Dumbledore's Apprentice

Chapter 5

The next morning, Harry woke up bright and early. Thankfully, Moody had allowed Harry to wake up on his own instead of dowsing him with water while still asleep.

He headed down to the lake, where he once again completed two laps around the lake, followed by pushups and sit-ups to failure. If it was possible, he hurt even more than the previous day. When he began his run, his muscles screamed at him to stop. He was so sore, he didn't know if he could continue. After a few minutes, his muscles warmed up and he was able to complete the exercises, performing slightly better than the previous day.

When he arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast, he found it empty. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat down and called one of the Hogwarts elves, who promptly brought him breakfast and his nutrient potion. While he ate, he read from the numerous books assigned to him by his professors.

I'm turning into Hermione, he thought to himself with a chuckle.

He quickly finished his breakfast and headed to the runes classroom, eager to begin the day's lessons...

Hours later, he trudged down to the Great Hall for dinner, exhausted after another day of classes. He continued to excel in every class. In Ancient Runes, he continued to impress Professor Babbling. They had already moved onto complex rune clusters and larger rune configurations. She was proud of his progress and confided in him that he might be able to finish the OWL material before the school year began.

In Arithmancy, he continued to learn more about the theory of magic. He easily grasped the concepts that Professor Vector taught and looked forward to applying them in his spellwork.

He continued to surprise Snape in his potions lesson. Harry managed to perfectly brew a Draught of Peace while conversing with Snape about the effects of the different ingredients. When he was finished, Snape could not even find a flaw to point out. He merely said, "This quality of work will be expecting from you at all times. Do not slip back into bad habits." Harry nodded and tried to hide his grin at being able to impress Snape.

In transfiguration, he began his study of conjuration, which was only part of the seventh-year curriculum. He took to it like a fish in water, which astounded Professor McGonagall even more. Conjuration, he learned, was very exhausting magically. The heavier or more complex the conjured object, the more magical energy it required. Harry was finally able to test the limits of his newly expanded magical core. He was able to perform conjuration after conjuration without exhausting himself, something that left McGonagall in shock.

In charms, he began dueling with Professor Flitwick. The tiny professor would only allow him to use charms from first and second year with no spells or transfigurations. This forced him to think creatively about his environment and how to use even simple charms in different ways during combat.

Moody continued to test his dodging abilities by increasing the speed of the dueling dummies. Harry struggled at first with the new speed but was soon able to adapt. It seemed that Moody would not be teaching Harry any new spells until he was satisfied with his footwork, stance, and ability to dodge.

When Harry finally arrived in the Great Hall after his lessons, he found Dumbledore waiting for him. Harry sat down in his usual seat across from the Headmaster and began to dish up.

"Hello, Harry," said Dumbledore. "How were lessons today?"

"They went well," Harry said between bites. "I can tell that I am improving a lot."

"Indeed," remarked Dumbledore. "I have spoken with each of your professors, and they are all astounded by your progress, even Severus," he said chuckling. "Professor Babbling thinks you are a runes prodigy due to the speed at which you are interpreting rune configurations. Professor Snape is highly surprised by your improvement in potions, although he attributes that to you finally learning basic theories about ingredients and potion making techniques. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick are both convinced that you have inherited your mother's and father's talent for transfiguration and charms, although I am sure you will end up outperforming both of them. And finally, Professor Moody is impressed by your improvement in dodging."