Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and don't profit from my writing.
Chapter 20: Dumbledore's Army
The term was settling down to a brutal pace. Harry could feel Hermione sometimes compare it to third year when she'd used the time turner. The Black Isle Crew continued their physical fitness, using warming charms as it grew colder outside. Ultimately, once they mastered Ashdowne's techniques, they wouldn't have to keep running, but could achieve the same thing with magic, but none of them were that far along, yet. They continued going to regular classes. Ron continued his strategy sessions with Professor Dumbledore. Harry continued dueling. He'd become obsessive, drilling his repertoire of spells incessantly to try to perfect each one. His goal was to be able to perfectly cast them all silently and to be able to cast most of them wandlessly. He estimated that one-thousand repetitions of each spell, paying careful attention to technique with each cast, would approach his goal. He'd already perfected the reductor curse, disarming curse, summoning spell, and shield spell. Now he was working to broaden his repertoire of mastered spells. Hermione continued working closely with Professor McGonagall on her mastery studies. She was breaking new ground in transfiguration, although it was clear she wasn't content to remain firmly within the boundaries of that single field. She spent endless hours in the library, researching curse scars and dark auras. She flooed back to Grimmauld place regularly to comb through the library there, looking for more works on dark curses. Both Harry and Hermione continued to work on their occulomency with Professor Snape, who alternated with legilimency, allowing them to work against each other to improve both.
"Professor Snape?" Harry asked, during one of their sessions in late September, "I haven't had any bad dreams since we've been working together, but sometimes I feel like I can almost hear them outside my walls."
"Really, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked, interestedly, "Tell me more."
"Well, there's not really any more. I can't even really 'hear' them or 'see' them, I just vaguely know they're there. When I became aware, I thought about trying to look more closely, but was afraid I'd breach my own walls and open my mind to Voldemort."
"Hmmm." Snape pondered, "I hadn't thought to teach you how to monitor attacks through your walls, but this makes me reconsider. You must be very careful, because it is one thing to make a solid wall that cannot be broken. It is another to do as I have done and put up subtle barriers that even the Dark Lord himself does not detect when he attempts to read my mind or to raise barriers with windows through which you can see and hear. He knows you've developed at least a modicum of skill in occlumency. I have led him to believe you are even poorer at the art than you actually are. Maybe we can use that.. exactly…here's what we will do. You both have done relatively well with obvious defenses. We will now make an additional two lines of defense outside your strong defenses. The first will be a relatively weak wall, which will be made to fall at his attack, lasting only long enough to alert you to his presence. This will be the only obvious defense. Next will be a subtle defense, such as I have created in my mind. You will not be able to make this as impenetrable as you need to be, so you will maintain your true defenses as a final wall in case he senses this second line of defense and attempts to breach it. The subtle wall with let you hear and see what he sends at you, while hiding your true walls. If he breaches it, all you will have outside your true defense will be a wisp of your mind that you can quickly bring back behind your main defenses, which continue to protect your memories and your centers of control."
"Meditate, clear your mind, and begin to construct the defenses as I have described them. The weak wall is easy, it is based on the same principle as your main defenses, only poorly built and poorly developed. The subtle wall is what we'll spend most of our time on and I will help you. Begin."
They went well over the intended length of time and were exhausted by the end of their work, but they both had rudimentary outer levels of defense they could continue to work on together between lessons. That night, they briefly meditated, strengthening the new subtle shield, before going to sleep.
Friday, Harry went to Quidditch practice while Hermione went to the library to continue her research. He was still amazed at how much more reading and studying she did than him, but was learning to appreciate her diligence, since it always seemed to benefit him.
Early October arrived and the weather continued to cool. Harry went to classes, ignored Professor Umbridge as much as he could, and continued to do his best work. Hermione's influence had really changed him, so he unconsciously put forward his best work, even while most of his attention was on his second curriculum towards his mastery of defense. This made DADA elementary. The weak theory work that Umbridge graded them on was less than basic to what he was studying with Dumbledore and Flitwick. Configuration and charms continued to go well, benefitting from the work he was doing with Professor Flitwick. In teaching him to perfect his wand movements for dueling, the Professor had finally found a motivation that worked to make him more of a perfectionist in all of his courses, because it didn't make sense to drill tiny precise wand movements in dueling and then allow them to become large, imprecise, and sloppy during the rest of his work. That kind of laziness would bleed over to his dueling and he'd never tolerate that. So with Hermione's influence leading him to study and Flitwick's instruction helping to perfect his technique, both coupled with his prodigious magical core and his natural talent, pushed him to a new tier of excellence in his studies. He and Hermione were performing far above what even she used to reach, because while she was academically exceptional, her practical work had always been merely above-average. Now, with all the outside work, they were both prodigies. Even Ron had improved. He seemed to focus and some of his angry jealousy at the world was fading under his new goals and achievements. He just seemed to relax and let go of his old anxieties. He often worked with Neville, who with a new wand and a new self-confidence, was far beyond anything even Malfoy could describe as a near-squib.
Tuesday night, Harry walked down to the dueling classroom with Hermione. He was curious who Professor Flitwick would have provided for his guest opponent. Harry walked quietly. He was thoughtful, thinking about the upcoming lesson, but beneath the surface the Machine was preparing. Harry's tendency to hold back had to be overcome, but conscious Harry would be years to let that go. The Machine assumed they didn't have years. They didn't have friends on the dueling floor. They didn't have time for holding back or limitations. There was only preparing for the final fight that could come at any time.
They reached the heavy steel door and walked inside. Professor Flitwick stood with Bill Weasley.
"Bill!" Harry called.
"Harry, how are you?" Ron's older brother asked, shaking hands with Harry, "Hermione! It's great to see you!"
"Thanks!" Hermione said, giving Bill a hug.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"I'm your guest opponent!" Bill said with a smile, "Professor Flitwick thought a curse-breaker might be an interesting change of pace from your usual auror-standard style."
Harry laughed and nodded, pleased he'd get to work with someone he was comfortable with. Meanwhile, the Machine went into overdrive. It had to prepare harder, since conscious Harry would be even more likely to hold back against a friend, a member of his adopted family.
"We're going to prepare with some basic drills. I want to see your two best offensive spells, silently and then wandlessly, against these dummy targets, then these snitch targets."
Harry and Hermione took their places. Harry chose expelliarmus and the reductor. He focused on making his movements perfect and smooth. Hermione chose the reductor and her black hole hex. Professor Flitwick watched closely, walking behind each of them and making small corrections and suggestions.
"Ok, now I want fifty repetitions of the following spells. Harry, I want you to pick up Hermione's black hole hex, also practice the flame curse, a cutting curse, and a piercing curse. Hermione, please do the same except instead of your black hole hex, I want you to work on the bludgeoning hex."
They practiced diligently. Hermione thought about how incredibly useful having a large magical core was. She'd been well above-average before the bond with Harry, but she simply could not have done 200 repetitions of any spell in a row without exhausting herself. Without being able to practice that intensely, her development would be slower. She understood what Professor Flitwick had said about only a combination of natural talent and hard work being enough to reach the top levels of performance. Before, she'd been intelligent and a hard worker, but she just wouldn't have been magically powerful enough to develop herself this quickly. Hermione thought through this while she continued to diligently practice her spells. A third line of thought working through a possible curse removal ritual for Harry's scar happened in the deep background of her exceptional mind. If Harry had the Machine, Hermione's subconscious was more like the research librarian, but no less active.
"Very well. Stop." Professor Flitwick said, "Now, we're going to practice combat apparition. I want you to show me your ability to apparate short distances. Go from this hoop to this hoop."
After Hermione's dramatic apparition through the Hogwarts' wards, the couple had spend time training to apparate on Black Isle. They were both advanced for everyday wizards, but combat apparition was different. It tended to be short distance, fast, and the apparator couldn't afford to be disoriented on arrival.
"You've got the willpower to be exceptional. Your skills at occlumency should help your ability to snap visualize your destination. I think all you'll need is practice. When we're not here, this room will remain an exception to Hogwarts apparition wards. Come here and practice as frequently as you can."
Both almost groaned at this additional draw on their limited time, but they also understood the need. A duel between a skilled apparator and a novice would be over before it was begun.
"Now for the portion Harry's been waiting for." Flitwick said, his pointed teeth visible when he smiled, "Take your places."
Harry walked to his designated position on the dueling floor. He began to take deep breaths, striving to center his mind, seeking the calm 'no-mind' he'd discussed with Ron. Harry thought about dueling Bill, Ron's almost legendary older brother. Former Hogwarts' Head Boy and current Gringott's curse breaker. He was an idol to Harry, who wasn't sure dueling him was a good idea. Harry bowed automatically at Flitwick's call, saluted, and was suddenly blind, the entire room going dark.
Harry threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a blast of light that illuminated the room like a strobe. It was surreal, Harry's heart seemed to beat and the room seemed to strobe in unison, dim glimpses of his opponent caught only during the strobes, each a damaging spell that could end the fight. Distantly, he could hear rustling, like fabric, and odd moans growing closer to him. Harry tried to think, tried to decide how to remove the darkness. His vision blurred into auramancy and he visualized the spell. He also visualized very dark humanoid auras moving closer to him. Finally, desperately unsure how to fix it, he tapped his core and just poured an obscene amount of power into a simple spell.
"Finite!" Harry called.
The darkness lifted and Harry had time to roll to the side as a fist glanced off his head. He was facing a horde of humanoids wrapped in dry, dusty bandages. Harry had never heard of anything like this in the wizarding world, but they looked like mummies from old horror movies. His vision blurred by the blow, Harry twisted, kicked, and blocked, trying to get free of the scrum. They were strong. The sent of dusty rotting and spices that surrounded them was disorienting. Harry was hit all over, fists pounding into his ribs, glancing off his arms, and striking his back. If he wasn't pouring magic into his resiliency combined with the enchantments on his dueling robes, he suspected he'd be badly injured already. As it was, it was painful to take a breath. Another blow glanced of his head and he saw stars, slipping to the ground. His wand fell from his fingers.
As Harry wavered on the edge of consciousness, the Machine took over. A massively overpowered and wide area reductor flowed out from him, blasting the mummies back from him in a ring. He summoned his wand to his hand and apparated to the other side of the room. Several flame curses leapt from his wand, setting the mummies alight. A quick glance at his opponent showed a ring of glowing runes around Bill. The curse-breaker was also a master of wards and had used the opportunity his creatures had given him to set some strong defenses.
A glance was all he had time for, as curses flowed off Bill's wand at him as soon as he saw him free of the now blazing mummies. Harry again apparated, then sent off a string of overpowered reductor curses at Bill's wards. The wards were much stronger than a protego shield, but took much longer to raise. Only the mummies had given him time to erect them. The Machine recognized the limitations in Bill's approach. This duel was a mobile fight, given how Flitwick had set up the wards in the room. Bill had chosen a static position, so no matter where Harry moved, he always knew where Bill would be. Sacrificing mobility was a big trade-off.
Harry began apparating around the room almost at random, slamming a string of reductors into Bill's wards every time he appeared, then disappearing before any counter-curses reached him. Given his prodigious strength, soon Bill's wards were glowing red, trying to discharge the energy they were absorbing, but clearly failing. Harry watched the ward with auramancy, apparating just before he managed to destroy the wards, insuring that the curse that finally overloaded the barrier was the first in a string. He expected Bill to correct his mistake and become mobile the minute his ward fell and he didn't want to let him.
The runes overloaded with a flash and Bill was hit by the feedback, disorienting him for a millsecond, enough to insure he didn't apparate away or dodge the second, third, or fourth reductor in Harry's chain. He was knocked to the ground, unconscious, only the protective dueling wards on the room preventing him from being ripped apart by the forces.
Harry was pacing, waiting for the next duel. With the Machine at the forefront of his mind, all he cared about was the next fight.
"Innervate." Flitwick said, waking Bill.
Bill looked at Harry with wide eyes. "You're my youngest brother's age. You shouldn't have had a chance! You're…" His surprise was cut off by a look from Filius.
"That fight went exactly how we'd discussed, Bill." Flitwick said, speaking over the curse-breaker, "You only used the spells I allowed you and you took the static position in a mobile fight as we'd discussed. Is the lesson clear, Harry?"
"Crystal." Harry said, continuing to pace.
They dueled several more times, but Bill never came as close to beating Harry, his confidence shaken by losing to the boy.
They ended the duel early, to discuss the first confrontation.
"What did you do wrong?" Flitwick asked Harry.
"I wasn't prepared." Harry said flatly, "I saw Bill and my mind thought of him as a brother. I wasn't ready when he started off strong."
"Yes, I agree that was your first mistake." Flitwick agreed, "Then?"
"I was surprised by his darkness spell and wasn't sure how to counter it. I stayed in the same position, never having apparated blind."
"But you apparated previously in this room." Flitwick pointed out, "There were several places you knew well enough to apparate to, even blind."
Harry nodded, realizing that with the advantage of photographic memory he'd gained from his bond with Hermione and the easy mental organization inherent to his level of occlumency, he could have visualized any position in the room. That was a big mistake.
"What was your final mistake?" Flitwick asked.
"I'm not sure." Harry offered.
"You had to take down his barrier using brute force." Flitwick explained, "There are much easier ways to take down a ward, particularly a quick combat-ward. You've got an advantage over almost everyone in sheer magical power. You can overwhelm wards easily, but with a bit of knowledge, you can do it much faster than that."
Professor Flitwick and Bill Weasley spent the next hour teaching Harry and Hermione how to take down wards. Using a combination of auramancy and their knowledge of arithmancy and runes, they learned to take down most common combat-wards. Real, permanent wards were much harder, but Bill assured them that with their strength, they would make incredible ward-breakers if they wanted to pursue that as a career. Bill and Hermione dueled, which was equally impressive, but a much less violent confrontation. Finally, Harry and Hermione left, walking to the room of requirement, where they'd planned some alone time.
"Dobby." Harry called.
"Winky." Hermione called.
The two house-elves popped into the room of requirement. With a wave of their hands, the room, which was already configured as a romantic dining room was suddenly lit with hundreds of candles. Small portions of delicious food appeared on their plates. They'd eaten a light dinner before the dueling, but afterwards, they'd wanted a dinner together. Another gesture and their dueling robes disappeared, to be replaced by light casual robes. After they'd eaten, before the elves had a chance to disappear with their dirty dishes, Hermione asked a question that had occurred to her after their training.
"I don't know why I've never thought of this before, but how do you apparate within the wards?"
"We're house elves, miss." Dobby replied. Winky, shyer, stood there waiting to be directly addressed by her mistress.
"That's what I've always told myself." Hermione replied, digging deeper, "There's got to be more to it than that, though. How do house elves apparate through wards?"
Dobby thought about it, something he obviously hadn't done much before. "Well, Miss Grangy, we can do what we needs to do to serve our masters and mistresses. If the wards kept us out, we couldn't really do what you need. So our magic lets us do it."
"Could you teach us how you do it?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, I want to!" Dobby said, jumping up and down, "But I don't thinks so. It's something only house elves can do."
"Something you're born to do?" Hermione asked.
"No, we can't do it until we're old enough to bond to our masters or mistresses and swear our house elf oaths to them. Only then can we use our magic. That's why it's so important to be in service."
Hermione thought about this and her powerful mind churned over the information she'd been given.
"Wait. Dobby, how do you define a house elf?" Hermione asked.
"A house elf is defined by service!" Dobby said, reciting something that sounded like a creed he'd been taught when he was young. "Bond and oath make a house elf!"
"Well, Harry and I have a bond." Hermione ventured, "Could we be house elves?"
Dobby looked really confused by that.
"Miss Grangy, I'm sorry, I thinks you could be. You do have the bond and if you swore to serve Master Harry like a house elf, you would be what my parents said a house elf was, but you're a witch and witches aren't house elves. I'm so confused!" Dobby picked up the serving platter and went to hit himself in the head.
"Dobby, no!" Harry quickly said, "You're not to punish yourself. Answer Hermione's questions the best you can, but if you can't, don't worry. You're doing exactly what I want right now."
"Harry, what if we tried it?" Hermione asked, "Let's swear a house elf oath to each other and then ask if Dobby and Winky can teach us how to do house elf apparition."
Harry shrugged. It would be dead useful and he wasn't worried about any oaths he swore to Hermione. He would do anything for her already.
He knelt down in front of Hermione. He gazed into her eyes with all the sincerity he could and said, "I promise to be as your house elf and be always loyal and ready to do what you need!" Harry said an oath based on what he recalled of Winky's oath to Hermione in the kitchen.
"I accept your vow and promise on my part to take care of you as part of my family." Hermione said, her eyes bright. Harry on his knees in front of her reminded her of their engagement and he was already her family.
A blue light shone powerfully, representing a magical oath made. Further bonds wrapped around them.
Harry kissed Hermione, then sat and Hermione knelt in front of him, looking up at him with love, "I promise to be as your house elf and be always loyal and ready to do what you need!"
Harry answered her, "I accept your vow and promise on my part to take care of you as part of my family."
The blue light again flashed powerfully.
They both looked to Dobby and Winky, who stood side by side, watching them.
"Can you teach us now?" Hermione asked.
"We's should be able to." Dobby said, obviously distressed he couldn't say yes, clearly, "Nothing like this has ever been heard of, but you've got the bond and you've got the oaths."
Dobby went to Harry and Winky went to Hermione.
"When we're teaching young house elves, we don't talk out loud, we talk in their mind. All house elves can talk to each other that way. We can also see what our master or mistress needs from us so we can do it before they ask sometimes."
Winky put her hands on Hermione's head and the young witch could feel in her mind, through the subtle barrier. Hermione relaxed her occlumency to let Winky further in. Winky went to a part of Hermione's mind that she'd organized to include her knowledge of apparition and the magical conduit from her core for apparating. In her mind, Winky showed her how to twist it slightly differently to perform house elf apparition.
"It doesn't always have to be loud?" Hermione asked.
"No, Mistress." Winky said shyly, "Only when we think our masters wouldn't want us to surprise them. If they is asleep or talking to another wizard or working hard, we can go very quietly so we don't disturb."
Dobby removed his hands from Harry's head and Harry disappeared, only to reappear with a case of butterbeer.
"It works!"
"Harry!" Hermione cried, surprised.
"Mistress?" he said teasingly, "Do I need to punish myself?"
"No, you're not to punish yourself." Hermione said, "Not unless I tell you to!"
They both laughed, then popped around the room joyfully.
"I can apparate around Hogwarts!" Hermione giggled, dancing excitedly.
"Maybe you can add that when you edit Hogwarts, a History." Harry said teasingly.
"Well, maybe we'll keep this as a secret." Hermione said, biting her lower lip, "Without the bond, others couldn't do it anyway and it will make a powerful surprise if we need it."
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The Hogsmeade weekend arrived. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Neville had all discussed it and agreed to go together. Harry had been convinced to start a practical defense practice. He'd realized he'd have to start at least a small one for the other members of the Black Isle crew, because it wasn't fair they weren't getting the same instruction he was and he wanted to keep working with them. They helped Hermione convince him that they all could teach a bigger group if he headed it and they worked as his teaching assistants. They'd discussed particulars with what they wanted to do and decided on an approach.
They gathered at the Hog's Head. They'd discussed whether it might be more suspicious to go to the sketchy looking pub, being that they never went there, but they'd decided it was empty enough to offset the greater chance they'd be noticed since they were varying from their routine.
They'd discussed their approach to this in-depth. Ron had offered some great suggestions as they'd brainstormed. They'd decided Harry needed to appear confident, since he was going to be the leader. Hermione would be beside him as his primary assistant. The others would be there in a supportive role, ready to lend a hand. Harry had been thinking about what impressed him about various professors. His number one role model was Dumbledore, but he wasn't sure he could pull off the Headmaster's demeanor. However, he would always be the basis of what Harry thought about as a teacher. Remus was another role model and probably the closest to what Harry would strive for while teaching what would essentially be a DADA practical. Finally, although he was loathe to admit it, Professor Snape made quite an impression, sometimes for the wrong reasons, but he clearly prepared to impress students with his beginning speech about "I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death."The way his robes billowed as he walked was another way he presented himself dramatically. With his auramancy and Hermione's help, Harry had figured out how he did that and practiced until he got a similar effect.
They entered the pub and Harry bought a couple cases of butter beer while the others picked a row of tables in the back.
"We don't want anyone disturbing us for refills." He explained to Hermione.
They sat and chatted while waiting for others to arrive. Before the appointed time, students started to filter in. The Weasley twins came in with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Harry had to smile at his teammates. He'd always have them. Dean and Lavendar came in next, closely followed by the Patils. Cedric and Cho walked in together with a friend of Cho's walking with them, Cedric giving Harry a wave and a smile. The Creeveys walked in, unsurprisingly, then Ernie MacMillan, Justin Fitch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones. Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot came in, Luna identifying them as they entered. A tall blonde Hufflepuff came in last and Harry decided it was time to start.
He stood, raising his hand, relaxing his control slightly to let his aura flow out, commanding attention.
"Welcome." Harry said firmly, "You all know why we're here?"
"I heard you were starting a group to study for the Defense OWLs?" Michael Corner ventured.
Harry nodded at Hermione, who began talking, "We have watched Professor Umbridge and quickly realized that is no preparation for our Defense against the Dark Arts studies. At my urging, Harry has agreed to fix that. I want to be prepared, not just for our OWLs, but also… also, because Lord Voldemort is back."
There were gasps at that. Cho's friend shrieked and slopped butterbeer over her arm.
"What's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" the blonde Hufflepuff asked.
"We saw him." Hermione said flatly. "Harry and I."
"So we're to go on your word?" the blonde boy said, his voice tinged with disrespect.
"Who are you?" Ron said, roughly, ready to defend his friends and his oathbound lord.
"Zacharias Smith," said the boy, "I think I've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."
Harry drew himself up even straighter. The power rolled off him in waves and he felt like Dumbledore in his 'take-charge' mode.
"That's fair." He offered generously, "Although next time you decide to demand your rights, I insist you treat me, my fiancée, and my assistants with the appropriate respect or I'll take it as an offense to House Potter."
He stared levely at the boy, who eventually nodded, unable to take the weight of those almost-glowing green eyes.
"Hermione and I saw Voldemort's return. If she hadn't come for me, I would have died. I think many of you saw her apparate out from the Quidditch stands, something that's supposedly impossible?"
There were nods at this.
"He's back and no matter who denies it, we must be ready. Unfortunately, by burying their heads in the sane, the ministry is doing exactly the worst thing they could do. Professor Umbridge is one symptom of that overall illness, but she's enough to damage your education and risk your lives. Hogwarts is like a second home to me and therefore you're like my family. I don't sit by while idiots risk my family, so I'm willing to pass on what I know."
"Who are you to teach us?" Zacharias asked, "You're only a fifth year, hardly ready to be a Professor."
"I heard he could cast a Patronus. A real corporeal Patronus." Susan Bones offered, "My auntie is an auror and has spoken to Master Auror Moody. Is it true about the Patronus?"
Harry nodded and there were murmurs of awe.
"Blimey, Harry, I didn't know that!" Lee said, looking impressed.
"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," Fred said, grinning, "Said Harry gets enough attention as it is."
There was laughter at that.
"Did you really kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" Terry Boot asked, "One of the portaits told me when I was in there last year."
Harry nodded and there were more murmurs.
"And in our first year, he saved the sorcerous stone." Neville added. "From You-Know-Who."
"I watched him in the tournament." Cedric added, his arm around Cho, "He was well in advance of my work, so I think any concern that he's 'just a fifth year' is misplaced."
Harry raised a hand again and all the murmuring ceased.
"I won't say I haven't had help through all of this. Hermione and Ron have been by my side every step of the way. I've also been very lucky. They've said they'll be by my side for this group, too, so you'll benefit from their help as I have. My friends and I benefitted from an intensive summer program with… is it Master Auror now, Susan?... Master Auror Moody. We'll be teaching what we learned and I guarantee it will be better preparation than you'll receive from Umbridge. Now if you're interested, please stay. If you're not, that's fine, too, but please keep this to yourself. I'm not sure she'd be pleased, even though we're not breaking any school rules."
"If you're interested." Hermione spoke up, "Sign up on this sheet of paper. Be informed that by signing you're not only expressing interest, you're also agreeing not to speak of the group. After you sign your name, I'll hand you one of these galleons, charmed to show the time and place of any meetings.
As people began to sign their names, Susan moved to Harry's side.
"Would you be willing to show me your Patronus?" she asked, "My auntie said you'd gotten a waiver to the underage magic rule."
"You are well informed." He chuckled, "Well, some of this lot might need some convincing and that is a dramatic spell." Harry brought up the memory of his proposal to Hermione and cast, "Expecto Patronum!"
Prongs sprung from the tip of his wand, glowing silver, every detail perfect down to the individual hairs. His tail twitched as he looked for foes to gore.
"Wow." Susan said among the wave of murmurs.
After everyone had signed, Hermione gathered up the paper and put it in her bag.
"Well, that went rather well." She said primly with an undertone of 'I told you so.'
"You were right." Harry said, chuckling.
"Aren't I always?" she giggled.
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Monday they weren't so sure, when they read Umbridge's 'educational decree' outlawing all student groups unless approved by the Ministry.
"Someone told." Harry said coldly.
"No," Hermione disagreed, "if they had, they would have triggered consequences from the parchment. Sirius is quite skilled at enchanted parchments, as you're well aware of from the map, and the Black curses are not pleasant. This was someone outside the group."
Harry nodded, "This doesn't mean anything. I'm still going to do it."
That day Harry felt pain in his scar for the first time since he'd learned occlumency. It was dull, muted, as if felt from a distance, but he knew that Voldemort was very angry.
That night Ron told them they were wanted in Dumbledore's office. The three walked together to the Gargoyle that moved out of the way automatically.
"Welcome." Albus said as they walked into his office. He'd set three overstuffed chairs around his desk, "Ronald told me about your meeting this weekend. You realize, of course, that this newest decree is aimed at you?"
"Of course." Hermione said briefly.
Dumbledore nodded, folding his hands in his robe sleeves. "Ronald and I have been working together frequently. His training by Master Wu is helpful to me. We've come to the conclusion that I must continue on the road that I started over a year ago when I began to share more with you. There's a good chance that in the course of Professor Umbridge's work for the Ministry, I will be temporarily removed as Headmaster."
Harry gasped.
"No, my boy, do not worry. Hogwarts will only accept the true Headmaster, so I will not be truly gone. Filius will continue your work. I need you to continue working behind the scenes as you are. Avoid direct confrontation until it is time. I trust you will know when it is truly time."
"Now," he continued, "there are even more important things to discuss. Secrets I have continued to keep. It is time you were brought fully into my plans. It is unsafe for me to continue as the only person to know. If I were to die unexpectedly, all our plans would be in danger. Nothing I say should leave this room. I have not even told Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick. Professor Snape knows as the nature of his role necessitates it."
"When you faced Voldemort, or Tom Riddle as he is more truly named, there was a reason he did not die." Dumbledore explained, looking at Harry, "There are dark rituals that allow a dark wizard to maintain their own existence. The darkest of these is the Horcrux. It is a container which holds a portion of the dark wizard's soul, split by the act of murder of an innocent. So long as one of the containers exists, the dark wizard cannot be killed, but will only be disembodied, as Riddle was."
"So Voldemort has one of these Horcrux?" Harry asked.
"I think he has more than one." Dumbledore stated.
Hermione gasped.
"I think you destroyed one your second year." Dumbledore said, bringing out the remains of Riddle's Diary, "It was actually what prompted me to explore this possibility. I have come to the conclusion that he likely has either three or seven, both arithmantically powerful numbers. There is a wizard who might know, but he is in hiding and I have decided it is less important we know exactly how many as it is to begin to seek them. I have made that my aim, while also trying to bring the Ministry to the conclusion that he is back and they must prepare."
Hermione was lost in thought. Harry could almost hear the powerful clockwork sound her mind made as it processed multiple lines of reasoning. He was almost afraid of how intelligent she was.
"Harry's scar." She finally said, "That's what the darkness is in his scar. There is no such thing as a generic curse scar that discolors the aura. I discovered that during my research after Luna commented. Now it makes sense, though."
Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"How do we destroy it?" Hermione asked, desperately.
"I am not certain that we can." Dumbledore said in the aggrieved tone he would have used to tell someone their family member was gravely ill, "It is unheard of to use a living being as a Horcrux, because it's counter to the very idea. They are meant to make a dark wizard immortal, but by using a mortal vessel, you limit the span of time your Horcrux exists to the life of that being. If, that is, the presence of the Horcrux does not also make Mr. Potter immortal. Again, I am unsure. I think Riddle's intent was not to use Harry as a vessel, but to use his death as one of the required murders to split his soul and place that fragment in an unknown vessel. I think the creation of the scar Horcrux was accidental. I think the sequence was that Lily sacrificed herself to save Harry, giving him a powerful protection. Riddle hit Harry with the killing curse, which rebounded, leaving only a superficial wound behind and severing the connection between Riddle's body and the two pieces of his soul, split when he cast the curse with the intent to kill Harry. I think it is important to realize the intent and action to kill Harry was enough to split his soul even when unsuccessful. One piece was driven away while one piece, having already been prepared for a vessel, entered the nearest possible vessel, which was Harry. His mother's protection was temporarily drained by deflecting the killing curse of the most powerful dark wizard known, so did not have sufficient strength to also prevent the soul fragment from attaching itself. Harry's magic then encapsulated the fragment and has protected him from it to this day, although it also shields the fragment from Lily's protection."
They all absorbed that incredible scenario.
"The fragment carried with it some of Riddle's talents, such as parselmouth. Harry's magic protected and insulated him from the fragment, but was happy to take any benefits. Meanwhile, as we discussed last year, the presence of a soul fragment of the most powerful dark wizard known was sufficient to stimulate Harry's core, which was likely already destined to be immense, into the rather large reservoir it is now."
"This is why I found it so essential for you to learn occlumency, Harry. You are at risk from within and without. I think the fragment gives Riddle an advantage in penetrating your mind, as he already has a beachhead. Professor Snape is the foremost expert in resisting Voldemort's mental attacks, so I tasked him to teach you. In this, I think he is even more knowledgeable than I."
Hermione continued thinking. "Professor, I did not read about Horcrux during my research, however I do think I read about a technique that might be used to find the others, since we have one in our possession. If we calibrate a search by the signature of the dark aura of the scar Horcrux, I think we could discover other fragments with the same aura nearby."
Dumbledore nodded, turning his own prodigious mind down the avenue Hermione had opened.
"You truly are a brilliant witch." He said with smile.
She blushed, but her look hardened, "I will discover a way to destroy the fragment."
Harry nodded. He'd isolated the part of him that knew even if she didn't discover a way to separate the fragment; he knew how he could destroy it if he must. He locked that part away from their bond, knowing she mustn't realize how far he'd go to destroy Voldemort.
"I will continue to do my research on the Horcrux, as well Miss Granger." Dumbledore said, "Harry, Ron, I think you two should continue to concentrate on your studies. You will be needed if we discover the location of any of the Horcrux, but until then I think this lies within a realm more suited for our talents. There are some memories I have assembled concerning Tom Riddle's early life and background. I will leave them in here, in these vials, for you to puruse at your leisure. Mr. Weasley, I think seeing them may help you in the formation of strategy where he is concerned. 'Know your enemy' I believe your master likes to say?"
They left the office subdued, but hopeful. They had a path to continue on to keep opposing Voldemort.
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Tuesday, Angelina received permission to reform the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ron was ecstatic. Harry was pleased, but he felt his life was evolving to make Quidditch less of a priority, although it was still one of the biggest stress relievers for him, but dueling and Hermione were more central to his happiness.
That night, he and Hermione met at the library, where she was working, eating at the table a snack that Winky brought her. She'd redoubled her efforts to find a solution to Harry's Horcrux problem, but information on the topic was very limited even with full access to the restricted section and access to all the Black libraries. Magick Most Evile was the one book that contained even a reference. Dumbledore told her he had a book with more information, but she hadn't yet had a chance to read it.
They walked together to the dungeon dueling room. Harry was coming to terms with his subconscious, realizing that he consistently started his duels at a disadvantage until he could let go of his conscious fears and let himself go. He still wasn't sure how to do that earlier in a fight, but hoped he could work on it today.
In the dueling room, they found Professor Flitwick and Remus Lupin.
"Mooney!" Harry cried, embracing his Uncle.
"How are you, cub?" Lupin asked, chuckling at the scion of the Marauders.
"Great! I'm happy to see you!" Harry said, "But I assume you're the guest opponent?"
"Right in one, Harry." Remus answered.
Harry swallowed. Here was a real challenge for his mental preparation. He didn't want to duel his Uncle Mooney. It would be too hard to submerge his desires neither to hurt him nor even to embarrass him by winning. Looking at Flitwick, he suspected this might be part of the lesson.
"Today we're going to discuss and practice specialty spells against certain enemies." Flitwick said, "Voldemort has been known to use dark creatures as servants. You learned the basics about many of these dark creatures from Professor Lupin. However, that was third year curriculum. Now we talk about the bloody truth. We'll discuss spells to defend against vampires, werewolves, and the inferi. I believe you're already well acquainted with the Patronus, which is the main weapon against dementors."
"Against vampires, my favorite spells are 'lumos solarius' which creates concentrated sunlight and 'telum lignum' which makes wooden darts shoot from your wand. Here are the wand movements."
Flitwick demonstrated and made both Harry and Hermione cast each of those spells successfully ten times to cement the incantations and wand movements.
"Now, against werewolves, I prefer 'telum argentum' which makes similar silver darts and 'incarcerous argentum' which conjures silver chains."
Flitwick again demonstrated and required them to cast the spells.
"Against undead, fire spells tend to work well. Mr. Potter used these successfully against the mummies, an Egyptian version of Inferi."
They practiced flame spells, which they were both already familiar with.
Once they had drilled those specialty spells, Professor Flitwick said, "Take a short break, drink some water, and then we'll have a duel."
Harry walked to Remus and pulled him aside. "Uncle Mooney, can I talk to you?"
"Sure, cub, what's up?"
"I don't want to duel you." Harry said.
"Why?" Remus said, "I won't hurt you."
"I know you wouldn't." Harry said, "That's not what I'm afraid of. I understand what Professor Flitwick is working at. He's trying to break down some mental barriers I have against dueling my friends. I understand that, but I don't want to duel you or Sirius. If I lose, then I lose. If I win, then it's embarrassing for you that a schoolkid beat you. I will feel terrible that I beat you, but I'm realizing that if I don't fight to win, then I'm training myself badly."
Remus nodded. "I understand. I do. But look around. It's Professor Flitwick, one of the nicest professors at Hogwarts, me your uncle, and Hermione, your fiancée. No matter how this goes, you don't need to be embarrassed. I was one of your defense teachers. If you beat me, it just proves I was a better professor than I am a duelist. Besides, I think Filius has told you that he controls the setting of these duels. You may find that you win or lose based on his educational goals as much on your talent. You already understand that you have to do your best to get the full benefit out of this. Focus on that and the rest will work itself out. I love you, cub. I won't be mad no matter what."
Harry looked at him and finally released his tension in a long sigh. Remus drew him closer in a hug, an unusual thing for the reserved man.
They took their places on the dueling floor. Harry took deep breathes, centering himself. He let go of his fears of fighting his uncle. He released his anxiety. He felt the Machine taking over and it felt so good to let go. The Machine was confident, implacable, and ready. It lived for the fighting.
"Bow and begin." Flitwick said.
Harry bowed a precise bow, flicked his wand in a salute, and began. Small precise wand movements in a constant interweaving pattern with the non-verbal thought of the spells sent a chain of disarming spell, cutting curse, bludgeoning hex, freezing charm. Harry had practiced to see what spells naturally flowed into each other most smoothly and developed some pre-loaded chains. Remus dodged, preternaturally quickly due to his werewolf nature. He loped towards Harry, dodging Harry's spells all the way. Harry calmly continued chaining spells together, then before Remus reached him, he apparated to the other side of the room, continuing his chain. He surprised himself, having apparated exactly across the room, because the spells that had missed Remus were now streaking towards him, apparition moving him across the room instantly, faster than the spells themselves moved. He quickly apparated again, this time 45 degrees off to the side.
Flitwick laughed, having seen newer duelists do this to themselves before.
Remus, having tried to close the distance with Harry and use his greater strength as a werewolf, even in human form, rolled out of the way of the stream of spells and began flicking his own wand. The two faced each other and cast. Harry dodged most of the return fire, blocking only when he had to. He knew Death Eaters often used Avada Kedavra, which could not be blocked, so he wanted to avoid becoming dependent on shield spells. Remus was so fast, he also mostly dodged, but occasionally blocked Harry's hexes.
The two were relatively evenly matched, Lupin having been chosen as professor for DADA for a very good reason and Harry being a prodigy. They circled, slowing their casting as neither had landed anything yet and they needed to evaluate. Harry flicked his wand and Lupin flinched, jumping aside before Harry even cast anything. Harry chuckled and continued to circle. Lupin growled and started a chain of spells. Bludgeoning hex flowed into body bind into disarming curse. Harry stepped aside, dodging the last spell that Remus had purposefully aimed to the side, hoping Harry would step into it.
Both were breathing heavily. Harry thought of his tactics as he circled. His tactics usually depended heavily on charms, as they were fast and he was reasonably good with them. However, Remus was a fantastically fast opponent, dodging everything thrown at him. Harry had an idea. In the middle of a chain of spells, he inserted one transfiguration spell, changing his timing on the attack charms to hide the gap. As expected, Remus dodged his hexes, returning fire with his own attacks. Harry dodged and continued to circle. As his plan unfolded in front of him, he started a string of flame hex, piercing charm, stunner. Remus again dodged to the side, but tripped over an animated chair that was stalking him from behind. The chair began kicking him while he was on the ground and Harry had time to stun his Uncle.
Flitwick rennervated Remus. He walked towards Harry with a strange look on his face.
"I like the way you integrated a transfiguration into your attacks. It's something that's been missing from your repertoire. I think we can improve your work further by building that in." Flitwick said, looking cross, "However, I have one question. You apparated during the fight. Why?"
"You've talked about how important mobility is. Why wouldn't I apparate."
Flitwick nodded. "I see where I'm going wrong with my question. I don't suppose my real question is 'why', but rather, how? And the why, is why didn't you tell us you could apparate through wards?"
Harry's heart sank, realizing he'd already exposed their secret weapon. He exchanged a quick look with Hermione and she returned his dismay.
"Ummm…. I didn't realize the room was set to prohibit apparition." Harry offered.
"Ok, understandable and there is a reason for that. The room is always warded against apparition, being part of Hogwarts, unless Professor Dumbledore specifically exempts it. I decided I wouldn't tell you which it was set to during any given fight so you have to waste time checking, just like you will in reality. However, none of that explains the fact that you were still able to apparate and you didn't tell me you had that ability!"
"Hermione and I just figured it out recently." Harry sighed, explaining, "It's house-elf apparition and due to some very picky requirements, I think we're the only ones who will be able to learn how to do it. We wanted to keep it as a 'secret weapon', so we chose not to tell anyone, so word wouldn't get out."
Flitwick paced the floors, thinking. He scowled for a minute before resuming his pacing. Finally he looked up at Harry and smiled.
"Good thinking." Flitwick said, "I can tell you've been trained by Moody. You've just accomplished something thought to be impossible and you keep it a secret to help you in a duel. Very sneaky. Keep thinking that way, you're likely to need it. However, to accomplish the same thing, from now on, I will designate a day as either apparition allowed or apparition prohibited. Today is prohibited. Understand?"
"Yes, Professor."
The two combatants again lined up. Remus winked at Harry, making Harry laugh.
"See, it wasn't so bad!"
"Bow and begin." Flitwick intoned.
After several hours of dueling both Harry and Hermione, Remus was mopping his face with his handkerchief.
"You've come a long way since I taught you the Patronus, Harry."
"Thank you." Harry said, "I wish we could have done that when you taught here."
"Me, too!" Remus chuckled, "Too busy teaching you about Grindlows, I suppose. Although I think it would have hurt my credibility a bit if you'd beat me. Oh, I almost forgot. Take this mirror. It will let you communicate with Sirius and I. Just call either of our names to call us. One of us will have it with us at all times. I think Sirius has something he wants to discuss with you tonight."
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Harry and Hermione went to the Room of Requirement, summoning a room that looked much like the Gyffindor common room. They sat on their favorite sofa.
"Any ideas for how we could kill the time while we wait for Sirius to call?" Hermione asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"I'm sure you brought a book." Harry teased back, before leaning slowly in and gently kissing her. Unfortunately, at that moment the mirror began to vibrate.
"Harry Potter?" a muffled voice came from the mirror, until Harry pulled it from his pocket.
"Sirius!" Harry called.
"Hi, Sirius!" Hermione leaned in and smiled.
"How are my two favorite people?" Sirius asked.
"Well, thanks." Harry answered.
"Starting any illegal dueling clubs?" Sirius said with a smirk.
"Wait, how did you learn about that?!" Harry exclaimed.
"You need to be more careful where you meet." Sirius said, "The witch in the corner? Mundungus Fletcher."
"That was Mundungus?" Harry asked.
"I thought that witch looked suspicious." Hermione grumbled.
"Meeting at the Hogs Head? Really? You need to choose a better location next time."
"It was better than the Three Broomsticks!" Hermione protested, "It's so busy there we would have been overheard for sure!"
"So busy you might have been overlooked. You've got a lot to learn about picking meeting places." Sirius said.
"Well, hopefully we've got a better one, now." Harry said, "Did you ever hear of the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked.
"We looked for that for years!" Sirius said, "Did you actually find it?"
"We did!" Harry grinned.
Sirius grinned back at him. "Illegal dueling clubs, finding the Room of Requirement, you are a worth descendant of the Marauders, my boy!"
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The first meeting of Dumbledore's Army began in the Room of Requirement Wednesday night. Harry paced in front of the wall and manifested the Room of Requirement. Having held the thought of needing a room where they could learn to fight, the room was wide open with cushions on the floor instead of chairs, mirrors on the walls that weren't lined with bookshelves packed with books on defense.
Harry had warned the Black Isle crew to arrive early. He and Hermione showed them what they'd been learning with Flitwick and practiced with them for an hour before the scheduled meeting. It was a good opportunity for Harry to practice and to keep his friends up to speed with the newest things he was learning. He made sure to drill the spells they were planning for the day, although this group would not soon forget simple spells.
With a knock on the door, the other students began to arrive. Harry greeted the new arrivals, then ignored them as he leafed through one of the books on defense. Once everyone had arrived, he stood and speaking loudly, said,
"Welcome to the first meeting of our defense group. I want to get into our lesson plan, but Hermione has a few questions first."
"One question, really. We need a name. We have to have something to call ourselves." Hermione said.
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina asked hopefully.
"Or the Ministry for Magic Are Morons group?" Fred asked.
"I was thinking," Hermione said, "of a name that didn't reveal what we were up to. One we could use outside around other people."
"The Defense Association?" Cho suggested, "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about."
"Yeah, the D.A.'s good." Ginny said, "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"
There was a lot of laughter at that, but when Hermione asked for a vote, it was unanimous. She wrote, "Dumbledore's Army" in clear letters at the top of the roster and pinned it to the wall. There was some scattered cheering.
"I think we should begin with the disarming charm." Harry said, "It is very useful in duels and the wand motion will help you learn the proper motions for many other useful hexes while being a bit more tolerant of error itself."
"Oh, please." Zacharias Smith complained, "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I've used it against him." Harry said quietly, "It saved my life last June."
Smith opened and closed his mouth stupidly. The rest of the room was silent.
"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave." Harry said.
Nobody moved a muscle.
"I'll demonstrate first." Harry said, "Hermione, would you be willing to assist me?"
"Of course." She said, smiling. Harry grinned. Hermione assiting him was a short summary of the last four years.
He lined up against Hermione and made a large, very clear wand movement while clearly speaking the incantation, "Expelliarmus." Hermione's wand flew into his hand.
"That's the wand movement, slightly exaggerated for clarity, and incantation." Harry lectured, "Once you've gotten good at it, you'll be able to cast like this." Harry appeared to simply jab his wand and non-verbally disarmed Ron.
"Ok, divide into pairs and practice. My assistants will circulate and help where needed."
The Black Isle crew circulated, giving tips, pointers, and correcting where necessary. Soon wands were flying throughout the room, along with books off the shelf when students missed.
When Harry saw Cho practicing with her friend, he noticed the friend giving him sour looks. Harry sent a quick message to Hermione through the bond. Hermione came along and offered to work with the girl for a few moments while he pulled Cho aside.
"Cho, how's it going."
"Well, Harry." Cho said in a friendly voice, "How are you?"
Good, thanks." Harry said, "What's with your friend?"
"Oh, Marietta?" Cho replied, "Don't mind her. She didn't really want to be here, but I made her come with me. Her parents have forbidden her to do anything that might upset Umbridge, you see - her mum works for the Ministry."
"What about your parents?" Harry asked.
"Well, they've forbidden me to get on the wrong side of Umbridge too." Cho said proudly, "But if they think I'm not going to prepare myself, they don't remember how they raised me. Cedric and I are in agreement. He says it could have been him that touched the cup and he would have had to face Voldemort. None of us are safe."
"Well, my father is a very supportive of any anti-Ministry action!" Luna said with a smile, beginning one of her typical rants. Harry smiled at her and moved on.
Hermione called time and they split up to go to their dorms, with Harry supervising their disbursement using the Marauder's Map to make sure the coast was clear.
That night, Harry had a dream of a long hallway with a door at the end. He could tell it was a sent dream, because it was muted, seen through the subtle walls of his occlumency. He tried to memorize all the details he could, but woke before he saw much more.
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Thursday, Harry diligently worked on his potion in Professor Snapes class, happily thinking of the successful first meeting of Dumbledore's Army. He had really enjoyed teaching and thought it went well.
"What are you smiling at, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked hatefully.
"Nothing, Professor Snape." Harry answered.
"Five points from Gryffindor." Snape hissed.
"For smiling, sir?" Harry asked.
"For your cheek, Mr. Potter."
"Yes, sir." Harry answered.
That night, he walked hand in hand with Hermione down to the dungeon for their lesson in occlumency.
"Good evening, Professor Snape."
"Is it, Mr. Potter?" Snape replied.
Harry laughed. He wasn't sure when he'd made the mental leap, but at some point he'd realized Snape was all one big affectation. Perhaps it was when he figured out how to recreate the billowing robe effect, but now when Snape put extra effort into being nasty or menacing, Harry could appreciate the showmanship.
Snape just stared at him even more balefully.
They spent the night reinforcing the new subtle wards while Snape attacked them with legilimency.
"You may be teachable." Snape said at the end of the night, "I think Miss Granger should be awarded a medal for service to the school. She has made such a change in you, Potter."
"Yes, sir." Harry said with a straight face.
"Keep working on it, Mr. Potter. One compliment does not mean slack off, understood?"
"There was a compliment in there, sir."
"You're dismissed, Potter."
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Next Monday, Harry went to Defense with a smile on his face. He sat there with Slinkhard's ridiculous text on his desk, but in his mind he was relieving his duels with Remus. He was thinking about the students in the DA who'd successfully cast the disarming hex because of his instruction. He knew he'd gotten a bit of a black eye during his duels and he hadn't let anyone heal it. It was already turning green/gold now, but he knew it was there. He felt like the blokes in that movie, Fight Club. Umbridge was his annoying boss, but he knew something she didn't know, that he was using his skills at defense regularly and she couldn't do anything about it.
She came by looking at each of their books to be sure they were doing as they were instructed. Harry smiled at her, watching as she hurried away. Yes, he enjoyed what he was doing very much.
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Tuesday, he discussed transfiguration with Professor McGonagall after he'd successfully completed the spell they were currently working on. He'd prepared a special surprise for Tuesday's mastery level defense. Hermione had helped him, but he had an advanced question for the Professor.
"When you're animating objects, can you make them dance to music?" Harry asked, "Or are they stuck dancing to whatever rhythm they initially select for themselves?"
"To music, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, confused.
"Yes, to music." Harry sighed. He'd hoped he wouldn't have to explain. "Let's say I wanted to entertain children and I wanted something to dance to music. Is it possible to coordinate animated object movement with existing music?"
"You are your father's son." Professor McGonagall said, looking half exasperated, but half pleased. She went on to explain to him exactly how to do what he wanted.
He spent lunch pouring over his notebook, where he'd sketched out his plan. He thought he should be able to make it work, but it would be challenging, especially if the guest opponent was as good as he expected. He wanted to be well prepared.
When the evening session arrived and he stood in front of the doorway, he took a deep breath. He had made a lot of progress over the few short months of the term. He'd realized he was truly talented and if he kept working as hard as he was, he could be very skilled indeed. He'd grown to want that. Initially he'd only been motivated by wanting to live to defeat Voldemort. Hermione's love had helped him want that even more. He wanted a family with her more than he wanted anything. He also wanted a real life, though, and excelling at what he'd realized was one of his real talents was one avenue for that. He was renowned as 'the-boy-who-lived', which had always been odd, since it was for something he didn't really remember. However, his skill at defense was a chance to earn his reputation and he was going to grasp it with both hands. Tonight was his chance to live up to his legacy and he hoped he was ready.
He opened the door, Hermione at his side.
"Sirius!" he said with a smile, "What are you here for? You didn't tell me you were coming!"
"Surprise, pup!" Sirius said with a huge grin. He was dressed in loose robes, his prison tattoos showing at the neck. He reminded Harry of some sort of Muggle rock star. Harry never could understand why Sirius wasn't accompanied by groupies everywhere he went. He was just that charismatic, as well as rich, powerful, talented. Harry loved his godfather.
Flitwick taught them the animagus reverting spell. He taught them how to erect animagus wards, that would cause any animagus crossing them to revert to human form, as well as a version that would just warn of the animagus' presence. Then he had Harry and Hermione demonstrate their entire repertoire of attack spells, showing Sirius how far they'd progressed in their abilities. Having spent every spare minute he wasn't studying, in class, or practicing Quidditch either drilling defense spells, reading about defense spells, dueling, or teaching others how to cast defense spells, Harry knew he'd made immeasurable progress. He'd estimate he'd cast each of his spells thousands of times. He couldn't tell his wand movements from Professor Flitwick's. He was a little afraid he'd burn out if he kept working that intensely, but so far he was still enjoying the work and his progress was really motivating him. He sometimes worried more about Hermione. She did everything he did on top of demanding independent transfiguration work with McGonagall and researching horcrux detection and destruction.
"Are you ready to duel your godfather?" Flitwick asked.
"Ready?" Harry said, "I'm not sure about that. I just hope I'm not grounded when it's all over."
They all had a laugh at that.
"Take your places." Flitwick said, "Bow and begin."
Harry worked hard at centering himself. He was really focused on success in this duel, although he wasn't sure Flitwick would agree with his definition of success. He bowed, saluted, and tossed out the contents of a package of toothpicks with his left hand while casting a musical charm with his right. He quickly dodged a stunning spell as Sorcerer's Apprentice began playing. At the first notes of music, his robe changed color to a solid red and a blue hat appeared on his head. He dodged two more spells from Sirius and quickly transfigured the toothpicks into an army of animated mops carrying mop buckets full of water. Another spell and the mops were dancing to the music. Harry deflected a body bind, but noticed Sirius was casting more slowly as he tried to figure out what was going on. Harry prayed that he'd seen the cartoon at some time or this wouldn't be half as funny as it should be.
The mops began dancing towards Sirius, mop buckets in hand. Harry limited himself to defense, dodging Sirius' attacks when he could, shielding when he had to. Sirius had stopped attacking as he broke down in laughter. Harry pretended to conduct the music as the mops threw water on Sirius and began to mop him.
As he'd practiced, Harry hid the motion to a non-verbal freezing spell in his pantomimed conducting, freezing the water on the floor beneath Sirius. Suddenly without firm footing, Sirius fell to the floor. Harry sent a quick expelliarmus-incarcerous-expelliarmus-incarcerous chain at his Godfather and the duel was over.
Sirius was still laughing. Harry looked over and saw Hermione was also doubled over laughing.
"Finite." Flitwick cast, freeing Sirius. Before he could cast a spell to disanimate the mops and vanish the water, Sirius stopped him.
"Wait! Let the song finish, Filius!"
"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Flitwick asked, genuinely confused.
"It's from a muggle cartoon movie." Sirius explained, "Lily Potter showed it to me. It's called 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' a funny play on words for our apprentice here."
Flitwick shook his head.
"We'll get a copy of the movie for you to see, somehow." Hermione said.
Harry decided the fact that Professor Flitwick kept them several hours later than usual until they were all on the edge of magical exhaustion was because he hadn't seen the Mickey Mouse version. The laughter from his Godfather had been worth it, though.
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: I had to watch Order of the Phoenix while I wrote this. Really excellent movie, but I had never realized they completely cut the part where Dolohov hurts Hermione. I was shocked. It really changes the whole flavor of the thing. There was very little damage on the part of any of the Hogwarts students. Luna gets a bloody lip.
I also saw a really excellent clip on youtube called 101 reasons I'm a Harry/Hermione shipper or something like that. Very sweet.
I hope you're enjoying the story. I'm not sure when the next installment will be. I wouldn't expect it this fast, but I had the day off. Happy Independence Day, America!