Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot. The original concepts belong to JKR and Warner Brothers. Any concepts brought from other fictions are either coincidental or will be used in their own way, and no plagiarism is meant.

Chapter 12: A Relaxing Month

November 14th, 1993

Abandoned Classroom, Hogwarts

"Focus Hermione. Start with a deep breath, clearing your mind of everything. In, out, in, out. Now, without speaking, focus on the spell, focus on guiding the magic through your body, shaping its intent to your own. Imagine the magic leaving your wand" Harry said quietly, watching Hermione carefully.

This was the second weekend Harry had spent working with Hermione on nonverbal casting. The first weekend was slow moving, as it was spent first refining her casting, and getting her to quit saying the incantations so loud. Yesterday, they had more progress, yet none of the spells had been successful. Magic might've left the wand, but the color changing charms had never worked.

Harry watched carefully as the pale blue light flew from Hermione's wand, and hit the parchment stuck to the wall. It moved slowly, but, after a moment's hesitation, it turned the parchment a matching color. Hermione squealed in excitement at her success, and hugged Harry.

After Harry had calmed her down, he made her repeat the feat twenty times, before then moving her onto a different spell, where the frustration restarted. The whole time, Harry spent reading Advanced Charms, looking for new spells to master for dueling and for everyday purposes. He found a spell that was elemental in nature, shooting small balls of snow, but not really effective for dueling unless it was to confuse your opponent. Other charms had promise, but were still out of what Harry could do.

At the end of Hermione's 'lesson', she grabbed him in a hug, "Thank you for this Harry. I know it stops you from doing whatever you are normally doing, but it means a lot to me that you're sacrificing that time to help me."

"Of course Hermione! You are one of my two best friends after all." Harry replied. He got a light squeeze for that comment before she let go, dragging him down to the Great Hall for lunch.

After Lunch, Neville followed him back up to the room, and once silencing charms were up, Harry turned to Neville, "Have you learned those spells I gave you?"

Neville nodded, "I couldn't get the piercing hex to work properly, but I got the stunner and the Aegis Fortus to work properly."

"Well, let's test it, toss up the shield." Harry replied, picking up his book. Neville had barely finished the incantation when he dove behind a desk, the textbook flying straight into the shield. The shield held, though it rippled slightly from the impact.

"Good job Nev. It seems nearly unaffected. Remember, to a point, the more magic that is put into the shield, the stronger this one is. That doesn't go for other shields in most cases, but for this one, it does. Now, let's test it with something heavier."

Harry proceeded to throw several chairs, two student desks, and the larger heavy desk at Neville. Only twice did the shield fail, and Neville was breathing heavily after that. "Now, let's see the stunner."

"Harrrrryyyyy, I'm already tired." Neville whined. A small glare from Harry and the boy sighed.

"Stupify" A scarlet light flew from Neville's wand and hit Harry's shield, which had been tossed up at the last moment. Harry was surprised at the force behind it, but the shield held regardless.

"Were to intending me to miss tomorrow's classes? I doubt a stunner like that could've been easily countered." Harry asked.

Neville winced, "Sorry Harry. I have still been struggling to maintain control over my magic. Ollivander suspected that my magic might be stronger than average because of using my father's wand. He said the core is like a muscle, and that the resistance would have strengthened it to a point."

"Have you been focusing on learning Occlumency and using it to control your magic?" Harry asked. Neville stared for a second, before shaking his head.

"I hadn't thought of that. I guess I need to focus on strengthening my mind again. It has been a while since I put much effort into it." Neville replied quietly.

Harry offered him a few tips, before Neville decided to let Harry do his own thing. They had spent time training three times a week, and Neville had been improving rapidly. Harry hadn't pushed the boy so much on nonverbal magic yet, instead focusing on his confidence instead. That was more important.

Now having some privacy, Harry debated on what to do. He still had another spell go practice, but debated on if he should try it yet. Deciding to wait, he went along with speed and endurance training, and after another two hours, he called it quits.

November 20th, 1993

Great Hall, Hogwarts

Harry sat down, grabbing some eggs and bacon for breakfast. He had spent a lot of time getting everything set, including breaking into the dorms of the people he was targeting, ensuring a small rune was drawn somewhere they couldn't see. For the guys, their backs or bottoms of their feet, for the ladies, the back of their kneecaps.

Don't ask Harry how he managed to get into the girls' dorms. He won't tell.

Watching carefully as the team came down, Harry smiled, taking another bite. Katie and the twins came to join him, while Angelina and Alicia sat with a few of their friends, and Oliver sat with a book in front of him, preparing himself to watch the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw game.

Harry had gotten the elves, cough cough, Dobby, to put a small powder in the drinks. It was harmless to any who didn't have the rune on their body, but to those who did, well…

Harry watched as first Katie and Alicia took a drink of pumpkin juice. It was only moments later that their skin turned red and gold striped, with brooms, quaffles, and snitches flying around. Fred and George started laughing at the prank, but it was only moments later when they were hit too.

Harry took a sip of his water, watching as his own skin matched. After all, it would be suspicious if he was the only Gryffindor Quidditch member not pranked. Angelina was freaking out because she had no idea how to cancel it, and soon enough both Professor Snape and Dumbledore were standing there trying to figure it out.

"Well, the good news is that this will wear off in a few hours. That ends the good news however, as it cannot be canceled." Professor Dumbledore spoke. "I daresay it has been some time since this prank had been used, though it was last used on Ravenclaw. A shame we have no idea who did it."

Snape sneered at that, "POTTER, was it you that did this?"

Harry let a small glare rest on his face, "Why would I prank myself professor. No, I didn't do this."

Snape's gaze never left Harry, though the small Legilimency attack was soundlessly rebuffed thanks to his impervious mind. The man's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"Very well then. I would recommend finding the rune I believe has been drawn on you somewhere, and cleaning it off. Though it won't cancel the spellwork, it will at least prevent it from being extended. Have a good day."

With those words, Dumbledore walked away. The twins started grinning like maniacs, and debating how this could've been done. The rest of the team was less flattered by the new design, except for Katie and Oliver who took it in stride.

"It's amazing, the charmwork that went into getting the design to move and to have such detail. Whoever did it has to be a seventh year student!" Katie exclaimed. The twins looked at her, before huddling back to themselves.

Harry was using his Occlumency to the fullest to stop his giddiness from breaking out, especially when Hermione went full student, trying to figure out how to replicate it.

Could Harry have put the girl out of her misery and told her? Probably? Would he ruin his secrecy and reveal his father's notes on the pranks? Absolutely not.

Eventually the student body made their way down to watch the match. Neither team had much going for them compared to the Gryffindor lineup. Only Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, had talent. The others had skill, but Harry knew they were limited, and not a match for others in the school.

The match, unsurprisingly, ended in favor of Hufflepuff, at 240-70. Ravenclaw's keeper had a broken nose from the quaffle hitting him, and Cho Chang had to get assistance to Madam Pomfrey when she crashed from a stunt Diggory pulled, basically forcing her into the side of the stands. Truly, it was a spectacular move. The Gryffindors were excited about this, as it meant that Gryffindor was holding the lead. As long as they beat the Hufflepuffs, it didn't matter about any of the other matches. Oliver was ecstatic, and only a firm reminder about McGonagall's threat held back more practices.

November 24th, 1993

Defense Classroom

"Mr. Potter, stay behind after class!" Professor Lupin called out.

Harry waited for the classroom to empty, and once it had, he looked at the defense professor expectantly. "So, are you wanting some practice with your Patronus?"

Harry nodded, "You found a boggart?"

Remus laughed, "Sort of. It appeared in my desk drawer at some point this weekend. I figured it could be useful so I moved it to my spare trunk. So, meet this evening? I've got some butterbeers and chocolate for after."

"Sounds great, though I am beginning to think you just really like chocolate." Harry replied with a raised eyebrow.

"You're parents both said the same thing once, or twice… and perhaps several of the staff have said it too." Remus said with a smile, "Now get going and I will see you this evening."

Harry made his way to his friends who were waiting in the hallway, "What did Professor Lupin want?"

It wasn't surprising to Harry that Hermione was the first to ask, "Extra practice I asked for against a boggart if he found another." Harry replied, "He had one come to him, so he has moved it to a trunk so I can have a go at it tonight."

"What is your boggart?" Ron asked. He had been in the back of the class recovering from his attempt and encounter with the spider.

"A dementor. It barely had formed when Remus blocked it, thinking it might form into Voldemort." Ron shivered at the name, but he was slowly adjusting to Harry constantly saying it.

Evening…

Harry stood in front of the trunk, focusing on the memory while waiting to hear the click of the trunk opening. Remus was giving him to prepare himself mentally more than anything, which was appreciated.

*Click*

After a moment, Harry felt the fake aura of the Dementor, and heard the rattling of its breath. Cold permeated through the room, and he barely ignored the urge to hear the memory again.

"Expecto Patronum"

Light flooded from his wand and slowly reformed into the Basilisk. The basilisk floated around the boggart-dementor, blocking its aura and stopping its movement. Harry held the boggart still for over a minute before he felt his strength wavering. He let go of the magic and watched as Remus stepped in and put the boggart back in the trunk.

"Was it your goal to trap the Dementor?" Remus asked.

"No. But it did work, though a real one would probably try to fly up or be repelled before it was trapped if it were to encounter a patronus." Harry said, taking deep breaths. He wasn't exhausted physically, but the strain to hold the memory while focusing on the spell did leave him out of breath.

"True. The boggart isn't affected by the Patronus but it does give the same feeling. You did flawlessly, and I have no doubt a real Dementor would be sent away." He said, patting Harry on the back.

Leading Harry into his office, Remus spoke, "Have you been helping Mr. Longbottom this year?"

"Yea, I found out that he is my godbrother, and it was clear he needed support. Why?" Harry asked uneasily.

"We had a staff meeting earlier this week. Professor McGonagall said that the two of you had shown the most improvement this year, but thought that you were the reason for Neville's. Or at least your support was." Remus replied, handing Harry a chilled butterbeer. "I agree with her. His confidence has improved over the past few weeks and his work has improved with it."

Harry nodded, only slightly surprised. Since Harry had included Neville more at the end of last year, Neville had lost some of his quietness, and had become more outspoken, confident, and overall a better person. Harry was proud of him for his accomplishments, and it seemed even the teachers had noticed too.

"I am glad his hard work is being recognized." Harry replied.

"Have you ever considered being a teacher in the future?" Remus asked. Honestly, if the werewolf had a choice, this would be his forever job. Either as a Defense teacher or a History teacher. He loved both subjects, and learning and teaching in general. He also wasn't oblivious to the two disappearing every few days, or Harry helping him in the library.

"No, though it doesn't sound unappealing." Harry said, having taken a moment to think about it.

"Well, it isn't easy. Generally you need to get Outstandings on your O.W.L.s, and afterwards apprentice for your mastery. Sometimes it takes years to achieve such a thing, though if you are a prodigy, often it takes less." Remus spoke, watching Harry carefully as he did.

Hm. If Harry had the opportunity, it was something he would later explore. He hadn't spent time thinking in the long term, only the next few years, most of which was preparing for Riddle and learning all that he could. It merited thought though, and was something he would worry about soon enough. The two talked further on careers, and Harry was pleased to learn so much about opportunities in the world. He thought it should be taught before selecting electives, as that could impact your choices, but it was one of those things that never made sense.

November 27th, 1993

Abandoned Classroom

Harry stood, shocked at what was in front of him. He had asked the vague question some time ago on what impacted a person's patronus, and surprisingly, it hadn't changed its form. However, it had not prepared the teenager for what had happened. The patronus was definitely different. It was swirling green inside, the same green of Harry's eyes, and it seemed to arc with lightning. Not only that, but it radiated an aura that was overwhelmingly positive. Harry stood still, staring at the spectral beast, wondering if this had ever happened before, or if it were due to some other phenomenon.

Ending the spell, he sat in silence, wondering how it was possible. Perhaps it was the core? Basilisk heartstrings had never been used before. Or possibly it is the connection to the memory and the wand that matters so much. Harry mused. His wand had been made including his blood, and there was no denying the connection between him and the wand, the wand and the memory, and the patronus' form and the wand and memory. Perhaps it was all interconnected, and the lighting was part of the Thunderbird core?

Harry truly had no idea, but felt he was heading in the right direction. It was most likely deep magical theory, wand lore, and possibly even some other magics that were involved. Maybe it would make a good topic to discuss with Professor Flitwick one day. No matter. Harry had come here for a reason, and was using the dual-core wand for a reason. Death had told him that once he learned the patronus charm well enough, that he needed to learn the alternate form of the charm, one that would kill the Dementors.

Harry frowned, focusing on the spell and memory. Once he was sure of himself, he whispered the incantation, "Mortium Patronum." He felt the magic move through his body, and shockingly, it stopped, not doing even the smallest thing. What had he done wrong?

Deciding on a test-and-fail method, he proceeded to cast the spell with different focuses, before giving up, and just casting the spell. That attempt rewarded him with a black ash sputtering from the end of his wand, and a cold sensation that disappeared almost instantly. It felt surprisingly similar to the Dementors, yet different.

Harry frowned.

Perhaps the spell wasn't like the patronus at all. Instead of thriving on positive emotions, perhaps it was fueled by negative emotions. Giving it a try while focusing on the same feeling he had when thinking of Riddle, he was rewarded with a more potent ash smoke leaving his wand, and a more powerful pull on his magic. He sat down, wondering what it could be that was necessary to cast the spell. Maybe he needed to wait to talk to Death again? Ask for information about the spell. Everything other than the incantation on the page was unreadable, and nothing more than meaningless scribbles to Harry.

After another half hour of failed attempts, Harry gave in, and returned to normal dueling practice. He was astounded at the power he was letting out of the wand, and with small adjustments on his control, he proceeded to last longer than he ever had practicing spells.

Dumbledore stood on the other side of the door, silent and invisible. The castle had told him that someone was casting powerful magics, and oddly enough, it was in a remote part of the eastern wing. Had Dumbledore not been doing something, he would have gotten there sooner. Once he had made it there though, he was shocked to feel the magic of Harry Potter radiating from the hidden classroom. Focusing on his senses, he could tell that Harry was practicing dueling spells and techniques based on what was being casted. Even more impressive, and alarming, was that he was practicing spell chains, something not taught until seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even then, it was only basic chains. He could feel the different spells the boy was casting, each with a surprisingly large amount of power for someone so young, and to have been doing it for so long was impressive.

Dumbledore focused more on the spells in the spell chains that the child was casting, and was shocked that it wasn't even the basic or easier chains, but ones that were seen in a professional circuit. Some had even been altered, most likely by Harry himself. Bone breakers replaced some curses, some elemental magic was twisted into a shield breaker chain that normally didn't have such spells. Each alteration was impressive, but also alarming. The boy had learned a lot more than he thought possible. The problem was, it was clear Harry had been using this room for a while. A long while. Traces in the hallway showed Harry had been here as early as after the chamber incident, and around the time the staff noticed Harry's improvement in class.

Harry had clearly seeked more information over the summer than he had initially thought, and Albus could only hope that Harry hadn't found the worst things he had been kept from, or if he had, that the boy would give him the chance to explain one day. The only thing the old headmaster was thankful for was that Harry seemed to be practicing safely, and that no other student was likely to accidentally come to harm. Dumbledore might, admittedly only to himself, be slightly controlling, but he wasn't someone to stop natural learning. If Harry was being safe, he would leave everything be, especially now that he was sure it was Harry. Deciding he had been present for enough, he left the child to practice on his own, curious of what this discovery meant, and where it would take the world in the future.

December 3rd, 1993

Harry was laying in bed, watching his wrist to see the clock rotate over to 11:45 p.m. so he could make his way out to the shrieking shack. Sirius had asked him to meet there so they could have a Sirius chat. The pun, of course, fell flat, but it didn't stop the mutt from making a few more similar ones. Harry didn't mind though, as he thoroughly enjoyed talking to the man. It was clear that it helped both of them, Harry getting to have the family bond and stories of his parents, and Sirius getting human contact and someone who worried and cared, and spent time helping his mind and sanity stay intact.

Oh, the man definitely had a few cracks in the noggin, but Harry wasn't overly worried. Other than more jokes falling flat, and a few offhanded angry comments about the ineptness of the ministry and the Wizengamot, the man was stable and seemed to get better with each passing day. He knew that Sirius spent time practicing with his magic, trying to get his old strength back, and had been doing well with his physical recovery too.

Harry's watch vibrated quietly, the alert charm working perfectly. Grabbing his father's cloak from under the pillow, and ensuring his clothes didn't need to be adjusted, Harry slipped from the dorm room and out of the common room. Using some newly found shortcuts, it took Harry only ten minutes to make it to the extremely violent tree, and after pressing the knot with a levitated branch, a few more minutes to traverse the dark tunnel of roots and dirt before ascending into a wood-lined cellar.

Tucking his cloak into his back pocket, Harry took in the Shrieking Shack. He wasn't surprised to see claw marks everywhere, or the holes in the wall, or even the broken furniture that was torn to pieces and scattered throughout the shack. Remus' work no doubt. Harry knew that not many came up to the shack to see it, as the stories said that there were several angry ghosts and spirits that haunted the place.

Slowly, Harry made his way up the stairs, each creaking ominously. Dust stirred at the fall of each foot, clearly only Sirius had ever used the passage in recent years. Harry's cherry wand fell into his hand as he approached a door with a small light coming from under it. He flicked his wand, a banisher pushing it open, to reveal his adoptive father sitting in a chair with his wand already trained on Harry.

Quickly, his wand vanished into a holster, and the man was up and hugging Harry before Harry could get his own away. "It's good to see you, Harry!" The man said quietly.

"You too Padfoot." Harry patted the man on the back. Slowly he let go and gestured to a chair that looked far out of place, mostly likely having been conjured.

"What did you want to meet for Sirius? Not that I would ever say no to seeing you." Harry asked.

"We needed to plan for when school is on break and you can slip away unnoticed, and perhaps I wanted an excuse for an excursion." The man was grinning, causing Harry to sigh. "Oh you know you would never complain, even if you are a little tired."

"Right you are. What were you thinking for my Hogwarts escape to visit Gringotts?" Harry asked.

"I thought the best time would be two days after Christmas. If my memory serves me right, students don't return until the third of January. It'll mean that with Christmas past us, no one will be paying too much attention, and you could leave for most of the night, so long as no one comes looking for you." Sirius explained.

"And if they do?" Harry asked, knowing he had a pretty good idea that the man was set to prank people.

"Easy, just put these spells on your curtains and use a sealing charm to hold them closed. Then no one's the wiser. Besides, you'll be back by three in the morning if all goes well, and only be gone for four hours overall." Harry nodded. It was break, so he could sleep in and just do his normal workout and practice later in the day.

"Splendid. Have you thought about bringing Remus in on this?" Sirius had a glint in his eyes. Harry shivered, he had seen that look from the twins far too often.

"Want to play a Christmas prank?"