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As Harry finished the letter he leaned back and stretched. With a contented sigh, he read through the letter one last time, his smile growing with each sentence, he could not help but feel a profound sense of happiness knowing that soon Sirius would be back in the country, soon he would have the chance to make things right with him.
Realizing he was quite happy with the letter, he made his way up to his dormitory. As he sat on the edge of the bed, he slipped the letter into his trunk, hiding it among his old socks … smiling at the thought of Sirius laughing if he smelled the letter.
As Harry prepared for bed he noticed that he could already hear Ron's snoring coming from his bed, although he was not able to hear anything from Neville's bed.
"Hey Neville, are you ok?"
Several seconds went by with no sound and just as Harry was about to decide that maybe for the first time since their first year Neville had managed to sleep without snoring, Neville tentatively replied, "Ummm … ya Harry, I'm … fine."
"Well … if you ever want to talk, just let me know. That class today was intense. I know seeing Moody demonstrate the spell that killed my parents …" Harry paused, "Well seeing it was rough … if you ever need to talk … about anything … just let me know."
Once again the quiet lengthened to the point where Harry wondered if Neville had fallen asleep.
However eventually he heard quiet sobs, as if someone was crying into a pillow, and a whispered reply.
"Thanks Harry … thanks …"
Harry woke the next morning feeling unusually refreshed and relaxed. The morning sun was streaming through the wondow, casting a warm glow on the four-poster bed he had come to call his own.
Stretching his arms, Harry glanced around before noticing the old wooden truck at the foot of his bed. The sight of the trunk reminded Harry of his plans before class that day and brought a smile to his face.
With a quick motion, Harry reached for his glasses on his nightstand, putting them in. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and practically jumped out of bed before grabbing the letter.
Quickly glancing around the room he noticed all his roommates were still asleep, this caused Harry to smile confirming that he would probably have enough time to make it up to the Owlery and down to the Great Hall before he missed out on breakfast.
As Harry ran through the common room he waved quickly to Angelina and Alicia who were sitting in the corner chatting, but he was out the portrait and running down the hallway before he saw whether they responded.
As Harry sprinted up the winding stairs to the Owlery, he felt his heart pounding with excitement that his godfather was going to be in the area soon. He knew he would never be able to apologize for getting him killed but he would give anything for the thought of being able to spend time with the man who had called his father his best friend, the man who had gone to Azkaban to try to avenge the betrayal of his parents, the man who had almost died in his previous year just to make sure he was alright … As Harry rounded the spiral near the top of the staircase deep in thought he nearly collided with a familiar individual from his past, Ravenclaw robes flowing gracefully as she elegantly pivoted to avoid being run over by Harry.
"Oh, hi, Harry. In a little bit of a rush this morning?" Cho Chang asked.
Running into her in this unexpected environment caused Harry to stumble, nearly tripping over his feet. "…Hey Cho, morning. Ya … wanted to get a letter sent off before breakfast …" he stumbled out.
She smiled understandingly, " I just sent a letter off to my parents, are you writing to yours …" Her smile faded as she remembered who she was talking to. " … to your … family?"
Appreciating the attempted recovery, Harry nodded, "Something like that."
Cho looked at the ground embarrassed, before looking up at Harry and in an attempt to change the conversation she blurted out, "It's a shame about Quidditch this year, isn't it?"
Harry smiled at her, "Yeah it really is, but I am pretty sure it will be a pretty exciting year."
Before Cho had the opportunity to respond Harry continued on, "Sorry Cho, I'd love to catch up but I really want to get this sent off before I end up missing breakfast or Ron eats all the food."
With that he turned and continued heading up the last couple of flights to the Owlery, leaving a surprised looking Cho on the stairs watching as the Boy Who Lived disappeared up the staircase.
Upon reaching the Owlery, Harry was greeted by a cacophony of hoots, screeches, and flapping wings. Owls of various colors and plumage perched on wooden beams and stone ledges, each awaiting their next assignment.
Harry spotted his loyal snowy owl, in her favorite corned. Her white feathers gleamed in the soft, diffused morning light that filtered through the windows. She hooted softly when she noticed him approaching.
"Hey, girl," Harry whispered, reaching out to stroke her feathers, "Hope you had a good sleep and you are rested." Hedwig nipped affectionately at his fingers seeming to signify her readiness for her impending delivery and he couldn't help but smile.
With great care, Harry attached his letter for Sirius to her leg, ensuring it was secure. He leaned in and whispered instructions to his faithful companion. "Take this to Sirius, okay? And be safe!"
Hedwig blinked her large, intelligent eyes and nuzzled harry's hand before taking off into the air, disappearing out of the Owlery through an open window.
Watching her sore off into the morning sun, Harry could not help but feel an immense sense of happiness knowing that the two of them were alright and he would soon be reunited with Sirius.
Seeing Hedwig disappear over the horizon Harry turned and descended down the stairs heading to the Great Hall, hoping that Ron had indeed not finished all the food before he arrived.
"Today in class, I will be putting you under the Imperius Curse, to show you how it feels and see how well … if at all … you can resist its effects." 'Moody' growled from the front of the room.
And just like that all the happiness that Harry had been feeling from earlier in the morning evaporated along with all the sound coming from his classmates.
Hermione's hand immediately shot up, "But Professor you can't do that … it's illegal. You'd be put into Azkaban for that."
'Moody' let out a gruff laugh from the front, "The Ministry should probably spend more time making sure that those in Azkaban can't actually explain rather than try to control what get taught at school. Besides it's important for you all to see what you are up against."
As Hermione's hand lowered she looked around at her friends hoping for support, however Ron was too excited by the prospect of anything 'Moody' could teach them and while Harry detested the idea of Barty Crouch Junior having total control over him or any of his classmates, he could at least grudgingly see the merit in the idea of having the students get used to the feeling of the curse. Certainly there may be a significant proportion of his classmates who never had the ability to throw off the curse at least they would know what it actually felt like if they ever had it used on them.
After finishing glaring at Hermione, 'Moody' walked back to the center of the class and looked out on all the students who were staring up at him.
"This is an incredibly tough spell to fight off, usually it requires plenty of practice and a strong will. That being said are there any volunteers for who wants to go first."
Silence again enveloped the classroom, broken only by the quiet confident voice of Harry, as he raised his hand, "I'll go first, Professor."
'Moody' laughed and with a slightly sick smile said, "Thank you Mr. Potter lets welcome you up to the front."
As Harry walked down the aisle and made his way to the front of the classroom he felt the eyes of the rest of the students on him.
Facing the class he addressed them "Ok it is pretty simple, I will cast the spell on Mr. Potter and he will attempt to beat it."
Without any further preamble, Moody spun on the spot and raised his wand directly at Harry and shouted "Imperio."
Harry felt the adrenalin, that had spiked when the man he knew to be Barty Crouch Junior leveled a wand at him, quickly faded and the familiar floating, relaxed feeling take over for a second before Harry willed the sensation to go away. As Harry was willing away the sensation, he heard Moody's voice, muted as if coming from a far distance, "I want you to run in a circle waving your hands above your head."
Harry glanced directly at Moody, not moving.
"I want you to run in a circle waving your hands above your head." he repeated, more forcefully.
Harry continued starring at 'Moody' and silently mouthed "No."
This caused 'Moody" to take a surprised step backwards as his magical eye swung towards Harry.
"Imperio." Moody once more called out, "I want you to run in a circle waving your hands above your head."
This time Harry sat down on the edge of the Professor's desk and loud enough for the class to hear repeated his previous response.
"No."
This caused a bunch of nervous laughter from all of the students in the class who had a magical upbringing who knew just how powerful the Imperius Curse was. However, all eyes were on Professor Moody waiting to see how he would respond.
The starring match between 'Moody' and Harry felt like hours however in reality only lasted several seconds and was eventually broken by the Professor who laughed.
"Well it is clear why the Dark Lord chose to go after you. Well done Mr. Potter. 5 points to Gryffindor." Walking up close to Harry and in a low voice he growled out. "Don't let this go to your head boy, there are others out there you would not stand a second against."
Seeing that he was dismissed he proceeded to head back to his desk as 'Moody called up the next student.
As he got back to his desk Ron immediately leaned over.
"Harry! How did you do that. My dad says the Imperius Curse is almost impossible to throw off."
"Oh … I don't know Ron. I just decided I did not want to do what he was telling me to do. Under the curse it feels like your internal voice is quieted and you just do what you are told."
Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, before Ron replied, "Really that's it? Maybe dad was exaggerating a bit, doesn't seem too hard …"
"Weasley you are up next, if you don't think it's too hard perhaps you would like to demonstrate to the class your resolve." 'Moody growled from the front of the room.
Ron looked guiltily at their Professor before standing up and walking to the front of the classroom.
Hermione leaned in, "Is that all there was to it Harry, how did you actually do it? When Professor Moody brought up the unforgiveables in class I made sure to spend some time reading about them and from what I read about the Imperius Curse …"
Hermione's sentence was broken as the class burst into laughter as Ron was doing a remarkable imitation of a ballet performance in the front of the room.
Hermione smirked slightly as she looked back to Harry. "From what I read, even if you are expecting the curse it is apparently remarkable difficult to throw off. Even vetran aurors struggle with fully throwing it off, much less have complete resistance."
Harry looked at Hermione in surprise, not surprised that she had done additional reading but by the fact that resistance to the Imperius Curse was so rare.
"I was serious Hermione, I could hear what 'Moody' was saying and my body wanted to act on what he was saying. It honestly felt like the little voice inside your head that questions decisions had been muted but after a second I found that voice and just embraced it. Even though I did want to listen to 'Moody' I knew the sound of my own voice and chose to fight what I was being told to do."
Hermione looked at him thoughtfully, "Hmmm, that sounds a little different than what was described as the best method by aurors as an attempt to lessen the efficacy of the curse …"
Hermione looked from Harry up to Ron who was just bowing, having finished his impromptu ballet performance, and then back to Harry before grudgingly finishing her thought, "Although … it did seem to work for you …"
With that she seemed to settle into her seat, deep in thought, not even acknowledging when Ron came back.
"Bollocks Harry, 'just decide to not do what was being told'," Ron scoffed as he looked at his friend. "As soon as Moody cast the curse I had no desire to do anything. And then when he told me to perform a ballet concert it was the only idea I could hold in my head, I did not even realize it was not really my idea."
Harry shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sorry Ron, I am serious that's all I did."
Ron shook his head, "Well just it's just stupid that I ended up looking like a prancing fool up there … well at least no one else has seemed to be able to resist it either. Maybe you are just …"
"Granger you are next."
Hermione nervously glanced at Harry before heading up to the front of the class.
As 'Moody' cast the curse, Harry leaned forward and starred at Hermione as she was instructed to do deep squats in a circle at the front of the class. Under his breath Harry was mumbling "Just say no Hermione, just say no."
As he watched on with the rest of the class, it seemed that Hermione did not respond to the curse and just as Harry was about to smile he watched as she performed her first squat. Harry watched as Hermione kept turning around performing the squats with a dreamy expression on her face. However, as she completed her rotation and facing in the direction of the class it appreared that her face lost a little bit of the dreamy quality and her legs locked up for a second before starting to bend before locking up again. Eventually her body could not compensate for the conflicting posture and she ended up falling forward onto the ground.
Seeing this Harry jumped up from his seat as 'Moody' clapped his hands.
"Congrats, Ms. Granger. Class that is what it looks like when your body is actually fighting the curse. Mr. Potter might have been able to completely resist the curse but for most witches and wizards what happened here with Ms. Granger is often the best anyone can hope for. Up you go."
Hermione managed to pick herself off the ground while 'Professor Moody' was addressing the class. With a slightly embarrassed look on her face, she brushed herself off, before looking around the class and heading back to her seat. When she made eye contact with Harry, her entire face lit up and she smiled at him.
Regaining her seat she leaned over and hugged him, "You were right Harry; I can't imagine the books never described that method. I had tried to do what the books described but then when I saw your face in the crowd it was if for a sudden I regained the ability to hear my own voice and then as soon as I heard my own voice I tried to tell my body not to squat down, but it was only …"
"Hermione don't belittle what you did. I thought it was brilliant. You heard … Moody." Harry paused hesitant to acknowledge his praise but knowing Hermione needed to hear it. "Even Moody said it was really good as good as many wizards or witches will ever get. And you got it on your first attempt. Absolutely brilliant!"
Hermione looked down at her textbook trying to hide the blush that had progressed to cover her face as she squeaked out, "Thanks … Harry."
Before Harry could respond, 'Moody' called out from the front of the class. "Thank you Mr. Thomas for that elegant display of the waltz. Ok everyone, I want 8 inches of parchment on describing the feelings while under the Imperius Curse and how best to fight it. Class dismissed."
Harry turned to look back over to Hermione and was surprised to see that she was already packed up and heading for the door. Turning to Ron they both shrugged watching Hermione exit the class.
For the rest of the week Harry found the rest of the classes proceeded well and professors noticed that Harry was performing significantly better than previously. While Harry found that the classes themselves were mostly repetitive he did find that he was spending a lot of time with Hermione in the library focusing on the theory and minutia of magic related to the topics he was learning, this had paid off as Harry noticed a significant improvement in the quality of his spells and potions.
In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall preened at the front of the class as she announced that Harry and Hermione were the only ones in their year who had so far managed to turn a hedgehog into a pin cushion.
After that class, as Harry was leaving with Ron, Professor McGonagall pulled him aside as he was leaving the class.
"Mr. Potter, a second if you may. I am hoping you can stay after class for a second."
Nodding to Ron, he let him know he would catch up after the chat and Ron did not need to wait up for him.
"Of course Professor, is everything alright with my previous assignment?"
"Your assignment is perfectly fine as I have no doubt you knew. Mr. Potter I want to congratulate you on your marked improvement this year."
"Oh … thanks Professor. I guess I am working a little harder, after … everything that happened last year … well I saw the benefit learning the Patronus Charm had and over the summer I realized that any aspect of magic might have the potential to benefit me in some way."
Professor McGonagall stared intently at Harry Potter before nodding her head, "I have a feeling there is much more to the story than simply waking up one morning and deciding to make such a complete change. However, unless you wish to talk about it I will not pry."
Harry froze looking at the stern Transfiguration professor before nodding his head in appreciation.
Seeing he was not about to offer anything up, Professor McGonagall continued, "I actually wanted to ask you to stay after class to both apologize and congratulate you."
Harry looked up in confusion. "Sorry Professor … what?"
"Well first I want to apologize by putting you on the spot by using you as motivation for your classmates with your Transfiguration, I know you are not a fan of attention and that was not an attempt to draw attention to yourself but rather to motivate your classmates."
"Oh … no worries Professor, it was alright."
Professor McGonagall nodded and continued, "The congratulations however are for the transfiguration itself, I definitely was not going to mention it in class however the quality of your pin cushion transformation actually surpassed that of Ms. Granger's. I believe congratulations are in order. I do not know if you were aware but the Potter family has long been known for their exceptional transfiguration and I was worried that skill might have been lost upon you."
Harry looked up at Professor McGonagall, "I wasn't that bad was I?"
Professor McGonagall over the rim of her glasses at Harry, "I went to school with your grandfather and while you may think me to be quite proficient at transfiguration, but Fleamont Potter could transfigure rings around me. Literally. He was a prodigy in every sense of the word."
Harry could only look up at her speechless, reminded once again just how little he knew about his family.
"You may feel I am being mean to you, but I want you to be honest with me and yourself Mr. Potter. Do you actually believe you had been giving your best effort before this year … Even your father, Merlin knows he was responsible for more than his fair share of troubles around the castle, but he took his classes seriously and he excelled in them."
Harry opened his mouth to respond but closed it knowing that she was correct, guiltily lowering his head he apologized, "I … am sorry Professor, however, I promise to only give my best efforts going forward."
She smiled at him, "there is no need to apologize Mr. Potter, as long as you learn from your mistakes. Everyone is entitled to make mistaked but learning from them is important. And if your work this year is any indication you have indeed learned to apply yourself. I am very happy with the new ethic. Now I believe you shall be late for a class if we talk any more, I'll write you a note but you best be off."
Harry recognizing that he had been clearly dismissed took the note and smiled as he left the class and headed to his next class.
After certainly performing well above expectations during his evaluation for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, he found he was able to keep impressing his professors in the classes, made all the easier by the fact that he found them to be very well taught classes. As for Arithmancy Harry wondered why it was not a core subject as he found that it supplement his other courses very well.
Afterall, understanding the various numerological properties behind certain magics aided in improving the quality and consistency of his spells and potions. Knowing why magic worked the way it did for certain spells and why certain potions had to be brewed in a certain way helped explain why things needed to be done rather than simply the idea that this is how they were done.
In Charms class, Harry was the first to perform a successful summoning charm on his first attempt. Professor Flitwick had tried to congratulate Hermione upon seeing the object fly across the room and was halfway into explaining that if she was a little more precise in her wand movement it would have flown to her rather than to Harry. Reluctantly Harry admitted it was his cast, to which he was asked to demonstrate again. After managing to repeat the charm, an act which nearly caused Professor Flitwick to faint and fall off his stack of books, he worked with his friends to make sure they were able to at least partially cast the spell. Although Harry was impressed that Hermione had managed to successfully cast the charm on her third attempt.
In potions Harry noticed he was also doing much better, to the point where even Snape had stopped insulting his work. As he had walked by Harry had heard him mumbling under his breath about the fact that 'at least he took after Lily, rather than his idiot father'. Harry could not help but smile at the change in Professor Snape, unsure as to whether the change was due to his improved performance or his previous chat.
To Ron's great enjoyment, Harry had managed to keep his promise and was finding the time to go flying with him at least once per week, usually twice, once during the week after class in the evening and once on the weekend.
Although Harry had been surprised when he had walked onto the Quidditch pitch the first evening with Ron.
"I want you to teach me to be a seeker." Ron abruptly stated as Harry was preparing to mount his broom.
"Sure … if you want. Why though?" Harry responded.
"Well you make it look so easy."
Harry looked at his friend in disbelief, "Trust me Ron it is not that easy, it is tough and requires almost your undivided attention while scanning for the Snitch while at the same time somehow managing to be aware of everything else that does not concern you so you do not end up in a collision or as the target for a Bludger."
Ron starred at him contemplating his response.
"I think the reason I am any good at the position in the first place is the individual aspect of the position … plus I had years of learning to be wary of my environment … being around Dudley and my uncle was unwise unless I was always aware of exactly where they were."
Ron starred at him inquistaviely, but before he could follow up Harry continued, "We could train you for that if you wanted … or we could work towards the position of a Keeper."
"The Keeper?" Ron asked thoughtfully.
"Aye, Oliver obviously won't be on the team next year, so you could join me on the team if we work on it. And this way it won't disrupt the synergy for the Chasers."
Ron smiled at Harry, "I … actually being on the team … ?"
Harry chuckled, "Yes actually on the team. But more than the future opening on the team, I think you fit the position just like my background fits the Seeker position."
Ron glanced at him as he raised his eyebrow, "How so?"
"Well … I think you are an all-or-nothing type of person. No offense but you always go all in on something or you don't, not a lot of middle ground. That pretty much mirrors the Keeper, either you save the Quaffle or it goes in. And you stand strong in the face of adversity … unless its spiders," Harry finished with a laugh. "Giant Wizarding chess, flying cars, even coming with me to face Aragog which I new you absolutely did not want to do … Ron you are capable of standing up under pressure."
Ron blushed under the praise, "Thanks … Harry. I really appreciate that. So you actually think I have a chance?"
Harry nodded at his friend, "Of course I think you could make it, you will need practice … sure. And will need to work on developing confidence in yourself but I see no reason you couldn't make the team."
Ron looked on excitedly, "Ok I'm all in, where do we start." He asked expectantly.
Harry smiled, "Well we are going to work on the fundamentals!"
Harry almost laughed as he watched his friends expression drop, "Fundamentals?!"
Smiling at Ron, "Aye, back to basics today. I think that is one of the reasons I am alright at Quidditch. I enjoy flying and I am really good at the basics."
Ron scoffed, "That maneuver at the world cup was hardly a first-year basic move Harry."
Harry nodded his head at his friend, "Honestly Ron, that move was more out of desperation than anything. However, I never would have tried that or any other risky thing I have done if I wasn't confident in the basics."
Reluctantly nodding, a small look of understanding on his face, Ron hesitantly replied, "So … back to basics…"
Smiling at his friend, Harry clapped him on the back. "That's the spirit, back to basics indeed. And depending on how we do with that I'll ask the girls to come down here to help you prepare …"
Harry laughed seeing the open mouth stare of his friend.
After a second of silence Ron managed to regain his composure. "Oh really man? That would be bloody wicked!"
Nodding, he replied, "If you are serious about this, I'll do everything I can to make sure you are prepared and I am positive they'd be willing to do anything to make sure a future teammate got better …"
Harry paused seeing that Ron's smile was in danger of engulfing his entire face. Patting his arm to wake him from his stupor Harry continued, "But I warn you Ron, they will not take it easy on you. If you are willing to fly with them, they will go just as hard against you as they practiced with Wood or just as seriously as they play in any game."
Ron laughed and with much more enthusiasm he stated, "Well then what are you waiting for Harry, its time for the basics. I am ready to get better."
With that he jumped on his broom and took off into the air above Harry, leaving him shaking his head with a bemused expression on his face.
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