A/N: A big thank you to all of you, who have reviewed the first chapter of this. A big thank you to The Muse of Apollo who has agreed to beta this story and 'Master of Death'. My thanks also to everyone, who follows this story and has put it in their favorites.
Disclaimer: It belongs to J.K. Rowling. All but the plot and John.
After a night of very unpleasant nightmares, Harry awoke early. Too early. The sun just started to rise. Knowing from experience that he just as well might get up, Harry went to one of the windows that overlooked the grounds of Hogwarts.
He looked out over the black lake and saw a small figure running laps around it. After digging out his omnioculars from his trunk, he saw that it was John. He was sweating heavily, but made no sign of slowing down.
Shaking his head, Harry went to get ready for the day. After he had returned from the bath to get dressed, he looked out the window once more and saw that John was now swimming. Curious about what John was doing all the exercise for, Harry went out of Gryffindor Tower to head down to the lake.
As he arrived John was still going strong, so Harry sat on a rock to wait. It was half an hour later that John got out of the lake. He spied Harry and walked over to him.
"Good morning Harry." John conjured a towel and began to dry off.
"Morning John, what are you doing out here this early?"
"I keep my body in shape, at least somewhat. Usually, a lot of my day consisted of both, physical and magical exercise. With the occasional mental challenge thrown in. I want to use the mornings, to keep fit and healthy."
"Does it help you? With magic, I mean."
"Yes, but it's not only that. It helped with the combat training I had. It's very demanding." John chuckled.
Harry frowned, this was what he needed. Training, real training. He decided he had nothing to lose.
"John, could I join in? The fitness and combat training I mean." Harry smiled humorlessly. "Every year something bad happens and I always find myself in the thick of it. I need training, I need to be better. Luck has helped me out a lot, but I can't depend on that."
John looked pensive for a moment. "I guess I would like a training partner, but we have to start a lot slower on you. Before you can join me in the harder stuff, you'd have to master the basics and put on some muscle. Let me show you something." John indicated the leather bands on his wrists, ankles and hip. "These are magical weights. They automatically adjust to a weight that's slightly above comfortable. You wear them throughout the day, and you will feel beat by the end of it, every day. After two months, you'll see a significant difference and you will know then why you wear them."
John moved over to where his clothes lay and picked up the small bag he normally carried in one of his pockets. He searched for a moment in it and then handed another set of bands to Harry.
"Here put them on. The runes on it will adjust every time you get better. You also need to eat more."
Harry had taken off his shirt and shivered in the cool morning air. He knew that John could see his ribs through his pale skin. Luckily the bruises had healed by now.
After Harry had put on the bands, he immediately felt the pull on his muscles. John and he went up to the school and while John went to the dungeons to shower, Harry went up to meet up with Hermione. He felt the strain of the weights with every step he took.
As he climbed through the portrait hole, he almost bumped into Hermione.
"Harry where were you?"
"Come on, I will tell you on the way to breakfast."
As they made their way to the Great Hall, Harry told Hermione about watching John train from the tower and asking him about it. He also told her about the weights and promised her a look at them later.
In the meantime, John had finished his shower and waited at the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione joined him at the large double doors. As the minutes dragged on, they grew more and more worried.
After waiting for twenty more minutes, the first students started to leave the hall already. John told Harry and Hermione to get some food, while he went to look for Luna. They insisted on joining him in his search however and so three people went in search of the seemingly lost Ravenclaw. Harry had an idea however, darted into the Great Hall and came out again looking smug.
"I just asked the twins where the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room is."
Hermione sighed heavily. "Something tells me that they knew exactly where it is."
Harry nodded and lead the way. They arrived in a corridor that only held a gargoyle at the end of it. They had almost closed the distance to it, as it moved aside and a crying Luna hobbled out.
"Luna!" John shouted and ran for her. He gently touched her shoulder and she flinched away in pain. "Moonchild, what happened?"
Still crying silent tears, Luna moved the scratchy looking pullover she wore and revealed angry red boils underneath it. "Someone left bubotubler puss under my sheets, it took a while to seep through. I tried to wash it off as soon as I noticed it, but it was already too late."
Hermione winced in sympathy, as her hands had gotten the same treatment in their last year. "How much of your skin looks like that? Wouldn't you want to wear something other than wool? I'm sure it only aggravates the boils."
Luna cried harder. "Yes, it burns so horribly. All my other clothes were gone this morning. All of my back and most of my chest looks like this."
John tried to keep his calm and barely managed to do so. He pulled his wand out and transfigured the wool into silk. "Now we have to get you to the infirmary."
"NO...the nurse, she is going to ask questions...It'll only get worse after that." Luna shied away from them.
John held up both hands and spoke to her like she was a deer in the woods. "It's okay, you don't want to go. You don't have to go. I have a salve, that will heal your skin. That takes a while, but at least it'll stop burning. Hermione, can you take Luna up to your dorm and apply the salve? Can you also lend her some clothes? And some shoes perhaps?" Hermione nodded and agreed.
John, after some searching, gave her a container of thick yellow salve and a few bandages. John and Harry watched the girls leave. As they were just around the corner, Harry felt a magical energy spike right beside him. He looked back at John and saw that he was glowing and magic arced over his body.
"John calm down, it's not going to help her if you tear down the Ravenclaw Tower." Harry was starting to feel his hairs stand on end.
Slowly the magic receded into John's body and he visibly relaxed a bit. "Maybe not, but I would feel a little better. I have to find out which of the Ravenclaws are to blame for this." His face contorted into the angry parody of a smile. "And then there will be hell to pay."
The boys slowly made their way to the entrance to Griffindor Tower. Once there, Harry gave the password and told John to come inside and wait for Luna. They had barely entered the Gryffindor common room, when hurricane Ron hit them.
"First Hermione drags that Ravenclaw to her dorm and now you drag a Slytherin into the common room? What's wrong with you two?"
John had neither the time nor the patience to deal with Ronald Weasley. "It's in the fucking rule book, you moron! Or rather it's not in there, in this case. It's nowhere stated that other houses can't visit another common room. Now bug off!"
Ron stood there with his mouth gaping open. He tried opening and closing it for a while, but found that no words were coming out. Kind of disappointed by his own attempts at speaking, he turned around and went back up to his dorm.
Harry and John waited for a good thirty minutes, before Hermione and Luna came back down the stairs. Now Hermione also had tear stains on her cheeks. Luna hobbled over to John and gave him a cautious hug. Very gently he pulled her into his lap, where she curled into a ball and cried herself out.
Meanwhile Harry was talking to Hermione. "What's wrong Hermione?"
Hermione threw her arms around Harry and cried a few more tears, before she told him. "I know how much my hands hurt, where the puss had touched them. Harry, she has these boils down her entire back and on her breasts and some on her stomach. The slave calms the skin some, but she still is in horrible pain. It was pure luck, that the puss didn't touch...more delicate areas." She blushed a little.
Harry, despite being a boy, winced. He imagined having boils in sensitive areas and shuddered.
John had once more searched through his bag and found a potion and a box of muggle painkillers. He gave both to Luna. "Here the potion will help your skin heal and the pills make the pain stop. They are muggle and don't interfere with the magical treatment, like a pain potion would."
Luna downed the potion and swallowed two of the pills. She once more curled up in John's lap and he held her gently. After he had stroked her hair for a while, her breathing had slowed down and became regular.
John shifted around as gently as possible, to make the sleeping Luna more comfortable. Then he glanced at Harry and Hermione, they had sat on the love seat opposite him and Luna. Harry had comforted the girl and held her in a hug. She had stopped crying by now.
"What are we going to do about this?" Hermione asked them.
John pondered their possibilities for a moment, then he answered. "Officially...nothing." He held up his hand to stop Hermione, who had already opened her mouth. "Unofficially though, their arses belong to me." He shifted Luna of his lap. "You both watch over her, I have some preparations to make." With that he disappeared out of the portrait hole.
When Luna awoke in time for lunch, Harry and Hermione accompanied her to the Great Hall. She was feeling much better, thanks to the pain killers. The girl had been a bit disappointed when she had woken up and John hadn't been around anymore. Only her other friends telling her that he was preparing something for her, had calmed her down.
The had just gotten some food on their plates, when John entered the hall. He looked a bit beat and Hermione noticed that he had several bleeding cuts on his fingers. He sat down beside them at the Gryffindor table.
"Here." He placed a small, fabric wrapped package in front of Luna.
"What is that?" Then she saw his cut up fingertips. "John your hands."
"Don't worry, I have a potion that will heal them. Open it." Luna found four small, rune covered stones in it. The fabric was square and had a runic circle written on it. "These" He said indicating the stones. "are small ward stones. You can use them to form a small, rectangular ward around your bed and private belongings. And this" He now pointed at the fabric. "is a runic summoning charm. It will summon everything in this castle, that belongs to you."
Luna smiled at him. "Thank you. I will sure sleep a bit easier now at night. What will that ward do?"
John smiled, but his eyes were cold. "It only allows you access to your bed and personal belongings. If anyone else tries, they first get a warning. Then it gets a whole lot more unpleasant. Let's just say it puts painful boils in private places, and leave it at that."
Luna and Hermione looked like they wanted to object for a moment. Then they nodded and their eyes grew hard. Hermione had seen the damage the puss had done to the petite blonde's skin and Luna thought that the others deserved anything they had coming after their latest 'prank'.
They opted to get the ward set-up after they had eaten lunch. They once again found themselves walking to the gargoyle. Luna opened it and invited them in. The entirety, that was the Ravenclaw common room, grew silent and started panicking a bit, as they saw John enter the room.
Most of them knew what was happening with Luna 'Loony' Lovegood and while only few participated in it, most chose to ignore it. She was the odd one out and no one really wanted her around. Seeing the man that had befriended her in their sanctum, had more than one of them yearning to get out. John felt dangerous to them.
The man in question saw the looks and smelled the fear in the air. He was pleased, this would stop, one way or another. If it wouldn't stop because they were afraid of the possible penalties, he would teach them to fear him instead.
Luna in the meantime had gone to her dorm and set up the ward. She then laid out the fabric on the center of her bed and pressed her hand to it. The runes glowed briefly and she walked away. Later that evening when she would return, all her belongings would be on her bed. Even ones she had thought lost forever.
Harry once more got a picnic basket from the kitchens and they retired to the shore of the lake. Luna, with her inflamed skin, now yearned for the cool water, but knew that it would prove detrimental to her skin.
Harry and Hermione decided to take a stroll around the lake, after they had eaten a little. John and Luna remained at the lake, Luna's skin would be sensitive for a while still and both had missed meals that day and were very hungry.
As they were walking, Hermione decided that it was time to talk about a few things. "Harry, how do you feel about us?"
Harry, like most males would, froze. He didn't know how to respond to that. So, he blurted out stuff, without consulting his brain first. "Ehh…." He swallowed heavily and tried again. "Hermione I...I'm not at ease, when talking about my feelings. I don't know...I..."
Hermione had a small smug smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "It's OK Harry, I can start if you want."
Harry released a breath, he hadn't realized he had been holding. "I would like that."
Hermione took a deep breath. "I like the way things have been going between us. The kisses have been nice and I would like to think that there was more than just hormones involved in them."
"Hermione there are definitely feelings involved. I have feelings for you...I'm not good at categorizing them, but I care deeply for you."
She smiled at him. "I wouldn't ask for more at the moment. You have been my best friend since first year. Ever since that day you saved me from that troll...well I've have had feelings for you. I didn't realize it at first, I just thought that we were just really good friends. This summer however, I came to the conclusion that I feel more than just friendship for you. How much more, I can't tell yet. All I know is that I want to be closer to you, Harry."
Hermione moved forward and pressed another one of these nice, chaste kisses on his lips. It lasted for a long heartbeat and he was disappointed when it ended.
"I want that too, Hermione. Would you…Well would you like to...Would you even want to be..." Harry noticed that he was rambling. He took another deep breath and tried again. "Will you be my girlfriend."
"I would like that." She smiled at him and kissed him again. This time it lasted for quite a bit longer. It left him with a goofy grin for the rest of their walk.
While John was still eating, Luna tried laying down on the blanket. Her back was out, her stomach didn't work either. The boils on her breasts touched the ground. Her sides were equally uncomfortable, so she tried to curl up like she had done this morning. Without Johns lap underneath her, the position felt wrong and boils were in the way again.
She sat back up and found John looking at her. Luna blushed a little under his gaze. "What's wrong Moonchild? Are you hurting again?" There was concern in his eyes, concern for her.
A bit proud and a bit embarrassed Luna mumbled her reply. "Without you underneath me, I can't find a position to lay down comfortably."
John came over, to sit beside her. "If that is the only problem, I can help with that." He patted his thigh and smiled at her.
Still blushing a bit Luna curled up in his lap and finally had all her hurting and aching bits of the ground. "Thank you. For everything I mean. Thanks to you I have friends now. And you seem to care for me so much." She started crying softly.
John stroked her hair and Luna relaxed on his lap a little. "I care for you Luna, you are a very special person. You are a lovable girl. You never seem to lie, that is a trait that I like in people. Honesty."
Luna smiled at him saying she was lovable, but it faded away afterwards. "But you're not entirely honest all the time, are you?"
There was a long pause and she was afraid, that she had said something bad. She was almost sure she had blown it, again, but John still stroked her hair. After another long moment, he finally answered.
"No. I'm not completely honest."
"But you have a good reason for it. I can feel it." She tried to look at him.
"Yes. I will tell you eventually, but right now is not a good time." He sighed. "However, can you keep a secret?"
"As long as I don't have to lie. It gets tricky if I have to, I'm not good at it."
Making a decision, John channeled magic into his hands. They glowed a bright white. He placed one on Luna's back, the other on her chest. Then he let the magic flow.
Luna was at first shocked, when John placed his hand on her chest. Then she felt warmth flow into and then through her. Her pain was gone and her skin felt better. After a few seconds, he withdrew his hands and Luna sat up. She couldn't feel any of the painful boils anymore. Unbuttoning the first few buttons on her blouse, she peered down, under the bandages on her chest. Only the creamy white of her skin and the pale pink of her nipples greeted her. The painful red boils and welts were gone.
John looked tired and without warning fell back on the blanket they had been sitting on.
"John!"
"It's OK...I just have to close my eyes for a moment...wake me in half an hour." He smiled at her and drifted to sleep.
Luna once more looked down her chest. After buttoning her blouse back up, she curled up by John's side. Try as she might, she couldn't help but feel pleased. Pleased that her skin was healed, pleased that John had shared part of his secret with her and pleased that he cared enough for her to do it. She smiled and cuddled up to the man who had changed her life around. Vowing to enjoy this while it lasted, she drifted off as well.
It was to this scene, that Harry and Hermione returned from their walk. Luna had cuddled up to John's side and he had placed an arm around her, holding her close.
"I wouldn't be shocked if they come to us in about 4 months and tell us that they're a couple." Harry was chuckling slightly.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "If you think it's going to take more than 4 weeks, you're thicker than you look Potter." She smiled at him, to show that it was all in fun.
"Oh really, you'd wager on that Granger." He picked up the play from her.
She turned her nose in the air snobbishly. "I never bet on anything. You'd lose anyway."
Both looked at each other and broke into hysterical laughing. This in turn woke the other two. Luna yawned and stretched like a cat. John simply got up, years on years of programming came into play. They looked at the pair, until they stopped laughing.
"What's got you..." But Luna had to yawn again, so John finished her sentence for her.
"...laughing like that?"
This cracked Harry and Hermione up again. They fell to the ground laughing and were trying to stop long enough to breathe.
After they had calmed down some, they saw the other two still looking at them expectantly. A bit embarrassed they blushed and decided to change the topic. Hermione smiled brilliantly at them.
"We've got something to tell you."
Luna and John looked expectantly at her.
"Harry and I are seeing each other now. We are a couple."
Luna hugged them both. "I am happy for you."
John clamped a manly hand on Harry's shoulder. "You treat her well, Harry."
He just smiled. "I will, always."
The friends were happily chatting away all afternoon and even Hermione had for once forgotten about the impending OWLs. At dinnertime that evening, they found themselves enjoying the companionable atmosphere of the Hufflepuff Table again. John saw Susan Bones react a little dejected, when the news that Harry and Hermione were dating broke. She was, however, genuinely happy for them.
He also saw a petite redhead, staring daggers at Hermione, that Luna informed him, was Ron's sister. Ron himself, didn't look too pleased with the newest development in camp 'Harmony', as some called the relationship. John decided to talk to both Harry and Hermione about this after dinner and he would have to talk to Harry alone soon, before even he broke even more hearts.
When they were done eating, Harry, Hermione, Luna and John left the Great Hall for their common rooms. John asked them for a quick word and they opted to use an empty classroom for their chat.
"Harry, Hermione, you have to watch out now. Both Ron and his sister, Ginny, have thrown nasty looks in your direction throughout the entire meal. I think they might try something against you."
The couple looked shocked at that revelation and looked to Luna for confirmation.
"It's true, if looks could kill, you'd both be dead now."
Harry recovered first. "OK, we will be careful."
They left the classroom again and headed to their respective common rooms. John however accompanied Luna to Ravenclaw first.
"You too be careful, Moonchild."
"I will." She pecked him on the cheek and all but fled into her common room.
John stood in the corridor for a long moment and smiled. Then he made his way towards the dungeons.
Harry and Hermione had curled up in a love seat by the fire and Hermione rested her head against Harry's shoulder. Both were smiling and had kissed a couple of times, aware that there were eyes that followed their every move. Not wanting to be accosted by the Weasleys, they decided to turn in early. Both closed their curtains with charms that night.
Harry awoke the next morning, feeling beat. Every muscle in his body was hurting and the pull the weights now had on them felt quite a bit worse than the day before. He still got up early, to join John at the lake.
After he had made his way down to the entrance, he saw that John was already up and had just finished his laps around the lake. When Harry reached him, he had just finished stripping to his boxers and transfigured them into swimwear.
"Good morning John." Harry called out.
"Morning Harry. Are you ready?"
The younger boy bit back a grimace of pain. "I'll manage."
John chuckled a little, while rummaging through the small bag again. "Here." He held a potion out to Harry.
Harry took the offered bottle. "What's this?"
"It will help your body adapt to the exercise faster. Think muggle steroids, without the nasty side effects. I wouldn't rely on it too much, you should develop the body naturally, but for the first few days, it's completely okay to help nature along a bit."
Harry smiled. "Thanks." And downed the potion. He felt the effects immediately, though not as strong as he was used to from normal healing potions.
"Thank me tomorrow. But I doubt you will. Next thing is food. You look fairly malnourished, so you probably don't get a lot of food over the break. The way your body looks, you haven't eaten a lot while growing up either. And the meals I have seen you take in, were fairly small in comparison. At least to the human vacuum cleaner you call a friend."
Harry thought about defending Ron, but found John had a point. "So, what should I do? Eat more?"
"Definitely. But the right stuff. Your body can't just develop right on simple sugars and the odd bit of fat. You need fatty protein and complex carbohydrates, so your body can develop the muscle you need. If you're unsure about what to eat, simply ask. I will help you out, or take a look at my plate at the meals and copy the food, but try to eat a little more each meal. Your stomach probably can't take in more than you're eating now. You feel stuffed, but are basically still semi-starving your body."
John handed Harry a set of vials. "Here take these and drink one to every meal. They will help your body to strip the food of its nutrients better and faster. Some of the undernourishment you have suffered will be almost impossible to fix, but we should still try."
Harry nodded and placed the vials off to the side. John then showed him some basic tai chi movements. "They will strengthen you, without too much strain in the beginning."
As per his instructions he ran through the movements five times and then started doing laps around the lake in a moderate jog. Halfway through his first round, he felt his body aching. By his third round, his muscles screamed at him to stop. In his fifth lap the screaming had stopped and he was able to continue for five more rounds.
John had been swimming in the lake the entire time Harry had been running. Harry collapsed at the shore of the lake, just as he came out of the water. He went over to the coughing, gasping and heaving boy.
"Still want to thank me?"
"Fuck...gahh...off…gahh…arsehole!"
John laughed hard at that. "Wait till tomorrow, by then you'll love me."
Harry rolled over on his back again and groaned.
After ten minutes, Harry's breathing had slowed down enough for him to get up again. They went to shower and agreed to meet in front of the Great Hall, so they could all have breakfast together. Harry however, had forgotten that he still had seven stories to climb, before he could have that promising shower.
After a hot shower to ease his muscles, he went to meet up with Hermione in the common room. After a quick kiss and telling her that he had his first physical training this morning since primary school, they made their way down to breakfast slowly.
Upon arriving in the entrance hall, they spotted John and Luna talking amicably. Luna wore a set of nice robes and had a set of pretty earrings to wear to a necklace made of silver. The jewellery was still a bit...outlandish, but it was better than what she'd had the day before, even if it was a bit out of shape.
Luna told them that all the things that had gone missing, from her first year till now, had been returned by John's runic summons. She had missed the jewellery she had crafted with her mother when she was younger and had thought she would never see it again. Now Harry and Hermione knew, no matter how outlandish these things looked, they were the most precious things she owned.
Their breakfast that morning was once again eaten at the Hufflepuff Table, were they felt the most welcome. Gryffindor still mostly believed the Daily Prophet's lies about Harry, the Ravenclaws were all arseholes in their books and Slytherin was, at least as of now, ruled out completely.
The Hufflepuffs had taken the time to talk to Harry. They found him to be quite reasonable, so most of the 'Puffs soon believed in him. Quite a few wrote home to their parents that the chances were good that Voldemort was indeed back.
After breakfast Harry and Hermione had History of Magic and John had to make his way to the Greenhouses for Herbology. Luna had a Arithmancy lesson.
History was as boring as ever and Harry vowed to ask Hermione, how she stayed awake through it. When finally the bell rang, they had to make their way to potions, where they met up with John. The couple took one cauldron and John joined Neville at his. He was an adept potions brewer, Harry noticed. Throughout the lesson, he corrected Neville's smaller mistakes before they could melt or explode his cauldron. Sometimes he added something to the brew, other times he stirred in a different pattern than in the instructions. At the end Harry and Hermione, just as well as Neville and John, had produced perfect potions.
Before they left their potions at Snape's desk, John taped his wand to the vials and winked at Hermione. They had barely turned their back to the professor, as their vials hit the floor, but instead of breaking, they jumped back to the table top.
Harry had to grin at John for the little stunt he pulled and together they left the classroom. In the entrance hall they had to split. John and Hermione had to make their way to Ancient Runes, while Harry had to go to Divination. Thinking that he should have chosen better in the past, Harry climbed the stairs. His muscles screamed at him for it.
John and Hermione slowly walked to the Ancient Runes classroom. The girl thought about her almost bet with Harry and decided to tip the odds in her favour a little.
"John, you DO owe me a coffee you know." She smiled at his surprised expression.
"Ehh...sure. I just thought you would like to get your coffee with Harry now, but if you want..."
Hermione laughed. "No, no...It's not for me. I noticed that you seem to like Luna a lot?"
"Yeah." He looked a bit embarrassed. "I do. I like her way of thinking and her straightforward manner."
"Sooo….I would like you to take Luna on the date you owe me." She smiled at him.
John chuckled. "Well that's not exactly a hardship."
They entered the classroom and after she had seen the runic summons he had made for Luna, Hermione decided to sit beside John for this class. He obviously knew his stuff. They spent a pleasurable hour in it, where John was able to answer all the questions the professor cared to ask him.
After class, as they made their way down to lunch, Hermione asked the older boy if there was anything he could not do.
"A lot of things sadly. Transfiguration, not working for me. I can do the stuff that's asked for fourth year, but barely. Charms work fine, but that's about it. I had a different type of training than what you receive at Hogwarts. More combat related. You learn charms there, but mostly ones that help you out when you're in a tight spot. Herbology is another lost cause. I know most healing herbs and things. The only thing I need to know about mandrake on a battlefield is that I can throw them at my enemies."
John sighed, and continued. "I guess it depends on the usefulness of the subject. I know that conjuration is part of transfiguration here at Hogwarts, but I find it a lot easier than transfiguration itself. Most healing potions, I can brew using ten different methods. That helps with a lot of other potions though. Defence should be no problem and there is no dark arts curriculum in this school, so no OWL in that."
Hermione gasped at that. "You know dark spells!?"
He shrugged. "Yes, well dark by classification. They were part of my fighting training and everything that harms the body is considered dark. I can kill someone using light spells as well though."
"What!? How!?"
"Use a cutting spell, focus on the living tissue instead of fabric or threads. Levitate someone over the edge of a cliff. Use a sticking charm on the legs and banish the head. Shall I go on?"
Hermione looked decidedly green, she had never thought that of the thousand useful spells she knew, many could be used to fight and even kill. Her mind, working in overdrive, quickly came to one conclusion.
"You don't care about the classification, but about the intent behind the spell."
"Sure, if I had to cast a killing curse to save ten little children, I wouldn't hesitate. And the spell would still work. Hatred doesn't allow you to cast the spell, it just makes it a lot easier. Having that kind of power over life and death...It has its own pitfalls."
"So, if I learn the dark arts for self-defence, that's OK. As long as I don't succumb to the temptation."
"Basically, yes! There are ways to achieve the mental discipline to do so."
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "Will you teach these spells to Harry?"
"I intend to, but first he has a lot more to learn. He has to be able to protect his mind and lock out the influence of these spells. Then, and only then, will I teach him."
Hermione looked bothered for a moment, then she took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Anything that helps keep Harry safe and alive, is a good thing. If you promise me that he will still be the same as he is now."
"I promise, with one additional condition, if he has to kill...he might change. It happens with or without the dark spells, but they may make the difference between living and dying for him."
Hermione looked at John sadly. "He had to kill already, but the dark arts might make it a lot more real to him, next time."
John nodded at her. "Yes, they will. Levelling your wand at someone, with the intent to hurt, maim or kill, it makes all the difference. It's the difference between defence and combat. Between a duel and a battlefield. I will make sure he knows the difference before I even teach him one spell."
Hermione smiled again. "Thank you...if it helps him…then it's worth the price."
"But don't tell Harry about this yet. I don't want him to get the wrong idea about this."
Nodding, she smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell. And you remember Luna, the first Hogsmeade weekend will be in three weeks."
John smiled back. "Don't worry, I won't."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. At the double doors, they joined Harry and Luna. This time they ate at the Gryffindor table. Harry looked like he was falling asleep, while still eating. John gave him a mild pepper up potion, so he could continue to stay awake in defence against the dark arts, in the afternoon. Before they left to the last class of the day, he gave Harry one more task for the day. He was to keep his emotions in check, no matter what.