After two days, Chapter 7 is here! I've also made a few notes on this story on my profile, in case anyone wants to check.
It was one of those times, Harry reflected, when you realize that you're well and truly screwed.
"Recognize me, do you?" Podmore had asked drily, removing his wand from Harry's neck and studying him, blue eyes narrowed.
"Your photograph in the Prophet made it kind of hard not to," Harry shot back, glaring back at the man in hatred.
Podmore snorted, seemingly amused at Harry's reply. "For once, the Prophet has the right information," Podmore muttered under his breath.
"What do you want with me," Harry spat. Podmore lifted an eyebrow. "Who said I wanted anything to do with you?"
"Then why the hell was I held at wand point and disarmed?" Podmore shrugged. "You lot were liabilities. I tried scaring you guys into returning to the castle; only four of the five did. I can't waste any more time, so I had to restrain you." Podmore, wand still in hand, stepped back from Harry. "Now come on, walk." He gestured in the direction of the old hut next to the Care of Magical Creatures class area.
Harry noticed that Podmore was limping after a few tense minutes. Podmore caught his look, grimacing in pain. "MacNair's blasted hounds are vicious," the Order member said. "Hard to aim at, and even harder to Stun. One of the bastards got me on the leg."
Harry filed away the information, sensing a potential weakness that he could exploit. The pair continued to walk in silence, Podmore glancing around every so often.
They reached the hut, and Sturgis opened the door, revealing the dusty interior. "Inside," Podmore gestured with his wand, and Harry obeyed. Both sat in chairs around the lone table in what Harry thought was the kitchen area. Harry sat ramrod straight, body tense, not trusting Podmore in the least. Podmore, on the other hand, was relaxing quite comfortably, putting his boots on one of the other chairs.
"Did you know," Podmore said conversationally. "That this hut used to belong to Rubeus Hagrid, the last Care of Magical Creatures?"
Harry didn't reply.
"Most of his students enjoyed his rather unorthodox lessons," Podmore continued.
"And then he revealed himself as an Order member and fled with the other members of your sorry group," Harry couldn't stop himself from saying.
Podmore sent him a searching glance. "Indeed. You're remarkable well informed of the Order."
"You killed my father. I made it my job to research your Order," Harry responded simply.
"You remind me of James. Not just the way you look," Podmore paused. "So brave and determined."
Harry held back a snarl, disgusted with the man for bringing his father into the conversation.
"He'd be proud of you, if he saw you right now," Podmore continued quietly, sitting up straight. "I'm afraid that our little chat needs to end now. I have things to do, and I apologize in advance for doing this." He abruptly raised his wand, which began to glow red.
Harry was immediately on alert. "What are you doing?!" He said, alarmed.
"It's only a simple Stunning spell- It won't hurt."
"Why didn't you Stun me earlier then?" Harry demanded, eyes fixed on the glowing tip of Podmore's wand.
"Would you have rather spent an extra ten minutes unconscious? Hence, our little chat, where I could talk to James' son." Podmore began getting out of his seat.
"Shit," Podmore winced, his free hand instinctively going to his injured leg, and he hissed in pain, temporarily distracted. His wand hand lowered slightly, and he took his eyes off of Harry for a split second, which was all the boy needed.
Harry launched himself across the table at Podmore, who looked up in time to see the fierce gleam in Harry's eyes before he fell to the floor, grunting in pain as Harry landed on him.
Harry immediately grabbed Podmore's wand, clutching it tightly in his hand, trembling as he pointed it at Podmore. "Now, let's not do anything rash," Podmore began, raising his hands in a show of surrender. His eyes darted to the doorway of the hut, and he shouted at someone, "Over here!"
Harry whirled behind him, back facing the Order member. Confusion reigned in his mind when he saw that there was no one in the doorway. He then cursed, realizing it had been a ploy to distract him, turning back around to face Podmore. He was too late, however and the Order member had already jumped to his feet, body set in a defensive stance.
"You give me no choice," Podmore said quietly, lunging at Harry. "Expulso!" Harry screamed out. The blue light connected with Podmore, who had been mere meters away, throwing him into the wall of the hut, where he lay groaning in pain.
Harry knew he didn't have long before Podmore was up on his feet again. He searched the hut desperately for anything he could use to physically bind the Order member. He wanted to somehow capture Podmore and bring him to Headmaster Carrow. Black would probably see this as proving his worth, Harry thought grimly. Being a first year, Harry didn't know many offensive spells (or spells in general), and he was loathe to try Stunning the man, not knowing if his Stupefy spells would be powerful enough.
His eyes fell upon a sledgehammer in the corner of the hut, leaning against an old barrel, as Podmore got up on his feet, still in pain from being thrown into the wall.
Thinking quickly, Harry concentrated on what Flitwick had said in his very first Charms lesson. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry cried, pointing the wand in his hand at the sledgehammer.
"Bloody h-" Podmore began before the flat side of the sledgehammer dropped on his head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
XXXXX
When Severus Snape and Regulus Black entered the hut, they didn't expect to see one Harry James Potter standing above an unconscious and bloodied Sturgis Podmore. They also didn't expect Harry to have an unfamiliar wand in his right hand and what seemed to be a sledgehammer in his left.
Both men were former Slytherins and soon hid their shock behind impassive masks.
"Potter," Snape said stonily. "Explain."
"This is Sturgis Podmore," Harry said, kicking the unconscious man. "He ambushed me near the Divination Tower and forced me here at wand point."
Professor Regulus Black closed his eyes, trying, in a futile effort, to prevent the impending headache that usually appeared when he was forced to deal with the actions of his most rash and impulsive students.
"And what business did you have outside of the Divination Tower at this time?" Snape questioned icily. "When all of the other, non-idiotic, students were in the safety of the Great Hall, where you were supposed to be?"
"Neville and Gr- Hermione were taking a walk on the grounds and were absent at dinner. They didn't know about the intruder," Harry explained quickly, sensing how close Snape was to blowing up. "We snuck out of the Great Hall to warn them."
Severus Snape took a long, deep breath, trying not to explode. "And you didn't think about alerting any one of the professors?"
Harry adopted a sheepish smile. "Well…"
"If you say something along the lines of 'I didn't think about that,' I will personally see you in detention scrubbing cauldrons without magic for the rest of your years here at Hogwarts."
Harry paused. "Then I really don't think I should answer that question."
Regulus soon entered the conversation, earning a grateful look from Harry, who had noticed the icy looks Snape had been shooting him. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under already.
"More importantly, how did you manage to subdue him?" Regulus asked, gesturing at Podmore's unmoving figure. "And why is there a rather sizeable dent in that wall?"
Harry winced. "Yeah, about that. He led me here and we sat down and had a little chat."
Regulus' eyes narrowed. "And a 'little chat' caused him to become unconscious?"
"No, that was the sledgehammer," Harry replied seriously. Regulus just looked at him. "He tried Stunning me and I kind of panicked. I jumped at him and disarmed him. He tried attacking me, so I threw him into the wall with an Expulso curse. That's where the dent comes from." Harry didn't really know if he was expecting any sort of acknowledgement from either of the two professors. He didn't receive any, so he continued on with his story.
"He got up from that, so I knocked him out by dropping the sledgehammer on his head." Harry looked expectantly at the two professors.
"Severus?" Regulus said quietly, knowing the other professor would know what he wanted.
Snape stared directly into Harry's eyes, causing the boy to feel an uncomfortable sensation in the back of his mind. "He's telling the truth," Snape said at last, and the sensation disappeared.
"How did you find me?" Harry was curious.
"We heard a bunch of thuds and saw flashes of light," Regulus drawled, clearly wanting Harry to stop asking what he thought were stupid questions.
"What are we going to do now?" Harry blurted out impatiently. He flinched as Snape sent a withering look at him.
"There's no 'we', here." The Potions Professor said. Harry, sufficiently cowed, quieted, believing it prudent not to ask anymore questions.
Meanwhile, Regulus had conjured ropes, which wrapped around the body of the unconscious Order member, effectively binding him. "Let's return to the castle," he said briskly, striding out of the hut, not looking back to see if the other two were following him.
Harry quickly followed Regulus outside, not wanting to be anywhere by himself with a furious Severus Snape. Regulus was levitating Podmore's body behind him as he walked.
Harry, who couldn't see clearly in the darkness, winced as he stepped on a large rock, his ankle flaring briefly in pain. "Lumos," he whispered, causing his wand, which he had retrieved from where he had dropped it under Podmore's command, to glow.
They arrived at the doors of the Great Hall in around five minutes.
"Shall we?" Regulus asked, lifting his eyebrow. Snape nodded shortly and, with a flick of his wand, opened the doors with a bang.
Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott (Theo to his friends and the younger members of his family), Blaise Zabini, and Neville Longbottom (who was sitting at the Slytherin table, despite the numerous vicious looks he received from some of the older students) didn't know where the hell Harry was. Last time Draco had checked, Harry had been running right behind them when they had made a break for the Divination Tower. It was always Harry, Draco thought ruefully, who got into these situations. Something must have happened to him, and it was probably something bad.
The depressing and worrying thought plagued the minds of all four of the first years, who had managed to sneak back into the Great Hall (The professors had still been trying to figure out who had caused the students to transform into the giant canaries, and, as a result, had not been paying attention when the left door of the Great Hall had suspiciously cracked open) after successfully entering the Divination Tower.
"Do you think he's alright?" Theo asked, face suspiciously blank.
"He'd better be," Blaise replied. "The prat still owes me 5 galleons." The other three boys glared at their Italian friend. "Right. No jokes right now. Got it."
"Knowing Harry and his luck, he probably ran into whoever the intruder was," Draco said morosely. Despite generally being a tad selfish, he still cared deeply about his friends, especially Harry, whom he had met at a very young age.
"He'll survive, somehow. He always does," Neville replied confidently.
"Surviving doesn't mean much, if he's seriously injured. You could have a broken spine and still survive," Blaise commented, drawing the attention of the other first years again. "What? It's true."
"We really didn't need that, Blaise." It was Theo who finally answered.
"All I'm saying is," Blaise began, before a loud bang echoed through the hall. All students and professors present in the Great Hall turned to face the doorway, where three people had appeared.
"Is that Harry?" Neville squinted his eyes, trying hard to see the figure standing behind Professor Black. "And what's Black levitating?"
Harry really hated times like this. He vehemently disliked it when people stared at him, and he gritted his teeth when he realized the attention of all of the occupants of the Great Hall was focused on three figures: Professors Snape and Black, and him.
He could hear their whispers, which progressively grew larger when they realized that Professor Black was levitating an unconscious figure behind him.
"Potter's in trouble again?"
"Reckon he'll be alright? Snape looks pissed."
"Who the hell is that? Behind Black?"
"Maybe Potter got caught doing something he…shouldn't be doing." Harry fought the urge to shudder at the Ravenclaw boy's innuendo, grimacing.
The trio (and the floating body of one Sturgis Podmore) advanced towards the staff table, where Headmaster Carrow was waiting with an unreadable look on his sallow face.
"I think you might recognize our friend here," Regulus stated casually, flicking his wand lazily and causing Podmore's body to float in front of Carrow.
"Sturgis Podmore," MacNair breathed, looking delighted. "I've missed the bastard since we last fought."
Carrow stared hard at Snape and Black. "Explain," he intoned coolly.
"We found a few first years outside on the grounds near the Divination Tower. They told us that Mr. Potter here was missing, and we set off to find him. We heard a bunch of noises and saw flashes of spells coming from the direction of that old hut near the Care of Magical Creatures class area, and we found Potter with Podmore."
"I take it Potter was about to be vaporized?" The question was asked by MacNair, who tilted his head slightly in curiosity.
Regulus hesitated. "Actually, he was standing above Podmore's body, having disarmed and knocked him unconscious." Most of the professors had been listening to the conversation with interest, and now some of them looked at Harry rather disbelievingly.
"It's true," Snape put in. "He used an Expulso curse and levitated a sledgehammer, dropping it on Podmore's head."
Carrow considered Harry carefully. "Then it appears, Mr. Potter, that we owe you our gratitude for capturing an Order member. However, if I may ask, what were you doing outside in the first place?"
Harry fidgeted, smiling sheepishly. "Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger told us that they were taking a walk around the grounds, and weren't present in the Great Hall when an intruder was announced. We wanted to find them and warn them."
Carrow's cold eyes bored into Harry's skull. "Such bravery… Be aware, Mr. Potter, that you were lucky tonight. Had you not caught Podmore off-guard… well, we might have had to pick pieces of your body off of the ground and send them to your godfather." Carrow laughed unpleasantly. "MacNair, see to it that Mr. Podmore here is escorted to a proper holding room, perhaps up in one of the higher towers. I'll alert our Lord and Emperor now." He stood, giving Harry one last searching glance, and left the Great Hall.
MacNair excused himself too, gingerly levitating the still-unconscious form of Sturgis Podmore out of the hall.
"Potter, a word," Snape said. Harry internally sighed, mentally preparing himself for what was sure to be one of the worst lectures of his life.
"Severus, I'd like to talk to the boy as well. Shall we go to my office?" Snape nodded shortly at Regulus.
XXXXX
If anyone needed their confidence levels knocked down multiple pegs, torn into shreds, and then stomped on a few times, Harry would be sure to recommend Snape. The man had spared Harry nothing, unmercifully alternating between sneering at him in undisguised contempt, insulting him (and Sirius), and looking at him in disdain. Harry had weathered it all, knowing that he had directly disobeyed orders and deserved to be punished. That didn't mean, however, that he wanted detention or any other kind of hellish torture.
Now, he began to walk towards the direction of the door, hoping to avoid any punishment, seeing how the potions master was done ranting. "I'll just be leaving now," he said with a fake smile plastered on his face.
"I don't think so, Potter." Snape sneered. "Detention for the next four weeks, starting tomorrow night at 7 o'clock sharp in my classroom. Don't be late."
"Well, fuck," Harry mumbled, stopping in his tracks, abandoning all efforts of escape. Snape brushed past him, intent on returning to his classroom, muttering under his breath about "even worse dunderheads this year."
"Mr. Potter, we aren't done yet," Regulus Black's voice drawled. Harry slowly forced his body to turn around to face the professor, a resigned look on his face.
"I have a question for you," Black began conversationally. "How damn stupid did you think you were tonight?"
Harry winced. "I realized that my thinking was rather flawed tonight, Professor."
"Yes you did, about an hour too late," Regulus snapped. "Learn to use that brain of yours, boy. I expected more from you, Mr. Potter. Certainly not this. Dismissed." He didn't spare Harry another glance.
Harry waited for a moment, not moving from his spot. "Professor?" He began cautiously. Regulus raised his head at the first year.
"I didn't know what I was doing," Harry admitted, talking softly. "Out there, with Podmore. As soon as made me drop my wand, I was defenseless. He could have made me do anything he wanted, and I would have been forced to do it."
"I need to become better," he continued. "There has to be something I can do to avoid being so helpless if this happens again."
"The odds of another member of the Order of the Phoenix sneaking into the castle or onto its grounds is quite small."
"But still there," Harry countered. "And if I am to improve, I'll need help. Specifically, the help of my esteemed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Regulus was silent for a long moment, staring at something in the distance. Harry's hopes died, believing that Regulus would send him away.
"My classroom, tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock," Regulus finally spoke.
Harry couldn't keep his pleased grin from making an appearance, causing his professor to snap irritably.
"Stop smiling, boy. You don't know what you've gotten yourself into."
XXXXX
Harry's pleased mood evaporated when he entered the Great Hall the next morning.
"What do you mean, he escaped?" He was looking incredulously at Flint.
"I do believe Marcus was quite clear, Harry." It was Blaise.
"Not now, Blaise," Harry snapped.
"Montague overheard MacNair talking to Carrow earlier. Apparently, Podmore wasn't anywhere to be found this morning. The door to where he was being kept was wide open. He was long gone by the time MacNair went up to check on him."
Harry swore violently, stabbing his bread knife into the soft slice of bread that lay on his plate, wishing it could have been a little (a lot) sharper and aimed at the face of a certain Order member.
"How the hell did he get out?" Blaise frowned. "It's not like he could just open the door and walk out of the castle."
"Well, we have Defense next. We can ask Black," Draco commented. That signified the end of that conversation, and the first years soon exited the Great Hall, heading for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
"Is it true?" Harry blurted out immediately after all the other students had left for their next class.
"Is what true?" Black's voice was cool.
"You know what I'm talking about. Is Podmore really gone?"
"If you're asking if he escaped, then yes, he did. He is no longer inside the castle or on its grounds."
"How'd he get out of a castle full of people without anyone noticing?" Harry asked his next question.
"Indeed, that is the question our headmaster and the other professors are trying to explain. Now, if that's all you were wondering about, I suggest you head to your next lesson; You have less than five minutes."
Harry nodded his head, trying to think of any shortcuts to the greenhouses for Herbology. Thinking of none, he resigned himself to running the whole way there.
"And Mr. Potter, don't forget about our lessons here at four. It wouldn't be wise to be late; I consider time to be of immense value."
XXXXX
In an undisclosed location on the other side of the country, the Order of the Phoenix meeting had just begun. The members were sitting around a long, rectangular table, with a certain old wizard with long white hair and twinkling blue eyes sitting at the head of the table.
"Are we waiting on something?" One of the youngest members, and also one of the more impatient, voiced.
"We are. I have received word that Sturgis will be joining us soon," Albus Dumbledore smiled serenely.
In a matter of minutes, the door to the room had swung open, revealing the rather tired face of Sturgis Podmore. "Come in and take a seat," Albus said genially. "Welcome back."
With a grunt of greeting, Podmore chose the last remaining empty chair, sitting next to Minerva McGonagall and the newest recruit: Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"I take it that our two esteemed professors helped you escape?" The question was posed by Dumbledore, who was studying Sturgis intently.
Sturgis nodded affirmatively. "They had to wait until the early hours in the morning, and both complained about the need to, as you said, 'rescue me.'"
"That's because they're both greasy gits," A black haired man whispered to the man with light brown hair who sat next to him, causing said man to stifle a laugh. McGonagall frowned disapprovingly at the pair.
"I'm sure they had their reasons," Dumbledore said lightly, and the meeting continued, lasting for about another 30 minutes.
"Sturgis, Alastor, and Minerva, please stay behind," Dumbledore requested after the meeting had concluded.
When everyone else had left, Dumbledore turned to Sturgis expectantly.
"The castle wasn't as well defended as it should have been," Sturgis began. "Snape said that they only knew about me on the grounds from the outer wards. If the wards hadn't been there, I'd have been able to sneak into the castle for a good bit of time."
"Constant vigilance." A certain one-eyed former Auror muttered. "Carrow and the lot must have gotten careless in their confidence over the years."
"It's a good thing for us. I'm not complaining," Sturgis replied.
"Excellent news. I have one last thing to ask you about. How was he?" Albus said, voice suddenly becoming more serious.
Sturgis hesitated. "He's…good," he grounded out, still rather irritated that an eleven year old first year had managed to knock him out by himself. "He's intelligent, has a good set of natural instincts, and is pretty inventive, if I do say so myself."
"Lots of praise for a young boy." It was Moody, who was unimpressed by Sturgis' comments about Harry Potter.
Sturgis shrugged. "He deserves it. I had him disarmed inside Hagrid's old hut and was about to Stun him. He launched himself at me and took my wand. When I attacked him back, he threw me back into the far wall with an Expulso curse. Then, to finish me off, he levitated a sledgehammer and dropped it on my head, according to Snape." After a brief pause, he added, "And someone please tell Hagrid that there is now a giant dent in his wall and that it wasn't my fault."
Moody snorted. "I still say he had a bit more luck than skill."
"He used an Expulso curse as a first year," McGonagall retorted.
"I believe that Sirius taught him a few curses and hexes before Harry went to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Anyway, the boy does have great potential. We must keep an eye out for him. I've told our two professors at Hogwarts to keep watch over him and help him should he need help."
"I don't know if that's wise," Moody commented. "From what I've heard, his ultimate dream is to become a Serpent and hunt us all down."
"And he's under the impression that we killed James Potter," Sturgis added.
"It's a sad time for us all," Dumbledore began. "When the youths of our nation are fed lies by their elders and the government."
"To the victors, belong the spoils," Moody said quietly. "And in the case of the war, Voldemort, or Riddle, whatever the bloody hell he goes by now, was the victor."
There was a brief moment of contemplative silence. "We must hope that young Mr. Potter's hatred, while albeit targeted at the wrong side, does not destroy him."
XXXXX
Harry had found his own personal hell: Regulus Black's classroom during his private lessons with the professor.
The first lesson had been simple enough; Black had given him a list of curses, hexes, and spells and had told him to cross out the ones he could perform with ease, put a dash next to the ones that he wasn't sure he could perform easily, and leave the ones that he didn't know at all alone.
Once he had finished with his list, Black had asked him to perform all of the spells he had crossed out. Harry had done so easily, with his only trouble being the Reducto curse, which he could successfully cast once every three times.
"We need to work on the power of all of your spells," Regulus had commented. "Although, you're limited mainly by your age right now."
Harry had then been asked to perform the spells he wasn't so good with. He had managed to get through all of them within 10 minutes, even with the trouble he had faced with some of the spells.
Regulus had then spent the next 45 minutes of the lesson teaching Harry the spells from the list he didn't know. Black was a good teacher when he wanted to be, Harry thought. Regulus started out with the incantation of each spell, making Harry repeat it and correcting him every time he said something wrong. Next, he showed Harry the wand movement and had Harry imitate him until he could do it with ease. Regulus then cast the spell twice; enough so that Harry could see exactly how he was supposed to cast it.
By the end of the 45 minutes, Harry was sufficiently worn out, and, exhausted, wanted nothing more than eating and sleeping. He had groaned, remembering that his detentions with Snape had started that day.
After they had finished going through the list of spells, Regulus had motioned for Harry to take a seat, gracefully sitting in his own seat. "Well done," he had praised the boy.
"Now, we need to move on to more important matters," Regulus started, looking seriously at Harry. "You need to learn Occlumency."
Harry had frowned in confusion. "Occlu what?"
Professor Black had sighed and proceeded to explain what Occlumency was.
"So let me get this straight. It's a branch of the elusive mind arts, which are illegal according to the Ministry, that lets you focus your mind and close it off against Legilimency?" Harry said, still a bit confused. "What's Legilimency?"
"Basically, people who are Legilimens, can enter your mind and read it with ease," Regulus drawled impatiently. "And, as you might have realized by now, that's a bad thing."
Harry had paled, thinking of what these Legilimens could do to him. "So if I learn Occlumency, I won't have to worry about having my mind read?"
Regulus nodded. "It'll help you with remembering things and studying, too."
Black had produced a thick tome from his desk and handed it to Harry.
"Occlumency: A Brief Study into the Mind Arts," Harry had read out loud.
"I expect you to read a little every day. And now, before you go, I'll show you the first step to mastering Occlumency."
Regulus had explained how and why Harry had to clear his mind. "Your mind must be as empty as a blank state; simply stare at something. You mustn't think about anything."
Well, that's helpful, Harry thought sarcastically after twenty minutes of trying to attempt to clear his mind.
"Try again," Regulus snapped. Harry held back a biting remark, closing his eyes in concentration.
"It's not working," he had said in frustration, shaking his head.
"It's not a matter of it working, it's a matter of you trying."
Regulus had dismissed Harry fifteen minutes later (they had spent a total of 35 minutes on clearing minds alone).
"Same time and place tomorrow," Regulus said briskly.
Harry had cast a quick Tempus spell and swore when he realized it was 6:55 p.m. and that he wouldn't have enough time to eat before reporting to Snape's classroom for detention. He bemoaned the fact that he wouldn't be able to eat dinner that night. By the time he got out of Snape's detention, which would last at least for a good hour and a half, dinner would be over.
Regulus could sense the boy's plight. "The kitchens are always open," he commented offhandedly. "Even at night."
Harry had glanced at him, and Regulus quickly deduced that the emerald eyed boy had no clue where the kitchens were. "It's directly under the Great Hall. Go down the staircase leading to the Hufflepuff common room and you'll find a painting of a bowl of fruit. To get inside the kitchens, you have to tickle the pear."
Harry had thanked him repeatedly before heading off to his detention. Sirius had mentioned the kitchens quite a few times before Harry had left for Hogwarts, but he had never mentioned how one found said kitchens or where the kitchens were located.
After arriving at the potions classroom, Harry had promptly cursed Snape, who had assigned him the task of scrubbing dozens of cauldrons clean. Without magic.
"Vindictive bastard," Harry thought viciously, scrubbing one cauldron way harder than he had to.
XXXXX
Harry had found that his second lesson with Professor Black was significantly harder than the first one.
"The best way to improve is to learn from your mistakes," Black had spoken calmly, as if he were delivering a lecture. "So tonight, we'll be reviewing what happened on All Hallow's Eve with Podmore and what you could've done better."
Harry nodded, having expected this. "Where do I start?"
Professor Black walked to his office, which was connected to his classroom by a sturdy door. "Well?" He said impatiently. "Come on."
Harry followed the professor into his office.
Regulus moved swiftly to one of the cupboards that lay against the far wall of the office. He muttered something under his breath, causing the cupboard door to open, revealing what appeared to be a stone basin. Harry noticed many magical runes carved around the object, deducting that it was an ancient and powerful magical artifact.
"Do you know what this is?" Regulus questioned lightly.
"Not a clue, Professor," Harry answered honestly.
"This is a pensieve. I'm assuming that, since you were unaware of what it was, that you are also unaware of what it is used for." He paused. "A pensieve can be used to review one's memories. In this case, we can see what happened, from your perspective, the night Podmore was found on Hogwarts grounds. All you have to do is extract your memory."
"How do I do that, Professor?" Regulus explained, and, within five minutes, Harry had successfully extracted his memory, putting it into the Pensieve. "Now, as muggles would say, dive in."
Harry made a mental note to ask Sirius if Black Manor had a pensieve; it would be a useful thing to have on hand. He watched as Podmore snuck up behind and disarmed him, telling him to walk towards the old hut. He then watched his unorthodox way of dealing with the Order member, wincing at how many things could have gone wrong.
"So," Harry began as soon as the pair had excited the Pensieve.
"It's a miracle you managed to beat him," Regulus spoke truthfully.
"I wasn't that bad," Harry had protested feebly, stopping after seeing Regulus' glance. Really? The look said, and he shut up.
"You could have been worse. I'll admit, nice thinking with the levitation spell, but everything else sucked."
"I didn't know many spells; I still don't, even with the list you gave me."
"We need to start working on your casting speed and your endurance soon," Regulus muttered distractedly. "Do you know anything else that you could've done better?" He asked suddenly.
Harry was quiet for a moment as he thought. "Probably paid more attention to my surroundings. I should've started running like hell for the castle as soon as I started seeing those red flashes."
After another moment, he spoke again. "I also need to learn how to evade spells." Continuing after Regulus' look, he explained what he meant. "Like maybe a basic shield or something. Just so I'm not as defenseless as I was when spellfire comes at me next time."
"It'll take some time for you to learn and manage to conjure a full shield that covers your entire body," Regulus said doubtfully. "Especially at your age. There's a reason why the Shield Charm is taught in your fourth year."
"But," he hurriedly continued, seeing how Harry was about to protest. "There's another thing you can do." Harry was rather startled by the slow smile that crept onto Black's face.
"What?" He heard himself asking warily.
"Dodging," was the simple reply. "If you jump or roll or whatever out of the way of whatever spell's been shot at you, you avoid it. It's much easier to learn to do than Shields are."
"So, how does one go about learning this? It's not like I have a willing Order member available to repeatedly try killing me," Harry said sarcastically, annoyed at Regulus' superior smirk.
"No," the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor spoke, glee evident in his voice. "But you have me." And suddenly, there was a spell shooting out of the wand that had appeared in his right hand at Harry, who swore, jumping violently to his right, almost crashing into the wall of the office.
He was pretty decent at dodging, if he did say so himself, Harry thought after the 7th spell, which he had identified as a minor Stinging Hex, came at him out of Regulus' wand. The younger Black had become increasingly irritated at Harry's success, and his smirk was replaced with a scowl of reluctant approval.
"Stop," Regulus commanded, lowering his wand.
"Of course, Professor," came Harry's cheeky reply.
"We'll be continuing this manner of spell evasion in two days' time. I need some time to turn my office into a suitable…environment that is an adequate imitation of a battle field."
Harry nodded, sensing the unspoken dismissal in Regulus' words. He turned to exit, when he was struck by a sudden question.
"Professor, Order members are known to use a wide variety of spells, right?"
"Of course. Any competent wizard or witch should be able to draw upon a variety of spells. Knowing a spell that your opponent does not gives a person an advantage in battle."
"And most of them are intent on doing harm?" Regulus threw him a look, suggesting he was an idiot if he thought otherwise.
"Then…" Harry didn't know how exactly to phrase his next question. "With the exception of that Reducto curse at the beginning, the worst spells Podmore tried to use were Stunners. And the Reducto curse was for show, I think- he tried to scare us off."
Harry continued, "And then he brought me to that hut, when he could've just Stunned me right where he found me. He told me when he was going to Stun me there, and he actually sounded a bit regretful."
Regulus was suspiciously quiet. "Only monsters hurt children, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix are less monstrous than we believe they are."
Harry took in Black's words, trying to figure out what he meant. Surely, he wasn't implying that the Order….no, he was a Serpent for Merlin's sake.
With a mechanical 'Thank you Professor,' Harry left, many things still on his mind.
Why had Podmore not used any lethal spells? It just didn't seem right that Harry, a first year, could've overpowered him, an experienced Order member, like that. Given, he had luck and surprise on his side, but still.
It was a matter for another day, Harry eventually decided, walking back to the Slytherin common room.
XXXXX
"You're going, right?" Draco's face was impassive, but his voice betrayed his excitement.
"Probably," Harry replied, eyes still taking in the words on the poster.
Blaise snorted. "Of course he is. It's Harry; he's crazy about defense."
A month had passed by, and winter was here. It was almost December, and the Slytherins were surprised to find a notice on the bulletin board in their common room one morning.
"I can't believe Black's actually starting a dueling club," Theo said excitedly. "Apparently it's the first dueling club in around five years."
"Calm down, Theo," Blaise said, looking at his bookish friend with an amused smile on his face.
"I hope we actually learn a few good offensive spells," Draco commented. "The first year spells aren't exactly helpful if we get into a fight."
"It's not like you'd last more than a minute in a fight," Blaise muttered. "Mr. I – hate –herbology – because – don't – like- getting – dirt – on- my- hideously – expensive – robes."
"Oi," Draco objected as the others snickered. "At least I didn't scream like a little girl when the Bloody Baron appeared right in front of us that one time we were out of bounds at night."
Harry smiled. They had been sneaking around the school in the middle of the night, intent on exploring. Sirius had mentioned some sort of passageway out of the school, and Harry and his friends had been delighted to find that it led directly into the basement of Honeydukes, the wizarding candy shop in Hogsmeade.
They had been returning back to the Slytherin dorms for a few hours of sleep before classes started, when the Bloody Baron had suddenly materialized in front of them. Shocked, they had all stumbled back, eyes wide, with the sole exception of Blaise, who had screamed (He was at the head of their group, and the Bloody Baron appeared mere inches from him).
Blaise scowled but otherwise did not retort. Draco smirked, seeing how he had won the round.
"Let's hope Black actually lets us duel. I'd like to knock Weasley's cocky smirk right off of his face," Draco said, already imagining possible ways to humiliate the youngest male Weasley. Some things never changed, Harry thought in amusement, and Draco's dislike for the Weasley (and vice versa) had never wavered. It was almost irrational, but whatever made Draco happy, Harry concluded.
"Hey Draco?" Blaise asked seriously after Draco's declaration.
"Yes, Blaise?"
"In a duel between you and Weasley, I'd pick Weasley a hundred times in a row, just saying." Draco spluttered in outrage.
XXXXX
Regulus Black did not disappoint, Harry thought, looking around at the transformation of the Great Hall. The four house tables had disappeared, leaving a large, wide open space. A standard dueling platform was at the front of the hall, where the staff table had been. Professor Black stood next to the platform, conversing with Professor Snape.
An expectant hush filled the Great Hall when Professor Black stepped onto the platform, all eyes on him, eager to hear what he was about to say.
"Welcome," Black's magnified voice boomed. "To the first meeting of Hogwart's new Dueling Club. Professor Snape and myself will be seeing if we can turn some of you into, at the very least, competent wizards and witches. Tonight, we'll be starting off easily with a few mock duels, just to see where everyone is at."
Professor Snape took over, speaking in a cool tone. "We'll be picking pairs at random. If we call your name, come up to the front and step onto the platform. You will duel with the other student. Standard European dueling rules apply."
"Don't worry too much. We'll be choosing your partner based on skill level and age. So, without further ado, our first match of the night will be… Graham Montague versus Angelina Johnson!" Regulus said.
Harry watched the duel with interest, eager to see how well the two older students fared against each other. Montague had immediately gone on the offensive, shooting several curses and Stunners at Johnson, who had conjured a brilliant yellow shield.
Between the two, Johnson was the better duelist. Montague relied too much on offensive skills and did not defend very well in return. Johnson was more careful, disarming her Slytherin opponent with a simple Expelliarmus after Montague had twisted right, leaving himself wide open for returning spellfire.
Gryffindor students and a large portion of the other houses had erupted into cheers for the girl, who was fairly popular and well-liked. Montague had accepted his wand back with a glower, his displeasure from his loss clear to see on his face.
"Our next pair will be Percy Weasley of Gryffindor versus Gabriel Truman of Hufflepuff!"
The next duel wasn't as exciting to watch as the first one had been. Both students had immediately moved into defensive stances, and neither fired a spell for a solid minute. Stunners, curses, and hexes had been traded between the two, and finally one connected. Gabriel Truman stood in the middle of the platform, holding up Percy Weasley's wand in his left hand victoriously.
There were five more duels after that, most of them interesting. Harry had been whispering with Theo about the winning move the Ravenclaw student who had won the last duel had used, debating about its advantages and disadvantages. He had been caught off-guard by Professor Black shouting his name for all students in the Great Hall to hear.
"…Harry Potter versus Cormac McLaggen!"
Instantly, all nearby eyes turned to look at Harry.
"Good luck, mate," Draco whispered.
"You got this," Theo said.
"Stun him in the balls." That was Blaise.
Harry made his way up to the platform, standing on the left side. He saw McLaggen, a second year Gryffindor, standing opposite on him on the right side. McLaggen had taken longer than Harry to reach the platform, mainly because he had taken some time to boast to his surrounding peers about how he'd easily win the duel. "He's a first year snake. What can he do? I'll beat him easy." Harry gritted his teeth at the insult. "Give him a pair of antlers, will you Cormac?" One of his Gryffindor mates called out, causing laughter to erupt from Gryffindor side of the hall.
Harry might've been at a significant disadvantage against the second year, who most likely had more power and knowledge than him, but he was determined to come out on the top. There was no way in hell that he'd be able to endure Cormac's bragging if the older boy won. It's better that I curse him now, when I'm allowed and encouraged to, than if I get in trouble later for losing my temper and cursing him, Harry noted.
"Begin," Regulus intoned.
"Scared, you snake?" Cormac was smirking arrogantly, and Harry was dying to knock it clean off of his face.
"Of you? No," he replied easily, making it sound like he thought Cormac was below him. The other boy's eyes narrowed at the slight, and Harry knew the boy would be the first to attack.
"Stupefy!" McLaggen shouted. Harry easily ducked out of the range of the Stunner, replying with a whispered Expelliarmus.
Harry was confident that he'd be able to defeat McLaggen. His defense lessons with Regulus had been going well, and he had improved immensely. His knowledge of spells had increased, and he was proficient in dodging enemy spellfire.
Regulus, knowing that Harry, while powerful for his age, was still at a disadvantage due to his age, had worked on improving the boy's agility. His speed at both casting and dodging proved to be a formidable combination in the mock duels that Harry had participated in.
Harry's Occlumency training was going at a slower pace than his normal defense training, but he was still improving. He was able to clear his mind in the span of a few seconds within a month, which he considered great progress. Harry had found that it helped him if he thought of something boring before trying to clear his mind. Two weeks ago, Professor Black had begun to teach Harry how to build up defenses in his mind against Legilimens. It was hard work, but it paid off. And last week, Black had decided to begin testing Harry's newly constructed defenses against Legilimens.
Regulus Black was a capable Legilimens, and he broke through Harry's mind defenses rather quickly, informing the boy that it would take some time before his defenses were strong enough to keep out Legilimens. Harry always ended up with a pounding headache after Regulus used Legilimency on him but had learned to accept it. The first time he had complained, Black had turned to him, lifting an eyebrow and asking him if he'd rather learn from Snape. Harry had paled instantly, thinking of the injuries the vindictive Potions Master would delight in inflicting, and had learned to never mention the headaches again.
"Bollocks," Harry muttered as one of McLaggen's Stunners flew by, dangerously close to his head.
"Impedimenta! Incarcerous!" Both spells zoomed towards McLaggen, who conjured a shield that absorbed the spellfire. The Gryffindor boy's smug grin was wiped off of his face when he was forced to duck and roll to the side to avoid an Expulso curse from Harry.
"Tarantallegra! Petrificus Totalus!" Cormac yelled. "Rictusempra! Stupefy!"
Harry knew he couldn't dodge the last spell in time and conjured a shield with a muttered 'Protego.' His shield, a shimmering bluish green, broke after 4 spells in a row hit it.
It had been more than five minutes, and both duelers were getting tired. Harry knew he had to end the fight soon if he didn't want to find himself Stunned after making a careless mistake.
He had noticed that Cormac rarely paid attention to spells that shot near his feet, instead choosing to dodge and shield against the spells that were aimed higher.
Harry mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. Jumping in the air and twisting to the side, he yelled, "Locomotor Mortis! Confundus! Reducto!" His three spells flew towards McLaggen's torso, causing the other boy to leap out of the way….right into a Stunner. Harry had known McLaggen would be forced to jump to the side and had aimed for the boy's feet, knowing he wouldn't be prepared to defend against such an attack.
McLaggen crumpled to the floor, and his wand fell to the floor. "Expelliarmus," Harry intoned, causing the Gryffindor boy's wand to fly towards his outstretched hand. He presented Professor Black with Cormac's wand and bowed lightly towards the crowd of students, most of which had started cheering for him, delighted that he had won.
Harry stepped off of the platform, spotting his fellow first years.
"Blimey, that was sick!" Draco exclaimed. "The way you got McLaggen was amazing!"
"The overgrown pillock won't be showing his face anytime soon," Blaise said with a snigger.
"Well done." Theo clapped his friend on the back in congratulations.
Five more duels occurred. Draco had been pitted against Ron Weasley, and he had won (Although one of Ron's Stunners had almost broken through the blonde's defenses when Draco was caught up in taunting the other boy).
"This has concluded our first meeting. The next meeting will be next Monday night at 8 o'clock, back here again in the Great Hall. Thank you for coming." Regulus dismissed the students.
The students gradually dispersed, leaving in groups to return to their common rooms.
"Mr. Potter, a word." Harry turned to Regulus.
"You have my congratulations with your win. You discovered a weakness and exploited it successfully. Well done," Regulus said quietly.
Harry smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Professor." His words were sincere, and Black picked up on that.
"Make sure to practice you know what before you sleep every night," Black reminded him before leaving the hall.
Harry headed back to his friends.
"What'd he want?" Blaise inquired.
"Just wanted to say congratulations and all that stuff," Harry said evasively. His friends accepted the explanation, and they returned to the Slytherin common room, exhausted.
That night, Harry fell asleep with a proud smile on his face, knowing he was one step closer to reaching his dream.
XXXXX
"Oi, have you seen my Potions book?" Blaise was searching their dorm frantically.
It was the day they were leaving for the winter holidays, and the Hogwarts Express would be arriving in less than an hour.
"For the fifth time, no we haven't," Draco snapped from where he was sitting with Harry and Theo playing Exploding Snap.
"You know," Theo began casually. "If you hadn't waited until the day we leave to pack, you probably wouldn't be so frantic." Blaise shot him a glare, still searching for his Potions textbook.
Harry just sniggered, causing both Theo and Draco to look at him. He simply pointed at his bed, where the corner of a book was peeking out from under the pillow. Theo and Draco both snickered loudly. Too loudly, because Blaise looked at them, and, seeing how they were all looking at Harry's bed, made his way there.
The three boys saw the moment Blaise realized where his Potions book had been the whole time. He had grabbed it, glowering at Harry. "You!" He had hissed.
"Me," Harry had agreed sweetly.
"You're telling me," Blaise paused deliberately. "That this whole bloody time I was looking for my book, it was under your fucking pillow? And you never told me?"
"That's about it, yeah," Harry replied, nodding his head. Theo was rolling around the floor, laughing, and Draco was almost in tears.
"Fuck you."
XXXXX
The train ride back to King's Cross Station had been long but enjoyable. Neville had joined the four Slytherin boys in their compartment, the same one they had sat in on the way to Hogwarts. The boys had amused themselves by playing a variety of games, joking and laughing.
Soon, they reached the station, and students were getting off of the express, making their way to family members. Neville had instantly headed towards his grandmother, who was wearing a hat with a stuffed vulture on it, saying his goodbyes to the other boys and promising to write and attend the Black Ball, which Sirius would be hosting at Black Manor.
Theo and Blaise had left together, and Harry had caught a glimpse of the Countess, Blaise's mother, chatting amicably with Theo's father.
"Well, it's just us now," Draco commented. "I see Mother and Father. Sirius and your mum are there too."
"Where?" Harry asked, craning his head over the crowd in a futile attempt to see where they were.
Draco snickered at him. "Midget. Follow me." He set off in the direction he had seen his parents, and Harry reluctantly followed him, indignant at being called short.
Harry had seen his mum first. It was hard to miss her dark red hair and emerald eyes. She smiled warmly at her son, and Harry embraced her. "Hi mum," he whispered.
Draco was also embracing his mother, who was fretting over him in a way only mothers do. Harry sniggered, hearing Draco's loud protests at being mothered.
There was one more person Harry had been dying to see: his godfather. Harry turned around, stepping out of his mother's embrace.
Catching sight of Sirius and the wide grin the former Marauder wore on his handsome face, Harry smiled. He was reunited with his friends and family, and he was about to be home.
Be on a lookout for Chapter 7, in which Harry celebrates the winter holidays, bad memories come to light, and Harry meets some important people.
