Hello all, sorry for the long haitus. I've had a busy past year with a lot of things going on in life, many of them good for me! But my side activities did suffer because of it. That being said, I thank you for your patience and I will continue to push to make this story a priority once again!

June 23rd, 1993

"All right, Neville, step in the circle." Harry told his friend.

"And you're sure this isn't going to have any… side effects?" Neville asked nervously. Harry rolled his eyes at the question.

"Define 'sure'."

"Above ninety percent positive!"

"Oh, then yeah, I'm sure. That was a lower estimate than I thought. Look, this is easy stuff. The alterations are small and there are not many places for error in this. There's a reason we're not doing this all at once, if you will remember." Harry reminded. Neville nodded, though he still didn't look sure.

"And, should I feel different?" Neville asked. Harry looked at him for a moment and nodded.

"Well, you're twelve now, so if my estimates are correct, you should have a similar muscle density to an average sixteen-year-old who works out regularly." Harry explained to him.

"So… will I be able to improve on that? Like, if I worked out and stuff, would I get stronger?" Neville asked.

"Hmm… Unlikely. You probably could, but the amount you would have to work out to improve on that much would be… let's say it's unrealistic." Harry told him.

"All right, that's fine, I guess. So, what about as I grow, will I stay at this density until I reach sixteen?"

"No, you'll grow some, but the next ritual will be when you're fourteen. By then, you'll have the strength of nearly a full-grown adult. The third ritual is when it starts to get past normal human strength, although only just. The last ritual at the age of eighteen will put you firmly above what humans are capable."

"Right, right, right… Sorry, just a little nervous. Longbottom's haven't done these types of rituals in a while. And, they weren't exactly that reliable…"

"I know; I looked over the ritual, remember? It's a mess from top to bottom. It's like someone had an idea and just threw together a bunch of stuff they thought was associated with it. And THEN, they got lucky and it sort of worked the way they wanted. And since they didn't know what they were doing, they couldn't improve upon it." Harry whined as he remembered dissecting the original Longbottom Strengthening Ritual. It was horrible. Granted, many people who made rituals didn't have the research he had but still…

"That probably was the case, to be honest. Longbottom's aren't exactly known for their skill in rituals or anything too obscure; we're famous for being terrifying on the battlefield." Neville sighed.

"Well, you're certainly heading in that direction." Harry smiled, "Now get in the circle and shush. We have other stuff to do today."

"Yes, we do." Hermione called from her desk. Harry smiled wider at that. Hermione had wanted to test a new spell she had been working on with them. They were technically interrupting her time to do so, but since school was ending and they were leaving, they didn't have much choice."

"Right, right… All right, Neville, this is pretty simple. You don't have to do anything except stand there."

"Okay."

With that, Harry began the Ritual. It wasn't nearly as strong or complex as his last one and nowhere near as powerful. That was good because there was much less chance of something going catastrophically wrong.

He silently pushed the magic into the ritual and watched as the runes on the floor began to glow. The light was only slight, though, and didn't become as overwhelming as in previous rituals. Neville, for his part, closed his eyes and looked like he was trying to keep himself calm.

"Shouldn't you tone it back a bit?" Daphne asked curiously. She was not part of this Ritual and did not help with it in any way. That being said, he had no doubt she could probably recreate it if she wanted to and could probably tell what most of what the Runes did. That being said, she would probably have to change some of the components for a female since the muscle density was different. If you push too far at once, you can permanently damage the muscle fibers in the subject after all.

"What, the power?" Harry asked curiously. At this point, the ritual was on autopilot, he didn't need to do more.

"Yes. Isn't it going a little high?"

"No, and I'm not adding anything at this point. It's not using as much magic as it feels like. It's just mixing with Neville's, which is leaking out of him and can be felt in the air." Harry explained. She tilted her head and said nothing but nodded.

Harry sat down in a chair and watched the show a bit for the next few minutes. It was actually interesting to see. You could see physical changes taking place. At Harry's request, Neville had worn short sleeves so they could see if they could look at the change while it was happening.

At first, it was a bit hard to notice because of how slight it was. That being said, Harry could see a certain definition appearing on the boy after a few moments. Size-wise, Neville was the same, but the boy looked…tighter. It was almost like his skin was restrained around him. He frowned a little at that. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned by that or not. The muscle's density should be changing, so the volume shouldn't change too much, just the mass.

It stopped before it got too concerning, though, so Harry didn't say anything. Eventually, the ritual seemed to die off and end as anticipated. Neville kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds before seemingly noticing the silence and opening them. He looked around for a moment before making eye contact with Harry.

"Is it over?"

"Yes… All right, step out of the circle and come over here." Harry told him. Neville nodded before following the instructions and coming over.

"Alright… So, how do you feel?" Harry asked as he began to cast some spells on Neville. He looked at the results that began to swirl around in his head. It seemed he was right in his assumption about the volume slightly increasing, which, unfortunately, meant the density wasn't quite as high as he wanted it to be. That being said, it was still well within acceptable parameters. Further, the boy's lungs seemed to be consuming more oxygen than they had previously.

"Well… I'm not in pain, but I feel a little… stiff, maybe? And I'm also a little sore; is that normal?"

"A little is acceptable, but I put some safeguards in place to try to help with any real pain. Is it painful?"

"No, like I said, just a little sore is all."

"Well, it should be completely gone by tomorrow then… Okay, so it looks like it was a success. I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary on my end. We can check it tomorrow before leaving, though, just to be sure." Harry told his friend.

"That's awesome! I've got to see how fast…"

"Not now! My turn!" Hermione yelled from the side of the room. Harry and Neville both chuckled at their bushy-haired friend, who was rushing towards the center to join them.

"Oh boy…" Daphne whispered as she slowly walked away to her desk. Tracey joined her, and they began to speak quietly to each other.

"So… What do you have for us today, Hermione?" Harry asked the girl with a small smile at the impatience on her face.

"I have, possibly, created a new charm." She said proudly. Harry nodded at that, expecting this.

"What kind of charm have you made this time?" Neville asked. Hermione smirked at the question but didn't directly answer.

"You'll see. First, I want you both to go over to the other side of the room."

"Why?"

"Just… Do what I say." Hermione growled. Harry rolled his eyes before looking at Neville for a moment. With no words being exchanged, they both turned and made their way over to the furthest point in the room from Hermione.

"What do you think?"

"I'm assuming it's not combat-based, considering she didn't want us close by; other than that, I could only speculate."

"Hermione doesn't seem to be the type to make something strictly combat-related. At best, she would make something that could also have some uses in combat."

"You're probably right…" Harry muttered. He looked across the room and saw Hermione lift her wand to her lips. She appeared to be saying something to it momentarily before turning her wand away and jabbing it away. Harry looked at her, confused for a moment, before suddenly feeling magic approaching extremely quickly. He frowned as he felt it collide with him. He said nothing for a moment as he waited for something to happen.

"Can you both hear me?" Hermione's voice whispered into his ear quietly. He blinked at that, trying not to jump in surprise. He looked over at Neville and saw his friend looking back just as confused.

"Did you hear that?"

"I think so. Hermione's voice in your ear?"

"Yep."

They both then looked back at the girl looking at them with a smile but still with some nervousness as she approached them.

"So, did you hear me?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah… How did you do that?" Harry asked, extremely curious. Hermione's face completely morphed into one of happiness.

"I have been working on it for months. I call it the Messaging Charm. So, short and to the point." Hermione told them proudly.

"I will pay you to learn that spell. It sounds amazingly convenient." Harry told her eagerly, coming closer in excitement. Hermione smirked at him before nodding.

"It's fine; I'll show you how to do it. I made it for our group to use in the first place." Hermione told him.

"Oh man, I can't wait to be able to use that. How far is the range?" Neville asked.

"I'm not sure, but I was hoping anywhere. I also designed it to move faster the further from the caster it got."

"It worked; I noticed the magic begin to speed up a little from when you cast it." Harry added helpfully. Hermione nodded, looking satisfied at that.

"Good to hear. So, right. It should just keep going till it hits its target. It also doesn't take much to cast, but you're probably not going to use it to have entire conversations with others because it costs some… Well, for us with normal magical reserves, at least." Hermione jabbed at both of them. Neville laughed at that while Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah… So, why don't we do a little test?" Harry suggested. Hermione looked at him curiously at that.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, we should check the spell's range and see how far it can go and how fast. Further, we need to see if Neville has any improvements. Let's do a test. Neville, you need to run as far as you can, and… Let's say in five minutes, Hermione can cast her spell. Then, we'll see how long it takes to reach you. Here, I'll give you one of my spare Time Coins." Harry told him.

"Huh, that's an idea… How do you feel about it, Neville?" Hermione asked.

"I'm down. I can't lie; I'm curious about my own limits as well…" Neville said, looking down at himself curiously.

"Are you sure you'll be up for it? Didn't you say you're still sore?"

"It'll be all right. I'm sure I can do this." Neville assured.

"All right then, let's do this."

With that, Harry gave Neville the mentioned coin and they moved over to the club's exit. Neville began doing some stretches in preparation as he looked down the hallway he was likely planning to go down. Harry pulled out his own and looked at the time displayed on it.

"Thirty seconds," Harry called out.

"Got it," Neville said, not stopping his preparation.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked, sounding a little nervous now.

"Pretty good. I almost feel a little light, I guess." Neville answered with a smile.

"Ten seconds." Harry called out looking at the coin. Neville got down with his hands on the ground before wrapping the chain on the coin around one of his hands placing it in his palm and balling it into a fist.

"Three… Two… One… Go!" Harry called out. Immediately, Neville lunged forward and took off down the hallway. Harry felt his eyes raise at the speed his friend was reaching. Because of their age, it already looked like he was reaching unnatural speeds, which technically he was. Within a few seconds, Neville reached the first corner and turned down the next hallway.

"Wow… I guess the Ritual worked after all."

"Yeah… I should have told him to be careful when running. His body isn't used to its new speed and strength, so he might overwhelm himself." Harry muttered. He felt a fist hit him in the arm, and he looked over to see an annoyed look on Hermione's face.

"What?"

"You know what. Be more careful in the future!" Hermione hissed. Harry smirked in amusement before shaking his head.

"Of course… So, Neville said you and him have been doing some combat practice recently?" Harry asked politely.

"Yes. He mentioned his training with you and then mentioned it would be a good idea if I also had some. Well, he offered to Ron and me, but Ron said he was fine for now and would rather focus more on his Alchemy."

"Of course, he did." Harry agreed. His redheaded friend was speaking to their Transfiguration teacher about some assignment he didn't do well on and possibly repeating it to help with his final grade. His friend had told him not to bother waiting for him to come to do their experiments though.

"Yes, well, I accepted Neville's offer. It's been very helpful; Neville is a lot more skilled than I thought he would be."

"He is indeed. I'd be surprised if anyone under fourth year could offer him a real challenge." Harry agreed.

"Besides you, you mean?"

"Yes, well, I am an outlier. I have certain abilities, like Illusions that give me an edge over most people. Unless they have your disruption spell; thanks for teaching him that, by the way." Harry deadpanned at her. She just smirked.

"Don't complain, I taught it to you as well…"

"Maybe, but I have much less reason to use it. Neville doesn't bother trying to use illusions against me." Harry revealed. Indeed, his friends did know how to craft some illusions at this point, mostly all his basic ones, and Neville and Hermione could likely cast those quickly enough to use them in combat if necessary. Unfortunately, casting Illusions on him was… A waste of time. He was still leagues above them in the art, and, unfortunately for them, that gap was widening, not closing.

"I wonder why?" Hermione muttered sarcastically.

"Hmph…"

"So… How's Ciri doing?" Hermione asked.

"You're going to see her next week." Harry pointed out. He was bringing his friends into his mindscape on the first week of their summer break. They had decided to do so only on breaks since setting up the ritual and just leaving it hanging around at school was… Problematic.

"Still… How she's enjoying her time with that new sorceress she's with? What did you say her name was? Jennifer?"

"Yennefer. And it's good so far. Yennefer is… blunt, but Ciri likes her and that's all I care about." Harry explained. Hermione frowned

"And what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like this Yennefer?"

"I suppose. I've only met her once though. Everything else I know of her has been second-hand recounts from Ciri or a few memories she has shown me. Why do you ask?" Harry asked.

"Well, you and Ciri are… Courting now. That means people in her life, and vice versa with yours, affect both of you right now and likely in the future."

"… I guess that's correct... It's not like I can do anything about the people she interacts with though. Besides, as long as she's fine with them, then so am I."

"Hmm. We'll see…"

"Send the message in ten seconds." Harry interrupted. Hermione straightened a bit at that before beginning to cast the spell. She whispered something into her wand and as soon as the last second was up, she cast it.

"Well… that's, that, I guess. We just have to wait until he gets back."

"Hey, what are you guys doing out here?"

They both turned and saw Ron approaching them. At the end of the year, the boy was no longer bothering with a robe or even the uniform. Instead, he was wearing a casual button-up short-sleeve shirt and a pair of dark pants. The boy looked pretty good; they must've been some newer clothes he had bought.

"Hey Ron, we're waiting for Neville to get back; he's testing something for us." Harry answered.

"Oh? Did you do the Ritual?"

"Yep. It seems to have worked, too. Right now, we're testing it out along with Hermione's new spell." Harry said to him.

"Hermione's… I think you mentioned that to me the other day. Sorry, I can't remember. Did you tell me what it did?" Ron asked, looking at her curiously. Hermione shook her head.

"No, but it's a messaging spell I created. You say what you want, think who you want to send it to, and then launch the spell." Hermione told him giving him the cliff notes version.

"Woah. That would be amazing! The only way to message someone besides owls these days is the Floo. You might put both the post and floo out of business!" Ron smiled. Hermione blushed a bit at that before shaking her head.

"No, no. I'm not planning to spread it around too much, just our group." Hermione mentioned.

"Hmmm… Well, I'll be grateful… Man, now I feel kind of bad. I'm kind of the only one who doesn't share anything with the group." Ron scratched the back of his head a bit at that revelation looking somewhat embarrassed.

"I don't either." Harry pointed out.

"Well, you still collaborate, though. You've done so with Daphne and Neville at this point."

"True, but haven't you been helping Tracey learn some alchemy as well?"

"Well… I guess. It's more like she's just been learning some basics with me. I haven't taught her much…" Ron muttered.

"Well, maybe you could collaborate on your next big project or something with her?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah, we kind of talked about it a little already. We've been doing some thinking on it…"

"Well, there you go." Harry said.

"Speaking of Tracey… You two have been spending a lot of time together…" Hermione said suggestively.

"…Okay." Ron said, looking at the girl apprehensively. Hermione frowned at the lack of response while Harry raised an eyebrow in amusement. Ron was known for sometimes being a little… Oblivious. This was not one of those times, and the boy clearly understood the implications of what Hermione had been saying.

"Really?" Hermione asked in annoyance. Ron just rolled his eyes.

"There's nothing there. I mean, Tracey is nice, and I wouldn't mind, but…"

"But?"

"… You two didn't hear this from me, but she and Daphne are… Let's say they're both off limits." Ron told them quietly. Harry scrunched his brow at that little revelation. Sure, the two were close but he hadn't imagined them being THAT close.

"As in… with each other?" Hermione asked for clarification with a red face. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"But… They don't act like…"

"Of course not; it's kind of taboo," Ron replied.

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon Hermione, the UK wizarding society is pretty heavily patriarchal. Two girls in that kind of relationship… Wouldn't be well received." Harry explained. Hermione looked like she had just sucked on something sour.

"That doesn't seem fair…"

"Of course not. It doesn't help that both Daphne and Tracey are heirs… especially in Daphne's case. She is the heir of a pretty powerful house." Harry continued. Hermione just shook her head at his words.

"They shouldn't have to hide it…"

"I agree. And if they ever choose not to, as their friends, we will do our best to support them." Harry said, eyeing them both. Ron nodded immediately, as did Hermione.

"Of course… So, like I was saying… It's not happening. I'm not too upset about it though. Tracey's cool." Ron said. Harry blinked before looking at Ron. Now that he was paying attention, the boy looked… Well, handsome. His hair was cut and neater, along with his new clothes, and even his posture and looks were relaxed and confident. Almost the opposite of what he had been when they had first met."

"Ron… Have other girls been asking you out?" Harry asked curiously. The redhead immediately started sputtering a bit at that and blushing dark enough to match his hair.

"Oh my gosh. They have! When would they even do that? You spend almost all your time with us!" Hemione demanded. Ron looked away, still embarrassed by the sudden turn in questions.

"I mean… it's just… a couple…"

"A couple!"

"Now I'm interested." Harry chuckled.

"Who!?" Hermione asked.

"Well. There was Lavender, I guess… then there was Abbott." Ron muttered quietly.

"Abbott… Hannah? Blonde from Hufflepuff?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, her." Ron confirmed.

"She's pretty… What did you tell her?" Hermione asked.

"Why did you assume I didn't say yes to Lavender." Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh… I mean, she just didn't really seem like you're type." Hermione backpedaled a bit. Ron rolled his eyes at that.

"What's my type?"

"Hmm… Well, I don't know if I would say a specific type for sure, but Lavender is a little…"

"Superficial?" Harry suggested.

"I wouldn't put it quite like that…" Hermione mumbled

"But it's a perfect descriptor?" Harry answered with a smirk.

"You said it, not me." Was all Hermione responded with.

"Whatever… And you're right, I guess. Not really sure if I have a type but… I don't think Lavender is interested in anything more than showing off, so not for me. Anyway, I told Hannah I wasn't ready for something like that."

"Was that truthful or were you just trying to be nice?" Hermione asked.

"Truthful, I guess. I don't know, I think I need some more time to focus on me…"

"If you feel like that's the case then I can respect that, though, I would like to say I think you've really grown in the almost two years we've known each other."

"Thanks' Harry. It's all your fault too. Had me questioning all kinds of stuff about myself last year." Ron smirked in amusement.

"Well… You did need a bit of a reality check…"

"I won't disagree."

"Hey Ron, you finally made it over, huh?"

They looked over and saw Neville lightly jogging down the hallway towards them from where the voice had originated. Ron smiled at his fellow Gryffindor.

"Yeah, we were just talking so they could fill me in on your little experiment."

"Cool."

"How far did you get when you received the message?" Harry asked.

"About three-quarters of the way around the lake." Neville informed proudly.

"How long after the five-minute mark did it take for the messaging spell to reach you?"

"Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds."

"So… accounting for the distance from this room to the lake and then around the lake partially… A little less than two miles." Harry surmised.

"That's insane! Almost two miles in a little more than seven minutes? How is that even possible?"

"Well, you're not just stronger; you're faster, and you have a much larger lung capacity. Did you even get tired when you ran?"

"Well… now that you mention it…"

"Exactly, in truth, that's probably the best thing you got out of it. You can go for much longer at what's probably near your full speed." Harry speculated.

"That's awesome!" Neville said with a smile as he looked down at his body as if seeing it for the first time. He then looked up at Harry.

"So… When are you doing this too?" Neville asked. Harry raised an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean?"

"When are you doing the ritual on yourself?" Neville clarified.

"Oh… I hadn't really considered it."

"What, when you were going to do it?"

"No, doing the ritual at all." Harry said. Neville just stared at him blankly.

"Why… would you not do it on yourself?"

"I just never thought about it… I suppose I could do it, too." Harry muttered, thinking about the Ritual. He didn't need the boost now, but it would likely be something he could use in the future since he was going to fight a Dark Lord one day. He was in decent shape, considering he didn't work out all that much anymore, though he was still pretty skinny.

"At the very least, do it so you can keep up with me in sparring." Neville told him. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Sure, whatever you say." Harry replied.

That was at least a legitimate reason. A lot of dueling had to do with moving around to try and avoid spells from hitting you. Many duelists said that if you COULD dodge a spell than you should but Harry disagreed. Yes, it was important to conserve one's magical reserves in a duel or fight, but if you ran out of stamina because you kept moving all over the place, then you could end up just as screwed. One needed to find a balance in his own personal opinion.

"Alright… So, Neville can run fast, and Hermione's spell works over distance. We got it figured out. Are we going into the room now?" Ron finally asked.

"Someone's in a rush."

"Yeah, well, I haven't packed my stuff for the Summer yet."

"What? I thought you started packing a week ago?" Hermione demanded. Ron just shook his head in amusement.

"Oh, Hermione, that was just a lie I told you so you wouldn't bug me for a week about it." Ron smirked. Hermione's face immediately morphed into a scowl at the boy, and Neville immediately burst into laughter. Harry gave a lopsided smile at the boy's words.

"What's going on out here?" Tracey asked as she opened the door and Daphne exited the clubroom. "Are you guys having some sort of secret discussion out here?"

"Great, now we're all standing in the hall." Ron groaned, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. Tracey just raised an eyebrow while Daphne said nothing as she looked around at the group in a bored manner.

"We were just discussing some of Ron's more negative habits." Hermione grits her teeth.

"Discussion is a strong word… as are my supposed 'negative' habits. I would call them habits. I happen to like doing things on my own schedule…" Ron replied casually. Hermione huffed but said nothing.

"See, we're all good. So, can we actually go in the room now. I need to pack." Ron asked the group.

"I'm going to have to agree with Ron on this. I still have to do some cleaning and packing as well." Harry added.

"You told me you already cleaned!"

"And I did, but I needed to have some supplies and a few reference materials available for the ritual I performed today. And the ritual also needs to be cleaned up as well. Don't want anyone just finding it there." Harry explained.

"Ugh… Boys."

Later That Night

"How'd the experiment go today?" Ciri asked as she sat in a chair and swung her feet lazily. They were seated at a table, eating some food at her request. It was what she considered a date. If one were to look around their table, they would see others sitting at their own tables eating their own food.

Ciri had questioned what people who courted in his world did, and he basically just told her they went on casual outings. Ciri only had guesses as to what they did in her world since she hadn't managed to talk too much about it with her grandmother before she died. She had spoken to Yennefer about it but… when had asked about what she had said, Ciri just started blushing and stammering nonsense. So, it was likely that none of the sorceresses' ideas could be used.

"Great. It worked like a charm, and Neville is now both stronger and faster than he was previously by quite a bit." Harry explained with a smile. After cleaning up the clubroom, Neville spent the rest of the day testing out his new limits. He had been enjoying himself to say the least.

"That's good to hear! Are you going to perform the Ritual on yourself soon?"

"I guess so. Neville asked me to so I could keep up with him during our spars."

"Was that the only reason you were going to go through with it?"

"I mean… I suppose I can also use the benefits later. I do have to deal with some psychopaths in the future." Harry murmured.

"Hmm… Well, I think it's a good idea. It's kind of like Witcher's use Alchemy to make themselves stronger than everyone else."

"It's pretty similar. Most strengthening rituals are pretty iffy in my world, too, so I had to make a new, more stable one."

"Does it work on others besides magical?"

"It should, yes."

"Maybe one day I can use it on myself." Ciri speculated with a smirk. Harry nodded seriously at that.

"A good idea. As soon as I figure out how to cross over to your world, we'll have many things to change or apply to you." Harry said. Ciri just smiled at him. She no longer said anything about how crazy his dream sounded; she had decided to support him in it. At this point, she hoped he was successful just as much as he did at this point.

"Any progress on that?"

"Well… I think I have an idea at this point, but I'm not exactly sure yet how I would get the ritual to go to a specific world. Even the power problem, I'm confident I can more or less deal with at this point." Harry explained.

"You used to be very concerned about that." Ciri observed. Harry nodded.

"Yes, well, I've been playing with the idea of creating a magical battery basically to help us in such circumstances."

"Battery?"

"Think of it like an artificially created Powerstone." Harry tried.

"Ah… How many do you think you'll need to make for a trip to a new world?"

"If I'm right about how much power they can hold and how much power the Ritual will take to perform… About seven or eight."

"That's not bad."

"Nope, not at all. And who knows, maybe I'll be able to improve on it in the future to hold more." Harry said as he picked up his fork and began eating the food on the plate in front of him. Ciri took after him and resumed eating her own food. He took a few more bites as he eyed her from across the table.

In truth, this was supposed to be a date, but he wasn't exactly sure how different it was from what they normally did together. They were already pretty close to each other, which was what dates were supposed to accomplish, right? He had talked to Neville and Ron about it, but they hadn't been helpful either. None of them had really dated anyone up till this point.

"Umm… You look very pretty tonight, Ciri." He tried looking at her outfit. She did, too. She probably got an idea for the dress from Yennefer, at least with the design. It was a type of dress that held to her rather tightly and probably was a little less conservative before Ciri had modified it. It also was silver instead of black, which apparently was the sorceress's color of choice, according to Ciri.

"Thank you. Do you like the dress? It's a little stiff to move in, admittedly, but I thought I did a pretty good job with it."

"It's very pretty, though I thought you didn't like wearing dresses."

"I don't, but… I thought you were supposed to wear these types of things for courting?" Ciri asked uncertainly. Harry shrugged.

"I think you should be fine wearing anything. Whatever you're comfortable with. Besides, the dress is nice but it's not like you look less pretty when you're wearing your usual clothes." Harry pointed out. Ciri's face once more became rather red. It's funny when he was younger and didn't understand what it meant; seeing her like that always confused him. Now, when he saw it, it just made him happy that he managed to say something right… Except when she got like that because of anger over something he had said or done.

"Shut up…"

"Did I say something wrong?"

"You know what you did."

"I do." Harry smiled as she pouted, though he doubted she would agree with the assessment. With that they calmed down and continued their sort of date. Now that the tension had broken a little further, they shifted into a smoother conversation and began to update each other on their present situation. Apparently, Yennefer was attempting to get Ciri to get some control over her magic within her own body. Not that she was having much luck with it.

"It's so frustrating!"

"I can imagine. I normally wouldn't think it is possible, but I would assume that if you wanted to accomplish it, you'd pretty much have to use your body as a conduit, like taking something that is already magical and trying to run its magic through your body. However, doing so with just the magic in your body without reserves would be… Difficult."

"I know! Ugh. I don't suppose you could just teach Yennefer the ritual made to fix the problem?"

"I COULD, but I'm not sure if it would help. We don't use the same type of runes, nor does she have the same type of ingredients as I do. Even if she found similar creatures with similar parts, there's no telling if they have similar magical properties. In essence, I doubt it would help in any way. That being said, if you really want me too, I could still give it to her." Harry suggested. Ciri sighed and shook her head.

"No, you're probably right… This would be so much easier if you guys could talk more often…"

"How so?"

"I think Yennefer is some magical genius too. She sometimes talks like you do, I think. Maybe if you guys were able to work together, you could recreate a lot of the stuff you make in my world."

"That would be quite the undertaking indeed. I also have a lot less knowledge about your world and wouldn't even know where to begin. I'd probably have to spend years just going out and cataloging things properly to learn their uses." Harry smiled in amusement.

"I guess… Never mind, I'm just frustrated, is all."

"It's all right, I understand; I am, too, if I can be honest. It's probably even more frustrating when you have a solution but you cannot apply it." Harry tried. Ciri smiled at him, though he could still tell she was a little down.

"How about, after we finish this food, we do something fun. Why don't we do a bit of sparring." Harry suggested. He wasn't a challenge for Ciri, but she enjoyed getting a chance to hit him with a stick. He tried not to overthink about that. As predicted, her smile grew more prominent and he could see some genuine joy and excitement enter her eyes.

"Deal!"

The Next Day

"I have something to tell you."

Harry was looking directly at Daphne and Tracey who were currently sitting next to him. Neville, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on the bench opposite of them. They were all currently on the Hogwarts Express as it began to pull away from the station. As usual, they had all managed to find a compartment to sit together in. As Daphne and Tracey suddenly stared back at him in confusion, he idly wondered what their life in Slytherin was like considering they never seemed to spend any time with their housemates.

"What is it?" Tracey asked curiously.

"Well… As you know, I'm a rather secretive person. Sharing things with people is… difficult for me." Harry began.

"Right." Tracey agreed with him readily. Daphne said nothing as she continued to stare at him, likely waiting for him to get to the point.

"Well, you know most things about me at this point, but I've known you both for a whole school year at this point, and I feel like I can trust you with the last of my secrets." Harry continued. He paused again, more as he continued to think of the different ways he should speak of Ciri to them.

"Man, I didn't think you we're going to bring this up until next year. I assume that means you want to introduce them next week then?" Neville asked with a playful smirk. Hermione, who was sitting in the middle of him and Ron, turned and smacked the boy.

"Shut it, Neville. Let him get to it?" Hermione scolded.

"To what?" Tracey pushed.

"Right… Well, this is going to sound crazy but basically, I share my mindscape with a girl our age who's from a different world." Harry finally came out and said. Tracey seemed to freeze at that, as if her mind had completely shut off. Daphne, on the other hand, was the opposite. She blinked once without any other visible reaction. Harry knew her enough at this point, though, to know her mind was actually racing a mile a minute, likely trying to figure something out.

"…Whaaattttttt?" Tracey finally droned in confusion.

"I'm not really sure what caused it but it happened a couple years before coming to Hogwarts. It started off just when we fell asleep about the same time. We would then end up into this weird empty space which I now know was an undeveloped mindscape. As time progressed, I developed my mindscape, which allowed us to meet any time we went to sleep, even when we didn't fall asleep near the same time. Nowadays, we're so attuned with each other we can speak to each other with ease even during the day time." Harry explained at length.

Again, Tracey and Daphne were staring at him in complete silence. They looked between themselves and then over at Ron, Hermione, and Neville, likely trying to see if what he was saying was some joke. Neville shrugged in response, and Hermione gave them a nod. Ron was reading a book and was just looking somewhat bored with the conversation.

"Alright… I don't want to sound… Doubtful, but is there some way you can prove this?" Daphne finally asked. He rose an eyebrow at her, not at the fact that she was asking for proof, more over the fact that she was taking this so well already. He had expected more doubt on her part especially.

"Well, yes, which is the reason I am telling you both now. I have a ritual that allows others to enter my mindscape. Those three have already done it a couple times now and have gotten to meet Ciri. Oh, right, that's her name by the way. It's short for Cirilla but if you call her that, she WILL try and kill you. Anyway, I'm doing the ritual again next week and I wanted to offer you both the chances to meet Ciri as well." Harry told them seriously.

"Okay… I'm willing to believe this, for now, at least. I will say, I'm very confused about this though. I have never heard of anything like what you're describing ever." Daphne pointed out. Harry nodded.

"I understand. I looked into it myself and also couldn't find anything really about it besides maybe some stuff on bonds but it's all iffy." Harry admitted.

"So, you just have a teenage girl living in your head at all times?" Tracey asked curiously.

"Well, yes. However, it's not like we can hear each other every waking hour. We can only hear each other when we're directly projecting thoughts onto each other. However, if we're going through something intense, the feelings associated will sometimes bleed through, and we can sense it. Other than that, though… We mainly only interact at night when we join each other in our mindscape."

"And you do that every night?" Daphne asked. Harry nodded.

"Yes. It's how I can advance so fast in subjects as I often use the time in my mindscape to look over things or reread books, I've skimmed to allow me actually to read through them."

"Your recall ability must be powerful for you to do such. I've heard only Occlumency masters can usually do such." Daphne noticed. Harry just shrugged.

"I'm not a master, but despite sharing it, Ciri does not have nearly the ability I have to organize and shape our mindscape, leaving me in charge of doing both. So, organization and such are critical for me to know how to do." Harry explained.

"And if you do that every night, how are you sleeping?" Daphne asked.

"Technically, I don't, at least mentally, I don't. Yes, I know that doesn't make sense and no, I don't know how my brain keeps functioning properly when it's technically in use all the time. I'm sure there's a reason, I don't know what it is." Harry explained.

"Can we please return to the fact that you have a TEENAGE GIRL living in your head? How is that not crazy to you? Has she started her… you know?" Tracey hinted. Harry gave her a queer look before understanding washed over him.

"Yes, she has. As far as those types of things go… We pretty much know everything about each other. EVERYTHING." Harry emphasized.

"And you're comfortable with that? It's not weird?"

"It's sometimes uncomfortable but it is what it is. Ciri is without a doubt the person I am the closest too and I am more than willing to make certain compromises on where are friendship limits begin and end. Her world is nearly a millennia behind our own time wise so there are a lot of things she doesn't know or information she wouldn't have access to without me. I'm not going to let discomfort get in the way of her being in the best position possible knowledge-wise."

"Pfft… Friendship." Neville snorted. Harry shot a glare over at his friend.

"What's that mean?"

"They recently started… courting." Hermione added with a small giggle. Harry shifted his glare over to her instead.

"That sounds… hmmm" Daphne seemed to think better of whatever she was going to say halfway through and instead simply went back to silence.

"She cornered me into it." Harry tried to explain.

"But you're not complaining." Ron added easily showing that he had in fact been listening this entire time even though he had still not looked up from his book.

"Shut up Ron!" Harry hissed, causing the boy to chuckle in amusement.

"Dating a girl in your head… You sure you're not crazy Potter?" Tracey teased.

"I didn't say that… But Ciri is real… And yes, we are courting at her request. And no, I do not mind." Harry clarified. He wasn't trying to make it seem like Ciri bullied him into a relationship, but even if he enjoyed it, he still wasn't sure it was a good idea.

"Hmmm. So, we're going to meet her in a week?"

"If you can convince your parents to let you spend the night." Harry told them.

"I'm sure they will." Daphne answered instantly.

"Umm, I'll have to ask them. Not sure how much they will like me spending the night in a boy's house, especially since you have no adult supervision at your place." Tracey admitted. Harry nodded; it made sense.

"Do your best, but don't sweat it." Harry told her easily. He knew his living situation wasn't normal, and his parents wouldn't normally allow it. Luckily, the Grangers and Weasleys both liked him and Neville's grandmother… Well, from what he could understand, Neville sort of just did what he wanted, and if she got in his way, they would argue, so she didn't say much these days about his activities. Daphne's response was a bit of a surprise, but maybe it was just due to his part in her mother's recovery that her parents would allow it.

"Right… Well, what's everyone's plans for the Summer then?" Tracey asked, moving the conversation along after Harry's little bombshell.

"More studying, more selling, and then just our weekly meet-ups, I guess. I'll have to keep my eye on Ginny too and ensure she continues doing okay." Ron spoke first. His comment brought Harry's mind to the youngest redhead. After the chamber incident, Ron had gone out of his way to pay for her to meet up with a mind healer once a week, every Sunday. He hadn't even asked his parents, he just told Ginny where she needed to go and that he wouldn't take no for an answer. According to his friend, Ginny was doing pretty well with her improvements. She had been hanging out a lot with a childhood friend of hers named Luna, who was actually in Harry's house. He had only spoken to the girl a few times but she seemed like her mind was always distant.

"Won't your parents also be keeping an eye on her?"

"Mom will, at least, but sometimes she can be a little… overbearing, and Ginny may not like that right now." Ron answered.

"I can see that. At least she cares, though." Hermione replied, trying to give Mrs. Weasley the benefit of the doubt. Harry agreed with that. The woman was very nice, but he did get the feeling she could be a little… controlling at times. Still, she had a lot of children, so maybe that's just what she thought was necessary to keep her household running.

"Yep, I'm not complaining." Ron shrugged.

"Well… Same as Ron on the studying portion. Besides that, my parents are taking me to France for part of the Summer." Hermione revealed.

"Really? When are you doing that?" Neville asked curiously.

"I think we're leaving the first week of July and returning the last week of July. I should make it back, though, for both of your birthdays. Maybe I'll bring you some souvenirs." Hermione smirked. Neville smiled at that.

"I'll hold you to that. I've never been to France. Is it nice?"

"Yes! The beaches there are so lovely, and the Mediterranean is so nice!" Hermione gushed.

"What city will you be staying at?" Tracey asked.

"Nice." She answered.

"I've been there before. It's quite lovely." Daphne added evenly.

"Hmm, maybe we should all plan a vacation at some point together." Ron suggested casually.

"Pfft… There's no way my parents would go for that anytime soon." Tracey shot down.

"Not now. I mean when we're older. Maybe after we complete our OWL's or something as a reward." Ron clarified.

"That would be fun." Neville agreed with a smile. Harry nodded simply. He had never really been on vacation though he had occasionally gone to new places with Albus mainly to help him craft illusions based off said places.

"Well… I think I'm going to do a little more studying on Alchemy myself and see if I can create something." Tracey said. Ron immediately perked up at the mention of Alchemy.

"What are you planning to make?" He asked curiously. Tracey smirked.

"Secret. Though if I need help, I'll be sure to reach out." Tracey said. Ron frowned.

"I tell you about all the stuff I do." He complained.

"Right, because you were helping me learn." Tracey laughed.

"Last time I do someone else a favor…" Ron rolled his eyes as he buried himself back into a book.

"My turn, I guess. I'm going to be upping my training and I've actually been working on a spell that I'll show you guys when I'm done. Other than that, I guess I'll be practicing my illusions. I really want to get better at those." Neville interjected before there could be too much silence.

"Still trying to catch up to Harry?" Hermione smirked from next to him. Neville smiled lightly at the tease.

"No, well… I doubt I'll be able to get close to his level but, against people besides him, it's definitely something I could use to my advantage, as Harry has demonstrated to me many times." Neville said giving Harry a pointed look at the end. Harry didn't say anything and just met his friends his gaze blankly.

"Nothing to say to that?"

"Nope." Harry answered immediately. Neville just shook his head in a faux exasperation.

"Alright, what about you Daphne, what's the plan for your Summer?" Hermione asked. The blonde shrugged and looked like she was debating whether she wanted to say anything or not. After what looked like an internal debate she finally sighed.

"I probably won't do much honestly. I'll likely be spending most of my time this Summer catching up with my family now that my mother is back on her feet." Daphne responded quietly. The mention of her mother let a certain tension in the air, though not one of apprehension but rather curiosity.

"Speaking of, would you mind if we ask how your mother is doing?" Hermione asked slowly, clearly not trying to force the normally private girl to speak on something if she didn't wish too.

"She's well, from what my father has told me. She's already up and about and though she does not yet have the stamina she once had, she's getting there. Astoria has been overjoyed to have her up again." Daphne answered quietly. The name Astoria was only slightly familiar. He was somewhat sure that was the name of Daphne's younger sister.

"That's good! I'm glad to hear that… So, I've been meaning to ask. The ritual, don't you have to perform it on you and your sister as well? Don't you both still have the curse inside you?" Hermione asked. Daphne nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, though it's not pressing so we we're waiting until this Summer to do it. We also wanted to make sure that Astoria's magic had stabilized as much as possible before doing it, just to eliminate any possible risks."

"Oh. Well, that's good. I'm glad to hear that you're both going to be alright. It's horrifying to think your family has had to deal with something like that for so long. I can see why Blood Magic is considered illegal." Hermione muttered distastefully. Harry wanted to dispute that but decided otherwise. Blood Magic WAS dangerous, even with good intentions behind it. Because it was so based on emotion, one needed total emotional control if they wanted results to be as close to what the caster wanted as possible.

That's actually why negative emotions were used so much more often with Blood Magic, because negative emotions more easily dominated the mind, and were easy to hold on to. He speculated he would likely only be passable at performing Blood Magic due to the fact that he had something of muted emotions. It took him quite a lot to build up strong emotions on something and it didn't usually last long.

"Did you ever find out who cast the magic in the first place?" Hermione asked. Daphne shook her head.

"No, though… Harry didn't you mention something about the magic's origin?" Daphne asked, turning to him. Harry nodded.

"Yes, I did. Blood Magic, because of its unique creation, has strong ties to its origin, possibly to keep the magic potent for as long as it exists. When I was forced to examine and mingle with the Blood Magic inside Daphne's mother, I got flashes of said origin. Most of that is the emotion's involved when it came to the creation of the spell. The strongest feeling present in Daphne's mother was jealousy followed by rage. After examining the memory of the event and trying to look at the flashes, I think I've puzzled out some hints. While I cannot tell who cast the spell, I believe it was a former suitor of one of your ancestors. I assume the suitor was rejected for another which caused the large amounts of jealousy and rage.

They likely cursed your ancestor and wanted them to pay for said rejection. I don't think they meant to curse the whole line though. I think the extreme emotions felt likely enhanced the spell to effect more than just the initial victim." Harry finished looking around the compartment. While shock wasn't present, anger and outrage were.

"To think you could do that to someone… Someone you liked just because they didn't like you back," Neville muttered in anger.

"Again, this is just an educated guess. I could be completely off base, or even partially so. Don't take what I just said as absolute fact." Harry reminded them.

"Still… That's messed up." Ron said, agreeing with Neville.

"I see… Well, it's over now, and hopefully, no other Greengrass woman will suffer the same fate."

"Even if they do, you have a way to fix it now." Harry reminded. The ritual was a joint venture between them and as such, would go in both their family's grimoire.

"Right… Still, I would like to avoid such situations if at all possible… Enough about me. Your turn, Potter." Daphne commanded, forcing the compartment residents to look at Harry, who just snorted.

"Well… I plan to continue pushing my limits regarding illusions while I also get back to studying obscure magic types."

"Like what?"

"Anything to do with opening gateways or traveling to different worlds." Harry revealed. The room went quiet as everyone seemed to realize why he wanted to look into such things. It was obvious, of course.

"Have you had any luck on that front?"

"Nothing more than speculation for the most part. I've seen a few interesting theories and such, but nothing for me to really build something from yet. Unfortunately." Harry frowned. Harry had read several accounts in history of people apparently traveling to different worlds, but they didn't seem similar to each other, and it was hard not to discount much of it as pure fiction.

"Who have you talked to about that?" Tracey asked.

"Not many. There's not much in the way of experts in the subject from what I have found."

"Didn't Headmaster Dumbledore mention some story to you about Elves and Dwarves or something?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. It is believed that both Elves and Dwarves, who were once on this planet, left centuries ago to a different world, or worlds. Unfortunately, there's practically nothing about it in detail which… Isn't surprising, but still." Harry groused in annoyance.

"So, you're stuck then?" Ron asked.

"Pretty much, but this will be a temporary setback at most… Other than that, I have to figure out what to do with the Basilisk. I think I'm going to break it down into parts. I'll keep the skin, some of the poison, and a few bones and teeth. After that, I think I will sell the rest of it." Harry finished.

"How much do you think you'll get for it?" Neville asked. Harry shrugged.

"A lot, but I'm unsure how much with the skin removed. Maybe a few hundred thousand galleons." Harry guessed. He had no real idea, so it really was just a guess. He knew Basilisk parts were both scarce and highly pricey. Their breeding was illegal and almost impossible to pull off correctly. Harry had read that, for some reason, Basilisk's born from the commonly believed method were relatively weak and not that long-lived. They still had their death gaze, but that was it. Harvesting parts from them was… difficult.

The conversation in the compartment remained light for the rest of the trip. No one had pushed Harry about what he would do with the body.

Several hours later, they finally pulled into King's Cross station. They quickly grabbed their things and began heading off the train. As soon as they had made it past the initial crowds, Harry was swooped up and being held tightly. He panicked for a moment thinking he was being attacked before calming silently as he recognized that rather than being attacked, he was being tightly hugged.

"Um… Whoever you are, please let go of me." Harry asked, being muffled from being planted into, likely, someone's chest. He was pulled back and came face to face with Mrs. Weasley, who was red-faced and looked teary-eyed. Harry immediately tensed and grew more serious.

"Mrs. Weasley, why are you crying? Are you hurt?" Harry questioned seriously. He had not seen the woman looking like this before. She seemed distraught. Despite that, she shook her head.

"You saved her. You saved my little girl." She said, almost sobbing. Harry blinked at that, not really sure what she meant. He reached into his memory and quickly came to an understanding.

"Oh… It was no issue. Of course, Ginny is a sweet girl, and Ron's one of my best friends. I wouldn't leave her in such a situation." Harry told her respectfully. Ginny and he weren't close, but they had gotten along on the few times they had talked.

"Oh Harry! You're such a sweet boy!" She cried out before hugging him again. While he tensed, he didn't panic like before. He didn't like this much physicality with most people. In truth, he only preferred to be hugged by Ciri.

When she finally was released, he looked back at his friends awkwardly. Most of them had looks of amusement on their face, including Ron.

"Your son has returned as well, you know." Ron reminded his mother. The Weasley matriarch immediately turned to him and looked exasperated before grabbing the boy and pulling him in.

"Of course, I missed you as well. How are you doing? How's Ginny?" She asked quickly.

"I'm good. Keeping up with my studies. Ginny… Well, she's doing better. Not perfect, but better. She's still seeing the Mind Healers, and I think it's helping. She's also been spending a lot more time with Luna, which, I think… I think it is helping her." Ron confided quietly. Mrs. Weasley frowned but nodded. She could say nothing else as the object of their discussion walked up.

"Ginny dear! It's so good to see you. Come here." Mrs. Weasley said before wrapping her other child in a hug.

"Well, George, would you look at that? Once again, our mother doesn't even recognize our presence."

"Truly unbelievable, Fred. Here we were, thinking that we were her favorite children."

"I know how you feel, George!"

"Enough out of you two; join in before I smack you." Mrs. Weasley snapped as she looked to see her twin sons, who had approached a moment after Ginny. The two fifteen-year-old twins immediately go silent and smile at each other before complying with their mother's request.

"Come now, you know you love us!"

"Even if you do forget we exist sometimes."

"I did not forget you exist, as much as I sometimes wish to!" Mrs. Weasley growled.

Harry watched the family for a while as they continued to scrap with each other affectionately. Harry couldn't help but smile at the performance. He didn't know George and Fred as much despite being some of the more… flamboyant members of the school. He remembered they had tried to break into the clubroom at one point but hadn't managed it. He never did find out how they found the location of it in the first place. Ron said he had questioned them about it but they had said nothing.

"We have to get going. I have to cook the welcome-back dinner. Are all of your parents here?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she looked back at the group of friends. They all gave affirmations, save for Harry, who simply stayed quiet.

"Okay, well, make sure you come over and visit this summer, do you hear me?" She commands sternly but with a smile. He nodded while everyone else agreed with her. He would likely end up over at the Weasleys for one meal or another, even if it were for no other reason than to see Ron.

"All right then, let's go, you five." Harry frowned at the words before looking more closely and seeing Percy Weasley seemingly trying to keep some distance from the rest of his family and looking somewhat embarrassed. He hadn't even noticed the boy until now.

With that, he watched the Weasley family disappear before turning to his remaining friends. They had also been watching the family disappear and seemed to be looking out for their families.

"Er… I think my parents and your grandmother are standing together, Neville." Hermione mentioned suddenly. Harry looked in the same direction she was currently looking in and did indeed see Hermione's parent presently engaged in conversation with Neville's grandmother. I could see Neville stiffen at the sight but he said nothing otherwise.

"Let's go say hello." Harry prompted since no one was moving. That seemed to spring Neville at least into action as he moved quickly over to the group of adults. Hermione followed behind rapidly.

"Does Neville have some issue with his grandmother?" Daphne asked quietly as she, Tracey, and Harry approached behind their friends.

"They don't really get along at the moment…" Was all Harry said as they continued walking.

"Mom, dad, it's good to see you… And you as well, of course, Lady Longbottom." Hermione greeted politely first as they approached. Neville approached as well, looking somewhat suspiciously at his grandmother before turning his attention to Hermione's parents.

"Hello again, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. It's good to see you both again. Hello, grandmother." Neville said, the end of his sentence losing some warmth. Lady Longbottom seemed to be holding back a grimace at Neville's tone when speaking with her.

"Hello dear, it's good to see you again! And it's good to see you as well, Neville; you're looking… well, it looks like you've had a bit of a growth spurt." Mrs. Granger noticed as she eyed the boy in surprise for a moment.

"I'll say. It looks like you've grown three or four inches since Christmas! And it looks like you're already getting some muscle definition… Puberty seems to be hitting you rather quickly and hard." Mr. Granger chimed in, agreeing with his wife. Neville suddenly looked somewhat awkward as he coughed into his hand.

"Ah… Thanks, I think." He tried smiling. He didn't mention the ritual he had undergone not too long ago, though Harry hadn't expected him to. Technically, it fell under a family secret, and the fact that the rest of the club knew was technically uncommon and was considered a sign of trust.

"They are right… You look more mature," Lady Longbottom said softly. That might not have been the right thing to say, as Neville's face morphed into a blank one, and he suddenly radiated annoyance.

"Thank you." That was all he said, though he clearly didn't mean it. His grandmother almost seemed to flinch from the response, which nearly looked strange to a woman of her known mental fortitude. She seemed to decide to say nothing after that. Harry almost rolled his eyes in annoyance at his friend for now creating an awkward silence with the whole group.

"Hermione mentioned you were going to France this Summer." Harry finally mentioned. The Grangers immediately looked over to him.

"Harry! My goodness, our apologies for not saying anything earlier… You're looking well… And would I be right to assume these two lovely ladies with you are the Daphne and Tracey I have been hearing about?" Mr. Granger asked as he and Harry shook hands in greeting before Harry repeated the process with Mrs. Granger.

"You would be correct. It is a pleasure to meet you both, I am Daphne Greengrass." Daphne said formally.

"And I'm Tracey Davis." Tracey introduced herself with her a smile and her normal bright disposition contrasting hard with her best friends. Mrs. Granger cracked a smile at meeting the girls and, if he wasn't mistaking, it almost looked like her eyes were glowing with happiness. He wondered why.

"It's so nice to meet you both. I'm so relieved to see Hermione finally getting along with some girls her age." Mrs. Granger said with a smile. Harry then understood the glow in the woman's eyes as she had looked at the two.

"What about us then? Were we just chopped liver this whole time?" Neville muttered, though made it loud enough to be heard. Mrs. Granger just looked at the boy with a deadpan look, causing Neville to smile innocently back at her. Hermione just rolled her eyes at the scene.

"It's an honor. Hermione is fiercely intelligent and will likely be one of the smartest magicals from our class. Working with her in our club is a pleasure." Daphne told the woman politely.

"Got to go with Daphne on this one. Hermione's like crazy smart. She's the kind of person where if you know nothing about something and you need to know a lot about it in a short time, you go to her, and she'll let you know all there is to know." Tracey explained. Mrs. Granger smiled proudly at that.

"Yes, that's our Hermione, alright." she replied. Harry watched silently, as he usually did. He found these scenes… somewhat endearing.

"Yes, we've always been quite proud of her." Mr. Granger added, puffing up his chest as he spoke of his daughter. For her part, Hermione put her hand on her face and shook her head in exasperation at her parents.

"Enough, you're embarrassing me in front of my friends." Hermione finally groaned.

"Yes, dear." Mr. Granger smiled as he saddled up next to his wife and shook both of the two girls' hands.

"Yes, well, we were just speaking with your grandmother, Neville." Mrs. Granger said, gesturing to the older woman who had been staring at the two new girls of the group.

"I saw that…" Neville said, giving his grandmother a look. The woman seemed to catch the look and stopped looking at the two girls and back to the rest of the group before nodding in confirmation.

"That's right… They were speaking of a spell you had apparently created Hermione." The woman said. The group froze at hearing that. Hermione's face grew stiff, and a very forced smile appeared.

"Did they…" She asked, her eyes flickering to her parents, who suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Er… Were we not supposed to do that?" Mrs. Granger asked suddenly.

"Magical creations, including spells that are not made to the public, are considered valuable secrets until the creator decides otherwise, and Hermione has decided not to go public with her works." Daphne informed. Both the Grangers suddenly looked lost.

"What? Why wouldn't you go public with such an achievement? It seems like something you should be immensely proud of." Mr. Granger argued.

"Because in magic, every advantage counts and most old pureblood families do not share the magic they create to keep such an advantage. On top of that, monetary benefits are given to those who go public with spells, but not much. However, Muggleborns often take such benefits to ensure they can stay afloat. It's not said, but its pretty much a system that helps purebloods maintain an edge over others." Neville explained.

"That's not always the case." Lady Longbottom tried to argue. Neville gave her a stern glare, despite that, she continued.

"Yes, that is a prevalent case, but there are many magics by families that, if submitted to the review board, would not pass inspection and might even be banned. A lot of the magic isn't always exact or stable and often has big and small risks when using it. Sometimes, it would simply be too dangerous to allow such knowledge to get into the public sphere. Though, as I said, this is only the case sometimes. My grandson is right that many take advantage of the current rules in place to hoard their own knowledge and take advantage of others." Lady Longbottom explained, looking specifically at the two parents.

"And… You didn't think to tell us that?"

"I had assumed that if you were telling me, then Hermione had decided to go public with the knowledge and submit it. My apologies." She replied, dipping her head a bit, not only to the Granger adults but also to Hermione. Hermione sighed.

"I suppose it's fine. Neville knows about it so it's not like it's a big deal…" Hermione rationalized.

"Anyway, to answer your question Harry, yes, we do plan to take a trip to France. I know you like to meet over the Summers, though, so we shall keep you updated on what's happening and when we return." Mr. Granger said looking back at Harry. Frowned.

"I thought you weren't leaving until early July?"

"We were, but we had to move the schedule up due to some work issues that we'll have to deal with in July, which we need to be back for."

"That's a shame." Harry lamented quietly. Hermione looked a bit put out but shook her head, shaking off the feelings.

"You'll be sending letters from France, I assume?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione frowned at that.

"I still don't have an owl." Hermione pointed out.

"I'll have mine come, and you can use her." Neville immediately said back, implying he had clearly remembered that.

"So eager to keep in touch Longbottom." Tracey mumbled with a smirk on her face. Clearly, Neville heard her as his head snapped over to the girls as he glared.

"Well… Someone isn't going to be receiving my famous summer letters. Nice job Trace." He snarked back while clearly trying to prevent a smile on his face. Hermione remained silent, though her face was suspiciously red at the moment. Harry raised an eyebrow but said nothing at that.

"How will I ever survive without them." Tracey said, holding her hand up to her forehead mockingly. The group laughed at the display for a moment.

"Well, we best be going. I'm sure Hermione will keep in touch with you all until we return." Mrs. Granger said as she came over and hugged each of them goodbye, something Daphne clearly wasn't prepared for, and Tracey smiled and embraced it with ease.

"We should be off as well Neville." Lady Longbottom said looking at her grandson in a somewhat awkward manner. She seemed to weigh each word she said carefully while she was saying them. Neville nodded as he turned to the rest of the group and smiled.

"Hermione, we'll see you in a month or two. The rest of you I will hopefully see next week at Harry's place," Neville said while looking around at each of them. Harry nodded as he stepped up and wrapped his arms around his friend.

"I'll see you soon." Harry confirmed as he pulled away. Neville nodded before looking at the two Slytherin girls.

"I'm not hugging you. We're not there yet Longbottom." Tracey shot at him, still with that mischievous smile on her face. Neville returned it.

"One day, Davis, one day. What about you Greengrass?"

"No." Daphne answered back with finality giving the boy a blank look. Neville laughed at the response before turning to Hermione and pulling her into a hug, which was quickly returned.

"Just you and Harry, then. Later, Granger, you had better bring some books because you know you can't practice while gone." Neville pointed out as he pulled back. Hermione immediately groaned.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Hermione said as she backed up with her things to her parents. Neville smiled as he waved.

"Bye." He called out as he moved to his grandmother, and Hermione did the same. They all bid farewell, and the two families left, Neville to the floo and Hermione to the exit of the train station. The three remaining children watched them go for a minute.

"So… Does Neville have a thing for Hermione?" Tracey asked to neither one of them in particular.

"Possibly, it's too soon to tell." Harry answered first.

"Yes." Daphne answered right after. Harry turned and looked at her.

"Why do you say that?"

"They like each other. You can see it in their mannerisms. There's small fidgets when around each other and they crave each other's attention while also desperately trying not to make it obvious." Daphne pointed out. Harry frowned at that.

"We're all still pretty young…"

"Aren't you engaged? And also, in love?"

"… That wasn't my choice. Things are different in Ciri's world, and I'm just doing my best to keep up."

"Yet the thought of marrying her doesn't bother you."

"It does."

"No, the consequences of it not working out bother you. You don't have a problem with the idea of marrying her." Daphne said as she turned and began walking away. Tracey followed immediately, and Harry did so soon after, continuing to frown. Was Daphne, right? He couldn't say definitively, though she was partially correct. He was sure he cared deeply for Ciri, and he did think he loved her, as much as he could do anyway. He was a little concerned, though, if he was being honest with himself, mainly about their age. Could preteens even really comprehend what real love was? Most health books he had read would say it was doubtful.

"Don't worry about it." He looked up and saw Tracey was walking next to him.

"What?"

"You're thinking about what Daphne said; don't worry about it. It'll work out."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't, but that's how you must live. You can't live and operate off of 'What-ifs,' ya know? You can only focus on what's in front of you and do whatever you can to chase it. At the end of the day as long as you know you did, you're best, you'll be able to keep going. So don't worry so much about the result and focus on the journey." Tracey spoke softly in a way he hadn't heard her speak before. He looked at her for a moment, somewhat awestruck, before looking down.

"… You're right. Yeah, I'm just overthinking this… I think. Thanks, Tracey." Harry said to her sincerely. The girl looked over and smiled, not her usual one, but a warm one that conveyed the power of her words. She reached over and patted Harry's back.

"No problem, Potter. Oh, look, there they are. Hope you're ready to meet my parents!"

"They're not like you, are they? I don't think I could take three of you…" Harry muttered, looking forward to seeing two pairs of parents waiting off to the side. The wives seemed to be talking to each other animatedly, while the men appeared to be engaged in a much more casual conversation.

"Har-Har, you're hilarious." Tracey sarcastically replied. As they approached, Daphne was the first to reach the group of four. Despite the numbers, her eyes were strictly for one.

"Mother… I am glad to see you are looking well."

Indeed, a beautiful woman stood next to Lord Greengrass, smiling down at her daughter. Harry was a little surprised at the sight of the woman. She looked almost completely recovered at this point. Had he not seen her only a couple of months ago to compare, he would have never guessed she had ever been so unhealthy.

The woman immediately rushed forward, scooped up her daughter, and lifted her in her arms. It was impressive, considering Daphne could not be considered a small child, and her mother wasn't exactly big either. In fact, she was probably only five or six inches taller than her daughter. Daphne's face immediately became red, though it was hard to see, given that her mother was currently spinning her in the air while hugging her.

"Mother… please… people are staring!"

"Let them stare; there's nothing wrong with me loving my daughter!" Lady Greengrass said proudly.

"Getting… Dizzy." Daphne managed to get out, finally getting her mother to laugh and put her down before engulfing her in a regular hug.

"I'm so happy to see you…" Her mother said as she buried her face in Daphne's hair. After a moment, Daphne raised her arms and wrapped them around her mother, squeezing with a noticeable tightness. Tracey was smiling widely at the sight though Harry watched the scene somewhat impassively, more focused on the older woman's health. He was trying to mentally calculate how far in her treatment she must have been and if she should be doing such… strenuous activities.

He must have gotten lost in his thoughts because he was suddenly engulfed in a sea of warmth. He tensed briefly before calming down and recognizing the sensation from the incident with Mrs. Weasley ten minutes ago. For her more petite frame, Mrs. Greengrass seemed just as capable of squeezing the life out of him. Maybe he was just small?

"Harry Potter, I'm so glad to see you." He heard from the woman holding him firmly in her bosom. Harry tried to shift but seemed unable to, which was a problem since Mrs. Greengrass's chest was… bigger than average and was slowly suffocating him. After a few more moments, he felt his head beginning to get fuzzy as he ran out of oxygen. He began to try to push her away, but she didn't seem to get the message right away, so he kept him firmly planted for another ten seconds or so.

When she finally understood what he was asking for and let go, he almost immediately began gasping for air. It might have been the lightheadedness and the fact that he was bent over trying to regain oxygen, but he was pretty sure he heard laughter, and a lot of it.

"You okay there, Harry?" He heard Tracey call out.

"Fine… Just need to catch my breath…" Harry said while still trying to catch his breath, only causing more laughter. He finally steadied himself and looked up at the woman. She was still smiling down at him brightly.

"Mrs. Greengrass, you're looking well. I take it you indeed got on a nutrition program, then? You're looking much better." Harry said as he looked the woman up and down clinically. She smiled wider.

"Yes, I'm feeling wonderful. I don't think I've ever felt this good in my life." She said, taking a step closer to him, which he instinctually took a step back from—causing her smile to dim slightly and her eyes to narrow. He dismissed the look, however. He was pretty done almost choking to death for the death.

"I see. That's concerning since the curse shouldn't have much of an effect during one's formative years. If you felt the effects even then…"

"It's just an expression, dear."

"Oh… Of course. Well, I am glad to see you have been doing well." Harry said, not sure what else he should say. He was happy she was better, but he didn't have a relationship with this woman, so he wasn't sure what to say to her further.

"Thank you, Harry. And thank you from our entire family. You have no idea how much you have truly done for us. I hope Daphne has properly expressed her gratitude. But I would also like to express mine. If there is anything the Greengrass's can do for you, do not hesitate to ask." She said as she bent down and said it quietly. Harry just nodded slowly.

"Yes, well… Daphne had no small part in making the ritual happen herself so, it was most certainly a team effort."

"How humble. You would make such a nice son-in-law." She smiled wider once more.

"Mother!"

"Angelica, please…"

Harry's lips twitched upward at the reaction of both Daphne and her father who suddenly looked embarrassed or exasperated by the woman who giggled in response. Harry let out a chuckle at the reactions of the Greengrass family.

"Apologies, I am taken at the moment."

"Already?" Mrs. Greengrass exclaimed in surprise. Harry nodded back.

"So, I have been told." Harry suddenly stepped back as a new person stepped between him and Mrs. Greengrass. His first thought upon seeing the person was confusion. It looked like Daphne but… Did Daphne shrink several inches all of a sudden?

"Daphne?"

"Ew, gross. I'm much prettier." The girl in front of him said.

Harry frowned as his mind began processing information quickly. The girl, as he had already noticed was several inches shorter than Daphne. Upon closer inspection, her hair was also a shade or two darker than Daphne's was. The facial structure though was almost identical, though this girl looked like she had a little more baby fat on her face. With all that, he concluded that this much actually be Daphne's younger sister. What did she say her name was? Astoria?

"Your faces are almost completely identical." Harry pointed out.

"Yes, but mine is prettier," she insisted. Harry again tried to fight down a smile. The girl looked at him with a look he much more associated with Tracey rather than Daphne. Although her mother seemed much looser as well, Daphne seemed to have gotten her personality much more from her father.

"If you say so." Harry acquiesced, looking down at the girl who seemed to be sizing him up.

"Hmm, I was expecting something more… impressive."

"Astoria!" Mrs. Greengrass yelled.

"What? I'm just saying. It's not like I'm not thankful, it's just… why are you so scrawny?"

"I'm not nearly as scrawny as I used to be but the clothes I wear are somewhat baggy which makes me look smaller than I am." Harry explained to her. He didn't like clothes that clung to him except on certain occasions.

"Then why do you wear them."

"I'm more comfortable in looser fitted clothing." Harry answered with a shrug. It was a side effect of constantly wearing such clothing throughout his childhood.

"Huh… Was it hard making the ritual to cure my mom?" She asked curiously.

"It was, yes. But it was worth it, as I am sure you'll agree." Harry answered, not making a comment on the fact she had so casually mentioned him making a ritual in public. They were a ways away from others on the platform, so there was no chance of someone overhearing.

"I'm going to Hogwarts next year. Will you teach me how to make rituals?" She asked suddenly. Harry blinked at that.

"Your sister also knows how to make rituals, you know."

"But she learned from you, right?"

"Well, yes."

"So why wouldn't I just go directly to the source?"

"I… I guess I can't find fault in that logic. All right, if you would like, I will teach you, but it will take a lot of work. Rituals aren't exactly easy to learn, and it requires the absorption of a lot of knowledge. Both Daphne and I happen to excel in memorizing lots of information and then using that information. Not everyone's mind works like that. One of our friends, Ron, works more just by learning all the wrong ways to do something until he gets something right." Harry explained to her. Astoria nodded rapidly at that.

"Still!"

"I already agreed. You can join our club next year if you wish."

"Awesome!"

Harry smiled a bit at that. Despite her intelligence, the girl was full of energy and had a childlike wonder. She would go far, though it was yet to be seen if she would excel at rituals, in particular. Still, there were many things she could be good at; there was no need to limit herself at such a point.

With that, Harry and the two other Greengrass females moved back to the rest of the group. He greeted Lord Greengrass properly, and the man returned it just as politely, though it did seem a bit warmer than the first greeting that they had. He then turned to the other two people, the Davis family.

"And you must be Lady Davis; it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Harry said politely as he took her hand and kissed her back, as if it were proper. The Lady smiled down at him.

"Please, none of this Lady nonsense. You can call me Anna, or if you're uncomfortable with that, Mrs. Davis." She told him with a motherly smile down at him. He smiled and nodded.

"Mrs. Davis, then." He said as he then turned to the man.

"And you must be Lord Davis." Harry said as he held his hand to the man and bowed slightly.

"Like my wife, we'll have none of that. Besides, The Davis family has no such renown that the heir of the Potter family should be bowing his head at me." The man chuckled. Harry shrugged. Unlike the Greengrass family, the Davis family was far enough down the totem pole that Harry outranked the man even as just an heir. Still, that would be impolite given the man's age and experience.

"Even if not stationed, then out of respect for an elder, I would still do it." Harry answered, simply causing the man to smile more.

"My, you are polite. I can see why you and Daphne get along so well. Even if you're still a lot more expressive than she is."

"Daphne's closest to Tracey; she is as expressive as anyone can possibly be." He pointed out.

"Screw you, Potter."

"Not in this life, Davis." He quipped back, trying to be humorous. It seemed to have worked, considering everyone started chuckling at the response.

"Quick-witted, huh?"

"Lots of practice." Harry said, thinking about how Ciri had spent years breaking him out of his shell to respond to people when they teased him. She managed to do this by teasing him relentlessly and forcing him to respond to them on her. She hadn't liked how… submissive he had been.

"Clearly. It was a pleasure to meet you. Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?"

"You're more than welcome to join Harry, dearest." Mrs. Greengrass immediately chimed in. Harry gave an apologetic smile.

"Thank you, but I already have plans tonight. Perhaps another time." Harry responded easily. He did have plans. He was having dinner with Albus and Minerva to celebrate the end of the year.

"Oh, that's a shame. Well, we'll have to set something up over the Summer, then. You'll let Daphne know when you're free, won't you." Mrs. Greengrass asked with a smile that implied she wasn't asking him, she was telling him. He almost sweat-dropped at the look before nodding slowly.

"Of course. I'll make sure to check my schedule…"

"Speaking of Summer… I understand you have meet-ups with your friends and that you have invited Tracey." Mr. Davis jumped in, sounding serious. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we usually meet once a week to see each other and practice magic or some other activity. We usually do it at my home." Harry explained.

"Yes… And I understand there's no real supervision by an adult during these time periods." Mr. Davis continued.

"Jacob…" Mrs. Davis scolded him, giving him a small swat on the shoulder.

"No, he's correct. Professor Dumbledore will sometimes stop by and check on us, but we're on our own for the most part. That being said, we don't usually test anything dangerous, so I will ensure we have some supervision."

"And what do you consider dangerous?" Mr. Davis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Any magic I don't know the outcome of or where the outcome poses a threat to the caster and those around said person."

"Hmm…"

"Dad, Harry is like the most responsible child ever. He's practically a miniature adult. Trust me, it'll be fine."

"Well… There's also the matter of sleeping over. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that either." Mr. Davis admitted.

"That should only be happening once so we can partake in a ritual while we sleep. It's not every week thing." Harry clarified.

"Ritual, what ritual?"

"A ritual, that temporarily invites others into a person's mindscape when said group of people are asleep. In this case, the others will be entering my mindscape. The ritual is one I have performed before and there is no danger associated with it. It's just to show this one time."

"I see… Well, I'll think about it some more. Tracey, I will let you know when I have decided."

"That's fine. It's not crazy important, but I would have liked her to be there if possible." Harry finished.

"Right… Well, we shall see. Anyway, I suppose it's time for us to leave. Are your guardians here to pick you up, Harry?"

"No, I just Floo home on my own."

"Very well, let's say our goodbyes then."

Harry did indeed say goodbye to the two families and the two friends he had walked over with. Both families disappeared via apparition while Harry watched. A moment later, he walked over to the Floo and quickly disappeared into the green flames.