Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. If I did I would be a far richer man. And I'd be a woman.

AN: Again, thanks to my betas, Grey Raven 09 and RhysThornbery, for their assistance with this despite my constant pushbacks. I've said for a while that there would be a sequel to 'Like Grains of Sand in the Hourglass', well, here we go, I'm finally starting it! I tried to include a bit of minor context review in-story though if you haven't read 'Hourglass' you're likely going to be very lost. In addition, this follows along after my other oneshot, 'The Adumbration of Cordelia'. The latter is not required reading for this though it does give a bit more background to two of the characters.

This story starts only a few days after 'Hourglass' one ended.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think in a review if you feel like it!

Prologue

The young man's knees gave way and he crashed to the ground as the Time Turner's sphere of influence collapsed around him. Gasping for air he laid on the ground for nearly a minute before finally pushing himself to his knees and clawing back to a standing position.

"Well that was thoroughly unpleasant. Ah, Albus, what would you think of me now? Chasing a dream that grows more and more impossible the longer I run. A fool's errand if ever there was one."

Looking around himself, he nodded. "Well, this is certainly a riddle isn't it? Where did you drop us this time, hmm?" he seemed to croon as he petted a small stone ring on his finger. The stone was cracked in several locations and almost seemed to bleed darkness, a darkness that was deeper than even the void between the stars.

As the last of the temporal distortion nausea diminished and the man's fingers left the stone, the cracks in it expanded ever so slightly. Scowling, he shook his head and lifted his gaze, peering at his surroundings. "A fool's errand indeed. We might have run out of time to claim the mantle. Well, let us see where this new world is and why this transit was different shall we? Granted I have not been doing this for very long, but I don't see how a Time Turner could become directly involved. Their magics are rather opposing in nature I would think. Unless time and space are more linked than I had expected. Something to ponder perhaps."

Removing the small hourglass from its place around his neck the man sighed as he observed the wildly spinning centerpiece with cracks running along the sides of the glass. He raised his wand and cast several spells at the device, his expression growing darker with each successive cast until, with a final spell, the man spat on the ground and looped the Time Turner back around his neck.

"Bah! Fine, if you don't want to quiet down, don't! At least I can determine that your magic will run out in two hours. Which…hmm…actually that would make sense considering that was how long…yes…Well, let's see where you've taken me then shall we? Yes. I think this might be a good thing after all," the man grinned and had any been present to see, they would have felt a distinct chill run down their back, "if time can be bent like this…then perhaps I can break it as well! There is so much that can be done in two hours! So many ways I can damage her cause and set her on the defensive. Now…how to inconvenience you my dear? How to frustrate you?"

He paused and a smirk spread across his features as he slowly slipped the Time Turner back over his neck. "And if this is to be my last attempt…well might I as well set things up for myself too in case you win this final dance, my dear."

Laughing, the man lifted his wand, twisted on his heel, and disappeared with a crack.

A redheaded girl tumbled to the ground, falling out of nowhere, as time shifted erratically around her and Hogwarts' corridors finally asserted themselves upon reality around her. Clutching her aching sides, she looked at the wildly spinning Time Turner that had fallen out of her shirt. Her eyes widened and she whimpered as hairline cracks spread up the side of the Time Turner during the few moments that its spin slowed enough to see the glass clearly.

"Well…the Hallows have never screwed with time before…this is new…and during a transit too…this isn't going to end well…"

Chapter 1: Tick Tock

"Dora! Help!"

Dora scowled at the cabinet she was cleaning and threw a creepy snake locket back into the thing before stalking towards the stairs and the sound of Sirius' shout.

"NOW DORA! HELP!"

"I'm coming!" Her hair turning red, Dora took the stairs three at a time, ignoring the painting of Walburga Black as she passed the old broad and tore into the library. Skidding to a stop, Dora reared back and sucked in a breath. "Well, that's something you don't see every day."

Sirius was wrestling with a book that had grown to nearly six feet tall seemed to be trying to snap closed on the man while he was sandwiched between the pages holding each side open through sheer force of will. The ink seemed to be leaking onto his skin and turning into words as it crept up his arms and his legs. The book snapped again and Sirius slipped a bit further, more ink running up his body. "Little help please!" Sirius shouted again, his voice edging into a higher octave.

Dora's legs lengthened and her torso thinned out. She snapped her wand into her hand and surged into the room shooting nearly a dozen spells into the thick bindings of the book in the three steps it took her to reach the threshold. The evil hardcover flipped backwards flying open from the impact, though it did not release her cousin. Dora launched another series of spells at the top edge of the book before summoning a lasso. She wrapped the loop of magic around Sirius and yanked him free as the book pulled back again. With a yelp, Sirius soared across the room and smacked into her cushioning charm before sliding to the floor. With him free, Dora sent a line of fire towards the book-Mimic-thing. It flapped a few times as it burned then shrank back to regular size and continued to smolder.

Sirius stood and moved to her side wiping ink off his skin. "Thanks. Merlin, but I hate my family."

"You have man-eating books in your library?" Dora asked voice completely deadpan as she stared at the smoldering pages.

"Apparently," Sirius sighed. "All of the dangerous stuff is gone from the main portion. When Dumbledore said to check the Black Library though I thought maybe we should start dragging through old grimoires from the really bad apples. Not my brightest idea apparently."

"Yeah, don't do that alone again."

"Agreed. What took you so long?"

"I was…cleaning," Dora muttered. Her scowl was back and she kicked at the ashes of the evil book. "Kreacher left a bloody mess behind you know."

"Dora, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit."

Dora's lips curled into a snarl as she glared at him. "I said nothing is wrong, Sirius, now drop it! I need to go pick up Hermione in a few minutes."

Sirius nodded and sat down in one of the armchairs. "Ah. So that's it. Harry."

She shot him an annoyed glare. "What the hell are you talking about now?"

"Dora it's only been three days. He's fine."

Dora grabbed one of the books that had been knocked off in the struggle and shoved it back onto the nearest shelf not even caring that it was upside down and bent to grab more debris. "I never should have let him go back!"

"It was his choice. And it's only for three days."

"Three days too fucking long! You don't understand what they did to him there. You don't get it. Hell, Hermione doesn't get it. Harry doesn't get it!" She threw the snow-globe in her hand, feeling a brief surge of satisfaction as it shattered against one of the shelves. "He grew up neglected and alone and with their vitriol leaking into his ear. He doesn't know any better, he doesn't understand how toxic they are! Now Remus is dead and he's going back to that – that, hell and he's going to stew and everything we've done to make him better over the past year is going to be wiped away in three bloody fucking days!"

"Dora," Sirius said, voice as calm as a millpond. "Tell me why you respected his decision if you feel this strongly about it."

"BECAUSE IT'S HIS DECISION SIRIUS!" She screamed rounding on him and throwing a large book at him that Sirius barely had to move his head a few inches to dodge. "I'd be just as bad as everyone else in his messed-up life if I forced him or manipulated him away from them when all he wants is a clean break and to scare them a bit with his best friends. I can't do that to him. I can't! No matter how much I want to. But now he's stuck there and it's been three days and they've been – "

"Probably mostly ignoring him like they usually have for the past few years," Sirius cut in.

"You haven't seen his life, Sirius. I have. I lived half of it while teaching him Occlumency. I know exactly what they are like!"

"And I know moody, hormonal teenagers. You are acting very much like a moody, hormonal teenager right now, Dora. Think with your head, not your heart for a minute. It's only three days. He's fine."

Dora scowled and crossed her arms. "I am not moody and hormonal."

"You are acting like a seventeen-year-old witch. Congratulations, you are officially seventeen again, Dora Kirk. How's it feel to stumble upon immortality?"

"Puberty sucks! I'm horny and angry all the fucking time! That's how it bloody well feels." Dora cursed and twisted on her heel storming from the room. "I need to get ready. Don't go searching in the damn Grimoires until we get back!"

"Try not to bite the head off your boyfriend when you see him, Cousin!"

"Screw you!"

"Dora, one more thing!" Sirius shouted up the stairs after her. "After Harry is done with them…there'd be nothing stopping you and I from repaying their goodwill now would there?"

Dora paused, her hand on the railing and turned back to him with a shark-toothed grin – complete with actual shark teeth – creeping across her features. "No, no there isn't. I knew you were my favorite cousin for a reason, Sirius."

"Just because I'm trying to act mature doesn't mean I'm not still concerned, Dora, nor does it mean that I don't plan to make them pay for their treatment of my godson. We let Harry have his closure, then we get ours."

"Love you too, Sirius. I gotta get ready. See you soon."

Dumbledore set aside another long-winded form and rubbed at his eyes, the muscles in his hand twitching. "I am not as young as I used to be, old friend," he complained, receiving a soulful replying trill from Fawkes. The phoenix ruffled his wings and eyed the Headmaster sympathetically from his perch. "Yes, I know that you can do nothing for the aches of an old man. Nothing can reverse the clock after all. Even if it could, it would be wasted on one such as me I think. I have made too many mistakes; mistakes that have compounded themselves again and again."

Dumbledore turned his gaze upon a framed picture sitting on the edge of his desk. It was charmed to display one photo to guests and a very different one to himself. In his personal photo, Dumbledore was shown the image of a driven young man in his prime discussing philosophy and the nature of responsibility with another powerful, young wizard who was equally driven and talented. Their arms were thrown around each other and they laughed and grinned, both at one another and the taker of the photo. In hindsight, Dumbledore could see the first gleam of power and its corrupting influence in his old love's eyes. A gleam that had broken his heart and nearly brought the world to its knees, both magical and Muggle. "Had I seen what Gellert was becoming do you think I could have reasoned with him back then, Fawkes?"

A trill that had a distinctly mournful tone resounded through the office.

"I still like to think he wasn't beyond salvation. If I had seen the error of our ways sooner…ah but that is where our current problems are coming from now aren't they, old friend?" Dumbledore grimaced and set the picture face-down on the desk, instead looking at the letter he had just finished drafting to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "I went too far in the opposite direction. If I hadn't tried to convince the Ministry that everyone deserves a second chance, if I had only pushed for punishment where punishment was due, Voldemort would not have so many of his followers at hand now. We would not be facing another civil war, but instead guerilla actions from a small extremist faction."

Dumbledore sighed, a long life of bitter regrets now upon him. "But perhaps nothing would have changed," he shook his head before turning to stare out his window at the cloudy day.

Fawkes took wing and flew around the office trilling angrily for several moments before hovering in front of him and setting down on the windowsill directly in front of Dumbledore's melancholy glare.

Dumbledore just shook his head. "We both know that Voldemort will be gathering more to replace those lost in the past few days at the battle in the Department of Mysteries. We struck a blow, but it was by no means a debilitating one. Just a frustrating one for him. He will be back and it will be soon. He can recruit openly now that he does not need to move in the shadows. That we have not already seen action from him even so soon after the attack is troubling."

Rubbing one hand down his beard in thought, Dumbledore turned back to his desk and picked up another piece of parchment to examine. "I do wonder about this explosion from the cliffside near Tom's old orphanage though. I had intended to investigate the Gaunt home for a Horcrux there first, but this…would he have truly hidden one near where he was raised do you think? And if he did, why would he destroy the hiding place?"

Fawkes ruffled his feathers again, lifting his wings in a half shrug and hopped over to Dumbledore's desk. He leaned down and nudged the notebook that Dumbledore had been working on for years forward and pushed it towards the other two notebooks with 'Harry Potter' and 'Dora Kirk' on it.

Dumbledore grimaced. "I know. I truly don't wish to burden them with this though I did promise to explain things. Couldn't it wait just a few more days?"

Fawkes pecked at his hand and glared.

"You are right, of course. I shouldn't have put it off as long as I have. He deserves to know. And she will not rest until she understands as well. I only wish I understood just who she was." Dumbledore frowned as he eyed several of the squeaking gizmos on the shelves, then not finding answers there, looked to some of the twirling gadgets on the other side of the room. Again, with no answers forthcoming, he dropped his head to the table. "She is a Black daughter. That much is certain. Sirius and that Manor would not be protecting her if that were not so. And yet…could she be Nymphadora's daughter? Is it possible for a metamorph to age that fast? Tonks is rebellious enough that I could certainly see her pretending to be older and to make a mistake in her earlier years at Hogwarts. Though to hide it long enough to have the child without causing damage to the girl…and then for the girl to grow so fast and to be so intelligent…"

He rubbed at his chin and nodded his head. "That might actually fit the facts. Assuming the girl was born during Nymphadora's second year, and that Andromeda was able to get ahold of an unrestricted Time Turner, and if the child was placed under the maximum twelve hours of displacement every day for the ensuring period…She would be physically about 12-14 years-old now. An unusually intelligent 14-year-old isn't that surprising considering the parentage and being born a metamorph like her mother would allow her to be able to change her physical appearance enough to blend in with those older than herself."

Fawkes seemed to almost snort as he flew back to his perch.

Dumbledore merely glared back at the phoenix. "Well yes, I admit it is a bit of a stretch, but it makes more sense than most of what I can think of! You come up with something better. A lovestruck preteen getting in over her head, and a slightly manic Andromeda brought up with Black Family teachings trying to cover for her in the best way she could does make a certain amount of sense! We do not exactly live in the most logical of times."

Fawkes' answering trill could easily be mistaken for laughter and Dumbledore had to rub at his temples with a groan at the phoenix's rebuke.

"Of course I'm not much better. I grew up in this world. I do not have the grounding that Muggles or Muggleborn get. Perhaps Gellert was right, a blending of the two worlds would indeed be a smart plan…ah Gellert, if only you had not been so hungry for power. We could have done great things together. Now I am here alone still trying to pick up the pieces and fix the mistakes of our past."

Dumbledore ran his hand over the Elder Wand and grimaced at the thrum of power and control it sent up his arm and warming his core. He knew why his comrade had fallen.

What he didn't know though, was why he had been able to resist the artifact's siren song for so, so long. It would be so easy to take over the Wizengamot using it. And from there, England as a whole. And then the continent would follow, and the ICW. It was just a simple step to the rest of the world from there and –

"No." Dumbledore slid the Wand back into its holster and sighed, picking up his quill to continue his letters. "I will not take that path. I will not."

"Mum! Dad! Are you guys home?" Tonks shouted as she stepped through the door to her old home. A muffled reply from further back in the house greeted her and she nodded shutting the door and going on a search for her father.

She found him in his workshop putting the finishing touches on a piece of clockwork and nodding to himself as the last of the tint set in. Wiping off the wood stain from his gloves, Ted Tonks smiled at his daughter and leaned back on the workbench. "Hello, sweetheart. It's rare for you to come around these days. You're so busy with your real job and your extra job that your mother and I barely ever see you. To what do I owe the honor, Dora?"

Tonks shifted her weight from foot to foot and it was only through prodigious use of her powers that she was able to avoid the grimace showing on her face at the use of her family's normal nickname for her. That was going to take some getting used to. Now that she was the younger of the two versions of herself…or was she…was the older since Dora was technically not actually 25 anymore thanks to magic and metamorph skills and…

"…Earth to Dora…Dora? Nymphadora!"

"What?! Oh, sorry, Dad. Kinda spaced out there," Tonks said, her face heating up.

"I hadn't noticed," he said dryly. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"What clock are you working on?"

Ted frowned though he waved at the of the piece of woodwork. "A custom job for one of Molly Weasley's cousins. They want the same sort of enchantments that Molly has on hers. It's quite a bit beyond what I usually do so they are paying quite a bit more."

Dora swallowed the lump that had developed in her throat and found she could breathe easier all of a sudden. "Oh, so not actually a clock then."

"No, not actually a clock. No actual clock orders on the docket for the moment. A few basic animated carvings, some Muggle work, a bannister or two, this…Dora what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Not really. Not anymore. I don't think so anyways…Dad, is Mum here?"

"Yes, she's on the patio. What's going on?"

"It's nothing."

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't keep saying it was nothing," Ted moved past her and headed for the back of the house. "Come along, girl, let's get your mother and see if she can get you talking."

Tonks grimaced while following along in his wake. She had asked for this after all, she couldn't just run away now. As they stepped through the back door and Tonks caught sight of her mother, she raised her hand in a small wave. "Wotcher, Mum."

"Hello, Nymphadora. I heard you come in." A moment later, Andromeda blinked and drew herself up straighter from her previous position draped over her armchair. "You didn't tell me off. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing right now at least. It's just…things are weird. Really weird. Weird for me and weird for us and…just weird." Tonks let her control slip and she felt herself slip into her default state with her hair jet black, her tits too large, her legs too long, her shoulders too wide, and her chin too sharp. She didn't care enough to change it at all, too much was rushing through her mind right then to bother with her current form.

"Dora, please sit down," Ted said patting the seat on the sofa next to him. Tonks sank into it and drew her legs up to her chest. "Will you tell us why you're here and why you are so upset?"

"Has, um, has Do-anyone come to talk to you in the past few days?" Tonks asked softly.

Both of her parents shook their heads. "What would they have been by to speak with us about, dear?" Andromeda asked. "Is this about Sirius? We do already know about that of course. I never really suspected my cousin could do that, but I was blocked rather effectively from opening inquiries and your father and I have never had the kind of deep pockets that the Malfoys and Parkinsons have. Now that I know for certain though," Andromeda broke off and for an instant the scowl that crossed her face reminded Dora very effectively of the fact that she and Bellatrix were sisters, "I should have staged my own prison break for my cousin. It wouldn't have been very hard. No one ever suspects someone like me to stage a breakout attempt. That's why it always works. The first time at least."

"Yeah, cause that's not terrifying, Mum," Tonks muttered. She shook her head to try and clear those images from her brain. "It's not about Sirius. It's not really my secret to tell. I mean, I guess it kind of is in a way. Even though it's not. It should be though. But things are really complicated. And weird. And I don't think that I should be the one to tell you. Because it's really not my secret. Even though it is mine, in a way. But then again it's not because she's…well she's not…and oh bloody hell. This was stupid and I shouldn't have come here before I figured this out for myself."

Ted and Andromeda looked to each and each shrugged. Andromeda reached over and placed a hand on Tonks' leg. "Sweetheart, is it something dangerous?"

"No. Not at all. Not anymore at least. I don't think it ever was except for maybe the first five minutes."

"And is anyone going to get hurt by the secret staying secret for another few days?"

"I…don't think so?"

"And is anyone going to get hurt by you telling us the secret right now?"

Tonks grimaced. "I warned her that if she didn't tell you herself, I'd be telling you. I don't really think I gave her a deadline though."

"Well, how about this then," Andromeda said smiling and squeezing Tonks' knee. "You tell your friend to get her butt over here by the end of the week. If she doesn't, you tell us what is going on that has you so discombobulated. Does that sound like a decent compromise?"

"I guess so?" Tonks said nodding hesitantly. "I don't like you not knowing, but it's waited this long, I suppose it can wait another few days."

"Good. That's settled then."

"Err, just one thing, Mum, Dad. When my…friend gets here. You have to promise to listen to her. Don't just discount it right away. Actually listen. Listen to everything. It's going to sound crazy, but you need to listen. Okay? Please?"

Ted nodded with a soft smile. "Of course, Nymphadora. We always listen. I mean, as long as she doesn't start proclaiming herself the next coming of Morgana or try to convert us to Voldemort's top lieutenants I mean. In those cases we reserve the right to hex your friend until she is barely breathing."

"Totally understandable," Tonks said chuckling. "Definitely not where that conversation is going to go though." She stretched, smiling as a weight lifted off her shoulders. One way or another, her parents were going to find out about the time travel shenanigans her other self had gotten up to shortly enough. "Now, not to sound like a typical ungrateful daughter, but I smelled pancakes on my way in. Are there still pancakes?"

Ted and Andromeda both laughed. Andromeda stood and rolled her eyes and she waved for her daughter to follow. "My dear, I am sorry to inform you, but you do indeed sound like a typical hungry, freeloading daughter there."

"Hey! I make my own money! And my own food!"

"Yeah? When was the last time you had more than take away?" Ted asked grinning.

Tonks stuck out her tongue at him. "It's not my fault that the oven in my flat burns everything!" she shouted as the door closed between them cutting off her father's laughter. She grinned to herself as she followed after her mother.

There was no way that Dora was going to keep missing out on this for the rest of her life. No. Way.

Voldemort sat on his makeshift throne in Malfoy Manor and scowled at the messenger kneeling in front of him. He fingered his wand with one hand and laid the other over Nagini's head. "What do you mean, they have fallen silent?" he hissed.

The few Death Eaters that remained from his Inner Circle backed up further, edging towards the doorways. He had so few loyal, competent members left now. He was down to just Lucius, Bellatrix, an injured Rodolphus, Jugson, and Avery. The rest were either captured or killed in the disaster of the Ministry raid. He knew Severus couldn't be trusted for certain, though the potions master could at least be trusted to follow in his own self-interest and would make an excellent double or triple or whatever agent. No, he needed the newer recruits. The ones from the outpost he had setup in Norfolk and the listening posts throughout the countryside. The new blood would be a perfect way to expand, especially with so many openings.

Which was why Voldemort found his fingers tightening over his wand as the fool below him related how another of his 'special' pubs had ceased communication. And yet, he couldn't kill the man. His lips curled with the desperate urge to flay the skin from his bones and then boil the blood in his veins for having the gall to bring this news to Voldemort's feet with no plan on how to establish communication with the scattered recruits or just who had been responsible for the attack. But Voldemort couldn't do it. He needed the bodies too much at the moment to waste a messenger on simple reprisal.

"I am sorry, My Lord," the nameless fool simpered. "We just received the notice earlier when they missed a scheduled check-in. I investigated myself shortly thereafter."

"And what did you find?" Nagini hissed beside Voldemort and he stroked her head as he queried the man. She might just get her dinner depending on the fool's answer.

"The building was completely empty, My Lord. There were some of our robes in several of the booths and a few masks scattered around. In addition, I found traces of blood, though not much. The room was cleaned quite thoroughly. What blood was there appeared like it was meant to be found. I…There was a symbol on the wall, My Lord." The man shook as he described the scene. As well he should. He had been responsible for setting up the check-in periods. If they had had more frequent communications, this would not have happened and Voldemort would have had more men to bring to his feet.

"Describe the symbol."

The shivering increased as Voldemort leaned forward though the man lifted his wand and steadied his hand long enough to draw the symbol in the air in flames. "It looked like this, My Lord. A circle, with an upside-down triangle inside it, and a horizontal line bisecting the two shapes through the middle. I believe it was a symbol of one of the old families as it seemed familiar, but I'm not as used to the dead lines regalia."

"Did you perform a magical scan to trace the signature left by the caster?" Voldemort asked, his voice so soft as to be barely audible.

"My Lord, I, I don't know that spell, I know that such a thing is possible, but I only just returned and I thought it best to report to you immediately before returning with one who knew how to trace – ARRRGHHHHHHHH!"

Voldemort closed his eyes at the messenger's screams. The sound brought a singing joy to him that he hadn't felt in some time. Yes, it was good to deal with things in this way. The Torture Curse would do for now. He may not be able to kill the followers that disappointed him, but a whispered Crucio would be just as effective at keeping them in-line. At least until he had managed to hunt down this cretin that had the temerity to assault his forces and cut down his recruits.

"Avery, take Flint and show him how to perform the scan. I want to know the signature of this person. I want to know who has the gall to attack my men. I want them and I want them to suffer. Find me this person. Find them, or suffer their fate." He sent another burst of power into the link between his wand and the messenger and the man's screams increased while Voldemort's smile grew ever wider. "Find them."

"Yes, My Lord. It will be done."

The distinct sound of a door being slammed did nothing to diminish the screams that echoed around the room as Voldemort sent more power down his wand. Even messengers had to learn their place after all.

Croaker grimaced as he cut the wand down in a swift motion ending with a circular twirl and thrust. "Sigillum!" A bright purple rope burst from his wand and wrapped itself around the distortion in the air ahead of him. The wound pulsed against the makeshift spell and the people caught inside the broken reality wrapped back to the beginning of their hell loop again. Slowly – ever so slowly – the wound in the universe seemed to shrink, the ragged edges of fractured, looped time pulled back, the bubble diminishing. Croaker heard three more Unspeakables urge their own spells around the distortion joining his own and the rate of dissipation sped up slowly.

One man fell free of the bubble; one moment caught in a perpetual repeat of taking his dog on an eternal walk, the next stumbling to a stop and sitting on the sidewalk while the German Shepard looked to the heavens and howled, the sound full of sorrow and relief. A woman was released next, this one had been driving down the street delivering the Muggle post, going always between one home and the next. She proceeded to crash into the mailbox of the second home before laying her head down on the vehicle's steering wheel and crying. Three more were freed before the bubble finally vanished and Croaker could relax.

He waved the Obliviators forward to start their work while he leaned up against the nearest fence. One of his top men, Steven Liveson, came to stand beside as they watched the other Ministry men work. "How many does this make now, Boss? Twenty?"

"That we know of," Croaker replied scowling under his hood. "How many of these things are hidden out in the rural areas where people can't report it? How many isolated farmers or herders are getting caught in this phenomenon?"

"Did Marcus tell you that he got a report of one showing up in France yesterday?"

Croaker sucking in a breath and snapped his unseeable gaze onto his lieutenant. "No. No, he has not. How big?"

"Pretty small by all accounts. The only reason it got noticed was because a Muggle photographer got interested in why one of the birds he was getting a snapshot of stopped moving midair."

"Morgana's twice damned saggy tits!" Croaker cursed, slamming a hand down onto the fence post. He shouted in pain and waved his hand around immediately afterward glaring at the pointed fence. "We're not going to be able to keep this quiet much longer if we can't figure out how to stop these things. Not if they keep getting worse like this, Steven. I need a solution. Your unit is in charge of the Time room and these things are obviously related to whatever happened in there last year."

"I'm still not so sure about that, Boss…"

"They're related. I can feel it in my bones. When you work in this job as long as I have, you learn to trust your instincts. Everything in me is screaming it's related. We need to figure out what happened to destroy that clock and how it could have caused such a blowback as to damage the room itself."

Steven shook his head. "The room is a symptom, not the cause. What about those kids that invaded the place a few days ago? I still say they set something off to make things worse."

Croaker shook his head. "Potter gets into trouble everywhere he turns, but the fractures have been occurring long before his little group ran rampant. No, this is our mess. We need to clean it up." Croaker's scowl returned as a device on his wrist heated up. He twisted the instrument up and read the small writing on the metal, his teeth bared. "Another one! Get back to the Department. Steven! Figure. This. Out!"

"…If there is no further business on the docket, then we conclude this day's emergency session of the Wizengamot. Special Elections will be held on Tuesday for the new Minister for Magic. All nominees should be present. Thank you." The gavel slammed bringing an end to the slapdash meeting of the government officials.

"You can't do this! I demand a revote! How could I have known?! I was never aware! You can't do this to me, I am the Minister for Magic!" Fudge shouted from his sad little table in the center of the circle of the room. His face grew redder and redder as his shouts fell on deaf ears.

Amelia Bones barely managed to keep her inner smirk from spreading onto her face. Not so funny when you're the one being railroaded into the Dragon Den is it Fudge? she thought. "Cornelius, in case your ears have failed you in addition to your higher reasoning, the session is closed. You are no longer the Minister for Magic," she stated, failing to hide her widening grin as she spoke down to him from the seats above. "On a personal note – while the reporters stream in – I would like to note that the only way you could have 'not known'," Amelia make quotations marks in the air with her fingers much to the amusement of the photo snapping reporters, "about the Dark Lord returning was to either be a member of his group and intentionally try to hide his resurgence, be entirely too stupid to hold your position, or delegate so much of your work to others that you essentially held no power or authority yourself. I myself told you on seventeen different occasions of Death Eater activity with a higher, organized power behind it. Albus Dumbledore told you of his suspicions. Harry Potter told you repeatedly, and in great detail of his experiences. Experiences which a simple use of a Pensieve would have revealed the truth of. You did nothing. Therefore, you either knew he was back and wanted to hide it, or you were willfully blind. Either way, the No Confidence bid stands. Get the hell out of these Chambers before I have my Aurors throw you in the holding cells."

A spattering of applause greeted her mini tirade as she slammed a hand onto the desk, scowl firmly etched onto her face. Fudge had gone pale, and amusingly enough, he seemed to lose even more color as several camera flashes went off right in his face. The reporters shouting questions, Fudge blustered out a non-answer and twisted on his heel to practically run from the room.

Amelia shook her head and moved to leave as well, grabbing her papers as she went. She didn't get far before Arthur Weasley fell into step beside her, all smiles. "That was brilliant, Amelia."

"I shouldn't have lost my temper at him like that," she said, sighing. "I was just so tired of him constantly cutting our budget year after year and then the little fool has the audacity to proclaim that he had no idea this was coming? And after that smear campaign last year? If I could bring him up on charges I would do so in a heartbeat!"

"Well at least you were able to put away that horrible toad woman," Arthur said shrugging. "I still think she should have been tossed through the Veil. No one should be able to fire Killing Curses at Hogwarts and be given leniency."

Amelia's lips set into a thin line and her nod was barely perceptible. "There are extenuating circumstances around that, Arthur. Things I can't discuss unfortunately. I can tell you that even with the woman being misled, it makes little difference, she still is an insane piece of work and the day she leaves Azkaban is the day that I put out a Kiss On Sight order for her."

"And if you're not in the DMLE anymore?"

"Well there are other ways to ensure justice is performed," Amelia murmured quiet enough that he had to lean closer to hear her. Arthur gasped, his eyes wide though Amelia glared at him before he could utter a word. "My niece was in that hall too, Arthur. That bitch could've killed Susan just as easily as she could've killed your own kids. She's never leaving Azkaban and if she does, I'm making sure she only goes back in a bodybag; of course, in that case, this conversation never happened."

Arthur swallowed though slowly nodded. "I want to disagree with you, though I find every fatherly instinct I have screaming in agreement instead. Let us change the topic shall we? Something less morbid, perhaps. Have you heard about this person that Parkinson put forth for his Minister nominee? Bit of a mystery man isn't he?"

Amelia shrugged. "Nobody is going to vote for him. He's a complete unknown with no history and only the backing of a few minor families."

"I'm more intrigued that the Parkinsons are behind him, but not the Malfoys. You don't think he's…You Know Who related do you?"

"A puppet? It's possible, but I doubt the man could get someone in place this quickly. I'm not ruling anything out though. I already have some people trying to look into the fellow, you can report that back to your little club if you want, Arthur."

Arthur stumbled and fell back a few steps, quickly having to rush to catch up to Amelia as they approached her office. "You, you know about that?"

Amelia snorted and patted him on the shoulder. "Arthur, three of my best Aurors are involved. Several of my informants are involved. Dumbledore himself is involved. You people are not nearly as subtle as you think, not to someone who knows what to look for at least, and I've been doing this job for a very long time. I may have been born a witch, but I went for training with Muggles. I know how to follow evidence and clues."

"I see."

"You keep your people safe and fight the war your way. I'll fight it mine. We'll meet in the middle when we have to," Amelia said. She nodded to the man and strode forward into her office. Dropping the papers onto her desk Amelia sighed and pulled out one of the forms from her inbox.

Even Minister for Magic nominees had to do their jobs until the election after all.

Dora knocked on the door of the home at the end of the cul-de-sac. It was a cute little house all things considered, though the yard could do with more color. She idly fingered her, currently, blue hair and tried to picture whether yellow flowers or pink ones would go better with the décor of the area. "Pink. Pink is almost always better," she murmured to herself nodding and switching her hair to pink to try it out against the backdrop.

The door opened and Hermione Granger looked out at her with a quirked half-smile and rolling eyes. I am not going to be wearing pink today, Dora. Don't even start trying to convince me otherwise. You aren't even wearing pink so there is no hope of getting me to agree to it at all."

"Actually I was thinking you need more flowers and that pink would go well here. A splash of color is always a good thing."

"My father's car is pink. He leaves it in the driveway because he agrees with you and my mother has a brown thumb. They refuse to hire gardeners. It's his way of rebelling. Are you ready to go?"

"Your dad drives a pink car?" Dora asked blinking repeatedly and letting her mouth drop open to an only modestly exaggerated degree. "Can we please borrow that to spring Harry?! Please, please, please, please?! Can you just imagine the horror of Vernon and Petunia Dursley seeing us driving up in a pink pickup! Oh Merlin it would be amazing! Come on, Hermione, you can't hold out on me now."

Hermione just started laughing, walking outside and locking up behind her while swinging her beaded purse over a shoulder. "For one thing, my parents aren't home since you decided to sleep in, I'm guessing."

"No, actually, I had to save Sirius from an evil library book. Don't ask."

Hermione's raised finger slowly lowered and her crestfallen face promised war if there wasn't an explanation later, she sighed and nodded defeated for now. "Well, anyway, for a second thing, do you know how to drive? Because I don't. Now that you, Sirius, and Tonks have tutored me in Apparition I didn't see the point of learning to drive just yet. The Muggle world won't let me get a license until my real birthday anyway so I might as well wait until there's a use for it."

Dora's mood dropped and she had to control her hair as it instinctively tried to switch to a mellow yellow shade. "Darn, there goes all my fun."

"Not all of it. We still get to rile up the Dursleys. Just not quite as much. I am quite looking forward to this actually. Harry is very tight lipped about his time there and you haven't told me much either, but I know enough that I realize they deserve a bit of karmic comeuppance. Oh, is Grimmauld sanitized enough that we are going back there, or has Sirius finally given up and bought a new home now that he's free and has all of that back pay they gifted him?"

"Bribed him with more like," Dora muttered. "Can't move, not if we want to keep looking up things in the Black library. A lot of those books can't actually leave the premises except to go to a different Black manor and most of the other manors are even worse off. Kreacher at least kept Grimmauld to a slightly liveable state. I don't think he ever visited any of the other properties at all. And neither Narcissa nor my mum can get into them since they don't have the name anymore."

"Neither do you." Hermione pointed out.

"True, but I think the House recognizes me as Heir or something. I didn't really understand it when Sirius tried to explain it. Something about being the oldest and most worthy and yada-yada-yada. It was stupid and I was far more concerned about my boyfriend's issues to deal with old Pureblood family issues. I can get into the properties and they are all decrepit and should be torn down. That's the important thing. Now let's stop wasting time and get our friend out of Durskaban."

Hermione grimaced. "Must you call it that?"

"You haven't seen his memories, Hermione. That place is Harry's Azkaban. We never should never have let him go back even for a few days."

"We both agreed it was Harry's decision and Harry wanted to cut ties properly instead of just leaving them waiting on the train platform."

"I should've overruled him," Dora scowled as she followed Hermione out of the yard and down the road. "That place and those monsters are toxic. I swear if they've hurt him again…"

"Then you will not be the only of-age witch they have to deal with," Hermione replied firmly. "Please stop brooding. Knowing Harry, he's likely brooding enough for all three of us. We should be smiling by the time we get there – that will help improve his dour mood more than any revenge fantasy we can cook up in the meantime. Anti-Apparition field ends at the corner. We can leave from there."

"I can't believe you managed to talk the Order into giving your parents' place anti-Apparition wards. Who'd you sweet talk? It was Shack wasn't it? Or maybe Moody, he'd appreciate preparation like that."

"We had the goblins set it up after I read Hogwarts, A History before I ever even set foot on the train." At Dora's whiplashing head twist, Hermione just smirked and winked. "My family didn't like the idea of someone being able to magic themselves into my bedroom if he so desired – they splurged. There's quite a bit of security around the home."

"Bloody hell girl," Dora whistled. "Badass family."

"I'll be sure to tell them you said that. We're at the edge. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Excellent. You'll have to Side-Along me. I've never seen his home."

"By your command, mistress," Dora said smirking. She grabbed Hermione's hand and a twist and crack later they were gone.

One squeezed tube feeling later, both girls resolved back into being across the street from Number 4 Privet Drive. Letting go of Hermione's hand, Dora took the lead and marched across the street. They had barely gotten onto the lawn before she saw a shimmer in the air and slowed, a wand poking out of the fold appearing in mid-air from the shimmer. "Password?"

"Howdy, Hestia," Dora said waving to the wand-wielder. "You do know we're not going to know the password for an unauthorized prison break yeah?"

The wand wavered slightly though didn't drop. "Good point. How do I know you two are really Harry's classmates?"

"Because we can tell you the address of 12 Grimmauld Place," Hermione said stepping up next to Dora.

"Yeah, that works." The wand disappeared back into the cloak and the air once again was just a shimmer instead of a wound. "These people are awful so I'm not about to stop you springing him. Are you taking Harry back to Headquarters?"

"That's the plan." Dora patted her old friend's shoulder as the two teenagers walked past. "You need a new cloak by the way. That one is on its last legs."

A sigh echoed out behind them. "Trust me I know. The weather repelling charms are worn off too. I was about to buy my own if we didn't get a new one soon. Guess we don't have to worry anymore if guard duty is about to go away. Have fun scaring the tossers you two. I'll be out here; if you need anything just shout."

Dora lifted a hand in a salute and continued to the door of Number 4. Taking a deep breath to settle herself and set her back in a straight line, she made sure her hair was as bright a shade of blue as she could make it while also giving herself an extra inch in height and a harsher chin. A little physical intimidation never hurt things when dealing with bullies. Pushing the bell, Dora crossed her arms to wait for the Dursleys to answer her summons.

She didn't have to wait long. The door opened after less than a minute and she found herself staring at a starving whale. Dudley Dursley held the door open and his eyes widened as he took in the sight of the two girls in front of him. Dora for her part was fairly impressed that the boy had managed to take his incredibly overweight body and get it into something less resembling a heart attack waiting to happen. He still looked a bit like a pig, but at least it seemed to be more muscle than fat judging by the new definition in his arms. Granted she was working on comparisons based off of memories seen during Occlumency practice, but still, they were fairly recent memories at that.

"You're friends of Harry?"

"We are. You're Dudley. The leader of Harry Hunting. Such a pleasure to meet you," Dora said, her smile going wide. She couldn't resist letting her teeth sharpen to points at the end of her sentence. The grimace the whale gave her at that though was less fear and more…something else. She couldn't put her finger on it.

"Yeah, I was. I'm not proud of that – not anymore. After what I did to him, he should've left me die with those monsters. Come in. Harry's upstairs in his room. I think he's trying to keep Mum and Dad from noticing that his friend is still here. I'll keep them busy for you to sneak up if you want. Or do you want me to get them for you?"

"Err…" This was not going according to the script at all.

Hermione however stepped up to the plate. "We'll go speak with Harry first, thank you. Then we will, hmm, converse with your parents – at length – regarding their treatment of my friend. If you don't want to be involved, I would suggest you leave the premises."

"No, I deserve whatever you're going to do to them too. I'll stay."

"What the hell happened to you?" Dora blurted out as Dudley stepped back from the door to let them through.

He chuckled and smiled, though the expression didn't reach his eyes. "My cousin saved my life when all I've ever given him reason to do was leave me to die and laugh about it later. He's not going to be coming back after you leave, is he?"

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Dora replied, her voice low and dangerous. "He shouldn't have come here to begin with."

"If you take him away before I get the chance to tell him myself, please tell him I was serious earlier and to send me his address whenever he settles down. I would like a chance to make things right eventually and I do want to try and stay in touch."

Hermione laid a hand on Dora's arm and nodded towards Dudley. "We will. Thank you for running interference for the moment." Dudley nodded and walked back into the other room as Hermione and Dora started up the stairs.

Dora turned to Hermione as they paused near the top of the steps. She let her wand drop into her hand. "Did you catch the bit about Harry having a friend over?"

"You don't suppose it's just Tonks do you?"

"Unlikely. Possible, but unlikely. Has he ever mentioned Muggle friends to you?"

"Not to me," Hermione said shaking her head and also grabbing her wand. "Knock it down or go in soft?"

"The Dursleys are still alive and Hestia didn't seem to notice anything unusual or act like she'd been Imperiused. Soft, but stay alert. Be ready for anything, Hermione."

Dora took the last few stairs and padded over to Harry's door. She knocked and, without waiting for a reply, shoved it open stalking in, wand pointed half at the ground and half into the air.

"Cautious approach. You owe me five galleons!" a feminine voice rang out into the room assaulting Dora's ears. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she took in the red-head sitting across from Harry on his bed a hand of cards in her grip. She grinned over at Dora's boyfriend who was grumbling and rubbing at his temple. "Also, go fish."

"Stupid bloody card game, stupid bloody luck, stupid bloody bet." He fixed Dora and Hermione with a glare and pointed at them. "And you two! You're supposed to be worried about my virtue and my safety! Strange girl in my room, you come in wands blazing!"

Dora's brain locked up for the third time that morning as she looked between the two people on the bed desperately trying to make sense of this situation. "What. The. Hell?"

"Hi, I'm Cordelia. So, I hear that you're the one who broke Time?"

Fanfic Rec: 'No More' by The Seven of Us. Harry/Tonks but VERY MUCH in the background and only really at the end. Harry discovers while he is very young that he is a Shifter which is a basically a metamorph on steroids. After running away from the Dursleys at 7 he makes his own way through life and turns down Hogwarts in the process while adopting another runaway about 2 years younger that was thrown out for being magical as well. Amusingly enough, Harry becomes friends with Snape in this one by a fairly believable fashion! It's a very good, long oneshot and is not your typical Harry Runs Away fic.