On Monday, August 1st, 1994, Sirius began the process of evaluating Harry's magic.
Sirius, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny went into the living room to test the strength of Harry's magic.
"Harry, " said Sirius seriously, "I'm going to be putting you through some tests alongside Hermione and Ginny to see if your magic is as strong as it should be. Having two others perform the exact same tasks as you will allow me to compare your magical strength with theirs. If your magic is noticeably weaker than theirs that will tell me that something is amiss. Wands out."
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all dug their right hands into their right hand pockets and retrieved their wands.
"Now, " explained Sirius, "I'm going to have each of you perform the same spell and have chosen a spell that I know all three of you can perform and will provide an easy evaluation as to whether there is any significant difference between the magical strength of the three of you. This is to test your actual magical strength."
"What factors can affect magical strength?' inquired Harry.
"Some of it is natural, some of it comes with training, and, in some cases, certain witches and wizards actually have blocks put on their magic because it is TOO strong. This can only be done with the permission of the witch or wizard in question or his parents or guardians. It is against wizarding law to place magical blocks on any witch or wizard without either his or her permission or his or her parents' permission, " said Sirius matter of factly, "I'm concerned about the possibility Dumbledore may have put illegal blocks on your magic just like he did your vision. "
"So what spell are we doing then?" asked Harry,
In response, Sirius dug his left hand into his left hand pocket and ejected three plain square blocks. Sirius then took the three blocks over to the nearest table and set them down.
"Harry, Hermione, Ginny, please come stand by these blocks, " instructed Sirius.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny did as they were told as each of them stood over one of the three wooden blocks.
"I want each of you to perform the spell Wingardium Leviosa on your blocks, " said Sirius clearly, "How high each of the blocks actually goes will inform me about your magical strength. "
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all pointed their wands at their blocks and cried "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Next nanosecond, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all saw their blocks start to rise.
To Sirius's relief, all three of the blocks soared and soared towards the ceiling.
Hermione's block actually hit the ceiling before coming back down. Harry's and Ginny's didn't quite reach the ceiling, but all the same, Sirius was pleased with what he saw.
"While not quite as strong as Hermione's, your magic is clearly strong enough, " said a relieved sounding Sirius, "There are clearly no blocks on your magical strength, few witches and wizards can match Hermione's magical prowess. I just needed to make sure there was no block on your actual magical strength, Harry. "
"That's one less thing we have to worry about, " said Harry cheerfully, "I know Hermione is the best student in my year, but Ginny, what kind of student are you?"
"I'm one the of the best students in my year but I'm no Hermione, " smirked Ginny, "I can match her in Charms, which is my best subject, and in Defense Against the Dark Arts. But Hermione clearly beats me in Herbology and Transfiguration, though I'm still a good student in those areas. Where Hermione really blows me out of the water is in Potions, which is usually my worst subject, though I got much better at it when Brew replaced Snape."
"So, did I, " said Harry brightly, "I'm glad Lupin brought both Brew and Protect back for this year."
"I fully expect them to earn their positions permanently, " said Hermione confidently, "Though I still agree with Lupin's decision to only extend them for this year and then evaluate them after a full year."
"So, Sirius, where do we go from here?" asked Harry.
"Knowing that you have your full magical potential available to you makes me feel good going forward, " said Sirius clearly, "I'm going to be training you up on certain kinds of magic over the next week. Now, Lupin's told me your ability to fight boggarts and produce Patronuses is strong. Hermione, Ginny, do either of you know how to produce a Patronus?"
"No, " admitted Hermione and Ginny together.
"Harry, " said Sirius crisply, "I would like you to teach Hermione and Ginny how to produce a Patronus."
"So, " said Harry in a businesslike voice, "The incantation to produce a Patronus is Expecto Patronum! But the incantation is not enough. In order to produce a Corpreal Patronus, you must focus very clearly in your mind on an immensely powerful and incredibly happy memory. If you can produce a Patronus, it acts as something of a shield against creatures such as lethifolds and dementors. A corpreal Patronus is defined as a Patronus that has a clearly defined form beyond just smoke or vapor."
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny raised their wands at the exact same nanosecond and cried "Expecto Patronum!" together.
The usual silver stag emerged from Harry's wand. Hermione and Ginny, meanwhile, were only able to make weak Patronuses consisting of nothing but silver vapor.
"Hermione, Ginny, " said Harry patiently, "There are two possible reasons your spells weren't strong enough to manufacture Corpreal Patronuses. The first is that you weren't locked in enough. You have to be really focused in on your happy and powerful memory to elicit a Corpreal Patronus. The other possibility is that the memories you chose weren't powerful enough. You need to think in terms of the best moments of your lives."
So, Hermione and Ginny redoubled their focus and raised their wands again.
"Expecto Patronum!" cried Hermione and Ginny in unison.
This time, a silver otter emerged from Hermione's wand and a silver horse emerged from Ginny's wand.
"Well done, " said Harry approvingly.
"I didn't choose a powerful enough memory the first time, " admitted Ginny.
"I did, but was only thinking of it loosely, " acknowledged Hermione, "I was more locked in this time."
"What memories did you choose?" asked Sirius curiously.
"Don't ask them that, Sirius " said Harry sharply, "Respect their privacy. It is common for memories required to produce Patronuses to be deeply personal."
"Thank you, Harry, " said Ginny gratefully, "But I'm willing to share."
"It has to be your choice, " said Harry firmly, "Not something that is forced on you."
"I was locked in on the memory of the night Colin and I reconciled in order to make my Patronus, " revealed Ginny.
"That would be a powerful happy memory for you, Ginny, " said Harry matter of factly, "Were you always optimistic that you and Colin would become friends again?"
"I was cautiously optimistic that Colin and I would become friends again, " said Ginny slowly, "I didn't take it for granted that Colin and I would one day reconcile but I was cautiously optimistic about the prospect. I knew Colin was going through an extremely difficult time emotionally and I sensed in my heart of hearts that Colin still saw me as his friend deep down inside. I'll never blame Colin for how he acted towards me for much of the 1993-1994 school year. Sometimes you just have to accept that people act a certain way when they're very emotional and forgive them for it. But I don't know how to describe my emotions of the night Colin and I reconciled."
"As for me, " interjected Hermione, "I was thinking of Halloween 1991 when I became friends with you, Harry. I hadn't made any friends at Hogwarts before that night and had feared that I never would."
"I was thinking about the first time I met you, Sirius, " said Harry clearly, "To learn that I had a godfather and then be able to meet him. That was something that hit me deep inside in a great way."
"If I were to need to produce a Patronus, " piped up Sirius, "I would focus on the day I met James and Remus on the Hogwarts Express."
"So, " realized Ginny, "All of us chose memories related to our relationships with other people we are close with."
"Can't get more powerful than that, " said Harry confidently, "And, Sirius, if I may say so, if my mom and dad were alive today, they would be very proud of how you have fulfilled and are fulfilling your duty as godfather.'
"T-that is the ultimate compliment, Harry, " choked up Sirius.
"You proved early on that you truly care about me as a person, " said Harry sincerely, "As soon as I moved in with you, you quickly got me an eye exam, a dental appointment, and a doctor's appointment. You saw to it that I got new clothes. You've kept me well fed. You've helped me become a better person and make new friends into the process by showing me how wrong my Anti Slytherin Biases were. And now you're training me in magic. "
"You did a great job teaching Hermione and Ginny Patronuses, " Sirius told Harry proudly, "I think we can call it a day for magic. I'll let you have some friend time with Hermione and Ginny in the afternoon. Tomorrow I'm going to be teaching you about Offensive Magic. You hear about Defensive Magic much more frequently, but sometimes it's more prudent to attack first."
"That should be interesting, " said Harry excitedly, "It sounds like you'll be teaching us certain forms of magic not found in Hogwarts curriculum."
"That's right, " confirmed Sirius, "I want you to have the broadest arsenal of magic possible."
"Smart thinking, Sirius, " said Hermione approvingly.
"The more you know, the better, " agreed Ginny, "Sirius, you have the right approach."
"I look forward to seeing what you teach us tomorrow, Sirius, " said Harry eagerly.
"While this house doesn't have windows so that I may teach and train you in magic without exposing any use of underage magic, " explained Sirius, "You can go outside. There are frisbees, hula hoops, and kites in the toy room if you're interested."
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny decided to play with a hot pink hula hoop. They went outside onto the backyard lawn. Two of them would hold up the hula hoop for the other to jump through. They took turns being the jumper and had a great time. They purposefully did NOT make a competition out of it but just had fun jumping.
Sirius watched on happily, savoring the purity of just watching Harry have fun with his two BFFs.
Once Harry, Hermione, and Ginny got burnt out on the hula hoop, they got a lime green frisbee and had fun throwing it to each other.
By the end of the afternoon, a satisfied Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were all smiling as they headed back inside.
In spite of everything, they could still be teenagers and have fun with their friends.