Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K. Rowling and are being used without permission. No attempt has been made to copyright this work. This novel is purely for the entertainment of the author and readers and is not being used for profit of any sort.

CHAPTER TEN

CHANGES


The next morning Harry slowly awoke out of one of the more peaceful slumbers he had ever had. He had expected the visions of Dumbledore's memory to haunt him during the night, but nothing had disturbed his sleep. As Harry entered the waking world, he was a little surprised to find Ron already up and fully dressed in his Quidditch gear.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." the red-headed young man said with a cheery smile.

"What time is it?" Harry asked through squinted eyes.

"Time for practice. Come on, get yourself going. We have rookies to break in."

Harry's slowly recovering mind took a minute to register that statement. "Right, the new Chasers. Who'd you pick?"

"Natalie McDonald and Geoffrey Hooper. Geoffrey pouted a lot when Angelina didn't pick him last season, but his attitude has changed a bit since then. He's a pretty quick flyer, he should work out well as long as he keeps his mouth shut."

Harry remembered Geoffrey. Angelina had said that he had actually flown better than Ron at the Keeper tryouts last year, but his whining had kept him off the team. It seemed that Ron felt bad about that and was trying to make amends.

"Come on, get dressed. We have a lot to practice."

Harry really wanted to lie in bed a little longer, but he couldn't disappoint Ron on his first day as Quidditch Captain. After a short shower (which would have been longer had it not been for Ron's constant badgering at the door) Harry got dressed and was ready to go.

"Excellent." Ron said as he handed Harry his Firebolt. "We still have time for a quick breakfast."

"So how did those lessons go last night?"

"It went pretty well. It was a little odd though. Max built this really wicked clone of Dumbledore. It was amazing. It taught the whole lesson."

"You got a look inside of Dumbledore's head? What did you see?"

Harry recalled the shockingly emotional images that he had seen through Dumbledore's eyes the previous night. Harry still had to discuss that matter with the ancient wizard.

"I saw some things that I still need to figure out." Harry said as he stopped walking. "Er...I think I'm going to skip out on breakfast, Ron. I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore about something."

The obvious disappointment on Ron's face made Harry feel bad, but he really needed to settle some things with Dumbledore. "Alright." Ron conceded. "But try not to be late for practice, okay? It won't be the same without you there."

"I promise."

Harry turned and headed for Dumbledore's office as Ron continued to head for the Great Hall.

Harry gave his password for entrance to the headmaster's office and headed up the moving stairway. He was expecting to find Dumbledore alone this early in the morning, but instead there was another person in his office.

Severus Snape.

"Ah, good morning Harry." Dumbledore said with great cheer in his voice. "Severus and I were just discussing a few things."

"Hello, Snape." Harry said as politely as he could.

Snape gave Harry a cold stare with his cold dark eyes. "That's Pro-" Snape stopped mid-sentence as he realized that he wasn't technically a professor anymore. He looked at Dumbledore for support but the headmaster simply shrugged.

"Hello, Potter." Snape spat.

"It's nice to see that you two have gotten reacquainted." Dumbledore said as he stood up. "I'm afraid you will have to resume the reunion elsewhere. I am expecting some visitors from the Ministry this morning."

"Yes, headmaster. Thank you for your time. I assume that the matter we spoke of will be taken care of?" Snape said as he ushered Harry out ahead of him.

"Yes Severus. I will see to it immediately."

Harry and Snape left Dumbledore's office and headed down the same hallway. Harry tried his best to ignore his old instructor, but he seemed to be taking interest in his Quidditch gear.

"I assume that the Headmaster has taken care of your lifetime ban." Snape said. "I'm surprised they let anyone play this year, especially such a prime target like yourself."

"We're not going to let Voldemort scare us." Harry replied as he kept walking.

"You should not speak the Dark Lord's name!!" Snape nearly shouted as he grabbed Harry by the shoulder.

"He killed my parents and he has tried to personally kill me several times. I think that if anyone has the right to say his name, it would be me."

"Regardless, you would be wise to treat the Dark Lord with more respect, Potter."

Harry forcibly removed Snape's hand from his Quidditch robes. "Respect a man that tried to kill a baby? I don't think so."

"If he is not worthy of your respect, then he should at least warrant your fear."

"I'm not afraid of him."

"Oh, really?"

Snape looked Harry in his eyes and he instantly knew that the potions master was trying to tell if he was lying. He had been the subject of Snape's mental prying before, but this time he could actually feel Snape doing it. Harry could feel the mental connection between them, and he tried his best to project his own mind along it, just as he learned to do the day before. If Snape wanted to poke around in his head, Harry was more than happy to return the favor.

Before Harry could make any progress though, there was a blinding flash in his eyes and he felt a sudden headache coming on. Snape seemed to have suffered similar effects. He was holding his forehead and wearing the most distasteful frown Harry had ever seen on the man. "I see you've acquired some new skills, Potter." he said slowly. "It would seem that your infantile mind has matured somewhat."

"Yes. Odd how that happens." Harry replied, ignoring the pain in his own head. "Must have something to do with puberty, or maybe it's just proof of what I can do when I have a proper teacher."

"Mind your tongue, boy".

"Why don't you make me? Go ahead. Take points from Gryffindor...oh wait, you can't. How about you give me detention? Oh, you can't do that either."

"There are other ways to get to you, Potter, and I assure you that I will be an instructor at Hogwarts again."

Harry didn't flinch at the subtle threat. "I think I saw some first years down the hall Snape, why don't you go bully them? I have more important things to do."

"I think that Sirius Black had far too much influence on you. You are becoming more and more like your arrogant father every day."

Harry simply smiled at that. "Why, Snape, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Harry turned and walked briskly away from Snape. He half-expected Snape to cast a hex on him, but he did not spare a glance back at the man as he walked to Quidditch Practice.

Just outside the pitch Harry spotted several patrolling enchanted suits of armor. The magical guards hardly made a sound as they made their rounds around the field. Each was carrying a different type of sharpened weapon. Harry was inspected by a guard with a nasty looking double-bladed axe before he was allowed onto the pitch.

Ron flew over to Harry when he saw him enter the field. "Hey Harry, that was quick."

"Yeah, Dumbledore had an appointment...and I ran into Snape."

"What's he doing around here? He didn't get his job back already did he?" Ron seemed to be horrified at the thought.

"No. I think it had something to do with the Order."

"Ahhh." Ron said with relief as he looked up into the stands. "Our fan club is here."

Harry followed Ron's gaze to one of the stands on the other side. He could just make out the bushy brown hair blowing gently in the breeze.

"Hey Hermione!" Ron yelled as he waved fervently. "She usually doesn't come to practices, I wonder what changed her mind."

"Well, there is a new captain." Harry commented with a lopsided grin.

"Oh, yeah." Harry thought he could see his friend blush very slightly. "Well, everybody's here. Let's get started."

Harry mounted his broom and followed Ron to the middle of the field where the rest of the team was waiting. Harry shook hands with Natalie and Geoffrey (he had never formally met them) and greeted the rest of the team.

"We'll be focusing mostly on you three today." Ron said as he indicated the three Chasers. "We need to figure out your strengths and weaknesses. We'll start with the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, then work on the Porskoff Ploy. Harry, you'll work with Andrew and Jack on Bludger dodging."

The Gryffindor Quidditch Team set off into the air. Ron took up position above the three Chasers as they flew into a tight group with Ginny in the center and slightly leading the other two. It was a respectable attempt at the Hawkshead Formation, but judging by Ron's shouting he wasn't satisfied with it.

Harry didn't have much time to watch the others as Jack and Andrew started hitting bludgers at him. It was good practice for the two beaters, they would need to be able to redirect Bludgers into the opposing players. Harry wasn't challenged though since he had been through the routine many times, both in practice and against the aggressive Slytherin beaters. Harry easily dodged Jack and Andrew's efforts, but after about an hour of the exercise they had definitely improved and were giving him more of a workout.

When Jack and Andrew signaled that they wanted a break Harry spared another look at the Chasers. It seemed that Ron's drilling was having an effect as the pack of Chasers were now successfully switching from a near-perfect Hawkshead Formation to the Porskoff Ploy.

"That was good!" Ron yelled when Ginny broke off from the pack, shot towards the goal, then passed to Geoffrey beneath her. "Good job, but next time don't pass the quaffle so quickly. You need to sell the fake. Geoffrey, you need to make sure you're not too far away for the pass. Let's try it against some opponents now. Harry, Jack, Andrew. Come on over and set up as opposing chasers."

Harry and the Beaters took up positions in front of the chasers and tried to block their shots and passes as they executed the Porskoff Ploy. Harry matched Ginny's speed easily and was just about to take the quaffle from her when she simply dropped it. Natalie sped up beneath them and caught the quaffle then threw it to the left goal in one smooth motion. Ron successfully blocked the shot, but Harry could tell that he had been nearly caught off guard. Harry was impressed with the play. Ron, however, did not seem to think it was good enough. He made them continue the drill several more times with different configurations. It was well past dark when they finally stopped.

Hermione came down from the stands to join them when they finally left the pitch. She had apparently spent some of the time reading the short pile of books in her arms.

"That was a really good practice guys. The team looks like it's coming together."

"Glad you enjoyed it." Ginny said as she scowled at her brother. "Hope it didn't get too repetitive for you."

"Actually, it did get a little predictable at points but I had my reading. Hey, have you seen today's edition of the Daily Prophet?"

"No, we've been at practice all day. What's up?" Ron seemed to be suspicious.

Hermione extracted the copy of the Daily Prophet from her pile. "There's been some public support for your father running for the Minister's office."

"What? That's silly." Ron said as they re-entered the castle. "Dad never wanted that job. He says it involves way too much politics."

"I dunno Ron." Ginny said. "I think dad would be a great Minister. It would be great for the family too, and imagine the look on Percy's face!"

"I'll write to him later." Ron said dismissively. "Right now I just want to get some rest."

***


Harry had a chance to recover from the grueling practice the next day. He spent the majority of Sunday chatting with his roommates and reading the next chapter of his curse-breaking book, which was entitled "Curses of the Digestive System and how to stop them". He also got the chance to reply to Lupin's letter. Harry gave him the date for the first Hogsmeade weekend and suggested that they meet at Honeydukes at noon. Hedwig was quite happy to see Harry when he took the letter to the owlery. She hadn't had anything to do all week.

Harry's restful period came to an end when it was time for his Legilimency lesson. He found Max and the Dumbledore Doppelganger in the usual classroom. The two figures were sitting on Max's desk, eagerly awaiting Harry's arrival.

"Good to see you again Harry." Max said with his usual grin. "We've got a lot to do this evening so let's get going. I'll have to stick around in your head again."

Max got up and stared in Harry's eyes. Harry didn't mind the warm feeling that spread in the back of his head this time, but it was still a little weird.

"Alright then, you know the drill." Max said when he had completed the process. "You're going to get started with shielding yourself from emotions. Do you think you'll be able to move onto wandless Legilimency after that?"

"Er...I actually kinda already have."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, I ran into Snape in Dumbledore's office. He tried to read me and I kinda...threw it back at him I guess."

"HA HA! Did you really? Oh that must have been priceless. You'll have to put that memory in a pensieve for me, I HAVE to see that. You must have caught him off guard and caused a kind of mind collision on the mental connection. That's another testament to your exceptional latent Legilimency talents. It's quite amazing really. Would you mind being the subject of a research paper after all this is done?"

"Max, I think I'll pass on that one."

"Fine, fine. Come on then, let's get started."

Max assumed his position at the back of the room and the Dumbledore clone stepped up to Harry.

"We shall work on keeping you protected from emotions. The technique is quite straightforward. All you need to do to protect yourself from the emotions of your target, is not care."

"Not...care?"

"Yes, that's all there is to it. Your apathy will bring up a mental shield that will dull the feelings. You will still be able to get a general impression of what your target is feeling, but nothing close to what you experienced last time."

"That sounds pretty simple."

"Simple, yes. Simple, however, does not always mean easy."

"Right. Well, let's try it out."

Harry cast the Legilimens spell on the Doppelganger and was immediately greeted by a grainy image. Judging from his current point of view, the memory must have come from Dumbledore's childhood since everything seemed to be taller than normal. In the image was a man Harry didn't recognize. The man was kicking a crup brutally across a room. The poor creature tried to retaliate, but the cruel assailant drew his wand and a bright green flash. Harry saw the body of the small, bloody creature jerk and then lie motionless. Harry was overcome with a deep, sickening feeling of hatred and sadness before he felt the connection break.

"You were not successfull that time, Harry." the Doppelganger said as Harry struggled to keep his mind together.

"How can I not care about that? It was brutal."

"Yes it was. Yet, it is also simply a memory of an event long past. It does not concern you in the here and now."

"So I should just not care about it since it doesn't affect me?"

"Exactly."

"So you're saying that I have to become a heartless prat like Snape?"

"No Harry, I am simply saying that you must learn to turn your emotions off when the situation requires it. You will find this to be a valuable skill, even when you are not practicing Legilimency. It is certainly a trait that is required of all Aurors."

Harry pondered that last statement for a moment and then readied himself for another try at the spell. He was starting to wonder why this particular version of Dumbledore was so effective at goading him into action.

Harry cast the spell again and watched the same sad scene. This time he tried his best to simply see the images with a sense of detachment, but he was having trouble with the task. The memory was just too sad...too horrible. Nevertheless, Harry kept trying. He had lost count of how many times he had cast the spell when the Doppelganger signaled for him to stop.

"Why can't I do this?" Harry asked, exasperated.

"This aspect of the training has nothing to do with skill or ability, Harry. It is something that many students have trouble with, especially those who care too much. Well, I believe you are ready to move on. We will return to this later. I think you've had enough practice to begin attempts at making the connection without your wand. Remember, eye contact is essential."

Harry put his wand away and gazed intently into those old eyes framed by bushy grey eyebrows. He tried his best to establish that now familiar mental connection, but he wasn't having much luck. After almost twenty minutes of trying he finally got the distinct impression that the Dumbledore clone didn't think he would be able to do it. It was more than just a hunch though, Harry knew it.

"Don't have too much confidence in me, eh?"

"Quite the contrary. I am confident that you will master this skill, eventually. Yet, you seem to have a penchant for surprising me with your progress, as you just did."

Harry wasn't sure if that was a compliment or just a simple statement of fact. "Is that all I'm going to be able to get without my wand. Just...impressions?"

"You will not get as much information as you did with the incantation. Without your wand, you will not be able to get deep into the memories of your target. Instead, what you will see are general impressions of current thoughts and very recent memories. Thoughts are not like memories, however. They are abstract, difficult to grasp, and sometimes very random. Because of this, you will need to interpret what you have received in order to find the answers you seek."

"Interpretation? Not something like those divination charts?"

"Actually," the Doppelganger said as he retrieved a slim book from behind him, "your newly required reading is indeed quite similar."

"Great." Harry groaned as he thumbed through the odd little book. The fine velvet cover displayed neither a title nor an author for the book.

"Do not worry, Harry. You will find that the workings of the human mind are a bit more predictable than the dynamics of tea leaves."

Harry was just about to comment on that when a sharp pain shot through his forehead. His scar was burning fiercely and he could hear eerie laughter in his ears. Just as suddenly as the pain had appeared though, it vanished. Harry's senses returned to him and he found that Max was by his side.

"Did you feel that?" Harry asked him. He suspected that Max may have had something to do with the sudden interruption of Voldemort's intrusion.

"Yes, vaguely." Max said with a grim expression on his face. "Is that what it's usually like?"

"Yeah, mostly when he gets really excited or really angry."

"Which was it this time?"

"He was excited, ecstatic even. I don't know what the cause was though."

Max stood silently for a moment with his arms crossed. The Dumbledore Doppelganger was watching intently in silence.

"Let's call it a night for now, Harry. I need to talk with some of the other Order members and see if we can get a clue as to what is going on. I suspect that we may have to increase the frequency of these lessons though. It would seem that Voldemort is nearly ready to carry out whatever he is planning."

"Whatever it is, I'll be ready for it."

Max seemed to be a little surprised. "Got something up your sleeve, Harry?"

"Not really. Not yet."

Harry said goodbye to his two instructors and left the classroom. He found most of his dormmates were already asleep, but Ron was sitting on his bed surrounded by various charts and books.

"I'm making some new plays." Ron told Harry as he noticed the confused look on his face. "Now that I know our capabilities, I can plan a lot better. What's that on your bed?"

Harry hadn't noticed the plain brown package on his bed. Once he looked at it though, he immediately knew what it was. He had ordered it several days ago.

"It's Hermione's birthday present."

"Oh, really?" Ron said with sudden interest. "What did you get her?"

"It's nothing really." Harry said as he walked over to his bed. He quickly unwrapped the small box and opened it.

"Oooooh, pretty." Harry jumped a little at the sound of Ron's voice in his ear. Ron had snuck up behind him to get a peek at the gift. "What is it?"

Harry had meant to keep the gift a secret but there was no point in that now. He took the small spherical gem and its chain out of the box. "It's a Chameleon Gem. It's supposed to change color to match the clothes you're wearing."

"Really?" Ron said as he took the present from Harry and put it on. The jewel's swirling patterns quickly changed from green to a bright orange that matched Ron's Chuddly Cannons t-shirt.

"That's bloody brilliant. She's going to love it. But...I don't recall you going through all this trouble for her past birthdays."

"Well...maybe I've come to appreciate her more."

Ron knew his friend well enough to read the hidden meaning in those words. "Nothing's going to happen to her, Harry."

"You don't know that Ron."

"You're right I don't know it, but I believe it. It's the only thing that keeps me from going crazy."

Harry didn't reply immediately. Ron had a point. "I'll keep that in mind Ron. Now give it back."

"Mmmm, no. I kind of like it." Ron said with a silly smile on his face. "You've never given me anything this nice."

"Your birthday hasn't come yet, Ron. That could change."

"True. So what am I going to get?"

"A punch in the face if you don't give that back to me."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Just give it back to him already!" Seamus shouted from his bed. Their playful argument had apparently awoken him.

Ron laughed out loud and finally gave the gem back to Harry as he went back to his own bed. Harry put the gem back in the box and carefully tucked it away. Harry felt a lot more relaxed as he went to bed. Ron's antics had caused him to forget about Voldemort for awhile, which may have been his intent all along.

*********************************************************************

Author's note:

The next chapter will be a big one, with lots of the seeds that I planted earlier growing into beautiful storylines. You may want to re-read the previous chapters just to refresh things.