Ya'll know it ain't mine, if it were you'd have to pay to read it and I would be getting paid. As it is I have lost my job, and then holidays kicked in, sorry for the delay but other things were on my mind. Still looking for a new job and this may not be up to par, I still don't have a beta so some things may be off, sorry but I don't have time to write and edit. Anyway, here ya go.

Chapter 5: Dual Training

It was the final week before school started and everything was normal. Well, as normal as things around Harry Potter get. Order members came and went, checking and guarding while Harry and friends would train and do homework. Each friend set up schedules for themselves, Harry and much to his surprise Neville had the most vigorous days planned for themselves. Starting with running and weight training, a light breakfast, homework and school study, lunch, wandless magic, afternoon tea, a friendly duel, dinner, and finally some free time before bed, at that rate both boys were filling out to their frames. Neville being a bit broader was gaining muscle and strength while Harry naturally being smaller was becoming toned and very fast. Everyone else opted for a similar schedule, no one ran with them or did the weight lifting, and Luna decided to drop the wandless magic while Hermione only watched the duels instead of participating.

It was Tuesday before they would be going back to school, after an exhausting day all six were lounging in the library discussing various subjects.

"But we have to win this year," Ron was carrying on with Ginny.

"Of course we will, I just wonder what Slytherin will be like this year," she replied.

"Dirtier than ever, I hope Malfoy breaks something before school," Ron grinned.

"We could arrange that," Ginny said adding mischief to her own grin.

"Honestly, can't we have a discussion without Quidditch coming up?" Hermione pleaded.

"No," said Ron and Ginny at the same time. Hermione released a sigh and went to join Luna who was reading.

Neville was sprawled in the floor laying on his stomached with his head and arms propped up on a pillow from a couch. He was writing out some kind of chart.

Harry, happy to be among his friends smiled contentedly from the recliner he was occupying.

"What is he thinking?"

Harry looked around for who was talking. Noting that only Ginny and Ron were still in conversation he shrugged and went to look for a book.

"He does look good," the disembodied voice continued.

Starting to feel a bit panicky Harry continued to look for a book.

"I'm just being stupid, like he'd ever notice…me"

Now becoming truly freaked out Harry said his goodnights and rushed to bed.

In the morning Harry had a fine voice-free start to the day. After a shower he got ready for the day in his practical workout clothes, blue cloth shorts, a white sleeveless shirt, and running shoes. After he met up with Neville they began another hard day. After becoming completely winded the two teens pushed themselves hard with the weight training in the magically enhanced workout room. Harry headed to his room for another shower before breakfast. He stood under the hot water letting his body loosen up when it happened again.

"Where is he?" "I wonder what she's doing right now." "She is beautiful." "Where the hell did I put it?" "I hate that mother…" "MOMMY" "I can't believe this," "Harry," "Harry?"

"Harry?!"

It took him a moment to sort through all the voices to realize he knew the speaker of the last one. It took another moment to realize that the last voice was actually speaking.

"Be with you in a minute Headmaster," Harry called from the shower, pulled from the voices and leaving him with one thought, what the hell is going on.

Harry quickly dressed and opened the door to reveal a very twinkling eyed Dumbledore.

"Hello Harry,"

"Good morning professor."

"Interesting day?" the older man asked.

"Yeah, wait, you know don't you?"

"Alas, I too was bothered when it first happened."

"What is it professor?"

"It would be a rare form of legilimency. Sometimes known as telepathy, but whatever you heard in muggle television is probably wrong," the Headmaster's beard twitched in a smile.

"So…I can read minds?

"No, you can hear thoughts."

"Oh," Harry replied flabbergasted, "It's always me isn't it?"

"Yes Harry, it tends to be, I am sorry, but this year the focus of the Wizarding world will not be on you I'm sure."

"What do you mean professor?"

"You'll see," answered Dumbledore as he exited the room.

"Just great, now I get to hear what everyone is thinking," Harry grumbled, then a mischievous grin crept across his face, "I'll get to hear what everyone's thinking."

Harry headed to the kitchen for breakfast, at the landing he noticed Dumbledore sitting at the table, evidently there were more things to discuss. Molly Weasley was cooking, and upon noticing Harry gave him a customary bone crushing hug.

'He looks so tired,' a sad voice echoed in his head, it was Molly's and he thought she was talking; his jaw had opened to reply when the Headmaster cleared his throat. Harry decided he definitely needed control over this new ability as soon as possible.

"Morning all," called Harry to the room full of the people he knew.

Miscellaneous good morning greetings surrounded him. He took his seat when he heard something that had to be someone's thought.

'He has gotten sexy after his workouts…"

Harry stared around to see who was thinking about whom, but it was useless at this time. He was glad though to determine it was a female's thought. The headmaster chuckled.

'Glad you think its funny,' Harry thought.

'Sorry,' he heard the Headmaster reply without moving his lips or making a sound.

'This will get some getting used to,' thought Harry.

'That it will, but I will help you when school begins,'

After breakfast everyone stayed at the table discussing various topics. Harry amused himself by trying to hear what each person was thinking while they were talking. What he found really strange was that no one's inner voice matched their real voice. Dumbledore said something that brought the room to a dead silence.

"Harry, I believe it is time for you to join the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore started, and then finished after seeing something shift in Harry's eye, "that is if it is still your desire."

Harry's answer turned the room from dead silence to deafening quiet.

"No, I don't think it is," Harry answered.

"But don't you want to know what's going on?" Hermione asked like Harry was trying to slap her by denying her information.

"How will we know what's happening?" Ron asked like Harry had gone mental.

Ginny went silent thinking, Neville shook his head slightly, and Luna just smiled vacantly at Harry.

"I don't care what's going to happen this year, I want one year where nothing happens, where danger is a far away thing, where I'm not almost dieing or actually watching someone else die." Harry retorted almost losing his calm completely.

"I see, well at any rate if anything terribly important arises I'll let you know. Is that fair?" Dumbledore replied.

"I see no flaw this time Headmaster," Harry answered with a little bitterness in his voice.

"What about the rest of us? What if we still want to join?" Hermione inquired.

"With your parents permission I see no problem," evaded Dumbledore.

Ron and Ginny huffed, Neville shrugged, Hermione's face turned a bit downcast, and Luna laughed. After a few inquisitive looks she explained her reaction.

"It seems that I would be the only one who could join, and it seems I'm the only one who doesn't want to, I thought it was funny."

"Well, that is all I had, if there are no more questions I need to be off. I will see you all in a few days," The Headmaster said his goodbye and left the kitchen.

The friends just sat there, a little dumbfounded, and not knowing what to say. Harry was starting to hear their voices but he fought it off, suddenly it felt like a violation to just invade what they were thinking. Silently, each rose from the table to continue with their day.

After some studying, lunch, and a little progression in wandless magic all six friends settled into the training room for their friendly duels. Harry began with Neville, each circling the other, Neville's wand pointed at the mass that was Harry's chest. Harry's amp was glowing, his pointer finger and middle finger held together pointing at Neville's head, he learned he had much better accuracy using his amp over his fallen wand. The two kept at the circling each looking for an opening, a weakness, a tell. Neville's left hand twitched a little, Harry jumped to the side opposite of the way he was moving, and the red stunner flew to where he had been. Rolling on the ground he quickly regained his aim and shot a yellow spell at his opponent, but no one found out what was supposed to happen as Neville quickly performed his own roll towards Harry. Harry not expecting it tried to follow the movements but Neville had the advantage, his wand pointing at Harry's head when he exited the roll.

"Stupefy!"

The red spell was flying at his face; it was too late to perform a blocking spell. It was too late to dodge, he had one choice and that was to try and hit it away using his amp. The amp caught most of the spell, but part of it still connected, not enough to knock him out, but the left side of his face was numb.

'DAMN! I almost had him,' Harry heard Neville think. He was losing his composure.

The five minute mark was approaching rapidly, Harry knew another friend would join in, he didn't know who, or from where, the only reason he knew was because this is how he trained. Every five minutes someone would join. He had only gotten up to three so far, he wanted the fourth, today was his day, he could feel it.

He and Neville continued the duel, spells back and forth but no clear advantage was gained by either opponent. Then five minutes hit, Harry started to glance around for his next target, but it never came. Six minutes, seven, eight, but nothing came at nine minutes either and he was getting tired, Neville was throwing everything at him, including a transfigured kitchen sink.

Ten minutes, and nothing, no one joined in.

'What the hell is going on,' Harry thought.

He then tried to listen for the other's thoughts, but the wards of protection encircling the dueling area must be blocking him. Neville then brought his attention fully back to the task at hand. Red, blue, yellow, silver, and orange were all flying at Harry fast, too fast. The line of spells were coming, he was stuck in the middle of them. He looked at the silver jet of light flying to him, it was too strong to block, he didn't know a counter for it, and he couldn't dodge.

Neville's breath caught in his chest. He hadn't won against Harry one on one, and he really wanted to. At the last moment Harry did something desperate, a spell he only recently learned in one of the ancient books of the Black library.

"Parco!"

Reality seemed to bend around Harry, Neville gasped the breath that was caught when Harry disappeared and the point where he was melted around his form, the spells zoomed around where Harry hid himself in nothing. Then the spells rushed back to the originator.

'Aw shi…' Neville thought before the red stunner he created hit him square in the chest effectively knocking him out.

Harry's spell wore off; the duel had lasted fourteen minutes. He was breathing heavily and he jumped when Ron and Ginny shot stunners his way. He dodged both and noticed Luna awakening Neville. He had been dueling for fifteen minutes, and now he had four opponents.

Harry was backed up, Ron then Ginny then Luna then Neville formed a half circle around him. His options were running thin; he could tell that they were all about to start firing at maximum speed, and at full power. It was time for something desperate.

Before any of his opponents had a chance to fire at him he waved his amp hand in an arch to match their positions. A blue wave formed and then blasted out, but much too late he realized he put more power into the spell than he had planned. The wave started to fly out to his friends, he tried to reign in his magic, and it did slow down…a bit.

Ron and Neville were able to dodge to the side, Ginny flattened herself to the floor, and Luna threw up a protection spell. The spell was useless against the wave and Harry knew it.

"No, Luna get out of the way!" Harry screamed but it was too late. The spell broke her barrier easily then the blue wave hit Luna directly in her chest. Time seemed to slow down a little, Harry saw her arch back, it looked so familiar, she was falling away, so familiar, her head collided with the wall. It felt so familiar.

Luna was in her bed, in the room she shared with Ginny and Hermione. All six friends were in the room, Madam Pomfrey had been by. She healed what she could but the spell Harry used made healing a complicated matter. Her head was bandaged, but the bleeding had stopped. The bandages were holding ice packs to her cranium. The healer had told them what the spell did, it was an ancient magic that stopped Luna's magic from doing its natural job. That's why it broke the Protego spell so easily. That's why Luna hadn't awoken yet. It was Harry's fault.

All was silent; Harry was in a corner occupying himself with a fresh wave of self-loathing. He couldn't hold back during training, but he couldn't pour himself into a Cruciatus curse when it counted. He couldn't do anything right, yet he was supposed to face Voldemort. This is all wrong.

But his thoughts were broken.

"H-Harry?" a very weak voice asked for him.

Harry sprang out of his corner and was at Luna's side. She smiled weakly at him. Her hand began a slow search until it rested on Harry's hand; she gave it a reassuring squeeze. It was Harry's turn to give a weak smile, and then he felt a pull, from right above his stomach.

Luna was growing brighter and looking better, but Harry was getting paler. He was losing focus, and then all was nothing.

Harry awoke in his bed, and his friends surrounded him. Harry stared around the room, he laughed at the absurdity of the roles being reversed.

"What happened?" he asked anyone.

"S-Sorry," Luna started sheepishly. Then her voice died out.

Harry tried to rise up a little but his body was impossibly stiff.

"Ahh, hell!" the pain shot through him.

"Just rest Harry," Ginny told him.

"Ok, Luna, what did you do?"

"I-I-I used some of your magic to heal myself. I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to…" she trailed off again.

"I thought that was a myth!" exclaimed Hermione.

"N-No, I-I've done it before."

Luna was crying, Harry felt bad for her being so broken up.

"Its ok Luna, if I hadn't done that particular spell you'd never had to borrow my power."

"Speaking of which," Hermione started in on Harry, "why are you training so hard?"

"Umm, well, you know," he said trying to escape the question.

"No, I don't know. You didn't join the Order; you're hoping Voldemort, honestly Ron, will leave you alone this year, why are you training so hard? I mean it's your whole day!" she finished very quickly.

Harry sat for a while in silence. Anyone watching his eyes, and most of his friends were, could see a war brewing behind his eyes.

"I think you should all sit down," Harry said in a monotone voice.

It was one hour later. Harry revealed the prophecy to his closest friends. They hadn't taken it all that well. The room had cleared out, and now, one friend came back into the room.

"So why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"It just didn't seem right," he answered.

"You don't have to go at this alone Harry," she said low to him.

"But I do, it's me isn't it, it's always me," he answered her statement.

'It could be us,' he heard her think.

"It could be us," she said out loud gathering her courage and actually saying it.

She lowered herself onto his bed, and lightly kissed his lips. Harry was in shock, but everything just seemed to fall into place. Everything clicked, it all felt right. He kissed her back, nicely, slowly.

They made out for a while, and then their teenaged hormones took over, their night was filled with passion, and lust. Harry and she lost their virginity to each other, and finally slept at three in the morning holding each other. Harry woke at around ten, a slow frown playing at his lips as he realized that he was alone.

Ok, the story has taken an abrupt turn since I last updated, hope nobody minds, but most is still intact. Feedback on the dueling would be greatly appreciated since later chapters will revolve around action.

BferBear – You're probably right, so I turned it off, though I'd rather a signed review, it can be anonymous now. Thanks about the amp, I have a few surprise to go along with it.

MateoHarry – Thanks very much for the compliment. For now I'm going to be a bit tight lipped on ships, though I love H-Hr, this may or may not end up on that ship.

Thanks for reading!