A/N: no witty remarks or side notes today. Just enjoy!
*-* are Harry's thoughts, ~-~ is Ron, and ^-^ is Eva.
Chapter 8
The meeting broke up not long after that. Everyone glared at Ron as if he had just sworn undying allegiance to Voldemort himself right in front of them. Ron for his part would not look up from the very entertaining cracks in the floor, his ears so red they resembled the flames off Harry's costume earlier. His mother looked angry enough to curse him into next week, but fortunately Hermione hustled her boyfriend out of the Great Hall very quickly.
She dragged him through several corridors before shoving him into an empty classroom and locking them in. She put a Silencing charm on the room before turning to Ron. While normally this might have been the perfect opportunity for some snogging, Hermione had such a furious gleam in her eyes Ron would be lucky to get out of there in one piece.
"What in the name of all that's holy possessed you to say that?!" she yelled. "We finally get him back after months of waiting, and all you can do is think of your petty jealousies. We've known him for five years, you better than anyone knows that he despises all the attention he gets!"
Ron finally looked her in the face. "Hermione, I'm sorry! It's just . . . he's changed so much." He ran an exasperated hand through his again flaming red hair. "He seemed like he was enjoying all the attention at the ball, showing off with you and the other girls. He never would have pulled a stunt like that in the past." He scowled darkly. "Everything always happens to him, and I get pushed back into the shadows. I have to live with that at home, my brothers do everything before me. I'm just the Weasley sidekick to the famous Harry bloody Potter! I'm so sick of it!" He kicked a chair furiously.
"Were you even listening in there?! Honestly!" Hermione grabbed his arms and made him sit down on the desk. "Do you realize the price Harry's had to pay for that fame? Remember last year? Do you honestly want that for yourself?" Ron looked like he was about to shoot off a scathing remark, but then caught himself and actually thought about the question.
Finally his shoulders slumped and he dejectedly shook his head. "No," he admitted with a heavy sigh. He gazed at his girlfriend with a pained look in his eyes. "I've just royally buggered up our whole friendship, haven't I?" Hermione sighed, her anger fading slightly. "I would say so. We don't know how much he's changed. Remember to him he's been away much longer than we realize."
She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, and said quietly, "You should go and apologize to him tomorrow. Give yourselves time to cool down, then try and fix things." Ron laced his fingers with hers, nodding. Then he cracked a small smile. "How did I end up with such an understanding girlfriend like you?" Hermione smiled back. "I don't know. You certainly don't deserve me." He looked insulted for a moment before she dropped a quick kiss on his lips. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm tired."
Just as they exited the classroom, they heard an evil cackling echoing down the corridor. Peeves. The closet he was locked in vanished at midnight, so now he was free to wander the castle again and continue his personal war with Filch. The two Gryffindors grimaced at each other and ran to the Gryffindor Tower.
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Harry sat on the very top of the Astronomy Tower, watching the stars and fuming. Slowly he calmed himself down once he realized his anger toward Ron, while deserving, was unimportant and misdirected. There were much more important things to consider than envious hotheaded friends. He sighed deeply, and opened up his mental connection with his trainer. *Eva, are you there?*
^Where else would I be?^ she chuckled, then grew serious. ^I saw what happened. Are you all right?^ Harry pondered this for a moment. *It just hurts to think that we've known each other for so long, yet he still can misjudge me so badly. Sometimes . . . I wish I'd never left.* Eva sighed. ^I know Harry, and if I had my way you never would have. We could've found an alternative way, or . . . but it's not my call, and you have to play with the cards Fate dealt you.^
Harry suddenly grinned. *Yeah, but since Fate's a bitch and decided to pick on me this time, I think she's stacked the cards in this particular game.* For a moment there was silence, then Eva started giggling hysterically. ^You actually remembered that?!^ He shrugged. *Seems to have made an impression on me.*
After a few more seconds of mental snickers Eva calmed down. ^Well, to business. Why'd you call?^ *Just figured I'd check in, plus I need to run some ideas past you.* ^Okay, shoot.^ *We know that Voldemort is obsessed with me. He knows that with my full powers I can now defeat him permanently. No more of this shadow and vapor crap. But he can still overpower us with numbers. His Death Eater ranks have swelled again, and I've learned that he has new supporters in mainland Europe. In a straight battle we'd have no chance to even get at him before we're overrun.*
He paused, gathering his thoughts in a coherent order. *My strengths in battle are more suited to one-on-one and guerrilla warfare. Ron is the strategist, not me. I think that the first step to take would be to cut down his numbers. Track his patrols and the Death Eater raids, hunt them down in small groups. I need to find a safe place to hold them though; I don't trust the Ministry or Azkaban, and Hogwarts can't.*
Eva interrupted. ^Not a problem. I can hold them here. There's a 'nice' prison facility that's empty and fully autonomous. Nobody can escape, believe me, I helped design and test the damn thing.^ *Why is there a prison there?* ^This place is a sort of staging area for the powers-that- be, that happens to make a great training area. It's completely deserted except for me, so even if prisoners could escape, where would they go? Now, you remember how to create a dimensional Portkey?^ *Yes, but . . .* ^Let me finish. Use the same concept, but direct the energy into the fabric of the dimensional barrier instead of an object. That will open a gate, so you can send them en masse.^
*Perfect. This step will take a while though, and I need to be here. I can't just show up and leave again. I need to work so I can eventually graduate from Hogwarts . . . wait a minute! I can use a Detection Parchment map to track the Death Eaters, and create an alarm that alerts me to an attack. They have a system like that at the Ministry. But I can find Unplottables too, and modify it to suit my own purposes. I can start doing my own raids.* Harry's excitement grew as his mind plotted a course of action, then stopped as a nasty thought occurred to him.
*There's still a problem of classes though. I can't just leave or people will start suspecting something. What if I pull a Hermione and use a Time Turner?* Eva disagreed. ^You'd kill yourself from sheer exhaustion. Plus you don't know how long you'd really be gone, and people would start to notice. And what if it broke, or you dropped it and a Death Eater picked it up? You want your actions to remain secret for as long as possible. They can track Time Turner activities. No, a better way would be to use a modified projection. You remember your clone at the Dursleys.^
*That doesn't solve anything. I need to know what happens in class.* ^Well, all you'd need to do is add in a learning retainment spell, so the clone goes to class, learns and does the work while you're gone, and when you return it joins back with you to deposit everything it has learned.^ *You never taught me how to create the clone though,* he reminded her, and he could sense her sheepish blush. ^Oops. Guess we'll have to rectify the situation. But I don't want you to use this so you can cut class and go flying for the afternoon, or skip Potions to nick food from the kitchens.^ Eva grinned as Harry chuckled, and they spent the rest of the night perfecting their plans.
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Ron woke up very late the next day, after getting to bed only an hour before sunrise. Luckily it was Sunday, no classes today, so he didn't miss anything besides breakfast. He glanced over at Harry's bed as he had done every day at Hogwarts since first year. It looked like it hadn't been slept in, same as since school started, and for a second Ron was certain last night had all been a very elaborate dream. Then he noticed the trunk sitting at the foot of the bed, Hedwig's cage tucked on top of the wardrobe, and various knickknacks on the bedside table. Harry'd obviously been there, and Ron wondered when he'd left again. Still, after last night's spectacular blow up, he was grateful for the absence. Who knows what he'd have said first thing in the morning.
Ron climbed out of bed, stretched and headed for the bathroom to wash up. Dressed in jeans and a handmade Weasley sweater ten minutes later, he descended into the common room, only to find a large majority of the Gryffindor girl population huddled in groups and giggling madly, whispering excitedly to each other. He even spotted Hermione with a group of 5th and 6th years, listening to an animated description by Lavender with a huge grin on her face. Curiosity overriding his common sense as usual (which was screaming at him that it was girl stuff, he didn't want to know, and he'd make a prat out of himself), he walked over and placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders before planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Morning beautiful." Hermione jumped a bit, then relaxed. "Oh Ron, you startled me!" "So what are you girls giggling about over here?" She blushed a bit as a quick chorus of "Nothing!" answered him.
Ron looked around at all the grinning, slightly guilty faces. "'Nothing' doesn't make Hermione blush like that. C'mon, tell me, I want to know." All the girls started snickering and whispering to their neighbors behind their hands, all the while regarding the only male in the room. After it became clear that they were not going to answer him, he sighed. "All right, fine. Have you seen Harry this morning?"
Now the giggling increased exponentially as wide grins spread across most of the painted lips in the room. "You could say that," Parvati answered cryptically before laughing outright with Lavender. Before Ron could inquire about their decidedly odd behavior, an excited third year girl burst through the portrait hole, yelling "He's back! You gotta see this!"
Suddenly there was a literal stampede for the window, the girls jostling and pushing to get a better view, and Ron had to dive over the couch to avoid being trampled. After a few seconds, there was a shrill scream of delight at the window, followed by several more excited yells then the entire group turned and ran as a whole for the portrait hole. In less than a minute the common room was completely silent and empty, save for a befuddled Ron peeking his head out from under the table where he'd taken shelter.
~What in Merlin's beard caused them to react like that? Now I know what the wilderbeast migrations of the Serengeti are like.~ He went cautiously over to the window and peered down uncertainly onto the carefully maintained grounds. His question was immediately answered.
Harry Potter stood down by the lake, stretching and loosening up, clad in a loose cloak and his hair down. As Ron watched, he finished his warm up and shucked off the cloak, revealing a great physique wearing only swimming trunks, and dove into the dark water.
Ron's first thought was ~He's crazy! That water's got to be freezing!~ immediately followed by ~That arrogant prat! He's showing off~ accompanied by a mixture of blinding rage and jealousy. It was quite obvious now that the females had been discussing Harry and ogling him very blatantly. Even Hermione, who was supposed to be in love with Ron!
He stormed out of the common room, his blood boiling, and stalked to the entrance hall, where another scene there incensed him more. A great crowd of girls from all four houses gathered at the open doors and spilled out on to the steps, all snickering while gazing enraptured at the swimming figure. Ron was sure Filch would have an aneurism when he saw the puddles of drool he'd have to mop up. He growled and shoved his way forward through the crowd, eliciting a number of protests from the hormonally influenced, and made his way down to the lakeside.
Ron halted by the tree, kicking the discarded cloak aside in disgust to flop down and wait for Harry to emerge. He watched as his friend swam several laps across the wide lake, pulling himself with powerful strokes through the water as sunlight glittered around him. After half an hour of this, Harry paused in the middle of the lake, drew a deep breath and dove.
Ron scanned the surface with narrowed eyes, waiting for his head to emerge again. Several minutes passed, but no Harry. He began to feel concerned as the lake remained placid, and far behind him he heard the crowd of girls muttering worriedly.
Just when Ron was really starting to worry, Harry suddenly shot to the surface, gasping in deep lungfuls of air but smiling, only a few yards from the shore where Ron sat. He splashed his way to shore and collapsed in the bright sunlight, which was unusual for this time of the year, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Ron's anger returned full force and he stood over him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Harry." Harry looked up and responded neutrally, "Ron." "What are you doing?" "Drying off, what does it look like?" Ron snapped, "It looks like you're giving the girls a bloody good show! Or did you not notice the entire female population of Hogwarts watching you?"
A trace of confusion and slight panic crossed Harry's face. "You've got to be joking." He rolled over and only then noticed the huge crowd ogling him. Muttering some choice curses under his breath, he scrambled behind the tree and snatched up his cloak, hiding from the bright lust-filled eyes. Ron followed him, a bit perplexed and his anger dimming. ~Maybe I was wrong. Again.~
"So, what were you doing?" Ron decided to experiment with being civil. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was finishing up my daily workout. I was going to do it earlier, but Dumbledore called me up to his office, so I had to take a break." Ron nodded and casually, but with a dark shadow in his eyes, asked, "Do you really need to work out here? I thought you were all-powerful." This last part had a distinct sarcastic ring to it, and now Harry scowled.
"I see you weren't listening at all. I'm still human, you moron. Exercise is the only way I keep my edge physically. That can't be maintained by magic. I wouldn't even if I could." He turned away, ignoring the redhead seated across from him and concentrated on some cool down stretches. Ron grimaced. This was going all wrong.
He tried again. "What did you do this morning?" Harry glanced askance back at him, then answered curtly, "I was up at dawn for a run, then practiced gymnastics, kickboxing, various other martial arts, did some basic sword drills, a little dueling with practice dummies, and was in the middle of my weapons kata when Dumbledore called me in. Why?" Ron gulped at the thought of antagonizing Harry when he played with sharp pointy objects, and then decided to break the news.
"I'm pretty sure the girls have been watching the entire time." Harry's eyes widened in shock as Ron continued. "I came down to the common room only to witness a stampede when the scout said you were back." At this Harry turned a bright scarlet and buried his face in his hands, groaning, "Oh great. That's just what I need." He glanced up at the other teen. "I suppose you came down here to chew me out for tempting your girlfriend."
Now Ron chuckled. "I was at first, but now you have to worry about all the boyfriends and brothers in Hogwarts after your blood for the same thing." He paused for a few moments, and then blurted out, "I'm sorry. For being such a prat last night. And this morning. You were right; I didn't have a good reason to be that jealous of you. Everything just came to a head. You think I would've learned my lesson last year." He would have continued but Harry waved it off.
"It's okay Ron. It was a hard night. And I'm sorry that you rarely get the recognition that you deserve. I would gladly switch places with you any day. Or maybe not. Sometimes I don't think I'd wish my life on anybody I liked. Just realize that sometimes the shadows are better than the spotlight." The two friends sat in silence for several minutes, an unspoken communication passing between them that they'd not mention this again.
Harry finally spoke up. "It's almost lunchtime. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Has the tide of raging hormones receded yet?" Ron snickered and glanced around the tree. "Yep, looks like they got hungry and left." "Good. I'm going up to change. Save me a seat?" "Sure." They walked up to the front entrance together, and then Harry climbed the marble stairs to Gryffindor Tower while Ron headed for the Great Hall.
The moment he entered every girl there gave him the evil eye, presumable for interrupting their viewing pleasure. He ignored it as best he could and made his way to his usual seat next to Hermione as the Gryffindor table. She smiled a bit guiltily at him and pecked him on the cheek, before asking "What did you say to him?"
"I merely warned him of the multitude of hormonally unbalanced girls eyeing him like a piece of meat in front of a lion." Ron chucked as both Hermione and Ginny blushed. "Man, he may be powerful but sometimes he's completely oblivious. He had no idea he was being watched. I, uh . . . I also apologized to him. For last night." He cleared his throat and quickly said, "He went up to change before lunch."
At that exact moment a hush fell over the chattering crowd and Ron turned to see what had happened. In the doorway stood Harry Potter, dressed in all black: pants, boots, and a long sleeve turtleneck with a leather vest over it. His hair was still damp and slicked back into a ponytail, revealing an earring in one ear. His eyes were even more visible without the glasses and sparkled brilliantly, even as they noticed the open-mouthed stares he was receiving, causing him to blush a furious crimson for the second time that morning. He lowered his head a bit in embarrassment and hurried to the table where Ron sat.
He plunked down next to the redhead and slouched a bit in his seat, trying to avoid the eyes. Ron was snickering madly again. "You could've fried an egg on your face." "Oh shut up," but Harry gave him a small smile to show he was mostly joking. He shook his head. "After living with only one person for so long, I'd forgotten why I hate people staring at me so much."
The murmur of normal conversation gradually returned, even though many people still glanced at him as often as possible without outright staring. Harry, Ron and Hermione carried on an animated conversation, the couple updating Harry on Hogwarts doings and gossip, and Harry told stories about his training, especially the prank war. As other people came in to eat, more Gryffindors joined in on their conversation. Ginny sat next to Hermione, while Fred and George plopped down across from them. Soon Dean, Seamus, and Neville were also laughing as Harry described a particularly nasty prank of Eva's which involved a shower, an exploding charm, duct tape (for some odd reason she was fond of it), chocolate sauce and a pair of pliers.
The twins were interested in seeing if they could create the same effects in a sweet for their joke shop. Soon Harry had them explaining how they made their matching costumes for the previous night, and the stories resulting therefore. After lunch ended, they continued in this way all the way up to Gryffindor Tower and spent the entire afternoon chatting and laughing. It was a good day.
Right before dinner, Ron found Harry alone in their dormitory. "So you spent over a year training to be a War Mage and kick everybody's arse. Is there anything you can't do?" Harry stopped and considered it. "I still can't play chess to save my life." This got a grin out of Ron, who quickly became serious again. "Was it all hard to learn?" "The magic part was, and very exhausting. I had to learn to use a whole different mindset. The physical training wasn't all that hard, it just required discipline."
Harry glanced over at his friend and guessed what question he was trying to circumvent. "If you're interested, you can join me in the mornings. I could use a partner, and I could teach you some of what I do." Ron appeared to be considering it. "How early do you start?" "Around six. I'll have to work around classes, but that shouldn't be too hard." The red head grimaced; he hated getting up early. But with one look at Harry's new physique he decided it would be worth it. "Sounds good. Start tomorrow?" "Bright and early." With that they walked down to dinner.
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Monday's classes for the 5th year Gryffindors began with Double Potions with the Slytherins. One wonders if Voldemort himself didn't have a hand in creating the schedule. The trio hurried through breakfast in order to arrive on time and not give Snape an excuse to subtract house points. As the rest of the class filed in, they glanced over at Harry and muttered to their companions, but all conversations ceased when Snape stalked in.
In years past the Potions Master had always began with a look of loathing in Harry's direction, but today he refused to even look him in the eye for more than a few moments. Harry saw that the hate he'd grown accustomed to had now been replaced by . . . respect? And was that a touch of fear? It was too weird; it must have been the light. Ron remembered Snape's comment about Harry being able to blow him through a wall, and suddenly his behavior made a lot more sense.
They were working on advanced healing potions, especially those used to treat the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse and other methods of magical torture. They were difficult to brew correctly; requiring precise timing and exact measurements, and even Hermione was having problems. Harry, however, took one look at the instructions and began to work silently, concentrating. This was one of the few potions Eva had taught him, all practical for war. The reason for the negligence in this aspect of his training was due to the fact that "Your ancestors want you to learn from the best, and like it or not Severus Snape is one of the best Potions Masters in any realm."
However, with this potion Harry already knew the telltale signs indicating when the next step should begin, and helped Neville surreptitiously with his, mainly to prevent an explosion. Harry was the first one finished mixing the potion, and now it had to simmer for 20 minutes before it could be tested for potency. In the meantime, he sat at his desk with a copy of "Potions: Theory, Applications, and How to Brew Them Without Causing a Catastrophe." It had a particular section that would help him perfect the Detection Parchment as well as create an alarm for him without alerting anyone else.
Snape slithered around the room inspecting the bubbling cauldrons, making nasty comments about the Gryffindors' work but not treating the Slytherins much better as most had completely failed on the potion. A few students had managed to brew a weak version, including Hermione and surprisingly Ron. Finally Snape approached Harry's table, causing Neville to shrink back in terror, but Harry didn't even look up from his reading.
Snape scowled darkly, but picked up the ladle, scooped up a bit and checked the color and consistency. A stunned look briefly crossed his face and he murmured to himself, "Perfect. It's perfect." He quickly settled back into cold indifference. "Potter." Harry finally glanced up with a neutral expression, even as the class focused its attention on him.
"Yes?" "Stay after class. I have to speak with you." Harry nodded briefly and returned to his reading, his work area already spotless. When the bell rang 10 minutes later, there was a general rush for the door, and Ron told Harry they'd wait for him outside. Harry calmly walked to the front of the room and stood at Snape's desk.
"How did you do it Potter?" Snape spoke calmly, but with an odd glitter in his eyes. "That potion is not even on an advanced sixth year curriculum, and . . . even I have some trouble with it. Yet your potion was flawless and extremely potent. How?" Harry shrugged, though inwardly a bit surprised that Snape would admit to any weakness. "I've brewed it before. And I had a good teacher." The Potions Master gazed at him for a moment longer, then "I'll need to bottle some of it for Dumbledore. He'll be needing more soon. Now go to your next class. Dismissed."
Harry found his friends waiting anxiously in the hall, and as they hurried to Transfiguration he told them about Snape's strange behavior.
Professor McGonagall announced as soon as the bell rang that they would be working on object to animal transfiguration, which was difficult and different from animal to object like they had done in the past. She demonstrated by turning her desk into a pig, just as she had in first year, then the students were supposed to turn a quill into a bird.
Harry yawned. He, like his father, had a knack for transfiguration, and the summer training had perfected this ability. He gazed around the room at the other students, watching their attempts. Many quills now had more feathers and some had a head and a beak, but none were even close to being able to fly. The catch was that the wizard had to concentrate not only on changing the physical characteristics, but also the nonmaterial ones, such as animation and thought.
McGonagall's voice broke into his reverie. "Well, Mr. Potter. I don't see you even trying. Perhaps this is too difficult for you?" Harry suppressed a groan as he rolled his eyes. He couldn't make it through a single class without becoming the center of attention. He picked up his wand and concentrated on the eagle quill in front of him. Abruptly it grew into a fully grown golden eagle, which spread its wings and took off with a cry, soaring around the room as everybody ducked.
After it flew a few laps, Harry called it back with a short whistle, and the eagle landed on his outstretched arm. He concentrated again and with a "pop!" the eagle disappeared and the quill fell to the desk. The whole class stared in amazement at Harry, who nonchalantly picked up the quill, loaded it and began sketching on a spare piece of parchment, his face reddening.
McGonagall recovered and ordered the class back to work, then she leaned over Harry's desk and inquired quietly, "What else can you do?" He answered back just as quietly, "When it comes to transfiguration or charms, anything." She nodded slowly and sat back down at her desk. Harry continued sketching until class ended, at which time the professor handed him a note as he departed. Curious, he waited until he was safe in the Charms classroom before opening it.
It simply stated, "Come to my classroom immediately following dinner. Bring your wand." Harry grimaced. Great, this was going to ruin his evening workout with Ron. He had wanted to show him the secret room Godric Gryffindor had built and Harry converted to a gym and weapons training arena.
The rest of the day continued in much the same way, with Harry inadvertently catching the eye of every teacher and drawing more attention to his abilities than he liked. Luckily, Dumbledore had sent him a message at lunch requiring him to attend the dueling club that night, so he didn't have to meet with McGonagall. Unfortunately, they would probably force him to duel, which he really did not want to do in front of most of the school despite the fact that he normally enjoyed it.
Harry ate quietly at dinner, but Ron was amazed at the sheer volume of food he could consume. It was such a change from the previous years, when Harry was still tiny for his age and barely ate enough to sustain a finch. Now he could compete with Ron in appetite. Still he was done very quickly and decided to take a quick ride on his Firebolt.
Harry sprinted to his dormitory, grabbed the broomstick and placed an invisibility spell on himself before jumping out the window. He dove on the broom towards the ground at top speed, all the day's anxieties swept away in the thrill of flying, the wind tugging through his hair relaxing him more that the Jacuzzi back at Eva's could ever manage. Feeling refreshed, he started playing in the air, pulling stunts and tricks with increasing difficultly and concentration, made even more challenging by the fact that both he and the broom were invisible.
He broom-surfed, did flips and handstands in midair while flying level, then while climbing and diving. He even flew far up and jumped off, exhilarating in the sensation of freefall before calling the broom and landing on it with one hand and flipping around to sit on it again. Finally he practiced some Seeker moves he'd read about and wanted to pull on Malfoy in the middle of a game.
Caught up in his flying, Harry suddenly realized that unless he ran he'd be late to the dueling club. He darted downwards and flew through the open doors into the entrance hall. At the doors to the Great Hall he dismounted, transported his broom back to his trunk, wandlessly transfigured his school robes into his favorite dueling clothes and slipped inside before removing the invisibility spell. He glanced around to make sure no one had noticed his sudden appearance before joining the group of 5th year Gryffindors.
Harry saw that all the teachers were here, as were some members of the Order of the Phoenix and the resident Aurors. By the way the students were muttering and pointing, this was not normal which only confirmed Harry's suspicions that they were going to make him show off. He smiled grimly. They wanted a show, so he would oblige them.
Professor Figg clapped her hands, signaling for silence. When the vast crowd had finally quieted, she began. "Now tonight we're going to do something a bit different. We've been practicing new curses, hexes and blocks, now you get to put them to use. What's the use of knowing a spell if you can't do it in battle? I'll be calling up people impairs to duel as we watch, 5 pairs at a time. Whoever disarms their opponent first wins the duel. I don't want any serious injuries or physical contact." Here she glared at the Slytherins in general and Malfoy in particular then began calling up pairs.
Harry could tell she was trying to match up students with equal talents to avoid boredom or discouragement and so the students would push themselves to win. She'd obviously been observing all the students closely. Some duels were over in a handful of seconds, while others lasted a long time. Ron and Seamus dueled each other for over 10 minutes before Ron managed to disarm him and Hermione and Cho Chang dueled so long that Arabella finally declared it a draw.
Soon there were only two people left to go, Harry and Malfoy, who smirked but had a tiny flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. Harry shed his outer cloak, leaving his arms bare and unencumbered by his sleeveless shirt. He stepped into the ring, ignoring the catcalls and whistles he drew from the female portion of the crowd. The two opponents faced each other, never taking their eyes off each other even as they gave brief nods in place of the bows Arabella instructed them to do.
On her count of three, Malfoy shot two quick curses at Harry, who dodged them casually. He wanted to get a feel of Malfoy's abilities first. The next several curses Malfoy sent were either gracefully dodged or blocked, and he was growing extremely frustrated. "Why aren't you fighting back?!" he muttered darkly to himself, glaring at his rival. Finally he threw several curses in quick succession, pain curses that would smash through a Shield charm and could break bones and cause other serious injuries. Obviously he had decided that Professor Figg's punishment would be worth it to see Harry injured.
Harry for his part didn't even bother trying to dodge the spread, but rather snapped up a Shield charm. Unfortunately for Malfoy, Harry could put a lot of power behind his shield, so the curses smashed into it and dissipated, except for one. He let it through and swung his wand like a tennis racket, propelling the spell back to its originator. Malfoy barely ducked in time, the reflected curse singeing a patch of white-blonde hair off the top of his head.
Now Harry went on the offensive, throwing curses and hexes so fast Malfoy couldn't avoid them all. He tried a Shield charm, but it was broken with a well-placed Jelly-Legs jinx. As he wobbled in the ring, Harry showed him a predatory smile and with a slight wave of his hand, Malfoy disappeared, his wand clattering to the floor.
In his place quivered a bright pink ferret, which weaved around on unstable legs as if drunk.
The Gryffindors laughed especially hard and cheered the return of the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, now in Techicolor. Harry stepped out of the ring with a small salute, and Malfoy reappeared, face burning red in humiliation as he tried to undo the Jelly-Legs. Arabella simply looked a bit amused and arched an eyebrow at Harry, then she spoke above the noise of the crowd.
"I think we should end with an exhibition match. Harry, if you would please come back up here?" Harry grimaced, unseen, then reluctantly reentered the ring. "Your opponents will be . . . Mundungus Fletcher, Bill Weasley, and myself." There were gasps from the crowd as they all shook hands. A three on one duel with a student? That was so unfair.
Arabella continued, "This will be a no holds barred duel, meaning all spells except illegal ones are allowed, as well as physical contact and weapons other than wands. Again, the duel ends when the opponent or opponents are disarmed." Now there were several shocked and pale faces in the crowd. A single thought echoed as the duelers bowed.
"This is going to be messy."
On three, the 3 older people all cast their spells. Harry leapt 10 feet into the air and cast 3 of his own in quick succession before he landed, forcing them to scatter. He dove and rolled, coming up at Fletcher's feet and swiftly disarming him with a simple twist of the wrist. Then with a back handspring he faced Bill. Arabella tried to sneak up behind Harry and stun him, but he ducked at the last moment as the spell came and it hit Bill instead. He hit the floor with a solid thud even as Harry whirled around to face the professor.
They traded several curses back and forth, constantly moving, before Harry suddenly rolled forward, planted his hands on the floor and swept his legs through Arabella's ankles, dumping her on the floor. He then sprang back to his feet, Arabella a few moments behind him. She gazed shrewdly at him, muttered a quick incantation and her wand lengthened into a gleaming sword. She lunged at his chest and he dodged, then leapt back to avoid her stabbing blade and rolled under it to come up behind her. One hand darted behind his back and quick as lightning he pulled out his own sword, the blade expanding from convenient travel size to battle mode.
Arabella's eyebrows threatened to secede into her hairline in astonishment, but she quickly refocused as Harry swung expertly at her. Their swords clashed against each other for several minutes as they dueled back and forth. Soon she was sweaty and panting for breath, while he appeared perfectly fresh and relaxed. Blocking a slightly clumsy lunge, his wrist twisted peculiarly and her sword flew out of her hand, the blade slapping her fingers and making them sting harshly. Harry resheathed his sword on his back, then a noise behind him made him spin around.
Bill had woken up, and since he had never dropped his wand, was still an active opponent. He cast two Stunning spells in Harry's direction, which Harry had to dive to the side to avoid. He threw a couple spells which the eldest Weasley blocked before retaliating, and Harry reflected them back. Then he crouched and leapt at Bill in a tackle, and something completely unexpected happened.
Harry's body lengthened and filled out as his skin became covered in fur, his hands and feet turned into paws with giant claws, his mouth and nose elongated into a muzzle filled with sharp teeth, and his hair transformed into a wild mane. Bill was driven to the ground by an incredible weight on his chest and he hit the floor hard, his wand skittering away from his hand. He shook his head, dazed, then looked up to find he was face to face with an enormous golden lion with a black mane and green eyes crouching over him. Bill froze instinctively.
The lion seemed to grin, then backed off and transformed back into Harry Potter. With a slight smile he offered Bill a hand up, then turned to Arabella Figg and said quite calmly, "Thank you for the workout. I enjoyed it thoroughly." With that, he gathered up his cloak, bid them all good night and walked out of the hall.
As soon as the doors swung shut with a resounding bang, the utter silence exploded into pandemonium as everyone started shouting excitedly about the spectacle they just witnessed. Most of the older folks stared at each other in disbelief, then Dumbledore and several others tried to make their way through the crowd to go after Harry. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, amazement on their features, before tearing after them.
But when they all reached the corridor outside the Great Hall, it was deserted.
*-* are Harry's thoughts, ~-~ is Ron, and ^-^ is Eva.
Chapter 8
The meeting broke up not long after that. Everyone glared at Ron as if he had just sworn undying allegiance to Voldemort himself right in front of them. Ron for his part would not look up from the very entertaining cracks in the floor, his ears so red they resembled the flames off Harry's costume earlier. His mother looked angry enough to curse him into next week, but fortunately Hermione hustled her boyfriend out of the Great Hall very quickly.
She dragged him through several corridors before shoving him into an empty classroom and locking them in. She put a Silencing charm on the room before turning to Ron. While normally this might have been the perfect opportunity for some snogging, Hermione had such a furious gleam in her eyes Ron would be lucky to get out of there in one piece.
"What in the name of all that's holy possessed you to say that?!" she yelled. "We finally get him back after months of waiting, and all you can do is think of your petty jealousies. We've known him for five years, you better than anyone knows that he despises all the attention he gets!"
Ron finally looked her in the face. "Hermione, I'm sorry! It's just . . . he's changed so much." He ran an exasperated hand through his again flaming red hair. "He seemed like he was enjoying all the attention at the ball, showing off with you and the other girls. He never would have pulled a stunt like that in the past." He scowled darkly. "Everything always happens to him, and I get pushed back into the shadows. I have to live with that at home, my brothers do everything before me. I'm just the Weasley sidekick to the famous Harry bloody Potter! I'm so sick of it!" He kicked a chair furiously.
"Were you even listening in there?! Honestly!" Hermione grabbed his arms and made him sit down on the desk. "Do you realize the price Harry's had to pay for that fame? Remember last year? Do you honestly want that for yourself?" Ron looked like he was about to shoot off a scathing remark, but then caught himself and actually thought about the question.
Finally his shoulders slumped and he dejectedly shook his head. "No," he admitted with a heavy sigh. He gazed at his girlfriend with a pained look in his eyes. "I've just royally buggered up our whole friendship, haven't I?" Hermione sighed, her anger fading slightly. "I would say so. We don't know how much he's changed. Remember to him he's been away much longer than we realize."
She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, and said quietly, "You should go and apologize to him tomorrow. Give yourselves time to cool down, then try and fix things." Ron laced his fingers with hers, nodding. Then he cracked a small smile. "How did I end up with such an understanding girlfriend like you?" Hermione smiled back. "I don't know. You certainly don't deserve me." He looked insulted for a moment before she dropped a quick kiss on his lips. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm tired."
Just as they exited the classroom, they heard an evil cackling echoing down the corridor. Peeves. The closet he was locked in vanished at midnight, so now he was free to wander the castle again and continue his personal war with Filch. The two Gryffindors grimaced at each other and ran to the Gryffindor Tower.
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Harry sat on the very top of the Astronomy Tower, watching the stars and fuming. Slowly he calmed himself down once he realized his anger toward Ron, while deserving, was unimportant and misdirected. There were much more important things to consider than envious hotheaded friends. He sighed deeply, and opened up his mental connection with his trainer. *Eva, are you there?*
^Where else would I be?^ she chuckled, then grew serious. ^I saw what happened. Are you all right?^ Harry pondered this for a moment. *It just hurts to think that we've known each other for so long, yet he still can misjudge me so badly. Sometimes . . . I wish I'd never left.* Eva sighed. ^I know Harry, and if I had my way you never would have. We could've found an alternative way, or . . . but it's not my call, and you have to play with the cards Fate dealt you.^
Harry suddenly grinned. *Yeah, but since Fate's a bitch and decided to pick on me this time, I think she's stacked the cards in this particular game.* For a moment there was silence, then Eva started giggling hysterically. ^You actually remembered that?!^ He shrugged. *Seems to have made an impression on me.*
After a few more seconds of mental snickers Eva calmed down. ^Well, to business. Why'd you call?^ *Just figured I'd check in, plus I need to run some ideas past you.* ^Okay, shoot.^ *We know that Voldemort is obsessed with me. He knows that with my full powers I can now defeat him permanently. No more of this shadow and vapor crap. But he can still overpower us with numbers. His Death Eater ranks have swelled again, and I've learned that he has new supporters in mainland Europe. In a straight battle we'd have no chance to even get at him before we're overrun.*
He paused, gathering his thoughts in a coherent order. *My strengths in battle are more suited to one-on-one and guerrilla warfare. Ron is the strategist, not me. I think that the first step to take would be to cut down his numbers. Track his patrols and the Death Eater raids, hunt them down in small groups. I need to find a safe place to hold them though; I don't trust the Ministry or Azkaban, and Hogwarts can't.*
Eva interrupted. ^Not a problem. I can hold them here. There's a 'nice' prison facility that's empty and fully autonomous. Nobody can escape, believe me, I helped design and test the damn thing.^ *Why is there a prison there?* ^This place is a sort of staging area for the powers-that- be, that happens to make a great training area. It's completely deserted except for me, so even if prisoners could escape, where would they go? Now, you remember how to create a dimensional Portkey?^ *Yes, but . . .* ^Let me finish. Use the same concept, but direct the energy into the fabric of the dimensional barrier instead of an object. That will open a gate, so you can send them en masse.^
*Perfect. This step will take a while though, and I need to be here. I can't just show up and leave again. I need to work so I can eventually graduate from Hogwarts . . . wait a minute! I can use a Detection Parchment map to track the Death Eaters, and create an alarm that alerts me to an attack. They have a system like that at the Ministry. But I can find Unplottables too, and modify it to suit my own purposes. I can start doing my own raids.* Harry's excitement grew as his mind plotted a course of action, then stopped as a nasty thought occurred to him.
*There's still a problem of classes though. I can't just leave or people will start suspecting something. What if I pull a Hermione and use a Time Turner?* Eva disagreed. ^You'd kill yourself from sheer exhaustion. Plus you don't know how long you'd really be gone, and people would start to notice. And what if it broke, or you dropped it and a Death Eater picked it up? You want your actions to remain secret for as long as possible. They can track Time Turner activities. No, a better way would be to use a modified projection. You remember your clone at the Dursleys.^
*That doesn't solve anything. I need to know what happens in class.* ^Well, all you'd need to do is add in a learning retainment spell, so the clone goes to class, learns and does the work while you're gone, and when you return it joins back with you to deposit everything it has learned.^ *You never taught me how to create the clone though,* he reminded her, and he could sense her sheepish blush. ^Oops. Guess we'll have to rectify the situation. But I don't want you to use this so you can cut class and go flying for the afternoon, or skip Potions to nick food from the kitchens.^ Eva grinned as Harry chuckled, and they spent the rest of the night perfecting their plans.
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Ron woke up very late the next day, after getting to bed only an hour before sunrise. Luckily it was Sunday, no classes today, so he didn't miss anything besides breakfast. He glanced over at Harry's bed as he had done every day at Hogwarts since first year. It looked like it hadn't been slept in, same as since school started, and for a second Ron was certain last night had all been a very elaborate dream. Then he noticed the trunk sitting at the foot of the bed, Hedwig's cage tucked on top of the wardrobe, and various knickknacks on the bedside table. Harry'd obviously been there, and Ron wondered when he'd left again. Still, after last night's spectacular blow up, he was grateful for the absence. Who knows what he'd have said first thing in the morning.
Ron climbed out of bed, stretched and headed for the bathroom to wash up. Dressed in jeans and a handmade Weasley sweater ten minutes later, he descended into the common room, only to find a large majority of the Gryffindor girl population huddled in groups and giggling madly, whispering excitedly to each other. He even spotted Hermione with a group of 5th and 6th years, listening to an animated description by Lavender with a huge grin on her face. Curiosity overriding his common sense as usual (which was screaming at him that it was girl stuff, he didn't want to know, and he'd make a prat out of himself), he walked over and placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders before planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Morning beautiful." Hermione jumped a bit, then relaxed. "Oh Ron, you startled me!" "So what are you girls giggling about over here?" She blushed a bit as a quick chorus of "Nothing!" answered him.
Ron looked around at all the grinning, slightly guilty faces. "'Nothing' doesn't make Hermione blush like that. C'mon, tell me, I want to know." All the girls started snickering and whispering to their neighbors behind their hands, all the while regarding the only male in the room. After it became clear that they were not going to answer him, he sighed. "All right, fine. Have you seen Harry this morning?"
Now the giggling increased exponentially as wide grins spread across most of the painted lips in the room. "You could say that," Parvati answered cryptically before laughing outright with Lavender. Before Ron could inquire about their decidedly odd behavior, an excited third year girl burst through the portrait hole, yelling "He's back! You gotta see this!"
Suddenly there was a literal stampede for the window, the girls jostling and pushing to get a better view, and Ron had to dive over the couch to avoid being trampled. After a few seconds, there was a shrill scream of delight at the window, followed by several more excited yells then the entire group turned and ran as a whole for the portrait hole. In less than a minute the common room was completely silent and empty, save for a befuddled Ron peeking his head out from under the table where he'd taken shelter.
~What in Merlin's beard caused them to react like that? Now I know what the wilderbeast migrations of the Serengeti are like.~ He went cautiously over to the window and peered down uncertainly onto the carefully maintained grounds. His question was immediately answered.
Harry Potter stood down by the lake, stretching and loosening up, clad in a loose cloak and his hair down. As Ron watched, he finished his warm up and shucked off the cloak, revealing a great physique wearing only swimming trunks, and dove into the dark water.
Ron's first thought was ~He's crazy! That water's got to be freezing!~ immediately followed by ~That arrogant prat! He's showing off~ accompanied by a mixture of blinding rage and jealousy. It was quite obvious now that the females had been discussing Harry and ogling him very blatantly. Even Hermione, who was supposed to be in love with Ron!
He stormed out of the common room, his blood boiling, and stalked to the entrance hall, where another scene there incensed him more. A great crowd of girls from all four houses gathered at the open doors and spilled out on to the steps, all snickering while gazing enraptured at the swimming figure. Ron was sure Filch would have an aneurism when he saw the puddles of drool he'd have to mop up. He growled and shoved his way forward through the crowd, eliciting a number of protests from the hormonally influenced, and made his way down to the lakeside.
Ron halted by the tree, kicking the discarded cloak aside in disgust to flop down and wait for Harry to emerge. He watched as his friend swam several laps across the wide lake, pulling himself with powerful strokes through the water as sunlight glittered around him. After half an hour of this, Harry paused in the middle of the lake, drew a deep breath and dove.
Ron scanned the surface with narrowed eyes, waiting for his head to emerge again. Several minutes passed, but no Harry. He began to feel concerned as the lake remained placid, and far behind him he heard the crowd of girls muttering worriedly.
Just when Ron was really starting to worry, Harry suddenly shot to the surface, gasping in deep lungfuls of air but smiling, only a few yards from the shore where Ron sat. He splashed his way to shore and collapsed in the bright sunlight, which was unusual for this time of the year, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Ron's anger returned full force and he stood over him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Harry." Harry looked up and responded neutrally, "Ron." "What are you doing?" "Drying off, what does it look like?" Ron snapped, "It looks like you're giving the girls a bloody good show! Or did you not notice the entire female population of Hogwarts watching you?"
A trace of confusion and slight panic crossed Harry's face. "You've got to be joking." He rolled over and only then noticed the huge crowd ogling him. Muttering some choice curses under his breath, he scrambled behind the tree and snatched up his cloak, hiding from the bright lust-filled eyes. Ron followed him, a bit perplexed and his anger dimming. ~Maybe I was wrong. Again.~
"So, what were you doing?" Ron decided to experiment with being civil. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was finishing up my daily workout. I was going to do it earlier, but Dumbledore called me up to his office, so I had to take a break." Ron nodded and casually, but with a dark shadow in his eyes, asked, "Do you really need to work out here? I thought you were all-powerful." This last part had a distinct sarcastic ring to it, and now Harry scowled.
"I see you weren't listening at all. I'm still human, you moron. Exercise is the only way I keep my edge physically. That can't be maintained by magic. I wouldn't even if I could." He turned away, ignoring the redhead seated across from him and concentrated on some cool down stretches. Ron grimaced. This was going all wrong.
He tried again. "What did you do this morning?" Harry glanced askance back at him, then answered curtly, "I was up at dawn for a run, then practiced gymnastics, kickboxing, various other martial arts, did some basic sword drills, a little dueling with practice dummies, and was in the middle of my weapons kata when Dumbledore called me in. Why?" Ron gulped at the thought of antagonizing Harry when he played with sharp pointy objects, and then decided to break the news.
"I'm pretty sure the girls have been watching the entire time." Harry's eyes widened in shock as Ron continued. "I came down to the common room only to witness a stampede when the scout said you were back." At this Harry turned a bright scarlet and buried his face in his hands, groaning, "Oh great. That's just what I need." He glanced up at the other teen. "I suppose you came down here to chew me out for tempting your girlfriend."
Now Ron chuckled. "I was at first, but now you have to worry about all the boyfriends and brothers in Hogwarts after your blood for the same thing." He paused for a few moments, and then blurted out, "I'm sorry. For being such a prat last night. And this morning. You were right; I didn't have a good reason to be that jealous of you. Everything just came to a head. You think I would've learned my lesson last year." He would have continued but Harry waved it off.
"It's okay Ron. It was a hard night. And I'm sorry that you rarely get the recognition that you deserve. I would gladly switch places with you any day. Or maybe not. Sometimes I don't think I'd wish my life on anybody I liked. Just realize that sometimes the shadows are better than the spotlight." The two friends sat in silence for several minutes, an unspoken communication passing between them that they'd not mention this again.
Harry finally spoke up. "It's almost lunchtime. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Has the tide of raging hormones receded yet?" Ron snickered and glanced around the tree. "Yep, looks like they got hungry and left." "Good. I'm going up to change. Save me a seat?" "Sure." They walked up to the front entrance together, and then Harry climbed the marble stairs to Gryffindor Tower while Ron headed for the Great Hall.
The moment he entered every girl there gave him the evil eye, presumable for interrupting their viewing pleasure. He ignored it as best he could and made his way to his usual seat next to Hermione as the Gryffindor table. She smiled a bit guiltily at him and pecked him on the cheek, before asking "What did you say to him?"
"I merely warned him of the multitude of hormonally unbalanced girls eyeing him like a piece of meat in front of a lion." Ron chucked as both Hermione and Ginny blushed. "Man, he may be powerful but sometimes he's completely oblivious. He had no idea he was being watched. I, uh . . . I also apologized to him. For last night." He cleared his throat and quickly said, "He went up to change before lunch."
At that exact moment a hush fell over the chattering crowd and Ron turned to see what had happened. In the doorway stood Harry Potter, dressed in all black: pants, boots, and a long sleeve turtleneck with a leather vest over it. His hair was still damp and slicked back into a ponytail, revealing an earring in one ear. His eyes were even more visible without the glasses and sparkled brilliantly, even as they noticed the open-mouthed stares he was receiving, causing him to blush a furious crimson for the second time that morning. He lowered his head a bit in embarrassment and hurried to the table where Ron sat.
He plunked down next to the redhead and slouched a bit in his seat, trying to avoid the eyes. Ron was snickering madly again. "You could've fried an egg on your face." "Oh shut up," but Harry gave him a small smile to show he was mostly joking. He shook his head. "After living with only one person for so long, I'd forgotten why I hate people staring at me so much."
The murmur of normal conversation gradually returned, even though many people still glanced at him as often as possible without outright staring. Harry, Ron and Hermione carried on an animated conversation, the couple updating Harry on Hogwarts doings and gossip, and Harry told stories about his training, especially the prank war. As other people came in to eat, more Gryffindors joined in on their conversation. Ginny sat next to Hermione, while Fred and George plopped down across from them. Soon Dean, Seamus, and Neville were also laughing as Harry described a particularly nasty prank of Eva's which involved a shower, an exploding charm, duct tape (for some odd reason she was fond of it), chocolate sauce and a pair of pliers.
The twins were interested in seeing if they could create the same effects in a sweet for their joke shop. Soon Harry had them explaining how they made their matching costumes for the previous night, and the stories resulting therefore. After lunch ended, they continued in this way all the way up to Gryffindor Tower and spent the entire afternoon chatting and laughing. It was a good day.
Right before dinner, Ron found Harry alone in their dormitory. "So you spent over a year training to be a War Mage and kick everybody's arse. Is there anything you can't do?" Harry stopped and considered it. "I still can't play chess to save my life." This got a grin out of Ron, who quickly became serious again. "Was it all hard to learn?" "The magic part was, and very exhausting. I had to learn to use a whole different mindset. The physical training wasn't all that hard, it just required discipline."
Harry glanced over at his friend and guessed what question he was trying to circumvent. "If you're interested, you can join me in the mornings. I could use a partner, and I could teach you some of what I do." Ron appeared to be considering it. "How early do you start?" "Around six. I'll have to work around classes, but that shouldn't be too hard." The red head grimaced; he hated getting up early. But with one look at Harry's new physique he decided it would be worth it. "Sounds good. Start tomorrow?" "Bright and early." With that they walked down to dinner.
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Monday's classes for the 5th year Gryffindors began with Double Potions with the Slytherins. One wonders if Voldemort himself didn't have a hand in creating the schedule. The trio hurried through breakfast in order to arrive on time and not give Snape an excuse to subtract house points. As the rest of the class filed in, they glanced over at Harry and muttered to their companions, but all conversations ceased when Snape stalked in.
In years past the Potions Master had always began with a look of loathing in Harry's direction, but today he refused to even look him in the eye for more than a few moments. Harry saw that the hate he'd grown accustomed to had now been replaced by . . . respect? And was that a touch of fear? It was too weird; it must have been the light. Ron remembered Snape's comment about Harry being able to blow him through a wall, and suddenly his behavior made a lot more sense.
They were working on advanced healing potions, especially those used to treat the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse and other methods of magical torture. They were difficult to brew correctly; requiring precise timing and exact measurements, and even Hermione was having problems. Harry, however, took one look at the instructions and began to work silently, concentrating. This was one of the few potions Eva had taught him, all practical for war. The reason for the negligence in this aspect of his training was due to the fact that "Your ancestors want you to learn from the best, and like it or not Severus Snape is one of the best Potions Masters in any realm."
However, with this potion Harry already knew the telltale signs indicating when the next step should begin, and helped Neville surreptitiously with his, mainly to prevent an explosion. Harry was the first one finished mixing the potion, and now it had to simmer for 20 minutes before it could be tested for potency. In the meantime, he sat at his desk with a copy of "Potions: Theory, Applications, and How to Brew Them Without Causing a Catastrophe." It had a particular section that would help him perfect the Detection Parchment as well as create an alarm for him without alerting anyone else.
Snape slithered around the room inspecting the bubbling cauldrons, making nasty comments about the Gryffindors' work but not treating the Slytherins much better as most had completely failed on the potion. A few students had managed to brew a weak version, including Hermione and surprisingly Ron. Finally Snape approached Harry's table, causing Neville to shrink back in terror, but Harry didn't even look up from his reading.
Snape scowled darkly, but picked up the ladle, scooped up a bit and checked the color and consistency. A stunned look briefly crossed his face and he murmured to himself, "Perfect. It's perfect." He quickly settled back into cold indifference. "Potter." Harry finally glanced up with a neutral expression, even as the class focused its attention on him.
"Yes?" "Stay after class. I have to speak with you." Harry nodded briefly and returned to his reading, his work area already spotless. When the bell rang 10 minutes later, there was a general rush for the door, and Ron told Harry they'd wait for him outside. Harry calmly walked to the front of the room and stood at Snape's desk.
"How did you do it Potter?" Snape spoke calmly, but with an odd glitter in his eyes. "That potion is not even on an advanced sixth year curriculum, and . . . even I have some trouble with it. Yet your potion was flawless and extremely potent. How?" Harry shrugged, though inwardly a bit surprised that Snape would admit to any weakness. "I've brewed it before. And I had a good teacher." The Potions Master gazed at him for a moment longer, then "I'll need to bottle some of it for Dumbledore. He'll be needing more soon. Now go to your next class. Dismissed."
Harry found his friends waiting anxiously in the hall, and as they hurried to Transfiguration he told them about Snape's strange behavior.
Professor McGonagall announced as soon as the bell rang that they would be working on object to animal transfiguration, which was difficult and different from animal to object like they had done in the past. She demonstrated by turning her desk into a pig, just as she had in first year, then the students were supposed to turn a quill into a bird.
Harry yawned. He, like his father, had a knack for transfiguration, and the summer training had perfected this ability. He gazed around the room at the other students, watching their attempts. Many quills now had more feathers and some had a head and a beak, but none were even close to being able to fly. The catch was that the wizard had to concentrate not only on changing the physical characteristics, but also the nonmaterial ones, such as animation and thought.
McGonagall's voice broke into his reverie. "Well, Mr. Potter. I don't see you even trying. Perhaps this is too difficult for you?" Harry suppressed a groan as he rolled his eyes. He couldn't make it through a single class without becoming the center of attention. He picked up his wand and concentrated on the eagle quill in front of him. Abruptly it grew into a fully grown golden eagle, which spread its wings and took off with a cry, soaring around the room as everybody ducked.
After it flew a few laps, Harry called it back with a short whistle, and the eagle landed on his outstretched arm. He concentrated again and with a "pop!" the eagle disappeared and the quill fell to the desk. The whole class stared in amazement at Harry, who nonchalantly picked up the quill, loaded it and began sketching on a spare piece of parchment, his face reddening.
McGonagall recovered and ordered the class back to work, then she leaned over Harry's desk and inquired quietly, "What else can you do?" He answered back just as quietly, "When it comes to transfiguration or charms, anything." She nodded slowly and sat back down at her desk. Harry continued sketching until class ended, at which time the professor handed him a note as he departed. Curious, he waited until he was safe in the Charms classroom before opening it.
It simply stated, "Come to my classroom immediately following dinner. Bring your wand." Harry grimaced. Great, this was going to ruin his evening workout with Ron. He had wanted to show him the secret room Godric Gryffindor had built and Harry converted to a gym and weapons training arena.
The rest of the day continued in much the same way, with Harry inadvertently catching the eye of every teacher and drawing more attention to his abilities than he liked. Luckily, Dumbledore had sent him a message at lunch requiring him to attend the dueling club that night, so he didn't have to meet with McGonagall. Unfortunately, they would probably force him to duel, which he really did not want to do in front of most of the school despite the fact that he normally enjoyed it.
Harry ate quietly at dinner, but Ron was amazed at the sheer volume of food he could consume. It was such a change from the previous years, when Harry was still tiny for his age and barely ate enough to sustain a finch. Now he could compete with Ron in appetite. Still he was done very quickly and decided to take a quick ride on his Firebolt.
Harry sprinted to his dormitory, grabbed the broomstick and placed an invisibility spell on himself before jumping out the window. He dove on the broom towards the ground at top speed, all the day's anxieties swept away in the thrill of flying, the wind tugging through his hair relaxing him more that the Jacuzzi back at Eva's could ever manage. Feeling refreshed, he started playing in the air, pulling stunts and tricks with increasing difficultly and concentration, made even more challenging by the fact that both he and the broom were invisible.
He broom-surfed, did flips and handstands in midair while flying level, then while climbing and diving. He even flew far up and jumped off, exhilarating in the sensation of freefall before calling the broom and landing on it with one hand and flipping around to sit on it again. Finally he practiced some Seeker moves he'd read about and wanted to pull on Malfoy in the middle of a game.
Caught up in his flying, Harry suddenly realized that unless he ran he'd be late to the dueling club. He darted downwards and flew through the open doors into the entrance hall. At the doors to the Great Hall he dismounted, transported his broom back to his trunk, wandlessly transfigured his school robes into his favorite dueling clothes and slipped inside before removing the invisibility spell. He glanced around to make sure no one had noticed his sudden appearance before joining the group of 5th year Gryffindors.
Harry saw that all the teachers were here, as were some members of the Order of the Phoenix and the resident Aurors. By the way the students were muttering and pointing, this was not normal which only confirmed Harry's suspicions that they were going to make him show off. He smiled grimly. They wanted a show, so he would oblige them.
Professor Figg clapped her hands, signaling for silence. When the vast crowd had finally quieted, she began. "Now tonight we're going to do something a bit different. We've been practicing new curses, hexes and blocks, now you get to put them to use. What's the use of knowing a spell if you can't do it in battle? I'll be calling up people impairs to duel as we watch, 5 pairs at a time. Whoever disarms their opponent first wins the duel. I don't want any serious injuries or physical contact." Here she glared at the Slytherins in general and Malfoy in particular then began calling up pairs.
Harry could tell she was trying to match up students with equal talents to avoid boredom or discouragement and so the students would push themselves to win. She'd obviously been observing all the students closely. Some duels were over in a handful of seconds, while others lasted a long time. Ron and Seamus dueled each other for over 10 minutes before Ron managed to disarm him and Hermione and Cho Chang dueled so long that Arabella finally declared it a draw.
Soon there were only two people left to go, Harry and Malfoy, who smirked but had a tiny flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. Harry shed his outer cloak, leaving his arms bare and unencumbered by his sleeveless shirt. He stepped into the ring, ignoring the catcalls and whistles he drew from the female portion of the crowd. The two opponents faced each other, never taking their eyes off each other even as they gave brief nods in place of the bows Arabella instructed them to do.
On her count of three, Malfoy shot two quick curses at Harry, who dodged them casually. He wanted to get a feel of Malfoy's abilities first. The next several curses Malfoy sent were either gracefully dodged or blocked, and he was growing extremely frustrated. "Why aren't you fighting back?!" he muttered darkly to himself, glaring at his rival. Finally he threw several curses in quick succession, pain curses that would smash through a Shield charm and could break bones and cause other serious injuries. Obviously he had decided that Professor Figg's punishment would be worth it to see Harry injured.
Harry for his part didn't even bother trying to dodge the spread, but rather snapped up a Shield charm. Unfortunately for Malfoy, Harry could put a lot of power behind his shield, so the curses smashed into it and dissipated, except for one. He let it through and swung his wand like a tennis racket, propelling the spell back to its originator. Malfoy barely ducked in time, the reflected curse singeing a patch of white-blonde hair off the top of his head.
Now Harry went on the offensive, throwing curses and hexes so fast Malfoy couldn't avoid them all. He tried a Shield charm, but it was broken with a well-placed Jelly-Legs jinx. As he wobbled in the ring, Harry showed him a predatory smile and with a slight wave of his hand, Malfoy disappeared, his wand clattering to the floor.
In his place quivered a bright pink ferret, which weaved around on unstable legs as if drunk.
The Gryffindors laughed especially hard and cheered the return of the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, now in Techicolor. Harry stepped out of the ring with a small salute, and Malfoy reappeared, face burning red in humiliation as he tried to undo the Jelly-Legs. Arabella simply looked a bit amused and arched an eyebrow at Harry, then she spoke above the noise of the crowd.
"I think we should end with an exhibition match. Harry, if you would please come back up here?" Harry grimaced, unseen, then reluctantly reentered the ring. "Your opponents will be . . . Mundungus Fletcher, Bill Weasley, and myself." There were gasps from the crowd as they all shook hands. A three on one duel with a student? That was so unfair.
Arabella continued, "This will be a no holds barred duel, meaning all spells except illegal ones are allowed, as well as physical contact and weapons other than wands. Again, the duel ends when the opponent or opponents are disarmed." Now there were several shocked and pale faces in the crowd. A single thought echoed as the duelers bowed.
"This is going to be messy."
On three, the 3 older people all cast their spells. Harry leapt 10 feet into the air and cast 3 of his own in quick succession before he landed, forcing them to scatter. He dove and rolled, coming up at Fletcher's feet and swiftly disarming him with a simple twist of the wrist. Then with a back handspring he faced Bill. Arabella tried to sneak up behind Harry and stun him, but he ducked at the last moment as the spell came and it hit Bill instead. He hit the floor with a solid thud even as Harry whirled around to face the professor.
They traded several curses back and forth, constantly moving, before Harry suddenly rolled forward, planted his hands on the floor and swept his legs through Arabella's ankles, dumping her on the floor. He then sprang back to his feet, Arabella a few moments behind him. She gazed shrewdly at him, muttered a quick incantation and her wand lengthened into a gleaming sword. She lunged at his chest and he dodged, then leapt back to avoid her stabbing blade and rolled under it to come up behind her. One hand darted behind his back and quick as lightning he pulled out his own sword, the blade expanding from convenient travel size to battle mode.
Arabella's eyebrows threatened to secede into her hairline in astonishment, but she quickly refocused as Harry swung expertly at her. Their swords clashed against each other for several minutes as they dueled back and forth. Soon she was sweaty and panting for breath, while he appeared perfectly fresh and relaxed. Blocking a slightly clumsy lunge, his wrist twisted peculiarly and her sword flew out of her hand, the blade slapping her fingers and making them sting harshly. Harry resheathed his sword on his back, then a noise behind him made him spin around.
Bill had woken up, and since he had never dropped his wand, was still an active opponent. He cast two Stunning spells in Harry's direction, which Harry had to dive to the side to avoid. He threw a couple spells which the eldest Weasley blocked before retaliating, and Harry reflected them back. Then he crouched and leapt at Bill in a tackle, and something completely unexpected happened.
Harry's body lengthened and filled out as his skin became covered in fur, his hands and feet turned into paws with giant claws, his mouth and nose elongated into a muzzle filled with sharp teeth, and his hair transformed into a wild mane. Bill was driven to the ground by an incredible weight on his chest and he hit the floor hard, his wand skittering away from his hand. He shook his head, dazed, then looked up to find he was face to face with an enormous golden lion with a black mane and green eyes crouching over him. Bill froze instinctively.
The lion seemed to grin, then backed off and transformed back into Harry Potter. With a slight smile he offered Bill a hand up, then turned to Arabella Figg and said quite calmly, "Thank you for the workout. I enjoyed it thoroughly." With that, he gathered up his cloak, bid them all good night and walked out of the hall.
As soon as the doors swung shut with a resounding bang, the utter silence exploded into pandemonium as everyone started shouting excitedly about the spectacle they just witnessed. Most of the older folks stared at each other in disbelief, then Dumbledore and several others tried to make their way through the crowd to go after Harry. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, amazement on their features, before tearing after them.
But when they all reached the corridor outside the Great Hall, it was deserted.