Chapter 4: Meeting the First Tutor
AN: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the story so far. I have received a lot of constructive criticism that I will try to incorporate in the later chapters and then redo the earlier chapters once I can see where the story is going. The Animagus poll is still on my author page, and it will remain up for another chapter or two until I'm ready for him to have an animagus form. And that may not be until after he arrives back at Hogwarts.
After a fitful night of sleep, Harry awoke and heard the shower running. He looked over and Daphne was out of the bed. He could still smell her, and he absent mindedly wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled. With a shake of his head, he stood and looked around the room after putting on his glasses. The room was clean of spells, he noted through the charmed lenses. Except for the privacy spell he'd cast the night before.
The teen sat down at the desk in the room and pulled out a book on wand magic. This book was an OWL level textbook that would allow him to prepare for his OWL exams and for the extra study he expected.
Daphne exited the shower and soon was out in the room. She stopped to see Harry reading a book, and smiled. She had expected that when he had explained the program for the summer. After all, Daphne herself was going to do that to prepare for the OWLs.
"Harry?"
"Yes Daphne?"
"The shower is free."
"Thanks," Harry said, placing a bookmark in the book. He set the book on the table and stood. It was that moment when he realized something was missing. "Daphne, did you happen to see a necklace?"
"You mean your time turner? Yes I did," She said.
"Where is it?"
"Well, I took it from you to examine, and to use," she said. "But it disappeared as soon as it left your neck."
Harry swore.
"What's wrong, Potter?"
"That was our ticket to training this summer," he said.
Daphne smiled slightly.
"It was a goblin time turner," she said, looking him directly in the eye.
"I know," he said. "I was told explicitly that it was to never leave my hands or it would return and I would have to pay an annual fee to get it back again."
"And how much is the fee?"
"About ten thousand galleons," Harry said.
Daphne frowned.
"I don't think that is a good price to pay," she said. "Not when you'll be paying for a time turner that uses your life force to operate."
Harry looked at her blankly.
"You didn't know," Daphne asked.
Harry shook his head.
"No. That part wasn't explained to me. How do you know?"
"My parents explained it to me to warn me about accepting it as a goblin friend," Daphne said. "And I imagine that your family didn't accept it either for that reason, among others."
"What would other reasons be," Harry asked.
"Well, if you accepted being a goblin friend for the preferential treatment and rates, it allows the goblins to lay claim to your estate if you die without a magical heir and an heir written into your will. If you do have such an heir, then you can distribute your estate how you wish. But if you don't, then the goblins decide how it is distributed. And the last person to have that happen to them was several centuries ago. It was a Weasley, and the goblins claimed all but the Burrow as their property, reducing the Weasleys from being one of the wealthiest families to being one of the poorest. And then they dropped the family as goblin friends because they had no use for them."
Harry's eyes opened wide.
"Is that true?"
"Ask one of the Weasley parents," Daphne suggested. "Tell them that you are a goblin friend and see how they react."
Harry filed that in his mind to do just that.
"I will, just to see what is going on," Harry said.
"How did the Potters get such a position?"
"It wasn't the Potters. It was the family my mother was from. She's not a pureblood by any means, and she's still considered a muggle-born because her last magical ancestors were several centuries ago. The Blackwoods."
"I see," Daphne said. "A family famous for owning part of Gringotts. I can see it now. I imagine that the goblins don't exactly give you the worst end of the deal, but they won't help you find the loopholes to ensure your rights to give away your things to the people of your choosing."
Harry smiled.
"I was told that if I didn't have a magical heir such as a child or a wife, then the entire estate would go to the goblins. They would recognize any will I had as long as it was a person who would be magically accepted."
"At least you know that," Daphne said. "But enough chit chat. Go get a shower. You stink."
Harry frowned at her, but he gathered his clothes and headed for the shower. The teen went to the shower and, as the warm water ran over him, he thought about what Daphne said. It was obvious to him that the goblins were crafty, and he had known that going into the deal.
He had read over the contracts as carefully as possible, and felt that the contracts were more than fair to him. After all, he didn't have a family right now, and, if the prophecy he'd heard from the goblins was true, he would have a hard time ahead of him if he were to eventually get married.
After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, they hailed a cab to get them to St-Germain-des-Prés, one of Paris' vaunted shopping districts Daphne had been to before. As he paid the fare with a few bank notes, Harry saw the driver give him a sympathetic look. Harry knew why when he saw the manic gleam in Daphne's eyes as she clutched her purse.
"Bloody Hell," Harry exclaimed, as Daphne grabbed his arm and led him toward one of the stores filled with people.
Harry sat down at the bar and rubbed his weary feat. Thankfully, most of their bags were shrunken and in his pocket. Two large bags were sitting next to the stool and he had his eye on them, lest the bags get stolen and cause Daphne to release her anger at him.
"What will it be, sir?"
"I'll have something wet," Harry said.
The bartender turned and poured from a bottle of wine. He handed Harry the glass with a knowing look on his face.
"I get that look a lot," the bartender said. "Many men shopping with their women."
Harry nodded and sipped on the glass of wine. It was a good wine, and he enjoyed it as it went down his throat. He finally smiled for the first time today. He'd escaped the she-devil's shopping frenzy.
As Harry finished his wine, he saw a familiar head of hair and familiar eyes looking at him. Sarah gave him a pointed look and he sighed as he laid down a bank note to pay for the wine. The bartender nodded and took the note, which was more than enough to pay for the wine. Harry held his hand to stop him from giving him change, and the bartender grinned at Harry as the young man walked off.
Harry saw other men giving him a commiserating look as he walked to Daphne.
"Dear husband," Daphne said with her hands on her hips in the pose that chastised men all over the world knew and dreaded. "I did not send you off to get a drink at a bar. I sent you to shop for a few things you need."
Harry wanted to groan, but decided he couldn't. That would be too childish. But his shuffling feet told the others in the area all they needed to know as Daphne continued lambast her 'husband' for him hiding from shopping duties, after she handed him a heavy bag filled with God knows what that women wear underneath their clothes.
Harry wouldn't escape Daphne's shopping frenzy again until it was dinner time, and they had gone to the room to deposit Daphne's purchases. And then, some things were boxed up and set in the room, having been delivered.
After dinner at a nice restaurant, along with a bottle of wine to help his feet and pride heal from the day of shopping, Harry helped Daphne organize her things, though she wouldn't let him look in some boxes for some reason. He didn't care, as it was one less box he had to deal with as he helped her hang things up in her trunk, and placed a few things in her traveling luggage.
"Harry?"
"Yeah Daphne?"
"What are we going to do without the time turner?"
"I don't know for sure," Harry said. "I don't know if we can meet with all of the tutors."
"We'll still have to meet our first tutor."
"I know," Harry said. "And you're willing to help pay for the tutoring?"
"Of course," Daphne said. "The names Ragnok gave us are some of the top names in the world in their fields. How long have you been planning this?"
"They were initially contacted a few days after I went to Gringotts the summer before third year."
"What happened?"
Harry sat down to start to explain how everything started after a quick sweep of the room with his wand and a few spells ensured the room was well protected.
Harry sighed as he looked around Diagon Alley. He had just woken up after a relatively sleepless night. The alley was busy, and he needed to go and get money for his school supplies and for a few other things he wanted to get.
Arriving in the lobby of Gringotts, Harry waited patiently until it was his turn to see a teller.
"What can I do for you?"
"I would like to make a withdrawal."
"Key please?"
Harry handed the goblin his key. The goblin looked at the key and then Harry.
"Mr. Potter, Director Ragnok wishes to speak with you about a matter of mutual importance."
"I'll meet with him," Harry said.
"Please follow Griphook," The goblin said. "He will take you to the Director's Office."
Harry nodded at the goblin to acknowledge him as he arrived.
The room near the office was ornately decorated, showing quite a bit of wealth. Harry knew that this goblin was a powerful one, as he was one of the high ranking goblins in the Goblin Nation, as Gringotts was the centerpiece of their government and income.
The doors opened at Griphook's knock and Harry was ushered into the office.
"Mr. Potter, I am Ragnok, the Director of Gringotts-London."
"Nice to meet you, sir," Harry said, offering his hand. The goblin looked pleased to see Harry offer his hand to him, and shook the offered hand.
"Please, have a seat."
Harry sat down and looked at the goblin expectantly.
"Mr. Potter, I have asked to speak with you to ensure that you know of the entirety of your estate. We do not know if you are aware of it."
"So my vault isn't the entire estate?"
"No, Mr. Potter, it is not. There is another vault that contains valuable items from the Potter Estate. And to give you an accounting of the vault, I must verify your identity."
After using goblin magic on a drop of Harry's blood, the goblin looked at the results with a look that Harry recognized from his Uncle: greed.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, it seems that your mother is descended from a magical family."
"Is she a pureblood?"
"No," the goblin said. "Two generations of squibs in a row makes a family muggle according to all relevant laws and currently used methods of determining such things. Your mother is from the Blackwood Family and she is the first magical person in several generations."
"Do they have a vault?"
"Indeed they do," Ragnok said. "And the only reason it is still around is because the family is a group of goblin friends."
"What does that mean?"
"A goblin friend is someone who has benefits from the goblin nation. The biggest benefits are the use of a special time turner, better interest rates, lower fees for services, and access to certain Gringotts services."
"And the negatives?"
"There are few," the goblin allowed. "The biggest is that you must have a magical heir in order to pass on your estate to someone else. Otherwise, we goblins will have the right to distribute the estate as we please unless other arrangements are made ahead of time."
Harry nodded. That was why there was greed in Ragnok's eyes. But Harry wondered if it was worth it.
"If I were interested in gaining emancipation, how would I do that?"
"You would need to be a goblin friend, and we could allow you to become emancipated by goblin law on your fourteenth birthday. Your Ministry probably won't recognize it, so we shouldn't submit the forms."
"I see," Harry said. "And there is no way I can access the Potter Family Vault?"
"If you accepted your Blackwood heritage from your mother, you would be able to transfer items from the Potter Family Vault to the Blackwood Vault. Then you could access the items. However, certain items such as jewelry and some of the heirlooms must remain in the Potter Family Vault as long as there is a Potter alive."
"How do I do that?"
Ragnok grinned at Harry and there was the greed in his eye again.
"So you recognized Ragnok was greedy? Didn't you think not to accept the time turner?"
"There was something else, Daphne," Harry said. "There's this prophecy about me and Voldemort. My parents had left me a blood-sealed letter explaining it."
"A prophecy? Is it a real one?" she said, after flinching at the name.
"The Department of Mysteries certified it as true. It was the reason my parents were attacked by Voldemort."
"Do you know what it says?"
Harry nodded.
"Yes. It comes down between me and him. That's all I am willing to say about it."
Daphne's eyes widened.
"And what training has Dumbledore given you? What training do you have?"
"Well, Professor Lupin taught me to produce a patronus," Harry said. "That's all the adults helped me with. The goblins helped me train."
"What did they give you? And what did you do while using the time turner?"
"Well, I generally used the time turner to go back several hours each week," Harry said. "I started to study runes, and defense."
"I'm curious. Why did you choose to study runes?"
"Ragnok gave me strong hints that if I studied runes, I could gain employment at Gringotts as a warder. The goblins gave me many books to study, and access to a merchant who has prices lower than most others."
"Most others?"
"I don't know how he does it," Harry admitted. "But the prices are a bit lower. And he can find rare items that you'd have a hard time finding."
"Like what?"
"Well, he's pandering basilisk parts for me, for a fee."
"Basilisk parts? The venom?"
"I saved all of that for myself," Harry said. "And about a tenth of the basilisk. The goblins received the rest to sell through the merchant and a fee."
"Go on," Daphne said. "What about your training and studying?"
"I studied a lot using the time turner since I got it. I didn't show it because I wanted to hide my abilities."
"Smart, and something one wouldn't expect the Gryffindor Golden Boy to do. Go on."
"In the summer after third year, I managed to make my way to Gringotts using a portkey they gave me. There, I gained access to the books stored in the vaults. A goblin archivist was hired to copy the books for me, and he taught me the copying spell so I can copy books. Surprisingly, they gave me copies of wizard magic books the goblins had."
"What kind of books?"
Harry smiled slightly.
"There were books on magic from various periods throughout history. And various areas of the world. I don't think they gave me everything they had, but then again, they're goblins and wouldn't want to do that."
"And the training?"
"I was given assistance in learning runes using the time turner," Harry said. "And right before I met you, I used the time turner for two years to learn from a goblin war mage. I was taught healing, warding, curse-breaking, and various goblin battle magic."
"Goblin battle magic? They must like you to let you study that. What caused it?"
"Voldemort is back," Harry said. "The goblins don't want to join either side because they fear the retributions if they do. But they don't want Voldemort to win because he will force them out of Britain. So they decided to help me train."
"I see," Daphne said. "And what does Dumbledore know of this?"
"Nothing. I didn't tell him anything because he would have taken away the time turner and my wand because it no longer has the Ministry tracking charms. And he would have confiscated my books."
Daphne nodded. It did sound like something she expected from Albus Dumbledore, the so-called leader of the light.
"I do think he does have plans for you, Potter. After all, why would he let you get away with things and then take an interest in your life. My parents told me they were surprised you didn't know more about the magical world and dressed in such clothes."
"I had no choice in the matter," Harry muttered. "My relatives gave me clothes, but Dudley's hand me downs when he out grew them."
"And where did you sleep?"
Harry gulped. He didn't want to tell Daphne this, but the look on her face promised he would be in a world of hurt if he didn't tell her what she wanted to know.
"From the time I got there until my first Hogwarts letter, I was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs."
"And where did your cousin sleep?"
"He slept in his bedroom."
"How many bedrooms were in the house," Daphne asked, in a toneless voice.
"Four. The Master bedroom, Dudley's bedroom, Dudley's toy room, and the guest room."
Daphne crushed Harry with a hug, and he was surprised when she did that.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Daphne said. "I heard they were killed."
"They were," Harry said, with a downcast face.
Daphne let go of Harry and smiled at him.
"At least you will never have to deal with them again."
Harry smiled at her.
A day later, Harry and Daphne were in Nice, France, waiting to meet with their tutor. They were in a magical section of Nice, one that catered to magical tourists. Many of the tourists wore shorts and t-shirts, which surprised Harry.
"Daphne, why are there so many people wearing things like Muggles?"
"Harry," Daphne said. "The Magical Society in many other countries isn't as backwards as the UK. They tend to blend in better, and my parents ensured that Astoria and I were able to blend in so we wouldn't look out of place."
"That's good idea," Harry said.
Both looked up when a woman cleared her throat. The woman had blonde hair and blue eyes, and Harry recognized her for a veela when he felt her pull.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith?"
"Yes," Harry said.
"I'm Adrianna Richards," she said.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Richards," Harry said, holding out his hand.
"And you too, Mr. Smith," The woman said, shaking his hand. "Please, pay for your tea and follow me."
After leaving a few francs on the table, Harry stood with Daphne and followed the woman. They went into the street.
"We'll talk once we get somewhere safe to do so," she said, with a look around. "This portkey will take us to my place."
The two teens accepted the portkey, and they felt it activate immediately. Upon landing, Harry noted they were in an abandoned shack. He reached for his wand, but the woman stopped him.
"This is just an intermediate location many people use to travel," the woman said. "It helps hide our destination from certain parties, and it is a portkey and apparating point for the Muggle area of Nice."
She held out another portkey and they landed in front of a condo.
"We are now on an island the Veela have used for centuries as the center of our culture," she said. "First, do you have any time turners with you?"
"No. I had a goblin time turner, but it disappeared when Daphne wanted to take a look at it."
"Good. You don't need that foul thing."
"Foul thing?"
"It uses your life force to take you back in time and into another dimension," the woman said. "But I think you would accept it since that monster is back."
Harry nodded.
"I do wonder, though. About how long have you used it?"
"A total of about three years," Harry said. "I never used it much, only to go back a few hours every week. That's all I ever needed or wanted."
"Good. Three years off of your life is not bad for the defeat of that monster," Adrianna said. "Now, I must ask that you sign this contract of non-disclosure."
"May we read it first," Daphne asked.
"You may. But before you can stay here, you must sign this non-disclosure agreement. While you read it, I will go and copy your training timeline."
It took them an hour to read and discuss what the contract meant, as they wanted to make sure they were not getting into trouble after what Harry had gone through with the goblins not disclosing everything.
Adrianna returned with two thick manila envelopes. She looked at the two.
"Well?"
"We will sign, but I want some questions asked first," Daphne said. "What kind of training will we receive? It doesn't list any details."
"The contract is only for the non-disclosure of what you see and hear while in the island. You can teach others what you learned as long as your tutors don't ask you to keep certain things to yourself."
"Like I did learning goblin battle magic?"
"Yes," Adrianna said, nodding to Harry. "Now, please sign the contract."
The two signed it, and Adrianna witnessed it. The contract flashed and they were left with copies.
"These are your copies so you will know what you agreed to," the woman said. "Your magic will assist you in keeping the secrets," she said. "The secrets do not include your training except for what you are asked to keep to yourself.
"I can now tell you that you will be learning a few things that others will not. This is only because we know that Harry has to defeat the Dark Lord if we want to survive as a race. In the last war, he destroyed one of our villages in France because we refused to join him. We don't want to fight in the war because of the repercussions of doing so, but we don't want him to survive."
"So you're doing this not because I want to hire you, but because you want to help me defeat Voldemort?"
"Exactly," Adrianna said. "Oh, you can remove the runic bracelets. It will let you relax in your natural forms. No one here will reveal anything, as we are all under similar non-disclosure contracts unless specifically told we can mention something."
The couple removed the bracelets, and Daphne sighed in relief.
"I hate having to cover up who I am," she said. "I was taught to take pride in who I am."
"And you should," Adrianna said. "But now, these are your training timelines. You will train all summer, and I can promise that the two of you will know enough magic to survive. You won't be leaving the island until the day before you have to be back at Gringotts to speak with Ragnok about his other training offer."
"Other offer?"
"Yes," Harry said. "He offered me the chance to go back in time to train and work as a curse-breaker and a warder."
"And you should take it," Adrianna said. "The method they use for traveling that far back in time won't harm your health as much. But your body will age several years during that time frame and you will learn a lot."
"And we'll still go to Hogwarts?"
"Your legal age will not change," Adrianna said. "That depends on the length of time from your birth date. Most magical governments have a law in place to deal with those who use a time turner. A person's legal age doesn't change even if their physical, mental, and magical age does change."
Adrianna sat down and handed them the packets.
"This will explain everything in detail. The two of you will share this condo for your time here. It has two bedrooms. There is only one bath, but I'm sure you can make arrangements to share it. The kitchen will be kept full of food."
"How much do we owe you for this?"
"It is the treat of the Veela Nation," Adrianna said. "But I can think of a few things this hunk can give me," She said, looking over Harry appreciatively.
Daphne shook her head at the look on Harry's face.
"If we're to use sex magic to prepare your mind and body, you'll have to get used to it," Adrianna said.
"Will I have to…"
"No, Daphne," the veela said. "Only Harry will have to have sex with one of us. You will too, but you won't lose your virginity unless you elect to take part in a ritual later on near the end of the summer."
"What is that ritual?"
"You'll learn more in time to prepare for it," Adrianna said. "The ritual does allow you to reach your adult power and unlock your abilities."
"How does that work?"
"What do you know about how a witch or wizard grows, Harry," Daphne asked.
"All I know is they reach their adult power sometime in their seventeenth or eighteenth year of life."
"Correct," Adrianna said. "The potion you took allows your mind to age, but doesn't allow your magic or body to age while time traveling. The ritual I am proposing will allow you to reach adult power later. But we lack one ingredient to make it able to return your bodies to where they should be."
"What ingredient is that?"
"We need basilisk venom."
Harry smiled.
"How much?"
"About two ounces," Adrianna said.
"I have some with me," Harry said. "I think I can part with a couple ounces of it."
Adrianna smiled at Harry.
"I imagine that if you give another vial to our potions mistresses, they'll sleep with you."
Harry grinned at the idea. Daphne's hand on the back of his head canceled that thought.
"Potter, I don't want you to use this place as a house of ill repute. If you're going to shag those women, then you're going to be at their place."
"Yes ma'am," Harry said.
Daphne rolled her eyes and then smiled at Adrianna.
"So, when do we get started?" the witch asked.
Adrianna smiled. "I never thought you'd ask."
Chapter 5: The Training Begins
Harry swore as he landed on his back again. He looked up to see his grinning tutor, a woman standing about 6 feet tall, about an inch taller than Harry.
"You should learn not to overextend yourself," the hand-to-hand combat instructor said. "Your momentum can be used against you as well."
Harry muttered something about overbearing women, and the tutor grinned as she looked over to see Daphne sparring with another instructor. This was more of an even fight.
This was their second full day of training, and, like the first, it was mentally and physically taxing. Surprisingly, they were not doing much magic right now. Harry remembered the explanation that his tutor, Annabelle, told them.
"Harry, Daphne," Annabelle said. "It's simple, really. Dueling is as much physical as it is magical. I know the two of you are better than average magically. But physically, you both need a lot of work. The more you work on physical combat, the better you will be in magical dueling."
"I can understand part of the reason," Harry said. "How does this help us with magic?"
Annabelle smiled and spoke.
"Well, if you would have read the reading assignment for today you would know," she said. "But no matter. I will explain.
"The more physically fit a person is, the better their magic use. It's an interesting phenomenon, and most pureblood-run societies such as the United Kingdom, and even France, tend to emphasize magic use over physical activity. In the past, a magical warrior was as adept as a non-magical warrior in both armed and unarmed combat. Many knights, such as those of King Arthur's Round Table, were magical as well. They preferred to not use magic, but they did use magic when it was necessary or if magic was the best weapon.
"One of the Founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor was known for his physical dueling much more than his magical dueling. Don't get me wrong. He was gifted in both forms of combat. But he was better known for his physical dueling just because he fought with the non-magical armies of the then Leader of Scotland. That is why his sword is always pictured with him in the portraits that have been found of him."
"So you're saying that we should learn to fight physically, not just magically," Daphne said.
"Precisely. If you are physically fit, then your magic is much easier to use in combat. It is known that your magic will try to heal you, and if you are not physically fit, part of your magic is tied up in trying to get your body into the ideal conditions. If you are physically fit, you will have more of your magic reserves available for use, which will increase your abilities using magic, and will also assist you in learning spells.
"Part of learning spells is letting your magic learn how to use a spell. The other part is training your brain and body to release magic when you want to use a spell."
Annabelle went on to explain the relationship between physical fitness and magic, using several examples of why physical fitness was so important to a mage.
Harry brushed himself off and stood up, facing his instructor. She got in the fighting stance, and Harry did the same. And then they were at it again. And, like last time, Harry ended up flat on his back after a few moments of struggling with the 32 year old martial arts instructor.
After their morning physical training and martial arts training, Harry and Daphne were allowed to shower and then report to their condo for a class in magical theory and a class in ritual theory. Adrianna was going to teach both of these, as she was well studied in the area of magical and ritual theory for her specialty.
They sat down in the study, which was transformed from a normal study to have a table facing a black board that Adrianna could use to write down key points and notes. The table had their notebooks, ink pens, and color pencils ready to use for taking personal notes. There was also a self-inking dictation quill set up to record the lecture for their notes and for Adrianna's records.
Both Harry and Daphne were now dressed in shorts and tank tops, as it was a much warmer environment than England, and the dress code on the island was generally casual. And it was not uncommon to see the residents/visitors on the island wearing beach clothing everywhere.
"How was your training session," Adrianna asked, as she walked into the room.
"It was tiring," Harry said.
"Harry's just tired of having a herd of hippogriffs stomping on his pride every time Annabelle tossed him over her shoulder," Daphne said, with a cheeky grin.
Adrianna gave off a watery laugh that made Harry smile. He loved her laugh even when he was the subject of that laughter.
"Yes, well, it should be a learning experience for both of you. Not only can women out do men in magical combat, but some can do it in non-magical combat," she said. "Daphne, are you learning a lot?"
"Oh yes," Daphne said. "If the ferret tries anything against me at school, I'll give him a knee to the bludgers."
Harry grimaced.
"Good," Adrianna said. "Harry, what are you learning?"
"I'm learning that I am not as physically fit as I thought I was, and that size doesn't matter as much as I thought it did for physical combat."
"Yes," Adrianna said. "And now, you will learn magical theory."
"What will we learn?" Daphne asked.
"I want to ensure that the both of you know how magic is used," the full Veela said. "I don't think Hogwarts covers this in enough detail for you to make use of magical theory. Magical theory is very important if you want to create spells, or even break curses. Those who lack an education in magical theory often aren't able to learn how to craft spells, enchant items, or break curses. This will be one of your most important classes here on the island, as it will include the study of what you call ancient runes and Arithmancy as well.
"Later, we will have practical sessions of runes and Arithmancy to allow you to learn how to craft basic spells and wards, and make simple permanent enchantments."
Harry sighed. This wasn't what he had expected, but he could see the benefits of knowing how to craft spells and wards in the future.
While Harry and Daphne were learning about magical theory, Voldemort was pondering his next move.
"Rookwood!"
"Yes My lord," Augustus Rookwood asked, with a bow to his master.
"What is the latest on Potter?"
"We do not know where he is, My Lord," the man said, with a simpering smile. "Our spy in the Order of the Phoenix reports that the old fool has no idea either."
"Rookwood?"
"Yes My Lord?"
"You have failed me again. CRUCIO!"
Rookwood cried out in pain as the dark curse hit him. When it was over moments later, he shakily stood and bowed to his master, awaiting further word.
"I need you to find out where Potter is, Rookwood. I don't care what your whore of a spy tells you unless it is where Potter is. Your priority is to find Potter."
"Yes My Lord. I shall not fail you."
"See to it that you don't, or I will be short one more Death Eater."
Rookwood bowed to the Dark Lord and scampered out of the room after the evil creature waved his hand to dismiss his minion.
"WORMTAIL!"
A rat-like man scampered into the room.
"Yes Master?" the portly man squeaked, with a bow.
"I need to you to see what Severus is up to. He is supposed to be in Croatia looking for more basilisk parts for my rituals."
"Yes My Lord," Wormtail said, and turned to leave.
"I did not dismiss you! CRUCIO!"
The rat started convulsing on the floor while the spell was held on him. When it was lifted, he ran out of the room as fast as his legs could take him, a large stain on the front of his pants.
The Dark Lord scowled at the new stain on his floor, and a flick of his yew wand cleaned the stain. The Dark Lord pondered how he would punish Wormtail for losing control of his bladder in his throne room.
"Maybe I'll have him serve as target practice for the new recruits using torture spells," The Dark Lord said to himself, chuckling.
"Severus, what do you have for your report," Albus asked his spy.
"The Dark Lord has ordered me to Croatia to find basilisk venom for his ritual," Snape said. "I have come back to give him a report, and he is not happy that I am not able to find basilisk venom. It is the key ingredient he needs for his rituals."
"Do you have any idea what these rituals are?"
"Only the Dark Lord knows," Snape said to Moody.
"Are the Death Eaters making any plans for attacks?"
"I'm not aware of any," Snape said. "The Dark Lord has compartmentalized information, and I am not aware of any plans. I am sure there are plans in the works, but only those who are leading the attacks are being allowed to know plans before the day of the attack. The Dark Lord is becoming more and more suspicious of having a spy in his ranks since he lost Bellatrix and several of the inner circle."
"Very well," Albus said. "Kingsley?"
"Minister Bones is working at clearing the Ministry of any spies. I have been assigned to one of these investigative details and we have involved the Unspeakables in the investigation due to their ability to infiltrate the Ministry without being detected. I cannot say anything else because I am under oath."
"Nymphadora?"
"I'm on the Minister's personal guard detail. My current duty is to stay with the Minister during the daylight hours as her guard. I'm not in the room where she does her work unless it is a person who is not trusted. Then I may be in the room hidden under an invisibility cloak. But I am under an oath not to reveal what I hear under penalty of death."
Dumbledore nodded. It was becoming harder and harder to get good information about the Death Eaters or about what the Ministry was doing. Both the Dark Lord and Minister Bones were making good use of oaths of silence to protect their operations. And Dumbledore couldn't do what he needed to do for the Greater Good without information.
"Has anyone heard anything about young Harry," Dumbledore asked, after a moment of thought.
"I have heard nothing," Bill Weasley said. "The goblins are not saying anything, and I dare not ask them directly without losing my job."
"We don't need you to lose your job, William," Dumbledore said. "How has Director Ragnok viewed your attempts of gathering allies?"
"I was told to either stop recruiting for a wizard war or lose my job. I've had to stop speaking to people about it."
Dumbledore nodded, though, on the inside, he was seething. How dare the goblins not join him?
"Then we need to be wary of the goblins. They may be turning dark," The Headmaster said, with his grandfatherly façade. "Miss Delacour, what about the Veela?"
The Frenchwoman smiled at the Headmaster. She had been recruited for the Order of the Phoenix a few days ago by Bill Weasley.
"The Veela do not wish to join the wizard war because they fear retribution from the hands of either side. I would surmise the goblins believe the same way, as we don't want to get involved in a Wizard war."
"How do they view your participation in this conflict?"
"I won't be gaining allies or friends in the Veela community with this," Fleur said to the Headmaster. "And I refuse to do anything other than heal people or support them. I'm not a fighter. I'm a healer."
"Very well," Albus said, seething again. He wasn't able to get allies. "What do the werewolves think, Remus?"
"Sir," Remus said. "The werewolves mostly follow Fenrir Greyback, Voldemort's chief werewolf. I'll be killed if I go to some of the packs again."
Dumbledore shook his head. Things weren't going their way at all.
"Sirius, what of Mr. Potter, have you heard from him," McGonagall asked.
"Unfortunately, you have heard the last letter he sent me, Minerva," the Animagus said. "To refresh your minds, Harry said that he and a friend were studying to prepare themselves for the coming war."
"Do you know what they are studying?"
"I have no idea, Minerva," Sirius said. "All I know is he is studying. He does trust his tutors."
The Transfiguration professor nodded. She had long thought Harry should have been trained since Albus had told her of the existence of the prophecy back in Harry's first year when she asked why he was being sent back to the Dursleys again. Her boss was against it, and she didn't know how to change his mind.
"When he gets back, we will need to ensure that he is not going dark," Dumbledore said. "I fear that with the wrong tutors, he will be going dark."
Sirius shook his head and spoke.
"Headmaster, I think you don't trust Harry at all. If you would show him more trust, then he might decide to let you in on what he is doing. He doesn't trust you at all according to the letter I have from him. And I believe you have earned that lack of trust, especially since you employ Severus and don't punish him or the Slytherin students for abusing their authority or abusing other students."
"Now, Sirius, don't go spitting out false accusations…"
"You know it's true, Albus," Remus said. "You need to gain control over Severus, or you will lose a lot more support than you already have."
Before the meeting could get out of hand, Dumbledore gained control over it and moved onto another topic: the search for Harry Potter. How dare they question him, the Leader of the Light? He knew what was best for everyone.
The others shared a look that meant interesting discussions would be held in other places after Dumbledore had gone. No one noticed the slight smile on the faces of one of the members sitting around the table.
Daphne sighed as she heard the shower still running. Since they had gotten to the island two weeks ago, Harry had spent an ungodly amount of time in the shower and locked in his bedroom during their free times. Right now, Daphne was hoping he would exit soon, or she'd burst into the room and use the toilet. She had to go really bad, and Harry had been in the shower for the past half-hour.
When the water stopped, she sighed slightly in relief. The door opened moments later, and Daphne rushed past Harry and dropped her shorts, not caring that the door was still open and a blushing Harry had seen her flash a bit of white flesh at him as she relieved herself.
After a moment, however, Daphne recognized he was still in the room, she yelled "GET OUT!" and quickly hit him with a hex and he ran from the bathroom like something bad was after him. The teen sighed in relief as a flick of her wand shut and locked the door.
Once she was done with her business, Daphne wiped herself off and then flushed the toilet. She removed her clothes and then turned on the faucet to fill the nice hot tub. She would spend the next hour in the hot tub relaxing, and wondering why she wasn't too angry at Harry for seeing her drop her shorts.
While Daphne was in the bath, Harry was still as red as a tomato. He was embarrassed that he had been staring at Daphne and because he had been caught staring at her. The hex had been no problem for him to counter, once he stopped running from the she-devil.
For Harry, Daphne was a she-devil, especially since she was getting to the point where she could back up her threats with magic. They had started to use magic again a couple days ago, and Daphne was an artist with a number of darker hexes and curses and Harry had no idea what many of them were.
"Harry?"
The teen looked up to see Annabelle in the room.
"Can I help you, Annabelle?"
"I heard from Daphne how you're spending a lot of time in the shower."
Harry blushed and nodded. There was no reason to lie, and Annabelle had proven to him that she could sense a lie.
"Is there a reason?"
Harry nodded again.
"It's because I see all of you dressed in bicycle shorts and sports bras all the time while training," Harry confessed.
Annabelle laughed.
"I'd be shocked and hurt if you weren't doing that," She said. "You don't try to get in our pants like a normal man would. Why is that?"
Harry knew he had to be careful here.
"I would like to, but I know our working relationship would suffer if I started doing that. In the interests of being able to work with you and study, I chose not to pursue any other relationship." Not to mention what Daphne would do to me when I fall asleep.
"Even with those who aren't teaching you? There are plenty of young veela here who would love to get you in their bed, Harry. You should take them up on the offers."
"Why do you say that?"
"Adrianna is about to start the sex magic with you and Daphne," Annabelle said. "You will be joined by several younger Veela and you will be the only man in these classes. Adrianna will convince you to help her show them some of the rituals."
Harry blanched.
"I know you wouldn't want it, Harry," Annabelle said. "But you should take advantage of it. Any other male your age would be trying to shag any of us. Sometimes, I think you're too noble for your own good."
Harry nodded and looked Annabelle in the eye. It was that moment he noted she was dressed in a bikini top and a matching bottom. He hadn't realized that because he could barely look her in the eye after this morning's incident. Harry had accidentally gotten a handful of her breast while they were sparring, and he been so embarrassed and shocked by it that he had chosen to end the sparring lesson a bit early to give him time to get over the shock.
And then there was the incident where one of his spells had vanished Adrianna's top, leaving her topless. Daphne had accused him of doing it on purpose, and Harry had run off, entering the shower as soon as the lesson had ended.
"Hi Harry, Annabelle," Adrianna said, dressed in a bathing suit as well. "Harry, are you ready for our swim?"
"What swim?"
"We were going to go swimming after you had time to relax from our lessons this morning," She said.
Harry blushed. He'd forgotten about that. They were going to go swimming in the ocean with gillyweed to get more exercise and to enjoy the beach while Daphne lay out in the sun with a few of her new friends.
Harry felt himself react at seeing Daphne in a skimpy bathing suit again. For some reason, she made him react more than seeing naked Veela walking around the beach, not that he complained about the naked Veela or Daphne in a bathing suit.
"I remember now," Harry said. "I didn't think you'd still want to go after this morning."
Adrianna laughed.
"Of course I will, Harry," she said. "I don't mind showing you all I have. After all, you're going to see it and touch it during our rituals."
"You're doing that ritual," Annabelle asked. "Can I do it with him too?"
"Yes," Adrianna said.
"What ritual?"
"It's a ritual that will increase your learning capacity," Adrianna said. "We always do it twice for each person to ensure it worked the first time and make sure the change is permanent and not just temporary. It works better if you've had sexual relations with two separate women casting the spell on you. Annabelle is good at the rituals, but she isn't a ritual teacher or expert."
Harry blushed again, as he'd had dreams of having sex with his instructors, and several ways that could have gotten started, especially with the physical training and then again working with vanishing spells against flying physical objects.
Sharing a glance, the two Veela shed their tops and bikini bottoms at the same time, making Harry, who was wearing only his boxer shorts, blush as a part of him escaped through the flap of his boxers.
When Daphne left the shower, she heard the sounds of two women moaning.
"About damn time he shags them," Daphne muttered to herself. "Maybe he won't spend as much time in the shower if he shags them every now and then."
A curious Daphne used an invisibility spell on herself to see what was going on in Harry's room. The door was wide open, and her eyes opened wide as Harry was on his back, with Adrianna riding him, and Annabelle had lowered herself so Harry's tongue could reach her soft spot. Daphne sighed as she saw that and her hand reached into her bikini bottom at the erotic sight.
Daphne, lost in her own bliss, wasn't aware that the three had finished and were watching her. When her eyes opened after she got over the orgasm, she was surprised to see Harry with another erection. She gasped and turned red.
"You can join us, you know," Adrianna said.
Daphne fled from the room as soon as she could, not knowing how to say that she wanted to. Her upbringing as a lady had made her want to hide from anyone who would do such things.
As the four walked to the beach, Harry spoke.
"Are we going to learn how to become an animagus?"
"We'll start your theory training soon," Adrianna promised. "But you won't be ready to find out your form until the summer is nearly over."
"Why is that? We're learning theory at a fast rate? And then you will use the memory enhancement ritual for us," Harry asked.
Annabelle answered.
"You will need a lot of time to learn this. It takes a minimum of six months before most are ready to even learn of their forms. We don't want to speed through this, as it will be very dangerous to do so."
"I guess," Harry said, disappointed.
"You'll find out your form in a few months, Harry," Daphne said from her position behind the three.
"Are you going to try too, Daphne?"
"I'll try, but there are no guarantees I'll have a form."
"Everyone has a form," Adrianna said. "It's just that very few have the willpower, patience, and sheer magical ability to get their animagus form. It's a long-term thing, much like studying and training for the Aurors or for any other Mastery Certification."
Harry nodded in acceptance. It wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"Perk up, Harry," Daphne said. "At least you know we're powerful enough. And we'll be progressed enough in our knowledge to start the process by the end of the summer. Most wizards can't say that."
"True," Harry said.
"Now, we're going to go out for a couple hours," Adrianna said, looking at Daphne. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"I want to work on my tan," Daphne said. "I'll join you later."
"Have it your way," Adrianna said, as she dropped her top on the beach. Annabelle did the same, and Harry removed his shirt and shorts, revealing the emerald green man's bikini that Adrianna had gotten for him and made him wear.
Daphne looked Harry over appreciatively. He looked good, and she knew that he would have to swat the girls off of him like flies when he got back to Hogwarts. With that, Daphne sighed, knowing Harry would never look at her, a Slytherin, in that way.
After an afternoon of frolicking in the surf with two beautiful Veela, and shagging them under the waves with gillyweed, Harry went to relax in the condo. Daphne was eating dinner when he got to the table with his plate.
"Did you enjoy your shag," Daphne asked, not looking him in the eye.
"It was great," Harry said, not noticing how Daphne looked sad. "But I did like to see your face when you cried out."
Daphne blushed and didn't look Harry in the eye, as he had turned to look at her.
"Why me? I'm flat-chested compared to those Veela."
Harry smiled slightly.
"The size of a girl's chest isn't the only thing important about them," Harry said. "While I do like large breasts, I can say for sure that you have nothing to be ashamed of. You're a size B if I remember correctly."
Daphne gave a quick nod of her head and then stared at her plate as she ate the rest of her baked chicken.
The rest of their dinner passed in silence, and both got up to start washing their dishes. These were done with a few flicks of their wands, and they went to their own rooms to study.
Harry was studying the spells they would go over the next day. He studied until about 2200 hours, and then went to bed, knowing he had a long day ahead of him.
Daphne was going to write in her diary and then study the book on veela sex magic that Adrianna had let her borrow. At bedtime, a blushing Daphne closed the very descriptive book and lay down in the soft bed. Her dreams that night would be of her trying out some of those things on Harry.
"Fleur?" the blonde-haired woman asked.
"Yes mama," the young healer trainee asked.
"We have an invitation to a special ritual ceremony later in the summer," Madam Apolline Delacour said.
"Where is it, Mama?"
"It's going to be held at the Main Island. All members of the European Veela Enclaves were invited, as there is a rare ritual going to take place there."
"What kind of ritual?"
"The body and magic purification ritual," Madam Delacour said to her eldest daughter. "I don't know any more than that, but our non-disclosure agreement is going to be enforced for the ritual to protect the participants."
"I'll clear my schedule to go," Fleur said. "I am starting my training there in August anyway."
The woman nodded with a proud smile. She was proud of her oldest daughter, who had been accepted into the Veela Healer training program, which was one of the toughest in the world. Fleur would spend several months each year at the Veela Island learning from the best healers the Veela Nation had to offer, and then she would spend the rest of her time assisting Madam Pomfrey in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing and at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Ailments and Injuries. This training would continue for the next five years until Fleur was certified as a healer.
Daphne knew that accepting Potter's offer of training was the best choice she'd made after her family had been murdered. Studying with the Veela made Daphne more confident in her abilities to defend herself if attacked, and it would help her with her goal of punishing the Death Eaters who had raped and murdered her sister, mother, and father. She hated each one of them, and had a goal of getting rid of them no matter what it took to do so.
Working with a handsome Harry Potter was a major benefit for Daphne. Seeing him wear red bicycle shorts while training made her have many enjoyable dreams.
The one thing she did not like about this was listening to Harry shagging the Veela. She didn't get angry at him for doing it. Instead, she was surprised it took him this long to do this. She knew any other male would have been shagging the veela long ago as soon as they offered, but the Gryffindor Golden boy had not. Daphne was glad to see him finally starting to learn how to get over his noble tendencies and start taking advantage of a situation like a true Slytherin. If he kept changing to be more Slytherin-like, Daphne would have someone she would be proud to associate with at Hogwarts. When it was safe for her to do so.
Chapter 6: A New Friend
AN: Many thanks to those of you who are reading this story and reviewing. The Poll for the Harry's Animagus Form is still up on my profile page. It will be closing after the next chapter is completed and posted.
"Severus, how is the search going for basilisk venom," the Dark Lord asked.
"It is not going well, My Lord," Severus said, nervously. "The only basilisk I know of was the one under the Chamber of Secrets that Potter killed. And Potter salvaged it and is selling it for profit. Dumbledore doesn't know where the arrogant brat is keeping it."
"CRUCIO!" The Dark Lord hissed, hitting the spy with the spell. "Severus," he added, letting the spell end. "You are continuing to test my patience. I have no need to attempts. I need you to complete your assignment and find me a minimum of ten ounces of basilisk venom by the end of summer. If you should fail to do so, you will suffer the consequences."
"Yes My Lord," Snape said, shakily, as he bowed to the Dark Lord. "I shall try to get Dumbledore to force Potter to give me what I want of the basilisk."
"You'd better not fail, Severus. Now get out of my sight before I decide to curse you again."
"Yes My Lord," Snape said, before he scrambled out of the room.
"Rookwood?"
"My Lord, my spy reports that the old fool continues to hunt for Potter. And his spies in the Ministry are less useful than our spies."
"Did Dumbledore hire our candidate for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Position?"
"No My Lord. The Old Fool hired one of his Order members, Emmeline Vance, as the new DADA professor since the Aurors couldn't be released for teaching. I'm told he didn't even consider our candidate for the job due to her age and she is in his Order."
Voldemort sighed and his hand twitched as he wanted to go for his wand. This wasn't Rookwood's fault. But then again, maybe it was.
Either way, cursing someone was therapeutic. For the Dark Lord. The man gave an evil smile that would make many Death Eaters shake in their boots and then pointed his wand at the hapless servant.
"CRUCIO!"
Sirius Black was very concerned about his godson. He hadn't heard anything from Harry in the past two weeks, and it was nearing Harry's birthday, July 31st. The dog animagus was pacing in the kitchen of his house, 12 Grimmauld Place, which was the current Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's vigilante group trying to face Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Currently, the Weasleys, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Sirius, and Hermione Granger were staying at the house full time, unless they had to work. The underage children, under the direction of Molly Weasley, were spending their time either doing homework, or cleaning the old house.
As Sirius listened to Molly rant about something her twin teenage sons, Fred and George, did, he saw an owl arriving. The owl glided to a soft landing on the table and looked at the black haired man. With a hoot, the owl held out his leg for Sirius.
Sirius calmly removed the letter, and then ripped it open when he saw it was Harry's handwriting.
Dear Sirius and everyone else, I hope this letter finds you well. I am continuing my training here with my tutors and I am learning a lot more than I would ever learn at Hogwarts. I won't tell you what I have learned for safety reasons, but you can rest assured on my Marauder's Oath and nickname that I am doing well.
I will see you before September 1st.
Sincerely,
Harry
The Animagus tapped the parchment with his wand and spoke "Son of Prongs, I solemnly swear I am up to no good". The writing on the parchment changed from the letter Sirius had just read into something else.
Padfoot and Moony, if you're reading this part of the letter, you have figured out the clue I gave you. I will detail a bit more, but I won't detail too much in case a certain rat gets his paws on this letter. Please share this with Moony when you are done.
So far during the summer, I have done some shopping to get decent clothes and supplies. You may know by now that I have managed to find a way to get around the rules restricting me from my Family Vault to get copies of the books located there. I am studying those, and a few more the goblins have given me due to my status as a goblin friend. (Yes, I do know what that means for me and my heirs. I thought it was worth it to defeat that monster.)
I have been studying magical theory and training physically since that is so important in dueling. Lately, we have started to work on using more advanced magic, and I hope that we can have a few friendly duels when I return to England.
By the end of the summer, I should be nearing NEWT level or beyond in the spell subjects, and even potions, as we have started studying potions and Herbology since both subjects are so important for healing. I hope Snivellus will treat me right, or I shall have to report his actions to the Board of Governors and his status as a Death Eater to the Ministry of Magic, for the Greater Good of the students.
And by the time I return, I shall have learned who my inner Marauder is, if you know what I mean, Padfoot. I may not be able to show you what I mean, but then again, you know what it's like. I will send you a note to arrange for a pick up to get to a secure location for the remainder of the summer when my training is completed, and it is time to get to Hogwarts.
I do ask you for a favor. I would like for you to purchase my school things that I need. I will pay you back for this when I get the chance.
Oh, and tell everyone that I said Hi. I will see them at the end of the summer.
Harry.
Sirius smiled when he read the letter. He should have known his godson would have started to become an animagus.
"Moony," Sirius said, as he rushed to the room where Remus currently sat reading.
"What is it, Padfoot?"
"Harry sent us a letter."
Remus closed his book and took the letter from Sirius. When he finished reading it, he raised an eyebrow.
"So he does have the same lack of appreciation for the rules that you and James had," Remus said, with a smile. "I just hope he has a tutor who knows what they are doing."
"Me too," Sirius said. "Should we show this to Albus?"
"No," Remus said. "Just copy Harry's handwriting for the original part of the letter and give that to him."
Sirius nodded and grinned as his best friend changed the letter back and then copied it for the rest of the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius then went to place his treasure in his hiding place while Remus shared the letter with everyone else in the house.
Ron and Hermione were quite put out that Harry didn't write to them.
"Who does he think he is," Ron demanded angrily. "I'm his best friend, but he doesn't write to me. Instead, he writes to everyone at the same time."
"Ronald," Hermione huffed. "He may not have much time since he is training."
"Hermione, how do we know he isn't learning the Dark Arts? Dumbledore said that he is worried about it."
"Ron, you should know Harry better than that," Hermione huffed. "I don't think he would learn the Dark Arts. If he did, he will only learn the legal spells."
"Even the legal spells are bad, Hermione," Ron said. "It's better that you don't learn any of the Dark Arts. Just like it's bad to be a Slytherin. They're all evil."
Hermione shook her head and left Ron alone. She didn't know how she put up with the prat all this time, even after he had shown his jealousy to Harry time and time again. Hermione didn't even know why Harry put up with the prat.
After asking for permission to get a book out of the library, Hermione happily entered the family section of the library after Sirius gave her permission to enter. She knew that no Weasley or Dumbledore were allowed to enter this part of the library, and she thanked Sirius for giving her a quiet place to read and study for the upcoming OWLs.
Ron, on the other hand, was trying to get someone to play chess against him. After all, he didn't want to study, and he didn't want to clean. All the while, he was put out that the conversation revolved around Harry Bloody Potter and not him.
And then Ron would find out that Harry was the Gryffindor 5th year boy's prefect while Hermione was the girl's prefect. He was angry at that. Harry was even given the assistant Quidditch Captain's badge after Angelina had asked Professor McGonagall to name an assistant captain to help her. Ron deserved both badges, he thought.
He would spend the rest of the summer sulking about Harry getting everything while Ron got Harry's leftovers. And to Ron, this included women after Hermione had told him bluntly that she wouldn't date him if the wizard population on earth depended on it.
Hermione and Ron would continue to argue all summer about homework and everything else, making the others in the house want to curse them into silence. Sirius would finally place them in separate rooms to clean, leaving Ron with the Twins, and Hermione with Ginny and Tonks, when the young Auror was not working, something that rarely happened now that a state of emergency was declared.
Albus Dumbledore knew that he was going to have a lot of trouble this year. He had wanted to veto Harry's appointment as a prefect, but the four Heads of House, including a surprising Severus Snape, had voted to override Dumbledore's decision to give Ron the prefect's badge. Snape had claimed that the Potter boy was a better choice than the Weasley brat because Weasley was a stupid baboon.
"Minerva, are you sure you won't change your mind? I think young Harry has enough to deal with."
"Albus, once again, I am appalled that you would not give this to a person who deserves it. You wanted Pansy Parkinson to get the prefect position over Daphne Greengrass, who is a much better student for the job. And Mr. Weasley barely has good grades."
"But Mr. Potter…"
"Mr. Potter's grades are acceptable for the job, Albus."
"But to make him assistant Quidditch Captain…"
"Is a smart move. Mr. Potter will be my choice for Gryffindor Quidditch Captain later on when Miss Johnson and Miss Bell are no longer students. Mr. Weasley is obsessed with Quidditch, and I fear that his grades will suffer if he is allowed to have either position. And Mr. Weasley is not currently on the Quidditch Team. Mr. Potter is."
"That can be remedied," Dumbledore said. "I can prohibit Quidditch Captains from being prefects or Heads."
"If you do that, Albus, then you will have my resignation immediately. You cannot play favorites in your position. You have long let Severus have his way and allowed the Slytherins to abuse other students. Severus protects them from retribution and punishes any who defend themselves. If you don't start doing your job, then I will use the other two Heads of House to override your decisions and fire Severus for his gross misconduct.
"He is not a teacher, and he has the lowest passing grades of any professor I have ever seen. His NEWT classes get smaller every year, and you wonder why we don't have any good potions masters in our country. It's because of Severus and your attitude in allowing him leeway. I am tired of it.
"My next step, if you continue to act the way you do, is to report this to the Board of Governors."
Minerva paused to let Albus speak.
"Minerva, you know why I do this."
"I don't trust a Death Eater on staff," Minerva said. "You trust that Severus has truly turned against his Master. Yet, you won't share the reasons you trust him, saying it's between you and Severus. Without proof, you won't have my support to keep him on staff any longer."
"Minerva, I gave Severus my word. And Severus has changed. He has no love for Voldemort."
"Even so, he is a dark man, Albus. The sort of man who should not be teaching. Yes, he is a great potions master, but he cannot teach nor does he treat people well. Remember this conversation."
With that, the Transfiguration professor left a pensive Headmaster in her wake.
Harry opened his eyes and groaned as the effects from the rituals of the night before hit him. He had taken part in two memory enhancement rituals within a half hour of each other, and his head was pounding from the ritual. Daphne's rituals had taken place at the same time using Annabelle and Adrianna, who swapped people to perform the rituals so each had it done twice.
"How do you feel, Harry," someone asked.
"Fleur, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to start healing," she said, with a smile toward Harry. "I witnessed the ritual last night and I was told to check on you and Daphne. So, how do you feel?"
"I feel like the Hogwarts Express hit me head on," Harry said.
"Well, drink this. It will help," The quarter-Veela said, handing him a phial. "It's only a pain reliever," she added, when he examined it.
Harry drank the potion down in one gulp, and it took a few moments for it to work. When his raging headache went away, he looked at Fleur. She wore light green summer-weight robes with the traditional wizard symbol of a healer trainee: the caduceus with the Staff of Asclepius crossing it. The eighteen year old smiled at her patient.
"So, am I going to get to see you a lot?"
"Yes," Fleur said. "I'll be sitting in on some of your field healing classes starting on the 1st."
"Good," Harry said. "How's Daphne?"
"She's sleeping off the ritual," Fleur said. "I gave her a sleeping potion after she woke up."
"Do I get a sleeping potion?"
"No," Fleur said. "Daphne got a sleeping potion because she needed more time to sleep. You don't need more time to sleep."
"How do you know?"
"Adrianna showed me the spell to see if someone needs more time. What you need to do is get up and meet with your tutors. You're going to start learning occlumency today while Daphne is sleeping. When she awakens, she'll start learning Occlumency as well."
"But I know some form of Occlumency."
"This ritual destroyed any shields you have, Harry," Fleur said. "I thought you remembered that from the instructions on the ritual. And that's probably why Daphne needed more sleep as well. She had shields covering her whole mind while you had partial shields."
Harry nodded.
"And I will return them."
"Partial Shields aren't as good as full mind shields," Fleur said. "They don't always work against a Legilimens, especially skilled Legilimens like Dumbledore, Snape, and the Dark Lord. I would suggest that you get a shower and get dressed. Annabelle said that you will not be excused from your morning workout, though you will not be training in the martial arts today. Daphne is excused because of medical reasons."
Harry swore at the lack of fairness, but he got up, realizing he was only wearing boxer shorts. Fleur did look at him appreciatively, as he had worn boxer briefs instead of the other type of boxers. Harry blushed slightly at her gaze and retreated to the bathroom to put on his training clothes.
He exited the bathroom wearing running shorts and his trainers with ankle-length socks. He gave Fleur a lopsided smile and then left the condo to meet with Annabelle for a rousing exercise routine that would include a quick shag in the surf.
An energized Harry would return for a shower and then his Occlumency lesson with the talented Adrianna.
Daphne awoke while Harry was in the shower after his exercise session. She groaned and felt a cold hand on her forehead.
"How do you feel?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm healer trainee Fleur Delacour," the woman said. "You probably know who I am."
"Yes I do," Daphne said. "Where is Harry?"
"He just got through with his morning exercise. You were deemed medically unable to exercise this morning."
"I'm glad," Daphne said. "I feel like I've been run over by the Knight Bus."
"And I'm here to help you. How does your head feel?"
"Horrible. My Occlumency shields are down."
"That's not surprising. The ritual you underwent removes the shields," Fleur explained. "Harry will have the first training time since he is feeling better after his romp in the sand."
Daphne smiled.
"He always feels good after he's shagged. But he never wants to shag me."
"Do you think that he's respecting your wishes?"
"I don't know," Daphne admitted. "What do you think? You know him somewhat."
"I think he is taking advantage of what is offered here. If he didn't, I'd think he was a homosexual man. And that would disappoint me since Harry is a fine specimen of a man his age."
"I can agree with that statement," Daphne said. "Would you shag him if given the chance?"
"I might shag him tonight as an early birthday gift," Fleur said, with a smile. "I am a single woman with needs."
"Me too," Daphne replied with a soft voice. "But part of me says that I shouldn't do that."
Both women looked up as someone knocked on the closed door.
"Enter," Daphne said.
The door opened to reveal Harry, fresh from the shower, with wet hair. He wore a pair of shorts and had a tank top on.
"How are you feeling, Daphne?"
"Ok," she said, giving him a smile. "How do you feel?"
"I feel much better. It seems that all I needed was a pain relief potion and then some nice exercise."
"And a good shag too," Daphne added.
"That too," Harry said, with a lopsided smile. "You'd probably feel better after a shag."
"Maybe Fleur will give me one," Daphne said, deviously.
"As long as I can watch," Harry said, giving the now-blushing girl a wink. "Since it's my turn to fix lunch, what do you want to eat? And Fleur, are you eating with us?"
"I will if you don't mind," Fleur said. "Daphne, what do you want?"
"Surprise me, Chef Harry," Daphne said, using a nickname she'd given him after she found out he was a good cook. "You know some of the things I've liked of yours."
Harry nodded.
"It won't be too much, as I have a hour and a half occlumency session, but it will be decent enough," he promised. Harry looked at his watch. "I've got to go. See you at lunch. And enjoy the morning off."
Daphne and Fleur smiled at Harry's retreating form, both women enjoying the view.
At lunch, Harry surprised them by having two large vegetable pizzas and a fruit salad made from fresh fruit. The four women ate a lot of the pizza, and Harry was surprised that nothing was left.
"This is great!" Daphne said. "I don't think I've ever had anything so good."
Harry smiled at her and spoke.
"Well, I like pizza, and the Dursleys made me cook a lot for them."
Daphne scowled at Harry's mention of the Dursleys, but her smile returned.
"What's happening this afternoon?"
"Harry will have individual study and practice time while you join me for occlumency," Adrianna said to Daphne. "Then, at three, we'll get together and you'll meet your field healing instructor, Madam Renoir. Fleur will join you for those classes, as she is studying to be a healer."
"What does field healing mean," Harry asked.
Daphne answered the question.
"A field healer is someone who is trained in emergency medicine to treat injuries in the field," she said. "Most often, they stabilize someone to transfer them to a hospital like St. Mungos, or a healer like Madam Pomfrey. Each Auror squad has at least one trained field healer, and these are sometimes called medi–wizards or –witches."
"That's right," Fleur said. "But you also forget one thing. A Field Healer is also a fully trained healer. They specialize in emergency treatment of injuries, and Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts is one of the best."
"How long does it take to become a Field Healer?"
"You can learn everything you need to know this summer for the basic certification," Fleur said. "That's what I need to work at Hogwarts, and I will join you on September 1st since I must be there all year to meet the requirements of the British Healing Training Program."
"Do you think Madam Pomfrey would mind teaching this to students," Harry asked Daphne. "It seems like an interesting elective for those who are in their OWL or NEWT years."
"Probably a NEWT elective, Harry," Daphne said. "The OWL students have too many classes to take it."
Harry thought about it and nodded. It sounded about right to him.
"Adrianna, are you going to sit in on the class?"
"No. Annabelle and I are going to leave you with your instructor and then we're going to take care of our other business. There is a reason that we often leave you to learn individually during the afternoons and evenings. We have other duties for our jobs. And if we aren't doing that, we're preparing the curriculum for you to learn from. There are things that you can't learn due to your magic. Some of the magic techniques are designed specifically for a Veela."
"Oh," Harry said. "But Fleur will join us?"
"She'll have her own lessons in the mornings with a Veela Healing class to learn advance magic and Veela-Specific things," Adrianna explained.
"When will we start the animagus process?"
"You'll begin to learn that in your theory hour," Adrianna said. "We're advanced enough that you will begin to get advanced transfiguration theory that will help you with the animagus process. And it will help you learn the NEWT spells as well. Much of this theory will be on your OWL and NEWT exams at some point."
"It will," Fleur said. "Every NEWT student learns about animagi, at least the theory about them and why magic allows it to happen. You will learn more than a normal student will, and I'm sure you can convince Professor McGonagall to teach such a class to you and others who qualify."
"I don't know if I would want that," Harry said. "Too many people would know I'm in the class and would know what I am trying to do. And she would make me register any form that she finds I have."
"I agree with Harry," Daphne said. "We don't want anyone else to know that we're studying to become animagi. Right now, there are too many wrong people who would love to get the chance to kill us."
"And some of your classmates would obviously abuse this and many wouldn't qualify," Adrianna said, thoughtfully. "I can see why it isn't an offered class. Not many people would be able to complete the transformation, making it a waste of time. It's easier and better to hire a private tutor to train someone as an animagus."
"How many animagi do you think there are?"
"Probably around ten or so in the UK," Adrianna said. "Most of them would be unregistered, or have a form that is classified by one of the various Ministry agencies."
"I personally know three," Harry said.
"I know Sirius Black and McGonagall," Daphne said. "Who is the third?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
"The rat who escaped Azkaban," Daphne asked.
"Yes," Harry said, bitterly. Wormtail had escaped Azkaban just a few days after being placed there by the Ministry to await his Dementor's Kiss. "The bastard who betrayed my parents and led to me being an orphan."
The woman said nothing, as there was nothing to say at this outburst.
"What do you think Harry is doing for his birthday," Hermione asked Ginny Weasley, as they sat in their room the evening of July 30th.
"I don't know," Ginny said. "I would hope that he has someone to celebrate his birthday with. After all, he hasn't had that many parties for his birthday with his nasty relatives."
"No he hasn't," Hermione said. "I think he mentioned once that your brother sent him his first ever birthday card for his thirteenth birthday."
Ginny frowned. That wouldn't do for the Boy-Who-Lived. The redhead knew that she wanted to get Harry something so he wouldn't forget about her. After all, she was going to try to snag him this year since she was single, at the moment.
Hermione had other reasons for putting together a gift for Harry. It was to make her feel better and to remind her friend that there were those who cared about him.
Once the two were done with the gifts, they placed them in the pile that would be given to Harry as soon as they were able to do so. Dumbledore had forbidden them from sending anything to Harry, so they prepared a package that Sirius would take to Gringotts to be delivered to Harry using a secure courier. This went against Dumbledore's orders to keep Harry with no communications with his friends, but Sirius didn't care. He just wanted to remind his godson that there were those out there who cared for him, no matter how other people made him feel.