Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I am writing this fanfiction for my own amusement and make no profit, all characters in this story are the property of J.K Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, ect.
AN: The sixth year was one of the few times the date in the book sync up with reality, September first was on a Sunday, so the first day of classes start on Monday.
AN: I stand corrected, I was able to find a few short Harry/Lavender stories through Google search, and a bunch of lemon fics.
AN: Thanks to all the reviews and support I have gotten for this story
Hogwarts, Scotland, 9/2/1996, 05:00
Harry's alarm went off at five just like it did every morning since he was nine, slowly he crawled out of bed and stretched hearing his back crack and pop, he groaned appreciatively and grabbed his exercise clothes from his trunk, then headed to the loo to take care of his morning ritual.
Twenty minutes later found Harry beginning his run around the Quidditch pitch, the chilly morning air waking him as he started making his first circuit of the pitch running at an easy pace to limber up his muscles.
When Sirius first started making him run every morning he hated it, truth be told he still hated running in the winter months but Sirius explained how important running was to building up his stamina.
The sun was just rising when Harry finished lap thirty and slowed to a walk to cool down before he completed his calistethenics, Harry took a minute to appreciate the sun cresting over the mountains, there was no other word to describe it but beautiful, the purples and pink tones in the sky looking like a watercolor painting, the early light casting shadows over the grounds and the reddish-gold light of the rising sun reflected on the still surface of the lake, it was worth waking up so early just to see this.
Harry went through his other exercises on autopilot, he did the usual press-ups and sit-ups as well as some crunches before he decided to head back towards the castle, he really was happy to be back here after being trapped in his home for the last few months.
He and Sirius had moved to one of the Black family properties in Wales when Harry had started Hogwarts, unlike the house in southern France that he grew up in, there was no beach and he couldn't go into the nearby village for fear of being recognized by the handful of wizards that lived in the area.
True here he was still confined to the castle, but at least here he had a very large area to roam, a giant castle to explore, and if he was feeling particularly brave a large forest that held many secrets.
Finishing his shower Harry dressed in his school robes and headed towards the great hall, it was now almost seven-thirty and he could enjoy a nice quiet breakfast as the hall would be almost empty.
The castle was quiet as he made his way through the halls, considering this was the second time he made the trip through the castle this morning he wasn't surprised, what did surprise him was when he made it to the main staircase he saw Draco Malfoy heading down from the upper floors.
The blonde sneered at him but kept walking and Harry followed behind him slightly curious about what he could possibly be doing up there at this early hour. The smell of food wafting out of the great hall made him forget all about what Malfoy was doing and he quickened his pace feeling very hungry all of a sudden.
Harry took his seat at the Ravenclaw table and helped himself to some porridge and some diced fruit then let his mind wander as he ate.
The Slytherin table was already halfway full but unlike the Gryffindor's they spoke in whispers most of the time so the hall was quiet except for the tinkle of silverware on plates.
Luna wouldn't be here until the last minute as she usually slept as late as she could get away with.
Harry watched the hall slowly fill around him as he finished his breakfast, it wasn't long after he had finished eating that the fifth-year Ravenclaw prefects arrived with the first years in tow, that's when Professor Flitwick started passing out class schedules.
"Good morning Harry, ooh waffles," Luna exclaimed happily as she sat down across from him and loaded her plate.
"Good morning Luna, sleep well?" Harry asked as he took a sip of his morning tea.
"Yes I had a wonderful dream where I ended up naked in the middle of the quidditch locker rooms right after a match," Luna said dreamily.
Harry inhaled some of his tea as he coughed and sputtered a good bit down the front of his robes. He glared at the girl who was looking back at him innocently.
"You did that on purpose," Harry accused.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Harry", Luna said taking another bite of her waffle.
Before Harry could reply Professor Flitwick arrived and got Harry's attention.
" Ms. Lovegood here is your schedule," Flitwick said handing her a slip of parchment before turning to Harry, "Now Mr. Potter I read in your note last night you wish to drop defense and take potions?"
"Yes sir, if it wasn't for the old potions instructor I would have signed up for potions this summer when my O.W.L results came in," Harry answered candidly.
"I assumed as much, very well you are cleared for Arithmancy, Runes, Charms, Transfiguration and Potions. Oh and Potter, clean yourself up," Flitwick said as he tapped a parchment with his wand and handed it to Harry.
"Yes sir," Harry said while glaring at Luna whose eyes seemed to twinkle in amusement.
"You really should be more presentable Harry, nargles are attracted to slobs," Luna said dreamily eyeing his tea-stained robes with disapproval.
"I swear sometimes you're the female version of Peeves," Harry said grumpily.
"Remember what I said about grumpy thoughts Harry," Luna admonished.
"Fine, which class do you have this morning?" Harry asked as he waved his wand over his robes vanishing the tea from his front.
"Potions, what about you?" Luna asked.
"Arithmancy, it's the only class I have today," Harry said refilling his cup and eyeing Luna warily.
"That's good, I have arithmancy after lunch, could you help me with my homework after dinner?" Luna asked.
"I have detention after dinner with McGonagall," Harry answered taking a sip from his cup.
"Yes I remember now, you should be ashamed of yourself," Luna said disappointed.
"Why?" Harry asked confused.
"Because you were less than ten feet away from Snape and missed," Luna said matter of factly.
"I wasn't actually trying to kill him," Harry said chuckling.
"Oh well, the defense post is cursed I'm sure something will get him before the years over," Luna said wistfully.
"We can only hope, now I think it's about time we headed to class," Harry said checking his watch.
"Okay, goodbye Harry," Luna said before standing and skipping across the hall towards her first class.
Shaking his head Harry got up and headed towards the Arithmancy classroom. He was the first to arrive and took his usual seat towards the back beside the window that looked out over the lake.
"So you passed your owl I see," came a haughty voice to his right.
"Good morning Greengrass," Harry said recognizing the voice easily as they had partnered in this class since the fourth year.
"That remains to be seen," Daphne answered skeptically.
Harry watched as six more students trickled in before the final chime sounded, most of the class was made up of Harry's housemates with the exception of Hermione Granger and Daphne.
Professor Vector entered the room from her office and caught the class's attention before getting things started.
"Welcome to Advanced arithmancy, this year we will be putting the skills we have been studying for the past three years into practice. Since there are only eight of you I will be splitting you into two groups.
Potter, Greengrass, Patil, and Granger will make up group one.
So group two will be Brocklehurst Li, Corner, and Boot.
I will be giving each group a number chart, you will need to decipher it and then interpret your findings. If you complete these charts correctly you will be able to figure out what the weather will be during our class on the seventh of October.
You will need to turn to chapter seven in your text which will help you solve the equations. Since these charts are very complex you be working through them with your group for the rest of the month. For your homework tonight..."
Professor Vector lectured for a little longer explaining some of the finer aspects of using arithmancy in this way and then instructed them to form their groups.
Hermione and Padma soon joined Harry and Daphne at their table, Padma smiled at the two but Granger just gave Harry a disapproving look and waited impatiently for their scroll to arrive.
Arithmancy was all about numbers and using them to predict certain aspects of the future It was very useful for predicting certain things like weather, spell longevity, locating items of significance, and the like. It was not very useful in predicting an individual's future as there were too many factors involved to make accurate predictions. It was dead useful for curse breakers since they could use certain arithmancy formulas in conjunction with runes to decipher ancient curses.The 'Daily Prophet' had their own arithmancers on staff to predict the horoscopes and the weather segments in the paper so this was a skill useful in later life.
Professor vector walked by their table and dropped a large scroll on their table which Granger snatched up immediately.
Sighing Harry waved his wand at the scroll Hermione had just unrolled and the parchment zoomed out of her hand and lay itself flat on the table so the others could see it as well.
"Teamwork Granger," Harry said to the girl who was glaring daggers at him.
"Now now, let's not be rude Potter, We will each take a quadrant and meet in the middle," Daphne said in her normal haughty tone.
"Fine, does anyone know the copying spell?" Harry asked hopefully.
"I do, I'm actually kind of surprised you don't," Padma said surprised.
"Never had much of a need for it," Harry shrugged.
Padma waved her wand over the scroll and three copies popped out of the original.
Hermione huffed before picking the original up and looking it over, "I'll take the top right, Potter can have the bottom right, Greengrass bottom left, and Padma can have the top Left."
"Works for me," Harry said ignoring the bossiness of the Gryffindor girl.
Over the next hour Harry worked on calculating his assigned quadrant, these calculations were so much more complex than any they had done in their previous classes.
By the time the bell rang Harry had only completed a small portion of the equations for his quadrant, from the looks of it the others had made about the same progress he had.
With his only class for the day completed Harry decided to visit the library to begin his assigned essay, they had to write eighteen inches about the principles they were using today and their significance in deciphering a large numerical chart.
On his way to the main staircase he heard a girl screaming and the sound of laughter, Harry turned down the corridor and followed the sound of the girl who now sounded like she was crying.
Harry turned the corner to find five boys surrounding a girl in Slytherin robes, the boys were taking turns throwing spells at the girl who had tears running down her cheeks and was trying desperately to dodge their spells.
"What's the matter little snake, don't have your wand?" One of the boys taunted as he shot a stinging hex hitting the girl in the stomach and making her scream in pain.
The girl was young maybe a third year at best, she was wearing Slytherin robes, she had a thin lithe figure, straight dark hair, and very familiar piercing blue eyes.
All of the boys looked to be in their fifth year at least, and all of them were wearing the Scarlet trim of Gryffindor house.
Harry really despised this kind of bullying, these boys were supposed to be members of the house that stood for bravery and chivalry, and here they were tormenting a girl two years younger than them.
The boys were so focused on their little game they didn't even notice Harry approaching them, they took no notice as Harry raised his wand and took aim at the boy in the middle of their group who was raising his own wand to curse the girl again.
They did take notice as that boy was hurled vertically twenty feet into the air before slamming into the ceiling with enough velocity to knock him unconscious. Harry canceled the levitation spell and watched the moron crash back onto the floor at his feet.
The other four boys spun around seeing their friend crumpled in a heap on the floor, they looked around trying to figure out what happened, two of the boys paled upon seeing Harry Potter standing there with his wand drawn and a look of anger etched onto his features.
"Get lost," Harry said softly.
"Or what," said a blonde boy on the far right.
"You'll be joining him in the infirmary," Harry replied pointing to the boy on the floor with his wand.
The blond boy raised his wand and roared, "Stupif-
With a lazy flick of his wand, Harry sent the boy flying into the wall in front of him.
" Any other takers?"
The remaining three boys took off down the hall leaving their friends lying unconscious on the floor.
"House of the brave my ass, are you alright?" Harry asked the girl who was staring at him in shock still shaking from the ordeal.
Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts she answered, "I'm fine they were just using stinging hexes."
"Your Greengrass's sister aren't you?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes, I am Astoria Greengrass, thank you by the way," She said softly sniffing and trying to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.
"Don't mention it, I can't stand people like that. Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked looking her over critically.
"Yes, I know the counter curse to the stinging hex, I'll be fine," Astoria said as she dug through the blonde boy's pocket and retrieved her wand.
"If you're sure you're alright, you had better get going the morning break is about over and McGonagall will be here any minute now," Harry said checking his watch.
Nodding the girl picked up her bag from the floor and hurried off down the corridor only taking time to glance back at him before turning the corner.
Harry barely had time to clear his thoughts before an angry voice rang out behind him, "Potter what on earth is going on here!"
Harry turned around and came face to face with a very irritated Professor McGonagall.
"I was just about to come and see you, Professor," Harry answered politely.
"According to three of my fifth years you attacked Mr. Coote and Mr. Peekes without any provocation," Minerva said irritably.
"That's what they told you?" Harry asked with a tone of disgust.
"Well then enlighten me as to what really happened here and why two of my lions are laying at your feet," McGonagall demanded.
"I was headed to the library after arithmancy when I came across five of your fifth years ganging up on a third-year Slytherin. They had taken her wand and were taking turns firing stinging hexes at her. I simply intervened and sent the little rascals on their way," Harry said innocently.
"That doesn't explain the two boys laying on the floor," Minerva pointed out irritably, while she ran diagnostic spells on said boys.
"Blondie over there tried to curse me when I told him to leave and the one you're checking out now was about to jinx little Astoria Greengrass, I might have overpowered the spell a bit," Harry said thoughtfully.
"What spell did you use?" she asked warily.
"Levitation charm," Harry said simply.
"We will discuss your punishment tonight at detention, but this has to stop, you can't keep attacking other students like this!" McGonagall demanded.
"I am sorry professor but those brats were acting like cowards, five boys harassing a thirteen-year-old girl because she has green trim on her robes," Harry said defensively.
"Oh believe me Potter they will be punished for their actions, but so will you, you will be serving detention with me until winter break now!" McGonagall snapped.
"That sounds fair," Harry said unfazed by the punishment.
"I will see you this evening in my office, I believe I have just the punishment in mind for you," McGonagall said ominously.
Harry actually felt a slight chill run down his spine at her proclamation and gulped, "Yes ma'am."
With that, she conjured stretchers under the two boys and started levitating them towards the hospital wing.
A few hours later found Harry in the library just finishing up his essay, as far as homework went this had been rather tedious, Harry was already having second thoughts about continuing the class at N.E.W.T level but he wasn't ready give up just yet.
''Bang!'
Harry jumped in his seat causing his knees to hit the underside of the table, looking to the source of the noise he saw a large tome on the table and Daphne standing over him smirking.
"Daydreaming Potter?" She asked innocently.
"I was thinking there is a difference, was that really necessary," Harry asked grumpily.
"Yes, there is a rumor going around that you attacked a couple of fifth-year Gryffindors and my sister was somehow involved," Daphne said politely though Harry had no doubt it was a demand for information.
"Your getting a bit old to still believe the rumor mill," Harry said casually.
"Just tell me what happened and how my sister was involved," Daphne said testily.
"Fine... Harry then went on to explain the situation and assure her that Astoria was fine and that that two of the boys had already been dealt with.
"Who were they," Daphne asked in a barely controlled voice.
"Don't know their names except the two I knocked out were Coote and Peakes," Harry answered.
"Very well, I'll get to the bottom of this, thank you for helping her I owe you one favor whenever you need it," Daphne said gratefully.
"That really isn't necessary," Harry said dismissively.
"You never know, I have all sorts of sources in this castle. If you need something just ask I can probably help you out," Daphne said as she picked her book up and headed out of the library.
"Huh," Harry said to himself as he decided he had been here long enough and started making his way to the great hall for lunch.
"You had an eventful morning I hear," Luna said as soon as he sat down.
"How did you hear about it already?" Harry asked as he filled a plate with a large helping of casserole.
"I partner with Ginny in herbology", Luna answered.
"Huh, I didn't know you and her were friends," Harry said thoughtfully.
"We aren't really friends, she thinks I'm insane, but we used to be friends until my mommy died and daddy stopped letting me go to her house to play", Luna explained sadly.
" I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said sympathetically.
"Don't be I am quite happy with you as my best friend, so what happened this morning?" Luna pressed.
"Well it wasn't really a big deal, what did you hear?", Harry asked deflecting the question.
"According to Ginny you fought of five blubbering humdingers and saved a damsel in distress," Luna said.
"What's a blubbering humdinger?" Harry asked curiously.
"Moronic troll-like creatures that redirect their sexual frustration by picking on human females," Luna explained.
Harry snorted into his pumpkin juice and then said, "they were five fifth-year students but I did save a girl," Harry corrected.
"Hm, I like my version better," Luna said dismissively.
"Of course you do, your version sounds all mystical, like something out of a fairy tale," Harry replied.
"Yes and I get to say the word damsel," Luna added with a grin.
They both fell into a comfortable silence as they ate their lunch and Harry let his eyes wander the hall, he saw Malfoy eating quietly sat in between his two apes, the boy looked slightly troubled for some reason, on down the table he saw Parkinson staring wistfully at the ferret almost missing her mouth as she ate.
Further down the Slytherin table, Harry saw Daphne and her friend Davis who appeared l to be grilling Astoria about the events of this morning. Harry smirked at this knowing Daphne's reputation and speculating what would soon befall those fifth-year Gryffindor boys.
Daphne was one of the big players in Slytherin, her father controlled the neutral voting block and her family was very wealthy, she was also the person one would go to if they needed almost anything from fire whiskey to dirt on your enemies and everything in between. Harry had no doubt that she had the means to seek vengeance for her sister without it ever coming back on her.
Harry shifted his gaze to the Gryffindor table, towards the end closest to the teacher's table sat Neville Longbottom who was deep in conversation with his sidekicks.
Further down the table sat three of the boys that were involved in this mornings incident, they looked very nervous one of them kept glancing at the Slytherin table warily before glancing towards the Ravenclaw table.
He paled noticeably when he caught Harry's eye, Harry smirked and returned to his meal.
"You look like your infested with wrackspurts, and you're scaring poor Jack Sloper," Luna said cutting into his thoughts.
"Really?"Harry asked quite amused.
" Yes, he looks about to wet himself," Luna said also sounding amused.
"It's not me he has to worry about, that damsel in distress was Astoria Greengrass," Harry said with a grin.
Luna's already large eyes got even bigger reminding him of a Chihuahua and she shook her head in dismay, " that was incredibly stupid, her sister is like a mob boss in this school."
Anymore conversation was cut short as the warning chime sounded.
"I have to go, let me know how your detention goes," Luna said as she gathered her things and made her way to her next class.
Harry was feeling apprehensive about his detention after what McGonagall had told him this morning, she was one of his favorite teachers but he knew she could be really vindictive when assigning a task for detention, picking out just the right punishment to make the offending student miserable.
'What's the worst that can happen?' Harry thought optimistically.
Harry made his way to McGonagall's office, he was starting to get nervous, he already had a few detentions with the deputy head in the past five years and they were never pleasant. Knocking on the door he was promptly bid entry.
"Good you are right on time", Minerva said approvingly.
"What will I be doing this evening professor?" Harry asked hoping to rip off the bandaid so to speak.
'Tonight will be more of an assessment than a detention Mr. Potter, since you have opted to complete your studies in defense against the dark arts independently I need to make sure that you stay on the right track, I will also be giving you assignments to complete for the course, essays and the like," McGonagall explained.
"Okay, ma'am", Harry said feeling a bit relieved.
That relief vanished at her next statement, " I have conferred with Professor Dumbledore and we have decided that for your detentions you will be tutoring other students in the core subjects, with your grades you should have no trouble with this and this might help you respect your classmates a bit more," McGonagall said in a stern no-nonsense tone.
"Tutoring other students, that sounds horrible," Harry said aghast.
"I thought you would say that, and I knew you would positively loathe it, which means I have chosen wisely," McGonagall said a hint of triumph in her tone.
"That's just cruel professor," Harry said quietly.
"It won't be as bad as you think, teaching is a rewarding experience," McGonagall assured him.
"Who will I be tutoring?" Harry asked resignedly.
"It will vary between subjects and year groups, though you will be tutoring three sixth-year students who wish to retake their O.W.L's in transfiguration.
You will be working one on one with Justin Finch-Fletchley, Tracey Davis, and Lavender Brown," McGonagall explained.
"Isn't there something else I could be doing like scrubbing cauldrons or cleaning the owlery?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Well there was one other option but I assumed you would hate it even more than tutoring Transfiguration," Minerva said thoughtfully.
"What is it?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Tutoring Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle in defense," She said with a smirk.
"I'll tutor Transfiguration!" Harry exclaimed paling at the thought of trying to teach those two morons for the rest of term.
"I thought you might, you will meet with one of the three students every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the library after dinner, I will leave it up to you to decide which order they meet with you.
On Tuesday and Thursday, you will meet with me here and I will have students for you to help with their homework or whatever else they might need, congratulations Potter you get to be an unofficial unpaid intern," McGonagall explained taking a small bit of glee at Harry's less than thrilled expression.
"Anything else professor?" Harry asked gloomily.
"No, your spirit seems properly broken, now let's get started on your assessment," Minerva said briskly.
"Yes ma'am," Harry replied sullenly.
Harry returned to Ravenclaw tower a few minutes before curfew, he was tired as McGonagall had really put him through his paces testing his ability in nonverbal casting, his ability to shield different spells using different sheilds, his knowledge of the N.E.W.T syllabus, and various other tasks to prove his competency in defense against the dark arts.
This year was looking to be frustrating, he was stuck tutoring until Christmas, Harry decided then and there never to get caught again, and certainly not by McGonagall.
'That woman has a real mean streak in her,' Harry thought to himself as he got into bed.
Hogwarts Head Office, 9/2/1996, 23:49
Dumbledore sat behind his desk lost in thought, Severus had reported that young Draco was being quite secretive in his plans.
Albus could appreciate Severus's position he was caught in a three-way tug of war as far as his loyalties were concerned. The surly potions master had been spying for both sides since Voldemort had risen well over a year ago and now things were further complicated by the unbreakable vow he had entered into with Lady Malfoy.
Albus did not envy the man but was hopeful that when and if the time came, Severus would carry out the deed and spare Draco from the damage the act of murder could do to his young soul.
If that wasn't enough, now Albus was dealing with the avalanche of requests to drop defense by sixth-year students of the houses that didn't start with the letter 'S', needless to say Severus was in a snit about the events of last night and according to today's detention reports, he had chosen a new target for his ire.
Neville Longbottom had been assigned two weeks detention for insubordination, Severus would no doubt be more annoyed when he overrode Saturday's detention to start showing young Neville the memories he had acquired about Voldemort's past.
Speaking of today's detention reports, it seems Mr. Potter was on a role, Minerva reported the altercation the boy had with some of her fifth-year lions and Dumbledore wholeheartedly supported her decision. The fact that she decided to put the boy's talents to good use by making him help other students was a stroke of genius on her part.
The boy needed to be a bit less violent when confronting bullies, Mr. Coote who was catapulted into the ceiling suffered a severe concussion and two broken legs, Mr. Peakes was more fortunate only receiving severe bruising and a goose egg on the back of his head, Mr. Potter's reaction was a tad extreme for the circumstance, even if his heart was in the right place.
When Albus had interviewed one of the Gryffindor boys who had been part of that group, he had used legilimency to see what really happened. Albus watched the scene play out in Mr. Sloper's mind and was appalled by the actions of the young Gryffindors boys, he could somewhat understand Harry's anger at the way they tormented that poor unarmed girl.
Needless to say, the headmaster had not been lenient when deciding a punishment, those five Gryffindors would be serving two months detention with Severus who despite his many faults was very protective of members of his house.
'Maybe that will give Severus an outlet for his anger,' Dumbledore thought with a sigh.
His musings were interrupted by a knock on his door.
"Come in Minerva," Dumbledore called out.
"That was fun," Minerva said with a smirk.
"How did Mr. Potter do?" Albus asked curiously.
"Very well, he could probably take his N.E.W.T in defense today if he wished," she answered sounding impressed.
"And how did he take the news of his detentions?" Albus asked his eyes twinkling.
"He hated it," Minerva said gleefully.
"I'm sure he will soon discover the joys of teaching," Albus said optimistically.
"He does quite well with Ms. Lovegood, she is top of her class," Minerva said thoughtfully.
"Have you had time to consider my request?" Albus asked changing the subject.
"I will allow Mr. Longbottom to take advanced transfiguration, but if he starts slacking off I will kick him out of my class, I still think you should have made Potter tutor him and let him take the O.W.L during winter break like the other three," Minerva responded.
"He doesn't have the time to retake the O.W.L, I will talk to young Neville to make sure he puts in the proper effort and gets caught up to his peers," Dumbledore assured her.
"Very well, I must be off, there is a group of young Gryffindors in for a dressing down, good night Albus," Minerva said as she headed out of the office.
This was to be his last year at Hogwarts and it was off to a rough start between the incident last night and students wishing to drop a class that was crucial in the present climate, he was also dreading informing young Neville that he would not be allowed to drop defense
. The boy had so few N.E.W.T classes he was eligible for it wasn't really an option.
Hopefully, Mr. Potter would come to enjoy helping his peers, he could do a lot of good in the world if he controlled his temper a bit.
'Great Hall, 9/16/1996, 08:13
After the chaos of the first day, the school year started moving along smoothly, classes were fairly easy though there was an emphasis on nonverbal casting in charms and transfiguration, which wasn't much of a problem as Harry had mastered that skill before he entered in the U-17 dueling circuit, otherwise, he would have been at a severe disadvantage,
This year he was actually enjoying potions, he had always been good at brewing but with the dungeon bat gone the atmosphere in the potions lab was a lot more relaxing, he had to borrow one of the spare potions texts that had been left in the classroom until his own copy was delivered from 'Flourish and Blotts', the text he had on loan was in pretty bad shape so he hoped it arrived soon.
He was able to win a vial of 'felix felicis' with his perfectly prepared 'draught of living death' thanks in part to his mother's old potions journal Sirius had found in his parent's cottage, he had been using it as a reference guide since his third year. Harry had no idea what he was going to do with the lucky potion yet, but he was really excited at the possibilities.
In transfiguration they had started to learn about human transfiguration, which had many uses from disguising yourself to turning your enemies into ferrets, this was also the branch one studied if a person wished to become an animagus, (though Harry already had that one covered thanks to his godfather.)
Harry had also started his detentions tutoring second and third-year students in defense, after last year these two year-groups were well behind where they should be.
Tonight he would be starting his first individual tutoring session, he would be meeting Justin Finch-Fletchley after dinner. Harry didn't know much about the boy but from what he had seen, the boy was pretty easy going so there was a good possibility that this session wouldn't be that stressful.
He was already dreading the other two sessions with Davis and Brown, he knew enough about Davis from Daphne to know the girl was a scatterbrain and very hyper. As for Brown, all he knew about her was that she was dating the Weasle and according to Padma was an airhead obsessed with fashion.
Harry looked across the hall to where the girl was sitting, he couldn't deny she was very pretty, her blue eyes, blonde hair, and tan complexion was very striking, not to mention she was quite busty, Harry had noticed her many times before during the few shared classes but had never spoken with her.
'Well even if she's completely hopeless at transfiguration, she'll be easy on the eyes' Harry thought with a sigh.
Shaking those thoughts from his head he returned his attention to his breakfast and just noticed Luna sitting beside him.
"When did you get here?" Harry asked surprised he hadn't noticed her.
"Good morning to you too, I got here five minutes ago," Luna pouted.
"Sorry I was thinking," Harry apologized.
"Hm, it looked like you were ogling Lavender Brown," Luna said with a smirk.
"I was assessing her personality as I have to tutor her Wednesday," Harry said his cheeks turning slightly pink.
"Right, so how does staring at her chest help with that?" Luna asked innocently.
"I was not staring at her chest," Harry defended weakly.
"Okay if you say so, are we going into the forest tonight?" Luna asked changing the subject.
"Yes, we need to find the right clearing this year, we don't want a repeat of last time," Harry said sternly.
"I agree, I didn't care for the spiders either," Luna said with a shiver.
"Good, so when I say Luna we're heading the wrong way," Harry said leadingly.
"I will listen to you and not go barging into an acromantula colony," Luna replied dutifully.
'Excellent, I will be more than happy to go with you to search for moonflowers," Harry replied.
Luna had been dragging Harry into the forest every year since her second year to pick flowers that grew in a clearing in the forest, they only bloomed at midnight on the full moon in September but the pods glowed under the moonlight for two weeks leading up to the full moon, they had a week and a half to locate the flower pods before the full moon otherwise they would have to wait another year for them to bloom again.
"Thank you, Harry, maybe we will find some moon frogs while we're at it," Luna said excitedly.
"We just might," Harry said with a grin.
Harry sat at the table in the library at the appointed time waiting for his pupil to arrive, Harry wouldn't deny that this whole teaching thing made him nervous but he actually was enjoying his time with the younger years, they were so terrified of him they paid rapt attention, sometimes the rumor mill came in handy.
Harry spotted his pupil walking towards him looking nervous, the sandy blonde boy tentatively took a seat across from him at the table.
"Good evening," Justin said politely.
"Good evening, I don't care much for chit chat so let's get straight to it. What is the problem you have with transfiguration?" Harry asked bluntly.
"What do you mean?" The boy asked confused.
"Do you have problems with theory or practical?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Oh, the practical. My spells are always a bit off." The boy replied tentatively.
"Right then let's get out of here," Harry said getting up and grabbing his bag.
"Why, where are we going?" The boy asked as he got to his feet.
"To find somewhere for you to practice, if we cast spells in here Pince will wring our necks," Harry said as he led them out of the library.
"Oh", was all Justin said as he followed Harry into an empty classroom not far from the library.
Harry went to the teacher's desk and conjured a toothpick before turning to Justin and speaking,
"We will start at the beginning I want you to turn this into a sewing needle. Before you cast the spell I want you to visualize what a sewing needle looks like, I want you to think about the smooth cold metal surface and only then cast the spell and will the toothpick to take on those properties" Harry instructed.
Justin nodded and stepped closer to the desk, he closed his eyes and concentrated, Harry watched patiently as the boy slowly raised his wand and cast "Acusignis."
Harry watched as the toothpick shimmered and changed color to a shiny silver and its shape changed slightly to that of an over large sewing needle. Harry picked the needle up and inspected it closely, after his inspection he turned to Justin.
"You did well, you changed the composition of the wood to metal and you got the shape correct, there are two problems. Firstly there is no hole for thread and the size of the needle is a bit off," Harry said before undoing Justin's work " Try it again and visualize these aspects."
Nodding Justin repeated the spell much quicker this time, the results were much better, the size was still slightly off but Harry was reasonably impressed.
"Good, the needle is still a bit large but you are definitely on the right track, I will bring more items for you to practice on Monday, we will be going through the syllabus of all five years so feel free to read up and practice spells from your first-year text in your free time. For the rest of today I want you to practice this spell until you can do it nonverbally," Harry instructed.
"But nonverbal casting isn't part of our O.W.L's," Justin protested.
"True, but you wish to take advanced Transfiguration do you not?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, that's why I have to redo my exam," Justin answered nonplussed.
"Nonverbal casting is required in advanced Transfiguration, so you might as well get the hang of it," Harry answered simply.
"Right, how do you cast nonverbally?" Justin asked.
"Everyone is different, some say the spell in their mind and cast like they normally would, others just will their magic to perform the task they want and ignore the incantation. You will just have to figure out which method works best," Harry said after some thought.
"Right", Justin said skeptically.
For the next hour Harry watched as Justin performed the spell showing slight improvement until he was able to cast the spell perfectly while speaking the incantation, he was struggling to cast silently and had not made any progress by the time Harry called an end to the session.
" Alright times up for today, remember what I said, study up on your first year Transfiguration and practice nonverbal casting," Harry instructed.
"I will, thanks by the way I have never been able to get that spell anywhere near this good before, Justin said gratefully.
" Don't thank me, thank McGonagall, this is my punishment," Harry said gruffly.
"Well thanks anyway," Justin said.
"Yeah whatever, meet me here next Monday and practice," Harry said before he left the classroom.
The Hufflepuff was a decent student so this wasn't all that taxing, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
The Forbidden Forest, 9/17/1996, 02:13
They had been trekking through the forest for three hours now and all they had found was a herd of thestrals and a large patch of devils snare. The more dangerous creatures were thankfully not out tonight much to Harry's relief.
"How much longer?" Harry asked for the dozenth time.
"Not much I think I see a glow that way," Luna said excitedly.
Nodding Harry followed behind Luna who was speeding up now, Harry started to notice the glow as well coming from behind a copse of trees in front of them.
They both burst through the trees and Harry sighed in relief, the search was finally over. They were in a small clearing maybe thirty feet wide that was covered in glowing blue flower pods, there were hundreds of them all standing about eight inches high their blue light giving the clearing a relaxing blue light.
"Yes, I finally found them," Luna exclaimed happily.
"And not a moment too soon, it will be after three o'clock before we get back to the common room," Harry said tiredly.
"We'll be fine, I'll just have some coffee in the morning," Luna said easily.
"Absolutely Not!" Harry said quite alarmed at the thought of Luna jacked up on caffeine.
"Now Harry be reasonable," Luna placated.
"I will not, do you remember your second year?" Harry asked.
"Yes I do and I still say you were being a big baby," Luna argued.
"You ran screaming through the halls claiming nargles were after your knickers," Harry reminded her.
"You never did prove they weren't," Luna said stubbornly.
"You tried to kiss that bloke from Gryffindor," Harry continued.
"There was mistletoe hanging over our heads," Luna argued.
"Yes because you conjured it, he was a seventh year and captain of the quidditch team," Harry pressed.
"Daddy gave me the talk that year and I was curious, and he was very handsome," Luna countered.
"You chased him through the school demanding his lips service you!" Harry exclaimed.
"Yes, but I didn't know that statement had more than one meaning at the time," Luna said her cheeks going pink.
"And then you released all of the animals McGonagall had for her classes," Harry finished.
"They were unwilling prisoners, they have rights too," Luna said defensively.
"Yes and all of those liberated animals ended up in the kitchens, the mice and rats got into the food, I distinctly remember Lavender Brown going into hysterics when a mouse crawled out of the salad bowl," Harry reminded.
"Ah, so that's what this is really about, Lavender Brown," Luna said with a grin.
"No the bottom line of this argument was that you promised me then that you would never drink coffee again," Harry said sternly not allowing Luna to distract him.
"Fine, I promised but come on Harry I am older and wiser now," Luna pleaded.
"Which means your shenanigans would be even worse," Harry pointed out.
"Okay, can you cast the tracking charm now?" Luna asked sullenly.
Harry nodded and summoned a rock into his hand before casting a tracking charm on it and dropping it on the ground.
"There all done, now let's get back," Harry said before stifling a yawn.
"Okay, but you can be really mean sometimes," Luna pouted.
"I know Luna," Harry said apologetically as he led the way back to the castle.