Chapter 9 - Summer Before Third Year

"Another year, another couple of bitches bitches underneath your belt," Faora summarized as she sat cross legged in the dream scape, with Harry sitting down beside her, and Kara sat on Harry's left. Kara decided that clothing was quite frankly optional and she remained cross-legged, rocking back and forth a little bit, without a stitch of it on her body. "So the tiniest Weasley was ensnared in your trap?"

"Well she does have some potential," Harry offered with a shrug when he leaned back and thought about Ginny. "At the very least, she's an asset that I don't want to squander no matter what."

Faora's face spread into a grin as she watched her brother with a fond expression on her face and a tear nearly came across her cheek. Yet she held it back despite everything and adjusted herself, remaining serious.

"You have gotten the point of the lessons that I've taught you, well done," Faora answered, but she had all of the confidence in the world that her brother would grasp what she was telling him. She placed a hand to her brother's forehead and lightly swiped his hair, frowning a moment at that blemish. It was a reminder of the sacrifices that he made to protect a civilization that would make him a martyr one moment and a god the next, and a mere martyr moments after that, changing their mind more times than most people changed their underpants.

"Well you are a very captivating teacher," Kara informed Faora and the dark haired Kryptonian nodded before she turned around to watch Kara. A cheeky grin spread over Kara's face before she added, with a bit of a wink and a smile. "I mean, after all you taught me, I think that you should know what you're capable of."

"Believe me, I'm extremely capable of teaching much to you," Faora answered when she watched Kara, before lovingly flipping the blonde hair from her face.

"How is it that you can touch her and I can't?" Harry asked, he was trying not to frame this question as being accusatory, but he was rather curious.

Faora's face spread with a wide grin, although her ability to touch Kara manifested recently.

"You know to be honest, and yes you know I'm nothing if not honest, I have not the slightest clue of why you cannot touch Kara," Faora responded when she placed her hand on Kara's breast or the underside of it. "And let's face it, you long to touch her, like I touch her."

"When she gets out of that pod…."

"Believe me, I'll be wet and ready," Kara stated as she watched him, hunger dancing from her eyes at the thought of what Harry would be able to do to her. She was ready for him and ready to take everything that he could give her. The blonde tingled with the desire and the thoughts of what that desire would bring her, as she caught a peak of Harry and he had a lot to offer.

"I'm sure, but if the two of you could quit eye fucking each other, because we have things to discuss," Faora stated and Kara and Harry simply watched her.

"What is it this time?"

"You have another power," Faora responded and she watched Harry to build up anticipation. "This one is a good one, it's your expanded lung capacity and what we might call super breath."

"Super breath?" Kara asked with a raised eyebrow. "Couldn't we come up with a more original name than that?"

"I don't know, can you?" Faora asked and Kara racked her brain.

"Not really, please continue."

Faora's face twisted into a shifty little smirk before she responded in a scholarly tone as she faced her brother. There was a moment where she paused for the most dramatic effect ever before she jumped in with the explanation. "Your super breath generates a gale force that will be intense and could blow people over. It is a useful little weapon. It even can blow storm clouds out of the way."

"Really?" Harry asked her and Faora grabbed his hand tightly, before nodding in confirmation.

"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. Tampering with nature can have more dangerous side effects than a stormy day."

Harry took a moment to soak that all in but Faora was not done with the lesson. After giving Harry a few seconds to catch his bearings, she pressed forward with the lesson.

"Also your breath has a gale force that can freeze objects solid and people, although with normal humans, that could be potentially fatal within moments if you don't time it correctly," Faora continued as she shifted from her position and then she added as an afterthought. "Of course, if that's your intention, then have at it."

A target appeared before Harry with a snap of the fingers but that was the power of the dream scape. The rock target was ugly and stood before him, the young Kryptonian male watched it carefully and the two Kryptonian females observed him doing this. Time ticked by before Faora stated what exactly she wanted.

"Blow the target, but in a way where you don't break it."

Harry took a breath. He huffed, he puffed, and he blew the target down. The target smashed into chunks of rock that landed on the ground.

"That's why this is a practice run," Faora said as she got up and grabbed Harry around the waist, and adjusted his posture a little bit. "Only inhale for five point seven seconds and then exhale. There's a science to this."

"Isn't there always? Harry asked and Faora did not respond with anything other than a smile. The young Kryptonian female left her brother for a second try.

It took two more rounds before Harry got the hang of it, but it was faster than most. The wizard stood proud and Kara applauded his efforts with a bright smile on her face.

"I knew you were capable of it, Harry," she remarked with a bright grin, unable to wait to do more with her powers but considering that she was mostly incorporeal, it was easier said than done to be honest.

"Well with that done, I need you to freeze this next target," Faora responded, a wide eyed expression on her face when she motioned for Harry to do so.

"Freeze it, got it," Harry answered, looking forward to getting an opportunity to do so.

Faora snapped her fingers and the target reappeared, standing tall and Harry took in a deep breath.

"It's mostly a science, but also magic," Faora explained. With these words, Harry got the hint and nodded.

He drew in his breath and froze the target before him, although it was not enough to Faora's liking, she raised a critical eyebrow before the girl motioned.

Practice made perfect and Harry knew that better than anyone else.

There was many times where Harry got used to certain things happening around Number Four Privet Drive, to the point where they became pretty much background noise. One of those things was his uncle ranting about every topic underneath the sun. Vernon was a fat pile of blubber and a heart attack waiting to happen and Harry distanced himself from him for his own sanity.

"Boy!"

Harry raised an eyebrow as Vernon burst through his door. The door frame replacement would naturally be billed to Vernon.

"You bellowed," Harry answered in a crisp voice.

Vernon looked purple in the face. "Marge is coming in two weeks…."

"Really, after last time, she's actually showing her face around here?" Harry asked when he looked over his OWL level textbooks towards Vernon. His face was quite a disgusting sight, almost made him long for the lovely and vivacious Severus Snape.

"Don't get cute with me, boy," Vernon stated but he kept his temper in check when Harry's eyes darted towards the wall. Vernon knew better. "Whilst Marge is here…."

"I won't be here," Harry responded, cutting Vernon off at the ramp.

"I didn't give you any permission to leave…."

"Nor was I asking for it," Harry stated as Vernon's fist clenched before he eyed Harry. The two stared each other down, it was difficult to see which set of eyes showed even more thinly veiled contempt. "I'm telling what's going to happen. Marge is coming here in two weeks, am I correct?"

"Yes," Vernon grunted, not trusting himself to say anything else.

"Then I will be leaving here in ten day's time," Harry responded before he watched Vernon and decided to drop the next part of his bombshell. "I'll be heading to Gotham City."

The name of the city caught Vernon's attention and the wheels started turning in his mind. Harry thought he could smell something burning, with the brain cells cooking in the back of his head. The wizard kept looking at him and it was almost like he could pinpoint the thought process, as rusty gears grinded behind his ears. Harry suspected that was the most activity that particular area of Vernon's brain received in years.

Vernon, like the rest of the world, heard about the crime rate in Gotham City. Therefore Vernon was hoping, perhaps against all hope, that Harry would be sent there and there would be some kind of violent crime committed upon his person.

"Well Gotham City, well….I wish you the best, boy," Vernon stated in his most nasty tone possible, barely holding back a laugh.

Harry rolled his eyes.

'To think I have to share the same oxygen with him,' Harry mused as he read about the OWL level charms, even if some of these charms he already mastered. 'Starting my third year, feels like about ten by now, likely will feel like about twenty by the time I'm done.'

Harry shook his head, he only had another year and a half worth of classes. He hoped that Hermione did not bury herself alive in books although knowing his friend, that could be a potentially likely outcome. Then again, Charlotte promised that she'd take Hermione on a holiday to visit some family, so she would be away from the books for a few weeks. That had served her well; they did not need another meltdown like almost happened last year.

The good news is that his letters came in as they should have been, although Dobby was under his thumb for now. He did lend the eager little elf to Lucretia, who was finishing the most difficult part of her Potions mastery. Two weeks of intense exams and after that leg was completed, she would be completely qualified.

There was something else that became background noise to Harry during his time at Number Four Privet Drive and that was Petunia Dursley being a nosy bitch. It seemed to be in her nature to spy on others, perhaps one could say it was ingrained in her DNA. Of course, seeing her pace around like a caged animal was annoying, even if Harry could only hear it and he took a few glimpses through the floor with his X-Ray vision.

Harry edged forward and down the stairs, when he heard the loud tut that Petunia gave, and he crept down the stairs. His aunt was in some kind of distress, not that he cared. Still he had never seen her this flummoxed and there had to be a good reason.

'Ah new neighbors,' Harry thought, glimpsing the moving truck out of the corner of his eye. He raised an eyebrow; naturally Petunia would be upset by this. Her perfect little order was turned over on its head and that meant bad things. She was an obsessive control freak, everything had to be her way.

"The nerve of her," Petunia muttered underneath her breath as she watched the neighbors and that meant Harry watched them, even though from the top of the stairs.

There was a fairly attractive woman with red hair and green eyes, with a white tank top and blue jeans. She had some amazing curves on her, Harry noticed, in her mid to late twenties by the looks of her. And she had two redhead girls, also with red hair and green eyes that looked fairly attractive. One was a couple inches shorter than the other while the other had a couple more freckles on her face.

Harry stopped and stared, something struck him. All three of them had green eyes, just like his own and those of his mother.

If he was any other person, Harry would chalk it up to a really weird coincidence but he did not believe in coincidences. Especially given that he lived a life where coincidences simply did not happen but that was beside the point. With that in mind, the wizard watched them as they came up to the door. Petunia froze when she heard the knocking on the door.

"Petunia, open up, I know you're were sitting there, spying at me from out the window," the woman stated in an agitated tone of voice as she peered in the window. "You never change, do you?"

Now that was something that caught Harry off guard and threw him off balance, this woman, whoever she was, knew Aunt Petunia. The wizard edged forward and craned his neck a little bit, trying not to come across as nosy. Yet it was in his nature in some ways.

Plus he wanted to get a closer look at that woman for she was hot and the twin girls weren't half bad either. They would have been hot on their own but given that they were twins that made them even hotter.

With a trembling hand, Petunia opened the door with a false smile. "Rose…."

"Petunia, I'm not here to talk to you, I'm here to see Harry," Rose stated as she cut her off, the less time she had to share the same oxygen space with her older sister, the better.

"The boy is…."

"Right here," Harry answered as he made his way down the stairs, side stepping Petunia before she could say a word, and Rose moved forward, before she threw her arms around Harry, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Thank God, Dumbledore wasn't pulling my leg when he said that you'd be alright," Rose breathed, as she pulled his body into hers, but blushed slightly when she appreciated how muscular it is.

"Um hi," Harry responded, a bit perplexed that he was being hugged by this hot older woman. Not that he was complaining mind you but still he wondered what was going on.

Rose broke away before she watched Harry. "You don't remember me; it's been a long time ago. The last time I saw you was Christmas a year before….your parents died and….yes I got some explaining to do."

Harry motioned for her to come forward with him and Petunia was about to protest something but Rose led Harry out the door. He followed her, but did not take his eyes off her. Rose cheerfully closed the door in Petunia's face, which won her some points with Harry, for the moment.

"My name is Rose Evans," Rose responded, trying to gauge her nephew's reaction. "I'm your mother's younger sister."

Harry remained calm; it was a testament to his maturity that he did not jump to the worst possible conclusion. Plus it was hard to remain mad at a hot woman that much was for sure. The wizard had a frown cross his face when he watched her.

"You were still in Hogwarts when the incident happened," Harry whispered to her and Rose nodded. He responded with a nod of her own, carefully folding her arms. "And the blood protections had already been set."

"And do they work?" Rose asked before she amended hastily. "Dumbledore assured me that they worked but…."

"They do work," Harry amended before he paused and added. "In the sense that they protect me but they cause great harm to the Dursleys because they don't treat me like family. With each passing year they reflect more of their inner nature, and they become more animalistic."

"Well that'd explain Mr. Ed in there," one of the twins responded, speaking up for the first time, of course, she was spending this entire time checking out the boy beside her and liking what she saw, a lot.

"Mandy!" the second twin said reproachfully, she was taller but a bit more withdrawn and a bit more innocent.

"And who are…."

"I'm Amanda and this is Emily," the shorter girl, Amanda stated when she watched Harry, before dropping a bombshell. "And we're your twin sisters!"

One could hear a pin drop.

Amanda offered a smile, when she watched Harry. "Personally I'm waiting for a tumbleweed to blow on by."

"No, you caught me off guard," Harry answered, but the twins exchanged identical grins, before they hugged their brother. He pulled their bodies into his, feeling them press against him before he let them go.

"I think explanations are in order," Rose remarked and Harry responded with a swift nod.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts; she knew this meeting was coming.

"After the fall of Voldemort, I went into hiding, for a few reasons," Rose explained as she walked with Harry, with Amanda and Emily following them. "First, I had your twin sisters, who were born premature. They were still in St. Mungos for a few weeks after the fall and by then, the blood protections had already been set. So I took them in and went into hiding. And I didn't want see his face."

"Who's face?" Harry asked.

"Snape," Rose stated with thinly veiled disgust dripping from her tongue and Harry nodded in a sympathetic manner before he grabbed his aunt's hand.

"Don't worry, I don't want to see him either," Harry responded which caused the twins to laugh.

"Well he's creepily obsessive," Rose remarked crisply.

"That he is," Harry agreed, thinking about how Snape hovered around like a gigantic bat, more than he should. The wizard frowned when he thought about it. "Was he…."

"His obsession with Lily was kind of unsettling," Rose admitted with a shudder as she walked over with Harry. "And his obsession with me….well it was pretty bad as well. He's the type of person who thought that if he had James out of the way, Lily would crawl towards him on bended knee and he would get all of the benefits that would go along with it."

"And that did not go that well," Harry responded in a hushed voice.

"Lily would have never gone for it, even if she loathed James," Rose responded, before placing a hand to her forehead. "I won't say that James was a perfect man but he was leagues ahead of Snape. And Snape is…."

"Obsessive," Harry interjected.

"I think we established that," Amanda remarked but a tense look from Rose caused her to slide off in the opposite direction. Amanda's shoulders sagged when she continued to walk next to her brother and her twin sister, along with her aunt, who could be just as good as her mother because Rose raised Amanda from birth.

"And I got in touch with Dumbledore after all these years, and I….I admit that I was curious and wanted to see you," Rose added and Harry tightened his grip around her arms. "Other than the twins, you're the only family that I have left that I want to see. And since your mother is in stasis…."

Harry stopped and nearly tripped but thankfully he gracefully avoided taking that plunge. Amanda and Emily looked amused.

"This is news to you I take it?" Rose asked and Harry's head nodded once up and down, this was news to him to say the very least. "The curse that was supposed to kill your mother did not kill her and….well she did something. Her body was transported to a safe place and there is a way to awaken her, although I'm not sure what needs to be done. The castle made one exception to allow her body to be placed inside but it will not make another, as I learned."

"Do you have any idea what place?" Harry inquired, wondering if he could go there right now and do the deed but Rose eyed him.

"You cannot enter it until your second maturity, that being your fourteenth birthday, the ancient magic will not allow you to" Rose stated as she shifted. "Sirius said….you know Sirius Black."

Harry's eyes snapped forward and he turned to her, an awed expression in his eyes. "Surely you don't mean Sirius Black, the notorious criminal all over the Muggle news."

"The very same," Rose responded before she chose her next words carefully. "He was your godfather…."

"I remember now," Harry responded as he closed his eyes and allowed childhood memories to flood back to him, one at a time. They slowly wormed their way back into his mind and he clenched his fist when he thought about it. "The crimes, he was framed for them."

"Yes, he was framed for them," Rose agreed as she turned her head around. "I knew they switched, but the word of a Hogwarts student, especially a Muggleborn, wasn't going to hold up against Dumbledore, who was an eyewitness account to Sirius agreeing to become the Secret Keeper. And when you figure in Crouch, who wanted to throw the book at anyone hard to build his reputation up, whether they were innocent, guilty, or otherwise, you can see what happened."

Harry wondered something.

"He was sent to Azkaban," Harry responded and Rose answered with a brief nod. "But that place….no one has ever escaped it before."

"No one has ever been brazen enough to try," Rose remarked, feeling that if anyone could try and escape the walls of Azkaban, it was Sirius Black. He had that quality to him; he was bold and wanted to do things that many felt should never be done by anyone.

Rose smiled as she turned to them.

"But enough about that business, we have some catching up to do," Rose offered with a bright smile and she ushered Amanda, Emily, and Harry inside, because the weather was beating down.

She figured that Petunia wouldn't mind, because she had the strangest feeling that Petunia did not care.

"So just curious, why now?" Harry asked and Rose offered a smile.

"The post for the new Muggle Studies Teacher at Hogwarts opened up and Dumbledore was in a bind, so I made him a deal," Rose answered, although it was Andromeda who gave her the heads up. She was one of the few that knew where Rose ran off to when she took the twin girls and they kept in touch, although Rose made Andromeda promise not to tell Harry until the time was right for them to meet up. "So I get that job and I get the house next door."

"It just conveniently opened up like that?" Harry asked with an eyebrow raised.

Amanda smiled, shaking her head. "Magic makes anything possible."

Harry could not argue with that assessment.

Harry spent as little time in the house of the Dursleys as possible, only returning at night to go to bed. He spent most of the time hanging out with his aunt and his twin sisters, getting to know them.

"So what is Hogwarts like?" Emily asked one day as they sat outside under the shade. It was a nice day, an hour after lunch.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I've been in far worse places."

Amanda cracked a grin when she drank the juice that she had. "Not exactly a ringing endorsement."

"Well it's a school where they perform magic, not exactly as interesting as it sounds on paper," Harry responded with a shrug. "A lot of the lessons are pounding the same theory within three months that could be done in three weeks or less. Of course, given the brain surgeons that populate that world, it should be expected that the lessons would be remedial in nature."

Emily nodded. "So you're in your in third year right?"

"Technically fifth," Harry answered and the twins eyed him in amazement so Harry decided to get the information to them. "I'm taking the fast track out of there, I don't want to be there any longer than I have to be. I'll be done with my education halfway through my fourth year."

"Well, I'll be taking the fast track out of there too if I can," Amanda piped up, feeling that anything that her brother could do, she could do.

"I'll take it as well," Emily agreed in an excited voice.

Harry looked to the two girls, they were energetic, he'd give them that.

"It's a lot of hard work you know," Harry warned them but the twins exchanged a pair of grins, before they turned to face him.

"What is life without a little hard work?" Amanda asked as she leaned forward with a bright grin crossing her face. She wore a black tank top that showed her budding curves and a black jean skirt, with no shoes. Emily wore a green top and a blue jean skirt, and both girls were extremely beautiful.

Emily asked a question that was burning on her tongue.

"Harry?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you remember our parents?"

Harry paused for a moment and both Emily and Amanda were bubbling with excitement. The two young witches watched him, keeping an eye on him and an ear out for the answer. He considered the question as they asked it and responded with a slight smile crossing his face when he eyed them both.

"Our mother, she was brilliant, one of a kind, and hopefully one day you will be able to meet her," Harry remarked in a warm voice.

He hoped that Rose was right about him being able to wake Lily up, although how she was vague about the details. Then again it was to be expected as Harry figured that she forget many of the details.

"I hope so too," Emily responded, and Amanda responded with an energetic nod, before leaning against Harry, her grip tightening against his arm. "What about our father?"

Harry racked his brain, trying to give a fair and balanced, not to mention honest, assessment of what James Potter was. He turned to the girls, a tense expression passing through his eyes, before he broke in with what he thought. "Our father….well he was a good man."

Emily and Amanda waited for more.

"He did lack a lot of common sense," Harry added, choosing his words carefully. "And while he might have matured a little bit since Hogwarts, he still wanted to hang onto his glory days, despite the fact that there was a war going on. I remember our mother badgering him about keeping a living will but he never did."

"Lily did do that."

Rose came outside to join them, the truth was that she had been listening in but she didn't intrude on them. She sat down on the blanket, next to Harry, with the twins edging across it to make room.

"But Dad was stubborn and thought he was immortal," Amanda responded, sighing.

"Someone stubborn and doing things that seem reckless, hmmm, I wonder who that sounds like," Emily answered in a mock thoughtful tone of voice and Amanda spun towards her slowly, narrowing her eyes but her twin smiled and waved at her.

"Okay, you two, that's enough," Rose responded, although she was kind of amused by the banter. She figured that she should be the responsible one, even if it didn't suit her that well. Of course, she caught a glimpse of Harry and liked what she saw from her nephew.

There was no more time to go down that train of thought when a thud echoed from the bushes and caused the entire group to sit rigid. There was no one around elsewhere but someone was lurking. Rose turned to them, edging towards them, and she saw a figure slumped in the bush. Rose's wand was nearly out, in an attempt to defend herself as she grabbed the person from the bushes.

Eyes widened, Rose grabbed him and the twins and Harry came face to face with Sirius Black for the first time. It was not how he expected to meet him.

"Inside, quickly," Rose hissed urgently, nervously looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching and Sirius followed her, as did the twins and Harry. All of them were curious about what was going on.

Privacy charms, locking charms, although these were necessary given how nosy the neighborhood was, and many other charms that allowed them to get a moment of privacy.

"Rose, you haven't changed a bit," Sirius responded in a hoarse voice.

"I'm sure there's a pretty good reason why you decided to break out of Azkaban now and not all of those years ago," Rose answered, making Sirius a cup of tea and putting some biscuits out on the table. "Eat, you look…."

"Like hell warmed over?" Sirius interrupted her and the twins smiled, when Harry stood in the background. "Harry…it's been a long time, wish I could meet you when I didn't look like something that came out of the wrong end of a dragon."

Sirius hoped that Harry would not attack him but by all indications, Rose filled him in enough. He relaxed himself but only slightly. Azkaban had made him jumpy and it would be a while before Sirius was back to what passed as normal for him.

"Well your mug shoot looked significantly worse," Harry dead panned which caused the twins to laugh.

Sirius heard the little bits of Lily in Harry's voice, he resembled James, although not as much as Sirius previously believed come to think about it. His hair was still slightly messy, but that's where the lion's share of the comparisons between the two ended. Mostly he took after Lily.

"Well that wasn't a good day," Sirius offered as he saw the two teenagers properly for the first time. "Rose are these…"

"They're Lily's, twin daughters," Rose responded and Sirius was surprised. "I'm guessing that is a secret that even Lily and James kept from you."

"I didn't know about it and I was by several times, including the day before…..well you know," Sirius answered as he leaned his head back a little bit and closed his eyes in remembrance, it was a rather dark day all things considered.

"Premature birth, they spent most of their time in St. Mungos until a few weeks after James was dead, Lily was placed at the castle, and Harry…." Rose started before she trailed off.

"Was sent to live with the traveling zoo next door," Amanda helpfully chimed in, as she rocked back a little bit. "So, you're Sirius, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," Sirius stated.

"Seriously?" Amanda asked with a grin and Sirius looked at her, rolling his eyes.

"Kid, I ran that joke into the ground by the time I got into my second year," Sirius responded in a serious tone of voice. "Although I'm thinking my parents missed the boat by not making my middle name Lee. I could have had a career as a rap superstar right before me."

"Yes, I'm sure with your distinct lack of rhythm….well actually given what passes as talent, you would have fit in quite well actually," Rose answered but she cleared her throat. "We're getting off the subject. Why now?"

"Pettigrew," Sirius answered as he unfolded the piece of paper and put it down on the table, before showing them a picture of the Weasleys and sure enough Harry walked it.

"Scabbers is the reason why you're back?" Harry asked, at least he thought that was the name of Weasley's pet vermin. Then again, it seemed to be marginally more intelligent than its master from the minimal interactions Harry had with it. The wizard carefully eyed the rat and Sirius shook his head.

"No his name is not Scabbers, he's an Animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew," Sirius responded and Harry nodded before he invited Sirius to continue. "I was supposed to be the secret keeper to protect your parents but we got a brilliant idea. Switch things up, no one would ever suspect Peter. Perhaps we proved that to be correct."

Sirius looked wistful at the thought, how he wanted to wrap his hands around the throat of that vermin and squeeze all of the life out of him for what he did.

"I just am going to tell you that I'm going to get my hands on him and I'm going to commit the crime that I was sent to prison for," Sirius piped in and Rose watched him, an expression of annoyance crossing her eyes.

"Sirius, think about this rationally, if that's capable for you," Rose responded as she folded her arms and made sure she had his full attention. "You could work within the system, as hard as it might be for you to think about that."

"Sirius, I'll write to Andromeda," Harry answered when he looked at Sirius.

"She'd kill me," Sirius answered, backing off, showing a slight amount of fear.

"I'm sure if we explain the situation to her, she'll understand," Harry responded but Sirius shook his head.

"No, not because of that, because of the fact that I didn't break out sooner," Sirius stated and Rose just smiled.

"Sirius, she's going to find out that you're out by now, its better we write to her and make sure she's here," Rose answered as she surveyed Sirius. "That way, we get the wheels of justice spinning in the right direction, as opposed to the wrong direction."

Sirius was not sure but he decided to allow Rose to do things her way. If she was wrong, then well he would make a run for it. Actually he half hoped that she would stop him from doing something extremely stupid when he showed up. Because Sirius did not think straight when he was under a lot of stress; that was the way he worked.

"So, just say the word and I'll write to her," Harry offered as he clutched his hands together before turning towards the man. "And in the meantime, you should take a shower and shave."

"Yeah, because you kind of need it," Amanda piped in waving her hand in front of her nose as she watched Sirius.

Sirius gave a barking round of laughter that was rather true all things considered. Still at least he would have four people who would hold back some of his more impulsive moves. Like Lily and to a lesser extent Remus did with him and James during their post-Hogwarts years. They would not be able to get away with nearly as much insanity as they did in the real world, hence all the times they were landed in a Muggle jail. Thankfully Lily was able to smooth things over with a well placed memory charm.

Although the inevitable ass chewing made them wish to return to jail.

Andromeda Tonks arrived outside of the gates, pleased to see that Rose was settled in, along with the twin girls. She regretted not being able to tell Harry about them but given the circumstances, it was better if as few people knew as possible. That being said, there was an even bigger crisis that Andromeda was visited with. The dark haired witch was allowed inside the house and soon met him.

She came face to face with him for the first time in thirteen years, fourteen years, where did the time really go these days? At least he had the decency to have a shower and shave before she stopped by because Andi doubted that he had many chances in Azkaban. She watched her cousin carefully.

"Hey, Andi," Sirius commented in a hoarse voice and Rose made sure she had her eyes on him at all times, as did Andromeda. Both knew that Sirius could be a handful.

"Sirius, I heard about your little escape of Akzaban, I should have known that you had it in you," Andromeda told him tensely before she folded her arms over and watched Sirius, keeping her eyes on him. The woman drew in a breath before she continued. "So, it was Pettigrew all along."

"Yes, it was," Sirius stated as she watched him.

"No one would have expected it, you have a sense of being a Slytherin in you after all," Andromeda retorted and Sirius's eyes flickered towards her before his mouth contorted into a hurt expression, much to the amusement of the twins.

"Andi, there's no need to use such language," Sirius answered as he gave an expression of mock sorrow towards his cousin.

"Well it was almost too good, as you outsmarted everyone including yourself," Andromeda added as she looked at Sirius with an unblinking glance. "The problem is that getting you a trial, it's difficult but doable. The only way we can do it is to present Pettigrew, alive, in the flesh. Before Fudge is any the wiser."

Sirius nodded, although the words "Fudge" and "wiser" likely should not be in the same sentence. He could not believe that the dim Hufflepuff a few years ahead of him at Hogwarts became the Minister of Magic. It just proved that it was not what you knew, but who you blew.

Sirius reprimanded himself for saying such a thing or even thinking it rather. That put a grim thought in his mind regarding Fudge and Lucius Malfoy, that he did not want to have there. He kept his face neutral.

"I've had a discussion with Amelia Bones and she's been trying to find a record of your trial since the moment you escaped," Andromeda responded, even though she suspected what was up. "It seems to have been lost in translation."

Sirius frowned. "That's because a transcript of the trial has never existed, because there was no trial."

"Well that much is for certain and Amelia is leaning on Fudge to make with a fresh investigation but he stubbornly refused and has ordered a kiss on sight order," Andromeda commented lightly and Sirius paled. "So, you will be in this house, posing as Rose's pet dog, until the moment where we can get Pettigrew and get you that trial. Fudge won't know about it until it happens and by then, the only thing he could do is smile and nod."

"You haven't lost your touch," Sirius whistled as he was impressed and in response Andromeda gave him a light smile.

"Well after Ted's death, I renewed my vigor and plus with what Harry plans, I need to kick things up a notch," Andromeda responded and Sirius's curiosity piqued. "Don't worry about that, worry about what we need to do and worry about keeping your head low and your nose clean. I know that's rather hard for you to do as you were lucky to not be thrown into Azkaban before then on a misdemeanor, much less the felony that they accused you of committing."

Sirius hung his head, like a dog being accused of doing its business in the house but that statement put a thought into his head.

"You know about my furry little…."

"Yes, Sirius, it doesn't take a scholar to figure out what you've been up to, although I understand the reasoning, no matter how much it has bitten you in the arse," Andromeda stated in a crisp voice when she watched Sirius, folding her hands over her lap. "Furthermore, you four weren't exactly the epitome of subtly."

"Hey Remus…."

"Remus and his list of bad excuses, I remember Lily laughing about that and how only a complete dunce would not see through them," Andromeda stated before she decided to turn the conversation back around to the matter at hand. "Never mind, we've got a plan."

Sirius opened his mouth for his input but Andromeda cut him off.

"And that plan is twofold," she continued, making sure Sirius had his eyes on her and he hung his head a little bit. "I'm not going to mince words, what we're going to do is going to be risky and could blow up in our face. However, since Harry has access to the rat, he could grab him easily."

"And what happens if Wormtail tries to run, remember what he did last time he was cornered?" Sirius asked as he nervously eyed Harry, feeling a small amount of concern flicker in for his godson's well being. "The entire crime that I was accused for, never committed, remember, that thing?"

"I recall it Sirius but Harry will not stand alone," Andromeda countered and sure enough, if on cue, Nym stepped into the room. The girl was dressed in casual Muggle clothing, wearing a black tank top and shorts, her long blue hair tied back and a pair of exotic violet eyes looking towards them. "You remember my daughter…."

"Ah yes, it's been a long time, hell the only time I got a glimpse of you was when you were this high," Sirius stated, holding his hand to show Nym, who scowled. "Dear, Nymphadora."

Nym's eyes flashed after Sirius said the dreaded name and then she folded her arms in response. Sirius's face twisted into an innocent expression that fooled no one, not even for a second. His eyes narrowed and he offered a smirk as he made eye contact with her. "Was it something that I said?"

"Yes, it was something that you said," Harry offered, barely keeping a straight face. Even though he was fearless, there were instances where he had to choose his battles quite wisely. One of those instances would be calling Nym by her proper name.

"Moving along, the idea will be given to Amelia to give Harry someone to keep an eye on him, with the dangerous escaped prisoner on the loose," Andromeda added and Sirius's head nodded carefully, his eyes flickering a little bit. The Black heir kept himself calm before his body language gave Andromeda the cue that she needed to continue. "Since Nymphadora knows Harry, she's the best person for the job and Amelia will agree."

"I'd imagine," Sirius responded, thankful that before long Amelia Bones would be on his side. She was stern for sure but fair. Of course, she was tenacious in many ways, and would serve to be a valuable ally to be aligned with them. If she remained on their side and Sirius really did hope that she would because it was prudent to remain in Amelia's good books as opposed to be on her shitlist.

"Then I'll snatch the rat away from Ron and Nym will contact the Ministry about his suspicious nature," Harry added and Sirius nodded. "Amelia will find out, before Fudge can do anything at all."

Sirius enjoyed that plan, a lot, especially given that it would allow him to earn his freedom.

"Then Pettigrew will be sent to Azkaban where he'll be able to rot, for the rest of his miserable days," Andromeda concluded as she tried to gauge her cousin's reaction.

It was a plan that seemed sound and Sirius was confident that it would work out, although he knew by now that it wasn't over until it was over. He about gave up on his freedom so it was fortunate that this new plan could breathe some brand new hope into him.

"So do you think that this will work?" Andromeda asked Sirius and he nodded.

There was nothing left to lose and that was one point he could take to the bank.

Andromeda took a moment to bite down on her lip, a slight frown crossing her face as she folded her arms and looked at the quartet of Rose, Amanda, Emily, and Harry.

"So this Gotham City place, it's potentially…."

"I know of the risks, but the risks of leaving me alone with Marge Dursley is even greater than stepping one foot into Gotham City," Harry responded as he shifted his position, as did Amanda and Emily.

"I realize that, but as long as Rose is there with you and you are brushing up on your Defensive spells…there shouldn't be any problem," Andromeda responded as she stared back and saw a stubborn look on Harry's face. "I'll keep working on that project that you wanted me to, regarding the Prophet and the Ministry, and if anything breaks, I'll send you an owl."

Harry graciously accepted that, before the four crowded around the Portkey.

"Don't worry, the Portkey will activate in sixty seconds," Andromeda informed them as she put the Portkey in their line of sight and all four of them touched it. "It will drop you outside of Ms. Isley's yard instantly. So you should not have to be left in the middle of Gotham, lost and unable to get there."

Andromeda did not voice this next comment out loud but one thing was for certain and that was having people in the Ministry owe her favors was certainly a nice thing. The dark haired woman shifted her sight to keep better track of Harry's movements.

"Don't forget the plan regarding Wormtail but don't worry about it now," Andromeda offered.

"I've got you loud and clear," Harry responded as he held his twin sisters close to him. While they were rather spirited, they only knew the basics of magic and Harry would have to tutor them, to increase their abilities.

He also wondered if they had the same Kryptonian abilities that he had thanks to his mother's DNA being altered as she touched the crystal. He tapped a finger to the Portkey and they copied his motions.

"See you when we get back," Harry remarked and with those words Rose, Amanda, Emily, and Harry vanished in a pop, with Rose keeping one hand on the scruff of Sirius's next to make sure he popped through with them. He was disguised in dog form, which he would remain in until his good name was cleared.

Harry, Rose, Amanda, Emily, and….well Snuffles technically, dropped from the sky, landing outside of Pamela's garden. Sure enough, the sixteen year old girl was waiting outside, her green eyes widened. She was dressed in a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes, with a pair of glasses on, as she observed them, being shocked they dropped from the sky but she recovered quickly.

"Harry!" Pamela yelled and she rushed forward to greet him. She did change a fair bit since Harry saw her the last time. Pamela also appreciated the fact that Harry changed as well, pulling him into a crushing hug. The two wrapped their arms around each other, enjoying the moment that they felt. There was a slight pause before she asked a question. "How are you doing?"

Harry promptly smiled and she kissed him on the cheek, surprised at her daring and blushing like a tomato plant, much to the amusement of the twins.

"Well, I can say that I'm doing fairly well, I've had an eventful last couple of months," Harry responded as the two of them surveyed each other, eying the development that the other made since they were last face to face.

"Yes, I'm sure, and aren't you going to introduce me to your guests?" Pamela asked after she fully noticed Emily, Amanda, and Rose, along with Snuffles who wagged his tail and gave a hearty bark. She was not much of an animal person but she politely nodded towards him.

Introduce them was what Harry did, a smile crossing his face when he did. "Pamela, this is Rose, Amanda, and Emily, and my dog snuffles. Rose is my aunt and Amanda and Emily are my sisters."

Pamela's eyes opened as she heard that, she was not certain if she heard Harry right. A rather surprised smile crossed her face before she eyed Harry and said in a quiet tone of voice. "You kept that quiet, didn't you?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders, not able to keep the smile that crossed his face off of it. "To be fair, I didn't know about it until recently."

Pamela thought that Harry was telling the truth, he did bemoan a little bit that the only family he had was his useless wastes of space relatives. She did feel rather bad for him and also happy that he found actual family that he could get along with. That was a long time coming and that brought a bit of a smile to her face. After everything, he did deserve such the family.

"Pleased to meet both of you….this is a shock," Pamela offered, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs. There was a moment where she watched both of them, carefully keeping a pair of eyes on them. She shook hands with Amanda, Emily, and Rose, which they returned.

"Don't you think it wasn't a shock for me as well," Harry told her with a grin finding its way onto his feature.

Pamela shook her head; it would have to be a shock to get in touch with family that he had not known for his entire life. She knew that if she had family members that came out of the blue, it would have thrown her for a loop but Harry was always the adaptable sort of person. That amazed her more than anything. The redhead watched one of her friends before she smiled.

"Well I think we got a lot of catching up to do," Pamela added in a crisp voice before she watched the Potters and decided to invite them inside. "I'll give you a grand tour of the house."

"Are your parent's home, Pam?" Harry asked but his friend shook her head.

"No, they're….they're gone on business, but I suspect that they'll be around, maybe," Pamela answered, although there was something that she was not telling Harry. Exactly what that was, the wizard could not completely determine but he would find out about it in due time. "I've gotten free run of the house and their number, in case something comes up, but nothing has."

"Well as long as they're in reach," Harry offered before she took his hand and opened up the door, a smile crossing her face, when she pulled him inside.

"Come on, I'll give you the guided tour," Pamela stated as she lead Harry inside, and the others followed her, with Snuffles tagging along on their heels. "Let's start with the star attraction of the house, the garden."

Somehow, despite everything, Harry knew that particular area was going to be first and foremost, with Amanda, Emily, and Rose following. Rose sticking close to the twins, until they were safely inside and away from any windows.

Pamela felt a bit apprehensive as she stood beside Harry, so it was best to spit out what she needed to say straight away. Her eyes widened before she took a deep breath and she turned towards him.

"So what do you think?"

There had never been a question of more than five words that was so much of a loaded statement. Yet Harry heard it before him and the wizard's eyebrow raised before he offered an extremely honest assessment of the question.

"I don't think there's a problem with anything per say."

Pamela turned towards Harry with a skeptical expression in her eye but he decided to elaborate on his statement.

"Everything is fine, you have a nice place, the garden is also really nice, a real credit to yourself," Harry told her and it was hard to keep the triumphant smile off of her face as he said this. "I know it's something that you're proud of and it's something that you have a natural talent for."

Pamela nodded although she was a bit nervous about this visit. Especially given the direction that it could go, but she decided to ask a question that was light, yet loaded at the same time.

"So….your school year….I don't think you really scrapped the surface in your letter," Pamela offered him and Harry nodded with a smile.

"Well really I fought a giant snake, saved a girl from an evil spirit, took out a douchebag teacher, passed everything blindfolded, that really sums up second year in a nutshell," Harry stated as he watched her and Pamela's expression flickered to that of amusement. "Do I need to say anything more?"

"No, there is no need for anything more," Pamela added, barely keeping the thinly veiled amusement out of her eyes before she turned around. "I don't think that I have had any less of an eventful school year…surely it is devoid of giant snakes, evil spirits, and magic in general but Gotham City isn't exactly boredom central."

Harry laughed before he looked at her, as serious as he ever got.

"Judging by your letters, no that isn't the case," Harry remarked as he turned around and saw everything. "Seriously, a stabbing over not getting the best grade."

"I know, I know, I know," Pamela remarked as she waved off his concerns, she thought it was as messed up as the next person. She paused before she said something. "You know, those sisters of yours have been oddly quiet since they got here."

"Yes, they have, which is either a good thing or a bad thing," Harry told her before she raised an eyebrow. "They're fun but they can be a handful sometimes."

"When I'm sure you can be a handful sometimes," Pamela retorted with a smile.

Harry turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't you like to find out, Ms. Isley?"

Pamela didn't say anything although her facial expression said everything.

"Well….I think that I have a pretty good imagination," Pamela told him but Harry corked an eyebrow.

'You are digging yourself deeper, Pam,' Harry thought in amusement.

Although that was a pretty fair question, what were his sisters up to. He would like to think that Rose had a pretty good handle on them, however.

"So, what's good in this city?" Harry asked Pamela.

Pamela was prompt to answer. "Well they shut down the botanical gardens last year for lack of funding."

Pamela looked as if she thought this was the gravest crime to end all grave crimes in the world.

"That's not good," Harry offered, as he knew how much a place like that would mean to Pamela.

"The mall is okay, I guess, the good mall," Pamela added before she amended. "And by the good mall, I mean the halfway decent one that's not tagged with graffiti."

The mall sounded good to Harry. What could potentially go wrong there?

Pamela, Harry, Amanda, and Emily were all standing outside of the Gotham City shopping mall.

"You better be ready to duck and run if Amanda gets anywhere near the shoes," Emily advised Harry and Harry corked an eyebrow, raising it before she explained to him. "She has more pairs of shoes than most people do. Sane or otherwise, but seriously it's a lot."

"No it isn't," Amanda stated in a half huffy voice, unable to believe that her own sister would turn on her in such a way but Emily's face crossed into a smile.

"It kind of is Mandy, when they start spilling into my half of the closet," Emily responded but Harry looked at both of the girls and exchanged an exasperated look with Pamela, who looked rather amused all things considered. Rose talked Harry into tagging along with the girls at the mall while she took care of a couple of things. Although Harry enjoyed spending time with his sisters, it was a situation that he kind regretted being dragged along to the mall.

"Well, at least she's got a passion," Pamela responded as she walked next to Harry but she saw a familiar face standing at the end of the food court, her hair tied back in a ponytail, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. "Babs, fancy running into you here."

The redhaired girl turned around and smiled as she saw her friend. Twelve years old, Barbara Gordon was the daughter of one of the only honest cops in Gotham City, James Gordon. He worked his way up to the ranks to Sergeant, even though he had very few allies. Despite, that he worked within the system and managed to somehow not get murdered within it.

"Pam, it's great to see you," Barbara stated with an excited expression as she hugged the older girl. Pamela tutored her on a few subjects that she was struggling on. Despite being very smart, there were certain parts of biology that did not click with her. Her eyes spun around, focusing on the three standing next to her. "Aren't you going to…"

"This is Harry Potter, I believe I've mentioned him to you," Pamela stated but regretted framing her response in such a way, when the ear to ear grin spread across Barbara's face.

"Numerous times," Barbara retorted before a smirk slowly spread over her face but she extended her hand out to grab Harry's and shake it. "Pam's told me so many great things about you."

"I'm sure she has," Harry responded with a knowing wink that caused Pam to flush and the twins to snicker behind their hands. "And you must be Barbara."

"I see she's mentioned me as well," Barbara answered as she took a good look at Harry, she would not have guessed that he was only a year older than she was. "Well I hope it was a ringing endorsement."

"Oh believe me, it was," Harry responded, keeping the air of mystery and she winked at him, with a smile.

"Parental unit at twelve o'clock," Pamela whispered as she spotted a man with dark hair, with a few subtle hints of grey slide into view. "Hey, Mister Gordon, how are you doing?"

"Pamela," James Gordon stated with a stiff nod, eying the girl. Then again, being a father first and a police officer second, he did tend to look at anyone his daughter hung around with underneath a microscope. It was nothing personal against Pamela. "I'm doing as well as can be expected."

"Dad, this is Harry Potter and…." Barbara started but she realized that the two twins were not formally introduced to her before her father showed up.

"I'm Amanda, this is Emily," Amanda responded helpfully as she looked at the police Commissioner. "Did anyone ever tell you that you resemble an older Sirius Black?"

Emily paused before she could have done a face palm. Her sister engaged her mouth fairly often, before she engaged her brain. That was one of the more frustrating quirks that Amanda had, one that she hoped to break her of. "Sorry my sister…."

"I have been told that quite often," Gordon stated, with a half chuckle, the case of the notorious Sirius Black reached him, although most frustratingly he had never been able to find out what Black did to gain him such notoriety. "And I finally meet Pamela's mysterious pen pal."

Gordon offered a handshake to Harry, which Harry took in a cordial manner. He did seem to be an honest sort, although he did want what was best for his daughter.

"So how are you doing in school, Harry, doing well?" Gordon asked and Barbara looked mortified that her father asked such a personal question to a complete stranger.

"I'm doing fairly well," Harry responded, acting like this question was no big deal and quite frankly, why would it be? Harry was fairly proud of his grades and what he accomplished in school. "Top of my class, but there are a couple nipping at my heels. Of course the competition keeps me working hard."

"Good, glad to hear someone's taking their academic's seriously," Gordon stated, although that was not a slight at anyone. He ran into all of these troubled children that slacked off in their studies and for many of them, it lead to nothing but trouble. Gordon really wished that he could help them but they did not want to help themselves.

Nine times out of ten, these troubled children ended up quite tragically. Not that he thought that this Harry was anything like this but still anything that gave him hope, even in a dismal place like Gotham City, that brought a smile to his face.

"May I go hang out with Harry, Pamela, and the twins?" Barbara asked, biting down on her lip, nearly pleading with her father. "I swear, I'll be home before the sun comes down."

"Don't make me regret it Barbara," Gordon stated in a firm but fair voice.

Barbara turned around, the way her father was going on about this; one would think that she spent half of her time running into walls. She kept her stance tall and proud when she turned to face them all. She gave him a nod and a smile.

"Thanks," Barbara stated, not wanting to seem ungrateful because that was not her intention.

When her father was out of earshot, she added in a whisper. "You think I was throwing myself in the middle of a gang war the way he goes on with what I do."

"Well he's just concerned," Pamela answered as she watched Gordon leave. "Although he always does give me the third degree."

"No offense, Pam, but he does that with anyone, he ran off a few friends before," Barbara answered but then again, after what happened with his son, James Gordon's over protectiveness was to be expected.

"Well that's the perils of having your dad be a cop, I guess," Amanda answered with a shrug, but at this point, Rose rejoined them. Gordon was a bit more at ease with his daughter running around with this group when there was a responsible adult tagging along with them.

"Well, he looks out for me, so there's that, but I'd like a little bit of space every now and then," Barbara responded as she walked by the two girls, with Harry and Pamela in the back of them and Rose walking in the front of them.

"I know what you mean," Amanda answered in a sympathetic tone.

"Amanda, I give you girls more than enough space, the problem is sometimes you don't use that space properly," Rose stated with a raised eyebrow towards Amanda.

Amanda offered a pouting expression which caused Emily and Harry to be completely amused.

"My two siblings are double teaming me and not in the good way either," Amanda stated before she put her hands on the side of her head and Emily mockingly patted her on the elbow, a reassuring smile crossing her face. There was a moment where the group continued to walk forward, but Amanda turned her head around. "So what's nice in this city?"

"Besides, the "you're now leaving Gotham" sign?" Barbara asked with a shrug and Amanda looked at her, half amused and half agitated for not getting a straight answer. "Well, the food's halfway decent and there are a couple of good malls but we've been there."

"And there's no way you should be going back any time soon," Harry added and Amanda gave him a dirty look but Harry smiled. "You know if your face freezes that way, it'd be hilarious."

Amanda turned around, secretly she enjoyed the banter she shared with her brother and the fact that he had dazzling green eyes much like her own was something that was quite alluring to say the very least. She kept walking next to Barbara and Emily, when they kept going to Gotham City.

"So what's this boarding school that you're going to all about?" Barbara asked, it seemed so strange and mysterious, that she could not help but be interested by it. More interesting than Harry seemed to be in itbut she supposed that when you actually been to a place it did lose a certain amount of charm.

"Well, I can't really say anything about it," Harry whispered in a cryptic voice, although secretly, he did enjoy building up a certain about of suspense in the mind of Barbara. Judging by the look on the girl's face, she enjoyed the suspense being built up as much as he enjoyed building it up. The two locked eyes for a moment. "But I do know that….it's a school that's considered prestigious."

Barbara's interest was piqued a slight bit more and Pamela smiled, but Amanda rolled her eyes. Her brother did have a flair for the dramatics but she did think this with a smile.

"I'll be a teacher there this term, although the subject I'm going into, the lesson plans are a mess," Rose commented; the truth was, trying to salvage a subject that had been taught wrong for years, that was going to be a challenge that she did not look forward to. However, it was going to be a challenge that she was going to stubbornly go for with all guns a blazing.

Harry spun around, facing his aunt completely, a smile crossing his face when he talked to her and he decided to give her a few words of reassurance. "From what Hermione and I hear with the last teacher taking the class actually puts you in a worse position with taking the exam."

"Unqualified teachers are present here all of the time, Pam will tell you the stories," Barbara offered wisely. "You wonder about some of these teachers, bunch of idiots that got their diploma's out of a Crackerjack box or something."

"Well I hope to be good enough where I actually make them learn something," Rose responded, the truth was being a Muggle teacher of small children was something that was far different than teaching at Hogwarts. Especially with the muddled education Muggle studies went through.

Harry stepped by, he wished his aunt the best of luck with that subject and Barbara stepped beside him. She decided that she would not back down with asking him about this subject without a fight. So the redhead preteen pressed on, with spirited force, as she stared down Harry. Taking no for an answer was not in the vocabulary of Barbara Gordon. She had this spirited desire for information.

"So does this school teach anything useful?" Barbara asked Harry.

Harry thought that was a loaded question, given that ninety percent of the lessons he learned at Hogwarts, he struggled to think that any of it would be of real value. Hermione grudgingly agreed with him and their best lessons came from the hours they spent pursuing more independent forms of study.

"Well there is some stuff of use but a lot of it is fluff and a waste of time," Harry admitted.

"Take too much time getting to the freaking point?" Barbara asked and Harry nodded. She whistled. "Seems like schools vary little the world over."

"That's for sure," Amanda agreed, thinking about how much of a waste of time she thought her primary school was, even though her aunt was rather competent. Emily shook her head at her sister.

"You just think any day you have to get up before noon to be a waste," Emily answered with a cheeky grin and Amanda mockingly swatted at her.

"So they're pretty much always like this, right?" Barbara asked Rose and Rose responded with a brief nod, a smile crossing her face.

"All of the time, but I get used to it," Rose said in a tense voice as her life would be boring without this sibling rivalry.

"Well you know…we try," Amanda answered, a shifty grin crossing her face, as she edged forward but Harry kept her in view.

"Sometimes too hard," Harry responded and she stared him down, which was amazing given that Harry was almost twice her size. "Aren't we being bold?"

"You'll get used to it, Harry," Amanda responded as she stared him down. "I'm sure the famous Boy-Who-Lived has a few tricks up his sleeve. Emily and I learned a little bit about dueling, well mostly me, Emily doesn't have quite the….nerve for it."

"Well you are better at it, and you tend to have a temper," Emily offered defensively, as they made their way to the subway. Despite the fact that there would be a couple hours of sun left, they did not want to linger outdoors.

"So what do you think of Gotham City?" Barbara asked Harry, craning her neck and watching him carefully, trying to gauge his reaction.

Harry paused for a moment, thinking about what she asked before he responded in an honest and crisp voice. "It isn't too bad of a place to visit….I mean it isn't the shining example of a beautiful city, but I thought that there would be riots going in the street, guns going off, people running down the street in the nude….people you didn't want to be running down the street nude."

Amanda shuddered, and Rose grimaced.

"Thanks for the mental image, Harry," Emily stated as she looked a slight bit ill but she was kind of amused by her sister's level of discomfort and Amanda responded by sticking her tongue out.

"Children, please," Harry said sternly and his two sisters gave him a mocking glare which Harry returned and they took a step back, impressed by how intimidating that he could be.

Pamela remained quiet as she walked with Harry. She drew in a breath before she turned to face him.

"The truth is, I think you really caught Gotham City on a pretty good day," Pamela admitted honestly, her eyes narrowed, considering what happened but there was a sense of uneasiness in the air.

Barbara caught the sense of uneasiness before she spun around to face her friend, with a wide grin on her face. "So, let's not press our luck that much?"

Pamela nodded in agreement, after all that happened; it would be unwise to press their luck. They headed on the subway and were on their way home without any incident.

Pamela sat at the edge of her bed in her house, looking out into the garden below the balcony. It was one of the most peaceful, most tranquil parts of her world, and she found herself rather interested by it. She was lost in her world, a world of wonder in many ways, so much so that she only barely saw Harry walking up next to her. His footsteps were swift and she spun around, peering over her shoulder at him at the last minute.

He was rather mature when she saw him those years ago during their first meeting and he filled out even more. She supposed that had to do with that Quidditch that he did, among other things. She kept her eyes on him before she spoke.

"So it's a nice evening," Pamela remarked in a conversational voice when she watched Harry, before closing her eyes. "For Gotham at least."

"Yes, for Gotham," Harry added after he placed a hand on hers and that caused her to shiver a slight amount, but Harry held onto her hand tightly. He never budged from the position that he was in with her. "It's more like the company that we're keeping than the actual place we're in."

Pamela responded with a brisk nod, she would have to agree. The truth was the last couple of weeks, she spent with Harry, he spent most of his time with her.

"So we're pretty much alone right now," Pamela continued as she turned around, choosing her next words rather carefully. She was dancing dangerously into new territory, of course with someone who had been with many girls far older and in many cases far more experienced. Yet, that was something about that fact that she did not mind, although it was kind of hard to put her finger on that now. She shifted a little bit. "So I was thinking about your offer."

"I'm sure you were," Harry responded with a grin that was somehow equal parts frustrating and charming but it had to make her smile a little bit.

"Quite," Pamela responded as she continued to watch Harry before she continued to speak. "I'm not going to lie, I went back and forth with it in my mind a few times."

"That proves that you're being smart about making a situation that's best for you," Harry responded, placing his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, that would be," Pamela answered before she looked deep into his green eyes. "So…."

"So what?" Harry asked as he looked at the girl before him.

She flushed a little bit but recovered enough to continue what she was saying. "So I guess that actions speak a fair bit louder than words."

Pamela leaned forward, before she lost her nerve and kissed him on the lips. Harry pulled her into the embrace and her mind shut down as Harry kissed her. The two of them dropped down onto the bed, with Harry wrapping his arms around her. The red head was pushed down onto the bed, with Harry continuing the kisses, working on the side of her neck and her face, which caused her to grow more and more flushed with each movement.

His hands roamed over her body, and her shirt was over her head quickly, so she wore nothing but a lacy green bra from the waist up. His shirt was lost rather quickly as well, hands continued to roam over each other's bodies. There was a point in time where the two of them paused before Pamela stated to Harry in a flushed voice, while gingerly working her hand down the waistband of his pants, "Harry, I….I'm ready, to accept that offer. Make love to me."

Barbara stood on the day of August 30th, they had been there for almost a month but it was time to say goodbye. She knew Harry and the twins had to return to that mysterious boarding school of theirs.

"Well, keep in touch," Barbara answered as she reached forward and threw her arms around Harry, pulling him into a tight hug. A dazed smile crossed her face, she could barely help herself.

Harry offered the younger redhead a bit of a smile as she was dazed for a second. Barbara spent a bit of a moment in la-la land after Harry hugged her before Pamela cleared her throat.

"It seems my father actually didn't run you off either, well done," Barbara responded but James Gordon was in an ear shot.

"Barbara, Harry understands that I was just being careful," Gordon responded as he eyed his daughter; with the expression she acquired on her face. "Don't you Harry?"

"Yes, sir, you do what you have to do," Harry stated, offering his hand and Gordon shook it firmly. He reached down and scratched Snuffles behind the ears. It was a moment before Harry appreciated the irony of one of the few honest cops in a city of corruption, petting the dog form of a notorious mass murderer. The twins said nothing, although their expressions said mostly everything.

Gordon stepped inside, leaving his daughter to say goodbye privately to her friends. It was light outside and he had a long day at the station. Then again, all of the days in Gotham City ended up being a rather long day.

"Oh and don't be surprised of an owl comes by to deliver your letters," Harry added, mostly more as an afterthought than anything else and Barbara corked an eyebrow.

"An owl?"

"You'll see," Pamela responded with a smile, knowing that her friend likely was not believing it at face value, although if she was in Barbara's position, she would not have believed it. "It was a shock for her as well."

"It's as normal for us as…."

Rose shook her head and Amanda stopped talking immediately at that cue but Barbara's curiosity was already grabbed.

"Are you in some kind of cult?" Barbara asked before she could stop herself. "I mean, it's in your business if you are…."

"Well some might call in a cult and there are people in this hidden world that are enough of sheep to be in one," Harry answered as he raised a slight eyebrow towards her and Barbara offered a smile when she stepped back a little bit. "Still it's a hidden world of people with extraordinary abilities beyond those of mortal people."

"Ooh vague and mysterious then," Barbara answered with a smile.

"Quite right," Rose responded with a sigh. The cat was dangerously being closed to released from the bag, although to be fair, the Statute of Secrecy was more lax in America than it was in Great Britain.

One could argue all day long whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing, but never the less, it was there. And the fact of the matter is, one could come at the situation from the point of view that the Statute of Secrecy actually put them more at a risk of being exposed. Some paranoid wizard, trying to hide their world, for instance, would expose them all one of these days. All it took was one memory charm that did not work properly..

"Well our ticket out of here leaves at any moment," Rose answered, before Harry said goodbye with the girls with hugs and a kiss. Amanda watched Harry with a longing expression in her eyes but said nothing. "It was nice meeting you."

"You two as well, write often, all of you," Barbara responded as she watched Harry. The next thing she knew they were gone. She raised an eyebrow. "Weird."

Barbara turned to Pamela, who bit down her lip.

"What happened anyway?"

Pamela could not resist saying a few words at her expense.

"It's magic, Babs."

"Very funny, Pam."

"I was being serious."

"So was I."

Barbara knew that there was something that was a amiss with Harry Potter, although what that might be, she had no idea. She would find out all too soon, the red head blowing back her hair until it was out of her face and she took a couple of moments to ponder the predicament that she was in. She would get to the mystery of it.

Well at the very least, she had a new pen pal to write to, that was something, wasn't it?

"The rest of the goblins are a tizzy, aren't they?" Harry asked Sersi as the goblin princess led him down the hallways. The girl goblin shrugged, as she cleared her throat.

"It's nothing you did, it's just that Fudge has been down here and I swear his arrogance is going to start another rebellion one of these days," the goblin princess responded with a brief roll of her eyes. She shook her head and Harry smiled.

"Heaven forbid that happens, that will give Binns something to drone on about for another hundred thousand years."

"Quite," Sersi added with a smile but she focused her mind on the task at hand, walking next to him. The dark haired goblin princess was dressed in elegant armor, stylish, yet at the same time functional. That was the good thing about goblin made armor, they knew how to make work to the best of its abilities. "So shall we…."

"You wanted to show me this surprise, be my guest," Harry responded as he waited for the goblin princess to lead the way, with whatever she wished to show him. She did so, walking down a long hallway.

"Most of the Basilisk skin has been sold on the open market," Sersi explained to him, waiting for him to catch the hint that she dropped. "But at the same time the immense girth of the Basilisk and the size, it allowed us to make several sets of armor that we were able to sell."

Sersi felt interested in this topic so she prepared to impart even more knowledge on Harry. The truth was that magical armor was a particular passion of hers and she could talk about it for hours and hours. And often in the past she had.

"Wizards don't make armor correctly, there are two fundamental flaws that are common in them," Sersi stated, making sure she had the wizard's full attention before she continued. "The first flaw is that they make the armor too bulky. On the bright side, it reflects most spells but what's the point in that armor if it suffocates you?"

"No point," Harry responded and she nodded, a smile on her face.

Precisely," Sersi stated as she filed some papers, before edging towards the closet. "Then there is the armor that you can move in, but there are more holes in them than you could imagine. It's pretty much useless because a skilled wizard or witch, they can pinpoint the holes. A goblin can also pinpoint the holes to picture perfect accuracy. In fact, they can stab through the armor just like that."

The goblin princess took a moment to shake her head and smile before she continued.

"There needs to be a combination of effectiveness and also movement, it is a many month process to create the armor," Sersi explained to Harry. "Humans short change themselves on the process, taking all kinds of short cuts. Actual goblin made armor is rather rare, but when it is, you better believe that it will work. And don't get me started on the vast amounts of counterfeit armor that is out on the black market."

Sersi thought about that for a moment, there was a problem, and one that the goblins tried to curb. They made it clear that humans did not sell goblin made armor directly, although that did not stop the scam artists in Knockturn Alley from selling the forged armor. They were cracking down but it was a long process. It was one step forward and two steps back the entire way.

"But never mind that," Sersi stated, trying to remain professional despite her own frustration that greedy purebloods were selling bastardized goblin armor on the black market and thus making the goblins look bad by comparison. That was part of the reason why she gave Harry the information that Gringotts uncovered, figuring that he could make their lives a little bit inconvenient. "I've got something for you."

Harry saw the closet open and the goblin armor. It wasn't anything too fancy, although there was a black top, with a plate on the front, and black leather pants ,with boots, along with an overcoat. It was not going to be the most stylish piece of armor in the world but being stylish was not the point.

"You mentioned to me about that weird symbol, a while back," Sersi stated as she looked at the crooked "U" on it. "I do admit, it's weird but in many ways it suits you. Much more than that, in many ways."

To emphasize her point, Sersi placed a finger on the lightning scar on Harry's forehead and traced it carefully. The wizard did not back down for a second and she smiled.

"There you have it, your new armor, consider it a gift," Sersi stated before she amended, a bit of a blush appearing on her cheeks. Harry did not know goblins were capable of such an act. "You know …from the goblin nation."

Sersi, daring but not enough to do this when there were other goblins around, stood on her tip toes and gave Harry a light kiss on the cheek.

"Well, I think that I'm the only human in memory who has ever been kissed by a goblin, even if it is a gorgeous goblin princess like yourself," Harry responded and Sersi looked both pleased and embarrassed. "I should feel honored."

She stammered a little bit but managed to hold her nerves together, snapping her eyes towards him with a more confident stride. "You better feel honored, nothing like that ever happened to anyone before."

"And thanks for the armor, I'm sure I'll put it to good use," Harry responded, thinking about the possibilities. If he was going into a situation where he knew he could be taking some direct hits, it would be useful.

"I know you will and it wasn't a problem," Sersi remarked to him before she handed Harry a stack of documents. "Your quarterly statements, as always. If you have any questions, you know where to get in contact with me. Have a nice day."

Harry knew that he would.

The summer went by rather quickly, and Harry was back on the platform, about ready to go to the Hogwarts Express.

"Harry!"

Hermione rushed Harry and hugged him rather tightly. Charlotte stood there with a smile on her face.

"Good summer, Harry?" Charlotte asked as the woman eyed him and Harry smiled.

"It was pretty interesting," Harry told her as he watched the other woman before him, shaking his head. "But the real question is that Hermione actually enjoy her holiday or was she studying her brains out?"

Hermione folded her arms and gave Harry a mock scowl but a smile crossed her face through it. Charlotte got some amusement from her daughter's antics. "I think that Hermione is sufficiently prepared for her OWL examinations, without overdoing it. I believe the monitoring of her further preparation in her capable hands."

"So this is Hermione?"

Amanda and Emily popped up at this point and Hermione looked perplexed, before she spun around, turning to Harry, a questioning expression in her eyes. "Harry who are…."

"This is Amanda, this is Emily, they are my twin sisters," Harry responded in the most nonchalant voice ever. The young wizard turned to the two twins, with one of them giving a mocking bow, with the other looking a bit more restrained.

Hermione watched Harry, mouth wide a little bit but she shook her head. "When did this happen?"

"Over the summer, I've got a lot to tell you but it will be later," Harry answered as he turned with Hermione but he spotted Daphne, Tracey, and Astoria on the platform.

Daphne moved over, wrapping her arms around Harry, and giving him a rather passionate greeting. She kissed him hard on the mouth, before running her hands through his hair. The blonde backed off, when a woman who looked like she was in her twenties, even though she was slightly older stepped forward. She was rather tall with short blonde hair and she was dressed in black robes with the hints of stockings and high heels underneath.

"Harry Potter, it's an honor to meet you, my daughter has told me so much about you," the woman remarked as she looked him up and down, liking what she saw. "My name is Anastasia Greengrass."

"Daphne and Astoria's mother, then," Harry answered, remembering that Andromeda mentioned her in passing. She was rather high up in the Ministry and likely knew where a lot of the skeletons were buried, so she would be a useful associate to have. "How do you do?"

Harry reached forward and kissed her hand, which caused Anastasia to look rather flushed and pleased.

"I am quite well, Mr. Potter," Anastasia responded as she kept watching Harry with interest. Yes, she could most certainly see what her daughters saw in this wizard. "I wish to thank you for assisting my daughter last year against Lockhart."

Anastasia was not too broken up about the man's death, especially when he found out what they did. It gave certain people necessary fire about the tighter regulation of memory charms and the teaching of them. Of course, they were no sooner to tracking when memory charms were done then tracing when Unforgiveable Curses were done. It was a challenge and a half to say the very least and that raised some ugly questions about the memory charms as they were done to Muggle women or even men, what was really being covered up?

"I was passing by," Harry stated swiftly but he thought that his actions served well.

"And it was fortunate that you were," Anastasia responded before she checked the time. "The train leaves in ten minutes, so it would be prudent for you to leave. I suspect that we will run into each other sooner rather than later, Mr. Potter."

"We might," Harry responded in a swift voice, a smile crossing his face, before he gave her a bow and offered her a goodbye.

Harry walked by, getting Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, and Tracey up to speed about the events of his summer. He kept the fact that a notorious mass murderer was posing as the pet dog of the twins, that was an element that he would be telling them in the future but now was not the time for telling them that. The wizard edged with them, they followed him.

"I must say, I'm looking forward to Hogwarts," Emily stated in a calm voice.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "It's like Harry said, the novelty will wear off in about two weeks."

"But….we can take the fast track out of there," Emily answered but it was Hermione who looked at them.

"Yes, but it is a lot of hard work," Hermione warned them but the twins responded with shrugs.

"We enjoy a challenge."

They said this next statement in unison, so Hermione shrugged. Who was she to argue, if they were anything like Harry, they would be frustrated by Hogwarts. Actually, Hermione could not believe that during the Christmas holidays, she and Harry would be sitting their OWLs. Should they not break down and post pone them into the next year, they were going to make Hogwarts history.

"Did you hear about Sirius Black?" Astoria asked in a hushed voice. "Thirteen people, with one curse, and all of that."

"Well kind of hard not to hear about him, the only person to ever break out of Azkaban," Harry commented as he kept his eye out for them.

"But what if he wasn't convicted?" Daphne asked, deciding to throw this hypothetical situation out there. "You know, my mother is trying to find any record of a trial but she hasn't been able to find one."

"Andromeda hasn't been able to find one either," Harry added to them and Hermione bit her lip.

"They would have given him a trial, even with what he did. Wouldn't they want to eliminate any doubt that he might be innocent?"

A thoughtful expression washed over Astoria's face. "Maybe he was innocent?"

"A trial would have hammered that sort of thing out," Hermione offered, but Harry grabbed her hand.

"Hermione, the legal system in this world….well it's kind of skewed, the Ministry wants to look like they're doing something, without actually doing something," Harry told her, and this was not his statement, actually something that Andromeda said to him. She was still untangling a good portion of the red tape involving his custody and he would be free of the Dursleys by next summer, fingers crossed.

Daphne chimed in with an answer. "A lot of people during that time, they were getting throw into Azkaban without a trial, it depended on how much they were willing to play ball. And if someone at the higher levels had it out for you, well that was the end of you."

"It isn't right," Harry chimed in and Snuffles barked in agreement, but Harry gave him a look and he put his head in his paws. "But that's what it is."

"Messed up is what it is," Amanda chimed him, never one not to give her opinion.

"It's pretty bad," Emily added with a shrug of her shoulders. She wanted to think the best of people but it is was pretty bad with how this world was, she was not feeling too much promise with entering this world.

"Well it is, with people who should be in Azkaban walking the streets, while others are thrown in," Astoria remarked as she clutched her hands.

Daphne held her hand and gave a little cough that sounded "Malfoy."

"So, Astoria, I heard that you got top marks on your exams for first year," Harry stated to the blonde and she offered a smile towards him.

"Thanks to you, I might have to give you a reward later," Astoria answered with a knowing glint in her eye.

The nature of this reward was interrupted by Resident Hogwarts Idiot Number 2, better known as Draco Malfoy, who was flanked by his minions.

"Why it's….argh…"

Draco felt his toes sting like they had been set on fire. Astoria put her wand up her sleeve, whistling nonchalantly.

"You stupid blood traitor bit…."

Daphne blasted him into the doors.

"Mind your tongue around my sister, Malfoy," Daphne warned him crisply but Astoria folded her arms, offering an innocent look. The older Greengrass sister spun around, to focus on Crabbe and Goyle. "You better pick up Malfoy."

Crabbe and Goyle, nodded, their expressions stiffened.

"You think Malfoy would learn by now,' Hermione responded, shaking her head.

"Trust me, he gets worse every year but given what his father is like, somehow I'm not surprised," Tracey piped in, speaking for the first time and Daphne smiled at her.

"Trace, he's a Malfoy, they think that they're more important than they really are," Daphne told her in a swift voice, and the dark haired girl offered a grin.

"That was a good shot," Amanda responded to Astoria.

Astoria smiled, pleased at the compliment from Harry's sister. Twins even, that might be fun. No scratch that, that would be fun. The blonde Slytherin thought about it, in truth she was aiming for Malfoy's crotch but given that he was a dickless bastard, she wasn't quite that skilled at aiming at a target that small.

Ginny turned up a moment later, in a bit of a snippy mode.

"Hey, Ginny, how was your summer?" Hermione asked, a completely innocent question but one that Ginny was not happy about hearing.

"Well Mum was being insufferable, after the entire Chamber incident," Ginny answered as she sat down next to the group. "She held my hand in public all through Egypt like I was a fucking two year old. And not only that, she wouldn't let me in the temple with the skeletons, the idiot Muggle thieves that got cursed."

"So that bad," Hermione responded as Ginny shook her head.

"Yes, that bad," Ginny stated as she looked out the window. "Percy is the Head Boy, so naturally he thinks he's something special."

"Doesn't he know that's a figure head position to shove work that the teacher's don't want onto something?" Harry asked and Ginny shrugged. Harry would die of shame if he was named Head Boy.

"Percy has a high opinion of himself, you'd think he'd be elected Minister of the Entire World."

Harry paused, he was sure that Ron would show up.

"Ron is with the twins, Mum made sure that they stuck with him, to make sure….to make sure that he doesn't lose even more brain cells," Ginny answered as she paused. "The good news is that he re-learned the Alphabet and how to count. So that's progress."

"Didn't think he was capable of that much," Hermione murmured.

"I need your help with a project, Ginny," Harry remarked and her eyes flickered with interest.

"You don't need to ask, anything," she responded, before she winced at how needy and desperate that sounded. She would have to work on that, well outside the bedroom anyway.

"I need you to help me get Ron's rat away from him when we're at Hogwarts," Harry told her and Ginny looked at him with an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I've got an idea," Ginny said, accepting his statement without question, her loyalty one hundred percent to him. She'd kill for him if asked.

A few minutes of light talk later and the Hogwarts Express skid to a stop. Hermione jumped up, her eyes looking around and the brunette bookworm frowned. There was one statement that was obvious and sure enough she had to say it.

"We couldn't be at Hogwarts, yet."

"Then why are we stopping?" Amanda asked but the windows fogged up.

Harry didn't like the look of this and Snuffles started to whine. The windows around them began to fog up. There was a feeling of coldness that washed around him and Harry closed his eyes, feeling a sense of hopeless wash over him. He never felt anything like this before.

'Focus, stay under control,' Harry thought to himself, staggering a little bit, but he saw Ginny grow catatonic, her eyes widened.

The Chamber of Secrets and all of the attacks flicked through her mind. Ginny did them but she was unable to control them. The redhead girl shook her head, teeth chattering as she swayed back and forth a little bit, knees buckling, with her hands growing rather numb. She sank down.

Harry spun around and saw them on the other side of the door. Faceless, hooded creatures of horror.

It was like he was in a tunnel but sheer force of stubborn will kept Harry from blacking out.

The Dementors were here and they were searching for prey to feed on.