Lullaby

Ch 5: The End of Summer

The rest of the summer started to fly by as training progressed rapidly. As his body matured, Harry began to feel a definite increase in his powers as well as his stamina. As the months in Cascallia passed, Harry grew close to Ari until he felt as if he had known her forever. Alex kept him busy in training and the man's affable manner disappeared as a strict taskmaster took over.

His body continued to change and he began to take pride in his appearance. In one entirely too embarrassing accident, he walked in on Ari getting ready in the bathroom. He had closed his eyes upon seeing the slim form but he could feel the red swallowing his face whole.

For the next coupe of days he could only stare at her nose and was glad she rarely joined in training. When Alex questioned his discomfort, Harry ignored the man. Alex figured it out quickly and reverted back to the laughing uncle. Ari regarded the incident as inevitable and tried to make him more comfortable by not bringing it up. Two days before Harry was supposed to leave for Hogwarts, Ari sat him down in her sitting room. After refusing refreshments, he sat there fidgeting.

Ari smiled at him kindly before asking, "Are you alright, Harry? I thought we should have a little talk about the changes in your life. You are now a young man with an adult's responsibility. I know soon you are going to start exploring . . . um . . . sexual avenues and I want to make sure you are ready."

Harry's face was as red as a tomato as Ari got to the end of the sentence. He kept on opening and closing his mouth, "Uh . . . I . . . don't know if I can discuss this . . .," he stuttered.

Ari grinned tenderly at his embarrassment ignoring the stain on her own cheeks, "Let me ask you this than . . . have you ever kissed a girl?"

A pillow was thrown and Ari fell back in laughter at the young man. His mortification increased with each breathless laugh.

"Yes, fine! I have kissed one girl!"

"How was it?"

"Slobbery, she was crying the whole time!"

"Oh dear . . . no wonder you ignore girls if that was your experience. Is there any young woman you do like? Or how about a young man?"

"Oh no! No young men, I think. Actually I am kind of afraid of girls because most of them don't know me but think they do just because of this scar."

"Okay, how about this. I will use a spell to cover up the scar and another healing spell on your eyes. That way when they look at you especially after all the training you have been going through, they will see bright green eyes and a well-toned figure. Do you think they'll like that?"

"You really can correct my vision? And my scar can be covered? I am your servant for life!"

"Well that's good but we will have to get you a better wardrobe. Our last shopping trip did not work out that well. This time I think, we will stick to Harrods and shop for muggle clothing before hitting Diagon Alley again. I have several colors already chosen: black, silver, green, dark royal, and ruby."

"Why ruby?"

"Well if you don't want just Slytherin colors, I would suggest having some robes and shirts in a dark-jeweled red. A royal blue can also be incorporated. We will floo to the closest fireplace to the department store, get the clothes and then floo to Diagon Alley. There we will complete the shopping and stay overnight at the Leaky Cauldron for the train. You can owl your friends if you want to meet you at the Leaky Cauldron to stay with you overnight as well. I will pay for the expense. That way you can spend some quality time together before the school year starts. Now I know you are a bright mind and I expect you to utilize it this year. You will not be slacking off in any of your classes, including potions. Your advanced defensive lessons will continue at Hogwarts under your prestigious professor. Also, your Legilimency lessons will go on as well. Hopefully, by the end of sixth year you will be well versed on defending yourself from Voldemort and then we will work on offense. Go on dear, have fun."

Harry's head swirled with the information she so casually departed. Shaking his brain, he sent Hedwig off with a note to his friends. They had barely heard from him in the last couple of months and he knew they were not pleased with him. Hopefully, they can forget this fact and they could renew their friendship with a bottle of butterbeer at the Leaky Cauldron. Shrugging his shoulders, he took up his textbooks he had owl ordered in the middle of the summer.

He could remember the day he got his OWL results and Ari had been proud of him. The envelope was imposing, the seal unbroken, and all he could do was stare at it. She had laughed gently at his fear and took the letter from him and opening them with a careful hand. His fears went unrealized at her surprised smile. Laughing at his miserable expression, she handed the results to him.

On the first page was the personal letter from Madam Marchbanks congratulating him on his astonishing scores in both Defense against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. His mouth quirked into a smile as he beheld his results. He had managed to get 16 O.W.Ls with 11 Os. He had known he had done well but this was beyond his hopes.

"See Harry, you could do so much better in your classes if you applied yourself. So this year, I expect you to work hard and get in the top 5% of your classes or you will be in deep trouble." Ari's grim face stared at him before a small wink formed at the corner of her eye.

"What classes do you think I should continue? I want to be an Auror I think, so they said the classes to definitely take would be Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, and Potions."
"Well I think you should take all of those as well as Medimagic, Dueling, and either Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures. That will be seven classes and will be more than enough to keep you busy. You were in the top 5 people in the four main classes so I think you should have no problem in those classes. Your professors are going to expect a lot from you with these results."

His mouth started to run dry as he stared at her.

*************************************

Harry stared after the owl as his head once again surfaced above his thoughts. Looking at the textbooks he held, he started to read the first three chapters in the main courses. They were unbelievably interesting compared to the first five years. Advanced Transfiguration focused on human transformations as well as Animagi; Charms began to focus on practical uses as well as defensive charms; and Potions were becoming more difficult to make and had a lot more dangerous uses. The one textbook that started to scare him was Defense. The book was four inches thick with Dark curses, jinxes, hexes, and their counters. The illustrations were graphic and to the point. When he tried to read the author's name it was blurred and all he could focus on was the twenty pages dedicated to the history of the Dark Lords. In 20 pages, it went through Grindewald and Voldemort. The pages explored the reasons why they were so successful and seemed unstoppable. In here he found lists upon lists of conjectures of possible motives, and ways that a rise of a Dark Lord could be fought and suppressed. Dropping onto his bed he stared at the ceiling above him, reliving the fear that had crowded him the last couple of times he had faced Voldemort and managed to live.

Looking again at the other textbooks, he retrieved his Medimagic book which was interesting and very detailed. All the time he had spent in the ward and he had not known half of the things that were needed to be as good of a Mediwitch as Madam Pomfrey seemed to be. The notes he started taking in the margins were questions he had asked of himself and Ari that had been unable to be answered. He had flat out refused to think of becoming a healer last year but he could feel his heart yearning for something as peaceful and nonviolent as healing. He was good at defense because he had to be. He had wanted to convince himself that this was the path for him but he had not known anything else. How was he supposed to compare anything he has learned except from the necessity of survival?

A knock resounded gently on the door and his thoughts abandoned him. Shaking his head slowly, he saw Ari coming towards him, a tea tray balanced in front of her. Sitting on the edge of his bed she poured a cup and handed it to him. Looking down at the swirl of dark liquid, he felt her concerned eyes noticing the bleakness hiding behind his placid demeanor.

She brushed a hand down his face, offering what little comfort she could. "Little one, you can be whatever you want to be. Do not limit yourself to what you think you are good at. I mean, considering your Potion's grade, you would think you are miserable at the subject but just look at your O.W.L.s! I want whatever you think is best. You can leave and say damned the prophecy and I will watch your back until you disappear. I will fight Dumbledore for your freedom and I will even fight Voldemort so you can be safe. I am not the one to defeat him, but to give you a small measure of peace, and time to mature, I can hold him off. So love, be happy. I am here if you need me."

His smile was brittle and distant. He swallowed the warm tea and felt the calming influence come over him until all he wanted to do was sleep. Ari took the cup from him and kissed his forehead before shutting the door behind her. His last thought before his mind finally released him to slumber was, "So this is what it feels like to have unconditional love . . ."

The next morning he was awakened by a soft chirping sound from his alarm clock. Looking at the time, he groaned and got up. The house elves had packed his stuff while he slept and he stared at the items that were left here. His first year textbooks were stacked on the roll top desk, his old robes hung from the closet, and he realized for the first time in a long time, that he was finally home.

As the sky lightened into early morning, he sat at the breakfast table fiddling with his food.

"An owl has come for you. I think it is from your friends."

"I thought an owl cannot find this place."

"It can't find it unless I let it. What do they say? I just need to get ready and then we can leave for Harrods."

Harry ripped open the letter and read the first few lines. A smile bloomed across his face as h beheld the short missive. "It says that they will meet us at the ice cream shop at five and they hope that I have a sundae waiting for each of them."

Ari laughed at his happy expression before saying, "I am glad that they have forgiven you. Have you told them yet about your training? They will be wondering about it when they get a load of you wearing fitting clothes."

Harry's face flamed with color at the thought of clothes that would show off the physique he had cultivated. As he saw the wicked grin which spread across Ari's face, he said, "Just you wait! There will be a day when you are trying to impress someone and I will not give you an easy time."

Her eyebrow quirked upward in a suggestive grimace before the smile blossomed again. "Whatever you say my dear. Now let us be going we do want you dressed properly. I am hoping few people will recognize you without the scar and glasses but we never know."

They flooed to London and quickly walked to the huge store. Inside, Harry looked around at the astonishing opulence with almost overwhelmed him. Gulping, he was herded into the young men's section of designer clothing and Ari said, "Now you better pick out nice clothes that show your coloring off or Alex will have my hide. Get going you whelp!"

Her admonishment almost fell on deaf ears as he browsed the racks. A salesman walked up to him and stared distastefully at Harry.

The man sniffed carefully before saying, "Sir, can I help you?" in a snide tone of voice.

Harry returned, "Yes my mother wants me to outfit myself in the best clothes. I am going to boarding school tomorrow and I need a new wardrobe. The main colors should be black, green, silver, ruby, and royal. I would also like a nice suit and some jeans."

"And how may I ask are you paying for all of this?"
Ari came up from behind with anger blazing in her eyes. She controlled her barely leashed temper before replying calmly, "I believe I am his mother and you better take care with him or you will never experience my business again."

The astonished salesman turned around and stared at the young woman before him. A thought crossed his mind as he remembered something the store manager once told him.

"There is a young lady who shops here sporadically and spends up to 10,000 pounds each time. Treat her and any guests with her with the utmost care and she will tip you fabulously. You will recognize her by the dark black hair pulled into a bun, and the bright violet eyes and nice clothes. Be careful though and show respect to any decisions she makes for your job is on the line if she quits her patronage of this store."

Gulping, the salesman bowed before uttering, "I am sorry ma'am, and I did not realize this young man was with you. I will certainly start picking out the best of the lines to outfit him."

Ari smiled savagely before returning her softened gaze to Harry. She spoke quietly to him so the other patrons would not hear, "Go sit over there Harry. This will take a long time as he is now hyperventilating in the back room for his rudeness. Do not worry overmuch; your clothes will appear sometime. I want you to pick out anything you like, do not worry over the cost as I am sufficiently supplied with funds."

Harry nodded before sitting down and gazing into the mirror. He studied his reflection. A light tan darkened his naturally pale skin, which caused his emerald eyes to appear more dramatic and large. His thin nose seemed even more crooked without his glasses. The absence of a scar highlighted the broad forehead with a small widow's peak which his unruly hair usually covered. His mouth stretched into his first real smile since he had arrived at the store as he saw his hair tied back with a black band. It had reached his shoulders and the natural curl got on Ari's last nerves. The body he thought unashamedly, had filled out nicely with corded muscle and well-toned strength. His height was only average at 70 inches but there was nothing he could do about that unless he took a growth potion and he was not that desperate.

As soon as his train of thought finished the last sentence, the salesman was back with clothes upon clothes. Harry started trying them on and four hours later, wearing one of the black slacks and silver turtlenecks he left the store. His gaze was distracted and he kept on noticing the small signs of life swirling around him. He felt Ari's warm hand and a soft whisper from her, but it did not permeate his consciousness. Shaking his head vaguely he finally tuned in on what she was saying.

"Harry, are you alright? Let us go to Diagon Alley and we can just shop around."

He nodded and followed her lead down the winding streets before they found themselves before the Leaky Cauldron. Stepping in, he was surrounded by smoke and odd noises of people talking. He looked around and noticed Hagrid at the bar enjoying a pint of ale. Grinning, he slid up next to him on a stool and ordered a butterbeer. Ari followed his lead and sat next to him and ordered a small glass of water. Hagrid glanced down at the smiling figure before returning to his conversation with Tom the barkeep before shaking his head and taking a look again.

"Blimey! Is that you Harry?"

He beamed and nodded. Hagrid clapped a hand against his shoulder and asked, "What happened to you? Professor Dumbledore returned from Privet Drive a couple of months back and was furious. He said that you were out of reach but was safe."

"Hagrid, I would like to introduce you to my new family guardian, this is Ariyana Casala."

Ari smiled nicely at him before extending a slim hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hagrid."
"Ah just call me Hagrid, no Mr., nothin'. Wait! Aren't you the new . . ."

Harry was looking down at his drink and looked up quickly at the sudden silence. Ari stared back innocently before once again making small talk once again.

Harry was suspicious at this action and it was reinforced by her cheerfulness in leaving the gamekeeper to his drink. "It was nice meeting you. I hope to see you again. Good day to you, Hagrid."

The keeper of keys of Hogwarts shook her hand and said goodbye. His large figure already hunched once more over the ale.

Harry watched doubtfully as Ari headed into Diagon Alley. Her assured steps were getting farther ahead of him and he sped up to keep pace. They stopped at every store along the way and she went into Magical Menagerie alone. Looking quizzically at her, he stepped over to the ice cream parlor alone.

She returned in a few minutes with a case held in her left hand. Her soft murmuring was calming and he could hear a light hissing noise back. He could not make out the words but was once again wondering what this woman was up to.

"Harry, Happy Birthday! I know the small party during the summer did not make up for the last 15 missed birthdays but I hope you like her."

Harry looked into the case as she brought out a beautiful snake. It was hissing, "What a beautiful day. It isss nice to finally meet someone who sspeaksss. Good day to you massster."

"Good day. What isss your name?"

"I am called Ssssayaaalanaa. You may call me Lanaa."

He stroked the head of the snake as the conversed for what seemed like hours but was mere minutes. Ari had ordered a sundae and was devouring it with single mindedness. Harry finally put back his pet in the cage before returning his gaze to his guardian.

Her high cheekbones stood out above a regal, aristocratic nose. Her eyes were piercing in their jewel-toned depths underneath thick black eyebrows. Her hair fell in thick waves over her shoulders as her bun had been released earlier during shopping. A sharp chin accentuated the pale skin of her throat. She was wearing a white blouse with a purple scarf tied around her neck. The skirt which covered her legs to her knees was a dark violent purple, pleated and threaded with silver strands.

His perusal was interrupted by the cried of Ron and Hermione who had shown up at the parlor. He grinned delightedly as the small form of his girl best friend threw herself into his arms.

"Harry! Wow look at how much you have grown! Where are your glasses? Oh my gosh! Where is your scar?" Her excited murmurings were interrupted by a friendly slap on the back from Ron and a wink from Ginny who had come up while Hermione was speaking.

"Okay, okay my eyes are fixed. My scar is hiding and I have been in training all summer. Does that answer your questions?"
Ron shook his head and smirked at him before remarking, "Boy, once Lavender and Parvati get a hold of you looking like this, and they will never let you go."

Harry's eyes widened in mock fear before he sat down with his friends and ordered sundaes all around.

The chatter kept on increasing before his friends finally noticed the woman sitting with them. Hermione asked, "Who is this?"
Ari looked up from the novel she had used to distract herself while the friends were becoming reacquainted.

Harry looked at his new mother and blushed, "Oh this is Ari. She is my new guardian."

"WHAT!" Ginny yelled.

"Guardian? Since when?" Hermione asked.

"Wow! Nice job!" Ron congratulated.

Ari smiled before replying, "Hello, since earlier this summer. He was with me and that is why he could not come to the Burrow and his communication was haphazard at best."

The friends grinned at Harry and said, "Welcome to the family!"

Harry blinked back tears at this and Ari just kept on her happy expression. As the chatter increased, her features started turning bleaker as the darkness in the sky crept up on the quad.

Harry noticed the increased awareness she was presenting and he used the extra senses he had developed during training to branch out. Turning towards the far end of the alley he saw the Death Eaters start apparating in. One after another, until twenty shrouded forms could be seen.

Ari mumbled under her breath, "Not again. This is so the last time I shop here."

Her firm grip on her wand did not waver as she grabbed the four teenagers and shoved them under the table. "Stay here no matter what. Harry, I know you want to help but you are still underage in this world. Be safe and stay below otherwise I do not know how well I can protect you."

As she murmured a concealment spell she stepped back into the shadows. The Death Eaters did not take notice of the teenagers or their protector but kept on creeping down the alley stunning everyone who tried to stop them.
Harry felt rather than heard the binding curse being thrown at the group. Six figures fell prone before the group noticed and turned their attention to the other side of the alley where Ari was hiding. She still seemed invisible but the leader threw a couple of dark curses at the hiding spots. He knew her shied could take most of the hits when she was expecting it but also knew she was trying to keep the attention away from them. A few moments passed and the Death Eaters were still falling and the curses kept on being thrown against the unknown assailant. Suddenly Aurors were there. Their wands were drawn and the free Death Eaters apparated out, leaving their fallen comrades behind.

Ari stepped out from her concealed place, her face pale with exhaustion. Twelve still forms decorated the alley between Harry and her and she watched as she stepped carefully around them. The aurors still had their wands drawn and called out to her.

"You there! Who are you? Tell me what happened here." Harry could here Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks whispering behind the other officials before they fought their way to the front.

"My name is Ariyana. They apparated in started stunning people and I fought back."
"How did you not get hurt? There were twenty of them here and only one of you."

"I had to protect my charge. I concealed them and myself and protected the place where I was hiding and started throwing low level binding curses to capture them."

"Your charge? Wait! Weren't you the person who drove Voldemort off a couple of months ago! I remember people telling me about the woman who named herself Ari and left when we got there. Who are you really?"
"I am a professor at Hogwarts. I am in charge o protecting the four teenagers right here." She dropped the concealment charm as she said this and the four crawled out from underneath the table.

The aurors' jaws dropped in surprise as they beheld Harry and his friends. Their clothes were covered with a thin layer of dust but they appeared unharmed.

Tonks voice could be heard asking, "Harry?"
Harry looked up at her and smiled in relief at the recognition. Gasps could be heard as they stared at the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Why were you hiding under a table? Who is this woman? Ron, Hermione, Ginny, why are you here?"

"We came to meet Harry and his new guardian. We were eating sundaes when they attacked and Ari concealed us and drew their fire and attention away from this side of the street," ventured Hermione.

"Guardian? You mean this woman is Harry's guardian? What happened to you? All I know is Dumbledore said you were safe and could not be found."

Ari stepped forward and cut off the rest of the questions with a wave of her hand. The silencing charm worked wonders as all of the aurors glared at her. "This is not the time or the place to be discussing these things. Tonks and one other Auror can accompany her to the Leaky Cauldron where we will fill them in on details. Good night all of you. Follow me Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. We must get a good rest before the train departs tomorrow."

The four teens trailed behind her as they went to the bar. They could hear Tonks reassuring the aurors and Kingsley following them as well. As the group reached the bar, clapping could be heard as people thanked Ari for stopping the attack. She blushed and murmured, "Your welcome," before retreating upstairs into her room.

The night was a long time of explanations as Harry and Ari reviewed the summer. As the darkness shifted into midnight, the aurors departed with a final thanks and farewell.

Ron and Harry went to their shared room across the hall where they said good night and fell asleep. Hermione and Ginny went to the room next to Ari's and stayed up another half-hour gossiping about Harry.

"Oh my!! Did you get a look at the muscles! I never knew Harry was so well formed!" Hermione mentioned.
Ginny nodded in agreement as they went on the changes before falling asleep exhausted.

Ari laid in her bed, her front towards the door. Her eyes had shadows in them as she contemplated the night and how the attacks always seemed to happen when Harry was there.

"How did they know he was going to be there? We don't talk about it much. This is the second time this has happened and it almost seems like it is getting worse. Well I hope the ride to King's Cross goes as planned or my magic is going to be tapped out before I even get to Hogwarts."

Her voice trailed off as her eyes closed in tiredness and the dreams once again settled on her shoulders.