Chapter 2 – Private Lessons


He saw Mr.Weasley standing at the end of the train platform, examining the ticket machine with obvious enjoyment. His uncle didn't even say goodbye, he simply took off and left Harry standing there with his trunk. When he got closer Mr.Weasley saw him and held out his hand.

'Hello Harry' Mr.Weasley smiled at him, 'had a good summer so far?'

'Yeah' Harry grinned back, 'I haven't run into any Dementors yet, so I can't complain.'

'Well let's get going then; I parked the car a short walk from here.'

'Congratulations on your promotion Mr.Weasley, I read about it in the paper.'

'Thanks Harry, though I will miss working with all the muggle things. Did you see that ticket machine? Simply fascinating!'

 'So what's been happening? I've been reading the daily prophet but they don't really say much'

'Well Fudge is definitely cooperating with Dumbledore now. I think part of the reason I got the promotion was because of Dumbledore's influence. The minister is rather afraid of losing his job you see? With Lucius in prison and the Daily Prophet reporting all his mistakes - Wow! What's that?'

Mr.Weasley put the trunk on the ground and walked over to the coca-cola machine.

'It's a … err … pop machine Mr.Weasley'

'Is it really? Does it run of eckeltricity too? What does it do?'

His eyes were gleaming with excitement now, like a five year old child on Christmas morning opening the biggest present.

'Well if you put some money in it, it will give you a cold drink'

'Does it really?' He started searching for change in his pocket 'you'd better help me with this Harry'

'Right, well take one of these coins here and put it in the slot there, and then push one of those buttons'

Mr.Weasley took the cold can and Harry showed him how to open it.

'That's amazing, how do they get the bubbles in this?

'Shouldn't we be going? Mrs.Weasley will be waiting for us'

'Oh, Right, just let me get one more. I've got to show this to Molly!'

Harry suppressed a smile as they walked to the car the ministry had given him; he somehow thought Mrs.Weasley wouldn't be at all impressed.

The drive to number 12 Grimmauld place was uneventful. Harry kept trying to get information about the war out of Mr.Weasley, who in turn kept interrogating Harry about muggle devices. When they arrived only Mrs.Weasley, Lupin, Ron, and Ginny were there to greet him.

'Hello Harry dear, so nice to see you again' Mrs.Weasley said as she gave him a big hug.

'Hi Harry' Lupin said as they shook hands

'Now why don't you go and get settled into your room dear? We'll have dinner in an hour. Ginny and Ron can help you carry you trunk.'

Harry went up the stairs and noticed that the house had significantly changed. It had been eight months since he had last stepped foot in here, and since then it had been thoroughly cleaned and brightened up. Black, the previous color of choice, had been replaced with a variety of more lively colors. It almost seemed like a home you'd want to live in now. Almost. He noticed that there was still a pair of curtains in the main room over what he presumed was the painting of Sirius' mother.

Ginny and Ron put his trunk in the corner of his room and then looked at him expectantly

'So what do you think?'

'Of what?'

'Of our redecorating you git' Ron grinned

'We've been slaving away the whole summer you know' Ginny added with raised eyebrows

'But why haven't you gone home to the burrow?'

'Well Dad thinks it's not safe now that you-know-who is openly waging war - '

'- especially now that dad is a more important target' Ginny said

'Yeah dad reckons that he'd kill our family just to send a message' Ron chimed in

'So since we were stuck here, we thought we'd liven the place up a little'

'It looks great' Harry grinned 'so got any gossip for me?'

'Well Mom and Dad aren't really telling us anything about the order'

'Yeah they still think we're too young', Ginny added sullenly 'even after we faced those death eaters alone last June!'

Ron shuddered 'you should have heard the scolding Ginny and I got'

Ginny smiled mischievously 'Yeah mom's been on our case all summer, I almost wanted to come live with you and the Dursley's!

They all laughed at this and it was only then that Harry realized how much he had missed his friends. This house made him miserable but being with his friends made it worthwhile.

'So how was your summer Harry?'

'It was ok, nothing really happened for once. How are Fred and George doing?'

'Oh they're making a ton of money, business is really booming for them'

'Yeah mom was really angry at first, but when she saw how well they were doing she calmed down a bit. I think she's actually accepted it now.'

'And what about Weatherby'

Ginny was trying to stifle a giggle

'Well Percy was demoted right after the ministry realized they'd been wrong about you-know-who, and then when dad was made deputy minister of magic I think he realized what a stupid git he'd been.'

'So they've made up?'

'Yeah I think so, I mean I still haven't seen him this summer, but I definitely think he's on talking terms with mom and dad again.'

'He's still a stupid git though' Ginny added.

'And what happened to Kreacher?'

'After he was kicked out of here, Dumbledore offered him work at Hogwarts. He wouldn't take it of course; we think he's gone to the Malfoy's. I certainly don't miss the foul little bastard'

They talked for another hour before they heard Mrs.Weasley call them downstairs for dinner. She had prepared a nice roast with potatoes, peas, carrots, and Yorkshire pudding.

'It looks great Molly' Lupin said, as he sat down next to Harry.

'Hey Remus, check out what Harry and I got on the way over here' said Mr.Weasley excitedly; 'it's a can from a muggle machine, coca cola, and if you pull the thing on top you open it, and it has bubbles!'

Harry was about to warn Mr.Weasley that he had been shaking the can too much and should wait before opening it, but it was too late. Mr.Weasley's face had been right on top of the can when he opened it, and was subsequently sprayed with coke. Even Mrs.Weasley had burst out laughing at the sight of her husband's horrified face.

When dinner was almost over Lupin leaned over to Harry and quietly spoke to him.

'Harry, I'd like to talk to you alone after dinner, if you don't mind.

After dinner Harry followed Lupin into a different room and closed the door behind him. 'Well Harry, you look more tired that usual. I suppose it's not surprising; I know it hasn't been an easy summer for you.'

Harry nodded silently. Somehow he knew that Lupin understood how he felt, he too had cared very much for Sirius.

'I'm not your godfather Harry, but if you ever need to talk about anything, or need anything, I'll be there for you.'

Harry looked Lupin in the eyes, and saw a young man with very tired eyes. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then Lupin must have been very old inside.

'Did … did Dumbledore tell you about the prophecy?'

'No I'm afraid he's been very tight lipped about it. I think it's better if you don't tell anyone either Harry.'

'Then I do need your help, I need to get better at dueling. I've been studying a lot but I can't practice it because of the underage wizardry law'

'Well I think I can help you there. You see this house has so many charms on it, that the ministry won't be able to detect anything done in here'

'Then I can practice any spell I want in here?'

'Yes, but please don't do it without supervision Harry. I'll try and help you as much as I can. Now that the ministry is on our side, there really isn't as much work for me to do.'

'Thank you Professor – '

'I am no longer you teacher Harry, please call me Remus' he said with a smile

'Ok prof- Remus'

'Now there's one more thing I wanted to talk to you about. Sirius was the last male heir of the Black family. He left this house to the order, but he left everything else to you, including his Gringott's Vault.'

Harry was speechless. He had never really considered what would happen to Sirius' things.

'I … I don't want it. You take it!'

'No Harry, he wanted you to have it if anything happened. You should have more than enough to start your own life when you finish school. Now let's go back to the others, we can start your lessons tomorrow morning if you like.'

He woke up early the next morning from his uneasy sleep; his dreams still being haunted by the death of his Godfather. He looked at his watch and saw that it was only 5am. Nobody else would be up for at least another 2 hours, so he decided to get his potions book and study a bit more. By the time everyone else woke up he had already covered another half-chapter. He did a quick calculation, if he wanted to finish the book before the summer was over he would have to spend approximately 2 hours every day studying it. He vowed that he would get up at five in the morning everyday so that he could finish the book. He would make Snape accept him in his potions class if that's what it took.

Breakfast was a hectic affair. Mr.Weasley hurriedly finished his breakfast and then said goodbye to everyone before leaving for work. Mrs.Weasley was going to buy Ginny an owl because she had been made a prefect, and had invited everyone else to come along to Diagon Alley.

'Mrs.Weasley, would it be ok if I stayed here? I don't really feel like going out'

'Well ok Harry, Remus will be here to stay with you. I suppose it's safer anyways'

'Oh and I forgot to tell you, tonight the order will be meeting here so dinner will be a little later than usual, but we can all have it together.'

Mrs.Weasley left with Ron and Ginny, leaving just Lupin and himself in the large house.

'Well Harry, are you ready for your lesson?' Lupin smiled at him.

'Yeah I'm looking forward to it' he grinned back

'There's a large room upstairs that we can use, follow me'

When they walked into the room he realized it must have been an enormous living room at one point. They cleared all the furniture to the sides of the room, leaving a large open space for them to practice in the middle.

'Ok Harry, how about I teach you how to do other blocking spells first? You already know the Protego spell, which is the most common, but there are others.'

They spent the whole morning practicing various blocking spells. Even Lupin was surprised by Harry's resolve and natural talent. By noon Harry had mastered at least half a dozen new spells, and had actually used them while Lupin sent fairly harmless curses at him.

'I'm very impressed at how fast you're learning Harry; these are all N.E.W.T. level spells. When I taught at Hogwarts it took my seventh years at least a whole one hour class to learn each of these spells, you've learnt them all in half that time and are already a whole lot better.'

'Well Molly will be back soon with Ron and Ginny, why don't we stop here for now? Go wash up and I'll see you for lunch.'

Harry was lying in bed when Ron and Ginny came upstairs. Ginny had received a beautiful white owl, which she called Artemis, and she disappeared into her room after lunch to write letters to all her friends. Ron meanwhile sat next to Harry talking about quidditch and Fred and George's shop.

'Hey Harry, Fred and George are doing really great, they're actually going to hire someone else to work in the shop for them so they can focus on researching more stuff. I was.. err .. thinking of going to work there this summer. They actually offered me and Ginny half a galleon each per hour. I mean, I could really use the cash and it would help them out a lot'

'I think it's a great idea Ron' Harry grinned 'though I don't know if your mom would be so happy about it'

'Actually she said it would be ok, it would just be for the morning anyways. You can come too Harry, you are their financial backer after all' he grinned

'Actually I wouldn't mind some time on my own Ron, I still have a lot of work to do.'

'Sure. Hey maybe if I save enough money I can buy a better broom. Ginny wants to get a better one too; she's really hoping to be a chaser this year …'

They talked for what seems like an hour about quidditch.

'… so then Puddlemere united traded its chaser to Pride of Portree in exchange for their Beater. Everyone knows they got the worse end of that deal. Say Harry …' and Ron sat up suddenly, 'I bet they'll make you quidditch captain this year!'

Harry hadn't even thought about quidditch since last year.

'You think so?'

'Well its obvious isn't it? The only ones left are me and you, and you've been on the team far longer than I have! We'll have to get a whole new team too. Ginny would make a great chaser, and I bet Seamus and Dean would try out as Beaters.'

It was nice listening to Ron talk on about quidditch. He occasionally had to say a 'yeah' or 'dunno' and Ron would happily talk for another ten minutes.

After an hour Ron said 'hey Harry, why don't we go practice some quidditch outside in the backyard? There's not that much room but I've setup some makeshift posts, and the backyard is also protected by the fidelius charm. I can be the keeper and you and Ginny can practice some shots on me'

'Alright, sure'

It would be nice to get some fresh air and ride his broom. He always felt more alive when he was flying, and his troubles seemed to melt away temporarily.

Ron had definitely improved a lot, it seems that winning the cup last year had boosted his confidence and it showed in his playing. They spent most of the afternoon flying around, playing scrimmages, or practicing flying.

'Ginny! Ron! Harry! It's almost time for the meeting!'

They hurried upstairs and cleaned themselves up. When he went downstairs people had already started arriving.

Mundungus was there, looking his usual self; a pile of rags with ginger hair and peering eyes.

'Sup 'arry.'

Next to him was Tonks, who had a big smile and waved at him. He noticed her hair color of the day was green this time. Next to her was Kingsley, who nodded at him, and Lupin.

At that moment Mrs.Weasley came out of the other room.

'The others have arrived, and the meetings about to start everyone.'

Harry watched them all go into the other room, leaving him with Ginny and Ron.

'Honestly, you'd think after what we did last term they'd let us sit in on the meetings'

'Yeah' said Ginny sulkily, 'I can't believe they're still treating us like children'

'Let's play a game of exploding snap, shall we?' Harry said to them.

An hour later the order came out of the room, and Lupin came to Harry.

'Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you Harry; he's waiting in the other room'

He went in the room and Dumbledore smiled when he looked up and saw him.

'It's good to see you again Harry, close the door behind you please, I'd like to talk to you in private.'

Harry closed the door and sat in the chair across from Dumbledore.

'Remus was just telling me that you asked him to teach you how to duel better. A commendable idea, in fact I'll try and make sure he has the mornings free so he can teach you'

'– But sir –'

'Let me finish Harry. You remember I told you at the end of last term that it was a mistake of me to try and shelter you from your burden?

Harry nodded.

'Well I intend to rectify my mistake. I was wondering how you'd feel about private lessons from me this year. If you'll agree then I'd like to personally tutor you in several things this year.'

'I err… I mean … are you serious?' Harry blurted out 'sir?' he added as an afterthought.

Dumbledore chuckled and there was a twinkle in his eye

'I assure you Harry that I am quite serious, though you must understand that you are not to tell anyone else at school about these lessons. I shouldn't really be showing favoritism you know, even if you are my favorite student'

He winked at Harry again, and then got up from his chair

'Now I really must get going, I'm afraid I have other business to attend to.'

'Right, err, thank you professor'

'Not at all, I look forward to it, see you at school Harry.' And he promptly walked out the door.

The rest of the summer passed along without too many interruptions. In the morning he would get up and study his potions books for 2 hours, have breakfast and then get private lessons from Lupin. In the afternoon he would play quidditch or talk with Ron and Ginny. By the end of the summer he had learnt almost every conceivable blocking spell. Even Lupin had been amazed at how far he had come.

'I think you're a better dueler than most fully grown wizards now Harry'

'Thanks'

'Why don't we find out how just how good you are?'

'Pardon me?'

Lupin had a twinkle in his eye, and his lips were curled into a smile.

'We'll duel using only non lethal spells, how about it?'

'Err sure, I'll do my best'

'That's the spirit, now defend yourself!' and Lupin shouted 'Expelliarmus'

Harry quickly managed to conjure up a blocking shield and then shouted 'impedimenta' but Lupin had already ducked and countered with a jelly legs jinx at Harry.

Harry barely managed to block the jinx and before he could counterattack he had to dodge another disarming spell. With his quidditch reflexes he flung himself sideways and yelled 'petrificus totalus!' Lupin could not dodge in time and conjured up a shield to block it and before he could counterattack Harry quickly threw a stunner right at him. He thought he had gotten Lupin but at the last moment he managed to block the spell and immediately yelled 'stupefy'. Harry wasn't ready and was forced to jump sideways nearly losing his balance. When he looked back a second later he was hit by the tarantallegra spell and his legs started dancing out of his control. He tried to aim another stunning spell but his legs were causing his aim to miss its mark and a second later Lupin yelled 'Expelliarmus!' He flew backwards as his wand flew out of his hand.

Lupin was grinning at him and said 'finite incantatem' before throwing him his wand back. 'That was great Harry; you nearly got me there with that body bind spell.

Harry stood up, his legs now under his control again. He couldn't believe it; he was dueling with a member of the order and holding his own!

'Well why don't we stop here? The others should be back soon'

'Remus, can … can I ask you about my parents?'

Lupin looked at him thoughtfully, and then nodded 'Of course, what would you like to know?'

'How did my parents fall in love? My mom seemed to dislike my dad in the memory I saw'

Lupin paused for a moment, and he had a sad look of reminiscence on his face

'They were Headboy and Headgirl in their last year, and because of that they were forced to spend a lot of time together. Your dad fell in love with her and she definitely had a calming effect on him, I think he realized that showing off and quidditch skills weren't going to impress her so he actually made some very romantic gestures. After that I think your mom realized your dad wasn't such a conceited jerk after all, and she definitely enjoyed getting into trouble herself. They were probably the most irresponsible Headboy and Headgirl the school has ever seen. They used to sneak out at night and have secret meetings all over the castle. They – '

At that point his voice broke off and he could see Lupin looked more tired than ever, his face a mask of bitterness. He heard the others come home at that moment and got up to go downstairs and meet them.

'Harry, before you go …'

His voice was full of animosity, but there no mistaking his seriousness.

'They were the best friends I ever had, your parents and Sirius. They accepted me as I was, despite my affliction, and we would have done anything for each other. I promise you that I will not rest until I've killed Peter for what he did.'

They went downstairs and helped Mrs.Weasley prepare lunch. Harry decided not to bring up his parents again; it was obvious that Lupin too had been hiding his pain too for all these years.

The last day of the summer Harry went to Diagon alley with the others to get his school supplies and to see Fred and George. They had made Ron promise to drag Harry to their store if he didn't want to be their next test subject, but Harry had been looking forward to seeing their shop.

First they made a stop at Gringott's, and when they stopped at Harry's vault he tried to block the view to its contents. He would have happily given all his gold to the Weasleys if he thought they would have taken it. Afterwards they went to Fred and George's shop, and when they saw him they greeted him with delight

'Harry mate!' Fred yelled as he walked up to the counter 'We were wondering if you'd ever find the time to see your old pals'

'Yeah' George chimed in, 'we thought maybe you'd forgotten where we were you know?'

Harry grinned. 'So how's business?'

'Booming' George replied, 'in fact – '

'- We were thinking of expanding it –'

'- and developing an owl-order catalog'

'Lots of other schools you see, they'll be needing their skiving snackboxes too'

'And their cream canaries'

'So once we save up enough money, we can share our academic aids to all those in need'

'How much do you need?' Harry whispered to them

'We figure about four thousand galleons; it'll take us at least two years to save that kind of money.'

'I am your financial backer aren't I?' Harry grinned, 'So I'll just lend you the money now.'

Fred and George looked at him for a moment with faces of disbelief.

'Blimey Harry, how rich are you?'

'Yeah mate, you got gold coming out of your ears?'

'Besides, we couldn't just take your money again'

'Sure you can, I want you to take it, and you don't even have to pay me back if you don't want to'

'No can do Harry' George replied

'Yeah' Fred said, 'We won't just take your money, however –'

'- we would consider making you a full partner - '

'- meaning you take a cut of all the profits.'

'Our board of directors –'

'- which means us two- ' grinned George

'- agree that you'd make an excellent partner!'

'So it's settled then, you'll supply us the money and in exchange you get one third of all profits.'

Since they wouldn't take no for an answer, Harry agreed to their delight. It made him feel better to know that he was using Sirius' money to spread laughter to other people. People needed something to take their minds of the drudgery of everyday life.

He fell asleep that night, knowing that tomorrow he would be at Hogwarts, and for the first time in two months he slept soundly.