Chapter Forty - William and the Switcheroo

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful world... Damn it!

Chapter Forty - William and the Switcheroo

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Harry and his bondmates had been asleep for a while when the voice of Winky woke them up.

"Master Harry, sir!" she firmly called. "Master Harry needs to be waking up!"

Groggily, Harry woke and muttered "I'm awake."

"Master Harry and Mistresses needs to be getting up," she said.

Hermione, from where she appeared to have only just been stirring, suddenly shot up sitting bolt upright. "Winky?" she called back, a little fearfully. "What's wrong? Have my parents been attacked?"

"Mistress Celly say baby coming," replied Winky. "Master Antnee acting funny. Mistress Celly send me to tell you they goings straight to hospital; and ask if you meet them there."

Hermione practically leapt out of bed as soon as she heard 'baby coming'. Knowing what was coming, Harry patted Daphne on the bum where she was sleeping face down and muttered, "Come on, get up. It looks like Hermione wants us to head to the maternity hospital."

"Of course, I do!" Hermione almost snapped back, as if Harry would be an idiot for thinking otherwise.

With an almost moan Daphne sighed and said, "Alright, I'm getting up." Then started to manoeuvre into a position to sit up before swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

With Hermione already up and grabbing robes out of the dresser to get dressed, Harry was able to slide out the same side as Daphne slowly climbed out of bed.

"She's just giving birth, love," he sighed. "She's not involved in a life or death situation."

"Just giving birth? Just?" she keened. "Really?"

Harry immediately raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Hey; whoa!" he said. "I understand. But, you need to approach this logically. Giving birth is considered routine, these days. And a maternity hospital is set up to handle every contingency. There's no safer place for her, right now."

"I don't care!" she almost snarled back.

With a sigh, Harry began to walk to the bathroom to wash his face as he watched Hermione almost frantically try and dress herself in school robes. It took Harry a moment to realise that would not be wise.

"Hermione-love," he calmly said, stopping to address her. "You need to dress in muggle clothing. We're going to a muggle hospital."

Startled and almost blushing from her mistake, Hermione muttered, "Of course, I do. Silly me. What was I thinking?"

As Harry continued to the bathroom, Daphne walked over to Hermione - who had turned back to the dresser and was madly clawing through her 'civilian' muggle clothing - and grabbed her by the upper arms. "Hermione, sweetheart; take your time. We have this all planned out, remember?"

Hermione, stunned that she'd been grabbed, took a few moments to figure out through her sleep-addled mind what had happened. That was enough for the teen to begin thinking straight again. She blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry," she softly said.

Realising she had her bond-mate calmed down again, Daphne just said, "It's alright. Now you're thinking straight." And turned to her own dresser to pull out similar clothing.

When Harry walked back out of the bathroom after washing his face, the girls were mostly dressed. Noticing Hermione had calmed down again, he gave both girls a nod before turning to his own dresser and pulling out clothing.

Both girls finished getting dressed and then ducked into the bathroom to wash their own faces and ready themselves.

Considering the time of year, and how long they were likely to be spending at the hospital, all three dressed in light jeans, collared t-shirts, pullovers and trainers. They'd already scoped out the hospital where Cele was planning on giving birth, and the facilities available to those waiting on news.

Noticing it was still very much dark out, Harry immediately checked the time on his watch as he donned it. It was close enough to 4:30 in the morning.

Giving his head a little shake trying to dispel the last of the sleepiness he was feeling, he walked into the living room and grabbed a small piece of parchment and a muggle pen before sitting at one of the study carrels. He wrote...

Professor Flitwick,

Just received word via house elf that Hermione's mother has gone into labour. We've gone to calm down the expectant father. We'll return as soon as possible, or otherwise send word.

HP, HG-P & DG-P

Once he'd finished he rolled the parchment into a mini scroll and turned to walk over to Hedwig. As he was tying the note to her leg, the girls came out of the bedroom ready to travel.

"Ready?" asked Hermione, her frenzy again starting to develop.

"Almost," said Harry, as he finished tying the note to Hedwig's leg. Looking directly into the owl's eyes he said, "No rush, girl. At breakfast would be fine."

Hedwig gave a small bob of her head and bark before she checked to make sure the load was firmly affixed. Once she was sure it was, she turned about and leapt out the window.

Watching to make sure she was safely away, Harry turned to the others and said, "It's the wrong time of the day to use the Floo through one of the Professor's offices. And even the Three Broomsticks will be closed. That, of course, is if the castle's front door and gate are not locked to allow us egress."

"We'll need to use elf travel," grimaced Hermione.

"Only to outside the wards," said Daphne. She then pulled a long ribbon out of her pocket with a grin. "This is a portkey to the laneway next to the hospital. Dad made it for us."

With a sigh of relief and gratitude, Hermione gave her sister-wife a hug and said, "I'd still prefer not to use the elves for this sort of thing."

Turning to Harry, she asked, "Can we still try walking to the front gate, first?"

"Sure," said Harry. "If you want to take your time." He pulled out his Map to check to see if the corridors were empty, before refolding it and putting it away in his pocket. "We're clear," he said. "Everyone's abed."

Their hurried walk on silenced feet down to the entrance hall went without incident. However, as soon as they reached the main doors, they found them locked.

As Harry was reaching out to open them, Hermione softly commanded, "Hold it."

Harry immediately obeyed. He knew that when Hermione used her 'command' voice, it was to be instantly obeyed. It had saved them more than once during their horcrux hunt during the first time line.

Drawing her wand, Hermione cast a detection charm on the door. It glowed at the point of the simple locking latch.

"A simple alert ward," she explained. "If the latch is disengaged, it sends the alert."

"Can we use the elves now?" asked Daphne. "We're simply going to have the same problem with the gates, you know."

With a sigh, Hermione nodded back. "But, just to beyond the wards. We'll use the portkey from there."

"Dobby, Winky," Daphne softly commanded.

Both elves popped in. Before they could ask why they were called, Daphne quietly asked, "Can you take the three of us to the other side of the front gate, please?"

"Yes, Mistress," said Dobby. He then took the hands of both Daphne and Harry before popping away.

They popped back into reality a moment later. And, less than three seconds later, Winky popped in with Hermione in tow.

"Thank you," said Hermione. "We really appreciate that."

Both elves nodded before popping away again. And Daphne pulled out the pink ribbon from her pocket she identified as a portkey.

When Harry pinched onto the ribbon he noticed it was silk. Then, as soon as Hermione also took a grip on it, Daphne softly commanded, "Baby time!"

The three then felt the hook behind the navel effect of a portkey whisking them away.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

A few moments later, the three appeared in an alley just along from the City of London Maternity Hospital. Harry, as per usual, crashed to the ground. However, both wives were able to land on their feet.

Used to his landings now, Harry simply rose and used a wand to scourgify his clothing while looking about. "Know which way to go?" he asked.

"This way," said Daphne, leading them to the closest end of the narrow lane.

As soon as she reached it, she turned left and, as she walked, indicated the hospital mere yards ahead. She didn't even have to identify it as the large, brightly lit sign outside made it quite clear.

With Daphne still leading the way, the three walked in through the main doors. However, once inside the three stood a moment side by side, Daphne asked, "Ummm... what's the muggle version of a 'Welcome Witch'?"

"Reception," said Hermione, indicating the desk clearly marked as such; and led the way across the small foyer to approach the desk.

As soon as she had the receptionist's attention, Hermione said, "Apparently my mother was brought in. She went into labour. Celeste Granger?"

The receptionist looked at the computer monitor before her and made a couple of keystrokes before looking back. "Second floor; turn right out of the lifts; follow the signs to the waiting room," she instructed while making gestures with her hand.

"Thank you," said Hermione, turning to look where the receptionist indicated where the lifts could be found.

With Hermione now leading the way, the three took a lift to the second floor and followed the directions, as instructed. Moments later the three walked into the 'Expectant Families' waiting room and found Matthias and Deece inside.

After a quick greeting between the five of them, Hermione asked, "Where's Mum and Dad?"

"Ah!" said Deece. "I don't know if you'll be able to stay with them long, if at all, but I'll take you to them. Everyone else is going to have to stay behind in here, for now."

Deece quickly led Hermione back down the corridor towards the lifts, and went further along before turning to a door and softly knocking. Harry and Daphne watched all that from the corridor outside the waiting room.

They watched as the door was opened and Hermione was practically crushed in a hug by Ant before being dragged into the room and the door being closed. Deece simply walked back to join them.

"News?" asked Daphne.

Deece explained, "The baby's a little early... about a week and a bit... but it's definitely not a false labour. The little tyke will be with us before too much longer."

"Now what?" asked Harry.

With a smile back, Deece said, "Now; we wait."

Harry gave a thoughtful nod before he asked, "About how long?"

Matthias gave a chuckle and said, "As long as it takes."

"Some births are pretty quick," explained Deece. "And, some births are pretty slow. However, I think it might be a few hours yet. According to Ant, Celeste isn't... her body is not quite ready to deliver just yet."

"So, we just wait?" he asked.

"We just wait," she confirmed with a smile.

About half an hour later, after being told for the third time to sit down and stop pacing by Daphne, Harry asked, "Any other family coming?"

"Later in the morning," replied Matthias. "Cele's mother is coming in, along with her brother and his wife. However, it's going to take them time to get here from wherever it is that they live. And her brother, Robert, has to go and collect their mother first."

"They didn't contact them until they knew it wasn't a false labour," said Deece. "And that only happened about fifteen minutes before you got here."

"That must've been just after they sent Winky to tell us," said Harry.

"It was," admitted Deece. "They also didn't want to tell you until they knew it was going to happen today."

Just then Hermione walked in with a large grin on her face.

"News?" asked Daphne, the first to spot her and ask.

"She's dilating but it's going to be a little while yet," grinned Hermione. "But, according to the nurses, everything is going as planned. No problems."

"How's your dad holding up?" asked Matthias.

If anything, Hermione's grin got wider. "I think the nurses must've given him something to calm him down. He's still pretty hyper, though. He's now utterly focussed on helping Mum with her breathing while holding her hand."

"Did the nurses give any clues as to when... you know..." asked Harry.

"Not for a couple of hours yet, they guess," she replied. She then got a more serious look on her face as she looked at Harry. "Harry, do you mind if I..."

"If you need to be with your parents, go!" interrupted Harry.

As Hermione looked relieved, Daphne added, "Just remember to keep coming back and letting us poor 'lesser' family members know what's going on."

Hermione was about to turn around and leave again when she skipped over and kissed both him and Daphne. "Thank you," she breathed to them. Then she quickly left again.

Once she'd gone, Daphne sighed and said, "So. What do we four do in the meantime?"

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Once Hermione had left, Matthias smiled and looked around before saying anything. There were a clear three other groups in the large waiting area determined by the four distinct groups they made. Clearly, they'd be unable to perform any magic out in the open like this.

Giving a firm nod, Matthias beckoned the other three toward him and said, "Two male, two female. Deece, you can take Daphne with you. Find someplace uninhabited and apparate directly from there back to Greengrass Farm. Have an early breakfast if you like, and pick up something to read. Whatever it is, we can charm it with a muggle Notice-Me-Not charm so no one will see it's a magical book. Once you return, I'll take Harry and we'll do the same thing.

"In the meantime, if Hermione comes back to tell us something important, either of us can go to the toilets and summon one of the elves to pass on a message to the other, to let them know to come back. Does that work for you?"

The other three nodded and Deece said, "We'll have to remain in the same clothes, though. That would be too hard to otherwise explain. If anyone asks about the books we bring back, we can just say they were left in the muggle... car-thingy..."

"Car; yes," said Harry.

"Car," said Deece.

"Works for me," said Matthias.

Over the next near two hours, Deece and Daphne, then Matthias and Harry, and finally Deece and Hermione, made short apparition trips to Greengrass Farm so they could 'freshen up', grab something to read, and grab a bite to eat before returning to the hospital.

Once Hermione returned, she immediately headed back to the room, only to find that Cele had finally been moved into one of the 'birthing rooms' and she wasn't allowed in. She returned to the waiting room and told them what was happening.

As she was explaining about muggle birthing rooms to the others, five more people walked in; three of whom Harry recognised. As soon as she noticed them, Hermione cut her explanation short and hurried over with a cry of, "Grandma!" before carefully launching herself into a restrained hug with the slight elderly woman who was part of the new group.

While the old woman hugged a clearly happy Hermione back and chuckled, Harry gestured for the others - Robert Cummings, his wife Marybeth and whom he believed to be their two teenaged daughters - to come and join them.

"Hello Harry," said Robert with a grin while holding his hand out to shake.

Harry smiled back and shook the man's hand before turning to Marybeth. "Hello Marybeth. It's good to see you again."

When the woman returned his greetings, Harry then indicated Deece and Matthias. "You remember Deece and Matthias don't you?" he asked.

"Of course," said Robert, first shaking hands with Matthias before turning and doing the same with Deece. Matthias, ever the gentleman, bowed and lightly kissed Marybeth's knuckles as Deece then leaned forward and lightly bussed the woman's cheeks.

"And these are our daughters, June and April," said Robert, indicating both girls in turn.

After the pleasantries were completed, Marybeth asked, "How're things progressing with the birth?"

Hermione, leading her maternal grandmother Elizabeth to the group, said, "She's just been moved into the birthing rooms. That was about five to ten minutes ago."

"Then I should have another grandchild before too much longer," said Elizabeth, firmly.

Looking to the others, Robert asked, "How long've you been here?"

"A couple of hours," replied Matthias with a slight shrug. "It's not been a bother. We've all taken time to go for a walk outside and to grab a bite to eat for breakfast."

"We stopped in at a traveller's layover on the way in and ate there," explained Robert. Harry knew Matthias and Deece didn't understand, but knew it would appear odd if they showed their ignorance.

As the group settled down to wait, Hermione was animatedly talking to her grandmother about school at the 'secretive private school for the gifted up north'; to which her grandmother was attentively listening with a small smile.

After a little while, Hermione was too anxious awaiting news from her parents, and couldn't wait any longer. She excused herself from her chat with her grandmother and walked back to the hospital room to see if she could discover any news.

Harry decided to go talk to Elizabeth, rather than see her sit alone. Approaching her where she sat slightly apart, Harry gestured to the seat where Hermione sat and asked, "May I?"

"Of course," the old woman replied with a smile.

As Harry sat down she suddenly asked, "How's life at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, it's pretty..." he started to reply before what she asked caught up with his cognitive thought processes, and he stopped in shock. He hesitated for a moment before he softly asked her, "Ummm... How... how did you know?"

With a pleased smile she'd guessed right, Grandmother Elizabeth leaned towards him a little and replied, "Hermione is not the first witch in our family. My sister was one, too."

"Was?" he asked, dreading the answer.

With a wistful look away, Elizabeth replied, "We didn't learn of it for a long time. However, we found out she and her husband were killed by those masked terrorists... Death Eaters?... in the late nineteen seventies.

"We found out some time after..." she paused and suddenly snapped her head around to stare at him with a look of shock and not a little fear. "Are you...?"

Responding with a wistful smile of his own, Harry asked back, "Am I that Harry Potter? Yes; yes, I am."

"So, it's true?" she asked. "The head baddie is dead?"

"Yes... and no," he replied. "Tom Riddle...that's his real name, by the way... did die that night. However, through some ancient and very dark magics, he prepared for the possibility he'd be killed. He created some things that would anchor his soul to this plane of existence. And, only a few months ago... in June... was able to create for himself a new body for that soul to inhabit. Sad to say, he's back."

"So, he can't be disposed of permanently?" she asked.

"Now he can," Harry replied with a bit of a grin. "Hermione, Daphne and I... in secret... have destroyed all those anchors. However, we were unable to destroy all of them before he was able to create a new body for himself. Next time he's killed, though; it's permanent."

"Can't he just create more of those... spirit anchors?" she asked.

"Nope," he replied. "What his spirit now inhabits is not a true human body, even though it looks like one. It's a magical construct known as a homunculus. The closest non-magical analogue to that would be... 'cyborg'. Or, better yet, 'biological android'."

Elizabeth took a few moments to think of that before she quietly, but clearly fearfully, asked, "If this... Riddle man is back, are they targetting muddle... no... mogg..."

"Muggleborn," corrected Harry. "And, yes. The so-called Dark Lord and his followers, the Death Eaters, are once again targeting muggleborns; those born of non-magical parents and families."

Harry watched as Elizabeth's face fell at that news.

"However, they're not the only ones; not by a long shot," he continued. "Muggleborns are just the excuse. They target anyone who speaks out against them. Including those born of a non-magical family and a magical family... like me... and those who're born of purely magical families who disagree with them. They call them 'blood traitors'. Daphne and her family are in that category."

"So, you're all in danger," she said, indicating the Greengrasses, Daphne and he.

"Yes, but so are you," said Harry. "Your security... your protection... comes from what's called 'security through obscurity'. Riddle's band of terrorists does not understand the non-magical world. They do not understand about telephone directories and the like. They do not know, other than those who live with a wizard or witch in the muggle world, how to find anyone like you. Therefore, you currently have some measure of protection... for now.

"However, Tom wants to also conquer the muggle world. But, he's not going to do that until he's conquered the magical world. If all goes right, he'll be stopped before that happens; just as he was in nineteen eighty-one."

Harry and Elizabeth talked for some more before Hermione came back. The look on her face showed there still wasn't news yet.

"Sorry, nothing yet," she said, seeing the inquisitive looks on the faces of the others.

She walked over to where Harry was sitting with Elizabeth. As she approached, Elizabeth indicated the chair to her other side from Harry, which Hermione gratefully took.

Looking across Elizabeth, Harry quietly said to his wife, "Grandma Elizabeth is in the know, Hermione. It seems you had a great aunt who was also a witch."

Hermione looked between the two with shock before she finally fixed her grandmother with a stare. "Really?" she squeaked.

"Really," smiled Elizabeth right back.

With a look of both fear and happy relief, Hermione began to ask questions at her often rapid pace before Harry interrupted her.

"Hermione-love," he said, getting her attention. "As she knows about 'our' world, perhaps it would be a good idea to explain to her about our unique relationship. I think you're the one who needs to handle that."

And before Hermione could refuse, or Elizabeth asked him questions, he quickly rose and walked over to the Greengrasses.

He took a seat next to Daphne and quietly told her about how much Elizabeth knew, and why. "I think you need to go over and sit with them to provide Hermione support. I don't know how Elizabeth is going to take the news of our three-way marriage."

Daphne nodded back, gave him a chaste kiss to the cheek, and walked over to join Hermione and her grandmother.

Seeing her go, Deece walked over and took Daphne's seat next to him and quietly asked, "What's that about?"

So, Harry explained.

"Then I think I shall join them," she firmly said, rising and walking over to join the three ladies, where they were now in deep but quiet discussion.

As the others began to notice the now four ladies had moved off to the side to chat, Harry walked over to join them. Thinking quickly he came up with a plausible excuse.

"I think they're talking about fantasy fiction books," said Harry. "Personally, I don't see the value. But, it seems Elizabeth is a fan."

"Oh, she is," said Robert. "I think my Aunt Muriel was a member of some faction of the... what did they call it?... Society for Creative Anachronism, or something. She was always dressed just a little weirdly. She used to talk, when they thought I couldn't hear them, about spells and stuff like that."

Matthias suddenly focussed a stare upon Harry, who gave an almost imperceptible nod back. Matthias then looked surprised.

After a moment, he asked Robert, "You said, your Aunt Muriel?"

Robert just gave a slight shrug and said, "Yes. Muriel Patterson. She and her husband were killed in an attack of some sort. It was a home invasion, if I remember correctly. The police thought it was a home robbery gone badly. It was back in... late in the nineteen seventies; about... nineteen seventy seven? No. Nineteen seventy nine. There were quite a few of them all over London, back then. They seemed to just stop some time in nineteen eighty or eighty one.

"The police never did find out who was doing it. But, they put it down to some splinter faction of the IRA that was doing it to raise funds for their terrorist organisation. I'm just glad that the IRA has now stopped that. Too many lives were taken as a result of that nuisance."

While Robert was 'reminiscing' Harry and Matthias were sneaking 'looks' at one another. Both knew exactly what was going on, and why the culprits were never caught.

It was into this tableau that Ant came almost running into the waiting area. He took one look at everyone and almost shouted, "It's a boy!"

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

After finally getting a chance to go in and spend a few minutes visiting with Cele and the newborn Granger boy, the group trooped down the corridor and into the room where the Grangers were.

"Introducing... William Aragon Granger," said Ant, quite proudly, holding his new son in his arms.

"Aragon?" asked Robert, a little surprised.

"Merchant of Venice?" asked Hermione, having personally experienced her parents' penchant for Shakespearean character names.

"Correct!" beamed Ant.

"Ant wanted Aragon as the first name," said Cele, a little tiredly from where she rested back in 'her' bed. "This time, however, I put my foot down."

"Shakespearean names are classy," said Ant, as if he was simply stating an undisputable fact. "Bill Granger is common; but, William Aragon Granger has class!"

After they'd been visiting for a short while, a nurse entered and bid them all leave. "Both mother and baby need their rest. I dare say, so does the father. You may return later this afternoon during normal visiting hours, but not before."

With only a few light-hearted grumbles, the entire party left again. As they were walking down the corridor away from the room, Matthias quietly asked Ant, "Feel like staying at Greengrass Farm? Either Deece or I will be more than willing to shuttle you back and forth. It'll be quicker for you."

Grateful for the offer, Ant replied, "If it's not too much trouble, thank you. I think I'd bounce off the walls if at our place on my own."

"You're more than welcome," said Deece, assuaging Ant's fear he wouldn't be.

As they piled into a lift, Robert said, "Mum wants to be close by for the next couple of days. We'll be booking in to a hotel..."

"Nonsense!" scoffed Ant. "As I'll be enjoying the hospitality of the Greengrasses, as they live quite a bit closer, you'll have my place for the duration." And with that, and before his decision could be disagreed with, he pulled his set of keys out of his pocket and separated out the keys for the house.

Handing them to Robert, who was a little reluctant to take them, Ant said, "Make yourself at home. It's only about a thirty minute drive to the hospital from there."

"What about your clothes and personal... you know," asked Marybeth.

"Already packed and in my car," replied Ant. "I have everything I need."

After Robert and his family left with Elizabeth, Ant ducked away with everyone else and called Winky.

"Yes, Master Ant-knee?" asked the little elf.

After Ant got through explaining what he needed the little elf to accomplish, she called for help from Dobby, and the two elves popped away.

Their 'mission' was to ready the Granger home for a visit from a muggle family of five, pack some personal effects and clothing for Ant from the house and move it to Greengrass Farm, and move Ant's BMW to the farm, as well.

Once the elves were on their way, Matthias created a portkey to take everyone else back to the Farm; and they were away.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

The bond-mates were only at Greengrass Farm for a couple of hours before they had to leave. Classes for the morning were breaking up and they needed to be back before the afternoon classes began. Plus, they also wanted to spend lunch with their friends so they could update them on what had happened.

From Greengrass Farm they Floo'ed directly to The Three Broomsticks, and then walked back to the school through the main gates.

They arrived just after lunch had begun, and hurried to the Ravenclaw table. As they walked in through the main doors to the Great Hall, Harry caught the eye of Professor Flitwick and gave him a bit of wave, confirming they had returned.

After they had eaten their fill, and caught Luna up on what had happened, they were soon joined by Neville, Tracey and quite a few others.

"A baby!" squealed Susan, after they tried to explain where they'd been. "What's his name?"

"William Aragon Granger," replied a very happy Hermione. "I now have a baby brother."

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Before lunch was fully over and students headed for their next classes, the three were able to get a copy of their assignments they missed receiving from the morning's classes. Yes, they still knew all the material, but appearances needed to be kept.

And that afternoon they were able to give the news of the birth of little William to one of the two Professors the three admired the most; their Head of House, Professor Flitwick. Through unspoken agreement, the three only told Professor Snape that Hermione's mother had given birth to a second child, a son. They did not give the baby's name. And the Potions Master did not push for it.

Snape only gave a grunt in reply before he changed the subject. "I am... most pleased to see improvement in your brewing," he said, looking to Harry and Hermione. He then turned to Daphne and said, "As I can only assume their improvement is the result of your personal tutoring, I believe you have the makings of a fine teacher, Missus Greengrass-Potter."

Daphne only gave a firm nod back before she just as quietly replied, "Thank you, Professor." She had no intention of letting the man know it wasn't she who had taught the other two. Rather, it was the advanced brewing they'd undertaken to NEWT level in the old timeline that had improved Harry's, and even Hermione's, brewing.

Snape was not 'in-the-know' about the three of them going back in time, and the three wanted to keep it that way. They knew the man had master level Occlumency shields, and believed his mind had not been intruded upon by Riddle in the old timeline; but, they couldn't take the risk 'old snakeface' wouldn't do it this time around. If that happened, the risk to the Grangers would increase from 'quite concerning' to an almost 'dead-set certainty'. It would be just like Tom to attack the Grangers just to hurt Harry.

Seeming to hesitate a moment, Snape gestured for Harry to step aside a little and quietly told him, "I know you will tell your wives this, anyway; however, I promised the headmaster I would tell you in private."

Knowing the likelihood of what the Potions Master would tell him, Harry didn't even bother to respond. He simply waited for the man to get on with it.

With a frown at the lack of response from Harry, Snape said, "The Headmaster left a number of memories in my possession he wishes for you, and you alone, to view. They are concerning the background of the Dark Lord, and information concerning certain... artefacts he believes you need to deal with."

Before Snape could continue, Harry quietly said, "Thank you for the offer, Professor. However, I'm already well aware of the artefacts, and they have already been dealt with. Plus, I'm also well aware of the memories Dumbledore would like me to view, and have no need to view them, as they relate to the background of Riddle and the artefacts. Clearly, Dumbledore spoke to you about these memories before we spoke with him on the second of September.

"Albus Dumbledore was a fool. He wanted to keep all the important secrets to himself, and wouldn't trust anyone else to have them. If anything had happened to him, such as an accident of a simple slip while walking down stairs and breaking his fool neck, we'd have been in all sorts of trouble in trying to defeat Riddle. And, among many other faults Dumbledore had, he simply could not envision anyone else being as clever as he, and knowing what was going on. He was very wrong."

Turning to look more fully into the face of Snape, who was looking back with an almost masked expression of surprise, Harry said, "I take it you've already viewed these memories?"

After a slight hesitation, the professor replied, "I have."

Nodding a bit as if the man's answer was obvious, Harry continued, "If I was to guess at what the memories contained, there would be information on Riddle's background, at least. Yes?"

"Yes," replied the Potions Master with the same very quick hesitation.

Again with the nod, Harry continued, "Orphaned boy, biological son of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle, a muggle squire's son; his biological mother grew up in a hovel, nearby - the Gaunt Shack, in Little Hangleton, not far from Riddle's resurrection site.

"After his mother died a few minutes to hours after his birth, Riddle grew up in Wool's Orphanage until Dumbledore, in his role as Deputy Headmaster, brought him his Hogwarts acceptance letter. He came to Hogwarts believing he was muggleborn and was sorted into Slytherin. That would have made life very hard for him.

"A few years later, he discovered he was actually the son of a long line of purebloods and a muggle, making him a half-blood, not muggleborn. Further investigations also showed that the Gaunts believed themselves to be the last living descendants of Salazaar Slytherin, himself. And that, therefore, made him the Heir of Slytherin after his biological maternal uncle. A quick dispatch of him, and Tom became the actual Heir of Slytherin.

"During his time at Hogwarts, after recently becoming a Prefect, he managed to find the fabled Chamber of Secrets and bound the basilisk within to his control. It was not too much later he slipped up in his handling of the beast and young Myrtle Malone, a Ravenclaw muggleborn, died in the bathroom, which houses one of the main entrances to the chamber.

"He realised Dumbledore immediately suspected him, so decided not to revisit the Chamber again. However, to cover his tracks, he laid the blame on a third year Gryffindor, Rubeus Hagrid, and his pet baby acromantula. A bloody stupid idea, really, that should never have worked. But, Riddle was panicking a bit. A post mortem of poor Myrtle's body would have confirmed there were no spider bites to be found, and Hagrid and his spider would have been exonerated. However, Tom had already figured out that witches and wizards are inherently daft, and no such post mortem was carried out.

"How am I doing so far, Professor?" he asked.

Snape just stared back at him for a while with a very thoughtful looking frown on his face. It was one of the rare times Harry had ever seen the man openly show emotion.

It was quite a long moment before Snape quietly asked back, "And how is it you know all this, Mister Potter?"

"The answer is as simple as it is shocking, Professor," replied Harry. "Almost every single witch and wizard I've come across, including the muggleborns, have lost... or never had... the ability to actually think. They're incapable of engaging rational thought and logic into how they think about things. I admit there are a few, such as you, who've managed for the main to retain sufficient cognitive function; but, I find they seem few and far between.

"For example, just about everyone turned against me in late nineteen ninety-two and accused me of being the Heir of Slytherin, and opening the Chamber of Secrets. And stayed that way for about eight months! Even someone with a modicum of sense would have realised I should have been the last one to be considered that; even with being a parselmouth.

"It was already well known that Riddle told everyone he was the Heir of Slytherin. He attacked my parents and me. He is my mortal enemy. Therefore, how the bloody hell could I be considered the Heir of Slytherin? That's just blatantly stupid! And, is proof witches and wizards are inherently daft!

"Now, I can accept that there would be some who might leap to that conclusion. After all, the world needs a few idiots here and there, just to show everyone else how not to do something or think. However, for nearly the entire school to reach that conclusion? Daft!"

"I'm a parselmouth; history is littered with evil wizards who were parselmouths; therefore, I must be evil. By that same logic, Professor McGonagall's animagus form is that of a dog. Everyone knows dogs have four legs and a tail; Professor McGonagall's animagus form has four legs and a tail; therefore, Professor McGonagall's animagus form is a dog. Sheesh!

"That logic error, by the way, is known as the 'Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle'. The students, plus many of the staff, engaged in that when they failed to consider there were also witches and wizards who are, or were, parselmouths who weren't evil. A very good example was Merlin; who was also a parselmouth."

Realising he was well and truly into rant mode, even if he wasn't raising his voice, Harry reeled himself back under control. "Sorry, Professor. I let myself go there for a bit. What I was trying to demonstrate is that it is not hard to figure out the history of Tom Riddle, and what the artefacts likely were, without Dumbledore knowing. All it takes is for someone to engage their brain and think.

"For instance, the Trophy Room contains information on Tom Riddle, including a picture of him. I came across that the first time I received detention and had to polish trophies. The Ministry records also contain information on some of the childhood and young adulthood of one Tom Riddle, including where he grew up, and what he did after school. And Dumbledore, for all his supposed wisdom, was not averse to letting things slip to show how knowledgeable he was. Some of that related to Riddle.

"A bit of reading in the Black library and I discovered that the diary I destroyed at the end of my second year was, in fact, used as a soul container. Riddle's penchant for collecting trophies led me to the likely identity of what he used for others. Plus one."

"That is, it took me little time to work out that he made me an accidental soul container when he attacked my parents' home. Thankfully, he wasn't able to perform the necessary ritual on me to actually make me a horcrux; so, the soul fragment he left behind in my scar when my mother's magics destroyed his body was easily removed by an expert on soul magics."

Snape then gaped at him, and Harry nearly burst out laughing at the man's expression. "It's gone?" Snape quietly asked.

"Yes," replied Harry. "It was removed before the start of fourth year; my fourth year."

"Dumbledore told me..." the Potions Master began before shutting up.

"Dumbledore told you I had to die to permanently defeat Riddle, didn't he?" asked Harry. Without awaiting a response, he continued, "That was yet another thing he was wrong about. For the people who removed it, and a little pain on my part, the fragment was easily removed and destroyed. Together with all the other soul containers being stripped of their soul fragment or outright destroyed, including that bloody snake of his, there are no more containers that need to be found and dealt with. Riddle is, once more, mortal. He can now be killed and it will be permanent this time."

Staring straight into Snape's eyes, Harry firmly stated, "There is no longer any reason I must die."

Flat-out shocked, the usually dour Potions Master, once again, gaped back at Harry. "You... know? Knew?"

"As I said, Professor," replied Harry. "It was not hard to figure out. Once I was able to figure a few things out, it was also not hard to figure out that Albus Dumbledore was setting me up to die. Then I was able to ascertain why. The school diary of Tom Riddle was my first clue; and, I daresay it was Dumbledore's first clue, too, about the soul containers.

"Next, I've been informed there's a prophecy about me. I've been able to hear it, and have taken certain actions to try to ensure it comes out in my favour... contrary to Dumbledore's actions of keeping me in the dark and not training me from the get-go. That's why I know why you offered me training; or, to the point, why Dumbledore asked you to offer me training.

"Dumbledore falsely thought he was the cleverest magical alive. And that, therefore, only he could figure it all out. He forgot to take into consideration that both my mother and my wives were... are... considered the smartest witches of their generations. Nor, that they could also figure it out. For all his supposed wisdom, he was blind to facts. If they did not fit his worldview, or plans, he did not consider them worth his understanding. For all his wisdom, he was just as daft as the next wizard or witch."

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

After their little 'chat', training with Snape upped its intensity. To Harry, it was now clear the man was training him to stay alive, rather than just putting in a good showing and hoping for the best. During their next training session, the Professor ordered him to start casting incantless - or, silently. Harry was able to perform as asked for many of the spells, but not all. Many of the advanced curses he still had to at least mutter the spell.

For those Snape heard, Harry found himself getting tagged from behind by a stinging hex by Professor Flitwick. It took him a few stings to finally figure out Snape was making a very slight gesture with his off hand to Professor Flitwick whenever he heard the incantation.

So, the next time he saw the gesture, he immediately erected a hasty shield between he and the diminutive professor for a moment before returning to casting.

Straight after the shield, Harry was able to tag the Potions Master with a piercing curse to the wand arm as the Professor appeared to hesitate for just a moment.

"Stop!" snapped Snape, straight after the curse.

With his honed reflexes, Harry was able to immediately halt and raise his wand to the en garde fencing position, with the wand tip pointing straight up in front of his face.

Professor Snape immediately cast a healing charm on his bicep, where the piercing curse tagged him, before turning back to look at Harry.

"Mister Potter," he demanded. "Why did you cast the shield charm towards Professor Flitwick when you did?"

Knowing lying was a fool's gambit, Harry replied honestly. "I noticed the slight gesture you make to Professor Flitwick to signal him to cast a stinging hex at my... behind, Sir. Once I figured out what you were doing, I prepared for it. That time, I saw the gesture and, knowing I had the time to do it, momentarily cast the shield charm to protect myself from Professor Flitwick's hex."

The Professor only nodded back slowly as Harry spoke. Once Harry had finished his reply, he said, "Good. Situational awareness. You're becoming more aware of not just the curses coming at you. You're learning from your opponent's movements; including gestures. Rest."

Turning to where Hermione and Daphne had stopped their own mini duel and were looking back, Snape asked, "Did either of you catch the gestures?"

"No, Sir," replied Daphne. "We only had eyes for each other."

To anyone else in any other setting, that comment might have elicited ribald comments back. However, not here and not in this environment.

"As you should," replied the Professor. "However, you should know that... your husband was correct." Holding up his off-hand he indicated it and said, "My gesture to Professor Flitwick was only a slight flick of my index finger like so." He made the gesture. "However, Mister Potter clearly saw it and recognised it for what it was.

"Can either of you tell me why it is important to watch for such gestures?"

"Yes, Sir," replied Hermione. "The gesture, like you used, can be used to signal another to attack from a different direction. Therefore, it behooves those in battle to watch for them and be prepared for an attack from another direction."

"Correct," replied the Professor. With a bare hesitation, he commanded, "Step up, Miss Granger... Your turn."

With a slight look of concern but determination, Harry stepped away as Hermione took his place.

"As with Mister Potter, I expect silent casting," demanded Snape. "Either remain silent or watch for the gestures if you don't want your husband rubbing bruise salve on your derriere tonight."

He gave her barely a moment before he almost snarled, "Begin!"

And the two 'went at it'.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

While the three engaged in the extra training from the two Masters, they also took time in the evenings to run in their animagus forms outside and away from other eyes. Often, they'd use the large rock to block views from others, before changing and taking off for the other side of the lake. There, they could engage in their play fighting and exercising their forms.

They always ensured they returned to the castle well before curfew, so they would be back in their apartment in plenty of time with others none the wiser.

However, with fifth year now ramping up, so did assignments. This was their OWL year, after all; so work was being piled on.

Other than the occasional run in their animagus forms, the only break Harry had from the school work and training was his occasional bouts of flying about on his broom on a weekend day. He was thankful neither of his wives begrudged him his time unwinding on his broom. He had to admit, at least to himself, he missed playing Quidditch. However, he no longer had time to dedicate to the training Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, would demand.

As November creeped up on them one weekday, the Weasley twins approached during lunch and suggested they 'visit' with them that evening. Of course, the twins were immediately invited to an evening in the apartment.

That evening, immediately after the evening meal, the twins walked with them up to the Ravenclaw wing on the seventh floor.

Once inside, Harry called Dobby and the little elf was dispatched to get them all butterbeers. And, while they were waiting, the twins pulled out a couple of the reload canisters for the paintball guns they were given filled with the paintball rounds.

After Dobby had popped back in with a tray laden with the foamy drink, one twin said, "We've solved it."

"We've solved the problem of filling the paintball rounds with the Sleepy-byes potion," said the other.

That then led the twins into describing the system they'd devised to switch out the contents of the rounds.

"We had to solve the second problem to test the first," said one.

"It was taking too long to do the rounds for testing purposes..."

"... So, we had to solve that problem before we could truly begin testing."

"And we've done it!" they both crowed.

They then pulled out of their robes a number of items. The first was a stone block with two rows; one row of ten evenly sized 'dimples' along it, and one with matching dimples but much larger. They were still matched up and in line with the other row, though.

"Alright, here's how it works..." said one.

The other twin walked over to where the boxes of paintball rounds were still stacked and brought one of the boxes over. As he was doing that, his twin had a large glass bottle of the Sleepy-byes potion within it. And he started to carefully fill out, one at a time, each of the larger dimples with the potion.

Once he was finished it was clear that each large dimple also acted as a sort of measuring spoon, as it appeared there was the same amount of potion in each.

The twin who collected the box, then picked up a handful of the rounds and began to place one in each of the first set of dimples.

Once all the larger dimples were filled with potion, and the other row each had an unaltered round in it, the twins looked up and grinned.

"This automates the process a bit," said one of the twins.

Indicating the stone block the second twin was pointing at runes engraved in it. "These runes carry out what we want to happen much better, and much more precisely than we can by doing it by hand."

He then tapped his wand on a rune at the end of the stone and muttered, "Activate!"

With a bit of a flash of light, suddenly the clear potion was replaced with the bright oil-based 'paint' of the original contents of the rounds.

"Whoa!" said Harry, reaching across and picking up one of the now potion filled rounds to peer closely at it. "That's amazing!"

"It's also very clever," said Hermione, looking closely at the block.

Daphne, also leaning closer asked, "You used a rune-based switching spell; multiplied... what... ten times?

"Yes, and a couple of others," replied one twin.

"We came up with this method..." explained the other.

"... Because we needed to create accuracy to make the switching spell work..."

"... Without damaging the very thin walls of the ball... round."

"The little impressions hold the rounds and potion in place for you, right where you want them," said Hermione.

"Precisely," said both twins.

"Using a rune-based switching spell was the only way to accurately switch out the oil for the potion," said one.

"It took us less than three days to figure that bit out," said the other.

"The rest of the time was spent on learning the runes..."

"... Making a prototype..."

"... Testing the prototype, each time, until we had it..."

"... Then finally making the one you see before you."

"If you can do it for ten, you can also do it for a lot more; or, simply make copies to do more," said Hermione.

"Precisely," both twins said together, again.

"How soon can you begin production?" asked Hermione.

"We already have," said one twin.

"If you guys brew enough potion, can the house elves work the... switching stone?" asked Harry.

"Yes," replied Daphne before the twins could respond. "House elves can operate rune sequences."

"Then we'll get Dobby to work it in his free time," said Harry. "House elves are significantly faster than witches and wizards at this sort of thing."

"Good idea," said Daphne. "He should get through all the boxes of rounds in no time."

Looking to the twins, Harry said, "Boys, you've done very well. How much more gold do you need to come out ahead in this?"

The twins glanced at each other before they turned back and said, "We've not spent all of what you've already given us."

"Plus, that switching stone, as you called it, will come in very handy to us when we open our shop after NEWTs."

"Well, as I said, anything you develop to get the job done is yours to keep afterwards," said Harry. "Clearly, we only need the stone to switch out the rounds. Once that's done, we've no need of it again. So, it's yours."

"And we already have plans for it..." said one twin.

"... In our business," said the other.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ