AN: Not a very long chapter, I know, but I don't have much time on my hands anymore (not like I ever did) and I know that I've been making you guys wait awhile. Sorry. Anyways, here's the new chapter. Thanks to L E for betaing! Don't forget to review you guys cause otherwise I won't know if people are still reading this. Thanks and enjoy!
– Chapter Thirteen –
The Beginning"What do you mean, you don't know? You did it!" Ron practically yelled into Harry's face, though Harry didn't take much notice of it. He was too shocked, too stunned at what had just happened. How had it happened? Why did it happen? It's never happened before. It was like the thing that happened the other day with Zoë.
"I just don't," Harry said. He didn't know what was going on. Where had those words come from? They had just… come out.
"Harry?"
The trio turned to see Professor Dumbledore, Sirius and Lupin standing near-by. Sirius and Lupin were looking between the trio and Malfoy in confusion while Dumbledore had an unreadable expression on his face.
Lupin walked over towards Malfoy and tried to help him up, but Malfoy shook him off. His expression was a mixture of anger and shock. He sneered at Harry, He would have loved to say something, Harry guessed, but Dumbledore was standing right there. So instead he dusted himself off and headed for the dungeons.
Dumbledore turned his eyes towards Harry, Ron and Hermione, scanning each with his gaze.
"Could you please explain what happened here?" he asked.
Ron and Hermione immediately began telling the whole story while Harry remained silent. He just couldn't figure this out. What was happening to him? Was this what the Order had been referring too when they had been talking about him.
Dumbledore held up his hand to silence them, "One at a time, please. One at a time," he said.
"Well, you see Professor," Hermione began, "We were on our way outside when we ran into Draco and some of the other Slytherins."
"Malfoy started saying some pretty mean things to Harry," Ron said, "Things like You-Know-Who is going to get rid of him before the year's out and that if he was lucky, both Hermione and I would join him."
"He also made fun of Sirius," Hermione said, "Saying his father was going to make sure that Sirius, or more accurately, Padfoot is dealt with soon. That's when Harry said something."
They both paused for a moment to look at Harry. He didn't even seem to realize they were talking about him. His gaze was fixed on a point on the floor and he was standing almost perfectly still. Dumbledore noticed this as well.
"Continue," he said quietly.
"We are not exactly sure what happened then, sir," Hermione answered, turning back to the Professor.
"There was a flash of golden light," Dumbledore exchanged glances with Sirius and Lupin, "and Malfoy was thrown across the hall."
"He said something as well, just before the flash of light. I believe it was 'Phoenicurx Levisonus', but I could be mistaken," Hermione said softly.
Dumbledore nodded. He then turned to look at Harry, his gaze scanning him, "Harry?" he said quietly, drawing the younger wizard's attention. "Do you know what happened?"
Everyone's eyes were on Harry now and all he wanted to do was shrink away from their piercing gazes. He shrugged absently, looking away from them all.
"I don't know, sir. I'm just as confused about this and Ron and Hermione," he answered.
Dumbledore nodded again, "Very well," Sirius gave him a look, "Harry," Dumbledore continued, noticing the look Sirius had given him, "Would you please come with Sirius and I to my office for a moment."
Harry nodded, but said nothing.
Lupin noticed the looks on Ron and Hermione's faces and decided to try and take their minds off all of this, "Ron, Hermione, would you please come with me for a moment. I need some help preparing for my next class."
Both nodded, "Sure, Professor," they answered. They then followed Lupin down the hall towards the History of Magic classroom.
Sirius walked over to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Come on," he said and the three of them started up the stairs towards Dumbledore's office.
Harry was deep in thought the whole way. What was happening to him? What if he ended up really hurting someone with these new powers that he suddenly possessed? Would he end up like Voldemort? Power hunger and wasted away, killing people for pleasure and just because they had angered him in some way.
He was so deep in these thoughts that he didn't even notice when they had reached the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. He almost walked straight into Sirius, but Sirius stopped him in time.
Sirius watched Harry with worried and concerned eyes. His powers were growing stronger faster then they had thought and Harry wasn't prepared for it. This was all happening to fast and Sirius knew that if they didn't find away to help him, something very bad could happen. Either to someone else or Harry himself.
They walked into the office and Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk, "Sit, Harry," Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the seat in front of his desk.
Harry sat down slowly and remained silent. Sirius took a seat beside him. They all remained silent until Harry broke it.
"Am I in trouble, sir?" he asked, keeping his eyes focused on the floor.
Dumbledore smiled, "No, Harry. You are not in trouble. We brought you here to make sure that you are all right with what has been happening. You saved that girl the first day of school, then you had that vision in Divinations and now you have thrown Mr. Malfoy across a corridor with knowing how exactly you did so."
Harry didn't respond to this. He just kept his head down and stared at the floor. He wasn't all right. It was obvious. He had no idea what was happening to him or where these powers were coming from.
"So," said Dumbledore, "Are you all right?"
"I'm not sure, sir," Harry answered, "I'm just… confused I guess."
Dumbledore nodded, "Understandable."
"Harry," Sirius stared, leaning forward a bit to rest his elbows against his knees, "You know that if you need to talk about any of this, you can talk to either me, Remus or Dumbledore."
"I know," Harry said, "I guess… I'm just not used to this."
Sirius tried to contain his anger, 'Damn Dursleys!'
"Harry," Dumbledore said, taking a small box out of his desk drawer, "I want you to take this," he handed the box to Harry.
Harry opened it slowly to find a necklace with a scarlet phoenix flying under a silvery orb, which Harry guessed to be the Moon, "What is it?"
Dumbledore smiled knowingly, "It's called the 'Orb of the Phoenix.' It's given to people who have strong powers that they cannot control. It blocks the power and enables you to be able to learn to control it on bit at a time."
"And how do I do that?" Harry asked, putting the necklace on around his neck.
Sirius sighed, "We'll help you with that. That's the reason behind your extra courses. They're meant to help you explore your powers and help you learn to control them."
Harry nodded, taking in what they had said, 'At least now I won't be able to hurt anyone,' he thought.
"Now Harry," Dumbledore said, regaining Harry's attention, "I believe you have enough time left to go grab your books before you have to head to class."
"Okay," Harry said, "See you in a few minutes, Sirius."
Harry then made his way out of the office, down the stairs and passed the stone gargoyle.
He sighed deeply as he made his way down the hall towards Gryffindor Tower. His life was getting more complicated by the minute. He thought he had had it bad last year when he had had to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but now…
"This is just what I needed," Harry said to himself sarcastically.
Then it hit him. It was like walking into a brick wall, a huge wave of dizziness just swept over him and he crumbled to the ground in pain. Then he began to feel sick. Very sick. Like his insides were threatening to slip out. He could hardly think passed the pain.
Then, just as suddenly as it had come, it left him. Harry stayed where he was on the ground, panting hard.
"What on Earth was that?" he asked himself.
He didn't have a good feeling about this. What was that? How had it stared? Could it have been Voldemort? No, that didn't make sense. Not with that charm Dumbledore, Sirius and Lupin had casted. Then what could it have been?
Harry sighed and slowly pulled himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall. His legs felt like they were made of jell-o and his head as pounding.
"Well, this can't be good," he said to himself.
He would have to talk to Sirius about it.
Just as his legs were about to give out on him, Ron and Hermione came running around the corner, all flushed in the face and carrying Harry's book bag.
"Oh, Harry. There you are. We were starting to worry." Hermione said.
"Yeah, come on, mate. Sirius's class is going to start soon. I can't wait to see how Sirius treats the Slytherins," Ron said, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him down the corridor.
Harry just smiled and tried to act normal as he forced himself to stand up right and move forward, but Hermione saw right through it.
She frowned, "Harry? Are you all right?"
Harry sighed, "I'm fine, really. I guess I'm just still tired after what happened," he said, hoping his friends would buy it.
Hermione and Ron both seemed to fall for it, luckily.
"We should get to class," Harry said, trying to get them off the topic.
"Yeah. Come on Harry," said Ron and they started off down the corridor again.
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione slowly made their way down the hall, a cloaked figure silently made his way out of the shadows. He watched Harry with increasing worry. Something bad had just happened to Harry. Something he couldn't figure out and that bothered him greatly.
"Damm it!" he muttered. Voldemort was behind this. He knew it. "God Harry," he said quietly as the trio disappeared around a corner.
Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived at the Defence classroom only to see a mob of Gryffindors and barely any Slytherins. It seemed that Sirius's little performance had really heightened the sprits of the Gryffindors and they just could wait to have class with him. The Slytherins, of course, were another matter entirely. From what Harry could hear of what they were saying, they seemed to be making fun of Sirius in any way that they could think of.
The trio stopped and waited by the door for Sirius: Harry leaning against the wall a little. Hermione eyed him worryingly.
"Harry, are you sure you're all right?" she asked.
"I'm fine, Hermione. Really, I'm just tried," he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. He really didn't want to be talking about this to them at the moment.
Ron and Hermione decided that it was better not to push Harry on the matter, but they kept throwing him concerned looks out of the corners of their eyes. Harry sighed, noticing this. This was just not turning out to be his day.
Barking was suddenly heard from somewhere behind them and as they turned to see where it was coming from, a big black door came running into sight, before turning into Sirius Black before reaching them. Harry smiled slightly as his classmates gasped.
Sirius smiled as he came closer to them, "Well, come on everyone. Inside," Sirius said slightly amused.
The class slowly filed in while Sirius headed towards his desk in the front of the class. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed him and took seats right up in front near the side of the class.
Once they were seated, Harry glanced around. Most of the Slytherins were there now and the Gryffindors were bubbling with excitement. But Malfoy, Harry noticed, was nowhere to be seen. Crabbe and Goyle weren't there either.
Sirius smiled at them all and leaned back against the front of his desk, "Hello everyone. I'm Professor Black, as you no doubt have heard," many Gryffindors giggled slightly at that, "and I'm going to warn you all right now that this year will be tougher then most."
Neville shuttered.
Sirius continued, "Mostly this is because your O.W.Ls are this year, but also because I've noticed that over the past few years, save your third year," Harry, Ron and Hermione smiled to each other, "You haven't been doing much practical defence work. You've done loads of seatwork and essays on different creatures and spells, but you really haven't been able to put any of this knowledge to the test."
Harry and Ron look at each other and smiled. Yep, it was definitely going to be like third year all over again.
"So," Sirius said walking behind his desk and bending down to pick something up off the ground, "Since you haven't been able to practice much of what you have learned, we'll start now."
He placed a cardboard box on his desk and it wobbled slightly.
"Can any of you tell me what you think I have here in this box?" Sirius asked and Harry wasn't at all surprised when Hermione's hand shot into the air, narrowly missing his right ear.
"Yes, Hermione." Sirius smiled at her. He hadn't been surprised either.
"A Bogart," Hermione suggested.
"Correct. Now," Sirius said, gaining everyone's attention again when he heard them start to murmur to each other, "I know that you did Bogarts in your third year, but that's not why I have one here. As you all have heard, The Dark Lord is back in power, which means you all have to be prepared in case something should happen. The Dark Lord will try to gain allies with many of the dark creatures so you have to be prepared for what this war may bring."
"And what exactly will that be?" Malfoy asked as he Crabbe and Goyle finally arrived.
Sirius frowned and crossed his arms, "Why are you and your friends late for my class, Mr. Malfoy?"
Malfoy laughed, "I've got better things to do then come here and listen to a mutt."
Harry couldn't believe Malfoy had actually said that. Many of his classmates, by the looks on their faces, seemed to be thinking the same thing. Sure, Malfoy had mouthed off to Professors before, but he had never actually been that rude to one.
Sirius didn't seem fazed by what Malfoy had said, "Frankly, I don't care what your opinion of me is, Mr. Malfoy, but you will show up for my class on time from now one, unless you have a legitimate reason. Ten points from each off you for being late and another twenty from Mr. Malfoy for talking back to a teacher," Sirius said.
The Gryffindors tried their best not to laugh, but that was hard. The Slytherins were all glaring daggers at Sirius, but he didn't seem to notice.
"You're lucky I'm not giving you a detention for you rudeness," Sirius said, "Now take you seats before I deduct more points."
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle all sank slowly into their seats, each wearing scowls on their faces. Harry, Ron and most of the other Gryffindors were all red in the face from trying not to burst out laughing. Even Hermione was giggling. It wasn't often that they got to see Malfoy on the receiving end of a teachers lecture. And Sirius gave a very good performance.
"Now as I was saying before we were rudely interrupted," Sirius continued, "You all need to be prepared for what the war will bring. Voldemort," everybody but Harry shuddered at hearing the Dark Lord's name, "Will gain trust from many of the dark creatures in the world. His main objective right now is to get the Dementors that are guarding Azkaban on his side. If he succeeds in this, he'll have a huge advantage over most people because Muggles can't see Dementors and most wizards and witches can't fight them. Can anyone tell me what can drive a Dementor away?"
Hermione's hand shot up to fast for Harry to react.
"Yes, Hermione," Sirius asked again.
"A Dementor can be driven away by what is called a Patronus. It's a misty form that takes on a different shape depending on who casted it. It's powered by one single very happy thought."
Sirius smiled, "Exactly. Ten points to Gryffindor."
The Gryffindors smiled to each other.
"Now, normally we don't teach you the Patronus until your seventh year, but in light of recent events, Dumbledore has asked that you attempt to learn it this year," Sirius pointed out.
"The Patronus charm is highly advanced and even the most qualified witches and wizards have trouble performing it. I don't expect any of you to be able to perform it straight away, but if your lucky, you may be able to make at least a mist today."
Sirius patted the box in front of his slightly and it wobbled again, "The reason I have a Bogart here is so that we can practice on it. I couldn't very well bring a real Dementor in here for you to work on, but a Bogart Dementor will react the same way to a patronus as a real one would."
Sirius then turned to Harry, "Harry, would you like to come up and help me with this?"
Harry, knowing exactly what Sirius needed him for, nodded and made his way up to stand beside Sirius and the wobbling box.
"Teacher's pet," Malfoy spat out and the Slytherins laughed.
"Mr. Malfoy, do I have to send you to Dumbledore's office?" Sirius asked, giving him a stern look.
Malfoy shrunk back in his seat from that gaze and didn't answer.
"The reason I asked Harry to help me is because I need someone to help me keep the Bogart in the shape of a Dementor while you fight against it. Both Harry and mine's greatest fear is a Dementor so when the Bogart is close to us it will turn into a Dementor."
Malfoy was about to answer to that, but a stern look from Sirius stopped him. Harry noticed and gave Sirius a grateful look, which Sirius returned with a smile. He was used to Malfoy's comments by now, but it was nice to have someone stop him before he could say anything.
"Now everyone, repeat after me," Sirius said, "Expecto Patronum."
The entire class murmured the words.
"That's the incantation used to call up your patronus, but the incantation alone won't get it done. What makes the patronus powerful against Dementors is that it is composed of all the things a Dementor feeds off of – hope, happiness, the desire to survive, but it cannot feel despair, as humans can, so the Dementors can't harm it."
"For the incantation to work, you must also be concentrating with all your might on one single very happy thought," Sirius finished.
Harry glanced around the classroom and noticed that many of the students now seemed afraid. He couldn't blame them. It may sound easy to just focus on a happy thought and call up a patronus, but when facing a Dementor, things are quite different. The Dementor can distract you from your happy thought and then you'll never regain your concentration.
"Okay," Sirius said, leaning slightly against the box to kept the lid down as it wobbled some more, "I want you all to push these desks back and then form a line across the back of the classroom."
Everyone in the class did as they were told and soon all the desks had been pushed to the back of the class and everyone had formed a line spanning from one side of the classroom to the other.
"So, this is how this is going to work," Sirius said, regaining everyone's attention, "I want one of you to step forward one at a time and stand in front of the box. Not too close other wise the Bogart will turn into what you fear instead of staying a Dementor. When I pull the lid off, you'll try to create a patronus. We'll take a few minutes break between each person just to make sure everyone is all right. Understood?"
The class nodded eagerly. Seamus stepped forward and got himself ready to fight the Dementor. Harry stayed close to Sirius and the box. He had his wand out and a happy thought waiting just in case.
"Everyone ready?" Sirius asked, gripping the lid of the box. Everyone nodded. "Seamus, you ready?"
Seamus nodded.
"Alright," Sirius said, and then turned to Harry, "Stay close otherwise we won't be able to keep it in the form of a Dementor."
Harry nodded
"Okay. GO!!" Sirius pulled the lid straight off the box.
A Dementor slowly rose out of the box, its hooded face turning this way and that until it landed on Seamus who was standing a few feet away. The Bogart, luckily, couldn't sense Seamus's fear from that distance so stayed in the form of a Dementor.
The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. People started screaming as the Dementor stepped out from the box and started sweeping silently towards Seamus, drawing in a deep, rattling breathe. A wave of piercing coldness broke over them-
"Expecto Patronum!" Seamus yelled, "Expecto…"
Harry watched as Seamus staggered back. He was having a hard time standing himself. He could hear his parents screaming so loudly in his head, but he ignored them and tried to focus on his happy thought.
Finally Seamus collapsed to the ground and Sirius rushed forward, yelling, "Riddikulus!"
After some rustling with the now pink pokadotted Dementor, Sirius was finally able to force the Bogart back into the box.
Sirius glanced around at the class after he made sure the box was shut to make sure they were all right. Seamus was kneeling on the ground panting hard. The rest of the class was no different. They were all leaning against something, panting hard. Harry, Sirius noticed turning around to look at him, was the worst.
After checking to make sure Seamus was all right, Sirius moved towards Harry. His Godson was on the floor, leaning heavily against the side of the desk. His forehead was all sweaty and his eyes were closed. He was taking in short, quick breaths.
"Harry?" Sirius said, kneeling down beside him.
Harry slowly opened his eyes to look up at Sirius. Normally Dementors didn't affect him like this that was because he was the one who usually fought it off. He wasn't used to just standing around and waiting for someone else to do it.
"I really hate Dementors," he said quietly.
Sirius chuckled softly. "So do I. Come on," he said, helping Harry to his feet and then began to hand out chocolate to everyone.
This was how things in the class went on for another hour. A student would come up, try to defeat the Dementor, fail, and then Sirius would hand out more chocolate. Everyone had gone now except for Harry. No one had been able to do anything against the Dementor, including Hermione, which upset her greatly.
Sirius shut the lid on the box again, turned to the rest of the class and smiled, "That was a great first try everyone," he said, "Don't feel bad that you weren't able to do anything against the Dementor. With time and practice that should change. I'm sure by the end of the year all of you will be able to create your own Patronus."
He leaned back slightly against the front of his desk, "Now, for Homework. I want you all to read pages 20-30 in volume one of 'Advanced Auror Charms and Spells for the charmed child' and I want you to write me two rolls of parchment on the patronus to be handed into me on Friday the 30th. Now since we've finished early, I'll let you go as soon as all the chairs and desks are back in place."
Malfoy scowled and turned to Harry, "Hey Potter. Why didn't you do the charm? Too scared to face a Dementor."
"I am not, Malfoy!" Harry snapped back sharply. He wasn't in the mood for this. Not after having to keep conscious through the whole class.
"Is that so," said Malfoy, "Prove it."
Everyone remind quite, watching Harry closely. Harry slowly pulled his wand back out.
"Harry?" Sirius said, "You don't have to. I already know that-"
"It's all right, Sirius," said Harry making a few people gasp that he had addressed a professor by their first name, "If Malfoy want's to watch me fight a Dementor, then I'll let him."
Sirius nodded softly, knowing that this was going against his better judgement, but then his Marauder side kicked in and he really did want to see the look that passed over Malfoy's face when Harry casted a Patronus. He slowly moved to stand behind the box again as Harry took his place in front of the desk. It reminded Harry of all those anti- Dementor lessons he had taken with Lupin.
Everyone held their breaths as Sirius grasped the lid and pulled it straight off. For what seemed like the thousandth time, the Dementor rose out of the box; the room fell cold, silent and dark-
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed.
And out of the end of his wand burst the beautiful sliver stag. It galloped silently away from Harry and slammed hard into the Dementor, which staggered back. If it had been a really Dementor, it would have exploded.
Sirius rushed forward again, yelling, "Riddikulus!" after he rustled the Bogart back into the box, the lights came back on and everyone let out a deep breath.
Harry turned to Malfoy to find that his eyes were wide and staring at where Harry's patronus had disappeared. Ron and Hermione were trying hard not to laugh, as the other students were just as shocked as Malfoy.
"Now," Sirius said, gaining everyone's attention, "Since 'everyone' has now gone, I want this classroom straightened out and then you may leave."
The class didn't need telling twice. After putting everything back where it belonged, they all packed up their things and began to leave.
"Harry," Sirius called, making Harry turn back to face him, "Could you stay behind for a moment?"
"Sure," he answered as he doubled back to Sirius's desk. Sirius leaned against the front of it.
"Since you all ready know about the patronus, you don't have to do the essay," he said. "Instead, I want you to write me an essay about a charm called the 'Cretia'."
Harry frowned slightly, "What is the Cretia?"
Sirius smiled, "That's what you need to find out, but I know you'll like it. So, I want two rolls of parchment on it to be handed in with everyone else's essays. You can find it by reading pages 30-45 in volume one of 'The Fine Art of Dueling'. I think it's also in volume two of your fathers books, but I'm not sure. You'll have to look."
"I take it that I'll be learning it later," Harry said.
"Oh yes," Sirius replied, "I'll teach it to you in one of your advanced classes. Trust me. You'll love it once you figure out what it is."