Harry Potter and the Black Grimoire

Sooner rather than later, Harry got his wish and the first weekend back at Hogwarts was upon him. The atmosphere flowing through the halls and grounds was almost contagious and Harry couldn't help but put everything from the past few days behind him and relax with his friends.

It was a beautiful weekend, perfect for being outdoors. It was just the start of September, so the air was cool and crisp, the trees were full of color and hordes of birds could be seen flying overhead. Everyone in the castle could be seen outside for the better part of the day, including some of the teachers. The foursome sat by the lake most of the time, oftentimes accompanied by Sirius.

It was the best feeling Harry had ever had. Talking with his best friends, catching up with his Godfather and spending time with the girl he loved.

More and more, Harry noticed that they weren't the only ones. It seemed like most people in the castle now had a partner. Either things were changing or he had never noticed it before. Whatever the case was though, love seemed to be blooming throughout the castle. Harry even thought he saw Sirius with Professor Radford on a few occasions. He'd have to talk to him about that later.

Classes during that first week had been the best anybody had ever had. Classes went by smoothly and without incident. Everybody was enjoying their time in the classrooms and doing well on top of it. Even Neville seemed to be more comfortable in the learning environment. They had noticed he had gotten much better over the summer, most likely because he took advantage of the magic restriction being lifted. Now that Snape was not present, he could relax during Potions class. He hadn't even melted his first cauldron yet. He had usually melted one by this time.

Defense Against the Dark Arts class was proving to be very interesting as well. That Friday they had spent the class going over the different kinds of curses and hexes they would be learning. They all found out you could do some very harmful things to a person if they tried to attack you. Harry couldn't help but wish he had known some of them the previous year. They would have come in handy for his encounter with Voldemort.

Harry and Ron also chatted frequently about which spell they would most like to use on Malfoy when he got out of hand. Ron preferred the Curse of Darkness, which made the victim temporarily blind, while Harry would most like to use the Reverse Speech Spell, which prevented the victim from talking coherently since their speech all came out backwards. Consequently, this also prevented the person from using any spells. Unless, of course, they learned to speak backwards, which would cause the words to come out right.

In Divination, Harry, Ron and Maddie continued to be harassed by Sir Cadogen. They often asked other paintings if there was a different route up to the North Tower. He always found them though. With every class, Professor Trelawney became more and more fond of Maddie as well. She kept talking about how she could very well be a true Seer. Harry actually was quite grateful for this. That meant that Professor Trelawney would spend more time with Maddie and not have every second of class to predict his horrible and untimely death.

But at the moment, classes were the last thing Harry wanted to think about. He wanted to just be with his friends and enjoy the pleasures the castle and its grounds had to offer. In the back of his mind Harry knew that soon he would be seeing his environments in a new perspective as well. He had secretly chosen the animal that he wanted to change into when he started his Animagus training. He didn't tell any of his friends though because he wanted it to be a surprise.

The rest of the weekend seemed to fly by for Harry and his friends. All too soon it seemed, they had to start on their homework for the next day (even Hermione had put it off until Sunday). This was fine with Harry though because he had done what he wanted to do and enjoyed the entire weekend with his friends and girlfriend. He was also quite looking forward to the next day's special class.

Harry lay in bed that night thinking. For once in his life, things seemed to be as normal as they could be. Sure, he had just learned some details about his life that were staggering, but on the upside, now he knew. He also had the greatest friends a person could want to help you through situations like this. Not to mention the fact that he saw Sirius every day now and the prospect of never seeing the putrid Dursleys again. And to top it all off, he had just began a relationship with the most perfect person for him: his best friend. Harry knew in his heart that he and Hermione were meant for each other and their bond would hold fast for the years to come.

All in all, Harry couldn't ask for much else. He slept with a smile that night.

* * * *

"Well done, Neville," Sirius said.

It was Monday afternoon and Harry and his classmates were sitting in Potions Class. Sirius was teaching them how to prepare a draft of Embarrass-me-not potion, which made the drinker impervious to embarrassment. It was nearing the end of class and the students were all putting away their things while their creations bubbled in their cauldrons. Neville's potion had just turned a bright blue, the exact color the potion was supposed to look like. Sirius was walking up and down the rows seeing how the students' potions came out.

"Very good Mrs. Parkinson."

"Excellent Dean."

"Draco, yours looks like it could have used a tad bit more Betony."

"Draco, yours looks like it could have used a tad bit more Betony," Malfoy mocked as Sirius walked up the aisle and past his table.

Sirius didn't hear the comment but Harry and Ron did. It was the first time either of them had heard him make any kind of sarcastic comment thus far so they both silently decided to let it slide.

They looked away from Malfoy and went back to putting their things away. Sirius continued strolling up and down the aisles.

At that moment Neville tripped on the dungeon floor and knocked over his cauldron. The steaming blue liquid flowed over the cold bricks in the floor towards the back of the room. Nobody had noticed it.

Suddenly the back row of Slytherins shouted and jumped up. The potion had crept its way over their feet and burned through their shoes.

"Neville you prat! You ruined my new dragon-leather shoes! What the hell is wrong with you?" Malfoy shouted.

"I--I'm sorry. I didn't mean...."

"Of course you didn't you giant buffoon, just like the hundreds of other times you've done things like this."

"Now, now Draco," Sirius said, hearing the commotion and coming over. "You heard Neville. It was just an accident. You don't have to jump down his throat for it."

"It figures that you would take the squib's side. You don't even belong here. You're a horrible teacher and an even worse head-of-house."

Harry and Ron stood up, ready to defend Sirius and any other Gryffindor that needed it.

"Oh! Potter! Ready to stand up for your murderer of a Godfather, eh?"

"He didn't murder anyone Malfoy, and you know that."

"Don't believe everything people tell you Potter. Even if he didn't murder all those people, he's still got killer written all over him. You heard what almost happened with Professor Snape. And he was in on it."

"But it didn't happen Malfoy," Ron said menacingly. "But if you don't close that gigantic mouth of yours, something bad might happen."

"Ok, gentlemen, there is no need to argue anymore. This was just a little accident, we'll just clean it up and --"

"Oh sod off you poor excuse for a teacher."

Harry and Ron jumped over their tables and raced to the back of the room towards Malfoy. He stood there with a shocked expression on his face as they reached him. He was about to throw the first punch as Sirius yelled 'Prehendo' and the three fighters were immediately held back from each other.

"I said that that is enough! This is no reason to fight. You will all calm down and go back to your tables."

Nobody moved. All three boys were red from anger and seething with hatred for each other.

"Now!"

Harry and Ron obediently went back to their tables while Malfoy sat down in his chair, careful to put his feet up, away from the still bubbling potion.

"Now, as I said. This is no reason to fight. Draco, I know I'm not who you want to see in here, but there is nothing we can do about it. If you knew Professor Snape's circumstances then maybe you would understand better. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that. You're just going to have to trust that there really is no choice in my being here. It's also no reason for you to get upset and take it out on your other classmates. And me. So sit down and try your best to get through it. I know you don't like me, but you're gonna have to get used to me. There's nothing you can do about it."

Every last one of the Slytherins looked to be almost foaming at the mouth. Malfoy especially. It seemed from the look on his face that he didn't trust in what Sirius said and he didn't want to 'deal with it.'

"I won't trust any teacher who once thought it would be funny to kill someone."

"Draco, you have no idea what went on in that instance, so you really have nothing to say about it. Until you get your facts straight about me you can keep your mouth shut."

"You can't tell me to keep my mouth shut!"

"I believe I just did Draco. And as I am your teacher, I believe I have every right to. Now finish putting your things away while I clean up the mess. And ten points will be taken from both your houses for that display."

Harry and Ron looked away from Sirius and finished putting their things away. They didn't like the fact that they got points taken away, but they knew they had deserved it. They were just defending Sirius, but Harry knew he really didn't need anyone to defend him.

The bell rang at that moment and the two houses made their way out into the halls and to their next classes. Harry could tell Malfoy was still fuming because he stomped off, his pale cheeks still flushed with color. He was no doubt going to write a letter to his father.

"Did you see the look on his face after Sirius told him off Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. I feel bad about disrupting Sirius's class, but that was worth seeing."

"Really though, you two shouldn't have done that. It makes Sirius look bad if the other teachers find out there was a fight in his class," Hermione said.

"And you could've gotten hurt!" Madeline added.

"Well you're both right, but I still say it would have been worth getting hurt if Malfoy got what he deserved," Harry said.

"He must really have been trying hard to hold all of that back to blow up like that. I guess the pressure just got to him and he had to snap."

"Yeah." Hermione said. "I still wonder why he hasn't made more trouble than he has already. I figured he'd be worse than usual with You-know-who back."

"Yeah, me too," Harry added. "It's strange. I want to find out why he was holding back."

"Probably because his father's a Death Eater and they don't want to make their hatred toward you obvious. He's probably just protecting his family's name."

"Yeah Ron, that's probably it."

"I wish I could've been here the past years to go through all of this with you guys. I feel like I've missed a lot," Maddie said.

"Don't worry Maddie. It's probably better anyway. You haven't had to put up with Malfoy and everything," Hermione said.

"Plus I'm sure there will be much more to come," Ron said, smiling. "When your friends with the famous Harry Potter, you have to expect these things!"

* * * *

Harry left the Gryffindor Common room a little before nine that night and made his way up to the east tower. He was again hoping a little to run into Filch and give him his note from McGonagall. He knew Filch would hate to have to let a student roam the halls after dark.

He reached the tower without incident however, and began to make his way to the top. He opened the door to find Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore chatting.

"Ahh, Harry! Good, you made it. Professor McGonagall was just asking me what animal I thought you would choose."

"Well I think I have made my choice."

"Well out with it Potter!"

"Ok, Ok!" Harry said, laughing at the look of anticipation on her face. "I think I've decided to become a phoenix."

Dumbledore's face lit up and Professor McGonagall smiled broadly.

"An excellent choice Harry," Dumbledore said.

"I agree Potter. The phoenix fits you perfectly. Strong, brave, incredibly loyal. Yes indeed. A very good choice."

"Thanks professors," Harry said, blushing at the praise.

"Well then, Harry. I'm going to go and attend to some business that I have and leave you two to get started. Have fun!"

Dumbledore patted Harry on the back as he turned and went out the door, leaving him standing alone in front of Professor McGonagall's desk.

"Right then. Let's begin," Professor McGonagall said, getting up from her desk. "Now Potter, the first thing you have to master before you can start transforming is wandless magic. We don't use our wands when transforming, so you'll have to learn how to do things without it. I know you've had some experience with this sort of thing already. I'm sure your aunt Marge knows as well."

Harry laughed and remembered that experience. It was scary at the time, but now he laughed whenever he pictured her inflating like a balloon.

"So for starters, I want you to practice on that apple on the table over there," she said, pointing behind her. "All I want you to do is try and move it. The goal is to summon it to you, but I don't think you will be able to do that on the first try. Now, all you have to do is think about that you want to happen and concentrate with all your power. Try and take all your magical energy and focus into moving that apple. Go ahead now."

Harry did as he was told and faced the table. He put out his hand to catch it and focused his eyes on the red apple across the room. He forced all other thoughts out of his mind and concentrated solely on the apple. He pictured it in his mind flying off the table and landing in his hand. The apple rolled a little. He stared more intently upon the piece of fruit and focused. The apple flew about halfway across the room and landed a few feet in front of him.

"Very good Potter! That's a lot better than I expected. It looks like this might be quite a short and easy process."

Harry was happy that he had moved the apple but was disappointed that it hadn't come all the way to him. He would have to practice it more.

Professor McGonagall urged him to keep trying and try Harry did. By the end of the hour he was concentrating on the apple like he had never done before. He was able to make it soar directly into his outstretched hand. McGonagall was beaming at how quickly Harry had taken to it.

"That's excellent Potter. You've really gotten the hang of it in just a very short time. You weren't supposed to be able to do this until the next few lessons, but I guess your more ahead of the game then I thought."

Harry was extremely happy with himself.

"Well, Potter, this is the end of today's lesson, so keep practicing whenever you can and come back here at the same time Thursday night. We'll have lessons on Thursdays and Mondays."

"I'll do that Professor. Thanks."

"It's my pleasure. And Potter...."

"Yes?" he said turning around.

"With the rate that you're going, you should be able to transform in a matter of weeks. Truly, I've never taught anyone to become an Animagus and had them do what you just did. I am very impressed."

"Thank you Professor. Good night."

"Good night, Harry."

Harry turned and made his way back down to the Gryffindor common room.