Review Replies for Chapter 3:

Replying to Sammy-Jay Potter: I'm glad you thought my theories were ok! The vow just felt right to put in, and for Harry made the part of neither can live while the other survives make a LOT more sense! That will be one of the keys for this story- as long as voldemort is out there Harry will always have to focus on the war.

Hermione- I give you my word that she will be extremely important later in the story, however she won't be doing much until Harry gets back to school. I'm truly sorry about this but it has to be done for Harry to progress and focus.

Curse breaking- oh yeah Harry will be like a tactical nuke when it comes to wards, but remember complex magic is now impossible for him, so he really just can use sheer force of will.

Oh Molly will give Albus an earful, not sure I'll put it in the story though, but Moody… ok I cannot thank you enough for pointing out how much Moody would object, as soon as I read this review I went back in my rough draft of chapter 5 and added it in cause it will be good plot wise. Moody and Harry will become pretty close during the war- they both feel bound to it and Harry needs people like Moody if he is going to win.

Harry will be an animagi! In fact in chapter 3 you guys got a sneak peek at his form!

Tonks will be in there as well. Remember harry will be spending a lot more time with adults in the order than the idiots at school who abandoned him.

Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Replying to Son of Whitebeard: Umbridge will be in this story, in fact I plan on her and Harry clashing more than in canon. If she is willing to sentence an innocent child to a fate worse than death(AKA the dementor's kiss), then what would she be capable of as long as she thinks she can get away with it? She will definitely be teaching though I don't know how long I will keep her.

Thanks for reviewing, I hope you'll enjoy the story!

Replying to Tyler'sPrincess: thanks for the encouragement! I'm trying to go in a direction never taken before so hopefully it'll work out. Harry will not be lonely because he will be with Sirius! Sirius is the kind of company Harry can truly flourish with, I mean Ron and Hermione will always be his best mates but they just don't have the maturity and influence to bring Harry to his best.

Daphne im afraid is out of the question now be susan is definitely a possibility!

Replying to Lazymanjones96: I will try to keep it interesting, once we get past all the training during the summer things will be quite exciting! Need ideas for what kind of conflicts harry will be involved in throughout the war!

I hope this chapter sets up more to look forward to!

Replying to UnscrewedUp: thanks for reviewing so faithfully! When my entire chapter deleted itself i went through the five stages of grief over the course of 90 minutes, then decided I would try to rebuild it from memory. Didnt work out to well but it was acceptable.

Ok, your right I am pushing myself a bit too much, Im trying to step back and lay down the railroad tracks ahead of the train plotwise before setting up the detailed chapter town stops(ok bad analogy but you get the point).

I am not sure about releasing shorter chapters, I mean I could flush out the plot easier and write perhaps better quality but don't people hate short chapters for some reason? The time turner if it is used will not be a mess.

The DA coins- well I think that Harry will feel that the message patronus is too seeable by the enemy on stealth missions and will rectify that. On another note, should the DA still happen in the story?

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Replying to Queen-Akers: daphne is out of the question at the moment but ginny is still quite possible! Keep in mind that the pairing is not the focus of the story either.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!


Chapter 4: Year Ends, New Life Begins

June 27th - July 3rd

That morning Dobby gave Harry a note from the Headmaster saying that he had no time for lessons that day due to Wizengamot business but to practice as he would expect significant progress in his wandless and occlumency skills on Monday. Harry still had the overly enthusiastic house-elf take him to the same spot from yesterday for exercises though.

Returning to the Great Hall for breakfast Harry saw that several other Gryffindors besides those in his dorm were already looking at him worriedly. Harry bet that the news of his horrible scarring and nightmares would be known to everyone in the castle by the end of the day. Not that he would care, of course, though what the the awful Skeeter bitch might do with it he shuddered to think of.

Finishing his breakfast he once again snuck his way to the Room of Requirement, and set up his own schedule for working, and since he would not be stopping for lunch he would have Dobby bring him some food later. He decided to start with two charms he had found in a defensive book in the room that should work well for him; the rope-binding spell and the arrow conjuring spell.

Shockingly, it took Harry only a few minutes to master both of them. It seemed Albus' theory was correct; for now he set the goal of mastering them wandlessly and nonverbally by the end of the day. About three hours in, a couple of bound and pincushioned dummies later, and Harry had finished his task. Realizing it was still only 12:30 he had Dobby bring him some lunch.

Harry also read while eating about a silencing spell he could put around a determined area, and grimly decided to keep it around his bed at night.

After the food break Harry spent another hour working on his accuracy against the moving dummy targets, and while doing better than when he started it would still take months at this rate to have flawless aim. Harry took a quick shower in the room and headed to a corner. Still, he mused as a fluffy armchair materialized for him and the towel he had been rubbing his face with vanished in mid-throw, I learned those other spells wandlessly and nonverbally in hours, it would have taken months at least according to Albus for others, especially of my age, to do so. But failure will not be an option for me; if magic is all about willpower, then I will myself to succeed!

Although Harry wanted to continue practicing, he knew that his occlumency shields were a bigger priority, and he while practicing with Albus and Sirius would be much more efficient, working on his mental defenses would be done best alone. So for the duration of the afternoon Harry completed grouping all the important memories inside a the globe, and although it wasn't a perfectly spherical defense and quite thin, it was a start nonetheless.

Harry finished the day with the rest of the school but refused to tell his friends where he had been, and Harry was confident the 'needing some time alone to think things through' defence would be enough of an excuse to lower their suspicions.


Harry arrived Monday morning to find a tired and weary Headmaster.

"Tough day yesterday?" Harry enquired as the old man turned and smiled wearily to his pupil. "Indeed it was. Fudge is impeding our efforts at every step to spread the word, and many with significant connections to me have reported that already they are being discreetly tailed. And you can guess who gets to look through their reports and has the ear of the minister."

"Malfoy," Harry said distastefully, his worst fears confirmed. "So I'm guessing sending an emissary to the vampire clans will be almost impossible now?"

"Spot on," replied Albus. "Though Hagrid and Madame Maxime, who will leave on Saturday, have a plan to reach the giants by muggle means in little over a month, which is at least some good news, as well as a solid cover story for their upcoming trip. Now," he added, "Lets see how far you can run today, shall we?" Harry grumbled but started running, going a full quarter mile farther than before, and did twelve push-ups and twenty eight sit-ups that day. Albus and Harry picked up with his wandless magic again, but the professor forbid Harry to use any wandless or wanded elemental spells, so as not to interfere with when they started his elemental training. When Harry asked why that would mess it up, Albus told him that some elemental spells would in fact be helpful for him, but most of them produce their elements in a way that contradicts how elemental magic works. Harry didn't entirely understand, but nodded his assent.

The entire time was spent helping Harry to truly feel his magic, the difference between leaving his wand and hand, how different spells felt, and not wasting any power when casting. The goal was to make Harry's wandless magic so normal he could do it without needing to concentrate on it, as in a duel he would have to have all his focus on the opponent. Albus also commented that feeling the magic in his body would be helpful once they began magical enhancement training. They made good progress and Albus demonstrated several spells that he wanted Harry to master by the following day. He truly is an incredible boy, Albus wondered as Harry left first this time. Severus would think me insane to expect a child, especially the son of James, to master something like a wandless bone-breaker. Them again, I'm sure he thinks I've already lost my marbles offering him lemon drops again and again for decades, so no loss there.

The Slytherin within Albus urged him to make some bets with Severus about what Harry could master and profit off of it; this the Headmaster decided warranted some thinking.


That night's Occlumency lesson had some real progress, as Albus promised Harry that if he continued to strengthen his defences at this rate that by the end of the summer he might actually keep him out, and that on Thursday he would teach Harry to organize the inner memories. During the lesson Albus and Harry talked about the order and several of the old crowd likely to return, and Albus would a random moments try to slip through Harry's defences without him noticing. His only homework was to continue with building more resistance and be ready for a lot of physical work tomorrow, and were putting his lessons on temporary hold. This confused Harry, since Sirius was the one who would be the teacher for that, but decided not to ask as Albus had that disturbing twinkle back again.

Just as Harry was about to exit, he heard him call out. "Harry, I have heard rumors you are suffering nightmares after your ordeal. Is there… anything I can do to help?"

Harry looked at the Headmaster, whose eyes shone with true concern."I don't think so sir… is there any way to stop them with occlumency?" He asked hopefully.

"Meditating before bed does have an effect on your nightmares, it is true, but that will likely not be enough for the next few weeks to completely stop them as the event is too fresh. If you need someone to speak to, I and Sirius will be there for you." Harry nodded at the genuinity on his face, and closed the door, not sure what to do with that feeling those words had generated. Perhaps that is what a parent does, he mused.

As Harry closed the door, Albus took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Fawkes trilled a comforting note, and and the ancient wizard looked at the bird gratefully.

"Thank you, Fawkes. I just hope it's not too late to be there for Harry. Undoing the damage is… difficult, and I'm beyond thankful he has given me a second chance."


Harry found out just what was going on as the moment he arrived he was once again tackled by a Grim Tuesday morning.

"Good mor- ow ow aggghhhtthth!"

After Sirius let him up and transformed into a man with that barking laugh of his, Albus re-assured a worried Harry that they would not be here at all if there was even the smallest chance of them being spotted.

Harry, feeling a bit humiliated, wandlessly banished all the dog slobber on him into Sirius' face. The Marauder stood stock still in shock for a moment before laughing and clapped Harry on the back, proclaiming "There's hope for you yet Prongslet!" However, Sirius also gave him a wicked grin that promised retribution.

Over the next couple hours Harry learned just what retribution Sirius had in mind; he had never felt so worked out and cramped before. Mercifully, Albus showed the lad a spell that un-knotted the muscles, but he still had Dobby take him to the Room of Requirement for a covert shower.

As Harry could barely move still, he had no choice but to spend most of the day in the Room meditating, and watching with conflicted emotions on the Marauder's Map as Ron and Hermione began to search for him as class ended. He spent the rest of the day hanging out with them, partially to avert suspicion, but also out of nostalgia for their previous camaraderie. But the playful banter was absent this time as they sat by the lake; there was more or less an awkward silence between them, as they were waiting for some sign, some word, of what was going on outside of Hogwarts - at least Ron and Hermione were. Harry was using every bit of time he could get to continue thickening his shield, so whenever someone asked him a question he usually would have to have them repeat it. His friends noticed, but unusually did not comment.

That night when Harry entered the room Albus said, "I think it time for me to see how strong your mental defences would be with a more realistic assault. Up until now I have merely been giving you light pokes and accessing memories that have little meaning; but your performance last night indicates that you are now beyond that." Indeed, other than fixing a couple holes, the headmaster had been unable to access anything with subtle probing, even during conversation, which Albus facilitated to get him in the habit of protecting his mind at all times.

"Now, I will attack with one fourth of what I am capable of in starting, and once you can repel that also when distracted I will increase the power. However, that will likely not be for at least a week so you do not have to worry about that. Remember, I what you will see won't be pleasant." Albus gave Harry enough time to prepare, then whispered, "legilimens."

Instantly Harry felt something slam into his shielding and pierce it like a pencil through paper. The office swam in front of his eyes as he staggered and vanished altogether, image after image was racing through his mind so fast he had trouble responding….

He was six, watching himself spill soup he was cooking, and felt his face being pressed against the heated stove…. He was nine, and Ripper the bulldog was chasing him up a tree and the Dursleys were laughing below on the lawn…. A hundred dementors closed in on he and Sirius…. I fail and Sirius really will die, Harry thought, and with all his strength forced Albus from his mind. Abruptly the visions stopped and Harry grabbed a bookshelf until the dizziness passed. When his sight was back to normal he looked at the old headmaster who had a pleased but taut expression on his face.

"Very good, Harry," he praised, "few could have resisted such an attack on their first time. Tell me when you are ready to go again." Although he had a cheery voice, Harry had spent enough time with the man to sense the underlying tension, and thought he knew why.

"Can you see everything I do?" Harry asked tentatively. The professor nodded.

"I can," he answered wearily. At what age, exactly, did you begin to cook for the Dursleys?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I began when I was four, and in that memory I think I was six?" Albus seemed even older than usual, and did not respond. Harry wondered if perhaps watching it was harder for the man than himself.

As before, Harry let go of all conscious thought, simply floating in a sea of love… he nodded to Albus, who raised his wand.

"Legilimens!"

This time Harry was a little more successful at holding Albus out and keeping his mind devoid of all thoughts, but slowly and surely he started to slide in like a knife through butter-" Instantly Harry allowed himself to be distracted and Albus clung to that thought about knives and shattered all of Harry's remaining resistance.

Harry was eight and was running from a gang with huge knives… Wormtail was taking his blood in the graveyard… The Fiendfyre knife burning Harry's very soul as Voldemort laughed in glee…. No! He thought in hate and terror, imagining a steel door slamming shut between him and Albus. His teacher hastily cast a shield around the office which barely held as a magical wave emanated from Harry, but in the chaos the connection reversed from the push, and suddenly he was seeing memories that weren't his own….

Albus was 10, and had been thrown against the wall by one of his sister's fits when his mother stepped between them…. 1980, Albus was facing off with Voldemort at the entrance to magical Birmingham as he watched a muggle die under his former pupil's foot…. It was 1945, Albus was chasing the fleeing Grindelwald through a mass war grave, and his nemesis slammed his wand into the ground, dead muggles rising to the surface….

Harry realized he was on his knees and had tears running down his face. Then Albus was there, helping him into a chair. After a few moments Harry regained his composure and looked at the headmaster, who had equal parts pride and sorrow inscribed on his face, who raised his hand when Harry started to apologise.

"You did incredibly tonight, and I will not have you apologising for the temporary loss of control. Many would be broken beyond repair from the life you have led, and I should have known better than to not take precautions. You pushing me out and into my own mind the way you did shows just how much unused potential you have Harry! Now I want you to go to bed early and rest well for tomorrow." Harry nodded and left. "Thank you for helping me sir; without your lessons I don't know how I could cope." After Harry had closed the door Albus softly replied to himself, "Without you Harry we would all have been blinded by our own arrogance."

After a few minutes of replaying the memories of Harry's early childhood in his mind, Albus got up and flooed to Grimmauld Place. He and Sirius needed to have a long overdue… conversation with the Dursleys.


That Wednesday, still nauseated from all the memories he took from the Dursleys about Harry, Albus decided to take a break from the intensive wandless magic training and teach Harry a long forgotten shielding charm that the boy was sure to enjoy well. After Harry did the normal exercise routine(mercifully less than Sirius') Albus conjured two comfy armchairs for them and motioned for the boy to sit.

"Since you have been doing so well with wandless magic, I decided to give you a small treat and teach you ancient shielding spell that was supposedly created by Merlin himself, though considering it is so obscure that only Voldemort and myself know of its existence, I cannot say for sure, though the four founders each knew of this spell and from that came their house shields. Now, while you can conjure or transfigure an object into a regular shield, not only would it merely defend against some debris and not a well placed or powerful enough spell, conjuring metal is difficult and takes far too long anyways for a duel." Albus paused and waited for Harry to nod that he had understood, and continued.

"This spell is one of the most difficult you will ever attempt, and most would in fact find it impossible. I will not bore you with the exceptionally complicated details, so fear not. What you must understand is that the shield is matter bonded together by magic, and will represent whatever shield identifies with you best. It can repel most any spell though several hits with an unforgiveable might overload the magic holding it together; also the shield is impervious to physical attacks, and will be extremely heavy to all but the wielder. One of the reasons we are doing this is because the spell is a cousin to elemental magic, being technically made of air. Here is mine:" Albus made several whipping movements so fast with his wand Harry could not keep track of what he was doing. For Harry's sake, the headmaster intoned out loud, "Scutoa Bipso!"

There was a brilliant flash of orange light and the air rippled; a golden shield appeared attached to Albus' left arm, though there were no straps; it was about three feet high and sixteen inches across, and was similar to a Roman scutum shield except for the phoenix engraved on the front; it glinted in the morning sun and burned a fiery red. Harry stared in awe at the beautiful shield.

"Remember, you have to reach deep inside your own magic to create it, and even after you master it I want you to practice the wand motions until you can complete it in less than a second; the spell is no good if you are dead before it is in effect. I also do not expect you to master it today, and as the next morning lesson we will continue with your wandless magic, consider this a personal challenge. For a not even fifteen year old to master one of the most difficult and obscure spells in existence would truly be stunning."

Albus showed Harry the wand motions in slow motion, and by the end of the lesson Harry actually managed to make a bronze framework of a circular shield appear before dissolving into the air. The ancient teacher assured Harry that the fact he could create anything at all means he actually has the ability to use the spell, and challenged him to complete it by his birthday. Harry, who as a true Gryffindor could never refuse a challenge, readily accepted.

As Albus left, he warned Harry that he would not be available tonight or tomorrow morning, but expected that he continue to practice. He also informed the boy that Sirius would be having, as Harry called it, one of his 'muscle murdering lessons' instead of him in the morning. At least he would be able to run his idea off of Sirius though.

That day he continued to work on the shield but after not getting much farther than a few platings more, decided to continue his wandless training a bit before focusing on his mental shields. By this point Harry could do most anything except for conjuration and most offensive spells without his wand that he knew, which according to a book the room had had appear when Harry was getting frustrated about not being able to, stated that neither is possible to do wandlessly with any usefulness. Then again, that same book also stated it was almost impossible to learn as much as he had in six months, let alone six days, so Harry couldn't be entirely sure.


After physical training with Sirius Thursday morning Harry asked if he could talk to Sirius for a moment who complied and sat down next to Harry, ruffling the younger boy's hair. Harry tried to rearrange it but of course that did nothing.

"Well," Harry began, but was interrupted by Sirius who asked, "So who's the pretty bird?"

"I- what?" Harry asked, now confused.

"Well, I thought you were going to ask for girl advice but I assume you have something else in mind?"

"Yes, I was actually going to run an idea by you about my tri-wizard earnings…."

When Harry had finished, Sirius scratched his head thoughtfully. "And you're sure we can trust those two troublemakers to help us?" he asked.

"Fred and George can invent just about any kind of prank imaginable, and with the marauder expertise of yourself and Professor Lupin, not to mention the charms genius of Professor Flitwick- if he accepts - I think my project ideas and much more than that could be possible. You can bet Voldemort isn't just sitting around, twiddling his thumbs, and we need every advantage we can get in this war." Sirius thought for a moment more.

"Very well Harry, I agree, but try not to get on Molly's bad side when she hears of this, because I do not want to cover for you against her!"


Without a Defence against the Dark Arts professor Ron and Hermione had the periods free. They used the one on Thursday afternoon to go down and visit Hagrid in his cabin; after all, it was a gorgeous day.

After the enthusiastic greetings from Fang and Hagrid the big man got them some tea. Apparently they had just missed Madame Maxime, who Harry knew would be working with Hagrid on a mission to the giants.

"You all righ'?" Hagrid said gruffly after surveying Harry closely for a few moments.

"As… as well as could be expected." Harry answered truthfully. He wasn't going to lie to Hagrid; the man felt like one of the only people he could have a true discussion with at the moment.

Hagrid sighed. "I know its hard righ' now for you," he said sadly, then continued with a fierce expression. "But yer the toughes' person I've ever met, Harry. You will be gettin through this, and yer gonna come back so hard You-Know-Who won' even know wha' hit im!" Harry was heartened by the half- giant's kind words.

Thanks, Hagrid." he said quietly. "Let's hope that is the case." After talking with Hagrid for a while longer they headed up for dinner.

After dinner Ron received a letter that made him scowl in frustration.

"What is it, mate?" Harry asked curiously.

"Mum asked Dumbledore if you could stay with us this summer," he said. "But he is going to have you stay with Sirius in some top-secret location. Mum also says Dumbledore has his reasons."

Harry was inwardly grateful for all this as things could have gotten awkward if he refused to go to the Burrow outright.


Harry shared his idea with Albus before that night's occlumency lesson, and the old wizard couldn't be happier. "As long as you can make sure they won't reveal any secrets, my dear boy, you will have done us a huge service. I have followed their… genius over the years and know that they will be quite able to assist you in your endeavours. As for Filius, I have no doubt that he will be delighted to help, but will wait until we have confirmed that the twins are with us, as the poor man is practically useless after such disappointments. It may also be wise to involve Bill Weasley as he will both be in the order and is a master of runic work.

Now," Albus said, "tonight you will be sorting your memories into their owns sections and layering more defences around them. What the containers are imagined as is entirely up to you."

Harry thought for a few minutes until an idea came to him so perfect he couldn't believe it didn't cross his mind before. "Snitches!" Harry exclaimed, "I can have my memories stored inside snitches, and have tons of decoys flying around too."

"A well thought out defense indeed," Albus praised. "Now you must decide what categories to put a memory in, and then start to sort. This will also help with training if all the spells you know are grouped in one place. Another example is a snitch for your biggest secrets, or a patronus memory snitch, and so forth. I will warn you that since it will likely take weeks to sort all of your memories, and Sirius certainly won't let you off training," Harry shuddered dramatically, "that you should probably make the most of your time with me and before bed. Once you finish this, I will finally be able to help you control any visions you are sure to receive, and make it as when they occur like looking out a window. However, this must be mastered first."

Harry figured out what categories he would have and was just about to begin sorting when the fireplace glowed green and a bruised, disheveled man stumbled out of the fireplace.

Severus Snape had returned.

Albus immediately got up and helped the man limp to the nearest armchair, and gave him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Albus," Snape said quietly, and then noticed Harry. Instantly a sneer plastered his least favorite professor's face.

"Why is Potter here?"

"Severus," the headmaster remonstrated gently, "Harry is here for a private lesson, and anything you have learned can be told to him as well."

"Just what Potter needs," Snape smirked, "special lessons with the headmaster to bloat his already over-inflated ego."

"Enough banter, Snape. We have more important topics to discuss." Harry said wearily, causing the man's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. In the past such words from the man would have riled him up, but especially after seeing how the man acted when not aware of Harry's presence, he was more certain than ever that the rudeness and snide remarks were a cover for something the potions master felt upon seeing him.

"That's Professor Snape Harry, but yes you are correct. Severus, what did you learn from your visit?"

Snape put on a business-like expression and said, "I was able to approach and speak to Dark Lord without suffering more than a couple of crucio's and several broken bones. Of course, once he realized his spy was still utterly loyal he stopped. I was to stay there to heal my injuries which is why I did not return sooner. We had several large meetings, and I will tell you that Lucius will be using his influence within the ministry to great effect. Breaking out Azkaban is also a priority, but the Dark Lord is most focused of all on the Hall of Prophecies." Snape curled his lip. "I daresay that he will not move into the open until he knows the full version."

"And how do you know of it?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"All the Death Eaters know about it you ignorant child." Snape snapped. Harry felt a slight prodding around his shields and pushed him out. Snape looked surprised for a moment before something eerily close to approval shadowed his face. Them the moment passed, and Snape looked at Albus again who was just starting a diagnostic charm on him.

"That won't be necessary Headmaster, I am fully capable of healing myself. As it is I am quite weary and in need of a rest." And before Albus or Harry could reply the man stormed from the room.

"I'm afraid it is time for our lesson to end tonight, and now that you know what to do my presence is no longer necessary." said Albus glancing at the clock. "I'm going to forewarn you though that my contact in the Daily Prophet tells me that tomorrow's paper begins the attack upon our reputations, so be prepared."

Harry nodded and said, "Good night, sir. See you tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I will be there."


As Severus drank a pain potion in his private quarters he allowed a smile to flit across his face. There was one thing that he had withheld from Albus; a couple hours after Azkaban would be broken out the Dark Lord would attack Potter's relatives, getting everything he could from their minds and destroying them as an example to the brat. And he had given Severus the honor of killing them.

He would not tell Albus this because he had seen inside the boy's head in class before, and knew how they treated Potter, and had wanted to punish them personally for years. Of course he was still loyal to Albus; but the old man was too good for the boy's own good and would never be able to exact vengeance as leader of the Light. While the child may be an arrogant jerk, he was still Lily's son, and NOBODY does that to a son of Lily and gets away. Perhaps killing them himself would at least redeem him a small amount for being the reason the Dark Lord killed her. Yes, the time had finally come.


Friday morning, the day of the leaving feast, started out with quite a good bit of excitement. Albus pressed Harry harder than he ever had, going through every wandless spell Harry knew; after finally being taught to muster up a shield charm wandlessly strong enough to stop at least two strong spells, they stopped for a moment. The ancient wizard, still holding Harry's wand, had him walk about thirty feet away and turn to face him.

"There is one final test to make sure you have mastered your wandless abilities," said Albus cheerfully, and then summoned around a dozen pebbles or so to his feet. Within a few seconds these pebbles had changed into boars and Albus said, "Good luck my child. Do your parents proud." And with that the boars charged.

About one minute thirty seven seconds and twelve mangled boars later, Albus gave Harry back his wand.

"A week ago if you had told me you could learn all this in seven days I would not have thought it possible. Yet here we are, and I am truly prouder of you than words can say." here Albus gazed at the boy with such fondness that a tear ran down Harry's face, and he hugged him; If a thousand dementors had swarmed them at this moment Harry felt he could drive them all away with this patronus memory. Albus reminded him that tonight and tomorrow morning he would not be having lessons and with that Dobby disapparated them.

The good mood was short lived however, as walking into the Great Hall people immediately started whispering behind their hands and covertly looked at him; some with fear, interest, confusion, or a combination of the two.

"Oh Harry it's awful!" Hermione cried as he sat down and Harry grimly took the prophet she held out to him. The front page read:

THE BOY WHO LIVED: KNOWN FRAUD, NOW POSSIBLY DARK

Harry didn't even read the article; now finding the great hall suddenly oppressive and hot, he took up his food and walked to a side exit. Ron and Hermione knew better than to comfort him.

Harry ignored the taunts from the slytherin table, Malfoy's loudest of all. That was another issue that would probably come to a head tonight, for he knew how the git thought. Harry bet that according to the ferret's twisted logic, since Lucius was likely punished heavily for Harry's escape and the destruction of the diary, which Voldemort had assuredly found out about by now, Harry was the one that is responsible. An increase of hostilities seemed quite likely to him, and the best moment for Draco to get his audience would be at the end of the leaving feast. He had forewarned the Headmaster what was likely to happen and promised to (do his best) not to harm Malfoy.

Harry managed to get a little farther with the shield that day, and spent most of the time sorting his memories while Dobby sent up lunch to him. By the time he noticed that the Leaving Feast was about to start Harry had no time to go to the dorm and pack, so he reluctantly asked Dobby to do it for him; hoping against hope that Dobby didn't go overboard and put a beartrap in it or something. As always, the little house-elf was delighted to assist him.


When Harry entered the Great Hall, he saw at once that the usual decorations were missing. Instead of the winning House's colors being displayed, tonight there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers' table. Harry knew instantly that they were there as a mark of respect to Cedric, just as they should be.

The real Mad-Eye was also present, though extremely twitchy and looking like anyone who so much as spoke to him could be a real threat to his life. Of course having an already paranoid fellow locked in their own trunk for ten months was bound to increase the fear of attack, Harry mused as he decided to sit with the Hufflepuffs tonight to honor Cedric. It wasn't against the rules to do so according to Albus, who fully supported him doing this.

Harry walked over to an empty spot next to Ernie Macmillan, a friend Cedric and he had on occasion hung out with. Harry had already informed him privately what he was doing, so Ernie didn't even bat an eye when he said, "Is this spot taken?" Ernie of course said no and Harry promptly sat down next to him.

The other three houses stared in shock at him and as the Hufflepuff table fell silent except for a tall skinny blond boy Harry vaguely remembered as part of the Hufflepuff quidditch team.

"Why are you intruding on us Potter," he sneered. "Go back to your own table."

"Oh will you shut up you troll-mannered prat!" said Susan Bones viciously, who then turned to Harry. "You aren't intruding at all Harry, feel free to join us whenever you feel like it. Cedric spoke quite highly of you, and would have been honored to have you sit with us.

"Thanks, Susan." Harry said gratefully, "I… Cedric's death has hit us all hard. I really miss him."

Cho was about to say something when Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table, causing a hush to fall upon the Hall.

Harry appreciated Albus' words, though was quite alarmed at the amount of disbelief in the Hall upon hearing that Cedric was killed by Voldemort, which infuriated him. He didn't much care about the fact that a good portion of the students also seemed to think him insane already, but thought at this rate he would be a pariah by summer's end. Albus' closing sentences truly warmed his heart about Cedric and choosing between what is right and what is easy, as that was of huge importance to Harry already. Nevertheless, Harry was still somewhat angry by the end of the feast, so of course Draco decided to close in. The spoiled git also seemed enraged by Albus' speech, though for different reasons.

"Why so sad, Potter? It's not like Diggory was worth a shit once he associated with you." he sneered at Harry. The Hufflepuffs around them seemed of the verge of drawing their wands on Malfoy for dishonoring Cedric. Harry clenched his fists and could hear the blood roaring in his head. Draco, completely oblivious to the hole he was digging for himself, continued on.

"In fact, I bet he killed himself out of horror when he realized-"

Harry snapped.

Draco suddenly flew through the air slamming into the wall in front of Harry, who had not drawn a wand and had fixed him with a murderous gaze. This may cement the illusion that he was partially insane in some people's minds, but at that moment Harry just didn't care.

"You! Will! Not! Insult! Cedric! Diggory!" Harry snarled, his face just inches from Malfoy's, whose eyes were wide with fear. Harry noticed several of the teachers trying to push through the throng of students. "You will take back what you said about Cedric, and say that he was ten times the man you are. Now!" he nearly roared.

"I-I-I t-take back e-e-everything about C-Cedric." Malfoy stuttered.

"And?" Harry said quietly.

"And Cedric was ten times the man I am!' Malfoy cried quickly. Harry abruptly released his mental hold on Draco who fell to the floor, and turned without a word striding away before Snape could ruin the moment.

Back in the Gryffindor common room Hermione was gushing over how thoughtful Harry was for sitting with the Hufflepuffs and Ron hadn't stopped grinning like a maniac after Draco's utter humiliation. However, Hermione was also far too curious about how harry pinned Malfoy without a wand, so Harry excused himself saying it had been a long night. He sighed in relief that Dobby hadn't done anything lethal to his trunk as was the won't of the crazy lovable house-elf. Almost as soon as Harry slipped under the covers his dreams were haunted by the death of a brother, glowing knives and, strangely, a dream about corridors and a locked door.


Harry, Ron and Hermione were packed and waiting in the entrance hall for the horseless carriages like past years. Except that for the first time in his life, Harry was actually excited to leave Hogwarts. Living with Sirius had been his number one dream since meeting the man, and it was really going to happen. Even better than that, Harry was going to have two full months of doing nothing but training hard, harder than anyone ever has so that the next time he met Voldemort, Harry would be ready.

As Fleur and Viktor said their goodbyes, Harry was already thinking about their schools. Sooner or later they would be involved in the war. It was only a matter of time, so Harry resolved to keep in touch with the two of them and asked if he could meet with them later. Both of course said yes and he promised to contact them about times. Albus wanted international magical cooperation against Voldemort; if this worked, it would be a definite start.

Ron had just run after Viktor for an autograph when Harry's heart just about jumped into his throat. "Er, Hermione?"

"Yes Harry?"

"What are those things?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said irritably, wondering what Harry was going on about.

"Those things pulling the carriages!" said Harry, not sure why Hermione couldn't see them. "Black, skeletal, winged, white eyed horses!"

"Harry, there's nothing there." Hermione said confusedly and with not a little bit of worry. "Are you sure you're-"

"I can see them too you know." A dirty blond Ravenclaw with a butterbeer cork necklace said who had been passing by. She looked at Harry. "They're thestrals of course."

"Of course!" Hermione echoed excitedly. "Only those who have seen death can see them. I really wish I could-" she faltered under Harry's suddenly cold gaze and realized what she had said, and immediately backtracked. "Oh Harry I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Harry said quickly, though it really wasn't for him. Hermione was family to him, but sometimes she and Ron said things that really stung - this being a huge one.

Hermione had no chance to reply as they filed into one of the carriages. Harry looked at the helpful Ravenclaw. "What is your name again?"

"Luna," she replied in a dreamy voice. "Luna Lovegood."


That trip on the Hogwarts express was somewhat different than normal for several reasons. For one, Draco had decided not to visit for obvious reasons. Smart move. Harry almost wasn't sure he had any Slytherin in him just by what the git said last night.

Another reason was the fact that apparently Hermione had caught that pesky Skeeter woman as a beetle animagus. This was good because if Harry ever needed to spread the word Voldemort is back clearer then he could use her. Oh, sweet irony.

Lastly was Harry no longer dreaded the end of the train ride.

When he got out of the train Harry held the twins back for a moment.

"Fred - George - wait a moment."

The twins turned. Harry pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings.

"It'll be yours now, You'll need it if you're gonna start a joke shop." Harry said thrusting the bag into George's hands. "I only have one favor to ask of you. But if you accept you will have to swear a vow to tell no one. Understood?"

"You're absolutely mental." Fred started, while George shook his head.

"But considering we will never convince you to take it back-"

"-What's the favor?"

"Swear first," Harry commanded, and immediately the twins raised their wands in front of them and swore on their life and magic never to reveal Harry's secrets unless he allowed it. Harry was astonished they had such trust in him, but ploughed on.

"You two are the greatest wizarding inventors of your generation," said Harry, looking them both in the eye. "And I need your help in the war against Voldemort." He told them what he was planning and concluded with, "It will be a week or two before we all can meet. But contact Bill and see if he can assist. Now, do you accept?" Both twins straightened their backs with heads held high.

"My dear ickle Harrykins," George began.

"We would be beyond honored helping you bring down-" Fred continued.

"U-No-Poo!" they chorused together. Harry smiled.

"I'm gonna try and taunt him with that the next time he fails to kill me. For now, welcome to the resistance." He shook their hands and got off the train with a big smile.

"Ah, Harry!" The Headmaster called striding over to him. "I trust that you are doing well?"

Just fine, sir." Harry replied, grabbing Albus' arm. With a crack, they reappeared in front of a row of houses. Albus gave Harry the address. As Harry opened the door ancient wizard's eyes twinkled more than ever as he said, "there is someone who is quite… excited to see you by the way.

"Oh shit." was all Harry had time to say in response as he was hoisted off his feet by the ankle and his upside down face now had a great deal of dog slobber on it. Some portrait down the hall started to screech about filth dishonouring her house. Albus said, "I have other engagements tonight, Harry. I will see you around." And with that he closed the door chuckling.

It's good to be with family.


A/N:

Hagrid leaves earlier than in canon for the giants in my fic because really, why wait?

To make a spell for the Harry Potter world: take an english to latin translation, and then muck up the latin slightly because Harry Potter spells are almost never direct latin. The spell is scutoa bipso as the latin scuto ab ipso means shield of self.

I hope it's obvious that the special shield spell is based off of the silver shield voldemort created in the ministry duel, however I am completely making up everything about it as we don't know what spell was used.

Azkaban will be broken out sooner because if Voldemort could arrange for it to be done without suspicion of him returning then again, why the hell wait?

If people are worrying that I'm stopping all golden trio and such stuff, you need to stop! Harry will always consider ron and hermione his best friends in this fic, even if he is so much hopelessly mature than them at the moment. Harry is just going to be a lot more accepted by others older than him than in canon, and Sirius is the kind of company Harry needs at the moment.

So I am receiving lots of harry/ginny or harry/susan, those are the two I will have to choose from I guess. Remember though, the pairing is secondary, if not third in this fic as the war is foremost and family secondish.

How much of a baddie should I make Umbridge in this fic? She and harry are gonna clash a great deal in this fic and if she is willing to execute a child with a fate worse than death(AKA the dementors kiss) then if she can get away with it she would do more than just lightly slice a person's hand.

Draco has terrible logic, so him feeling like Harry is the reason his dad got hurt by Voldemort seems likely to me.

The Dursleys get mind raped by the two, and Sirius may or may not have made them pay for their treatment of Harry. Fear not my friends, the Dursleys will be punished with far worse next chapter!

Is this a good or bad way to introduce Luna? And how do you feel about the Hufflepuffs practically considering Harry one of their own?

Thanks for reading and Reviewing! The next chapter will be titled: Chapter 5: Settling In