Chapter One

"If you refuse this offer, I will be forced to Obliviate you," the first man was saying. The second man gulped, and nodded.

"What do I get out of this? Or you? What do you get out of the arrangement?"

"You get training. Simple as that. You might get a few assignments before you're out of Hogwarts, depends on how fast you learn. I personally get nothing. I'm just the recruitment. My people, though, get another operative- another set of eyes, and a set in Hogwarts at that. They also get another fighter."

"You're sure that you won't all use me, like Dumbledore? Tell me nothing and expect me to be your weapon?"

"All operatives are treated the same, and I will not have you insinuating otherwise," the first man was now sounding a little cold.

"I apologise."

"Accepted. No, if you are going out into the field, you will be briefed thoroughly and we tend not to keep secrets from our operatives pertaining to our work. The secrecy charms we invoke make betrayal almost impossible, anyway." The second man nodded his approval.

"No one has given me this opportunity, nor was anyone willing to. You are telling the truth, so I… accept."

"Excellent, Mr. Potter. Now I take you to the Department."

"Department?" asked Harry, confused.

"Mr. Potter, you have just agreed to become an Unspeakable."

"WHAT? I just destroyed the Department weeks ago; I thought that you'd all be out for my blood, not recruiting me!" The man snorted.

"The Department gets destroyed quite regularly by our operatives alone; it is not a big deal. No, what you managed to do is both impress the recruiters- we have devices not dissimilar to muggle security cameras and the recruiters managed to watch the battle. The other thing you did is force Voldemort out of hiding. That's good because it makes it easier for us to act."

"You said Voldemort's name!"

"Tom Riddle is the only true name we use in the Department. Real names are too dangerous, so do not expect me to call you Mr. Potter again. Indeed, most operatives only know their partner's code name, and your true name especially would be dangerous in the Department. For now, you will be called up as Recruit or something similar. I am Operative Silver."

"Uh… okay… Operative Silver… sir…"

"Ha! That's a long name, recruit. We skip the 'operative' and 'sir' business. You just call me Silver. Once your training is up, we will be equal despite the incredible age difference." Harry looked up at Silver and saw the meaning behind his words. The man looked far more ancient than Dumbledore, and far more powerful, too. The lines and wrinkles were there and yet the weariness and other drawbacks Harry had come to expect from age were not there. It was mind boggling.

"Now, are you ready to go? Bring only your wand, we don't want to alert the Lemon Drop as to the act you are missing. I am under the impression that you have a guard?

"I do, but they have not seen me all summer. In actual fact it's because Uncle has locked me up in this room, but they all believe that it's because I'm locking myself away, grieving for Sirius."

"Are you?"

"Well, I was, but I've decided not to anymore. He wouldn't want me to mourn him any longer. If he was here, he'd tell me that I was wasting my time and to get out there and prank some people… or something less appropriate but I'll just leave it at that. Might as well honour his memory by pulling a massive prank on the old Lemon Drop! Nice name, by the way."

"That's good, and for the record, Recruit, I knew Black for a while and I reckon you're right. I can tell you're blaming yourself, though."

"Everyone keeps telling me that it's not, but they just can't see it! They're just trying to make me feel better, if they can. How is it not my fault," Harry felt his anger flare up.

"Easy, now, recruit. Now, that question? If it's your fault, that means you don't blame Bellatrix in the slightest. Nor Voldemort, you believe he's completely innocent. Dumbledore and Snape have perfectly clean records in your mind."

"NO! But- how does-"

"There, you just proved that you blame them. Personally if I were you I wouldn't be putting any blame on myself, but I've heard about your hero complex."

"You didn't just say that to make me feel good, did you?"

"No."

"I think I see your point… but it almost seems to help the pain, to blame myself. If I don't then I have to admit that Sirius was foolish, and I don't want to tarnish his memory." Harry looked at the floor, feeling his face heat up.

"Recruit. Look Up. Why did you go to the Department?"

"Because… I thought Sirius was in danger!"

"Was it foolish? Do you truly believe that it was foolish to want to rescue your godfather?"

"No…" Harry couldn't see where this was going.

"Good, because it's not. Now, why did Sirius go to the Department?"

"Because… because," Harry trailed off, before comprehension dawned on his face. "We went for the same reasons, and neither was foolish. The plan could have been executed better, but that's another matter. We lost because Dumbledore withheld information, Snape failed to teach, Bellatrix killed him, Voldemort initiated the plan, Malfoy lead the Death Eaters… and Sirius didn't take the duel seriously. I believe you, Silver, and I think I am at peace now," he finished softly. He didn't really understand why, but the ancient man's words and tone helped him understand more than anything. He did truly feel a lot better, and was willing to just remember the good times he had with his godfather, no matter how few he had of them.

"Good, are you ready to go now?"

"Yes," he said, more determined than ever.

"One last thing before we go, everyone in the Department has a partner, and a partner is relied on more than anyone else. There is always the leader and the back up in each pair and the pair is always in the group. We don't assign the leaders out of the pairs, but from watching, I believe it will be you. If all goes well, Operative Frog will have convinced your prospective partner to join us. Your situation is unique, as you are both Hogwarts students you will be obligated to reveal your true selves no matter what- most partners get the choice. And no, I will not tell you who it is until they have agreed. Got your wand?"

"Yep!"

"Let's go then!" and with that, Silver portkeyed the two of them straight through the wards at Privet Drive.

"What about the wards?" asked Harry as he was being helped to his feet.

"Lemon Drop won't notice, I taught him those wards when we worked together and I can bypass them- no, he was never an Unspeakable. They thought about recruiting him for the Research Department, but he became a little too greedy with his lust for power. Would have made a good field operative, too, if not for his personality."

"Huh. Lust for power; that is a brilliant understatement, Silver."

"It is, but I was unsure as to your… er… standing on this matter."

"He's a manipulative old coot."

"Fair enough. Ah, look, there's Lenta! He's the head of recruitment training, and his name is apt- he's brutal! We can't let you meet anyone just yet as you don't have your robes or any other gear, and it would make you quite recognisable. So, we'll have to do that first!"

"Okay… are you sure that Lenta won't kill me? He looks scary…"

"He's as likely to kill you as old hip-flask."

"Ah, okay."

"And now to your Unspeakable gear, if you will follow me." Silver turned and began to stride down the walkway of the Department of Mysteries. As Harry hurried to keep up, he began to ask the question he had been burning to since he had met Silver.

"Silver, why are you so willing to take me on and train me? As far as I know, you've barely seen what I can do. Why?"

"Recruit, we watch everyone. Whenever a person of-age enters the country to stay and work, not just for a holiday, we discreetly get their power levels. Once a person begins magical schooling, however, or comes for qualifications if they are home schooled, we do the same thing. We have the power levels of every magical citizen in the country in here, though we are not to look at them except for recruitment or major criminal cases, which we prefer to keep out of. That is our first test. Most fail. We watch for years, the people with the power level needed. We watch their temperament both in and out of trouble, how they deal with stress, their learning styles, where they do and don't perform and so on. You, recruit, perform at your best when you are in a tough situation, though with the right motivation you learn well enough as well- which is good as we don't plan on threatening your life every day to teach you message-spells. If the person passes the standards here, and that is even less people- we watch their actual magic. How they react to large amounts of it and so forth. If we still approve of the person, we wait until we need another pair trained up and ask them to join. In this stage, we take into account what sort of individual and pair we need, what skills they need and which person or people will fit this role. We also take age into account to a minor degree, for example we need people at Hogwarts so you were bumped up the admittedly short list of possible recruits. If we needed Unspeakables in Gringotts, I assure you that you would have had less chance, though it is most likely we still would have recruited you. Does that answer your question?"

"Er… yes, but I'm not powerful!"

"Recruit. Look. You're powerful, but you're blocking your magic! Not intentionally, I'm sure, but you are subconsciously frightened of it and you are repressing it. One of the few times you truly let most of your magic work, you fought off over 100 dementors at once, with one spell."

"I'm repressing it?"

"Yes."

"I didn't even know that was possible," Harry muttered before falling back into silence following the older man. In barely any time at all, Silver stopped and opened a door before ushering Harry inside.

"Right. This is it, we kit you up in Unspeakable gear. The DOM is completely separate from the Ministry of Magic, but the latter like to appear that we work together so they actually pay us to have HQ here. Meagre payment, but we get the majority of our funds elsewhere. This means that we don't get the sort of government issued stuff the aurors get. Our stuff is much better. Unfortunately the wages are terrible, but I reckon the gadgets more than make up for it."

"We get wages?"

"What did you expect, coal? Huh, that actually wouldn't be such a bad idea… anyway, yes. They're terrible because the Department needs the money to afford the gadgets, and an incredible wage is suspicious. One of the reasons we ask our operatives to get a second job, but you are different because you're still at school. Now! This cool gear I've been talking about! We have the standard Unspeakable robes; I'll get you one in a moment. They look nondescript, but they're actually quite clever. They have demiguise hair and chameleon skin worked into them, which can be activated on command to make you blend in with our surroundings. Not perfect, but better than not having it. You need to remember that no disguise is fool proof, and to be cautious at all times. Mostly spell-resistant for minor charms and hexes- if you wear them at Hogwarts you'd be quite safe from all but the 7th years at any rate, though they purposely teach you slowly there so that no one learns any real spells- so that's the reason for that. Wouldn't recommend using them as a second shield in battle, anyway, but they will throw off a tracking charm or two. The standard robe is grey, as you can see, but you can tap it and ask it to change colour if you wish. On most field missions, though, you leave it grey so that people recognise what you are. They have mild concealment charms on the hood so no one will recognise you- well, there are a few other charms on there to help with that, but I won't tell you what they are. You keep your hood up at all times. The designers were nice, so they added charms to keep them wrinkle-free and the temperature regulated; they're also impervious to water. So, that's the robes! For you, we'll have to get one slightly too big and shrink it down because I have a feeling that you will be growing quite a bit." Silver frowned and began to root through them.

"That one's too big," Harry pointed out helpfully as Silver picked out a robe that was far too big for him.

"No, no I don't think it is," he frowned, "you'll be gaining quite a bit of muscle and you're currently malnourished so your growth has been stunted. We are going to fix that as well, so this one is a good size. If my estimate is wrong, we can get you a new robe."

"Oh, okay," said Harry, disguising his happiness that they could reduce his 'midgetness' as Ron called it. He slipped the robe on and was impressed by how comfortable it was. Silver tapped it with his wand and Harry felt it shrink down to a good size.

"This is brilliant! So comfortable."

"That it is… try to change the colour." Harry tapped it with his wand and said 'Blue,' but nothing happened. Silver snickered.

"Sorry, recruit; it's really funny watching the newbies do that, though. We need to bond the robe to you, otherwise people could alter them, including the colour-change and having the charms altered by someone other than you out on the field is dangerous. So, we bond it to you and no one can wear it or alter it in any way apart from yourself."

"How do we do that?"

"Blood."

"That's Dark magic!"

"No it isn't, but we'll get into that at another time. For now, let's just say that it's the safest way of bonding the robes to you as it is impossible for others to undo unless you die."

"Okay," said Harry, embarrassed by his outburst.

"Not to worry, Harry, most have the same reaction as you. I think I did, but never mind. Anyway, prick your finger with this and let a few drops of your blood come into contact with the robes. Your finger will heal automatically, by the way."

"Sure," said Harry, before he took the offered knife and made a small slit along his finger. 3 drops of blood came out and landed on the robe before his skin healed over the slit and it looked as though nothing happened. The robe appeared unchanged.

"This time, imagine the exact colour you want it to be when you tap it, instead of saying the colour out loud. 'Blue' is too broad, anyway." Harry nodded, and concentrated on the reddish-gold of the Gryffindor couches. Once the colour was set in his mind, he tapped his cloak and to his astonishment, they appeared exactly the same- down to the texture! Silver let out a short bark of laughter.

"You were focusing on an object that was the colour that you want, not the colour which is why the texture came along. However, I must admit I am impressed, I've never seen the texture so convincing before. Huh. You might be able to disguise them as Hogwarts robes after all. No, that's for another time. The funniest time was when a recruit decided the mimic the colour of her bathroom tiles." Harry let out a snort.

"That would have been amusing," he said before discreetly tapping the robes and getting rid of the textured-look.

"Looks like you've got the colour change sorted! The chameleon/invisibility work together and the command phrase is 'no-see,' but it's simple enough that you can do it yourself later."

"Okay."

"Right. Next, we've got some dragonhide boots, same deal. Chameleon/invisibility feature, though there's no colour change but the black is quite nice. The temperature charms are there as well, and you'll need to bond them to you as well. The comfort surpasses most dragonhide boots as well! They're spell-resistant, too, and we added the impervious after an operative burned through them with a potion. Quite obviously a highly volatile potion as the dragonhide should have stopped that." Harry put the offered pair on after bonding them and was impressed. They felt as though they were part of his feet- that he wasn't wearing any shoes at all.

"Nice, see what you mean about comfort. Definitely will help not having to worry about tripping over my own shoes. Maybe Tonks should get some."

"Huh. Next we have the wand holster… One thing the aurors do get exceptional quality in these, so we use the same; invisible, can't be summoned, pretty much impervious to all magical attacks, so your wand can't be summoned when it's in their either, only you can remove it and your wand will draw with a flick or your wrist, though you might take some time to practice your draw as most people drop their wands the first time. Once you attach it to your wrist the charms will activate. You get two; all operatives have two wands, and one is recorded by the ministry; the other not as there are some spells we would prefer the Ministry never found out that Operatives could use- though they have given permission for us to use all spells, lethal and non-lethal if the situation demands for it. You'll get your second wand later." Harry gulped as he attached the second holster to his left wrist. He didn't particularly like the sound of learning 'lethal' spells, though he reminded himself of his levitation charm philosophy and Umbridge's idea of ministry-approved spells and his resolve strengthened again.

"I can see the battle in your head, and you are doing well, recruit."

"Thanks."

"Huh, that's why I'm not a trainer, I give praise too often. Anyway, out last gadget… or group of gadgets, more like."

"Group of gadgets?"

"Mmmm… see this little pendant? You can choose between it and the bracelet."

"Pendant or bracelet?" asked Harry sceptically. "Might choose the bracelet, thanks."

"How did I guess? Anyway, this is the bracelet. First, it's a portkey. Gets you through these wards, too. If you say 'HQ,' it will bring you to the entrance room for DOM Field operatives, but if you say 'help' it'll take you straight to the hospital. Er… I can see that you'd rather not go there… don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough. You can only take a maximum of one passenger, though, and they have to be keyed into the wards so you'll only really use that feature if a team member has lost their portkey or is too injured to activate their own. Unfortunately, they'll only get you through these wards so you will have to escape from Hogwarts first if we ever call you here. Now, if you ask the bracelet to 'open' and direct some magic at it- either by tapping it with your wand or wandlessly which you will learn later, it opens up like this… and that falls out, yes. Tap it with our wand, please." Harry tapped the little cube the size of his fingernail and gasped before dropping it to the floor. It was expanding, rapidly.

"Yup," said Silver when it was done, "multi-compartmental trunk, though once it recognises you no one will recognise it as multi-compartmental besides yourself. Before you do that, though, I would ask you to open it. First compartment, please." Harry opened the lid.

"You've got your basic storage here. I can see that you recognise the time-turner, and you know the laws regarding them as well. You will learn when to use them, and hopefully it is not often. Cough-minor-cough diversionary tactics, you've got your little spheres here. They range it abilities when you smash them; from this little one which lets our smoke to obscure vision, to this one which lets out a random stream of stunners and the worst, this one which I suppose is equal to a muggle bomb and it's best to apparate away as soon as you drop it. Apart from the smoke, its best to only use them when there's no innocents in the way, but even then the smoke is questionable as it will obscure the vision of anyone not wearing an Unspeakable robe- though not anywhere near completely. So… you've got a few of them, and then the basic healing potions are there. Unfortunately it's a little hard to open a trunk in the middle of a battle but being in the first compartment makes it easier than it could be. Second compartment! Most operatives' least favourite compartment, those are all of the basic books you will need. You can add your own, of course, and you will be given more of them further along in your training. You'll need to read this one first; it's pretty much a handbook to being an operative in this Department. Most of the books in there aren't released to the public so if anyone else sees you reading them they will see the book they expect you to have. Research do a brilliant job of that, Worm is the best out of all of them, but that's not the point. So… next please! Right, that's your tent- magical by the way, a lot larger on the inside but definitely not luxurious. I doubt that you'll be going on many missions where it's necessary for a while but you have it all the same. Tents are generally used in observation missions where you need to watch a place for days on end. They're muggle-repelling and invisible with layers of protective wards on them, ranging to keep out insects to Dark Marks- though the results of a breach vary enormously. As this is the 'camping' compartment, we've got ropes, grapples, and the like. There are spells you can use, and conjuring, but if you can do it the muggle way it's a lot safer. Eh. Now, there's your portable equipment- potions kit and workbench. Chair as well because we're nice people."

"I like this compartment."

"For now. Next one please." Harry opened the lid to the final compartment and gasped.

"Yes, you will be learning to fight with weapons. All will resize to fit you better when you pick them up. You've got your normal sword, katana and throwing knives there, and they can be summoned to you by thought later- not now. The sheaths have the same charms as the wand holsters. Normal sword goes on your back, with the katana and the throwing knives on your legs and hips. You should wear them at all times once you can wield them, but keep spares of each in here. Now we close the trunk… bond it… shrink it and it goes in the bracelet! Only you can remove that now."

"That's brilliant!"

"Quite. Now, we've seen you in action, but we need to test your magic to see what you might need extra- or less- training in depending on where your magic's strengths lie and any other abilities you might have. Once we know that, you'll get your name and hopefully meet your partner, if she agreed. Ready?" Harry swallowed before nodding.

"Yes, Silver."

"Got all your gear on? You'll wear that for life, now, unless you're ousted from the Unspeakables. When you feel incapable due to age or permanent injury or whatever, you'll be removed from most field work but there are other positions in the Department. You will come to enjoy it, though, and won't want to leave. If you do, you surrender the gadgets and are obliviated. Unfortunately because of the amount that needs to be obliviated, it tends to leave people a little disoriented for the rest of their life. So, on that happy note, let's go!" Harry shuddered inwardly and followed the slightly crazy man out the door and into the next room.

"Recruit, this is Mere, she's the head healer," Harry shuddered again, "and she's going to do the scan. It's quite extensive what it works out, and it deals with both magical and physical strengths and physical weaknesses so be prepared." Harry nodded nervously- the word 'healer' made him more nervous than 'Voldemort' and most people close to him knew it.

"Hello Recruit, I'll do the spell now, shall I?" Harry just nodded. Mere waved her wand and muttered the incantation softly- no doubt that even the operatives were forbidden from learning the spell. Mere whistled.

"You're going to need a lot of potions to fix this damage… or we could just give you one completely disgusting potion and leave it at that but most would prefer the first option even if taking potions is not their cup of tea. You're severely malnourished, you've got bones that haven't healed properly, your muscles are weak from the under-nourishment, as are your bones and your growth has been badly stunted by it. That makes 6 potions, though you only have to take each one once and you could do it here. Considering you go to Hogwarts, you have more tolerance for the bad-tasting potions as Grease doesn't bother to make them taste nice when he brews for your hospital wing, but the choice is up to you- all 6 of them taste alright separately." Harry snickered at Snape's codename in the Department before returning his attention to the healer.

"Magically, your strengths lie towards power more than casting speed, though you could still get your casting speed up there it won't be as fast as those more inclined towards it in the Department. You will be faster than most outside of it, though. Your strengths also lie in Offensive and Defensive magic as well as Healing magic, surprisingly enough. Your weakness is transfiguration and charms are middle ground. Wandless and wordless casting will come naturally to you because of your power level, more so than any other in the department and I think that will become your specialty along with power in terms of magic. As you have no doubt been told, you are suppressing your own magic, but that is just constantly strengthening it and once you are at peace with it you will be able to achieve a lot. You have an animagus form, as well. Unfortunately, I do not know what it is. In terms of abilities, you are a Parselmouth, as you know, you've also got some metamorph talent, though I'm not quite sure how strong it is, and it's definitely weaker than Meadow's talent. Finally, you've got mage sight, but it's blocked as it normally is as it's dangerous for small children to have. Explains why you need glasses, though. So, that's that! You'll need another potion to unblock the mage sight, but it's tasteless." Harry nodded.

"How bad are you talking with the one-potion option?"

"You will think that Skele-Gro is as nice as pumpkin juice." Harry gulped.

"I'll take the other ones, thanks, Mere." She nodded and bustled over to the potions cabinet. Harry watched her, feeling as though she might be less protective than Madam Pomfrey and was cheered up by the thought until he realised that she had to earn her name somehow- Mere- similar to the French word for mother. Harry gulped.

"Here you are, Recruit, I'm going to put up a silencing charm around you as Silver and I need to discuss your name. No operative gets to choose it, sorry, it's between the recruiter and the healer. Drink that one last, it will release your mage sight and I daresay you're in for a little bit of a shock when you do drink it. This ward is quite bright. Ah, sunglasses. If it's too bright, put these on for a while. Mere nodded and stepped back before placing the silencing charms.

"He is going to need a strong name."

"I agree, his magic is incredible, and I daresay his personality agrees from the look on your face."

"He can be really calm under fire- that's where he performs at his best, for merlins sake! When someone insults a friend, though, he flares up worse than Fire- both in Team one and actual fire."

"That's a strong personality… so a protector… fits in with his magic, but the name can't correlate to fire directly. I think he needs a magical creature. I would say Basilisk or something, but he's not really that type."

"No, he only flares up when someone threatens or insults someone close to him… and I believe that no matter who his partner turns out to be, his protection will spread to them. He's a leader, too- he will no doubt be the leader of his pair, and he has the ability to give others the strength to do things they normally wouldn't and steps up continuously to take control of dangerous situations. People around him can't seem to stop themselves from looking to him for leadership. You're right, though, he needs a magical creature."

"He plays Quidditch, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

"Mmmm, I can tell by some of his injuries- quite nasty, but they don't seem to faze him if the way they've healed has anything to say."

"He does survive things that he shouldn't. If two could hold the same name, I'd call him Phoenix!"

"Sounds like I'll be seeing a lot of him, then… I'll try not to mother him too much then."

"You can't help but mother people, Mere, that's how you got your name."

"True… but back to the recruit. Don't want to relate him to a snake… that ability was a dead giveaway, Silver… oh, the thing I neglected to tell him is that the scar so wonderfully concealed is Dark magic- and I know the Departments stance on that classification, but that's the only way to describe it. It seems to be using his magic to feed something else, and I have a bad idea what… or who. I think with Strawberry's help I would be able to heal it, though."

"Urgh. That's not good, we need to do that soon, but perhaps obliviate Strawberry afterwards… and you…"

"That's different in the Department, but I agree it's necessary. Back to the name!"

"I wish we could use Phoenix, though… Lion?"

"No, not Lion; actually, I was thinking of something that could fly… like falcon."

"NO."

"Oh. Griffin?"

"Griffin… pretty good, I like it. Should we tell him?"

"No. Not yet, he's currently drinking the potion to release his mage sight and it is pretty much going to blind him for the next 5 minutes."

"So we wait."

"Yes."

"Huh."

"Team 3 is going to be a nightmare," complained the Healer after a few minutes.

"Mere? What do you mean?"

"You are putting him in Team 3, right?"

"That's the only team that needs a new pair."

"Well, You've got Flight in the team, who, I remind you, plays for the Holyhead Harpies, Griffin who will probably play Pro Quidditch as his secondary job soon enough, and I heard from Strawberry that the other recruit plays good Quidditch as well. Plus you've got Shadow in the team, who could give the other recruit a run for her money, and she's good enough to play as well! That team should be re-named the Quidditch team."

"What's wrong with Quidditch?"

"It's dangerous- it's- it's- they're already risking their lives on the field, and they have to go and find another field to risk their lives on- for fun!"

"Yeah, well, Quidditch is fun!"

"I swear, you Quidditch people. At least Griffin has good healing magic which is more than I can say about the rest of them in that team," Mere huffed, "oh, look, he's getting his vision back."

"Recruit, we've got your name."

"Urgh, who turned on the lights?"

"It's your mage-sight, recruit. Takes some getting used to, but the sunglasses will help if it's too bright for now." Mere slipped straight back into her job.

"Thanks," Harry grumbled, before he brightened. "You mentioned a name? Recruit is a pretty bad one, if you ask me."

"I agree, I agree… Griffin. Welcome to the Field Operatives Division of the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries, Griffin!"

"Griffin? Huh, pretty good. I like it!"

"Thank you for that assessment of my naming skills," sniffed Mere.

"Suits your personality, Griffin does."

"Thanks?"

"No problem! Now we can wait for your eyesight to come back, or we can go meat the other Operatives now if you like."

"Urgh, any way I can just dim it for now?"

"That means you're getting used to it if you can consider that," said Mere, "you have to focus on not seeing the magic. The sight will still be there, but barely noticeable. When you get more skilled you will learn more control; but for now, that'll do." Harry tried it and to his relief all the coloured lights that were magic dimmed to an almost unnoticeable level.

"Alright let's go meet the Operatives!"

"Silver, they're all with their teams now; except team 3, obviously."

"Thanks Mere! Let's go, Griffin." As they made their way towards the team rooms, Silver began to explain the odd naming system.

"As you already know, each person has both a codename and a partner. Each partner forms a pair within the teams and there are two pairs to a team. To make up for the rather bland team names, you know, team one, team two etcetera, someone came up with the bright idea to add the name of each partner together, leader first to come up with pair names. That means that, say, Ink and Bunny in team 6 are pair Inkbunny."

"Brilliant," chocked Harry, "Inkbunny; wonderful name."

"Hah, you wait until you hear the rest of the pairs. I'll tell you the pair names before we go into each of the team rooms. Everyone's pretty friendly around here, we have to be, so don't worry. Almost at Team One's room, which are pairs Firepaws and Meadowmarsh."

"Firepaws and Meadowmarsh? They're all weird, aren't they?" Harry groaned.

"Not all of them- some sound sensible and others are ridiculous! We don't think about pair names when we come up with them, so we do get some strange ones."

"Brilliant. Mine will have Griffin in it, bound to be weird."

"Also, each pair has a leader, stated in their name, but each team has a leader as well- the most experienced out of the two pairs, so you won't have to worry about that yet."

"Okay, good."

"Ready to meet team one?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!"

"Cheer up, already; you're only meeting a few people."

"Right."

"Team One! Griffin here is new; he'll be joining Team 3- most likely as a pair leader, though of course we leave that up to the pairs." Team one chuckled.

"Hey, Griffin, I'm Fire, and the Leader of my team," said the man closest to the doorway. Harry groaned internally. It was impossible to physically describe any of the Unspeakables after only one glance; it was going to take forever to learn everyone's name.

"Don't worry, Griffin," Fire added, seeing his discomfort, "you'll get used to noticing the slight differences and everyone has different voice tones and mannerisms. You catch on faster than you'd believe."

"Thanks."

"No prob."

"Hey, stop hogging his attention, Fire! Griffin, I'm Paws, Fire's back up."

"Nice to meet you... Paws."

"I know it's a girlish name, but it's after my animagus form- seriously!"

"Sure… and it's not girlish."

"Don't mind him; he's been thinking that for years. Hey Griffin, I'm Meadow, leader of my pair," said the woman nearest him.

"Yeah, and I'm Marsh, her back up, nice to meet you!"

"Er… Hi."

"Griffin, you need to work on your voice disguising, the Order of the Chicken will recognise it quickly… though I'm the only member."

"Ah, thanks Meadow, you might want to take your own advice, though!"

"Oops. Sorry, Griffin, I was just surprised that you were here."

"Huh. Okay." Harry shook his head as they left. Can't believe Tonks is an Unspeakable.

"Griffin, I will trust you to use discretion with this information."

"Huh? Oh, I will," he said distractedly.

"Good. Now, Team Two… we have Blackthorn and Twistfeather pairs."

"Huh… Blackthorn isn't too bad… can't really say the same about Twistfeather, though," he mused. Introductions went similarly in there, though there was no one to recognise- nor anyone to recognise him.

"Okay, Griffin, you'll be joining Team 3, so there's only one pair in here at the moment- Shadowflight."

"Hey, that's pretty good, too."

"Oi! Team 3!"

"Silver."

"Hey, Silver!"

"Huh. You guys need another pair in this team, well, this is Griffin and he'll be joining you… once his training is complete. We have a target for his partner, but we're still unsure if we were accepted or not."

"Brilliant, it'll be good to have a full team again. Hi Griffin, I'm Shadow… leader of the team and my pair, but we like to discuss options in this team and only really acknowledge leaders when we need quick decisions."

"Sounds good to me."

"Hey, Griffin, I'm Flight, obviously Shadow's backup. As long as you enjoy Quidditch, you'll fit right in, welcome to team 3! We won't discriminate if you don't like Quidditch, but… you do, don't you?"

"Love it, don't worry, Flight, and your name suits you if you're a Quidditch person!"

"Holyhead Harpies."

"Yup, you're a Quidditch person," said Harry faintly. "Does it count if I've talked to and… well, been given tips by Krum?"

"Uh…yeah, you pass the Quidditch test," she said equally as faintly.

"Mere was right, this team is going to drive me crazy with Quidditch… and I like it!" Flight giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very mature, Flight, I can see why you're in here," Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Right, well we've got to keep going with the introductions, so you guys will have to have all of your fanatical Quidditch conversations later, alright?"

"Fine," said Flight, pretending to sulk. Harry cracked a grin for the first time since the Ministry debacle. He was going to enjoy working with Flight. They made their way around the teams, meeting pairs Darknight, Skyrider, Dragonskin, Lasersight, Windstorm, and, of course, Inkbunny. Then they met the healers; apart from Mere, there was Strawberry, Lemon and Trainee Healer Pie, the Tactical Operative Raven and Strategist Slither. Harry met the head of the Field Division, Phoenix and the Recruit Training pair; Lentaeagle. The two of them were scary, Eagle especially as she seemed to see and hear everything around her. When they were done, they met Frog, the back-up Recruitment Operative.

"Silver! Target W agreed, she's in the hospital getting her medical check. Should be ready in 10 and then we can meet and discuss training options."

"Thank you, Frog, you have done well. I was successful, also, as you can see- this is Griffin."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Griffin," he said distractedly, "well, I've got to go, Strawberry is complaining about Quidditch injuries and the like. Honestly, you'd think she'd never seen them before!"

"Ha, Mere was saying that Strawberry was complaining about her injuries while Griffin was getting his medical, and we've met everyone since!"

"Ah, well, you know that Strawberry takes an hour to do what would take Mere a minute. They're not even that bad, Mere was talking and it seems Griffin here had worse. Mere's helping now, so she'll be done any second. Well, that's my update!"

"Thank you, Frog, I'll say it again- you've done well. Ah, and it seems that you've caught on to the reason why Mere is head healer and Strawberry second- though she and Lemon really should swap positions," said Silver thoughtfully.

"I agree, sir, Lemon is much faster than Strawberry, but she is more thorough. Save Lemon for the emergency healing and Strawberry for the more delicate things… 'Couse, Mere outshines both of them."

"Indeed… however, now is not the time to be discussing out healer's capabilities. They are all excellent at their job, and Strawberry's slow work is still quicker than most. Now, though, you have a recruit to name… and Strawberry still wants revenge for her name, so you will have to be careful what you agree to. She will want a hair colour, and as long as it is not too outrageous, I think it best too agree, Frog. Now go!"

"Yes, Silver, Sorry, I got a little carried away." Frog rushed off and Silver sighed.

"Frog is like a school student still, despite his age and is quite excitable as well as easily distracted and feather-brained. However, when he has a task to do, he completes it well. He is also very loyal- if you give him a chance, he will stick by you for a long time. Now, your partner has agreed to join us. I am sure you will recognise her- you must, as it is unfortunately imperative that you know each other because you are our Hogwarts spies. I think you will work well together. Now, we have a few options, but we need well-trained Unspeakables in the school as fast as possible. You will discuss this with your partner, but I am briefing you on your options now. The first is that you get here every day and we work as hard as we can, fitting in as much as we can. The second is that you still come here every day, but you would enter into a time compression so that you get more of it each day. Another option is to come in, and enter an extremely strong time compression, where you will essentially get all of you training in one day. You could do a modified version of it over two days if you wanted to. Otherwise, we could use the time turners to do days multiple times in a row. The first is unadvisable as you would be nowhere near strong enough when you got to Hogwarts, but it is still an option. The second is not my favourite, but it is still quite acceptable as you would have trained enough by the time you get to Hogwarts. The third option is my favourite, as it gives you the maximum about of time to get to work with your team once you have the drawback, but many people are frightened of such a large time compression as it feels like years in there, though it is only a day, and people get… homesick. The modified version, though not as advisable, makes it easier for people to bear as each compression is shorter. The last one is extremely unadvisable and is only there for in case you find all four other options are bad for you. Talk with your partner before you decide, and now we can go!" Harry nodded and began to follow Silver down the hall again, thinking over his options. He wanted to be well trained before Hogwarts and had no problem with time compression, striking options one and five from his personal list, and he hoped his new partner agreed. There was something urging him to take option 3, but he was worried about his partner's reaction to the homesickness part- he had no problem with it, but he had no one that really would notice his absence, as his Aunt and Uncle didn't care as long as they didn't see him. When they reached the hospital wing, Harry saw Frog walking out with a small girl in Unspeakable robes walking proudly, but still betraying her nerves ever so slightly. Harry couldn't blame her; he was feeling the nerves as well.

"I've briefed her on the options, Silver, and the recommendations as well. Flame is ready."

"Thank you, Frog, you've done well. You can go back to the office now."

"Will do, Silver," he said cheerfully.

"Flame, is it?" The girl nodded. "Welcome. Griffin, this is Flame, Flame this is Griffin and the two of you are going to be partners and our Hogwarts infiltrators and spies. Follow, please." The two of them nodded and flowed him into the nearest secure room. Harry was trying to guess the girl's age by her height, but his recent- massive- growth spurt thanks to the potions from Mere was making it difficult to judge. Once Silver had locked the door, he turned to them.

"I would ask the two of you to lower your hoods, Flame, did Frog explain the necessity of this?"

"Yes, he did, Silver," she said, and Harry was certain he recognised her voice. He lowered the hood of his robe and the same time as her.

"Harry?"

"Ginny?"

"Wow, I never thought that you would be Griffin," she said softly.

"Thanks, glad you have all that confidence in me," said Harry sarcastically, "and it's good to see you to."

"Oh, sorry, I'm glad you're my partner, I'm just shocked, and I thought you trusted Dumbledore too much."

"I thought you did too."

"The rest of the family does, though I'm not sure how much. Think you need to be weary around Ronald, though."

"Really? That's really frustrating! I thought he was my best mate for five years, and he was my first friend too. You think it was a set-up, fake?"

"I do, and I'm really sorry Harry, but I think it was." Harry sighed.

"To be honest, I don't think we should trust anyone until they've proven their loyalty, and that may take a while."

"I agree."

"Still, now we need to discuss our training options."

"I crossed out options one and five."

"So did I!"

"I think that we should go for option 3, actually, though it will be weird to be away from my parents for so long," said Ginny.

"I agree, option 3, besides it's easier for me if I don't have to get away every day what with the Dursleys and the guard. Plus, I'd like to finish training sooner rather than later if it means we can defend ourselves better and get more time to practice our teamwork with Shadowflight."

"Shadowflight?"

"Ah, the other pair in Team 3. So, are we agreed?"

"Yes."

"Good," said Silver happily, "I was hoping the two of you could work that out- and especially pick that option, so let's go! Flame, have you got all of your equipment, or just the robes?"

"Frog got everything while Strawberry was fussing over me." Harry let out a snort.

"You should have heard Frog complaining to Silver about Strawberry's healing speed," he said quietly. Ginny snorted. Silver cleared his throat.

"Okay you two, I know that this may seem quite rushed, but I would like to put you both into the time compression today."

"Today? Are you sure that we're ready for that?"

"Yes. If we told you to come back another day, you would still only bring your wand and the Unspeakable gear that you've got with you now, you can't really be more prepared. Besides, at the moment you're already here which makes that aspect slightly easier, once you're done you should be able to make portkeys and apparate, though you do have the bracelet and pendant portkeys if you need them. Uh… both Lenta and Eagle will go in with you, and how long you're in there depends on how long your training takes. The harder you work the less time you will be in there for on both sides of the time compression, we have no way of knowing for sure how long you take, but if it is taking too long we'll send an Operative to both your homes to make them think that you're both staying with a friend for the night or something similar. Are you good to go now?"

"I'm feeling woefully unprepared despite your assurances, but okay."

"If Har- Griffin is good to go, then I can do this as well," agreed Ginny.

"Good. Now, at the moment, you are pair Griffinflame as Griffin is the leader, but if either Lenta or Eagle believe that you would do better to swap roles, you will do that. Have fun in time compression, think we'll send Lemon- no, Mere in with you as well. You've got 10 minutes! Let's go there now." Harry and Ginny exchanged a nervous glance before they stood and followed Silver out the door. Neither really knew what was happening as they were both still in shock from having Unspeakables come and speak to them in the middle of the night. They were fast approaching a small, almost completely unnoticeable door near the end of the corridor, and both barely took any notice of it until, smiling, Silver held it open for them. Harry barely contained a gasp. Inside- if you could call it that- was incredible. It had a wide meadow, stretching out for a while before it dipped downwards towards a large lake. Surrounding it on other sides were mountain ranges and a large forest, both looking extremely foreboding. The 'sky' was still dark but the sun was slowly rising behind the mountains and it was all Harry could do to remember that it was an enchantment even with his (still severely dimmed) mage sight. At the edge of the forest there was a small hut which, they were told, contained a bedroom for each of them, bathroom and kitchen as well as a library and study for minor spell practice. The other side of the room had a building which Silver informed them held a gymnasium, duelling room and the medical room as well as a few extra surprises for if they were lucky. Harry shivered at the tone in his voice. Finally, they heard someone standing in the doorway and Harry turned to see the heavily-scarred Lenta and Eagle standing behind him.

"Good, you're here. Well, Silver, you've done your job, the two of us can activate the time compression. Adiós!" said Lenta. Eagle smirked as Silver shut the door behind him and she spun around quickly and shot stunners at the pair of them. Harry barely managed to jump out of the way in time, but Ginny was not so lucky. She landed flat on her back. Harry tried to draw his wand from the new holster on his wrist. Unfortunately, he had little practice of that, and it flew out and landed on the ground, out of his reach for the time being. Eagle wasn't done, though- there was no way the trainer was going to let him near his wand, and she began to throw more and more advanced hexes and curses at him. He managed to continue to dodge for just over a minute when he began to feel exhausted and was hit by the stunner. The next thing he knew, Harry was sitting on a park bench next to Ginny with the two trainers standing over them, smirking.

"Se despierta! They awake!" smirked Lenta.

"That was pitiful. I had thought old Hip-Flask would have honed your reactions a little more. What is it he says? Oh yeah, Constant Vigilance! He may not be in the Department, but he's got the right idea. Griffin, you need to work on drawing, and both of you reacted terribly to the first attack. Flame, you were worse, but not by much; Griffin barely made it. We have a lot of work to do," said Eagle. Harry and Ginny gulped. She meant business.

"Suficiente, Eagle, suficiente. Now, we need to know the magical results from your medical. Mere is not allowed to say; patient-healer confidentiality or something like that. However, we need to know if we are going to train you both properly."

"Flame, you first," said Eagle. Ginny swallowed.

"My strongest magics are transfiguration and charms, and my weakest being healing and offensive magic. My strength is my casting speed, and I do have an animagus form, though I don't know what it is yet. Magical gifts are partial mage-sight, so I can only see the really bright magics like wards, and not spells in action. I am an empath, and am also a partial seer," she said shyly.

"You will learn to say that with pride, Flame," growled Eagle, "Griffin, your next." Harry barely contained his smile when he heard that Ginny was similar to him- same amount of gifts etcetera, so he didn't feel too bad saying his.

"My strongest magics are Offensive, Defensive and Healing magics, and my weakest magic is transfiguration, strangely enough," Ginny grinned at that. "Yes, I have an animagus form as well. My strengths are wandless and wordless casting," Ginny gasped, "and my skills are mage-sight, partial metamorph- though we don't know how much 'partial' is, and parseltongue."

"Bueno, it seems that your skills will complement you as you are both strongest in the magic that the other is weakest. That is what we hope for in pairs, though it is unfortunately rare. Even your strengths back each other up as one is strong, the other fast. Wandless is excellent as well. From your skills, I can say that Griffin is better off as leader. The stronger mage-sight makes it safer for him to enter places first, look for traps, while empath and partial seer is used to look for danger. Parseltongue is useful as snakes are small and can spy easily. You both have animagus form, so if they are not to obscure can be used to scout and partial metamorph is good if you are ever recognised out of Unspeakable robes." Harry and Ginny shot each other a look at the 'recognition' part of the speech. Harry decided then and there that he liked that gift.

"Now, physical," said Eagle. Harry gulped.

"Griffin, I can feel your nerves. You first."

"Urgh. Well, you see- my relatives don't exactly like me very much. I'm severely malnourished, my muscles and bones are weak from it as well, and I have ended up suppressing my own magic because of their treatment. Growth's been stunted, too. Already taken the potions, though, so in about a week I should be back to how I should be." to her credit, Eagle just nodded- Ginny was visibly angry, though.

"Flame, you next."

"Nothing like Griffin! Muscles are a little weak from not having proper exercise, but that's it."

"You've got the opposite problem, Flame, from all the chores my relatives made me do, once the potions kick in I'm going to end up rather toned, according to Mere."

"I still remember those bars my family talked about, can I come over and help punish the relatives once we get out of here?"

"Mierda! You two know the real names?"

"We had no choice, Lenta, we are going to be the Hogwarts operatives, and Silver was insistent that we know who the other is."

"I see. Be careful with the information, and do not let what happens outside of the Unspeakable robes influence you," growled Eagle, and the pair of them nodded.

"Good. We will work out a schedule. We won't begin proper physical training until Griffin's potions have done their work, but a run to the lake and back should be fine for now. If you walk, you will run further." Harry saw the glint in Eagle's eyes and decided not to test her. Ginny, however, was used to pushing the limits.

"How far is that?" she asked sweetly.

"6 miles."

"WHAT!"

"Go, or you will run it twice," she said dangerously, and Harry knew that was his cue to start running.

Harry prided himself on being fit, more so than most people at Hogwarts. When Ginny collapsed at 2 miles, however, he was sure he was close to spent, and they hadn't even reached the lake yet, let alone made it back! A mile later, Harry was able to collapse at the shore of the lake. Hoping it was fresh water, as Eagle had his wand, he tentatively drank a little. To his relief, it was fine. He managed to splash it on his face and drink a little before he decided that he was tempting fate a little too much and pushed himself upright. He only made it another one and a half miles, though, before he collapsed again, breathing heavily and hoping he wouldn't have to get up anytime soon.

His luck was out. Only 5 minutes after his collapse, he saw Lenta and Eagle coming towards him at a rapid pace. Groaning, he stood up slowly, feeling his legs trembling like never before. He couldn't remember feeling so weak from exercise before. He shivered and began to move his legs, wishing that he hadn't agreed to training- not that he would ever admit it. Within another 5 minutes, they had reached him. Lenta was to stay with him while Eagle went to 'convince' Ginny to finish her run.

"Griffin, you'll be running this with ease soon, but only if you push yourself beyond this," growled Lenta, "you need to work hard to get the results! Without results you are vulnerable to attack, to Death Eaters, to Voldemort and to death itself. Get going! You've only got 2 miles left." Harry barely contained his groan, the 2 miles was ages away! At the 1.5 miles to go mark, Harry felt something strange. It was as if his energy source had changed, but he definitely wasn't using his magic. It was weird; but he no longer felt as tired, and was able to finish the 6 miles before he collapsed again at the hut.

"That was a good start, Novato Griffin. You will never have the bulk of someone that possesses physical brute strength, but you will have endurance to rival some of the best if you work because you have both the determination and the body type to do it." Harry just nodded, not trusting himself to speak for worry of bringing up his last meal- which now he came to think of it was 2 days ago, not counting the potions. Lenta seemed to understand his thought pattern, though.

"You need to rest a little before you eat, Griffin, or you will make yourself sick. After today, you and Flame will cook all of your own meals as well, though of course you are welcome to work together for that- it is expected, to be frank. However, today, I shall make the sandwiches." Harry nodded again, forcing the bile in his throat to retreat. Soon, Ginny and Eagle arrived and Ginny looked as bad as Harry felt, with a slight greenish hue to her face.

"Next time the pair of you will do better on that run, and speaking of next time, it will be at 5am tomorrow. You will meet us here. Now I will leave the two of you to recover or whatever while I go and help Lenta with the only meal I will be cooking during your training here. Once Eagle had left, Ginny plucked up the courage to speak.

"I- I can't cook Harry, Mum never let the rest of us in the kitchen to cook proper meals!"

"You forget who your partner is, Flame, I am perfectly capable of cooking all meals and will happily teach you as long as you don't tease."

"No way, I know where those skills come from, I'm not telling, or teasing. Besides, it's not like I can tell anyone outside of the Department! No one in here apart from Silver and I know who you truly are, either."

"Uh, no, Meadow from Team one recognised my voice." Ginny looked alarmed.

"Is that safe? Will Meadow tell anyone, or…"

"Flame, calm down. Meadow won't tell anyone, and even if she wanted to I'm sure that there's some Oath or other in place that stops her. Besides," he smirked, "I recognised her voice!"

"Oh, good, that gives you a little leverage. Who?"

"No way, not telling even if you are my partner! Now, how about I tell you something about our future team, Team 3 seeing as you didn't get to pay a visit. Did Frog explain the pair-names?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Well, our lead pair is the Shadowflight pair. Shadow apparently could give you a run for your money on a broom- according to Silver, and Flight just so happens to play for the Holyhead Harpies."

"WHAT?"

"We're on a Quidditch-mad team," said Harry happily.

"Brilliant… Flight's going to be my idol, I can tell."

"Hey, you know that she put herself in danger by giving us that information… there's not that many people in the team, after all."

"Good point."

"Now let's get up, I'm sure they don't want us laying around all day. Eagle especially, she's scary!"

"Too true, let's go!" The pair of them got up slowly and made their way towards the hut with even less haste. When they got inside, they saw a small kitchen taking up half of the room and a table meant for four people taking up the rest. There were five doors, each with a small plaque on it. There was 'Lenta,' 'Eagle,' 'Pair,' 'Bathroom,' and 'Library/Study.' When Lenta saw their looks, he said;

"The hut has not changed for a while- not since pairs were one gender. There is no purpose to separating them now. Pairs like yours are still uncommon, we need you to work together as best as you can as well; so that room contains only two bunks- nothing else." Harry and Ginny shared a nervous look before nodding, though Harry was sure he heard her mutter;

"Thank goodness Mum's not allowed to know anything about the Department, she'd flip at this!" and he gulped.

"Flame- she would have flipped long before this," he said quietly. Ginny turned to face him and realised what he meant.

"She would've Griffin, you're right," she shuddered.

"Griffinflame! You see the studio, the Library and Study room, you will spend a lot of time in there when we are not around. The Library is big, but all of the information in there is important," he said quietly.

"Too right," came Eagle's voice, "I expect you both to learn to appreciate gaining new knowledge as soon as possible. Knowledge is Power." Harry swallowed and decided to confess to Ginny.

"Flame, you know how I'm never studying; always playing chess and Quidditch with certain people and letting others do all of the research for me?"

"Yes," she replied simply.

"It's not because I want to. I have always loved reading and learning, but it was forbidden at my relatives as the cousin is not smart enough to add up to 40," he snorted, "when I came to Hogwarts I thought it would be different, but most of all I wanted people to like me, I wanted friends. I met some people as you know and they were lazy, but jealous. They couldn't deal with having friends smarter than them, so I held my knowledge back. Then I met another, and she was smart. I was ecstatic, I thought I could have a friend that valued others to have knowledge as well, but I was wrong. She wanted people to feel smarter than, to nag to do their homework because it made her feel good, so once again I pushed my love of learning away from me. Worse, was she always had to be the best in class, to perform spells faster than everyone else, so I held back there as well. I think it helped me suppress my magic even further than it did with my relatives. So please, Flame, you've seen how they treat me, please don't do the same thing." She nodded.

"Don't hide your true self because your friends will be jealous, it means that they aren't real friends."

"Now after that heart-warming conversation, perhaps we can get to eating lunch so we can discuss your schedule," said Eagle irritably, but Lenta was smiling slightly.

"Don't mind her, she's irritated because people have treated you like that Griffin. No, you have taken a good step in the right direction."

"Now we eat," said Eagle, her voice a little softer, "and discuss your schedule. You will be taking extra lessons in your skills. Although Lenta and I might not possess what you have, we know how to train it- though the Parseltongue may be a little more difficult. That means you will each have the standard lessons; charms, transfiguration, offensive magic, defensive magic, healing and the like, but you get an extra one in each of your strengths. You will also be asked to help your partner in their spare time if they are having trouble in their weaker magic. We're also going to have different lessons spread through your training on different things, such as creating portkeys, apparition, warding- which generally counts as a branch of both offensive and defensive magic. Animagus training will occur unless you get something ridiculous like a flobberworm- though that could come in handy at some stage. Plus, you will get skills training; so mage sight for both of you, seer and empath for Flame and metamorph and parseltongue if possible for Griffin. Physical training will most definitely take place with weapons as well when you are ready for them- that is my decision, not yours- magical theory will be taught as it does help, wandless magic as well, potions are always useful. You'll get strategy and stealth training and there will be lessons that you will definitely not enjoy- such as how to kill."

"Kill?" asked Harry, horrified.

"Kill, Griffin, not murder. The Death Eaters murder for fun and sport; if they are levelling deadly curses at you, Field Operatives are expected to do the same, and have permission as well," said Lenta firmly.

"Griffin, you are not murdering if you kill an active Death Eater- rather, you are saving the lives of many by not allowing them to keep murdering. They are all murderers, it's how they earn the Dark Mark." Harry felt sick at the idea, but aquietised for now.

"You will learn to work together more seamlessly that you could imagine, both on and off the field. You will very quickly become able to finish each other's sentences with your backs turned and know what your partner is going to do many moves ahead. On the field, you are not Griffin and Flame, you are Griffinflame; one Operative. There will be more lessons, but we will get to them later. If you want to study other things, for example, Arithmancy, you may do so in your spare time. I also believe that we managed to obtain your family books for you to skim though, discover what is rightfully yours, etcetera. And no; I do not know who you are; Silver does that for us, though parseltongue does give us a clue. Anything else you feel you ought to learn?" Harry gulped and saw his nerves reflected on Ginny's face.