Chapter 13:
"I'm not evil"
"I think it is time we had our little chat, Harry."
"OK Hermione. Start whenever you're ready."
"Fine. First of all, I want to know what you know. Not to be rude or anything, but the Harry I knew before summer started couldn't create that thing you call Ted or cast a killing curse."
"Well, first let me correct you on the killing curse thing," he said in a professor-like tone, something he had learned while teaching the DA. "As you know, the killing curse requires a fair bit of power to cast successfully, along with the mental will to make it work, right?" Hermione merely nodded her head and Harry continued. "You are probably also aware that the Patronus is very difficult and not many adult wizards can cast one successfully. However, there are quite a few who can cast killing curses. So, really, it shouldn't be a surprise that I can do something like a killing curse."
"Harry, you're forgetting the mental component. The Patronus requires good memories to fuel it. Death Eaters, especially the really cruel ones in the inner circle, are not the type of people who can utilize those kinds of feelings."
"Well, that's not entirely true, its just harder for them, much like it is harder for us to summon up the required emotions and drive for a successful Advada Kedavra. I mean, I've never tried it or anything, but surely someone like Bellatrix can use their weird sadistic glee to power a Patronus. Emotions and intent seem to play a large role in the casting of spells."
"Well, I would argue with you about Lestrange's capacity to cast some spells, but I have to say that I am impressed, Harry," the young woman replied. "It's about time you or Ron finally started to understand some magical theory."
"Don't celebrate yet," he said warningly. "Just because I know the basics doesn't mean I will be able to debate the different theories with you anytime soon."
"Good," she replied smugly. "At least there are some things that I will know that you don't."
"You're more right than you know," Harry muttered. Hermione cocked her head to the side and looked at him strangely.
"What do you mean Harry? You seem to already know quite a bit about magic and from the sounds of it, your repertoire of spells has really improved. I suppose that brings me back to the second part of my question. What can you do?" At this Harry rested his chin in his hands and assumed a thoughtful look. Finally, he spoke.
"You want to know everything, Hermione?"
"Yes Harry, I do," she replied resolutely and perhaps a little excited.
"All right. I will answer all your questions, but I need you to do a few things for me first. Understood?" She looked at him curiously.
"What do you need me to do?"
"First, I want your Wizard's oath, or Witches I suppose would be the correct term, that you won't reveal anything I tell you to anyone else willingly, save maybe Dumbledore."
"What about Ron, Harry? I thought you told each other everything?"
"I do, normally, but I want to tell him myself. Besides, as much as I know him, he can be a tad unpredictable at times. He will either agree with everything I have done or he will think me completely evil, or he will think I'm evil and then realize that I'm not, and by then, he may have let some things slip."
"Why would he think you're evil?" Hermione was a bit perplexed, but she did have her suspicions. "Harry, what have you been up to?"
"I'll get to that. Now, do you promise not to tell anyone?"
"Yes, I give you my oath as a witch that I will not tell anyone, save Dumbledore, what you have done." With that, Harry felt a very small shift in the magic around him as the oath was sealed with magic.
"Thank you Hermione. The second request of mine is that you will try to remember that all I have done has been for the good of everyone and that, in the end, I am still Harry Potter and not some insane dark wizard."
"And if you are an insane dark wizard?"
"Then you'll be the first to know," he said with a slight smile. Turning serious again, he continued, "do you promise to hear me out and not jump to conclusions?"
"Of course Harry, though I doubt anything you show or tell me will come as a surprise anymore."
"Great. Now, I just have one more request, or more properly a requirement, that I must ask of you, if I could only find it…" with that, Harry started digging around the books on his bed. Not finding what he was looking for, he got off the bed, grabbed a set of keys that were on the nightstand, and started to rummage around in his trunk. It was almost a minute before he shouted in triumph and pulled himself away from the trunk. In his hand was a rather thick tome that appeared to be well read. Harry walked over to where Hermione was sitting and presented the book to her, which she quickly grabbed.
"I want you to read and practice the first five chapters of that book," he said as he took his seat back on his bed.
"The Skills and Tactics of the Benandanti," Hermione said as she read the title before looking up at him slightly confused. "Why do you want me to read this?"
"Well you see, the Benandanti were a group of wizards in…"
"Yes, yes, Harry, I know who they were. I did pay attention in history of magic. But how is that relevant to me?"
"Well, besides being master at Legilimency, they also were quite skilled in a variety of mental defenses, including Occlumency. Dumbledore told you most of the prophecy, and I am about to tell you the rest and how I can do what I can do. While I know you won't tell anyone willingly, I can't take the risk of one of his unknown followers knowing legilmency and thus gathering that information from you."
"I understand about the Occlumency, but what are the other mental defenses you mentioned?"
"Before I say, you do agree to read and learn the Occlumency skills, right?"
"Of course I do!" she said indignantly. "Did you really think you could hand me this book and have me not read it? Honestly, Harry!"
"Hey!" He said holding up his hands defensively, "I just had to be sure. As Moody always says, Constant Vigilance! Well, the imposter always said that," he added as an after thought, "so I imagine the real Moody does repeat it frequently also."
"Enough chit chat Harry. I agreed to your terms, now spill!" She was looking positively gleeful at the prospect learning more knowledge. It was like a drug to the girl. "You mentioned earlier that you still didn't know as much as I do, so I want to know what you mean by that."
"Well, you seem to be under the impression that I have advanced greatly in my knowledge of spells, and I have," he said, cutting off the argument Hermione was about to make, "but really it is no more than what I should have learned over the past five years in school, had I been paying attention. Most of the advanced, non-combat spells that I know I only know because it became necessary for me to know during my training."
"How so, Harry?"
"Well, for example, expanding a room magically. My duplicates and me needed room to duel so we had to learn the charm. Or perhaps healing. At the very beginning of my self-training, I had to learn a few healing charms. And before you ask, I found a better substitute for self-healing later on. Now," he continued, "if you are talking about defensive magic and offensive spells that hurt and/or blow things up, than yeah, I know a bit more than your average student or adult."
"Interesting definition Harry, 'offensive spells that hurt'," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What other kinds are there?"
"Well, if you're going to be like that then I wont tell you anything," Harry replied firmly as he made to get up.
"No!" Hermione practically screeched, reaching out and grabbing his arm to keep him from leaving. "I mean, no," she repeated pleadingly, "I'm sorry, I won't be like that. Now please, continue."
"Thank you. Anyway, as I was saying, I said I learned offensive magic. What I didn't waste my time on were things like tickling charms and minor stinging hexes or basic stunners. As I told you earlier, our greatest weakness at the ministry was that when we hit them, they got back up again. Now, well, they better stay down when I get through them. Don't worry," he added, seeing the shocked look on her face, "they are not all fatal spells. In fact, most of them are only fatal if you use them in certain ways. Next question."
"You said you didn't advance too far in other fields of magic. What about Ted? That's some advanced transfiguration you did. Surely, you are more advanced than most when it comes to that branch of magic."
"You would think that, and I actually think I may have something equivalent to sixth, perhaps some seventh, year skills when it comes to transfiguring things, its still difficult. The problem lies in that, while Ted and creations like him are big and powerful, since they don't follow the rules of any real creature, things don't have to be exact when I make them. It would take me a while to, lets say, give my magical constructs wings that work. I have no idea how big the wings need to be, how they should be shaped, etc… The same goes for general transfiguration, especially when turning one animal into another. Granted the mental exercises I know make it easier, but it is still rather difficult. I can also say the same for the other branches of magic, though with charms I don't think I will have a problem."
Hermione nodded her head in understanding and looked like she was thinking of another question to ask. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly, a disgruntled look upon her face. Groaning in frustration, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She quickly unfolded and read it. She folded it back up and put it in her pocket.
"What can you do with your wandless abilities and how do you do it?" she said as if nothing happened.
"You wrote your questions down?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You know me, I like to stay organized. Besides, I didn't know how much you would tell me or if you would limit the number of questions I could ask or how much time you would be willing to give, so I had to prioritize them. Now, please answer the question."
"Whatever you say Hermione," he shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I might as well start with how wandless abilities work. You performed accidental magic when you were younger, right?"
"Yes, almost every wizarding child, except squibs, shows signs of magical ability at a young age."
"Well, as you are aware, it usually happens in very emotional situations. The trick is to be able to control your emotions and, hopefully produce a magical reaction. Once you do that a few times, you start to get the feel of what using that magic feels like. Once you know what it feels like, you can concentrate on that feeling and reproduce it, in time. The problem is that every magical effect has a distinct feel to it. So, while it is possible, though extremely difficult and draining, to wandlessly will magic to do whatever you want, as in the case of accidental magic, it is far easier if you know what the feel of magic is for different spells. For this you need a wand."
"Let me guess! Once you know what you're looking for, you can feel the magic when using a wand as well!"
"Right in one, 'Mione. So the limitation with wandless magic, at least as far as I have discovered, is that you have to know the spell and have had to cast it already. Once you know how to feel the magic, you can do the same with your wand."
"If you can do it wandlessly," the bushy-haired girl asked, "why use a wand at all?"
"Well, for one thing, it is tiring to do things wandlessly for extended periods of time. For me, I could probably, being fully rested, perhaps go two or three days without a wand or maybe one prolonged fight, but beyond that, I can't do it. Secondly, anything that can be done wandlessly can be done with a wand, but not everything that is done with a wand can be done wandlessly, especially the high powered spells like the unforgivables or the Patronus. I have the book I got the theory from around here somewhere. I'll give it to you when I find it." She nodded and continued.
"You said that once you know the feel of a spell, you can usually do it wandlessly. Can you combine spell effects, like a tickling charm with a jelly legs jinx?"
"Perhaps, at least with spells that are that basic. I tried a stunner with a disarming spell, but it was too complex for me. I think that it may be possible, but I really don't know."
"I suppose that makes sense, Harry. I only have one more question, if you don't mind." Harry had a feeling what the last question was about, but he had promised to tell her everything, so that was what he was going to do. Besides, if he could get Hermione into his way of thinking, then it would be easier for both of them to convince Ron that he, Harry, wasn't going evil.
"Go ahead, Hermione, I told you that I would tell you everything."
"Well," she sounded surprisingly nervous, which surprised Harry as Hermione was usually not the nervous type. "Now, don't get mad if you haven't or anything, but, well, have been performing dark rituals?" Harry couldn't help but smirk at the slightly frightened look on her face. After all, after last years experience with him, she had every right to believe that he would be upset with her for accusing him of using so-called dark magic. 'Don't know what she's worried about though,' he thought, 'after all, we are already well aware of my familiarity with the killing curse.' He decided to play with her a little bit.
"Are you claiming that I, Harry Potter, the so-called golden boy of Gryffindor has stooped so low as to use dark rituals, is that it, Hermione?" he said in a very annoyed tone of voice. The girl looked very abashed at this and though Harry looked dead serious on the outside, he was cracking up on the inside. "I will have you know, Hermione Granger, that all the illegal rituals that I have performed were not dark!"
"I'm sorry Harry, I know it was foolish for me to ask, but I thought, what with Remus saying…. What?" Hermione stopped her apology midway as she finally processed what Harry had said. "So you have been performing rituals?" she asked cautiously.
"Of course!" he replied jovially, though his humorous mood didn't last very long.
"Harry James Potter! How could you? Do you know how dangerous that was, how irresponsible?" Harry couldn't tell what was worse, the anger that his friend was expressing or the deep underlying concern that he saw in her eyes. Right now Harry was feeling a little lost. Hermione was still ranting on about the dangers of power enhancing rituals with a focus on the damage Harry could have done to himself, working herself up till she was close to tears. Harry, as many are well aware, was terrible when it came to dealing with his or anyone else's emotions, especially when they came from a female, so Harry was quite naturally confused.
'Oh shit.' he thought dejectedly. 'Why does the person who can tell me what to do with people have to be the one who's upset? Damn, she doesn't look like is going to calm down. I really should do something. Right, but what. Well, I could use the rest of the prophecy to explain why I did what I did, but that might upset her more! Bah!' By now she seemed to be oblivious to Harry and was apparently ranting to herself. He was sure he heard her say something along the lines of 'why does he always have to be so reckless?' and 'that boy is absolutely hopeless at taking care of himself!' Harry stared at her, still at a loss as for what to do. Pulling himself together, he decided that now was a time for action, for after all, that was what he was best at.
"Um, Hermione? Its, um, it's okay. I'm fine," he said hesitantly, reaching over and placing a reluctant hand on her shoulder. At the contact Hermione seemed to have realized that Harry was still there. Upon seeing the absolutely lost look on his face, she seemed to regain some sense of composure and decided to take pity on the poor young man and save the lecture for later. Quickly composing herself, she turned to face Harry directly, noticing him flinch as she laid her eyes on him.
"You're not scared of me, are you, Harry?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Just a little, Hermione. You're acting like a girl and you know how I am when it comes to girls."
"Oh come on Harry, we're not that bad. Besides, you faced down at least two dozen Death Eaters before, surely that must be more frightening than me?"
"Hey, with Death Eaters, they throw spells at me, and I do likewise to them. I don't think throwing hexes at you will improve the situation any. Besides!" he said suddenly. "You promised that you wouldn't go off on me about what I told you."
"I agreed to no such thing," she replied indignantly. "I only promised not to go jumping to the conclusion that you have turned evil or something. Speaking of which, you need to start explaining why I shouldn't go to Dumbledore and tell him that you have gone all evil on me."
"Well first of all, Dumbledore already knows. And if you must know, I only performed a few rituals, and they are very basic and dealt with imbuing magic into the body. There were no human sacrifices, as is quite common in many power enhancing and age-defying rituals. I also haven't pursued immortality or anything of the sort. I just gave myself a little boost." Harry suddenly looked at Hermione curiously. "How did you guess that I had performed a few rituals?"
"It was more of an inference than a guess really," she replied modestly, though Harry could tell she was proud of herself. "First of all, Remus had mentioned some of the components he had gotten you, many of which I knew only had uses in illegal potions, so that was a real give-away. Then there were these odd welts on your body that looked like runes when you first arrived here. I was going to just write those off as spell wounds, except I have never came across a spell that did that. There are also some physical changes, though subtle, which are still apparent. You are taller, more so than is natural for being gone for even half a year, and really, you're far too pale to be natural. While those can possibly be explained by the amount of time that you have spent using the time turner, which, by the way is also illegal, there are other things. Let's not forget that not once have you mentioned any sort of physical training yet you look perfectly healthy and fit, or there was that killing curse you used the other day was one of exceptional power."
"Perhaps, Harry, I should mention that you not only fought off a bunch of Death Eaters, but also created a Portkey while suffering magical exhaustion. And from what I understand of this controlled accidental magic of yours and from what I have seen you do with it in just this limited amount of time, it would suggest that you have far more power than you have admitted to me or perhaps even to yourself."
"Jeez Hermione," he said, staring at her with an awed look, "you make it sound obvious. Do you think anyone else noticed?"
"Perhaps, though I would trust the Headmaster to effectively deflect any comments they would bring up."
"You're probably right, Hermione. So, yeah, back to the topic at hand, do you have a problem with the rituals?"
"Honestly? I need to see the ones you performed first."
"And if you don't like what you read?" he asked cautiously.
"Then I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't do anymore," she replied so firmly that Harry was quite sure she would follow through on her promise, or at least try to (As modest as he was, Harry was well aware that he possessed more power and experience when it came to fighting then the girl in front of him). What she did have was spell knowledge and a strong will. "So, can I have whatever text you got them from?"
"Yeah, sure." With that, he sifted through his stack of books and produced the one on rituals. Quickly marking the ones he did, he handed the text to Hermione. He sat back and tried to read one of his other books while his friend skimmed the text, but he was surprisingly nervous, as if he was on trial or something. 'Of course you're on trial, Harry,' he admonished to himself, 'you are trying to justify yourself to your friends. Of course, if it weren't for those damned Death Eaters, no one but Dumbledore would have been the wiser.' Though even after he thought that, he knew in his heart that Hermione would eventually have figured it out, it just would have taken longer.
Glancing over at Hermione, he could see that she had gone from skimming the text to reading over the details very carefully. Sighing quietly, he laid back and tried to go to sleep, which proved impossible, both because he was not tired and even if he was, he was too nervous. After struggling with sleep for another ten minutes, he decided he'd had enough.
"Aren't you done yet?" he demanded as he sat up and glared at Hermione, who looked up from the book and glared back.
"Be patient, Harry. As it is, you should be happy that I'm not done yet, because when I am…" she just shook her head in frustration. "I swear Harry, your luck is going to run out one of these days. I mean just look at the possible catastrophes that could have happened to you, and these are only basic rituals!"
"You can spare me the lecture, Hermione, I am well aware of what could have happened. As it is, it didn't happen. Besides, you need to finish reading." With that, he walked out of the room and down to the kitchen to grab a quick snack. He spent a good hour there, chatting with Dobby, catching up with Winky, and sipping some tea. He glanced up at the clock, and, bidding farewell to the two elves, walked up the stairs to his room. As soon as he entered, he knew Hermione had finished. If it didn't matter to him what she thought, he would have burst out laughing right then and there.
Standing in the middle of his room was Hermione, arms crossed, her foot tapping on the floor, and looking completely enraged. He quickly glanced at the book of rituals that he had left on his bed and saw why she might be a bit upset. It was turned to the last one he had done, not more than five days ago. 'Well, I suppose I would be upset too if I learned that Hermione had stabbed herself to gain power,' he thought as he turned his attention back to his bushy-haired friend.
"So what do you think, Hermione?" he asked all too innocently.
"What do I, I mean wha…" she stumbled over her words, apparently not sure what she wanted to say. "what I mean is, that you, you, you know! With the knife and the stabbing, and the carving and runes!" She practically screamed in frustration, and despite the apparent distress of his friend, he couldn't help but feel a bit amused.
"How about I simplify things, Hermione," he said with barely concealed humor. "Am I evil and have I performed any evil rituals?"
"Well, no, they don't seem inherently evil and I know you aren't evil, but that's not the point Harry!"
"Hermione, I'm alive, healthy, and still retain my magical energy. There is nothing to worry yourself about."
"That's not the point! The point is you could have been killed! How could you have been so reckless."
"Hermione! Calm down!" he said forcefully, surprising the girl into silence. "Now, I wasn't being reckless Hermione, I made a decision that and I believe the benefits outweighed the potential risks. I didn't do this haphazardly. I planned each one out carefully and never tried something beyond my capabilities. Besides, you are now well aware, thank you Albus Dumbledore," he muttered that last part as an aside, " that I am the one who has to defeat Voldemort, I need all the help I can get."
"I understand that Harry, but you're not going to get there through rituals. V-Voldemort has over fifty years on you, plus I doubt he would have had the same self-imposed limitations on what he would and would not do. Let's not forget that he probably created a few of his own! While we don't know how you survived the killing curse, we do know that Voldemort survived it by something he did!"
"Are you through yet?" he said flatly. She merely nodded her head, having got out most of what she had wanted to say. "Good. Yes, I realize he has more power than me, and I am not willing to wait until I am as old as Dumbledore to defeat him. But I have to do something! Even if it only allows me to get through his Death Eaters, and even if I, in the end, fail, then at least I will know that I did everything humanly possible to defeat him."
"Harry," she said after taking a few calming breaths, resting a hand on his arm. "What about this 'power that he knows not' that was mentioned in the prophecy?"
"That?" he said incredulously, "Dumbledore told me that 'love' is the power that I have, yet everyone has love, so what makes mine so special? I don't know, and I don't think Dumbledore knows either. So until we, I, know what I have that can defeat Voldemort, than I will do what I can to stay alive and protect those around me. So if you have a better idea, I'm all ears." She merely shook her head. Harry sighed. "Look, I understand your concern, but this will get ugly pretty fast. Voldemort may have suffered two defeats, but that just means he will turn to his Dementors and any other dark creatures he can recruit. And, given time and a few victories, people will start to side with him again. Voldemort and his followers have underestimated us, and me specifically. I need to be ready to fight, we all do."
"Then let me help! You can't do this on your own." she said determinedly, bringing a smile to his face.
"That's what I wanted to hear! I will need your help planning DA meetings, but first I really, really, need you to learn the skills in that book I gave you, OK?" She nodded her head vigorously. "Good. I'll check your progress in a few days. Is there anything else? It is getting kind of late," he finished as he looked at the clock.
"No, Harry, and thank you for sharing your secrets with me. I promise I won't disappoint you," she said before heading towards the door. She stopped just before opened the door, and turned back to face him. "Good night, Harry," with that, she opened the door and left.
"Good night Hermione," he said quietly after she had gone, a slight grin on his face. 'Well,' he thought cheerfully, 'that went far better than I could have hoped! No obliviations, hexing, or anything. Well, time to get to work.' He wandlessly closed the door and then called out for Dobby, who quickly popped in beside his bed.
"Yes Master Harry Potter sir?" Harry merely rolled his eyes at the short elf's formalities.
"Is my meal ready?" He looked sadly at all the books piled around him. "It looks like it might be a long night."
R-o-t-G-L-
Elsewhere, back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
"I really think you give the Potter boy far too much lenience Albus," Severus Snape said very formally. "I don't think letting the boy sit in on an Order meeting was a good idea. By bending the rules for him, you give him an over-inflated sense of importance."
"I would have to disagree with you Severus," the ageing headmaster said with a twinkle. "First of all, if you take the time to get to know Harry, you will find that he is a very humble person. And this is not the only meeting I will let him sit in on."
"Surely you can't be serious, Albus? The boy is a menace! To trust him with the Order's secrets? He has barely passable Occlumency skills!"
"Severus, please don't take this the wrong way, but are you blind? I know you were present for the attack on Harry's home, so you can not tell me that Harry is incapable of defending himself. Harry has kept me apprised of his training and I can assure you, he is far more skilled than you give him credit for. Perhaps," Albus continued thoughtfully," Severus, you are unwilling to admit to yourself that Harry Potter may actually be talented. Perhaps you are unwilling to let go of your childhood grudge?" the old man said knowingly.
"I don't know what you speak of, Albus," the greasy potions master said defensively.
"Really Severus? Your animosity towards young Harry is hardly a secret, and the only reason I can find for it is that you hold a grudge against all Potters in general, which, really Severus, I thought you were better than that."
"It's not me Albus, it's him. He is just like his father. The same arrogance, the same disregard for the rules. And you haven't helped in any way. You practically encourage the boy!"
"Severus, I will say this only once." Severus Snape looked startled at the serious tone that Dumbledore used when he spoke these words. "Whether you like it or not, Harry Potter is important to this war with Voldemort, and to a lot of people as well, myself included. Also, despite what you believe, Harry is one of the most noble and self-sacrificing people I have ever met. As much as he looks like his father, he is not James Potter. Now, I will need you two to be able to work together. While Harry has improved much on his own, I do believe that he may need your help."
"Surely you don't expect me to work with him?" Snape said, aghast.
"Severus, he will need training in the Dark Arts, and I do believe he may just wish to continue Occlumency lessons with you now that he has a better grasp of the skill. If you agree, I can guaranty you that Harry will remain civil with you if you remain civil with him."
"Albus…"
"Severus, I must insist that you at least try. I trust that you can put aside some childish rivalry and work for the greater good."
"Very well. I will try Albus, but I can not guarantee you anything."
"As long as you try Severus, that is all that I ask."
R-o-t-G-L-
The next few days flew by for the people residing at #12 Grimmauld Place. The first thing Harry had done the next day was send Hedwig with a message to Madam Malkins with an order for another set of robes to replace the ones he had worn when he had been fighting at Privet Drive. Hermione, unsurprisingly, had quickly not only read through the chapters Harry had assigned her, but had finished the entire book. After inquiring with Anne Granger, he learned that his friend had barely slept and had spent much of her time reading.
Despite her enthusiasm, the practical application took a bit longer to learn. Hermione had read the book in three days, and Harry could have sworn that that was all she did during that time, but it took them another four days of practical application before she had been able to throw Harry from her mind.
Harry, for his part, felt he had been a far better teacher than Snape. Instead of going right after Hermione's negative memories, he spent the first hour of their time together trying to get her to recognize when someone was sifting through her memories. Once she identified the feeling, it became a matter of her summoning the will to push him out. Afterwards, they practiced by having Harry go after any of Hermione's unpleasant memories, and, in time, Hermione had been able to push him out, though it wasn't until late on the fourth evening of their practical exercises.
"Urrgh!" she yelled in frustration. "Why is this so difficult Harry? Weren't you able to at least force Professor Snape out of your mind your first day?"
"Well, sort of. But there are some things you need to keep in mind Hermione. First of all, and I don't mean this as an insult, but I do seem to have this uncanny knack for resisting magic that influences the mind, as Barty Crouch taught us with the imperious. And let's face it, I have had more experience with weird visions and exercising my will against another." Hermione just nodded in agreement before taking her position across from Harry, who had raised his wand again. "Ready?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Okay. 'Legilimens!'"
For what was probably the fourteenth time that day, Harry once again found himself once again skimming through Hermione's memories, searching for some of her more unpleasant ones. He passed by ones he had seen before, such as her time in primary school, where she was teased by other kids for her excessive study habits and large front teeth. That was one thing Harry quickly realized once he had begun to help his friend with her Occlumency; he was now far more aware of her background, and he felt he was beginning to understand her more, her attitudes and what drove her. Granted, at times he felt very uncomfortable sifting through his best friends worst memories, but she refused to back out, arguing that it was better that he be there to teach her than to allow someone like Snape access to her mind. At least she knew Harry wouldn't use what he saw against her and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit warm knowing that she trusted him that much. 'Besides,' he though with a bit of irony, 'it will be my turn when she eventually wants to learn legilmency!'
He could feel Hermione start to resist his mental probing, and though he was still relatively new at being a legilmens, he had some practical experience, and what he lacked in experience, he made up with sheer willpower. So he continued to plow ahead, searching for memories that were either embarrassing or personal. It was when he was coming up on the events leading to his and his friends' departure to the Ministry of Magic that he suddenly felt Hermione's will surge and he found himself kicked out of her mind. He looked at Hermione and saw that she was breathing heavily, though she looked almost excited at finally succeeding. She had already gotten over her embarrassment of Harry viewing her memories days ago and thus was solely focused on her current accomplishment.
"Well, congratulations Hermione, you finally managed to kick me out. Though, if you don't mind my asking, why that memory of all things?"
"Well, and you have to promise not to laugh at me," she said as she caught her breath.
"I give you my word Hermione that I won't hold anything against you. You know you can tell me anything."
"Well, it's kind of silly really, but I see my inability to stop you from going to the Ministry as one of my biggest failures. Seeing that made me want to not fail this time." Needless to say, this slightly shocked Harry.
"I don't understand what you mean, Hermione."
"Harry, I knew it was a trap, but I couldn't stop you. I have thought a lot about this, and while I know you had your reasons, and good reasons at that, for believing Sirius was there, I knew otherwise. I sometimes think that if I had tried just a little harder, been a little more persuasive, I could have kept you from going to the ministry, and possibly helped stop Sirius's death. It's silly, I know, but still…"
"Wow, Hermione," he replied, a bit disbelieving, "I suppose that actually makes sense, in an odd sort of way. But," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Sirius's death was the result of a lot of actions on a lot of people. Besides, do you really think you could have stopped me from going?"
"Well, no, I suppose not, and like I said, it is a bit irrational on my part, but…"
"No 'buts', Hermione. None of it's your fault, it's not my fault, it's Voldemort's, and Lestrange's, and even Dumbledore's to some extent. And, were I honest with myself, a lot of it is Sirius' fault. He wasted time taunting his cousin instead of finishing the duel quickly. But enough of this sad talk. Do you want to continue, or should we end on a high note?"
"No, let's end here tonight," she stifled a yawn before continuing. "I don't know about you, but I am ready to fall asleep on my feet."
"I know how you feel," he replied with a short laugh. "Take heart that I am not as brutal or as skilled at this as Mr. Snape is."
"Mr. Snape, Harry? When have you started calling him Mr. Snape?"
"That, Ms. Granger, is none of your concern," he said with false arrogance. Harry, while not liking Snape and still refused to refer to him as a professor, was not completely blind to the fact that he was a very skilled potions master, and should be addressed with some respect. Thus, he had decided to start calling him 'Mr. Snape.' He also had his ulterior motives, as he knew eventually he would have to ask the potions master for help and it would therefore be a bad idea to continue to treat the man with disrespect. Focusing back on Hermione, he continued: "Now that you know how it feels to force someone out, we can work on you doing it faster and not having to wait for more personal memories to come up. Once that is done, we will work on your full time mental protection."
"Okay, Mr. Potter," she said, trying to suppress another yawn but failing spectacularly, "I'll see you in the morning." Bidding Hermione a good night, he headed back up to his room.
The next few days were filled with activity, as Harry helped power the new wards at the Granger's home along with a few security additions of his own. Not knowing the active life-span of his magical constructs, he had searched through almost twenty books, a few of them from the Black Family Library, until he had found an activation charm that allowed the magic of his gollums to remain dormant until activated by the wards. He also had to change the shape of his creations, as they had to fit tastefully in with the rest of the Granger's decor. Unfortunately, he neglected to change their colour. Wards and defenses were also set up at the homes of the other family members who had been at #12. He remembered fondly the Granger's reactions when they saw the golums in their garden.
"Harry, dear," Anne Granger said kindly. "What are those things?"
"Oh, those are modified versions of my magical constructs," he said proudly. "I call them Ted 1.1. They aren't as big or as powerful as the original, but I added some charms so that they remain dormant until needed, thus retaining their power!"
"I see," the woman said, a bit confused. "They don't exactly match the décor though." At this, Harry looked at them for a moment before flicking his wand and causing vines to grow around them, making them fit in with the garden.
"Nice job Harry," Mr. Granger said, approaching his wife and Harry. He was obviously more impressed with them than his wife. "Can I see them in action?" Harry just nodded and waved his wand, creating another Ted 1.1 though this one wasn't tied into the wards. Almost immediately, two of the gollums came to life and leapt upon the new construct, tearing its artificial body apart. Harry just watched in amusement while the two Grangers looked on in surprise. Otherwise, thing went smoothly in setting up the defenses of the home.
As for the fact that Hermione's mother was aware of the majority of the prophecy, Albus had a two-fold solution. First of all, she had agreed to be obliviated of that memory, and then he did something that Harry could only describe as hypnotism as he planted false memories about what was said that night. Normally Harry would have thought it ridiculous, but in this one instance, he didn't feel like taking any chances. When Harry asked Dumbledore where he learned hypnotism, he told him that he had learned it from his Occlumency instructor years ago.
While Hermione's parents decided to move back home now that it was safe, Hermione had chosen to remain with Harry to continue with her limited Occlumency lessons and helping him plan future DA lessons. He could have sworn Anne Granger winked at her daughter just before they left, but passed it off as nothing. Hermione, for her part, seemed to blush a little and huff a bit, but otherwise made no mention of it.
It was the day after the Grangers had left, and Harry was sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when Albus Dumbledore arrived.
"Harry," the old man asked as soon as he entered the room, "when you are finished with your lunch, would you mind joining me in the sitting room?"
"Uh, sure sir," Harry was a bit surprised at the unexpected arrival of the headmaster. "Give me a few minutes."
"Oh, no hurry Harry. Take your time. I'll be waiting for you there." With that, the old man left the kitchen, humming some unrecognizable tune. Harry turned his head to Hermione, who was looking at him with what he could only assume was an expression of confusion that matched his own.
She asked, "What does he want with you today?"
"I honestly have no idea, but there is no time like the present to find out." He took another bite of his sandwich before standing up and heading for the sitting room. As soon as he entered, he knew that it wasn't just a social visit, as standing next to Dumbledore was Alastor Moody.
"Didn't waste time getting here, did you Potter?" the grizzled ex-Auror said as soon as Harry entered.
"I suppose not prof… I mean Alastor." He then turned to Dumbledore. "What did you want to see me for sir?"
"Please Harry, I think we know each other well enough for you to call me Albus when we are not in public."
"Uh, okay. That will take some time to get used to sir, I mean Albus."
"Oh, not to worry my boy," Albus replied gleefully, "you will have plenty of time to get used to using my name." At this Harry merely raised his eyebrow is a rather Snape-like manner. "You see Harry, I have decided that, if you are willing, I would like to test you capabilities today, so that I may have time to prepare for our private lessons when school starts. Alastor is here because I would like him to be one of your tutors."
"Yeah, sure! Um, what do you need me to do?"
"Well Harry, are you up for a duel?"
"Uh, with who Albus?" he replied hesitantly. However, he had a sinking feeling he knew who.
"Why, with me of course!" Albus replied, still maintaining his cheerful demeanor.
"Yeah," Harry let out a sigh as he spoke, "I thought so. So, where are we to have this duel?"
"I was thinking here would be a good place. Alastor, if you would?"
Alastor Moody nodded his head and began to wave his wand, clearing the room. As Moody continued to prep the room for a duel, Albus gestured Harry to take a seat as he also did so.
"Harry, while Alastor is busy, I felt I should inform you that your aunt and uncle's last will and testament will be read a week from now. I was thinking that you should perhaps make an appearance."
"Sir? They didn't exactly like me, so I doubt that there is anything worth going for."
"I realize that Harry, but don't you think that perhaps you should make peace with your cousin? As I understand it, he will be moving to some relatives of his on Vernon Dursley's side somewhere in Canada."
"I guess I will consider it, though I really don't want to talk to him…" Harry paused a thought suddenly struck him. "Albus, I'm still underage. Who is technically my legal guardian?"
"Well my boy, I was able to get the Ministry to transfer your guardianship over to Hogwarts. So while you have no official guardian, you will be under the influence of Hogwart's rules until you are seventeen. This shouldn't present a problem as you usually remain at the school all year anyway. As for the few weeks we have before school starts and the month or so you will have after this upcoming year till you turn 17, I have merely promised the Ministry that you will be under my protection. I hope this is satisfactory Harry?"
"Yeah, I suppose that will work. Better than being adopted by some unknown wizarding family."
"Albus, Potter," Alastor said, walking over to the two, "the room is ready." And indeed it was. All the furniture had been moved into a corner and shrunk. Instead, there was a raised platform very similar to the one Lockhart had created in Harry's second year, though not as high and not as opulent. Harry could see the walls shimmer slightly and he figured that Alastor had most likely put some protection wards into the walls. 'Probably what took so long,' he though idly.
Both Harry and Albus got up and took positions on opposite sides of the platform, both armed only with a wand. They both bowed to each other as Moody looked on with a strange sadistic glee.
"Alright, the rules are very straight forward," spoke the ex-auror. "Albus challenged Potter, so Potter gets to cast first. Otherwise, no unforgivables and the first one unconscious is the loser of the duel. The walls have been reinforced along with some cushioning charms. Any questions?" Both the duelers indicated that there were none. "Good. Then let's begin." With that, he signaled the start of the duel and immediately apparated away.
Harry flicked his wand at Albus, sending a powerful stunner at the old man. Albus almost lazily batted the spell away with his wand but did not return fire. Taking this opportunity, Harry quickly threw up a bright, maroon hued shield while wandlessly adding some more shields and protective spells to his clothes. Meanwhile, Dumbledore seemed to be still waiting for Harry to make his move.
Harry leveled his wand again and began to rapidly fling pink spheres of energy at his opponent. Now Dumbledore sprang into action. He quickly conjured a shield that easily absorbed the energy. Flicking his wand a flame-like whip sprang from his wand, similar to the one he had used against Voldemort. It tore throughout Harry's outer shield, but stopped when it hit the defenses Harry had put on his clothes. Unfortunately for Harry, it still restricted his movement. With a flick of his wrist, Dumbledore had Harry sprawled out on the dueling platform.
Harry tried to roll over only for the old man to tug at him again, keeping him off balance. Getting frustrated, he decided to employ the little skill he had learned early on in his training. Quickly concentrating, his body quickly turned to the consistency of smoke. Though the defensive spells he put up deactivated, the flaming whip also fell to the ground, prompting Albus to release the spell.
As soon as Harry assumed a solid form, he quickly rolled to the ground avoiding a bolt of red magic. In one swift motion, he came back up to his feet and yelled 'diable cravache!'
'Two can play that game!' Harry thought savagely as he cast the spell. Normally Harry wouldn't have been so competitive when it came to Albus, but it was rather embarrassing having the old man toss him around like that.
A look of surprise crossed the old man's face as six long tentacles of sickly yellow magic sprang from Harry's wand, wrapping around his opponents waist, neck, wrists and ankles. Harry twisted his wand, toppling the other dueler off of the platform. With another twist, he flung the headmaster into the wall. With one last flick of his wrist, Harry brought his quarry back to the dueling platform prone. By now, Harry could see that Albus was also getting frustrated. Much to Harry's surprise, the magical tentacles flew off of the other wizard and dissipated as he stood up and faced Harry, a determined glint in his eyes.
'Ah bloody hell, his stupid eye twinkle is gone," Harry thought desperately. He didn't have time for much more thought as he had to dodge another burst of energy from his opponent. He didn't know what spell it was, but the energy that radiated off of it as it flew by Harry's arm burned him. He knew now that Albus was dueling to win, and so should he.
Dodging another one of Dumbledore's spells, he sent a Reductor at the platform right in front of Albus and then apparated behind him, sending off five stunners in quick succession. However, Dumbledore wasn't there. Harry quickly turned around only to be blasted in the chest, flinging him across the room and into the wall. Throwing his mental blocks up, he immediately regained his footing. Quickly bringing for the memory of the witches hammer spell, he sent out a modified version as a beam instead of a spread out blast such as the one he used at Privet Drive.
Albus tried to move out of the way, but it caught him in the shoulder chucking him to the ground in a rather impressive back flip. Meanwhile, the spell continued on, and before Harry could stop it, it reacted with the magic in the walls, cleanly blowing a hole in the wall. Ignoring the damage he caused, Harry pressed his attack, barraging Albus with stunners and a variety of blasting and stunning hexes. Albus Dumbledore was not considered the greatest wizard in the world for nothing though, as he seemed to absorb the weaker spell and quickly deflect the others.
Soon Harry was on the defensive, blocking and dodging the spells thrown at him. Unlike Dumbledore, Harry was struggling to block even some of Album's weaker spells. Thinking quickly, Harry dived to the ground and rolled one his glass marbles towards Dumbledore. Waving his wand, he turned the sphere into one of his magical constructs (this one was titanium white instead of the normal black and red), quickly ordering it to knock the headmaster out. Harry meanwhile used the distraction to once again go on the offensive.
It almost looked like it might work. Dumbledore was caught in one of the creatures tentacles and his shields were starting to weaken under Harry's attack. That is, until a jet of flame sprang from the old mans hand, blasting through the tentacle holding him. He dropped to the ground and with a wave of his wand, blew the construct to bits. Harry looked on in surprise. He knew he had been able to put more power into his creation this time than he had with Ted, and his own killing curse hadn't even stopped it. Now he had just seen Dumbledore blow the thing away with one spell. Harry's hesitation would have cost him the duel, if there had been a way for Harry to avoid the next spell. As it was, there was no way he could block or dodge the wall of energy that was bearing down on him. Harry immediately lost consciousness as the bright yellow force of magical energy hit him.
Harry woke to see Albus Dumbledore looking down at him smugly as his eyes had that odd twinkle to them. He reached out his hand, which Harry eagerly grasped, and helped the young man back to his feet.
"Proud of yourself, Albus?" Harry sneered as he dusted himself off.
"Quite!" he said happily. "I haven't had that kind of challenge in a friendly duel in quite a few years. I only had to hold back a little bit."
"Hold back? You bloody well blew up my construct! Even I can't do that. You call that holding back?"
"Why yes, Harry. I did, seeing as how it wasn't a duel to the death, though I didn't hold myself to those restrictions when it came to your magical construct. As you so effectively demonstrated before, they are not living."
"Fine! Your point is taken," the younger man replied sullenly.
"Oh come now, Harry, did you really expect to win?"
"I had hoped," he said, glaring at the old man. Albus merely quirked an eyebrow at Harry, matching his stare. They kept this up for almost a minute, neither one of them blinking. It was Harry who broke first, as he began to chuckle and then started to all out laugh. Albus merely smiled at the young man.
"I-I suppose it wa- was rather silly of me to hope that," Harry tried to speak as he collected himself. "I mean, hell! You're Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, first class, and all that rubbish."
"I suppose I should be insulted that you consider my political positions rubbish Harry," he said lightly. "By the way, I noticed that you didn't use any particularly powerful spells either. Care to explain?"
"Oh, well, as I have explained to Hermione, most of what I learnt was meant be seriously debilitating. Since you aren't exactly a Death Eater, I didn't want to take the risk of hitting you with some of the nastier curses and dark spells I learned. Besides, would you want to explain to Madame Pomfrey or perhaps the people at St. Mungo's how and why you were incapacitated if somehow you didn't block or dodge something?"
"Well, Harry, as much as I have faith in my skills to counter such spells, you do have a point. That said, I think that our first part of your training when school starts up will be field healing and spell reversal. Once you get that down, we can start having some truly exciting duels!" The man seemed almost giddy at the prospect of having curses thrown at him.
Harry just shook his head as there was a knock at the door just before it opened. In walked Alastor Moody followed by Hermione. Moody's magical eye was pivoting around, taking in the damage to the room. It was Hermione who spoke up.
"Harry! What do you think you were doing, dueling the Headmaster!"
"Hey, he started it!" he said defensively, looking to both Albus and Moody for some back up.
"Potter's right, lass, Albus requested it. Wanted to test Potter here." He then turned his attention to Harry. "You might want to be careful Potter, she's been aggravated ever since you blew that hole in the wall." Hermione shot the old auror a glare only to receive an amused (if not a bit demented) grin in response. Harry meanwhile glanced at the hole he had caused and then looked around the rest of the room. Paint and plaster were chipped, along with a few lumps and dents. The dueling platform was damaged and there was debris from his construct everywhere.
"Wow, we really made a mess of things in here. Good thing I have Dobby and Winky hired." Harry seemed to consider something before practically jumping in excitement. "Hey! I have a great idea." Harry whipped out his wand and quickly glanced around the room. "Alastor sir, where are Winky and Dobby?" The elder man's eye quickly swiveled around.
"The elves are in the kitchen preparing dinner Potter, why?"
"Make sure they don't come in here." With that said, he began casting various cutting and burning charms on the carpeting and the wall.
"Harry! What are you doing?" Hermione screeched, looking at her friend as if he had suddenly lost his mind.
"Getting new carpets," he replied as he finished burning a large hole in the rug. Looking satisfied with his work, he called the house elves. "Winky! Dobby!" The two elves popped in quickly. "Sorry to disturb you from whatever you're doing, but do you think you could replace this carpet when you have the time? Perhaps something blue?"
"Of course, Master Potter!" Winky said primly, or as primly as a house elf could speak. Dobby merely nodded in agreement. Harry informed them that they were no longer required, and they went back to finish dinner.
That evening, while Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Dumbledore were sitting at dinner when a small, familiar owl darted into the kitchen. It was none other than Pig, Ron's owl. Harry quickly grabbed the small bird as it began to fly around his head and untied the knot from its leg. After reading it, he looked up and answered the questioning looks from the rest of the people at the table.
"Oh, it's from Ron. He and the rest of his family will be back a week and a half before the start of term." That was only a few days away.