Year of Discovery

Laen

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 13/12/2007
Last Updated: 16/10/2008
Status: in_progress

When given a chance to embark on a new journey away from the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. However, each hero has a task, and Harry learns the hard way that he can't escape his destiny. [Updated! Ch.2 has been edited, so please re-read before continuing to Ch.3]

Chapters

1. Leaving the Wizarding World

2. Making the Decisions

3. Enter, Hermione Granger

4. The Discovery Dimension ; Breathe

1. Leaving the Wizarding World

Title: Year of Discovery

Chapter: (1) Leaving the Wizarding World

Author: Laen

Summary: When given a chance to embark on a new journey away from the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. However, each hero has a task, and Harry learns the hard way that he can't escape his destiny.

Disclaimer: If you honestly think I'm J.K. Rowling, I'll take it as a compliment. Or... in some cases an insult, considering how Rowling finished the series with Harry getting together with Ginny - ew.

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All was quiet on Privet Drive that night; the rain had finally stopped and the clouds had cleared, making it possible for the moon and stars to be seen. It was nearing midnight, and almost all the residents in the neighborhood were fast asleep in bed - all but one.

Harry James Potter stood staring out the window in silence, with a grave expression on his face. It had been several weeks since the death of his God-father Sirius Black, and it had been several sleep-less nights since he had been informed of a certain prophecy.

Time passed quickly while Harry stood there, lost in thought. He would've continued to stand there had he not noticed the chimes come from the grandfather clock downstairs in the hallway.

DONG! It was midnight. DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!

The twelfth dong never came, and for a second Harry thought he had gotten the time wrong.

"Still mourning, Mr. Potter?" a voice carried across the room to where Harry stood by the window.

The boy who lived spun around with his wand in his hand, ready to utter a spell. However, he barely had the chance to do anything before he was disarmed.

"Now, now, is that anyway to treat a guest?"

A figure stepped out of the shadows in the room and into the moonlight; Harry stared with slight confusion.

"Who are you? Did Dumbledore send you?" Harry asked, taking a look at the man who had just mysteriously appeared.

It was a fairly tall man; he wasn't as tall as Hagrid, but wasn't shorter than say, Oliver Wood. He was dressed in navy wizarding robes, and surprisingly enough didn't have a wand.

"Dumbledore? Don't be ridiculous," the man said, chuckling lightly, "my name is Kazu, I am a Dragon Master working for the Elders. I was sent here to offer you an opportunity."

Harry's eyebrows raised, but before he could say anything Kazu continued.

"I believe by now you've been notified of a prophecy that involves you and a Mr. Tom Riddle?"

"Uh, yes," Harry answered, before realizing what he had just done, "I mean - no! The prophecy was destroyed!"

A smile appeared onto Kazu's face, and once again he began to chuckle lightly.

"Nice try Mr. Potter, but I already know the truth: you're the chosen one."

The silence in the room was chilling, and Harry didn't know how to respond to Kazu's statement.

"I have a question Mr. Potter - "

"Please, call me Harry," the Gryffindor cut in, sick of hearing 'Mr. Potter this' and 'Mr. Potter that'.

"Harry then, answer me this," Kazu paused for effect, "are you sick of Dumbledore's tactics yet?"

Green met blue, and Harry found himself staring straight into the mystery man's eyes, not at all worried about whether or not the man was a legimens.

"Sick would be an understatement," Harry whispered, his voice cold and pained.

"I have been sent to offer you an opportunity, Harry. The Elders wish to place you under a different environment - to give you the options of training or living life normally, away from the Wizarding World."

"How is that possible-"

"The weight of the world lies on your shoulders, Harry. You shouldn't be spending your summer trapped in a place like this, isolated from everyone."

Silence fell among the two individuals, and Harry once again found himself speechless.

"Imagine being able to walk through the streets without being stared and pointed at; imagine being able to tell people who you are without them searching for a scar. The Elders want to offer you a break from all this... four and a half years of solitary before you need to return. All we need is an answer."

"You want me to run away," Harry mumbled, forcing himself to look away from Kazu and back out to the window.

"Only temporarily, and it's not me that wants to Harry, it's you."

The look of confusion returned to Harry's face, and the sixteen year old teenager raised an eyebrow at Kazu.

"Did you not just make a wish? Eleven gongs ago?"

Harry's eyes darted towards the nearly crushed clock that he had fixed. Eleven seconds past the hour; something was wrong- the second hand wasn't moving.

"Fate works in mysterious ways, Harry. Your God-Father would have wanted you to take this opportunity."

Emerald green eyes shifted from the clock to the mysterious man, and Harry blinked twice.

"You already know my answer, don't you?" he asked.

Kazu smiled, and nodded his head.

"Then let's go."

A bright flash of light appeared in the smallest room located at number four, Privet Drive, and as the last gong was heard from the Grandfather clock in the hallway of the Dursley's home... Harry James Potter disappeared.

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Author's Note: Hey everyone. I finally got around to re-writing this thing. It took me... what, two and a half years? Thankfully, during that time a lot has changed, but hopefully you'll like my new writing style. If you want, feel free to leave me a review to let me know if you like the new changes. I'm always happy to read constructive criticism, etc.

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2. Making the Decisions

Title: Year of Discovery

Chapter: (2) Making the Decisions

Author: Laen

Beta: hazeleyes15

Summary: When given a chance to embark on a new journey away from the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. However, each hero has a task, and Harry learns the hard way that he can't escape his destiny.

Disclaimer: If you honestly think I'm J.K. Rowling, I'll take it as a compliment.

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In life, people are rarely given a chance to change their destinies. They grow up the way they do, struggling through the curve balls life has thrown at them.

The Elders were the ones that were supposed to be in charge of people's chances. How destiny dealt the cards (pun intended), how much luck was to be presented, and should certain things would occur so that the world could be a better or worse place. Made up of four beings, three of the four Elders represented good, while the last represented evil.

Van was the Elder who represented evil, and like the others he too possessed the same abilities to grant chances and change destinies. The Conductor, the all powerful mighty being who created the Elders, included him in the group to help balance the good and evil in the world. However, because the ratio was 3:1, Van would often take his chances and battle it out with the others when it came to any decision making; dealing the cards was how he rolled:

"Full house, let's see you beat that," Van said, revealing his cards to the other three Elders.

The three beings flinched and shook their heads while Van thought about what his request would be. After a few seconds he announced whose destiny he was going to meddle with.

"I'm revoking Spear's innocence," he sad, ignoring the cries from the others.

"Now is that really necessary?" Mae, one of the other Elders, asked.

"I was getting sick of her music," Van explained before continuing with the game. "Who's turn is it to deal?"

Several minutes passed before one of the other Elders had the better hand and won; she then continued with her request.

"Europe is in chaos right now. The prophecy's finally been revealed to Potter and I think it's time we stepped in before anything bad happens."

The other two Elders shrugged before turning to Van, who nodded his head. Gwendolyn, the Elder who had won this round, snapped her fingers; immediately a man appeared out of thin air.

"You called, my lady?" the man bowed as a sign of respect.

"Yes, Kazu. It's time to approach Potter. Give him the opportunity of living life as a normal kid. See if he'll take up the offer of freedom." Gwendolyn instructed.

"Is it the usual ten years?" Kazu asked for confirmation.

"No, just offer four and a half. Van decided to kill Spear's popularity four and a half years early," Gwendolyn paused to throw Van a glare, "so we have some extra magic for him to use."

"I see, I'll leave right away," Kazu said, giving another light bow before disappearing.

"Alright then, new round," Van said, grabbing the cards and beginning to shuffle them, "everyone still wanna play this or switch over to another game?"

"Another game's good," an Elder named Akane answered.

A few seconds passed as the cards were re-dealt, and soon the game started up again.

"Mae, you got a two?"

"Goldfish."

The game continued for several minutes before Van slaughtered the Elders again.

"Hah, hm... Let's make Potter spend three of those years training."

"What?!" The Elders cried out, ignoring the look on Van's face.

"Oh come on, we can thrown him in the Time Chamber next door. Chuck him back into regular time afterwards and have him attend a mortal school for a year or so before re-entering the war. You honestly think I'll let Riddle hang around for four and a half years before taking over the place?"

"I honestly don't understand why you're still rooting for the guy. Didn't he try to kill you to get your powers?" Gwendolyn asked.

"Oh, yeah. I banished him back to spirit mode," Van growled. "It's the bad guy thing to do though! We're supposed to help each other... since the overall goal's the same."

Van suddenly sighed as if he was hit with an epiphany, "But I admit, I never should have let Flamel escape with my immorality information."

The three elders rolled their eyes, before they all simultaneously snapped their fingers. Kazu was going to go insane from the amount of work they gave him.

Day one

Harry James Potter was officially free. Under a new alias, Nicholas Cliffmore, he was now residing in a small town somewhere in Wales. After removing the tracking spell from his wand, Kazu had set him up with a small flat, and he was to spend the rest of the summer on his own before going to a muggle school and continuing his education.

The flat Kazu had set him up with was a nice place. It came equipped with a telly, a fridge, and several other muggle electronics that Harry had learned to use at the Dursleys; it even came with a laptop! Harry had woken up that morning around ten, and after making a huge birthday breakfast and stuffing himself (getting sick in the process from the huge amount of food he ate) he decided to head into the village to explore.

It was about half past noon by the time Harry had finished his walk around the village. He had stepped into several stores, as well as restaurants, just to get a taste of the atmosphere. Simply from what he had experienced in the short amount of time, Harry had a feeling that he was going to like the town very much. Kazu had explained to him that it was a very popular town for teenagers and tourists, due to the collection of popular shops in the area. Personally, Harry thought the town was like a mix between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Sipping on a drink he had purchased earlier from what looked like a popular coffee shop (the people there called his drink a 'frappuccino'), Harry decided he needed do a bit of shopping for some new wardrobe. He was currently wearing his school pants, and a t-shirt he had received from Dean the Christmas before - sporting Manchester United, of course.

Entering into a fancy looking store that had the words 'French Connection United Kingdom" shown outside, Harry soon found a saleslady approach him.

"How are you diddling? Anything I can help you with?"

"Erm yeah," Harry ruffled his hair, "It's my birthday and... I'm looking for a new wardrobe. I'm not sure if I have enough pounds on me but... do you guys take these?"

Pulling out a card from his pocket, Harry flashed the front of it at the saleslady.

"Blimey, Coutts & Co! Of course we take that here! Give me a mo', I'll call Dylan over to help you. Dyl!" The saleslady waved a man who had been folding clothes over.

"This gentleman here's lookng for a new wardrobe..."

Close to two hours later, Harry stumbled out of the French Connection store, several hundred pounds lighter. He had purchased what seemed like a month's worth of clothes, now that the shopping part was over, Harry decided he should be heading back and taking a break from all this spending. Carrying four bags in each hand, he began the walk back to his flat.

That was when he heard the screams and noticed the smoke a distance away. Ducking into an alley he pulled out his wand and shrunk his purchases and pocketed the bags, and then ran back out to see what the commotion was all about.

The screams were horrific; men and women were shouting at one another, telling their families to fun, while children screeched and bawled their eyes out. When Harry first turned the corner and saw the scene, he didn't quite understand what was going on.

Then he saw the figures in black robes.

"Crucio!"

"No!" Harry cried out as whipping his wand out and sending a stunner at the closest Death Eater.

The stunner caught the attention of the other Death Eaters, and many of them froze, as if in shock that a wizard would willingly step out to help muggles. Harry took the chance to take down two more Death Eaters. Almost immediately, flashes of green, red and more shot towards him. Diving behind a car, Harry just barely missed an 'Avada Kedavra'.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered as he caught a quick breather. Just his luck, he finally gets a chance to start new and the death eaters come knocking at his door.

Casting a disillusionment charm on himself, the teenager exited from the other side of the vehicle and then sprinted into action to defend the villagers. Although he had only been in the town for a few hours, he felt a connection to the place, and he wasn't about to let the Death Eaters destroy his new home.

"Impedimenta," Harry whispered, pointing his wand at a Death Eater who was setting flames to a nearby store. The Death Eater fell and Harry sent an "Aguamenti" spell at the store to help the flames die down, but his activity once again did not go unnoticed. More curses and hexes were shot in his direction, and the birthday boy was soon forced to defend himself.

"Protego!"

"Crucio!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Diffindo!"

"Expellarimus!"

"Reducto!"

"Stupefy!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry ducked and flinched as the building behind him was destroyed. Flying pieces of debris collided into him, leaving small scrapes and tears in his clothes, but he did not care. Getting up from where he was, he raised his wand once more to continue the battle.

"That is enough!" A voice cried out amidst the fighting. Several heads turned to see who had spoken, and Harry looked over as well.

It was Kazu.

"Somnus," the Dragon Master said, giving a light wave with his hand.

Bodies around Harry collapsed to the ground, and the Gryffindor was suddenly hit with a sense of tiredness.

"Fate has decided to give you a different path, Mr. Potter," ; darkness soon filled his world.

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3. Enter, Hermione Granger

Title: Year of Discovery
Chapter: (3) Enter, Hermione Granger
Author: Laen
Beta: hazeleyes15
Summary: When given a chance to embark on a new journey away from the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. However, each hero has a task, and Harry learns the hard way that he can't escape his destiny.
Disclaimer: If you honestly think I'm J.K. Rowling, I'll take it as a compliment.

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'We'll see you soon mate,' Ron said anxiously, while shaking Harry's hand.

'Really soon, Harry, we promise!' Hermione smiled, and Harry returned the gesture before waving and leaving.

She should have seen him by now; she had, after all, promised him that she would. However, she hadn't - she hadn't seen him yet. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be the last time she saw her best friend.

Before Hermione had left King's Cross station, she had made the promise that she'd see him soon, but she couldn't hold onto that promise. Not anymore.

Eyes shut, she leaned back on the wall parallel to where the window was. She couldn't believe it, she wasn't to return to Hogwarts with her friends the following fall.

Hermione thought back to what had occurred several weeks ago upon her arrival home, as she wiped a tear from her cheek. She had noticed something was different the moment she met up with her parents at the station. However, it wasn't until she had arrived at the house, did it all sink in. Boxes were scattered everywhere, furniture was missing, a 'sold' sign had been stabbed into the lawn in front of the house, and Hermione noticed that her mother looked exhausted, and defeated.

"We're moving," was all that her father had said.

News of the incident at the Ministry of Magic had reached her family's ears, and as much as Hermione regretted it now, her subscription of the Daily Prophet to the house also assisted to her downfall.

Of course, she tried to argue with him by telling him that running away was not the answer. It didn't work though; but then again, why would it have? If there was one thing that Hermione Granger knew about her family, it was that her mother would always be on her side, as Evelyn Granger always did understand her daughter. But her father, David Granger? He was a stubborn man.

And that was why Hermione was where she was - in Scotland, just a short distance away from her 'home away from home' - Hogwarts. It was ironic how her parents had decided to move there, of all places.

Hermione had to admit, the final destination of where they moved to had honestly surprised her. When her father had first informed Hermione that they were moving because of the upcoming war, she had expected to move to America, or Canada. The Netherlands or France, at least. Scotland though? She would have never believed it, had it not actually happen.

Then her mother explained the reason to her.

A new private school by the name of Scotland High had been founded - a school that publicized itself as 'something different'. It contained combination of different schooling systems around the globe, and was said to be able to help students prepare for dozens of different exams.

From the pamphlet that Hermione had flipped through, Scotland High could not only prepare her for the usual GCSE, IGCSE, and DiDA, the school could also prepare her for Canadian Provincials and even American State Exams! The upper education system Scotland High offered also prepared the students for the UK A-Level exams, as well as SATs should any students decide to persue their post-secondary education in America. And to her disbelief, they even had an IB program on top of it all!

Evelyn Granger had spent an entire afternoon discussing the idea of attending Scotland High with Hermione, trying her hardest to persuade her daughter to try and adjust. In the end, she had finally successed.

Hermione wasn't to return to Hogwarts in the following fall. She was to attend Scotland High.

"Oh Hedwig, what am I supposed to do?" Hermione asked in a whispered, raising her head to stare at the owl that had been sent to her by her best friend.

Hedwig hooted twice, and flew across the room to land on Hermione's shoulder, careful to not dig her talons into the Gryffindor too deeply.

Sniffling lightly, Hermione raised a hand to the owl and began to stroke her feathers gently.

"Where could he be Hedwig? He's been gone for two days and no one's heard a thing. I received an owl from Ron earlier... there's been another attack, but you knew that already didn't you? You're smart. You must've caught hoot of it from another owl. Do you know where he is Hedwig?"

Hedwig hooted twice again, and Hermione took the reply as a no.

"You don't think he's mad at me, do you? Because I broke my promise? Or maybe because that last letter I wrote had been too long? Oh Hedwig, I knew I should've stopped after six feet. He must be ignoring me!"

Hedwig gave a loud hoot, and jumped off Hermione's shoulders, only to crash into a stack of Hermione's books and some pamphets for Scotland High.

"Oh Hedwig! Are you alright? You must be feeling cooped up, here, I'll open a window so you can go for a fly!"

Hermione got to her feet, and moved to the window to open it so that the owl could go out. After a few seconds of holding the window open though, the Gryffindor noticed that Hedwig had not moved from the pile of pamphets for Scotland High.

"Hedwig? What are you doing?" Hermione squated down, and stared at Harry's familar as she moved one pamphet after another, as if searching for something.

At last, Hedwig stopped and stared at her findings. Hermione grabbed the pamphlet and opened it - it was designated for American and Canadians students who had moved to Europe but wanted to finish their original schooling.

"Are you trying to tell me something Hedwig? That Harry's across the pond?"

Hedwig hooted once, and then moved her right wing to a section of photos in the pamphet.

Hermione stared.

The biggest photo showed a student playing football with his teenmates. Could that be what Harry was doing? Moving her attention to the other photos on the pamphet, Hermione found a photo of students students, cooking, and in one photo, what looked like martial arts fighting. Yet, that couldn't be what Harry was doing... could it?

Opening the pamphet completely, Hermione decided to re-read the course options and electives available should she decide to enter that program. As she sat there, reading silently, she failed to notice Hedwig give a light nod to her before flying out the open window.

Hermione Granger would adjust, slowly... but she'd adjust.

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4. The Discovery Dimension ; Breathe

Title: Year of Discovery

Chapter: (4) The Discovery Dimension ; Breathe

Author: Laen

Beta: hazeleyes15

Summary: When given a chance to embark on a new journey away from the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. However, each hero has a task, and Harry learns the hard way that he can't escape his destiny.

Disclaimer: If you honestly think I'm J.K. Rowling, I'll take it as a compliment.

ili

In life, people are rarely given a chance to change their destinies. They grow up the way they do, struggling through the curve balls life has thrown at them.

"Fate has decided to give you a different path, Mr. Potter," ; darkness soon filled his world.

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Harry opened his eyes slowly and blinked rapidly, taking a few seconds to adjust to the sudden light. His muscles felt sore, yet relaxed. As he got up from where he lay, the Gryffindor noticed that he was no longer in town, like he recalled before he fell unconscious.

Looking carefully at his surroundings, Harry came to the conclusion that he wasn't at at his new flat. The room looked too... pure; the walls were a shining white colour.

"Awake, I see?"

Whipping his head to the left, Harry found Kazu standing just a few feet away from him, dressed in combat clothing.

"What happened?" Harry asked, raising his hand and ruffling his hair.

"You were attacked." The Dragon Master replied.

A light groan escaped Harry's mouth, and the boy-who-lived fell back in bed before pulling a blanket over his head.

"I must have the worse luck in the world..."

"Rest assured, young Gryffindor, it is not you who has the bad luck. You've been offered a different opportunity, as opposed to your final month of summer relaxation."

The blanket Harry had been hiding under froze in place, and after two seconds Harry sat back up.

"What opportunity?" He asked, deciding to hear the man out first.

"To train."

Harry blinked twice, and a light look of confusion appeared onto his face as he raised his eyebrows and stared at Kazu as if he were mad.

"And who exactly would train me? Don't tell me you've got Dumbledore lined up behind door number one there."

Kazu smiled gently, before shaking his head.

"You'd be trained by me, learning the knowledge of... everything."

"Everything?" Harry questioned.

"Indeed," the man answered.

"And how is that possible? I thought I'm supposed to return to muggle schooling come September. That leaves less than a month to prepare, unless you expect me to train and attend school at the same time?"

"Anything's possible, Harry. In the end, all it comes down to is how much you want to achieve that goal."

There was a moment of silence, before either of the two spoke.

"What would I have to do?"

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[August 2nd, Start of Day 1]

"Welcome Harry, to the Discovery Dimension. Here is where you will spend the next three years training. In this dimension, time lapses much faster compared to the real world. Every minute you spend in here is equal to one second out there. A year spent in here is equvilant to almost six days. We have 30 days before Scotland High opens. Out of those days, you'll be spending 18 of them in here, training. After those three years are complete it will be up to you to decide what you want to do with your remaining summer. May your training begin."

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[August 2nd; End of Day 1]

Harry stumbled into the washroom and went straight for the tub, barely making it there before throwing up the contents he had eaten earlier that day. Turning the water on, he splashed some water on his face before collapsing onto the ground.

A pounding sound reverberated in his mind, refusing to slow down, and Harry knew that his heart rate was still beating rapidly. The Gryffindor took slow, shallow breathes and thought back to what Kazu had said that morning after breakfast.

"The first and last lesson you will have, is to learn how to breathe."

At first Harry didn't understand what the Dragon Master meant, especially since he had been breathing his entire life. However, after being ordered to run lap after lap after lap Harry finally understood.

"You must learn how to breathe properly... regardless of what the situation is. Any moment where you forget to breathe is a moment of weakness."

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Harry cleared his mind and just focused on his breathing.

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[August 2nd; Beginning of Day 35]

A little over a month had passed since Harry had began his training. Since than, he had been working on his breathing method, as well as improving his fitness and reaction time. Today, he was to practicing his defence skills, once again.

Stretching his arms and legs quickly, so that he wouldn't be extremely sore after the lesson, Harry uncapped a bottle of water and took a sip from it, letting the hydrogen and oxygen molocules into his system. His pre-meditation was interrupted though, when a ball of flame suddenly shot towards him.

Dropping the water bottle - but not before putting the cap back on, Harry flipped out of the way of danger. He landed on his feet, but moved almost immediately as another fireball had been thrown at him.

The activity continued for several minutes, and Harry soon found the room partially filled with smoke. He kept low to the ground, remembering the lessons he had learned in muggle grade school about there being more oxygen near the ground, as opposed to above when there was smoke.

The tactic worked, and Kazu praised him for his improvements.

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[August 4th; Midway through Day 164]

"As you know, during a battle, wizards and witches rely heavily on their wands. They rely so heavily that a lot of the times, they are defeated the moment they have been rendered wandless. This is where you will, once again, prove yourself to be different from the rest. Close your eyes and breathe, young Gryffindor, for it is your time to learn wandless magic."

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[August 6th; Midway through Day 276]

"Defence against the Dark Arts is not all that you need in order to defeat Riddle, Harry. That is why I've been training you in wandless magic. It's like what I told you last lesson: sometimes the best defence is an offence, and sometimes the best offence is the hidden card you have up your sleve. For the next few months you'll be spending some time reviewing and learning about Transfigurations, Charms, Potions, Ancient runes and Herbology. The Wizarding World won't know what hit it once you return."

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[August 9th; Midway through Day 439]

"Raise your sword a bit higher there. Stop. Good. Now move your right foot a little bit... stop. There, you're in the right stance. I'm going to attack you now. Block with the technique I taught you earlier today. Ready? Go!"

Sounds of swords clashing were soon heard, and although Harry struggled to block every single one of Kazu's attacks, overall he had managed to do decently.

He remembered to breathe.

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[August 11th; End of Day 582]

One year, seven months and seven days; that was how long Harry had been in the Discovery Dimension... give or take a few hours or days. On some level it was a good thing Harry had decided to undergo this training: time no longer made that big of a difference to him anymore.

So much had occurred since everything had began, and according to Kazu, Harry had only began to tap into his potential power. That statement alone was amazing, as Harry could now run several miles without needing to catch his breathe, mastered the art of Swords fighting, read almost every magical book there was to read in the Discovery Dimension library, as well as gained enough knowledge to ace his NEWTs. Inbetween all of that, he even somehow learned how to properly block his mind from curious individuals.

That was when Harry knew that tomorrow: he would begin his training to become an animagus.

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[August 14th; Start of Day 741]

Training was important; it was what helped Harry prepare for his destiny, to help him mature. Life wasn't just all about training thought... it was also about more. It was at the end of day 740 did Kazu realize that Harry had been missing out on something very important during his time in the Discovery Dimension: having fun.

"Morning Kazu," Harry greeted the Dragon Master. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

There was a moment of silence before an answer was given.

"It's time for you to start crafting some personal, magical equipment. You'll be learning how to build a new broom for the next week."

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[August 15; Midway through Day 800]

"No! You're moving too slow! Anticipate where I'm going to aim next!"

BAM!

"That's the fourth time I've gotten it in! Come on Potter! Get your act together!"

Harry spread his arms out and loosely planted his feet onto the ground. He had to save this one. Everything depended on it.

Kazu shot, and Harry dove to the far, top left.

BAM!

"That's five! Five suicides you owe me Potter. Up and at them! Com'on, get a move on! We still got four more sports to go through here."

Harry clentched his fists and glared at the talented Kazu; Harry hated playing football with him. He'd get his revenge though... basketball was next.

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[August 18; Near the end of Day 1019]

It was almost over; Harry couldn't believe it. Training had finally reduced bit by bit in the last few days, and as Kazu and Harry sat down to eat their dinner, the topic of departing was brought up at last.

"Time's passed quickly, eh?" Kazu asked before taking a sip of his pumkin juice.

"Yeah. I can't believe we're just over two months away from finishing." Harry admitted to the Dragon Master.

"Think you'll be ready for the 'real world'?"

"Hah, I think the question is if the 'real world' is ready for me," Harry laughed, shaking his head lightly.

A few minutes passed in silence as the two ate away at their food. In the end it was Harry who spoke first.

"Kazu, did you erm... include any training to help improve my social skills?"

The Dragon Master raised his head from his plate and glanced over at Harry.

"No, is there a need to?"

Harry frowned at the response, but nevertheless, nodded his head slowly. There were just 76 more days left to spend in the Discovery Dimension before he was to return back to normal time. For some reason the idea of returning back to society felt weird. Harry had resided in the Discovery Dimension for so long with just Kazu as his sole companion that the thought of communicating with other individuals seemed almost impossible.

"If you wish, you can remain here longer and adjust." Kazu offered. "The game room has that collection of DVDs that you've yet to go through. Perhaps viewing some television shows that are supposed to relay real life issues can help? Maybe learn from the characters within the show? The mistakes they make and the experiences they endure?"

"That would be brilliant!" Harry said with a smile, "Maybe then I can figure out why girls are so confusing!"

Kazu laughed and shook his head. "I don't think that'll ever be possible, Harry."

"Aw well, can't blame a bloke for trying, right? Worse case scenero, I spend more time training and reviewing so that I'll be more prepared."

The Dragon Master smirked, reminding himself to not reveal what he already knew.

"That's always a thought, more training..."

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