Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me but to J. K. Rowling and this is just for recreational purposes, I'm not making any money off of it.

The little soldier's box.

Chapter 1

"Reducto! Incendio! Impedimenta! Rapio! Crucio! Sectumsempra! AVADA KEDAVR…" And he could not finish. This was the fifth time he had ended up in the Room of Requirement to vent off his was also the fifth time he failed to complete the curse. It was supposed to be just one stupid curse! It is one of the Unforgivables, yes, but still! One less rat, one less rabbit was not going to hurt planet Earth, was it? By Merlin, how the hell was he supposed to finish off Volde-fucking-mort if he could not even cast the AK at a goddamned rodent!

Harry dropped to the floor, his head bent, and sweat dripping from his hair. He had transfigured some rocks into squirrels, rabbits, rats, mice and other small rodents so he could practice those curses on. Sure, all the other spells worked just fine, although looking at the mangled corpses of these innocent little animals, he felt like retching knowing that he was the reason they were now dead. He was fucked. Never mind that he would end up getting his friends killed one of these days, never mind that the whole fucking, spineless wizarding world was counting on him, a sixteen year old, to get rid of a madman that was bent on killing anything that moved, never mind that Dumbledore, one of the supposedly powerful wizards alive, was not helping but spouting how Harry's ability to love was his ultimate weapon…it all comes right back to the same thing… he was fucked. There was no way he was going to end this war with the mediocre education he was getting at Hogwarts, his astonishing lack of training and his ignorance concerning Dark arts, rituals, offensive and defensive spells, wandless magic, blood magic, Legilimency, Occlumency, … need I say more? After all, he was the Chosen One, The-Boy-Who-Lived! One would think that they would have buffed him up with more than enough training and knowledge to at least take on Lucius Malfoy! But noooo, his ability to love was going to take down Voldemort. What? Was he going to hug the bastard to death? No? Or maybe kiss old Snakeface on the cheek! The shock might just cause a heart attack, you never know! Oh! I've got a better one! It might be him proclaiming his everlasting love for Tom that will kill him! If he could not even win against Malfoy, Voldemort's right hand man, how was he going to fight the real thing and win the war?

Harry sighed and lay on the floor, looking up. The truth is; he needed all the help he could get! Care of Magical Creatures was not going to help him, neither was Divination, which by the way is absolute rubbish! What he needed was someone to guide him; a mentor, a tutor, someone who would be willing to help him gain more knowledge and more skills instead of having an old man pit the lives of thousands of people against the Dark Lord on Harry's ability to love and sheer luck. And of course that person would have to overlook his savior persona and see him for the scared and confused sixteen year old that he is. Because he is scared. I mean, who wouldn't be? Having a power hungry, crazy guy after your blood did not offer the illusion of safety.

Harry sighed again and wondered who would fit that almost too perfect mould. Let's see… Who does not see him only as the Boy-Who-Lived? Remus, Snape, ummmm…that would be it really. Who is considerably knowledgeable in defensive and offensive spells? That would be Snape hands down because as much as he hated the git, one had to give credit where credit is due. Although everyone knows Snape would rather die a thousand deaths than to give credit to a Potter. Moody would fit that category too and so would many of the Aurors in the Order. So far we have Snape, Moody and Remus and he could always choose one or two of these previously mentioned Aurors.

"I guess I have a letter to write then," mused Harry. Remus told him a while ago that if he ever needed help or advice that he would always be available. A quick Tempus showed that he had just about eleven minutes till his next class Transfiguration so he picked up his bag and headed out. Once he got into the classroom, he had to sit between Seamus and Dean in the last row- since there were no other available seats and he was late - and pulled out a sheet of parchment and his quill.

Dear Remus,

How are you? I know it's been a while since I wrote to you and I'm sorry for that. I've had quite a few things on my mind and am actually writing to seek some advice. The thing is Moony, I have no clue what I am doing right now. I am sick of relying on my luck and my Gryffindor courage. I don't want to die too soon and sure don't want to cause more people to die because of my stupidity. It has already cost us so much…

I need help Moony. I need to learn all I can and am looking for one or two people that would be willing to teach me while ignoring the fact that I am Harry Potter. I am aware of the fact that Hogwarts curriculum is not cutting it for me and I can't constantly rely on Hermione for knowledge since I, too, have a brain and should be able to use it efficiently. I was thinking of speaking to Snape about Occlumency lessons again and some defensive and offensive spells. I know you are busy with Order stuff and are resting at other times because of the full moon… but I was wondering if you would like to help me too because… Moony I… am lonely. Yes I have my friends around me and my peers are great, but it is not the same. It feels as if they are all looking up to me to pull off some miracle out of thin air or do something everybody thought was impossible. I don't think they do it on purpose but the pressure is crushing me and I need someone to talk to…

You probably are not too keen on talking to me right now, I know, because of what happened this summer. I know it is my fault Remus. I should have at least alerted Professor Dumbledore before rushing off to the Ministry.I know I seem arrogant to just come up to you and request your help like that, but I don't know who else to ask.

Please write as soon as you can.

Harry.

He sighed and took off his glasses. It had been twenty minutes since class started, Dean was snoozing next to him and Seamus was doodling instead of actually taking notes. Harry wondered how McGonagall hadn't already said anything…

"Mr. Thomas! Would you like to answer the question?" said the voice of the stern Head of House. Dean, startled out of his nap went "Huh?" looking around as if he had completely forgotten where he was.

"What is the difference between Mobilicorpus and Mobilius?" asked the Professor, one eyebrow raised.

And dear, very confused Dean went "ummm…."

"Detention, Mr. Thomas. Tonight at 8 o'clock. Since this is the third time you fail to remain awake in my classroom, perhaps we shall find some other way to help you absorb the material…" McGonagall was not happy. Really not happy, and Dean was going to be in for it tonight. Poor guy, he really should not have spent all that time with those "special" magazines last night…

About thirty more minutes and the class was over. Harry strolled out and waited for Hermione and Ron. Once they joined him, he shared his thoughts with them and Hermione suggested that he, of course, speak to Dumbledore and see if he could change his timetable and get Ancient Runes and Arithmacy instead of Care of the Magical Creatures and Divination and even offered to help him write an official letter requesting Snape's help for the Legilimency and Occlumency lessons.

"Maybe you should read up on it Harry, before you ask him and see if there are any rules that you might have overlooked last time you had lessons with Professor Snape" she said.

And so he did. After classes, if one looked for a certain Harry Potter, he could be found in one of the alleys in the library, surrounded by volumes and volumes of books on Occlumency, Legilimency, various other Mind Magic, Ancient Runes, Wandless Spell Casting, and surprisingly, Pureblood Traditions. He figured that if he ever survived this final battle with Riddle, he would have to take on his father's legacy as the Lord Potter, and as such, he should know what to do with it. Besides, you never know, him learning this stuff might just allow him to make contact with the "Grey" families and bring more allies to the side of the Light. So he pored over books and books for hours until Madame Pince came to kick him out of her territory. That did not deter him from taking out several volumes and continue his reading in the Gryffindor Tower. He never quite understood Hermione until that day. Until he discovered the sheer quantity of realms that hid inside those pages. Ron shot him a couple perplexed looks and Hermione looked at him with shock when, at one o'clock in the morning, his nose was still buried in one of his books.

"Harry, mate, you alright?" asked Ron looking at him like he had completely lost his mind.

"Yeah…" Harry answered without interrupting his reading.

"You sure?" pressed his best friend, finding it very odd that Harry would suddenly turn into a male version of Hermione in just a couple of hours.

"Yeah…" was his answer.

Ron looked over at Hermione, who in turn looked at him shrugging.

"I think we should all turn in for the night," she said, picking up her completed Potions assignment.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna stay up a bit longer and finish this chapter before going to bed," said Harry, still reading.

"Ok, but do go to sleep. Your brain will process all that information quicker if it is well rested," advised Hermione. In all honesty, she was not quite sure what brought on this sudden change in her friend, but she would dammed well encourage him to continue, because after all, knowledge was power.

Harry looked up and smiled warmly at her in thanks. He then watched his two friends head for their respective dormitories for the night before going back to his reading.

Hello every one, this is my first story so please let me know if you think i should go on with it. I know that Harry here acts a little off, but i want him to have less of a burden on his shoulders so that there is some space for romance later on in the there are corrections to be made please let me know. Comments and reviews and critics are more than welcome!