Thanks to all who reviewed: harryp123, MandaEvelyn, Treck, and Hermione Green. To Lourdes1, I greatly appreciate all of your reviews and the insight you shared with me. To Treck, I have been having trouble deciding myself just who I want to be the next Minister. Your points are all valid and I have thought along those same lines myself a lot as well. I probably won't truly decide who it will be until I am actually forced to name the person.

I am sorry for the long wait between updates. The only time I really have to write late at night on my three days off. I have three small children who make it very difficult to concentrate while they are awake. I also had some computer problems, which have now been remedied. So hopefully the next chapter will be ready sooner.

Once again, I own nothing except the plot and any new characters I come up with.

Chapter 11 – Things to Ponder

After dinner that evening, Harry went to the castle for his private lesson with Professor Smith. They entered the study they had been using for their training sessions and took their normal seats. When Harry looked at his professor, he was surprised by the look on his face. It was a look of both admiration and disappointment, if it were possible to feel both of those emotions at the same time.

"What's the matter, Professor?"

Professor Smith studied Harry for a long moment before responding. "Harry, I believe we should talk about what happened today. This was your first real confrontation since June, correct?" He saw Harry give a nod and then continued, "Your actions in fighting against the Dementors and Death-Eaters were exemplary. You and your friends handled yourselves very well and helped a great many people. For that reason, you should be very proud of yourselves." Harry smiled with pride at hearing these words.

Professor Smith's smile faded leaving a serious look which caused Harry's smile to falter. "However, your actions after that point left a little to be desired." He held up a hand to stop Harry's expected objection, "Do you not see what mistakes have been made today? I know that you did not start your day intending to get into a duel with the Minister of Magic, or cause two high-ranking ministry officials to lose their jobs. The fact remains, however that it did happen and although some good might have come from it, there are also some bad things to come from it."

Harry was looking confused now. "Harry, I want you to think about the duel. What, if anything, did you learn about yourself today?"

Harry thought back, trying to understand what his professor saw. "I'm not sure what you're trying to make me see, sir."

"Harry, what were you thinking when the duel started? I have become quite accustomed to your dueling style and I know you were holding back at first. Why?"

Harry frowned, "I didn't want my increased abilities to become known. If the enemy doesn't know what I'm capable of then I have an advantage."

"Yes, you do. So if you didn't want to give away your advantage, why did you?"

Harry's anger began to grow once more, "I had to. He began to use dangerous curses, so I had to show more of what I could do to keep from losing."

"Wouldn't it have been more effective to not be in that predicament in the first place?"

Harry's eyes widened in understanding, "I see what you're getting at. If I hadn't gotten into the duel in the first place, I wouldn't have shown anything."

"Exactly. Why did you get into the duel?"

Harry looked incredulously at the professor, "You told me I didn't have a choice. You said that once the challenge had been given we had to go through with it."

"That is true, but what I am asking is, why did you challenge him to a duel in the first place?"

Harry thought for a minute, and then frowned again, "I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking because I was angry." Harry's shoulders slumped, "I let my anger cloud my judgment."

"Exactly. You reverted to your old standby of acting before thinking." The professor paused before continuing. "I believe we need to work on controlling your emotions. Your control is excellent for your Occlumency, but it is obviously lacking in your decision making."

Harry sat in his chair, contemplating his anger problem, "I know I tend to get angry easily. I just don't know how to not let things get to me."

"Harry, there is an old muggle expression I think you should keep in mind: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." The professor smiled and continued, "You become very upset by the things people say about you, so much so that some people taunt you just to get you to lose control. You need to remember that they are just words. I can't tell you how to ignore the words, because I know that sometimes it's very difficult. I can tell you, though, that if you succeed in ignoring the comments that you will begin to see a decrease in them. Once people figure out that they can't get to you like that they will get discouraged and move on."

Harry nodded in understanding, "I sometimes wish I could just shut down my emotions. Everything would be so much easier without them blinding me."

"That's not necessarily true. While it is true that sometimes our emotions can blind us to the truth of our lives, without emotions we would be empty shells. Without emotions, we could not feel pride in our accomplishments. We could not feel safety, happiness, or contentment in our lives. We could not feel love or hope. Our emotions are what make us human." The professor gave a small dramatic pause, "They are also what drive our magic."

Harry had another confused look, "What do you mean? How do emotions drive our magic?"

"By the end of your duel, your spells gained strength. What was different between the end of the duel and the beginning?"

"I got angry because he broke the rules and used a potentially fatal curse."

"Yes, you pulled more power from your emotions of anger making your spells stronger. You see when you add emotion to a spell you can increase its potency."

"I can see that emotions can make a spell stronger. If I am trying to control my emotions, how can I use them to increase my power?"

"Harry, what is the first thing to go through your head when you sense the approach of a Dementor?"

"I feel fear. I feel afraid of what they can do to me."

"Yes, you feel fear, but that doesn't stop you from being able to conjure a Patronus. Does it?"

Harry nodded in understanding, "I see what you mean. I control my fear so that I can draw on my happy memories to cast the spell."

"Exactly, you control your emotions in decision making so you can pull strength from the emotions you need for each spell."

"Professor, I pulled from my anger to make my stunners more powerful. I've tried to use my anger to cast other spells before, but it didn't work. Why doesn't it work for all spells?"

"I assume you are referring to your attempt at the Cruciatus?" Harry nodded, surprised that the professor knew about that. "That's because of the nature of that curse. Do you know why it's considered an unforgivable curse?"

"It's used to torture people."

"That's true, but that's not the reason. In order to cast that curse, you have to want to cause pain. In fact, you have to enjoy causing pain to the point that you actually derive pleasure from it. The other unforgivables are the same. They are powered by the desire to control or kill another. In order to cast those curses you need to gain pleasure from controlling another being or causing death." The professor paused to let this information sink in before continuing. "Harry, you will never be able to cast those curses. You don't gain pleasure from causing other people to suffer. It's not a bad thing. Most witches and wizards who fight on the side of the light can't cast those dark curses. Neither Professor Dumbledore nor I can cast those curses, so don't be concerned about the fact that you can't."

Harry was worried, "Sir, if I won't ever be able to cast those curses, how will I ever be able to fulfill the prophecy?"

"Harry, there are more ways to cause death than just the killing curse. That is something that we will work on at a later date. It is more important to me to get you able to defend yourself for now. Your power is strong but not anywhere near strong enough to fulfill the prophecy, yet. You still have some magical growing to do."

Harry nodded once again and continued to think about what was being said. As Harry was going over the conversation in his head, he stopped to think about a specific comment his professor had made. "Sir, a moment ago you said that neither Professor Dumbledore nor you could cast the unforgivables." Harry continued after seeing the professor nod in agreement, "The way you said it made it seem as if you felt you were an equal with Dumbledore. Is that true? Do you consider yourself to be Dumbledore's equal?"

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore and I are both powerful magical beings, but no, we are not equals. We both share the same goals, but we also each have our own abilities and limitations."

"Sir, I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be holding something back from me. The one thing I learned last year was that it was not a good idea to keep things from me. I want you to be honest with me, sir. I have blindly placed my trust in you to teach me what I need to survive and help me win. I would hope that that trust would be returned by you. I want you to be honest with me, please."

The professor stared at Harry for some time, considering the young man. The emotions in his face seemed to be battling as to whether or not to say more. As Harry was about to speak again, Professor Smith decided it was time for some truth.

"Harry, I can not tell you everything you want to hear, yet. However, what I will tell you has to stay here, between us. You have to promise not to even tell your friends what I am going to share with you. Do you agree?"

Harry was hesitant. He didn't want any more secrets to be kept from him, or to keep any secrets from his friends. He also wanted to know as much as possible and was worried about what his professor could be hiding. After several moments of contemplation, Harry finally agreed to keep everything they were about to talk about secret.

Professor Smith took a deep breath and began, "Harry, I am not what I seem to be. How old would you say I am?"

Harry took a long hard look at Professor Smith, "Physically, you look to be in your early thirties, but your knowledge and the way you speak makes you seem much older."

"Yes, I am much older than I look. Exactly how much older, I will not say, yet. Suffice it to say that I have been around for a long time. I have seen many things and been many places. The one constant in my life is teaching. My purpose for continuing to live is to teach the next generation of powerful wizards."

"So, you are a teacher who is older than he looks. Why is this such a secret? Where have you taught before and why are you only starting to teach here now? You are an excellent teacher, why haven't you been teaching at Hogwarts until now?"

"Harry, you are the first student I have had who is still in school. All of my other students were adults when they began to show the signs of their increased powers. My teaching of you and your friends is the first time I have ever had a group lesson before. I have always been able to be very secretive in my teaching methods and my identity. My past students are the only ones who know all there is to know about me."

Professor Smith looked into Harry's eyes as if trying to peer into his very soul, "Harry, I usually do not make myself known to my students until they have had noticeable increases in power. Last year you began to show some signs of what you are capable of but not enough that I would normally get involved. However, your situation is unique in that Voldemort will not allow you to naturally reach that point, so I decided that I needed to make myself known to be able to help you the best that I can."

"What makes you so sure that I am this next powerful wizard?"

"The Prophecy. The Prophecy can only be about you, so that is why I have been watching your progress with interest. I have been observing you from afar for many years, Harry. I know of your story and how you have dealt with the many things in your life. The fact that you have dealt with adversity and ended up being the person that you are today speaks volumes. It would have been very easy to end up being bitter, petty, and angry with the world. You have been just the opposite. You show great caring, loyalty, and hope. These are very powerful feelings that you posses in great quantities."

"Is that the power the Dark Lord knows not?"

"No. They are foreign to him, but they are not what will help you reach your full potential."

Harry was getting confused again, "Do you know what this power is?"

"Yes."

Harry stared wide-eyed at his professor, "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"No, I'm not." Before Harry could begin his protests, the professor continued, "Harry, I can not tell you what it is. If I were to tell you then you would not find it. It is something that must be found naturally and truthfully. If I were to tell you, then you would immediately try to find it. Even if you found it, you would never know if it was real."

Harry's confusion was at an all time high now, "How would I not be able to find it if I knew what it was? If I don't know what it is, how will I know when I have found it?"

The professor sighed, "This is why I don't usually make my presence known until my students have found their power. You will know when you have found it. You will be able to feel it flowing through you. It will be unmistakable."

"Can you tell me how to find it?"

"Alas, no I can not. However, if I am not mistaken, you are on your way to finding it."

The professor said this last bit with a smile, much to Harry's displeasure. Harry decided to change the course of the conversation, "How many other students have you had?"

"You would be my fifth."

"Do I know any of your other students? Would I know who any of them were?"

"You would probably know of at least one of them, but don't ask for names. I can not tell you who any of my previous students were until it is certain that you are one of them."

"What do you mean by that? I am already one of your students. I mean, I thought when you taught another person something that made them your student."

"What I mean Harry, is that while I am teaching you some things, you are not yet my student. I offered my services to Professor Dumbledore so that I could try to help you become one of my students more quickly. As I said earlier, I don't believe that Voldemort is going to make it possible for you to progress naturally. If I am right, and you are the next powerful wizard, then I have to help you learn to master your powers. When you finally show signs of that power, then I will concentrate on teaching you and you alone."

"Is Professor Dumbledore one of the wizards you have taught?" Harry was still curious, "After all, he is considered to be the most powerful wizard of this time. If your job is to train the powerful wizards, then he should have been one of your students. Shouldn't he?"

Professor Smith chuckled, "No, I never had the pleasure of teaching Professor Dumbledore. Harry, the headmaster is a very powerful wizard, but it is insignificant compared to the power my students can wield. If you are truly meant to be one of my students, your power will make Professor Dumbledore look like a mere child by comparison."

Harry sat stunned into silence. Could he really be more powerful than Dumbledore? If that was true, he could understand why Voldemort wanted him dead. How could he keep this from his friends? How old could his professor be? Professor Dumbledore had to be over one hundred and fifty. If Dumbledore was considered the most powerful wizard of this time and his power was nothing compared to what Professor Smith's students were capable of, how long ago had he last taught someone? How powerful was Professor Smith? This was a lot of information to take in. In fact, this was huge.

Slowly, he began to accept the possibility this was true and the responsibility of keeping this silent. Harry looked into the eyes of his professor once more. Nodding his acceptance of the information, he spoke. "Sir, I appreciate the trust you show in me by sharing this information. I assure you that that trust was not misplaced, and will make sure that this information does not get out through me."

"Thank you, Harry." Professor Smith nodded in appreciation and continued; "Now I think we need to start working on controlling your emotions."

They worked for the rest of their time at the castle on Harry's ability to control his emotions. It was a difficult task in that they had to try many different approaches before getting any positive results. In the end, Harry found the simplest method to be releasing the anger through humor. Professor Smith would call upon embarrassing memories of Harry's to get him angry, while Harry would respond with his own humorous embarrassing comments about the professor. When they finished for the day, while he would still end up quite angry, he wasn't losing control any more.

The next morning at breakfast, Harry was pleased. Hedwig had brought in the latest edition of the Daily Prophet, and on the front page was the headline that made Harry so happy.

Minister of Magic Forced to Resign

The story went on to detail Harry's participation. In fact, most of the stories in the paper that day had to do with the effects of the attack on Diagon Alley and the duel. In another article, it was stated that the Wizengamot had appointed Madam Bones as the interim Minister until a proper election could take place. The main reason for this was the arrest of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, Dolores Umbridge, who would normally have taken over the post. Harry wasn't happy about his inclusion in the news, but was extremely happy about the outcome.

The next couple of days flew by. Whenever the teens could, they would go to their secret potions lab to keep working on the potion. Hermione being the most accomplished of the four at brewing potions was the one in charge of this task. One wrong step and they would destroy the potion, or even worse create a poison. This was a very advanced potion that contained many of the same ingredients that went into most poisons. The reason for this was that the potion was supposed to place the drinker into a deep trance almost like a coma. Once in this trance, the drinker would meet and observe his or her inner animal, the form of his or her animagus.

After Harry's next lesson, he joined his friends in the lab for the final steps of the brewing process. All four of them were quite nervous and excited at the same time. The potion sat bubbling in it's cauldron on a table in the middle of the room. There were four glasses sitting next to the cauldron along with an ordinary pair of scissors. On another table against one wall, sat another bubbling potion. It was a remedy, in case they messed up the potion and it had turned into a poison. They didn't want to have to explain why they had poisoned themselves to any of the adults.

"Okay," Hermione said, "This is kind of like the Polyjuice Potion in that we need to put a bit of ourselves in the potion. I figured that a small cutting of hair would work. I also think we should do this one at a time, in case something goes wrong."

Every body agreed and much to everyone's surprise, Ron volunteered to go first. "If I don't go first, I might lose my nerve." Hermione cut a small lock of Ron's hair and dropped it in his glass then ladled in a serving of potion. Ron stirred if in the glass for the necessary two minutes and then threw the drink back like a shot. He swallowed quickly and immediately started to sway. The other three quickly set him down in a chair. Almost as soon as he was seated, his eyes rolled back into the top of his head and his body went completely limp.

Ron remained like that for about fifteen minutes. Harry and company were beginning to worry when Ron started to blink and show signs of waking. Hermione was crouching nervously in front of Ron holding one of his hands. Ron was beginning to regain his bearings as a grin crept across his face.

After about five more minutes, he was absolutely beaming, "WICKED! I'm a dog! Not just any dog, mind you, I'm a Rottweiler!"

Harry was grinning at his best friend, "Excellent, Ron. That's a perfect animal for you. They're one of the most powerful breeds of dogs and extremely loyal to their owners. They'll do almost anything to protect the families they live with. That fits you." Ginny was giving her own wicked grin to her brother.

Hermione was finally smiling too. Knowing that the potion worked, she wanted to go next. She went through the same process as Ron and twenty minutes later, she sat there grinning madly. "I'm an eagle!" She exclaimed, "In fact, I think I'm a very specific eagle." With that, she dove into her book bag and began digging around for a specific book. A moment later, she sat up leafing through Hogwarts, A History. "Yes, this is it!" She laid the book on the table open to the pages informing about the different houses. "I'm the Ravenclaw Eagle!"

Ron laughed, "No wonder you're the smartest witch in the year. You're the mascot of the house with all of the brains." This comment caused Ginny and Harry to both fall to the floor in fits of laughter.

Ginny wanted to go next. She copied the process Ron and Hermione went through and twenty minutes later had her own wicked grin. "I'm a red fox!"

Hermione responded, "Oh, that's perfect. They're really quick and ferocious when they want to be."

Now it was Harry's turn. He was excited but apprehensive. He prepared his glass and with a last hopeful look at his friends, drank the potion quickly. The taste was one of the most vile things he had ever had the displeasure of tasting. Before he had time to really describe the taste, he felt himself beginning to lose consciousness. He was quickly in a state of deep sleep.

Slowly Harry began to get lucid. He opened his eyes and began to look around. He was trying to figure out where he was and why he was there. The last thing he remembered was being in a room with his friends and then drinking something foul. What was it? A potion! An animagus potion! Now he remembered, he was in a trance to find his inner animal.

He looked around expectantly, hoping to see it quickly. What he did see made him wrinkle his forehead in curiosity. All around him, he saw bars and panes of glass. On the other side of the bars and glass were all sorts of animals. Animals of every variety imaginable. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, and reptiles. Animals with hooves, domesticated animals, and wild animals. He was in what looked like a zoo, a zoo that housed every non-magical animal imaginable. He didn't understand. Was he supposed to choose which one he wanted to be? 'But, my animal is supposed to choose me. Isn't it?'

As he continued to look around at all of these animals, he finally voiced his concerns, "How am I supposed to know which one of you I can be?" At this pronouncement, every animal turned its eyes to look at Harry. As one, they all moved to the edge of their respective enclosures. As he looked closer at each one, he noticed something eerily familiar about them. They all had the same emerald green eyes, Harry's eyes, and on their foreheads sat a very faint lightning bolt shape in their coloring. It wasn't obvious unless you really looked closely. Harry stood there perplexed for another moment when a new thought occurred. "I can be all of you can't I?" At once, all of the animals began to nod their heads as if to say "YES!"

As soon as he understood, the zoo began to disappear and he realized that he was coming out of the trance. He was flabbergasted. He could become any animal he wanted to. This had to prove to him that he was indeed a powerful wizard. As he was regaining his senses, he realized that this was something that he couldn't tell his friends. This would lead to discussions involving his talk with Professor Smith from two days ago. He had to think fast, he had to come up with one animal that would seem to fit him. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all looked at him expectantly, fit to burst in anticipation.

"Well?" Ginny was extremely excited. "What are you?"

Harry pondered for a moment and then decided, "I'm a mongoose!"

Now Hermione exclaimed, "Harry, that's perfect! Mongooses hunt snakes! Deadly cobras to be exact. It's so appropriate for you to be an animal that hunts snakes considering who your opponent is."

Harry simply smiled at his friends. He hated lying to them about this, but he had promised Professor Smith not to say anything about his potential. He knew if he told his friends the truth, they would start to ask questions and would eventually figure out about his talk with the professor. Harry was so wrapped up in his thoughts; he didn't notice the questioning look that Ginny gave him, almost as if she could tell he was holding something back. She soon decided to let it go and celebrate with the rest of the group.