Sib
by Roff

CHAPTER SIX

Harry took a big breath as his magic was starting to react to Snape's verbal assault. Talking bad about his father was bad enough, but to do that against Sirius, who so recently was killed, was more than Harry wanted to deal with. Harry's previous, light-hearted tone had quickly changed, so he then responded in a threatening manner.

"Snape, do you realize that you just insulted the former heads of two prominent wizarding families? Two families of which I am now the sole head. Are you daft?" he asked incredulously. "If you ever insult the Black or Potter families again, the current head, or the previous heads of those families, I will declare a blood feud on you and yours. Do. You. Understand. Me?"

During Harry's response he wasn't controlling his magic very well and his voice was getting louder as he progressed. His eyes were glowing and his magic could be felt throughout the room. Ever since his magic was freed from the horcrux, it was increasing. Everyone was feeling the oppressive power of it and it was getting difficult to breathe for some. Malfoy was now second guessing his decision to confront Potter about having the audacity to even speak to one of the Slytherin girls.

Snape suddenly realized that Harry Potter was very powerful and he needed to calm down before any more of that power was released into the classroom.

"Leave, Potter, and don't come back. I think we should just avoid each other."

"That's the best advice you've ever given, Snape. Don't worry. I won't be back. I'll teach myself. That's all I've ever done in this class anyway."

Harry threw all his stuff back in his bag and left the classroom in a hurry. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when they could breathe properly again.

Harry then put in his own Potions lab, bought all the cabinets and counter space, along with extra cauldrons and a whole lot of potions ingredients. Dobby went and picked it all up for him and helped Harry put it all together in the new space. The nice thing is they were able to make a doorway from the trunk flat into the new Potions lab.

Harry wanted his NEWT in Potions but was unwilling to put up with Snape to get it. He never taught anyway, he just said 'Instructions are on the board' and expected them to start brewing. It didn't take long for Harry to get ahead of the class by just following the textbook and brewing all the potions in it. The class never brewed all the potions in the book, only the ones the professor instructed them to do. There wasn't enough time in class through the year for them to brew all the potions.

When Hermione found out Harry was ahead of their class, she decided to drop Snape's class and join him at that same time in his Potions lab. It was during the day with everyone in classes so none of the other boys were in the dorm. Harry helped her get caught up with him and the two of them continued to work together learning all the potions in the book.

Neville wasn't taking NEWT level potions because he didn't get an O on his OWL, plus he was not going to volunteer for another class with Snape anyway. He had a free period at that time so started joining Harry and Hermione in Harry's Potions lab. They both got him started at the beginning of the book and let him work at his own pace with one or the other helping him when he needed it.

Turns out Neville wasn't half bad at brewing potions when he wasn't being picked on by the teacher and Draco. He began working his way through all the potions in the book and doing quite well. Neville borrowed Dobby and gave him some money to go to Diagon Alley for him so he could purchase more potion ingredients and two new cauldrons. Harry made his Potions lab quite large so there was no worry about having enough room for extra people and equipment.

Harry even sent Dobby off to Diagon Alley to pick up some books about potion brewing he saw in the catalog. He thought the books would help when they had a question about how to do something or why the textbook said to do something a certain way. The new books covered all aspects of potion brewing so came in quite handy and taught the teens what they needed to know.

In all of Harry's other classes, especially the core wand classes like Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense, he was getting the new spells pretty much on the first try. Harry didn't study ahead for his classes over the summer, instead he elected to learn spells from several books he bought. As it turned out those books were more advanced than the sixth-year textbooks.

What helped him the most though was learning spell after spell after spell over the summer. By learning so many Harry figured out what method worked best for him to learn spells quickly. He also had a better understanding of the theory behind the spells after reading about so many.

During class, when they were being taught a new spell, Harry used the same technique that worked best for him and picked it up rather quickly. Hermione was super impressed with Harry's very serious attitude about his studies. Ron was wondering how he got so good at school.

At least the new Defense teacher was decent. He was a retired auror that wanted to help out so agreed to teach when Dumbledore was looking for a new professor. Harry, once again had very few issues picking up the new spells taught in class. He also continued to learn additional ones from his own advanced books.

It took Ron almost a week to finally come around and admit how wrong his thinking had been. He was ashamed that he believed the lies that were told him instead of thinking it through for himself.

"I'm really sorry, Harry. I swear to you that I'm going to change how I think about the houses. I realized after I thought it over long enough that my opinion was based on hearsay instead of the truth. Honestly, it was dumb to even think that way. Even now, I find it hard to believe that I thought whole houses of people were all the same. All except the one I'm in, of course, where I can see that we're not. It was plain stupid and I'm really sorry."

"Thank you, Ron. I'm so glad you figured that out and don't want to be a bigot. I never want to lose you as a friend, mate. We've been through way too much for that."

"Thank you. I don't want to lose you as a friend either and I certainly don't want to be a bigot like Malfoy. You're my best mate, Harry."

And with that, it was back to normal between the two friends. Ron appeared to mature more as he started questioning more of his long-held beliefs, looking for the logic and evidence to support them. It didn't mean he made zero mistakes after that. Habits were hard to break after all. But he was more easily aware when he messed up after that and able to correct himself.

Ron then joined them in Harry's Potions lab even though, like Neville, he wasn't taking Potions. The class time was free to him too so he joined them and worked on his potion brewing. Who knows, he may even get a NEWT in them if he works hard enough, he thought. With his friends helping him, Ron caught on pretty quick.

It was becoming quite obvious after another month, given how big Sib was already and how fast he was growing, that he was likely going to be on the large end of the scale for a male Siberian tiger. His mother was very large for a female and who knows how big his father was.

Sib was also getting better at stalking his prey. Harry transfigured some life-sized dummies Dobby found for him and made them look like Death Eaters with black cloaks and white masks. He then animated them a little so he could train Sib with them. He had him train with and without the Disillusionment Charm applied.

The "Death Eaters" were placed in the meadow so Sib could use the tall grass to stalk and sneak up on them. While in the grass he could ease up on his prey very slowly, stopping periodically and freezing in place until it was safe to move again undetected. If his prey looked in his direction then he stopped moving and stayed still, waiting. If they were looking away from him then he slowly closed the distance.

Once he was close enough to attack, he put on a big burst of speed and took out the "Death Eater" in a flash. Harry would call Sib off at different times after he attacked so he would get accustomed to obeying Harry's command and not anticipating a specific time when to break off the attack. Consequently, Harry had to do a lot of repairs on the dummies so they could be reused.

Harry even put some dummies inside the house and had Sib hunt them. Harry would animate them more and have the "Death Eater" walk around inside the house as Sib stalked him while hiding room to room. Sometimes Sib would even anticipate which way the "Death Eater" was going to go so that he could hurriedly take another route to get ahead and be waiting for his prey to pass by. He would then attack when the dummy was in range.

Harry liked to setup the dummies for training while Sib was not able to see what he was doing. Then when he was ready he would give Sib the command to hunt which set him to work tracking his targets.

Sib was so smart that he figured out quickly if he was disillusioned then he didn't need anything to hide behind like the tall grass or a wall. He could stalk out in the open as long as he stopped and remained completely still when his prey looked in his direction. He used the same technique that was natural to him as a cat, just like when he was in the tall grass.

After several weeks of training, Sib became very skilled in taking out "Death Eaters" and he was still just a growing cub.

Sib had also graduated to big pieces of meat and big meaty bones that Dobby provided to Harry from the kitchens. This forced him to have to tear off pieces of the meat to eat and provided big bones to gnaw on. Occasionally, Harry would even have Dobby bring in a small animal, like a wild rabbit, and put it in the meadow for Sib to hunt.

He wanted Sib to be able to hone his natural techniques. However, if he ended up having to chase the rabbit, it became fun to watch him as he tried to catch it. The rabbit usually got away if it ever started running. Dobby would then have to summon it back to keep it from escaping and losing track of it in the armoire outdoors.

As he grew bigger and bigger, Dobby would bring in bigger wild animals, staying away from anything for now that could possibly hurt the cub.

Harry made sure he spent lots of time with Sib so they could maintain that special relationship. Many times, when he was studying in his trunk flat, he would allow Sib to join him from the armoire. Harry would then pet him while reading. They enjoyed each other's company.

As Sib became more aware as he grew, he realized that he would never attack Harry, Dobby, or Hedwig. He could feel the power, especially from Harry who was extremely powerful. To him, Harry was his master whom he loved. Not only would he never dream of attacking him, he would attack anyone or anything that dared to threaten Harry, or Dobby or Hedwig for that matter.

Dobby served as messenger between Harry and Bonecrusher. The goblin provided Harry with information about the homes belonging to both the Blacks and the Potters. Once Harry went over the information, he and Dobby went on short excursions to visit the places to see how they looked and decide where Harry wanted to live.

When he came across Potter Isle, an island in the south pacific, Harry's interest was heightened. He wasn't sure this is where he wanted to live permanently, but it sure sounded like a good idea for a summer vacation.

Once he and Dobby checked it out via portkey, he knew that would be his plans for this coming summer. The island had no other inhabitants. It was a large private island that was part of the Tokelau islands but was hidden from everyone except those with Potter blood. The island had been in the family for many, many generations, so the Potter island was not known to even exist by the local government or any government for that matter.

The beach house was plenty big and comfortable, with several bedrooms and a veranda that wrapped around the entire outside of the house. It added shade and plenty of places to sit while enjoying the scenery from different points of view. Plus, Sib could run around free on the island without anyone seeing him. Harry couldn't imagine how big Sib would be at a year old. He was growing so fast it was difficult to keep up.

There was very little work that needed to be done to the beach house, mostly just some cleaning. It was heavily warded and protected from wear and tear. It was also protected from bad weather. Dobby promised to take care of it and have the house completely ready and stocked with supplies before they needed it. He planned to bring lots of meat for Sib.

Harry wanted to hold off on deciding his permanent residence for now. He wanted to consider it more during the summer. Some of the places needed some work so that would have to be taken care of before moving in anyway. Meanwhile, he had plenty to keep him busy while at Hogwarts this year. His priorities were to continue bettering himself and training Sib. He just had to pass all his classes at the same time.

Eventually, in the middle of November, Harry decided to introduce his friends to Sib and tell them how their relationship came about. Of course, they were all sworn to secrecy. The main reason was to give Sib exposure to other people he was to be friendly with, other than Harry and Dobby. Unfortunately, the meeting didn't go as smoothly as Harry had hoped. Harry and Dobby had to keep an eye on Sib the whole time. The problem was everyone else he had dealt with were people lookalikes, mostly Death Eater dummies, whom he was instructed to attack.

Now Sib was learning that not all people were enemies. Some, like Harry and Dobby, were not to be attacked. There were indeed other people out there that he was not supposed to hurt in any way. Harry wanted Sib to notice what the Death Eaters looked like, with their black robes and white masks. He also wanted him to not automatically attack any person he comes across. Sib was to wait for Harry's signal before attacking. Obedience was the key.

It became very obvious to Ron, Hermione, and Neville, that even though Sib now allowed them to pet him, his favorite person was definitely Harry. Dobby came in a distant second and no one seemed to be third, unless it was Hedwig. The owl would sometimes play with Sib or snuggle up to him when they both needed a nap.

Sib just acknowledged and tolerated all the people he was not supposed to attack. He would even greet them but after that he would normally find a spot and lay down between them and Harry.

All three friends decided it would probably be a good idea to keep an eye on Sib while in his company. Sib wasn't actually big enough yet to be a real threat to them with their magic, unless he snuck up on them of course. The difference was Sib trusted Harry, Dobby, and Hedwig like family, he even loved and cared for them very strongly.

Neville, Ron, and Hermione understood this and realized they were not seen as part of Sib's family. It was even possible they may not ever be seen that way, especially since Sib did not trust them in the same manner. And, as tame as Sib acts, he was still a tiger with his own way of thinking.

One should never forget that.

The flirty attitude of the girls at Hogwarts was starting to get bothersome to Harry. He was at the age where he was very interested in girls but the constant attention was a bit disconcerting, since he always hated his fame and any extra attention.

He decided to see if he could make them slow it down a bit if he asked a girl he liked to go to Hogsmeade with him. There were plenty of pretty girls at Hogwarts close to his age. He just wasn't sure if he was interested in any of them romantically. Most he didn't know all that well so decided to remedy that situation.

He was able to get to know a few of them a little when he taught the DA but not really well enough. It was time to explore his options, he thought to himself. He decided to start with the girls in his year and go from there. He did have a thing for Cho Chang back in fourth year and she's a year ahead of him, still very pretty, but he found that ship had sailed. The looks were not a problem. It was the personality that wasn't a match.

In Gryffindor there was Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Fay Dunbar, and Sophie Roper.

Hermione was pretty but a no-go. Definitely not dating material given how she feels more like a sister. Lavender and Parvati were both pretty but their interests and personalities gave them a strong pass. Fay and Sophie were both nice and cute enough but he just wasn't attracted to either one.

Moving on, he thought of Ravenclaw. The girls were Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, Morag MacDougal, Padma Patil, and Lisa Turpin.

Mandy Brocklehurst and Morag MacDougal were mean to Luna Lovegood and constantly called her Looney Lovegood. No thanks. Su Li was standoffish, perhaps she was shy? She just didn't appear to fit in with what he was looking for either. While not bad looking, he was simply not attracted to her. He wasn't attracted to Lisa Turpin either. Their personalities were too different. Padma Patil looked just like her twin Parvati but her personality was more in line with what he was looking for. She was definitely a possibility so he would keep her in mind.

Next were the Hufflepuffs. The girls were Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Megan Jones, Leanne Malone, and Sally-Anne Perks.

Neville had his eye on Hannah so she was a pass. Susan was good looking, but she really fit in better as a friend. Megan and Leanne were both very attractive, although he would definitely have to give Leanne the edge in the looks department. She just had the look that Harry seemed to prefer. He would have to get to know them a bit more though before he could make a decision. Sally-Anne was very cute but he just didn't see a connection there at all.

Slytherins? Might as well, he thought. The girls were Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Lilian Moon, and Pansy Parkinson.

Millicent was just not attractive, poor girl. She was also a big girl. Hopefully, she was nice but he had no idea. Thinking about Pansy Parkinson nearly made him throw up in his mouth. She wasn't necessarily ugly on the surface. She was just mean and eat up with Draco Malfoy syndrome. Lilian Moon was at best cute but her personality did not go along with it. Tracey was very attractive, beautiful even, so was her friend Daphne. Two very good looking girls.

Harry remembered the conversation on the train with the two of them. Daphne was fair skinned with blonde hair while Tracey was lightly tanned with brown hair that had some reddish brown mixed in. He had never paid much attention to either one until they came to see him on the train. He was wondering how he missed them for so long.

There were other girls in the year below and in the year above his. He thought Ginny Weasley was very pretty but she was another who felt more like a sister. Katie Bell was pretty and she was a seventh year. However, she was just a good friend that he played Quidditch with on the Gryffindor team and he didn't feel any more than that for her.

He decided to stick to the ones he had left on the list in his year as possibilities. Most he would have to get to know better before deciding and some may not be interested in him at all, so that would help decide too. If they are not interested in him in that way then there was no point in pursuing it further. He would also have to check and see if any of them were already dating someone. That would also shorten his list.

The ones left on the list were tentative but at least he now had an idea of what to do and which ones to get to know better. Nothing may ever come of it but perhaps he can at least have a few fun dates. The list included Padma Patil, Megan Jones, Leanne Malone, Tracey Davis, and Daphne Greengrass.

Five possible girls to get to know.

Harry never realized how accommodating the girls would be when he approached them and attempted to get to know them better. They were all very open to him and seemed willing to indulge him in his quest. However, two were currently in a relationship, narrowing it down to three. This eliminated Padma Patil and Tracey Davis. Daphne Greengrass was also eliminated as she did not want deal with the attention in her house for dating Harry Potter.

Leanne Malone and Megan Jones were the two left. He decided to get to know them a bit more and see if at least one of them would be interested in a date with him.

After sitting with the two girls at the Hufflepuff table a few times and studying with them some in the library, he decided that he was definitely more interested in Leanne. She not only had the looks he preferred, she also had the personality. Megan was pretty but he didn't see a good fit with her at all after getting to know her better. She would make a good friend though and he got the impression Megan probably felt the same toward him.

"Leanne? Could I interest you in a date on our first Hogsmeade weekend this Saturday?" he asked after he managed to get her alone. "I would love to spend more time with you and see if we can be more than friends."

"I would love to, Harry. I thought you'd never ask," she told him with a smile.

"Great! I'm glad. Should I just meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast and we leave from there after we eat?"

"Sounds good! I'm looking forward to it, Harry."

"Me too!"

On Saturday, Harry and Leanne left the Great Hall after breakfast to head to Hogsmeade.

"So what brought this on, Harry?" Leanne asked as they walked side by side toward the all wizarding town. "I'm curious as to why you asked me and not one of the other girls. There are plenty who are prettier than me and more outgoing. I'm really a bit of an introvert."

"I think you're selling yourself short, Leanne. As a matter of fact, I think you're prettier than all the other girls." Harry paused for a second as Leanne appreciated that compliment and they took a few more steps.

"Thank you, Harry," she responded after thinking it over.

"Could I share a personal secret with you, Leanne?"

"Of course."

"You happen to have the kind of looks I find very attractive," he said looking into her eyes. "We all have our preferences, right?"

Leanne nodded with a smile.

"Well, I also like your personality and you as a person. Once I figured that out, I wanted to get to know you better and see what comes of it. It's a chance I couldn't pass up. I mean what if we are meant to be together? I'm not saying it's a foregone conclusion, but the only way to find out is doing what we're doing right now."

"Harry, I've been attracted to you for a long time and it had nothing to do with your fame. The changes you went through over the summer just made me more attracted to you. I just never thought this would happen. I also didn't think you would find me attractive. Plus, I'm not the kind of person to insert myself into someone else's life just to get what I want. That's just not me."

"I've got to tell you, Leanne," he said as they walked along, "I like where this is headed."

Leanne smiled then grabbed Harry's hand as she moved in closer to him as they walked. The top of her head came up to Harry's nose so he just looked down at her and smiled at the gesture.