Harry tucked back into his small collection of books to study before going to bed. It was only an hour later that Harry began to grow bored and tired. He had been through most of these books before, and he was running out of new things to learn from them. He decided to put the books aside for now and write the letters to Neville and Luna that he had been planning on sending. He set to work on Neville's first.
Dear Neville,
I'm not exactly sure how I should start this, but let me first say thank you. Without your help and the others I probably would not have made it out of the ministry alive that night. You showed a lot of courage facing those death eaters. You're a good friend, Neville. I'm sure your parents would be proud of you.
I also want to apologize for leading you into danger needlessly. You came with me to save my godfather knowing that we would likely be facing Voldemort or his death eaters, and I cannot thank you enough for that, but if I had thought things through and been more careful, you wouldn't have had to be in that situation in the first place. For that I am very sorry.
You've proved yourself to be an excellent dueler. Last year in the DA you quickly ascended the ranks and were often one of the first to master a new spell. And I'll be willing to bet that with a new wand especially fitted to you, you'll only get even better. I'd like to offer to pay for a new wand for you, if you'll let me. It was might fault you were there that night, and if it weren't for that you wouldn't need a new wand. It's the least I can do. And if your Gran is mad at you over that incident, I'd be more than happy to send her a letter explaining everything and taking full responsibility for it. I don't want you to get in trouble on my account.
I hope your summer is going well. Let me know what you're up to. I'm stuck with the muggles again, so I've had nothing to do except study to keep me busy. Keep in touch.
Take care,
Harry
One down; one more to go.
Dear Luna,
Let me start off by just saying thank you. You volunteered to come with me to save my godfather knowing the danger involved, and I cannot thank you enough for that. Without your help, along with the others', I probably would not be here today.
I would also like to apologize for leading you into that danger in the first place. Had I stopped to think things through I might have realized that it was just a trap to lure me into danger. Had I not been so stupid, you and the others never would have been put at risk. For that I am sorry.
If there is ever anything you need, I want you to know that you can always ask me. You've got a friend in me. With that said, how is your summer going? Have you and your father started your search for the crumple-horned snorkack yet? I hope you find one. I'm stuck with my muggle relatives right now, so I haven't had anything to do with myself except study. Keep in touch, and let me know how the search goes.
Take care,
Harry
Harry rolled up the two pieces of parchment and turned to Hedwig, who had returned a short time ago to find her cage spotlessly clean and her water bowl freshly filled. She had apparently deemed this an adequate apology, for she didn't give Harry any more trouble. Harry gave each of the letters to her in turn explaining who each letter was meant for. "Have a safe flight," Harry told his owl who hopped onto his shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately before swooping out the window to deliver her post.
He looked at his watch and resolved to study for another half an hour before going to bed. He pulled out the dueling book he had been given last Christmas to help him with the DA and set to work.
Harry took a long time to get to sleep that night because he kept thinking of his newly acquired potions ingredients and the fact that it meant he would soon be well on his way to becoming an animagus. He felt that becoming an animagus would help him feel closer to his father and Sirius, which made the whole thing all the more important to Harry.
When he finally did fall asleep, he found Sirius waiting for him as had become the usual. "How was your day?" his godfather asked him fondly.
"Great!" Harry replied enthusiastically. "I was able to apparate around my room just fine without my wand. I also practiced more wandless magic and am becoming more comfortable with it. It still takes me a few moments to cast my spells, but I think I'm getting a lot better. It's beginning to feel a bit more natural. I also got a package from the apothecary today. It's got everything I need to make the animagus potion."
"That's great. I guess that means we should go over the steps for brewing the potion tonight. You'll have to memorize each step carefully and remember all of the details because you won't be able to write it down here to take with you. It's times like these that will make you wish pensieves were a little more commonplace," said Sirius.
"I'll do my best to remember all the instructions. Hopefully without Snape breathing down my neck the brewing will go smoothly. I tell you, I was amazed at the difference when I was taking my Potions OWL," Harry remarked.
"Don't be worrying about Snape right now. Besides, weren't you the one who decided that his attitude was going to help?"
"Fine, you win," Harry returned with a slight grin.
"You better believe it," Sirius smirked. "Now let's get to it then, shall we?"
At Harry's nod Sirius began drilling the instructions for the animagus potion into Harry's head. He went over every instruction several times and had Harry reciting the steps back to him on command. When Harry was able to regurgitate the instructions perfectly whether in order or backwards or each step in a random order, Sirius finally decided that he had it down.
He decided to call it a night at this point for fear that practicing anything else might take Harry's brain away from the potion. He wished Harry a goodnight and good luck and faded out of existence.
Harry began on the potion as soon as he woke up. He didn't want to waste any time or give himself a chance to forget any of the steps. He drew his cauldron out of his trunk and picked out each of the ingredients he would need. He was soon feverishly working on the potion, hovering above the cauldron stirring the proper number of times clockwise or counter-clockwise as necessary or chopping, mashing, or mixing ingredients as directed. He performed each step with precision and was left with the desired color and thickness. The potion just had to simmer for three hours before it would be ready to be drunk.
Harry glanced at his clock and realized that he'd been at work for a couple hours. His stomach growled at him to emphasize the fact that he hadn't eaten anything yet. He decided to obey his body's demands and first headed out the door and into the bathroom. After washing up, Harry dressed and headed downstairs to fix himself something to eat. He strolled down the stairs and into the kitchen and began rummaging through the refrigerator.
His Aunt Petunia noticed Harry and, against her inclination to completely ignore her nephew due to the warning the Dursleys had received from the Order, reprimanded him. "And just what do you think you're doing?" she questioned shrilly. "We already ate breakfast, and it's too early for lunch. If you wanted anything, you should have been down here when I was serving. This is not some restaurant that will cater to your wants. If you want to eat, you will do it on my terms. I don't need you messing about my kitchen."
Using every ounce of his will power to refrain from sampling some of his newfound wandless magical abilities, Harry had to take a moment to compose himself before he was able to form an adequate reply. "Fine. Maybe I'll go upstairs and write to my friend, Mad-Eye Moody, to tell him how little I'm being fed. You remember Mad-Eye, don't you? You met him at King's Cross this summer. He was wearing a bowler hat and had a crazy looking eye spinning around in its socket."
His aunt's demeanor turned from vengeful to fearful in record time. She remembered who he was talking about and remembered the threat that had been made as well. Not only that, but the boy had used that foul word in her home. She quickly glanced through the window to make sure nobody was nearby who could be eavesdropping, those pesky, nosey neighbors.
She forced a smile onto her face and managed to bite out, "Of course. Well I'll just leave you to fix yourself something then. Be sure to clean up after yourself," before storming out of the kitchen.
Harry smirked at his aunt's hasty retreat and returned to the task at hand. He ended up making himself a ham sandwich with a glass of juice. He sat down at the table to enjoy his makeshift meal. He ate in solitude and dutifully cleaned up after himself once he had finished.
He walked back up to his room and upon entering noticed a tiny owl zipping around excitedly. When the owl noticed his entrance, it immediately began circling above Harry's head. Using his Quidditch seeking skills, he deftly plucked the bird out of the air, saying, "Knock it off Pig." He relieved the owl of its burden before letting it go again. This time ignoring the pesky owl, Harry sat down on the edge of his bed to read the note.
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