Disclaimer: All locations and unoriginal characters are the property of JK Rowling.

Sheets of magical energy cracked through the air, bathing the edge of the sacred forest in a myriad of dark colours. The clouds, reflecting the colours in front of a darkened sky seemed manipulated by an unseen force deep in the forest; twisting, shivering and moving as if pulled by a massive tornado.
Green lightning crackled at the unclouded centre, casting brief light on monstrous fighting forms.
The magical discharges from this concentrated combat meant only one thing as the air and gravity combined. Forcing these discharges into clouds of their own; adding toxic ferocity to the rain already coming down as a sheet.
Gabrielle stood near a rocky fissure at the edge of this once great forest; pillaged for it's resources by humans. Her arms were outstretched toward the centre of the storm as if welcoming it and guiding it into a hug. Her eyes closed in concentration, the wind whipping her hair away from her slender shoulders, which, like the rest of her, glowed deathly beautiful in the flashes of lightning. She looked every inch a Kantauride priestess, mistress of her herd.
A pale glow surrounded her as she invoked the name of Lxion, the father and protector of all centaurs..
She could feel more baleful presences arriving here. The presence of two powerful wizards had not been shown to her in all her preparations for this battle against the evil humanity. She had known of this battle for over a century, every day since spent planning for it. Doing all she could to aid centaur victory.
Anyone foolish enough to stand and watch her on this battlefield was cut down in an instant. If, however, they were lucky, they would see the glow become a ball of light centred at her chest. A brief pause and the ball was released, fired into the centre of the storm.
For such a dramatic moment, the aftermath at first seemed a let-down. Just a dull thump, quieter than distant thunder. What followed was not; a second, louder explosion that tore the storm asunder, causing the clouds to fall as one, a deluge of water falling from the sky as rocks and trees crumbled in a wide arc around it. Centaurs and black-cloaked wizards were knocked off their feet with the impact of it all. The sky was clear, nothing but stars above the battle now. Mars standing out above all others.
A distant orange glow caused Gabrielle to cast her eyes toward the forest, just as her ritualist tattoos began to burn.
Something had set fire to their Shrine to Lxion, a shrine that protected the forest from evil.
Her anger peaked and a red ball of energy flew from her into some of the freshly exposed rock where lay ancient shards of iron. The heat generated by this energy formed the iron into a grand sword, covered in rubies and full of ancient magic.
She sent a young centaur called Bane to get the sword; he was the most warlike of her herd, the perfect warrior for this spell; granted to them by the old goblins before they retreated into themselves and led lives of searching only for valuable artifacts and gold.

Bane returned with the sword, holding it in both hands above his head as his priestess began the ritual.
"Aeron, I call upon you..."

On the other side of the battlefield two friends entered the fray, one dressed in green, the other in red.
They parted there. Each with separate objectives at this site. The one in green, he they called Slytherin, to take command of the wizards.
He in red, known as Gryffindor the brave, to look for and claim an ancient artifact.

Slytherin's arrival filled the wizards with hope, they had lost many but now joined by Slytherin and his righteous anger against all who weren't wizards, who could stop them?

Bane screamed as the ritual finished, his once fine frame now a mass of molten metal and fire. His face a mask of rage.
He charged into battle, keening a terrible war cry as wizards fled from him.

And so the battle continued; wizards strong wherever Slytherin was; the centaurs wherever Bane or Gabrielle were. The landscape changed utterly from how it was by the magic involved.

Gryffindor stalked Bane, he wanted that sword, and he usually got what he wanted.

As dawn approached, finally did Gabrielle and Slytherin meet. Their hatred of each other's race evident in the curses they sent.
Gabrielle had the upper hand, she had Slytherin on the run, each curse carving deep steps into the hillside as he fled.

But Slytherin had one final trick, the priestess was far from her herd now and isolated, Slytherin summoned a Basilisk and told it to attack her before disapperating.
Gabrielle met her death there, a tiny glance into the snake's eyes and she was gone.
Her body disappeared and such was the violence of the magic involved, the basilisk also died.

The death of their priestess was known almost immediately by the remaining centaurs, who, briefly had been celebrating a victory; the humans had fled had they not?

All but Gryffindor; he stood his ground and took note of their stunned expressions, even Bane's magnificance was diminishing. Seizing his chance, Gryffindor stunned the centaur's hands and running quickly he grabbed the dropped sword before vanishing.


A/N Kantaurides are female centaurs and the Bane mentioned is a distant ancestor of the Bane in the Harry Potter books.
This was a prologue for my story, which is set in the aftermath of the great war:
The goblins, sensing opportunity in the new regime want their sword back.

I hope you enjoyed this taste however, and look forward to reading any comments.

Excellent work Owen! Magic World needs a good battle within its Fan Fictions!

I truly enjoyed your introduction. Your descriptions were inspiring and very easy to follow. I was sorry to see Gabrielle die so early in the story, but I guess you needed a strong motive for revenge? I have picked my winning side already. I hope, when the story ends, I can say that I picked the winning team!

PAMS!!!

Katie

Hi, I don't often come in this section, afraid of what I might find. But, I am so glad I did this time. Your story is fabulous and I can't wait to read more. Your writing style reminds me a lot of "Christopher Paolini". That's ment to be a great compliment if you haven't heard of him. Have you read his books? Your story is every bit as good as his, "Eragon" series. Can't wait to read more. Hope you can post soon.

Thanks for the comments. I hope to get the next chapter up within a week or so but it all depends, unfortunately, on my mouse...

I will admit that, at this moment, I have no idea who will win; For me that is part of the joy of writing - I have no idea what will happen to my characters....
I write what they tell me.

I have not read any of the Eragon series, unfortunately; films and rugby got in the way when it entered my mind to do so and have not looked since...


I sincerely hope that my next chapter can, at the very least, equal your expectations


Derfel.

New reader! I absolutely loved this! Enjoyed every minute of it. You are an amazing writer. I can't wait to see what else you've come up with!

A/N: Thanks again for you comments, I love to hear from you all and apologies if I've appeared negligent.
Here it is, Chapter 1. Let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: As above.

Chapter 1: A new beginning

LILY LUNA POTTER thumped her pillow in frustration. Fifteen years and only now does her father yell at her. She had seen him yell at her brothers before; seen the way their faces fell. But he had never yelled at her.
Confused, Lily sank into her bed, tears threatening to win the battle of inner turmoil and form mini rivers down her face. Her crime?
Talking to her mother about a boy she had a crush on. Her father had overheard, "long hair, male and in to death as far as I can make out," and gone ballistic; yelling at her not to be so stupid in her choice of men and also to never discuss death so casually.

Burying her face into her softest, pinkest pillow, Lily began to sob. The effort causing her shoulders to move violently with each fresh breath. Locked in her misery, she failed to hear the soft knock at her door or the draught as it was opened. She did, however, notice her mother's arms wrap themselves around her.
"He hates me mum," Lily wailed.
Ginny smiled reassuringly at her only daughter, "he doesn't hate you, silly. He adores you and is scared of losing you to some arrogant boy who won't care about you or look after you half as much as you deserve." Ginny paused to wipe a tear from her daughter's face.
"He really thinks no one will care about me?" Tears threatened to overwhelm her again.
"You're his princess sweetie. Even Prince Charming would struggle to look good in your father's eyes." Ginny brushed a lock of hair from Lily's forehead, "do you want to know a secret?"
Lily wanted to continue crying and be left alone but a small part of her was glad of her mother's company. She didn't want to be left alone. Lily managed a small nod in response to her mother's question.
"When you began crying and ran off, your father completely changed; it was as if, to coin a muggle expression, he had been punched in the stomach. He definitely didn't want you to react like this."
Ginny pulled away and studied her daughter. Lily reminded her a lot of herself at that age and she could tell that her daughter wanted to be alone, though it wouldn't do her any good now that she was already crying. "Come on you. Your grandmother is waiting."

Molly Weasley did not even blink as the kitchen door slammed open and Harry Potter wandered into the room, looking thoroughly miserable.
"Girl trouble, dear?" She asked, pressing a tea cake into his unresisting hands as she did so, "I'm here if you need advice. Arthur is in the shed if you need consoling," she finished with a wry grin.
Harry looked at his host as she finished speaking, noting the changes since the first time they had met: a fateful september day thirty-two years ago. Her red hair had given up the battle against grey and her skin was more lined with age, but her eyes had not changed - still full of compassion after all these years.
"I yelled at Lily," Harry's own eyes glistened with tears as he recalled the hurt on his daughter's face. "All she was doing was talking about boys with Ginny and I yelled at her."
"Now now Harry, no need to over react." Arthur Weasley spoke from the door.
Before he could respond to his father-in-law, Harry was distracted by a small bushy haired bundle of energy that charged into the kitchen from the living room. Rose Weasley charged towards him, arms akimbo, she launched herself at her uncle's chest. "Uncle Harry!" She yelled in delight as she hugged him, unwittingly knocking the untouched tea cake from his grasp.
She quickly let go and hugged her grandparents; who shared her excited mood, "happy seventeenth birthday!" They both called.
Rose nodded in excitement, "thank you," she giggled as her grandfather made a knut appear behind her ear - a trick he had learned from George over twenty years ago.
"Where are the rest of your family, Rose?" Harry asked, desperately searching for an excuse for his misery.
"Oh they're on their way. Is everything okay uncle?" Typical teenage unconcern changing instantly.
"Nothing to worry about Rose, I just want to speak to your father."
"Work?"
"Yes." Harry sighed, glad a subject that bored his niece could become the excuse.
"Ugh, do you really have to work on my birthday, Uncle?" Rose asked petulantly. She pursed her lips and looked so much like a disapproving Hermoine that Harry had to laugh.

* * * * * *

The meeting place, Ogranak thought, was far too run down and dark to suggest anything good. Also, the last time this place had been used - some four-hundred years ago - it had ended in disaster.
He muttered to himself, suddenly wary of agreeing to this whispered meeting. Having agreed to it, however, he knew he had to go through it.
A surly expression that had manifested itself on his face moments before disappeared upon seeing the goblin sitting at the end of a long table; surrounded by several goblins and two hooded wizards.
"Ah, Ogranak," Head Goblin Kurzog called across the room,"take a seat. We have much to discuss."
With an uneasy glance at the two wizards, one of whom was much younger but seemed to be the leader, Ogranak sat down, nodding a greeting at his fellow goblins. All of which were dressed in black except
"Shaman Krull," Kurzog unnecessarily named the only goblin dressed in red and wearing a gold ceremonial skull mask.
Krull immediately stood,"Now that you are all here my friends, I may begin." His voice, for a goblin, was curiously low pitched.
Ogranak continued to observe the wizards rather than listen to the Shaman's tripe. The older of the two was clearly uncomfortable in the company of goblins. What did that mean? Wizards were supposed to love all creatures these days.
His curiosity was piqued. This meeting meant no good, but was approved by these wizards. Something big was about to happen.
"Are you with me, my brothers?" Ogranak caught the last of Krull's nonsense and duly cheered with the others.
The younger wizard stood, eager to address his companions, unaware that in the new light a profile of his face could be made, even beneath the hood. Ogranak recognised him but stayed silent. "My friends," the youngster began,"each of you has been chosen for your networks and your ability to deal in the shadows. Call upon your brothers, persuade them to join our just cause. Together we will right the past. Together we will restore goblins to their rightful place!"
A great cheer greeted this. Only Ogranak noticed to older wizard leave. He would stay for now, figure out what was going on. All he knew was that an ancient treasure was to be recovered.


Prologue

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

I love that you are focusing on the girls (Lily and Rose)... People tend to use the boys more because Harry was the main character in all of the books, so I think it influences them to use the boys.

I am sincerely interested in finding out how the goblin meeting is related to the kids.

I can't wait to read more. Great job!

It's ok and well worth the wait! What a sweet thing to tell her, and of course true. Uh-oh, what's going on? This can't be good. Is it, never mind, I have an idea, and I'll wait to see. Funner that way anyway. I bet it is who I think. This is looking very ominus. I can't wait for your next post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a great story.

Excellent, excellent, excellent!!! So much for the blockage... I loved the interplay between Lily and her father, and Harry's part was played to perfection... it was very real, and the chat between Harry and Molly only made it even more so! Congtatulations!

Now, I'm with Connie on the Goblin storyline... I do believe I have an inkling about the young leader's identity, but will wait, not so patiently, for the next chapter! :cheers:
PAMS!!!!

Katie

Thanks for your comments. Make it a worthwhile write.

Apologies for the delay, I hope this chapter meets your expectations.

Disclaimer-see original post.
Chapter 2: Things to come

Harry was relieved when his best friend finally turned up; haggard, red faced and covered in floo-soot, Ron was equally happy to see Harry. Unceremoniously shoving his wife and son into the kitchen and ignoring Hermione's indignant 'tut', Ron immediately spoke to Harry, "Hey mate, you look terrible. What's up?"
"I think my daughter hates me. Any suggestions to get me out of it?" The misery that had left Harry with the arrival of Rose came back with a vengeance as tears threatened his eyes again.
Ron struggled not to laugh at the pained expression on his friend's face. "Just give it time and let Ginny talk to her. She'll come to her senses. Out of curiosity, what is this about?"
"She fancies someone who is in to death."
"Hell, that sucks. Let Ginny talk her off him is my advice." Ron paused to gather his thoughts, "Bill says the goblins are acting a little weird. He thinks you may need to bring your next meeting with Griphook forward.."
Harry's frown deepened, "I would but he's also been acting stranger recently, to the point that I'm not sure I can trust him. Thank Bill for the tip off though will you?"
Ron gulped, a 'stranger' Griphook could only mean bad news. "Will do. Have you heard anything from Teddy?"
The conversation was in low tones to discourage eavesdropping.
"Nope. Nothing. I'm taking it as 'no news is good news', however." Harry stopped talking as he sensed the presence of others in the room. Turning to look at the fireplace he saw his daughter looking at him with her trademark nervous smile and Ginny behind her also smiling.
Seeing she had her father's attention, Lily bounced across the room to give her father a big, rib crunching hug. "Sorry if I hurt you, daddy," came from a small voice near his shoulder.
"Sorry I gave you reason to, princess," Harry replied calmly, hiding his jubilation that she didn't hate him.
When Lily let go of him to greet her youngest uncle, Harry moved over to Ginny and whispered "thank you" in her ear.
"Think nothing of it, Harry, I just told her the truth." Ginny smiled warmly at her husband before teasing her brother, "what's this I hear about Scorpius Malfoy and Rose?"
Ron grunted in reply, looking to Harry for help. "Well," Harry paused for effect, "at least we know where he lives.."
Ron burst out laughing at this before following the others into the kitchen.

Later, once all the guests, except - to Ron's disgust - Scorpius (who was snuggled up to his daughter) had left, the conversation turned to Hogwarts as 5 of the people in the room would be heading there soon; Lily and Hugo trying to not get worked up about OWLs and Albus, Rose and Scorpius pretending to be relaxed about NEWTs.
Sensing her husband's mood - he kept giving Scorpius the evil eye - Hermione lead the questioning in a deliberately friendly voice, "so, are you looking forward to it Scorpius?"
"Almost," the miniature Draco lookalike spoke with a hint of his father's arrogance, "though I can't wait for the exams to be over."
"Have you got everything you need? We're all going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get our things," Albus piped up. He shared his uncle's feelings toward the young slytherin but was hiding them better; managing a smile that looked more like a smile than a grimace once he had finished speaking.
"Of course, Mother got them for me earlier today. She didn't think it appropriate for a newly appointed Head Boy to do his own shopping."
"Congratulations Scorpius," Hermione beamed; head boy! Her daughter was very lucky.
"Thank you," he replied before taking in the sudden frostiness from the others in the room. Glancing at his watch to cover his rising fear of this increasingly hostile situation he continued, "I'd better be going, Mother will be getting worried." Pausing to give Rose a chaste peck on the cheek that had both Ginny and Hermione wondering if they needed to hex their husbands, Scorpius ran to the fireplace and jumped in only fractions of a second after the floo powder.
The older generations breathed a sigh of relief when he had gone, leading to a prolonged period of relaxed silence before Mrs Weasley demanded the grandchildren go to bed, stuttering over Fred's name as she told the boys to go to the twin's old room and the girls to Percy's.
She, Mr Weasley, Ginny and Hermione soon followed the children upstairs, leaving Harry and Ron to discuss the various merits of different methods for disembowelling boys who so much as dared to look at their daughters deep into the night.

*********

"That's him, mum." Lily pointed out the boy as he crossed the Gringott's floor.
Ginny saw his back, covered in fading black leather and long, black hair that fell to where she guessed his shoulder blades were.
What struck her more was the goblins attitude toward him; different to anything she'd seen before - and she was well versed in their different attitudes as a result of coming from a poor family and now being part of a rich one - but she had never seen the mix of respect and fear? they showed toward this boy.
Something struck her as fishy, were his family ancient supporters of Voldemort? The way he dressed reminded her of the summer cleaning Grimmauld Place, all the vulgar ornaments and cloaks screaming dark arts.
She involuntarily shuddered, maybe Harry was right to criticise her daughter's choice of man. The way the boy walked raised alarm bells too; she wished Harry or even Ron was there - the boy seemed tense, as if expecting a fight.
Glad their business was over, Ginny practically dragged Lily and Albus out of the bank, such was her desire to get distance between her family and that boy.

I hope you enjoyed that and can't wait to hear from you.

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Nice chapter Owen!
But then, were there any doubts? Okay, I'm going to do this post justice, since I appreciate your writing so much... Here goes...

I do believe Harry is being a little rash here. Mind you, it is a father's perrogative... No boy will ever be good enough!

Hehe... typical Ron; I loved it!

I say, "Bring on the goblins! I'm in the mood for blood, gore and war!

I'm so glad Harry and Lily are happy again... sigh.

Typical... Although, I kind of expected Ron to be saying this!

Like father, like son? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree? I loved it!

I'm shocked that Ron didn't jump out of his chair and pummel Scorpius. I am glad, however, that Rose and he are together. Thank God for the calmness of a mother...

...and so ends the happiness of a consoling mother... I bet she wishes she had waited before being so 'la-dee-da' with Harry!

Excellent chapter! I can't wait until the relationships get a little older... if they're allowed to get a little older. I also look forward to the goblin conflict; I can't wait for the next chapter. Better get pen to paper soon...

Katie

Not to worry! I never doubted for a minute that it would. I'm just so glad it's finally here! The fact that this was so casual made it even more hilarious! It's neat the way they are still after all these years from when they were in school sill the same. I love how you've kept them the same but obviously matured in their logic. Thinking things through, looking at the whole picture. Even though Bill sees them acting a little wierd, and suggests moving forward, Harry also sees that as a potential hazard or something. But still thanking Bill, shows he is taking what Bill says into consideration. I think you are a master at writing, and I'm happy to read your work. My first thought was, could this be a descendant of the Black Family? Maybe a grandson of the evil B.L. I might of only caught a glimps of his profile, cause I was a stowaway at the meeting, but I wonder...
By the way Owen, if you don't want me guessing please let me know. I'm not expecting answers to my questions. I just try to figure stories as I go along.

That, I'm afraid, they're keeping me in the dark about..

Might be a while for that too - we are, after all, only a few chapters in.. Though there will be some action fairly soon..

I don't have a problem with people guessing at all - tells me if I've done something particularly well, see..
It's always a pleasure to hear where others think the story will lead..

Chapter 3: A new term

The dawn rose grey and miserable, totally at odds with the moods of Lily and Albus as they made final adjustments to their homework. Another year at Hogwarts awaited them.
Their parents, on the other hand were feeling the now familiar pang of realisation that they wouldn't see their children for several months.
Adding to this worry today was Lily's obsession with the boy they had dubbed 'death boy' in private conversation. Ginny just hoping first impressions were wrong; trying to bury the sensation of fear she had felt. Forcing a smile on her face she turned to Harry, "Everything ok?" He looked like he needed more support than ever this year.
Snapping out of his own reverie at his wife's voice, he replied, "yep, nothing wrong here." Liar! He told himself. Why are you still trying to protect her? A small voice spoke again in his head.
"You've always been a bad liar, Harry," Ginny poked his chest at 'liar',"tell me what's up."
"Can it wait until the train leaves?"
That was the last thing Ginny wanted to hear. It suggested her children were in danger.
********
Ogranak nervously looked at and studied every face on the road outside his home. Looking for anyone new - he knew enough about doing things in the shadows to know being followed was a bad thing - especially when being followed by you own side.

He noticed one of Krull's creatures hovering behind a bush - the fool had forgotten to cover his badge of office - the image of Krull's god, Dedun, a bright red against the pale skin of his cheek. The elation of spotting the goblin immediately replaced by icy dread; he was suspected of a treachery he was yet to commit.
Taking a deep breath, Ogranak quickly formed a plan in his mind; hating leaving so much to chance but knowing he didn't have much choice, he headed for the bank, uncomfortably aware of 2 black speck burning a hole on his back.
******

A quick glance around the platform revealed no "undesirables" as Ron called them - boys who were interested in their daughters - but even so, Harry pulled Albus aside to speak briefly to him about keeping Lily safe from them.
Watching her husband, Ginny knew what he was telling her youngest son and from Albus' expression, she knew he was thinking about whether or not to finish his father's sentences.
"What are they talking about, mum?" Lily asked. She was already in her school robes and looking disappointed that she couldn't find someone.
"The same thing that they have every year you've been at Hogwarts, Lily," Ginny smiled warmly at her daughter, "you remember everything I told you the first time you went?"
"Yes, mum, I can.." Lily then went on to list every bit of advice Ginny had given her about dealing with boys in a bored voice that made her mother laugh.
"I'm sorry hunny, with your brothers needing constant nagging, I keep forgetting you only need to be told things once."
A small frown appeared on Lily's face, "Have you heard from James recently, mum?"
"No, the last your father or I heard, he was doing fieldwork in the Black Forest."
"But that was over a year ago." Lily protested.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon, Lily," a new voice spoke behind them.
"Teddy!" Lily shrieked and flung her arms around the man who used to visit her parents on a regular basis, "Where have you been?"
"That would be telling, Pygmy Puff?" Teddy, who looked like a young version of his father, whipped off his hat to reveal the puff sitting on his head, which he lowered to allow Lily to touch the small creature. It trembled at her touch and the sudden noise around it before walking on to Lily's hand as if knowing it was the safest place to be. "Aww, it's so cute! Can I keep it mum?"
Ginny nodded at her daughter before speaking to Teddy, "What brings you here all of a sudden? You haven't had another argument with Victoire have you?" Her eyes narrowed in mock suspicion.
"What? No!" Teddy stammered, "I merely wanted to see these guys off before they began this important year.."
"Hi, Teddy," Albus and Harry had rejoined the group. Albus eyed Lily's new pet with jealousy and expectation.
Catching the boy's glance, Teddy spoke again, "sorry Al', the owl hasn't delivered yours yet, I'll send it to Hogwarts for you, ok?"
Looking slightly more hopeful, Albus nodded then glanced at his watch; panic spreading across his features as he realised the time. "It's time to go? Where are Rose and Hugo?"
"On the train already," Teddy answered before helping the 2 youngsters get their things on board. "Wanted to ensure a compartment this year I think. Middle carriage."
"Thanks, Teddy. Bye mum. Bye dad!" Lily and Albus spoke in unison, leaning back as the door was closed.

Slowly, the train began to leave the platform, the familiar clanks and hisses a source of comfort in the silence as parents watched their children wave goodbye.
As the train disappeared, Harry turned to look at his godson but was surprised to see Ron and Hermione there instead. "2 questions; where have you been? Where did Teddy go?"
Hermione answered, pushing Ron aside so she could more easily vent her thoughts on Harry. "Well, I was by the middle carriage with our children and talking to a very gaudily dressed Lavender Brown while Ronald," she inflicted a lot of scorn on her husband's name, " was off scouting for undesirables. I'm sure I saw him offer 1 boy money."
"Ron!" Ginny punched her brother then stared at him with the kind of glare her mother had used regularly with the twins, causing Ron to wince and quickly step away from the group, nearly falling off the platform onto the rails in his haste to get away.
****
"No Scorpius?" Albus asked as he lead his sister into the compartment, marvelling as always, about the pristine state of the carriages as the door slid silently back across to close off the seats.
"Of course not," Rose's reply had an edge to it as if annoyed with explaining something obvious for the millionth time. "He's got head boy duties to do hasn't he.. Idiot."
Silenced, Albus sat down opposite Hugo and set up a chess board for them to play while the 2 girls gossiped. All the while hoping his own "hot rating" wouldn't come up. However, when the words 'Cei' and 'gryffindor' came up and his sister turned bright red, Albus tore his attention from the chess board to speak harshly to Lily. "6th Year Cei? He's a loner because he's evil Lily. NOT because he's quirky!"
Lily's anger flared up at that, "How can a gryffindor be evil, Albus? Hmm?"
"Do you not recall what happened to those slytherins that attacked him? One is still having mobility issues."
"He's evil because he defended himself? How does self defense make him evil?"
"He didn't look repentant!"
"Maybe he didn't do that injury."
"Why would a slytherin attack a slytherin?"
"To frame a gryffindor!"
"You're wrong!"
"You're wrong!"
Their voices had been getting louder with every word, causing one of the new prefects to barge in and ask them to shut up as it was scaring the cream in the cupcake cauldrons.
An uneasy silence strained the atmosphere some more as the 2 Potters took deep breaths and avoided looking at the other, each convinced they were in the right.
Rose looked pointedly at her brother, her glance telling him to think twice about saying his piece about the renegade gryffindor. Something not lost on Albus as he tried to focus once more on the chess board.

The atmosphere remained strained until the train reached Hogsmeade. Dark clouds and echos of ancient magic preventing anyone from seeing the still light sky.
Heavy rain as the carriage doors opened didn't help matters. Each student grumbling about being wet before even Peeves got his hands on them.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a barely glowing lantern indicated the presence of Hagrid as he gathered all first years for their scenic introduction to the castle.
He smiled down at the 4 of them as they passed, "cheer up guys!" He called after them, momentarily frowning at the lack of response.
Even in the great hall, Rose found the silence of her cousins deafening - she was unable to hear the headmaster's speech or anything the sorting hat said. Even Hugo, who had joined his friends at the other end of the table shrugged when she caught his eye.
"Scared of your final year already, miss Weasley?" Sir Nick asked, misinterpretating her worried expression.
"Oh. Not at all. I'm actually looking forward to it. It's my cousins I'm worried about. They had an argument on the train see." She paused then added, "about Cei."
"Ah, our resident questionable." The tone suggested they were carefully chosen words. "Let me guess, miss Potter has taken a fancy to him and master Potter or perhaps even your famous uncle, doesn't like him?"
"Yes. How did you..."
"Hmm, I wonder how long before our esteemed Herbology teacher finds out?" With a wink at Rose as he made the last remark, Nick floated to a group of first years who were staring wide eyed at the food that had appeared before them.

A/N: As always I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and look forward to your comments.

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

Owen! This was superduperfantabulous! What a great post! I loved all of it. What's James doing in the Black Forest!?!?!?!?! That sounds ominous. Why did Teddy feel he needed to get them compartment this year, and specifically a middle one. Owen, What's going on?!?!?!?!?!? What is the pronunciation of this boy? And he's a Gryffindor? But, I'm thinking like Lily. You really can't judge a book by it's cover. What does he mean by that?
OWEN YOU CANNOT, oops ... I mean Owen, please post as soon as you can, as we need to find out these answers.
Great post Owen. I'll be watching for your next post.

Owen! Excelent chapter. I love the way you are able to bring the siblings' relationships to life. It's truly realistic. Wouldn't happen to have any experience with siblings...? Obviously!

I'm glad you have started to draw the goblins into your story. I have been waiting for the adventure to begin...

Hmmm... Death Boy... I it! I also like how you pointed out the fact that girls only have to be told something once... whereas boys...*cough... cough...* Well... You know.. don't! You are so right!

BTW, Connie has some very good questions that should be answered!

I look forward to your next chapter.
Katie

The Weasleys just broke years of tradionally turning up late so that they and their cousins didn't have to scramble the length of the train to find an empty one..

James is merely doing fieldwork...

The nearest phonetical pronounciation is 'Kay'

I believe Nick thinks Professor Longbottom will be asked by Lily's father to keep an eye on Cei's activities.

I could be wrong though...

I cannot what? :p

A/N: Good afternoon my friends.
I hope you like this one and please let me know what you think.



Chapter 4: Old Enemies

The following morning, Lily woke to the usual start-of-term chaos that engulfed Gryffindor Tower: 1st years clustered like scared sheep looking for guidance; 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th years chatting excitedly about the previous summer and the year ahead; 5th and 7th years faking confidence.
Lily herself was distracted by a boy - she noticed Cei avoid the other 6th years and glance around the common room as if looking for someone before quickly exitting through the portrait hole.
Unhappy that she had been unable to catch his eye, Lily could not help but frown as she tried to think of ways to get him to notice her.
"What's wrong, Lily?" Rose had crossed the room at the first sign of trouble on Lily's features.
"I don't know, I mean, how do I get Cei to notice me?" Lily's response ended with a sob.
Opening her mouth to respond, Rose quickly thought better of it and thought more about her answer. She wanted Lily to be happy and did not trust Cei; basing her lack of trust on the rumours that circulated the castle about him, especially the one that had caused yesterday's argument between her cousins. The boy was clearly a psychotic. "I think that I he doesn't notice you as you are then he's not worth it."
That sounded like something her mother would say, Lily thought. Ginny had been chasing Harry for several unhappy years before being noticed. Lily had neither the time nor the patience to wait as long. "I doubt I have the time to wait that long, Rose," Lily said gloomily.
"A love potion then?" Rose giggled, excited to be discussing ways of snaring boys. She pushed all thoughts of the target out of her mind as the planning began.

****

"What have I done that Krull deems it necessary to have me followed?" Ogranak was angry that he was not trusted, "I have put out feelers, as asked, and had nothing but positive feedback from them."
Griphook held up a hand, signalling Organak to stop before making sure the door to his private office was closed and no one could overhear them,
"Use your brain, Ogranak," Griphook hissed, "we are all being followed; even Kurzog! Our shaman wishes to be absolutely sure our hearts are pure in the recovery of our greatest sword."
"But..."
"I know we can all be trusted in this, but Krull, perhaps rightly, thinks anyone exposed to humans on a regular basis is being corrupted."
"But.."
"Take some leave, Ogranak, but do not go near your father's estate."
"Why?" Griphook's words were spinning in his head and Ogranak was struggling to make sense of them.
"Because Krull is there. Doing research in to how it was originally lost." Griphook spoke as if to a dim-witted child.
"That defeat is known to every goblin in Europe!" Ogranak protested. Loudly enough for Griphook to check the door again.
"Keep your temper, Ogranak. Lose it outside these hallowed walls and you could lose a lot more.." Griphook paused, softening his tone, "he wants to find a way to break that cursed man's summonning charm. Naturally he doesn't trust the centaurs so is doing it himself."
"He lusts after the power of our ancestors?" Ogranak was wide eyed with interest now.
"For the love of Dedun, keep your mouth shut!" Griphook dominated the room, his black eyes bright with anger. "I need to keep you busy. Take a team to the new site in mexico, make sure you take Bill Weasley with you. GO!"
Ogranak fled from Griphook's office, running as fast as he could from his superior's rage. Taking a calming breath, he found himself outside a newsagents on Diagon Alley.

****

Harry was surprised to see the eagle owl soar into his office; the message it carried could have been delivered by something much smaller:

"A friend said you would love the article on page 7."

Underneath this message was a brand new copy of the Quibbler.
Harry did not waste time looking for a signature, he knew who had sent this message from the words used. Resisting the temptation to go to Gringott's and confront Griphook, Harry glanced out the magical window before starting to decode the message.
"Susan?" He called to his P.A. "Yes, Harry?"
"Could you owl my wife and tell her I'll be late for the family meal?"
"Yes Harry, anything else?"
"Thanks, ah, could you send someone from maintenance down please?"
"Of course." With a smile, Susan left his office and Harry alone with his brooding thoughts.

****

"What are you two giggling about?" Albus accosted his sister and cousin as they entered the great hall for breakfast.
"Cei," Lily answered defiantly, ready to restart yesterday's argument.
Rose looked nervously at her two cousins - who stood like statues facing off against each other - and then the enchanted ceiling, which promised a glorious day. She waved at Professor Longbottom as he sat on the staff table.
"What's got into those two?" A deep voice spoke behind Rose, causing her to shriek and the other two to stare at her.
"Cei?" Rose turned nervously to face him, unsure about how this psychotic would interact with normal people in a crowded area. She found herself staring at his chest and had to take a small step back to look at his face properly. To her surprise and indignation, Cei smiled at the look of suppressed anger on her face and laughed, "My reputation precedes me it seems," he said with a bigger smile, as if laughing at an inner joke. The smile brightened his features and made Rose realise why Lily fancied him.
"It's all lies, built around a fight that's forgotten it's cause," Cei winked at Hugo, who had turned to watch his cousins squabble and who suddenly went bright red. Cei continued, "fortified by my house treating me as an outcast, perhaps because of the solemn mask I wear.. I don't know. At any rate, I'm determined that the real me shall be known this year." Cei laughed at his own bravado, "apologies, I'm not usually so immodest. Just tired of being lonely, you know?"
Just then, a loud shout caught the attention of everyone in the hall; Scorpius charged across the room and shoved Cei away from his girlfriend. Resulting in a rare smile of approval from Albus.
"You stupid welsh mudblood lump, leave my girlfriend alone!"
Before most ears had registered the multiple insults, there was a loud bang. Scorpius was lying helplessly on the Gryffindor table; his head resting in a shattered glass bowl of eggs, his face covered in tiny cuts and his robes littered with other foods. His eyes widened in fear as he noticed Cei's very steady wand pointing at him.
"Cei, my office now, please." Professor Longbottom spoke from behind Cei before leaving, trusting his student to be there within 5 minutes or face worse consequences.
Before turning to follow his head of house, Cei spoke quietly and only to Scorpius, his voice dripping with ice and hate, "Get my lineage wrong again, Malfoy, and I will enjoy educating you in the finer points of my heritage. I may even show you what happened to your Slytherin friends."
Cei turned to leave, head down, looking penitent, before Scorpius spat at him, hissing "filthy mudblood" as the saliva landed in Cei's right ear.
This resulted in another loud bang as Cei spun on the spot, crouched and then punched Scorpius' still exposed groin. He followed through with an elbow to the Slytherin's adam's apple as the smaller boy jackknifed forward from the pain in his groin.
Scorpius collapsed back on to the table, struggling to breathe.
"Lesson number one, Malfoy: Do not start what you cannot finish." Cei spoke to the now twitching boy before running out of the hall toward's Nevile's office.
Nervous laughter covered the silence that had engulfed the great hall during the altercation before students outside of Gryffindor turned to each other to discuss this latest black mark on Cei's character.
"Albus!" Rose was angry. "Why did you not defend Scorpius?"
"Are you mad? Did you not see the pleasure in his eyes as he hit your beloved? How am I supposed to defend a guy I don't like from a guy hell bent on ruining him? He's so wrapped up in himself he doesn't care about collateral damage." Albus gestured at the Gryffindor's who had been covered by food and broken glass from when Scorpius had initially hit the table.
"Cei was provoked, Rose," Lily tried to calm the two older students with reason. "Surely you heard what Scorpius called him? Al', you should have stood up for Cei, it may have prevented this.." Lily gestured at Scorpius' still twitching form as teacher's arrived to take it to the hospital wing.
Rose sobbed as she saw Scorpius carried away and rushed to his side.
Albus stared at his sister, "I suppose you're right but like he said to Rose, don't side for or against until we've questioned someone.. Hugo?"
"The way Hugo reacted I imagine means he was involved.."
Both Potters turned to their remaining cousin who had watched the whole event with an ever bigger smile on his face. A face that suddenly found the food in front of it very interesting.

****

"Sorry I'm late," Harry spoke from the kitchen entrance to the Burrow, his cloak still fastened from when he'd left the office. He smiled as his mother-in-law hustled over to him and removed his cloak, guiding him to his seat in the process.
"Not to worry dear, you're here now," Mrs Weasley said as she disappeared with the cloak. Re-entering the kitchen she offered him a platter of potatoes before Ginny asked him to explain himself.
"An argument about the importance of a pay rise when national security is at stake and an owl from Neville."
While most ears became interested after hearing 'state security', Ron's reacted to 'owl from Neville'. "What did Neville want?" Ron cut across Hermione asking about security.
Harry smiled as he saw Hermione look daggers at Ron, "Nothing much, just telling me about a Slytherin being taught some manners by undesirable number two..."
"So there is good in 'death boy'?"
"So it seems, the Slytherin was Scorpius.."
Ron and George beamed at this while Ginny and Hermione looked shocked.
"What did Scorpius do?"
"He called the Gryffindor a mudblood and a welsh lump."
"I thought those days were long gone." Mrs Weasley said, "now then Harry, tell us about the maintenance incident."
Harry took a deep breath, "basically I have several methods of conversing with informers and one of them involves using a pin to write a message in an article by putting a hole underneath a letter or punctuation mark etc. Today I got a very important article from an informer who uses this method of communication. So, to get the message I usually pin it over the window to show all the holes at once. It's an old muggle method, Mr Weasley." Harry paused, hoping he wasn't going to fast, "I'll show you later. Anyway, seeing as maintenance want a pay rise, all the windows are full on storms so I couldn't easily unravel the message. To cut a long story short I got my wish and found out that I won't get any information from Gringott's for a while as both my informers have gone to South America. This sucks because one of the most influential goblin religious leaders is setting up camp near Hogwarts and researching an ancient battle that happened on the school grounds. I want to know why he's researching it."


Chapter 3

Chapter 5

Owen!

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Now, I was going to ask why Bill was turning traitor, but I just read he was an informant, so, problem solved! I like the concept. So, does that make Griphook a double agent as well, since he told Ogranak to take Bill with him?

I LOVE Cei! He reminds me of a friend of mine. Funny... you never really know what's inside a person until you take the time to get to know them. I am really loving this story line. It also felt good to see a Malfoy put in his place...

This chapter has really started the ball rolling. I can't wait until the next one!
Note: A love potion would've been interesting though...

Great work!
Katie

Wow Owen! I can't believe how great this is! Let me go back and pick up a few things I was most impressed with. While I agree with her I can't believe she was so blunt. But, then again, that's the way she is. Good job there. How cute is that! That is exactly the way young girls think! And quiet, and out of the way? This I loved so much! I wonder how close Rose was to passing out. Cei, sounds like he's irresistible! And quite frankly, I love him already. I mean the character he is. This was brilliant! I loved it all Owen. I can't take the time to do anymore picking. I hope you can write more soon. I think you're a great talent! I'll be watching for more.

Chapter 5: Every action...

Supper time at Hogwarts had it's traditions, namely the discussion of important things that had happened throughout the day. As a result of this, the only topic among older students was the morning's fight between Cei and Scorpius.
Albus glanced nervously down the Gryffindor table, eager to be sure that both his female relatives and Cei were not present before descending on Hugo like a hawk. "So, what did Cei mean earlier when he said there was a forgotten cause?"
Hugo felt blood rush to his cheeks before they even had a chance to turn pink, let alone red, he also checked the table before replying. "Why are you asking me, Al'?"
"Simple," Albus wore a triumphant grin, one he had inherited from his mother, "Cei inferred that it had something to do with you."
"He'd be right." Hugo took a deep breath before continuing, "he stopped them from bullying me. Do you really want to know more?"
"Of course."
"You'll have to ask Cei. I ran as soon as he got their attention." Hugo smiled as if a weight had been taken from his shoulders and began to eat.
Albus, however, was determined that his cousin did not get out so easily; recalling the younger boy's uncomfortable expression on the train, he asked, "why did your involvement stay secret?"
"People see what they want to see. He wasn't there. The authorities believed him to not be part of the picture. I've long given up on people believing facts. Pass the pumpkin juice please."
Albus fell off his seat when Cei spoke from behind him. He turned to face the sixth year, who had just taken his seat and was now pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice. "Beg pardon, Cei, but you're in my seat."
"Apologies, Albus, I thought you were leaving.." Cei smiled then got up and sat on Hugo's other side. But not before offering his hand to Albus and hauling the smaller boy to his feet.
Hugo was giggling at Cei's actions; he knew that Cei was simply trying to break the tension after his harsh words about the professors and that Albus had become the unwilling dancing partner.
"Pumpkin juice, Albus?" Cei ignored Hugo - whose giggles were causing his body to shake - and offered to pour a glass for Albus.
"No thanks," Albus blinked, "do you really have no faith in the professors to get things right?"
"Not quite; they got and believed the truth. However, I think Slug got too upset about what I did to his students to remember to tell the rest of his house what really happened. From there we get rumours. And people are happier believing rumours rather than facts." There was a dull quality to Cei's voice as if he was reciting an oft repeated speech.
"You're not bitter about it?"
"Why should I be? I got a friend out of it and less people trying to bully me."
"So, Hugo's a friend then?"
"Indeed." Cei smiled at Albus again and began filling his plate.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what happened?"
"Not forming a report for daddy are you? About my suitability as a partner for his daughter?"
Cei made it sound so pretentious and snobby that Albus had to laugh, he imitated Hugo in the way his shoulders moved as he laughed; up and down in rhythm with each verbal 'ha'.
"As it happens, no, I was just curious." Albus regained control of himself while Hugo's giggles started again. "Though, I think it was something similar to what happened this morning? More importantly, how do you know my sister fancies you?"
Cei simply gestured open handed at Hugo causing Albus to start laughing again.

* * * *

Lily looked up as Rose approached her, a look of remorse on her sharp features, putting Lily in mind of her Uncle Ron but with brown hair,
"Are we okay?" Rose asked, "I'm sorry about this morning. Scorpius was out of line."
"Not to worry," Lily offered her hand to Rose, "let's see if we can get Hugo to tell us his role in Cei's mystery."
Both girls giggled at that before abruptly stopping when the portrait opened to rudely reveal the outlines of Albus, Cei and Hugo; arms linked they were yelling Chudley Canon chants and laughing whenever one of them made a mistake or a new version of the chant.
Rose scowled at Hugo, showing her disapproval of his behaviour while in a public place. Surprisingly, it was Cei who noticed the girls first and quietened almost immediately. The familiar 'surly' mask was again in place and he headed to his dormitory without another word.
"What's up with Rose?" Albus quickly recovered from the surprise of Cei's abrupt disappearance.
"You're corrupting your cousin." Lily replied in a tone that said she believed it was Albus' fault.

* * * *

Harry was in a bad mood as he left for work that morning. He had been annoyed by Ron's reaction to Neville's letter - Ron believed the boy Lily fancied was a good choice on the grounds that he had knocked out 'undesirable number one' rather than see the danger of going out with a mindless thug - Mr Weasley had questioned him until the early hours about the newspaper communications and Ginny was demanding he did more to find their eldest son: a subject that always caused tension between them.
A wry smile played across his face as he noticed the cloudless sky in his office window. There were no cases requiring his immediate attention so he leaned back in his chair in an attempt to relax.
He did not notice his godson enter the room until the younger man coughed.
"Teddy? Teddy! How are you?" Harry straightened in his chair and offered the other to Teddy.
"I'm good thanks. You, however, look like hell. Ginny still on at you to find James?"
"Pushing harder."
"What would you like me to do?"
As ever, Harry felt as if pride of this man would make him burst, "I don't know, he broke our hearts. I don't want to cause her further heartbreak though." Harry blinked, "why are you here anyway?"
"I got accepted into the department of mysteries."
"Congratulations," Harry shook Teddy's hand, "have you told anyone else?"
"Not yet, I've got just enough time to do some shopping in diagon alley before starting this afternoon. Ooh, has Albus received my owl yet?"
"Not that I'm aware of.. Why? What was it?"
"Nothing special, just a couple of minor artefacts from the black forest."
"I'm sure he'll like them." Harry spoke warmly, there was no way Albus would be ungrateful.
"I hope so," Teddy stood up, "anyway, I need to get back. Can't be seen to be hiding behind your coat tails on my first day after all."
"See you later, Teddy," Harry watched his godson get to the door before speaking again, 'Teddy! Do you know any goblins?"
"None sorry." Teddy's head disappeared as quickly as it had reappeared.


A/N: As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have to admit to having a lot of difficulty with it; pace is an issue I'm still not comfortable with and I fear being clueless about the eventual length of the story.

Chapter 4

Chapter 6

Owen!

Another fine chapter. You, my friend, have to quit doubting yourself and continue to write whatever enters your mind; your ideas are fantastic. I love the comraderie that is developing between Cei, Hugo and Albus. I also like the idea that you are slowly allowing your readers in on the true character of Cei. Anyone that has to work so hard to appear hard and untrusting, must be a great bloke at heart. At least, this is my opinion.

So, what's up with Teddy's new job in the Department of Mysteries...? Where are you going to take us with this plot, I wonder... I do hope you are keeping James safe; I don't think Ginny can take much more, when it comes to her kids. I think Cei and Ginny are doing her head in already!

Great work, as always. I look forward to your next chapter!
Katie

Owen, I've read this three times, cause I like to form a thought about how to solve each thing going on. Everytime I think I have something figured out I come up with several reasons why it can't be. And although it would be good to know what Bill and Ogranak was sent to spy on in Mexico, I'm with Harry, I think it would be good to know why Krull is researching the anciant battle that took place on Hogwarts grounds. Surely if he knows about the battle and the outcome, then he knows it's all about the sword he's doing rersearch on. Just what about it, I'm sure is what Harry is wanting to know.

I can't say this is my favorite part of the chapter, but I laughed at the mental picture it made in my head. And as it should be, Rose quickly puts things in order, causing all the merriment of the three new friends to stop, with only an angry scowl, and not even a single word. Loved it so much. Poor Harry. But then this was the silver lining: At least he must have gotten the maintanance crew's unhappiness dealt with. That at least is one good thing to feel good about.
Loved your chapter Owen, and I think you worry too much about the length of the story. I won't mind whatever length you end up with. All I care about is if it's a good story, and it is. Actually, it's great!
I'll be watching out for your next chapter. (I hope it won't be ages before we get to read it.)

A/N: Connie and Katie, thanks for your comments - they always bring a smile to my stern face haha.
As for your questions, I think they'll be answered within the next 3-4 chapters. For now...
Chapter 6: .. Has a reaction
Several weeks had passed since the morning Cei had smiled at her cousin but Lily was still no closer to exchanging pleasantries with her crush. She noted the increased camaraderie between Cei, Hugo and Albus and it made her nervous; how would they react to her asking Cei to join her in Hogsmeade?
She stroked her new pygmy puff while debating how to word her request and where to ask it.. Deciding eventually to write off this weekend and wait until the next one after getting advice off her mum, Lily began to scribble a note, pausing as she struggled even to come up with the words for that. She was unaware that Rose was doing something similar next door.
Rose's plight had been caused by a prank Hugo had played on Slytherin that morning. He had somehow transfigured the whole house into ferrets; a transformation that lasted 10 minutes and left Scorpius angry and humiliated.
The young Malfoy had taken it out on Rose in front of everyone the following lunchtime, calling her the foul offspring of a blood traitor and mudblood and then loudly condemning as a maker of exquisite love potions before being dragged away by Albus. The last thing she remembered was Scorpius disappearing beneath a large black cloak and a scream.
Rose sighed and began to write down the day's events, adding her thoughts, hopes and fears about them. She folded the parchment and, unaware of the tears covering it, sent it to Hermione attached to a large school barn owl.
Lily began her final draft with much hilarity about the prank, asking if it was part of a new range of WWW products and adding her doubts and fears in a private letter to Ginny.
She only relaxed on her bed when her 3 year old Tawny owl disappeared from view.

****

The fire in the common room slowly died, it's glow reducing with each member of Gryffindor house that went upstairs to bed until only Cei and Albus were sat in front of it. One was lost in his thoughts, the other in an ancient book that stained his robes and fingers with dust.
"Were we too harsh on Malfoy?"
Cei looked up from his book, "excuse me?"
"Were we too harsh on him? Y'know, he wet himself when he saw you, surely that was enough?"
"I let you borrow my cloak. I had nothing to do with whatever you did. What was the aim of your, ah, exercise?"
"Keeping him in line for Rose's sake."
Cei looked hard at Albus then, the fire's reflection in his eyes was steel, causing Albus to shrink into his chair. "Tell me what you know of the dark lord's followers, Al'" Cei spoke warmly, despite his suddenly fierce appearance.
"I, er...."
"They thrived on fear yes?"
"I, er, guess so.."
"The lesson they teach us is simple." Cei's tone had become almost reverent, "fear can be effective against people, at keeping them in line. But all it takes is one individual to stand up, to break that loop and the cycle is broken."
"Your point?" Albus was blunt, a symbol of tiredness.
"Fear breeds hate. Hate breeds vengeance. Vengeance breeds war." Each sentence was emphasised by a hand movement.
Albus laughed nervously, "you really think slapping a bad boyfriend around is a ruse de guerre?"
"Your aunt teach you that phrase?" A nod. "It happens I do. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. It makes us do crazy things. It thrives on chaos." Cei suddenly slapped his forehead hard, "no. Wait. That's mutual infatuation." Cei began to giggle before once more shutting out everyone with a surly mask as if something had upset him. He slammed the book closed, causing dust to pour off it in a miniature sandstorm. "See you in the broomsticks tomorrow Al'."
Was Cei warning him of something? Albus did not find his new friend's answer satisfactory but years of avoiding surly Cei had formed a seemingly unbreakable habit of hiding when the younger boy was on the prowl.
Left to his own devices, Albus cleared dust off the cover of Cei's abandoned book but got no further than the title, "EXCALIBVR", emblazoned on a half familiar coat of arms.

The following morning saw the students talking excitedly about the weekend's Hogsmeade visit. The first of the new term. Lily noted Cei's absence from breakfast with a sinking heart but was pleased to see that Albus had finally got an owl from Teddy. She was almost instantly at her brother's side, "What is it?"
Albus looked up, irritated by the interuption before handing a note to her,
"I'm sorry for the delay, I bought owls for safe flights rather than speed. There's a chance the two artefacts are fragile - they are over one thousand years old after all.
Teddy"
"Hey, is it just me or does Teddy have a neater hand than that? It reminds me of..."
Albus shrugged at his sister's question, focussing instead on two, six inch tall, intricately carved Kantauride figures. One looked like it had a small amount of fire damage and held a sword. The other, in better condition held a staff with what appeared to be a ruby on the end.
Albus spent the rest of breakfast on auto-pilot, unwilling to take hand or eye from the figures. He did not even join in with Hugo's excited chatter about the upcoming Chudly Cannon's game, nor did he complain when his family began dragging him back toward Gryffindor common room in preparation of the day's Hogsmeade visit.

It was a typical mid-autumn day, bright yet cloudy with a light breeze. Even so, what little light there was seemed to flee from Cei as he stormed past the quartet, wearing the same ensemble he had on when in gringotts, with old book in hand and his face a mask of rage and misery?
Lily was convinced she saw misery. The others were too busy trying to avoid the boy's gaze to notice, in case he went mental on them. Old habits die hard after all.
All four of them failed to notice the ruby on the staff weilding kantauride figure light up as Cei approached and fade as he disappeared.
Lily impatiently pulled Rose away from the two boys, muttering, "Cei's upset about something. Come with me," as they reached the end of the corridor and began to shadow Cei.
Rose reluctantly followed her cousin as they headed slightly away from Hogsmeade - both girls pulled their hair into pony tails to prevent the blustery wind from blowing it into their mouths - she had been looking forward to a day of shopping. As the minutes passed, however, she began to feel excited at the prospect of shadowing Lily's crush all day. It opened all sorts of cans for juicy gossip. She did not notice an ever present small red bundle that remained a constant 20 feet behind them.

Chapter 5

Chapter 7

as always, I hope you enjoyed that and look forward to reading any comments - please don't be afraid to post - I don't bite.