So this got away from me a bit. I had wanted to get it up sooner but life happens sometimes. There are a couple of scenes I wasn't expecting to write and yet they kind of just spilled out. It was fun.

At the moment I am trying to figure out if I should write snippets of years 2 to 4 or just get on to the finale. What do you guys think? What would you like to see? Any feed back is welcome. I might have to go back and re-edit this portion as I am a bit tipsy as I finished it up and did some last minute edits. Happy New Years! Thank you everyone who reviews and follows this story. You are awesome.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, I just enjoy playing around with the characters.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 7 Part II

Snippets through year 1

Neville was confused on how to feel about the Potters and wasn't that just kick in the pants. The two younger children had kept to themselves for the first couple of weeks so no one had noticed anything out of the ordinary at first. The first-year boys knew that Harry wasn't sleeping in the dorms with the other first years and the first-year girls had known that Luna wasn't sleeping in her bed, but no one had said anything until a Prefect made her rounds two hours earlier than normal because she couldn't sleep and had found them curled together on the couch closest to the fireplace.

After such a scene, the Prefect immediately got their head of house. Professor McGonagall had been furious at such 'an improper' display and woke them up to frog marched the children up to the headmaster's office. The result of the confrontation had them placed in a private room that was usually reserved for the older married students. Surprisingly it did not spread throughout the school. It was explained that they had been living together for years and were not used to being apart. It didn't leave the common room gossip. Gryffindor business stayed within the house. It was an unwritten rule.

One evening when the children were studying, Hermione had taken the initiative to ask about it. They explained that because of some haywire magic from when they were children, they were bonded and essentially married by the laws of wizard-kind. However it wasn't something that they wanted to spread about so if Neville, Ronald and Hermione would keep it quiet they would be grateful.

Ronald shrugged, telling them that he didn't care one whit. Neville agreed and Hermione looked even more inquisitive but respected their wishes of privacy. Neville continued to keep a close eye on them. Potter was a leader but it confused the child that he would be so interested in him. Neville had spent most of his childhood being shunted aside. He had grown up in a household that had ridiculed him throughout his primary growing stage. His gran had always made it a point to let him know that he could never measure up to his father. It had made him feel inferior and here was this kid who was actually a day younger than himself telling him that he had power and that he was important. It led to confusion on his end and he didn't know what to do about it. He didn't yet realize that he was growing attached to the Potter heir for the simple fact he had never grown attached or had developed attachments to other people, most certainly not his caretakers, so Neville was perpetually confused by him.

Luna was just odd. Neville didn't know what to think about her. She was friendly but spastic. She switched her topics frequently during a conversation and a lot of the times Potter would have to fill in the gaps. It was oddly endearing but he was an 11 year old boy who didn't quite understand the mechanics of being 'fondly exasperated', so she was just 'odd'.

About a month into the school year when things began to settle, Neville noticed that Harry was bored and wouldn't pay attention in class, but during their study group sessions would be able to answer any question that the children had. Neville brought it up to Hermione one day when Luna was arguing with Ron about something and Harry just watched in amusement. Hermione got an odd look on her face when Neville spoke about Harry's lack of interest in his classes and thanked him for reminding her of something. She ran off to the library before anything else could be said. Neville just stared at her in shock and turned to Harry when he asked him if he wanted to run in the morning.

Neville frowned at him, it hadn't been the first time that he had asked but it was the first time he was considering it. He was finally considering that he could be worth something more and now that Harry was no longer just 'Potter' he thought about it.

"Yes I think that would be a good idea."

Harry and Luna smiled at him and Luna said, "Husband, I do believe you just got yourself a general to become The General."

Neville just stared at her in bemusement and Harry laughed. "Yes luv. Neville, I wake at dawn and run around the lake a couple of times followed by some strength training, but we can start off slow."

The boy shrugged, ignoring Luna for now, said okay, and proceeded to study.

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Hermione had noticed that Harry wasn't normal. He was intelligent and appeared to know a lot about this new world that she found herself in. It was a novelty to have friends that actually let her ask questions and share information. If she started to become annoying, Harry would just smile gently at her and let her know that she needed to slow down. He didn't mind answering questions but sometimes it was nice to talk about other things, wasn't it? She acknowledged that he was correct and she would happily start doing something else.

Luna was very smart but extraordinarily odd. Hermione wasn't sure what to think about her. Luna had some very odd ideas about reality and what was and wasn't real. Harry told her that Luna just saw things a little differently. It was also foreign to her that Luna and Harry were bonded in such away that they were actually married. It was a concept she couldn't quite grasp, so she accepted that she couldn't understand it at the moment and moved on to other matters, knowing that she would revisit the issue once again when it became pertinent.

The first couple of weeks of classes were odd, especially the potions professor. Hermione was disappointed that a professor could be so cruel. He wasn't pleasant to anyone in their house, but the way he treated Harry was reprehensible. Snape was clearly a very bitter man who held a grudge against the Potter name. She was interested in finding out more information, but Harry told her not to worry about it-it was a problem he would deal with.

Hermione accepted it and moved on. Hermione tried to keep an eye on Harry because she was concerned at how bored he was, but there were so many new things to learn about and she got distracted. It wasn't until Neville brought it up to her that she realized that she had neglected her friend. She should have realized that his boredom was because of his intelligence and he already knew everything the professors were teaching the new first years and if what she suspected was true, he most likely new at least the next two years worth of material, if not more than that. It was the same thing she had gone through in school and it had alienated her from her peers and even her professors.

She knew what she had to do, she had to find something that would keep his interest. Something that he could keep studying, something that would constantly change and the best person she knew to ask was the Librarian, so she thanked Neville and rushed out of the room. There was still some time before the first year curfew.

Hermione arrived at the library, slightly out of breath but confident that she would be able to get Madame Pince to help her.

The librarian had a soft spot for the young first year and was amused to see her in the library so out of breath. The woman asked the child what she could do for her. Hermione frowned and then spoke:

"What do you suggest for someone who is bored to the point of tears. They already know the curriculum and its very possible they know at least the next two years worth as well."

"Are you talking about yourself?"

"Oh no. I'm only caught up through the end of term. There is just so much to learn, but my friend is going to start failing his classes soon if he doesn't have something to occupy his time."

The librarian frowned as she thought. She was weary about giving books out to students when she didn't have all the information but she had a fairly good idea as to who the girl was talking about. After all, his mother had been the same way. "I may have something, but I need you to answer some questions to the best of your abilities."

"Okay."

"One, I'm assuming that we're talking about Harry Potter?" Hermione nodded in confirmation, "What have you noticed him reading? Does he do all of his homework? Is he helping the rest of you with your homework and spell-work?"

"He reads things that seem to be in a foreign language, but not one I recognize. I asked him about it and he told me it was something that his Aunt gave him because it belonged to his mother. He does his homework during our study sessions, but that's the only time I ever see him do it. It it weren't for our study time then I don't think he would do it. So far he hasn't steered us wrong when answering questions that we have and he answers anything I ask him, even the racier questions that no one wants to speak about. I think I've seen him study for his A-levels but I haven't asked him yet as I don't want to pry too much."

"Well, I may have something. Let me go get it."

Hermione waited patiently for the woman to come back. It didn't take long for her to come back and when see did she was carrying three books. Two looked very old and one looked relatively new. "Okay, this one is for you. Once you get comfortable with this year's coursework you may start reading it. It will be yours to keep and it'll help you on your future path." Hermione looked at the book with interest and didn't see the woman's eyes flash green before flashing back to their natural color. "These two are for Harry to keep. Just tell him not to let anyone see them. Now you better get back before curfew."

Hermione nodded her thanks and rushed out of the library. Once she did the woman spoke quietly but sternly..."Its time for you to leave now. I did what you asked, my debt is repaid."

A tinkling laugh filtered through the quiet library. Oh lass, you know as well as I do that your debt will never be repaid in full. I will call upon you once more.

The woman huffed, annoyed at the voice but accepted what was said. It was true after all. She had a life debt to repay, one that could never be repaid in full, but then again the whole damn world did as well.

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Harry looked at Hermione in bemusement as she came back from what appeared to have been the library. She held out two of them and indicated that he should take them. He did so and looked down at them. His face went carefully blank. They were very old and were not written in English. Neville looked over at them and his eyes widened a bit and Ron was too busy throwing his homework into his bag to take much notice.

"Who gave you these?"

"Madam Pince."

"Do you know what these are?" She shook her head. Harry sighed, "Be careful about carrying these types of books around where others can see them. Most people won't know what they are because they are written in parsel script, a made up language that not many can read. It's considered dark by the ministry and carries a prison sentence, I'm surprised that she was willing to give them to you at all."

"What is it?"

Harry laughed, "Very complicated healing methods that rely solely on the user's ability to use Parseltounge. Something that will keep me busy for awhile as I've never used anything like this before. I assume that was your plan?"

Hermione nodded, "Isn't that suppose to be a gift of the Slytherin line?"

"Yes, but my mother was able to speak it, though not many know and I don't want that spread around. I would prefer people assume something else as the moment when its found out I can speak the language of the snakes."

"Are you descended from the line?"

"Not directly. According to my godfather, its more of a bastard cousin that was excommunicated from the family 1000 years ago."

"Oh."

Harry got up and hugged the still standing girl. "Thank you for noticing. You're a good friend." She blushed and stammered a bit before following Ron's example and packed her things up to go upstairs.

Neville looked at Harry with a quiet thoughtful look. "You become more interesting the more I get to know you. Yet there are so many secrets surrounding you, I wonder if you know yourself."

Luna smiled, "There he is. Good to see you in there. I'm off to bed now."

Neville gaped at the unexpected commentary. "What?"

Harry laughed, "Don't worry to much about it. She's just commenting on the insight you're showing. Its time for bed though. Tomorrow we'll meet in the common room at 6. I'll have you do a half lap around the lake and then walk the rest of the way and then we'll see how you feel and go from there.

Neville sighed and shuffled upstairs. He just knew he was going to regret this.

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Training with Potter was Hell and yes it was back to Potter again. He was only Harry when he wasn't being a taskmaster and an ass. Neville was not happy. It was the last training morning before they left for the holidays and Harry had brutally assaulted him by tossing his bed and dumping him on the floor before dumping ice water over his head. Needless to say Neville was most displeased.

Not only were they running around the lake today, but they were doing a full work out of crunches and push ups followed by squats. They hadn't even gotten to the actual physical side of the training it was still just the conditioning and Neville both loved and hated every moment of it.

Luna would occasionally watch once she woke, but usually she just amused herself in other ways. The morning before term's end she found herself playing chess with Ron. She was putting up a good fight but he was going to win in about 5 more moves. She could probably draw out a 6th move, but there just wasn't a point to it so she tipped her king and smiled at the budding grandmaster. They reset the board as Hermione came down from the dorm rooms. She was lost in thought and barely gave them a glance.

Hermione was looking forward to seeing her parents again. She was disappointed that she had to turn down the Potter's invitation for their Yule Tide celebration as she was going to be with her parents in the mountains skiing but she was pleased that the term was ending. As far as she knew, Neville was the only one going as Ron was staying with his family here at the castle.

She was startled from her thoughts when the portrait was opened with a curse. Shy timid Neville wasn't so shy or timid anymore after being around Harry for the last couple of months. Harry followed through the portrait hole at a more sedate pace. Neville was red in the face and he was clutching one of his hands with a grimace. There were a few students out in the common room looking at them with a questioning glance and then saw who it was and ignored them. This was not an uncommon occurance anymore.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Neville threw a bad punch." Harry answered.

"Oh...wait...what?" Hermione asked.

"Potter pissed me off so I punched him. I forgot the git is good at magic and he had a shield up before I could blink so now my fragging hand is fractured and I need to go the hospital wing and have the matron look at it."

"I told you I could fix it once we got back to the tower." Harry murmured.

Neville glared at him, "I would rather stick my eyes with hot pokers than let you have a go at me with a wand right now." He turned to Hermione, "Will you escort me to the hospital wing please. If I have to look at Potter for much longer, I'm punch him again."

They left without too much fanfare and Ron spoke, "Mate I know you're training him to become a leader but you have to remember he's still a kid." Harry looked at him and Ron blushed, "I mean we're all still kids. There's time yet."

Luna smiled from her chair as she tipped the king over once more. "Checkmate." Ron looked over at the board and frowned. "We weren't playing yet."

She laughed, "You made the first move and the game was set. Don't worry I'll still enjoy playing you. I'll even be able to sneak a win by here and there. Harry, mum sent a letter today. It came with Hedwig."

"She wrote me?"

Luna nodded as Ron stared at the board, concentrating on the game that had not started yet. "It's in my bag."

Harry walked over to the bag and took out the unopened letter. Surprisingly Luna had not opened it yet. She usually opened the mail when she was curious enough about it, which meant she already knew what it was about. He opened it and read:

Harry,

Tell my daughter that when she decides to walk the dog, she is not allowed to bring home a wolf. The wolf followed her home and has decided to stay. It was a bit dicey at first and there was some fighting but everything turned out okay. Your Aunt did shoot the wolf in the leg, which ended the fight rather quickly but he has since been nursed to health.

Your Aunt is not terribly pleased with her husband at the moment as the dogs are as thick as thieves and causing mayhem now that they are both in good spirits and relatively good health. Your Uncle is feeling much better though and is looking forward to seeing you again.

I understand that you're bringing a guest over for the holiday? That is fine but remember your promise to Luna's grandmother. I don't want that woman coming over because you decided to actually act like the kids you're suppose to be and take a break for the holiday. Your Aunt will be picking you up at the station.

Take Care,

Jasmine

Harry looked at the letter in bemusement. It wasn't often that Jasmine talked to him and it was a very peculiar letter for her to have written. He was curious as to who the wolf was, but he had a fairly good idea. As odd as the letter was, it was easy enough to decipher. Luna had mentioned something about a wolf following her home but he's ignored it in favor of other things. Now he wanted to kick himself, which is probably why Luna hadn't said anything more on the subject and had left the letter unopened. She already knew and was annoyed that she had been ignored.

"I did inform you about the wolf, its not my fault no one listened." Luna smirked at the look on her husband's face.

"I'm just surprised no one mentioned anything in an earlier letter." Harry muttered as he threw the letter into the fire.

"Everyone has been busy. Mum mentioned that your Aunt is being driven sparse and didn't want to worry you with things that you wouldn't have been able to control anyway. It'll make the holiday interesting at least."

"True."

"Well Ronald, I do believe I have been thrashed enough today. I'll take my leave as I have a couple of things that still need done before we leave this afternoon. We'll have another game later." Luna said as she got up from the chair. She turned to Harry and asked if he was coming and he nodded.

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A little while later found both children wrapped in shadows as they walked through the shadows to arrive in an unfamiliar room. The pull of power was coming from the enchanted mirror so they knew they were in the correct place.

Harry looked at the mirror with amethyst tinted eyes as the Black gift broke down the enchantments for him so that he could get the object within. A moment later he nodded to himself and reached out his right hand and reached through the mirror and back out again.

Luna looked at the small red object with blatant curiosity and poked at it and yelped when it 'bit' her. Harry laughed, "That's why you don't play with unfamiliar magic."

"You do it all the time."

"Yes, but I have a couple of family gifts that protect me from the bite of said magic."

"Yeah, yeah...so why do you think Flammel let the fool in the Tower have his life's work."

"I don't. I think the fool took it as a gamble and didn't let his old mentor know about it because he wants to be in charge of this chess game turned war."

"Too bad, no one seems to realize that a third player has been playing longer than the other two have."

Luna hmmmed in response and handed him the 'philosopher stone' that they had created once they had found out about the real one being in the castle. The loveable half giant had given them the information on accident which had prompted the children to act. They were not willingly going to leave such a power object within reach of the creature that was possessing their DADA professor and yes they knew about that, it wasn't hard to figure out when both of them were capable of sensing magic, hell even Neville had figured it out, though he didn't know who the spirit was.

Harry put the fake stone within the mirror, careful to avoid the enchantments the old fool had placed upon the magical object. He then placed the real stone within the small enchanted box that they had created for this purpose so that no-one would be able to feel the power of the stone before the left the castle. They were planning on returning the stone to the owners and maybe garnering a favor for future use.

"Lets go, we don't want to miss the end of term feast and have people wondering where we are."

"Yes dear." Harry murmured with a small smile as she wrapped her arms around him and he brought forth the shadows. One moment they were within the forbidden chamber and the next they were back in their rooms.

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Petunia was waiting for them when the children disembarked from the train. She smiled when she saw them and Luna ran up to her and threw her arms around the woman's waist. Harry followed at a more sedate pace and hugged her just as tightly when he got up to her.

"Oh its so good to see you kids again. I've missed you." She gave them one more hug and they released her.

"Its good to be back. We love Hogwarts, but we've missed you." Harry said to her. Luna nodded and grabbed Harry's hand, her default when she wasn't entirely sure what to do with her hands.

"Ready to go?" She asked and Harry nodded as he held out his hand. They didn't have to worry about their trunks as he'd already sent that home once they'd gotten settled on the train. Petunia grabbed it and they walked off through the barrier and as they were, he used the shadows to walk them straight into their apartment.

Someone cursed in surprise at their appearance and Petunia said, "Excuse me?"

"Sorry Petunia."

The children looked at their 'wolf.' He was tall and prematurely gray. He had a bit of a haggard appearance but was well dressed, which Harry could only assume was his Aunt's doing. She really did not like it when people looked like a bum.

"Hello." Luna said to the man. "I knew that I had a wolf that followed me home, but I didn't expect Aunt Petunia to let the stray in."

Sirius, who had been sitting on the recliner in the living room gave a giant bark of laughter. "Didn't I tell you Moony, Harry's girl is a hoot." He grinned at the children, "Good to see you guys survived your first term and didn't cause too much havoc, though your Aunt told me that you just about gave your head of house a heart attack when you were found sleeping with each other."

"What?" The man named as Moony asked in bewilderment.

"We were found sleeping together in the common room." Luna murmured in a slightly dreamy tone. A tone that they had not heard in a long time.

"Luna?" Harry asked, slightly concerned.

"The Hour hand moves forth, when the wolf cried and the bell tolled as time started to creep by...Tic-tock goes the clock. The midnight hour has struck. Time has moved on and you're too late. You will not have the end goal." Her voice was not her own as she spoke words that were not her own. She turned towards Harry, her eyes were clear and filled with power not her own. His expression went carefully blank and his eyes went cold as he realized what was happening.

"Whoever you are, whatever you are, you need to leave...if you don't you will not like the consequences. She is mine not yours. Whatever hold or claim you perceive that you have on her was null and void the moment we met. LEAVE." His voice thundered with power as the shadows began to shift in anticipation. The adults were watching in silence. Petunia knew that she couldn't do anything and Sirius knew that Harry could handle himself if only because he was Lily's son. Moony didn't know what the hell was going on, so he could only watch.

Luna sneered, an unnatural look on her usually calm face. "Please, you are but a child to us, what can you hope to do?"

Harry's face went stoney and dark. He was going to destroy what ever was attempting to control his young wife. "You have no idea what you are dealing with." He murmured, his voice dark and low. It was not the voice of a prepubescent child, but that of a man.

It appeared that the being who had possessed Luna was not going to leave freely. Well he could work with that. He moved closer to her and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry luv, but this is going to hurt." He grabbed her face between his hands and for a moment nothing happened and then the shadows converged and covered them. The adults could hear her scream and then a dome appeared around them, pushing Petunia and Moony back, Sirius was still sitting on the recliner. They could neither hear or see what was going on.

Moments later it was over and the shadows cleared. Luna was crying silent sobs as she clutched Harry to her chest and he was out cold with blood dripping from his nose.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Remus please avoid cursing around the children or I will shoot you again." Petunia sighed as she bent down to give Harry a once over. She had honestly expected the situation to be reversed. "Luna, Sweetie, I need you to tell me what happened if you can. Can you tell me why Harry is out?"

"I don't know. One minute I was thinking about the wolf coming home and then I was thinking about the exams we have scheduled for tomorrow and then suddenly I couldn't see or hear anything. Then Harry was there with his hands on my face." She cried. "He ripped it apart. Whatever it was, its gone now. He just razed it. He was so angry. I don't know. My snake is never this angry. He...just...and then..." She trailed off as her distress caused her to lose track of the present.

Sirius was still sitting on the recliner. "I'm surprised you're not more concerned." Petunia bit out.

"I am, but I know Harry enough to know that he's okay. I think he'll be coming around in a moment or two. His mother and father once had a very similar episode. James almost killed one of the kids in our DADA class because he lost his temper. Lily was able to calm him down, but when she did, she was the one that was out cold and James was awake. I'm terrified for him, but I also know that the Black blood within will protect him from anything possession related. Its a natural immunity in the family."Sirius frowned, "Is Luna a seer?"

"No, not really." She murmured as Harry started to come around.

He groaned as she helped him sit up. "Sweetie, you okay?"

"Yeah, just remind me that when I invoke that much power I need to actually release it." He looked at Luna and her rigid posture, "Shit, hey luv. Look at me. Luna I need you to look at me. We are at Petunia's house in London. We arrived from school to the apartment by shadow. We were about to be introduced to the wolf." Her eyes began to focus again and they searched out Harry's and she smiled as her posture began to relax from the rigid stance it held a moment ago.

"What happened?"

"You spoke what sounded like a prophecy." Sirius answered. "And then things got weird."

"It wasn't a prophecy it was someone playing a game, trying to make us doubt what we were doing by using actual prophecy and mixing it with conjecture. The actual prophecy is this: Time was beginning again. The Hour Hand moved forward. Time would stop for the rat permanently. When the wolf cried and the bell tolled as time started to creep by...Tic-tock goes the clock. The midnight hour had struck. Time was moving on. Time was crawling forward. Time was moving faster than anyone had anticipated." Harry stated. "Most of the prophecy has actually already been put into play. I don't even consider it a prophecy. Its more of a general warning for the catalyst. That's it." Harry helped Luna up and over to the sofa. They sat down and Luna curled up like a cat right next to him.

"I am not a seer, but I do have a familial blood line that leaves me open...much like a medium or a seer...I see only possibilities of the present and I can scry the future but it makes things worse sometimes. Harry has the ability to see the possible futures and the past and since he can see so can I because of the bond that we share.

"Ah. I see." Sirius murmured and he did. She said nothing else, Harry could take it over for her.

"Its something that Luna's grandmother will have to look into as if should have been impossible for it to even happen. Regardless of the familial line, it shouldn't have happened. " Harry stated as Petunia sunk into the couch next to them. The wolf looked a bit shell shocked and was still standing.

"Do you think it'll happen again?" Petunia asked.

"Not anytime soon, not after what I did to it."

"What did you do?" Sirius asked mildly curious.

Harry smirked, "I razed it to metaphorical ash. There is nothing left of it on any plan of existence. Anything watching would be weary of trying that again."

"Hmm, you're far too much like your mother."

"Thank you."

Sirius barked in laughter, "That wasn't a compliment."

Harry shrugged, "I know. So who's the wolf?"

"This is Remus, he was a friend of your father's."

"But not mum's."

"Your mother and I did not get along too well." Remus broke out in what he thought was a soothing voice.

"I'm not surprised. The wolf in you would have been very anxious around her, more so because you don't accept that part of you."

Remus frowned, "I'm not sure I understand."

"You're a werewolf, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well because you don't accept that, you are in constant turmoil. Your mind and body are constantly fighting, its why you appear as aged as you do. Its why you're so fatigued...I'm surprised my mother didn't tell you this..."

"She mentioned something when we were younger but I dismissed it out of hand because of the way she presented it." Remus murmured as he pulled a dining chair out and sat down with a weary sigh.

"It's something that you should look into. Historically werewolves are stronger, faster and have a faster healing rate than normal humans magical or mundane alike. You should actually live a longer healthier life, yes you change into a wolf three days out of the month, but its a magical gift that predated the dark ages."

"Gift? More of a curse," Remus hissed.

Harry pursed his lips. "Seriously you are not making this easy. You're being an idiot. If you're not going to listen then I won't bother explaining."

"You are but a child, how do you know these things?"

"Because my mother did extensive research on the subject of werewolves. She was curious about their nature and the uses a werewolf could provide. I have her research notes if you would like them. They might help you."

Remus frowned but nodded, "I think I would."

"Okay, well if that is all for now I think we should head to bed. Its been a long day and there is a lot to get done while we are on break." Harry turned to his aunt, "Mum can you help me get Luna to bed?"

She nodded and picked Luna's sleeping form up and followed her nephew into their bedroom. Tomorrow would come soon enough. She was sure they had several things that they were planning on doing on the morrow. One of which was sitting their exams. This would be Harry's last set and Luna still had another couple of years but soon the children would be done with their a-levels and when they were done with Hogwarts, they could go to uni if they desired, though she didn't see that happening anytime soon. She sighed, they were too young to have such a burden placed on their shoulders.

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The holiday went as expected after they had their exams. Christmas day came and went with little fanfare. The children received a few gifts a piece and they enjoyed spending time with their family. Jim came over to see them for a bit on boxing day. It was sad to see him get along in years but it was always a pleasant time when he was around. After Jim had left for the day, Petunia told the children the story on how she ended up shooting Remus.

Apparently he had followed Luna and Sirius home from the park before they had left for Hogwarts. A couple days after they had arrived at school, he had made his presence known by breaking into the apartment. Petunia took offense to that and shot him in the leg, warning him if he moved another muscle he'd get shot in the other leg next. The commotion woke Sirius who saw his wife pointing her gun at his friend on the floor. He had apparently started laughing hysterically and it had taken both of them a hour to calm him down so they could explain Sirius's innocence. Once they had beat it into the wolf's head that yes Sirius was innocent, they called Jasmine over so she could treat and heal the gunshot wound. Remus had been staying with Jasmine since then. She wasn't entirely happy with the arrangement but he cleaned her house and made sure the mundane things were taken care of which gave her more time to work on her experiments. So she built him a cage and gave him wolfs-bane each month.

Jasmine had made her presence known a couple of times while they were home, but she was buried in her lab working on a better version of wolfsbane. Soon after Boxing Day Harry gave Remus his mother's notes on the subject of werewolves. It was another piece falling into place.

Harry and Luna spent 5 days at the clan's grounds. In that time the General ran Harry into the ground and made sure that he was keeping up on the conditioning and gave him more conditioning training to run through each day. The General ran through the list of kicks and punches that he wanted the boy to perfect before they moved on. Though he wouldn't say anything to the boy, he was impressed with the progress the boy had made. He had thought the boy would have slacked off at the magic school, but it looked like he hadn't.

Luna ran through more meditative techniques with her grandmother. She asked about the brief possession and her grandmother told her that it should happen again. The spirits were frightened of Harry and now knew better than to think they could get to him by going through her. The children were not pleased with that response but their wasn't much they could do with it at the moment.

Once their time at the clan was up, they decided it was time to make one more trip. They were going to see the Flammels.

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Nicolas Flammel was a seemingly middle aged man. He was nondescript with just a small amount of gray hair at the temple. His lovely wife, though had gone silver long before they had started to take the elixir of life. She was his angel trapped in time.

The day was just like any other, she was in the kitchen making lunch and he was reading the daily paper, when a knock at the door surprised them both. They lived in a very remote part of the world, so remote in fact that the only visitor they ever got was their many times great granddaughter when she decided to come see them, which wasn't often. He was the last of their line. Not many people knew where they lived, their granddaughter was one of three that did. They were waiting for the world to forget them and once it did, they would integrate themselves back into the community for a time just to disappear again.

Nicolas got up, went to the door and opened it. He was not afraid of admitting to gaping slightly at the sight of two young children waiting on the other side.

"I hope your lovely wife prepared enough lunch for everyone." The girl murmured, "Hello Mr. Flammel."

The boy looked bemused at her. "Luv you said that backwards."

"Did I? Hmm, thank you for inviting us in." She said again as she stepped inside.

"Yes please do..." he murmured indistinctly, entirely bemused about the whole situation.

"I apologize for my wife, she's already had this conversation and forgets she needs to have it aloud the 2nd time, which can cause disjointed communication."

"Wife? A bit young to be married."

"Perhaps. My name is Harry Potter and this is my wife Luna Potter nee Lovegood. We came to return something of yours to you that we're fairly certain was taken without your permission."

"Oh? Well my name is Nicolas Flammel and the woman in the kitchen is Pernelle, the light of my eye."

"That's lovely." Luna murmured as she flitted about looking at the interesting odds and ends that were scattered about the room. "Harry you should remember to say things like that to me." Harry watched her with a fond eye and the man known as Nicolas smiled. He knew that look, it was the same look he gave his wife after 600 odd years of marriage.

"So what brings you children here?" Nicolas asked as his wife brought out the pot of stew. Magically carrying 4 sets of bowls and spoons. She set down the stew and barely twitched her wand to set down the dishes and spoons. Luna happily sat down as Perenelle dished out the soup.

"Tea please, honey for me, sugar and cream for Harry." Luna answered to the question that had yet to be uttered. Perenelle didn't even blink at the request as she summoned the tea set from the kitchen.

"Help yourself." She said as she sat down next to her husband.

"Albus Dumbledore has decided that he has the right to set game by his rules, but I grow tired of people deciding that they can dictate my life." Harry said as he too sat down.

"Albus always did have a sense of entitlement. Granted it was backed by the fact he has always been magically stronger than most of the people around him and when someone comes around that can upset that he can get a bit high handed and close minded." Perenelle spoke. "You are young yet, what do you know of such things?"

"I play by a different set of rules." Harry stated as he let the shadows rise up until they ripples just beneath the surface. Nicolas took in a sharp breath. Pernelle looked on curiously and Luna continued to eat the stew.

"I knew a boy who could do that once, a boy that was afraid of the power he could wield. You do not seem afraid." Nicolas whispered as he remembered days from long ago.

"To quote a book I've once read 'Fear is the mind killer.' There is no need to be afraid of my own power, a power I can control...it does not control me...however there is an instinctual quality to it that only helps me in the end. Are you afraid?"

Nicolas looked him straight in the eyes, "I have never feared Death."

"Then why did you make the philosopher's stone?"

A bitter laugh escaped the man, "I created the stone so that I could save my wife from dying. Once it worked, I too drank the elixir it created because I too was dying at the time. The plague was rampant and we had both come down with it. Magicals are not immune to disease and we were dying. Perenelle was further along than I was.

"In the end we lost our entire family save our eldest son who had been living in France with his bride at the time. Once we were healthy again, we didn't think about the stone for some time, we were just happy that we could see another day with each other. It wasn't until we had word of our son's passing that we realized that some 50 years had gone by and we hadn't aged a day. I have always lost myself in my research and barely noticed the time pass by. Perenelle isn't much better. Further research confirmed that the elixir created from the philosopher's stone gave the drinker longevity of life. We didn't suspect that we stumbled upon immortality until two centuries had past and we had stood frozen in time as the world moved forward." Nicolas sighed, "A common misconception about the stone is that you have to keep drinking the elixir. This is something we continuously fed into the myth. It was the only way to keep it safe. We don't have to keep drinking it. The last taste that we had was that day I created it. The only other person we have ever allowed with our consent to drink the elixir was our great-granddaughter. She drank it but had to continue to drink it, it was a half-life cursed, much like drinking the blood of a unicorn. She decided to stop drinking it after she watched her children die and realized that she didn't want to stick around. She aged quickly and passed away peacefully once she embraced the idea of death. Meanwhile we are still hear, still protecting the stone."

Harry pulled out the stone and the Flammel's eyes widened, "How did Dumbledore get his hands upon this stone?"

"How did you get it?" Nicolas demanded.

"It wasn't hard to steal it back, Dumbledore puts too much faith in his magic and protections, forgetting that there is always someone better."

"Would that be you?" Nicolas asked, his voice drier than the Sahara.

"I am good at breaking through things, its a side affect of my bloodline. I will probably be much better at him with magic one day, but that day is still in the future. I just have the advantage of knowing certain things, which makes me able to predict the actions of the people around me."

"What are you going to do with the stone?"

"Give it back to its rightful owners. I have no need for it. I do not wish to live forever."

"You are young yet." Nicolas murmured as Harry placed the stone within his hand. He looked at the stone for a moment and then smiled as he crushed it into dust. "Thank you for giving me faith once more. This was only a prototype. One that I had made with Albus when he was a boy studying the 12 uses of dragon's blood. The boy had been curious about alchemy and I showed him a couple of things, but it was something that he did not completely understand. It is an old art that has fallen into disuse. My wide and I are a part of a very small group of people capable in this world of practicing it. It is a steady combination of magic and science, before both took off in radically different areas past the dark ages."

"Alchemy was never meant to follow into the new age of wands." Luna said as she pushed her plate back. "The stew was very good. Thank you."

"You're welcome. You are welcomed to more. There is plenty." Pernelle said.

"No thank you."

"You are right. Alchemy was not meant to follow into the age of wand wielding wizards. It was a dying art even when I was practicing it and now people barely know anything but the myths that are still circulating around it. The philosopher's stone is a myth. I destroyed the original stone when my great granddaughter died. We are still bound to this existence for now. Maybe one day Death will look favorably upon us and take us into its arms, but until that day we will continue to live here in peace."

Harry frowned, "No, you still have a role to play. Its why Death's embrace can't touch you right now. When the time comes you'll know what to do. Luna its time to go. Aunt Petunia is probably about to have a cow because we've been gone for so long." Luna got up and took Harry's hand. Before the two adults could say anything more, the shadows rose up and they were gone.

Nicolas and Pernelle looked at each other. "You felt that right?"

"Yeah, I never thought I'd live to see the day that the Master of Death would come into being."

"There are forces working here that are beyond the normal scope of things."

"Husband, I believe that we may receive the ultimate gift after all, after all this time, it'll be nice to rest."

Nicolas gathered his wife within his arms, "It'll be nice, but no matter what I don't regret saving your life all those years ago."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

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New Years eve brought an interesting night into the Potter household. Harry had almost forgotten that Neville was coming for the rest of term and whereas he has told his Aunt in passing, he had forgotten to remind her of his arrival. Sirius was sitting on the recliner when the door bell rang and the children were resting in their room. Petunia was downstairs in the shop and Remus was helping her. Jasmine had kicked him out of the apartment temporarily because she was tired of his OCD cleaning tendencies.

Sirius sighed as he got up and opened the door to find a young boy on the other end. The boy looked so much like Alice Longbottom that he was left gaping. Neville was in much the same state, after all he remembered the news stories of when Sirius has escaped from Azkaban and then declared dead a week later. Apparently rumors of his death had been slightly exaggerated. He was going to kill Potter.

"I'm sorry...I must have the wrong house." Neville stammered out, which shook Sirius out of his revere.

The man sighed, "Who are you here for?"

"Harry Potter."

Sirius sighed, "That boy...no you're in the right place. Come in...I promise that its not what you think or could be thinking."

"Ummm...okay." The boy was hesitant to cross the thresh hold, but did so anyway. You only lived once after all and he was sorted into the house of the brave, though he felt a bit foolish after the door closed behind him.

"Take a seat, I'll go get Harry and Luna." Sirius waved over to the couch as he shut the door and then went to go get the children.

It wasn't long until Harry went to great Neville. Luna had decided to sleep more.

"Well Potter, are you going to explain?" Neville asked, all stammering gone now as he something to focus his ire on.

"Hey Neville, yeah...I forgot to warn you about my father."

"Father!?"

Harry nodded, "That is a very long and complicated story, are you sure you want to know about it?"

Neville nodded, "If I am what Luna keeps telling me I am, I am going to need to know about it."

Harry sighed, "Okay." So he told him. Told him about his mother and her being a catalyst, how she had become the blood sister of Sirius black and later his bonded along with James Potter. How even though he was biologically James' son, he was also Sirius' son. Harry explained how his mother had set it up so that Neville would be the shield for Harry's sword, how he would be the general of his armies. He explained his bond with Luna and how that affected some things and not others. How Sirius was sent to Azkaban without any sort of trial. He told him how his aunt had helped Sirius escape and how it had been planned by his mother. When he was done speaking Neville was looking at him in awe akin to shock.

"Your mother was flippin' crazy."

"Yes she was."

"Wow so this is really happening?"

"Yes."

"We're eleven."

"Yes."

"Wow, so what's the end game?"

"The Dark Lord is going to come back, the Headmaster who plays at being the Light Lord is going to try to make me fight him. I will not fight for the light and their bias ideas of right and wrong...that will only cause a much bigger problem in the end. Life is rarely so simple." Harry ran a hand through his head and debated a moment before continuing. "I have seen a future of death and destruction because the wizards are living in a stagnant world and are not moving forward. I aim to either change that by destroying this old system by removing those in perceived power or I will bring the world to its knees and watch it burn and then rise from the ashes like a phoenix."

"Isn't that much the same thing?"

"Is it? Maybe, but things will change and I want you by my side."

Neville looked at Harry and then silently contemplated his answer. "I get the feeling that I never really had a choice."

"There is always a choice."

"Is there? I think the choice was made for me the moment my mother made a bargain with yours. I will join you Potter because I get the feeling that you are the only hope we have. I understand the stagnation as I see it in everything around me. My gran is a perfect example of something living in the past. Its time to bring this world kicking and screaming into the new age."

"Good. We start now. Lets get changed. I have some new things to show you and we have some time before Aunt Petunia fixes dinner."

"I hate you Potter."

"I know." Harry smirked and Neville gave a quick turn of his lips. Neville had already decided to follow him unto the end, but now he understood why. Harry was right. The world needed to change and the self proclaimed lords needed to go.

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Once the holidays were over, it seemed like before anyone knew it, it was the end of 2nd term. The 2nd half of term was quiet, almost too quiet. The headmaster was confused as to why the Potter child wasn't more curious. He had tried to get him to follow the clues that he had left around. The only ones who got ensnared by the game was the Weasley child and muggle born child but oddly enough they had stopped when the Potter child told them not to worry about it, it wasn't for them, let the adults handle it. This had perplexed the man. The boy was showing strong leadership qualities but he also seemed to be submissive to the authority around him. He didn't know what to make of it. He also didn't know what to make of his little wife. She had not been part of the plan and it was difficult to work her in. She would have to go, but he hadn't figured out a way to make her disappear as of yet without endangering Harry. Their lives were tightly entwined to each other.

Before term ended he got a letter from an old friend that he'd thought he'd never hear from again. It simply said: Child you are playing with fire. Be weary as you will get burned, the Philosopher's stone has been destroyed by my hand. The one you have is a decoy, ask next time before you go taking what it not yours. -Flammel

He had hoped to lure Tom to the school as a challenge for Harry but it looks like the spirit never made it. Severus had reported that Quirrel had seemed like the likely suspect but he had not done anything too suspicious and had resigned at the end of the year, not even waiting for the end of term feast.

The headmaster was slightly disappointed to award Slytherin the cup this year, but they had one the race. Gryffindor had come in third behind the Ravenclaws with Hufflepuff a close forth. The hall politely clapped when it was awarded and everyone bid ado to another year gone by.

What the Headmaster didn't know was that Harry had threatened Quirrel with the power of the shadows. The spirit attached to him had been asleep at the time and did not know about the encounter until he attempted to steal the stone. In its anger, the spirit destroyed its host leaving naught but ash behind. Harry and Luna has cleared up the mess and had made it seem that Quirrel had just decided to leave. They had wanted to sow the seeds of doubt within the old fool's mind. It was working, but very slowly. Soon the old fool in the tower would begin to question the decisions that he had made and by the time the spirit regained its former power, it would be too late for anyone to back out and the children would no longer be children and checkmate would be within reach.

So time moved on.

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Cheers

Leave me a line on your way out!

-Jack