The Three Broom Sticks was a pub where the students used to go during their Hogsmead weekends for butterbeer and snacks. During their outings from the castle, it was a place to go and popular with couples. During their time at Hogwarts, the Marauders used to go to the Three broomsticks often. Madam Rosmerta had very fond memories of them.
Officially, Harry hadn't been to the inn during the school year before because he never had permission to visit Hogsmeade in his third year and with a mass murderer on the loose, it was a good excuse to try to keep him confined in the castle. Unofficially however, with the help of the map, he had been to the village many times during that year.
When they entered the inn, Harry asked for a private booth. Rosmerta recognized them from their visits over the summer and raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you both supposed to be at Hogwarts right now?"
Harry cheekily said, "Is it good business to chase paying customers out of your shop?"
She huffed, "you are your father's son. Always a cheeky brat. What can I get you two?"
"A butterbeer each and some of the delicious lunch that you are serving would be good", he said.
As she left them alone, Harry turned to Susan, "I heard that your father has taken the reins of the light faction."
She nodded, "yes, he told me. Actually he had a long talk with Dumbledore and he made the headmaster realise that he was not doing any good with all the power at its disposal. The headmaster held the progressives in his grasp but never made any significant progress. Even when he was in a position to dictate his will, he chose to be moderate, kind and compassionate to others. It is his personal flaw that he only sees the good in everyone."
"What does he intend to do next?"
"I don't know, Harry", she said, "Father discusses things a lot with me but he doesn't tell me everything."
"You know I don't understand the workings of the Wizengamot yet", Harry said, "I mean why all the factions in the first place and then factions within factions? I mean there are no friends or enemies in politics but only opportunities."
"The Wizengamot was established long ago according to the dictates of the houses which formed this country. I mean there are ministry nominated seats but the seats held by the Most Ancient and Noble houses hold sway. Some of them have been around so long that others just follow them. This in turn gives them more power and they form their voting blocks. Now blocks are formed more on the basis of the ideology or the direction in which they want to take the country but there was a time each catered to their own interests."
"Which is the biggest block at the moment?"
"When he was alive, Lord Arcturus Orion Black formed a big coalition of houses which sit in the dark faction. House Black has always been influential and had many allies prior to that. Arcturus Orion Black sought to consolidate those houses into a single entity and brought them together under the dark alliance. When he disappeared from public view, the command was taken over by Lucius Malfoy because it was assumed that Draco Malfoy would become the heir of House Black in the absence of one."
"And now that Sirius is Lord Black?"
"This has changed things. Father told me that Sirius Black being in charge of the dark alliance is giving some of the others cold feet. Considering that he was once very popular and has friends in all the factions, he would be a driving force. Also, for now, Fudge is being his best mate so everyone is looking at that. Add to it that Lucius Malfoy is on the run, he gets even more power. It is also assumed that he is going to sit in the dark faction and take the Potter seat with him."
"I don't rightly know about all that", Harry confessed, "What I do know is that he will do what he believes is best for me. What do you want to do once you graduate from Hogwarts?"
"I have thought about it at length. Since I won't be the lady Bones, I can be anything I want without that pressure bearing down on me. You may not know that the house of Bones has been in law enforcement for generations. My uncle Edgar was an Auror and so was Aunt Amelia. I would be following in their footsteps. What do you plan to do?"
"You may not believe it but I haven't really thought about it yet. My family has often been in the background, existing there comfortably and building their wealth. I think I would get into business if I find it to my liking. Sirius tells me that if I don't double my family's fortune, it would be a crime."
"Is he really that intense?"
"No, he is very considerate. He loves me like a son but yes, he has very high expectations of me."
"Harry, tomorrow the circle of heirs will be meeting. Are you planning to attend?"
"Circle of heirs? What is that?", he asked.
"It is actually a long standing tradition. All the students who are the heirs of their houses become a member when they come to Hogwarts. We thought that you would take your place among us when you came to Hogwarts but you never did. Some of us would like to know why."
Harry snorted, "An invitation would have helped. I mean, it's not like it was ever posted on the bulletin board in the Gryffindor common room. Is Malfoy a part of this circle?", Harry asked, "I mean he is the heir of his house."
She snorted, "Not any more. None of us actually like him. When he tried to lord it over all of us, we unanimously decided to kick him out."
"When does this circle meet and where?"
"I will tell you the time and place."
Editor's note: They never told him about it and she's still keeping it a secret. Susan is the queen of all trolls.
"I am telling you Daph that you need to watch out for Bones", said Tracey, "You haven't had much time with him and she has been seen with him and people are beginning to talk. I have even heard that Sirius Black was seen hob-knobbing with Edward Bones recently."
"What would he want with Sirius Black?"
"Sirius Black is a most sought after person right now", Tracey said, "The minister is his friend and people are lining up to be his friend. He has been meeting many lords from different factions. If he decides to move to the light, he will take quite a few of them and the neutrals with him."
"You know Trace that father does not want me to worry about politics", Daphne said irritably, "Besides father has a strong hold on the neutrals."
Tracey shook her head, "You are so out of touch. The neutrals stay with uncle Nicholas because they had no other option but I have heard that Dumbledore has given his support to Edward Bones and now he is the biggest block over there. The neutrals may not like Dumbledore or Bones but they could only benefit from hobnobbing with Black."
"Ok, I get it that you are a politics expert. So now give me some of that wisdom about what I should do?"
"Claim your territory", Tracey said smirking, "Show others that you only have the rights to Potter and no one else."
"Moony, did you have any success in finding any of those locations?", Sirius asked Remus.
Remus had gone on to scout for potential hiding places of Voldemort's horcruxes. Based on the memory that Slughorn had given them, they determined that Riddle made at least six horcruxes. They were also certain that they knew about the identities of the objects that were made into horcruxes: Tom Riddle's diary, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, a stone bearing the Peverell coat of arms, Salazar Slytherin's necklace and Harry Potter. Out of those, they had already destroyed the diary, exorcised the soul piece from Harry's scar and destroyed the horcrux in Salazar's locket with the sword of Gryffindor. Dumbledore was also conducting his research to find out where the other objects were or what they could be. By deduction he had decided that Tom had at least found the diadem of Ravenclaw but for the life of him he could not find how Voldemort had found it when it had been missing for centuries or where it was now.
"Dumbledore sent me to find the place of Voldemort's grandfather. The memory that he showed to us was so old that it was very hard to find the place. All that I had to go on was the name of Little Hangleton. The name is a misnomer. The village has grown and looks like a small town. I had to double back twice before I found the remains of a path narrow and overgrown, a goat trail for all I know. As I followed it, I felt a sense of dread creep into my bones. There, I found the old Gaunt shack in such an advanced state of decay that it was difficult to pick it out from the surrounding growth. The whole area is infested with snakes."
"Yes and as Dumbledore suspected, it was magical. There are several wards which cover that house like a dome. I could have neutralized one or two of them at most but not all. I will need your help to penetrate those wards."
"We will go see it tomorrow then", Sirius said.
"There are still places left for us to find", Remus said, "You know there is the cup which we know definitely exists."
"I have been thinking about that Moony", said Sirius, "There is something that I have noted. A pattern if you will."
"What is it?"
"Dumbledore agreed with me on this. Voldemort was an orphan and never had anything of his own like the purebloods, right? He was fascinated by the wizarding world and wanted to have everything that we do. House of Gaunt had lost their wealth, their reputation and everything so he could get nothing by claiming that name. Still he had followers who had everything. He gave the diary to Lucius Malfoy who kept it in his manor, which is also one of the things that only the richest wizards own. He stole founder's relics too. There is something else that he would have coveted but never got it…"
Sirius left the sentence unfinished to see if Moony would take the bait, "What is it, Sirius?"
"The oldest of the families have vaults in the deepest parts of the bank", he said, "And those vaults are special in the sense that they don't need a key to operate but work on touch."
"But he couldn't get any old vault or ask any of his followers to give that to him, could he?"
"No, but it is possible he gave a horcrux to one of his followers for safekeeping without telling them what it was", Sirius said, "And with the way the war was going and the Aurors knocking people's doors, they may have sent it for safekeeping to Gringotts."
"I think you may be onto something here", Remus said, "Who do you think he would have chosen."
"If you think about it, he closely trusted only those who came from Ancient and Most Noble Houses like Regulus, Lucius, Barty Crouch Junior. Even if he had other followers who were scary in their own right, Bellatrix surpassed them. I think we should make a list of all of them and find out who can have the last one."
Harry was returning to Gryffindor tower when the resident ghost of Gryffindor met him midway, "Harry, the headmaster wants to see you in his office. The password is "toffee eclairs".
When he arrived in Dumbledore's office, the old headmaster was reading an old tome, "young Harry, take a seat."
"Did anything happen professor?"
"No, nothing like that", Dumbledore said, "You may remember that I said during the summer that I will take an active hand in your education."
"What will you be teaching me sir?", Harry asked excitedly.
"Initially I wanted to teach you about Voldemort's history but now that Sirius and Remus are helping with that problem, I have decided to teach you in other magics. Today we will start training in Occlumency. I believe Sirius has given you some instructions in this discipline?"
"Yes professor", Harry said respectfully, "I am halfway to being able to clear my mind."
"That is admirable Harry", Dumbledore said, smiling, "But another important thing to know in Occlumency is to detect an intrusion in your mind. If you can detect an intrusion in your mind, that is half the battle won."
"What do we do when we detect an intrusion?"
"Detecting an intrusion is the first step and important one at that", Dumbledore said sombrely, "Once you do that, you can act to stop any attack but that is a considerable skill and only comes after hard practice. If you fail to stop an intrusion, then comes resistance. The first thing that you can do to resist is to misdirect the intruder. If that fails, it will always boil down to raw strength. You would have a very hard time beating someone with raw strength in mind magics if you are a new practitioner and your opponent is a devoted practitioner. I know for a fact that Lord Voldemort is an expert in these arts second only to me."
"Where does Occlumency come in? Does it help prevent the intrusion?"
"No, my boy. It does not prevent the intrusion but using Occlumency you would always know if someone is trying to intrude in your mind. When you reach the level in Occlumency where you can keep your shields raised all the time, you will not have to worry about someone intruding in your mind."
"How do we start?"
"We can start by understanding the mind. The Mind isn't a place as you would envision nor is it like an empty space that you can fill with thoughts and memories. Reading minds, doesn't mean that you can read it like reading a book. Thoughts aren't just etched on the insides of the mind that you can peruse to your leisure. The mind is a many layered conscious thing, containing the conscious, the cognitive thoughts whether rational or irrational. Making a mindscape means making a construct of magic that leads others astray. The mindscape, which is a construct of magic, can be a multilayered thing which may appear as whatever you wish it to be to your intruder."
"Sounds tough, professor", Harry said.
The headmaster chuckled, "It is but as I understand you have learnt the basics from Sirius?"
"He made me learn how to clear my mind."
"Before you make your mindscape, you have to learn to keep your mind clear at all times. Being in control of all of your senses is essential for this discipline and for becoming an Animagus."
"Professor, why didn't you become an animagus?"
Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly, "I did take the potion but my animagus form was so useless that I knew it was an exercise in futility to complete the process."
"What was it?", Harry asked curiously.
"A goat", Dumbledore said, "You can imagine how useless that would be."
"Now on to today's lesson, young Harry. The best way to clear your mind is meditation. It isn't easy to keep your mind clear of all thoughts because the sub-conscious part of our mind never sleeps so some thought is always going through it. What you can do is to train your mind not to think about what is going on in your sub-conscious mind. But first we start small. The book contains the basics of meditation which you need to know. Before our next meeting, I want you to learn these steps. Is that clear?"
Harry nodded, "yes headmaster."
"I will know if you are not practicing, Harry", he said and then produced another book. This book was old, very thin and it appeared as if it would fall apart under the gentlest touch.
"This is a book on magical theory which is not available anywhere else. This is the only copy which was ever published and I don't give it to you lightly. Take this book and study it. It will answer many of your questions that cannot be answered elsewhere. Also a word of caution- don't tell anybody about this book because it was banned by the Ministry of Magic when it was published."
Harry nodded gratefully, "Yes Professor. Will you teach me to duel further?"
"I believe Alastor taught you a lot during the summer", Albus said, "I will be building on that and teach you to duel using the simplest of things but that will not be possible until you learn that book."
"Professor, why are you preparing me like you expect me to fight?"
"There is something that I have never told you", Dumbledore said cryptically, "But the time is nearing when your questions will be answered. Until then, I ask you to be patient and learn what I have to teach you."
"Does this fighting mean I will have to kill someone?"
"I know Alastor talked to you about it and you don't agree with him", Dumbledore said, "killing someone is a gruesome business and leaves a blemish on one's soul. I have always tried to avoid killing if I could but it is not always possible. And the time may come when you will have to kill. You just can't avoid it because thousands of lives may depend on it."
"But Professor, I have heard that you defeated Grindelwald without killing him and the war ended shortly thereafter. If you didn't kill him then why did the war end?"
"The war with Grindelwald didn't end in a day, Harry. The war he waged went on for years before it was ended. In the final years of his campaign, his reign of terror stretched from Europe to the USA. Wizards were dying left and right by the thousands. The ICW forces were failing to stop him. Due to some reasons, I could not move against him earlier. By that time, a team of wizards from England were also fighting him. Your grandfather's cousin Charlus Potter with Arcturus Black were among those who were fighting his forces and kept them busy and away from Grindelwald. When I cornered him, the war was practically won but not without bloodshed. It is said that Charlus Potter had killed 5 of his top lieutenants. I may not have had my hands bloodied but others did or we wouldn't have won that victory. I knew Charlus to be a recluse and Arcturus Black to be the patriarch of a blood supremacist family like the Blacks but they led the war. They understood the need to shed blood which I didn't. So a time may come Harry when putting down someone may save hundreds, thousands or even millions of lives. I will train you in such a way that you would be adept in avoiding that outcome as much as you can."
"Thank you for telling me, professor. I don't know much about my family."
"I know my boy and very little knowledge about your family is available to the public. In fact, no one ever knew how many people were in your family at any given time leave alone someone having seen your family tree."
"What about my grandfather?"
"Your grandfather, Fleamont Potter, was a potioneer and perhaps the brightest of his age. Your family has always been traders, businessman etc. and each generation increased the wealth that your ancestors had accumulated. Fleamont took all the liquid holdings of your family and invested them into a potion that he had invented. The potion named "Sleekeazy" is the largest selling cosmetic potion in the world and quadrupled your family fortune and even now brings in galleons by the bucketful. There is very little that is known about Euphemia who was your grandmother. From what I remember of her, she was a daughter of the Montrose family which went extinct with her. Currently there are only two viable heirs alive of the Montrose family- You and Neville Longbottom."
"We are related?"
Dumbledore chuckled, "All pureblood families are related to each other. Your grandmother Euphemia was the cousin of Augusta who was a daughter of a cadet line of the family."
"Did you guys have Moody's class?", asked Fred of Harry as they were sitting at breakfast.
"No, we have him today. Why?"
"He is an exciting teacher. Really knows what he is doing", George gushed.
"What is he like?", asked Hermione.
"The way he teaches shows that he has done the things that he is said to have done. He knows so many curses and hexes that it boggles my mind but he can also use the simplest of things to win a duel."
This made the students excited for the class. Harry however remained neutral for he knew Alastor Moody and how he liked to teach. Moody could teach a lot but it would be toned down from the summer when he taught Harry how to survive. During their first lesson, Moody told him that he was not teaching Harry to duel but to fight. That every time Harry had to engage in combat, his sole aim should be to survive at the end of the fight. There was no shame in running from a losing battle.
When they reached the defence classroom, there were foe glasses and sneakoscopes on the table, the entire room hummed with a faint vibration of magic which was one of the first things that Moody had taught him. As the students hustled among themselves to get the best seats, Harry sat on the second bench directly within the sight of Daphne Greengrass who also sat on the second bench on the other side of the classroom.
They sat and waited for the professor to arrive. The door to the professor's office was closed so they assumed he was in there. Seeing that the teacher wasn't around, Malfoy was bad mouthing everyone. Since nobody cared what the ponce said anymore, knowing him for the fangless serpent that he was as his father was on the run, he decided to turn his ire on Harry.
"You think you are so high and mighty now that your godfather is out of prison, Potter?", he sneered, "One day, you will find that he is not there and you will rue the day when he mocked me for my father being on the run."
Harry was about to whip his wand out and shut his mouth when he fancied that he saw slight movement in the darkest part of the classroom out of the corner of his eye. As he looked more closely, he realized it was someone standing there under a disillusionment charm.
In the next instant, he turned his wand in that direction and shouted, "Stupefy!"
His spell went to waste as Moody waved his wand and the spell was deflected. Moody stepped out of the shadows, limping on his leg and grunted, "Welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts. This will be a practical class. You won't be needing your books. Now let's have the roll call so I can connect names with faces."
As he took the roll call, he looked upon each face though he gave a fleeting look to Harry and seemed transfixed on Neville's when his name came up. After the roll call was done, he started speaking, "I have seen the course set by your previous teachers and the scores sent to me by Professor Lupin from when he taught you all last year. He may have covered creatures but you are behind in curses and hexes. It is my job to bring you up to speed."
Hermione raised her hand, "What will you be teaching us, professor?"
"Miss Granger, is it? Top of your year, but not in this subject. There are a lot of things that I will be teaching you", he said, "from jinxes that can save your lives to curses that can kill you before you can blink. Today I will be teaching you the three unforgivable curses."
"But Professor, those curses are banned", Ronald said.
"They are allowed to be taught in a controlled environment like this. They may object to it being taught while you are so young but Dumbledore thinks otherwise. He thinks that you should at least know what you are up against or how are you going to defend yourself?"
The entire class was stunned into silence. This was their first interaction with someone who knew what it was like to go against the real threat in the outside world. They were eager to learn whatever he had to teach them.
Harry raised his hand, "What are you going to teach us by showing us the three unforgivable curses sir?"
"I want to make you all ready to fight what is out there waiting for you", he said cryptically, "the world outside these walls is a dangerous place and it is my duty to make you ready for whatever may be waiting for you out there. Now who can tell me the name of one of the unforgivable curses?"
Along with many students, to Harry's astonishment, Ron also raised his hand. Moody turned to him, "You, Weasley, tell me."
"The Imperius curse, sir."
Moody grinned, "Of course you'll know about it. Your father works at the ministry, doesn't he? This curse once caused lots of problems for the ministry. Now who can tell me what the curse does?"
"It can put someone under a spell where they will be forced to do the caster's bidding", Hermione said.
"Five points to Gryffindor", Moody grunted, "Now watch me."
He opened the lid of a jar kept on his desk and pulled out a tarantula. He then cast an 'engorgement charm on it and it swelled to the size of a dinner plate.
Ron who was sitting on the first desk with Hermione leaned back. Moody pointed his wand at the spider and intoned, "Imperio".
The effect was not immediately visible until the spider was suspended on a pitcher and started doing cartwheels. The class laughed except Harry who was frowning in concentration.
"You all think it is funny?", Moody growled before waving his wand once more and the spider was hovering over Malfoy's head who went cross-eyed trying to keep an eye on it. The spider started crawling on his face and people laughed again until it landed on Crabbe's head. Then it passed over the heads of the Gryffindors and landed on Moody's desk.
"This curse is not a funny one and is only one of the three that cannot be defended against. The one who casts the curse has total control over the one on whom it is cast and can force them to do anything that the caster wants. In the war, you-know-who and his followers used it on many unsuspecting victims to do their bidding. They used it on children to kill their parents."
A grim mood settled upon the class as they considered the ramifications of the curse and the damage that it could really cause. Sure it looked like harmless fun to be able to control someone but the consequences were certainly not pretty.
"Who can tell me the second curse?"
To Harry's amazement, it was Neville this time who raise his wand and Moody turned to him, "Yes you. Longbottom, right? Tell me the second curse."
Neville himself looked as if he were wondering how and when did he volunteer but stood up and said, "the Cruciatus curse."
As Neville sat down, Moody turned his wand to the spider again and intoned, "Crucio".
The spider went upside down instantly and its legs curled up. Everyone watched the spider writhe in pain, fascinated. Harry however watched the Professor whose face was twisted in a hideous, contorted expression. He was appalled and repulsed by it. He then looked to Neville to find out that he was gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles had turned white. Moody ended the torture after a while and said, "You won't need any other curses or methods to torture someone if you can cast the Cruciatus curse. It is more painful than any pain that you may have experienced in your life. What is the third curse?"
Hermione said timidly, "the killing curse."
"5 points to Gryffindor", Moody said, "The killing curse is the last of the three and frowned upon everywhere. This curse has almost never failed to kill leaving behind no mark on the body of its victim. The only exception who has lived through the killing curse is sitting right before us."
Harry felt a chill rise in his bones as he heard Moody say this. This was the curse that had made him an orphan! This curse was the reason that he had to grow up without his parents. There was also something that was nagging in the back of his mind but he could not put his finger on it.
"The thing about casting an unforgivable successfully is that you have to mean it. Even if you all were to pull out your wands and cast the killing curse at me, I don't think I would get more than a nosebleed from any of you. These curses are unforgivable because to cast them you have to have the intention to really cause harm to the one on whom it is cast", Moody was saying, "Now who can tell me the incantation?"
No one raised their hand in answer. He looked around and said, "No one?"
When no one volunteered, he turned his wand on the spider and incanted, "Avada Kedavra."
A jet of green light left his wand and hit the spider which turned upside down and looked as if it were merely asleep. There was no mark whatsoever to show where the curse had hit him.
"Now for homework, you all need to write an 8 inch essay on the three unforgivable curses, to be submitted in a week", he said, "Class dismissed."
As they left, Moody turned to Neville, "Longbottom, stay back."