Disclaimer: This story is 100% alternate universe and most, if not all, of the characters in this story are out of character as well. Also I don't own anything by J.K. Rowling and I am not trying to steal her characters, plots, or moments within the books that she has written. This is my own story and I also claim to not copy off of anyone else's work either in the process.

Chapter 2

Ever since Harry was given over to Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the boy was put through the most grueling training in his life. The ex-Auror was tough, expected perfection, and was sometimes just downright unfair, but what else would you expect from a Slytherin?

When Lily and James were advised by Dumbledore to let Alastor train their boy, they were very worried. They had met the man a few times during their Order of the Phoenix meetings, and he was paranoid and edgy. One of his eyes was replaced from a battle with Death Eaters and with it, he could see five times better than any human, detect someone if they were invisible, and could see through walls if he wanted to. It did throw off his other eye at first, but with a few charms, he was able to deal with the strain. One of the man's legs was replaced with a magical artificial one that was lost from a battle with werewolves. He once said that if he was ever bitten by one of those beasts, he would kill himself before ever turning into a mindless animal. And finally, Alastor didn't use a wand per say. His wand was infused within a staff since using a wand threw off his balance. He needed something sturdier to keep his leg stabilized and keep his foes guessing what he would do. He would never tell anyone, but using a staff was far superior to a wand in terms of power.

The first day of training threw everything Harry knew on his head. He remembered that day very well.

Harry was left in the Room of Requirement while Lily and James had gone out for the day. The ex-Auror showed up a minute after they exited and the man was determined to get started right away. Within the first minute of meeting each other, Alastor demanded that Harry hand over his wand, and then he snapped it.

"Why did you do that?" Harry asked with some anger.

"That wand won't save you, boy. Your wand shares the same core with Voldemort, right?" Harry was a little shocked.

"How do you know about that?"

"It's amazing what Dumbledore knows. Also, it's been written in the Ministry of Magic, Potter. Now listen. This wand is useless to you. The only thing that wand will do is cause Priori Incantatem, which means it will cause your wand to be evenly matched against the Dark Lord when he returns. As it is, neither wand will be more powerful than the other. We need you to be better than him. That means getting something better than a wand."

"What could be better than that?"

"You're getting a staff, boy. That should fix some of your problems." Moody growled.

"How will a staff help me, sir?"

"Stop with the sir business, Potter. I am not a sir and nor am I Alastor Moody to you. Call me Mad-Eye."

"Okay, Mad-Eye. So how will a staff help me?"

"No time for that now. We are behind schedule. Come with me, and you'll understand in time."

Mad-Eye picked up the contents inside of Harry's wand, flooed to Diagon Alley, and dragged the boy over to a store in Knockturn Alley. Moody never mentioned where the store was and Harry never questioned where they were going. After a few minutes of walking around, the pair finally stopped in front of a store that Moody never mentioned what the name was.

"Davis, I know you're here! Come out where I can see you!" Moody roared. In less than ten seconds the guy known as Davis came out from the back room. Harry was glad he couldn't see Mad-Eye's expression right now because if he could it would most likely be vicious. Before Davis could even respond, Moody took control of the conversation.

"I need a staff for the boy." Davis sneered at the old man and the boy.

"I don't make staffs for children, Alastor."

"This boy is more important than any other child, Davis. Take a look at his scar." Davis looked and could see the famous lightning bolt scar that could only belong to Harry James Potter. He wasn't fazed by it at all.

"I don't care if he is the chosen one. I don't make staffs for children." The man huffed. "Why would he need a staff anyway? I'm sure he has a perfectly useable wand. Or is that not good enough for you, Potter?" Harry scowled.

"Don't ask questions, Davis. Our business is our own." The man took the broken wand and put it directly on the counter. "Here are the pieces of his wand. We also need other materials to make it powerful. Give the staff a dragon heartstring, do not use his Phoenix feather and use another instead, and craft the staff from willow wood in combination with yew. Use only a little of the wood from his wand but nothing else. Get the staff made in 24 hours."

"Are you insane? It takes a few days to get one made!" Mad-Eye threw a very large bag of galleons on the counter. The shop owner's eyes widened.

"If you can finish it in 12 hours, there's more galleons in it for you. You can keep the Phoenix feather." Davis nodded his head in understanding. "Fire-chat me when it's ready. We were never here." Davis nodded again and didn't say anything.

Harry and Moody left the store right away. The duo traveled back to the main square of Diagon Alley and headed right. Harry could hear the sounds of feet hitting the ground around him. He hadn't been out of the house ever since he was taken home from school, so hearing the sounds around him were louder than normal. As they passed the other stores, Harry could smell food around him that seemed to be very close, but was in fact about 100 feet away. Harry looked around for the direction the smell could be coming from but couldn't pinpoint it. Moody noticed what he was doing.

"You understand what's happening, Potter? The sounds and smells around you are intense because one of your senses are cut off. When one sense leaves, the others gain more power, and it makes you invincible. With training, your hearing should be able to pick up sounds from miles away, and your sense of smell can determine everything on someone from their hair care products to what they had for dinner last night. It's your magic that makes all of this possible. Trust your magic, and you will overcome any obstacle."

"What about the rest of the senses?"

"When your abilities are stronger, I will teach you the fundamentals of taste and touch. Worry about hearing and smell, for now, Potter."

"How do you know so much about this?"

"I used to train Aurors for a few years. I had them do similar exercises in case something should ever happen where they didn't have a wand." Harry was shocked.

"Stop right here." Mad-Eye said as they abruptly stopped moving. The two were right in front of Gringotts but the older man was not going to tell the boy that.

"Here is your first lesson. Where are we, Potter?" The boy had no idea what the answer was. How the hell was Harry supposed to answer that?

"I don't know, sir."

"What did I say, Potter? It's Mad-Eye. You need to be constantly in tune with your senses and use constant vigilance to get anywhere! Now focus. What do you hear? Can you smell anything?"

Harry tried his best to listen in on any conversations around him but everything was too loud. The sounds overlapped each other and it sounded like hundreds of people were talking at once. Maybe this was a clue. Where did a lot of people come and go? Well, he knew Flourish and Blotts was one of those stores, but since it was September 1st there would be a lot fewer people. So back to the question: where did a lot of people come and go? Harry still wasn't sure so he tried his best to listen to a specific conversation nearby. The only problem was focusing on just one. Then, as if his luck somehow grew, Harry could hear an irate man in the background complaining about the service. He had been waiting for over 30 minutes and only wanted to open a new account. Harry now knew where they were.

"Gringotts. That's where we are, Mad-Eye."

"Very good, Potter. You may survive my training yet." Mad-Eye growled but not in anger. "How could you tell?"

"I heard someone in the back complaining about the service. He had been waiting in line for over 30 minutes."

"Well done. I could hear that man too. He was only 50 feet away. Soon you will be able to hear from longer distances. Come on, Potter. Let's go." Harry and Alastor made their way back to the apparation point in Diagon Alley, and the pair went directly back to the Potter Mansion on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow.

"That's all I will teach you today, Potter. Get some rest because I am going to push your physical and mental limits. With any luck, we will have your staff ready as well." Mad-Eye said. Harry gulped but nodded anyway.

The boy went inside where he was greeted by his parents. The pair were surprised by their son's good mood, and his eagerness to start training the next day. The three decided to celebrate in a nearby restaurant that Harry particularly enjoyed. The only thing that bothered the parents was that Moody snapped his wand. But if he could produce results, then they would overlook that rash decision.

Harry received his staff the next day and was quickly overwhelmed with power. From what Mad-Eye explained, *yew wood gave the wizard the power over life and death and gave them an easier time with darker curses like necromancy and various harmful spells. Willow wood gave the user advanced prowess in advanced non-verbal magic. The dragon heartstring's job was to make the wand, or in this case the staff, incredibly loyal to the user, so Harry didn't have to worry about his staff having a new master. Finally, the phoenix feather gave Harry a greater spell casting range.* The combination of all these ingredients was going to help Harry with his prowess in wandless magic, and vastly difficult to defeat in a duel. As an added bonus, even though Harry couldn't see the entire effect, the staff had a small orb on top that was black as night but would change colors based on the spell that was used.

It only took a day for Harry to master his magic staff. Within the first day, Harry learned that the staff was strongly synced to his magical core. The result created pulse waves around the boy when it hit the ground, which would help him technically see. The waves revealed items, curses, and even people within a 100 feet radius, which came reflected back into his eyes with a black and white color scheme. Harry was so overcome with joy and tried to hug Mad-Eye, but the ex-Auror pushed the boy back. He wasn't the type to handle appreciation.

On day two, Mad-Eye taught Harry an advanced form of a spell that combined charms and transfiguration magic. ^This spell was unique because it would disguise his staff as a wand^. Using a staff was going to attract a lot of attraction to him, and this weapon had to be hidden from dark wizards at all cost. Alastor cast the spell on his own staff and Harry was able to study the pronunciation. Then the young man realized something.

"Mad-Eye, if my staff is going to look like a wand, how will I be able to use it to see?"

"There's only one way, boy. Use your head!" Harry thought about it and realized there really was only one way.

"I have to have the wand on me, don't I? That way when I walk I can see everything around me."

"Correct, Potter. You can either use a wand holster or you can find a place on you to hold it secure. I suggest using the holster so it will be difficult for other wizards to take it from you." Harry nodded. He was going to have to get one soon.

After saying the unique spell, Harry was able to change his staff into a wand. He wasn't sure how he exactly did this, but the magic responded so well to his command that it happened. When he kept it in his hand, the pulses from before resonated with every single step just as the staff did. As Mad-Eye said, he needed a place to keep it, so he just gripped it in his hand. Harry noticed that the orb changed places from the top of his staff to the bottom of the wand. Changing the wand back into a staff was trickier but not by much. It required the same amount of power, but the pronunciation was weird.

Day three was a challenge for Harry. Instead of trying to use staff, the boy was instructed to do physical exercises to increase his stamina. As Mad-Eye put it, Harry wouldn't always be able to rely on his tool, plus it would do him some good to work out. The boy thought the man was crazy, but this needed to be done.

"If you ever find yourself without your staff, then you will have to rely on your other senses. Even without it, you do have some of the power leftover." Mad-Eye grunted. "I'm going to try and hit you, Potter. I want you to anticipate my attack and block me. If not, it will hurt you. Use your sight and try to find me."

Harry suddenly blocked all other thoughts from his mind. He needed to focus on the incoming blow. While trying to use the same technique from Gringotts, Moody was able to punch Harry in the gut. He wasn't even able to see the man from behind with his new sight.

"Ugh!" Harry said as he fell to the floor. His stomach had a bit of pain.

"Get up, boy, and try again. Use constant vigilance and focus on your surroundings."

Harry cleared his mind again and focused on the sounds around him since his sight may fail him again. This time Harry could hear silent footsteps coming from his backside. As the steps got closer, Harry could hear the sound of the older man's fist being cocked back and thrust. The boy threw himself out of the way in time.

"Nice work, Potter. Try not to throw your entire body out of the way next time. You will use more energy and make you defenseless. We will perfect this technique next week. Now let's do it again!" Harry groaned.

Day four was the foundation of learning wandless magic. Well not exactly. Harry discovered very quickly that without his staff, he couldn't cast spells wandlessly. The target was a mere feather and the wizard couldn't move it at all. He must have tried to use his hands to project magic dozens of times before giving up. Then Mad-Eye tried something else.

"Grab your staff, Potter."

"But I can't have it to cast spells wandlessly!"

"Do as I say, boy!" Harry had wisely shut up after that and grabbed his staff with his right hand. "I want you to cast Wingardium Leviosa with your left hand and don't move your staff."

Harry did as the older man asked and found he couldn't do that either. Harry was used to pointing his wand, or staff in this case, at something and then the spell would work. It apparently didn't apply if the staff was not moving and he used his hand instead.

"It didn't work. What was the point of that?"

"Quiet! Now try again. Say the spell in your mind and use your hand to cast. Don't move your staff again." Harry tried saying the spell again in his mind and discovered that it didn't work that time either.

"Transfigure your staff into a wand and put it in your pocket." Harry rolled his eyes and did as the man asked. "Try to cast Wingardium again while only moving your hands."

Harry moved his right hand up and created a pulse wave again to see his target. He tried using both hands and discovered the feather moved a little. The boy was a little surprised that it worked.

"Try again. You're not focused. Clear your mind and use more force this time."

"Okay." Harry said with some irritation. It wasn't like he wasn't trying already. This stuff was hard! The boy tried his best to block out the negative thoughts of his mind, and wandlessly cast Wingardium Leviosa again. The feather flew an inch! Harry smiled. He was starting to feel a lot more positive.

"You're close, boy. Do it again, and REALLY use your power to move the feather!" Moody barked.

Harry nodded and threw as much power as he possibly could into his hands. The feather flew fifty feet in the air and landed in a smoldering pile of ash when it stopped falling. Harry could feel the little pile of ash hit the ground, and he was trying his best not to scream in joy. Although he wouldn't do that anyway since he tired himself out from all the power he used.

"Why did it work that time, Potter?" Harry was about to answer with his typical answer of "I don't know" but was tired of Mad-Eye sniping him about that. After a moment of thinking, he tried answering.

"I was focusing on what I was taught before. The point was to aim, flick, and cast a spell with your wand while using some power behind it. Since I wasn't moving my wand at all, I couldn't apply the same rules as before. That's why you wanted me to stand still, wasn't it? I had to rely on no movement to cast the spell." Alastor was a little proud of his pupil.

"Anything else?"

"Maybe it's also the staff. It's too big and would slow me down if I wanted to use wandless magic. When it's a wand, the staff is lighter and flexible. That way when it's on me, I don't have to carry a staff around, and I can still cast spells without a massive tool in my hands." Alastor was glad that the boy was thinking but he was still looking for another answer.

"You're still overlooking the main point. What else would cause you to cast that spell wandlessly?" Harry was running out of ideas but tried anyway.

"It could be that when I have my wand on me it acts as an unlimited power source. With it, I can supercharge my spells and allow me to use wandless magic." Alastor sighed. He was correct on all of these answers but the boy was still overlooking the most important part.

"You're still forgetting something, boy. You weren't able to cast the spells without a wand because you weren't confident. You lacked the confidence to achieve your goals. Without it, you are powerless to your thoughts. Everything you said already was correct, but if there's anything I can reach you, it would be to get some confidence." Harry nodded.

"That's enough for today. We will continue this later."

From that point on, the training fell into a repetitive cycle. Physical exercise, conjuring, spell casting, sight exercises, projected hearing, heightening his sense of smell, and advanced potion making. Harry did prefer Moody's teaching method to potions instead of Snape's because the ex-Auror would explain everything before Harry did it. He also couldn't take away house points for being a dunderhead.

After a month of Alastor's training, not only were Lily and James astounded by the quick results, but they actually thanked Dumbledore for his idea and almost started worshiping the ex-Auror. Moody threatened to quit if they did. After training Harry with advanced techniques in pulsed sight, hearing, and smell, Moody thought it was time to focus on the other two senses: touch and taste. The first thing the two focused on was touch.

"We're going to do something different today, Potter. I want you to come over and touch my arm." Harry thought the old man had lost it but obeyed his command. When Harry did as he was asked nothing happened.

"Is something supposed to happen?" He asked.

"Yes. Did you not feel anything go through your body?"

"No."

"Project your sight and then touch my arm." Harry tapped his staff to the ground and then touched the man's arm. The moment he did, Harry could feel everything the ex-Auror could.

"I ... I can feel the pulse of your heart, feel your emotions, and hear your thoughts. This is incredible! I've never felt anything like this before!"

"Good. Now that you can feel what's going on inside me, I want to try a test. Listen and see if you can tell when I'm lying." Harry nodded.

"I am a Slytherin." Alastor's heartbeat did not change.

"I was once an Auror." There was still no change.

"I have a sister." After hearing this, Harry noticed that Mad-Eye's pulse quickened.

"That was a lie. You and I both know you don't have any siblings." Harry stated.

"Correct. With time you will be able to detect lies from others without having to touch them, but your prowess with touch will always be greater when you do use it." Harry nodded.

"Now for taste. This is going to be hard, Potter, but I want you to try this when you go home. Tap your staff like you did before then eat something. You may not be able to do this at all yet, because taste is the most powerful of all senses for you to learn. Determine what is inside your food and report it to me tomorrow." Harry obeyed.

When he did go home that night, the boy discovered that he couldn't determine everything that was in his food. After trying again with his staff, Harry only got the same result. It took two weeks for Harry to notice any changes. James was told by Moody to put some sneezing powder in his drink. Before Harry tried to taste his drink, he could feel something was off. The goblet with his pumpkin juice glowed around the outside. Harry could tell something was wrong, so he asked his parents what was put in his drink. James revealed that he put in sneezing powder on Moody's orders. The boy felt better that he could control the little power he had over taste.

Harry's prowess with magic and physique increased over time, and in the blink of an eye, it was one year later from their first day of training. Mad-Eye may not have shown it, but he was going to miss these sessions with Harry. He wouldn't ever admit it though. On the last day of their training before Harry went back to Hogwarts for his fourth year of school, Mad-Eye addressed his apprentice.

"Congratulations, Potter, you have survived my training. You are stronger with your magic, you have more strength and stamina from when we first started, you can cast almost any spell wandlessly, and finally, you are confident. You no longer need any further training from me. I think it's time for you to return to Hogwarts."

"I agree. I would be great to see my friends again. I also want to get out of the Room of Requirement for a while."

"I bet you would. I'm sick of this place too." Harry laughed a little. "I'm ending training early today. Get your things packed for tomorrow because you leave for the castle. I'll be keeping an eye on you while I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"Really? That's great, Mad-Eye!"

"Don't get soft on me boy. I won't give you any special treatment in class. In fact, I expect you to do even better than them because you learned from the best. I'm not bragging, Potter, it's simply a fact. Most Aurors wouldn't have survived without my training, and you wouldn't have either without my guidance. You better be at the top of the class, or else I'll make a mockery of you like I did last week with our duel."

"That wasn't fair and you know it. You had two wands!" Alastor got very close to Harry so he could intimidate him.

"Here's one last piece of advice, Potter. Don't ever expect your foes to play fair. Voldemort won't, and neither will his Death Eaters. Expect the unexpected, and destroy your opponent before they gain the upper hand. Do I make myself clear?" Moody growled.

"Perfectly." The boy wasn't scared of his teacher. Over the last year, he had gotten used to the man's form of scare tactics and they no longer worked on him. Alastor then sent the boy back through the floo. Harry arrived moments later back inside Potter Manor where his mother was waiting for him.

"Hello, Harry. Are you done for the day?" He nodded.

"Yes. I finished training and I can go back to school now." The boy said with a smile.

"Oh, that's wonderful, sweetie! I'm very proud of you." Lily Potter said while taking her son into a hug. "I'm so happy you're happy. Last year when you first lost your sight, I felt so useless because I didn't know how to help you. Your father and I both want you to know that we couldn't be prouder of what you've accomplished. We love you son." Harry was getting a little emotional but tried his best to not cry.

"Thanks, Mum. I love you both. Thank you for not giving up on me. I know I wasn't the easiest to deal with, but I'm glad you agreed with Dumbledore and made Moody my teacher. Oh, that reminds me, he's going to become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year."

Lily groaned. While Alastor Moody was a brilliant man, he was sure to ruffle a few feathers and make some people uncomfortable in the process.

"Please keep him in line, Harry. I don't want other parents complaining because he taught the students how to cast the killing curse." Harry laughed.

"I wouldn't put it past him, Mum." Harry stated. "This is the same guy who didn't allow me to see my friends for a year because he thought it would distract my progress." Lily didn't like that part of Moody's training. Harry needed to be in contact with his friends, and what that crazy man was suggesting was ludicrous. Harry did say multiple times that it was fine, but Mrs. Potter could tell he was only trying to stay positive. Thankfully Harry was going to be around his friends again. Being around Alastor for that long was sure to drive anyone crazy.

"I'll never understand that man. It's going to be even harder when he becomes your teacher this year. Of course, he decides to become a professor when I am too. I am so thankful he's not teaching Ancient Runes. I don't want him anywhere near my class."

"I'm glad you're going to be teaching Ancient Runes, Mum. I wouldn't mind having my mother be the teacher in my class. Just don't embarrass me please." Lily laughed.

"I won't embarrass you, Harry. I'm a professional when I teach and I don't play favorites. I expect you to be the best in the class young man. You should be, after all, I taught you everything I know."

"Mad-Eye said the same thing to me today. I guess you both want me to be the best." He said.

"Well, that's one thing we can both agree on. Come on, Harry. Let's go get your things ready for tomorrow."

The day went by fast after that. Harry and Lily spent much of their time together just talking or reading. When James came home, he was over the moon when his son announced that training was over. The man felt it was wrong to isolate Harry from his friends, and now his son could get his life back to where it was. James Potter wasn't thrilled with Moody's teaching methods either. He thought Dumbledore was daft when the old man hired the ex-Auror, but didn't say anything because he knew he owed the Headmaster big time for getting Harry training. As the night came, Lily and James sent their son to bed, while they sat in the living room and talked. Life was good for the parents, but they were nervous about Harry going back. Realizing there wasn't anything they could do, the Potters went to sleep as well. Tomorrow would be difficult for them since Harry had been at home for a year in the mansion. Their son had to go back though, so they kept a level head for his sake.

* = The information about the wand wood and ingredients was provided by Pottermore.

^ = This spell doesn't exist, but I wanted it to mimic the disillusion spell. I made the rest up.

A/N: Got more comments to respond to:

Mithrilandtj: thanks for pointing that out. I really forgot about Lily being a muggle-born. So thanks for calling me out. It's now fixed to where she isn't a muggle-born and is instead a pure-blood.

Anarion87: thanks I appreciate the comment.

Triggbc: thanks as always.

I'll be posting more soon. But I'll update my other stories first. Thanks again.