Chapter 2. Of Summer and Training and Conversations.
For Harry life after his trip to Diagon Alley had settled into a comfortable pattern that consisted of getting up before the Dursleys and making them breakfast before eating his own measly meal.
After breakfast he would set out to do chores until dinner was ready at which point he would wash up and eat dinner.
The time after dinner was Harry's to do with as he pleased as long as he wrote a letter to the Order every third day and told them he was treated well.
Currently Harry was sitting on his knees on the floor of his room carefully drawing out a fairly simple transmutation circle on an empty piece of paper.
It had been a full week since his visit to Diagon Alley and he had been reading his alchemy books daily.
He had memorized most of the important bits in the book on basic alchemy and had managed to repair the old gardening tools by transmuting the rust back into iron and even changing the shape of some of the tools.
As the easier transmutations had worked flawlessly Harry had decided to try something a bit more difficult and had smuggled some of the grass that he had cut this morning into his room.
The theory was that grass could be transmuted into bread because it contained almost all of the same chemical compounds in almost the same proportions, the only thing he needed was enough grass to satisfy the law of conservation.
The law of conservation stated that in order to gain something one needed to sacrifice something of equal worth, in other words you couldn't create something from nothing.
This was also commonly known in alchemy as equivalent exchange.
Finishing the transmutation circle Harry dropped the clump of cut grass in the centre of it before drawing a deep breath and putting both hands on the edge of the circle.
The circle erupted into a bright yellow light and lightning arced across both the circle and the mass that was slowly twisting and changing shape inside the circle.
To Harry the feeling of energy coursing under his hands was exhilarating and somewhat similar to what he usually only felt when flying.
Harry felt the grin spread across his face as he realised that it was working.
A few seconds later the transmutation was complete and the cloud of smoke the transmutation had produced quickly dispersed to reveal a steaming hot loaf of bread that looked like it had just been removed from the oven.
Harry quickly rapped his knuckles on the bread, and the hollow sound he heard convinced him that the bread was indeed not only baked through but also completely fresh.
He tore the small bread in half and seeing that the insides looked normal ate a little piece. The taste was bland but otherwise tasted perfectly normal.
Harry let out a quick laugh; his transmutation had been perfect. He quickly began eating the small bread.
At Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore was confused, one of the wards he had set to watch over nr. 4 Privet Drive had been triggered several times over the past couple of days.
That in itself was not the reason for his confusion, the reason for that was that no other wards had been triggered meaning that there had been no spells cast at nr. 4 Privet Drive at all during the same time period.
The ward that had been triggered was a ward that measured the nonelectric energy levels in and around Harry's home.
Dumbledore was also worried; if Harry was unconsciously directing these energy bursts he could severely hurt himself or others.
Making a decision Dumbledore walked over to his office fireplace and threw a pinch of powder into the flames, which turned a green colour.
"Remus Lupin" he called out loud and stuck his head into the green fire.
Remus Lupin was currently sitting on the worn couch of his apartment.
The loss of his last childhood friend had hit him hard and that coupled with that the full moon had been just a few days ago had left him both physically and emotionally drained.
Had it not been for his werewolf senses Remus would probably have missed the sound of the flames in his otherwise dormant fireplace roaring up.
As it was, the werewolf in him reacted to the sound of the flames.
He was already on his feet in attack position before he realized what had happened, and as he saw the head of Albus Dumbledore hovering in his fireplace he visibly relaxed.
"Hello Remus" Dumbledore's head said, "How is everything going?"
"Pretty good, considering everything" Remus answered, "But I have a feeling that wasn't why you called me."
"Indeed" Dumbledore said, "I need you to check on Harry for me. One of the wards around his home has been triggered a few times in the past few days, and I need someone to see if he is all right."
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but" Remus said visibly worried, "Which ward was triggered?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing" Dumbledore said trying to soothe Remus' fears, "The ward that monitors nonelectric energy levels was the one that was triggered actually, but the energy levels were to weak to be any sort accidental magic, and even if it were a spell one of the other wards would have been activated."
Dumbledore paused briefly before looking up at Remus.
"That's why I need you to check up on him and see if you can figure out what is causing these energy emissions" Dumbledore said, "Could you do that for me?"
"Of course" Remus responded, "I'll just clean myself up and then I'll head over there."
"Thank you" Dumbledore said, "I'll be at headquarters later today, so if you could meet me there later to tell me what you found out I would really appreciate it."
Dumbledore's head disappeared from Remus' fireplace and the green flames soon followed.
Remus was worried so he took a quick shower, and slipped into some slightly worn but clean muggle clothes, before disapparating to the house of Arabella Figg.
He landed in Arabella's backyard, the characteristic noise made from the air displacement startling a few birds from their trees.
After seeing that no one was home he began walking to Harry's home.
Arabella Figg's house was situated on Wisteria Walk and was only a short walk from nr. 4 Privet Drive so he arrived at his destination quickly.
Knocking on the door he was greeted by Harry's uncle, Vernon, who turned purple the instant he saw him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Vernon sputtered out, "I don't want any of you freaks in my house."
"I'm here to see Harry" Remus said while easily pushing Vernon aside with his werewolf strength.
The two other Dursleys wisely stayed out of his way as he made his way up the stairs to Harry's room.
When he knocked on Harry's door he heard noises that indicated that Harry was clearing something away, followed by a quick "Come in" from the other side of the door.
Remus opened the door and stepped inside before closing the door behind him.
To Remus' enhanced senses the room was a cornucopia of smells with four scents standing out in particular in comparison to the other scents, which were older and weaker.
The strongest of the scents was one which was unique to Harry; a subtle blend of the way his parents had smelled, which the wolf inside him told him meant that Harry was a part of his pack, mixed with the smell of dirt and a scent almost like that of a fresh breeze.
One of the other scents was one that all magical creatures exuded, one which made the wolf in him rage and rattle the bars of it's mental prison, a smell which he had come to term the scent of magic.
The third scent was one of freshly baked bread and was easily explained by the piece of bread in Harry's hand.
The last scent was one that Remus had only come across a few times in his life; to him it smelt almost like the air directly after a nearby lightning strike. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what that particular scent was doing in a teenager's room.
"Professor Lupin!" Harry's voice interrupted his musings, "What are you doing here?"
Remus blinked confused before remembering why Dumbledore had sent him there.
"Oh, Right. Dumbledore sent me." he said, "One of the wards that monitors energy levels was triggered a couple of times and he wanted me to check up on you".
He noticed that Harry was looking slightly ashamed, and so asked: "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that?"
Harry slung himself back into a lying position on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "I guess the jig is up then," he said pausing only to glance at Remus through the corner of his eye before his eyes went to the ceiling again, "I figured I'd be able to keep it a secret until school started at least".
"You mean you do know what's causing the ward to be triggered?" Remus exclaimed though it came out half stating and half questioning.
"Well, I can't be 100 percent sure." Harry stated, "Not without knowing all the details. But if it is what I think it is it would have started a few days ago and it would have happened a few times a day, always in the afternoon."
"Would that be about right?" He asked as he sat up in his bed and gave Remus a questioning look.
"Well, the fact that it started a few days ago matches what Dumbledore told me" Remus said, still blinking in shock at the fact that Harry knew what was causing the ward to be triggered, "I'll have to check the other facts with Dumbledore, but it would help to know a little more about this thing."
"I don't know how much I can explain really," Harry scratched his head, "It's a bit complex unless you have a really firm grip on the muggle sciences. I could give you a demonstration though."
"Please!" Remus uttered, gesturing for Harry to do what he had offered.
Harry quickly lay down on the floor, reached under the bed, lifted away the loose floorboards and pulled out the pieces of parchment where he had drawn the transmutation circles.
"This," Harry said, showing Remus a drawing consisting of a double circle and a six pointed star with a small symbol in the one of the corners of the star, "is called a transmutation circle. It acts as both a conduit for the energy needed and as a guide for the process itself. This particular transmutation circle can easily be adapted to do a lot of things, although I've only used it to fix the gardening tools and to change the shape of a few of them as practice."
Harry looked at Remus questioningly, "Any questions before we begin?"
As intrigued as Remus was it was all he could do to shake his head.
"Good." Harry said and plucked a small pair of gardening scissors from his desk.
The transmutation circle was placed on the floor and the scissors quickly followed on top of it.
"Pay close attention!" Harry commanded and Remus found himself leaning forward from his seat on the chair next to Harry's desk.
Harry put his hands on the edge of the circle and pure white light sprang forth followed by miniature lightning arching across the transmutation circle. Through the light Remus could see what appeared to be the scissors twisting and changing shape almost as if alive. The whole thing couldn't have lasted longer than a second, but to Remus it seemed a lot longer.
When the light subsided where there had been a pair of scissors now lay a shining steel dagger.
Harry grabbed the dagger and handed it hilt first to Remus who by now was looking quite shocked.
With shaky hands Remus grabbed the offered dagger and examined it. He quickly discovered that the dagger was real and that it was quite sharp by testing the edge with his thumb.
When he made to return the dagger however, Harry waved him off, "Keep it! I don't need it and it might come in handy some day." At which point Remus reluctantly took it.
"I think I need to talk to Dumbledore." Remus said while standing up, "I hope you don't mind me leaving so soon."
"Not at all." Harry said, "I was hoping you'd be able to stay longer, but I understand."
"You're growing up to be a fine young man Harry." Remus said with pride in his voice, "Both your parents and Sirius would proud of you."
"Thanks, Professor Lupin." Harry said with a smile on his face.
"None of that now, Harry." Lupin said, "If anyone has earned the right to call me Remus it's you."
"Very well Remus." Harry said, "Be careful out there."
"You be careful as well Harry, Dabbling in things one doesn't fully understand can have serious consequences." Remus added as a word of warning, "By the way; I don't suppose I could have that transmutation circle you used? Dumbledore might like to see it."
"Of course." Harry replied and handed the piece of parchment over, "And I will, be careful that is."
"That is good." Remus said, "Goodbye Harry."
"Goodbye Remus", Harry said.
There was a slight crack as Remus disappeared only to reappear with a similar crack inside the living room of number 12 Grimmauld place in London.
Immediately upon his arrival several people rose from their seats, only to sit down again when they saw who it was.
Looking around Remus quickly spotted Dumbledore and made his way over to him.
"May we talk?" Remus asked and hesitated for a slight second, "In private."
Dumbledore nodded and rose from his seat before leading him to a room that had at some time been used as a private office.
After they had both entered Dumbledore closed the door and cast a quick imperturbable charm on the door.
"I assume you wish to speak to me about Harry." Dumbledore said as he turned towards Remus.
"Yes, but before we begin I need to check something. Harry told me that if the cause of the wards being triggered was what he thought it was then it would have happened a few times a day always in the afternoon" Remus said, "would that be accurate?"
"Indeed" Dumbledore said pausing slightly with a look of concentration on his face, "Then it would stand to reason that Harry not only knows what is causing it but has at least a degree of control over it. Did he tell you what the cause of it might be?"
"He did more than tell me" Remus said, "He gave me a demonstration"
"Did he now?" Dumbledore said clearly intrigued, "What exactly did he do?"
"According to what he said he used the symbol on this piece of parchment" Remus said pulling out both the transmutation circle and the dagger Harry had given him, "to change a pair of gardening shears into that dagger"
"Fascinating!" Dumbledore said, his eyebrows rising higher than Remus had ever seen them, "May I have a look at the items?"
"Oh, yes certainly!" Remus exclaimed and quickly handed over the items, "Do you have any idea how he performed the transformation?"
"I can think of several ways he might have done it," Dumbledore muttered and cast a quick spell on the dagger, "Although I will have to do some research into the matter to be completely certain of which if any of my ideas is the correct one!"
"Right," Remus nodded, "will you let me know when you find out something?"
"Of course Remus," Dumbledore exclaimed, "I'll let you know as soon as I am certain of anything! Now you should go home and get some rest, you look almost dead on your feet. I would rather not have Molly shouting at me for wearing you out."
"Of course." Remus said with a smile, Molly's rants were quite infamous in the order, "Goodbye Headmaster, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodbye Remus, and good night."
It wasn't until after Remus had closed the door behind him that the smile on Dumbledore's face disappeared only to be replaced by a frown of worry.
"What have you gotten involved with Harry?" He muttered before shaking his head and turning his mind fully to the items in front of him.