Chapter 11

Flitwick said, once everyone had left his office "well Harry you have been selected as the leader for your year. I want to go over the rules that you will have to enforce. First you will have to set up a study period for your year mates. This period should meet no less than twice a week and should last no less than one hour each time. Whether anyone attends these study periods is an individual choice, you only have to supervise them. Second is if there are any announcements you have you make sure that all of the people in your year are made aware of them. Simple really, but it is a way for you to begin to take charge and show leadership abilities."

Harry nodded and said "no problem. Once I know the schedule then I will be able to set the study period up."

"The course schedule is on that parchment I handed everyone before they left."

Harry looked at the sheet of paper containing his schedule of courses. He saw:

Monday

0630-0745

Breakfast

Monday

0800-1000

Charms

Monday

1000-1200

History

Monday

1200-1400

Free

Monday

1400-1500

Herbology

Monday

1500-1600

DADA

Monday

1600-2030

Free

Tuesday

0630-0745

Breakfast

Tuesday

0800-1000

Potions

Tuesday

1000-1200

Herbology

Tuesday

1200-1300

Lunch

Tuesday

1300-1500

Transfiguration

Tuesday

1500-1600

History

Tuesday

1600-2030

Free

Tuesday

2300-0100

Astronomy

Wednesday

0630-1000

Free

Wednesday

1000-1200

History

Wednesday

1200-1300

Lunch

Wednesday

1300-1400

DADA

Wednesday

1400-2030

Free

Thursday

0630-0745

Breakfast

Thursday

0800-1000

Herbology

Thursday

1000-1200

Transfiguration

Thursday

1200-1300

Lunch

Thursday

1300-1400

Charms

Thursday

1400-1500

Free

Thursday

1500-1600

Potions

Thursday

1600-2030

Free

Friday

0630-0800

Breakfast

Friday

0800-1000

Charms

Friday

1000-1200

Potions

Friday

1200-1300

Lunch

Friday

1300-1500

DADA

Friday

1500-1600

Transfiguration

Friday

1600-1700

Flying

After looking over the list he asked "how about from 1615-1745 on Monday and 1430-1600 on Wednesday?"

Flitwick looked over his proposed times and said "that seems to work for me. Where do you plan on holding them?"

Harry thought for a few seconds then asked "is there an unused room near the entrance to the tower that we would be able to appropriate for our use?"

Flitwick nodded and replied "there are several unused classrooms nearby. I'll have the house elves choose one and clean it out for you. Since you have to be there I'll give you the directions and password to the door tomorrow morning, alright?" Seeing Harry nod he then continued on with "now since you are here anyway I thought I would carry out my standard questioning that I will do for the rest of your classmates tomorrow." He pulled out a list and read off of it "who should I contact in case of an emergency?"

Harry thought for a few seconds then replied "Patricia O'Shanery, if you can't contact her contact Samuel Greengrass-Davis."

"Location when not staying here at Hogwarts?"

"Potter Manor."

"Are you currently taking any medications?"

"No."

"Who is your legal guardian?"

"I am emancipated."

Flitwick nearly fell of his chair at hearing this tidbit and asked "may I enquire as to how you became emancipated before your 17th birthday Mr. Potter?"

"There was a provision in my parents will that allowed me to become emancipated upon my 11th birthday; I did so."

"I see, I thought that your parents didn't have a will? That was what I was told by Dumbledore at least."

"Well they did have one and it was sealed by order of the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Ragnok allowed the will to be unsealed at my request and it has now been enacted."

Flitwick did fall out of his chair at this revelation. Dusting himself off Flitwick muttered some things under his breath and climbed back into it. Righting himself in the chair and casting some barrier charms he asked "now where were we? As yes the list." Peering at it he asked "is there anything I should be aware of concerning your education here; such as private tutors or the like that may come here?"

"Yes there are two teachers that will be coming here. The first is Patricia O'Shanery and she will be coming every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Tuesday and Friday she will come here at 0600. On Sunday she will come at 1000. She will be instructing me in Krav Maga and the basics of dueling as well. On Saturday I have a teacher on etiquette and politics coming in. She will also be teaching me exclusively on my duties as a Head of an Ancient and Noble House. All of my teachers have agreed in advance to teach any interested student as well, but reserve the right to ban any student they deem as disruptive. The only area other students will not be invited to is the teachings on the duties of fulfilling my role as Head of an Ancient and Noble House."

Flitwick nodded and asked "what is Krav Maga and why do you want to learn dueling at so young of an age?"

"As to the dueling, I have a lot of people that are vastly older and more experienced than me in combat that want to see me dead for what I supposedly did to Voldemort, as well as the fact that there are bound to be some people who will think that since I am supposed to be all powerful, like that trash that is written in those books, then if they can beat me than they are inherently superior to all others. As for Krav Maga it is a martial art that allows a person to fight without a wand or weapon."

Flitwick listened to the well thought out reasons his student gave him and decided to teach him dueling as well when he decided he was ready. About his fourth year if he applied himself. He then asked "would the instructor in etiquette be willing to teach the first and second years in addition to you?"

"There shouldn't be a problem. I already told Samuel Greengrass-Davis that I would be inviting most of my year mates if at all possible to this when I first asked for it to be given, so I would assume that she is well aware of the possibility of this happening."

Flitwick nodded and said "I'll draw up and hand out an announcement to the other head of houses, so that they can post it in their common rooms, the times and purpose of the class as well as a warning that they will be unceremoniously kicked out if they are the cause of a disruption." Flitwick then continued on with "now that the questions are taken care I would like to offer you the chance to see what areas of magic you might excel in. What I do is take a drop of your blood and put it onto this sheet that has been treated in a special solution. The blood will be absorbed into the paper and it will then list all of your magical gifts. Do I have your permission to do so?"

"Before I do this I would like your promise that you will not tell anyone what my gifts are. As I know of one already that some people might find disturbing."

Flitwick nodded and replied "you have my word I shall not tell anyone and this room has been warded by me personally so that no one can see or hear what goes on in here."

Harry nodded and replied "that is good enough for me." He then pricked his thumb and watched as a drop fell onto the paper. He saw written there:

Arts Level: Offensive Magic, Defensive Magic, Chanting Magic, Ancient Runes, Battle Magic, Parcel Magic, Blood Magic, Warding, Transfiguration, Charms, Familiar Magic

Sorcerer Level: Animagus (3 possible forms), Ward Breaking, Wand Crafting, Mage Sight, Arithmatcy, Spell Crafting

Wizard Level: Spell Creation, Potions, Weapon Crafting, Herbology

Flitwick's eyes were wide in surprise and he looked up at Harry and asked "do you know what this means?"

"Not really sir. I knew I had parseltongue as an ability, but I have no idea what the various levels or the magics listed are."

"I see. Well for those magics listed under Wizard level it means that you will be able to learn them, but you will not be able to achieve true mastery in them no matter how much effort you put into them. For the magics listed under sorcerer level with a lot of effort you will be able to master them. With the abilities listed under Arts level you will be able to master them and perhaps with enough effort find new ways of using them as well as being able to master the most difficult spells with only a moderate effort. You will still have to put an effort into learning them, but it will come instinctively to you. I must caution you though to apply yourself to learning the principles behind them as without that backing you up you will not be able to advance as far as you could. Do you understand so far?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now Offensive magic is magic that you use to fight someone, it covers everything from a stunner to what are called the Dark Arts. Defensive Magic covers everything that can be used in defense from a protego shield to the shield of Koios. Chanting Magic is a form of magic where you direct the magic not by your wand but by your willpower, first you must chant the activation phrase then release it at your target. It is one of the most powerful magic disciplines known, but most of the spells have been forgotten. I would suggest you not delve into this branch for another year or two as it requires a bit of power and mental fortitude. Ancient Runes is a branch of magic that will allow you to do almost anything once you get good enough. They can be used from the creation of a light to causing an earthquake if there is enough power. Battle Magic is a branch that is used in wide spread battlefields against an opposing force. The effects are wide spread and powerful. Unfortunately it takes a large amount of power to cast them so you can't use them one after another or you run the risk of depleting your magical power leaving you defenseless. Parcel Magic is magic using your ability in parseltongue to cast them. It can be used for any standard spell or ward. Blood Magic is currently banned in this country, but from what I understand you can use it to enhance your body by cutting various runes into your body using a special knife, it also requires you use a bit of wandless magic to levitate the knife. Warding is the ability to place a ward around a place or object to protect it from outside things. This could be from muggles, to attacking forces. Familiar Magic is..."

Harry interrupted him saying I already know what that is sir; as before I accomplished bonding with Hedwig my familiar, which is my owl I had to wear glasses."

"I see. You realize that since this has happened that you are ineligible to play Quidditch then?"

"Yes sir, but I consider the benefits to be more than worth it. Besides I wasn't looking forward to being a target of a speeding iron ball while being dozens of feet in the air."

"Yes, I quite understand your feeling on that matter. Personally I never quite caught the Quidditch bug myself. Now onto the list: Animagus is the ability for a witch or wizard to change into an animal form. It says here that you have three forms which is supposed to be impossible. I would suggest that when you do obtain your form that you register only the most harmless form with the ministry and keep the other forms secret. Ward breaking concerns the breaking of wards without revealing to the caster that you have done so. Wand crafting is the ability to make either wands or even a staff that you will be able to use or sell. If you want to follow up on learning this craft I would suggest you contact Ollivander as he has forgotten more about wand crafting than anyone else knows. Mage sight will manifest itself between your 13th to 14th birthdays. It is the ability to see magic flows without resorting to special glasses. Arithmatcy is the ability to break down spells to a numeric formula, in its advanced stages it deals with the beginnings of how to modify or create spells. Spell crafting is the ability to modify existing spells so that, say for example you take a stunning spell and modify it so that it requires a pass phrase so that only those who know that phrase can wake someone up from it. Spell Creation is the ability to create spells, since you have it listed under wizard level I would suggest you not try to create any spells that would have a lasting effect. Weapon Crafting is the ability to create a magical weapon." He looked over the list once more then handed it over to Harry saying "I suggest you keep this in a safe place Harry as it could be used against you in the wrong hands." He paused for a few seconds then asked "by the way, what ability were you afraid of getting out earlier?"

"Parseltongue sir, as a letter from my Dad warned me that I should not let it out that I had this ability as it is viewed with mistrust by the wizarding public."

"Too true; I have always believed that there is only magic and only the use by a wizard or witch will be able to say it is dark or light. The only spells that have no benefit at all are the three Unforgivables. Well enough rambling for tonight, I suggest you head back to the common room and inform your classmates of when the study sessions shall be."

"Thank you for your help and explanations sir. Good night." Harry went back to the common room and posted on a board a listing of the times for the study sessions as well as the available tutor coming Saturday, and seeing that it was 2000 headed up to his rom. He saw that he had a smallish desk with a chair, a dresser with six shelves that were the width of the chest and two smaller shelves taking the place of a seventh shelf in the corner, a bed that looked to be about a king sized, a small hamper for his dirty clothes and a small window. Retrieving his trunk he unshrunk it and placed it against the wall next the head of his bed, he then extracted Hedwig's perch from inside of the trunk and placed it near the window. He opened his window and was surprised when the air that came in was the same temperature as that inside his room as it was a little on the chilly side outside. He mentally called out 'Hedwig the window to my room is open and I have your perch ready.'

'Very good master; I shall be there shortly. What are you planning on doing right now?'

'Since it is still daylight somewhat I intend to exercise and then I think I will study some Potions some more as that shall be my first class on Tuesday as we have tomorrow off.' With that being said he changed into his workout clothes and made his way down the stairs.

Once he reached the common room Hermione saw him and went over to him and asked "why are you dressed in workout clothes?"

"I regularly exercise twice or three times a day to keep in shape. I figured that since I don't have anything to do I should get in my evening exercise."

"Oh. Umm do you think I could join you? I don't want to become unhealthy from lack of exercise."

"Sure no problem. Do you have clothes you can change into now or do you need to get some?"

"I have some old clothes that I can use for right now. In the future I'll have to get some newer clothes."

"Don't worry about it. I can easily cover it if needed. I'll send Hedwig off to Madam Malkins to see if she can send you an order form."

"That would be great! Wait right there and I'll be back shortly."

Harry waited about ten minutes until she came back down. Chatting they made their way to the front entrance. They ran into Neville along the way and he asked "where are you guys going?"

Harry answered him "Hermione is joining me in some exercises."

"Could I join you in the future? I'm tired of being the pudgy one."

Harry nodded and said "sure thing. I generally exercise from 0600 to 0700 in the morning. In the evening I will be exercising from 1945-2045 in the evening."

"I'll be there tomorrow morning, thanks for allowing me to join."

"The more the merrier Neville," Harry and Hermione then went outside. Harry taught Hermione all of the stretches they needed to do and then led her on a run around the lake. Hermione was only able to run for about twenty minutes, she then settled into a walk/ jog pace until Harry had finished running. They then did pushups and sit-ups. Checking the time they hurried back to their dorm rooms. Separating to go change, they met one another later on in the common room; with Harry having Hedwig perched on his shoulder, and studied together their Potions work. Once Hermione started yawning he chased her upstairs to get some sleep. Remembering that he was meeting Neville early tomorrow he decided to write out on a piece of parchment about the etiquette classes that would be available through the graces of his instructor and when they would be teaching so that he could give it to Neville to post in his common room. He then went to sleep.

Harry woke up the next day and saw that the house elves had taken his dirty clothes, cleaned them and put them in the chest of drawers. He looked at the time and saw that it was only 0520. He took his normal shower as well as his morning stuff and dressed in his workout clothes made it down to the common room by 0540. He waited there about five minutes until he saw Hermione sleepily making her way down. He asked "are you sure you are ready to work out?"

Staring at him with slightly red eyes she said "how can you be so awake in the morning?"

"Occlumency coupled with exercising early every morning."

"Later I'll want to hear what exactly Occlumency is, but for right now lead the way to outside for our exercise."

Harry nodded and swinging by the Gryffindor common room saw Neville propped up by a handy wall, yawning widely. He was dressed in a pair of shorts and a t shirt, so Harry decided that he was dressed ok for working out. Taking one of the parchments he wrote out last night he asked "hey Neville could you post this on the board in your common room so they know about the tutor I have coming in?"

Looking at it he replied "sure thing." He then disappeared for about five minutes then came back asking "could I join you in the etiquette class as well?"

"I don't see any problem with you joining Neville. In addition if I remember correctly you are the Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom are you not?" Seeing Neville nod he said "well she will also be instructing me on my duties as a Head of an Ancient and Noble House as well, and I wondered if you wanted to join in on that as well?"

"That would be great, as my grandmother hasn't exactly been forthcoming on that subject with me."