Harry Potter, Naruto 1. Chapter 1 - First Impressions

**Author's note: **Inspiration for this story came from reading Perfect Lionheart's Chunin Exam Day and wondering what they might choose to do if they went to the Potterverse. It is **highly** recommended to read that story first as this is a sequel. A reasonable effort has been made to contact him to get specific permission for this work beyond the blanket permissions I had read somewhere, but no reply was received. If he has any issues with my decision, he is welcome to contact me via PM.

A big thank you goes out to my beta's. Without their long hours of hard work, this story would be much the poorer. They have helped point out plot holes to fix, told me when I rambled on, and generally kept this story from becoming completely unreadable. Any mistakes you find are my responsibility, but I do want to credit in chronological order, Slicerness (ffn: 1501706), CloudZen (ffn: 894440), and Himura Battousai.

Lastly, a reminder to my readers. This story has points of difference from canon which is why it is labelled as AU.

**Disclaimer: **The following work is fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by J. K. Rowling, and characters from the Naruto world, trademarked by Kishimoto Masashi. No ownership of their work is assumed or implied. This work is strictly for entertainment purposes and is not part of the official story line. All associated with this work are not profiting from the creation and or publication of this work. Any issues or questions regarding the publication of this work should be directed to the author or his specified representative.

**Chapter 1 - First Impressions**

_People will often tell you that first impressions are important. They will also tell you "Don't judge a book by its cover", implying that these same first impressions can be deceptive. A contradiction, one might think, and yet, both can be right at once. It's one of those meetings that meant so much for their worlds._

* * *

Naruto looked up as one by one his wives stepped into the chamber, dressed for battle. They had said all their goodbyes to their children, friends and allies, made arrangements so that the transition would be as painless as it could be when his mother and father took over the alliance for however long they would be gone from the Elemental nations. Now, it was time.

They had spent the years well, he thought, over 50 years since the chaos that washed over their world as the Kitsune Clan at last left the Time Loops. They had hunted down Akatsuki and wiped out all resistance from Sound, they had left their mark on the landscape, literally in many cases, and certainly politically across the world. Now, while their bodies were still young thanks to the Kyuubi's gift, they had grown restless, looking for adventure, wanderlust growing more urgent.

It was Hinata, his first love, who had idly suggested they look into the basis of their technology. When the others pointed out that they still had no idea know how it worked - they just summoned it in from other worlds - she asked the next logical question, "Why don't we go there and ask them?"

Naturally, it was impossible, but that just meant that no one had done it yet, and that meant they had something to research, finding or inventing a seal that would transport them to one of the worlds that made the radios they still used only sparingly, since they had tried inventing a summoning technique for the books, and only succeeded in receiving texts that were too technical for them. The writers made assumptions of their readers' prior understanding that, in their world likely were not a big deal, but for the Kitsune clan it blocked all further progress.

At last, their clones had found a destination that was just right. No strange dust clouds day and night, air was good, and while it rained a lot and a bit on the cool side, well, they'd certainly dealt with worse.

"Are we all ready? Once we step through, we're committed." Naruto announced.

A firm chorus of affirmatives was his reply. Naruto's clones took the lead through the portal, diving in and establishing a perimeter, before Naruto himself, then his wives, and a rearguard of clones bringing up the rear just as the portal closed behind them now that the chakra sustaining it drained away.

His earlier thoughts about the rain seemed to be prophetic as he took in his surroundings. The portal had brought them to an uninhabited area, not a soul in sight, though he did note the regular borders to the otherwise open fields in the distance. "Well, this sure looks like a boring world."

* * *

Naruto reflected to himself seven weeks later that yet again, first impressions were both right and wrong. Yes, there were few people in the valley where they arrived but the world teemed with them, even this small island nation had tens of millions of people, most in cities larger than they had dreamed possible. Yes, the world they lived in _looked _rather boring, but there were so many things around that were new to them, starting with their means of transport. These 'cars' and 'planes' were fascinating, the latter of which he recognised from that book on flying he'd found during the Loops. Cars though, they were fun! He had even gotten to drive one on a quiet country road reaching nearly 60 miles per hour, clones on the lookout so none of these police would notice. It was such a shock moving so fast and so easily.

The police and general regulation of this country, England, were also a shock, and he was still ambivalent about them. On the one hand, they did keep things peaceful enough but he was enough of a ninja and a free soul that they unsettled him at a basic level. He and his wives had forged various papers to create new identities, something he was glad they already had experience doing as the sheer number of documents - not to mention the number of places these documents needed to be filed - created another headache for the Clan. In addition, they had to choose new names since their old ones would be sure to draw extra attention, especially as this country didn't recognise polygamy, so they couldn't even all share the same new name. "Naruto Todd" he said quietly to himself, 'well, it could be worse, we got Todd's, Fox's and Hunter's. We ended up deciding to keep our first names, as unusual as they are, as a lot of the time we'll only be giving those out to friends, and friends won't care.'

Thanks to Naruto's crafting techniques they were able to make and sell various trinkets, clothes and other items to make a nice little sum of money for themselves, enough to buy this plot of land on the outskirts of a town in Surrey, and to cloak their construction of the house they built themselves. While they were not too sure they would stay here, it was a nice area, quiet, and allowed them to stay under the radar while they got their bearings. One of the best things about the Time Loops was that it helped cure them of impatience. They could spend as long as they needed learning the new fields, as long as they took it slow rather than get discovered. That would get messy, they were sure, if the government found people with their abilities... They didn't want to be lab rats, cannon fodder, on the run from or even at war with Britain. Far better, and easier, to take their time and look around.

Speaking of looking around, it was time for another of Naruto's walks through the town, tonight was Hinata's turn on his arm, while the rest of the wives stayed on their property, working on the buildings they were putting up or weaving or simply snuggling with a Naruto in front of an open fire. He took her hand and kissed it, then opened the door for Hinata, keeping an arm around her waist as they headed down the street.

He was quickly aware of the small child running, and a brief glance at Hinata showed she was too, and he nodded back, guiding their course into his path. '_If only this is the exuberance of a kid enjoying the snow, great, but I don't think we'll be that lucky, those footsteps, the heavy breathing, those are the signs of someone running in panic, and I never could let that go.'_

* * *

Harry Potter's day had been, simply put, a rollercoaster ride. It started with the usual screeching from his Aunt Petunia to get up, breaking him out of a nightmare about a flash of green light. Then it was time to get up, get yelled at more while he did a long list of chores, yelled at again for being dirty, '_Like I could help that after she made me weed the garden again'_ He had grumbled to himself. Then it was off to school without breakfast because he was 'too slow'. He considered himself lucky that he could eat in peace at the school most of the time, eating up whatever items he had snuck out of the kitchen on top of the school provided lunch, as long as his cousin Dudley didn't steal or ruin it first.

He was understandably nervous when the report cards were handed out. Despite his best efforts, he had no friends at school since, again, Dudley was all too happy to ruin that too, chasing away anyone who would talk to the smallest child in the school. However, Harry was cautiously happy about the rest of his report, he had tried his best in class and kept out of trouble, unlike Dudley who had been pulled up for bullying and whose classwork was at best mediocre. He was always mindful of Uncle Vernon's threats about what would happen if he did poorly or brought shame on the family with his freakish ways. With that to look forward to, Harry gave his best, and placed first in the class, there was even the prospect of being promoted ahead of his peers, something to make his Aunt and Uncle proud of him at last!

Only, he was wrong! They were far from proud, in fact, they were furious, blaming Harry for Dudley's own poor performance and unruly behaviour. Vernon even got out the belt that Harry had long dreaded, and unlike previous times, Aunt Petunia was so caught up in Dudley's tantrum that she remained silent when Vernon raised it against Harry, bringing it down again and again on his naked back. Harry had fought back the tears, but they escaped before Uncle Vernon finished whipping him, his meaty arm tired. Harry finally wriggled free and bolted out the door, his only thought to head 'anywhere but here' as he dashed for freedom.

He rounded another corner and bounced off the legs of the blonde man and fell back onto the grass, winded but uninjured, and looked way up at them. Their faces were still kind and warm even when gazing on a freak like him. They crouched down and the man held out a hand to help him up. Harry was confused why he felt so little fear of them, they _were _adults, after all, and so far only the school nurse and librarian had tried to help him, but there it was, he trusted them, in the instant way of a more normal child. He took the hand and stood up with their help.

"I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean to run into you, I'm so very sorry..." He rambled in his panic, desperate for them to believe him, for anyone to believe him really.

"Shhh, little boy, it's OK. What's your name?" The woman's voice, so kind, stopped his rambling in its tracks, and he blinked, confused, before her question penetrated.

"It's fre- er, Harry, ma'am, Harry Potter." The adults exchanged a quick glance, then the man nodded.

"I'm Hinata, and this is Naruto, Harry. Would you like to come home with us and warm up? You look so cold in those clothes, and we do want to help you." The woman's voice again seemed to fill his world, and he nodded blankly, holding their hands and walking between them on the road out of town, down towards where he had heard there was a new house, lights blazing in welcome as they approached.

Once he got inside, they guided him to a couch in front of a big fireplace, occupied by a hot fire, and gave him a hot chocolate, getting him to sip it rather than gulp as they had seen how thin he was and it called to their minds memories of starving children from poor villages. They waited, and soon enough Harry's tummy rumbled, giving them the excuse to feed him up. With the excuse that they had made too much, Harry agreed to accept the meal, enjoying a quiet and tasty dinner with people who made him feel welcome. Minutes after he finished the last bite, he felt his exhaustion at last, the adrenaline of his run now demanding its price, and Harry was guided through various corridors to a big room with an enormous bed, almost as large as the one his aunt and uncle had. Despite his half-hearted and three-quarters asleep protests, he was tucked into bed and was asleep moments later.

* * *

Out in the dining room, the Clan gathered in a meeting that contained more anger than even the Dursley household had ever seen. They had kept their emotions in check around poor Harry, but now they could finally release those barriers.

"How _could _they?! You saw the marks on him! And I've checked, he's far too small for his age, not surprising considering how thin he is! I bet those bastards didn't bother to feed him enough, let alone make sure he was eating the right foods." Tsunade ranted, aware even in her rage that the others were agreeing with her rather than objecting in any way. This was fortunate, as even after decades, her temper was volcanic and an eruption here could be disastrous.

"Plus, there's the way he gave his name. He was going to answer with something else at first, like his own name isn't what he was used to. With everything else, I'm worried that it was something cruel." Hinata added, pacing in her anger.

Anko added her own thoughts. "Much as we'd all like nothing better than to rip apart whoever did this to him, we have to look at more than just that. If we did that, there would be an investigation, and we can't be certain we'd survive it without something going wrong. Besides, as satisfying as it would be to use them as punching bags, it doesn't do what we want _most._ Giving that child a better life takes a higher priority. I know we've only just arrived here, but what does everyone think about taking Harry in and raising him ourselves? Surely we could do a better job than those animals!"

There was a moment of silence at this, it was well known by the Clan that Anko was one of the more bloodthirsty among them. For her to be recommending _against _a little payback was shocking enough to get them thinking again rather than just emoting. Upon a little thought, they saw the wisdom in this, the boy needed rescuing and no one else was stepping up to do the job. Well, this is what ninjas were for, doing the jobs that others were unable or unwilling to. Besides, the kid's pain called out to their parenting instincts, and he was obviously a good kid, polite to them even when they were strangers. He was worming his way into their hearts just by being himself.

Naruto looked around, taking the mood of those gathered and nodded. "Ok, so we'll take him in if we can. That's the mission, now how do we go about it?" He leaned back, letting the others start brainstorming how they wanted to do this, talking long into the night as they made, adjusted and discarded various plans.

Harry woke up slowly. Unlike his normal mornings there was no Aunt Petunia screeching or banging on his cupboard door, no having to huddle closer to his thin moth-eaten blanket for warmth, no pangs of hunger, only a luxurious sense of contentment as he gently awakened, gaining awareness, a comfortable sensation that fled as he woke up fully in a strange bed in a strange room, his clothes cleaned and mended and lying on a chair beside him. That's when the memories from last night flooded him, the report card, the belt, the running, the snow, the kind strangers taking him in and, wonder of wonders, _feeding him_!

Still, now he was worried, afraid that it would all go wrong; he had never had something go right for as long as he could remember. He took a deep breath and got out of bed, dressing in silence, and stepped out into the corridor, finding a bathroom and washing up before taking a vaguely remembered route to the kitchen where he saw nearly two dozen people sitting or standing around the table where breakfast was laid out. Despite himself, his mouth watered and tummy growled and he blushed, trying to turn away before anyone saw him.

His efforts were for naught, that kind woman from last night was behind him, smiling softly at him, and encouraging him to head to the table. "Come on, Harry, doesn't it smell good?"

He had to nod at such an obvious question. "It smells great! Oops I mean, yes, ma'am, it does smell good, thank you."

"Call me Hinata, please, Harry." She held his hand and helped him into a seat.

He ducked his head, and nodded, then looked at his plate. It was more food than he had ever been given, even more than last night, and everything looked delicious even if he failed to recognise what some of the dishes even were. He looked up in surprise some time later. "...I finished it all?" He said slowly, not totally believing it himself.

"Yes, you did, Harry, would you like some more? Oh, and I'm Naruto. If you like we can have the rest of the introductions when you've finished. There's plenty more if you're still hungry."

"Wow..." He ducked his head and managed to eat another small serving before having to give up, pushing his plate away, and thanking them for the food.

Hinata came back and again offered a hand, then took him around to meet everyone. So many names, but they smiled and said they were sure he would learn them all before he knew it. He was a touch confused at this; why would he get the chance? Still, he would never turn them down, they were so nice to him, maybe they would be his friends. He sure hoped so.

Hinata and a few of the others led him to another room filled with toys, sitting down 'so you don't have to strain your neck looking up' they told him, and smiling as he played with them, shy and careful as can be at first, then loosening up as time went by. He had so much fun, he was shocked when he was asked if he wanted lunch yet.

He nodded, then shyly brought up his relatives. "If I don't get home soon, I'll never catch up on my chores, then they'll lock me in my... room again." His pause at the word 'room' would probably have gone unnoticed in another setting, but here it merely confirmed the ladies' impressions. They nodded imperceptibly, glad the Clan was already at work to rescue Harry.

* * *

Naruto walked up the short path to the door of the house. All the houses here were so uniform, it was almost surreal. He had already caught himself twice trying to dispel an illusion, even though he _knew _there was none here. It was just an ordinary Saturday morning before Christmas, and all the ordinary families living in the ordinary street had their decorations up. Naruto rang the bell, Hinata at his side and using what he called her 'royal Hyuuga' mode. The angry voices inside the house cut off as if with a switch, and a thin, long-necked woman answered the door.

"Yes? What do you want?" She asked snappishly, and Naruto bit back his natural reaction to her confrontational attitude, hands carefully not approaching any of his hidden weapons.

"Good morning, ma'am, my wife and I would like to come in and discuss some matters, if you'd be so kind." While his words were polite enough, his bearing and tone conveyed clearly that this was not a request.

Petunia flushed slightly in anger, before allowing them inside, closing the door before turning on them. "And just what is it you would like to 'discuss', I ask you?"

Naruto and Hinata effortlessly guided Petunia to the living room, Hinata subtly putting up some silencing seals, before they took seats, their 'hosts' again flushing at the insult but somehow unable to voice it just yet. "We want to discuss what it will take to ensure that Harry will leave your house and live with us."

As expected, Vernon exploded at that "And what would you want with a freak like him! That no good-"

For all their prior planning, they hadn't counted on just how much anger they'd feel at this point, and their Killing Intent flooded the room. Only for an instant, but that was more than enough time to shut up Vernon completely. He looked like he was on the edge of a heart attack, in Naruto's expert opinion.

"Now, let's talk this out calmly, shall we? We want to take him in, and it seems obvious enough you want to get rid of him. Surely we can come to an arrangement that we can all live with. So much better than an arrangement that you can't live with, yes?" Naruto smiled coldly.

Vernon and Petunia nodded quickly at that, and now that the initial dominance play was out of the way, Vernon finally engaged his brain, the same one that won him his high position at Grunnings despite his less than stellar personality, and got down to business, negotiating with the couple. In exchange for various concessions, not the least of which were continued breathing privileges for him and his wife, they agreed to aid the young couple's efforts to adopt Harry, and to allow Harry to live with them, taking with him the garbage... that is, the heirlooms that belonged to his dearly departed mother, along with any other items that were his. As part of the deal, they would have nothing more to do with Harry than was needed for helping the transfer of legal guardianship, and encourage their son Dudley to avoid Harry entirely. They would also have certain secrets kept that way with the aid of the young couple, so long as they lived by their end of the deal. While they didn't get any money for their troubles - as Vernon had attempted - they consoled themselves at least they could live with this. They would be well rid of the freak.

* * *

When Harry went to lunch, he was assured by Hinata and the others that, 'No, your relatives won't be angry with you.' He was doubtful, but his empty stomach was protesting and already he knew better than to turn down free food when it was offered, so he went along without much fuss.

At the table he was surrounded by welcoming faces, and once he finished a small plate, before he could be excused, Naruto asked him to stay there as they had some news to discuss.

"You see, Harry, we have a question for you. We paid a visit to your relatives this morning, and found some common ground between us. We want you to come live with us, if you want to. What do you think?" Hinata asked gently, trying despite her emotions to keep from forcing him to answer the way she wanted. She needn't have worried, because after Harry pinched himself, he broke out into the biggest smile they had yet seen from the boy and launched himself at her, latching on with surprising strength.

* * *

Harry settled into his new life, and new family, fairly well, though not without incident. He broke a glass and had to be pulled away from picking up the pieces. His flinch told the Kitsunes more than enough about what he expected from their touch, and they had to go more gently, easing him in and gradually getting him used to friendly touches, hugs, and other motherly signs of affection. Punishing him was even harder for the normally boisterous Clan, used to giving quick but effective punishments, then being able to forget about the infraction and move on. Instead, Harry seemed always to expect an incredibly harsh punishment for each and every infraction, real or imagined, and they knew they would have to tread carefully, letting him build up his trust in them, and confidence in himself, before they could really visit the subject with him. They asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and his heartfelt reply nearly broke their hearts. "What more could I ask for, when a loving family is all I ever wanted?" They still ended up giving him some warm winter clothing, since he needed it, and his look of pure joy warmed them right through.

By the time he went back to school, Harry had filled out very slightly, the regular nutritious meals doing their job and a little more towards getting him healthy, and the exercise program they started was helping him to keep the muscles he should be building rather than turning the extra food to fat. Harry didn't mind the exercise, since it was both a family event and a way to keep himself from becoming fat, which he connected with being like Vernon. Naturally the Clan zealously monitored his health and growth while doing their best to give him the illusion of privacy. The amount of care and attention he needed and deserved touched their hearts, and they soon loved him like their own son.

Nearly four months later Harry had grown taller and heavier, quickly approaching the norms for his age, and though he had yet to make a friend at school, due to Dudley's intimidation, he was happier and coming out of his shell a little more each day. He walked taller after he was told by his mothers that they would be moving to a new town over summer, and he would get to go to a new school with new friends in the autumn. That's how he saw Naruto and the others by then, as his family, calling them his mums and dad.

When April rolled around, a very old man in ridiculously out of date clothes walked up to the front gate. His demeanor told of his confidence, his smile and twinkling eyes designed to make his audience trust him. Unseen eyes watched his every move and dismissed his manipulations as crude and obvious, as Albus casually strolled along as if he had not a care in the world, then his face got positively gleeful as he pressed the electric doorbell.

Naruto answered the door, and the old man introduced himself. "Good afternoon, young man, I am Albus Dumbledore. May I come in?" His bearing showed his every expectation that an invitation would be forthcoming, and having no real reason yet to refuse him, Naruto showed him through to the sitting room where Hana and Yakumo were waiting, engaged in idle chatter exactly as if they'd been there for a while rather than arriving the second Naruto allowed the stranger into the public area of their house.

Naruto waved their unusual guest to a seat and took a high-backed one himself, his ladies in matching seats to either side, after introductions were concluded. "So what seems to be the matter, Mister Dumbledore?"

Albus covered his slight nod by stroking his beard, as if organising his thoughts before speaking. '_I was right,'_ He thought to himself, '_they must be Muggles if they've never heard of me. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be polite. Perhaps they'll see reason and I'll be spared the burden of having to use magic on yet more of their kind.'_ "Ah yes, it came to my attention that you have recently taken a young boy, Harry, into your home."

Naruto smiled, "Why yes we have taken Harry in, but I wouldn't call it recent, that was months ago. Why would you bring that up now, _sir_?"

Albus noted every word, drawing his own conclusions, as he replied "I am simply trying to make sure of the boy's welfare, you see." Albus' eyes twinkled slightly and he continued, "Surely the child's safety is the paramount concern."

Hana leaned forward, "Interesting that you should say that, _sir_."

"Whatever do you mean?" Albus enquired.

"I mean that he's been living with us for four months without a single visit from you, _sir_. If Harry's safety were your paramount concern, surely you would have visited us the very day he left those _people_?" Hana held back most of her antipathy towards any mention of the Dursleys, though anyone could hear how she felt about them.

"I am a very busy man, young lady, with many responsibilities."

"Perhaps you should think about cutting back then, _sir,_ if those 'responsibilities' keep you from your 'paramount concern' for months, or is it years, I wonder. When _did _you last act upon your concern for Harry? And so many demands upon your time? It can't be good to put such a strain on your body at your age."

"I might just surprise you, miss." Albus' eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Missus."

"I'm sorry?"

"I am a married woman." Hana smiled and flashed her wedding ring.

"Indeed, it seems today is full of surprises. For instance, I had hoped to check on Harry and return him to his family already. It was quite a surprise to me to hear he hadn't been seen at home in some time."

"Ah, you seem to be operating under a misapprehension. He _has _been with his family, indeed he has never been happier, or safer, than he has been as of late."

"Would you show me through that I may see him myself?" Albus asked as politely as he could.

"Are you calling her a liar, _Mr_ Dumbledore?" Naruto's bearing seemed to shift as he allowed a fraction of his emotions to show.

"Not at all!" Albus hurried to say, "I simply wanted to see for myself that I may confirm her words are every bit as true as I believe."

"Well I must inform you that your trip has been in vain." Hana replied with obviously false sorrow. "Harry has just finished school for the day and is, right now, being escorted by my sister home. Then it is time for his homework. His schedule is too busy right now to drop it for an unplanned visit from a stranger."

"I assure you, madam, that Harry will be perfectly safe with me." Albus smiled benevolently at her, one of his most practiced expressions.

"You say that almost like you'd take him home with you, sir, and surely we couldn't allow that, he's such a loveable young child. Also, you must agree that we are providing him with a good home here, and I'm sure he would be most happy to remain with his family." Yakumo took the opportunity to gesture to the warm, friendly surroundings then, smiling at the reminder and also, if truth be known, at seeing such a normally confident person flounder, especially after the hints he was dropping that he wanted to remove Harry from their home and their lives. '_Over his dead body!'_ She thought privately. "And with such beautiful, caring and loving women, who all look to him as a son, around to raise him, surely you can see any boy would be happy." Naruto grinned boyishly, always happy for a chance to praise the loves of his life.

"I have to admit, that does go a ways towards easing my mind. Still, I would like to see the boy myself. Perhaps I could return this weekend and see him then?"

Naruto nodded, "Perhaps, he can be a very busy boy, and I wouldn't want to raise false hopes. Why don't you give us your address and phone number, and we can arrange a time later. After, naturally, you assure us that we can trust him to be safe around you. His safety _was_ your paramount concern, was it not? You wouldn't entrust a child's safety to someone so cavalier about the responsibility that they'd allow a stranger to see him on their very first visit, would you?"

"No, of course not."

"So you can see that it would be foolish in the extreme for us to allow you to meet him at this stage. In time, if you prove trustworthy, we would be happy to allow Harry to meet such a devoted.. person as yourself. Unfortunately, you caught us at a bad time." Naruto and his ladies rose, clearly ending the meeting.

"Of course, my apologies, Mr Todd, Mrs Todd, Miss Todd." Albus bowed to each as he named them, then was shown the door. "Until next time, Mr Todd."

"Goodbye, Mr Dumbledore."

Albus felt their eyes on him all the way up the street, and inwardly he was fuming. How had a couple of youngsters barely old enough to wed manage to outplay him, of all people? If only he had more time to ponder this, but he truly was as busy as he had claimed. Even now, he was running late for a meeting with Minister Bagnold, where he expected she would enquire yet again if he was willing to run for Minister himself. He would turn her down, again, citing some responsibility to his current positions and not having the time to run the Ministry as well. The truth was that he had more than enough control over the Ministry through his own channels and that holding the title was therefore not only useless to him, but would only hinder him because he would then be officially blamed when something went wrong. He sighed deeply, his work was never done. He Apparated away with a quiet 'pop', unaware of all the hidden watchers catching him in the act.

A few clones popped, relaying the information back to the originals, memories that prompted an immediate Clan meeting. The Kitsunes agreed, they had confirmation of this Headmaster Dumbledore's letters. Magic was real. The time was fast approaching to start training Harry to defend himself, and they would use any means they had to, to keep their boy alive. Besides, he was already one of the family, why not bring him in all the way?

* * *

The meddling old man, as he was dubbed, returned a few more times over the following two months, being delayed and diverted each time he tried to see Harry, and oddly disappointed at the end of each visit, more at his failure, if their guess was right, than in being unable to see their son. In the end, they felt it didn't matter unless he managed to follow them to their new location.

For his part, Albus was determined to look on the bright side. If these people had managed to keep _him_ from the boy, despite use of subtle suggestion and compulsion charms, always intercepting him before he could even find the boy, then that would protect him well enough. And with them so obviously Muggles, they wouldn't contaminate the boy with his fame in the Wizarding World as the Boy-Who-Lived. At least some of his plan was still on track. He was sure he could salvage things, after all, he was Albus Dumbledore, greatest wizard alive. Besides, the price of failure was too high to be contemplated. The entire world would be ground under the heel of a resurgent and immortal Dark Lord. No, it would never come to that, he would see to it!

* * *

Harry was excited, they had just moved to their new home, a big place with a _forest_ around it, and he was going to get to play in it, along with lots of other new activities. First, he had to have some surgery, which was scary, but his family had assured him he'd be ok, they'd done this hundreds of times, and it would make him healthier than ever! Then, he'd get to play and learn lots of new things.

His family had also changed, they got brand new jobs, they said, and even hired on people from their new town to work for them! It sure was a big change, people waving at him like any other boy and even smiling on occasion. Some came up to his parents, thanking them for what they were doing, though Harry wasn't sure exactly why. Still, the people here seemed a lot friendlier than back in Little Whinging, and Harry was looking forward to making new friends. Tonight though, he had the surgery, and he didn't like needles. Strange, but his parents didn't have needles around. He smiled in relief, maybe this wouldn't be as painful as he thought.

* * *

The Kitsunes sat around the living room, Naruto clones snuggling with his wives' clones, the originals still holding vigil around the sleeping Harry.

"We _lost_ him!" Tsunade cried, guilt openly displayed on her face. "He _died_ tonight, heart stopped entirely, thanks to my procedure, my arrogance!"

"We didn't lose him! And how exactly was it your procedure or your arrogance? Tell me that? You didn't invent the procedure, and hell, we've each performed it enough times we could do it in our sleep! No, there was something different this time, and it looks like it's this magic that did it. I've never even heard of a scar that screamed and pulsed out black smoke! There's enough guilt here for everyone, we were all there monitoring him and it still snuck by us. The most important thing to focus on is that we got his heart restarted and it's been behaving normally ever since." Anko soothed Tsunade, or tried to. She knew from experience that none of them would be ok for a while after such a scare, though lovely Naruto, he would be there for them every step of the way.

Shizune nodded firmly at that, "Yes, and Harry's already healthier than we had any right to expect. My best guess is that the scar was poisoning him in a way and his body has had to fight it all this time, or rather whatever was in it. Now that that smoke has gone, the scar has responded nicely to standard medical chakra, and it won't be visible short of an intensive search. That's something to be thankful for, especially with how kids can react to anyone different from them. Between the Uzumaki bloodline, and the removal of the obvious disfigurement, tonight has been a definite success, even if it was not up to our usual standards in surgery," she finished with a nod to Tsunade, acknowledging that there were serious problems.

Hinata looked at the time. "We should head in there, let the Bosses get to bed and rest while we stand watch." The Naruto holding her nodded, and dispelled after standing up, before they walking into the room they set up for Harry's recovery and started their shift.

* * *

Harry woke up the following morning, feeling an odd mix of pain and weakness with a new sense of vitality. Before he'd even opened his eyes one of his mothers was there, holding a glass of water ready for him to drink, and when he finished it he looked around him, seeing the concern and love on the faces of his family.

"What happened?" He rasped, throat still sore from whatever they did.

"The surgery was a complete success, giving your body more energy and vitality, but there were a couple of surprises. You're fine now, and we're going to make sure you stay that way!" Anko assured him, still caressing his head protectively. "However, we think it's time to let you in on some things that we haven't told you before. You see, you are a very special boy, and you have something inside you that makes you different, a gift. You have magic, Harry, and it seems while it has helped you survive while you were with those people, and helped your recovery after this surgery, it also has a cost. Your magic didn't like your body being cut open, and it fought back. It's fine now, but during the surgery things would shake or move for no reason, and one point you scared us with how much it hurt your body. Just remember, we still love you, and you're part of the family, now more than ever."

"What do you mean?" Harry had to whisper, it was too painful to talk again.

"Well, the surgery was to give you another gift, one that all the family share. We call it chakra, and it allows us to do things like this." Anko smiled and then there was a ball of white something held in Anko's upraised hand.

"Cool, will I be able to do that too?" His last two words were more of a breathless whisper as his voice gave out completely.

"Yes, Harry, you are one of the family, and we'd like to train you to learn lots of these things. That's what we meant about the new activities and lessons here. Would you like that? We can teach you all sorts of fun and cool things, even things to protect yourself, now that you have the same gift as us."

Harry didn't have to think about it, he knew what he wanted, and his family was going to help him get there. His smile answered for him, brightening the room, and he went back to sleep, his exhaustion catching up with him.

The following days and weeks were filled with strange new activities, like Hinata-mum getting him to sit and do nothing, which she called meditation, Tayuya-mum taught him some beginner steps for playing the piano and flute, and her and Anko-mum and Kin-mum giving him new toys to play with, though they watched him to make sure he didn't hurt himself on any of them.

His nights included weird dreams, dreams that seemed so real. He tried to copy the cool things he did in the dreams, and they worked! He asked his parents about it, they smiled and nodded, saying this was part of his training, and that they were very happy it was working, and how proud they were of him for how much progress he was making.

After the weird dreams had ended, which he was later told were 'Genjutsu' or 'Illusion techniques', they started him off on various ninja topics, some of which didn't seem like things ninja would need, like formal etiquette or the more academic things Hinata-mum and Sakura-mum taught him, but he always had fun with Sakura-mum, the school library had been his first refuge, and books didn't care who he was, they gave the same thing to whoever read them.

The only ones who didn't end up teaching him anything in particular that summer were Shizune, Tsunade, Hana, Temari and Kurenai, taking the time just to play with him, and he always enjoyed those times. The most significant event for Harry would be when he first made a Shadow Clone only a week after the dreams started, which is what they called a solid copy of Harry himself. He was shocked, but it worked. From that day, they encouraged him to keep a Shadow Clone going as long as he could, since the clone would learn just as he would and transfer those lessons as soon as it was dispelled.

At first, he (and his family) were confused when the Clone would learn the techniques, but when Harry tried them he would feel pain, even when copying exactly what his Clone had done. He kept up the training anyway, as it was fun and new and made his parents proud of him, and one afternoon, Tenten-mum came rushing in and drew a weird squiggle on the back of his neck. It felt cool for a moment, but after that, he could perform the various techniques without pain from his chakra use.

Harry's reward for all this was for his parents to step up the training, making it more intense, and he often crawled into bed exhausted early on, before his body adapted to the new workload. Still, he was happy, he could feel the changes inside him, he was getting stronger and faster, and thanks to the Clones, he still got plenty of time to have fun. He even loved learning to cook for his family. Not only did it give him more time with his father, but he loved the smiles on everyone's faces when they ate food _he _prepared, finally a chance for him to make them happy.

The new training in how to fight was painful at first, he kept falling when his stance was off or he was extra sloppy, but he had come to appreciate the wisdom of Yuugao-mum, pain _was_ an effective teacher, and he had the bruises to prove it! Anko-mum and Yugito-mum were also there, giving their own advice and even moving his limbs to demonstrate the movements needed.

Swordfighting was cool but scary, too. Seeing Yuugao-mum's demonstrations was awesome, but she also brought home how dangerous they could be. She told him "A sword is a tool, not a toy, and one day it could save your life. I will not have you swinging one carelessly, or disrespecting your tools. Take care of your tools, and they will take care of you, ok?" He nodded furiously, she was really scary, but soon settled down to teaching him, being much slower with this than with fistfighting, Taijutsu as she called it, explaining that the dreams did a better job teaching that so she could go faster.

He also got some of the promised training into creating light like Anko-mum had shown him, though he felt the way they started off was weird, including lessons that didn't make much sense at the time on chakra shape and nature, though they became more obvious as they tied that in with the various minor techniques they demonstrated for him.

Lastly, there was some Fuinjutsu as they called it, using chakra and ink to create fantastic effects. Initially he was dismayed with how much there was to learn before he could do anything cool, and he didn't really believe his dad's warnings about how dangerous it could be, until Tenten-mum took them out to the forest, letting him watch as she drew on a small bit of paper then _threw_ it away from her really hard, where the paper _exploded_! After that, well, it definitely got his interest!

"You like explosions? You really are just like other boys." Anko had said, chuckling.

"And quite a few girls," Naruto added with a grin.

Harry blushed, relieved that his new parents didn't think him a freak, wrapping himself in their acceptance and love.

It came as something of a relief when school started back. Sure he had the worry about meeting all those new people, but at least he wouldn't have to work as hard, right? Right? If he only knew...

* * *

_Reviews are welcomed. If you spot an error, please let me know via PM or review. Thank you for reading._


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Life

**Chapter 2 - A New Life**

Harry walked up to the gate of his new school arriving early to Park Mead Primary School, Naruto and Hinata on either side, and he was sure the rest of his family were watching from somewhere to see him start his first day. He noticed the easy smiles on his parents' faces as they met up with other parents, the pride they showed when they introduce him to the other families. It made his own smile that little bit more natural, and he relaxed, even managing to offer an occasional gesture to the other kids he met. Thanks to one of the more unsung but useful parts of his ninja training, he memorised the kids' names as they were introduced, something he was told would be invaluable when he tried to make friends later.

What Harry didn't know at the time was that many of the parents had told their kids to be nice to the new kid, as his parents were helping to boost the Cranleigh economy and seemed to be well off so they didn't want to get on the new family's bad side. Of course, not all the kids wanted to go along with this, but it was enough to help smooth his entry to their school.

On his first day, Harry introduced himself to the class, just over 30 new names; plus their teacher, Mr Hallett. Mr Hallett assigned him to a seat in the 2nd row, between two girls named Stephanie Melville and Michelle Roberts. He then started off with a quick recap of what they were taught the year before, and a summary of some of the topics he expected to cover this year. He was a very tall man, and he was quick to deal with kids making too much noise, but other than that the only notable trait Harry noticed was that he could be very enthusiastic about certain topics, talking for hours about one thing or another, only to get interrupted by the bell announcing the end of class (and freedom) for the kids.

At lunchtime, Harry talked to more of the kids, finding though that he liked the girls more than the boys so far; the boys wanted to compete and try dangerous stunts in the school playground, something that had no appeal to Harry after the summer he had spent getting his fill of cool and dangerous things. Though Harry later warmed up more to the boys in his class, he grew closest to the three girls, Michelle and Stephanie, his desk neighbors from before, and their best friend Ashley Banks, who now sat behind Harry when their teacher had changed the seating arrangement. He settled in, taking the 2nd spot in all his classes, and was always happy to study or spend time with any of his new friends.

* * *

Early in October, his teacher, Mr Hallett, asked to come by and visit his parents. Harry smiled and said he would let them know, but was sure that he would be welcome to drop by Saturday afternoon if that was good for him. A quick confirmation later, and the appointment was set.

When Mr Hallett dropped in and was brought into the nice warm living room, fire blazing away in the fireplace, he noticed that there were quite a few adults waiting for him. His jaw dropped, despite his best efforts, when he was informed just how many women lived here. "You're one lucky man!" He said softly to Naruto, who only smiled and nodded, grateful that Harry's teacher had such a restrained reaction. He didn't want to have to run damage control if the man had offended his wives.

A polite request for the man's discretion was quickly granted, and they settled down to business, the teacher seeking answers to why, and how, Harry so consistently placed second in every test, and the parents seeking the teacher's evaluation of Harry's performance. They deflected his questions with an off-the-cuff mention of how cruel kids can be to anyone different, so they had advised Harry to be careful not to show off as that could put off his friends or hurt them if he outshone them too much. "It seems Harry took our words to heart", Naruto smiled, "He's always been a good boy, never wanted to hurt his friends. We'll have to talk with their parents, I suppose, and see how they want to handle it."

"So you were aware he could do much better?"

"Oh yes, we've been giving him some extra lessons at home at his request. He's even volunteered to help out with the cooking from time to time. In fact, tonight is his night to help with dinner." Hinata added.

"Well, as long as he is reaching his potential, and he does get to have fun, I'm glad to say I see no reason for concern." Hallett replied with an honest smile. He hadn't wanted to risk offending the family that was doing such good things for the local economy, but he had put off the check as long as his conscience could stand already. "Please do let me know if you have any concerns or questions in future about the school or about Harry's performance."

"Of course. Now, would you like to stay for dinner? Harry expressed a desire to do something for the teacher who has already done so much to help him settle in and make new friends, so I know he'd be thrilled if you could stay."

"I do believe I'd like that, thank you very much." And the conversation drifted naturally over other topics from there, Mr Hallett letting slip certain hints about other families without really noticing, items that the Clan used to settle in better and ruffle fewer feathers.

* * *

Another incident took place the following Saturday morning. Harry was out walking to meet Ashley, Michelle and Stephanie at a park on their side of town when a masked man in black robes and a pointed hat came out of nowhere, shouting something at him. There was a bright green light, a rushing sound, and a brief feeling of disorientation. When Harry opened his eyes, he saw a lifeless Naruto where he used to be, that then puffed into a cloud of chakra smoke, only a Clone and not his real dad having taken his place.

He looked around for the madman that had tried to hurt him, but another Naruto clone was right there in front of him, hugging him, and whispering that the man had been taken back to their home to find out why. He asked Harry if he wanted to continue to his friends, or return home, though if he did go home, he wouldn't get to see the man. "We're not going to risk your health around anyone like that." Naruto had told him firmly, making Harry smile. "Whichever you choose, Harry, we will be around watching everything until we can be sure that it's over."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to ask any questions himself took most of the appeal out of going home, and while he wanted the comfort from his mothers, he didn't want to be around the madman. "I'll continue on, Dad, besides you have told me often enough never to keep girls waiting, right?"

Naruto grinned back at his son. "Indeed, it's a good rule to live by, especially as you get older."

"Thanks, Dad, I can make it from here." Harry said, knowing there was no way that Naruto or the others would actually leave him alone, but wanting that illusion for now while he thought things over.

* * *

Anko cracked her knuckles for effect as the came into the stark room set up for questioning the prisoner. Prisoner searched and disarmed? Check. Prisoner's body secured? Check. Chakra suppressing cuffs? They probably wouldn't matter, but check. Now for the fun stuff, making sure the prisoner knew they were serious.

She walked up menacingly towards the man sneering at her, whose age she estimated around mid-30s, and sank her fist into his gut, then backhanded him, coincidentally helping him straighten up and get much needed air. No point making this take longer than it had to, and she wanted answers quickly.

"Now that you know I am serious, and that you are in trouble, let's get this interrogation started. You want to live, and I want answers. If I get what I want, we'll see about letting you have what you want. If you're very good, you may even get out of here with all your limbs intact and have a pain-free existence, so now it is time for you to convince me.

"What is your name?"

The interrogation took a few hours, their prisoner never did give them his name, proving to be very uncooperative, so they eventually resorted to trying Yamanaka techniques, the passive listening ones weren't picking up much beyond that he thought them 'disgusting Muggles' whatever those were, and that he liked the looks of the Vixens, which was only fair enough, though he felt they should be kneeling at his feet in servitude.

Once they used the active techniques, they found out a few things. Firstly, mindwalking in the mind of an adult, hostile wizard was painful to both of them, and damaging to the wizard's mind. Secondly, they discovered a variety of trivia about the man's life, along with the more useful items, like the existence of this hidden society, who Albus Dumbledore was in more detail than just a useless title on his letters, that Harry was famous for stopping a "dark lord' then disappearing, and that the wizard they had tied up was one of the dark lord's followers, a Death Eater, trying to get vengeance. Oh, there were other things too, the blood status nonsense that reminded them too much of the Bloodline Purges in Mizu, the school Hogwarts that Dumbledore ran, Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, shopping districts for the magicals, impressions of the village Hogsmeade, the hospital St Mungo's, and so on, a lot of it jumbled together, along with names and faces of his friends, more of these bigots, and lastly, a thought that he was looking forward to meeting one of his friends after work the following evening and telling him about his hunt for the Boy Who Lived, along with the strong impression that he would be missed and tracked if he failed to show up.

Looking at the time, and their drooling prisoner, now bleeding slightly from the ears and nose, they had to come up with a plan fast. They didn't know what means these wizards had to track them down, and thankfully the brain damage would keep anyone else from finding out from their prisoner directly, but they couldn't risk killing or keeping him too long, and that meant making sure he was found by his own kind before any sort of organised search set out.

After some urgent discussions, it was decided to take him to St Mungo's and leave him there. They forced some cheap scotch down his throat, splashing more on his clothes, cleaned him thoroughly of any sign of the interrogation and secured him in the car. Naruto drove him there, keeping an eye out all the way for any more surprises, a clone making its way to the 'muggle' entrance and then performing a quick Replacement with their prisoner, leaving him there with no remaining evidence of how he got there, or with whom he had come in contact. Naruto drove away carefully obeying all the road rules, not wanting to be pulled over and possibly linking him to the Death Eater they had left comatose outside a hospital.

* * *

Harry, meanwhile, was having an interesting time of his own. The girls he went to meet ran late, and when they arrived, they just invited him back to meet a couple of their older friends, Elizabeth, who insisted on being called "Ella," and Meaghan, to play some games. Harry went along, happy to get new friends, and found that the day was going to be supervised by a teen named Sandra Middleton. She had a nice smile for him, and introduced him to Meaghan Best, who gave him a big smile and took him to the table. They were just serving lunch for the group, then they played a few different games. Over the afternoon, they talked and got to know each other a bit better, deciding that they would like to do it again, and spend time together at school. When they called it a day Harry thanked them for having him over and left with a wave, heading out of sight before using Body Flicker to get home quickly, aware that his parents would much rather that he was home, safe and sound soon.

The talk they had when he got home was scary but exciting; hearing about the new society, and some of its wonders. He also found out that he would be getting some extra training, lessons in botany and fashion from Ino-mum that would please his friends and lessons in things called ethics and philosophy from Isaribi-mum and Kin-mum that would help him stay worthy of his friends.

The following years were a lot quieter overall for Harry and his family. They built up their forestry business further, extending and expanding the forest for a number of purposes. It allowed them to hire on more locals to work for them, further cementing their place as accepted and respected members of the community, provided more income, which was useful in its own right, and allowed them cover to create a version of their beloved Forest of Death for the later training of Harry.

They also got involved in other local businesses, both for possible profits and to extend their revitalising efforts. They would much rather live in a happy and prosperous area than a depressed one, after all, and what was a little hard work to them? Their joy at acquiring an interest in a slaughterhouse was restrained in public. It wouldn't do for people to find out their main reason was to put a pre-teen boy to work slaughtering fully grown meat animals, after all, even - perhaps especially - if it was great training for combat. There were laws against that sort of thing, both child labor laws and against producing the types of child soldiers their own world churned out by the thousands. Harry was happy enough to work, and they did reward him for his efforts and progress, and that was good enough for the Kitsunes.

Speaking of Harry, he grew and improved steadily, able to maintain a second Shadow Clone shortly after his 7th birthday. More than enough excuse for another party in his parents' eyes. The following day, he asked if he'd get to learn any new subjects this year, earning proud smiles. The proudest of all from Sakura-mum, who had become something of a fixture at the local libraries; borrowing books on all sorts of things new to the Clan in the nearly two years they'd been there, from chemistry and physics, to astronomy, to engineering, and books she had naturally brought home for the others to read.

Harry was both excited and dismayed at the list. Sure, it was great to learn all these new things, and spending more time with his mums was also a pleasure, but the length of the list was a little daunting. There was chemistry with Ayame-mum, stealth and covert ops with Yuugao-mum, Language lessons with Kurenai-mum to improve both his Japanese and English skills, as the ninja lessons were easiest in Japanese.

He was also beginning other studies; animal care with Hana-mum, feeding and grooming the Clan's dogs before getting to work later with the tamed tigers they kept. Those tigers were awesome, all big and sleek and strong, when they weren't relaxing in their smaller cat forms where they were really cute. He was also starting biology with Hana-mum, though Isaribi-mum would be taking the lead on that one. This was good, he didn't spend enough time with her yet. Oh, and that tied in with what Tsunade-mum and Haku-mum were teaching him with first aid and something called combat anatomy, where Haku-mum assured him they'd learn how the human body worked, and how to take it apart.

Tenten-mum would be teaching him how to throw just about anything, and his mums agreed she was the best. Lastly, there was Yakumo-mum. With her he would learn how to cast Genjutsu, those illusion techniques he'd experienced before with those dreams, as well as teaching him his civics, whatever those were.

As if that wasn't enough to keep him busy, he would get to start missions where he would be putting the skills into practice. These missions went from 'D-rank' to 'A-rank' and special ones called 'S-rank' which were even harder than 'A-rank' ones were.

All that, and he still had school and friends and, if ever found the time, sleep! He got started, and he was never more grateful to his parents than that moment when they calmed him down, assuring him they had helped lots of kids learn these things and they would make sure it was at a pace he could handle. He was a little doubtful at first, since it was so hard, but they were right, as his parents so often were; he _could_ do it all as long as he tried his best, so that's just what he gave. He even worked his way through the D-rank missions and impressively started his first C-rank before the school year was out.

* * *

Speaking of school, he was having heaps of fun there, and making more friends, even if a couple of the girls were getting more giggly around him. He'd asked Ino-mum about it, but she just blushed a little and told him not to worry about it, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He did notice her and Sakura-mum get teased a little the following day, but he didn't much care. He knew by now that friends and family can tease each other in fun without everything going wrong. He was also top of the class, and some of his time with friends was spent in study groups, where he often found himself the first to understand the topic and helping the others too, which they said was making their parents happy since it brought their marks up too.

Somewhat foolishly, he was thinking he'd get to relax over the summer when he turned 8, but he didn't know there was so much more to learn! His achievement of a 3rd concurrent Shadow Clone the week school ended prompted another party, and more changes to his training. The earlier lessons on chakra nature became more relevant as they started him training in the 5 'elements' of Ninjutsu or ninja techniques; Temari-mum training him in Wind, including using it to sweep areas in the forest that they prepared for him, Kin-mum training him in Lightning (it was so cool to be able to feel where the electricity was in the house), Shizune-mum and Tsunade-mum took Earth, Isaribi-mum would teach about Water and Yugito-mum and Anko-mum took Fire. He especially liked Fire; breathing fire was _Awesome_!

They also stretched his mind further, Temari-mum and Ayame-mum introducing him to Accounting and Business, and they said economics would come later. Haku guided him into the world of physics, starting with basic principles and the 6 simple machines; levers, wheel and axle, pulleys, inclined planes, wedges and screws, along with examples of them in use. She said later these would be very useful when he made his own puppets, as well as helping him understand more of how the world around him worked. Shizune also introduced him to poisons, building on his earlier introduction to medicine and chemistry, showing him that while fireballs are fun, they aren't the only way to get the job done, and that there was another reason to be careful what he ate. Last, but by no means least, Ino-mum was going to teach him the fearsome Yamanaka techniques, both the mental defences and traps, and the more insidious side, techniques to listen to thoughts and to walk in someone's mind and sift their memories, on the condition that he doesn't abuse them, a condition that they would know if he violated. After impressing that upon him, she eased off her intensity and taught him in her usual style, with her and others offering their clones for his practice.

* * *

Going back to school was again a relief, a time for the real Harry to relax in body and mind while his clones were still charging ahead in his extra-curricular activities, though now they were also spending time just playing games and enjoying themselves with his family part of the time, something Harry found he sorely needed to help deal with the workload. Again he was top of the class, and now top of their year too, and he found himself putting in work to help prevent that turning to jealousy from his classmates. Sure, he knew that it was natural enough but it was still hard to take, and he often found himself surrounded by girls trying to get his attention; something for which a lot of the boys pitied him, since 'girls were icky' or something. One of his escapes from that was playing sports with the boys, and while he had to hold back his full abilities, it was both training in control and good fun.

He was a little confused when his best friends, best friends who were girls anyway, started looking a little weird at each other, but he was excited they were working hard like him, and showing the benefits, so he made sure to congratulate them when they did well; he loved seeing the smiles on their faces. He wasn't so happy about some of the other girls at school who seemed to take to sighing whenever he turned up and doing stupid things to get his attention. When he told his family about that, he was surprised to see Sakura-mum turn even pinker than her hair! When he got up the courage later to ask her, she sat him on his knee and told him that when she was young, she had done some foolish things to get a boy's attention, as had lots of other girls, but she had grown up and knew better for herself. "Don't worry, Harry, at least your fangirls don't follow you around armed like we did." She grinned when Harry shuddered at that, glad that she could finally laugh again about that time in her life _with_ someone else, rather than being laughed _at_. Lastly, they were all proud of Harry's progress with the missions he was taking, the Clan having set up areas for the purpose and now running him through C-rank and even B-rank missions by the spring.

The following summer Harry knew what to expect; his training expanded further, though this time there were only two new areas of ninja techniques, with Tsunade-mum starting to teach him medical jutsu or chakra based healing techniques, and Hana-mum teaching her old Inuzuka clan's animalistic techniques. What Harry found he enjoyed most, though, was that he was spending more time with his Dad Naruto, who was teaching him crafting skills, blacksmithing was a passion he shared with Tenten-mum, but it was the father-son bonding over the other skills that stood out in his mind even as he learnt tailoring and leatherworking, and studied jewels and jewelcrafting. He was both proud and nervous that they were letting him handle such beautiful gems, even after his Dad told him the secret technique he had developed to make them from sand or dirt to ease his nerves. He had to pinch himself at that, forgetting for that moment that it would dispel his clone, the memories made the _others_ pinch themselves too, and when he went to create the replacements, he managed to get 4 stable clones, prompting another party.

Harry himself, however, decided to throw a party at the end of summer, privately it was his happiness at getting to ease off a little. His first successful use of the chakra gathering technique was excuse enough to his parents, as it helped him increase the number of concurrent active clones, hitting 6 within a month. He was happy enough to learn and work, and he did understand why they were loading more into his summers as they were the only time he could run the longer B and A-rank missions he was up to. There just wasn't _time_ during school term for the real Harry to disappear that long, only weekends and holidays allowed that sort of opportunity, and Harry had to admit he did like the challenge, testing himself in new ways. The lessons in Fuinjutsu, or sealing techniques, he had completed, and very quickly he finally found out. While he wasn't yet qualified to create new ones, he had managed to learn to copy all the ones he had the chakra to activate.

Once back at school, Harry noticed that he and 'his girls' as his parents called them, were excelling in school, even taking on extra by learning French from one of the teachers in special tutoring. Harry was grateful to Sakura-mum for helping him and his friends, she had a great memory and loved to share her knowledge. He had to go back to Ino-mum for advice on how the girls were acting, he was pretty sure they were flirting with him a little, and she confirmed that they were experiencing their first crush, and gave him advice on how to treat their feelings without hurting them. "Something I only wish had been done for me" she confided, smiling. Harry freely admitted he was biased, but he thought 'his' girls were at least as pretty as any others in their year. His opinion firmed up as the girls started getting their own fans, something that made him somehow proud.

* * *

Life settled down for the family, almost becoming routine, only almost though as the Clan would always try to spice things up before they could get too bored or lose their edge, their situational awareness. Harry continued to lead his year group in the classroom and outside it on the football field. His girls continued to flirt and slowly but surely, Harry learned how to flirt back, all of them having fun imitating the teens they saw. Harry was far from suave and sophisticated, since he was still so young, but he was still growing to be a charming boy, and Ino's lessons in flirting and Kurenai's in seduction went nice and slowly. While the Kitsunes saw nothing wrong with a precocious pair of experimenters, they had spent enough time in England to understand that their attitudes were most definitely not shared by everyone.

And so, they made sure that Harry didn't put the more advanced lessons into practice, something that was aided by their version of The Talk at the start of his summer holidays in '90. The Kitsune version was far more detailed, informative and mortifying than Harry's worst nightmares. Ino-mum's tips on flirting were embarrassing enough, though useful, as were her insights into younger minds. Her instructions on foreplay, accompanied by Kurenai-mum's seduction training took it to the next level. Having Anko-mum and Tsunade-mum playing the part of demonstration aids however would stay with him forever! He took ages to be able to look at them without blushing, though he would be grateful for their help in later years, not that he'd willingly _admit_ it!

After that, Harry swore that he would stick to holding hands and hugs at most, because there was No Way he was ready for That. It was something of a relief when his parents threw him into the deep end with a simulated S-rank. Sure, getting stuck in mud, baked by Fire techniques, near-drowned by Water and cut by Wind blades was many kinds of awful, but it didn't compare to the horror he felt at the prospect that his parents would give him another Talk.

The rest of the training was much less harrowing, and his last year at Park Mead went reasonably quietly except for one event that brought home to Harry just how much he had changed, and how much further he had to go with his training. He was walking home one evening, having just left his girls, and spotted an older boy, somewhere around 16 by his looks, pinning a girl against the wall in an alley, they were far enough down it to be out of easy sight from the street, and the girl was in some pain where the boy was gripping her shoulder. Harry's heart started pumping harder and his breath quickened as adrenaline flooded his system in response to his rage. He hated bullies, especially boys who picked on girls. Sure he knew girls could be just as lethal as boys, his mums proved that beyond a doubt, but it wasn't something he could train out of himself, it wasn't something he _wanted_ to change. So when the boy reached out to slip a hand underneath her shirt, he gave in to his anger, and let his training take over. There, he was right behind the target, thus, he hit pressure points, causing the target's legs to buckle, now, he started kicking in the precise places and times that Haku-mum detailed for inflicting maximum pain for minimum damage. And- he blinked, restrained completely in ninja wire with the Clan surrounding him, watching him, talking him out of it. How did he get here? Oh, of course, the Clan brought him here, because they saw what he was doing to- Harry had the urge to vomit, suddenly, a reaction, he remembered, nothing to be ashamed of, they had said, but still it burned, less because of his reaction than what spawned it. He had lost his self-control, applied the lessons they taught him to cause _pain_.

He looked up at last, and saw the understanding. They talked him through the encounter, what he saw, what he did, why he did it. They added later that they had had to heal up the bully because Harry's strikes would show that there was someone with advanced training involved, and none of them wanted Harry persecuted because of that. They did, however, manage to convince the bully, and the girl, not to spread what happened, even encouraging them to view the encounter as a weird dream, one that might just convince the boy not to go touching uninvited. Anko-mum and Harry shared a grim smile at that. Harry still wasn't happy with himself for losing control, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't want exactly that outcome.

One exchange in their conversations stood out for Harry. Naruto asked Harry to name an important lesson he learned from the incident. Harry thought about it for a few seconds. "There is always more to learn about the world, about control, and about myself."

Naruto nodded and added, "and girls."

He never did get all of the details, but nothing much ever came of it, the boy became slightly less of a jerk, the girl obviously just wrote it off as a nightmare, but for Harry it was an important lesson in how seductive anger can be, and how if he didn't rule his emotions, he risked them ruling him.

After that incident they encouraged Harry to find healthy ways to release his stress. He sampled music of many genres, browsed through tv shows, went on walks or runs, sang and danced to any music that interested him, created or practiced appreciating art, anything he or they could think of to find what methods worked for him. When he found that a variety of harmless practical jokes worked for him, there was talk that he was a True Kitsune already, and they set about developing his hobby into a skill to be proud of. When that was followed by his love of massage, several of the Angels looked askance at Naruto, wondering just how many of his personality traits were transferred with his bloodline. They were somewhat relieved when his third method of relaxation turned out to be movies, as that didn't remind them of Naruto, or not too much.

* * *

At last, the summer of '91 came around, and Harry's parents sat him down, reminding him of the magical people and their society, and how they took in children at 11 to start lessons in magic at a school called Hogwarts. In all honesty, Harry hadn't much thought about this in years, he was far too busy, and having far too much fun, to dwell on that. Now, though, he was wondering why they hadn't approached him yet if they expect him to go to them for next year. It was only months away. Otherwise, he was hoping to go to the same school as his best friends, learn and have fun, until it was time for him to go to work too. Harry was proud that since learning the chakra gathering technique, the number of clones he could maintain had shot up to 12, and he expected to continue increasing that as long as he got the time to train his body and mind.

Yuugao-mum reminded him, however, that it was almost certain the magical people would come for him. That weird old man that tried to take him back to _Them_ was, after all, the Headmaster for the school, and seemed to want something from Harry, which presumably would be easier if Harry went to Hogwarts, and the other magicals considered Harry the 'famous' Boy Who Lived, which was reason enough for that masked madman to try to kill him. The idea that they wouldn't demand 'their hero' go to their school was laughable at best. His mums and dad gave reasons why going to Hogwarts as expected would be a good idea, if only to get answers on just what was going on, as well as going over why it would be a bad idea, going off alone into unknown dangers at the top of the list. They made it clear that while they would give him advice, they would let him make the choice, and stand by him.

May turned into June, June turned into July, and the tension at the Kitsune home mounted steadily higher. The Clan were confident in their reading of the people involved, but it was getting stupidly close to the time Harry would have to go this Hogwarts place, and still no word. With barely a week left of July, they finally got their first official contact from the Wizarding World, a letter written on parchment and delivered by an _owl_ of all things! While a clone kept it restrained, the Clan read the letter, surprised by the contents. For a start, the writer assumed that Harry had access to his own trained owl to make a reply, a ridiculous assumption to make of anyone outside their own society, and the list of clothes and equipment included items totally unknown to the Clan, like dragonhide gloves, or merely exceedingly strange, like 'plain work robes'. It was quickly decided to write back to this Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.

'_Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall or to Whom it May Concern,_

_We have received your letter regarding Harry Potter's 'acceptance' to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_If this is a joke, then it is in poor taste. _

_We have never applied to send Harry to any such school, and indeed we have doubts that it even exists. Certainly it is not listed anywhere among the better schools, and we have no intention to send our precious son to a school where his only qualification upon completion is as some sort of entertainer. We intend to give our son the very best in life, so you can see why your school doesn't measure up, as you sent no information as to provided courses or past results, no proof, and no way for us to get this equipment even if it exists._

_If you intend to ensure his enrolment, you will have to provide more of an introduction than some form letter. We are available to meet to discuss the matter should you wish to convince us after all that your school is the place for our Harry._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Naruto Todd,_

_Adoptive father and legal guardian of Harry Potter, acting on his behalf._

Harry approached the captive owl and after tying the letter to its leg like the last had arrived, he tried something, feeling a little silly. "Will you take this letter for me?" The owl nodded. Feeling more confident now that he knew the owl seemed smart enough to understand him he continued without the earlier unease. "Will you take it to Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall?" Again a nod. "Will you take it to Prime Minister Major?" The owl shook its head and Harry smiled, relieved that the owl passed this test. "Ok, thank you, here you go." He stepped back and the clone escorted the owl to the edge of the forest before letting it go, eyes watching it until it disappeared over the horizon.

"Well, that's that done. Now to see if it does any good." Sakura-mum remarked to no one in particular.

* * *

The next day, a tall woman appeared in the nearby park, immediately spotted by hidden clones set out to look for incoming strangers. She was wearing an old style of dress, sensible and conservative shoes, and a hat to match. Her approach to the Kitsune home was monitored every step, and they didn't keep her waiting long when she rang the bell. Naruto answered the door with a polite expression.

"Good morning, sir, would you happen to be Naruto Todd?"

"Yes, I am. May I enquire after your name, madam?" Naruto asked politely, following their plan. First stage was designed to provoke a visit, hopefully a peaceful attempt on the school's part to convince them to allow Harry to attend, but they had planned, as best they could in the face of their ignorance, in case the response was not as friendly. They wouldn't be who they were if they didn't try to plan for the worst, which is why Harry would not be setting foot within a mile of this woman until they had some measure of her.

"Of course, Mr Todd, my name is Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. May I come in that I may discuss the matters you raised in your letter? I confess that I would rather talk about this somewhere other than on your front doorstep where anyone may see."

Naruto invited her in and led her through to the sitting room, one of their public rooms, offering her a seat and enquiring if she would like any refreshments, giving her a level of politeness they had never granted one Albus Dumbledore. Then again, that particular person had never granted them that either.

Over the course of the next hour, Mistress McGonagall demonstrated more magic, and answered more questions, than in any ten normal introductions to the Wizarding World. Only one other in her recent memory asked more, but still, at least there she had met the prospective student she was meant to invite. Here over an hour had passed, and they still hadn't produced Harry Potter. She was just about to ask when she caught the barest of nods, and in walked the Boy-Who-Lived at last.

Naruto caught her attention again, "Thank you for answering our questions. We are now satisfied that what you call magic is, indeed, real, and fully expect that the school, this Hogwarts, is likewise. In addition, the way you have behaved has inspired sufficient trust for us to allow you to meet Harry. After the way the last wizard to visit us behaved, we were reluctant to expose Harry to more of the same." Naruto appeared at least somewhat embarrassed for treating her that way. "Harry, this is Mistress McGonagall, she's the Deputy Headmistress we wrote to yesterday, and also the Professor of the Transfiguration course, wasn't it, Mistress McGonagall?"

McGonagall smiled and nodded, her Scottish brogue more pronounced as her joy at seeing Harry fit and well flowed through her, putting aside her questions about the last wizard visitor. "Indeed it is, Mister Todd, thank you. Ah, Mister Potter, your adoptive father has had many questions for me. I have been teaching for many years now, and some of them surprised me. May I expect more from you?" Her words and stern face were offset by her warm eyes and welcoming tone.

Harry blushed a little at being pegged so well. "Yes, Mistress McGonagall, I do have questions. First, may I see some magic for myself? I would also like to know how you know I'm a wizard, what courses you offer, and what jobs I could get after completing my Hogwarts education. Until your letter arrived, I was expecting to attend high school with all my friends, and the girls will be crushed if I don't go." He replied.

Minerva smiled at this, thinking to herself that little Harry was already getting the kind of attention that most of her older male students could only dream of. It helped that he was quite the handsome boy for his age.

As she performed for Harry, changing the colours of her clothes all black and back again, before transfiguring an empty chair into a cat that jumped up on Harry's lap, purring, she examined Harry closer. "Mr Potter, I had the good fortune of teaching both your parents, and I must say you remind me of both of them. You certainly have your father's black hair, though better behaved than his ever was, but also your mother's eyes and jawline."

Harry smiled at this, and resolved to himself to ask her more later about his parents, since he still didn't even have a photo of them, but first he had to find out if it was even worth going to Hogwarts, worth entering into a society where killing a child was something so casually attempted.

"Thank you, Mistress McGonagall." Harry smiled at her. "The demonstrations were impressive, as I'm sure they were meant to be. They sure made me curious to learn more. However, are there any reasons - other than missing out on some abilities - why I should bother attending any magical school? I have lived my life without magic, so continuing without it wouldn't be that big a deal for me."

Minerva McGonagall was surprised by young Harry, as she thought of him, a condition she would find oft repeated over the years. "That's a very good question, young man. While I would certainly enjoy teaching you, as you have already demonstrated a keen mind, I understand that wouldn't be a compelling reason to you to attend. As it happens, though, there does exist a very good reason for training, especially for those living as you do among the Muggles, a word for those without magic. As I expect you will have noticed, most often when your emotions are strongest, your magic may escape, acting upon your intent but unformed, chaotic. As you age, your magic gets stronger, and this accidental magic as we call it grows in strength too. There are cases of young wizards and witches who have killed themselves or those around them with their accidental magic, particularly in adolescence when the emotions run even higher and new urges make their appearance.

"Accidental magic is a danger in another way, too, as our world remains hidden from the Muggles, protected by the International Statute of Secrecy which exacts severe punishments upon those whose actions may expose us. Lastly, underage wizards, which is anyone under 17, may not perform magic out of school as it is against the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery."

"Doesn't that mean I won't be able show my family what I learn until I'm about to enter my last year, six years of tuition paid, that almost anything I do at that school would be a mystery to my family? That's hardly a sensible arrangement. Would you pay someone for 6 years with no guarantee that it's doing anything at all?" Harry paused and blushed. "Um, sorry, Mistress McGonagall, I guess it's not up to you, is it? I shouldn't blame you for something you haven't done." He added with an undertone, thinking darkly of the Dursleys.

"Quite alright, Mister Potter. And there are clauses that do allow the performance of magic by those underage under certain circumstances. Firstly, magic may be performed in self-defence or defence of other wizards or witches when necessary to save a life. Secondly, magic performed by those too young for formal training is assumed to be uncontrolled magic and therefore not something that deserves punishment. Thirdly, if the child is under appropriate supervision when the magic is performed, and it does not break the International Statute of Secrecy, demonstrations and practice are permissible if the appropriate licence is obtained. Generally, a witch or wizard in good standing would not find it too difficult to get that licence to supervise their child, and I believe many do."

Naruto furrowed his brow at that. "Hmm, forgive me, Mistress McGonagall, but doesn't that disadvantage those like our Harry who aren't raised by wizards? While I understand that it could be useful to have a wizard on hand to help if the student makes mistakes, and that is a good reason to handle it that way, is any effort made to provide those raised by Muggles with the opportunity to continue their studies too? A Hogwarts program, perhaps?"

"I'm sorry to say, Mr Todd, that we don't have a program like that. This is actually the first time I've even heard such a suggestion, which may go some way towards explaining why we don't have it, however. While I cannot say if it will ever go ahead, it would certainly get my support. Sadly, I do not have high hopes of seeing it any time soon."

"What about if we organised such a group?"

"As I said, you would certainly get my support." Minerva smiled, happy to be able to offer it. "And should it happen to be that you find yourself in need of a witch for your program, it would be my honour to provide that supervision, for at least some of the holidays. After all, everyone needs some time off, and this would be taking some of mine."

Naruto nodded, "That's fine, indeed you are offering more than we could expect. From what we've gathered today, you have a lot of duties already. We are certainly thankful for your offer, and will keep it in mind." Naruto looked to Harry.

"Well, Harry, you've got a week to decide if you want to go. Do you have any other questions?"

"Yes, Dad. Mistress McGonagall, are there other books or places we can get more information on things? For that matter, how do I even get my school things?"

"Mr Potter, for you and other muggle-raised children, I run visits to Diagon Alley, the magical shopping district in London, where you may purchase all your school supplies and browse Flourish & Blotts for extra books. My next trip was with two muggleborns, one who, like yourself, also has a great curiosity for the Wizarding World. I dare say you two would be great friends when attend. Shall I pick you and your parents up as well?"

Naruto spoke up here, "If it is in London, we can make the trip ourselves, if you will provide us directions. That way, we won't be a burden to you for every little time we want to visit the shops."

"Of course, Mr Todd, I would be happy to. Diagon Alley is accessible through the Leaky Cauldron, a pub on Charing Cross Road, between a bookshop and a record shop. If you like, I can meet your party Saturday morning at 10am outside Leicester Square, which is rather close by." Minerva offered. "It's where I had arranged to meet the others, in fact." At Naruto's nod, she nodded back, pleased. "Very well, I shall see you then, Mr Todd, Mr Potter. I am sure it will be an educational experience."

Minerva reflected to herself as she walked to a secure place to Apparate to the Ministry, that she had enjoyed getting to meet young Mr. Potter. (She would not think of him by that ridiculous title he'd been given.) He had Lily's brains, and her heart. She wondered if he had inherited his father's love of pranks, then shuddered to herself, praying it had skipped Harry. After all, Severus was going to be his Professor, Merlin help them. Suddenly, she was much less eager to have Harry at Hogwarts, though no less eager to have him under her, an eager student with great potential.

As she walked to the Floo, her professional mask was firmly in place. The Ministry's attitudes still rankled with her. Calling out her destination, she stepped through, relaxing slightly and walking from her office through to her quarters, hanging her hat and letting her hair down, smiling to herself as she pictured the reactions of her students to that action, especially a certain pair of redheads. Her smile disappeared again as she recalled some of their more unpleasant activities in the name of fun. To her frustration, they were nearly impossible to catch in the act during their more spiteful pranks, and without that, Albus refused to take action. In a deliberate attempt to brighten her mood, she thought of James and Lily's boy, and how glad she was that he hadn't stayed with those atrocious Dursleys. He was growing up into a fine boy already, and looked to have gotten the best of both his parents. In a few years, he would be turning quite a few heads due to his looks, not just his fame, she would lay money on it.

* * *

_Feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading. Please look out for a new chapter soon._


	3. Chapter 3 - Second Thoughts

**Chapter 3 - Second Thoughts**

The rest of the week passed amid a quiet but intense group of planning sessions among the Kitsunes, tactics and goals debated and discarded, before with much regret they accepted that there were too many unknowns to make any real plans, only guidelines that they would have to be prepared to ditch at a moment's notice.

Their first guideline, naturally, was to hide Harry's and by extension their own abilities. While it would be nice to be so over-estimated that no one opposed you, they felt there was no way any society could be so completely awed by a single boy days short of his eleventh birthday. That left encouraging the other sort of fatal error, having opponents underestimate you, and hidden abilities were a great way to get just that. The obvious candidates were all the chakra-related skills they had, since those were, it seemed, completely unknown and so no one would think to look for them. Their knowledge of the Wizarding World might also qualify, but it was so meagre that they dismissed it.

Their second guideline was also obvious. Learn all you can. Thankfully they would be expected to do some looking around and should be dismissed as tourists if they got caught looking. They were, after all, just Muggles to these people, and generally dismissed as harmless. The ninjas had to shake their heads at that.

The last was in many ways the most obvious of all, simply to be cautious. It was also going to be surprisingly difficult to keep in mind. After all, they were the Kitsunes, veterans who had survived countless fights.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned at last, and the various people made their way to the meeting point. Minerva McGonagall had the furthest to go but the easiest trip. She took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then walked the rest of the way. Next to arrive were prospective student Justin Finch-Fletchley and his parents, half an hour early, and taking a couple of minutes to shop while they waited for the others. Next were the Grangers, they took the tube, arriving fifteen minutes early, and spotted the tall Professor, walking up to her and making small talk. Last of all to show themselves were Harry, Naruto and Hinata, five minutes later.

"Now that we are all here, I would like to start with some introductions. As you remember, I am Mistress McGonagall, Professor while in school. To my left are Mr Hamish and Ms Imogen Finch-Fletchley with their son Justin, then Drs Matthew and Elizabeth Granger with their daughter Hermione, and Mr Naruto and Ms Hinata Todd with their son Harry."

After a round of handshakes and hello's, Minerva proceeded to guide the group to their destination, asking each parent to keep hold of their child's hand in order to let them bypass the muggle-repelling charm on the Leaky Cauldron. She added, "While it is not my favourite place, it is famous within our world both for being the connection to Muggle London as well as for the barman, Tom, a very friendly man who enjoys getting to welcome people to the Alley. For some, the décor adds to the charm." Her expression mirrored her distaste briefly, then she held the door for them as they got their first taste of the Wizarding World. She held back a sigh. The tiny, grubby-looking pub was just as dark and shabby as ever, and she knew it wouldn't make a good impression on the Muggles or their children. It never did. She couldn't change it, though, and no one would listen to her suggestions. In some ways she felt that the Wizarding World clung to its traditions too much.

As expected, Tom called out a greeting to her, and added his own welcome to the families she was guiding, and soon after they made their way out the back into a small, walled courtyard empty apart from a trash can and a few weeds. Before the inevitable questions could be asked, Minerva drew her wand and tapped the appropriate brick after pointing it out. The brick _quivered_, and soon a hole appeared, quickly growing and soon they faced an archway large enough for their party to go through, opening onto a cobbled street. At least _this_ got a good reaction out of them.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley. First, you may like to go to the bank, Gringotts, to exchange your money for the wizarding currency, Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, one Galleon is worth 17 Sickles, 1 Sickle is worth 29 Knuts, so 1 Galleon is nearly 500 Knuts. Currently the Galleon is set at just under 50 Pounds Sterling. Before I forget, Mr Potter, here is the key to your vault at Gringotts that your parents set up for you when you were born." She produced the key, giving it directly to the boy, who promptly made it disappear.

"The bank itself is run by goblins, and it's important to remember they aren't human; they have their own customs and history. Do not show your teeth to a goblin as they will likely see it as a challenge or insult. Likewise, doubting the security of the bank will also be seen as an insult. While there have been attempts made to breach the bank, in over a century of goblin control no thief has managed to steal from them." She allowed a brief smile to pierce her professional demeanour. "My own funds are stored here, and I have full trust in their security."

She led the group through the streets and onward into a marble building, facing a set of silver doors with an engraved warning to thieves before a pair of goblins bowed them through and on into the bank proper. The inside was busy, a great marble hall with scores of goblins at work with ledgers, coins or precious stones, and most noticeable to the visitors was the long counter, goblins on their side sitting on high stools, and wizards and witches queuing up to be served. Minerva pointed out the empty aisle on the far side where currency exchanges were performed, before offering to go with the Muggle parents in case they should want her advice or presence. After they turned down her offer, she then led Harry's family to a free teller, politely informing it that they wished to visit Mr Potter's vault. Harry produced his key upon demand where it was examined. "That seems to be in order. Very well, I will have someone take you down to the vault. Griphook!" The teller bellowed the last word, and another goblin came over with a rather surly expression, or so it seemed to the group.

Griphook looked at them once then turned around, obviously expecting them to follow him as he walked towards one of the doors leading off the hall. He held the door for them, and the change in decor was obvious. Instead of more marble there was a fairly narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. After a brief whistle, a cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them, stopping just short, and they climbed in with Naruto aiding Minerva who was having some trouble.

The ride started quickly, and their cart knew the way, Griphook not even bothering to steer as they hurtled through the maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember all the directions simply as a test to himself, as he was sure his Dad and Hinata-mum would be doing the same, and once he thought he caught a glimpse of a burst of fire illuminating a large animal. The cart's change of direction yanked it out of his sight before he could be sure, but he would be sure to ask his parents when they got home for their impressions.

As suddenly as it started, the cart stopped and Harry was a little disappointed, the ride was fun! After letting Naruto help the ladies out, Harry followed and made his way to the vault entrance where Griphook was waiting. Minerva McGonagall was standing a little distance away, her back to the door as she didn't want to be rude and look into someone else's vault, it would be most improper. Griphook opened up, amid billowing green smoke which cleared to reveal mounds of gold coins, columns of silver and heaps of little bronze Knuts. Ruthlessly suppressing a gasp, Harry turned to ask Mistress McGonagall "Excuse me, but how much would you recommend I withdraw for my Hogwarts supplies?"

Minerva considered the question briefly. "If you don't go overboard, you can acquire everything you need new for about fifteen Galleons. If you wish to buy any souvenirs or trinkets, I'd recommend another few Galleons at most."

"Thank you very much." Harry counted out the twenty Galleons she had indicated, then another thirty just in case. Luckily for him, McGonagall still had her back turned to give him privacy so she didn't see quite how much he withdrew. As he left the vault, he passed most of the money to Naruto to keep it safe. After all, who would be able to mug his Dad?

* * *

The return trip was also quiet, and Harry noted that they took a different route. Once back in the marble hall, they were reunited with the rest of their party, and left to begin their shopping. Mindful of two of her new students, she decided to take them to the bookstores last. Their first stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to be measured. Madam Malkin took to giving Harry and Justin her attention while Hermione went off with her assistant. Justin and Harry were directed to stand on footstools where Madam Malkin draped a rather shapeless oversized robe on each of them before proceeding to pin them back to the correct measurements. Harry found the process just about the same as in a normal shop with only the style of clothing having changed, though he was spared being stuck by pins as some shops had done. He decided to chat with Justin while they doubled as mannequins. From earlier observations, he sized Justin up as having come from a fairly well to do family, and guessed that he would expect a more formal introduction. He tried to recall his etiquette lessons to cover it, but failed so he decided to wing it.

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter."

"Justin Finch-Fletchley. I'd shake your hand but I appear to be tied up at the moment." Justin's upper class accent was clear, as was his sense of humour.

"Of course. So, what do you do when you're not used as a stand-in for a store mannequin?" Harry asked, smiling at the other boy.

"Well, I quite like rugby, though Mother doesn't like me playing it, she feels it's too dangerous for me." Justin rolled his eyes and Harry nodded. Sure, his parents put him through a lot of dangerous things, but they were always there to keep it from going too far, protecting him.

"My school had more interest in football, and I liked playing in the midfield. I was captain of the school team this year, and we didn't do too badly against the other schools in the region."

* * *

Soon enough, all the measurements had been taken, the robes had been taken off them, and they were free to escape until later in the day when they would pick up their finished robes. Their next stop was Ollivanders Wand Shop for their wands, something that got both the children and their parents excited. Minerva would later reflect that Harry's tendency to attract trouble manifested itself even here before he got to Hogwarts.

The visit started as normal, the group entering the shop, Ollivander nowhere in sight and presumed to be out the back of the shop. Just as Ollivander opened his mouth to surprise his customers, Naruto spoke up. "Ah, Mr Ollivander, I presume?"

Caught by surprise himself, Ollivander took a couple of seconds to find his voice. "Garrick Ollivander at your service, sir." He walked around in front of the group, still off-balance at his ambush turned upon him like that. "Ah, yes, I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." At this statement, Harry almost rolled his eyes. It was like this man was trying to be extra spooky for his customers. The way he was ignoring everyone else, however, struck him as plain rude. "You have your mother's eyes. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." When Ollivander moved closer to crowd Harry, he received several glares including from McGonagall and gave it up as a bad idea. "Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Harry spoke up at this, "What do you mean the wand chooses the wizard? Aren't they just dead bits of wood? How can they 'choose' anything? It almost sounds like you make wands for the wands, rather than making them for the wizards."

Naruto put a hand on Harry's shoulder and Harry stilled. "My apologies, now may we get started with buying these sticks?" At Ollivander's expression, he quickly amended that. "These wands, that is. We want to get three for Harry for now. If he runs low, then we'll return for more."

"Three wands?!"

"Well, they are fairly expensive and Harry is good with taking care of his tools so we don't see much risk that he'll need more than that this year."

"But.. but... one wand, one wizard. That's the way it's done."

"Well, we're not doing it that way, sir. If we only got one wand for Harry then it would only take one accident and Harry would be left unable to complete his classes, wouldn't he? Now, we understand that wands are sold here, and we are looking to buy them. Why aren't you happy with making more money? I thought you were in business." Naruto looked politely confused.

While Minerva was still caught by surprise, Mr Finch-Fletchley spoke up at this point, adding his support. "We also want three wands for our boy."

"And three for our Hermione," Elizabeth Granger added.

Ollivander was looking more upset. "I sell one wand per wizard, as I sell only the very best match to each! There are no finer wands anywhere!"

Naruto shared a look with the other parents and decided to soothe some feathers. "Then we will only buy one wand each from you." His smile was calculated to reassure Ollivander while his wife discreetly reminded the other parents that there was another wand shop in the Alley they had passed on the way to the bank.

"Very well, sir." Ollivander pulled a long tape measure out of his pocket. "Mr Potter, which is your wand arm?"

"And how would I know that, Mr Ollivander?" Harry asked, very reasonably he thought.

"Which do you write with?"

"Oh, my right arm."

"Hold out your arm, that's it." Ollivander proceeded to measure Harry in a variety of odd ways, and spoke as he measured. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same." Here he looked briefly at Naruto before adding, "And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

What followed was that Ollivander would hand Harry a wand, tell him to wave it, snatch it out of Harry's hand, then pluck out another wand from his stock and repeat the process. One wand, a dozen, then two dozen, Ollivander looked positively gleeful. "Ah a tricky customer! Hmm, let's try this one." Before anyone could ask what he meant, he disappeared and returned carrying a wand he treated almost reverently. "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. Give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised it above his head and gave it a wave, producing a wave of multi-coloured sparks. "Oh very good, indeed. Curious, however, most curious."

Harry sighed a bit, wishing the man would just quit being so melodramatic. "What is 'most curious', Mr Ollivander?"

"Why, I remember every wand I have ever sold, every single one. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather, and only one. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why its brother chose He Who Must Not Be Named. Curious indeed how these things happen. I think we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter. After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

Harry nodded keeping his expression firmly under control and Naruto paid for the wand, as well as a comfortable holster, and finally it was time for the other two children to get their wands. Everyone was happy except for the proprietor when they found their matches much quicker, they paid and left.

After a quick break at Florean Fortescue's, they resumed their shopping, fairly quickly filling the rest of their list and starting with trunks, where they got ones engraved with runes to provide 3 compartments for extra space, and to resize the trunk at the touch of the owner's wand; these made the rest of the shopping a breeze. Even the bookstore was less painful than Minerva had feared, or maybe it was just that after the trip to Ollivander's, everything else seemed easy. Even the side-trip to Jimmy Kiddell's Wonderful Wands where the parents managed to get their spare wands wasn't that big a production. Harry found a decent match, he thought, with a dogwood and dragon heartstring combination, when he gave it a wave, it gave off sparks and also gave Hermione a set of foxy ears until Minerva reversed the transformation with a wave of her wand - Harry studiously ignored his parents' amused and teasing looks. A quick visit to Eeylops Owl Emporium and a permission form from Minerva to allow Harry to have both his cat Cesarina (which at least behaved like his Familiar) and an owl for contact with his parents saw him purchase a beautiful snowy owl he named Miyuki. With their robes ready at Madam Malkin's, their excursion was complete.

Minerva escorted the group back out through the Leaky Cauldron and into the late afternoon sun, bidding her future students farewell with her usual professional demeanour firmly in place. Before they split up the children asked their parents if they could keep in touch. Phone numbers and addresses were exchanged, with Hermione happy that Harry was only in Surrey and able to visit more easily than Justin, whose family lived in the Lakes District. She and Harry had bonded rather quickly when they discovered their shared love of books, and she gave a big smile and heartfelt "Yes!" when he asked her to be his friend.

* * *

Harry and his parents returned home, and as soon as they had gotten everything sorted out to be examined by the Clan, Harry asked to use the phone, giving Hermione a call. She was excited to hear from him so soon; apparently she was afraid he would change his mind. Harry laughed, saying he had worried about that too, and then asked her about the books she bought, with the conversation drifting from there over various other topics. Harry was happy that she invited him over, with their parents permission, and promptly invited her to attend his birthday party the following Saturday afternoon, instead. Their plans made, they hung up and went their own ways, Hermione to dinner and Harry to a debrief of the day by the Clan, over a dinner made by Naruto naturally.

Harry set himself to speed-read his course-books with the aid of the memorisation techniques he was taught, wanting to get that out of the way that night so he could free up time for all the other things he had to do, most important of all was to decide before his birthday if he should go to Hogwarts.

It was one comment from his parents that effectively made the decision for him. "You could always go to both schools, Harry. That's the advantage of the Shadow Clone technique. And if it doesn't measure up, just come home. We can always find another way to lean magic if you need it." With just that, Harry's worries disappeared. He could send clones to regular school while the real him went to Hogwarts. While the clones would have to disperse regularly, they were able to replace themselves before switching. Sure, he would have to work out the logistics, decide where to allocate his Clones and so on, but the relief of being able to do both was stronger than he would have expected. He went to sleep with a smile on his face, content for now to leave the decision until the morning.

* * *

'_I should have known better.'_ Harry thought to himself and smiled. His parents had gone all out for this birthday, inviting all his friends and some parents too, though he caught the preparations for the parents including some of Naruto's best cooking as well as some nice single-malt scotch set aside for later. It wasn't the first time his parents had thrown a large party, but it was the first time they had thrown such a large one for Harry. '_Then again, this is the first time I've had time off completely in years, not even a single clone working or training. It's... kinda odd, actually, refreshing, but also weird. I keep expecting one of them to drag me off to lessons.'_ He grinned, remembering some of his more recent jokes when they tried that. Intellectually he knew that most of them had been deliberately allowed to succeed, but it was still so funny seeing his Dad dyed pink from head to toe.

He petted Cesarina as he sat down on the couch, relaxing as ordered while a small army of clones tended to every detail of the party. Miyuki flew in, claiming his shoulder for her perch and rubbing her head against him until he gave her attention too. Leaning back, Harry finally enjoyed his enforced break until the doorbell rang. He got up and smiled, Cesarina held in one arm, and answered the door.

"Ashley, Stephanie, Michelle, Ella, Meaghan _and_ Sandra!" His smile threatened to split his face, and after a round of hugs he stepped aside to allow his friends into the living room where he had been waiting, dutifully handing over his cat to Meaghan who cooed over her. '_I can't wait to see their faces when they discover that their cute little cat is really a powerful tiger!'_ In idle moments, he wondered that no one had ever connected his cat with the occasionally seen big cats that lived in the forest when their colours matched so well, but he supposed it was a bit much given what they knew. After all, a race of tigers with a miniature form was far from normal.

Within minutes, Harry was involved in the conversation when the bell rang again as other guests arrived. This kept up until everyone was there, including Hermione and her parents. Hermione was rather shy around 'his girls' until Harry broke the ice, asking her if she was reading anything good at the moment. Her quick look at the others revealed none of the warning signs she had come to know all too well, and she relaxed, getting pulled into the group quickly and finding to her pleasure that she was welcome and that Harry's friends shared at least part of her love of reading.

Harry used a variety of tricks to keep the subject of the new school year from being raised, aided he found by Hermione. A shared look told him that she knew he couldn't talk about Hogwarts and was trying to help keep the secret, a small nod back conveyed his gratitude.

Dinner was a big success and the cakes garnered praise from everyone. The cake was cut, the songs were sung, the guests eventually made their way home at last. Harry collapsed, exhausted in a way the ninja training had never managed. Some quiet words with Naruto and his mums and Harry made his way to bed, falling asleep only after his brain stopped replaying the day.

* * *

His days settled down, deciding how he would apportion his Shadow Clones in the coming year, two would go to school with 'his girls', one taking his place while the other was there as a backup, in case the primary was dispelled, and refining his chakra control in his spare time. Four would work on his ninja training and trade skills with his parents. That left six to go to Hogwarts, exploring and investigating everything he could find, as well as watching his back.

He completed his reading of the school books for the year, and rewarded himself with 'pleasure reading', defined within his family as reading you do without the speed-reading techniques. He worked his way through some extra books on Potions seeing as the prescribed textbook listed known recipes but was dangerously lacking on other information like basic ingredient preparation or safety precautions. That led to studying more information on magical plants and animals, and so on.

He also spent time with his friends both old and new, having an afternoon at the Grangers' home the Friday following his birthday. It was a nice, warm home, a blend of modern conveniences and older style furnishings that somehow worked well. As he expected, there weren't many sweets on offer, but he certainly couldn't complain about the food (not that he would). Harry also discovered that Hermione inherited her love of books from both parents, the family library taking up two whole rooms of their London home and it included a healthy selection of science fiction and fantasy classics, including some that Harry hadn't been able to find in the town library. A quiet time of reading and a nice walk around the neighbourhood made for a peaceful time. While Harry had also spoken with Justin, they hadn't been able to arrange for visits due to the distance.

As the last week before Hogwarts approached, his parents became more demonstrative of their love for him. While they knew that his clones would be around, they were also sending him off into a new world with unknown dangers. They also drilled him on his escape and evasion techniques. If they couldn't be there with him to help out or face their share of it, they wanted to do what they could to ensure he came home to them.

* * *

Saturday the 31st of August arrived, and the entire Clan made their way into London to King's Cross Station, scouting the area, before heading towards where Platform 9 and ¾ was supposed to be. Harry found the wall easily enough. He gave the wall a quick feel, but it felt completely solid to his touch. He took a breath, remembering his new Professor's words about approaching the wall with intent to pass, and gave it a go. While it would be embarrassing if he were failed, he could stand the risk, so a brisk pace, and his goal firmly in mind, and Harry made it! He looked around even as he tried to fade into the background, calling on his training and hoping he hadn't been noticed in that brief time. It seemed luck was with him, though he guessed that shouldn't be surprising. No child was expected to use the portal a day early and they would hardly be watching every second of the day anyway. As he completed his initial survey, he headed on back to the normal side of the station where he was examined by his family. When he suggested going back now that they know it was safe, Yuugao reminded him that they weren't even able to watch him go through the first time. Harry could have slapped himself. "When we went to that pub, we had to hold our parents' hands to let you see it and come with us. Let's try that here."

Anko-mum suggested trying something else that would let them speed it up if it worked, so as Harry approached the portal again he had his parents' hands in his hands, on his arms and shoulders and anywhere they could reach. It passed the first test when they didn't suddenly find better things to do, and the second when they all made it through, the adults immediately disappearing from sight as Anko-mum took him out of the way. He sighed, he knew they were being more protective for a reason, even knew what it was, but it was still a bit demeaning. Anko-mum simply wrapped him up in a tighter hug, and distracted him from his pique by rubbing against him. She just loved the way he still blushed at that.

After a thorough examination of the wizard side of the portal, they returned, noting that they didn't need assistance for that, and went out to lunch before some last minute shopping. As Harry was taken through department stores and their clothing department, he reflected it was strange, though par for the course for his life, that any member of his family could create finer and better tailored clothes than he had ever seen in a shop - even Harry himself, though he admitted that he might be pushing it there.

The dinner that night was an excuse for the Clan to make the very best feast they could, and they made sure he had packed his weapons and armour, his books and clothes, and the rest of his equipment. They always started with the most important items, they said.

* * *

A touch of excitement and anxiety wasn't enough to stop him sleeping, they had burned that reaction out of him years ago in training, and he woke up rested and thankful for that as they showered, changed, ate breakfast and headed out to the station.

'_King's Cross is quieter than yesterday,'_ Harry thought as he dodged the crowds. He always felt a little crowded in London, and he made his way through to the portal fairly quickly, bringing his parents through again, all but Naruto and Anko-mum fading out of sight, and Harry looked around the still fairly empty platform. He had an hour until the train was due to depart, and there it was, a red steam engine reminiscent of a popular class from the 19th century, if he remembered what Michelle said; she was the train enthusiast of his little group.

The crew were there, checking it over and getting it ready, he guessed, and a few adults in robes were scattered around the place while their children either stayed close by or were, he figured, already on the train. Like his parents, Harry tried to assess the people he saw. Already he spotted signs that they were wizards, their clothes were either completely wrong, these robes and pointy hats that Hogwarts demanded, or their fashions had odd failures, like that tweed jacket, pipe (unlit) and men's shoes on a middle-aged woman.

Harry got out a book to pass the time until his friends arrived, reading "Arithmancy by the Numbers: A Beginner's Guide" since he was curious about the subject, wondering how similar it was to the maths he'd learned in school and with his family. He just finished the first section and was starting the next when he noticed familiar bushy hair appear through the portal, putting the book away and heading over to greet Hermione.

The moment she spotted him was easy to recognise, the big smile was a giveaway and she rushed over to him, talking seemingly without breathing. "Did you know I found you listed in another five books? They've got even more stories about what happened to you and where you disappeared."

Harry winced, for all Hermione's enthusiasm she still suffered occasional lapses of tact and even after all that his family had done for him, he was still understandably pained by the reminder that his original parents were murdered and he was left with the Dursleys. To her credit, she quickly realised her error and began stammering her apology, leaving him to let her off the hook. At least she was learning and coming out of her shell. He had hopes that in time she would be as easy to be around as his other girls, then cursed to himself at even thinking of them as 'his girls'. Damned parents and their teasing, they were getting to him. He didn't notice that he smiled as he thought of them as his.

When Justin joined them a few minutes later they started saying their goodbyes to their parents and getting onto the train to find a compartment. They found plenty empty and claimed one close to the back of the train in the hope that they wouldn't have to share with strangers. They settled in and waved goodbye again from the train as it pulled out from the station, taking their seats and getting comfortable.

After talking about their time since they met in the Alley, including Justin passing on his congratulations about Harry's birthday again, they discussed what they thought Hogwarts would be like. An hour into the trip, there was a timid knock at the door. Since Justin was closest, he opened up to see a round-faced boy almost in tears. "Sorry," he said, "but you have seen a toad at all?"

They shook their heads and Hermione stood up, "No, we haven't, but I'll help you look if you like. I'm Hermione Granger."

The boy was looking a little happier at the offer of help, "Thank you, and I'm N-Neville, Neville Longbottom."

Harry stood up, offering his hand, "And I'm Harry. Justin, would you mind our compartment while we help Neville here?"

"Sure, Harry." Justin leaned back, keeping guard of their trunks while Harry and Hermione went off to do their good deed for the day. He reflected that it was something of a relief not to be the Finch-Fletchley heir here, as well as how odd his new world was turning out to be. Pet toads, making a hero out of a baby - not that Harry seemed to like his fame any more than Justin liked the way his classmates had treated him different because of his surname - and the weird clothing. He idly wondered what else would happen.

A few compartments into the search, after asking Neville about his toad, Harry asked if there was any magic that could find the toad for them, or better yet take it to them. Neville brightened and said there was, so after that they searched for an older student who they could ask to cast it for them. They got lucky with a student with a shiny blue and bronze badge on her chest with the letter P on it. She quickly cast a couple of spells and Trevor the toad zoomed into her hand before being quickly passed to Neville. She also conjured a new cage and made Neville put him inside. Red-faced, Neville quickly complied and thanked her before almost fleeing the compartment. Harry and Hermione caught up to him at the end of the carriage, asking if he would like to spend time with them, maybe help them get to understand this new world.

Justin, when asked, thought it was a good idea. His family were encouraging him to work hard and do well, but he was painfully aware that he could use all the help he could get. Plus it wasn't like Neville was a bother, so he offered the seat beside him since Harry and Hermione took the other side.

An hour later the door was yanked open. Three boys entered, the centre one had a pale, pointed face and a superior air that increased as he looked over the people in the compartment, noting that only one of the children inside were from a respectable - ie Pureblood - family and rumour had it that the Longbottom boy was almost a Squib. He sneered mentally, secure that his minions were on his flanks.

"Well, Longbottom, they're saying up and down the train that Harry Potter is coming to Hogwarts. I don't suppose a Squib like you has seen him, have you?" Before Neville could answer, the arrogant boy followed up his own question. "Oh look how the Longbottom's have fallen, consorting with a bunch of mudbloods, now."

Harry looked up at the pale, blond boy. A quick evaluation later prompted him to comment. "And what makes you think this Harry Potter kid would want anything to do with _you_? No. Unless you have something intelligent to contribute, move along please. We don't appreciate the interruption."

The arrogant boy swelled up with indignation. "And just who do you think you are to tell a Malfoy what to do?"

Drawing on much of his etiquette training from Hinata-mum, Harry decided a high-brow insult would suffice. "Given that you haven't actually introduced yourself and still see fit to cause problems, I see no reason to acquaint myself with such an uncouth person."

"I am Draco, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Pureblood since time immemorial. If you don't even know that, then you are obviously beneath my notice. Come, Crabbe, Goyle, let's leave these lowly mudbloods to wallow in their filth." The trio sneered at the seated group before turning and leaving the compartment.

Harry looked at the group. "Not very bright, is he? He barged in, insulted everyone present when he had no idea who we were, he didn't even notice that I match at least part of the descriptions they all have of me. I don't know about any of you, but I won't be in a hurry to spend time with someone that lacking in manners and sense."

Neville choked on his own spit before sputtering out, "You're Harry Potter?"

Harry grinned, "That's me. We all read the descriptions in the books, and I'm still wondering who provided those!" He growled, then calmed down so he didn't scare off the new boy. "As you can see, I'm just a boy, and I certainly haven't rescued maidens from any dragons." He smiled, trying to help set Neville at ease. '_Though I suppose that would be easier than some of my missions.'_

"Don't worry about it, mate. I know I didn't tell you my surname when we met, and the fame is why. I'm not used to it, I don't like it, and I don't understand why they praised me for dealing with their serial killer when there were two adults with wands and training and everything right there with every reason in the world to do it for me. Besides, I was just a baby, what was I going to do? Cry at him?"

Neville's answering laugh was a little forced, but he saw Harry's point. Between that and Harry not kicking him out, he was calming down again. Hermione's questioning about being raised magical helped settle him further, and being able to answer their questions, being the one they looked up to in even a small way, did wonders for his confidence, enough that he could really relax and enjoy himself for the first time that day.

* * *

The discussion about the Houses at Hogwarts was something of an eye opener for each of them. Hermione mentioned what she had heard, that Ravenclaw was for the smart, Gryffindor for the brave, Hufflepuff for the loyal and Slytherin for the ambitious. Neville added that the Houses had something of a different reputation, people thought Gryffindor was for the Good and Noble, or for the fearless idiots, depending who you asked. Ravenclaw was supposedly for the know-it-alls. Slytherin was where evil wizards and Dark Lords were spawned, since that's where You Know Who got most of his followers. Lastly, Hufflepuff was effectively a dumping ground for those not good enough for the other Houses. He also said he didn't know how they were chosen, his Gran refused to tell him, since that was the Tradition. The way he said it, she was very devoted to Traditions.

Justin said that those reputations didn't make much sense if the division was made honestly. For example, Slytherins were supposed to be ambitious and cunning, but you don't have to be a future Dark Lord to have ambitions, they come in all shapes and sizes. Justin said his ambition was to do well at Hogwarts for his family, and to see what he could do to help them using what he learned. Harry had a different sort of observation. He said that if they got to choose, they should choose based on what sort of people they wanted around them, as long as they got all the same teachers which it looked like they did. If you went to Gryffindor, you would be surrounded by people more likely to be brave which sounds good, but since they aren't sorted for their brains also means they may be reckless idiots. In Ravenclaw, they should be smart enough, but you're not guaranteed they'll be helpful, trustworthy or good. Slytherin sounded more like a snake pit, especially with its already bad reputation pushing the people in it in certain ways. While they could presumably learn to be more cunning there, he thought it would probably be too political especially for him as their Boy-Who-Lived. Hufflepuff was supposed to get the hard-working and the loyal, and that sounded more like the type of people he liked around him if he couldn't choose for himself. From the description, he felt they would be the friendliest people, even if they weren't supposed to be the most brilliant or cunning or brave.

He smiled at Hermione, "I think it would be the best place for you, don't you? I know I could always use more trustworthy friends. And Justin, you sound hard-working enough for them, right? Neville, what do you think?"

Neville wasn't sure, he couldn't set aside his society's perceptions so easily and still hoped he'd be good enough to be in Gryffindor like the rest of his family. He quickly changed the subject. Neville's story about his first accidental magic was worrying; being hung by his feet by his own family trying to scare him into showing his magic? Harry felt some sympathy for the other boy, ruthlessly suppressing the memories of his own abuse at the hands of 'family'. Still, it helped start up a list of funny stories and incidents, and they had a good time, getting changed into their robes half an hour before they were due to arrive at Hogsmeade station, the boys leaving the compartment first to give Hermione her privacy, then she did the same for them.

As the train pulled into the station, the corridor was already filled with students eager to get off and stretch their legs after the long ride cooped up together. Neville suggested that they wait until the crowd was gone, an idea they all endorsed. After they got out, leaving their luggage on the train as instructed, onto the dark platform, a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and a deep voice rumbled "Firs' Years! First Years over here! C'mon, follow me! Mind yer step now!"

They saw a big beard on an even bigger man, the owner of the voice, and followed him and the other younger students down a steep and narrow path. "Yeh'll get yer first sight o' Hogwarts in a sec" the big man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a chorus of oooh's as the path suddenly opened up onto the edge of a large black lake, stars reflected in its cool waters. Beyond it atop a rise perched a vast castle with many turrets and towers, its windows sparkling as much as the lake.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry helped Hermione first into their boat followed by Neville, Justin and himself.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid shouted from his own vessel, having a boat all to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"

And the boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle towering over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. A flight of stone steps and a landing later, they were crowded around the huge, oak front door. Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

* * *

_Thank you all for the support. The response to my first story has exceeded all my expectations._


	4. Chapter 4 - Surprising Harry Potter

**Chapter 4 - Surprising Harry Potter**

The great doors opened at once, a tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there who Harry and his friends all recognised.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big, you could have fit the whole of the school gym in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble stair case facing them led to the upper floors.

As they followed the Professor across the flagged stone floor, Harry could pick out the voices of hundreds of people through a doorway to the right but she directed them into a smaller, empty chamber off to the side. They crowded together to draw some mutual comfort as their nerves mounted.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," introduced Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hog warts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Goyle's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on a redheaded boy's smudged nose. Harry waited placidly, an island of calm that Hermione was clinging to. Coupled with his tall, lean body it made him stand out amongst his peers.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor Mc Gonagall instructed. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Neville loudly swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into Houses?" Harry overheard someone ask the redheaded boy.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

No one was talking much except Hermione, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry squeezed her hand. He kept his body still trying to portray a confidence he didn't quite feel. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his future. Then something happened that made that redhead jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed.

"What the — ?" The boy gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.

What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he de serves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." Feeling the rush of adrenaline as his body prepared for combat, Harry clamped down ruthlessly on the reaction, getting into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Hermione behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

* * *

Harry looked around the place curiously. For such an old building it was certainly impressive, and he wondered how much it had been renovated since its construction. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the stu dents were sitting. Harry idly wondered how they dealt with drips of wax. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candle light and Harry's back itched between his shoulderblades at being so exposed. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. After noting and dismissing the staring eyes, Harry looked up ward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

Harry watched as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. His parents would have picked it apart and remade it from scratch.

'_Maybe we have to try and get a rabbit out of it?'_ Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of crazy thing wizards would enjoy. He noticed that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat expectantly. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing badly. Harry's surprise lasted less than a second, as strangely enough he'd encountered weirder events than this. He listened to the lyrics and noted that it seemed their information was right about what traits were sought for each House, and he felt he would probably qualify for any of them. He also reaffirmed his earlier decision as to which House he preferred. Better to be surrounded by patient and loyal friends. Just get the mission done and get home.

He noted the song had finished and some of the others were whispering about having to wrestle a troll or some such insanity. He did wonder with a part of his mind just how much trouble it would cause if he destroyed the hat, as other students were called up, put the hat on and were sorted. Since his name started with a P, he would be waiting a while. He saw with pleasure that both Justin and Hermione were both made Hufflepuffs, and hid his surprise when Neville got Gryffindor, he'd have picked the boy for another 'Puff as he didn't think him braver than he was patient. That arrogant blond got Sorted straight into Slytherin, causing him to smirk and Harry thought he caught some displeasure from a cute redhead also in green and silver trim that had been sorted into Slytherin just minutes ago. What was her name? Ah that's it, Greengrass. He should pay more attention, really.

Patil, Padma was quietly sorted into Ravenclaw and Harry figured he would be up very soon. Two more girls were next, both new Gryffindors, then "Potter, Harry!" He walked up lightly to the stool, sat down and waited, doing his best to ignore the whispers from all the tables and people gawking like they were at a bloody zoo, including a couple at the Staff Table. The hat was dropped over his head and still he waited, keeping his anger in check as best he could. Without conscious thought, he thought of and discarded plan after plan to destroy ratty old thing.

"Hmm, inventive certainly." Harry heard a small voice say. "Most impressive in someone so young to have so many new and unusual ways to destroy me. Now, while your mind is guarded and well, I can still read the surface thoughts, which is how I saw your creative plans. I am happy to report that most of the methods you had in mind are prevented by other magics. And before you start trying to plot my demise in a way that will bypass any protections, I want to assure you that no one, not a single person nor a group, may be privy to the Sorting. Sorting is what I was made to do, and Sorting is all I can do, and none of the Founders would have approved of the secrets I may see becoming public. After all, they had to test me when I was first made, and as accomplished wizards and witches naturally they had their own secrets that they wouldn't reveal to any stranger that came along after their deaths. Now, can you lower your defences long enough to allow me to carry out my one purpose?"

"And what guarantee do I have that you are telling the truth? I have never seen you before nor apparently are there any other Hats that do the same job so I can't even compare you to something else in my experience."

"A good question. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee I can give you at this time that you would accept, is there? Whatever I promise, you don't have reason to trust me. All I can offer is that you may talk to any wizard or witch, and none will be able to tell you of the details of someone else's Sorting that they heard from me. That would allow you to check my word later, even if it does not help us at this moment. You could always come back and try to destroy me if you find I lied," the Hat offered.

"Correction, I **will **come back and destroy the Sorting Hat, sentient historical artifact or no, if you have lied to me. Very well, I would rather get this over and done anyway." Harry slowly lowered his Yamanaka-style defences and waited, wondering if he would feel this intrusion. A second later he got his answer, a mild headache spreading from the centre of his brain. The headache started to ease again almost immediately and he heard the voice in his ear.

"Difficult, most difficult, and I do apologize for that mild discomfort, you hadn't cleared all of your defenses yet and I tripped a minor trap. If I was anybody else, I'm sure I would have a splitting migraine." This time the voice wasn't in his ears.

Harry thought back at it, "Let me make it easier for you, then. If you put me in Slytherin then neither you nor that House will survive. I _have_ read the histories available and there are too many children of terrorists in that House. Before long I would be forced to kill in self-defence and the blood would flow from there. I wouldn't be surprised if I was eventually one of only 3 magical humans left in Britain as the bloodshed spread and idiots attacked me, my friends or my family. The destruction of wizardry and witchcraft would be directly traced to your decision right here to place me in the House of the Snakes. If you put me in Gryffindor, I'll have to put up with reckless fools who don't think ahead of time. While Ravenclaw would be better than the House of the Lions - at least I would get decent conversation and some peace and quiet - I would still be apart from my friends. I don't want to leave them alone, especially Hermione Granger. You must have noticed she needs her friends close to her. Sort me into Hufflepuff, and it will be better for your school, better for me, and best for _my friends._"

"You were right before, you would be welcomed by any of the Founders. Indeed, you're braver than Godric with what you faced, you have argued your case as well as Rowena, your new parents have developed your cunning to a level that would worry Salazar, but with Merlin as my witness, your seventy hour workdays will knock them dead when you join your friends in HUFFLEPUFF!" Harry realised that the last word was shouted out to the Great Hall and took off the Hat to a few moments of silence before clapping and cheering broke out at his new House, he set the Sorting Hat back on the stool and walked over, taking a seat between Hermione and Justin, smiling broadly at them. Most of Harry's smile was for joining his friends at the House he wanted, but part of it was for pulling a successful prank on the Wizarding World's expectations.

The rest of the Sorting went by normally, and the crowd of students were getting restless as Professor McGonagall took the Sorting Hat away. Once she returned, the old man got up from his throne-like golden chair, beaming at his students, armed open wide as if nothing could have pleased him more.

"Welcome!" he said, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down amid clapping and cheering from many of the students.

"Well!" Hermione began, "That was certainly unusual."

"At least he's the first politician I've heard say something truthful." Harry put in. "A few words, indeed." He grinned. Sure he still didn't like the old man, his repeated attempts to steal away Harry's family ensured that, but he wasn't blind to when the man did something good or impressive.

"Why did you call him a politician?" Justin asked.

"Well, in addition to being Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, he also has two other jobs. He's something called the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, which seems to be a bit like our UN, _and_ he is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, something of a mix of Parliament and the courts. That's two important political jobs he holds in addition to being the Headmaster of the _only_ school of magic in Great Britain. Plus there's the speech he just made. It's great for winning people over, just like politicians want, right?" Harry explained, correctly he thought.

Justin changed the subject. "Hey look, the food's arrived!"

And so it had. In an instant all the empty platters were now filled, piled high with food. The jugs were filled with a few different drinks but almost all of them were something that looked similar to orange juice. One taste was enough to make Harry convinced there was something wrong with the tastebuds of the Wizarding World. "What IS that awful stuff?!" He exclaimed, unable to restrain himself.

A blonde boy two seats down showed his surprise at both Harry's dislike of the drink as well as his ignorance. "That's pumpkin juice, of course. Haven't you had it before? Oh, sorry, I'm Ernest Macmillan, call me Ernie."

Harry offered his hand, "Hi, I'm Harry Potter. And no, I hadn't met a wizard since I was a baby until I met Justin here outside the Leaky Cauldron a month ago. He, Hermione and I met there with Professor McGonagall to get our stuff for school. And I only met the Professor a couple of days before that when she came to prove magic was real like she does for the other Muggle-borns."

"But Harry, you're not Muggle-born! Both your parents were magical!" Ernie replied.

"I might as well be, though. After all, it's not like there's any difference apart from environment, I read."

"We call that Muggle-raised, but I guess I see what you mean. It's just a bit of a surprise, to think you didn't even know about magic. I mean, you're the Boy-Who-Lived! You're famous!" He stopped hastily, sensing Harry's change in mood.

"Yes, I'm famous because my parents were murdered by some nutcase that has everyone scared even after he's dead." He growled.

"Sorry, Harry!" Ernie apologised hastily, putting in every ounce of sincerity he could.

Harry nodded and took a breath to calm his nerves. "No, I'm sorry, Ernie, I shouldn't have said that either." He looked around, gaining some time and changed the subject. "So, is there something other than pumpkin juice to drink? I guess if you're raised on it you can get used to it, after all, but tonight I'd rather have something I like."

"Yeah, there's a jug of water down here, one sec." Ernie passed it along to a grateful Harry. Though Harry didn't know about it, and likely wouldn't have cared if he did, the gossip that THE Harry Potter hated pumpkin juice was around the school faster than he would've believed. For now, though, Harry and his friends were more intent on chatting to their new Housemates and eating dinner. Justin's grimace at the cooking was almost matched by Harry's before he clamped down, again, on his reaction. While he was sure Justin and Hermione would understand, he didn't intend to cause more waves on his very first night. Instead, he limited himself to a brief "Boarding school food, right?" for Justin's ears and ate slowly, apparently distracted by chatting with his fellow 'Puffs. Having enjoyed food cooked by the Kitsunes, and even learned some of their culinary skills from his dad and Ayame-mum, as well as eating with his friends over the years, Hogwarts food seemed to match the tradition of British boarding schools.

* * *

When everyone was finished eating, Dumbledore again stood and the hall fell silent. "Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered." Harry noted the insult for later consideration. "I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First Years should note that the forest on the ground is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of a pair of grinning redheads over at the Gryffindor table. "I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their House should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

Harry laughed until he noticed that none of the older students were treating it as the joke it ought to be. Great, a mystery to investigate on his very first night in the castle. Well, two if he wanted to find out just why anyone thought 'pumpkin juice' was a good idea. Still, investigations were just what the Shadow Clone were for originally, and he had 6 he could use at Hogwarts or more in an emergency. He made a note to talk to the others later, for now though, Dumbledore was speaking again.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" The other teachers' smiles almost disappeared here or became strained.

Harry could have cried. This was one of the problems with having trained and developed his senses so much. People singing off-key! It quickly got worse, when Dumbledore invited everyone to pick their favourite tune to which to sing the silly words. The fact that he appeared moved by the performance only added to the suffering. Not even the hearing-protection techniques he had would save him.

Dumbledore must be tone-deaf, Harry decided, toying with thoughts of Tayuya-mum and Kin-mum expressing their displeasure to the man over a nice cup of tea and a full set of tools for making their baby boy sit through such a travesty of sound. Harry mouthed the words on automatic while he thought of how his friends at home were doing.

Eventually the torture was over, those grinning idiots in Gryffindor being last to finish up with a funeral march, and they were sent off to bed by a disturbingly emotional Headmaster. The Fifth Year Prefects came over and escorted the ten new Hufflepuffs to the dorms, taking the time to point out various aspects of the castle on the way down into a lower level past the Hogwarts Kitchens ("Suitable for a snack any time, just tickle the pear!" they were told) and from there to a corridor nearby. In a shadowy stone recess they were shown a pile of large barrels.

The Fifth Year boy waited until he got all their attention. "Now while the other Houses have passwords or for the Ravenclaws a riddle to guard their dorms, Hufflepuff set up something different for her House. The barrel two from the bottom, in the middle of this second row, here is special. If you tap it in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' like this-" he demonstrated for the waiting students, "it opens up into the tunnel that allows us to get inside. After you."

Inside they found a rather cosy and welcoming space. Indeed they somehow felt like the sun was shining on them. They also saw a squat little witch waiting for them with short, grey, wavy hair. She gave them a smile as she looked them over.

"Welcome, my new First Years, to your new House while you are here at Hogwarts. I am your Head of House, Professor Sprout. I will also be teaching you Herbology. If Professor McGonagall gave you her usual speech, then she told you that your House is something like your family while you are at Hogwarts. While the other Houses may differ, in Hufflepuff we aim to support our new family and help each other with any troubles. You have been chosen because you are hardworking and loyal. Here you may find a warm welcome, especially those among you new to the Wizarding World, and we will do what we can to help you find your place as you grow as witches and wizards, as students, and as people."

She nodded to her Prefects. "These two will be available to answer questions if I am busy, or just ask anyone. We are a friendly lot here. For now, though, why don't you all follow a Prefect who will show you to your dorms. Your trunks have been brought in already and are waiting by your beds. Go through, unpack and settle in, and I'll see you again in the morning"

The Prefects split them into boys and girls, and Harry, Justin, Ernie and the two boys Harry didn't know yet followed. Harry was a little relieved, since even here he was getting extra looks though they were generally friendly ones. So far it seemed Harry's guess was right, both about the House and about expectations. A quick introduction to his roommates Roger Malone and Wayne Hopkins and they went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke up at 6am as was his habit. He looked at his watch and saw he had about ten minutes until his clones at home were due to dispel themselves. As he pulled back the curtains and started to get ready for the day, he was unsurprised to see the other boys were all still dead to the world. He smiled to himself, thinking they would be grateful he could be so quiet, if they were awake to appreciate his courtesy. Silently he dressed in his running clothes and headed out through the empty Common Room to the castle proper. As he passed through shadows, he created a few Shadow Clones with orders to do a quick scout of the building to give him a map, creating replacements and dispelling themselves every five minutes where possible, until he had a basic layout of the castle clear in his head.

Within ten minutes, his clones had visited every floor. Within twenty, they'd gotten thoroughly lost! The castle was big, to be sure, but the real issue was that the layout wasn't stable. Also, he was getting a weird headache from whichever clones had used any of the staircases that moved. After the backlash from those cleared, he immediately realised that it could be due to the clones being made of chakra and interacting with the magic that moved the staircases.

After he created and dispelled a clone to spread that knowledge over the clones out exploring, they avoided touching any of the moving staircases, and that helped a great deal. There were still odd places, walls that looked like doors, doors that looked part of the walls or hidden behind tapestries, and some of those felt uncomfortable to the clones. To test, however, Harry sought out the nearest moving staircase, riding it comfortably. It was only when he pressed his hand on the steps and actively ran chakra through it that he felt pain. '_Test complete.'_ he thought. While inconvenient, it was certainly no hindrance that his clones couldn't really walk on the magical stairs. They were as comfortable as he was walking on the walls or ceiling, and he was sure they would soon find a way to act as if they were walking normally if need be.

A full hour after he got up, Harry looked at his watch and headed up to take a shower. It was still early and if he was lucky, he should still get to have a long shower before he was forced to share. Unbidden, an image of a girl sharing the shower went through his mind and he cursed his early hormones. One long soothing shower later, Harry headed down to the Great Hall and sat down to breakfast at twenty minutes to eight. There were a scattering of students already there and more trickled in, most still drowsy as they took their places, eating up. Harry made sure to get a jug of milk for he and his friends to drink when they arrived, taking in a leisurely meal. By ten to, all ten of the Hufflepuffs in his year were seated around him, and he noticed that the pumpkin juice wasn't near any of them.

Professor Sprout had also noticed that they were all present and came over to give them each their timetables. "As you can see, your first class is with me, so around twenty past eight I'll take you over to Greenhouse One where we'll be taking all our Herbology classes this year. Later this morning you have Defence Against the Dark Arts, followed immediately by lunch, and this afternoon is Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, and dinner to follow at six thirty tonight. Your curfew is at nine sharp, which means you are to be in our Common Room or in your dorms by that time. Are there any questions?"

There were none, though everyone did have to go back to get their books, except for Hermione who was carrying all her books with her. Harry went back to the dorms with the rest while Hermione took the chance to get in some reading instead. When everyone returned, Harry noted Hermione still had all the books there and offered to carry her bag for her, the same as he would for his girls at home. He didn't think that much of it, to him it was just obvious. Carrying kilos of books was a pain in the back if you didn't have the muscles for it and he could tell that none of his fellow First Years had them. Hermione gave him a shy smile and accepted, Harry slinging the bag easily over a shoulder and walked off next to her among the new 'Puffs, all of them wondering what their classes would be like.

The sun shining made the greenhouse sparkle as they approached, and when they got inside, the heat was almost stifling. The students were suddenly very glad they would never have classes here over the middle of summer. They sat in a semicircle around their Head of House, who proceeded to show them various plants both magical and normal, and explained something of the properties of each, before passing around one of the safer plants in the curriculum, getting each of them to examine it and say what they noticed most about it, before she offered extra tips on things to look for and gave them a second variety to study. At the end of the lesson, the students were fairly happy, though for Wayne Hopkins that could just have been the excuse to get dirty.

They all trooped back into the castle, washing up before breaking up to go their own ways for the next hour. Hermione, naturally, wanted to check out the Library, and it was almost a tie between Justin and Harry for second. Harry brought along both parchment and quill sets and a notebook, fountain pen, pencil and eraser, as well as a couple extra books. When he and Justin met up with Hermione in their Common Room, he saw with a smile that she'd added more books too, so he again offered to carry them for her. They found their way quickly with Harry leading, only making one wrong turn thanks to the shifting passages. Harry was hopeful that eventually he would know enough of the changes that he could anticipate them before they happened. Maybe.

* * *

Their first sight of the Library was certainly designed to impress any true bibliophile. Shelves stretching into the distance, and thousands upon thousands of books old and new. Hermione guided them straight to the Librarian, Madam Pince, asking her about the rules in the Library. Her answer was crisp, almost forbidding, and conveyed a sense that Madam Pince actually viewed the books as her own personal treasures. While under other circumstances Harry might have found this amusing, he felt no temptation to laugh in front of the witch let alone at her.

The trio took a table, getting only one book each off the shelves for now as agreed, and enjoyed a rather quiet hour. That was when the silence was interrupted by a Ravenclaw boy and girl quietly arguing over the possession of a book on Arithmancy. By the sound of it there was only one copy left and they both wanted it. When the boy won the remarkably quiet contest he walked off to read it in peace and the girl looked downcast. Harry marked his place in his book and got up, walking over to her.

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter. I couldn't help hearing that you were looking for a particular book on Arithmancy. What was it called?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, _Arithmancy by the Numbers: A Beginner's Guide_" she replied, blushing a little, "I'm Padma Patil, by the way."

"Well, Padma, I can understand why you'd want that book," he smiled softly. "I've brought my copy with me. If you like, you could read mine?" Harry offered.

"Th- thank you!"

Harry smiled while wondering what he could do to help the others see him as Harry Potter, First Year student rather than some sort of hero. He put it aside for now, as no matter what he chose to do, the problem would be with him for a while. The girl sat down next to Justin at their table and, after quiet and quick introductions, they returned to their reading for another half-hour or so until it was time for them to pack up and prepare for their next class, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Sadly, that class was a letdown after their engaging introduction to Herbology. The teacher had that ridiculous purple turban which he said was a gift, an obvious lie that unravelled as soon as Padma Patil asked for the story behind it. The odd smell from it was a further indication. The smell of decomposition, even masked by garlic and other scents, was strong enough Harry had to use one of the protective techniques his parents taught him against the foul odour. Quirinus Quirrell was the only person Harry had met in the school that stank of decomposition, and that alone was enough to get Harry suspicious. The man was someone to watch.

Hermione wanted to return to the Library, but Harry and Justin convinced her to come outside with them and read on the lawn, taking advantage of the blue skies. She and Justin were grateful for the picnic blanket Harry produced for them, and afterwards, Hermione admitted they were right, the fresh air (and a good book) were just what she needed after the lingering smells in the DADA classroom.

They eventually wandered in for lunch, then took a walk around the grounds exploring and admiring the scenery, and watching some older students buzzing about on brooms. Sticking close to Harry and Justin, Hermione started talking more with other first years they met on their explorations. Harry smiled openly at that; like anyone he enjoyed being right, but more than that he was seeing Hermione opening up further and he loved being able to help his friends.

* * *

By the time they went in as a group to Transfiguration, Hermione just handed Harry her bag and smiled at the in-joke. Harry took it with his own smile, and led the way to the classroom. Professor McGonagall had her professional mask firmly in place as she started the lesson with a warning:

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she began. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

From there she displayed an impressive piece of magic, turning her desk into a pig and back again. With her class suitably excited, she got started with an introduction to Transfiguration, its power, its history, its role in the Wizarding World. After a lot of note-taking, she handed out matches and instructed them to turn them into needles.

This was the moment when Harry nearly came undone.

He knew that magic and chakra didn't play well together, but he knew it as a product of the intellect. Harry's true lesson that day was a bone-deep awareness that there was something wrong with his spell casting. His every attempt caused pain to flow down his right arm, a feeling like he was burning his arm from the inside out. When he attempted to minimise the chakra flowing to his arm, that helped reduce the pain, the damage he could _feel_, but the feeling of magic went with it, and he couldn't even get a spark out of his wand when he tried. He spent the rest of the lesson with his attention split even more than usual, fighting not to show the pain as well as trying different ways to call up his magic without dragging along his chakra with it. He had ideas of what he would need to do, but the problem was finding one that worked. All he had to show for his efforts by the end of the lesson was a match that could almost be called silver if one squinted, a headache from the mental strain, and a way to get maybe one tenth of his magic to respond while he kept his chakra mostly suppressed. Without further testing or help from his medic parents, there was little he could do. He did remember to praise Hermione when she earned praise from McGonagall for getting her match all silver and pointy.

* * *

After class he ducked out to use a bathroom, taking the chance to perform a quick diagnostic technique, finding some minor damage that he was able to repair, feeling much better as he rejoined his friends, a term that he felt would come to encompass all five 'Puff girls, and at least two of the boys. He would try to get to be friends or at least on polite terms with all of them, but he figured seven of nine would be good enough if it didn't work out that perfectly.

Hermione headed off to the Library again. She was feeling better about being around people her own age, but it was still an adjustment for her to have friends so she was nervous about driving them off. Besides, all those books all in one place, how could she resist? Why should she? A quick goodbye to her friends and she was off with a smile.

This left an open spot by Harry's side, however, and after some looks from the girls, Justin made way too, making Harry want to roll his eyes at all of it. On the other hand, it was a chance for him to get to know the others better, and it wasn't like Justin was leaving. The next thing Harry knew, he had a girl on each arm, he shuddered inside at all the teasing he would get from his parents, though he had to smile back at each girl.

The blonde girl on his left started them off. "Hi, I'm Hannah Abbott. Me and Susan Bones over there have been best friends for years. Would you be our friend too, Harry?"

He had to give her credit, she was direct. "Of course, Hannah and Susan, I always like having more friends." He looked at the others to show he included them in the offer. "My only condition is that you want to be friends with me, Harry Potter, and not just with the Boy Who Lived."

Some of them looked a little confused, so he added. "The Boy Who Lived is some character in books. None of the writers have ever even met me, much less interviewed me, not even for the supposed history books; they just made stuff up." He saw some doubt still there, so another try. "Ok, Hannah, you wouldn't want to be treated as if you were really someone else, like say Professor McGonagall. She's smart, respected and someone well-known."

"But she's not me-" Hannah smiled, "I get it. OK, Harry, I'm happy to be _your _friend." She was quickly echoed by the rest, and Harry gave them a big smile, relieved that at least here he could find people who may see him for himself. Well, he amended, see the Harry that was just a normal boy. Whether he would ever get to let them see everything else was something he couldn't decide any time soon, sadly. So much of it wasn't his secret to share. The secrets that were his alone were really just about the Dursleys, and he would rather just forget all about them since he couldn't afford to kill them for what they did to an innocent child. He knew he would have to tell his friends eventually, but the thought was unpleasant to say the least.

Susan spoke up at last, "That's settled, then. Now let's head to the Great Hall. I'm hungry!" She kept her arm linked with Harry's, and between them she and Hannah dragged their new friend/possession to the Hall. Harry did remember to ask Justin if he could check on Hermione and invite her to dinner with the rest of them, a way to make sure she didn't skip meals for the sake of reading, something he was afraid she might easily do now that she had a big new library to explore.

Justin laughed, "I can see you're tied up, Harry, sure I'll grab a quick bite to take with me on the long, arduous journey."

Harry entered the Great Hall, still trapped between the two girls and felt like laughing himself, both out of relief at getting _some_ progress on having people treat him as Harry, and also at the image he was making. The 'boy hero' dragged between two girls. He would have to remember to create more jokes in future so he didn't get too wound up. He also wondered if Hogwarts would have any movies to watch since they would be stuck in the castle or the grounds for the next three months. Failing that, he would have to see about other ways to pass the time. Not everyone would be as thrilled as his Hermione to have only a library for inspiration and relaxation.

Harry covered the sudden smile with a bite of his roast. Hermione wouldn't be the only 'Puff to spend lots of time in there. He just knew his family would love to read that Library, and with the Muggle-repelling wards around the whole grounds the only way they would get a chance was for him to copy the books there and send the copies home. He should also spend more time with Cesarina and Miyuki. A flutter caught his attention just as his snowy owl entered the hall, zooming down to his shoulder.

She preened as she instantly became the centre of attention, accepting caresses from the mostly girls that crowded around them, before rubbing her head against his cheek and looking in his eyes. He smiled ruefully. "Yes, girl, I should spend more time with you, you're such a beautiful owl, aren't you?" Miyuki clacked her beak and nodded then settled on his shoulder, satisfied that her place at the top of the pecking order was secured. Harry then spent a few minutes showing Miyuki off to everyone, something he knew she enjoyed, before writing a quick note and tying it around her proffered leg. "Would you take this to my parents, Miyuki? Oh, and the note asks them to give you a proper feed when you get there. I know you've missed your bacony goodness." With a quick nod, Miyuki was off out of there again.

No sooner was she gone than Cesarina hopped up onto his lap, looking at him with a clear look that said, "Feed me, now." Cutting up strips of meat for the tiger-striped cat, he fed her, much to the amusement of those watching, as he kept up conversation with his friends. A quick signal and Cesarina got up carefully, making her rounds of the Hall. By the time she returned, Hermione had been retrieved from the Library by Justin, and took a seat opposite Harry, cooing at the beautiful feline who promptly abandoned Harry and occupied Hermione's lap, cadging extra food from the girl.

* * *

Over dinner, the group talked about their lessons, their teachers, the other students, and also their home lives. After dinner, he took a second to tell his clones to dispel providing him a more developed map of the Castle and the grounds. Three replacements were now sent to start investigating anything interesting, one would read further through the books, one watching his back and one keeping a general eye out around him. They chatted until it was time to head back before curfew, with most of them chatting more, keeping the noise down so those reading wouldn't be disturbed.

Another peaceful night's sleep and Harry was up at 6am again, going for his morning run and headed down to breakfast where the students again trickled in. After eating and heading off to class - another run down to the greenhouses for Herbology - he started his lessons for the day. In the hour break before History of Magic, Hermione had to be calmed down again; she had become very excited about being taught by an actual ghost. Sadly, the class was a failure, as the ghost of Professor Binns droned on and on while they took notes, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. Hermione demanded some time with Cesarina after that disappointment, though he caught her smile. After lunch, it was time for their first Charms class with the Head of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick. He was a tiny wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. Harry wondered why he didn't use something else, but perhaps it was his way of joking about his height, or maybe it was something he did to make people underestimate him. When he reached Harry's name during roll call, Harry caught him faking an excited squeak before he allowed himself to topple off the desk. Harry noted that there was no sound of his fall and nodded mentally. It was a ruse, and it did help to make his class more friendly.

Wednesday was much the same, their last Herbology and Transfiguration classes for the week, and Astronomy at midnight up at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Their teacher, Professor Sinistra had an engaging style and brought her subject to life, despite the tired students, but it was obvious that she was limited by inferior equipment. And while interesting in its own right, they couldn't see a relevance between the subject and anything else they needed to learn, nor were they told of practical applications. Harry held out hope, after it was early days, even at midnight, to be calling the subject useless or outdated. She did question him closely about his telescope, a modern one he got from a specialty shop in London 'on the Muggle side' as his Professor put it. Sakura-mum had raved about this model to the rest of the family, and when they saw that he was required to bring his own telescope to Hogwarts she made the sacrifice of her very own one. She said she would just buy the next model when it came out, something Harry didn't doubt for a minute.

Thursday all the First Year 'Claws and 'Puffs were tired, even Harry - though that didn't stop him waking up for his regular run. Thankfully their first class was History at ten thirty. Harry made a bet with Justin the night before that someone would fall asleep in class and that the Professor wouldn't even notice. That would be followed by DADA, then lunch and their second Charms class. '_Well, one good class out of three, at least,'_ he thought. For what was supposed to be a great school of magic, Harry was distinctly unimpressed, and he had heard that their last subject, Potions, could be even worse as the teacher hated teaching. These musings fled his mind as one of his clones popped itself, and he slipped out of sight heading towards an ugly scene. Over near the Slytherin Dungeons, a clone had seen three boys following a redheaded girl. When he identified the three boys as Draco Malfoy and his guards, a sadistic expression adorning the arrogant blond's face, he dispelled to get 'the Boss', as his Shadow Clones called the real Harry, to the scene to handle it.

The girl, Daphne he remembered, was backed up against a stone wall, the door she thought to use turning out to be another fake. Before her, three fellow Slytherins tried to loom over her. Since she was inches taller than any of them, it wasn't working too well, so then they crowded her. That ponce Malfoy was lecturing her about 'better families' and how 'those from poor Swedish roots' ought to recognise their betters. He was just about to boast for the fifth time of his family's wealth and power when he and his goons lost their balance, falling painfully to the sticky stone floor, face down and now stuck.

She looked behind them and saw THE Harry Potter with a fixed, neutral expression on his face. The owner of those green eyes walked over calmly, offered her a hand and guided her away, blocking her view of the now humiliated trio. Once she was away and out of danger, he gave a short bow and disappeared around a corner. The Sticky Capture Field technique he used vanished, leaving only the three boys now stuck to each other in a compromising position.

Harry had to walk quickly to make it to his first class, but overall he was pleased with himself. He had stopped the incident before it went too far, he had saved the girl, and he had managed to refrain from beating those fools to within an inch of their lives. While satisfying at the time, he knew he didn't want to go that far for something that likely wasn't even a crime, yet. Besides, the consequences for doing that he didn't even know, which would have made it extremely foolish. Still, he did feel good about what he had done. He got through his classes, not even mentioning the confrontation to his friends since he didn't yet have an explanation for how he got there.

* * *

Harry decided that Murphy must have been watching him because things did not go according to his plan. Later that day, Harry was tracked down by the elder cousin Mark Wilkinson who bowed slightly to him, saying he felt he owed Harry for helping out Daphne when he had no need. Harry pondered briefly and asked Mark if he would mind hearing Harry out.

"Normally, I'd just tell you that you don't owe me anything for that. However, this isn't the same society I grew up in. I mean, I've not even been here a week and that's glaringly obvious to me. As such, I'll exercise some caution, and indulge in some Ravenclaw curiosity." He took a breath and looked seriously up at the 4th Year Slytherin. "I don't intend any insult to you, to Daphne, or your family, so if that means you owe me, then I would consider the debt paid if you could help arrange lessons in your culture. If it's a more informal thing, a thank you for helping family, well, truly, your thanks aren't needed, I was happy to help her out against bullies. If that gets me another friend or two, then that's the icing on the cake."

The older boy was taken aback, this was not at all what he'd expected from the Boy Who Lived, and especially the way he identified the Wizarding World as foreign. Still, it was certainly apparent that he was _trying _to settle in. The serious way he took the situation was a pleasant surprise, Mark decided, as was the offer of friendship both to him and to his cute little cousin Daphne. If cultivated, that could _certainly_ help him in his career prospects, and help restore the family fortunes, something they needed as the last half century had been costly both in blood and money, what with the reduced sales that a smaller population imposed on their businesses. Not that Mark knew all of that history just yet, only that the family had had to cut back on certain expenses, and then again in his own childhood. The lavish balls and parties of his parents' youth were unavailable to his generation, something he was starting to really miss given how it was hurting his dating prospects - as his teenage hormones were reminding him hourly. Coming out of his thoughts, he allowed his smile to show, and offered his hand to Harry. "You know, Potter, I believe I'd like another friend. And I can see that you aren't like I expected."

Harry smiled back up at Mark as he shook hands with the older boy. They discussed a few minor matters, helping to break the ice, before heading their separate ways. Mark later that night let Daphne know of Harry's offer of friendship, an opportunity she seized the following day at breakfast.

His practice spellcasting that evening showed some progress too, he was able to cast his first successful spell but the pain was intense. He wouldn't call it a success until he could cast without such a crippling distraction. The nerve damage was more than a little worrying, too, though his clones healed that within a minute. As long as he stayed on top of it, especially if his parents could find a solution, the damage shouldn't become a long-term problem. He'd get the clones at home to let them know in the next day or two. After all, the damage was being healed and they couldn't visit him soon enough for the delay to matter and it _was_ a secure way to pass on message. '_Hmm, maybe that would work for my little copying project.'_

* * *

_Once again, I am astounded by the response to my first story. Thank you for taking the time to read my work. As always, feedback is appreciated._


	5. Chapter 5 - The Potions Master

**Chapter 5 - The Potions Master**

Harry woke up at six o'clock on Friday, the same time as he had all week, and found himself of two minds about the day. On the one hand, their teacher for Potions was supposedly brilliant, but he was also said to be incredibly biased towards his own House and against the Lions. Harry felt a little relieved that he wouldn't be subjected to that systematic bias, though still hated that such a bias was treated as just part of the landscape.

Heading to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry found more of the 'Puffs in his year waiting for him. They were even grinning, which he admitted worried him a little, though he doubted it could be anything too dire they had in mind. He had another change to his routine when Mark Wilkinson led Daphne Greengrass, the freckled red-haired girl he had rescued, over to the Hufflepuff table. Silence rippled outward as they walked up to him, asking if they could take a seat. Harry's reply "Fine by me, Mark," saw tensions drop and the two Snakes took the nearest open seats.

Daphne was clearly smiling in relief, "Thank you, Harry, I was worried you might have changed your mind overnight."

"That would have been very silly of me, don't you think? Turning down the friendship of a girl I had helped escape bullies from her own House. Speaking of which, I don't see the blond ponce or his hangers-on in the Hall. Dare I hope they got punished for ganging up on a single girl?"

"No, no official punishment." Mark replied, just a little bit bitterly. "However the leader, Draco, discovered to his shock that he isn't the Prince of Slytherin, no matter how much of Daddy's money he mentions. I believe he was encouraged to spend time in solitude this morning to help contemplate his mistakes. That message was delivered by a variety of minor hexes and jinxes in our Common Room last night. Since none of the spells were cast verbally, officially there is no proof that he could take to his Daddy." Mark's smile was shark-like by this point, "Just as officially there is no proof Daphne was targeted."

Harry was intrigued by Mark's story and made a note to investigate non-verbal casting when he had the chance. "I'm just glad that I could help. I've always felt that bullies need to be stomped down hard before they get to enjoy the habit. While it would be better if the staff could do the job, I'm really not that surprised they don't. Between the usual uneven enforcement and the understaffing here at Hogwarts, they can't even do half as good a job as at Muggle schools."

"I'm surprised," Daphne said, "Our family doesn't have much to do with Muggles, but we never hear about them doing anything better than the Wizarding World."

"That seems to be the problem, if you don't know someone well, then you won't know where their strengths or weaknesses are." Hermione put in.

"So how would you solve it?" Harry asked the group around him, curious what solutions they would see. After a few weird suggestions as well as the obvious, at least to Harry, one of regular contact, the conversation drifted naturally enough to Potions.

That's when the Potions Master chose to walk into the Hall, spotting both the Snakes he wanted to watch. Greengrass and her cousin were not at their usual places but over on the Hufflepuff Table talking to Potter! Stalking up to the Staff Table and his customary seat, he kept an eye on that situation. Looking closer, he spotted in Harry none of the arrogance or hostility to his Snakes that so marked his thrice-damned father. Harry looked up, the morning sun catching his green eyes, his face lighting up as he talked about... '_He's talking about Potions!'_ Snape realised, his lipreading skills and subtle listening charms coming in useful again. He was struck anew by how Harry wasn't just a clone of his father as he had expected and feared due to those damned books; instead, he picked out Lily's cheeks and jaw, and a grace to all his movements that Potter had never possessed. '_Lily's eyes and cheeks, an interest in Potions, talking to my Snakes, there may be hope yet.'_

Harry returned to his conversation, setting aside Professor Snape's obvious interest in his area. It could be his damned fame or a natural concern for his students sitting outside of their usual places. His awareness returned to the Hall more generally, allowing him to spot on his left side some spell aimed his way from the red-haired Gryffindor twins, who he had learned were part of the large Weasley family. A quick, underpowered Earth Wall intercepted whatever magic it was with no one the wiser. The paper-thin wall of stone turned to dust at its impact and settled back to the floor.

The group stayed around for a while after classes started for some of the older students since they had a break before their only class of the day. Mark admitted that the rumours were true, their Head of House was biased against the Lions though they had no idea why, and he did seem to be less harsh to his own Snakes, something that Daphne agreed seemed true in her class with the Lions on Wednesday. He added that Snape was very strict about maintaining control of his classes, and that it was a very bad idea to be caught with your attention wandering while brewing, not least because some of the potions could become caustic or explosive if mistakes were made.

* * *

Professor Snape recalled the events of yesterday as he dithered over his morning meal. As usual more was happening than was visible on the surface. He had tracked the Malfoy spawn to the corridor where he cornered the Greengrass girl. Malfoy obviously believed he had gotten her alone where he could do whatever he wanted. He felt like sighing in disgust and disappointment at the Malfoy scion. He was disgusted that any of 'his' Snakes would gang up on one of their own like this, especially when it was a little girl with red hair bullied by three boys. While he'd defend their actions against the other Houses, as required both by his role as Dumbledore's man and his own House pride, this particular scene wasn't covered by those drives. He was about to step in before it got physical when somehow the disgusting little toerags fell over onto the suddenly slippery and sticky floor. Lily's green-eyed boy prowled in, eyes flashing briefly in anger, every movement screaming to Snape's senses of a predator's grace. He watched as Harry passed up the chance to insult his Snakes, preferring instead to help Daphne out of there, ignoring the boys on the ground in order to get this little incident finished.

Snape blinked, the only sign visible of his surprise, as Harry had managed to intervene, getting in and out of there without a word or deed punishable even by Snape, and escaping unnoticed. He glared at the little Malfoy, muttered "Pathetic" and turned around, stalking off with robes billowing, ignoring the still-trapped students on the corridor floor, now stuck to each other. In the depths of his mind, Snape felt hope that Harry would turn out more like his saintly mother than that demon of a father of his, then snorted, like his luck would allow anything like that! Still, he would be watching closely, very closely. If that Potter stepped one foot out of line, he'd crush it into dust! Tomorrow was the first Potions lesson for the Puffs and Claws, time enough then to discover just what he was facing. Snape had swapped around his classes to delay teaching Potter as long as possible when the boy was Sorted into Hufflepuff. "Still, at least he isn't a bloody idiot Gryffindor!"

Where another Professor, indeed ANY other Professor, would have commended Harry and punished Draco and his minions for their disgraceful behaviour, Snape would do neither. He'd say, if he deigned to discuss the matter, that his role demanded that he not punish Lucius' son, and that covered Crabbe and Goyle, too, as Draco's associates, and that Potter had been reckless in attacking while outnumbered three on one, as well as the fact that he _attacked_ students, thus deserved no such commendation and certainly shouldn't be encouraged! It was only luck that meant Harry couldn't be punished. As for Draco, Vincent and Greg, they wouldn't receive an official punishment, but Snape would be able to leave a message with his Prefects who would see to discouraging further flights of delusion from the self-styled Slytherin prince, especially any targeted against a Snake from a prominent family.

That night, Snape had a delightful meal with the Malfoys, reminiscing about good times, and when the conversation drifted, as he knew it must, to Draco, Snape couldn't prevent the scowl forming, something Narcissa picked up immediately. When asked to explain what caused that reaction, Snape detailed the incident he'd witnessed, including his observation of Draco cornering and intimidating a single little girl in the hopes of making her a follower. When he gave the name of the little girl, Lucius paled, he'd never dreamed his son could be so foolish, while Narcissa flushed slightly with her anger at her boy. The way Potter came in, dumped all three boys on the ground without a word, a touch, or an incantation, marking their clothes with the evidence of their defeat, escorted the girl away, ignoring the helpless foes as he rescued the girl, blew them away, as it had Snape. After allowing them a moment to recover their bearings, something he was tactful enough to ignore, taking a few more bites of the meal to conceal it, he then described the follow-up, where the girl's cousin tracked Potter down and was offered the friendship of the Boy Who Lived. Left unsaid was this was an advantage denied to their own spawn through his own actions.

At the end of the meal, after some inconsequential talk, he had returned to Hogwarts, gathering his 7th Year Prefects and informing them of what Draco had done, that officially his hands were tied, and that he'd certainly have to punish any excessive treatment of Draco if he discovered who was responsible. A later check of the wards monitoring the Slytherin Dungeons showed that before Draco headed to bed that night, he got hit by a variety of silent spells - low level hexes and curses mostly - to the point that Draco was only just short of _needing_ a trip to Madam Pomfrey's 'tender mercies', something he was just bright enough to avoid. The looks Draco got from the other Slytherins this morning, particularly the girls, told Draco quite firmly that he wouldn't be making the trip to the Hospital Wing for any reason short of urgent need lest they take advantage of his weakness, nor would he be pressuring any of the girls again until he was ready to make his move for dominance and put everyone in their proper place.

Now, the time was approaching for his first lessons with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw First Years. He only wished that his hope for talented students, or at least quiet ones, wouldn't be in vain. Sadly, it seemed that none of the students these days matched up to the talent and devotion of his own years.

The man ignored the fact that his own prodigious skill at his chosen art in his first year was not the norm, and shouldn't be expected of the general student body; his position as the youngest person to ever achieve a Potions Mastery wasn't just for show. Only Lily Evans' own gift at the art of Potion brewing exceeded even his own but she had failed to take advantage of the opportunities her Muggle neighbours offered for expanding her knowledge, something that greatly helped his own knowledge. He would never have been able to create new safe variations of common potions without their unwilling help. Lily though had a passion for learning and feel for brewing that had yet to be equalled even a decade after her death.

He also ignored the fact that his own instructor in the art had both the interest and the ability to spot and nurture budding talent. Indeed, Slughorn had regularly praised Snape's own efforts and found subtle ways to hint where to research next, and how to cover up any ill effects. Snape himself made no such efforts unless a student was already accomplished, and so it was very rare that such talents manifested with Snape's demeanour choking the talent before it could bloom.

* * *

Harry and his friends broke up their long chat half an hour before the class was due to start. Today, however, it wasn't just Hermione giving him her bookbag to carry around. Susan and Hannah got in on the 'fun', and at the last minute so did Megan Jones and Leanne Moon, the other two 'Hufflegirls' as they were calling themselves. Harry took it in good spirits, it was at least becoming good balance training even if the weights were still far short of what he was already wearing under his clothes. Daphne apologised for not taking them down there herself but she had History of Magic with Binns upstairs. Harry accepted it, though he hadn't expected that she would offer the escort, and he didn't think they would need it, it was just a friendly thing Daphne wanted to do.

In the lead, since he did know the way, Harry and his Housemates arrived outside the classroom as a group, finding a couple of Ravenclaws waiting and reading their books. A quick hello to the 'Puffs and they returned to their reading, literally last minute studying before the teacher arrived. Professor Snape stalked in, cloak billowing behind him and closed the door as soon as class was due to begin. Obviously, he didn't care to help any latecomers.

He glared until they all quickly found their seats and gave a prepared speech, his manner calculated to have them all quiet and attentive. He called the roll, a brief pause his only sign before "Potter, Harry", and on to the next. While he obviously didn't like calling that name, he didn't seem to like _any_ of the names of his new students.

He barked out a few questions at his students, noting the bushy-haired Muggle-born was eager to prove herself, but he was more interested in seeing if Lily's boy had inherited her gifts. He caught the boy's glance at his friend as well as the recognition in his eyes as each question was asked. Interesting that not only did the boy know the answers, or think he did rather, but he was also allowing a friend to take the lead. While that spoke of Slytherin subtlety, it could also be Hufflepuff teamwork. Either were more appealing than Gryffindor foolishness!

After that, he made them pair up, taking Potter from his friends, making him work with one of those Indian twins. When she seemed happy and chatted with the boy, Snape admitted that his information was incomplete, and set the class to making a simple potion to cure boils to let him evaluate their existing skills, if any.

Keeping an eye on a score of ignorant, incompetent brewers was stressful and far from easy, but Snape was satisfied with his level of supervision. That Patil girl was more competent than her sister who had managed to mix up the instructions. Sadly that didn't create any funny results, merely some sludge that would have to be removed without magic as it reacted badly to the standard cleaning spells. She and Lily's boy turned in an acceptable potion. Nothing he'd use himself, but he would donate it to Pomfrey's stocks, along with the one that Muggleborns Granger and Finch-something had made. The rest turned in poor discoloured imitations of the required potions which he Vanished on the spot.

Harry and his friends came out of their first Potions lesson and headed up to lunch, Harry again carrying all the girls' bags. Hermione was upset when Harry and Justin pointed out that of the seven teachers they had, two were clearly incompetent, one hated his students, one was working with poor equipment and so falling behind the astronomers in the scientific community, leaving only three that were any good at teaching their students the right material, a poor ratio for what was supposed to be a great school of magic, and a waste of a lot of money. After a lot of discussion, they didn't come to an immediate agreement; Hermione still felt optimistic, while Harry was more pessimistic, and they each agreed that it could be their own bias. Instead, Hermione suggested they could start a study group, which Harry supported as it would help them get a good education in case he was right, and if Hermione was right, well, it was still a good idea. Sadly, it didn't even get off the ground though Hermione and Harry were always willing to help others.

That evening before they turned in, Professor Sprout made a visit to their Common Room, telling them of a tradition in Hufflepuff to hold a party the first Saturday of each new school year. This was greeted mostly positively; Hermione truthfully had been planning to spend much of the day exploring more of the Hogwarts Library, but she reflected that the party would be a chance to get to know more of the witches and wizards in her new 'family', and so far they were treating her much better than the kids at her old school did.

* * *

Saturday morning, Harry decided to spend more time reviewing his clones' memories. They had found plenty of broom closets, and from the gossip he'd heard they only had one use which was nothing to do with keeping the castle clean or with flying. He shook his head at that, since for that kind of thing he'd prefer either a full classroom for more space or an actual bed, not that he had any plans to do that any time soon! It seemed a lot of what he was learning about the Hogwarts had something to do with sex. He shuddered at the thought of Moaning Myrtle. He didn't know how her name was related, but he didn't want to find out, just in case!

Moving on, he went through his memories from the clones he left at home. Smiling he remembered the fun times he had with the girls, and found that the new school they attended was a definite change from primary school, more subjects to study, new people to meet, and, oh great, the dating scene. That brought up another concern for him. He knew that the girls there liked him, and he didn't want to hurt them, but he'd just get slapped if he tried to suggest they share him. Well, they knew that his parents were a little different, maybe that would give them the idea, or maybe they'd find another way. Either way, not something he could solve right now.

Another thing he had to think about was flying lessons. From what he had heard there was no spell casting involved, but he wondered if it required active magic. He had no idea whether he would be any good at it.

Getting up for his regular run, he took a route along the edge of the forest. His clones had already explored the place, of course, and he already wondered how tough those giant spiders were to kill. He was tempted to try, but he could resist the urge for now rather handily. First he wanted to discover how much risk there was of being caught before he got into any serious rule breaking. He'd also like to know if there were any protections stopping the spiders from just attacking the students. If there was an actual truce of some kind, then his attack on the colony would be rightly seen as breaking that truce.

Turning in at the end of that lap, he took a nice long soak under the showers then met the Hufflegirls in the Common Room, escorting them to the Hall and grinning as he accepted their bags. They had another chat with Mark and Daphne, who brought along her friend and fellow Slytherin Tracey Davis. In contrast to Daphne's red shoulder length straight hair and grey eyes, Tracey was favoured by brown wavy hair and brown eyes set in a cute round face. She also seemed to enjoy offsetting Daphne in personality too, something Harry found amusing seeing the pair practicing their routine. Where Daphne was open and bubbly, Tracey was naughty and devious, and enjoyed engaging those around her in battles of wits. "At least here I get a challenge," she said, batting her eyes at Harry to draw more laughs.

After heading off to do some more homework and practising their spellwork, the 'Puffs returned to grab some lunch before heading outside for fresh air, where they played and talked until it was time to head down to the front steps for their flying lessons. The 'Claws met them, surprisingly arriving after the 'Puffs for a class. Then again by the expression on their faces, a lot of them didn't look like they wanted to fly. Harry couldn't blame them given his own concerns, on top of the perfectly normal fear of heights almost all people had.

At three-thirty that afternoon, they sighted their teacher, Madam Hooch, she had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk. She lined them up by the broomsticks. "Well, let's get you started. Stick out your right hand over your broom, then say 'Up!' "

Everyone obediently said "UP!" to their brooms. Harry felt a large wave of magic travel down his arm along with some of the now familiar pain, muted for once, and his broomstick rose into his hand with a meaty thump. His broom was one of the few that did rise on command, though. Hermione's to his right had simply rolled over on the ground. Susan's on his left had refused to move at all, but then maybe it was only matching Susan's desire? She didn't look like she wanted to fly at all. He remembered that her aunt had kept her very sheltered, maybe that had something to do with it? He would find out later if she decided to tell him.

"Susan, Hermione, I think you have to _want_ to ride the broom as you call it." Harry offered.

Susan nodded, "That makes sense, Aunt Amelia said a lot of magic requires intent to work."

Hermione nodded, determined to get it right. "Up!" Her broom rose into her hand, slower and with a slight quiver to it.

The pair looked at Susan who took a deep breath in and out, then "Up!" and hers rose straight away this time. They then looked around to try to help others.

Madam Hooch came around, showing them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, correcting grips and postures. "Now, when I blow my whistle, you will kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two - one." She blew her whistle and there was an uneven group of first years taking off slowly, ducking and bobbing as they fought to stay steady, all except for Harry. As long as he kept his chakra flows quiet, he found this to be the easiest magical thing yet. He seemed born to fly, or at least he did from only his body length off the ground. He felt his magic flowing through him, singing, and smiled. Finally, something he could do as a normal wizard.

The rest of the lesson was more of the same with Harry following each and every instruction correctly the first time. Since it was just their first lesson, she didn't put the class through anything more than the absolute basics. When Hooch put them all through a test at the end of class, she complimented him, saying he would be great at Quidditch and that she thought it was a pity first years didn't get on the teams. Harry though was rather grateful he didn't. He got enough attention and singling out already. Still, there was no reason he couldn't talk to the team and learn tips from them about flying. When they all came down to the ground for the last time, he was crowded as expected and had to remind the 'Puffs about their party or else he'd have been stuck there a while.

* * *

A quick shower and change was the order of the day for the Hufflepuffs. Unfortunately, it seemed a lot of the older 'Puffs had the same idea. Harry chatted with some of the older boys while waiting for his turn at the showers, talking about how he had enjoyed the flying, when asked, and that he thought he did okay. When pressed, he admitted that Madam Hooch had thought it was a pity first-years couldn't play for their House. "But guys, I don't agree. Not only have I never even seen a Quidditch match, so I've got no idea how to play, but I also don't want to be singled out or given special treatment. I'd be happy to get on the team after earning my place, but not before."

This pleased his Housemates as he expected, but he was only telling the truth, though it did give him an idea. He would have to wait to suggest it, but if it worked, it could be good for everyone involved. He mulled over various ideas as he took his turn, got dressed and headed down to the Common Room. There, he found all the First Years and by the looks of it most of the rest of the House, too. Looking around, he saw that the room had expanded to accommodate the crowd.

Professor Sprout called for attention, giving them a smile and a short speech, before inviting them to have fun, starting to mingle first with the older students and working her way down. Harry felt a lot of eyes on him, but he was getting used to that. It was still not pleasant as the attention kept him on edge, subconsciously he was still watchful for attacks whenever he got watched. However, it was clear these people weren't trying to kill him, at least, and they were getting better about leaving him be. If he allowed them close enough, he should eventually be just another kid to them in about 50 years at the current rate, he thought. Metaphorically speaking, he rolled up his sleeves and dove in, putting on a smile and starting to mingle, first off going to talk to the few First Years he hadn't much spoken to.

He found them in their own group as they often were, walking up. "Hi, I'm Harry." He grinned. "I guess that was one of the least needed introductions, right?" The two girls giggled and the boys rolled their eyes, but they then introduced themselves. Wayne Hopkins and Roger Malone were decent enough boys, a common trait in Hufflepuff, and were arguing without much heat with Ernie about Quidditch versus football. When Harry mentioned that he enjoyed being a midfielder, Wayne was really pleased, then Ernie said it looked like Harry would be a natural at Quidditch too. Harry laughed, reminding them that First Years don't get on the teams. "And for good reason, from what I saw. Merlin, I wouldn't want any of us up there playing for the House, over half of us were flying for the first time today! I can just imagine how many accidents would be caused if they put one of us among a team of experienced flyers, can't you?" Ernie paled and agreed, and they settled in to explain more of their respective games.

The two girls got their own words in from time to time, Megan Jones had a strong allegiance to the Holyhead Harpies, though she loudly told him that she wasn't related to the famous Beater, apparently it was a common assumption, though Harry couldn't really see it. From what he heard, she had dark skin while Megan was pale with green eyes and sleek auburn hair, besides Jones was a really common name. Was Wizarding Britain really that small? Leanne Moon was more a fan of netball, and her smile when she talked brought out her hazel eyes and her dimples. After a while, Harry moved on from them to talk to more people, looking to get to know the people he was living with for the next few years. He soon tracked down the House Quidditch players, talking about their play. The first to notice him was a dark-haired boy with grey eyes. "Hi, you're Harry Potter, right? Cedric Diggory, I'm our Seeker."

"Hi, Cedric, that's right. I had an idea that I thought might help the team, if you'd like to hear it."

"What, you want to get on the team as a Firstie?" Cedric grinned.

"No thanks," Harry smiled back, "I've had exactly one flying lesson. No, my idea was to ask how you train. At my old school I was team captain and we did better after we added massages to the end of each practice session. If you and the rest of the team were interested, I could perform them for the team." '_It would also get them used to me as part of team practice as well as getting some teaching about this crazy game.'_

As it turned out, they wanted to discuss it among themselves. There were spells that were supposed to do the same job, but they could be tricky to get right and currently no one on the team had mastered them. While they could get the School Matron to cast the spells if she was there, that only happened on game days normally. Harry figured that it would help them out, but was content to let them decide for themselves.

As he turned away he saw a girl with pink hair for a second, but when he looked again he didn't see anyone with that hair. He tracked down Hermione, rescuing her from a conversation about Quidditch with an older boy, diverting the subjects gently onto ones where she could hold her own.

Eventually the party was called to a halt so that the younger students could get to bed and the older could do their homework. Not surprisingly, few of the older students took that opportunity, they just didn't feel any urgency to complete homework this early in the year.

* * *

The next day, Harry let Hermione go off to the Library by herself after breakfast so he could raise a sensitive matter. "Hey Justin, you might know this, but I don't know if anyone else had heard, Hermione's birthday is coming up on Thursday week, and I'd like to throw a party for her. However, I don't know much about wizarding traditions and I think she'd enjoy a wizarding style birthday party."

Susan and Hannah were only a second faster than the other two girls in agreeing with him, taking his suggestion and running with it. Before he knew it, the discussion had drifted almost entirely to a different language as far as Harry and the other boys were concerned. Satisfied that things were in safe hands, Harry broke in long enough to find out what he and the others would need to do, before he went to write a letter home to ask his parents for help. He already knew what he wanted to get her, but it would need their assistance.

After that, he visited the girl in question at the Library, enjoying the chance to get a better idea of the layout in preparation for his coming raids. He believed that night would be the best chance to get in his extra reading, but since the chance to prepare was available, he took it. As they left the Library before lunch, Harry spotted that young Weasley boy running and laughing from a couple of annoyed Slytherin girls. He frowned, deciding to investigate it later. He also remembered that the boy had twin brothers who were supposed to be master pranksters. He still had mixed feeling about that.

Sure, his family enjoyed them, and he did, too, but he knew all too well that they could be a form of bullying and very easily. Well, he was already going to investigate one Weasley, why not add the others, even the one in Fifth Year since he was a Prefect and might interfere should Harry start up his own line of entertainment. In fact, he already had a couple of ideas in mind. Harmless fun that should cheer up everyone, if he could pull them off. Better yet, no one would believe it was him! And well, if he wanted to play his own pranks, it would be helpful to study the style of the most famous, both for creating his own distinct style and for framing them, should that become necessary.

Hmm, framing brought to mind another area of study, one he would want to master before he embarked on his career as an unknown entertainer. How _did_ these wizards and witches know who to blame, and what did they do to their criminals? He remembered Susan said her aunt handled it, time to see what else she would tell him. In terms of any pranks, he would have to listen in on more gossip both for what was done and how they were punished, plus any scraps on what they used to discover the culprits. Detailing a clone to watch over the Weasley Twins would probably be fruitful and could be amusing. Yes, he would do just that when he got the chance.

* * *

As it turned out, investigating the youngest Weasley took barely any time at all. He had been trying to play jokes on a lot of people to emulate his brothers, perhaps because he wanted friends and admiration like he felt they got only he didn't understand why it worked for them. Talking to Ron also turned up a couple of interesting tidbits, firstly that his family were all wizards except for a Squib, which is what they called someone born without magic to magical parents. Secondly, that his family didn't talk _about_ their Squib relative who had gone on to become an accountant. While the obvious and ugly answer would be that it was his lack of magic making them disown him, it would be the wrong move to stop looking there. Following questions showed that Ron himself didn't know why his family didn't talk about the man, as well as showing that Ron resented being kept in the dark.

In fact, Ron had strong feelings about a number of things. According to him, all Slytherins were slimy and evil, Weasleys were great, Dumbledore was both crazy and a great man to follow except when it conflicted with Ron's opinions, that Ron deserved better than second or third hand clothing and items, and that while his pet rat was pathetic and he didn't really like it, he still didn't want anyone to take it away. And lastly, but not least, Quidditch was the greatest sport ever, though he didn't seem to know many others, and that this was the year for the Chudley Cannons! In short, the boy wasn't the type Harry would call a friend, certainly not as he was then. On the other hand, Ron thought the questioning meant he was 'Harry's best mate', spending the rest of the day with this illusion before his bubble finally burst. The way he blew up at Harry for 'betraying' him would have been amusing, except for Harry's suspicion that Ron's next 'joke' would be at his expense or worse those of his friends. A good thing for Harry's peace of mind, then, that he often kept watch over his friends. He felt guilty for doing this without their knowledge, but he knew he'd feel even worse if something happened to them that he could have stopped, and he promised himself he would tell them at the first opportunity.

Still, at least he was wrong about Ron. The boy hadn't decided he needed to get revenge on Harry. As for their accountant relative, questioning of the oldest Weasley at school, Percy, brought up that it was the Squib who cut ties, apparently he thought that would be less painful than to be surrounded by so many wizards and witches, reminding him of what he lacked every day simply because they couldn't get through a day without magic, while he had to get through his whole life without it. Over time, his world and theirs had just grown too far apart, his family simply didn't understand his world. Even though they lived in villages with Muggles, they didn't take the time to interact. The isolationism took its toll again, and Ron for his other faults wasn't actively anti-Muggle. He just had no wish to look past his own narrow world, something common in adults, let alone children. Sometimes, Harry wished he had a more normal childhood, that he wasn't this cynical, then the feeling passed as it always did, chased away by his thoughts of his unusual parents and how good his life was thanks to them.

The twins, Fred and George, were taking longer to investigate. He had caught them laughing at pranks, and they had an ability to detect when they were being followed by other people which made it hard to get them caught. Strangely, while they could detect him even in full stealth, they never noticed his clones. Naturally he switched their surveillance to clones only.

* * *

Classes continued pretty much the same as before for the next week and a half, though Harry was now spending hours a day working on his casting. He had managed to repeat his feat, casting a successful spell, this time turning his matchstick into a needle. It was as he repeated the successful casts that he found cause for hope. Each time he got it right, the pain was lower, though he didn't have any crossover with this, each new spell caused him the same high level of pain, but mastering it reduced it more and more, letting him even over-power some of them at the cost of increased self-harm or simply cast the spell correctly easier. As a result, he spent some portion of every day in pain as he worked over and over to improve himself. None of his clones could get a single spell to work, as expected, so this was one type of training he couldn't delegate to the clones. On the other hand they could do quite a few things for him, studying, writing up his homework, talking with his friends and generally freeing up more time for him to get his spellwork up to scratch.

As Wednesday came around, he was relieved that his gift for Hermione had finally arrived with less than twenty-four hours to go before her birthday. He tested it with his clothes, with some random items from around the castle, and in all the types of places he could reach. The gift passed all these hurdles, so time to put some books inside and wrap it up. He couldn't wait to see her face. He had gotten his parents' approval, they had also insisted on checking his seal work on her new bookbag, even added some finishing touches to the look of it, though they had left his design and theme intact. He could now truthfully tell her, if asked, that it was his own idea. He still couldn't tell her about the seals, but at least magic provided a nice cover. It was also a gift idea that would work for his girls at high school. He would have to choose a higher set weight so they didn't get too curious about it, at least for now, but soon enough, they and his 'Hufflegirls' would all have a useful, beautiful present from him, and he hoped they never needed to find out just how much protection those bags provided. They could turn away blows that would bring down a wall, didn't burn, rip or tear and turned even sharp blades most of the time. If he couldn't be there himself to protect them, couldn't teach them to protect themselves, then these were a good start.

* * *

In the morning, he gave Hermione a quick hug, a good morning, and "Happy Birthday, Hermione!". The surprise on her face was something he treasured as he saw it sink in that she really did have friends. It was a sentiment echoed not only by their year, but over a dozen other Hufflepuffs at breakfast. After their Charms class that afternoon, before she could head up to the Library, Harry and Justin took her back to their Common Room, showing off the preparation and planning of the girls. There were streamers and floating decorations, snacks and drinks, butterbeer mostly. It was one of the few Wizarding World inventions the Muggle-borns among them loved universally, somewhat resembling cream soda. Also, while it tasted sweet, it didn't have any effect on their diet one way or another, reverting to coloured water as soon as it passed into the stomach. Hermione was already converted, having asked around about the sugar content the week before so she could assure her dentist parents.

Hermione was crying but when Harry went to comfort her, she smiled, "No, no! These are because I'm happy! Thank you, all of you!"

Hannah laughed, "Good, because now we have _presents!_ You have got to open them, please!"

Most of the presents were the usual inexpensive type of things people get on short notice, especially here when they couldn't get out of the castle and had to order them in. Justin's was an ornate bookmark with the letters of her name picked out in gold. Then she opened Harry's gift, a box large enough for a big book, and heavy enough by the feel. When she looked in, it was just more wrapping, and she picked out the light, fine bookbag, admiring the dinosaurs on the sides of it. That was where the weight was coming from, she saw, it already had two books inside, the first was photographs of wildlife in the Amazon jungle, beautiful and unique, the second was a collection of wizarding children's tales. The bag fell into shape, she saw, and her wonder grew.

"It's expanded on the inside to hold more books, or anything else, without weighing more, and it has charms to make it last longer. I hope you like the design, I picked it out especially. Though it's ok if you don't, I mean, it's no problem to change it-" He babbled, nervously, since she hadn't said anything yet, causing his old Dursley-spawned fears to resurface.

"Thank you, Harry!" She cut him off.

"You're welcome, Hermione." His relief was plain to see.

"I love it, Harry. I've always loved dinosaurs and these ones look so real." She gave him a big hug for that, and he noticed the other Hufflegirls looking his way, clearly approving of his choice of present and just as clearly wishing they would get one when their birthdays arrived. Just as well that was his plan or might have been in trouble.

The party carried on over dinner which was brought in for the guests, appearing on tables by magic. Hermione was given time with all her new friends, and thanked them each and together for all their work on her behalf. She was exhausted but happy that night as she crawled into bed, and Susan in the next bed over smiled as she saw her bushy-haired friend cradling the bookbag to her chest before sleep. She loved seeing her friends happy.

* * *

The next few weeks settled into their own routine, there were classes, homework to complete, new spells to practice, something Harry found he needed to do more than any other First Year, pranksters to monitor, and a Library to start absorbing. And then, there was that third-floor corridor, the one that taunted him. He finally caught a break when he mastered his spells and had time to practice the Unlocking Charm, also known as Thief's Friend. While the description said it was for unlocking mechanical locks unprotected by magic, it was also the counter to the Locking Spell, _Colloportus_. Having tried his lockpicking on the door in question, he was confident that this one was set only to open to magic. He would find out sometime in December at this rate if the only spell of its type he knew was worth anything with this problem. Either way he would learn something valuable.

He also learned that, yes, Fred and George Weasley _were_ accomplished pranksters. Though he respected their success rate, he didn't agree with their choice of targets. For one, they had tried to prank his friend Daphne along with all the other First Year Slytherins, turning their faces green and making their words come out only as hisses at breakfast until whatever they did wore off at the end of the day. Professor Snape was furious, cloak billowing, as he tried to intimidate the culprits into owning up to their actions. Fred and George stuck firm, confident that since they hadn't been taken in before, the scowling Potions Master didn't have any evidence or at least, not enough. While their mother was certainly willing enough to yell at them herself, she was unwilling to allow anyone else to do anything about her brood. Anyone wishing to do so needed almost ironclad evidence to support them, something almost pathetically easy for the pranking twins to deny.

Other pranks also bore their mark, filling someone's socks with Dungbombs, making younger kids walk only backwards, or making people only talk in squeaky voices. However, they did have a ready fund of jokes and quick wits to make new ones, often at someone's expense. Even as Harry tried to reserve judgement, he found himself both liking some of their jokes and despising most of their pranks. While they did affect themselves in some of their pranks, those were only the harmless ones, while the people they didn't like got the harsher pranks including ones that would transform them wholly or partially. It was never even clear they could undo the effects they unleashed, though so far through both luck on their part and skill on the teachers', Harry hadn't seen any permanent ill effects beyond the bullying itself.

* * *

Harry, however, had another problem. October was soon ending, and he now knew what that meant, especially here at Hogwarts. There would be a big Feast, people celebrating and overeating, and also another big Weasley prank, he would bet, probably targeting 3rd Years in Ravenclaw. To Harry, however, this meant it was the tenth anniversary of his parents' murder by a psychopath. The tenth anniversary of his being orphaned and taken from his home and the still warm bodies of his parents to be left like the milk outside the house where _They_ lived. While other wizards and witches were still partying so much they violated their precious secrecy, their 'hero' was dumped on a doorstep. He had yet to discover all the circumstances around it, but that didn't matter to him then. What did was that as the day approached, he found it harder to smile.

At home, it was Meaghan who was first to approach him. She had spotted the signs, and asked only if she could help. They spent some quiet time, during which Harry said he had found out at last what happened to his parents and when. She and the girls talked to their parents, asking advice, and when they returned, they gave him support and lent their ears if he felt like talking about it, which helped.

At Hogwarts, Hermione stepped in. She had had her own times to withdraw, times when the teasing and loneliness were too much. Here, she was Harry's oldest friend, so she felt it was up to her, and she came to him later in the week after, unknown to her, Meaghan had approached him. She gave him a hug, she asked him what was wrong, and she offered a simple solution.

"We won't go to the Great Hall, then. Honestly, Harry, you're normally very smart, but your bravery is only getting you hurt here. There's no good reason for you to go and endure it, even though you can. We'll grab a snack and head to the Library." She smiled softly. "That should give us a nice, peaceful night. How does that sound?"

He smiled gratefully. "Thank you, that sounds like just what I need."

The rest of Tuesday, and all Wednesday, his friends were there, quietly supportive. That night, Harry had a vague nightmare, a flash of green and an urge to do something, anything, but he was stuck. He woke up in a cold sweat, tangled in his sheets and sighed. He decided to take two showers today and pushed his run harder to make up for the lost time, and when he got down to breakfast he got hugs from all the Hufflegirls and even from Daphne in a very rare public display from her, though she did arrange it so it would be difficult for any observers to tell that it was her hugging the Boy Who Lived. He hoped for a good day, but sadly his hopes were dashed before they'd properly begun when Ernie reminded them they had History, which even Hermione was willing to admit was useless, followed by DADA where the Professor would stink them into submission. At least Charms would be good, he thought.

* * *

_Thank you all for reading. I am grateful for your support and look forward to your feedback. Big thanks again go out to my betas, Cloud Zen, Slicerness and Himura Battousai. I recommend checking out Cloud Zen's new story "I have an idea, Harry" and Slicerness' "Death's Rage"._


	6. Chapter 6 - Halloween

**Chapter 6 - Halloween**

Harry was right, Charms class was great. Professor Flitwick was finally taking them through the theory and the steps of the Levitation charm. Hermione had stepped up again, taking attention off the Boy Who Lived by answering Flitwick's questions and asking her own if needed. They even got time to practice the charm, _Wingardium Leviosa_, with a swish and a flick. Sadly, her happiness was crushed by a particularly ill-timed Ron Weasley. She was just leaving the classroom when the reckless boy was pelting down the corridor with his mate Seamus Finnigan, fleeing some irate girls. The boy was too close and too fast to stop himself in time, crashing into her and knocking her down, spilling paints and dungbombs all over Hermione. As he scrambled to his feet, he loudly blamed the poor girl he ran into for being in the way and "A bloody nightmare! Who would want to be friends with an ugly buck-toothed bookworm like you, always tripping people up?!" Seamus' laughter echoed in her ears.

This was too much for her so close on the heels of her emotional high of protecting her first friend, the physical and emotional crash saw her dashing away before the tears could break free. Harry froze in place for a moment, locked up between the urge to follow and help his Hermione and the urge to unleash his anger on the red-haired pillock blocking his way.

"And what would _you_ know about it, Mr Weasley?" His voice could have frozen a star. "You managed to be wrong no less than half a dozen times in the span of a single breath. Hermione has plenty of friends. She is a delight, not a nightmare, and we are glad to call her our friend. As for her looks, ugly is a word I would never use about her, nor buck-toothed, you pillock. She was the victim here, not you, of being ran into by a great idiot. And if you'll get out of our way, we'll be able to catch up to her and give her help just as good friends ought to do."

Ron finally backed up enough from the doorway for the students to get past him, the Hufflepuffs moving in a tight group to catch up to their wayward housemate. He kept backing away in the face of the glares before the girls he had offended before decided to make their presence felt. Ron found his missing mate Seamus an hour later, looking shell-shocked and ever so slightly singed. By then, the first of the effects of that toffee he swiped from the Twins made itself felt, and he nearly bowled down Seamus in his haste to reach the nearest bathroom, only just making it in time. His stomach settled and Ron put it out of his mind, heading out to see if he could score some more food. After all, he figured, he had more room now. He found some unguarded food in the Gryffindor dorms, including a few more of those delicious toffees.

Ron was making his way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast when his stomach made its displeasure known again. Wasting no time, Ron dashed into the nearest bathroom, not caring that it was one of the girls' in his emergency. He was stuck there for hours, finally working out that it was almost certainly the toffees he had eaten, toffees that had been around Fred and George. '_Oh no, not again! I should know better than to eat ANYTHING they touch!'_ As he got hit by the extra-strength laxatives the Twins had produced, Ron wished he could die. He also learned anew that being hit by the Twins' pranks was rarely fun _or_ funny. He would have cheerfully apologised right then to all the people he had pranked, if only he wasn't stuck in this shitty place.

* * *

The Hufflepuffs knew none of this, nor would they have honestly cared, at the time. All they cared for was their friend. Harry took the lead early on as he was faster than the rest, hanging back just enough so that he could also guide their other friends as he tracked her through the castle. For someone with no sports background or training like his, she sure could move!

At last, she was slowing down, ducking into an unused classroom and leaning against the wall, tears flowing down her face. She didn't know why she was crying so bloody much, only that she had been so very happy. Not only had she gotten the answers right in class, even performed the spell first, with her Harry second, she recalled, but in so doing she had kept the class' attention mostly off her friend and letting him enjoy a peaceful, interesting lesson, he even smiled at her when she got the spell. They packed up, and as usual Hermione wanted to check one of her books to track down something she thought she read. She opened the door and out of nowhere that Ron Weasley had knocked her to the ground and started _yelling_ at her. Even though she knew that every single thing he had shouted was wrong, his words got through to her, bringing back memories of the hurtful words hurled at her in primary school even by kids she had thought were her friends. Maybe it was because she was so happy? If she hadn't been as happy, her guard would have been up and she could have shrugged off his accusations, even yelled back at him for his stupidity and lies.

That's when the door opened. She was sure she had locked it, hadn't she? But there was Harry, concerned for her, and she rushed over, hugging him. The next thing she knew, Susan, Hannah, Leanne and Megan were all there too, hugging her and talking to her, telling her to forget Ron and so on. Soon after that, Harry had slipped away from the room with the other boys while the girls gave her the comfort she had wanted all those times in school. They were her friends, and friends stuck by their friends.

Harry stood guard outside the old classroom after the girls kicked him out. He wasn't too unhappy about it. While he had known her longer, he would be the first to admit that he didn't really understand the female mind. Not even his Dad with all his experience would claim that, in case his wives changed the rules just to mess with him, and he wouldn't put it past them, they had odd senses of humour he felt. Anyway, he admitted that the girls might do a better job of cheering her up, and the mission came first.

Around ten minutes later, the door opened and Hermione gave him a fragile smile then a short hug that would have cracked ribs if he hadn't had his training. Under the cover of the hug, he used some quick jutsu to remove the tears and restore her cheeks and hair to their normal state. Hermione stiffened briefly, feeling that _something_ happened, but it was pleasant so she just ignored it, cherishing the improvements to her life.

From there, the group decided to grab some early food rather than taking dinner in the Hall at all, before heading to the Library, cheering both Harry and Hermione at the prospect. They ran into Daphne and her friend Tracey Davis on the way. Daphne joined them on hearing their plans while Tracey said she had better put in an appearance in the Hall, something about rumour control. The group was relaxing in the Library until Madam Pince kicked them out so she could grab some food at the Feast, even if she was running late. As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with a horrifying sight!

* * *

Ron Weasley was having a terrible day. First the prank he tried blew up in his face, almost literally. The dungbomb he rolled into the their room and set off not only stunk out the Gryffindor Girls' Dorm but the splash came within inches of the eyes of one of the girls. Their outraged screams prompted his flight, and instantly marked him as the culprit so they gave chase. As they followed him around the castle, he picked up a fellow runner in his mate Seamus who laughed at the girls for what happened and at Ron for being chased. After that, he crashed into some bushy-haired Hufflepuff as she came out of class, yelled at her because it was costing him his lead over the girls, got scared shitless by the Boy-Who-Lived, almost literally as his stomach rumbled only a minute later. He finally realised he had been pranked, again, by Fred and George, and he had spent the last few hours on the loo. He didn't even get to make it to the Feast! He was still moaning about his horrible day when the bathroom door was reduced to splinters by an angry troll who had come to find the competitor challenging his scent for dominance!

The troll ducked its head under the doorway, club in hand, its twelve foot tall bulk filling the only escape route Ron had. He had opened the door and poked his head out to find out what had made that awful racket. If he hadn't spent the last small eternity without bowel control, he would have promptly lost it at that sight. '_What in Merlin's name?! That's a- that's a fully grown mountain troll! What's it doing in the girls' bathroom with me?!'_

Unfortunately for Ron, he got his answer when the troll hefted its club and started smashing up the bathroom, getting closer to the scared boy and bellowing its rage. Ron pulled up his pants a bit, waited until the troll had finished one swing and dashed between its legs, desperate to escape. In his haste, he didn't care that his trousers weren't quite on, exposing more of Ron than anyone wished to see. All he knew was that he had to run, run, run! He dashed down corridors, pelted around corners, stumbled over some odd bumps and then got a nice flat, straight line, moving faster than he ever had in his life. The accidental magic had worked together with the surge of adrenaline, allowing him to run away despite his robes flapping and pants down around his knees. Two floors later, he tripped going down stairs at a full run with his pants around his ankles. The search parties found him and delivered him straight to the Hospital Wing where he stayed until Monday morning.

* * *

For Harry and his friends, however, that was only the start of their adventure. First, they walked around a corner to see Ron Weasley with his pants down and everything showing, screaming his head off as he bolted towards their group. Harry side-stepped the charging Gryffindor, but Hermione, Susan and Daphne weren't so lucky, getting batted aside as the Lion left a yellow streak in his haste. Harry was about to turn around to help them out when his senses screamed danger, the roar of the creature, the pounding of its enormous feet, and then the smell, even worse than Ron's, hit them all.

Harry dropped into a defensive stance, hand already reaching into a hidden pocket to grab a kunai as his training kicked in. He sent chakra into his feet, sticking him in place as he reached out to the charging creature, using every bit of his strength and his taijutsu experience not to stab it but to _pull_ it off its course and into the hard stone wall of the corridor, _away_ from his friends. A sickening crack echoed and Harry, mildly surprised that the troll was still breathing, jumped up on its back as it slumped against the wall, right hand already thrusting the dull grey kunai to the base of the enormous skull. One quick motion and the beast was dead, a second and the weapon had disappeared again into the hidden pocket, less than a second had passed since he jumped on top of it, and he jumped down, breathing hard as the adrenaline surge ran through him.

He cursed under his breath as he looked around. What the Hell was something like that doing in a school in the first place, and how did it get in? Also, what was he going to do about this? He had just managed to throw a troll, crack its skull then kill it with a knife to the spine, and in front of all his friends! _'Well, time to see if I can perform damage control,'_ he thought.

He turned to talk to them only to be surprised. None of the girls had seen much of anything. For a start, it was only a handful of seconds from when the troll reached their group until Harry was walking back to them. The only ones looking his way were Susan and Daphne who were trying to regain their feet, and their views were blocked by the bodies of their friends. As he lent a hand to each girl, pulling them both to their feet, they gasped at the dead troll. Harry thought they were doing well not to scream, especially as his poor ears were in close proximity.

"It's okay, girls, it can't hurt anyone any more." He was quickly surrounded by the girls, all of them hugging him and checking his body for any signs of injury as soon as Hermione screamed, seeing blood on his arm and chest. They soon satisfied themselves that none of the blood was Harry's, keeping him in the centre of the hug, Hermione's head on his chest as she gave another tight hug, Susan on his left, Daphne on his right.

* * *

Some time later, the hug was broken up by the approach of several Professors. If Harry only knew, he was already being compared to his parents by each of them. Professor Dumbledore looked at the scene and was sure he saw the Power mentioned in the Prophecy, Harry's love, as the portraits had reported Harry's actions as accidental magic in the face of mortal danger. Professor McGonagall saw James in the boy's willingness to put himself on the line for his friends, something James did when he discovered his friend's 'furry little problem' as they called it. She had already heard that he seemed to have Lily's own temper, though Harry already had more control as Lily would have punched out Ron Weasley if she had been in his place. '_And looked good doing it, too. That girl could make Hogwarts robes, ugly things that they are, look like she was advertising for Twillfit and Tattings.'_ Lastly, Professor Snape saw in Harry Lily's eyes shining brightly even as they scanned his surroundings for further danger. He also saw that Harry was just as protective of Daphne as of any of the others. He caught himself picturing Lily hugging him like that, then scowled at the reminder that she was gone, his good mood ruined.

He listened in as Dumbledore used his usual method, standing back and _twinkling_, damn the man, while letting his Deputy take the lead questioning the students. Snape himself would be expected to provide cutting remarks, something he normally enjoyed, but for once he wanted to find out the truth more than to engage in a battle of wits with the unarmed.

"What on earth is going on here?!" McGonagall demanded of the students.

"I would very much like to know that, myself." Harry replied on their behalf. "We were walking down to the Slytherin Dungeon to see off Daphne and came around the corner on an absolutely horrific sight. That Weasley, Ron, was running with his pants down, leaving a yellow streak, and bowled through us, knocking down three girls, and kept on running. When I saw what he was running from, well, I could understand, I guess, but I was between that thing and my friends. For that matter, what _is _that thing? What is one of them doing in a _school?!_ Isn't this a place for learning?" He got worked up as he talked, his tension breaking just before the last question, asking it more from confusion than anger.

McGonagall's lips thinned. As much as she didn't tolerate disrespect, she had to admit he did have very good questions. And she could have happily gone the rest of her life without the mental image of young Mr Weasley in such a state. Nevertheless, she still had unanswered questions of her own. "Good questions, and I assure you we will be looking into them. The first answer is simple enough, it is a mountain troll, fully grown too. Usually the wards would keep them out." Her eyes briefly darted to the Headmaster. '_Interesting,'_ Harry thought, '_either there is more she knows, or she suspects that Dumbledore knows.'_ McGonagall continued, "And yes, this is a school, a place for learning where respect for your professors is expected. Still, I can understand that this is an unsettling event, so I won't take points, this time. Now, my question is simply, what happened after you saw the troll?"

Harry ruthlessly suppressed all the normal indications of lying, drawing on his more harrowing experiences with his parents to provide the appropriate tones as he replied carefully choosing only truthful words. "It was approaching so fast, there was no time to escape. It was so big, so angry, but I _couldn't_ leave my friends. I was desperate, I needed it to go away. And suddenly it turned away from me, running into the wall there." He pointed his arm at where the troll hit the stone wall, the spiderweb of cracks from the point of impact. "It was making horrible sounds, and I was afraid it was still going to get up and hurt us, so I raised my hand, like this, and pointed it at the troll. It slumped a second later, not moving, and I had blood on my sleeve and robe. I can't say what happened to it." He finished up his story calling up his earlier confusion to add to his act.

Professor Snape sneered at this out of sheer reflex. However, the story did hang together, a life or death situation, a student having a case of accidental magic _in extremis_. Moreover, it _sounded_ right to him. Lily's boy sounded just as you would expect from a boy that had just been through such a frightening experience. While part of him automatically rejected anything that painted a Potter in a good light, the greater part of him was satisfied. Lily's boy had risked his life for his friends, even saving one of his Snakes in the process.

Professor Dumbledore was well pleased, and saw little point in hiding it. His chosen instrument had tapped into his power early, proving he was right as he believed. Young Harry would be a great weapon for the Light. He was still hopeful to find a way to save him from what he feared was his destiny at the hands of the Dark Lord even as he mourned the lack of time to look himself. "Well done, Harry, my boy! You stood your ground for your friends. Fifty points for Hufflepuff for your bravery and loyalty. What you did tonight was a particularly powerful case of accidental magic, and very good it was too."

Minerva McGonagall had been about to question him further but Albus' interruption neatly curtailed any attempts on her part. Apart from that, she agreed with his decision. With no time to escape, they couldn't have left the task to the Professors. She shuddered as she pictured what would have happened if the students had panicked.

Harry faked some shakes in order to disguise his refusal to give the old man a respectful bow. He was instantly mobbed by the girls hugging him again, allowing him to relax. There was no way for the Professors to press him further tonight, and time would dull any evidence that contradicted his story, as would his clones if he got the chance.

Five minutes later, still at the centre of the girls, Professor Sprout arrived at a run. "There you all are. When we did the head count, your absence was clear. Are you all okay, dears?" She was shocked out of her train of thought when she saw the dead troll slumped against a wall. Her gaze sharpened and turned to Dumbledore for an instant, then returned to her wayward students. "Let's get you to the Common Room. We've got hot chocolate waiting for all of you." She gave them her best encouraging expression, expertly guiding them away from the gory scene. More than enough time later to quiz her colleagues for the details. Right then, her students needed her more.

With Harry front and centre, Hermione on his right, Susan at his left and Daphne directly behind, their little party walked quietly back to friendly territory where they felt safe. Pomona Sprout allowed Daphne into the Common Room with her friends though she did disguise the method of entry. Probably a futile effort but it was Hogwarts tradition. As curfew approached, she separated Daphne and escorted her to the Slytherin Dungeon, making sure she got back safely. Inside, Harry was still being held by Hermione and Susan while Hannah and the others formed a sort of guard around them, quietly answering questions and ensuring no one crowded Harry. Each of the girls had taken a chance to give him a long hug and thanked him for saving their lives, Hermione's was fractionally longer, and she hadn't let go of his hand yet.

Eventually they had to break it up and head to bed, the girls finding a common theme in their dreams, a monster coming along out of nowhere and a green-eyed young man saving them. In the morning, they got up early and watched from a window as Harry went on his normal exercise run. From then on, the girls stayed around Harry more than before, and the boys were impressed as the story circulated around the school, becoming more and more ridiculous. Harry grinned when he heard one story before dinner that he had been secretly trained to fight for years, one that was shot down by the listeners as too ridiculous, even for gossip.

* * *

On the weekend with November beginning, Hermione started becoming agitated over the term exams which were still weeks away. To calm her down in the face of this odd behaviour – the girl was clearly doing well in all their classes – he agreed to help set up a study group. At first it was only their fellow Hufflepuffs who joined in, displaying their unity and loyalty in an effort to help a good 'Puff, but soon they settled down, finding that they enjoyed the better performance in class, and the improved standing of the House made the group more popular. Between them, they also managed to keep Hermione from going overboard, and made their own fun to break up the sessions. Since she was getting to study, this calmed her fears, and having her friends with her helped even more.

It was also teaching her more about how to interact with others her own age, and that not everyone learned best in the same way. Justin learned best from real world examples and applications. Harry found that practising spells during their lessons helped him. She had seen him practising the practical many times throughout the days, well past his initial success until he was able to cast them proficiently without notice. A couple found that book learning was best for them, the same as Hermione, with the others having their own ways. Ernie MacMillan, for instance, needed to be standing as he studied anything.

As the weeks counted down to the end of term exams, students from other Houses approached them. The Ravenclaws were first, unsurprisingly. They'd noticed the improvement from the Puffs in their shared classes, and after a relatively quick decision from a House filled with debates, they agreed en masse to join in if they could, or copy their methods if they must. Most of the Claws drifted back to individual study, though, as they didn't feel the change was helping them but three stayed. Padma Patil was quickly becoming good friends with Hermione and Harry, and her two Claw friends stayed along with her, Sue Li and Lisa Turpin, two Muggle-born girls with a lot of curiosity about the new world of magic. The other two girls in Ravenclaw, Mandy and Morag, seemed more intent on watching or talking to Harry than studying, and found themselves made to choose between taking the study group seriously or leaving, and they soon drifted away again.

The next week, Padma turned up with three new girls. One was obviously her sister Parvati and the other two were Lavender Brown, a blonde girl whose family had all been sorted Gryffindor for the last fifty years, and Sally-Anne Perks, another Muggle-born girl, sweet and friendly but a little adrift in Hogwarts. She latched on to the study group and the friendships she found there, while Parvati slotted in fairly easily, and Lavender, after a hard talk from the Hufflegirls, agreed to leave gossip at the door when she joined in. Her grades had been slipping steadily and she knew her parents would be disappointed in her if she didn't do something to fix it. By December, she found she looked forward to the evening sessions, she could talk to new people, her marks were on the mend and she was having fun.

The real surprise had been the Slytherins. It was common knowledge that they were the most closed off of the Houses, being distrusted particularly by the House of Lions as a den of future Dark Wizards, an attitude that hardened in the last couple of decades thanks to You-Know-Who, the only way most wizard-raised referred to the Dark Wizard who had died when he came to attack the Potters a decade ago. Most of the Dark Lord's followers were Slytherins, or at least so everyone 'knew'. Daphne was part of the group from the beginning, but she had gotten some interesting looks from her own House because of it. As they entered the close of November, she brought along two more Snakes, Tracey Davis and Sophie Roper. She explained that neither of them agreed with 'that idiotic blond' about blood, and sadly that with their own less than pure blood they were denied the normal internal avenues of assistance. She asked if they would be allowed to join, and while there had been some initial mistrust, all three Snakes were prepared to outlast it. The grumbling died as the girls worked like any other member, giving aid where they could and getting aid where they needed. The integration of the Slytherin girls also helped to keep Hermione's attention diverted from her panic about the exams, so at least some good was done however unexpected.

* * *

Some of Harry's side projects had been put on the back-burner with all the new developments. Firstly, he had little free time to work on the Unlocking Charm. He thought he had the spell mastered, but it was giving him extra difficulty, failing at odd times. He would later learn that his doubt of the spell working _literally_ made it harder for him to succeed, his magic reacting to his beliefs. Without that working, he was no closer to investigating the mystery of the third floor.

The major project of copying the Library had hit a couple of snags. First there was the Restricted Section. Even its name called out to Harry, taunting him with what might be contained therein. Given his family, and their training, that part of the Library was a challenge to his skills, his ingenuity, his ability to cheat. So far, his clones had managed to get only a handful of books from there copied and returned, as most of them had some sort of magical alarm on them. While the screaming from the books was unpleasant but unable to prevent his efforts, it was when they triggered an alarm and woke the Librarian, Madam Pince, that he had to stop. He had developed his clones' ability to feel magic (usually as some pain) to find which books he could examine and memorise for his clones at home to get copied out. Until he had a way to get in and out of the Library himself, rather than via a clone, he lacked information on how to advance the job. Until then, he was leaving that section until he could solve the problem.

Lastly, his investigation of Ron was just about over. After his disastrous Halloween, he ended up with a concussion and several broken bones, greenstick fractures, and Harry was surprised to learn that the bones were healed that night while the concussion kept him in the care of the Matron for three days. After that time, Ron had surprised everyone by making apologies to the people he had pranked, saying that he had learned the wrong lesson from his elder brothers. He soon after became mates with two of the boys in his dorm, giving everyone a little peace. When he had written home about it, his parents surprised him. He expected they would complain about a loss of pranking talent. Instead they mentioned that it cleared the field for Harry to start making his own mark, as well as making life in Hogwarts just that little bit better for everyone, including Ron.

* * *

Harry found himself wanting to smile with pride after the exams. Not only had he done very well, a careful second in every exam, usually to Hermione, though that shy Gryffindor boy had everyone beat in Herbology, but he had caught caring and admiring smiles from a few of the girls. He brought each of their faces to mind, and unbidden the faces of 'his girls' at high school followed them, the similarities plain. He groaned and buried his face in his hand. It was clear to him that Hermione, Susan, and Daphne were, for sure, also starting to crush on him like the girls at his regular school in Cranleigh.

A quick centring technique and he had banished the worry. For now, he wanted to enjoy talking with all of his friends. He had caught Susan and Daphne glaring at each other before they each invited him to visit during the holidays. He reminded them a fortnight before that he didn't have their addresses yet. Getting the Floo hooked up was never going to happen in his home. The Kitsune Clan were paranoid by profession so opening their very home up to casual visits was out of the question. They were still working out a suitable workaround that combined needed security for the Clan while still providing the desired utility from the system. That was hard enough but worst of all was doing that while still getting it approved by the bureaucracy in the Ministry was tougher still. Even if Harry was their Boy-Who-Lived, since his family were only Muggles, and none of the workers saw any point making things easy for them, not when those Muggles were wanting something crazy.

His friends had each written home for permission to invite Harry to see them, with a follow-up that he would need alternative transport as there was no Floo connection, or would need their actual location so his family could bring him. Susan's aunt Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had eventually given permission under certain conditions obviously designed to counter magical threats, something which found approval with the Clan. Daphne's family required no such security, only wanting to know dates and such. Daphne explained it as her family having good reports on him and viewing his association as a benefit to the family rather than any sort of threat. They would obviously keep an eye on him with their eldest daughter, but nothing much more than that.

He would first visit Hermione in London, Justin in Oxfordshire, Susan in Kent before Christmas and lastly Daphne in Wiltshire between Christmas and New Year, since those were the only days that suited all the families involved. He would give them each their gifts before they went home on the train, and he would have to find something, he thought, to give their families due to the season. The rest of his friends were out of luck in one way or another for getting Harry to visit, but he had assured them he would look forward to seeing them again when they got back to school.

He gave his female friends a hug before heading to his dorm, Cesarina putting in an appearance on his return, sitting on one shoulder, as the group made their way up to the Great Hall. It was time for the Leaving Feast at the end of term, and tomorrow they would be taking the train back to King's Cross station, even those like that Gryffindor Seamus who lived in Ireland had to take the same route. It was just another tradition that seemed weird to the Muggle-raised. There was an argument that could be made in its favour, it encouraged group experiences and bonding, but some wondered if it was worth the bother.

After a big meal accompanied by his preferred drinks of butterbeer or water, noting that there were hardly any Muggle-borns drinking the 'pumpkin juice' and most of his friends never touched it any more, they chatted for a while before breaking up to finish (or start!) their packing. Harry went to sleep with a smile. It would be good to see his family with his own eyes, not through a clone's. Also, it would be relaxing to be spending time with the Muggle friends he had made without having to stay on alert for accidents that could dispel his clones and the illusion of that he was as normal as them.

* * *

The next morning Harry took his final morning run for the calendar year, ate his final Hogwarts breakfast, and made promises to write all his friends. They secured adjoining compartments for the train ride, occupying most of one of the cars, drifting from compartment to compartment as they laughed and talked and passed the time, the train slowing and pulling into London almost before they knew it. The train almost glowed as they got out into the cold night, the station's lights keeping the area well-lit even on the Wizarding side. They gave their final goodbyes, amid hurried introductions to various families, before Harry, Hermione, Justin and their other Muggle-born friends made their way through the portal for the second round of 'final goodbyes'. One carefully anonymous father muttered that none of these were really _final_ goodbyes since they'd be back together in two weeks.

Harry's journey home from the station was quicker than his one to it just a few months before. The Clan's businesses were prospering, and they had decided to get a new car for Harry's welcome home. Harry's eyebrows rose considerably at the sight of the new Mercedes. What had happened that they were prepared to put their wealth on display?

His answer came from Naruto, correctly interpreting his expression and waiting until they were in the car. "A recent bit of news escaped at home. It seems someone talked who shouldn't have, and now our neighbours know that we have more money than we were showing, though they think we only acquired it within the last six months. We've started receiving invitations to social functions and status symbols like this expensive car are required. You're also going to get a few suits made after we get home because as our son, you're invited too."

"So why this model? It's definitely flashy. Won't it cause some envy?" Harry asked, trying to solve the question himself but failing.

"This one _is _flashy, but in this case that's a good, or at least neutral, part of the cover. This model, the 600SEL is top of the line, which also suits the profile, but it also has great performance and was easy to armour up to Clan standards. Ino says the fact that it's so comfortable a ride is just a little bonus." Both father and son grinned, they knew that she like most of the Clan loved a comfortable ride and they all loved high-performance machines, though she was right, the Clan would have endured if the mission required it.

The three got out at the now rather large property that was home to the Kitsunes, their tigers, dogs, and training areas. The entrance was bedecked in decorations, matching those they'd seen in Cranleigh on their way through. Obviously, the Clan had either commissioned those or far more likely, just run them up themselves as part of their new status.

The door was opened, Harry ushered through to the main lounging area and there gave as good as he got, hugging back each of the Clan, his clones not missing out on their own full set of hugs. After that was finished some time later, they sat down and got to the serious matter of his magic. He'd kept them up to date with both the problem, his progress, and the various tests he'd performed mostly at their direction. Now, they guided him to lay back and did a full workup on his body, both at rest, then when trying to use magic or chakra, with or without a wand in hand, and certain other tests.

Satisfied with his results, especially that he hadn't suffered any permanent nerve damage, they carefully inscribed a temporary seal on the base of skull, where it would normally go hidden by his hair. This was the best design they could create based on what they knew, but they were painfully aware it was experimental. There were nested contingency plans in place since unlike during the Time Loops, they couldn't just wait for any mistakes to be undone. With only a few minor false starts, Harry quickly adapted to using his chakra under the altered conditions, and then, wand carefully put away lest the Ministry somehow trace his spell, he called up his magic in the exact way needed to cast a Levitation Charm, duplicating a test at Hogwarts with known levels of pain and nerve damage.

He grinned. "It works! At least," he corrected himself, "it seems to work perfectly. I feel my magic travelling just as it should if I was going to cast the spell, the same as in the tests at school, but I didn't feel any pain or interference from my chakra." He waited while the Clan examined him again, confirming that he hadn't taken any damage. Afterwards, he confirmed likewise that his chakra use was normal after the magic, and so on. They did other tests in the days leading up to his return, but they were confident they had found a way to separate his magic and chakra flows. No longer would Harry suffer the pain and damage from having the two different energies fighting inside his own body. At least, not from casting his own spells. By now, he was more cautious about calling the problem solved.

The following morning, Harry got back into his full physical training routine which he hadn't been able to do since he started at Hogwarts. He found himself winded more than he had hoped by the end, but he could tell it was just what he needed to get his body improving again. The healing techniques he knew were only able to prevent his body degrading between workouts. He was quickly proved right when his body was soon strong enough to allow another Shadow Clone to be maintained, bringing his total to thirteen the day after Christmas.

* * *

His visits to his friends proved rather interesting as it turned out. Matt and Elizabeth Granger brought out a little girl who looked a lot like her father with straight, dark brown hair and sapphire blue eyes, introducing her as Pallas Athena Granger. Normally known as Athena in school, Hermione's sister was born almost 5 years after her, in early July of 1984. While Hermione had alluded to having a sister, she hadn't really discussed her family very much but to be fair, neither had Harry. Athena was a curious little girl, interested in just about everything around her and extremely energetic. A comment from Matt Granger implied that she had been a cause for worry earlier, as her energy and curiosity easily created a potentially dangerous mix in a child too young to know better. Still, she was already displaying the intelligence of her parents, being only marginally less well-read than Hermione at the same age with the difference due mostly to Athena's enjoyment of the outdoors. She brightened up the place, and dinner was a happy affair with both Granger girls flashing him smiles.

The drive the following morning up to the Finch-Fletchley home in Oxfordshire was rather long but exciting since Naruto chose to use various less-used, and less monitored, roads, curvy or hilly ones where they put the new car through its paces. The family home was a lovely example of Regency architecture and furnished splendidly. The family themselves were very much at home, as they should be, though they still had that air of formality that some of the 'old money' retained even as they welcomed Harry and his parents into their home for lunch and afternoon tea. The two sets of parents had kept in touch over the phone, with Hamish quickly engaging Naruto in a discussion of the virtues of various fast cars and Imogen showing Hinata around the house. Justin grinned at Harry and they settled in, chatting and looking around and watching sport on their large television.

The Ossuary in Kent, ancestral home to the Bones family, was an interesting sight. Their first visit to a wizarding home had all the Clan in attendance even if most of them weren't revealing themselves yet. Beyond simple curiosity, it was their first chance to get potentially vital knowledge of the Wizarding World. The Bones property was on the coast, and the Clan wondered if perhaps the Bones family were named after the family home. There were long patches of exposed chalk running like bones of the earth in odd places around the grounds, particularly on the seaward side. From their examination, the Ossuary seemed like a converted keep, somewhat more modern and open, but still readily defensible in design. They also spotted over a dozen robed figures guarding the place and a well-used outbuilding that served as their base.

They were met at the gates by two of the guards who checked their names and faces against a checklist, and Harry was asked several security questions. Satisfied the guards allowed them to proceed, one staying at the gate as the other became their guide, taking them through into a surprisingly well-lit drawing room where Harry was crash-tackled by two grinning girls. Hannah's presence was welcome, not just in her own right but she also helped break the ice when Susan's growing crush made her tongue-tied after the round of introductions. After some brief introductions, Amelia chatted with Harry's parents for their first face-to-face meeting and Hannah quickly pushed Harry and Susan out of the room, embarrassing Susan enough that she took over, showing off the public sections of her home including a telephone in the kitchen, finishing up in her bedroom. Susan and Hannah sat on the bed and Harry sat on the single, uncomfortable chair in the room, where they chatted and flirted with Harry for the afternoon before an elegant dinner and drinks. They ended up leaving quite late, getting home close to midnight, since Amelia had forgotten that Harry's family would need to drive which took far longer than Floo would, so she had planned a longer evening than she would have otherwise. None of the children complained, and Naruto and Hinata didn't mind. They knew Harry would be fine however late it ran.

* * *

Christmas was a fairly boisterous affair, with Harry's friends from the local high school visiting during the day before their big dinners with family. The highlight for Harry was naturally when 'his girls' got him alone, giving him big hugs and thanking him for their presents. The girls were studious like Harry and Hermione so it seemed natural enough to give them similar bags to the ones he gave his Hogwarts friends. Their questions about the low weight were diverted with references to advanced materials, which was also enough to cover questions about the toughness of the bags. These bags, however, were slightly different from the ones he gave to his magical friends. While their capacity was also enhanced, the alteration was designed in such a way to fool the eye into thinking it wasn't as extensive as it actually was.

The Boxing Day traffic was odd, heavy in some places and deserted in others, on the way up to Wiltshire to meet with the Greengrasses. Overall they made a little better time than expected, something that proved very useful when they had to hunt around for the Greengrass home which had been hidden beneath Muggle-Repelling Charms. Harry was required to keep a hand on Naruto's shoulder during the final leg so his father could see and drive them to the stately home. Apart from a more Scandinavian tendency in the furnishings and decorations, the place was remarkably similar to Justin's family home, where the Greengrasses used magic, the Finch-Fletchley's used electricity to improve their lot. Unlike the Finch-Fletchley's, there was an indefinable sense of decay here, that the best had been and gone. The home was beautifully maintained, the gardens immaculate, but perhaps it was that their host family seemed too small for the large property and the buildings, or maybe that the clothes seemed a little strained, like they had been worn well but a little too much. Indeed, Daphne and Mark were aware that the family fortunes had dwindled over the last fifty years due to the downturn in total sales their business had inevitably suffered when there are fewer than half as many people around to buy goods as there used to be, no matter how much of the market they dominated. A little girl peeked out from behind some bushes as Mark led Daphne and he around the grounds. When she was called over, Daphne introduced her as Astoria, two years younger almost to the day and almost a clone of Daphne. She was a very cute girl, but shy and a little flighty, and she excused herself soon after, disappearing for most of his visit.

Still, Daphne was in her element, and like Susan before her, she was starting to flirt more with him too. He did have to laugh when she mentioned that her 'horrid neighbours, the Malfoys, were most displeased to be snubbed for their Boxing Day function'. They weren't what most people would have called neighbours, living something like ten miles away, but they were the nearest magicals, and the Malfoy Manor was set on rather substantial grounds. It was obvious that Daphne hoped Harry would continue to block the Malfoys' attempts to woo her family, and Harry was certainly in favour of that too. Having the Greengrasses as allies would give them a spearhead if they ended up needing to visit her neighbours for any reason. At dinner, her father brought up that very point, though he seemed to look at it in terms of industrial espionage more than anything else, while Harry was thinking more militarily, first and foremost. His disgust with that family's overly bred fop of a son inclined him towards removing them from the gene pool. Naruto and Hinata made positive but non-committal noises, the most favourable expression they could really give so early in their acquaintance, to the idea of closer ties between the Greengrass family and Harry. The ride home that night was full of politicking and some embarrassing and probing questions for the boy.

* * *

The next morning, he was out on a run when an unfamiliar bird stopped near him, studying him intently. It was carrying a parcel with a note attached, obviously meant for Harry. After Harry Body Switched with a clone who examined both bird and burden, pronounced the parcel clean and dispelled, Harry accepted the item from the now confused owl.

He signalled to his parents' unseen clones watching him who took the package home to be thoroughly examined. While it wasn't obviously dangerous, that only left unseen dangers, and that what disposable clones were for. At the end of his run and shower, he came into the living room with the Clan sitting around. He could feel their nervous tension as they watched their clones on the camera, Harry's one opening the letter and spreading it for them to see. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had seen before were the words:

_Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you._

_Use it well._

_A Very Merry Christmas to you._

There was no signature, but none was really needed. Everyone present knew that writing and the gift, if it could even be called such when he was merely returning Harry's property ten years late, was from none other than Harry's Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. There was a little debate about why the man was going about it this way. He could simply have returned it to Harry at any time while he was in Hogwarts, or sent it with Professor McGonagall. There was also the question about why he omitted his signature. Did he think he was so famous none was needed? Perhaps it was intended as a sort of challenge. He might have wished to return the property but in a way that he could escape blame for keeping a Potter item for so long. Lastly, he may simply have forgotten to return it earlier and liked the idea of giving Harry a minor mystery.

Next, the very careful unwrapping of the present inside. This was treated with the kind of caution normally expressed when dealing with unstable explosives that couldn't be blown in place. While it was Harry's clone that was opening it, the boy himself was on the other side of the forest from the room in question. When the packaging presented no surprises, and his clone picked up the fluid and silvery grey cloth that had lain in gleaming folds, all watching leaned closer, eager for a better view. Naruto's clone picked up the item which was soon revealed to be a very fine cloak. Another careful examination later, Naruto shrugged and draped it over Harry. They all gasped as Harry's clone completely vanished from sight! The implications of such a cloak were staggering. They started off with _very_ careful and low-intensity testing of it around their jutsu, though they made doubly sure not to touch the cloak with any active chakra. While it was a complete defence against ordinary sight, one that couldn't be dispelled by any of their available methods, the cloak did nothing to affect smell, sound or touch. In addition, the air displaced by the wearer made it easy enough to track unless countermeasures were taken. They suspected Dumbledore would have some means of tracking the cloak unless he was a complete fool, something that couldn't be completely dismissed, but simple caution dictated that whenever Harry used it he should expect that it could still fail. That was ninja common sense.

* * *

That afternoon, he met up with the Cranleigh girls with Sandra again babysitting them. Ashley, Ella, Stephanie, Michelle and Meaghan were all there and waiting for him, surrounding him in a big hug. He was relieved that though their feelings for him were still strong, they weren't sniping at each other as he had feared. Thinking back he did recall overhearing some gossip at school about his parents having visited the girls' parents, and certainly those adults had been friendlier since Christmas. Whether it was the change in their visible status, or Naruto's ability to win friends and influence people (notorious across the Elemental Nations, whatever they were), things had been getting easier for Harry to get along with all the girls, even Sandra was giving him more smiles though hers seemed a little mischievous. They watched movies the girls got for Christmas that day and a few others, and before he knew it, he was back at Platform 9 and ¾, looking for his magical friends before they embarked on another train ride to chilly Scotland and Hogwarts.

* * *

_Thank you for reading another chapter. Your feedback is always appreciated. I continue to be surprised by the support and interest in my story._


	7. Chapter 7 - Possession

Chapter 7 - Possession

The weather outside was miserable. Harry smiled, glad to be inside the train compartment with his friends. There was a small flaw to his enjoyment, however. Most males his age, or any age, might be hopeless at feeling out sources of emotional tension, and the few who could might well go running and screaming. Harry wasn't most males, he could sense it loud and clear. He also had no way to escape. No, actually, that wasn't strictly true. He could always jump off the moving train, hoping that between his toughened body and improved reflexes he would survive, then activating one of the emergency plans the Clan had created. It was still a drastic move, one that truly should be saved for desperate situations which this wasn't, quite. What it was, was Harry's three closest witch friends, Hermione, Susan and Daphne, trying to one-up each other in a competition where the prize was him.

Harry had too much experience not to recognise the warning signs, a surreptitious glare at Daphne while his back was turned, a hair-flip from Daphne and a slight elevation of her nose in triumph, slight repositioning by each of the girls seeking to gain more of his attention and affection. Their competition was new and for now at least relatively bloodless - almost friendly - but it couldn't be counted upon to stay like that and once the claws were out, they would pressure Harry to choose who to keep and who to reject. Harry made sure not to encourage the competition, apparently ignoring it even as he weighed and examined his words, tone and body language during the rather more stressful than expected afternoon and evening. In the end, he was relieved to get to Hogwarts. The ride in the carriage had been even more tense than the train ride, as all three girls had cornered him to share their carriage. Daphne claimed the seat beside him while Hermione was opposite him and Susan opposite Daphne.

During the opening feast, Daphne was required to spend her time at the Slytherin table, an old rule aimed at improving House unity which Harry felt was taken far too far by the current Houses. Still, it allowed the girls and Harry to relax. Oddly to him, Hermione and Susan seemed fine sharing his attention between them now that they only had each other occupying Harry. He whispered first to Hermione then Susan that he needed to talk to them later, and a part of him was gratified that they blushed at the gesture while most of him was just happy they agreed.

They grabbed a dusty classroom, locked the door and sat on the desks while Harry went over what and how to say this. "Hermione, Susan, you know I consider you both to be special and I'm glad to be close to each of you."

The girls nodded, pleased at this reminder while Hermione, at least, sensed a fall coming.

"Now, you also know that I care about you, so I try to notice changes when they happen. Last term, you were all getting along well, and I had a great time getting to visit friends over the break. Today, however, something has obviously happened. When Daphne was with us, you were each competing for my attention, Hermione, you glared at her when you thought I wasn't looking after she managed to turn the conversation to magical households, something you don't know that much about. Yet." He smiled at her, trying to soften things. "We both know you'll learn about them in time but the subject put you at a disadvantage, and Daphne knew it would. The way she responded to your glare showed she was pleased.

"Well, I'm _not_ pleased. I don't want this to cause problems for any of us, and we'd lose good friends if this goes too far. Please don't try to make me choose between you for my friends. It won't do any of us any good."

They blushed and nodded sadly, then Hermione bristled. "How come you haven't said anything to Daphne then?"

Harry kept as calm as he could. "Hermione, you know me better than that. I'll talk to Daphne as soon as I get a chance to do it privately, just like I took the chance with the two of you. This way, no one else needs to know there was ever a problem, and no one has to get embarrassed in public. Would you suggest I bring you all together for a meeting after I talk to Daphne about this?"

Hermione blushed again, shared a quick glance with Susan, and nodded. "I think it would help, Harry."

"Okay."

"That's it, 'Okay'?" Hermione was a little confused at how readily he conceded.

"Yes. Okay. You each think it will help so I'll try it for you. I told you I care for you so I certainly ought to show it." The next second, Harry was the centre of a three-way hug. After a brief apology from both girls for putting him in the middle, which Harry accepted and deflected, saying that he was happy as long as they didn't try to hurt each other, they made their way back to their Common Room. The girls headed to their dorms where they were grilled about why they were late. The boys were more relaxed but still curious. Harry just told them that he had a message from home to pass along and that was that.

* * *

The next morning, Harry got ready for his Monday classes after his run and shower, then headed out to breakfast earlier than usual. He hoped to catch Daphne before Herbology, or he'd have to wait until nearly eleven o'clock or lunch before he would get to speak to her. Not only did he tell the girls he would do it as soon as he got the chance, he did want to nip this in the bud.

He found her, but she was chatting away with her friend Tracey and he didn't feel right interrupting their conversation and asking Daphne to go off with him. He did slip her a note he had prepared just in case this happened, and she caught his eye and nodded, agreeing to meet after her Herbology class straight after Harry's.

She found him by the Black Lake sitting by a couple of trees. It was hidden from casual view from the castle but, if found, they wouldn't come across as trying to hide. Plus with it being winter, very few people would linger outside.

"Hi Harry, obviously I got your note. Is there a message from your parents that I need to pass along?" Daphne asked, thinking Harry had been oblivious to the low-key competition the day before.

"No, nothing like that. Though I would like to talk about a related matter, if you would. You know I'm not like most boys our age, right? I actually try to spot when girls are unhappy, and I would like to think I do an okay job of it. So I saw how you and Hermione and Susan weren't as happy yesterday as you would have been just before Christmas about hanging out together, sharing my attention." He studied her reactions closely. As he expected, she flushed mildly at that last.

"Now, I'm not saying I don't want to be your friend anymore, or anything like that. I just want to know what changed so you three are competing against each other instead of the good friends you were only a couple of weeks ago."

"Harry, I'm sorry. I guess I just wanted you to myself, to make sure you would want to keep protecting me from idiots like Malfoy." Her expression indicated there was something more. "And, well, after my father talked about improving the relationship between the Greengrass and Potter families, I... my mind wandered and I thought about improving the one between you and I. You're the best boy I know, and you saved me when there was no reason for you to get involved with a stranger, and saved me again, putting your _life_ on the line to save mine from that thing. So I didn't see any harm in flirting more with you, right? Only, I didn't like having to share your attention and those girls were flirting too. I was afraid to lose you, you're important to me."

Harry nodded, "I thought it would be something like that. Daphne, you're important to me too, and the only way you're going to lose me is if you push me away by forcing me to choose. I talked with Hermione and Susan and they know I was going to talk with you about it, too, because I want us all happy again. Do you think you can do this? I like being close to you, and I don't want this competition to go so far it costs us good friends."

She nodded and hugged him as he continued. "Would you be alright with meeting up with Hermione and Susan at lunchtime? I think it would be good for us all, help finish this for good so we can get on with having fun together." She nodded again and hugged a little closer, fighting a blush as an image of 'fun' passed through her mind, blurry as she was still young. They separated and chatted a little more, relaxing until it was time for them to go to their separate classes.

The meeting at lunch started a little awkward, then Susan walked up to Daphne and hugged her, apologising for her part, and Hermione added her own hug making Daphne wince for a second until Hermione realised only Harry could take her full-strength hugs. They moved apart after a short while, surrounding and hugging Harry at the centre.

That evening, Harry and his friends talked about keeping up the study group even without exams looming. Hermione was naturally in favour of it, as were most of the group, though attendance was now more relaxed with generally a couple of people missing from any one session. One surprise was that Parvati and Lavender were there for just about all of them now that the pace had eased off and they were having more fun. Padma was already becoming close friends with Harry's original friends, and Parvati and Lavender were following her path if slower.

Another source of happiness came to Harry when he was able to confirm with complete spells that the seal the Clan had created was working completely. He still had to practice each spell to get them to function correctly, but he was able to do it without pain or harm to his body. The grin he gave in McGonagall's class that first Monday was almost terrifying to the woman, reminding her so much of James before some big prank. Along with the invisibility cloak, Harry now had all the tools he needed to explore Hogwarts at will, he thought.

* * *

Tuesday evening, he slipped away leaving a clone in his place as the group chatted and studied and played games. He made his way to the third-floor corridor that the Headmaster had mentioned at the Sorting, clones around him and keeping watch. A perfectly cast and overpowered _Alohomora_ had the door unlocked and swinging open. Harry walked up the wall and on the ceiling, using that for his entrance rather than along the ground where most people would expect.

On the other side, he saw something straight out of myth; a three-headed dog, heads sniffing around for the intruder as Harry kept to the shadows just as Yuugao-mum trained him. '_A Cerberus?! Those things are real!'_ Harry took a couple of silent breaths, forcing himself to be calm as required, and looked around the room more, never more thankful for his parents' extensive training than he was in that moment. He racked his brain, trying to remember any details from the myths he had encountered that mentioned the creatures. _'Now what did Hana-mum say about strange dogs?'_

He studied the room as he prodded his memory, noting the long corridor, the trapdoor and the wall sconces with flickering torches. He made a few clones, sending one to the other end of the corridor before it started making noise. The dog bounded down after it. The next clone started to sing an old lullaby, and the dog's ears pricked up for a second before it stopped running, slowing to a walk then sitting and falling asleep, snoring. Harry nodded to his clones and signaled that they were to dispel themselves in the morning if they hadn't before, and to watch the monstrous dog overnight, checking if music would keep the beast asleep indefinitely, and how long after the music stopped before it would wake and so forth. He exited the room and with his lockpick locked the door behind him, now heading to the Restricted Section under his cloak.

He smiled as between his ease of casting and the cloak, not to mention his natural stealth, he made it inside the Library and stayed there after it closed. He had already directed one clone to occupy his bed in case he couldn't leave, and he made his way over to the one section that had been taunting him. He slipped past the rope cordoning off the section and performed a couple of minor jutsu; the first was a sound-muffling technique around the area, one clone as lookout to warn him. The second was an illusion technique so that the place looked normal. Last, he got some earplugs out ready, and picked out the first book. This one tried to bite him, but was far too slow. He forced it open and started memorising the pages of the ancient tome, complete with unknown language. His clones would know it, and be able to copy it out exactly for the Clan, and that was enough for now. He could try to learn the language later if it proved useful. The next book screamed, just like one he found on an earlier expedition into the Restricted Section, and the earplugs were quickly seated in place. He made his way more quickly through this one. When no alarm was raised, no teacher descending upon him, he smiled proudly. He tried a few other books, finding various intriguing counter-measures in use, then headed back to his dorm to rest, three clones working to memorise the books while a fourth stood guard. As soon as he had penetrated the mystery of the third floor corridor with its deadly guardian, he would be able to set all available clones to copying the Library.

The next morning saw the clones with the Cerberus dispel themselves, and Harry eagerly studied the new memories. The music worked well enough, though he'd have to leave a clone up there whenever he went through the trapdoor, as within a minute of the music ending the beast would invariably wake up, growling.

Tonight, he would set a few clones on exploring whatever was beyond the trapdoor. He would take things nice and cautiously unless circumstances changed to increase the urgency. Something like an indication that there were others at work, or someone not being themselves. '_Like Professor Quirrell who had added that bright purple turban and smelt of death and decay. Oh, how did I miss that! Still, I have been keeping an eye on him and he hasn't come down here since at least Halloween. Well, I'll keep up the slow, cautious approach and assign a clone full time to watching the entrance. That leaves one to make music and one to explore beyond the trapdoor.'_

Satisfied with this decision, he went about his run and shower, surprising the Hufflegirls at the bottom of the stairs from the boy's dorm as they watched out for him. He was in turn a little surprised when Hermione, Susan and Hannah all checked him out.

"Hello, girls, any special occasion?" His voice broke them out of their daydreams, and they quickly escorted him to breakfast, followed by the four guys who had enjoyed more of a sleep-in. His surprises continued when both Patil girls dropped in at the Hufflepuff table, taking seats with the group and chatting.

* * *

Over the following weeks, the various girls from before became more of a fixture at the study and relaxation sessions, especially as exams approached again. Harry resorted to giving Hermione, and later Daphne and Susan, massages to help keep them from getting too stressed. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the more girly of the Gryffindor girls, were impressing the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws by putting more work into their studies, bringing their marks more into line with Parvati's more studious twin sister. In turn, Padma was getting more relaxed and smiling more, so it seemed they were both doing well.

Harry found that after the corridor with the Cerberus, there was a pitch-black room. At first, he only knew there was a rustling sound like a wind blowing after landing on some kind of plant, before his clone got dispelled. The next night, the clone tried various light-amplifying techniques, seeing some leaves and vines, jumped down and was again smothered and dispelled. After some research, and some clones dropping with a small light from a camping technique, he worked out this was Devil's Snare, and so knew that a good strong light would slow it down, while it would outright retreat from fire.

From there, the next clone made it down and through a stone passageway which was the only way out. Odd that the defences were arranged linearly like this. Water trickled down the walls and the passage sloped downwards, with soft rustling sounds again. The next room had a high ceiling and hundreds of flying keys. The clone rushed to the next door, in case the keys were disguised attackers, but sadly no, it seemed the door was locked and immune to his attempts to pick the lock, just like the first door.

Since blowing up the door would be obvious to the next person to come down, not to mention dangerous, he couldn't get past for now without either the real Harry to try magic or finding the right key. They tried the broomsticks in the chamber but those just caused the clone pain when he mounted it, and didn't fly at all.

Several nights were spent fruitlessly, trying to pull down and use various keys in the lock. The height of his targets and their active, speedy and random movements made pulling down the intended key a significant challenge.

Next, he tried Earth techniques on the walls, which failed immediately, as there was active magic running through them, so he couldn't just melt a hole for himself. Carving one was possible but would both take longer than a single night, which meant leaving evidence, and possibly dangerous if the magic that failed was helping keep the place structurally safe. That also ruled out using most of his other arsenal on the walls.

So he went back to the problem of the flying keys. He tried walking up the walls but there was too much magic to do even that; his control kept slipping at odd times, and the one time he made it to the ceiling he failed to stick at all. Next, he ran through his various Earth techniques, finding them unstable but just the right side of usable. He rode an Earth Column in the centre of the room to the level of the keys, making the attempts to lasso the keys easier, but another problem made itself known; he had to catch them without chakra enhancing his attempts, no wires that followed his command and so forth. The next night, a fortnight after he met the Cerberus, he caught the thrice-damned key which made his hands ache, jamming it into the lock and turning.

The following room was pitch black, but the clone found its way past life-sized stone chessmen to the other side. The door there refused to open until Harry's clone tried something crazy in frustration, pushing over the king on the far side since it wouldn't even play a game with him. The door led to yet another passageway, and a door that opened to his touch. Beyond, a stench hit him like a train; another troll guarded this room and the exit. He quickly closed the door behind him, hoping the troll was too dull to have noticed, and crept by the tall, ugly, thing. This door, too, was unlocked, Harry slipped silently through and closed the door behind him. As soon as he stepped into the room, flames sprung up ahead and behind him. Magical flames, too. Harry cursed to himself. If he couldn't cheat his way through, this room would require the real Harry to come past the obstacle course.

His first attempt was direct, trying to control the flames directly with his Fire control so they wouldn't burn him. That failed and the clone 'died' screaming. The next night, when he got to that point, he examined the room more fully; there was a silly little riddle on the table indicating that the way to get past the flames was to drink from the correct bottle. While solving the puzzle didn't take too long, a magical potion was no use to a clone. After trying an Earth jutsu which backfired, he had another night to wait. The next night, Harry's clone tried to douse the flames with water, again a failure but at least this one didn't kill the clone. He then donned the ceramic armour he had received from his parents, walking through the flames quickly and feeling mildly queasy from the magic.

He came out into what was fairly obviously the last chamber. There were no challenges waiting for him, no animated stone or magical creatures; only a single, ornate mirror. Indeed, the chamber was completely bare apart from it. It was a very nice mirror, indeed, reaching to the ceiling, an ornate gold frame, standing on elegantly carved clawed feet and with an inscription on the edge. Harry read it, puzzled for a second before it fell into place all in one piece. "I show not your face but your heart's desire." He cursed. An enchanted mirror was unlikely to be what was being guarded, even one as expensive as this, since he knew most witches had them. He was walking around, trying to find something else in the room that could give him a clue when he felt a sharp pain in his head. The clone knew this was a sign of magic, but little else before he dispelled. In the morning, Harry reviewed the memories intensely, finding no sign of hostile magic, only power from the mirror, which would make sense if it truly was attempting to show Harry an illusion of his heart's desire. It would need to make some connection to him in order to read those desires. The last thing the clone saw was the Mirror shimmering, shifting to show something else.

He thought over the situation all day but couldn't think of a good solution short of going in person. He would recall his clones from other duties to free up seven to help him tonight, just in case. '_It's only good sense to keep my options open if I'm going to do something like this. Besides, it's not paranoia when you know they're out to get you.'_

The door to the first chamber opened, the Cerberus growled, the first clone was left behind outside the door to keep watch, ready to dispel if someone came along. The second clone to stay behind played music for it while Harry and the remaining five dropped through the trapdoor, leaving behind a spool of wire for his return.

The Devil's Snare gave no effective resistance, the handheld flames scaring it off nicely. The room with the Flying Keys. Before he sat down to let his clones grind through the process of catching the right key, he decided to try one of the brooms instead. A good chase sounded fun! He gave it a try and the brooms provided were better than the normal school ones, something that gave him a moment's pause, before he got back into the rhythm of the hunt. He tried a few stratagems to corner and catch the key, but it was very elusive. In the end he decided to cheat like a ninja. He grabbed his backup weapon pouch, transferring the contents to his clones and climbed back into the air, the mouth of the pouch open for him to use like a butterfly net, catching the key easily, along with a few false ones, and releasing the others once back on solid ground.

The next room, the lights came on for once for the chess game as soon as he stepped in, the stone statues animating. He could try to play by their rules or - Ah, there the opposing king went, falling to the ground again and crown falling off signalling the game was over and the door opened. The chessmen glared at him before the animating spell faded away like it had never been. Harry grinned and strolled through, a clone ahead of him had knocked out the troll and had a clothes peg on its nose like they all did as they walked through. At the potions challenge, the real Harry ignored the offered solution and relied on his ceramic armour like his clones, making his way into the final room with the magic mirror.

"At last!" Harry uttered the first words since he'd entered the third floor corridor. "This had better have something interesting here." He got in front of the mirror, clones in position and ready at a moment's notice to Replace him, switching his place for their own, as well as certain more destructive responses.

He looked into the mirror, noticing that as before the surface shimmered as he watched and he felt the enchantments pushing at his mental defences. With a signal to his clones, he dropped those, feeling the magic slip deeper into his mind, looking, evaluating, then responding by showing him himself. "What? All that preparation, even allowing it into my mind, and it's just going to be a regular mirror?" He started laughing at the absurdity until he saw his reflection stop laughing, wearing a secret smile which stilled his laughter instantly. His reflection put its hand into its pocket, pulling out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the stone into its pocket, and as it did so Harry noticed something heavy drop into his own. Somehow the mirror had given him an item, and from all the build-up a fairly important one.

His reflection grinned, and the mirror shimmered again, as it shifted to show an altogether different scene. This time, Harry was surrounded by happy people, his Dad Naruto and all his Mums, looking at him proudly, hugging him, his Mums kissing his cheek, then the image shifted again, adding in the girls in his life all looking a few years older as did he. Both groups of girls were included, magical ones like Hermione, Susan and Daphne, as well as the five non-magical girls, Ashley, Ella, Stephanie, Michelle and Meaghan walking in from the side, followed by Sandra. Each of them gave mirror-Harry a big hug and even a kiss next to his lips, smiling as the other girls embraced him, obviously happy to share him. Then his magical female friends followed suit! Harry blushed. Yes, he did like the girls, and wanted them to be happy with him. Perhaps he was growing up, perhaps the resolution he made nearly two years before was wearing thin, but the thought of having the girls with him only filled him with happiness and a little anticipation. A new thought crossed his mind. He knew that the image was just that, an illusion, but it was of a possible future, one that he would try to make come true.

One of the clones tapped his shoulder, and he looked over. "Boss, you've been just staring at the mirror for five minutes. Is everything okay?"

"We got what we came for," he patted his pocket, "at least, that's all it will be giving us apart from a vision of a possible future. Let's go. And keep on alert as we return. After all, we haven't had to exit here before."

Despite his caution, there was nothing new to see. All the rooms were as they left them, and his clones cleaned up behind him, destroying any sign he'd ever been here. He climbed up and out of the room with the Devil's Snare, walked out of the room with the Cerberus and down the forbidden corridor, keeping one clone on lookout as he would for the rest of the year. The rest of Harry's clones descended upon the Library, silently celebrating, and the real Harry returned to his dorm under the Cloak.

* * *

The next morning, the last Sunday of January, Harry got up, checked that the shiny Stone was where he left it, and returned it to the bottom of a pile of otherwise mundane items, assuredly not in his school-approved trunk, and headed down to breakfast. Despite listening in very closely, there was no sign that anyone had even noticed his nocturnal acquisition, for which he was grateful, and neither was there sign of the Headmaster this morning. All he needed now was to get his purloined treasure out without getting caught, and of course, find out just what he had. He was sure his parents would be more than happy to help with that last, of course, they were always excited by anything truly new to them. A product, they had told him when he asked, of having seen as much as they had. Harry could see their point, now that he had a baker's dozen clones running around, he was seeing just about everything around him multiple times. In an effort to get _something_ new to read, he'd ironically read through some past issues of the major paper, the _Daily Prophet_. That jogged his memory - aha! There was something about a break-in at the wizard's bank, right on his birthday, even. The robber had gotten in and out without being caught, which was worrying enough, but the goblins had claimed that the intruder hadn't stolen anything.

"Hey Susan, I was wondering. In August there was an article about someone stealing something from the bank, wasn't there? Has there been anyone caught since then?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, Harry, I've no idea. I'd have to ask my aunt about it, but even if she does tell me, I may not be allowed to pass it along." Susan apologised.

"That's fine, Susan, I'd just like to hear what you can tell us. After all, if the place isn't secure, I would have to talk to my parents about taking the money somewhere safer," Harry tried to explain his interest.

Unfortunately, the power of gossip saw these supposedly idle words acquire an importance that surprised him. That very night, Amelia Bones, Director of the DMLE turned up, requesting a short visit with her niece and one Mr Potter. After speaking briefly with Susan, she turned to Harry in full professional mode, monocle in place and having surreptitiously checked her glamour for a grey haired bun was working. She wanted to be treated as the respected witch she was, not the auburn-haired beauty nature had intended for her.

"Well, Mr Potter, you've certainly caused a fine spot of trouble with your careless words!" Amelia tried to be fearsome, and did a fair job at it, but while she had presence, she lacked the Killing Intent that Harry or his family could produce. As such, he could stay calm.

"Madam Bones, would you like to explain to me just what has happened, and why you believe it to be my fault?"

Amelia sighed. She had been sure she could intimidate the boy, after which she would explain it was a joke (and a test of his nerves). Instead, her niece's friend had managed something few of her Aurors could equal. "Yes, I would like to explain. First, I should apologise, that was supposed to be a test to make you acknowledge my authority. You would be amazed, or perhaps you wouldn't be after that display, how often it helps me do my job when everyone respects that authority. I do wonder just how you managed it, of course, but I can hardly expect you to tell me after how I acted.

"Secondly, to explain, you, Harry, are famous as the Boy-Who-Lived. I've heard from my niece that you don't like either the title itself or the fame, and that is a healthy attitude to keep for now. However, it does mean that your words acquire more weight than they should. Your off-hand comment about pulling money from the bank was overheard and passed along, even reaching the Ministry where it caused something of a panic. By the time it reached me, it had been transfigured into a story that you had already withdrawn all the Potter wealth and left the country. I spent a little time putting out that fire then came myself to see what the real story was. Susan told me what your original words were, and I understand your concerns. Would you be prepared to make a statement for the paper clarifying what you originally said, and that you aren't taking your money and fleeing these shores?"

"Madam Bones, so long as I get answers to my questions, and those answers wouldn't make any _reasonable_ person in my place take their money and run, I believe I would be prepared to give you that statement. I understand that may not be the answer you want, but it's the most honest answer I have to give." Harry said carefully, trying to remain as courteous as possible despite the implied demand.

"Harry, you said to my Susan that you just want to know the results of the investigation as long as it's not something that must be kept secret, correct?"

"Something very like that, yes" Harry nodded, glad that at least this much of his request wasn't garbled.

"And if I say the information you want is secret?"

"Then I'll accept that, Madam Bones. In the r- Muggle world, the police often can't give out all the information or the crooks would find out when they're about to be caught, and that'd be silly. I hope the same applies here, or your job would be a nightmare!"

"Indeed," Amelia replied and smiled. "As it happens, the information you want I can share. You remembered correctly, there was an attempt on a vault in Gringotts on July the thirty-first, and while nothing was stolen, indeed nothing _has_ been stolen in over a century from the bank, the person did make it into the vault which had been emptied that very day. The goblins were incensed, it seemed like the vault-holder had inside information that they refused to divulge about a threat to the bank. No official action was taken against the wizard, partly because no crime was committed, technically, though I wouldn't be surprised if the main reason was the wizard's history."

Harry was surprised she had gotten so chatty, but was more than content to hear more from the aunt of his close friend Susan.

"The goblins have beefed up security since the incident, and the case has been gathering dust for a few months now since there have been no new leads.

"In other news, according to rumour one Albus Dumbledore has been avoiding the goblins since around the same time, leading a few in the Department to suspect that he was the wizard in question whose vault had been entered." She smirked, enjoying it when the old man stumbled like this. He had been interfering with her work against the Death Eaters - both honest and 'reformed' or 'cursed' - for literally decades, preaching forgiveness and redemption instead of justice and punishment. While she believed he was mostly a good man, he was still only human, able to make mistakes; only his mistakes had cost some of her Aurors their health or their lives, as she saw it.

Susan came over as they finished their chat, and helped her aunt and her Harry draft a statement for Amelia about the matter, stating that it was settled, Harry was leaving his money where it was and appreciated the bank's record on security, and certainly wasn't fleeing Britain's shores. He had made great friends at Hogwarts and looked forward to getting a better education. Harry smiled to himself at the multiple possible meanings of that statement, one of them being to quit the expensive and underperforming boarding school and return to Cranleigh.

* * *

Harry was amused the next day that his statement appeared verbatim in the newspaper, and that it caused a wave of relief across all the Houses; even some Slytherins joined in. He was not so amused when Daphne scathingly remarked about his thoughtless behaviour. She blushed as she realised what she said, and apologised for going too far, but he apologised too, acknowledging that he could have handled it better by asking the question in private. "I just haven't had thousands of people paying so much attention to me before. It still seems stupid to me to regard a baby as the hero who defeated a Dark Lord. Treating an eleven year old boy's word like the nation would collapse without me, well it just seems like there's something very wrong."

"You're right, Harry, it doesn't make much sense, but they needed a hero and someone selected you for the job. It was better, in some ways, that the real you wasn't there to challenge whatever image of you they wanted to make."

"Exactly," Susan added, "writing about the Boy-Who-Lived fighting dragons at six years old, or rescuing a girl from acromantulas at eight, makes for a good story, but the story is spoiled if people have met the hero and they know he's just an ordinary boy who didn't and couldn't do any of those things. Though you're not an ordinary boy, either." She beamed at him, as did the others who were there for the troll.

"Why thank you, Susan. You're not an ordinary boy, yourself."

She stuck out her tongue at him while the others chuckled or groaned, then groaned herself as she went stiff, eyes pleading at Harry. "Would you give me another massage after breakfast please? I must have slept wrong."

He nodded and paused. "Thanks for reminding me, Susan. I never heard back from the team about offering to provide massages after training, did any of you?"

They shook their heads, none of them had.

"Okay Susan, after I take care of your back, I'll try to track down one of the players and find out what's going on." She smiled and finished her breakfast quickly, eager for the massage to begin under Harry's talented fingers.

Harry's clones spread through the castle, finding the Seeker easiest of all, out on the Quidditch Pitch with some friends. He guided his friends over there after a little while and asked to speak to Cedric. Cedric's friends just waved him off, they knew who Harry was and knew the Boy-Who-Lived was helping restore their House pride, making him well-liked.

"Hey Cedric, I was wondering about the offer I made to the team, I know you were going to talk about it but I never heard anything back."

"Which offer was that?"

"The massages, of course."

"That really happened, er I mean that was serious?"

"Sure I was serious. I don't go back on my word like that. Didn't you end up having the meeting?"

Cedric was embarrassed. "No, we all woke up with hangovers the following afternoon. So, you're still willing to help?"

"Yes, I am. I wouldn't mind trying out for the team next year, and I think a couple of my friends are interested too. What work should we do to improve our chances?" Harry phrased the last question deliberately. He wanted to be sure that Cedric understood him right. Harry wanted to be on the team, but he didn't want his fame to buy his place. While Harry was willing to do anything for a mission, joining the school sports team was hardly like that.

Cedric smiled at the younger boy, and started to explain more of the game, its strategies and tactics, the qualities important to each position. He would have kept on explaining, Harry was sure, except for Harry interrupting to suggest that perhaps they should arrange a time for this so that they don't ignore their friends. Cedric grinned unrepentantly. "I do go on about Quidditch, don't I?"

Via his clones, Harry observed Cedric gather the rest of the team to have an impromptu meeting, talking about the offer by the looks of it, before they nodded in unison and sent Cedric off to find him. Cedric found Harry in the classroom his study group had taken over, telling him the team had decided to accept his offer at least on a trial basis, and that he could bring his friends with him to learn more about the game and even get some practice in.

* * *

That evening, Harry got a coded letter from his parents regarding his activities in the forbidden corridor. As expected, they weren't terribly happy about him going in person (without them, at least) but said they understood the need, and at least he had seemed properly paranoid. Also as he expected, they were amused at his letdown at the end, and promised to help investigate what the red stone was. Harry thought a good lead would be to investigate the Headmaster's past, something that was a good idea in general anyway. And since Susan's aunt had so kindly hinted that she thought he was involved with the robbery in some way, it seemed a good idea to start there. He was old enough to have been involved with just about everyone in Britain's Wizarding society, and that the Director of the DMLE thought he was involved was compelling support for the notion.

He started with publicly available information, just to see what was out there. When his friends heard what he was looking for, though obviously he couldn't give the real reason, Megan Jones mentioned Chocolate Frogs and the cards that come with them, with Wizarding pictures of the famous wizards and witches on them. She dashed back to her dorm and returned with her card collection, quickly scanning through it and producing one for the Headmaster:

"_Considered by many to be the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of Dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling._"

Harry blinked at the last bit. "Somehow I'm having trouble picturing him in those robes and that long beard going ten pin bowling." There were a few chuckles, then Harry continued, "Thanks, Megan, this is great, it gives another insight into such a powerful politician." A couple of his friends rolled their eyes, as Harry rarely referred to the man as Headmaster if he could get away with it. Megan smiled, though, at the recognition while Harry quickly copied out the information into his notes and gave back the card.

Harry decided to add Grindelwald and Nicolas Flamel to his list of people to investigate. They were significant enough to mention on the card which had to leave so much else out, after all. That night, his clones roamed the Hogwarts Library looking for references to both wizards as well as Dragon's blood and alchemy. In the following weeks, they found numerous books on all but Nicolas Flamel until they looked up one of the older tomes on alchemy, where Flamel was mentioned as the only known owner of the legendary Philosopher's Stone! While the reports of its abilities were unbelievable on the surface, certainly Flamel had something interesting as both he and his wife had lived over six hundred years. Since what Harry had obtained was a stone with _interesting_ protections, it was at least possible that this stone he found was theirs, however ridiculous it was to Harry's sensibilities. Indeed, if the Flamels had owned the Stone for so long without loss, why move it now, and why would Dumbledore announce that there was something unusual about the one part of the castle where it was kept? A cynical thought that it was bait was dismissed for lack of evidence. He sent a message via clone home about what he had found out, his thoughts and suspicions. He was confident that his family would find a way to contact the Flamels or at least investigate them. He could leave the matter in their capable hands.

* * *

The next morning, Wednesday, Harry went to Herbology happy with his life. He had good friends, good family, and good progress on his various goals. While he was only barely started with copying the Library, his methods were working well and should be able to finish it before his final year here, sooner with more clones.

He had penetrated the third-floor corridor of 'painful death', and its mysteries, without leaving a trace. His clones cleared up all physical signs, erased their chakra, and he hadn't used a speck of magic so he was reasonably confident that he would get away with it, at least that it wouldn't be traced to him when someone did find that it was missing. The Stone itself was in a pair of dirty socks he used for his morning runs, which would discourage closer looks but shouldn't appear to be conspicuous, at the bottom of a pile of Harry's general belongings.

He had also given the Quidditch team their first after-training massages. He felt like grinning when he remembered the amazement on their faces. They had explained that they couldn't reliably cast the spells to do it for them, and even the spells weren't as enjoyable as the feeling after one of Harry's massages. That evening, Cedric gave another theory lesson on the game, and they were booked in to have a practice with the team on Saturday afternoon.

The evening Astronomy class was also a pleasant change. The hostility that Professor Sinistra had felt in first term about an eleven year old boy trying to _correct_ her in her area of expertise was melting away each week as she fell in love with the photographs and accompanying texts on the planets and the stars, even if she was still resisting the revolutionary idea that the stars were always changing. The Ptolemaic model had been standard in the Wizarding World and never really been changed to the modern. Wizarding astronomers had accepted the precession of the stars, but even that seemed to be just another, grander cycle, a reflection of eternity. Harry hoped that she would accept the new model once she saw the evidence for herself, as she had implied she would. He admired her for sticking to the existing theory until there was new evidence which didn't fit. It showed that she wasn't so open minded that her sense fell out.

The pattern for the following weeks was set, by day he would have his light exercise, classes and time with friends, and now adding time getting to know the team as they accepted his massages which enabled them to train harder and longer, becoming fitter and better players, a service they were happy to repay on the weekends by training with his friends. Hannah enjoyed flying, but felt that only the Keeper position would suit her. She didn't have the right mindset to attack, she said. Susan and Hermione, surprisingly, both did have the right mindset for Chasers; they enjoyed the teamwork of the position, especially if Harry was the third as they had the trust needed to truly excel at the role. Leanne and Megan, surprisingly enough, had the killer instinct needed for truly outstanding Beaters, but they lacked both the endurance and the strength to play against the other Houses. At least that was something they could work on, so they were content. For Harry found his best place in the team was as a Chaser with the girls; it fitted best with his football and hard-won combat instincts, though he was also a great backup Seeker should Cedric be unavailable. While he was slightly better than Cedric as Seeker, his skills as Chaser were enough to turn the line from 'decent' to 'extraordinary', enabling them to rack up the points.

In the meantime, he kept one clone watching the third floor corridor, and one watching Quirrell, though there was nothing new there. He also started up with a few pranks, trying to emulate the Weasley style while putting his own touch on target selection and level of harm. An early one made the Twins' robes and hair Slytherin green with dye, not magic, and so it lasted until they thought to try a simple Colour-Changing Charm. Soon enough, Winter turned to Spring and it was time to head home.

* * *

_Thank you all for your continued interest and support. Your feedback is always welcome. If you spot any mistakes or problems, feel free to let me know via PM._


	8. Chapter 8 - Revelations

**Chapter 8 - Revelations **

Harry's friends were grateful for the warmer Spring weather, though the muddy ground wasn't as well liked, especially by the girls when it got on their clothes. They trudged through the mud down to Hogsmeade station for the trip home, boarding the train and securing their compartments quickly before the older students got on board, most of whom left it a little later rather than going down right after breakfast. The idea was that with them all there and settled in a group, it would be too much of a hassle to the older years to tell them to move. Harry had checked that the Stone was now safe in one of his weapon pouches, expanded on the inside, and settled in between Susan and Daphne, Hermione opposite them and flanked by Hannah and Megan. Leanne Moon had pouted a bit and asked Harry if she could sit on his lap, trying and succeeding at embarrassing the boy, before she grinned and went to the next compartment. Harry's compartment was their unofficial peaceful one, mostly so Hermione could read undisturbed, with some quiet conversations and games filling in the time before they arrived to meet their families.

Hermione almost screamed when she saw her parents waiting on the platform for her. Harry was pleased, his idea for a surprise for Hermione had worked well, and he saw the Grangers talking with Amelia Bones and Harry's own parents. He had sent a request at the end of one of Susan's letters for her to bring some of the Muggle parents through for him and his friends at least, as he wanted to see Hermione's face in a harmless prank.

The girl in question looked around the compartment, spotting the grins on the faces of Susan and Harry, pulled them both into a big hug and dashed out to do the same to her parents. Susan answered the question on the faces of the others. "Harry had the idea that the muggleborns and their parents would appreciate having the same chance to meet on our side as the rest do, so he asked me to ask my aunt if it could happen." She grinned as Leanne's voice was heard over the general noise of the platform. "And she wrote back, saying that she would be happy to help organise it. From what she said, the crowd will be even worse than usual, but _I_ think it's well worth it." The other three girls nodded and smiled proudly at Harry for this.

"Hey don't forget, my parents are out there, too. I just thought it'd be great if all our families had the chance. We're still on to meet up as planned, right?"

They wandered out, still chatting, as they all kept their eyes out for their parents. Harry's parents became the centre of a small mob of Harry's friends and their parents, introductions and greetings delaying them for half an hour before they made their way out the portal into the regular portion of the station, dodging the crowds even at this hour, and making their goodbyes and promises to talk over the break.

Once private, Harry's parents grinned at their boy. "My, my, you _are_ a popular young man, aren't you. And I saw that most of your friends are of the female persuasion, too." Anko-mum had dropped her disguise and enjoyed teasing him, he was so cute.

Once at home, he brought out the blood-red stone that he had obtained. In one way it was the same as all the other magical items they had examined, it didn't operate according to any of the rules they understood. In short, the Clan never could get it to function correctly. However, they did manage to contact the Flamels via an intermediary in Amelia Bones, getting them to agree to exchange letters.

After sounding them out, they eventually decided that the Flamels were simply trying to die. They had put their Stone beyond their own reach so that they wouldn't succumb to the lure of postponing death a little longer. They were out of their depth in the modern world, and even the modern Wizarding world which seemed backwards to the Clan was changed too much for the Flamels to really understand. They had given the Stone away to someone who assured them he would not use it to delay death or create gold. They couldn't bear to destroy it themselves, wanting to be gone before the Stone was. Their trust in their old friend Albus Dumbledore was understandable, and it seemed he had been truthful in his assurances, at least. The problem lay in not checking for themselves what he _would_ do with it, instead.

The Clan were careful not to say or imply that they had the item since that would only paint a target on their backs, which meant they couldn't afford to tell the Flamels just how they felt, or what their 'good friend' had done, placing bait in a school behind lethal traps with only a single door and a warning between hundreds of children and a monster out of legend. The Clan felt the Flamels should be shot for their negligence and their lack of concern for the world they were leaving behind, but they understood that depression could make even the best ninja a hazard to those around them.

Meanwhile, Harry had a fun, though busy, time off. He met up with all the girls this time, had a nice time on a picnic with the five Muggle girls as well as being dragged clothes shopping, a day shopping in Diagon Alley with the Hufflegirls, and some fun at the Greengrass home mostly walking outdoors. Mark begged off early in his visit, he had a Ravenclaw friend drop by unexpectedly and had to play host. Harry didn't mind, especially when Daphne's adorably cute little sister Astoria took that time to come out of the shadows more, grinning at him when she seized his hand and walked with him. Daphne grinned too as she copied her sister, glad for such a good excuse. He also got another Shadow Clone viable, which would certainly help with copying the Library.

Next, the Patils invited him around for an afternoon, where Lavender also dropped by, and they talked about various interests from Arithmancy to fashion, or at least the girls talked about fashion, Harry mostly listened. While he had a good understanding of fashion in the real world, as he still thought of it, thanks to his many mothers and the tailoring lessons, he was still aware of his ignorance of Wizarding world fashions. Beyond the fact that showing a knee as a witch was considered to be near nude, all he could tell you was that they covered up far too much and didn't do a good job of temperature regulation if all the complaints he'd heard had even a glimmer of truth.

Unbidden, his mind started to wander, picturing the girls dressed in various outfits, both Wizarding and regular, as he thought of how to enhance their looks with matching clothes. His mind froze when Parvati and Lavender bent over to pick up some magazines and gave him a good look at their rears.

The images of the girls he knew started to take on a decidedly different and not entirely unwelcome theme, Hermione dressed in jeans and shirt on a step-ladder that he was holding for her as she grabbed more books, Parvati and Padma giggling and smiling at him, dressed in more open robes that revealed more than a mere hint of calf, Lavender bouncing as she rode in a car beside him, blonde hair flowing over her.. ahem. Harry took control of his thoughts before they went any further, silently cursing his early hormones for acting up then. Luckily for his dignity, the three girls had been looking away and he got his growing body's reaction under control before they looked back. He shuddered to think at how his mothers would tease him if they ever found out.

He even spent a night with the Grangers when their planned outing ran overtime. He arrived mid-morning on the Saturday of the middle weekend of the holidays, his parents dropping him off before heading out to handle some business and letting him spend time with his friends. While he was sure they would have left clones for his safety, they were discreet enough that he couldn't spot them. He knocked on the door and as it opened he was tackled by a brown-haired blur, laughing as she hugged him. "Pallas Athena Granger!" they heard from inside, Hermione wasn't far behind her younger sister, adding her own hug for her best friend and crush. The girls' mother, whose exasperated cry they had heard, appeared to see both her girls wrapped around a boy. To his credit, he was far too young to try anything, and besides which he was a good sort. He had helped their eldest to break out of her shell and learn how to spend time with people her own age, helped her make good, close friendships in her new world. She and her husband Matt were also grateful that their daughter had been granted permission to borrow Miyuki, the boy's owl, to deliver mail to them. Through him, and his parents' own efforts, the Grangers had much more insight into the Wizarding world which they appreciated, however much it scared or disgusted them at times. They also joined a growing Parents Association formed around the Muggle-born students and their parents, with most of the parents of Harry's friends also joining. They used it to talk, get advice about their children and also making a few new friends themselves, even some that could be useful contacts for their regular lives.

After inviting him in, the three children chatted away, Elizabeth heading to the family's games cupboard and getting out a few board games. Pallas "call me Athena please" was set on playing Monopoly, Hermione would have preferred Trivial Pursuit but gave in readily enough to her sister, and the three played and laughed until lunchtime, Elizabeth taking them out where Harry instinctively went to hold her chair and her daughters'. She grinned to herself at the blush on Hermione's face and the pleased smile on Athena's.

After lunch, they went out to a museum to see some of the Egyptian artifacts, before doing "a spot of shopping" in Elizabeth's words, "a hell of a lot of shopping" in her husband Matt's, who was gloating that he'd escaped it, though they could all see that he was kidding. Well, partly. Harry, though, agreed with his wife. He was used to being dragged around shopping by his mothers, after all, and Elizabeth didn't have a patch on Ino-mum's love of shopping.

Dinner was a lot of fun, even with low-sugar drinks, something that did nothing to reduce Athena's energy level; she was bouncing in her seat any time she talked to Harry. After dinner, they went out to see a movie but the only session available was fairly late. Since it was the weekend, they would go to it as long as Harry got permission, which he did since his parents were still watching anyway. The movie was a blast, and thankfully Athena was finally slowing down at last. When they got back home, it was already late so they quickly went to bed. Harry was surprised when Hermione came into his room to say goodnight, giving him a hug, but more so when Athena followed suit. She seemed to think if Harry was good enough for her sister, he was definitely good enough for her.

Unknown to the students at the time though Harry did discover it later from chance comments overheard, Hagrid's hut burnt down while the big man himself was in Hogsmeade getting drunk. The illegal baby dragon he'd acquired from an unknown person at the pub was a silly choice for the nice but simple man to keep in his wooden hut. The Headmaster was quick to step in, helping the groundskeeper rebuild, having saved many of the man's knickknacks, and managed to keep the affair quiet. The dragon was shipped off quietly to a reserve in Romania, where it terrorised a redheaded gamekeeper.

* * *

When the time came to return to Hogwarts, there were a lot of Muggle parents on Platform 9¾ chatting and seeing off their children. Harry overheard that arrogant blond from Slytherin whining to his father about the crowds. At least he suspected the older man was his father, given their close resemblance; same pale pointed face, same pale blond hair, same sneer, same sense coming from them that everyone else was beneath them. The elder Malfoy's lazy drawl fit perfectly the stereotype of a decadent aristocrat, and his words were perfectly balanced between soothing his petulant child and dismissing the people around him as unimportant.

The woman at his side was tall, slim and had an aristocratic beauty and air about her, something that her husband obviously tried and failed to match. She was also a witch that other witches tried to emulate in her sense of style, he saw, both from 'subtle' glances and the way that their own robes were often inferior copies of hers. Her expression and cold voice however marked her as just as arrogant as her husband and child, she looked like she was smelling something disgusting whenever she looked at most of the crowd, especially the Muggles and Muggle-borns. From his own observations, this was ironic since he found that many of those she despised had better hygiene than the woman. While her visible skin was clear and beautiful, his enhanced sense of smell picked up signs that she hadn't washed recently, instead preferring perfumes, a typical habit among magicals.

While he left a clone to observe the family, Harry met up with his friends and they started to catch up on missed news (or gossip as Harry thought of it). Daphne mentioned that her cousin Mark was off with the same Ravenclaw who had dropped by the day of Harry's visit. From the way she said it, he suspected that the visitor was female since Daphne was amused by him following her instead of saying hello to Harry. Hannah volunteered to get their usual compartment while the others finished saying goodbye, her parents shaking their heads and smiling at her eagerness to get back.

With everyone settled, Leanne had obviously remembered their teasing from before the holidays. She waited until the others were settled, then walked over and sat in Harry's lap, giggling. Unfortunately for Harry, her giggling was making her shift on his lap, rubbing. Fortunately for Harry, between Leanne's attention focussed elsewhere and Harry's control, she didn't get to feel more than she should. Besides, Leanne was quickly replaced by a succession of girls, each giving him a little break before taking their own turns. Daphne tried to make her approach seductive but it didn't work with her body still growing, throwing off her balance too. Still, he gave her points for effort.

* * *

During the term, the Hufflegirls spent more time flying than before. Hannah was getting a lot of practice as a Keeper, though she was fighting uphill against the improving team of Chasers in Harry, Hermione and Susan. She got some help when Leanne and Megan started directing all their efforts trying to stop or slow down the Chasers. The challenge was more even three on three, and they all saw a better rate of improvement.

"Oh did you see that shot I made at Hermione? If Harry hadn't warned her, it would have been just perfect!" Leanne nodded at Megan, both of them pleased as punch with practice one day in mid-April.

Harry smiled at them, then frowned for a moment. "Megan, Leanne, you're both doing great compared to how you started, I think we all are, but I've seen the other teams too. I think you need to grow more before you're really ready to be exposed to rough play like the dirty Beaters on the Slytherin team. They don't seem to care about fouls if they can take out the opposition."

"Are you saying we're not good enough?" Megan asked, trying to keep her hurt at bay.

"No, just that we all need to grow into our roles, and that Beaters have to be even tougher than most. Unless you grow fast, I think you two might be better off as reserves most of next year. I don't want to see either of you hurt by going too far too fast." The girls blushed, not just Megan and Leanne, as his words called other things to mind. In their minds, they already liked him, but were still working things out, especially where the others were concerned.

"So you're just looking out for us, right, Harry?" Susan confirmed.

"Of course, I care about each of you, and I know you'd try to do the same for me." He gave them all a wide smile, relieved they had accepted his explanation rather than getting offended as could all too easily have been the case.

He gave each of them a hug in turn. "I think we'll blow them away next year as long as we keep working hard. We'll be great! Come on, let's go clean up so I can work the knots out of each of you." That prompted five squeals and girls dashing towards showers.

A hour later found four girls lounging around in dressing gowns with a fifth on a padded table. Two girls looked as if they were boneless, they were flopped over with a pleasured and content look on their faces. Hermione was receiving the tender ministrations of Harry when she spoke up.

"Harry, can we make a deal for you to keep giving us massages even if we stop playing Quidditch?" The other four girls perked up at the question.

Harry extracted a moan from Hermione as he worked a particularly stubborn knot next to her shoulder blade. His frown would have caused her to stiffen if such a thing was physically possible in her position, but she didn't need to worry as the negative expression was directed at the knot of muscle, and dissolved into a smile as he finally felt it relax. "Of course. All you'll ever have to do is ask. You're my Hufflegirls."

Realizing the implications of his words, Harry blushed furiously and refrained from talking anymore. In a rare moment of inattention caused by his emotions, he didn't notice that all five girls blushed as well. He did notice that, for the next hour, the Hufflegirls were oddly quiet.

The next day, his other female friends were looking at him strangely, but despite his questions, refused to answer. Still, they were happy enough around him and weren't causing any problems. When the looks faded a few days later he put it from his mind, just enjoying life. So it came as a surprise when Daphne, Lavender, Padma and Parvati cornered him just before dinner one night. Daphne spoke up, "Harry, I know we aren't your Hufflegirls, but are we your girls, too?"

Harry panicked for moment. '_How on Earth is this _anything _but a trap?'_ He looked into their eyes, seeing their fears, and summoned his courage. "I would be happy for you to be my girls-" He didn't get to say any more as all four of them pulled him into a hug, not letting go. When they let up, they blushed and left him in peace, confused but happy. He wasn't quite sure why they were all doing this, but he was hopeful it was a good sign for things to come.

* * *

As the older students returned to their dorms following a leisurely Saturday in Hogsmeade, Harry sent one of his clones into the Gryffindor Tower hidden among the crowd. His job was to make sure that the Weasley twins got drunk then find that very interesting parchment, the Marauder's Map, which the pair had been using to keep track of people in Hogwarts. He waited until the pair went to sleep. The way their snores rivalled chainsaws ensured their dorm mates kept up silencing charms on their own curtains as a matter of survival.

He parted the curtains around Fred's, or maybe George's, bed, searching for the damned security breach they called their _Precious_. He finally found it stuffed in with their dirty underwear and Quidditch robes, glad he could suppress his sense of smell for this. As he transferred the item to his person, a wicked idea formed about what he could do to the pair. They surely were on Harry's list of acceptable prank targets, and he had yet to do anything major to anyone.

He checked his supplies, finding the items he needed where he expected. The ropes were obvious, as were the wires, the superglue and various paints however were less so. The egg white was surprisingly useful, especially in pranks.

When the twins woke up in the morning, they found themselves wrapped up together, naked with a massive headache. When they tried to separate, they found they couldn't and screamed for help in their panic. They were completely helpless! They were also sticky, and a white substance around their mouths kicked their horror up a notch. They couldn't remember how their night ended, but surely they wouldn't have done that, right? Right?

Poor Lee Jordan was the first to wake up and discover them, as he broke the Silencing Charm on his curtains the screams of the twins finally pierced through. He was up and over at Fred's bed seconds later, soon wishing he hadn't. There were both Weasley's, nude and in each others' arms with a white substance... "NO!" Lee screamed as George's tongue slipped out to taste it, then Lee turned and hurled.

It took nearly ten minutes for them to get free and cleaned up, time enough for other poor souls to see them after they had been untied but before the sticky white mess was removed. Many people looked ill at breakfast that morning, and no one wanted to sit next to them all day.

Harry, meanwhile, was studying the fascinating map. He had no idea how it did what it did, of course, but it tracked in real time the position of everyone in the castle, including the caretaker's cat. He had been looking for a good opportunity to acquire this for a while now. The first time the pair drank at a party was after the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match, where they won. He was ready for the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match but they lost, and went to bed sober. Further attempts had missed the rare times the twins let down their guards completely, so he was happy he'd managed it before the end of the school year.

Indeed, it took the twins a few days before they noticed. He heard them preparing to prank someone, check for the Map and come out cursing. He didn't cackle or chortle or even grin, being far too good a ninja for such basic mistakes. Now, he would leave the Map activated most of the time and in the safe hands of one of his hidden clones. This backfired slightly after he noticed that his clone had spent some time watching the dots of his girls in the showers, especially when they overlapped at times.

The most interesting thing, however, was when he checked up on the Gryffindors. No, not watching Lavender's and Parvati's dots in the dorm or out of it, but the First Year boys' dorm. There was an extra name there at night! First thing that morning, Harry got the memories of that clone and started checking various books and papers, looking for Peter Pettigrew in all of them, starting with current day and working backwards through the years. Unfortunately it was already May, and he wouldn't have very long before the end of the year. He decided he wouldn't intervene yet, not until he had a better idea of what was going on. For all he knew, it could be some traditional part of Hogwarts like Peeves with no rational explanation. When he had tried to check, he hadn't found any man or woman, boy or girl, not even a ghost that made the same movements. On the other hand, that poltergeist Peeves could turn invisible so that didn't help him. He wondered if perhaps the Map was faulty.

Watching the dots for the Professors was useful, confirming their locations as well as where their offices and bedrooms were located. Harry noted down particularly Dumbledore's as he had lots of ideas of what he could do to the manipulative old man. A corner of his mind was already churning over what to do with the new information. He also saw that apparently Snape had insomnia or naturally needed very little sleep, as he was often patrolling the corridors long after curfew, far more than any other staff member.

* * *

The rest of the final term at Hogwarts was more of the same until not long before the train ride home, when everything went pear-shaped. They had finished their final exam, History of Magic, and Harry's clones reported Dumbledore leaving the castle to head to the Ministry for an afternoon and evening consulting with the Minister. '_And my friends wonder why I call him a politician...'_ He snorted to himself. As far as Harry was concerned, a Headmaster wouldn't have two other jobs taking him away from the students he was supposed to watch. An hour later, his clone watching Quirrell popped as the suspect teacher was heading into the third-floor corridor. A quick Replacement technique with one of his guarding clones and he was free to follow the teacher and possible thief, while over a dozen friends provided him with an alibi. He moved rapidly through the corridors to the door, left ajar by Quirrell, detailing one clone to keep the Cerberus asleep he opened up the trap door and jumped through, a minor fireball in his hand ready to throw but the Devil's Snare just retreated, allowing him to head on.

The room with the keys was the same as before, but Harry just threw a net in the right direction, selected the key he needed and through he went. The chess room. He grinned as the pieces glared at him, all looking his way, when they should have been watching his clones taking the crown instead. The room with the troll, well the beast was down with a bleeding lump on its head, so Harry bypassed the creature and the pool of blood, heading on to the Potions Challenge. He noted that the bottle with the correct potion was filled, meaning either it refilled itself - not out of the question given this was Hogwarts - or Quirrell hadn't needed it. He stepped through the black flames and dodged to the side, casting an illusion to hide himself while he evaluated the situation.

There was Quirrell standing before the magic mirror, ignoring Harry's entrance entirely. Harry debated as he watched how to approach this, when the teacher started talking to himself.

"The Mirror of Erised is the key to finding the Stone," he murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this … but he's in London … I'll be far away by the time he gets back. …" When he came back in front of it, he stared hungrily into it. "I see the Stone … I'm presenting it to my master … but where is it?"

"Hurry, you fool!" Harry blinked; that was not Quirrell's voice, and it had come from under the turban. "I will not put up with your failures for much longer. Even my patience has limits." The voice was high and cruel.

"Master, please! I am trying my best. I am doing all I can in your service to repay your lessons!" Quirrell was becoming frantic as time passed. Whoever or whatever the voice was, it plainly terrified the wizard.

"Let me see it. Now." The wizard's hands were shaking as he unwrapped the turban. Slowly and carefully, but all too soon the deed was done, and the horrible stench from before was multiplied and explained as the face of Voldemort was revealed. Chalk white, glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils like a snake's, just as the descriptions had said, though the photographs obviously hadn't shown him growing out the back of someone's head! Quirrell turned around to allow his Master to see the mirror. Voldemort examined it closely, but Quirrell noticed something odd about the wall where Harry was standing. Just what he noticed, no one would ever know.

As soon as he raised his arm to point at the oddity, Harry acted. A poison-tipped needle to the heart and the man was as good as dead already. Harry shifted to the ceiling, another illusion covering him as he watched to be sure of the kill. Quirrell clutched at his chest, the poison already destroying his heart and lungs. The wizard collapsed unable to utter a word, all movement ceasing a minute later. Harry waited another minute and was about to drop his cover when Voldemort just _dissolved_ off the back of Quirrell's head into a black mist, screaming in hatred and rage as it fled straight upward. Harry was stock still, just taking it all in and making sure there were no further surprises, for another ten minutes before he gave up, removing the needle and using a special technique to extract the poison from the body. He left a clone to take his place watching as he went back to his friends.

Harry had a bout of shakes when he was only halfway back. He had killed a man tonight. All his training, all the talks, they weren't enough, they would never be enough, to take away his sense of horror at the loss of his innocence. A quick diversion to the nearest bathroom where he promptly lost his lunch and washed his mouth, and he headed back to his friends, needing their comfort, their presence as he felt more alone than he had in six years. He made and dispelled a clone so the ones at home would know what would happen, would be able to talk to the Clan that much sooner. He needed his family and friends around him. He was a little subdued at dinner which he passed off as being tired, and he held the hugs with his girls extra long, something none of them seemed to mind but certainly took note of.

Hermione just gave him as tight a hug as she could, looked into his eyes, searching, and nodded to herself, whispering in his ear "You'll tell me if there's something wrong, won't you?" Susan just held him, reminded of her aunt Amelia when she came home some nights. Daphne was a little suspicious but happy he let her close, let her give him comfort when he needed it. The look she gave him promised that he would tell her about it, whatever it was, and he would do it soon. His only choice would be if he told her before she dragged it out of him. His brief nod acknowledged her message, and she understood it wouldn't be just yet. She'd tried before to get information out of him and unless he agreed, it was one of the hardest things she'd done.

Harry was lucky in a way that this was the day the exams finished, since the rest of his girls were too exhausted to notice much of anything just then. Still, he could be sure the girls who did notice would let the rest know, for his own good of course. They seemed entirely too prone to worrying if he displayed even the slightest sign of injury or illness. Although it could annoy him, he knew it showed they truly did care. He now had a day, at the very most, before all of them would be watching and waiting for their answers.

He reflected that evening and found he was sad for another reason. He had come to love spending time with his friends here every day, and he would soon have to give that up for three months, when they would come back to start their time as Second Years in September. And he'd have to give up magic for most of that time, too. He was still as fascinated as ever by magic even if the wizards and witches who wielded it weren't as appealing as they had seemed before he found out about the darker side of their society.

He went to sleep where his dreams were filled with images of his family and friends, old and new, all watching him, cheering him as he came up from the trap door only to turn to looks of horror as they saw the blood on his hands and arms, drenched in it. He woke up with a scream but luckily he hadn't woken up the others. After he calmed his heart and his mind, he fell asleep again, determined that he would have better dreams. In the morning he figured that whatever they were, they were better than that nightmare as he felt almost as rested as usual. He didn't remember the other dreams, and he was just as glad for it. The Yamanaka techniques that Ino-mum taught him had done their part to help protect his mind even from itself.

At breakfast, he thanked them for yesterday. "It just hit me with the end of the exams how soon we're all going home. I have loved getting to see my friends every day, and we won't be able to do _that_ again until we start back in September, even if we do write and see each other a few times. It's just not as fun."

He had put his best acting into this, wanting to help soothe his friends' concerns. And so he had gone with _a_ truth, even though it wasn't _the_ truth. He made sure to look them in the eyes, and accepted the group hug from even the guys in good spirits.

They reminded him that they would get to see him over the summer and would be there for his party on August 1st. Hermione and Padma mentioned that they were looking forward to the lessons and general catching up over the summer when Professor McGonagall would visit, allowing all of them to demonstrate magic for their parents, showing what they'd learned and reassuring all of them that their money was well spent. All the others who were able to attend agreed, though for them it was more about meeting their friends again and making their parents proud.

Classes continued and the final Quidditch match was played, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff with the Lions winning, prompting a little good natured teasing from Parvati. When the results came in for their year, there was a little good-natured grumbling from the Claws that the Hufflepuffs had stolen the top three spots. Harry, Hermione and Justin had dominated the exams, with Padma the nearest to them but the Ravenclaw students had put in respectable performances of their own. Neville Longbottom, the shy boy from Gryffindor, was fourth in Herbology but the rest of his spellwork lagged behind. Harry made a note of that, as he knew the boy had been working hard.

Harry finished up the year, still wondering about that mystery name on the Map, reaffirming his decision not to jump in until he had at least some idea what he was doing.

* * *

Two days before the Leaving Feast, Harry received a note at breakfast, informing him that the Headmaster wanted to see him that evening after dinner. He wondered if this was it, if this was when they would ask him about what happened to Quirrell, and what really happened with the Troll. But he couldn't understand why, if that were the case, they were giving him such warning about his coming interrogation and so on. He went up to the staff table, asking Professor Sprout if she would be attending his meeting. Surprised, she looked at Dumbledore then back at Harry and nodded. "Yes, Mr Potter, I shall of course be there. Albus, we'll meet you at 7:30 tonight."

Harry was sure he spotted irritation and even a flash of anger on that old face before the man got his expression back under control, though he doubted if anyone else had noticed the brief lapse. He gave his Head of House a quick bow and his thanks before heading back to his table. When his friends asked what was going on, he showed them the note and said he had asked Professor Sprout if she would be there. He added that it looked like she hadn't known of the meeting before this, which he found curious. After all, why would the Headmaster call up any student without even informing their Head of House. He added, "Besides, in Muggle schools these days, you're told never to go anywhere with strange old men. And we've all seen his robes!" He grinned. The day passed slowly, not even Snape was as harsh as normal, seeming to look forward to the end of school as much as the kids who endured his classes.

Finally, Harry found himself where he would never want to spend a Friday night; heading up to the Headmaster's office on the third floor for no known reason with only fears about the possibilities, and escorted by his equally confused Head of House. She said "Sherbet Lemon" to a stone gargoyle which leapt aside, revealing a circular stone staircase slowly ascending. The pair rode it up to an oaken double door which opened just as Professor Sprout was about to knock.

"Ah, come in, come in, my boy. Professor Sprout, thank you for showing Harry the way, that will be all." Dumbledore was smiling and immediately moved to dismiss her to get Harry alone.

Harry was having none of that. He wanted a witness and a protector just in case Dumbledore tried something, his mistrust of the man that had dumped him with the Dursleys and even tried to kidnap him away from his rightful guardians to put him back ran that deep.

"Please stay, Professor Sprout. We were always taught at school never to be alone with strange old men, and I wouldn't feel safe here in his very office alone with him. He's never met with me before." Harry pleaded.

As he hoped, while this saw Dumbledore trying to reassure Harry, it also brought out his Professor's mothering side and she nodded. "Okay, Mr Potter, if that's what you want. Indeed, I find myself _very_ curious that you have never met him. He assured all of us that you were safe and well after he hid you away."

Harry had to fight his rage at the old bastard's cheek. "No, Professor. Well, he did try to see me when I was five, but he never gave my parents any reason to let such a suspicious old man see their son."

"'Suspicious'? Are you sure they meant Professor Dumbledore?"

"Tall man, older than anyone else they'd ever seen, beard down to his waist, ridiculous clothes, twinkling eyes and grandfather-like manner. Oh, and he refused to say how he knew me, or where I lived, or what his interest in a five year old boy was." Harry shot back.

Professor Sprout had to fight an inappropriate laugh when Harry mentioned the clothes. Dumbledore's unusual taste in attire was notorious throughout their world, which also helped confirm his identity.

"Now, Harry, I could hardly tell strangers about magic. That would break the Statute of Secrecy, as I'm sure Minerva informed you." Dumbledore interjected.

"Perhaps not, but you did say that I was your 'paramount concern' after admitting to them that you hadn't checked on me in months. Surely you can see how that looks suspicious to any reasonable person?"

"They told you?"

"Of course. They wanted to know if I had any idea who you were, and naturally I didn't. You hadn't visited me, after all, or not that I could remember. All I knew was that the Dursleys always complained they never wanted me and that if they hadn't found me on their doorstep they never would have taken me in even for a night."

Pomona Sprout was rapidly losing control of her temper. "Harry, you refer to your parents and the Dursleys. Who are they?"

"The Dursleys are Petunia and Vernon Dursley and their son Dudley. I haven't seen any of them in five years, and we're all glad of that. Petunia Dursley nee Evans is Lily's sister, though she never treated me like family. She and Vernon _lied_ to me when I asked about my parents, saying they were drunks who died in a car crash. It's only since I got my Hogwarts Letter, and talked with Professor McGonagall, that I learned they were murdered by some terrorist who died attacking them. They treated me like a slave and only told me my own name so I would be able to answer to it at school!"

Sprout was fighting down her temper, not wanting to scare her student. "And your parents? You talk about them as if they're alive."

"Oh, yes, my parents adopted me. They took me in after I got beaten up by Vernon for bringing home a good report card. They gave me my first good meal, my first hugs, my first kind words that I could remember. They love me as their son, and are the only family who have ever loved me. Well, I suppose James and Lily did too, but I don't remember them at all. My parents taught me how to love, and possibly even more importantly, that I was worth loving. Things the Dursleys tried to stamp out of me, always saying I was no good. My parents encouraged me at school, though we had to move since Dudley was still threatening any child that approached me. I made lots of new friends at my new school, though, and my parents made sure I got regular health checks, wanting me to grow up happy and healthy. And then some old man showed up and demanded I go back to the Dursleys with fake gentleness."

Harry stopped, annoyed with himself for revealing so much. Still as he watched Professor Sprout it seemed it wouldn't be for nothing. She was holding herself very controlled, restraining her anger. Good, he was glad he was right about her being a fundamentally decent human being. He hadn't mentioned the cupboard under the stairs, or Harry Hunting, or everything else, nor would he mention those things unless it became necessary. Not only was it still a sore subject with him, but he wasn't going to give away his trump cards.

"Well, now, that's all in the past, my boy. What I called you in for was to check how you were settling in."

"Do you ask any other Muggle-raised students this, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"Well, no, but -"

"Then I have to wonder why you're only concerned _now_, rather than when I needed it. Where were you when I was being beaten up by a grown man, sir?"

"Harry, that's unfair!" Sprout said, "I can understand why you don't like Professor Dumbledore, but how can you blame him for that?"

"That's easy, Professor Sprout, it was him who left me there on the Dursleys' doorstep on a freezing morning in November with a note. The Dursleys handed over that along with all my 'freaky' stuff to my parents, and they showed me when I was old enough, when the damage the Dursleys did had healed. Sometimes I've wondered if he _wanted_ me abused like that." Harry kept a very close eye on Dumbledore as he spoke. The man was clearly agitated that Harry knew about his own past, and worse that he was revealing it. At the very last, he saw a look of shock and guilt pass across the man's face, screaming 'Caught!', before it was hastily wiped away, replaced by the concerned grandfather mask Harry was coming to loathe.

"Now, Harry, my boy, that's a terrible thing to say." Albus put in all the reproach he could.

"Mr Dumbledore, you do not have my permission to use my first name, and I am certainly _not_ your boy! I very nearly turned down going to Hogwarts because you would be here. After the disgusting bigotry from some students and their parents, the lionizing of a baby for something no baby could do, after abandoning a baby they considered a hero, can you really blame me if I didn't want anything to do with _your _society?"

He turned towards his Head of House, "Professor Sprout, all my friends know I have no desire for this fame, especially when it came at the cost of the people who gave me life. At home, I don't have fame or fortune, just my family and my friends and a good school where I never got attacked by a twelve-foot tall mountain troll on the anniversary of my parents' murder." He took a breath and looked sheepish. "Sorry, Professor, I don't mean to take out my frustrations on you. You're one of the good teachers here, and one of the relatively few adults in this world I trust."

"Apology accepted, Mr Potter. I understand this has opened up some old wounds." She looked at Albus with almost palpable displeasure. "If there's nothing else, Professor Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore was taken aback at the hostility from someone who was normally his most friendly teacher, at a loss for words. She decided to take this as assent, guiding her student back to the Great Hall in search of his friends, intending to take him to the Hufflepuff Common Room if they weren't there, wanting to get him in safe company before she returned to beard the wizard in his office.

* * *

The next morning, Harry noticed that Professor Sprout wouldn't look Dumbledore in the eyes, or at all if she could help it. He also noticed that Professor McGonagall looked uncomfortable with the dispute, sending surreptitious glances his way from time to time with an unexplained sorrow. Harry was still emotionally raw from the night before so he decided not to press his luck by approaching her. He didn't know what she had heard, and it would be foolish to charge into the unknown when he could research the situation first.

When he got on the train the following day, his friends around him, Harry looked forward to having more time to get his ninja training to progress further. He was getting stronger and taller, and that should mean more chakra to use on clones. The months off would mean time for longer mission simulations too, which would mean more interesting times ahead. It also meant more outings with 'his girls' both witches and regular girls, and lots of things to do that he couldn't while trapped in an old castle.

During the train ride, first Daphne, claiming she needed equal time, then Padma with the same excuse, sat on his lap, smiling and settling in as they leaned back against him. He took it with a smile; they were pretty girls, a fact that was becoming more clear to him every day, and they liked him. When Hermione sat on his lap, the conversation came around to holiday plans. He was just describing his plans to invite them all over for various picnics and the like in the forest near his home with lots of fun activities for them all and she started bouncing in her excitement. Harry was relaxed and distracted, and his body reacted for him. His heart pounded as he dreaded her screaming at him or running away or just about anything, in fact, from what she did. She smiled a bit, blushing a touch and sat back down, settling in and pressing against him, eventually shifting to settle it in the crack and leaning right back.

The other girls looked at her a little funny but couldn't see what had caused it, figuring she had just realised she was bouncing on poor Harry's lap. Since Harry relaxed after she stopped bouncing, and so did Hermione a little later, they figured that must have been it and ignored it, something Hermione had no intention of doing with what she felt. It made her heart race and she had trouble listening as Harry carried on talking.

"And for my birthday, we're looking to go to a cinema and see a comedy with everyone, then going back to my place to have cake." He looked in Susan's eyes, "Lots of delicious cake, which should please those among us with a sweet tooth."

While Susan and Hannah blushed, Hermione decided to help them out. "Will there be pumpkin pie? It's one of the few Wizarding desserts I love."

"Yes, Hermione, for you there will be pumpkin pie," Harry grinned, "and a variety of other sweets, if I know my parents. They do enjoy throwing parties and this will be a big one."

Soon after, Hermione got off his lap, giving him a wiggle for his view alone, and swapping with Leanne who didn't give him a chance for his reaction to fade before she sat down, settling carefully, and taking her own ride in his lap. She gave a small smile to Hermione and sat on him for a while as the conversation shifted back and forth. Harry was ready this time when the girls swapped, thankful he didn't have to push his luck any further.

Eventually the ride came to an end, both on the train and on Harry, everyone got their trunks and made their way off to meet their parents, say goodbyes and head home. Harry was eager to be about it.

* * *

_Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated and any errors spotted will be corrected. Once again, your support is great._


	9. Chapter 9 - Summer's Heating Up

**Chapter 9 - Summer's Heating Up**

Harry arrived home with Naruto and Ino-mum, who had been disguised as Hinata-mum. They walked inside, where the Clan were all gathered and demanded their hugs, despite having his clones home full-time, they knew the real him was off and in danger, as his recent fatal encounter with Professor Quirrell showed. They took comfort from having him in their arms and getting that primal sense of their child home and safe. Normally Harry might have protested, but thanks to his ordeal he drew just as much comfort from their love and happiness at seeing him as they did.

After a meal was served large enough for most to call it a feast, they took him into the living room, letting the wine (for them) and tongues flow as they unwound. "So Harry, how much of the Hogwarts Library do you think you have been able to read for the transfers?"

Harry sipped his coke, estimating, "At a guess around one fifth of the books, including all the Restricted Section."

Naruto grinned at him. "Let me guess, once you passed the test to get in, you wanted to be able to say you'd finished it as soon as possible."

Harry blushed at being caught out. "Yes, Dad, that's exactly it. It was like those books had been taunting me for months, so once I knew I could do it, I wanted to stomp all over it."

"Don't worry, son, we expect you to have a strong competitive streak and pride in your abilities. Now, come with us, we've arranged a little demonstration for you."

Harry followed, intrigued even as his Mums were all smiling at the little drama. Naruto opened a door that hadn't been installed last holidays, revealing a vast room, one that from his mental maps didn't show from the outside so it must have been created or modified by their Sealing techniques. Inside, he saw over a thousand shelves all with books on them, and he realised with a slight jolt that he recognised every single one from the Hogwarts Library. These were the very same books his clones had spent countless nights memorising.

Harry himself remembered very little of these books or their contents, mostly just the titles and covers, as he had made liberal use of a Yamanaka technique that Ino-mum called her family's Ultimate Interrogation Technique™. Harry groaned when he got the joke, for not only was it a very useful technique for any interrogator, especially a _telepathic_ interrogator who would experience the target's own memories, it was also often the last technique performed, allowing the caster to sever and dump selected memories from the mind completely. Combined with the Shadow Clone Technique and the rapid memorisation tricks, it had allowed Harry or his clones to memorise the Standard Book of Spells volume 7 for NEWT students, transfer that knowledge to a Shadow Clone at home with the Clan, who would then find the memory and copy it for their own clones to write up and bind. Meanwhile, Harry was free to keep or discard the memory of reading each of the books. Since he was already busy mastering spells, he couldn't add that many new and relatively advanced ones to his repertoire, but he did keep all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year spell names, movements and theories memorised, which was not the same thing at all as having mastered them.

* * *

That night before bed, he wrote out letters for all his magical friends, asking Miyuki if she would like to deliver them all, receiving what he would swear was a reproachful look for questioning her. A quick bribe of bacon and raw beef, and she was off taking flight. Harry went to bed eager to hear back from his girls, especially the ones who wouldn't be able to meet up that often over the summer.

The next morning after a rigorous physical training session, he went out to visit his Cranleigh friends in the park they liked best, leaving a clone at home to take care of keeping in contact with his magical friends while others kept looking through books and old papers for his research. They played and ate lunch, before they strolled around town after lunch to walk it off so the girls could keep their figures, or so he teased them.

"Harry, are you calling us fat?" Stephanie growled at him.

Harry knew she was teasing him back but gave her an answer anyway, smiling. "Not at all, I just expect that looking so good takes a lot of work." He got the blushes he was looking for. His girls were smart enough to know what he was doing, but his obvious sincerity meant it worked anyway.

"Thank you, Harry," Meaghan smiled at him, "You're very sweet, and just a bit of a charmer."

He made a clone then to stay with them while he had to head back home early in the afternoon for more exercise. Hogwarts was interesting but it was costing his development. When he got home, he saw that several of his clones weren't doing what he had assigned to them. They had been taken instead to start learning new trades. He was shocked when he saw himself learning wiring diagrams and practicing the technique for feeling the location of live wires in the room around him. He hadn't expected to be taught to be an electrician, though it would certainly be a very useful skill to have. The others were similarly mundane, useful trades, carpentry and cabinetry so he could make his own furniture, even build his own house by the end of it, especially combined with the glass blowing and the pottery. He grinned to himself. He was certain that before too long his parents would be making him heartily sick of the jokes involving his last name.

* * *

A less welcome surprise was that he hadn't received any letters at all via owls, and he was expecting at least one since his friends had all promised to write early so they can organise days to meet up, if nothing else. Well, he'd give it more time, since it was only the first day of the holidays. He called Hermione's number but Athena answered and asked him a whole string of questions all in one breath, echoing Hermione's early behaviour and making Harry wonder if it was a Granger trait or just these girls raised in the same environment. Hermione soon came on the line, and while her questions were at least asked slowly enough to let him answer, she did share her sister's curiosity and joy at hearing from him. It was quickly apparent, however, that something definitely was up.

"No, Harry, I haven't received a letter from you, and I know I'd remember seeing Miyuki again, she's such a beautiful owl, too. It's strange that she shouldn't have delivered it when we live so close, well, closer than Hogwarts and here and that trip doesn't take her a full day."

Harry smiled as she finally took a breath. "I agree it is strange. She's always been such an efficient courier. I'll look her over tonight, I hope she's not sick."

Lacking information, their discussion went nowhere, and they turned to other topics, like little sisters being persistent, movies and books they liked, and so on, before hanging up with a "Cheerio!" from Hermione, making Harry grin.

* * *

He kept an eye out for Miyuki that night, seeing her come in disgruntled and missing a couple of tail feathers. More than ever he wished he could have a real conversation with the bird, he was sure she was smart enough that she could give him an idea of what was going on. He tried a few questions but lacking ideas for questions, and Miyuki pretty limited in her range of responses, he had to give up for now, giving her attention and a few treats.

He let her rest overnight then told her in the morning that he wanted to give her more letters, so that he could get more information on the problem. He felt silly as he apologised to her for not understanding her. Still, she rubbed her head against him, mollified, so it wasn't a waste. As she left, Cesarina walked in, carrying the body of an animal she had obviously killed in the Clan's forest. He smiled closed-mouthed, praised her for her kill and gave her attention before heading out for the day, leaving her to her breakfast. He called up Justin just before lunch, finding out he had gotten letters from their friends except for Harry's, not even the ones Harry had sent today as part of the test. Harry asked him to send notes to their friends that there was a problem with his mail but that phone calls worked. Two hours later, he got a breathless Susan on the phone.

"Harry! I just got the note from Justin, and I wanted to ask if you had gotten my letters. I've sent you two since you didn't answer the first like I thought you would. I was getting worried you were hurt or didn't want me around any more or..."

"Relax, Susan, I'm fine, you're fine, I just have a problem with my mail. Actually, now that you mention it, why didn't I ever get mail before my Hogwarts letter?"

"I have no idea, but I could ask my aunt tonight."

"Thanks, Susan, I hope we can find out what's going on." After that, they talked for a little while before Susan had to get off the phone, and Harry returned to his training, putting his body through its paces and building up strength and endurance.

* * *

Meanwhile, his clone was over at Meaghan's house when she asked him a question that got all of the girls' attention. "Harry, I've been wondering for a while where you get your clothes from. I checked and they're not sold anywhere I can find. Plus they always fit you so well. I'm jealous," she grinned.

"Oh, thank you, Meaghan, actually I make them myself. I think I've still got a lot to learn, but I can make clothes for just about anyone, I think." Harry was a little embarrassed at praising his own skills like this.

"Wow, really? Do you think you could make a good shirt for me?" Michelle asked, eager to discover more about her crush and if he was any good, bonus!

"Sure, Michelle, but I'd need to do a fitting to make sure I get it right."

"Can we do it right now?"

"Not right this moment," Harry grinned, "I didn't think I'd be asked to measure and put my hands on you today." He got the response he wanted, and followed up, "Does anyone else want new clothes?"

He got requests for a further three shirts and a pair of shorts for Ella who joked that she didn't mind his hands as long as they didn't wander too far. What she didn't say was that she was already thinking at night of his hands wandering anywhere he wanted. There was no way she was ready to let him do that, nor tell him!

The following day, the girls came over to his house and were shown through to a private room set up for fittings, each of them admiring the fabrics on display and sending measuring glances at Harry. They were already thinking to ask him for more clothes if this was what they could look forward to. Their looks did not go unnoticed, though Harry decided to keep quiet, he didn't want to jeopardise his chances. They blushed early on as they were each measured, before relaxing, Harry's hands automatically massaging away some of their tension as he guided the girls as needed.

He set a clone later that day to work on the new clothes, designing, testing, creating. His big decision was how long should he take to deliver them. He had finished them all that evening thanks to the aid of certain special techniques, but he knew it would be strange to have such a short turnaround. He fiddled around with details, putting minor finishing touches, then set it aside to leave it for a week. He figured that was about the soonest he could believably have done all those clothes, though he would fudge that time for any future orders, they would be more concerned with getting them than with any discrepancy with how long it took him.

* * *

He was pleased when he talked to Justin that evening, thanking his friend for his help and generally catching up. Justin told him about his parents' decision to take him to some parties over the summer, groaning about being introduced to some girl who was really silly but her parents were in business with his so he had to play host. Harry was sympathetic.

Susan's aunt gave him a call after dinner, apologised for the late hour but she had only just gotten home after a long day. "Mr Potter, Susan told me of your mail problem, and I did some investigations. It was immediately obvious that some form of magic was involved before you started Hogwarts. For instance, did you ever get a letter from Susan before your Hogwarts letter?"

"No, Madam Bones, that acceptance letter was the first letter I got from the Wizarding World."

"Well, at least I'll be able to explain that to her, thank you. She was so crushed when you didn't reply to her questions about dragons. Then again, she was only seven at the time." Harry hoped Susan hadn't overheard that or he was doomed. "So, we've established you had some sort of magic placed on you preventing any letters, rather than it being on the property, otherwise owls would have found you while you were out.

"Now, the questions arise: who did it, what exactly did they do to you, and why? Unfortunately, I don't have any answers for you at this time. You will need to be examined for any sign of the spells, though I suspect the original mail ward placed on you may have been removed or modified."

"That would make sense, Madam Bones. I was able to send and receive owl mail only after I entered Hogwarts." Harry offered, knowing she would suspect the Headmaster of involvement especially as he had assured people that Harry Potter, their Boy-Who-Lived, was happy and safe.

"As for your current problem, we'll need to conduct an investigation and the examination of you that I said before, and for that I would like the permission of your guardians. We will need to visit in order to check the property for signs of magic."

"Thank you, Madam Bones. With your permission, I'll just get my father so you can work out the details."

As it turned out, Madam Bones couldn't visit before the weekend, however she sent a small team of discreet investigators on the following morning who were well-mannered and well versed in Muggle fashion, blending in well. They quickly set to work checking the property while a specialist took Harry aside with his parents looking on, giving a short oath complete with a flash of magic visible to Harry though not his parents, stating she wouldn't share anything learned during the course of the investigation of the property or Harry with anyone not present except her team and Madam Bones unless she got their specific permission. She also called in her team to make similar oaths. Harry made a note to ask later but gave his parents a nod, and the witch began pointing, swishing, flicking and waving her wand in ways that obviously meant something to her but nothing to the rest of them.

"Mr Potter, I have seen that a few spells were cast on you. Firstly, there was indeed a mail ward placed on you. From the residue, I would estimate it was placed around Halloween '81, and it blocked all mail from all sources. There were also a couple of other spells but those have faded too much for me to identify. Secondly, that mail ward was removed last September, replaced with another added to block only mail from more specific senders. I can't see which ones are blocked, I can only leave it there or remove it."

"Remove it, please."

She glanced at Harry's parents, waiting for their nods before proceeding with a lot of wand-waving, muttering and other nonsense. At the end, Harry felt a pulse of magic run through him from his toes all the way up to his scalp and the specialist smiled, exhausted. "There, it's gone, and a very powerful ward it was, too." A disguised Tsunade was at her side handing her a tall, cool drink a moment later, and the witch accepted it gratefully, draining a third of it on her first taste. "Thank you, ma'am."

The team finished up an hour later, having investigated not just the property itself but also out to a distance around it, without finding any interference. A few days later when Amelia Bones turned up, bringing an eager Susan, she let Harry's parents know what she had found, firstly that someone had placed powerful spells on the baby Harry, secondly that a powerful wizard had removed the original mail ward and replaced it with a more limited ward. Thirdly that the timing indicated that the wizard who cast the replacement mail ward likely had access to Hogwarts or had managed to cast a long, complex spell on him before he went to Hogwarts, something that Harry dismissed as unlikely since he would have noticed such a thing, and even if he hadn't, others would have in public places like Diagon Alley.

She moved inside to talk more to Harry's parents while Harry showed Susan around his place, including looking at the forest from the outside. He wasn't going to risk her in there, too many secrets, too many dangers. He could and did show her the field by the forest where the sun was shining, the wind was blowing and they walked along, enjoying the peace and the freedom. They were called in an hour later where Susan, lightly pink from the rays of the sun, grabbed drinks before Amelia Bones, now just an aunt and guardian, took her niece home. While there was still a problem with Harry's mail, a solution would have to wait until they got a lead.

* * *

That night, Harry wished the ground would open up and swallow him. He had been given a mission by his parents to give him a practical, real world test of some of his skills. Normally he would have been happy, eager to get started, but this wasn't what he considered a normal test, not by any means. No, this one had him heading into London with Dad and Kurenai-mum on his way to use his Disguise technique. That wasn't so bad, not even that he would have to pass as an adult in order to get into a nightclub, blending in. That part was fine, fun even, he knew he could dance well enough, too. No, it was the other activity nightclubs were famous for. Seduction. Picking up. Finding an appropriate girl, getting her attention, her interest, her desire. And then- He gulped, heart racing. While he trusted his parents in most things, they did have a twisted sense of humour about some things. He wasn't sure whether to believe them about having to go all the way or not.

Naruto glanced in the rear-view mirror, his smile at his son conveying both his pride in his son for his courage as well as his amusement. Before he knew it, what Harry was scared of doing tonight would become exactly what Harry liked best. Still, he understood his son's nerves. He was going to have to break several laws tonight, first by getting into the club underage, then buying the drinks that his biocontrol would have to neutralise before the alcohol affected him, and of course the last one, taking a girl back to her place. He remembered his own nerves before his first time, but of course that was different. It always was.

It was time. Harry got out, Disguise technique already in place and walked up to the club his parents had selected for his first attempt. He stood outside waiting in line and eventually he was at the door, the bouncers looking him over before letting him inside, paying the cover charge and walking upstairs into the dark, smoke-filled bar area. His eyes scanned the bar, the staff, the customers as his legs carried him up to the bar where he ordered a coke to start with.

He dismissed from consideration all the girls who were obviously there with guys, a fairly large proportion, as he sipped his drink and watched the crowd. The next girls he dismissed were those who were fairly obviously there just to have a fun night out without meeting a guy, generally there girls came in groups, just there to drink, dance and chat with each other. While he might be able to convince one of them in future, for tonight he didn't want the extra challenge. This was nerve wracking enough as it was. That left the girls who were open to advances, and naturally enough they were also the ones who got the most male attention, his competitors tonight. He watched the guys, noting their methods and failures, and the girls, noting their responses, before he finished off his drink, ordering another and approached his first target tonight, a girl just short of twenty he guessed with bushy brown hair tied back in a simple ponytail that trailed halfway down her back. When he saw her from the front, he was just as pleased with his choice, she was very pretty and her chocolate eyes were alight with mirth as she watched another guy strike out on the other side of the bar.

Harry made his approach with an easy confident smile and bearing, letting her see his looks, his clothes good but not overly so, and most important of all according to his instructor, his self-confidence. She gave a small smile back, allowing him closer and he allowed his own smile to grow slightly, making a place for himself beside her. "Hi there," he allowed his voice to deepen, pitching it over the noise of the club for her ears alone.

From there, Harry relied on his training, watching for cues like how and when she smiled, if she showed her wrists to him, a signal of interest according to his lessons, and how open her stance was. If she crossed her arms, that was usually a sign of declining interest, unless she was cold, of course. If her arms were open, her body relaxed, that meant he was on the right path. And if her glances at him drifted further down his body, well, anyone should understand that, he thought.

Soon enough, she allowed him to buy her a drink when hers ran out, and her smiles came more often. Soon after the second drink, she started showing more signs of her interest as he had engaged her in conversation, quickly adapting to her interests and encouraging her to talk more about herself. She was a sociology student home for summer and enjoying the break, while he was supposedly also a student but taking a business course. They compared courses, complained about lecturers and got closer. Harry slipped an arm around her waist, prepared to duck a slap but she only smiled and settled, nodding when he asked if she wanted to get out of there. They took a taxi, exchanging a few intimate caresses, and headed up to a typical student apartment.

Inside, she showed him to the couch and offered him another drink, coming in with two glasses of wine, sipping and just as he leaned in to give her a kiss, his heart beating fast, she stopped him, placing two fingers on his lips and smiling.

"Hold it, big boy," she grinned, her manner changing, "I have one thing to say before we go any further."

Harry nodded and focussed intently on her.

"Mission successful, Harry." She giggled at the shock on his face, gave him a peck on the cheek and stood up, her form flowing back into Ino-mum's usual blonde locks and grey eyes, even popping out the 'decorations', as his parents called their foxy tails, ears and whiskers, to prove her identity.

At that moment, Naruto and Kurenai-mum walked into the room, grinning. "Well done, Harry, for getting this far without running away. We know this wasn't easy for you, and we are proud of you for going through with it" Naruto began.

Kurenai took over, "-but as you know, now we debrief you on the completed mission which we rated as B-rank given your conditions. First, let's go through your actions in order, then look at what you did wrong, what you did right, and other things you could do next time."

By this time, Harry had overcome the surprise and had slipped into 'mission mode' where he could recall and analyze clearer than normally. They spent most of an hour going through each and everything he did, looked at alternatives and at the effects of his choices.

Then, Ino-mum and Kurenai-mum started asking embarrassing questions like "How did you plan to move on to intercourse? Did you have condoms with you? What foreplay were you going to use? What would you do if she pushed your face into her body?" On and on, rapid fired questions to make sure he gave honest responses. In the process, Harry learned far more about himself and his ignorance on matters sexual, something that he needed to remedy before he ended up with a girl he cared about, and hurting her by mistake.

They took him home, letting him drift into thought on the drive, before bundling him off to bed where he fell straight asleep, having interesting dreams.

* * *

In the morning, Harry's parents arranged a deal with the Finch-Fletchleys and the Grangers for Harry's owl mail to be delivered to them, then passed along to Harry or his family, in order to bypass this mysterious block on Harry's mail. He had let all his friends know of the problem, and the current solution in place. They could call him on the phone, for those who had them, send mail via owls to Justin or Hermione, or use the Royal Mail.

As for Harry, he was having his own interesting day out with his local girls. He was at Ella's house since it was her turn to have everyone over, and he brought along an extra bag filled with the finely stitched shirts and shorts the girls had requested. He saw Ella bite her bottom lip to hold in a squeal, for which he was intensely grateful, and the others held their breaths as he unveiled item after item, handing them to the new owners, smiling as they took them and held them up, looking in awe at the clothes. A few seconds later, their looks turned a little hungry and in his direction before they blushed and asked him to turn around. As he did, his sensitive hearing picked up every sound as they changed right there into their new clothes, even Ella got into her new shorts with him in the room. He blushed and waited as patiently as he could, trying to distract himself so they didn't get an eyeful when he turned back around.

He almost succeeded, and the glances from the girls made it impossible for him to relax it further at first, then they looked away after what felt like minutes but likely was only a few seconds. Their blushes told him all he needed to know, but soon enough they smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry!" they chorused in unison, making him laugh. He knew they had been practising for that, and they all settled in to enjoy their afternoon, each girl getting complimented by the others on their new clothes, and asking Harry, pretty please, if they could get more, batting their eyelashes and generally over the top.

Ashley shocked them all by arching her back to show off her developing chest. "Oh Harry, do you think you could make me a new bra to match my new shirt? Maybe you would like to give me a good, thorough measuring for a new one, give the girls just as perfect a caress with your magic touch as you've done with the rest of my body? I'm sure you agree they deserve your support."

Harry stammered and blushed in turn, before she took pity on him. Her mask cracked as she and the other girls laughed, Harry laughing with them.

Unfortunately for Harry, Sandra had just made it to Ella's house only a few minutes before. After a quick search, she found everyone in the girl's bedroom with the door closed, overhearing Ashley's offer and standing stunned until they all started laughing. She opened the door and the girls mobbed her, showing off their new Harry-made clothes and how well they fitted, how fine they looked, and so on. Sandra gave Harry a look but didn't say anything about she had overheard, though she did admit that he was a great tailor, especially if this only took him a week. Running through her mind were thoughts that maybe he could help expand her own wardrobe, but she left that for another time, getting everyone out into the living room in exchange for not telling their parents about being in a bedroom with Harry and no supervision. "And just what would your parents say about having a boy on your bed behind closed doors, Ella?"

The girl gulped, knowing her fairly conservative parents would be far from pleased, and lent her aid to the effort. "Ok, come on, let's go before she changes her mind."

"Good, obviously you girls are having far too much fun with this handsome boy." She winked at Harry who blushed, his mind going back to the weekend and the nightclub. She laughed that her mild poke got a reaction, but Harry wondered what she would have done if she had known. A thought crossed his mind that she might have seen him in a new light, just like he saw her later when she stretched her arms over her head, accentuating her breasts. He tried not to ogle, but by the naughty smile she gave him, he didn't look away soon enough. She whispered in his ear later when she gave him a quick hug, "You can look, Harry, a girl likes to feel appreciated, but don't touch or make us feel dirty with leering."

Harry went tomato-red at that. He was sure his parents would weasel this out of him one way or another, too. He was also sure Sandra enjoyed his effect on her, if the twin points he had spotted meant anything.

She bent down to look him in his green eyes with her baby blues, smiling reassuringly as she place a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you didn't do it wrong."

In the end, they didn't go through with asking him for new underclothes, but Harry was grimly certain they would do it eventually, and not just to tease him.

* * *

While this was going on with his clone, the real Harry was in the city with his parents on Charing Cross Road, walking through the dirty pub that was used as a portal to Diagon Alley where he met up with his friends at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, they grabbed drinks only as they planned to return at lunch, and went on a shopping expedition, checking all the shops.

By prior arrangement, the bookshops were left until last so that they didn't 'waste' the day by only going there. Hermione grumbled to herself, "Time spent in bookshops is never wasted." "Too right," Harry agreed, especially with all the fascinating things to study when it came to magic. For all that he disagreed with the idea of looking only for a magical solution to every problem that came up, they sure had created some fascinating if otherwise useless spells. Changing a button to a beetle, for example, Harry couldn't think of a time when that would be really useful, or at least the most useful answer to a problem. The only explanation their textbooks gave was that it was useful for learning better spells later to have already mastered smaller and easier ones of a similar nature.

The trip to Slug & Jiggers Apothecary was both useful for stocking up on supplies and a few finished potions, and an odd mixture of fascination and repulsion at the various items on display. As they were passing one of the stalls, Harry saw a witch who resembled one of the team members who had been involved in the mail investigation. That jogged a memory, and he turned to Mark and Daphne who were walking beside him.

"Mark, you remember when we first met I was wanting some lessons on the culture?"

"Sure, Harry. I know you hate your fame, but it's not everyday a celebrity wants to be your friend," Mark grinned, "so _I'm_ not likely to forget that day in a hurry."

Harry smiled and nodded, before turning serious again. "I can see that. I was wondering if maybe you could help me out with something after all. I remember seeing someone make a declaration then a flash of what seemed like magic, at the time, they were saying it like when people swear an oath in regular court to tell the truth. Do you know of anything like that?"

Daphne let out a small gasp and blushed at her display, while Mark nodded at him. "Yes, Harry, it's a binding Oath and there are several types though they all share some things in common. When a witch or wizard swears something, usually on their magic though occasionally on their lives, their magic binds them to the conditions. For instance, if a wizard swears on his life to tell the truth about something, then if he manages to tell a lie, that is something _he_ knows to be a lie, then he will drop dead right on the spot at the end of it. Due to memory magics, Oaths aren't considered irrefutable in courts, but they can help someone argue their case, I guess.

"Oaths are powerful, and can be abused just like any other tool, but there are safeguards. The first one is that you feel pain warning you about the oath before you break it, the second is that if you swore to do something for someone else, like protect someone's secrets, that person could release you from the Oath."

"That does sound very useful, but you're right, I can see how they could be abused, too. Thanks!"

"You're welcome, Harry."

Daphne later told him privately that you rarely catch people making oaths. "They're not talked about in public by most witches and wizards. I hope you weren't caught listening in." After reassuring her that was not the situation, she relaxed, but kept glancing at him the rest of their time together, obviously wondering why he would have witnessed someone taking an Oath.

Harry wondered how his friends would react to a proposal of a mutual exchange of Oaths, but that was not the time nor the place for such a discussion, and besides he wanted to hear his parents' thoughts. One of the things Harry most wanted to do was to let his friends know more about him and be honest with them as they had with him, but so much of it wasn't his alone to reveal.

* * *

His revelation that night about what Madam Bones' people had done, and how powerful the Oaths were, was an eye-opener for all the Clan, and prompted a lot of excited discussion and debate. When Harry requested again that they find a way so he can tell his friends and not hide so much away from them, they gave him sympathetic looks.

That paranoia, and the secrecy it spawned, was always one of the hardest parts of being a ninja, and while they had taught Harry much from their way of life, he hadn't been raised in their society where it was the norm. Harry was more a ninja-trained civilian than a true ninja in mindset. He agreed to continue to wait until they had given their permission before he said anything to them, even as they warned him that permission might never come.

On the other hand, they offered to help with one of their secrets. While Britain was still firmly monogamous by law and culture, some exceptions were tolerated, especially those that didn't try to claim special protections. They would sound out the people of Cranleigh, looking to discover ahead of time how they would look upon the Kitsunes' special family. From the looks they exchanged, Harry felt they were confident they would soon be one of those tolerated exceptions, probably even get it seen fondly as 'eccentric'. '_Great,'_ he thought, '_another thing to worry me.'_

In the interim, Harry was involved in the study of Wizarding law, an over-complicated, wordy, disjointed mess, he felt. He was looking through the laws and decisions, aided by as many clones as he could spare, for any part describing or affecting marriages. While he found reams of text on inheritance laws requiring children come from a registered marriage, including notes that the purpose of marriage must include children, he found no law or precedent that stated a marriage must be monogamous or may not be polygamous in nature. So while the Muggle world would never accept his parents' marriage as legal, in the Wizarding World, at least in Britain, they would, at least in theory and for what little it mattered seeing how badly Wizarding law treated Muggles.

He also was busy apart from his training with frequent visits to Diagon Alley to take the Floo to see friends like Daphne (and the adorable little Astoria was rapidly attaching herself to him too, sometimes literally) or Susan and Hannah, usually at Susan's house since Madam Bones was rather security conscious, a good thing in her position. Madam Bones even Apparated him home when their visits ran late. She was putty in Susan's hands when the girl used her puppy eyes on her aunt, but it was even worse when Hannah amplified the effect, her pigtails and cute face giving her an unfair advantage. Padma and Parvati nearly screamed in excitement when he visited their family, and he caught their mother rolling her eyes at the display though both parents were pleased to have him there. Mr Patil thanked him for helping to get Parvati to think about things beyond fashion, though his expression showed he was also teasing the girl as fathers often do. The Browns' home was somewhat small from the outside but it showed a lot of benefit from expansion charms, with the inside easily five times larger than it appeared. Mrs Brown smiled at her husband as he boasted of his decision to get a smaller property, saving them a lot of money overall since the enchantments cost far less than the land did.

He spent more afternoons and evenings with the Greengrasses, usually with his parents along as they discussed everything from differences between the societies to business and investments to gardening and fashion. When he saw Mark those days, it was rare for him to be alone, he was always talking to that same girl, and Harry was happy to see it, even as he denied responsibility for Mark catching her notice. While it was true that Mark's star was rising, Harry knew the older boy was working hard for his new success.

Harry had his greatest fun at the Grangers' though. Hermione had taken to flirt with him, though never where her parents could see, but she forgot about her little sister who seemed it was a great idea to copy Hermione, she obviously thought the older girl was the perfect role model for her, especially now that Hermione had come out of her shell and relaxed more. Still, Harry also enjoyed his time with the elder Grangers, they had lively minds and a good manner with children that helped them talk on their level without talking down to them. Dinners there were always entertaining and interesting.

* * *

One incident took place that helped bring home to Harry some of his differences from other people.

He had had a good day with his friends, and was sitting down after dinner when one of Yuugao-mum's clones darted in, instantly getting his attention.

"Harry, there's a situation developing. Your friend Sandra has gone to a party. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but there's a lot of drinking and they're going to get rowdy. It's the kind of party where gatecrashers are expected, so you should be able to get in as just another partying teen, if you want to handle it yourself. Nothing's happened to Sandra yet," she added quickly, seeing his concern, "and we won't let her get hurt whatever you choose."

"Well, son, do you want to take care of her yourself, or let us do it for you?" Naruto asked neutrally, leaving it as just a question without indicating what he thought was best. As Harry's parent, he would be happy either way as long as Harry's choice was made for a good reason.

"I'll go. I trust any of you would do it well, but she is my good friend and I want to be the one to help her if I can. If I somehow need help, I'll let you know. You will be watching, of course."

This wasn't even in question, in Harry's mind. Very little happened in their home town without the Clan's knowledge. Cranleigh had become a much safer and nicer place to live since they settled here, and a large part of it was the Clan subtly watching over them. The rest was the people themselves taking that as a cue to improve themselves, leading to less intervention by the Clan.

"Okay, Harry, here's the address and the dress code. As you can see, it's over in Guildford, the guests are expected to be on the rough side, and plenty of alcohol which is why we anticipate trouble."

Harry nodded, quickly heading to his room and changing into something more fitting to his chosen look. Thick-soled boots and other minor changes added inches to his height, throwing off his balance slightly but not enough to matter. He got a couple of bottles of beer from the fridge to help with his disguise. While his parents considered him old enough to drink, Harry did not. This was just one of the many differences in culture between the Clan and him, so the beer would stay untouched by Harry.

Popping the beers in a Seal-expanded container along with the rest of his supplies, he headed out, glad of the deepening twilight to help hide him from casual view as he went straight to top speed for the nearly ten mile journey.

Harry slowed down as he arrived at the outskirts, roof-hopping his way to the club before walking up, every action exuding confidence and heading right in before anyone thought to stop him or even ask his name. Inside, lots of teens were dancing and drinking and trying to get lucky. Harry didn't care about that as he scanned the crowd, grousing to himself that he was still too short to do this sort of thing easily.

He slipped between teens easily despite the overcrowding, attracting a few glances from the girls, his short but muscular body, his grace and good looks catching their eye. One of the girls who gave him a good look-over was Sandra when he finally found her. She'd already started drinking and smiled at him, not quite recognising him with his new look. He smiled back and approached her. "Hey gorgeous."

Tall, broad-shouldered and well-endowed, she always got appreciative looks when she dressed up, but some felt the dragon tattoo ruined her looks. Harry wasn't one of those people, and this crowd wouldn't have many of her detractors either. The tattoo and pink hair helped her fit in here.

She pulled him out dancing, which he did, keeping cover while he tried to work on a way to get her out of there, or at least keep her safe when trouble broke out. He knew to trust the Clan's reading of crowds.

Between the loud music and the teens around them, a quiet conversation was impossible, so Harry settled in to be her bodyguard. The way she was looking at him, she wasn't objecting to getting a lot closer. Unfortunately, she had kept drinking and still didn't realise who she was enticing. At least the dancing was fun, and interesting training given the self-imposed difficulty with his balance.

Half an hour after he arrived, the fight broke out, the one he'd been expecting all along. He'd tried to get Sandra out of there, but she just took it as an invitation to something else and turned him down for now. The crowd reacted to the fight, some trying to get closer, others trying to get away, and Harry caught in the middle needing to keep Sandra safe.

He pulled her close, enjoying the feel of her body despite himself, and guided them both toward one of the exits. A few times she stumbled or was nudged by other people, Harry catching her before she could fall and get trampled.

The crowd was getting more worked up and quickly, forcing Harry to work harder to keep the space around them clear.

They made it out just as she was pushed by a couple of smaller girls, clearly too scared to pay attention, falling into Harry's arms where he caught her easily. The sound of sirens told of approaching bobbies and since Sandra was too drunk to do it, Harry kept in charge, guiding them out of the area and using a couple of quick jutsu to clean her up, looking like just a boyfriend and girlfriend out for a night on the town rather than people who'd been at an illegal party.

Harry took them to the bus station, waiting for the 53 to take them most of the way there. Thankfully, they'd arrived at the right time and he sat by her on the way back, making sure she was ok. During the ride, she leaned against him, falling asleep as the adrenaline wore off. He woke her up as they got to Rowly, having a two mile walk before they got to her place in Cranleigh. Harry waited until they were alone, then picked up the sleepy girl after he cast a mild Illusion on her so she wouldn't notice anything odd. That done, he took her back to Cranleigh at his best pace, letting her down to walk the final few steps. With the late hour, no one was around to see his dash, and it was time for Sandra to head inside. A quick poison-removal technique when she wasn't looking ensured that she wouldn't even get a hangover.

Harry watched her head inside then he Body Flickered away, heading home himself to relax.

* * *

A week after he found out about the Oaths, his parents threw a get-together for 'his girls' and their parents. Harry was of course suspicious when they hid their plans from him, given who his parents were, but he had to trust they knew what they were doing. Hell, Naruto at age twelve, well, sort of thanks to the Time Loops, had managed to talk several girls including a foreign kunoichi into marrying him on the spur of the moment. Temari-mum had only known him a week and that was while they were in the middle of the Forest of Death, not even dating. Tenten-mum had known of him longer but hadn't really spoken to him much, only knowing of Naruto as a hyperactive blond idiot. With that level of persuasion under his belt, Harry felt much more confident that he wouldn't be totally banned from seeing the girls again.

The dinner went fine, the wine and brandy flowed for all the adults, and over an exquisite dessert, Naruto casually confirmed the early rumours, he was in love with each of the girls who lived with him in the Compound, and they with him, something they confirmed, even if they did restrain Anko from getting too exuberant before their guests.

Harry was horrified by how easily they were revealing this. He knew how conservative Ella's parents were, and so did Naruto! He didn't know how they managed to get past the knee-jerk rejection and for once, the curious boy didn't want to know. The Clan had too many nasty ways and he was afraid they might have used one of them. His parents noted this and decided to explain later that there was nothing to be afraid of, only the use of good acting and psychology.

They also, after getting assurances from their guests about keeping the secret, called in some of Naruto's clones, explaining as each clone paired with one of his wives that this was part of the secret to how he could have a happy life with his beautiful ladies, as each could spend as much or as little time with Naruto as they wanted, and the ladies added that they also liked how it let them spend time with other ladies who knew their likes and dislikes, and could gossip to their hearts' content without having to worry about nasty rumours. They showed in all they did and said just how happy they all were with this arrangement, their love almost palpable in the room.

Once the assembled guests got over their shock, the questions started, the floodgates on their curiosity opened, and they were thankful there were more of the Clan than their guests present to answer them all. Well, most of the questions, at least. Any that were too private or prurient were deflected away tactfully. Most of an hour later, the flood died down to a trickle, and somehow, Harry was never quite sure how they managed it, the parents were satisfied, even smiling, even after he was roped into demonstrating a few clones of his own. The girls' smiles were even bigger, and he noticed a few glances shared between them which he would dearly have liked to have understood. His own questions were clumsily deflected, though they did assure him that he would find out soon, which was something.

After everyone had gone home, Harry rounded on his parents. "Was that really as reckless as it appeared?!"

Hinata-mum shook her head and gave him a gentle smile. "No, Harry. We've known them all for years. We knew that Ella's parents like to appear conservative, but they aren't the bigots like you see in the Wizarding World. If they were, we wouldn't have stayed friends. They value a loving family environment more than a strict adherence to custom."

Harry nodded and Tsunade-mum picked up where Hinata-mum had left off. "What you didn't see was the preparation for tonight. We've always wanted to be accepted as a family, however unusual, so in a sense, we've been laying down the groundwork for this for years. Once they accepted that, telling them about the clones was a natural progression from there. When you found out about the Oaths last week, it made us realise that we were close enough to done with that preparation to take the chance."

"And it really was only a small one," Kurenai-mum added from where she was cuddling with Naruto. "We have been giving them hints for a while. Each of the parents already suspected the secret. Telling them tonight all at once made sure that they didn't feel slighted about being left out until last, and used the presence of their friends to help keep them from behaving badly in front of people they respected."

"The good food and drink helped set the relaxed friendly atmosphere that made it more difficult to disrupt," Yugito finished.

"And if they'd reacted badly despite all of that?" Harry asked, reassured that it hadn't been as insane as it had looked.

"If that had happened, we would have used some of our leverage to keep them quiet. Everyone has secrets and unmet goals, and we know many of them about our friends. If they broke that friendship and their actions threatened you, we would have used that knowledge to protect you from our enemies." Yuugao-mum's voice was grim as she explained that. "But we really didn't expect to need any of that. With all the work we did before tonight, it was safer than flying in a jumbo!"

Hinata-mum hugged Harry into her lap. "Whatever happened, Harry, you wouldn't have lost your friends."

* * *

The last Sunday of the month was a great hit, his parents put on a large picnic and introduced several games to their guests. The Greengrasses and the Wilkinsons had turned up, Mark introduced his mother to Harry "Don't call him the Boy-Who-Lived" Potter. "Harry, this is my mother, Madam Diana Wilkinson."

Harry bowed as he was taught to the woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Wilkinson." She was absolutely stunning and had a strong resemblance to her nieces Daphne and Astoria with blonde hair, unlike their red hair, and grey eyes set in the same nearly heart-shaped face. Her expression was perfectly cultured, expression just the right amount of polite joy to meet him, and her posture was also well trained, graceful even at rest, but her eyes indicated to him something that made him feel more at ease with her, she played her part very well, but to her it was only a part.

The hit of the day was when in a surprise even to Harry, Professor McGonagall arrived, bearing the good news that she would be able to visit several times that summer for the purpose of allowing her students to demonstrate their magic. Harry knew that there were no unfriendly eyes around, and after that piece of news he understood there wouldn't be either. All the kids there were excited at the displays, much praised was lavished, even if some of it in all fairness wasn't quite earned, and old and young had a good time.

* * *

July dawned bright and hot, a beautiful summer's day, and Harry got up with a smile. Last night, he had brought his total number of clones up to sixteen, adding two just in the last month. He was looking forward to further visits from Professor McGonagall, it was refreshing to see her out of school where she was at least slightly relaxed from her professional persona, and the fact that she couldn't dock points was also welcome. Here she was just a teacher helping her students demonstrate what they learned, an ally rather than adversary. The next was coming up the very next weekend, and he'd already had an excited Hermione on the phone, little Athena could be heard in the background too, eager to go see Harry, oh, and magic, too.

Both Granger girls were looking forward to staying with Harry, with Hermione getting to stay a fortnight rather than just the week that the rest of her family would be doing. Harry was strongly considering how he would let them know about his family, after all, it felt right for all his friends to know, not just one set, and he felt annoyed all over again about their damned Statute of Secrecy. He wasn't going to break it, or at least not in any way that would get him or his friends hurt, but he preferred to trust his friends, and so far at least, his judgment had been good.

Speaking of his friends, his local girls, as his family called them to tease him, were settling in fairly well to the news of both his unusual family structure and his and Naruto's abilities. Meaghan had even asked if that meant he could make them clothes even faster. Harry's nod and grin saw all of them happy, and they put more of his tailoring to the test. They also decided to have individual time with him, mostly that meant splitting up so no one saw multiple Harry's, after all they did agree to help keep it quiet and they were getting what they wanted out of it, too.

When Saturday came around, Harry was disappointed, the forecast was for a good, clear day but as he looked out the window he saw stormy clouds and rain. Sure, they could still go ahead with the outing but he didn't think it would be as much fun. With a sigh he got dressed and went outside for his morning run before he started the heavy exercise session planned for today. His friends knew they would have his clones with them, also knowing the clones could be dispelled with light damage, and that he would remember everything they did as if he'd been there all along. They'd also found out about his fitness training, and had planned to drop by and watch later. Harry admitted he was thankful that the magic exhibition was well away from their house, for one it made these subterfuges less risky, and for another they had chosen a lovely secluded spot.

When he made it out the door, he immediately turned around and headed back inside, grinning. "Alright, whose idea was it to cast the illusion over the windows?" He went for his run feeling good. Today, he had another day with all his friends from Hogwarts with Professor McGonagall's visit, and elsewhere with his local friends. Over breakfast, Naruto asked him, "What would you think about asking your friends to take an Oath to preserve each others' secrets?"

Harry looked up. "I'd say it's risky, and that we'll want to look over wordings for possible problems. I'd like us to have found a good wording before we present the idea to them, and also to give them time to think about the idea before we go ahead with it. Even still, I can think that some of them won't like it, and we can all understand why they could take offence. If they don't talk about these Oaths in public, this could really backfire on us."

Naruto smiled at Harry. "Well done, Harry, I'm proud to see you've learned your lessons and more proud that you're thinking of your friends' concerns. As I'm sure you'll have guessed, your mothers and I have been working on the wording of it for a while, ever since you brought up the idea, really, at first for the challenge of it."

Sakura-mum and the others nodded, with Ino-mum adding, "It's a rather fascinating challenge in many ways. If you are literally bound by your words, you want to be very careful about what you say. It proved to be great diversion for quite a few of our clones, putting together possible solutions and then tearing them down. Anyway, with your agreement, we want to at least sound people out during the day, looking at swearing them next weekend for the next magic exhibition when that girl Hermione will be starting her stay." Harry's expression made a reply unnecessary, and they started examining various choices. He did wonder, though, if they were taking the risks seriously enough or were letting their previous success make them overconfident. He put the thought out of his mind.

They were the Kitsune Clan, and they had just proved how sneaky they could be. Surely he should trust their judgment.

* * *

_Thanks for reading and for your support. Thanks again to my betas, including daisy duck who has added her efforts to improve the story. I read and respond to each review. If anyone has questions for me, please PM or sign in when you review so I can reply._


	10. Chapter 10 - Breaking the Mould

**Chapter 10 - Breaking the Mould**

As everyone began arriving at the Kitsune Compound, Harry's tension mounted higher and higher. Not only would he be closer to his friends finding out the things he had been hiding, but he would be asking them to accept Oaths of secrecy before they found out what secrets they would be bound to keep. He was afraid they would see it as insulting, and if they did he couldn't blame them. This _was_ both asking them to give up some freedom of action and implying that they couldn't be trusted without force. He knew, though, that his parents didn't want to give away any knowledge that could hurt their family, in which they firmly included Harry. It went counter to their professional instincts and centuries of life experience. This was one of the relatively few times when his parents' background was a hindrance to Harry rather than a help, and while Harry did feel annoyed about the matter, he did know that he much preferred his life even with that cost, to just about any other.

He guided Hermione and her family along the well-maintained path out to the field that was now the home for these exhibitions. Most of those attending were Apparating in, or brought by someone who was. Justin's family were being brought by Amelia Bones and a couple of her bodyguards, while another bodyguard was bringing Susan directly to the arrival point. He smiled as her parents gasped at the display. There were extra tables set up today, both for the extra guests and for extra activities. Supplies for the various spells they would be demonstrated were ready, as were a variety of cold drinks, including some delightful summer wines. Well, he was told they were delightful, to Harry they smelled just off, like all alcoholic drinks did to his young senses. And last, but not least, both Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout, their Head of House, were present to observe and help out today.

Snacks and drinks were offered, almost everyone accepting an iced drink of their choice, and everyone settled in, mingling with whoever was near. Minerva McGonagall noticed Harry playing his part well, relaxed and confident, offering polite conversation with whichever guest happened to be with him at the time, though he was obviously happier to talk to his friends. She felt both happy to see him growing up well, and guilt at not stopping Albus placing Harry with a thoroughly unsuitable family. Her friend Pomona had told her she was so close to hexing Albus that day in the office. She didn't share details, only that Harry was much better off with his new family. Left unsaid was what the Dursleys had done.

Soon it was time for her to earn her pay, so to speak, and she led the students out to the area cleared for their work, setting up protective shields out of habit just in case of accidents. While she was serenely confident that _this_ group wouldn't make the shields necessary, she had no intention of skipping such a basic precaution.

Almost exactly two hours later, a break had been called, and everyone gathered in under the grand marquee set up to provide shade, and the kids rushed for their drinks, their parents proud of them as they were working their way rather well through the program of spells. Their host, Naruto, called for their attention when everyone was settled and cooled off from the summer sun.

"Thank you for your attention, everyone. I hope I speak for everyone here when I thank Professors McGonagall and Sprout for their efforts today and throughout the year teaching our children." He allowed the applause to settle, then launched a speech thanking them all for coming and for welcoming his son into their lives. "As I hope you understand, it makes me as a father very happy when my son gets to make such great friends, hopefully establishing connections that will stand the test of time." Naruto paused, taking in their smiles as he praised their children.

"Sadly, one of those tests will be coming soon I'm afraid. There are things in Harry's life which he has wanted to share with his friends but couldn't, for they weren't his secrets alone. He has wanted time after time to share his joys with you, but we forbade him. We're older and more cautious for it, and we hope our concerns are misplaced, but all of you who have read your history know that there are times when caution is vital, and when it comes to Harry, we love him too much to let him get hurt when we could have prevented it.

"I am telling you this today because we are hoping that soon we can tell you, share with you, what we have been afraid to tell you before. Recently, we learned of the existence of magically binding Oaths, which if used correctly, may allow us to skip a further lengthy period of getting to know each other by exchanging mutual Oaths against betrayal of secrets. We are hopeful, for Harry's sake, that each of you will understand why we are asking this, out of our love for Harry."

Naruto finished, looking out into the faces of those assembled. The Grangers looked fairly receptive, as did the Finch-Fletchleys, but since the parents couldn't be bound by the magic involved their opinions were less important as they wouldn't be true participants and at worst, the Clan could silence them. However the response among those raised in the wizarding society was far from happy. He saw cool masks and disapproval among many of the parents, and they would have to understand this before they could move forward with the plans. For his part, Harry had the urge to hide his face behind his hands. He had been afraid they would stuff it up. '_How could they have ignored my warning? They're treating these people like they are their citizens from back home, already primed to secrecy and paranoia, and subordinate to the Clan!'_

Several of the parents muttered to each other. "What in Merlin's name do they think they're doing? You don't do it like this!" Mr Brown said to his wife, though he didn't say any more, leaving the hosts unable to conclude from that just how they ought to have done it. From the Patils, Harry's family caught resigned looks and sighs. Parvati looked embarrassed to be there. Again, it was obvious they had done something wrong and again, no indication how to fix it.

Naruto and Anko, disguised as Hinata, moved into the crowd and started trying to draw out the cause of their negative reactions. From Mr and Mrs Greengrass, they heard that even the proposition of an exchange of Oaths was regarded as very private and personal, and from Madam Bones, there was the automatic suspicion of just what the secrets were, as well as anger at being treated as Naruto's inferior. She was also suspicious at the way they had convinced her to turn up without her Auror bodyguards. They quickly made apologies to all of their guests for that, but some hurt still remained.

When they showed Amelia some of the proposals they had for the wording, she immediately mentioned that one of the ones with an escape clause would be required by most of the parents, simply because open-ended Oaths were so long-term, and family interests and priorities could shift to make an existing Oath actively dangerous to those who swore them. Naruto acknowledged her point and asked her if any of the listed ones would be something she would be willing to swear after having had time to consider the matter, say a week during which she could go over the wording, and her decision, without being rushed. "And if you have any suggestions to improve it, we would be honoured to hear them," Naruto added.

She picked out one binding those involved not to divulge secrets of the other willingly nor to allow those secrets to be discovered, taking reasonable precautions to that effect. He asked her what that would normally cover, which was things like not writing down the secret, not talking about it where they couldn't reasonably expect to be secure, and so on. Also, she wanted one where those who knew shared secrets could talk about it freely with others who knew it, which was certainly reasonable enough.

After about twenty minutes of talking to the adults present, along with adopting a conciliatory note to soothe the feathers they had ruffled with their earlier attitude, Naruto had a sense that most of them would eventually agree, if only because they were curious what could require such a measure. That much at least was going as planned!

He looked around and signalled to Harry, who came over with the friends who were talking with him, he handed his son the version that was currently likeliest to be used.

* * *

Harry had been inundated with questions, first of all from Hermione as expected. "Harry, is it true?"

"Everything Dad said is true. There are things I've had to hide to protect my family, though they think it's to protect me. They could even be right."

Daphne was next and she was obviously upset. "Is this because of you seeing someone else make an Oath, it's somehow _fashionable_ to your parents to insult our honour?"

"Oh Daphne, no, that wasn't the intent at all! Like Dad said, he was hoping this would allow all of us to trust you sooner. My parents really aren't the trusting sort, and they could teach several courses on keeping secrets. I still don't know what possessed them to say it so rudely! While I can't tell you what the secret is yet, I can tell you that it's not illegal, and that the secret is a good thing. They've just been hurt before when things have gotten out."

Padma followed her. "And why ask us like this? Oaths are a private thing, like the bond between husband and wife. You don't just shout it out to everyone that way."

"Padma, I didn't know any better. All I knew was that they aren't talked about in public. To my parents, this is a private gathering of close friends and allies, not public. Besides, I _tried_ to warn them that this was risky but they told me they could handle it. You know how stubborn parents can be," He added with a sigh.

"But why didn't you find out first?" Tracey asked, disappointed.

"I tried. I hunted in Hogwarts Library and we've looked in Diagon Alley for information. None of this is written down anywhere I could find it, and my parents have even less experience with magic than I do, and you know I only entered the Wizarding World at the same time as Hermione and Justin. Even still, the only people who know now are you and your families, people I trust. The same people we were hoping would know in full later, when the Oaths were taken anyway. I'm sorry we broke custom, but it's hard to follow a custom you never knew was there. Like that business with that terrorist's name, it took a lot of effort just to find out he's a coward by name _and _by nature."

"You're saying that the Dark Lord was a coward?!" Parvati asked incredulously.

"Sure, his name means 'Flight from death', someone who is running away so badly he even has it in his name. He didn't face his opposition openly and none of his supporters even showed their faces until they were caught. He knew they needed to make people as afraid of him as _he_ was of capable opposition. It's not a bad tactic, but he still took the path of a coward and a bully."

That got them thinking, and effectively distracted them from any hurt from his family's faux pas. Soon after, he picked up the draft of the Oath that seemed to be what they would use. He showed it to his friends, pointing out the safeguards that were included as well as honestly asking them for suggestions. Between that and giving them a full week to think about things, they soothed any remaining ruffled feathers, and heading out into the sun drove away their last reservations with the sunshine, soon they were playing and chatting as before, the tenseness of before forgotten. The rest of the day was drama-free, and that played its part in getting the parents more likely to accept the Oath the week after.

* * *

Harry that night sat down to dinner with all his parents. Before he had to say a word about the matter, Naruto started it off. "I'm sorry, Harry. We made a big mistake today and it could have cost you."

"It still might," Ino admitted, "and I'm sorry too."

"We got caught up, carried away with our own plots and plans, and didn't think about anyone else. We didn't stop to think really about how your friends and their families would react, instead we treated them like our allies back home, people who already followed our leadership." Hana said, ashamed of herself.

"We were arrogant, and that made us rude, and stupid," Naruto explained. "We should never have treated them in that way. We were just expecting that since we had made the plans, they would be successful."

"Really," Sakura added with a blush, "most of our time was spent looking at how to word the Oaths so they would be best for us. It's such an amazing intellectual challenge to come up with the 'perfect' Oath that we lost sight of the fact that it wouldn't be us who would have to go through with it, and that your friends and their families had the right to truly say no."

"You also ignored my warning about them not even talking about them in public," Harry added, catching a pleased expression on his father's face which made Harry think he had passed another test.

"You're right," Hinata replied for all of them, "we did ignore that warning and what it implied. We were almost as arrogant and thoughtless as that time my dear husband stole the forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Mansion."

"I was only twelve at the time," Naruto defended himself. "I'm older and wiser now!"

"Older, certainly," Isaribi allowed her husband. "I'm not sure any of us can say we're wiser after what we did today."

Vicky watched from the corner but held her tongue. While she no longer hated Naruto or his wives, she did like it when they were reminded they weren't as awesome as she was. They'd also hurt her friend Harry with their thoughtlessness and Vicky, or the Kyuubi no Kitsune, that is the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox as she was more properly known in her true form, knew how to hold grudges until they, literally, died of old age and she was very protective of her friend. The demon looked at her host with wiser eyes herself. For all that the Clan had done to improve her opinion on humans, she couldn't forget that it was the Elemental Nations where all those wretched people had lived and caused her to hate them. This new world was fresh and different and the people here had no animosity towards her. As a result, she preferred the humans here to back 'home'.

* * *

During the week, Harry was heavily involved in his training, getting another clone as well as getting more time with his friends. Hermione called a few times, excited about coming to stay as were her parents, a holiday that would be cheaper than the trip to France they originally had in mind but also a lot more enjoyable for the girls. For the elder Grangers, they were looking forward to checking various historical sites that they never had a chance to see before.

That Saturday, the Grangers drove out to the back of the Kitsune house, parking the car and unpacking their bags when their hosts appeared, taking the bags and showing the way to their rooms. Matt and Elizabeth noticed that the place was bigger on the inside, but attributed that to magic, unaware that their hosts didn't hire anyone to perform the enchantments. Hermione was curious, Harry hadn't mentioned any construction at home. Still, she expected she could ask later that day as they would be taking the Oath later that day as would her parents even if it wouldn't be magically binding on them, as would the Clan. Athena was just happy to be around Harry again, though she insisted on doing as much as she could by herself, emulating Hermione, as they began to settle in. The Grangers got everything settled just as the others arrived and the ever excitable Athena played hostess and tour guide, ignoring that the compound was not her family's home, as everyone was brought into the Kitsune house for the first time for each of them.

They were led into a large room, suitable for the forty or so guests there that day including both Professors McGonagall and Sprout, most of the Hufflepuffs in his year and their parents, as well as the girls he was close to and surprisingly Neville Longbottom and his stern grandmother, given her traditionalist views.

Naruto and Hinata were there waiting for them standing side by side with Harry in front and between. Naruto made eye contact with all their guests as he talked. "Thank you to each of you for agreeing to our request. We have learned that the way we asked you was unconventional to say the least. Hopefully today will mark the start of a long and fruitful association for all of us."

The first to volunteer to take the Oath was Hermione, with Susan, Daphne and Hannah only a heartbeat behind her. She walked out in full view of them all, raised her wand and began:

"I swear, on my magic, that I will make all reasonable effort to guard the secrets entrusted to me today, or in the future that are directly related to those same secrets, by those present in this room right now, with the understanding that I may only discuss them with others who already know or who are bound by an equivalent Oath so long as my silence does not contravene any pre-existing Oath, and that I may be excused from my Oath only with the consent of Harry and any others who have taken that equivalent vow. I swear further that I will not act against anyone present in a way that would lead to intentional harm to any significant degree. Lastly, I swear that I am bound by no Oath that would require me to report anything revealed to me provided it is legal as defined by my current understanding of the laws of Wizarding Britain effective at this moment in time, such that no future laws will require me to reveal these secrets. So I have sworn, so shall I be."

All of the guests gave their Oaths one by one, including the non-magical parents present, then Harry stepped up, giving his own, sealed with a flash of magic. At that point, Naruto and Hinata followed him before the rest of the Clan who had been in the room the whole time revealed themselves, one at a time, and identifying themselves as "Harry's family" and swearing their own Oaths, thus invoking the Oaths just sworn. By the time Isaribi finished, their guests were back on their feet mentally, and before they could protest too much, Harry stood up.

"These are my family, my father and mothers. They adopted me and brought me into their home and their hearts when I ran into them, running away from the people who were supposed to take care of me, and care _for_ me, who had just finished beating me for showing up their own son by getting a good report card. I see Naruto as my Dad, and the women he loves as wives have been my mothers since the night they took a beaten, cold and half-starved young boy and gave me a good meal, a warm bed and healed my wounds.

"They taught me about love, they taught me that I was worthy of love, by giving me the love any good father or mother gives their child. I've seen other families, but while some equal the love and happiness I get at home, I've never seen a happier one." Harry looked around, his sincerity apparent to all. "I hope you can accept my family even if it's unusual, and I hope when I have a family of my own (many years from now) we can be as happy and as loving as the home they gave me."

Just as Harry was about to sit down, Minerva McGonagall walked over to him, he could see she was barely holding on to her rage, and he was sad, he had hoped for better from one of the teachers he respected. "Mr Potter, Harry, are you telling me that the people you lived with before acted so abominably as to punish you for doing well in school?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall, as well as for things like failing to cook their breakfast right, never mind I couldn't see the stove top without standing on something as I fried their bacon and eggs."

"Couldn't see - How old were you?"

"They got me started cooking when I was four years old. I was rescued by my family just before Christmas six years ago. They also made me do other chores, though they never fed me as well as their own son, I had to get by on table scraps if they left any. They refused to even call me by my name. I only found out just before school started so I didn't attract attention for my ignorance." Harry replied, carefully controlling his own emotions. "I told Mr Dumbledore and Professor Sprout about this when I was called to his office just before school ended. The Headmaster never did bother to say why he called me there, then again, he never bothered to talk to the Dursleys when he abandoned me." Despite his efforts, Harry's anger was affecting him.

"I _told_ him you shouldn't have been left with those people." Minerva said to herself, however she didn't count on Harry's sharp hearing.

"Excuse me, Professor, did you say you told him? How did you know about this? For that matter, why didn't you say anything to me before?"

"Yes, Harry, I did say that. You have excellent hearing. And I know because I was there, watching over the Dursleys all day at Professor Dumbledore's request, he had said he was worried that Lily's family would be targeted. While I was there, I saw their boy kicking his mother as they walked along the street, demanding sweets. The mother and father were no better, and I told him you shouldn't be left with them. Then he said a few words and the next thing I know I'm turning away, letting him leave a baby on a doorstep. To this day I cannot understand what happened. All I can think of is that it had been a very long day and I wasn't thinking so clearly. Your mother and father, that is, Lily and James were my friends, and I never would have left their child with people like them. Somehow, I never thought about the events of that day before now, and whenever I would ask Albus how you were, all he would say was that you were happy and safe. He never even told me you had left them and found a decent family like you have now."

Harry nodded, taking a breath and letting it take his anger with it. "Thank you, Professor, I never knew any of that. All I know is that he wanted to take me back to the Dursleys even after I was fully adopted by my family. I cannot trust him and refuse to be alone with him."

Minerva looked a little hurt or perhaps disillusioned, but nodded sadly. "I understand, Mr Potter. All I can say is that his actions with you are not at all like the man I've known for fifty years, but I will not try to make you see him like I do. I fear the effort would do neither of us any good."

She looked around and changed the subject. "So, Mr Potter, I understand your concerns about your parents' arrangement. How has it been for you, being the only child in a house of twenty people?"

"In some ways, a nightmare." Harry grinned. "Have you any idea how hard it is to get away with not eating your vegetables with so many parents watching? Really, though, I love it. I am loved and safe and there's always someone ready to take an interest, or teach me, or just be there for me. Isn't that what any child needs?"

They talked a little more about Harry's home life with him introducing his Professor to his family one by one, before Harry left to talk to Professor Sprout, first of all thanking her for keeping his secrets since the meeting in the Headmaster's Office, and telling her she can talk with Professor McGonagall about what was said if she wants. She smiled, and teased him by saying it looked like he was going to copy his father's ways. Harry just grinned, thanking her for the compliment.

* * *

Harry gathered up the girls to talk to them in private after getting the signal from his parents that it was his call, leading the way to their living room and getting them to take seats. He closed the door, taking a seat by himself for once, his serious expression stopping the girls from sitting in his lap. "Hermione, Susan, Hannah, Leanne, Megan, Daphne, Padma, Parvati and Lavender, thank you each of you. There's an additional secret that I can share with you, but before I do, I want to assure each of you that it's nothing evil, and there's no dark magic involved." He got their nods then smiled, making a quick hand-sign and producing ten clones.

"The secret is that I am still able to attend the school in the Muggle world I was already registered for, and this is how. Each of my clones is able to think for himself, has my knowledge, but none of my magic." Harry stood, walking over to Hermione and taking her hand. If that hand trembled, he gave no sign as he pulled her up to stand and hugged her, then a clone gave her a smile and a hug. She felt just the same comfort from each Harry, and smiled. "My clones are a little fragile, a little damage and they dispel, like so." He picked up a pin, gave a lopsided smile to his clone and pricked it, the clone becoming just a puff of smoke that quickly disappeared. "When they dispel, everything they knew comes to me and any clones I have. So I just got the memory of hugging Hermione twice."

Susan and Daphne got up next, taking the nearest clone and hugging them, nodding to the other girls who did the same. They all took a Harry clone to sit on the clone's lap, none of whom minded, while the spare and the real Harry sat by Hermione and Daphne respectively. "Now, there are some restrictions, like I said they can't do magic, and they are rather fragile, and also I can't create an unending number. I'd feel better if you would let me watch out for you, try to keep you safe." All the Harry's hugged the nearest girl. "You're special to me, all of you." He grinned as a thought hit him. "Oh, and so you know, my clones are just as good masseurs as I am."

For the rest of the day, Harry was accompanied at all times by at least a couple of 'his girls'. They gave him extra smiles too. They had a party after the magic exhibition, and again the alcohol consumed by the adults present seemed to lubricate matters nicely. Hermione's little sister Athena was a big hit with the kids, none of whom could resist such a playful girl or her antics, not even Daphne's cute ten year old sister Astoria who had wanted to view the younger Athena as competing for 'her Harry'. At times, each girl ducked out, getting extra hugs from Harry, to the amusement of Harry's parents who honestly did the same. They were just better at hiding their quickies. At the end, all except the Grangers headed home, and Hermione and Athena were sitting on either side of Harry cuddled up against him, watching a movie.

Harry would admit, cheerfully even, that he was surprised during the Grangers' stay. That he had fun with Hermione, even cute little Athena, was just as he expected, even the way both of them liked to lean against him (or sit in his lap if their parents were out) and read wasn't really a surprise. It was when Matt and Liz Granger let their hair down, literally in her case, and really relaxed and enjoyed themselves. His parents said it was probably just being on holiday, no work to worry about and they could relax knowing their children were taken care of, free to see them as much or as little as they chose. Liz had overheard them, adding that not having to cook was always a bonus, and that the meals here were fit for a queen.

* * *

They had another visit from Professor McGonagall midweek, she was helping Harry and Hermione understand some of the Second Year material as well as talking with Harry about his birth parents when they were at school and, after clearing it with his own parents first, during the fight against Voldemort's forces. Naruto had told Harry that she was surprised they had encouraged her to talk about those times with him, though she was relieved when Harry took it maturely.

On Thursday, Harry was showing Hermione and Athena around Cranleigh when Meaghan and Ella saw him, crossing the street to talk to him. "Hi girls, this is my friend Hermione, you may remember she was at my birthday party last year, and her sister Athena, she and her family is staying with mine for a week. Hermione, Athena, these are my friends Meaghan and Ella, we met at Park Mead Primary School over five years ago. We've been friends ever since." He smiled, internally hoping that this didn't backfire on him.

The four girls said hello, and decided they would continue on together. As Ella put it, they had more fun as a group. Hermione didn't object, which inspired some more thoughts in Harry that he fought down. '_Damn hormones, damn adolescence, damn Uzumaki bloodline kicking it into high gear'_ he growled to himself. They took a detour to buy some drinks on their way to a park, taking a table and enjoying the sun while they chatted, Hermione talking about growing up in London, Meaghan and Ella compared it to growing up in Cranleigh, mentioning that Harry's family had done good works for the local community, while little Athena didn't talk much, preferring to listen and stay by Harry's side.

"So how did you meet Harry?" Ella asked the question both she and Meaghan had wanted to know.

Harry smiled, "Actually, we met one day while shopping in London, she and her parents decided that this one bookstore just had to be raided, er checked out, and you know me and books, I was hooked the minute I stepped in there. We talked a lot and became friends from that day. This is the first time she's been able to visit my place though." Harry looked around, making sure there was no one to overhear for this next bit, then pitched his voice for their ears alone while Athena was distracted by some window shopping. "To tell you the truth, Hermione and I go to a boarding school, and well, you know how I get to do that. That day we met was when we all went shopping for school supplies. Since then, I've been lucky enough to get the best of both worlds, spending time with friends old and new. I can't tell you how lucky I feel, getting to know all of you."

Hermione smiled and nodded, relieved Harry had answered that one. She had no idea how to explain it without breaking that silly Statute, and she knew she was a terrible liar. Though as she thought on Harry's words she noticed he hadn't said anything untrue at all, merely told the truth in a way that gave the wrong impression. Her eyes narrowed on their own as she thought more on this revelation that you could say true things that would add up to a lie.

As the other girls left an hour later, Hermione looked at Harry. "Have you ever done that with me, Harry?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione, done what exactly?" Harry was confused since he had done lots of things with Hermione but couldn't, _wouldn't_ read her mind.

"Have you ever told me things to make me believe a lie?"

"Hermione, I swear I've told you as much of the truth as I can. You know I've got secrets, I can't help that. I would be surprised if you don't have some of your own. You do keep surprising me, you know. As soon as I can, I will tell you more. I hate keeping secrets from those close to me, and you are special to me."

She looked in his eyes, saw his total honesty and an instant later was in his lap, hugging tight. He hugged her back until she got herself under control, giving him a final squeeze then getting off and smiling. "Thank you, Harry."

They had a quiet time after that, both of them enjoying the company, and were back to normal by the time they returned to Harry's home. Friday was likewise fairly normal and soon enough Saturday dawned, bringing with it another visit from Professor McGonagall and also Harry's other magical girls to stay. They had, somehow, convinced their parents that by all visiting at the same time they would be able to help keep each other out of trouble. Harry was completely unconvinced, and was fairly certain none of the parents actually believed the girls, but had no intention of dispelling the delusion. He had missed the other girls' presence and smiles.

They arrived after breakfast, each of them giving him a big hug even in front of their parents, and dragged him off once they were all present, looking at him until he produced enough clones so they all had a Harry to be their seat. Hermione proved she had a dirty mind, wiggling on his lap as if to get comfortable until she felt his reaction, settling immediately. Leanne just leaned back, whispered in his ear about the train ride and hoping he still found her cute. He wanted to shake his head at how confusing girls could be, but he did enjoy his time.

The magic exhibition later that day included the first perfect set of spells cast by Hermione and Padma, while Harry was nearly there, a glance to his parents telling them that he was holding back a little so they could have their chance to shine. Harry was happy to see them so happy. He showed his actual skill in the final set, letting the others get justly earned praise first. Minerva observed this, smiling as Harry was putting his friends first. He was rapidly becoming a good young man, she thought. She stayed for dinner that night where Harry helped with serving up and, she heard, had also helped cooking the delicious meal they ate.

She left more at peace with herself now, spending time talking to Harry had helped relieve her guilt from that night a decade before and reminiscing about James and Lily, her good friends, helped ease her burden. In the midst of the war and the terror, they had become close, and their murder had hit her hard coming as it did at the final attack by the madman.

The next day saw the Grangers leaving except for Hermione, and Athena trying to wheedle permission to stay instead of going to the ballet camp she had originally begged to go to. When she was still trying ten minutes later, Harry whispered to Hermione a suggestion, she nodded a second later so he walked over to her. "Athena, if you go, I'm sure you'll have a good time, and if you go without more delaying, I'll give you an extra big hug."

Her parents looking on sighed, they didn't like resorting to bribery, but at least it worked. Athena dove into his arms, trying to get the longest hug she could get until her father coughed and smiled, holding open the car door for her and smiling back. The devious girl got in without fuss now that she had gotten what she wanted, permission to hug Harry in front of her parents.

The girls watched this, Daphne especially admired the girl's sneakiness while the rest just wanted the Grangers to go so they could have Harry hugs, er, go have fun on their holiday. After seeing them off, the girls dragged Harry in, talking a mile a minute and flirting a little further than before. Hermione, the little minx, added a little wriggle as she sat in Harry's lap.

The girls 'dragged' Harry to a chick flick after Hermione and Leanne got the group worked up about the amazing romance. Harry wasn't really impressed by the romance or the acting, but the girls enjoyed it so he tried to enjoy it for their sake. They made up for it later, thanking him for going with him, smiling and all the rest. For the girls raised in the Wizarding World, it was an eye-opening experience. They didn't get all of the references but seeing the passion and the different environments showed there was more to the so-called Muggles than they had been told.

Apart from the visits from Professor McGonagall and more teasing, the week was filled with fun and introducing the rest of Harry's friends to each other. He was glad the Hogwarts girls were able to keep their story straight, Hermione going to the same boarding school as the rest made it easier to remember and had the bonus of being true. Plus seeing Harry treating each girl well had an effect on the others, earlier thoughts of sharing him taking root.

* * *

At the end of the week, his local girls had a meeting without him, talking things over and agreeing that they would ask him about sharing him at his party at the end of the month, before they headed out to meet the boy in question, taking him to the same movie his Hogwarts girls had wanted to see. Harry kept quiet about that, though. The way he saw it he was being asked to put up with a movie that he didn't want to see again in exchange for a great opportunity to cuddle with his girls, a deal he was happy to make. While the movie was boring the second time around, he had Meaghan and Ashley leaning up against him while he wrapped an arm around each of them and all the girls thanked him for putting up with it for their sake. Life was good.

That evening, he had invitations from each of their families to dinner. He dressed up for the occasion, the girls hinting that it would be best plus Naruto reminded him of their new status requiring that he dress up and learn to enjoy it or fake it convincingly. "Thanks, Dad, but I do enjoy it when it's for a good cause like making my friends happy."

"A good attitude, son, and good work. The clothes suit you well."

After that, he and his clones went to their appointments, a more formal dinner than usual recognising that he and the girls were growing up, even if their fathers still wanted to believe they weren't.

The week ended with his friends from Hogwarts each taking a Harry into their arms, giving him a big hug, teary in a few cases, before they were picked up by their parents as arranged with a more parentally acceptable farewell until his birthday party on the 1st of August.

* * *

After the last houseguest had left, Harry distracted himself from their loss with harder training and with spending more time with the, now dubbed, Cranleigh girls, attention they were happy to accept. Friday afternoon arrived at last, none too soon in Harry's opinion and with it his birthday party. He happily abused his ability to use clones, appearing in quite a few places at the party without _quite_ raising suspicions in any of the guests not let in on the secret. He was helped by the alcohol served to the adults, the kids generally not worried by anything too unusual from Harry. They already knew that he was special, being both good at sports and doing well in school, plus he was often offering help to his friends. With all that he did for them, so what if he was a little weird, he wasn't stuck up like other kids in his place would have been. After the cake had been duly served, cut and eaten and that song sung, Harry opened his presents, the usual small things but good ones to help out with his hobbies, a cookbook from one of the girls, a football jersey from one of the guys, and so on. The girls caught his eye soon after, though, taking him to a room and closing the door, their expressions told him this would be serious whatever it was.

Ashley looked him in the eye. "Harry, you know you're special to us, right?" When he nodded, she continued. "Well, we've been talking just us girls, and we've seen the way the older boys and girls flirt and pair up, and none of us want a boy who doesn't measure up."

Meaghan took over for her. "The trouble is, we're worried some won't take no for an answer, they'll pressure us into agreeing to be their girlfriend."

Harry nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll protect all of you from that. You know I will."

"We know, Harry, and we've been thinking that there's a way you can do just that. You see, the only girls that are safe from all that are the ones who already have someone. Now, we can't just pick any guy," Meaghan replied.

"Not at all. The guy would have to be aware of what you need and trustworthy. If he's going to be a boyfriend in public then you don't want some guy that will use that cover to pressure you." Harry interjected.

"Exactly, and the only guy we know that measures up is you, so, well..." Ashley trailed off, blushing.

Michelle blurted out "Would you be our boyfriend and protector?"

Harry was shocked, honestly, especially that it was this soon but he kept his expression the same instinctively due to his training.

Before he could reply, Ella added, "It would mean a lot to us if you would help us like this, and besides, we do like you, but well, we don't think our parents would approve of us dating _anyone_ for real, yet."

Stephanie was unusually serious as she looked in his eyes, "And we all agreed that the best boy in town is you, Harry. We can't say we'll definitely all end up with you, but we'd rather share you than miss out on the best. I know I love cuddling with you, and I hope that can continue, maybe even more?"

Harry thought rapidly, then decided he needed to make sure he understood. "So you want me as your boyfriend as well as protector, right? Wouldn't that make you more likely to be harassed? Am I just for cover or for real or what exactly are you intending?"

Ashley shared looks with the other girls, getting the go-ahead. "Harry, while we would each like you as our real boyfriend, we can't offer that yet to anyone, not with us so young in the minds of our parents. What we're asking is if you would be willing to be our protector at school so we don't get pestered by other boys, and let us tell our parents that's what you're doing to help us. We're hoping they will accept that, and when we are ready to date according to them, I want that to be with you. In private, when it's just us, I want to continue the closeness we have and more, you _are_ that special to us, and well, you're very hot, Harry. Because of all of that, I can't even consider doing 'things' with any boy but you." She blushed as that admission escaped, but continued resolutely. "I know it's a lot to ask, but it would mean so much to us and we hope you'll enjoy yourself too." Her smile was inviting, and Harry had to admit to himself the offer was attractive, as attractive as each of his girls, really.

"So if I agree, we'll act at school as though you're under my protection, act with your parents as though it's only for that, and among ourselves, what?" He smiled to take any sting out of this, wanting this to be crystal clear. In his mind, though, he was doing a little victory dance at the prospect. All he had to do was keep the girls safe both from other boys and from rumours, and he knew the Clan would have plenty of ideas for that even if his own failed.

Michelle spoke up. "Well, speaking for myself, Harry, I'd like a lot more snuggling, running my hands over that hot body, and even kissing you when you and I are ready. I know I love your hands on me, too."

The girls nodded and groaned, his massages were amazing. "Oh yes, and if your hands were maybe to wander a little, well, that wouldn't be so bad after all." Meaghan voicing those thoughts surprised them all, herself included. She blushed but didn't back down from her offer. That the other girls nodded with her floored him.

"So, I get to tell those guys at school to sod off if they pester you, don't get in trouble with your parents, do get to have fun with you and explore things at our own pace, and don't have to hurt any of you? Sign me up!" He smiled and made clones, each of him walking over to one of the girls and getting a tight hug, each girl relaxing and smiling at him, then kissing his cheek one by one before chorusing "Happy birthday, Harry!"

They laughed and headed back to the party, thankfully he'd left a clone out taking care of keeping up appearances. The rest of the party was a lot of fun, and after the last guest left, his parents had some fun of their own, teasing him about his local girls and their decision to share him, or was that to be shared among him and his clones. "If they only knew they could each get four Harry's" Anko-mum teased him, "I'm sure they wouldn't have even gone home before they 'celebrated' with you." Harry rolled his eyes, but his mind started considering the naughty thoughts she provoked, just as she knew he would.

* * *

The next morning was his second party, this time for his friends from the magical side of things, where he would have fewer things to hide and even more girls for his family to tease him about. He knew, even before they explained, that the teasing was for a purpose beyond their own amusement. They had seen, lived through, so many occasions when a nominally superior opponent was defeated because they couldn't keep their concentration, and one of the most effective ways to break that concentration was through taunts and insults to embarrass or enrage their enemy. Anything that would make you mad or want to run could and would be used in their world to get an advantage since the stakes were literally life and death. As such, they were using the gentle though slowly worsening teasing to get rid of a weakness in his defences before they cost him where it counted. Ok, plus they enjoyed making him blush. He got to tease them back and they were all keeping it from going too far.

He stopped wool-gathering just as the Grangers pulled up, heading out to meet them and getting tackled by a bushy-haired missile, then a second straight-haired missile hit his other side, both sisters hugging him. He grinned and hugged back before greeting their parents as best he could, inviting them all inside. As usual for the Grangers, they were the first to arrive despite having the longest travel time, and greeted the Clan smiling. Next to arrive were Amelia Bones and her bodyguards, even here, escorting her niece Susan and her friend Hannah. The girls were shown into the living room where Harry and the Granger girls were waiting, demanding and getting hugs from their Harry, and joking that they missed his hands on them, before saying they obviously meant his hugs and massages. Hannah took advantage of the distraction to get Harry's lap, making the others grin before looking at Harry. "Please?" He smiled as his clones walked in behind them, taking them to their own seats and leaning them forward, facing the centre of the room, as his hands worked their magic, making Hermione moan which got her a surprise in Harry's lap. With Harry thus excited, he had no intention of standing any time soon, certainly not if she continued to wriggle like that.

Soon enough, the other guests arrived all dressed Muggle style as the invite requested, and Harry had to stand anyway, though he guided the other girls out first so the one holding Hermione wouldn't get exposed. Once out there, since that was the real Harry, he talked to everyone as expected of him, generally having a fun time catching up especially with the boys who he had only exchanged letters with. Harry had a laugh with the others his age at just what some of the adults considered the right style. One of the fathers was in top hat and tails, while another had obviously read too much into the 'casual' part of 'neat casual', wearing what looked like 50s surfer clothes. These fashion malfunctions were quickly rectified thanks to magic, and it looked like the party would be a real education for some of the guests, seeing their surprise at music like the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Queen, as well as the food and drinks on offer. Not a single glass of pumpkin juice was on offer since the party was supposed to be Muggle-style, for which Harry was quietly grateful. He still couldn't understand how it had become the standard drink for anyone.

They had another cake, more party games where the guests were unintentionally hilarious, especially with ones like Trivial Pursuit that required general knowledge of the other side of the wall. Still, the guests took it well, his parents even helping them see it as a challenge to rise up to meet rather than any sort of insult. The presents were presented and opened, much fun was had by all, and they ended the day with watching Blues Brothers before some dancing to the soundtrack. Amelia Bones shocked those present by how well she shook her tail feather, making Susan among others blush, though she was secretly pleased. It was _much _better than her aunt dancing badly, after all, and it was rare that Aunty would cut loose and relax like she had today. Even her glamour had been dropped for the evening, no longer hiding away her youthful face and long auburn hair. Amelia's only explanation of her dancing was a smile and "Ray Charles is a master." The Director of the DMLE enjoyed the looks of surprise sent her way and had to suppress a light laugh when she saw Imogen Finch-Fletchley elbow her husband for staring.

Fortunately for all concerned, they had more fun and Susan at least was able to forget her aunt's dancing, with the party finishing up fairly late, some staying over and heading home in the morning after sleeping off a little too much refreshment. Amelia was one of them, and explained in the morning that it's not a good idea to try to Apparate when drunk. Besides, she knew her niece would like a chance to stay overnight again with Harry, she said, making the girl blush more.

* * *

Harry had cause of his own to blush later that day, as he was given another seduction mission of a sort. Though this one gave him more time to complete it, he would also be working on someone he knew. He knew the Clan were having fun with their mission to burn out his embarrassment, they must be, because they had set him the task of getting his friend Sandra, the older girl who would often babysit his Cranleigh girls while any of their parents were out, getting _her_ to ask _him_ to make lingerie for her.

He thought more on it, and admitted to himself that part of the reason he blushed was that he did find the girl attractive. Her pink hair and blue eyes, her fun nature and yes, those. They were a definite draw for any straight guy, too, and he'd spotted her getting second looks quite a few times while he was in town. Still, at least his mission wasn't impossible, the girl already knew and trusted Harry so in a way the Clan were giving him an easy mission.

He started off by delivering other outfits to 'his girls', keeping her thinking of his skills with tailoring the clothes to the girls, and casually mentioning so only Sandra could hear that he would be happy to help her with more clothes if she wanted. She did, taking his offer immediately and arranging to have a fitting at her place. Once there, she tried to tease him by having him stay in the room as she tried on various clothes, letting him see what colours and styles worked best with what she had. At the next session, he upped the ante, mentioning that he had worked before with delicate fabrics that had to hug and enhance nature, letting her draw her own conclusions. And, by the third week, she had tracked him down in town, taking him away from any ears to ask if he was telling her the truth, if he could make her a better bra.

"Harry, this one is killing me," she groaned, "I can't afford to go into London shopping for new ones yet, my budget's stretched to its limit. Do you, would you, I mean, make me a new one? And maybe a full set while you're at it?" She posed for him, hand on a cocked hip, hoping he would say yes. She really was in pain as she was still growing, and a student's budget was notoriously tight.

Harry nodded, "Sure, Sandra, though we'll need a new fitting, and we'll want it to be completely private. Is that ok?"

"Of course, Harry, I trust you, besides I can't see how you'd be able to make the new clothes without a fitting."

They went straight to her place, glad that as expected her parents were still at work, and she put on a bit of a show as she stripped for him all the way, grinning as she said "I hope you like your bonus, Harry." He chuckled and nodded, he did indeed like the show and her joke helped break the tension. He gave her a professional fitting, keeping his mind firmly on task until he was done, telling himself he would think about this later.

The next day, he gave her a bag and blushed. "Here you go, Sandra, please tell me if they fit right."

A few minutes later, she came back out and hugged him. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! They're perfect. Is there anything I can do to thank you?"

Harry's mind was awash with images of what she could do, thanks to the hug pressing his head into her chest and his rampant hormones. "That's fine, Sandra, I'm just glad you like them." '_Besides,'_ he thought, '_between the show yesterday and the hug today, you've thanked me nicely.'_

When Harry was home, he was taken to the dining table and debriefed in full. While they pointed out how he could be more subtle in future, they agreed that he had completed the mission in full, especially as it seemed Sandra considered the whole thing her own idea. Anko-mum smiled wickedly and added, "Sometimes subtlety is overrated."

He had had a fairly quiet August apart from those two surprises, enjoying visits to and from his friends and a quick visit to Diagon Alley for school shopping in the middle of the month. His training was progressing nicely too with the added clones allowing them to focus on one area each, but it was time to return to Hogwarts for another school year.

* * *

_Another big thank you to my betas and to you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed and if you have questions, I will do my best to answer them. I am still amazed by the level of support I have received._


	11. Chapter 11 - Stranger Danger

**Chapter 11 - Stranger Danger**

Tuesday morning, Harry was up and ready for the train journey early, intending to meet his friends in a café before they headed through the portal as a group. A lot of smiles between the kids, and shared looks among the adults, were exchanged before they gathered up everything and walked over to Platform 9¾ around 10am where Harry led the way, only to run smack into the wall. He tried again with the same result, so Justin stepped up, offering to try. When he made it in and back out, they were confused. Harry's next try also failed, as did an attempt to go through while holding Hermione's hand. Susan Bones went through with her aunt Amelia, who likewise had no problems and promised to investigate the portal from the other side to see if someone had done anything to it.

Harry shared a look with Naruto, his hand signals requesting permission to try certain tricks. Naruto nodded after a quick check that no one was watching, and Harry first tried a Body Flicker through the portal which failed, the magic reacting harshly against the chakra flowing in his body and forcing him back. After Harry was quickly checked and discreetly healed up, he let more of his friends through, this time using a Body Flicker to Daphne's side as she was about to hit the portal and diving through, heedless of any embarrassment he may suffer later. He managed to turn his fall into a roll, coming to his feet easily thanks to the years of training, and smiled at Daphne.

"You're my lucky charm, aren't you?"

She blushed a pretty pink and smiled back, and they all made it through after that without further incident, though they sent someone else through for Harry's parents rather than risk Harry having another issue. After talking to Amelia, she agreed that it was still worth investigating especially if anyone else had a problem, although now that Harry was through, it wouldn't be that urgent unless something else turned up.

* * *

The large group was mingling freely until twenty to eleven when the students said their goodbyes and hopped onto the train, securing their compartments and talking to their parents out the windows. The whistle blew and they were off, waving as they left the station, before settling down and taking their seats.

Justin grinned at the quick contest among the girls to grab Harry's lap, with Daphne ignoring the game and just taking the chance to place herself on Harry's lap, smiling sweetly in triumph at the others and refusing to budge. "It's too comfortable here to leave so soon."

Justin shook his head and left the crazy girls to it, taking one of the other compartments with the other guys. '_Better him than me,'_ Justin thought.

Susan smiled, "I do agree, Harry has the best lap. Oh, did you hear about the scuffle in Diagon Alley? Some Auror had to break up Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley again. They'd gotten into it right in the middle of the street, too, after being kicked out of the bookstore. And that Draco acts like his father is anything more than a rich thug." She shook her head at that. If pressed, she would say that she had gotten her impression of the man from her aunt who did have strong feelings about Death Eaters, but most of her friends wouldn't disagree since none of them trusted any of the 'former' Death Eaters that the previous Minister had allowed to go free.

Daphne snorted, shifting a little on Harry's lap. "The only good thing about Lucius Malfoy is that he has more brains than his son. Draco tried to hide it but his marks were lower in almost everything than anyone here, especially Hermione and Harry's. The word in Slytherin is that he's gotten private tutoring all summer long."

"Yes, and Aunt Amelia said that Lucius publicly called his son on his poor performance, especially about being beaten by Hermione. Sorry Hermione, I won't repeat how he referred to you but it wasn't good." Susan added, then smiled as she shut and locked the door with just Harry and the girls in the compartment. "Now, I do believe someone could help give me a ride in their lap, right Harry?" She smiled impishly, "Give all of us a ride, I mean, I don't want to make Daphne get up after all."

Harry chuckled, having already stationed clones on the ceiling outside all his friends' compartments to keep watch under stealth when they got on the train, and now he made enough clones to go around, hitting his new clone limit. Harry had a dirty thought or two about taking the girls for a ride but he kept himself under control easily. The girls smiled at him for giving what they wanted then settled into their more comfortable seats that even came with a living seat-belt. The rest of the train trip was light-hearted, leaving behind less pleasant subjects as they determined to enjoy their time alone with Harry and talking about the highlights of their summers.

* * *

That evening, they were taken by carriage up to the castle. When Hermione commented on the carriages being horseless, Harry was surprised.

"What do you mean? There are, well, animals at least, pulling them, can't you see them?"

Since none of the girls could, Harry took Hermione's hand, making her blush as he guided it to the flank of one of the beasts. The surprise on her face was obvious, and the other girls joined her.

"We'll have to research these, naturally." Hermione grinned at the excuse to spend more time reading.

"Naturally," Megan drawled, imitating some of the prouder Purebloods they knew.

Once inside, they each went to their House tables for once rather than all joining at the Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw ones, neutral ground in the ongoing disputes between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and were told to quiet down when Hagrid approached with a fresh crop of First Years. Harry noted as the Hat was brought out that it hadn't lied about keeping his secrets, which pleased him. He didn't much care whether it was that the Hat had been honest or simply been intimidated into it, as long as it didn't spill what it had seen and put his family at risk. Especially now that he was even more aware of the rampant bigotry in their little world, he would be more energetic about defending those precious to him.

The Sorting started, boys and girls called up one by one. Most of them didn't take long, but two girls both took longer than the rest. The first girl came about halfway through the Sorting, she had long, dirty blonde hair and silver grey eyes that pierced through you, as he recalled her name was Luna Lovegood and she was eventually sorted into Ravenclaw. The second girl was a redhead the same shade as the Weasley twins and indeed she was announced as "Ginevra Weasley", spending a long time under the Hat before being sent off to Gryffindor, looking frustrated. For a moment, Harry thought the Hat was going to say Slytherin. '_Strange,'_ he thought, '_I would have thought she'd prefer Gryffindor to the House of Snakes given her family history.'_

Finally the last incoming student had been sent to their new House, and Dumbledore gave another insane speech welcoming everyone to Hogwarts. With that over, he introduced their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, one Gilderoy Lockhart, famous author of what Harry had at first thought were just more works of fiction like the Boy-Who-Lived books.

Those books were now disappearing as the writers found themselves having to pay dearly for the royalties and penalty interest accrued on their unpaid debts to the Potter family. Harry smiled to himself as he recalled that one of the more successful writers of that fictional account of his life, facing the even larger bills for it, had fled Britain entirely, leaving all her money and property behind, confiscated to pay part of what she owed. If the woman ever returned to Britain, she would be facing Azkaban for trying to escape Wizarding World justice, while if she had stayed she would have been forced to work to pay off her debts.

As for Lockhart, the man had made all his books compulsory for his subject. Harry was undecided, wondering whether it was simply a drive to increase book sales and thus line his pockets, or if it was an attempt to boost his popularity, or maybe he simply was that egotistical as to think that his books were that worth studying. None of these possibilities suggested they would get a decent teacher sadly. He glanced around him as the man stood up to bow to his 'adoring fans', disturbed that there seemed to be quite a few fans, most of them female, young and silly in his naturally unbiased opinion.

When the food was served, Harry was relieved as it meant the man had sat down at last, at least he was relieved until he tasted the food. "Ah Hogwarts food, I'd managed to forget how bad it was."

Susan spoke up, "Harry, at first I thought you were joking about that, you know? Most raised in the Wizarding World enjoy the quality of food here. Then I spent that week in Cranleigh, eating what you normally eat. While you're a great chef, even the normal food we ate while we were out was really good, so now I'm stuck wishing I could eat like I did there. Though Aunty was grateful to get some of the recipes from your family, and it has helped improve food at home, well, she never really had the time to study cooking, she's always been busy. Anyway, thank you again for the lovely meals!" She gushed, remembering clearly the amazing tastes and selections, and how both Bones girls were happy the times she brought home meals from visits to Harry's family.

Unfortunately, she had gotten loud near the end of her long-winded thanks and students on other tables overheard her. Soon Harry's other friends were reminiscing about better food than Hogwarts.

"Those Muggles ate far better than us," Parvati said clearly to her housemates, while Daphne excitedly told Tracey about Harry's cooking, spawning rumours about the Boy-Who-Cooks. It also sparked off comparisons between Hogwarts and other meals.

While Hogwarts had been _the_ standard for so many things for British wizards and witches, it had also become viewed as the best, rather than a minimum to exceed, in a few of them. Oddly, its food was one of them to the magical raised, while the Muggle-raised just got used to what they perceived as just another weird thing.

One of the girls who took notice of Susan's little speech walked over, nearly stumbling on the stone floor and putting a hand out to catch herself on Harry's shoulder. "Er wotcher, sorry about that."

Harry smiled, "That's ok. You're a Fifth Year now, right? And you like to be called Tonks?"

The girl smiled back happily, "Tonks is right, and you're Harry Potter. Now here you are, surrounded by girls, would you be building yourself a harem, Harry?" She grinned as Harry and his girls blushed, Hannah choked on her milk, spraying some and adding to Tonks' amusement. "Anyway, I overheard this loud little one talking about a boy who cooks better than Hogwarts."

"Oh much better than _that_," Hermione chimed in, "even I cook better than this and I'm almost hopeless. Harry, though, is a divine chef."

"Thank you, Hermione, but I'm really not that good. My parents are much better than I am! I think a lot of it is simply that the food is mass produced for a completely captive audience who literally can't go somewhere better. They never had to do better, and from what I can tell, they're using recipes that haven't changed in centuries. My parents experimented a bit, trying to work out what was being served here. It was probably very good food a few centuries ago, but cooking has evolved and improved. The modern world uses herbs and spices that come from places those people didn't know existed, thus couldn't have used."

"And you use these herbs and spices in your cooking?" a Hufflepuff in the year above them asked.

"Of course, at home we can buy them at the local stores," Harry replied.

"Cor, I'd love to taste that sometime. At home, me dad does a lot of the cooking, and I always wondered why his dishes had different tastes. He was a Muggle-born so would have known about these herbs and spices, right?" Tonks explained.

"Well, at least some of them, from what I've been told more have been added since then. Still, it allows for a near endless variety of wonderful tastes." Harry smiled, and most of the girls who had tried his cooking nodded and moaned as they remembered. They looked down at their plates almost depressed, but worked their way through the meal.

Harry was thankful they'd be able to sit where they liked normally tomorrow, he missed getting to talk to the rest of his friends because of the House rule. They headed off to bed, only getting to exchange quick words with their other friends, then sleep soon after. There was something oddly tiring about sitting on a train doing little all day.

* * *

The next morning, Harry chuckled as he got up, he had just received the memories of the clone that went to school with Ella and the other girls. In almost Gryffindor fashion, Ashley and the others had insisted on walking with Harry to school together. Once they had a suitably large audience, they entered the gate as a group, Harry's body language unconsciously telling the others that he was looking out for the girls.

The other boys in their year thought he was barmy to hang around with girls, but some of the older ones reacted angrily to his posture. Some snot-nosed kid was challenging them, even indirectly. Roland Smith was one of those boys. Fifteen and already a bully, he had had a few run-ins with the town's golden boy last year where Harry hadn't ducked out of Roland's way or interfered, getting in the way as he was chasing someone weaker than him.

With his friends at his back, Roland stalked over to Harry now, trying to intimidate the younger boy into surrendering. When that didn't work, Roland was face to face with Harry and his friends. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea what to say and the best he could think of was to reach out for Ashley's arm. Without realising it, Harry was already brushing his outstretched hand away, nearly bruising it with his strength, and everyone heard the slap of flesh on flesh. Roland's anger melted away, replaced by shock and a little pain. Whipping his head around, he saw that he was alone, his gang had abandoned him, and Roland backed off, vowing silently to get revenge later for embarrassing him.

The other students turned away now that the pecking order had been established and Harry relaxed slightly. '_I know that boy's going to be trouble later but we should have a bit of a break before he gets the courage to try anything again. I'll have to keep an eye on him.'_ Harry's thoughts were pleasantly interrupted by Ashley thanking him, adding a swooning "My hero!" then laughing with him as the adrenaline wore off.

* * *

Harry went for his morning jog, choosing a slightly higher speed to get the blood flowing today. For all the complaints about the food, and really some of it was just because the complaints were a British tradition, and about other parts of the Hogwarts experience, there were some truly lovely parts about his time in the castle. In Harry's humble opinion, one of them was the grounds were lovely and another was there was always something interesting happening. As he finished up, he saw a slim Chinese girl zooming around on her broom, hair flying behind her. She looked both exhilarated and at peace up there.

He quickly showered and changed, waiting in the Common Room to grab the Hufflegirls' bags again. They grinned when he explained what he was doing, and he pantomimed being burdened down by them. At the Great Hall, they took their usual places but the group was expanding more. Tonks was back again, and he noticed that they had all three of the 'good' Slytherin girls on their table, Daphne had Sophie Roper and Tracey Davis with her today. Either they weren't that cunning or they simply didn't want to try, as both of the new girls engaged him in a discussion about cooking, trying to find out if he was being truthful the night before when he claimed he could cook. They soon smiled when he easily answered their questions, as did the other new girls in their group, Sue Li and Lisa Turpin, Ravenclaws who had started getting friendly before summer and now seemed set on joining in.

They got their timetables, DADA first thing followed by Transfiguration, with Charms an hour after lunch. Harry sighed, while he would love to learn in all three of those classes, he wasn't looking forward to spending any time with the flashy Lockhart. That the man seemed determined to get adoration from teenage and even pre-teen girls made it even worse as Harry knew himself well enough that he wouldn't like it if the man tried to get those feelings from anyone his age. Abuse of children, plain and simple, that's what Harry felt it was.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws made their way to their classroom, taking seats and Harry groaned as he saw Lockhart waiting for them and _preening_ under the attention. He seriously wanted to bang his head against his desk, or better still bang Lockhart's, but that wouldn't get him what he wanted at all, no matter how tempted he was. Sadly, it only got worse when the golden-haired man introduced himself by picking up Mandy Brocklehurst's copy of _Travels with Trolls_ showing his own, winking portrait on the cover.

"Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award — but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling _at her!"

He waited for the students to laugh, but the best he got were a couple of half-hearted smiles. While that may fly with the Gryffindors, perhaps, the Ravenclaws were far more interested in learning than playing along and the Hufflepuffs were taking their cues from Harry who hadn't warmed up to the man at all. Harry reflected that there had been a surprising lack of comment over the death of the previous DADA Professor, really, not even an announcement or anything in the paper which was both worrying and interesting. The Clan as a whole were glad that no one had accused Harry of any involvement, but having a school teacher killed and not even a single mention of it? He would have to talk to them about that and possibly do some research.

Harry returned to full awareness of his surroundings, checking his memory and finding that while he had been distracted by his thoughts, Lockhart had continued to talk about himself, and he was now handing out quizzes to see how well they had read his books. Harry's urge to hit the man returned rapidly and in greater force as he scanned the questions:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

On and on they went for three pages of self-absorbed, self-indulgent drivel, culminating in a thinly-veiled demand for presents. Harry was torn in how to respond. While he did know the answers Lockhart wanted, it wasn't in him to lie down and let anyone trample over him. Likewise, his more satisfying response, burning the quiz and then the man himself, would also be inappropriate. So he was trying to look for an acceptable middle ground.

In the end, he went with what he felt would be better than either end of the spectrum. He filled his out with a minimum of grumbling, he felt, then waited until the man collected and rifled through them, a low-level illusion technique making him skip over Harry's test while they were in class, and making sure to dispel it just as the man finished his little display. He silently thanked Kurenai-mum and Yakumo-mum for their lessons in subtlety.

Of course, that just led to another display from Lockhart who made a big production out of '_freshly caught Cornish pixies.'_ The class giggled and laughed, and Lockhart 'unleashed' the 'devilish tricky little blighters' as he opened their cage. The pixies shot in every direction, proceeding to wreck the classroom and cause chaos. They would seize inkwells, shred books and papers, even lift some of the students into the air. They soon gave a very wide berth to Harry and then to his friends as any that approached were buffeted back by strong winds, smashing into walls after any attack run. Sue Li and Lisa Turpin noticed the discrepancy, "Harry, please, can you help us too?"

"Sure, you only had to ask." He smiled and now the safe zone covered all the students, the pixies glared at Harry now that he was identified as the source of their woes but they didn't press their luck, instead concentrating on the big target better known to the class as Professor Lockhart.

The boys laughed as the pixies pulled down Lockhart's pants after ripping his robes to shreds, exposing his lilac bloomers to everyone. Quickly, the Professor had crawled under the table and hid while the class watched the pixies dive bombing him. Eventually the bell rang and the class left in great spirits, though their respect for the man was at an all time low, even Hermione's.

Sue and Lisa smiled at him on their way to Transfiguration, "Thank you so much, Harry, one of them was about to get me when it just went flying backwards."

Lisa giggled, adding "Yes, and the expression of surprise mingled with frustration was so funny on so small a face!"

* * *

Class with Professor McGonagall started with a refresher of what they did last year before they moved onto a new spell that seemed just as useless or silly as a lot of them, though they were at least interesting challenges and implied fascinating abilities. This one was turning beetles into buttons, and Hermione was the first to complete the task, earning points for Hufflepuff and extra effort from the Ravenclaws, with Padma the next to finish. Harry still had to practice his spells more, working outside classes to master them with both his wand from Ollivander's and the dogwood-and-dragon-heartstring one. In class, he stuck with the phoenix and holly wand, both because it was his first wand and doing so would fix in people's minds that was the only wand he used, especially with that whole one wand, one wizard thing Ollivander was stuck on. Still, Harry did manage to complete the transformation just before class let out, and he took his books as well as the Hufflegirls' bags.

The Ravenclaw boys drifted off but the rest of the class moved as a group, talking and smiling, heading to one of the lawns around Hogwarts where they enjoyed the sunshine while they talked about their lessons. McGonagall got a good review from her students as expected. They knew the woman and her methods worked fairly well overall, though Hermione, now fairly out of the authority-worship she had earlier thanks to having real friends supporting her, pointed out that adding a couple of other approaches might help with some students, even if Professor McGonagall's teaching methods worked great for her.

Lockhart, however, got a fairly solid failing grade from the group. While he had a lively manner and wanted to see his students learn, unfortunately he only wanted them to learn about him and learn to adore him. That he then had such trouble with the Cornish pixies, which none of those raised in their world considered more than minor pests, after he had selected them specifically, showed that he lacked both good judgment and competence in his supposed subject matter, teaching them to defend themselves.

"Great, another year with an incompetent Defence professor. Does anyone know why we've had two new Professors and both of them are terrible? If I were more suspicious I'd say someone doesn't want us able to defend ourselves." Harry sighed.

"Oh Harry, that's too much." Hermione was still more forgiving than Harry where teachers were concerned, though she had conceded that however talented Professor Snape might be with making potions, he was a failure at teaching the subject. Their good grades in the subject came from independent study. "While I will agree that Professor Lockhart had a bad time with the Pixies, we should at least suspend judgement until we've had a few classes before we say he's as terrible as Quirrell was. That will give us enough evidence to make a call either way. Maybe he'll surprise us. I hope he can, anyway."

"You're right, Hermione, we should be open-minded enough to accept that he can change, or at least that this was just a bad day. We all have them," Susan put in. "Well, except Harry," she winked, "he's always gorgeous."

Harry blushed and raised a hand, grinning, "Ok, Ok, I surrender. Though I do hope that if he does surprise us, it's not because he's gotten worse."

The group laughed, happily unaware that he would indeed get worse later on. Thankfully, Charms with Professor Flitwick was both fun and a good lesson.

* * *

Another surprise awaited Harry the following morning, seemingly hundreds of owls diving to drop off letters for him. Harry looked at his friends.

"Are any of these from you?" When they shook their heads, Harry sighed. "Over the holidays, I had trouble getting owl mail, right, well it seems someone had put a mail ward on me so no letters from strangers would find me. That ward was removed, though it didn't seem to do any good at the time. I think now we're seeing the results of _anyone _being able to send me a letter."

Ignoring the twinkle-eyed staring of the Headmaster and scrutiny of the Potions Master, Harry gathered them up in his bookbag and headed back to his dorm, setting a clone to go through them all. Most of them were fanmail, complete with intrusive personal questions, though a few asked why he hadn't replied to previous mail. The clone quickly wrote out standard replies, thanking people for their well wishes, ignoring personal questions, and explaining to those who asked about previous letters that he had never received them and had just recently corrected the problem that had caused that. Really, it was a good practical use for his etiquette and politics training from his parents. He returned, grabbing breakfast at last and settled in, talking to his friends, telling them regarding his mail "I'll take care of it" and smiling. He resolved also that he would not touch his own mail again until it had been vetted by his clones.

This rule saved him from a fair amount of trouble later on as all mail that had magic on it was sorted out away from the rest, to be handed over to Amelia Bones or another trusted adult for examination before Harry himself would even touch any of it. Over a dozen Portkeys were found in that year alone (not that they would have worked while he was at Hogwarts), most leading to destinations in the homes of lonely older women who were first arrested, interrogated and either charged or released based on their testimony. Generally the witches were released after a stern warning delivered personally by Madam Bones putting the fear of Her into them. They swore not to try it again on anyone.

Harry had also put his clones back on Library copying duty and Map-watching duty, which reminded him that he still needed to find out who or what this Peter Pettigrew was. History and another Charms lesson, and he was done with classes for the day, though he still had plenty to do as he worked hard to get more spells working better, plus now that the girls knew, he was keeping a few clones active during the day around them. He also had another stack of mail, prompting Draco to saunter over.

"What happened, Potter, did you take a job sorting mail?" He sneered.

Harry just ignored him, pushing the incoming mail into a sack to be sorted later, obviously more interested in that task than in the brash blond.

"Oi I'm talking to you, Potter, you better listen when your betters speak."

"Then go away, Malfoy, there is no one here who qualifies as needing to hear you."

"What do you mean?" Malfoy asked.

"Quite simply that you are not the better of anyone here, except possibly in hair care, and since we aren't looking for advice on that, you may go."

"When my father hears about this -"

"Seriously, you'll tell your father about humiliating yourself in front of everyone? How did _you _get sorted into Slytherin? You show absolutely no cunning, no ambition but being recognised for your father's name and money. It's obvious why you weren't good enough for Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, too." Harry's voice had raised loud enough for the other tables to hear him clearly. If the ponce wanted to make a scene, he would get one.

"Not good enough for-"

"Did you have to beg the Sorting Hat, Malfoy? Did you plead not to be put into Gryffindor? There's nothing wrong with being brave, you know, though you need to work on being noble obviously."

"Why I never -"

"-thought about looking before leaping? Yes, we know, it's a very Gryffindor-ish trait." Harry finished. "Now, go, back to your minders, and leave us in peace."

Draco finally looked around, the sniggers from the Gryffindors had ceased with Harry's last riposte, the five Weasleys were now as pale as Draco at the thought of having a _Malfoy_ among them. Draco was speechless, a feat everyone else appreciated as he made his way back to his section of the Slytherin table, now empty of other Snakes since no one wanted to be associated with his failure.

* * *

Apart from the incident with Draco, the Second Years had a fairly easy time settling into the castle and classes that week. There were a couple of events on the weekend, however, that would change Harry's life in years to come. The first was when a shabbily dressed stranger turned up at the Kitsune Compound. He turned up and rang the bell, asking if he could have a word regarding Harry Potter. Since he was being polite, they agreed to let him inside "Just as long as you don't reach for your wand, of course." The man was a little startled at being recognised for a wizard so quickly, but of course he didn't know that he had been monitored ever since he arrived, Apparating into an unused field out of town.

He introduced himself as Remus Lupin, one of James Potter's classmates and best friends at school, and even after. When asked to explain just why he had never visited Harry, he explained that between the Fall of You-Know-Who and the deaths of three of his friends and betrayal and incarceration of the fourth, it was a very tumultuous time in the Wizarding World and even worse for him in particular. There was no news as to where Harry was, his every attempt to find the boy met utter failure, and Remus himself found that in the glow of 'victory' there was no place for him. Especially given the prejudice that hadn't died with the Dark Lord but lived on. Days turned to weeks turned to years, and Remus stopped spending hours each day trying to find Harry, hopelessness leaching away the motivation to try again. By the time Harry was five, Remus was down to trying once a week. He had found no sign at all of Harry anywhere in the Wizarding World. While Dumbledore had claimed Harry was happy and safe, he never gave any hint as to where Harry had been placed, and no one else had any clue. He had tried to find Harry in the Muggle world, but it was a needle in a haystack.

"While Potter is a noble and now rare name among wizards, it's common and widespread among Muggles, there are tens of thousands in Britain, and I would try my luck, visiting them. It was even worse trying to track down any Evans connection. I counted one time, there are over two hundred thousand of them. I tried sending owls to Harry, but they never even bothered trying to deliver a message for me. They just looked at me sadly. I kept trying when I could afford it, they charge, you know, for delivery attempts." He sipped his drink, non-alcoholic given the early hour.

"When Harry turned eleven, I hoped that he would still go to Hogwarts. Ever since he disappeared like that, I feared that Dumbledore had been lying to me, that he really was dead, along with the last link to my best friends. That he was alive was a wonderful day, and a horrible one, for I tried again, you see, to write to him, and my attempt failed just like all the others. I tried getting onto the platform to see him, but I missed him in the crowds that day he went off to Hogwarts for the first time.

"I can't get work in the Wizarding World, and I have trouble getting work in the other, so I've never been wealthy. I don't want to take Harry away from you, I just want to see him with my own eyes, to know that he's alright."

The naked pleading in his eyes made Naruto uncomfortable, the generally reserved British would avoid such emotional displays, something Naruto approved of more than usual that particular morning. He knew Hinata was also affected, and a clone's message conveyed that the rest of his Angels were, too.

"Mr Lupin, I'm sure you can read a calendar so you know Harry isn't here. I would guess you're hoping that we would agree to allow you contact with him, perhaps once you've assured us we can trust you?" Naruto's reply was measured, trying to get more information while the Clan watched him.

"Yes, sir. I know I haven't been there for him, despite my best efforts, and I can't expect you to trust me so quickly. All I want is what's best for Harry, and to become part of his life if he lets me."

"We'll see, Mr Lupin, but at least you're starting on the right path. For now, would you like to stay for lunch. Perhaps you have a story or two about James and Lily that you can share?" Naruto guided the obviously underfed man into the dining room where one of his clones had replaced the usual silverware with a more plain set. He had the sense that the man would react badly to too much display of wealth.

Lunch was much livened by Mr Lupin's stories of his school days, referring to James always as Prongs after explaining that it was their nickname for him, and he provided enough details that the Clan would be able to cross-check what he told for truth. Lupin was wary about saying too much too soon, in case the prejudice struck again, but he was a good storyteller. The Clan loved the various pranks mentioned, even if they often skated the edge of cruelty, as they were inventive and often effective, but most of all, funny.

A good start, certainly, and if he appeared truthful enough, well, they would talk more. Perhaps even find out just why the man couldn't hold a stable job, and if he was willing, provide him one where he could do something useful. The Clan always had jobs that needed doing around the place, as well as of course enough bodies to do them, not that this Lupin need ever know that. They also respected hard work so if he worked hard, that would only help his case for seeing Harry. They hoped he would work out well, as that would help Harry, but they wouldn't let that hope overrule their good sense.

* * *

Harry found out about that encounter the following morning when one of his clones at home dispelled, providing a memory of it supplied by Naruto. It was of the other meeting that Harry remained unaware for longer, nearly two months in fact. Susan and Hermione had called for the Hufflegirls and the others who had taken an Oath to Harry to meet in one of the girls' bathrooms, the same one where Ron Weasley had been trapped the previous year, not that any of them knew it.

"Thank you for coming, girls. First, I'd like to request that the contents of this meeting be kept secret, even from Harry, until the time comes. We don't think the contents will be in any way harmful to him, mind you, but if anyone is unwilling to keep the secret, please leave now," Susan instructed them. When no one made to leave, she smiled. "Our second request is that you try to keep calm and an open mind during the meeting."

"Get on with it," Lavender called, smiling.

Hermione took a deep breath, this was her part of the meeting and she was suddenly more nervous than she had hoped she would be. "Ok, now we've all noticed that there are different types of boys at Hogwarts. From rich to poor, and from both worlds, and most of all, there are boys we don't like and boys we do, or rather one boy in particular. Harry."

The other girls warily nodded as Hermione paused. "Speaking for myself, I was rather shocked that polygamy is legal in the Wizarding World, but, well, maybe sharing Harry would solve our problem. I know I haven't met a better boy than Harry. He was my first friend, the first one who accepted me for me, and even now he's miles ahead of any other boy I've seen at Hogwarts. I don't want to lose him or to lose my friends." Hermione blushed as her crush and her fears were laid bare for the others. She was certain if they did compete for his attention that he would never pick a bushy-haired bookworm like her. Surely she wasn't pretty or sporty enough to catch his eye.

Daphne had rolled her eyes at how blunt the girl was, she had the ambition but little cunning for Slytherin, though Daphne admitted to herself that few others had it either even in the House of Snakes. Still, her own crush on the boy had only grown over time and though she thought she was pretty, she felt he would choose someone from his own world instead of the Wizarding World. "Well, you're right about him being the best boy, but why should I share? Why should any girl share? Just because it is legal doesn't mean it's normal, Hermione."

"Normal would be getting a boy like Ron Weasley or Draco Malfoy," Hermione replied in disgust, naming a couple of their year-mates raised in the Wizarding World. "I don't want normal when I could have great instead. And we don't have much choice if we want a decent wizard. Only, I know if I want him, I may have to share."

Susan grinned, "Hufflepuffs share, but not this, or at least normally we don't. We all know Harry isn't like other boys, he's so much better, but he can also make it easier to share him. With his _talent_, we wouldn't really be giving up that much, would we? Each of us could have a Harry to ourselves, after all." '_And it's better than fighting Hermione and Daphne and losing,'_ she added to herself.

"Plus we'd be able to talk to other girls who know just how good he is," Lavender giggled.

"Right, we'd have advantages over a normal relationship, and we wouldn't have to risk our friendships with each other if Harry chose only one of us and the others had a problem with it." Padma smiled, she could see that this would benefit her as long as they all agreed. She really liked Harry but feared that if he did choose only one of them, it was unlikely to be her rather than one of the girls in his own House. That's how it often went, people choosing the familiar rather than taking a chance on the exotic, at least in the novels some of the older 'Claws liked to read.

Not all the girls were convinced, of course, and they talked it out for a while before they agreed to let each girl think about it, and to make their choice by the end of the following month. They would often talk about it amongst themselves, discussing the pros and cons and how they felt about the whole thing, and even Hermione and Susan wavered, mostly about whether or not they could live with sharing their cute boy, even with the advantages of Harry's clones. While they were sure they liked him, they didn't know if it was anything more than a first crush.

* * *

The next interesting day was the following Saturday, the day of the team trials. It was a big day for a lot of students, the castle was abuzz with rumours as the big day approached, and a lot more students got up early even though it was a weekend. Those who were awake early enough and looked out their windows saw Harry Potter in running clothes out for a 'mild jog' which for the watchers looked like an intense workout, complete with some sweat as he ran at a pace few others could match except in emergencies.

It was when Harry took off the shirt that sealed the deal, however. He was aware of the watchers but they hadn't been doing anything beyond that, so he had just about put them out of his mind as he pulled out a towel and wiped off the sweat that had built up. For the watchers, especially the girls, however, this was anything but a small matter. It was their first view of the Boy-Who-Lived topless, and the reality exceeded their expectations. They knew he was still only a 2nd Year student, one who had made a name for himself more for his friendly nature and possibly his hard work and studies than for anything to do with his body. Seeing him now put any idea of a weakling Harry Potter to rest. He was hard, lean and fast, though very tall for his age, and he showed it in his grace, his muscles and a well-developed body.

The object of their scrutiny headed inside, getting ready for the day including the little tradition of carrying the girls' bags, he smiled as he felt that Hermione had finally cut down a little on the number of books she was taking around with her, or maybe it was the other girls had increased, either way the gap was shrinking. Making their way to breakfast, they found themselves or rather they found Harry was the subject of a lot more female interest than before. Harry was tempted to bash his head on the table. '_Crap I forgot about that. Oh well, not like I can just undo it, nothing for it but to go ahead.'_ He then noticed that the increase in attention in him came at the cost of attention for the blond ponce, or rather the blond ponce masquerading as their DADA teacher, to distinguish him from the blond ponce of Slytherin. That put Harry in a much better mood.

As he and his friends ate and chatted, Hannah reminded them that today was the day for the Quidditch trials several times as she almost bounced in her seat in her excitement. Any temptation Harry would have felt to tease her about that was washed away by the rising tide of anticipation sweeping the Great Hall. Somehow, Harry wasn't sure, Madam Hooch had arranged to put the Hufflepuff trials first instead of Slytherin as normal, and he and his Hufflegirls were all looking forward to finding out just how good they were. At a half past nine, they finished up and took their gear down to the Quidditch Changing Rooms, getting changed and warming up under Harry's eagle eyes for their run, flying out onto the pitch and waiting with the other hopefuls.

Harry could hear the nervous breathing of his girls speed up and turned to look at them, giving them the same reassuring smile he gave the football team at primary school just before a match, pleased when it seemed to work, even Hermione was rock steady now on her broom.

Cedric flew out, looking at the score of prospective players from across the years. "Ok, first I want to see your performance on the obstacle course behind me to check your basic skills. After that, we'll start with individual testing for each of you."

They quickly lined up, doing time trials of the course and then moving onto the more advanced testing in alphabetical order, Hannah quickly showing she was skilled and had the right guard dog mentality for being a Keeper, but narrowly losing a shoot-out to the current one, a Fourth Year like Cedric who promised to help work with her, putting the pigtailed girl as the reserve Keeper for the House, a respectable achievement for any Second Year. Susan Bones tried out as a Chaser, showing the right mentality and surprising the team by having better hand-eye coordination and much better reflexes than the current Chasers, as well as good situational awareness, something she later credited in private to her aunt's paranoia rubbing off on her. Harry praised both Bones for their habits. Next of the Second Years was Hermione who had a fair amount of upper body strength and general fitness thanks to her books and her dentist parents respectively. She was creative and had a good eye, doing well overall too. Megan Jones and Leanne Moon took their somewhat lacklustre performance as prospective Beaters with relatively good spirits, acknowledging that they just needed to wait for their bodies to grow into the roles. Lastly for their year, Harry Potter's turn came up and a hush fell over the crowd, one which included not just his group of friends or even just other Hufflepuffs but both Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, though naturally they were nowhere near each other, and a fair number of students and staff including the bat-like Professor Snape.

'_Since this requires magic, I doubt I can use any chakra to improve my performance, but that seems like it would be overkill anyway. The real questions are if I should hold back, and by how much.'_ Harry decided that he would hold back, but only enough so he was still clearly better than the current Chasers. After all, he did want to show he deserved that place with his friends but he didn't want to humiliate any Hufflepuff. Decision made, Harry was put through his paces. He slipped up once at the end, making an almost impossible shot on one of the goals which he had intended to narrowly miss. He was as surprised as anyone there when the shot went in on the final try, his friends coming over to congratulate him.

In the end, Harry, Hermione and Susan were all on the team, a most impressive performance for three Second Years made easier by the generally poor players already on there which explained why, despite being the House for the hard working team players, they had so done poorly in the Quidditch Cup. Harry and his friends had no intention of resting on their laurels now they were on the team, especially as three of them weren't on it yet. It would be so good to have all his Hufflegirls on the team with him.

Next up were the Ravenclaws, and Harry sat back with his friends to watch the competition. Their current Seeker was that Asian girl he saw before, and Padma pointed her out. "That's Cho Chang, she's in the year above me. I think she's got potential."

Harry nodded, "It sure looks like it, she's really at home in the air." Harry and the others watched her, and she noticed their interest, coming down to introduce herself after her trial and talking with them about the various flyers. She was called up and obviously happy to stay the Seeker for Ravenclaw, hugging Harry and each of his friends when she returned with the news in her excitement. They laughed and the ice was broken between them. Cho would drop by their group to chat from time to time, and enjoyed answering questions from the more curious among them. It made her happy to get to display her strengths.

* * *

The following weekend had only three events for Harry. There was a message from his parents that Mr Lupin had visited again, bringing some photos of his school years and his friends, still referring to them only by their nicknames for each other. He also stayed for dinner, accepting the Clan's hospitality and cooking which he duly praised. Over dinner, the Clan mentioned that they were expanding their forestry business and wondered if he knew anyone who would be interested in applying. After their patience won through, the man indicated yes, he would be interested in some honest work if that's what they had in mind rather than some form of charity, so Naruto escorted him out to see their new Forest of Death to see the massive trees personally. Lupin, a little shaken, agreed that yes, those would take some honest work to cut down. The hidden clones listening smiled at how easy _they_ found it to do the logging. Everyone was happy enough with the final arrangement. The Clan would supply room and board, along with a reasonable wage, for Lupin who would help with the logging during the day and tell stories about Harry's parents, recorded for Harry to listen to when he got home. The man turned out to be a master storyteller once he got comfortable with the Clan and the revelation that Harry's father, well both of them, were big pranksters met a very receptive audience. It was at that point that the Clan did something unwise. They started a prank war with the Marauder, as they came to know him.

The second event was of course Hermione's birthday, something far more important or at least immediate to Harry and his friends. Miyuki had made the trip during the week to pick up her parents' gift to her as well as some other gift ideas for Harry. Hermione was touched by the set of ornate bookmarks Harry purchased, explained as having enchantments so she could always find them and they would automatically insert themselves into whatever book she closed at the right page, in case she forgot to do it herself. Harry didn't mention they were also enchanted so he could always find the bookmark and, presumably, Hermione herself. She gave him a big hug for that and claimed his lap as hers by right for the day, which Harry didn't mind at all.

There was an extra surprise as a small flock of owls brought in packages for Harry, Hermione and Susan. Long, thin packages that were marked as coming from the Nimbus Broom company. Upon opening, each were stunned to find a Nimbus 2000, now superseded by the 2001 as the most expensive and latest model which was supposed to have a higher top speed than the 2000. That wouldn't matter much in Quidditch since the pitches were far too small to reach the 2000's limit, most of the time. The notes that came with the brooms mentioned how proud of them their families were, and that they wanted their children to show that their parents had made the right decision buying the brooms by keeping up their hard work. The looks on their faces guaranteed the kids had no problem with that condition.

* * *

_Thanks for your support. Feedback is welcome and if you spot any errors please let me know. Yes, Tonks is younger in this story than in canon. Thank you for reading._


	12. Chapter 12 - The Best Laid Plans

**Chapter 12 - The Best Laid Plans**

For the rest of September, the students settled into their schoolwork and routines, especially those new to the various Quidditch teams like Hufflepuff's Chasers. Harry, Hermione and Susan practiced regularly and intensively, enough that they improved further in their coordination and tactics but most of all in their teamwork. It also meant the girls regularly needed more massages, or so they claimed. Since providing them was relaxing to Harry, he never turned the girls down, nor the other teammates though his skills weren't quite as high for the guys.

As October began, the other teams heard about the massages from the Boy-Who-Lived and Cho approached him, blushing as she asked if the rumours were true regarding them. After glancing at his Hufflegirls who didn't seem to mind, Harry nodded. "Yes, it's true I do give massages."

"Would you be willing to come down after the next Ravenclaw practice to give me one? Please? You'd think that at least one Ravenclaw would have mastered the muscle relaxation spells, but they require a degree of control and skill that takes a lot of work."

"I would be happy to, Ms Chang, as long as I can make it there." Harry replied. A quick check of schedules revealed that while it would be a bit of a squeeze, he could just make it before one of his classes, as long as it didn't take much longer than he expected. Harry was glad she hadn't been more explicit because it was obvious to him that one reason she needed the massage was her chest development, and he resolved to make sure he had a chaperone. The last thing any of them needed was for this to start rumours.

After the massage, Cho was hooked. She had to agree with Susan, the boy had magic hands, and she loved how he made her feel.

* * *

As October was ending, the number of meetings between the various girls increased, with the final meeting just a week before Halloween the last of the girls made her choice. Megan had agreed the night before, and with Leanne Moon they had all the Hufflegirls on board as well as Daphne Greengrass who said he was the only one for her, he ticked all the right boxes. Padma, Parvati and Lavender weren't ready to commit themselves just yet for various reasons including parental and school reactions as well as just unsure if they could accept being one of many.

The following Saturday morning, all six girls approached Harry, taking him to a deserted classroom and locking it with spells as well as a barricade. Harry grinned at their precautions before it faded, picking up on their mood. "Whatever this is, it's obviously serious, girls. What do you want to talk about?"

Daphne stepped forward a half-pace. "Harry, we've been talking and thinking a lot, and we have come to a decision, one we need to ask you about since it involves you too." She smiled. "We do think you'll like it, at least we can't imagine anyone in your place who wouldn't, anyway."

Hannah stepped up next to her. "Yes, in fact it's something that many guys dream about."

Susan blushed and took her spot in line. "And we want to offer it to you, to ask you, really-"

Hermione interrupted, "Would you date us, Harry?"

Megan and Leanne posed, smiling, "Would you date all of us?" They all took positions around him, waiting.

Harry was stunned, unsure how he got this lucky, and yet even as he thought that, he knew it could still go so badly for all of them. It took him a little while of his jaw flapping before he could speak again.

"Girls, you're each very special to me, and nothing would make me happier than to accept this chance for all of us to become closer. However, there is something I have to tell you first.

"You see, the girls you each met while staying with me who live with me in Cranleigh, well, they asked me on my birthday if I would date them, too. Given that they're already willing to share, there is a _chance_ they might agree to this, but I don't intend to cheat on any girl so I won't start now. I hadn't mentioned it here because they asked me to keep it quiet, but you also deserve to know why I can't say yes yet. I do have a way to ask them, if you want me to."

The girls were shocked, someone had beaten them, not just one, either but five girls. A quick discussion and they all nodded firmly, Hermione taking the lead. "Yes, Harry, please ask them. I know you've known them longer than any of us, and we wouldn't want you to dump them just like that either." If he had been the type to do it to others, they would be worried about him doing it to them.

Harry nodded, making five clones and dispelling one with a pop to send a message to his clones at home, the others each taking a girl's hand while they waited. Thankfully for all concerned they didn't have to wait too long, as the local girls, as his parents called them, were all happy to come to the park to meet up with him.

While the Cranleigh girls were startled by the development, they agreed that if those six girls wanted to really date him without the conditions they had wanted, he could if he wanted to. "But," Ashley put in, "we do want to get to know them better before we fully consent to this. This is still a big thing to us, Harry." She hugged him tight, making him aware of her growing body. "We're trusting you with our hearts, so please don't break them. If you think these girls are trustworthy, then we'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. But, do you think we could meet them all over the holidays? We need to get to know them, Harry."

"Yeah, we could compare notes, too." Michelle added impishly.

Harry smiled, "I'll certainly invite them over. Meaghan and Ella, you've met one of them, Hermione." The girls nodded. "It is a reasonable condition to want to meet them, and I know I hope you all get along. Whatever happens, I don't want to lose any of you from my life, you're wonderful people."

"Of course we are!" Stephanie grinned and they shared a laugh and some hugs, before going on to talk about other things like the football and school where they were all doing well.

Back at Hogwarts, Harry got the message when one of his clones watching the meeting dispelled itself, and he smiled at the girls, most of whom were getting fairly anxious. "Ok, I've talked to them, well technically a clone has, and they gave their conditional agreement. It'd be so much simpler if I could get a mobile phone signal here. Anyway, they want to know you better before they give a final answer. So they're, we're hoping that you can visit over Christmas for at least some of it. Is that ok, girls?"

Daphne just hugged her Harry tight and nodded, "Yes, fine by me, I was hoping to visit you during the holidays anyway. Which one's the real Harry?"

The one she was holding smiled. "That's me, why?"

"This." And she looked in his eyes, slowly getting closer as she leaned in, kissing him sweetly on the lips.

After the moment ended, Susan tapped her shoulder. "May I, please?"

Daphne nodded and got up, taking a seat on the clone's lap while Susan sat down, draping her arms around his neck and gently pulling him to kiss her. Susan took her time but had to come up for air much too soon and opened her eyes seeing a smiling Hermione waiting for her turn. Hannah pouted for a moment when Hermione beat her there, but consoled herself that at least she would get her chance.

Hermione came up at last, a beautiful smile lighting her face and gave a last squeeze before moving out of the way to take a seat in the lap of one of the clones, his arms around her and pulling her in for a second, longer kiss, just as the other clones were already doing for Daphne and Susan. When she came up, Hannah had already switched for Leanne, and Megan was cuddling with her own Harry clone, watching it all.

The seven students happily settled in there, talking and cuddling and kissing, until they were driven out at last by the approach of lunch, knowing that they would be missed by their friends if they didn't make an appearance, plus Daphne was mortified when it was her stomach that made the first protest about food, setting off the others.

"Oh of all the times! I know it's because I skimped on breakfast. I was so nervous how you would react, Harry." He just gave her a squeeze and a smile, and admitted he was getting hungry too.

* * *

In the Great Hall, there wasn't much of a stir, surprisingly enough. They had made no announcement of the change, and staff and students alike were now accustomed to seeing the Boy-Who-Lived surrounded by girls. If the girls happened to be smiling a little more, sitting a little closer, well, what of it? By this time, most of the school knew of Harry, or at least, knew that he wasn't trying to court fame, especially as he didn't have any outspoken detractors on the staff. Perhaps the Headmaster might have been tempted to manipulate opinions, except for the minor matters of having no real time to consider the problem of how to go about it, nor any spare time to really monitor the plan if he'd put it into place.

Daphne and Susan caught the eyes of the other girls who were at the first meeting, the ones who hadn't been with them that morning, and gave a smile to tell them, "Yes, girls, Harry did accept us all, and we couldn't be happier."

Padma tugged at Hermione's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Hermione, do you think you and he would accept others in or have I missed my chance? Damn, I wish I'd had the courage to be with you this morning!"

Hermione smiled and whispered back, "Honestly, he's an amazing kisser, Padma, and we can talk later about it with all of us. Would you be willing to have Harry at the meeting too?"

"Not just yet, Hermione, I don't think I can talk to him about it, not while I'm unsure how the others feel about the idea too, anyway. And if any of you object, I don't think there'd be any point to asking Harry, is there?" Padma asked.

"Probably not, anyway, we definitely will have that meeting, you'll never guess what happened" She grinned evilly at Padma, intent on holding the surprise over her to help get her to the meeting.

Padma groaned. "Alright, alright, I know your plan, and it's working. Now, what's the plan for tonight? Are we still on for our not-Feast with Harry?"

"Oh, of course. I didn't even think about cancelling it, and I don't think the others would try, do you?"

Padma shook her head and smiled, "Thanks, Hermione."

Harry overheard this, wondering just how many others would be involved, and also if his life could get any stranger, as he and his magical girls ate a rather substantial lunch. He found it strange that he could work up quite such an appetite just sitting around but knew better than to ignore his body's calls for food.

* * *

That evening, Harry's friends all headed to their usual room for their study sessions, now converted for having a nice dinner with friends, a relatively quiet affair in deference to Harry who was the reason they were skipping the Feast.

It was later that night that the two big events happened. First, Harry and his girls announced their relationship to the rest of their friends, still very much in the early days where anything could happen. Second, the Weasley twins were on their way back into the main part of the castle after visiting the Gryffindor House ghost at his Deathday party, when they followed a strange hissing until they spotted a message daubed on the wall in foot-high letters.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN

OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Underneath the message, hanging from the torch bracket, was Mrs Norris, the dread feline ally of Argus Filch, enemy of noble pranksters everywhere. The cat was hanging by her tail from a torch bracket, stiff as a board, eyes wide and staring. The twins were shocked out of their wits for a long moment before they decided to back away through a large puddle, ducking down a corridor before anyone could spot them and accuse the pair of having it in for the cat, which they did, and doing something about it, which they did _not_.

They made it into the Great Hall just as the Feast was ending, blending into the crowd with a skill that befit their chosen profession of pranksters. They grabbed a quick bite to eat and followed the crowd out of the Great Hall, letting the other students find it for themselves, hearing Malfoy's gloating voice "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

The clone Harry had stationed in the Hall overheard too, and slipped out, spotting the flush on the usually bloodless face, the cold eyes alive as Malfoy grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat and what he hoped it implied. The clone replaced and dispelled itself, letting the rest know what the evil little ponce had done, as well as the message written on the wall that had sparked the cry.

Soon after that, Argus Filch the caretaker came shouldering his way through the crowd, calling "What's going on here? What's going on?" On spotting his beloved feline hanging stock still he fell back, clutching his face in horror. "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs Norris?" His eyes scanned the crowd, not seeing any of his normal suspects. "Who?! Who murdered my cat?! I'll kill you! I'll -"

"_Argus!"_ Dumbledore's voice sliced through the man's rant and cleared a path for him and a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept in past the students and detached Mrs Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch.

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly, "My office is nearest, Headmaster - just upstairs - please feel free-"

"Thank you, Gilderoy."

The silent crowd parted for them, with an unseen clone quickly overtaking them on the way to the fop's office. As Dumbledore moved off, Lockhart, McGonagall and Snape all followed hurriedly after him to the indicated office, the clone slipping in and taking station on the ceiling watching them. Dumbledore laid the cat on the polished desk and began to examine her, his crooked nose barely an inch away from the cat's fur, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. McGonagall was almost as close, her eyes narrowed, while Snape loomed behind them wearing a most peculiar expression. He looked like it was taking all his will not to smile, even as Lockhart was hovering and making inane suggestions.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her — probably the Trans-mogrifian Torture — I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very counter-curse that would have saved her. …"

Lockhart's posturing was punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. As much as Harry detested Filch, he felt at least a little sorry for him. He knew he would hate to lose Cesarina, and it was not because she was such a useful ally.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand but nothing happened. She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

"… I remember something very similar happening in Oua-gadogou." Lockhart claimed, "A series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once. …"

The photographs of Lockhart on the walls were all nodding in agreement as he talked. One of them had forgotten to remove his hair net.

At last Dumbledore straightened up. "She's not dead, Argus," he said softly. Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the num ber of murders he had prevented.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all — all stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," said Dumbledore.

"Ah! I thought so!" interjected Lockhart triumphantly.

"But how, I cannot say. …" Dumbledore finished, ignoring the interruption.

"It was those Weasley twins, I'll bet twenty Galleons!" Filch cried.

"It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced -" Dumbledore attempted to reply.

"If I might speak, Headmaster," Snape inserted silkily. "The Weasleys in question _were_ absent during the Feast, as were a number of First Years. Questioning them may prove useful. We do have a set of suspicious circumstances here, and while I would tend to believe the Weasleys were to blame since they have such a careless attitude to rules and good order, I find it _hard _to believe they have the talent, the connections or the wealth to pull this off. Nevertheless I am sure that under firm questioning, they will be able to shed additional light on the matter."

* * *

The Hogwarts rumour mill was as efficient as always, spreading the news all over the castle with less and less resemblance to the truth with every yard removed from the scene. Students were grumbling that it was just another stupid prank by the Weasleys or that they wished they'd gotten to the demon cat first. Soon the rumours crossed and mixed as rumours will. Fred and George were painted alternately as heroes of the student body by those whose activities had been curtailed by Filch's cat. This included a smattering of upper years, smarting at their romantic excursions being interrupted or prevented entirely. Other rumours painted them as cold-blooded murderers, setting the whole thing up just to further their own reputations.

The sign that had appeared with the cat seemed entirely forgotten in these versions, while other rumours went into unbelievable detail about what the sign could mean, or were just plain unbelievable. Soon enough, the original wording of the sign was forgotten as the rumours mutated further, until some enterprising soul decided that it was meant to be "Enemies of the _hair_, beware!" Supposedly, this was a reference to the Weasley red that all members of that large extended family sported, a warning that the Weasleys had finally (finally?!) snapped and were now going to respond aggressively to further taunts about their family's lack of wealth or status as 'blood traitors'.

This last rumour had one Draco Malfoy alternately laughing at the prospect and incensed at breakfast the next morning that _his_ preferred version, that it was Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and the Heir of Slytherin was about to cleanse the school of mudbloods, had been all but forgotten in the gossipping about those damned redheaded paupers. He complained, well whined, at his House table to his minions Crabbe and Goyle and anyone who would listen, since his minions couldn't really be said to provide intelligent conversation. Naturally, he was overheard by Harry and by half the school though most dismissed it as just more of the same from the Malfoy mouthpiece. Draco wanted to cry, his father had assured him this year would be a glorious one, instead everyone thought that it was the _Weasels_ doing something!

He wasn't the only one upset at this development, as fellow Second Year student Ron Weasley was seething with jealousy, something he thought he was getting over now that he was on the House Quidditch team with his brothers as a Seeker, just like his brother Charlie. Soon, he consoled himself, just a week until the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin where he would get to show up that poncy git Malfoy. Still, he was getting more attention if only by reflection because of the twins and the rumour that it was a warning to look out for all Weasleys.

Lastly, his little sister Ginevra, or Ginny, was upset, she had no idea what was going on, and couldn't remember what had happened after she went to the bathroom last night until she was back at the Feast. She wasn't sure what had happened but refused to ask any of her brothers, they were all insensitive gits. Now, her brothers were being congratulated or blamed for killing a cat! What in Merlin's name was happening at this school! In the back of her mind, a presence was also angry, his announcement had gone horribly wrong. He resolved to do something about that at the next available opportunity. For now though, he had to recover his strength.

* * *

Life settled down slowly. The rumours did not want to die about such a juicy subject, even after the infamous pair had been called into Dumbledore's office with their Head of House and for some reason Professor Snape present. They were questioned about their recent activities and their whereabouts the night of the Feast. After a gruelling session, even Snape agreed that there wasn't enough evidence to expel the bastards, as he had put it at a staff meeting which one of Harry's clones had managed to attend.

The Second Years had also been called in, all those who had missed the Feast, where Snape was surprisingly civil as long as the Gryffindors were silent. While Harry was angry at the blatant bias, he was too aware of the advantage this allowed him by virtue of his new relationship with one of Snape's own Snakes. Daphne took the lead in the conversation, telling her Head of House that they were all absent from the Feast in order to have a quiet commemoration of those who were lost that night. Snape's expression tightened and he nodded, accepting it at just that, walking out of the office. Dumbledore had a few more questions for Harry directly, ostensibly just making sure that Harry was okay but also painting him as a helpless child to the others.

Soon, they were allowed to leave and spent the Sunday afternoon outside near the Lake, rugged up against the cold and talking about everything in the last twenty-four hours.

The next week was mostly a welcome respite except for the History of Magic class where Hermione asked the ghostly Professor Binns about the Chamber of Secrets. Unlike most of the school, she hadn't forgotten the sign or its mention of the chamber, something that she and Harry had been discussing since they found no mention of it in any of their regular books and the slice of the Library that Harry's clones had copied didn't include any references either. He had checked, by asking his family to scan the thousands of books at home. A few hours later, they had the rather negative answer. And since the Library was not organised along those lines, his clones couldn't just hunt down the right books either, so they were still stuck with copying every book.

Professor Binns at first rejected her question as mere myths and legends.

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?" insisted Hermione.

Startled, the ghost conceded her point and was about to move on when he noticed that he had the entire class' rapt attention, something that hadn't happened since he was alive. He gave a lecture off the cuff about the Founders, calling them the four greatest wizards of their age, and how they built the castle together far from prying Muggle eyes. For a few years, they worked well together before their differences grew, in particular a rift between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to exclude certain youngsters who nevertheless showed signs of magic. He believed, according to the ghost's tale, that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He didn't trust those from Muggle families, showing that the bigotry of today had old roots indeed. After a while and a serious argument between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the latter left the school.

These were the facts from 'reliable historical sources', leaving Harry skeptical and resolving to check them himself. The similarities between Wizarding Britain and the racism of other societies left him suspicious of their histories. At his 'real' school, they had discussed the rewriting of history by the winners, over and over, until events were buried as myths and legends while the 'official' histories often became little more than fantasy.

When Binns consented to talking about myths and legends, Harry's interest rose. The story went that Slytherin built his own hidden chamber in the castle, something that struck Harry as sensible enough if only as somewhere where the wizard could go to get some peace and quiet.

"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Se crets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic." Binns paused, glaring at the class.

"Naturally, the school has been searched many times for evidence of such a chamber. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

He dismissed further pursuit of the matter, returning to his 'solid, believable, verifiable fact' which he got wrong as usual and the class returned to their customary torpor. After class, Hermione and Harry had a lively discussion on the deceased Professor's lecture and his dismissal of it as a mere 'foolish story'. Hermione was inclined to believe the Professor until reminded of the city of Troy, thought a myth for thousands of years until its rediscovery. That gave her pause and she nodded, slowly, accepting that the mythical Chamber may just exist, at least. The news that the Chamber hadn't been found despite the searches suggested that if it existed, it was hidden from casual seekers, possibly requiring some sort of key tied to something about the Founder.

* * *

There wasn't much else going on, and the school had just about returned to their normal lives except for Filch who was often found camped out by the message and where his beloved feline had been Petrified. The next weekend however shattered the idea of normality. The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin had finished late, neither Seeker managing to spot the Snitch for an hour, and another twenty minutes before Malfoy was able to get within a foot of the elusive ball. Thankfully for the other Houses, the two Keepers were doing a great job of blocking the relatively few shots on goal, and the Beaters were keeping each others' Chasers occupied including some rather nasty play from first Slytherin and then Gryffindor to keep the scores low.

Finally, the two Seekers decided on an unusual tactic, a game of chicken played on broomsticks flying at their top speed a hundred feet off the ground. Then the Gryffindor Seeker decided to up the ante by trying to perform a Sloth Grip Roll, seeming to think that would save him from the consequences of slamming into Malfoy at the combined speed of both their brooms which would at best fling him without support hurtling forward and then into the ground. The almighty CRACK! as both brooms found their marks slamming into the opposing boys made most wince, and Snape was ready and cast a spell to slow his student's fall. McGonagall was shocked for a moment but likewise got herself in motion, first casting a spell to Transfigure the ground under them into an enormous mattress then her second spell slowed down the redhead too. With both Seekers suffering broken bones and internal injuries, reserves were called in, and the reserve Slytherin Seeker proved himself more than a match for the Gryffindor replacement, catching the Snitch only fifteen minutes later.

That night, the clone Harry had left monitoring the Marauder's Map noticed a group of staff moving in the middle of the night, surrounding the dots representing Fred and George Weasley. He made an additional clone and sent it to investigate, the clone dashing to the last known location as the group were making their way towards the Hospital Wing. He quickly tracked them from there to their path, slipping inside the domain of the School Matron unseen.

Dumbledore sent McGonagall to fetch Madam Pomfrey, rousing the irritable witch and she returned pulling on a cardigan over her nightdress, gasping when she spotted the self-named Terrible Twins now stuck like statues.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over one of the twins.

"Another attack," said the old man. "Minerva found them on her rounds of the school."

"There were some spilled potions and ruined notes by them and another large puddle nearby. Whatever they were doing down that corridor was interrupted without much warning." McGonagall added. "What does this _mean_, Albus?"

"It means," said Dumbledore, eyes on the silent redheads, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

While Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth, McGonagall stared hard at the Headmaster. "But, Albus, surely, _who?_"

"The question is not who but how" Dumbledore said distractedly, before looking up, eyes twinkling and assuring both women that all would be well now that he was on the trail. This had the desired effect, calming them and allowing the Headmaster to slip out before they could ask more questions.

* * *

In the morning, the news had already spread somehow throughout the school by the end of breakfast. The rumour mill was again hard at work. Naturally the earlier 'truth' that the twins were behind it all was now all but consigned to the dustbin, only a few diehards still contending that it was them but their attempt at a repeat had backfired. Instead, most were now looking around with suspicion, especially at the Slytherin table, saying that it was obviously the Heir of Slytherin instead, just as Draco had been proclaiming all week, something that painted a big target on the blond's back for being right all along.

The blond in question, instead of keeping his head down as would have been both sensible and the Slytherin thing to do was basking in the attention. He could perhaps blame it on the after-effects of his stay in Madam Pomfrey's 'care' where his injuries had been healed quickly, but his mind may not have been up to its usual low standards. As it happened, this did more to convince Harry that Malfoy wasn't behind the attacks than anything else since it showed just how lacking in cunning the little boy was. If Malfoy had been in control of a monster able to Petrify people, he wouldn't have started with just a cat, nor stopped at just a couple of Weasleys when there were still three more upright and getting on his nerves just by breathing. And if his rhetoric was to be believed, he would have targeted the Muggle-borns in the school first, hitting as many of them as early as he could so he could gloat more. Malfoy for all his ego simply lacked the patience, wit, cunning or restraint to have acted like _this_.

His father, on the other hand, could have gone about it this way, if Susan's stories from her aunt were to be believed. It would certainly pay to keep eyes on Draco, though, as well as others in the school. From what he had seen and heard, there was no known cause for the Petrifying of the cat and the twins, or at least none that were being treated as plausible by the various adults. Sadly, that didn't really mean that much since Harry had little faith that they were as widely read as they could have been. And he already knew that Dumbledore knew far more than he was letting on, which was about what he expected of the political animal. Keeping secrets and telling half-truths and lies was simple survival for many in the political arena, after all.

Unfortunately, those very traits meant that he hadn't picked up anything more from the staff meetings he arranged to attend secretly, and he had yet to get a clone into the man's office. That magical guardian was oddly effective at disrupting his clones, he suspected there was too much active magic around. Harry was idly wishing for some of the rumoured bugs that spy agencies supposedly used, even as he was unsure if they would fare any better. At least it would be a decent test of the claim that they wouldn't function at Hogwarts.

Harry was brought out of his musings when Hannah shivered and complained that she was afraid, prompting him to hug her to him until she relaxed and smiled. Harry considered the matter and asked his girls for a quiet word later. When they settled into a disused classroom, Harry asked "My ladies, would you like me to try to get a clone inside your dorm? I would feel better if I knew I could go help you no matter where in the castle you were, and well it would mean you could get me wherever you need me."

He and his clones cuddled quietly with his girls as he let them talk it over. Hermione and Daphne both brought up the big question, how would he do it. "After all, there are alarms on all the girls' dorms and I wouldn't want just any boy able to barge into my room." Daphne signalled her agreement with Hermione with a nod.

Harry considered the irony since he'd already had each of the Hufflegirls do the same to him. Megan Jones in particular had almost seen far more of him that she'd intended. Only his quick reflexes had allowed him to duck back out of there and get dressed before he walked in from the boy's showers. After that incident, he had taken to stationing one clone on watch just in case.

"Well, I have a few theories for how the alarm works to detect that there's a boy in there. If any of them are right, I'll be able to get in without tripping it, but I wanted to run the idea by you girls before I tried them." He grinned at them. "After all, they are your bedrooms and well, it's better to be safe than sorry. We're learning such interesting spells but I have no wish to see just how creative you can be with how you apply them to _me_."

The girls smiled and conceded the point, then talked more before nodding. Susan spoke for the group. "Ok, Harry, among other things we're now curious if you can do it."

He grinned and the girls smiled back before Hannah added, "and if you can do it, then we can get more hugs!"

They were all happy about that, and decided to try it straight away. Harry had clones on lookout duty as they got to the Common Room and the girls moved in to shield him from view before he tried the first way, getting carried in by Leanne and Megan. Next, they tried but failed to lift him with a Levitation charm. Or rather, they could lift him but it was very tiring for any of the girls to lift him that way for any time, though Harry could lift the girls easily enough. While that could work, much to their surprise, it wasn't the most practical method, especially if he had to get in to help one of the girls, so they next tried Harry giving a running jump through the area. As long as he didn't brush the floor in the section in question, Harry thought it could work.

Since the area was nearly five yards long, it was obvious why they thought it was a safe bet that boys couldn't do what Harry was about to try. Such a jump would take an Olympic level athlete. Harry was mindful that his parents, as paranoid as they were, would not like him revealing _any_ of his abilities short of pressing need which this wasn't, however sweet he was being to the girls. He recognised their concerns, but his girls were more important to him than hiding so much of his capacity, besides he _wanted_ his girls to know more of his secrets and this one would not cause too much trouble if it happened to get out. The magicals would likely just consider it a normal part of his fitness rather than really thinking about it, or so he thought and hoped.

One long jump later, Harry made it with a foot to spare, smiling at the astonished girls who mobbed him, hugging and checking him over to be sure he was real. "That was amazing!" Hermione gushed, aware as most weren't that such a feat was miraculous, the rest putting it down to Harry being, well, special. They knew he didn't like the fame of being the Boy-Who-Lived but that identity still affected some of their preconceptions. They expected Harry to be amazing in a way they wouldn't of just about anyone else.

They pulled back at last, letting him make more clones to give each of them a cuddle before they showed him around, pointing out things they had on display and so on, all present thinking of having Harry in bed with them before pushing away those thoughts as far too soon. Harry was too busy suppressing his own libido to notice the blushing faces of his girls before they got themselves under control.

After that, one of the girls went out to check the coast was clear before they all left, heading out onto the lawn on one of the increasingly rare dry times to talk about the discovery. They let Daphne and the other girls who were in on his secrets know of his ability to bypass the alarm if needed.

Daphne was quick to realise that this meant the Hufflepuff girls would have an advantage, but knew there was nothing she could do about it. She only had a single thought: _'Damn that stupid Hat!'_

* * *

Harry was amused the following morning before breakfast when his clones' memories revealed that McGonagall, after some initial concern over her students' condition, seemed more relieved than anything that they would not be causing further mayhem within the school at least until Professor Sprout's mandrakes had matured enough to be processed for the potion that would cure them. He had already decided that he would step up to help cure boredom that year, and this seemed like a good chance to show Hogwarts that pranks could be funny, entertaining and not hurtful. Plus, this would be a good way to test the staff's response to the unusual. Certainly he understood McGonagall's reactions, and she had been concerned _first _before the guilty relief set in. Their activities reflected on her, after all.

He gave it a week before he decided to make his mark, literally, on Hogwarts. The castle woke to find that the old stone floors and walls were now cleaned up better than ever. Harry had planed both and even glazed the walls so no more would robes catch on the rough walls. He had considered and rejected other things for this first foray into pranking at Hogwarts. That included things like putting Dumbledore's face on the castle or grounds at a massive scale, or using fluorescent pink or yellow in the glazing to make it eye-searing. He would never use orange like that, it was too holy for that.

That morning, he went for his usual run, grinning on the inside as he anticipated the reactions from everyone. He was wondering whether that nasty little man Filch would be happy or outraged at the changes. After all, Harry had just done the man's job for him and done it better than Filch ever could. Would he be pleased at not having to do that work, or outraged at being shown up?

The girls of Hogwarts he expected would mostly be supportive, after all having to repair their clothes so often would never be welcome, he thought. The guys he thought wouldn't much care about that bit of it, but they might like how he had made the place a little easier to get around. No more tripping on uneven stonework for them. He had seen how that creepy boy in Gryffindor, er Creevey boy, had been tripping up a lot as he tried to snap a photo of Harry. _'That bloody boy's lucky I didn't snap _him_, instead! Just what did his parents teach him that he thought sneaking up on a student to take a candid photograph was a good way to _introduce himself?!' Harry grumbled, his fame was definitely a pain at times. He caught himself just as he was agreeing with Malfoy and Snape's gripes about 'foolish Gryffindors', resolving to have an extra hot shower to get rid of such nasty tendencies as agreeing with those two.

Running inside, he took his shower as intended and headed out to the Common Room, unable to restrain a smile as he waited for the reactions from his fellow 'Puffs about the changed décor. He had cleaned all the Hufflepuff area extra well, especially the marks from a thousand years of wands tapping the 'secret' code. Still, it's not like any of the Houses had a secure entrance. With Daphne's help, he knew the Slytherin password just about as soon as she did and sometimes even before all the Snakes did. Via the Patil twins, he got the same help for the Gryffindor entry and Padma had happily shown him the Ravenclaw Common Room after answering the relatively easy riddle. Observing the twins had shown him the statue of the one-eyed witch in front of another 'secret' passage, as well as the password. By now, Harry figured he knew the castle about as well as some of the staff, and better than just about any student, from real experience rather than from just the Marauder's Map. As Binns had said, no one had claimed to have found the Chamber of Secrets, and that included Harry so far, though he was determined to find it himself if it existed.

Harry was brought out of his mental meandering by the gasps from the girls, followed by the boys a second later, at his little prank. "What in Merlin's name happened?" Megan demanded. "The place is _clean!_" She grinned now. "No more dirt, it's like magic!"

There were a few chuckles especially from Harry who knew that magic was the one thing it wasn't. His clones had worked to use Water and Earth techniques to clean and improve the castle, with mild Fire ones to work on the walls. They walked cheerfully to the Great Hall, taking their places at the table and grabbing breakfast favourites.

The following weekend, Harry was pleasantly surprised by Michelle's decision to kiss him as they watched television while over at his place, right in front of the other girls. With some improvement from his experience kissing his magical girls, he kissed her right back, holding her tenderly and conveying his affection for her. He obviously was doing something right as she moaned and melted against him. Still a chaste kiss, but she came up smiling as did he.

"Wow!" both breathed at the same time. She felt so good kissing him, she went right in for more, tightening her arms around him and ignoring the show on tv. She was hardly alone in that as the other girls were watching her too. While none of the others decided to emulate her quite yet, they were all thinking about it a lot, and they all found themselves more affectionate with him, cuddling closer.

* * *

Harry was glad for the extra clones he could now use, as he had a lot going on. There were the nightly raids on the Library, copying books, there were the clones left at home in Cranleigh to keep up his life there and also continue his training, the clone left watching the Marauder's Map and now clones patrolling the castle and grounds trying to find whatever it was that had attacked the students.

The first week of December was slowly sliding past when one of his clones overheard a conversation from the Forbidden Forest. Ghosting closer, he heard a couple of voices along with a lot of clicking sounds whenever they talked, making comprehension more difficult.

"It's so cold and there's never anything to eat here. I'm going up to the castle, get some of that fresh meat just walking around."

"No! You know Aragog has forbidden it, you know he dotes on that big one that raised him."

"Can't I get a little one? I'm sure they'd never miss it," the first replied, wheedling.

"No, not even a little one. If I can't have any, neither can you." The second's voice was about what you would expect from a sibling's complaint.

"Fine, then, I won't. But it won't be like this forever."

"Yes, if Hagrid leaves, I doubt old Aragog would object to us having a little snack. Still, it's not like that's going to happen."

"More's the pity," agreed the other.

Harry was chilled at the thought of these beings just going up to the castle to eat people, and decided to investigate. Ghosting his way through the forest from tree to tree, he was soon all too aware of just who and what had spoken. Spider, giant ones, at that, had strung their webs across part of the forest they had established as their colony. Harry was once again struck with just how negligent Hogwarts was with the safety of those in their 'care' who were held captive for 9 months of the year. There were hundreds of massive spiders evidently with a taste for human flesh living less than a mile from students! He would have to keep watch and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Attacking them without that information risked defeat or, just as bad, some of them escaping and attacking students. From that day on, a clone was permanently on duty watching the spiders with wires set up to alert him if they started to leave the Forest for any reason.

Harry threw himself into his Quidditch training with Susan and Hermione in an effort to distract himself from his worries. He knew he had left a clone on duty and unless he started the fight himself, that was the best he could do for now so he needed to think about other things. The first Hufflepuff game was coming up and that worked nicely to help get him back into the swing of things.

* * *

_Thank you all for reading. Feedback is appreciated. If you have questions, I will respond as long as I can send a PM in reply. And thank you again for your support._


	13. Chapter 13 - Winter Discontent

**Chapter 13 - Winter Discontent**

The morning of the game between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor dawned slowly, the clouds dark and gloomy, but Harry was in much better spirits than the weather would indicate, even after having to do his morning run in the pitch dark before the sun came up didn't dampen them any. The night before, Stephanie, Michelle, Meaghan, Elizabeth and Ashley had come over to his house in Cranleigh and they had played some games before they settled in watching a movie. Each girl had settled herself in a clone's lap, snuggling, and during a lull in the movie first Michelle then the others started kissing him. The movie was soon forgotten as they all enjoyed this new activity far more, Michelle not being the only one to moan that night. When they came up for air, Harry was glad his parents were more tolerant than just about any other parents he knew, or they'd surely have had something to say about their activities. Though Harry knew they were likely the ones encouraging things to go so smoothly, and right then, Harry wouldn't have raised a single protest.

At breakfast in Hogwarts, with everyone trickling in more slowly thanks to the winter and bad weather, Harry and his friends were talking about the coming game. Daphne teased Parvati and Lavender that she could cheer for Harry this time since a lot of the Snakes, whatever their politics, wanted to see Gryffindor go down and having it be at the hands of the Boy-Who-Lived made it all the sweeter for them. The two Lions shot back that they would be cheering for Harry anyway, as they didn't care as much about their House as about their Harry, making the boy in question blush and smile. Megan reminded them that the Quidditch points also affected the House standings for the House Cup, with each House getting one point for every ten scored on the field. The others nodded, but as Padma pointed out, a win for Hufflepuff and Harry would also be a win for the school.

"It will show the school that the Badgers aren't just a dumping ground, something that ponce Malfoy needs to learn. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin would cause problems if one of them won again." She added, "And it'll be good for Harry's House to beat Malfoy."

Harry grinned, "You really don't like the boy, do you?"

They laughed at the understatement and talked more about the game, how they thought they would go, and so on, until it was time for the players and reserves to head out and get ready. The rest of their group drifted out as well, grabbing their seats and setting up a banner, 'Badgers are Best!'. There had been some playful complaints about the wording from the ones not in that House, but it expressed their support for Harry, Hermione and Susan, so it stayed.

* * *

Out on the pitch, the players came flying in as Lee Jordan, the unashamedly biased caller for the games, named each one playing today, gushing over his favourite among the Gryffindor Chasers, Angelina Johnson, much to the audible displeasure of his Head of House, Professor McGonagall. Harry's entrance was accompanied by a huge cheer, the staff and students all eager to see how he performed in their favourite game.

Madam Hooch started them off, all fourteen players soaring into the air. Gryffindor started with possession and quickly moved to score, their line of Chasers moving with smooth teamwork. They hadn't counted on their smaller opponents intercepting and turning the tables on them. Neither had Oliver Wood, the Keeper for the Lions, who was shocked when sweet little Susan Bones charged right into his face before flipping the quaffle off seamlessly to Hermione as she left the scoring area, then Hermione passing to Harry who scored the first points of the game.

After that, the Gryffindor team took them more seriously, something that was always going to happen as soon as they scored so the 'Puffs had figured they might as well go hard from the start, attempting to get a lead established before their opponents had gotten over the surprise. Their tactic worked reasonably well, getting ahead 60 to 20 before the Lions' Chasers were back in their usual form.

The lack of the 'Human Bludgers' as the Weasley twins had been called on the pitch, also reduced the team's effectiveness, a lack that would become slightly less telling over the course of the game as the reserves settled in and got over their match nerves. They had had over a month to get ready for the game, and with the fanatical Wood as team captain that meant over a score of practice sessions, but they still weren't up to the standards of the devilish duo yet. This showed as they got fouled for hitting the Bludger into the spectator stands, narrowly missing one Professor Snape. His thunderous expression promised that he would remember the incident and the insult.

The next time Susan made a run on goal, she kept to the same path with Hermione and Harry using the same flanking positions but rather than tossing the ball to her teammate at the last second as Wood expected, already moving out of position to intercept, she darted in close and scored, embarrassing the experienced Keeper at how easily she misled him.

Harry and Hermione also got in on the action, using feints and misdirections with such skill that the watching Slytherins applauded them for that even more than for trouncing their rivals. The 'Puff students were happy about the score and being seen as competent, even brilliant, in front of the school, something they hadn't enjoyed for at least a decade thanks to various staff. The 'Claws, particularly their Quidditch players, eagerly studied their moves and their reactions, as well as enjoying a well-played game. For the Lions, well most of them, it was painful to watch. For Harry's friends in that House, it was a chance to see their friends in action, to cheer and add their support.

Over the course of the game, Cedric, their Seeker and Captain, told them to rack up the score as much as they could. While normally a nice boy, he took his Quidditch seriously, and if there was an element of wanting to show off his talent or even revenge upon the brash Gryffindors, and by extension Slytherin too, who managed only a narrow victory in their long game versus the Lions, well, who could blame him?

The game soon became more an exhibition of Hufflepuff's virtues than an actual contest. Their Seeker was disrupting the Gryffindor Seeker rather than attempting to find the Snitch. Harry had seen it a few times where it surely would have been obvious to the older boy, but Cedric had ignored or even placed himself between Ron and the elusive item. Harry saluted his Captain, grinning, and went back to the game. He set up Hermione and Susan for their shots until the Gryffindor Keeper Wood was ready for that, taking shots himself, and helping their Beaters keep back the Lions' Beaters or distracting the "Flying Foxes" as the Gryffindor Chasers were called; a nickname that still made him grin.

He added some flirting to his distraction efforts, never serious just looking to get the girls flustered or at least their minds not totally on their game. When the flirting failed, he just tried outrageous statements instead. To his surprise, classic schoolyard lines like "Look, Ma, no hands!" worked best on the wizard-raised. Hermione got in on the action with her own slant once he told her what he was doing, conveniently leaving out any mention of flirting of course. The Flying Foxes still managed to keep scoring despite the lack of Beater protection and the distraction efforts, showing their talents were around as good as their younger opponents.

Eventually, Ron Weasley managed to spot the Snitch, forcing Cedric to race him for the prize. Cedric's greater mass and drag meant he accelerated slower on any given model of broom. However, not all brooms were created equal. That was something that the Slytherins understood when they accepted Malfoy onto the team in exchange for top of the line Nimbus 2001's, and Cedric's broom, although not as showy or expensive as those, was still a very good one, while Ron was stuck on an older model left behind by the previous holder of the position. Coupled with Cedric's experience and talent, it was no contest, Cedric already taking and showing the Snitch while Ron had barely covered half the distance. The game was over, the score a mammoth 1170-470 in Hufflepuff's favour.

The Badgers roared out their approval loud enough for the whole school, their satisfaction at the proof of their prowess making itself heard. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling the official end of the match, the players coming down for the after-match traditions then heading straight to the changing rooms set aside for each House. While there, Cedric got the first massage as befit his status as Captain, with their Keeper next and then the Puff Beaters, all of whom had done their jobs well that day. Soon enough, they were gone and Harry got a big smile, posting a guard while he created a few clones to massage Hermione, Susan and himself. The groans of pleasure he wrung out of each girl made him proud, as well as very glad he was laying face down at the time.

A long, hot shower later, and they headed out as a team to the Hufflepuff Common Room where Professor Sprout herself got the party started by proposing a toast to the team. "To the best team I've seen in years, for their teamwork, their hard work, their loyalty and most of all, for their destruction of Gryffindor!"

By rights, the answering cheer should have brought the castle down.

* * *

The following days saw the Gryffindors, normally so brash and loud, subdued and almost meek around the Hufflepuffs, with the exceptions of Parvati and Lavender who were more loyal to Harry and his friends than to a House which didn't really care that much about them. Gryffindor seemed more about glory of self than about caring for each other, at least to these girls, and in return they didn't care that Hufflepuff had beaten them at Quidditch, not when their friends had been on the team. That Harry's group obviously included them meant that the rest of Hufflepuff House gave them a break from any teasing. Besides, it wasn't like the girls had teased the Puffs in any real way.

The next event of interest started well enough, the advertisement of a Duelling Club on Thursday the 17th with the first meeting at eight o'clock that same night. Harry, Hermione and Susan were the most excited for various reasons, Hermione hoping to learn more magic, Susan wanting to learn to defend herself and Harry wanting to learn how wizards fought and thought of fighting, with a view to incorporating or countering it if need be. The other students seemed to feel a combination of Hermione's and Susan's motivations, with a healthy dose of wanting entertainment. With the shorter days and worsening weather, staff and students alike were spending even more time indoors where they could, giving everyone a case of cabin fever. Even Harry felt it in the cold, drafty castle, it seemed like the walls were closing in sometimes with the poorer lighting making the shadows inkier than ever.

That night, they entered the Great Hall to see the interior changed for the Club. The dining tables had all been removed and a golden stage erected along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black, not even clouds visible, and most of the school streamed into the Hall, openly excited and carrying their wands.

Harry was chatting with his friends, just swapping ideas about what might happen and who might be running it. "I'm hoping for Flitwick, since he was supposed to be a duelling champion and he's got a good way about him to keep Charms classes engaging." Padma nodded firmly, pleased about the praise for her Head of House.

Most of them nodded along, though Daphne disagreed. "I have seen Professor Snape teaching some of the older Snakes in Defence spells, he really seems to know his stuff."

Lavender scoffed at this. "Sure, he may know it, but have any of us heard of him bothering to teach someone who isn't in silver and green?"

Daphne sighed, conceding the point. "Ok, there's that, but I still think he's got the skill. Maybe he could be good as an assistant."

At that point, their discussions were cut off by the arrival of the one Professor they didn't mention, despite his position. Lockhart walked onto the stage, resplendent in his plum robes and accompanied by none other than Snape, his usual black robes billowing behind him. Lockhart waved his arms for attention, calling out. "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me?" Harry for one wished he couldn't. _Why_ were the wizards so colourful? Even Snape in his own way dressed to be noticed, so unlike the people they called Muggles, and so unlike what you would expect from a society trying to hide. He noticed the fop was still talking, flashing wide smiles.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"Five Galleons on Professor Snape!" Harry called out, to the surprise of many, but his friends knew very well that he had no respect for the person supposed to be teaching them Defence Against the Dark Arts. Lockhart had given up on creature demonstrations after the first class, instead making people act out scenes from his novels.

Snape looked startled for a moment, then pleased, before he wiped it away with a sneer for Lockhart. To Harry, this was just proof that Lockhart was an idiot. If the man had a lick of sense he would have fled there and then from the Potions Master's expression.

Lockhart and Snape faced each other and bowed, at least technically what Snape did counted, he supposed, Snape's head jerking irritably and minimally. They then raised their wands like swords.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of will be aiming to kill, of course."

"Only because Snape doesn't want to bother cleaning up the mess," Harry snarked, quietly this time.

"One - two - three -"

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent and Snape cried "_Expelliarmus_!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light as the spell raced at Lockhart, blasting him off his feet. He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Harry was tempted to cheer at this concrete evidence of Lockhart's fraud, but restrained himself easily enough though Malfoy and some of the Slytherins did not. Instead, Harry concentrated on how the combatants had fought. While this was a duel, thus limiting options, Harry saw no sign from either side of defence or mobility being considered. Then again, that too may be misleading, he conceded to himself. Clearly Lockhart believed he would be the winner though Harry had seen nothing to substantiate his confidence, and Snape looked more intent on harming the 'good' Professor than anything else. A temptation Harry had shared, in all honesty, something he found unappealing given what Snape was like. Sure, the man was starting to be encouraging to Harry and his friends, but he was still as caustic as ever about the slightest mistakes and as callous as ever with anyone who wasn't already near perfect with their potions, not caring if they died before his eyes.

Some of the girls in the audience were upset at seeing their hero Lockhart taken down and helped him to his feet. He beamed at them as they returned his hat and he quickly restored his wavy hair to its usual immaculate state before donning the hat and striding confidently back onto the stage, having taken the opportunity the girls provided with their fussing to get his wind back.

"Well, there you have it! That was the Disarming Charm - as you saw I lost my wand, thank you, Miss Vane - an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..." Lockhart finally trailed off as he noticed Snape's murderous expression. "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me -"

The two professors moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin, but Snape reached Harry first. "Time to split you up, give you a better test." Malfoy tried to catch Snape's eye, believing himself the perfect candidate to put the half-blood in his place. Whether he failed to get his teacher's attention or Snape simply ignored his desire, Harry couldn't say, but he was matched up with Theodore Nott, another pureblood and son of a Death Eater. Hermione got matched with another Slytherin, Millicent Bulstrode, who was taller and bulkier, wearing an ugly expression as she looked at Hermione, while Daphne was put up against Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor, as was her friend Tracey. Snape seemed to enjoy encouraging the rivalry between Slytherin and the rest of the school.

Harry and Theodore got into position, and quickly it became obvious that Theodore was outclassed. Harry cast a variety of spells within the standard curriculum, each of them the product of long training thanks to his unusual metabolism and each timed so that Theodore was caught off-balance. Within a minute, Theodore tripped and fell over his own feet while Harry hadn't been touched. Snape's eyes had been watching all of this, naturally, and ignoring all the dirty tricks his own students were trying out on others. If he'd been watching, he'd have noticed Millicent breaking her nose as she hit the stone floor when Hermione dodged her attempt to grapple. He'd have blamed Hermione for that, of course, as part of his cover, even if he was starting to respect her as a Potions student. He still didn't like the know-it-all, she reminded him of Lily but no one compared to Lily, no girl ever could measure up to the girl who was _his _until Potter stole her from him.

* * *

Snape called for a halt throughout the Hall when Theodore fell for the third time, demanding that Harry come up and provide a demonstration against a real challenger. He considered and dismissed duelling the boy himself. One flaw about himself Snape admitted, to himself at least, was that he found it difficult to hold back his skills, and his spell selection was far too lethal for the test he had in mind for Lily's boy. While he was thinking this, young Malfoy pushed himself to the front of the crowd, obviously posturing and presenting himself to be chosen instead. The pureblood scion was still pretty pathetic in Snape's eyes, he had no true Slytherin cunning and his desires hadn't transformed themselves into ambitions. Still, the boy did get extra training over the summer. Either this would prove Draco to be the incompetent Snape expected, or it would give Lily's boy a good challenge.

"Come up, Malfoy. Show Mr Potter how a pureblood fights." Snape thought he was doing well not to show his disgust at calling Lily's boy by that accursed name.

Draco strutted like a proud peacock onto the stage, or thought he did, though his efforts were poor compared to Lockhart, the master. "Yes, Professor Snape. I'll show the world the worth of a pureblood."

Harry called on his meditation training as he ascended the platform, nearly smiling when Daphne in the crowd muttered "No, we're worth more than you'll ever be." The students around her nodded.

Seeing how serenely Lily's boy was watching young Malfoy, Snape decided to cheat, sensing that there was no way Malfoy as he was would be able to win. A more challenging test would allow him to understand more of the boy's abilities. He whispered into his charge's ear and was gratified that the boy seemed to understand, though everyone would soon see if that were true.

Harry, for his part, heard Snape rapidly explaining the Snake Summoning spell to his student. He should have expected Snape would cheat, though he suspected that making Malfoy win wasn't the only reason Snape might have. Testing Harry was another option, one that made sense out of how close an eye he kept on Harry and the extra assignments assigned. For now, though, it didn't matter. After all, Harry was taught to cheat too.

Lockhart was attempting to demonstrate a basic shield charm, supposedly, but waved his wand in a ludicrously complicated manner which culminated in dropping his wand instead of casting any spell at all. Snape smirked at that, as did Malfoy who figured that meant Harry had no chance now.

"Three - two - one - go!" Lockhart shouted, starting the duel.

Malfoy raised his wand quickly and bellowed "_Serpensortia_!" The end of his wand exploded and a long black snake shot out of it. Harry raised an eyebrow as the snake fell heavily to the floor between them and started to raise itself, readying a strike. The screaming started up but Harry ignored it, taking the few steps needed to approach the snake, hand darting out and taking it just behind the head. Just after he did so, Lockhart 'burst into action' and 'heroically' tried to get rid of the snake while Harry was holding it. All his spell did was to create a loud bang and throw the snake backwards. Caught off-guard, Harry himself was pushed back a foot by the spell though he kept his grip.

"Professors, I believe this means Malfoy forfeits the duel, correct? The terms were to disarm, not to maim, your opponent I believe. In any event, the duel was interrupted by Professor Lockhart's spell."

"Potter, Malfoy hasn't done any such thing. The duel continues."

Malfoy took that confirmation and cast another spell at Harry, conjuring another snake to attack Harry since he now had no free hand. Harry called out "_Wingardium Leviosa_" and levitated the snake into Malfoy's face. "Do you yield, Malfoy?" he asked, his control keeping the snake's lunges just short of connecting but doing a great job at scaring the paler than normal ponce, especially if the wet trickle at his feet was any sign. He had to suppress his laughter when the snake muttered "_Ugh, I just tasted his hair gel, disgusting! Doesn't he know how to wash himself? And that perfume, it's enough to make you lose your breakfast. Killing him will be a pleasure, at least I'll never have to worry about that idiot's idea of hygiene."_

His reaction was noticed by the snake which turned to look at him speculatively, but thankfully it didn't manage to do anything which would force him to reveal himself as a Parselmouth. In his research on the Heir of Slytherin, he'd quickly found out that the Founder in question was able to speak to snakes, an ability a few other wizards had inherited over the centuries and every mention of it was in connection with some Dark Lord or other. Harry discounted as unlikely the idea from the books that Parselmouths were all bad, since it was all too easy to picture good people hiding the ability once it got associated with being evil. He knew from his mother Haku that people could inherit abilities and be persecuted for it even if they never used it, Haku's own mother was killed over a bloodline she never wanted. It seemed just more of the same bigotry at work.

After the third lunge and narrow escape, Snape intervened, Vanishing both snakes. "The victor is Potter," he hissed. Harry, however, caught the brief flash of satisfaction from Snape as he made the declaration. '_Interesting. Snape is acting the bastard in front of the school, but he wanted me to win.'_

The students who had backed away from the snakes were flooding back in to their previous positions, cheering Harry's win all the louder after Snape of all people announced it, something that also pleased the Potions Master from what he saw. The rest of the meeting was more relaxed, and Harry was very happy to see that his friends had mostly won their duels, except for those who were paired against each other, of course. Malfoy was whining about a pureblood losing to a know-it-all. He may have been tempted to add something about Hermione's blood status but a quick Wind technique took his breath away, literally.

* * *

That night, a blizzard blanketed the school grounds in white and didn't show any sign of letting up anytime soon. This brought everyone inside, except for the poor cold students stuck with their Astronomy lessons and one cold Astronomy Professor.

In the morning, Harry frowned. His clones had brought the memory of that blonde girl being picked on by some older girls, including one in Cho Chang's year. When he mentioned the girl to Padma, she frowned. "Oh her, she doesn't talk much or even spend time around other 'Claws outside class from what I've heard. You say that some girls were picking on her?"

"Yeah, they were crowding her against a wall and taking turns insulting and mocking her. I 'just happened' to be in the area." Daphne, unnoticed by him, grinned. She _knew_ that Harry's rescue of her last year was planned! "And before I could step in, they left. They'd finally heard one of the teachers coming and departed before they could be caught."

"Oh, Harry, that's awful." was a common response, especially from his Hufflegirls.

He nodded firmly. "I won't tolerate bullying. The only question is how we respond to this. I don't want to wait for a teacher to act. Who knows how many years that would take, or if it would even work? After all, that yellow ponce Malfoy still picks on anyone he can."

"Don't you mean blond ponce?" Tracey put in with a smirk.

"No, I mean yellow, he left a puddle on the floor last night!" Harry laughed with the boys, and the girls joined in after getting over their disgust at what he'd done. He looked around. "So, we're agreed we want to help her?"

"Yes, Harry, picking on little girls is wrong. Would befriending her work to end the bullying?" Justin asked the group, mostly Padma.

"It should help. If nothing else it will cut down on the opportunities they'll have. Whether it will encourage them to stop entirely? Maybe. Ravenclaws tend to be convinced we're right more easily. Then again, we are right more often than other people." The Ravenclaw Patil's grin showed she was mostly kidding around.

"Well, it's a good place to start, and if they do continue it gives us a reason to respond to them more forcefully." Justin's expression showed that he was almost eager to respond 'more forcefully'. Harry knew how he felt, and understood why he wanted support before he displayed a more aggressive side while in the company of the girls. It wasn't the smartest idea to scare girls with violence, after all, certainly not in the upper classes.

With that said, Harry got up from his breakfast, his glance alerting Padma, who got up to follow him since it was her House table. They walked over to the Ravenclaws, spotting Luna off by herself, no one approaching her, and headed over anyway. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Harry, and you may know Padma here."

"Hello, Harry, I'm Luna Lovegood." Her reply had the same disinterested air he had spotted last night when the girls were bullying her. He remembered also that she had been very honest the few times he overheard her saying anything he understood.

"It's nice to meet you Luna, would you like to be friends?"

The gasp at the table was most pronounced around the same girls who had picked on her last night. A quick look in their eyes told him they really hadn't expected anything like this! _'Well, tough. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy, after all, and I am the enemy of bullies everywhere. They were just lucky he had more restraint that a couple of years ago. If he'd continued on as he had been, well, Ravenclaw might have been short a few students this morning,'_ he mused.

Luna, however, lost her appearance of disinterest, studying him sharply with those piercing eyes of hers. The way she looked at both of them, like she was sure that their approach was related to the bullying, suspecting that this might be more of the same. Harry looked back calmly, keeping a friendly, welcoming expression and posture, part of his training from his family naturally, but here it matched what he wanted to be, not just to act. They seemed to pass the test, even though Padma was definitely getting nervous by the end, and Luna suddenly smiled. "Yes, please. Let's head over to your table, now."

Harry was surprised by how quickly she switched gears, but he didn't let that slow him down, going for a response a little over the top, offering his elbow for her to take as he escorted their new friend back to the group. Harry and Padma introduced the rest, who got a far briefer though no less intense inspection, and they settled in to eat their breakfast. Luna was mostly quiet, observing the group dynamic, Harry thought, but she never went back to that uninvolved look she wore so often, and Harry was grateful.

* * *

That evening, Harry had planned to add to the Hogwarts experience with another major 'prank'. In addition to an Illusion technique overlaying the enchanted ceiling, he would be attempting simultaneously to cast a second one on the Staff Table to make them see and hear only a normal evening's events. He was confident he would be able to cast the larger one, turning the ceiling into an enormous cinema screen, it was the one on the staff that would be the real test. If they moved around during the meal, he would have to be ready instantly to adapt. If that worked, then Harry could get away with a number of further activities.

As everyone tucked into the roast and vegetables, he started up both illusions, several clones working to monitor them. The 'screen' played the introduction to Monty Python's Flying Circus, a classic piece of British comedy, complete with soundtrack. Conversations died quickly as the students looked up, the annoyed Slytherins at first dismissing it as just another prank before getting sucked in by the absurd and surreal comedy. The rest of the school was already watching avidly. Prank or not, this was the first good diversion they had had in months, and the Muggle raised recognised the show quickly, grinning and sharing with their friends just how famous this was. Naturally, Harry, Hermione and Justin were involved, explaining about not only the people involved, but a lot of the culture too after the episode ended.

The staff had seen a perfectly normal Hogwarts dinner, the Friday before last's, in fact, and thought nothing of the repeated night. For most of them, they had been to decades of dinners in the Hall. After so long, one dinner very much resembled another anyway. True, the start of the recording was noticed, something Harry would need to work on if he could, but when they saw nothing untoward going on, they settled back to enjoy another dinner. Harry had chosen that particular night because the conversations would be normal enough for tonight, another Friday, and because no one had approached the Staff Table, a circumstance that Harry hoped would repeat itself.

Looking closer, it was Professors Snape and McGonagall who noticed first and stayed alert longest. If Dumbledore noticed, he suppressed his reaction well enough that Harry was unsure either way. The teachers of Arithmancy and Astronomy noticed, but both women relaxed soon enough after a quick spell satisfied them, presumably a detection spell of some sort. Hagrid looked around but didn't bother doing anything more. Professors Sprout and Flitwick were interesting. Sprout kept an eye on her House table more that night, while Flitwick just cast some spell silently and cocked an ear at a sound only he could hear every few minutes, otherwise ignoring the event. Lockhart, of course, looked a little scared at the strangeness, but when none of the other staff treated it as an obvious threat he returned to doing what he loved best, talking about himself.

Despite their frequent blindness to the unusual events around them, this was something not even the most self-absorbed student could ignore for long and naturally they were all abuzz about the whole thing. Someone had bewitched the enchanted ceiling right during dinner and got away with it! The students tended to react according to their House colours, the Ravenclaws were more curious than anything else, with the wizard-raised now more interested in Muggle culture since their Muggle Studies course had mentioned almost none of what they had seen. The Gryffindors just loved the whole thing, it was free entertainment that cost them and their House nothing, with the Muggle-raised again explaining some of what was seen. The Hufflepuffs had fun, too, with Hermione in particular very curious how the thing was performed since nothing she had read or heard of indicated it was possible, one reason Harry did it, in fact, for the challenge.

As for the Slytherins, well, there were the usual complaints from the usual sources within the House that it was just Muggle rubbish but the more open-minded noted a few key items. First, the prank was completely successful, indicating that whoever did it was powerful, great at planning or lucky, and cunning enough to get away with it. Second, none of the Professors, not even their own Head of House, had bothered to look up at the entertainment, indicating either they were in on the plan, which seemed impossible, surely Snape wouldn't keep quiet and as for Flitwick not saying anything about the spellwork? No, it was ridiculous. The other possibility was even more impressive than managing to get all the staff supportive, and that was that whoever it was had managed to do it, right there in front of adult wizards with up to a century of experience without a single one of them even knowing it was happening!

Questioning the next day revealed that, as unlikely as it seemed, that was indeed what had happened. The Snakes considered and dismissed the idea that the Heir of Slytherin was involved. While the Heir was indeed in command of powerful magic, powerful enough even to silence those damned Weasleys, well, two out of four was definitely a great start there, the Heir was also anti-Muggle or so they all believed. Hadn't Slytherin himself left the school because he wanted to get rid of the Muggleborns? No, they believed there was another player in the field. And this one had demonstrated their power, their cunning their ambition and their fitness as a True Slytherin, with a harmless form of entertainment. _This_ bore watching, especially as it was unlikely in the extreme that the True Slytherin, whoever they were, had been Sorted right. The True Slytherin and the Heir of Slytherin, now here was a contest!

* * *

Harry himself was considering the problem of the Heir. Unfortunately, he didn't notice when Nearly-Headless Nick (more properly known as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington) and Third Year Gryffindor Cormac McLaggen were attacked in one of the legion of corridors in the castle, one where the torches had been extinguished by a cold draft coming in through a loose windowpane. He only found out when Peeves the poltergeist started running through the castle screaming "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"

At that point, Harry's group, on their way from the Library after more research into the previous opening of the Chamber of Secrets, went down to find out what was going on. On seeing it, Harry cursed to himself about missing it. Slytherin's monster was obviously not showing up on the Marauder's Map, and the looks on the faces of the latest victims told Harry that whatever was doing this did it fast. Cormac's face was frozen in shock and horror. The crowd was snowballing and the noise rising constantly, a distraction and impediment as Harry tried to study the scene.

Naturally, they hadn't been there more than a minute before the staff turned up, Dumbledore slightly out of breath but also significantly ahead of Snape, McGonagall and the rest. Dumbledore raised his wand and let out a 'cannon blast' sound, stilling all conversation. "All students head to the Great Hall!" When no one moved immediately, he cursed to himself, something only Harry heard. "All students are to head to the Great Hall now! Any students who fail to do so will be given detention and risk further punishments." This had the desired effect as students started streaming away from the site of the attack, letting the staff get their first view. Harry discreetly left a clone to listen in as his group headed off as ordered. '_And technically, I'm obeying his order. I will be in the Great Hall, and in the corridor listening in on them. Maybe the old man will let slip some vital information.'_

He also decided that with this proof that the Map was ineffective for finding the attacker that he would need to set clones to patrol more of the school, just about anywhere students went, in fact. It was a pain, especially as this meant he couldn't copy the Library as effectively which also meant he had a lower chance to find out what the monster was any time soon.

In the corridor, Snape was even more angry than usual. "This is the third attack, the third! And this was someone from a proper wizarding family."

"Severus!" Minerva was glaring at the man.

"You know that's how it will be seen. This time, we'll have to let the brat's parents know rather than keeping it within the school. That's one good thing about not telling the Weasleys. We'd have had that harpy down here ten seconds later, delivering a Molly Weasley Howler personally."

Minerva nodded guiltily, keeping quiet about that _did_ have that advantage, and anything that kept the interfering woman away was something she liked, though she did admit the mother would have cause to be upset in this case.

"Oh, I had the wards reset so that she couldn't contact us or enter the grounds. Any time she tries, she gets the impression that her concerns were addressed straight away. Such a useful little spell that was." Albus mentioned off-hand as he studied the petrified student and the ghost. It was a sight he'd never encountered before. The ghost was no longer pearly-white and translucent but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal six inches from the floor. His head was half-off and he wore the same shocked expression as their petrified Gryffindor.

"Ye coulda seen fit to mention that, Albus." Minerva had a hard time controlling her brogue as her temper rose. She'd been wondering for weeks now when her good fortune would end with the Weasleys and here Albus had known the whole time, honestly, that man loved keeping his secrets far too much to be healthy. Add in the stress of yet another of her Lions getting attacked and she could be forgiven the lapse.

"It never came up, Minerva. Now, this is fascinating, isn't it?" Albus was concentrating even more on the ghost.

"Perhaps," Snape drawled, "we should continue this in the Hospital Wing. One of the little miscreants could come along at any time and it wouldn't do your image any good to be seen happy at the attack. Besides, maybe the Matron could prove useful in your research."

"Quite right, Severus. Come along."

Harry's clone naturally went too. He'd noticed Minerva's temper rising at the attacks on her students. He could almost feel her desire to come to grips with whatever it was doing this. Snape, by contrast, seemed more concerned that this attack would cause trouble for him in some way. As for Dumbledore, apart from revealing his ability to mess with someone's mind without even being there, a truly disturbing thought, and confirming that he kept secrets by default, there wasn't much new. The Matron looked at Cormac, clucked about another student getting attacked, waved her wand over him once, nodding at whatever results she got, and levitated him to one of the beds, leaving him there without a further glance as she moved to examine the ghost instead. Harry hoped that meant that Cormac was the same as the others rather than that the Matron didn't even care about an injured student. If it were the latter and he got delivered to her care, he'd escape her 'tender ministrations' first chance he got!

The discussion over the all but dead students yielded nothing of interest to Harry, only a lot of words exchanged about how this was not as expected, the attacks were against a cat, two Purebloods and now a Half-blood, "Rather than the string of 'Mudbloods' as my so delightful Snakes would call them." Snape was, once again, scolded by Minerva for that word, while Albus just ignored it as usual. Harry already knew from his research that Snape was right about the attacks fifty years ago, though he was no closer to discovering what the monster was. He could tell that there had been a coverup but not yet what they covered.

* * *

After reaching the Great Hall with his friends, the real Harry was asked if he could give his girls a little privacy after Padma whispered something to Hermione. Harry smiled and headed off to chat with Justin and the guys, chatting about the Quidditch match and how it was good to see the other Houses treating them better than before. "We are not the House of duffers, and it's great that they finally recognise that."

Harry agreed completely, pleased he had been able to help fix that issue. As far as Harry was concerned, Hufflepuff was the best House, though he did wonder if he might have felt the same about the others if he'd ended up there. He had no regrets though. He had great friends, acceptance and more in common with them since there were more Muggle-raised in that House than any other. He still felt that being put into Slytherin would have been a terrible idea. Now, knowing Draco and the others in the House, he knew he wouldn't have lasted a week before the killing began. Draco or one of the other blood bigots would have pushed, and pushed, and pushed until it escalated into violence, or worse ambushed him, triggering deadly reflexes. With his ability to kill demonstrated, he'd have to treat the other magicals as a threat any time he saw them since they _ought_ to be a threat to him from that moment on, they ought to be trying to harm him and his family, and that meant he'd be killing more, to protect the only people who loved him. He felt sick at the thought of what he'd do then, attacking people who had now become friends or even more, as he thought of Daphne and her friends. He shook himself out of those gloomy thoughts, reminding himself that things weren't that bad, and that if he had been sorted into Slytherin, he could always have left instead. Besides, he needed to talk to the Hat again if he got the chance. It had kept its word, so far as he could tell with the aid of his spying, and hadn't spilled his secrets.

Daphne came over, smiling, "Harry, thank you for that, you can come back now, please."

He took her arm, smiling back. "Ok, Daphne, I hope I'll find out what that was about eventually."

She grinned, his curiosity was well known in their group, as was his tendency to know more than he should, something the girls correctly assumed had something to do with the clones. "Oh, sooner than that, my Harry. As soon as we can get out of here, we'd like to grab a room to talk about it with you."

He chuckled, "I see you know me well, my Daphne."

She smiled, thoughts going into Harry knowing her even better in one way, glad she kept the blush from showing. She'd have blushed even more if she knew Harry's thoughts had also gone there but with a lot more detail thanks to his family's full and frank education.

The group chatted more, Daphne mentioning the rumour in her House about the True Slytherin. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she enjoyed the idea that it was Harry, her Harry, who had the admiration of much of her House. Some of her audience rolled their eyes. They still found the idea of a good and great Slytherin hard to picture given how so many Snakes were so atrocious people in recent decades, starting with all those Death Eaters like Malfoy's and Nott's fathers.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Professor McGonagall made the announcement they'd been waiting for, releasing the students to go about their day. Harry smiling at her somehow mattered more than the smiles on her Lions' faces to the woman. He was reminding her strongly of James' charm without the arrogance that boy had possessed when he started. Snape for all his faults was at least right about James Potter thinking himself the most important person around as a First Year. Minerva later discovered that James had literally been the most important person to his family, his parents couldn't have any more children as his mother had been near menopause already. With his extended family also having problems of one sort or another, that left James as the heir and hope for the continuation of the Potter line. As such, they treated him as the most important person in their world.

Harry gave the Professor a small nod as he was gathered up by his girls for another discussion. He narrowed his eyes as they led him to 'their' room, the one where they'd first kissed, one he thought they would leave as theirs. They sat him down, each taking a seat in his or his clones' laps, with three girls standing before him. Padma Patil of Ravenclaw and her twin sister Parvati and Parvati's close friend, Lavender Brown both of Gryffindor stood somewhat nervously before the group. Parvati stepped forward. "Harry, we've asked you here because we like you, a lot, in fact. We're hoping that you feel the same way about us, and that you want to include us in your growing life."

Susan turned to look at each of the Harry's, "Harry, we had discussed this among ourselves after they approached us, and we're agreed that we have no problem with this if you want to accept them as a part of this too. The final decision is yours, but the girls didn't want to cause any problems for you, so they talked to us first to see if it was even worth approaching you."

"That's right, Harry," Lavender smiled at him. "We would have kept quiet rather than trying to make you choose between us. We remembered the problems last year with the building rivalries, and none of us wanted to repeat that. What do you say, Harry? Please?" She and the other new girls turned on the pouting and puppy dog eye stares at him.

He wanted to laugh, he'd become just about immune to those thanks to the efforts of his mothers over the years. They'd openly told him what they were doing to him, and why, wanting to build up his resistance to feminine wiles. Harry pointed out that in the interim, they'd also be getting to make him do things. Tsunade-mum just laughed. "Of course we will, but we're your mothers, we'll do that anyway, son."

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Harry created enough clones and each walked over to one of his new girls, wrapping them in a big hug and smiling. "Yes, Parvati, Padma, Lavender, it is an honour and a pleasure to accept. I hope the other girls already explained the conditions?"

Padma relaxed, almost melting in his arms. "Yes, Harry, they told us that there's a check with the Cranleigh girls over the holidays to make sure they approve of us since they made the leap into the unknown first, and that they only gave conditional approval since they trust you, otherwise it would have been a flat out 'No'."

"That's right, so have you got that lined up with your families?" Harry asked, hands rubbing Padma's shoulders.

She bit back a moan, concentrating on his question, "oh yes, Harry, yesssss, we do."

"Mmmm good, in that case," he trailed off, leaning in and giving all three new girls a loving, tender kiss, before the rest of the girls got their own. "Welcome to the party."

* * *

_Thank you for reading. As always, a big thanks to my betas for their help and to you, the readers, for your interest and feedback._


	14. Chapter 14- Something Old, Something New

**Chapter 14 - Something Old, Something New**

Sunday saw Harry get some ribbing from that pink-haired Puff Tonks. After a few failures, she asked "Cor, Harry, is it that hard to get a rise from you?"

Ignoring Hermione's smile, Harry returned "Oh Tonks, a gentleman never kisses and tells."

"And how does he kiss, girls?"

The grins from not one or two but all nine made Tonks' jaw drop. "You what? Nine!" She kept her voice low as she could. "How can he keep all of you happy?"

A few giggled and Hannah winked. "Our Harry's got some special talents." Harry had surreptitiously erected a sound-dampening technique for this conversation so that only their friends could hear them. Hermione wriggled in his lap as the barrier wasn't the only thing erect thanks to the talk and the wiggling.

"He's not the only one," Tonks replied, her eyes closed as her hair colour, hips and bust changed a few times. Harry counted himself lucky that he had already reacted to Hermione, or she might have had words with him later, he was sure of it.

"You know, I was originally afraid my holidays would be a little boring." Harry's tone was light.

"Not now, though?" Tonks questioned.

"With so many girls in my life, I know I'll live in interesting times."

Cho giggled, overhearing that. "Harry, that's said to be an old Chinese curse."

He grinned back. "Oh I know that, but you're a Ravenclaw, you know how bad boredom can get. Thanks to my friends, all of you, you keep my life interesting and fun. And my girls make it even better." He gave Hermione a brief squeeze and shared looks with his girls, trying to convey just how much he meant that last, and how much they meant to him.

"It'll be good to relax, though. With the attacks at school, I don't know why the place hasn't been closed. And nothing in the Daily Prophet, well, that feels very suspicious. It may be to the culprit's advantage that everything is being kept quiet, but the real question is 'why?' Someone is going to great efforts to keep it all hushed up so either they are in on it, or benefit from the silence." Harry's eyes darted over to the Staff Table and the empty throne of Dumbledore. "Either way, there are too many unknowns."

"Oh, Harry. You're so cynical! What am I to do with you?" Hermione mock-complained.

"Kiss me?" He grinned, before Hermione did just that. The group just chuckled at the display, before Justin decided to change the subject.

"Is everything still on for the New Years Eve party?"

"Of course, my parents love throwing parties, and this will be all the excuse they need to throw a really big one. Not that they ever need much excuse. They once threw a party because I brought home an A on a test." At the confused glances from the wizard-raised, he added. "That was the equivalent of getting an O at Hogwarts. I was only six at the time, too."

"Any chance I could come, Harry?" Tonks asked, batting her eyelashes though the grin spoiled the effect.

"Of course, Tonks, all my friends are welcome." He looked over into Luna's eyes. "That includes you too, Luna, in case you were wondering. I know we haven't known each other that long, but I wouldn't exclude you, either."

Cho and Padma smiled. While they liked seeing Harry using his brain, they also liked it when he showed his big heart, and while the First Year was a little odd at times, she was very smart and tried to be friendly.

They thought of how much was left to do these holidays. For Cho, it was catching up on some pleasure reading that she had been putting off while she enjoyed teaching Harry's group about their coursework and about another culture. Well, she had also enjoyed the flying in practice, and definitely the after-practice massages! It had been worth it, overall, to let her reading slip.

For Padma, it was more daunting. She didn't have much homework to worry about, or at least, didn't worry about the homework she did have. Instead, she had a meeting with five girls coming up that she needed to impress enough they would let her share Harry, but not so much that they felt she was a threat, judged on standards she couldn't even guess! And after that decision was made, even if it went against her, she still had the party to attend and put on a brave face despite a broken heart. Possibly worse, what if it went for her? She still wasn't sure how they'd all live with each other, even as she really wanted it to work. She was afraid that even if they agreed, there was still the problem of it all falling apart later and she didn't want to cause that kind of pain for her Harry. It hadn't occurred to her just yet, but all the others were in the same boat, worrying about what ifs.

That evening after dinner, all his girls needed more snuggling which Harry was only too happy to provide, since he needed it himself. They headed off to pack and to bed, though their sleep wasn't as restful as normal because of the stress. Soon enough, the morning arrived, and the girls trickled into the Great Hall, still a little bleary-eyed to meet a Harry who still looked, well, yummy. The girls were torn between wanting to resent him for that and wanting just to watch him more. They settled for getting hugs and kisses that seemed extra special, and when they sat to breakfast found they felt much better. Harry smiled, glad he was able to hide his use of chakra for beautification techniques like that. He knew the girls would appreciate the extra energy he gave them. He'd spotted the signs that they didn't sleep well, and that they were unhappy about not looking their best. He hoped that if they noticed it was him, they didn't mind his unasked help.

As they trooped off to the carriages, Harry guided each girl to pat one of the thestrals, as they were called, though he noticed little Luna didn't need his guidance. As she explained it, anyone who had seen death could see them, and he was glad none of his other friends had the ability. The creatures weren't dangerous so much as scary with their looks and association with death. The others kept quiet, not asking who Luna had lost and everyone knew who Harry had lost.

They took some compartments on the train, enjoying a quiet ride. Malfoy, for whatever reason, stayed in his own compartment, which meant no one had to worry about his boring visits interrupting their fun. Arriving at King's Cross Station there was the usual crowding, the goodbyes to friends, the greeting to parents not seen in months, and at last, Harry was on his way home officially.

* * *

Once home, there was a party to celebrate his safe return. The Clan were all too aware that his clones had stayed at home with them, but that didn't mean a thing without the real Harry being with them in terms of his safety. Add in the threat this year of Slytherin's monster to the regular craziness of being in a school where all the staff and students were armed with deadly, reality-bending weapons and you can understand their joy.

In addition to the Clan, they had some guests. Harry was happy to have his Cranleigh girls Stephanie, Ashley, Meaghan, Michelle and Ella present, giving him reason to celebrate, and he also got to meet with Remus Lupin at last. His clones had observed the man for months, working hard for the Clan and sharing stories about Harry's parents.

After Harry's girls had all hugged and kissed the boy - and Remus could swear one of them nearly groped him! - Remus walked over to introduce himself, his heart beating like mad in his chest. He could not afford to screw up this chance now that he was finally meeting Harry after missing him growing up. He would never be able to live with himself if he lost Harry too. "Good evening, I'm Remus Lupin, and I've wanted to meet you for a long time now. I was a friend of your parents, Harry, of James and Lily I mean, though I hope to become a friend of your new parents, too."

Harry examined the man, while he'd made a slip about the long time he'd waited, perhaps that was simply being more honest than he should have been. Harry took his hand, noting the firm grip calculated not to crush Harry's hand, much the same as Harry had thanks to the family training, and returned it in much the same way. Remus' eyebrows rose slightly as he noted the similarity, handily restraining any urge to test the boy by increasing his grip.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Lupin, I've heard much about you from my adoptive parents, and I would love to hear some stories of my birth parents from you, rather than just via letters. They've told me you're a good hard worker, and something of a joker."

"Guilty as charged," Remus grinned, "your fath–, James, was as well, along with a couple of friends of ours. I have stories enough to fill a month of Sundays. It seemed we were always doing something unexpected. I'm staying at the cottage just out the back, so I hope we'll have a lot of time to get to know each other better."

"I'd like that, Mr Lupin. Oh, where are my manners? Mr Lupin, these are my very good friends, Stephanie, Ashley, Michelle, Meaghan and Ella." After Remus had acknowledged each of them, Harry dropped his bombshell. "I also have the honour of being their boyfriend." His grin was not at all faked, he loved the surprise on Remus' face, and his girls were happy enough to go along with the joke, comfortable with their status especially at home with the Clan, and surrounded him facing Remus together.

Remus lived up to his reputation, laughing. "Oh well done, Harry. You played that very well. Hang on, they really are? Oh, even better! Girls, my apologies, I hope I didn't offend you. You're all very pretty, and I'm sure you deserve the best. I just love how Harry was able to pull a prank on me within a minute of being introduced. To me, it shows he's a true son of his birth father."

"None taken, Mr Lupin," Ella replied, "we knew what he was doing, and he's got a good sense of timing. One of the things we love about him."

"That and his kisses..." Michelle added before realising she'd spoken aloud.

Remus grinned, "I think we're getting too personal there. Now, Harry, I'd like to have a word later tonight if that's possible. Ah, dinner's ready, we'd better not miss this."

His parents had prepared his favourites, along with a selection of favourites for their guests learned over the months or years they'd known them. Harry was directed to one end of the table along with his friends, with Naruto at the other. A toast was raised to Harry who sipped at his coke instead of anything alcoholic then everyone tucked into the delicious meal, conversation flowing easily enough. After dessert, they got up and music was put on, Naruto and his wives dancing and letting Harry guide his girls to one of the private rooms nearby while the real Harry stayed to talk to Remus.

"First, thank you Harry, for giving me this chance. I don't know if your parents told you or not, but I never stopped looking for you after That Night. You were the only remnant of my best friends, and I kept on trying to find you. I'm sorry I couldn't rescue from the Dursleys. Oh yes, I met them as I was trying to track you, and a thoroughly unpleasant family they are too. Anyway, I kept trying, and trying, but you were hidden by Dumbledore himself. That interfering old man cost me over a decade with the only family I had left, you. I've been told that it was him, sorry 'a very powerful wizard' who placed the spells on you that prevented me from finding you. They prevented any wizard from finding you, including the ones paid to monitor and protect children." He looked better for having got this off his chest, and Harry understood the power of confession.

"Anyway, I've heard you're already on the Quidditch team, a Chaser like your father, James. How are you going with that?" Remus smiled. "James would be so proud that you're on the team, even if you didn't join his old House."

"Oh, we're doing great. There's only been two matches so far, this year, the first was Gryffindor and Slytherin, well, both the Seekers were terrible and knocked each other out when they played chicken. It was Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley, so I figure the feud between their families probably contributed to that decision." He grinned, seeing Malfoy knocked out like that was still one of his fun memories, especially since he had nothing to do with it. "The other match was when they played us. Our Seeker is Cedric Diggory, and I tried out for each of the positions. I was a bit quicker at finding the Snitch than Cedric, but it made more sense to put me as a Chaser, he said. He's right, too. I scored over 500 points against Gryffindor our first match and my friends Hermione and Susan scored over 300 each. They're also Second Years, and we work great together. So well that they are my girlfriends too."

Remus was stunned, his best friend's son had seven girlfriends! "I'm stunned, Harry, not only are you a great Quidditch player, but seven girlfriends?! Do they all know each other?" He grinned.

"Well, not yet, they know of each other though, and we're planning so they can meet each other over the holidays. I'm terrified, to tell you the truth, that something will go wrong when they meet."

Remus smiled, "I'm sure you'll do fine, Harry, but either way, I'd be happy to help any way I can."

"_Any_ way?" Harry grinned, "That's a dangerous offer, you know. Tell you what, I've got one way you can help me right away."

"What is it? I meant that I'd do anything, Harry."

Harry got serious for what he wanted to say next. "Well, there _is_ something that can help. However, I've learned that it's considered private and personal."

Remus nodded, "Ok, what is it?"

Harry took a breath. "There are magically binding Oaths. I want to be able to trust you, and a well-worded Oath would let me trust you a lot sooner. What I have in mind is one to protect each others' secrets. You wouldn't be completely bound, it's something you'd be able to leave after warning me first..." He trailed off looking down, nervous as hell, and looked back up into the man's eyes, seeing only warmth there.

"It's ok, Harry, and yes, I'd be willing to swear an Oath to you to protect your secrets. Even if I can't picture a twelve year old boy having many worth going this far, obviously you do, and they're yours. I said I would do it, well, as long as we can come up with one that is well-worded. Few things are more dangerous to a wizard than a badly written Oath or contract."

Harry let out the breath he'd been holding, smiling. "Thank you, Mr Lupin, that means a lot to me. And for the wording, well, I erm, I have gotten Oaths before on my secrets. Those two girls at Hogwarts I mentioned swore them, and one of the girls is Susan Bones, Amelia Bones' niece. Amelia swore one, too, after getting to work on the wording."

"You got Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE, to swear an oath? Ok, now I'm really impressed. Show me the wording you had in mind, then."

Harry produced a piece of paper with the proposed wording from a pocket.

"You had that with you?" Remus laughed. "You are prepared."

Harry grinned and thought '_Of course, I'm prepared. I'm a ninja.'_

"Ok, let's get this over with."

A minute and a flash of magic later, Remus had sworn a different Oath to Harry, one where he could only be released if Harry allowed it, could not spill secrets to anyone who didn't already know them no matter what, and would not betray Harry to his enemies. He smiled at Harry who was stunned. "I know, Harry, I chose to swear a more extensive Oath. You didn't force me into anything. I wanted to show that you can trust me with anything."

Harry started to explain more about his life and his family, even demonstrating the shadow clones for the man. Remus treated it as the greatest prank he'd seen, but agreed it was very sensible to keep it secret, especially if, as Harry had said, it worked without any of what they considered magic. Harry added that the girls tonight didn't know of magic because of the Statute of Secrecy. "I've heard that anyone who finds out who shouldn't gets their mind violated and memories wiped. I will _not_ allow that to happen to my girls. So, I've not said a word about magic to them. Of course, they'll accept magic when they see it easier than others, now they know of my clones, but I'm obeying the law they made, until I can change it. Well, if that ever happens."

Remus was a little worried by that last, he didn't know what would happen if the veil was dropped, but he knew there would be those on both sides who didn't like it. At least Harry was willing to obey the law for now.

"I fully intend to tell my girls and their families, though, if I can get away with it without risking their minds. I mean, I heard from one of my year-mates that his mother only told his father about being a witch after they were married. How could their marriage survive all those lies about her schooling, her friends, her experiences and job and everything? No, I want to know whoever I marry knows me, but that doesn't mean I'll only look in the Wizarding World, because they don't know the real world either." Harry sighed, he didn't usually feel this down about the challenges, he put it down to opening up to this friend of his parents.

"Enough of that," Harry smiled, "tell me about my parents, and we'll head back out to the party."

* * *

The rest of the party was fun, especially seeing Remus trying to play jokes on people without revealing too much, and also getting to give his girls hugs and kisses in person again. If it wasn't for his general toughness, the girls would have popped his clones a lot over the last few months with their close hugs. The girls asked for more kisses with the excuse that more girls were being added, and well that was something he was always happy to give. They knew his clones shared all his memories and personality, but they weren't quite the same as the original.

The party ended around ten when their parents turned up to take their daughters home. Remus and Harry talked a little longer before Harry had to go to bed, enjoying his own bed again.

The next day he spent with his Cranleigh girls, catching up and playing in the snow, while he left a clone with Remus to get to know the man more in person as it were. The following day, the 23rd, was the Big Day.

All his girls had managed to set aside time to visit for the all-important meeting, and Harry was a bundle of nerves that morning, something the Clan found cute and amusing. Stephanie arrived first, then Meaghan, Michelle, Ashley and Ella, all of whom gave him a hug before he escorted them to the room set aside for the meeting. His nerves rocketed further when Ashley told him in no uncertain terms that they wanted to have time alone with the new girls. "We need this, Harry, and you did agree that we could get to know them before we made our decisions."

He nodded, "I did, and it's more than reasonable. I just, I'm nervous, Ashley."

She smiled, "I know, Harry, and I know why, but please."

"Yes, ok. I already agreed to this, and I'm not going back on my word." He hugged each girl close, settling in to wait and cuddle.

When the Hogwarts girls arrived, he showed them in, giving each a hug, then introducing them all. "Ok, Ashley and the others want to talk to you alone." He looked to see how they felt, and was surprised to see they all seemed happy with that. _**He**_ wasn't happy, he was petrified, but he forced a smile and left them to talk. He had intended to watch over the meeting from outside, but his Dad just shook his head and escorted Harry away, along with all his other clones.

"Dad?"

"This is something you have to do, Harry. You need to show them the trust they have showed you. They will find out if you don't trust them, and that will kill the relationship faster than almost anything else."

Naruto gave his son a lopsided smile. "Besides, you know that eventually, no matter what you did, they would be able to meet each other without you there. If they've been insulated from that, they won't know how to act when it finally happens. That means fights are more likely when that happens, and everything you had is put at risk."

"Even worse, you thought everything was fine, so if things do go badly, the surprise makes it hurt even worse, it's an ambush on your heart." Yuugao-mum added sadly, remembering when she had to surprise her ex-boyfriend that way. And everything had been fine before she was brought into the Time Loops. While she was happy with Naruto, wouldn't trade him for worlds, she was still sad that it hurt him even if she didn't love him any longer.

Sakura-mum had turned up while she was talking. "It hurts when your world crashes down around you, son. But it hurts worse if the crash is delayed and delayed. 'Twere best done quickly,' as the Bard said."

Harry sighed and relaxed, allowing them to guide him to the living room, waiting with him. He wondered if they were listening to the girls, but Naruto just looked at him. "No, Harry, we're not. We'll keep an ear out in case a fight breaks out, but this is something private. As hard as it may be to accept right now, we're trying to help you."

Sometimes, Harry wondered what it would be like living with parents who couldn't read your mind, or simply know you so well they didn't need to try. It was trying for a boy when he couldn't get away with anything! Still, they had helped with that, too, after raising their own kids they had a good idea how.

"Ok, Dad, I won't try to listen in. You're right, as usual, but I hate not knowing what's going on." He grinned, "and I'm sure you know that, too, since all of you taught me the value of up to date information."

Naruto then diverted the conversation, the Clan kept it light and engaging to help distract himself from his fears. True to their word, for once the Clan had avoided using any of their tricks to listen in on Harry's girls, deliberately ignoring whatever they said as long as they didn't get too loud or get violent.

* * *

Inside the room, well stocked with snacks and refreshments, the fourteen girls looked around at each other. No one said anything for a few minutes after Harry left, and they all felt the tension steadily mounting higher. Eventually, Hermione cracked. "Er, hi."

The groans of the others told her what she already knew, and she felt like putting her face in her hands to hide, just about to do it too when Ashley took a breath, loud in the silent room. "Hi, Hermione wasn't it? Well, I guess we should get to talking right? Why don't you each tell us a bit about yourselves?"

Hermione and the other witches were even more nervous now, each suddenly thinking of magic and how they can't mention anything about it. "Er, well, I go to school with Harry like the others, it's a private boarding school, and while it's kinda strange and scary, not getting to see your family for months at a time, Harry made it better for me, for us. He was my very first friend, and he's always there for me when I need him. My parents are both dentists, well, Dad's a dental surgeon but.. oh, and I love reading, and playing sport with Harry."

Leanne was next, describing her family, growing up in London as the eldest child like Hermione, who blushed adding she had a little sister, and that her family were happy she had a scholarship to the school as it was rather expensive.

The others copied the formula from Hermione and Leanne, careful not to lie about their family even while they couldn't tell the whole truth, describing how they enjoyed fashion and reading and so forth. This seemed to be good enough, as Ashley led her group, talking about growing up with Harry and how handsome he was, which got nods from all the girls, and how he inspired them, and how well they knew him. In Daphne's mind, she heard an undercurrent there: "we're much better for Harry than you'll ever be", and her hackles rose. She refused to accept such an insult from anyone, and rose to the bait.

"Yes, Harry's a very surprising boy, though, there's so much about himself you wouldn't expect." She placed what she thought was a subtle emphasis on 'you', but seeing the other witches wince, she knew she'd overdone it.

Susan tried to save the day, asking the girls what they each liked about Harry, hopeful that this would provide some desperately needed common ground. Ashley liked his confidence, a born leader. Ella liked his sense of humour best, both at the jokes he tells and plays, describing one time Harry set up a bully to confess what he had done with a teacher right behind him, getting a few laughs from the others. Stephanie liked those, but also that he could take a joke well. Meaghan mentioned on her turn how he was always willing to help her learn new things, and there for her. Michelle just grinned and said "Oh, I like all of that, but who could pass up his _massages_, and those _kisses_?"

The girls all smiled, relaxing, and the ice was now truly broken between them. Soon enough, they were swapping stories and reminiscing about Harry, and with the witches vouching for each other, as well as their high opinion of Harry which matched their own, the Cranleigh girls found themselves more willing to agree to the girls' inclusion. Daphne grinning and congratulating them about the dual layer deception regarding their relationship was the icing on the cake, Ashley preened under her praise, securing her vote, and the others saw that, as strange as it was, they truly were good people, and hoped to become good friends.

Rather than coming out of the room and letting Harry know about their decision, though, they chose to keep chatting and swapping stories for another hour, setting a foundation for their later friendship and relationship as co-girlfriends of Harry Potter. When Hannah got up to use the facilities, Harry naturally heard it due to his enhanced senses, making his way over despite himself. When she headed back via the living room she found a tense Harry waiting for her, sitting on his hands to stop himself from getting up.

"Hi Harry, we're ready for you. Come on now!" She dragged him, not that he was trying to stop her, into the lounge room where the girls were. All conversation ceased and all eyes turned to him, hard eyes, expectant, demanding, even.

"Hello?"

"Well, Harry, we're waiting." Susan demanded.

"Yes, Harry, hurry up." Ashley echoed her call. "Where are the clones? We're all here, and there's only one of you. This simply will not do!" She grinned as did the others. Harry grinned in relief, making a quick hand-sign and creating thirteen clones, making enough Harry to go around.

Each girl took one of him by the hand, this time it was Meaghan who got the original boy, and she settled into his lap much as Hermione habitually did now, making him moan in her ear before he could help himself.

Ashley regained his attention swiftly when she began speaking, however. "Harry, first of all, yes, the girls do have our approval, you do have good taste after all." The girls all grinned and nodded. "Also, thank you for giving us time alone to work it all out together. I hope you didn't mind our little joke when you came back. You have to understand, this is a big deal for us and something we all have to live with. That's why we've been treating this so seriously.

"We'd been talking before we came over, and we agreed that the biggest problem we had with saying yes or no was also a simple one, with a simple solution. We didn't really _know _the new girls, so how could we judge them? The answer was to get to know them, and if you stayed around we wouldn't have been able to do that, not really. Especially with how distracting you can be with those hugs and kisses of yours!" She smiled more. "I hope it wasn't too bad a wait, I know we were a little slow to invite you back in since we got to chatting with our new friends and co-girlfriends. Can you forgive us?"

Harry nodded, "Of course, I can. And I won't lie to you, that wait was one of the hardest things I've done. It was a surrender of control, and risking you girls getting hurt while I was only a couple of rooms away, and waiting for hours for any word."

"Were we really talking that long? Oh my! I'm sorry, Harry!" This came from multiple girls, checking their watches and seeing that it was nearly two hours after they'd kicked him out, leaving him to wait and kept in the dark.

"And Harry," Meaghan added, "if you want to add other girls, and it won't cost us time with you, you have our approval. We're trusting you with our hearts, here. Just, if you can, we want to get to know them, too and hope they'll feel the same way. Thank you for trusting us with yours." She gave him a sweet kiss and settled in snuggling.

Now cuddling with each girl, he was told to lean back so the girls could get comfortable, meaning, hold and caress and support them as they chatted and relaxed. He was happy to do that, especially since getting them relaxed meant they would have all have a better time getting along, not to mention that he always enjoyed caressing and holding these girls who wormed their way into his heart. Harry reflected to himself that his parents were right again, damn them. A memory forced itself on his consciousness of Tsunade-mum saying "_When you've been around people as long as we have, you'll be this good at predicting them, too."_ It was a favourite reminder of theirs, that despite looking in their twenties, his parents each had centuries of experience if you included clones, and at least fifty years worth even if you didn't.

"Oh and Harry, we're going to meet up again on Boxing Day. You'll be there from the start, this time."

"Good!" Harry smiled. "It was killing me waiting and not knowing, not being able to help. I trust each of you, but I can't help wanting to protect you from pain." He and his clones guided the girls they were holding to look at the Harry they were hugging, speaking in unison to the girls who had a hold on him. "I love you."

Any ill feeling the girls might have been feeling was washed away by the sincerity of his emotions, laying his heart bare. They hugged him tighter and kissed him, forgetting the world for a time.

* * *

The rest of that day and the next, Harry was more relaxed than he had been in a while. He exchanged gifts with his friends, especially his girls who added hugs and kisses to their thanks, and spent what time he could with each of them. He also spent a lot of time with Remus, Moony as he preferred to be called by friends, hearing about their friends, their rivalry with the man who was now his Potions Professor, and after getting to know Harry, Remus also shared how his friends had gone a long way for him, even becoming animagi to spend time with him during the full moon. "They called my being a werewolf my 'furry little problem' so often, there were Ravenclaws convinced that I owned a disobedient rabbit."

The man was obviously wanting to become part of Harry's life, but he seemed to know better than to try to replace his parents. That, Harry was very thankful for, he had no desire to replace his mothers and father with anyone, even if he would have loved to know his birth parents. Remus was doing his best to give that to Harry, sharing stories of Prefect patrols with Lily and pranks with the Marauder's. Harry had a fond memory of showing Remus the Marauder's Map, and took the chance to ask questions about its construction and its abilities and limitations.

Remus was just as proud of Harry for getting it as his parents had been, though he did wish Harry would use it more for sneaking around. The shock on his face when Harry proved he didn't need it, by sneaking into the Gryffindor dorm at night to snatch it from the previous custodians and then pranking them, and then when Remus questioned the story managing to sneak up on him time after time, well, Remus was so proud he could have burst. He also gave up trying to get Harry to use it for sneaking around.

Harry mentioned that he'd taken to using it all the time with a clone watching the Map full time, especially this year with the attacks from the Chamber of Secrets. Remus approved wholeheartedly of his caution, adding that he was often the voice of caution in the Marauders, helping to make sure they didn't get caught as much, as well as trying to convince them not to pull certain pranks. "Mainly, I was trying to keep the feud with Severus to a minimum. Though it was more a case of trying to keep us all from being expelled or seriously hurt."

Harry was relieved, "I was afraid you were going to say you liked him. I know he's paid as a Potions Master, and I've heard about his talent, but he's an utter failure as a teacher. What I've seen of him as a human being doesn't look good either. He doesn't bother to stop any incidents dangerous to his students, but you can bet he sees every one of them since he is constantly watching, always ready to chew out a student for making mistakes. No, I can respect his abilities, perhaps, but never the man."

"Has he ever singled you out for bad treatment?"

"No, he hasn't. Oh, he did cheat to help Malfoy win a duel last week, but I caught him pleased when I won anyway. I'm guessing that he wanted me to win a real challenge, since everyone knows Malfoy is a terrible wizard. Everyone except Malfoy, that is. Snape taught him _Serpensortia_, and the blond git cast it, getting a long brown snake. I just caught the snake, so Malfoy did it again, thinking I wouldn't be able to defend myself. A quickly cast _Wingardium Leviosa_ and the snake was right in Malfoy's face. He pissed himself." Harry grinned, he loved turning the tables on bullies.

"Wouldn't you?" Remus asked.

"I didn't when he did it to me, twice, and he still had his wand on him. Anyway, that's when Snape Vanished the two snakes and declared me the winner in front of most of the school."

"That is interesting, Harry. With how your father James and Severus carried on, and Severus' ability to hold a grudge, I'd be surprised if he had gotten over it. After all, it's only been 20 years." Remus added, turning into a joke a serious evaluation of the Slytherin and how vindictive he could be.

* * *

Christmas was an interesting affair with the addition of Remus to the table, low level pranks and magic adding spice to the festivities, and the Clan welcomed him more into the family. He had given Harry his trust, he worked hard and knew how to enjoy himself, so they felt he could be allowed the extra leeway. Truthfully, they didn't need his hard work and could afford to pay him much better than even the high wages they were giving him if you valued the quality of meals correctly, but this seemed to be just what the man needed. Remus was filling out and looking younger. According to Tsunade, still their leading medic, it was a tough call which was helping him more, the good food and conditions, the increased self-respect from working for a living, or being able to help Harry by giving him the knowledge of his family, the connection to them, that he was denied. Having company during the full moons also helped, something the man only accepted as long as he had his Wolfsbane Potion so he didn't hurt or kill anyone else.

The next day, Boxing Day, was the day of the Kitsune Christmas Party. A lot of Harry's friends made it, just about all of the guys and girls from Cranleigh and all Harry's girlfriends made it there. They played in the snow, ate too much, and had a great time. His girls arrived earlier and stayed later than the guys, meaning they could get in some snuggle time and kisses. It wasn't all like that, however, the girls taking the opportunities to get to know each other better, too. It was looking hopeful to him, they were seeing the good sides of each other, and seeing how they were each devoted to him was helping to defuse any desire to hurt each other.

Harry detected the light hand of his parents helping that along, just working in occasional comments or meetings that made it easier for the girls to stick to their original goal of settling into their new arrangement with him. He would have been angry if they'd done much more than that. While he did want things to work out with his girls, he had firm limits on what he would allow done to his girls, and there were a whole suite of tricks his parents knew, and had taught to him, that were beyond those limits.

The girls thanked Harry appropriately in front of their parents for his gifts, and again later in private going a little further.

* * *

Harry was surprised a couple of days later, Professor McGonagall dropped by to see him. She was surprised in turn finding Remus there, her former student. Apparently, Remus had dropped out of the Wizarding World almost completely. "There was nothing for me there, no family, my friends dead or in prison and no work available despite my good record," was how he put it.

Minerva nodded, she understood that he had been facing a lot of prejudice in their world for something he couldn't have helped, just like the anti-Muggle prejudice that affected students like Justin and Hermione. "Aye, Remus, though you could have written once in a while, surely?"

"I had no owl of my own and my time and money was invested in trying to find little Harry, Professor. None of the other club members bothered trying to contact me, I didn't get a letter from any of them. Only you and Professor Dumbledore contacted me, and he lied to me, stopped me from seeing Harry."

Minerva's face dropped a little, accepting the criticism. "Aye, he stopped me, too, always saying Harry was happy and safe, then diverting me with something else or conveniently adding more to my workload. Again, Harry, I'm sorry. Every time I would think to drop in and see you, something came up. With what you told us, I can't think that was by accident any longer. Still, he's been a good man for a long while. I hate feeling my trust in him was misplaced over you."

Harry understood, or thought he did, that his Professor was simply wanting to believe that her good friend for decades wasn't as bad as Harry thought. He could even see her point intellectually, she had a lot of experience of the man pointing one way, and Harry was saying something very different. As long as she didn't risk the safety of her students with her trust in the old man, Harry had no reason to complain. Besides, she was a good teacher and she even managed to care about the worst of her House, bullies like the Twins who played practical jokes on the weak and innocent, and cared about arrogant fools like Cormac McLaggen, who thought that his connections meant he didn't have to think too hard himself.

She even managed to care about helping that little stalker in training, Colin Creevey. Colin was energetic, eager and a complete fan of the Boy-Who-Lived who had taken to trying to follow Harry around and taking pictures of his idol. Since Harry had no intention of letting anyone take pictures of him other than friends and family, and since Colin saw nothing wrong with trying to ambush Harry with his camera then thinking that his ambush made them friends, Colin was getting a lot of empty shots of the castle or, lately, of Professor Snape angry and blinded.

Harry tore himself from his thoughts when he noticed that both adults were looking at him.

"Are you ok, Harry?" Minerva asked, concerned when the young man seemed to have drifted off into his thoughts, not even replying to normal conversation.

"I'm fine, Professor." Harry blushed at being caught out like that, he knew the Clan would tease him for his lapse. While Harry felt certain that he would have reacted if threatened, they would say that wasn't good enough, that he should have been paying attention to his guests, not just because of any possible danger. They were right, too, it was very rude of him. "I'm sorry I got distracted."

"That's fine, Harry, as long as we're not boring you." Was it Harry, or was McGonagall's mouth twitching as she suppressed a smile?

"No, not at all! Please, come this way. I've always enjoyed lessons with you, you have a way of making the material come alive. Even when you aren't making the desk come alive." He smiled at the older woman, hoping she would accept this as an apology.

Remus, however, saw something a little different, Harry's praise of his teacher reminded him of his own student days and some of the students having crushes on their teachers. Minerva also saw the sign, though she dismissed the idea. The boy already had girlfriends, girls he cared about deeply. She decided that it was simply a boy trying to get out of trouble, not without a touch of disappointment. If he were older, and she were younger... She buried _that_ thought as completely as she was able. She nodded and followed Harry to the lounge room with Remus, where Harry brought them refreshments and they settled in, chatting about Hogwarts, about James and Lily, and about the various classes. Minerva tactfully said little about Severus, though the fondness she exhibited when talking about the Marauders and Lily spoke volumes.

* * *

The rest of his holidays were fun, including the New Year's Eve party where all his friends attended who could make it, including Tonks and her parents Ted and Andromeda who informed him that since his father James was a pureblood, that meant Harry was related one way or another to all the other purebloods including the Black family. She forced a happy expression about them even after explaining that she had been disowned by her family for marrying a Muggle-born wizard. From what Harry could tell, it was a polite expression she had practiced. While she was obviously happy and in love with her husband even after all these years, the rejection still hurt, something Harry could understand only too well after the Dursleys and their mistreatment of him.

Nym, as she consented to be known in front of her parents (barely), changed the subject away from her mother's painful memories. "So, Harry, how are the nine girlfriends working out?"

Harry grinned. "I don't have nine girlfriends, Nym."

"Why not?" Nym asked, puzzled, unsure why he would be smiling at no longer having nine. Surely any bloke would be, right? Besides, he had seemed happy enough.

"What do you mean, _why not_, young lady?" Her mother's interruption left her floundering.

"Er, that is.."

"No, Mrs Tonks, she's right, I did have nine girls who liked me and had agreed to share me." Harry put in to save his friend and get the conversation back on track.

"So why _are_ you happy that is no longer the case, Harry? Were you displeased with any of them? Run ragged?" She gave a hint of a smile here.

"Oh, not at all, Mrs Tonks, it's no longer the case because the nine girls managed to convince the first five they could all get along. Since I care for each of them and don't want to see any of them hurt, I hope you can understand why seeing them happy makes me happy." Harry's smile was somewhat mischievous at getting to surprise both of them, but his happiness was unmistakable.

"_Fourteen!_ I do hope, Harry, that you're not just using your fame to get willing girls." Andromeda was shocked. It was the only explanation she could come up with later why she said such a thing to her host.

Harry's voice was cold as he replied, "Mrs Tonks, since the first five girls have been my friends for years, long before anyone in the Wizarding World even saw me let alone spoke to me, you can dismiss right now any notion that they have even heard of my fame from That Night. That damned Statute is the _only_ reason they aren't aware of our school's peculiar talents, that aside, those lovely girls know me far better than anyone other than my own parents who _saved_ me from where I was dumped by the Wizarding World after the murder of my parents.

"They know me, the real me, not some Boy-Who-Lived tales, and they accepted me for me. As for the girls at the Scottish school, indeed for all my friends there, every single one knows I hate my fame and think that it's stupid to praise any baby for what was obviously the work of my skilled, _adult _parents who had every reason in the world to defend themselves from that murderer. I am not the 'Boy-Who-Lived', Mrs Tonks. I am Harry Potter."

While he took a breath, struggling to get his temper back under control after the insult to both his girls and himself, Andromeda finally got a chance to reply. "I am sorry, Mr Potter, for accusing you of such a thing. One of the first things Nymphadora told us about you was that you reject your fame and that you don't want people who see the famous hero, but friends who see the real Harry. It was inexcusable to accuse you while you are my host. My only explanation is that my shock caused me to misspeak." While she was formal and somewhat stiff, her body language spoke of her sincerity and contrition.

"Apology accepted, Mrs Tonks, and please, call me Harry again? I understand your surprise, since I was hoping to use it to surprise Nym. She and I have been having a game of trying to get a rise out of each other, however this time it caught an innocent bystander."

"Thank you, Harry, you are most gracious." Andromeda was saved from having to say more as one of Harry's mothers turned up at just the right moment with some drinks and finger food. After that, she excused herself when the dancing started, eager for the chance to get her husband out onto the floor.

A minute after that, Harry's girls arrived to take him out, too, where they were delighted to learn that he was a great dancer, not stepping on their feet even if they stumbled or missed steps. Harry smiled and thanked them for the dances and the compliments, not mentioning that a few of the dances had been entirely new to him, Wizarding World developments of older dances that he had to pick up on the fly. Since adaptation to change was one of the stronger lessons from his parents along with great reflexes and coordination, he had managed to cover his ignorance long enough until it didn't matter. The girls ducked out one by one after their dances, the Clan helping to keep it unnoticed by the crowd, to meet up with Harry's clones in another room where Harry and his girls and the Clan could all dance together, clones in evidence to give each girl a partner for the slow dances they all preferred. All except Michelle, who enjoyed any and every dance with Harry, fast or slow, modern or classic though she loved ones with his hands on her the most, his touch telling her she's safe. Out in the main area, Harry was chatting with his other friends, helping to keep attention away from the missing girls.

As midnight approached, the girls eyed him and grinned. Harry was about to ask when Meaghan and Megan spoke first, in eerie unison. "Ok, Harry, which one is the real you? It's coming up time for our kisses to bring in the new year, you know."

The Harry's all smiled at the trick, with one of the clones stepping forward to ask instead, "can any of you tell which one of me is the real one?" When none of them did, Harry was glad, and the real boy raised his hand while the clones grinned, the girls piling onto him and tickling him before letting him up at last, lining up just as the final minute of '92 ebbed away. Hermione somehow was first in line, not that Harry would complain at any of the girls being first, and wrapped her arms around his waist, tilting her face up and closing her eyes, waiting with a smile. Their lips met as the clock chimed midnight and fireworks went off outside, not that Harry or Hermione cared to notice. A time later, they came up for air and Hermione was replaced by Meaghan, then Daphne and the rest, each time kissing him, putting in their burgeoning love for the green-eyed young man as he returned it with all the affection and love he had for them. In those minutes, Harry was able to forget his worries and cares entirely and give himself fully to the moment, to his girls. The dazed expression on the girls' faces was matched completely by Harry's, taking the girls into his arms and cuddling with them until Naruto quietly signalled to him that it was time to go.

While the girls, and indeed most of his other friends and their families, were staying overnight and thus the only reason they were allowed to stay up so late in the first place, there were still limits, and reluctantly the girls accepted that along with goodnight kisses from their beau before heading back out to the party in time to be seen by their families for the end of the night.

Harry chatted with Nym and Luna with his other friends as they all said goodnight, both girls asking for, and receiving, hugs from Harry, thanking him again for the invitation and the wonderful time they had. He'd gotten to know both of them better, and he found Luna just as refreshing and just as honest as ever, while Nym showed that Professor Sprout was right to pass her over as a Prefect, having no respect for school rules and far too fun-loving for any teacher's peace of mind.

* * *

Speaking of teachers, Professors Minerva McGonagall, Aurora Sinistra and Filius Flitwick had all been delighted to accept their invitations from Harry's parents. Professor Sprout sent her regrets, she had a prior engagement with another party, and she would really regret it later when her fellow teachers regaled her with tales of the evening spent in intelligent and novel conversations, divine food and delightful dancing, goggling at hearing even the very proper McGonagall had figuratively and later literally let her hair down.

There was time for homework before they all returned to Hogwarts, mostly done in groups to make it more fun, and time for playing games. Daphne loved Monopoly, once she learned the rules, something that made Susan roll her eyes at how cliché that was even as she and her aunt enjoyed the game too, as well as the refreshments Harry made for them. They had made some progress cooking for themselves, or rather with their staff learning new recipes, but they still seized any excuse to have a meal with Harry's family, something that he found both amusing and useful, since it meant he got more time with sweet Susan and without any parental objections. From what Susan had let slip, her aunt was the one spending more time coming up with creative reasons to drop by.

All too soon, Harry was heading back off to Hogwarts, this time with his Cranleigh girls coming along to see him off. Harry had to fake heading onto a different train, thanks to the damned wizards, but he didn't have to fake any of the emotions. The truth was that he was heading off to school, and would be separated in that way from these girls that meant so much to him, even though his clones would be staying home to go to school with them, and that meant he still felt the pain.

Stepping through the barrier while his clone was finishing up saying goodbye to his girls, he looked around, seeing all the friends he'd made at Hogwarts, and some of his enemies, even if he hadn't bothered to let them know they were. There was Draco Malfoy, who had set himself up as Harry's enemy right from the start and their encounter on the train, along with the other hardline bigots from his House, while their parents, many of whom were 'innocent victims of the Imperius curse' rather than nasty Death Eaters, looked on, talking amongst themselves and sneering at their 'inferiors' in blood and prestige. Harry's parents restrained themselves to ignoring them entirely in favour of talking with the other parents of students, whether magical or not, making stronger connections like good Slytherins should. It amused Daphne and her friends, Tracey and Sophie, that the Muggle parents were better Slytherins than the Purebloods who looked down on them. By now, there were dozens of Muggleborns and their families in the informal association. Thanks to the presence of Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, they were making connections to wizarding families, too. The Clan was happy at having more customers and contacts across Britain, but having more friendly locations was even better.

The ride itself was a lot of fun, talking about what people did for Christmas and presents and so on, along with the normal games and books and girls cuddling with him. On their return, they were excited still from their holidays and took time to settle in. Harry found himself giving his Hufflegirls goodnight kisses in their own dorm room, kisses still closed-lipped but just as loving as any.

* * *

_Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated as are my beta readers, Cloud Zen, Slicerness and Daisy Duck. Please sign in if you have questions in your reviews._


	15. Chapter 15 - Flyers and Flowers

**Chapter 15 - Flyers and Flowers**

Harry slipped back into his rather complicated routine well enough, at least physically. His clones were assigned to watching the Marauder's Map or patrolling the school, going about their self-assigned duties professionally, but the return to Hogwarts also brought back the stress and fear he had managed to leave behind. It wasn't so much fear for himself as for his friends, that he might not be quick enough this time to save them, that this time there might be the death of someone he loved. In his studies, he had found a lot of rumours about what creature Slytherin might have used, mostly insane suggestions or creatures that would have died off long ago.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to narrow the field for Harry's search. Besides, just because the attacker was claiming it was Slytherin's Chamber, and thus his monster, didn't mean it was true. That Founder's reputation gave the attacker a ready-made cover story, implying great power, a certain type of political motivation, even a hiding place within the school itself was more believable just by invoking his name.

So Harry and his friends were looking both at magical creatures and other forms of magic that could petrify someone. Somewhat reluctantly, Harry concluded that the Headmaster was right, either the same creature was being used both fifty years ago and now, or at least the same type of magic. And if it was the latter, then it was something both Dark and requiring a lot of power, according to the sources they could access. Given that whatever did this wasn't appearing on the Map, nor leaving any obvious evidence, Harry was concentrating more on a magical creature rather than any sort of potion or spell. It seemed impossible that whoever was behind this was countering a tracking device they didn't even know existed, after all.

Since Slytherin was the only starting point they had, they started with snakes, compiling a list of dangerous ones that could petrify or kill their victims. Top of that list was a basilisk, a creature rated the full XXXXX in the Ministry's classification of dangerous creatures, it could live for centuries, kill with its gaze, its strength or its deadly venom. However, there were other deadly creatures, a lot of them, and they were going through trying to eliminate candidates based on what little they knew. Some, for instance, simply wouldn't fit. Many killed or harmed their victims in different ways. All he had left on his list were various snakes or snake-like creatures that a Parselmouth could speak with and control.

All the creatures left were killers, they had to be to make it onto the list, but the basilisk, the King of Serpents, was the worst of the lot. Unfortunately, that also made it one of the more likely given that people liked to prove themselves the greatest like that. '_Hana-mum taught me how to handle lots of animals, but she never mentioned ones that could kill you with a glance!'_

The big question Harry had was why no one had died yet if it really was a basilisk, and how people were petrified instead. Sadly, they couldn't ask the victims until this Mandrake Restorative Draught was prepared which would take months, and who knew how many people would be killed by then. While they were lucky that whoever was controlling the monster was trying to choose their targets, that didn't mean they wouldn't change their mind and just go for a mass slaughter of students. Worse, if it was someone with blood bigot leanings, then a lot of his friends were at risk. He had to protect them.

Harry worried to himself. '_Let's see, there was a large puddle of water around the cat, Mrs Norris. There was another large puddle near the Twins. There wasn't any near the third attack on Cormac McLaggen and Sir Nick the ghost, then again, could a ghost be killed by a death gaze? So that doesn't rule out the basilisk after all, as long as seeing the creature indirectly saved you._

'_Not being able to look at the creature's eyes makes hunting it a real pain, though. And it is obvious that it is returning to the Chamber after each attack or someone would have noticed it. This makes trying to find the Chamber a priority, too, beyond just the challenge of it.'_

No, with this perspective, Harry had to believe that letting his friends go about unprotected was a terrible idea. The trick would be convincing them to allow him to do it, and in some cases that he would be able to help. He was only a Second Year, after all. '_Sometimes, people won't let you help them, and there's nothing you can do.'_ It was one of the bitterest lessons, his parents had told him. Harry just hoped that he wouldn't have to experience it himself. '_Not just yet, please!'_ His heart hammered in his chest as he sat there in the Library brought home to him a couple of things. First, that he still had a lot of work to do on maintaining his body control. Second, that he was truly more afraid for his friends' safety than for his own, something that was noble but also a tendency he had to watch out for, not least because it could get him killed and leave them helpless. And that whoever the attacker was, they were going to pay the price for threatening captive children.

As he got himself under control, he waited until Hermione and Padma stopped talking about Lethifolds, another thoroughly nasty creature that thankfully didn't inhabit Britain. "Padma, I think Hermione's right that it's not a Lethifold. In fact, I think I have a good idea what it could be."

He explained his reasoning, including the psychological analysis which was always going to be only supporting rather than conclusive. "If it's any of these creatures, we need to stay safe, but most especially if 'Serpent Tongue' Slytherin did use the King of Serpents to guard his Chamber. If I'm right, then an indirect gaze is enough to Petrify you, costing you months out of your life, while the direct gaze will kill anyone alive."

A few of them nodded, "That would fit the data available, but there's no way to test it, or no good way." Hermione added.

"Believe me, I know. Still, it at least suggests ways to stay alive in case you're attacked and can't run away."

"The Boy-Who-Lived wants us to run away?" Parvati teased.

Harry laughed, "I don't know about him, but I sure do! This thing has the maximum classification from the Ministry of Magic, it can kill you in a number of ways, and only a Parselmouth has a chance to convince it to turn back. Yes, I want all of us to run from it if we can, rather than for any of us to die."

"So, what do you suggest would help? The Water-Making Spell is only taught to Sixth Years, so we can't make puddles even if we had time." Daphne pointed out as reasonably as she could.

"I know, but there's a couple of things I'd suggest. The first is staying in groups, so far the only attacks have been on people when alone or with one other person. I think that's because whoever is behind this doesn't want a witness to escape, but whatever the cause, we can try to use it in our favour. The second is to use mirrors to look around corners before you, in case the monster is ahead of you. The last one would be to try to keep your eyes down, though I'm not sure that one is that good an idea."

They debated various measures they could take, and how practical they would be, until it was time for dinner, heading along as a big group with Harry in the lead holding a mirror. There in the Great Hall, they started to pass along their idea of staying in groups and using mirrors to check for possible ambushes. They didn't know if their warning would do any good, but they had to try.

* * *

Later, Harry got his girls alone and offered to have one of his clones watching over each of them at all times. He should have known that suggestion would get him into trouble. Padma grinned at him. "You going to watch me in the shower, Harry?"

He looked at her for a second and grinned back. "There's no good answer to that, is there? If I say yes, it makes me a pervert or a stalker, and if I say no, I might be accused of saying you're not worth watching. Ok, well done."

He waited until the teasing died down, adding "I meant that I would leave a clone to guard you, not invade your privacy. Just let me know if you'd accept that, and any conditions you have. Now, who's up for a cuddle as you think it over?"

He smiled, all of them were more than happy for an extra cuddle and it was good for his nerves, too. And he was nervous, he knew. Within five minutes, all the girls had agreed to having Harry watch out for them, though some of them seemed to go along with it more because it was more time with Harry rather than because they agreed with his concerns. Their various conditions weren't a problem for him, essentially just 'no peeking!' with different details as to when they meant.

"Ok, next question for you girls. I was hoping to also watch out for my other friends as much as I can, but there are two problems with it. The first of course is getting them to agree, and I think having you all agree first will help there. The second is they'll want to know how I can possibly do it, and I don't see any option other than to show the clones. My family doesn't want me to show off my talents to everyone, though, so they'll insist I get some guarantee of privacy, and to them, that means more Oaths. That caused problems last time it was brought up, so I'm hoping to learn the correct way to go about it, if there is one."

Harry blushed, cutely in Daphne's opinion, as she started to answer, explaining more about the 'how to's of talking about and asking for Oaths, the etiquette her family taught her. Harry looked to confirm with the other wizard-raised, just to be sure that this was standard enough and not something peculiar to just Daphne's family. When Daphne noticed his glance, he readily explained why he was checking. That and some extra cuddling helped soothe any ruffled feathers. "I've been burned before, my Daphne, and while I know you wouldn't deliberately tell me the wrong thing, well, I wanted to be sure of this, that's all. Our parents can be wrong too. Just look at _mine_," he joked, reminding them all just why he was being cautious.

"Thanks, Daphne, and the rest of you as well for your help, and for letting me help you, too. I am honoured by your trust, and I hope you know how special, how important you are to me." However cheesy he was being, for the girls listening to him, it worked. They could feel his sincerity, and that's all that mattered to them.

Over the next few days, Harry approached his other friends who were in the know, offering to watch out for them. Some of the guys, especially the pureblood ones, turned him down, saying that if no one was watching out for Harry, they couldn't accept someone watching out for them, it just wasn't manly. The girls didn't have that concern, though a couple of them were worried he might use the chance to spy on them as they were changing. After he offered in the accepted manner to swear an Oath about it, even the few who had refused him until that point accepted his offer. Strangely enough, none of them would accept an Oath from him that he wouldn't spy, saying that it wasn't needed, the offer was sufficient, though he did catch Nym smiling and she joked that on second thoughts, he could watch her any time.

* * *

Harry had done more than just trying to guard his friends. As soon as their study group had decided that a basilisk was a possible means for these attacks, he had remembered to send a letter to Amelia Bones asking for a meeting.

The next time she visited the Kitsune Compound, he spoke with her about their suspicions.

"I hear you, Harry, but do you have any proof? Besides, these things kill. They don't petrify."

The clone shook his head. "There isn't a better candidate that we can find, and our theory explains the petrifactions."

"It does, but you don't have any evidence," Bones returned then sighed. "And until you have a lot of evidence, something I can show to people, or until there are more attacks, I can't move. The _renowned_ Headmaster has, in his infinite wisdom, ruled these attacks to be nothing more than magical accidents caused by foolish students evading the outstanding staff's supervision and then using some unknown spell. Or at least, that is what his paperwork submitted to the Ministry's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes has claimed. In doing so, he miraculously sidesteps all responsibility and censure for these attacks, so the Ministry doesn't yet have the justification to move against his control of the school.

"And since the Minister's office controls the priorities assigned to DMLE investigations, I can't go and get that evidence or send my people to do so. The DMLE lost the power to decide its own investigations under my _predecessor_ Crouch," she growled, "as part of the deal that saw him only transferred to head the Department of International Magical Cooperation instead of sacked and arrested himself for his part in the scandal involving his dead son. It was an utter disaster for my Department when we lost such an integral responsibility. That's why Dumbledore's move is so likely to succeed. Fudge won't change his mind without evidence, and I can't get the evidence without changing his mind first."

Harry nodded at the explanation. "It's a smooth move, alright. And as long as he is careful in how he worded it, not even the parents can really complain to anyone."

"Exactly. Everyone knows that there are accidents at Hogwarts so it's just business as usual for there to be a couple of serious ones. And since he's kept it out of the papers, no one believes there's a pattern of attacks to worry about, not unless they have to. And the Chief Warlock has seen to it that the Ministry efforts to investigate are perceived to be a power grab rather than an honest attempt to stop the attacks. Not that he needed to work hard at that when Fudge is, well, Fudge."

Harry grumbled but nodded. To show there were no hard feelings, he whipped up a dinner for her with a lemon sorbet for dessert, something he knew she loved.

* * *

Whether it was Harry's patrolling, the students taking to travelling in groups of three or more, or simply the attacker choosing to wait, he didn't know, but January was free of any attacks, and likewise free of any sign that the attacker was doing anything. Well, there had been some chickens and roosters killed, according to Hagrid's whisper to Dumbledore, a whisper that half the Hall heard that breakfast morning given it was coming from the big man. That seemed to match the idea that it was a basilisk, though Harry was reminding himself it could be disinformation.

His friends got used to Harry being there more, and Harry was always mindful to keep his presence from being a burden or intrusive. He didn't want to lose friends over this, and he couldn't really argue if they called his behaviour paranoid, so he was looking to avoid those accusations in the first place.

Harry took to showing more movies on the Great Hall ceiling, showing mostly comedies and light-hearted movies and shows. As January was ending, Professor Sprout noted that there hadn't been so few detentions in a single month for decades. Harry grinned, thinking that his movie nights were the reason for it, and wondering if he'd ever let the teachers know. Thinking on it more, he'd love to get the opinions of most of the staff. Only Professors Snape, Lockhart and Trelawney could he picture really objecting to it. Snape because he was head of the house notorious for their prejudice, Lockhart because it took attention away from him and Trelawney because it would take attention away from her predictions and her field of magic. After all, who would pay attention to her hocus pocus and predictions of a student death, predictions that had been uniformly wrong for over a decade, when there was real entertainment to be had. Even then, he might be doing her a disservice.

* * *

The start of February brought no news regarding the attacks, but it did bring Harry something else to worry about. Valentine's Day was fast approaching, and Harry had not one but fourteen girls to consider. He was also still dodging that little stalker Creevey's camera. Sadly, the boy couldn't take a hint, or even a point-blank request to stop, but it did give Harry some extra training so he didn't want to take any harsher measures.

He noticed that Weasley's sister, Ginny, had been acting strange around him even more, not that he tried to hang around her, really. Still, when he looked at or near her, she'd act very clumsy. Another crush, and a pathetic one, too. Since as far as he knew, she hadn't seen him topless like the other girls who harbored crushes, and she certainly hadn't spoken enough to him to get to know Harry, that just left a Boy-Who-Lived groupie as the most likely explanation for her behavior.

It seemed his actions against those fantasy writers hadn't come soon enough in her case, nor had she yet understood the difference between the character they made up and the Hufflepuff student she saw around the castle. Hopefully she like the rest would learn in time.

No, the interesting thing about her was that she had become quiet and pale. A quiet Weasley was not a normal Weasley. The girl in question had started out outgoing, cheerful and loud, willing to tell off her brothers or threaten them with writing home to tell their mother. In short, the usual stuff siblings do to each other. Lately, she was quiet.

When he asked his Gryffindor friends, they assured him no one had been bullying her, she was just quieter now, possibly after realising she couldn't manipulate the staff like she manipulated her parents according to Lavender. Luna volunteered that the girl used to be her friend since they were neighbours, though that had ended after her mother died, news that saw the blonde girl given a lot of hugs and support. Privately, Luna added that her father had taken the loss very hard, and didn't let Luna out of his sight for months after the funeral, meaning she couldn't see her friend. Harry figured that it had hit Luna, too, being shut in with a grieving father, trying to cheer him up, and part of her 'weirdness' came from trying to fit in with her father. He was happy she was shedding her defences more, he loved seeing her honest smile, something they were treated to more regularly as she got to know Harry's group better.

As for Ginny, she was from a long line of 'Light' witches and wizards and had six brothers, which meant it was very unlikely she was a Parselmouth when supposedly none of them were. Still, her unusual behaviour did mean that he ought to watch her. Thinking of unusual behaviour, there was Malfoy's quiet streak. While he was keeping up his usual vitriol against over 99 percent of humanity for not being Purebloods like him, he hadn't started a single fight since that Duelling Club incident, the first and last meeting it had.

With a plan for Ginny and Draco in place, clones to watch the Map and his Snake friends to warn him about the ponce, Harry considered the coming match on the 6th. He hadn't forgotten about it, but training for Quidditch was just routine for him now, carrying out a plan the team had made after their earlier thrashing of Gryffindor. With Harry's help with massages and practice going smoother, the team was training longer and harder than previous years, finally able to live up to the Hufflepuff ideals of teamwork and a strong work ethic.

The ribbing within his group of friends about the coming match was deliberately light. They encouraged loyalty to each other over loyalty to a House since they represented all the Houses, even if they didn't have as many Slytherins as the rest. When with each other, they allowed themselves to show any of the House virtues, no matter what colours they wore. Harry happily wished Cho a good game, who did the same for the Hufflepuffs. Whatever happened on the pitch, they would stay friends off of it.

* * *

The day of the match was gloomy and raining hard, making the broomsticks slippery, something all the players were used to thanks to winter training. The weather also made the search for the Snitch harder than usual, visibility dropping amid the rain, and the Quaffle and Bludgers were slippery too, making everyone's jobs harder. The game was started by a remarkably dry Madam Hooch, obviously putting Drying and Warming Charms to good use, earning her glares from the players and drawing amusement in return.

The players shot into the air slower than normal, aware that the game would tend to be a low-flying and probably low-scoring affair today and adapting tactics accordingly. Cedric kept a fairly sedate pace, flying circles of the pitch at around half-speed, while Cho flew figure-eights a little faster, hair streaming behind her despite the wind and the rain that should have plastered it to her.

For the rest of the teams, there was a more desperate edge to the defence since each team knew it was more important. They seemed to have forgotten to tell Harry, though, who was still setting up shots for his girls, and taking shots himself when he could. He managed to help out on defence, but he was always more comfortable on the attack. The Ravenclaw players knew they needed a high score, win or lose, so they had instructed Cho that while they really wanted her to get the Snitch, it was best overall if she merely denied Diggory the catch until they had scored enough goals. Cho resented being told to play less than her best, but she could read the standings as well as anyone else. She promised herself that the Pretty Puff would not beat her, no matter what, and took to taking free flight over the pitch in a holding pattern. That allowed her to concentrate on watching the game while still keeping an eye out for the elusive golden ball.

Below her, things weren't going according to the Ravenclaw game plan. Slowly but surely, the Hufflepuffs were building up a lead, and she saw the moment her team captain decided to switch from the defensive strategy that seemed natural in the bad weather to offensive, putting to better use their Chasers at getting the high scoring affair the 'Claws needed. A few minutes later, Diggory having spotted the switch and the quick three goals from the opposing Chasers, told his team to do the same. The race was on!

From there, both teams got into a rhythm, the Beaters mostly keeping each other occupied while the Chasers scored goal after goal, along with a fair number of misses due to the weather and the faster pace. Harry and his friends were fit for their age, but the Ravenclaw Chasers were older with the generally greater stamina that accompanied it. Soon enough, Hermione and Susan were starting to flag from their initial high energy level and the Ravenclaws were able to even up the scoring rate mostly. Harry though decided he could afford to go harder and longer since everyone knew of his morning runs and what that implied about his fitness. Hermione and Susan agreed and took to setting him up for goals more than the other way around. The Ravenclaws tried to double or triple team Harry, but that just left openings for the girls, and when they didn't, Harry was able to outfly whoever they put against him.

Hermione was just about to score, putting Hufflepuff at 800, when Cho had to abandon the "Deny Cedric" strategy and match him in a chase for the Snitch. He had the faster broom and was above the Snitch, allowing him to pull into a powerful dive, but Cho only had half the distance to travel, and even starting later, that made the difference, crossing in front of the 'Puff and grabbing the Snitch right before pulling up in front of the Hufflepuff stands. Cedric gave her a bow from his broom, somehow not looking as silly as the gesture should, and both teams landed, exchanging compliments and handshakes over a well-fought game. The final score of 790-760 after a gruelling match was a testament to the Hufflepuff Chasers and Ravenclaw's Seeker.

All the players waited impatiently for Madam Hooch to let them go, flying off to their changing rooms a little faster than was safe and hitting the hot showers. As was now usual practice, the Puff guys showered first then left via the other exit, letting Hermione and Susan get the massage they craved, before a good hot shower to scrub themselves clean.

Cho dropped in to get her own massage just before Hermione's was finished, and Harry was positive the girl blushed hearing Hermione's moans as Harry's 'magic fingers' worked at all the kinks in her muscles. Cho stripped off her robes, leaving her in just athletic shorts and a sports bra, laying down on the table Susan had vacated and closed her eyes, waiting for his hands to make her feel good too. If she felt a little extra thrill when his hands descended on her body, well, that wasn't harming anyone. Harry's senses picked up the signs but he kept quiet. He knew a good massage could have that effect. He relaxed as he gave her an extra good massage to reward his friend's performance on the pitch, the activity relaxing him as few things did.

* * *

The following week was a good one, overall. Cho was praised by a lot of students for an impressive catch as well as denying the older, more experienced 'Puff his own chances and all within the rules. The Puffs, meanwhile, praised Susan, Hermione and especially Harry whose performance was clearly the best on the pitch in their mind. Oh, Chang did a good job, but they preferred the teamwork and scoring of the Chasers, they said. Harry smiled and accepted their praise, though he made sure that Cho knew he admired her form.

Unfortunately, the weekend was marred by Lockhart, who was desperate for some good publicity since his humiliation at the Duelling Club and had set on making Valentine's Day his own. He had inflicted his own atrocious colour sense on the Great Hall. The walls were covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Heart-shaped confetti fell from the pale blue ceiling, covering their breakfast. '_Another wizard lacking all sense!'_ Harry griped to himself. A quick Wind technique picked up the rubbish from the table near him, then thinking more he extended that to the rest of the students who he felt deserving, in practice most of the school except for the more outspoken of the Slytherins who got everyone else's confetti covering their plates. A quick Illusion technique ensured that no one saw this as it happened and thus, no one could honestly be singled out for blame. A relatively harmless prank and only on the deserving.

Sadly, the decor and the confetti weren't the end of Lockhart's offensive. He stood up, showing his smarmy smile, shouting "Happy Valentine's Day! And may I thank the thirty-one people who have so far sent me cards!"

Harry told his friends, "I doubt he got more than a dozen."

Daphne smiled, "Are you keeping score, Harry?"

He laughed, "No, I just watch what's going on, my sweet Valentine."

Daphne perked up at those words, and even more when she found a long, thin present in front of her, with a card and her name. Inside were the words:

To my darling Daphne,

you are as beautiful as a spring day,

and you have my heart.

Love, your Harry.

P.S There is a surprise for you after lunch, for now, I hope you'll accept this token of my affection.

As she and the other girls opened their presents, they each found a single, red rose. None of them were quite sure how he had placed their gifts there without them noticing, but they appreciated his gesture, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

When they'd finished, they caught the tail end of Lockhart's little speech. "— and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall finally cut him off by the expedient of a leg-locking spell, modified to force the smarmy man to sit down before he embarrassed the staff any further.

* * *

All day long, the dwarves kept barging into rooms looking for students to deliver valentines. Madam Pince took to ejecting them entirely from her Library, while teachers like Professors Sinistra and Vector just hid in their officers or staff quarters to escape the surly things and their delivery of Valentine's card or songs from students.

Harry himself was torn between running and hiding, throwing them out bodily or just accepting them. It was Hannah who surprised them all, asking him to accept the deliveries. As she put it, people had put themselves at risk of humiliation when they sent them, and if he rejected the delivery, he was rejecting the person as well without even knowing who or what was sent. "What if one of us had sent one?"

That stopped him in his tracks. "You're right, Hannah, I won't reject any of you. If I reject any Valentine, I might end up doing that, so I can't. Ok, in that case, why don't we head to our classroom today? If there's a message, I can take it privately."

The girls smiled at him now that he was no longer thinking of fleeing like a boy. "Of course," he added mischievously, "it might be a message for one of you from some admirer. Maybe Draco Malfoy has developed a crush on a girl."

"Maybe he's got a crush on a boy." Daphne's riposte had a few of them green, the thought of Draco with their Harry was not a happy one. Even Daphne regretted her comeback.

They enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning, swapping cuddles but no more since the door was open and anyone could barge in. As it happens, a few dwarves did just that, a quartet of them marching in all for Harry Potter. Three of them just handed over a stack of letters each, but the last had a musical message. Harry quickly glanced at the others, confirming none of them sent it.

"Not _here_," Harry hissed, almost slipping into Parseltongue.

The dwarf looked to ignore him, so Harry gave a quick "Sorry, I'll be right back," to his girls and darted out the door, the dwarf hot on his heels. He led him on a merry chase, surprised by how well he kept up, all the way to the Divination Tower where, free at last of anyone in hearing range, he turned on his heel and stopped. "Ok, we're clear, now first, will you tell me who sent the 'musical message' of yours?"

The dwarf was catching his breath having just missed running into the boy, shaking his head. "I don't have a name for the sender, just the message itself. Right, here is your singing valentine:

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

_His hair is as dark as a blackboard._

_I wish he was mine, he's really divine,_

_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

"Well, any other valentines for me before I head back to my girlfriends?" Harry asked neutrally after the horrible verse ended. The shake of the head was all Harry needed, and he bolted back down the quick way to his girls.

When he got back, they asked who it was, of course. "I didn't get a name when I asked, just the singing valentine."

"Was it good enough to turn you away from us?" Parvati and Lavender teased him.

"No, not a chance." Harry grinned, relaxing now that it was over. "If whoever sent it wants to get my attention, they'll need to let me know in person, but they won't stop me loving you."

They left him alone about the valentines after that, just enjoying a quiet morning together as good friends and girlfriends do, talking and relaxing until lunch time. They headed back to the Great Hall, thankful to whoever had stopped the rain of rubbish, that is confetti, onto the food. It was bad enough as it was.

The Muggle-raised had learned to tolerate the food well enough that they didn't even notice it any more as they ate a less than peaceful meal amidst more dwarven ambushes and valentine deliveries. Harry had used the opportunity to prank Draco, sending several fake musical valentines supposedly from older male students, each of whom were known to Harry for their intolerance. The one praising Draco for such a long snake got the most laughs.

His girls looked at him curiously after lunch, following him for their 'surprise', still unsure what it could be despite their best nagging, or rather, encouragement for him to come clean. He led them to a different room from normal, one distant from just about every major area of the castle, that he and his clones had improved on for a week.

The outside was the generic Hogwarts look, walls still smooth from his earlier prank, but on opening the door and stepping inside, it was like magic. No magic had been used, of course, since Harry found his chakra techniques more suitable for changing the interior to produce a miniature ballroom decorated in high style. Each of the girls were taken in hand by a Harry dressed up like a gentleman, instead of a wizard. The Harry that escorted them smiled and started up the stereo (running on a lot of batteries), the music perfect for a waltz. That afternoon, they managed to put aside everything, all concerns and fears, just enjoying time with each other. Harry didn't mention that he was doing the same for his Cranleigh girls, it never felt like the right time to remind them of the other girls anyway. Each of the girls though was very happy with their rose and their dances with their man.

* * *

Harry was happy to see the end of February without any further incidents caused by either Lockhart's vanity or the Heir of Slytherin madness. He did like how his girls responded to his surprise, it made the whole day worthwhile. After that it was back to their routines, Quidditch practice for some, homework, their group studying and chatting, and the nightly shows.

March opened with the first sunny day in months, lifting all their spirits. There was another Quidditch match coming up, but this time Hufflepuff were sitting it out, able just to watch the game without the Cup on the line. House relations being what they were, most of the school was hoping for a good thumping of the Snakes by the Ravens, something that the Slytherins took as justification of their persecution complex and responded nastily just as they normally did.

In an abandoned room, something Hogwarts possessed in abundance, someone had taken to brewing up Draught of the Living Death. Harry had tried to find out whom it was, but the mystery person had taken to concealing their identity and besides, there were a few people using that room. The times he had tried to spy, his clones were disrupted by some sort of active magic as they tried to enter. This confirmed the problem with sending clones, and when Harry himself tried entering, the charms on the room had him thinking there was somewhere else he needed to be urgently. He only knew what they were brewing thanks to the ingredients he'd spotted.

He was hoping that focus on that room's location on the Map would help him find out what was going on, but it hadn't yet. Unfortunately, the potion required a fair amount of brewing time, not supervision or intervention.

* * *

In the end, the Quidditch game was just the distraction Harry needed. The Ravenclaws played a good game, Cho easily outflying Draco as Harry and his friends all expected. He was also pleased to see the Ravenclaw Chasers in better form now that the rain was gone. Unfortunately for them, Slytherin were living up to their reputation for dirty tricks. They were using just about every type of foul in the list, keeping Madam Hooch distracted with one violation or approach while others happened behind her back. Harry studied Snape's face during the match. Each time his team fouled their opponent and got away with it, he looked disgusted, though whether that was for the bad play or the referee not noticing was unclear.

While the Ravenclaws were technically the better players, the dirty tactics from the Slytherins were easily making up for the lack and the scoreboard reflected that fact. The Slytherins took the lead, hitting 340, and the Ravenclaw captain gave Cho the signal, find the Snitch as soon as possible. Cho snorted, thinking it was about time! She and the other girls on the team had been beaten and bruised by the Slytherin players, and their brooms damaged and even cursed during the match while flying near the students wearing green and silver. There was no proof, of course, and certainly Snape protested any punishment of his students without it, the Headmaster going along with his acerbic Potions Master.

The next fifteen minutes were painful for the Ravenclaws and their fans. Since they had no real confidence in their Seeker, they were concentrating their 'cunning' attacks on Cho Chang, even setting her up to look like she was the one fouling them when they thought they could. Happily, she did manage to find the Snitch, and after a perfectly executed feint left Draco hurtling face-first into his captain Marcus Flint, she darted away and grabbed the snitch, final scores 490-380.

The end of the second match for Ravenclaw was just as welcome as the first but also far happier for those supporting the blue and bronze. Since that was most of the school, the resulting applause was massive. The Slytherin players slunk away under the stares of their housemates and especially Snape's sneer. The Ravenclaws darted into their changing rooms after Cho made a quick request for Harry's services. A nod and a quick pull onto the broom, and she was off, taking Harry for a ride. In the Ravenclaw changing rooms, all eyes turned to Harry. "Please?"

It was hard to say who was the most desperate for the help, but Harry smiled. "That's why I'm here. I saw, we all saw, how dirty they were playing today, and I'd want to help anyone who had to put up with that crap. Just let me know who's first."

There was a quick huddle as they sorted out who would be first, going by most injured to least. Harry was happy that this left Cho for last, as she was the closest friend he had on the team. Not so good was that both other girls on the team were first. "Bunch of ruddy bullies," he muttered. The 'Claws heard him and agreed, except for the girl laying on the massage table, eyes closed in bliss as Harry's hands, hidden from the rest, glowed slightly with medical chakra as he prepared to apply what healing he could. Her first groan had the rest of the team turning around to give her some privacy, which allowed Harry to conduct a brief examination. Thankfully, there was only muscle damage and bruising, though there was a lot of the latter, which Harry could heal up entirely, taking advantage of the brief window to do just that as he also worked out the kinks and pains she was feeling.

Harry grinned down at the girl as he finished up. "All done, right?"

"But, that was only five minutes," she pouted, she was feeling _so_ good. "Hang on, you're right, that _is_ better!" She got up, giving Harry a big hug in her exuberance, and darted off to the showers, not even noticing in her excited state that her injuries were gone until she finished dressing. The next girl took her place even before the first was out the door, smiling when Harry gave her a similar treatment, a first shot of pain relief to just above her kidneys where a Bludger left a nasty bruise early in the game, and getting up in shorter time, bouncing out the door to her shower.

"Wow, I've never seen her so energetic!" Cho chuckled watching the girl leave. The four guys agreed, getting a similarly quick but effective massage and covert healing of their injuries. Naturally the guys had underreported their problems out of pride, one had a greenstick fracture to his left arm that Harry was barely qualified to repair and his massage took the longest so far, something Harry excused on the basis that the guy had more muscles to work through. The guy preened and the girls rolled their eyes, but the excuse worked. The next three went quickly, and half an hour after he started, it was time for Cho's. The grin on her face told him she knew it, too. A quick hug and a thank you, and she had dropped her robes and outerwear, leaving only her undergarments as she lay down. Harry was torn between embarrassment at how much skin she revealed and anger at how much of it was marred. He brought both emotions under control, going into his professional mode and working the girl over from head to toes, front and back. It was a good thing, too, that he had put his emotions under control, or another one would have made its presence felt with her body on display for him like that.

He finished up, having taken his time to give her a full massage, knowing she would welcome the extra attention the same as last time. A light slap to her calf and she got up, smiling. "Thank you, Harry, you were wonderful as always." She gave him a wink and laughed at his reaction, heading off to the showers, leaving Harry free to meet up with his friends.

Padma grinned when he arrived. "And when's our turn for a massage, Harry?" Harry chuckled, though he did give each of the girls one before dinner.

* * *

The week after the game, Susan told him about her idea to help get her aunt to agree to keeping more of Harry's secrets, since she wanted the two to get along well. Aunt Amelia had been supportive of her ward's choices, seeing in Harry the caring and determination to protect Susan that she saw in her own mirror, seeing in Susan the joy and happiness he brought her. Harry's clones created another way for Susan and her aunt to stay close despite the distance, anything told to Harry or his clones would be passed along securely, despite the distance. While the security was useful, or could be, the really sneaky part of her plan was she could sell it to her aunt as giving her more reasons to sample the delightful cooking she'd grown to adore. Any time she had a message for her niece or wanted to check for one from her, they all had to go via Harry, further enhancing Harry's reputation in her eyes.

If all went to plan, her aunt would get more fine dining, more contact with Susan, and get to know better the boy who was so important to her niece. Susan would get more contact with her aunt who she likewise missed, more excuses to spend time with Harry, and get to help her aunt and her Harry get along. Harry would not be left out, however. In addition to keeping the good opinion of the family of one of his girls, he'd be able to find out a lot more of what went on in this society from someone in a position of authority whose very job was to know what was going on. There were few people better placed to have the information Harry wanted, no matter what it was. And, of course, the woman was good company in her own right.

The execution of it all would have to wait until the Easter break, but Susan was getting her groundwork done already. When she explained her idea to the other girls, Padma and Parvati smiled while Daphne just asked her one question. "Why is it someone as cunning as you ended up in Hufflepuff, while I was put in Slytherin? I wanted Hufflepuff, too."

That wasn't news to any of them, Daphne had already let the others know that she was only a Slytherin because the Hat called her desire for a lot of friends an ambition worthy of that House. Having seen her new Housemates, she agreed that few of them really were cunning or ambitious, but that just created more questions.

Susan's grin was predatory, "I just talked to the Hat about how I was a good, hard-working sort, and that I was hoping to be placed among people I could trust. As you know, I didn't _lie_, and I'm a good fit in Hufflepuff, am I not?" Harry chuckled, it seemed tricking the Hat was something others had tried, and succeeded at, too.

After that, the other girls decided to try similar strategies with their own families, modified to fit the different circumstances as best they were able, with a smiling Harry's permission, first. Whether the first letter was enough, or they needed more, they had started with enough time in hand that all their families had agreed by the time they headed out to the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express and then on to London.

Several hours with friends passed, Draco and his goons again staying at the castle, and they were again back with their families. The rounds of greetings and goodbyes were taking longer every time, but Harry didn't mind, it was more proof that he was fitting in with this strange, closed off society and making it at least a little better. He watched the Grangers and the Greengrasses chatting away while waiting for their daughters, two families who would never have spoken to each other without him, and from their expressions and body language, both sides were happy to be there. He could have listened in, of course, but instead walked up to greet them.

"Good evening, Mr and Mrs Granger, Mr and Mrs Greengrass." They exchanged some polite conversation, Mrs Greengrass hinting that she was curious as to what more he could have to tell them and just how that would translate into something beneficial to her family. He merely smiled back and continued to chat until the return of Daphne and Hermione, both girls hugging him tightly and whispering how much they would miss him. Well, he would miss them too, and he told them so, prompting them to hug even tighter.

Finally, all the goodbyes were said, and Harry was on his way back to Cranleigh, back to the embrace of his unusual, loving family.

* * *

_Thank you all for reading and for your support. Your feedback is appreciated and my thanks go to my betas for their help. A reminder, guest reviews with questions cannot be answered._


	16. Chapter 16 - Take Me Away

**Chapter 16 - Take Me Away**

That night, his parents threw another party, his Cranleigh girls and Mr Lupin, Remus, as he insisted Harry call him, were invited making the night more fun for all concerned. Party games, delicious food and best of all the company.

The next morning, he got dressed up in his finest wizard robes as the wizard-raised girls had said it would look better for him to ask for an Oath if he looked the part. Harry understood what they were trying to say. Setting the stage for the encounter was an important part of both combat and politics, and while he disliked the clothes the wizards chose, he was prepared to put up with a lot for the mission.

They had decided against involving the Cranleigh families for this. While they were part of it in a way, they would be more of a distraction than anything else even if it wouldn't bend or break the Statute of Secrecy. Just the robes would attract too much attention, so they had arranged for their guests to Apparate in on Clan property near the Forest, with a covered walkway leading to the main house.

Inside, the Clan were arrayed around the hall their guests had seen at Harry's birthday party the year before. As their guests arrived in small groups, they were directed to take comfortable seats and offered refreshments. The Clan had taken care to create a setting where their guests would relax and be in a receptive state of mind. They had taken their rudeness with the Oaths last time to heart, it was one of their first failures in years, and they were determined to show they had learned from the encounter.

Once they were all gathered together, Harry stepped up to a podium, the Clan behind him mostly intending to show their support to their son though they knew it would have an effect on their audience as well. "Thank you all for coming today. You were invited here with offers of more hidden knowledge, or a new way to stay in contact with your children while they were at Hogwarts, or simply just more reason to drop by for dinners. Whatever the reason that brought you here, thank you. First, I want to assure you that what you were told is correct, this does involve a secure means of passing along messages, one that as far as we know cannot be intercepted or monitored. And we would like to offer this to each of you. For now, while we'd be happy to offer more details, we hope that this is enough information for you to make your own decisions about our request."

He stepped back, Naruto and Hinata moving up to place a hand each on his shoulders, reassuring him. They headed to a curtained off area where they would wait for their guests to come up and exchange oaths, or reject the offer, an offer that would remain open with the same conditions. They were hopeful that no one would change their minds at this late stage, but keeping it voluntary was some of the strongest advice his girls had given him. They were right, too, as in small groups, they all gave their oaths to protect the information, and Harry's secrets, in exchange for Harry and the Clan protecting their own secrets in turn. The lack of a time limit on what secrets of his they would keep was something the Clan was all happy to see. It meant they were now bound to keep anything he shared with them a secret, even Amelia Bones had agreed to that condition without hesitation, surprising all of them.

Another round of refreshments accompanied by thanking each of them for their trust and it was time. Harry returned to the podium, getting their attention, and gave a confident smile belying his nerves. "Now that is out of the way, an explanation and a demonstration is in order. The truth is that I never gave up my time here in Cranleigh, I never needed to choose only Hogwarts or only Cranleigh, for I could attend both."

A slow hand-sign and he produced nine clones with a puff of smoke, playing up the drama of the moment. As the smoke cleared, there was a gasp from the audience. "As you can see, these clones look just like me. They also know everything I do at the moment of their creation and when they are dispelled, like this, their memories are returned to me." The clone at the far end of the line gave an ironic smile before the one next to him gave him a solid punch to the shoulder, making it disappear in another puff of smoke. "There are limits to how many, and how often I can create clones, but as I'm sure you all understand, this is the ability to transmit information securely that we described. While the real me goes to Hogwarts, my clones are able to go to school here, which means there's always one of me around to pass on messages to or from your daughters, faster and safer than any owl who could be observed or tracked, from what I've heard, or even interfered." Miyuki flew in onto a clone's shoulder, cuffing his head with her wing before settling in. "Not that my owl would ever allow herself to be abused like that!" He grinned and the audience laughed.

Elizabeth Granger called out, "I now see also why my daughter doesn't complain about having to share her boyfriend. You do give her all the time she needs, right?"

"Just so, Mrs Granger, it is my privilege and a pleasure to give her all the attention and support she wants. As I do for the other girls. Each of these girls are lovely, special people, and making them happy makes me happy." Harry's smiling face, his sincerity, was both a product of his acting training and a reflection of his inner emotions. His parents had told him that believing what you were saying was the best way to convince your audience, and this he believed with all his heart. Seeing and hearing him worked to help the parents and guardians there that he truly was worthy of their daughters, or at least that he could be.

Amelia Bones had a question, though, that the Clan had expected. "Harry, you've shown an amazing ability here. What magic was used to produce the clones, and is it legal?"

Mindful of their audience, Harry replied, "Madame Bones, while I know this will be hard to believe, there is absolutely no magic involved. The energy used is something entirely different, which my parents call chakra. As you know, they are entirely non-magical people." She nodded, having confirmed that with her Aurors over the summer, and he continued. "What you don't know is that they are the ones who gave me this ability, and a chakra network that can sustain it." Harry didn't need to look as he felt the pulse of the Clan creating a clone each, all that would really fit in the hall as it was arranged.

"And our tests showed that magic and chakra don't mix well. I had to learn to use one or the other but never both at the same time. No magic, Dark or otherwise, was used at all. Indeed, my clones have no magic in them. If you wish, I offer my Oath on my magic that all of what I have told you is true."

* * *

Harry was a little surprised that no one took him up on that, his offer was enough for them. Instead, they broke up, taking a Harry into each group, talking things over. Harry smiled at the Bones' and Amelia's clear delight that all of Susan's offers were true including more of their cooking. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to cook when you're over, too. I'm not as good as my parents yet, but I hope you'll enjoy it."

Susan grinned, "Auntie, his cooking is wonderful! I know you'll love it." That was enough for Amelia, she was sold, and the conversation drifted to more of what was happening at the school. She was thankful to Harry for helping to keep an eye on her daughter, saying she was trying to get Aurors into the castle to investigate what was happening but that Dumbledore was blocking her at every approach. Harry was sympathetic, and unsurprised. It wasn't unusual for even competent Headmasters to oppose interference in their schools. Ones with something to hide like Dumbledore would do all they can.

Harry decided that this was as good a chance as any to ask something that was preying on his mind. "Madame Bones, as I said earlier, I am still attending the local school, and I have good friends there. As I'm sure you can understand, I dislike having to hide my magic from them, it feels like I am lying to them, and I don't want to do that. Whom can I tell about it, and when? Surely there must be some time it's allowed since some witches and wizards marry those without magic?"

She nodded seriously. "You're right, Harry, there are exceptions granted, people who know the secret but don't have magic themselves. The Ministry procedure is to apply for a permit, wait for the paperwork, submit it in triplicate, usually get it back to correct errors, re-submit, and so on. I sometimes think they are trying to discourage the applications by burying them in unnecessary red tape. Other times, I'm sure they are."

Harry smiled at the joke, then asked, "So is there a better way to get the permission. I've read horror stories, people having bits of their memories, their minds stolen away, to protect the secret after some sloppy or hateful wizard does something they shouldn't."

"There is a better way, as it happens. It requires a Ministry official of sufficient standing vouching for the Muggle and their ability to maintain the Statute."

"Please, Madame Bones, do tell me you have 'sufficient standing'. You're the Director of the DMLE! Surely that is 'sufficient'." Harry played up the appeal as much as he dared.

"Well, I would have to know the Muggles concerned, that's one reason why this is not the normal method, there aren't that many officials of high enough rank and we do have other things to do than get to know hundreds or thousands of strangers. Just who do you have in mind?" Amelia was curious, her Susan had mentioned something and this was a chance to confirm it.

"Ah," Harry blushed on command, "I was thinking there are six girls and their families who deserve the chance. Five of them approached me just after my birthday, asking if I would be willing to be their boyfriend. They and their families already know about my clones, you see."

"They what?"

"Well, the clones have nothing to do with magic like I said, and we told them over summer, so they've known for ten months now. First, my parents showed their clones, and then I showed mine. They were shocked, of course, but very supportive. They have accepted that it's not evil, and they have kept the secret all this time. I'm pretty sure we didn't break the law as it was written, since we didn't mention magic, Hogwarts or any of that, only Clan matters. They were more interested in the polygamous aspect, anyway, and the clones showed that the Clan had a solution that worked. My girls were already thinking of sharing me by that point, the ability for me to use clones just made it easier for them to accept it." Harry hastened to explain.

"So they've known for almost a year and haven't broken the secret to anyone at all?"

"No, ma'am, not a word. And we've been watching, just in case. Our families have known each other nearly seven years now, and they are good people. I just want to be able to share the truth with them. I don't want to have to wait until we're married like that poor father of one student I know, only finding out then that his new wife had lied to him." Harry was honestly shocked when he found that out.

"Ok, Harry, you've convinced me, you trust them with your secrets. That doesn't mean I can sign off on it, though. I don't know them at all, so I can't honestly sign an exemption for them yet. How about I drop by here whenever I get a chance, you introduce me to them and we get to know each other? It will also give me more of a chance to get to know you, and to have messages to and from Susan."

This offer had both Harry and Susan smiling. "Thank you, Madame Bones, I'd like that very much. Maybe by summer, you'll have had enough time to evaluate them yourself. Speaking for myself, I very much hope they pass, but I trust you to make a fair judgement."

* * *

Over with the Greengrass family, Daphne's parents were grilling her, though Harry at least thought that it was partly in fun. "Yes, Harry told us before. No, Mother, Harry hasn't pushed me at all."

"That's not true, Daphne, I did push you out of the way of that troll."

"Oh, yes, you did, and thank you again, Harry." Her thanks were echoed by her parents, too, Daphne grateful to him for derailing them with a reminder that Harry had already put himself on the line for her.

A quick glance and a nod, and the Greengrasses turned to Harry. "Well, Harry, I must say you're quite a surprising young man." They stopped as Daphne blushed, her own words to the Muggle girls coming to mind, and looked at her.

"Oh, no, Father, nothing like that. I just remembered saying much the same about Harry Potter, that is all it was." Daphne replied hurriedly.

Her parents looked skeptical but chose to deal with it later. "As I was about to say, most surprising. Is there any chance we could use something similar in our business dealings? As I hope Daphne has explained, we have business in a variety of locations, and like in any business the timely delivery of information can be vital. Whether it's a great deal or some problem that has arisen, it can mean a lot of money at stake."

Harry nodded, this was naturally part of his business training earlier by the Clan. He led the pair over to a study where a nearby clone who'd overheard had just set up a number of photos for him to show the Greengrasses.

"I understand, sir. And the answer is that yes it can be used. While it isn't very practical for sending a lot of small messages, it would be well suited to send occasional or emergency messages. However, the Muggles have already solved this problem in a number of ways. The first was the telegraph, we read about it in history class." He pointed at various photos, then moved onto the next set.

"It's been replaced by the telephone, you can talk between locations like on the Floo without getting sore knees or soot on your clothes. There are even mobile telephones you can use outside, though those _are_ rather expensive." He trailed off, seeing the disbelieving looks.

"Er, the short answer is 'Yes, we can help you improve communications' sir."

"But those Muggle things don't work around magic," Mrs Greengrass put in.

"I'm sorry to contradict you, Mrs Greengrass, but they worked just fine when I took one right into Hogwarts to give Daphne her Valentine's Day surprise. We danced along to music for hours until the batteries ran out."

They looked at Daphne smiling broadly at the memory, then at each other.

"And these telephones work over a long distance?"

"You can call someone in Australia from just about anyone's home, if you like, though they do charge extra for long distance. Closer to home is a lot cheaper than that. Just about all businesses use them all the time for calling different branches, or calling customers, suppliers and so on, and they're in just about every home. It's long since reached the point that you can't be part of the modern world without one."

Again, the elder Greengrasses looked at each other. "I think we'll sit down with your parents to talk about this more. There are details that will need to be worked out. Still, you said that the clones can also carry messages securely."

"Yes, sir, they can. I'd be happy to convey messages to and from your daughter any time you wish, though my normal schedule is for the memory transfer to take place each morning before breakfast. For urgent messages, that can be skipped entirely."

"Thank you, Harry, you have been most helpful, even more than we had hoped."

The other families were also keen to have more contact with their daughters, and some wanted to get to know this boy who was obviously devoted to their daughters better before things went too far. Better to forbid her from seeing him, if they decided that, earlier rather than later, after all. Right now, though, they had no intention to try that. Their daughters were happier than ever and it was obvious he cared deeply for them, he'd even put himself on the line to protect their little girls.

The day turned into an impromptu party, something his parents encouraged, and Harry cooked up a feast for them all, followed by some dancing and then seeing off their guests. Amelia Bones arranged to return the following evening for dinner and to meet up with these families she was supposed to vouch for. Harry wasn't sure if he could get them all around, though he was hopeful he could get some of his girls at least. Either way, it didn't matter that much as long as they did meet.

* * *

That night at a home near Ottery St Catchpole, a little girl slipped out after dinner, casting a Disillusionment spell on herself before walking to the road and turning on the spot, Disapparating as she headed to Exeter. There, with a lost look in her eyes she cast a glamour to make herself fit in before she hunted for a particular target, heading to the pubs and clubs before a brunette caught her eyes. The woman was in her early 20s and good looking, especially that night when she was dressed up for partying. That's all that mattered, anyway.

The girl stalked her prey, waiting until the woman was alone before taking her hand and Apparating them both to the woods near her home. Her target fell to her knees, vomiting urgently, then rolled over onto her back, desperate for air. The girl used that planned moment of vulnerability, pouring the Draught of Living Death down her throat. Using a Vanishing spell to create a hollow then using a levitation spell to move her body into it was the work of a minute. A little more work and the woman was buried alive but in stasis, protected from the elements until she would make herself useful to her betters. The excursion had used too much time, however.

Heading inside, she returned her father's wand where she found it, going to bed and forgetting all about it. The next night, after everyone was asleep, the girl added an extra compartment to her trunk with the Undetectable Extension Charm, fetched in the captive Muggle, and went back to sleep after tidying everything away.

* * *

For Harry, things were going well. He'd managed to resume more of his physical training, getting another clone stable, and best of all, introducing his Cranleigh girls and their families to Amelia Bones, who was posing as just a friend of the family who had moved back to Britain after a time overseas. His parents being who they were, masters of subtlety, made sure to help both sides' first impressions of each other, as well as helping Amelia set up tests of their characters, and covering up after they were done.

Harry took his girls to the movies, Sandra often going along to chaperone the group, officially, and just to enjoy a relaxing time unofficially where she didn't have to worry about being responsible for a group of kids. After this long together, they were generally good enough that they each knew the signs before trouble started, and Harry and Ashley between them helped keep it from becoming serious.

He also made more visits to his magical girls when he could, or had them visit with their families in the case of the Greengrass family. Even little Astoria got more time with her friend, just as cute as ever, and Hermione's sister Athena welcomed the news that Harry didn't have to go away. Now, provided she could get her parents to agree, she could see him during the school year.

For Hermione herself, well, she was still trying to work out either how to do it herself, or to get Harry to teach it to her. They'd tried between themselves but without a hint of success, and his family refused to try giving her or any of his magical girls a bloodline before they had a way to make it safe. The process was intrusive enough that they worried there was a real risk of death if they tried it on any witch or wizard. And if his witches couldn't get it, then it would be unfair to give it to his Cranleigh girls. Still, they were putting more priority into understanding the problem, though they lacked any real leads so far.

All too soon, it was time to return to Hogwarts, and they boarded the train as normal, unaware that one trunk carried an unwilling stowaway.

* * *

April passed without further incident, which while good in terms of no one else turning up Petrified or dead, also cost Harry a further chance to find the attacker. Harry had taken to wandering the halls himself when he could, even cutting back on sleep to get more time to search. Unfortunately, Hogwarts was as large as ever and with no clue yet as to where to start, he was taking it one area at a time. He was going to leave the inhabited areas like the Great Hall and the Library until last, preferring not to risk being exposed as a Parselmouth given the prejudice other ones like Voldemort had caused, so he was taking the time to set up countermeasures as he explored room by room, corridor by corridor.

He had felt so silly the first half-dozen times he hissed '_Open'_ to an unremarkable wall, even more silly when it failed to do anything at all, but the feeling faded as he got into the routine. By the next day, he didn't even notice it beyond noting, yes, everything was working right, sound dampening is up around the portraits since they could otherwise report what he was doing, no one else nearby, Parseltongue used as he hissed, walk on to the next area, repeat ad nauseum.

He couldn't spend all his time doing this, of course. Between meals and classes, Quidditch practice and spellwork, he was already busy. The only slack in his schedule was his time with friends, and his sleep. While clones could and did cover the former, Harry couldn't give up the latter entirely, and he didn't want to risk being too run down whenever he did find the entrance. Not with the risk of a Grade XXXXX creature waiting somewhere on the other side.

"Dammit!" He cursed to himself, "That's another corridor clear. In fact, that's all of the places on the Dungeon level. Time to head up a level."

April turned into May, another Quidditch match around the corner on the second Saturday, before anything else happened. Unfortunately, it was another attack, right on the day of the match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Harry had managed to switch with one of his clones again as he and his girls wanted to get in some cuddle time, taking a room to themselves, leaving the real Harry back on the hunt for the Chamber of Secrets.

He had a couple of hidden clones on watch as usual. His warning came when one of them popped, his last memory was of big yellow eyes on a snake as thick as an oak trunk. Harry dropped his sound barriers, hearing "_Kill this time! Let me rip! Tear!"_ as he dashed away. He was unprepared for an encounter, and he needed to change the variables until they were in _his_ favour.

He created two more clones after he got around the corner, leaving one to stand guard while the other dispelled itself to tell the other clones to disperse apart from a bare minimum at home and at Hogwarts, in case he needed to fight after all. A half-minute later, he went around the corner ready to listen for the snake, but it was gone. Creating new clones and ordering them to go hunting at their best speed while hidden, Harry kept his eyes closed, trusting to his single guard and his own senses to guide him as he headed back to his girls, needing to know they were safe. He barely made it ten paces before one of his clones reported seeing a flash of robes disappearing into the wall, and another called to report that the basilisk had made its strike.

There, on the floor, was a First Year in Gryffindor robes, Harry's very own stalker-in-training, Colin Creevey holding a mirror in his hand, Petrified like the rest. Behind him was a strange little creature with large, bat like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Idly, Harry wondered how good its vision was as he examined it visually. He racked his brains, trying to remember why it was familiar before he recalled the picture in one of the extra books he'd purchased, it was called a house elf, though why one was following Colin, or him, he had no idea.

"Bloody Boy-Who-Lived!" It was a curse he'd wanted to say so often over the last two years, whenever his fame had created some stupid situation or another. It seemed particularly appropriate now that it had nearly killed a student and a house elf.

Harry aborted his examination, people were coming. By the sounds of them, one tall adult, one shorter and wheezing, McGonagall and Filch. Harry headed off, he felt no need to get caught and casting illusions on them was wasteful. He had left a clone, of course, to listen, but he didn't expect to get much from that.

He'd just reached his girls, about the time they were all having to leave anyway to head down to the match. As they left, he switched back, taking his place with his girls, clones dropping into the shadows to guard them once again.

'_I've thought it before, I'll think it again, but I love Shadow Clones!'_ Right now, it wasn't the way they sped up learning that he loved the most, but the way they could help protect those who were close to him. They had arrived at the Quidditch stands, taking their seats when an urgent Professor McGonagall came half marching, half running across the pitch, her wand swishing towards her own throat as she cast a spell.

"This match has been canceled!" Professor McGonagall called, her voice magically enhanced, addressing the packed stadium. There were boos and shouts. Oliver Wood, looking devastated, landed and ran toward Professor McGonagall without getting off his broomstick.

"But, Professor!" he shouted. "We've got to play — the Cup — Gryffindor —"

Professor McGonagall ignored him and continued to shout, heard by all due to her applied Sonorus Charm: "All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further infor mation. As quickly as you can, please!"

Hannah complained, "But we just got here, couldn't she have waited five minutes, or done it five minutes sooner, saved us the trip?"

Harry shook his head, but Hermione answered before he could. "No, Hannah, you saw she was hurrying as it was. Whatever this is, it's obviously important."

"Yes, we all know she loves her Quidditch, so to make her rush to cancel a match?" Parvati added, shaking her head.

"Well, we heard the lady, let's get going." They were off, making space for themselves in the stream of students heading back inside, the girls demanding hugs before they split off, his Hufflegirls getting their share, too.

Inside their common room, they waited until Professor Sprout arrived and called for quiet. She held up a roll of parchment, reading out the new restrictions.

"It is my sad duty to report that another student has become the latest victim to the petrifactions that have befallen a number of others. In light of the latest attack, the following new rules will apply:

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No stu dent is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All fur ther Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities."

Rolling it up, she added, "I must say, anyone who knows who the culprit is should come forward. I can hardly think any of you would be behind it, but we need all the information we can get right now, or the school is likely to be closed. Without finding out who did it, or knowing that the danger is passed, Hogwarts may never reopen. The school has been my home for so long, too." She took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control. "Please, if anyone has anything to say, now is the time."

Harry felt himself being pushed forward by his Hufflegirls. Professor Sprout noticed this, and called him over, casting a couple of spells to create a bubble of privacy. "What is it, Harry?"

"Professor Sprout, my friends and I have been doing some research, and it was a lot harder than I thought to find any information on the last time the Chamber was opened. Back then, many students were injured and one killed. That means whatever is doing this is able to kill, since it already did so once, and can Petrify as well. My friends and I have all been trying to work out what it was, and since Slytherin himself was called Serpent Tongue, it makes sense that his monster is a snake of some kind. Well, that and they're the only types of magical creature that could kill in this way. The most likely, unfortunately, is also the worst. The Basilisk, King of Serpents, has a death gaze, and I believe that's what has been unleashed on the school this year."

"But why were the others only Petrified instead of killed?" Sprout hated saying it that way. She was trying every trick she knew but the Mandrakes still weren't ready.

"There were puddles of water near two of the attacks, and for the third, well, I'd say McLaggen saw the basilisk through the ghost, weakening the effect. I can't test the theory, not in any safe way, but maybe someone else can. If the student who was attacked was Petrified, and had a mirror, then that should confirm it. We've all been carrying mirrors around just in case for months, in case we couldn't get away, you see."

Harry didn't want the Professor to think he'd actually been trying to _hunt_ the monster, especially not since that was exactly what he'd done. She'd say it was dangerous, which it was, or insane, or foolish, for any student to go hunting an XXXXX creature, and she'd be right normally. Harry couldn't assure her of his safety without breaking a lot of promises to his parents about keeping their secrets, and even then it probably wouldn't work. Hell, it _shouldn't_ work. A responsible adult wouldn't send any child into harm's way, or allow them to go. Only Harry's facility with their ninja techniques stopped the Clan from storming the castle and removing him by force if necessary. They knew Harry was as safe as they could make him.

Professor Sprout considered his words, mulling them over. "Is there anything else, Harry? Anything else you can tell me?"

"Sorry, Professor, that's all I have." Harry replied.

She gave him her best motherly smile, "That's all right, Harry, you've given me a lot already." That evening, she passed on what she had heard to the other Heads of House and to Albus, who was impressed by the boy's investigation but played down his teachers' concerns, saying only that it will all work out for the best and he had everything under control. The teachers were unhappy with this, but stuck not having any plans of their own that would keep the school open and safe.

* * *

The next few weeks were tense, and Harry regretted his failure every day that passed. While he'd seen the basilisk and lived to tell the tale, an impressive feat since its stare was lethal, he hadn't managed to track it back to the Chamber. He had tried to trace the scent, but the overlay from hundreds of students, their pets and so on made it impossible for him to find, the trail stopped cold right where his clone had spotted disappearing robes.

The only improvement was when Amelia Bones turned up at dinner that first night at the head of a score of Aurors, directing them to take up positions.

Dumbledore stood up, "Madame Bones, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, and in such company, too?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore, there have been multiple attacks on students at this school. My presence was demanded by your failure to protect your students." Amelia was firmly in charge, and intended to make sure the old man knew it. "My Aurors will be available to escort students to and from classes. A team from the Department of Mysteries will be here tomorrow morning to conduct their search."

Dumbledore shook his head, "Madame Bones, Hogwarts is independent of the Ministry."

"But not independent of the students' families." Her counter was swift and sure.

"Let's adjourn to my office where we may discuss this matter." Dumbledore suggested in a tone just short of an order. He knew if he truly pushed her, the woman could make his life truly difficult and he'd prefer not to make another enemy.

Directing her people to keep doing as ordered, she followed the Headmaster to his office. Taking his seat behind his enormous desk, dominating the room, the man intended likewise to dominate this meeting. "Tea, Madame Bones?"

"No, thank you, Headmaster. Now, shall we discuss where best my Aurors will oversee the safety of the students?"

"Oh, isn't that obvious, Madame Bones? They aren't needed at all, you see."

"And how did the preeminent wizard of our times come to such a conclusion?" Madame Bones was intrigued, despite herself, wondering just how he had made that decision.

"All my staff are professionals, Madame Bones, and it is already their job to look after them, so obviously nothing more is needed." Dumbledore was using his best 'trust me' routine combined with the authority of his office in an attempt to weaken her resolve.

"Obviously more is needed, since several students have been attacked, starting with the Weasley twins. Even if the family has lost much of its prominence, they are still a well-known pureblood family on the Light side, which means many eyes have been looking this way since November. All the victims are people that the Dark hate, which means increased tension across the country. Are you so blind that you don't even see the danger?"

"Of course, I am not blind, it is merely that sufficient action has already been taken to assure their safety. They will be escorted by trained professionals wherever they go, and I am sure that the culprit or culprits will turn themselves in soon."

"Not good enough. You haven't even asked the Slytherin students about this, despite the obvious connection. Many of their parents even fought for You-Know-Who in the last war and I know they still hate the Muggle-borns. That Malfoy scion even uses their hateful epithet right here in the school, and you do nothing. No, this time, you will see reason. This is your only option short of having the school closed tonight, and I am one of the few left willing to fight for you to keep it open. These are my terms."

"Be reasonable, Amelia."

"I am being reasonable! By Merlin, have you forgotten that you have my niece here in these walls trapped with whatever is doing this? I have every reason to want to take her out of here tonight, and twenty Aurors who would help me. It's only my concern for what this would do to our society should Hogwarts close down that is stopping me."

Dumbledore looked in her eyes, a little passive Legilimency, illegal but unnoticeable, confirmed that there was no way he would win this here, but there would be other battles. Time to soothe her, try to salvage what he could of his authority and of their working relationship.

"Of course, Madame Bones, now about those Aurors and where to station them." His voice was conciliatory as he worked his magic, figuratively speaking.

He would later be dismayed to find that Madame Bones was far from incompetent, and most of his suggestions were shot down. Her Aurors would be placed where she wanted them, nowhere else.

* * *

Since that night, the Aurors had been on hand, actually keeping order in the corridors despite various provocations from students on both sides. Questioning the staff had turned up Harry's research, as relayed by Professor Sprout, and a quick discussion with Dumbledore revealed that it was Hagrid who was blamed last time the Chamber was opened.

The following day, Hagrid was escorted to the Ministry for questioning, taken right past the Forbidden Forest on his way out. Harry found out over Sunday lunch and frowned. There was something he'd forgotten, he knew it.

Just as he took his last bite, it came to him, Hagrid and the Forest, or rather some of its denizens of the eight-legged kind. The hungry denizens who had been wanting to pop up to the castle for some student-sized snacks. He lost his appetite in a hurry, but managed to swallow the last of his lunch. As he and his friends walked off for a leisurely time in the Library studying for their finals and finishing up any remaining homework before tomorrow and the end of the weekend, Harry quickly sent out a clone to rendezvous with the one he'd left watching the Forest, telling him what he'd worked out. The clone waiting just rolled his eyes, as unlike the real Harry, he'd already known. The problem was obvious given his location.

The Acromantula colony would have to go.

That evening, he found it was harder than normal to get out to do his job, but still incredibly easy for him. While the Aurors were on the lookout for kids trying to sneak away, ones that went to the bathroom and came back without complaint were not a cause for concern, or not most kids. Harry wasn't like most kids, something he'd gotten used to over the years with the help of his family, and now he used that to his advantage. The Harry that went out to the bathroom was the real one, the one that was escorted back to the Hufflepuff dorm was a clone, while Harry himself waited silent in the shadows for the Auror to leave. He had taken the unusual step of bringing the Map with him, keeping it activated for an extra means of ensuring the coast was clear all the way out of the castle. While the doors were all shut and locked, even all the windows on the first floor, those on the second were left open to aid ventilation as summer approached, and Harry used a convenient one to get up and out, then walk down the castle wall silent as the grave.

He ghosted his way to the edge of the Forest, meeting up with the clone on station, one that would stay there as lookout during the operation. After confirming details about numbers, locations and status, Harry created as many clones as he could for this. He'd rather have more than fourteen available, but the others were all doing critical tasks. Two were at home in Cranleigh, the minimum needed for restoring their numbers in the morning back up to the ten he usually had there. The other six were recovered from guarding his girls and the one watching the Map was staying out here, tonight, where Harry could find out quicker if he was needed. Only leaving four clones to guard his girls, one per House, made Harry nervous about their exposure, but so did the prospect of facing hundreds of XXXXX rated Dangerous Creatures with any fewer than he already had.

He shook himself free of these worrying thoughts, taking time to control his breathing and his body once again, noticing that his clones all had to do the same. They were his clones with his mind, after all. His lips twitched as he started to smile before the urge faded.

With a hand signal, all fifteen Harry's moved out, the clones leading the original as they spread through the forest, taking the time to make a current survey and trusting the one standing guard at the edge to let them know if the spiders made a break for the castle at just the wrong time for him. They were also taking it slow, not wanting to alert the Acromantulas on their home ground, and using all their stealth training to keep from being noticed. Harry feared they would have good night vision but trusted that his clones would be able to warn him in time if they were spotted.

While the spiders were awake, they weren't on any sort of alert. Instead, Harry found them mostly in the centre of their colony as an argument raged. They were arguing about whether or not Hagrid's absence meant their restraint was now over. Harry and the clones stopped outside and listened in, having to translate out the frequent clicking noises as they spoke.

It took longer than usual simply because of how passionate the spiders were, but after around ten minutes, it was certain. They were arguing if they could eat at last, and it looked like the hunger was winning out. Only a minute later, Aragog shouted for attention, saying they could go eat as long as they left him in peace to get some sleep.

That was the signal for Harry to attack, making the first move by throwing a dozen shuriken, burying them in half a dozen of the fifteen-foot adult spiders who had called the loudest for the attack. Thrown at full strength and Wind-enhanced, the weapons sliced right through their heads before lodging in trees behind them. His clones followed suit, leaping in with kunai extended while Harry kept watch.

The attackers, though outnumbered heavily, again proved the adage that all armies are the same size at night, hitting their targets then fading back into the trees, starting with the most aggressive of the adults, then the rest who had rallied to defend their murderous brothers and sisters.

Once he got down to the young, he stopped the killing, instead taking them and knocking them out, before placing them into expanded, reinforced containers along with some food. With luck, the young ones could be raised not to view humans as food, or at least truly kept separate from any vulnerable people by being kept in pens on the Clan property, raised as any dangerous but valuable animal. Their venom was highly valued in the Wizarding world for use in potions and the silk had potential to be used for clothing unlike regular spider silk since it was available in such large quantities. Harry had not read that the bodies were worth anything though, but he was certainly willing to find out. The eggs he made sure to hide and wrap securely, since those were Class A Non-Tradeable Material and being caught with them in his possession would be a Very Bad Idea.

That job done and all the young safely hidden away, he stopped to look at his watch, barely half an hour had passed, and ten minutes of that was listening to an argument that he had rendered moot. He looked around at the remains of the colony. "Okay, we can't leave it like that, anyone would think a battle was fought here!" He grinned at his clones. "Let's clean up everything, not a trace of battle, not a trace of the spiders if we can help it. Pack up the silk and the bodies, we'll see what we can use or sell later. For the venom, extract all you can and put it in a separate container."

"How are we going to get rid of the evidence then?" One clone asked.

"We've still got Miyuki. She can carry the expanded bags home, and we can Seal the contents for freshness, that ought to be enough," another replied.

"Ok, that's the plan, let's move it so we get send her off tonight before anyone would think to stop her."

"It's a pity we couldn't bring Cesarina, tonight. Our cute pet tiger would have had fun."

Harry camped in one of the unused rooms that night, getting some rest before one of his clones woke him up to tell him he could head back to his dorm and some real sleep. The next morning, Harry wanted to sleep in but couldn't, his early wake-up routine had a firm hold of him and he resorted to a medical technique to extract fatigue poisons. It wasn't as good as a decent night's sleep, but it helped enough until his morning jog and shower woke him up fully.

* * *

Harry ate a hearty breakfast that morning, even as he wondered when, or even if, anyone would notice the absence of hundreds of killer spiders from just next door, and what kind of response there would be.

On the one hand, they _were_ fifteen-foot tall spiders, hundreds of them and all less than a mile from where he sat. On the other hand, it was the Forbidden Forest, and he'd noticed the other students could be blind to the strangest things already, like the stupidity the year before with having a corridor right in the school with deadly traps in them, or also last year, the DADA Professor disappearing without comment.

Harry was pleasantly surprised then, that evening, that the change had already been noticed and the news already around the school. The speed of the rumour mill always amazed him. The normality of his classes was reassuring, not something he would have expected to think about on a Monday, but it was the simple truth. Even the Aurors and staff escorting them everywhere helped settle his nerves.

The reaction to the disappearance of the spiders was interesting. That Weasley boy in his year was relieved, so much so in fact that he was trying to find out who did it to praise them. Most students were just shocked that _anyone_ had been able to do it while the Muggleborns were scared that there had been a colony of 'giant bleeding spiders right next door!' There was a rumour that the Boy-Who-Lived did it, of course. This was still Hogwarts, after all, but the idea was generally discounted. Harry didn't look like he'd been in any sort of bloody battle or done some amazing magical feat, therefore he didn't do it. Well, that and he hadn't said he did.

In fact, Harry had laughed at the rumours, something that became easier as they became more outlandish, even as they never approached the unbelievable truth. Since Harry hadn't told them he was involved, his friends didn't believe the rumours, either. He never actually said either way, though. He didn't want to lie to them, but didn't want to tell them before he knew where he stood.

That night, he got the group talking about the Acromantulas, their status, their value and so on, steering the conversation to try to get answers. Both Susan and Daphne, because of their families, had some information. Susan confirmed that trading in the eggs was a criminal offence, but didn't know if possession or raising them was legal, restricted or simply banned. Daphne confirmed that the venom was known to be a potent ingredient, enhancing both poisons and antivenom or curative potions. Both got curious enough to write their families for more information, earning eager smiles from Harry, Hermione and the Ravenclaws of their group.

A quick clone-message home got the Clan up to date with what he'd learned, and they had confirmed receipt of the intriguing cargo, giving Miyuki a lot of attention and best of all, a bonus plate of bacon.

* * *

_Thank you all for reading. Feedback is appreciated. If you have questions or errors to point out, please sign in so I can respond. And as always, thanks for your support._


	17. Chapter 17 - The Great Riddle

**Chapter 17 - The Great Riddle**

At breakfast, Director Bones was just musing over the twists and turns life can take a person, dragged kicking and screaming sometimes. She would soon consider her thoughts an omen, or perhaps an invitation for life to give her another surprise. She dropped her antique cup, tea forgotten, as she read over her niece's latest letter. The set was a wedding gift, some of the finest Potter work from the previous century, still as clean and new as the day it was bought, and priced accordingly. The set survived without a scratch, of course, not even a splash of tea to mark the accident.

No, her attention was drawn completely to the innocent revelation her niece made. She reached the end, stunned, and re-read it, making sure she hadn't imagined it, something all too possible with magic, then checking both the letter and herself for charms to be certain.

"I shall be heading in early, today." She briskly informed her bodyguards. "Set up an appointment for me with the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and the Head of the Beasts Division."

"Yes, Madame Bones." Auror Proudfoot replied, stepping through the Floo to the Ministry in order to make sure both wizards got the message. Director Bones would see them or heads would roll, he would bet a month's pay.

The other two guards waited for her to be ready, then stepped through to her private office first, one of them calling back to her that it was clear to come in before making way.

The routine was a holdover from the Rise of Voldemort, something dreamed up by her old colleague Moody, and some called her mad for retaining it even in peacetime. Most days, though, Amelia didn't even really notice the security. She had long since worked out how to use the delays to her advantage, taking it as extra time to think about the many issues that cropped up.

While part of her mind was watching her Aurors do their jobs correctly, the greater part was dealing with the news that had her in such a state. '_I can't believe it! That, that, that oblivious fool! He had an entire colony, HUNDREDS of Acromantulas right there in the Forbidden Forest where any child could wander in, or worse, any Grade XXXXX giant spider could wander OUT for a snack! And he didn't bother telling me when I was stationing my Aurors at the school!'_

A knock at the door brought her out of her reflections, opening at her nod to her bodyguards to allow in both Elliot Littlebottom, the Head of Magical Creatures and Horace Gifford, Head of Beasts to take their indicated seats.

"Gentlemen, thank you for freeing up time in your busy schedules for me."

"Not at all, Madame Bones, I am sure you wouldn't waste our time requesting such an urgent meeting without cause. So what can my Department do for the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

"For a start, you can tell me what you know of the Acromantula colony at Hogwarts, Mr Littlebottom."

"A what?!" Both wizards shouted, losing their composure.

"My sentiments exactly, especially as no one saw fit to inform me during my recent visit to settle in my Aurors over this whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco. A score of my best Aurors are there right now, unaware of the danger that was lurking. I want you to put together a team to investigate what happened. Apparently, they've disappeared. Every last one of them. I have sent a message to my people, which should arrive any minute, to expect us there."

Gifford looked at his boss. "I can pull a team in fifteen minutes. I can pull my best team in an hour."

"Both. Once your best team arrives, the other can return to their regular duties."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, gentlemen. Would a team of my investigators be helpful? This once, I'd be happy to put them under your command to get the job done. No politicking will be allowed to get in the way."

"No, thank you, Amelia, but should that change, I will be sure to let you know."

"You are sure, Elliot? You know I want this sorted, and I want the job done." Amelia checked.

He nodded, "We would lose time trying to integrate your team on the fly. I would hate to lose track of them because we took too long."

None of them were happy with that image, and went to light a fire under their personnel.

* * *

That Tuesday morning, as the staff and students were sitting at breakfast in the Great Hall, the grand doors opened again. Albus felt like shouting until he saw just how angry all three Heads of Department were, all of them at him. '_What is it this time? Don't they know how busy I am?'_

"Headmaster Dumbledore, we require a moment of your time. Let's adjourn directly to your office." Amelia Bones was in no mood to waste any time, her glare a thing of beauty as it pinned the wizard in his seat.

Swiftly overcoming that, he realised acquiescence was his only option, leading the way with as much of his dignity intact as he could manage. Once inside, Amelia asked as calmly as she could manage, "Headmaster Dumbledore, is there any reason you neglected to inform me of the presence of Class XXXXX creatures here at Hogwarts?"

"What are you talking about, Madame Bones?"

"I am talking about the colony of Acromantulas you had in that forest right over there, of course. Unless you aware of any _other_ Class XXXXX creatures here, perchance?" Amelia asked acidly. While she knew of Harry's suspicions about the Basilisk, including that Dumbledore knew, the Headmaster was unaware of her knowledge and it was a good way to remind the man that a school should not have _any_ such deadly creatures roaming around.

Dumbledore managed to hide his reaction to that admirably. Of course, he knew there was a basilisk here, but letting people know would just cause a panic, and dealing that would take time he simply didn't have.

"Please don't be ridiculous, Amelia. As for the Acromantulas, they have been living happily for many years."

"Fine dining, perhaps?" Amelia growled.

"No, nothing of the sort! As for notification, that was the job of my predecessor. It was during his time that the Acromantulas settled there, after all."

"How convenient that he's dead, Headmaster."

Ignoring that, he continued. "And when I was promoted to this position, they had already been there for years. I thought, quite reasonably I feel, that notification had already been handled and saw no reason to send in redundant paperwork."

"Just how long _have_ you had Acromantulas roaming around here?" Littlebottom asked, horrified.

"They have been in the Forest around fifty years without a single incident. Now, Madame Bones, when will you be returning my member of staff to his home? He has been imprisoned long enough."

"He was taken in for questioning, Headmaster, regarding the attacks on students. Student safety must come first, so we have been asking him everything he knows. He's resistant to Veritaserum, which means we can't ask as fast as any of us would prefer. Hagrid is scheduled for his final dose today to make sure we had the truth out of him. After his involvement last time the Chamber was opened, he had to be checked again. I only just managed to stop Fudge from taking him off to Azkaban. The man was bleating about 'having to be seen to be doing something'!"

"Then I'll expect his return today, Madame Bones." Dumbledore was pleased to have been able to turn this around with his offensive. He made a couple of minor concessions, allowing them to start their investigation without his physical presence, and they went away satisfied.

The investigation went nowhere, however. Aside from a few cut and broken branches in a huge clearing, there was no sign that the giant spiders had ever lived there. They certainly hadn't left any clear trail out of the Forest and there was no magical residue from whatever wizarding force that could have taken them.

* * *

Apart from Hagrid's return and subsequent howling when he found out Aragog was gone, nothing much happened to disturb the school that week. In Cranleigh, however, it was a different matter.

"I can't believe that jerk!" While normally a quiet girl, right now Meaghan was shouting in her anger. "He put his hands on me saying I was _his_ like I was just some bit of property. Then he tried to paw at my breasts, mauling them. I got him off me, thankfully, so what happens next? Why he goes crying to the teachers about how I was attacking him!"

Her parents had been called in after the teacher had taken the boy at his word, seeing the split lip and black eye, dragging Meaghan in before the Head Teacher at Glebelands. Mr Davison, on hearing the girl's story, asked his secretary to get her parents in quickly, and right now, her parents are shocked at what she was telling them.

"Did he give any clue as to why he thought you were his, honey?" Her mother was concerned, her father too angry right now at his daughter's treatment to trust himself to speak. He didn't want her to think he was angry at her.

"No, Mum, but I've heard other boys talking about girls like that. Oh, not Harry, never him. And I never gave that boy any encouragement. He took us being paired up for a science assignment as us being friends, which was bad enough with how stupid he is. I don't know what made him think I liked him or belonged to him."

"Thank you, honey. Let's talk to the Head Teacher, we'll see if we can't sort all this out." She gave her daughter a hug which they both needed, and led the way into Mr Davison's office, her husband still giving every appearance of fighting down his temper. It was a tactic that had worked well enough in the past, Mrs Best would be the reasonable one that people would deal with so that they didn't have to deal with her husband.

Normally, that's all it was, a tactic they used for negotiations. Today, however, it was far closer to the truth. Mr Best tried not to slam the door behind him. He failed.

Mr Davison looked up at his guests, already working out just how he would resolve all this when their first words scuppered his plans.

"I want that boy expelled. Bad enough he put his hands on my daughter, worse that he then lies about it straight away to one of your teachers. Worst of all when that teacher believes him over her without even asking for her side of things." Mrs Best was speaking coldly and harshly while her husband simmered next to her.

"Yes, well, I-"

"It's that or we let everyone know their daughters aren't safe at this school, which will only be the truth, you know."

"Your daughter _did_ manage to give him a cut lip, a black eye and several bruises in the altercation, Mrs Best."

"And has anyone thought to give our Meaghan an examination?"

"We did but she insisted we wait for you."

"We're here now. And you still haven't said you're expelling that thug."

"That is a little hasty..."

"Fine, we'll get Meaghan examined. You'll have your evidence of what he did, and I know there were witnesses since the boy did it right in the corridor. Come, let's not waste any time."

Mr Davison repressed a sigh as they headed to the nurse's office, then he found anger stirred inside him at the results. There were bruises to the girl's chest, arm and hip from the boy's fingers along with some defensive injuries, while his own injuries were consistent with having been fought off, not with his story of defending himself from the aggressive girl.

"Right, while school policy says I can't expel him for a first offence, it does give me leeway to allow the police in for serious cases. I think if we explain to his parents the nature of the occasion, they'll withdraw him themselves. I also hope to have your support for a modification to that policy when I announce it."

The two parents shared a look and nodded. "That seems satisfactory, Mr Davison. Though I would also hope you will explain to that teacher about the dangers of jumping to conclusions."

They took their leave, spending a little time with their daughter before they had to go back to work. Once they were gone Meaghan went to find Harry. Right now, she needed him. When she found him, he showed he had heard of the incident by quickly wrapping her in a firm hug. After telling her story, he gave her another, gentler hug, lightly rubbing her back while one hand was surreptitiously healing her with a basic medical technique from the Clan. "Shh, Meaghan, he's not going to bother you again. You're safe now." Her only response was to hold him tighter, shivering now as aftershock set in.

That afternoon, he was around her until school was let out, and the group walked her home, staying there until her parents got home from work. They were allowed to stay if Meaghan wanted, which she did, just being held by Harry and chatting to her friends was doing her a world of good.

* * *

The next morning, half a dozen bullies at Hogwarts found themselves tripping up as they walked along corridors for no apparent reason. At breakfast, they spilled food on themselves despite their utmost care, and no one could find any trace of a spell on them, so they were even more embarrassed. Bad enough to be clumsy, worse to be crazy to boot. Harry chuckled with the rest, he wasn't the only one to have noticed their cruelty and most people enjoy seeing justice. He had limited himself to mostly harmless actions, but he needed some way to relieve the stress and anger he felt from yesterday. With the ban on Quidditch practice, he couldn't fly and his girls didn't need as many massages. That left pranks and movies.

'_The bastards should be grateful I'm holding back so much.'_ He thought to himself. Just DADA and Transfiguration on today, since it was a Friday, then he and his girls could head off to somewhere private and he could give them all an extra hug. Harry had already resolved that he needed more clones at Glebelands during the day to watch over the Cranleigh girls. He wouldn't let that sort of thing happen again.

* * *

That night, Amelia Bones came by the Kitsune Compound for dinner where she met up with all five of Harry's Cranleigh girls and their parents. After dinner, Mr and Mrs Best asked if Harry would take Meaghan to the lounge room, implying that the other girls should go too. Once it was just the adults, they related the story of what had happened. The Clan already knew, and were proud Harry hadn't snapped and killed the boy. That would have been messy. He'd also allowed Meaghan to come to him rather than going straight to her. He'd told them the night before that it was his first reaction, but that he remembered their lessons on subtlety and psychology, and no way was he going to hurt his Meaghan by pressing her like that.

While the adults were busy talking things over, Meaghan was cuddling into Harry. Ashley and the others had their own Harrys, taking advantage of the chance to get more snuggling too. Meaghan pulled her head back, looking into Harry's eyes. "Harry, could you have stopped him?"

He sighed and nodded. "Yes, Meaghan, I could, but the problem with that was that he had me very angry with what he was doing to you. There was a real risk I could have gone too far when I stopped him. My parents have been training me up in self defence. If you like, we can ask them if you can get training, too."

The girls went quiet for a little while digesting both the revelation that Harry could have 'gone too far', or at least thought he could, and the idea of learning to defend themselves. "Couldn't you protect us, Harry?"

"I can protect you to the best of my ability, Ashley, and I think it would work well, but only if I had a clone with each of you everywhere you went. That's not such a good idea." He blushed thinking of certain things, as well as the secrecy aspect. "I'll certainly do what I can to keep you safe whenever I'm with any of you, but I have my limits too. Plus, I admit I'd feel better if you can defend yourselves. Less chance of you getting hurt is always good in my book."

They just cuddled for a time, thinking, then one by one they nodded and Ashley summed it up. "Okay, Harry, we would feel better if we can defend ourselves. You will be there to help us train, right?"

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away." He grinned, it was the literal truth, too. He'd just get out of whatever ropes tied him up instead. He made an extra clone that headed out to bear the official request to the Clan, giving them the opening to talk to their parents. The families talked it over, naturally wanting a demonstration before they let their girls try it. Amelia Bones was also eager to see what Harry could do.

* * *

That weekend, the Clan led their guests to a newly redecorated room, their new training hall, soft mats, weights, and other expected accessories. There, Harry was engaged in what the Clan considered a light Taijutsu-only spar against Hinata, usually the most peaceful of the Clan. It was clear that while she may be peaceful, it was only by choice as she was keeping Harry on the run, her longer reach and equal speed for this display made the match one-sided. Harry got an occasional hit in past her defences, but she was getting in at least three for every one of his.

In truth, this was completely staged. Harry's performance was set at normal maximum speed and reflexes, and his strength a little below that, while Hinata was allowed greater strength and her own greater reach. If it had been a real match, Harry would have never lasted that long since her abilities were far greater than his and her skill and experience immense. The idea, however, was to show that Harry was able to defend himself well but that his parents and teachers were even better. Showing a 'girl' beating up a 'boy' with training was also good.

After three rounds of what appeared a fairly brutal defeat, they finished up, taking off the padding. Harry was hugged by the girls even as he assured them he was fine, before they got started. First off were the warm-ups before they got started on how to find their balance. For now, the girls would be allowed to take it at whatever pace they liked, so long as they had competent supervision to make sure they didn't go too hard or injure themselves.

The Clan mentioned that they would be on hand, and could help deal with any injuries that might occur despite their best efforts, implying that they would be willing to pay any medical expenses. They fully intended however to do the healing themselves.

Amelia was impressed. That young man was fast enough that she doubted any of her Aurors would be able to take him down if they weren't warned. It simply was that surprising, and surprise was vital. Once close enough, he might even be a threat to the best of them. With what she'd seen, however, he would still be helpless to a prepared and warned Auror. Then again, so would your average adult wizard, which was the entire point of Auror training.

She was also impressed with how determined the girls were to improve themselves. Oh, it was obvious they wanted to prove themselves to Harry, but that was fine. It was the amount of effort they were putting in, and the way they got along, that mattered to her as a former 'Puff. She was already of a mind to give them the authorisation Harry had wanted, and was more and more pleased with that choice as each day passed. She decided then that she would give him permission once the school term was over.

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, Harry was hoping to get his magical girls more prepared too, but figured that would have to wait until the summer. In the interim, he was watching over them, something easier since he no longer had to keep a clone full time on watching the Forest, and kept up searching the castle. He was making his way methodically along the first floor, agonizingly aware that this search was taking too long.

In an effort to speed up, he ignored the sink in the bathroom on that floor, the one that didn't work. It was obviously not important. The rest of the bathroom was empty anyway, and he moved on to the wall beside the bathroom.

The next morning, he wondered why he'd skipped the sink, so he went to look at it. When he got close, he knew he'd made the right decision in the first place, it wasn't interesting. It just had a snake motif, after all.

The third morning, he just ignored the whole thing as yet another oddity of Hogwarts, getting back into his routine, a decision he regretted profusely on the final Saturday in May.

They were in the Library when McGonagall's amplified voice rang through the school. "All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers to the staffroom. Immediately, please."

Harry turned to his friends, "I guess that's our cue, girls." He created a clone that took his place, heading back to the Hufflepuff rooms with his Hufflegirls, while the real Harry headed to the staffroom. Whatever was going on, he intended to find out. The large, paneled room was still empty when he arrived, and he quickly took up position on the ceiling.

McGonagall was the last to arrive, the door banging closed behind her and ensuring silence. "It has happened. A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard, asking "How can you be so sure?"

"The Heir of Slytherin," Professor McGonagall declared, who was very white, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. '_Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'_ "

"Who is it, which student?" Madam Hooch had sunk weak-kneed into a chair.

"Ginny Weasley." Professor McGonagall answered grimly.

Harry created a clone to stay there and listen to the rest of the meeting. Right now, he figured he had all the information he needed to find the Chamber at last. All he had to do was get into the Gryffindor girls dorms during a lockdown, get Ginny's scent, then trace that to the Chamber.

While it was supposed to be impossible twice over for Harry, that didn't even slow him down as he left the staff room, taking the convenient timing of Lockhart's late arrival to allow him to slip out unnoticed. From there, he ran at his top speed while under the Invisibility Cloak to the Gryffindor Tower, giving the password that Lavender and Parvati told him to keep him up to date, then dashing past the alarmed stairs to the First Year Girls' room.

A glance told him which bed was Ginny's, a quick search and he had found one of her old sweaters, carrying more than enough of her scent for him to get to know the pattern. He was back out, into the corridors and away, before the common room door was fully open, leaving behind a confused pack of Lions at the strange wind.

He slowed down at last, creating five clones to start hunting for the girl's scent or for a snake's since it had been out too. Harry went off one way, his clones in other directions, following various paths. After covering what seemed like half the castle, Harry swore fervently. Her trail ended at the first floor girl's bathroom!

He stopped, creating and dispelling another clone to send the message to the others. Fourteen clones would again be on hand. Harry had another Class XXXXX creature to face, and unlike the others, this one could kill with its eyes. He opened the bathroom door, going straight to that 'unimportant' snake carving, knowing that it must be the key to the Chamber and willing to wait to chastise himself for missing the obvious. He set up a sound barrier around the entrance and tried hissing "_Open!"_. The tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. A second later, the sink started moving, sinking out of sight and leaving a large pipe exposed, wide enough for a man to slide into.

"Right, one clone first to make a full visual inspection. If the basilisk is there, dispel yourself straight away. If the basilisk isn't right there, signal and we'll come through."

"Right, Boss." The clone had full armour and gloves ready, getting in head first and using chakra to anchor himself as he took it slowly into the pipe. It was like a dark, slimy slide, and the clone grinned. The darkness had always been his friend at the Dursleys, it was safety, and the Clan's training only increased his comfort in the shadows, making a strength out of a defence. His night-vision was enough to let him see the end of the pipe approaching, and he was using all the tricks he knew to stay unseen as he got out on the damp stone floor. He boosted his sight and hearing to the maximum as he looked around, examining everything.

Everything, however, was just a dark, stone tunnel, large enough to stand in and going off into the distance, slimy walls, and a litter of small animal bones on the ground. He sent a signal back to the top, 'Safe to proceed. Empty.' and a short while later the rest arrived. Naturally, one was left up top to keep watch, so there were fourteen of them there, Harry and thirteen clones, all of them cleaning the slime off their clothes after the trip.

A quick examination brought the rest of them up to date, and they headed out, the real Harry in the centre of their spread out group. Around the bend was the largest snake skin he'd seen, he'd estimate it at least twenty feet long, closer to twenty-five, and a vivid poisonous green, the same shade as the basilisk.

The tunnel turned again and again, and at last the group rounded a last bend to find a solid wall in their way. The carving of two entwined serpents, eyes set with great, glinting emeralds, were explanation enough as to what they had to do next.

"_Open."_

The serpents parted and the wall cracked open to reveal the way ahead.

* * *

"That Slytherin loved his drama." One clone opined, rolling his eyes.

"Still, it is effective within the limits of what they know. The Chamber did lay here just a myth to these people for nearly a thousand years." Another chipped in.

As their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, they picked out the towering stone pillars with yet more serpent carvings, very dramatic but hardly practical lighting. Harry and most of his clones put on blindfolds, adjusting them for comfort, while one at the front and back kept their eyes uncovered. They were disposable if need be, and the extra information could be vital.

These two took to the walls while the main group advanced cautiously, noting every detail in case they needed to fight here. At the end of double row of pillars, at the feet of a giant statue, lay a small figure whose scent Harry knew well. "Ginny."

One of the clones was signalled to remove his blindfold, heading over and examining the girl. She was laying face-down, so he looked her over for injuries and checked her for a pulse, finding it weak and unsteady but there. Turning her over, her face was white as marble and just as cold. "Ginny, wake up!" he told her urgently.

A tall, black-haired boy shimmered into view, strangely blurred around the edges. "She won't wake."

"Who are you?" Harry's clone asked.

"Why, I'm Tom Riddle, of course."

Harry, listening from the shadows, was glad his clone was letting the stranger talk. He'd gotten the signal that Ginny was alive for now, her condition weak but not urgent, which meant what was most urgent was information, and, in the wizarding world, the best way to get that was to play dumb and let the arrogant idiots ramble.

"Are you a ghost?"

"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years." He pointed towards the toes of the giant statue, where a little black diary lay open.

"Ok, do you know how to wake Ginny? How did she get this way? Come on, we need to hurry since this is the home of a basilisk."

"Oh, the basilisk won't come until it is called. As for the girl, well, that's an interesting story. She got a diary, and wrote in it, then I would write back. She opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?" said Harry.

"The diary," said Riddle. "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes — how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, how" — Riddle's eyes glinted — "how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her..."

All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.

"It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. _No one's ever understood me like you, Tom… I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in… It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket…_"

Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry's neck.

"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted… I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her…"

"And so you took her over."

"Oh yes, of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries, such delicious panic. She kept writing about you coming to save her, but you never did, and now it is too late for her."

Harry didn't know why these villains insisted on gloating to their victims, but his parents had explained that it was a common fault in people, needing to explain themselves even in the worst of situations. He did know that he should never interrupt an enemy who was making a mistake.

"Isn't it delightful, Harry Potter?" said Riddle softly. "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin loose.

"I was most incensed when everyone thought those gingers had managed to duplicate my feat with the basilisk, so obviously they had to go next. After that I was hoping to get one of your pet Mudbloods, but at the last second he got away so I settled for that slimy little blood traitor McLaggen.

"Soon enough, I lost interest in the filth, though. So many people were talking about you, and I was fascinated."

Harry rolled his eyes. That idiotic fame of his struck again.

"You see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry," said Rid dle. "Your whole fascinating history." His eyes roved over the light ning scar on Harry's forehead, and their expression grew hungrier. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could.

"It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery — that last attack was to see if you were worthy to meet me, if you survived.

"So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her… She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last… I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I overheard you speaking to the walls trying to find this place. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."

"And what questions could you have that I'd want to answer?" Harry spat, fists still clenched, while he had a moment of mortification that Ginny had been close enough to hear him and he hadn't known.

"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you — a young boy with no extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were de stroyed?"

There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how I escaped?" said Harry slowly, still acting dumb. "Volde mort was after your time…"

"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter. …"

He pulled Ginny's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:

Tom Marvolo Riddle

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name re arranged themselves:

i aM loRd voldemorT

"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

The real Harry waiting in the wings was stunned. '_I have to kill the terrorist again?! Just how is he coming back?'_ His clone was affected differently, rolling his eyes at the arrogance.

"No, Tom, it's people like you that make me think the Muggles are the lucky ones. Does growing up with magic rot your brain? You know how powerful the Muggles are, how successful, and since you created this diary of yours, they've done things no wizard has. They've plumbed the depths of the oceans, they've gone to the Moon, sent cameras to the other planets and sent back pictures.

"They rule the world, Tom. Not you, not wizards. And given what you did, they do it better than you ever could."

The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.

Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.

Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry's scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swollen to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.

A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.

A second later, the bird was flying straight at the Harry in front of Riddle. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying and Harry reflexively made the catch, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.

The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.

"That's a phoenix. …" said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.

"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently.

"And that —" said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat —"

So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat rested in Harry's arms. "You know, Hat, you were right about keeping secrets. For what it's worth, I apologise for threatening to destroy you."

"Quite alright, Mr Potter. You're not the first, and you won't be the last."

Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark Chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once —

"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"

Harry didn't answer Riddle. "If Dumbledore sent you to me in my time of need, then what are you supposed to do?"

There was no answer, but that wasn't a real surprise. An answer might have been useful, and providing answers wasn't the Headmaster's style, no matter that it was his job.

"To business, Harry," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "We have met before — in your past, in my future — we have met. And yet I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he added softly, "the longer you stay alive."

Harry was thinking, he wanted to enrage Tom, for an enraged opponent was a sloppy one, easy prey to the unexpected strike. However, Ginny was dying the longer he waited, which meant he needed to hurry.

"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me." said Harry abruptly. "Oh, there's some twaddle about my mother dying to save me granting me powers, but that's just a bedtime story for little girls. My mother wasn't the first woman you murdered, after all, and I wasn't the first child you attacked, you pathetic coward.

"When I saw you last, you were just a disgusting pimple on the back of the head of an idiot. Appropriate for one like you, it matched your mind. I'm surprised you didn't take Lockhart instead. He seems just as arrogant and obsessed with his image as you.

"As for how you died? Obviously, the Wizarding World are a bunch of idiots if they believe I did it, and you're the king of idiots for accepting it. I was a baby, what was I going to do, soil my nappy?"

Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile.

"So. There is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike… but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

Harry stood, relaxed and waiting. Rid dle's twisted smile was widening again.

"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against fa mous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."

He cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Harry seized the chance to strike at his enemy's back, throwing a handful of kunai at the _memory_ of Riddle and watched disappointed when they went through without even a mark, the knives sinking into the wall on the other side.

Harry would have been afraid if he had to rely on just what Dumbledore gave to help. '_Why the hell didn't he send a rooster?'_ He watched Rid dle stop between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed — but Harry, waiting on the wall behind, understood what he was say ing.

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." The real Harry rolled his eyes at that, more of their arrogance.

The clone wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes steady on his shoulder.

Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving, the mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole.

And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. _Something _was slithering up from its depths.

Harry's clone backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and as he shut his eyes tight he felt Fawkes' wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. His hearing tracked the basilisk and the phoenix.

The King of Serpents hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Harry felt it shudder — he knew what was happening, he could hear the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then he heard Riddle's hissing voice:

"Kill him."

"No." It wasn't a shout, nor a plea, just a statement of fact. "I will not die today."

Riddle and the basilisk both turned toward the real Harry. Just then, the other clones jumped to the Chamber's floor, taking their attention back. The serpent was confused, all of these boys smelled the same, looked the same, so it decided to just kill them all.

It lunged at the nearest one who casually dodged out of the way, and carried on to the next closest, which also didn't bother to move until the last moment.

Harry and his clones were quickly building up an idea of the basilisk's capabilities. Next, he took a handful of shuriken, throwing them at the beast. When they just bounced off, he glared and threw another set, this time at full force. They stuck in the creature's hide, falling out when a turn stretched the skin on that side.

"Ok, you've got some defences. Good. I haven't had a real challenge since my parents last put me on a combat mission."

Next, he quickly built up a Fire technique, blowing out a fireball bigger than he was. This was just a C-rank technique but he didn't want to risk anything larger in the Chamber until he was sure the place wasn't going to come down on his head. Besides, it would have roasted any of those Acromantulas so it should do some damage to the Basilisk, right?

Wrong. The most the creature did was close its eye as the fireball raced at it, hitting its, as it was revealed, fireproof hide.

"Interesting. I can't use Earth techniques here, too much chance the place is supported by magic. Let's try.."

A Lightning Whip was next, one clone darting in and dashing it against the creature's massive body. While the snake hissed in pain, that's all it did, and the backlash from the magic and chakra colliding dispelled the clone immediately.

Next, Harry and his clones tried a rain of kunai, hurled with chakra-enhanced muscles, and he was grimly satisfied that these managed to penetrate five inches into the creature, starting to slow it down. The fight was taking too long, however, and was getting far too destructive. Already, one of Harry's clones had needed to grab Ginny and get her out of the way.

He told the Hat he was holding, "Some help right about now would be great. There's got to be some reason Dumbledore sent you along into a fight like this."

His answer came in the form of a heavy clunk, as a silver sword inset with rubies fell out of the Hat. "A sword? Well, you were made by Gryffindor according to the books, and rubies are the Gryffindor gems. I suppose that makes this thing Gryffindor's sword."

He was drawn from his musings by a clone's shout. The Wind cutters had had no more effect on the beast than the kunai, which was frustrating.

"I'm thinking one of us will need to stab the beast's weak points, and very few creatures armour their mouths. You, distract the snake, while you two get into position to stab its brain from underneath. The rest of us will stay in reserve."

"Boss, you come up with the craziest ideas, you know that?" The clone he'd assigned to serve as bait complained even as he got ready. He couldn't disagree, the only reason he was even considering this was because the clones were completely expendable. He never wanted to send anyone to their deaths.

"Hey, ugly, over here!" The clone was baiting the creature well, yelling, waving its arms, and the serpent took it up on the offer.

As the basilisk drew near, it opened its enormous jaws, exposing rows of fangs as long as that fancy sword, thin, glittering, venomous. The clone acting as bait, as well as the other two, all acted at once, thrusting their ninja-to up into the roof of its mouth, trying to aim for its brain. The crazy idea proved itself at once, the weapons sinking almost effortlessly in compared to piercing the magically toughened hide and the clones got out of there before the jaws could snap shut.

The serpent's death throes were noisy as the beast thrashed around before going still. One clone dropped down in front of the corpse, deliberately looking in the creature's eyes to check if it was safe yet. When the only thing that happened was him feeling a little off from the smells, he called out "Clear!"

The rest of the Harry's removed their blindfolds. Harry noticed that the ninja-to were already corroding from the venom coursing down the blades.

"Hmm, well, that was invigorating, Tom. Now, for you."

"You think you can kill me?"

"Well, I just slew a thousand-year old Basilisk. Yes, Tom, I do."

With that, Harry's clone pulled out one of the blades and stabbed not the boy himself but the diary that contained him, something the foolish future Dark Lord had told him outright, confident in his superiority. The diary which had shrugged off shuriken and kunai during the battle found itself pierced right through.

There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Harry's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then —

He was gone. Ginny's wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom coating the kunai had burned a sizzling hole right through it.

Looking around, Harry was glad that the phoenix had disappeared after dropping off the Hat, seeing the boy it had come to help hadn't needed it after all. He gathered up the fallen weapons, securing them again, with the ones coated in venom given special care and handling appropriate for such dangerous items.

Harry and his clones surveyed the Chamber until there was a faint moan, Ginny was stirring in a clone's arms. The clone dashed away from the group, back through the tunnel and up the pipe.

Ginny opened her eyes to see Harry there, holding her in the girl's bathroom, the fateful diary in one hand, and the pipe filled with rocks and dust, an illusion Harry had layered over there to make it look like the Chamber was now destroyed.

"Harry! Oh, Harry, I, I, it was me, Harry - but I - I swear I didn't mean to- I tried to stop him when he attacked you! - Riddle, he took me over - oh no - that poor woman! Where is she? Where's Riddle?"

"Riddle's gone, Ginny, he can't hurt you any more. What woman are you talking about? Is she in danger?"

"He - I - I think she's been potioned. The Draught of Living Death! I - I remember trying to get the ingredients together for it. She's been hidden behind the statue, I put her there because Riddle wanted to use her for something. I never understood why he wanted her, though, just something about having to wait fifty years to break a drought."

Harry was thankful for that small mercy, there was only one answer that came to his mind, and was unspeakably grateful he'd saved the woman from that, whoever she was.

"It's ok, Ginny, I got her out." He lied, trusting that the other clones and the real Harry would see to making it a reality. "Let's take you to the Hospital Wing, get you sorted out, ok?"

"Ok, Harry, whatever you want." Ginny closed her eyes, exhausted, and Harry's clone signalled to the other to relay the message while he stood guard. A minute later, the real Harry was back along with his clones and the unconscious woman, as well as one of the basilisk's fangs. He wanted some proof for his story, after all. The woman was delivered to one of the deserted rooms Harry had found in his roaming, a clone keeping watch, while the rest spread out and the real one took Ginny to Madam Pomfrey.

He kicked open the doors with a bang, using that to announce his presence. The old woman came bustling out all fired up to yell at whoever was disturbing her patients until she saw a disheveled Harry holding a pale, unconscious Ginny, the same student Pomfrey was afraid would be lost forever.

"Mr Potter! Oh, bring her here, please, that's it, lay her down, gently now, gently." Harry was tempted to roll his eyes, he already knew to do just that, but kept quiet.

The Matron pulled out her wand, waving it at the girl and breathed out relieved. "Just exhausted, thank Merlin. Now for you, Harry." When she started pointing the wand at him, Harry had to consciously fight down his response to let her do her work.

"Dirty, tired, some scratches and bruises but otherwise okay. Sit down and I'll fetch a potion after I call the Headmaster."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey. Would you also call my Head of House, please? I'm afraid she'll be angry with me if she can't find me, you see." Harry was putting on the best 'meek child' impression he could, he had a real job of acting ahead.

Pomfrey almost smiled at that understatement. Professor Sprout struck many as gentle, unable to harm a fly, but she had been Sorted truly when she went into Hufflepuff, her loyalty to her House would spawn a truly impressive fury if they were threatened.

Ten minutes later, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Sprout all came into the Hospital Wing, hurrying over to Harry and Ginny.

Fawkes pushed himself off Dumbledore's shoulder, swooping in to land on Harry's outstretched arm.

McGonagall was just staring at Harry, then again so were Snape and Sprout, so it was left to Dumbledore to open proceedings. "Well done, my boy, well done indeed!"

* * *

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