Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. Took a bit longer than what I thought, sorry about that.

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read and review : Jordan (one full moon, coming up …), shdurrani (thanks. Could you give me the id or title of the story with the smilar idea, please ?), epholge (thanks for the review), Lexi-formerly Katy999 (thanks for reviewing), dragonmaster (thanks for the comment), Elspethelf (thanks. While I won't have a Harry/Ginny ship in this fic, I'm not against the ship. I just find that whoever Harry goes with, it has to be someone with a certain level of maturity, with all that's happened to him. And so far, in JKR's books, Ginny hasn't been portrayed enough as mature and level headed. But that's just my point of view.), Takeda Lee (the swords, like Harry, are 6 foot 6, or 2 meters. Harry shouldn't have trouble using them one at a time at full length, but remember that they can adjust their lengths.), luke-6622427 (thanks), Angelis (thanks. Sorry about the update time for this chapter, PC problems), BloodRedSword (thnks, duly noted), litine (thank you for the review), Kemenran (there you go ;)), fantasydima (thanks for commenting), JerseyGirl03 (thanks for the review and the word), stayblue (thanks), Usaka (thanks for the review and rule. I could never remember it right, and always wix the 2. I'll do better in the future, promise), chaser (there you go), angie (Thanks for your comments on the story, my character and my appaling grammar (kidding ;) )), darkfireunicorn (thanks very much), icedrake (there will be more action in the future, patience …), Skysong (thanks for the review), Arizona (thank you for reviewing), Miranda Wecker (sure thing), Estrella de la Tarde (Aha, I now have my own personnal astrologer, although just looking at your nickname, I should have guessed. Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to write if I need any), Orion (sooooooo sorry for wasting your like (said in a real sarcastic voice). Thanks for the encouraging remarks), Kyntor (thanks. Word is duly noted), Stuunad (Peace), bully (I dunno who will be head varorian, although the choice will only take place once they've gone through some training. AS to the combat teacher, you'll have to wait and see), dinkum (thanks), Sugar Quill (thanks twice. You're even mentionned in my story, see if you can find yourself ;)), Bob33 (might be some romance soon, but not with Harry yet), Weather Marmalade (you raise some good points First, concerning how tall Harry is. Harri is tall, especially when compared to the average height of his fellow fifth years. And even for the others, being 6 foot 6 is taller than average (I'm 6'1", and I feel small when I meet my 6'6" mate, even if he's skinnier than a rake), not forgetting that he's very broad and muscular, which would give him the impression of being slightly taller. Plus, whatever race he is, he is still fifteen. He can still grow a couple of inches. Second point : you're correct about the times. I had corrected the dates on my computer and had thought that I had also corrected the files on FF.net, but with your comment, I see that it's not the case. It will be done. Thanks heaps.), bullu (Thank you three times over) and BULLY (thanks for reveiwing).

I'll just take 2 minutes to explain the theory behind pure magic and it's ability to block every curse, no exceptions : a spell uses a particular espect of magic : 'stupefy' spells take it's ability to render people unconscious, 'enervate' to wake people up, etc. Counter-curses are simply the opposite energy, annuling the spell or curse. The killing curse is the same, since it's just another aspect of magic, albeit a more taxing and tiring aspect. It's also why normal spells aren't all that tiring. However, pure magic is using all aspects of magic at the same time, which explains why it's so tiring and why, in theory, it can counter every curse, even the killing curse.

Of course, this is just one way of viewing magic, and is the way magic will be viewed in this story. In another story, it might be viewed differently. But I wanted to take this opportunity to explain it.

I would also like to aplogize. His chapter was ready a few days ago, at the beginning of the week. But my computer started to play up, and I was unable to get the chapter uploaded. But the problem had been resolved, so now it's up.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 17

"What about the axe ?" Ron asked, his eyes not leaving the sword. Harry turned around and placed the sword on his bed and took the axe. Again, he willed it to slowly take its original size. The 2 gasped again and gazed in awe at the weapon Harry was holding. For effect, he slung it over his shoulder.

"How does it look ?"

"Awesome," was Rons answer.

"Deadly," was Hermione answer.

Harry shrunk the axe and sword again and stowed them away. Closing the trunk, he turned to his best friends. "Now, you are not to mention them to anybody. I'll probably be wearing them when I'm officially recognized as a varorian, but till then … zip." Harry made a zipping mouvement across his lips for emphasis. Ron and Hermione nodded. "Good. Now, let's get back to the common room."

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There was nothing of note during Sunday. Ron badgered Hermione for help with his assignments, which Hermione refused to give. As she would uncessantly repeat, he wouldn't learn anything if he didn't put the effort to do his assignments himself. Harry had already finished. He knew that he would have a full week, as well as the following weeks. Tutoring lessons, Varorian duties, extra training, quidditch, all that on top of normal lessons and homework. He wouldn't have much free time. But he was looking forward to it. He had checked it all out, and normally, things would be just fine.

Sarah had been quite nervous during the day. Only Harry knew why other than Sarah. As the day went on, she would regularly look at her watch and then out the window. But as far as Harry knew, it would be the first time she would take the wolfsbane potion, which would undoubtedly help, as well as the company of an animagus. Harry didn't know if she was alone during her transformations in Canada, but hoped for her sake that she hadn't been alone. From Remus' description, Harry surmised what it must be one of the worst possible experiences, having to go through the painful transformations alone.

It was soon half-past-six, time for dinner. Dumbledore had told Harry what would happen. Minerva would call Sarah and himself away about 20 minutes before sundown. They would go to the headmasters office, where Remus would be waiting, along with Sirius in dogs form. Dumbledore would just give a small notice about the Varorians before he would be excused. He would get quickly down to the forbidden forest, where he would take griffins form. He would wait for them in the clearing that they had already arranged. And they would improvise in the morning, depending on what happened during the night.

During dinner, professor Mcgonagall went to where Harry and Sarah were sitting. "Mister Potter, miss Winslow, the headmaster would like to see the both of you in his office." Leaning over to Harry, she whispered in his ear "Password's : sugar quills," before straightening up and heading back to the head table.

Looking at the head table, Harry saw that Dumbledore had already left the room, unnoticed by the majority, if not the totality of students. Harry looked at the transfiguration teacher and nodded, getting up along with Sarah. Ron and Hermione gave him a questionning glance. "Later." Ron just shrugged and went back to finishing eating, although 'shoveling food in his mouth as fast as he can' would have been a more accurate description, while Hermione gave him a questionning glance before returning to her conversation with Neville about his teaching lessons. Neville was pretty nervous, and Hermione was helping him with the first lesson, thinking that once he was into the rythme of things that he would be okay by himself.

Harry was walking through the corridors with Sarah. Whilst she was now able to go from one lesson to another without any trouble, she had only been to the headmasters office once, the first day she had arrived, so she had absolutely no idea how to get there. They were both silent during the walk, but Sarah was fidgetting during the walk.

They arrived at the stone gargoyle that guarded the office. Harry gave the password and the gargoyle moved asside, revealing the stairs that lead up to the headmasters office. Harry started up, followed by Sarah (AN : in case anyones wondering, it was chivalric for the man to head up the stairs first, so as not to look up the womans skirt, and first to go downstairs, in case the woman behind tripped and fell so he could catch her). Arriving at the small landing before the large wooden door, Harry took the couple of steps to arrive and knocked.

"Come in," came the voice easily recognizable as Dumbledores. Harry opened the door and steped aside, letting Sarah enter first before following. She stayed near the door, still pretty nervous. Harry closed the door behind him. He noticed Remus standing near the window, and Sirius, in dogs form, at his feet.

"Remus," Harry said, walking over to where the man was standing and giving him a brief hug. "How are you ?"

Remus gave him a small smile. He was also slightly nervous, although agitated would probably be a better word. "As good as can be expected."

"You'll be okay tonight ?" he asked, giving him a conspiring wink that only Remus saw.

"Yes, I have Snuffles here, and the griffin I told you about."

"Good. Professor Dumbledore, you said you wanted to see us," Harry said, indicating Sarah and himself, who was looking at him with a questionning look.

"Yes, Harry. I wanted to speak to you concerning the Varorians. I have spoken with the other students on the list, and all of them have agreed and have had their loyalties tested, and they are all loyal to us. Letters will be sent, and supplies will be fetched tomorrow, leaving straight after breakfast. I have assured everyone will have enough funds to but the necessary supplies tomorrow. You will be excused from lessons for as long as necessary. Those who have to can go to Gringotts bank to get some money. Now, each Varorian will receive a card indicating that he or she is a varorian. They will be magically linked to you, so they cannot be used by someone else. Prefects will be warned tomorrow about the varorians, but as soon as you have your card, that is to say, tomorrow morning, you will be active as a varorian, with all the responsibilities that go along. You will shortly be getting your new schedule, with the added training sessions."

Harry nodded. Dumbledore had thought of everything.

"That will be all. Now, you may return to your common room, there is something I need to discuss with miss Winslow, here."

Harry nodded and left the office, heading downstairs. Looking left to right and seeing that the corridors were empty, he ran, making his way towards the forest, making sure nobody saw him …

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"Mister Lupin, does Harry know … that you're a werewolf ?" Sarah asked Remus timidly, once she was sure Harry was far enough away.

"First of all, please call me Remus," Remus said with a tired yet kind smile. "And yes. Harry, Ron and Hermione learned shorty before the end of their third year. And they have all three been most accepting of that fact, Harry especially. Of course, professor Snape let it slip at the end of year feast, so that everyone knew, and I resigned from teaching DADA. However, I think it was mostly due to a personnal disagreement between himself and myself that caused that. But Harry came and asked me not to leave."

Sarah nodded. Knowing that Harry knew and accepted the werewolf curse was an incentive in itself to tell someone. She wouldn't be able to keep it all to herself, but she still didn't know anyone enough to be able to confide in them.

"Well, we should be going. Coming, Snuffles ?" The large black dog, who up till then had been lying down under the window, jumped up and stood next to Remus.

"Before you leave, you need to have your final dose of wolfsbane potion," said Dumbledore, handing them both a steaming vial. They took it and swallowed it down in one go. Effective it may have been, it still tasted damn awful. After handing the vials back to the headmaster, they made their way out of the office and down to the main entrance.

"How well do you know Harry ?" Sarah asked as they walked down the corridors.

"Pretty well. I was school friends with his parents James and Lily, and he had most of the qualities of each. James, Sirius here and another all learnt how to become animagi so that they could accompany me during full moons. Plus I was a teacher here, and I gave Harry extra tutoring to help him deal with dementors." They continued to talk about the trio of friends as they entered the forest. They walked down the path leading to the clearing. As soon as Remus entered the clearing, he was jumped by a large golden griffin, who knocked him onto his back. Sarah gave a small scream and started to draw her wand, but the griffin moved forward and licked Remus in the face. "Ha, ha. Gerroff," Remus said, wiping the slobber off him and sitting up while Harry, in griffin form, moved back to leave him enough room to rise. Sirius jumped on Harry, and they started to roll and chase each other around the clearing. Sarah laughed "Sarah, that's a griffin I met not to long ago and that answers to the name of 'Harry'. He's very intelligent, so you can talk to him and he'll listen."

Harry, despite chasing Sirius, heard that they were talking about him. He stopped chasing his godfather and walked over to where Remus was sitting and Sarah was standing. Remus smiled as Harry looked up at him straight in the eye. "Thank you for accompanying us tonight, Harry," Remus said. Harry just lay down at Remus' feet. Remus looked up at the sky. "Well, it's just a question of minutes, now. Since the transformation doesn't include clothes, we have to place them here, and we'll come back before resuming human shape once again. Sirius will check me. Harry, could you take care of Sarah ?"

Harry gave him what could be interpreted as shock, his cat eyes widening, but gave a small nod. Looking at Sarah, he let her to where a large clump of bushes was to be found. He had prepared the area beforehand, and there was a bag which would be used to store her clothes and other belongings, as well as a cloak that she could use before transforming. Remus had the same kind of bag where he was aswell. Sarah shivered slightly, since the forest was quite cold. The leaves of the trees provided a lot of coverage and didn't allow much light through, and it never really got warm here.

After she had removed the cloak, Harry turned away to give her the required privacy, but kept his ears open for any suspicious noise. A couple of minutes later, he heard a rustling behind him. Slowly turning his head, he saw Sarah, with the cloak wrapped around her, stuffing the bag under the bush. Once she had finally hidden it, she sat down on a rock and looked at Harry, who was lying about 2 meters away. She shivered, and Harry could tell she was cold. He got up and moved closer, lying down next to her. She got of the stone and leant against Harry, taking in his warmth.

"Must be nice to have one form, huh ?" Harry turned his face to Sarah, who had asked the question. "Since you're here, I suppose you know I'm here for the same thing." Harry gave a nod, while Sarah gave him a small smile, impressed by what she thought was the intelligence of a wild magical animal. "It'll be better this time, compared to the other times. I drank a potion to help me with the pain," she continued, oblivious to the fact that it wasn't an ordinary griffin she was talking to. "I was bitten when I turned 10. It was 2 days after my birthday, which is the 20th of February. I was camping with my cousin, who is 2 years older than me. He and I were camping, despite the cold weather, plus the tent was charmed to keep us warm. We have a small wood behind where we lived in Canada,. Actually, is was a pretty big wood, but I knew it pretty well, and it seemed small to me. Anyway, it was a full moon, and we heard howling. We thought it was normal wolves, but since they avoid humans, we though it would be okay, since we were still in the tent." She paused enough to give a long sigh. She had evidently been wanting to talk about it for some time now, and thought that since Harry couldn't understand, her secret was safe with him.

"It was just one werewolf. He ripped through the tent and my cousin and I ran towards the house. I was slower and he caught up with me. He bit me here," she said, indicating her neck where her scars ran down her neck. "The noise woke my parents. My father, he's something of an authority back home on curses and the like. He jumped from the window on the first floor armed with his wand. The werewolf noticed him and left me and went after him, too. But my father killed it. But it was too late for me." A tear escaped from her left eye, and she didn't bother wiping it away. It was soon followed by several more, but her voice didn't waver during the rest of her story.

"Too late, I was infected with the curse. I didn't transform that night, since I had just been infected. But as of the next full moon, I would. My father contacted several specialists, but none knew of a cure, even just after the actual infection. However, werewolves in Canada are given quite a lot of freedom. It's considered that there is enough woodland for them to roam without bothering humans. The one that attacked me was a criminal, and wasn't a part of any pack. He had strayed, and had drawn closer to human settlements. Of course, they're only well considered as long as they stay in their packs, they're not allowed to go to school which is another reason they stay in packs. But you can only go so far without education. Anyway, dad contacted the pack leader, whose name is David, and he agreed to have me. I had to stay with the rest of the pack and could only visit my family one weekend per month. And as soon as I was of age, they also gave me magical training. I was the only child in the pack, so I had lessons all alone."

"And now I'm here. As it turns out, the pack leader knows Remus. Remus had met him several years ago, shortly after leaving school, but had come back here before I joined the pack. Remus renewed contact with them shortly after the rise of Voldemort, the darkest of wizards." Sarah gave a small shudder, and Harry was surprised that she said the name Voldemort, but supposed she could since Voldemort didn't really act outside of Europe. "Remus wanted to know if he could count on our support. David agreed, as long as I could come here. Remus was intrigued and contacted Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts school. And he accepted. It was probably the best day of my life, being told I could come here. But I was scared. I still am, truth be told. If I told them I am a werewolf, what would they do ? There are a couple, and one in particular, who I could tell, but I'm still not sure."

She let out a large sigh. Tears still fell from her face, and Harry moved his head closer and gently licked them. Well, as gently as a full-grown griffin could. She backed up a bit, surprised, before letting off a small laugh and putting an arm around Harrys neck. "Maybe I will, maybe I will …" They stayed like that, not moving, for about a minute. Then a ray of moonlight came down through the trees. Harry averted his eyes as Sarah lost the cloak and transformed. She didn't scream, and neither did Remus, but Harry could hear her teeth grind as the transformation took place, bones breaking and reforming and organs displacing. A minute later, Harry heard a small growl behind him. Turning, he saw a large wolf, or wolfess (AN : is that the proper term for a female wolf ? Please answer …). She had grey fur flecked with brown, and a patch of white hair on the left of her neck, where her scars would be. Harry walked out frow behind the bushes and she followed. Remus and Sirius were in the center of the clearing, waiting. As they came out, Sirius let out a long canine howl, followed by Remus and Sarah. Harry gave a small roar, and soon the clearing was empty, and the sound of paws running away could be heard through the crisp clear air of the forest …

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They got back at the clearing at around 6 o' clock, although they didn't know exactly when. No one had watches, after all. Harry and Sarah waited behind the bushes where Sarah had hidden her clothes, while Remus and Sirius behind the other bushes on the other side of the clearing. Soon enough, Sarah underwent the opposite transformation. Slowly and painfully, she got dressed. She tried walking, but could barely manage. Harry nudged her, and she managed to pull herself on his back. Harry grabbed the bag in his mouth and walked back, where Remus was being supported by Sirius, but seemed to having an easier time than Sarah. They walked back to the edge of the forbidden forest in silence, where they would meet with madame Pomfrey who would take care of them. Sarah, needless to say, would be spending the morning recuperating with Remus in the hospital wing.

They arrived at the edge of the forest. Madame Pomfrey was there, wearing a warm cloak around her shoulders.

"Ah, you've arrived." She quickly conjured up 2 stretchers, helping Remus and then Sarah onto one. Sirius followed her in dogs form as she made her way back towards the castle. Harry watched them go, staying on the edge of the forest. Once they were completely out of sight, Harry changed back into his human form. He quickly made his way towards the castle, and managed to get to the Gryffindor commonroom without meeting anyone. He yawned a huge yawn as he silently got out of his school robes that he had been wearing since yesterday. He would have enough time for less than a couple of hours of sleep before breakfast, then shopping in Diagon Alley. He crawled into bed and was soon fast asleep.

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"Harry, get up !"

Harry opened his eyes, and was vaguely aware of everything moving abruptly up and down. Opening his eyes slightly and squinting, he saw a pair of feet move up and down about one meter from his head.

"Come on, Harry. You're going to be late if you stay in bed any longer."

Harry was now awake enough to recognize the voice of his best friend Ron. Just barely, though, and the constant moving motion he was doing didn't help his thinking any. He waited till Rons feet landed before sleepily swiping them and their next ascent. Ron went horizontal … and fell across Harrys' legs with a yelp.

"Shove off, Ron, I'm tired." He got ready to snuggle back to sleep but felt someone remove the sheet. "Urgh, all right."

"'Bout time, too," Ron said, before moving to the side.

Harry slowly got up and got dressed. He wore normal trousers and t-shirt under his wizarding robes, and Doc Marten-style boots. Putting his wand in his pocket, he slowly made his way to the common room.

"Hey mate, you don't have your books and stuff," Ron said.

"Don't need 'em yet, Ron," Harry managed to say through a yawn as they slowly walked down the stairs. "I'm going to Diagon Alley with Dumbledore and the other Varorians to get supplies and stuff. Anything you want or need ?"

"No thanks, mate, not just yet anyway. And nothing that can't wait till the next visit to Hogsmead, although I won't refuse a couple of bags of Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans. Don't ask Hermione if she needs anything, she'll ask you to buy every book in 'Flourish and Blotts'." Hary was silently thankful that he didn't question him of his sleepyness.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll ask anyway."

They arrived at the bottom of the steps. Hermione was waiting for them, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the fire, her school bag at her feet. She was looking into the flames of the fire, probably daydreaming. They walked over.

"Hey, Hermione," Ron said.

Hermione jumped slightly, surprised, and turned her head. "Oh, hi. I was daydreaming." Getting up, she smoothed out her school robes and bent down to pick up her bag. Slinging it onto her shoulder, she looked at the two of them. "Harry, you don't have your school bag."

"No, I'm going to Diagon Alley with Dumbledore. Need anything ?" he asked, as they made their way down to the great hall.

"No thanks. Oh, actually, if you could bring me a box of sugar quills, that would be nice."

"Sure, no problem."

They entered the great hall, where everyone was eating. Harry was happy to notice that finally no one turned their head to specifically look at him as he entered. The three of them made their way towards the Gryffindor table and sat down to eat. Breakfast was an uneventful time. Harry noticed Malfoy giving him the evil eye, or attempting to, every now and then, but Harry just ignored him.

He flapping of wings told him that mail was there. Hedwig brought him a letter. Harry gave her some bacon and let her drink some pumpkin juice from is goblet before she flew off. Opening the letter, Harry saw that it was Dumbledore telling him to go and see him after breakfast to go to Diagon Alley for extra supplies. He supposed all the students that would be joining the Varorians would be getting the same letter.

Once breakfast was over, the students from different years started to leave to get to their respective lessons. Hermione and Ron, along with the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years, got up and left to a double potions session with Snape. Harry stayed put, since he would be going to Diagon Alley. More and more students were leaving, and soon the only students left were the ones Harry knew had been on the list Dumbldeore had given him. Getting up, he made his way towards the head table. Since he was at the far end, he had the longest way to walk. Katie waited for him to reach her before getting up and walking alongside him. They gave each other brief smiles of encouragement and arrived, along with the other students.

"Good morning, I hope everyone slept well," Dumbledore said, looking at everyone, stopping on Harry as he gave a wide yawn, for which Katie nudged him hard in the ribs. He was the only teacher there, since the other teachers had lessons to give. "Now, we will be leaving by portkey, which will have to be activated in Hogsmead due do extra wards having been placed on Hogwarts. You may go to get a cloak if you feel cold. Meet me before the main entrance in twenty minutes.

Turning to Katie, he said, "I'm getting my cloak. Do you need yours ?"

"Yeah I have to get my money pouch aswell, I forgot it in my room." With that, they left the great hall and made their way up to the Gryffindor tower to get their stuff, making small talk along the way. Katie spoke about her family, before apologizing. Harry assured her it was okay, that he didn't mind. Harry got his cloak and slung it around his broad shoulders. Katie got hers and put it on, along with her money which she safely put in her pocket before charmng her pocket closed. They walked back down to the main entrance and talked till everyone arrived.

"Very good. Everyone ready ?" Dumbledore asked Everyone nodded, and they set off, making their way towards Hogsmead. Harry sped up till he was next to Dumbledore.

"Are they okay ?"

Dumbledore cast a small secrecy spell before answering. "They're fine, albeit tired. Sarah was still asleep when I went to check up on them, but madame Pomfrey assured me that she's all right. Remus said 'thank you'."

"When will he be leaving ?"

"Madame Pomfrey wants to keep him there till tomorrow morning. Sarah will be rejoining her lessons this afternoon."

Removing the spell, the continued to talk about mundane matters. Once past the anti-portkey wards, Dumbledore removed a length of string from insode his robes. "Would everyone please touch this, please ?" Everyone moved so as to have at least a finger on the length of rope. Dumbledore tapped it twice with his wand and they felt the tugging behind the navel sensation. A couple of seconds later, they arrived in Diagon Alley. It was much calmer compared to the before school rush, when everyone arrived to get their school supples. Compared to then, it could be considered completely deserted.

"Right. I believe that you are all mature enough to get your supplies by yourself. Here is the list …" he said, giving everyone a piece of parchment "… of things you need to buy, with an estimated price next to it. If you wish to buy something more elaborate, it will be more expensive. Once you have finished, meet in the Leaky Cauldron. You are allowed to use magic to shrink your belongings for your convenience, but please do not abuse the priveledge of using magic outside the school. Now off you go." With that, Dumbledore walked off in the direction of the shops.

"Shall we go together ?" Harry heard someone ask him. Turning around, he saw Katie standing next to him.

"Sure. Let's go. I have to go to Gringotts first." With that, they made their way towards the wizarding bank. After a brief ride down the carts, Harry scooped a large amoung of gold galleons into a pouch before heading back up. Once he was back at the top, he was curious as to how much he had in his account. He went to one of the goblins.

"Excuse me, I would like to know how much I have in my vault."

"Key," the goblin said, holding out his hand. Harry handed the goblin his key and he placed it onto a small scale. 3 dials under the scale went into mouvement before stopping. A piece of parchment came out of a small slot which the goblin took and handed to Harry along with his key.

"568,254 golden galleons, 652,357 silver sickles, 425,897 bronze knuts," Harry said in awe. Even if he had no idea whet the exchange rate was from wizarding money to muggle money, he could still tell that it was a lot of money.

"Wow, Harry. You're rich." The voice of Katie brought him out of his rêverie.

"Yeah, it's the money my parents left me for my schooling. I don't want to live from it, though. Do you know about investing it, though ?"

"Harry, you're in a bank. Where's the best place for information about investing."

"Oh yeah, right." Turning back to the goblin, he asked, "Is there someone who could counsel me as to how I could invest my money ?"

The goblin looked at Harry before pressing a button next to him. A few seconds later, another goblin arrived. "Mister Potter here wants to know about investing, Barrock."

The new goblin, Barrock, looked at Harry and Katie. "Please follow me," he said before turning smartly around and heading towards a corridor that stemmed from the main hall and entering one of the offices. He went behind the desk and sat in the chair. "So you wish to inquire about different investing plans ?" Harry gave a nod. "The most common way is by buying shares in a company. When the company does well, so do your shares. Companies who are stable bring you a regular income. If the company declares bancrupcy, you lose everything. Another way is by financing expeditions. The most common are descents into the tombs in Eygpt." Harry had a brief thought for Bill. "If there is nothing in the tomb, you lose. If there's something, you can earn little or a lot, depending on what is in the tomb. There's no guarantee that you'll get back what you invested."

"Which companies are selling shares ? And what about new companies ?"

"Most of the shops along Diagon Alley and in Hogsmead sell shares. You could also finance a new project for a shop." Harry briefly though about the Weasley twins project to get their joke shop running, but would talk about it with them personnally. "Do you know of anyone that is starting a new shop."

The goblin opened one of the draws to his desk. "I have knowledge of 3 different projects. One for weapons and armour, another for rare and exotic items and the third for wizard and muggle beverages of all kinds. All three are the projects of different goblins working in this bank who wish to have something on the side. And here is a list of shops selling shares," he said, giving Harry a roll of parchment. Harry looked it over with Katie, who gave Harry some friendly advice.

"Can I have a brief look at the different projects ?"

The goblin took 3 rolls of parchment. The first talked about the weapons and armour shop. It was a shop that sold all kinds of weapons, from older weapons such as swords and the like, to modern muggle weapons like guns and stuff. It would also have an extensive range of armour. For 100,000 gold galleons, Harry would own 70% of the shop. The second was the rare and exotic items shop project. It would sell a range of enchanted delights from not only Europe, but also Africa and Aisa. Same amount and shop percentage as the first project. The third and final roll spoke about the beverage shop. There was a sample list of drinks it would sell, and Harry could tell instantly it was a large range that could appeal to everyone. The investment was slightly more, 120,000, for the same amount of ownership.

"They all look very interesting."

"Why don't you take all three ?" Katie asked.

"Isn't that a bit much ? It'll seem like showing off."

"I don't think so. Besides, it means that you'll be able to support yourself and let you do something you enjoy. And it's not like your name will be written on the front of the shops, even if you are a majority shareholder."

"I suppose. Thanks for the advice." Turning to Barrock, he said, "I'll finance all three projects, and buy shares in 'Flourish and Blotts' as well as 'Eeyops Owl Emporium'."

"Very well." Taking out 3 rolls of parchment, he gave them to Harry. It was a formal contract. Harry signed all three before pricking his thumb and placing a drop of blood next to his signature, as was asked on the parchment. While he had been doing this, Barrock had been preparing another roll of parchment with the shares he had asked for. Harry repeated the same actions for the shares.

"Now that that is taken care of, you will recieve regular letters concerning the state of the shop, along with your shares."

"Could I have the money gained sent to different accounts, one for each shop ?"

"Certainly." Once that was done, the goblin handed Harry several other keys, one for each shop and one for the shares. Thank goodness they were consecutive. Once they were done, they left the bank. A quick look at their watches showed they still had one and a half hours left.

They looked at their list to see what they had to buy : different potion ingrediants (some of which neither was completely aware were used for), different books (on curses, counter-curses, transfiguration, potions and charms), clothes (training clothes and combat robes), weapons (1 normal sword, dagger, axe, wrist-blades plus 3 different of your choice, none of them enchanted) and armour (gauntlets and shinpads required, breast armour optionnal). Harry and Katie spent some time choosing their weapons before deciding, and made it back to the Leaky Cauldron just in time. Harry bought flexible gauntlets of leather, with articulated metal plates over, and cut off fingers. They also had metal buttons on the knuckles. Katie took completely metal gaultlets, with sharp spikes on the knuckles. Of course, Harry didn't forget to buy the sweets that Ron and Hermione had asked of him.

"Ah, the rest are here," Dumbledore said as they entered the room. They saw that everyone else was indeed there. Everyone had shrunk their stuff, so they didn't have to drag heavy bags around. Harry and Katie had done the same. "Now, does everybody have everything ?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now, your training will include muggle weaponry, but we will be starting with close-combat at first, so another trip will be made for muggle weapons." Harry mused that he could probably supply them through his shop, and made a mental note to talk about it to Dumbledore when the occasion presented itself. Dumbledore removed 12 credit cards from his pocket. At least, they looked like credit cards, were about the same size. However, they were all a dark blue, and didn't have any writing or pictures on them. One by one, Dumbledore asked them to hold one before casting a spell on it. Their picture appeared, along with different information. He explained that it was their Varorian cards. No one was apointed head-varorian or deputy yet.

Finally, he removed the same length of rope that had brought them all to Diagon Alley. Indicating for everyone to touch it, they complied, and Dumbledore tapped it twice with his wand, bringing them back to Hogsmead, where they walked back to Hogwarts.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"So how was it ?" Ron asked as he entered the common room, where Harry was talking with Katie in front of the fire. They had been discussing the diffent aspects of training they were looking forward to, and which they didn't want to do. Unsurprisingly, neither was looking forward to potions.

"It was fine. Here," he said throwing the bags of sweets to Ron, who caught them easily. Hermione was following, and caught the sugar quills that Harry lobbed at her.

"What books did you buy ?" she asked. Harry rolled his eyes, but answered anyway. "You can look on my bed, that's where I put them. Don't touch the other stuff, though."

"What are you wearing ?" Ron asked, noticing Harrys arms. He was already wearing the gauntlets. The varorians were allowed, and ever encouraged, to wear at least some armour and a weapon with them at all times, as soon as they started training. Since Harry had already had some training during his holidays, he felt comfortable enough to already wear the gauntlets, but thought wearing a weapon would be pushing it before the prefects were warned about them.

"My gauntlets, they were on the list that Dumbledore gave us. Mine are relatively nice, compared to Katies, which are vicious." Katie swatted him on the arm, taking care to avoid his gauntlets, while Harry laughed. "Hey, I just thought. Since we're varorians, prefects can't remove house points from us, right ?" Katie nodded. Turning to Hermione and Ron, he asked, "have you been told about the varorians yet ?"

"No, although there's a prefects meeting tonight. It'll probably be mentionned then. I think the head boy and girl know, though."

Harrys' face broke out into a wicked smile. "It's time for lunch, isn't it ?"

"You bet," Ron said, patting his stomach.

"Let's go, them. Hopefuly, we'll run into Malfoy."

"Huh ? Why ?" Ron asked.

"You'll see," Harry said. "See you later, Katie." She waved him off before moving over to her friends.

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the great hall. There weren't many students yet, since classes had just recently finished. Malfoy was there, however. He sneered at Harry, who went and sat down in a seat where he could watch him. He noticed Malfoy looking at him, and was careful to flash his gauntlets every so often. Malfoy noticed, and an evil sneer crossed his lips. He got up and went over to him, followed by Crabbe and Goyle who had no idea what Malfoy was up to.

"So, Potter, think you're above the rules ?" he sneered as he approached.

Harry just arched an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean ?"

Draco leaned over and tapped the gauntlets Harry was wearing. "This is what I'm talking about. Dangerous things, they are. 10 points from Gryffndor." Hermione and Ron were about to remark, but Harry just looked over to the hourglasses which showed the house points. Needless to say, they didn't move.

"Funny, that didn't change a thing."

Draco looked over, as did Hermione and Ron.

"10 points from Gryffindor," Draco repeated. Again nothing happened.

"How about I try, Draco ?" Harry said. "5 points from Slytherin, for attempting to abuse prefect position without informing himself beforehand." Immediately, 5 points were removed from Slytherin. Draco gaped. "See Draco, you're no longer in a position to remove house points from me. If you had bothered to ask, you would learn that I have the authorization to wear these," he said, indicating his gauntlets. "Now go away, before I do more than remove points."

Draco was fuming. He stormed off back to the Slytherin table.

"Mate, that was brilliant," Ron said in awe, still looking at the hourglasses.

"Wasn't that a bit unfair, making him do that ?" Hermione asked, ignoring Rons' use of foul language for once. Ron was about to answer so Harry quickly interrupted before Ron could do any damage.

"Not any more than him trying to get me alone to remove points from me. Plus, he could have asked why I have them on before removing points, and I wanted to teach him a lesson."

"I suppose …"

"Lighten up, Hermione," Ron said.

"Easier said than done, Ron," Hermione shot back.

Harry noticed Sarah coming into the great hall at that moment. He left Ron and Hermione to themselves while he followed her arrival. She looked a bit tired still, but better. And she was smiling. She arrived next to where Harry was.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello Sarah. How are you ?" Harry asked.

"I'm okay. A bit tired," she said as she sat down next to Harry. Ron, on his other side, was still having a slightly heated discussion with Hermione, and Harry hoped it would finish before it could escalate into a large-scale argument. "Are they always like this ?"

"Pretty much."

"Oh Harry, before I forget, I'll give you my notes for the lessons you missed, as well as the assignments," Hermione broke off. Apparently, she had won the discussion, since Ron wasn't talking anymore, and didn't seem interested in talking at all, since he was sulkingly looking at his food. "You too, Sarah. Why did you miss lessons this morning ?"

"I didn't feel too well after going to see the headmaster, so I went to the hospital wing. Stayed the night and the morning there ?"

"Good thing we only missed double potions, then," Harry said. Ron had also had double Divination, but since neither Hermione, Sarah or himself had the subject, it was okay.

"Could you help me for Potions after Transfiguration, Hermione ?" Hermione nodded. "Want to join us, Sarah ?" he asked.

"Sure, thanks," she answered. She was still shy.

"And tonight, I have to tutor for DADA," Harry said. A lot of people had joined the course.

"Do you know what you're going to do ?" Hermione asked.

"Yup. I'm just going to review some curses and their counters, maybe teach 'stupefy' and 'impedimenta' curses, since they were pretty useful end of last year. We haven't seen enough so far for me to review what we've seen."

She nodded. "By the way, did you manage to do something with the pure magic thing we had to do ? I didn't get much farther at all."

'Drat' Harry thought He had hoped they would forget. "I'll show you later, okay ?"

"But …"

"Please, Hermione, later. Okay ?"

Hermione sighed. "Okay, but you better not forget."

"Same to you," Harry said.

With that, they got up and left to go to Transfiguration.

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It was about ten minutes past ten o' clock. Harry was lounging in the common room, having just returned from his tutoring session. He had gotten the notes from Hermione, and saw that he had already done not only the potion that they had seen during the session, but also the potion that was for the assignment. Thank goodness for the extra tutoring he had recieved from Sirius on potions. And at least it had been pleasant.

After that, Hermione had badgered him to show her about his concentrating pure magic. He, Ron and Hermione had gone to the boys dorms, where Harry showed them what he could do. It was like the first time, but Harry noticed that the light was slightly red and golden as he concentrated it on the fingers of his right hand. They were both slightly in awe, but Harry supposed that it was because both griffins and dragons were such magical creatures. In any case, he was going to train doing it more.

After dinner, he had given his extra tutoring lessons. He had kept it slightly shorter, since it was the first lesson and they hadn't done all that much yet during that years lessons, but had only recently come back. And the lack of sleep from last night was starting to get to him.

"Harry ?"

Turning to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Sarah. She was still wearing her school robes, and hadn't changed into her pyjamas, or whatever she wore to go to bed.

"'Lo, Sarah."

"Why are you still up ?"

"Just came back from tutoring. You ?"

"Couldn't sleep. Actually, I … I wanted to talk to you ?"

"Here ? Or somewhere more private ?"

"More private, please …"

"Sure." Harry banished his bag to his dorm, and stepped towards the portrait entrance. Opening it, he stepped outside, followed by Sarah. He walked to a nearby unused classroom. Entering, he magically locked the door and placed a soundproof charm on the room, puttng a lot of power behing it so that a powerful evesdropping charm would have to be used, but he doubted any fifth or sixth year could get through. Heck, some of the teachers would have a hard time. He transfigured 2 chairs into comfy chairs and placed them opposite each other. Sitting down in one, he indicated Sarah to do the same.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about ?"

Sarah at down, hands clasped together. She didn't look up, but instead looked down. Harry didn't prompt her.

"I …" She paused, and started to fidget with her fingers.

Harry leant forwards and gently took her hands in his large hands. She jumped slightly and looked up, straight into Harrys' eyes. "Talk to me, let me help you," although he already knew what she would say.

Tears started to fall out of her eyes, and she threw herself onto Harry, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head onto his chest, and she started to sob. Harry wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back, rocking backwards and forwards. They stayed like this for several minutes, the time for Sarah to calm down.

"Feeling better ?" he asked. She nodded, and moved back onto her seat, eyes still red. "You want to try again ? Or would you rather try another time ?"

"No, I … I have to do this now. The sooner, the better." She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "I asked an … acquaintance … advice on who I could tell. And your name came up." Looking Harry straight in the eyes, she said, "I'm a werewolf."

Harry didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I suppose the acquaintance is Remus." She nodded. "Sarah, I will be totally honest with you." Her look became slightly frightened. "I knew from the first day that you were a werewolf."

Now, she was completely surprised and shocked. "But, but .. how ?"

"Thanks to one of my ancestors, I have heightened senses. You have the same smell as Remus, a wolfish smell. Plus a couple of details that brought me to that conclusion."

Sarah was slightly flabbergasted. "You knew. All along, you knew. Why didn't you say anything ?"

"It would have done less good than bad if I confronted you about it soon after meeting you. You were out with Remus and Sirius yesterday, weren't you ?" She nodded. "Do you know why Sirius decided to become an animagus ?"

"No." She did know, since Remus had already told her, but she wanted Harrys' view of things. You can tell how someone feels about something by their description of it, which is what she wanted.

"Remus had 3 best friends. They thought that Remus would like company during his transformations, but couldn't do so in human shape. But since a werewolf in wolfs form is dangerous to humans and not animals, they figured it would be safe to accompany him in animals form, as an animagus. My father was a stag, Sirius a large dog and a third a useless rat." His voice became hard at mentionning Pettigrew, even if he didn't do so by name, but Sarah decided not to mention it, wanting to hear the rest of the story. "It worked better than they hoped. Being accompanied helped Remus to keep most of his mind during transformations, although it didn't do anything for the pain."

"Yes. Yesterday, there was Remus, Sirius, a griffin names Harry and myself. The transformation was less painful thanks to the potion, and I was mostly myself. When I'm with my pack, it doesn't really help since we're all werewolves."

"So the griffins presence helped ?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"So you would let him accompany you each time ?"

"Well, yes. Why do you ask ?"

Harry didn't answer, but got up and stepped to a small space where there were no chairs or desks. Sarah was looking questionningly at him. A fraction of a second later, where Harry stood was a large golden griffin. Sarahs eyes widened in shock, and her jaw slacked slightly. Harry changed back.

"It was you." It wasn't a question, but Harry answered anyway.

"Yes, it was."

"You're an animagus ?"

"No. It's a natural form. You could say I'm part griffin."

"Woah."

"Sarah, will you let me help you ?" Harry asked, sitting down once again opposite her.

Sarah looked straight into his eyes "Why ? Why do you want to ? Why would you want to ?"

Harry let out a big sigh. "I can't honestly answer that in one precise point. I could say that I want to act in the way my father would have, that I want to follow in his footsteps, to act in a way that would make him proud. But honestly, I just want to help. It's in my nature."

Several seconds silence before Sarah said anything. "Thank you."

"For ?"

"For caring. I … I would like it very much if you could accompany me." Harry smiled at her and she smiled back. "But don't tell anybody, please."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Now, let's get back. We both need sleep, since we didn't get much last night."

With that, they got up and went back to the common room and their respective dorms to get a well-deserved nights sleep.

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Authors Note : There, chapter finished. The last scene with Harry and Sarah was not meant as a prelude for a budding romance between the two of them. Any pairings will be considered more later on in the story, not this early. I'm still keeping my options open. And if anyone finds that Sarah is too emotional, remember that she just came out of a werewolf transformation. R&R.