Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Muggle Means and Magical Methods

The next morning, after the first restful night's sleep in more than a week, Harry opened his eyes to the dull thumping of Uncle Vernon's feet as he descended the stairs. When they reached the kitchen he heard the familiar bellow, "BOY, GET DOWN HERE AND FIX MY BREAKFAST!"

Harry rolled out of bed and dressed as quickly as he could, running down the stairs with one trainer loosely tied and the other not tied at all. As he turned the corner and headed for the kitchen he noticed that the front door was slowly, yet silently, opening. He pulled his wand and cautiously approached the opening door, ready to strike if need be. Moments later Remus stuck his head into the hallway and, looking straight into Harry's eyes, whispered, "Padfoot rides again." Harry smiled, nodded and tucked his wand back into his leg holster.

"BOY," Uncle Vernon bellowed again, "I TOLD YOU TO GET DOWN HERE AND FIX MY BREAKFAST!"

When Harry walked into the kitchen, as Remus crouched behind the doorframe, his uncle had his face buried in the newspaper, his aunt was standing near the window, spying on the neighbors, and Dudley was watching cartoons on the kitchen telly. Harry went to the refrigerator and got out the eggs, ham, sausage and bacon, took them over to the counter and set about preparing his uncle's breakfast. Ten minutes later, as he placed his uncle's five slices of toast, six slices of bacon and four eggs (sunny side up) on a plate, he glanced up at Remus who was motioning for him to stand back. When he did Remus waved his wand in a curious pattern while whispering an incantation. As he finished the incantation a silver bolt of magical energy shot from the tip of Remus' wand and struck the center of the plate. Nothing looked any different so Harry glanced questioningly at Remus who motioned for him to go ahead and serve it. Harry looked suspiciously at the plate then glanced back at Remus. "Go on," Remus mouthed through a mischievous grin.

Harry took the plate over and placed it before his beefy uncle and returned to the range to begin preparing Dudley's breakfast, which, now that he had excelled in boxing and begun a strenuous training program, consisted of bacon, eggs, toast, ham and sausage. Moments later, as he was cracking the third egg and emptying its contents into the frying pan, he heard his uncle Vernon spit his food out and throw his paper onto the table, knocking over a glass of orange juice which spilled and spread out over the surface of the table, dribbling onto the floor in several places. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, BOY!" his uncle bellowed, "POISON ME? GET OVER HERE AND CLEAN UP THIS MESS!"

"Don't move, Harry," Remus said, calmly walking into the kitchen. Then, just as calmly, taking a fork out of the silverware drawer he walked over to stand beside Vernon and said, "Do you mind?" Vernon paled at the sight or Remus but Harry could tell that he was getting ready to explode.

Without waiting for a response Remus stabbed an untouched slice of bacon and took a bite. Chewing thoughtfully for a few moments while looking up at the ceiling he screwed his face up at the taste then nodded. "Yep. That's what I thought: earwax and chili powder. I'm afraid, Mister Dursley, that you are going to have to do your own cooking from now on. You see, due to the particulars of Harry's current situation, his need for additional training and our need to ensure that he is being treated fairly in this house the restriction on the underage use of magic has been lifted in his case. He is not to tell anyone who does not need to know this particular fact and he is not to abuse this privilege. I, however, am a fully trained wizard who is under no such restriction. If I find that you are abusing Harry in any way I will not hesitate to hex you in ways you cannot even begin to imagine.

"Now, while Harry was not responsible for the rather unusual taste of your food this morning I thought you should know that he will no longer be required to prepare any of your meals. Any meals he does prepare under any form of duress will taste as bad as this if not worse." Turning to Harry Remus smiled and said, "Now, Harry, since they have a record of the spell I just cast on your uncle's food could you please be so kind as to remove it so they do not think we are abusing your relatives?"

It was more of a statement than a question but Harry didn't mind; this was just too funny. Remus stepped aside as Harry pulled his wand and pointed it at his uncle's plate. He glanced over at Remus for confirmation and when Remus nodded and smiled broadly he muttered, "Finite Incantatum."

A jet of golden sparks shot from Harry's wand and struck his uncle's plate. "There," Remus said, "I think that should about do it. And to prove that we are nowhere near as bad as you seem to think I will prepare the rest of this meal myself."

Using his wand Remus prepared Dudley's massive breakfast, Petunia's light breakfast and moderate meals for both Harry and himself. All the while Harry was smiling broadly while struggling not to laugh.

Vernon Dursley hurriedly ate the rest of his breakfast and was on his was out the door when Remus stopped him. "Oh, and by the way, sir, you needn't worry about the price of food this summer. Since we are taking a more active interest in Harry's welfare we will be paying for all of the food this summer. What you buy is your affair and will come out of your pocket." Harry just smiled and shook his head. Yes, he thought, this was going to be an interesting summer.

After breakfast Harry and Remus went up to Harry's room and closed the door. Remus put a privacy charm on the door, made Harry's bed with a flick of his wand and, as Harry sat down at his desk, took a seat on the edge of the bed. Harry's smile finally broke and he burst out laughing. "Remus, you are one dangerous wizard," he laughed.

Remus looked at him quizically and said, "What? I didn't hurt anyone did I?"

"No," he laughed, "but the looks on their faces were priceless and Uncle Vernon . . ." Harry struggle to contain himself but failed miserably. "You are so subtle it's scary."

"Why thank you," Remus said as a mischievous grin spread across his face. "I learned from the best."

A minute later, after Harry had recovered from his laughter and was once again sitting in his chair, he turned to look at Remus and said, "Remus, I want to know the truth about my dad."

Remus leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and studied his hands for several seconds, periodically chewing on his lower lip as if trying to decide where to begin, before raising his head and looking into Harry's eyes. "I won't lie to you, Harry," he finally said. "Your father was a good man; one of the best. And he was a good friend. But sometimes he had too much energy for his own good. Yes, he was arrogant and cocky but he didn't maliciously hurt or embarrass anyone unless he felt they deserved it. Most of his pranks were harmless. What you saw in Snape's pensive was a retaliatory strike, not for anything Severus did to us but for what he had been doing to younger, less powerful - and sometimes defenseless - muggleborns and half-bloods all year long. You see, Harry, the war was going strong while we were in school and a lot of good witches and wizards were dieing on a daily basis. Some of the Slytherins - such as Snape - wanted to bring the war into the halls of Hogwarts. When we - that is to say the marauders - got wind of this, your dad and Sirius decided to take matters into their own hands. Since the perpetrators were hardly ever caught and the teachers refused to take any action based on accusation alone, without any hard evidence, your dad and Sirius would talk to the victims, find out what happened and get descriptions of the assailants which, since they were both fairly observant, gave them a pretty good idea as to who the perpetrators were.

"Like I said, most of their pranks were harmless but occasionally they could get out of hand. I was made a prefect to try to keep them under control but I knew why they were tormenting Snape that day and I wasn't about to get in their way. Besides, the bonds of friendship between us were very powerful."

"So Snape wasn't an innocent victim?" Harry asked. Remus snorted and shook his head. "No, Harry, far from it. Severus was far from an innocent victim. He was about as far from being an innocent victim as you can get."

"So why did my mother try to defend him?"

"Your mother tended to side with the teachers. She didn't believe in punishing anyone without any hard evidence and since no hard evidence was ever found she couldn't justify what we were doing. I honestly don't think she knew why they were doing it. Oh, she may have suspected something but I don't think she really knew or understood all of the reasons behind our madness."

"What changed her mind?"

Remus paused, hesitating for a moment, then said, "I think it was a lot of things really. Before your father became head boy he was approachable in an unofficial capacity because while the teachers would listen they wouldn't do anything. James would not only listen but he would do something about the accusations. When he became head boy he went out of his way to make sure that he was still approachable. Only this time it was in an official capacity. I think when Lily saw that side of him - the sensitive, caring side that was willing to stand up and fight for what was right - she realized that she may have misjudged him. But I think the clincher was when a little third year Huffelpuff girl was raped. James almost started a war over that one and Lily was on his side. That's what really brought them together and the three Slytherins who gang raped that poor girl never knew what hit them. After that your parents were inseparable. That's when Lily became the unofficial fifth Marauder. I think when she realized that there was a method to our madness and that our most viscous pranks were reserved for helping the little guy she began to understand your father and, while she may not have agreed with some of his tactics, she did agree with his ideals. She was a very powerful witch, Harry, and when those two got together on a prank all hell would break loose. Of course, James was more than willing to take credit for their stunts because with credit came blame and he didn't want your mother to ruin her reputation. They argued about it a few times but James won out in the end."

Harry sat in silence, staring blankly at nothing more important than a singular point in space for almost a minute while absorbing this new information. When he finally looked up relief was clearly visible in his eyes. "Thank you," he said.

"Not a problem," Remus said, smiling at the expression on Harry's face and the unspoken message in the tone of Harry's voice.

"Can you teach me some of your pranks?"

Remus laughed. "You've got much more important things to think about than pranking a bunch of lousy Slytherins, Harry; but I'll see what I can do. For right now, however, we have got to see what we can't do about defeating a certain dark lord."

Harry smiled to himself then lowered his gaze to once again stare at that singular point in space. "Alright," he said. "Where do we begin?"

Remus looked thoughtfully out the window for several seconds before responding. "The first thing we have to do is define our goals."

Harry looked incredulously over at his former teacher. "Defeat Voldemort, of course," he said.

"Yes, yes. That is our ultimate goal. But there are many smaller goals we must set and achieve before we can take that final step. The members of the Order are working on gathering intelligence and are involved in the fighting. The Daily Prophet and The Quibbler are helping us spread the word and keeping people informed. Fudge is still being something of a git about a lot of things and I fear he may strive to lash out at both you and Albus in some way before it's all over because once it became known that he knew of Voldemort's return more than a year ago and said nothing his popularity began slipping. You see, Harry, one of the things people like Fudge seem to forget is that sometimes hiding the truth can cause more harm than might otherwise have occurred."

"Boy, you can say that again," Harry grumbled.

Remus looked over at Harry who was turning to stare vacantly out the window. Stepping over to sit on the edge of Harry's desk he said, "Harry, I know what Albus did seems wrong and I tend to agree with you. But he was trying to give you a chance to grow up normally."

Harry turned his head and looked up into the werewolf's amber eyes, his own eyes starting to fill with tears. "If that's so, then why did he leave me here?" he almost screamed.

Remus sighed. "You know that as well as I do, Harry. As long as you can call your aunt's house home for a few months out of the year you will be protected by the magic that can only exist between two blood relatives."

"Did Dumbledore tell you that?" Harry groused.

Remus hung his head and looked at his tattered shoes. "We had to drag it out of him. It wasn't easy and he wishes there had been some other way but unfortunately, for the magic to work, there was none."

"Do you understand how it works?" Harry asked.

Remus looked over at Harry, the only living legacy of the Marauders, and softly smiled. "Yes, I do. It is a very complicated spell that has its roots in some of the most ancient magic on record; but what it boils down to is a two-way protective charm. So long as both you and your aunt are alive and can call the same house home for at least one month a year - preferably the month of July as that is the month of your birth - your aunt's house will be a safe haven - a sanctuary if you will - for the two of you. Your uncle and cousin are, in a manner of speaking, just along for the ride."

Pulling a copy of the Daily Prophet out of his back pocket Remus laid it on the bed and began leafing through it's pages. "I thought you might want to see this," he said as he reached the Ministry Business section of the paper and carried it over laying it on the desk. Harry turned around and his eyes widened as he read the headline.

Black Cleared of all Charges!

Several of You-Know-Who's supporters, known as Death Eaters, were taken into custody last month after a lengthy battle in The Department of Mysteries. The names of the combatants are being withheld as many of them were underage witches and wizards who are currently attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

When questioned under the influence of Veritaserum several of the Death Eaters stated that Sirius Black never was one of their number and that he was framed for the murders of twelve muggles and one Peter Pettigrew by none other than Peter Petigrew himself who is alive, a Death Eater and an illegal animagus whose form it that of a rat. It would seem that after Mr. Pettigrew framed Mr. Black for betraying Lily and James Potter he cut off one of his fingers before blowing up the street, transforming into his rat form and escaping into the sewers, effectively faking his own death. It was also learned that Pettigrew was the Potter's Secret Keeper and it was he who betrayed the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Sadly, Mr. Black died in the aforementioned battle before his name could be cleared. As of yesterday evening, however, Mr. Sirius Black has been cleared of all charges and his name has been officially removed from the Ministry's Most Wanted List.

The Ministry deeply regrets the false imprisonment of an innocent man. The mystery as to how Mr. Black escaped from Azkaban Wizarding Prison, however, still remains. (For a related story please see Death Eaters Among Us on page E5.)

Harry looked up at Remus and smiled, his eyes brimming with tears of happiness. "Good," he said. "It's about time."

Remus smiled, nodded his head and pulled Harry into a hug. "Yes it is, cub," Remus whispered then began to chuckle softly. "That's just like old Padfoot, though. He always wanted to leave 'em guessing."

Walking back over to Harry's bed and getting back to the subject at hand Remus said, "Now, what you and I need to figure out is what we are going to do and how we are going to contribute to the cause."

Harry turned around and leaned forward. Resting his elbows on his knees he stared down at the loose floorboard under the bed. He hadn't put anything under there yet as the summer had only just begun and for a moment he wondered if he would be using it at all this summer. Then his thoughts turned to the wizarding world and to the task of defeating Voldemort. He thought about what Remus had said and realized that there was much more to fighting and winning a war than simply going out and killing the bad guys. There was a lot of planning and preparation that went into an operation like this. He suddenly realized how foolish - how immature, young and childish - he had been to think that it was all just a matter of kill or be killed. True, it would probably come down to that in the end, in the final battle, but before that battle could take place there was a lot of work that needed to be done.

As he turned his head to look towards the foot of his bed Harry began thinking about what his immediate goals should be. He knew that there were a lot of defenseless witches and wizards out there, not to mention muggles, and he knew that there were only so many aurors, hit wizards and members of the Order arrayed against an unknown number of Death Eaters and other dark forces. He had already lost his parents and Sirius to Voldemort and his followers and he had seen Cedric killed just because he had been a 'spare'. He didn't want anyone else to die. "I guess," he said thoughtfully after several minutes of introspective silence, "I want to find some way, some spell or charm or something, to block the Unforgivables."

Remus looked up suddenly. "What?" he said incredulously. "Block the unforgivables? That's never been done before."

Harry looked up, a twisted smile on his face. "So. That doesn't mean it can't be done does it?"

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment then shook his head. "No. It doesn't mean it can't be done; all it means is that some of the greatest minds in the wizarding world have been trying to solve that problem for years and no one has been able to find the answer."

"Have they ever looked beyond the wizarding world to find a solution?"

"I don't know," Remus confessed. "I doubt it, though, because it is primarily a wizarding problem, created by wizards, and most of the researchers seem to think it should have a wizarding solution."

Harry thought about this then slowly said, "Alright then. Then let's start looking at muggle solutions."

After a lengthy silence Remus said, "Where should we start?"

Harry thought about this for a moment then jumped up and ran to his trunk. Throwing it open he began rummaging through the many loose pieces and scraps of parchment he had accumulated over the years. "What are you looking for?" Remus asked.

"Hermione's telephone number," Harry said excitedly. "She's a muggle-born and the smartest witch I know! If anyone will have an idea where we should start looking it will be her." Flipping open one of the books from his first year a small scrap of parchment fluttered to the floor. Picking it up he read the note and jumped up. "Come on!" he said throwing the door open and running down the stairs and into the kitchen.

His aunt, Petunia, looked up apprehensively as he raced into the kitchen and Dudley scooted back from the table, his eyes filled with fear that Harry might turn him onto something unnatural or, worse yet, give him another pig's tail. "Aunt Petunia," Harry breathed excitedly, "could I use the telephone?"

The horse-faced woman seemed to struggle with her desires and fears for several seconds before reluctantly agreeing. "All right then," she said harshly. "But don't be too long and don't abuse it."

"I won't," Harry said as Remus calmly sauntered into the kitchen.

Placing the scrap of parchment on the counter next to the phone he lifted the receiver and punched in the numbers. Three rings later a familiar voice answered, "Granger residence."

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Harry?" Hermione's surprised voice said. "How are you? It's so good to hear your voice . . ."

Harry cut her off. "Er, . . . Hermione, Remus is here and we need to ask you a question."

"Remus? As in Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked. "What's he doing there?"

"Yes," Harry said. "Remus as in Professor Lupin. It's a long story but we need to ask you a question."

"All right," Hermione said hesitantly. "What is it?"

Harry hesitated briefly as he caught his breath. "This might sound crazy, Hermione, but we are trying to find something that will be effective against the Unforgivables. According to Remus most of the research in this area has centered around trying to find a magical solution to a magical problem." Petunia and Dudley both gasped but Harry ignored their reactions. "What we want to know is if you can think of where we might start looking in the muggle world."

Hermione was silent for several seconds then said, "That's going to be some very ancient and some very powerful magic, Harry. My guess is that it is going to be some of the most ancient on record, if it has ever even been recorded." After falling silent again she said, "All I can think to say is that you begin by studying muggle spiritual philosophy as they are some of the oldest muggle texts on record. I think the oldest of these are the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. They aren't easy reading, Harry, but they can be quite interesting. Do you want any help?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Uh, sure. What books would you recommend?"

"Well," Hermione pondered, "They all say the same thing really. They just have different ways of going about it. It all kind of depends upon how you think and what you like to read."

"Er, like I said, any suggestions?"

"Well, I've read all of them myself so they really aren't all that difficult for me any more so how about if I take the Buddhist and Hindu philosophies and you and Professor Lupin take the Jewish, Christian and Muslim philosophies. Christianity and the Muslim faith are actually offshoots of the Jewish religion so they are probably best studied together. I'll tell you what, is there anyway I can meet either you or Professor Lupin at a bookstore so we can go shopping sometime in the next couple of days?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Leave it to Hermione to think about going to a bookstore on her first full day back from school. He had to admire her determination though. "I'll let you talk to Remus about that. I've got Occlumency lessons with Dumbledore this afternoon so maybe you can get together then."

"Alright then," Hermione said and waited while Harry handed the receiver to Remus and explained how to use it.

"Hermione?" Remus said into the handset. "Hermione, please. I haven't been your professor for more than two years now. Please call me either Remus or Moony. . . Yes, Harry has Occlumency lessons with Albus from one to four this afternoon. . . Yes, I think Harry will succeed. Albus really is a much better teacher than Severus and I think Harry is a bit more motivated now that he knows what can happen. . ." He said this last with a cautious glance at Harry who grimly nodded in response. "Yes, I can be at your house a little after one. . . Yes. . . Where do you live? Yes. . . Yes, Hermione, security has been increased. I'm not at liberty to say how, just that it has. . . Okay. . . Would you like to speak to Harry?"

Remus handed the phone back to Harry. "Hi, Hermione," Harry said.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, Hermione," he said shaking his head at Remus, "I'm fine."

"Okay," she said uncertainly. "You know we care about you."

Harry smiled to himself and nodded. "Yes, Hermione. I know you care."

"Good," she said with an almost inaudible sigh of relief. "Don't be a stranger this summer and please write."

"I will."

"Good. I look forward to seeing Hedwig at least twice a week."

Harry smiled and shook his head again. "Alright," he said. "I'll write."

"You had better," Hermione said sternly.

Harry laughed. "Alright, Hermione. I promise. I'll write."

"Alright then, Harry. I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Okay," Harry smiled. "I'll see you later. Bye."

"Goodbye then, Harry."

Harry placed the handset back in the cradle, thanked his aunt for letting him use the phone and, turning to Remus, said, "Well, now what?"

Leading the way out of the kitchen and back up to Harry's room Remus said, "Now I think we had better get you ready for your first class with Albus."

After lunch Harry and Remus walked over to Mrs. Figg's house. On their way they picked up two more bodyguards. Tonks stepped out of the shadows at one point and joined them, Harry noticed that she looked fairly attractive as a brunette, and Mad-Eye Moody, invisibility cloak in tact, joined them a few minutes later as they approached Mrs. Figg's door. Remus had reached out and was about to raise the brass knocker when the door flew open to reveal Harry's batty old baby sitter who was a squib as well as a member of The Order of the Phoenix. She was holding one of her many cats while another wound itself between her feet. Several others were occupying the various couches in her living room. The unreasonable stench of cat fur and cabbage assaulted Harry's nose as she quickly ushered them in and closed the door behind Moody with a snap. "Oh, thank heavens you made it!" Mrs. Figg gasped as she plunged the foursome into the relative darkness of the dimly lit room.

"That bad, eh?" Harry said as his eyes adjusted to the dim interior.

"Not yet," the familiar voice of Albus Dumbledore said from the far corner of the room where he was sitting on a small couch, contentedly caressing a cinnamon colored cat. "It would seem your little trip to the Department of Mysteries last month has bought us some time. We don't know how much but Severus seems to think we might have a few weeks before things start heating up again. Many of Tom's top lieutenants were taken into custody in that battle and he is currently trying to regroup."

The old wizard looked up from the cat and motioned for the others to make themselves comfortable. Harry, still somewhat apprehensive about the events in the headmaster's office on the morning after their trip to the Department of Mysteries, seated himself on the long couch nearest the door and furthest away from the aging headmaster. Remus sat next to him as a fluffy, white cat jumped up onto Harry's lap. Harry began running his fingers through its soft fur and turned his attention back to Professor Dumbledore. "This may prove beneficial to your lessons as well," the headmaster said. "We may have time, while he is otherwise occupied, to help you learn Occlumency. However, I must impress upon you, Harry, that you must practice."

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. I know that now. I just wish someone had explained what was happening beforehand so we could have avoided that trip." Harry and Remus had agreed not to talk about that fateful night until they were both ready and that time had not yet arrived.

Albus Dumbledore bowed his head and Harry could tell that the old man was dealing with some internal demons of his own. "Yes, Harry," he said with a sigh of resignation. "I am sorry I kept you in the dark for so long. I hope you can forgive me."

Harry silently stoked the cat which had curled up in his lap and who was contentedly purring for several seconds before responding. "I forgive you, sir," Harry said softly. "However, I must ask you to please not keep me in the dark any longer. I know I don't need to know everything that is going on but if it is anything that can help me defeat Voldemort then I would like to know about it."

Tonks and Mrs. Figg both gasped when Harry said Voldemort's name and Harry noticed that the cat in his lap tensed briefly as well. He had expected this but what he had not expected was Moody's reaction. "What do you mean, help you defeat Voldemort?" Moody asked. "Surely you don't think you can beat this guy by yourself?"

"I am afraid that is Harry's story," Dumbledore said tiredly. "If he wants you to know he will tell you. It is something he has to deal with and I will not interfere in his decisions. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you let Harry tell you if and/or when he wants you to know what we have discussed."

Dumbledore looked down and stroked the cat on his lap for several seconds before raising his eyes and speaking again. "I accept your terms, Harry, and I will do everything in my power to get you the information you need as quickly as possible."

Remus stood up. "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but I have a date with a certain young witch who is going to help Harry and me solve a problem. So, if you will excuse me . . ."

Dumbledore nodded and Remus disapparated out of the room. "Alastor, Nymphodora," Dumbledore said, "if you could resume your posts. . . Arabella, Harry and I will be in your study."

Professor Dumbledore stood up and led Harry into the small room that was just off the living room and closed the door.

The room was small with a wooden desk, a number of low bookshelves and several framed pictures - mostly of cats - adorning the walls. Dumbledore walked around and sat behind the desk and motioned for Harry to be seated. Harry pulled up one of the wooden chairs and sat opposite the aging professor, looking nervously across at the old man in front of him. "Er, sir," Harry began tentatively, "are you upset that Remus didn't ask your permission before coming to see me yesterday?"

"I was," Dumbledore confessed. "But I understand your needs. The two of you were probably closer to Sirius than anyone else and you need time to grieve. I wish he had told me of his plans so that some arrangements could have been made. But I am not blind, Harry, and we have adjusted our schedules to accommodate your needs.

"So tell me," Dumbledore asked, skillfully changing subjects, "what is this problem you and Remus are trying to solve?"

Harry looked up hesitantly. "We are going to try to find something that will be effective against the Unforgivables." Dumbledore looked up with interest. "We are going to try to find a muggle solution to a wizarding problem. We spoke to Hermione this morning and she suggested we start looking in some of the more ancient muggle spiritual philosophies. That's where Remus is now. He and Hermione are going to go to a bookstore to pick up some books. I think she said that she was going to be searching the Buddhist and Hindu philosophies while Remus and I search the Muslim, Jewish and Christian philosophies."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers and looked thoughtfully over his half moon glasses at Harry, an interested twinkle appearing in his blue eyes. "Interesting," he said. "I wish you luck. You have your work cut out for you. But then again you are motivated so I have no doubt that you will succeed. Now, on to the task at hand. . ."

"Uh, professor," Harry said, interrupting his mentor's train of thought, "What about Snape?"

The sense of loathing in Harry's voice was enough to make even Dumbledore's eyes fly open with surprise and a certain amount of shock. After he had calmed himself and reconciled himself with Harry's hatred of the Potions Master Dumbledore sighed and hung his head. "Professor Snape, Harry," he said softly. Then, after looking around the room briefly, almost as if he feared looking into Harry's eyes, he looked at Harry and said, "As I said, Harry, I am not blind. I have spoken with Professor Snape and he knows that I am not pleased with either his actions or his teaching methods. He is still a member of the Order because we need him; and he is still our Potions Master because we need to keep him safe; but he knows that I will no longer tolerate any of his reckless and childish behaviors."

Breathing a sigh of relief Harry closed his eyes and relaxed against the back of his chair. "Thank you, sir," he said.

Dumbledore stood and walked around the desk. Standing in front of Harry he leaned back, resting on the front edge of the desk, and looked down at Harry. Although they still sparkled with life, the aging headmaster's eyes were worn with age and the lines of concern which currently marred his features revealed that much of what he was about to say would break his heart as it meant that the teenager seated before him would not have a chance to grow up normally and have a happy, care-free childhood. "Harry," he said, "I think it is time you and I have a little talk."

Harry looked up at the most powerful wizard in the world. "Sir?" he asked.

"Harry," Dumbledore sighed, "it is time I told you something of myself and my experiences in the war against Grindelwald so that you can get an idea as to what you should expect the next time you and Tom meet and so that you can prepare. In addition, you are going to be receiving additional training in Dueling and Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts this summer so that you will be better able to defend yourself in your next meeting with his followers."

Harry looked thoughtfully out the window for a moment. "Where will I be practicing," he asked.

Dumbledore looked at the young man before him and smiled. "There is a grove of trees in a park near your aunt's home. We are in the process of establishing a number of muggle-repelling charms, similar to those used at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago, so that you can practice in private without fear of being discovered. We have already installed an Order member as the groundskeeper for this particular park so you needn't worry about that.

"Starting tomorrow your days are going to be beginning earlier than usual. At five o'clock in the morning you will be going for a half-hour run to warm up so I suggest you plan on getting up at around four-thirty. After a light breakfast you will be studying, learning and practicing tumbling, gymnastics and ballet for three hours. After a short break you will begin learning and practicing some of the most advanced Defensive and Transfiguration spells known as well as a number of charms that may come in both useful and handy. After that you will break for lunch. After lunch, on days you are scheduled to be with me, you will come here. On the days you are not, except for on the days of the full moon, you will have your time with Remus to talk, study, read or do homework."

Harry let his mouth fall slightly open at this news. "Ballet, sir?" he asked.

Dumbledore chuckled and smiled. "Yes, Harry, ballet. To be a top dueler you must be both flexible and fast on your feet. Tumbling, gymnastics and ballet will help you reach those goals."

Harry shook his head and smiled to himself. Of all the things he had thought it would take to become a master dueler ballet had not been one of them. "Um, sir?" Harry asked.

"Yes?"

"Am I going to be the only one receiving this training?"

"On the one hand," Dumbledore said as he worked his way around a direct response, "you will be the only one learning Occlumency. However, Mister Longbottom has requested additional training in dueling so he will be joining you in your morning sessions."

Harry nodded his head. It only made sense that Neville should want to become a master dueler after what the Lestranges did to his parents. "Who will be teaching us?"

The headmaster smiled. "Ah, but that would be telling now wouldn't it? Since you asked, however, your instructors will be Remus, Miss Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody."

Harry nodded, happy that he would be working with people he already knew. "Okay," he said.

"Now," Professor Dumbledore said as he returned to his seat, "on to the business at hand."

For the next two and one-half hours Harry and Professor Dumbledore visited about the war against Grindelwald and discussed the fine art of Occlumency. Despite his previous experiences with Snape, Harry found the subject interesting and attributed this to Dumbledore's approach and considerable teaching ability. At four o'clock there was a light tapping on the door and Mrs. Figg stuck her head in. "Albus?" she interrupted, "It's time."

Dumbledore looked up and nodded. "Very well. You have done surprisingly well today, Harry. Now I want you to go home and practice what you have learned. You and Remus have set yourselves an enviable task and I wish you all the luck in the world; but you have still got to practice Occlumency because we cannot afford to let Tom use his connection with you to ruin our plans. The sooner we are able to break this bond the better because so long as it is in place the coming war will have no end."

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand and I will not let you down."

The headmaster nodded, stood up and, after walking around the desk, led Harry out into the living room where Remus and Mrs. Figg stood waiting for them. Remus was holding a shopping bag from a bookstore in Oxford. He shook his head and said. "Sometimes I wonder about that girl. We spent almost two hours going through one small subsection of one bookstore before she settled on just three books. Needless to say the store manager was a bit put out by our purchases. I think he was hoping we would buy more than we did."

Harry chuckled. "I'm surprised you didn't wind up buying the entire store. But then again, Hermione does have a tendency to know what she is looking for. You should see her in the library some time. There may be fifty books on a particular subject she is interested in but she will sit there and pick through them for hours until she finds the one she is looking for."

Remus smiled wryly. "I can tell. She is very organized."