*Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters therein

Saturday,

7 September 1991

They all left the room near tears, if not in tears. Training, day one with the Deputy Headmistress was as awful as they had been told to expect. The first year Gryffindors had had curses, hexes, spells and weapons thrown at them with the expectation to dodge or die. While their year mates were exploring the castle, doing homework or laying in the grasses outside they were trapped in a torture chamber and made to jump, dodge and evade a terrifying Mistress intent on making them child soldiers.

And for what?

He let his anger and rage seep into his body, creeping through his veins and strengthening his resolve to find a way to kill her. Added to that was his unnerving meeting the day before with their esteemed Headmaster who decided to let him in on a few little secrets: he knew of Harry's abusive home life, knew of McGonagall's training and condoned it all for the sake of honing his own personal assassin. Spoiled little boys with no discipline would never have the wherewithal to defeat Voldemeort, and wasn't it just perfect that Harry was neither rotten nor unscarred by neglect and abuse.

Harry groaned as he dropped onto the couch in the Common Room, separating himself from his classmates. He was sore beyond belief after their first 'training' session with the Head Bitch even though his body was in much better shape than the others'. He was used to manual labor, dodging bobbies and older kids on the streets. Fighting, surviving. But this was harsh even for him.

You'd think they'd want their soldiers to come out of training unscathed, but they apparently missed that memo.

He felt a towel cover his head and stopped pulling at his shoes to look up at his friend and upperclassman, Maddie. Harry could see the shaggy black hair his friend liked to rake his fingers through and the deep grey eyes that liked to turn black when his lion came out to play.

Harry nodded his head in thanks for the towel, wiping the sweat away from his brow. He raised his hand as he sensed something else flying towards him and caught the small tin of bruise salve before it hit his ear.

"Nice catch, little lion. How're you holding up?"

Matteo, or Maddie for fun, was Harry's unofficial big brother, protector, mentor...pick a name. He'd seen how the Heads singled him out and had decided to take the boy under his wing...paw... He could feel the power flooding from the boy at times, and while he knew of Harry's unwanted 'claim to fame', he also saw the telltale signs of a less than pampered lifestyle.

"'M okay, I guess. Today wasn't so bad. She just threw spells and knives at us and worked on dodging. Thomas got mad when she hit Finnegan with a cutting curse to the arm. He tried to punch her, so she hit his with this nasty red spell and he was in a lot of pain. Screaming." Harry frowned and scowled as he described the training session. "One of the healer lions came for him when we got back. Like they knew it was going to happen. Is this going to be common place, Maddie?"

Matteo sighed and moved to sit on the couch next to the boy, not speaking for some time as he watched his year mates tend to the other wee ones. Finally, before Maddie could figure out what to say Harry just covered his head with the towel and sighed.

"Right. I understand. Can you just tell me what it is?"

Maddie looked at the boy with confusion until he simply said, "The red spell."

"It's called the Cruciatus Curse. It's classed as an Unforgivable Curse because casting it on someone is just that-Unforgivable. It causes unfathomable pain and suffering as well as nerve damage. It's a torture method."

Harry thought about that for a moment. "Are...are there other Unforgivables they're going to use on us?"

"There are two other spells labelled Unforgivable. The mind control spell, Imperius, which they will use on us when they need a job done that is semi-illegal or some such rot. Luckily they wait until our fragile bodies are matured, AKA after we graduate and are in jobs they need filled."

Harry nodded solemnly, eyes distant in thought before he quietly, timidly whispered, "And the last?" He had a feeling he knew what this would be, but didn't want to hear it.

"The killing curse," Matteo said in a dead voice, unable to look Harry in the face. "A green spell that causes an instant separation of the soul from the body, causing death. It's a spell no one has ever survived…save you, little lion."

Harry frowned, his hand going to his forehead and scar as Maddie nodded, telling him that his assumption was correct. "All you walked away with was a scar, two dead parents and a missing Dark Lord, kid, and no one has a clue as to how you did it." Feeling awkward at the dark turn the conversation had taken Maddie stood and grabbed the bruise salve from the couch.

"C'mon. If we wait much longer to rub down your muscles you're going to get sore and you'll suffer more tomorrow. Get ready to strip to your skivvies, little lion, you're getting your first massage."

Harry stared curiously after the older boy, but followed. He wondered for a few seconds if this was something all the older kids did, but wasn't sure either way after looking around the room. He could see each of the first years sitting with an older student, save Thomas who was probably in the Healing Rooms. He wondered, suspiciously, why Maddie was doing this for him, and resolved to stay alert until he could figure out how to get free and get out of this godsforsaken castle.

As he followed the older boy into the side room where legitimate massage tables were located he decided not to fight. He stripped down, heedless of his appearance or the scars littering his body and climbed up, laying face down on the table at Matteo's direction.

Matteo said nothing about his appearance, simply unscrewed the lid and set a warming charm on it as he coated his hands and began rubbing the tension from the younger boy's muscles and tendons.

"Maddie?"

"Yes, little lion?"

"I was wondering something."

"Okay?"

"How do you and the others get away with anything outside of the Den? I noticed those twins like to play pranks, but how?"

Maddie grinned as he tackled a tough knot. It seemed they may have another prankster on their roster. "Aah. That, dear wee one is the first loophole of our cursed existence!" Harry could hear the bitter smile in his voice. "What traits have you picked up as "essential Gryffindor" characteristics?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Brave. Thoughtless. Reckless. Courageous. Straight forward. Glory seekers. Holier than thou?"

He laughed. "Very good. Yes, any of those are good traits to keep in mind. You see, McCatFace wants to have the perfect Gryffindor army, so she cast the Moribus. Her intent is for us to be molded by an overarching theme of "Gryffindor" tendencies. But, one man's brave is another man's careless. So, if you can convince yourself that whatever you want to do, be it insulting Snape, playing a joke, pranking a teacher, saving the princess, as long as you believe you are being a "true Gryffindor" in the process, the spell won't stop you. Play with your though process and how you label things in your mind and you'll be set."

Harry thought on this, a small moan breaking through his lips as a spot under his left shoulder blade was tackled. "So…if I wanted to…Mmmm. If I wanted to leave the Den after curfew, all I would need to do is convince myself I'm being super brave to explore such a dark place at night and I won't get zapped?"

"That's the ticket, little lion. You sure the Head Bitch didn't forget to zap your intelligence a couple notches?"

Harry laughed at that and shook his head. "I catch on quick. Kind of have to where I'm from…" He trailed off then, afraid to say more and just enjoying the feeling of his muscles loosening with each pass of Maddie's fingers.

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