Chapter 2

I was sitting next to Harry as he slowly woke up. His breathing was even, but I felt that he just had another nightmare. His conscious mind may understand his Godfather's passing, but unconsciously, he still believes himself guilty for it. Poor boy, nobody should have so many struggles so early in life.

Just to show how inconspicuous I could be, I turned into a cross between my form and a phoenix. Black feathers, with red and orange wings. My eyes are still red, but I cannot talk in this form.

As Harry woke up completely, I tried talking to him telepathically.

"Good Morning."

"What... where are the voices coming from?" Harry said aloud.

"I cannot talk in this form. However, if you just think a response to me, I will hear it. This is still Niamp, and I will still train you."

"So he can read my mind? I'll have to watch out if this is true – I can't have him interfering in my life, such as my seeming crush on -"

Some human habits are really absurd. Why repeat something when you already know it is true? However, I tried to cut him off right there: "Yes, I can. But I will not interfere in your life, and you should trust me. Do you still want to train with me?" I already knew the answer of course, but I wanted to make him get to the task himself.

"Yes, of course!"

My phoenix form smirked - "Good. Now your first exercise will be to run a mile around the block."

"WHAT!" Harry forgot himself, and yelled aloud. I'm sure he, as a normal teenager, expected to easily get control of magic. He thought that since I was a demon, I can just instill the knowledge in his mind.

"Be quiet! I can teach you, but I cannot make you learn this all without work. The running is physical conditioning. How can you dodge a spell if you get tired after running a couple meters? I will be following you."

Harry, deciding it best not to argue with me, put on his trainers and went quietly downstairs. Sneaking through the front door, he jogged in the direction of Magnolia Crescent. My intention was to test his mind abilities – as I knew that someone would come up to him – he wasn't supposed to leave the house. Making myself invisible, I followed Harry.

As Harry finished his laps around the block, I was getting interested. So far, nobody interfered in his exercise, but he can't be that shoddily protected, could he? Dumbledore may not take into account Harry's feelings, but he should not rely completely on the wards.

However, my interest was unfounded. Standing by the hedge in Number 4, there stood a figure. The figure was tall, and his facial features were dominated by a crooked nose and oily hair. His eyes were nondescript, and his mouth was curved into a sneer. I recognized him as Harry's potion professor, and my suspicions were confirmed.

"Snape." Harry spat. He obviously did not forgive the man for leading Sirius into his grave.

"Potter." Snape responded in kind. I could remember the man's unfounded hate of Harry from his memories, but seeing it in person astounded me. Meanwhile, Snape continued.

"Are you really that dense Potter? You left the house without supervision, and you run around a muggle block, with no protections around you? You're just as arrogant as your father if you believe that you can take on the Dark Lord by yourself!"

"Watch it, he is trying to bait you. Focus your mental shields, and see if you can irritate him further."I suggested that to try to get Harry to get his mind off the insults, and to see whether or not he could keep away a master Occlumens. Harry seemed to take my words to heart, because he smirked and responded to the jibe.

"Wasn't the precious order supposed to be guarding me? I am supposed to be a weapon after all. And good will always triumph over evil – didn't your father read you fairy tales as a kid? Oh wait, your father was a death eater – like yourself, so get off my porch, will you?"

Damn, I underestimated Harry. His response was completely true, struck at Snape's weak points – judging by the reaction – and didn't resolve to personal cursing. I think I'll really enjoy teaching him.

By the end of Harry's taunt, Snape was seething. He was turning red, and was exercising all his self-control to not kill Harry right there and there. I was interrupted of my thoughts when Snape took out his wand and yelled out a curse.

"Legillimens!"

When the light hit Harry, his posture did not change at all – he was entirely unaffected by the spell. I severely underestimated the kid. His mental shields were extremely strong, and even after only one night of supporting them. He must have used an extreme emotion as the basis for the defense, because a few seconds after the spell struck, Snape collapsed. Harry surprised me even more, by knowing Dumbledore's reason to send Snape to his house.

"You were supposed to teach me Occlumency – you failed. I don't know why Dumbledore insists on sending you back, but I found another teacher. You are useless death eater scum, and I don't want you in my house, now leave!"

There was a slight pop as Snape managed to disapparate, but Harry seemed to be back to normal by then. He smirked, still in his taunting state, and asked me "Would you wish to help me antagonize my ... relatives?"

So he did inherit his father's pranking abilities after all, I mused. I was eager to see what he would come up with, and as I heard, I roared with laughter. This was a harmless prank, which would probably send the Dursleys immediately to church.

As we entered the house, we encountered Harry's uncle, Vernon. Harry smirked at him, and pushed past to enter the dining room, where Petunia and Dudley were already sitting and eating breakfast.

"Boy – I will not tolerate that kind of disrespect!"

That was my cue. We planned out the prank extensively, and the whole thing would place the fear of Harry directly into their hearts.

I turned back into my human-like form, added demon horns and wings, and my costume of a muggles understanding of a demon was complete. I kept myself invisible, then phased into the floor.

Harry then started the performance. "Disrespect? What kind of respect do you expect to get, not feeding me, giving me cast-off clothes, and sticking me in a cupboard for the first 10 years of my life here?"

His uncle didn't get the message. Advancing menacingly, his face turning purple, he tried to grab Harry to teach him a lesson.

I then started my special effects. A bit of fire there, and slowly phasing out of the floor and becoming visible here, makes a fake demon summon. I then stood my whole height, and trying to make my voice deeper, spread my wings, and said:

"YOU WILL NOT HARM HARRY."

Vernon's face was extremely amusing to see. His face was turning between purple and pale white, and he seemed ready to have a heart attack. Petunia and Dudley were both flattened against the far wall, muttering phrases like "demons, demons..." and "we knew that boy was evil."

I then started giving my demands, seeing Harry almost ready to snicker.

"YOU WILL GIVE HARRY GOOD FOOD, AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY THAT I DO NOT KILL YOU RIGHT HERE AND NOW. HE MAY LEAVE WHENEVER HE WANTS, AND HE WILL COME BACK WHENEVER AS WELL. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Vernon muttered a quiet "Yes," so I decided to cut the act. I folded my wings in, removed my horns, and turned back into my true human form. I then continued in my normal voice.

"Remember what I am when you see Harry. I will be living along him, but you may not always see me – I am always watching."

Harry then burst out laughing – his relatives were too scared to notice, but I found it funny as well. We hastily made our way back to Harry's room, where we both collapsed in laughter.

Harry then asked me what was next on the agenda. I was already satisfied with his ability to block his mind, so I suggested a shopping trip.

"Can we go to Diagon Alley?" Harry pleaded.

"Yes, but we need to stop by at other places too – we need to get you a way to get money fast, and some decent clothes. Remember, Dumbledore may be ruthless in trying to take control over your life. We may have to ask the ministry to grant you a dispensation for your age. Remember, it is no good to fight a war on two fronts – if you can use Fudge while he is in office, you can stab him in the back later. That is called politics – he would not think twice about doing it to you – in fact, he already has, in the past year."

"I understand, I think... How will we get to the bank then?"

"We may have to give you independence in the muggle world at first. While your relatives are still scared of me, I can get their signatures on a custody release form."

I then phased over to the nearest political center, and grabbed a copy of the form. Filling it out, I phased back to the house, and got both Vernon and Petunia to sign it. I knew that they may regret it later, but I consider that fair payment.

Giving the completed form to Harry, and seeing his astonished expression, I couldn't help but smile, satisfied in myself.

I then suggested we go to a muggle bank. Although he is emancipated in the Muggle world, the ministry may not agree to emancipate him, so Dumbledore would have control of anything that Harry does. Relaying my ideas, I was surprised to see Harry agreed. When asking him about it, he replied: "Anything to be free to live my own life." I almost teared at that – how long can one live as a puppet?

Entering the First Bank of Her Majesty, Harry requested to see a manager. We decided that I would remain hidden, offering advice through our mental messages. I saw Harry get taken into a back room, where he was introduced to the Branch manager, named Mr. Freeman.

"So, Mr. Potter – you are interested in founding an account? Are you 18?"

"I am not 18, but I have my emancipation papers with me. You will find all the signatures on it." Harry responded, handing the stack of papers to Freeman.

"Yes? And what would a ... 15 year old want with their own empty bank account?"

"I have money which I will transfer into this account. What I will use it for is of no relation, although it would be primarily a checking account. I will also need a check card, so I can take amounts of money in as necessary."

At the mention of money, Freeman's eyes lit up - "How much money? I will be prepared to offer you a free account at competitive interest rates if you say, start off with a ... 1,000,000 Pound deposit."

Obviously, Freeman didn't expect Harry to have that much money. I knew differently, so it came as no surprise to me when Harry accepted.

"All right, I have the money, but I need my new bank account number to transfer the funds. Will that be all right?"

Freeman looked shocked – here was a kid who was not even 16, and he had a million pounds readily available?

I could hear Harry quietly send me a message "At least Sirius' will is good for something."

Shaking himself out of the shock, Freeman gave Harry his new account number, and quickly got a new Check Card made for him. Thanking Freeman, and being happy that the process only took a half an hour, Harry left the bank, with his new muggle id sitting comfortably in his pocket.

Walking into the nearest Fish and Chips restaurant, Harry tested out his new card. Ordering a simple meal for both him and myself, I asked Harry what he thought of his freedom.

"It's ... exhilarating. I now know that I have a bargaining chip over Dumbledore, and I can threaten to leave the wizarding world whenever I wish. I really think that I can survive on my own now. We still have to resolve the deal with the goblins, but I can play on their greed."

"That is a good summary. Your freedom is at hand, and if you convince the ministry, you will be a fully fledged adult in both worlds."

"Yes, that will be something to look forward to."

I smirked as I saw who entered the restaurant, and when Harry looked at me, wondering what happened, I just smiled.

Harry was thrown off guard completely when a bushy-haired girl tackled him from behind.

A/N: The chapters should get longer – I'm enjoying writing this story, but the updates probably will slow down – don't expect daily multiple chapters:-p This story will be H/G eventually, and I hope the beginning is interesting enough to draw people in. If you are here, it probably is!

Please review if you haven't already, because I want to know what people think of my story and how I can improve.