Slytherin Attitude

Decision time – July 1st, 1996

Harry's mind was stuck in fast forward. The day before, he had fallen asleep immediately after coming back from his little jaunt with Moody and predictably he had woken up in the middle of the night, but without any nightmare this time. After tiptoeing to the kitchen and grabbing something to eat, he had found himself back on his bed with nothing left to do but reflect on what he had glimpsed in his little trip.

The sheer misery of those kids was staggering. The sight of the Indian youngster lying in the street was replaying in his mind over and over. How could anyone do this to another human being? His brain couldn't understand it. He thought only Voldemort could be that evil. And that thought brought his own fate crashing on his mind. What could he do? What kind of a chance did he have? He had no hope of defeating him. Not enough power, not enough preparation, not enough time. And that brought him back to Moody and what he had said about training. And thinking about Moody made him think about what he had seen in Africa. And so his mind was running in circles. And that's how Moody found him, when he suddenly appeared in Harry's room around eight.

"You are still not paying attention, kid" boomed the old Auror.

"Are you so sure?" answered immediately Harry and he lifted his pillow to show that he had his wand pointed toward Moody's midriff.

"Better" just growled Moody. "So do you still think that you have it so bad?"

"I told you yesterday. I got your point, Moody. I'm not that dumb. I haven't had the happy childhood of Hermione or Ron, but it could have been worse. Alright!" Harry hoped that Moody would get the point as well He didn't want to have this conversation, so he tried another tactic.

"Is there anything we can do for these kids?"

"For these children, not specifically, no. But you can make sure that others don't follow the same path."

"How?"

"What do you think would happen to 'Mudbloods' or even Halfbloods if Voldemort succeeded?"

"Oh!" Harry was shocked. He had never had thought about what was Voldemort's goal or what he would do if he arrived in power.

"Quite a vocabulary you have there! Do you mind if I sit. I believe this is going to take some time" said a grinning Moody as he sat on the chair which had been near Harry's bed since the day before.

"What can I do? I can't fight him. I'm just going to die… "

"Eventually… Yes!" said Moody with a smile, while nodding.

"That helps. Thanks Moody" said Harry also smiling despite himself. Harry felt refreshed by the no nonsense, almost factual attitude of Moody. It felt somewhat better than the false reassuring and the platitudes of his friends and the annoying enigmatic ways of Dumbledore.

"No Harry. I'm dead serious. Pardon the pun. Yes you are going to die. So am I, so is everybody around you. I know that's not something the young mind has an easy time to get around. The real question is what do you want to do with the time that you have left, be it one day, one year or one century."

"I just want to be normal. Not the Boy-who-lived, not the saviour of the wizarding world. Just Harry. Normal Harry."

"Do you know who you sound like when you say that? Someone close!" asked a smirking Moody.

"No. Who?"

"Come on kid. Who praises normality beyond anything around you? Who hates the 'abnormal', the 'freaks'?"

"Oh Merlin! Petunia, Vernon" He abruptly realized that he had unconsciously copied his uncle mind set. Harry was in shock. Since he had entered the wizarding world and discovered he was famous, he had wanted nothing but to be normal, to escape the fame. And now he discovered that it was nothing but the reproduction of what he had heard said again and again by his hated tutors.

Moody had done it for a second time. He has challenged his outlook on life. And once more, Harry found his view of the world wanting. He looked at Moody and almost whining, said "What am I going to do? Moody, what can I do?"

"The way I see it, you got only two choices. Want to know?"

Harry didn't answer. He just nodded.

"I know there is a prophecy hanging between you and Him. I just know the first two lines as some others in the Order, kid. So, first and obvious is Carpe Diem! Compared to your classmates, you got a rotten childhood … and you seem destined to have a shitty time to come. So make the most of what you have. Seize the day. Grab the Potter inheritance which is waiting for you and have a life of fun. Do what strikes your fancy, party, travel, prank Dumbledore, eat as much as you want… you need to do that anyway, sleep when you need it, with who you want. Yes I mean having sex. Don't look so surprised. No need to blush either. You'll be sixteen in a few weeks for Merlin sake. Maybe you'll find out that fame can be fun… Anyway. Have fun, run at the other end of the earth and wait for him to find you… Because make no mistake, he will find you. And one of you will die. Probably you…"

'I don't think I could do that. Sounds fun though.' thought Harry. "Or?"

"Realize that what's important in life is to do what's right, not what's easy. That we all die and that in the end it's better to die being proud of what you have done. I like to be able to look at myself in the mirror when I shave in the morning… even if I could do with Tonks' Metamorphmagus abilities." The last was said with a self deprecating smirk. Moody continued with more strength. "I can say I am proud of what I have accomplished with my life. I do have a few regrets but no remorse. You will make mistakes as we all do; some will be more painful than others but you can't let them rule your life. What you must do is train and train and plan and train again and plan again… and kill Him and then you can have the life you choose … and you can be proud of yourself… and if you lose… you'll still know that you have done whatever you could... nobody can ask more that that from you… not even yourself…"

As passionate as it was, as truthful as it seemed, Moody's speech had one major flaw in Harry's mind and he couldn't let it pass.

"Come on Moody. I've lost before I even tried. He is the most powerful dark wizard of the century, perhaps of the millennium. What kind of a chance do you think I have? What chance would have a squib against you?"

"Excellent"

"Oh?"

"Are we there again? … Harry a squib could kill me easily as long as it's not in a duel. He just has to sneak his way to my bed at night and slit my throat…or bring a Muggle shotgun and shoot me in the back."

Harry was silent. And Moody continued, smirking. "Could it be that you had something more dramatic in mind… Something like a final battle with the Death Eaters on one side, the Order of the Phoenix and a few Aurors on the other. On the Quidditch pitch of Hogwarts maybe. After the ritual insults and an extenuating fight, you would finally square it off against old V and you would fight it out in the sunset. And at the end only one would stand…"

Moody paused for a moment. Harry was blushing. He had indeed visualized something like this in his dreams. Except that everybody on his side died and he usually woke up when Voldemort threw the death curse at him.

"It's very romantic, kid. But it won't happen. This is a guerrilla war, a war of terror and influence. There won't be pitched battles, only skirmishes. But we can discuss this later. My point is that you can defeat him. You don't have to be more powerful or more knowledgeable… We just have to outsmart him … and you'll deal the killing blow if that is your fate."

Moody stopped again. He stood up and looking at Harry, said "So what is it going to be, kid, partying or training?"

Moody's out of the box thinking had opened unexplored vistas in Harry's mind As surprising as it was, Harry couldn't help but find himself suddenly hoping against all odds. He thought back to his different encounters with Voldemort, 'Maybe he's right. Maybe I have a chance. For all his evil, it's not like Tom has an overwhelming success history after all.' He found out that he had never really had a choice but it didn't seem to bother him anymore. And with more resolve that he had ever felt, he turned to Moody and just answered "Training".

As he said that, he suddenly had the weird feeling that a page had been turned in his life but he didn't have time to reflect on it as Moody brought out of his backpack what looked like a metal handle. Moody walked toward the wall between the bed and the window, he pressed the contraption on the wall and suddenly a door appeared where none was before.

"Come on, kid let's go and visit our training barracks." Said a smiling Moody.

Harry dutifully followed the old Auror in a very large room full of training equipment.

"These are mainly Muggle training machines which have been enchanted to fit a wizard's training. They come from the Auror training camp. Running mat, stepper, exercise bike, rowing machine. That's for the endurance and the cardio training. And over there, various benches for developing your strength. And finally in that corner, the swimming pool.

At that, Harry looked at Moody with surprise. "Uh! … Swimming pool you said… sorry but that looks more like a giant tub to me"

Moody just chuckled and continued toward opposite the one they had entered. "You'll see kid! You'll see! And through this door, we should find our living quarters."

They entered a large room beautifully decorated in red and gold. It actually looked a lot like the Gryffindor's common room at Hogwarts. Moody seemed uncharacteristically sheepish and seeing Harry's smile he just shrugged "Once a Gryffindor …"

They each had a nicely appointed room. Harry's was a light blue while Moody's was pure white, but what surprised Harry the most was the balcony. It was very large, between three to four hundred square feet. A couple of very comfortable looking armchairs would allow anyone to relax and to enjoy the extraordinary scenery far below. On the left was an unknown fjord. You could see wild waves crashing on the shore. In front of them and reaching almost as far as the eye could see, was a dense forest and to the right in the background Harry could discern the peaks of a mountain chain.

"This is incredible." whispered Harry. He was awed by the fabulous view. "Where is it?" did he ask as it was obvious that it wasn't Surrey.

Moody, speaking low as well answered after a moment. "Not in Kansas anymore…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself. This view is 'borrowed' from southern Chile, in the Tierra del Fuego, not too far from the Argentinean city of Ushuaia. You are not looking at the sea but at the Beagle Canal which links the Atlantic and the Pacific, not very far from the Cape Horn . It's just for show anyway, just an illusion, rather like Hogwarts Great Hall night sky. So don't even think about taking a broom and going to the beach. You would have a nasty surprise about fifty feet out."

Harry couldn't tear himself from the balcony. Even knowing it was just an illusion, the view was riveting. So it was no surprise that he didn't hear the distinctive Pop of two new arrivals. Only the very excited voice brought him out of his dreaming.

"We is so happy to serve Mister Harry Potter! So happy! Do Mister Harry Potter and Mister Moody need something right now?"

Harry smiled as he recognized the voice of Dobby. When he turned around, he saw the familiar looking House elf had abandoned most of Hermione's hats and was now wearing only one pair of socks and one hat. He was accompanied by a shy looking female House elf.

"Hi Dobby! Hi Winky! What are you doing here?"

"They are going to take care of the meals and everything else. With the program I intend to have you follow. You won't have time to take care of such things as cooking or cleaning." said Moody as he dismissed both house elves.

At these words, Harry's mind stopped running in circles, and a feeling of dread crept up his spine.

"What about the Dursleys? They won't let me use this room. They won't let you stay here." It didn't strike Harry how welcome that sentence sounded to Moody's ears. He had the confirmation that Harry really was looking toward the training. So it was with a chuckle that he answered to a discomfited looking Harry.

"Don't worry! I'll take care of the swines." That last finally brought a smile to the teen's face.

"Dursley! You are a filthy pig! And I mean that!" And with a wave of his wand, Moody transfigured Vernon Dursley in a squealing hog.

"Not that he looks that different." muttered a very smug Harry.

The meeting with the Dursleys had not gone well. When Moody had entered the dining room of the Dursleys, they were having their breakfast, meaning that both Vernon and Dudley were stuffing their mouth while Petunia silently picked at her food. Seeing Moody, Vernon had immediately started sputtering about freaks and abnormal people. He had recovered fast and started yelling at the silent Harry who had appeared behind Moody. Things had gone downhill from there on. Hence the fat pig cowering in a corner.

Turning toward a cowering Petunia and Dudley, Moody boomed "Now. You are going to listen to me. I'm going to spend the summer in Harry's room, training him. We'll leave at the end of August. Until then, I will lock his door. Do not try to enter his room, you wouldn't be able to anyway. He'll be back next year. Is that clear?"

A shocked Petunia nodded silently. After a few seconds, she very softly asked "Are you going to leave him like that?" indicating her squealing husband. She looked like she was going to burst in tears any minute.

"Don't worry. He'll be back to his normal cheery self in a couple of hours. Don't let him out though. Something bad could happen to him in the meantime. He looks rather appetizing." chuckled Moody.

As Harry left the room, following Moody back upstairs, the last thing he saw was his aunt looking rather pensively at the now very quiet pig.

As soon as they were in Harry's room, Moody locked the door with a quick 'Colloportus' and went on to their common room. "That went well!" was the only thing he said before sitting on the couch in front of the direplace. He then turned his attention toward a medium-sized wooden box sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

With a tap of its wand, Moody activated the box. It slowly opened and split itself in two. On one side was what looked like a Quick-quotes quill, not unlike the one used by Rita Skeeter, and on the other was a bronze looking metal plate with a large hand imprint in the middle.

"Come on kid. Have a sit! Before we start your training, I need to know where you stand. Put your hand on that plate."

Harry bristled at Moody's tone. All his buried anger resurfaced in a flash. Without realizing it, he grinded his teeth together and balled his fist. Through clenched teeth, he said slowly "I won't do anything before you tell me exactly what it's about. I am fed up being told to do something and not why. If you want me to do something, you better explain why or else I'm bloody gone and I don't care what you or Dumbledore will say about it."

Moody was taken aback. He had not seen Harry in such a mood yet. For this training to work, he needed Harry to be willing. So he reassessed rapidly what he was going to tell him and started slowly.

"Alright! I apologize for that. You see, I'm more used to training Aurors. And that means that they do what they are told to do… no questions asked. But I agree your case is a bit different. On the other hand, you better get used to this if you ever want to make it as an Auror. Anyway, before we start your training, I need to understand where you stand in terms of physical and magical development."

"Are they linked?" interrupted a somewhat surprised Harry.

"Yes! Not in the sense that if you are bigger, you'll be more powerful, but … well let's just say that how much along you are in your physical development links to how much developed is your magical potential."

Harry suddenly felt very much aware of how he looked. "And you think that I'm not developed enough yet." and it sounded more like an affirmation than a question.

"I just want to know how much and how strongly I need to push you to bring you to your full potential."

"How come I have never heard of anything like that at Hogwarts? Wouldn't that be useful there?"

Moody looked at him and just said "What do you think kid?"

"Stop answering my questions by another question and stop calling me kid!" Harry said somewhat hotly. Moody's attitude was downright annoying and he felt his anger returning.

Moody stood up and locking his eyes in Harry's, barked "I will not respond to questions that you can answer yourself and I will stop calling you Kid when you stop acting like one"

Neither of them moved, but after a while, Harry turned away and said softly "Because it would cause many problems if student had any clear idea of what their potential was. Some would lord it over the rest while others would feel like second grade…"

"You are mostly right. We use it sometimes in Auror training to see if a candidate is going to be powerful enough for the job or if we suspect someone need some special training. But it's not and will never be widely used. Actually most of the times, the people who are subjected to it don't know what it's used for." Moody sat once again on the couch and nodded for Harry to do the same as he went on, "But in your case, I suspect that your development has been stunted by your upbringing. Even if you didn't have it as bad as some others, you are obviously still very short for your age. I need to see where you stand so that I can set up the most efficient training plan for the limited time we have." answered Moody in a perfectly normal tone of voice, as if they had not bee on the verge of another shouting match.

As Moody had been emphasizing the words limited time, Harry smiled despite himself. He had the strange feeling that Moody was controlling him somewhat but he nonetheless deliberately placed his hand over the imprint.

As soon as he had done it, a soft white glow surrounded his hand and Harry felt his hand burning. He tried to pull his hand away to no avail. He couldn't move. The pain increased rapidly. From the corner of his eye, he could see Moody watching calmly, not looking alarmed at all. Soon, the pain became unbearable. When Harry felt he was going to pass out, he suddenly stopped hurting. Looking down, Harry saw that a blue halo had formed around his hand, 'protecting' it from the white glow, soothing his hand. The Automated Quill started to write down and Moody bent down to look at the results of the test.

After maybe thirty seconds, the Quill stopped and the white glow disappeared along with the blue halo. Harry pulled his hand away as fast as he could. He was sweating profusely. As he rubbed his hand mechanically, Harry turned toward the old Auror and asked somewhat plaintively "What was that?"

"Hmmm… I may have forgotten to tell you that the procedure was a little painful if harmless" said Moody rather distractedly.

"Thanks for informing me now" snorted Harry "I could have told you that. So what are the results?"

"Well.. You have further to go than I thought" Moody looked a bit shaken by the results.

As he didn't seem to be willing to elaborate further, Harry pushed the point. "Come on Moody! What does it say exactly?"

For a moment, Moody looked like he didn't want to say more but seeing that Harry was boiling, he relented. "At your age, you should be between 60 and 80 percent of your potential. You are barely at 15. As for your potential, it's good enough, Kid, good enough."

He obviously wanted to let it go but Harry didn't feel like it. "Moody! How much potential!" he said threateningly.

"You are out of the scale. Out of the bloody scale, Kid." said Moody, sounding really astonished. He seemed to shake himself and continued in a more forceful tone "I can't tell you more. I don't know exactly how powerful you can get… so leave it be! I need to talk to Dumbledore. I'll be back in a while."

And on that note, Moody disapparated, leaving a stunned Harry alone with his thoughts.