The Stress of Being Harry Potter

by dbzdragonlanceman

Redux Harry is fed up with people running his life, especially Dumbledore. Harry will dabble in the Dark Arts, but not go dark, and Dumbledore is meddlesome, but not evil.

5. Chapter 5

The Stress of Being Harry Potter

Chapter 5

Harry awoke early the next morning screaming in agony, as his scar burned with an intensity that he had rarely experienced. Susan rushed in and attempted to soothe him by placing a cool cloth on his forehead, but it did little good for him. So, Susan sat and watched him suffer with a helpless look on her face. The house elves that came into the room could do nothing to ease his suffering, so they as well were forced to sit and watch. Then, as suddenly as the attack began, it was over. Harry slumped back against the bed in relief, and was asleep within moments.

Susan continued to watch over him until her Aunt came into the room several hours later. "Was it his scar?" she asked.

Susan nodded solemnly, "I couldn't do anything for him. Nothing helped. How does he stand it? He was in so much pain, yet he never complains about what life has handed him. If I were him, I would have left the wizarding world behind long ago."

Amelia nodded, "I know, dear, I know. Harry is stronger than that, though. I thank Merlin every day that he is the way he is."

Susan asked, "Do you know what caused it?"

Amelia nodded, "You-Know-Who liberated Azkaban last night. The Dementors went completely over to his side, and a lot of Aurors were killed or kissed last night. The battle went on for hours."

Harry mumbled, "So, I take it that all the Death Eaters we captured in the Department of Mysteries are free?"

"Yes, Harry, they are."

"Then, I need to begin training as soon as possible. Voldemort has brought this war to us, and now I have to take it back to him. I have been a pawn on the sidelines for too long. I'm going to destroy that son of a bitch if it's the last thing I do."

"Dawlish will be here in a couple of hours to start your training. He's the best in the Auror ranks right now. So, he will do well for you."

"I'm going to try to get a little more sleep if you don't mind. I doubt I will be a great pupil if I'm exhausted."

Susan giggled, "From what I hear, you're not that great of a pupil anyway. You're always too busy charging off to save the day to pay attention in class."

Harry snorted, "I pay plenty of attention in the classes that help me do what I have to do. Sleeping in Professor Binns class doesn't count."

Amelia placed a hand on Susan's shoulder, "Well, that's enough. Harry needs his rest. I assure you that Dawlish will not go easy on you."

Susan leaned over and pecked Harry on the forehead, and then left the room with her Aunt. Harry sighed in contentment, and the nestled back down in his covers to rest for the remainder of the morning.

A few hours later, Harry was awake, and doing a few light stretching exercises while he awaited Dawlish. Harry was bent down touching his toes, when he was hit with a Stunning Spell in the back. A moment later, Harry awoke with Dawlish standing over him clucking his tongue, "That was terrible, Potter. I expected better from you. I was told that you had spent some time around Mad-Eye. I would have thought that him screaming Constant Vigilance would have caught more of your attention."

Harry shrugged apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I wasn't exactly expecting to be attacked without warning right here in Bones' Manor, and I let my guard down. I promise it won't happen again."

Dawlish nodded, "Good. Now, let's get started. Attack."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Attack? I thought you were training me in Occlumency."

"Later. Occlumency training is useless unless you can sustain your mental shields while you are physically tired. So, its best to be worn out when you go through the training. You'll build stronger shields that way."

Harry smiled, "Okay, then. What about the restriction for Underage Sorcery?"

"Are you thick, boy? We discussed that yesterday. It doesn't apply when you're training with a licensed Auror, which I happen to be. Now, are you going to attack or are you going to gab all day?"

Harry replied, "I was just making certain it was you. Constant Vigilance and all that." Then, Harry went for his wand, and found himself laying on the ground gasping for breath as pain pulsed through his stomach and chest.

Dawlish smirked, "That was terrible, Potter. You didn't even get your wand out. We're going to have to do some serious work on your conditioning. First off, I want you up at five a.m. You are to eat breakfast, and then run two miles. Then, you will go through a full callisthenic workout which I will show you before I leave. All of that should be done by the time I arrive at nine. Then, you and I will duel for at least an hour, and then we will work on Occlumency for an additional hour. After that you will rest and study both defensive and offensive dueling magic for four hours, and then you will run an additional three miles before dinner. The rest of the evening will be for you to with as you please."

Harry nodded as he staggered back to his feet, "Whatever you feel is necessary, sir. I'm ready to work as hard as I need to."

"Good. Now, I'll show you those exercises."

The two of them spent the next thirty minutes going through the exercises until Harry could perform them all accurately. Next, Dawlish had Harry sit down on the floor with his legs crossed, and began walking him through some meditation exercises. "Now, Harry we are going to begin with me doing a surface scan of your mind. We will see what natural defenses you have, and we can build from there." After several moments, Dawlish paused in confusion, and then asked, "Harry, how many times have you been exposed to the Legilimency curse?"

Harry shrugged, "I lost count. Snape was supposed to teach me how to do Occlumency last year, but I don't think it did any good."

Dawlish looked at him in dawning horror, "He was actually firing the Legilimency Curse at you without helping you build shields first?"

Harry nodded, "Yes. I take it that was bad."

"It isn't an acceptable way to teach Legilemency, and typically causes more harm than good. He basically eroded your natural defenses until they are now non-existent."

Harry swore, "That son-of-a-bitch. I've always wondered if he were really on Dumbledore's side, or if he was still serving Voldemort."

"I'm confused. What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Snape is supposed to be a double agent. That is how Dumbledore got him off after the first war. That means that he is powerful enough in Occlumency to fool Voldemort, or possibly Dumbledore. He has to be lying to one of them."

Dawlish looked impressed, "You should bring this up to Amelia. She could probably get Snape tried before the Wizengamot, eventually. Dumbledore will do his best to stop her, and now that he is being re-instated as Chief Warlock, it could take some time."

Harry waved it off, "I'll deal with Snape, myself. He's a Death Eater as far as I'm concerned and after what happened in the Department of Mysteries, I don't intend to take anymore prisoners."

"Well, that aside, continue to work on the meditation exercises just before bed each night, and we will slowly build up your shields."

Then, Dawlish took his leave of Harry, and Amelia came into the room, "Harry, you have a couple of visitors."

"Who are they?"

"It's Remus Lupin and Alastor Moody."

"Okay, I'll talk to them. Thank you, ma'am."

"Harry, you must call me Amelia if you are going to live here."

"Yes, ma'am."

Amelia sighed as she left the room and motioned for the two wizards to enter the training area. Remus was the first to speak, "Hey, cub, how have you been?"

Harry replied guardedly, "I've been fine. How are you, Professor Lupin?"

"Harry, call me Remus, I haven't been your professor for over two years."

Harry nodded curly, but didn't reply. Mad-Eye chuckled, "You're growing up, boy. I can see that whole blind trust thing that you have had going against you for years has dried up."

"Yes, Moody, it has. So, now, why are the two of you here?"

Remus replied, "We've left the Order of the Phoenix, and we want you to know that when the time comes, and you need us, the two of us are here for you."

Harry smiled slightly, "You'll excuse me if I'm a little bit skeptical of that. Both of you have been loyal to the old man for too long. So, I'm not going to be trusting either of you just yet."

"Good, boy. You're learning. However, in time, you'll see that we're on the right side, here." Moody slapped Harry on the back, and then clomped out of the room.

Remus stayed to visit with Harry for a little while, and then he left for the day.

The next morning, Harry struggled through the routine that Dawlish set for him, and then was trounced and beaten in the dueling. Dawlish commented, "You have a lot of natural potential, and you are extremely fast. However, you obviously don't plan anything when it comes to your spell selection. That is one of the things that I want you to primarily focus on when doing your studying. Look for spell combinations that allow you to take down your opponent. Look for a spell that can break a shield, and then a follow-on spell that can be cast silently and quickly. That way your opponent doesn't have time to raise another shield."

Harry asked, "Why don't they just dodge?"

Dawlish chuckled, "I'm a half-blood like you, Harry. I often ask myself the same question when some poncy Pure-Blood gets put down for just that reason. The problem is that wizards are inherently lazy because of magic, and the Purebloods even more so. Think about it. If a weight is too much to carry, what does a wizard do?"

"Cast a Featherweight Charm," replied Harry.

"Exactly. The idea that they should work out to get stronger would never enter their minds. Unfortunately, most of the Auror Corps are Purebloods, and that is why we were getting beaten in the last war."

Harry nodded and the two continued to spar for a few more minutes before beginning Occlumency. Dawlish began to lecture as Harry began his meditation exercises, "Now, Harry, you have to become adept enough at this, so that you can reach the desired level of calm in the middle of your daily life. That is the key to maintaining your shields."

Harry asked, "So, I'm not supposed to feel emotion?"

Dawlish qualified, "Yes, you can feel emotion, but you have to learn how to compartmentalize negative emotions such as anger and hatred inside your mind, so that they do not detract from the calm you need to hold your shields. Once, you have reached your calm state, I will enter your mind, and begin showing you what the shields should be like."

"What is the difference between what you are doing, and the actual use of the Legilimency Curse?"

"In theory, nothing. In practice, the surface scan only allows me to read surface thoughts and emotions. The curse allows you to dig into someone's past and find basically anything you want, as long as you know how to look for it. The curse also allows you to leave memories and impressions as well, while the surface scan only allows the Legilimencer to show things." The two worked on Harry's shields for an hour, and the Dawlish took his leave.

A few days later, Harry and Susan were sitting at the table eating breakfast when their O.W.L. results arrived. They both tore into their results eagerly.

O.W.L. scores for Harry James Potter

Astronomy A

Care of Magical Creatures E

Charms O

Defense Against the Dark Arts O+

Divination A

Herbology E

History of Magic D

Potions O

Transfiguration E

Note: O+ signifies perfect score.

Harry grinned at his results, and then looked over to Susan, "So, how did you do?"

She smiled back, "Great, thanks to you. I got an O in Defense." She handed her parchment over to Harry, as he slid his across the table to her.

Harry commented as he looked at her scores, "Hopefully, most of the DA did, and we can prove to the Ministry if it ever comes up how bad a teacher Umbridge is."

O.W.L. scores for Susan Renee Bones

Astronomy E

Arithmancy E

Charms O

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Herbology A

History of Magic E

Muggle Studies O

Potions A

Transfiguration O

The two talked about their grades until Dawlish came in to work with Harry.

Harry continued to improve over the next several weeks, as his body began to show the conditioning that he was undergoing. He became faster and faster, while his body built up the lean musculature of a runner. By the end of summer, Harry could best Dawlish in a duel one time out of three, and his Occlumency shields were completely impenetrable. Harry also continued to spend some of his free time with Susan, and the two of them slowly became a little more than friends. A few days before the train left to return to Hogwarts, Harry found himself being summoned to Madam Bones's office.

He stepped inside and waited to be acknowledged. He didn't wait long. "Harry, I'm having a couple of Aurors escort you and Susan into Diagon Alley to get your things tomorrow. Also, Albus has put in a request to meet with you before the school year begins. He has been most insistent, and given his status as Headmaster, and Chief Warlock, I strongly suggest that you oblige him."

Harry nodded, "I will meet with him, ma'am, but I won't promise that he will like what I have to say. I have no intention of cow towing to that old fool ever again."

Madam Bones hid a smile with her hand at his remark, "Just keep your wits about you, Harry. Dumbledore is an extremely powerful wizard, and he is just as intelligent as he is powerful. He isn't someone to make an enemy of lightly."

"Nor am I, Amelia. Nor am I." Then, Harry gave a formal bow, and walked from the room with a calculated smile on his face.

Amelia smirked, and then muttered to herself, "That boy is going to be a force to be reckoned with one day."