As they entered the Headmaster's officer Fawkes swooped in and flew over Harry's head, then he landed on his perch.

"Hey Fawkes," said Harry with a smile on his face.

"Would you like to take a seat Harry?" said Dumbledore kindly. He didn't motion over to the chair in front of his desk, but to the soft sofa in the corner beside the fireplace.

Harry walked over to the sofa and laid his cane beside the couch, Fawkes flew down to the young man and landed on his knee. Fawkes nuzzled his head next to Harry's heart, suddenly Hedwig came fluttering in and snapped her beak at Fawkes. Fawkes pulled his head back and looked at Hedwig in confusion.

"Hedwig, it's alright, Fawkes is just trying to make me feel better, ok?" he said cautiously.

Hedwig looked at Fawkes critically and then hooted in agreement. Fawkes looked between Hedwig and Harry slowly and nuzzled his head against Harry's chest again. Hedwig hopped onto Harry's shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately.

Dumbledore gazed at the interactions between the young man and both of their pets. Snape was looking out the window and in the reflection of the glass, he watched as Lupin and Sirius sat beside him.

"Alright Harry, what is it that you remember." said Dumbledore, summoning his chair from behind his desk.

"Not a lot, but you told me to let you know when I start to remember something."

"Do you remember what object caused you this harm, Potter? It would help us narrow down what is causing your wounds to not heal." said Snape quickly.

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't. Not yet."

"What do you remember, Harry?" said Dumbledore leaning forward.

"Words, I remember words." said Harry closing his eyes and thinking hard.

"What words?" said Lupin taking Harry by the hand.

Harry thought hard, "something about the Minister, and being able to do it. And worthless. I don't know what else."

"Sir, before the Reading's took place, I saw Umbridge AND Filch look nervous when the incident was mentioned. When you asked Mr. Potter if he had remembered what had happened."

Sirius and Lupin paled, "Was it Umbridge and Filch that hurt you, Harry?" they both said quickly.

"I don't remember, I can't even say that it might be them. It could have been a Slytherin who's really out to get me, or someone who snuck into the school. It took me a while, but I learned not to throw accusations around without some definite proof." he said smiling slightly up to Professor Snape.

Snape took this subtle hint and gave him a small smile in return.

"Well, it's a start Harry, it's a start. It'll come when it's ready, when you're ready." said Dumbledore with a knowing smile.

A knock came at the door. Dumbledore called over, "Come in."

It was Mad-Eye Moody and a tall person.

Harry couldn't see if this was a man or a woman, because there was a horrible mask covering this person's face. He immediately thought of a death eater's mask, but it wasn't the same style that they wear, it was completely different yet frightfully similar.

"Here he is, Albus. Albus I'd like you to meet Lionus, he's the Captain of the England branch of the Rangers." said Moody.

"Hello Lionus, welcome to Hogwarts. I'm sorry but I can't place the name, were you ever a student here?"

"I was, but Lionus is my Ranger name. I choose to give up my birth name a long time ago."

"Then I shall respect your name change, Mr. Lionus. We would like to ask you for a favor." said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling.

"Alastor already told me the reason for me being asked to come here. I just need a photo or an accurate description of him." said Lionus.

Harry stared at the man, he had heard rumors of these men and women in the Muggle world but he never had met them. And for good reasons, they only went after massive drug dealers, mass human traffickers, genocidal maniacs, other criminals on a much larger scale.

They were the front lines, any criminal that leaked through their grasp were only the smallest and the weakest of criminals. The world populace had a taste of the true criminal element that the Rangers held back, back in the days of World War II, he deceived, Harry learned, the Rangers and took control of almost an entire continent. The Master Manipulator, Adolf Hitler. It was said that Hitler committed suicide, however, with a little digging, Harry learned, that it was the Rangers who were really behind it.

"Harry?" said a voice coming from beside him, Harry shook his head and was forcibly ripped from his thoughts. Dumbledore and the rest of them were looking at him.

"Huh?" said Harry.

"I need a photo or description, Mr. Potter." said the Ranger. Harry nodded and reached into his cloak, and pulled a worn photo.

"This was taken when I was about eight." he said handing the man the photo.

The ranger looked carefully at the picture. "The man on the left?"

"Yes sir. Could you find him please? If he's...If he is, gone, it'll at least bring me some closure." Harry said quietly.

"I'll do what I can, I'm no miracle worker, despite what people say. I am amazed 'Kage'," he said looking over to Harry.

Harry looked at him quickly, not saying anything.

"that you couldn't find him. I will..what is that?" He turned quickly and pulled out a dark looking pistol, his aim was straight on Dobby the house-elf, who looked dazed.

Harry hurried over to Dobby, kneeling in front of him, shielding him from the Ranger.

"It's Dobby, he's...my...fr..." Harry said quickly, but his speech slowed as he looked down, Dobby had plunged a long kitchen knife into his side and blood flowed freely from his side.

Sirius let out a yell and was about to curse Dobby into oblivion when Dumbledore, knocked Sirius aside and sent a spell towards Dobby, immediately, the dazed look was gone.

"What is Dobby doing in Dumbledore's office?" said Dobby blinking heavily. "Oh, hello Harry Potter, what is Harry..." he looked in shock at his own thin hand holding the knife into Harry's side. Dobby, backed away slowly and squealed shrilly as Harry fell to the floor, clutching his side.

Sirius and Remus rushed to him, they took the blade slowly out of Harry's side, and they held a hand over the wound to keep pressure on it. Fawkes flew over to Harry and held his head above the wound and cried into the wound. Harry opened his eyes and his quick breathing slowed down and he sat up slowly. The wound was gone. Dumbledore checked the wound to make sure Harry was alright and then walked over and picked Dobby up into his arms.

"Dobby, he's alright, Harry's alright." he placed Dobby down beside Harry. Harry nodded smiled.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." said Harry to Dobby.

When Dobby came closer to Harry, Sirius whipped his wand out pointed it at Dobby. Harry ripped the wand out of his hand and threw it in the corner.

"Knock it off." he snarled at Sirius. "Dobby didn't know what he was doing!"

"He's right Sirius, the counterspell I used, is for the Imperius curse. If he wasn't under that particular spell, then he would have been knocked unconscious." said Dumbledore sternly.

The Ranger looked down at Harry, he didn't look away for several moments. He turned towards the house-elf.

"What do you remember before you found yourself here?" he said quietly.

"Dobby knows not sir, Dobby remembers cleaning boys bathroom on third floor, then Dobby remembers nothing." said Dobby looking as if he were about to cry.

"Amnesia seems to be contagious this year. It's alright Dobby, no lasting damage and it wasn't your fault. Take the rest of the night off, It seems I need to place protective charms over the house-elves." he said and left quickly. "Best take him to the Hospital Wing for the rest of the night."

Sirius and Lupin lifted Harry to his feet. Sirius mumbled an apology to Dobby and grabbed Harry's cane.

Once they left, only Moody and Lionus were left in the Headmaster's office.

"What did you mean by 'Kage?'" asked Moody.

"A name, he will tell you, if these books don't do it for him." said Lionus not looking at Moody.

Moody growled thoughtfully, then he asked, "What do think about finding this doctor?"

"Harder than I thought, I know where this doctor is."

"How does that make it harder?"

"It's WHERE the doctor is, that makes it hard."

Sirius and Remus escorted Harry and Dobby to the Hospital Wing where the Weasely's were waiting for them. When Harry changed into his pajamas, he was relieved that there was no scar and he went to go lay down in the bed. Bathilda Bagshot came over and sat beside Sirius.

"Hello, Harry dear." said Bathilda.

"Hello Ms. Bagshot." said Harry politely.

"Please, dear, call me Aunt Batty. It's what you used to call me." she said kindly.

"Alright." said Harry. He wasn't too sure what to say, he had some questions, but he wasn't sure how to go about asking her.

"I lived next door to you and your parents. Oh you were so cute, I have several baby pictures of you!"

"As do we." said Lupin and Sirius.

"Dear God." moaned Harry.

Bathilda pulled out a thick book and went to sit on the side of his bed. Sirius and Lupin eagerly clambered over the hospital bed, they wanted to see if she had any pictures they didn't.

Dumbledore, along with McGonagall, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley came in and when Dumbledore saw the book he magicked it to become large and easier to see. He smiled over to Harry when he moaned and buried his face into the pillow.

"It's not as bad as you think Harry, you were absolutely adorable back then." he said with a smile.

Tonks squealed when she saw the photo album and ran to sit next to Lupin. Dumbledore sat on the bed next to Harry and flicked his wand to turn the pages.

The first picture was one of Lily laying in a Hospital bed and James holding a tiny little baby in his arms.

"Aww! You were so tiny Harry!" squealed Hermione.

"He's still tiny." said Bill with a laugh.

And the night slowly wore on with them looking at old photos. Once midnight had arrived, Madame Pomfrey tore her eyes away from a picture of Harry being lightly tossed into the air and caught by Dumbledore himself, to announce that Harry needed rest.

Bathilda assured everyone that she would share the book with them again, and left to go sleep in her room.

"Kingsley," said Dumbledore quietly, "You and I will take the first watch." Kingsley nodded.

The next morning, Harry had woken Sirius and told him to come down to the kitchens with him, Sirius, remembering what Harry said he was going to make, eagerly waited for Harry to change and they made their way down to the kitchens.

When the rest of the school had woken up and eaten their breakfast, Harry and Sirius opened the doors and made their way to the bowl chair. When Umbridge saw Harry, she hid her scowl with a napkin and pretended to cough. She knew that damned house-elf failed her and the curse was lifted on it, she wanted to make another attempt, but that meddling old fool, Dumbledore went and placed protective charms around all of them.

Lupin turned in the chair and addressed them, "Where the heck did you go?"

"We went to the kitchens and baked some cookies, this morning." said Sirius, "Now, I know what an oven does." He added beaming good-naturedly.

"Where are the cookies?" said Ron and Lupin excitedly.

"You just ate breakfast! You'll get them at lunchtime." said Harry with a bemused look on his face.

"Have you found a suitable book yet, Delores?" said a voice coming from behind them.

Rivers was back.

Umbridge paled, as well as Fudge.

"What happened to you Mr. Potter? You weren't using a cane the last time I saw you." said Rivers looking at Harry with a frown on his face, he then slowly looked over to Sirius and his eyes widened.

"He's been proven innocent." said Madame Bones standing up quickly. He looked over to her, thought for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Back to what brought me here, did you find a suitable replacement book for your class?" He said, recovering from the shock.

"Well, we've been busy with these books, we're trying to expose the lies Mr. Potter has been telling." said Umbridge worriedly.

"I don't care. How long have you been reading these books?" said Rivers with a his eyes half open and his brows hiding in his graying hair.

"Five days." said Kingsley, counting the days.

"Out of two weeks, you've spent five days reading these books? Well, that still gave you ample time to look into finding another book for your Defense class. I see I will have to take appropriate actions, unless you wish to give me a better reason that you haven't found a book?" he said folding his arms.

Umbridge and Fudge looked at each other nervously.

"No? Well then, I will see to you in a moment." he said, then he turned towards McGonagall.

"I was asked to bring this Assessment Test." he said handing her five sheets of parchment.

"Oh, thank you. Harry, come here." said McGonagall conjuring a desk and chair. He walked slowly over. "This test isn't like your end of term exams. This test has no time limit, but you may cease whenever you feel like it. Complete the questions to the best of your ability. Take your time."

Harry looked over to Hermione and sighed. He picked up the quill that was provided and set to work.

Twenty minutes later, he leaned back in the chair and handed Rivers the five pieces of parchment.

"Couldn't finish, could you Potter?" sneered Umbridge. Fudge grinned evilly.

Rivers looked at them with confusion and unfurled the parchment, the test papers were extended by three feet each. The writing was small, tidy and the answers were long, very long. Rivers blinked in surprise. He took the papers and read the first answer. This was...was...incredible! He raised his wand and slowly brought his wand over the paper. A grade appeared on the top and he nearly dropped the paper, he had heard about this grade being given, but he never saw the grade apply to anyone! Not anyone living, anyway.

It was an 'O' and a golden star. A Star Outstanding! And on an Assessment Test! It was almost unheard of! Not even Dumbledore himself had received a Star Outstanding in anything thought Rivers.

Rivers cleared his throat nervously and addressed Fudge and Umbridge.

"You really want to know what grade this young man received." he said, doing his best to keep a straight face.

"Of course." Umbridge said sweetly. She wanted some satisfaction, because she couldn't seem to get anything done her way, and she was furious.

"He received a Star Outstanding." said Rivers loudly to the people in the Great Hall.

The teachers and the Ravenclaws all gasped, minus Umbridge who snarled. Everyone else, was left in the dark, including Hermione.

"What's a 'Star Outstanding'?" said Hermione a little confused.

"A Star Outstanding, Miss Granger, is a much, much higher grade then a plain Outstanding. There is the standard scoring system, T-for Troll, P-for Poor, D-for Dreadful, A-for Acceptable, E-for Exceeds Expectations, and O-for Outstanding." said Flitwick excitedly.

"When it comes to the Star scoring system there is only Star E-Exceeds Expectations and Star O-Outstanding. By receiving one of those grades on any test, including this one, you get the opportunity to take the W.A.N.D.S test. Then, if Mr. Potter manages to get Star Outstandings in the W.A.N.D.s test, then he will be able to take the M.A.G.I.C.s test! What the letters mean are a unknown by me, it's been so long since someone was qualified to take the test! " said McGonagall excitedly.

Hermione stood up and walked over to Harry, he stood up. She asked him angrily, "Why didn't you tell me, that you were this smart? Why have I been helping you on your homework all these years, when you were obviously better than me?"

"I wanted you to stand out." he said loud enough for the people around to hear him.

Hermione looked stunned, "What?"

"I was told, by the Dursleys, that I wasn't to get better grades then Dudley was. Which was insanely difficult, might I add. Well, I just got so used to standing in the background, and yet excelling in my own way, without anyone knowing. It worked out intensely in my favor might I add."

"I really don't see how!" snapped Hermione.

"Well, I could tell, by our meeting on the train (thank goodness the books water down my thoughts, or we would still be on the second chapter) that you wanted to stand out, you wanted to be the best. I realized that I was already going to be gawked at and already, people set high expectations upon me. I also saw how Ron was overshadowed by his family, much like me. I decided to stand in the background and tutor Ron, in a secretive manner." said Harry on a small smile.

"When we all became friends, Ron and I both agreed that we would let you tutor the both of us, because, like I said, we wanted you to stand out. Ron's the best at chess, and now some magical practices that I've taught him over the years. You, you're already the best in almost every class. It gives you pride, and it gives you joy, what right did I have to take that away from you. Unfortunately, I've already stolen that from you." said Harry with sadness on his face.

"Gee mate, you really do sound like Dumbledore when you talk like that." said Ron, gaining his speech back faster than anyone else in the school.

"I save it for when I know I can't dilute my words." said Harry sadly. Hermione blinked.

"So, you two kept this a secret from me?" she said weakly.

"Hermione, we are sorry, we can never say sorry enough. I will say it, I was debating whether to admit it or not. I did it for selfish reasons." said Harry with a sorrowful look.

"What selfish reason?" said Hermione looking confused, she was slowly forgetting to be angry.

"Both Ron and I actually really, really like seeing you so happy because you aced a paper. Because you beat everyone else in the class, we would swell with pride every time you would show us your test results, we would hold it in and Ron would act put off, he's a real good actor. Like an older brother, I wanted you to stand out. Show me all that you had in you. Be honest with me, would you have excelled in the classes as far as you did, if you knew how far ahead I was?" he said looking in her eyes.

She looked away, of course she would have excelled! She would have...wait, no. She thought to herself bitterly. The only reason she memorized the books, the only reason she answered questions first, was so she could prove she was the smartest. She wanted to prove that she, coming from an all muggle family, could be the best the school had. She looked back at him, and bit her lip.

"Now that the cat is out of the bag, I swear from this moment on, Ron and I will NEVER lie to you again. And you can choose which Harry you want to have in classes. The one I was, or the one I actually am."

"Why should it be up to me?" said Hermione taking a step back, this choice startled her.

"To slightly repay you for the what I put you through." said Harry kindly. "You don't need to make the decision now, we aren't holding classes. You can make the choice whenever you decide."

Hermione thought quickly.

"I want...the one that you are happier with, it shouldn't just be up to me." said Hermione earnestly, tears forming in her eyes.

Harry sighed, he looked over to Ron, who slowly nodded. Harry shook his head again, and sighed "I guess, I'm going to..."

He looked around and glanced over to Malfoy, he thought about Malfoy writing to his father, inadvertently reporting everything he learned from the books and what people were saying.

"hold back." he said.

Hermione blanched and Ron nodded, knowing Harry's reasons.

Harry looked at Hermione and walked over to her and whispered in her ear. "Malfoy, I would rather Voldemort not know just how much knowledge I've got stored away. I would rather have him guessing. But, if you ask me to go all out, at any time, I will." Hermione nodded, looking over to Malfoy.

That was the second reason, to hold himself back, she discovered. Take Voldemort off guard.