Chapter Seven: Training begins
Harry went into the chamber again; he no longer had to speak Parseltongue as the door now recognized him. He walked up to the bust of Godric and began his lessons for the day.
"Now, young Harry, we shall begin to search for the non-magical form that you can take on," said Godric, "Return to the door to your mind and this time, search for your other form's spirit."
Harry did as he instructed and after waiting for a few seconds, Harry heard a loud roar coming from behind him. He turned around to find a larger than normal lion lying behind him. Harry locked eyes with it and began the transformation. After taking a little run, Harry transformed back, eager to learn more from the ancient wizard.
"Have you ever seen an invisibility cloak Harry? Yes? Excellent. Now we are gonna learn to become invisible without the use of a cloak. This works along the same lines as apparation, only instead of imagining yourself across the room, imagine that you are invisible. Ready?" asked Godric.
Harry began to picture himself as invisible and, upon hearing a "well done, Harry" from Godric, he opened his eyes.
"Brilliant," said Harry.
"Now, Harry. I would like you to spend the rest of the day using the practice dummies to train every spell in your arsenal. You need to be able to master rudimentary skills before you can learn advanced skills," instructed Godric.
Godric had told Harry how to mask his magical signature so that he could spent the rest of the day going over every spell he know without getting in trouble with the Ministry. After about ten minutes on each spell, he had them mastered. When Harry was finished, John walked up to him.
"Now, Harry, we are going to begin our training tomorrow. We'll start with weight training. Then, you'll learn from Godric as I study in the library. Then you'll study, while I speak with Godric. After that, we'll practice muggle fighting and then have a duel and end the day with a run or swim. If you still have enough energy, we can practice Quidditch. Also, we will be intermittingly practicing Occlumency and Legilimency Understand? Good. Now, let's have a friendly little duel."
Harry and John walked up to the mat, bowed and began. Harry began with a simple shield while John shot a high-powered stunner at him. The shield broke easily and knocked Harry over.
"Nice try, Harry. You should know better that shields aren't reliable. Wait until we learn stronger shields to use them. Let's go."
Harry and John began another round. Harry shot a stunner at John, who easily avoided it. John muttered a spell that Harry didn't recognize and all of a sudden shoes were flying at Harry. Harry easily avoided them but they forced him to split his attention between John and the shoes. Harry was then blown back by the disarming spell.
"Like that little trick Harry? It's the same spell they use on bludgers. Well that's enough for now. Let's go see Godric," said John. They proceeded to walk over to Godric.
"Be ready, boys. Your training will be long and painful. Good night."
Harry and John went for their nightly swim. They entered the kitchen and found Dobby preparing their dinner. Harry and John sat down as Dobby served them.
"Have a seat Dobby and have some food," said Harry.
"Oh, no Harry Potter sir. House-elves do not eat with their masters," replied Dobby.
"Well, how bout with friends," said John.
So, Dobby, very hesitantly, went and fixed himself some food and sat down at the table with Harry and John.
Chapter Seven: Sunday Afternoons
The next week passed very slowly as Harry and John continued their workout. On Sunday, John told Harry that he should take Sundays off, so Harry went to Grimmauld Place. There he was met with a flurry of 'helloes'. Harry spent the day talking with his friends, apologizing for putting everyone at risk and getting news about the war. Harry never mentioned his magical training . At one point, Ron and Hermione had a mysterious 'thing' that they had to go do.
"They're probably going upstairs to 'be alone'. They've gotten together this summer, now that they know they like each other," said Ginny, "So, Harry. You look a lot more athletic since I last saw you."
"Thanks, Ginny. And again, I'm sorry for almost getting you killed," said Harry.
"No, it's I who should be thanking you, Harry. By going to the Department of Mysteries with you, it showed my family that I'm not some little girl any more. I can take care of myself," said Ginny.
As Harry and Ginny talked, Harry began to realize how smart, caring, and easy to talk to Ginny was. He felt that he could tell her anything and not worry about her making fun of him. Harry went and visited the hippogriff, Buckbeak. Ron and Hermione had come back so Harry began telling his friends about the Manor, leaving out the chamber.
"Bloody hell, mate. You've got an indoor Quidditch pitch?" asked a baffled Ron, "We could practice all the time."
"Yeah, with a little help from a friend, I've been able to practice every position. That has given me a greater respect and knowledge for the game," responded Harry, "Don't ask who the friend is, you know him… in a sense."
"No, wait. You've got a library in your Manor? How big is it?" asked an inquisitive Hermione.
"Bigger than Hogwarts," said Harry, "There's also a bonus. No Restricted Section."
Hermione looked like she was about to faint from such good news.
"Well, its time for me to head back. I'll see you all next Sunday then. 'Bye" said Harry as he walked out side and into an alley where he apparated home, feeling very happy indeed.