Harry flopped onto the Granger couch and leant back, cradling the cup of tea in his hands. It was nice to simply relax and, for some reason, it was easier to do so here than in his own house. Grimmauld may be much cleaner and less dark than it once had been, but it still held far too many memories for Harry to ever be completely comfortable in it. Really, if it wasn't for Kreacher, he would have sold the place years ago. But the ancient house elf would die of a heart attack if Harry did that, so, for now, he kept it.

Harry'd spent most of the day pottering around the house, inspecting the library for useful books and even reading one of them. But what should have been a relaxing day ... wasn't. To be honest, he was still too wound up from the night before.

The party should have been just that, a party full of fun, laughter, good food and drinks and catching up with old friends. But seeing them all, hearing about their lives, it'd struck a nerve, giving him a picture of what his life could have been. Safe, predictable and oh, so boring. Just like the Dursleys' always said life should be, only with a magical twist. And to top that, seeing how insular Lavender had become, one of the most popular and out-going girls that he knew at Hogwarts, was simply a travesty.

He wished that he could change the opinions of the magical idiots that couldn't see that a simple disease didn't stop a person from being good and worthwhile. Oh, he knew that he probably could, at least he had the potential to make a difference. Hermione over the years and Andy the other day had pretty much told him that he had the political clout to do so. And while it'd be a good thing to do, he simply wasn't ready to devote his life to magical Britain and to give up the life of adventure that he'd, well, not quite built, more like fallen into.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, breaking into his thoughts. "Good, you are here. Mum said that you were, you were simply being so quiet that I wasn't sure if she was mistaken."

Harry looked up and smiled slightly at her. Hermione paused as she was crossing the room to look at him. When her smile morphed into a frown, he started to worry.

"You're brooding," she stated. "I thought you'd got over that particular bad habit before you even left Britain."

"I'm not brooding," Harry protested, before withering under her disbelieving gaze. "Well, maybe a little."

With a few quick steps, Hermione finished crossing the room before settling on the couch beside him, one leg under her so that she could fully face him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking his hand.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Harry replied.

Hermione gave him a nonplussed look, a look that he knew all too well.

"Just thinking about last night," he finally conceded.

"What about it?" Hermione asked. "I thought that it was fun; it's not often that we all get together like that."

"And why's that, Hermione?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, we all have our own lives to lead," she frowned. "A bunch of us are married and those that aren't might as well be married to their jobs, I guess."

"Exactly!" Harry replied. "You all live such ... such normal lives. Family, work, quidditch for those interested in it – either playing or following. And that's it. Life in a nutshell. What happened to the group of people bent on changing the world?"

"What do you mean? We are changing the world," she frowned, "at least in our own way. Those of us who work for the Ministry have been working hard at changing those repulsive laws that got put in place under Fudge and Umbridge. The ones who own businesses make sure that there's no prejudice wherever they can. And you can be sure that none of our children will be anything like some of the gits that we went to school with."

"But how much difference is all that actually making?" Harry asked, and ploughed on before Hermione could respond. "Lavender is shunned, for goodness sake! She simply has a disease and that amazing dream job that she had? What happened to it? Not to mention what Andy's been telling me. The Wizengamot sounds like it's going backwards. Just how many of those laws that you've been burning yourself out trying to get passed to better the lives of other magical species have gotten passed? And the ones that have been passed, how much difference has actually been made?"

Hermione gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing. Finally, she closed her eyes momentarily and Harry knew that she was gathering her thoughts for a counter-argument.

And then she visibly wilted.

"You're right, Harry," she said quietly. "It's a real struggle and what progress Shack, Arthur and I made after the war stalled pretty quick. Not many of the laws that I've written have even made it to the floor of the Wizengamot and a lot of the ones that do, don't get passed. But we press on because it's the right thing to do for the world we love, we want it to get better and how can it if people simply give up or walk away?"

Harry stared at her. "Is that what you think I did? Gave up? Walked away?"

"You have to admit, Harry, that that's what it looks like," she replied. "You went through Auror training, achieved your dream job and then, after only a couple of years, you quit. And then, one day, you simply up and left. If I had to pinpoint a time when magical Britain started sliding backwards, that's the point I'd pick. People simply gave up trying. We faltered without you there as our beacon, showing us the way. And that allowed the old purebloods their foothold to begin dragging the momentum back towards their way, the way society has been for centuries."

Harry stared at her, aghast.

"You're seriously going to lay the blame for all that on me?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Oh, I know that it's not your fault, but the people needed their leader, their Hero, the Man-Who-Conquered showing them that their world could be better."

"I hate those titles," Harry spat.

"I know that, Harry," Hermione replied. "But that doesn't mean that that's not who you are, especially not to everyone else here in magical Britain."

"Yes, I've never been anything more than what everyone made me to be," Harry stated with a shake of his head. "Hero or villain, that's been my whole life here. Remember what it was like in Hogwarts? I was the Boy-Who-Lived one day and the Heir of Slytherin the next; a liar, cheat and attention-seeking git or a TriWiz Champion depending on the mood of the population."

"I remember," Hemione replied softly.

"I know you do," Harry said, squeezing her hand. "You were the only one who was there through it all; even Ron left a couple of times."

She nodded and, seeing that she did understand, he continued.

"That's why I had to leave; you know that," he said. "I saw exactly what you were saying, that everyone was wanting me to be another Dumbledore, to be the Leader of the Light. But that's not who I am, I'm Harry, just Harry, not an entire society's role-model or compass or whatever they wanted me to be."

"Now you're also 'Mage', for the whole world to look up to," she smirked.

Harry crinkled his nose at her. "And the best bit is that no one knows the true identity of Mage. I can still be me, Harry, as well as indulge my 'saving people thing' that you say I have. Here, in Britain, I couldn't do that. I'd be in the spotlight all the time and I'd hate every minute of it. I'd go insane."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "Your travels around the world and your life in New York with the Den, not to mention your new friends has been good for you. Doesn't mean that your friends here don't want you to come home. We miss you, Harry."

"You don't have to. You could move, come with me to New York," Harry said hopefully.

"You know I can't do that," Hermione replied. "Shack needs me and I've put too much time and effort into my work here to leave things half-finished; that's simply not me. And I will change the world, I will not let magical Britain slide back to what it was before and during the war even if it takes me the rest of my life."

Harry nodded sadly at her. He knew what her response would be, he'd always known, really. And while they'd always be the best of friends, it didn't seem likely that they'd ever be living on the same continent, let alone in the same city, again.

"Alright, enough of this depressing topic," Hermione said, tugging on his arm. "Come on, stand up."

Harry complied with a confused expression on his face.

"There was a reason I asked you here for dinner, apart from getting out of cooking because Mum enjoys cooking for us," she said. "Now, transform into your sparrowhawk form."

Harry stared at her, making sure that she wasn't going to crack some kind of joke in Tony's absence. Seeing only interest and earnestness in her face, he complied.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "That form suits you so well. And your colourings are perfect. The feathers on your back and wings are only a few shades off of your dragon-hide cloak even. Now, seeing as none of the original Marauders are here to do it, it falls to me to give you your Animagus name."

Harry looked up at her, startled.

That he decided, was a very bad idea.

He still remembered 'SPEW'; Hermione had horrible taste when it came to naming things.

"Therefore, as the representative of Padfoot, Moony and Prongs," she continued, "I hereby name you ... 'Ged'."

Harry instantly transformed back.

"'Ged'? What sort of name is that?" he asked.

Instead of replying instantly, Hermione moved across to one of the nearby bookshelves and took down a package that Harry hadn't noticed before.

"This will explain," she said, thrusting the package at him.

Curiously, Harry ripped off the brown paper to find a set of six books.

"Ursula K. Le Guin," he read, noting the author's name on every one of the books, before looking up at her questioningly.

"The main protagonist in the stories is a man whose true name is 'Ged', but his everyday name is 'Sparrowhawk'," Hermione explained. "I thought it kind of fitting, especially ..."

"Because of Tony," Harry finished. "You know giving me a Marauder name is kind of redundant, don't you?"

"Well, of course, I know that," Hermione huffed. "But it's something that Sirius and Remus would have expected, not to mention your father. So, I made sure that you have one, even if it never really gets used."

"Thank you, Hermione," he said sincerely before pulling her into a hug.

They'd only just let go when Jane and Henry entered.

"Don't mind us," Jane said. "we just want to catch the news headlines before dinner."

The four shifted around the room before settling on the lounge chairs, Harry reading the blurbs on the backs of his new books. It wasn't until a familiar name was said by the newsreader that Harry looked up.

"...Selvig, notable for his involvement in the alien invasion of New York, streaked nude across Stonehenge..." the newsreader was saying.

"Erik?" Harry whispered as he stared at the image of the man that he'd only met a handful of times appeared on the screen.

"Is that?" Hermione asked.

"Yep," Harry replied.

"... disrobed, and began shouting at visitors to the historic site. He was later taken into police custody for psychiatric evaluation. Police are still refusing to confirm..."

Harry shook his head. Something wasn't right with the man, but darned if he knew what it was.

ooo00ooo

"Miss Granger? I'm surprised to see you here," Minerva commented, her eyes flicking from first Hermione, across to Harry and back again.

"A once in five-thousand-year event? How could I miss it?" Hermione replied.

"Indeed," Minerva smiled knowingly. "I am almost tempted to come along myself. Unfortunately, my duties keep me here."

"Uncle Harry!" an excited Teddy broke in, rushing up to greet them.

"Hey, Teddy," Harry replied, draping an arm over the teen's shoulder and squeezing. "Ready for an adventure?"

"You bet!" Teddy replied eagerly.

"This will not be an 'adventure', Mister Potter, merely an Astronomy excursion to observe the heavens," Minerva admonished. "To be honest, I expect the whole experience to be very sedate."

Harry shrugged. "Getting out of the castle is always an adventure, Professor."

"Hmm," Minerva frowned. "Come along, the class is meeting in the Astronomy classroom to go over last-minute details."

Upon entering the classroom, Harry took one look around and promptly had to suppress a groan. It was just as he feared: a dozen or so pureblood teenagers dressed in traditional wizarding robes. They were going to stand out a mile if something wasn't done. At least Teddy was dressed appropriately in jeans and a dark green shirt with a dragon motif on the front, even if said dragon was obviously a Hungarian Horntail.

"First thing we need to do is to get them dressed properly," Harry stated matter-of-factly. "I'm taking it none of this lot ever took Muggle Studies?"

"I do not believe so," Minerva replied as she looked around the room.

"Harry's right," Hermione said. "Wizarding robes are not appropriate for going out into the muggle world. Thankfully, a bit of transfiguration work is about all we need. Harry? If you'll take the boys?"

With a nod, Harry strode forward and to the left, while Hermione went to the right.

"Okay, boys, over here," he called, waving his arm.

After checking with both professors, the five boys moved towards him, even as the eight girls headed towards Hermione.

At his gesture, one of the boys stepped forward, however warily. Harry, though, wasn't giving him time to reconsider. A simple flick of his wrist brought his wand to hand before it was moving in an intricate pattern. Robes shimmered and changed to a pair of dark grey slacks; the Hogwarts button-down shirt was altered slightly to more reflect modern non-magical fashion. The Slytherin tie, he decided to leave alone.

"Is this really what muggles wear?" the boy asked, lifting one knee then the other to get a feel for the pants.

"It certainly is, Mister ..." Harry replied.

"Greengrass, Sir. Daniel Greengrass."

Harry stopped and looked at the boy.

"Any relation to Daphne Greengrass?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir. My fathers, cousin's daughter," Daniel replied.

"I went to school with Daphne," Harry explained. "We weren't friends, her being a Slytherin and me a Gryff, but we were at least cordial, especially in our seventh? Eighth? Last year of Hogwarts. She's a good woman; earnt my respect at the Battle of Hogwarts."

Daniel's eyes bugged out. "I never knew she fought in the war."

Harry smiled slightly. "Daphne didn't fight, that's not the Slytherin way. What she did do was refuse to leave before the battle. Spent hours, days really, working with Madam Pomfrey, patching up anyone and everyone who was injured, on both sides of the war. Thing is, she knew that just being in the castle would have gotten her killed if Voldemort's forces had won, and yet she stayed anyway."

"Wow, I didn't know that," Daniel replied. "She's a Healer now."

"And I'd bet a damn fine one, too," Harry smiled. "Next time you see her, say 'hi' from me. Now, who's next?"

Just as Harry was finishing up, Hermione came over with a pile of clothing in her hands.

"Here you go, boys, put one of these on as well," she instructed, handing one to each of the students, including Teddy.

Harry took a good look at the jerseys and grinned – they were perfect. The front and collar was white with the Hogwarts' crest on the upper left chest. Four bands, a finger width wide, in red, blue, yellow and green encircled both biceps. The back was made of four panels – red and blue at the top, yellow and green at the bottom.

"What are these?" Minerva asked, eyeing the jerseys.

"School jerseys," Hermione replied. "Almost every muggle school has clothing like this, in their own particular colours, of course; it helps to define the school out in the public. Many personalise them, having the students' name on the back and some even include the year, especially for the seniors, saying when they graduate."

"And this won't make us stand out?" one of the girls asked, her fingers running over the crest.

"Not at all," Hermione replied. "In fact, we'd be more likely to stand out without something like this. This way, we'll simply be seen as a class on excursion and dismissed. If anyone does ask us about Hogwarts, all we need to say is that we're an exclusive boarding school from Scotland."

"Very good thinking," Minerva replied. "I may wish to talk to you some more about these 'jerseys' at a later time."

Hermione gave a nod just as Professor Sinistra called the group together.

"Before we leave, I thought that it might be useful to go over what to expect today," she said. "As you all know, this Convergence only happens once every five thousand years. That means that what records we do have of the event are rather incomplete, to say the least. What is known is that the fabric between the worlds that includes Earth, or as it was known the last time, Midgard ..."

"Midgard?" Harry interrupted. "As in Asgard, Jotenhein and the rest of the nine realms?"

"I was not aware that you knew about the old Norse mythology and the worlds of Yggdrasill?" Professor Sinistra commented with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, well, let's just say that a ... friend got me interested," he replied, ignoring Hermione's snort.

"Very well," she continued. "As I was saying, the fabric between the nine realms will be thinnest as they converge into alignment. It is believed that this will allow us a very brief window into those worlds themselves."

Harry's hand drifted momentarily to the phone in his belt before he decided otherwise.

"There will possibly be other effects – a change in weather being among them, but nothing that should cause any need for alarm. Does anyone have any questions?" she asked.

When none were asked, she clapped her hands together.

"Well, then, we'd best be off; we'll need to reach the edge of the wards before we can use the portkey the Ministry has provided," Professor Sinistra stated.

ooo00ooo

The portkey had deposited the group of seventeen in a convenient, out-of-the-way alley just outside of Greenwich University. After checking that they hadn't been noticed, Harry and Hermione led the group across the road and onto the campus itself. They'd scoped out what they hoped was a good spot the day before – an open green area, bordered by trees on one side, the building of the University (coincidentally the library that Harry'd had a hard time keeping Hermione out of) on another and the River Thames on the last.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione's assessment of their wearing a 'school jersey' was accurate, they didn't garner more than a second glance and in most cases, not even a first look.

"This should do perfectly," Professor Sinistra smiled as she surveyed their chosen location. "From here, we can see the sky perfectly and it won't take much to see even more if we need to move further out away the trees."

"Any idea how long until it starts?" one of the boys asked.

Professor Sinistra looked at her pocket watch. "Not long, I believe."

"Um, Uncle Harry? Is the river supposed to do that?" Teddy asked.

Harry turned to see what his godson was looking at. Almost instantly, his eyes bugged out before narrowing