Harry was on the floor again, panting.
Moody was though.
"Get up lad, let's go again!" Snarled the old man.
"One second!" he begged while trying to recatch his breath and calm his pulse. They had been fighting for more than two hours, with Moddy winning most of their fights. Harry had managed to inflight some damage, but that was more due to his sudden bursts of power than his skill and precision. On that field, Moody was miles ahead of him. The number of spells the older man knew was incredible, with almost every single one looking like a new one. He also cast everything non-verbal and fast as a python mid-hunt.
Lucky he was available to share those spells and tactics with Harry, and he was noticing improvements throughout all the areas of combat magic.
While Salazar was an incredible teacher, the Founder had not been a fighter by heart, so his knowledge, while vast, was more theoretical than anything. Moody, on the other hand, had spent decades fighting on the front lines, taking and inflicting pain and spreading death among the ranks of death eaters and dark wizards.
He would often correct Harry's position, posture, and choices during a fight. The man had the talent to review recent events on his mind and was able to give small but valuable details and suggestions. Harry listened to all of those carefully, mentally logging them and starting to notice he had his fighting style.
Getting up once again and mentally preparing himself for another round, he noticed the older man smiling in his direction, a sadistic light in his eyes.
"Already done for today?" he asked, with a mocking expression.
Harry knew he has been made fun of and wouldn't do him any good to show his weak side.
"I can do this all day!" he blurted out, remembering an iconic answer of a character from one of his cousin's comic books.
He launched himself to the attack, spewing out spell chain after spell chain. A few minutes later he found himself on the ground again, with a few new bruises and two new cuts on his left leg. Walking was becoming rather painful, and dodging spells at the speed he was required was borderline impossible.
This was the fourth time this week he would end up his training session under the care of Madam Pomfrey, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
Harry winced in pain as he got up, and he saw the look on Moody's face changing from amusement to worry.
"You all right, Lad?" he asked.
"Will make it, but I think we are done here, for now."
"All day, you said?" A small chuckle leaving his lips. "C'mon, I'll take you to Poppy."
They left the Room of Requirement together; a place Moody had been unaware of until Harry had suggested it as a place for their training. The former Auror was fascinated with the room and the possibilities that it offered and had shown some disappointment for not knowing about it during his student years.
"What have you been doing to the poor kid, Alastor? It's what? The third or fourth time this week?" She asked, an angry look on her face. "And you…" the stern look turned to Harry. "What are you trying to accomplish here, getting injured every day? You know eventually, it will start to become a tool on your body."
"I just do what I have to." It was the answer he always gave to her incessant nagging about his physical condition.
She just sighed and started her healing spells.
Harry woke up in the chamber, feeling every muscle on his body in pain.
While no exterior damage was noticeable due to madam Pomfrey's excellent care, his insides protested at every step.
He quickly downed a pepper-me-up potion from the stock his trusted Elf kept full. He wondered where Dobby found the potions if he stole or bought them, but as the elf had never asked him for money, he assumed it was the first. It wasn't a very comfortable thought, seeing that he was rich beyond most people's dreams, but it wasn't the main concern for him. If the topic came up with Dobby, he would ask.
After his morning exercises, he went to the Lake to meet with Fleur and Luna, which apparently was living on the Beauxbatons carriage semi-permanently.
"Girls, how are you on this lovely day?" He asked at the sight of the two blonds.
"Hello, Harry!" Said Luna, before jumping to his arms and giving him a tight hug. He held the smaller girl for a brief second before turning to the second blond, a tall and stunning Veela. She approached him and gave him a small brush on the lips, causing his entire body to flame on, as usual.
"Harry." She purred in his direction, a smile-enhancing her beauty even more.
"Dobby is waiting." He told them, smiling back at his girlfriend.
Together, they made their way to Luna's favorite place in Hogwarts, a small hill by the Lake, and found a picnic towel already placed there, with a basket that smelled incredibly.
Lunching together at that place on Sundays was becoming a tradition for the three of them, and sometimes they even had one or two extra guesses.
After they ate all the delicious food that Dobby had provided, they watched as Luna went to the lakeside to feed a few of the sea creatures that lived there, giving them some privacy. He wasn't sure if it was intuition from the young girl or if Fleur instructed her to do so, but he was thankful either way. That time alone with Fleur was one of the best moments in his week, and he wouldn't trade it for anything else.
After what felt just a few seconds of no talking, they broke apart trying to regain their breath.
After a few minutes of small mindless talk, the subject eventually turned to the third task, looming just a few weeks away.
They had studied solutions together, and after finding out the two obvious ones, Gillyweed and the Bubblehead Charm, harry had asked Dobby to find him enough of the Sea Plant to last a few days underwater, sharing it with Fleur. At the same time, they had practiced the charm to perfection, being able to cast it nearly mindlessly.
But Harry wasn't just worried about surviving the tasks, we wanted to win. And he was going for the style points. He was keeping his plans a secret, something that caused Fleur a lot of displeasure.
"You still won't tell me what you have stored for the task?" She asked, her big blue eyes almost making his determination melt away.
"I won't let you copy me; You know it." He answered.
"But Babe… I want to know!" she persisted.
Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Babe?" it was the first time she'd called him that.
"You don't like it?" Asked Fleur, with a hint of worry in her voice.
"it´s not that, you just caught me by surprise" a feeling of warmth spread through his body, the closeness of their relationship being a new feeling. He smiled.
"I can call you that as much as you want then… If you tell me what you have planned for the task!"
Harry laughed hard, knowing she would continue to bug him with the subject. Trying to escape her questioning, he pulled her against him again.
He was done talking.
Sirius sat across a bar table, on the other side a man he once considered one of his best friends. But more than thirteen years had gone by, and things had changed.
Remus Lupin looked him in the eyes, unsure if he was having Firewhiskey with a friend or a foe.
"Sirius, I…" he tried to start but was immediately cut out.
"Where were you?"
"You have to understand…" He tried once again.
"Understand what?" his voice rose. "Understand how you abandoned Harry? Left him to be abused for years? Not even once checked on him?"
"You know with my condition…"
"I don't give a rat's ass about your condition. It's James and Lily's son that we are talking about. And you allowed him to be used as a slave for more than a decade. There's no justification for what you did!"
"Dumbledore assured me he was fine! I trusted Dumbledore!" it was his last line of defense, but Remus knew it wouldn't get him far.
"Dumbledore is an old lunatic that allowed Harry to be abused for over a decade. The only reason I didn't kill him immediately for what he did is the fact that he can still be useful to Harry. Buy him time to grow. You should have known better, you trustful idiot."
"How can you say such things?" Shouted Remus, his expression a mist of emotions. "Yes, Dumbledore made a mistake. But that can happen to anyone. He's still a great man, a powerful wizard, and the leader of the Light Side."
Sirius sighed. His friend was still clinging to his loyalty to the headmaster, unable to see the real man behind the façade.
"Remus, you are my oldest friend alive. I love you like if you were my blood, but you're blind by Dumbledore's manipulations, and I can't trust." He rubbed his hands through his face, saddened by what he was about to do. "Regarding your request, my answer is no. I won't allow it."
"I love Harry as much as you do Sirius, just like I loved James and Lily. You can't keep me away from him.
"I'm sorry Remus. But it's not even my choice. Harry told me he didn't want to meet anyone even remotely close to Dumbledore. Maybe one day, if you decide to open your eyes, we can speak of this again."
Having said that, Sirius slowly got up from his chair and made his way to the disapparate point in Diagonal, leaving a stunned Remus sipping on his glass with very little enthusiasm for the delicious drink.
Harry sat on the Great Hall of Hogwarts, surrounded by his friends and girlfriends. Daphne sat on his left and Fleur on his right, with Luna pretty close to the French girl, a shadow of her newly found best friend. The rest of Harry's friends sat in front of the four, and all six were happily talking.
It was still a little disconcerting to Harry how things had so easily fallen into place, and both the Slytherin and the Beauxbaton seemed to be friendly. Not that he was complaining, of course, he chuckled internally.
"Mister Potter, could I please have a word with you in private?" a soft feminine voice said, making Harry almost fall from his bench in surprise.
He turned around to see a small roundish shape, covered by waves and waves of red hair.
"Miss Bones," he replied in the same formal tone, even though they had been on speaking terms for years. "How can I help you? And please, you know you can call me Harry."
That earned him a laugh from the small girl.
"Harry… Can we speak in private, please? House business."
He quickly got up, obliging to her wishes.
"Of course."
Both teens made their way to the hall, which was still empty, as dinner was still going in full force.
"What did you wanted to talk about, Susan?" He asked, after silently casting a couple of privacy spells.
"So, I had an interesting conversation with my aunt, about how a certain trial and exoneration was possible." Seeing him tense up, she quickly added "The secret is safe with me, I promise you."
"All right, I'm trusting you because I trust your aunt. But be aware," his tone was now low and icy. "I have a very hard time trusting people. And when that trust is broken, is nearly impossible to get it back. Do you understand me?"
The girl shivered in fear as he spoke, noticing his eyes turning greener and the shape of flames flaring with the color.
"I understand. " She shivered again. "You don't have to worry. But the reason I asked to speak with you, is that I would like us to be friends."
That caught harry by surprise, his threatening demeanor evaporating instantly.
"You want to be friends?" he asked.
"Yes. House Potter and House Bones have always been amicable, and so have we. You seem an interesting person to be around, and I feel that if you found me unpleasant, I would know by now. I don't see why not."
Harry was making calculations in his mind.
"I see. And I assume Hannah would be joining us as well?" Harry remembered the two girls being inseparable in his first three years.
"I don't think so. I understand you've had other things to focus on this year, but we haven't spoken since the end of the summer."
"I'm sorry to bring that up, I knew she was your best friend," He said, feeling bad. She gave him a weak smile. "if you want to tell me what happened… People say I'm a good listener." He gave her a soft smile.
"I think I would rather keep this private for now, if you don't mind."
"Of course. And feel free to sit with us at meals. Your challenge now is to win over the rest of the group!" They both laughed and made their way to the Slytherin table to join the rest of his friends.
Hundreds of miles away, deep in the heart of the British Island, a baby-like shape yelled.
"AVADA KEDAVRA".
A body fell to the floor, and a sad smile graced the deformed baby's lips. He hated killing his toys, contrary to popular belief because that meant that the fun was over.
'Another useless waste of magic.' He thought to himself. It was the fifth Mudblood he questioned in the last month, and not one had been able to give him any new information. Wormtail had disappeared in one of his contact missions with Crouch, and then the news of Black's trial had come in the papers. He knew that he had lost a servant.
Voldemort hadn't lost even one second mourning his fallen follower, the lives of most who served him were indifferent to him, but it was a hard blow on his plans. Wormtail might have been a coward but had his uses. His plan to use the man as a sacrifice for his return already turned to ashes.
He was unsure about Crouch if he was even alive, but with no way to confirm it, and not wanting to risk the last he was sure he had, the Dark Lord would have to trust the man.
He turned to his last helper; a small witch that had been turned to his side some months before by Wormtail. 'At least the man left someone before getting killed' he thought.
"My dear, I have some new orders for you." He told her, softly.
The woman jumped to her knees at the voice of her master.
"Anything…"
AN: So, I'm back. Sorry for the long delay between chapters, but I had to make a stop to focus on some personal matters. At the same time, as this story gets bigger and bigger, it becomes harder to write and keep track of the continuity. To avoid breaking it, I have to constantly keep going back, and that takes a lot of time. Be patient with me, we still have a lot of road ahead of us.
I'll see you again shortly.
And, as always, thank you for the comments and the reviews.