AN: Here's the next chapter. I really enjoyed seeing how much everybody liked Astra. As Arctic Wolf Fury said, apparently doom puppies are always a win. I really appreciate all the reviews and support for the story. To answer some of the reviews: Hades isn't dealing with the soul fragment for a multitude of reasons. First, Harry has to prove that he can eventually be a match for Voldemort before Hades is going to do anything. It isn't the time. I'll address this more later. Second, the basilisk remains will be used eventually . . . but not yet. Lastly, other deities aid? I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Hope everyone enjoys this next chapter and let me know what you think!
Chapter 15
The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences - Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were canceled, Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor, which meant that Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place, and looked downright resentful and sulky. The other main difference was nobody knew when the grim puppy, Astra, would jump out and surprise you.
She'd decided by her second day to prove Dumbledore right by jumping into and out of people's shadows all over Hogwarts. At first, it had scared the hell out of people, but now it just amused everyone and people were constantly trying to predict where she'd next appear, outside of the Divination Tower. She'd done that once and had nearly given Professor Trelawney a heart attack and caused her to babble for the rest of the day about death omens. It was probably a good thing that he wasn't taking her class next year because he thought that might have killed the poor woman.
Still, everyone's favorite story involved Professor McGonagall. She had, upon request, been speaking to several sixth and seventh years who were interested in the animagus transformation, and mid demonstration, Astra jumped out from behind McGonagall in her cat form and barked up a storm, causing McGonagall to jump in the air, her fur raised before she turned and was licked in the face by Astra who then quickly traveled away, leaving a laughing crowd of students and an embarrassed Transfiguration Professor. Harry did get a detention for that one, but he thought it might have been worth it, even though he didn't get to witness it.
Harry found he could call Astra from anywhere and she'd come, no matter how far, at least as far as he could tell, but she generally didn't stray too far from him during the day, except when he was studying or reading, in which case it was a tossup on whether she'd curl up next to him and nap or run off to run around the grounds or Gods knows where else. Still, he quickly grew to love having the devilishly mischievous puppy around. He was looking forward to seeing how Dora would react to her.
Admittedly, the only negative thing he found from Astra was that her being able to be around Harry whenever she wanted was clearly a sore spot for Hedwig, who was giving him the cold shoulder, though he figured with enough groveling, she'd get over her jealousy . . . as long as he didn't use Astra to send messages.
Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, practiced disarming or binding each other with magic, lavishing attention on Astra, and enjoyed Ginny revealing Percy's secret girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater.
When the train slowed and stopped, Astra immediately took off down the corridor. Harry wasn't too surprised, and figured he couldn't have really stopped her if she didn't want him to, but he had to admit he was surprised when he got off the train and found Dora already greeting Astra.
"Oh aren't you adorable," Dora said with a beaming smile, rubbing Astra all over the top of her body while the puppy almost seemed to purr like a cat. Mrs. Weasley too seemed quite enamored with the shadow hound. It probably didn't hurt that the pup really did look like a little black german shepherd, as far as Harry could remember of the dog breed.
She smiled as he approached.
"I made a new friend!" she exclaimed with a grin. "I wonder who her owner is because I might have to steal her."
Mrs. Weasley laughed at that.
Harry chuckled weakly. "Well, it's funny you should wonder because um, well it's me."
Dora tilted her head. "It's you what?"
"I'm her owner," Harry said, wincing internally. "Her name's Astra, and well, she's my familiar."
Dora stared at him in shock and looked down at the puppy.
"Familiar," Mrs. Weasley snorted. "I'll admit that's one my kids never tried on me."
"You're not joking, are you?" Dora asked, her eyes widening, and Mrs. Weasley looked at her in concern as Harry shook his head.
"Oh, dear, he can't have a familiar yet," Mrs. Weasley said. "Many witches and wizards never end up with a familiar at all, and this little puppy certainly can't be a familiar."
"Actually, Mrs. Weasley, she is my familiar. She's a grim or a shadow hound, according to Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, and then he showed them his ring. "I, uh, had a talk with Lord Hades the night after the Chamber . . . and well, he's my patron now. Astra came with that."
Mrs. Weasley's eyes bugged out while Dora's jaw dropped, and then she groaned before smiling.
"It's impossible for you to do anything normal, isn't it?" Dora said with a laugh. "I tell you to hold off on patronage and you get yourself recruited! Harry, I hope Astra's well behaved because our apartment doesn't allow pets. We're going to have to keep her hidden until we move out, you know."
"You have patronage from the Lord of the Underworld?" Mrs. Weasley mumbled, looking amazed
Harry nodded at her, and glanced around before pulling his shirt down slightly to reveal Hades' helm tattooed on his chest, and Mrs. Weasley gasped, before he turned back to Dora.
"You're not mad?" he asked hesitantly, wondering when she would stop putting up with everything he put her through.
"No, I'm not mad," Dora said easily, surprising Harry once again. "I've always wanted a dog, and now I get to see this adorable one all the time!"
Dora picked up Astra, who seemed quite content to be held in her arms.
"She's so freaking cute, it's really not fair," Dora said, her hair becoming the same color of black as Astra's. "Besides, technically you shouldn't be living with me based on my lease. What's one more, right?" Dora asked, the end of the question more being pointed at Astra who yipped happily.
Harry smiled, beyond thankful to have Dora in his life. She was just so cool.
"Now, I guess we'll have a lot to talk about, huh?" Dora said with a smirk, and then she turned back to Mrs. Weasley. "It was great seeing and talking to you again, Molly. We'll definitely have to have Harry come visit and maybe you'll let me take your lot out with Harry to some of the places we go for fun."
"Um, of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, shaking herself out of her shock. "That would be lovely . . . though I worry you might go insane trying to handle my lot."
Dora grinned. "Oh, I'm familiar with handling the twins, and I'm sure Ginny and Ron will be easy in comparison. I got to watch Charlie and even Bill handle the twins a time or two. I took notes."
Mrs. Weasley chuckled at that, while Fred and George both protested halfheartedly, though all four youngest Weasleys looked eager to join Harry and Dora out somewhere away from the Burrow for a change.
"We'll write to you soon," Dora said, and she set Astra down and helped Harry put his trunk on a trolley so that they could start heading on their way.
It was a short journey before they were back at their apartment and Astra immediately made herself at home and found a spot on one of the couches, next to where Harry normally sat.
Harry took his customary seat while Dora took hers. She smiled over at Astra who decided to move right in between them.
"We'll have to figure out how to care for her properly," Dora said. "I'm sure she'll help us with that, but I highly doubt she wants to eat dog food like normal dogs do.
"I actually already have something that tells me a bit about shadow hounds and how to interact and care for them, and you're right. She likes meat, and took scraps from the table at Hogwarts," Harry admitted. "It was another thing that Lord Hades gave me."
Harry got back up really quickly and went to his trunk and removed his large shadow tome and brought it back with him to the couch.
"So, you spoke with the Lord of the Underworld and he gave you patronage, a familiar, a ring, and a book," Dora said. "That sounds like as good a place to start as any."
"Well, I guess it starts with admitting that Lord Hades helped me, and Ron too, twice this year," Harry admitted. "We were in big trouble with the acromantula in the forest, but before anything could happen, we were shadow traveled away to safety, and down in the Chamber, Lord Hades helped me cast a shadow bolt spell which actually was able to hurt Tom Riddle, disarming him so that I could stab and destroy the diary."
"But you never specifically prayed or asked for assistance, did you?" Dora asked.
Harry shook his head. "No. I probably should have thought of that ahead of time, but well, I'd never really done that before."
Dora nodded in understanding. "So, Hades had been watching you, or at least had taken notice of you using his element. Let's talk about the conversation."
So, Harry outlined everything Hades had said to him, about the aid, how Harry had caught the god's attention, and how the gifts the god felt like giving to Harry were too much for someone not receiving patronage. Then he outlined the short term and long term goals that Hades laid out and explained how when he woke up, he found the puppy, the ring, and the book.
Dora nodded thoughtfully, looking at all three, knowing that they were powerful gifts indeed.
"Well, the familiar and the book are fairly straight forward, though that doesn't negate how powerful they both can be," Dora said. "I'm sure you'll find more from the book, but if Astra here has already bonded with you, then your magic will have already grown a bit and you'll have taken on some of her magical characteristics and will eventually probably take on some of her emotional and mental characteristics. It's the ring that I'm curious about."
Harry nodded in agreement.
"I thought that maybe Lord Hades just wanted something a bit more open for me to wear that shows his influence on me."
Dora shook her head.
"Astra, effectively already does that, to an extent," Dora said. "No, deities give items because of something they do. They're almost always magical in some way. We'll just need either Mad-Eye or a curse breaker to help us identify exactly what this ring does. It could be something like helping you learn or amplifying your abilities with shadow magic or it could possibly be magical protection, or maybe even it's simply a beacon so that Astra can always find you. Regardless, I would bet my broomstick that the ring is also bonded to your magic and can't be worn by anyone else or at the bare minimum, not anyone outside of your family."
Harry looked at the ring with greater interest. Sure, he'd thought it was cool, and he was proud to wear it, but knowing that it likely had magic that could help him made it infinitely better.
"So, have you figured out what constitutes the magical portions of being a shadow mage versus being a mage in full?" Dora asked. "Since that's your short deadline, I figure at least knowing what you need to do could be helpful, just in case we need to start planning on finding you help to accomplish something."
Harry nodded slowly. "Kind of. The magical portions are what I was already trying to learn. The book Hades gave me has more than the other book had, but not by a ton, at least not for the purely magic side. The other side still has some sort of magic involved, but it's different . . . at least it's different from normal elemental magic and normal magic, and it's also much more physical, so I really more assume that's what he's talking about for the rest. Apparently a shadow mage needs to know how to forge elemental items of some sort. There's chapters in that book about crafting, smelting, and refining, and where to collect the rare items needed for what I might want to forge. In addition, it seems that mages, I guess, can utilize special weapons including some sort of magical swords and bows or something like that, so I need to learn how to make those items and then learn how to use them . . . though I guess I could learn how to use normal items before I learn to make certain ones. There's also rites of passage I need to learn so that I can put blessings on people who've passed away or soon will pass away and there are rituals for various things that I'll have to learn."
"Blimey, Harry," Dora said with a sigh. "Well, as much as I wanted to go flat hunting with you, with what you just told me, I think we need to find a house with grounds so that we'll be able to build you a blacksmith's forge, which will certainly take some research on our parts."
"Dora we don't need to worry about that now," Harry protested, knowing that she was about to get a good raise for becoming an Auror Second Class, but that didn't mean she could afford for them to go house and land shopping rather than flat shopping. They had just planned on moving to a two bedroom flat to give Harry a room, not looking for a plot of land.
"Harry," Dora said with a fond smile. "Don't worry about the money so much. Let me worry about that. I can assure you that in a week, we'll be doing pretty better, and one year from next year, we'll be doing good."
Harry shuffled nervously, and Dora sighed.
"Trust me. As a cadet, the rent for this place was using up most of what I made, food was taking up most of the rest, and then buying books, potion supplies, and other materials was making sure I was spending my savings to stay afloat and going into the hole each month, and that was long before you came into the picture. As an Auror Trainee, things were tight, but better, and they really didn't change much when you came to live with me, since I really just increased food quantities magically. The yearly rent for this place was just under half of what I made yearly. Starting next week, I'll be making two and a half times what I made as a cadet, almost double what I make as a Trainee, and we'll be doing quite alright. I'm not sure if we can get a plot of land and house now or whether we might have to wait till next year, but we can at least look and see what's available. Okay?"
Harry nodded, and even though he was starting to realize that the negative thoughts in his mind that said he was too much of a burden were all due to the Dursley's influence, he still struggled at times.
Dora smiled.
"Now, it's your first day back, and the weather's gorgeous, so how about we go flying? I'm sure Astra would love to get out and run in those fields while we're flying around."
Harry nodded eagerly, a smile blooming on his face. He never turned down going flying.
"Great!" Dora said, "and then we're having dinner at Mad-Eye's tonight, so you get to look forward to explaining this all again!"
Harry groaned, and Dora cackled.
**HP**
To say that Mad-Eye was surprised by the turn of events was putting it mildly. In fact, his rarely stunned visage was only followed by one phrase, "Bloody fucking hell, lad."
After Harry had explained everything that had happened, both with the Chamber, even if Dora had given Mad-Eye the story, and with Hades, they finally managed to sit down to have the discussion that Harry had agreed with Dora it was time to have.
"Well, lad, I'd say you did pretty good talking with Hades," Mad-Eye said, "though the one thing you missed was asking about patronage or support from other deities. It's definitely something you need to bring up with your new patron."
Harry shrugged. "I didn't think of it. I mean, there's not really any other deities I've thought about."
"Maybe not yet," Mad-Eye said, "and you're certainly young enough that there isn't much reason to, but eventually you will realize that having more than one god or goddess watching your back is a good thing. Tactically speaking, you should consider Ares, Athena, Hyperion, and at least one of the other elemental deities. Hell, having Athena helping you would help you accomplish what Hades requires of you."
Harry frowned thoughtfully, not knowing everyone Mad-Eye just named, and nodded his head in agreement, realizing he'd been a bit rash, but he'd have to deal with what his patron would allow.
"Still, you did good, kid," Mad-Eye said, looking impressed. "Now, let's talk about the conversation with Tonks."
"If he's going to keep going to Hogwarts, then I believe he needs to start doing some training to make it so he is better equipped to defend himself," Dora said firmly, and he could see the fear in her eyes.
Harry winced, knowing what Dora was asking was fair. He did find himself in life or death situations far too often and he'd gotten by on a lot of luck, a little skill, and the assistance of deities. One day, the luck would run out.
"I'm not going to fight you on that, Dora," Harry said solemnly. "I know I've put you through a lot, and I really don't mean to, but if training will help you feel better, then I'll do it."
Dora smiled in relief.
"That's good because I agree with her," Mad-Eye said gruffly. "In addition, you promised Hades to become a Shadow Mage by the time you turned seventeen. Do you have any idea what you agreed to?"
Harry grimaced. "Not really. I mean the book explained a little bit, the little I looked, but all I really know is that Hades said, with some help, I shouldn't find it hard. Then he gave me the book, the ring, and Astra."
Mad-Eye snorted. "I'm not going to argue with a god, but you'd probably be the first known Shadow Mage, at least here in the UK, in nearly three hundred years, if not longer. Mages as a whole aren't extremely common, but Shadow Mages are rare. I wouldn't be surprised to find that across the world, over the last hundred years, there haven't been more than a handful of shadow mages."
Harry shuffled in his seat uneasily. "I'm not sure I fully understand what makes one a mage?"
"Currently, Potter, you'd be considered an elemental," Mad-Eye explained. "Someone who is capable of wielding the magical elements in their pure form. There are many elementals, of various levels and abilities, but few mages. Mages hold mastery within their element, which includes more than just wielding the element like you've done. Did you read up on forging? Rites? Rituals? Elemental creatures?"
"I glanced at them, but not really in depth," Harry admitted.
Mad-Eye sighed and shook his head. "Each element is capable of creating magical items and weapons that are specific to their element. These forged or crafted items can be incredibly powerful and are much coveted, however not anyone can just do that, even if they are elementals. For instance, items in your element are forged with Shadow Steel which is also known as Stygian Iron. Very rare stuff to find. Shadow Mages are able to conjure it, but it takes a lot of power and full support from one of the darkness gods. Light Mages can make weapons made from Aetherium. Earth Mages have Celestial Bronze and so on. All these different items have different abilities. To be a mage, you must be able to forge these items, and you must be able to prove it, which means you need to do some research."
"Oh," Harry muttered.
"In addition, mages are experts with their chosen items. You'll have to pick a primary and alternate, and perhaps even tertiary weapon beyond your wand that you'll have to become an expert with. Sword, bow, axe, dagger, spear . . . you name it and you'll likely find your element has a version of that weapon that has special abilities. These are what you will forge to prove your skill as a Mage before a god or goddess's judgment. It's the reason most purebloods of ancient, powerful, and wealthy families are proficient in weapons like those, mostly because of the gods . . . though I won't discount the various wars with the goblins contributing to the reasoning for being proficient. Forging these items, performing rites, and passing a practical examination on your magic are required to be granted that title."
"Oh," Harry said again, starting to realize that he'd had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.
"Add the rituals and rites and you'll have quite a bit to do. Shadow Mages, as servants of Hades, perform burial rites when available, and must make themselves available when possible to perform certain rites on deceased beings, which will ease their passage to the land of the dead, and prevent their bodies from being used in Necromancy. You'll have to learn several purification spells and rituals that aren't part of your element, but do utilize the power of your patron. I'm sure there are others, but I don't know them. I know that Shadow Mages are able to banish spirits, ghosts, poltergeists and ghouls from the mortal plane, and are expected to do so for those beings that finally wish to move on or need to be destroyed for the safety of others. There are rituals you'll have to learn. Some will be for you and others will be ones you can perform for others or for locations, you'll have to be familiar and able to perform all of them. And lastly are the creatures. There are creatures of darkness, like your hellhound, that you need to be able to handle, care for, conjure, and possibly banish."
"Oh," Harry said for a third time, his face flushed.
"So, yes, with a little help, you'll get there, but let's not go making it seem like a cakewalk," Mad-Eye finished sternly. "Mages are rare because there are a lot more commitments for mages, and many are perfectly content being elementals. In addition, becoming a mage requires support from deities and it takes a powerful witch or wizard to fully accomplish it. Mages are, in essence, priests and acolytes of the gods, and thus you have to know everything there is to know about your patron's domain."
"So, I'm currently a Shadow Elemental," Harry said, following the silence, "and you're an Earth Elemental?"
Mad-Eye nodded.
"What happens if you or I learned another element?" Harry asked.
"You could still be considered a Shadow Elemental, but also an elemental for whatever element you learn. The combined title is called an Elemental, 2nd Order. Each element you learn afterwards increases the number. The only difference is if you are able to master all the usable elements, in which case you'll be considered a Grand Sorcerer."
"Grand sorcerer?" Harry murmured. "Isn't Dumbledore a Grand Sorcerer?"
Mad-Eye and Dora nodded, and Harry gulped. He knew the Headmaster was considered one of the most powerful wizards on the planet, but that was something else.
"He's one of only five beings on the planet who has that title formally, though there are a few other beings that notionally have the title," Mad-Eye said. "One of those notional ones being Voldemort, who is widely considered dead. Another notional one being Grindelwald, who is imprisoned. Neither took any of the official exams to prove their status, but their abilities were noted and many believe that both are or were at that level."
Harry groaned.
"There's still so much for me to learn."
"Which is why most people don't gain patronage at your age," Dora said archly, and Harry snorted in amusement.
"What did you mean by usable elements?"
"How many magical elements are there, lad?" Mad-Eye asked.
Harry frowned. "Ten. Darkness, Light, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Ice, Lightning, Sound, and Time-Space."
"Correct, and while nine of those elements can be mastered, one of those is only partially usable, despite experiments. At this time, and many believe for all times, space-time is an element that can only be used in small doses lest we destroy the universe attempting to gain power."
"So nobody is really capable of using it?" Harry asked, interested.
Mad-Eye shrugged. "Small things can be done, and most of our magical travel is based on it, but overall little can be done without great risk and high probability of death and destruction. Space-Time elemental magic is used in conjunction with things, but nobody has ever wielded it like we wield ordinary magic or other elemental magics, like I can do with the earth."
Harry nodded slowly.
"Well, let's get back to the original discussion," Mad-Eye grumbled. "Training. The way I see it, the best way for us to do this is for Potter here to start joining you on your workouts, Tonks. That will help start getting his physical abilities on track. In addition, assuming you pass your exams on Monday, Tonks, then my part in your training is over, and I officially retire completely. You'll get assigned an active Auror mentor for your rookie year on the job and to help you pass the remainder of your exams. Normally, the lad here stays at your place and keeps himself entertained. I offer that you bring him to me when you go to work, and I'll work with him for a few hours each day, like I did with you before you went into Auror Training."
Dora winced, knowing Mad-Eye might be a bit nicer, with Harry's age and experience, but not much. Harry would get thrashed around by Mad-Eye, but he would learn a lot, essentially training or apprenticing under Mad-Eye.
Harry too winced, remembering all that Dora had told him, but he had to admit, it did sound interesting, and he had to admit, it would keep him occupied over the summer. He did get a bit bored during the day waiting for Dora to come home. Sure, he was planning on hanging out with the Weasleys, and maybe even seeing Hermione a bit, but that certainly wasn't going to be every day. Besides, this would help his reflexes and physical abilities which would help with Quidditch. Then maybe Wood's workouts wouldn't be so bloody hard for him.
"What will you work with me on?" Harry asked hesitantly.
Mad-Eye's eye gleamed, and he grinned, and Harry shivered before the old man laughed. "A bit of everything, lad. I'll give you some proper instruction on dueling and combat, magical and hand-to-hand. I'm proficient with a sword, so I can give you some instruction with that, seeing as how you used one in the Chamber and you need to be a Shadow Mage, a sword seems like a good choice to start with. Your choice of weapon should enhance or reflect your element. Darkness doesn't strike head on, and it tends to be silent and mysterious. You can always adapt the skill to a different weapon later, if needed, but it will further help your physical development, reflexes, and give you some more experience in physical combat. We'll talk about the finer points of magic and I'll let you study or borrow some of my defensive books. Outside of that?" Mad-Eye shrugged. "We'll figure it out as we go along. You're not even in your third year yet, lad, so I can't do everything I'd want to do, but if we keep this up, and you have the talent and discipline, I'll have you out dueling senior Aurors by the time you graduate."
Harry grinned at that, and seeing Dora's smile too, he thought that this could be really good for them. Dora would get some peace of mind, he'd get some real training from one of the best Aurors to ever live, Harry would have something to do during the summers, and Harry would get to spend some time with the ex-Auror who was like family. Wins all around in his opinion.
"This will be fun," Mad-Eye said with a grin, and Harry winced. "You'll be the second Potter I've trained, and fifth Potter I know of to be involved in Auror training with a Moody."
Harry glanced at him in surprise, and he smiled.
"I trained your dad when he became an Auror, just after he graduated during the height of the previous war. Your great-grandfather, Henry, was my Auror mentor, and was the one to beat me around the training room," Mad-Eye continued and grinned again. "Funnily enough, he was trained by my grandparents, and my parents were trained by Henry's father, Charlus, so Potters and Moodys have a history of training together.
Harry smiled at that, appreciating that he would share in something his father, great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather had been a part of.
"If you learn well under me, start learning from that dueling book this next year and continue to practice," Mad-Eye said with a grin, "we can get you into the British Dueling Circuit next year, if you're interested. You'll just be old enough to compete in the Under 16 bracket."
Harry glanced at the two grinning aurors, his eyes wide.
"There's a British Dueling Tournament?" he asked, and Dora laughed.
"Of course there is, Harry," she said. "That's why I could say that I was a good duelist compared to my peers. It's held the first week of July every year. The Under 16 bracket is for people who are entering their fourth or fifth year of Hogwarts or between 14 and 16 years of age, for those who don't attend Hogwarts."
"It's a large event," Mad-Eye said gruffly. "Not just magical dueling. They also have events for archery, swordsmanship, quarterstaff, speed, accuracy, and long range spellcasting events. Some of these events are held in a multitude of ways as well. You can duel individually or they have team events for group skirmishes. Though, Under 16 applicants are restricted to only a few events."
"Each event is split into brackets," Dora continued to explain. "They have the Under 16 as the youngest bracket, for fourteen to sixteen years of age students, or people who have finished their Third Year but not yet competed their Fifth Year of Hogwarts or Ministry equivalence for homeschooled students. The next bracket is Under 18 for NEWT students who haven't yet graduated Hogwarts. Then they have the Under 21. Lastly is the Open Bracket for all other ages. The top two in each category in our National Circuit, which includes England, Ireland, and Scotland, are invited to compete in the European Open held in the first week of August. This does not go for Under 16, which the European Open does not have."
"You used to compete?" Harry asked Dora eagerly, and Dora grinned proudly.
"I took second place at the National Tournament between my sixth year and seventh year, and I made it through the first two rounds at the European Circuit."
"Wow," Harry said, before he frowned. "Why didn't you compete this year?"
"Auror Trainees can't," Dora said simply. "Full time Aurors can and generally do, depending on their caseload or things going on, but Trainees can't take the time off or risk the injuries. Depending on what's going on, I'll try to compete next year with you. It's generally considered professional development and Aurors are encouraged to compete, so I have high hopes of competing in the Under 21 bracket."
Harry nodded in understanding and then smiled.
"I think it sounds brilliant," he said. "I'd love to compete."
"Good," Mad-Eye said gruffly. "Competition is good for you and it will give you exposure to other styles and ideas."
"Let's wait until Monday when I'm taking my exams, and then we can come up with an actual schedule for Harry's training after that," Dora said with a grin. "I won't know what my shift will be till after that anyway."
Harry was getting a few days reprieve before he'd start cursing Mad-Eye Moody's name.
**HP**
It was only one day later before Dora found herself spending her Sunday afternoon taking Harry and the younger Weasleys to the abandoned army range that Harry and she liked to fly at. Sure, they could have flown at the Burrow, but Dora figured sometimes it was nice to fly somewhere different, and there were always plenty of people at the range so if they wanted to play a pickup game of quidditch or two, it would be quite easy.
Still, Dora had to wonder how Molly had juggled having seven kids. Dora certainly didn't worry about most of the things that Molly probably did, and all the Weasleys were old enough to be fairly self-sufficient and independent, so Dora really only had to worry about keeping accountability of them, but she suspected that would be hard enough.
"Alright, Harry, Ron, let's see what you boys can do!" Fred or George said with a wicked grin, hopping on his broom and flying off, the twin not far behind him.
Harry and Ron both smiled at each other and quickly took off, though Harry stopped after only a moment and turned back to Ginny.
"You coming, Gin?"
Dora held back a smirk as Ginny blushed and jumped a bit before holding out her empty hands.
"No broom," she said mournfully.
"Ginny doesn't fly," Ron said matter of factly. "Too delicate.
Dora smirked when she saw irritation flash across Ginny's face, and Dora walked over.
"Tosh to that delicate bull," Dora said. "That sounds like big brother propaganda. This girl's a fighter. I can tell. Here's my broom, babe. Make me proud."
Ginny looked at her in shock as Dora held out the broom, but after Dora's encouraging smile, Ginny beamed, grabbed the broom and then grinned wickedly as she soared into the air effortlessly and quite skillfully, much to Harry's amusement, and her brothers' shock.
"Methinks that girl's been nicking their brooms for a while," Dora muttered under her breath as she watched Ginny Weasley fly about quite skillfully. Not quite at Harry's level, but frankly not far, and she was a year younger and he had been on a House Quidditch Team for two years, and if Ron's attitude was anything to go by, Ginny had only been able to fly when nobody else was watching. Being anywhere near Harry's level on a broom was incredible because that boy could fly. She probably wasn't as good as the current chasers on the Gryffindor team, but Dora suspected that within a few years, she might be better than most if not all of them, and they were all very skilled flyers.
Dora enjoyed watching as the boys and girl started having a nice game of follow the leader and match the trick. She enjoyed seeing the youngest Weasley put her older brothers in their places by pulling off things that even the Twins struggled to match.
Eventually, Ginny came down to return the broom, smiling brilliantly, but Harry quickly dropped down and offered his broom to Ginny while Dora took hers back, saying, "I'd like to see what you can do with a broom built for speed."
After a profuse blush and stuttering feeble arguments, she finally gave into Harry's pleading look, and took to the skies to further terrorize her brothers, with Dora's aid, while Harry played with Astra on the ground.
After a couple hours, Dora took the whole crew back to Harry's and her apartment, even if it was a bit cramped for that many people and they enjoyed some down time, Dora treated the Weasleys to her and Harry's favorite Chinese restaurant, something none of them had ever had and all quite liked.
Overall, it was quite a nice day, and a good reprieve from studying for a bit.
The following day, Dora took her final exams as an Auror Trainee and passed, finally becoming an Auror Second Class, and Harry ended up having his first training session with Mad-Eye, and boy would she have loved to have seen that.
**HP**
Harry was waiting for Mad-Eye to join him in the backyard for his first day of training when suddenly three stinging hexes came flying at him, and Harry could only awkwardly try to dodge, managing to evade one, but not the other two that hit him in his chest.
"Constant vigilance, Potter!" Mad-Eye exclaimed, turning visible. "You'd be dead if I was a hostile."
Harry groaned and then spent the next fifteen minutes dodging spells that Mad-Eye flung his way.
"Well, that wasn't terrible," Mad-Eye said, while Harry sat breathing hard, glaring at the old man, "but you need to start anticipating where I'm going to fire my spells. Look at my eyes, read my shoulders, watch my arm. If you can anticipate where I'll send my spells, you can already be working to move away from that spot."
"Yes, sir," Harry groaned out, wondering what he was getting himself into.
"Good," Mad-Eye said, and then Harry found himself running through the drill all over again . . . and again.
He didn't do much better than the first time, and he felt like he wanted to die with how hard he was breathing from the second round. By the third, he was a dry heaving mess.
Afterwards, Mad-Eye pulled out two practice swords and started patiently teaching Harry the basics of swordsmanship, showing him the various positions so that he could start going through various forms and motions. Considering how the day started, Harry had to admit it got better, with Mad-Eye being a patient and thorough instructor.
After that, they broke for lunch, where Mad-Eye told him some stories about his time in the Aurors and some stories about his family, stories that Harry cherished greatly, before they moved to Mad-Eye's library and they had a discussion on magical theory and how it fundamentally was similar no matter which discipline, and then on what the major differences were between the three core application classes: Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts.
From there, ended the day with an in depth discussion on strategy and planning out a fight, and Mad-Eye said they'd eventually start taking these tactics, along with others and looking at battles ranging from duels between a few wizards to large scale conflict. He'd never really even thought about studying strategy and battle tactics, but it really was fascinating, and it was a promise of learning history that Harry would be more interested in learning.
With the promises of being thrashed each day, but learning quite a bit about various subjects, seeing his friends often, enjoying his evenings with Dora, and having Astra around for companionship and someone to play with, Harry was quite looking forward to his summer.
Who knew that a week and a half later would yield one massive change in his life?