Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

March 21, 1943

Sunday Evening

Harry was due his first duelling lesson with Cade, the first of many if everything went as perfectly as he hoped it would.

During the week that'd passed since his conversation with the older boy, he'd spent no small amount of time bettering himself via the usage of books or assistance from other friends. Slytherin's Journal especially had proven very useful, as had the final spell from Yaxley's journal before it'd been completely finished. Most of the spells therein from either book had proven archaic or familial in nature, the lot of them being spells Harry had never heard of before the time that he'd read them.

He could say the same for the few he'd learned from books within the Hogwarts Library, the restricted section that was, as most of them were fairly… brutal, if not outright horrible. Such was the world back in the time they were made, and truthfully, most spells meant for combat would fall under the category of cruel.

Elaine had taken him aside late one evening when he'd been on the way back from the library too, the offer of teaching him one spell that she considered very useful being too strong for him to neglect. Perhaps there was a bit of him that'd grown to like the time with her too, as dangerous as that was. He knew that at least a portion of her held that same evil that Voldemort in his time had, how else would Hagrid still end up expelled and Myrtle dead?

Harry shook his head at the thought of their two fates and knocked on the door he'd come to a stop in front of a minute earlier - dwelling on events that already happened wouldn't do anybody any good, least of all when he was just about to start a training session with people that may very well prove instrumental in helping him defeat Elaine if she were truly as evil as her male counterpart was.

"Peverell," Cade greeted a few steps from the door with his wand in hand and beads of sweat dripping from his face, "You've shown today, wonderful. I hope you don't mind my having invited a few friends, some of them may be nearer your skill level than myself."

"Hurry him in, Cade. We don't need a Prefect or Professor finding this place," Somebody, an older girl that was taller than even Cade was, said with frigidness in her voice.

Cade didn't turn to face the girl that came up behind him a second or so after those words were spoken, he didn't even acknowledge her presence when she stopped a foot from his back. Instead, the smile on his face dropped in a way that she couldn't see, allowing Harry to witness the annoyance on the older boy's face even as his tone matched the earlier polite one he'd greeted him with.

"You heard my lovely fiance, Peverell," Cade said as he motioned the boy in, "Enter, please, we'll begin your lessons as soon as you've taken a seat over at one of those desks - I do so hope you brought your satchel, not everything we'll go over will be strictly wand-in-hand."

"Cade loves forcing notes to be taken," The Tall girl said before she brushed past Cade and stuck out her hand to Harry.

Harry knew what was required of him, and as such, he carefully drew her hand to his lips in the way all Pureblood girls loved; that 'greeting' felt far more awkward to him than it did to them, he figured. There was always the chance they loved it due to the awkwardness it brought about to most of the boys who had to respond to it.

Seeing the satisfied look on the tall girl's face, Harry figured that was at least partially why she liked it.

"Harry Peverell, it's nice to meet you…" Harry greeted the tall Gryffindor girl as he trailed off, hoping she'd name herself.

She did.

"Robin Dunbar, Seventh Year," Robin pulled her hand back and eyed him up. "You're a bit shorter than I thought you were, Peverell, I've not a clue what has Elaine so flustered when she speaks about you. Are you a skilled lover, or is the infatuation m-"

"Robin," Cade said sharply, drawing attention from his fiance as he motioned for the other three Hogwarts students to come over to them. "Peverell, these are the others who'll be practising alongside you; Andre Larouche, Angelique Chapacou and Victoire Guille… they're all the right sort."

Harry looked at each of the new people in turn.

Andre was a slightly shorter than average bloke with dark hair and thick eyebrows, a sharp nose, a bit chubby with ever-narrowed eyes. Harry wasn't sure if the boy disliked him, or if he was often so unpleasant, he opted for the former considering the boy's Hufflepuff robes.

Angelique, the second introduced, was a very short girl that barely brushed shoulder height. Her hair was long, near-silver in colour and perfectly done up in a ponytail despite the sweat glistening across her skin from prior exercise. What surprised him more than the Ravenclaw robes she wore thanks to the company she kept was the openly flirty looks she'd started sending him no sooner than her introduction had finished.

Merlin, she was a right beautiful witch…

Victoire wasn't too far off either in terms of looks. Unlike Angelique's silver hair colour and sharp features, hers was darker as Andre's was with softer, rounder features, ones that spoke of an Asiatic ancestry. She too wore the robes of Gryffindor, and unlike the other two she'd been off to the side with, her expression wasn't all that easily read into.

"It is very nice to meet you, Peverell," Angelique said in mildly accented English that clearly outed her French heritage.

"Alright, Peverell," Andre said with a nod and semi-bored look as his eyes darted to the clock mounted on the classroom wall.

Victoire pushed past her two compatriots and shook his hand, squeezing it relatively hard as she looked at him with a warm smile.

"Your family ancestry is marvellous, Peverell! If only all of us were so lucky to be born into such a Noble, storied family as the one you belong to."

Harry smiled and spoke equally flattering words to Victoire, he greeted the other two just as warmly, but Cade eventually stopped the chattering as he told Harry there was a right of passage he needed to go through. Initially, Harry assumed Cade had meant he needed to pay Galleons for the lessons or something similar, but that wasn't at all what the older boy meant - he learned that when he had the pair of them standing in an open space with ward stones encircling them.

"I thought you'd wanted me to take notes first?" Harry questioned as he looked about the room, taking in the various potions, books and armours as well as other sights to see, especially the four bystanders he'd only just been introduced to now grabbing seats atop desks or transfigured chairs.

"Notes will precede any further lessons, though this isn't truly one in the first place. Think of this little practise run as an evaluation, Peverell," Cade twirled his wand between his fingers as he calmly explained to Harry what they were doing. "You'll show me everything, no stops, and I'll allow you to do so. Throw whatever you have at me in the hopes of a win, any spell you know so long as it isn't the killing curse or something instantly-death causing."

"Those wards will stop anything from getting destroyed or others coming for us?" Harry asked, nodding towards the closest set of them.

Cade nodded his head once, a vaguely happy smile on his face as he simply returned a 'Yes'.

"What if I hit you with something bad that doesn't result in instant death but is equally dangerous? Are you going to be doing the same thing?" Harry had a multitude of questions he wanted to ask, most of all ones regarding any lasting damage or potential grievous injury.

Elaine wouldn't be too happy with anybody in the room if he were hurt, himself included - likewise, she'd probably not be overly enthusiastic if Harry caused serious harm to one of her strongest followers.

"Don't worry, Robin's great with healing magic and counter-curses, so there'll be no need to let that get the better of you. And no, I'll not be sending even half of what I know at you, not unless you turn out to be far more proficient at combat than I think you are… is there anything else pressing that you'd like to ask or are you ready for our bout to begin?" Cade's tone wasn't belittling or sarcastic, it sounded like the older boy was genuinely trying to be helpful before he took Harry's best attempt.

That more than anything assured Harry that Cade was very talented.

"Nothing else," Harry said, pulling his wand out and readying himself for hopefully a minute long battle or more… anything would do so long as he wasn't bested within the first five to ten seconds, that'd be far too embarrassing with four people watching.

"Great, on your go then, Peverell," Cade said, straightening his posture and readying his wand in front of him.

"Right," Harry said, more so for himself than the boy he was going against. "Go!"

As soon as the word exited his mouth, Harry fired off a chain of spells that were meant to be cast as fast as possible; all of them were one syllable in length and simple in effects in hopes of overwhelming Cade's defences by the sheer volume of fire. He'd learned through various books that such tactics could work against even intermediate adult wizards and witches, such was the power of chaining spells.

When Harry stepped to the side to see how the damage had come along after firing off nearly two dozen spells in half as many seconds, it came as no surprise that Cade's shield was held firm in front of his body with not one having appeared to hit him.

"That wasn't a bad plan, Peverell, I dare say it would've worked against Andre or Victoire. What'll your next course of action be, I wonder?" Cade had a few more drops of sweat falling from his face as he spoke, likely from a bit of moving around and the strength required to hold the shield.

Still, the small degree of effects Cade was showing nearly made Harry groan. He'd hoped he would've caught the older boy by surprise, yet the weakness of the spells used in hopes of a few connecting had done nothing.

Harry knew he had to change his plan and quickly if he didn't want to be set on the defensive, so he switched his tactic to summoning the various desks around the room while transfiguring them into pieces of cover. His hope this time was to make miniature hills or barricades that would provide him with cover while soaking up whatever spells Cade would throw - Harry's quickness, as well as his stealth, would afford him an advantage in fighting in the forest of transfigured furniture. One he could press by jumping from behind the various pieces to catch his mentor off guard.

It started to work too, with Cade's line of sight on Harry broken as the latter moved on to nearly the dozenth desk. Once he'd done that, Harry blew out the torches that were strewn about the room, putting the pair of them in darkness thanks to the lack of light from outside caused by a dark overcast. No sooner than he did that did Harry move from his previous spot, prowling behind the transfigured pieces of cover, using the tip of his wand to feel around as he moved.

For a time, nearly five minutes if his internal clock was right, the pair of them could but hear one another moving about in the nearly pitch-black room. Spells were fired at the slightest sound, more often than not allowing the two boys to see portions of one another thanks to the flash of light. Harry knew eventually that Cade would stop his fun, and so when the boy fired another probing spell when Harry's toe made contact with wood, the latter boy fired off a chain of spells just as he'd done earlier in the evening.

He hoped to Merlin that any one of them would connect, and when he heard Cade stagger with an intake of breath, he figured that hope had come true.

With a renewed sense of vigour, Harry blasted a Lumos with his eyes covered in hopes of blinding Cade. As soon as that went off, the light so bright he could see the difference with his eyes closed, Harry turned back to where the older boy was once more in hopes of ending their fight.

Cade hadn't moved even an inch, was the first thing Harry noticed upon taking the older boy in. Next, he saw how he favoured his left leg while keeping as much weight off the right one as he could - that had to have been where he'd been hit with the bone-bruising curse.

"You present a very annoying challenge, Peverell, don't you?" Cade's voice was strained, be it from pain or an actual feeling of annoyance, Harry wasn't sure; the amusement in his eyes alleviated any real concern.

"I'll take that as a compliment…" Harry said with a dip of his head and a new set of spells being expended towards the still Cade.

He heard them impact his shield, the crackling, fizzing sound not uncommon to his ears. One after the other would impact Cade's stalwart defences, regardless of Harry's aim or angle at which he took, it almost seemed as if the older boy had cast a shield charm that covered the entirety of his form rather than his front alone. Such was far from a good thought too, and feeling a sense of fatigue coming over him, Harry knew he had to change his plan; no longer would an abundance of weaker spells for the sake of conserving energy be his plan.

Harry exhaled as his new idea came to fruition; first, he dove out from behind his cover and fired off two shield-breaking charms, the second in the case Cade near-instantly renewed it. Based on the grunt he heard and the shimmering that he barely made out, that first step of his plan had worked.

Following those two spells, Harry next fired off a binding charm and a strengthened bone-bruising curse with the first aimed centre mass while the second was more targeted at Cade's wand arm. If either of them hit, it would see his chance of winning greatly improve, especially with the power the bone-bruising curse seemed to have; he didn't think somebody like Cade would be so affected by it lest it be as powerful as it seemed.

Finally, had everything gone according to plan, Harry would've used the transfigured cover around Cade to encircle the boy, leaving him vulnerable to more attacks thanks to the mass falling atop him. He'd read about using Transfiguration as well as other magics from Yaxley's journal especially, though it seemed to be mentioned in a few other books regarding combat too - most didn't seem all that prepared to deal with their body being encircled by transfigured wood or a forced state of laughter taking root in them thanks to a giggling hex.

Unfortunately for Harry, that final piece of the plan failed when a high volume of spellfire was sent his way, making him pop his own shield as he dove for the cover he'd only just dove from. Cade had finally started playing for real or near enough to it, and seeing the volume of spells that he did with the beautiful, dangerous assortment of colours flying past Harry's body… wasn't a very good feeling.

Nor was the cover being blown up all that good of one either, or the splinters digging deep into his back. Cade had used Bombarda to blow away the cover, Harry had registered the spell a moment too late to have any form of reaction that'd save him.

Harry, bloodied, battered and tired as he was, struggled to stand as his grip on his wand tightened due to his resolve, but Cade was on him before he could get to his feet.

The older boy was slightly staggered, rubbing at one eye that was bruised with blood slowly dripping from his brow all the while he limped towards him - none of that stopped him from levelling his wand at Harry's face.

"It would seem that you've lost, Peverell," Cade let his arm holding his wand drop as he extended his hand to the still downed Harry, "Come on then, let's go see Robin and get ourselves fixed up."

Harry looked at the older boy's hand for a few seconds, dizziness from the blast and ringing in his ears still leaving him a bit rattled. He eventually made up his mind and grabbed hold of the offered limb.

"Thanks," Harry said once he was back on his feet and the pair of them were moving towards the other four occupants of the room. "How'd I do? I'd like to think I've improved since my bout with Malfoy, Merlin knows the library here's wonderful if you use it."

Cade nodded at the end of Harry's words and gave him a half-smile, ignoring the cooing of the tall Robin that'd come to worry over the pair of them; her tone and visage as she did so making the feeling more condescending than anything Elaine had ever done.

"Had I seen the duel between Malfoy and yourself, I could more accurately rate your improvement. With that said and the tales I'd heard of it, you've taken a few strong steps towards proficiency in combat - not many bother with spells that don't result in wins should they connect," Cade hissed when Robin ran her fingers around his bruised eye, but still, he spoke to Harry. "You're quick on your feet and with your wand, though your ability to stand in a direct confrontation is something I'm not confident of."

Harry nodded, the assessment fair and the boy not rude with his words.

"Thank you, Cade," He said. "I hope it's not too much trouble, helping me as you are."

"Not in the slightest, I assure you. We'd have these sessions, so to speak, regardless of your presence," Cade seemed a bit too altruistic, but when he shot a toothy grin at Harry despite the dabbing of a potion on his face by Robin, Harry gleaned an inclination to the boy's reason in helping "That we have a Peverell willing to work with us in private is well worth the lessons given."

Robin laughed throatily and glanced at Harry, dabbing her fiance's eye directly thanks to the distraction.

"Your thanks will be rescinded as your lessons progress, Peverell."

Harry wasn't sure what Robin meant by that, and based on the look Cade shot her, it could've been another bit of teasing. He wasn't stupid enough to dismiss her words though, not with Cade being a member of Elaine's group; helpful or not, Harry had little doubt that the group he'd joined for assistance weren't exactly the right sort of company he'd like to keep.

March 24, 1943

Wednesday Evening

Harry groaned when he turned and saw Aster going back whence he'd come from. He had hoped that his friend would offer some form of assistance, yet, that didn't happen and so there he was, alone.

"Whatdya reckon mate?" Marcus asked with a light elbowing to Harry's ribs to get his attention. "Think we're good for some time in the library? No Veronica this time, should have Indigo or Sarah though if either catches your fancy while we're studying - you're still dating Elaine aren't you?"

Thanks to all the questions launched at him by Marcus, Harry found himself having to hide a groan. He didn't need to offend his relative, be it grandfather or great uncle or whatever else he could be. That wouldn't do him any favours, especially with the little knowledge Harry had on his ancestors; so far, all he knew was the boy's parents favoured him over his brother who'd moved away and that there was at the minimum, one other branch of the Potter family.

Why he was the last one in his time, he didn't know, not with there being as many as there seemed to currently be.

"Sure, I have some free time before I need to finish a paper," Harry finally said, agreeing to the offer of time in the library for 'studying'… he was sure that was code for something considering Marcus' allergy to academics. "And yes, I'm still dating Elaine."

"Bummer that, yeah?" Marcus questioned seriously.

"Wh-" Harry barely got one syllable out before the boy cut him off with a grin and second elbowing.

"Just having you off, don't mind me - without Veronica here, somebody's got to do her work, innit? Anyway, why're you still standing around? We've got a library to rai- visit, yeah… let's get going!" Marcus' quick correction made Harry suspicious, but the boy's positive energy and the way he bounded towards the library a good bit of distance away alleviated any real worry he had.

Harry knew he didn't have anything to concern himself with Marcus or Veronica, the two seemed almost like copies of him and Ron minus the obvious physical differences. Sarah, he was equally sure was safe to spend time around considering how helpful her family had been despite the somewhat nosy stance they took. Indigo was the only real unknown, aside from the crush she seemingly had on him.

All that aside, Harry tore off after Marcus; any chance to learn about the Potters of old were well worth it. Maybe then he'd finally know why his family had been extinct and without the acclaim, it'd held in the past.

"Huh, looks like I was wrong then," Marcus rubbed at the stubble on his chin as he confusedly looked around the library. "Could've sworn Sarah would've been here, this is practically her second home!"

"Isn't it Wednesday?" Harry asked, scratching at the back of his neck.

"Yeah?" Marcus questioned, shrugging and waiting for Harry to elaborate.

Harry laughed and returned one of the earlier elbows to his ribs.

"Sarah usually spends Wednesdays with her sisters above all other days, you melon," Harry laughed harder when Marcus' face dropped, but having a soul as he did, Harry patted the boy on the back as he directed the pair of them towards an empty table. "Come on then, let's get to talking, I doubt we've come for an actual study session."

"What… of course we've come to study, what else would we do in a place this filled with books and backrooms?" Marcus' voice was the epitome of suspicion, and after hearing his own voice, he dropped his games with a silly look on his face. "Good spot, spending a lot of time with Elaine and Sarah's helped you, how else would you spot me out so quickly? And yeah, figured we could talk about our families, Potters are descendants of Peverells you know - my parents would love to meet you."

Harry blinked a few times, confusion and a headache settling in.

Marcus had capitulated so quickly with his attempts at slowly getting to his point and then, he'd laid so much out in two sentences.

"Your parents want to meet me?" Harry questioned, hoping for clarification.

"Yeah mate, they'd want to meet the rest of the family too, but they respect they're in hiding," Marcus spoke casually, he acted so too based on the relaxed posture he had despite his intentions being found out so early on in their conversation.

Marcus even went so far as to pull out two stored chocolate frogs from his satchel, offering one to Harry as he ripped open the packaging for his.

"Oh, alright," Harry replied in just as casual a voice, taking the offered frog and using that time to think.

From what he remembered, the Potters as a whole were at odds with one another; he couldn't remember if it'd been Corene or Sarah who'd told him that, but it'd stuck in his mind since he'd heard it. He also remembered Marcus' brother, Fleamont, had moved out of Potter mansion and to another home, one that he owned privately. Harry wasn't sure what other Potters existed aside from one other branch, but he assumed that 'at odds' meant the majority had differing views from the norm of the family - he hadn't forgotten that Marcus, Fleamont and their parents had been described as having the usual Potter values.

"These things are great, huh?" Marcus said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and indicated towards the empty package of his chocolate frog.

"Yeah," Harry answered, swallowing the remnants of chocolate lingering about his mouth. "Since we're talking about your family and mine as well, would you mind if I asked a few questions? I've only heard a bit about your family just as I'm sure you've not heard too much about mine."

"Ask whatever you want mate, I'm not the secret-holding sort like most of your housemates," Marcus' tone was part serious, part poking fun at the usual prejudices.

"Thanks, that'll be a nice change of pace - how big is the Potter family?" Harry took Marcus' words easily enough, asking his first question about his past family while trying to hide the eagerness he felt within.

Marcus didn't respond immediately to Harry's question. He took on a thoughtful expression, bringing a hand up to pinch at his chin as his lips moved with not a sound coming from them. Eventually, the boy's silent counting stopped at the same time he whipped his hand away to snap his fingers.

"Fourteen of us, fifteen before too long; there's me, my brother Fleamont, our parents, their parents from both sides, my cousin Charlus, his sister Cornelia, their parents and the grandparents from their mother's side… the fifteenth comes from Cornelia too, about ready to burst she is," Marcus laughed as he described his cousin, the girl being another Potter Harry had never heard of.

"That's a pretty big family," Harry remarked.

"Nah mate, we're pretty small, believe me. There's some like the Weasleys, Prewetts, Parkinsons or even those Carrows who you've taken a liking to that have indescribably large families - last I remember, the Oleanders weren't that small either. I'm guessing your family isn't all that big if you think mine is," Marcus' final statement was something Harry had seen numerous times from being in Slytherin, the boy was fishing for answers without asking a question.

Still, Harry would be respectful and give a number of his own, one that was small enough that it wouldn't cause issues in the future.

"There's four of us, soon to be three," Harry said, smashing down the nerves threatening to spill into his voice. "My parents aren't around any longer, most of my family isn't very long-lived, but we're making our return nonetheless."

Marcus nodded somberly and spoke words that had Harry feeling very worried.

"Truth be told mate, my family was surprised to hear the Peverells still existed in the first place. Merlin, I don't remember how long ago it was considering history is prime napping time, but in the Potter history book kept in our home, we could've sworn the last Peverell married into our family… brought a few gifts with her too."

"Not the last, just one of them," Harry said after a second passed. "Back to your family, I'm guessing Charlus, Fleamont and Cornelia have all graduated from Hogwarts already?"

Marcus nodded his head, a put-out expression on his face.

"Yeah, I was unlucky enough to be the 'baby' of the family. Horrible, absolutely horrible, though I at least get to be in the primary branch, unlike Charlus and Cornelia," Marcus shuddered when he said that, making it seem as if being anything but the main branch was something revolting.

For once, Harry wasn't able to decipher the boy's actual feelings regarding something.

"Considering that question wouldn't work if I flipped it on you, mind if I ask what had you exit your family home?" Marcus' question caught Harry off guard, but the boy continued speaking, either failing to notice Harry's surprise or ignoring it wholesale. "I mean, if the Peverells have been moving along with the centuries like the rest of us, why come out of hiding now?"

Harry shrugged and gave a half-smile at Marcus, his body language as relaxed and controlled as ever.

"Figured now was the time," Harry said, speaking more when Marcus prompted him to. "There have been two massive wars from the Muggles recently, both of which spilt into the Magical world, why not get involved lest everything keeps on getting crazier without us? Aside from that, isolation for as long as we've done it gets untenable past a certain point."

"Fair enough mate, fair enough," Marcus seemed satisfied with that answer as he withdrew a few more chocolate sweets from his satchel. "Tuck in, we're far enough back that the librarian won't get out from behind her desk if she spots us doing something she doesn't like, the lazy bird."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at Marcus' words, especially considering the truth within them. Their librarian was incredibly lazy to the point that house-elves seemed to do a majority of the work in her domain. It wasn't all that bad though, it let Harry get away with moments like the current one; eating chocolate and other candies while learning about the Potter family, his family.

"Your turn, mate," Marcus said with his mouth full, specks of chocolate falling to the ground in front of him.

"Hate to be the one that brings it up considering how tedious and confrontational it can be, but… Politics. I don't know all that much about the current world, politics and recent issues especially, but could I ask where your family stands on the matters you think are important?" Harry had waited to swallow his food before he asked, the question too serious to risk being misunderstood.

Marcus did the same, swallowing the food he'd been savouring for some time. Following that, the boy fixed his posture from the slouching he'd been doing into something more formal, more expected of a Pureblood in Wizarding Britain. Whether that change and the few that followed were muscle memory or the visualisation that Marcus was getting more serious, Harry wasn't exactly sure.

"Politics are definitely that, aren't they?" Marcus said first, recognising Harry's regarding of them as right. "We don't exactly agree on everything, my whole family that is, some of us are more traditional while others are more… progressive? I'm not exactly sure how to put it into words, but I'll use one of the recent bills that'd passed as an example - you heard about the non-interference with the continent right?"

Harry nodded his head, he'd heard from another of his friends about that very bill and looked up what it'd meant specifically.

Wizarding Britain was not to get involved with the Continents war, as it was exactly that. Why risk the lives of magicals from a country not involved when the very man they'd oppose stood for magical societies dominance over Muggles? Now that wasn't exactly how it'd been worded, but it was close enough to the truth of things considering how much of the Wizengamot had given their personal opinions after the law had passed through them.

"Wicked, saves me some explaining," Marcus said with a laugh, ignoring the looks he received from those close by. "Charlus, Cornelia, their mother and a couple of others in the family were all for it due to various reasons. As for my brother, my parents and my grandparents from my mother's side, they were opposed for another myriad of reasons that I'll not get into. That, as basic as it was of an explanation, is the gist of things when it comes to my family."

"What about you?" Harry questioned, noticing how the boy had left out where he personally stood.

Marcus shrugged with an indifferent look on his face.

"Don't care all that much for politics, it's not like I'll have to sit on the Wizengamot or run the family. As far as I'm concerned, so long as I'm not affected, don't much care what everyone else does… now my question for you, how many times have you snogged Elaine?"

Harry groaned and ran a hand down his face, the serious tone of their conversation over with the asking of a single question.

Ron would've absolutely loved Marcus.

March 27, 1943

Saturday Afternoon

"How exactly did the both of us get roped into this Hogsmeade trip?" Aster asked Harry, motioning between himself and Reinhard.

"How do you think you dolt? Elaine said you were coming, same for the others, so here we all are… simple enough, isn't it?" Harry looked between the two and laughed. "Next time, I'll tell her you're both busy and get you out of it, yeah?"

Aster sighed exaggeratedly and slumped down into the chair he'd occupied since the moment they'd entered the common room.

"Why couldn't you have done that for today?"

"Needed my mates with me, didn't I? There's no world where I'm stuck as the only bloke with a load of witches and only Abraxas to keep me company when they go off as we all know they do - in other words if I'm having a shite day, we've all got to have one, it's what mates do," Harry's final few words earned him a grunt of acknowledgement from Reinhard, though Aster still looked ready to curl up in the chair and fake an illness.

Luckily, that wouldn't happen, as the rest of the group for the Hogsmeade trip finally returned from wherever it was they'd been. They hadn't told Harry, nor had they invited him or the two boys who were so often in his company. As for who was within that group, it was all people Harry was fairly familiar with; Corene, Daphne, Elaine, Emiliene and… Abraxas the Butler.

Never, would Harry let the Malfoy ponce forget that he'd served him.

"Come, it's time," Elaine said in way of greeting, the girl dressed as beautifully as always despite the weather report speaking of a great cold surge.

Corene and the others witches with her had dressed similarly too, though Harry figured the lot of them had charms against the rain as well as the cold.

"Let's go then, you two," Harry said quietly to the two boys who'd not moved yet, the both of them looking at him.

When Harry looked back to Elaine and saw the narrowed state of her eyes, he knew she wasn't too pleased with the lack of greeting or immediate movement from the three of them. He wasn't too concerned though, he'd come to see her as a Basilisk without Fangs after all the time they'd spent together - she wouldn't attack him because she loved him too much, that protection extended to his friends too, lest she burns the bridge that'd only recently finished construction between them.

"Good morning girls, looking beautiful as ever," Harry greeted, earning a few smiles from Corene and Emilene, a glare from Daphne and nothing from Elaine but a tightening of her arm when he looped his through hers. "Abraxas."

Harry's greeting of the Malfoy was returned with a nod and nothing else.

"You look very good today, Harry," Elaine said for all to hear before she planted a kiss on his cheek, the girl making everyone wait as she did so.

When no more words of importance followed, Elaine settled for moving with Harry to the front of their group and then out the common room door. As always, she set the pace and topic of conversation during the walk to their carriages, the latter being nothing important while the former was slower than she normally had the group move.

Harry wasn't sure why that was until the topic moved from Borgin and Burkes shop to Yaxley, then, it made sense - they were already halfway to the carriages by the time the swap was made, Elaine was likely trying to discourage too much questioning considering three of Yaxley's closest friends were with her.

"Evidence of Yaxley's being in the small magical community within Devon was collected," Elaine said abruptly, nearly making Aster fall over his feet.

"What evidence was that?" Harry asked for the group, a few towards the back still carrying on their conversations as Reinhard pushed his way towards the front alongside Aster; it wasn't entirely surprising that Abraxas, Daphne and Emilene weren't all that interested.

Elaine glanced at Harry first, then she gave a look over her shoulder towards the two boys close behind them, and finally, her eyes flickered to Corene on her other side. To Harry, it seemed like Elaine was capitalising her revelation to once more be the centre of attention.

"Mister Wilson, the barkeep of the inn recognised his face and pointed him out when multiple pictures were shown," Elaine raised her hands for the incoming questions to cease, and when silence was once more restored, continued. "Additionally, in the quarters Yaxley was said to have rented, they found two hairs that were proven as his. It would seem our friend has plans or aspirations that no longer have his attendance here as a centre-point."

"How'd they prove it was his?" Aster asked animatedly, the boy's hands waving about.

"I'd imagine the simplest way, or rather the way in which I would've checked was the brewing of a Polyjuice potion. Other ways have a greater margin of error, whereas a potion such as that one, doesn't," Elaine's answer was said in a factual, knowing truth, as if the girl's logic was sound and shouldn't be questioned.

Aster, when Harry looked over his shoulder, seemed to buy it though. Whether that was due to Elaine's 'all-knowing' personality that many had come to buy into or wishful thinking, Harry wasn't entirely sure.

"Did they notice anything off about him, stress maybe?" Harry's question earned a raised brow from Elaine.

"He was said to be as sane as he ever was," Came Elaine's final answer, the group of them arriving much quicker to the carriages than Harry had thought they would. "Ah, here we are - squeeze in, being separated for the ride down would only waste time."

Harry wasn't surprised following those words that she boarded first… along with him, the firm grip she kept on his hand ensured he followed after her. Once the two of them were aboard and seated the furthest from that entrance, one follower after another tucked in until the carriage was indefinitely past capacity.

He didn't mind it all that much, as Elaine was firmly pressed against him on one side while Corene had taken the other; friend as the latter may be, getting pressed between two witches that possessed beauty such as they did, was all too enjoyable… nevermind the looks Elaine would send him or the way her nails dug into his back with some pressure as she rubbed it the whole ride to the village.

"Would it be alright if I assured our reservations?" Abraxas asked as soon as the group of them were stood in a circle on the cold, firm ground of Hogsmeade.

"Go," Elaine had responded, sending the Malfoy boy away as she once more slid her arm through Harry's. "We're to visit La Fudgerie, if I'm not mistaken it's a favourite for the majority of those present, myself included."

Harry figured the trip would've gone a bit similar to the first group visit he'd gone on with her, but when nobody voiced any thoughts and Elaine immediately started walking after saying their destination, he figured that wasn't entirely right. Briefly, he wondered if he could challenge their heading, but he wasn't sure he wanted to do so while the day was as young as it was and said heading was to a place that all enjoyed as she said.

"Couldn't we have ridden the carriage until it was right outside the shop?" Aster groaned as the group trudged along.

"Exercise would do much for you, Rosier," Daphne answered before anybody else could in that annoyed, aggressive voice of hers.

"I'm not fat like your aunt, Oleander," Aster bit back, using Harry as partial cover from the rather offended looking Head Girl.

"None of that, not today," Elaine said sweetly as she looked between the two of them, her fingers seeking out Harry's as she spoke. "We're meant to have a relaxing, enjoyable day of Hogsmeade, bickering as the pair of you do would see that ruined. Corene, would you tell us what you heard regarding Professor Merrythought?"

"Of course," Corene responded without hesitation. "Since Myrtle's incident in the bathroom, we've heard many a rumour regarding Professor Merrythought's retirement. My father being on the board as he is, learns of retirements well in advance. It's because of that, I can say with absolute certainty that Professor Merrythought has another year or two at the most within her."

"Wonderful," Elaine said, her fingers now stroking Harry's. "Her recent incompetence since that incident has been entirely too prominent in her teaching - one should keep to their standards regardless of personal happenings."

Harry didn't like Elaine saying that as she did, and so, what better time to ask of Myrtle than one in which she'd already been brought up?

"What exactly happened with Myrtle?" Harry questioned, looking between Corene and Elaine. "I know of her, obviously, but nobody's really told me what happened to her."

"Nobody's entirely sure what happened to Myrtle aside from the fact that she'd met her untimely demise at the hands of the Heir of Slytherin… should you believe a person claimed such a title. I'm of the opinion her death was accidental and the school, incompetent as it's shown itself to be in recent times, didn't wish to have a case of negligence brought against them by the Wizengamot," Elaine's answer received a few nods from the group around her, and despite Harry's watching her the entire time, he couldn't pick out any shifting of her face when that answer was given.

Unsurprisingly and before he could ask any more questions, Daphne pointed out a new building under construction between two very old shops.

Harry realised that one answer was all he'd get as the topic quickly shifted.

Slowly, the day had gone by with the group of them going from one shop to the next, Elaine leading them more often than not. Harry hadn't challenged her either, he'd been too interested, too deep in thinking, to do so.

Myrtle's death, or rather the accident they seemed in favour of passing it off as was entirely too similar to how it'd happened in his time. Harry would be stupid not to visit the ghost one of the upcoming evenings and speak with her, he felt like an absolute melt not having done so already.

It wasn't until they reached their final destination where Malfoy had been waiting all that time for them that Harry stopped his thinking in favour of taking in their accommodations for the remainder of the day.

Malfoy, on Elaine's orders, had secured the entirety of a rather upscale pub; the floor was a dark wooden colour that went nicely with the intricately carved light-wooden walls, the tables were clothed in seemingly rich fabric with equally ornate symbols covering them, the few support beams running down the centre of the room seemed given the same amount of love as the rest of the building rather than left plain like most.

What really stuck out to Harry more than all the fanciful decorations, was the half-dozen employees visible in the kitchen and the beautiful older woman dressed like a woman of 'Noble' birth.

Harry had to give it to Malfoy, as grandiose as the place was, it felt incredibly comfortable and intimate rather than tacky or otherwise unenjoyable.

"Were the orders secured for the evening, Abraxas?" Elaine asked, her voice and visage devoid of anything vaguely resembling impressed.

"Everything is as you requested," Abraxas quickly responded, a Malfoy-only smile on his face as he gave a bow.

"Good," Elaine responded simply, her attention going back to Harry as she began to pull on his arm towards a table in the centre of the room, one with more decorations on it than any other. "You'll have a wonderful evening with us, perhaps the best since you've emerged from wherever it is that Peverell Mansion lies."

"What're we celebrating?" Harry asked.

"Whatever we'd like to, it's not as if every party needs a reason," Elaine seemed amused by his question, the taller girl looking down at him with a smile on her face as she brought a hand up to stroke his cheek. "Tell me, do you enjoy music? Party games?" Elaine moved closer to him, her breath expelling directly into his ear, "Other, more… intimate, activities?"

Harry quickly schooled his breathing, having grown accustomed to Elaine's more provocative moments. He wasn't sure why she enjoyed getting those reactions from him as much as she seemed to, but they'd only work for so long.

"Music, Games, whatever other entertainment Malfoy got, any of it works for me," Harry then turned his head towards her, their lips practically brushing when he spoke his next words. "I'll save the snogging for later if you're good."

Elaine practically purred her reply to him.

"I'll always be good for you, Harry."

Abruptly, as if she'd only just noticed where the pair of them were, she stepped back from him. One breath later and she was addressing the rest of their schoolmates who were milling about the room, none of them having watched the conversation but all of them had tried their best to listen in.

"Let's begin!"

What followed those words was the immediate opening of twin doors on the furthest wall from them, and what emerged from them, was four people. All of them were carrying, or rather, having instruments float near them.

Harry hadn't the faintest clue as to who they were, and so when he looked around to the various other housemates in attendance to see if they did, he very quickly concluded he was the only one that didn't.

"So… who are they?" He whisper-asked to Reinhard, the larger boy being the closest one to him.

"Come on Pev, you're telling me you don't know who they are? Next, you'll tell me you've never played a game of cards!" Reinhard slapped Harry's shoulder, the boy lurching forward because of it, "They're the best band of our time, now go on, I'm guessing Elaine will want a dance with you!"

Reinhard's guess had been spot on, and following a series of songs from 'the greatest band of their time', multiple card games had followed… Harry assumed parties similar to this had been done before, that, or Reinhard was the real Prophet.

Then again, the boy hadn't warned him of the night's festivities going well into the wee hours of the morning - he'd missed Elaine's fulfilling of that snogging promise too, she had been good, after all.