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For disclaimer, acknowledgments and key features, please refer to Chapter 1.

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Transcendence

by oStilloDreamingo

Chapter 4 – Instructing and Instructions

Saturday, September 28th, 1996

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One of the benefits of having a familiar is that you have a constant ear willing to listen to every word you have to say. However, the said familiar in Harry's case had grown heartily tired of his mental whining and had slithered off into the forest to find herself some snake friends for trysting. Harry didn't mind; he knew that he was acting mulish. Sitting a couple of feet away from him before a fire was a palomino centaur carefully observing the flame and fumes with a practised eye for portents of the future. The sweet sharp tang of burnt sage and lavender hit his nose pleasantly.

"Aren't you going to start the club meeting, Harry?"

Harry turned to look into olive green eyes of Oliver Wood's baby sister, Vivian Wood. The petite Ravenclaw blushed and looked down at the charmed grass, drawing a smile from Harry. "No Vivian." Harry noticed that her glossy hair wasn't quite as dark a brown as Oliver's. "Not until you quiet down. I refuse to talk over you."

The eighteen students gathered on the floor of classroom eleven immediately began shushing each other. "Hush, Harry is waiting" or "Potter wants us to be quiet", the words were heard over and over again. After about five minutes of this, the class finally quieted down.

'Third years. Nine Slytherins and Nine Ravenclaws,' Harry counted. The two houses firmly divided, sat in clusters on either side of the charmed glade. 'Ten girls and eight boys.'

When Professor McGonagall had promised to provide practical DADA training en masse to the Hogwarts students, this was not how Harry had pictured it. The looks on each of their faces varied from cold apathy to giddy enthusiasm and quite a few were staring at Harry and Firenze with awe-struck fascination. Apparently the novelty of seeing a live centaur and a celebrity never quite wore off for some people.

"Welcome, to the first meeting of the Defence Association club. My name is Harry Potter, you will all address me as Harry. In here, we will all be on a first name basis only." A whispered conversation began, but was shushed immediately when Harry narrowed his eyes at the two giggling witches. Why were Ravenclaw witches so gossipy, Harry didn't know. Firenze continued to pretend to be blissfully unaware of his company.

"The student average for last year's Defense Against Dark Arts has been the highest in nearly two decades. Based on this, the Ministry in their infinite wisdom has adjusted the DADA curriculum such that from now on the DADA classes will be purely theoretical."

A chorus of "That is so unfair!" rose from the students. When Harry didn't say a word, the children caught on quickly and shut up.

"That's better. Please raise your hand if you have something to say," Harry said, giving them a tight smile. "The Hogwarts teaching staff have chosen to abide by the Ministry's decision with one exception. The DADA practical component will be reassigned to the newly created official student club, the 'Defence Association'. Eight non-prefect OWL graduates with an Outstanding in DADA were selected by Professor Gilbert Paramount to head the club meetings. The club will be dissolved once the Ministry lifts the ban from in-class practical DADA training, which our teachers are actively fighting for."

Harry paused, and this time no one spoke out of turn, although a couple raised their hands.

Harry pointed to a Slytherin curly haired blonde dark eyed wizard. "Please introduce yourself."

"Bailey Gray. Where are the third year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors? And why is Professor Firenze here?"

Harry nodded. "Good questions. Professor Firenze has generously offered his classroom for club meetings. He will remain in the background of the meetings and will only intercede if there is any breach in protocol by either the club members or the club leaders. My assignment is the third year Ravenclaws and Slytherins, that is you. Pansy Parkinson will be spearheading our counterpart, the third year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. They are up in the Divinations' classroom in the North tower, and are being supervised by Professor Trelawney. Any more questions?"

Vivian put up her hand. Harry pointed to her.

"Vivian Wood. You said that there will be eight club leaders? But doesn't that mean only four grades will be part of the club?"

Harry nodded. "Good observation, Vivian. Yes, first years will not be part of the club as they still do not have enough control over their magic to be able to perform well in a club like this with so little supervision. DADA is an elective course for sixth and seventh year students. They don't need to be specially instructed and are fully capable of learning and practising new spells on their own. Any more questions?"

Harry pointed to a blue eyed brunette Ravenclaw. "How often will the club meetings run?"

"Your name?"

"Benjamin Gaunt."

"Thank you, Benjamin. Our group will meet every Saturday and Sunday, from 10:45 to 13:15. We will have a half hour brunch break from 11:45 to 12:15. I will not tolerate tardiness. The door will be locked at ten minutes after the session begins at 10:55 and 12:25 respectively. Anyone who wants to be let in after that needs to get a signed permission slip from their Head of House as well as the DADA teacher. Next question."

Harry pointed to a gray eyed redhead Slytherin witch.

"Woodcroft. Morgan Woodcroft," she introduced herself with a firm emphasis on her family name. "What if we don't want to be here? What if we don't to be taught by 'Harry Potter'?"

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Firenze turn to regard the young witch. Harry knew who she was alright. She had to be the daughter of Gregory Woodcroft; Deputy Minister of International Magical Cooperation. Harry had come across the decorous man during the TriWizard Tournament, and knew that Minister Woodcroft did not care for him at all.

"Well, Morgan." Harry said, eyeing the uppity little witch. "You are free to leave, of course. However, keep in mind that you will not be allowed to join in with another club leader's group. Your attendance here is not mandatory, nor will I keep track of attendance. If any of you think that this club meeting is a waste of your time, the door is that way."

Morgan looked furious, but didn't make any move to leave the class. Firenze lost interest in her and returned to his divination.

"Any other questions?" The class remained silent. "Good. Please remember that I will also not tolerate any bullying or name calling. Any student caught doing such a thing will be promptly suspended from club meetings for three successive meets, and will be evicted from this room immediately. I am giving up my free time at the behest of the Professors, and am getting absolutely nothing as compensation. That gives me certain privileges and a lot of leeway in how I want to run the club. Today we will learn the shield charm specific for blocking magical attacks. The incantation for the shield charm is 'Protego'. Everyone say it."

"Protego." The class mumbled together.

"I couldn't hear you. What was that?"

"Protego!" the class shouted together.

"Don't shout or mumble. Say the word clearly and try to project your voice as far as you can without shouting. Protego."

"Protego." the students said again, some shouting, some mumbling, very few getting it right.

"Fair enough," Harry said, hiding his annoyance. Running the clandestine club last year had been easier as everyone had been from fourth year and above. Their wandwork and intonations were a good deal more developed than these neophytes.

"Alright, this is the wand movement." Harry said demonstrating. "Now copy, but don't use the incantation."

Harry cringed at the sloppy wandwork. He practised the twist, flick and snap with them for the next half hour, until he was sure that they had got it down correctly more or less. Harry then cast a shield and made it ridiculously large so that the students could see it better.

"This is what the shield looks like. Notice the concentric circles and the cross-hatching. You want to be able to visualize your shield. If you don't focus on the image, the shield will be slow to form and will not be able to withstand much stress. If you put too much power into it, the shield will shatter, and if you put too little, it will not form." Harry cast a smaller shield. "This is the size of the standard shield, and this is what you will be casting today. By the end of the hour, I want all of you to be able to at least manifest the shield, even if it is as weak as wet paper. Begin."

Harry went about the room, correcting the enunciation or wandwork of the students, one at a time. Oddly enough, the girls seemed to have a much better grasp of wandwork and intonation, while the boys seemed to be more adept at gauging power levels. Morgan, for all her attitude issues was a pretty well rounded little witch and was able to do both. By the end of the hour, most students were able to conjure the shield for three seconds, but were not able to hold it much longer.

"Alright, break for lunch." said Harry. "I won't allow food in here. Finish eating before you come back."

The students immediately bolted out the door; from fear, eagerness or hunger, Harry didn't know, nor did he care.

Harry snapped his fingers, summoning Dobby. The House-elf apparated in with a soft pop and handed Harry a tray with two turkey sandwiches and two glasses of orange juice. Harry made quick work of his lunch while Dobby brought in several feather mattresses from the storage room, which he laid out on the floor and then apparated out.

"You seem aggravated," Firenze observed quietly. He took the second sandwich off the platter and looked it over curiously. He took an experimental sniff before biting into it.

Harry snorted. "All of us club leaders were forcibly 'volunteered' by Dumbledore to head the meetings. I was selected because I was the highest scorer in DADA OWLs in our batch and not a prefect. The same applies to everyone else on the list." Harry passed the time sheet to Firenze who looked it over.

O—o—o—O

Second Years – 8:00 am to 10:30 am

Susan Bones (Hufflepuff; Sixth year) - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw - Trelawney

Anthony Goldstein (Ravenclaw, Sixth year) - Hufflepuff, Slytherin - Firenze

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Third Years – 10:45 am to 1:15 pm

Pansy Parkinson (Slytherin, Sixth year) - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff - Trelawney

Harry Potter (Gryffindor; Sixth year) - Ravenclaw, Slytherin - Firenze

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Fourth Years – 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm

Edward Summers (Hufflepuff; Seventh year) - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw - Trelawney

Melanie Chambers (Ravenclaw; Seventh year) - Hufflepuff, Slytherin - Firenze

O—o—o—O

Fifth Years – 4:15 pm to 6:45 pm

Timothy Rosier (Slytherin; Seventh year) - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff - Trelawney

Katie Bell (Gryffindor; Seventh year) - Ravenclaw, Slytherin - Firenze

O—o—o—O

"Katie is the captain on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and I am the Seeker. Ginny is a fifth year and is on the Quidditch team too. Which pretty much means that we will have to hold Quidditch practise sessions at night or early in the morning. It doesn't give us much time to practice. We will also be meeting on Wednesdays and practicing from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm."

"I too had been 'volunteered' to serve as club supervisor as had Sybil, I'm sure." A soft frown marred the centaur's temples before smoothing away. He handed Harry back the time sheet. "Neither of us had prior engagements, so we did not contest the issue. There is no conflict between your planned activities and the club meetings. What seems to be the problem?" He took another bite of the sandwich and seemed to have trouble deciding whether or not he liked turkey sandwiches.

"It's just that my schedule is getting so packed, there isn't much time for me to just relax!" Harry complained. "I was counting on weekends to do my self-study programs and study for my NEWT classes during the week. At this rate, I won't be able to rest until winter break!"

Firenze blinked slowly, and cocked his head to the side obviously not understanding how this could be a concern. Harry couldn't very well explain to the centaur that he needed the weekends to look after his bank account and his properties. He could not tell Firenze that the headmaster could not be trusted or that Harry had no adult wizards or witches outside of Hogwarts to rely on. Harry half suspected that this was Dumbledore's way of ensuring he knew exactly where Harry was at all times given that his Gryffindor signet ring rendered Harry untraceable.

The students began to trickle back in one by one, first looking around in confusion, and then settling down on the feather mattresses. Harry watched with some amusement as Firenze drank his orange juice with obvious relish. The centaur returned to his flame and tossed a handful of dried sage into it. At 12:24, the last two students hurtled through the doors and Harry charm locked the doors. Harry recognized them to be the two little Ravenclaws that were so fond of gossiping.

"We made it on time," the redhead gasped, and her raven haired friend nodded in vehement agreement.

"Actually, you are nine minutes late," Harry said crisply, making both Ravenclaws flinch. "You did not make it on time, but yes, you did make it in time before I locked the doors. Your names?"

"Sally Perks," said the redhead, and "Jennifer Whitby," said her friend.

"Well, Sally and Jennifer, try not to be late again."

"We won't!" they chorused smiling brightly. All they were missing were angel wings and a halo floating over their head. It was all very cute. Too bad Harry wasn't buying it.

Harry ignored the pounding on the door. A headcount revealed that there were only sixteen students in the class. It had to be two Ravenclaw boys, whose names Harry did not know. So much for the studious Ravenclaw archetype. Harry was gratified to hear an audible gulp from Benjamin and a nervous shuffle from the boy beside him. He was beginning to understand why McGonagall and Snape were so fond of intimidating their students. The power was heady.

"Everyone partner up; a Slytherin with a Ravenclaw if possible. Anyone that does not follow instructions will be asked to leave immediately. Move."

The students obediently scrambled to partner up. Morgan smirked and casually walked up to partner Jennifer, who was still gasping for air.

"The full body bind, 'Petrificus Totalus', is a second year curse, and the nullifier, 'Finite Incantem', is a first year charm. You should all know how to perform it. Show of hands of everybody who can perform the full body bind and the nullifier."

Everyone raised their hands.

"Good. Every pair, please move to stand between two mattresses. You will be taking turns casting the full body bind on each other, while the other person attempts to block the spell using the shield charm. If you succeed in binding your opponent, I fully expect you to use the nullifier within five seconds to free them. Anyone who fails to do so will be suspended from the next club meeting. Begin."

Thoroughly convinced that Harry meant business, the students followed instructions rigorously. Harry moved about the room, correcting wandwork and incantations as he went along. The most common issue was that the panicked witches and wizards used too much power in their shield, causing it to shatter. However, after being petrified a few times, they began to get the hang of the shield charm.

"Not bad Jared, but your wand movement on the flick is more of a swish. Make it sharper please. Yes, that's better."

Harry knew that by insisting on first names only, he was treading a fine line. While it was not mandatory, in wizarding culture it was customary to address one another by last name, restricting the use of first name to family members only. But Harry wasn't just a wizard, he was a muggle raised half-blood and he was not going to allow anyone to forget that. If anyone had issues with how he ran things, they could walk out on him if they liked. Hell, it would please him better if they fired him from the position all together, although he had little hope of that happening.

"Like I said before, do not shout the incantation. Speak it clearly and try to project. It will cost you less of a power drain. I know it is difficult when someone is tossing a body bind at you, but this is how it will be in any battle. You will have to learn to not shout your incantation no matter what the situation."

Harry continued to mill about the class, giving out praises, criticisms and pointers as needed. By the end of the hour, most of the class managed to not get hit by the full body bind three out of five times, although they were still shouting their incantations. Bad habits were hard to break.

"We will stop here today. Everyone did well, although your reaction times are still shoddy. I would advise all of you to take up some form of physical activity, it will help correct the issue. Tomorrow I will test each of your shields individually. If your spellwork meets my satisfaction, we will move onto elemental shields for blocking physical attacks. Look in your DADA textbook and read up the section on different types of shield charms; it is barely four pages long. I will not be covering theory, so if you have any questions, please see Professor Paramount during his office hours. Nevertheless, I will hold a question and answer session tomorrow during lunch. Dismissed."

The students scampered out, chatting excitedly about the new spell they had just learned. The Ravenclaw boys who had been waiting outside the door looked decidedly dejected at having missed out on the lesson. They gave Harry a sullen look, which he replied with a calm, "I did warn you, you know". They were dragged away by Sally and Jennifer who were by now completely terrified of Harry.

"You handled the class quite well," Firenze said, eyes still locked on the flame. It wasn't a compliment. He was just stating a fact. "I had to intercede on Mr Goldstein's behalf with his second year class. They did not get beyond introductions."

Dobby popped in, cleared out all the mattresses, and popped out.

"I have had a lot of practice last year dealing with people closer to my age who were a lot more averse to learning from me. I'd better be good." Harry replied, without any false modesty. Harry glanced sidelong at the centaur before hesitantly asking, "You will be stargazing by the lake tonight?"

Firenze looked up and gave Harry his slow flicker of a smile. "It will be cloudless tonight. That is where I shall be."

"Would it be okay if I joined you again? I would like to practice my transfiguration some more."

The stargazer looked distinctively amused. "And your suitors and admirers would keep their distance in my presence," he observed shrewdly.

Harry flushed just a bit. "Yeah, that too. I'm pretty sure Cho would have been a lot more forward if you weren't there. I can just lock myself in my room, but I want to be outside while I can before it starts snowing."

Harry knew that the centaur could read between the lines just fine, and thought that he looked grateful for the offer of companionship. The tone of his voice confirmed as much when Firenze next spoke. "I will await you," he murmured softly, turning his attention back to the flames as the fourth years student began trickling in.

Harry went to his room, grabbed his Potions supplies, and jumped out the window into the Herbology garden. He then began looking around for some Belladonna he could harvest.

:Pansssy Parkinssson isss crying from frussstration.: Isis informed him, apparating into the garden. :The Gryffindorsss and Hufflepuffsss don't ressspect her. SSShe intendsss to ssspeak with SSSnape and have herssself replaccced.:

:When did you come back, Isis?:

:I came back while you were ssspeaking with the cccentaur. I overheard Parkinssson ssspeaking with Sssnape on the way here. From their wordsss I gathered that Parkinssson will sssoon be replaccced. Ssshe had great difficulty controlling her classs, and Trelawney had to intercccede on her behalf ssseveral timesss.:

:Not really a surprise considering that she bullied them openly last year as part of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad. She will have to be replaced by another Slytherin girl in sixth year. I noticed that the list was made selecting a boy and a girl from each House, one in sixth year and another in seventh.: Harry said, scanning through the thick growth for the shrub.

He could see a couple of post-OWL students here and there, harvesting plants that they needed. Harry could see Neville further away repotting some plants with Professor Sprout. He gave Harry a grin and wave which Harry returned.

:Tracey Davis is a prefect and Millicent Bullstrode was also on the Inquisitorial Squad. It will have to be Daphne Greengrass. She is the only other female non-prefect Slytherin sixth year who was not part of the squad. Hopefully she scored an Outstanding. Not that you need to be all that good to teach third year DADA.:

:There isss sssome Belladonna thisss way.: Isis said, slithering ahead of Harry.

:Thanks, Isis.: Harry stooped down and began snipping away mature blossoms. He collected the blossoms in a paper bag. Once he had gathered enough Belladonna, Harry moved on to other plants that he needed, Isis guiding him to each in turn by scent. Not knowing when he would next have time to harvest ingredients for potions, Harry worked away until it was almost seven, after which he changed into Quidditch gear and made his way down to the Quidditch Stadium.

"Any luck finding new players?" Harry asked sitting down on the bleachers beside Katie Bell. There were hopefuls flying in the sky on broomsticks. The Keeper hopefuls were guarding the hoops with Chaser hopefuls passing the Quaffle back and forth as they tried to score. The Beater hopefuls were swinging their bats at the Bludgers with all the force they could muster, although deliberately not aiming at any players. The only position no one was trying out for was the Seeker. Just about anyone and everyone knew that there was just no beating Harry Potter when it came to his flying abilities.

"Absolutely no one is spectacular, that's for sure. Pretty much everyone is a decent flyer," Katie, their team captain looked dispirited. "Ginny agreed to step down from her Seeker position. She will replace Angelina as the second Outside Chaser after me. That makes you the Seeker, Harry. Ron will continue this year as the Keeper. We still need a Centre Chaser and a pair of Beaters. We also need an entire reserve team as pretty much all of them have either graduated or have quit the team."

"What about her?" Ron asked, pointing to an olive-skinned girl with hair done in minuscule braids pulled back into a tail. "She's looks like a pretty good flyer, and she has good aim too."

"That's third year Rosalind Hawkins," Ginny supplied. "Average student, something of a loner. She's friendly enough, but doesn't really hang out with anyone in particular."

"The Creevey brothers have good teamwork, but they don't have the strength to hit the Bludger hard enough. Same with Jimmy Peakes," Harry observed. "They'd make good Chasers, but Rosalind flies better I think."

"Cormac is trying out for Keeper. He isn't half bad, but he isn't all that good either. I think he'll make an okay Beater," Ginny observed from beside Katie, eyeing her current boyfriend critically.

"Those two are pretty good flyers, and they are pretty bulky," Katie gestured towards a brunette and a dirty blonde wizard. "I've seen them hanging out together a couple of times."

"Fourth years, Sylvester Hooper and Randy Heathcliff, yes they are good friends. Almost brothers, even though one is a pureblood and the other is a muggle-born." Evidently Ginny kept up with all the gossip in the Gryffindor Common room.

"I like Rosalind for Chaser, and the Creevey brothers as Chaser reserves," Katie said, ticking off names and positions on a piece of paper. "Sylvester and Randy would make good Beaters. They can build good tag teaming skills off of their friendship. Cormac can be reserve Keeper. You will be team captain next year, Harry. What do you think?"

--

Gryffindor Quidditch Team

Seeker: Harry Potter; sixth year (returning after a year's absence, Deputy Captain)

Keeper: Ron Weasley, sixth year (returning)

Chaser: Katie Bell, seventh year (returning, Captain)

Chaser: Ginny Weasley; fifth year (former Seeker, returning as Chaser)

Chaser: Rosalind Hawkins (new)

Beater: Randy Heathcliff; fourth year (new)

Beater: Sylvester Hooper; fourth year (new)

--

Reserve Team

Seeker: ???

Keeper: Cormac McLaggen, seventh year (new)

Chaser: Colin Creevey; fifth year (new)

Chaser: Dennis Creevey; third year (new)

Chaser: Jimmy Peakes; fifth year (new)

Beater: ???

Beater: ???

--

Harry took a look at the list Katie had made. "I like most of it, except for Cormac. He is a seventh year, and will be graduating. If we take him, we will have to hold tryouts for reserve positions next year, and I don't think anyone will turn up for that. We also need reserve Beaters and a Seeker."

Katie scrunched her nose prettily. "Good point. No one will want to try out to just be sitting on the bench for the year." She looked up and and scanned the sky. " I don't see any flyer good enough to be reserve Seeker, so I guess Ginny will have to fill in if you get injured. What about that guy over there?"

"Third year muggle-born, Owen Jones," Ginny rattled off. "You wouldn't know looking at him would you? He's pretty broad shouldered. Nice guy but not very good looking. He gets teased a lot."

"He's not very good at chess either," added Ron.

"Pretty good flyer, and he's strong too, I like him for reserve Keeper," said Harry.

"We still need two more people as reserve Beaters," Katie pointed out, striking out Cormac, putting down Owen in his place.

"What about those two girls?" Harry asked, pointed to to girls who looked like they could have been working on a farm.

Ginny snorted. "Fifth years, Demelza Robbins and Jill Sloper. Country girls and half-bloods, both of them. No one likes them," she said snootily. "They like each other, lucky for them."

"They're good flyers. I like them for reserve Beaters," Harry said, not liking Ginny's attitude. It reminded him too much of Parvati and Lavender when they spoke of Hermione. Hermione was not lucky enough to have a like minded friend in the girls' dorm, which was why she rented her own suite this year.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Ginny said, casting a dark glare at the two girls.

"Well I am captain, and Harry will be captain next year. So it is decided then, Demelza and Jill as reserve Beaters?" Katie said, also not liking Ginny's tone.

"I guess so," Harry said, rising to his feet, turning to look at Ron, who avoided his gaze. "Still sulking, Ron. I told you I will not apologize. You should have come to the forest to collect the ingredients with us."

Sixth and seventh years were fully expected to forage for potion ingredients in the forest by themselves. They would not be spoon-fed prepared ingredients as they were in their pre-OWL years, which was why Harry and Hermione had painstakingly gathered Hellebore blossoms from the Forbidden forest, Wednesday night. They had invited Ron to come along as well, but the redhead had refused, choosing to instead play chess in the common room with younger years. Just yesterday (which was Friday) during Potions class, Ron had asked Harry and Hermione to share the blossoms they had gathered. Unfortunately for him, the two of them had gathered just enough for themselves, so when Ron asked them to share the ingredients in Potions class, they had both refused. Snape took the opportunity to rain humiliation on the lazy Weasley.

"How could you be so selfish?" Ron snarled. "You knew I didn't go to the forest, why couldn't you have gathered some for me as well."

"Selfish, Ron? You wanted me and Hermione to give up our ingredients and fail with you and you call us selfish?" Harry asked frigidly. He felt Isis's cool soothing magic wash over his soul, stemming his anger a little.

:Watch your words, my Provider. Do not let anger rule you.: she hissed into his mind.

Harry deliberately made his voice calmer and warmer, although he did not believe Ron deserved the allowance. "You were the one that chose not to go the forest with us to collect blossoms. Hermione and I are done pulling your weight, Ron. If you can't handle Potions class or are afraid to go into the forest, then you should just drop the class."

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Ron declared, flushing angrily.

"Except spiders." Ginny muttered under her breath. Ron overheard her and gave her a filthy look.

"You're stinking rich, Harry. Why don't you just buy us the ingredients, already prepared. That way we don't have to work as much!"

"Ron, I may be rich, but I refuse to spend a single knut on you."

:Walk away, Harry. Your memoriesss tell me that Ron cannot be reasssoned with onccce he becomesss defensssive.:

:Thanks, Isis. Good idea.: Harry turned to Katie. "Seekers don't need to train with the team. Is it okay if I leave?"

Katie cast a worried glance between Ron and Harry. "I guess it's fine, but please be here tomorrow. The team needs you. Here's the list of people we agreed on." She gave Harry the updated list.

--

Gryffindor Quidditch Team

Seeker: Harry Potter; sixth year (returning after a year's absence, Deputy Captain)

Keeper: Ron Weasley, sixth year (returning)

Chaser: Katie Bell, seventh year (returning, Captain)

Chaser: Ginny Weasley; fifth year (former Seeker, returning as Chaser)

Chaser: Rosalind Hawkins (new)

Beater: Randy Heathcliff; fourth year (new)

Beater: Sylvester Hooper; fourth year (new)

--

Reserve Team

Seeker: Ginny Weasley; fifth year (current Chaser)

Keeper: Owen Jones; third year (new)

Chaser: Colin Creevey; fifth year (new)

Chaser: Dennis Creevey; third year (new)

Chaser: Jimmy Peakes; fifth year (new)

Beater: Demelza Robbins; fifth year (new)

Beater: Jill Sloper; fifth year (new)

--

"I guess it's good," Harry said, handing Katie back the list. "Yeah, see you tomorrow, same time. Bye, Katie, Ginny, Ron." Harry heard the girls call good-bye to him as he stalked off. Once in his room, he angrily pulled off his Quidditch gear and threw it to the floor.

Dobby apparated in, looking concerned.

"Can Dobby be helping Master Harry Potter sir?" he asked, handing Harry a pair of dress slacks and a black silk shirt.

"Yes, Dobby, you will not answer to anyone but me! If Ron wants something he can bloody go get it himself!" Harry noticed Dobby cringing in fear. He took a deep calming breath. "Dobby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. It's just that Ron has been dancing on my last nerve."

"Wheezy, not good friend of Harry Potter?" Dobby asked curiously.

:He isss much too ssself-cccentred to be a good friend to anyone.: Isis observed dispassionately.

:He's not that bad!: Harry instinctively rose to defend Ron. Isis gave him a look that plainly said, 'oh really, is that so?'

:I have already asssimilated your memoriesss sssince your eighth birthday, and I have looked through all of your interactionsss with the Weasssley family. It all ssseemsss very sssuspiccciousss.:

Harry pulled on the slacks and the shirt. :What do you mean, Isis? Show me.:

Isis obliged and moved the memory of the day Harry first boarded the Hogwarts Express before his Inner eye. It was a strange sensation, not dissimilar to falling into a pensieve, except you viewed everything in first person instead of from an outsider's perspective.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"— packed with Muggles, of course —"

Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an owl.

:That is strange...: Harry conceded thoughtfully. :Mrs Weasley sent five children to Hogwarts before Ron, and she went to Hogwarts herself. How could she possibly forget the platform number, and why was she talking about muggles out loud? Also, why didn't Dumbledore provide any instructions on how to board the train?:

:There isss more.: Isis pushed another memory to the front of Harry's mind.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry could see what was strange about that memory as well. The Hogwarts Express was enormous, as it had originally been designed to carry the magical child, both their parents and possibly a sibling (paraphrased from Hogwarts: A History). There was just no way that there weren't any empty compartments on the train.

:Why would he say that the train was full? Luna had a compartment to herself this year.: Harry remembered what happened next without Isis's help.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

Harry nodded.

"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…"

He pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.

:He wanted to be sitting in the same damn compartment as the Boy-Who-Lived.: Harry hissed angrily, putting two and two together. :He wanted to have bragging rights as the kid who got to show the celebrity around Hogwarts!:

Dobby tried to help button up his shirt, but Harry brushed his hands away. "I can do that myself, Dobby."

Isis nodded. :The trend continuesss. I have ssstudied your memoriesss closssely, and it looksss like Ron deliberately isssolated you from everyone in the cassstle. He made sssure that he wasss your closssessst friend. Hermione wasss allowed to be your friend asss a homework helper. I have looked into your memoriesss, Provider, and all I sssee isss Ron ssstaying by your ssside in good timesss and abandoning you every time thingsss got rough. He hasss no ressspect for your wishesss, and feelsss that asss your 'bessst friend' he hasss rightsss to your wealth. Asss your familiar, it isss my duty to advissse you to let him go.:

Isis fell silent, letting Harry mull over her words. She slithered over and wrapped around Harry's waist, wishing not for the first time that she had limbs. Snakes were not made to comfort.

:Isis, I can't let him go, just like that.: Harry said, sounding shaken. :We've been friends for years!:

:You can alwaysss make new friendsss.: Isis pointed out reasonably. :My adviccce ssstandsss. You needn't follow it if you do not wish to.

:I need to think about this some more.:

:Of courssse. I'm alwaysss here for you.:

"Dobby is sorry to be interrupting Master Harry's conversation with familiar, but Master Harry is needing to go to Gringotts."

"Really, why?" Harry asked, finally noticing that Dobby had handed him formal clothes.

"Dobby not knowing why, only that Master needs to be going," the House-elf said solemnly.

Harry put on the black socks, shoes and gloves the House-elf handed him, and let Dobby slip in the emerald cufflinks onto his cuffs and tie the green silk tie about his neck. Harry slipped on a black formal robe that had leaves embroidered into it in green and silver and let Isis settle firmly about his waist.

"I'm ready. Dobby, could you apparate me to Gringotts?" The words were barely out of his mouth when Harry found himself standing before Griphook inside his office.

"We do not have an appointment, Mr Potter," Griphook said, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening as he scanned his day planner.

"We don't, but Dobby insisted that we needed to see each other. Should I book an appointment and then come back again?"

"No need. I was actually going send you a letter, requesting your presence at Gringotts. This saves me the trouble, although I do need a little time to gather some documents."

Harry nodded at Dobby, who took it to be his dismissal and apparated out. "Why did you need to see me?" Harry asked curtly. Goblins did not appreciate exchanging pleasantries, Harry had picked up as much from his few encounters with them.

"We must visit your properties and reset the wards to your magical signature. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place has already been taken care of, but you still need to visit Godric's Hollow and Potter Estate. If you do not visit any of your properties within three months of coming of age, they will become property of the Ministry of Magic."

"But isn't Godric's Hollow under a fidelius charm?"

Griphook chuckled. "It is not a very well known fact that the fidelius only affects those with human blood in their veins. It will not stop goblins. Have you learned to apparate yet, Mr Potter?" Harry shook his head in the negative. "Very well, I will apparate you to the Ministry. You will need to take twelve lessons, each an hour long in duration to be proficient. Why don't you complete a session, meanwhile I will gather all necessary paperwork. Is that suitable, Mr Potter?"

"Sure, why not." Harry agreed, understanding the reasoning. It was 7:30-ish now, and the Ministry office will close at 10:00 for the night, whereas Gringotts stayed open 24/7. Harry knew this from the stack of ministry pamphlets Hermione had provided him with.

Griphook apparated Harry to the Ministry where Harry got prompt service (one of the very few perks of being a celebrity). A frail albino wizard, whose name Harry learned was Wilkie Twycross was to be his instructor.

"Generally the Ministry sends an instructor to Hogwarts to teach seventh years how to apparate, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't learn it early," said the man, his pale red eyes focused on Harry with hawklike intensity. "The important things to remember when apparating are the three Ds! Destination, Determination, Deliberation! Are you with me so far, Mr Potter?"

Harry nodded.

"Very good, please step into this hoop. Put away your wand, Mr Potter, It will not be of any use to you."

Harry slipped his wand into the thigh holster. Isis slithered off under the cover of a Notice-Me-Not charm and hid behind a desk.

"Excellent. Step one: fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination. In this case, the interior of the next hoop before you. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

"Step two, focus your determination to occupy the visualized space. Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body! Focus is crucial."

:Like thisss.: Isis showed him how to focus. She knew as she apparated all the time. :Yesss, tighten your focusss like we did in Occlumencccy training. More, yesss that'sss better. Don't creassse your forehead so. It doesss nothing to better your concccentration. In fact, the more relaxed your body, the better. Breath deeply and focusss on your body... and your clothesss... shoesss... wand... Ah... everything you are carrying. You don't want to leave thossse behind. SSSilly humansss. Make sssure that you have a complete image of your body.:

"Step three, and only when I give the command jump on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation. On my command... Now!"

The command came sharp as a gunshot and Harry instinctively jumped on the spot, but nothing happened.

:You lossst the desssire to move to the hoop. Try again. It is very important to focusss on all three assspectsss; ssself, dessstination and desssire. Never mind your ssstupid human inssstructor. Three Dsss indeed!:

"No one ever gets it right the first time. Be thankful that you didn't get splinched," the albino wizard said dryly. "Don't worry, we have healers on stand by. Let's try again. Step #1..."

Harry tuned out the wizard. Isis's instructions made more sense anyway. What exactly was it with wizards and half-assed explanations?

:Jump when the idiot wantsss you to. Now focusss on the hoop. Imagine yourssself ssstanding there, fully clothed with all of your organsss intact and in no pain. It shouldn't be too difficult. Do not attempt to move until you have your image complete.:

Harry hopped on the spot when he heard Twycross command him to.

:Breath deeply. When you are 'in-between' the air will be forced out of your lungsss. You need to have breathed in before the jump. Good, now breath out.:

Harry jumped again, and the albino wizard sighed.

:Good, now you have the image of ssself and dessstination. Now fuel yourself with the desssire to be at your dessstination. When the human fool barksss again, take a ssstep forward, move as you normally would. You should find yourssself at the dessstination. Now!:

Isis and Twycross's command came simultaneously and Harry took a step forward. His vision swam momentarily and the air was forced out of his lungs. When Harry's vision and breath was restored, he was surprised to find himself in the hoop ten feet before him.

:There isss no need for sssurprise. I am an excccellent teacher.: Isis preened. :You should be feeling a little drained of power. Oooh I found two more Dsss! Dissstanccce and Drainage. The farther you apparate, the greater your power drainage.:

Twycross was doing a fabulous impersonation of a goldfish.

"That was very good!" Twycross said, sounding and looking impressed. "Let's try that again, now to the hoop twenty feet to your left."

Harry let Isis guide him through the steps. He took nearly five minutes to focus and then apparated successfully.

"Excellent! Very Good! Magnifique! Fantastique!" The wizard crowed in delight. Evidently the man was part French or thought a little too highly of himself. "Again to that that hoop!"

Harry kept jumping hoops as requested until he was able to cut his focusing time to a minute.

"Get your time down to five seconds, and you will be licensed to apparate unsupervised, Mr Potter. Truly astonishing!" the wizard gushed. His translucent skin was flushed a bright pink that was painful to look at. "Never in my life have I had a student pick this up so quickly. Have you had training before this, Mr Potter?"

"No, this is my first time apparating by myself," Harry said honestly. He resolved to find a book that explained apparating properly (There had to be one out there!) and give it to Hermione as a Christmas gift. Harry extended his hand for a farewell handshake. The book on wizarding traditions insisted upon it. He felt Isis climb onto him and once again settle about his waist.

"You have the makings of a great wizard, Mr Potter!" Twycross pumped Harry's hand enthusiastically.

"Thanks, but I have go. Appointments to keep." Harry walked off as fast as he could without bolting. He staved off the temptation to apparate all the way to Gringotts. Instead flagged the Knight bus, which dropped him in front of the bank for a sickle and sixteen knuts.

Griphook came out to meet him. "You have used portkeys before?" Harry nodded. "Good, your Potter signet ring is a portkey. Tap it with your wand and say the name of the property you wish to visit first."

Harry tapped the holder ring with his wand and said, "Godric's Hollow."

Harry felt the truly disgusting sensation of a hook being pulled behind his navel that marked the use of a portkey. The world spun in technicolor for a few moments. When the world had righted itself again, Harry found himself standing before a crib. The very faint sickeningly sweet aroma of rotting flesh hit his sensitive nose.

"I had not known, Mr Potter," Griphook said gravely. "Please accept my apologies."

When Harry turned around, he blanched at the sight and felt his knees buckle. As he lost consciousness, Harry was distantly aware that the goblin had caught his body and was gently lowering it to the floor of his childhood nursery.

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Author Note (I know, it is a bit long):

This is likely going to be my last update until Christmas. I have exams and term papers looming over my head, so I won't be able to give much time to my creative writing. I will likely attempt to sneak in a page or two every now and then.

I have had many people ask me if this is going to be a romantic story between Harry and Firenze. The answer is that it will be a friendship story that may be interpreted by some as pre-slash. That being said, there will be references to slash and het pairings in the story, so those who have an issue with slash had best not keep up with this piece (or any of my works for that matter).

Another question that had come up surprisingly was that will this be an HPSS? The answer to that is a firm NO. I have read virtually every worthwhile HPSS fic this site has to offer, and I don't believe that I would be able to whip up something truly original, given that practically every aspect of the relationship has been thoroughly explored already.

On another note, some have asked me if this fic will involve Lily cheating on James in some form? Well, the answer is... maybe. I mean when you say "cheating on James", it implies that they have a solid relationship with each other and that both individuals involved are strictly monogamous. Please understand that Harry was born during peak war time. During high stress times like those, people do not have to be strictly in love to want to go about repopulating the world.

A complaint I have had from readers in regards to the revamp was that they liked the previous version of the tea scene involving Harry and Severus. Unfortunately it had to go (I adored it myself). It created an unreasonably fast bonding between Harry and Severus, and that played havoc with my story line and made Isis's character almost superfluous.

I'm glad a couple of you enjoyed the scene between Cho and Harry. From the canon pre-HBP, it doesn't look like Harry has developed any finesse dealing with admirers, although he is always able to identify them easily enough. I simply expanded upon it.

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Reviews to an author is like wind to the sails, blood to a vampire, gothic romances to a house-wife... you get the picture...

So people, if you like my story, please do review. If you don't like it, please tell me why? Constructive criticisms make for a better author.

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