AN: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!

Now that's out of the way, let me just say that there are three very special stories which directly inspired this one. DrgnMstr's Harry Potter and the Unspeakable Time, zArkham's Harry Potter and the Rejected Path, and DerLaCroix's fabulous Rocking the Boat. They're incredible and Harry's ritual is a direct homage to the one in Rocking the Boat. While Unspeakable Time isn't finished, there's enough there for people to enjoy the ride. Rocking the Boat is simply fantastic from start to finish with just the right laughter, naughtiness and action as well as development to keep the reader interested.

This story is about Harry, Sirius and Remus realising there's much more going on in Harry's life than previously believed. It's Evil!Dumbledore, heavily Ron bashing with various levels of Molly and Ginny depending on how they turn out. This is Harry and friends against two sides of the war, involves many mythological references, and he won't take prisoners.

A word on The Morrigan: I'm writing her as having three aspects:

Morrigu - Goddess of Battle

Macha - Goddess of Sovereignty

Badb - Goddess of Prophecy.

In this story "The Morrigan" is therefore a title encompassing all three Goddesses whereas sometimes someone will refer to only one when the situation arises. This is a slight change to the original way I wrote the references as many kept believing that Morrigna/Morrigan were simply different spellings.

Let Loose the Marauders of War

The day before Hogwarts Leaving Feast, 1996

The world now knew that Voldemort, You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to the same craven cowards who turned their backs on those brave enough to fight him, was back. The Prophet announced it so it must be true irregardless that they had been denying the exact thing for almost an entire year.

It was this and all the other "truths" the rag of a magical newspaper reported that had the majority of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students gossiping. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and sometimes Dark Lord in the making, couldn't care less about any of that. The days since the "Ministry Six" had shown the Wizarding World the truth about Voldemort's return had been the most painful of his intense young life. Hidden beneath the illusion of the Golden Gryffindor had always been a well of bottomless rage and desire to see the world burn that had its roots in the night he was left alone on a doorstep like an early milk delivery. For years he had managed to keep this fury, this wild vortex of emotions and raw magical power contained. But with the soul crushing agony of losing his only true father figure Harry's self-made chains were metaphorically broken. The genie was out of its box because of the death of one man.

Lord Apparent Sirius Orion Black III. The Marauder known as Padfoot. James Potter's brother in all but blood. Harry's godfather.

So instead of sitting alone somewhere allowing himself to drown in the grief and rage, Harry was working himself into exhaustion in the Room of Requirement by blasting, piercing, burning and generally destroying as many training dummies as the Room could provide. Given that the Room was capable of an infinite amount, the end results were quite spectacular.

The door was quietly and carefully opened and two of the famous Ministry Six slid inside. The tall, sandy-haired boy, who long ago had lost the bulk of his baby fat, could only stare in awe and a twinge of fear at the force of nature that they had found. The wide-eyed blonde beside him only gave one of her knowing little smiles at the sight of the real Harry Potter.

Harry felt more than saw the eyes upon him and decided to finish his workout. The Room had come to know to stop as soon as his signature combo was finished.

A widely cast and incredibly powerful Levicorpus sent twelve training dummies thirty feet into the air. This was followed by an even more overpowered summoning charm that drove the dummies head first into the unyielding floor. Neville cringed at the sight and sound of skulls and spines being pulverised by the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry, having turned with a flourish at the end of his deadly combo, stared defiantly at the duo. Something dangerous flickered behind his aglow Avada eyes, sending a shiver down Neville's back, and then Harry sighed as though finally accepting a painful truth.

"I should've known that the day I didn't lock the door was the day people came looking for me."

The rigidity of his body faded away to leave behind a hurting teenager and the dangerous glow of magic disappeared as though it had never been.

"Now, Harry." Luna said as though reminding a forgetful child. "You know Fate and Circumstance have their eyes upon you."

Neville might have missed the way Luna added the capitals but he couldn't miss the obvious cringe Harry gave. The tightening of his friend's lips was the same look his Gran had when hearing something she didn't like.

"Harry...how did you...I mean..." Neville waved his hand where the now vanished destruction had been. Not in all the months Harry had lead the Defence Association had this deadly warrior been seen. "That was incredible! I've not seen anything like it."

There was a moment of silence as Harry looked carefully at his friends and once more something slipped behind his eyes to gaze out of the killing green orbs. The quirky girl merely gave him a nod of encouragement that had Harry taking a deep, steadying breath as he closed the gap between them.

"Nev, did you know my grandmother was a Black?" Harry asked, coming at Neville's question from a different angle that the other boy expected. There was a steel in his voice that those within Hogwarts had rarely heard. It was the voice of the boy who had survived a basilisk, stared down You-Know-Who and rode a Thestral to rescue his godfather. "And that her brother by marriage was a Longbottom?"

The Scion to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom blinked at the questions and suddenly found himself face-to-face with a very focused Harry. His friend's magic still rippled in the air and Neville could feel it deep in his bones.

"Great uncle Harfang." Neville replied with a frown as he remembered the family history lessons from his Gran. "My dad's uncle married a Black."

"Flint, Crabbe, Yaxley, Rosier, Malfoy and...Lestrange." Harry counted each name off and paused slightly with the last. His free hand rose to take an iron grip of Neville's shoulder to provide some type of comfort at the painful name as well as physically showing the point he was making. "Some of the Dark, even Darkest, families in today's society have married into the Blacks. And so have Crouch, Prewett, Potter, and Longbottom."

Neville's mouth open to refute the insinuation on his name and Harry quickly pushed on.

"I'm not saying our families are Dark. I'm saying they aren't the blinding Light that some would have us believe. Instead what we are is Grey." The Boy-Who-Lived explained with passion, expressing thoughts he had kept from his friends in order to hide his real self. This was the truth of the boy who had entered Hogwarts five years previous and part of what had the Sorting Hat want to place him in Slytherin. "The six of us went to the Ministry to save Sirius and we fought the way the Light would have us fight. We took down twelve Death Eaters, Nev, and the same ones kept on coming. We took them down again and they got back up. Sirius died. Hermione almost died. I was possessed by that bastard. You could have died. Luna could have died."

As Harry pushed each point the understanding in Neville's almost royal blue eyes grew until he was looking at the boy he considered his big brother in shock and awe.

"That." Harry snarled, pointing at where he had destroyed the dummies. "Is not how one fights according to the Light. And how we fought at the Ministry is not how I'm going to fight against those bastards when I meet them again."

Luna Selene Lovegood, daughter of Pandora Selene Lovegood and all the powerful Lovegood witches preceding her, smiled as she witnessed the first steps of the Morrigan's warrior breaking free of his chains. Her own Goddess had often come to her dreams, holding Luna as she cried over her painful early Hogwarts years. The Goddess had promised that a warrior of Old would come and change everything, but that she would have to be strong for him until his Deathly Protector freed them both.

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oOoOo

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Flashback - 6th June, 1994

She had been picking fluxweed beneath the full moon when it happened. A werewolf's howl was followed by the protective snarl of the Grimm as it kept the crazed-with-pain wolf away from Harry Potter and his friends.

And then the Dementors came.

Her sanity, far stronger than the bullies within Ravenclaw would have people believe, began to fray as she was forced to continuously re-watch her mother's painful death. Luna was somehow able to keep a part of her mind focused on her surroundings and she saw the wolf disappear. She watched as Harry and a transformed Grimm were almost Kissed only for the most powerful Patronus ever seen to appear. Almost the entirety of the Ministry's Dementors were swooping around her and yet they panicked, fleeing from the power wielded by a single wand. A power offered up by one boy's heart.

She was drawn to see where the powerful stag had come from only to be stunned when she saw a second Harry Potter, his magic and destiny shining like a beacon to one such as her. It was then she knew. She Saw into the boy and with the blessed Selene's grace knew that this was The Morrigan's warrior who she was asked to aid. The realisation came just before the effects became too much and had her passing out. It was only through the Moon Goddess that she was safe. Luna would wake in her Ravenclaw bed with a fantastic haul of fluxweed as a gift and no one the wiser about what she had seen.

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oOoOo

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Luna's musings were broken when Neville clasped Harry's elbows in the age old warrior greeting between friends. She hated that it was the loss of Harry's Deathly Protector that had brought her boys to this point though it didn't stop her being proud at what she was seeing.

"The Longbottoms stand with the Potters, from now until the end of time." Neville declared and their Family Magics rose to accept the emotional pledge. "We may not be Dark but we will smite our enemies so they may never take another's loved one."

"And where a Longbottom goes." Harry replied, staring back into his friend's eyes. Harry saw a pain there that mirrored his own and this added to his words. Neither knew they were being guided by forces greater than the world could imagine. "He knows a Potter will always have his back. We will make them fear us, brother."

There was a great shift within the Room of Requirement as the double pledge of honour, friendship, and loyalty was cemented by Old Magic. It was only the unique properties of the Come and Go Room that kept the immense magical release of their oaths from affecting the rest of the castle. The two boys didn't even notice. What they did notice was a sense of strength and companionship that hadn't been there before and the two lonely Children of Prophecy welcomed it. Luna beamed at what she witnessed and had Seen, truly awed that she had been able to experience such a bonding. And then Harry turned to her and she felt a flutter ripple through her entire body.

"Little Pixie." He gave his lopsided grin that had most of the female students swooning without him even knowing. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We wanted to make sure the Wrackspurts hadn't taken you over." Her words caused his eyes to sparkle with hidden mischief. The boys let each other go and he quickly pulled her into a hug, one that she returned with all her might. "And to give you a letter from a very dear friend."

Neville pulled out a crumbled roll of parchment and handed it to a now frowning Harry.

"You'll understand." Neville promised, looking sheepish at what he was having to do.

The author had almost demanded that the two friends read it before they found Harry, wanting to make sure they understood exactly what was being asked of them. Harry's eyebrows rose at the mystery and then his eyes widened to comical levels at the length of the 'note' he had been given.

My Dearest Harry,

I know that you are probably shocked by the scruffiness of my handwriting after all these years. I'm writing this in the girls bathroom so that no one of importance can see. It also seems fitting that the same place where you saved my life almost six years ago is where I now promise myself to you and our friendship.

Harry, it is my deepest regret that last year I listened to someone to keep you in the dark. I did this even when it went against my own conscience. I never believed that it was what was best for you, especially after what happened to Cedric and what followed. Yet I allowed my belief in authority to override what my heart was screaming at me. For this I can only humbly beg your forgiveness and give you my solemn promise that it won't happen again.

You saved me from the Troll. You once told me that it was me being petrified that gave you the determination to face Slytherin's basilisk. And, although I feared losing you because of the Firebolt, your belief in my ability to help you through that blasted Tournament showed me how much you value our friendship. That you then went through teaching the D.A. after what I did to you last summer relieved a weight off my shoulders that had been there since the day they rescued you from the Dursleys.

This year has been horrible for the both of us. I was forced to watch people I believed in, people I should believe in, abandon you to the rabid animals that work at the Daily Prophet, the torture of Umbridge, and at the wand of Snape. I've been doing some research (don't laugh!) and the things he did to you are NOT how one is supposed to teach Occlumency. If anything he destroyed whatever natural barriers you had and brought about what happened during our History of Magic OWL.

And so I must once again offer my humblest apologies in not believing you. I can only hope you will give me a chance to prove just how sorry I am for abandoning you to the torture of that man.

Please don't blame yourself, Harry. I might have thought it was a trap but that doesn't make it your fault. You did what you could to check on Sirius before we left for the Ministry. That we took Thestrals then still had to get in and fight the Death Eaters before the Order showed up means Snape's message to the Order was "delayed" far longer than reasonable doubt could suggest. What happened in that place to me, to Ron, to Sirius, and to you can be laid at many feet. None of those are owned by Harry James Potter!

I know you, Harry. You're probably rolling your eyes at that and wondering why I've said all this. It's because Ron and I were once again asked to not send you any letters this summer. That Man who thinks he's Merlin's gift to to the world knows Legilimency so I had to do everything I could to make it seem like I agreed. I don't Harry! I refuse to do it to you again. I know just by him asking that he doesn't have the best intentions for you.

That useless prat Ronald agreed straight away! I asked if you were going to have guards again this summer and I was told "only some". My guess is that Moody won't be with them so if there's any way of you getting away from those horrible Dursleys go for it! I've included my home address if you need somewhere to hide.

Stay safe, Harry. I believe in you. Neville and Luna believe in you. You are, and have always been, my dearest friend.

Love,

Hermione.

The Room of Requirement had reconfigured around the three students as Harry read and reread the letter. Harry barely noticed, not even when he sat on the materialised sofa. He was far too shocked that his best friend had put so much of herself in the note to think of anything else. He was both surprised and awed when he realised it was so she could prove herself to him.

"Yeah, I felt the same." Neville softly said from Harry's left, easily understanding his friend's look.

"She doesn't use the title 'Professor' anywhere." Luna added as she gently rested a hand on Harry's arm. His muscles were tight from anger at what Dumbledore had asked Hermione to do. The mention of the Headmaster had him scanning the long letter again.

"She never actually uses Dumbledore's name." Harry shook his head and carefully folded the parchment in half so he could slip it into his robe. "She's furious with him."

He took a deep breath and a violent shudder went through his body not dissimilar to the way a dog shakes itself down.

"Thank you, both of you. This means a lot." He said emphatically with a hand waving between the three of them and at the pocket where the letter was safe. He appeared to steel himself as he turned to look each in the eyes. "And listen. There's going to be some big changes next year. Especially if I can do everything I want to this summer. If either of you need to get in touch, call for Dobby. He'll come as soon as you're alone and pass on any message."

The two nodded and Harry looked around the room, though his eyes were far away in his own thoughts. His thoughts mirrored those that ended Hermione's letter.

"There are very few people I trust now and you three are at the top of that list. So please, no matter what, be careful."

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oOoOo

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28th June, 1996 – Privet Drive

The journey back to Harry's prison of Number Four Privet Drive had been a quiet one. Mad-Eye Moody, the real one this time, had threatened Vernon about the way he treated Harry and it kept the large, walrus of a man silently fuming until they walked into the Dursleys home.

It had never been a home to Harry.

Harry's own anger was as ready to explode as the man who had married his aunt. Moody's comments made it plain that the Order of the Phoenix was well aware of his home life yet they were choosing to follow Dumbledore's orders rather than get a child out of an abusing environment.

His hand rose as soon as the door to the cookie-cutter house closed and he lashed out with his magic. There were no words and no real spell was thought of. Instead Harry allowed his will and emotions to drive his magic and the air crackled with his overcharged power as the very thing the Dursleys feared was what pinned them to the wall like insects.

"Last year you two and your spoilt brat ignored me." He said in a dangerously low tone. His emotions fed his magic which then pushed to be free and run wild on the two whose legacy of pain on his life was only beaten by two dangerous wizards. "We're going to continue that this summer and hopefully there won't even be any distractions from pesky Dementors."

Vernon tried speaking, or more likely ranting, but Harry's finger rose as soon as he saw the signs.

"No." He commanded, taking a tone McGonagall had often used in her lessons. His eyes glowed with power and that more than anything stalled the bigoted man. "You won't degrade me or my magic any more. You certainly won't degrade my parents who bloody died a heroes death in order for me to live."

If it wasn't they had beaten, starved and neglected any chance of a love connection out of him then the sight of Petunia's eyes shining with potential tears at the mention of the her sister's death would have moved Harry. As it was he sneered at the selfishness behind it.

"If you really can't bring yourself to do what I've said then I suggest taking some holiday time to see Marge. Get out of the house and you may be lucky enough for me to be gone by the time you come back."

Harry turned and made his way to his room, the feather light trunk following behind like an obedient dog. Sirius had managed to teach him a few wandless spells as well as the 'trick' to accidental magic. Raw emotion with a singular intent. It might be magically intensive and both magically and emotionally exhausting, but for brief instances it worked when you couldn't use a wand.

The magic holding the Dursleys captive held until Harry's bedroom door closed behind him. The two adults crashed unceremoniously to the floor. They didn't speak. Their decision had been made the moment it was offered and they were packing as soon as they could scamper up the stairs.

The panicking Dursleys didn't know that the boy their feared was unconscious. A drained Harry, with the pain of losing Sirius threatening to consume him, had simply fallen asleep on the excuse of a bed they had provided after the intense magical output. Nor did they know of the almost silent pop that followed which announced the protective guardian that was Dobby the House-elf to make sure they didn't enter his room.

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oOoOo

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It was dark when Harry woke from his self-inflicted slumber. He groaned as he pulled himself upright and fought against the first tendrils of the same nightmare that had haunted him since the Ministry.

Sirius falling. Harry running. Harry almost getting there and yet never in time.

"Master Harry Potter Sir bes awake!" An all too familiar voice declared as he rubbed his eyes to shake off the last dregs of sleep. "Dobby bes making something to eat, Master Harry Potter Sir!"

"Thank you, Dobby." He offered the now empty air as the hyperactive little bugger popped off to do just that.

After Harry retrieved his glasses he took a careful look around the room. Hedwig was napping but rather than use his headboard or be in her cage as was the norm, she was now on a newly bought perch. Her cage had been neatly put into a corner with its door facing the wall and he could only guess that it was to prove to the owl she wouldn't be forced into it. His books and writing equipment were sitting neatly on a now fully functional and repaired desk. Harry had no doubts that his small smattering of clothes had been put away in the now sparkling polished wardrobe.

A brand new bed light sat on the desk and Harry guessed it was one of those touch controlled lamps since the bulb was only giving off a soft, soothing glow. The space beneath his door was dark and the house completely silent.

"The Dursleys must have ran to Marge." He mused aloud.

"Oh yes, Master Harry Potter Sir." Dobby declared as he popped back in with a relatively small tray of food. "Nasty Mugglies bes running away almost as soon as Master Harry Potter Sir bes letting them free. They bes taking Master Harry Potter Sirs wibbly wobbly cousin too."

Harry could only stare at his friend before the laughter rose up and broke free at Dobby's description. The sound brought a smile to the caring elf.

"Thank you, Dobby." Harry said through the lingering giggles at his friend and personal elf. "Why don't you pull up a chair and enjoy some of this with me?"

Harry had learnt his lesson when the Dursleys starved him for half his second summer back from Hogwarts. He had called Dobby the moment he arrived back after third year and, after a bit of wrangling, Dobby became his house-elf. It meant Harry not only had someone to look after him when he needed it but also someone to help when Vernon got too friendly with his fists. Now Dobby's excited nature was only part act when around anyone not in the know. The elf was also partly how Harry and Sirius had been able to keep in much more contact than anyone knew of.

Harry really should have been put in Slytherin.

Dobby clicked an elf-sized chair into existence and took some sandwiches he had made for when the Great Harry Potter asked him to eat. The first hundred or so times had resulted in an explosion of tears and feelings of being unworthy but now Dobby knew the offer only made his Master even more special. Dobby knew his Master Harry Sir had been treated as badly as he had by his old Masters and luckily Master Harry Potter Sir hadn't ordered him not to get justice. Dobby was only waiting for his Master Harry Potter Sir's life to settle down before he got vengeance on the evil Mugglies.

No one hurt Dobby's Harry Potter Sir!

The two friends talked of what happened after the Ministry, though neither were emotionally ready to let free the grief of Sirius' death, and Dobby was horrified to hear about a Prophecy against his Harry Potter Sir. As Harry talked he got an urge to write it all down and Dobby absently made a pad and pen appear for him to use.

"The thing is, Dobs." Harry explained as he polished off his meal and picked up the gold plated fountain pen. "I'm not too sure that the Prophecy is actually talking about Riddle."

Harry had started to use Voldemort's Muggle name when Dobby continuously freaked out over hearing his nom de plume. The elf's ears dropped in despair at there being two Dark Lords his Master Harry Potter would have to fight.

"Now I truly think it is between Riddle and I regardless." Harry continued with a scowl even as he admitted to himself he would want to take out the Dark Bastard if he had the power. "Riddle thinks the prophecy is about us and that's enough for me to always be a target. But there's someone else who also fits the bill. You see, I got to thinking. What makes a Dark Lord? Well a Lord is someone who has authority. Control and power over other people, right?"

Harry wrote out his thoughts as he explained them and Dobby nodded in all the proper places like the good house-elf he was.

"So a Dark Lord is someone who abuses that position. Well Dumbledore is Chief Warlock and not only did he use his position to seal my parents wills but he never used that power to get Sirius his trial once Padfoot got out of Azkaban. And Sirius can't remember who actually cast the Fidelius that protected us. He said it was mum every time I asked but could not actually remember it taking place."

"Master Harry Potter Sir." Dobby gasped in horror. "That bes the sign of memory mishaps. Elves bes knowing to look out in case their Masters or Mistresses bes knowing things without details."

"Exactly." Harry said forcefully, pointing the pen at his friend as though to emphasis the point. The look of pride he gave the elf was enough to ease the intensity of the word. "Now Dumbledore is also the leader of the Order of the Phoenix. Both Sirius and Remus told me that the group aren't allowed to use anything but defensive spells and stunners so the Death Eaters can be put on trial. But that never sticks so they're constantly having to fight the same people who are still trying to kill them."

"Professor Whiskers not be protecting his peoples!" Dobby's roared, hating how Harry Potter Sir's family was being put in danger. The anger making Harry remember how his friend had faced down Lucius Malfoy to protect him.

"That's right. And as Headmaster, not only did he put me here and constantly have me come back but he also was party everything that's happened since I entered Hogwarts."

"Hoggywarts not be happy with Professor Whiskers." Dobby admitted with sad voice and a pull of his ear. "Hoggywarts bes telling Professor Whiskers about nasty book. Hoggywarts bes telling Professor Whiskers that Dementors bes making students upset and to put up special ward. Hoggywarts bes telling Professor Whiskeys that there be evil teacher hurting students."

Harry wrote down everything Dobby explained. As soon as he reread the notes and fully realised what he had heard, he began to shake at the sheer depth of Dumbledore's antipathy towards the students safety. He threw his glasses onto the desk and ran his hands across his face, letting loose a loud expulsion of air.

"Everything right there is grounds for him to be a Dark Lord, Dobs." Harry said in a tired voice. What Harry wasn't saying, and what Dobby knew because of his bond with the Great Harry Potter Sir, was that everything that had happened to Harry since that night showed the man's true colours even more. "He might not be out killing hundreds but he's certainly using his positions for his own good at the expense of others."

The two friends were silent as Harry stared off into space, his eyes and mind unfocused as what had only been an idea began to fully form into a true possibility. With another sigh he retrieved the glasses and continued dissecting the prophecy, the pen scratching noisily as he worked through the spiderweb that made up his life.

"The next part is parents who trice defied the 'Dark Lord'. Both Sirius and Remus told me how Dumbledore wanted my dad to use the Potter accounts to fund the Order." He explained. Dobby looked on with concern at the rising agitation of his master. "Sirius also told me that the old man even tried getting mum to forgive Snape for calling her that word. Dad never knew but from how mum told Sirius, he suspects Dumbledore had even hinted at her being more than a friend with the greasy git."

Dobby gasped in horror at the idea that the great James and Lily wouldn't be together. In that instance Dobby the house-elf was forever turned against Albus Dumbledore.

When Dobby had bonded with his great Master he had been able to feel a faint connection to other Potter elves. Angry over what he had seen as their abandoning of his great Harry Potter Sir he quickly sought them out only to learn something shocking. The explained how they couldn't feel Harry's magic and needed to be re-bonded with House Potter in order to break whatever was hiding him from them. Dobby and the nice elves had spoken many times about past Potter Masters and they had many stories about Master James and Mistress Lily that Dobby had been able to pass on to Harry until Sirius had managed to take him to Potter Manor. To think Professor Whiskers had wanted that all to go away made the little elf irate. Especially with it meaning there wouldn't have been a Harry Potter Sir!

"They also told me that he tried to get the Potter Grimoire in order to research some of the deeper Family Magic." Harry finished off with a possessive growl. "And when we escaped from Grimmauld Place at Christmas, the goblins confirmed that he's tried getting into the main vaults on more than one occasion."

"Professor Whiskers be evil, Master Harry Potter sir!"

"I think he is, my friend. And he marked me as his equal. It's because of him that I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, the second person this century after himself to be a defeater of a Dark Lord."

Harry put down his pen to stare into his friend's eyes. Gone was the Golden Gryffindor and in his place was the Harry who hid beneath the shiny mask.

"He's taken over my life, Dobs. If we pretend that the prophecy is about Riddle then the old man has still done nothing to train me, nothing to make sure I survive what's to come. Dumbledore has made it impossible for me to do anything but survive while he enjoys his life as the Leader of the Light. I have to kill Riddle to stay alive and defeat Dumbledore in order to live."

"Dobby bes doing whatever it takes to help Master Harry Potter sir!" The elf declared loudly and Harry couldn't help but smile at having someone so passionate in his corner.

"I know you will, my friend." He scooped the notepad up and took a long hard look around the room. "Dobby, are you able to remove runes from a wall?"

"No Harry Potter Sir." Dobby said with deep sadness at being unable to help his Master. "Runes bes messing with elf magics."

Harry nodded as though he expected the answer and rose to stand in front of his wardrobe. Dobby quickly snapped his fingers and the heavy item silently moved to the side to reveal a carved pattern in the wall. It was the side profile of a crow with its wing curled to look like one half of the yin yang. A reverse crescent moon hovered in front of the crow to provide the second half of the Chinese symbol to fully merge it with the Badb Catha of the Morrigan.

The Dursleys were Sunday Christians. They went to church and acted the part without truly living the religion. A young Harry had therefore hunted through the books of the local library to understand this falsehood. It was there that he first came across the ancient dark-bright philosophy describing how deeply interconnected and interdependent dualities were to the world. For a boy who had known almost nothing but the darkness it was a lifeboat in his years before Hogwarts.

His school books had quickly been filled with countless doodles of the yin-yang with each year becoming more elaborate and decorative.

Once Harry had found himself at Hogwarts he almost immediately headed to the library in order to look for answers to his spiritual questions. It was under the caring eye of Madam Pince where he found the Old Ways and was immediately drawn to that of The Morrigan. The stern-looking but surprisingly nice librarian had told Harry how the Potters were notorious for following the Old Ways and he would be doing his family proud if he chose to worship the Great Queens.

That The Morrigan was associated with both Fate, Battle and Death was not a surprise to Harry. Those things were etched deep into his existence.

As his thoughts drifted over the past so too his fingers traced the carved merging of the two cornerstones of his beliefs. He had carved the image not long after being locked in during the summer before second year. It had given him the will to continue as his body's strength deteriorated through lack of food and Harry truly believed he would have died if not for its presence watching over him.

"Dear Lady, please aid in what I am about to do so that I can break free of this prison and take up my role within this world." Harry whispered the prayer as he took a lock-knife from Dobby. It had originally been Dudley's and was the same blade that had carved the image.

Harry worked carefully for the next two hours, carving a rune control system beside the raven. Sirius had explained how his mum had been horrified when his grandfather Charlus admitted that most of the wards around Potter Manor were completely unknown to the modern Potters. For some reason the paperwork for the ward scheme had been lost to time and only a few of the many protections were used. She, being the incredibly smart and stubborn witch she was, had dedicated her downtime to creating a system that would show the owner exactly what wards were connected to a property and finished it only a few hours before Harry's birth. The joke had been it was a birthing present to the next Lord Potter.

Lily had given it to Sirius to hide. His godfather had presented it to Harry the day before they visited Potter Manor the past Christmas. They'd spent all their free time memorising the design and then asked one of the Potter elves to hide the papers deep within a secured room of the Manor. They never wanted it fall into enemy hands. The Marauder and son of a Marauder had even joked with each other that the cluster was powerful enough to reveal the secrets of the Hogwarts wards. Though neither were sure if it was actually a joke or not.

"Well, that's that done." Harry mumbled as he finished the last rune. Dobby had been watching silently and only vanished the the wall particles once Harry completed a rune. The next step was to mark each rune with blood and Harry had to reopen the cut to his thumb three more times before he was finished. Dobby immediately sprang forward to clean and heal the dusty wound.

"And now...Ward Breakdown. Active."

The genius of Lily Potter's work was that the majority of the rune cluster allowed for verbal commands. The air in front of the wall shimmered as a breakdown of the wards surrounding Number Four Privet Drive were revealed. Harry's fingers zipped back and forth across the image to select and highlight different areas and Dobby could feel his Master's anger building at what was being revealed.

"Absolute BASTARD!" The young man roared and his magic pulsed in anger. Hedwig barked in mutual anger for her wizard as the walls cracked and the window shattered under the pressure. Luckily both were easily repaired by a click of Dobby's fingers. "Not only did he put a block on my magic but these fucking wards need to drain whatever I have left to power them. I'm lucky I'm not a bloody Squib!"

Dobby could only stare at the visible aura flaring off his master's body and in that moment realised two very important facts. Harry Potter Sir was even more powerful than anyone knew if he was capable of the magic he was while being hurt by Professor Whiskers' bindings. And Harry Potter Sir had no idea just how special he truly was!

Harry was also oblivious to the elf's thoughts as he furiously scanned the rest of what the cluster was telling him. He growled when he came to the monitoring wards and found a standard Ministry one as well as a more powerful one from Dumbledore. He was forced to accept that every piece of accidental magic he had needed in order to heal himself over the past fifteen years had been recorded. It was even possible Dumbledore had a complete breakdown of every injury.

He was finally able to pull himself away from the display and quickly wrote down everything in the notebook. He left out the cluster itself but its usage and findings were detailed as well as the added note of part of his magic being bound.

"Dobby." He spoke up only after he took deep, meditative breaths in order to not scare his friend. "We're leaving here as soon as I remove those runes. Are you able to fool any Order guards if they come to watch me?"

"Oh yes, Master Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby cried out in happiness at being able to give his Master such good news after what they had found out. "Dobby bes making guardsies think Master Harry Potter Sir bes here."

"Even if it's Moody?"

"Mister Grumpy-Eye's eye not bes able to see through elf magic." Dobby shook his head fast enough to send his ears flying and Harry was almost sure they went in both directions at the same time.

"That's perfect, Dobs." Harry's smile froze as he thought of the monitoring wards. "And you're able to make the wards think I'm here too? Even Dumbledore's?"

"Dobby not bes able to keep Blood Ward charged." The elf explained. "But bes able to make it so Master Harry's magic seems to bes here. It what Dobby used to keep Master Harry from going to Hoggywarts."

Having long ago forgiven his friend for that night, Harry could only beam happily. He only needed the world to think he was at Privet Drive for a week and then all bets were off. Harry turned back to the wall and asked his friend for a large chisel, mallet and a silencing charm to not disturb the neighbours.

It took almost an entire day for Harry to chisel out his carving while Dobby's magic kept the drywall intact in order to preserve the hard work. At the same time Harry chiselled the blood runes into dust with his trusty elf burning and then vanishing the rubble to keep anyone from obtaining the freely given blood. Once the exhausting work was done Harry, and everything he owned, was elf-popped to Potter Manor to the delight of all the Potter Elves. The moment Harry was in the safety of his manor the sheer weight of everything came crashing down on top of him and he fainted through emotional and physical exhaustion. An elf carefully took him to his room while Dobby returned to Privet Drive in order to put his magic to work.

.

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oOoOo

.

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6th July, 1996 – Potter Manor's ritual room.

The past week had been an exhausting one for Harry. Using an alternative identity, hair dye and a mix of elf magic and make-up, Harold Lilisson had taken his OWLs within the Ministry and, although Harry Potter might be an average student, Harold Lilisson was anything but.

It had been a shock when he found out his true name was Harold James Potter. Apparently his dad was concerned that 'Harry' wasn't Old World enough for some Pure-blood sensibilities and had suggested Harold instead. Sirius had been there when Harry found out from the goblins and explained it all, grinning at the memory.

"Lily only agreed as long as it would only ever be used on legal documents. That's why the world knows you as Harry. She wanted you to be called Harry so by Merlin you were going to be called Harry."

Harry had used the information to ask for a second identity that only the goblins would be aware of. When asked about a last name, he had mentioned reading that Iceland continued using both patronymic and matronymic names. Harry wanted to honour his mother and so had chosen Lilisson rather than the obvious Jameson, a move that had actually impressed the Potter Accounts Manager. Apparently goblins had been known to change their name in recognition of a family member who had brought great honour to their clan. DaggerClaw had never known of a wizard doing the same until Harry.

Sirius had laughed so hard he fell out of his chair at the idea of pranking the Ministry. At no point was Harry lying when he said he was Harold Lily's Son yet a good disguise would keep anyone from connecting him to Harry Potter. It had been bittersweet when he took his exams, remembering the joy Sirius had felt at the name yet Harry had still not come to terms with his godfather's death.

Now Harry was ready to rid himself of the binding to his magic that they had found during the Goblin meeting as well as the connection to the dreaded Blood Wards. The ritual was easy enough, the Potter's ritual room powerful enough that it hummed with its own sense of anticipation, and he was ready enough to begin. Yet he still stood, naked except for the loincloth, unable to initialise the final step.

"Dobby, you know what to do with the notebook?" He asked even though he knew the answer.

"Yes, Master Harry Potter Sir." The elf replied from behind Harry. "Dobby bes taking it to Master Harry's Moony and make him take it to Harry Potter Sir's Grangey along with the ring."

Harry had asked Ramses, the Manor's Head Elf, for something to protect Hermione's mind and body. The elf had eagerly returned with a beautiful five-piece sapphire promise ring that would protect the wearer from anything except an Unforgivable as well as keeping out Legilimency attacks. It also doubled as an emergency portkey in case of life threatening injuries. The ring would pull Hermione directly to the entrance hall of the Manor where one of the elves would be able to see to her safety and health.

"Good. And then?"

"Then Master Harry's Moony bes talking to Master Longsbottom and Master Harry's Miss Moon. He must bes finding out if they can bes protecting their minds."

"And Ramses?" Harry asked the second elf as a nervous Hedwig watched everything from the aged elf's shoulder.

"Once Master Harry's bindings bes broken, I bes using Master Harry's wand to deactivate the ritual and take Master Harry to the Master's suite to recover. If Ramses bes thinking Master Harry bes in trouble then Ramses bes getting vowed healer as quick as can."

That last part had been a demand from all Harry's elves when he explained his plan. They had no idea what the full ramifications of the ritual would be and wanted the freedom to get him help. Harry was secretly glad of the demand, knowing it came from their love for him being Just Harry. He knew they had reason to fear since he had added more runes to the ritual in the hopes of harnessing the released magic as one massively focused accidental healing.

In his hand was a small vial of a Blood Adoption potion that Sirius had made up in the event he died before gaining his freedom. While it wouldn't stop Harry from being Lord Potter - it wasn't a strong enough dosage for a full adoption - it would tie him close enough to Sirius to override any chance Draco Malfoy had of attempting to claim the Black Lordship.

Sirius wasn't a Black for nothing and had created plans within plans since he escaped Azkaban. This just happened to be the one Harry hated.

They had agreed the ritual would help with his healing but their calculations never included the extra of the adoption potion. However the goblins had informed Harry, through his Lilisson identity, that Sirius' will was being forced into an early reading. Not only by the Ministry but also Riddle, via the Malfoys, and Dumbledore too for his own special reasons. It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of Sirius' legacy while keeping Harry from his. There was no time time to do the ritual and then take the potion once he had recovered. It was that thought which allowed Harry to swig back the potion and climbed on top of the large rune-covered silver platter that lay atop altar. The vial had been summoned by one of the elves immediately so it couldn't contaminate the room.

He could feel the magic of the potion beginning to work and quickly reached for his wand. "My Dark Lady of Battle and Strife, I ask you this day to lend me your strength to end the battle within. Empower me, Great Morrigan, to help me succeed and bring me one step closer to smiting my enemies. I ask this in your names of Morrigu, Macha, and Badb. So mote it be."

Harry pressed the tip of his holly wand to the activation rune as soon as the last word was spoken. He knew no more as his world was consumed by pain and was barely capable of taking in enough air to scream. Dobby immediately popped away as Ramses and Hedwig watched from their spots as the young man they both loved used his own magic to rip himself in half.

.

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oOoOo

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The House of Granger Residence

It was a lucky thing for Dobby that the two most important people in his Master Harry Sirs life were spending the day together.

As a man who had intimate knowledge of the Muggle world, the first Blood War, as well as knowing almost everything that had happened leading up to the Ministry incident, Remus John Lupin was the ideal adult to have in Hermione's corner when she sat down and confessed all to her parents.

"So tell me why I don't take you out of that blasted school, young lady!" Daniel Granger roared, not bothering to pretend it was an actual question. "You're smart enough to learn what you need to for a normal education."

"Mr. Granger, do you know of anyone who has been in the armed forces?" Remus asked, completely derailing the man's ire towards his daughter as his mind whip-lashed topics.

"My brother Wendell." Dan answered in a confused voice, frowning over the question. "Fifteen years."

"I've met many in my travels, Mr. Granger, and they all say the same thing." Remus looked the man in the eye in order to make sure the point was made. "There is no such thing as a former officer, be that Army, Navy or Air Force."

Daniel Granger winced and turned away from the intimidating gaze. He remembered his brother saying similar words after his joke about finally retiring fell flat.

"It's the exact same thing for those with magic, Mr and Mrs Granger." Remus pushed, turning his focus to Mrs. Granger in the hope of getting his point across. "Your daughter is a witch and the magical world knows all about her because of her brilliance in both mind and magic. Making her walk away from it does not mean it's walked away from her."

"Mr. Lupin." Emma Granger spoke for the first time in quite a number of minutes. She'd put a hand on her husband's wrist in support as well as letting him know she needed to speak. He unhappily complied and quietly sat back down. "Please, tell us what we can do."

"Right now, be there for your daughter." Remus honestly offered. "However there is a very real chance that you'll soon have to go on an extended vacation for your own protection. And it has nothing to do with Hermione being Harry's friend."

Moony snarled the last bit, completely cutting off Dan's attempt to claim Harry's friendship was the cause for every ill he had heard. Hermione's fists clenched and she was biting her lower lip hard enough to almost draw blood in trying not to lambaste her father for his narrow view on her best friend.

"Perhaps if you explained why?" Emma asked even though it had already been explained.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Hermione snapped, throwing her arms in the air in frustration. Remus hid a smirk, he had been scenting her rising agitation and wondered when her infamous temper would be let loose. Merlin she's like Lily. He thought. "You know this, mum, dad. I'm in the top three across all my classes but I come from non-magical parents. I should be the lowest of the low yet I'm showing up the children of these bigoted murdering bastards!"

"Hermione Jean Granger! Language!" Emma gasped while Dan looked like a fish out of water towards his daughter.

"It's what they are, mum." Hermione huffed, arms crossing and eyes narrowing as she glared back at her father. "Whether I was friends with Harry or not, they'd want me dead for just being me. You being dead for being you and for having me. You really think a Muggle-born who isn't friends with Harry is going to be safer than I will be with people like Remus protecting me?"

Daniel Granger rose again and moved to look out of the kitchen window. He knew he was the type of man who could bury his head in the sand and let the world pass him by. It was his brother who refused to let injustices go, his brother who stood tall against the darkness so that Daniel didn't have to, and it was more than evident that Hermione had picked up on his brother's attitude.

He had no illusions now. He knew his daughter was in love with this Harry boy and that this magical terrorist group had crossed the line. Wendell could be the most relaxed man you could ever meet until you crossed that 'I'll let you go here but no further' point. To Dan's horror he saw that any attack, no matter how small, towards Harry Potter was a line his daughter would not let be passed. Daniel knew he could fight her, he might even win a small victory, but he had no doubts he would lose his daughter completely to the magical world and the boy if he tried to stop her from going back.

"We'll need to sell the practice, Ems." He sighed, wrapping his arms around his waist as though to hold himself together. "Maybe borrow some money on top so we can visit your sister in Australia."

"No need for that, Master Grangey Sir." A squeaky voice announced with a pop that had Dan spinning around to stare at a strange bat-like creature. "Master Harry Potter Sir would gladly pay for his Grangey's parents to be safe."

"Err...Hermione?" Emma asked, pale from the shock of the excited create appear.

"Mum, dad, this is Dobby. Dobby is one of those house-elves I told you about." Hermione explained with a frown as she wondered why Dobby had come.

"Dobby, is Harry okay?" Remus immediately asked, worry causing the many scars marring his face to become more pronounced.

"Master Harry doing Master Dogfather's Marauder plan Broken Chains, Master Moony." Dobby explained with watery eyes and a wavering voice. "Master Harry...Master Harry Sir bes making sure Dobby know what to do once the screaming started."

"Screaming?!" Hermione screamed.

Remus quickly put an arm across the girl's body to keep her in place. His former student snapped her jaw shut and he could actually feel her glare burning into the side of his head as he focused on the little elf.

"Is it as bad as Sirius thought?" He asked through the pain in his chest. Dobby could only nod.

"Was there no way he could wait for me to get there?" A violent shake of the head that had Moony biting back a growl. Harry had given a solemn promise to both Marauders that he wouldn't do the ritual on his own unless he felt there was no other choice. "And you're here following his orders?"

"Dobby bes good house-elf!" Dobby cried out, the tears now falling freely. The three Grangers might not know the specifics but could understand whatever was happening had deeply upset both Magicals. "Master Harry Sir say give Master Moony his notebook. Make sure he go to Master Harry's Miss Grangey with book and ring. It bes up to Master Remus and Miss Grangey to talk to Master Longsbottom and Master Harry's Miss Moon."

While Remus was taking a series of deep breaths, Hermione was stuck on what Dobby had said. Somehow Harry was doing something that was causing him pain but apparently needed to happen and Dobby had been given instructions to make sure both she and Remus met up. All the while hoping Harry recovered from whatever it was he was doing. She struggled in pushing past the idea of Harry being in pain and it was only knowing that if she went crazy it could set back everything with her parents that gave her strength. She was also having to ignore the question of just when her best friend had bonded with Dobby.

"What ring, Dobby?" She asked, suddenly picking up on one of the other things the hyperactive elf said.

"Oh, oh, this ring, Miss Grangey!" The elf bounced so fast to hand over the small box and get back to his starting spot that it was as though he had Apparated. "Master Harry ask Ramses for the most powerful Potter ring to keep evil wizards from hurting or getting into his Grangey's head. Master Harry bes told it bes a promise ring and Master Harry say that it bes him promising to keep his Miss Grangey safe!"

All three Grangers stared at the jewellery box in some type of shock. The four humans were completely aware of what exactly a promise ring was for and all came to the conclusion that Harry apparently didn't.

"Thank...thank you, Dobby." Remus' voice cracked as his emotions warred between fear at what was happening with his cub and laughter at what his cub had done. "I'll take the notebook and you get back to Harry. If he or you need me, come get me straight away."

"Yes sir, Master Moony sir!" The elf gave a fair example of a military salute and popped away to leave a stunned room behind.

"Um...sweetie..." Emma partially squeaked as she attempted to get her daughter's attention. "A promise ring?"

"It'll be what Dobby said, mum." Hermione replied without looking up from the box that she still hadn't opened. "Harry asked for whatever could protect me. I really don't think he understands what this type of ring might mean."

"I can guarantee he doesn't, Mrs Granger." Remus added immediately, the notebook held protectively in one hand. "I know most of Harry's life with his aunt and uncle and disgusting doesn't cover it. Relationship talks would never have been a part of Harry's childhood."

"So this boy." Dan growled in a fair imitation of Moony. "Asked whoever this Ramses is..."

"Another house-elf bonded to the Potter family." Remus supplied. Hermione's head snapped around in surprise and the girl wondered what else was going on in her best friend's life that she didn't know.

"Right. Asked this Ramses for the most powerful protection for my little girl's mind..."

"And body." Remus added with a nod.

"And body, that his family possessed. Not caring one iota that it was an actual promise ring and simply gives it to her?"

"Yes, sir." Remus answered with a wry smile. "And I'm pretty sure I know the ring we're talking about. I believe it's the same one that James, Harry's father, had personally commissioned for Harry's mum when they were dating."

"I assume it was during the first war?" Emma nervously asked and he nodded.

"Their story is well known to everyone who went to school at the time. James fell in love with Lily immediately. We're talking their first year when they were both eleven. But he was a complete...well, a total prat is the nicest way I can describe his attempts at wooing her and I was one of his best friends."

Hermione giggled at Moony's pained expression at remembering some of the more outrageous things James had thought would capture Lily's attention.

"After a few years of failure he eventually started to grow up." Remus smiled softly at the new memory and those listening couldn't help seeing the pain beneath the reminiscence. "When she eventually agreed to go out with him, he was over the moon and immediately sent a letter off to his parents for the ring he had commissioned from the dwarves. This ring if I'm not mistaken."

"Dwarves?" Hermione squeaked, looking down at the box in her lap in equal parts horror and awe.

"I see you understand, Hermione." Remus chuckled before explaining it to her confused parents. "As in any society there are certain designers, manufactures or jewellers who are prized beyond others."

The Grangers nodded, Emma thinking of her the dinning seat her parents gave while Dan momentarily lapsed into daydreaming of the golf clubs he'd always wanted.

"You have that in the magical world. Above any Wizarding smith are the goblins. To have something goblin-made is said to own an artwork in Smithing." He continued to explain. "The problem is that the goblins don't believe in inheritance when it comes to items they've made. They believe the purchase price is actually a life time rental and that the item must return to them upon the receiver's death."

"If daddy bought you a necklace, they don't believe in you then passing that on to me if you died." Hermione explained in a weak voice. To the amusement of the three adults she had started stroking the box as though it was a kitten.

"These dwarves you mentioned?" Dan asked without taking his eyes off his daughter's strange behaviour.

"Are the next tier up from goblins and never make something for a random person, no matter how rich." Remus explained with a sigh and shake of the head. "I honestly don't know how James was able to get the ring made or what it cost him or his family. People could spend their fortunes and never get something like that ring from the dwarves yet there was James about to hand it to this girl he'd been in love with since he was eleven. What I do know is the words he used when he gave it to her."

He cleared his thought for the re-enactment and this time Hermione did look up.

"Lils, I did everything wrong in trying to show you how much I knew you were the woman for me. This ring, and the protections it holds, are my promise to you that I'll do everything right or die trying from now on. This ring is my promise that you truly are the woman of my heart and I want you to keep it even if I am never the man of yours. Keep it so my heart is safe, keep it so the children of my heart will always have my protection even if they aren't of my blood."

It was three dropped jaws that faced Remus when he came out of the memory and he smiled, swallowing back the tears.

"There we were, three fifteen year-old boys." He chuckled as he reached forward to take up his lukewarm tea. "And our best friend, brother, leader, not only came out with that speech but practised on the three of us until he could say it forwards, backwards and sideways."

"What type of protections are we talking about here?" Emma asked with suspiciously moist eyes that she had to blink when Dan's fingers wrapped tightly around her own. She hadn't even noticed him returning to his chair.

"A warning against potions or poisons, protection from some of the nastier magic excluding the Unforgivables and the truest Dark Arts, protecting her mind from being controlled or invaded and an emergency portkey, that's instant transport, to a very safe place where she would get the best care if she was injured. Aside from being wrapped in a bubble and hidden from the world it's the best protections possible."

"And this Harry just gives that to Hermione?" Dan gasped, the desire to protect his daughter warring with being an overprotective father. "What does he want in return?"

"DADDY!"

"Daniel Simon Granger!"

Dan Granger folded in on himself to hide from the twin glares of the two most important girls in his life and knew he'd just put his foot in it. Hermione immediately snapped open the box in defiance of his idiocy and then gasped as she shakily withdrew one of the most beautiful rings she had ever seen.

"Mythril..." The best friend of Harry Potter gasped in total shock. "This is mythril."

"Mr Lupin...is that the ring?" Emma asked with wide eyes that somehow widened when the man in question simply smiled.

"Like I told you. Harry probably demanded the most powerful protections for Hermione, made sure it wasn't something ugly, and sent it on its way."

"Honey, I think you should put it on." The Lady of the House said in a firm voice and a glare at her husband. "You can talk to Harry about what a ring like that means later but I'd feel better if you were protected the way Mr. Lupin is saying you would be."

Hermione absently nodded and slide the ring carefully onto her middle finger. It flashed once to resize and the box faded away without anyone noticing.

Remus smile was part happiness at the young couple and part pain at the memories the ring brought back up. A stray thought had Moony wondering why Lily hadn't used her wedding ring's protections that night but he pushed it to the side. Instead he opened the notebook Dobby had given him and saw a note from Harry.

Moony,

The real OWLs are done as we planned. I've advanced the plan after checking the wards and finding that they were draining me of - at the very least - my magic. If my calculations are correct then I'm currently in agony as I'm freed of the chains while you're wanting to come to my side. Don't. I need you, Moony. Protect her for me, explain things that I can't until I recover.

You'll have to decide between the two of you whether it's the right time to talk to Neville and Luna. I trust you both in this. Below is the prophecy that started all of this, the very thing that has cost us Mum, Dad and Sirius. I've also described my thoughts on exactly what each line means and who/what it relates to.

We're on our own, uncle Moony. Let loose the Marauders of War.

Harold James Potter-Black.

The wording sent a spike of fear through the werewolf. The three of them – Sirius, himself and Harry – had spent hours hashing out plans that also included worse case scenarios. Harry's words meant that he now believed that only those plans would get them out of what was to come alive.

He read the prophecy and paled, not even realising that he was now being heavily scrutinised by the three Grangers. Hermione immediately knew whatever he was reading was bad as his gentle brown eyes brightened to amber ferocity.

"Bloody Hell!"

SN: Dan Granger's brother is a direct homage to the wonderful story Angry Harry and the Seven. One of my favourite Harry/Daphne stories on this site.