Chapter 10
The next morning Harry woke to find Emily had already woken up and left. He stretched his hand out to see his watch. Confident that his mother would have already left to open the store in town, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and padded out to the kitchen. Severus was reading the Daily Prophet while Kason was working on his scrambled eggs. Emily had gone to the shop to help Lilly.
"Morning, Harry." Kason piped from his seat, causing Severus to raise his head from the paper.
He locked eyes with Harry for a second before nodding towards the stove. "There is breakfast, go eat it."
Harry nodded and fixed himself a plate before sitting down at the table. "Morning." He mumbled, stifling a yawn with a mouthful of food.
Without looking up from his paper, Severus said impassively. "Your mother does not believe you, so I suggest if you wish to stay out of St. Mungos, you reframe from speaking about it around her." He looked up at the end of his speech and Harry was surprised to see concern in those dark eyes.
Harry nodded once and set his fork down, all appetite gone. "I understand. I think I have a handle on it now anyways." Severus nodded once before returning to his paper.
Kason looked between Harry and Severus. "Whatcha' talking about?"
Harry smiled and reached over to ruffle his hair. "Nothing much, munchkin."
Kason rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He played with his food. "Hey, Harry. You wanna play catch with me?"
Harry smiled softly. "Of course…finish your breakfast." He laughed as the little black haired blur shoveled food in his mouth. "Don't choke…"
He spent the rest of the day playing with Kason. They played catch, climbed the large oak in the corner of the garden, and everything else Harry could think of. Before dinner they finally trooped in through the kitchen door.
When Harry saw Lilly standing there cooking dinner, he sent Kason on to clean up. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I worried you last night."
She stirred the pot slowly without speaking. Harry was worried until she finally sighed and turned to look at him. She dried her hands on her apron as she contemplated what she was going to say. "My son, I always worry about you." She said softly as she cupped his chin in her hand. And then her face changed expressions quickly, obviously dismissing the event the night before entirely. "Go wash up for dinner."
Harry gaped his mouth open for a second, his head still spinning a bit at her abrupt change, but closed his mouth with a snap. "Yes, mum." Severus was right; Lilly was just going to pretend everything was right.
He made his way to his bathroom as he thought about how different his mother was from what he expected. It seemed that he had built up an image of her in his head, and the real life version fell short. However it was not fair to Lilly to think this way, as she is human, and not perfect. That didn't make the disappointment any less real.
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Harry followed a pretty strict routine the weeks that followed. Every morning he ran as far as his body would allow before cooling down by walking back. He would then do pushups and sit-ups until his arms and abs were burning. After lunch he would meditate in the garden while Esmeralda would scout around and bask in the sun. After his mind was clear, he would take a walk and talk with Dante. These became more and more interesting as the time went on.
Dante was sarcastic, cynical, yet also seemed to have decided Harry was worth helping. He taught Harry spells that Harry wouldn't have come across otherwise. When Dante first suggested teaching him the spells, Harry had a few objections.
"I am not going to use dark magic, or learn it just because." Harry was walking along the road that led away from Hogsmeade; wild forest bordered both sides.
Dante was his normal apparition 'ghost' walking beside him, chains leading from him to the pendant on Harry's chest where the book was hidden. He rolled his bloodshot eyes. "There is no 'dark' or 'light' magic. Magic is magic, you idiot. Besides any advantage you can get, you should grab with both hands."
Harry sighed and looked sideways at him, obviously weighing his choices. He finally nodded. "You're right. I am willing to learn whatever you are willing to teach me."
After that they started an intense training regiment. Harry never asked how Dante learned the spells himself; actually he never asked Dante any personal questions.
After four weeks, he started to see the changes. His body was more toned from the exercise and he didn't get quite as many headaches as long as he meditated for at least and hour a day. His family had seen the changes, but Lilly seemed to ignore them, while Emily and Severus looked on with curiosity.
September first came around and the house was in a state of frenzy. Emily, Harry and Severus were busy packing for the move up to the castle, while Lilly was busy deciding what she would take to the castle for the weekends. Because she had the shop in Hogsmeade and Kason was starting at the small Preschool in town, she was going to stay in the house for the week and then spend the weekends at Hogwarts.
When the carriages finally arrived, they piled in. Severus, Lilly and Kason took one, leaving Harry and Emily alone. Harry was staring out the bouncing window when Emily broke through his thoughts.
"Harry, I know there is something going on with you," she held up her hand when he went to protest. "And I know you don't want, or can't tell me what it is right now. I just want you to know that if you ever need me, for anything, just ask, Okay?"
Harry felt that now familiar feeling of his chest being to small to hold his lungs comfortably. "Thanks, Emily. That means a lot to me." He reached over and gave her a half hug, just as they were pulling into the Hogwarts driveway.
She smirked and shrugged. "What's a sister for?" She asked as they climbed out of the carriage and into the castle. There was only about an hour before the other students were going to arrive from the Hogwarts Express, so Harry and Emily sat in an alcove near the doors.
Esmerelda wrapped herself around Harry's upper bicep, trying to sleep. She had grumbled all day about the crazy atmosphere and the fact that he hadn't had time to let her roam the garden. She was now sulking.
The carriages arrived, spilling students into the courtyard. Both Emily and Harry joined the mob headed for the Great Hall. Harry spotted Draco's silver head first above the crowds. They met just inside the Great Hall, Hermione a step behind him.
"Draco!" Emily launched a hug at the smirking blonde. "Hey, Hermione." She added over Draco's shoulder.
Hermione smiled. "Hello, Emily. Harry how was the rest of your summer?" There was that concerned look again. Harry had received several owls asking how he was feeling over the last few weeks.
Harry smiled softly. "Just fine Hermione, how was your trip to Spain?"
She smiled. "It was fantastic."
Draco pretended to pout. "Is nobody going to ask about poor me?"
Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes. "How was your trip Draco? Your father drive you crazy?"
Draco flashed a face full of mock pain. "You wouldn't believe. From one corner of the world to another, he wanted me to see all of the business. And part of that business was in some backwards town in Colombia." He rolled his eyes. "Thank Merlin I could use magic, or I wouldn't have survived. But pretending to be a muggle sucks. No offense Hermione." He added. She just rolled her eyes.
At that point the Hall was starting to fill so Draco headed off to the Slytherin table while the other three made their way through the throng to the Gryffindor table. Harry caught a glimpse of red hair and looked down the table. Near the other end, Ron sat laughing at something Neville just said. Neville looked different, Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Then he saw Ginny sitting next to Neville, smiling at whatever he said. Something twisted in his chest when he saw him reach across and tuck the hair behind her ear. He looked away quickly before he acted on the urge to chop off Neville's hand.
Emily noticed his discomfort. "Are you alright?"
Harry's teeth unclenched. "Yeah, I'm fine, look the first years are coming in." he was more than happy for the distraction.
That night as he got ready for bed he realized just as isolated he was. As the other boys joked around and talked loudly, Harry was left to himself. He actually wasn't that upset; it meant he had plenty of time to train. All in all, it wasn't a bad start to the new term.
He should have knocked on wood.