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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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Harry just laughed and returned to listening to what their coach had to say.
"Well guys. It's our first day meeting as a team so we'll just do a warm up and go over some rules before playing a small game amongst ourselves. In total there are about ten other soccer teams in the area that are your age and skill level. So we'll have quiet a few matches. Most our meetings will just be matches against other teams. We play here every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00 to 7:30. We have practice on every second Sunday same time." Their middle-aged coach said above the soft chatter. "Our team is called the 'Birds'. Remember it and always show up with your jersey. Now, let's do three laps around the field!"
Harry hopped up quickly and took off after the man who was faster then he appeared. Randal caught up with him after a moment showing he wasn't that out of shape. He was grumbling though.
"Come on Randal." Harry laughed. "Perk up. If you do and try your hardest tonight I'll bring you cookies next time."
"Cookies?" he asked suspiciously. "What flavour?"
"Gingersnap." Harry grinned remembering Dorothy muttering about the boy's weakness for gingersnaps.
"What are we waiting for? Pick up the pace man!" He yelled shooting past the coach.
Harry clearly saw the man's lips twitching to hide laughter as he glanced after Randal.
.-.
July 15th
Friday
.-.
Harry looked over the shelves of books and frowned as he noticed a few darker ones. He sat on one of the deep red chairs of the study amongst the dust and age. He frowned in thought.
The more he thought on it the less he hated the Dark Arts. No, he wouldn't suddenly become the next dark lord or a master of the dark arts, but….He knew the rumours that the dark arts twisted the souls and mind were false. No. Magic was magic. It was not good or evil. It was the beings that wielded it that made such boundaries. Sometimes magic was considered Dark for simple political reasons. Dark magic was considered dark in most cases simply because people feared it or it was more dangerous.
It was for this reason Harry would not destroy this library. Yes, it had some of the darkest books he had ever seen, but dark wasn't evil. It was just the opposite of Light. Light wasn't always 'right'. Dark wasn't always 'wrong'. Dark wasn't evil, Light wasn't good; simple, true facts.
Harry stood gracefully and brushed some dust off of his robes.
"Kretcher."
A soft pop brought the sneering house elf.
"Yes master?"I want this study clean. I also want every book in the house to be re-shelved in here. Make sure you don't wreck or destroy any of the books. And make sure the door to this study is always locked from the guests who may come. Oh, and make sure this rooms stays clean please."
"Of course Master." Kretcher bowed.
Kretcher had been, at first, unwilling to serve him. Harry and he had got in a yelling match along with the Mrs. Black portrait. He still couldn't remember what he'd said to get the two to shut up and actually listen but he'd half explained that he wanted to revive the black house and name and bring it honour or some crap and that he wasn't a silly light enthusiast. In the end they had half agreed to listen to him, thankfully.
Harry strode from the study into the clean hall of the top floor. When the team had returned yesterday to set up new wards and such Harry had joined them. He'd helped Kretcher spend the day cleaning the place, top to bottom. The four warders had even shown him certain spells to clean stained wood or make it appear new. Everything looked shiny new and clean. Harry passed an open arch that led to a sitting room and barely glanced at the Victorian style furniture and decorations.
He descended down to the basement where he had had Kretcher dump all the loose objects of the house that didn't really fit anywhere. He'd order the small house elf to stick all the dangerous objects and items beyond his ability to handle in one of the high security rooms once used for torture by the looks of the tools in it.
Harry sat down at the small wooden table in one of the bare stone rooms and looked at the pile of items on the table. Loose jewels, empty frames, jewellery, odd objects he'd never heard of and piles of old clothes and items from the old inhabitants. Harry started to sort.
.-.
July 16th
Saturday
.-.
Harry stretched and was satisfied to hear his shoulders pop. He rolled his joints and glanced around. The potion he was working on was boiling over a low flame and had to do so for three days. The dummies to the far left were torn apart and one was even frozen in a solid block of ice.
Harry had taken to practicing spells every morning which he read up on the night before. He was reading magical books every spare second he had and practicing spells every second spare moment. Gardening took up a little time each day along with cooking his meals which he cooked days ahead even and stuck in the fridge. He tried to work on a potion or start a new one every day also. He was also spending a half an hour each night on occlumency, usually as he lay in bed ready to sleep. An hour a day was spent reading a non-fiction novel or book.
His days were packed.
And now for the next two days he had a food safe course and starting were his football meetings. He also had Grimmauld place to check in one once in a while. Griphook to contact once in a while, and was taking spare moments here and there to look at the papers he'd gotten form the realtor. On top of that he still had to write to his friends who had wrote last night.
He sighed and decided he needed to change and brush his hair and teeth before driving over to the college where his foodsafe course was being held for now.
.-.
July 17th
Sunday
.-.
Harry frowned at the wide open field of grass and noticed the grass was not tall and green. It was tall but it appeared shrivelled and dead. The trees that circled the field were all dead also. Nothing appeared to be living. Except one creature. A large crow sat on a dead shrivelled tree that stood in the middle of the field. Harry stood four feet away. Yellow eyes watched him intently from a perch in the high branches of the tree.
Suddenly the bird spread its wings and leapt from the branch. Harry yelped as it dived for him. Before he could react the crow was on his shoulder. It tilted its head as if examining him and shifted. Harry looked more closely at it and realized it wasn't a crow, but a raven. Then it cawed right in his ear. He yelped and glared at it. It gave a caw like laugh that Harry almost heard say 'You'll do'. Harry noted its eyes turned slightly more green then yellow.
Then the bird vanished and Harry found himself screaming as feathers sprouted from his arms
.-.
Harry sat up with a start as he fell from his meditation. He'd been practicing the first step to becoming an animagus. Meditation was the first step. You had to figure out what animal you were. Then slowly you would change into that animal through concentration, meditation, and pure will.
McGonagall had said it took years. Sirius's book said it took less then a year. At least it had taken the four of the Marauders less then a year. The more magic you had the easier it was. The more magic you had, the more forms you could have also. The more magic you had the more magical the creature. Harry had determined long ago that he had much more magic then the average person his age.
The whole will thing worked really well too. Harry had the oddest suspicion that muggle-borns and such who hadn't known of magic before Hogwarts could do more in the first year because they weren't raised with rules about magic. They thought they could do it so they did. The longer they listened to teachers and adults and other children spout the rules of magic the less easy the found it to just believe it would work.
Back to the Animagus form; Sirius hadn't explained in his notes what happened in his meditation, just that you found out what your form was. Then it was up to you to figure out how to transform. If you were lucky it wouldn't take forever. Harry felt his arm itch and pulled up his sleeve. He smirked at the black feather with a purple sheen that fell to the floor.
Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.
You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.
Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!
http//patreon.com/BLAKE025
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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