"Explain to me why we're doing this again?" asked Harry, watching as Hermione copied the letters onto the floorboards with a piece of chalk from the sheet of parchment in her hand.

"Because if he doesn't want to fight fair, then why should we? He's already tried to sic Dementors on you, we might as well sick something back on him, right?" replied Ron, sitting opposite the incense burner.

"I guess." Harry glanced at the cauldron once more. "Some of the ingredients in this are insane. Lightning-seared salamander? A house-cat's right fang? A George Foreman Grill™?" asked Harry.

"Well, I suppose this is what happens when I ask Luna for advice," said Ron. "My question, though, is why she had a complete seal for binding a demon written in Latin? And why she was carrying it with her?"

"Sometimes," said Hermione, "I think its best not to ask," recalling the few times she ever spoke with the strange blonde Ravenclaw.

"I guess," said Ron looking at Hermione a moment, swearing to himself that he thought he'd never hear those words out of her mouth. "Are we ready to do this? Because I'm about ready to retch if I have to smell that incense any more."

"There. That's all set," said Hermione, standing and looking at the symbols she had drawn onto the floor. They were in Ron and Harry's room (of course) at 12 Grimmauld Place. It took a little time to find the right ingredients, but it seemed Luna had already had a few of the weirder ones stashed away. Hermione took the cauldron sitting on the bed, frowning at its contents once more, and placed it on top of the writing at the center of the symbol.

"Still can't believe this is going to work," said Ron.

"I checked the ingredients against a book in the library here. The ingredients are esoteric, but the arithmatic principles on them all check out."

"The book came from that one shelf that bleeds, didn't it," said Harry.

Hermione ignored him as she picked up a bamboo flute and sat down at the edge of the circle with the sheet music, also provided by Luna.

"Just have to wonder why Luna has stuff for… for… this, you know?" said Ron. "She wasn't always… off, but she's always been rather nice."

"You were the one that talked to her," replied Harry, having never met the girl.

"Yeah, I know. I think she was saying something about having a power that the Rotfangs didn't have control over or something. My eyes glazed over a bit, and before I knew it, everything was in my hands."

Harry nodded.

"Then how did I agree to this?" he asked.

"You agreed because we want to do something that'll help us win," replied Hermoine. "If we don't kill him, then we all die." And with that, Hermione raised the flute to her lips, and began to play the notes. The tune was simple enough, rising and falling up and down the music scale. It was gentle and happy at its peak, speaking to Harry of the times he was with friends at Hogwarts, or at the Burrow, and when it reached its lows, it reminded him of Quirrell, the Diary, and Voldemort himself, standing over Cedric's corpse.

Hermione kept playing, with each set of low, depressing notes, she would then rise back up into the joyous, living high notes, then once more falling into the funeral dirge of the low notes. It seemed with each rise and fall, the music got more complex, the combinations of notes more complicated, the music seemed to take a life of its own, the highs becoming higher, and the lows lower as new melodies joined into the tune Hermione played. But through it all, she played. Harry could hear the music in his chest, pounding in his ears, as each new instrument joined into the song.

He could feel the world around him, the living breath of each of his companions in this madness. He could feel the living breath of the world around him on his skin, he could hear the inhalation and exhalation of the other inhabitants of the building, he could see the living worlds turning through the depths of space, he could taste colors the human eye couldn't comprehend, and they were full of life.

Hermione was drifting to the end of it, feeling out her last notes as the song continued around them, in them, through them, centering itself on the cauldron.

She lowered the flute from her lips, and spoke the words she knew she had to speak as the music peaked.

"By the spirits of darkness and light… In the name of Harry James Potter, I hereby summon A Cunning and Murderous Demon to his side!"

The music plummeted into the depths of range, and a chorus of voices, just beyond human hearing, whispering, chanting, joining it as motes of light raised from the seal drawn on the floor. The cauldron began to bubble, even without liquid in it, power overflowing from it, and a column of light erupted.

As it faded, a figure stood next to the cauldron. Harry looked and saw a girl about his age, dressed in a black leather tube top and mini-skirt with knee-high boots and a choker with a silver skull on it. Her hair was maroon, and held into two unkept pig-tails that splayed out. Her eyes were red, her ears were pointed, a tail twitched behind her, and a small pair of bat wings twitched on her back. In her right hand, quite suddenly, was a spear.

"Who summoned me?" she asked in a low voice.

"We did," replied Hermione. "And by the seal we used, you are bound to him, conditionally."

The girl reached out her hand, and the seal that was drawn on the floor now floated in mid-air. There was a circle, and latin words floated in mid-air around it, orbiting a center circle where it was written "Tom Marvolo Riddle - the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"Oh, you just want me to kill someone, and then I go free, right?"

"No," said Hermione. "Then you get returned to whence you came."

"Very smart," replied the girl, still looking over the seal.

The center circle pulsed, and six pillars grew from it, interweaving between the latin words before breaking out of the outer circle, each one creating a crest at its peak that Harry, Ron, and Hermione recognized. Five glowed with the rest of the seal, but one just looked like it was written in chalk.

"Eh?" asked the girl, looking at each of her summoners, in turn.

"Don't look at us," replied Ron. "And especially don't look at me. I don't know a damned thing about this stuff."

"It's the Dark Mark," said Harry.

"The Dark Mark? Tacky," said the girl, examining the symbol, poking it with her spear. The snake shifted out of the way of it. "Very tacky. So who am I here to kill?"

"The Dark Lord Voldemort," replied Harry, ignoring Ron and Hermione as they winced.

"Who?" asked the girl.

"He's a wizard. An evil one. He tried to kill me when I was young, but instead it almost killed him. He's killed a lot of people, and now he's finally come back. Properly, that is."

"Oh. I'd have expected to kill a good guy, not a bad guy."

"Yeah, well, when someone kills your friend, you want to kill them back."

"Ah, revenge. That I can understand. Alright, so where is he."

All three of them shrug.

"Of course. You expected me to just know, didn't you."

"Or to be able to find him," piped in Ron.

"Yeah, no. I need to know where he is, before I can charge off and kill him for you." She sighed, sitting down on the bed, the spear gone. "This is going to take a while. I can tell." She flopped back onto the bed.

There was a knock at the door, and Sirius poked his head in, looking at each of the inhabitants.

"Heard some noises in here, thought I'd check up." He looked at the girl. "Ah. Harry, you're a little young for getting a whore. Ron, so are you. Hermione, I didn't know you swung that way."

"WHAT?" screamed all three of them. The girl just signaled her displeasure with her right hand.

"I mean, certainly, I may have done a few things, as such, back when I was in school, but I waited until I was in my seventh year for something like this."

"She isn't a whore!" said Hermione.

"She isn't? She's dressed like one."

The girl raised her other hand, to signal her added displeasure at the situation.

"Yes, that's very nice, young lady, but still. How did you even get her in here? I mean, the magic that protects the house doesn't even let you write down the secret, let alone share it with someone else."

"Well… see, it's about that whole 'she's not a whore' thing, see," said Ron.

"She's a demon," filled in Harry.

"Really?" asked Sirius. "I'd like proof of this."

One of the girl's hands became an open palm, and the seal appeared in mid air.

Sirius stepped into the room, inspecting the seal.

"You bound a demon to kill Voldemort?" asked Sirius, staring at the center. "And his middle name is Marvolo?"

"Yes," replied Hermione. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"There's a phrase I've said before," chuckled Sirius. "Did you write this?"

"No, Luna had it," replied Hermione.

"Luna?"

"Lovegood," replied Ron.

"Lovegood, Lovegood… oh, Merlin, of course the Lovegoods." Sirius sighed. "Like mother like daughter," he muttered. "Well, that seal is as good as its going to get. I'll have Remus look it over later, I can't remember my Latin for the life of me."

The seal vanished.

"First dementors, now this. Merlin you're making this summer interesting. I'm gonna have to get Remus and Dumbledore in on this, though. Let's not tell Molly quite yet, alright?"

"Yeah, I think that'd be good," said Ron, suddenly realizing the implications of summoning a demon in the presence of Molly Weasley.

"At least you don't have to go to the court about this," said Sirius, looking at Harry. "Keep her up here, for now. I'll send out some owls. Hermione, you think you can spare her some clothing?"

"What's wrong with my clothing?" asked the girl.

"I thought you were a whore. That needs to change before we introduce you to the rest of the order. That means proper clothing."

"This is proper clothing."

"Proper human clothing."

With a sigh, the girl once more gestured her displeasure.

"Trust me, you'll agree once you meet Molly."

She sat up, frowning, then sighed.

"Fine."

Hermione left for her room, and Sirius sat down, leaning against the door, blocking entry into it. He tapped his wand against it twice.

"That's better. Molly shouldn't hear a thing, now. You've got a quill and parchment?" Ron handed Sirius some, and he began to scratch out a message. "Remus'll be by tomorrow morning for Molly's cooking. Dumbledore, however… he'll probably come by tonight, for all I know. Hedwig? Be a dear and get this to Albus for me? And take your time getting back. I don't think anybody'd mind if you spent some time outside."

Hedwig swooped down to Sirius, and he tied the parchment to her leg. Harry opened the window, and Hedwig took off into the night.

"And now, once more, we wait."

"So is the rest of my time in the human world going to be this boring?" asked the girl on the bed.

"Yeah, probably," replied Sirius.

"Well, there's school," said Ron.

"Oh joy. Human school."

"Hey, it's not boring," said Ron. "At least, when we're not in History of Magic, it's not boring."

"Do they allow dueling, at least?"

"Nope," replied Sirius. "Banned that about four years before I got to Hogwarts. Dear old mum had a big row about that, trust me." He stood, and let Hermione back into the room as she stood at the door, ready to knock. "Any trouble?"

"No, Ginny was asleep. I think Mrs. Weasley's finally asleep, too. I brought some pajamas and some clothes for tomorrow."

"Good thinking. We still need to figure out sleeping arrangements," said Sirius, animating a quilt to act as a curtain.

"Can I get my own room?" asked the girl, peeling off her tube top.

"No. You lot think you'll survive with an extra occupant for the night?" he asked, looking at Harry and Ron. Harry shrugged, while Ron looked worried. The girl pulled on a pale blue night shirt.

"Not afraid I'll corrupt them?" asked the girl as she flicked a pair of white cotton panties at Hermione. "By the way, the tail doesn't work with those.

Hermione went beet red as she sat there, holding them in front of everybody.

"No, they've got enough corrupting influences on them, already," commented Sirius with a wry smile.

The girl shrugs as she pushes the curtain out the way. Her tail twitched, trapped down the right leg of the flannel pajama pants, but she looked mostly normal.

"So where am I sleeping? With him?" she pointed at Harry, whose eyes bugged out.

"No, you're sleeping on that," said Sirius, and with a wave of his wand, an ugly and tarnished silver writing desk became a bed with plain wooden head board. "I'll grab some blankets for you, but you're staying in here tonight. After that, we'll figure it out."

"Fine."

Sirius stood, tapped his wand twice more on the door, and left.

"Why do I feel that I've made my life much more complicated?" asked Hermione.

"Because whenever humans and demons meet, things get complicated," replied the girl, walking over to her bed and flopping down. "You summoned a demon. What did you expect? That it'd make everything perfect? Puh-leeze. You humans are idiots, if you think magic can just solve your problems."

"Yeah, well, if you want to get home, you'll have to help us," replied Ron.

"Try 'if I want to live, I have to help you.' That seal binds me to Harry James Potter until this is done. If he dies, I die."

"What?" asked Hermione, terrified.

"That's the language of the seal. It's to prevent me from just waiting for one of the two to kill each other, or even just kidnapping you and running off to the Netherworld. Most seals I've seen, I could just sit on my butt and wait for somebody to die of old age. This one binds my life to Harry."

There was silence until Sirius re-entered, carrying a set of heavy quilts, and threw them on top of the girl.

"Paisley? Must everything be paisley?" she asked, shoving them off of her face.

"Because Molly brought along all the linens from her place, so there's nothing but paisley."

"What? You mean there's nothing with snakes and stuff on it? I want something to match the doorknob."

"I burned them all, much to Kreacher's dismay," replied Sirius.

"Bah," she replied, laying back on the bed. "So who am I working for? Maybe starting from most intelligent?" she said, looking at Sirius.

"Sirius Black, unfortunate owner of this house, and wrongly convicted escaped felon."

"Wrongly convicted? What, you show up for the wrong trial?"

"Nah. Didn't get one," he replied.

The girl nodded, then glared at Hermione and Harry.

"So who are you bumbling idiots who didn't think twice about summoning me?"

"Er, Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasley," said Ron, put off by the whole situation.

"I'm Harry Potter. Who are you?"

"Etna. So why do a bunch of teenagers want some Dark Lord dead? I mean, besides the fact that he's a Dark Lord and stuff?"

"Because he wants me dead," replied Harry.

"Well, he's a Dark Lord, and you're fighting him. So why does he want you specifically dead. I mean, I've seen more than a few Dark Lords of the Netherworld, and most of them want to kill a lot of people before somebody smacks them back down."

"You know what Avada Kedavra is?" asked Sirius.

"Wand-based insta-kill spell."

Sirius nodded. "It went Avada Ke- doink when he was about one a and a half. Gave him that scar on his forehead."

Harry pulled aside his bangs to illustrate.

"Huh," said Etna, staring at Harry's head for a moment. "I'm guessing some sort of blood-based sacrifice ritual?"

"Your guess is as good as anybody else's, whatever his mum did, she didn't share with me," said Sirius.

"Eitherway, it should have killed this dork lord. It didn't?"

"Not all the way," replied Harry. "He survived, a little bit, and could possess animals and people. He took over one of my teachers and tried to kill me my first year at school."

Etna leaned back on the bed.

"Sounds like a horcrux," she replied, staring at the ceiling.

"A what?" asked Hermione.

"Don't you lot know anything?" asked Etna. "You split off a chunk of your soul and dump it in an object. Someone kills you, your soul is anchored to the object and you can come back, just as strong as before."

"Could it take the shape of a diary that possess's people?" asked Hermione.

"Sure, if you're strong enough to put that much of your soul into it."

"Greatest wizard in living memory?" asked Harry.

"Sure, why not. Why? You find one?"

"And stabbed it with a basilisk fang."

Etna raised an eyebrow.

"That's… one way to do it. You should learn how to cast a bloodwolf, instead. Much safer."

"Bloodwolf?" asked Ron. "That just sounds dark."

"Yeah, well, most of the deadly stuff is. That's why its dark. Come on, I'll teach you." In her hand was a wand made from a black wood. She flicked it, cutting open her palm, and then flicking the wand again, muttering " Cruor Lupus. " The splotches turned black, making a shadow in the ground. A black-haired wolf leapt up from the shadow, shaking itself, and stared down at Sirius with seven eyes.

"Ah," replied Sirius. "That's a hellhound, isn't it."

"Nah. Hellhounds have eight eyes, look more like overgrown welsh corgis. This is a bloodwolf. Entirely magical. Well, you going to try?"

"Er… I can't. Laws against underage magic, you see."

"Laws against underage magic? Seriously? How the hell are you supposed to practice, then? At school?"

"Duh," said Ron.

"Seriously, if this Dark Lord is after you, why don't you have a 'Practice magic anytime I want' card?"

"Because nobody believes he's back," replied Harry.

"What? Did he have a secret resurrection party in some secluded graveyard?"

"Yes," replied Harry.

"Really?" asked Etna. "In a graveyard?"

Harry nodded.

"Wow. I didn't think people actually did that." She waved her wand, and the bloodwolf sank back into its shadow and disappeared. A faint green sheen formed on her hand, and the wound closed.

"So, basically, I'm gonna sit on my ass until your school starts… when?"

"A month," said Harry.

Etna nodded. "Thirty days of boredom, here we go."

"I'm sure," said Sirius, as he opened the door. Albus Dumbledore stood, ready to knock, but merely raised an eyebrow at Sirius.

"Honestly Sirius, you would have been a much better student had you tried."

"Hello to you to, Albus. Honestly, this is the most fun I've had in months."

"I know, Sirius, but you're a wanted man." Albus stepped into the room and surveyed its occupants with a sigh. "Lovegood, you say?"

Sirius nodded. Albus looked at Etna.

"I suppose that means if I try to banish you, I'll kill young Mr. Potter, correct?"

"Yup."

"Can you use a wand?"

Etna used her wand to conjure a glass of water.

"Might I see your seal?"

Etna's wand disappeared once more, and she held out her hand. The seal once more floated in mid-air. Albus pulled out his own wand, sifting through the dead language.

"I'm afraid my latin's a tad rusty, but it seems this should hold her in check. That there are seven spokes to the seal and only one target, however… that's unusual. The demon Grindlewald's supporters summoned had a single target, myself, but the few studies I've done indicate that multiple spokes means multiple targets."

"I don't know why that happened, Headmaster," said Hermione. "The seal I drew to summon her didn't have the spokes."

"I thought that was obvious," said Etna. "One spoke for each Horcrux, plus him. One spoke is already done, that's the diary you mentioned. The rest are waiting to be found."

"These Horcrux's, they are parts of his soul? Anchoring him to this world, even when his body is destroyed?"

Etna nodded.

"How do you know of this?"

"I'm a demon. We know things."

Albus frowned.

"I am more than certain of that," replied Albus. "I just wonder how much you will… corrupt young Mr. Potter."

Etna shrugged.

"Meh. I've probably got some succubus somewhere in my blood, but not much given how flat my chest is."

"I was describing you as a demon in general, not as a demon in specific. I imagine, however, his friends will keep the pair of you in check. My one concern is whether or not you will blend in during the school year."

"Blend in during the school year?" asked Hermione, Ron, and Sirius.

"Oh, that's easy," replied Etna. She cracked her knuckles and assumed a lotus position on the bed. She began muttering under her breath, and Harry could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Something about what she was saying, he could feel it. Just as quickly as it started, it was done. The small batwings and tail were gone, and her eyes had taken on a deeper purple color, rather than the blood red they were originally. Her pointed ears were also mostly round. "There, all done. Hey Hermione, you still have those panties? Cause they'll fit now. Granted, your bras won't, cause you're a bit bigger than me."

Hermione was silent.

"But seriously, blend in during the school year? You're going to make me go to a human school?"

"Yes." Albus looked at Harry. "While I do not approve of this… method, I am well aware of the late Mrs. Lovegood's abilities in regards to the summoning and the sealing of demons. I imagine that you three will be able to keep her in line, and that, in turn, she will be able to teach you a few more… interesting spells. Now, I suggest we all get some sleep, so that we are better equipped to deal with the consequences of our actions in the morning."

Ginny knew something was going on. Hermione had been in and out of their room all night long. And now she wasn't the first person down for breakfast. Therefore, something was going on.

Her mother had long practice with determining something was going on, but was sufficiently distracted by the presence of Albus Dumbledore that she didn't really have time to make any comment on it. Remus Lupin arrived as well for breakfast, dragging down Sirius, and the pair of them were chatting at one end of the table. Sirius seemed to be in a very good mood, which just confirmed it more for Ginny. She kept glancing at the stairs, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And drop it did, as Harry lead the others down the stairs, as there was a fourth person in the trio. She smirked, watching the quiet, guilty shuffling of Hermione and Ron, while Harry seemed to just ignore all the pressure. The girl seemed entirely blasé about the whole experience.

"Who is that?" asked her mother.

"Ah, she's a recent arrival from America," began Dumbledore, who promptly began spinning a story with soliloquies that Ginny had a hard time keeping track of, at least until she glanced at her mother.

Molly's eyebrow twitched, and Ginny knew she wasn't buying it. Seven children, and the twins especially, had honed her ability to see through bullshit like it was spring water.

"Who is she really ?" ground out Molly Weasley.

"Told you it wouldn't work," said Sirius, smug as ever.

"Oh, I had hoped," replied Dumbledore.

"Well?"

"I'm a demon," replied the girl, sitting down at the table, and starting to shift food onto her plate.

There was a quiet silence at the table.

"A demon," repeated Molly.

"Yep," replied the girl. She held up her hand. "See the seal?"

Ginny watched as a glowing runic circle appeared before them.

"And why does it say You-Know-Who in the center of it?" Molly demanded.

"Because I was summoned to kill Whoever-He-Is," replied the girl, who promptly began eating the food in front of her.

"A demon," ground out Molly.

"I do believe I said that. You aren't deaf or anything, are you? I know that old fart isn't, but I never know with you humans."

Ginny laughed as Molly Weasley immediately began tearing into both Sirius and Dumbledore for somehow allowing this to happen.

"Well, Harry, do you have anything to say for yourself about this?" asked Molly Weasley, having finished tearing into everyone and everything in sight.

"No," replied Harry.

"No?" asked Molly. "And why's that?"

"Because it's not like anyone'll listen," replied Harry.

Molly's mouth snapped shut, while Etna cackled with glee.

"You are not allowed to use your wand!" shouted Molly Weasley.

"Sure I can," replied Etna, stacking the plates in their appropriate cabinets. "It's not like I'm underage."

"Yes you are!"

"No, I'm older than you, you annoying hag. Now quit your whining, and let me do the chores you've dumped on me."

Sirius was laughing at this.

Fred and George Weasley were sitting at the kitchen table, clutching on to mugs of hot chocolate for dear life. They'd turned up two hours previously, and they still hadn't said a word of what happened to them during the day they were missing. Everyone did notice that Kreacher was now smiling, and nobody really wanted to know why.

Harry knew that Molly was making a fair impression of that volcano in the US that exploded when he was six. The silver was rattling, four glasses had shattered, and nearly everyone else had left. Arthur had tried to remove Harry, but stopped at Harry's reasons.

"I brought her here, she's my responsibility," said Harry.

Arthur nodded, glanced at his wife, still screeching at Etna, and wisely left. The twins remained at the table, completely ignorant of their mother's apocalyptic rant. Molly hadn't noticed Harry's presence, so focused on Etna as she was.

Harry wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying anymore, tuning her out like he did Vernon and Petunia when they got a good rant going. And then he realized that Molly wasn't Vernon, wasn't Petunia, and uttered two words.

"Shut up."

It still took Molly half a minute to realize she wasn't making a sound, which was roughly the same amount of time it took Harry to realize he'd silenced her without his wand. When she did, she quickly realized who did it, and pulled her wand.

The tip was pointed at him, as she began to angrily mouth words at him.

Harry looked at the tip of the wand, and watched it glow.

"You're no better than Snape," he said, glaring at her. Molly looked somewhere between shocked and brained at the look of outright hatred directed at her. "Fred and George stole from her, and then refused to give it back. And since apparently even the twins can do no wrong when it comes to her, no one did anything. So Shut. Up."

And with that, Harry turned and left. Etna watched him go, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Hermione was worried. Per the usual, she was worried about Harry.

Something had happened, and now Harry was supremely civil to Mrs. Weasley. Normally, there was a level of warmth in their conversations, but Harry was distant, even if Molly acted like nothing was wrong.

Hermione wanted to ask questions, but knew it was a fruitless endeavor. The more important it was, the less Harry would talk about it. She knew she could try to talk with Etna, except that would be going behind Harry's back, and that would make things worse. Talking with Mrs. Weasley was utterly pointless, since in Mrs. Weasley's mind, she could do no wrong.

So Hermione kept a close eye on Harry, as she always did. And she would stand by him, as she always did.