Harry quickly decided to go with "Panther" since that would be the form that would help most in keeping Moony company during the full moons.
"And how far along are you?" Remus questioned.
Harry considered this for a moment before answering. "Well before the year ended I was able to do partial transformations for all of my limbs and most of the rest of my body. I had meant to give the full transformation a shot before summer started, but with everything that happened I never got around to it. Now that I'm here I can't try without getting kicked out of Hogwarts."
"I'm impressed," Remus said. "Do your friends know about this?"
"Not a one," Harry replied evenly.
"I thought for sure you'd share something like this with Ron and Hermione," Remus said with some surprise. "You three are so close."
"It was something that just Sirius and I shared," Harry said carefully.
"Ah, say no more. Thank you for sharing this with me, Harry." Remus paused to consider something before continuing. "If I share a secret with you, will you promise not to tell anyone that you heard it from me?"
"Of course," Harry replied without even needing to consider.
"The ministry can only track magic performed with your wand. So if you were so inclined," Remus told Harry, "you could continue your animagus training over the summer."
"Really?" Harry asked in mock surprise. "That's great."
"But I want you to be extra careful if you decide to give it a try, and it wouldn't be a good idea if others knew you were trying," cautioned Remus.
"Right, I'll be careful," replied Harry.
"Let me know if you manage a full transformation, then we'll discuss if and how you'll keep me company on full moons," Remus said. "If you want to maintain your secret, we may have to wait until school starts to plan this. I just want you to know that it really means a lot that you'd share your secret with me, Harry, and that you want to help me with my transformations."
"Prof - Remus, it's the least I can do…"
"No, Harry," Remus interrupted, "it's a lot more than that. Thank you." He choked out as he put his arm around Harry's shoulder. "I know I can never replace Sirius, but I would like you to know that I will always be there for you if you should ever need me."
"Thank you, Remus" Harry said through a stifled sob. "I'd like it if we could meet like this more often."
"I'd like that too," Remus replied with a small smile. "How about we try to meet once every week or two? We shouldn't meet at regular times, best to change it up every time. Moody would have my head otherwise. I'll let you know the date and time of the next time I'll be able to come see you. I'll wait for you under my invisibility cloak at one of the benches, so just walk around like you did today until I call for you, ok?"
"Sounds like a plan," Harry replied.
Remus sighed. "I should get going, Harry. Take care of yourself. I'll send you an owl sometime soon for our next meeting."
"Okay Remus," Harry said. "Thanks for coming, and be careful."
"You got it," he replied as he rose to his feet and embraced Harry once more. "Until next time." And with a pop Remus was gone.
Harry began his walk back to the Dursleys' and thought over his conversation with Remus. He had given away information he hadn't meant to, but he had done a pretty good job covering up his real summer time activities. It really felt good to have someone to talk to though, and he was glad he would be able to help Remus, especially when the full moon came around. Harry hadn't thought about it, but Sirius had probably stayed with Moony each full moon since he had been back in England after his escape on Buckbeak in Harry's third year. Harry was determined that Moony not suffer through his transformations alone.
The next several days passed by in his normal routine. He made a small dent in his new library and was becoming increasingly proficient in his wandless casting. He found that if he practiced any new spells at night with Sirius to get a feel for the spell, he could easily pick up the wandless casting for it the next day. He moved much of his wandless casting inside of his trunk, to avoid being caught.
He was also beginning to increase in the speed with which he was able to cast spells. It only took him half a second to build up his magic and form it correctly before casting his spell. And he was increasing the speed in which he could cast multiple spells one after the other. He found that he was just as quick if not a little quicker without the wand than with it. He still practiced with his wand against Sirius, though, because he wanted to be used to using it for when he got back to school. He didn't want to slip up and showcase his new abilities for the whole school to see.
As Harry made his way through books, he took notes of any spells he thought would be useful to use in the DA. He kept a list and a short description of each spell in a notebook he had found in his room. Towards the end of the summer he would take his list and organize it into the order in which he would teach the spells.
In the back of his mind, Harry kept reminding himself that he needed to write up the magical contract for the DA and that he should consult Hermione about it. He had skimmed through the book he had bought on the subject, but he wanted to know as much as possible about magical contracts before he began working on it. He finally made himself sit down and write her a letter.
Dear Hermione,
I need your help. I know that must come as a huge shock to you. I am going to continue teaching the DA next year, only it will be a club open to all students 4th year and up. There will be a requirement that every member sign a magical contract saying that they won't discuss the DA with any non-members and that they will not use anything I teach them to help Voldemort or the Death Eaters.
I would like your help with the contract. It needs to be more than the one you had everybody sign last year. For one thing, if anybody is insincere or planning on breaking the rules of the contract, they would be unable to sign their name in the first place. But then I was hoping to find a way to stop people from accidentally mentioning it in front of other people, kind of like how the Fidelius Charm works with the secret keeper being the only one capable of disclosing the secret. And of course there needs to be suitable punishment if either clause is violated. Any thoughts you have on this would be greatly appreciated. I managed to get my hands on one book on the subject, but I was hoping you might know a little more. I need to present the contract before Dumbledore and have him approve all the subject material.
Have you talked to your parents about everything yet? I was thinking it might be a good idea to have some support to help explain everything. I know I won't be allowed to come talk to your parents, but one of the Weasleys would be an ideal candidate or Remus. I met with Remus last week, and we've decided to meet up and talk on a regular basis from now on. It's nice to actually have some contact with the wizarding world beyond owls for once. Let me know how your summer is going. Keep in touch.
Take care,
Harry
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