Harry Potter and The Boy Who Lived
Chapter 10
Summer of the Mind
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, May 29th
It was late. Past one in the morning, but no one would know that from the large group that had congregated in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
"Where is Nathan now?" Lily asked nervously.
"On the Headmaster's orders, I gave Nathan and Ron a light sleeping potion, and let them return to Gryffindor tower. Ms. Weasley however, will be spending some time in the infirmary," Madam Pomfrey explained. Seeing the look of distress forming on Molly Weasley's face, she added, "Ginny's stay in the hospital wing is purely precautionary, Molly. There is no reason to suspect that she is still being possessed."
If he hadn't just watched Nathan's memory of the Chamber of Secrets in Professor Dumbledore's Pensieve, Harry wouldn't have believed his brother capable of it. Slaying a basilisk at the age of twelve was impossible! Yet, somehow, Nathan had managed it with some help from Fawkes, the Headmaster's phoenix.
Harry had been terrified when he heard his mother scream in the middle of the night. Not knowing what to expect, he grabbed his wand and quickly rushed downstairs. He found his parents about to depart to Hogwarts with Professor McGonagall, and he demanded to know what was going on. His father had briefly explained how Nathan had gone, along with Ron Weasley, into the legendary Chamber of Secrets and managed to save Ginny Weasley from the Heir of Slytherin. Harry was told to go back to bed, and that Sirius was coming over to watch him just in case.
His parents left through the floo with Professor McGonagall. Once they were gone, Harry had returned to his room and quickly changed out of his pajamas. He made it back downstairs just as Sirius arrived to Godric's Hallow. Sirius had tried to stop Harry from flooing to Hogwarts, but, as he wanted to know what was going on himself, Harry was eventually able to convince his godfather that they both had to find out what was happening.
Stumbling out of Professor Dumbledore's floo, Harry was met with several wands pointed at him. Before anyone could tell him to go home, however, Sirius stepped out of the floo, and everyone's ire shifted to the man who was supposed to have been keeping Harry away from the floo. While his parents yelled at Sirius for letting Harry come to Hogwarts, Harry looked around the Headmaster's office. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were both present and appeared exhausted. Likewise, Professor McGonagall looked uncharacteristically tired and emotionally drained. Harry was surprised to see that Professor Dumbledore had retaken his position as Headmaster, and he greeted his pseudo-grandfather with a hug.
While Harry's parents both felt he should not be present for the meeting, Professor Dumbledore said it was unlikely that Nathan would keep such an adventure from his brother, and by showing him what happened, Harry would not pester Nathan for information about the incident. Lily and James eventually conceded, and Harry was allowed to stay and watch Nathan's memory of the Chamber of Secrets in Professor Dumbledore's Pensieve.
"Can I go talk to Nathan?" Harry asked once the memory ended.
"Harry, it's late," Lily said. "Your brother has been through a lot. Let him sleep."
"Speaking of sleep, I think you should get home as well." James said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. "You know Nathan's alright, and you saw what happened."
"Alright," Harry said, fighting back a yawn. "I just wanted to tell him I was proud of him."
Dumbledore smiled. "I will certainly pass the message on for you, Harry."
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad you're back at Hogwarts."
"As am I, Harry. I confess that the old castle has become my home, and I missed it terribly when I was away."
As Sirius led Harry back towards the Floo, Harry stopped and turned to Fawkes, who was watching the meeting with an air of detached interest. Harry approached the bird and pet its plumage. "Thank you for helping Nathan, Fawkes."
The phoenix let out a content chirp and fluttered over to land on Harry's shoulder. Fawkes rubbed his head against Harry, who continued to pet the bird.
"I think I might be jealous, Harry," Dumbledore chuckled cheerfully. "First Fawkes comes to Nathan's aid, and now he is sitting on your shoulder. James, Lily what exactly did you do to raise two incredible boys?"
Harry blushed as Fawkes let out a short amused thrill before flying back over to his perch.
"We kept both of them as far away from Sirius as we could," Lily joked.
"Oi," Sirius said indignantly, "Fawkes loves me! don't you Fawkes?"
Fawkes simply looked at Sirius with a bored expression on his face causing everyone in the room to laugh.
Harry was ready to go home when he noticed the large bookshelves next to Fawkes' perch, and an idea popped into his head. He hadn't had any luck finding information on Occlumency in his family's library. Although, if Calypso was to be believed, Occlumency was a form of mind magic, something that Harry had never even heard of, let alone seen a reference to in his family's small library. Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, was the smartest person Harry knew. Surely, he had heard of it!
"Professor Dumbledore, can I ask you a question before I leave?"
"Harry," James said, exasperated. "You need to go home. It's way past your bedtime, and your mother, the Weasleys, and I still have a lot of things to discuss with Albus."
"Now now, James, it's alright," Dumbledore placated. "Harry, you may ask me one question, but then you need to be getting home. It is, as your father said, quite late."
"Have you ever heard of a magic called Occlumency?" Harry asked. "I've been looking for it in our library since I got home, but I can't seem to find anything about it."
Albus was unable to hide his surprise at the question. "Harry, why are you looking for information about Occlumency? And for that matter, how did you learn of it?"
"A friend of mine at Durmstrang suggested I study it. She said it was a form of mind magic I might be interested in learning," Harry said evasively. "But I can't find any reference to it in our library."
"No," Albus said after a moment. "I would not expect for any information on Occlumency to be in your family's library, Harry. The few books that there are on Occlumency are coveted by many private collectors and magical governments alike."
"Do you know Occlumency, sir? Or do you have a book I could borrow that talks about it?" Harry asked hopefully. "I swear I'll take very good care of it."
Dumbledore hesitated for only a moment before saying, "I do know Occlumency, Harry, as does Professor Snape; however, I am sorry to say that I do not posses a book on the subject."
"Oh," Harry said dejectedly. "Well, thank you anyway, sir."
"It's quite alright, Harry. I do hope you have a pleasant summer," Dumbledore said as Sirius ushered Harry over to the floo.
ooo0000ooo
The Arrangement
Godric's Hallow, June 15th
Nathan's return from Hogwarts was met with a small party at Godric's Hallow. The tension that had plagued Nathan and Harry during the Christmas holidays was completely gone. While Harry and Nathan still disagreed about Nathan's ability to speak Parseltongue, the two brothers had made a silent agreement to never bring up the subject. Both brothers came to a shared understanding that they would never be able to convince the other of their point and felt that the argument just wasn't worth making anymore.
With cordiality reestablished between the two brothers, Harry explained to Nathan a lot of what he had been up to at Durmstrang. While Nathan admitted that he didn't fully understand why Harry was so excited about his Transfiguration final project, even he couldn't help but be impressed and excited by his brother's attempt to break Grindelwald's academic record. Nathan also agreed to help his brother's search for some reference to Occlumency in the Potter family library.
Nathan's willingness to help lasted all of three days before he called it a lost cause as Professor Dumbledore predicted.
Harry, however, outright refused to give up looking for information on the elusive skill, and spent an ever increasing number of hours in the library, something that began to worry his parents. In the short time since Nathan had returned from Hogwarts, Harry had often lost track of time in the library, needing to be reminded to come to meals, and dragged out of the library by his father or mother to go to bed. His father had even gone so far as to ban him from the library one day after he found Harry fast asleep with his face in a book, having not gone to bed the night before.
When pressed about why he was so interested in Occlumency, Harry always responded that the idea of mind magic greatly interested him. He was evasive to any other questions, a fact both Lily and James were quick to pick up on. After Lily's offer of summer Potions lessons were refused by Harry in lieu of spending more time in the library, she decided enough was enough.
"Harry, exactly why is learning about Occlumency so important to you?" she asked sternly.
Harry was saved from answered immediately though when an imperial great horned owl swooped into the room and landed in front of him.
Harry,
I am happy that your brother is good. A Basilisk is a strong creature, so I am happy he was hurt not.
For your question, I asked, and my match with Poland is not be broadcast by British Wizard Wireless Network. You will have to read in paper about my Quidditch victory!
I will say that we play hard against Poland, and I try to catch the snitch. Poland is good team, and I need practice against good teams for World Cup. I know I beat Poland Seeker to snitch, so if you place bet again, bet for me to catch snitch!
I hope all is good with you.
Viktor
P.S. How is my English writing? I have been working hard at it.
Laughing slightly, Harry put Viktor's letter down. After Viktor had taught him the main dialect used in Bulgaria, Harry had offered to repay his friend by teaching him English. Viktor had agreed, but they hadn't been able to practice for very long before the end of the semester. Viktor, while not having as bad a retention rate as Harry, was still on the lower end of the spectrum for the language charm, resulting in his rather fragmented understanding of English.
"Something funny, Harry?" Lily asked curiously.
"Oh, it's just a letter from my friend," Harry smiled. "Here, read it. I've been trying to teach him English with the language charm, but we weren't able to work on it for very long before the semester ended."
Lily took the offered letter and frowned at the poor grammar and obvious lack of understanding of the language. When she got to the end of the letter, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Harry," she said, "what does your friend mean about placing a bet again?"
"Um..."
"Harry James Potter, have you been gambling?" Lily demanded.
"I-well, sort of, but not really..."
"It is a yes or no answer, young man," Lily said sharply. "Do I need to call your father in here, or are you going to tell me the truth?"
"Okay, yes," Harry admitted. "But before you get upset. It was only ten galleons at first, and I only did it to help a friend."
Lily looked dubiously at her son. "Explain."
"My friend Viktor was on Bulgaria's junior national team when there was an injury to Bulgaria's starting seeker," Harry explained. "The Bulgarian Seeker had to retire because of the injury, and Viktor was selected to replace him. Bulgaria's home media thought the coaches were giving up on making a run to the World Cup, and just giving Viktor some experience at the highest level. No one believed that he would be able to compete against wizards and witches decades older than him. I placed a small wager with the Goblins in Prague to show Viktor that I supported him and thought he could win."
"So it was only the one time?" Lily clarified, softening her tone somewhat.
Harry shuffled his feet and looked down at the ground. "Um, well, Viktor's played two games, so I bet both times."
"Harry, this ends now," Lily said sternly. "How much money have you lost to the goblins?"
"None. I won. Viktor caught the snitch in both games," Harry said brightly.
Lily sighed. This had just become more difficult. It would be easy to convince Harry that gambling was wrong if he had lost money, but winning made it harder to see the consequences of gambling. "Exactly how much did you win, Harry?"
Harry mumbled a number looking uncomfortable.
"Speak up, Harry," Lily chided.
"I said I've almost made over one hundred galleons."
"Harry, look at me," Lily demanded, causing her son to quickly look up. "You've only bet two times?"
"Yes," Harry said, nodding his head. "The first time Viktor played, the odds against him catching the snitch and Bulgaria winning were 15-1. My five galleon bet turned into 75 galleons, and the next match, the goblins gave me 5-1 odds against Viktor catching the snitch and Bulgaria winning and..."
"I get the picture, Harry," Lily sighed. This was not good. Her son had made a lot of money gambling, which could turn into a dangerous habit. "Harry, you will not gamble anymore. Is that clear?"
"Well, what if I just bet on this one last game? Everyone thinks Bulgaria is going to lay down and play their reserves because they've already clinched a spot in the World Cup, but Viktor's note says he is going to be playing and trying to win. I bet I can get some great odds with the goblins."
"No," Lily said. "This ends now. I will be contacting Gringotts to have your trust account frozen before you can withdraw so much as a knut to bet with the goblins, Harry."
Harry was about to snap that he had a separate account, but, ultimately, decided better of it. "Alright, I swear I won't gamble anymore."
"Thank you, Harry." Lily sighed in relief. "Gambling can be habit forming, and I really don't want you to become accustom to doing it."
Nodding his head, Harry went back to reading his book.
"Harry, why don't you come downstairs for lunch. I was about to tell Nathan to come inside anyway."
"I'm alright," Harry said dismissively. "I'll make something later."
Lily frowned. Her son's desire to find out about this Occlumency was becoming borderline obsessive, and it worried her a lot. She had been debating over the last few days whether or not to contact Severus and ask if he might be willing to show Harry the magic. She had already contacted Albus, and, from what he told her, Occlumency didn't sound like anything Dark. Sighing, Lily said, "Harry, please come down and get some food with your brother. I promise I'll floo Professor Snape tomorrow and ask if he can give you some Occlumency lessons."
Harry's head snapped up. "Really?" He asked happily.
"Yes, but can you please tell me why learning Occlumency so important to you?" Lily asked. "I don't know a lot about it, but from what little I understand it's very difficult, and uncomfortable to learn."
"I just really want to learn it," Harry replied. "It seems really useful."
Slightly upset that she hadn't been given a better answer, Lily said, "Alright, I''ll ask him tomorrow. Now, can you go tell your brother it's time for lunch?"
"Okay." Harry immediately stood up and quickly raced outside, he never saw the concerned look on his mother's face as he left.
ooo0000ooo
Mind Magic 101
Godric's Hallow, June 22nd
Getting Professor Snape to Godric's Hollow was more difficult than convincing him to give the lessons themselves. Since the Potters' floo was only connected to one other floo, Albus Dumbledore's, and one needed to know the location of the Potter's home under the Fidelius charm to be able to floo there, Professor Snape had to take a portkey specially created by Professor Dumbledore.
Another problem that had to be negotiated was that Snape refused to enter the Potter home as long as James, Sirius, and Remus were on the property. There had been a bit of an argument about that condition, until Dumbledore managed to convince Snape to let Remus remain during the lessons. Harry had felt a little guilty that his lessons would essentially kick his father and godfather out of the house, but his mother pointed out that his father, Sirius, and Nathan, who also didn't want to be around Snape, would use the time to go to Diagon Alley or maybe to a Quidditch match, which they all would enjoy.
So, at half past twelve, James, Sirius, and Nathan all floo'd to Sirius' house, and a few minutes later, the surly-looking Potions master standing in the sitting room of the Potters home.
"Severus, thank you for coming," Lily said giving her old friend a hug.
"Yes, well, I could hardly turn down the opportunity to get my hands on some powdered Romanian Longhorn horn. I was unaware that there would be any more produced for the rest of the year, you must tell me your suppliers' name, Lily," Snape commented.
"Maybe, Severus, maybe."
"It's good to see you again, Professor Snape," Harry said respectfully.
Snape appraised Harry very carefully before nodding. "I do hope you know what you are asking for, Mr. Potter. Occlumency is not a subject learned by the faint of heart or the weak of will. It will be uncomfortable, unpleasant, and at times painful. I will give you no leeway, and I have no interest in having my time wasted."
"Always the rainbow of optimism, Severus," Remus said entering the room.
"Lupin," Snape sneered in response.
"Enough. Let's not fight. Severus, would you like anything to drink before you begin?" Lily offered.
"Perhaps later, Lily. For now, I require only privacy with Mr. Potter for his lesson."
"Alright. Remus, let's leave them alone. Good luck Harry," Lily said planting a kiss on his cheek before leaving the room.
Once Lily and Remus had left, Severus turned to Harry, his expression darkening. "Your mother went through a lot of trouble to get me to give you these lessons, Potter. I hope you don't decide to back out after you realize what you've asked for."
Harry's resolve grew. "I'm not going to back out. I need to learn Occlumency."
"Very well, Potter," Snape said. "Before we begin, tell me what you know of Occlumency,"
"Very little, sir," Harry admitted. "I understand it's some form of mind magic; however, I'm not sure what its purpose is."
"And yet you feel you need to learn it? How very curious," Snape commented, causing Harry to curse himself for his slip. "Occlumency, Potter, is a defensive form of mind magic. It is used to prevent a practitioner of Legilimency from penetrating your mind. A strong Legilimens can navigate through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpret their findings. The naïve call this mind reading, but make no mistake, Potter, the mind is not a book to be read. A truly exceptional Legilimens does not even require a wand or incantation. He merely needs eye contact to judge a person's surface feelings and intentions. This is what Occlumency protects you from."
Harry knew his face had paled by the time Professor Snape was done speaking. Mind reading! Calypso was trying to warn him about someone reading his mind! That's why she couldn't tell him what was on that piece of parchment. Because the very information could be taken from his mind without his knowing!
"Potter!" Snape snapped. "Are you paying attention?"
"What?" Harry asked started from his thoughts. "I'm sorry, Professor. The reason my friend wanted me to learn Occlumency just became clearer."
"Indeed. Had you been paying attention, you would have heard me explain how the most basic form of Occlumency involves clearing one's mind to prevent a Legilmens from perceiving one's emotions and thoughts. More advanced Occlumency involves suppressing only the thoughts, emotions, and memories that the invading Legilimens is seeking. A strong Occlumens can thus make the Legilimens believe he is telling the truth when he is lying or lying when telling the truth. This requires a great deal of will power and practice; however, the benefits of Occlumency are vast. A master Occlumens has a great deal of control over his or her emotions and is even capable of resisting Veritaserum."
"Now, clear your mind of emotion and prepare yourself," Snape said, drawing his wand. "Legilimens!"
The spell struck Harry in the head and he felt his vision swirl and become replaced with a familiar scene.
"Wait. Just wait, Harry," Calypso said, grabbing his arm. "I can't tell you what it is because...Merlin, this is hard."
"Just tell me the truth, Calypso," Harry said simply.
"I know what it looks like, but I'm not trying to spy on you or your family. If you believe anything, please believe that. I've never asked you any questions about your brother besides what you've volunteered, and you know I could care less if he's the Boy Who Lived."
Calypso let go of his arm. "That said, I can't tell you what that parchment is."
"Why not?" Harry demanded impatiently. "Just be honest with me."
Harry fell to the floor gasping for air. He felt like he had just run a marathon, and he was completely exhausted. What had happened? How had he ended up on the floor?
"Pathetic, Potter," Snape said darkly. "That was a rather poor first attempt at clearing your mind."
Realization dawned on him, and Harry struggled to sit back into his chair across from Professor Snape. "That was Legilimency?"
"Yes, the most blunt approach." Snape answered. "Were you not prepared for it, you would have likely only felt like you were recalling a memory. Now, are you prepared to go again?"
Harry wanted to say no. He wanted to tell Snape never to cast that spell on him ever again, but Calypso's voice echoed in his head. 'Learn Occlumency and I'll tell you everything.' Nodding his throbbing head, Harry did his best to not think of anything, and signaled for Professor Snape to cast the spell again.
"Legilimens!"
There was nothing at first, and then Harry felt a building pressure on his mind, and before his eyes the room fell out of focus.
"Read this and stop making me look like an idiot," Calypso snapped.
Glancing at the large book, Harry looked up and read, "Befuddling, Breaking, and Bashing: A Guide to Questionable Magic. Are you trying to tell me something?"
"I didn't tell my father that you were smart only to have you nearly lose your first few duels. I'd start reading that if I were 're going to have a few practice duels to get you back into shape after class today."
"It's not like I lost..."
Harry saw the sitting room slowly swim back into focus, and he moaned, grabbing his head in pain.
"That was slightly better," Snape said grudgingly. "You were able to stop my initial attack, but you let your guard down, and I was able to project my anger into your mind to affect your emotions. I was able to use my anger to find a memory of someone else showing anger toward you."
"How do I stop you from doing that when I don't even understand how to clear my mind?" Harry asked. "Isn't there some sort of technique you can teach me?"
Snape sneered. "I can only teach you the way Professor Dumbledore taught me. I received no book or instruction of any kind. In Albus' own words, "the best Occlumentes are self-taught."
"Should I be feeling nauseous?" Harry asked weakly.
"Are you too ill to continue? Good. I'll go get that drink your mother offered instead of wasting my time working with you," Snape said, making to stand up.
"No," Harry blurted out. "I-I can go again. I can do it."
Snape sat back down and looked penetratingly at Harry. For a second Harry thought Snape was going to leave, but the man quickly whipped out his wand and shot a spell from its tip. Reacting instinctively, Harry used his wand and tried to deflect the spell away from him. He managed to, partially, but the spell stayed on the tip of his wand for less time than any curse he had ever seen. Before Harry could move the spell far enough away from himself, the spell ran off his wand's tip and struck him in the side. Harry tried to fight the dizzying feeling, but once again he felt his vision swim.
"...wearing Grindelwald's mark," Harry said.
"Idiots, I hope someone cursed them for it. They probably thought they would look cool by wearing it."
"Dirk and Heinrich's families supported Grindelwald, much like yours did R–"
"NO!" Harry heard himself shout as if from a thousand miles away as the pressure on his mind immediately lessened and then disappeared.
Once again, Harry found himself kneeling on the floor and feeling completely exhausted. His body hurt. His mind hurt. Looking up, Harry was surprised to see Professor Snape also on the ground a few feet away from him. The man slowly stood up, and, after a moment's hesitation, offered a hand to help Harry stand. Harry gratefully took it, and slowly stood as well.
"You tried to deflect the spell," Snape said in amusement.
Harry blushed. "Um, yes. I worked on spell deflection with a friend, and it was just instinct."
"You also managed to generate a weak shield charm to throw me out. Was that intentional as well?" Snape asked.
"No," Harry admitted tiredly. He hadn't even realized he'd cast a spell.
"I believe we are done for the day, Mr. Potter," Snape said after a moment. "Practice clearing your mind before you go to sleep at night, and I will return next week."
"That's all we're going to do?" Harry asked trying to hide his relief.
"Mr. Potter," Snape said exasperatedly, "I don't know if you are aware, but it has been almost an hour since we began, and I have no intention of being around when you father returns. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll see about getting some tea before I leave."
Harry nodded his head and went to upstairs, intent on getting some sleep. He was halfway up the stairs when he decided some tea sounded very nice. Turning around, Harry walked back downstairs.
"Do you have any idea why Harry is so interested in Occlumency, Severus?"
Hearing his mother's voice, Harry froze just outside the kitchen, his heart beating very hard in his chest.
"No," Snape replied after a moment. "However, from what you've told me, I believe I saw the person who mentioned Occlumency to him. The same girl was present in each of the three memories I saw."
"Harry mentioned he had a friend named Calypso," Remus remarked. "Could it be her?" .
"I believe that was her name," Snape said, doing his best to ignore the werewolf. "However, why she wants Harry to learn Occlumency, I do not know."
"How did his first lesson go?" Lily asked hesitantly. "We heard him scream. I know you said Occlumency could be intense, but...but surely there is an easier way."
"If there was an easy way, I suspect more witches and wizards would take advantage of the benefits that come from being an Occlumens," Snape replied. "As far as his first lesson, it went as I expected. His first attempt was horrendous, and I was able to see a fairly important memory. It was recent, and it was some sort of argument between him and the Calypso girl. I won't lie to you, Lily. The girl was claiming that she wasn't spying on Harry or your family. She went on to say that she didn't care if Nathan was the Boy Who Lived. It was an unusual memory that, I admit, I wish I could have seen the end of."
"Spying? Should I be concerned about Harry at Durmstrang, Severus?" Lily asked worriedly. "He seems so much happier there, but if his friends feel the need to tell him they aren't spying on him..."
"I honestly don't know," Snape admitted. "The memory was important, but I felt many different conflicting emotions coming from Harry, and I didn't see it in its entirety."
"And I suppose if I confront him about it, he'll just tell me it isn't important." Lily sighed. "He's becoming so closed-off at times. It worries me."
"He is about to become a teenage boy, Lily. Of course he is going to become closed-off and rebellious about certain things. I would be worried if he wasn't," Remus joked.
Lily laughed. "I guess I am a little sad that my two boys are growing up."
"Yes, well," Snape said uncomfortably, "I suppose I should be leaving before Potter and Black come home."
"Thank you for doing this Severus," Lily said honestly. "I know we have the same potions supplier, so you must not need any more powdered longhorn horn. You're a good friend."
ooo0000ooo
A Rat on the Run and Duping Dumbledore
Godric's Hallow, July 14th
Harry sagged into the chair, his head aching, but he had a certain air of accomplishment about him. While he still couldn't stop Snape from entering his mind, Harry managed to immediately detect Snape using passive Legilimency on him when he arrived, and he averted his eyes, managing to break the connection. Snape said it was a good sign that he was developing a self-awareness of what was and wasn't a part of his own mind.
The lessons were still brutal of course, and Harry was in pain for almost a day afterward. His father, godfather, and brother, upon first seeing the state he was in after the lessons, were ready to floo to Hogwarts and curse Snape. Fortunately, Harry had been able to explain that the pain was just a part of the training, and that it lessened as he felt himself improving.
Much as Harry expected after overhearing Snape's conversation with his mother, Snape began targeting memories of Calypso in order to find out more about her. In his four Occlumency lessons, Snape had seen memories of Harry and Calypso laughing, arguing, talking, and even dueling with one another. While Harry had been unable to stop Snape from seeing the memories, he had been successful in keeping Calypso's last name a secret.
"How much longer do you think it will take?" Harry asked, tiredly following Professor Snape into the kitchen where his mother waited with two fresh cups of tea for them. After spying on his mother and Snape's private conversation, Harry had decided to take tea with them after his Occlumency lessons. While he was sure his mother could find out the information from Snape at another time, it wouldn't be as fresh in the professor's mind as immediately after a lesson.
"You're improving, but you still have a great deal to go if you want to learn this before you return to Durmstrang," Snape said, having seen enough of Harry's thoughts to know that was indeed his goal. "My only advice is to work harder."
"That's always your advice," Harry muttered in annoyance.
"You can't expect miracles, Harry," Lily said. "From what Severus has told me, you've done very–"
"Lily! James! Are you there?" Dumbledore frantically called from the living room.
"In the kitchen, Albus," Lily said, standing up in alarm. "What's wrong?"
"Lily, I'm glad I caught you... Severus, what are you doing?...Oh, of course, your lessons with Harry," Dumbledore said. "It's good that you both are here. Lily, I have some rather grave news to tell you. Peter has escaped from Azkaban."
In a matter of seconds, Lily's face shifted from disbelief to horror. "That's impossible! No one has ever escaped from Azkaban."
"I'm afraid his cell was found empty by the dementors earlier today," Dumbledore explained. "The news is being suppressed for right now, but unless they can find him soon it will be made public knowledge."
"But how?" Lily demanded. "The Auror's were aware of his animagus form, and he was kept in a high security area."
A particularly angry look crossed Dumbledore's face "The minister, in his infinite wisdom, was scheduled to visit Azkaban today. The Dementors were moved into the Prison basement and the wards were relaxed somewhat in preparation for his visit. The Auror's believe Peter used the opportunity to escape his cell."
"Who was stupid enough to relax the wards? The minister has to visit Azkaban every year, this was never a problem befo–"
"The minister was never required to tour the high security wing before, Lily. Peter is Azkaban's only long term Animagus prisoner, and somewhere in the bureaucracy the proper procedures were ignored in lieu of the Minister's visit." A goat Paronus burst through the window and Dumbledore bent down to listen to it. After a moment, he turned back to Lily and said, "There will be time to discuss this later. Where are Nathan and James? They must be informed."
Lily's face paled. "They're in Diagon Alley with Sirius."
"Please have them all return as soon as possible." Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Severus, I need you to go and make use of your less savory contacts. Find out if anyone is going to be providing a safe haven for Peter."
Harry watched, slightly frightened, as his mother rushed out of the kitchen to contact his father, and Professor Snape nodded grimly before activating his portkey and disappearing.
"Everything will be alright, Harry," Dumbledore said softly. "We will catch Peter."
Harry looked up at the headmaster and was shocked to feel the slight intrusion of Legilimency against his mind. Rather than simply averting his gaze, Harry tried a trick Professor Snape had told him about. When a Legilimens was trying to get a passive look at someone's surface emotions, a skilled Occlumens could push a different emotion to the forefront of their mind to confuse the invading Legilimens.
Doing his best to suppress the fear he was feeling for his family, Harry focused on the anger he felt when he realized he had no friends in Ravenclaw. Harry remembered how they would bad-mouth him behind his back and try to subtly jinx him in the dorms. Doing his best to follow Professor Snape's instructions, Harry projected his anger towards Dumbledore.
Slowly, Dumbledore's expression grew more and more concerned as he continued to receive the false emotions. "My boy, are you alright?"
"It worked, didn't it?" Harry asked, immediately breaking eye contact with Dumbledore, effectively cutting the connection.
Dumbledore looked at the child in confusion. "Did what work, Harry?"
"You were using passive Legilimency," Harry said, ignoring the shocked expression on Dumbledore's face. "I tried sending you some false emotions. It worked, didn't it?"
Dumbledore shook his head in amazement. "I apologize, Harry. I merely wanted to sense how you were taking the news of Peter's escape. I must say that I am quite surprised that you have taken to Occlumency so quickly. I suppose that will teach an old man from trying to use such a tactic with you ever again. I was quite convinced you were about to attack me for a moment. I think I will ask next time I feel at all inquisitive about what you are thinking."
"I've never been able to project a different emotion before just now, sir," Harry said proudly. "I only recently learned how."
"Remarkable." Dumbledore smiled. "I do hope that when you are writing your memoirs, Harry, that you choose to leave out that I was the first person ever to be fooled by your mind magic. I do have a reputation to uphold."
ooo0000ooo
Fall of the Dark Lord
Harry's Room, July 31st
It was a very subdued thirteenth birthday for the two Potter boys. The threat of Peter lying in wait in his Animagus form just outside the wards kept both boys firmly inside the boundaries of the house, and neither of them were allowed to visit Diagon Alley or any other major wizarding area. However, Peter wasn't the only thing that dampened the mood for the two recently turned thirteen year olds.
Nathan's best friend, Ron Weasley, had written weeks earlier and told Nathan that he wouldn't be able to come over for his birthday after his family won the Daily Prophet's annual 1000 Galleon draw. The normally cash-strapped Weasley family had decided to go on holiday to see their eldest son Bill in Egypt. Nathan's other best friend, Hermione Granger, was likewise holidaying in France with her parents, and apologized for not being able to be at his birthday either.
As for Harry, he received a card and a present from Viktor, who explained that unlike the Junior National Team, the Bulgarian National Team had people who were paid to cater to the "petty whims" of the Quidditch players and would go out and buy things like presents when the players didn't have time.
Opening Viktor's gift, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see an interesting looking book on enchantments as well as several small objects. A knife, a teacup, a small stuffed Veela doll wearing a Bulgarian National team Jersey, and four unenchanted Quidditch balls that were typically given to little children. After quickly reading Viktor's letter, Harry smiled. Viktor had given him a book that described several interesting and difficult enchantments, along with the items to enchant. He would certainly enjoy Viktor's present later in the summer. Testing what he could do with enchantments was always fun. Dangerous, yes, but fun nonetheless.
Putting Viktor's gift aside, Harry made his way downstairs where his brother and father were listening to the Pride of Portree play the Appleby Arrows on the wireless.
"Who's winning?" Harry asked more to announce his arrival then caring about the match.
"The Arrow of course," James said proudly. "210 to 140."
"Did you hear about how Bulgaria destroyed Poland a week ago?" Harry asked curiously.
"Of course," James said, clearly a bit surprised that Harry had suddenly shown an interest in Quidditch, "Everyone thought that the Poles would win since Bulgaria had nothing to play for. I tell you, that new Seeker of Bulgaria's is something special. They might be trouble for England if we get stuck in their group for the World Cup."
"I don't think anyone is going to top England. Sheer is playing at the top of his game," Nathan declared.
"Maybe," Harry said, "but England is legendary for fielding amazing teams only to come up short. We haven't won the World Cup since the sixties."
"Hey," James said indignantly, "that wasn't so long ago. I was born in 1960 you know, Harry."
"Wow, you're getting up there, Dad. Dumbledore had better watch out," Harry smirked.
"I'll show you who's old," James said, playfully drawing his wand and casting a color-changing charm at Harry's hair.
Harry watched the spell leave his father's wand and swiftly deflected it right at Nathan whose eyes widened dramatically at the spell's radical change of direction. The spell hit Nathan in the face, turning his entire head bubblegum pink.
Harry laughed uproariously. "It's a good look for you, Nathan."
"I'll get you for this, Harry," Nathan warned, drawing his wand.
"Put that away, Nathan," Lily chided, removing the color-changing charm with a casual wave of her wand. "I swear, I leave the three of you alone for a minute, and you devolve into chaos."
"Dad started it," Harry muttered as two large birds swiftly flew into the room. Harry immediately identified both birds as being from Durmstrang, and they quickly landed near him.
"Oooooo," Nathan said with a wicked grin. "Did your grades arrive on your birthday, Harry? Talk about bad luck!"
Harry simply rolled his eyes as he removed a letter from the smaller of the two birds. "Some of us, Nathan, are confident enough that we did well."
"Okay, Mr. Confident," Nathan smirked. "Let's see how you did."
Opening the letter, Harry immediately recognizing the first part.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Congratulations. Your academic scores for your second year have been judged, and you will be allowed to continue your education at Durmstrang Institute of Magic.
Please note that classes begin on the 26th of August. This letter will function as a Portkey to take you to Durmstrang; however, it will only be active between the 20th to the 25thof August. Should these dates prove problematic for you, please contact us no later than the 7th of August. Activation word is Crete.
Sincerely,
Demetri Überzeug
Assistant to the Highmaster
Taking a deep breath, Harry glanced down and took a look at his scores.
Charms: M
Transfiguration: M
Dark Arts: M
Herbology: J
History of Magic: M
Potions: M
Spell Creation: M
Mr. Potter you have passed all of your classes, and you have been cleared to take Fifth Year Charms and Transfiguration, Fourth Year Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, and Potions, and Third Year Spell Creation. You may also choose to take any number of electives, which include Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Divination, and Magical Creatures.
Harry let out an excited 'whoop' and did a little jig before pulling his brother into a hug. "I did it! I did it!"
"Seriously?" Nathan asked before getting a look at his brother's score card. "Wow."
"Did what, Harry?" Lily asked curiously.
Smiling widely, Harry showed his parents his score card, and quickly explained his goal of breaking Grindelwald's academic for the most first place rankings in a single year. Needless to say, both Lily and James were flabbergasted by what Harry had managed to achieve.
"That's unbelievable. I can't believe you topped Grindelwald," James said in awe. "How long was that record standing for?"
"97 years," Harry said proudly. "Grindelwald set it in his fifth year at Durmstrang, and I just beat it!"
"You would think that the letter would have mentioned something about it," Lily said, re-reading her son's scorecard to ensure that she hadn't missed anything.
At the mention of a letter, the remaining owl reminded everyone of its presence by making a very loud and angry screeching sound.
Harry quickly made to remove the letter from the larger owl, only to discover a decently sized manila envelope tied to the owls leg. Once the envelope was removed, the owl departed after sending a glare at each of the four Potters for seemingly wasting its valuable time.
Opening the envelope, Harry was surprised to see a magazine and a letter fall out.
Dear Harry,
By now you should have received your grades. I mailed this letter at the same time, so they should have arrived together.
If you haven't looked at your grades yet, please do so.
Now, let me be the first at Durmstrang to congratulate you on surpassing Grindelwald's academic marks for the most Master rankings in a single year. I knew you could do it, Harry! Every one of your teachers are so very proud of the effort you put into your studies last year, myself included. A small ceremony will be held during the Welcoming Feast to honor your achievement, so please wear dress robes.
If I were you, Harry, I would expect to receive several letters and tokens of appreciation from not only your other teachers and peers, but also from many grateful witches and wizards of Central and Eastern Europe. You might now be asking yourself, how are random people not associated with Durmstrang going to know you beat Grindelwald's record?
I would ask that you now turn your attention to the copy of Transfiguration Today that I attached to this letter. The magazine is an early copy of their August British edition. Please turn to the story that spans from page 5 to page 8.
I knew I would be seeing great things from you, Harry.
Keep up the amazing work,
Professor Rosemburg
Harry glanced down at the copy of Transfiguration Today. Flipping to page five, he gasped and nearly dropped the magazine. There on the front of page five, was a large picture of himself and Professor Rosemburg that Harry remembered had been taken near the end of the term. Harry blinked twice as he stared incredulously at the story, which took up several pages in the famous magazine.
Harry James Potter, Defeater of Grindelwald!
As many of you know, Nathan Potter, The Boy Who Lived, is the only known survivor of the killing curse and defeater of the powerful dark wizard known as You-Know-Who. What is less commonly known is that Nathan Potter has a twin brother named Harry, who also has a penchant for defeating dark lords. In the case of Mr. Harry Potter, however, the dark lord in question has long been captured and punished for his crimes.
Still, long after his defeat at the hands of Albus Dumbledore, the Dark Lord Grindelwald had, until recently, managed to hold onto the record for academic excellence at his oldalma mater. Before he became the infamous wizard, Gellert Grindelwald was simply an exceptionally brilliant young man who, during his fifth year at Durmstrang, set the record for the most first place individual rankings in the school's history.
Unlike Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, who rank students by their overall performance in their combined classes, Durmstrang not only ranks students overall performance, but in each subject as well. Grindelwald set the standard for excellence at Durmstrang with five first place rankings in 1897, a feat that has long been considered by many professors to be unbeatable at the academy. "No one in the last 97 years has come close to matching Grindelwald's academic mark," comments Durmstrang Charms professor Alexander Kosarev. "Typically there are three or four students in each subject who all compete for the honor of the top spot, and it's very rare for any one student to get more than two first place rankings."
Very rare, but not impossible. Just ask Harry Potter. Mr. Potter transferred to the Durmstrang Institute of Magic from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry halfway through his first year. After taking Durmstrang's mandatory placement tests, Mr. Potter tested into third year Transfiguration and Charms classes while testing into Second year Potions, Herbology, and History of Magic. When asked about Mr. Potter's incredible placement test results, a spokesperson from Durmstrang said, "Mr. Potter's placement test was one of, if not, the finest entrance examinations in the history of Durmstrang. The young man did things with a wand I would never have believed possible from an eleven year-old."
Mr. Potter placed first in his third year Charms class at the end of his first year at Durmstrang by perfectly crafting a Semi-Permanent- Enchantment-Receptacle, an O.W.L.- level charm. However, besting peers several years his senior was not nearly impressive enough for Mr. Potter. Earlier this year, Durmstrang's Transfiguration professor contacted this publication with a major discovery made by one of his students. The student in question is, of course, Mr. Potter.
The end-of-term project at Dursmstrang makes up for a large percentage of each student's final grade and is designed to not only demonstrate the student's understanding of the material taught, but to go beyond what has been explained in the class. While working on his final project in Transfiguration, Mr. Potter managed to find an exception to the age old theory that living and nonliving things are incompatible with each other in switching swells (To see the full discovery analysis, please turn to page 7).
After following the instructions in Professor Rosemburg's correspondence, we confirmed that Mr. Potter had indeed made a crucial discovery in the field of Transfiguration, and we were prepared to publish the discovery in our May edition. However, just prior to running the article, we received an additional letter from Professor Rosemburg asking us to delay the publication of Mr. Potter's discovery. Professor Rosemburg explained that Mr. Potter was attempting to do the impossible by challenging Gellert Grindelwald's academic mark at Durmstrang, and how many professors, himself included, were beginning to think that the young man was capable of beating it. Naturally, we were intrigued, and so we agreed to shelf the article for the time being.
Well lady witches and gentlewizards, it gives all of us at Transfiguration Today a great deal of pleasure to report that Harry Potter has indeed succeeded in surpassing Grindelwald's academic record. Mr. Potter achieved the top spot in six classes (Transfiguration, Charms, Dark Arts, Potions, Spell-Crafting, and History of Magic), besting Grindelwald by one! Everyone at Transfiguration Today gives Mr. Potter their best, and if we are to believe Mr. Potter's Transfiguration professor, we will be publishing the young man's discoveries for many more years to come.
Mr. Potter's Final Projects Broken Down...Page 6
Using Broken Enchantments To Facilitate Switching Spells….Page 7
Experts Debate New Discovery ...Page 8
After briefly glancing at the other pages, Harry numbly handed the magazine over to his parents, who gasped and quickly began reading the articles. A few moments later, Harry found himself in a bone-crushing hug from his mother.
"Oh Harry, I'm so proud of you!" Lily said happily. "I can't believe you're published at 13! And you would have been at twelve, had they run your discovery in their earlier edition."
Once Lily released him, Harry found himself to be immediately brought into a tight hug from his father. "This is absolutely brilliant, Harry. I can't wait to show Sirius and Remus. Your uncles are going to be so proud."
The rest of the day was a daze for Harry. He remembered his uncles coming by to congratulate him on his discovery, and how everyone said how proud they were of his achievement. It was all so very surreal that in the years to come, Harry would remember very little of the actual day. However, he would always remember that night.
Lying in bed, Harry was reflecting on the incredible day he had just had when there was a soft tapping on his window. Looking up, he saw a small, inconspicuous-looking owl, painfully trying to stay afloat while carrying a decent sized parcel.
Quickly getting out of bed, Harry let the owl into his room, which, once relieved of its burden, flew back out the window. Glancing down at the small wrapped package, Harry opened the small letter that was on top.
Harry,
Please return this to me the moment you get back to Durmstrang.
Happy Birthday,
Calypso
Happy that his friend hadn't ignored his birthday, Harry carefully unwrapped the gift, which turned out to be a small leather-bound book. When he saw the title, his eyes widened. Opening the book and reading the table of contents, Harry reverently and carefully closed the cover.
From what Professor Dumbledore had said, Harry knew books on Occlumency were rarer than rare, and coveted by just about everyone. From the note, Harry inferred that the book belonged to Professor Rosier, and that Calypso had probably taken it without his knowledge. Harry did his best not to think what his Dark Arts professor would do if he ever found out that Calypso had just sent one of his rarest magical tomes several thousand miles away with a small, undersized owl.
Looking at the old book, Harry vowed that Calypso's father would never pluck the information from his mind. Romulus would never know Calypso sent him the book.
ooo0000ooo
The Good and The Bad
Godric's Hallow, Aug. 9th
"Legilimens!"
Harry felt the spell hit him, and he immediately focused on bringing a memory to the forefront of his mind.
"I don't care what you think, Nathan, Professor Snape is not a vampire!" Harry exclaimed.
"Harry, everyone knows it's true," Nathan said. "Have you ever seen him go into the sunlight?"
Harry smiled as he felt Snape's ever-increasing annoyance at the memory that appeared. Harry continued to focus on the memory, replaying it a few times, causing Snape's ire to grow. Just as the Potions Master pushed the full force of his energy into navigating away from the memory, Harry was able to clear his mind of all thought, forcing Snape from his mind.
While Harry still couldn't stop Snape from entering his mind, he had made several impressive strides. It now consistently took Professor Snape at least a few seconds before he was able to overpower, or influence an emotion into Harry's mind. Even once he was in Harry's mind, however, Harry had become adept at withholding valuable information. The book Calypso had sent was absolutely brilliant at making suggestions to annoy an invading Legilimens.
For instance, if you weren't quite at the level to consistently stop an invading Legilimens, a good way to bother him or her once inside the mind is to focus on hunger. This would bring countless unimportant memories of meals to the forefront of your mind. Once the Legilimens was annoyed at not finding what he or she wanted, it became easy to distinguish the foreign emotions, and thus easier to clear your mind to expel the Legilimens.
"For the record," Harry smirked, "I don't think you're a vampire."
Snape narrowed his eyes and peered intently at Harry. "You led me to that memory intentionally. You knew I was growing frustrated at seeing useless memories of you eating, and you baited me."
"I did," Harry agreed.
Snape stood. "I believe we are done for today. We should have two, maybe three more lessons before you go back to Durmstrang. If you continue to improve as you have, I'm confident you will be able to hold back any Legilimens that tries to invade your mind. Good work today, Potter."
Harry thanked his former professor and went upstairs to tinker with some of the enchantments he had been working on. As he passed his brother's door, Harry sighed. Why was it that every time something good happened to him, something bad happened as well? Less then a week after being published in Transfiguration Today, Harry had stumbled onto a copy of his brother's grades from his second year at Hogwarts. While the end of year examinations were canceled for all non-O.W.L and N.E.W.T years, that didn't mean the students didn't get grades. The teachers simply awarded the students the grade they had earned thus far in the class without an end of year examination.
Nathan had gotten an Acceptable in Potions and only an Exceeds Expectations in Charms and Transfiguration. Harry had confronted his brother and pointed out that he could have done so much better.
That small argument had turned into a larger one when Harry asked what Nathan was doing in case Peter came after him. Their parents had just earlier in the day revealed that Peter had been muttering 'He's at Hogwarts, He's at Hogwarts' in his sleep while in Azkaban, making his parents fear that Peter was going to attack Nathan. Harry had offered to make a list of spells for Nathan to learn, but Nathan had casually shrugged them off as unnecessary, trusting that Professor Dumbledore would keep him safe at the school. It was Nathan's casual dismissal of practicing defensive magic that caused Harry to hex him. When Nathan found himself bound, upside-down, and stuck to a wall in his room. Harry pointed out that if he could do that to Nathan, then surely, Peter, who survived as a spy for Voldemort, would be able to catch him unaware.
Nathan did not take to the hexing so well, and, after a stern lecture from his mother, Harry spent the next two days grounded in his room. Harry had a plan, however. Hermione Granger was going to be coming over along with Weasley to belatedly celebrate Nathan's birthday. If there was one person in the world that could get Nathan to study, Harry knew that it had to be Hermione. It was just a matter of convincing her to convince Nathan to learn some spells that would take Peter by surprise.
ooo0000ooo
We Fight Because We Love
Godric's Hallow, Aug. 14th
"...And of course I am ever so impressed at your discovery," Hermione gushed. "We haven't learned switching spells yet, but I reviewed a few essays I wrote about them and did a bit more research after I read the article. Do you have any idea when your discovery will enter a textbook?"
"Well, the self-updating books should already contain it, but it'll probably take a few years for the rest of the books to be updated properly," Harry said. "It might be ready by your O.W.L year."
"I certainly hope so. Are you looking forward to going back to Durmstrang?" Hermione asked. "Your mother mentioned some sort of party they are planning for you..."
"Yeah, there is going to be a reception during the welcome feast. I've also been getting letters from most of my professors asking what I like most about their subjects. My friend thinks they're all trying to outdo one another to get me the best gift, and are most likely trying to fish for information."
"You have to write and tell me what they give you," Hermione said. "Oh and thank you again for giving me your old spell creation book. It might take a while for me to translate the German, but I can't wait to get home and read it. I wish Hogwarts offered a course on spell creation. It seems absolutely fascinating."
"I agree. I asked Professor Dumbledore why they don't offer it, and he said that Hogwarts stopped staffing the position in the late 1700s after the failure rate got too high. It is a very tough subject, and few people are ever able to master it."
"Well, I think spell creation would be an absolutely brilliant course to take. I was planning on taking all the electives at Hogwarts, but your mother convinced me that wasn't a good idea. I had no idea I could take the Muggle Studies O.W.L. even if I didn't take the course, and Divination just seems like a waste of time. I'm going to be taking Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy."
"Good choices. I'm going to be taking Magical Creatures and Astronomy. I was tempted to take Ancient Runes, but I just can't find a reason to learn a dead language. At least Astronomy can be useful in other subjects, like Herbology and Potions, and knowing about magical creatures is always good, I suppose.
"I wish Nathan had your attitude sometimes. Have you seen what classes he signed up for?" Hermione asked, clearly disappointed.
"Yeah, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. I can't say I'm happy with his choices, but I'm sure you've heard that I haven't exactly been on the best of terms with Nathan lately."
Hermione looked slightly chastising. "I heard that you hexed him for no reason, so I suppose he's allowed to be slightly cross with you."
"Is that what he told you?" Harry scoffed. "Tell me, Hermione, has Nathan told you there is an insane, homicidal maniac that is most likely trying to kill him?"
"WHAT!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'll take it that is a no?" Harry asked rhetorically.
"Explain! Now!" Hermione turned slightly pink as she realized how demanding she sounded, and added, "Um, I mean, could you explain that, please?"
"Have you heard of Peter Pettigrew?"
"The wizard who escaped from Azkaban," Hermione said tentatively with a nod of her head.
"Peter was one of my dad's best mates at school. He was sent to Azkaban after convincing my parents to drop Nathan and me off at my mother's parents' house, and telling the Dark Lord where to find us. Peter was a spy for the Dark Lord. He set Nathan and I up to die when we were younger. Fortunately, something happened that night, and Voldemort ended up being the one who died. Peter was captured and given Veritaserum. He confessed to being a Death Eater, and was given life in Azkaban."
"And now he's out," Hermione realized, "and he blames your brother for stopping You-Know-Who!"
"Exactly," Harry said. "I hexed Nathan after he basically said he didn't have to worry about Peter because Dumbledore would protect him. While I agree that Dumbledore will do everything to protect Nathan, Pettigrew is still dangerous. Nathan should be learning some advanced magic to protect himself!"
"I agree," Hermione said immediately, causing Harry to smile at the witch's predictable enthusiasm.
"I was hoping you'd say that, Hermione. Nathan won't listen to me, but he just might listen to you."
"You think I can make Nathan listen when you can't?" Hermione said in surprise.
"Well, there is only one way to find out, isn't there? Where is Nathan?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's showing Ron that new broomstick servicing kit your uncle got him."
"Alright, let's go talk to him."
"Now?" Hermione asked surprised.
"Of course, the sooner the better! I've even made a small list of spells for Nathan to start studying," Harry said. "All I need is for you to convince him to learn them."
Dragging Hermione up to his brother's room, Harry quickly opened the door causing Ron and Nathan to quickly throw a magazine off the bed. Both boys appeared flustered and had an air of guilt about them.
"What were you two doing?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Nothing!" Ron and Nathan said immediately.
Spotting the glimmering cover of The Nymph's Grotto, which Sirius had secretly given to Harry and Nathan for their birthday, Harry discretely banished the magazine further under Nathan's bed. If he knew Hermione, she would most likely go off on a tangent about Nathan and Ron looking at the dirty magazine, and Harry needed her focused on the task at hand.
"It doesn't matter," Harry said, giving Hermione a pointed look. "Nathan, Hermione and I want to talk to you."
Nathan looked between Harry and Hermione in confusion before understanding appeared on his face. "Oh, err, wow. Umm, okay, I sort of expected, but I didn't think-What I mean to say is...I'm alright with it, so no problems here."
"Great! Wait...what? Okay with what, Nathan?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Well, you know," Nathan said uncomfortably. "You and Hermione. I mean, I'm not surprised. You're the two smartest people I know, so, well, it's not that shocking that you two would, umm, get together."
Understanding hit Harry and Hermione at the same time, and they both looked at each other before quickly looking away in embarrassment.
"No," Harry said quickly. "We're not... dating."
"We wanted to talk to you about Peter Pettigrew. Harry tells me you're not taking the threat he possesses seriously and we think you need to prepare yourself just in case he is able to somehow able to get to you in Hogwarts." Hermione said very quickly, still blushing from Nathan's assumption.
"Harry, why did you drag Hermione into this?" Nathan asked tiredly. "Hogwarts is a fortress, and there is no way Dumbledore will let Pettigrew get to me."
"Exactly," Harry said triumphantly. "Hogwarts is a fortress. It's meant to repel armies, not a single insane wizard."
"Please Nathan," Hermione begged. "Harry and I just want you to be safe. Promise me you'll look at learning some defensive spells, just in case the worst happens."
"What kind of magic?" Ron asked, eying Harry with open distrust. He had never really liked Harry, and he had never forgiven him for calling him stupid in front of the entire Great Hall at the end of their first year.
Knowing that Harry had probably filled Hermione in on their family's relationship with Pettigrew, Nathan accepted the fact that if he didn't agree with them now, Hermione would just continually bring it up during the year until he agreed to learn what she wanted. With a sigh, he relented. "What do you want me to learn?"
Harry smiled and took out his list of spells. "Here is a small list of spells I think you should start with," he said, ignoring Ron's sarcastic comment of 'Yeah right, small.' "Most of them are curses and hexes that I've been taught in my Dark Arts class. You should start at the top and start working your way down. The spells get progressively harder, but more powerful."
"Nathan is not learning any dark magic!" Ron exclaimed, causing Harry to angrily glare at him.
"First of all, my brother can damn well decide what magic to learn without your help, Weasley. Besides, do you even know what makes something dark magic?" Harry demanded. "Not that it matters for you of course – you probably still can't cast a proper levitation charm."
Ron made to draw his wand, but Nathan pulled his arm back down. "Ron, don't," Nathan said, knowing that Harry didn't like Ron and would love an opportunity to curse him. "And Harry, Ron's right, I'm not learning any dark magic. Most of the people at Hogwarts are still coming to the realization that I wasn't the heir of Slytherin. I'm not going to secretly start studying the Dark Arts. I'll be seen as the next Voldemort... again!"
"Did you really make a list of dark magic for Nathan to learn?" Hermione asked, aghast.
"No," Harry snapped, "I didn't make a list of dark curses. But even if I did, it's not like Nathan using them against Pettigrew would be a bad thing!"
"Except when your soul turns black and evil," Ron declared dramatically.
"Turns your soul black and evil." Harry repeated, looking at Ron as though he was an insect that needed to be squashed. "Weasley, just out of curiosity, how stupid are you?" Before Ron could answer, Harry said, "You know what, just shut up. People with the intelligence of a Flobberworm don't get to be involved in this conversation. Nathan, take the list, and promise me you'll practice the spells."
Nathan looked back and forth between the list Harry was offering him and the looks of mistrust on his two friends' faces. After a moment's thought, Nathan pushed the list back towards Harry. "I'm not learning anything that might be dark magic, Harry. Dark magic is evil, Dad taught us that."
"Damn it, Nathan, there is no good or evil in magic – there is only the power and the intent that magic is used for! Now take the list!"
Harry immediately knew that he had said something wrong because even before he finished speaking, Nathan was looking at him in horror.
"What did you just say?" Nathan whispered disbelieving.
Wondering exactly what had made Nathan freak out, Harry repeated, "Nathan, listen. All that matters with magic is –"
"N-no,"Nathan stammered. "I don't want the list. I won't take it!"
"Nathan! Just listen to me," Harry pressed.
Ron took a threatening step forward. "He said he doesn't want it!"
Finally pushed beyond his limit, Harry whipped out his wand and cast a particularly vicious hex at Ron. The spell struck Ron in the head and, immediately, red snakes began growing out of Ron's hair.
Ron's blood-curdling scream quickly drew the attention of the adults downstairs, who burst into Nathan's room with their wands drawn. They found Hermione frantically trying to cast every counter-hex she knew at Ron's head while Nathan and Harry were tumbling on the ground fighting.
ooo0000ooo
The Prince's Praise
Godric's Hallow, Aug. 23rd
For cursing Ron, Harry was grounded for the rest of the summer. Not even Harry's explanation of Nathan not taking the threat of Pettigrew seriously softened his parents' punishment. Harry was confined to his room for the rest of the summer, with the exception of using the bathroom, and taking meals with the rest of the family. His parents had even briefly considered grounding Harry from receiving his last two Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape; however, they ultimately decided against that.
Much to Harry's annoyance, when Snape heard that Harry had used the Gorgon-Hair Hex on Ron, his former professor spent a good twenty minutes scolding him for not using Occlumency to keep his temper. As Professor Snape said, "Being able to keep one's emotions under control when faced with outright idiocy is one of the most valuable benefits of Occlumency."
While Snape was disappointed at Harry's lack of discipline, James had demanded to see the spell list that seemed to be the cause of the fight. Only after Harry showed him the list, which consisted of defensive magic like the shield charm and a few curses, with the most dangerous being the blasting curse, did James admit that Ron had blown the argument out of proportion. Lily was also disappointed with her son for harming a guest, and had, surprisingly, been the one who decided that Harry would be punished for the rest of his summer break.
As for Nathan, he had outright refused to talk to Harry during meals, and kept his distance from his brother on the rare occasions when Harry tried to talk to him.
"Legilimens!"
The spell struck Harry in-between the eyes, and Harry immediately cleared his mind. As the moments ticked by, Harry could feel Snape putting more and more power behind the spell, and trying to project an emotion into Harry's mind to trigger a memory. After nearly five minutes, Snape ended the spell and sagged slightly into his chair. Harry followed suit, rubbing his head gingerly.
"Congratulations, Potter. I daresay you've become better than average at Occlumency."
Harry couldn't help but feel a great deal of pride. He had learned to interpret Snape-speak during the course of their lessons, and to be told he was better than average was a very high compliment from his old Potions professor. "Thank you for all your help, sir. I never would have been able to succeed without your guidance."
Snape nodded, seemingly pleased by the compliment. "I admit it was refreshing to teach someone besides the usual group of dunderheads I am forced to instruct."
"Finished?" Lily asked entering the room with Remus at her side.
"Yes," Snape said standing up.
Lily nodded and then turned to Harry. "Back upstairs, Harry."
Muttering a goodbye to Professor Snape, Harry returned to his room, annoyed that he was still being punished by his parents. It wasn't his fault that Ron Weasley was a complete idiot! If he had been a half decent wizard, he just would have shielded, deflected, or dodged the spell! Instead the moron got hit by the hex and dropped his wand! Then, acting like a scared Muggle, attempted to pull the snakes out of his hair, resulting in his hands being bit.
Glancing down at his Durmstrang letter, Harry once again contemplated activating the Portkey early and going back to school. Now that he knew for a fact that he was good enough at Occlumency, he wanted to talk to Calypso and find out exactly what was going on with that piece of parchment. He had exchanged some letters with Calypso over the summer, but their friendship was still tenuous from the argument at the end of last term.
Harry was also looking forward to seeing Viktor again. Harry had written to his friend often during the summer, but return letters had been few and far between as Bulgaria's training schedule began demanding more and more of Viktor's time. Bulgaria had been sent to Group E in the World Cup along with Russia, Colombia, and Egypt, and they were already the frontrunner to win the group after defeating Egypt by a staggering 620-80 in their first match. While Harry had been proud of Viktor's accomplishments, the demand of professional Quidditch didn't give Viktor a lot of time for correspondence, and Harry was looking forward to getting back to Durmstrang and seeing his friend.
Decided, Harry summoned his trunk and began to pack his belongings to go back to Durmstrang. He didn't care if his parents would ground him over Christmas for leaving early, at least he wouldn't be stuck in his room any longer.
After packing most of his belongings, Harry turned his attention to the rather troublesome items sitting on his desk. While the initial enchantments Harry had placed on the items Viktor had sent him for his birthday were all perfectly safe, being stuck in his room for the last part of summer with nothing to do had given Harry a nasty case of idle hands syndrome. As such, he had tried improving upon the enchantments he had placed on the knife, teacup, stuffed Veela teddy, and miniature Quidditch balls.
While the knife and teacup were mostly harmless, unless you tried to pick up the knife or drink tea out of the cup, Harry had horribly botched the enchantments on the stuffed Veela teddy and Quidditch set. The stuffed avian Veela had initially been enchanted to be animate, and the small stuffed animal could often be found harmlessly wandering around his room. Unfortunately, animating the stuffed animal was not enough for Harry, and he thought it would be interesting if he could enchant the teddy to send out a small burst of fire, just like a real Veela.
The enchantment failed miserably, and now the small stuffed animal had a horrible tendency to burst into flames if anyone tried picking it up. The flame-proof charm Harry had cast before trying to enchant the teddy ensured that the stuffed Veela always survived its spontaneous combustions.
The burning Veela was nothing compared to the mistake Harry had made with the miniature Quidditch set, however. Initially enchanted to fly around his room, the miniature balls were an interesting sight, and Nathan had been quite envious when he first saw them; however, Harry had wanted to make them more realistic.
Harry still wasn't sure what had gone wrong, but when he tried enchanting the two Bludgers to chase the Snitch and Quaffle and attempt to knock the balls out of the air, the Bludgers had somehow become malicious. The two balls had irreparably damaged the Quaffle and Snitch, and, once the Snitch and Quaffle were destroyed, they began attacking everything else in his room. Eventually, Harry had been able to capture the two Bludgers, and they were now trapped in his spare closet.
Figuring that the Bludgers would be more difficult to deal with than the stuffed Veela, Harry decided to get the worst over with and waved his wand at the closet, opening the door. The two angry enchanted Bludgers raced out of the room and made a beeline for Harry's head.
Just as he was about to cast a freezing charm, the door to his room opened. Quickly turning around, Harry was surprised to see Professor Snape walk inside. With a sharp jab of his wand, Harry closed the door to make sure the Bludgers couldn't escape out of his room.
Snape's eyes widened when he saw the two Quidditch balls head straight for him, and he silently sent a spell at the nearest Bludger, causing it to momentarily freeze before violently exploding. The second Bludger apparently rethought its decision to head towards the professor and tried to escape out of the window; however, Harry swiftly subdued it with a freezing charm, and it fell to the ground immobile.
"Potter, what in Merlin's name is that thing!" Snape demanded.
"An enchantment gone awry," Harry said as he placed the Bludger securely into its box and placed it in his trunk. He'd show it to professor Kosarev and try to figure out what he did wrong. "Is there something I can help you with, Professor? Oh, and whatever you do, don't touch the stuffed Veela on my desk," Harry warned. "It tends to catch on fire."
Eying the innocuous looking teddy that was sitting a few feet away from him with its arms open, apparently looking for a hug, Snape took a step away from the stuffed Veela. "I have one final piece of advice regarding Occlumency, Potter."
"What else should I know, sir?" Harry asked curiously.
"As you continue your practice in Occlumency, you will find that your greater control and understanding of your mind will lead to you developing a fledgling talent for Legilmency."
Harry looked at his old professor in shock. "But I thought Legilimency had to be learned? How would I just develop the talent?"
"What you must understand, Mr. Potter, is that there are many more practitioners of Legilimency than Occlumency. Learning Legilimency can be done in a similar manner to learning any other piece of spell work, and it is not nearly as uncomfortable as Occlumency. However, by learning Occlumency, you have reached an understanding of the mind that most practicing Legilimentes would never achieve."
"But, sir," Harry repeated. "How will I just develop a talent in Legilimency? I don't understand."
"What did I tell you during your first lesson?" Snape said. "The mind is a complex object. By becoming an Occlumens, you've successfully brought both your magic and mind under control. As a side effect of this process, there will be times when you might find yourself inadvertently projecting your mind magic, such as when you are extremely curious or interested in knowing what someone is thinking."
"For someone who is just trying to become a Legilimens, this is the most difficult step in the process, yet it will come easy to you. At first, it will seem like a burst of accidental magic. A sudden realization that someone is lying to you, reading the surface emotions of people, or perhaps seeing part of a memory. It will eventually become burdensome unless you learn to control it. When you do, you will have become a successful Legilimens."
"So while not all Legilimens are Occlumens, all Occlumens are Legilimens?" Harry asked.
"While there are a few Occlumens that try to suppress or ignore the Legilimency, they are few and far between," Snape replied. "Most accomplished Occlumens consider Legilimency one of the most beneficial aspect of learning Occlumency, for in learning one useful talent, you have gained another."
"I understand," Harry said carefully. "Thank you for telling me, sir."
"The best of luck on your next term, Mr. Potter," Snape said, departing from Harry's room.
"Well that was interesting," Harry said, looking at his stuffed Veela. "Do you think I should start learning Legilimency?"
In response, the small Veela happily opened its arms, hoping for a hug. Harry carefully approached the stuffed avian, and was about to pick it up when it erupted into flames.
"What am I going to do with you?" Harry asked in resignation.
The toy had no answer.
ooo0000ooo
Wow, sorry this took so long to get out everybody. The vast majority of this chapter has been ready for sometime, but a real life crisis along with a little procrastination kept pushing the post date back.
I will say that this is probably my personal favorite chapter thus far. I enjoyed taking a very canon and, IMO, a more realistic approach to Occlumency. Anyone who has read a lot of fanfiction has probably seen some of the more cliche Occlumency techniques that are used by writers. The last thing I wanted was to write another story where Harry builds a 'mindscape' or something equally cliche, and I hope everyone enjoyed my approach to Occlumency.
Finally, I would, again, like to thank everyone over at DLP, especially my beta crew.
Well, I guess that's it. Drop me a review and let me know what you think.
~The Santi