A/N: This is the longest chapter I've done. Hope you prefer long chapters. Anyway I'd really like a beta reader to help improve my story. Email me if you're interested!
Chapter 12
Waking up in an empty dormitory Harry knew everyone must have gone for breakfast. He got a shower to wake himself up and hopefully give him some energy to face the rest of the day. As he entered the common room he saw Kyla sat alone on a chair by the fire. He still wasn't sure what to do about his vision but he couldn't just ignore her completely whenever he saw her. Making his way over to her he noticed that she had a big bruise on her cheek.
"How did you get that?" he asked suspiciously. Kyla turned round and was obviously surprised to see him.
"I err, tripped on a stair," she lied. She was looking anywhere but at Harry.
"I know you're clumsy but you're not that clumsy. What really happened?" She fidgeted awkwardly and then looked at Harry.
"Before I tell you, you have to promise me not to do anything stupid." Harry was now thinking someone had hit her, he just wanted to know who.
"Who did it?" he asked trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.
"Draco Malfoy," she muttered obviously embarrassed. "I was going to deal with it myself. I'm a fully trained Auror I can look after myself, I was just in shock." Harry took a seat next to her and stared into the fire trying to keep his anger in check but failing. "Harry I think I saw the dark mark on his arm when he slapped me." She added. Harry's face looked passive but his silver lined emerald eyes betrayed how angry he was feeling.
"I've put up with him for six years." He said as if to himself then looked at Kyla. "I can't do that anymore." He got up and walked out of the common room.
"Harry, where are you going?" Kyla shouted after him but he ignored her and continued to head out of the common room and down to the great hall. Everyone was eating breakfast and Harry saw who he was after.
He walked dangerously over to the Slytherin table, pulled Malfoy up out of his seat and punched him in the face. He flew against the Slytherin table smashing plates and glasses. The whole hall turned to see what was going on. Malfoy was in a state of shock as Harry dragged him up and threw him against the wall where Harry punched him the face again and heard his nose crack. Harry then swiftly brought his knee into Malfoy's stomach then threw him to the floor.
A lot of the hall was cheering and the Slytherin table were stunned. Even some of the teachers didn't know what to do. Dumbledore got up and was making his way over to where the fight was taking place. Kyla came running into the hall and looked straight at Harry.
"Don't do anything Harry, just leave it!" she said pleadingly. Harry ignored her and looked at Malfoy.
"You touch her again and I'll kill you." Harry said dangerously. Blood was pouring from Malfoy's nose and mouth and he looked in some pain.
"That bitch deserved what she got!" he spat only fuelling Harry's anger. Harry let his two wands slip into his hands.
"Incarcerous!" Harry said and ropes shot out of his wand and bound Malfoy. He walked over to him and dragged him along the floor to where Kyla was stood shaking.
"You've got three seconds to apologise," Harry said coldly.
"I'm not apologizing to a Gryffindor." He retorted.
"Harry, release Mr. Malfoy please," Dumbledore said calmly. Harry reluctantly did so and turned to face Dumbledore. "I trust you will explain to me why you did that?" he said and Harry just nodded.
"Always Dumbledore's lapdog aren't you Potter?" Malfoy said snidely. Harry shot round to face Malfoy.
"Constricto!" Harry shouted and the light jumped from his wand and hit Malfoy in the chest and he visibly stiffened. Because nothing happened straight away the hall assumed the curse hadn't worked.
Dumbledore sighed. "Why did you do that Harry?" he asked worriedly. Before Harry answered there was a sickening crack and Malfoy screamed in pain. The great hall gasped at Malfoy writhing on the floor.
"Harry what you have just done is very serious indeed." Harry ignored Dumbledore and walked over to the still screaming Malfoy. He pulled up the sleeve on Malfoy's robe and saw the dark mark.
"This Deatheater got what he deserved." Harry said to the great hall and everyone gasped in shock at seeing Malfoy with the dark mark. The Slytherins shot daggers at Harry and he turned to address them. "I don't assume that all Slytherins are Deatheaters but just let this be an example of what will happen if you are found to be one."
Harry turned back to Dumbledore, "I'm sorry professor, that wasn't the only reason I attacked Malfoy."
"I think the fact that you proved Mr. Malfoy to be a Deatheater lets you off," Dumbledore said somberly. "You may have your breakfast now; we shall talk when I have told Mr. Malfoy's parents about his expulsion." Dumbledore levitated Malfoy up in the air and walked with him out of the great hall.
"How did you know Malfoy was a Deatheater?" Hermione asked coming over to Harry.
"Kyla saw the mark when he hit her." He said bitterly thinking about what Malfoy had done to her.
"He didn't!" Hermione said shocked. She saw the bruise on Kyla's cheek and gasped. "He really is despicable. I think physically assaulting him was a bit too much although he probably deserved it."
"You're damn right he deserved it." Ron chimed in. "That was pretty cool mate. Wish I'd have done it." The whole hall had gone back to their breakfast but everybody was muttering to themselves about the incident.
Harry saw Kyla and couldn't read the expression on her face. "You didn't have to do that," she said. "I can look after myself." She hugged Harry despite what she had said. Harry felt his stomach clench. If Malfoy did this to her what could Voldemort do?
"I love you." He said and it sounded like it had finality to it. Harry knew what he had to do.
"What is it Harry?" she asked concerned looking into his eyes.
"Nothing." He lied pulling away from her. "I'm just going up to my dorm to rest for a bit." He walked out of the hall and his three friends looked worriedly at him as he left.
"You think he's ok?" Ron asked.
"I don't think he is," Hermione said. "But he'll talk to us in time. I hope."
Kyla just stood there. What she had seen in Harry's eyes had worried her. She couldn't quite place it but she knew it wasn't good. She, Ron and Hermione made their way to first lesson but Harry didn't turn up for it. He was absent during potions as well and Kyla had to work by herself. Her mind was focused on Harry and she kept putting the wrong ingredients into her potion until it finally started to smoke and Snape got really angry.
"20 points from Gryffindor!" he shouted. "Did you intentionally make your potion hazardous?" he asked venomously. Kyla glared at him but knew better than to rise to the bait.
"What is it Miss Trent?" he asked. "Trouble in paradise with wonder boy Potter?" Kyla lost control and shouted at Snape.
"Why don't you mind your own business Snivellus! Or even better, go jump off a flying broom!" she packed her things and stormed out of the dungeon before Snape could say anything.
Snape had frustrated her but he had been right. It was Harry that was distracting her. She needed to see him, to talk to him. She went up to the Gryffindor common room and made straight for Harry's dormitory only to find it empty except for a piece of folded parchment on his bed. She curiously picked it up and unfolded it. Seeing what it said tears came to her eyes.
To everyone,
I have decided to leave Hogwarts. I am only putting you all in danger by staying. It is unfair for everyone to suffer because of what I have to do. I must fight this battle alone and no one can help me.
To Ron and Hermione, for six years you've been the best friends anyone could ask for. You made me happy after 11 years of misery. I will never forget our adventures and all the things we've done together. Please look after each other and try not to argue all the time. Hermione, your like the sister I never had and Ron, you were always a brother to me.
To Dumbledore, I will not abandon the Wizarding world to darkness. I will do my best to fulfill my destiny. You have guided me since I came to Hogwarts and your wisdom has kept me alive. I know you only did what you did because you care for me and I apologise for sometimes acting rashly. I know you will protect the Wizarding world better than I ever could.
To Remus, thank you for training me and helping become an Animagus. You're the closest thing to a family since Sirius died. I know my actions took him away from you and not a day goes by when I don't regret what happened. I'm sorry I never turned out to be the marauder you and the others would have wanted.
To Tonks, you have no idea how hard this is for me to do. To consciously leave you is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life but I could not bear to lose you to Voldemort. All the time I was with you I felt more alive than I ever have. You gave me a reason to come through this war alive, but that is something I cannot promise will happen. I just want you to know that I do not regret a single moment we spent together. I would gladly give up my soul for you. You are a part of me and will be with me forever. I love you more than you'll ever know and maybe one day we will be together again. While there is a breath still left in my body, I will fight for the chance to see you one last time.
Do not try to find me, because you won't.
I will miss you all terribly.
Yours truly, Harry James Potter.
When she finished the letter Tonks broke out into hysterical sobs and collapsed on the floor. She couldn't understand why Harry had just left so suddenly. She didn't want to face this war without him. She felt like she'd lost part of herself and she desperately wanted it back. She noticed that a lot of Harry's things were still here including his invisibility cloak and the marauders map. Why would he leave these things behind she thought to herself. They were his most prized possessions. Even his firebolt was leaning neatly against his trunk. She had to tell Dumbledore what had happened. She pointlessly wiped the tears from her eyes but more came and she ran down the stairs and towards Dumbledore's office. On her way there she ran into Ron and Hermione who looked at her worriedly.
"What's up?" Hermione asked concerned.
"It's Harry." She sobbed. "He's ran away." Ron and Hermione stood open mouthed. "I've got to get to Dumbledore and tell him."
"How do you know he's gone?" Ron asked and Tonks handed him the letter Harry had left. At the end of it Hermione was crying and Ron was looking very pale. "I can't believe it." He said in a monotone voice. Kyla continued to go to Dumbledore's office followed by Ron and Hermione. Hermione already knew the password because she was a prefect and they ran up to his office and barged straight in without knocking. Dumbledore was sat relaxingly at his desk and sat up straight when he saw the three of them come in looking very upset. Before he could say anything, Kyla handed him the letter which he read straight away.
Dumbledore's face showed no emotion as he read the letter. "I'm sorry." he said sadly to the three of them.
"We have to find him!" Hermione said angrily. "We can't let him be alone!"
"I will do my best but I doubt I will be able to if Harry is very serious about what he has done."
"Why has he run away professor?" Kyla asked tearfully.
Dumbledore sighed and collected his thoughts before replying. "I think the main reason he left is exactly what he said in his letter. He thinks he is putting you all in danger by being around you. He is making a great sacrifice in running away. I'm sure it was extremely hard for him to leave you all. It is a very noble thing he has done."
"He can't be alone!" Kyla cried. "He needs our support!"
"I'm afraid he has rejected our support." Dumbledore said calmly. "If you will excuse me, I have to inform the staff what has happened. Please keep this information to yourself for now." He stood up slowly and walked out of the room. Kyla, Ron and Hermione stood in silence lost in their own thoughts.
"I've got to look for him." Kyla said eventually.
"Where would you start?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Harry doesn't want to be found!"
"I have to try!" she shouted. "I love him. I won't let him do this alone!"
"But how can we look for him?" Ron asked. "We can't leave Hogwarts."
"You can't, but I can." Kyla said. "Tell Dumbledore I'm leaving." She walked out the room and headed to get her things.
"We can't let her leave." Hermione said to Ron. "She's not safe on her own."
"Let's find Dumbledore then." Ron said and they headed to find the headmaster.
Kyla planned to get her things and head to Hogsmeade where she could apparate back to Grimuland place and then look for Harry from there. Her initial sadness had been replaced with a new determination to get to Harry. After all it was her job to protect him and that's what she planned to do. She was making her way to the front gates of the school when she saw Dumbledore.
"I cannot allow you to leave Nymphadora." He said calmly.
"I'm an Auror not a student." She said coldly.
"Please," Dumbledore said. "Go and wait in my office and I will be there in an hour or so. I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was important."
"Harry could be in danger Dumbledore! I can't leave him!"
"Please Miss Tonks, one hour is all I ask." She grudgingly nodded and went back to wait in the headmasters office.
Harry turned back into his human form and landed on a large patch of grassland. He remembered what Dumbledore had told him.
"I am Harry James Potter." He said aloud. Suddenly the grassland disappeared and a huge mansion appeared in front of him. The house was two stories high with a white exterior and huge glass windows. "So this is the Potter family home." He said to himself. "My home." He walked to the front of the house and pushed open the big, oak doors. The entrance hall was huge. The floor was made form marble and was covered in parts by red and gold carpet. In the centre of the hall was a giant staircase that split off in two directions at the top. There where about 8 doors in the hall and Harry didn't know which one to go through first. He decided to go through them in order starting on the left. The first door opened to show a guest bedroom with a double bed and en suite bathroom. The second room was the same. The third door opened to reveal a gigantic kitchen. It was surrounded with cupboards and there was a giant marble work surface in the middle with a sink in. Harry opened some cupboards to reveal a magical fridge that was bigger than the actual cupboard and he found all the normal cupboards to be empty of any food.
Another door in the hall led to a very Victorian style library with leather chairs and a giant fireplace. Harry also found a dining room with a table which could seat about 18 people, a very cosy looking lounge and a dark cellar which contained lots of potion ingredients and Harry made a mental note to himself to continue his potions studies, just without the added annoyance of Snape. The last door opened onto a huge bare room with padded walls and Harry assumed it was the training room. He knew he would be using this a lot.
Before he could go upstairs Albus Dumbledore appeared in the hallway.
"Thank you for letting me come here professor." Harry said.
"You seemed quite determined to leave Hogwarts. I still do not think this is the best idea." He replied.
"I can't put my friends in danger anymore. At least here I can get on with my training and Voldemort has no one to use against me."
"Harry he can use the whole Wizarding world to get to you. He knows you do not like to let people suffer. Your friends are very upset you have left, especially Tonks."
Harry sighed. "I had to leave Dumbledore; if Voldemort killed her to get to me I don't think I could live with that. Please keep her safe while I'm not there."
"Harry I have no control over her. She has already tried to leave Hogwarts to come and find you but I persuaded her to wait in my office until I return."
"You can't tell her where I am. She would not be safe here with me."
"Harry this house is surrounded by wards as powerful as Hogwarts, only those with Potter blood can get here or those with permission from a Potter."
"Professor, Voldemort has my blood flowing in his veins. He can come here whenever he wants! I can put myself in danger but not her." Harry said getting angry. "Just tell Tonks I'm safe. If she insists on coming to find me then get the ministry to put her back on Auror duty. She won't go against the ministry to find me."
"Are you sure about that?" Dumbledore questioned.
"No," Harry said. "But whatever she does, she's safer if she's not with me."
"She loves you Harry, she will do anything to find you."
Harry sighed dejectedly, "I love her too. Please Dumbledore let's just stick with what we arranged."
"We will continue as planned then." Dumbledore said. "I must return to Hogwarts, I promised Miss Tonks I would be back within an hour." He waved his wand and vanished, leaving Harry to try and convince himself that he was doing the right thing.
Tonks was getting impatient. It had been almost an hour and Dumbledore still hadn't returned. She needed to be out looking for Harry not waiting around for an old man to try and dissuade her from doing anything. Just as she was about to get up and leave, Dumbledore came through the door.
"I'm sorry I'm late," he said apologetically. "Now Miss Tonks can you tell why you want to look for Harry?" he asked.
"Because I want to make sure he's safe and I want to be with him." She said.
"If I told you he was safe, would you promise not to go looking for him?" he asked.
"You now where he is?" Tonks asked angrily and Dumbledore nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Harry asked me not too." He replied. "I assure, he is safe for now but he asked me tell you not to look for him."
"So the note he left you was there just to throw us off track?"
"Yes." Dumbledore said plainly.
"You let him go didn't you? Why Dumbledore?"
"Because he didn't want to stay anymore. I know it wasn't the best thing to do, but at least he can still be trained and he is safe." Tonks slumped into a chair and her eyes started to well up with tears.
"He needs me Dumbledore." She said. "I know he tries to be strong but he needs me and I need him." Dumbledore saw the feeling in her eyes and was torn as to what he should do.
"I cannot tell you where he is." He said finally. "But I can give you a way to communicate with him." Tonks' eyes brightened as he said that.
"How?" she asked quizzically.
"I believe if you ask Remus, he will give you a small mirror which he found when sorting out Sirius' things. It is a two way mirror and Harry has the other half."
"So I'll be able to see him?" she asked happily.
"If Harry wishes to speak to you then yes." He said. "Now I cannot force you to stay at Hogwarts but it is safer than most other places. You can go back to Auror duties if you wish."
She thought it over in her head. "I think I'll stay. Maybe I can persuade Harry to come back."
Dumbledore smiled. "I'm glad you've decided to stay, but don't hold much hope of Harry coming back just yet." Tonks nodded and got up to go and find Remus and ask him about the mirror.
Harry lay down on his new bed and cleared his head of all thoughts as he tried to just relax. Before he reached any kind of relaxed state he heard a slight pop and looked round to see Dobby the house elf stood in his room with Harry's trunk.
"Thanks for coming Dobby," Harry said. "I really appreciate it."
"Dobby is more than happy to serve Master Harry Potter sir. When professor Dumbledore asked Dobby to come here dobby prepared to leave straight away. It is a pleasure to be serving Master Harry Potter." Dobby said happily.
"Dobby you don't need to call me master. Harry is fine. Also I have a few conditions if you are going to be staying here." Harry said.
"Anything for Harry Potter sir." Dobby replied eagerly.
"Just Harry," Harry corrected. "But anyway the first condition is that you must accept weekly pay. The second is that you are free to take a holiday whenever you want. And lastly, if you ever want anything that you can't get with your wages, just ask me ok?"
Tears welled up in Dobby's large eyes and he threw himself at Harry potter. "Master Harry Potter is the best wizard!" he cried as he clutched Harry's legs. "Dobby will serve Harry Potter as best he can!"
"Dobby do you think I could have my legs back?" Harry asked smiling. Dobby let go slightly embarrassed. "You can stay in whichever bedroom you like Dobby. So you can choose one while I unpack." Dobby bowed and left Harry to unpack his things. He opened his trunk and saw all his most valuable items packed neatly at the top including his Firebolt, invisibility cloak and family photo album. He took them out and carefully placed them on his desk before taking all his clothes out of the trunk and hanging them up in his new wardrobe. He placed all his things around his new room until it felt more like his space. The last thing he noticed in his trunk was the shattered pieces of the mirror Sirius had given him. He looked at the pieces sadly, recalling the night he had shattered the mirror in anger. This present from Sirius could have saved his godfather's life had he only used it instead of rushing to 'play the hero' as Hermione said. Harry wondered if he could possibly fix it, he knew he wouldn't be able to contact Sirius with it but he would feel better if the present from him didn't remain broken. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the broken shards of glass.
"Reparo!" he said, but nothing happened. He tried again and again with the same results before lowering his wand defeated. There must some way to fix it he thought to himself. He wondered if Dobby would know of someone who could fix it for him. He made a mental note to ask him about it later
He made his way down to the library to do some reading before tea. His eyes read the names of the books as he looked around the library until he saw a book that piqued his interest. He picked the heavy book up off the shelf labeled, Wandless Magic and the Power Within.
He flicked open the dusty front cover and sat down with the book reading the opening paragraph avidly.
Self magic, more commonly known as wandless magic, is perhaps one of the rarest magical gifts a person can possess. For starters only wizards and witches whose parents were both magical can possess the gift, or at least up to now that has always been the case. Another prerequisite of wandless magic is that the witch or wizard in question must have a huge amount of raw magical energy in their body. Even some of the best witches and wizards of our age do not have enough magical energy. Wandless magic cannot be taught to anyone and even those who have the potential of being able to do it can only be guided on how to use their talents but must learn how to harness the ability themselves.
Spells cast without a wand are harder to control than if the user was using a wand but the power is significantly increased. This is because the amount of energy put into the spell is converted directly into the spell but when a wand is used, the wand takes off some of that energy making the spells easier to control.
It is also proven that wandless spells take a bigger toll on the spell caster and only practice can reduce the fatigue. In general, witches and wizards capable of wandless magic are, more often than not, the most powerful people of their age.
This talent usually manifests itself in the later stages of puberty when the witch or wizard is more capable of dealing with such magic both mentally and physically. No tests can be carried out beforehand to see if a person possesses the ability. The only tell tale sign that a person is capable of wandless magic is occasional rushes of silver magical energy down a persons arms and into their eyes. But that only lasts for a brief second before it disappears again.
Harry stopped reading here, taking in all he had read so far. Dumbledore had told him that he was to learn wandless magic. Harry didn't realise how rare the gift was and what surprised him was that the book said that the silver magical energy disappeared but it was still clearly visible in his eyes. He wondered what it meant and whether it meant he would be able to perform it more easily. He had a sudden urge to try it but wondered whether he should wait for Dumbledore to return. In the end he decided to wait for Dumbledore and picked up another book off the shelf.
Tonks had gotten the mirror from Remus and when he had asked what it was for she had lied and said that professor Flitwick wanted an essay on two way mirrors and how they worked. Remus didn't quite believe her but gave it her anyway. She could tell that Remus was clearly upset that Harry had left especially after the note Harry had left Remus in the letter. Tonks hadn't told anyone that Dumbledore knew where Harry was because she thought that the order wouldn't take it very well.
She was in a rush to use the mirror but wanted to be alone when she did it so she ran up to the girls dormitories. She looked at the mirror and saw her reflection. "Harry Potter." She said, but nothing happened. "Harry." She repeated but again nothing happened. She was starting to get frustrated. Dumbledore had told her that this would let her communicate with Harry but it wasn't working. "Harry!" she said desperately.
"I miss him too." Hermione said sadly as she came into the girls' dorm. She had obviously assumed that Tonks was just saying Harry's name out of longing. "He was the first friend I had and now he's just left us." She said sitting next to Tonks who quickly put the mirror in her bedside draw.
"Dumbledore knows where he is." She said to Hermione. "But he won't tell me."
"What!" Hermione asked. "He let him run away? Why would he do that?"
"He said it was Harry's choice. Now he's just pretending that he's surprised that Harry left."
"But why would he give Harry so much leniency? We know he's a target but surely there has to be another reason."
"Harry never told you did he?" Tonks sighed.
"Tell me what?" Hermione asked.
"About the prophecy."
"But the prophecy was smashed in the department of mysteries." Hermione replied.
"True, but Dumbledore already knew the prophecy and he told Harry."
"Well what did it say?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"It says that he is the only one who can kill you know who. Either Harry kills him or he kills Harry. But if he kills Harry then we lose the war."
Hermione reeled in shock but then tears ran down her cheeks. "He's far too young for all this." She said sadly. "I can't believe he never told us. At least he confided in you." She said.
"Before he left he never told me anything, it was like he didn't want to let anyone in." Tonks said.
"That's Harry. He's afraid to show people he's afraid so he hides within himself. I thought he'd got past all that when he met you." She said honestly.
"I thought so too." She admitted. "I knew something was wrong with him but I never knew how he really felt. I should've done something after he attacked Malfoy. You should've seen the look in his eyes when he looked at me then. The way he said he loved me, it was so final but I let him go."
"It's not your fault," Hermione said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "At least we know he still cares for us. His letter proved that."
"At Christmas he gave me this necklace and told me he wanted us to be together forever. How he could just leave Hermione?" she asked despairingly.
"I know it wasn't the right thing for him to do but he did it for good reasons. I've known him for six years and he'll do everything to protect his friends. Trust me, if he thought you were in trouble here, he'd be back like a shot." Tonks smiled weakly at Hermione. "I think I just need some time alone." she said and Hermione got up and left her be.
"What do you mean gone!" professor McGonagall shouted.
"Precisely that Minerva. Harry has left Hogwarts and we don't know where he has gone." Dumbledore said.
"Trust Potter to pull a stunt like this," Snape said hatefully.
"What do we do now?" an order member asked.
"We will have to learn to rely on ourselves and show that we can fight this war without Harry." Dumbledore said plainly.
"He is our only hope for this war Dumbledore!" McGonagall shouted. "Not to mention the fact that he is only sixteen, how can he survive? You have to get him back Albus."
"I would not know where to look Minerva. Harry does not want to be found."
The Whole order was assembled at Grimuland place and weren't taking the news of Harry's disappearance very well. Everyone knew that Harry was the key to the whole war effort but above that they were concerned for him. From what they had all seen of him he was a kind boy filled with altruism. Mrs. Weasley was in tears and was being comforted by Mr. Weasley.
Dumbledore knew Harry would return when he was ready to face Voldemort but the rest of them didn't know that and he couldn't tell them that he helped Harry escape because he knew no one would agree with what he had done. After all, the boy should be in school. But in war, Dumbledore knew tough decisions had to be made and this was one of them.
"Do not lose hope. We will continue to fight Voldemort. We have enough power to keep his forces at bay until Harry chooses to come back. Until then we must fight. The war is far from decided my friends." He said to the Order. "The news will leak out soon enough and I am relying on all of you to show the rest of the Wizarding community that defeat is far from here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a school to run."
At Hogwarts the school had picked up quickly on the fact that Harry Potter wasn't in any of his classes and that his girlfriend and friends looked unusually sad. Rumours had started to spread straight away. Some people believed that Harry had been captured again by the dark lord; others said that he'd had enough and just ran away. That was the closest people got. Some people even suggested that Harry had decided to leave Hogwarts and go to capture Deatheaters by himself. People were left guessing when Kyla, Ron and Hermione refused to comment on where he Harry had gone. The only people they had told were Neville, Luna and Ginny who all took the news quite badly.
The general populace of the school seemed more subdued without the boy who lived. The only thing that gave them any hope of winning the war was having Albus Dumbledore on their side.
All the teachers had started being nicer towards Ron, Hermione and Kyla. McGonagall kept them back one day and told them that she was always here if they needed to talk. Even Snape was less nasty than usual to them. When Kyla had spilled her potion all over the floor he had simply cleaned it up with his wand and not said a word.
Ron and Hermione's arguments became more and more frequent because of their worrying for Harry. Kyla seemed completely lost and tried her mirror every night but with no result. Not even when Dumbledore had announced that there would be a dueling tournament did the three of them cheer up although they all entered anyway.
"Ha I got Goyle in the first round!" Ron said happily. "This will be so easy." he thought of how fun it would be beating the fat Slytherin. "Who'd you get Hermione?"
"Dean Thomas." She said.
"Actually can we swap? I don't like him and I want to hurt him."
"You only don't like him because he dumped Ginny." She argued.
"So what? He's an idiot." Ron countered.
"We can't swap Ron, it's not allowed." Hermione said defiantly and Ron huffed.
"Who'd you get Kyla?" Hermione asked.
"Someone named Cho." She said.
"Ah, Harry's ex." Ron said without thinking and Hermione hit him in the arm. The mention of Harry was painful for Tonks and she tried to hide it but failed.
"Well, I'm sure we'll all get through the first round comfortably. You should win the tournament, being an Auror." Hermione said to Kyla, although it all seemed trivial to her at the moment.
Harry had been at the Potter family home for almost a week and was now getting used to it. During the day Dumbledore would come and give him lessons in Occllumency. With Dumbledore teaching him Harry found he learnt a lot quicker than he had with Snape.
"Don't focus on hiding your memories Harry, focus on keeping me out of your head." Dumbledore said. "Now let's try again. Leglimens!"
Harry felt the impact instantly. He willed his mind to put a shield around his brain to protect his memories rather than hide them. It required a lot of concentration but Harry could feel it working and Dumbledore had to push harder to get into Harry's mind. Eventually Harry's shield collapsed and Dumbledore was in his mind. He pulled out instantly and Harry opened his eyes.
"Well done Harry, I had to push a lot harder to get into your head this time. Remember, keeping yourself as calm as possible helps strengthen your shield. Simple breathing exercises should help you with that I think you'll find."
"Well I definitely learn more quickly with you than I did with Snape." Harry said.
"Well, professor Snape is a master occlumens and leglimens, I imagine it would be harder to repel attacks that are as powerful as his. But your are making remarkable progress." He said praisingly.
"Professor, can we start on wandless magic now?" Harry asked. "I've read a bit about it and I want to try it myself."
"I was going to show you at some point. Now seems as good a time as any. Should we go to the training room?"
Harry nodded and they made their way there and Dumbledore stood next to Harry.
"Try a spell Harry, any spell you want."
"Just by aiming with my hand?" Harry asked.
"Yes, it's the best way to start."
"Ok." Harry said. He put his arm in front of him and said the first spell that came to mind. "Stupefy!" he said but only a small ray of light came out of his hands.
"Try again Harry," Dumbledore said encouragingly. Harry did the same again but only got the same effect.
"I think," Dumbledore said. "That your magic will respond better if you are under more dangerous circumstances. So, I will fire a stunning spell at you and I want you to defend against it." He walked away from Harry to the other end of the room and abruptly turned and fired a stunning spell at Harry.
Instinctively Harry shouted "Protego!" as he stretched out his hand. The shield came up in front of Harry and reflected the spell back at Dumbledore who dodged it easily. Harry felt slightly drained but the happy feeling at actually doing wandless magic outweighed his slight lack of energy.
"Bravo Harry!" Dumbledore said happily. "Let's try again." They repeated the exercise for ten minutes and Harry got used to using his hand instead of his wand but quickly tired form repeatedly producing the shield.
"Harry that was outstanding!" Dumbledore said. "For your first practice you've amazed even me. Tomorrow we'll work on offensive spells as well. I think we should have a butterbeer to celebrate!" Harry agreed smiling and they made their way to the library and relaxed in the leather armchairs. Dumbledore conjured two butterbeers and handed one to Harry. They sat in companionable silence while they drank until dobby came in.
"Harry Potter sir I have it!" Dobby said excitedly. Harry had told Dobby about the mirror and dobby had taken it to a shop in Diagon alley that he knew dealt with that kind of thing. It had taken three days to fix and Harry was happy he would have it back. Dobby pulled out the mirror and handed it to Harry who examined it closely. It was identical to how it had been before and Harry knew that this time he would not let it receive a single scratch.
"Thanks Dobby." Harry said gratefully. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
"But Harry Potter sir, who will make the meals?"
Harry laughed. "I'll cook for myself today Dobby. Take the day off, you deserve it."
Dobby hugged Harry fiercely. "Harry Potter is most kind!" he said before leaving Harry with Dumbledore.
"So can I assume that you broke the mirror and dobby had it fixed?" he asked knowingly.
"Yeah, I kind of smashed it last year. I found it just after Sirius died." Dumbledore nodded obviously understanding what Harry was saying.
"I believe that you can use it again now." Harry looked at Dumbledore confused.
"Miss Tonks has the other half. I thought she might use it to contact you but now I see why she has had no luck until now."
Harry felt conflicting emotions inside of him. He desperately wanted to use it to talk to Tonks but he knew it would only hurt.
"It's your choice whether you use the mirror or not. For now I must get back to Hogwarts. Well done today Harry, I'll see you tomorrow." With that he got up and left. Harry sat by himself for a while content to be alone with his thoughts.
He decided that he might as well do something productive so he went down to the cellar and pulled a potions book of a shelf deciding which one to do. He stopped when he saw the instructions to make the wolfsbane potion. It looked complicated but without Snape breathing down his neck he might be able to do it. It would take a few weeks to do but it would be worth it and he would be able to get Remus to test it.
He set to work gathering the ingredients he would need off the shelves and started following the first set of instructions. He got so involved with making the potion that he worked right passed tea until almost midnight. He found that he actually enjoyed potions. Snape must really suck the fun out of it he thought bitterly. Feeling tired, Harry left the potion how it was and headed up to bed.
Although he felt physically exhausted, sleep eluded him. His thoughts drifted to Tonks and how much he missed her. He missed how happy he felt just being around her, he missed her smile, the taste of her lips. Giving into his temptation he picked up the newly fixed mirror up off his desk and said her name.