A/N- Thank you for your reviews guys. I am elated.

Thank you Hypergym for the editing.

Hogwarts

Harry returned to the castle an hour before dawn on Monday morning. He used a portkey which Dumbledore had prepared and provided to him.

The destination point was near Hagrid's shack where he found Black Storm grazing and hunting wild rabbits. He spent some time with the hippogriff before he returned to the dorm to see what the situation was.

He found his dormmates still sleeping and huffed out his disappointment. "What?" he thought, "Just because I'm away for the weekend, they think they can slack off?" Harry quickly realized that he needed to teach them what happens when they let their guard down. So be it. How many times did it take for Harsh and Vari to finally get it through to Harry anyway? After making some "arrangements", Harry made his way to the lake to start his workout.

Two hours later, Harry returned from his morning workout refreshed and invigorated. As he entered the common room, he found Hermione, sitting in her favourite chair in front of the big fireplace, reading a book. Spotting her there, he asked Hermione innocently, "Good morning, Hermione. Have you seen Ron this morning?"

She placed her finger in the book, then looked up from her reading, "Good morning, Harry.", Then frowning, "No, I haven't seen Ron at all today. I thought about going up there to wake him up, but then I remembered that I had this book to read and it just slipped my mind. I thought he would get my attention when he finally does decide to get up."

Harry adopted a most serious expression, "Then let us go and find what the boys are doing." While he talked, he had his hands behind him waving and undoing the spells he had cast before his morning work-out. The two of them climbed to the top of the boy's dormitories, where the fifth years slept. They found the boys, still in their beds, looking rather grumpy.

Ron bellowed, "Harry! What have you done?"

Harry answered, "Hmm... let me see... Five laps around the lake, three laps swimming across the lake, about a hundred push-ups, 40 or so Russian push-ups and some duelling practice with Professor Vikram. Why do you ask?"

Neville who had been gritting his teeth seethed, "you know what you have done, Harry. You charmed us to keep sticking to our beds and placed some wards on this dorm so we could call no one to our help."

Harry scowled, "I would thank you to not tarnish my reputation, Neville. I have done no such thing."

Dean bawled, "Then explain why we could not leave our beds?"

Harry cheekily replied, "Maybe because you could not be bothered to get up and now you are making excuses for your lazy self."

Harry's taunting was more than Seamus could bear. Without thinking about how he had been trying to get out of bed for more than an hour now, He lunged at Harry and to his surprise found himself out of bed, standing on the floor.

Harry glared around the room, "So, you all were saying?"

Hermione turned to Ron tersely, "Honestly, Ronald. Do not make excuses for your laziness."

Harry, with a big grin, went to bathe and change into his school robes before going to pick up Susan and go down to breakfast. As he emerged from the bathroom, Ron confronted him.

"Mate, this was not right." he growled.

Harry shrugged. "You are all responsible for this. You know how perilous the times are and yet you guys are sleeping-in, oblivious to all danger and responsibility. You might think that Hogwarts is safe, but; it won't be for long and we have to be ready to defend it when the time comes. You people are not in prime condition. You won't last in a fight".

He turned to Dean and Seamus. "You two! You can't even run two laps around the lake. How can you expect to duel and survive? How would you do that?"

He turned to Neville and Ron. "You have both been training this summer under Mad Eye Moody and yet here we are. You have not even taken his mantra to your heart. 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' What happened to keeping an eye on everything around you? You had the very best training available and now you are squandering it all by not practicing." After he finished laying into them, he left the Gryffindor Tower for the Badger's Hole where Susan was waiting for him.

Susan mock glared at him. "Where were you Peverell? I tried to find you on Saturday but you never returned from Dumbledore's office. In the evening, one of your friends told me that you had left for London. You didn't even have the decency to tell me."

Harry sighed. "Susan, can we talk about it later? I just had a fight with the 5th year Gryffindor boys and I would rather not have another one".

Her tone changed immediately to concern, "Why did you guys fight?"

He whispered, "I'll tell you all about it later, just not here. Third floor after class".

Hannah emerged at that moment and asked him, "Where is Neville?"

Harry raised an eye brow at her, "I did not know that he was joining me here."

Susan grinned, "Well yesterday, Neville found some of his Gryffindor courage and asked her if they could become friends, you know? Like I want to know you better and would you go to Hogsmead weekend with me type friends."

Harry smiled knowingly, "Oh? That is news indeed. I guess Longbottom found the Lion in him." Offering his arm to her, he escorted her to the Great Hall.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, they found the other boys already there. They were grumpily eating breakfast while Hermione was tersely glaring at Ron.

Harry asked her, "everything alright, Hermione?"

She tersely said, "Ron told me about your fight and I was just telling him that you are right."

Harry inwardly sighed. If his friends were going to fight among themselves, he would rather have let them sleep.

Since classes were starting soon, he whispered to them, "Meet me at the right wing, 3rd floor, after classes. We need to resolve this."

The first class was transfigurations. Professor McGonagall again gave them transfigurations to do and explained how they could work in a fight. Today she was starting to teach them the inanimatus conjurus spell which was a spell to conjure inanimate artefacts which was easy for the four because they had spent the summer doing it. She set them to conjure wooden blocks and they all sat doing it.

With the first flick of his wand, Harry produced a heavy block of wood which was evenly cubical in shape. He then proceeded to vanish it and then conjured it again. After he got bored of conjuring the same wooden block each time, he conjured a large block of solid stone. He then turned it into a dog and animated it to run around the room on all fours. Everyone looked at the transfiguration in awe, knowing that was something that was taught at NEWT level. Even then, not every witch or wizard was powerful enough to make it work like he did.

Since the period was Double Transfigurations, at the end of the first period, the professor gave them objects to turn into opera glasses. That was something which was part of the normal curriculum. Before she dismissed the class, she assigned them a 2 foot parchment essay on the inanimatus conjurus spell and its uses.

Harry groaned inwardly thinking of having to write a 2 foot parchment but then Professor McGonagall also had to ensure that her students were able to obtain the desired OWLs.

They proceeded to lunch and things were beginning to change after they had time to cool down.

Dean and Seamus approached him, "Harry, you are right. Starting tomorrow we will be there at the Black lake before dawn.

Harry nodded, "I'm glad to hear it, mates." Then, turning to Seamus with a grin, "Seamus, you are good at blowing things up. How would you like a special assignment?"

Seamus eagerly asked, "What is it?"

Harry grinned, "How would you like to blast things?"

Charms class with the Snakes was likewise easy. Professor Flitwick asked them to practice things they had learned already in the previous years since anything could come up during the OWL exam. After getting bored of practice, Harry spent the rest of the period helping his friends. As they were leaving, he also assigned them two feet of parchment on the Impedimenta jinx and its uses.

3rd floor

The six of them arrived at the 3rd floor and Harry started the meeting, "Guys, when I arrived in our dorm this morning, I was really upset that not one of you had bothered to get out of bed. Now, I am sorry that I overreacted, but; you know what is at stake and you must start taking on some responsibility. There is a war brewing. I can't fight Tom Riddle and all of his supporters by myself. If Master Auror Moody were here, he would make all of you run ten laps around the lake for insubordination. Like it or not. There is going to be some fighting. You are going to be in the thick of it. It is on you to do everything you can to prepare for it."

Hermione asked him, "Harry, do you really think Dumbledore would let us fight? You may be an accomplished master but we are still school kids. We cannot hold our own against one of the members of his inner circle."

Harry scoffed, "Hermione, you are a most capable witch. You have both knowledge and the power to use it. To answer your other question, Dumbledore would never deliberately put any of us, his students, in harm's way.

But, he is also wise enough to know that the unexpected is what happens in war. If any of us oar all of us should find ourselves in danger, it is better to be prepared to fight than it is to be helpless. I agree 100% with Dumbledore; we do not want anyone to perish for lack of skill. We will meet again here tomorrow for I have some news."

Herbology was the last class of the day. Professor Sprout worked them hard as they reviewed all the plants which they had learned about in the past four years. As the students were cleaning up and preparing to go, Professor Sprout quietly asked Harry to stay after class. While everyone else headed back to their common rooms to get a start on today's essay assignments, Harry made his excuses and trundled off to a separate greenhouse with the professor.

On the way, she explained to Harry how she wanted to observe him as he looked after the special plants that he had brought back from India. She explained that tending those plants without a partner was far too dangerous and nobody else at the school could help her. They took turns, tending the plants while the other stood back and watched. It did not take long, but dragon-hide gloves, protective goggles, ear mufss and extreme care were all required.

Great Hall

As Harry sat for dinner in the Great Hall, Hedwig flew down to him. He knew that Sirius would not send a letter when he could just talk through the mirrors and the same went for Remus. There was no other person that he could think of who would send him a message with his owl considering that all of his friends were with him. Before he took the letter, he cast a detection spell to make sure that it was not jinxed. Satisfied that the letter was just a letter, he took it from Hedwig and opened it to read:

"Harry

On Friday, I was approached by the heirs of Houses of Dryden, Everly and Jugson asking for an audience with Lord Black.

They are vassals of House Black and want to acknowledge their new liege lord.

While I do not know of their motives yet I suspect that they are not willing to join the service of He who must not be named.

I did not make any promises to them but assured them that I would send word to you and you will do as you see fit.

They could be of use to you in bringing a number of seventh years to your side in the upcoming conflict.

Daphne Isabella Greengrass"

Harry pocketed the letter thinking of a way to send word to those three without anyone else knowing.

But, that would have to wait till later in the week because with the full moon coming up in two days, he was needed at the country estate with Remus. He knew Sirius was planning to join the werewolf and keep him company and perhaps Harry could also do it and see the effects of his potion for himself.

Next Morning

The next morning, he got up and found the other boys were already up. He asked them surprised, "Did I wake up late?"

Ron shrugged, "No Harry. We realised that we should be readying ourselves. We had this false sense of security. With these castle walls, Dumbledore and you, it's hard to believe that Tom or his followers could ever get at us. But, it was Hermione that pointed out, you and Dumbledore can't be everywhere all the time. So if it ever comes down to us stopping them, we had better be ready. I had to agree with her."

Harry smirked, "Looks like you had some sort of awakening this summer. Come to think of it, you have not been fighting with Hermione at all. I remember how the two of you bickered over the smallest things. What is the matter, Ron?"

Neville snickered, "Our keeper has a thing for the bookworm."

Harry looked at Ron incredulously, "Is that true? If it is then you have another prank coming your way for hiding this from me."

Dean growled, "If we are done being mushy, can we go down to the lake? I have to catch up on my sleep later, you know."

Harry led them to the common room where Hermione and Ginny were waiting for them. Collecting them, he went out and started running around the lake followed by them. After two laps, they started doing push ups while he jumped in the lake followed by Neville. After they were done running, Dean and Seamus went back to the tower while Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Ron started spell casting.

Potions Class

The Slytherins and Gryffindors arrived for potions class and quickly found their assigned partners and seats. Snape called for homework and the students who had assignments quickly produced their scrolls and held them up along with the dunderheads who had failed to produce their summer assignments last class. With a deft flick of his wand, the professor summoned the scrolls and they arranged themselves into a neat pile on his desk. With the next flick of his wand, he distributed the marked scrolls from the previous class. Harry didn't even look at his scroll. He just put it in his bag and started setting up his equipment for today's work.

Before he put today's instructions on the board, Snape addressed the class, "the grades on these papers should give you a good idea of the grades you would receive if you submitted it for your OWL work. I was able to award a few O's and a handful of E's, There were a few T's.", he said while giving Neville and Harry a significant look. "As I have said, ", he continued, "I will only accept students who achieve an O on their OWL exam into my NEWT classes and that will close many doors to the rest of you dunderheads."

Malfoy snickered with glee, "Some people have got 'T'. I wonder who they might be?"

His speech done, Snape tapped the blackboard where the instructions for today's potion appeared. To Harry's surprise, it was the Draught of Peace again. Snape sneered at the class, "Now let's see how many of you dunderheads can get it right this time."

Harry produced a piece of parchment from his bag and with a tap of his wand, copied the black-board instructions. He compared the instructions with what he remembered from the previous class and found that the amount of moonstone was off and this would spoil the potion. Quickly, he raised his hand ostensibly to draw Snape's attention to him while inaudily drawing a privacy ward which included only himself and the professor.

Snape recognized the hand and asked tersely, "Yes, what is it Peverell?"

Harry responded, "Professor, we will not be overheard, I have seen to that. The amount of the moonstone in your instructions is incorrect. It will ruin the potion. Is there a reason you did that?"

Harry had to hand it to the professor. The man was a consummate actor. He continued to sneer and look contemptuous while he spoke, "Yes. I did that intentionally. I wish to know where they are sheep or do they think for themselves?"

Harry looked around the class. Most of the students were preparing their ingredients. Only Hermione, Ron and Neville had their books out. Harry nodded and took down the privacy ward.

A few moments later, Harry had his customary three cauldrons heating while he prepared the ingredients for his three potions. All the while, Snape hovered over him, asking him questions about the three different formulations, what substitutions he had made, what could not be substituted and how the ingredients interacted. Harry patiently answered each question as he continued to work without missing a beat. After this had been going on for some time, Snape looked up to see that almost all the students were watching him and Harry instead of attending to their work. While Snape continued to sneer and make sarcastic remarks, he seemed genuinely interested in Harry's brewing techniques and insight into the ingredients.

Snape directed his attention to the rest of the class, "I assume," he began in a tone that suggested detentions for everyone, "that you have all discovered a way for your potions to brew themselves? I will be awarding a T to every student who fails to complete their work today."

While the professor was distracted, Harry passed a note with the correct amount of moonstone to Daphne. Having read it, she just gave Harry a look that said, "That should be obvious" and got back to work.

With that, the class got their heads down and started brewing.

As class time was running out, there were a total of seven cauldrons which were emitting the characteristic silver vapour. Four of those were at the table which Harry shared with Daphne. Hermione, Neville and Ron had also succeeded at making the correction. Although Seamus had managed to get through class without melting his cauldron this time, his potion was emitting the same heavy, grey fumes that were coming from most of the cauldrons in the class.

As the students were bottling up their samples, Snape tapped the blackboard again, "Your assignment this week is to list all the ingredients of this potion. You will explain the use of each one. You will then research to discover which ingredients can be substituted, which cannot and the effect of each substitution."

While the rest of the class was groaning, Harry was inwardly whooping with joy. Snape had based the homework assignment on his work. While his classmates would have to spend hours with their noses buried in at least four different books, Harry just had to copy his notes and hand it in.

As they left the class, Hermione started in on him about the homework grades, "I got an O but I feel that I had not done my best work for this assignment. These grades could be the base for our grades in the OWLs. I mean we have some idea of where we are standing right now so that we know how hard we have to work from this point on to get the grades we need."

She was showing no sign of letting up, so Harry interrupted her, "Hermione, if you want to know what grade I got, just ask. I know you have already asked Neville and Ron's grades."

She hesitantly said, "If you don't mind, please?"

Wordlessly, Harry produced the scroll from his bag and handed it to her. On the top in right hand corner, O was scrawled with a comment, 'This is the best work that I have seen on this topic'. She started reading the essay without even looking where they were going while Ron kept steering her towards the third floor with Harry and Neville.

When he reached the third floor, he found that the twins, Ginny, Susan, Hannah and Luna were already there. He did not remember inviting Luna to his circle yet and asked the Ravenclaw, "Can I help you in anyway, Luna?"

She said in her dreamy sing song voice, "Hello Harold Peverell. I was actually looking for Blizz."

Hermione asked, "Who is Blizz?"

Luna perked up, "Oh, it is a snow leopard I saw in the castle a few days ago and the Nargles told me that I would meet him here." She was giving a look to Harry which said that she knew his secret and he had to control his surprise lest others got suspicious.

Hermione was saying, "Luna, Snow leopards are native to the Himalayas and you certainly won't find one wandering in the halls of Hogwarts."

Luna just shook her head, "You are brilliant but close minded, Hermione. There is a reason you did not become a Ravenclaw."

The Ravenclaw drifted away while Harry was pondering how she seemed to know of things which no one knew about. He was sure no one knew about his Animagus form or what kind of animal he was but she knew it. She also knew about him visiting India, something that even his friends did not know. There was something about her that nagged at the back of his mind.

He banished the thought out of his mind as he concentrated on the people before him and things that needed to be done. As everyone had conjured their chairs, Harry started, "I called this meeting because things may change soon. Last Saturday, we achieved another step towards vanquishing Tom Riddle. I fear that when he realizes what we are doing, he will attack directly instead of hiding and waiting. I would give us six months before that happens."

Hannah broke in, "Tom Riddle? Who is that?"

Harry explained, "The birth name of our adversary is Tom Morvolo Riddle. He is a half-blood, offspring of a squib mother and a muggle father. He took the name Voldemort and cursed it so that people would fear to speak it, adding more fear and mystery to his evil, twisted existence."

They all paused in silence while the people who had not already heard this took in the meaning.

Then Harry continued, "Before Tom comes out into the open, there is something that needs to be done. I want you all to find out who will stand with us. Do not ask them openly but try to gauge their loyalty and make note of it. Then there is another issue of our preparations for war.

"The ministry has 70 active Aurors. There are another 150 currently training in the Auror academy. If they are able to complete their training and graduate before hostilities break out, that gives them 220 total. Add to that the survivors of the last war and we have a total of 250 trained, adult wizards at the very most.

"The other side, according to our most recent intelligence, is about 250 and they are recruiting. His supporters have hoarded a large amount of wealth over the last 14 years and now they are going to squander it all to fund his war."

"We certainly have financial resources to exceed anything they have, but we will not and cannot recruit people the way he does. Numbers don't tell the whole story either. We have formal training going on and some of the best and most powerful are on our side. And remember that when he fell the last time, nearly all his followers went running for cover like cockroaches when the lights are turned on. They have no back-bone. Most of them only serve him because they are terrified. He has about ten really faithful followers and they are all cooling their heals in Azkaban for now."

"Minister Longbottom is doing what he can but until Tom shows his hand, others might not believe us. Last Saturday, the Order devised a plan to lure Tom out into the open and that will change the dynamics of the war. We have at most 6 months ahead of us before Tom Riddle comes out into the open. When that happens, Minister Longbottom will be able to present a motion to give himself emergency powers to act as a General against the opposing forces. We need a force of our own to augment the Ministry forces if the need arises."

Neville said, "You are right Harry but we are talking about hundreds of students here."

Harry shook his head, "No. I am not allowing anyone below 5th year to join us. Even so, if Hogwarts is invaded, they will have to evacuate. I won't allow children to fight a war. As for each of you, it is entirely your choice."

Susan said to him firmly, "We Hufflepuff's are well known for our loyalty. I chose your side ever since the first time I saw you in the Great Hall. Others may leave if they desire, but I am standing by your side."

Neville said to him solemnly, "You do not even need to ask me about my choice, mate. We are god brothers and our family history goes back about a thousand years. Where a Potter goes, a Longbottom will follow."

Ron said, "I made a mistake once, I am not making it again."

The twins said, "Don't think that we are going to desert you, Prank Mage."

The meeting wound up quickly because some people had to get to their next class.

This was the first time in Ancient Runes for Harry and Ron. They strode into the room with Suzan and Hermione. The other students looked at them as if they had lost their way. Ron found a seat beside Hermione and Harry, catching a pointed look from Susan, stopped sauntering and walked briskly to an empty seat beside her in the front row.

Professor Babbling entered the class and beamed when she saw him, "Mr. Peverell, welcome to my class. And to you also Mr. Weasley."

She was teaching them about what they could expect in their classes and he had read ahead for her class. Runes theory was a subject where he had little knowledge but with his diligent reading he knew he could manage it. She showed them the third language which was taught before OWL year and he listened attentively, hanging on her every word. The class had been informative but Professor Babbling was nothing like Pawan. The mystic usually taught him the practical application, only explaining enough theory for Harry to get it right. By contrast, Professor Babbling taught them theory first. She told the beginning principles one usually employed while tending to runes and even had other students explain it. Harry liked that despite knowing his abilities she was not fawning over him but rather giving him time to breathe around other students. She knew her subject and any questions that Harry may have had were answered in the course of the discussion before he could actually ask her anything. She gave them an essay to write about a runic symbol and its uses.

Harry wanted to groan. He learned best by doing. Although he was now much better at writing than he ever thought he would be, he still didn't like it much. But, for a student, it was all part of the territory.

It was the end of the classes for the day. Harry remembered that today was the day of the full moon. He went to the Headmaster's office. The Gargoyle admitted him before he could even begin to guess at the password.

Dumbledore was sitting in his office behind his desk and asked him worriedly, "Harry is everything alright?"

Harry calmly replied, "Everything is alright Professor. I came here to ask your permission to leave the castle for the night."

Dumbledore asked worriedly, "Have you received any news?"

Harry replied calmly still, "No, Professor. It is House business and it requires me to stay overnight."

Dumbledore contemplated over this for a minute then said, "As long as you plan to return here the first thing in the morning and do not miss your classes, you are free to go. You should know that the goblins have sent a letter that they will be bringing in the catapults this Sunday. I wish to know whether you can smuggle them into the castle without anyone knowing."

Harry smirked, "I will get to it right now. In fact, you have given me an idea about how to evacuate students in case Hogwarts is invaded."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "Would you share your plan with me?"

Harry shook his head, "Not yet, Headmaster. Let me see first if this plan will work."

Dorset

The Rosier estates had extensive greenhouses. Between Griphook and Remus, they worked out that this was the best place to grow the alternative to aconite. The plantation was manned entirely by werewolves that Remus had befriended and hired. For the last 20 days, they had worked as an effective team, taking the facilities out of stasis, preparing the growing beds and planting. Already, the sprouts were well above the soil and growing rapidly. For these people, it was the first time they had been able to hold a steady job in spite of being known lycanthropes. They were not only needed but welcomed to work here and no one thought badly of them. Since they had come here, life had become better for most of them and they were being given Wolfsbane without any cost which was a welcome relief for all of them.

It was there that Remus Lupin had decided to come to stay for the Full Moon night because he wanted to keep others safe from him. The manor house which Harry had given to him as his Steward had a fortified room but Remus wanted the other werewolves to know that he was no different from the rest of them.

Sirius had arrived in the evening to keep his friend's company. He was already transformed in his dog form, waiting for Moony to transform. The other werewolves had chosen different parts of the estate for their transformation while Sirius was here.

Suddenly the moon emerged from behind the clouds and Moony started to transform. Sure the transformation was painful but his friend looked to be in control, unlike when he had turned on Sirius to kill him at the end of Harry's third year. As Moony completed his transformation, he threw his head back and howled at the moon.

Before the echoes of Moony's howl died away, there was an answering roar. A roar so mighty that it chilled Sirius to just listen to it. He knew the sound of course. It was the roar of a member of the cat family. A really big cat which was among one of those sitting at the top of the food chain. What baffled him was how one could be here? There was no zoo, reserve or circus nearby that one could have escaped from. Putting his canine senses on alert, he tried to listen for the signs of the approaching predator. Moony was also alert, looking for the predator.

Sirius saw a blur approaching them fast and before he could process what he was seeing, the lightning fast animal was upon them like a blizzard. It was a magnificent creature with snow white fur and leopard spots all over its body. It was as big as a Siberian tiger and looked regal with its strong limbs. It started circling both of them cautiously, crouched and ready to pounce.

Moony saw the danger and lunged toward the snow leopard. With a swipe of its mighty (claws carefully retracted)paw, the cat swatted the werewolf aside, knocking him to the ground. Sirius immediately rushed forward to engage their foe so that Moony would not come to any harm and the snow leopard jumped knocking Sirius to the ground. As Sirius fell, it put its heavy paw on the shaggy dog pinning him down and gave the roar again, signalling its triumph over him. Moony who had managed to get to his feet again started to attack but the snow leopard just moved out of the way and pinned him down.

The werewolf was able to throw him off and stand again but this time the snow leopard started licking the werewolf surprising Sirius. As Sirius watched, the werewolf sat down contentedly letting the snow leopard lick it over and over again.

After sometime, it approached Sirius and started showing him the same affection. At that moment Sirius saw the eyes of the leopard and began to grin or the closest to grin that a dog can do. There was also the smell which was particular to a person, his son.

This was Harold Peverell who was a freaking animagus!

After that the three of them walked around the property, bumping into each other playfully and sometimes just getting into a scuffle. One thing was sure however that the snow leopard Peverell was more powerful than both of them put together, being a top of the chain predator. Merlin's Beard! James would be proud that his son had achieved such a spectacular transformation.

Black Townhouse

Harry had spent a major part of the night with the Marauders and then returned to the Black Townhouse. Since the Weasleys had moved out to the manor house and Sirius was staying with Remus, it was just Harry and the house elves. He took a few minutes to tour the place and see how the elves had done. Everywhere he looked there was new paint, new wall-paper, new carpet. The old gas lights had been upgraded to ever-burning globes. The panelling had been refinished. The woodwork and floors had all been refinished. The infestations were gone. In the kitchen, all the cookware was polished and hanging in order. The stone floor had been polished until Harry could see his reflection in it. The old fireplace looked like it was made of freshly hewn granite.

Harry called for the elves, "Kreacher, Winky." With two loud cracks, the diminutive servants appeared.

Kreacher and Winky were wearing tea-towels with the Black family crest, toga style. The male elf stood stiffly to attention while the female elf made a curtsy.

Kreacher croaked, "What we be doing for Lord Black?"

Harry beamed at the two of them, "You have done proud service to the House of Black. I am please with the condition of this home. Kreacher, you will be happy to know that the mission given to you by Regulus has been completed. Your old master can rest in peace, knowing that his sacrifice was not in vain. Winky, I am happy to see that you are looking well. Is life here agreeing with you?"

Winky squeaked, "Meaning no disrespect to Lord Black, Winky is still missing Master Crouch there being no help for it. But Winky be serving here and bes happy while there be work to be done."

"Well said, Winky. Your loyalty does you credit.". Waving his wand in a complicated gesture, Harry produced two large, beautifully crafted, gold lockets. They bore the Black family crest, engraved on the outside and were hanging from gold chains. He presented them to the two elves. When Kreacher opened his locket, there was a picture of Regulus on one side and a picture of Sirius on the other side. When Winky opened hers, it contained a picture of Barty Crouch Senior on it.

Harry said, "I wanted to thank you both and encourage you to keep up the good work."

Kreacher said, "Lord Black is most generous."

Winky said, "It bes a pleasure to serve Lord Black."

Harry dismissed the elves then called for Dobby. He asked his elf to fetch him a change of clothes. With dawn approaching, he threw a pinch of glittering powder into the kitchen fire and called out, "Gryffindor common room as he stepped into the emerald green flames.

Hogwarts

Harry stepped out of the common room fire and made his way up the stairs to his dormitory. He found his room-mates already up and getting dressed for their morning work-out. Today's exercises were downright brutal. Since the rest of them were taking things more seriously, Harry worked them all the harder. In the time it took the others to run three laps, Harry finished four. They then did crunches and push-ups until their muscles shook with fatigue and refused to give them one more repetition.

Susan and Hannah had joined them this morning and by the time they ended, Hannah was worse for wear cursing Harry under her breath for making them work so hard. They were all going to feel it. Having worked-out to their capacity, they then paired-off and practiced dueling. Harry and Neville told them that while shields definitely have their uses, no curse, jinx or charm is ever going to take effect if it can't hit. the two of them demonstrated dodging. They all practiced dodging while their partners tried to zap them with low-powered stingers.

When the sun was well up, Harry called a halt to it and they all returned to the castle to get ready for breakfast.

The Great Hall

Breakfast was a very subdued affair this morning until Luna drifted over to the table. Everyone quickly put down whatever they had in their hands to avoid any accidents which may happen. She looked at Susan intensely before she started, "Harold, do you know that Susan fancies you?"

Harry's mouth fell open while the others were snickering.

When Harry could not say anything for a few moments, Luna swatted her hands in the air and by way of explanation said, "You have an infestation of wrackspurts around you. There are very tiny so we cannot see them and they make your brain fuzzy."

Before Harry could answer her, she drifted away. Others were trying to keep quiet, covering their mouths and making an effort not to laugh knowing it would turn to full blown laughter. Harry looked at Susan who had bent her head and was blushing heavily. Harry tried to speak a few times but he could not find his words. Finally he decided to tackle the issue at a later time.

Breakfast was over and next up was Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. This morning as the class arrived, Professor Grubbly Plank banished pieces of parchment to them to read and Harry laughed inwardly. The parchment was about the Yeti which was part of the course material for this year.

She started addressing the class, "Who can tell me about a Yeti?"

Harry raised his hand with Hermione and several others. She asked a few students who gave answers as were written in the pamphlet. It seemed that the Professor was not happy with what she was told because she kept shaking her head and asking everyone who had raised their hands.

Finally she came to Harry, "What can you tell me, Mr. Peverell?"

Harry smiled, "Professor, the Yeti are creatures of magic, sentient and are of human intelligence. They are generally about 12 feet tall, having pointed teeth, with thick, and coarse snow white fur all over their bodies. Their hair can be used as cores for wands and their fur keeps them warm even in the coldest temperatures as well as being excellent camouflage in their native snowy environment. They are generally known to reside in the glaciated and snow-covered regions of the Himalayas and are not found in any other part of the world. They have ape-like faces; their hands have opposable thumbs like human hands. They are capable of intelligent speech. They are not strictly carnivores either but rather prefer to eat whatever is available to them. While the ministry classifies them as extremely dangerous magical creatures, and rightly so, they are not dumb beasts. They generally stay away from humans, wizards and muggles alike. Contrary to what this pamphlet says, they are not mindless beasts. They are incorrectly classified as beasts by our ministry, but they are beings and are classified as such by the Ministry of Magic for Bharat."

Grubbly Plank had been furiously scribbling everything that he was saying and when he was done, she asked the obvious, "How do you know of them?"

Harry told her a half truth, "Some friends that I made this summer, told me about them."

She tilted her head to one side, "Oh? Mr. Peverell the detailed description which you have given us makes me think you might have met one personally. Even Newt Scammander had to copy whatever he was told or he was able to learn from others."

Harry did not answer her knowing it would invite more questions and the way the class was looking at him, he feared soon he would be hounded by most of them for information. The Slytherins in the class in particular were giving him curious looks.

Grubbly Plank was saying, "So, you have all heard the description of the beasts from Mr. Peverell here. I hope you have written it down because what Mr. Peverell told us is the most detailed description I have been able to find. Now I want you all to draw a sketch of the beast from the description."

The rest of the lesson, Harry worked on drawing a sketch of Raktaksh, the yeti prince who had given Harry a hair for his wand. When it was complete he copied the parchment, rolled up one of them in a scroll and sealed it with the seal of House Peverell and placed the sealed copy in his school bag. He handed in the other copy to the Professor Grubbly Plank as his assignment work. Since the rest of the class had not been able to finish the sketch, Grubbly Plank gave them homework to finish the sketch and hand it in the next class.

Harry realized that perhaps he had said more than he should have during the class and he especially did not want to be interrogated by Hermione right now. Having finished and handed in his assignment, he was packed and ready to go when class was dismissed. He took off for the castle at a brisk pace and ignored Hermione trying to get his attention as she called after him. He did not stop or slow down until he was in the Defence classroom.

When Hermione did catch up to him, she started thundering, "Harold James Peverell, why did you not stop to listen to me?"

"Miss Granger, please remember that this is my classroom and I do not tolerate any interruptions or outbursts as you just did. This is not your common room." Vikram said who had just walked into the room.

Hermione reddened and mumbled her apology to the Professor but kept glaring at Harry the entire time while the class room filled up.

Susan sat beside him as if chalking out her territory and his mind went back to Luna's words this morning. Surely she did not mean what she said.

Before his stay in the hospital wing last June, Harry had barely been aware of Susan's existence. Between him mooning over Cho and Ron's interference, he might not have noticed if Susan had attempted to run him over with a muggle Lori. But, now that Harry thought back, he recalled that Susan had tried to approach him more than once. She had always defended him, even when her fellow Hufflepuffs and her best friend had turned against him. And since last June, she had been requesting his company and spending every minute she could with him. Amelia had taken him in so that he would never have to go back to the Dursleys again. She had also been instrumental in getting Sirius exonerated. He sighed wishing that he could talk to Rachael. She would have been able to help him understand what to do about this.

Professor Vikram had started his lesson, "in the last lesson, we found how shielding is important and what are the limitations to a basic shield. While I expect that you all would have practiced it but I do not attach much hope to it."

The students were all looking everywhere except at the professor, as if they could escape his scrutinizing gaze by doing this.

He continued, "Today we are going to practice shielding again however this time you will be facing dummies which would fire high powered hexes at you to test your endurance. Remember one lesson though, the one who would remain standing is the one who would survive a duel."

In the practice range, they all started shielding dutifully and it was good practice for all of them. This year, the defense lessons were the best out of all five years for the single reason that the teacher was highly competent and was taking special interest in teaching each of them how to correct their aim, to cast or shield more effectively.

As the lessons ended, Hermione cornered Harry, "Harry where did you meet a Yeti?"

He innocently replied, "I already said that I was told about them by my friends. Besides, there was very little detail beyond what is generally known, if you know where to look."

Hermione knew it would not be a good idea to pressure him until he caved in because he had started to keep secrets and was very possessive of them.

Lunch, the Great Hall

Lunch was a normal affair until Harry saw Hedwig flying straight to him. She landed in front of him and Harry immediately offered her some bacon lest she decided to chastise him. She took the bacon, then dipped her beak in his pumpkin juice while she waited for him to take the letter and then flew off to the Owlery.

The letter was from Sirius:

"Pup,

I know that the snow leopard was you. I did not recognise you sooner because you frightened Moony and me. We were too busy saving our own hides to recognize your scent right away. Once I saw those emerald orbs I knew it was you.

I know you have no class after lunch, so it's time to use the old invisibility cloak and the map to release the marauder inside you. We are waiting for you in the shack for an important ceremony the naming ceremony of the snow leopard this evening.

Love,

Padfoot"

After lunch, Susan, Hermione and Hannah went to Arithmancy while Ron dragged Harry off to the library.

They used the rest of the day to finish all the home-work that they had been assigned. In the evening, Harry lost Ron as usual. This time, instead of going to the chamber of secrets to practice his family magics, he donned the invisibility cloak and went out into the grounds and towards the Whomping Willow so that he could go to the Shrieking Shack. He fired a light stunner at the knot-hole and the restless motion of the tree ceased. With the invisibility cloak safely stowed in his robes, he transformed into his snow-leopard form and stalked through the opening under the tree. It was not that he did not trust his friends. He just wanted to keep this to himself for now.

Shrieking Shack

As the great cat, his heightened sense of smell told him that Padfoot and Remus were there in the shack. He stalked forward soundlessly.

When his head appeared through the doorway, Padfoot leapt from behind the door on him and started head butting him playfully. Remus broke up the silliness by firing a stinger at Harry's hind-quarters. The two of them resumed their human forms.

Remus mock glared at him, "You achieved such a transformation and you kept it a secret from us, Prongslet?"

Harry grinned, "Says the blokes who kept the same secret for near 17 years?"

Sirius hugged him warmly, "I am proud Harry. Proud that you have become such a fine animagus and you achieved it before we did. How long have you been working on it, anyhow?"

Harry casually replied, "Only for two months, Padfoot."

Sirius was amazed, "Two! How can you finish it in two months? I do not remember a lightning storm occurring in the last six months at least and that is important for one to become animagus."

Harry openly smirked at the both of them, "It happens when one knows such resourceful friends as I do. They have their own version of the transformation which is hard and brutal but short and effective. I did not have to wait for the storm or any of the other things. It's all magic."

Remus who had listened to everything jovially said, "Okay enough talk. Now it is time to name the snow leopard."

Sirius said, "Last night I saw you as a white blur. Just like a white blizzard moving like lightning and striking before I could think of ways to defend myself."

Remus agreed, "So, let's name him Blizz."

Harry's mind was in over drive with the name Luna had casually given him. How could she know that the marauders would choose this name? As far as Harry knew, she had no contact with the Marauders or even knew about them. He was sure he was missing some important detail which was at the back of his mind and yet could not connect it.

After the naming ceremony was over, "Harry asked Remus, How did the trials go this month, Moony?"

Remus smiled appreciatively, "They went well. None of the test subjects complained about any of the usual side-effects which occur due to aconite poisoning. I do believe that this potion will put Wolfsbane off the market for the sole reason that it is not using Aconite. The fact that it is available at half the price of Wolfsbane will fill your coffers faster than you could imagine."

Harry shook his head, "Remus, this was never about money. I already have more than I will ever need. No, this is about helping you and others with the same affliction to live healthy and full lives. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that it is working. When we go to market with the ICW approved product, it will help hundreds who have been shunned or had to live as monsters because they could not afford the cost or the side-effects of the old potion. I suppose that my next research project would be to look for a cure so that they will no longer require a treatment of any sort."

After that, the meeting did not go much longer.

When Harry emerged from the opening under the Whomping Willow, he touched the knot hole and donned his invisibility cloak once more. As he was walking back to the castle, he spotted Hermione, looking about and entering into the broom shed. His curiosity peaked, Harry took up a position where he could watch the door of the broom shed and waited to see what happened next.

After about 10 minutes, Hermione emerged straightening her clothes and blushing. She produced a brush from inside her robes and started trying to straighten out her hair which appeared to be more bushy than usual. A few minutes later, Ron emerged from the broom shed, grinning like an idiot. Harry thought that if it had been Fred or George who discovered this, they would take the mickey out of Ron without mercy. But, this was Harry and he decided that he would keep it to himself... for now.

Looking around carefully, Harry found no one else around. He started to fly towards Gryffindor tower. He was getting better at propelling himself forward, but he was still nowhere near as fast as he would like to be. He arrived at the level of the third floor window and it took another four minutes and an extraordinary effort to levitate to the seventh floor window. At one point during the flight, Peeves came drifting by. From the concealment of his cloak, Harry said, "Boo!" in his ear and the poltegrist fled. Perhaps nobody had ever frightened Peeves like that before.

Saturday

The rest of the week was pretty ordinary the date of the next Hogsmead weekend was announced which was Saturday next week.

This morning, Harry ditched his friends and found Vikram. Using the Marauder's map, the two of them explored the seven secret passages out of Hogwarts. They were working out a plan for the rapid evacuation of Hogwarts if the need ever came up.

There was one on the fourth floor behind a mirror which Fred and George had reported as being caved in.

They started by investigating the one which was located on the first floor near the great stair case. There was a section of the wall which was covered with a portrait of warlocks engaged in battle while being on horseback. One had to tap the horse's tail with his wand and the portrait would swing sideways and reveal a doorway. The doorway was large enough for 4 grown-ups to enter at once and led them to the edge of the Hogwarts ward line in Hogsmead. The three broom sticks inn was only a stone's throw away from where they had exited.

The second one was from the dungeons in the right most wing of the castle which was the farthest away from the main school. In a room which perhaps had not been frequented for a long time, there were a lot of portraits or paintings which looked grumpy likely because they had been left here to rot. One of the portraits told him how to access the secret passage from this room. There was a trapdoor in the middle of the room which was hidden and could be revealed with the Verdimillious jinx. Once visible, they would have to open the trap door by giving a password Rowena. The passage way could take three at once and opened at the edge of the Forbidden forest near the caves where Sirius had taken refuge once.

The third passageway was on the second floor where there was a statue of a unicorn. Twisting the Unicorn's horn would cause it to slide aside and stairs were visible. This one led to a small hill outside of Hogsmead which was at a pretty good distance from the village.

The fourth one was the way behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy which exited near the cottage on the hill.

The fifth way was the way on the fourth floor behind a mirror. It had been pretty spacious but it was caved in. Harry and Vikram went into the passage and found the cave in easily. They found that the roof was not entirely caved in.

The mystic cast some detection spells and then turned to Harry, "We can repair this way and put it to use again but before we do that we will have to use a number of runes to fortify the structure so it does not fall on any one. Since it is spacious, it can be used for a number of purposes."

Harry whole heartedly agreed and they started casting spells at the debris, clearing it away or transforming it. A few minutes later when they were done, there was an archway where the debris had been. When they exited the passage through the mirror, Harry put a spell on it so it would open only on giving a password and for now, he set the password Ganda Berunda.

They went to inspect the sixth secret passage which was situated on the fifth floor under the statue of the one eyed crone. One had to tap its hump with their wand and give the password Dissendium and the hump would open. The entrance was so tiny that only a thin student could pass through, like Harry used to be during his 3rd year.

He said to the mystic, "This way is a bust. Only a runt like I used to be can pass through it."

The mystic chuckled whole-heartedly, "I agree but let's see if we can do something about it."

The mystic tapped the hump and it opened. Then he transformed the statue into a slide which ended in the secret passage beneath it making Harry grin.

The seventh way was the passage to the Shrieking Shack from under the Whomping willow. Since Harry already knew its condition, they did not bother to check it.

Headmaster's Office

Harry was sitting across from Dumbledore, who was sitting on his favourite chair and his eyes were twinkling as always with a bowl full of lemon drop candies in front of him.

He asked Harry, "My boy, what brings you here this evening?"

Harry answered, "Headmaster, I spent most of today exploring the secret passages in and out of Hogwarts. There are seven of them. With Professor Vikram, we repaired the one on the fourth floor and secured the mirror with a password. The one under the Whomping Willow is rendered unsafe because of the tree. The one accessed through the witch's hump on the third floor is only big enough to accommodate a tiny witch or wizard. The other five, including the one we repaired can be used to move massive numbers at a time. I want you to make port keys to be used by a large group of people, preferably eight to ten people and if Hogwarts is invaded, we can divide the students in groups handing a port key to them which they can activate once they are out of the ward lines. I would recommend placing a person at the end of each passage with the port keys who would divide them into groups and hand port keys to them. Of course, each port key would transport them to a different safe-house, so that if a port key is compromised, it will not take the enemy to a place where students have taken refuge. There they can be looked after by people we will have standing by. From the safe-houses, the students can travel to their final destinations by floo powder or other arrangements can be made as needed."

Dumbledore proudly said, "This is a good plan, my boy. Now what about the catapults? Have you found someone to operate them?"

Harry shook his head, "Not yet. I am still trying to gauge the interest of students and take stock of their loyalties. When I have found some reliable people, I will introduce them to the catapults and teach them to use them. Tomorrow we have to smuggle the goblins into the school with the catapults and assemble them. Please send port keys to Griphook with Fawkes set to go off at the time of dawn breaking and the destination being the ramparts of the castle. There are not many students who will be awake at that hour."

Dumbledore nodded, "I will send the port keys to Griphook tonight."

Lion's den

When Harry returned to the common room, Hermione and Ron were sitting in the common room near the fire place, talking in soft whispers. For once, he thought that he should leave them alone but then realised these last few days he had distanced himself from others.

He hated to do it but he took a chair near both of them and asked, "What is it you two are discussing in such hushed whispers?"

Hermione asked, "Where have you been? We have not seen you for the last few days in the common room in the evenings. You return when it is late and then you are up before dawn and gone."

He shrugged, "Sorry Hermione but I cannot disclose my family magics to you. I am practicing my family spells in the evening."

Ron asked, "Where do you practice? We have not seen you in any of the rooms of the castle."

Harry said, "I cannot tell you that, Ron. If I did, what else is there that I can keep secret? It is sufficient to say that only I can access that place". Before they could ask anything else, he asked, "Where is Neville?"

Hermione scowled, "Like you, he disappears in the evenings. We don't know where he goes either. He told us once that he was working in the greenhouses, but when we went looking for him, we found that Professor Sprout locks all the greenhouses in the evening and does not open them again until dawn. So, we know that he could not possibly be there."

Harry thought about where Neville might have gone. Then a certain chance meeting with the said boy in the Headmaster's office came to mind. Perhaps Dumbledore was teaching him. He would have to discover for himself just what Neville was learning.

Harry had yet another thing to do. He had to find some new friends in Ravenclaw and include some of them in his circle. He knew Cho, Luna and Padma, but none of them were really his close friends. Other than that, he really didn't know any of them. There was a lot of work to do there.

Sunday morning

This morning Harry woke up and found that none of his friends had got up yet. As they were installing the catapults today, he decided to let them sleep. He got up and shouldering his broom he left the tower.

When he reached the top of the Astronomy tower, he mounted his broom and kicked off into the air. He streaked off toward the battlements.

The battlements were the outer walls of the grounds so they were quite formidable. According to "Hogwarts: a History", which Harry had actually bothered to read, they had been built and reinforced by magic. They were also extensively charmed with anti-intrusion wards and detection wards. Not only would someone attempting to enter over the walls be repelled, they would also be immediately detected.

He headed to the top where no students would go nor did they fly at this height on their brooms during Quidditch lessons. With his broom miniaturized and stowed, he began running along the top of the wall.

He heard a soft pop and in the next instant, he was facing where the sound had come from with his Ganda Berunda wand ready in his hand. He pocketed his wand sighing in relief when he found it was only Dumbledore and Neville.

Neville grinned at him, "Hi Harry."

Harry raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Dumbledore who said off-handedly, "As Mr. Longbottom is my apprentice he is entitled to know of what I am doing. Besides if we have more brains to think about a problem, we can have as many solutions."

Harry nodded understanding the logic behind his statement. As they waited for sometime more, Harry had to ask Dumbledore, "Do you know why they did not come at dawn as scheduled, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore shrugged, "They sent a missive with Fawkes that they would come sometime after dawn."

Harry sighed, "Is there a reason that you chose not to share that detail with me?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Because I wanted to ask the honour of a duel with you."

Harry bowed formally, with a grin, "As you wish Headmaster" and his wand was in his hand again.

This was an opportunity too good to be true. Duelling Dumbledore was something that would be as exciting as duelling with Vari.

He and Dumbledore took their stance and started circling each other. Suddenly Dumbledore shot a stinger at him which he side-stepped. Harry shot a stinger at the Grand Sorcerer in return which he swatted away. Harry started casting inaudibly, sending a barrage of the more lethal spells that he had learned in Sanskrit at the Headmaster. Dumbledore was still pretty agile for an old guy but he decided to try and shield instead.

With glee, Harry shattered the shields with over-powered hexes as soon as the Headmaster raised them. Dumbledore sent his own spells at him which he side stepped or dodged. With the fluency and flexibility that Harry had, it was unlikely that Dumbledore's spells would catch him unaware. Dumbledore sent the fire whip at him which he countered with one of his own.

The main difference between them was the speed of casting. Harry was casting at twice the speed of the Headmaster while the Headmaster was using his spells creatively. The Headmaster cast the green sparks spell at him as a distraction. Harry used the pitch black darkness spell rendering it ineffective and had almost stunned the Headmaster but his phoenix flashed in front of him. In that moment, Dumbledore forced Harry to jump aside to avoid he sickly looking pink coloured curse.

Once the Headmaster sent a reductor at him but Harry made no attempt to step out of its way however at the last possible moment, he vanished. Dumbledore looked around attentively but could not locate him.

Harry appeared in mid-air just above the Headmaster and sent a bone breaker at him. But Fawkes jumped in between them again and took the brunt of the attack.

Dumbledore sent an arrow at him. Harry conjured a brick in its path and stopped it. He sent the arrow back where it came from with a flick of his wand. Dumbledore started to transfigure the arrow into an animal, but before he could animate it, Harry cast Confringo at him which was taken by the newly transformed animal. Harry started running in circles around the Headmaster while casting at him with wand and without wand. He was a blur so neither Neville nor Dumbledore could figure out that he was casting with a wand and a hand.

Dumbledore was having trouble defending from such rapid casting and erected a wall around him making the same mistake that McGonagall had made. Harry animated the wall to grow hands and grab Dumbledore and pin him down. Dumbledore disappeared out of the holds of the wall undoing his jinx. Harry kept his wand out and was looking alertly in all directions when suddenly Fawkes flashed in front of him and a stunner collapsed him.

Dumbledore enervated him and said brightly, "My boy! That was the best duel I have had in years. I was expecting more from you but seeing the constraints of time, we will have to make do."

"It has been a long time indeed since we saw someone giving you a hard time Albus Dumbledore", said a regal voice and they turned to find Ragnok, the king of Goblins with a group of them.

"Greetings, King Ragnok", Harry greeted him, "May your gold flow forever."

Ragnok returned, "May your enemies bleed under your sword, Lord Peverell."

Dumbledore said to him, "I did not know that it was such an important task that you would come in person, Ragnok."

The goblin said nonchalantly, "Since Harold Peverell has made us his allies I thought I should come and see that these are installed properly."

In the next hour, they prepared hard points on the ramparts that would allow the catapults to be pivoted and aimed. They then assembled the giant slayers and mounted them. With their work done, they made the catapults invisible for the time being.

The next week, Neville's POV

The duel on the top of the battlements of the castle had been eye opening for Neville. The way Harry was fighting with Dumbledore was thrilling to watch. The way he had side stepped all his spells had left him amazed. The Headmaster was one very accomplished wizard and yet Harry was able to fight with him toe to toe. There was the way Harry had run circles around Dumbledore and his speed was blinding. He also realised that Harry was casting at such a pace that it did not seem humanly possible. His spells were inaudible and many of those were spells that he had not seen before. He had a fleeting suspicion that Harry had been casting inaudibly, something that Neville had learned to do but he was having a hard time doing it with complicated spells.

He also realised that the way he fought with Moody during the Summer was just a warm-up for him because if he had fought with the old Auror the way he had fought with Dumbledore, Moody would not have been able to stand up to him.

His own training with Dumbledore was easy.

The Headmaster had taught him how to detect wards and how to destroy them. Dumbledore warned him that destroying wards took a great deal of energy unless someone used rune stones with the counter wards to negate the ward stones. He had explained to Neville that in every ward, there was a central ward stone generally situated in a ward chamber while there were ward stones at the property lines which kept the wards rooted at those points. For someone to kill a ward, he just had to upend one of those stones and destroy them with a rune stone in turn.

The reason that trees were planted in a circle around a property was that ward stones were generally buried under the trees. The roots would push the ward stones deep into the ground and keep them tangled, immovable and hidden. This worked well for large properties such as country manors and castles.

Another ward scheme had rune stones in a central chamber. There were no peripheral ward-stones and the ward scheme could only be disrupted from the central chamber. These wards were simpler and nearly invulnerable, but they took far too much energy to be used for larger properties. This type of ward scheme could also be used to make a property unplottable.

Neville had also started to learn how to feel magic. Dumbledore had taught him that all magic leaves traces. Much trickier than detecting magic was learning to detect and discriminate between individual magical signatures. It was a reliable way to identify people. There were several ways for wizards and witches to change their appearance, including polyjuice potion, but no way to alter their magical signature.

Dumbledore was also teaching Neville how to control the amount of power he put into his spells while duelling. It was a useful deception to appear to be a wizard of ordinary power and conserve his strength in many situations.

The last week had been pretty ordinary. One thing that Neville had noticed was that the defense instructor seemed very closely acquainted with Harry and his capabilities. That was something that even Neville and Harry's other closest friends did not know. Then there were the rumours, floating about the school during the last week, about the details of Harry's powers. Students were beginning to realise that perhaps Harold Peverell had become something more than the runty, underfed, docile guy he had been in previous years.

The number of students who accompanied them on the pre-dawn work-outs had also increased. At last count, there were 15 of them and some of them were the girls, Susan, Hermione, Ginny, Hannah and somehow, Luna.

The Slytherins had come over to meet them at the Gryffindor table twice during the week. Malfoy was infuriated, seeming to take this as a personal insult but Malfoy was quickly becoming irrelevant in the school. The rest of the Slytherins ignored his ranting and simply brushed him aside.

Harry had also gained three allies who were scions of Dark families during the week in a meeting which had taken place in a room in the dungeons which Neville had not seen before. The room was very old, full of broken furniture and old discarded portraits. Harry had not taken anyone else with him except Neville saying that he planned to introduce them to others at the right time.

-Flash back starts-

Harry and Neville were already waiting in the room when the three entered followed by Daphne Greengrass.

The three of them sat on their haunches and bowed their heads, saying, "Lord Black."

Harry signalled them to stand and said, "Heiress Greengrass intimated to me that you were seeking an audience with me."

Jugson said, "Lord Black, we desired to acknowledge our new liege lord and ask a boon of you."

Harry replied, "Say your wish and if it is in my power, I will grant it."

Everly said, "Lord Black, as you know, our families have sworn fealty to the Dark Lord and as such they are bound by magic to serve him. But they have left our choice to us. We know of the motives of that megalomaniac and the extent to which he is ready to go to achieve his desires. He does not care for blood but only his dreams of world domination. He even kills his own followers if they dare to take a stand against him. We ask you to accept us as vassals of the House of Black as is right and proper."

Harry thought for a second and then said, "Do you all vow to serve the interests of your Liege Lord as he would do for you?"

They replied, "We so vow."

He further asked, "Will you do your Lord's bidding in return for his protection?"

They said, we will."

He proclaimed, "Then rise as Vassals of House Black. The house will serve and protect you as you will for this house. However if you betray your Liege Lord in anyway may Mother Magic smite you for your folly."

These young men were all from pure-blood wizarding families. Harry found to his delight that they all had formidable mind shields and well organized mindscapes. They were well-suited for work inside Slytherin house without fear of being discovered. As they were accepted, Harry gave them some instructions to prod other members of the House without overtly appearing to be serving him and to bring those to his side who could be swayed.

He also accepted Jugson's request to protect his father from persecution at the hands of the Ministry. This was conditional provided that his father did not indulge in muggle baiting, fighting against the ministry or commit any such crime as would be punishable by death.

-Flash back ends-

Today was the Hogsmead weekend and Harry had sent word around to many people of other houses to meet him in the Hogs head. Neville knew the agenda of the meeting was to talk about the oncoming war and to recruit the students on his side in case Hogwarts was attacked. Neville had sent word to his parents about this plan and Frank had agreed that students should at least be able to protect themselves.

The defense instructor was very good, perhaps the best in years but two classes a week was not enough time to teach them properly. Neville himself had talked to a couple of them and they had agreed that it would be at least worth it to hear what Harry had to say. There was one thing that Harry had flatly refused to do. He would not teach students below 3rd year. He said that they were too young and they would do better with the defense instructor teaching them.

Neville had yet to see the defense instructor teach a theoretical class. His approach was in fact celebrated by others. He had overheard Professors Sprout and Septima Vector talking about how the practical applications in the subject were helpful in teaching students to be more agile.

The Wizarding Etiquette classes which were optional from the second year up, were also attended by many of the students. Professor Cassandra Lester was very patient and taught about the wizarding world, its customs and traditions to students while she encouraged them to ask questions. All in all this was the best year yet.