Harry Potter and the Path of War

Harry Potter and the path of war

Chapter four: breakthroughs

Saturday: Remus Lupin: Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts

Sunday: Nymphadora Tonks: Concealment and Disguise

Monday: Thomas Anderson: Physical Combat

Tuesday: Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt: Duelling

Wednesday: Severus Snape: The art of Occlumency

Thursday: Nate Gonzales: Duelling Techniques

Friday: Severus Snape: The art of Occlumency

Shit, Harry cursed inwardly, as he ran through the timetable of lessons in his memory, remembering what lesson he had today. I wish I had a time turner, he thought desperately, as he walked up Privet Drive at ten to eight in the morning, apparently alone. The sun was hidden behind some light clouds, but they were the only clouds Harry could see in the sky; it promised to be a lovely, hot day. Not that I'll see any of it, Harry thought grumpily, as he turned a corner and entered Gardenia Crescent, I'll be stuck inside with Snape all day.

For it was Friday, which meant that Harry was going to have to suffer another ten hour day with Severus Snape, learning Occlumency. This would be his third lesson with the oily git now, and as far as Harry could see, he was making very slow progress in his Occlumency skills. He could not understand why either; he was trying as hard as he could, and he wasn't letting his hatred towards Snape get in the way of his work (he and Snape had both agreed in the first lesson that they would keep their feelings towards eachother completely out of the Occlumency lessons, and it was helping immensely). Harry had realized that what Snape had said last year was the reason why he had never managed to learn Occlumency at all; because he had been unable to let go of his emotion, his anger towards Snape. But now, with Snape refraining from making snide comments, he was finding it much easier to let go of his emotions, but it did not seem to be making him learn Occlumency quicker.

Harry had been following the programme for over two weeks now. He had had at least one lesson with every one of his teachers and was enjoying every one, except his Occlumency lessons with Snape. Because of Voldemort's mental attack on him two weeks ago, his Occlumency lessons had been upgraded to two a week, which sacfrificed the lesson he was supposed to have with Flynn Booth on a Wednesay. He had never found out who Flynn Booth was and what the lesson with him was actually going to be, but Remus had said it wasn't as important as Harry perfecting Occlumency, so it had been taken off of the programme. The two Order members he had met who were also his teachers, Thomas Anderson and Nate Gonzales, were both friendly enough people, and neither of them had stared fixatedly at his scar when they had met him or held him in awe because he was Harry Potter, which in Harry's opinion made them fantastic people.

He had just about got to grips with the energy and work load the programme required now, which was a lot. The lessons were hard work, but the great feeling of accomplishment Harry felt at the end of each one drowned out his body's protests about how hard it was. In the short time he had been following the programme, Harry felt like he had learnt more than he ever had at Hogwarts, and he was becoming increasingly more confident in his magic and abilities. He had managed to set out a relatively exhausting routine for himself for each day now; he would get up up at ten to six, go running with Remus, go to Mrs Figg's at eight o'clock for whatever lesson he had that day, until six o'clock when Remus would walk him back to the Dursleys, when he would use Dudley's exercise machines for two to three hours, have dinner and collapse into bed around ten o'clock. It may have been exhausting him, but Harry loved it; for once, he was actually enjoying his summer at Privet Drive, and doing something productive.

But there was still something missing. He could feel it in the back of his mind all the time, like there was something missing that should have been there, regardless of whatever else happened. And he knew what it was.

Letters from Sirius.

"Are you okay, Harry? You look like you're in another world." Harry jumped, as Remus's anxious voice cut through his thoughts; he had forgotten that he was there, he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts. He turned to Remus, who was looking at him with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking. You know, about Snape and stuff." Remus grimaced, and then nodded, putting on a professional face.

"Thinking about Snape? Ah, so you were in another world then. Tell me, is hell all it's cracked up to be?" Remus said, his professional facade cracking as he began to laugh.

Harry laughed as well, effectively broken out of his deep thoughts. He was glad to see Remus laugh; he didn't laugh enough, although he seemed to be doing more of it now than he had used to.

Over the last few weeks, Harry had detected a change in Remus. He seemed more relaxed, more easy-going than he had used to be, and he was making jokes and messing around with Harry more and more. Harry had never seen him like this. He had always seemed so sad; sad and tired, as if there was something holding him back from being him all the time, but now he seemed less tired, and less sad as well, as if what had been holding him back had gone. He just seemed. . .happy. Harry could not understand why; they were about to go into a war with Voldemort, where people were no doubt going to be killed, maybe even people they knew, and Remus seemed to be happier than Harry had ever seen him. He couldn't understand it at all. He glanced at Remus now, who was still chuckling softly at his own joke. He really did seem happy, and even if he didn't understand why, Harry was glad for him. He smiled, and returned his eyes to the path in front of him, which quickly wiped the smile off his face.

They had arrived at Mrs Figg's house, which meant, Harry realized with a sinking feeling, Occlumency with Snape. For ten hours. Harry groaned and shut his eyes, wishing that this was a dream and he could wake up on a day other than a Wednesday or Friday.

"Come on Harry, you're going to be late," Remus said beside him. Harry opened his eyes with a grimace and walked up Mrs Figg's porch steps to her front door with Remus, bracing himself for the horrors that awaited him inside. Remus knocked on the door in his usual smart manner, and it was opened immediately by Snape, who looked at them with such a smirk on his face that Harry wanted nothing more than to wipe it off with his fist.

"Well, well, Potter, on time for once in your life. I suppose we've got your babysitter to thank for that. Quickly, get inside, both of you." Harry felt compelled to stroll slowly through the door just to infuriate Snape, but remembering what was more important, he resisted the urge and quickly entered the house, Remus in front of him.

As soon as he was through the door, Snape flicked his wand and the door slammed shut behind Harry, who felt the wind from the force of the door slamming on his face. When it slammed shut, Snape flicked his wand again and the many locks quickly locked themselves. He then turned to Remus.

"Lupin, you'll be back at six, sharp. Understood?" Snape said, as if it was his idea for the lesson to end at six o'clock. Remus looked impassively back at him.

"Yes, Severus, six o'clock. See you then, Harry." Snape nodded at him and swept into Mrs Figg's living room. Remus grimaced and gave Harry a thumbs up. Harry returned the grimace and gave Remus a thumbs down. Remus laughed loudly, and Apparated away. Harry stared at the place where Remus had Apparated from for a minute, took a deep breath, turned around, and entered the living room.

Snape was standing by the fireplace, his wand held firmly by his side. He was staring at Harry, his face an emotionless mask. This was how he always looked during their lessons together; after Remus had left, Harry never saw any trace of anger, loathing, dislike or any other emotion cross Snape's face until after the lesson had ended at six o'clock. It was like being taught by a robot.

"Wand out Potter."

Harry withdrew his wand from the waistband of his baggy, baggy jeans and faced Snape. Snape stared back at him.

"Now, we'll be carrying on from where we left off on Wednesday. You remember, don't you?" Harry nodded shortly. "Get into position then. I will strike on the count of five."

Harry took a step backwards and held his wand tightly. He closed his eyes and willed himself to forget everything, to let go of all emotion. Nothing is real, nothing is real. . . he dimly heard Snape's voice counting up to five as if from a long distance away, and a white space was growing behind his eyes, starting to cover up all of the blackness that he usually saw when he shut his eyes. . .

"Legilimens!"

Harry's concentration was broken, the white space behind his eyes turned quickly back to black, and images began to flash through his mind.

Ron and Hermione were tied up underwater to the tail of a stone merperson, their heads lolling onto their shoulders. . . a huge three-headed dog was inches away from him, Ron, Hermione and Neville, and it was growling murderously at them. . . a solid wall of gigantic spiders were closing in on him and Ron, their pincers clicking madly. . . . wide, gleaming eyes were staring out of a dark alleyway in Magnolia Crescent. . . Sirius was falling through a ragged veil, which was fluttering very slightly, and a suprised and fearful look was on Sirius's face. . .

Sirius! A voice in Harry's head said suddenly, and abruptly the flashing images stopped, leaving his mind clear. Harry opened his eyes, and was confronted with Mrs Figg's living room and Snape, who was pointing his wand at him, a concentrated expression on his face. Harry raised his wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

Snape stumbled backwards, and his wand flew out of his hand and high into the air, in a graceful arc. Harry caught it deftly in his left hand, dropped both his and Snape's wands, and collapsed to the floor, suddenly light-headed and dizzy.

Harry heard footsteps move swiftly over Mrs Figg's creaky floorboards, heard a muttered spell, and instantly his head and mind felt clear again, the light-headedness gone. Looking up, he could see Snape's face looming over him, his long greasy hair hanging down in front of his face. He was staring hard at Harry, showing no emotion whatsoever. Continuing to keep his emotionless mask in place, he held out a pale hand to help Harry up. Harry hesitated for a minute and then took it, hoisting himself up and letting go of Snape as quick as he could; his hand was strangely cold.

Snape was still staring at him. "What happened Potter?" he said, letting a note of interest enter his voice. "How did you block it?" Harry swallowed.

I. . ." Harry swallowed again. His throat felt tight. "Well, that is, there was a white space, and. . .um.. and then I saw. . . Sirius," he finished, not wanting to say his godfather's name, especially in front of Snape. Harry looked down, the half-forgotten feeling of emptiness without Sirius threatening to consume him again. He wanted to fall asleep, to go to sleep and never wake up, or to hit something really hard at the unfairness of it all, at the injustice of Sirius's death.

But he couldn't do this now, Harry told himself sternly. He couldn't fall apart in front of Snape. That would be weakness, and Snape thought he was weak enough anyway. He looked up at him now, daring him to say a callous remark about Sirius; but Snape's face was still an emotionless mask.

"Compose yourself, Potter," he said simply, and swept to the other side of Mrs Figg's living room. Harry had no doubt that Snape had seen the image of Sirius's death too. He must have done, Harry thought to himself. He had not made any comment about any images he had seen in their lessons this summer, but Snape had seen some of Harry's memories when he had been teaching Harry Occlumency at Hogwarts; he had admitted it as well, when he had asked who Ripper, Aunt Marge's dog, had belonged to. So he had to have seen the image of Sirius's death. Harry didn't think he could take it if Snape made a snide comment about Sirius now; he would blow him to pieces if he did.

He sat down heavily on Mrs Figg's murky green sofa and put his head in his hands. He had never seen the image of Sirius falling through the veil before during his Occlumency lessons with Snape. He had seen it in his nightmares, and sometimes in horrible daydreams that were almost halucinations, but never before had he been shown it through the Legilimens spell. And now the image of Sirius dying would be firmly at the front of his mind for the rest of the day. He doubted he would get anywhere in his Occlumency skills today, in this state. He might as well just tell Snape he was going home and leave. . .

No, Harry said firmly to himself. I'm not going to mope around and get all depressed. Sirius wouldn't want me to do that. And he wouldn't want Snape to get the better of me either. That thought made Harry laugh slightly, thinking of what Sirius would say if he could see him now, thinking of giving up at the first hurdle, at accepting defeat to Snape. That's not what Sirius would have done, and that's not what I'm going to do. I won't let him down. I made a promise.

Harry pulled his head out of his hands and stood up, and went to tell Snape he was ready to carry on. Turning, he saw that Snape was just about to walk back towards him anyway. He nodded briefly at Harry, and stepped away from the table he had been leaning on and strode back towards Harry.

"How did you block it?" he asked again. Harry took a deep breath, and began to talk.

"When you said that you were going to strike on the count of five, I closed my eyes and tried to let go of all my emotion and feelings. I think I nearly managed it this time as well. I could still hear you counting up towards five, but it sounded like you were a long way away, or underwater or something, and there was a white, blank space behind my eyes. . . it's hard to explain. It's never happened before when we've done this. It's like, when you usually shut your eyes, all you see is black, but the black I was used to seeing was slowly turning from black to bright white, like from the middle outwards. It was nearly covering all of my, er, inner sight, or whatever it is that you, um, see when your eyes are closed, when your voice casting the spell broke my concentration. The white light turned back to black, and then the images started to flash, and. . well, you know what happened then," Harry finished, looking Snape in the eye.

Snape was staring back at him, his emotionless mask firmly fixed. He slowly shook his head.

"Yes Potter, I know 'what happened then,' but I do not know how you blocked the curse eventually, how you stopped the images and broke through the spell enough to cast a disarming charm. What snapped you out of it?" he asked, his emotionless stance slipping slightly as another glimpse of interest appeared in his voice.

Harry swallowed again, and looked at the ground. He did not want to talk about Sirius to anyone, let alone Snape, Sirius's sworn enemy. But he had to, if he wanted to succeed in perfecting Occlumency and blocking Voldemort from his mind. Harry took another deep breath, and continued.

"The last image I saw, of. . of Sirius. When that flashed through my mind, a voice in my head said 'Sirius,' and then my mind was clear. The images stopped flashing through my mind, and I could see this living room again, and you pointing your wand at me. I thought the most effective way to stop the spell would be to disarm you, so I did. When I caught your wand, I felt dizzy and light-headed, and I couldn't stand. My legs just seemed to give out from underneath me." He looked up at Snape again, who was staring at the wall behind the sofa Harry was standing in front of. Harry coughed slightly, and Snape's vison turned to him.

"Potter, this is clearly an improvement. You were able to successfully block the spell, eventually, and you were almost able to let go of your emotion and block out everything around you, which shows your inner control is growing, but you slipped up at the last minute. We're going to have to work on that. Simple things like someone saying an incantation cannot be allowed to break an Occlumen's focus."

Snape paused, as if considering something, though he made no sign or action to show that this was the case. "The light-headedness you felt after breaking the connection caused by my spell is to be expected in an amateur Occlumen's first successful attempt at blocking the Legilimens spell. The disarming charm you performed did nothing but intensify the feeling of dizziness you felt, and remember Potter; your final goal is to be able to repel people from your mind without resorting to using your wand. Focus on repelling me with your mind, not your wand. Will me out of your head. Do not waste time going through what spells would be effective in breaking the connection; when you are fully-trained, spells will not be a factor in this.

"Now," said Snape, drawing himself up and pulling out his wand. "You will need a short rest after what you have just done. I have some business to clear up, that will not take long to conduct. I will be back at eight forty-five, by that clock," Snape said, gesturing to Mrs Figg's huge, antique grandfather clock, which at the moment stated that it was twenty past eight. "While I am gone Potter, brainstorm some ideas in your head which may help you in blocking the Legilimens spell. Keep your mind focused on Occlumency."

Snape Apparated away, and Harry sat down hard on Mrs Figg's small sofa, sighing deeply. It was going to be a long day. . .

* * * * * * * *

A white light was covering the blackness, enveloping the corners of his eyelids as he willed himself to forget everything. Nothing is real, nothing is real. . .

"Legilimens!"

Harry barely heard the curse, it seemed quieter than ever. The white light did not fade this time at the sound of Snape saying the incantation, but as the curse made contact, his concentration was broken, and the images began.

Ron was being hit over the head by a white chess queen carved out of stone, and crashing to the ground. . . Umbridge was smiling her revolting toadlike smile as the cut on Harry's hand burst open yet again, as he wrote I must not tell lies. . . Fawkes was flying along the Chamber of Secrets towards him, Ginny and Tom Riddle. . .

Harry shook his head, trying to remember what to do. . . he was supposed to do something, to stop what was happening, but what was it? he couldn't remember, the images were flashing too fast. . . Tonks was falling down the stone steps in the Department of Mysteries. . .

Repel him, a voice said in Harry's head, a voice that sounded, Harry noted, similar to the voice he heard when he was breaking through the Imperius curse. Repel him.

Yes, the other half of Harry's brain said, I will repel him. Harry shook his head again, and the images stopped; his mind was cleared, and he opened his eyes to see the now familiar sight of Mrs Figg's living room, and Snape with his wand trained on him.

Harry raised his wand, ready to disarm Snape and end the connection, when the voice in his head returned. But this time, the voice was Snape's, although the Snape in front of him was not saying anything.

Repel me with your mind, not your wand. . .will me out of your head. . .

Harry lowered his wand, and concentrated on willing Snape out of his head, glaring at the Snape in front of him. He could feel the interference in his mind, probing his mind for his feelings and memories, and he concentrated all his thoughts solely upon forcing the interference out of his mind. He could feel the probing getting weaker, striving to reach his memories and feelings, and he fully concentrated his will on pushing it out of his mind, and with one last push, he felt the interference dissolve, and fade away. He saw Snape's eyes widen in suprise, and a second later Snape's wand flew out of his hand with considerable force, hitting the dull grey wall behind him and sliding to the floor. Harry fell to the floor as well, his mind and body numb.

In what felt like a second later, he found himself laying on his back on Mrs Figg's sofa. He distantly heard Snape's quiet voice above him mutter a spell, the incantation for it much longer than any spell he had previously heard, and felt the numbness he had felt on most of his body and mind fade away.

Harry sat up, and shook his head hard to make sure he was totally okay. When he was satisfied he was in working order, he stood up slowly and looked around the room; Snape was sitting at the table on the other side of the living room, looking at the clock on the wall, which read six o'clock in the evening. When Snape had gone over to the table Harry did not know.

Snape looked at him with his usual emotionless mask in place, and said, "that was another clear improvement, Potter. It seems you are finally getting to grips with this. You must not push yourself too far too quickly however, that will get you nowhere. What you need to do is work on your concentration before the spell begins to probe, and your reaction time in realising what has to be done to stop it. Remember what I told you about the fine lines between emotional and mental ignorance levels.

"That concludes our lesson for today," he said, standing up and holding his wand firmly in his hand. "I will see you on Wednesday. Do not forget to practice clearing your mind before you go to sleep at night, and remember; if you do not practice, we will simply be back to where we started two weeks ago. You must stay focused." He Apparated away, leaving Harry alone in the living room.

Harry glared at the table which Snape had just Apparated away from. Snape may have been holding back insults in their lessons, but he was still a slimy snake in Harry's book, and he still hated him. He made a rude hand gesture at the space which Snape had just Apparated away from and sunk back into the sofa, closing his eyes.

He was immensely relieved that his Occlumency lesson was over for the day. In Harry's opinion, it had been the most intense and exhausting lesson of the programme he had done so far. When Snape had arrived back at Mrs Figg's at quarter to nine this morning, they had began a nine-hour long non-stop practice of Occlumency, which consisted of Snape putting the Legilimens spell on Harry, Harry breaking through it and collapsing, having a five-minute rest, and trying again. They hadn't stopped this routine once for the whole nine hours, and Harry was exhausted.

But it had worked, Harry reasoned. He had definitely progressed much further then he had in his previous lessons, where he had seemed to have some sort of block preventing him from progressing any further. He seemed to have got past that now, and Harry was confident that he was going to progress much faster now that he had. He sighed in deeply and closed his eyes, his feeling of accomplishment and the comfort of the sofa drowning out the protests of his tired mind and body. He could just lay here forever. . .

"Harry, it's time to go."

Harry opened his eyes immediately and jumped up, drawing his wand from the waistband of his trousers as he did so and pointing it at the doorway. He relaxed when he saw it was just Remus, and lowered his wand.

"Don't do that Remus, you scared the life out of me! I was just about to curse you out of the door!" exclaimed Harry. Remus chuckled.

"Oh, were you Harry? Curse me out of the door, eh? Guess I'm lucky you realized it was me then, otherwise I'd be about an inch back from where I'm standing now," he said, looking mischievously at him. Harry smiled, realizing that Remus was just messing around with him.

"Well, it would serve you right for never getting knackered when we go running," Harry said, good-naturedly but also somewhat grumpily. Remus laughed.

"Well what do you expect Harry, if you go running with a werewolf? Which reminds me. . ." Remus said, his voice becoming more serious, "I won't be able to go running with you for the next few days. It's the full moon on Sunday. Your lesson with me tomorrow is off as well."

Harry nodded. This would be the second full moon Remus had been through since Harry's summer had began (the first one had been just a few days after he had returned to Privet Drive from Hogwarts). Harry had found out from Remus that Snape was still making the Wolfsbane Potion for him, and had been even after he had got Remus sacked from Hogwarts. Harry reckoned that Dumbledore was forcing Snape to make it, or something.

"Are we off straight away then?" he asked Remus, tucking his wand back into the waistband of his trousers. Sometimes Mrs Figg cooked them both dinner after Harry's lessons, when she was here. Most of the time however, Mrs Figg wasn't there; she wasn't there when he arrived for his lessons in the morning, and the majority of the time wasn't there when he finished. Harry had no idea where she went everyday. Remus nodded.

"Yes, and we need to hurry as well, I need to be at Grimmauld Place at exactly six-thirty for some Wolfsbane Potion," Remus said, striding towards the door and pulling on his Invisibility Cloak. It made no difference to Harry; there was a charm on the Cloak that meant Harry could see anyone who was wearing it. Remus unlocked the door and wrenched it open, and they stepped into the sun's bright rays, the door shutting by itself quietly behind them.

They did not speak much as they walked through Wisteria Walk. As it was a hot, mid-summers evening, there were still a lot of people around in the streets; some little boys were playing football on the large front gardens outside the houses, and a group of little girls were skipping and playing hopskotch on a chalk-drawn hopskotch on the pavement beside the road, while their parents kept an eye on them and chatted to eachother. Harry wondered what he and Remus must have looked like; a rough-looking teenager who they all thought went to a young offender's institution and, despite the heat, a scruffy-looking man wearing a long, thick trenchcoat, walking through and disrupting this typical Surrey neighbourhood scene.

Watching them, Harry wondered what his life would be like if he had never been a wizard and found out about the wizarding world. If his parents had been Muggles, would he have grown up happily, like these children? Would he have been a teenager with normal problems, like school and girls, instead of having to worry about whether he was up to the task of killing someone when he was older? If he had been born a Muggle, would he have seen as much evil in his entire lifetime as he had seen in this life in fifteen short years? Would he have had to fight evil and save people's lives before he was even old enough to get a real job? Or was it simply his fate to fight?

As Harry contemplated this and carried on walking, he saw a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking to his right, he saw, in a alleyway seperating two houses's gardens, three tall, black-robed figures, with white masks, staring right at him.

Harry felt his stomach churn horribly, and his heart began to beat faster. He turned to look at Remus, who hadn't noticed the Death Eaters yet. Remus turned to him and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short as he noticed the Death Eaters in the alleyway, who were still not making any movement; they seemed to be waiting for something. Harry looked again at Remus in panic.

"They can't see me," Remus said quietly, as Harry suddenly realized this as well, "they don't know I'm here. Make no action that suggests otherwise. Look at the ground, pretend you're tying your shoelaces, but keep an eye trained on them for any movement."

Harry did what Remus said, his stomach churning even more as he glimpsed the happy adults and children out of the corner of his eye as he ducked his head, blissfully unaware of the danger that was so close to them. The Death Eaters were here for him, Harry realized. That could be the only reason they were here, in Little Whinging. If anything happened to these people, Harry could never forgive himself. . . .

Remus had crouched down next to Harry and appeared to be pressing something hard into his chest, underneath his thick trenchcoat. Harry heard him say an incantation, which contained his name, and then began to spoke in an urgent whisper. Harry strove his ears to hear what he was saying.

"Everyone, drop everything and get to Arabella's house now. This is urgent; there are Death Eaters here. Someone press when you're there." Remus relaxed his hold on whatever he was pushing on under his trenchcoat and stayed crouched in the street. A second later, he pressed on his trenchcoat in the same place again and continued speaking in a low whisper.

"Those of you without Invisibility Cloaks, stay at Arabella's and guard the house. Those with Invisibility Cloaks, use the back door and get round the front of the house. You will see Harry about two hundred yards down the street. Make straight for him, and stop when you feel me press you. Over."

Remus straightened up and moved in front of Harry, so that if the Death Eaters tried to fire anything at him he would be protected. Harry went to move to the side, refusing to let Remus put himself at risk for his sake, but Remus muttered softly, "don't Harry. Please."

Remus's pleading voice stopped Harry in his tracks. He couldn't understand why Remus was so set in protecting him. "Why?" he said softly, risking a quick full glance at the Death Eaters; they were still staring intently at him, but making no movement whatsoever. Remus sighed, and when he spoke, Harry thought his voice sounded tired and weary, something Remus had not seemed to be for weeks.

"I. . I can't lose you, Harry. You're all I've got left," he said, his voice going suspiciously scratchy at the end. Harry did not know what to say; he wasn't good at handling other people's emotions, especially when they concerned him, so he just said what he thought was the safest answer.

"Okay." He saw Remus smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a huge explosion, and turning, Harry and Remus saw a house further down the street from them burst into flames.

"WAND OUT HARRY!" Remus screamed, over the sound of the explosion and the screams of the Muggles in the street. Harry jumped up and out from behind Remus and withdrew his wand in a second, and not a moment too soon; turning, he saw the Death Eaters who had been standing motionless in the alley sprinting towards him and Remus.

"STUPEFY!" Harry screamed without a second thought, pointing his wand directly at the Death Eater in front, who went straight down face first onto the hard concrete as Harry's spell hit him full-force in the face. It did not stop the other two though, who stopped ten feet from him and both shot stunning spells at him.

"Protego!" cried Harry, and the Death Eater's stunning spells shot back at them. They both dodged them, and with a loud BANG! The tallest of the two sent thick black ropes out of his wand towards Harry; they were evidently trying to capture him without harming him.

Harry was not ready this time. He raised his wand to attempt to banish the ropes hurtling towards him, but they were too close now, they were going to be around him in a second, the Death Eaters would have won. . .

"Incendio!"

The thick black ropes burst into flames inches from Harry's face, and Harry jumped back to avoid getting burnt. He made a mental note to thank Remus later for that, and turned back to the two remaining Death Eaters, who were looking around suspiciously for who had set their ropes on fire.

"Aperio," one of them hissed, and Remus's Invisibility Cloak flew off, leaving him standing there with his wand trained on the two Death Eaters. They both turned to him with their wands raised, but Harry and Remus were faster.

"Expelliarmus!" Remus cried at the same time that Harry screamed, "Stupefy!"

Both of the Death Eater's wands flew into the air and into Remus's outstretched hand, and one of the Death Eaters fell down, stunned. Remus broke the wands over his knee and quickly stunned the other Death Eater. He then pressed his trenchcoat down again and said urgently, "where the hell are you? Get out here now!" seconds later, several Cracks sounded around them, and then a voice sounded out of the air close to Harry.

"We're here Remus," Charlie Weasley's voice said from the thin air, as Harry couldn't see him. Remus however did seem able to see him, and he seemed to be able to see others as well, as he looked around where he and Harry were stood and nodded a few times. "What do you need us to do?" Charlie's disembodied voice said.

"You, Argust and Hestia get down to that burning house, check there's no-one inside, make sure the blaze is under control for the Muggle fire people. Tonks, you and Emmeline start administrating Memory Charms to these Muggles," Remus said, gesturing with his hand up the street.

Harry turned, having forgotten about the Muggles who had been outside when the house down the street had burst into flames; they must have seen his and Remus's battle with the Death Eaters, Harry realized. None of them seemed hurt in any way though, Harry saw with relief. They did however seem frightened beyond belief, and were staring at Harry and Remus as if they were aliens from another planet. Some of the women had their mouths open in silent screams, and many of the children were crying.

Soon however their faces were completely blank, as cries of "Obliviate!" rang across Wisteria Walk, and another spell that Harry didn't recognise, but which seemed to make them all go back into their houses and shut all their blinds and curtains.

"Evanesco."

Harry jumped, and turning, he saw that Remus had just vanished his Invisibility Cloak. He then turned to Harry.

"Harry, we've got to move these," Remus said, gesturing with his foot to the stunned Death Eaters at their feet. "I think it's better if we do it physically, in case anymore Muggles are looking."

Harry nodded, and picked up the nearest Death Eater's legs as Remus picked up his shoulders and upper body. Together they carried him into the alley the Death Eaters had run out from and laid him down on the pavement. They did the same with the second Death Eater, and when they turned over the last Death Eater, who was laying face down on the pavement, Harry thought he was going to be sick.

The man's mask had shattered when he had hit the pavement, which he must have done face first, and there was blood pouring down the man's face. His jaw looked like it had taken the impact of the blow, and was totally destroyed now; there seemed to be chunks of skin missing from it, and Harry thought he could see a bit of bone protuding out of the ruined jawline.

Remus looked sick as well, and slightly green, but shook his head and turned to Harry with a grim expression. "Come on Harry, we've got to move him," he said, putting his hand under the Death Eater's shoulders and pulling him up into a grotesque position that made him look like he was sitting up straight with his legs stretched out. Harry took a deep breath and grabbed hold of the man's legs, and he and Remus heaved him into the air between them and carried him into the alley.

They were just setting him down next to the other two stunned Death Eaters when a deep, authoritative voice rang out behind them, booming, "STOP IN THE NAME OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC!"

Harry and Remus turned, to see several witches and wizards in scarlet robes sprinting up the alley towards them; Harry did not recognize any of them.

They reached Harry and Remus and stopped, looking in wonder at the three Death Eaters laying stunned at their feet, many of their faces paling at the sight of the Death Eater with the ruined jawbone. A tall man with short black hair and sharp-looking eyes, who looked like the leader of the group to Harry, dragged his eyes away from the Death Eaters and turned to Harry and Remus.

"Did you two do this?" he asked, looking suspiciously at the two of them. He did a double take when he took a longer look at Harry.

"Harry Potter?" he said quietly. Harry nodded, but did not say anything. The other witches and wizards all gasped and began whispering behind their hands to each other. The tall man however looked at Remus.

"Who are you?" he demanded. Remus looked steadily back at him.

"Remus Lupin. I am Harry's minder." The man glared at him.

"Minder? He's Harry Potter, he doesn't need a minder! Who's going to try and attack him, apart from You-Know-Who?" Remus, not taking his eyes off the man for a second, gestured with his hand at the unconscious Death Eaters.

"Voldemort's followers also pose a threat to Harry; he is not a superhero. Evidently, he does need a minder. Now, we don't have time to argue amongst themselves in here. A house is on fire out there, which I believe is the Death Eater's work and which may mean there are more Death Eaters out there, which means this area needs to be sealed off, anti-Apparition wards and the like. Muggles also saw myself and Harry fighting the Death Eaters; a mass Memory Charm needs to be performed on this area." The man continued to glare at Remus.

"It is not up to you to issue orders for the Ministry of Magic," he growled, but nevertheless he turned around and began to speak to the other witches and wizards.

"Anthony, call in the MMC's and and tell them to Apparate to me right now. Doon, call in Nartisha's team and get them here as well. The rest of you, seal off this area, two miles in each direction." The witches and wizards all nodded straight away and ran out of the alley. The man turned back to Harry and Remus.

"I have already dispatched a team to the house you described. The Muggle firefighters are already there, and they have the blaze under control. The Mass Memory Charmers will be here soon, as will a team who can take these three in," he said, kicking the nearest Death Eater to him. He then started suddenly, as if he had remembered something important, and he turned back to Remus. "You say that you both fought the Death Eaters?" he said, glancing anxiously at Harry. Remus nodded.

The man looked grim, and he turned to look at Harry. "Then the Minister will be here soon as well."

Harry's stomach went cold. He had forgotten, in the heat of the moment, that he was underage and was not allowed to use magic outside of school. He had been using it all summer at Mrs Figg's, but that was because of the powerful charms around her house that prevented the Ministry from detecting it; there were no charms stopping detection in the middle of the street in Wisteria Walk, and Harry had little hope that Fudge would see sense and realize that he did not have any other choice; it was either defend himself, or be captured by Death Eaters.

"Harry." Harry turned to Remus, who was looking at him with a concerned expression. "This will all get sorted out. Fudge cannot possibly put charges against you over this." Harry nodded, trying to look braver than he felt. Remus squeezed his shoulder briefly and turned away, and began to talk quickly and quietly to the tall man.

Harry sat down on the alleyway floor and leant against the wall behind him, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself down. Remus is right, he said to himself, I only used magic out of self-defence, that's how I got out of it last summer as well, they can't expel me for this, they can't, they just can't.

He fought down the bile that was rising in his throat, and tried to forget it all. His stomach did a particularly violent churn as he did so, and Harry nearly threw up. He couldn't get expelled from Hogwarts, he just couldn't. His stomach churned again, and Harry felt like both crying and screaming in anger at the same time. He scrunched his eyes shut even harder, and tried to forget again.

He was distracted from his thoughts when he felt something land lightly in his lap, and opening his eyes, he saw a screech owl flying smoothly out of the alleyway away from him. Looking down, he saw a large parchment envelope with an important looking seal on it, that was richly decorated and had the letters MOM on it. Harry gulped.

Harry lifted his head and looked around. No-one had noticed him recieving the letter; Remus was talking to some serious-looking wizards in white robes about the streets surrounding Wisteria Walk, and the leader of what Harry assumed were the Aurors was now talking urgently to a new group of scarlet-robed witches and wizards who had just Apparated into the alley, something about moving the stunned Death Eaters to the Ministry of Magic. With shaking hands, Harry ripped open the envelope, pulled out the letter and began to read, his stomach churning horribly as he did so.

Dear Mr Potter,

We have recieved intelligence that tonight you were attacked by three magical wizard terrorists, who commonly go by the name of Death Eaters, and that you performed several spells and curses against them, in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of approximately nineteen Muggles, from the time of eight minutes past six to ten minutes past six.

It is understood to us that you were acting in self-defence, and we have thus accepted this as your reason for breaching both the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, and thus no further charges or action will be taken against you concerning this event.

However, in response to this event, the exceptional circumstances you are placed in, and discussions with the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the Ministry of Magic has decided that, with regards to your safety, you are exempted forthwith from the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. Your presence is required at the Ministry of Magic at 7 a.m tomorrow morning, to sign your name and show that you agree with this decision.

Please note, Mr Potter, that this exemption from the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery does not mean you are now legally of age in the wizarding world; all other underage laws and legislation still apply to you. Please note also that if you abuse this privilege, the Ministry of Magic will have no hesistation in placing you under the Decree again and expelling you immediately from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the magic you performed tonight.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerly,

Malfada Hopkirk

Improper Use of Magic Office

Ministry of Magic

Harry dropped the letter to the ground and breathed a loud sigh of relief, unable to contain it because of his high emotions. He couldn't believe it; he was not expelled, and he was allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts! Not just at Mrs Figg's, but anywhere! How the hell did this get past Fudge? Harry wondered, completely amazed. It was crazy, Harry thought; Fudge hated him, he thought that Harry was a lying, delusional headcase, how could this decision have been made with him as Minister of Magic?

But he didn't really care; all he knew was that he was going back to Hogwarts, and could do magic out of school without having to worry about the Ministry expelling him! Harry smiled, feeling like he was on top of the world.

"Harry? What's this?" Remus said above him. Harry looked up at him, unable to stop grinning, and handed Remus the letter. Remus shook his head. He looked very alarmed.

"No Harry, I haven't got time, just tell me quickly what it says, I have to get to Grimmauld Place in under the next three minutes for my Wolfsbane Potion." Harry's jaw dropped, all thoughts about the letter from the Ministry forgotten; he had forgotten that Remus had to take his Wolfsbane Potion at half past six. Harry shook his head.

"Look, it dosen't matter what it says, I'll tell you when you get back. You are coming back afterwards aren't you?" Harry said, not wanting to deal with all the Ministry wizards by himself, who were undoubtedly going to want to ask him questions about the battle with the Death Eaters. Remus nodded dismissively, as if it was a stupid thing to ask.

"Of course I am. But tell me now what the letter says, I want to know what's happening."

"I'm not going to get done for the magic I used against the Death Eaters, and I'm allowed to do magic outside of school now." Remus's mouth dropped, and he shook his head and smiled. He gripped Harry by the shoulder and said, "Harry, that's wonderful news! I knew they couldn't do anything with this, it was pure self-defence. Listen, I've got to go, stay here, I'll be back in five minutes, okay?" Harry nodded seriously, and promised he would. Remus looked fondly at him, and Apparated away.

Harry put his head in his hands and breathed deeply. The day was finally catching up with him, and he felt exhaustion slowly taking over his body. He watched as the Aurors binded the still-stunned Death Eaters bodies tightly and placed spells on them, and as the white-robed wizards spoke urgently together, about measurements and distances around Wisteria Walk and the surrounding area. He was glad that there they were all too busy at the moment to notice him; he didn't feel up to a group of witches and wizards gawping at him.

"Um, Mr Potter?"

Harry started, and looked up. A young, scarlet-robed witch was standing above him, looking down at him. She had shoulder length black hair, and dark brown eyes. Harry stood up, and saw a Level one Auror badge pinned on to her robes. She looked at him with a smile. Harry smiled uncertainly back.

"I just wanted to say, Mr Potter, thank you for telling the truth about You-Know-Who's return last year. For what it's worth, I believed you and Albus Dumbledore from the start." She held out her hand for Harry to shake, almost shyly, Harry thought. He shook it, and quickly let go. Her smile faltered.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you," she muttered, and turned to walk back to where her colleagues were still placing spells on the Death Eater's bodies. Harry felt an odd feeling rise inside of him, and he blurted out, "wait!"

The girl turned around, looking at Harry with a confused expression. She did not leave however.

"Look, I'm not very comfortable with these kind of situations," Harry said to his shoes. "You didn't bother me, it's just, you know, I'm not a hero," he mumbled. He looked up, expecting to see the girl laughing, but instead she was smiling softly at him.

"I never said you were," she said quietly, "I was just saying thank you for telling the truth. And I think you're more of a hero than you realise. You give people hope." She smiled at him again, and walked slowly back towards the other Aurors.

Harry watched her go, feeling the now-familiar feeling of responsibility weigh down heavily on his shoulders. But this time it was lessened slightly. He felt like he finally had an answer for the question he had been pondering since that night in June in Dumbledore's office; did he really want to fight Voldemort? It felt like he had more of a purpose now, for fighting and defeating Voldemort; to save people like her. For over a year, he had thought that everyone in the wizarding world had thought he was an attention-seeking show-off, when there had been people all along who had known that he was telling the truth, who had believed in him.

The girl had said that he gave people hope. He felt like that comment had just summed up the answer to the question he had been pondering, and what the prophecy really meant; he was the one that everyone and everything depended on, he was the one who would have to end the war, and kill Voldemort.

But, strange as it felt, when Harry thought of people like that young Auror, who said that he gave them hope, the weight of responsibility didn't feel as heavy as before, and he didn't feel as alone as he used to; people believed in him, he gave them hope.

And for Harry, that was enough.