It was now September 1st and the teenage occupants of Grimmauld
Place had just made it to the Hogwarts express in their usually late
fashion.
Fred and George quickly left to find their friend Lee Jordan leaving
the other three to make their way on to the train.
They boarded the express and managed to find a near empty
compartment in the very last carriage, the only two people inside
were Neville Longbottom and a girl who was in Ginnys' year, Luna
Lovegood.
Neville looked relieved when the other teens entered the
compartment and seemed to visibly relax considerably. He had lost a
lot of weight over the summer and he no longer had the chubby,
boyish face, he looked more like the growing teen he was and not an
oversized child.
"I have to go to the prefects' carriage for a meeting" Hermione said
quietly.
"Congratulations Hermione" Neville praised. "It was a no-brainer that
you would get it" he finished genuinely.
"Thank you Neville" she replied gratefully as she left.
Ron simply looked irritated, he thought that with Harry being missing
then he stood a chance at being made prefect also but that had not
happened.
"Who got the male position in Gryffindor?" he asked sullenly noticing
Neville wasn't wearing the badge.
"Dean Thomas got it, I saw him on the platform" Neville replied.
"Dean?" Ron questioned critically, "But he's an idiot" he grumbled,
scowling.
"He gets the best grades in our dorm and he stays out of trouble"
Neville shrugged. "Makes sense to me with Harry not coming back".
"How do you know he's not coming back?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"He wrote to me after I sent him a birthday present" Neville
answered. "But he told me not to talk about it to anyone except you
guys. He said you knew he was ok" he finished.
"We haven't heard from him at all" Ron moaned moodily. "Why would
he write to you?"
"Did you write to him?" Neville questioned in reply.
"Well no I thought he would write when he could" Ron muttered, his
ears turning red in annoyance and embarrassment.
"So you just sent him an owl and he got it?" Ginny interjected.
"That's right" Neville confirmed. "How else would you write to
someone?" he asked rhetorically.
"He's going to be so furious with us" Ginny said quietly.
"Definitely" Neville replied simply.
"He can't be mad at us" Ron pointed out. "And even if he is he will
get over it" he concluded confidently.
Before Neville could reply Ginny intervened seeing the peeved
demeanour the other boy was now sporting.
"What did he say in his letter?" She inquired.
"He just said he's okay and has a lot to do, to keep everything
between us and he will see us all soon enough" Neville answered
ominously.
With that the door opened and in came an irritated looking
Hermione. Upon sensing the atmosphere in the compartment she
looked at each person, waiting for an explanation.
"Harry wrote to Neville" Ron said sulkily.
Hermione was taken aback. Of all the trivial things she was
expecting, this wasn't it. She had so many questions running through
her mind that they all came spewing out in one long sentence.
"How is he? Is he ok? When is he coming back? What did he say to
you? Why would he write to you and not us?" She finished
breathlessly sounding upset.
"He is ok but we have to keep it to ourselves" Neville responded,
gesturing to those present.
His eyes went wide in terror as they fell on to Luna who he had
forgotten was still there.
"Luna, you can't say anything to anyone" he said pleadingly.
The other girl seemed to snap out of some form of trance and
seemed surprised by how many people were in the compartment
with her.
"I'm sorry were you all talking about something?" she questioned. "I
was thinking about my summer, me and my father went to Sweden
looking for many wonderful creatures" she finished, clearly ignorant
of any conversation that had taken place.
Neville breathed a sigh of relief and simply mouthed the word 'later'
to Hermione who had now taken her seat.
"Who are the other prefects?" Ron asked.
"Take a guess" Hermione answered sourly.
Ron groaned knowing that that sour tone could only mean one thing.
Before he could answer the compartment door opened and in
stepped a gleeful looking Malfoy flanked by his two usual goons and
Pansy Parkinson.
"Ahh Weasel" he intoned elaborately. "See this?" he asked pointing
to the silver badge that was pinned to his robes. "This proves what I
have always known, that I am better than you" he finished laughing
at the reaction he was getting from the redhead.
Ron was furious but before he could react he felt his sister grab the
back of his robes and pull him tightly into the seat, restraining him.
"Piss off Malfoy" he replied through gritted.
"Uh uh Ahh Weasel, you should respect your betters" Malfoy replied
waggling his finger in Rons' face. "There's no more scar-head to
protect you" he said smugly. "Rumour has it his corpse is nothing
more than a trophy over a very special fireplace" he finished.
The other occupants in the carriage were furious but Malfoy and his
goons left quickly before any retribution could be had.
"I'm going to kill him" Ron shouted furiously.
"Forget it Ron" Hermione advised. "You know Malfoy is only talk and
he will get a big surprise when he finds out that Harry is ok" She
huffed attempting to calm the boy.
The rest of the journey passed by with them all lost in their own
thoughts and before they knew it they were sat in the Great Hall
waiting for the feast to begin.
Dumbledore rose from his seat at the centre of the staff table, his
eyes twinkling in their usual way. The hall fell silent as he raised his
arms to garner the attention of the students and staff.
"Welcome both new and returning students" he began. "Before we
get to the announcements of the year I believe it is both prudent and
customary to first dine on the fine food offered here at Hogwarts" he
finished waving a hand across the breadth of the hall causing the
empty plates and dishes to fill with an assortment of food.
"Who is that" Neville asked indicating to the only new member of
staff at the table, a short stout woman wearing a pink cardigan and a
matching bow in her hair.
Ron swallowed the mouthful of food he had before he looked
towards the woman.
"New defence professor" he shrugged before continuing his
onslaught.
"She doesn't look up to much does she" Neville said before adding
food to his own plate.
The rest of the meal past in companionable silence and the students
waited patiently for Dumbledore to conclude the feast so they could
make their way to their respective dormitories.
Eventually he rose and the room fell silent once again.
"Again welcome to you all" he began. "Firstly, the forbidden forest is
just that; forbidden to all students old and new" he said aiming a
glance at the Weasley twins who were looking every bit the picture of
innocence.
"Mr Filch has asked me to remind you that a list of all banned items
can be found attached to his office door for those that may need
reminding" he explained, again looking at the twins.
"And finally we have only one staff change this year. Please join me
in welcoming Madame Umbridge who will be taking over as your
Defence against the Dark Arts lessons for this year" he said starting
a round of applause that was half-heartedly given by the students.
Before he could continue, said woman stood from her seat and
made her way to the podium, gesturing for Dumbledore to sit down.
"Hem Hem" she coughed in a very irritating way. "My name is
Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister…"
What followed was a long drawn out speech that very few paid
attention to and were only roused by the clapping of the headmaster.
"One final thing" the woman chimed in before the headmaster could
assume control. "I would like Mr Potter to join me in my office at the
conclusion of the feast" she requested in a simpering girlish tone
scanning the room for the teen.
The room began to speak in hushed whispers wondering what was
going on. It was Neville who stood to address the woman as he saw
the members of the staff was reluctant to.
"Harry has been missing for two months, you should know that" he
said irritably not quite believing the woman was a stupid as she was
coming across.
"We at the ministry believe that is a lie" she said shooting a glance at
Dumbledore. "However, if Mr Potter is not here then he is playing
truant and will be taken in to ministry care at the earliest opportunity"
she concluded leaving the room.
"Prefects, please escort the members of your house to the
dormitories" Dumbledore requested, every hint of his twinkle
missing.
All the students made their way to their common rooms in silence
some confused and some thoughtful. Draco Malfoy was confused.
He had no reason not to believe his father when he told them that
Potter had been killed by the Dark Lord but why was the ministry
insisting he was alive? He shook his head knowing that his father
wouldn't say it if he didn't know for sure and he knew that most of the
ministry workers were buffoons. Even Fudge himself would be
nothing without his father and the money he generously donated.
Potter was dead, he had to be.
Being missing for 2 months in the wizarding without training was a
death sentence. He made his way to his dorm lost in thoughts and
decided that it was not his problem. He had more important things to
worry about like how he could use his new found power to get what
he wanted.
The members of Gryffindor were solemn. Ron and Hermione were
questioned incessantly about the whereabouts of Harry but they told
all the members of the house that you simply knew nothing and had
not heard from him.
Neville Longbottom looked at his fellow housemates in sorrow. Only
last year they had turned their back on the missing teen and now
they decided to be concerned for his welfare. He pitied them all but
kept his mouth shut as he promised Harry he would.
He went silently to his bed and allowed the rest of the house to
wallow in their own emotions. He knew that Harry was ok and to him
that was all that mattered until Harry decided when to make an
appearance. He looked forward to that day knowing that things
would be very different.
(BREAK)
The last month for Harry had essentially been a string of repetitive
days. He would wake in the morning and eat and train both magically
and physically throughout the day. The regime he had been following
had benefited even more than he could imagine. He felt strong and
healthy and looked the best he ever had. He had grown a further 2
inches, had filled out considerably and had to replace his wardrobe
entirely. His skill with a wand was coming on in leaps and bounds
and his movement was both becoming exceptionally fast and
graceful. He was happy with his progress but was under no illusion
that he needed to keep at it; he still had a lot more work to do.
After writing to Neville he had received only one other piece of mail
and that had come courtesy of the goblins that had sent him a
magical sphere to record the parseltongue prompts so they could
access the carcass in the chamber.
They had written to Dumbledore and he had agreed to allow them
access to the school to retrieve the corpse hoping that the wealth it
would provide to Harry would help him in his endeavours. The old
man had respected what he assumed was the teens wish to be left
alone but passed on his greetings and offered help if he needed it.
Harry was grateful to Dumbledore but Arcturus was clearly not fond
of the man for reasons of his own.
He would then spend several hours in the evening on magical theory
and learning the syllabus for the last few years of school and even
studying beyond it the way that he knew his family had.
He found that in the peace and quiet of his room he could excel at
his subjects but again felt disappointed in his less than impressive
first few years at Hogwarts.
On the night he saw the files belonging to both his parents and
grandparents he had vowed to do better academically and he was
well on his way to living up to them the way he desired.
Today felt strange to Harry knowing that he should be on the express
and returning to school but in a way he was glad that he wasn't. He
had settled into his routine and knew that he was benefitting much
more being here than he would at school. He did miss his friends but
he no longer missed them the way he had. He didn't hold anything
against them for not writing and felt no dislike towards them but he
did feel let down by the apparent lack of care they had shown. It was
not something he dwelled on much; he simply didn't have the time.
He was busy during all waking hours and only stopped to rest during
meal times and when he was unwinding in the evening before he
slept. No, Harry was not bitter but he was certainly indifferent.
Arcturus had maintained his usual routine of being absent during the
day and Harry had long since stopped wondering where it was he
went. Harry knew he was busy taking care of the Horcruxes and
knew better than to question the man. He would ask for help if
wanted or needed it and Harry found that he truly did trust him. He
would return at random times and test Harry in all aspects of his
training and studying, offering pointers and advice where he felt
necessary. He did not however baby the boy in any way and largely
left him alone to be responsible for his own training and studies. He
knew that seeing the files had lit a fire under the teen and had made
him much more studious, which he was pleased to see.
The last few days had been a concern for Harry.
It began when he had started feeling lethargic and a little weak. His
physical workout had left him drained and his magic had been erratic
at best during his spell work. Initially he had concluded he was
having an off day and simply shrugged it off. It wasn't until the next
day that he felt something wasn't right when he barely made it half
way through his exercises before he had to rest and even after that
his energy levels did not replete.
It was today that he had woken to find that even walking to the
drawing room for breakfast had him sweating and gasping for air and
he knew that something must be really wrong. Not wanting to burden
Arcturus with his problems he sat at the table and began to slowly
eat what he could, and that wasn't much.
The older man eyed the boy critically as he entered the room. He
looked peaky and quite sickly. He continued to watch him as he ate a
very meagre amount compared to what he usually would. He took in
the symptoms he could see and come to only two possible
conclusions.
"Are you sick?" he asked the boy who jumped at the sudden
interruption to his meal.
"I'm just feeling a little run down" Harry said dismissively.
Arcturus frowned at the boy knowing he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"Have you been vomiting?" he asked.
Harry shook his head.
"No I don't feel sick everything is just tiring and my magic is a little
off, maybe I'm training too much" he tried hopefully.
The older man was sceptical of the boys' theory knowing that he
wouldn't feel this way 2 months in to training, the tired phase passed
weeks ago.
"What do you mean your magic is off?" he asked. "Are your spells
either under or over powered?" he questioned, frowning.
Harry nodded at the question.
"Both" he said. "The power is inconsistent and I have little control
over it" he admitted.
"I see" Arcturus replied. "Do you feel too hot or too cold?" he
questioned further.
"Neither" Harry replied confused. "I feel normal apart from tiredness
and my magic acting strangely".
"Ahh" Arcturus intoned surprised. "Come here" he commanded
beckoning to the boy.
Harry complied and found himself on the receiving end of several
diagnostic charms and spells he did not recognise.
"Just as I thought" the man said triumphantly. "It seems you are
going through an early magical maturity" he proclaimed.
"What's that?" Harry asked inquisitively, it was something he had
never heard of.
"It's the final stage in your magical growth in which you reach your
peak powers and your core finishes stabilizing" the older man
answered knowledgably. "It doesn't usually happen until you are
between 18 and 21 years old though" he added frowning.
"Why is it happening to me now then?" Harry asked with worry
evident in his voice.
Arcturus continued to frown while he considered his answer. The
reasons became obvious with little thought. He looked at the boy
critically again before he answered.
"Several reasons I think" he began. "Powerful wizards tend to mature
much more quickly and there is no doubt that you are more than an
exceptionally powerful wizard" he continued. "I'm also guessing that
the taint of Riddle hindered your growth considerably, both magically
and physically. With that gone, you being healthy and having grown
as much as you have recently it seems that your body can now cope
with the mature magic" he concluded thoughtfully. "I think Charlus
went through his early. He was much like you until 5th year. When he
came back he was bigger, faster and stronger in his body and
magic" he explained.
Harry thought about what he had been told but could only nod in
agreement.
He had begun to believe that he was certainly no average wizard.
Since the piece of Riddle had been removed everything felt much
more easy, even studying and absorbing information permanently
was a breeze without the constant aches the scar had given him. He
performed spells with ease and it just kept getting easier the more he
did it.
"How long will it last?" he asked with a hint of concern.
Arcturus shrugged.
"For the average wizard it's usually over in a few days. How long
have you felt like this?" he questioned the boy.
"This is the third day but the worst by far" Harry answered feeling
worried again.
"It is usually longer for more powerful wizards, mine was around 5
days if I remember correctly" he explained.
Harry felt a little better knowing that but he could not ignore the
exhaustion he was feeling.
"Is there anything I can do to make it easier?" he asked hopefully.
The older man shook his head.
"No, you just have to let it pass" he answered. "Just relax and sleep
as much as you can and don't perform any magic or it will make it
worse" he warned. "Use the time for your studies and theory work
and let your body run its course" he finished firmly.
Harry nodded knowing that the older man was speaking sense.
He bid the man farewell and returned to his room to begin his day
working on his theory.
Arcturus remained in his chair for some time pondering the boy he
was sharing his house with. He couldn't help but marvel a little at the
boy and the potential he possessed.
"He will do you proud old friend" he said quietly to the empty room
and with that he put his usual disguise in place and disapparated to
carry out his business for the day.
It was the next day that a surprise article appeared in the Daily
Prophet. Harry was in bed feeling even worse than he had the day
before; even going to the bathroom was a real effort.
Elgar bought him his breakfast and the paper and he gaped at the
article before reading:
Harry Potter: Dead or Alive?
By Marsha Wood
We at the Prophet have been speculating the whereabouts of
our once young hero for the past 2 months and have yielded no
results. His home address away from school is one of the best
kept secrets in the wizarding world and we simply assumed that
he would return to school after the summer break had finished.
But that was not the case.
According to an anonymous source within the school Potter did
not show for the start of term and it seems that no one knows
where he is, even Albus Dumbledore appears to be in the dark
or he is keeping secrets from us all.
So where is young Mr Potter? Has he been killed and it is being
kept quiet or is he truly simply missing? We at the Prophet are
keen for any information regarding the status of Mr Potter and
are offering a 1000 Galleon reward to anyone who provides
information that leads to Mr Potter being found.
Harry folded up the paper and placed it on the bedside table. The
article had Fudge's work all over it and Harry had no doubt that the
minister was in it for his own gain.
He shook his head and ate his breakfast before reading as much as
he could before he would fall asleep again as he knew he would.
The following week saw the prophet speculating further on his fate.
Several people had come forward claiming they had seen him, some
as far away as South America.
He began to look forward to the daily paper. It entertained him to no
end reading the different theories that they were coming up with. His
favourite was that he had taken a holiday to a Veela conclave and
had either lost track of time or had died from exhaustion.
'If only they knew the truth' he chuckled to himself.
It wasn't until the tenth day of his ordeal that he began to feel better
again. It had lasted much longer than he or Arcturus had anticipated
it would but he was glad that it was now coming to an end. He had
achieved a large amount of academic work but he was beginning to
get restless and couldn't wait until he could get back to training. He
knew it would take another couple of days but he could wait.
His keenness saw him able to begin training again on the 13th day.
He could have started a couple of days before but Arcturus insisted
he waited to be sure. With his resting days over he had a lot of
catching up to do.
(BREAK)
On the surface, the first two weeks at Hogwarts hadn't differed much
to the previous years but there was a definite undercurrent of tension
felt by all. The professors taught their classes as normal and the
schedule within the castle was the same. It was the rumours of the
return of Tom Riddle and the placement of Dolores Umbridge as the
new defence professor that had created the atmosphere within the
school.
It was clear to all in the castle that Umbridge was not there to teach
anything useful to the students, She was there as Fudges' lackey
and nothing more.
Her lessons were the worst any had ever attended, if they could be
called lessons at all. The classes were all instructed to do the same
thing regardless of age and ability. They all read from the same book
and questions were simply brushed aside. She clearly favoured the
pureblood students, that was undeniable but her favour was given
more so to those in Slytherin house. Thus the tension between the
houses was more prevalent and became more so as each day
passed.
Dolores Umbridge sat in her office contemplating her situation. She
had no desire to be at Hogwarts surrounded by insolent little brats.
She truly hated children, they disgusted her beyond comprehension.
However, she was if anything a very shrewd and intelligent woman.
She was not particularly gifted in any branch of magic but her
cunning and ability to work situations to her advantage had seen her
rise to her very senior position within the ministry. She knew that
being at Hogwarts was advantageous for her. From here should
could glean much information and learn everything she needed to
ensure her position no matter the outcome.
She hated Dumbledore and was more than a little envious of his
achievements but she was no fool. She knew there had to be some
truth to what he had been saying in regards to the return of the Dark
Lord and decided she would take a wait and see approach and
Hogwarts was perfect for that. Here she could be away from the
ministry and out of the direct line of fire that would surely be aimed
there. Here she could quietly gain favour with students who she
knew had family who had been aligned with the Dark Lord and here
she could remain somewhat neutral. She was no Death Eater but
she sympathised with much of the pureblood doctrine they spouted.
She as a pureblood herself could see the benefits of the Dark Lord
seizing control and implementing new laws and an infrastructure that
she could truly gain from.
She may not have been a Death Eater but she did harbour her own
cruel tendencies, tendencies that she could indulge in while she was
at Hogwarts and none would be the wiser if she played her hand
correctly.
She enjoyed seeing people suffer. Not suffer in an obvious way of
outright torture but a way that would see them suffer over a period of
time. Her weapon of choice was a blood quill and she knew she
would get an opportunity at the school to use it.
The atmosphere within the wizarding world was enough to distract
most from the tall tales told by a child. And if the little brats seemed
that they would talk then a memory charm would suffice, she would
just need to be cautious about how much she would use the quill. It
would not do to cause permanent scarring and have questions
asked.
Yes Hogwarts, despite the presence of annoying children was the
perfect place for her to be.
The other problem she was facing was what on earth had happened
to the Potter boy. She had always been curious as to how a little
halfblood baby could have been the cause of the fall of the Dark
Lord. She was curious to meet him and not just because Fudge
wanted him found. She wanted to see for herself what was so
special about him. Was he truly powerful enough to do what he had
at such a young age? Or was he simply mediocre as she had heard
from Fudge and Lucius Malfoy? She did not take anything Malfoy
said as gospel. In all honesty she found him to be a pompous moron
who spent far too much time looking in the mirror and kissing the
arse of anyone who could better his position.
To her he was nothing more than a glorified bootlicker but he had
become a powerful one and he certainly needed to be pandered to
to an extent.
The Potter mystery certainly had her flummoxed. But seeing as he
didn't arrive at Hogwarts all she could do at this point in time was to
wait to see if he would emerge from the woodwork or if his corpse
would appear somewhere.
She had both Granger and Weasley in her office at the earliest
possible opportunity and with the help of veritaserum and memory
charms had learnt an awful lot about the young man but they had no
idea where he was or if he was definitely alive. Waiting was all she
could do here and now and while she was waiting she would have
some fun for herself.
(BREAK)
The two weeks since the teenagers had left his home had been the
most peaceful Sirius Black had had for many years. With the
departure of the children the rest of the Weasely's had returned to
their own home much to the pleasure of the remaining occupant of
Grimmauld Place. The one problem with the peace was the new
sense of worry he felt. He was aware that Harry had not returned to
school and this had him concerned.
Remus had left on an errand for Dumbledore and had been gone
over a week leaving the other marauder alone for much of the time.
Members of the order would stop by from time to time but Sirius
suspected it was only to ensure that he had not left or done
something foolish. He had been tempted but knew that it would be
unwise and he wanted to be there for Harry when he came out of
hiding. Sirius had no desire to go back to Azkaban and he knew he
was safe behind the walls of the Black home. He spent most of his
time in the library preparing for the inevitable battles that would take
place. He knew he would and could be useful against the Death
Eaters and pledged himself to studying and practicing. It had been a
long time since his Auror days and he was certainly out of shape and
not as sharp as he once was. That would have to change and while
he had the time, he would hone his skills to the best of his ability.
(BREAK)
Harry had just completed his first day of training since his magical
maturity had finished and he was quite astounded at the difference in
himself. Physically, he did not tire as he did and his stamina and
endurance had increased tenfold.
In regards to his magic he was at first disappointed in the effects of
his curses but soon realised that said effects were not based on
power. A curse was simply a curse and would run its course
regardless of power and could not be influenced by adding further
magical power to it. The key difference was in the counter-cursing. It
took much more power to counter the curse if more power was
added to it and Harry knew this was quite a development.
The real difference he noticed was in his impact spells and spells
that had a physical effect. His bludgeoning hex was the first he
attempted in this category and noticed the difference in power and
damage immediately. Instead of the dummy that was hit gliding
across the floor at high speed and hitting the wall it simply flew
through the air and crashed into wall breaking several bones.
He saw the same in his fire and water spells. Instead of a stream of
reasonable force his wand would erupt in what could only be
described as a geyser of his chosen element.
His conjuring was much easier also. He still had to visualise what he
wanted to the same extent but the use of magic felt much less and
did not leave him drained as it had previously.
Overall, Harry was very happy with the unexpected increases he had
and believed even more so that he was no longer an average
wizard. He had seen the spells performed by other wizards and
witches and none he had seen even came close to what he was now
capable of.
He was very aware however that power was only one aspect of
being a great wizard. Mostly it was down to skill and winning a fight
was not solely dependent on the amount of power one possessed
and he knew that he had to at least equal his power with the skill in
which he wielded it with. He would not slack and rely on his power
but he would train even harder knowing that he had quite the gap to
close.
Harry was interrupted from his reflections by the arrival of Arcturus
who was looking as stoic as ever. The older man looked thoughtfully
at the spell damage in the room and the fresh scorch marks on the
walls and floor.
"How do you feel?" he asked the teen who looked surprisingly fresh.
"I feel fine sir" Harry replied. "I don't feel tired how I usually would by
now and my spells are a lot more powerful" he added.
The older man looked appraisingly at the boy and nodded in his
usual way.
"Show me" he stated simply.
Harry obliged by demonstrating his spell work and the more
noticeable differences in it.
"Impressive" Arcturus said in an almost praising tone. "What about
your curses?" he asked.
"They are much harder to counter" Harry answered frowning, "But
they don't work any faster than normal, that's because they work
based on time and not power" he finished.
"I see you've been reading up on your theory" the older man replied
neutrally.
"Yes sir, I don't want to disappoint my parents" Harry explained shyly.
Arcturus nodded his head again at the boys reasoning. Inside he
was pleased that he had begun to dedicate himself to his studies
and knew he would do well as expected if he continued this way.
"Show me you flame whip" Arcturus requested.
This was a spell that had taken a fair amount of practice for Harry to
produce and one he had not tried throughout his training that day.
To his surprise he managed it with much more ease than he had
anticipated and the whip was considerably longer and thicker than
he had managed to conjure before.
"Good" Arcturus said simply. "You will need to practice with that to
master controlling it and also work more on conjuring and banishing
objects, it can be a very effective weapon if mastered" he remarked
knowingly.
"Yes sir" Harry answered simply.
"Now that is out of the way I need you to accompany me on a small
trip" Arcturus began seriously. "It seems that our friend Riddle has
been recruiting and one of my elves have informed me of some new
guests in our country and I want you to come and see what you will
be up against in due course" he explained further.
Harry knew from Arcturus tone that this was something serious and
adopted the impassive mask that had been taught to him by the
man. He placed his wands in his holsters and indicated that he was
ready. The older man took him by the arm and with a pop they had
vanished.
The duo appeared in a forest that Harry could tell was close to the
sea. He could smell the salt in the air and hear the distant crashing
of waves on to a rocky shore. He began casting charms on himself
to hide his scent and cancel the sound of his footsteps; he didn't
disillusion himself knowing that he needed to be seen by his
companion.
The older man nodded and cast the same spells on himself and
began leading the way in to the thicker and deeper parts of the
wooded area.
They walked on in silence for what seemed to be miles and
eventually Harry began to hear the sounds of activity ahead of them.
In the distance he could see an area lit by fire and cautiously
followed the older man to the outskirts of a clearing.
What he saw in the clearing shocked him to his core.
Three men were sat in the clearing, one in which Harry recognised
as Buckbeak's would be executioner, Macnair. The other two men
were dressed in black robes and were sat around the fire but it
wasn't the men that had Harry worried.
Around the men sat a collection of around twenty giants, completely
brutal looking and bigger than he could ever have imagined. He
looked at Arcturus questioningly and the older man shook his head in
resignation.
Things now seemed even more real to the boy. He knew now that
this was a real war and it wasn't only Riddle that would be a
problem. It made him wonder what else he was up to and what other
creatures he had managed to bring to his side.
He was distracted by the biggest of the giants as he stood and
stretched tiredly. It was not the giant itself that had distracted but
what was attached to his hip by a crude and blood-soaked rope.
They were heads, bigger than the average human but not as big as
a giant. It was then that Harry recognised them.
The faces had been quite badly mutilated but the shaggy hair and
beard of one was familiar and it did not take a genius to figure out
who the other had belonged to.
He felt a wave of emotion overcome him; he felt sick, upset and
extremely angry. He felt the magic rolling of him in waves in his fury
as did Arcturus who moved in to calm down the boy.
"No" the older man whispered dangerously. "All you will achieve is us
being killed and it will be for nothing" he said through gritted teeth.
Harry swallowed back the emotion hard and nodded at the older
man but felt no better. He knew war would be gruesome but he had
not expected to see the head of his first ever friend worn as an
accessory, as a trophy as casually as it was. He would never forget
the sight of the remaining appendage of Rubeus Hagrid, gentle halfgiant,
adorning the hip of a giant. And although he did not know
Madame Maxime well, he felt a wave of sadness for her also
knowing she had died trying to prevent Riddle gaining further allies.
He was shaken from his stupor by Arcturus who took him by the arm
and dragged them away to a safe distance where he could apparate
them home.
They appeared again in the training room where Harry immediately
removed his wand and fired a blasting hex at the dummy that
exploded in to thousands of tiny pieces. He breathed heavily in his
rage and it took some time for him to calm down to a point that he
could listen to Arcturus.
"I did not know we would see that" he explained to the fuming teen.
"Dumbledore had no reason to send him to them, he must have
known it was useless" he finished shaking his head.
"He didn't deserve to die like that" Harry replied attempting to keep
the emotion out of his voice. "He was a good man and wouldn't harm
a fly" he added sadly.
"Then he has no place in a war" Arcturus declared. "He should have
been smart enough to keep out of it, he was too loyal to Dumbledore
and his loyalty and inability and lack of skill got him killed. You see
what it is you are up against now?" he questioned not wanting an
answer.
Harry said nothing but used the moment of silence to compose
himself. He would make them pay for what they had done to his
friend. He was both sad and angry and each emotion was fighting for
dominance but Harry would allow none to win. He schooled his
features in to his impassive mask before he spoke.
"They will pay" he stated with a cold edge to his voice.
"You will need to know how to kill a giant" the older man replied. "Go
and read your grandfathers' journal from June 1915 you will see how
he used to do it" the older man explained.
Harry moved to exit the room feeling the need to be alone becoming
overwhelming, but he was stopped before he could reach the door
by the older man.
"This has happened sooner than expected but the war has still
barely begun" he explained. "We still have time but we need to start
putting things together" he continued. "I think it is time for a family
reunion both to get some allies and to rock the boat a little" he
finished with a cruel smile.
Harry nodded and made his way to his room. As he closed the door
behind him the first tear sprung from his eye and he no longer tried
to hold it back. He felt no shame in crying for the loss of his giant
friend and would grieve in his moments alone, but he would be
damned if he allowed anyone to see it. He knew being
compassionate was not a weakness as such but he knew that
concealing any and all emotions would be beneficial to him and had
decided some time ago to hide them all. He would feel but he would
not show, that was his promise to himself.
When he was alone however he would release the emotions he felt
whether it be; anger, sadness, joy or happiness.
He wept a little more for his friend before retrieving the journal he
had been instructed to and quickly found what he was looking for
and began to read.
June 13 th 1915
I encountered and fought my first giant today and let me say that
what you read and hear does no justice to them at all. They are truly
a sight to behold and a fight I will never forget. They are very tough
and resistant to almost all magic. The only spell that worked
effectively was my flame whip but even that was not enough. To
defeat a giant you need to use physical attacks and aim for the legs
and head. I wasted a lot of time trying to curse the beast and the
spells did nothing. I managed to conjure and banish metal spheres to
bring it to its knees after they eventually broke and sent countless
arrows into its torso and head. It did not stop fighting until I removed
its head by banishing a large sword I had conjured at its neck. That
in itself took a lot of power and I would not recommend it unless you
know you are a capable wizard.
Harry now understood why Arcturus had instructed him to work on
his conjuring, banishing and flame whip further. He placed the
journal back in his grandfathers' trunk and got into bed. He felt a
sense of numbness overcome him as the death of Hagrid sunk in.
He would make sure his friend did not die in vain and vowed to
himself that he would do all he could to make sure he could limit the
advantage the giants would have in battle even if he had to take
them all down himself.
He shuddered at that thought and slowly fell in to an uneasy slumber
knowing that the war was beginning to shape into something that
would not be easily concluded.