A/N: Thank you for following me thus far. From the last chapter, you can see that there are new characters and concepts that will be brought forth, as well as changes to personalities and so forth.

I also want to let you all know that from now on the chapters will be unfolding slower than the first few.

I can`t decide what I want to do with the story progression and the main villain`s plots for Harry and his gang, although I am busy figuring it out slowly. I tend to start writing and then take notes as I go along, thus, everything literally unfolds at my fingertips.

Without further ado, let us away!

Chapter 7 – The First Of Many

Monday, 2nd of September, 1991

Harry`s eyes shot open and he sat up in his blue and bronze bed. A big smile spread across his face as he thought of everything that happened the previous day. He opened the curtains around his bed and was assaulted by the sounds of snoring around the room. He got up and pulled on cargo shorts and tight-fit shirt, tying his hair up and made his way down to the grounds to jog.

After he finished up, he noticed it was still early and everyone would still be asleep. He pulled off his shirt as he entered the common room and pulled his hair from its band, when he heard a gasp and a cough. Looking up, he saw an indian girl sitting on one couch, her legs pulled up, her book bag in front of her. She openly stared at him as he walked in.

"Hi there, Padma, right?" Harry asked her, snapping her out of the trance she was in. Her eyes flicked rapidly between his eyes and chest, before locking on to his eyes, seeming to steel herself.

"H-Hello, Harry. Yes, I-I`m Padma. Why are you shirtless?" she blurted out, slapping her hand over her mouth, mortified at her question.

"Oh, I just came from a jog. Need to go for a shower. Cheers," Harry called over his shoulder, making his way up the stairs, getting ready for the day.

Harry quickly took a shower, got dressed and made his way downstairs, leaving his books and stuff behind, because he still needed his timetable. Coming down the stairs, he saw a few people sitting around and talking or reading, or still waking up. Some people were dressed in their school clothes, others were milling around in their pajamas. Hermione stood off to one side and spoke to Padma Patil and an Asian girl he didn't recignize, they were discussing something excitedly, gesticulating wildly. Hermione looked up and saw him and blushed a little, while the other girls giggled behind her. He walked over and she waved shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Good morning, Hermione. Can I walk with you down to the Great Hall?" Harry asked, at which she nodded. They made their way down to the Hall and took seats, close to the door, as to be able to make their way back to fetch their books before lessons started. Professor Flitwick made his way into the Hall with a stack of parchment squares in his hands, marching quickly towards them.

"Morning, morning. First years have double Charms first thing with me! Remember your books and stationary, please? I do not appreciate ill-prepared students wasting all our time," professor Flitwick stated, nodding toward them and handing them their time tables. They both started studying it and Harry`s face lit up at the same time that Hermione went as pale as a ghost.

"Flying?! Nobody said anything about flying! I hate flying!" Hermione exclaimed over the table at Harry, who laughed out loud in excitement.

"I know! It`s bloody brilliant, I can`t wait for this afternoon!" Harry said, almost bouncing, but calmed down when he saw her face, then saying, "Hermione, it will be fine, trust me. I will be there, as well as the teacher. We`ll make sure you are fine." This seemed to appease Hermione a little as they made their way out of the Hall.

They started arguing playfully about the best way to get to various classes from different locations, as they made their way to and from the Ravenclaw tower. They came to a stop outside the Charms classroom and saw that professor Flitwick arrived at that moment, allowing them to enter and sit down. Hermione wanted to sit right in the front of the class, as to better hear and see what is going on. Harry pointed out that if they set a little more toward the back, or even in the middle, they would be able to focus on the class, as well as discuss different ideas and topics amongst themselves, if needed. She quickly accepted and led the way to the best seats she could find, for this purpose. Professor Flitwick asked them to settle down just as a few Gryffindors came trailing in after class has started already.

"Mr. Finnigan, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Thomas, do you need some assistance with timekeeping of locating the classrooms? Please sit down and get out your books!" the professor called out to them from atop his desk. He strode around the desk, looking around and assessing the students in front of him.

"Okay, first things first, open your books at the first chapter and we can begin. Your wands act as magical foci, that concentrate the magical energy from your cores, through your body and into the wand, which is then manifested in the direction of your choosing. Wand movements and incantations serve as a means for shaping your magic into different spells, with different effects," the professor called out, flicking his wand at the board, that started displaying different diagrams, depicting the core and flow of magic into the wand.

"Imagine your magical core as being a water well. Casting a spell, draws water from the well, pouring it out. The bigger the spells, the bigger the drain. The same with the amount of effort put in, the amount of spells used and how fast it is cast. If you don`t practice, or don`t have enough control over your magic, it will act as a hole in the bucket, leaking water. Putting too much or too little magic into a spell, will over- or underpower it. Overpowering can cause a bigger drain than needed, but may not always increase the effectivity of the spell," professor Flitwick said, looking out over the young faces in front of him, some lost, some following, others bored.

"Please look at the illumination charm in front of you and, at your own pace, try casting it," he stated, waving his wand at the windows, causing the natural light to dim.

The students started looking at the wand movements and the incantations and some started trying immediately. Some had more success than others. Hermione beamed at Harry, when she managed the Lumos spell on her first try and immediately started experimenting with various output levels, dimming and brightening the light at the tip of her wand. Harry scribbled on a piece of parchment and pushed it to Hermione, whispering in her ear, "This one isn`t in the book, but it is a good one to learn to help with control." He then pointed his wand toward the roof, made a cross shaped movement and murmured, "Lumos Volitare.' A bright ball of white light, the size of a tennis ball, shot from the tip of his wand. It flaoted upwards, until it stopped a meter from the ceiling and just hung there. Everyone looked at the light and tried to find out who cast it.

"Mr. Potter, is this your handiwork?" the professor asked him, looking excited, at which Harry just nodded his head. Hermione started practicing the movement, then casting it as well, bouncing in excitement. Her orb faltered after a few seconds, but she wasn't deterred.

"Mr. Potter, I think Ravenclaw deserves 20 points for using an improved spell, that is not in the syllabus, as well as helping Miss Granger learn it. Wherever did you learn that?" professor Flitwick asked, curiously.

"Well... Uhm... I found one of my mother`s journals. It contained a lot of spells and how to cast them, as well as a short piece of history on it. Some of it is above me so far, but I am trying to practice those I can, sir," Harry said, trying to avoid the half-goblin`s gaze.

"Lily Potter, an exceptional woman. So, so sad. I would love to see how you turn out, dear boy," the professor said, looking at him, sadly. Harry smiled and took out his mother`s charms journal to continue reading. Hermione managed to get the right balance for the floating lumos and then there were two floating orbs hanging in the air, much to the professor`s delight.

The rest of the morning lessons passed really slowly, with Harry and Hermione talking softly amongst themselves, while the professor continued with the rest of his explanations on how to balance magical output to get the best results for spellwork. They looked through Lily`s Charms journal, with Hermione asking questions and Harry answering or explaining where he had the knowledge to. By the time lunch rolled around, she had more notes on what they talked about, than about the lesson they sat through.

After what felt like an eternity, lunch finally came around and Harry and Hermione made their way to the Great Hall, where they sat down and started eating. Harry took out some parchment and made some notes over what was said in History of Magic. He really didn`t want to believe that a ghost taught the class, but Dora insisted that it was true. Hermione looked at him, wondering what he was doing, voicing as much.

"I am making notes on History class, just in case I need any of it for the essays that a ghost can`t possibly grade," Harry explained, rolling his eyes.

"Harry, how do you remember all of what was said in class? I remember most of it, but surely not that much. It looks like you have the whole lesson there," Hermione said, looking at the parchments between them.

"Padfoot taught me and Dora Occulomency," Harry explained, upon seeing her confusion, he went on, "Occulomency is a branch of magic that helps secure and protect your mind. It also helps you retain knowledge and sort emotions and thoughts better. It is a very useful skill." Harry saw Hermione think on the topic and form questions, so he predicted the first one. "Occulomency is mainly used as a defence against Legilemency. Legilimency is the art of invading the mind of another, to extract information or even alter already existing memories." Hermione looked thoughtful at this and made a mental note to find books on the subjects.

Dora came storming in at that moment, her robes disheveled, face flushed and her hair a fiery red. She marched along the tables, until she reached them and sat herself down heavily, rocking the seats and knocking a goblet off the table. She used a fork to spear some food and started eating aggressively.

"Harry, Hermione, how are things?" she spoke, more a statement than a question, her teeth clenched tightly.

"Dora, what happened? Am I hexing people on my first day at school?" Harry asked, flicking his wand out, aiming to stand up. Dora pulled him down in his seat as Hermione looked on in confusion.

"Harry, stop. It is just some fourth year moron that tried to call me by my name, so I hexed him all the way from the steps to the pitch. He`s probably in the Hospital Wing now, with various rashes and boils and other embarrassing things," Dora said, puffing herself up, smiling brightly, her hair back to its bright pink again. Hermione tried to ask her about her name again, but Harry managed to silence her with one look. He knew that she wasn`t above flinging hexes at the lunch table. That thought made him shiver, so he shook his head and started joing the two girls in their conversation, which had turned to the flying lessons taking place that afternoon. Dora kept going on about Harry being a natural, hands waving everywhere while she retold some of their flying stories. When she finally got to the story of Harry letting go of his broom and falling out the sky, Hermione was pale-faced, hands over her mouth, with a horrified expression. To Dora`s surprise, Hermione went on a rant, berating him for his stupidity, so much so that she had to save Harry after about five minutes of scolding and almost every hair color imaginable. Shortly after Hermione`s fit, they decided to make their way towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Dora went the other way to her first class of the afternoon, calling out farewells to them.

"Harry?" a voice said behind them, stopping them as they reached the stairs. Harry stopped to turn around. He saw a very cute girl with black and green robes. She had long, waist-length black hair, that was braided. Her eyes were like the insides of an iceberg, a piercing icy white-blue. She carried herself with grace and dignity. She stood in front of him, her hands clasped in front of her, looking at him.

"My name is Daphne Greengrass, my father, the Lord Greengrass, asked that I introduce myself to you and approach you in regards to establishing a friendship, or perhaps even just try to get along, since our House Lords are in an alliance," she said, dipping into a curtsey and raising her hand toward Harry, who took it and bowed as he kissed her knuckles softly.

"It is nice to meet you, Daphne. Sirius told me I might be approached by people that he is aligned with. He also told me that you were raised as a pureblood princess. If I am being honest, pureblood ideals tend to get me worked up," Harry told her, gazing lightly at her, assessing the look in her eyes, to try and see what impact his words have on her. He saw guilt and something else flit through her eyes, before settling in a hard, stony look.

"Please, allow me to introduce you to Hermione Granger. She is in Ravenclaw with me. She is a very gifted muggleborn and one of my closest friends," he said, looking at Hermione, who put her hand up to Daphne. Hermione looked at him and blushed under his gaze and words. Looking over at Daphne, he saw the same look as before and recognized it this time. It was sorrow, a deep supressed sadness.

"I would like to assure both of you, that I am not like most purebloods. My whole family are more accepting, but there are appearances that need to be kept up. It saddens me that people judge others on blood status," Daphne said, her gaze sweeping between the two in front of her. She seemed to be judging their reactions. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and looked upon Daphne in defiance. Harry put his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently, leaning in and whispering something that Daphne couldn`t hear, but it seemed to relax the bushy-haired witch.

"It was lovely meeting you, Daphne, but we have Defence now and need to get going," Harry said, nodding toward her and started walking with Hermione up the steps. Daphne fell in step on Harry`s other side, saying that the Slytherins also have Defence. They made their way to the class, only to find their professor stand outside the class. He led them inside and had them all sit at the desks. Harry looked around and saw that Draco Malfoy was glaring at him from the other side of the class, sitting behind Daphne and a cute blonde-haired witch.

"My name is Johan Strauss, I used to be an auror in the South African Ministery of Magic. I will be teaching you how to defend yourself against the Dark Arts and various creatures," the professor told them, while taking off his robes, revealing a scale covered, laced up vest and a white shirt underneath with a wide collar. Underneath, there were scars peeking out.

"I will be teaching you various dueling techniques, curses and counters, fending off various creatures and how to analyse and adapt to different scenarios. We'll start by learning how to properly avoid getting hit by spells, without shielding. Pair up in twos. One will throw stinging jinxes and the other will dodge it," he said again, using his wand to move the desks out of the way and drawing two lines on the floor.

Harry and Hermione paired up, with Hermione immediately flining stinging hexes at Harry, who just avoided every single one, stepping side to side in a graceful sort of dance. Every few seconds, he would fling one at Hermione, who would yelp out loud and glare at him, causing him to laugh out loud. When they switched roles, he went slowly at first, to help her to get used to dodging them, then increase the speed after a while. She yelped out every now and then, when she got hit.

The rest of the lesson went like that, one casting and one dodging. People would occasionally yelp out in surprise or groan in annoyance. At one point, Daphne got really mad when a stray hex from Draco hit her on the hip. She proceeded to throw strings of schoolyard hexes and jinxes at him, ending up with him crying out for mercy, swearing aloud on the floor.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Mr. Malfoy, get one of your friends or Madam Pomfrey to reverse those hexes and learn to cast accurately. Your control is sloppy. Dismissed," the professor called out, putting a stop to Draco's suffering. Daphne tucked her wand away and left the classroom in a huff, followed closely by the blonde-haired witch.

0o0o0

"Stand next your brooms, hold your hand over them and in a firm, commanding voice, say 'Up'," Madam Hooch, the flying coach, told all the first years. What followed next, was five minutes of brooms rolling around, jumping this way and that, refusing to move, or lifted with such force that the owners got hit in various uncomfortable places. Harry just stood there for the most part, watching people struggle, including Hermione, who had no luck whatsoever. Harry leant over to her and whispered in her ear, "Don't ask or request, you have to demand. You are in control and the broom must listen to you." Hermione shivered a little as his breath tickled her, but she shook it off. Feeling emboldened, she stuck her hand and told the broom to get up and it shot up into her hand.

Hermione turned to face Harry, beaming. Harry stood, leaning against his broom, half a meter off the ground. He had both feet in one of the metal foot rests, one arm around the broom. Hermione tentatively climbed on, listening to Harry's explanations. He got a nod from Madam Hooch and beckoned for Hermione to follow him, as he swung himself on the broom and led her over the pitch, explaining the basics as she flew shakingly behind him.

"H-Harry, how are you so good at this? This is terrifying!" Hermione called out behind him as he laughed out loud.

"Hermione, you need to let go! Just let go and fly! There is nothing really to it. You need to let go and be free!" Harry called out to her. She looked very pale and had a death grip on the handle, so Harry slowed down and they stopped. He moved closer to her, smiling.

"Breath in, steady yourself and breath out. You are smart and confident and strong, you can do anything. Believe in yourself," Harry told her. Hermione breathed deeply and steadied herself. After a few moments, she told him that she was ready. They set off again, with Hermione being a lot more steady and confident than before. Harry led her around the field, looking at the other students, some doing well and others struggling immensely. They notice that there were already a few missing from the group, their brooms lying abandoned.

Harry led Hermione higher and then through dips, different types of turns and explaining different things. Hermione started to relax a lot more and actually having a lot of fun. She started experimenting with the speeds and she suddenly wobbled through the air and lost all her nerves again. Harry didn't notice what was happening until he heard her shouting below him. He turned and saw she was making a sharp nose dive and couldn't get control of the broom. He shot after her with Madam Hooch approaching from the other side, just as fast. Hermione hit the ground with a sickening crunch and a blood curdling scream. Harry jumped off his broom and dropped next to her, shouting obcenities as he turned her and held her up, looking her over.

"Hermione! Shit, Hermione. We need to get you to the Hospital Wing! Your arm is broken badly,' Harry called to her, panicked. He gently moved her right arm to lie across her stomach, bleeding badly, bones sticking out. Hermione was crying badly, her face paled rapidly at the bloodloss. Madam Hooch ripped out her wand and shot a strong stunner at the girl in Harry's arm, causing her to go limp. She conjured rags to press against the bleeding arm, encasing it to staunch the flow.

"Class dismissed! Mr. Potter, we need to get her to the Hospital Wing. Everyone else to your dorms!" Madam Hooch called out around her, Harry was already by the entrance to the pitch when she caught up. He put her down on the stretcher that the coach conjured and they ran into and through the halls.

0o0o0

Hermione slowly moved her head side to side, feeling a throbbing in her head, arm and side. She couldn't remember what happened to her, but she was very comfortable at that moment. She heard murmurs around her that didn't make any sense. She tried focusing on it, but struggled immensely. Her eyes fluttered and she had to shut it hard against the bright light. She heard a voice to her side and felt a hand in hers. So warm, so soft, she thought to herself. She looked to her side and saw the two greenest eyes under flowing black and red hair. Her eyes widened in horror as she remembered what happened.

"Hermione, how are you feeling? You took a nasty tumble," Harry spoke softly, his voice thick with concern for his new friend.

"Never, ever flying again," Hermione croaked back at him, her throat dry.

"Miss Granger, you will need to stay here for a few days. You broke your arm in three places, dislocated your shoulder and have a few scrapes from the broom shattering on impact. I have you on pain relief potions, Skele-Gro and blood replenishing potions," Madam Pomfrey spoke up behind Harry. Hermione adopted a very panicked expression at the thought of missing classes, until Harry reassured her that he would get all her homework and notes, as well as sit with her, mornings and afternoons, until she got out.

"Thank you, Harry. You don`t need to do all of that, but thank you," Hermione told him, her eyes starting to tear up and a big smile crossing her face as she drifted off again.

Wednesday, 4th of September 1991

Hermione had already dressed to leave the hospital wing and was busy finishing up with the first half of her Defence essay that Harry dropped off at lunch. She didn't even need to consult her text books, seeing as Harry was very diligent with his note taking. She thought that he is really considerate, seeing as she is more than willing to read through the text book. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and immediately perked up further when Harry walked in, taking his hair down after the flying lesson.

"Hey, I see you are ready to leave. Good, I have some notes from Charms and Transfiguration. Also, professor McGonagall asked if we can go see her before dinner, so we need to move," Harry told her, smiling when she jumped up. Madam Pomfrey came over and checked her over and declared her fit to leave, as well as gave her a note to be excused from flying classes, due to 'psychological reasons'. She explained that she is also mortally terified of flying and was more than happy to provide the young girl with the note.

"I see you survived your excursion on a rogue broom," Dora exclaimed, smiling brightly at them when they stepped outside. She walked along with them, telling them stories of the accidents that her group made the previous year. She said that there are quite a few people that had the same problem as Neville, flying straight into a wall several meters off the ground, earning them a trip to the hospital wing for an hour or two. To Hermione's horror, though, she found out that she received an unofficial award, namely, 'Best Crash of the Year' . Dora left them at professor McGonagall's office, stating that she needed to go to the library to finish a potions essay.

"Come in!" came from inside the classroom, when they knocked. They walked in and was greeted by professor McGonagall, reading through essays.

"Miss Granger, I really want to say thank you, first of all. You and Mr. Potter here turned in excellent essays regarding basic transfiguration of inanimate objects and size limitations. You made an excellent observation of inter-material transfiguration requiring more precise control and more input than same material transfiguration," the aged professor told them, looking over her glasses at them as they sat down. They thanked her and took some tea that she offered them.

"Miss Granger, due to recent tragic events, I have yet to see you perform practical transfigurations. Mr. Potter assures me that you are well capable, since he insisted on being at your bedside at every possible moment," she said, internally smiling at the blush creeping over the young raven-haired wizard's face. She took out three matches and a spoon.

"The first match into a wooden button, the second into a needle, the third one into a metal button and finally, the spoon into a hairclip, if you please, Miss Granger," professor McGonagall told Hermione, pointing toward the objects. Hermione took out her wand, collected her thoughts and pointed her wand at the objects and performing the necessary motions, she transfigured the objects one at a time. All of them was successful, except for the metal button missing two holes and the hairclip not opening.

"Very good, Miss Granger. I am happy to say that Mr. Potter was correct about your abilities, considering that you missed the lessons. You just need to picture the end product more clearly for the intricate transfigurations and you will do exceptionally well." Hermione perked up at the praise and beamed at Harry. She was really glad to be able to impress the professor. She's used to being the best in her classes and being praised in a world, into which she was only recently introduced, filled her heart with pride.

"Thank you, professor! I'll remember to focus more clearly on the outcome," Hermione said, still smiling widely.

"Now, there is another thing I want to discuss, if you don't mind me dropping formality?" the professor asked, looking toward Harry, who nodded at her to continue.

"Thank you, Harry. I must say, I got a rather interesting and confusing letter from your godfather. He told me an interesting story regarding you and Miss Tonks and animals," she said, smiling internally at the fact that Harry looked away shyly, not knowing what to say. Hermione looked on at the conversation in confusion.

"Harry, please do not worry. You and Miss Tonks are not in trouble, neither is Sirius. I merely want to discuss it with you. If you feel uncomfortable talking about it, we can discuss it at a later date," she told him, her eyes flicking over toward Hermione. Harry followed her eyes and saw the questions in the girl's eyes and decided it best to only have the conversation once and deal with the questions as they appear.

"There is no need, professor. We can discuss it in front of Hermione. I am very certain that she will hound me until I tell her everything and explain it as well. For the sake of avoiding reduntant conversations, I already told Hermione about the basics of Occulomency and Legilimency and gave her some introductory reading on the subjects," Harry told the professor, after which he offered to make them tea, anticipating a long conversation. Both of them were quick to accept and more than surprised when he started making the tea by hand. When asked about it, he informed them, much to Hermione`s surprise and delight, that he and Dora have been taught to do most things as muggles do. Harry told them that he spent most mornings helping to prepare breakfast, after swimming or jogging.

Hermione, for one, was very impressed, when he said he loved making food. She knew she was absolutely rubbish at cooking, although she did love different types of food. Her mother and father always made it a challenge to outdo one another in the kitchen and she loved watching their antics. It made for very entertaining meal times. When asked, they would say that, after being married for more than 14 years, you are used to your partner's quirks and in their marriage, they are both highly competitive and they use it in a playful manner, as to keep things alive and going.

"Sirius told me that, due to your Metamorphmagus abilities, he decided to teach you Occulomency to try and help improve your control over your magic and assist with controlling emotions," she explained, at which Harry nodded.

"He informed me that, when both of you took to it quite well, he decided to see if he could get you to use your magical core to build a mindscape. Would you like to explain what Sirius taught you about Animagi to Hermione here?" professor McGonagall asked encouragingly. Hermione sat at the edge of the chair, nodding vigorously, looking expectantly at Harry.

Harry smiled at her and started gathering his thoughts. He thought that her excitement in the face of knowledge was really amazing. He loved learning new things, but Hermione was on a whole new level, all on her own, above him. He found that sharing his knowledge with her, was exciting in its own right.

"Right. Well, an Animagus is a witch or wizard, that have the ability to change into an animal at will. The witch or wizard cannot change or decide the form that they take, as it is based on their personality traits," Harry explained to her, seeing her eyes light up.

"Are people born with it? Can you learn it? What are the pros and cons?" Hermione asked excitedly, bouncing her feet, eliciting a light chuckle from professor McGonagall.

"A Metamorphmagus is a person that inherit the ability through bloodlines, the Black family being the only known carriers. An Animagus, on the other hand, is a person that earns the ability through one of two methods. The first is the most well-known. It takes anywhere between two months up to whatever length. It is an immensely difficult and tricky ritual, involving keeping a mandrake leaf in the mouth for a month, using said leaf in a potion, with the person's hair and a few rare and hard to gather ingredients, mixed in very specific circumstances, to be drunk during a thunderstorm. If any part of the ritual goes slighty wrong, the whole process can be disasterous or needs to be started all over," Harry explained, looking at Hermione, seeing her expression drop a bit at the thought of such a complicated ritual.

"That is why we only recommend it to people that get Outstanding on their O.W.L's for Transfiguration and Potions, then only attempting it in their N.E.W.T year, under supervision. It is a very long process and, if done incorrectly, potentially fatal. That is why anyone that manage to do it, need to be registered, to keep track of people capable of achieving the transformation," the professor explained to a dejected Hermione. She listened to the explanation with rapt attention, even though she felt a little discouraged at the idea of something she isn't capable of achieving. Harry saw her sorrow and decided to explain again, knowing that the professor left the majority for him to explain, only filling in the blanks.

"There is a second way, but it is much longer and require a lot of patience and dedication. Dora and I have been at it for a year now and should take another year or two, before we can attempt to begin the transformation. The first step, is learning basic Occulomency. It allows you to sort through memories and emotions and compartmentalize everything. This forms as a basis for a type of meditation of sorts that allows you to actively feel magic coursing through your body and also find and feel your magical core," Harry explained, smiling genuinely at Hermione's look of awe.

"Once you are able to feel your magical core and can sense the magic coursing through you, you will need to clear your mind of all things. Completely empty your mind and focus only on the emptiness and your magical flow. This will put you into a trance-like state, which will allow your magical energy to start building your mindscape, which is where you will start communicating with or feel what your animal spirit is," Harry finished his explanation. Professor McGonagall looked at him, pleased with his assessment of the second method.

"30 points to Ravenclaw for superb knowledge on a subject that is not widely practiced," the transfiguration professor beamed at Harry, seeing a new potential apprentice in the making. She composed her emotions before pressing on, "Harry, I assume you're mindscape have already started forming. Can you tell me what you see and feel, while exploring it?" the professor asked Harry, feeling excitement build in her at the prospect of one so young learning the transformation.

"Snow, I see snow and trees and mountains. I can`t make out what type of trees it is, or where I am. I know I have fur, because I don`t feel cold. I have very basic instincts coming through. Hungry, chase, water, patrol territory. I don`t need company, but I am not opposed to companionship. This is my world, I am in charge," Harry explained, straining to look through his memories of a more primal state. He occationally feels an urge to snap at people that try to intimidate or talk over him. He had to surpress a few growls in Potions class, in which professor Snape kept trying to belittle him. It wouldn't do to growl at a professor.

"Hmmm, I would think, from what you are saying, that it is something canine in nature, but more wild. A lone animal and a pack animal at the same time. Definitely an Alpha male type animal. I must say, Harry. I am very impressed with your progress. Do you anything about Miss Tonks' mindscape?" professor McGonagall asked him, not bothering to contain her excitement anymore, seeing that Hermione was in the same state as herself, she smiled genuinely.

"Not really, she seems to think that it is some sort of jungle environment and she also feels similar feelings as I do, but there is more of a playful and mischievous nature to it. Today and yesterday, on my way to see Hermione, I actually found her stalking me. She was actually stalking me, like I was some sort of prey," Harry told her, brows furrowed, scratching the back of his head. Hermione started laughing out loud, unable to stop herself.

"Before we came to Hogwarts, I found her in front of the fireplace a few times, fast asleep," Harry continued, to Hermione's detriment, as she kept laughing without holding back. They had to wait a while for her to calm down. Harry offered the ladies more tea and they readily accepted. Hermione settled down, sipping the tea tentatively.

"Harry, I am very intrigued by your progress and would really love to be of assistance. Your father and his friends did the whole process under my nose, thinking I didn't realise and I have to say I was very disappointed with them for not coming to me. Your father was one of my favorite students. Do not misunderstand, I was really proud of them, I am the one that pushed for their registrations on an international level, as to help keep it as anonymous as possible," the professor explained to Harry, looking at him with pride in her eyes.

"Your mother was intrigued by the idea as well, considering she was followed by a certain suspicious stag for a few days, with James being missing every time. She felt that the time requirements was too much, however. During her final year she focused on preparing to go for her Masters in Potions and Charms," she continued, her eyes taking on a faraway look.

0o0o0

Monday, 30st of September 1991

The rest of the month passed with little in the way of excitement or revelations. Harry and Dora set aside spare time every day, in order to help Hermione learn basic Occulomency and meditative techniques. She started grasping the basics of it, but had a lot of trouble with setting aside all her thoughts and finding her magic flow. Harry and Dora took turns with sitting in front of her, holding her hands and lightly increasing and decreasing their own magic flows, using their changes to make it more detectable. Hermione had no problem doing it with their help, but if they stopped, she struggled again.

Harry tried a more practical approach might be better to kickstart the process. He told her to close her eyes and focus, while casting a Lumos Volitare charm, and to feel for the exact moment when the spell releases. She found it a lot easier to do that, than to meditate on it. Soon enough, she was able to feel her own magic, however briefly at times. Meditating on that feeling became slightly easier and she could go a minute or so to feel her magic flow, then another minute or two, before she lost it again.

Harry and Hermione was on their way to the library after Herbology, discussing various essays they still had to finish and tests to study for. They found a comfortable routine, going to classes, library and then Occulomency sessions with Dora. Harry managed to show Madam Hooch that he didn`t need more lessons and got an invitation to fly with the Ravenclaw team at their practice sessions. This freed up a lot more time for him to study and research wandlore and the like.

"Potter!" came a voice from behind Harry and Hermione, while they made their way to the Entrance Hall. Harry turned around and saw Draco approach them, with two beefy, chubby boys following him. He nodded his head in greeting toward Draco and made to turn around again.

"I'm not done talking, Potter." Harry turned slowly, instantly looking Draco in the eyes, willing him to speak.

"Firstly, snubbing the Heir to an Ancient and Noble House like you did on the train, is considered disrespectful and in poor taste. You ought to know to pay the respect deserved to your betters," Draco said, drawing himself up to his full height, trying to make himself appear dignified.

"Dear cousin, if I see my betters, I will pay them the respect they deserve. I wasn't aware that I encountered an Heir to an Ancient and Noble House on the train, though. Also, I didn't snub you. You asked me to relay a message to Harry Potter and I received it. I wasn't too fond of your remark towards my friend, either," Harry said, looking completely relaxed, but maintaining eye contact with Malfoy.

"I am not your cousin. I am also the Heir to-," Draco started, but Harry cut across him.

"The Heir to the Noble House of Malfoy. The family that bought their nobility upon entering the country from France. Whereas I am the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, as well as the godson of one Lord Sirius Black, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, which makes me your better in two ways. We are, indeed, family, cousin. You see, my grandmother and your grandmother are sisters! Can you believe it? Astonishing, I know!" Harry exclaimed the last part in mock surprise, looking over to Hermione and winking at her.

"You DARE insult my family, you halfblood son of a-," Draco started shouting, before Harry cut him off again.

"Careful of what you say next, unless you want to spend the next few days in a magically induced coma and your family booted back to France so fast that not even a Portkey can catch up," Harry growled at him, shooting his wand into his hand and stepping forward.

"Your father may hold political influence in the Ministry and Wizenmagot, but he is nothing more than a disgraced, weak-willed Death Eater that had to rely in the Imperius defence to stay out of Azkaban. I promise you that should you try to say anything else about my mother or anyone that is not pureblood in my vicinity, not even he would be able to save you!" Harry kept up his speech, looking Draco dead in the eye, who lost it completely at that point.

Several things happened over the next few moments. Draco took out his wand and signalled to the two boys at his side, who took out theirs as well. They started shooting jinxes at Harry and Hermione. Harry pushed Hermione to the ground and danced out of the way.

"Incarcerous!" Harry shouted, bounding the two chubby boys, bounding them in thick ropes and knocking them over. Draco kept throwing disarming charms at him, which he dodged with grace.

"Expelliarmus, Stupify," he called out again, disarming and stunning Draco. Said boy dropped to the floor, out like a light.

Harry looked towards Hermione to see if she was fine. He saw that she was sitting on the ground, eyes wide in panic, not really comprehending what happened. He walked over to her and help his hand out to help her up. She took it and looked him in the eyes, her breathing shallow and rapid.

"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked the brunette, concerned for her. She nodded her head slowly, still unable to actually say anything. She has never seen anything like what just happened and was still reeling from being shoved out of the way.

"I am really sorry that you had to see that. I really hoped he wouldn't attack, but I had my own family pride to uphold and I won't have anyone insult non-purebloods, seeing as you, me, my mother, Dora and Ted fall in that catagory," Harry said soothingly to Hermione, rubbing her arms gently until she calmed down.

"I don't want you to see the next part of my point, seeing as you will not agree, but it needs to be done. Please, go on so long and find Dora at the library or Great Hall. Explain what you saw and ask her to meet me at professor McGonagall's office," Harry told her, steeling himself. She nodded slowly and turned around, walking at a fast pace.

Harry waited until she was out of sight and walked back towards the three Slytherin boys that he just beat. He saw the two chubby ones struggling against the ropes and Draco was still knocked out. He aimed a hard kick at Draco's ribs, hearing a soft cracking sound under his foot. He knelt next to one of the other boys.

"I have a message for you to deliver. I do not appreciate attacks on myself or anyone I care for. I do not care for insults flung at my family and friends. This is a warning. If Draco comes after me or my friends again, or I have to find out about stuff said behind my back, I will make good on going after him with both of my families. Do you understand?" he whispered. The boy nodded at him, eyes wide. Harry got up and walked off, leaving them behind.

0o0o0

"Come in!" came from inside professor McGonagall's office. Harry allowed Hermione and Dora to walk ahead of him. Dora looked ready to tear someone a new one. Harry followed them in and stood in front of the professor's desk. She looked up at them and indicated for them to sit.

"Professor, I want to report something directly to you as deputy headmistress, but I have a request to make. I want to know if I can have my godfather present for this meeting in the formal capacity as my head of house. It is quite important," Harry spoke softly, at which the professor nodded, even if she felt it was a bit weird for such a request. Harry held his arm out and called for Hedwig. There was a flash of fire and the regal white and red phoenix sat atop his arm, looking at him inquisitively. Professor McGonagall gasped at the sight before her. She slowly took off her glasses in shock as Harry whispered something to the phoenix, who trilled softly and disappeared again, only to reappear a few moments later, on the shoulder of a man with long black hair and exquisite grey robes.

"Harry? Professor McGonagall? Is something wrong?" Sirius asked, taking in the faces around him. Professor McGonagall repeated the question toward Harry and everyone looked at him expectantly. Harry took in a deep breath to settle himself.

"Hermione and I was confronted just outside the Entrance Hall a few moments ago. Draco Malfoy and two other Slytherins approached us, telling me I insulted his family's honor by snubbing the Heir to an Ancient and Noble House and telling me I should know my place," Harry started, looking at the two adults. Sirius looked like he wanted to laugh and professor McGonagall looked impassive, waiting for the rest.

"I then proceeded to tell him that I do know my place, being of even older families than his own and that they only have a Noble title, not Ancient. A title which they bought. I informed him of the fact that we are related as well. He wanted to insult my mother, calling her a prostitute, so I warned him to think carefully about what he was about to say, as I don't take insults to people I love, kindly. I also informed him that if he continued with that train of though, not even his ex-Death Eater of a father will save him from what will happen. Then he and his goons started flinging jinxes and hexes at myself and Hermione. I pushed her out of the way and proceeded to disarm and incapacitate them in self defence," Harry finished. He could see Sirius was torn between pride and rage. Professor McGonagall looked to be truly upset. She sent a Patronus to somebody and then looked at Hermione.

"Miss Granger, is this what you observed?" she asked the girl. Hermione nodded her head and then said, " He also made remarks about wanting to warn Harry against associating with people of lesser birth, looking toward me." Professor McGonagall sighed and shook her head. Sirius spoke up for the first time.

"Professor, I don't know how you want to handle this, but I will ask that you take points from Harry's house for confronting a student in a situation he could have avoided and have been goaded into. If you want to give him points for defending a house mate and and self-defence, that is your prerogative. I will deal to the insults to my houses and family in my own way. Inform Mr. Malfoy that there are no warnings from the House of Black." He looked at Harry and smiled at the boy that stood there, agreeing with a loss of points for being stupidly goaded into a confrontation. He bowed slightly toward the professor and told Harry that he was proud of him, then disappeared in a flash of fire as the door opened again.

A furious looking professor Snape, an out of breath professor Flitwick and a stoic headmaster entered the room. Professor Snape demanded an explanation as to why three of his students needed to be freed and rambling about an attack. Professor McGonagall told Harry to go ahead, so he launched into the retelling of the story, starting with the encounter on the train. Professor Snape got progressively more livid, calling for severe punishment for how his students were attacked without cause, even if he could hear that they initiated the attack. Harry kept talking, professor Flitwick looked murderous by the end of the tale. When Harry got to the part of Draco insulting his mother, professor Snape went deathly pale and staggered backwards into an empty seat, even as Harry retold his warning to Draco.

Professor Dumbledore told Harry that the situation will be resolved between himself, Sirius and Lord Malfoy and that Harry should avoid Draco until everything is resolved. Professor McGonagall then spoke up, saying that Sirius already knows and will be taking matters into his own hands, citing dishonor to his family.

Professor Flitwick told Harry that he was both proud and disappointed. He was proud that Harry handled the situation honorably by defending those important to him, but also disappointed that Harry didn't use his Ravenclaw logic to see he was being goaded as well. He should have left well enough alone and kept walking, but at least things didn't turn out for the worst. Professor Dumbledore told him that they would both serve detentions for the events that transpired, but since the situation took on a political aspect, there wasn't more that he could do.

A few days after their detention, Harry received a letter from Sirius. The letter explained that he confronted Lucius Malfoy in front of the Wizengamot, demanding a public apology from the lesser House, in front of the offended parties. Malfoy tried to get out of it by saying that children are foolish and have no idea of what they speak and implied that if Sirius taught Harry better, the whole situation could have been avoided. Sirius used that to his advantage, by reminding Lucius of his House's status, just like Harry did to Draco. This led to a massive outroar and half an hour of shouting and swearing in the Wizengamot. Sirius also wrote in the letter that he was approached by Narcissa Malfoy, asking that he allow her to apologize on behalf of her family and to consider handling the matter in private, where discussions couldn't be made public knowledge.