Harry Potter Breaking The Chains

At lunch, most of the talk centered on the reformation of the DA. Fliers had appeared in the House common rooms, so everyone was naturally curious about what this informational meeting would be about on Friday, none more so than Harry's best friends. But Harry answered their questions with the same response he gave everyone else "Just wait 'til Friday." He added in "You don't want to ruin the surprise, do you?"

Hermione had taken to pestering him about the magical contract he had written for the club. Since he had asked her about it over the summer, she had been naturally curious about what he had come up with and why he hadn't further pursued her help. Harry just told her, "I've already written it up and showed it to Dumbledore. He seemed to think it was just fine." She was not happy with his lack of information, but she could no nothing more than huff her displeasure.

After lunch Ron and Hermione walked out the Entrance Hall onto the grounds toward the greenhouses for Herbology. Harry headed to the seventh floor to the Room of Requirement. He would take advantage of his friends' absence by training without raising any suspicion. One of the harder things about this year was going to be keeping all his extra training secret from his friends. They were bound to get curious if he constantly disappeared for hours at a time.

But while they were off in class, they wouldn't be able to keep tabs on him. He had two hours until Charms class. He split up his training for the day into two sessions. The first session played out much like it had the day before. He activated two dummies on Hogwarts graduate skill level, shooting stinging spells only. He spent 45 minutes simply dodging spells without the aid of magic. He was pleased that he had definitely been hit less than the previous day.

He stopped the dummies and reprogrammed them. He set them each to the level of an auror in training, with many spells at their disposal. He didn't want to be stunned and left unconscious, so he avoided letting them use any spells that could cause him to become incapacitated, but that still left them with many spells to work with. Harry wasn't going to be just dodging this time around. Now was the time to practice fighting back.

For 30 minutes he dueled the two dummies, who were markably improved over the Hogwarts graduates Harry had been used to dodging, but not a problem for Harry who now had magic at his disposal. With his ability to cast two spells at the same time, he had yet to be hit with a single spell after the first half an hour, and he had repeatedly knocked both opponents off their feet. He decided to spend the rest of his time without shield spells to aid him in his defense. After all, Death Eaters often used spells that couldn't be blocked by conventional shield spells.

Even with the lack of shield spells, Harry found himself only getting hit a couple times in the last half hour of his training. He had his legs tripped up in a leg locker curse, but he had quickly counteracted the curse before either dummy could take advantage of his weakened state. That was the only time he been remotely close to being overwhelmed. He had also been hit with a stinging hex and a couple other simple hexes, but that wasn't enough to distract him from the fight.

By the time he was finished he was sweating profusely and had only 15 minutes to get cleaned up and down to the charms classroom. The shower room appeared as he thought of his need for it, so he quickly washed himself and got ready for class. He made it to class with nary a moment to spare.

The rest of the week passed by quickly enough, filled with classes, training, reading, and the occasional game of chess or exploding snap with his friends. He even flew around on his Firebolt a couple times, just for the thrill of it. It had been so long since he had been up in the air on his broomstick. It was an invigorating feeling. Ron had booked the Quidditch pitch for tryouts that Saturday before lunch. Harry was excited to get the season started. It had been too long since he'd played the game.

Friday rolled around quickly enough, and Harry found himself starting to get nervous. Despite the various locks he had placed in his mind to help him not only hide his memories but also better control his emotions, he could still feel the butterflies creeping into his stomach. That night he was starting something big, and he didn't know if he was ready for it. He had no doubt that he had plenty to teach. It was more the matter of leading and speaking in front of everybody, being an authority figure, that had Harry reeling.

He had never liked being in the spotlight. It had been forced on him upon his reintroduction to the wizarding world for something he couldn't remember doing and that he played little part in. Voldemort had tried to kill him, and the curse rebounded due to his mother's love for him. How that justified his fame, Harry was not sure, but there was no arguing with people about it. They were set in their views.

This time around Harry was stepping into the spotlight of his own accord. He was setting himself apart from all of his peers. It was for a worthy cause and not just for the thrill of being the center of attention. Harry would never do anything just for the attention. He preferred not to have any attention given to him, but this was too important to let that get in his way. This was something proactive he could do in the war against Voldemort, something that could save lives.

He had no delusions of building an army to strike and subdue the Dark Lord, but he could teach these kids to fight. If that meant just one of them survived an encounter with a Death Eater, all the effort would be worth it. But he knew that many of his schoolmates wouldn't be satisfied sitting on the sidelines of the war. They would need to be properly prepared for battle if they wanted to help, and no one else seemed keen on offering to do it. So he stepped in. And if Voldemort ever got the audacity to attack Hogwarts directly, he would find himself up against an army with Harry at its head.

That was why Harry had changed the DA to the HA. They were not Dumbledore's army. They didn't fight for Dumbledore like the Order of the Phoenix did. The adults saw them as children, incapable of helping in the war effort. He saw them as people who weren't even given a chance. He would raise an army within the walls of Hogwarts. What better to call them than the Hogwarts Army? Maybe after the students graduated Hogwarts, those that planned to take active roles in the war would be better prepared and thus more productive and more likely to survive.

Harry spent the majority of the day in solitary contemplation. He only had one class the entire day, double DADA after lunch. Before lunch he had trained. After class, Harry retreated to his office where he remained thinking about everything until dinner rolled around. Ginny was the one who had reminded Harry that he should eat. She appeared in his office shortly after 5:00 to drag him down to the Great Hall.

"Come on. Off your arse, Potter," she demanded as she stomped into the room. Harry jumped off the armchair and had stunned her before he even realized what was happening. In a flash he rushed forward and caught her as she fell backwards. He sent a burst of magic through his hands into her body, ennervating her. Her eyes blinked open, and she was surprised to find herself in Harry's arms.

"What happened?" she asked him groggily.

"You startled me," he explained half defensively, half apologetically. "I guess I was a bit jumpy and stunned you before I even knew what was going on." He blushed slightly and had a sheepish smile.

"Right," she said after a moment. "No sneaking up on Harry unless you want to get blasted off your feet. I'll have to make a note of that." He frowned faintly as he looked down on her, so she quickly changed tactics. "It's alright, Harry. I shouldn't have come barging in here yelling like that. I guess I was asking for trouble."

"I'm sorry for stunning you," he said at length.

"Don't worry about it." She paused for a moment looking at him pointedly. "You gonna set me upright sometime soon? Or were you planning on sweeping me off my feet?" She shot him a dazzling smile.

He returned with a grin "Well the offer is tempting. Oh, what the hell?" And she was in his arms before she knew what hit her.

He made it out into the hallway before she even registered what was going on and thought to react. "Harry," she laughed. "Put me down," she ordered, punching his arm.

"Careful there, Gin," he warned her. "Keep attacking me like that and I just might drop you."

"Don't you dare Potter," she threatened. "Now put me down right this instant."

"As you wish," he said as he set her down on the ground.

"That's better," she said as they began walking toward the Great Hall.

They walked together in companionable silence until he turned to her and said, "Thanks for coming to get me, Gin. I was lost in my own little world there and hadn't realized the time."

"You're welcome, Harry."

Dinner passed by both much too slowly and quickly for Harry. It seemed to drag by as his nerves built up, but it was over before he knew what hit him. His friends, led by Ginny's efforts, had tried to engross him in conversation to keep him relaxed, but he found he couldn't concentrate on much else but the meeting right after dinner. He appreciated his friends' efforts, but it just wasn't working.

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