"Alright students. Take your seats. We'll get this entire class thing started." Sirius said, sitting on the edge of his desk as the students in his defense class took their seats. Students of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff sat in front of him, and Harry could tell that under the facade of confidence he always wore, he was a bit nervous. Remus though, stood beside him, keeping his hand on his shoulder in solidarity.
"I'll be open and honest with you all." Sirius started, his gaze looking over the classroom. "Voldemort IS back. The world isn't as safe as we thought it was, and while this is an issue that should have been handled by us old-timers, and WILL be handled by us, it would be irresponsible of me to not do what I can to prepare your for the real consequences of what his return means."
You could hear a pin drop in the room at that. The Sphinx Club members in the room were all aware of this information. It wasn't news, but for most of the other gathered students, this was likely the first time they had REALLY been made aware of the fact that Voldemort was back. There hadn't been much talk about it, as while the Ministry hadn't denied it, a move Dumbledore had thought was possible, they weren't going out of their way to publish this information. It was well known in the political circles, Amos Diggory and Sirius were both leading political charges to bolster the auror force to combat Death Eaters since they had, even before Voldemort's return, attacked the Quidditch World Cup so their boldness with their leader alive was uncertain. For all they knew they could feel confident enough to attack the Ministry, though that seemed unlikely.
"As such, we'll be focusing far more on the practical aspects of Defense during this time. You will of course, get all the information needed to pass your OWLs, that is a priority, but we'll be spending more time focused on the useful and the practical than the more abstract theory you would get during traditional instruction." Sirius said, his voice displaying some enthusiasm, but underlined with a kind of morose tone. "Today is primarily about the syllabus, as well as the general function of class. At the beginning of each week this year, I will introduce a topic or spell. At any point during the week, you can ask to be tested on the topic, and should you pass the test, be excused from any theory on said topic for the rest of the week, instead using that time to put it into practice. For those who are doing the practical work, that will primarily be with me, while the theory folks will be working more with Remus. Is this understood?"
Harry thought that made more sense with how Sirius would handle such classes. Sirius was a perfectly capable practitioner of defense, but was much more of a doer than a thinker. Such was the reason Harry had gone to live with the Dursleys instead of being raised by him. Remus was the level headed planner, and had experience teaching classes. It made sense then that they'd divide classes like that. Harry also noticed the game immediately. People who put in more study time outside of class, got more time IN class to work on the spell, which the members of the Sphinx Club likely appreciated far more than anyone else. They excelled beyond reason in most classes, but a class that actively rewarded them for pushing past the limits of the curriculum was rare. Harry briefly wondered if they'd even have any material they wouldn't have mastered for their O.W.L.s by Halloween. They'd already been working on some of the preliminary fifth year material all the way back in their third year, since they'd devoured the early spells so quickly. Fourth year had needed their focus to be squarely on surviving the Triwizard tournament, so while that had given them plenty of material from higher years to chew through, the emphasis was more on things that would increase survival, and less on things that would help them pass the O.W.Ls specifically… not that Harry was worried about that at all. He believed they could pass them now, although to get the Outstandings that Hermione wanted, they'd probably only get those in their specific subjects that they excel at.
"Yes… ugh… Thomas I think it was?" Sirius asked, glancing over at the dark skinned boy sat with Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnegan from Gryffindor.
"Yes sir, Dean Thomas… you say that You-Know-Who is back, but… how?" He asked, confused. "How could someone come back from the dead, and how do you know about it?"
"Well, to say it plainly, rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. He was VERY severely injured and believed to be truly dead, but clever and powerful magicals have ways of making death quite a bit harder to come by. Voldemort is a lot of things, but there's no denying his power and skill." Sirius said, causing most of the class to flinch as the name was spoken aloud. "I don't know the specifics, I imagine the only person who does is Voldy himself, and speculating on it won't do you any good. Should you ever encounter the man himself, you'd do well to avoid him. Braver and stronger adults have taken him on and lost, I don't expect any of you to manage it. What I do want you to do though is learn to keep yourself safe. Learn how to defend, how to press offense as an escape tool. You should not be fighting, but in the event you do, your number one priority should be living to fight another day."
With that sobering statement, Sirius then went into some more specifics on specific spells and processes they would be covering throughout the year. Harry was already pretty intimately familiar with all of them, and even Tracey, who struggled the most with Defense of all the Sphinx Club members in fifth year, was more than capable of casting all the spells on this list with little difficulty. If Harry had had any worries about Defense class, they were put aside.
Following classes that day, Sirius and Remus tracked down Harry. "Heya, pup. We need to go have a chinwag with Dumbledore. Not trouble mind you, just about some extracurricular activities if you catch my meaning." Sirius said, throwing his arm over Harry's shoulder.
"Alright, let's head there. I'll catch up with you all later." Harry said, smiling at Hermione and Padma who were with him, giving them each a brief kiss before he, Sirius, and Remus made their way to Dumbledore's office.
Harry had been in this office a number of times over the years, although it still managed to both amaze him and put him on edge in some ways. Magical devices of all kinds whizzed and whirred on various shelves, and a candy bowl set ever-full on the desk. "Ah, Harry, it is good to see you. I hope your first day of classes went well." Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair as he gestured for Harry, Sirius, and Remus to take a seat. Professor Flitwick was already present, the diminutive man standing on a stool that kept him eye-level with everyone else.
"The did Professor, Sirius… er… Professor Black, didn't say what this meeting was about." Harry said, catching himself for the 'proper' state of address for his godfather.
"I suspect he wouldn't have, given I hadn't told him much." Dumbledore chuckled. "I also suspect he would prefer it if you referred to him as Sirius as well. Given your relationship, I believe the general staff will not be terribly upset by the prospect."
"Please pup, it's bad enough I have to be called Professor Black in the first place, I don't need you making it worse." Sirius said, faux distress on his face.
"On to the matter at hand… with the threat of Voldemort looming, and his focus on you as a target, I believe it is high time that we provide you with some more advanced training. As such, you will be working incredibly closely with Professors Flitwick, Black, and Lupin for ways to more effectively defend yourself should we find ourselves in another incident like the graveyard." Dumbledore said, a deep sigh echoing through his voice. "As a result of this, your traditional dueling training will be put on hold, and we cannot allow you to compete in the normal tournaments this year."
"That's quite fine, sir." Harry said, breathing his own sigh. "I do believe living to have the chance to attend another one in the future is more important than attending one this year. This does beg a question though, the Sphinx Club is likely to be targeted just for association with me, aren't they? It's no secret we're quite close, and I cannot shut them out. Would it be possible for them to receive this training as well?"
"An excellent thought, Harry. One we ourselves had. We believe it would be best for you to pass the lessons down yourself, as you have been for these past few years. There are few better ways to become a master of a subject than to teach it to another, and you have quite the aptitude for it. If you aren't careful, I may be scouting you for our Defense Against the Dark Arts position after you graduate." Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "I believe I know better than to tell the Sphinx Club that they aren't allowed to learn something, and while I cannot spare the time to teach them fully, I do believe it is in their best interests to learn while they can. I suspect collectively they shall have little trouble learning the material from you, and I suspect you yourself will soak up the things we would like to teach you like a sponge."
"Thank you sir, I'll try not to let you down." Harry said, bowing his head a little.
"Good, with the training matter settled, I'm afraid I must dismiss you Professor Flitwick, what comes next is somewhat privileged information." Dumbledore said, nodding to the diminutive professor.
"Ah yes, this Order of the Phoenix I hear you discuss with Minerva and Severus. I shall take my leave then. Have a good day, Mr. Potter." Flitwick said, hopping off the stool and leaving the office.
"Now we should be able to discuss matters of the war completely. Flitwick has my full trust and confidence of course, but he has yet to truly involve himself in this matter beyond his duties as an instructor at Hogwarts, and I will not ask him to do anymore unless he himself wishes to." Dumbledore said, explaining his motives, primarily to Harry. "Now, I have had some time to ruminate on where we might find Horcruxes, given our situation. It behooves me to believe that if there were anyone capable of finding the lost relics of the founders, it would be Tom Riddle. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to tell where he may have placed these items. Our earlier guesses about his high ranking lieutenants I believe still hold some weight, but given that many of them are from pureblooded families of significant means… it is difficult to narrow down possible locations they might be."
"I checked the Black family vault at Gringotts, had Bill come with me, we didn't find anything that matched the description of any of the items we discussed." Sirius said, leaning back in his chair some. "While it wouldn't surprise me if someone like the Lestranges would put it in their vault, the actual act of getting into it to search is near impossible."
"Is there no such thing as a search warrant in the Wizarding World?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There is actually, but to get one we would need to reveal the knowledge of the horcruxes to the DMLE, and that is a dangerous leak. Voldemort's return is public, and he has MANY allies entrenched deep within most offices of the Ministry. We can never be sure who to trust." Dumbledore said.
"We can trust Amelia Bones, she's the head of the DMLE, surely she has the power to handle that discreetly, and with Nym and Mr. Shacklebolt, that's two skilled aurors who are directly under her control who we trust." Harry suggested.
"I understand your personal connection to Madam Bones' niece Harry, but just because Susan is above board, does not necessarily imply Amelia is." Remus said.
"We know the Death Eaters view her as an obstacle though. That's why Lucius targeted Susan with the diary in my second year." Harry said. "I imagine he thought that if Susan were to die, Amelia would be quite upset and unable to carry out her duties temporarily. Susan is all the family she has left after all."
"Pup's got a point. You don't go to an effort like that for someone you've got in your pocket." Sirius said, glancing over at the others. Warrant will take time, even with moving it all that way up the chain… but it's not unfeasible. We'd need to bring Amelia into the fold, obviously." Sirius said, looking at Harry with proud eyes.
"I shall ruminate on that… the benefits would be great, but I would worry the current Minister may view that as somewhat of a consolidation of power, as though I would be moving to take his seat." Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "He has consistently feared that I would attempt to take that position, nevermind the fact that I have no higher aspirations than to spend the rest of my days at this institution, or perhaps retired once my age catches up with me even more."
"Do you think he would value his position over a quicker end to this war?" Harry asked, as the three adults in the room's frowns deepened.
"Unfortunately, yes. Many people do not always act in the interests of everyone, only in what benefits them personally the most, and even then what they THINK benefits them the most. Minister Fudge is more sympathetic to the Pureblood agenda than many who would replace him, although he has little personal belief in it, he is willing to use them as a supporter base… he's much like Voldemort in that way." Dumbledore stated, leaning back into his chair with a contemplative look on his face. "Such actions are… unfortunate, but we shall work around them. Perhaps ways to properly involve him in our work can be arranged. I have no qualms in letting him 'take credit' for orchestrating the defeat of Voldemort. I garnered quite a lot of fame from my defeat of Grindelwald early in my life, I am both not in need of any more, and desire it even less."
"Just like me with Voldemort the first time, why did he even attack a baby in the first place? The way everyone's always talked about it, it seems like he was after ME more than he was after my parents, but I don't understand why. I was just a baby after all, not like some kind of Dark Wizard buster." Harry said, leaning back in his chair. Dumbledore's expression paled a little bit, and Sirius caught onto that.
"Dumbledore, I don't like that look on your face. What do you know that we don't?" Sirius questioned, glaring at the elder man. "I thought we talked about this whole keeping secrets thing."
"We have, and I have kept this mostly out of how little knowing it changes our plans. We have been acting on this information, and taking it quite seriously, but knowledge of it was kept limited as I worried it would cause undo panic. I suppose it is time I reveal it." Dumbledore said, standing up and making his way to a nearby bookshelf. Tapping his wand to it, a secret compartment opened, and from it he pulled a scroll of parchment. He brought it to his desk, and spread it out revealing a passage, one that was written and rewritten dozens on dozens of times to the point that the penmanship was perfect. On the page lay the passage:
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…
Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…
and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…
and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…
"This was the prophecy, relayed to me on the day I interviewed Sybill Trelawney for her current role as our Divination teacher. While I do know that Divination is not viewed as a particularly well regarded field of study here at Hogwarts, it is here for a reason. Certain individuals do possess the capabilities to speak true prophecy, it is not a skill you can control, they simply occur. Every true prophecy uttered in magical Britain is recorded and stored in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore spoke.
"So Voldemort is aware of this prophecy then, and assumes it is me it speaks of?" Harry asked quizzically.
"There was an associate of his who overheard the lines, and reported it to him, although only the first two. He acted on that information, attacking two families to prevent the one who could destroy him from being able to… unknowingly feeding into the second part, and marking you as his equal." Dumbledore said, his fingers tracing over the scar on Harry's forehead.
"There was a second… it'd be Neville wouldn't it?" Harry said, his analytical mind taking control so as to not be overwhelmed by the information presented to him.
"You'd be correct. While we are uncertain as to the specific reasoning you were targeted personally by Voldemort as opposed to Mr. Longbottom, it is very clear that the prophecy could have referred to either of you before that Halloween." Dumbledore stated.
"Moving beyond the why of it, what is this 'power he knows not'?" Harry asked, glancing over the parchment again. "I'm an exceptional duelist for my age… but I doubt I have knowledge of anything beyond Voldemort's reach. I've met his shade, spoken with him… he was much like me academically when he was a student, although it seems he didn't have a friend group like I do. But he's had decades on decades to learn and improve… I only found out magic was real a bit over four years ago." Harry stated. "What could I possibly know that he doesn't?"
"I believe the 'power he knows not' is love." Dumbledore said. "Tom Riddle was conceived when Merope Gaunt enthralled Tom Riddle Senior with amortentia. Those born under the effects of a love potion are unable to properly feel love, such is well documented across many individuals."
"So my ability to have a girlfriend is the thing he knows not? That feels… idiotic to say the least, professor." Harry said in disbelief.
"It is not just romantic love Harry, although I suspect you know more about that than any of the rest of us in this room." Dumbledore chuckled. "It was your mother's love that protected you that Halloween, that same protection I believe is what destroyed Quirrel during your encounter in your first year."
"I believe you mentioned something like that at the time… but… love feels so… odd. How would love be a power sufficient to beat a Dark Lord?" Harry wondered, seemingly unconvinced.
"The love you have for others perhaps will give you the strength you need in times where they are at their hardest. Perhaps that is it." Dumbledore said, lightly stroking his beard. "I believe thinking too critically on a prophecy such as this is a fool's errand. Prophecies on the whole are very vague, and while they are important, they are largely beyond the powers of mortal men to understand. Greater men than we have attempted to truly understand prophecy, and they have all failed."
"If you believe interpreting the prophecy is a fool's errand, why go through such lengths to keep it secret?" Harry asked, no curious for the reasoning.
"Voldemort's willingness to act on it has me worried. He fully believes himself to be the Dark Lord mentioned, and that you are the one 'born as the seventh month dies'. Of that we are in agreement. He however, may have acted differently if he knew that BY acting he would be marking you as his equal, and that you would have power he knows not. I believe keeping this information from him is pertinent, if nothing else, it will keep him preoccupied in attempting to decipher the remainder of said prophecy." Dumbledore said. "The concern that he would attempt to grab the record from the Department of Mysteries is quite real though."
"Then why don't you grab it? We could store it somewhere here in Hogwarts he wouldn't have easy access to, even more so than the Department of Mysteries I would assume." Harry asked.
"Only those spoken of in the prophecy can remove it from the Department, ancient enchantments evolved and strengthened over centuries. Even a wizard as talented as Tom was would be hard pressed to bypass these protections. Although he likely wouldn't need to, as he could simply remove it himself, provided he could get into the ministry." Dumbledore said, gesticulating slightly as he spoke.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Then I can go get it. I'm spoken of in the prophecy, we could go on some random afternoon, you, Sirius, and Remus can come with me, we show up without warning, say we're taking it, walk in and grab it, then back to Hogwarts before Voldemort is even aware we're even interested in acquiring it." Harry said. "Then, frankly, we could destroy it. We know what it says, and he'd then be unable to get it from anyone who doesn't already know it."
"That's… that's not a bad idea, Harry." Remus said, looking to Dumbledore. "I know the three of us would rather die than give that information up, and I can't imagine the circle of people who know the exact text is much larger than those in this room, is it?"
"It is no larger than this room. Voldemort and the one who overheard it and reported it to him know the first two lines, but that is all they know." Dumbledore nodded. "It may be worthwhile to acquire it… I shall think on it, indecisiveness on grabbing it would work in our favor regardless, as it makes it harder to predict when or if we will acquire the prophecy orb. For now, Harry, I believe you should focus on both your studies, and your extra training that we will be starting."
"If I may ask, Professor… why are we only now starting the extra training, if we knew that he would be after me?" Harry asked, as Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, huffing slightly, as though readying himself for a long explanation.
"It came in two parts initially. While I had suspicions that Voldemort's death on that Halloween was not final, I had no idea what timeframe his return would occur in. There was not much I could do to train you before Hogwarts regardless, and once you arrived your Sphinx Club began progressing at rates I found more than acceptable. While I could have perhaps given you more instruction, I thought it was unnecessary. Voldemort could have very well not returned until you were an adult, or even my age, so there was little reason to believe that forcing additional lessons on you would actively benefit you. I was caught by surprise that Voldemort was attaching himself to Quirrell myself, and when you defeated him, I truly believed that they may have been the end of Voldemort." Dumbledore nodded, stroking his beard. "The incident with the Diary in second year made me question the finality of his defeat, but you were practicing with Filius for dueling tournaments by that point, I advised Filius on paths you may go down to refine your skills, but saw little reason to push you much harder than you were pushing yourself. More than most things Harry, I wanted you to have a happy and healthy childhood, to not be forced into being a child soldier. You making the choice to push yourself academically and in dueling practice worked well for allowing me to guide you to being prepared for the future, but I would not have forced the issue if you hadn't. During your third year, I worked under the assumption Voldemort could still return, and guided Filus and Remus on ways to better prepare you, but still made sure that you were in control of how much you wanted to push yourself. Even with the events happening, Voldemort's true return was still an indistinguishable timeframe. Fourth year the tournament limited my ability to guide you, due to fears of my interference stripping you of your magic for cheating. You performed quite admirably, and made new friends that I believe reinforce the love you feel, that will be crucial for going forward. Now that we know how Voldemort stayed alive, and that he is truly back, I believe the time for me to be more hands-on is upon us. Admittedly, my personal ability to teach you will be limited, I wear many hats, and running this school is not an easy endeavor. I will however be personally guiding Sirius, Remus, and Filius on what I believe you need to learn, and how best to handle yourself. The four of us together will be working on your lesson plans, even if the other three will be the ones actively instructing you."
"I understand, professor." Harry said, nodding. "I suppose now we just need to keep working hard, and hope that we all come out of this war unscathed."
"We will certainly try." Dumbledore said, chuckling lightly to himself.