Unofficial Portkey Archive

Anytime that Harry and Hermione are talking telepathically the text will be in italics. I alo use iralics for emphasis at some points so I trust to the reader to distinguish the difference. I have tried to make sure that there is no confusion but as the old saying goes, "nobody's perfect." Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Harry ground his teeth in frustration as Hermione recounted her patrol to him and the two little girls she had sent to the hospital wing. So far no one had been seriously harmed, but the attacks were getting more frequent and more violent. Even the professors were baffled due to the large size of Hogwarts. They were unable to be everywhere and with no student being able to give eyewitness testimony as to who the attackers were there was nothing to be done. Of course everyone had their suspicions, most of which began with Slytherin and ended with Malfoy. Everyone knew Malfoy hated mudbloods and so far no pureblooded student had been attacked. Unfortunately the suspicions went unconfirmed since the testimony of the young boy was too vague and there was no supporting evidence.

The Gryffindor common room looked much differently than it had just a few weeks prior when classes started. Now there was a sign up roster for sixth and seventh year students to volunteer to escort the younger students to and from classes. Three huge cauldrons lined the wall opposite the fireplace and either Harry or Hermione were constantly tending to them. Their esteem in the eyes of their housemates had risen steadily ever since they began organizing the protections for Gryffindor's youngest members and Gryffindor house suffered the fewest attacks of any other house except Slytherin.

Harry found himself training alone more and more often as Hermione and Ron were called with increasing frequency to do longer patrols. Still, Harry was amazed at how Hermione was managing to keep up with him when they did train together. They usually tied when they dueled and the only spell Harry had mastered that Hermione had not was the invisibility charm. She was close though, she could render invisible almost anything smaller than herself, and she could make herself look all washed out and colorless.

"Comon Ron, its time for us to go patrol," Hermione said as Harry took over the cauldron stirring for her.

"Right then, lets get to it," Ron said as he stood up, "Er, Hermione, you don't mind if I do my rounds with Luna do you?"

"No Ron, I was going to suggest you do that anyway. Harry, I need you to make me invisible. Maybe I can catch an attacker if they can't see me."

"Good idea Hermione," he replied. Harry concentrated and waved his wand, but didn't say the incantation. Hermione was still standing there.

"Wow, you're good at that," Ron said.

"What are you talking about, it didn't work right," Harry frowned.

"Mate, I dunno what you're talking about, she's invisible," Ron insisted.

"I am invisible Harry, my reflection doesn't show up in the mirror," she said as she pointed at the long mirror hanging in the commons.

"I wonder why I can see you then," he pondered.

"Maybe its because you cast the charm" Hermione reasoned.

"I dunno, maybe," Harry said thinking silently that this would need more research.

"My, my, Harry Potter running to consult a book," Hermione's teasing voice echoed.

"What can I say, you're a terrible influence, and I think this link is causing your brain to superimpose itself over mine," Harry thought back.

"Our personalities have been drifting together more and more haven't they?" Hermione mused as she walked out the door.

Harry looked at the potions that he was brewing and stuck his wand in one. When he pulled it out the tip was slightly orange which indicated that they were ready. With a wave of his wand the flames extinguished themselves and the glass containers he had conjured to contain the flame disappeared. Another flick and dozens of rows of glass vials had appeared in neat wooden holding racks. One final flick and a strange device resembling a ladle appeared, but this ladle was enchanted to administer a precise amount of potion to each vial without spilling the contents.

Some of the other people in the commons began to take notice now. The bubbling cauldrons had been the talk of the tower for a couple weeks, ever since Harry and Hermione had started their potion making.

"Finally ready huh?" Seamus asked.

"Yeah, but I should probably start another batch now," Harry replied.

"Will that stuff actually work?"

"Dunno, guess we haven't tested it. Why don't you give it a try?" Harry said as he waved his wand and made Seamus sprout whiskers, mouse ears, and a tail.

"Hey!" he said angrily as Harry tossed him a vial.

"Don't worry, just drink that down and the hex should be neutralized," Harry assured him.

Seamus did as requested an immediately the mouse features Harry had given him vanished with a slight pop.

"You should be immune to hexing for 24 hours too," Harry informed him.

"Why don't we just give everyone a dose once a day then?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? There is no way we could keep everyone supplied at that rate, not to mention the cost," Harry said.

"The anti-hexing potion is finished love, how much longer on the enchanted robes you've been working on?" Harry asked.

"I think they're done now. Have someone go up to my room and retrieve the box sitting on the foot of my bed. Do you think you can do all those transfigurations by yourself?" Hermione replied.

"I think so, I've gotten much better at it. I just conjured up two hundred unbreakable charm reinforced vials for the potion." Harry assured her.

"Alright, just be careful, I don't fancy dragging you to the hospital wing in a matchbox and I'll really be peeved if you make me re-enchant another set of robes." Hermione said flippantly. The sort of transfiguration Harry was about to attempt was dangerous enough under normal circumstances. The presence of spells added a new layer of volatility.

Harry grinned as he called Ginny over. She readily agreed to go fetch Hermione's project and scampered up the stairs while Harry finished setting the vials away to prepare to make more anti-hex potion.

Ginny soon returned with the box and sat down to watch Harry work. The box was enchanted to hold more than it should be able to so Harry wasn't surprised by its small size. Inside was several different sizes of standard issue Hogwarts robes and hats that Hermione had been enchanting to resist minor spells. She said she had been inspired by Harry's dragon hide idea, though these would be somewhat less effective.

"Alright, here goes," Harry muttered as he laid the first set of clothes out on the table he had conjured to work on. He concentrated, feeling the flows of magic that were woven into the fabric, magic that tingled of Hermione he realized, and then began conjuring. Suddenly there was a huge stack of clothes underneath the original set.

"Wow, well done Harry," Ginny said as she gave a little clap.

Harry grinned and took out the next set. By the time he had finished Harry felt like he would never raise his wand again. The next thing he knew Hermione and Ron were standing over him shaking him awake.

"Er, sorry guys, guess I drifted off there," he said.

"Guess so, were you trying to conjure enough clothing for the entire school?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"Well, no, it's just that I figured everyone would need extra clothes for when some of them are dirty," Harry explained.

"We're wizards Harry, we can use magic to clean our clothes," Hermione reminded him.

"Sorry, I lived as a muggle too long I guess. Besides, we've got them now, why worry?" he replied.

"No reason I guess, it's just that you've been pushing yourself too hard," Hermione said worriedly. She was chewing nervously on her lip like she tended to do when she was unhappy or thinking about something.

"Comon, we've all been working hard, but we need to. Besides, I feel fine, don't worry about it. Lets just get all these clothes sorted so we can hand them out after everyone makes it in for curfew." Harry said.

"Then we've got to get ready for the DA meeting tomorrow," Ron said.

"I've already set the coin and we've informed all the old D.A. members, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and I've invited a few new people who were too young last year," Hermione said absently as she inspected Harry's potion racks.

The trio handed out the enchanted robes with little difficulty, especially after Harry demonstrated their effectiveness. Everyone was eager for the extra protection they afforded. Hermione also presented Harry and Ron with some additional projects she had been working on.

"This hat is wonderful Hermione," Harry said as he inspected the tall black wizard hat. It was enchanted to make its inside much bigger than it should be and it was reshaped to allow it to hold items. Hermione had stocked it with all kinds of magical remedies and some of the other potions they'd been working on. There was plenty of space left over to hold more items as they thought them up. The cloaks matched well with their normal school robes and were equipped with hoods so that if they got into a fight they could protect their heads from minor spells too.

"These do look rather fine," Ron said as he admired himself in a mirror.

"I'm going to bed early," Harry announced after a while, "long day tomorrow."

In reality almost everyone else had already went to sleep, but Harry supposed that anything before midnight was early for him these days.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were standing shoulder to shoulder in a dark hallway in front of a giant snake. The snake bit Ron, Harry cried out, but then Ron turned into a snake a bit him.

"This is a nice side effect," Harry murmured.

"What are you two grinning about?" Ron asked grouchily at breakfast the next morning.

"Nothing," Harry said too quickly as Hermione tried to suppress a giggle.

"Nutters," Ron mumbled as he resumed eating.

Classes seemed to drag on all day and Harry gave up trying to concentrate after Care of Magical Creatures. Transfiguration wasn't very hard these days since Harry had mastered conjuring. It made him wonder why conjuring wasn't taught ahead of sixth year transfiguration since being able to create something out of more or less nothing made turning one thing into another infinitely easier. Hermione and Ron were off for their final classes of the day so Harry decided to head to the Room of Requirement to get ready for the D.A. meeting. Hermione should be getting out of her arithmancy class any minute now anyway Harry thought as he glanced at his watch.

A faint cry from one of the intersecting hallways caught Harry's attention. It sounded like someone calling for help. Harry flipped up the hood on his cloak as he drew his wand and pointed it at himself. He accelerated magically and in an instant had traveled the entire length of the hallway. Cautiously Harry rounded the corner and was confronted by three Slytherin first years tossing a wand around and taunting a crying Hufflepuff first year.

One of the Slytherin children saw Harry and staggered back in fear of the tall dark cloaked figure he cast. Harry flicked his wand and the little Hufflepuff's wand flew to his grasp. The other two Slytherin now wheeled around in horror.

"What is the meaning of this?" Harry asked menacingly.

"They called me mudblood and took my wand," the little Hufflepuff cried as Harry motioned him over.

Harry reached into his cloak and pulled out some chocolate. It might not be a dementor attack, but chocolate always made him feel better. "Eat this," he instructed as he broke some off.

"You three are in trouble. You know better than to take someone's wand," Harry scolded.

"You're not a prefect," one of them sneered.

"You're right, I'm not. I guess I'll just have to get one," Harry replied as he pushed his hood back. He pointed his wand down the hallway and sent a silvery dart out of it.

"Hermione, I need you to come here and discipline some Slytherins. I sent a wand message so no one will wonder how I got you to come," Harry thought.

"Yes, I got it, I'm on my way," came her reply.

Suddenly the three Slytherin decided that it would be preferable to run rather than wait for a prefect to arrive and punish them.

"Oh no you don't," Harry said as he pointed his wand at them. Thick semi-transparent chains burst out and wrapped themselves around the fleeing kids. Harry flicked his wand again and the three were jerked back into a heap at his feet.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted as she rounded the corner, "Was it really necessary to put them in a shadow chain?"

"Er, I suppose not, but they deserved it," he said as the Slytherins twitched and shivered. Shadow chains make their victim cold and drain their energy.

As Hermione waved her wand the chains turned to dust. She then addressed them sternly. "I hope you three have learned your lesson about bullying other students. Twenty points from Slytherin and if I ever catch the three of you doing something like this again it'll be fifty."

One of them mumbled something that sounded like "wait until Draco hears," but they were eager to escape before a glowering Harry could put another curse on them. After they were assured that the little Hufflepuff was fine they headed for the Room of Requirement. A few members had already arrived.

Harry thought the D.A. meeting was quite successful. After doing a slight review they practiced all sorts of spells that the trio had learned out of the advanced books from Harry's library. Everyone caught onto messenger charms fairly easily, but they were still going to need a lot of work on most of the others. Harry let Ron do most of the talking and teaching for a change. He was definitely qualified to do so now after having spent a good part of his summer studying. Ron seemed to relish the admiration he got from the other students at being more knowledgeable and helping them master each spell's technique.

"They're getting pretty good," Harry thought to Hermione as they were walking back to Gryffindor tower for the night. Ron was prattling on about the D.A. meeting and what they should do next time.

"Yes, they can cast the spells, but their magical force is weak. Complex spells, but low quality," Hermione's voice echoed back. Harry considered this for a moment and realized that it was true. There was more to magic than simply casting the spell properly. Harry remembered the force of the spell that Dumbledore had used against Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic and realized that he had probably used a simple spell, but powered it up.

"We should discuss this when we have more time later," Harry said.

Before long they stepped into the tower to find themselves face to face with a crowd of smiling cheering Gryffindors. The anti-hex potion had been a great success. No Gryffindor had been forced to go to the hospital wing all day thanks to the cure and limited immunity effects of the potion. Ron seemed very at home with the praise and stayed down celebrating with the rest of the tower long after Harry and Hermione begged off to go to sleep.

Harry sat down next to Hermione on the lush grass overlooking the lake next to Hogwarts and wrapped his arms around her thin frame. She sighed and returned his embrace, hugging him tightly.

"Were we supposed to be discussing something?" she asked dreamily.

"Something about spell strengths, but it doesn't seem so important anymore," Harry replied.

"I'm so glad we can dream together. I think I'd fall apart from wanting to be close to you without this," Hermione whispered.

"I feel the same way," Harry replied.

"I know," said Hermione. They could read each other's emotions and thoughts perfectly now. Harry was even beginning to exchange some of his memories with Hermione, something that the book didn't mention. They sat in silence for a while just listening to the rhythm of each other's breathing.

"I wonder if there is a way to measure one's magically potential?" Hermione asked finally, breaking the silence.

"I doubt it or else I suspect that young wizards would be tested. Remember that story Neville told one time about the uncle that tossed him out of a window to see if he had magic?" Harry replied.

"Good point, but its still obvious that some wizards are stronger than others," Hermione said.

"Here, let me try to pass my memory of Dumbledore's dual with Voldemort to you," Harry said. He concentrated on those events and tried to will them across their link. Suddenly they were standing in front of the Fountain of Magical Brethren. Harry could see himself pinned behind one of the statues as Dumbledore shot an immensely powerful spell towards the Dark Lord.

"So that's what it felt like," Hermione said after the scene was over.

"You could really see the power dancing in his eyes," Harry said, marveling over a detail that he had missed when he lived through that experience the first time.

"It's a bit like the way your eyes look when we practice dual," Harry continued.

"I was about to say the same thing about you," Hermione replied.

"Lets dual and see if we notice anything different now that we know what to look for," Harry said as he produced a wand from thin air.

"Do you think it will work in our dreams?" Hermione asked as she produced her own wand.

"Only one way to find out," Harry said as he conjured a large shining silver shield. It was triangular with rounded edges and it had a picture of a rearing stag on its front. Hermione conjured a shield identical to his, but with a large otter on it. Harry looked at Hermione's eyes and inspected them closely for the telltale sign of magic. They had a slight glint to them, but nothing like Dumbledore's had in the memory.

"We're not using our full power," Hermione said. She fired a stunner that Harry deflected heavily off his shield. Her eyes were glowing brighter now, she had really put a lot of force into the spell.

"You are now," he replied as he cast a bright silver crescent toward her.

"You too," she grinned mischievously. They traded a few more blows before stopping and discussing what they'd learned.

"So basically we can gauge the power of an opponent with some certainty by observing the magic dancing in their eyes," Hermione said.

"I'm not sure its that simple. It only seems to happen when we cast fully charged spells. Someone could be a powerful threat but just be casting complex spells that don't require a lot of power to do their job." Harry reasoned.

"I suppose, but then we'd recognize those types of spells and realize the danger anyway," Hermione rebutted.

Harry grinned, "Remind me to never question you."

Hermione walked over and embraced him again, "Please do, it keeps me on my toes"

Harry sighed contentedly as they set off to walk around the lake in peace for the rest of their dream.