"Come on Harry, I know you can do better than that," Sirius taunted as he swung his blade in a diagonal strike. Harry didn't even bother blocking the strike; he simply took a step to left effectively avoiding any harm. Of course this was how it often went when he was training with his godfather. Sirius knew he wasn't as good as Harry with a sword so he would do his best to taunt him and hopefully distract his attention. Harry really couldn't understand why he continued to do it because it never worked. Sirius swung at him again, but this time Harry held his sword vertically and blocked the attack.
They had been training for about an hour, outside of the castle as Sirius was trying to keep a safe distance away from Lily Potter and her vicious right hook. A few years back they had found the spot they were currently in and it had remained their own private dueling circle—and it really was a circle because there was a ring of trees that created an almost unnatural circular enclosure. The only other person that knew of the area was Harry's father. Moody was the one who trained Harry in dueling with a wand, but his wooden leg impeded his abilities with a sword, so that duty fell upon Sirius and occasionally James when he had time. But Harry's knowledge and ability of fighting with a sword had surpassed Sirius quite a bit of time ago—now they just fought for the friendly competition and the practice.
Harry took a big gulp of the cold winter air and it was more of a burning in his lungs than refreshing. Looking at his godfather across from him he could tell he was just as equally tired. Dueling with a sword was entertaining, but it was also exhausting. Harry could feel the muscles in his forearms throbbing from overexertion. Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands, he swung it down diagonally from his left side, forcing Sirius to bring his sword up high to block. The two swords remained locked together as the two men engaged in a battle of wills and strength. Harry, realizing neither was giving an inch, took his right leg and hooked it behind both of his godfathers'. Within a mere second, Sirius was on the ground, having had his legs swept from beneath him. Harry stepped on Sirius' arm that still held his weapon, pinning it to the ground, while he placed the tip of his sword at the center of the fallen man's black dragon hide armor, right above his rapidly beating heart.
As Harry looked down at his godfather with a tired, but satisfied smirk, he was interrupted by the presence of enthusiastic clapping. He looked over and saw it was his father smiling, leaning against a large tree. "Excellent work son—it seems we're going to have to find you someone more up to your abilities. Looks like old age is finally catching up with Padfoot here," James said looking down at his friend.
"Ha ha ha," Sirius stated dryly as he batted away Harry's sword which had still been resting on his chest, "I don't know what's so funny; we're the same age you bloody moron." Sirius lifted his sword, pushed back his cloak, and sheathed his sword at his side. "Most people would say I actually look younger than I actually am."
Harry snorted, "I don't think they come to that conclusion from your looks. It's more likely your level of immaturity."
Sirius looked offended. "What is this, pick on Padfoot day? Way to kick a man when he's down. I swear, all you Potters are ruthless. Lily likes to physically harm me and you two destroy my self-esteem."
Harry walked over and placed his left arm around his godfather's shoulders. "Don't think of it as destroying your self-esteem—think of it as controlling your inflated ego. We only do it because we love you."
Sirius shook his head and ruffled Harry's hair playfully. He looked over at James who was still leaning against the tree looking amused. "So what brings you out here on this lovely winter morning—besides the ego deflation?"
"I just needed to discuss something with Harry," James said leaving the tree and walking closer to the pair.
Sirius patted Harry on the back then started walking off towards the clearing in the trees that James had entered from. "I'll leave you to it then. I'll see you back at the castle."
After watching his godfather walk away, Harry sheathed his own sword, and then took a seat against a tree. "So what's going on?" Harry inquired of his father.
James pulled his jacket tightly around himself and took a seat next to his son. "Well, I went back and talked to the Grangers this morning," James started explaining.
"And?" Harry encouraged his father to continue.
"And…they've decided to stay. They didn't want to run and relocate, and the daughter wanted to stay and learn."
"Well, that's good," Harry replied not letting his true happiness that they were staying show.
"Yes, and this is where you come in. I know I said that I wouldn't give you any assignments for awhile, but I lied." Harry got an eager look on his face and James quickly moved clarify. "I'm not sending you out on a mission so don't get too excited. Like I said, young Ms. Granger wants to learn magic, but her age leaves us with a dilemma. We can't simply insert her into our schooling system with younger children or place her closer to her own age group with students who are much more advanced. That's why I want you to teach her, be her personal mentor."
Harry looked at his father with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't there somebody more qualified to teach her? I've never taught anything to anyone."
"I'm sure I could find someone else to mentor her, but I want you to do it. Consider it part of your training," James remarked.
Harry just looked at his father, now torn between feelings. On the one hand he wouldn't mind spending time with Hermione—and being her mentor meant a lot of time with her. On the other hand though, he was never really one to have an extraordinary amount of patience, and teaching someone the basics of magic would most definitely test his patience. And this would likely interfere with his training as well. He was definitely torn, but judging by his father's demeanor he didn't really think he had much of a choice in the matter.
"Alright, I'll do it," Harry told his father. "When am I supposed to start?"
James patted his son on the back. "That's good son, I thought you might put up a fight. As for when you start, you'll have to discuss that with Ms. Granger. The good thing about this arrangement is you make your own schedule, everything is flexible. Why don't we head back and I'll take you to where their staying?" James stood up and started walking, but before he made it out of the tree line he turned back to Harry. "Oh, Harry one more thing."
"What's that?" Harry asked confused.
"Your mother said I should tell you that student teacher relationships are completely fine—in fact she says she encourages it in your case," James laughed as he watched his son put his head in his hands and fall backwards to the forest floor, groaning at his father's remarks.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Harry was confused at first as his father led him into the housing complex and started making his way towards his family's flat, but instead of stopping at their door they kept going until they reached the last door on the right side of the hall. The door wasn't closed, but just slightly cracked open. James reached it first and knocked a few times before grabbing the knob of the door and pushing it open. Harry let his father walk in, but before he followed, he slipped off his armor and took off his sword and sheath, leaning them against the wall in the hallway. He unconsciously straightened his shirt, and then followed his father's path.
Walking into the flat, he took a look around and saw it was set up almost identically to his family's. He didn't see anyone at first, so he walked over into the kitchen. Sitting at the dining table was Mr. Granger, his father, and Vera. His mother was up showing Mrs. Granger all of the features that the kitchen contained.
"So there isn't any electricity like you're used to," his mother was explaining to Mrs. Granger, "but everything still functions like it's supposed to. Everything charmed to work for its specific purpose. There's nothing too fancy, but essentials like the refrigerator, stove and oven all work perfectly."
Mrs. Granger walked over and fiddled around with the appliances before turning back around. "So where do we go to pick up food?" she asked.
Lily smiled, "There's a large storage room next to one of the castle's towers where you can find whatever you're looking for. We bring in supplies everyday from our suppliers in Europe. Why don't you and your husband come with me and we can take a tour of the grounds."
"That sounds like an excellent idea, doesn't it Steven?" Mrs. Granger turned to her husband.
"Of course it does. Let me just go get Hermione and we can be on our way," Mr. Granger said, pushing his chair away from the table and standing up. Before he could go though, James stopped him.
"Actually, Harry here has agreed to mentor your daughter and get her up to speed with where she should be with her magic. Why don't we leave them here to discuss how that's going to work and then they can catch up with us," James suggested. Harry noticed that Mr. Granger did not look very excited at leaving his daughter alone with him, but before he could say anything he was interrupted once again, this time by his wife.
"I'm sure Hermione would be excited to hear about what she's going to learn. She takes her education and her studies very seriously." Mrs. Granger looked towards Harry and pointed outside of the kitchen. "Hermione's in her room Harry. I think she was just finishing unpacking her things. It's the first one on the left."
"Thank you Mrs. Granger, we'll see you in a little bit." Harry walked out of the kitchen ignoring the fact the Mr. Granger was glaring at him.
He listened as the occupants in the kitchen all got up and left through the front door, heading off to start their tour. The hall was dark as the lamps weren't lit, but there was a single source of light emanating out of the room that Hermione was supposedly located in. Harry walked up to the open door and knocked on it so he wouldn't surprise the girl. The first thing he saw when he looked in was Hermione seated on the bed, pulling some things out of a large brown trunk set in front of her legs. Just like the first time Harry had seen, he was immediately struck by how beautiful she looked. He was amazed that even in just a pair of jeans and light-blue jumper with her hair tied back, she still looked unbelievably attractive to him. Harry immediately stopped his staring when the object of his affections turned her attention to him.
"Oh, Harry I wasn't expecting you! How are you feeling?" She asked, obviously referring to Harry's injuries obtained from rescuing them.
Harry smiled at her concern. "I'm feeling much better, thank you for asking. You'll find out that magical medicine works much quicker than muggle. Don't worry though; living around magical people long enough, you'll get to experience it firsthand."
"It seems like you know a lot about it," Hermione commented.
He couldn't help laughing. "You have no idea Hermione. I'm pretty sure for someone my age, I have the record for most time spent in the infirmary. Plus my mother works as a healer, so I know a lot about it."
Hermione frowned at his comments. "Is magic really that dangerous?" she questioned.
"It can be," Harry answered walking over and taking a seat in a spare chair that was in the room across from the bed. "And I really can't blame you for coming to that conclusion with everything you've been through recently, but magic can be really amazing when it's used for the right purpose. It's an awesome feeling when you can feel it coursing through your body right to the tips of your fingers."
"Will I be able to feel it?" Hermione asked. "I've made things happened before, but I haven't ever felt anything."
"It's at different degrees for different people, but once you become experienced enough you should. I've spent my whole life training so I'm more advanced than most people." They lapsed into silence for several seconds before Harry continued. "So the real reason I'm here is to let you know that I'm the one who is going to be teaching you. We have a school system, but you're sort of a unique case so you get to learn from me." Harry was pleased when he saw an excited look grace Hermione's face.
She lifted her bare feet from the floor and lifter her legs to sit on top of them on the bed. "Really? That's great, thank you so much. When do we get started?"
Harry thought for a second, "Well I actually just found out that I was teaching you so I haven't had much time to think up some sort of schedule. I'll work on that tonight and we can discuss it tomorrow. The first thing we need to do though is get you one of these," Harry stated, and held out his wand.
"Where do you get one?"
Harry twirled his wand in between his fingers. "There's only one place to get them here, seeing as we only have one wand maker. His name is Mr. Olivander. He's a little odd, but he's probably the best at his profession in the entire world. Come on, get ready and we'll take a walk down to Olivander's then stop and get a bite to eat."
"Alright, just let me slip on some shoes and a jacket," Hermione said, leaving her seat on the bed." Harry got up from his chair, giving her some privacy, and went to wait by the front door.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Soon Harry and Hermione were walking side by side in the slightly less frigid afternoon air. Olivander's was located in a row of small buildings that served as places where artisans could practice their crafts. The buildings were constructed in the shape of an L and stuck into the castle's right front corner, in front of one of the castle's six towers. They were simple wooden structures with small signs on the front that depicted what the building was used for. Harry and Hermione walked up to the one that had a wand with green sparks painted on it. The door, which had a small, square window built into, it was closed so Harry knocked three times to see if Olivander was in. There wasn't any answer at first, so Harry knocked again and this time got a response.
"Come in!" shouted an elderly voice from inside the building. Harry took hold of the wooden knob and pulled the door open, holding it for Hermione to enter through. She flashed him a grateful smile as she stepped inside the building. Harry followed after her, pulling the door shut after he was completely inside. To say the room was simply cramped wouldn't be enough to adequately describe its current condition. There was a large set of shelves on the left-hand wall that was bursting at the seams with various ancient-looking books and scrolls. The other two walls also contained shelves, but these were all stacked with thin boxes of various shapes, sizes and colors, each containing an individual wand. There were literally thousands of them scattered around the small building. Right at the center of the room was a large wooden desk, completely covered in various tools and gadgets. Seated right behind the desk, an extremely old man with white hair and eerie silver eyes was looking at the pair that had just entered.
"Ah, young Mr. Potter, what a pleasure it is to have you in my workshop. It's been quite a while since I've seen you. How is your wand serving you?" Olivander asked.
Harry gave his wand a small wave. "It's working just fine Mr. Olivander."
"Excellent," Mr. Olivander smiled. "And who is this lovely young lady with you? I don't think I've ever seen her around before."
Harry pulled Hermione up next to him as she had been a few steps back. "This is Hermione Granger, Mr. Olivander. She and her parents actually just arrived here. Her parents are muggles, but she's magical. That's why we're here; she's in need of a wand."
"Hello sir, it's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione added nervously shifting on her feet.
Olivander slowly pulled himself out of his seat. "A pleasure to meet you as well Ms. Granger," He said kindly. "Why don't we get started on finding you a wand?" He walked over to stand directly in front of Hermione and just stood and stared at her.
Harry knew Olivander was eccentric and his methods were definitely strange, but Hermione was getting a firsthand experience of her own. She was definitely looking uncomfortable as Olivander stood in front of her, chin resting on his hand, staring at her as if he was judging her and searching for something. It lasted for several more agonizing minutes before Olivander broke out of his stupor and hurried over to the shelves on the right wall of the building. He shifted through the boxes for a few more minutes before he walked back over carrying two wand boxes.
"Hmm, well I think I've narrowed it down between these so let's give them a try. Try this one first." Olvander pulled the lid off the first box and pulled out the wand, handing it to Hermione. She gripped the relatively short wand and hesitantly held it front of her body. "That's nine inches, mahogany with unicorn hair. Go ahead give it a wave," Olivander ordered.
Hermione tightly waved the wand across her body and watched amazed as several golden sparks shot out of the wand. She looked up at Olivander for guidance.
"That was alright, nothing spectacular though," he commented. "When you find the right wand you'll definitely feel it as it will react with your magic very strongly. You had a slight connection with the wand you're currently holding, but it's not the right one for you. Let's try next one." Hermione handed over her current wand while Olivander took out the next one and exchanged it. Doing the same as before, she waved it across her body. Unlike the previous attempt, this time the results were much more dramatic. As the wand moved a gust of wind shot out of the tip in all directions. Olivander was pushed backward until he was practically seated on his desk and even Harry was knocked off balance. Hermione looked completely stunned at what happened and was staring at the wand in complete fascination.
"Wow," she said, as Olivander got off his desk and made his way back over.
"I think we've found the right wand. That's ten inches, vine wood with dragon heartstring," Olivander explained. "That was most definitely the reaction we were looking for. That was one of the strongest reactions I've seen in quite some time—not as powerful as Mr. Potter here, who almost blew up my workshop, but still very strong." Hermione turned around and raised her eyebrows at Harry after hearing that comment, but he simply shrugged innocently. "Make sure you take good care of your wand now," Olivander commented putting away the extra wand. "It can malfunction if it becomes damaged or is dirty. I'm sure Mr. Potter can give you a tutorial on proper care."
"I'll be sure to do that Mr. Olivander," Harry assured him. "Thank you for all your help. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon at some point. My sister has been begging my parents for a wand, and she's almost worn them down."
"I look forward to it Mr. Potter. If she's anything like you, then maybe I should have the walls reinforced before she comes in," Olivander joked. Olivander then turned to Hermione, "Good luck with your wand Ms. Granger. I hope to see you around the castle as well."
Hermione smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you for your help and the wand Mr. Olivander. I'll be sure to take excellent care of it."
xXxXxXxXxXx
Five minutes later Harry and Hermione were outside again, now walking back towards the main portion of the castle on its left side.
Harry couldn't help but grin as he glimpsed at Hermione as they walked. She had barely taken her eyes off of her wand since she had received it, but she was holding it tightly with both hands as if she were afraid to move it.
"You know," Harry started telling her, "that you don't need to hold your wand in a death grip like that. It's alright to move it. Nothing's going to happen like what happened in Olivander's."
Hermione blushed when she realized what she was doing and tucked her wand into her jacket pocket. "Why won't it happen again?"
"Well," Harry began as they continued walking, "it could happen again, but not unconsciously. You would have to wave it and have some sort of intent for it to happen. What happened back there was like Olivander was explaining. Every witch or wizard has magic running through their body and when you're young you don't have any way to let it out. So usually a child has had the magic running through them contained for around a decade before they get their wand. The wand acts as a medium for the magic to exit, and with the initial contact with the child the constrained magic exits quickly—thus the occasional explosive results. It's usually not that bad though."
"Is that the only way that you can use magic though? I mean is a wand the only thing that can be used as a medium for magic?" Hermione asked curiosly.
"For most people yes," Harry answered. "It's the only object that's known to work, but a few people are able to use their magic completely without a wand."
"But that's rare?" Hermione continued.
"Very. Hardly anyone can use their full capabilities without a wand and a few more can use small amounts. Don't worry because we won't be working on that anytime soon."
"Can you do it though?"
Harry stopped walking and turned to face Hermione who stopped as well. He held up his empty right hand and showed it to Hermione. Then, he slowly closed his fingers into a tight fist. He waited another second, and then quickly opened his hand. Hermione gasped as she looked on and saw the top of a fully bloomed red rose in his palm.
"I can do certain things without a wand," Harry explained, "mostly just small stuff and that's taken me a while to learn. I'm still working on it, but don't say anything about it to anyone. My father and my other instructor believe it's a waste of time. I'm not going to give up on it though."
Hermione picked up the rose out of his hand and examined it as if to make sure it was real. She looked back up at Harry sincerely. "You have my word I won't say anything."
"I appreciate it Hermione. Now let's go get something to eat."
"Where are we going?" Hermione inquired.
"We're going to one of the other castles," Harry answered, then turned to give a Hermione a playful look. "I hope you're ready for your first floo travel experience.