DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.

A/N: I chose the song below because it actually has some symbolism that fits in with this chapter. If any of you want, I could explain it to you.

CHAPTER 45: GODRIC’S HOLLOW

Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for a while / Tell me of a story never told in the past

Take me back to the land / Where my yearnings were born / The key to open the door is in your hand / Now fly me there

Fanatics find their heaven in a never-ending storming wind / Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth

Consolations, be there / In my dreamland to come / The key to open the door is in your hand / Now take me there

I believe in fantasies invisible to me / In the land of misery I'm searchin' for the sign / To the door of mystery and dignity / I'm wandering down the secret sun

Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for a while / Tell me of a story never told in the past

Take me back to the land / Where my yearnings were born / The key to open the door is in your hand / Now take me there / To the land of twilight

-Yuki Kajiura, "Key of the Twilight" (from the TV series ".hack//SIGN")

“How historically accurate is history itself?” –Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code

Me fortuna hac demum voluit consistere terra. Fortune willed it that I settle at last in this land. –Vergil, Aeneid (1.628f)

Harry flew across England on his bike, at least a thousand feet above the ground. It was a beautiful day, with sunny skies and scudding clouds. It reminded Harry of the day he was unjustly arrested, which he tried to put out of his mind.

He could feel something within him, guiding him to the town where his parents lived and hid. In the meantime, all he had to do was enjoy the ride, and try not to collide with anything airborne.

~*~*~*~

The entire Great Hall was deathly quiet now as every pair of eyes was fixed on the slightly surprised Potions professor.

"Gone?" Hermione asked tearfully.

"Yes, Miss Granger, gone. He left the manor," Snape said a little snidely.

"Oh!" she said quietly; apparently, she thought that Harry had died.

"Did he say where?" Dumbledore asked, feeling a little relief.

"Yes, but I'm afraid that's confidential information, Headmaster," Snape said smoothly. "I doubt even I could find him, and I was one of your best spies."

Most of the Gryffindors, especially Ron and Hermione, felt a new dimension of sorrow and gloom. In a way, this was worse than Harry simply being dead. He was alive, but they still had almost nonexistent odds of finding him now.

Lupin buried his face in his hands. 'Of all the cruel twists of fate,' he thought.

Hagrid looked close to tears himself. With an excuse of having to do work on the grounds, he quietly departed. As soon as he was back in his cabin, he let out his beastlike, grieving sobs.

McGonagall turned to her boss. "Headmaster, could you find him?"

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Even I couldn't. I know for a fact that he's been practicing the Fidelius Charm. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be found. On the other hand, even Voldemort wouldn't be able to find him then. And since he made himself the Secret-Keeper, as opposed to someone less trustworthy, I can tell that he won't end up dying like his parents."

There was a contemplative silence now as most people looked downcast. They could only hope that Voldemort wouldn’t actually kill Harry the next time around… especially considering how close he got the previous time…

~*~*~*~

About an hour later, Harry saw a small town below. It seemed to stand out to Harry, because no Muggle roads or other structures went through it; instead, they meandered around it as though the town wasn't there.

While slowing down and descending through the skies, Harry looked for a safe place he could set down and start looking for wherever his family's mansion could be.

As he landed in an alley, he undid the invisibility enchantment, then turned off the motorbike, put it away, and donned his invisibility cloak. Heeding Moody's favorite pair of words ("CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"), he set off, still not exactly sure where to go.

It looked like a quaint, quiet and peaceful town. As far as Harry could tell, it was an entirely wizarding settlement. However, Harry could see the signs of panic and tension in the air. He just made his way through the town, wondering where to go.

All of a sudden, he seemed to know where to go, as if the information simply popped up in his head. He quietly followed directions that popped up in his head. Take a turn here, go down there, etc... at this rate, he was going across town on foot.

Finally, he found himself down a road on the edge of town. At the end was a red brick wall, which Harry thought was strange in itself for a road to simply be cut off like that and not lead out of town.

Going closer to the wall, he saw letters scratched out in the bricks. With a sudden idea, he took out his wand and tried something.

He tapped in the bricks in an order to spell "Griffin." G... R... I... F... F... I... N...

The letters and spaces between the bricks all suddenly melted away as it all became a dark red surface, which rippled slightly.

With his instincts urging him to go through, he did just that.

After walking through the surface, he found himself on the other side, and he heard the portal solidify behind him. After straightening himself out, he saw the magnificent adobe known as Potter Manor for the first time.

He was in the main foyer, which in itself was an interior masterpiece. The floor itself was a giant design of tessellations resembling black and white griffins in a checkerboard pattern, looking like the tessellations of the artist M.C. Escher. (1) The halls mainly consisted of beautiful marble, onyx, and other precious stones meant for building. There were two sweeping staircases that both lead to an upper floor, underneath which was a battle scene with the figures only slightly moving. On the walls were murals of landscapes with various animals like lions, stags, and other wildlife. Above on the ceiling was a mural so spectacular, with witches and wizards moving around with objects and animals; the scene was painted as though they were all flying overhead, painted with the illusion that the ceiling simply opened to the heavens. Speaking of which, just like the ceiling of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, which showed the outside weather. Harry had a shrewd feeling that the figures' activities would vary based on the weather and time of day. The columns had candles placed to them, which were shaped like phoenixes looking straight up with the fires coming out of the open beaks.

All in all, Harry felt that, even without the magic and moving figures, this room alone would have been enough to compete with Michelangelo's best works from the Sistene Chapel, which it seemed to be slightly reminiscent of.

However, as Harry walked around the impressive manor, he realized what was missing: Objects that any household should have. There were no pieces of furniture, appliances, paintings and other decorations, etc. He made a mental note to get all those back from Gringotts later.

"Excuse me, sir, but what are you doing here?" came a squeaky voice from behind him.

Harry whipped his head around to see a rather old-looking house elf, wearing a sack for clothes. It wasn't as old as Kreacher was, but had a few white hairs on its head and some wrinkles in its skin. Its bat-like ears quivered as its button-shaped nose twitched nervously.

"My name is Harry Potter," Harry said, "This is supposed to be my family's manor."

The elf's eyes bulged with surprise, and then he gave an ecstatic yell. Hugging Harry around the waist, he said, "Harry Potter, you have returned!" (2)

"I guess you knew me?" Harry asked.

"Of course I did!" the elf said. "My name is Furro, and I cared for you when your mother couldn't, which was very rare in itself!"

That tugged at Harry's heartstrings. "Ah, thanks, I suppose. I just arrived here minutes ago, and I'm here for the first time that I can remember."

"Allow me to show you where everything is!" Furro declared. Harry followed along as Furro told him about the different rooms and what they were used for; Furro would have shown more, if it weren't for everything still in storage at Gringotts. One room that didn't need anything from Gringotts was a garden, which really looked more like a gigantic habitat at a zoo. It had streaming light and even live animals running through. It connected to the open forest outside the village, although, as Furro explained, the mansion had Muggle-Repelling Charms, was Unplottable, etc., which Harry had suspected all along. (3)

Then he remembered about Hedwig, Ardeavis and Nemorphus; they didn't know where he was either. Harry asked Furro if he could set it so the owl, phoenix and Runespoor could come; Furro instantly agreed and set the wards using his house elf magic for the trio of familiars to find the mansion. With that, the tour continued.

Finally, there was a special room that was placed aloof from the others. Harry could feel something ancient within there, as though it was calling him. Two lions, clawing and facing each other, looked down on anyone in front of the door, much like the twin lions over the gate to the ancient Aegean city of Mycenae. However, Harry could also feel that it could be looked at later; for now, Harry had a home to set up.

Harry wanted to go to Gringotts, but Furro was yet to show Harry his old room, from when he was an infant. Hesitantly, Harry looked inside. It was full of old baby things that hadn't been used in years. He asked Furro to put the old possessions in storage and set it up for him, which the elf did.

As Furro put the last thing away, Harry told the elf, "I need to go to Gringotts and get all my family's possessions out the family vault. I should be back in an hour or so. Oh, and I know a free house elf at Hogwarts who is extremely loyal to me. His name is Dobby; tell him about the situation and make sure he can come here, but make sure he doesn't let anything slip about this secret."

Furro nodded eagerly, but then looked confused. "Secret? What secret?"

"Technically, I'm supposed to be dead or missing or something; it's a rouse to fool Voldemort." After allowing a moment or two for Furro to stop shuddering, Harry finished, "He'll be extremely helpful to us."

"Yes sir, Master Harry!" Furro squeaked, and he was gone.

Before doing anything else, Harry used his Auror concealment kit from Tonks to change his appearance. Using spells mentioned, he now had dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and slightly pointed ears. Most important of all was hiding his scar, which was easily done. He vaguely resembled a male version of Luna Lovegood in the end. After looking closely in a mirror, Harry could see that he looked almost nothing like himself, either before or after Azkaban.

Harry went back to the portal, but couldn't figure out how to open it. He tried "Griffin" again, which didn't work. He tried other different words, and even those same words spelled backwards, but none of them worked.

Harry was about ready to give up as he sarcastically tapped the letters to form the word "Door." Surprisingly, it worked again.

"Door!?" Harry laughed. "How obvious." With that, he walked back out.

Once outside, he took out his motorbike, revved it up, set the invisibility, and took off for Diagon Alley.

However, as he flew to London, he realized that his motorbike would be something of a problem; surely it would be a dead giveaway that he was still alive. He decided to approach that problem when it came to that. In the meantime, he rode leisurely, enjoying the flight.

As he silently flew and hovered over London, he saw a narrow Alley that didn't look like the others, and was holding magical activities. As if proving Harry's suspicions, the giant white Gringotts building was visible at the end.

Harry's eyes wandered, and he saw a darker, smaller alley perpendicular to it: Knockturn Alley.

Then it occurred to him; he could land in Knockturn Alley, which was fully of shady characters, and just appear out of the buildings. The local clientele probably wouldn't even care!

That decided, he slowly and quietly descended into the taboo wizarding shopping center. Carefully landing in between two buildings, he quickly undid and put away everything. After securing his cloak and pulling his hood over his head, he stepped out to go to Gringotts, his wand gripped tightly in his robes.

He was two shops away from leaving Knockturn Alley altogether when he thought about something. What if people could somehow know it was him by using devices? The Marauder's Map was undoubtedly one of countless objects made to track people, and if Harry performed any magic here, the Ministry would know.

Then he remembered something about Dark artifacts, with devices used so people couldn't be tracked like that. Sometimes people used potions for the task, and other times they used physical objects to be worn, like rings or amulets.

And there was undoubtedly at least one store in Knockturn Alley that sold something of the sort...

Turning around, he walked back down the alley, remembering one store, which at the time, he had hoped never to visit again: Borgin & Burkes.

It looked more or less as it did nearly five years when Harry accidentally arrived via Floo powder, with different wares this time; apparently, the owners still had business going.

"Can I help you?" said a faintly familiar and oily voice from behind him. It was Mr. Borgin.

"Yes, actually," Harry said, making his voice sound gruff. "Do you have anything which could allow me to perform magic and go undetected by the Ministry, or anyone for that matter?"

"Naturally," Mr. Borgin said with a faint smile. "Why are you here, young man?"

Harry shrugged. "Because I need something which does just that. Does it matter? It's not like I'll just steal it without paying whatever the proper price would be. And I can promise that no Aurors will come barging in minutes from now."

Mr. Borgin raised an eyebrow. "First time here?"

Harry's acting skills were at their peak. "Yes, it is."

"Well, feel free to look around while I search my inventory for things which would suit your purpose." And with that, Mr. Borgin disappeared into the back.

Harry strolled around, stopping for a moment on the Hand of Glory, which was still on display from Harry's first time here. Harry could still remember a younger Draco Malfoy, eagerly wanting it.

'Actually,' Harry thought, 'Draco could probably use it in times like these. I'll have to ask about the price for that thing.'

Mr. Borgin came back with an assortment of objects in a box. Among them were a vial of some nasty-looking potion, a glove, a ring, and other things.

"Here we have a special potion to make you go undetected," Mr. Borgin said without preamble. "However, it has a 50% chance of causing mutations over time, depending on what you normally eat..." (3)

"No thanks, sir, but I think I'll pass on that one," Harry said, wincing a little from under his hood. "Which one would cause the least amount of side effects?"

Mr. Borgin put most of the objects back except for the ring. "This is a Stealth Ring. Apart from making the user untraceable by the Ministry, it also helps avoid any incoming owls, apart from those owls you want to come to you. Best of all, it causes no side effects whatsoever," he said proudly. "However, such a device is a work of art in itself. About a thousand Galleons, I'd say."

"Hmm," Harry said. "Can someone haggle in here?"

"Certainly," Mr. Borgin complied.

"Okay... 800 Galleons."

"900," Mr. Borgin said a little defensively.

"850."

"875, and I'll go no lower than that."

"Done. Actually, that ring is not the only thing I'm interested in buying."

Mr. Borgin looked rather happy now. "What else here interests you?"

Harry pointed to the Hand of Glory, pretending to not know what it was. "That hand over there. What does that do?"

Mr. Borgin acted like he did nearly five years ago when Draco said he wanted it. "Ah, the Hand of Glory! You have fine taste, sir. Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Insert a candle, and it casts light to the user only!"

"Certainly sounds like something I can use," Harry said a little haughtily, just to sound good. "How much?"

"About five hundred Galleons."

"Tell you what. Between the ring and the hand, let's make it 1200 Galleons."

"1300 Galleons," Mr. Borgin corrected, hoping to milk it for all it was worth.

"Whatever; a margin of a hundred Galleons doesn't matter that much to me," Harry said indifferently. "I need to go to Gringotts first, and I'll come back with the money."

"I don't hold onto objects, so be back before someone else buys them," Mr. Borgin pointed out.

"Thanks for mentioning that, and don't worry, I will," Harry said as he walked out of the store.

 Now in Diagon Alley, Harry made his way to Gringotts, hood off as not to attract attention; he had better odds if he tried his disguise, as opposed to looking suspicious and consequently being tailed.

For the most part, he went unnoticed, although it was a close call as he passed the twins' joke shop. Fred, George and Lee were selling some new items, and as Fred saw Harry, he nudged to George and Lee, pointing at Harry. However, a few seconds later, disappointment was evident on their faces, now convinced it wasn't their investor.

Harry felt a little twinge about having to fool the twins like that, but as he reminded himself that it was for everyone’s good that he go through with all these secrets.

He felt another twinge as he entered Gringotts. What if he alerted everyone by popping up to withdraw from his family vault? He had to try, so he gambled and took the risk at hand.

Harry walked up to an available goblin, took out the key to his personal vault, and said quietly, "I need to withdraw some money from my own personal vault. I also need to withdraw dozens of items from my family vault and take them back to my family's mansion. I would prefer if this transaction was done in secret, as not to alert anyone."

The goblin scrutinized him and the key closely. Finally, he said even more quietly, "Then follow me, Mr. Potter."

Harry was dumbfounded, but he worked hard to conceal it as he took back his key and followed the unfamiliar goblin to the carts.

In the cart, Harry asked, "How did you know it was me?"

"We goblins need to know details, like the marks on a key and the faces of our customers," the goblin said in a bored, offhand way. "While you did remove your glasses, hide your scar, point your ears a little, and change the colors of your hair and eyes, your facial structure was still the same, and your hair was still as messy."

"Oh," Harry said quietly, accepting that explanation. He supposed that was why the twins recognized him.

Once he entered his family vault again, Harry asked, "How do I move this stuff to my mansion?"

"All of the vaults of pureblooded and/or powerful families have special portals in the backs of them to move them through. It also works in case of emergencies for moving people and/or possessions."

'Figures,' Harry thought to himself. However, he was then unsure exactly how much of this stuff to move. He then asked, "Is there anyway to check which objects were deposited in this vault and when?"

"Actually," the goblin said with a grin, "It seems your parents left a letter for us as well when they deposited what they did. According to them, in the case where you move everything back to your mansion, we move all the objects they magically marked."

With that, the goblin rolled back his sleeves to perform some goblin magic. He cast a golden light over the objects in the room; after the golden light disappeared, some objects glowed red for a moment, while others glowed green.

"Technically, the red is marked as what not to move, and the green is marked as what is needed to move," the goblin told Harry. "I shall have a team of goblins move the objects back to Potter Mansion over the course of the next hour or so."

"Thank you," Harry said. They both left the vault and sealed it on their way out. As they left in their cart, two more carts with six goblins in each one rolled up to the vault, obviously to do their work.

Once in Harry's own vault (which had more than a million Galleons in it from different sources), he collected the money he needed, and then some. He also gave the goblin 200 Galleons as a tip, since he helped out.

The Goblin's eyes became as round as the Galleons themselves. "The bank will thank Mr. Harry Potter for this," the goblin said with something akin to glee.

"Glad to help," Harry said. As the cart rolled to a stop, the goblin said, "Good day, and we eagerly await the day where you vanquish the Dark Lord."

Harry stopped and said, "Thank you." With that, he went back out before anyone could notice.

The return trip to Knockturn Alley went much smoother this time without anyone noticing. Once back in Borgin & Burkes, Harry made the transaction. The Stealth Ring and Hand of Glory were placed in a box, which Harry took.

"Please return again sometime," Mr. Borgin said while Harry was walking out.

"Sure," he said distractedly over his shoulder. 'Not if I can help it,' he privately thought.

Harry returned to the same alley where he landed, and after packing everything, he took off again, magically hidden from sight.

~*~*~*~

By the time Harry returned to Potter Manor, the goblins moved everything to there. Just as Harry walked up to the big pile, Furro returned with six other house-elves. Before he could say anything else, yet another elf hugged him from behind.

"HARRY POTTER, SIR!"

"Hi, Dobby," Harry said, giving into the elf’s grasp just this once.

"Are you fine, Harry Potter sir?" Dobby asked worriedly.

"For the most part, yes, I'm alright. Snape healed my physical wounds."

Dobby let go, and scuttled off saying, "Dobby must get back to Hogwarts!"

"'Bye, Dobby, and keep my existence a secret!" Harry called after him.

"Yes, Harry Potter sir!" was the last he heard from Dobby before the elf disappeared.

Harry turned back to the other elves. Furro introduced the others, which were two male elves and two female elves, all of them wearing sacks. Furro was basically the "alpha male," who was placed in charge with looking after Harry. There was Nabby, the female house elf who worked in the kitchens; Sopa, the other female elf, who did the cleaning around the house; Floro, who did the gardening; and Miga, who maintained the magical properties of the mansion itself. (4) They were all delighted to have Harry Potter back in the mansion where he belonged, and he was glad to meet them all.

As they all went about with their job of moving the furniture, appliances, etc. to their original places from years ago, Harry went to his new room to set everything up.

It was strange, because for the first time in his life, he had a room where he could set up his belongings however he wanted without fear of how the other residents of the house might feel about it.

Just for a finishing touch, Harry took the portrait of his parents from his trunk and placed it on the wall across the room from his bed. At least now, he had another piece of his parents with him, which he could always come home too.

Suddenly, Hedwig and Ardeavis flew in through the open door with Nemorphus slithering in behind them. They were all eager to be with Harry again, and they agreed with Harry to remain in hiding here for their own safety, even if they couldn't notify others of his location.

Harry then learned that the wizarding world knew that he was alive, and while a little disappointed, he still decided that it was for the better. He didn't want to face them right now.

He didn't worry about going back to school, either, because at the moment, killing Voldemort ranked higher than his homework and exams. Since he was so advanced at magic this year, he could honestly feel that he could avoid his final exams this year. (5)

Hedwig, Ardeavis and Nemorphus were all content with the sunny garden, and agreed to stay there unless they went out for hunting.

Harry then went back to looking at his purchases from Borgin and Burkes. The first thing he tried was the Stealth Ring. Wearing it, he almost felt like Sauron, who could go unrivaled with it. He then shuddered and wiped that thought away; he was no Sauron or Voldemort, that's for sure.

Then there was the thing with the Hand of Glory. Did he really need it, or should he just give it to Draco? Harry eventually chose the latter, since he had those special functions on his glasses for seeing in the Dark.

Once he came to that conclusion, he wrote out a note to Draco.

Draco,

As you're undoubtedly well aware, Snape rescued and healed me. Now I'm in hiding. I can't say where, although I would still like to show you something. I'm putting my faith in you for what I have to show you, since I also have something that I'm sure you'd like. DON'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS.

At midnight, use your medallion to come to Godric's Hollow. It doesn't matter where, since I'll find you.

-Harry

Once that was done, he gave it to Ardeavis, who vanished once taking it. After sneaking into Draco's empty Slytherin dormitory, he placed the letter on the bed and returned to Potter Manor.

For the rest of the day, Harry would travel around the country and try out the new ring. It worked perfectly, and in Harry's opinion, it was entirely worth it.

~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Draco returned to his dormitory and found the letter. Not letting anyone else see it, he opened it up and read it.

Draco could tell right away that Harry had done something that could never be made public knowledge, especially with the cryptic tone of the letter.

Shrugging to himself, he destroyed the letter and decided to wait around to midnight. Even as his roommates went to sleep, he kept himself awake from the caffeine of the Chocolate Frogs, in case Blaise's snoring wasn't enough.

As midnight drew closer, he pulled the blankets over him and utilized Seth.

The next moment, the blankets became flat against the bed.

~*~*~*~

The next moment, Draco was in a street in an unfamiliar town. It looked rather like Hogsmeade, except for all the different stores. Whilst waiting and walking around, he wondered where Harry was.

A shadow then passed over him; looking up, Draco saw what looked like a phoenix flying overhead.

Unafraid, he allowed the phoenix to land in front of him. Peering closer, Draco could see a lightning bold pattern on the phoenix's forehead and vivid green eyes. There was no mistaking those eyes.

The phoenix became human, and Draco saw himself looking at Harry Potter. However, this new Harry wasn't wearing glasses, and he now had a cold, hard look to him that said one message very clearly: "Don't mess with me."

"That you, Harry?" Draco asked, a little perturbed while resuming his usual blonde appearance. Even as a Metamorphmagus, he still liked the looks he was born with the most.

"Still me, after everything that's happened," he said, and Draco could almost see something turning off in Harry's eyes.

"Where are your glasses?" Draco asked.

"Severus fixed my eyesight, but I still need the glasses for the special functions on them."

"Ah, so where is it we need to go?" Draco asked. "I wasn't exactly planning on spending the rest of my night here, no offense."

"None taken. Follow me." As Harry walked off, Draco kept up with him, all the way to the brick wall. After putting in the password, Harry said, "Welcome to Potter Mansion. Please, guests first." With that, Draco hesitantly stepped through, followed by Harry.

Draco gaped in awe upon entering. It was rather hard to imagine Harry Potter living in a place on this, especially given Draco's experiences with him.

"Take a seat," Harry said, gesturing towards the wonderful armchairs off to one side. "I'll be right back."

As Draco chose a comfortable armchair and watched the figures on the ceiling (they were now walking about with lanterns, since it was midnight), Harry glided off. He returned a couple of minutes later with a box. Before giving it to Draco, he asked, "You remember nearly five years ago when Lockhart was doing that ridiculous crap in Diagon Alley and we had to buy all his books?"

Of course Draco remembered; Arthur Weasley brawled with his father. He nodded, and Harry continued, "Remember any shops you went to in Knockturn Alley that day?"

Draco's eyes popped. How the hell did Harry know that one?

"Yeah, Borgin & Burkes. Why?"

Harry looked mildly ashamed of himself. "It was my first time going via Floo powder, so I ended up in that shop instead of Diagon Alley with the Weasleys. I hid just before you and your father walked in."

Draco's mind was working now... Finally, he said with a slight grin, "You were in that cabinet I was about to open, weren't you?"

Harry smirked a little. "Yeah, I was. I also overheard everything. Anyway, I suppose you'll find a use for this?" He handed the box over to Draco, who opened it.

It was the Hand of Glory, exactly as Draco remembered it. Looking up, he said, "Thanks. Why'd you get this?"

"Oh, it caught my eye, and I figured you might still want it or something," Harry said casually. "I really don't need it anyway."

"Why would you not need it?" Draco asked, closing the box and accepting the gift.

Wordlessly, Harry took out his glasses and activated the functions on them (he already fixed the lenses so they wouldn't distort his vision if worn). (6) "This is why," Harry said.

"Oh, I understand now," Draco said. "So, anything else you want to show me?"

"Actually, I really don't know. There's this one other room I saw earlier... didn't go in it. Care to see what's in there?"

"Actually, yes. Slytherin curiosity is taking over now."

Harry laughed and led him to the door with the twin lions looking over it. As they approached, a sudden thought struck Draco: Did Harry realize that he was the Heir of Gryffindor?

Harry used the X-ray function on the door and touched it, looking for a way to open it. A slow rumbling could now be heard, and the door was sliding up into the ceiling. When it stopped, Harry and Draco were taking out their wands to magically light their way when a snatch of phoenix song could be heard behind them.

It was Ardeavis. Using thought-speech, he said, "There is something you should know by now, Harry. The reason I was in that egg. A thousand years ago, I lived near Hogwarts, and on several occasions, I even interacted with Godric Gryffindor himself. After the falling-out between him and Salazar Slytherin, I knew that some of Slytherin's descendants would have ill intentions towards those of Gryffindor. I left Hogwarts and found a remote mountain to hide in, and using highly complex phoenix magic, I regressed myself into an egg, thus preserving myself and conserving my power until I would be found again and reunited with Gryffindor's Heir."

"Then why did Voldemort find you?" Harry asked.

"He wanted to use me in his experiments for his 'Serpentine Army.' But I did hatch in the care of the Heir of Gryffindor."

 After Harry worked it all out, he suddenly felt strangely weak. "Me?" he asked in almost a whisper. "I'm his Heir?"

"Indeed," Ardeavis said. "Dumbledore started to wonder about the Heir of Gryffindor after the sword starting glowing at odd intervals last summer. It was a sign that the powers of the Heir were growing."

"Excuse me," Draco said, "But maybe I should explain some things here." With that, he told Harry about the two other prophecies, the ancient one and the modern one. Once Harry pieced everything together in his mind, he started to feel angry again.

"So Dumbledore's been keeping even more secrets from me?" he asked, going rigid and curling his fists.

"He didn't want to divulge any information until he was absolutely sure of all of it," Ardeavis explained calmly, looking not the slightest bit unfazed. "Furthermore, Draco pieced it all together, and once he did that, your Headmaster had no choice but to explain."

Harry took it all in stride. He'd have to have a little talk with Dumbledore later about keeping secrets. In the meantime, he wanted to see what was inside. So with that, he, Draco and Ardeavis all went inside.

The halls were lined with golden lions and crimson phoenixes cavorting about. The passageway had the appearance of being ancient and not discovered for a long time. Finally, at the end, there was a golden hoop about ten feet in diameter that simply floated parallel to them, with reddish light inside the hoop. (7)

"Go through, Harry, since you are the Heir of Gryffindor," Ardeavis encouraged him. "You will be allowed as well, Draco."

Hesitantly, Harry stepped through and vanished from sight. With that, Draco followed him, and Ardeavis brought up the rear.

~*~*~*~

Harry stepped out of the portal to find himself in what looked like an underground temple. As he stepped out and made room for Draco, he saw that his portal was only one of four; there was also a black hoop with yellow light, a bronze hoop with blue light, and a silver hoop with green light. Harry assumed that the other three portals lead to the homes of the other Founders' Heirs.

The hallway was lined with torches, and Harry could tell that it had been built at the time of the Hogwarts Founders. A flash of light and a clap of thunder caught his attention, and he looked out to see an incredible sight.

This whole temple was built on a small island that was surrounded by a perpetual storm to keep Muggles and other intruders away from it. Apparently, it was reserved for only the descendants of the Founders themselves, and quite possibly any company brought along with those descendants. (8)

Ardeavis lead them up and down the flights of stairs and across the floors of the temple. Eventually, the walls started to have decorations, mainly murals showing the Founders teaching their first students. It also showed each Founder in the company of the animals that became the mascots for their Houses (Gryffindor with a pride of lions, Hufflepuff with a den of badgers, Ravenclaw with a flock of eagles, and Slytherin with a pit of snakes). In general, this priceless collection of art ranged from domestic life to educational scenes.

Finally, they were in an underground level, and after singing another phoenixian melody, the gigantic doors opened again. It revealed a rectangular room with four huge sarcophagi in them. They all had effigies on them, like those on the coffins of royalty in the Middle Ages, but the unique trio of visitors didn't need to see the effigies to need to know the coffins' occupants. Hanging above each sarcophagus was a twenty-foot tall tapestry of each founder. From left to right were tapestries of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

"Whoa," Harry breathed.

"This is the temple and burial grounds of the Founders," Draco said, stating the obvious. "This is probably tantamount to Mt. Sinai or some other sacred place. Where is here anyway?"

"Actually, you raise an interesting point, Draco," Ardeavis said. "If this place was revealed, people would come here to honor the Founders and would rather praise what can be found here rather than the events that once took place here. This building was where they lived, and it's only called the 'temple' for lack of a better name. The location of this temple is irrelevant, so long as you can get here."

"Good point," Draco commented.

Suddenly, there was a draft of wind, and the Gryffindor and Slytherin sarcophagi glowed. The next moment, two spirits appeared in front of the sarcophagi: Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin themselves.

Both boys looked at each other, worried for a moment. Their fears were relieved when the spirits of their ancestors hovered towards them, looking not the least bit malevolent. They both looked like ghosts, but instead of looking silvery, they appeared in their House colors (red and green respectively).

Salazar Slytherin's spirit spoke first. "I would like to welcome both of you to the temple. Both of you have had dreams involving us, and both of you know now that nothing is what it seems at first. Case in point, the truth behind the history of the Chamber of Secrets. My own diary is stored safely in my own quarters. I believe, Draco, that we can take a look and maybe even duplicate the notes stored."

"Er, with all due respect," Draco said to the Founder of his own House, "How long will this take? All I did was come to Potter Manor to receive something."

"Actually, a schedule is in place which can be explained right now," Godric Gryffindor's spirit said. "Mister Malfoy, you could come here each night through your own portal and train and learn ancient magic. I assure you it will not conflict with your usual daytime studies, and you will be fully rested each morning."

With that, Slytherin nodded to Draco and glided off. Cottoning on, Draco followed behind Slytherin's spirit.

As they departed, Gryffindor's spirit turned back to Harry. "First of all, Harry, may I welcome you here, and I am proud to have a strong person such as yourself to be my Heir. Next, I will teach you ancient and long-forgotten magic that will aid you in your fight against Voldemort. Finally, I expect you here every day, from breakfast to supper; in time, you will develop your powers for when Voldemort attacks Hogwarts."

Harry nodded, taking all this in. Then he did a double take after hearing the last bit, about Voldemort attacking Hogwarts. "Wait, when will that happen, Gryffindor?"

Gryffindor gave a small smile. "First of all, you may call me Godric, unless you can figure out how many times to say 'great' before 'grandfather.'" After a little chuckle, Godric continued, "Yes, Voldemort will attack Hogwarts by the end of the school year. However, you WILL be able to destroy him, once and for all."

"How?" Harry asked, wanting to be free of this kind of life, worrying about prophecies and Dark wizards.

"There are spells which can kill Voldemort, despite all his numerous experiments in his quest for immortality. You can learn and master powerful ancient spells that will kill Voldemort. The spells I'm thinking of take lots of practice, and may not work instantaneously, but it will be worth it in the long run."

"You mean that within a month, I can do things like shield Dark magic and other things which most people can't?"

With a grin, Godric said, "What I'm saying, Harry, is that within a month... you won't have to do relatively simple stuff like that." (9)

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Dumbledore got up with a sigh. He still didn't have Harry back. He could feel something pressing down on him, like his guilt of not having done anything. Sure, Dumbledore could have beaten Percy Weasley to it, and get Harry and pull another vanishing act like the year before in his own office, except that would have been pushing his luck.

Scratching his back, Dumbledore slipped into his phoenix slippers (complete with wings, and made actual phoenix-like sounds when walked in), and walked into his office just in time to see something he'd never forget. (10)

The sword was glowing yet again. Only this time, it vibrated in its case to the point where it shook violently. Finally, it vibrated so the glass exploded and shattered, sending the shards onto the floor. Glowing and vibrating nonstop to the point where it reached a hum, the sword slowly rose in the air, and in a flash, it shot out the open window at what could have been the speed of sound itself.

The portraits on the wall were all silent, and Fawkes' eyes were slightly bulging from surprise. Dumbledore could only gape for several minutes before doing anything about the shards of glass all over the floor.

~*~*~*~

Draco Malfoy was feeling refreshed as he silently returned to his own dormitory early in the morning. Fortunately, no one saw him mysteriously return, so he was still safe.

Actually, Draco was starting to get tired of constantly snooping around in the dark. Well, sure, he was good at it, but wasn't he done rooting out all the different traitors from all the different Houses?

He'd have to talk to Dumbledore about that before breakfast.

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Arthur Weasley woke up, wanting to get to work early for a change. He quietly went through his morning routine, constantly thinking about the state of things in the world.

He walked outside to his shed to collect some things for him to bring to work. After collecting everything, including his favorite Swiss army knife, he went back outside and heard something going through the woods.

Mr. Weasley instinctively drew his wand and aimed it to where he last heard it. It definitely sounded like someone walking through and spying on him. The red-headed man could even see someone darting through the woods.

After activating one of his devices for the Order of the Phoenix for backup, Mr. Weasley ran into the woods, hoping to find whoever it was and get that person himself.

Mr. Weasley used tactics he learned from his Auror friends to stealthily find this person. After a few minutes, a Killing Curse flew at him, which missed him by a few feet and hit a nearby tree.

Both Mr. Weasley and his quarry were now facing each other in a clearing, looking at each other straight in the eye. His quarry just happened to be Joseph Cornwall.

"You..." Mr. Weasley growled.

"Yes, me," Cornwall said smoothly. "I was just wondering how one of my old colleagues was doing."

That really cut at Mr. Weasley. Radiating anger and venom, Mr. Weasley went on, "I am now utterly ashamed to have worked with you in the past."

"What? No gratitude to show to one of the older Ministry workers who showed you everything about our world? Not surprising, given your lack of wizarding pride."

Cornwall was obviously dragging it out, wanting to inflict as much emotional pain on the younger man as possible. Mr. Weasley flushed that trademark red before spitting out, "At least I live a noble, pious life. And while other fools may end up owing debts to evil people just because those people did something for them, I won't fall for any bait you have for me. I don't care if people label me and my family as 'blood traitors' or not, because I'd rather think for myself and do what's good."

Cornwall smirked. "Good and evil are such relative terms. The distance between them is measured only by intent."

"And what are you here for?" Mr. Weasley asked, trying to verbally counterattack.

"Just to remind you of one very thing that I taught you when you were still a junior Ministry worker: Always do the best thing." While raising his wand, Cornwall added, "And the best thing for me right now is to get rid of you!"

For the next several minutes, the two opponents clashed, driven by their different motives. Cornwall wanted to dispose of this fool for the sake of his master, the Dark Lord; Arthur wanted to defeat this man who he'd actually admired at one point in his life.

Eventually, several Aurors turned up, but Cornwall had one last trick for them; a massive spell which blasted a whole into the woods, ten feet in diameter. Cornwall vanished just before unleashing the spell, so he didn't caught by his own death trap. Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, was caught just on the edge of the blast, and he ended up being thrown into a tree, which severely knocked him out.

Tonks quickly rushed over to Mr. Weasley and tried to help him up. "He's bruised all over the place, and that spell may have caused some internal damage. Get him to St. Mungo's, quick!" (11)

~*~*~*~

Percy Weasley was just hoping to leave the hospital for good this time when he saw someone being rushed in: His father.

All pretense forgotten, he followed the Aurors rushing Mr. Weasley into a medical room, but a nurse said, "Please, no visitors at the moment. I can tell you're his son, but we will let you know when he can be visited."

Hanging his head in defeat, Percy returned to the waiting area, trying to overcome his own grief by comforting his sobbing mother.

~*~*~*~

Harry went back to sleep hours before after returning from the temple. He woke up, and his mind wandered about for a while, thinking of the prophecies that were made, in regards to him as the Heir of Gryffindor.

The ancient one was really more of a riddle, which would identify the Heir based on clues. The modern one dealt more with those struggles.

The symbolism and double-meanings of the modern prophecy came more into focus now. The "tiger" (Ginny) and the "swan" (Cho), both guided him with their own experiences, like losing someone close to them to Voldemort or being possessed and tricked by Voldemort. The "raven" (Snape) and the "serpent" (Draco) helped him with seeing the world in a different and more realistic way. The other Heir of Slytherin (Draco again, although not a Heir by blood) worked with him while acting as a foreign exchange student. Voldemort took Harry, and Harry did "fall" into darkness. However, that could have meant darkness as in depression of the heart, or being in hiding, or something along those lines. And now that Harry discovered his birthright...

Well, all that was left was to kill Voldemort.

Although, Harry reminded to himself, that didn't necessarily mean that Harry would survive with perfect health, let alone at all.

Suddenly, he remembered something. The aid of the weapon that rests beyond the griffin's door...

What could that mean? Thinking carefully, he then remembered the door to Dumbledore's office. There was a griffin-shaped knocker on the door.

Griffin. Door. Gryffindor.

'Har har,' Harry thought with mild amusement. 'Funny.' Come to think of it, those were the combined passwords to get in and out of Potter Manor through that portal, wasn't it?

At that moment, he remembered he had training to do. After getting dressed and eating his breakfast (courtesy of the house elves), he returned to the temple.

Not sure where exactly to go, he returned to the room of sarcophagi and waited for Gryffindor's ghost. Sure enough, the shining crimson spirit arose form his crypt, ready to get down to business.

"Right on time for your first lesson, you're off to a great start, Hary," Godric said with a small smile. "Follow me."

So, Harry followed him through the seemingly multi-layered maze of a temple until they reached what looked like the roof. This large, circular area with all different distance markings as such was open to the ever-stormy sky, and even as lightning flashed, Godric didn't look the least bit worried. "I can promise you won't be affected by the elements," he reassured his Heir.

Harry could only nod in compliance with his ancestor. Stopping in the center, Godric looked up at the sky as though expecting something. There was suddenly a red glow through the stormy clouds, and a silver object fell through like a dart.

It was Gryffindor's sword. Now Harry remembered the passage about "the weapon that rests beyond the griffin's door," because the sword was in Dumbledore's office, either inside the Sorting Hat or in the display case after Harry found it.

"This sword, Harry," Godric said, "Is one weapon that will help you immensely. It can never be used to harm the weak or innocent, and it cannot harm any of my descendants, especially you. Go on, take it, try to fight with it."

With rather simple ease, Harry pulled the sword out of the stone where it landed. Harry could feel power rushing through him as the sword glowed like a red sun. It wasn't the power that Voldemort often talked about, with the power to control everything and everyone; this particular power was tied to his love and desire to protect people.

"Voldemort will attack Hogwarts soon, and you will know when the time comes," Godric continued. "You will have enough time to study from the ancient books of magic that will be supplied to you. For now, however, I recommend that you practice some more with your swordsmanship."

As several stone golems appeared in the fighting area, Harry knew it was time to get to work.

~*~*~*~

There was the continuing, sorrowful mood in the Great Hall that morning as people wondered about the whereabouts of Harry Potter. The Gryffindors couldn't have looked more remorseful. At the staff table, McGonagall surveyed her house for a moment, and then desisted; it just didn't matter much to her anymore.

Roy Serpenfils walked up to the staff table and whispered in Dumbledore's ear, "Are there any students left to root out, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore gave the twinkling eyes and smile and said, "After my thorough examinations of the students in all years and all Houses, I am proud to say they're all gone."

"So is it time that I can safely reveal myself to everyone?"

"You don't like being a spy?"

"Oh, it can be self-satisfying at times, but for some strange reason, I'm getting bored of it. Not to mention that revealing my secret would serve as yet another blow to Riddle’s ego." Here, Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled a little.

"And the reasons for which you are spying and fighting would be best if ended soon. Yes, I can safely say that you can be revealed."

"All using an obscure yet powerful amulet of Slytherin himself."

"Of course. Shall I re-introduce you now?"

"Please do."

Draco stepped aside, and Dumbledore got up and addressed the hall. "While I still haven't found Mr. Potter yet, I'd like to welcome back another allied student to our ranks."

Draco stepped forward, and whilst looking at the Gryffindors, he smoothly let his features melt back to his more familiar ones.

The entire hall gasped and looked shell-shocked, teachers and students alike. The only exceptions were Snape, Lupin, and the few students (mostly Slytherins) who knew of this, who entertained themselves with seeing everyone else's reactions.

"MALFOY!?" Ron Weasley exclaimed. The shock and surprise were evident in his voice and seemed to be shared with most of his House.

Draco deflected Ron's protest. "Weasley," he replied evenly, without a hint of malice or dislike.

"What- how-?" Ron sputtered.

"I'm sure you're acquainted with my cousin, Tonks, who's an Auror. I'm a Metamorphmagus like her; her mother and mine were sisters, so it must be something hereditary."

"Metamorphmagus or not, what are you doing back here at Hogwarts?" Ron asked, obviously not happy that his enemy had been at Hogwarts for a couple of months now and not even aware of it.

"Working for Professor Dumbledore, trying to figure out the traitors from Houses other than Slytherin... You know, important stuff."

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, wanting to cut that off now. And with that, Draco returned to the somewhat-cheering Slytherin table.

The rest of breakfast passed between the Slytherins’ acceptance of their Housemate and the rest of the Hall’s fading shock.

~*~*~*~

After Harry was done training by fighting off the golems (boy, was he tired and sweaty), he didn't know what to do with the sword. Just then, Godric appeared in front of him.

"Actually, Harry, now that you've got the sword, you'll need it for the books."

That only perplexed Harry somewhat. How would he need a sword to study from the books he would read?

Godric drifted off, and Harry followed right behind him. The chivalrous Founder lead Harry down to what looked like a vault. Several animals (mainly lions and phoenixes, and occasionally a stag or two), all seemed centered around a vertical slot in the wall.

Suddeny, Harry remembered something from his dream involving all four Founders: "The sword is the key." (12)

As Godric serenely watched from the side, Harry put the sword level with the slot and ran the sword in, until the hilt itself was a couple of inches away from the wall. Thinking of what to do next, Harry took both ends of the hilt in both hands and twisted it one quarter clockwise with all his might.

There was some rumbling, and as dust fell off the ceiling, the door split into two uneven parts (the sword now stuck in a bulge on the right leaf). Both halves slid against the walls, and Harry gaped at the contents inside.

Seemingly endless rows and columns of books...

"Study hard and have fun, Harry," Godric said with a wink before vanishing.

With that, Harry got down to business.

~*~*~*~

Later that evening, another meeting was called for the Order of the Phoenix. All the adults and students involved came to this one, although Snape still hadn't come yet.

After a few minutes, Dumbledore decided to get started without him. There was lots of business to be discussed, including news of Voldemort's plans to attack Hogwarts. While Draco Malfoy did destroy a lot of monstrosities that were concocted, there were still a couple of unknown bases elsewhere. All evidence suggested that with the victories they'd achieved, Voldemort would push up his schedule and have things come to a head shortly within a month.

Dumbledore also pointed out something highly important: "Under attack" is not always the same as "defenseless." Peeves was still recruiting poltergeists from around the world, and the Weasley twins were now producing even more of their dangerous versions of Wildfire Whiz-Bangs and Portable Swamps, plus other new products being redesigned for wartime purposes.

Speaking of dangerous items, McGonagall and Lupin pointed out the infamous "Electrocuting Rat" incident, which the twins were still feeling rather guilty over. However, hoping the twins would redeem themselves, they suggested remaking the rats with the intention to kill, like being filled with poisons or explosives or something. Since it was a snake army being made, they naturally would eat rats.

Dumbledore also wished for the involvement of all the Weasleys for the defense. Mr. Weasley was the only one who knew how to fly that car (he was already healing since that morning's incident with Cornwall), Mrs. Weasley could help tend to the injured and wounded, Bill could set up curses as defenses, Percy could organize the defenses, and the other five Weasley children could fly on the SkyFoxes. At this point, some people objected to the Weasleys suddenly being thrown back into things after what they did; Dumbledore calmly replied that it was one mistake which should not rule the rest of their lives, and the Weasleys deserved the chance to do the right thing.

The staff would set up the wards, and Hagrid would get Norbert ready. Other professors had different tasks, like Professor Sprout setting up dangerous plants around the grounds.

There was also the matter of involvement from other species that lived at or near Hogwarts. The acromantulas, centaurs, and merfolk were all willing to fight. At this point, the topic of Grawp came up. Several people were shocked at the discovery of Hagrid's half-brother, but it did not undermine their beliefs at all, and so they went with it.

What with final exams and battle plans, the last month of school at Hogwarts would indeed be a busy one for everybody.

The only wild card was where Harry was or what he was up to.

Just as everyone was leaving, Snape came rushing in, his greasy hair flying wildly behind him.

Everyone immediately forgot all pretense of leaving. "Severus, what happened?" Dumbledore asked, disguising his worry.

"The Dark Lord is active again; he redid the rebirth magic."

Everyone worried more now. "With Harry's blood?" Dumbledore asked, getting a sinking feeling.

"No, he did it with mine. Bellatrix must have gathered some of it after our battle."

Dumbledore seemed to relax a little, although he could see some of Snape's worry; Snape was feeling rather violated, knowing that his own blood had been used to somewhat rejuvenate Voldemort.

After Snape was filled in on all the details, the meeting was over, and the Order of the Phoenix had work to do.

~*~*~*~

The rest of the school year passed in relative silence. Voldemort's attacks were dying down, but even though no one said it, everyone knew that he was building up for something big.

The last classes went smoothly, and everyone was just calm enough to make it through studying for and taking their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Ginny and Luna managed to console their fellow fifth-years into thinking that wherever Harry was, he was alright; Cho managed to do the same with her fellow seventh-years.

However, the only thing that managed to destroy those illusions were the fact that defenses were being set all around the castle. The Weasley twins were seen installing something in the lake (13), Professor Sprout could be seen setting up dangerous plants all around the castle as natural defenses, and on most nights, Hagrid would disappear into the Forbidden Forest, where strange rumblings and vibrations would take place...

Of course, nobody stopped thinking about Harry was. That seemed to be the biggest problem of all. He should have been with them, still in Gryffindor, working with them, and taking exams like everyone else.

~*~*~*~

It was halfway through June and towards the end of his training when Harry had a vision. Voldemort was looking for the final ingredient of his Serpentine Army, and what he needed was somewhere in the American Southwest desert. A few Death Eaters were already on their way to find it.

With that, Harry woke up. He knew he had to act fast.

He couldn't simply fire-travel as a phoenix to the American desert. He needed to fly, and fast.

Leaving a note for whomever to find, he left the mansion in the early morning hours, became a phoenix, looked west, and took off.

As a phoenix, he traveled somewhat faster than the speed of sound. He couldn’t simply fire-travel, since it was so far away, bring about one-third around the world. He zipped over the Atlantic ocean through fluffy clouds and dark oceans (it got earlier as he traveled west, to where it was still dark). He flew over dark landscapes, through mountains and forests and plains. He flew at least a mile up in the sky, like a hot fire dart through the freezing cold air, where no one could see him with their naked eye.

While flying over peaceful and beautiful nocturnal deserts, he saw flashes of green light below. Knowing the problem, he dove in with such grace that even a Muggle fighter pilot could never manage.

He played his phoenix music to intimidate the attackers below. All flashes of green light stopped, and he could tell that the Dark wizards on the ground were being struck by fear.

Using his newly learned ancient magic, he formed an aura of fire around himself. Fireballs came off of him and formed phoenixes, which also dove in.

Killing Curses then flew at him, and the phoenixes sacrificed themselves to negate the deadly curses. Red and green met, only to vanish into nothingness. More phoenixes flew off of him, but then a Pulverization Flame Curse hit him; apparently, the people below realized that the Killing Curses weren't working, so they decided to try something new.

As a phoenix, Harry wasn't to be killed by that, but his powers were starting to wane. Unable to continue dealing with it, he fell another few hundred feet until he landed on top of a mesa.

It didn't kill him, or injure him, but boy, did it hurt.

The sun's rays woke him some hours later. Regaining consciousness, he transformed back and checked himself over. He was alright and unharmed; obviously, they didn't go looking for him, because they wanted to leave in a hurry.

Looking down from the mesa, he saw a burnt-out village. It was too late for him to do anything.

Then he realized: Now Voldemort had all of what he needed to attack Hogwarts. And now Harry was halfway around the world with no instant means of getting back.

"Oh DAMMIT!" he yelled, becoming a phoenix and taking off again.

~*~*~*~

"June 21, the longest day of the year," Voldemort chuckled evilly, "And the day when Hogwarts will cease to be the hidey-hole for Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers."

His cat-like blood red eyes looked over his secondary laboratory, where his Serpentine Army was being formed in ranks. Snakes with wings, with horns, with tentacles, with fins, with tusks... a whole slew of deadly monstrosities which would put even the worst monsters from Greek mythology to shame (and almost every monster from that mythology was a mix-and-match creature).

In another massive hangar, Cornwall was supervising the finishing touches on a massive vehicle. It was almost the length of an entire football field, and was a sleek, long beetle-black craft that roughly resembled an arrowhead. It was too be Voldemort's private craft from which he could survey the destruction of Hogwarts. It would also serve from which to launch his airborne Serpentine Army soldiers.

"We're done now, my Lord," Cornwall said, looking up to the platform which Voldemort was standing on, then bowing.

"Excellent, Cornwall. Prepare it."

Bellatrix came up next. "The troops are ready to go and hungering, my Lord," she hissed.

"Perfect."

Voldemort took Nagini and made his way to the craft. Once settled on his throne (in a protective bubble-dome on top of the ship), he gave the order.

"Attack." (14)

(End of Chapter 45.)

A/N: And the battle is underway… YAY!

(1) He’s one of my favorite artists, too!

(2) I’m not bothering with how house elves normally speak, just to make it easier.

(3) One VERY hostile reviewer thought I was plagiarizing RossWrock’s “Power of Time” fic with this scene. HELLO, YOU IDIOT! He buys a RING, not a POTION! In fact, LOOK at the description of what could go wrong with the potion and whether or not Harry ACTUALLY buys it!

BTW, no way in Heaven, on Earth, or Hell would I want to plagiarize someone like RossWrock. Oh sure, he might have plenty of reviews and popularity… well, if anyone wants me to explain it to me more discreetly, just contact me and ask.

(4) If you look real closely at the house elves’ names, you can see what their jobs are around the mansion itself.

(5) Makes sense, doesn’t it? By the way, anyone else ever notice how Harry seems to skip his exams every other year?

(6) Yes, he’s still wearing the glasses (kind of a tough habit to break for him). Nowadays in this story, sometimes he wears them, and sometimes he doesn’t.

(7) The designs for these portals were inspired by those teleportation thingies in the “dothackSIGN” TV series, although they don’t work the same exact way.

(8) I’m sorry if this coincidentally resembles any other “Heirs of the Founders” fics in HP fandom, but I wouldn’t know, since I’ve never read any of those.

(9) YES, this is a tip of that hat to a string of dialogue between Neo and Morpheus from “The Matrix.” What, I can make allusions to mythology, artists, and famous people, but not to movies? Besides, I thought it would just be right somehow to put it in there.

(10) Heh heh heh, are these things funny or what? I came up with them myself.

(11) NO, he’s not going to die, but just remember this scene for later…

(12) Think back to the end of Harry’s dream in the beginning of chapter 25.

And YES, I know this sounds something like the legend of King Arthur and the sword in the stone.

(13) You’ll see what it is next chapter.

(14) Technically, this does this count as a cliffhanger?

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