Disclaimer: Rawwwr.
One For All
Natural Anthem
Please excuse the lateness. LifeÕs been busy but I took a sick day today. I would have had this done sooner, but my Chemistry teacher would have eaten my first born if I didnÕt do my labs. Please excuse all dumbness. I was listening to the soundtrack to Tarzan. Why I may never know. The sarcasm in the chapter is my self-esteem trying to get back at myself for singing along with all the songs. Thank you reviewers, you make sing to any and all songs I hear. If only I knew the words.
***
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, A gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ÐMother Teresa
***
Harry yawned. Someone had pulled back his curtains and sunlight was streaming onto the deep burgundy covers of his bed. The mirror Sirius had given him sat on his bedside table, reflecting sunlight into his eyes.
His eyes widened, then shut with a snap and a grumble. He was starting lessons today. He would have to balance between not knowing what he was doing and over powering spells. He honestly wasnÕt trying to sound cocky about over powering spells. It had happened several times already and the results ranged from funny to disastrous.
His eyes opened a crack and he glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for breakfast. Maybe if he just pretended he hadnÕt noticed the clock time would stop, and he could sleep in and forget about the day ahead.
A loud boom from the common room that resounded up the stone stairwell made Harry give up his attempt to ignore the passage of time. He sighed. He should probably check on the Marauders before they managed to blow themselves up.
Despite it being summer the stone floor was still cold to HarryÕs feet and he shivered upon the sudden cold. With an experimental snap of his fingers Harry had managed to change from his pajamas to a school robe. That would definitely be a skill to make Dudley jealous. Changing his clothes was one of the few physical activities Dudley was forced to take part in.
When Harry reached the common room he found Sirius and Remus sitting with a box of WeasleyÕs Wizarding Wheezes. The loud boom he had heard had apparently been a donut that exploded with green paint when bit. The two men were coated in green, as was much of the floor and furniture around them.
They looked up at him sheepishly. Remus spoke while Sirius just smiled, "Good morning Harry."
"Good morning. You know, since this is the Gryffindor common room you should have tried one with red or gold paint. Green doesnÕt really look that good in here. Looks a bit Slytherin." With that Harry swept his hand and the paint disappeared. Harry was very glad it had worked. Many of the spells he was trying recently he had never done before or didnÕt know if they would work wandless. He would have been a bit embarrassed if it hadnÕt worked.
"Er, thanks," said Sirius.
"WhereÕd you get these," said Harry, pointing at the box of pranks.
"An owl dropped them off with a note from Fred and George. It said these were some of their new pranks and they wanted to keep their partner up to date. What did they mean by partner?" asked Remus.
"I made a bit of a donation to them to start their business," said Harry, recalling one of the memories he had made the Pensieve skip. He hadnÕt wanted word to get out to Mrs. Weasley that he had given Fred and George that much money for pranks. He would have gotten the lecture of the century for that. "I guess they decided to make me an honorary partner in their business because of it."
"How much did you give them?" asked Remus, sensing HarryÕs reluctance to talk about it.
"That isnÕt important. What is important is breakfast," said Harry, skillfully, well, almost skillfully, changing the subject. Remus raised his eyebrow at Harry but before he could speak Sirius was very vocally agreeing that it was time for food.
"I would also add," Harry said. "That you two can not ask questions after going through my mail, then exploding some of it, without my permission."
When they reached the Great Hall all the summer residents of Hogwarts were well into breakfast. McGonagall and Dumbledore were discussing something seriously as Harry sat down next to McGonagall. He picked up the Daily Prophet that was sitting on the table and began to read as he bit into his toast.
Sadly, that toast was never to be swallowed. Harry spit it out in a rather uncivilized way and exclaimed over what he was reading.
"You canÕt be serious! That isnÕt. No it. What. FUDGE!"
All other talking had stopped and everyone at the table turned to look at the irate Harry. It took a moment before he realized eyes were on him. It took another couple before he was able to compose his thoughts into a sentence. Within this time Sirius had taken the newspaper from his hands and began to read the article aloud to the table.
"Tragic Evening
Miranda Hophook
Last night, shortly before midnight, tragedy struck the Grippin family. It is reported that Mike and Cecilia with their baby daughter Lucy were killed in their kitchen. Incorrect ingredients were added to a brewing potion in the room. The fumes became deadly before the family noticed. When Aurors arrived on the scene they described the fumes as green."
The article went on but before Sirius could read any more Harry began to talk.
"How on earth can they do that?" Harry yelled.
"Do what Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"That is not how they died. They were murdered by Voldemort," a few people at the table flinched and the rest looked very surprised, but Harry went on. "He and some Death Eaters showed up last night to their home and murdered them in cold blood. How could these people even think of covering that up!"
Harry was vaguely aware that he sounded like a raving lunatic. As it wasnÕt far from how he felt, he didnÕt bother to tone down his temper much.
"As I am sure you are aware, Fudge has yet to admit that Voldemort has returned. Elections for Minister of Magic are approaching and from his point of view it wouldnÕt be good for his campaign to have Voldemort around," replied Dumbledore, sadness invaded his eyes.
"So he is willing to sacrifice lives and even lie about deaths just win an office he isnÕt even qualified for? DoesnÕt the magical community realize they are being scammed and lied to? This is something huge to try and cover up."
"I wholeheartedly agree that Fudge should not be reelected for minister. He has abused his office far too often. In reality the magical community doesnÕt have any idea of how big a lie Fudge is telling them. He has taken over the Daily Prophet and most media. This political lie has made it easier for VoldemortÕs come back. He can murder without the Ministry chasing him," said Dumbledore.
"Well then why arenÕt we doing anything about this?" asked Harry.
"I only have so much power. By taking on Fudge in the way needed I would be removed from Hogwarts. It would be too major a blow for the light side to try," replied Dumbledore.
"There has to be something we can do!"
"I am afraid there is not much we can do. The ministry has many Death Eaters working there who protect the minister. Fudge refuses to believe they are Death Eaters because of that reason and protects them in turn. The most we can do is spread quiet word in favor of the other candidate," said Dumbledore. "As I said before, it is far too risky for us to take strong action. To lose Hogwarts would be too hard a blow to the light side."
Harry sat slumped in his chair, fuming. There HAD to be something they could do. If Dumbledore and the Order couldnÕt do something then he sure would. Fudge, in combination with Voldemort, was literally giving him nightmares. After a moment Dumbledore spoke again.
"Ah, I believe it is about time for your first lesson Harry. If you start for the greenhouses now, you will make it right around ten. IÕm sure Professor Sprout has much to teach you."
Dumbledore could be very annoying. He rarely gave direct orders, only in times of emergencies. Usually any order was masked by word games. And it drove Harry crazy. He wondered how Dumbledore always seemed to manage his words like that as he walked with Professor Sprout down to Greenhouse Number 3.
Harry learned that he did not have a skill in Herbology early on in school. He knew he could get through the class passably, but would never excel tremendously. Which meant he was not particularly thrilled to have an entire hour of Herbology.
Professor Sprout had him repotting her Relizatr plants. They were supposed to contain healing properties. When the plant was mature the leaves would be ground into powder and used on wounds. No matter how much Sprout sung their praises, Harry still found a deep loathing for them. Perhaps it was the stinging sensation his hands had from handling them so much. Or maybe it was the large blue flowers that attracted the bees that stung him. He couldnÕt be sure.
On his way to Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall Harry attempted to heal the bee stings on his body. His unsuccessfulness only helped to lower his mood.
He sat down in the Transfiguration room and within a moment McGonagall the cat strolled in and hopped up on his desk. Leaning back and stretching his arms, immediately regretting due to a bee sting on his shoulder, he greeted McGonagall.
The cat hopped off his desk and turned into his Head of House. "Hello Harry. Please take out some parchment. Before we do anything practical we need to discuss some basic theories and laws."
After 55 minutes of note taking Harry was bored out of his brain. Long ago he had charmed the quill to write down what McGonagall was saying. He held on to it to make it look like he was paying attention. It really was amazing, he reflected, that McGonagall could give a long-winded lecture to even just one person. He probably could have transfigured himself into a brick wall and she would have kept lecturing.
The lecture may not have been quite so boring if it were on something he hadnÕt already done. He had neglected to tell McGonagall that he was an Anialles or even an Animagus. He had tried to interrupt her several times to tell her, but she was rather sharp in vocalizing that she wanted no interruptions.
Harry snapped out of his thoughts to realized McGonagall had stopped talking. He immediately spoke. Probably not the wisest move, as he had no idea what she had just said, but eh. "Is that all the notes?"
"Yes tomorrow we will attempt a practical. Unless you would like to stay a bit into lunch and try once."
"Sure." He could have some fun surprising her at least. He morphed into a sleek black panther, walking stealthily along the desks. From there he became a cat, a frog, a mouse, a bear, a gorilla a hawk and a grim. In grim form he hopped up on the desk infront of the stunned McGonagall and sat. He transformed back into his human form.
"HowÕd I do?" asked Harry, grinning. His mood had lifted at shocking McGonagall and from transforming.
It took a moment for McGonagall to realize what had happened. "Harry! How on earth? Do you realize what this means? That was incredible! You just sat through my whole lecture and already knew how?"
"As to "How on earth," I learned through a book, but most of it felt natural. I realize what I am. And I tried to interrupt you and tell you, but you kept snapping at me and wouldnÕt let me talk."
McGonagallÕs jaw was dropped clear open. It was rather unlady like for such a prim woman. "This is wonderful. I must tell Albus! Who else knows?"
"Sirius and Remus know. No one else."
Without another word McGonagall left the room and rushed off to, presumably, Dumbledore.
Through lunch McGonagall was excited, though most of the staff did not know why. Harry concentrated on his meal, checking to be sure that his lovely Marauder friends hadnÕt slipped any of Fred and GeorgeÕs pranks into his food. He made it through the meal unharmed and went to charms.
Charms was, well, useful. That was the only adjective Harry could come up with for charms. It hadnÕt been fun, but it hadnÕt been terrible. He knew he would need the charms eventually, in battle or just basic living, but he just couldnÕt get overly excited about them as a certain small man could. Hence the adjective useful. He would really need to get a thesaurus soon.
Snape was as fun loving as ever. Unfortunately his definition of fun was annoying Harry, making snide remarks at HarryÕs expense, and making potions. HarryÕs definition of fun was slightly different, causing the lesson to be boring bordering on annoying. Snape did have a way with words. And Harry was getting practice in patience.
When he arrived in the Defense room Tonks and Remus were standing at the front of the room talking and Padfoot was walking around in circles. As Harry entered Padfoot turned into Sirius.
"Walking in circles getting you nowhere Sirius?" asked Harry.
"I was bored, walking in circles beat listening to the two of them talk about how to best defeat a Gindeylow."
Remus and Tonks smiled at him. "Hey Harry, Tonks and I will be teaching you today and Sirius tagged along."
Harry put his hand on his bracelet absently and twisted it as he spoke. "Ok, what will I be learning?"
"We will just be practicing on dueling. We would like to see how your talents have been improved by that bracelet. Ok, Harry go face Sirius. Oh be quiet Sirius, you are the one who wanted to come along," said Remus as Sirius make a face at him.
Sirius walked over and stood opposite Harry.
"Ok, lets just see how advanced you are," Tonks spoke up. "Just try to defeat him how you would in a real battle."
"I canÕt defeat Sirius. Shut up Sirius," Harry said as Sirius grinned. "I mean I canÕt beat up my own Godfather."
Sirius turned his wand to his clothing and mutter a few spells. The robe he was wearing turned black and a white mask appeared in his face. Sirius put on the mask and a muffled "That better?" came.
Harry gripped his wand tighter as he looked at the Death Eater clad figure. He grinned. "Yes."
Looking back, Remus supposed he should have said something when he saw the smile that overtook HarryÕs face at the sight of a Death Eater. Perhaps Sirius might have had more time to run from him.
After the first spell was fired Sirius had begun to regret putting on the Death Eater apparel. Harry kept the grin on his face as he was his with SiriusÕ disarming spell.
Sirius began to talk, "I guess we will need to work a bit harder if I beat you that quickly,"
Sirius was never able to finish that thought as a spell hit his legs, paralyzing them. Another knocked him against the wall, followed by one which appeared to have no effect. A final one hit him, sending his wand flying to Harry and snapping his wands to his sides.
Light streamed into SiriusÕ eyes as Harry removed his mask and he made what Harry assumed was a noise meant to show his disgruntled state of mind. The noise was repeated when Remus and Tonks began to laugh at him. Harry took off the spell that held his limbs in paralysis and gave him back his wand.
When the laughing didnÕt stop Sirius growled. "What?"
"You should look in a mirror," said Remus.
Sirius turned the mask into a mirror. And followed up by dropping the mirror. The mirror stayed levitating in the air in front of him, mocking him with his reflection. His reflection that included pink hair that looked exactly like TonksÕ current hair style. Apparently all the spells Harry had sent at him had worked.
When the mirror whizzed into his laughing GodsonÕs hands he started after the boy who had both turned his hair pink and held the mirror that showed him his hair after he had dropped it. Harry grinned and ran to a corner.
Sirius believed he had his Godson cornered, ready to seek revenge. As he moved towards Harry he found it odd that Harry was suddenly taller than him. He blinked. His godson wasnÕt growing. He was climbing the wall. He had never seen anyone climb the wall like that. Harry did not grab on to anything that he could see, he just stuck to it.
Instead of forming words, Sirius stood with his mouth open. Remus and Tonks appeared to have made the same choice.
Harry realized what he was doing after looking from his hands down to the people at his feet. "This is so COOL."
"HowÕd you do that?" asked Tonks.
"DonÕt know, but it will come in handy this year when I want to avoid people."
The lesson ended early when it was decided that Dumbledore should be informed of HarryÕs newest power.
That evening in the common room Remus spoke up in a stretch of silence. "I wonder if you have other abilities like those of animals you can turn into."
"What do you mean?"
"Climbing on a wall like that is like an insect, spider or some lizards. Perhaps you have this power because an animal you can turn into has that power. If you acquired certain abilities from each animal you could become it would be amazing! Some previous AniallesÕ were said to have possessed a few special abilities. Perhaps you have this power and it was magnified by your bracelet."
"What sort of things do you think I would acquire?"
Sirius spoke up, "Maybe you could breathe underwater like a fish, or have better balance like a cat or have a better sense of smell like a dog." Remus nodded in agreement.
"That would be incredible!" No matter how many special abilities he may acquire, Harry would still be amazed at each one.
"We should test it!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Oh no. IÕd rather not," Harry said reluctantly, bad pictures of what could happen forming in his head. "IÕd prefer the two of you not to drown me, drop me out a window or anything of the sort."
"Harry is right," said Remus. "The outcome will probably be better if Harry slowly discovers the powers on his own than being forced to find them."
"Always taking away the fun Moony," Sirius joked.
RemusÕ eyes grew wide as he looked at SiriusÕ hair. It had turned from pink into a spiked lime green. Harry grinned and transfigured a book into a mirror for Sirius.
"I didnÕt just color your hair. For the next two days your hair will mirror TonksÕ hair. Have fun."
"HARRY." It appeared Sirius was not amused. It also appeared that Remus was.
Sirius chased Harry until he caught Harry, threatened him, then hugged him and warned him he would have no problem hugging his godson to death.
After threatening to get Harry back several times, MarauderÕs promise, the three eventually turned in for the evening.
One For All
Natural Anthem
Please excuse the lateness. LifeÕs been busy but I took a sick day today. I would have had this done sooner, but my Chemistry teacher would have eaten my first born if I didnÕt do my labs. Please excuse all dumbness. I was listening to the soundtrack to Tarzan. Why I may never know. The sarcasm in the chapter is my self-esteem trying to get back at myself for singing along with all the songs. Thank you reviewers, you make sing to any and all songs I hear. If only I knew the words.
***
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, A gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ÐMother Teresa
***
Harry yawned. Someone had pulled back his curtains and sunlight was streaming onto the deep burgundy covers of his bed. The mirror Sirius had given him sat on his bedside table, reflecting sunlight into his eyes.
His eyes widened, then shut with a snap and a grumble. He was starting lessons today. He would have to balance between not knowing what he was doing and over powering spells. He honestly wasnÕt trying to sound cocky about over powering spells. It had happened several times already and the results ranged from funny to disastrous.
His eyes opened a crack and he glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for breakfast. Maybe if he just pretended he hadnÕt noticed the clock time would stop, and he could sleep in and forget about the day ahead.
A loud boom from the common room that resounded up the stone stairwell made Harry give up his attempt to ignore the passage of time. He sighed. He should probably check on the Marauders before they managed to blow themselves up.
Despite it being summer the stone floor was still cold to HarryÕs feet and he shivered upon the sudden cold. With an experimental snap of his fingers Harry had managed to change from his pajamas to a school robe. That would definitely be a skill to make Dudley jealous. Changing his clothes was one of the few physical activities Dudley was forced to take part in.
When Harry reached the common room he found Sirius and Remus sitting with a box of WeasleyÕs Wizarding Wheezes. The loud boom he had heard had apparently been a donut that exploded with green paint when bit. The two men were coated in green, as was much of the floor and furniture around them.
They looked up at him sheepishly. Remus spoke while Sirius just smiled, "Good morning Harry."
"Good morning. You know, since this is the Gryffindor common room you should have tried one with red or gold paint. Green doesnÕt really look that good in here. Looks a bit Slytherin." With that Harry swept his hand and the paint disappeared. Harry was very glad it had worked. Many of the spells he was trying recently he had never done before or didnÕt know if they would work wandless. He would have been a bit embarrassed if it hadnÕt worked.
"Er, thanks," said Sirius.
"WhereÕd you get these," said Harry, pointing at the box of pranks.
"An owl dropped them off with a note from Fred and George. It said these were some of their new pranks and they wanted to keep their partner up to date. What did they mean by partner?" asked Remus.
"I made a bit of a donation to them to start their business," said Harry, recalling one of the memories he had made the Pensieve skip. He hadnÕt wanted word to get out to Mrs. Weasley that he had given Fred and George that much money for pranks. He would have gotten the lecture of the century for that. "I guess they decided to make me an honorary partner in their business because of it."
"How much did you give them?" asked Remus, sensing HarryÕs reluctance to talk about it.
"That isnÕt important. What is important is breakfast," said Harry, skillfully, well, almost skillfully, changing the subject. Remus raised his eyebrow at Harry but before he could speak Sirius was very vocally agreeing that it was time for food.
"I would also add," Harry said. "That you two can not ask questions after going through my mail, then exploding some of it, without my permission."
When they reached the Great Hall all the summer residents of Hogwarts were well into breakfast. McGonagall and Dumbledore were discussing something seriously as Harry sat down next to McGonagall. He picked up the Daily Prophet that was sitting on the table and began to read as he bit into his toast.
Sadly, that toast was never to be swallowed. Harry spit it out in a rather uncivilized way and exclaimed over what he was reading.
"You canÕt be serious! That isnÕt. No it. What. FUDGE!"
All other talking had stopped and everyone at the table turned to look at the irate Harry. It took a moment before he realized eyes were on him. It took another couple before he was able to compose his thoughts into a sentence. Within this time Sirius had taken the newspaper from his hands and began to read the article aloud to the table.
"Tragic Evening
Miranda Hophook
Last night, shortly before midnight, tragedy struck the Grippin family. It is reported that Mike and Cecilia with their baby daughter Lucy were killed in their kitchen. Incorrect ingredients were added to a brewing potion in the room. The fumes became deadly before the family noticed. When Aurors arrived on the scene they described the fumes as green."
The article went on but before Sirius could read any more Harry began to talk.
"How on earth can they do that?" Harry yelled.
"Do what Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"That is not how they died. They were murdered by Voldemort," a few people at the table flinched and the rest looked very surprised, but Harry went on. "He and some Death Eaters showed up last night to their home and murdered them in cold blood. How could these people even think of covering that up!"
Harry was vaguely aware that he sounded like a raving lunatic. As it wasnÕt far from how he felt, he didnÕt bother to tone down his temper much.
"As I am sure you are aware, Fudge has yet to admit that Voldemort has returned. Elections for Minister of Magic are approaching and from his point of view it wouldnÕt be good for his campaign to have Voldemort around," replied Dumbledore, sadness invaded his eyes.
"So he is willing to sacrifice lives and even lie about deaths just win an office he isnÕt even qualified for? DoesnÕt the magical community realize they are being scammed and lied to? This is something huge to try and cover up."
"I wholeheartedly agree that Fudge should not be reelected for minister. He has abused his office far too often. In reality the magical community doesnÕt have any idea of how big a lie Fudge is telling them. He has taken over the Daily Prophet and most media. This political lie has made it easier for VoldemortÕs come back. He can murder without the Ministry chasing him," said Dumbledore.
"Well then why arenÕt we doing anything about this?" asked Harry.
"I only have so much power. By taking on Fudge in the way needed I would be removed from Hogwarts. It would be too major a blow for the light side to try," replied Dumbledore.
"There has to be something we can do!"
"I am afraid there is not much we can do. The ministry has many Death Eaters working there who protect the minister. Fudge refuses to believe they are Death Eaters because of that reason and protects them in turn. The most we can do is spread quiet word in favor of the other candidate," said Dumbledore. "As I said before, it is far too risky for us to take strong action. To lose Hogwarts would be too hard a blow to the light side."
Harry sat slumped in his chair, fuming. There HAD to be something they could do. If Dumbledore and the Order couldnÕt do something then he sure would. Fudge, in combination with Voldemort, was literally giving him nightmares. After a moment Dumbledore spoke again.
"Ah, I believe it is about time for your first lesson Harry. If you start for the greenhouses now, you will make it right around ten. IÕm sure Professor Sprout has much to teach you."
Dumbledore could be very annoying. He rarely gave direct orders, only in times of emergencies. Usually any order was masked by word games. And it drove Harry crazy. He wondered how Dumbledore always seemed to manage his words like that as he walked with Professor Sprout down to Greenhouse Number 3.
Harry learned that he did not have a skill in Herbology early on in school. He knew he could get through the class passably, but would never excel tremendously. Which meant he was not particularly thrilled to have an entire hour of Herbology.
Professor Sprout had him repotting her Relizatr plants. They were supposed to contain healing properties. When the plant was mature the leaves would be ground into powder and used on wounds. No matter how much Sprout sung their praises, Harry still found a deep loathing for them. Perhaps it was the stinging sensation his hands had from handling them so much. Or maybe it was the large blue flowers that attracted the bees that stung him. He couldnÕt be sure.
On his way to Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall Harry attempted to heal the bee stings on his body. His unsuccessfulness only helped to lower his mood.
He sat down in the Transfiguration room and within a moment McGonagall the cat strolled in and hopped up on his desk. Leaning back and stretching his arms, immediately regretting due to a bee sting on his shoulder, he greeted McGonagall.
The cat hopped off his desk and turned into his Head of House. "Hello Harry. Please take out some parchment. Before we do anything practical we need to discuss some basic theories and laws."
After 55 minutes of note taking Harry was bored out of his brain. Long ago he had charmed the quill to write down what McGonagall was saying. He held on to it to make it look like he was paying attention. It really was amazing, he reflected, that McGonagall could give a long-winded lecture to even just one person. He probably could have transfigured himself into a brick wall and she would have kept lecturing.
The lecture may not have been quite so boring if it were on something he hadnÕt already done. He had neglected to tell McGonagall that he was an Anialles or even an Animagus. He had tried to interrupt her several times to tell her, but she was rather sharp in vocalizing that she wanted no interruptions.
Harry snapped out of his thoughts to realized McGonagall had stopped talking. He immediately spoke. Probably not the wisest move, as he had no idea what she had just said, but eh. "Is that all the notes?"
"Yes tomorrow we will attempt a practical. Unless you would like to stay a bit into lunch and try once."
"Sure." He could have some fun surprising her at least. He morphed into a sleek black panther, walking stealthily along the desks. From there he became a cat, a frog, a mouse, a bear, a gorilla a hawk and a grim. In grim form he hopped up on the desk infront of the stunned McGonagall and sat. He transformed back into his human form.
"HowÕd I do?" asked Harry, grinning. His mood had lifted at shocking McGonagall and from transforming.
It took a moment for McGonagall to realize what had happened. "Harry! How on earth? Do you realize what this means? That was incredible! You just sat through my whole lecture and already knew how?"
"As to "How on earth," I learned through a book, but most of it felt natural. I realize what I am. And I tried to interrupt you and tell you, but you kept snapping at me and wouldnÕt let me talk."
McGonagallÕs jaw was dropped clear open. It was rather unlady like for such a prim woman. "This is wonderful. I must tell Albus! Who else knows?"
"Sirius and Remus know. No one else."
Without another word McGonagall left the room and rushed off to, presumably, Dumbledore.
Through lunch McGonagall was excited, though most of the staff did not know why. Harry concentrated on his meal, checking to be sure that his lovely Marauder friends hadnÕt slipped any of Fred and GeorgeÕs pranks into his food. He made it through the meal unharmed and went to charms.
Charms was, well, useful. That was the only adjective Harry could come up with for charms. It hadnÕt been fun, but it hadnÕt been terrible. He knew he would need the charms eventually, in battle or just basic living, but he just couldnÕt get overly excited about them as a certain small man could. Hence the adjective useful. He would really need to get a thesaurus soon.
Snape was as fun loving as ever. Unfortunately his definition of fun was annoying Harry, making snide remarks at HarryÕs expense, and making potions. HarryÕs definition of fun was slightly different, causing the lesson to be boring bordering on annoying. Snape did have a way with words. And Harry was getting practice in patience.
When he arrived in the Defense room Tonks and Remus were standing at the front of the room talking and Padfoot was walking around in circles. As Harry entered Padfoot turned into Sirius.
"Walking in circles getting you nowhere Sirius?" asked Harry.
"I was bored, walking in circles beat listening to the two of them talk about how to best defeat a Gindeylow."
Remus and Tonks smiled at him. "Hey Harry, Tonks and I will be teaching you today and Sirius tagged along."
Harry put his hand on his bracelet absently and twisted it as he spoke. "Ok, what will I be learning?"
"We will just be practicing on dueling. We would like to see how your talents have been improved by that bracelet. Ok, Harry go face Sirius. Oh be quiet Sirius, you are the one who wanted to come along," said Remus as Sirius make a face at him.
Sirius walked over and stood opposite Harry.
"Ok, lets just see how advanced you are," Tonks spoke up. "Just try to defeat him how you would in a real battle."
"I canÕt defeat Sirius. Shut up Sirius," Harry said as Sirius grinned. "I mean I canÕt beat up my own Godfather."
Sirius turned his wand to his clothing and mutter a few spells. The robe he was wearing turned black and a white mask appeared in his face. Sirius put on the mask and a muffled "That better?" came.
Harry gripped his wand tighter as he looked at the Death Eater clad figure. He grinned. "Yes."
Looking back, Remus supposed he should have said something when he saw the smile that overtook HarryÕs face at the sight of a Death Eater. Perhaps Sirius might have had more time to run from him.
After the first spell was fired Sirius had begun to regret putting on the Death Eater apparel. Harry kept the grin on his face as he was his with SiriusÕ disarming spell.
Sirius began to talk, "I guess we will need to work a bit harder if I beat you that quickly,"
Sirius was never able to finish that thought as a spell hit his legs, paralyzing them. Another knocked him against the wall, followed by one which appeared to have no effect. A final one hit him, sending his wand flying to Harry and snapping his wands to his sides.
Light streamed into SiriusÕ eyes as Harry removed his mask and he made what Harry assumed was a noise meant to show his disgruntled state of mind. The noise was repeated when Remus and Tonks began to laugh at him. Harry took off the spell that held his limbs in paralysis and gave him back his wand.
When the laughing didnÕt stop Sirius growled. "What?"
"You should look in a mirror," said Remus.
Sirius turned the mask into a mirror. And followed up by dropping the mirror. The mirror stayed levitating in the air in front of him, mocking him with his reflection. His reflection that included pink hair that looked exactly like TonksÕ current hair style. Apparently all the spells Harry had sent at him had worked.
When the mirror whizzed into his laughing GodsonÕs hands he started after the boy who had both turned his hair pink and held the mirror that showed him his hair after he had dropped it. Harry grinned and ran to a corner.
Sirius believed he had his Godson cornered, ready to seek revenge. As he moved towards Harry he found it odd that Harry was suddenly taller than him. He blinked. His godson wasnÕt growing. He was climbing the wall. He had never seen anyone climb the wall like that. Harry did not grab on to anything that he could see, he just stuck to it.
Instead of forming words, Sirius stood with his mouth open. Remus and Tonks appeared to have made the same choice.
Harry realized what he was doing after looking from his hands down to the people at his feet. "This is so COOL."
"HowÕd you do that?" asked Tonks.
"DonÕt know, but it will come in handy this year when I want to avoid people."
The lesson ended early when it was decided that Dumbledore should be informed of HarryÕs newest power.
That evening in the common room Remus spoke up in a stretch of silence. "I wonder if you have other abilities like those of animals you can turn into."
"What do you mean?"
"Climbing on a wall like that is like an insect, spider or some lizards. Perhaps you have this power because an animal you can turn into has that power. If you acquired certain abilities from each animal you could become it would be amazing! Some previous AniallesÕ were said to have possessed a few special abilities. Perhaps you have this power and it was magnified by your bracelet."
"What sort of things do you think I would acquire?"
Sirius spoke up, "Maybe you could breathe underwater like a fish, or have better balance like a cat or have a better sense of smell like a dog." Remus nodded in agreement.
"That would be incredible!" No matter how many special abilities he may acquire, Harry would still be amazed at each one.
"We should test it!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Oh no. IÕd rather not," Harry said reluctantly, bad pictures of what could happen forming in his head. "IÕd prefer the two of you not to drown me, drop me out a window or anything of the sort."
"Harry is right," said Remus. "The outcome will probably be better if Harry slowly discovers the powers on his own than being forced to find them."
"Always taking away the fun Moony," Sirius joked.
RemusÕ eyes grew wide as he looked at SiriusÕ hair. It had turned from pink into a spiked lime green. Harry grinned and transfigured a book into a mirror for Sirius.
"I didnÕt just color your hair. For the next two days your hair will mirror TonksÕ hair. Have fun."
"HARRY." It appeared Sirius was not amused. It also appeared that Remus was.
Sirius chased Harry until he caught Harry, threatened him, then hugged him and warned him he would have no problem hugging his godson to death.
After threatening to get Harry back several times, MarauderÕs promise, the three eventually turned in for the evening.