas or Easter holidays. The fireplace in the office of the head of house is used. The Express operated at the beginning and end of the year only. It is a very long train ride and frequently, other than the head students and prefects, those with an Apparition license meet up at the Hogsmeade station. How logical would it be for those students that live in Scotland or even a border town to have to travel all the way into London to turn around and come all the way back?"

"We weren't connected to the Floo network until the summer before third year, so we met Mum and Dad at The Leaky Cauldron," said Hermione.

"Public Floo access is just a Sickle a person, it's a lot better than hours on the train," added Harry.

*~*HP*~*

21 December 1991
Hogwarts School
Scotland

Hedwig had been sent off the night before with a note telling Hermione's parents what time to meet them in London. She was also instructed to stay there so they didn't have to worry about having to transport her through the Floo.

"Is there anything else you want to add, Harry?" asked Hermione as she held up her travel case. Hermione found an Expansion Charm in a book and used it to create enough space in her case to hold not only everything that she needed, but Harry's things as well with plenty of space to bring their holiday bounty back to school.

The boy shook his head. "No, I gave it all to you last night. I'm ready to go." He looked up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and added, "Neville will be down in a minute. I told him we'd wait."

Hermione nodded and joined Harry who was standing by one of the walls.

"Go?" said a surprised voice. "Why would you want to go back to the Muggles when you can stay here?"

Both Harry and Hermione looked up to see Ron Weasley standing in front of them. Thinking that he had just insulted her parents, Hermione was about to tell him off, but Harry, who understood it to be a slight on his aunt and uncle, stepped in and replied, "What does it matter to you where I spend the holiday?"

Not answering the question, Ron plunged ahead, "You need to see a proper wizarding Christmas, Harry, not the way that the Muggles do it. I'm staying here, it'll be fun, and we can use your broom."

"You haven't been approved by Madam Hooch to fly without supervision yet," pointed out Hermione. "Harry'd get his broom confiscated if he let you use it."

"Do you mind? This is a private conversation and I don't seem to recall inviting you in," said Ron irritably.

Knowing that it was just going to degrade into a row, and Harry didn't want to have to deal with an angry Hermione the rest of the day, he said, "My holiday plans were finalized before I came to Hogwarts, Ron. Besides, you are the one who butted into my private conversation with Hermione." In truth, Harry was looking forward to leaving school, if nothing else, than for the peace and quiet. He was also hoping that his aunt and uncle might be able to fit a quick visit into their schedule, before they left for Maggie's. He was curious about the new house.

Neville came down the stairs holding a travel case with Trevor's terrarium precariously balanced on the top. Knowing that they were all just asking for disaster, Hermione thrust her case at Harry, dug out her wand, and quickly cast an Unbreakable Charm on the glass.

"Thanks," muttered Neville.

"Why don't I carry him for you?" said Hermione. She knew that even with the charm, falling to the ground would not be exactly healthy for the toad and with as clumsy as Neville could sometimes be, it was a distinct possibility.

Without a backwards glance, Harry followed his friends through the portrait hole leaving an angry and jealous Ron Weasley standing in the common room.

*~*HP*~*

21 December 1991
Diagon Alley
London
England

Harry blinked then realized that he was lying face down on the ground. He felt two hands grab hold of his shoulders and haul him to his feet. "Thanks," he muttered feeling embarrassed.

"Why don't we move out of the way just in case Hermione does the same?" said Edward Granger trying not to laugh at the boy.

Harry smiled then nodded. "Hello, Mr. Granger. She's waiting to send Neville though first so she can hand him his toad, but it's probably a good idea." He scurried over to where the travel case slid to during his landing, picked it up, and then rejoined the Grangers.

Pulling him into a hug, Elinor asked, "How was the trip?"

"I don't think I would call the experience pleasant, but it was a lot faster than the train," replied Harry. "It's probably something you have to get use to."

"I think I have a lint brush in my handbag. As soon as I find it, you may use it to brush the soot off of you." She stopped speaking, her head all but disappeared into her handbag, and she began to rummage through it.

Just then, the fireplace roared to life and Hermione gracefully stepped onto the hearth. "That was very interesting and quite convenient."

Harry just shook his head and said, "Show off."

Both of the elder Grangers enveloped her in a hug and Harry heard Edward say, "You exited out quite well, poppet. We've watched about twenty of your schoolmates come through already and most of them take the landing rather hard."

Turning to look at Harry, she saw his disheveled cloak and red nose. "How did you do?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he said defensively.

"Didn't you listen to what Professor McGonagall said about exiting out?"

"I was more worried about saying the proper name and not ending up in Dragon Alley or something than I was about falling on my nose. You heard Neville tell us about that time that he accidentally ended up in that shop in Knockturn Alley. Some old hag would find me and my name would be Hansel Potter who was locked in a gingerbread house and eaten up."

Hermione rolled her eyes and accepted the brush from Harry's outstretched hand. "Well, I have no intention of changing my name to Gretel so I think you're safe." She turned her attention back to her parents who were looking on in amusement. "Harry and I haven't had a chance to do our Christmas shopping yet. Do we have time today or will we be coming back?"

"It's not yet lunch. I think we have plenty of time to do what needs to be done." Looking at his wife who was nodding encouragingly, he said, "To make it easier for the two of you to shop for each other, why don't I take Harry with me and Hermione can go with Elinor."

"I need to go to the bank," said Harry.

"You aren't the only one," replied Elinor as she placed two Sickles down on the counter in front of Tom the innkeeper and ushered the two children into the back courtyard then waited until one of them opened the archway.

Both children stopped short when they saw the street. There was no other word for it other than magical. Snowdrifts settled perfectly near the base of the buildings and against the gas lamps. On every door, hung a wreath of holly and ivy. Garland along with brightly colored ribbon was entwined and hung overhead. An enchanted snowman wore a top hat, corncob pipe, a button nose. His eyes were even made out of coal.

Every so often, a giant candy cane or tin soldier was leaning against a wall. On several corners were some of the largest Christmas trees that Harry had ever seen. Brightly colored Christmas baubles hung from them along with everlasting icicles and thousands of fairies. Smiling, Harry took his best friend's hand in his and together they set off the large snowy white building at the end of the alley.

*~*HP*~*

As they exited the bank, Hermione looked at Harry and said, "I don't think I want to do that on a full stomach, but thank you for letting me go with you."

"No problem, it's not like you're going to talk about to anyone," he said.

Smiling kindly and taking his hand in hers, Hermione replied, "No, Harry, I would never talk about it. You have enough trouble being the Boy Who Lived; a vault full of gold would make it worse."

Harry looked up at the Grangers and asked, "What did you think, Mr. and Mrs. Granger?"

Edward laughed and said, "That was quite fun, Harry, and nothing like when I've needed to withdraw money from the bank or building society. You know, Elinor has never really appreciated roller coasters the way I do so it has been a while since we've been on one."

Elinor just shook her head. "I do believe that there is shopping to do." Hermione nodded, took her mother by the arm, and headed for the bookshop.

*~*HP*~*

25 December 1991
Granger Residence
England

Harry cautiously made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He wasn't quite sure what was expected of him for the day.

"HARRY!" called a familiar voice and all of a sudden, he could only see a mass of bushy brown hair.

"Happy Christmas to you too, Hermione."

"Come on," she released him from the hug, only to grip one of his hands tightly in hers and drag him into the lounge. "Santa came last night and we've presents."

Looking around, Harry noticed that they were alone. "Hang on, where are your parents and grandmother?"

Hermione looked at him and sighed. "Having a lie in, I suppose. It happens every year. I think they do it on purpose." She headed over to the fireplace and pulled off two stockings. "We may not get into the regular presents until everyone is awake, but the stockings are permitted."

Harry laughed at her and stuck his hand into his stocking. Out came practical things like toothbrushes, dental floss, quills, ink, and a brush especially designed to remove soot from your clothes after using the Floo.

"What are you two up to?" asked a voice from across the room.

Both children looked up to see an older woman standing in the in the doorway that led to the stairs. "Happy Christmas, Mrs. Fairfax," said Harry from his position on the floor. Hermione had already sprung to her feet and enveloped her grandmother in a hug.

"What did I tell you on Saturday, young man?" the older woman asked.

"Oh, um, right. Happy Christmas, Grammy," Harry said. She had a flat nearby and usually had dinner with the family nightly. Observing her, Harry realized that Hermione looked quite a bit like her grandmother even though the woman had red hair that was turning grey and bright blue eyes.

"Has Father Christmas been good to the two of you?"

Hermione sighed the sigh of the long suffering. "We've only been in our stockings so far. We're still waiting for Mum and Dad."

A chuckle drew their attention and the pair walked in each carrying a breakfast tray. "There is toast if you would rather have that than a hot muffin," said Mrs. Granger.

Harry carefully spread blackcurrant jam on his muffin and took a bite. "This is great, thanks. Besides, if I went to make toast, Hermione might be upset with me for delaying Christmas."

The young witch in question put her hands on her hips and said, "Harry Potter."

Not attempting to stifle their laughter, Edward handed his daughter a cup of tea and gestured for her to sit. "What time did you wake up this morning, Hermione?"

Shrugging the girl replied, "Ten of six. I waited for Harry to get into my stocking though."

Shaking her head, Elinor replied, "That was very polite of you."

Reaching into her granddaughter's stocking, Jane Fairfax pulled out the brush and looked at it oddly. "I'll be going into London with you when your parents take you back to that enchanted fireplace of yours. I want to watch you get sucked into it."

"That's not exactly how it works, Grammy," started Hermione. "See each-"

Elinor placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder and said, "Why don't you wait for another day to tell her. I thought you were anxious to open your presents."

Soon the brightly colored paper was strewn around the room and everyone had ribbons and bows stuck to the tops of their heads. Hermione was busy running her fingers along the sleek handle of her new broom to notice that her father was handing her another package. "You've another, poppet."

The girl looked up and grinned sheepishly. "Oh, thank you." She read the tag and then looked at her friend. "This is from you, Harry."

All of a sudden, Harry found his Aidan Lynch action figure very interesting. Shrugging, he said, "You don't have to wear it if you don't like it, it's just that, well…" he turned his attention back to the miniature Seeker all the while taking surreptitious glances at Hermione opening her gift.

She tore off the paper and pulled the lid off the box. After opening the tissue, she found a Gryffindor Quidditch team shirt. "I didn't know they made these," said Hermione.

"I saw it at Quality Quidditch Supplies when we were at Diagon Alley the other day. They sell all four houses," replied Harry.

She took it out of the box and on careful inspection she exclaimed, "It has your name and number on it!" On both the front and back of the shirt, was a large number seven with "POTTER" written above it.

"Well, er, see, they personalize them and since you wore my practice one to the last game I thought I'd get you your own and since you're my best friend and don't play on the team, I well, I put my name and number on the back," stammered Harry.

Launching herself across the space in between them, Hermione pulled her nervous friend into a hug and said, "It's perfect."

From the couch, Jane leaned over to her daughter and said, "You do realize that a boy has just given your daughter, your only daughter, a shirt with his name and position number on the back."

"Hush, Mum, they're just friends," Elinor whispered.

Looking at her granddaughter who was now leaning against the boy she was sitting next to, Jane replied, "Uh huh. Just like you and Edward were always 'just friends'."

"Mum!"

"Fine. Be surprised, you'll see."

Before Elinor could respond to her mother, she heard Harry ask, "How did these get here?" He was holding up two packages.

"An elf," supplied Edward. Seeing the look on the children's faces, he added, "Seriously. At least that is what the card said it was. After the two of you were in bed, a funny little creature with pointy ears popped in, handed me the packages and the note, and then popped away. Your headmaster sent them. I think there is one more for Harry and one for Hermione."

Hermione sat up straight and looked back at the base of the tree. She pulled out two thin packages wrapped in thick brown paper. "Here," she said handing one to Harry, "it's from Hagrid. I've one too."

Both of them removed the paper to show identical, roughly cut wooden flutes. "There is a note," said Harry and read, "Useful should you ever have to tame a savage beast." He looked at his friend and shrugged. "Think they'd work on Ron?"

"A piano dropping wouldn't work on Ron, a flute wouldn't even make him loose consciousness," she replied and placed the flute off with the rest of her presents. "What else did you get?"

"Dunno," he picked up a lumpy parcel next and opened it to reveal a tin of homemade fudge and a hand-knitted green jumper.

"Who's it from?" asked Hermione looking at the jumper. It looked familiar to her somehow.

Digging through the paper, he found a card and read aloud, "Ron knew you were concerned that you wouldn't be getting any presents with having to be with the Muggles for the holiday. With you and Ron so close, you are practically a member of the family. Next year, you will be coming home with Ron so you needn't worry. Happy Christmas, love Molly Weasley."

No one said anything for several moments then Edward cleared his throat and asked, "Is this the same boy that is giving Hermione such a hard time, the one that you think wants to be friends because you are famous?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Have you ever met, this Molly Weasley before?" he continued.

"I didn't even know I was a wizard until the day I met Hermione." Harry looked down at the card again, then passed it to Mrs. Granger who had her hand outstretched, "Ron and I aren't friends, far from it."

"You'd think after you broke his nose that he would have taken the hint, but like I said, a piano wouldn't do it," muttered Hermione.

Elinor who had been reading the card looked up and asked, "Broke his nose? Harry?"

Looking annoyed at Hermione, Harry turned to Mrs. Granger and said, "He was being really mean to Hermione, he even made her cry and-"

Interrupting, Edward said, "We don't want to hear any more about you fighting, Harry." His tone was serious, but it was ruined when he winked and nodded approvingly at the boy when his wife wasn't looking.

"Yes, sir."

"You need to do what you think is best as far as the gift goes," said Elinor. "I will say that I am not entirely comfortable with you accepting it. If your aunt and uncle hadn't needed to go abroad unexpectedly for your uncle's job instead of heading to his sister's, I'd suggest speaking with them, but to me it sounds like the gift comes with certain expectations and unless you are prepared to meet them, I don't think you should accept."

Harry wrapped the gifts back up and set them aside. "Hermione, do you think you could help me write a letter."

"Of course, Harry," she replied. "Maybe you should talk to Professor McGonagall about it too."

*~*HP*~*

19 August 2005
Scotland

"I'm sorry, but just to understand, you didn't keep your Weasley jumper?"

Harry shook his head. "No. We spoke with Minerva the day after we got back to school and she agreed with Mum. I wrote Molly a note thanking her for thinking of me, but that her gift was unnecessary. Ron was a bit put out that I never wore it, and in the end, I think it ended up in the charity bin the following summer."

Hermione snickered. "They always ended up in the charity bin the following summer."

"She continued to send them?"

Nodding, Harry said, "Every year. Mum pulled her aside fifth year and asked her to stop, but she still sends it even to this day. There is usually a tin of sweets or pies too."

Hermione began to snicker. "We bin those too. The one time that we didn't, it was a mess. Poor Neville. I'm just glad he didn't think did it on purpose."

Harry winked at the writer and said, "We'll tell you when we get there, but let's just say that Mum's caution was justified."

Nodding slowly the writer said, "All right. I do have a question though. Did you get the cloak?"

"The Potter invisibility cloak?" Harry clarified. Seeing the woman nod, he replied, "Yes. That was great fun to play with. We were all a bit shocked when I put it on and disappeared, but after Hermione realized that she'd read about them in some obscure book, we knew what it was. Dad used it to hide from Mum when she wanted him to shovel the walk a few days later."

Smiling at the memory of the telling off her father received for that, Hermione said, "She confiscated it because of that. We had to keep it in the travel case for the rest of the holiday."

"And you found the mirror when you went back to school."

Both Harry and Hermione looked at each other in confusion. Realizing that his wife had no idea what the woman was talking about, he said, "I'm sorry. Mirror?"

"The Mirror of Erised. Did you find it once you got back to school?"

The couple bent over the book and quickly skimmed the section that referenced how Harry found the mirror. "Oh, um, no," said Harry. "From Hagrid's hint about Flamel, we'd already figured out that the stone was at the school and like we said, we thought that it was being stored in a safe under the trapdoor. We were, of course, curious, but you made things far more mysterious than they really were."

"Trading Chocolate Frog cards is a big deal with the kids," supplied Hermione. "Harry, Neville, and I collected them and remembered the reference about Flamel on Professor Dumbledore's card right away, not months later."

Frowning, the writer asked, "Did you ever see the mirror?"

"Not until the end of spring term," said Harry.

Still looking at the book in her lap, Hermione got her husband's attention and indicated the title of the next chapter. With a small smile, Hermione looked at the writer and said, "For the most part Winter term was pretty uneventful. Harry had a couple of Quidditch games and by the time Easter holidays came around, we were spending quite a bit of time studying and working on homework."

"We did go home, along with about half the castle, and as his gran was on the continent visiting her brother, Algie, and sister-in-law, Enid, Neville came with us," added Harry.

Hermione began to snicker, "Ron thought that Neville and I had been invited to Harry's aunt and uncle's house, as it was common knowledge that he was placed there after James and Lily were killed."

"To say that he was fishing for an invitation is an understatement," said Harry shaking his head at the memory. "He was convinced, no matter how many times I told him to leave us alone, that it was just a cover and he was my best friend. Not that we could ever figure out exactly what it was a cover for. At that time, Voldemort wasn't a threat and the Death Eaters wouldn't have dared." He reached over, picked up his wife's hand, and grinned. "Ron hadn't really said much to Hermione since we came back from Christmas. My lovely wife got a new broom, and not just any ol' broom, but a new racing broom."

Shaking her head, Hermione said, "It was a bit embarrassing. My parents are, as you know, Muggles. At the time, they knew next to nothing about magical brooms."

"They knew from both of our letters that I had acquired a Nimbus 2000."

"So Dad wrote the model of the broom down and headed down to Quality Quidditch Supplies right before Christmas and bought me a broom. A Nimbus 2000. To him it was just a brand of broom and he presumed that if Harry had a Nimbus, then that is the one I would prefer as well. "

"What got to Ron was that she wouldn't let him use it," said Harry with a smirk. "A Muggle-born, who until September had never touched a broom before other than to sweep the floor, and she was the proud owner of one of the best brooms on the domestic market."

"Of course I wouldn't let him use it. Not only was it an expensive gift, he hadn't passed the cursory flying class yet. If Madam Hooch found out that I lent him my broom, it would have been confiscated. Besides, it isn't as if he was ever nice to me. Letting Neville have a go while he was waiting for his new Cleansweep to be repaired after Ron stole it was one thing, I'm sorry, what was it he said, 'I just borrowed it.'"

The writer blinked. "Ron stole Neville's broom?"

"I thought Gryffindor Tower was going to vibrate off the castle before Minerva got through yelling at him," said Harry. "He lost us fifty of Hermione's hard earned points and had detention three nights a week with Filch for the rest of the year for that." Harry was quiet for a moment as he thought. "What you need to understand is Ron was the only first year Gryffindor that had not yet received his flying certification. He wasn't the only first year, far from it, but he was the only Gryffindor. He was jealous that he couldn't fly and on top of that, Neville came back to school from Christmas with a brand new Cleansweep Seven."

"Dean and Seamus were still using the school brooms and mine was thankfully secured up in the girls' dormitory," added Hermione.

"Easter was great, and Neville got a kick out of being a Muggle," said Harry.

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Hermione said, "We Flooed back to school at the end of the holiday and found out that Hagrid acquired a new pet while we were gone."

*~*HP*~*

25 April 1992
Hogwarts School
Scotland

Harry sat in the library looking out the window. It was a beautiful day outside and he was stuck indoors doing a lengthy homework assignment for Snape. Harry had a feeling that it was assigned just to spite him. The Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw class had not received the assignment and while it didn't make sense that Potions master would punish the Slytherins, Neville suggesting that they weren't really being made to do it was a valid point.

"I can't take this anymore, Hermione," moaned Harry.

She looked up from her own essay and nodded. "There isn't enough information in the entire library to fill a roll of parchment, much less two. It is really quite unfair. This assignment is figured into our end of year marks and something like this could keep us from becoming prefects or even head boy and girl."

Neville chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think that is something that I'll have to worry about. My gran says that hanging out with you two has done wonders for me and I'm starting to live up to my potential. She couldn't believe that I haven't killed myself on a broom yet."

"She must have you confused with Ron." Harry eyed his friend speculatively and asked, "You ever tell her that you bought a new wand over Easter?"

Shaking his head, Neville said, "I'm going to wait until summer to see if she's receptive to the idea, and then break it to her gently. I know that it is important to her that I use my dad's, but with Professor McGonagall being concerned that it was a bad match, I don't think that she will complain."

"She was right to be concerned. Mr. Ollivander said that the wand is specific to the wizard and there are few exceptions to getting as good as results from another," interjected Hermione. "If you use the wrong wand, you would never make the N.E.W.T. class in Transfiguration or even Defense."

Harry went back to his essay and in frustration, shut his book harder than he intended earning him a glare from not only Hermione, but the librarian, Madam Pince. "Sorry," he whispered. Trying to come up with an excuse to leave the library, he spotted Hagrid shuffling by. "Hagrid? What are you doing here?"

"Never you mind. How're yeh doin' Hermione, Neville," the large man said while smiling down at the three of them.

Hermione looked up and said, "Professor Snape has assigned us a completely useless assignment. There is nothing mentioned in any of these texts about the magical properties of goat spit, unless we were interested in doing something improper with them."

Looking around to make sure no one saw the books in his hands, he distractedly answered, "Tha's nice, Hermione. Yeh always know where ter look up the answers."

After Hagrid left the three children were staring at each other. "Did he seem a little distracted to you?" asked Neville.

Hermione nodded. "What do you think he was hiding behind his back?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to go see what section he was in," replied Neville. The boy stood and walked over to the stacks they had watched Hagrid emerge. He came back looking a bit green and placed three books on the table.

"Dragons," said Harry in a loud whisper after seeing the titles Neville had placed down. "He was looking up information on dragons." Taking his head in his hands, Harry began to shake his head. "He's always wanted one. He told me so when he took me shopping for my school stuff, right before we left for the orientation," the last was directed to Hermione.

"It's against the law," pointed out Neville. "Dragon populations are very controlled. They're big enough for Muggles to see and the Ministry has a terrible time keeping them all hushed up."

Harry nodded. "I think I remember Fred and George talking about one of their older brothers. He's a dragon keeper. I don't know where he works, but that was the reason that they had to stay at school over Christmas, their parents were going to go visit him."

"There's a huge preserve in Romania," supplied Neville. "He might work there."

"Don't you think that it is a bit suspicious that Hagrid is all of a sudden researching dragons?" Both boys stared at her blankly. "Honestly, you two. Can't you see what's going on? We need to pay Hagrid a visit. Tonight."

*~*HP*~*

Just after dinner, Harry dug out his invisibility cloak and tossed it over all three of them. It had become an invaluable tool for avoiding Ron. He didn't know that Harry had it, and they weren't telling. They carefully made their way to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" the large man asked as he looked around at the empty space before him.

"It's us," whispered Harry.

"Got yer Dad's ol' cloak then," Hagrid sighed. "Yeh best come in I reckon." He opened the door and waited until he heard them shuffle by before closing it.

"Yer not gonna fool no one if yeh keep makin' tha' much noise," he said as they pulled the cloak off.

"Yeah, we'll work on that," said Harry looking around.

"Hagrid," said Hermione as she wandered around the hut, "why is it so hot in here and what is that?" There, in the center of the fireplace, deep in a fire was an egg. A large black egg.

"Uh, er, that's, well, wha' tha' there is-"

"Hang on," said Harry. "That's a dragon egg. Hagrid, you're trying to hatch a dragon."

"Could be," he replied. Seeing the look on their faces, he said, "All righ'. I won it off some chappie in the pub. What tha' there is, is a Norwegian Ridgeback." Hagrid began bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement and grinned at them.

Harry and Hermione just looked at each other. This was not good. Neville, being more aware of the damage that a dragon can wreak, on the other hand had an even less optimistic view of the situation.

At least once a day for several weeks, one of them would go down to Hagrid's hut and attempt to talk some sense into him, but he was determined to hatch the egg.

One morning at breakfast, Hedwig flew in and delivered a note to Harry. "It's hatching," he read.

"We'll go this afternoon," said Hermione. "I'm not missing any classes because of Hagrid's dragon fantasies."

"Shh," hissed Harry looking at the two passersby trying to listen in to their conversation. "Ron and Malfoy are eavesdropping."

Later that afternoon, making sure that they weren't followed, all three of them hid in an alcove and covered themselves with the cloak. They made their way down to Hagrid's and knocked.

"It's nearly out," he said as they entered.

Just as he spoke, a POP and a CRACK. A baby dragon fell out of its egg and on to the table. He squeaked several times and coughed a smoke filled cough.

"Isn't he beautiful," asked Hagrid beaming at the creature. "I think I'll call him Norbert."

"He sure is something," mumbled Hermione. Her attention was on the books that Hagrid had laid out on his table. After quickly scanning the section on Norbert's species she asked, "Um, Hagrid, do you know how fast Norwegian Ridgebacks grow?"

Just as he was about to answer, Hagrid jumped to his feet and ran over to the window.

"What's wrong?" asked all three children in unison.

"Some kid, I think he was looking in the window," Hagrid replied.

Harry walked over and looked out. Running his hands through his hair and sighing he said, "That's Malfoy. Chances are he's seen the dragon."

The trio did their best to ignore Malfoy's smirks and taunts over the next week. They'd tried everything they could think of to convince Hagrid to get rid of Norbert, but he was being too stubborn.

Harry watched from the window of the hut as Fred and George walked across the grounds toward the forest and he was struck with an idea. "Weasley."

Neville blinked. "What do you want Ron for?"

"No, the Weasley brother who is a dragon keeper. We've talked about him, remember," replied Harry.

"Tha's Charlie. He's a good lad, likes animals," said Hagrid who was petting the dragon.

"Right then. We write Charlie and ask him for help. Hagrid?"

In the end Hagrid agreed to turn Norbert over to Charlie. Harry quickly wrote a letter and sent it off with Hedwig asking for help. It took a week, but in the end, Charlie agreed to help. All they had to do was to get him to the top of the Astronomy tower at midnight on Saturday.

*~*HP*~*

At eleven, Harry and Neville came down from the boys' staircase to find Hermione waiting for them. This time instead of her fuzzy pink dressing gown, she was wearing the cloak. After Ron was caught rummaging through Dean Thomas' trunk, Harry decided that anything he had of value would be better off where Ron couldn't get to it and for now, that was in Hermione's dorm room.

Just before Hermione was about to walk up behind the two boys and slip the cloak over their heads, the portrait hole opened and Ron Weasley skipped through.

"What are you doing down here?" asked Neville.

"Just got done with Snape's detention. Couldn't use magic either like I was some sort of Muggle," the boy complained. Ron looked at the two boys and asked, "What are you doing down here?"

"Nothing, just getting ready to go up to bed," said Harry wondering if Hermione would slip upstairs to get him or would she attempt to move the dragon on her own.

In a moment of clarity that surprised everyone, Ron said, "No you're not. You're going somewhere. I got back just in time then. Let's go."

Irritated, Harry shook his head. "You can't go Ron and we need to leave."

"I'm your best mate, Harry. Why would you bring Longbottom and not me?"

"We don't have time for this," Hermione hissed in Harry's ear.

"Ron, we can discuss all of the reasons that we are not friends another time, but I have an appointment," snapped Harry. He took Neville by the collar and started to drag him to the exit.

"You're going to go duel Malfoy again, aren't you. I'd better go, you'll need a second," spewed Ron.

"Oh, honestly," came Hermione's disembodied voice. Her wand appeared out of nowhere and her voice said, "I wish I could say that I was sorry about this. 'Petrificus Totalus'"

With an audible snap, Ron's limbs went rigid and stiff. He began to teeter and all three of them watched as Ron fell face first to the floor.

Harry's lips twitched. He was sure that Hermione had pushed the red head forward. Out of the corner of his mouth he said, "You couldn't have done that months ago?"

She removed the cloak from her head and smiled sweetly. "I was saving it."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, Hermione," said Neville. The round faced boy looked at Harry and said, "You think we should move him?"

"Broom cupboard," gestured Hermione. The trio dragged the frozen boy to the cupboard and stuffed him inside. Harry couldn't help but think that it was a punishment that Uncle Vernon would approve of.

*~*HP*~*

19 August 2005
Scotland

"So it was Ron that was petrified," said the writer.

"Absolutely," affirmed Hermione. "It really isn't a very nice thing to do to someone. I mean it leaves him conscious. Ron felt it when he was pushed er, fell on his nose and he was aware that we dragged him into the cupboard."

Harry snickered. "We put him to bed after we got back and he thought he dreamed the whole thing. He told us about how he dreamed that I left him to have an adventure with Neville and how Hermione's voice just petrified him, that we even stuffed him in a cupboard."

"What convinced him that it was a dream was he just knew that Harry would never go off and leave his best mate behind." With a chuckle and a wink at her husband, Hermione added, "A few years later, George Weasley paid me well for a memory copy of that night."

Still grinning, Harry said, "Anyway, it happened pretty much like you wrote, but we did have Neville with us. We picked up Norbert from Hagrid then headed up to the Astronomy tower. After about fifteen minutes, Charlie's friends arrived and they took off with him."

"The issue," started Hermione, "wasn't that we forgot the cloak. Honestly, do I look like the kind of person who would forget something like that? That is of course, not taking into account that it was a very valuable object and not just monetarily, it was the only thing my husband had at that time that belonged to James. Aunt Lavender managed to pass on a few things, but they were all Lily's."

"No, we were just caught before we got off the roof," said Harry. "She knew as soon as she saw the broom silhouettes why we were up there, but with Malfoy smirking next to her, Minerva had to do something, so she docked us fifty points for being out past curfew and gave us a detention, with Hagrid."

"Just to clarify," said Hermione, "that was fifty points total, not fifty points each and the detention was in name only, that is until Malfoy had to open his mouth. Still it wasn't so bad, we went into the forbidden forest and Harry and I rode a centaur."

"Both of you?" asked the writer.

Harry nodded. "Yes. Malfoy and Neville were paired, initially with Fang, but after Malfoy sent off sparks, Hagrid joined them and we ended up with Fang."

"Imps are more dangerous than that dog," said Hermione with a shrug. "We found the unicorn," she said frowning. "That was when we knew that we were in trouble. Harry's scar started to hurt and Fang ran off."

"Whatever it was that was drinking the unicorn blood realized that we were there at that point and started advancing on us," said Harry.

"We were lucky though," added Hermione. "Firenze, a centaur, had been following us, and when we saw the creature advancing on us, he came to our rescue."

"That was not the time to ask questions. He told us to get on and we did."

The writer asked, "Did you have that conversation where he told you about the stone being at the school?"

The two magical people looked at each other and both nodded in unison. "He did," said Harry. "He also told us that the thing that was coming for us was Voldemort."

"We knew he wasn't gone," said Hermione. "We knew that he would be coming back. We'd talked about it. The first day we met, when Dumbledore was placing an illegal Enlargement Charm on the boot, he told us that Voldemort was coming back, but we didn't expect it so soon." She finished with a sad smile at Harry.

They were all quiet for a few moments when the writer finally said, "I presume that you are going to tell me that it was Neville and not Ron that went with you to try and save the stone."

"This is where I think you are confused," said Hermione. "While the wizarding world is illogical, it doesn't mean that people are dumb. And though he was many things, unintelligent is never a word I would use to describe Albus Dumbledore."

Harry looked at the writer and said, "The stone, Flamel's stone, was never below the castle. It was securely hidden in the headmaster's office. In a safe that only the true and proper headmaster of Hogwarts may open."

"You describe Dumbledore as someone who kept his cards close to his chest, enjoyed his secrets. That was a very accurate description. Keeping that in mind, do you think that he is going to reveal the existence of the stone to the teachers not to mention how it was protected?"

"Then what was down there?"

*~*HP*~*

25 June 1992
Hogwarts School
Scotland

Harry and Hermione joined the queue of students waiting in the third floor corridor. It looked far different than the last time they were there.

"That is enough, Harry. It could be worse," snapped Hermione. She didn't particularly like the situation either, but listening to him whinge about it was giving her a headache.

"How could it be worse? We chose Neville to finish up our trio and someone put us with Ron. So I ask you, how could it be worse?"

Looking down Hermione said softly, "They could have separated us too."

*~*HP*~*

19 August 2005
Scotland

"Wait. Wait. Wait. What are you talking about? Team? I don't understand," stated the writer.

Harry blinked. "You asked what was below the trapdoor. We were attempting to tell you."

"But why would you queue up?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Hermione said, "The challenges, the obstacles, all of them, were part of an end of year practical exam. It didn't occur to you that they were all first year skills?"

"Every year has them except fifth and seventh, but with O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams it would be a bit too much. Each of the core subjects has a room and the teacher sets up a challenge," explained Harry.

"In early June we were told about the course, asked to put together a team of three and let the deputy headmistress know. Unfortunately, at times, there are those individuals that have, er, difficulty finding a team to accept him or her," said Hermione.

Harry snorted. "What my lovely wife is trying to say is that no one wanted Ron, so he was fobbed off on us.

*~*HP*~*

25 June 1992
Hogwarts School
Scotland

Feeling properly chastised, Harry hugged his best friend and the two of them sat down on a bench waiting to be called.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Weasley," called the headmaster.

Harry and Hermione stood and walked over to join Ron who was looking around wildly for Harry. "Sir?" said Harry.

"You three will be next. Remember that nothing inside will hurt you, there is a disillusioned teacher in every room. Points will be awarded for teamwork and use of spellwork."

Hermione looked over at Ron before asking, "Teamwork?"

"All factors will be accounted for, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore with a knowing twinkle in his eye. "You may enter when you are ready."

Knowing that it was going to be a long night, Harry took Hermione by the hand and opened the door, not really caring if Ron followed or not.

The room was the same as it was before. A giant three headed dog was standing in the middle, but this time they saw the shimmering wall of magic surrounding him. Off to the side, Hermione noticed a table full of books and nudged Harry.

Leaving Ron to cower at the door, the pair walked over to the table and began to look for what was needed to get past the dog.

"Well, he's obviously a Cerberus, Harry," supplied Hermione. "They can have two or more heads although three is the most common. The heads feed off of live meat."

"We'll just leave Ron over there to distract him then," quipped Harry.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione said, "There is nothing in here that I didn't already know. We learned in History of Magic that Hades used Cerberus to guard the underworld."

"So it stands to reason that we need to figure out how to get through that trapdoor that he's standing on. Since I doubt that you are carrying water from the River Lethe and I don't see a lute," said Harry. He reached into Hermione's ever present book bag and began to rummage. Pulling out the flute that Hagrid had carved for him at Christmas, he said, "You never know when you'll need to tame a wild beast."

He began to play as she shook her head at him.

As soon as the song started, the animal lay down and promptly fell asleep, the magical wall separating them dissipated. "Great now what?" asked Harry.

"Keep playing," said Hermione. She pulled out her wand and with a swish and flick, levitated the beast to the far side of the room.

Walking over to the trap door, she grabbed the still whimpering Ron by the collar and tossed him through the hole in the floor, only jumping herself after she heard him hit bottom. With both of his teammates gone, Harry took one last look around the room, then jumped after them.

*~*HP*~*

"Oof," said Harry as he landed on something soft and squishy. "You all right, Hermione?"

"Just fine, Harry," she replied. "How far down do you think we are?"

"A kilometer maybe. I dunno." He felt whatever it was that he was caught in tighten. "Any idea what this is? A plant maybe?"

Hermione tried to fight against the plant's encroaching tentacles, but it was useless. The more she struggled, the more it came after her.

"Hermione!" called Harry in a panic. He was having the same problems.

"Stop moving," Hermione ordered. "I know what this is. We need to stop moving. It's Devil's Snare."

Suddenly Ron found his voice again. "I'm glad you are here to tell us these things 'Professor'. That is a lot of help. Now get it off of me!"

"Perhaps if you'd paid attention in Herbology or did your homework on occasion you would be able to help us, now be quiet so I can remember how to kill it," hissed Hermione. "Devil's Snare… What was it that Professor Sprout said? It likes the dark and the damp-"

"Hurry, can't breathe," choked Ron as he began to panic, inciting the plant to attack him even more.

"A fire. We each need to make a small fire," declared Hermione.

A blue ball of flames appeared over Harry and he quickly fell to the floor below only to be followed by Hermione seconds later.

"Ron," Harry bellowed up, "make a fire or use a Lumos spell at the least." All they heard from the other boy was struggling.

Hermione had her wand out and was about to free the red head when a figure materialized out of nowhere and placed a hand on her arm. "Not today, Miss Granger. You have given Mr. Weasley more than enough information to defeat the plant."

With a sigh and wondering just what losing a team member so soon would do to their teamwork score, Hermione nodded.

Professor Sprout raised her wand and with a thud, Ron fell to the floor. The older witch pulled a coin from her pocket and placed it on Ron's chest. Touching it with her wand, he disappeared. Seeing the look in the faces of the other two children, she said, "I've sent him on to the hospital wing. The two of you may proceed," she gestured to a large door."

Just as soon as the two of them walked out of the room, two figures faded into view. "I told you I thought this pairing was a bad idea, Albus," the tall woman dressed in tartan stated. "I would have liked to have seen how well they worked through the course with Longbottom."

"You know as well as I, Minerva, that no one else wanted to be teamed with him. I reasoned that he would do the least damage with those two," the old wizard sighed. "I'd also hoped that young Ronald might surprise us. When Voldemort comes back, I will need Arthur and the older boys, a strong friendship with Harry would have guaranteed that."

"That boy is nothing but contemptuous, irritable, jealous, petty, and ill mannered. Even if Potter could get past all of those things, the fact that Weasley has done nothing but denigrate Granger, removed any chance at friendship long ago," stated McGonagall. "Add to that his concerns about Molly when he came back from Christmas holidays, and I find it unlikely that he will forge any sort of close tie to the family."

"There is no loyalty, Albus," stated Sprout. "The only thing that prompted Miss Granger to assist him in the end was honor."

"Very, well. I will send out the next team." He looked over at McGonagall, "Minerva, I doubt that it will take them long to get past Filius' challenge."

"I'm on my way." McGonagall turned and left through a small door.

*~*HP*~*

"Do you hear something?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, it sounds like… It sounds like wings," replied Harry. The two of them had been walking down a stone corridor for the last several minutes listening to nothing but their hushed voices and the sound of their footsteps.

The pair slowed down as they approached a doorway. Harry carefully peaked around the doorway and seeing nothing, both of them crept into the room. It was a brightly lit chamber with a high arched ceiling and flying near the top was hundreds of jewel colored birds.

"Do you think that it is safe to pass under them?" asked Hermione her wand trained on the flock.

"As safe as it is to pass under any charm of finches," he said and grinned when she rolled her eyes.

"Boys," Hermione mumbled under her breath then walked to the far side of the room and tested the door. She attempted several different unlocking spells, but nothing worked.

Harry turned his attention upward and asked, "Hermione. Do you think those birds are there for a reason?"

They watched as the light caught and reflected off them, then in unison they called out, "They're keys."

Harry searched the rest of the room rather quickly and came across three brooms. Taking two, he hurried back over to Hermione and handed her one. "We don't need them, Harry," she said digging through her bag. "I've brought ours."

Replacing the school brooms and taking his, Harry looked up and said, "Somehow, I don't think that this is Madam Hooch's challenge."

Examining the door, Hermione said, "We need an old-fashioned one. Silver probably."

Within seconds the pair was in the air and making their way up to the flock. They split up and began to search the winged keys for the one they needed.

"I've found it," said Harry. "I'm going after it, but keep it from going down."

Harry rocketed after the key while Hermione stayed just under it. With his hand closing in around it, the two children, still on their brooms, flew toward the door. A quick turn of the lock and they were in the next room.

A tiny man appeared in front of them clapping his hands and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Very good Miss Granger, Mr. Potter. Now, you will need your brooms for the next room. Good luck." They watched him walk back through the door they had just come through.

*~*HP*~*

The next room was large, almost half the size of a Quidditch pitch. Floating in midair were a dozen red rings, one yellow ring, and one green.

"What do you reckon?" asked Harry.

"It's a flying course," replied Hermione setting her bag down near what she presumed was the exit. "One at a time?"

Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore was talking up teamwork. I think we have to pass through together. We'll just take it slow."

Once again they mounted their brooms. "Green," said Harry pointing to the one that was lit green.

"Seems reasonable," Hermione replied.

Together they flew through the green ring and watched as it disappeared. Instantly the yellow became green and one of the reds turned yellow. Just before they got to their fifth ring, it disappeared and the course reset.

"It must be timed," said Hermione.

They started over, this time completing the course within the allotted time.

As Hermione picked up her bag, Madam Hooch walked over and said, "Well done. As they are your personal brooms, I won't take them at this time, but keep in mind that you are not to use them on any remaining challenge."

Taking Hermione's hand in his, Harry walked them into the next room.

*~*HP*~*

The room was dark and silent.

"Lumos," came Hermione's voice. The light coming from the end of her wand was lost in the cavernous room.

Inching closer together, they took another step forward. Suddenly the room was flooded with light.

The floor was in black and white squares and there were huge figures leaning against the walls of the room. They had entered into a giant chess game.

"Maybe we should have brought Ron," said Harry. "He might have been helpful." Seeing the look on Hermione's face, he quickly amended, "He might have managed not to be a complete liability, at least in this room."

"I suppose we'll have to play to get across," said Hermione. One of the bishops nodded at her.

"That is a bit unnerving," replied Harry. "Since white is on the other side of the room, I reckon that we need to take the place of two of the black pieces." Again, the bishop nodded. "I'll be this bishop over here and Hermione?"

"Um, queen's side rook."

As soon as they stepped onto their spaces, a white pawn moved. Piece after piece, move after move, and the pair slowly made their way across the board. After a particularly shocking capture where the white queen used her sword and impaled a black knight, Harry took a step forward and said, "Checkmate."

All of the pieces bowed to him and exited the game board.

"Well played," came a voice from behind them.

"Thank you ma'am," said Hermione looking back at the graveyard of chess pieces. "That was an interesting use of Transfiguration."

"Sometimes understanding the possibilities is more important than actually being able to do it yourself. Although I dare say, both you and Potter will be able soon enough."

"Are you ready to see what's next, Harry?" asked Hermione as Harry took her hand in his.

He grinned and her and replied, "Lead on, McDuff."

With a raised eyebrow she said, "That is adapted from Shakespeare. The last scene in Macbeth where he and-"

"Hermione," interrupted Harry. "I'm sure that is very fascinating, but maybe later."

She blinked at him then realized where they were. "Oh, right. Sorry."

*~*HP*~*

The next room was small and filled with pulsating red disks.

"What class are these from?" asked Harry.

"Um, we've had Herbology, Charms, Flying, Transfiguration, and I guess the Cerberus was History. I'm not sure how we can add Latin," Hermione answered.

"Defense then?" said Harry. He pulled out his wand and leveled it at one of the disks.

"Ready?" asked Hermione.

"Together."

The two children stepped away from the door and into the room. As soon as they entered, the disks began to move.

"Expelliarmus," cried Harry as he cast a spell. The pulsating disk fell to the floor. "That works."

The pair began to cast the Disarming Charm at each disk They were making steady progress, but every time they missed their target, another disk would appear.

Within five minutes, the room was empty except for the broken disks. They stood waiting for a professor as had happened in each previous room.

"Let's just move on," said Hermione. "Maybe he's just going to stay disillusioned."

*~*HP*~*

Harry pulled open the next door and they peered inside. Sitting on a small table was a collection of potion bottles.

"What do we have to do?" Harry asked as they stepped into the room. Fire immediately sprang up, blocking access to the exits.

"It's black," said Harry looking at the flames.

"Must be enchanted somehow. Come on, there is a note on the table."

Hermione read the note, then read it again.

"Hermione?"

"You read it and see what you think." She looked at the bottles on the table and said, "Something's wrong Harry."

He took the note from her and began to read. "It's a riddle." He read it again carefully working out the clue. He quickly understood why Hermione was distressed. "Shouldn't these have been refilled after the last group?"

"Yes, that one," she pointed to the smallest bottle, "gets us forward, but there is only enough for one."

Harry nodded. "And that one will get us back into the disk room, but there is only enough for one in that bottle too."

Hermione looked around and the encroaching flame. "Well, we can't stay here. We have to move forward or back." The flames hopped further to the center of the room. "Harry?"

"Take the one that will take you back, Hermione. Go find McGonagall. She'll know what is supposed to happen. I'll go on and wait there."

"But you'll be alone," she cried.

"It's like you said, we can't stay in here."

Hermione nodded resolutely. She threw her arms around Harry and said, "Good luck."

"You too, Hermione."

"You're a great wizard, Harry Potter, you know," she said with her face pressed into his shoulder.

Patting her on the back, Harry said, "I'm not as good as you."

"Me!" scoffed Hermione. "Books and cleverness, that's me. There are more important things –" She lifted her head and looked at him. "Friendship and bravery and… love," Hermione finished softly. With a quick kiss on his cheek, Hermione drank the contents of her bottle and ran out of the room.

Blinking twice Harry watched her leave. That was something that he would think about later. With a deep breath, he brought the small bottle to his lips and walked into the next room.

*~*HP*~*

19 August 2005
Scotland

"So you actually said it," said the writer.

"I did. Granted I acted the coward and ran out of the room right after, but I did say it," said Hermione.

With a quick kiss to the top of Hermione's head, Harry said, "What you wrote is fairly close to what happened when I met up with Quirrell, except he was convinced that the stone was hidden in the room, which it wasn't. So when I looked into the mirror I didn't see myself finding the stone, but something else."

"What did you see when you looked into the mirror," the writer asked.

Harry looked at his wife with a sly smile and winked. Turning his attention back to the woman seated across from him he said, "Socks, loads of thick woolly socks. You really never can have enough."

"Touché, Mr. Potter. Touché," said the writer inclining her head to him. "Did you return to your aunt and uncle's?"

Harry shook his head. "I didn't see them again until after the war."

*~*HP*~*

27 June 1992
Hogwarts School
Scotland

Harry slowly opened his eyes and took in the twinkling object above him. "Sir?"

"Ahh, welcome back, Mr. Potter."

"Uh, what happened?" asked Harry trying to sit up. He immediately lost the ability to see anything as a brown bushy haired missile launched herself out of her chair and hugged him within an inch of his life.

"I'm alright, Hermione. It's alright."

"I was so worried, Harry."

"Sir?" Harry directed his question to the headmaster as he attempted to peer through her hair.

"It appears that Lord Voldemort was using Professor Quirrell in an attempt to regain a body. Unfortunately, he felt that our young Mr. Potter was an important key to that process. From what I was able to ascertain, Professor Snape was rendered unconscious and brought into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room of the course. He then, further manipulated the Potions challenge so only Mr. Potter would be able to advance to the final room."

Reaching over to his bedside table and pulling off a Chocolate Frog from the mass of sweets that had been piled there, Harry asked, "But why, sir? Why me?"

Dumbledore sighed. "That is a difficult question to answer, Mr. Potter. There are several reasons, most of which are not to appropriate to discuss until you are older. What I can tell you is that for whatever his reason, Lord Voldemort sought you out as an infant and it appears will continue to do so."

"So, he will keep coming after Harry?" asked Hermione.

The headmaster smiled at her with twinkling eyes and nodded. "I believe that is a correct, Miss Granger."

"So now that we know that Voldemort is able to possess people, Harry is going to have to go into hiding."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Hiding? Yes, but not the manner of hiding that you are thinking." The old man became very serious and turned his attention to Harry. "There is something I need to explain. When your mother died, she left you with a kind of protection that would keep Voldemort from harming you. It is an ancient magic that is based on blood. By living with your aunt and cousin, it reinforced that protection and allowed it to continue. Unfortunately, by leaving your aunt's house, by coming to Hogwarts, the protection broke and it doesn't exist anymore."

Sitting up straight and trying to understand exactly what the headmaster said, Harry asked, "By going home this summer, can it be put back?"

"That is a good question, Mr. Potter, but the answer is no. Once you were away from your mother's blood for an entire moon cycle, it was no longer possible to keep the protections. Your aunt and uncle were aware of this as we have communicated on occasion over the years, and as such, for their safety, they have moved abroad," stated Dumbledore.

"Abroad? But why? Why couldn't I just stay with them anyway?" asked the boy.

"Voldemort and those that think like him would have sought them out and while you were relatively safe here at school, your aunt and cousin were unprotected. There are many dark rituals that require blood and with Voldemort still a threat, Britain is not a safe place for them."

Harry nodded. He glanced over at Hermione who had a death grip on his hand. "So, um, sir, what is going to happen to me now?"

Dumbledore smiled at Harry and said, "I spoke at length with Mr. and Mrs. Granger and they have agreed to host you through school holidays for as long as you like."

"Will we be safe?" asked Harry.

Dumbledore smiled indulgently and said, "There are a great many magical protections that I can put in place. Also, as Miss Granger is Muggle-born, the Ministry does not yet have record of her address. Lastly, it is best that the wizarding world continue to believe that you reside with your aunt and uncle. Do you know what Polyjuice potion is, Harry?"

Hermione sat straight up and her hand flew into the air.

"We are not in class, Miss Granger. Please enlighten us."

"It is a potion that allows a person to physically become another person for up to an hour," she stated.

"Excellent. Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger." He looked back at Harry. "A trusted friend of mine will be disguised as your uncle and will turn you over to the Grangers when it has been deemed safe." Seeing Harry's expression he added, "Of course, other accommodations can be looked in to. I am sure that Molly Weasley would love to have you for the summer."

The color drained from Harry's face and he shook his head. "I am sure Mrs. Weasley would, but I'm more comfortable with Hermione's parents."

With a chuckle, Dumbledore stood, patted both children on the head and reached into the box of every flavor beans Hermione was offering. "It has been many years since I was brave enough to try." He blinked at her as soon as the sweet was in his mouth. "Alas, ear wax."

*~*HP*~*

19 August 2005
Scotland

"Gryffindor won the house cup, but it wasn't snatched away from the Slytherins as you wrote, that was a bit cruel. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have done that," stated Hermione.

"We managed to avoid Ron, who said he was giving us the silent treatment because we left him in the Devil's Snare. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that silent treatment meant that you actually didn't talk to the person. So from where we were sitting, nothing changed," supplied Harry.

"How did you get to the Grangers' after you got off the train?" asked the writer.

Harry smiled. "Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley was waiting for me and tried to talk me into spending the summer with my best friend Ron. Figuring that any protests would just fall on deaf ears, I got away with a little help from 'Uncle Vernon'. He bustled over and demanded that she release his nephew at once. He made some comment about random freaks accosting good decent people. Once we were out of earshot, 'Uncle Vernon' explained that as soon as most of the people cleared out, we would head over to the men's and Apparate from there. Mum met us in the back garden and Hermione was home an hour later."

"Who was it that was disguised as your uncle?" asked the writer.

"Remus," said Harry with a smile, "but he didn't tell me that it was him until after third year.

"So you really didn't have anything to do with the stone," stated the writer.

"Not really, no," replied Hermione. "It was important as there was the attempted robbery from Gringotts and it was the main reason that Voldemort was at the school, but the purpose of the oubliette had nothing to do with the stone." She looked at her watch and nudged Harry.

The pair stood and reached across the table. "We really do have to go, but perhaps we can discuss our second year another time?" said Hermione.

Taking the Dicta-quill in her hand, Hermione wrote out a phone number and email address at the top. "You should be able to contact me with either one."

After she had shown the two magical people out, the writer sat hard, looked over her story and pondered the changes that were made. Molly has always been insistent that the main players in her books were not available or willing to meet with her, but she wondered if perhaps, she might actually be able to meet a goblin.

A/N: I would like to thank Seel'vor for the wonderful idea of the first year task being a practical exam and his generous permission to use it. The idea comes from the story The Real Us. It's great, but for a mature audience only.