THE LIGHTNING LORD

Chapter 30 : The start of another year

Finally the first of September arrived. Just before he was about to leave, suddenly the weather took a turn for a worse. Heavy wind and rain battered against the windows, lightning could be seen and thunder could be heard. Harry's eyes went wide.

"Aquila, what's wrong buddy?" he asked.

"Harry, listen to me very carefully. You are going to be in grave danger. I don't know how or when. All I know is that your life will be at great risk. I will not let you die little one. Promise me that if you are ever in trouble and you feel like your life is in danger, you will call me to you. Understand?" said the Thunderbird.

Harry paused. Could this be related to Dobby's warning? The little elf had stressed on the fact that dark deeds were planned at Hogwarts this year and that his life was in great danger. His heart started beating faster.

"I promise Aquila. If I am in danger, I will call you. I will also let you know if there is anything suspicious. I'll keep my eyes and ears open" he said.

"Good luck, little one. Stay safe"

He entered the fireplace and said "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters". To his immense shock, he did not move at all. He stepped out and called for Toby. "Toby can you look at the fireplace and see what's wrong?" he asked.

The elf looked at it and cursed under his breath. "This be blocked by house elf magic, master. It looks like Dobby tried to stop you from leaving. Toby will adjust the Elvin wards so that it does not happen again" he said and snapped his fingers. He nodded to Harry and popped away.

Harry sighed and flooed to the station. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the red and black train. He walked into the train and searched for his friends. To his immense frustration, as he walked up the train, people were staring at him more than they were last year. Winning an International Duelling Championship was bound to bring attention, especially as he was already famous, he thought darkly. He finally found his friends and walked in. He greeted them all, put his trunk on the rack, removed Tango from his cage and took a seat next to Daphne.

"What's got you in a bad mood?" whispered Daphne as she took Tango from him. She was the little dog's favourite apart from his owner and spent a lot of time with her. She giggled as Tango licked her face and settled on her lap.

"Some house elf is stalking me saying that something bad is going to happen at Hogwarts this year. So I'm trying to figure out what it is. On top of that, the stares I get from the general population have increased, and it's utterly annoying" grumbled Harry.

"Stalking elf?" asked Neville.

"Danger at Hogwarts?" asked Susan

Harry nodded "Lucius Malfoy is up to something. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary. With any luck, we can prevent his plot from taking off."

"Can't we alert the teachers or Madam Bones about it?" asked Tracy.

"And say what?" asked Daphne. "That Lord Malfoy is planning something underhanded, and accuse him without proof? That's political suicide, considering that Malfoy has the Minister in his back pocket. Believe me, if Harry hadn't done it so silently, Lord Black's trial and subsequent exoneration would have been very difficult with Minister Fudge, a portion of the Wizengamot and Albus Dumbledore against you. I don't think people realise that Harry fought against an innumerable amount of odds against him. That session was so unique; I don't think such a phenomenon has ever occurred in recent history, at least to my knowledge."

Silence followed her declaration as people were lost in their own thoughts. Harry looked at Daphne and smiled. This was the reason he admired her. She wasn't just a pretty face; she had intelligence and understanding of politics and business to go with it. He marvelled at the fact that he had met her only one year ago, and yet he had grown so emotionally attached to her. He squeezed her hand and gently rubbed it with his thumb in thanks.

"Moving on, I asked Harry a few weeks back to teach us Occlumency. Are you all game?" asked Neville.

There were enthusiastic responses to this. "I really want to learn non-verbal casting. It's so cool to just wave your wand without incantations during a duel" said Susan.

Harry smiled and said "Most witches and wizards consider it difficult because it requires mental discipline. We'll start with Occlumency. I know that all of you have been taught the rudimentary aspects of it, but that's not enough. The mind arts are an amazing branch of magic. Occlumency helps you with memory recall, so when you are duelling you can recall a whole bunch of spells without forgetting the incantation or wand movements. Let's start now."

He flicked his wand to his hand and pointed it to the door. The door locked itself shut with a strong Colloportus charm. He then flicked his wand a few times to put up a notice-me-not charm. He did not wand Malfoy, Weasley or Granger to disturb them.

He then began his instruction. "I want you all to sit comfortably. Close your eyes and take deep breaths, in and out relatively. Focus on the blackness you see in front of you. Your mind belongs to you and no one else so when I'm you are in your mind, you are in total control. This is your magic and your mind, where you are in solitude. The void can be shaped in any form you like. Your magic flows to your mind, and you have to channel it. The mind is vast; it has no limit, just as the universe has no limit. It is your domain; you are in control. Connect with your magical core; let it infuse you" he said softly.

He silently took out a few biscuits for Tango and a book on Offensive Warding from the Potter Library and started reading. He knew that they would find it difficult to continue the meditation. He realised that he had a gift when it came to the mind arts; he couldn't expect the others to reach his level of control this soon if ever, but he was most certainly willing to help them. Daphne started reading a book as well. Harry had been training her in the art for several months now and she was capable of hold off light medium mine attacks. He had told her that once he was confident in her abilities, he would tell her his secrets. Both of them did not want the other to be in the dark about their lives.

The hours passed with each of them not being successful at different times. But Harry was patient and helped by encouraging them. He told them that it was a process that would take time, so they couldn't expect any results just by practicing for a few hours. During that time he had seen Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger pass by his compartment several times with looks of confusion on their faces. He smirked; he really should have done this last year as well. Oh well, better late than never he concluded.

As they approached Hogsmeade, Harry snapped them out of their meditative trance which they were all trying to hold together with much difficulty. They changed into their uniforms in silence and left the train and got into the horseless carriages.

When they entered the Great Hall, Harry went to the Ravenclaw table, Susan and Hannah sat at the Hufflepuff table, Neville proceeded to the Gryffindor table and Daphne and Tracy went over to the Slytherin table. Harry began chatting with his housemates as they asked him several questions about the Duelling Championship. He may not be a social animal, but he knew that talking to others and building contacts were very beneficial. He had learned that from Slughorn, but Harry used a more subtle approach.

He watched the sorting and mentally sighed in relief when Ginny Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor. If the sad look on her face was anything to go by, the red head was probably trying for Ravenclaw, but the hat sorted her with the lions. He was grateful for this as he did not want to be in the same house as the girl Dumbledore wanted him to eventually marry. An eccentric looking girl named Luna Lovegood was sorted into Ravenclaw. Harry knew that family. Xenophilius Lovegood owned the Quibber, a wizarding publication that catered to a very small audience.

After dinner, the students went to their dormitories for the night. Harry entered his room and looked at the blank walls. He called Toby to expand the room again. While he could do the expansion charm, he still found it a bit tricky so he didn't mind letting his house elf do it instead. He redecorated his room like last year, changed clothes and went to bed. Ready to start another year.