The sound of training weapons clashing filled the grounds as dozens of students practiced with them, having their first session since returning from Easter break a few days before.
Unlike Christmas break, which Harry used to announce the existance of the Thieves Guild and ruin the influence of the Malfoy family, Harry used the Easter break to prepare for summer as he built the barn, coop, several apiaries, and established the plots where he wanted to plant some crops on his land. Stumpy, who had been mostly maintaining the greenhouse when he wasn't cleaning the manor proper, was estatic when the barn was completed since that was the main task Harry purchased him for.
The Boy-Who-Lived had just managed to order several cows, chickens and a few goats right before the break ended, so he should return for the summer break to find a full barn and the start of their personal farm. Just like home.
Now he was training the students of Hogwarts once more, and was personally sparring with Ron.
"HA!" Ron cried out as he lunged with a wooden short sword, trying to break through Harry's shield since he was teaching him how to circumvent another person's defenses.
"Good thrust, but don't over commit. You'll leave yourself open if your opponent manages to parry your attack." Harry told Ron firmly, even as he expertly defended from the next several attacks.
Harry could see the calculation in Ron's eyes as they fought, analyzing his every move and how he defended himself from each attack. Ron was easily the best tactician amongst the Hogwarts students at their age, even having beaten their entire House in wizards chess several times over, and was now moving on to the Ravenclaws as well. But he was naive.
Harry seemingly let his guard down a little, giving Ron an opening that the Weasley boy readily tried to exploit.
The moment that Ron swung his blade at the opening that Harry created, the Boy-Who-Lived immediately swung his shield to lock Ron's sword in place, before twisting to make him cry out in pain and drop the sword. Harry then caught the sword and slammed his shield into Ron's chin at the same movement, sending the red head stumbling back onto his arse with a dazed look in his eyes before Harry pointed the tip of the wooden sword under his chin.
"You cheated..." Ron said while blinking up at Harry in disbelief.
"Did not." Harry replied while handing the sword back to him.
"You have a very strategic mind Ron, but you're also too naive. Real combat is nothing like wizards chess, where you have rules and regulations to follow. In a life or death match there are no rules, and no such thing as cheating." Harry explained patiently, to which Ron adopted a slight frown.
Better the boy learn now than at a crucial moment in the future. Harry had met plenty of opponents after all that, rather than be fair sports about losing, would rather flip the entire metaphorical table.
And while Ron grumbled about cheaters and such, he didn't actually talk back to Harry anymore as he got back to his feet to try again.
The duo sparred a few more rounds as Harry coached Ron on how to bypass an opponent's shield techniques, before letting him take a rest as he went to check on everyone else.
One group that was practicing together consisted of Neville, Dean, Seamus and Cedric, with the latter three taking on the former. Contrary to appearances though, Neville was NOT being bullied. He was actually training with the new heavy robes Harry made him, as well as the Novice Restoration spells Harry taught him.
The robes were made with Harry sewing plates of metal into them to not only increase the weight, but also provide the wearer with protection similar to armor. Of course they weren't too effective at actually protecting Neville from sharpened weapon attacks, but they would help him adjust to the weight so that he could possibly transition to actual armor over time.
Neville, who was clumsy and on the larger side, loved the idea of wearing heavier armor and not moving around as much, while also wielding heavier weapons along with Restoration magic with how often he seemed to get hurt.
Cedric on the other hand was well on his way to becoming a proper spellsword, wielding his wand in one hand along with the practice rapier Harry made him in the other. Despite only being a third year, he was quickly becoming something akin to the unofficial leader of the Hufflepuffs that Harry was teaching.
Dean and Seamus were also showing good potential, with Seamus wielding an axe while Dean seemed to prefer a mace. Aside from them Harry also noted several other students who seemed to be rapidly improving, such as Justin Finch-Fletchley, Michael Corner, Ernie Macmillian, Terry boot, and even a few Slytherins like Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott.
Not only those two, Daphne and Tracey, Harry also noticed Crabbe and Goyle silently watching them from a distance while they trained the last few days. So either they were also interested in joining in, or they were a pair of the worst spies Harry ever saw.
On the other side, Harry noticed a small commotion amongst those who were training with magic, drawing his attention as he went to investigate.
"Take this!" Hermione cried as she thrusted her wand out in front of her, producing an excellent stream of Flames at her opponent.
"Pathetic, Granger." Daphne sneered back at her, even as she waved her own wand to create a distortion in the space before her. When it faded, there was a spectral wolf standing there that readily charged directly into the flames Hermione was sending at her.
Though an excellently executed spell, Harry also noticed some sweat on Daphne's brow from the effort it cost her. Such was the cost of Conjuration magic, which Daphne excelled at more than anyone else Harry was teaching it to. But that did not mean the school of magic was without it's benefits.
While Daphne tried to catch her breath, the wolf she summoned charged through Hermione's flames at the bushy-haired girl.
"!!!"
Harry narrowed his eyes as Hermione visibly flinched in the face of the fangs flying at her, only barely managing to cast the Oakflesh spell on herself right before it attacked.
"KYAAA!"
Hermione literally screamed as the wolf tackled her to the ground, pinning her with it's legs while waiting for Daphne to give the order to kill.
"Had enough?" Daphne smirked at Hermione victoriously, right before she was suddenly hit with a flash of green light.
"!!!"
Daphne's entire body froze up against her will as the Paralysis spell took hold, making her teeter in place for a second before falling on her side like a statue.
"Never let your guard down during battle, and NEVER try to gloat over the opponents you think you've defeated." Harry told Daphne sternly, though she was currently in no state to answer until the Paralysis wore off a few seconds later.
"What's wrong with that?" Daphne asked with a frown from the rough treatment, even as the wolf she summoned faded and Hermione also got up.
"Because you never know if your opponent has comrades, or if they have tricks up their sleeves that are just waiting for you to let your guard down. I've personally seen numerous people die from relaxing too quickly after a fight." Harry stated, letting his voice carry over to the rest of those who had been watching the fight.
"Are both of you ok? Anyone need healing?" Asked a certain red headed girl, Susan Bones, who hurried over to check both of them out. Of the few that Harry was teaching Restoration magic to, Susan was the one taking to it the most. It was even turning into her main area of focus.
"Thank you, Susan." Hermione replied as she was enveloped in the golden glow of Heal Other, before the Hufflepuff turned towards Daphne as well.
"I am fine. But I appreciate the sentiment." Daphne replied before Susan could say anything, politely declining any healing.
"So what was that about?" Harry asked once both girls were good, curious what prompted the spar. He didn't mind them doing so, but Harry was slightly worried due to the risks of unsupervised magic. He even stated that NONE of them were to practice magic on their own unless he gave them the ok.
"Granger and I merely had a slight disagreement." Daphne immediately said, earning her a pointed look from Hermione.
"If that's what you want to call it." Hermione snapped back at her, yet gave no further context to Harry.
"Haaa." Harry sighed tiredly, before giving them both a stern look. "Whatever it is, figure it out before I tan BOTH your hides and lock you two in a single room until you make up." He threatened in the same manner he used to his kids.
"But she-!" Hermione began, before cutting herself off when she saw the look Harry was giving her.
"Fine..." Hermione pouted, while Daphne gave her a smirk. But that smirk only lasted until Harry gave her a look as well.
"Good." Harry stated, before he began checking the progress of those who he was teaching magic to.
The only schools Harry was teaching them were the Destruction, Alteration, Restoration and Conjuration magics. Mostly because there were too many ways Illusion magic could be abused. And even Conjuration, Harry was only teaching them a handful of spells such as the Bound Weapon spells, or the Conjure Familiar spell that Daphne used earlier.
"Hey Harry..." One girl called out as Harry was making his rounds.
"Yes, Sue Li?" Harry asked as he approached her.
"I was wondering, what other spells are there in Destruction? You've only showed us Flames, Sparks, Frostbite, Ice Spike, Lightning Bolt, and Fire Bolt." Sue Li asked curiously, though Harry could practically feel the anticipation radiating off of her.
"Hmmmm..." Harry hummed in contemplation of whether or not to show them a higher level spell, mainly because he didn't want anyone trying to use them before they were ready. But as Harry was thinking, he noticed several eager looks being directed towards him.
"I guess I can show you all something." Harry decided eventually, to keep their interest in learning magic alive if nothing else. Plus he kinda wanted to flex his magicka muscles a little since he hadn't had a REAL fight since before leaving home in Skyrim.
"Firstly, all of you need to clear the area around me." Harry warned them, and several of the students began to eagerly make space for whatever it was he was going to show them.
***
"M-my Lord... We need more time..." Quirrel said in a weak voice as he stood alone in his office, looking out the window at nothing in particular.
"If you have time to complain, then you can figure out how to get the stone." A voice hissed in response, uncaring about the struggling of his servant. But, it wasn't as if Quirrel's woes were unfounded.
His body was getting weaker by the day, as indicated by his increasingly pale complexion and hollow eyes. If something was not done soon, then he could actually die from the strains on his body.
Unfortunately, to continue moving to steal the stone without raising awareness, Quirrel had to wait for the delivery of a very important item that he planned to use to loosen the tongue of the oaf, Hagrid. Otherwise he would risk bringing the wrath of Dumbledore down onto himself if he were move now and make a scene. And neither himself nor his master were currently strong enough for THAT, regardless of how bitter it was to acknowledge it.
The only alternative, short of going to Snape for help, was unicorn blood.
The blood of unicorns was so powerful that anyone who drinks will be spared from death, regardless of how close they were to it. In a way, it was like the Philosopher's stone. But from the moment the blood touches your lips, you become cursed for the rest of your life for slaying something so pure.
Quirrel was reluctant of putting such a curse on himself, but it was possible he would have no alternative as he waited for both the dragon egg he would use to bribe Hagrid, and the chance for him to steal the stone without Dumbledore realizing what was happening.
Then, right as Quirrel was solidifying his plans to start hunting unicorns, even that very night, something happened.
"!!!"
The entire world seemed to turn a bright whitish-purple, forcing Quirrel to cover his eyes from the offending light as he pulled out his wand and waved it.
"Obscuro!" He declared, cloaking his entire body in darkness to shield himself from the offensive light, and allowing him to see what was creating it.
As usual, Harry Potter was down on the grounds teaching his pathetic magic and sword swinging classes to the rest of the students. But what Quirrel saw this time stunned him.
The spells Potter was trying to teach the children amounted to merely spraying flames, sparks or ice, nothing particularly special, so neither Quirrel nor his master bothered caring about them. But what Quirrel saw at that moment stunned him.
Potter was standing at the edge of the Black lake, his hands outstretched in front of him as he produced a continuous torrent of lightning unlike anything Quirrel had ever seen before. Not only did it seem as if he were doing it without the use of a wand, but the lightning was blasting continuously across the lake into the mountain on the other side.
Quirrel did not know how long Potter was summoning the lightning for, only that the light died down when he finally did. And when he dispelled the cloak of darkness covering his body, Quirrel's eyes went wide.
The side of the mountain that Potter had been aiming his spell at, was completely devestated with a massive H carved into it. And Potter himself appeared barely winded from the endeavor as he stood before the gaping students down below.
"Potter... May be a bigger problem than we assumed." Quirrel slowly said. And for once, his master had no scathing remark ready for him as they gazed upon the destruction Potter wrought.
That very night, Quirrel sent an owl out to one of his more....unsavory connections. But at this point they were necessary.
Thankfully he received a reply a few short days later, and Quirrel smiled viciously when he read it.
"Excellent. If we play this right, then we can occupy both Potter and Dumbledore at once." Quirrel said as he tossed the letter in the fire, lest it be found and traced back to him.
It only took a few days for him to finish making the arrangments with his fellow conspirators, and Quirrel was ready to put his plan into action.
It was after one of his classes that he called out to the Boy-Who-Lived.
"M-m-mr P-P-P-Potter, p-p-p-please stay f-f-f-f-f-f-for a m-m-m-m-moment please." Quirrel stuttered even worse than usual, preparing to give the greatest performance of his life.