With their study program approved, Harry and Hermione settled into a semi-regular schedule. In the morning, they spent their time in the library, reading everything available regarding protective potions, spells, and charms. They explored every conceivable counter-curse and hex, looking for any clue that might lead to what they sought. Harry found books that detailed the concepts and magical basis for blocking charms and they pored over each line, seeking some hidden information that might not be apparent.
After lunch, they separated. Some days, Hermione spent time with Snape, trying to learn what potions might be protective and what ingredients would be necessary. After some initial reticence, Snape started actively helping, guiding her towards particular ingredients and concepts. Snape even made his personal library available, something he had never considered doing before. While she was pursuing potions, Harry worked with Dumbledore, learning more about defensive magic.
He started by asking Dumbledore to explain what he had done at the Ministry the night Voldemort had appeared, and they went through each spell or curse, detailing its structure and use. It was like a DA session each day they met, and Harry's knowledge grew quickly.
On some days, Harry spent time with McGonagall, learning new skills in Transfiguration. He figured that it might be useful to alter the environment during a fight. Despite their schedule, both Harry and Hermione tried to maintain contact with their friends and classmates, and sometimes even went to classes with them, just to keep in touch with what everyone else was doing.
As the Quidditch season approached, Harry felt especially isolated. One afternoon, he went out to watch the Gryffindor team practice. Ron, as Team Captain, was trying to teach two new chasers exactly what he wanted, while Ginny, still playing seeker, was playing the opposing keeper. Nothing worked, and Ron flew down to Harry, stopping practice in exasperation.
"What can I do?" he asked, landing hard next to Harry. "They just don't understand that it's different with another team on the field."
"Make them play with one hand tied behind their back," Harry suggested.
"What good will that do?"
"Oliver used to do it with Katie and Alica. It forced them to understand that they won't be free to do anything they want."
Ron returned to the team, and as Harry watched him try to convey what he wanted, Neville wandered up. Harry turned and motioned him over, moving to make room on the bench.
"What brings you out here," he asked.
"Oh, I just…I…ah…needed a break."
Harry smiled and then started laughing. "It's okay, Neville. I understand."
"What do you mean?"
Harry looked at him, smiling yet serious. "I know how you feel. It's hard to let them out of your sight when you love them." Neville started to deny everything and then stopped and smiled himself.
"Yeah…it is. She's so wonderful."
"Yep, they can be."
"Harry, what's going to happen this time?"
"I don't know, Neville. But I know what has to happen. Do you remember the night at the Ministry?" Neville nodded, knowing he would never forget.
"Well, even though the prophecy was broken, I got to hear it later. There was another copy stored elsewhere."
"What did it say?" Neville was very interested since he somehow felt guilty for breaking it.
Harry edited the details slightly, knowing that Neville didn't need to hear everything. "It said that there would be a boy born that year who would have the power to defeat Voldemort…that the boy would have a mark that identified him…that one of them would have to kill the other eventually."
Neville slowly figured out what Harry had said. "Does…does…that mean you have to kill him?"
"It means that I have to kill him, or he has to kill me. One of us must go. That's why I have different courses this year…so I can be ready when the time comes."
Neville dropped his eyes, thinking about how he would react if the prophecy was about him, thinking about the burden Harry had. Harry put his arm around Neville's shoulder. "I knew about your parents for a long time before we saw you at the hospital. I promised Dumbledore that I wouldn't say anything…that I would let you tell us when you were ready. I'm very sorry about what happened to them, Neville. At least I never had to look at my parents and guess what they might have been. I understand what you have gone through."
Neville's eyes began to tear a little. "Thank you, Harry. I don't know how you survive, knowing what happened to your folks, and knowing what you have to do." Harry nodded and they just sat together and watched Quidditch, thinking about how similar they really were.
Each week, Harry and Hermione marked off items on their chart, tracking their progress and identifying new areas for study or questions to answer. They were making good progress, but the list of new items was also growing. Near the first of October, Harry started a new course with McGonagall.
"Using and controlling surrogates is not easy," she started. "You are actually performing two different types of magic, Transfiguration Spells and Enablement Charms."
"Which one comes first," Harry asked.
"You must begin with the transfiguration. In some cases, you are not actually changing the object, but merely bringing it alive. For example, you could make a rock into a dog, such as Diggory did when he fought the dragon. But you also might take a statue and make it move, without ever changing its form. The spells are very similar, but obviously different. In either case, that's only the first step."
"Making an object into the shape you need, or making it move would still require you to order it about. Think of this like levitation. You can lift the object but you still need your wand to control its motion. To create something capable of independent action, you need an Enablement Charm. That's what the Sorting Hat has. You give it a brain and then instruct it to perform certain actions."
"It sounds like that takes a lot of time."
"In some cases, it does. But in other cases, your instructions can be very brief and still have the proper result. At the Ministry, Dumbledore told the statue to protect you, to stay between you and Voldemort. That was all the instruction needed." Now Harry began to understand how Dumbledore had fought so effectively.
"So, when the statue of the witch fell on top of Bellatrix, it was told to keep her there?"
"I'm not certain exactly what Dumbledore gave as instructions, but yes, that was essentially the idea."
Having covered the basic concepts, they began to practice, using a number of small objects for experimentation. Each class, he would work with McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, performing the Transfiguration and then the Enablement.
After many classes, and hours of practice with Hermione, Harry started to really understand how to use surrogates and what they could accomplish. One night, he caused an entire set of encyclopedias to march into the Great Hall during dinner, smiling as everyone wondered what was happening. After marching around the room, they marched out again and everyone, including Dumbledore, just laughed.
In the middle of October, Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore and McGonagall sat down again to review their progress and plan the next part of the year. Dumbledore was very impressed with the progress they had made, and McGonagall was very complementary of Harry's skills.
"I have another suggestion for you, Harry," Dumbledore said. "I think that you should stop calling him Voldemort."
"I don't understand, Professor," said Hermione. "You told Harry to call him Voldemort…to not be afraid of the name."
"That is true, Hermione. But I believe things are different now. When Harry confronts him, he will be very focused. He will want to kill Harry. If Harry refers to him as Tom, it will irritate him. He may even be slightly distracted, thinking about how much he hates that name. It is a small thing, but this battle may hinge on many small things. It is one more weapon to use, one more distraction for him to confront."
Both Harry and Hermione thought about what he had said. Harry remembered how the memory of Tom Riddle detested his old name when they met in the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't want to keep the name of his "filthy muggle father." Harry nodded his agreement…he actually liked the idea, remembering how good it felt to dispatch Tom back to the memory world.
Now Hermione spoke up again. "Professor, I have another idea that I'd like to try." She looked at Harry, not certain he would appreciate what she wanted to do. She hadn't told him. Dumbledore nodded, telling her to go on.
"I thought that we could make up a test for Harry…an obstacle course with the things that he's likely to face…like Professor Lupin did in our final exam. Harry could practice against it, but he wouldn't know what was next. It would be…like…well, like the real thing." Dumbledore smiled a little and looked at Harry.
"Sounds like your trip to the Sorcerer's Stone," he said, still smiling. "What do you think?"
Harry wasn't certain. On one hand, it would provide exactly the sort of practice he knew he needed…making decisions on the fly and responding to what happened. On the other hand, it would be very challenging, and he didn't really want to do this more than once…but given the price of failure…
"I think it might be good," he responded after a while. "Could we stop the action at any point if it doesn't work?"
"Yes," replied Dumbledore, warming to the concept. "The idea would be to learn from what happens. Each time your opponent responds, you have a new situation to evaluate. This should teach you how to make decisions faster." He turned to Hermione. "I think you may have just found the piece that will make your efforts successful. Professor McGonagall, will you help arrange what is needed?"
"Certainly."
On Halloween night, both Harry and Hermione wanted to celebrate their anniversary, but they had to complete rounds first. Since it would go faster with both of them, they divided the castle.
"You want up or down," Harry asked.
"Up," she said, grinning. "You know I like to be on top."
"Granger, you will pay for that later," Harry said as he headed for the dungeons.
Hermione started up the West tower, since it was closer. Although it was well past curfew, Halloween was a night when students regularly stayed out late, and she knew she would find somebody still snogging somewhere. The Owlry and Trelawney's old classroom were empty, as were the classrooms on the fourth floor. As she descended, she scared Mrs. Norris from behind a statue, and then yelled at Peeves as he was turning dustbins over in the hallway.
She was nearly done with the second floor when she heard noise inside one of the study rooms. Since she was near the Gryffindor tower, she assumed it was likely to be Gryffindor students, and she still had a soft spot for them. She knocked on the door rather than just opening it, and heard a gasp from inside. Then she opened the door, and was very surprised to find Neville and Ginny inside, with Ginny's jumper on the floor, and Neville's hand inside her blouse. Hermione just grinned at them, and then summoned her Head Girl voice.
"You both know that it is after curfew, don't you?" They nodded, both looking grim and guilty.
"You both know that I have to report students that I find out of bounds, don't you?" They nodded.
"You both know that I can take points from Gryffindor for this, don't you?" They nodded.
"You both know that if you made an effort to lock the door and silence the room, neither the Head Boy or the Head Girl would notice you were here in the future, don't you." Now they both grinned and nodded.
"Then I guess you probably shouldn't be here, so I don't have to do those things." They nodded, and began to gather their things. She smiled, thinking this could just as easily be Hermione and Harry. Privacy did have its advantages. As they walked past her, Ginny breathed a quiet "Thank you." Hermione just smiled, and swatted her on the bum.
Near the potions dungeon, Harry encountered a somewhat different situation. He heard noise coming from a cleaning closet. As he stood closer to the door, it was obvious what type of noises they were, and he had to make a choice. He, too, could be subtle or bold, but since he was near the Slytherian dungeon, his choice was obvious. He reached over, checked the door for a lock, and pulled it open. There was a scream, and he stepped in, lighting his wand. He was amazed at what he found.
Draco was sitting on a bench, his shirt open but otherwise clothed. On his lap was a Slytherian second year, with only her knickers still in place. She was hiding as best she could, but clearly terrified by being discovered. Draco just smiled, looking like he was actually happy with the situation. Harry sized things up and then spoke.
"Young lady, you need to collect your clothing and return to your dormitory. Draco, you will remain here for now." He stepped back out, allowing her a little privacy as she tried to gather her clothing and get dressed, wanting desperately to be anywhere but here. Draco just smiled, thinking that he was above the law. The girl came to the door.
"I will take ten points from Slytherian for your being out after curfew, and Professor Snape will decide on any further punishment." She nodded, crying, and then went down the corridor. Harry then went back into the closet, confronting Draco.
"Good God, Draco! She's only a second year. What were you thinking?"
"Can't help it if women are attracted to strong men, can I?" he said with his usual smirk.
"Yes, you can, and as a Prefect, you will. I don't much care what you do with your personal life, but there is a big difference between Pansy and that little girl, and you know it! 25 points from Slytherian. It should be more, but as you are a Prefect, I will allow you this one mistake. However, if this ever happens again, you will no longer be a Prefect, and Dumbledore may decide on more punishment, possibly including expulsion."
Draco snorted. "You think Dumbledore can expel me?"
"Yep, and sometimes I suspect that he'd be happy doing it. After all, your dad's not on the Board of Governors any more, is he? Come to think of it, I haven't seen your dad lately…how's he doing?"
Draco thought to answer, but decided better of it and left, muttering to himself as he turned towards the Slytherian dungeon.
Harry headed back to his office to complete the necessary paperwork, noting many fewer emeralds in the bottom of the Slytherian hourglass on his way. It was still early in the school year, and 35 points was a bunch. Hermione came in as he was finishing.
"You'll never guess who I found in the study room next to the fat prince."
"Who?"
"Neville and Ginny, and I think they were there most of the night."
Harry smiled. "Well, that's almost as good as Draco and a second year named Samatha Edgecliffe. I found them in a cleaning closet, and she was down to her knickers." Hermione gasped.
"What did you do?"
"A bunch of points from Slytherian, referred her to Snape, and told Draco that he's out of here if I catch him with a younger girl again."
"Shouldn't we tell Dumbledore? I mean, he's a Prefect."
"I told him I'd allow this once, but never again. He wasn't very impressed, but I didn't care. I nearly emptied the Slytherian hourglass, and he'll have to explain that in the morning." Harry grinned, knowing that peer pressure was a much bigger punishment for someone like Draco. "It's still our anniversary. Wanna go find a chair?"
Hermione smiled. "Yes, I do, but I think I'd rather stay right here."
"Here?"
"Well, okay, in there," and she pointed to Harry's room. There was significance in where she pointed: Harry's room meant he made the rules. Harry just grinned.