Ms. Naira did not show up for several weeks, but food did. Harry's uncle cracked down on him. He seemed to take every opportunity to lock Harry in his room. It was in these times that the boy became immensely grateful for the food. Harry decided to ask her for water.

Dear Ms. Imaginary (that way if this letter is found, my relatives won't know who it's to),

Thank you for the food! You have probably saved my life a couple times. Could you also send me water? I've been sneaking out of my window to drink from the hose.

Love,

Henry Patrick (H.P.)

That Saturday he was again pulling weeds when he heard an apparition "pop". There was Naira behind the shed. She smiled brightly.

"Hi Harry!"

"Ms. Naira!" He hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Are your relatives around?"

"No."

"Excellent! Today I'm going to teach you a spell that will change the molecules around you to make water. Do you have your wand?"

"No, I'll get it now!" He sprinted into the house, up the stairs, grabbing it and running back. He panted. Naira laughed at his eagerness.

"Okay, marathon runner, let's start!" She transfigured some weeds into clear cups. "Wave your wand in a figure eight like this and say "auguamenti." Nothing happened. "Try again." Finally after twenty tries, he got it right. Water filled up one of the cups. He took a drink.

"Excellent! Now, try thinking "auguamenti" in your mind as you do the figure eight." Thirty tries later, he got it. "Congratulations, you just did a wordless spell! Now, try to do it without your wand. Close your eyes and imagine water filling the cup up." Nothing had happened after five minutes. "Okay, let's take a break. I brought some lunch!" They had some nice ham sandwiches. Soon enough they were back to work. After another five minutes however, nothing had happened. "Alright, let's take another break. How is it, being at Hogwarts?"

"Amazing! Sometimes I wake up and wonder if the whole thing isn't a dream. But then, I see my books, use my wand, and know it's reality."

"Magic is amazing, isn't it! There are so many spells, curses, counter curses, charms, potions, to know and so much history to learn about. We are indeed fortunate. The wizarding world has great power. But with great power comes great responsibility. Now back to auguamenti!"

Harry closed his eyes. He pictured the cup clearly, and imagined water filling it up. He opened his eyes. The cup before his was filled to the brim.

Harry stood up. "YES! It worked! IT WORKED! YES! YES!" The boy did a mini jig.

"Nicely done!" Naira laughed, and then hugged him. She suddenly looked at the sky. "Oh my gosh!" She checked her watch. "I must go! I have an appointment to keep! Keep practicing until you can do it easily. Remember, concentration is the key!"

With that she turned into a nightingale and flew away. After that, she came every Saturday. Food came every other day. Summer flew by, and soon it was time for Harry to go back to Hogwarts. They continued owling each other. Ms. Naira often sent interesting or useful things to him. For example, she sent him a shark tooth anklet that would protect him against the expelliarmis spell twenty times. Another time she sent him a potion with a letter and some sort of notebook attached.

Dear Harry Potter,

Here is a potion that will help you absorb knowledge for one hour. Read chapters 5, 7, and 11 of The Art of Potions, chapters 2, 9, and 16 of Second Year Transfiguration, chapters 6 and 7 of practical charms, and use the rest of the time to read this handbook. Read as fast as you can and the potion will do the rest.

Love, Ms. Naira

P.S. You can call me aunt if you would like. You are so much like a relative to me. Of course, you can just call me Ms. Naira if you would like. Don't use too much of the information at once. It will look suspicious if you suddenly become a genius! This is not cheating. It simply helps you study better. It's not illegal, just hard to come about.

Harry obeyed. The handbook contained all sorts of spells, potions, and tips. After the hour was up, he stopped reading. A strange feeling came over him, as if he really knew the material he had been reading, the same results he would have if he had studied for hours. He smiled. Now he knew how to get the Draught of Living Death right. That was very good because there was a test on it the next day.

Harry stirred it just as his handbook had suggested. Hermione glanced over. "You're supposed to crush the scarab, not squish it!" She whispered. Harry continued. "Don't worry, I've got this."

She just shook her head disbelievingly. By the end of class, Harry's potion had taken on the pitch black, and so had Hermione's, but Ron's had turned a sickly forest green. Draco's and Theodore Nott's potions were also black. No one else had succeeded. In fact, Neville's had started steaming and had turned pink. Severus Snape started to check each potion, and wrote a note for each person. He dropped a leaf in the ones that had turned black. Draco's slowly disintegrated, Nott's and Hermione's just floated. Finally he came to Harry's potion.

"I find it simply astounding that your potion is black as it is supposed to be, Mr. Potter." He said, looking terribly menacing in his black robes. He dropped the leaf into the liquid. It instantly started turning into dust and floated down into the inky darkness. "Mr. Potter." Snape said in a dangerous voice, his black eyes, almost as black as the potion itself, filled with dark malice, "I find it extremely strange that you, with your abysmal potion skills, have brewed The Draught of Living Death perfectly. Stay after class. Class dismissed!"

Ron gave him a sympathetic look before milling out. As soon as everyone had left, Snape demanded, "Empty out your pockets." Harry hesitated, surprised. Snape saw this as guiltiness, and added in a low, deadly voice, "NOW." Harry did so. There was a Kleenex tissue, some loose Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, a Galleon and a couple of Knuts. Snape glowered and pointed his wand at Harry. "Searchify!" Something flew out of Harry's pocket and landed on the desk. The boy looked at it. It was a large lint ball. Snape narrowed his eyes and looked at Harry with a snarl. "How, Mr. Potter, do you explain your sudden success?"

"Well sir," Harry answered, thinking fast, "I've become more interested in potions and have started studying this subject harder. I am finding it to be really fascinating."

This was, actually quite true. It was obvious, however, that the Professor was having none of it.

"I will find out how you are cheating, and believe me, you will not like it when I do." Harry gulped. But stood fast and looked him in the eye. "I would not dare to cheat, sir."

"Really? I remember your father often cheating, just like you. Anything to get out of work! You are so much like him—lazy and arrogant! I will be watching you very closely, you can be sure of that! Dismissed!" Harry hurried out, eager to escape the wrath of the Potions Master.

The next day, Harry got a letter from his "aunt" through a little brown owl.

Dear Harry Potter,

Are you interested in getting some tutoring in DADA and potions from me? You could say your aunt wants you to come home to work on the weekend.

Love,

Aunt Naira

Harry was excited. He could see his aunt! That evening he went to Dumbledore's office. "Lemon drop." He said to the gargoyle. Up the spinning gryphon stairway he went. The Headmaster smiled at him. "Hello Harry! Lemon Drop?"

"No thank you professor. I was wondering, um, well my aunt wants to come over for the weekend, so I was wondering if you or one of the teachers could take me."

"Why of course! Professor Snape isn't going anywhere this weekend. He could take you! Actually to think of it, he never goes anywhere on the weekends! I'm sure he could drop you off and pick you up. What time do you need to leave and be picked up by?"

Harry's face quickly turned a sickly green. Depending on Snape! Being in debt to him… the horror, the horror! "

"Around 9 am and then at 5 pm."

"Excellent! I will tell professor Snape to meet you outside the Hogwarts gates at 8:55."

The next day, the expectant student waited outside the gates. He dreaded Snape's arrival, but decided that this was worth it. He loved seeing his aunt. At 8:50, Snape showed up. He glared at Harry as if blaming him for a ruined Saturday. "Golden Boy needs to be dropped off, hmm?" He snared in his deep tenor voice and raised an eyebrow. "Having a little vacation while everyone else works? Think you're better than them, Potter?"

This reminded Harry of something Naira had said to him. "But you are human too, just like the rest of us, perhaps more than we know." Snape just doesn't realize it,he thought.

"Actually, my aunt is having me pull weeds. She thinks I'm getting to lazy and has decided to make me work."

"Good for her." He sneered. Snape roughly grabbed his arm and apperated. The spinning disoriented Harry and made him fall over. Of course Snape had to land perfectly! He mentally grumbled to himself.

Snape just shook his head and disappeared with a crack. Harry went to the door and knocked. Petunia answered. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in school!" She snapped, her face pinched.

"Oh, I am getting picked up for tutoring in a little while. The drop off person had other stuff to do, so he had to drop me off early. I'll work on the weeds while I'm here. I won't cause any trouble."

"You better not." She growled, slamming the door in his face. And so he went to the backyard and waited for his other, nicer, cooler aunt, all the while pulling weeds. Finally at 9:30, he heard a noise behind the shed. Sure enough, there was his aunt.

"Hey auntie! Good to see you!" He laughed, hugging her tightly.

"Good to see you too," she smiled, "now let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns!" She added in song. Harry giggled. Crack! Off they went. They arrived in front of a white mansion that reminded Harry of Tony Stark's house. "WOW! Is this your house?!"

"Headquarters, more like. Come on inside." Inside was an open space that had a comphy, friendly looking living room (a domestic one, not a cold, modern living room, complete with a fireplace), left was some sort of empty area, and ahead was a dining room ahead with a giant window.

"To your left is the training room, to the right the living room, ahead is the dining hall. I'll give you a tour of the rest."
They went through the dining hall. She pointed to the right. "Do not go in that room."

Then they went to the left. There was a kitchen, which led to a hallway. She opened the door on the left. "This is my room." Then she opened the one on the right. "That is your room." They continued on. Another door was on the left. "This is the potions lab. There are some dangerous chemicals in here, so be careful not to touch anything that you are unsure of. Deal with stuff you know. That actually applies to a lot of life! If you ever get a potion on you somehow, say you drop it and it splashes or something, call out to me immediately." They went out. Ahead there was some sort of room. "Do not go in there either. These are the only two rules: Don't go in this room, and don't go in the other room I showed you. Do you promise?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now do you want to practice defense or potions first?"

"Defense. I love this house! It's beautiful, and it feels like home."

She smiled. They walked back to the training room. It was white, and had padded walls and floors. A closet contained equipment. "Take out your wand. Today I will teach you how to cast a curse disabling shield sideways at a curse. Let's say your friend was about to get hit. You could cast this shield, and it would hit the curse, disabling it. Remember, it is your intent, not your motions or words that create a spell. This is what most of the wizarding world misses. The better you understand this, the better control you will have over magic. To become powerful, you have to be able to control what you are working with well. And don't let others know that you can do this yet. The less dangerous you appear, the less people will try to target you. Someday the whole wizarding world will know how powerful you are, but not yet. You will hopefully get close to the amount of power I have, and maybe even surpass it. So let's try what everyone calls 'adverteo'. Prepare yourself."

He did.

"Now, I'm going to cast a spell at that wall. Try to block it from the side. Timing is everything."

Harry couldn't even conjure the spell the first twenty times. The next thirty times he missed terribly. Finally, after fifty six times, he started to hit the curse. They practiced that another twenty times.

"Excellent! Now, close your eyes, turn around, and then try to hit the curse."

They practiced until lunch. "I say we take an hour break, and then do some potions! Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"Sea World!" He said, laughing.

"Well, let's do it!"

"What? Really?!"

"Why not?" Naira cracked the most adventurous smile he had ever seen.

And so they went to Sea World, bought their tickets, and then looked at the penguins, polar bears and sharks before getting a fish-and-chips lunch. Then it was time to head back to "headquarters". They started work on a nutritional potion that Professor Snape was giving a test on.

"Snape's been suspicious of my potions successes." Harry sighed.

"Let him me. And please call him Professor Snape. Respect is always important, no matter who it is. You are starting to enjoy potions, aren't you?"

"Yes I am. It really is an interesting subject. I just never saw that before I read your little handbook!"

"And you have been studying hard! This is what you can show your teachers: let everyone know you are serious about your schooling. By the way, how come you have been studying harder of late?"

"Because I realized I had a family who cared about me."

"The Dursleys care about you now?"

"No, not them, you. You are my family."

"Oh you terrible sweet-talker!" She cried, hugging him fiercely. "I do love you, and I'm so proud of you. You are part of my family. I promised you once that I would help you. And I shall do my best to keep that promise." She pulled away to smile at him, then hugged him again. "You are my boy. Always."

"Always." He replied.

"Now let's get back to the potion before it boils over!"

Harry continued to study with her nearly every week. Before long, he was excelling in all his classes. At the end of the year he had all outstandings, except in History of Magic and Potions. Even Snape had been forced to give him an E in potions. Harry was sad to go back to #4 Privet Drive, but Ron promised Harry could visit the Burrow, as the Weasleys called their home. Harry received food from his other aunt, but it was not until the fifth week of summer that Harry received any news from her. The familiar brown owl dropped the letter through the bars on his window.

Dear Henry Patrick, I am sorry I have not been able to owl you, but I ran into trouble. Don't worry about me, though. I am fine. Just keep working on all aspects of your skills. I will not be able to see you very often or for very long. You must NOT ask me where I am. I will visit you at your house at 12 in the afternoon in two Saturdays. Remember, no questions.

Affectionately,

Aunt Imaginary

P.S. I found a cool way to pronounce my pen name: ih-mash-shin-airie

Harry was, of course, terribly concerned about his aunt. It sounded like something bad had happened. In two Saturdays, Harry Potter was once again pulling weeds. One time he had wondered why they didn't use Roundup. "I was wondering, uncle Vernon, if you couldn't buy some Roundup. I think that would be a lot more efficient then me pulling them by hand."

"You lazy boy! You have a responsibility to this family, and how dare you try to shirk it! We clothe you, feed you, give you a room, and here you are, you ungrateful wretch, complaining! Now go outside and pull some weeds! That will stop you from trying to get out of work!"

An apperation pop from behind the shed brought him out of his dark thoughts. He hurried behind it. Naira looked pale and a little sick.

"Auntie! Are you all right? You look sick!"

"I'll be fine. I've survived worse. Don't worry; I put a spell on myself that prevents the germs from getting on other people. I can't stay long." She puled a ballpoint pen out of her pocket. "Here. This contains a potion that will help weaken your enemy. Throw it at the person, and it will splatter on them. The ink is fine until you activate it by letting it hit something at high velocity." She pointed at the pen. "See these two chambers? They are fine until mixed. You can use this as a regular pen. Just say "refilio" when it runs out. What about working on some transfiguration?" For the next hour they worked to transform a turtle into a tea cup. Harry had just begun to succeed when Naira said, "Harry I must go. I do not know when I will be able to see you again. Keep practicing. Love you!" And with that she disappeared behind the shed.

How his aunt got food to him, he didn't know, but he was glad she did. No matter what he did, his relatives always seemed to take their anger out on him. Once there was a package thrown through the bars with fruit cups, granola bars, and different cans of soup. Amazingly, one of them was warm to the touch. The boy opened it with the can opener his aunt had sent. Beautiful, mouthwatering steam wafted out. He was astounded. Quickly he devoured the soup. How on earth did she do that? He wondered. Attached was a letter.

Dear Henry Patrick,

To do the heating spell, say "heato." Remember though, intent is everything. Words just make things easier.

Love,

Aunt Imaginary

And so two months went by. He then went to the Weasleys. Hermione came and visited also. They spent a half month together before he returned to his relatives. Then it was time, once again, to go back to Hogwarts, this time for his third year. Little did he know he would have trouble with a prisoner from Azkaban.