Harry looked at the clock above his monitor and smiled brightly before shutting down the latest project the technical director at MacroCorp had assigned him.
"Hey, Harry, tonight's the big night, isn't it?" Mike asked with a grin from his desk behind him. "Are you taking Annie to that Sting concert she's been raving about?"
Harry laughed and shook his head. "She's been wanting to go for the past six months! I thought we could make it a weekend getaway, you know, a bed and breakfast after the concert ..."
Mike laughed at the dreamy look in his friend's eyes. "Well, do everything I'd do and everything else I wouldn't!"
"Are you thinking about my wife in some perverted manner, Mike?" Harry grinned evilly as he stood from his desk.
"What sane man wouldn't? She's a knockout! But your knockout ..." Mike laughed again. "Have a good weekend, man, I'll see you Monday for our presentation."
Harry clapped his friend on the back and soon found himself in the parking lot looking for his ride. A few moments later, the Thestral driven carriage pulled up and He stepped into the compartment, occupying the only available seat.
"Who do you think the new professor is this year?" A strange blonde said in a sing-song voice across from him. He looked at her outfit in confusion wondering why she was wearing a bottle cap necklace.
"As long as it isn't Professor Toad from last year." Ron said with a huff next to her. "I can't believe they actually let a frog teach at school!"
"Why not, Ronald?" The blonde girl asked in a somewhat dreamy fashion. "They let a werewolf teach the class two years ago, why not a toad?"
"She was an amphibian, of course, but why do I have to keep reminding you that she was not just a toad or simply a frog. Have you never heard of Bullywogs?" Hermione piped in next to Harry. He jumped slightly at her voice but relaxed when she set her hand on his arm. "It was such a terrible thing that she did to you, Harry, I'm surprised that you didn't notify the headmaster straight away ..."
"What?" Harry stuttered in confusion. "I-I don't remember."
"Oh, Annie will help you remember when we get to the school, Harry." The blonde said again as a smile spread across her lips. "I can't believe that you two got married already ..."
"Why did you leave me for her, Harry?" Hermione asked in a hurt voice. "What did I do? D-Didn't you mean it when you said you loved me? Why did you leave me? I was waiting at home and you broke your promise, you said you'd be back ..." Tears were forming in her eyes and Harry looked at her in confusion.
"I-I don't remember marrying you, Hermione, I'm sorry ..." He said as comfortingly as he could. "I-I know I love you, but I'm married to Annie now ..."
"Mate, how could you say something like that to your wife!" Ron growled from across the carriage. "I think you should leave, she's suffered enough ..."
"Ron, wait, I honestly don't remember!" Harry pleaded as Ron took him by the scruff of his shirt and tugged him towards the door.
"Why don't you walk the rest of the way, you're not wanted here!" Ron said angrily and shoved Harry to the muddy ground outside.
Harry watched the carriage pull away and he heard the laughter of his best friends echo from the slowly shrinking buggy. "WAIT!" He shouted and ran after them. He slipped and slid in the muddy road when a strange feeling overcame him. He looked at the ground and his eyes went wide as the spillover started to freeze. Without thinking he pulled his wand from his suit and pointed it at a dark figure. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The expected appearance of his father did not happen as he doubled over in pain. "What's happening ..." He gasped through gritted teeth as the dark figures floated closer and closer.
"HARRY, CALM DOWN!" Hermione was holding him down in the bed as his struggles woke him up. "Harry, you're having a nightmare ... It's ok, I'm here ..." She whispered to him lovingly as his eyesight reasserted itself.
He was covered in cold, clammy sweat and his breathing was labored. Harry nodded quietly and lay back into his pillows as he wiped away a stream of tears with trembling hands.
"What time is it?" He croaked as he looked into her startled eyes.
"It's late, around two or so." She whispered quietly. "It took me almost a half hour to wake you ..."
"I was having the strangest dream." He whispered hoarsely. Harry furrowed his brow and tried to remember what was happening. The tendrils of ether that dreams are made of had already loosened their tentative hold on his conscious mind and he shook his head. "I just remember a carriage ride with you, Ron, and a blonde girl." He explained softly. "Then Ron threw me from the carriage ..."
"Was it being pulled by a Thestral?" Hermione offered along with a glass of water. She frowned at his confusion and sat beside him. "Thestrals are magical horses, like Pegasi." She explained while smoothing down his unruly hair. "They're invisible unless you've seen someone die ..."
Harry nodded. "They're black and wizards think their omens of bad luck." He finished. Hermione smiled and nodded. "I remember books five, six, and the Fantastic Creatures book." He explained. "I don't remember ever seeing one ..."
"Your memory is coming back, somewhat." Hermione said with a slight smile. "That's a good sign. The blonde that you saw in your dream is Luna Weasley. Actually she was Luna Lovegood then."
"She and Ron?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione nodded. "Two years after we graduated Ron and Luna were married." She explained with a smile. "It was a beautiful wedding."
Harry shivered and pulled the blanket back over him. "Any chance we can turn the air conditioning down a notch?" He asked as he watched his breath appear before him.
Hermione looked at him strangely. "There's no air conditioning ..." She shot out of the bed and ripped the blankets off of him. "QUICK! We have to get out!" She grabbed her bag and his luggage after pulling him from the warm folds of the blankets. She ran to the door of the room and pulled out her wand. "Take your bags, I need to be flexible."
Harry did as he was told and quickly slipped his shoes on and his backpack over his shoulders. "What's happening?"
"You've read the books." Hermione hissed as she shook Ron awake.
Harry's face dropped. "Dementors?" He whispered in disbelief. "They actually exist ..."
"DEMENTORS?!" Ron shot out of his chair and began waking everyone. "CODE RED! We need to vacate! Emergency portkeys only!"
The chill in the air began to grow and Harry turned to the raspy, rattling breath he heard behind him. Hermione pushed him against the doorjamb and flicked her wand towards the looming figure. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" She bellowed at the top of her lungs and a shining, silver otter shot from the end and barreled into the chest of the intruder. There was a low hum as her Patronus burned a deep, smoking hole into the Dementor's body. A moment later, the shriveled, ashen husk of some creature was crumbling to the floor.
"We don't have much time!" Hermione pulled a pocket watch from her purse and glanced at the hands. "Everyone but Ron, you, and I are out! We need to get to the portkey!"
Ron barreled down the stairs with a sock that was in dire need of darning. "I've got it!" He said with a heaving gasp of air. "Grab it, quick!"
Without a word, Hermione and Harry both took hold of the wool and cotton garment that had seen better days. There was a tingling sensation behind his navel that felt oddly familiar and he was suddenly pulled forward into a gust of wind and color. They landed hard in a pile of gravel when he felt the tug again and was suddenly waist deep in water. He yanked his laptop out of the lake just as the portkey activated again. He felt Hermione bouncing against his shoulder this time as they fell over onto the soft, springy ground of a moor.
"What a ride!" Harry said while he attempted to keep his head from spinning. "So that's what portkey travel feels like?"
Ron groaned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Harry, when you get your memory back, I'm going to ask you why the bloody hell you put so many jumps in one portkey."
"One jump is traceable." Harry said as he stood and offered his help to Hermione. "Each successive jump scatters the portkey signature so it becomes untraceable."
"Bloody hell!" Ron said as his eyes widened. "I thought you didn't remember anything!"
"I don't, it just came to me ..." Harry said as he rubbed his temple.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked nervously as Ron scouted the area.
"Just a headache ..." He said queasily. "I don't think it's going to get any better."
Hermione waved her wand over his head and frowned. "I don't understand ... You haven't been using any magic ..."
"I think I tried to cast a Patronus Charm in my dream." He whispered as the pain increased. "C-Could that have had an effect?" He sniffed a few times and wiped his nose and looked up at Hermione's gasp. "What's wrong?"
"You're bleeding again." She said hurriedly. "Quick, take off your knapsack! I put some potions in there in case something happened!"
Harry did as he was instructed and nearly fell to his knees in the process. "I guess they wanted to kill me off if I remembered or if I attempted magic." He said hollowly. He felt flushed and shivers began to race up and down his spine.
"You need to drink this, Harry, not too fast or you'll vomit!" Hermione pressed a small vial in his hands and he brought it to his lips gingerly.
"UGH! What is this stuff?" He grimaced suddenly and watched helplessly as the world began to spin around him. After a few more sips, he'd drained the entire contents of the stone jar and handed it back to his wife.
"Susan brewed a batch of healing draught before she left." Hermione explained as she replaced the vial in his backpack. "She used what we found in your medical scan to pinpoint the proper potion. It reverses the effect of the blocking charm should something trigger it. How's your nose?"
Harry experimentally wiped at his nose and found the bleeding had stopped. "No more blood." He said as he gently shook his head. "The dizziness is there, but not as bad."
"We should have a few minutes for you to rest before we can portkey to the next safe house." She explained while scanning the darkness.
"Can you scan for Ron magically?" Harry asked quietly. "We should get under cover as quickly as we can."
Hermione looked at him strangely then muttered a spell. A green light shined out of it and she slowly turned in a circle. "He's not here." She said quietly.
"Is he out of range?"
Hermione shook her head. "Unless he can run two kilometers in the span of a few minutes ... He shouldn't be out of range."
Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and he glanced quickly around. "Someone's here." He whispered hoarsely. Hermione spun around again then nervously looked to the sky.
"H-Harry?" She whispered in a small, panicked voice.
He was shrugging his bag over his shoulders and scooping up his luggage when she backed into him. "I don't think it's safe here." He said quietly as the feeling intensified. "I've never felt safe outside in the dark ..."
"T-The moon is full and we're on the moors ..." She said in a terrified squeak.
"Do you have the portkey?" Harry hissed to her desperately. Hermione began fumbling in her bag and pulled out an old, broken eggbeater. "How long till it activates?"
"I don't know." She whimpered as she turned to face him.
Harry opened his mouth to say something when a low, angry growl echoed in the darkness beyond his range of vision. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck felt like a thousand needles stuck in his overly sensitive skin. "Werewolf?" He asked in a childlike voice, not believing he actually said the word.
Hermione nodded in a barley perceptive motion. "Grab. The. Portkey." She whispered as a snort echoed in the darkness.
Harry slowly reached for the inconspicuous traveling device when the beast let loose an agonizingly frightening howl. Terror filled Harry's body like ice water gushing through his veins and without thinking he grabbed Hermione's wrist as well as the portkey and pulled her into a desperate run.
The slow, even grunts of something large followed after them immediately and Harry pushed his wife in front of him. "RUN!" He shouted at her as they both picked up speed.
A new sensation flowed over him this time and a split second before he saw the red light flare to life in front of him he tackled Hermione to the cushiony floor of the moor. He heard a yelp as the light hit the werewolf square in the chest and another as a blue hit it from the side. The beast stood on its hind legs and howled in rage as a yellow blast shot from Hermione's wand into its sensitive eyes. With a growl it bounded back into the darkness, leaving the two of them alone, surrounded by unknown wizards.
"Are you two ok?" An old man said from the front. Hermione spun her wand at the noise and Harry turned to see who was stalking in from their flank.
He heard Hermione sigh in relief and he spun to face the old wizard.
"Harry Potter?" He said in quiet shock before stumbling into a seated position. "Is it really you?" The old man raised his trembling hand towards the couple and Hermione let out a short laugh of relief.
"He's back ... He came back?" An elderly woman stumbled into view from where the blue light had come. "Harry Potter?"
"Albus, Minerva, we don't have much time before the werewolf returns." Hermione said excitedly. "I didn't know the portkey brought us here!"
Harry glanced at the two then back where the lycanthrope had retreated. "Minerva? Albus? Then, was that ..."
"Remus, yes." The old man said quickly. "He doesn't give up so easily when he's in this form, come, we don't have much time before he's restored and out for our blood."
Hermione took his hand and pulled Harry along with the surprisingly brisk pace that the elderly witch and wizard were keeping. "Where are we going?"
"A place safer than Hogwarts." Hermione said with a dazzling smile. "I've only apparated here, I didn't know it was surrounded by moors."
"Safer than Hogwarts?"
"Just watch and see." She said with a smile.
Harry watched their guides as they skirted around a large bog, each one heading in a different direction but Hermione kept walking directly towards the murky waters. "Hermione, shouldn't we be following them?" He asked concernedly as they drew closer to the shore.
"I am. Just watch, Harry, I can't divulge the secret seeing as I'm not its keeper, but I can pull you along with me." She didn't stop and Harry watched as the bog suddenly disappeared to reveal a moat and a large castle.
"What the hell?" He looked around in confusion as Hermione slowed her pace a bit.
"We still don't have much time, Harry, Remus can see through the disillusionment charm. He can't, however, cross the moat." She stopped in front of their guides and Harry's awestruck gaze landed on the elderly couple.
"It's been so long, Harry." Albus said with a smile. "Why did you leave?"
"I didn't mean to." Harry said quietly as he watched the look of hope pool in the old man's eyes. "Albus ... As in Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts?" Harry asked quietly.
The old man nodded. "And I'm sure you remember Professor McGonagall?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't remember much of anything ..."
At the surprised frowns, Hermione smiled quickly. "Strong memory charm and a blocking spell." She explained. "We should be getting inside if we don't want to be ripped to shreds ..."
"Right, right ..." Albus looked at Harry concernedly and turned to the castle wall. He whispered something that Harry didn't quite hear and the drawbridge slowly lowered itself across the watery barricade.
Somewhere in the distance, Remus howled at the moon. Harry pushed Hermione in front of him and the four rushed to the safety of the hidden fortress. Once they were across, the large, metallic door was pulled swiftly into its resting place with a loud clang.
Harry glanced around the large courtyard and walked slowly alongside Hermione as they continued onto the main grounds towards the central keep. The castle was everything that He had dreamed or remembered seeing. There were hundreds of three story houses lining the inner walls, five towering spires reached into the sky in front of him, and lights were glittered from hundreds of windows.
They walked up the marble staircase to the main keep and continued to a large set of double doors. Embossed in gold was a large, calligraphic 'P' surrounded on both sides by rearing, golden gryphons. Harry's eyes went wide as the doors opened and four long tables with an even longer one across the far wall came into view.
Seated at those tables were hundreds of children from very young to near manhood. They all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the four travelers as they entered the room. Silence fell when every set of eyes fell upon Harry and whispers began echoing through the air like a swarm of insects.
Hermione pulled Harry along with her to the front table. There were several people sitting in front of golden plates, their food forgotten and their mouths hanging open in shock at the sight before them. One rather large man, larger than any human had the right to be stood suddenly and a look of profound relief could be seen in his beetle-like eyes.
"'Arry?" He whispered as if he'd just woken from a dream.
Harry looked at the large man before him and nodded with as much surprise as the one to ask his name. Hermione stopped the tall man from rushing down the steps with a look and what could only be described as a half-giant sat reluctantly in his chair.
Dumbledore reached the center of the table and raised his hands. "I believe the tide in this war has finally turned." He said with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. "It seems our own, Mr. Potter has returned to us!" The room erupted with cheers and Harry began to feel very small. He looked around the room nervously and backed into Hermione.
The old wizard stepped down from the raised platform and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Welcome to the secret training grounds of the liberation front." Albus said with a smile.