The Celestial Guidance

by FlyingPixie (Lady Lyssa)

Disclaimer: Everything in this fic belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Everything you do not recognize belongs to me! (That makes me feel so special :D)! If I were her, I would be writing the Half Blood Prince in a small café, rather than sitting here, typing on fanfiction!

A/N: This story takes place in Harry's sixth year, after OotP. H/G, R/Hr, PG-13 rating.

Here you go, my double post of the weekend! I hope you all enjoy it! Happy Thanksgiving!

Attack of the Killer Dummies

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confidant it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

- King Whitney Jr.

The clock on Harry's night table read 12:30 when he made his way back to his room. Deciding that now would be the ideal time to begin training, he walked through his bedroom and into the large hall that separated his different training areas. Deciding to start off with physical training, Harry made his way through the first door. He walked up to the first machine, which appeared to be a treadmill. The only difference was that this one had no buttons, and ran on magic (or so he thought, for there weren't any electrical cords and it was glowing). SpeedMaster 8000 was written in golden calligraphy on the equipment's side. Unsure of how to turn it on, he simply stepped onto the machine.

"How fast would you like to go?" the machine asked in a decidedly feminine voice.

"Umm... 6 miles per hour?"

And Harry was off running. He kept up the pace for about twenty minutes before deciding to try out the rest of the devices in the room. The next looked exactly like a muggle StepMaster, and Harry decided to try that another day. He made the rounds of the room, trying several of the machines that were new to him (he had only heard them by name, not function). All, he quickly realized, were similarly based on muggle contraptions, from Rowing Machines and Stationary Bicycles, to weight lifting.

At last, Harry reached the final part of the room. This wall was covered entirely with dummies. He examined all 30, and realized that they were exactly the same. He encountered a problem similar to the one he had encountered with the Treadmill. How do you turn them on?

He stood in front of them, deep in thought. If he only knew their function, perhaps he could figure out how to start them up. He thought back to what this room symbolized. These pieces of equipment must all come from Nedra and Kael. Since their jobs were to teach him how to physically develop his body, and martial art training, deductive reasoning would lead him to believe that he was supposed to fight the dummies. Nedra had yet to begin his martial art training, but it wouldn't hurt for him to try to fend off this threaded opponent.

Perhaps it would start up if he hit it. He punched the first dummy's mid-side, hoping to receive a reaction. The dummy immediately left its previous limp form and stood away from the wall, standing tall.

"Which level do you choose?"

"Level One."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the dummy assumed a defensive stance, which Harry quickly copied. When no one moved for the first few minutes, the dummy lunged forward with a punch. Harry rapidly blocked the attack with his arm in an X position, and lunged forward himself. He hit the dummy square in the midside, and it went back to the wall and became limp.

Harry hit the dummy again.

"Level Two."

Harry and the dummy circled each other for a few moments, before Harry lunged forward once more. Rather than blocking, the dummy simply dodged his attack. So that's how you want to play then. They circled a few more times, and Harry dodged another blow before lunging forward himself. The dummy was able to dodge this attack as well. However, instead of simply ending it there, Harry turned around immediately after and lunged at the dummy's side, not having given it enough time to turn around and face its opponent. His seeker training was coming in handy. The dummy stumbled back a few steps as Harry's hand collided with its side, before going back to the wall and becoming limp.

This was easier than Harry thought it would be, presumably because the first levels were jokes. Oh well, it wasn't as if he had already had his first lesson or anything. He hit the dummy again.

"Level Three."

The enchanted dummy came to life and circled Harry. Before he could give the dummy enough time to attack, Harry lunged forward. He wasn't fast enough, and the dummy simply dodged it again. Harry used the same plan as last time, and quickly lunged forward a second time, fist colliding with the dummy's side once more. The dummy stumbled back a few times, before facing Harry again.

It was obvious that, though he had managed to hit the dummy, he had been too focused on his strategy and his fist itself had not packed enough punch. Harry dodged another attack, and used the same move as before, this time making sure to hit harder. The dummy stumbled backwards and fell down, defeated. Harry definitely hoped that the higher leveled dummies would learn from their mistakes, or this would be too easy. He hit the dummy once more.

"Level Four."

Harry quickly ran back and assumed a defensive stance as the dummy came forward. Harry dodged the attack, and was about to lunge forward himself when he found himself on the floor. The dummy had kicked him! Harry scrambled up quickly. He had not been taking the dummies seriously enough, and he had just paid for it. He dodged another attack, and had to block another punch.

He quickly ran back several steps, trying to get his bearings straight. However, moments later, the dummy was on him again. Harry lunged forward, but the dummy dodged this attack as well. It was obvious that he was going to get nowhere with just his punches. Steeling himself, he used a roundhouse kick to knock the dummy down. He succeeded, but his kick had been poor, and he soon found himself on the floor as well from lack of balance. When the dummy went back to the wall and fell limp, Harry decided to call it quits and wait for Nedra to teach him some proper moves.

He left the room and entered his own bedroom again, this time going towards the bookshelves and grabbing several Potions textbooks. The next four hours were spent making several of the potions he had learned throughout the years, as well as some new ones. These included some minor healing ones, in case he ever seriously hurt himself while training, and a few minor energy replenishing ones as well.

Done with his potions, he bottled them, labeled them, and placed them on an empty shelf in the back (deciding to be neat from the start, he placed them in alphabetical order, so they would be easier to find). He entered the next, high-ceilinged room, trying to find out what these dummies were for.

They had gauges on their sides, and from what Harry could tell from the rest of the items in this room, this was probably where he would practice his spell casting. Perhaps the gauges on the sides would gauge how much power he put into the dummy? He took out his wand, and was about to shoot a spell when he realized he should be practicing his wandless magic (since the Ministry could detect wand magic, and he needed the practice anyway). Placing his wand on a nearby table, he was about to go back to the dummies when he noticed a letter on the table. It read:

Dear Harry,

I hope you enjoy the training dummies found in this room. They have two functions: both being able to simply gauge your magical levels as well as becoming great dueling opponents. To activate the second function, simply shout 'Duel Opponent' –

How much imagination it must have taken...

– and it will work. Though you should practice the wandless magic Merlin taught you, you may also try out the spells with your wand, for these rooms (save for your bedroom) is free from Ministry detection. Enjoy your training,

- Godric Gryffindor

Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Ten-time Winner of the Honorary Duelist's Award

Well, that cleared up a few issues, but he still wanted to try his hand at wandless magic. He entered his trance quickly, and found the right branch of magic. "Wingardium Leviosa." The dummy soared until it hit the ceiling, and made a fast descent before hitting the ground. The gauge rose over three-quarters of the way. Wow, he thought to himself. He figured that the gauge must have been made for the high potential wandless magic had, because there was no way anyone would ever reach the top part of the gauge with a wand, no matter how powerful. Shrugging, he decided to test the same spell with his wand, to see how far the gauge would go and compare the two.

"Wingardium Leviosa." There was almost no change to the gauge. This was not good. How was he supposed to cover his secret if all of his spells from now on would be way too powerful? He stood in front of the dummy again, and entered a trance. He took very little magic, and projected it forward. "Wingardium Leviosa." The dummy rose several feet in the air, and Harry had full control of its movements, and slowed its descent. The gauge only rose a quarter of the way. He was so happy he could dance with joy. He had obviously improved, though he would still have to work on that. Harry wanted to try dueling the dummy before ending his training.

Hermione stood in the center of her living room. She was currently standing in front of her parents, who were seated comfortably on a beautiful, chocolate, button tufted leather sofa before her. She stared out at the cream colored walls which had surrounded her since childhood, wondering how best to phrase the dilemma she was faced with.

"Honey, what is it? What did you have to tell us?"

That morning, Hermione had received a letter from the Order, stating that they would be coming in two days to place protection charms around the house, because they believed that Hermione's friendship with Harry would put her and her family at risk. The fact that her parents were muggles only added to the problem. Hermione sighed. She knew that she would have had to tell them sooner or later, but she had secretly been hoping for later rather than sooner. She had no idea that the time would have come so soon.

"Mum, Dad, there is something I've been meaning to tell you. Well, you see –"

Hermione hadn't been at such a loss for words in years. Where to start? Her parents both noticed her unusual nervousness.

"Honey, whatever it is, we are here to help."

Steeling herself, Hermione began her tale.

"Do you remember when I introduced you to Harry Potter? Well..."

For the next hour, she described the many adventures they had been through, from First Year through to Fifth. She described Voldemort's return, and the potential danger her family could be in. By the end of her speech, her parents' mouths were hanging open. They looked at each other, sharing a silent, mutual agreement between each other, one that only a married couple could share.

"Honey," her mother began. "We're alright with this. But – why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Well, I wasn't sure how well you would take it. I was worried that you wouldn't want me to be friends with Harry anymore," Hermione answered sheepishly, but with a smile plastered on her face. It would be impossible to gauge the joy she was emanating; she couldn't believe that they had accepted that easily! Had she known, she would have told them much sooner.

"Honey, we would never ask you to turn away from your friends, especially when they need you most," her father responded.

"I'm so sorry. Thank you for being so understanding!" With that, she reached forward and hugged her parents, tears glistening down her cheeks.

"Duel Opponent," he shouted. Sure enough, the dummy sprang to life.

"Which level would you wish to duel at? Levels go from 1 to 100, with the difficulty difference between the levels increasing each time, until they are almost doubling each other by the end."

This was a hard choice. He decided to start at Level 1, even though he knew his proficiency was higher than that, and work his way up.

"Level One."

The dummy stepped forward, but showed no sign of movement other than that. It was obviously waiting for Harry to make the first move. Harry entered another trance, and shouted (he didn't feel like working on not saying the spell) "Surculus Spiculum", a spell he had read about it in Quidditch Through the Ages, by Kennilworthy Whisp (the supporters of the Appleby Apples were fond of firing arrows out of their wands to celebrate goals). Arrows shot out of mid-air and embedded themselves in his opponent's chest. Of course, he had forgotten to draw a smaller amount of his magic, and consequently arrows were also embedded in all of the other dummies! The dummy he had been fighting walked back to the wall and became limp as soon as Harry's spell had been cast. Oh well, at least I won!

"Finite Incantatem."

All the arrows disappeared. Let's try that again, he thought to himself, and this time with less power.

"Duel Opponent – Level Two."

The dummy sprang to life and stepped forward, skipping its introduction. This time it circled Harry, still waiting for Harry to make the first move. He circled his opponent as well, thinking of which spell to use. He didn't want to simply rely on well-known spells, but rather try to improve his abilities and extend his spell knowledge and usage. After all, what were these dummies for but to improve his abilities? Harry entered a trance again, and cast a blasting curse, this time using only a bit of the magic. This effectively sent the dummy careening back, and Harry was satisfied to see that it barely cracked the wall. The dummy stood in line with the others and fell limp. The blasting curse (he remembered that this spell had been on his Defense Against the Dark Arts exam: in the All-England Wizarding Dueling Competition of 1420, Alberta Toothill defeated Samson Wiblin, using a Blasting Curse) was a powerful spell, and one that would be useful against Death Eaters.

"Duel Opponent – Level Three."

The dummy once again sprang to life and stepped forward. It circled Harry, and like the previous time, it waited for its opponent to make the first move. Harry and the dummy circled each other a few times, before Harry thought of a good spell to use. He entered a trance, and shouted "Tutela Telum." A charge of electricity bolted out from his hands and into the dummy's chest. The dummy's body entered a short spasm before it backed up and went still. Harry remembered using the spell when Uncle Vernon had tried to hold him around the neck. That had been an automatic defense of wandless magic on Harry's part, of course, but he had researched it and found the exact spell. It was useful, but Harry wasn't sure if he would use a full blast charge on a human just yet.

"Duel Opponent – Level Four."

The dummy sprang to life and stepped forward, circling Harry. They circled each other a few times, allowing Harry to think of a good spell to cast. Before he could cast it, however, the dummy had cast a stunner. Harry dodged the spell and shouted, "Diffindo." The dummy effectively tore in half and fell to the ground. It lay motionless for a few seconds before standing up, tear healing, and standing by the wall once more.

"Duel Opponent – Level Five."

The dummy sprang to life, and began circling Harry. Before Harry had so much as a chance to think of a decent spell, the dummy cast a stunner. Harry dodged, seeker reflexes in motion. Having no time to think, Harry simply circled with the dummy, dodging stunners. Wanting to end it quickly, he too entered a trance and shot a stunner, which the dummy effectively dodged as well. He smiled; it was finally getting interesting.

Harry dodged another stunner, and shot one of his own. He tried to enter a second trance quickly and shoot another one fast enough for the dummy to be unable to block it, but was ineffective. He couldn't enter it fast enough to be able to shoot two stunners at rapid fire. Harry sighed: it was time for some fast thinking.

They continued to circle each other. The dummy continuously casting stunners every half-minute. With sudden inspiration, he remembered the spell Umbridge had used on the centaur, prompting the rest of them to attack her. "Incarcerous!" Thick ropes flew from his hands and wrapped around the dummy, effectively immobilizing it, and making it unable to cast spells. He then entered another trance and shot a stunner. It hit the dummy square in the chest, and it fell to the floor, 'stunned' for several seconds before popping back up, going against the wall, and falling limp.

Instead of starting a new level, Harry spent the rest of the day working on saying his spells silently, as well as staying in a trance long enough to cast more than one spell. He would have to work it out soon; or else duels would become more and more difficult.

Ginny looked up to see Hedwig tapping on her window belligerently. She walked to the window and opened it, allowing the owl to swoop through and land on her arm. Ginny's heart skipped a beat as she took Harry's response from Hedwig. She opened it and read:

Dear Ginny,

Thank you for that letter, it really meant a lot to me. And yes, it did help me a lot. Thank you for not beating around the bush with Sirius, but rather being up front. You brought a new perspective into things! I realize that it must have taken a great deal of courage to have said some of the things you did. No wonder you're in Gryffindor!

I guess I should have realized sooner that you are more than just Ron's little sister, and I'm sorry that it took me this long to realize it.

Obviously! Took his dense mind long enough...

You have a great sense of humor, are intelligent, and are not afraid to state what is on your mind. It's obvious that you've matured a lot! I know I shouldn't have blown up at Hermione and Ron. And yes, I've already apologized about that.

Since when have you said (or written) the word Voldemort? I'm glad, of course, but I was just wondering, why the sudden change?

Anyway, everything is going great around here, and the Dursleys are treating me with, well, respect I guess. They're ignoring me, but I take that as a good thing!

Write soon.

Your friend,

Harry

Ginny smiled. Harry was finally beginning to get the picture. She wrote down her response, which thankfully did not take as much time as it had before, and sent Hedwig away with it.

Sirius walked out of the Ministry of Magic, still under the protection of the invisibility cloak. He walked down the street, thinking of how best to reach Harry. He could simply apparate to his house, but he first wanted to know what day it was, and how long he had been gone for. He walked into a muggle grocery store, and looked over at a large calendar on the wall. Merlin! He had been gone for nearly a month! Poor Harry and Moony! They had had to suffer his death for so long!

Sirius was about to apparate to Harry, but stopped. He had to think of a proper entrance. He had, after all, been gone for a long period of time. He didn't want to scare Harry. Actually, never mind, he did! His marauder instincts were already back, as he apparated to Number Four Privet Drive.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Harry meets up with Sirius next chapter, or the next! Will be interesting, I promise! Please click on the review button and review, because it makes me happy! And trust me, you want me to be happy! Cookies to all those that review!

Review Responses:

HarryGinnyfan4ever: Puts hands up! "Fine, you beat it, now unleash me before I get the Princess (who, may I remind you, has more authority in her Queendom than you do)! Thanks for the review, I'll read yours as soon as I find the chance!

Tanydwr: Thanks for the review! I'm glad someone realized what I was trying to get at with him not being lazy...

Dr. Gero: Yay! I can't believe I made that much of an impact with Helga! Score! Yes, Harry made contact with them in Chapter... well, I dont' remember, but he did. It's day four, so another one should be coming in two days! Don't worry, I'm usually pretty good with that, but thanks! I also often skip peoples disclaimers, so don't worry. I was just trying to make a point. So no hard feelings? Thanks for the review!

TuxedoMac: I realize that it was short. Originally, it had been all one chapter (these two), but I felt it would be better to have a transitional chapter of descriptions before the real solo training began! Hope you enjoyed this one!

Lourdes: After careful examination of review, FlyingPixie realizes that it was a compliment! Thanks, you really think I have a great imagination? I have friends who think I'm crazy, so it just goes to show! Thanks for the review!