Flourishing in Darkness

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter (if only) but this is just for fun, guys.

Warnings: This is a homosexual erotic-love tale if you don't like it then don't read it; it's as simple as that. Foul language, AU, Graphic detail of abuse, Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore bashing.

Author's Notes: I'm still working on getting back on track for you guys!

Chapter Four: A Loving Hand

"Your father was a brilliant man, Harry," Artemis said to her nephew as they sat in the kitchen having a cup of tea together at the counter while the servants bustled about. A grand welcoming feast was being put together to celebrate Harry's return. Artemis told him that, much like the room that Sirius had shown him at Grimmauld Place; there was a wall with the entire family tree and when he returned home his name lit up and that's how Artemis found him.

"It seems that way," was all he could think to say as he took a long sip of his tea.

"This must all be so strange for you," she noted, reaching over to pet his hand. Harry noticed that she had a family ring on as well, the Mosgrove crest surrounded by deep purple gems.

"You've found out so much about yourself in such a short period of time. I think I'll cancel the fest for tonight. You must be exhausted after such a trying day."

"Please don't," Harry interrupted before she could go any farther.

"I'd like to go, everyone's already put so much work into it. Plus, I'm starving. It's the strangest thing. Before, I could hardly stomach food, now, I can't seem to stop eating. I feel like I'm turning into a glutton."

Artemis chuckled softly and pet his hand again "That's your body's natural way of preparing for your inheritance. Your body will need mass amounts of energy to be able to support itself when the process begins. Sadly, it's a bit of a grueling ordeal for creatures like us. Despite your body needing to prepare, Lokai naturally have very, very healthy appetites to begin with, so it will diminish once you are finished but don't expect it to be too much." She smiled awkwardly, remembering the pain that had come from her inheritance but hopefully with her nephew being a half breed it wouldn't be quite as bad for him. That's what she hoped, at least.

"What exactly happens when you go through your inheritance?" Harry began fidgeting with his cup of tea, swishing it around but not drinking another drop as his stomach did flip flops.

"Well, for us Beserkers anyhow, you finally, fully unleash the bulk of your power both physically and magically. It's something like how humans go through puberty. Your wings, claws, and fangs will come in and of course the glamour that your mother placed on you to make you look more like, James, was it? Well, that will fall away completely, I can see traces of it on you still. You won't look much like yourself, or at least the you you've come to know. Your inheritance process should last about a week, in theory anyway, compared to the two week period of a full-blooded Berserker. I'm afraid of going into detail for fear of scaring you," she admitted bashfully.

"No, please, don't sugar-coat anything. Give it to me straight," the pleading look in his eyes was something that Artemis could not turn away, with a thin smile she continued.

"The first day or two, you'll eat insane amounts of food as your wings slowly grow underneath your skin. That's always the hardest part for anyone. You will crave food because your body will be using up energy just as quickly as you are creating it through sustenance. Your body will ache and your back will bleed once your wings forcibly burst from your back. They will be incredibly tender at first, air will hurt, every move will hurt and you will spend a lot of time on your stomach. The following days, regrettably won't be much better as your body begins to produce your venom throughout your entire body. If you fail to keep your energy levels your venom could spill outward and begin to infect your organs which, if gone untreated and not quickly rectified could easily kill you within just a few short hours. In time, however, your venom will begin to only generate in your claws and fangs, your wings will heal nicely, and then you will slip into a comatose state as your body inwardly absorbs all the power that you have at your disposal. The stronger the Berserker the longer you'll be sleeping. Your father was quite powerful, as was your mother for a human, so, we shall see how long this all lasts for you."

Harry grimaced, none of what he'd just learned sounded appealing in the slightest. There was no possible way that he could get out of it, however, so he grimaced again and chugged the last of his tea. Dejected by the information, he merely nodded.

"Getting as much food as possible sounds like a fabulous idea then," he said at last.

"You'll always be well fed here," she reassured him.

"Is it odd that I feel at home here even though I barely know you? I never even knew of your existence before today and want nothing more than to just be held and talk and," he trailed off awkwardly, staring at the floor.

"There's just something about this old castle. To the people that belong here, well, it has a way of making them feel at home because it is home," she stated simply, letting him have his awkward teen moment despite how badly she wanted to hold him against her and promise it would all be alright.

"The moment I saw my father, Abbicus, my real father...I instantly felt heavily disconnected from James Potter," he admitted more to himself than to his aunt. He felt guilty about it but for some reason he couldn't help it.

"You've nothing to feel guilty over, pet," she took his hand gently in hers and lowered her voice in an attempt to make him feel better.

"I dont?"

"Heavens no. It's just your genetics. A feeling such as that is not uncommon for a Beserker child that has been raised by surrogate family. Despite what the Wizarding world may think of us, they think us dark and vile, but we as a race are very family driven. Beserker children have just as strong of a connection to their parents as their parents have to them, it's only natural that once presented with an image of your biological father that mentally you began to reject James, especially since you never met. Now, no more fretting about that. Why don't you rest a while while the food is prepared and we wait for the guests to arrive?" she handed him an apple as she stood, smoothing out the small wrinkles in her dress.

"I'll show you to your rooms. You can take a hot bath, you don't even have to sleep. You can just lounge in bed until you're ready to come down. How does that sound?" She pet his head gingerly and smiled broadly when he gently leaned into her hand.

"That sounds beyond incredible," he admitted, taking hungry bites out of his apple, juice dripping down his chin. She smiled at him and led him through the castle. Many people gasped and clapped, waving and giggling to him as he passed before they bowed and rushed off. Some of the people were even crying he noticed.

"They're all happy you've returned home, many thought you died when we got word of your mother's passing," Artemis explained without Harry even having to ask.

"Word travels fast around here, even in a place so large," she chuckled.

"The feast will be a great chance for you to meet your cousins and other family and all the rest, she led him to an entirely different part of the castle that was remote and quiet unlike all the other parts they had passed which were alive with voices and rushing footsteps.

"This used to be your father's private wing. It's been untouched since Lily left and your father passed," a sad smile washed over her face. She veered to the right and opened a door, leading Harry into a spacious room designed in cool blues and greens. It reminded Harry of the ocean and without his aunt saying anything he drifted forward and sat on the bed. It felt like heaven.

"Aunt Artemis?"

"Yes, my pet?" She was just about to leave when he called for her but she turned on her heels to look back at him.

"How did my father die?"

Artemis' eyes grew cold and sad, her body rigid as her memory took her to dark corners she had not tread in quite some time.

"We will talk more on that another day," she started off slowly, knowing that for now her nephew's magic was far too unstable to handle such devastating news.

"It's something we will discuss in depth after you've gone through your inheritance and are a bit more magically stable. For now, however, what I can say is that there was a war which is why your mother made your father flee and how she came to be with that James fellow. Your father died nobly in battle, defending the realm. He fought hard and won, but he was mortally wounded, and he unfortunately didn't survive."

There was much that Harry wanted to say but refrained. It was more than clear that his father's death still brought her great pain and he didn't like seeing her look so sad and small.

"You loved him," he observed softly.

"He was...the best big brother a girl could ask for," she mused, smiling at him. "We were tremendously close, joined at the hip just about. It's been hard, even after all these years. He would want me to be strong though, so I shall. Now, rest, pet. I'll inform everyone that you've arrived and are resting. One of your servants will come for you in a little while." Without saying anything more, Artemis left the room, leaving Harry alone to sit with all the information that had been thrust upon him. He lounged back on the bed and ate his apple in slow, deliberate bites before he got up and walked over to the closet. He found a bunch of clothes ranging from every degree of formality but it was all stuff for a little child. He flipped through them anyway and each time that he touched a garment it sprouted down on its hanger. Inspecting the matter further, Harry picked out a suit and held it against himself to see that the suit looked like it would be perfectly tailored to his body should he put it on. He chuckled to himself lightly and set the suit back on the rack, wandering off to explore the room further.

He noticed a door to the right of him and wandered through it to find a fairly large bathroom. He walked over to the pristine white tub that could easily hold three to five people and ran his fingertips over the rim of it. It was a claw foot tub, the feet made of pure crystal that created vibrant prisms around the room from the light that was pouring in from the diamond shaped windows on the far left wall. Encompassing half the tub was a marble counter that sat level with the tub and was covered in glass and crystal bottles of every size imaginable. One was incredibly large, twice the size of his head, and when he picked off the lid he realized it was filled with pink sea salt and a giant wooden spoon was nestled inside to make it easier to scoop into the bath. He picked up a small vial made of amber glass and sniffed the cork, the smell of lavender flooding his senses. He had never seen something so marvelous before; not even at Hogwarts, the only thing that came close was the Prefect bathrooms. He immediately stripped down and drew himself a nice hot bath.

Soaking in the tub gave him more than enough time to think about everything that he had discussed with Artemis. Soon, he would no longer be human. Or was it that he already wasn't human but still looked human? How in the world was he supposed to process any of that? He shook his head and leaned against the back of the tub, sinking further into the scolding hot water. He looked to his left to examine more of the vials and boxed that sat along the counter. He picked up a small bottle, much like the one that held lavender oil and sniffed the cork again. This one was mint and he poured a few drops into the water. It felt incredibly and he felt his muscles relax under the sensation of it.

"Things have changed so much," he thought to himself. It was more than true. He had changed so much in just a few years time. He went from scrawny little boy who was abused by his family, to a Wizard, to being the Savior of the Wizarding world when he couldn't save himself, from trusting Albus Dumbledore with his life to hating everything about the man, to being to Golden Boy and a member of the "Golden Trio" to despising the twerps that he once called "friend", to being a Potter to being a Prince, and it was all so much, too much to take in. It felt nice just to sit. It felt nice just to sit in hot water and not have to think or sign papers, to not have to calculate every move he'd ever made in life thus far and question all of his life choices every second. The only thing that was on his mind was that food was waiting for him downstairs.

"Prince Harrison?" a meek voice came from the distance. Harry, not used to his full name, nor his title, took a moment to register that someone was calling for him. After a moment or so he remembered his place and where he was and quickly got out of the tub. He grabbed a thick, purple robe off a near by hook and slid into it, tying it tightly around himself. Exiting the bathroom, he stepped back into his bedroom to find a servant girl in a pleated, plum maid's uniform. She bowed when she entered and kept her head down as she spoke.

"Her majesty told me to come inform you that the feast is now being served. She also wanted me to inform you that should you need to, you are free to take all the time you wish."

"Please don't be so formal with me, "he begged softly, the young lady looked like she had to be a year older than him at the very least.

"It's customary, my lord. You're the prince, I'm a happy servant to this family, it's my duty." She had thick raven hair and dazzling ruby eyes accompanied by thick, long lashes that swept the tops of her round cheeks with every blink. She smiled at him sweetly and he realized that she had the most adorable dimples to go along with her charming smile.

"We can't possibly be far apart in age, please, at least around me?"

She thought about it for a moment, weighing her options. On one hand, it was her duty to remain formal and respectful in the presence of her prince. However, he was making a specific request of her. She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment before nodding and smiling at him again, warmly and more energetic this time.

"Fyrema Green, I'm almost eighteen actually." Her name was so pretty, her accent made it even prettier. The "fy" was pronounced like the beginning of the word fire, a breath of fresh air bursting in the middle and the "ma" sounding like a gentle sigh toward the end. He took in her exotic features and wondered if this is what all Lokai women looked like. Fyrema noticed his staring and giggled softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"My mother is Lokian but my father is half Egyptian. They both graduated from Osiris School of Magic and Mythics in Cairo where mother studied aboard. When they got married they came back to my mother's homeland. Our family has always been a servant to the royal family. Mom is big on tradition and I guess when I graduate I'll follow in her footsteps.

"I didn't know there was a Wizarding school in Egypt, that's really cool." Harry wandered off absentmindedly to get dressed. He came back to the room dressed in grey slacks and a dark hunter green turtle neck. For some reason it was rather chilly in the castle and the warmth of the turtle neck was highly comforting.

"You look smashing..."Fyrema paused, unsure of what to call him if she was not to be so formal.

"Just Harry."

"You look smashing, Harry," she said with a bit more certainty. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at her as he close to door to the room as they walked out.

"This all must be so much to take in for you. Us maids have been gossiping about your return all day, I try not to, my mother pretty much forbids it but it's hard when everyone else is talking."

"It's alright, I'm pretty used to people talking about me...hey Fyrema? What can you tell me about my, well, my family?"

"They're powerful, amazing rulers, and the most loving and affectionate bunch I've ever met. Though, all Beserkers are quite loving when surrounded by good company. It's only when we feel our peace is threatened that we go well...Berserk," she laughed loudly at her own terrible pun.

"How do you mean?" Harry asked as he followed her through the confusing string of corridors, he felt like he needed a road map just to navigate around the castle.

"Berserks are very partner and family oriented creatures. Despite how the Wizarding world tries to depict us we aren't blood thirsty savages that will rip out the throat of any given creature at any given moment. It's only when we feel a direct threat to any of our key concepts of life that we go crazy and wind up attacking people." It seemed like every time he talked to someone Harry was getting a mini history lesson.

"Go on," he instructed out of curiosity.

"The Key Principles of life for a Berserker are simple; Honor thy mate, the other half of thine soul and spirit. Protect thy family with every ounce of strength fathomable, raise thy whelps with good morals, love and a firm hand. Lastly, always uphold thy dominance, no Berserker's dominance, be they dominant or submissive, shall be pulled into question without consequence." She stated it so matter-of-factually as if she were reading it straight out of a book.

"I see…" Harry wasn't quite sure what all of that meant but he didn't want someone not much older than him explaining it to him like he was a child. He would figure it out for himself in due time. After a while, they arrived back where Harry had first landed when he'd used the portkey and Fyrema led him to a set of large, heavy wooden doors. She opened them with ease and Harry was dumbstruck when a large crowd of people all turned to look at him in surprise. Soon, everyone was cheering and raising their glasses in celebration.

"Destina! They all cried happily and Harry immediately looked at Fyrema for an explanation.

"The old Lokian Language, it's quite ancient and not commonly used unless for specific spells or special occasions. Destina," she drug out the 'de' sound.

"It doesn't really have a direct English translation I'm afraid but it's basically a very enthused welcoming."

"I see," he said, still taken aback.

"Harry," Artemis came rushing over to him and embraced him in a quick hug.

"Fyrema, your mother needs your help in the kitchen, darling. Some of the other maids are sick and the kitchen is understaffed, I think your mother's head may explode," Artemis was giggling at the thought of Fatima's –Fyrema's mother- head exploding.

"Oh no," Fyrema bowed quickly to the Queen and Prince and then rushed off in a flash.

"Fyrema's such a sweet girl. Did you enjoy lounging for a bit, pet?" his aunt asked him as she led him around the room. The further they walked the more Harry kept hearing the word 'Destina' over and over.

"Destina, part of the old language. Everyone is so thrilled to have you here with us. Come, pet, I want you to meet the rest of your family," she said excitedly as she led him up to a banquet table where there was a man and two children who seemed to be waiting patiently.

"This is my husband, your uncle Alexander," she pointed to the rather large looking man that was wearing a tailored black suit with a tie that was the same purple that belonged to the family. He was a handsome man with angular features, curly brown hair and twinkling eyes. He smiled at Harry, standing up to pull him into a friendly hug.

"This is our oldest daughter Svana, she's a year younger than you Harry," she pointed to the girl that dressed in a black, halter top dress, a tiny tiara nestled into messy raven hair.

"Hiya Harry," she said, giving him a two-finger salute and a smile.

"And this is our baby boy Aiden," she pointed to a little boy who was sitting at the table, his feet nowhere near the ground as he sat back in the large high backed chair. He couldn't be much older than eight at the most and when he was introduced he waved excitedly at Harry, bouncing in his seat.

"People of Lokai!" Artemis stood at the head of the table and held her goblet high into the air. Everyone stopped what they were doing, all the chatter and noise stopped in an instant and a hushed silence fell over the room.

"My nephew, Harrison, son of Abbicus, son of Lily, our Prince has been returned to us!"

The room erupted into loud cheers and whooping laughter "Destina!" they chanted, it was like music to Harry's ears. He felt his face becoming flushed, his cheeks turning bright red at all the attention.

"Welcome home, my pet," his aunt kissed his warm cheeks and took a long drink from her goblet in his name.

"Destina!" she shouted out to the people, and again to him. They answered her call and drank heavily from their cups before bowing to Harry. Not sure what to do, the raven haired teen dipped his head into a slight bow and just like that, the people went to chatting excitedly about themselves. With a nervous smile, Harry sat down in between Alexander Svana and began loading his plate full of food. His heart felt warm and fuzzy all over. It was such a good feeling to be surrounded by so many people who seemed genuinely happy to have him there.

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"Potter isn't there, Albus," Alastor Moody was getting very tired of reiterating that same fact over and over again to the aged Wizard and was about to give up. He was in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts after having just stopped by the Dursley household to check in on the young Savior per the Headmasters request only to receive no answer. Neither the wife nor the husband came to the door, nor the little fat son. No magical signature could not be felt inside of the house either. So, Alastor, concerned in his own gruff sort of way, reported back to Hogwarts to inform the Headmaster of the finds of his visit, or rather the lack thereof.

"What do you mean he isn't there? Harry knows that he is prohibited from leaving his aunt and uncle's care, it's far too dangerous" the Headmaster was sweating bullets though he'd be damned if he'd let Alastor Moody -of all the Wizards on earth- catch wind of that.

How dare that sniveling little brat manage to find a way out of there?!He thought viciously to himself. He needed Harry to be at 'home' with his aunt and uncle so that he could continue to have the boy under his thumb. If he was off somewhere gallivanting about then who knew what kind of influences he could be subjected to. The last thing he needed this deep into the war against Voldemort was for Harry to find out the truth about his heritage and turn against him. He needed the boy by his side when he went through his inheritance so that he could spin the story of his lineage to his advantage and keep the boy's immense power on his side of the fight.

No, this wasn't good at all.

"Thank you very kindly, Alastor but I'll look into the matter further on my own if you don't mind. Lemon drop?" Dumbledore said at last giving the man one of his signature, twinkling eyed smile.

Albus waited calmly for the other man to leave his office. He sat perfectly poised at his desk until he was beyond positive that his supposed comrade was far away from earshot and then he let the handles fly. He jumped up from his desk in an outrage and his magic began to lash out against the room sending papers and objects alike flying this way and that in a bout of fury.

"How dare he!" he thundered as he stormed around the room causing destruction with each step. The portraits around his office all coward in corners out of fear, some of them even going so far as to leave for fear of being knocked from the wall. None of them had ever seen the calm, wise, loving grandfather of a Headmaster so violently angry before and most did not want to stick around and watch the show.

"I'll have his hide," he seethed, his magic whipping violently. Fawkes trilled angrily and bristled his feathers at the old wizard.

"Hush!" he commanded and without another sound the bird quieted though it still looked terribly angry at all the destruction that Dumbledore was causing. It looked terribly unhappy but Albus ignored the bird as he continued to pace the small space of his cluttered office.

"That stupid boy," his body shook with newfound anger.

"I am the greatest wizard alive. I was the one that defeated Grindelwald so it should be me that has to defeat Voldemort not some snot-nosed little brat! It should be me getting the fame and the glory, he was just a baby, he didn't do anything special the fact that his bitch of a mother somehow managed to save him from the killing curse was nothing more than a fluke!" Dumbledore's rage was rising with each passing second. The more he thought about the asinine notion that Harry Potter should be the savior of the Wizarding world the angrier he got to the point where he could feel his blood pressure rising and his heart hammering in his chest. His eyes bulged out of their sockets a little and it made Fawkes look over at him. His human had finally lost a few screws, not that they were ever truly secure in the first place, and the old coot seemed to have finally taken them out altogether. He wanted to be the greatest wizard to live, to survive long enough to defeat two of the darkest wizards to ever be known; the glory was supposed to be his and he would be immortal through it.

That's why Harry had to stay under his thumb. He would shape him and mold him into the perfect weapon so that everyone would know that poor, pitiful Harry could never have defeated Lord Voldemort had it not been for the mighty Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive, the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever known; he wanted it all. Then he would simply get rid of Harry once he was no longer useful to him. He would tell the people that it had to be done in order to save them all because of Harry's scar. Yes, he would manipulate it and twist it all to his advantage; the scar was Harry's connection to Voldemort, the dark Wizard's final Horcrux and since a piece of Voldemort's soul was locked inside of the Boy who Lived, he would have to be killed to ensure that the Wizarding World would be rid of the dark wizard forever.

It had all been planned so perfectly but if he didn't find out where the boy was and soon then he had no idea of knowing whether or not his plan was in jeopardy. Albus Dumbledore did not take too kindly to feeling insecure about his plans; he wouldn't stand for it! He sat down at his desk again with a heavy sigh. With Harry's birthday slowly approaching at the end of July Dumbledore knew that in the meantime he should worry about the will readings of Harry's parents and Godfather. That too was an important part of his plan. He had to get all the false documents in to his mole in Gringotts if he ever wanted to get what he'd planned accomplished. He had promised Molly and Arthur Weasley a great deal of money not to mention Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as well. He'd also swore a betrothal between Harry and young Ginny Weasley so that, married into the Weasley family, he could always keep a close eye on the boy and know that he was being force fed the right influences up until the very moment that Albus had to kill him for the good of the entire Wizarding world. Yes, that's what he would work on for now. Harry was probably just off being a rebellious teen. The boy was far too weak and stupider still to do much of anything else.

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"Harry, I want to tutor you," Artemis said to him later that night. The two of them were lounging in the grass by a pond in the gardens. Harry had taken off his shoes and dipped his toes into the cool waters, shaking them back and forth softly while they talked. Harry had spent his entire day with his family, meeting servants of the house, people of the kingdom, as well as Lords and Ladies of the royal court. He'd met so many people and and learned so much already that day. He was utterly exhausted yet hungry for more.

"Tutor me in what?" he asked twirling his spoon around the bowl of ice cold vanilla bean ice-cream; one of his top five favorites.

"Everything, starting off by re-teaching you everything that you've learned from your first six years at Hogwarts doing so at an advanced level, then move beyond that to your current year, then past that to teaching you very advanced magic and then teaching you everything there is to know about ruling a kingdom." His aunt had a very serious look on her face but Harry slowly found himself full of dread.

"That's a lot of work and a lot of time" he muttered offhandedly.

"It would be a perfect opportunity to show people at that school that you aren't a dopey little boy anymore."

Harry thought about it and realized that she was right. While at Hogwarts he'd never really applied himself, he skirted by copying off of Ron who had copied off of Hermione despite how much she lectured them both about doing their own work. If he let his aunt teach him then he'd be able to do all his work on his own and rub Granger's nose in it all. That would serve that little traitor just right. He knew that he was smart, he knew he could do the work, but seeing as he always allowed Dumbledore to almost get him killed every year since he began at Hogwarts; his focused had never really been on his school work. Now, however, things would be different. He had this power and the means to make things different. He bit his bottom lip slightly as he contemplated the pros and cons of it all before finally turning toward her.

"Don't say yes unless you are absolutely dedicated to this one hundred percent," she said before he could even open his mouth.

"When do we start?" he asked.

"We can begin in the morning, but we would get settled in our classroom tonight."

"Why not...I don't want to be Dumbledore's pawn anymore."

"You're a Prince, you were never destined to be a pawn. Come, my pet," she rose from her spot in the grass and helped him up. She led him down to the dungeons of the castle and stopped in front of a double wide door surrounded by golden leaves. Harry stared at it curiously, running his finger tips over the fine detailing in the leaves.

"Time in Lokai already moves incredibly quick, time beyond this door moves faster still. You've been done an entire day by our standards but by yours you've been gone perhaps two hours or more. Circumstances have robbed me of valuable time with you, pet. If you're going to return to the Lion's Den, if I'm going to put you close to Dumbledore then I need you to be the young man you were born to be. This tutoring process will be trying for both of us. We will study and practice for what will feel like years on end. In truth, it will be about a week, a week and a half, but I will be relentless. You've much to learn and not a lot of time to do it but it is needed if you are going to be in close contact with Dumbledore, do you understand? She looked at him sternly, gone was the fun-loving, giggly aunt that he had spent most of his day with, instead she seemed almost must have been what Fyrema was talking about when she described to him the basic principles of a Berserker because his aunt was definitely treating him with a firm hand. He looked around the large classroom, it felt empty and cold, but he knew that the learning experience would be good for him. It would also give him the opportunity to spend a lot of personal one-on-one time with his aunt. He looked over at Artemis once more and with a small nod, he took the first step past the threshold and into the room.

"Good," his aunt trailed in after him and pointed to her left where there was a short spiral staircase.

"Up those stairs will be your living quarters, meals will be provided for you, there are clothes for you, your own personal bath and of course some small personal affects so that you won't be completely bored silly with me." Harry chuckled at that and let her continue explaining the layout of the room. She pointed to another identical, short spiral staircase on her right.

"Up those stairs are my living quarters. If you look directly ahead past the classroom area you will see three doors. The door on the far left is the Potions lab where trust me you and I will be spending a lot of time brewing only the most difficult potions. The door on the far right is dueling room where we will again, be spending a lot of time, and practicing the fine art of dueling. Lastly the door in the center is a simulated outdoor area complete with a greenhouse so to study Herbology with and so that you may get plenty of exercise. It won't be just your mind that I'm tutoring but also your body, your strength, endurance and everything else. You've spent far too much of your life in the shadow of other people, it's time to show those Wizards just what you're made of," she winked at him.

Harry hadn't told his aunt about everything that he'd gone through in is life but he had told her a great deal. They talked very in depth about Albus Dumbledore and Ron and Hermione but he didn't say much about the Dursley's. He was sure that the subject would present itself at some point sooner or later but he much rather hoped it would come later.

Harry's smiled uncertainly unsure of what he'd just gotten himself into. His aunt seemed completely hell-bent on making sure that his academics made a complete 180 change and he was almost afraid of how rigorous of a professor she would be. He sighed softly and climbed the stairs up to his private quarters and almost drooled when he saw a big bundle of grapes sitting on a small kitchenette table. He nearly pounced on them and began popping them in his mouth as he looked around. The room was styled like a mini apartment with the living room and kitchen being one giant room that was section off by a wall divider. Down a short hallway and to the right was his bathroom, a smaller version of the bathroom in his actual bedroom and on the left was his bedroom. He walked over to his desk to find a mound of books neatly stacked and waiting for him. He noticed a great deal of the book from his first year at Hogwarts, those books were all stacked on top, but underneath those were about six to seven books that he'd never read before.

He grimaced softly. Getting caught up on the learning curve was going to kick his butt, he could just feel it. But, he meant what he said to his aunt moments ago. He was done being Dumbledore's pawn. He wouldn't be controlled and pulled around by the shriveled old bastard anymore. If Artemis had things to teach him then he would fight tooth and nail to absorb it all. He wasn't the brightest person he knew but he certainly wasn't stupid and he knew that he wasn't going to be upstaged and talked down to by Hermione anymore. He couldn't wait to see the look on her buck-toothed face when he knew something she didn't, or he knew something that she wasn't expecting him to know.

Yes, that would be worth it all. Or, perhaps he should continue to play dumb, keep them guessing. He had a lot to think about yet again. He sighed softly and drew himself yet another bath, pouring peppermint oil into the scolding hot water. He needed a few moments to just not think for a moment. His summer was definitely going to be full of it come tomorrow. Tonight, however, he would rest for the first time in a place that more than felt like home. It was home.

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Author's Notes: I think it's just because I'm tired, but oh my goodness, I am freaking exhausted after this chapter. I do enjoy how it turned out though. Harry is going through a tremendously rigorous change and feeling very uncertain yet determined, I like that. I think it shows a lot of the tenacity and endurance that he has in the original story. There's so much more to come and when Harry returns to "our" realm I will go back to putting dates to help readers keep up with the time line counting down to new Harry's grand debut back at Hogwarts!