c5

It was now September 1st and the teenage occupants of Grimmauld Place had just made it to the Hogwarts express in their usually late fashion.

Fred and George quickly left to find their friend Lee Jordan leaving the other three to make their way on to the train.

They boarded the express and managed to find a near empty compartment in the very last carriage, the only two people inside were Neville Longbottom and a girl who was in Ginnys' year, Luna Lovegood.

Neville looked relieved when the other teens entered the compartment and seemed to visibly relax considerably. He had lost a lot of weight over the summer and he no longer had the chubby, boyish face, he looked more like the growing teen he was and not an oversized child.

"I have to go to the prefects' carriage for a meeting" Hermione said quietly.

"Congratulations Hermione" Neville praised. "It was a no-brainer that you would get it" he finished genuinely.

"Thank you Neville" she replied gratefully as she left.

Ron simply looked irritated, he thought that with Harry being missing then he stood a chance at being made prefect also but that had not happened.

"Who got the male position in Gryffindor?" he asked sullenly noticing Neville wasn't wearing the badge.

"Dean Thomas got it, I saw him on the platform" Neville replied.

"Dean?" Ron questioned critically, "But he's an idiot" he grumbled, scowling.

"He gets the best grades in our dorm and he stays out of trouble" Neville shrugged. "Makes sense to me with Harry not coming back".

"How do you know he's not coming back?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"He wrote to me after I sent him a birthday present" Neville answered. "But he told me not to talk about it to anyone except you guys. He said you knew he was ok" he finished.

"We haven't heard from him at all" Ron moaned moodily. "Why would he write to you?"

"Did you write to him?" Neville questioned in reply.

"Well no I thought he would write when he could" Ron muttered, his ears turning red in annoyance and embarrassment.

"So you just sent him an owl and he got it?" Ginny interjected.

"That's right" Neville confirmed. "How else would you write to someone?" he asked rhetorically.

"He's going to be so furious with us" Ginny said quietly.

"Definitely" Neville replied simply.

"He can't be mad at us" Ron pointed out. "And even if he is he will get over it" he concluded confidently.

Before Neville could reply Ginny intervened seeing the peeved demeanour the other boy was now sporting.

"What did he say in his letter?" She inquired.

"He just said he's okay and has a lot to do, to keep everything between us and he will see us all soon enough" Neville answered ominously.

With that the door opened and in came an irritated looking Hermione. Upon sensing the atmosphere in the compartment she looked at each person, waiting for an explanation.

"Harry wrote to Neville" Ron said sulkily.

Hermione was taken aback. Of all the trivial things she was expecting, this wasn't it. She had so many questions running through her mind that they all came spewing out in one long sentence.

"How is he? Is he ok? When is he coming back? What did he say to you? Why would he write to you and not us?" She finished breathlessly sounding upset.

"He is ok but we have to keep it to ourselves" Neville responded, gesturing to those present.

His eyes went wide in terror as they fell on to Luna who he had forgotten was still there.

"Luna, you can't say anything to anyone" he said pleadingly.

The other girl seemed to snap out of some form of trance and seemed surprised by how many people were in the compartment with her.

"I'm sorry were you all talking about something?" she questioned. "I was thinking about my summer, me and my father went to Sweden looking for many wonderful creatures" she finished, clearly ignorant of any conversation that had taken place.

Neville breathed a sigh of relief and simply mouthed the word 'later' to Hermione who had now taken her seat.

"Who are the other prefects?" Ron asked.

"Take a guess" Hermione answered sourly.

Ron groaned knowing that that sour tone could only mean one thing.

Before he could answer the compartment door opened and in stepped a gleeful looking Malfoy flanked by his two usual goons and Pansy Parkinson.

"Ahh Weasel" he intoned elaborately. "See this?" he asked pointing to the silver badge that was pinned to his robes. "This proves what I have always known, that I am better than you" he finished laughing at the reaction he was getting from the redhead.

Ron was furious but before he could react he felt his sister grab the back of his robes and pull him tightly into the seat, restraining him.

"Piss off Malfoy" he replied through gritted.

"Uh uh Ahh Weasel, you should respect your betters" Malfoy replied waggling his finger in Rons' face. "There's no more scar-head to protect you" he said smugly. "Rumour has it his corpse is nothing more than a trophy over a very special fireplace" he finished.

The other occupants in the carriage were furious but Malfoy and his goons left quickly before any retribution could be had.

"I'm going to kill him" Ron shouted furiously.

"Forget it Ron" Hermione advised. "You know Malfoy is only talk and he will get a big surprise when he finds out that Harry is ok" She huffed attempting to calm the boy.

The rest of the journey passed by with them all lost in their own thoughts and before they knew it they were sat in the Great Hall waiting for the feast to begin.

Dumbledore rose from his seat at the centre of the staff table, his eyes twinkling in their usual way. The hall fell silent as he raised his arms to garner the attention of the students and staff.

"Welcome both new and returning students" he began. "Before we get to the announcements of the year I believe it is both prudent and customary to first dine on the fine food offered here at Hogwarts" he finished waving a hand across the breadth of the hall causing the empty plates and dishes to fill with an assortment of food.

"Who is that" Neville asked indicating to the only new member of staff at the table, a short stout woman wearing a pink cardigan and a matching bow in her hair.

Ron swallowed the mouthful of food he had before he looked towards the woman.

"New defence professor" he shrugged before continuing his onslaught.

"She doesn't look up to much does she" Neville said before adding food to his own plate.

The rest of the meal past in companionable silence and the students waited patiently for Dumbledore to conclude the feast so they could make their way to their respective dormitories.

Eventually he rose and the room fell silent once again.

"Again welcome to you all" he began. "Firstly, the forbidden forest is just that; forbidden to all students old and new" he said aiming a glance at the Weasley twins who were looking every bit the picture of innocence.

"Mr Filch has asked me to remind you that a list of all banned items can be found attached to his office door for those that may need reminding" he explained, again looking at the twins.

"And finally we have only one staff change this year. Please join me in welcoming Madame Umbridge who will be taking over as your Defence against the Dark Arts lessons for this year" he said starting a round of applause that was half-heartedly given by the students.

Before he could continue, said woman stood from her seat and made her way to the podium, gesturing for Dumbledore to sit down.

"Hem Hem" she coughed in a very irritating way. "My name is Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister…"

What followed was a long drawn out speech that very few paid attention to and were only roused by the clapping of the headmaster.

"One final thing" the woman chimed in before the headmaster could assume control. "I would like Mr Potter to join me in my office at the conclusion of the feast" she requested in a simpering girlish tone scanning the room for the teen.

The room began to speak in hushed whispers wondering what was going on. It was Neville who stood to address the woman as he saw the members of the staff was reluctant to.

"Harry has been missing for two months, you should know that" he said irritably not quite believing the woman was a stupid as she was coming across.

"We at the ministry believe that is a lie" she said shooting a glance at Dumbledore. "However, if Mr Potter is not here then he is playing truant and will be taken in to ministry care at the earliest opportunity" she concluded leaving the room.

"Prefects, please escort the members of your house to the dormitories" Dumbledore requested, every hint of his twinkle missing.

All the students made their way to their common rooms in silence some confused and some thoughtful. Draco Malfoy was confused. He had no reason not to believe his father when he told them that Potter had been killed by the Dark Lord but why was the ministry insisting he was alive? He shook his head knowing that his father wouldn't say it if he didn't know for sure and he knew that most of the ministry workers were buffoons. Even Fudge himself would be nothing without his father and the money he generously donated. Potter was dead, he had to be.

Being missing for 2 months in the wizarding without training was a death sentence. He made his way to his dorm lost in thoughts and decided that it was not his problem. He had more important things to worry about like how he could use his new found power to get what he wanted.

The members of Gryffindor were solemn. Ron and Hermione were questioned incessantly about the whereabouts of Harry but they told all the members of the house that you simply knew nothing and had not heard from him.

Neville Longbottom looked at his fellow housemates in sorrow. Only last year they had turned their back on the missing teen and now they decided to be concerned for his welfare. He pitied them all but kept his mouth shut as he promised Harry he would.

He went silently to his bed and allowed the rest of the house to wallow in their own emotions. He knew that Harry was ok and to him that was all that mattered until Harry decided when to make an appearance. He looked forward to that day knowing that things would be very different.

(BREAK)

The last month for Harry had essentially been a string of repetitive days. He would wake in the morning and eat and train both magically and physically throughout the day. The regime he had been following had benefited even more than he could imagine. He felt strong and healthy and looked the best he ever had. He had grown a further 2 inches, had filled out considerably and had to replace his wardrobe entirely. His skill with a wand was coming on in leaps and bounds and his movement was both becoming exceptionally fast and graceful. He was happy with his progress but was under no illusion that he needed to keep at it; he still had a lot more work to do.

After writing to Neville he had received only one other piece of mail and that had come courtesy of the goblins that had sent him a magical sphere to record the parseltongue prompts so they could access the carcass in the chamber.

They had written to Dumbledore and he had agreed to allow them access to the school to retrieve the corpse hoping that the wealth it would provide to Harry would help him in his endeavours. The old man had respected what he assumed was the teens wish to be left alone but passed on his greetings and offered help if he needed it.

Harry was grateful to Dumbledore but Arcturus was clearly not fond of the man for reasons of his own.

He would then spend several hours in the evening on magical theory and learning the syllabus for the last few years of school and even studying beyond it the way that he knew his family had.

He found that in the peace and quiet of his room he could excel at his subjects but again felt disappointed in his less than impressive first few years at Hogwarts.

On the night he saw the files belonging to both his parents and grandparents he had vowed to do better academically and he was well on his way to living up to them the way he desired.

Today felt strange to Harry knowing that he should be on the express and returning to school but in a way he was glad that he wasn't. He had settled into his routine and knew that he was benefitting much more being here than he would at school. He did miss his friends but he no longer missed them the way he had. He didn't hold anything against them for not writing and felt no dislike towards them but he did feel let down by the apparent lack of care they had shown. It was not something he dwelled on much; he simply didn't have the time.

He was busy during all waking hours and only stopped to rest during meal times and when he was unwinding in the evening before he slept. No, Harry was not bitter but he was certainly indifferent.

Arcturus had maintained his usual routine of being absent during the day and Harry had long since stopped wondering where it was he went. Harry knew he was busy taking care of the Horcruxes and knew better than to question the man. He would ask for help if wanted or needed it and Harry found that he truly did trust him. He would return at random times and test Harry in all aspects of his training and studying, offering pointers and advice where he felt necessary. He did not however baby the boy in any way and largely left him alone to be responsible for his own training and studies. He knew that seeing the files had lit a fire under the teen and had made him much more studious, which he was pleased to see.

The last few days had been a concern for Harry.

It began when he had started feeling lethargic and a little weak. His physical workout had left him drained and his magic had been erratic at best during his spell work. Initially he had concluded he was having an off day and simply shrugged it off. It wasn't until the next day that he felt something wasn't right when he barely made it half way through his exercises before he had to rest and even after that his energy levels did not replete.

It was today that he had woken to find that even walking to the drawing room for breakfast had him sweating and gasping for air and he knew that something must be really wrong. Not wanting to burden Arcturus with his problems he sat at the table and began to slowly eat what he could, and that wasn't much.

The older man eyed the boy critically as he entered the room. He looked peaky and quite sickly. He continued to watch him as he ate a very meagre amount compared to what he usually would. He took in the symptoms he could see and come to only two possible conclusions.

"Are you sick?" he asked the boy who jumped at the sudden interruption to his meal.

"I'm just feeling a little run down" Harry said dismissively.

Arcturus frowned at the boy knowing he wasn't being entirely truthful.

"Have you been vomiting?" he asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No I don't feel sick everything is just tiring and my magic is a little off, maybe I'm training too much" he tried hopefully.

The older man was sceptical of the boys' theory knowing that he wouldn't feel this way 2 months in to training, the tired phase passed weeks ago.

"What do you mean your magic is off?" he asked. "Are your spells either under or over powered?" he questioned, frowning.

Harry nodded at the question.

"Both" he said. "The power is inconsistent and I have little control over it" he admitted.

"I see" Arcturus replied. "Do you feel too hot or too cold?" he questioned further.

"Neither" Harry replied confused. "I feel normal apart from tiredness and my magic acting strangely".

"Ahh" Arcturus intoned surprised. "Come here" he commanded beckoning to the boy.

Harry complied and found himself on the receiving end of several diagnostic charms and spells he did not recognise.

"Just as I thought" the man said triumphantly. "It seems you are going through an early magical maturity" he proclaimed.

"What's that?" Harry asked inquisitively, it was something he had never heard of.

"It's the final stage in your magical growth in which you reach your peak powers and your core finishes stabilizing" the older man answered knowledgably. "It doesn't usually happen until you are between 18 and 21 years old though" he added frowning.

"Why is it happening to me now then?" Harry asked with worry evident in his voice.

Arcturus continued to frown while he considered his answer. The reasons became obvious with little thought. He looked at the boy critically again before he answered.

"Several reasons I think" he began. "Powerful wizards tend to mature much more quickly and there is no doubt that you are more than an exceptionally powerful wizard" he continued. "I'm also guessing that the taint of Riddle hindered your growth considerably, both magically and physically. With that gone, you being healthy and having grown as much as you have recently it seems that your body can now cope with the mature magic" he concluded thoughtfully. "I think Charlus went through his early. He was much like you until 5th year. When he came back he was bigger, faster and stronger in his body and magic" he explained.

Harry thought about what he had been told but could only nod in agreement.

He had begun to believe that he was certainly no average wizard. Since the piece of Riddle had been removed everything felt much more easy, even studying and absorbing information permanently was a breeze without the constant aches the scar had given him. He performed spells with ease and it just kept getting easier the more he did it.

"How long will it last?" he asked with a hint of concern.

Arcturus shrugged.

"For the average wizard it's usually over in a few days. How long have you felt like this?" he questioned the boy.

"This is the third day but the worst by far" Harry answered feeling worried again.

"It is usually longer for more powerful wizards, mine was around 5 days if I remember correctly" he explained.

Harry felt a little better knowing that but he could not ignore the exhaustion he was feeling.

"Is there anything I can do to make it easier?" he asked hopefully.

The older man shook his head.

"No, you just have to let it pass" he answered. "Just relax and sleep as much as you can and don't perform any magic or it will make it worse" he warned. "Use the time for your studies and theory work and let your body run its course" he finished firmly.

Harry nodded knowing that the older man was speaking sense.

He bid the man farewell and returned to his room to begin his day working on his theory.

Arcturus remained in his chair for some time pondering the boy he was sharing his house with. He couldn't help but marvel a little at the boy and the potential he possessed.

"He will do you proud old friend" he said quietly to the empty room and with that he put his usual disguise in place and disapparated to carry out his business for the day.

It was the next day that a surprise article appeared in the Daily Prophet. Harry was in bed feeling even worse than he had the day before; even going to the bathroom was a real effort.

Elgar bought him his breakfast and the paper and he gaped at the article before reading:

Harry Potter: Dead or Alive?

By Marsha Wood

We at the Prophet have been speculating the whereabouts of our once young hero for the past 2 months and have yielded no results. His home address away from school is one of the best kept secrets in the wizarding world and we simply assumed that he would return to school after the summer break had finished. But that was not the case.

According to an anonymous source within the school Potter did not show for the start of term and it seems that no one knows where he is, even Albus Dumbledore appears to be in the dark or he is keeping secrets from us all.

So where is young Mr Potter? Has he been killed and it is being kept quiet or is he truly simply missing? We at the Prophet are keen for any information regarding the status of Mr Potter and are offering a 1000 Galleon reward to anyone who provides information that leads to Mr Potter being found.

Harry folded up the paper and placed it on the bedside table. The article had Fudge's work all over it and Harry had no doubt that the minister was in it for his own gain.

He shook his head and ate his breakfast before reading as much as he could before he would fall asleep again as he knew he would.

The following week saw the prophet speculating further on his fate. Several people had come forward claiming they had seen him, some as far away as South America.

He began to look forward to the daily paper. It entertained him to no end reading the different theories that they were coming up with. His favourite was that he had taken a holiday to a Veela conclave and had either lost track of time or had died from exhaustion.

'If only they knew the truth' he chuckled to himself.

It wasn't until the tenth day of his ordeal that he began to feel better again. It had lasted much longer than he or Arcturus had anticipated it would but he was glad that it was now coming to an end. He had achieved a large amount of academic work but he was beginning to get restless and couldn't wait until he could get back to training. He knew it would take another couple of days but he could wait.

His keenness saw him able to begin training again on the 13th day. He could have started a couple of days before but Arcturus insisted he waited to be sure. With his resting days over he had a lot of catching up to do.

(BREAK)

On the surface, the first two weeks at Hogwarts hadn't differed much to the previous years but there was a definite undercurrent of tension felt by all. The professors taught their classes as normal and the schedule within the castle was the same. It was the rumours of the return of Tom Riddle and the placement of Dolores Umbridge as the new defence professor that had created the atmosphere within the school.

It was clear to all in the castle that Umbridge was not there to teach anything useful to the students, She was there as Fudges' lackey and nothing more.

Her lessons were the worst any had ever attended, if they could be called lessons at all. The classes were all instructed to do the same thing regardless of age and ability. They all read from the same book and questions were simply brushed aside. She clearly favoured the pureblood students, that was undeniable but her favour was given more so to those in Slytherin house. Thus the tension between the houses was more prevalent and became more so as each day passed.

Dolores Umbridge sat in her office contemplating her situation. She had no desire to be at Hogwarts surrounded by insolent little brats. She truly hated children, they disgusted her beyond comprehension.

However, she was if anything a very shrewd and intelligent woman. She was not particularly gifted in any branch of magic but her cunning and ability to work situations to her advantage had seen her rise to her very senior position within the ministry. She knew that being at Hogwarts was advantageous for her. From here should could glean much information and learn everything she needed to ensure her position no matter the outcome.

She hated Dumbledore and was more than a little envious of his achievements but she was no fool. She knew there had to be some truth to what he had been saying in regards to the return of the Dark Lord and decided she would take a wait and see approach and Hogwarts was perfect for that. Here she could be away from the ministry and out of the direct line of fire that would surely be aimed there. Here she could quietly gain favour with students who she knew had family who had been aligned with the Dark Lord and here she could remain somewhat neutral. She was no Death Eater but she sympathised with much of the pureblood doctrine they spouted. She as a pureblood herself could see the benefits of the Dark Lord seizing control and implementing new laws and an infrastructure that she could truly gain from.

She may not have been a Death Eater but she did harbour her own cruel tendencies, tendencies that she could indulge in while she was at Hogwarts and none would be the wiser if she played her hand correctly.

She enjoyed seeing people suffer. Not suffer in an obvious way of outright torture but a way that would see them suffer over a period of time. Her weapon of choice was a blood quill and she knew she would get an opportunity at the school to use it.

The atmosphere within the wizarding world was enough to distract most from the tall tales told by a child. And if the little brats seemed that they would talk then a memory charm would suffice, she would just need to be cautious about how much she would use the quill. It would not do to cause permanent scarring and have questions asked.

Yes Hogwarts, despite the presence of annoying children was the perfect place for her to be.

The other problem she was facing was what on earth had happened to the Potter boy. She had always been curious as to how a little halfblood baby could have been the cause of the fall of the Dark Lord. She was curious to meet him and not just because Fudge wanted him found. She wanted to see for herself what was so special about him. Was he truly powerful enough to do what he had at such a young age? Or was he simply mediocre as she had heard from Fudge and Lucius Malfoy? She did not take anything Malfoy said as gospel. In all honesty she found him to be a pompous moron who spent far too much time looking in the mirror and kissing the arse of anyone who could better his position.

To her he was nothing more than a glorified bootlicker but he had become a powerful one and he certainly needed to be pandered to to an extent.

The Potter mystery certainly had her flummoxed. But seeing as he didn't arrive at Hogwarts all she could do at this point in time was to wait to see if he would emerge from the woodwork or if his corpse would appear somewhere.

She had both Granger and Weasley in her office at the earliest possible opportunity and with the help of veritaserum and memory charms had learnt an awful lot about the young man but they had no idea where he was or if he was definitely alive. Waiting was all she could do here and now and while she was waiting she would have some fun for herself.

(BREAK)

The two weeks since the teenagers had left his home had been the most peaceful Sirius Black had had for many years. With the departure of the children the rest of the Weasely's had returned to their own home much to the pleasure of the remaining occupant of Grimmauld Place. The one problem with the peace was the new sense of worry he felt. He was aware that Harry had not returned to school and this had him concerned.

Remus had left on an errand for Dumbledore and had been gone over a week leaving the other marauder alone for much of the time.

Members of the order would stop by from time to time but Sirius suspected it was only to ensure that he had not left or done something foolish. He had been tempted but knew that it would be unwise and he wanted to be there for Harry when he came out of hiding. Sirius had no desire to go back to Azkaban and he knew he was safe behind the walls of the Black home. He spent most of his time in the library preparing for the inevitable battles that would take place. He knew he would and could be useful against the Death Eaters and pledged himself to studying and practicing. It had been a long time since his Auror days and he was certainly out of shape and not as sharp as he once was. That would have to change and while he had the time, he would hone his skills to the best of his ability.

(BREAK)

Harry had just completed his first day of training since his magical maturity had finished and he was quite astounded at the difference in himself. Physically, he did not tire as he did and his stamina and endurance had increased tenfold.

In regards to his magic he was at first disappointed in the effects of his curses but soon realised that said effects were not based on power. A curse was simply a curse and would run its course regardless of power and could not be influenced by adding further magical power to it. The key difference was in the counter-cursing. It took much more power to counter the curse if more power was added to it and Harry knew this was quite a development.

The real difference he noticed was in his impact spells and spells that had a physical effect. His bludgeoning hex was the first he attempted in this category and noticed the difference in power and damage immediately. Instead of the dummy that was hit gliding across the floor at high speed and hitting the wall it simply flew through the air and crashed into wall breaking several bones.

He saw the same in his fire and water spells. Instead of a stream of reasonable force his wand would erupt in what could only be described as a geyser of his chosen element.

His conjuring was much easier also. He still had to visualise what he wanted to the same extent but the use of magic felt much less and did not leave him drained as it had previously.

Overall, Harry was very happy with the unexpected increases he had and believed even more so that he was no longer an average wizard. He had seen the spells performed by other wizards and witches and none he had seen even came close to what he was now capable of.

He was very aware however that power was only one aspect of being a great wizard. Mostly it was down to skill and winning a fight was not solely dependent on the amount of power one possessed and he knew that he had to at least equal his power with the skill in which he wielded it with. He would not slack and rely on his power but he would train even harder knowing that he had quite the gap to close.

Harry was interrupted from his reflections by the arrival of Arcturus who was looking as stoic as ever. The older man looked thoughtfully at the spell damage in the room and the fresh scorch marks on the walls and floor.

"How do you feel?" he asked the teen who looked surprisingly fresh.

"I feel fine sir" Harry replied. "I don't feel tired how I usually would by now and my spells are a lot more powerful" he added.

The older man looked appraisingly at the boy and nodded in his usual way.

"Show me" he stated simply.

Harry obliged by demonstrating his spell work and the more noticeable differences in it.

"Impressive" Arcturus said in an almost praising tone. "What about your curses?" he asked.

"They are much harder to counter" Harry answered frowning, "But they don't work any faster than normal, that's because they work based on time and not power" he finished.

"I see you've been reading up on your theory" the older man replied neutrally.

"Yes sir, I don't want to disappoint my parents" Harry explained shyly.

Arcturus nodded his head again at the boys reasoning. Inside he was pleased that he had begun to dedicate himself to his studies and knew he would do well as expected if he continued this way.

"Show me you flame whip" Arcturus requested.

This was a spell that had taken a fair amount of practice for Harry to produce and one he had not tried throughout his training that day.

To his surprise he managed it with much more ease than he had anticipated and the whip was considerably longer and thicker than he had managed to conjure before.

"Good" Arcturus said simply. "You will need to practice with that to master controlling it and also work more on conjuring and banishing objects, it can be a very effective weapon if mastered" he remarked knowingly.

"Yes sir" Harry answered simply.

"Now that is out of the way I need you to accompany me on a small trip" Arcturus began seriously. "It seems that our friend Riddle has been recruiting and one of my elves have informed me of some new guests in our country and I want you to come and see what you will be up against in due course" he explained further.

Harry knew from Arcturus tone that this was something serious and adopted the impassive mask that had been taught to him by the man. He placed his wands in his holsters and indicated that he was ready. The older man took him by the arm and with a pop they had vanished.

The duo appeared in a forest that Harry could tell was close to the sea. He could smell the salt in the air and hear the distant crashing of waves on to a rocky shore. He began casting charms on himself to hide his scent and cancel the sound of his footsteps; he didn't disillusion himself knowing that he needed to be seen by his companion.

The older man nodded and cast the same spells on himself and began leading the way in to the thicker and deeper parts of the wooded area.

They walked on in silence for what seemed to be miles and eventually Harry began to hear the sounds of activity ahead of them. In the distance he could see an area lit by fire and cautiously followed the older man to the outskirts of a clearing.

What he saw in the clearing shocked him to his core.

Three men were sat in the clearing, one in which Harry recognised as Buckbeak's would be executioner, Macnair. The other two men were dressed in black robes and were sat around the fire but it wasn't the men that had Harry worried.

Around the men sat a collection of around twenty giants, completely brutal looking and bigger than he could ever have imagined. He looked at Arcturus questioningly and the older man shook his head in resignation.

Things now seemed even more real to the boy. He knew now that this was a real war and it wasn't only Riddle that would be a problem. It made him wonder what else he was up to and what other creatures he had managed to bring to his side.

He was distracted by the biggest of the giants as he stood and stretched tiredly. It was not the giant itself that had distracted but what was attached to his hip by a crude and blood-soaked rope. They were heads, bigger than the average human but not as big as a giant. It was then that Harry recognised them.

The faces had been quite badly mutilated but the shaggy hair and beard of one was familiar and it did not take a genius to figure out who the other had belonged to.

He felt a wave of emotion overcome him; he felt sick, upset and extremely angry. He felt the magic rolling of him in waves in his fury as did Arcturus who moved in to calm down the boy.

"No" the older man whispered dangerously. "All you will achieve is us being killed and it will be for nothing" he said through gritted teeth.

Harry swallowed back the emotion hard and nodded at the older man but felt no better. He knew war would be gruesome but he had not expected to see the head of his first ever friend worn as an accessory, as a trophy as casually as it was. He would never forget the sight of the remaining appendage of Rubeus Hagrid, gentle half-giant, adorning the hip of a giant. And although he did not know Madame Maxime well, he felt a wave of sadness for her also knowing she had died trying to prevent Riddle gaining further allies.

He was shaken from his stupor by Arcturus who took him by the arm and dragged them away to a safe distance where he could apparate them home.

They appeared again in the training room where Harry immediately removed his wand and fired a blasting hex at the dummy that exploded in to thousands of tiny pieces. He breathed heavily in his rage and it took some time for him to calm down to a point that he could listen to Arcturus.

"I did not know we would see that" he explained to the fuming teen. "Dumbledore had no reason to send him to them, he must have known it was useless" he finished shaking his head.

"He didn't deserve to die like that" Harry replied attempting to keep the emotion out of his voice. "He was a good man and wouldn't harm a fly" he added sadly.

"Then he has no place in a war" Arcturus declared. "He should have been smart enough to keep out of it, he was too loyal to Dumbledore and his loyalty and inability and lack of skill got him killed. You see what it is you are up against now?" he questioned not wanting an answer.

Harry said nothing but used the moment of silence to compose himself. He would make them pay for what they had done to his friend. He was both sad and angry and each emotion was fighting for dominance but Harry would allow none to win. He schooled his features in to his impassive mask before he spoke.

"They will pay" he stated with a cold edge to his voice.

"You will need to know how to kill a giant" the older man replied. "Go and read your grandfathers' journal from June 1915 you will see how he used to do it" the older man explained.

Harry moved to exit the room feeling the need to be alone becoming overwhelming, but he was stopped before he could reach the door by the older man.

"This has happened sooner than expected but the war has still barely begun" he explained. "We still have time but we need to start putting things together" he continued. "I think it is time for a family reunion both to get some allies and to rock the boat a little" he finished with a cruel smile.

Harry nodded and made his way to his room. As he closed the door behind him the first tear sprung from his eye and he no longer tried to hold it back. He felt no shame in crying for the loss of his giant friend and would grieve in his moments alone, but he would be damned if he allowed anyone to see it. He knew being compassionate was not a weakness as such but he knew that concealing any and all emotions would be beneficial to him and had decided some time ago to hide them all. He would feel but he would not show, that was his promise to himself.

When he was alone however he would release the emotions he felt whether it be; anger, sadness, joy or happiness.

He wept a little more for his friend before retrieving the journal he had been instructed to and quickly found what he was looking for and began to read.

June 13th 1915

I encountered and fought my first giant today and let me say that what you read and hear does no justice to them at all. They are truly a sight to behold and a fight I will never forget. They are very tough and resistant to almost all magic. The only spell that worked effectively was my flame whip but even that was not enough. To defeat a giant you need to use physical attacks and aim for the legs and head. I wasted a lot of time trying to curse the beast and the spells did nothing. I managed to conjure and banish metal spheres to bring it to its knees after they eventually broke and sent countless arrows into its torso and head. It did not stop fighting until I removed its head by banishing a large sword I had conjured at its neck. That in itself took a lot of power and I would not recommend it unless you know you are a capable wizard.

Harry now understood why Arcturus had instructed him to work on his conjuring, banishing and flame whip further. He placed the journal back in his grandfathers' trunk and got into bed. He felt a sense of numbness overcome him as the death of Hagrid sunk in. He would make sure his friend did not die in vain and vowed to himself that he would do all he could to make sure he could limit the advantage the giants would have in battle even if he had to take them all down himself.

He shuddered at that thought and slowly fell in to an uneasy slumber knowing that the war was beginning to shape into something that would not be easily concluded.