Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. They all belong to our beloved J.K.Rowling

AN: Thanks to those who review my story.

AN2: Is this harry and ginny fic….I don't know…since I hardly meet pretty, bitc…hy, smart, and cool in real life…they all dyed their hair. LOL. To be serious…since harry is still in his quest to find 'true' power and his hormones are running wild…a girl for life…waaaay over his head. Now, if harry at times is being a moron..well…don't you ever had a situation…others would say…" why didn't you do it this way " (things of this nature).

Chapter 9: Still A Normal Life

Students were enjoying breakfast and talking about the announcement Dumbledore made on the previous day. Dumbledore had announced that there would be a trip to Hogsmeade on Friday after the last class was over.

Harry's friends were all excited that there would be a Hogsmeads trip and they talked about places they wanted to visit. He wanted to join the conversation, but it would only increase his anger with McGonagall. He was not able to visit Hogsmeade as McGonagall had pointed out to him that with Sirius's death his permission was void. The fact that he also had no other guardian in the wizarding world, since only his parents had the authority to do so, she had no option but to revoked his Hogmeads visits. He would get back his privilege to visit Hogsmeade in his seventh year, as he would be of age. She was still trying to force him to accept the order's extra training. He, of course, had other plans. He would try to find out whether his apparition could reach the outside world.

Harry was too immersed in his own thought, as he did not hear his friend Ron had been calling his name twice.

" harry…..HARRY, " Ron yelled at him.

" what's wrong mate….you seem to be in deep thought about something.. " Ron asked.

Harry smiled, " oh nothing….I'm just waiting for something is all "

Luna who had taken the liberty to sit herself in Gryffindor table asked, " it must be important by your expression "

Harry turned to Luna. " quite.. "

Hermione was worried that his friend was planning to sneak out again, " harry…I know that staying in Hogwarts while everyone else is at hogsmeade is not exactly fair….but mcgonagall is right…. "

Harry raised his eyebrows. " what made you think that I was planning to sneak out from hogwarts? " He asked in challenging tone.

Hermione glared at him and said, " I know you harry….but it's for the best…you know voldemort is out there, " she was cut off by Harry, " …..and what makes you think that you're any safer from him "

Before Hermione could respond, Malfoy and his cronies had sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. The professors were already on their guard as to keep Malfoy and his friends from real harm.

" well…well…I heard that ever since your mutt died..you're no longer allowed to visit hogmeads…pity " Malfoy sneered.

Ron was ready to fight. " malfoy…go away before " Ron started to say, but Malfoy cut him off, " before what…weasel ".

Neville jumped in and said, " it seem to me that you have forgotten my warning about messing with harry…..he almost put you in the mental ward malfoy…..do you want him to finish the job "

Malfoy turned his attention to the boy he used to bully. " potty here got me twice when my guard was down….and I assure you longbottom…potty will not get me three times " he said with hatred.

Harry, of course, had been reading on Malfoy from the start. " how's your mom….is she voldemort's whore now? " he said without emotion.

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were shocked that Harry was able to say something that cruel. Hermione was quick to scold, " harry that was out of line, " and again Malfoy cut her off, " I don't need you to defend me…. mudblood "

The moment Malfoy finished saying the foul word to Hermione, something outrageously funny had occurred.

All the Slytherin students and their head house were suddenly bald. If being bald was bad, their heads had also taken Gryffindor's color, red with gold polka dot. Laughter filled the great hall from others who had not suffered the same fate.

Snape stood up from his chair and yelled, " WHO EVER DID THIS BETTER COME FORTH… ", with Gryffindor's red face. More laughter filled the great hall.

" SILENCE OR 200 POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM EACH HOUSE " Snape bellowed, this time his face had gold polka dot. Students were holding their stomachs as their laughter had increased to an unbearable level.

Snape's nostrils flared. " 200 HUN… " He started to say but Dumbledore came to the rescue, " severus….no need to punish the innocents too….surely they are easy to reverse " with his eyes twinkling.

Snape was beyond angry, but he took out his wand nonetheless to reverse the prank. Big mistake, all Slytherin students and Snape robes had transformed into leafs, covering only their private areas.

Nobody thought Snape could have exceeded his maximum anger level, well, wrong. Snape had gone beyond very angry, whatever it was. Some students were actually passing out from laughing due to lack of oxygen.

Dumbledore glanced at the Gryffindor table trying to find the culprit, and he received a wink from his famous student.

Dumbedore coughed and said. " well it seems that the culprit had think ahead of time, " he had to paused as to stop his laughter from escaping. Everyone, however, saw the headmaster's beard twitched like never before.

Dumbledore continued, " my best guess is….all of you just have to wait until the curse or charm fades …..most likely for quite sometimes " he mentally added the last part.

" now….I believe it is time to go to class…chop..chop… " Dumbledore dismissed with mirth.

Draco Malfoy was livid as he would not be able to visit Hogsmeade in the state he was in and said, " what if this…this…what..ever this is…doesn't come off before we visit hogsmeade…this is insulting… wait till… " he did not finish with whatever he was going to say.

Harry saw his chance to kick Malfoy while he was down, " till father hears about this, malfoy…..I thought he's in azkaban rotting "

Hermione, Snape, McGonagall, and Malfoy glared at Harry Potter. Snape glared because he believed Potter had something to do with the prank. Malfoy glared because he truly hated Potter. McGonagall glared because Harry was making the matter worse. And, Hermione glared because Harry was very out of line.

Harry was not easily intimidated and replied, " that's right….you can only glare at me because you have neither the power nor the ability to stop me" with his glare of his own, which was the same glare he gave to the rat back in the infirmary. He, then, walked out from the great hall with a cold laugh. Everyone had no doubts that the-boy-who-lived was responsible for the prank.

" POTTER DID IT, HEADMASTER…I JUST KNOW IT " Snape bellowed to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore replied, " severus…do you have proof that mr. potter did this prank?.. " with ignorance.

Snape could only growled at the headmaster.

…………………………………………….

Harry was walking to Defense against the Dart Arts class, but stopped as he heard a girl yelled out his name.

" HARRY…HARRY….WAIT.. " Hermione yelled while trying to catch up to her friend. Ron followed not far behind.

As he waited, Harry was preparing for another argument with his female.

Hermione controlled her breathing, then, she fired away with her scolding, " harry, what you said to malfoy was really out of line…just because his father is in azkaban does not mean you should rub it to his nose "

" hermione, I do not care….and you do not have the right to tell me what to do…yes you are my friend…..and that is it…you are neither my mother nor my guardian…what I do is my business as long as it has nothing to do with you….. " Harry replied.

Ron although was reluctant to be in the middle said, " mate… hermione is right….I do not like malfoy…but I wouldn't treat him like you just did to him…..I mean who knows….other slytherin could be our ally……they might be hesitant to do so if you keep treating malfoy like you did… remember about the sorting hat's advice last year " with a little trepidation.

Harry plastered a very cold look, " so…I have to give those dunderheads an easy time to choose between what is right and what is easy…..if they are not brave enough to fight evil on their own.. then no thanks…I do not want them to be my ally…. "

" harry, you're not being reasonable…..as part of fighting evil, we must help others to be brave to fight evil…. " Hermione said in annoyance.

Harry raised his eyebrows. " well why don't you do it? " he asked icily.

Hermione huffed. " harry, whether you like it or not…you're the boy-who-lived…they would look up to you more than they would to me… "

Harry locked Hermione's eyes with his and said, " that is no excuse granger….if you always rely on one person to fight evil then be prepared to accept a massive failure….and like I have said earlier…you have neither the power nor the ability to stop me from doing whatever I wish to do..….if you want to stop me….stop voldemort first, then I would always listen to you " with the coldness of a dementor.

" harry, don't you care about us as your friends anymore?…you've been so cold lately…and acting like malfoy " Hermione said with teary eyes.

Harry looked at Hermione. " save your tear granger…this neither the time nor the occasion to shed your tears " he replied without emotion.

Ron was very surprised how cold his best mate had been lately and he had tolerated so far, but not this time. " all that fame seem to have gotten to your big head potter " Ron said coldly.

Harry's look became icier than already was. " ron….your weakness to have your own perspective and jealousy someday would become your downfall…… "

Hermione had never been so angry in her life and yelled, " you better not come crying to us when you needed help, potter! "

Harry raised his right eyebrow. " what makes you think I would be asking the both of you for help? "

Harry did not really want to say what he had said to his two best friends, but he felt that he must. He knew Ron did not really believe his own words before he even said anything. Ron's statements were merely from Hermione and his beliefs were merely too narrow-minded.

Ever since the school year started, Ron had become more confidence with himself. Ron had tasted fame by being a prefect, being Gryffindor's keeper, and being trained by the order, and he had also realized that fame was not all that cracked up to be. As the school year progressed, Ron's jealousy toward Harry's fame was pretty much gone. However, with Harry's recent creation, Ron's jealousy had come back quite strong, not as strong as his fourth year but came back nonetheless. His jealousy had come from the fact that Harry did not have to work hard for his recent fame.

Harry understood where Ron had come from with his jealousy and tolerated Ron's jealousy. However, he would not tolerate Ron's narrow-minded ness, as it was the biggest reason for Ron's own ignorance in Harry's affair. Ron's loyalty was what Harry respected the most about him, but his unwillingness to lead was what Harry tried to change. Ron unwillingness to lead was due to his fear to have his own perspective. His fear was not without a reason, however. Ron's fear was largely due to his mom. Mrs. Weasley sheltered her children too much and always sugarcoated or sometimes withheld not so nice information or news. Ron's mom considered being a prefect, being a head boy, having good grades, and working for the Ministry of Magic were great achievements. Ron was never thought to make his own path. Thus, Ron's confidence was never build to have its own foundation, unlike Neville Longbottom.

Neville was treated as if he were a disgrace by his grandmother, but deep inside he had a drive to prove her wrong. He took his first chance magnificently in his fifth year to prove his grandmother wrong. Neville definitely still had plenty more chances to prove himself.

Harry was very satisfied with his prank on the Slytherin's students and Snape. He was very confident that his prank would be a success, but he was not sure when it would have taken place. He recalled his previous night endeavors with mental chuckles.

………………………………….

(Previous Night)

Harry had been exploring Hogwarts with his newest method of transportation since the curfew started. He did not want to apparate around Hogwarts while its populations were still running around, after all apparating inside Hogwarts was impossible. He could not afford to have his secret ability discovered by anybody, which was why he still brought his invisibility cloak for assurance.

Harry had revisited the Chamber of Secrets. He almost passed out from the stench that filled the chamber when he apparated inside the chamber. He realized immediately the basilisk that he had killed was responsible for the stench he smelled. He ordered Dobby and Winky to dispose the carcass after taking its strong hide and fangs. The hide could be made into body armor for any physical attacks, as Harry remembered the hide protected the snake from the sword of Gryffindor. The fangs could be used for many dark arts potion that he planned to brew.

Dobby and Winky seemed hesitant at first to touch the king of all snakes. Harry, however, convinced them that the snake would not come back to life. While his two elves worked on disposing the basilisk's carcass, Harry resumed exploring Hogwarts' every inch and every corner.

" okay…this is getting boring…. " Harry mentally said to himself.

" what should I do next…..i'm too excited to go to sleep, "

Harry checked the library to see if it was empty of students.

" I seriously need to buy a new watch….hmm…11:45 already… still too early to go to bed "

Harry thought hard on some activities he could do.

" hey….i could start my prank on the slytherins…..but let's check first " He finally came up with an idea.

He checked the Slytherin tower to see if they all had gone to sleep.

" damn hole dwellers…..…I might as well read my dark arts books…but dobby and winky still cleaning the carcass "

" ..you idiot potter…couldn't you cast something so you won't have to smell the stench…. " He scolded himself for forgetting himself as a wizard.

" read dark arts books it is…until all the slytherins asleep " .

He popped back to the chamber and found Dobby and Winky had finished with disposing the basilisk's carcass. The basilisk's hide and fangs were laid on the spot where he found Ginny Weasley back in second year.

" they're fast…and no smell whatsoever…. " He said impressively.

" Dobby…. " Harry called his trusted house-elf.

Dobby popped back to the chamber. " yes harry potter sir… "

Harry smiled to his house elf and said, " I'm impressed with what you and winky have done, "

Harry continued after Dobby got his blush under controlled, " I need you to get all my dark arts books from my trunk…and dobby make sure no one sees them "

Harry had no intention to read all of his dark arts books, but somehow he felt like he had read all of them before. This time, however, he seemed to gain dark arts knowledge beyond his books. He knew the black sphere had caused him to gain dark arts knowledge beyond his books, and so he stopped himself from being caught in puzzles he liked to create.

He never knew until now that casting charms need not always used a wand, he always thought wizards must used their wands to perform magic. Dark enchanting was a way to perform magic where a wand was not required. The downside of dark enchanting was that it took a long time to perform and a very high level of concentration just for the simplest effects. Jinxes were some examples of dark enchanting. Once successfully performed, dark enchantments would be much more powerful and much harder to counter than wands' enchantments. Sorcerers for the Pharaohs of Egypt used dark enchantments to protect the Pharaohs' tombs.

Harry decided that he must mastered dark enchanting as quickly as he could. He wanted its endless possibilities. He also had decided to start using dark enchanting to prank the Slytherin students for practice until he mastered it.

Feeling confident with his knowledge, Harry decided to practice some advance dark curses first, then moved on to dark enchanting. His recent knowledge in dark arts had told him that so long his feeling of hatred and anger were gone after casting a curse, he had done the curse correctly. For some curses, however, he would only found out after they had connected to the recipient or object. He knew the unforgivable curse were some examples he would only found out after they had a connection. He now no longer wondered why the three unforgivable curses were not suitable for dueling with more than one skilled opponent.

Harry remembered back when he had cast 'despair' patronus on Malfoy, all his despair, helplessness, and sadness were gone immediately after the patronus was conjured. The most crucial points of casting advance dark curses were his intentions and feeling behind the curses. So long he was willingly wanted to hurt another person by a specific way, wand movements and incantations were not important. Like always, his strong feelings put power behind the curses.

Some of advance dark curses that Harry was practicing were Doblous Suffurus, Magicore Locous, Blasius, and Shieldus Suffurus.

When a wizard sent a curse, Blasius returned the curse back to him by casting directly at his curse. The curse once returned would have twice its original power, effect, and speed. This curse worked only to wizards or witches less powerful than the caster.

Since Adolles Cortium was a very important part for magical people to do magic, Magicore Locous made this area became the source of poisonous energy for the victim. The difference of magical power between the caster and the victim contributed to the potency of poisonous energy made by the victim's Adolles Cortium. Once the victim received the curse, the victim must not perform any magical activities that required energy from his or her Adolles Cortium. It would be a sure way to put oneself in a magical coma or death if the difference in power was too great. This curse could only be reversed either by the caster or by another wizard, who at least had the same power as the caster, with the counter curse Magicore Reverso.

A receiver of Doblous Suffurus curse would have had his or her entire body bones cracked to a muggle non-reversible point. The recipient of this curse must be treated immediately with magical treatment. Else, the victim would surely die.

Shieldus Suffurus was the strongest shield and the hardest to cast. The caster used his or her anger and hatred to protect him or herself from harm. This was the only shield created through the dark arts. Any curses, spells, or jinxes rebounded back by this shield would always ended up as a killing curse. The shield could rebound back at most five curses from five different people who had the same amount of power as the caster at the same time. The shield absorbed up to two curses from two different people who had more power than the caster at the same time

Harry had performed everything else in one hour but Shieldus Suffurus and he was starting to get frustrated. He had tried casting the shield for another one hour, but still no success. Harry knew that to cast the shield was to simply reverse the process when one casts the killing curse. Instead of using hatred and anger to harm another, he used his two feelings to increase his desire to protect himself. The trouble was that he always wanted to release them into something harmful.

Harry concentrated hard on Bellatrix, Voldemort, and Wormtail. He felt his anger and hatred accumulated and said, " shieldus suffurus " with a desire to protect himself.

He growled and said, " bloody hell…..how the hell can I use anger and hatred to protect myself……all I wanted is to kill those bastards…."

" not even my recent knowledge in dark arts contain clues how to do it…. " He said to himself.

" acch…forget it…..at least I performed the others quite well, "

He then decided to move onto dark enchanting, " alright…..dark enchanting is almost like charms but in mantra forms….and it is better to use an unknown or difficult language as it may help with my concentration….so I need to create a mantra with results I desire"

Harry wondered what kind of results he desired, until he remembered about his plans for the Slytherins. Harry wanted to do a general mass prank, but his book on pranks mentioned no information on how to do it. His knowledge of dark arts, however, helped him to come up with a way. And, what better way to practice other than to start using it immediately.

Harry checked the Slytherin tower after spending about 45 minutes to come up with a mantra. He popped to the Slytherin tower. He found the Slytherin common room empty of its population. Everything was still the same way as the first time he was there.

Harry looked around and headed toward the stairway for the sleeping quarters. " hmmm…can't have those morons walking in on me…... " He mentally said to himself.

guard this stairway…and make sure no one comes down Harry hissed to the thirty black mambas he had conjured.

yes, master the thirty mambas answered.

Harry stood in front of the Slytherin common room's entrance and started chanting or hissing his pantra (prank mantra).

Any who passes this gate would suffer a week of red and gold polka dot baldness for utterance the word mudblood…refusal to accept this fate would suffer red and gold polka dot face…. reversing this fate would result in using leaf for your most private parts…. and those who pass this gate would suffer the same fate as the person who utters mudblood…. He chanted this mantra in parseltongue for a good fifty five minutes, until he felt as if his magic were drained from his body.

After regaining his breath, Harry was about to pop back to the Gryffindor tower but remembered the thirty deadly snakes he had conjured. He originally wanted to leave those snakes as gifts, but he resisted his temptation to be so evil. He walked back to the Slytherin's stairway, vanished the thirty snakes, and popped back to his dormitory. He slept immediately as he lay on his bed with a sinister smile.

………………………………………

Harry was the first one to arrive at the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. Lupin walked out from his office as Harry was picking a place to sit.

" hello remus…how are you? " Harry greeted Lupin.

Remus smiled at his favorite pupil and 'nephew'. " hello harry "

" ready for the week to end, harry " Lupin asked.

" I'm indifferent…my classes are not that tough " Harry told his professor.

Harry suddenly felt that Lupin was anxious about something. Without hesitation, Harry snooped on his professor.

" What's this…remus wanted to duel me…interesting "

" harry, this is your last class for the day isn't it? " Lupin asked his pupil.

Harry plastered his curiosity look and answered, " why, ".

Remus forced down his anxiety and said, " could you stay after class…I want to discuss something with you "

Harry smiled. " of course….would I get extra credit for this.. " He said with a wink.

" sit down…smart arse.. " Lupin said with a mock growl.

Harry sat down at the front row and waited for the rest of the class to arrive. While he waited, Harry thought out how to beat Remus with nothing but magic taught at Hogwarts and some only up to fifth year for him. Three minutes later, all sixth year students had arrived and picked a place to sit. Hermione and Ron chose to sit four rows behind Harry, as they were still quite angry with him. Students who had not suffered the same fate as the Slytherins kept laughing at their classmates' appearances.

Lupin started the class, " alright…settle down please… "

After the students calmed down, Lupin began with his lesson for the sixth year students.

" now.. many of you have learned to cast a spell or a curse without saying its incantation in dueling class…..today we will learn how to increase your power behind a spell or a curse….this is very hard to do, but with practice it should be easier… " Lupin paused to breath.

"….to increase the power behind your spell…you must desire to have your spell's power increased and will it to happen… on top of trying to cast whatever spell " Lupin paused again to look around the students' eager faces.

Hemione shot her hand up within seconds after the professor paused his explanation. " yes ms. Granger " Lupin acknowledged.

" why would it be hard, professor? " Hermione asked.

Lupin smiled at her question. " can anybody answer her question " Lupin addressed the class as a whole.

Few students raised their hands and Draco Malfoy was one of those students. " go ahead mr. malfoy " Lupin said to Malfoy.

" ..because not only you must desire for your spell to have its power increased and will it to happen…..you must also concentrate on performing the spell….but when you concentrates too hard on trying to increase the power behind your spell….you forget about performing the actual spell " Malfoy explained in superior tone.

Blank expressions were majority of what Lupin saw on his students' faces.

Lupin mentally smirked and continued, " to understand what mr. malfoy had explained….let us practice in the quidditch pitch…and I have a surprise for you "

As the class walked to the quidditch pitch, every student boasted on how they could easily increase their spells' power. Some students commented about the worthiness of having muggleborns at Hogwarts after today's lesson.

The class finally reached the quidditch pitch; students saw six solid rock walls in parallel with 3 meters of space between them. Each wall was 1.6 meters in height, 5 meters in length, and .25 meter in width.

" these walls are for your practice….now…anybody can punch a hole through it….I would give you a month supply of butterbeers… " Lupin announced.

" that's it…a month supply of butterbeers.." Draco Malfoy sneered.

Many students wanted to hex Malfoy for his attitude, but none dared to actually curse the git. Not the boy-who-lived though.

" malfoy…why don't we have a bet…to spice things up a bit " Harry challenged.

Lupin saw the impending trouble tried to step in before anybody could get hurt…….Malfoy.

Lupin interjected, " now..now…no..need, -" but was cut off by Malfoy.

" let see how the great of a wizard potty is…I accept…name the terms " Malfoy said smugly. Malfoy was very confident he could beat Potter. His aunt trained him during the summer in dark arts, although his progress was very slow but it was still an advantage.

Harry had read Malfoy from the beginning. " so…you were trained in dark arts by your aunt during the summer…..let see how powerful you are… "

" simple…the loser must buy the other quidditch team players broomsticks …firebolts to be exact " Harry named the terms.

Malfoy smirked in triumph and said, " let me get this straight…if you can't punch a hole through any of these walls….you'll buy the entire slytherin's players new broomsticks "

Harry put on a 'serious' look and replied, " that's about right "

" how many times should we hit it, potter….of course I only need one hit.. " Malfoy said in a superior tone.

Every students and Lupin were in mixed emotions. Majority students wanted to see the-boy-who-lived put Malfoy back in his place. Lupin wanted to see how powerful his surrogate nephew was. The rests were too excited to decide what to feel. Hermione and Ron felt that Harry was way over his head, as they had seen Malfoy was quite powerful in dueling class.

Harry pretended to be all insulted. " fine….then…one hit " He snapped. Harry knew that Lupin also wanted to see this as Dumbledore himself had put his strongest protection ward on these walls. If Lupin had open that little bit of information, Harry would have not challenged Malfoy. He would have been in the Daily Prophet again for a student being able to match Hogwarts' Headmaster's power. Harry also wanted for Lupin to have some assurance that he was not as weak as people (the order) had thought.

" honestly remus, you worry too much….you were a marauder… dad and sirius would be disappointed…tch…tch.. " Harry mentally reprimanded his Professor.

" go ahead, malfoy….show me you power " Harry sneered.

Malfoy scowled at the boy-who-lived and prepared himself to launch the reducto spell. " REDUCTO " Malfoy bellowed. Big light shot out from Malfoy's wand and students felt Malfoy's spell was indeed powerful.

Malfoy's spell hit…and not a scratch on the wall. All students except two were shocked that Malfoy's spell did not even put a dent on the wall. Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini knew that Malfoy had nothing on the boy-who-lived.

Harry laughed very hard and looked at Malfoy. " was that what you call powerful….pitiful…and you call yourself better than muggleborns or halfblood… " Harry sneered.

Malfoy's face was very red and he coldly said, " why don't you show me….halfblood "

Harry walked to the same spot as Draco Malfoy did his spell, but was stopped by Pansy Parkinson. " that's right….only a halfblood would try to take down a wall after someone else had tried it.. " Pansy said in disgust.

" don't worry miss Parkinson if the wall has not been broken…then mr. potter pretty much has no advantage over mr. malfoy " Lupin explained to Pansy.

Harry wanted to really embarrassed Malfoy, so he asked, " what would you like me to do…malfoy…new wall or the same wall…doesn't matter for a powerful wizard like myself " in superior tone.

" it doesn't matter, potter " Malfoy spat.

Majority students were now very doubtful that Harry could even produce a spell half as powerful as Malfoy. They liked Hermione and Ron had seen what Malfoy was capable of. Only two students and a professor were excited to see how much power the boy-who-lived could produce behind his spell.

Harry walked to a different wall and turned to Lupin. " so I must desire for my spell to have its power increased and will it to happen… right " He asked the professor.

Many students groaned in disappointments at the boy-who-lived. Malfoy and his cronies were sneering at the boy-who-lived. Neville and Blaise were wondering what exactly Harry was doing.

Lupin nodded his head and replied, " yes..that's correct mr. potter "

Harry nodded and, this time, turned to Pansy. " you know Parkinson… this is the reason why I scored the highest grade in defense O.W.L last year… "

Harry turned back to the wall and concentrated, a little bit too much. He then released his spell softly, " reducto ".

If students were surprised with Malfoy, they were beyond it with the boy-who-lived, Neville and Blaise included. However, none was more surprised than the professor himself.

The light shot out from Harry's wand was too small to be considered powerful, but everyone felt Harry's powerful spell. Malfoy's powerful spell was not even come closed to half the power of Harry's powerful spell.

Harry's spell hit the wall and it went through like a hot iron on butter. A hole about the size of a tennis ball was made on the wall.

Harry looked at everyone and he smirked. " do you all honestly think that…anybody could take away the position of being the very best in defense against the dark arts from me… " He said in a very superior tone.

" I believe you owe me a month supply of buterbeer, professor… and malfoy…I would like to see every gryffindor players to hold firebolts by next week " Harry said in business like manner. Lupin gave him a wink.

" well….now….please do not be discourage if you don't succeed….so go ahead students….practice away.. " Lupin told the still shocked class.

By the end of class time, some managed to increase the power behind their spell, but no students managed to do what Harry had done. Harry kept giving Malfoy and his cronies a very superior smirk whenever there was a chance. Lupin had dismissed his class and assigned them to find two spells that would be difficult to cast with more power.

As Malfoy and his entourage passed him, Harry softly said, " just goes to show..how inferior you are to me… " Harry immediately felt hatred and anger seeped out from the blond boy.

Harry put his finishing touch, " parkinson…wouldn't you prefer to shag someone powerful like me….instead of the ferret boy… "

Pansy looked at Harry in disgust. " dream on halfbood… " She sneered.

Harry smirked and said, " yet…..a much more powerful wizard than your draco-poo…… "

Malfoy was seething on how Potter seemed to always best him and he vowed to get back at Potter. Malfoy said, " just wait potter….you will pay " and walked away. Students were smirking at Malfoy as he passed them.

Hermione and Ron headed over to the boy-who-lived. Harry ignored his two best friends as they were walking over to him and walked over to Lupin. " I'm ready when you are, remus "

Lupin was now a bit excited and apprehensive to have his discussion with Harry. " I could wait…..your two friends seem to want to talk to you…. " Lupin tilted his head toward Hermione and Ron.

" no…that's alright….I can to talk to them later… " Harry told his surrogate uncle.

Lupin gave Harry a questioning look, but decided not to mingle in teenagers' problems. " well…let's go "

During their walk, Harry and Lupin were immersed in their own thoughts. Harry was thinking about his progress in doing magic. He felt that his progress was too quick for his own good, but at the same time he felt excitement, as it would help him to master the dark arts rather easily.

Lupin always knew that Harry had the most potential out of any students at Hogwarts. He was thinking whether he should go ahead tricking Harry, as he had planned earlier, to accept some training from the order. Lupin hated that he had to trick his surrogate nephew, but what happened to Snape had him worried like a mother hen.

They reached their destination in no time and Lupin wasted no time putting his strongest privacy charm around his classroom.

Lupin stared at Harry. " harry….you know that I will not force you to do things…you do not approved right, - "

Harry mentally had to smirk. He nodded as his replied and as a sign for Lupin to continue. Lupin continued, " everyone in the order believes that voldemort is getting powerful….much too powerful to be honest with you…and well….i'm worried about you…I don't really know why you refused to be trained by the order…but that's not my business as it is your right to decide "

" so…what does that have to do with our today's discussion " Harry asked curiously.

" harry…you're the only connection to my happy childhood….I don't want to lose you too…like I've lost both your parents and sirius….so would you reconsider of accepting the order's offer to give you some extra training…for me " Lupin held his breath.

Harry felt guilt seeping out from Lupin. He knew everything what Lupin had said was true, but he must be firmed with his earlier decision. Harry decided to let himself fell into Lupin's trap.

" I don't really see the benefit from the order's extra training, remus " Harry said.

Lupin forced himself to go through with his earlier plan. " how about this harry….let us duel…and if you lose then you do me this favor " Lupin proposed a way to settle.

Harry smile and said, " I thought professor should not be betting with a student… "

Lupin smiled at Harry's attempt to ease the tension. " well….what can I say…you're an honorable person, - "

" so do you accept " Lupin asked seriously.

" what are the rules of this duel? " Harry asked Lupin.

" for you to win….you must render me harmless…and for me to win…all I have to do is hit you with a spell…. "

" don't you think…it's a bit unfair " Harry asked.

" well…think about it…death eaters and voldemort always use the unforgivable curses….i know that the imperius has no effect on you… but what about the other two curses " Lupin explained convincingly.

Harry wanted to ask why Lupin did not mention no dark curses were allowed in the rule. He resisted the temptation, however, since Harry knew that Lupin knew that he trusted Lupin not to use dark curses and Lupin believed that Harry's arsenal didn't go beyond Hogwarts.

" very well…I accept " Harry gave his answer.

Lupin cleared away the tables and walked four meters away from Harry.

" ready…. " Lupin asked. Harry nodded as a signal that he was ready.

Lupin started the duel by casting the impedimenta jinx silently.

Harry stepped to his left and retaliated, " rictusempra… serpensortia serpensortia " Harry sent two black mambas to Lupin.

Lupin rolled to his left to avoid Harry's curse and vanished the two mambas.

Before Lupin vanished both snakes completely, Harry already sent some more curses.

" stupefy…. serpensortia…. expelliarmus..serpensortia.. " Harry tried to trap Lupin in between his two curses and two snakes.

" protego…..finite incantatum….stupefy " Lupin sent back a curse after protecting himself from Harry's two spells and vanishing his two snakes.

While rolling to his right, Harry sent the tripping jinx and another snake. Realizing his student accompanied his curse with a conjured snake, Lupin conjured mongooses along with his curses.

Harry decided to put more power on his curses, " reducto.. stupefy.. petrificus totalus.. ". Lupin managed to evade Harry's first two powerful curses, but not the third one.

Lupin conjured a shield, " protego " with as much power as possible. As Harry's petrifying spell slammed into his shield, Lupin felt like he was blocking Dumbledore's spell. His shield held, however.

" serpensortia…stupefy…serpensortia… " Harry sent his powerful spells immediately after his petrifying spell hit Lupin's shield.

As soon as his shield had stopped Harry's spell, Lupin immediately jumped to his left and conjured some more mongooses. If it weren't for his condition, a python size black mamba would have either bitten Lupin; a stunning spell would have caught him, or both. Lupin realized that his students was much more powerful than he thought. Lupin was convinced that he must take the offense as soon as he had his chance.

His chance came pretty quick, as Harry hesitated to send his deadliest weapon that Lupin knew. Harry was a bit worried when Lupin barely managed to evade his conjured snake and his stunning spell. He thought that Lupin would have evaded his snake with ease and conjured another shield in time to block his stunning spell.

Realized that he took too much time, Harry tried to release his deadliest charm, " expec… ". Lupin had head him off by sending four curses in succession.

This time Harry was on the defensive. He conjured his shield just in time as Lupin's four curses were heading toward him.

" damn…I can't keep blocking his curses like this " Harry mentally told himself as Lupin sent curse after curse. Harry blocked Lupin's barrage of curses for two minutes non-stop.

Seeing none of his curses were able to penetrate his student, Lupin shot a conjured tennis ball thinking that his student would be tricked. Lupin made a mistake by thinking his student would be tricked that easily with his conjured tennis ball.

Harry saw Lupin made his fatal mistake. He knew that Lupin thought he would have dropped his shield by seeing a tennis ball coming directly at his face. He knew that the protego charm protected the caster from most curses, spells, and jinxes regardless the forms they took. Since Lupin's tennis ball was not a transfigured object or the real thing, his shield would definitely block it. His conjured snakes, however, could go around Lupin's shield and attacked him from behind, but a conjured tennis ball could not move by itself.

Before the conjured tennis ball hit his shield, Harry let go his shield and jumped to his left. " lummox " Harry conjured a very powerful blinding light.

Lupin saw Harry let go his shield and immediately sent a curse. He realized he shot his curse too fast as Harry jumped to his left. Lupin tried to rectify his mistake by quickly sending another curse. It was too late for him to rectify his mistake as a powerful light blinded his eyes….then he saw darkness.

" damn…you need to start dueling better, potter….. " Harry mentally sneered.

Before reviving back his professor, Harry vanished all his snakes and Lupin's mongooses. " ennervate " Harry revived his professor.

Lupin opened his eyes and was surprised to see a pair of green eyes staring at his eyes. " how did I get down here?…and how did you stunned me? " Lupin asked as Harry helped him to stand.

Harry smirked and said, " remus…are you familiar with a saying by muggle magicians? "

Remus burrowed his eyebrows. " no…I'm not, " He answered truthfully.

" a great magician doesn't tell his secrets… " Harry winked and clicked his tongue at Lupin.

" get the hell out of here…. " Lupin said in mock anger.

Harry smiled, then, he walked out from the defense classroom.

" no….impossible.. no one can apparate inside hogwarts " Lupin said to himself.