Harry looked over the letters he'd written to Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid. He hoped they said enough so that his friends wouldn't worry. It was hard to not tell them the full reasons why he wouldn't be coming back to Hogwarts. It was even harder not to be going back in the first place but after Professor Dumblefore told him the prophecy he realized that if he was ever to have any hope of beating Voldemort once and for all he needed as much help as he could get. The training that Professor Xavier was offering him would be immensely helpful. Once it was explained to him what the X-Men would be he liked the idea very much and wanted to become a part of it. He knew it would be dangerous sometimes but after his first two years at Hogwarts that was nothing new. Finally Professor Dumbledore had agreed that Harry should stay and, Dursleys notwithstanding, Harry did still trust the headmaster.
The only reason he hadn't immediately said yes to Professor Xavier's offer was because it meant leaving his friends. He'd never had any friends before coming to Hogwarts because at primary school Dudley and his gang had scared away anyone who wanted to befriend him. Now that he did have friends it was very hard to leave them behind even if he was making new ones here. He hoped that he'd at least be able to stay on good terms with Ron and Hermione by writing them regularly. He would write them every month. He'd write them more often if he could but it was a long way to Britain from the U. S. and, assuming she could even make the journey, he didn't want to overwork Hedwig.
There was also the question of Harry's magical education but Dumbledore told him not to worry about that as he had some options to look into and would contact Harry about it soon.
Once he'd decided to stay he'd told Scott, Bobby, and Warren. All three of them agreed with the decision. Scott had even held out a hand for Harry to shake and had formally welcomed him to the X-Men.
Sealing up the letters in their envelopes he took them over to Hedwig.
"You've always been able to deliver letters for me" he said to the owl, "but I've never asked you to travel so far as Britain from America and back. Will you be okay to do this? Especially since you'll have to cross the Atlantic Ocean twice?" Hedwig gave him what could only be called a 'tolerant look' and stuck her foot out to receive the letters.
"Well you know your business better than I do" said Harry as he began tying the letters to Hedwig's foot, "just be careful, okay?" Hedwig nipped his finger gently and then spread her wings. Harry stepped over to the window and opened it so she could leave.
"Safe journey" he said as she took off. He watched her fly away until he could no longer see her.
There was a knock at his door and Harry told whoever it was to come in. It was Professor Xavier and he was carrying a largish box.
"Is everything all right?" he asked Harry.
"Yes" said Harry, "just sending some letters to my friends back home. Hedwig seems quite happy to have a delivery to make."
"Will she be able to cross the Atlantic?" asked the professor.
"She seems to think so" said Harry, "and I've never yet known her to be wrong." Professor Xavier nodded and then held out the package he was holding.
"This is for you" he said, "since you'll be staying here and joining the X-Men I've brought you a uniform. Please put it on and meet me down in the Danger Room in 20 minutes."
"Okay" said Harry a little nervously as he took the package, "will the others be there?"
"Not this time" said the professor, "today is just for you."
"Right" said Harry, "I'll be there." The professor turned his chair around and left the room. Harry put the package on his bed and stripped down to just his underwear and socks. Then he opened the box, took out the uniform and began putting it on. It was unlike anything he'd ever worn before. For one thing it was skin tight but it wasn't uncomfortable and he could move freely in it. The arms, legs, and sides of the body were dark blue. The torso and shorts areas both in front and back were yellow. The boots were yellow as were the gloves. The belt was yellow too but the belt buckle had a big black "X" on the front of it. Finally there was the mask which was blue. It was attached to the shirt at the back. It went up the back of his head and over the top of it covering his ears before coming down the front of his head over his eyes and ending above his nose so that his nose and the bottom of his face were not covered.
Once he was finished dressing he looked at himself in his closet mirror.
"Wow" he said to himself as he looked at his appearance, "I look really different. I must admit, I think it looks pretty cool. I wonder what Ron and Hermione would say if they could see me now? Maybe someday I'll find out."
Now fully in uniform he left his room and headed downstairs to the Danger Room. He hadn't been in there at all since the first day when Scott had shown him around and so didn't know what to expect. At the bottom of the stairs he ran across Bobby and Warren.
"Do we have another training session today?" asked Warren in surprise upon seeing Harry in uniform for the first time.
"No" said Harry, "the professor only wants to see me right now."
"First time in the Danger Room?" asked Bobby and Harry nodded.
"Have fun" Bobby said before adding "try to come back in one piece."
"Gee thanks" said Harry sarcastically before heading off down the hall as Bobby and Warren both laughed. Harry soon reached the Danger Room and went in to find Professor Xavier already there.
"There you are Harry" said Xavier.
"Did I keep you waiting for too long?" asked Harry.
"Not at all" said Xavier, "please shut the door and we'll begin."
Once Harry had shut the door to the Danger Room the professor had him come back and face him.
"What's this uniform made of?" asked Harry, "I've never felt or worn anything like it."
"It's made of something called Unstable Molecules" said the professor, "a man named Reed Richards discovered them and put them to use. He showed me how to use them. Your uniform will actually change its size as you get bigger so it won't need replacing unless you tear it."
"Cool" said Harry, "sounds like magic charms that we have to change clothing sizes." The professor nodded but didn't comment. Instead he got down to business with Harry.
"Before we do anything else" Professor X said, "I'll give you a code name. As an X-Man you'll need one for when you're in the field. It's important to keep your identity a secret from the public both for your own protection as well as for the protection of your loved ones."
"I understand" said Harry, "if Voldemort ever returns he might try hurting me by striking at my friends. He knows who I am but any villains the X-Men meet won't."
"That's right" said the professor, "your fellow students already have their code names. Scott is Cyclops, Bobby is Iceman, and Warren is Angel."
"And me?" Harry asked. Professor X looked at him for a long moment.
"Lightning" he said. Harry took that in. He liked it. He thought it was appropriate. Then something hit him.
"Wait a minute" he said as he pulled up his mask, "you're not calling me that because of this, are you?" He pointed to the lightning bolt scar on his forehead that marked him to everyone in the wizarding world.
"No" Professor Xavier said in some surprise, "I thought of the name because of your control over electricity. I never thought of your scar at all. Besides your mask covers your forehead completely. No one will even see your scar." Harry looked at the professor. Something in Xavier's expression told Harry that he was being honest.
"I believe you" Harry said as he pulled his mask back down, "but you have to admit that's a huge coincidence. If the wizarding world ever finds out about this they'll never believe either of us that it is just a coincidence."
"That" said the professor "is their problem, not yours. You should get used to your code name and start referring to yourself that way whenever you're in training or in the field."
"I can do that" said Harry.
"Good" said Professor X, "now let's get started." He touched a control on his chair. A section of one of the walls slid up and a large metal block about 2 feet square slid out onto the floor.
"Until now you've been doing exercises to learn how to control and use your powers at a basic level " said Xavier, "in this room the exercises are more complex. Here you will learn how to use your powers to your full potential. You will learn how to use them offensively and defensively in combat and also how to deal with surprises. This room is called the Danger Room because it prepares you for facing dangers in the real world whether in a fight or from natural causes. By the time we finish our work you will know how to fight – and win."
"That will be good if I ever have to face Voldemort again" said Harry.
"Indeed" said the professor, "today we'll keep things simple. We'll begin by first testing your full telekinetic strength. Please pick up that block and raise it up above your head." Harry grabbed the block with his telekinesis and raised it up to hover over his head.
"Good" said the professor as he touched another control, "now I'm going to slowly increase the weight of the block. As soon as you feel that's it too heavy for you to hold up drop it immediately. Don't try to impress me by straining yourself. This is just a test to establish your current strength." Harry nodded. He was actually interested to know this as he had not lifted anything heavier than his trunk with his power so far. The block felt light to begin with but as time passed it got noticeably heavier and heavier until Harry was putting in real effort to keep it up. Finally it became too much and he dropped it back down on the floor.
"500 lbs" said Professor Xavier, "not a bad place to start. We're going to work on making you stronger so you can lift even heavier amounts. This is where regular exercise will help you. As your body gets stronger your powers get stronger too. Now let's try again."
They did the test twice more. Each time the results were about the same. The third time it was a little better but still in the same general range.
Next they experimented with his electrical power. Since Harry began training the previous month he had progressed from manifesting tiny lightning bolts around his fingers to manifesting larger lightning bolts. In order to do this safely they had moved from the professor's study to the much larger gym for this part of his training so as to avoid possibly setting the office on fire. Today, for the first time, the professor told him to try to consciously throw his lightning bolts. Several targets appeared on another wall and the professor had Harry fire his lightning at them. His first shots were wide of the mark but with practice he got better. By the time they finished the exercise he was at least hitting the targets although he wasn't yet getting bullseyes.
"I have one more thing I want you to try before we finish for today" said the professor, "I want you to levitate yourself with your telekinesis."
"Can I really do that?" asked Harry, "I know we've talked about it but – "
"But nothing" was the reply, "try it and see. I think you're ready." Harry focused his power on lifting himself into the air this time. It turned out to be very easy, much easier than he had expected. He had barely formed the thought when he was suddenly several feet in the air.
"Whoa!" said Harry who almost lost his concentration in his surprise, "I can do it!"
"Don't lose focus" said Professor X sternly, "stay up there – good." Harry got himself back under control. "Now see if you can use your power to slowly move yourself around while you're up in the air."
Harry tried it and it worked. He started to move around the room while remaining several feet in the air the whole time.
"Wicked!" he said in excitement, "professor can I really learn how to fly this way as easily as on a broom?"
"Yes" said the professor, "but it will take practice. Eventually you'll even be able to use your powers for other things while you're flying."
"Awesome!" Harry exclaimed.
"Now come back down" said the professor, "gently though, don't drop yourself."
Harry lowered himself back to the floor and then stopped using his power. He was grinning like a maniac.
"Good work" said the professor, "starting tomorrow you'll join the others for regular training. That will be all for now. You're dismissed."
"Yes professor" said Harry still energized from his training, "and thank you."
'He'll do well' Xavier thought smiling to himself as Harry left the room.
Harry walked down the hall toward the front of the mansion. He was still on a high from the Danger Room session and it must have shown in his manner because when he ran across Scott the older teen said that Harry looked happy.
"Yes" Harry said, "it's not every day you learn you can fly."
"Oh really?" said Scott.
"It'll take practice but the professor thinks I can do it."
"Good for you" said Scott as he and Harry began to climb the stairs, "you'll join us for regular training now?" Harry nodded his head. At the top of the stairs they found Bobby coming down the upstairs hall.
"Hey Harry!" Bobby said, "you survived the Danger Room."
"Try not to look so disappointed" Harry snarked back at him but with a smile and they both laughed.
"So" said Bobby, "what's your code name?"
"Lightning" said Harry, "I'm Lightning."
"Fitting" said Scott.
"It's not because of that scar, is it?" asked Bobby. Harry rolled his eyes.
"I told the professor no one in the wizarding world would believe that was a coincidence" he said, "but he says that no one will see my scar so it doesn't matter. I hope he's right because I know a pair of red headed prankster twins who would never stop bringing it up."