Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and don't profit from my writing.
I don't own Hermione, either, but if she wants to send me her floo number, she knows where to find me.
Chapter 15: Summer Training Begins
At the station, Sirius had found the Grangers and the Weasleys. Remus had joined them. They were all standing waiting for their respective charges.
Harry had to look around nervously for the Dursleys. He knew they wouldn't be there, but felt relief when he didn't see them. Hermione felt him finally relax completely. She squeezed his hand, then released it to run to her parents.
"Daddy!" she said, hugging her father, who whipped her around in a circle.
"Hey, pup." Sirius said, his eyes mischievous, "You won't think I don't love you if I don't do that, will you?"
"Nah," Harry said, "You're a bit old for that. Wouldn't want you to throw your back out."
Sirius spluttered for a moment, before he realized Harry was teasing him. Remus chuckled at the interplay. Having Harry around was going to be good for Sirius.
Harry turned to Hermione's father once Hermione had broken their hug.
"Mr. Granger." He said formally, holding out his hand.
"Harry." Mr. Granger said, shaking, "I thought I told you to call me Oberon?"
"Yes, sir. Oberon it is." Harry said, grinning. He held his hand out to Hermione's mom. She ignored it and pulled him into a hug, threatening to crack his ribs. Harry could tell where Hermione had learned how to hug.
"No handshaking with me, mister! You're family, Harry." Jane Granger said.
Harry and Hermione both said goodbye to Ron and the Weasleys as they separated at the station. The Grangers, Harry, and his uncles moved to a couple of waiting cars. Harry recognized the Grangers' luxury sedan from their trip to the golf course, but he was surprised to find Sirius pulling out keys for the other conservative luxury sedan. He gave his uncle a curious look.
"Did you expect me to drive the motorcycle?" Sirius asked with a smirk, "While I wouldn't mind, Remus insisted he wouldn't ride in the sidecar. Now go ahead. Ride with Hermione. We'll meet at the restaurant."
They drove to a quiet upscale restaurant, where they had reservations. Harry quickly realized why the Weasleys hadn't been invited. While Arthur Weasley would have loved the chance to dine at a muggle restaurant, the Weasley family would have caused an incident within minutes. Sirius and Remus on the other hand, seemed very comfortable.
"Where did you two learn to get along in this kind of environment?" Harry asked quietly.
"Well, pup, I was an auror and sometimes you have to be able to move in diverse environments to capture your man." Sirius said, "Your mother almost went mental trying to teach me how to function in the muggle world, but she managed. She was brilliant."
"As for me, I've told you how hard it is to find work due to my condition," Remus answered, "I also originally learned from Lily, but since then, I've spent a fair amount of time working with muggles."
"So tell us about the tournament?" Oberon asked heartily.
Harry exchanged a look with Hermione and immediately knew she didn't want him to tell the whole story. So he told an abbreviated version, leaving out some of the more dangerous elements, but leaving in enough to remain impressive. He glanced back and noticed both of his uncles beaming proudly at him. The warm feeling of having family was very unfamiliar, but equally welcome.
"He was brilliant, dad!" Hermione said, her warm brown eyes bursting with pride.
"Only because your daughter taught me everything I needed to know. She knew what they were going to throw at me and between her and Ron, they had a plan to deal with it all." Harry returned modestly.
"So we've heard a little about summer plans." Jane said, "We've delayed making our plans at Hermione's insistence. She said she'd spoken to your Godfather and had some ideas?"
Harry shrugged, looking at Hermione and Sirius. Both grinned back.
"It was a bit of a surprise, mom." Hermione said.
"I have an island," Sirius started.
"Have an island?" Oberon asked, "What do you mean, have an island?"
The Grangers had gone from thinking of Harry as an orphan pauper to an heir, but the sudden news that Sirius owned an island was still a shock.
"Yes, Black Isle is a small island in the British Indies." Sirius explained, "It was used by some of my less savory ancestors to smuggle riches out of the New World. I have a suspicion that some might have been slavers. My family really wasn't the nicest, but I like to think I've started to change that. Anyway, I thought we could spend the holiday on the island. There's a small golf course, scuba diving, several beautiful cottages. The children will be studying, but it's a wonderful setting for them to enjoy during their downtime."
"I'm not sure we could take the whole summer away from our practice." Jane said.
"I could set up transportation by Portkey for you and your husband. You can come for as much time as you'd like." Sirius said, "Don't let your schedule stop you."
The two adult Grangers consulted quietly.
"We're in." Jane said.
After dinner, the Grangers drove Hermione to their home, while Sirius, Remus, and Harry drove to a neighborhood of town homes near the outskirts of London. Sirius handed Harry a slip of parchment with a single sentence written on it.
"Black Manor is located at 12 Grimmauld Place."
Remus, driving, navigated behind the row of town homes and turned into a converted carriage house, adapted for use as a garage, although clearly still capable of housing a carriage.
"Come on, pup. Come see my house. It's still a little grim," Sirius said with a chuckle, "but it's much better than it was."
Harry was almost exhausted. It had been a long day on the train and dinner sat heavy on his stomach. He was led into the gaslit interior of the stately home. The interior was primarily dark wood, deep reds and golds of Gryffindor, with brass accents. He could tell all the painted surfaces were newly painted and the wood shone with polish. An elderly house elf, wearing a pillow case with the Black crest stenciled on it, met them at the door.
"Master Black, will you be needing anything?" the old elf said in a stately tone of voice, followed by a whisper, "Perhaps a knife in the back for the traitor son my mistress disowned, bringing foul creatures and half-bloods into her home?"
"While that offer sounds tempting, Kreacher, I have to decline for now." Sirius said, aiming a kick at the elf.
Remus snorted and said in his own whisper to Harry, "This place is so much better than it was. Kreacher is a twisted thing, but he still works hard."
"Let me show you your room, pup." Sirius said, animatedly, "I had Kreacher fix it specially for you. I couldn't wait for you to come home!"
Harry was led to a bedroom near the master bedroom of the manor. The inside was papered in red wallpaper with gilded snitches fluttering in a pattern all along. They were subtle and it was clearly expensive. A four poster bed very similar to Harry's Hogwarts bed dominated the room, with a wardrobe and dresser nearby. Several bookshelves and comfortable leather chairs finished the room.
"Brilliant!" Harry said, "Is it really mine?"
"It's really yours. Say the word and we can change it, but I wanted to surprise you." Sirius said, clearly eager for Harry's approval and thrilled with his Godson's happiness.
"No, this is perfect." Harry said, looking around, "It feels like home."
Sirius showed Harry through the manor. He seemed determined to hit every room until Remus whispered something and Sirius noted how tired Harry looked. Harry's room had an attached bath. They also saw Sirius' master bedroom, Remus' room, a large library, then downstairs they walked through a few living areas, a dining room, and the kitchen.
"Harry, you look like you're going to fall asleep on your feet." Sirius said with a paternal note of concern, "Remember, house rules say if you fall asleep with your shoes on, you're fair game for pranks!"
"House rules don't exempt you if you have your shoes on, of course." Remus said with a grin.
"True, but you didn't have to give away our secret, Mooney!" Sirius chuckled, "Get to bed, pup."
"I'll walk him up to his room." Remus said, "Pour some of that scotch Minerva sent and I'll be right back."
Remus walked Harry up the stairs. Harry noticed a runner held down to each individual step with brass fittings. Everything about the house spoke to old money, despite the fact that it was obvious it was in the process of being renovated.
"He's so happy you're pleased." Remus said quietly to Harry as they walked, "It's been like an obsession with him, getting this house ready for you to get out of school. I thought he might have a hard time after being cleared, but he has really focused on you. He's preparing lessons on wizarding culture, so you'll be trained to take over as the Head of House Potter and the heir of House Black. He's hiring tutors for the summer…well, he's mostly had me hiring tutors, but effectively the same thing. I think you've given him something to live for. I don't know how he would be doing otherwise, particularly trapped in this house as it was. It was truly filthy, unlivable, with cursed items as common as Weasleys at Hogwarts. If he's a little off for some time, don't be surprised, ok?"
"Of course, Uncle Mooney." Harry said.
"Good man!" Remus said, "Now get some sleep. I've arranged for the Grangers to come back tomorrow and we're going to meet for lunch with some of your tutors to discuss our special 'summer session'."
Remus turned to leave, amused that as he reached the door, Harry was already gently snoring. He turned back, removing the boys shoes and pulling the heavy blanket over him. The Potter heir's return to their lives was good for both of his uncles.
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Harry woke to a set of giant eyes looking into his from inches away.
"Wha…!" he exclaimed, pulling his wand.
"Master Harry, Dobby's sorry!" the elf said excitedly, "I just wanted to be sure you was awake, breakfast is ready!"
"Dobby, you don't have to call me Master. I'm Harry."
"Oh, no, Master Harry," Dobby said, looking down and shaking his head, "Harry Potter is a great wizard, I couldn't."
Harry sighed and got cleaned up with the help of his elven valet.
Downstairs, his uncles were already gathered around a table in the kitchen. Remus was reading the Daily Prophet, his plate piled high with bacon and sausage. Sirius, wearing a silk robe over pajama pants, had his head tilted back and was listening to music coming from a wireless set. His foot tapped along to the beat and he waved his wand as if he were a conductor, occasional golden sparks flying from his wand.
"Good morning Uncle Padfoot!" Harry called, "Uncle Mooney."
"Good morning, Pronglet." Sirius said with a grin, "Kreacher, bring Harry his breakfast."
"Yes, Master." Kreacher said dutifully, then hissed, "Nasty boy wouldn't have anything to eat if it were up to Kreacher, none of mistress' food for the whelp."
Dobby glared at the old elf.
"Does he know he's saying that out loud?" Harry asked, bemused.
"We're not sure." Remus answered, "He may not have all his faculties remaining. He was stuck here for years with just Sirius' mother's portrait to keep him company. It doesn't seem to have helped his mental state much. He's better than he has been, but something's not right."
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After breakfast, Harry wandered into the library. Remus followed him in.
"Have a look, Harry." Remus said, "The ancient house libraries are one of the things that keep the purebloods ahead of the muggle-born witches and wizards. Some spells are kept within houses, never leaked outside. Certain houses are known for different specialties. The Blacks have generally had a pretty dark reputation, so you'll find many tomes on curses, but they're also well known for wards. Sirius has some general defense against the dark arts books in that section there from when he was an auror. He was quite good. He'll need some time to get back into shape, but we've been working together in the training room in the basement and we're both making progress."
"You'll have to show me that, later." Harry murmured, already becoming interested in some of the defense titles.
"Let's wait until everyone gets here." Remus said, already starting to wander off to leave Harry to his own devices.
Harry was already deep into a very interesting defense book, "Advanced Shields for the Intermediate Practitioner, Moving Beyond Protego", sharing concepts and glimpses with Hermione through their bond while she shopped with her parents near their home, when he heard Sirius come into the library. Glancing up, he noticed that a few hours had already passed.
"Harry, how are you settling in?" Sirius asked paternally.
"Good so far, Sirius. This place is amazing! I… I've never really had family before. I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall, but coming here is like Christmas for me, if that makes any sense." Harry tried to explain.
"It's like Christmas for us, too, pup." Sirius said, "It's been tough for me. When your parents died, I had never really had to grow up. Your dad and I were friends in school, more like brothers. The Potters all but adopted me, because I didn't get along with the Blacks. Being associated with the Potters made me a bit of an outcast, even though the two families are interrelated, as all the pure-blood families are. James and I were partners like something you might see on the telly. Lily used to say we thought we were Starsky and Hutch, she even made me watch a few episodes so I knew what she meant. Lily became like a sister to me and was trying to break my bad habits. She always said my being a dog animagus was appropriate in so many ways, although I still insist I'm a grim or black shuck and not a dog, but her point was well taken.
When your parents were killed, I lost my mind. My first thought was for you, but once I knew you were safe with Hagrid, I immediately went after Peter. I failed you and I failed your parents trust in me. Picking me as your Godfather was an amazing amount of trust. I knew everyone questioned James' judgment when he picked me, but I know he made the choice very deliberately and after consultation with your mother. I always planned to live up to their faith in me, but when it became time, I failed. That's a regret I'll have until the day I die.
Azkaban is bad. I don't think I can make you understand since you haven't been there, but I know you've faced dementors, so I think you have an inkling. Imagine being without human contact for years, surrounded by dementors, and with the guilt of failing your Godson at the top of your thoughts the entire time. When I left there, I was broken. When you and Hermione rescued me, all I could see was your father. You look so much like him and part of me entangled the two of you together in my head. I was so broken and confused at that point that part of me considered living in a cave as a grim, just so I could be close to you. I didn't want to fail you again.
Luckily, I contacted Remus. He brought me back here. That, too, could have been bad, because I have horrid memories of this place from my childhood and it had grown even darker since then. We only stayed long enough to get Kreacher working on fixing it, purge the worst of the dark items, books, and dark creatures, and make arrangements. Then we went to Black Island, where I've been under the care of private healers. Remus convinced me that the most mature decision and the best way to take care of you wasn't to live in a cave nearby, even though that seemed to make sense at the time, but to regain my strength and clear my mind so I could truly be a guardian to you.
I look back on the prankster I was and while I'm still fond of that fellow and will always be a marauder, I realize that bloke was a product of a different time. We live in a darker time now and my focus must be on preparing myself and preparing you for what lies ahead. Dark wizards like Malfoy have been all but unopposed for too long. Dumbledore tries, but the Dumbledores, while a pureblood house, are not prominent enough. The Potters are gone but for you. The Longbottoms are represented by a dowager and another boy. The Weasleys have fallen on hard times and are all but destitute. The Bones are represented by a strong woman and her daughter.
So I see my role as being the counter to Malfoy. I'll train you and build a coalition to oppose that git.
What I ask of you is to study hard. I am so proud of you. What I've seen from you, when you rescued me, in your letters, and in that blasted tournament, has convinced me that you are not your father. You're the best of your father, the man he was growing into as a respected auror, tempered by the intelligence and kindness of your mum."
Harry swallowed around a lump in his throat. He realized how much he'd been missing a father figure and he didn't quite know how to deal with it now that his wish was right in front of him. Sirius, seeming to sense it, wrapped him in a very paternal hug. Both were what the other needed.
Harry didn't know how long they'd been like that when he felt a presence he knew well. He looked up and saw Hermione in the library door watching them. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry started.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Hermione replied, bursting into tears and throwing herself into the hug.
Harry and Sirius exchanged a confused glance over the bushy brown head.
After the emotions had settled a bit, the three walked down the stairs into the living area. Harry saw the Grangers and walked up to Hermione's dad. They shook hands and Harry tried his best to look him straight in the eye.
"Oberon, sorry I wasn't down to meet you. We were in the library." Harry said.
"Harry," Mr. Granger replied with a bit of teasing in his tone, "you're doing better with my name. Maybe I'll have you calling me dad before too long. Don't worry about it, your uncle Remus was showing us around the bottom floor here. He says lunch is almost ready."
"Jane." Harry said, hugging Mrs. Granger.
"If he ever gets you to call him dad, I definitely wouldn't mind if you called me mum, Harry." She whispered.
Harry blushed and turned away to hide his embarrassment.
"Nice place your uncle has here." Oberon said, looking around, "I understand it's been in the family a long time?"
"Oh, yes. We have a country home which is larger, but most of the ancient families have city homes for when the Wizengamot is in session. I think we built it 200 years or so ago, give or take. I'm sure one of the portraits would know if I asked." Sirius said.
"Wizengamot?" Oberon asked.
"It's like wizarding parliament, dad." Hermione said.
"That reminds me, Hermione." Sirius said, "I have a book for you and Harry. You should start reading it soon, it's my homework assignment for the wizarding culture lessons I'm going to give you. Lily wrote it and something you said reminded me of something in it she used to tell the muggle born students when she was Head Girl. I won't quote her, because she phrased it better than I'm able to, but essentially she would say not to get confused because something wizarding might be vaguely similar to something muggle, but because of the vast differences in culture, the similarity could be as confusing as the difference.
Here's an example: James and I were aurors. Most muggle born students think of aurors like the muggle constabulary. Maybe policemen or detectives, they think, but how many British Lords become policemen or detectives? Aurors are a combination of policemen, detectives, and military. Young witches and wizards of the Ancient and Noble houses have often become aurors, just as muggle nobles often entered marital fields, noblesse oblige and all that rot. Often, in reality, it meant that being part of the enforcement arm of the wizarding government brought power and allowed us to focus on honing our abilities in dueling, which has always been a major part of our culture."
"Interesting." Oberon said, "Duelling is big in your world? Fairly old fashioned, isn't it?"
"Well, I think you'd call our whole society 'old fashioned' wouldn't you?" Sirius replied, "Lily used to tell me she could spend her entire life in academia writing about the reasons for that. We'll be skimming the topic during the summer course I'll be teaching these two. Imagine, though, that everyone in your society carried a pistol everywhere, all the time. Do you think dueling would have ever gone out of favor? Our wands are pistols, cannons, shovels, rope-and-pulley, cart with horse… they're everything and you can't separate the violent from the utilitarian, so our culture never moved past that."
The floo lit up with green flames and Moody looked in.
"Sirius, it's Moody." He hissed, "What was the first spell I beat you with during your auror training?"
"A bludgeoning hex." Sirius said.
"Ok, I'm coming through."
Moody stepped out from the floo in a flash of green fire.
A minute later, Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape came in together from Hogwarts.
"Welcome." Sirius said to all of them, with only a nasty glance at Snape, which he returned with a sneer.
"A very nice dog house you have here."
Sirius merely inclined his head, ignoring the jibe.
Kreacher entered and summoned them to lunch.
Over lunch, they didn't talk about anything consequential. Professor Flitwick described some charms research he was working on for publication. Hermione took a definite interest in the conversation, although potions and transfiguration were more along her lines. Harry found he was able to easily follow along. He wasn't sure why he was still surprised with his new academic interest, but now that he could understand what the academics were talking about, he was able to quickly connect it to his own interests. He realized that Flitwick's project to quantify magical energy would allow better understanding of wizards' power levels, allowing different wizards to be more accurately rated, which would allow more personalized instruction. It was a topic that Dumbledore had just briefly touched on when he had taught them auramancy and how to dump power into the Hogwarts' wards, but Professor Flitwick was proposing a new arithmantic scheme to quantify it.
"I think that's part of the problem at Hogwarts." Harry added to the conversation. "All our classes are together. It makes no more sense to have Hermione in a class with Goyle than it does to have a muggle taking these courses. We need ways to classify and focus on the educational needs of different types of students."
Hermione gave him a somewhat startled look. She too was still adjusting to his new personality, even with the advantage of the bond to facilitate her understanding. He couldn't blame her. If he was still surprised by his new depths, how could he expect her not to be?
"Exactly, Mr. Potter!" the charms master said, "It's difficult, because let's consider the case of you and Hermione a year ago. While she would need to be stratified into a different class than you, based on her academic efforts, when it came time to apply the theory to practical casting, you would need to be stratified into a more challenging curriculum than her, because your natural power gave you quite an advantage. Sorting out all those factors on top of the artificial divisions of the house system makes it an educational challenge. It's one reason apprenticeships are preferred for advanced education over universities such as the muggles use.
I was actually hoping you and Miss Granger could help me once I get to the point of my research of calibrating my equations from the theoretical to the actual power reserve and output stage. You're both outliers at the upper end and will help me build a more complete data set."
"What does that mean?" Jane asked, "I understand Hermione is an outlier intellectually. She's been in gifted and talented programs since she has been in school, but 'power reserve' sounds like something different than IQ."
"Oh, most certainly, although the same concepts apply." Filius said, warming to the topic, "A brilliant witch with a 99th percentile IQ can still have only a thimbleful of magical power, although that's rare for interesting reasons. The two traits independently sort for the most part, although magic is magic and someone with a core the size of Mr. Potter's is likely to have a higher IQ because the magic will push him that way, optimizing whatever he was born with. Magic functions both consciously and subconsciously and we suspect that subconscious magic of parents selects for improved traits in their children and then childrens' magic subconsciously works to maximize the use of whatever the child is born with, although research in the area is extremely limited.
So the magical core can be thought of as a battery. Both Harry and Hermione have a lot of energy available and they've got a very efficient system for using it. Just like Hermione needed special programs to help her live up to her potential in muggle education, these two need special teaching to live up to their potential as wizard and witch, but our system tends to only provide that kind of extra education informally."
"Oh." Jane said proudly.
"I think that leads well into our conversation." Sirius offered, "Perhaps we can move to the sitting room and discuss our plans for the summer?"
They all found comfortable places on luxurious couches and chairs in the nearby sitting room. Sirius began,
"Albus and I have decided it's time to start a specialized program of instruction for these two. We've discussed it before and you know that during the school year they'll be pursuing their normal studies along with apprenticeships, so I'm going to limit myself to the summer curriculum I've set in motion."
Snape looked a little sour at Sirius' assertion taking responsibility, but Sirius ignored him.
"We have almost two months, so the plans are predicated around that limitation. Given Voldemort's return, we're focusing somewhat on skills that will help face him, although wherever possible we've tried to generalize enough to set them up for success in whatever pursuits they choose in the future. I'm no educator, but my friend Remus is, so I've delegated to him overall supervision of the program. Remus?"
"Thank you, Sirius." Mr. Lupin said, "In turn, while I felt confident with my performance as professor of defense, I do acknowledge that there are others readily available with even greater expertise and so have delegated as well. For summer defense against the dark arts elective, Senior Auror Alastor Moody will be in charge. He has been an auror instructor for many years and was commandant of the auror academy for a time. He has worked closely with Professor Flitwick, to integrate the curriculum with the intended curriculum once the Hogwarts' term starts. Professor Severus Snape will continue occulomency lessons. Mr. John Ashdown, whom you have not met, will meet us at Black Island and will supervise a course of physical fitness and martial arts. I will be available to supervise and provide my expertise where required.
"We discussed optimal class size. We have considered allowing others to attend and have gone so far as to ask Arthur and Molly Weasley whether Ron and perhaps Ginny could participate, but they're not sure they want their children gone during their only time together as a family. She actually suggested we move the program to the Burrow, which we considered, but we have facilities at Black Island we would not have at the Burrow. We will have a final decision by July 5th, our planned departure date. Are there questions?"
"I think I'm learning things about the wizarding world I've never even been aware to ask." Oberon Granger said, with a strong look at Hermione. She dropped her eyes and blushed slightly at the subtle rebuke. "I don't think I had realized how important defense and dueling were in your world. Is this really an appropriate use of Hermione's time this summer?"
"Yes, I strongly believe it is." Remus replied, "First, because defense against the dark arts is used as a 'fusion' class at Hogwarts, blending lessons learned in the other core classes and encouraging practical application. Her efforts this summer will carry over into her core classes during term, I can guarantee it. Secondly, I'm not sure you're aware to what extent Harry has been targeted by Voldemort?"
"I know the basics of that story. Hermione read me portions from books even before her first term that talked about 'the boy who lived' and I understand it has gone on from there. Is it safe for her to even be around Harry?" Oberon asked.
Hermione gasped. Jane gave her husband a strong and not-so-subtle elbow to the ribs.
Remus merely chuckled. "Mr. Granger, I don't know if you've really understood about the soul-bond. If Harry dies, then likely so does Hermione. Being around Harry is dangerous, but we intend to insure there is no safer place to be."
"Very well." Oberon said, with a look at his daughter and wife, "I don't suppose there's really any point in asking me. As much as I want to protect my little girl, I think she has good judgment and a better basis for an informed decision than I do. I'll support her attendance if that's what she wants. Do we need to provide funds to help pay tuition?"
At this Sirius chuckled. "No. I consider Hermione family and if I haven't said so before, I formally extend the protection of the House of Black to the House of Granger."
Hermione whispered to her father and at her prompting he replied, "I accept." At his response, a blue light flashed from Sirius to the Grangers.
"It won't physically protect you, but it will be recorded at the ministry. The Grangers are under the protection of the Potters through betrothal and now the Blacks. That should limit any mischief to only the hard core deatheaters and keep the simple pureblood extremists away." Sirius said, "Ok, I think that concludes the meeting. Auror Moody has said he'd like to meet with his students in the dueling room in the basement for an initial assessment. If anyone else has anything for them, catch them now. Otherwise, I'll distribute portkeys to Black Island. I hope you'll go between now and the 5th to get settled and look over the facilities so you can plan your lessons."
Snape nodded briefly to Harry and Hermione, shocking Harry slightly. His departure was almost collegial. Professor Flitwick flashed a grin at both students before leaving via floo. Moody walked towards the stair to the basement.
"Well, are you two coming or do I need to motivate you?" he growled.
They quickly followed.
At the bottom of the stair, they found themselves in a small hallway of brick and stone. They followed the hallway past what appeared to be store rooms. Passing one room, Harry thought he could smell potion supplies. At the very end they came to a heavy metal doorway with runes along the frame. A tap with Moody's wand and the door opened soundlessly on well-oiled hinges. Inside they saw a large ballroom sized empty area with heavy stone walls and a stone floor. Walls and floor both had protective runes inscribed at intervals.
"Are you both ready to duel?" Moody asked.
"Sure." Harry said with a shrug.
"No you're not!" Moody shouted angrily, getting very close to Harry's face. "Where's your wand?"
Harry pulled it out of his pocket quickly.
"Never keep your wand in a back pocket!" Moody growled, "I knew someone who lost a buttock that way, once. I'll get you set up with wand holsters when I get upstairs to my trunk. Now we won't be dueling today. We actually won't be dueling that much this summer. You look surprised? You probably thought the way to get better at dueling is to duel, didn't you? You're not even ready for that, yet. Normally I work with aurors, highly qualified graduates of Hogwarts, other wizarding schools, or home schooling. They have to meet extensive requirements in charms, transfiguration, and potions to even be considered and the selection process is very competitive, especially recently, when almost no new aurors have been trained. Well, you're 3 years away from even applying, even if we assume you'll get the OWLs and NEWTS you need to apply. We must teach you the essentials from those 3 years in the next 2 months, so you can start on auror-level training with the new term. I've told Albus, Remus, Sirius, and Filius it's a ridiculous goal, but for some reason each of them think you can do it. Albus, the most powerful wizard I ever met said something about, 'Harry Potter manages the impossible at least once each term, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, Moody.' Well, I'll told him I'm NEVER surprised, but we'll see.
You may have heard practice makes perfect? Well, I say perfect practice makes perfect. 10,000 hours of training is required to master a task and dueling consists of blending together thousands of tasks seamlessly in response to a determined enemy that's trying to kill you!
So we'll be practicing. I'm going to put you through drills to cast all the bread and butter spells until you can cast them in your sleep. You'll practice your speed, you'll practice your accuracy, you'll work on your endurance, you'll work on chaining spells together. To really hit proficient auror level, you should be casting spells silently and with minimal wand movement. In order to get there, you must first master casting the spell verbally and with full movements, then you can work on casting non-verbally and reducing the movement you need.
There are only so many basic types of spells and while there are many variations of them, once you get to the level of mastery, it barely matters which you're casting. We'll attempt to get you started on mastering bludgeoning, piercing, cutting, blasting, banishing, flame, ice for offense. For defense, you'll learn shields, including optimized variants for each of the attacks above, and dispelling spells. You'll learn to cast these quickly, accurately, while moving, right and left handed, and chain them together so you can cast them in series. You'll learn to cast exhausted or injured. Do you have any questions?"
"No, Professor Moody." Harry said. Hermione just shook her head, lips tight.
"I'm not your Professor, I didn't quite make it to actually teaching before, did I?" Moody said with a scowl. With a gesture, he produced a row of manikins.
"Ok, let's start with the bludgeoning hex." Moody said, showing them the gesture, telling them the incantation, and having them slowly practice it.
"Remember, at first, slow is fast. Why? Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I don't want you to try to hurry at first. Speed will come. Right now, work on casting the spell perfectly."
They continued practicing the bludgeoning hex until they were both exhausted. By that time, both felt like they could cast in their sleep and were hitting the center of the dummies with each bludgeon.
H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr
A/N: Ok, so this is setting up for summer training, which will build the foundation for their defense training throughout the next year. Dumbledore was always waiting to train Harry because he didn't want to ruin Harry's childhood. I think death tends to ruin childhood worse than hard work does and if it weren't for some of the ridiculous deus ex machine quirks of magic that saved him, Harry would have been toast.
So I haven't decided who is going to go to the Island. It's not going to be for that many chapters anyway. Right now I'm leaning towards Harry and Hermione going alone. The Weasley parents want Ron and Ginny there (they were never really away over the summer). Neville and Luna could almost certainly talk their guardians into going. Going alone would let H/Hr really focus on intensive training and give them even more of a leg up, making them clear leaders of a future Defense Association, but more people would give more training opportunities in other ways.
What do you think? Give me opinions in the reviews and if I haven't already decided by then, I may alter who goes based on your ideas.