Chapter 2: History
Harry soundlessly appeared a few blocks from Privet Drive. He pulled out his invisibility cloak from his pocket and draped it over himself. He casually walked back to Provet Drive without getting interrupted. He knew there were guards from the Order. But it was the middle of the night and he knew Moody never had night shifts. He picked the lock on the back door and stole into the house. He quietly made his way back upstairs to his room.
He was too high on adrenalin to sleep today and to think this was just the second day after the school let out. He was a bit glad to have gotten something off his chest to Amelia Bones. He was too tired to keep it all in. He had many secrets and they were eating at him. He could bear them just fine on his own but lately, he had been getting too frustrated.
Harry lay back on his meager mattress and settled to think.
He was glad to have helped Amelia Bones but he also wondered if he had done the right thing. He never had any doubts about using Crabbe's grandmother or the death of two death eaters he had caused at her hands. He had no sympathy or forgiveness for those who supported Voldemort. He knew it was harsh but it was the way he was. His world was not all flowery and easy. His childhood alone ensured that he would grow up really early.
He learnt early on in his life that if you give people what they wanted to see, you could hide your actions better. It basically started with Vernon Dursley and then Dudley at school. He hid that he was in fact the leading student at school without the Dursleys ever noticing it. The first year he came back with excellent results, he was shut in his cupboard for a week without food. The next year, he had shyly approached the principal directly about the result sheet. Granted he was not as used to lying then as he was now but he thought it was a decent effort. He had told the principal that he was very grateful for his aunt and uncle to have taken him in after his parents had died and didn't want them to think he was better than Dudley. He had to create a few tears to convince the principal but in the end he had agreed. At that time, his plan was to keep the real results to himself so that he might get some scholarship at a far off school earlier.
Well he got that wish but his results didn't matter. Harry was always cynical but had a realistic view on life. He knew he was wronged but he didn't know by whom and how many times. He knew that what Dursleys did to him was not acceptable but he was not in a position to do anything about it.
He could read people pretty well. It helped him avoid punishments and tricky situations a lot times at the Dursley household. And when Hagrid arrived at the shack to tell him about the magical world, he acted perplexed. He knew he had to get more information before he could present an acceptable face to the wizarding world. So he waited until he had enough information about his supposed victory over the dark lord before forming a persona that suited him.
There was a reason that the sorting hat wanted to put him in Slytherin. And it wasn't Hargid's and Ron's opinions that influenced him. He wanted to hide in plain sight and what best way to do that than do what was expected of him. It was this thought that the sorting hat read and granted him to be Gryffindor.
The first year was when he was slightly getting more used to the wizarding world. He had always had less sleep at the Dursleys and his body was used to that. He thought he was an anomaly since he could function fine with only four hours of sleep a night. He was sure he had a case of insomnia. But he was happy for it too. He didn't view it as a disease. Rather he was very happy for it.
After Dumbledore had warned him about late night wanderings in his first year, he had waited a few days. After that he had continued his forays into the library to read books. He knew they wouldn't expect him to continue it after bring warned off. He kept away from the restricted section though. He was not skilled enough to keep the alarm from being sounded.
He kept his magical talents to himself. His acting capability had developed significantly at the Dursleys. He fooled all his teachers into believing that he was an average student. He had read in the library that the end of year exams did not matter until the fifth and seventh year when you took the ministry conducted exams.
Snape was an issue at the beginning. Whenever he met the man's eyes, he felt as though Snape knew what he was thinking. And he was also reminded of the Dursley abuse whenever he met Snape's gaze. So he stopped looking into his eyes after a few classes. He spent almost two whole months looking in the library for potion books after he got the invisibility cloak at Christmas. He knew that Snape wouldn't teach anything and it was a subtle magical subject that could be very helpful and easily concealable. For example, if he wanted to hurt someone, he could whip up a potion and have him ingest it unknowingly.
The troll incident at Halloween was not particularly what he had planned but he was glad nonetheless. Friendship was one area where he was insecure due to his young age. He had never had friends. That was the only reason he put with Ron before Halloween. That and the fact that Ron was more knowledgeable than him about the wizarding world. He needed information and Ron was easy to con to give up information that he needed.
Christmas was surprising because he had never had gifts. It was refreshingly nice to have his faith in good people renewed a bit. For a person to make a gift by hand and send it to him was almost unbelievable. It gave him a warm feeling that there were still some people who cared about unloved people like him.
Hermione's addition tempered Ron a bit and Harry didn't have to get more irritated at him. She was knowledgeable but a bit too bossy. Ron evened that out. It was nice mix actually.
It was only after he faced Voldemort at the end of the year and was lying in the hospital be recovering that he thought about the events of the year. For him, it felt as though it was awfully convenient that events just happened at the right time. Foe example, had he not seen the paper in Hagrid's hut about Gringotts breakin, he would never have been interested in that. When he was about to lose interest in that, he found Fluffy and then the Mirror of Erised. It was as though someone arranged all this to happen. Quidditch was a nice touch to keep his distracted from thinking too much.
The year end adventure was just that an adventure. How could a bunch of school kids possibly bypass the security that was supposed to keep adult witches and wizards at bay? It was also a coincidence that all the puzzles were designed according to the strengths of Ron, Hermione and himself. Hermione with the Devil Snare, Ron with the chess, Hermione again with Logic and him to deal with the mirror. And he was purposefully alone at the end and just when things got out hand, Dumbledore was there.
Afterwards, when he discussed it all with Ron and Hermione, it became a fact. They had figured out that he had sent Harry the invisibility cloak and made him learn about the mirror. They had also figured out that he knew what had happened and let the events play out and did not interfere. But when he brought up the topic that Dumbledore thought it was Harry's right to face Voldemort, Ron interrupted him and it was quite a blatant effort of avoiding the topic. He wondered about it and then let it go since Ron had helped him and was a good friend. The points at the end of the year was a nice incentive to encourage such behavior from him.
The conversation with Hagrid before he gave him the photo album was a bit off putting. He didn't expect to act as an adult to an adult. He was afraid he gave away that he was quite capable of figuring out things but he really felt sorry for Hagrid then.
It was next year that solidified his doubts that Dumbledore was controlling many things. He didn't know the extent of it but he was sure that the first year was a test for him, one that he had passed with flying colors.
The events of the second year were arranged such that he was examined. He felt as though it was a test of his courage. He thought that it was also a test about how he fared when most of the people were against him. The heir of Slytherin thing was an obvious clue. Snape was the one who had suggested the serpensortia spell. Of all the spells, why that spell? Dumbledore might have suspected that he might have gained some abilities from Voldemort and wanted to test that. The thing about the Basilisk was definitely a test of courage. Who would expect a 12 year old kid to have the courage to face a very powerful and very old Basilisk? But it was expected of the Boy Who Lived. He should put his life on the line to save anyone and everyone. He hardly knew Ginny then. She was cute and all but he was grateful to the Weasleys for rescuing him from the Dursleys.
So he went and faced the Basilisk. And when Fawkes came, he was sure that Dumbledore was testing him again. If Fawkes could come, why not Dumbledore? If Fawkes could carry the sorting hat, why couldn't he carry Dumbledore? In fact, he read upon phoenixes later and realized that they could carry people very easily. It was a dangerous situation but he was sure that someone was watching and would come to aid when he was about to die.
The summer before his third year was one of his best. There was no one who was openly keeping tabs on him. He blew up Marge and escaped the Dursleys. It was during this time that he realized the importance of physical fitness. He remembered being very sloppy and tired while escaping the Basilisk. He started doing exercises and had not stopped it even now.
The third year was a mixed one in many ways. Remus Lupin was a friend of his parents and never talked about them during the entire year until he made a deal with him. Frankly, he had made out that he was a werewolf after two months. He had not just let others in on the secret. He knew it was up to Remus to tell others. He himself had many secrets and it was his decision if he wanted to tell others.
Harry kept his head down a bit and didn't talk about his suspicions about Dumbledore with anyone. He felt that he had too much in the hospital wing with Ron and Hermione at the end of his first year. It was in this year that he started to seriously study offensive magic. His late night wanderings did not stop. He took the electives that were easy to keep people off his back. He privately studied Runes. He found the subject fascinating. It also came to him easier. He could make out patterns in runes and errors in rune sequences. It was as though they were calling him to find the mistakes.
He had also started to show an aptitude to DADA. It was expected that dark lord would be proficient in dark and arts and that the Boy Who Lived would be proficient at its defense.
By then he had accepted a few things. Dumbledore was subtly influencing events that happened around Hogwarts so that he faced a challenge every year. He was being tested and groomed to be the Boy Who Lived. Every year, he faced a practical test. The school exams were based on books. He was supposed to not do so well in them as he was not supposed to be more knowledgeable than the Ravenclaws who read a lot. There were no tests at Hogwarts for practical tests and the application of meager knowledge he was supposed to have gained. Dumbledore arranged for that every year. It was to test his ability to think on his feet and use what he knew and what resources he had. He was happy to oblige but he always kept his real knowledge and capabilities to himself.
He was a bit naïve to let Peter escape. But he accepted that as a flaw of his younger, more innocent mind. It was hearing the prophecy from Trelaway that got him thinking lot. He suspected a prophecy might be the reason that Dumbledore was testing him and grooming him. It looked like a very good possibility. Now, he knew it was true.
His suspicions about Dumbledore grew due the events regarding Pettigrew. Why did Snape barge just then? Why not before? Someone had to be monitoring their actions in some way so that Snape may come upon them at a particular time. It was as though they wanted Harry to know about Sirius but not have any advantage from it. He was also suspicious when Dumbledore did not do anything for Sirius once he learned the truth. Even being naïve about wizarding world, Harry knew that Dumbledore carried a lot of weight in the wizarding world. He was also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and surely he could have arranged for a trial.
The Quidditch world cup was nice. He enjoyed it. It was also a test of his will when the veelas performed. His will was more powerful and he did not fall for their charms. He did like the view though. It was funny to watch the reactions of others. The interruption of the death eaters drove home the seriousness that was required of him. It wasn't a game anymore. He needed to prepare seriously.
He was not actually that unhappy when he was chosen as the champion. It gave him legitimate reason to spend more time at the library. It also helped that Ron was fighting with him. He did not want Ron to drag him away every time to play chess or Quidditch.
People were against him again this year. They scorned him and he scorned them. He came to know how fickle the public really was. He realized that they were all just sheep. He had to be the wolf to take advantage of them. They were blinded by their bigotry, beliefs and rumors. He didn't care a whit about them from then on.
He spent a lot of time at the library and in empty classrooms. He learnt more magic that all the previous years combined since he didn't have to hide anymore. He learnt about the true nature of mastering magic. Wand movements and incantations were simply guide to shape your magic into spells. It was because most people did not have the mental fortitude to really master magic. Magic – the Reality was the book that helped him find it. It was by far the most helpful book he had read. He noted that Dumbledore did not actually perform any spell by the book.
After the first task, he finished the book. He learnt that there was no need to shout or even say the incantation of a spell. There also no need for elaborate and complicated wand movements. He could just as easily cast a spell by a jab, flick, swish or an arc. It was all in intent and concentration.
For developing concentration, he looked into developing his mental capabilities. He found Occlumency and Legilimency. He found the techniques in the basic books very tedious and impractical. So he sneaked into the restricted section to find more advanced books. He specifically looked for older books since many people might not remember old techniques. It was this thought that led him to make him most important discovery.
He discovered why Chamber of Secrets was called so. He found a lot of rooms hidden in the area. There was a weapons room, a potion lab, a private library and a whole set of different rooms he didn't understand the purpose of. The library contained rare books and specifically old books. They were all a millennium old. But they were all intact. He left the Basilisk remains as it was since he didn't know ho to harvest it and it didn't smell. There seemed to be a preservation ward on the whole Chamber of secrets because everything was pristine. There was no sign of dust or wear and tear in any of the rooms. He wondered if Voldemort had found this since he was the Slytherin heir. But his doubts were cleared when he looked at the magical logs that were kept. The last person who had entered the library was Salazar Slytherin himself. The same log also said that the hidden rooms were also last accessed by Salazar Slytherin. But many people had accessed the chamber hall after Salazar. Tom Riddle was the last to access it. So he was safe in the aspect that no one would know the existence of these books. It also seemed that Salazar Slytherin was a bit of a collector of rare tomes. There were books that were 3500 years old in the collection.
He found a potion and a spell combination to magically learn a language. He did it several times to understand the many languages the books in the library were written in. The knowledge in the books was astounding. He found about so many different types of magic that were not practiced in this era. He found ritual magic fascinating. It combined potions, alchemy, runes and chants to achieve a specific goal. A lot of powerful things could be done with that. He resolved to look into that more later. He suspected that it was blood magic ritual that had enabled Salazar Slytherin or one of his ancestors to talk to snakes.
But for now, he had concentrated on Occlumency. An old method which required less effort was the first one he practiced. He did not have to suppress most of his emotions like the newer books in the library. He did not want to suppress his emotions since he had learnt that emotions are the main components of spells like the Patronus. He was there were many spells like that that required emotion. This old technique made him categorize and suppress the memories that affected him the most. And by suppression in old terms meant fading the memories and not shutting them down completely. He practiced hard to make him memories fade. He learnt to concentrate on a specific image to let the other thoughts and memories fade into the background.
He was extremely happy to have found that. It helped him in remembering things more easily. He could also grasp things quicker. It also improved his focus. All this helped his studies to go along quicker and also to maintain his acting suitably faking emotions. Shortly after becoming mildly proficient in Occlumency, he started working on silent casting. When he could cast all the spells he had learnt without uttering a single sound, it was time for the Yule Ball.
It was one thing he learnt he was bad at, it was dancing. He ogled a bit at Cho because he always flashed him when no one was looking. Obviously he wanted more. So he kind of went after her. Dancing was simply not his forte. He had tried to learn it but it was useless. After the Yule ball and the fights, he did apologize to the Patil twins. He told them that he couldn't dance for the life of him and that he had tried. Padma was forgiving and said that it was cute that he had tried. Parvati on the other hand found it insulting and was very cool towards him.
The Rita Skeeter business was very irritating and he was hoping to have a really good session of practicing his curses at her.
Harry had continued his physical exercises that he had started before his third year. Now he did everything in the chamber. He exercised there and read and practiced spells there. There was no need to go in search of empty classrooms. It was also an added bonus that Dumbledore could not spy on him by any means in the chamber. He practiced Potions and found that he was actually a very good student of potions. It was more like runes. Combinations and sequences equated to ingredients and brewing. He also found an old guide to potions that Salazar used. It explained to him the results of using a specific ingredient in a specific way. It was a bit outdated but it gave him the necessary method of mastering potions if he wished.
There were a lot of dark magic and battle magic books among the offensive magic section. In most cases, the line between them was blurred. But he didn't dare look into dark magic yet. It was not because he despised it or anything. It was because he didn't have any true knowledge or opinion about it. Unless he read more about the effects and consequences of using dark magic, he could not learn about it. He did learn a lot of battle magic though. He was not strong enough to cast the medium level battle magic spells but he low level spells did more than enough damage. His magic was not powerful enough for that kind of magic.
It was also when he started researching about the connection he suspected he had with Voldemort in the chamber that he made a startling discovery. He had a bond with Ginny Weasley. He did not what kind of bond it was or why it was there. He suspected it was because he had saved her from the Basilisk and Tom Riddle. But he did not have the time to research more about it. He had to concentrate on the more practical aspects of magic due to the tournament. But he did find out that he was attuned to her. He couldn't hear her thoughts or make out emotions of anything. He could just feel her in a sense. He was positive he could single her out in room full of people who looked like Ginny.
Concentrating on the practical side of magic led him to cast spells with ease. He did not need elaborate wand movements and incantations anymore. A simple wand action and mental concentration was enough to cast a spell. A jab, flick, swish, arc was enough. He learnt to use it according to the spell. For example, a stunning spell took a jab as it was a point spell. A cutting spell like diffindo required a flick or an arc depending on the type of cut. A levitation spell required a flick as did the summoning charm. Various other spells required only these simple wand motions and sometimes no wand motion was required at all.
In the meantime, the second task came and went. He was sure Dumbledore had him monitored during his time in the library of among his friends. So he acted as though he didn't have a clue about how to go about the second task. It was awfully convenient that Dobby just speared to listening to him that particular day at that particular time. He was happy with Dobby but he knew that Dobby was very dumb. There was no way that he could know about gillyweed or how to get it. He simply did not have enough brain capability to deduce such things.
He was also very suspicious of the help Moody was offering him for the tasks. He happened to exactly know how to help him and make him win. It seemed as though Moody was more eager to make Harry win than Harry himself.
The second task was a boon. He did not generally have an attitude to save people. But he realized that Boy Who Lived was not expected to be clever. He was expected to be caring enough to wait to make sure that all hostages were rescued. He deduced that someone must have the ability to talk to the merpeople since the eggs contained their voices. How could someone have gotten their cooperation and make them hold the hostages and talk for the egg? So he waited to make sure all hostages were safe.
It was the best thing he had done in his short life. The result was his first of many experiences at sex. Fleur was very grateful. She taught him all about sex and the generalities about girls and dating. He learnt how to kiss properly and how to please a woman. They had many sessions during the year. She had apologized about calling him a little boy. She was actually very happy about his good physical condition. He did not have muscles but his body was taut from all the physical exercises he did regularly. She gave him tips about wooing women and what to do after that. She explained about the act of sex and the numerous ways to make sex irresistible. She taught him to make the woman beg for more from him. She explained about sensitive areas to tease and techniques to tempt. She also taught him about blowjobs, anal sex, tit fucking and many positions to have sex. He was an eager student and she was a grateful and naughty teacher. Being a veela, she had studied about sex extensively and she passed all that knowledge to him.
Harry did not reveal any of his secrets to her. She was nice and she also hid her intelligence behind her blond bimbo act. She was actually scarily brilliant at manipulating people. They fucked regularly but he didn't trust her enough to tell her more about him. It was utterly satisfying and enjoyable activity. Due to his mental fortitude, he was not talking gibbering in her presence when she was blasting him with the full power of her veela charm. She was very happy with that and hence spent more time with him. He had to convince her to keep everything a secret but a few good sessions made her agree.
The year end was exciting and at the same time terrifying. He did keep a cool head. He felt disgusted when his blood was forcibly taken to resurrect Voldemort. He resolved to do more research about the ritual once he got back. He was sure about the fact that he would go back. There was no doubt that he could and he would escape. The arrival of the death eaters gave him the names of his enemies. His first test of Occlumency was a success. Voldemort tried to read him but he had sufficiently mastered Occlumency to immediately make his thoughts and memories to fade away. It helped to think like his memories were absorbed by shadows in his mind.
He did not want to give away any of his capabilities. All he had to do was escape. He didn't need to get flashy. He wanted Voldemort to underestimate him as much as possible. So he only used the Expelliarmus charm. It was his luck that the wands connected. He noted that Voldemort was an ego maniac. He could use that in the future. But he had also observed that Voldemort was very clever. He had weakened Harry by using Crucio before they dueled. He was glad to find that Voldemort's Imperio did not affect him. In the end he had to use his physical capability a bit to avoid his curses. But he knew that Voldemort would scoff at it and take no notice of it since he was more pureblood oriented. He also came to a startling conclusion when he escaped – Voldemort feared him. Voldemort was afraid of his power and what it could develop into. Otherwise he would not have taken so many precautions.
Harry was very sad and a tad guilty about the death of Cedric. If he had used his full capabilities, he may have saved him. But he was disoriented after the portkey travel and it took him longer than most people to get his bearing right after that. He could not do anything about after it had been done. He put on an act of being a scared and shocked Gryffindor golden boy. He was little shocked but he was not afraid at all. It made no sense to fear the events that had already occurred and what was to come.
The revelation about Moody was surprising but it made sense. He was actually kicking himself to be lured into a trap so easily. But in his defense, he could say that he was again very disoriented by the portkey travel.
Before the year ended, he had seen Sirius again. It had reminded him of his wish to be an animagus. He looked up in both the school library and the chamber library. The modern books followed a long and painful method that only gave the user the form of the animal. All the powers and capabilities of the said animal were not available to the wizard if that procedure was followed. The procedure also made it impossible for anyone to have a magical animagus form.
The procedure mentioned in the book in the chamber was vastly different. The book was 2000 years old when ritual magic was more prominent. It gave a series of three rituals that would enable a person to become an animagus. The first ritual was fairly simple and it gave the wizard information about the animal he could become. The information was not complete if the animal was more magical but it gave the wizard a general idea about the animal. The second was slightly more complicated and required a few rare ingredients for a potion. At this point the wizard started to show the animal capabilities. The merging of man and animal would start after the second ritual. There might be violent changes in the wizard during this period as he had debatable control over himself. The animal influenced more than just his body. Emotions and thinking abilities were also affected. The third and last ritual required a part of the specific animal and was complex. This was to be performed when the wizard had merged with the animal completely. A rune from the second ritual would change indicating that it was time to do the third ritual. The third ritual calmed the soul of the wizard and made it accept the animal completely. The wizard and the animal would truly become one after the third ritual. Then and only then would the wizard make his first transformation. It was given that he could easily transform without pain after the third ritual. He was not supposed to do any transformation before the third ritual was done. This procedure did not suppress anything from the animal. Any and all magical capabilities and characteristics of the animal were transferred to the wizard.
Harry decided to do the first ritual before leaving. If he had time, he would even do the second before leaving since there was no time limitation between the first and the second ritual. But he did know anything about rituals. So he sought out a book explaining the basics of rituals. It was a very small book explaining the types of rituals and the dos and donts while performing a ritual. Since there was no school work to be done, he finished the book in two days. The others thought that he was depressed over the death of Cedric and he let them think that. It was stupid in his opinion. What was the point in moaning over Cedric's death? He hardly knew him. He was sorry that he was dead but that was the extent of his sympathy.
The first ritual required three runes and a simple potion. It was a mildly hallugenic potion used to induce a serene state in the mind. It was a blood magic ritual since he needed to use his blood. He found a ritual room in the chamber. He drew a pentacle with his blood he stood naked in it. He drew one rune on the ground he stood on, one rune in the centre of his forehead and one rune in the air above him with his blood. The magic in the room increased when he drew the runes. He was happy that he did not have to cut the runes on his skin. It would be painful and he did not yet have the skill to perform such a ritual.
After the runes solidified and flashed, he chanted in old welsh for one minute. Then he drank the potion that he had prepared. He threw the flask out of the pentagram and started chanting in old welsh again. He continued to chant for a few minutes as magic condensed in the pentagram. At the last syllable of the chant, the magic was sucked into him.
He saw a vague vision of a magnificent animal. Its senses were feline. It had four legs and he could make out that it was very big. He could also make out that it was heavily magical and there were many anomalies. He got a vision of vague black fur and long claws. That was the extent of the information he could gleam from the ritual. He was ecstatic at the discovery. He was overly enthusiastic that night with Fleur. She was set to leave that weekend and they spent their nights together without fail. He told her he was happy to have figured out something very important. She was intelligent enough o not ask about it.
After Fleur left, he had three more days before the holidays started. So he decided to do the second ritual also. The rare ingredients were all present in the chamber lab under preservative charms. The potion required his complete concentration to brew. The steps of brewing involved using three different stirring rods and also changing the cauldron in the middle. It took him six hours of uninterrupted work to complete the potion. He could not make out the nature of the potion from the ingredients. It was far too complicated. He was afraid to think of the complexity of the potion he had to brew for the final ritual.
Again he used the ritual room in the chamber. This set of animagus rituals required only pentagrams. It was relatively simple compared to other rituals in the books. He drew the pentagram again with his blood. He had to use a blood restorative potion a day before to get his blood levels up after extracting enough blood for the ritual. The runes for this ritual were also simple. But he to cut a few runes on his skin. He kneeled down and made the cuts. He had to use a cleansed ritual knife for this. Thankfully he found it in the potion lab. The first rune was cut on his forehead. The second and third runes were on his shoulders. It was painful but manageable. The fourth and fifth were on the back his palms. It was difficult to cut the runes specifically with his left hand but he somehow managed. The next two runes were along his waist. Three runes were cut along the waist. The last two runes were on the heels on each foot. It was probably the most painful part of the ritual.
After he completed cutting runes, he drank the disgusting tasting potion. He needed to wait until the potion traveled to all parts of his body. The magic in the blood would enable the potion to travel to all the runes that were cut on the body. Once all the runes sported the purple color of the potion, he started chanting. It was more of a summoning ritual and hence the chant reflected the same. He had to chant the same line again and again until the magic would tell him to stop. He felt the runes throb with magic. The pentagram contained the magic from escaping. After thirty three chants, the runes vanished into his body and the magic dissipated in the pentagram. He stopped chanting and collapsed from the pain.
It was a short ritual but was painful. He didn't consciously feel anything but pain. It felt as though someone or something was attacking his magic. But the he felt the strangest thing. It was as though his magic was a shell and it was not what the magical presence was looking for. It seemed as though there was something hidden underneath his magic. He felt his magic give way and then the attack stopped and sunk beyond his magic. It was as though there was something else inside him and that his magic covered it. He didn't know what to make of it. One the attack sunk inside his magic, the pain stopped.
He didn't have much time to do anything about it though. He couldn't risk taking those kind of books to the Dursleys. He never knew what would become of his belongings at the Dursleys. They might take it all away and destroy them at any moment.
The holidays were boring. Now since Voldemort was back, he had decided to train in earnest. He would keep it a secret from Dumbledore of course. So one night he snuck out of the Dursleys using his invisibility cloak. He used the knight bus from a few blocks away to go t Leaky Cauldron. He did not put it past Dumbledore to have him watched at his relatives' house.
He had always got along well with Madame Malkin. So he went in there and when she was alone, he removed his cloak. He explained a bit – that he wanted to prepare himself because Voldemort was back and that no one was helping him. She thankfully believed that Voldemort was back unlike others as he had seen in the Daily prophet. She put a strong glamour charm over him. His hair was now longer and it was a dark brown in color. His eyes were blue and his skin was a bit darker. She also put an illusion on his glasses so that it seemed as though it was not there. She also gave him a robe and put an illusion on it making him seem a lot older than he was. He thanked her profusely and asked her to keep it a secret. He promised to pay her when he got back from Gringotts.
He withdrew a lot of money from his vault and gave the goblin 10 galleons so that he would not tell anyone that he was there. Money talks was the rule with the goblins as long as it did not go too far from the principles of the bank.
His first stop was the trunk store. He looked for a trunk that looked exactly the same as his which had special features. It was not difficult considering that he had bought a general trunk that all first years bought. The trunk had a secret second compartment. It could be opened by pressing two indentations on either side of the latch. It was simple yet no one would expect it. As an added precaution, he asked the shopkeeper to put a recognition ward on it. The shopkeeper was surprised at the request since not many knew about wards in general. The second compartment was twice as deep, twice as wide and five times as long as the first compartment. It meant that it was not too deep to access standing up. He could use it similar to the first compartment without anyone being wiser unless they were directly looking into the trunk. He also had the owner make it feather light and shrinkable on verbal command.
The next destination was Knockturn alley. He wanted something to obscure his magic. He searched among many shops. He found a variety of shops that sold everything; be it potions, ritual equipments, books, knick knacks, clothes, exotic animals, bars etc. The alley was not as bad as it was portrayed. The few alleyways at the start of the alley were purposefully kept like that to discourage bigoted customers. The rest of the alley was pretty clean albeit a bit dark.
He found a bracelet that masked the magic performed. It had to be worn on the wand arm while performing magic. Even with this he suspected he would not be able to practice magic inside the house. He suspected that there were wards on the house that showed when any magic was performed. He was not sure what kind of ward it was but it didn't matter if he did the magic or someone else did. The Dobby incident was proof of that. But he had found a nice secluded place in the park near privet drive that was hidden to prying eyes. He could place some basic notice me not and muggle repellent wards and practice to his heart's content. They were basic wards and he had studied them before. They were fairly easy to cast.
He also bought an icebox with pre prepared meals. He did not want to starve at the Dursleys again. Dudley was going on a diet and he expected to get even less food that he used to before. He put all his new purchases in his new trunk. Anything else wasn't that interesting or that necessary for him. Besides he had to get back to Privet Drive before people noticed he was gone. So he paid Madame Malkin and got back to Privet Drive using the knight bus again.
The next few weeks went by normally. He practiced magic in the park and continued his physical exercises. He was glad for the bulky school robes. They hid his body well. During the holidays, he wore castoffs from Dudley which were way too big. It was also effective in concealing his body. He did not want anyone to suspect his capabilities even the tiniest bit. He could use all the advantage he had.
He had fun taunting Dudley at every chance he got. He observed that he was a bit more playful in general and very cold when angered. This was not how he was before. He thought that this was due to the animagus rituals he had done. It was the influence of his animagus form. So his form was generally playful but very cold when angered.
The dementor incident was baffling. He couldn't decide if it was pure luck of the Dementors or if someone sent them after him. Not many people knew where he lived during the summer as he had observed. The lumos spell working on his wand when he didn't have it on hand was very shocking. He thought about it later and tried to do it again. He realized it was desperation that made it possible. So he focused hard to make it happen again. He hoped this was some form of wandless magic. He had read that wandless magic was practiced by mages two millennia ago. In a way, runic magic was wandless. He had to draw runes for the rituals with his blood by hand and not using the wand. He was successfully able to cast lumos out of his wand without touching it. He tried to make light come out right out of his hand but he was unsuccessful. He could not do completely wandless spells. He tried another simple fire charm ignite and was able to get similar results. A small flame was produced at the wand tip when he was not touching it. He tried a bit more complex spell, the stunner. He could not get it to work.
He was really annoyed that he did not use his bracelet to mask the magic. He had left the bracelet at home. He was worried a bit receiving the letter that his wand was to be destroyed and that he was expelled from Hogwarts. The subsequent letters calmed him. He was afraid of losing access to the chamber so soon. He had so much to learn still. While reading the letter from Arthur Weasley that Dumbledore was sorting the issue out, he realized Dumbledore might not have intended that the events of the last year to happen the way they did. He might have allowed the first and the second tasks since he was present for them but he could never have allowed the resurrection to happen this soon. Dumbledore did not know where he was and he had no one looking after him. And he noticed that Dumbledore seemed extremely relived when he came back.
Talking with his aunt was informative and it made him angry that she knew about many things and never told him. The Order of the Phoenix members were an odd group. The Grimmauld place was disgusting. He frankly did not mind quiet dark places but he could not tolerate filthy places. Everything was so dirty and there were so many infestations. He was not a neat freak by any means, in fact he likes to throw things in his room and clean up once a week; but this was beyond even his tolerance.
He was glad to be staying with his friends and Sirius. He was angry at his friends for not contacting him during his stay at the Dursleys. He observed that he got angered very easily. He wanted to lash out at others for the simplest things. He attributed this to his animagus form. He hoped it would merge soon.
Harry explored the house when everyone was asleep. It was an old manor and it would have many things he was sure. He found a large weapons room, a library, a lot of rooms, a room full of paintings etc. He practiced magic in the weapons room and also did the physical exercises in there.
One alarming thing he found while practicing magic was that his magic was fluctuating. It would be strong for a few minutes and then it would be extremely weak for some time. He did not know why this was happening. He did not want to ask anyone. He looked in the library for books explaining why such things happened but he did not find a suitable book. The books in the library were concentrated on the dark side of magic.
He made an awesome find in the library though. It was a book written by a Black family member explained Grims. This was his animagus form. Everything fit. It was a humongous bear like dog. But its instincts and mindset was entirely feline. The body was canine but the reactions were feline. It was the only animal which had a blend of two different species. Generally canines were more powerful than felines but felines had better fighting instincts and capability than canines. A Black family head had created Grims about 1500 years ago. It was a secret of the Black family. An ancient magical bloodhound which was about to be extinct 1500 years ago was ritually combined with a black saber tooth which was also magical. It was an extremely complex ritual that could not be performed now because it required live specimens of both which were extinct. The resulting body was bigger than the original hound and saber tooth. The animal was stronger in every sense than both and had developed an ability to manipulate shadows. It had the body of a very large hound but it had hidden claws and saber tooth's instincts and fighting capability.
The rumors of them guarding graveyards and that their sighting meant death were falsified. The real magical power of a Grim was shadow magic. It could manipulate shadows to do their bidding. They could bind people using shadows and travel in shadows too. It was given in the book that not all powers of the Grim were documented. The Grim was generally a very playful creature but when angered, it was extremely vicious. The Black family head did another ritual to bind the Grims to his bloodline. It would ensure that any person having Black blood would be able to command the Grims. He saw that the Grims were awesome animals. So he decided to do another ritual. This was an extremely dangerous ritual that changed the animal in his core with a Grim. He wanted to be a Grim animagus. He succeeded but only barely. His core did not stabilize with the new animagus form and he died while doing the third animagus ritual. But it was documented that his grandson was able to become a Grim animagus with no problems. He explained that it was the most wonderful thing. That grandson was a bit of a prankster and did not explain the magical effects of having a Grim animagus. He had written in the book that it was up to the wizard to find the benefits.
Another descendent of Black had added a bit more interesting information about Grim animagus. He wrote that the rituals done by Black family head who had created the Grim had changed the family's animagus ability. All Black's from then on had a dog animagus or a feline animagus. They were all non magical but the forms were large. He postulated that this was due to the close connection between Black blood and Grims. He also theorized that having the Grim as animagus form was nigh impossible because the power required to have such a form was immense. And also, there were not enough Black's with the proper mindset to become a Grim. Being playful, caring and yet vicious and deadly was a near impossibility. This anomaly of characteristics was difficult to find in humans. And it was the characteristics and power of an individual that decided the animagus form. The grandson mentioned in the book had the right mind set and had the power to manage a Grim form. Incidentally, till the last update over 600 years ago, all Blacks had animagus forms. This was also kept a secret in the family since animaguses were very rare in any era.
Harry was a little perplexed when he confirmed that his animagus form was a Grim. Then he remembered that purebloods often married amongst themselves. It was almost confirmed that he had Black family blood in him along with Potter blood.
Harry transferred the contents in his old trunk to the new one. He then took the old trunk to the weapons room and destroyed it. He put a lot of books from the Black library into the secret second compartment along with the book on Grims. He wanted to study the books that explained dark magic in detail before attempting it. There were a few good books on battle magic also.
As a backup, Harry had looked up laws and loopholes to get cleared in the trial in case Dumbledore did nothing. But he was sure that Dumbledore would do something to get him off. After all, he needed the Boy Who lived. He was proved true. The only surprising and annoying thing was that Dumbledore refused to meet his eyes. He wanted to test his improved Occlumency against Dumbledore. It had held up against Voldemort and Dumbledore was the only other person worthy of being pitted against.
He had practiced the advanced form of Occlumency too. He learnt to let some memories remain and let all other memories fade into shadows. It was somewhat fitting that he used this form of Occlumency since his animagus form could manipulate shadows. He had not started to learn Legilimency yet.
The fifth year was one long torture for him. His magic was sporadic and abuse was heaped on him. The public had turned against him again. He pulled through Umbridge's detentions as he was sure that other people in the castle knew about it. He did not want to be the only one without scars. Privately, he had looked up how to heal them in the chamber library. He had already brewed the scar remover and he decided to wait until the scars on others faded before using it.
Snape's Occlumency lessons were a joke and he immensely enjoyed himself fooling him. He gave Snape the memories he wanted to see, Dursley abuse, Cedric's death and other humiliating memories. He let those memories be and made all other memories fade into the shadows. Snape's logic of building a mental wall to stop intrusions was a bit stupid. The modern Occlumency books followed that principle but Harry didn't like it. He could easily fool people with his kind of Occlumency. He had mastered the last aspect of old type Occlumency after arriving at school. It was creating fake memories and make them believable. He started out small and then had it master by the time of Valentine's day. But still, having your mind broken into every time by Snape was not a pleasant experience. He didn't have to fake having a headache afterwards entirely.
The pensive incident where he say his father humiliate Snape was interesting. He had a good look at his parents and friends. He was not entirely sure that being left alone in his office was an accident. Snape could have ordered Malfoy to come and get him. Besides, Snape never left him alone in his office before. He was not actually that concerned about seeing his father in a slightly bad light. If he himself did the things he thought about, he would have been more vicious and more arrogant than James Potter. His rivalry with Snape was similar to his rivalry with Malfoy. Actually he was glad to his father like that. Everyone around him made his parents seem like angels with no faults. After the pensive incident, he knew that his parents were human. They too had faults.
He acted like the clueless teenager with Cho since this was supposed to be his first girl experience. He found her pathetic. He could understand her grief over losing Cedric but it made sense to flirt with him and then cry all over him. He paid her no mind. She was just a pretty face in the crowd. She had no substance.
The DA was a mistake and he knew it. But lately, he came to suspect that either Ron or Hermione or both were reporting his actions to Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew too many things that he should not. He knew things that were personal. He was sure that Dumbledore had not used Legilimency on him since he refused to meet his eyes. So went along with what Hermione had planned. He was not going to teach them much though. If they wanted to learn, they should have the guts to ask Dumbledore for a better defense professor or learn it by themselves.
He made a show of learning some spells for the DA with Hermione while actually he was reading books that explained dark magic. He learnt that dark magic was emotion based magic. It required malicious intent to cast such spells. Harry knew he had enough anger and vindictiveness to cast such spells. But he also read that true dark magic manipulated his emotions in turn. Continuous casting of true dark magic distorted his emotions and made the user crave for the dark emotions. He deduced that true dark magic was different from battle magic. Bu the ministry had grouped both the category of spells as dark magic. He suspected it was due to the power available in the battle magic spells. Thus he decided to abandon learning any form of true dark magic. He read the theory of course. He wanted to know how to defend himself. But there was no way in hell he was going to practice any true dark magic.
His magic fluctuated in the most inappropriate of times. He was having doubts about the second animagus ritual. It seemed as though there was a continuous struggle with his magic. He could cast spells with ease without incantations and movements when the magic was strong. But it was a struggle to make his magic work when it was weak. Thankfully those episodes were short and very infrequent. He thought that his magic was having troubles merging with his animagus form.
The room of requirement was another clue that someone was guiding him from behind the scenes. There was no way that Dobby could just pop up and say where to practice. There were too many coincidences regarding Dobby just happening to be there when he required something important.
He found it amusing that he easily fooled Hermione's contract for the DA. He did not actually write his name on it at all. He just wrote his name in the air and then cast an illusion on the parchment that showed his name. The parchment already contained many spells, what was one more.
Christmas was eventful. He was surprised about Arthur's attack. He thought he could block Voldemort from his mind but he realized that Occlumency was useless against the link. Occlumency protected him from outside attacks but the link was already inside his mind. Besides that it was an enjoyable Christmas. He took strong notice of Ginny's forwardness in confronting him when he was disgruntled. He was attuned to her but this was a refreshing change in her behavior. He knew she had a sharp tongue and a devious brain but she was too shy in front of him before. It was good that she was getting over that obstacle. She was going to be a bomb when she grew up and was already showing signs of it too. He would consider seducing her if she had truly gotten over her hero worship of Boy Who Lived. He respected women and girls. He did not want her to feel obligated to accommodate him because he had saved her before.
The attack on Arthur confirmed to him that there was a prophecy regarding him and Voldemort. He could deduce that the Order was protecting some important information and a weapon. The information had to be something like a prophecy or something about a really powerful artifact. The weapon was obviously him. He had been used as a weapon by Dumbledore every year at school and tested as one too. No one else among his friends had made this connection though.
It was only due to pressure from Hermione that he gave the interview for the quibbler. The expulsion from Quidditch was awful. Flying was his release from troubles. It was one activity that helped him relax and where he showed his full talent. He loved to fly on his firebolt. He was extremely angry with Umbridge for that. He was only annoyed with her efforts with the decrees before but this was too much. He truly understood the viciousness of his animagus form when he considered the grisly nature of thoughts regarding Umbridge. He wanted to main her and ruin her completely. He wanted to hurt her so bad that she had to beg for his mercy. He wanted her to be terrified of him.
The removal of Dumbledore from Hogwarts was a big relief for him. He could practice and learn new magic in the chamber with a bit more ease. Malfoy was even more irritating. The other students not believing him and not wanting to be with him was also a bonus. He preferred to be alone.
Harry found Hermione to be a tad irritating. She was obsessed with control and she had a blind faith in authority even after having seen the minister's actions. She was amazingly close minded regarding some things. Her campaign to free house elves was a waste of time. He knew how dumb they were and there was no way they would even understand what she was doing. The treatment of elves could have been better but he knew that elves loved to serve. Even a free elf like Dobby was eager to serve. Elves also had different view of life and magic. They did not deal with monetary exchanges between themselves. They did know about money but it was only due to their masters' transactions. In his mind, the whole thing was awfully similar to Voldemort's actions. She believed that house elves could not think for themselves and she wanted to override their beliefs and way of life. Voldemort also believed that muggleborns and muggles were useless and he wanted to force his views on them – their destruction. She thought she was above the house elves and Voldemort thought he was above normal witches and wizards. Both wanted to completely change the way of life of other beings. He dared not tell her his thoughts though.
His dreams of the corridor was disturbing. He knew it was not his dreams and he had no way of blocking them. He was pretty sure that Voldemort was inducing them and he had no clue that this was even possible before now. He searched in the chamber library and the restricted section of the school library but he did not find anything. There were too many books to go through and those that looked promising had no information.
After the history exam, he had that vision. He was not sure if it was real or not. He was sure it was given by Voldemort. He tried to verify it by flooing Grimmauld place. He even desperately tried to ask Snape. He thought being a member of the Order, Snape would confirm his suspicions. Besides he was also a death eater. He would know if Voldemort called him. Snape gave him absolutely no information.
He was surprised at Hermione's innovative thinking. He was actually thinking along the lines of somehow getting hold of a wand and blasting them all to kingdom come. Sirius was family dammit. And family always comes first. He was the one who was truly in his corner. Not Dumbledore's or anyone else.
The behavior of Neville and Luna were surprising. It seemed that they too were hiding something. He was suspicious of them and decided that he could look into it later. Ginny's actions were what he had expected. She was feisty and wanted to be involved in things.
The fight in the department of mysteries was a very difficult test for him. When he realized that he would be watched by not only death eaters, but his friends as well, he had to downplay his knowledge. Anyway, he had never really fought a magical battle before. The incident with Voldemort at the graveyard was a duel; it was more restricted with rules and all. This was a fight pure and simple.
He had to resort to the spells he had taught the DA and some physical fighting. It was a real test of quick thinking and good judgment. He was a little suspicious when Neville performed so well. Even in the DA, Neville never showed much skill or power. He never had the backbone to argue with Harry before then either. This Neville was forceful and very determined even after he had lost his wand. But he chalked it up to adrenalin and the reflex reactions of the mind. In dire situations, the human mind concentrates only on one thing – survival.
Harry thought that the others were really not that good. It was clear that the death eaters were trying to capture them and not hurt them. Who had seen the death eaters use stunning and disarming spells when they usually used the unforgivables or the dark arts? He was honestly surprised by Luna. She was the most uninjured one till she was taken out of the fight by surprise. It was a bit surprising but he knew she was intelligent and resourceful. She had been one of the more promising students in the DA.
His attempt at Crucio was a mistake and he knew it. It was foolish to try it but he was not really thinking properly. Sirius had been the only one who he could depend and she had killed him. In a way, he thankful that it did not work. He did not want to be enticed by the dark magic. He was not sure how his link to Voldemort would influence him if he ever tried any dark magic.
Once Dumbledore appeared to fight Voldemort, he was sure that Dumbledore was manipulating him. All his doubts and suspicions of the previous years were confirmed. Dumbledore could have easily come to help him before Voldemort launched the killing curse at him. He had spent quite a few minutes fighting with Bellatrix and then talking with Voldemort. The apparition wards were down. So Dumbledore could have easily stopped his fight with Bellatrix too but he didn't do that.
The fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort was very informative. Harry had the skills that they had but he did not have the knowledge. He could already do wordless and movement less magic using his wand. Both of them never uttered a single spell unless you can count Voldemort shouting the killing curse in anger. But the spells and the shields used were very powerful. He could almost feel the power. Another important thing he noted was the dueling styles of both Voldemort and Dumbledore. Dumbledore relied heavily on Transfiguration for his defense and medium level battle arts and complex charms and curses for offense. Voldemort almost always used the dark arts for offence and low level battle magic for defense. Voldemort's style screamed power. Dumbledore's magic had a finesse to it that was unmatchable. Dumbledore never wasted any of his available magic. Low level summoning and transfiguration required less power than complex shields and they were just as effective. Voldemort was a lot more destructive than Dumbledore and he looked to overpower his opponent. There was no mistaking the smooth movements of both the combatants. Both were very experienced and they had probably dueled each other countless times.
The possession from Voldemort taught him a few things. It was a terrifying experience. The pain was beyond even the crucio. It was as though his soul was writhing in agony. For the first time in his life, Harry was truly in unbearable pain. He had faced and conquered pain before but this was agony beyond measure. He also knew that Voldemort was a snake animagus of some sort. There was no way that the urges to bite Dumbledore all year and then the feeling of coils pressing him during possession could mean anything else. It also taught him that Voldemort learnt something about him that surprised him. He definitely did not stop possession of Harry because he was pushed out. How much ever Harry wanted to believe that he had pushed out Voldemort, he could not. When Harry taught of Sirius, Voldemort gave a pause and then voluntarily retreated. The very thought of Sirius seemed to trigger something in his magic and Voldemort felt that.
The sight of bumbling Fudge was a vast difference to what he had faced before. If he were not so much in pain and disoriented, he might have laughed at Fudge.
The way he acted in Dumbledore's office was entirely due to his rage and sorrow of losing Sirius. There was guilt too. He was tired of the secrets he had kept from other and he was tired of the secrets that other kept from him. There were so many things that had gone wrong for him and this was the final stroke. It was a nice stroke from Dumbledore to lock him in his office to force him to hear what he had to say. Destroying some of the instruments in the office was a bit of a release but fury still burned in him then.
As he heard Dumbledore try to explain his actions, his emotions almost went haywire again. The part about Occlumency especially incensed him. He managed to calm himself before he lost himself again. He didn't believe the bullshit about Snape's actions at all. He knew there were many hours of difference between when he left Umbridge's office and reached the ministry. The Order would have had plenty of time to reach there before him. They had floo access and other means of communication as Dumbledore said. He again lost it when Dumbledore tried to lay some blame on Sirius. The succeeding discussion about Snape did nothing to calm his frayed nerves.
He had to hand it to Dumbledore, he was a masterful actor. His voluntarily explained that he had a plan for Harry but made it seem as though he was protecting Harry and caring for him while planning. He praised him about facing Voldemort and other dangers during his years at Hogwarts all the while apologizing for it. By telling him that he had planned for things to happen regarding Harry, Dumbledore hoped that Harry would accept it at face value and remove the suspicions that he might have had about his actions. He even admitted that he watched Harry more than anyone else. The bit about Petunia's acceptance and blood wards were farce and he knew it. There might be some blood wards but he doubted that they were powerful enough to stop anyone. He had never considered Privet Drive as home not had he claimed it as such at any given time. Besides, Voldemort had taken his blood to resurrect himself and he could easily void the blood protections.
Hearing the prophecy was a closure. His fears were true. There was a prophecy connecting him and Voldemort. It was all about him. He was the one to vanquish Voldemort. Dumbledore tried to soften the blow and made him accept that he was the one in the prophecy. It was all clear then. Dumbledore wanted him to accept the responsibility of killing Voldemort. During all the explanations, Dumbledore tried to come off as a caring person who always looked out for Harry. The last moments where he had a tear running down his face was a brilliant stroke. If Harry had not seen proof of Dumbledore's manipulations, he would have certainly believed that Dumbledore was his pariah, his mentor. But he knew better. There were too many inconsistencies and fallacies in Dumbledore's story.
In the next few days, he spent a lot of his time alone. Hermione was pestering him to talk about Sirius when he didn't want to and Ron was awkward to be around. He kept to himself and spent more time in the chamber thinking about stuff. He wondered if he could do the third animagus ritual yet but he was sad to see that it was not yet time. When he looked in the book explaining the process again, he saw that the time between the second and the third ritual depended upon how magic the animal was. The more magical the animal was, the more time it would take. He was also surprised but glad to find out that only he could see the runes on his body. It would have been awkward to explain them to Hermione and Ron when they saw his hand after detentions from Umbridge.
During this time, he also read about apparation and portkey creation. He was a bit wary to try apparation since there was no one to patch him up is he was splinched. But portkey creation was worse. The old books said nothing about it because portkeys were discovered about 550 years ago by Nicolas Flamel. All the books about apparation in the school library were in the restricted section. Pince kept a very close watch in the last days of the term and it would be too risky to try and get them. So he read about apparation in detail, hoping to find something in the old books.
What he did find in the old books surprised him. There were three levels of apparation or traveling as they called it in the old days. The first level was normal apparation. A person travels from one place to another. It would be easily warded against. The person felt as though he was passing through a thick rubber tube. It was uncomfortable but was also easily accomplished by any witch or wizard. The second level was sliding. Sliding was the means to travel within the wards. A person can slide along a ward and travel to any place within a warded area just like apparation. The last level was teleportation. This combined the first two levels. A person could travel to any place immaterial of the fact that the destination or the source was within a warded area of not.
Harry asked Hermione subtly about apparation when he visited her in the hospital wing. He figured she would have read all about it. She only talked about the first level of traveling, apparation. She did not know anything about sliding or teleportation. It seemed that the wizarding world had lost its knowledge or ability to travel using sliding and teleportation. He was once again reminded how grateful he should be for having found the chamber library. He resolved to learn all three levels. He was sure that there would be wards that could block sliding and teleportation as well. He had to read up on them to recognize them if he came across them.
Luna was a revelation on the last day. He felt for her. She tried to perk him up and he was grateful for that. Then right before they left, she cornered him again and asked when she could meet Harry. He was a bit shocked at her question and tried to come off as not understanding the question. But she persisted and told him that she would let Harry meet Luna and not Loony if he wished. He could not imagine how she had worked it out. He had been so careful to hide it from everyone else. He told her to keep it quiet and promised to talk to her next year about everything. It would be a relief to tell someone something. He was not looking forward to another explosion like the one that happened in Dumbledore's office. Maybe she would lessen his burden a bit.
It was heartening to see the show of support at the station by some member of the Order but he was not sure how effective it would be. He had a lot to think about now. Playtime was over. With a hidden gleam in his eye, Harry thought out to the world "Harry Potter was going to WAR".