A/N: Sorry about the delay. I've been rather busy with stuff. Any feedback from someone other than my wife would be appreciated. Enjoy.

8 September 1995

Location: Gryffindor Common Room

Harry knew that this year was going to be different. Sure, some things did remain the same. He still had to endure the snide remarks from Snape. His feud with Malfoy was still in effect. What he failed to understand was that this was O.W.L year. The professors had all given a similar speech during the first class. This was going to be harder than they've ever had to deal with. They would have to work harder than the last four years combined.

His professors had somehow undersold how difficult it would be. On the plus side, Hermione was making friends. By the end of the week he was sure that at least half the year had approached her asking for tutoring.

Even the weekend was not an escape, not truly. It was Saturday afternoon. While he should be outdoors enjoying his return to Hogwarts, he was stuck inside writing an essay for Runes (explain the cyplodic effect of ancient Sumerian runes and how that impacts the Miloc Principle).

A glance over at Ron showed his red-haired friend rubbing his wrist.

"This is impossible. We don't have enough hours in the day to do all this homework…" Ron let out a sigh before popping open his Defense text.

"You just need to focus, Ron. Honestly, you should have been ready for this. You'll have to find balance if you want to continue Prefect duties and get on the Quidditch team…" Hermione paused to inspect her work before shooting a glance at Ron. After a moment her eyes met Harry's and all he could do was shrug. "Harry, don't you have your club today?"

Harry glanced at his watch. Still a bit of time left.

"Eh…. I was hoping to finish this essay before I headed out." He attention returned to his essay before he heard a twin pair of shouts. With that he hastily shoved his books in his bag and started towards the portrait at a quickened pace. "Then again, it would be good to be early."

"Uh, mate. What did you d-"

"Potter!" a pair of identical voices chimed out. Harry had reached the portrait and opened it only to look back and Fred and George. A slight laugh escaped Harry as the two came into view, the results of his prank on full display.

"WAR!" Both of the twins raised an object he was unfamiliar with, seemingly with the intent to throw.

Harry was quicker though and heard whatever the items were thud on the back of the portrait as he fled down the hall with a full on laugh as he went.

8 September 1995

Location: Charms Corridor

Technically, the dueling club was supposed to be under the purview of the defense professor. During Harry's time at Hogwarts, only Lupin (third year) had actually executed this duty. As it stood, various professors had stepped in to help manage the club. This year Professor Flitwick had taken it upon himself to run the club, thus why the club meeting was taking place in his corridor.

Harry actually arrived quite early. He'd have to thank the twins later. He found a good (safe) spot to place his school bag and checked the list of students who had signed up for the club. He was one of three Gryffindors. One was a fourth year and the other a third. There were quite a few younger Hufflepuffs and Slytherins compared to previous years. It looked like there were enough students that the upper years (5-7) would break off. His lip curled in disgust. It was a small group… and it included Theodore Nott.

Now, it wasn't that Nott was in Slytherin. Yes Harry did have issues with several Slytherins, Malfoy and his goons came to mind. That wasn't the root of his dislike. Since second year Harry had been part of the dueling club. So had Nott. While members came and went, the two of them were stalwart members of the club. As such, there was a constant competition between the two of them. During their frequent clashes for the top spot, Harry grew to know Nott. As the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. Really, they were just too different.

While Harry busied himself with setup he found he did not have to wait long for others to arrive. The first were a few second years who steadfastly avoided him. It was probably the scowl he was wearing. The next was Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, and Head Boy. Harry knew a few girls enamored with Diggory. He also knew a few boys who hated his guts. Harry respected the older boys drive and skill. The older boy gave a wave to Harry and began reviewing club roster.

"How's it going Harry?" Seemingly satisfied with the roster, the older boy moved over to shake Harry's hand. "Have a good summer?"

"It was alright, I guess. Kinda happy to be back." Harry made sure to give a solid grip during the handshake. "I noticed that you are running the upper year group."

"Yeah… You and Nott gonna cause me more headaches this year?" Cedric seemed to be doing his best McGonagall impression, but the smile ruined it.

"Do you think Potter can truly act civil?" Both Harry and Cedric glanced at the newest arrival. Theodore Nott entered through the doorway, followed by several other Slytherins. Harry only just noticed Greengrass, Parkinson, and Davis file in the room.

"Come now Theo, you should cut Potter some slack. He does spend most of his time with Granger and Weasley. He probably isn't well socialized." Parkinson said with a laugh.

"Are we talking about who people spend time with, Parkinson? If so-"

"Stop. I'd rather we not repeat this every meeting, every year." Cedric stepped in, playing mediator. "This is supposed to be fun and constructive. If you are against that spirit, you should probably leave." He gestured to the door and waited a beat. "Well?" Cedric gave a measured look at Harry and Nott. After nobody moved Cedric clapped his hands together. "Right. I'll go find Professor Flitwick, see if we can get started."

As Cedric left, more and more students filed in. Many Harry did not recognize, though there were a few that he remembered from previous years. Harry busied himself with not firing a hex at Nott choosing instead to study the newest batch of club members. A third year Gryffindor stood apart from the rest, an uncomfortable look on his face. Upon noticing Harry, the boy made his way over.

"Hey, how's it going? Conner, right?" Harry said to the younger Gryffindor. The younger boy, Connor, was a bit on the short side, slightly chubby, with lighter hair.

"Uh… Yeah. You're Harry Potter, right? My cousin Bethany said you are a pretty good duelist." Conner stood next to him, but seemingly avoided looking directly at Harry..

"Bethany… She graduated last year, right? How's she doing? I remember her wanting to go be a curse breaker."

"Yeah… She's down in Greece right now, going through the selection process." Conner paused for a moment. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Harry suppressed a frown. He wasn't the best at reading people, but he had weird vibes off Conner.

"Is Hermoine Granger seeing anyone?" At this the boy looked away.

Harry blinked.

"What?"

"Is she-"

"Hello Dueling Club!" Harry was saved from whatever this was by the arrival of Professor Filius Flitwick, the short charms professor. "Gather around everyone."

The next several minutes were a repeat of the previous years. The professor went over the rules of the club, the schedule, and some safety protocol. Harry listened without really hearing. Finally, Flitwick broke out the groups and sent them to different classrooms to get started.

Harry filed into the new room that was already prepared for dueling activities. The floor was covered in mats, a few training dummies lined the walls. Harry glanced at his fellow 'upper-level students'. Cedric was here, obviously the one to guide the sessions. Nott, Greengrass, Davis, and Parkinson were representing Slytherin. There were also a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws he did not recognize, though Padma Patil he did and she gave him a small wave. Then there was Harry, the lone Gryffindor.

Cedric gathered them all up and laid out the course of action. They would break off into predetermined pairs and run through a quick refresher. Cedric placed a list on the wall and waved one of the sixth year Ravenclaws (Albert Russel) to join him. Harry didn't have a chance to check the list as Greengrass let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Come along Potter. Let's get this over with." Harry followed her to an open spot.

"Sorry, Greengrass. I know you'd prefer someone less skilled. You know... more on your level" He flashed a grin and was just barely able to dodge the hex she sent his way. "Hey now." He deflected the follow-up jinx. "We haven't even started yet!" He waited a moment, ensuring she wouldn't fire off another spell, before rolling up his sleeves. Greengrass merely slid off her jacket and threw it to the side.

"Well Potter. Shall we?" She fell into a neutral posture, wand up and pointed at the target, free hand on her hip.

"If the lady wants, I shall endeavor to please." Harry said this with another grin. Harry put his free arm behind his back and laid his wand across his chest.

Technically, they were supposed to practice old beginner spells, make sure their form was good. Check their classics like expelliarmus and protego. Harry was confident in his ability. It seemed Greengrass was as well.

The two students waited a moment. After an unspoken moment, Greengrass launched a knockback hex at him. Harry declined to answer the spell and twisted around it, firing off a hex of his own. She slashed her wand, blocking the spell, but Harry was already following it up with a jinx, then another, then another. Greengrass was immediately on the defensive, but managed to duck under one of his spells and fire off a stupefy. Now Harry was forced to defend.

Their duel only lasted a few minutes. The two of them went back and forth, trading initiative. Unfortunately for Greengrass, his spellwork was faster and her wand ended up in his hand.

"Nice work, Greengrass." He offered her wand back, which she immediately snatched. Harry briefly noticed the sweat on her brow and the effect her heavy breathing had on her… shirt. He let out a cough and glanced over at the rest of the group. It seemed that Cedric was the only one actually following the rules. Of course, he probably knew that many of the students were here to blow off some steam, so he'd let it pass.

Harry turned back to Greengrass. She had readjusted herself and was now pointing her wand at him.

"Again."

8 September 1995

Location: Charms Corridor

After dueling practice, Harry would usually take a stroll around the lake. However, fate seemed to intervene. The twins had been lying in wait. Eager to inflict some measure of revenge on Harry. He only barely caught sight of them before they would see him.

Harry did the only smart thing. He hid. Well more accurately, he fled down the hallway, then he hid. Specifically, he popped open a door and hid inside. Harry took a few breaths, letting his heart rate steady.

That was weird. He wasn't breathing that loudly. Harry briefly glanced over his shoulder. Then did a double take. Filling the room was a massive three-headed dog. It was asleep.

Harry immediately stopped his breathing and tried to slowly and quietly open the door. One of the eyes on head three opened-closed-then opened again. Then all eyes were on Harry.

Harry ripped open the door and slammed it behind him, just only muffling the dogs roar. He heard something slam against the door. Forgetting the twins, or his walk, or anything else, Harry raced back to Gryffindor tower, not stopping until he was safely through the portrait.

Glancing around he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in the normal stop, chatting.

"Seriously Ronald, I'm sure you'll do fine. You are a very good flier and-Oh hello Harry, please reassure Ron that he'll do fine during try-outs." Ron shot her a dirty look before glancing over at Harry.

"You alright, mate? You look a little pale…"

Harry sat heavily on the open portion of the sofa. "You won't believe what I just saw." and for a bit, they didn't.

Of course, once they were convinced, they immediately launched into theory mode. Clearly, Harry had accidentally ventured into the Third-Floor corridor. Why Dumbledore was keeping a giant three-headed dog, they couldn't determine. After a bit, they all decided it could wait and headed to bed.

"Oh right, Fred and George did something to your bed." Ron sat down at the edge of his bed watching with some anticipation as Harry checked what they had messed with.

"You reckon they back yet?"

"Nah, pretty sure they are out selling their prank stuff… or still looking for you."

"Excellent. Mind helping me swap this bed out for one of theirs?" The two boys grinned at each other. This year was going to be great.

15 August 1994

Location: Somewhere in Romania

The man moved slowly. Everything had come to this. He had searched for so long. So many had attempted to dissuade him. Even Dumbledore had told him his journey would end in failure. Yet here he was. Voldemort was so close.

He knew that there were a small few that actually believed Voldemort still lived. None had gone this far. None had tracked him down. None except him.

It was quiet in the cave he was now walking in. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He paused and took a steadying breath. He couldn't falter at a time like this. After a moment he realized he could feel… something. A presence. One of pure hate and malice. He knew he was close.

He continued, taking extra care to conceal himself. A small light ahead. But…. Nobody was there. He walked into the poorly lit chamber, looking around. It was some sort of ancient Roman altar. He was not highly knowledgeable about the things and thus couldn't place the significance.

After a search he came to the conclusion that he had missed his target in some fashion and dejectedly made to leave. He'd have to start again.

A raspy voice gave him pause.

"Well… What do we have here…" At this, he raised his wand.

"Reveal yourself!" The tip of his wand began to glow a bright white. Laughter was the response. "Come out… V-V-Voldemort." The laughter grew more intense… but a figure of shadow entered his light range.

"Well… this is fortunate on my part." The eyes, reddish and cruel, bore into his. A searing pain erupted across his mind. The wand dropped and the light went out. He could feel the dark creature flow around him. The pain intensified and he began to scream. "Yes… this is most fortunate indeed."

The screams continued for a time and were slowly replaced by laughter of two voices.