Disclaimer - Harry Potter isn't mine. The stories belong to J.K. Rowling

Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I had finals this week, but I hope to get back on track. Please review the story after reading it, I believe it will make the outcome much better.

Chapter 3: Training

Harry began to imagine what Dumbledore's house would be like when he got there. At first he thought it would be a huge castle or at least a large manor house, but when he arrived he found something much different.

Harry and Dumbledore landed on a bright green, grass field that extended as far as the eye can see. There seemed to be nothing around except a small wooden hut. Dumbledore walked towards it and Harry followed. "This isn't what I was expecting," he thought to himself. They continued towards the small wooden shack when Harry noticed something. Carved into the dilapidated hovel was a small phoenix. At that moment Harry knew there was more to this place then it let his eyes see. When they both reached the door Dumbledore pulled out his wand and touched the phoenix carving. Almost immediately Fawkes (Dumbledore's phoenix) appeared on top of the hut and peered down at Dumbledore. Fawkes began to sing the phoenix song and the door of the hut opened.

Dumbledore turned to Harry and said, "Welcome to my home Mr. Potter." And he stepped through the decaying door. Harry soon followed. As he walked Harry realized that the small hut was actually an entranceway to Dumbledore's estate. The second he passed through the barrier Dumbledore's home materialized. The wooden shack became a stone archway with ten-foot stonewalls that extended to the horizon. Harry couldn't believe how magnificent it was, he was reminded of his first day at Hogwarts as he crossed the lake, seeing the enormous castle perched on its cliff over looking the lake. The house wasn't nearly as impressive as its surroundings. It was placed on an island surrounded by a large crystal clear lake. A small bridge connected the castle to its radiant green fields. The driveway to the house was lined with massive oak trees.

A horseless carriage was waiting for them as the passed through the barrier. Harry got on and Dumbledore followed, it took off towards the house as Dumbledore began to explain why they had come his home. "You see Harry I don't normally come here, I actually prefer staying at Hogwarts, but we needed a lot of room for your training, even more then Hogwarts has to offer," he laughed, " so we've come here." He said pointing towards the castle. By the bewildered look on Harry's face he decided to continue, "Harry your elemental abilities will take some time to get used to and when practicing your storm and earth abilities I would like you to be as far away from people as possible." He said as they began to cross the lake, "There's another benefit for your being here." he said, "I'd like to have little landscaping done, and I think you're the perfect person for the job." Dumbledore said with a smile.

Just then they reached the front steps of the main house. Harry wasn't really surprised by how normal the house was. It wasn't a huge manor house like other rich Wizarding family's own but it was nice. It was a modest two-story house with large windows and had a small porch. The house would have easily fit within a muggle neighborhood except for the stained glass window above the oak door. The glass depicted the burning cycle of a phoenix that looked suspiciously like Fawkes.

Suddenly the doors opened and a small figure peered around. The second his huge eyes found Harry he became even more excited looking then normal. "Harry Potter sir, master didn't tell Dobby you were coming. What a great surprise sir. Any luggage sir?" Dobby squeaked as he looked up at Harry.

"Well hello Dobby, I didn't expect to see you here, it's very nice to see you." Harry said

Dobby looked delighted to hear Harry's reaction to seeing him, "Master is paying Dobby sir, so Dobby is to go where master is staying, even though Master said Dobby didn't need to come, Dobby is here because my master is here Harry Potter." He said matter-of-factly. "Do you have any luggage Harry Potter" Dobby repeated kindly.

"Oh yes, sorry Dobby," He took out his matchbox sized trunk and handed to the house elf, "Dumbledore shrank it for me, I don't think he'd mind resizing it for you." Harry said.

"No need, Harry Potter, Dobby can do it, sir." With that he popped out of view only to return moments later. He turned his attention to Dumbledore, "Dobby is so sorry sir, is there anything Dobby can do for you?" He said almost pleading.

Dumbledore with his gaze turning towards Dobby said, "Oh no Dobby, but thank you" and Dobby popped out of sight again. "Follow me Harry and we'll get you settled."

As Harry walked through the house he couldn't help but be reminded of Dumbledore's office. With the all of the mystical magic objects scattered about the house and the walls lined with books. They passed through a warm living room that contained a large fireplace and oversized comfortable looking chairs. As they continued through the house they passed a few more rooms: a large library, a small potions lab, and an odd room that had a model of Hogwarts in center. Harry quietly followed Dumbledore through the house when he stopped just short of another room.

"This will be you quarters Harry, I'll let you get settled. If you would meet me out side in half an hour I have to prepare your first lesson. If you need help any help I'm sure Dobby would be more then happy." Dumbledore said with his usual look of wisdom.

"I will sir." Harry said as Dumbledore headed down the hallway and turned out of sight. Harry turned back to the door and opened it.

The first thing Harry noticed was that the room was painted in Gryffindor colors. A large four-post bed stood in the middle, and an antique desk sat in the corner with a window over looking the grounds. His trunk was placed at the foot of the bed but when he opened it there was nothing left in it. He then noticed that his possessions were placed around the room. His books and other school supplies were neatly stacked near the desk, and all of his clothes were separated and placed into the dresser that sat in an opposite corner. He walked towards an antique wardrobe and opened it to find his cloaks, including the invisibility cloak his father left him. He continued to explore the room finding all of his things in their proper place. It was like it was really his room. Something he never had before, even at the Dursley's it wasn't his room, it was Dudley's old bedroom. He found his firebolt hung on the wall next to Hedwig's cage. Everything seemed to fit, Harry thought "When I get my own room, it will be just like this one."

Harry looked down at his watch and was shocked by how much time went by. He would have to run to meet Dumbledore on time. He found his way back down stairs and headed to the back of the house and found the backdoor without a problem. Dumbledore was standing in the middle of a ring of white candles. He finished lighting the candles and turned to Harry.

"Harry today we will practice your control over the fire element. The first thing I want you to do is the extinguish the flames." Dumbledore said. Harry instinctively reached for his wand and Dumbledore yelled, "Accio wand" Harry felt his wand fly out of his pocket and Dumbledore grabbed it with ease. "You won't be needing this Harry," Dumbledore said waving Harry's wand back and forth. "You'll get it back after your training. Now I want you to use your elemental abilities to do this. It shouldn't be too hard; but creating fire will be much more difficult." He said. "Now I really don't know how this is going to work, but I have been reading about this for sometime now. I like to be prepared for anything my students need to be taught." Dumbledore said smiling. "Now Mr. Potter elementals are supposed to control their elements at will. The first thing you must do, is to form a connection with the fire, almost become one with it, when you achieve that, you will have complete control." Said Dumbledore.

Harry walked over to the candles and stared at the shortest one, watching the small flame sway side to side. He could feel its presence, he could feel it feeding on the air and consuming the wax. Without words he told the flame to stop, for a second it froze, and then disappeared.

"Oh very good Harry, I didn't think you'd be able to do it so quickly." Dumbledore said with his blue eyes sparkling brightly over his half mooned spectacles. "That was very good but you still have a lot more to go." He said motioning towards the other candles. "This time try to make them go out at once." Dumbledore said.

Harry took a step back from the candles so he could see them all. He turned to Dumbledore and said, "I'll do my best professor." And turned his attention back to the ring of candles. He stared at the flickering candles and began to feel their presence. He thought about their light fading and they did, all of the candles went out at the same time.

"Very good Harry that, that was very good, you're making a lot of progress; and in such a short time too. You'll be ready for the Phoenix staff soon enough." Dumbledore said. "Now I would like you to relight the candles, this may be a lot harder than putting them out, but I think with time you'll be able to do it rather easily. From what I've read, fire elementals would concentrate one a single spot to create a small spark, and once they had the spark they could easily make the fire spread." Said Dumbledore pausing for a moment.

Harry turned to Dumbledore and said, "So, it would be like starting a fire with a magnifying glass? By focusing the energy into a single spot to create the first spark."

"I couldn't have said it better myself Harry. Now, I'd like you to light the first candle you put out." Said Dumbledore.

Harry walked back to the candles and positioned himself in front of the shortest candle. He stared at the very top of it, focusing on the wick; he began to imagine himself as a giant magnifying glass, putting all of his energy into the small spot. Suddenly the wick began to smoke and a small flame appeared. Harry started to feel its presence and instinctively strengthened it. He stopped when the flame was at normal height and turned back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore looked very pleased, "That was great Mr. Potter, and I would like you to continue to practice that exercise until I return. I think it's time to move to stage two of your fire training." He said with his eyes sparkling more then normal.

Harry watched Dumbledore walk back into the house before he turned back to his lesson. It took Harry a few seconds to extinguish the flames when he first started, but with each time he repeated the process his control strengthened. He was able to put out every candle at once without a problem. At first he was lighting each candle individually but he found it tiresome. So he decided to try something different, Harry would light one candle and make the flame jump form one candle to another lighting each one as it went. After his fifth try it became second nature to him.

Dumbledore walked out the back door, just in time to see Harry skipping the flames from candle to candle. "I see you've already progressed past my second stage of training; so I think we'll skip it and move onto the third, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked back a little startled, he was too focused on the candles to notice anyone else around him; "Sorry professor, I didn't mean to skip ahead, I just thought it would be easier this way."

"Oh no need to be sorry Harry, your doing very well, much better then I would have expected." Dumbledore said, "Now we'll move on to the next stage, do you have your staff Harry?"

"Yes sir," Harry said as he pulled the Phoenix staff out of its concealment pouch. As he touched the staff the large emerald began to glow slightly.

"Very good. Follow me" Said Dumbledore and he directed Harry to the front of the house.

Harry followed Dumbledore past the front of the house and onto the bridge connecting the island to land. In the middle was a small fire pit, containing a few unlit logs. Dumbledore stopped five feet short of it and Harry walked up beside him.

"This next stage will require a lot more control then before, which is why you'll need the staff. Without the staff you will still have control over then elements, but not the level of control a staff can give you." Dumbledore said speaking to Harry. He paused a moment before continuing, "A staff and a wand are used to channel magic to create a more desired result. For instance; your corpral patronus requires a great deal of control, something almost impossible to achieve without your wand. A staff works the same way but with your elemental abilities. It allows you to create whatever you want with the elements you control. Do you understand Harry?

"I think so, so the staff will only work with my elemental ability?" Harry said with a questioning look.

"Actually no, you will be able to cast any spell you normally could with your wand, but the results will be very different. The spell will be much stronger and a little harder to control at first. For instance; when first using the disarming spell expelliarmus it would hit everything around you. Wands would be flying everywhere." Said Dumbledore chuckling at the thought of Harry disarming the entire student body with one spell.

Harry looked down at his staff then back to Dumbledore, "Sir, what would happen with something like the expecto patronum charm?"

"I don't really know Harry, but I'm curious to find out. When we get back to Hogwarts I'd like to see. For now I'd like you to start a fire." Dumbledore said pointing towards the fire pit.

Harry focused on a large log, and it immediately caught fire. Once Harry was satisfied with the strength of the blaze he turned back to Dumbledore for further instructions. "What would you like me to do next, sir?"

"For now I'd like you to move the fire above the pit, and keep it there for a second." Dumbledore said.

Harry thought about it for a second and the fire began to slip away from the logs, slowly moving towards the air. Harry gripped the staff a little more firmly and the ruby's that composed the phoenix began to glow. The carving began to take on the true color of a phoenix. Harry concentrated as the fire left the logs completely and stopped a few inches above them. He didn't like how the fire looked completely shapeless so he formed it into a sphere before turning back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had a look Harry had never seen his headmaster wear. He seemed surprised, something Dumbledore never showed. "I can't believe the level of control you have Harry, I thought it would have taken weeks just to move the fire away from the logs but you seem to be able to form it also. This really is amazing Harry."

"Thank you sir." Harry said feeling himself swell with pride as he placed the fire back onto the logs and allowed it to exist without his influence.

"Harry do you feel confidant that you can create an image by doing this?" Dumbledore said pointing at the fire.

"I believe so." Harry said, not too sure of himself

"Great Harry that's what I want you to do, I'll be inside doing some reading I'd like you to call for me when you're ready." Dumbledore said. "Is that okay?"

"Yes professor, I think I can manage." Harry said feeling a little more confident.

"Great I'll leave you to it then Harry." Dumbledore said as he turned and walked back to the house.

Harry stood in front of the fire for a long time trying to figure out what to make. When he finally did he couldn't stop until he perfected it. Dobby came out around lunchtime and gave Harry a large sandwich, with many assorted side dishes. Harry continued to work on his image until right after sunset. He walked back to the house to get Dumbledore. He found him in his library with mounds of books surrounding him. He looked up at Harry through his half-mooned spectacles, and headed towards the door without saying a word. They walked out the front door and down the steps to the bridge.

Harry was the first to speak, "It took me a while to think of something to make but once I did, I thought it fit perfectly." Harry stood in front of the fire pit staring down on it. The rubies on the phoenix staff began to glow, casting an eerie red light across the bridge. The fire within the pit grew and Harry took a step back and so did Dumbledore.

The fire rose from the pit and laid flat a foot above it. The small head of a baby phoenix emerged from within the flames. The phoenix grew and spread its wings. It took off from the fire below and soared through the air. A light trail of bright red flames traced the enormous birds movements. It made a large loop and then dropped into a dive, heading straight back to the ground. It pulled out its wings and stopped in mid air facing Harry and Dumbledore. It flapped its wings once more and lowered itself onto the logs in the fire pit, and seemed to melt back into them.

Harry stepped towards the flames, as the phoenix staff stopped glowing. Dumbledore stepped forward looking into the flames apparently speechless. So Harry began to speak, "Is that what you wanted professor?"

Dumbledore shook himself and looked back at Harry, "That was amazing Harry, I would never have expected you to have nearly that much control. Even after years of practice. You have surpassed everything I would have expected." Dumbledore said regaining his composure. "Well I guess we're done with your fire training Harry, tomorrow we'll begin with water. Dobby has food in the kitchen for you, and after that I want you to go to bed, you have a big day ahead of you." Dumbledore said.

Over the next four weeks Harry spent almost all of his time refining his elemental skills. He progressed through water, air, and earth just as easily as fire. The only problem he had was when it came to controlling the weather. He was able to make storms and diffuse them but he had a hard time with control. He wasn't always able to make lightening hit its mark. He kept scorching the grass and hitting things he wasn't supposed to. He almost destroyed Dumbledore's house as a bolt of lightening was sent down the chimney splitting it in half. Dumbledore fixed all of Harry's mishaps with a wave of his wand and urged him to continue. Even though Harry had a few rough days with each lesson he progressed greatly. By the end of the fifth week he had almost complete control.

Dumbledore had put him through many different lessons, each for a specific reason. He had Harry flatten all of the rolling hills one day, then put them back the way they were. This exercise was done repeatedly to refine his hold on the earth element. He also had Harry move the lake, which Harry did without too much difficulty but he ended up destroyed the bridge in the process. Dumbledore also fixed this mistake and had Harry continue.

Harry woke up suddenly feeling something out of place. He opened his eyes and grabbed his glasses. A pair of bright green eyes came into focus. "Can I help you Dobby? Harry said sleepily.

"Dobby is sorry to wake you Harry Potter but Master Dumbledore would like to speak to you in the kitchen. Would you please come down after you are dressed?" Dobby said still sitting on Harry's chest.

"Sure Dobby, I'll be down in a minute, but could you do me a favor?" Harry said looking at the small house elf.

"Yes Harry Potter sir, anything." Dobby said looking cheerful to help Harry in anyway he could.

"Could you let me up?" Harry said

Dobby jumped off Harry looking a little embarrassed, "Sorry sir, I didn't mean to keep you."

"Oh its no problem Dobby," Harry said sitting up. "Could you please tell Dumbledore I will be down in a minute?"

"Oh yes sir, I will Harry Potter," Dobby said just before he popped out of sight.

Harry got dressed and tied his staff to his belt. After he was ready Harry headed down to the kitchen. He found Dumbledore sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet. He lowered the paper as Harry entered, "Good morning Harry, I trust you slept well." He said

"Yes sir, I did, thank you." Harry said as he sat down and Dobby placed his breakfast in front of him.

"I was wondering Harry if you'd like to come with me to Hogwarts before the term begins. I have a lot of work to do before the students arrive so I need to go. You are welcome to come; actually I think it would be vital part of your training. When you are at Hogwarts you will be able to perform magic. So we'll finally be able to see what will happen when casting a spell with the Phoenix staff." Dumbledore said.

Harry nearly choked on his scrambled eggs, "You want me to come to Hogwarts before the term begins, will there be any of the other teachers there?" Harry said.

"The answer is yes to both of the questions Harry. Most of the teaching staff will be there when we arrive. So does that mean you'll be coming with me?" Dumbledore said.

"Yes Professor I'd love to come with you. Would I be staying there until the new term begins?" Harry said

"No, I would like you to come to school on the Hogwarts express like always, so I've asked the Weasley's if they would be able to care for you." He said smiling, "The Weasley's seemed more then happy to take you for a week, so that's where you will be going for the last week of the summer. If that's alright with you Harry."

"That sounds brilliant. When do we leave to Hogwarts?" Harry said with a huge smile across his face. The thought of seeing Ron and the Weasleys again was a great. He missed them a lot since he got to Dumbledore's house. He and Ron had been writing back and forth but it still wasn't that same as seeing his best friend.

"We leave when you finishing eating Harry. Dobby has already packed away your things." Said Dumbledore handing Harry his miniature trunk.

After Harry was done eating, he and Dumbledore headed out past the grounds and took a portkey to Hogwarts.