Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Warnings: Violence , Gore and Lemons(Much Later)

Chapter 17

Harry woke up instantly as he heard a tapping on the window to the guest bedroom that he was in. he blinked blearily, and opened his eyes and looked towards where the tapping was coming from. He got out of bed, careful not to shake Hedwig's nest that was lying beside him, he walked up to the window and the owl flew in, a letter tied to its leg. Harry looked out the window noticing that the sun was barely above the horizon.

Harry walked over to the owl, and gently untied the letter from its leg, wondering who could be writing to him so early. As soon as he had successfully untied the letter, the owl gave a hoot and flew away. Harry opened the letter, and noticed the immaculate writing.

Dear Harry,

Enclosed you will find an earring for Hermione, and a Wristwatch for you Harry. These are enchanted Portkeys keyed to bring you and Hermione to the Department and back to wherever you Portkeyed from, provided the area is not warded, you will need to get out of the range of the wards if you are staying in a warded area. It is a difficult piece of Magic, I would advise you not to lose it. You have the coming week off, Hermione may use it to come here every night between 12-2 am, I will be available during that time. Although I have given you the week off, I still expect you to read the book on Occlumency that I gave you. Also I have detailed an exercise regimen for the both of you, be sure to follow it. You will need it. If you need to use the training facilities at the Department, feel free to drop by anytime, but don't wander into the Ministry.

Perenelle Flamel.

P.S. The Portkey activation Keyword is 'Home to the Chamber'

There was another note attached to the letter, detailing the exercises that Perenelle had written down for him. Harry's eyes bugged out as he read the routine that she expected him and Hermione to follow. It was impossible. Being in the Quidditch team, he was not unused to performing exercises, but what she expected from him was ridiculous. He looked at the watch that she had sent him. It was a standard watch, nothing fancy.

Deciding to think about it later, he freshened up, and went in search of some food.

He was surprised to see Hermione already in the kitchen, cooking a small breakfast; he hadn't expected anyone else to be up so early on a Sunday. He tried to not notice the clothes that she was wearing, but it was a bit difficult for him. Apparently Hermione dressed for bed in a small snug T-shirt and pyjama pants.

"Morning, Hermione." Harry greeted.

"Good Morning Harry, you're up early." Hermione answered as she flipped the pancake on the pan.

"You cook?" Harry asked surprised. He was learning things about Hermione that he didn't even know before. Thinking about it, he shouldn't be surprised, even though they were best friends, he didn't expect to know every little detail of her life. Though he was surprised by her friendship with Daphne, and he honestly wasn't angry about it.

After all, he had his secrets as well.

"Only pancakes and scrambled eggs. It's not much, but I get by. You want some?" Hermione said.

"Maybe later, I am not fully awake yet." Harry shrugged. He took out the letter from Perenelle that he had stashed in his pocket. "The Professor sent us this this morning." Harry said as he placed the letter as well as the earrings on the kitchen shelf. Hermione turned the stove off, and read the letter.

"Well, it seems that we have the week off, is there anything you want to do?" Hermione asked.

"Not really, but I have to get a completely new set of wardrobe. I'm tired of wearing Dudley's clothes. I think it was time that I used some of the money that belongs to me now." Harry said.

"Yeah, I need to get some new clothes as well. I had to fix some of my old clothes with magic to even have something to wear." Hermione said with an excited gleam in her eyes. Harry shuddered, he had heard many tales associated with women and shopping. He just hoped Hermione wasn't as bad as Lavender and Parvati.

"You never told me how your day at Gringotts went? I just know that you were emancipated. Anything interesting happen?" Hermione asked.

"Well, for starters, I found out that the Potter Family is rich. Very rich. The Professor helped me convince the Goblins to reconstruct Potter Manor, I got my wand fixed, but most importantly, I found three trunks inside the Potter Vault that belonged to my Parents and me." Harry said softly.

"Harry that's wonderful, did you see what was inside the trunks?" Hermione asked.

"I . . . couldn't." Harry said, his voice barely a whisper.

Hermione cast a sad glance in Harry's direction, but didn't say anything. She knew that he wouldn't appreciate it if she tried to comfort him, he would think that she was pitying him.

Hermione placed the breakfast she had prepared and a carton of juice on a tray. Harry assumed that she would be sharing her breakfast with Daphne.

"How is Daphne?" Harry asked. He was searching for a change of topic.

"I don't know Harry, I checked on her this morning, I don't think she slept at all last night." Hermione sighed sadly.

"How did you meet her anyway?" Harry asked.

"We met in our first year. We were both in the Transfiguration and Potions Club. I don't exactly know when she became my friend, but we eventually began sitting together in the Clubs, and sharing our workload. She is a very bright person, and despite being a Pureblood, she isn't a bigot." Hermione said.

"I don't think that she has many friends at Hogwarts. I was aware that she had some problems with her family, mainly started midway during Second year, but I never imagined it would be this bad. Honestly, who uses an Unforgiveable on their own daughter?" Hermione finished angrily.

Harry nodded silently. Truthfully he hadn't noticed Daphne much at Hogwarts. At the very least she didn't hang around with Malfoy and his cronies. That was always a plus in Harry's opinion.

"Anyway, Daphne will probably go to sleep after breakfast, I put in a few sleeping pills in the juice. She won't wake up until later tonight." Hermione said.

"That bad?" Harry asked. Harry figured that Sleeping pills were much like the Dreamless Sleep Potion, and the circumstances that he had taken it under, were somewhat extreme.

"She banished herself from her family Harry, and while I don't think she made the decision impulsively, it has to be hard on her. On top of that, she is worried about her little sister. Some sleep will do her good." Hermione said sadly.

"Little sister?" Harry enquired.

"Astoria, she is supposed to be starting Hogwarts this year." Hermione said.

"What is she planning to do now? Will she be continuing at Hogwarts? Does she have the funds?" Harry asked.

"I helped her in writing to Professor Dumbledore, she has good enough grades to easily apply for the Scholarship for orphans. And she told me that she had some Galleons on her, but I don't think she has enough to get by. She didn't want to stay here, saying that she would just borrow some money, and planned to take a room at the Leaky Cauldron. But my mother talked her out of it. It is a lucky coincidence that the relatives that my family were supposed to be visiting had other engagements. Otherwise, I don't know where she would have spent her summer, with us gone." Hermione said.

She took out her wand and levitated the tray in front of her. "I'll be down in an hour at the most, why don't you freshen up and start on the list of clothes that you need to buy, I think we should get done with our shopping today."

"Sure." Harry replied. He honestly had no idea what he was supposed to write down on the list, but it couldn't be that hard right?

(Break)

Harry trudged wearily back into the Granger's house that evening after completing his shopping spree, vowing to not step inside another clothing store anytime soon. He had no idea that such a trifle thing such as shopping could be so tiring. He was grateful for the presence of Hermione's dad; he knew that if he wasn't present he would still be roaming around the mall cluelessly. Although, it was funny to see his expression when he had told him that he had some 50 thousand pounds to spend.

Hermione had bought some clothes for Daphne to wear as well. When Harry had innocently asked how she knew her size, Hermione had replied embarrassedly that she had asked one of the clerks at Madam Malkin's for the spell that they used.

Hermione went up to check on Daphne as soon as she got back, and on finding her sleeping, took the note that she had left for her in case she woke up while they were gone, and came back down.

Daphne came down for dinner, but she hardly ate anything, staring at her plate the whole time. Halfway through she had excused herself, and went back up to Hermione's room. Hermione looked sad seeing her friend this way, but Harry knew that Daphne would take some time to get back up on her feet. Harry hadn't talked to her much, but introduced himself with a smile on his face, making sure that he didn't have any bad feelings towards her. He couldn't be sure, but he thought, he had seen a brief look of surprise and a bit of relief on her face.

After dinner, Harry and Hermione sat down with her parents to watch some television, and as midnight neared, Hermione's parents bid the two teens a good night. Harry and Hermione who didn't feel sleepy at all decided to get some work done on their Occlumency. They discussed the problems that they were having, and Harry told her of the doubts that he was having. The two of them brainstormed a bit on the ideas that they had, and planned the questions that they would ask Perenelle when they visited her this night.

(Break)

Harry heaved himself up to his feet as the Portkey that Perenelle had given them deposited the duo on the cold stone floor of the Entrance Chamber. Harry again grumbled under his breath, cursing the existence of Portkeys, as he thought of the 'Office' and proceeded to enter the door that opened up.

Perenelle was sitting at her desk reading through some files. Harry approached the table and sat down on the chair.

"Good morning Harry, Hermione. How are you today?" Perenelle asked, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Quite well." Hermione answered.

"So Hermione, ready?" Perenelle asked. At Hermione's hesitant nod, Perenelle motioned Hermione closer and didn't flinch at all as she cut her wrist with her fingernail. Harry had never been able to see either his own, or Hermione's expression for that matter, when they drank blood. All that he knew was that it felt nice. Seeing Hermione's expression, he thought that he might just be right.

Hermione on the other hand, was a bit disappointed. Perenelle's blood tasted nowhere near as good as Harry's. But she sucked it up nevertheless. She was actually looking forward to returning home and having Harry drink from her.

After Hermione finished, she thanked Perenelle and sat down in the chair beside Harry.

"Professor, I had a question on something that I read in the book." Harry started.

"Yes, what is it? And how far have you progressed?" Perenelle asked. She didn't expect him to do much, if the grades at school, and Albus's description were to be believed.

"I am having some trouble with envisioning my mind, but I can do everything before that easily." Harry replied. Perenelle was mildly surprised on hearing that, but was pleased that he had taken the initiative himself, if this trend were to continue, it would make her job much easier.

"And what about you Hermione?" Perenelle asked.

"I am having the same problem as Harry." Hermione said. This was something that didn't surprise Perenelle.

"It is quite a tricky phase to learning Occlumency, but I am afraid that you will have to overcome this on your own. Everyone has different ways of doing it, I can guide you and tell you some things but you will have to do this on your own." Perenelle said.

"Professor, the book mentioned some benefits to learning Occlumency. If I am not over-estimating these benefits, how is it that people, purebloods to be specific, have so much trouble doing their schoolwork?" Harry asked.

"You question has a simple answer Harry, no one is aware of this form of Occlumency. As far as the Wizarding World is concerned, they never knew of this type of Occlumency. And you have to make sure that it stays that way. This form of Occlumency is a powerful tool that can be quite devastating in the right or as the case may be, wrong, hands. I would like to make this clear before you start on your training, whatever I teach you, can never be taught to others. There are secrets to magic that was best kept from the general populace, and I happen to know quite a few of them." Perenelle said sternly, a serious expression on her face.

Harry knew what Perenelle was saying was right, and agreed with her. Hermione however, who had always been an advocate of sharing knowledge, found her statement a tough pill to swallow.

"But what if the information that you are withholding from the Wizarding World could save someone's life or make a person's life easier?" Hermione asked, she was a bit upset.

"Believe me Hermione, apart from a few, the techniques that I am referring to have no shred of Healing Magic in them, and the ones that do have them, can't be performed by an ordinary wizard. While I do believe in the sharing of knowledge, I like to control the knowledge shared. Most Law Enforcement agencies are the same. If the Aurors began to advertise their training, what purpose would they serve? Certain types of Magic, if not practiced under controlled circumstances, can be hazardous. If civilians were to try and perform them, they would hurt themselves, sometimes mortally. And Death Eaters would be able to pick apart the Aurors; there would be no one to stand up against them." Perenelle finished strongly. She didn't yell or raise her voice, but Hermione felt that she was being punished somehow.

"I-I didn't think of it that way." Hermione said meekly.

"You are a teenager Hermione; most adult Wizards spend lifetimes before they come to this conclusion. You will realize this fact yourself once you begin training, if you still have doubts then, I would love to hear your arguments, who knows, you might be able to look at things differently than I do, and I might have to reconsider my thoughts." Perenelle said gently.

Hermione brightened up at that slightly.

"So, do you have any other questions?" Perenelle asked.

"The exercise regimen that you gave us, where are we supposed to perform them?" Harry asked.

"Well, you can do them here, or at any park that is near Hermione's house. Is there such a place nearby Hermione?" Perenelle asked looking at Hermione.

Hermione thought about it for a while, then shook her head. They had a park nearby her house, but it wasn't exactly the sort of place that you could work out in.

"Well, you can always Portkey over here every morning, and then go back the same way. The Training room is a very good place for your exercises." Perenelle said.

Hermione glanced at Harry, wondering what they were going to tell her parents. She didn't want to alarm them.

Harry was confused by Perenelle's statement. Sure, the training room was big, but it wasn't exactly an ideal place for running. He was not going to run around the room in circles, that would get boring soon. Perenelle picked up on Harry's expression, and correctly interpreting his thoughts said, "As you might recall, I told you that the room is a very special room, and very versatile in its uses. It is modeled after a wondrous room at Hogwarts, the Room of Requirement or the Come and Go room, it has many names. I along with the previous Order tried recreating the room, and we were partially successful. The room that we have created, will be able to transform itself into whatever the user wishes it to become, but apart from any Organic substances anything can be created, the only limit will be your imagination." Perenelle said, with a slight hint of pride in her voice.

Harry and Hermione had awed looks on their faces, each thinking about the possibilities.

Harry and Hermione thanked Perenelle, and Portkeyed home. Harry fed from Hermione, leaving her quite satisfied and frustrated at the same time; and the two teens decided to retire to their rooms for the night. Harry visited his core again, trying to find a way to proceed to the next step of Occlumency, he thought that he made some progress but couldn't be sure.

(End Chapter)

A/N:- First of all I would like to extend my sincere apology to all readers concerning my last note. Reading it from your point of view, I realized that it was extremely rude. Sorry. I edited the note, thus the reason for multiple posts.

I have another question for you, Would you like to Include Luna and Fleur in the pairings as well? (All of the girls will be turned into Vampires, while retaining their magic, though Fleur's situation will be a bit different)

1)Yes

2)No (Luna will then be paired with Neville, but they won't have a major role in the story.)

Though I have to warn you that the romance will be a little slow to develop.