Harry had been back at Hogwarts for a day when Hedwig dropped in at dinner; Hermione hadn't yet arrived, having gone passed the owlery to write a quick message to her parents. He wasn't sure why, but he had been concerned about Hedwig since mid-afternoon, almost knowing something was wrong. The ruffled feathers and unusual flight did nothing to ease him.

As soon as she landed, he set about smoothing her plumage and giving her a bit of food. In return, she gobbled it up and nuzzled against him, falling into a light sleep. Hesitantly, he unhooked the letter, hoping that it wasn't Lupin who had gotten her into that state, and began to read it.

'Dear Mr Potter,

'While I appreciate the courage it must have taken to make such a request, it is my responsibility to inform you that, due to a long-term affliction of mine, I am not permitted to be in contact with you. If you have any more questions regarding this, I highly suggest you discuss them with your headmaster Professor Dumbledore.

'Regards, R.J. Lupin.'

It was a strange reply, he thought, for a few reasons. He found it most odd that it had come back so quick, considering he thought Lupin was abroad and even France should have taken a couple of days, though he conceded Lupin may have been in Ireland. What was only slightly less odd was that he couldn't think of an affliction that wouldn't permit written contact. Hedwig, he knew, was a tough bird, so for her to have encountered something that threatened her seemed bizarre, especially when nothing hunted owls.

His feelings on the message itself were mixed. The first line was most definitely a compliment and Lupin had explained, slightly, why he could not reply, not simply stated that he was not going to or that he did not wish to. He thought he may be reading too much into it, but he reasoned that it would have been much easier to merely say, 'I do not wish to reply,' or, 'I can not reply.' That Lupin had given him the means to check he told the truth meant a lot and, along with the way he was addressed as more an equal than a child, made Harry think highly of Lupin and that Lupin would have liked to reply.

A nip brought him back to the real world and he smiled at his owl. Getting his notebook and pen out, he jotted, 'Are you injured at all?' Hedwig swivelled her head either side. 'Was it Mr Lupin who did it?' Again, she shook her head in the way owls did. 'Was it another bird?' Another owl-shake of the head. 'Was it a human?' This time her head bobbed. It was troubling news for Harry. 'Did they read the letter?' Another owl-nod. 'Did they change it in any way?' An owl-shake.

He took a break from the questioning to read over the letter, pondering why someone would intercept this particular letter rather than the other ones. 'Erm, Mr Potter?' spoke a timid voice. Harry turned, facing a small girl from Ravenclaw with tinted skin and black hair, bearing a striking resemblance to one of the Gryffindor girls. 'Headmaster Dumbledore has requested your presence after dinner. The password for tonight only is Maltesers.'

Within seconds she had fled back to the Ravenclaw table, leaving Harry with only one last question for Hedwig. 'Was it Dumbledore?'

'Harry my boy, it is good to see you! I do hope you enjoyed your break over Easter?'

Slowly, Harry breathed deeply, keeping his calm. 'Please, sir, Mr Potter,' he wrote, firmly placing it on the desk.

'Of course, forgive an old man for forgetting decorum amongst the students he cares about.' Casually, Dumbledore picked up a bowl and tilted it towards Harry, adding, 'A lemon drop?'

Biting back the smirk, Harry kept himself from writing, 'My aunty always told me to accept candy from strange men,' instead only shaking his head.

'Very well.' The headmaster returned the bowl, taking his time to slowly ease back in his chair, his good nature slipping into one of concern. 'You are not doubt wondering why I have invited you here. I am afraid that it is a more serious discussion than one I would like to have with someone so young. You see, while I appreciate your friendship with Ms Granger, I must ask you refrain from visiting her without suitable supervision.'

Dumbledore was most lucky that, at that moment in time, Harry was not familiar with any particularly interesting hexes or curses and so had to limit himself to a look of extreme hatred.

'I know it seems unreasonable of me to ask, but I solely have your best interests at heart. Our discussion before Christmas, I thought, had made the seriousness of your life a reality, but I have myself alone to blame. Most prominently, as only muggles, they would have been unable to protect you from an attack by dark wizards who wished you harm. On top of that, as only muggles, they could have easily been influenced to harm you using any number of techniques that only those with magic can overcome. Luckily, neither happened this time. I do not wish to make you fearful, merely reasonable. If you wished to leave the castle during holidays, we could always arrange for a day trip to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade with an escort.'

Harry was wondering if he could ask the twins for suggestions of good spells to learn. He wrote, 'Mr and Mrs Granger treated me with more kindness and respect than I thought possible, sir, and would very much like you to never again call them "only muggles." The Dursleys also have no magic, so is the same not true for them?'

'The wards protecting you there would prevent the mishaps I mentioned, being as extensive as they are.'

'So if there were strong wards around the Grangers' house as well, then it wouldn't be a problem, sir?'

Dumbledore shifted in his chair, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on the desk, looking over the top of his half-moon spectacles straight into Harry's eyes. 'In theory, however the wards around the home of the Dursleys were erected by strong blood magic, built by your mother's sacrifice. As I said that night, they are unequalled in their protection.'

A plan of sorts sprouted in Harry's mind, but he decided to place it aside for the moment. He broke eye-contact with the headmaster, a gentle headache he didn't realise he had easing, to write, 'Could Professor McGonagall please join us, sir?'

'May I ask why? If it is regarding the nature of this conversation, I have already talked to her about the slip in her duties and she has assured me it won't be repeated again.'

Calmly, Harry jotted, 'I would like her opinion on something different.'

'Something which you could not share with me alone?' Harry shook his head. 'Very well, she will be arriving shortly. Is there something you wish to discuss until then?' He shook his head again and they waited in silence until Dumbledore said, 'Come in,' just before a knock sounded. 'Good evening Minerva, I hope we haven't disturbed you from anything important?'

'Not at all Albus,' she said. 'May I ask why I am here?'

Dumbledore smiled, motioning to Harry. 'Mr Potter has requested your presence while presenting a problem.'

'Very well,' she replied, confused, and took the seat beside Harry.

Harry took two notes out of his pocket, handing one to McGonagall and putting the other on the headmaster's desk. Curious, she read, 'Headmaster, could you tell me why you stopped Hedwig, my owl, and read the letter she was delivering to me, making her very upset?'

It stunned her for a moment, but after so much time dealing with teenagers, she swiftly regained her composure and wits. Ensuring this wasn't a ruse, she leaned over and read the other message to the headmaster, it matching her own. Concern was lit in her mind.

'As your magical guardian, it is well within my rights to ensure any mail sent to you is not at all harmful, either physically or mentally,' was his stern response.

'It is also Mr Potter's right to know that you were doing so,' McGonagall sharply stated.

Slowly, Dumbledore removed his glasses, rubbing his temple slightly. 'All I have wished is that he may lead a normal life. It pains me to say a fraction of the letters addressed to him contained traces of dark magic.'

She held back from countering, noticing that Harry was writing. Once done, he placed the note sideways on the edge of the desk so both could read it easily. 'Mr Lupin told me to ask you about his affliction. Could you tell me?'

'I believe you have read more into the note than he intended. Remus was simply ensuring you wouldn't try to communicate with him further without my approval first.'

'Then may I have your approval, sir?' Harry wrote, placing it where the other note had been.

Dumbledore once more eased back into his chair, a relaxed demeanour in place. 'Perhaps when you are older. There is much more to the magical world than you see and this is an area where you will have to trust me it is in your best interests to wait until you are more familiar with it.'

McGonagall had been ready to step in and berate the headmaster, but she let Harry continue, curious at the peculiar choices of questions. Harry slid the note, tilted slightly more at Dumbledore this time. 'Would I be allowed to go to Neville's house over summer then? I'm sure I could learn a lot more if I stay with people who have grown up with magic, even if it's just for a few days.'

Both adults were unprepared for the change, but Dumbledore showed none of it. 'Perhaps for the day a couple of times, but as it is just himself and his grandmother, a suitable minder will be required in case of an emergency. If you truly wish this, I will talk to Augusta and arrange some days for you to visit – would you like that?'

'I would like that very much, sir. Could I go now? I wanted to send Mr and Mrs Granger a thank you letter for having me before curfew.'

'You are free to go if you have nothing else to discuss, my boy,' Dumbledore kindly said with a smile and twinkling eyes.

The weeks rolled on with Harry, Hermione, Neville, Susan and Hannah often finding themselves in the shadow of the large rock by the lake in the afternoons, though Hermione ensured it was always productively spent. Eventually April gave way to May and the announcements about exam scheduling.

One such morning, Harry groaned at the mental and physical aches. Hermione had made sure that the extensive quidditch training, for the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup against Ravenclaw, didn't interrupt his revision. The match itself was two weeks away and, much to his displeasure, the ministry had pushed the dates for the OWL and NEWT exams back, meaning that the exams for the rest of the school were brought forwards.

He had, somehow, managed to convince Hermione that they would manage to get enough work done despite the loss of a month of preparation time. Picking himself up off the bed, he trekked down to the common room and the awaiting girl in question along with Neville. Having long since returned to his later bedtimes, he was often the last awake amongst their motley group.

'Morning Harry,' Neville quietly said, shuffling some sheets of parchment. 'Hermione's suggested we go o-over herbology today and p-potions tomorrow.'

'They are our first exams after all,' she pointed out.

The two boys nodded in agreement and, after a hasty breakfast, Harry found himself reading through details on a whole range of plants they had studied over the year, being primarily theory led. Soon he was lost in the mass of information they were expected to recall.

'Mind reminding me about Devil's Snare?' Harry scribbled, passing it over to Neville.

He looked back at Harry and subtly pointed to Hermione, but Harry shook his head. 'D-Devil's Snare picks up m-moving animals using f-fine hairs on its above-ground r-roots and tries to c-catch them using the roots. If they d-do, they wrap around and k-kill it, letting it decompose for nutrients. It hates light, so is n-normally found in caves and thick forests. This means a strong light or flame spell can keep them off you.'

Hermione had picked up a book and been looking through it, stopping on a page. Once he had finished, she said, 'Spot on Neville.' He blushed, murmuring something, before going back to some notes he had been writing.

The hours rolled on into lunch, switching them into the library afterwards, where Hannah and Susanne joined them. Hannah was also knowledgeable in the realm of herbology, finding herself and Neville being the primary focus of any questions, including a select few from a Hermione who was very embarrassed about not knowing the answers herself.

Any hope Harry had of relaxation was dashed after dinner, when Wood, in no uncertain terms, insisted on drilling the team until they broke from exhaustion - something which caused Alicia's cheeks to take on a rosy tinge, much to the other two chasers' amusement – as it was the last chance they would get before the match.

If Harry had the energy to, he would have wished that he was feeling only as tender as he had that morning, rather than being composed of lead like he had upon returning. It was only through careful balancing and determination that he collapsed face-up on his bed, fully clothed and already asleep.

Morning seemingly came several hours earlier than normal for the battered boy when he begrudgingly opened his eyes. Choosing the lesser of two evils, he pulled the curtains around his bed shut, keeping the sunlight out, and wondered how long Hermione would let him rest.

Based on the rumbling stomach waking him up, he guessed it must have been a good few hours. Gingerly making his way down to the hall, he spared a glare at Wood, getting a chuckle from Neville and Hermione. The upbeat twins were downtrodden; the chaser trio were passive rather than bubbly; Wood was amicably chatting to a couple of other fifth years about quidditch tactics, looking rather peachy, much to the rest of the teams annoyance.

The herbology exam the next morning, as far as Harry was concerned, was horrible. He stumbled out of the darkened greenhouse and into the bright sunshine hoping he at least managed a passing grade. Neville and Hermione looked quite chipper, so he mock pouted at them and, after they asked him how he thought it went, started walking off to the castle alone. It only took a few seconds before he had both arms grabbed, being pulled towards the lake.

'We're going on a picnic of potions revision, Mr Potter,' Hermione sternly stated, tugging him further against his will, 'which you are most certainly attending.'

Submitting, he eased up his resistance and walked in step with them to the rock they had claimed. On the other side, Susan and Hannah awaited, sitting on an oblong black rug with a yellow trim.

'Oh come on you two, I thought we were going to have the same blanket as last time?' Hermione asked.

Blushing, Susan mumbled, 'Some of us aren't that good at transfiguration.' Harry chuckled, touching his wand to a corner, the rug taking on a thinner, squarer shape, along with alternating parts lightening to crimson and yellow, the trim darkening to black. 'Show off,' she grumbled, her authenticity offset by her grin. In reply, Harry stuck his tongue out, setting the others laughing.

'Now, before we get too carried away, potions tomorrow.' Hermione was met by a round of groans, Neville noticeably turning a shade paler. 'Come on, it won't be that bad. He is being kinda fair now after all.'

'I've still b-blown up four cauldrons s-since then,' Neville stuttered.

Hannah quietly added, 'Two for me.'

After a sigh, Hermione said, 'Well, hopefully by tomorrow you both will feel confident enough to leave your cauldrons in one piece.'

Harry wrote, 'Seems she doesn't know about easy-clean two-piece cauldrons.' Neville managed to hide the snicker, but not the grin.

Oblivious to their lack of attention, Hermione had switched to, what the others had nicknamed, Professor Granger mode, whereby she pulled out a few books and notes, reading what she thought were important points and likely potions they would have to brew for the practical test. Being the good students they were, the other four attempted to write what she said, but only Harry could keep up. Thus it was that, an hour and a half later, they trundled up to the hall, only Hermione lacking a pained hand.

The excessive fact gathering continued after lunch, stopping by the library so Hermione could get a couple of obscure books on stirring technique, just in case they came up. It would have taken up the whole afternoon if she had had her way, but Susan insisted they took a swimming break.

This left Harry very nervous. Hermione was still packing the last of her books into her bag; Susan and Hannah had already left to go to their dorms to get their swimming costumes on. Neville looked at Harry and asked, 'What's the problem?'

Taking a calming breath, Harry felt incredibly stupid as he wrote, 'I don't know how to swim.'

Neville read the note and started chuckling. Seeing Harry's scowl, he said, 'W-we can teach you. I've g-got spare swimming trunks, if you need.' Grateful, Harry nodded. Hermione finished packing shortly after that and they headed back to their dorms, getting changed quickly and returning to the lake.

The two Hufflepuffs were already there and in the water. 'Come on, it's great!' Susan shouted, before turning to retaliate to Hannah's splash.

It was with reluctance that Harry followed Neville and Hermione into the wonderfully cool water. They waded in until it was waist high; at this point Neville told the others.

'Well, well, a spiffing day to learn I must say,' Susan regally admired.

Only now he couldn't reply did Harry realise how exposed he felt, with neither wand nor pen to defend himself.

'Compliments to Susanne for a mighty accurate observation,' Hermione poshly added.

Susan awkwardly curtsied. An unwelcome voice cut through the scene, saying, 'Look what we have here, a bunch of babies splashing about in the water.' No one turned to look at Draco, hoping they would be lucky this time. 'Honestly, ignoring someone and hoping they'll go away? How childish can you get?'

'There's room on the other side of the lake if you wanted to swim, otherwise we're busy and would appreciate being left alone,' Hermione tensely said.

'Busy doing what? Cleaning the filth off? It'll take more than a bit of water to do that.'

Harry was being held back by Hermione and Neville. Susan curtly said, 'We're teaching Harry to swim, so could you please leave.'

'You mean that worthless half-blood can't even swim?' Draco managed while laughing. 'I know they aren't as good at magic, but Merlin, everything else too? What's next, gonna need you to show him how to use the potty?'

No longer was Hermione holding Harry back as she stormed through the shallows to the wheezing Draco. His two cronies stood slightly behind him, as always, though they didn't react to the approaching girl.

The others cringed at the sound of the wet slap. 'Draco Malfoy, you will get the hell away from us or so help me I'll make sure you couldn't swim even if you wanted to.' There were a couple of tears in his eyes as he backed up, Crabbe and Goyle barely moving to permit him between them. He started stuttering about telling what she did, but Hermione spoke over him, saying, 'Yes, go tell everyone that a muggleborn witch made you cry from a slap after you insulted her best friend - that'll really get everyone on your side.'

She turned on the spot, trusting her friends to warn her of any attempts at revenge. By the time she re-joined them in the water, the Slytherin trio were halfway to the castle. Adrenalin falling, she started rubbing her hand, releasing small groans of pain and hyperventilating slightly as she realised how much trouble she could get in.

Neville amusedly watched Harry move in front of Hermione, only to do nothing else as all he could do is stand there smiling at her. 'I think what H-Harry wants to say is "thank you" and I want t-to say, "wow."'

'Seconded,' Susan said.

'Thirded,' Hannah added.

Hermione blushed, mumbling, 'It was nothing.'

Susan splashed her, getting a glare back. 'It was not nothing! You didn't even have your wand on you.'

'I-' she paused, gulping, 'I just did what Harry would have done if… if Malfoy had insulted me like that.'

It was Harry's turn to blush. 'I'm pretty sure Malfoy would've g-gotten more than just a slap,' Neville said, grinning.

Hermione chuckled. 'I suppose. What do you think, Harry?' Now grinning himself, he splashed Hermione before turning and attempting to run away. 'So that's how you want to play, Mr Potter!'

Harry thought he was likely jinxing it, but he felt that the written part of the potions test had gone well. There was a subtle irony, as far as he was concerned, because the first part of the test was about the forgetfulness potion and asked him to recall the primary ingredients and method of brewing, along with its duration and potency.

Knowing the practical part could end before it began, he breathed a sigh of relief when handed back his recipe and told to begin. Seeing the same happen to Neville, he thought Susan was right to push for a bit of time to relax after their extensive revision. The real icing on the cake for Harry was hearing Professor Snape quietly tell Draco that he missed a crucial step and would be unable to start until it was remembered. Of course, when Crabbe, Goyle and Ron were asked to leave, it wasn't at all unexpected.

After a half-hour of cautious slicing, dicing, stirring and heating, Harry walked out the door, ecstatic that the colour and consistency matched what he remembered they should. Hermione and Neville were still finishing off, Hermione having spent longer on the written part and Neville being twice as careful with preparing his ingredients beforehand. As they had promised, he went back to their place by the lake, getting curious looks from Susan and Hannah.

'I take it all went well, Harold?' Susan pompously asked.

Harry sat down on the grass, leaning back against the rock and pulling his tatty trainers and socks off. Taking out his pad, he wrote, 'Susanne, I brewed a most beautiful forgetfulness potion, I think.'

'You think you did?' she asked, confused.

'Well, you see, I can't remember exactly,' he penned, making sure he was standing and out of arms reach before the two girls finished reading.

They both groaned, Hannah muttering, 'That was terrible.'

Susan had stepped forward to swat his arm, but he slipped back. 'Stay still!' she shouted, attempting to catch him, failing to keep up. 'Come on,' she begged, 'Just a little one so you learn your lesson.'

They careered around the lakeside; Hannah couldn't help but giggle as Harry teased his pursuer: slowing and speeding up at the right times to throw her off balance; jogging backwards, beckoning her and sticking his tongue out at her; splashing her in the shallows.

'Give me a hand!' Susan shouted over, the pair of them running towards Hannah.

After a quarter of an hour, Hermione, Neville and McGonagall found the three of them panting and lying down with their faces in the shade of the rock. 'Afternoon,' Hermione said.

'Harold sure can… run fast,' Susan replied between breaths.

McGonagall sighed, saying, 'I knew the son of James Potter would have girls chasing him, but I didn't realise so soon.'

'Professor!' Hermione blurted, shocked at the statement. Harry found his face, which was already red from the exercise, a deeper shade of crimson.

'Your curfew exemption permit for the astronomy exam tomorrow night,' McGonagall said while handing a small slip of paper to Harry. 'Have a good afternoon.' She turned and started walking back to the school, pausing for a moment to add, 'Try to stay out of trouble.'

'Merlin visited every magical jail setting up new protections.' Harry turned around and looked up at John. 'Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. Astronomy exam tonight after all.'

He nodded, getting his notebook out from under one of the scattered books on the common room table while John walked around to the chair on the other side. 'I like "My very educated mother just served us nine pizzas" - Hermione found it in her dad's old physics book.'

'Not bad. Anyway, I'm organising a last minute study session for the other firsties if you had any questions. Nothing like a bit of practice teaching kids before I start my summer job after all.'

'What will you be teaching?' Harry wrote.

John grinned, replying, 'Basically stargazing. It was a bit hard to get without any muggle qualifications, but I stopped by over Easter and showed them I knew my stuff. So, for three weeks, I'll be spending a couple of hours a day teaching kids to identify the planets through a telescope and draw maps of the solar system at physics summer camp. Fun or what?'

While he spoke, Harry noted, 'Muggle?'

'Not much opportunity for teaching in the magical world. Besides, it's not like I need the money. I mean, with magic, I could build a house by myself in a few weeks. Using some herbology spells, I could grow my own food. Even fixing my clothes means I wouldn't need to buy new ones unless I did something stupid.'

'Thought about it much?' he scribbled.

After a short laugh, John replied, 'Wasn't it you who told me to think a little more? Well, that's what I've been doing. It'll take me a while, but a few cousins have agreed to tutor me so I can get the qualifications I need to be a proper teacher after working hard for some more years.'

Harry thought about what to say, but only the one thing seemed to fit and so he wrote it. 'Good luck.'

'Thanks. So, will I be seeing you in my class? Hermione can come as well if you see her before me.' After a pause for thought, Harry nodded. 'I've stolen the room at the base of astronomy tower, opposite the staircase. Class starts at five sharp,' John mock-sternly finished.

Author notes

Studying and examinations aplenty along with mandatory fun too, along with Dumbles being his usual self and McGonagall growing curious. While I didn't get quite as much Neville in as I would have liked, I couldn't include him anymore without forcing him into conversation I don't think he would engage in. As for John, I am still in two minds about his relative obscurity after the beginning, but since there are no canon seventh year Gryffindors, an OC it had to be.

Unstorily, I was thinking about splitting this chapter into two distinct parts, that being pre-exam time (ie rest of April and beginning of May) and then during exam time, but it is quite boring to write about and I think read, so I meshed the two somewhat, though it is still a little shorter than most. Also, on my target of Wednesday release, so Saturday for the next instalment hopefully!

Until next time, no matter how much Gred or Forge tell you to, never let a niffler loose in Gringotts.