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SIYE Time:18:30 on 28th March 2024
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Paintball Wizard
By cackling stump

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance, Tragedy
Warnings: Death
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 319
Summary: The life of a typical American teenager (okay, maybe not so typical) is shaken by tragedy. Then he discovers a new world awaiting him, filled with new people, new struggles, and, perhaps, new love.
Hitcount: Story Total: 256024; Chapter Total: 5727
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year so far.

Thanks again to Arnel for her beta work. I appreciate her honesty when something I write is just not working.




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Fall-Out

The next few days were big news days in the Wizarding world. First, The Quibbler printed Harry’s interview with Mr Lovegood. Harry was surprised at how accurate the story was; apparently, Mr Lovegood remembered Harry’s account better than he expected. The story caused much debate, because, while some people believed Harry’s side of the story, others couldn’t believe anything that was printed in The Quibbler. Some even thought that Harry had made up the story to protect his name. The hate mail that Harry was receiving did slow down, but didn’t totally stop.

The next day, Remus stayed for dinner after his lessons with Harry and Ginny. Mrs Weasley had also invited Remus’ fiancée, Tonks. Everyone was a little surprised when Tonks greeted Harry with a hug and said, “Wotcher, Harry. Long time, no see,” before they explained how they knew each other.

After dinner, they were all sitting in the sitting room talking, when Harry doubled over in pain, grabbing his scar. His vision blurred and suddenly he was on a hill outside a village, observing from a distance. At first, he only saw several houses up in flames, and a few almost totally destroyed. As he looked closer, he saw many wizards in black robes and masks shooting curses throughout the village. He walked down the hill, entering the village, assessing the carnage. As he walked the alleys of the small village, he noticed people of all ages lying on the ground, some burned, others missing limbs or covered in blood, and others that looked unharmed other than the glazed look in their open eyes. As he walked, he let out a cold, high laugh, enjoying what his followers had done. He heard screams and sobbing in the distance, but then the scene became unnaturally quiet for a few moments.

From the back of his mind, Harry heard a voice, exhorting him, “Build that wall, Harry. Block him out.” He felt the pain in his forehead start to diminish and felt like he was in a dream-like state of being in two places at once. He could sense part of his body lying on the floor of the Burrow, a gentle hand caressing his scar, while the rest of him was in the village, relishing the destruction that he and the other Death Eaters had wrought. As he concentrated on listening to the encouraging voice, his view of the village gradually became more cloudy and blurry. Before it totally faded, he pointed his wand skyward and cackled before shouting, “MORSMORDRE! ” He watched as the spell flew into the air like a firework and exploded, the smoke transforming into a skull. A few seconds later, a giant snake appeared out of the mouth of the skull and he let out another evil laugh. Then his view of this macabre image faded, and the next moment he was back in the Burrow, his head in Ginny’s lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. He opened his eyes and saw Ginny’s very concerned face.

“Are you alright, Harry?” she asked. “Mum brought you a bowl in case you get sick.”

Harry closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his stomach. “For now, I’m okay, but keep it close by if I get worse.” He tried to sit up, but instantly became dizzy and more nauseous, so he laid his head back in Ginny’s lap.

“Take your time,” she urged. “You can stay here all night if you want,” she said with a mischievous grin.

“I may just do that,” he replied with a sigh as he snuggled closer and put his arms around her waist.

“Ahem.” Harry looked around and realized that they were not alone, but were surrounded by the rest of the Weasleys, as well as Remus and Tonks. His face heated as he sat up slowly and leaned against Ginny’s shoulder.

“Remus explained to the family about your connection with Tom while you were ‘gone,’ Harry,” said Ginny. “Did you see anything this time?”

Harry closed his eyes again, trying to recall the images he had seen. “Voldemort and his Death Eaters were attacking a Muggle village. I saw several houses destroyed.” He hesitated again. “I don’t know how many dead people, but there were too many to count.” As he recalled the mutilated bodies, he turned, grabbed the bowl and vomited.

Ginny gently rubbed his back as eventually his heaving ceased. He sat upright, took a damp flannel that Mrs Weasley offered, and wiped his mouth. “Sorry about that. The worst of these visions cause me to get sick.”

“Don't you worry about that dear," said Mrs Weasley as she Vanished the sick. "It’s late. Let’s get you into bed. Ron, help Harry up the stairs to your room.”

“I need to tell Professor Dumbledore what I saw,” said Harry.

“We’ll take care of that for you,” said Mr Weasley. “You just go to bed and get some sleep.”

“Okay,” Harry replied, resignedly. A few minutes later, Harry was in his pyjamas and in bed, Ginny kneeling by his side, giving him a chaste kiss before leaving.

“Ginny, thanks for what you were doing during my vision. I heard you encouraging me and I was eventually able to block him out.”

“I’m glad I could help. Get some sleep, Harry, and we can talk about it more in the morning.” She stood upright and walked toward the door. “Good night, Harry.”

“Good night, Ginny. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She blew him a kiss and quietly shut the door.

**********

The front page of The Daily Prophet the next day brought two more big news stories.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,

Death Eaters Attack Village

Many Muggles Killed

< blockquote>Last night, the Muggle village of Slaidburn in Lancashire County was viciously attacked by You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, perhaps signalling the beginning of another reign of terror. Aurors report that dozens of buildings were burned to the ground. Early accounts also state that at least 28 Muggles were murdered, many of them victims of the Killing Curse. The Dark Mark was also sighted when Aurors arrived. Obliviators were reported to be working through the night, altering memories of the Muggles who survived the attack.

The attack was not the only major story on the front page of The Daily Prophet that morning, however. Next to the story on the Death Eater attack, was another headline.

Black Escapes from Azkaban

Aurors Baffled

Mass murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban Wizarding Prison yesterday, bewildering authorities. When Aurors were making their evening rounds, his cell was found empty. One Ministry official, who asked to be kept anonymous, stated, “No one has any bloody idea how he did it, since it’s never been done before.” Black, a known Death Eater who killed thirteen people in 1981, also revealed the whereabouts of James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who, a heinous act of betrayal that led to their deaths. It was also thought, until a few days ago, that the Potters’ son, Harry, died in the explosion that levelled the Potters’ cottage. However, a few days ago, that fact was proven false.

Black is to be considered extremely dangerous, and, if encountered, should not be approached. Instead, citizens are encouraged to contact the authorities immediately.

The article continued, recounting Black’s crimes in more depth. At the end of the article, the reporter questioned whether the two events were connected. “Perhaps He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named freed his most loyal follower and then celebrated by starting another reign of terror.

Over the next few days, a dark pall spread over the Wizarding world. The Daily Prophet reported that the streets of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade were almost deserted and very few people ventured away from their homes in fear of more attacks.

These two stories had major impact on the people gathered at the Burrow, too. Harry was infuriated that the man who had betrayed his parents was free and wanted to go searching for him. Between the efforts of Ginny, Hermione, and Remus, they were able to calm him down and convince him that no good could come of that action. Remus stressed to Harry that he needed to be very careful; Sirius was a very dangerous wizard and was likely to come after him. Remus, Molly, and Arthur were quiet, remembering how the Death Eater attacks had started during the Wizarding war the last time Voldemort was on the loose. The younger wizards and witches weren’t sure what to make of all this, but felt powerless to do anything.

Remus continued the Occlumency and Apparating training with Harry and, in the case of Ginny, Apparation. They played less Quidditch, as Molly didn’t want them outside any more than was necessary, so much progress was made on both skills. Harry had told Remus that he had eventually been able to block out Voldemort the night of the attack, so Remus wanted to explore if Ginny and their bond might have been helping. First, he asked Harry to try to block Remus’ attacks alone, and then he had Harry attempt to block him while holding Ginny’s hand. They found that Harry’s Occlumency was much stronger with Ginny’s assistance. “It makes sense since all of your magic is stronger when you are in contact with her,” commented Remus. He then had Ginny leave the room, and just have Harry focus on his feelings for Ginny while he repelled Remus’ Legilimency; they found that this was almost as effective. As Harry worked on this technique, Remus was not able to break in to his mind at all, encouraging both of them.

New Year’s Eve was a solemn occasion since no one felt much like celebrating with all of the recent events. The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione did stay awake until midnight, but, after wishing each other a happy New Year, they were all in bed within fifteen minutes.

**********

Two days later, it was time for the teens to return to Hogwarts. At King’s Cross Station, the platform was more crowded than usual, as there was a large contingent of Aurors to protect the students, and more family members saying good-bye to their children than usual, due to the uncertainty of the future. As Harry arrived on the platform, he noticed a lot of stares and whispers from various people. He wasn’t surprised by some of the reactions, but what did stun him was the cold shoulder some of the people he knew well, like the members of the DA, gave him. At first, he was a little hurt by their treatment, but, as he thought about it, he realized that they probably felt betrayed by the subterfuge and lies that he had perpetrated against them. Aware of this, when Neville opened the door to their compartment, Harry stopped Neville before he could leave.

“Neville, wait,” Harry said as he grabbed Neville’s sleeve. Seeing Neville’s obvious look of distrust, he sighed. “I just wanted to apologize to keeping my secret from you. It’s not that I didn’t trust you. Professor Dumbledore didn’t want anyone to know my true identity to keep me safe from Voldemort. I didn’t even tell Ron or Hermione until after Christmas. I really am sorry, but I understand if you are upset. I just hope we can put this behind us,” he pleaded.

“I don’t know, Pelton, or, I guess I should say, Potter. This is going to take some time to get used to.” Neville turned and closed the door to the compartment.

Harry sat back down next to Ginny, putting his head on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Harry. He’ll come around,” she said. “Neville really values trust and loyalty. Many people think he would have been better suited as a Hufflepuff than a Gryffindor. But I guarantee that he’ll eventually forgive you; it just may take some time.

The trip back to Hogwarts was a quiet one; no one felt much like playing chess or Exploding Snap. Occasionally, someone would ask a question about the holiday, but once the question was answered, the conversation lagged. At one point, Ron started squirming and pulled out Scabbers, eliciting a hiss from Crookshanks, Hermione’s cat.

“Why do you have Scabbers with you, Ron? You haven’t brought him since you received your own owl when you made prefect fifth year,” asked Luna.

“He escaped over Christmas and came back with a wounded foot, and ever since, he has been really clingy, making it difficult for me to put him down sometimes,” Ron replied. “When I was packing up, he started squeaking and quivering so much that the only thing I could do to calm him down was to agree to bring him to school with me. Ginny is officially bringing our owl Pig this term, since we share him anyway; this way I won’t get in trouble for more than one pet.”

The quiet was disturbed by the sudden noise of the compartment door sliding open, revealing Draco and his cronies. “Well, Pelton, or should I say, Potter, you’ve attempted to make yourself quite famous while we were away from school. Do you really expect us to believe that story about you battling the Dark Lord and surviving? If you really were in a duel with him you wouldn’t be here.” Crabbe and Goyle nodded in agreement and laughed along with Malfoy.

At this moment, the train started to slow. Hermione said, “This is odd; we’re not even halfway to school yet.” She and Ron arose, pushed past the three Slytherins, and went to find out what was happening, since they were Head Girl and Boy. Draco complained about them being rude and then continued to insult Harry. He pointed at Harry’s forehead and laughed again. “At least as Pelton, you didn’t have that ugly scar on your forehead. Hey, I’ve a new name for you, Potter: Scarhead!”

“Real mature, Malfoy. Are you back in primary school, with this name calling?” responded Neville, from the open compartment doorway.

“So you need your friends to fight your battles for you, eh, Scarhead? Who is going to come to your defence next, your girlfriend or Loony Lovegood, here?” Malfoy said, but it seemed as if his bravado was diminishing.

Harry was getting angrier by the second, but Ginny squeezed his hand whispered to him to keep calm. Hermione and Ron then came back, announcing to everyone that they should all get in a compartment and close the doors. Draco and his companions started to go back toward their car, but Ron stopped them. “Your compartment is at the front of the train and is too far. Guess you’ll just have to share this one with us until this is all over.” Draco started to protest, but Ron just shoved him into a seat and said, “Cool off, Malfoy. It should just be a few minutes.” Crabbe and Goyle started to move toward Ron, but Malfoy indicated with a nod that they should just sit down.

The compartment suddenly became much colder. The windows fogged up and everyone looked around to see what was going on. The lights suddenly went out and wands came out to light the small area, but for some reason Lumos did not work. The door to the compartment opened slowly, prompting everyone to be ready to attack with their wands, but they were all overcome with an abrupt sadness and dread. Before he had a chance to react, Harry felt weakened to the point that he collapsed. He realized that he must have lost consciousness as he kept seeing the scenes of the deaths of his two sets of parents playing in front of his eyes. The two scenes just kept replaying endlessly until he felt his shoulder being shaken. He heard laughter as he returned to consciousness, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle almost in tears from laughing so hard. “Look at Scarface; he sees a Dementor and he just curls up in a ball and cries, ‘No, stop! No, stop!’ What a coward!” he heard Draco saying. As he sat up, he saw the trio leaving, still laughing and making fun of Harry.

“What happened?” asked Harry, looking around the compartment.

“Here, have some chocolate; it will help,” said Hermione. “That was a Dementor. They are dark beings that are used to guard Azkaban. Apparently, they are searching for Sirius Black on the train.” After Harry had taken a few nibbles of chocolate, Hermione asked, “Feeling any better?”

“Yeah, you’re right, it does help. Where did this Dementor go?”

“Hermione chased it away with a spell that we haven’t learned yet, of course,” said Ron. “What was the spell, Hermione?”

“It was a Patronus. I was looking over the textbook for the next term over break and we are scheduled to learn this, so I practiced a little before Christmas.”

“That’s my Hermione; always ahead of the rest of us,” said Ron, putting his arm around her. “That was wicked!”

“Thanks, Ron, but I’m sure any of you could do it with a little practice.”

“That’s not what I heard,” said Neville. “The Patronus Charm may be covered in seventh year Defence, but many people are not able to do more than a mist. Yours was corporal, and that is rare, Hermione.”

“A corporal Patronus? What does that mean?” asked Harry.

Hermione went into teaching mode. “The Patronus Charm can make a mist, which helps keep the Dementors back a little, but to truly repel a Dementor, you need to make a Patronus that is in the form of an animal. Then the animal fights off the Dementor.”

“What was yours, Hermione?” asked Harry.

“An otter.”

“Did anyone else black out like me?” asked Harry.

“Just Ginny and you. Were you totally unconscious or were you aware of what was going on?” asked Ron.

“I kept seeing the death of both sets of my parents. I had no idea what was happening around me. How about you, Gin?”

Ginny, who looked more pale than normal and was also eating chocolate, said, “I was back in the Chamber and Tom was calling me a foolish little girl.” As she said this, she snuggled into Harry, who put his arm around her protectively.

“Looks like something to cover in the DA, Ron,” suggested Neville.

“That’s a good idea; we’ll talk to Professor Lupin about that at our next meeting.”

When they arrived at school and were seated at their house tables for dinner, the students learned that the Dementors would be placed at the gates of the school for their protection, so it was very important for the students to not leave the grounds. As the meal progressed, more stares and whispers were directed in Harry’s direction. The Slytherin table would periodically break out in laughter, with various people, mostly Malfoy’s friends, pointing in his direction. One time, he looked over to see Malfoy re-enacting the events on the train, holding up his arms in front of his face, and screaming in a high-pitched voice, “No, stop!” He then swooned, falling to the floor. Of course, the table erupted in raucous laughter as Malfoy arose and returned to his seat. Watching this, Harry became increasingly angry at the teasing, and Ginny again put her hand on his. Suddenly he felt a sensation of peace come over him.

His eyes widened as he looked at her. “Did you do that?” he whispered. “I felt this wave of calm hit me as you were touching my hand.”

She smiled. “I’m glad it worked. You looked like you were ready to get up and hex Malfoy, and we can’t have you receiving a detention on your first day back, can we?”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I would do without you, Ginny.”

“Neither do I, so let’s not find out,” she replied.

That night, as he was lying in bed, the images that the Dementor had caused prevented him from falling asleep. After tossing and turning a while, he gave in and sat up, pulling out some parchment and a quill. To rid his mind of the bad memories, Harry decided to write to the Roberts family and focus on the happy parts of his holiday.

January 3rd, 1998

Dear Mrs Roberts,

I hope you had a Merry Christmas with your family. I want to thank you so much for my gift. I took your advice and, as I hung the ornaments on the Weasleys’ tree, I told the significance of each one. In addition, periodically through the holiday, I would share our family traditions and contrast them with the way Christmas and New Year’s are celebrated here in England. Mr Weasley in particular was very interested in our way of doing things. One of his hobbies is learning about other cultures. While I was sceptical at first about your suggestion, it really did help. I was able to focus on the happy memories instead of dwelling on what I was missing.

Being with Ginny and her family helped also. They really took me in and treated me as one of the family. Mrs Weasley even knitted me a sweater, just like she does every year for each member of her family. You can imagine how that made me feel accepted, considering that Mom did the same thing for us.

As you wrote, yes, I am very smitten (to use your word) with Ginny. As requested, I have included a picture of the two of us. (Harry had asked Hermione to take a Muggle picture of the couple.)

Tell everyone I said hi and to wish them a Happy New Year!

Brook

**********

The next day, Defence class started the morning, much to everyone’s dismay. As they waited for Snape to arrive, they whispered back and forth, wondering if they would cover the Patronus Charm. When the door slammed open and Snape strode in, his cape flowing behind him as usual, he barked, “Silence!” He walked to the front of the class and then, as he looked out at his class, Snape’s eyes caught Harry’s. The professor’s eyes widened for a quick moment as if he was shocked, but his features quickly returned to normal. He walked over to Harry’s desk and said, “Well, if it isn’t our new celebrity, Harry Potter. I now understand why you struggle so much in this class; just like your mediocre father. He would skate by and use his attempts at charm to sweet-talk the professors. He was carried by his friends or he never would have passed any of his NEWTs.” He pointed his finger in Harry’s face and added, “I expect you to work much harder than he ever did, Potter, or I will remove you from my class!” Harry controlled his anger, since he was actually one of the better students, although Snape never acknowledged the fact.

Snape turned and walked back to the front of the class. “Today, because of our new visitors,” he said, gesturing toward the gates that could be seen in the distance through the windows, “we are going to cover the Patronus Charm. This spell can be used to fight off Dementors and Lethifolds, as well as sending messages. Most of you will probably just be able to make a mist, but some may be able to form a corporal Patronus that takes the form of an animal. The incantation is Expecto Patronum. Go ahead and try, but I don’t expect any of you to have any success, since you are such poor students on the whole.”

Everyone struggled to get more than just a mist to come out of their wands, even Hermione, who already could create a Patronus. She eventually was able to make the mist resemble an animal, but nothing like what she had done on the train. Every time Harry tried, Snape seemed to be behind him and as soon as he said the incantation, Snape would say something discouraging, like “I knew you couldn’t do it,” or “Just like your father, a weak wizard.”

As they were leaving the Defence classroom, Hermione leaned in and whispered to Harry and Ron, “He wasn’t teaching it right; he didn’t mention anything about thinking a happy thought. Ron, it looks like we are going to have to cover this in DA.” Ron nodded and the couple discussed this until they reached their next class.

**********

On the way to lunch that day, Harry noticed Lydia walking by herself in the corridor, her head down and shoulders slumped over. He caught up to her, tapped her on the shoulder, and, when she turned, asked, “So, Forest, when are you going to show me how well you fly on your new broom?”

Lydia looked up slowly, as if coming out of a fog, and stared at Harry as if she didn’t know who he was. “What?” was her hesitant answer.

Harry furrowed his brow. “Is something wrong, Lydia?”

“What business of that is yours? I don’t even know who you are,” she snapped back at him.

Harry’s mouth gaped open and then a light bulb of realization went off in his head. “Lydia, it’s me, Brook.” He reached into his rucksack, pulled out his ring, and put it on. “See?”

With obvious confusion on her face, she said, “I don’t understand.”

“You didn’t see any Wizarding news over the holiday, did you?”

“No, I’ve been a little preoccupied,” she said quietly.

“Let’s go into this classroom so we can talk,” Brook said as he pulled her into an unoccupied room. When they had sat, Brook explained what had happened on Christmas night and then how his true identity had been revealed by The Daily Prophet two days later. “That’s why I wore this ring,” he said as he took it off. “Dumbledore wanted to keep my existence a secret as long as possible.”

The gears were turning in Lydia’s head as she replied pensively. “So, you’re Harry Potter, the Harry Potter, the boy in the bedtime stories my Gran told me?”

Brook felt his face warm. “Yeah, I guess so. That fact is still hard to deal with. But I’m still just Brook, too. I’m the same person I was last term, just with a different name and face.”

“That explains why I heard the other girls in my compartment nattering on about Harry Potter on the train.”

“So, I know how your Christmas was,” said Brook. “How about the rest of the holiday? Did you have a good time with your family?”

Lydia’s eyes filled with tears as she began to cry. It was Brook’s turn to be confused. “Lydia, what’s wrong? Did something happen at home?”

“Brook, I live in Slaidburn.”

“Huh?” Then it hit him. Slaidburn was the village that was massacred by the Death Eaters! “Oh, Lydia, I’m so sorry.” He met Lydia’s gaze with tears of his own and held out his arms. She practically leapt into his lap, sobbing uncontrollably.

They sat like that for several minutes as Harry tried to comfort her. In between sobs, he was able to make out that her parents and both sets of grandparents had been killed.

Eventually, she had cried herself out. She arose from his lap and sat back down in her chair. As she noticed his clothes, she said, “I’m sorry, Brook, I’ve left a mess all over your robes.”

Harry chuckled. “You have nothing to be sorry about. My robes are always available as a handkerchief if needed.” He took out his wand and said, “Tergeo” and the remnants of Lydia’s crying disappeared. “Do you want to talk about what happened? I understand if you don’t, but know that I’m here when you need me.”

“I appreciate that, Brook, but I don’t really want to talk, or even think, about it yet. It’s still so fresh,” she sniffed.

“I understand,” he said, patting her hand. “You know that I lost my parents last summer, so, while I may not know exactly how you feel, I want to be here for you. Whatever I can do to help, just ask.”

Lydia nodded and said, “Thanks, Brook. I will take you up on that.” She looked up at the clock on the wall and stood up suddenly. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I made you miss lunch! It’s almost over.”

Harry chuckled. “That’s okay. Let’s see if Ron left us anything.” He stood up and put his arm around her. “Ready?”

She took a deep breath and stood up as straight as she could before nodding. “Yes, let’s go.”

They chatted about morning classes as they walked to the Great Hall. When they entered the room, Ginny spotted them, jumped up from her seat, and ran to Harry, giving him a hug. “Harry, are you alright?”

Harry chuckled and said, “I’m fine.” He turned to Lydia and said, “Why don’t you see if you can grab some fruit or something that you can eat on the way to your next class.”

“Okay. Thanks again for listening to me, Brook.”

“Anytime. And I mean that. Have a good afternoon.” He turned back to Ginny as Lydia walked toward the Gryffindor table. Ginny’s face showed her confusion.

“Harry, what was wrong? During lunch, I had this sense of overwhelming sadness, so much that I couldn’t even eat. What happened in class this morning?”

“Nothing happened in class.” His shoulders slumped. “I ran into Lydia on the way to lunch and asked how her holiday was. She broke down crying. Her family was killed in the massacre at Slaidburn.”

Ginny gasped. “Oh, that poor girl. How is she coping?”

“Probably as well as can be expected. Can you help me keep an eye on her? I want to help her through this as much as I can,” asked Harry.

“Of course; we’ll both help her. I’m sure a female shoulder to cry on might be helpful as well.”

“Thanks. Now, let’s see if I can grab something to eat quickly before Charms,” he said as he walked quickly to the table.

**********

The next day, Remus was checking on Harry’s Occlumency. Harry had been improving steadily, especially since he realized that if he thought about Ginny his defences were stronger. “Excellent, Harry. You are able to build an almost impenetrable wall. Next, I want you to try something else. Even the strongest walls can eventually start to crumble when they are being battered with Legilimency. It is always good to have a backup method in case your first block starts to weaken. This time, instead of picturing a wall, I want you to picture a mirror that will reflect back my attempts at entering your mind. Ready?” At Harry’s nod, he cast Legilimens, and tried to enter Harry’s mind. After a few attempts, Harry was able to successfully cause Remus’ attempts to bounce right back at him. Harry was a little shocked when he saw a glimpse of the backside of a nude Tonks getting out of bed and walking across the room before it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Remus reddened, explaining, “One difference between using a mirror from a stone wall is that is sometimes will reflect the spell back on the caster and you will be able to see what they were thinking about shortly before the spell was cast.”

“Thinking about your morning, then?” teased Harry.

Remus’ cheeks turned a little pink. “Yes, I was, but let’s not tell Tonks what you saw.”

“If you don’t tell Ginny, I won’t tell Tonks.”

“Anyway, you managed that skill just fine. What else do you want to work on today?”

“I do have an idea, but first, I have a question about my father. Professor Snape kept going on about him in class yesterday, saying he was a mediocre wizard who skated by on charm. How did Snape know my father?”

“Snape was actually in our year at Hogwarts, but he was in Slytherin, which probably doesn’t surprise you.”

Harry shook his head. Remus continued. “When we first came to school, he was actually good friends with your mother, but we couldn’t stand him, starting from our first train ride. James and Sirius were not very nice, making fun of his clothes, and his hair, and calling him ‘Snivellus’ instead of Severus. They actually bullied him quite a bit.”

Harry’s eyes bulged a little. Remus noticed and reassured, “I told you that your dad was immature, so don’t be so astonished. He grew up eventually.”

“Things became even worse when James started trying to convince your mum to go out with him and Snape tried to convince her not to,” said Remus. “One time, after we had taken one of our OWLs, James performed Levicorpus on Snape in front of many of the students in our year, turning him upside down and allowing his robes to fall and exposing his underwear. Your mother came to his defence, but Snape was so angry he called her a Mudblood and stormed off. Lily and Severus never were friends again after that. So, I am not surprised that Snape would say bad things about your father, although class is not the appropriate time.”

Harry absorbed that information for a few seconds. “That explains a lot; at times I felt like he truly hated me. I guess it doesn’t help that I look just like my dad.”

“Back to our lesson. How about working on the Patronus Charm?” asked Harry. Embarrassed, he added, “I know we’re going to work on it at tonight’s DA meeting, but I had a … let’s say, a strong reaction to the Dementors on the train, and I don’t want to make a fool of myself again.” His face felt like it was on fire as he recalled the trip back to Hogwarts.

“Yes, I heard about that. We can try, but don’t be surprised if you don’t have much success at first. It is a very challenging spell. What do you know about conjuring a Patronus?”

“I know the incantation, Expecto Patronum. Hermione also mentioned that you need to think a happy thought to make it work. Like what?”

“Let’s start with thinking of a fond memory of your parents, maybe a birthday or something you did together.”

Harry thought about the fun he had learning to fly with his dad and said, “Expecto Patronum.” At first, a mist came out of his wand, but it soon started to form into a vague four-legged animal shape. After a few more attempts, Harry was starting to get frustrated.

“May I make another suggestion?” asked Remus. “How about Ginny?” With a twinkle in his eye, “Any happy memories with her? Your first kiss, perhaps?”

Harry did as recommended, remembering when he had told her his secret, and the Patronus took on a more definable shape. “Brilliant, Harry! A horse!” exclaimed Remus. The horse ran around the room, its eyes searching wildly about. It shook its head violently and Harry could imagine it snorting, if a Patronus made noises. It then rose up on its hind legs and kicked at the air before circling the room again. After a few circuits of the room, seeming not to find what it was searching for, it faded into nothingness.

“That was an excellent first effort,” said Remus, “but try again, this time attempting to control it more so we can study it more easily.”

Harry took a deep breath, focusing again on the events in the trophy room, and cast the spell once again. As the horse started to run around the room again, Harry held his arms out and said the first thing that came to his mind. “Easy, boy. Come on, settle down.” The horse Patronus whirled its head around and looked at Harry. It slowly approached Harry, pawing at the ground and tossing its head as if whinnying. “That’s it; nothing here is going to hurt you,” he said in a calming tone as he and Remus observed the beautiful creature. Harry reached out to touch the horse’s neck to pet it and give it further reassurance. He was unsure how to describe what he felt. He could sense something tangible, but it didn’t feel solid either. Regardless, the horse was further calmed by his ministrations and even nuzzled Harry’s face. During all of this, Remus was intensely studying Harry’s Patronus. He gave Harry a nod that he was done, and Harry said, “Now, boy, it’s time for you to go.” The horse nodded its head and gradually vanished.

Harry took a deep breath. “Whew, that was a little intimidating.”

Remus agreed. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Usually a Patronus is totally under the control of the caster. I wonder if the form of your Patronus is not just a simple horse.”

“What determines the form of one’s Patronus?”

“It depends. Each one is unique to the person who conjures it. Sometimes it is related to an interest. For instance, many Quidditch players have some type of flying animal. Other times it relates to an animal that represents a relationship that gives them a feeling of security or safety. But often it is random. For instance, I don’t have any explanation why Hermione’s is an otter.”

“What is your Patronus?”

“A wolf.”

“How about Tonks? Can she conjure a Patronus?”

Remus turned a bright shade of red. “Yes, she can. Originally, her form was a jack rabbit, but she informs me it has recently changed.”

Seeing his obvious discomfort, Harry pushed on. “Come on, tell me. How bad can it be?”

“Well, shortly after we started dating, her Patronus changed to a wolf as well. She used that fact to convince me to stop pushing her away and let us be a couple.” Trying to change the subject, “Back to your Patronus, any idea why yours would be a horse?”

Harry thought for a few moments. “I’ve never done much riding. I guess horses are okay, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had a strong interest in them.” He paused as he considered the question further. Then, his eyes widened and he looked up, a smile on his face. “I have it! It represents my Dad. We spent hours restoring a car, a Mustang, which is a type of horse!” He thought for a moment. “Mustangs are wild horses, so maybe that explains why it was so hard to control.”

Remus smiled. “I’ll bet you’re right. That makes a lot of sense. Now, let’s try it a few more times before we break for dinner.” Since he knew that he had to gain control immediately after he cast it, Harry was able to calm the Mustang more quickly with each attempt.

**********

January 10th, 1998

Dear Ron and Ginny,

I don’t want to worry you, but I thought we should let you know that the Burrow was ransacked over the weekend. The whole house was gone through, as if the person was trying to find something. Ron’s room, in particular, was completely destroyed; it looked like a wild animal had torn up everything. Nothing seems to be missing, however. We have no idea what they were looking for. We also have no idea how they broke through the wards, since they are still up after what we learned about Harry. Fortunately, your Mum and I were out when it happened, but, as you can imagine, your Mum was very angry. She was able to put everything to right with a few flicks of her wand, but the whole idea of some stranger being in our home is disconcerting.

Study hard and have a little fun (but not too much).

Love,

Dad

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