Disclaimer: And would you believe it, I STILL don't own them! And thankyou to all my lovely reviewers!
Harry awoke early next morning with a fierce shaft of sunlight stretched out across his face. For a moment, he lay there, enjoying the luxurious warmth that the light brought with it. He basked in the heat, feeling almost secure and happy…
Until, that is, he remembered the events of yesterday. The hideous revelations flooded back into his mind, together with the realisation of why he was still dressed in all his clothes – he must, he thought, have fallen asleep before he'd had time to change. Groaning inwardly, he sat up, and briefly considered changing into clean clothes before dismissing the idea as involving far too much effort. He got to his feet and padded silently to the door – a trick he'd learnt from early morning at the Dursleys', so as not to wake the family and thus avoid the awful consequences that were inherent in such an action. The door creaked slowly open, and Harry walked quietly down to the kitchen.
To his surprise, someone else was already there. This threw Harry slightly, as at the Dursleys' nobody usually rose before ten, enabling him to slip downstairs, make himself a slice of toast and return to his bedroom without anyone having noticed his brief excursion. Finding someone already seated at the table, especially when that someone happened to be your ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, was therefore something of a novelty.
Having noticed Lupin's presence in the kitchen, therefore, Harry's immediate reaction was to turn straight back around and go back upstairs. In this resolve, however, he was thwarted, as Lupin heard the rustle of Harry's clothing as he prepared to flee, and called out,
"Come in, Harry. I don't bite."
Harry looked up, startled, and saw his ex-professor's mouth quirking into a slight smile. Lupin indicated the seat opposite him, and Harry resignedly slipped into it, readying himself for the stupid lecture that he was sure was about to come. To his surprise, however, when Lupin did speak, it was not to tell him off.
"How are you feeling this morning, then?"
How was he…? How did he think he was feeling, for crying out loud?
"Not too great, for some reason, er…Professor."
"Call me Remus, Harry, please. I am no longer your professor, Lupin makes me sound insanely old, and so Remus will do. I was afraid you'd be feeling a bit down today. Bit of a bombshell last night, I appreciate."
"Just a bit. It's not every day you get told you're suddenly 'terrifyingly powerful,' after all."
Lupin grimaced.
"Bad choice of phrase there, I'm sorry. I realised after you'd left what it must have sounded like."
Harry nodded.
"Like I was Voldemort."
"Quite. So, once again, I apologise. But I have to say, you are not, as I so crassly put it last night, 'terrifyingly powerful' quite yet. Before you can realise your full potential, you will need to learn how to harness your power. So, in order to assist you, you will be receiving extra lessons throughout the new school year from Professor Dumbledore –"
He was interrupted by a loud thud. Harry had just thumped his head on the table. He sat up, rubbing his forehead ruefully.
"Ow…"
He smiled slightly, as did Lupin. They both began to chuckle, then to laugh, far more loudly and long than the situation deserved. For Harry, it was a kind of release, the first time he had laughed during the entire summer so far. He'd forgotten how good it felt.
"What on earth –?"
Molly Weasley was standing in the doorway, a teapot held in her hand. She shook her head in amusement, before setting the pot down on the side and walking back out of the kitchen, still smiling at the incongruous sight of a lean, tired-looking man and a slight, untidy boy apparently helpless with laughter over nothing whatsoever.
The interruption served to quieten the two. After they had both finally stopped shaking with laughter, Lupin turned back to Harry and said,
"Anyway…as I was saying, you will have to have extra lessons with the Headmaster, and you will also study with me for a couple of hours a week."
"Really? With you? But – how?"
Lupin smiled.
"Owing to the Headmaster's lack of success in finding a new candidate for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, he has offered it to me again. The parents have been informed previously, so that we could see who would complain. So far, not enough have written to protest to mean that I cannot take the job. So, I take up the position in September."
Harry grinned – a true smile, one which had not graced his features since Sirius' death.
"That's brilliant! So you will actually be Professor again? So I was in fact right earlier!"
Lupin smiled and held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Fine, fine, you win. Harry 1, Remus 0. But in our private lessons, you call me Remus, OK?"
"OK."
"Good. Right, now I'm afraid I seem to have been appointed the bearer of bad news today – firstly the extra lessons, and now it's my painful duty to have to tell you that Professor Snape will be arriving later today to – test a few things."
Harry groaned. Snape coming round…wonderful. He'd be able to look forward to an entire morning of abuse. How lovely.
"Any idea what these things he'll be testing are?"
Lupin chuckled.
"Whilst of course I am bound to complete secrecy and have obviously told you nothing, and that anything you may learn is entirely due to your own natural brilliance, I believe it may involve a shock assessment on a particular area of study that you have recently been studying with him."
"Oh no," whispered Harry. "Not bloody Occlumency again."
"I said nothing," said Lupin, his face the picture of innocence.
Right, thought Harry. First step in facing down and surviving an encounter with your enemy – fortify yourself.
He went over to the bread-bin, and fished out two slices of bread to make toast. He felt he was going to need them.
Snape arrived at ten o'clock precisely. He strode into the kitchen where he found Harry and Lupin waiting.
"Potter, Lupin," he said with a curt nod to both of them. They nodded back, equally briefly.
"Right then, Potter, let's see how much you've practised your Occlumency this summer. I have to say I am expecting to be disappointed; you never were one to work at anything you found even remotely difficult. Oh, but silly me, I almost forgot," he sneered, pulling an envelope out of his pocket. It was, Harry saw at once, a Hogwarts envelope, marked with the crest. "You might as well open this first, I suppose."
Harry had a horrible suspicion that he knew what this was going to be, and as he pulled out the letter inside, his fears were confirmed.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Please find below your O.W.L results. At the bottom you will fins a list of the subjects you will be able to take this year.
Key to O.W.L grades:
O: Outstanding
E: Exceeds Expectations
A: Acceptable
P: Poor
D: Dreadful
T: Troll
Note: starred grades constitute an O.W.L
Your results:
Transfiguration:
Theory: O
Practical: E
Grade: O
Charms:
Theory: E
Practical: E
Grade: E
Defence Against the Dark Arts:
Theory: O
Practical: O
Grade: O
Potions:
Theory: O
Practical: E
Grade: O
History of Magic:
Theory: P
Grade: P (does not count)
Herbology:
Theory: E
Practical: O
Grade: O
Care of Magical Creatures:
Theory: O
Practical: O
Astronomy:
Marks under consideration due to unforeseen events which occurred during this exam.
Divination:
Practical: D
Grade: D (does not count)
Total number of O.W.Ls gained: 6 (possibly 7)
Congratulations, Mr. Potter. Below is a list of the subjects you may take to complement your chosen profession of Auror. The books required are listed next to the subject.
Advanced Transfiguration: The Standard Book of More Difficult Spells by
Miranda Goshawk
Advanced Charms: Charms for Advanced Students by Frederick Velvet
Advanced Potions: NEWT level Potions by Helga Andersson
Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts: Fighting Evil by Ungularis Epsom
Care of Magical Creatures: n/a
Advanced Herbology: n/a
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
A handwritten note was attached to the letter.
Mr. Potter –
Although there are other subjects available to students, I would recommend you stick with these, as you will be quite busy enough with your extra lessons as it is.
-Professor McGonagall
Harry looked up from the letter.
"Well?" demanded Lupin.
Harry grinned again.
"6. And I got Outstanding for Defence, Transfiguration, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology."
"That's fantastic, Harry! Just – fantastic!"
"Touching as this is, I do have other demands on my time," drawled a voice from behind Lupin. Harry sighed; he'd momentarily forgotten about Snape. Wearily, he put the letter down and turned back to face his Potions teacher.
"Thankyou so much, Potter. Right, let's see how pathetic this is. Legilimens!"
Harry had been preparing himself for an assault on his mind, and trying, as always, to throw up a wall between himself and the inevitable punch of Snape's mind. As he heard the incantation, he hurled his remaining power at Snape's mind, hoping, but not expecting as he hadn't done this all summer, to blunt the blow.
What happened, however, was much more surprising.
Snape flew backwards across the room, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor. When he got up, his face was bright red – not, in Harry's opinion, really his colour.
"What did you do, Potter?"
"I tried to empty my mind, and then started to build a wall between us again," answered Harry truthfully. "Then I wasn't going to get it finished, so I threw the remaining power at you to try to protect myself."
"Interesting," mused Lupin. "Harry, I wonder if you would just let Professor Snape enter your mind unhindered for a moment?"
"All right…" Harry agreed reluctantly. He wasn't really in the mood to have his worst memories dragged up.
"Legilimens!"
Again, Harry waited for the blow of Snape's mind. And again, he felt – nothing. He opened his eyes to see Snape standing in front of him with a look on his face as though he was struggling again something enormously powerful. Then, abruptly, he stopped, and opened his eyes.
"I cannot break into his mind, Lupin. Somehow he has become an extraordinarily accomplished Occlumens between the break-up of school and now. There is nothing more I can teach him."
With that, he turned on his heel and left the room, leaving Harry and Lupin standing amazed in the centre of the kitchen.