AN: Welcome back for this week's chapter. I hope you enjoy, and as always, I love to hear what you all think.
Alexandramay - I'm glad you're able to enjoy Harry and Dora's sibling banter since it reminds you of your own sibling. Astra takes no shit from dementors, and she never will. I'm glad you like how many of the small things have changed slightly, and things are slowly changing more and more. I like to think of it like waves. I started this story with the concept that we were basically at canon, with the Tonks addition being the only real difference (minus the lore changes), and as things change, waves are created, and it will cause much larger deviations as the story progresses.
Guest - Thanks, and you'll just have to keep reading to see more Ginny/Harry and Lupin and Dora.
scrappy8 - Yeah, Harry needed an actual birthday party. At least one. Even in canon, he never really got one. They were always overshadowed by Voldemort/the war/death.
LadyKitai - Thanks, I'm glad you're still enjoying what I'm doing, and I always look forward to your comments!
Arctic Wolf Fury - You're telling me. I have a job that forces me to be somewhat fit, and I feel lazy as hell compared to heroes in stories and fanfics. Mad-Eye and Dora love pushing him, and yes, his quidditch friends aren't much help, since like most athletes, they are indeed fitness nuts too. Thankfully, he has Ron. Everyone needs a Ron to tell them to slow the fuck down.
I will continue to provide doom puppies, but the cost will be continued reviews. I am a dealer after all. While I would love to have Astra out Pettigrew, it seems almost cheating. My opinion is that she is young and still developing her understanding of these odd mortals.
Mewpagano - Thanks! Ginny has a lot of potential, and I'm glad you're liking my take on her so far.
Chapter 18
"Give me one good reason not to pull him out of there!" Dora exclaimed, pacing in front of Mad-Eye who was giving her an exasperated look. "Black broke in once, despite the dementors and all of Dumbledore's power, and he'll do it again."
"Because he's no safer here than he would be there," Mad-Eye responded shortly. "What's to stop Black from breaking into your place? It's much less protected than Hogwarts."
"Maybe not," Dora shot back, "but I can watch Harry! You can watch Harry! Hell, I can take Harry and leave the country. Sure, I've got friends here, but not a ton of ties. We could leave somewhere where Black would be hard pressed to find us!"
"And how will you afford that?" Mad-Eye asked with a scoff.
"I don't know, but we'll make do!" Dora protested. "I'm tired of this bullshit at Hogwarts. He's not safe there, and never seems to be safe there. Hell, if I take him out of Hogwarts, I bet Kingsley doesn't even mind if I bring him to work with me. He can hang in the Auror Office, learn magic there and be safe. The Minister would probably even love that!"
"Tonks. You can't watch him every moment of every day," Mad-Eye said softly, an uncharacteristic look of sadness etched on his face. "All you can do is teach him or tell him what you can and hope it's enough. He's got that damn mutt of his. He's got a god's protection, and he's got talent, skill, and knowledge," Mad-Eye continued. "He might not be an Auror and certainly not ready to face Black in a straight up fight, but there's no guarantee he'll ever have to do so, and he's got the tools to help him get away if things go south. Now, it's time for you to trust in him."
"That's rich coming from you," Dora responded, though Mad-Eye's words had taken a lot of bite out of her words, and now she was just desperately trying to counter. "You hardly trust anybody!"
"Perhaps, but I thought I've been teaching you to be better than me," Mad-Eye responded with a growl. "Nobody should be completely trusting of everyone and everything, and should always have constant vigilance, but at the same time, if you can't trust your team, your comrades, and your family, then who can you trust? It takes a while to reach that point, but if you want to lock Harry away and be like his scum relatives, then be my guest."
Dora huffed sitting down. "I hate when you talk logically," she said with a pout and the grizzled old man snorted.
"I'll send him a letter with some things to learn. You keep hammering him to watch his back and continue learning. All we can do beyond that is our best and hope that Dumbledore and his lot are doing the same."
"All they seem to have accomplished is to make Harry a bit angry about not letting him go to Hogsmeade and forcing a professor to watch him play Quidditch . . . and not one of the Professors that I would consider all that much of a threat! I think I'd prefer Harry watching my back in a fight over Hooch, and that's with Hooch being a fully qualified witch!" Dora protested. "They didn't stop Black from getting in. I'm not sure how I feel about Remus Lupin being the Defense teacher either. By all accounts, he's doing fantastic, but I remember him being best friends with Uncle James and Black. How do we know where his loyalties lie? I mean, he would have been an uncle to Harry, but he's never reached out!"
Mad-Eye shrugged. "Lupin's always been a loyal man. I certainly don't trust him completely, but I trust him a fair share more than most. He was very close to James and Lily, but he's had a hard life. I'm not surprised he never reached out. Like you, he was probably told to keep his distance, but his warning was probably with the threat of jail time if he didn't. You know what he is. It's not exactly shocking that he hasn't reached out."
Dora sighed. "That's true, and he was always really good around us when I was younger."
Mad-Eye sighed. "Gods knows that I don't trust everyone at Dumbledore's school and that man is far too trusting for my liking, but he isn't incompetent, and I'm sure he is doing what he can to ensure that Harry remains safe."
"I know," Dora said in a small voice, "but that doesn't mean I like it. This is so much harder than I thought it would be, being in Harry's life. He's only thirteen and he always seems to be involved in some life or death situation."
"Tonks, he always had a death mark on him," Mad-Eye said firmly. "If it wasn't Black, it was another one of those Death Eaters that escaped justice, or even Voldemort himself, wherever that bastard may be, however near death he might be. Harry is always going to have someone looking to cause him harm. You need to start coming to terms with that and figuring out how to deal with it."
Dora nodded sadly. "It's just not fair to him."
"Life isn't fair," Mad-Eye responded sharply. "Not for anybody. Harry's been dealt a worse starting hand than others, but he'll just have to continue on and do the best he can, just as we all do."
"Alright, Mad-Eye," Dora said finally.
**HP**
"Fucking hell, Tonks," Mad-Eye growled at her. "Why the fuck are we here?"
"To support Harry!" Dora responded, but even she was wondering if Harry would mind them sitting out this Quidditch Match.
The weather was absolutely atrocious. The wind was howling ferociously, rain was pouring down on them sideways. Dora was unsurprised to see the whole school was braving the storm to watch the rivalry match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but Dora could admit that she was quite sure Harry wouldn't have been all that hurt if she and Mad-Eye hadn't turned out with them. But, she wanted to support him, and she always loved seeing him fly . . . though maybe not in weather like this.
"One of the benefits of retiring is avoiding this shit weather," Mad-Eye grumbled, but Dora ignored the disgruntled man for the moment, used to his bitching. Besides, she knew he liked getting out to support Harry as well.
"Well, let's sit down, use some drying charms, and attempt to shield ourselves slightly while praying that Harry catches the bloody snitch quickly!" Dora finally responded brightly.
"You really need to curb that bubbly attitude," Mad-Eye growled out. "It's pissing me off right now."
Dora laughed as they took their seats.
Unfortunately, her laughing didn't last as Harry did NOT find the snitch quickly. The match had started and they'd watched the players lift off, brooms swerving slightly in the wind. The wind and rain seemed to almost pick up as the players continued to play, and Dora could barely hear the announcer telling the score, let alone follow the various players out on the field.
"Harry's heading for the snitch," Mad-Eye finally said after nearly an hour and half in the frigid cold, listening to thunder and lightning crack in the night sky. "Seems he's going to get it easy. Malfoy's not even close nor has he seen a ruddy thing."
"Thank the gods," Dora said, when suddenly she heard Mad-Eye swear.
She glanced at him to ask what was going on when she felt the change. Everything grew much colder, which was really saying something, and she looked out onto the field to see dementors, at least a hundred strong descending on the Quidditch pitch. At least a dozen were chasing various quidditch players while the rest descended on the stands and people started screaming.
Dora sprang up with Mad-Eye
"Expecto Patronum!" Dora shouted out, and her jack-rabbit patronus sprang from her wand chasing after dementors to protect the students. It was soon joined by Mad-Eye's honey badger and several other animals, but none of theirs were as powerful as Dumbledore's phoenix which started blasting dementors away.
Dora glanced up to see Harry shakily trying to return to the ground, but he was still hundreds of feet up, and he had a dementor chasing him. Dora turned her wand directing it towards Harry when to her horror Harry fell off his broom.
Before she or anyone else could cast a spell to save Harry though, Dora saw Astra bound out of shadow, connect with Harry and then fade away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the grim and Harry appear on the ground. To her shock, the dementor continued to pursue, seemingly locked onto Harry.
"MAD-EYE!" Dora called out, already willing her patronus, but the ex-Auror was already on it, his patronus joining hers in a race towards Harry, with nearly a half dozen other patroni. Before any of their patroni could chase off the dementor however, Astra grew to her full size and leaped with incredible speed at the dementor and clamped her jaws around where Dora assumed the creature's throat was.
An unearthly scream was wrenched from the creature as Astra's weight brought the dementor crashing to the ground. Dora's eyes widened in shock as the patroni reached Astra and the dementor, but despite the dementor's obvious attempts to escape, Astra wouldn't let the blasted creature go and with an almighty wrench, Astra shattered what must have been the creature's neck and it went still. Dora gasped as she saw two bright white lights come out from where the dementor had died. The white lights danced around Astra before they flashed and faded away. With that, Astra returned to her bonded partner.
The grounds were silent, but Dora wasn't sure if it was shock from the dementor attack or the shock from watching a supposedly unkillable creature violently die.
**HP**
Harry could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever. He didn't have a clue where he was, or how he'd got there, or what he'd been doing before he got there. All he knew was that every inch of him was aching as though it had been beaten.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life. "
Scariest. . . the scariest thing. . . hooded black figures. . . cold. . . screaming. . .
Harry's eyes snapped open. He was lying in the hospital wing. Dora was at his side, sitting in a chair, looking completely soaked to the bone. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, spattered with mud from head to foot, was gathered around his bed. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool. Astra was lying at his feet.
"Harry!" said Fred, who looked extremely white underneath the mud. "How're you feeling?"
Dora moved from her chair and pulled Harry into a hug, and he sighed as his memory started to work on fast forward, remembering the lightning . . . the snitch . . . and the dementors.
"What happened?" he said as Dora pulled back, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.
"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been - what - a hundred feet?"
"We thought you were going to die," said Alicia, who was shaking.
Katie and Angelina both let out small sobs. Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot.
"Astra saved your life," Dora said, reaching down and rubbing the Grim puppy's ears with a grateful smile. "She jumped out of your shadow and transported you through her way of travel to the ground, safely."
Harry smiled at his familiar, and he felt her concern and care through their bond. He sent her a thankful feeling, and promised her a new bone.
"But the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we doing a replay?"
"Harry, you got the snitch, don't you remember?" Wood said, a wide smile blooming on his face. "You caught it right before that ruddy dementor reached you. You were incredible!"
Harry grinned at that, but he saw that the rest of his friends still seemed troubled. Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Ginny, and even the twins all actually shot scowls at Wood for his attitude.
"What happened afterwards? After I fell?" Harry clarified.
"Astra saved you, but the dementor kept coming for you," Dora said, anger in her eyes. "We were trying to get some protection to you . . . but Astra took care of it."
Harry frowned. "Took care of it?"
"She killed the dementor that chased you," Angelina said slowly. "It was honestly terrifying to see her so ruthless, but she saved your life for which we're all grateful."
"So what does that mean?" Harry asked, a bit worried.
Dora scowled. "The Ministry is in an uproar, from what little I heard. Of course, people are livid about the dementors attacking the students, but the Ministry is also concerned about Astra. Nobody knew of a way to kill dementors other than starving them, which isn't easy, so the fact she can kill them is cause for concern."
"So, what does that mean?" Harry asked again.
Dora shrugged. "I don't know. By all accounts, she acted in self-defense of you, so neither she nor you can be prosecuted, but I'm sure you can imagine that certain students are probably already trying to talk about how she's a vicious animal who needs to be put down. The Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is going to be trying hard to get jurisdiction to take Astra in, I'm sure. There are some creature lovers in that department, but there are far more who like the open jurisdiction to kill or destroy magical creatures."
Harry glared and growled out, sounding very Moodyish, his magical power flaring a bit. "I'd like to see them try and touch her."
"Trust me, they'll be going through me as well," Dora said with a fierce expression.
Conversation steered away from the darker topics and after ten minutes, when they were starting to get a good little party going on, Madam Pomfrey came over and forced everyone except for Dora to leave so that he could rest.
"I guess I really can't help but worry you," Harry said a bit sadly after a moment and Dora shook her head.
"This isn't your fault, Harry. I was worried about you, but I was worried about everyone today. A hundred dementors swooping down on school children is something to worry about."
"But Black's after me," Harry muttered. "If I wasn't here, the dementors wouldn't be either."
Dora shrugged. "We don't fully know that. The main theory is that Black's after you, but maybe he's not. Who knows? Regardless, fleeing dementors is not something you should have had to do. That one's on the Ministry."
"Is there any way to fight dementors?" Harry asked after a moment. "I really don't want to feel that ever again. I . . . I don't want to hear my mother's last moments again."
"There's a way," Dora said slowly. "It's very difficult, but perhaps you can do it. You're certainly powerful enough, and you know some very advanced magic."
"What is it?" Harry asked eagerly.
"It's called the Patronus Charm," Dora said. "Like I said, it's very difficult. At least NEWT level, but a lot of people never fully master it."
"Can you teach it to me?" Harry asked.
Dora shook her head. "I don't think so, little brother. It's not something that's taught in a day. No, I think your best bet is going to McGonagall, Flitwick, Dumbledore, or . . . well or Lupin and asking one of them for lessons."
Harry nodded slowly, a bit disheartened to know that dementor defenses wasn't something he could easily learn.
Dora smiled. "Until then, you'll just have to trust Astra to protect you. She certainly did this time."
Harry smiled. "That's because she's the best."
Astra barked in a manner that seemed to confidently say, "Obviously."
Dora and Harry both laughed before a different thought entered his mind.
"Hey, Dora. What happened to my Nimbus?" Harry asked, realizing that he didn't know who had picked it up.
Dora winced, and Harry's insides lurched.
"Sorry, Harry, but your broom blew away and hit a tree called the Whomping Willow. Well . . . well, the Whomping Willow is named that for a reason."
Dora reached down for a bag just at her feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful broomstick.
Dora shot him a sympathetic look. "We'll have to look into a new broomstick for you, love."
Harry nodded somberly, and immediately wanted to change the subject . . . to not think about it.
"How's that new case going?"
Dora sighed. "We actually managed to close it yesterday, but it was baffling to me, and it makes me reconsider my plans I set up with Kingsley."
"The Mastery ones?" Harry asked.
Dora nodded.
"Why did the case make you reevaluate your goals?" Harry asked curiously.
"Because this was one of those odd situations Kingsley brought up, and part of me thinks it might be better for me to devote time to at least familiarizing myself with weird branches of magic," Dora said.
"How was it odd?" Harry asked.
"Well, I told you that there were a string of thefts and robberies from various libraries, museums, and stores," Dora said and Harry nodded, "and that there was a suspicion of dark magic being used to breach the various securities around the buildings and items that had been stolen."
Harry nodded again.
"Well, it was baffling because no matter what we did, we couldn't find any residuals that showed dark magic had been used, but it was clear that something had happened to breach the securities, so we had to do a lot of research into how someone might conceal dark magical signatures."
"Ok," Harry said slowly.
"The problem was that we figured out dark magic wasn't being used at all, unless it was something new. Finally, we took a deeper look into what was stolen and reached out abroad and figured out that the same thing had been happening elsewhere. A French Auror had had better luck in investigating this international theft and smuggling ring and it was revealed that it was actually art magic that was being used."
"Art magic?" Harry asked, enthralled by the story. "What's art magic?
"Much like it sounds, it's magic that comes from various art sources," Dora said. "Some people use enchanted ink to bring their drawings alive, or in the case of who we were trying to apprehend, they were actually sealing what they stole inside the pages of their journals so that they could smuggle it away. You're familiar with portraits and paintings, like at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, but I always just figured that was a charm or something," Harry said, and Dora shook her head.
"It's a branch of magic. There used to be a club for it at Hogwarts, though it didn't survive, not many being interested. Statues can be enchanted with charms, however magical artists can imbibe personality and permanency into statues to make them permanently alive or like whomever they envisioned. Your tattoo is actually a form of art magic," Dora said
"Wait, really?" Harry said in shock, and Dora nodded.
"Yep, it increases your shadow magical abilities, just like your ring does, and just like Astra does. That's why you've probably found it much easier to learn or improve what you already knew. You're getting triple the help or boost to your abilities due to everything. Other people get protective enchantments tattooed on or sometimes just tattoos that magically move about the body and serve no purpose except for appearance."
"So what was your guy doing exactly?" Harry asked.
"He was creating replicas of unprotected statues or sculptures that resided at these secure locations," Dora said. "He was replacing the originals with these replicas which could move and wouldn't trigger the protective wards, not being living things. The stolen items were then sealed inside parchment, making them look like drawings, and were smuggled to whatever destination before being unsealed from the parchment and sold. Without the French Ministry's breakthrough, many of us would have spent months trying to stop this. We had to bring in an Art Magic expert from another department in the DMLE to assist."
"So why does this have you questioning your future goals?" Harry asked.
"Because instead of working on masteries in subjects that many people have masteries in, maybe I should be getting a broad introduction to a lot of these uncommon or rare magics," Dora said. "I knew almost nothing of art magic or sealing magic, and that's only the tip of the iceberg."
"Well, won't those Masteries help you do your job better and allow you to better deal with dark witches and wizards you fight?" Harry asked.
"Sure," Dora agreed, "but the same could be said for some of the off the beat magic. Sure, art magic isn't easy to learn or use, but you can still use it offensively. Your shadow magic is an example. You can certainly attack me in ways that are different from what I'm used to."
"Well, aren't you going to learn something new after you get your normal masteries?" Harry asked, bemused.
"Well, of course," Dora said with a roll of her eyes, "but that could be five years down the line!"
"And there's a time limit on this?" Harry asked, fighting a grin.
Dora scowled at him. "It's good to see you've picked up a little bit of logic from Mad-Eye."
Harry laughed at that.
"Logically, you're correct. I have time. Illogically, you'd be agreeing with me and saying I need to learn everything," Dora said with a pout. "Why couldn't you have been a typical Gryffindor who would have just agreed with me to get me to shut up?"
"Because then we'd have two crazy people in our family," Harry said seriously and she slapped his arm.
"Please, you're the absolutely stark crazy bugger in this family," Dora said confidently. "Fighting trolls, acromantulas, and basilisks! Really, I'm the one that's crazy?"
"I guess that's fair . . . Nymphadora."
Per tradition, in Harry's words, Dora was thrown out of the hospital wing by Madam Pomfrey for hexing her ward. Harry and Dora laughed the whole time. Harry also staunchly used it as a point in his favor about Dora being the crazy one in the family.
**HP**
Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remnants of his Nimbus Two Thousand. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimbus was beyond repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best friends.
He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up. Most of his House yearmates, like Neville, Chris, Dean, Seamus, Ava, and even Lavender and Parvati came by to visit and congratulate him on the match and provide their condolences on his broom. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, and Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously, turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang shrilly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, all trying to keep his spirits up about the Quidditch win, despite the loss of the broom, like his other housemates and best friends were doing. He appreciated it, but still wished the dementors didn't affect him as badly as they did, and he wished that Astra didn't have to protect him so much.
It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting. Malfoy had clearly been trying to save face since losing the Quidditch match and he did this by doing Dementor imitations, but for the first time in Harry's memory, most of the school felt it was in very poor taste and Slytherin House as a whole, who were the only ones that laughed, were publicly mocked by most the school for being very poor losers. In addition, Harry was happy to hear that Malfoy ended up losing points when his imitations were reported to Flitwick who actually intervened and docked Malfoy thirty points before warning him that he'd lose far more and face further punishment if he continued. Harry didn't know why someone was finally intervening in Malfoy's behavior but he appreciated it nonetheless.
Still, classes moved on, and Harry's chance of finding anti-dementor lessons became reality after attending Defense Against the Dark Arts. The whole class had been happy to see Lupin returning, since Snape had subbed due to Lupin being ill in the previous class and having been even more cruel than usual.
Lupin negated their homework requirements from Snape and got them focused back on Hinkypunks, wispy creatures that lived in bogs and lured travelers off their path. When the class ended and everyone was starting to leave, Harry heard Lupin call out, "Wait a moment, Harry. I'd like a word."
Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the Hinkypunks box with a cloth.
"I heard about the match," said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase, "and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"
"No," said Harry. "The tree smashed it to bits. "
Lupin sighed.
"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance. "
"Did you hear about the Dementors too?" said Harry with difficulty.
Lupin looked at him quickly.
"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time. . . furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds. . . I suppose they were the reason you fell?"
"Yes," said Harry. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask burst from him before he could stop himself. "Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just -?"
"It has nothing to do with weakness," said Professor Lupin sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind. "The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have. "
Harry sighed. "That's what Dora said when she wrote to me giving a lot of information about Dementors. I just . . . it's hard to understand why I'm affected so badly and nobody else is."
"Harry, you're not the only one that is badly affected by Dementors," Lupin replied seriously. "You're just the most public one. Trust me, there are others that are affected, and honestly it's the older classes that are more affected. If we went back a few years, you'd have found far more people badly affected by them."
"When they get near me -" Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his throat tight. "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum. "
Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it. There was a moment's silence, then –
"Why did they have to come to the match?" said Harry bitterly.
"They're getting hungry," said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap. "Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up. . . I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement. . . emotions running high. . . it was their idea of a feast. "
"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry muttered. Lupin nodded grimly.
"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheery thought. Most of them go mad within weeks. "
"But Sirius Black escaped from them," Harry said slowly. "He got away . . . "
Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it.
"Yes," he said, straightening up, "Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible. . . Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long. . . "
"You made that Dementor on the train back off," said Harry suddenly, seeing an opening.
"There are - certain defenses one can use," said Lupin. "But there was only one Dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist. "
"The Patronus Charm," Harry said with a nod. "Dora told me. Can you teach me?"
"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry - quite the contrary. . . "
"But if the Dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them, and I can't have Astra killing Dementors, or the Ministry might try and take her away."
Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, "Well. . . all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill. "
**HP**
Dora groaned, hitting the ground, and she heard Kingsley laugh lightly.
"Damn, King," Dora muttered. "You enjoy tossing me about the dueling circle too much."
"You're doing better, Nymph," Kingsley said, and Dora shot a glare at him, which just had him smirking.
"You make me feel like I'm dueling Mad-Eye again," Dora said with a sigh, getting up. "I couldn't beat him either."
"I have been at this a bit longer than you," Kingsley said with a grin, "and I do know quite a bit more magic than you."
"Yeah, yeah, you're an old man," Dora said with a cheeky grin, and Kingsley laughed.
Dora smiled. She loved working for Kingsley. He was a fantastic Auror, a great mentor, a great man, and he had a fantastic sense of humor. It didn't hurt that he was one of the most powerful and skilled Aurors in the department and was the foremost authority on tracking magic in the entire DMLE. He was also quite easy on the eyes, and while she'd never, nor would he, it did make things nice, in her expert opinion.
"And you're a young brat," Kingsley responded snarkily, despite the fact there were only ten years between them.
It was funny to think, but she actually owed her mentorship under Kinglsey to Harry. Granted, she would prefer Harry not have gotten into the events that led to Lockhart's arrest, but her impressing Kingsley at the time, led him to look into her training history, and then he had her transferred to his team. She would have been on Williams's team, and that was something she was glad didn't happen.
"So, how's the kid?" Kingsley asked.
Dora sighed, knowing that they were closing in on a quarterly counseling, so Kingsley was going to start fishing for details on how her personal life was going, what stresses she had, how her projects and goals were coming, how her last few Auror classes were going, and everything else that he felt he needed to broach to make sure she was doing alright. He didn't expect her to open up about everything, but the more she did, the more he could try and help or at least listen to her vent about. She truthfully really did appreciate it, but it wasn't always easy to completely open up to her boss.
"Harry's doing pretty good," Dora said. "His grades are great, and for the most part things are good at school. He's got some very good friends. I don't think he fully treats Sirius Black after him as seriously as he should, but at the same time, he is being careful. He certainly wants it to end. The staff aren't letting him go to Hogsmeade, which is bumming him out."
"I can understand why," Kingsley said with a nod. "Third year's his first time. I'm sure he really wants to go while all his friends are experiencing it for the first time."
"Yep," Dora agreed. "I honestly wasn't completely against the staff refusing my permission until Black broke into Hogwarts. The way I see it, there's no reason to not allow him to go, but they still won't let him."
Kingsley chuckled. "If he's anything like James was, I'm sure he'll find a way."
"And that both scares and excites me," Dora admitted with a grin. "Other than Black, all he's still really worried about is the Ministry"
"Still worried about Astra you mean?" Kingsley clarified.
"Yeah," Dora agreed. "He's had plenty of people defending her, but at the same time, he knows that Malfoy and those like him are trying to get the DRCMC to seize her."
"I think he's going to be ok on that front," Kingsley said. "The Minister has enough problems with the public outcry dealing with the Dementors attacking in the first place. I don't think there's anyone that can convince him to go against Harry and his familiar who defended him, and is a gift from the Lord of the Underworld. Just not worth it. Especially since it opens up a whole legal debate about familiars, one that he wouldn't win anyway."
"That's what I keep telling him," Dora said, "but his faith in the Ministry was a bit shaken this last year when the Ministry both sent him a letter for underage magic, despite him not doing it, and also arrested and sent Hagrid to Azkaban without any evidence or proof."
Kingsley grimaced. "I can see why both of those events would leave a bit of a sour taste in his mouth. It makes the DMLE look incompetent."
"Yeah, our custody hearing this past summer didn't help. I think that's almost as much of a reason for him to request those Patronus Lessons from Lupin," Dora said. "He doesn't want to be weak with Dementors, but he also doesn't want Astra to have to intervene, to risk the DMLE or DRCMC getting involved."
"Makes sense," Kingsley said with a nod. "He gets back this weekend right?"
"Yep," Dora said with a wide smile, knowing she'd see him in two days. "He'll come home on Sunday."
"Dinner at Mad-Eye's for Christmas?" Kingsley asked.
Dora nodded. "Yep, he's really fond of Harry, even if he won't admit it, and Harry likes him. It's good for Mad-Eye to have company, and it's good for us."
Kingsley smiled. "How else is life going?"
Dora shrugged. "It's been nice having a lot of my old school friends back around, so I'm able to see more familiar faces and socialize more, which is good."
"And classes?" Kingsley said.
"I'm well ahead to have my classes completed before I hit my third year mark," Dora said confidently, knowing Kingsley already knew that, but that he wanted to see her confidence. "As for my Transfiguration Mastery? Well, I think I'm on track to have all of the spell work and theory completed to pass the Mastery Exam by next Christmas."
"What about the research portion?" Kingsley asked.
"I'm doing the paper on being a metamorphmagus, like you recommended," Dora said. "Explaining everything i"ve been able to do and how it differs from other metamorphmagus and how I managed to train myself to reach the level of abilities I have. It's coming along, but it's not ready for publishing."
"By next Christmas?" Kingsley asked.
Dora nodded hesitantly. "It should be . . ."
"It should be?" Kingsley asked with a slight frown.
"It will be," Dora said firmly, and Kingsley smiled.
"Good," he said approvingly. "Finances?"
"Much better than they were," Dora admitted with a smile. "The place Harry and I got is certainly more than our last place, but not proportionally the same as the last place compared to my paycheck, so I'm actually putting some galleons into savings each month now that my other lease ended. We're not loaded, but it's not hard to go out and have some fun every now and then anymore."
Kingsley smiled. "That's great to hear, Dora. I'm glad things are getting easier. I remember how rough the first two years as a Trainee were, and I can only imagine trying to care for a younger sibling like you are."
"It was hard at times," Dora admitted. "It helped that Harry could pay for his own schooling, and he never minded that I had to keep our expenses low. It sucked because I wanted to try and make up for how his bloody relatives treated him, but he's wonderful and still tells me that going out to fly and do some of the other stupid window shopping trips we do are better than anything. We still kept those up, even with better finances because he's grown to love them, since they were his first real positive experiences with an actual family."
"He's a good kid," Kingsley remarked, and Dora nodded.
"The best."
"Alright, let's have another duel and I want you to only utilize Transfiguration," Kingsley said, "and then we'll head up to my office and I want you to give me an update brief on the McKenzie Case."
Dora nodded. "Yes, boss."
**HP**
Dora smiled watching Harry come off the train, but that smile faded as she saw that Harry's face looked a mixture of anger beyond belief and betrayal. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny next to him were all shooting him concerned looks, but she could see confusion on Ginny's face, which told her that Ginny could tell something was wrong, but didn't know what.
Astra was trailing behind, her tail drooping, ears down and glancing up at her master, and that was a huge clue to Dora that something was very, very wrong.
"Hey, little brother," Dora greeted brightly, hoping to at least get a small smile from him, but it wasn't there.
He just nodded at her. She glanced at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and the former two shook their heads, while the latter one shrugged.
"Let's get home then," Dora said, as Hermione and the Weasleys all wished Harry a "Merry Christmas!" which he returned politely.
Astra bounded up to her and wagged her tail, and Dora gave her a quick greeting pat before she quickly banished Harry's trunk back to his room at their apartment and then she started moving with Harry following her. It was a quiet trip out of King's Cross before Dora finally side along apparated the two of them back to their apartment.
"What's going on, Harry?" Dora asked, a little anxious.
"Did you tell me everything about Sirius Black?" Harry asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
Dora frowned thoughtfully. "I told you everything I knew. Why?"
"Did you know that he was the one protecting my parents . . . their Secret Keeper, and that he's the one that betrayed them to Voldemort?!" Harry almost shouted out the last part.
Dora felt her own anger rise.
"No, I didn't," she said back with a glare. "Where did you hear that? Who told you that?"
She watched Harry's face falter slightly as he deflated at her words before he shuffled and muttered, "I overheard McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Fudge in Hogsmeade."
Dora's eyes narrowed. If those four had been talking about it, then it was true. She shook her head.
"I didn't know that, Harry, but now that I do, I can see why you're in such a foul mood . . . however, you should have trusted me, and you do know you can't go looking for him right?"
"You know what I hear when Dementors are close," Harry said back lowly, with a slight wince at Dora's rebuke. "Black did that to me. He's the reason I have to listen to mum's last screams, her last pleading words on repeat. IT'S HIS FAULT!"
"It is, and I hope the rotten bastard gets what's coming to him just as much as you do, but you aren't ready to face him!" Dora snapped back. "I'm not losing you to that bastard. I already lost your parents to him. Not you too! My whole family is full of bastards. Black, the Lestranges, the Malfoys. They might be blood, but you're my family, and I'm not losing you to those blood purist assholes! No more!"
She saw Harry's glare still etched on his face before it started to fade. He closed his eyes and took a long slow breath, and finally nodded slowly.
"I promise not to go looking for him, but I won't run if I find him. If I do, I'm going to make him pay."
Dora glared. "That's not exactly what I want to hear, Harry. He killed thirteen bloody people with one curse! Do you really think you're a match for him?"
"Maybe I'm not!" Harry responded angrily, "but I'm not letting that bastard get away if I have a shot at him."
Dora sighed, and she nodded wearily, knowing she would be the same way if the circumstances were reversed, and also knowing that neither one of them was going to change their minds. It was time to back off until cooler heads could prevail . . . if that would ever happen.
"Ok, Harry, just, please be careful," Dora finally said, a hint of pleading in her voice, and Harry nodded. Finally, Dora focused back on what he said. "So, how did you manage to get into Hogsmeade? Last I was tracking, you still weren't allowed to go."
Harry grinned slightly, his normal mood returning, before he started telling her about the Marauder's Map that Fred and George gave her, and how he figured it was the map that she'd heard about.
"I can't believe you actually found a map of Hogwarts that shows you everyone and everything," Dora said in amazement. "I'd heard rumors, but nobody I knew had ever seen it. That's a pretty amazing gift."
"Hermione thinks I should turn it in," Harry muttered.
"The hell with that," Dora said. "That thing's too amazing to give to the Professors, and too powerful. They'd be able to monitor everyone and anytime. That would be awful. You should definitely keep it, but use it responsibly."
Harry nodded and then finally said, "If I see Black, I'll alert a Professor. I swear."
"Good," Dora said with a smile.
**HP**
After everything was out in the open and they'd talked through Harry's problems and Dora's worries, they were able to start enjoying their Christmas break, as they were meant to. Christmas was the following Saturday after Harry returned home, and Dora wasn't able to get the entire week leading up to Christmas off, but she had managed to get Christmas Eve through the New Year off, so starting Monday morning, Harry was back at Mad-Eye's for some time with the old man while Dora mournfully returned to work.
Harry spent his mornings leading up to Christmas restarting joining Tonks for workouts, which he'd kept up while at Hogwarts, and returned to having some more lessons with Mad-Eye, which included the dodging exercises, swordsmanship, and to Harry's happiness, a few practical lessons on simple jinxes and hexes, since Mad-Eye knew the Ministry didn't monitor underage magic while the Hogwarts school year was in progress, which included over holiday breaks. It was everything he needed to prepare for the Tournament after the end of the school year.
This meant that Harry got to work with Mad-Eye on accuracy and speed drills with his wand, both against stagnant and moving targets. Harry had always thought he was pretty good with his wand, and Mad-Eye did agree that for someone his age and experience, he was talented, but it was clear to Harry after the first exercise that there was a long way to go before he'd be able to keep up with someone of Mad-Eye's caliber. Still, he had to admit that possibly reaching that level someday was an exciting goal to set forth.
In the afternoon, Mad-Eye and Harry continued discussions on strategy with occasional games of Chess and then Mad-Eye on the second day, Mad-Eye started them on a different topic for after the strategy discussions.
"So, I'm told Lupin has been covering Dark Creatures primarily in your Defense Class," Mad-Eye said, and Harry nodded. "Good. We're going to start taking that a step forward, if you don't mind, and in particular, I want to focus on Creatures and Beings that fall under your patron god's domain. Have you been reading that tome of yours, Harry?"
Harry nodded eagerly. "Yes, I have Mad-Eye. Mostly, I have been focused on the certain spells I've been working on, but I have read up broadly on all the creatures that fall under Hades's domain."
Mad-Eye nodded approvingly. "Now, the Ministry tends to classify Magical Creatures and Beings based on how intelligent or how dangerous they are, and in some cases, it classifies certain creatures as dark creatures, just like they classify certain magic as dark magic. However, the truth is that other magical beings fall under this classification as do mindless beasts as well as creatures like your mutt, that are rarely seen but are clearly intelligent creatures that follow the will of a master."
Harry grinned as Astra's tail wagged near where she was laying at Harry's feet. She loved terrorizing Mad-Eye, and as much as the grizzled old man called her a mutt, Harry suspected he enjoyed having her around occasionally.
"Dangerous of course does not mean hostile. It just means that you should avoid pissing them off," Mad-Eye said. "Again, Astra would be a good example of that. She's clearly a dangerous creature, but she's not a mindless animal, and everything she does has a reason."
"I've always kind of wondered why other magical beings were classified as creatures instead of their own classifications," Harry admitted.
"Because we purebloods can be stupid, prideful bastards," Mad-Eye said with a grimace. "We like to think we're superior because we've won many of our wars and we consider our type of magic to be the greatest of the magical beings magics, but the truth is that every race has their strengths and weaknesses and our attitudes have ensured that most of them either actively hate us, only grudgingly work with us, or generally avoid us, with few exceptions"
"Like the goblins, right?" Harry asked. "They've never seemed to like me or anyone I've seen in Gringotts when we visit, and all Binns seems to teach is bloody goblin wars."
Mad-Eye smirked. "That's because you could define large portions of our history based on goblin wars. Many magical races have strength, but whereas others have removed themselves from our domains to keep the peace or have grudgingly submitted to some of our rules that are only minor annoyances to them, the goblins have fought back. The little devils are vicious and have powerful magic of their own. Wand magic is arguably stronger in combat, but goblins have a greater understanding of blood magic and runic magic than we'll ever know, and their craftsgoblins create finer items than any human can match, save for some mages. Even then, it's different because mages, as you know, use different magic compared to the average witch or wizard, and their crafts are often with a god or goddesses assistance. Plus, the goblins have their own versions of mages which can match ours. No, it's the goblins' weapons, more than their magic, that allows goblins to match our strength and factor in their dominance in financial matters, and the goblin nation is not one to trifle with. As for liking any of us? For the most part they don't. There are certainly witches and wizards who have goblin friends, but as a whole, goblins don't like us. They like our gold, so they tolerate us."
Harry nodded in understanding.
"Now, let's focus on the creatures or beings you need to know about," Mad-Eye said. "Which Beings fall within your patron's realm?"
Harry thought it out. "Werewolves and Vampires," Harry said, and Mad-Eye nodded approvingly.
"They fall under Nyx and Selene's realms, but both of them fall under Hades, and thus you must consider them. Now, both are considered Beings by the Ministry, but they are both also considered Dark Creatures."
"Snape covered werewolves while he was subbing for Lupin this term," Harry mentioned, and to his surprise he saw Mad-Eye scowl, but he didn't comment, "and Quirrell covered Vampires my first year, so I at least have a few ideas about both of them."
"Good, but you need to know more," Mad Eye said pointedly. "Now, what other creatures fall under Hades's domain?"
"Well," Harry said, trying to think about what he'd read. "Grims, obviously," Harry continued, nodding towards Astra who barked happily, "also moon ravens, a type of horse called a thestral, ghouls, ghosts, poltergeists." Harry frowned thinking more. "Zombies, shades, mummies, cerberuses, chupacabra and banshees. . . I know there are more, but I don't remember anymore off the top of my head."
Mad-Eye nodded. "That's a start, lad, but not only do you need to be able to name every creature or being to be a mage, you also will need to know how to work with, handle, treat or counter each and every one. Some of the creatures that fall in your patron's domain are nasty creatures that you will not want to face unprepared."
Harry nodded seriously.
"So, I'm giving you some homework," Mad-Eye said. "Each night, you need to study one creature, and when you come back, without using any notes, you'll give me a summary of whichever creature you studied. I also want you to continue this at Hogwarts, though I'll change it to one creature a week and you'll send me your summary in a letter."
Harry wanted to groan, but he knew Mad-Eye was trying to help him, and admittedly, while some of what Mad-Eye and he had done over the past summer and now could be considered schooling, it was generally interesting, and Harry rarely felt like Mad-Eye was treating him like a student who didn't know anything. Mad-Eye was effectively always trying to get him to think things through, so often Mad-Eye would ask his opinion and how he would handle something, and if Harry was lacking information, Mad-Eye would provide it in a quick lesson before focusing Harry back on whatever question or task that Mad-Eye had initially set forth.
"What happens if I've covered all the creatures in my book?" Harry asked.
"This summer, we'll see if you truly have learned everything you need to know about the creatures you've sent me," Mad-Eye said. "If you've gotten all the information down, then we'll move on to a new topic, but until you can list each creature and answer my questions about each creature without assistance, we'll keep doing this. Understood?"
Harry nodded, and Mad-Eye cracked a smile.
"Alright lad. Tomorrow you'll brief me on vampires, since you said you've already covered them."
**HP**
The rest of the week leading up to Christmas was enjoyable. After his days with Mad-Eye, Dora would pick him up and she would take him with her to go do something fun, like ice skating or sledding before they'd tag team in the kitchen making dinner and end the night with one of the muggle board games that Dora had gone out and found, thinking they'd be fun, and then they enjoyed decorating the apartment.
Christmas morning, like the year before, Harry was woken up by Dora jumping on him, loudly exclaiming that it was Christmas and it was 'time for him to get his lazy arse out of bed!' Laughing at her exuberance, he quickly followed her out into the living room where they made themselves some hot chocolate before moving over to where the presents were.
"Alright, let's get to the first fun part of Christmas!" Dora exclaimed happily, using her wand to send Harry's pile of presents at him and then levitated her own stack to herself.
Harry chuckled looking at his presents. He smiled, seeing that he'd gotten another Weasley sweater from Mrs. Weasley, which was scarlet with a Gryffindor lion knitted on the front, and she'd also given him a dozen home-baked mince pies, some christmas cake, and a box of nut brittle. He grinned over at Dora as she too opened her own Weasley sweater (Purple) and they both threw them on.
Harry turned back to his gifts, prepared to do like they did the previous year and take turns watching each other open gifts when he noticed a long, thin package lying below his other gifts.
"It can't be," Harry muttered and Dora glanced over and she saw what he was looking at.
"That isn't from me," Dora admitted, and Harry glanced at her in surprise, figuring she was the only one in his life that would consider getting him what looked to be a broomstick. "Open it up," Dora said, with a nod, though he saw her wand already at the ready.
Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. Dora gasped with Harry as they stared at the pristine broomstick now lying in Harry's lap.
It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had seen in Diagon Alley. Its handle glittered as he picked it up. He could feel it vibrating and let go; it hung in midair, unsupported, at exactly the right height for him to mount it. His eyes moved from the golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.
"Bloody hell," Dora said, gazing at it with almost as much adoration as Harry. "Please tell me there's a note."
Harry looked around and shook his head mournfully, and he watched her face fall.
"Dammit," she swore.
"You don't think . . . I mean it couldn't be, could it?" Harry said, thinking logically about where Dora's mind was going, just like Mad-Eye had been trying to teach him to do.
"I don't know, Harry," Dora admitted with a groan. "I don't have anyone in my life that has that type of money, or at least not that type of money that they could buy my little brother a broomstick, especially without claiming it. Unless you've left something out, neither do you."
Harry shook his head.
"As much as I hate to say it," Dora admitted. "The Blacks were extremely wealthy. Stupidly wealthy in fact. Black," she sighed. "Black could have easily afforded to do something like this simply in the hopes of hurting you. It's pennies to him."
"So . . . so what do we do?" Harry asked morosely.
Dora closed her eyes. "We'll have to get the broom checked out. I suspect someone will strip it down to ensure that it's safe."
Harry's shoulders slumped, but he nodded slowly, not happy about that at all, but knowing she was right.
"On the bright side, whether Black jinxed it or not, at the end, you'll have this broomstick," Dora said with an attempt to bring the mood back up and Harry smiled at her and nodded before she used her wand to send the Firebolt out of the way.
Harry and Dora did their best to bring back the previous joy and returned to their gifts.
Dora received clothes from most of her friends, several shirts specifically that had a litany of puns and dad jokes that had both Dora and Harry snorting with amusement. She received some books in defense and transfiguration from her coworkers and DMLE colleagues, and Mad-Eye gifted her and Harry each a set of books on home warding, which covered wards for protection, but also simple wards to keep pests away, help keep places clean, expansion charms, temperature controls, weather protections, and various other wards that could be used to manipulate things in a home. Last for Dora was Harry's gift, which was a new set of ice skates, which Mad-Eye had helped him get after seeing Dora's old, worn down skates.
Harry also received clothes with puns and jokes from some of Dora's closest friends, and they enjoyed laughing at what they'd been given, already committed to having fun wearing them out the following week. Hagrid sent Harry a cake and tin of fudge, Dumbledore gave Harry a pair of thick wool socks, which made Harry laugh since he'd done the same to Dumbledore for two years in a row now, remembering the conversation from Harry's first Christmas in the magical world. Ron sent Harry a pack of chocolate frogs, and Hermione gave Harry a book on international quidditch teams. The twins gave him some prank products, Ginny sent him a hand knitted scarf, and the three chasers gave him yet another round of photos of them, Harry, and even with Wood, the twins, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and they also gave him a book about the history of the Aurors, which included a fair bit of information on Mad-Eye and some his most famous cases and missions, some of which Mad-Eye had told him about, and some of which the prickly old Auror had remained silent. Harry's last gift, from Dora, was a book on famous Shadow Mages in history.
They spent the remainder of the day relaxing and lazing about playing with Astra, who had also been given a set of bones, some nice juicy steaks, and a couple of new toys for Christmas before they went over to Mad-Eye's for dinner.
Dinner was a fairly quiet affair for them, but still a lot of fun, since quiet for Dora is still fairly exuberant to most people, and Harry always enjoyed watching how Dora and Mad-Eye argued and mocked each other.
All in all, Harry enjoyed a nice Christmas with his family. To start his last week of the holidays, with Dora's help, he sacrificed the top row of teeth from the basilisk, which he'd retrieved before the end of the school year, and with Hades' acceptance, Harry's eyes were fixed, making it so he no longer needed glasses.
For the first time since he was five years old, Harry didn't need glasses, and while it felt weird, he really enjoyed the feeling. He also looked forward to how much easier Quidditch and dueling would be without them. He still had a lot of the basilisk to use for whatever he could think of. The glasses idea had actually come from Mad-Eye, but it had opened up his ideas to the possibilities. He still wasn't sure what to use the rest of it for, but at least he knew that he could think much more broadly about it.
**HP**
The last week and change of winter break passed by quicker than Harry would have liked. With Dora being off, Harry expected to not have lessons with Mad-Eye during the days, but to his surprise, Dora kept up lessons at least for the morning, making him do the dodging and flexibility exercises, the workouts with her, and the swordsmanship exercises, and she even joined in, allowing Mad-Eye to observe while she worked with him. In addition, she and Mad-Eye even squeezed in the strategy lessons and his creature brief all before lunch. The lessons were a bit shorter than in a normal full day with Mad-Eye, but no less intense. Still, Harry enjoyed getting to experience real training without his glasses, since he could only do so much by himself at Hogwarts.
The afternoons and evenings were where the fun was as he and Dora went ice skating, sledding, and flying. They had fun wandering around different parts of London and went to a few early afternoon movies. It was what he had been looking forward to, and it was as great as he figured it would be.
Honestly, the mornings working with Mad-Eye and Dora were nice too, though he was curious about why they were still doing them, and so on the third day, he finally asked her.
She smirked at him. "What? Tired of Mad-Eye and I cursing you around his backyard?"
Harry rolled his eyes and leveled a look at her and she chuckled.
"Lots of reasons, Harry," Dora said with a shrug. "First, the mobility and flexibility drills are good for your body, and they may help you stay alive in a bad situation, which with Black around, could be at any moment. Second, your swordsmanship is important. Sure, the Shadow Mage deadline is a ways away, but the longer we wait, the more that deadline will loom closer and closer. That's the same reason why Mad-Eye added your creatures briefs. Besides, Mad-Eye is always looking ahead. He knows that there's probably between twenty and thirty creatures you need to learn about, and the quicker you learn them, the quicker you can move on to something else with him. Plus, we both are rather interested in watching you compete in the Tournament this next summer, both with a wand and with a sword."
"What about the strategy lessons?" Harry asked, seeing the point for the first three.
While the two deadlines for being a Mage were a ways away, they still were slowly coming up, and he knew some of what he had to accomplish was not easy. Even with the elemental magic, he'd made major leaps, but he was fast approaching the most complicated and powerful shadow spells, and he was a bit worried that he'd be able to accomplish all of it by the end of the next school year.
"What do you think you've learned in those lessons, Harry?" Dora asked with a smile.
Harry frowned thoughtfully. "I guess how to look forward a bit and analyze problems. We've also talked about battle strategy and talked about how armies and units used to organize themselves for battles, which I guess helped me see how balancing certain capabilities or types of people are important, but also how a leader can make or break an organization."
Dora nodded approvingly. "What you didn't know is that Mad-Eye has been taking you through the Best Laid Plans Course that Aurors take, which at the base level, teaches you how to think critically. He wanted to help you figure out how to analyze a problem and look at it logically, generate solutions, and then evaluate those solutions to determine what best to do, and I've already noticed how those lessons have changed you."
Harry's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"
Dora nodded. "Granted, you're a year older and that helps, but I noticed you figured out what I was thinking when you opened up that Firebolt. A year ago, I think you would have just been ready to go flying and not have even thought about who might have sent it. I would have had to point out that you couldn't keep it until we knew it was safe. That's just the most recent example, but I can tell that you stop and think a bit more than I think you used to. Mad-Eye's taught you how to problem solve, and while," Dora grinned sheepishly, "that might make you even more independent, since you will back your actions with a thought process, it still makes you a more capable person, and we both believed that it would help you, both in life and in staying safe."
Dora smiled at Harry's perplexed look and continued.
"It certainly helped me in Auror Training, but I wished that we'd had a critical thinking and problem solving class in Hogwarts. Besides, as you pointed out, Mad-Eye's help teaching you how to look two or three moves ahead in Chess, which admittedly will help your Chess game a bit, but really is more important in helping your problem solving, deduction skills, and with solution generation since you can start thinking about the second, third, and even fourth order effects to your actions or the actions you are thinking of taking."
"I guess I never looked at it that way," Harry muttered. "I just thought we were studying military history and strategy games, mainly because Mad-Eye likes that stuff and he thinks I should be an Auror."
Dora snorted. "Those reasons are all accurate as well, but I don't particularly care whether you'd be able to plan a raid as an Auror or lead a formation into battle at the end of that course with Mad-Eye. Problem solving and critical thinking can help you at Hogwarts, and can help you in every career field you might decide to go into."
Harry grinned, but nodded. "I guess that makes sense."
Dora nodded. "I hope you're not too upset about taking some classes during your break."
Harry shook his head. "No, I actually enjoy them, and since you've been coming it's been a great way for us to spend our mornings, and it's been a great holiday so far."
Dora beamed. "I'm glad you think so. I guess I'll keep up with the afternoon plans for the rest of our week."