Chapter Three: Summer Training at Grimmauld Place
Harry woke up to find Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye in his face. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Harry jumped out of bed, and fell on the floor in a tangled pile of blankets. "Gotcha," said Moody.
"Don't scare me," said Harry crossly. His heart was still beating fast from the incident. It's not every day you wake up to that big blue eye right in your face.
Moody left, laughing about how easy it had been to scare Harry. Harry got up, and walked downstairs to the kitchen. In the kitchen, he found Tonks, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Moody, Dumbledore, Ron, and Hermione.
"Good morning, Harry," said Dumbledore. "As you know, we will be volunteering our time this summer to train you for the final battle. Instead of having a schedule like that at Hogwarts, you three will do Potions with Tonks on Monday. On Tuesday, you'll have Charms with Professor Flitwick, on Wednesday, you will have animagi lessons and Transfiguration with McGonagall, on Thursday, Ron will study Occulmency with Tonks, while I work with Harry on certain things. Finally, on Friday, Remus, will work on physical training with you."
"Thank you, sir, but what about Hermione?" Harry asked.
"I don't get to see my parents much anymore, so I'll be spending the rest of the summer with them, but I will work on animagi training on my own," Hermione replied.
Dumbledore handed her a snicker's wrapper, and she disappeared.
"Anyways," Tonks interrupted, "Today is Monday, and it's all ready 8:00, so it's time to get started."
"How will we do everything in only four sessions of each class?" Asked Harry.
"I will be putting a time spell on the Drawing Room, so that an hour in there is a minute out here.
Potions with Tonks was a lot better than potions with Snape. Tonks wasn't always breathing down his neck, and she was a lot more patient. Even though he would never admit it, even Ron seemed to enjoy the subject.
"Today, we'll start with Veritaserum, then move on to healing potions, and poisons. This will be an abbreviated NEWT level course, and by the time it's over, you should be able to pass your NEWT."
"What if I didn't get an O on my OWLS?" Harry asked.
"That reminds me," Tonks said, tripping over the carpet as she darted across the room. Here are your OWL results. All mail coming into Grimmauld Place is magically scanned, and there is a two week delay to let spells wear off."
She handed him and Ron a think envelope bearing an official looking seal. "You first," he told Ron.
OWL Results for Ronald B. WeasleyTransfiguration: E
Herbology: E
Potions: A
Astronomy: A
Charms: E
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
History of Magic: T
Divination: D
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Total: 7 OWLS
"I got seven OWLS, and an A in potions, so I guess I can't become an auror anymore," said Ron with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Congratulations, " said Tonks and Harry at the same time.
"Just because you don't take the class doesn't mean you can't sit in on the NEWT," Tonks said. "If you work hard here, you should be able to pass your potions NEWT at the start of your 6th year."
"Wicked," said Ron. "What did you get Harry?"
OWL Results for Harry J. PotterTransfiguration: O
Herbology: E
Potions: E
Astronomy: A
Charms: E
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O Star
History of Magic: T
Divination: A
Care of Magical Creatures: O
An O star is the Highest grade ever recorded: 150 percent.
Total: 7 OWLS
"Wow, "said Ron. "Eight OWLS, and one O!"
"Did you know your mum got an O Star in Charms, and your dad got one in Transfiguration? It must run in the family." Tonks said.
"I can't believe that I passed Divination. Maybe predicting my own death is all there is to it."
Tonks laughed. "Anyways, we had best start our lesson for today."
She started by teaching them how to remember which ingredients. Instead of the way Snape taught, she told them short little rhymes, and acronyms to remember ingredients, time, and what not to do. They worked steadily until 7:30 PM outside time, stopping only for meals. By the end of the day, they each had a huge cauldron of veritaserum simmering over the fire. It would have to simmer for 30 days inside time, or twelve hours outside time, and then they would cast a spell on it, and let it cool. Then they could test it, and if it worked, Tonks would let them divide it into small containers and keep it.
They left the Drawing Room, and went off to their rooms, after what felt like (and actually was) thirty days, after telling Ron goodnight, Harry sat down at his desk, and filed away his notes for the day, and began to read his Marauder's Handbook. By eight o'clock, he fell asleep, exhausted. There were spells on the drawing room that kept him from falling asleep.
The next morning, Harry awoke, feeling wide awake, and ready for another day. There was an odd feeling of power beneath his skin, and went into his bathroom for a shower. He showered, and walked down to the kitchen, and made some breakfast. No one was up yet, so he sat down and began to eat.
Ten minutes later, Ron walked in, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Mornin' Harry" He muttered, and began to eat his breakfast.
"Good Morning, Ron" Harry replied. "I see you're wide awake today."
They were interrupted a few minutes later by the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick. "Good morning, boys. Please follow me to the drawing room."
They got up, and following the vertically challenged professor to the Drawing Room.
"What we will be doing in this class is stuff far beyond NEWT level. We will start with a very special charm today. The Unplotttable charm doesn't require a lot of power to do, but the more powerful the wizard, the more area it can cover at once. This house is already protected by the charm, so we will have to portkey somewhere else to do it. I assume you know what the charm does, by the way. We have to work fast to do the rest of the day's lesson." he squeaked.
"Doesn't it prevent a building from showing up on a map?" Asked Ron.
"Bravo," Flitwick said. A clock chimed 8:30.
"The incantation is nusquam perscribo, but like many complex charms, it requires a lot of focus. Every square inch of the foundation must be covered. It's easy to see where you've hit and missed, because the stones will glow purple for a few days after getting hit. Emotions are the most powerful thing in magic. Think of the most meaningful thing in your life when you cast the charm, to put more power behind the spell, so you can cover a wider area. It's time for us to be off, so grab this portkey here," Flitwick said, fumbling in his robes.
They grabbed the portkey, and reappeared next to a very familiar house.
We're going to make the Burrow unplottable?" Ron asked in disbelief.
They went downstairs, and Flitwick demonstrated on one small section, so they knew what to do. Harry was thinking of the most meaningful thing in his life. He knew, without a doubt that it would be the Marauder's Handbook.
"Nusquam perscribo," Harry yelled, forcing as much power as he could into the spell. A purple light shot out of his wand, and almost half of the foundation glowed purple. Harry collapsed, and sank into unconsciousness.
After reviving Harry, Flitwick showed him what he had done, and told him to sit down and have a drink, while he worked with Ron. Harry walked upstairs, got a glass of water, a wizard map of the area, and waited. After two hours, the Burrow disappeared from the map. Finally, they portkeyed back to Grimmauld Place. They at lunch, and began memorizing spells. They worked until 7:30 outside time that evening, when Flitwick dismissed them for dinner.
After dinner, Harry went to his room, and continued reading the Marauder Handbook. He was almost to the chapter when they created the map, when he fell asleep.
The next day, Harry woke up, eager to see what his animagus form would be. After a quick shower and breakfast, he entered the Drawing Room with Ron. McGonagall, being her strict self, told them how hard this class would be, but when it was done, they could easily pass their NEWTS. They spent the morning learning how to animate objects.
"Animating objects is very complex. It can be useful in battle, because solid objects are the only thing that can stop the killing curse, Clothing obviously won't do anything, nor will dragon hide, but certain metals will deflect or absorb the curse."
"Just like Dumbledore did," Harry muttered.
"What did he do?" McGonagall asked.
"At the Department of Mysteries, he animated the Statue of Magical Brethren to block curses."
"Very powerful wizards can do that. Today, we'll start with the chair. To animate it, you need an incantation, a complex wand movement, and last but not least, you need to focus. Focus on exactly what you want the object to do. If you lose focus before you're done telling it what to do, it will stop. You can tell it to do something until a specific event happens, so you don't need to concentrate on it the whole time. The incantation is Inanimate Imperio, and no, it is not unforgivable to use this light side version on inanimate objects. Wizards often animate basic household equipment, such as brooms, cooking utensils, etc."
McGonagall summoned two chairs from across the room, and they set to work. Harry discovered that he had no problem animating the chair, and so he moved on to animating three tables to stop stunners McGonagall fired at him. Ron was right behind him, but he could only animate one statue at a time. Finally, at the end of the Day, around 4:00PM outside time, it was time to find out their animagus forms.
McGonagall went to the kitchen, and returned with two goblets of potion. "Add one hair to this potion, but don't drink it. It's the animagus revealer potion. This takes a year to brew, and has a one month shelf life, but we had it under a time stop spell, so it's still good."
They took the goblets, and added the hairs. Above Ron's goblet, a large German shepherd formed, and above Harry's, an owl appeared, followed by a sleek, black wolf. None of them had any distinctive markings.
"Well, I must say, Mr. Potter, I'm very impressed. There hasn't been a multi-magus since Dumbledore."
"Wicked, "said Ron.
Talking about their forms, they walked to the kitchen, ate dinner, and went up to their rooms. Once again, Harry opened the Marauder's handbook to the chapter where they created the map. Harry scanned over it, memorizing the spells required to do that, and trying to figure out how the Marauders had learned those spells. He then decided to make a map of Grimmauld place, but he had a much better idea. He would create a multi-sectioned map, that would show where each member of the order was at all times, their status, and who was around them. He found a huge piece of parchment on his desk, and began to enchant it. Finally, at midnight, he finished it. Tomorrow, each member would need to put one drop of blood in each square. He also added a privacy feature that would be activated when the member was in Grimmauld place, their house, or Hogwarts.
The next morning, Harry woke up, felling refreshed. He looked at the clock. It was 8:30AM outside time—he was late. He hurriedly showered and dressed, and rushed downstairs to find Dumbledore eating breakfast in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Did you get a good night's sleep?"
"I did, thank you, professor"
"Anyways, over the next month, we will work on teleportation, occulmency, leglilmency, wandless magic, creating portkeys, and whatever else comes up. Today, let's start with teleportation. Teleportation appears to be silent apparition, but there are no know wards that can prevent one from teleporting anywhere. I trust you will not abuse this power when you get back to Hogwarts."
"No guarantees," Harry said.
"I could have expected as much. Your father was exactly the same. He avoided many a detention by teleporting out. Anyways, the key to teleportation is imagining yourself somewhere else."
"I think I may have done this before, back when I was younger. Once, I ended up on the roof of the school."
"You may have. I know your father learned to teleport over the summer between his first and second years."
Dumbledore spent the next few hours (drawing room time) going over the theory behind teleportation. He said that like apparition, it required a spell to do it the first time, but not after the first time. Harry was able to teleport anywhere in Grimmauld place before lunch. After lunch, Dumbledore told him to teleport to Hogwarts, and get the eagle quill off of his desk. The distance made it a bit harder to teleport, but he was still able to do it, although the first time, he landed outside the gargoyles, instead of in the office. The trip back to Grimmauld place was a lot easier.
After that final teleportation exam, Harry learned the theory behind portkeys, and anti-portkey wards. "It requires an incantation, a wand movement, and focused thoughts on what the portkey will do, such as where it will go, how it will activate, how many times will it be used, etc. The incantation is Portus, and the wand movement is a triangle, like this."
Dumbledore demonstrated how to make a portkey, and Harry gave it a shot. By the end of the day outside time, he could create a portkey to do just about anything, and had just about mastered occulmency. He walked into the kitchen, to find Ron eating some dinner. He sat down with him.
"Huwashurde," said Ron.
"Excuse me, but what does 'Huwashurde' mean?" Asked Harry.
Ron swallowed. "How was your day?" He asked.
"Great! I can teleport just about anywhere and take one passenger and two trunks. How was your day?"
"It was ok, I still can't keep Tonks out of my mind, but at least I can knock her out with my wand."
They chatted happily about their day, then walked upstairs. Harry did his occulmency exercises, and went to bed early, knowing that he would have physical training tomorrow.
On Friday morning, Harry awoke at seven o'clock outside time, and walked downstairs. He found Remus in the kitchen, sipping on some tea. Ron walked up behind him, and sat down at the table.
"Good morning, Harry, Ron. We won't be using the drawing room, so I guess I'll brief you in here over some breakfast. On Friday's, you two will be working with me on physical training. We will cover basic kung-fu, a bit of fencing, and how to integrate magical and muggle dueling. We will also cover magical survival skills. Every day, you will need to work out—"
"Every Day?" Ron asked.
"Yes Ron, From seven o'clock in the morning to seven thirty in Drawing Room time, you will run laps, do pull-ups, sit-ups, and lift weights. By building your physical strength, you will increase your magical strength as well. "
"Where will we run," Harry asked.
"Good question." Remus replied. "We can't run around here, so we would have to do it around Hogwarts. We will use the room of requirement, since it can handle the time difference. Harry can teleport there, but Ron and I will take a portkey. We should be off now, so Ron, grab this portkey, Harry, meet us there."
Harry teleported to the room of requirement, and shortly afterwards, Remus and Ron activated their portkey and joined him.
That day was very strenuous. The time spell kept them from getting too tired. They ran almost ten miles, and started a weight lifting program. It felt like almost a month in each day, and by the end of it, Harry was in considerable better shape. Now, each day, he would work out for a little more than a day inside the room, but it would only be half an hour outside the room.
On Saturday morning, Harry woke up and dressed in his red and gold robes. Today was a special day, because Dumbledore had decided to take Harry to the ministry for a special surprise. "With the ongoing war, the minister feels it is necessary for people who are capable of creating portkeys should be able to do so without registering them," he had said two days ago.
They teleported to the visitor entrance, and dialed 62442, which Harry noted this time spelled magic. "Welcome to the ministry of magic. Please state your name and your business."
"Albus Dumbledore, chief warlock on the wizengamot is escorting Harry Potter to a portkey creation exam."
A single badge fell out of the change report, which said Harry Potter – Portkey Exam. Dumbledore explained, "Since I'm on the wizengamot, I don't need a badge."
"Please register your wand with the security booth inside the atrium." The booth said.
They were lowered down into the ministry. Harry's heart jumped, as he saw the place where Voldemort had lured him last year. They walked over to the security booth, where the guard was sound asleep. Harry revived the man with his wand, and the man, who was very embarrassed, took Harry's wand. "Eleven Inches, Holly, Phoenix Feather, been in use for almost six years?"
"That's correct."
"Wait a minute. You're Harry—"
"Quiet," said Dumbledore, escorting Harry to the lift. They went to the Department of Magical Transportation, where they met Basil Prewett.
"I think I've met you before," said Harry. "Were you working with the incoming crowds at the Quidditch World Cup?"
"Yes, I was," said Basil, pleased that Harry had recognized him. "Anyways, if you can create a portkey, this test won't be hard at all. All you need to do, is make me three portkeys," said Basil, handing Harry three pieces of metal. "I need one to go across the room, and activate at, 10:30, which is about five minutes away."
"Portus," said Harry, moving his wand in a triangle. The metal glowed blue for a few seconds.
"Amazing," said Basil. They grabbed the portkey, and waited. At exactly 10:30, they appeared in the circle across the room.
"Next, you will need to create a portkey to the Leaky Cauldron and back, which activates when three people touch it," Basil said, glancing at Dumbledore, who nodded. Harry figured it was for security reasons.
"Portus," said Harry. Once again, the second metal chip glowed blue, Harry and Basil grabbed it. A few seconds later, Dumbledore touched it, and they appeared in the Leaky Cauldron.
They picked up the portkey again, and reappeared back in the testing room. "Finally," said Basil, "you need to make a portkey that takes us to location depicted in this picture, that activates any way you want." Basil held up a picture of a beach somewhere.
Harry decided to make this portkey special. It would activate when he touched it. "Portus," he said again. The metal disk glowed blue, and Basil picked it up, Dumbledore grabbed it, knowing what kind of portkey had been created. They appeared on the beach, and portkeyed back to the ministry.
"Excellent Job, Mr. Potter," said Basil, handing him a small card. "Here's your license. Once you sign it, it will come active, and will laminate itself. I need to go do an apparition exam." he said, and walked out of the room.
Harry read the license. It had his name on it, and information about his wand. On the back it had the rules for creating portkeys, which basically prevented them from being left where muggles could accidentally pick them up. At two o'clock, Harry teleported back to his room at Grimmauld place.
Over the next few weeks, Harry trained hard. By the end of August, he could easily pass his NEWTS. He had mastered wandless magic, occulmency, invisibility without a cloak, and could transform into either of his animagi forms as well. He had learned hundreds of charms, and surprisingly remembered them all. He could fell the magic below his skin, pouring through his veins. On August 31st, He packed his new trunk with all of his school supplies, and a foe glass, but left his most important possessions, like his invisibility cloak, marauders handbook, and the map at Grimmauld place. He knew he could easily teleport to Grimmauld place and back if he needed anything. At ten o'clock, he went to bed, excited about going back to Hogwarts, and the fact that he could probably be better than Hermione in their classes.
Please Review!
Review Responses
Milky Neon - Thank you for all of your reviews. I hope you like the length of this chapter: Over 3,000 words is a lot more than I normally write for school ;-)
captain-alex-obvious - Thank you. I'll try to update at least every two weeks. I just started high school, so I have a lot of homework, and it's hard to find time for writing.
Egyptian Flame - Thank you. I really like your fanfic, Drastic Measures. I don't realistically think Harry will try to kill himself, but I am glad that he doesn't die. I don't really like a manuplitive Dumbledore, but I can't make Harry have a major dissagrement with him in my fanfic because it will mess up the plot a bit.
Next Update: Sometime before September 19th, but check my profile for updates on where I am.