Chapter dedicated to Noraseyes, my 1500th reviewer!

In Every Darkness

Chapter Forty One: Secrets

13.9.1996

 "How was your lesson with Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, as Harry game through the portrait hole half an hour later.

 "Good," Harry replied cheerily. "I've got a really strong mind shield now, and I can get Dumbledore to get out of my mind, and throw spells at him that I choose."

 "Rather you than me," Ron muttered, leaning over the chessboard, against the first year girl. They were evenly matched, it seemed. The girl had beaten Ron once, but he'd beaten her twice since then.

 "Did you hurt Dumbledore?" Hermione asked anxiously.

 "No, Hermione," Harry replied, exasperated. "He's one of the greatest wizards in history, he'd hardly let me hurt him."

 "Oh … Of course," Hermione said, sounding a little flustered as she worked on a History of Magic assignment.

 "I still can't believe that you chose that," Ron said, nodding distractedly to Hermione's homework, watching as the first year in front of him took his rook.

 "History of magic is a very important thing to know, Ron," Hermione admonished him. "I couldn't think of dropping it."

 "Of course not," Ron replied absently, taking the bishop that had removed his rook from action.

 Hermione looked up, as if to argue, but returned to her homework without pressing the issue. Harry wondered if something was wrong, but didn't let it eat at him, taking out his own homework.

 The next day passed without much happening, and on Sunday, Harry had the entire morning to spend with Tatsu in the Room of Requirement.

 The morning passed to quickly for Harry's taste, but he learned a lot, and didn't even get too badly hurt.

 "You're getting better," Tatsu told him, sitting down on a chair that appeared obligingly. Harry followed suit.

 "Thanks," Harry said, a little embarrassed.

 "Doubtless you want to know when I'll start teaching you to use your Modifier talent … I haven't decided yet, but it won't be this year, maybe not this school year either. I'm introducing you to something new over the Christmas holidays."

 Harry glared at Tatsu. "Are you going to tell me what?" he demanded.

 "Not yet. Maybe if you're good," Tatsu teased in response. "You'll like it though, I promise."

 Harry sighed, but knew that he wouldn't get anything out of the man until Tatsu wanted to give it.

 "Weren't you and your friends going to go and visit Hagrid this afternoon?" Tatsu asked Harry.

 "Yeah. I should probably get going, but I'll see you soon enough," Harry farewelled his teacher and headed out of the Room of Requirement and off towards the Gryffindor Tower.

 Soon enough, he, Ron and Hermione were heading down the gentle slope that led towards Hagrid's rebuilt hut.

 It was a pretty sight, Harry thought. Hagrid's new house was a little bigger than his last. It had more windows, a trail of smoke marred the air above the roof.

 The weather was turning cold already, and so Harry was not too surprised that Hagrid had his fire going.

 There was a high fenced backyard, which would provide better protection than the last fence had, should the Death Eaters strike again.

 Harry could see … something … around the house, a hazy aura of light. For a moment, he struggled to think what it could be, but then realised – it must be something to do with his modifier talent. He'd noticed such things before, but it had been so vague that he'd paid it no attention.

 They headed down and knocked on Hagrid's door.

 The door was opened to the frenzied barking of Fang, and the cheerful, but half hearted, attempts that Hagrid made to quiet his large dog.

 "How are ya?" Hagrid asked, as the three teenagers entered his house.

 "Oh, pretty good," Hermione replied for all of them. "How are the hippocampi going?"
 "Brilliant!" Hagrid smiled enthusiastically. "D'you wanna see 'em?" he asked, already standing up to head towards the back door.

 "Yes, of course," Harry said, not really wanting to, but not wanting to hurt Hagrid's feelings either.

 In the last two weeks, the hippocampi had changed quite a lot, now having a shape that almost resembled a half horse half fish, which was what they were supposed to be.

 "Wow, they're really growing up!" Harry said, feigning interest for Hagrid's sake. Ron and Hermione hurriedly added their own comments. Hagrid seemed to glow with pleasure.

 "It'll be fun, raisin' em," he remarked to his three younger friends. "Ye'll enjoy it, I'm sure."

 "Of course we will!" Hermione replied, as they headed inside to chat over butterbeers.

 As the sky outside began darken, Hagrid shooed them out of the door, then followed himself. "Ye shouldn't be out afta dark," he explained. "I'll be takin' ya back up t'the castle."

 "Thanks Hagrid," Harry said, though he'd have liked to walk around in the semi-darkness for a while. He felt confined, within the castle's the stony walls.

 Hagrid showed them back up to the castle, after which they left him and ducked down the kitchens. "It'll be a bit boring without Dobby and Winky there," Ron remarked.

 "I suppose so," Hermione said doubtfully, both Harry and Ron knew it was because she thought that no house elves should be there, and that their presence shouldn't make kitchen trips interesting.

 "Hermione, could you do us a favour and not try and get them to revolt?" Ron asked plaintively. "You saw how much Winky and Dobby liked working for Harry, and Dobby, at least, had experienced freedom."

 "Well … just this once, I suppose," Hermione said doubtfully. Behind her back, Harry and Ron shared a grin. It seemed that Hermione might, eventually, give up her one-woman crusade against house-elf enslavement.

 They entered the kitchen, accepted bucket loads of food from the house-elves, and headed to the Room of Requirement to eat it. They didn't feel like entering the hall tonight, though none of them really knew why tonight, of all nights, it should bother them.

 "So, how was training?" Ron asked. Harry hadn't told them, yet, about his ability as a Modifier, though they knew about Tatsu's abilities on that front.

 Harry told them what he and Tatsu had done that day. His friends spent some time thinking of different things that Tatsu could introduce to Harry's training at Christmas, but none of them thought of anything that might really be what Tatsu was talking of.

 "I wish he wouldn't be so mysterious all the time!" Harry grumbled. "I want to know what he's going to teach me, and I want to know now."

 "Maybe he's not telling you to keep you humble," Hermione teased. "He might think that all this fame is going to your head."

 Harry laughed slightly. "I doubt it. I don't like being famous," he replied. "And Tatsu knows it."

 "Maybe. Otherwise, he just likes it," Ron grinned.

 "I think that is slightly more likely," Harry said, eyes dancing slightly.

 Hermione 'hmphed' softly, annoyed that Harry thought Ron right and her wrong. Harry let that pass, not wanting the confrontation.

 The night passed quickly, Harry and his friends did all the homework they could, struggling to stay ahead of the tremendous workload that was being thrust upon them.

 When morning came, Harry awoke with the dawn. He'd dreamt of Sirius again, and the pair had worked on Ancient Runes and duelling through the night.

 Now it was time to go downstairs and practice in the Room of Requirement, because Harry refused to let his body forget the lessons that Tatsu had taught to it.

 Soon he was waiting, washed and dressed, in the Gryffindor common room, ready for the new day.

 Together with Ron and Hermione, Harry went downstairs to eat breakfast. His eyes flickered to the notice board, immediately he noticed something that had not been there before.

 He walked closer to have a look at it. "Ron!" he called softly, though his tone was excited. "Ron, come look!"

***

That'll do, I think. See you all next chapter!

~WolfMoon~