Sword-Sister 2
It took Harry over a week of constant practice in the evenings to learn the Confundus Charm. The first time he cast the spell and the spider in its web skittered down to land on the table, he wanted to cheer. Then he had a thought, "Is it more difficult to do this to people?"
"Casting the spell itself isn't more difficult. It is harder to cast the spell on magical objects, but not people. It will require more willpower to work on people, however. I doubt you have to worry about that, or you wouldn't have been able to wake me up." With this, Annwyl suggested, "Why don't you practice a bit more, then we can handle your relatives? Your Uncle Vernon should be home soon." She'd taken to using his term for them. Relatives. Definitely not family.
"All right," Harry agreed. He gestured with his wand, again casting the charm, "Confundo" and watched as the spider moved to stand on his trunk. He spent a half hour casting the spell and encouraging the spider to do various things before thinking to Annwyl, "Do you think I'm ready now?"
"I do. Be sure to cast it from behind, you don't know how to use the memory charm yet, and that is not something you want to learn without a lot of study. It's dangerous," Annwyl observed.
Shuddering as he remembered what happened to Lockhart, Harry nodded and slipped the wand into his sleeve. He carefully pushed open the door and went downstairs, looking around briefly. He could hear people in the kitchen and the living room. Harry found Aunt Petunia in the kitchen and quickly pulled out his wand, casting the spell quietly, focusing intensely on her ignoring him at all times. "Confundo." When the spell hit the woman, he slipped his wand back into his sleeve and turned to walk towards the living room. Dudley was laser-focused on the television, and Harry smirked. Again, he cast the spell, and again slipped away. Now he just had to wait for Vernon to come home.
As if the thought were prophetic, he heard a car pull up outside, and Harry quickly moved to stand in the living room, waiting. When Vernon entered the house, calling for his 'Pet', Harry quickly cast the Confundus Charm a third time, focusing all of his will into the spell. Sliding his wand into his sleeve again, Harry moved past the man to test the effect, and was ignored.
Success!
Harry went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was a relief to be able to eat what he wanted, when he wanted. And thanks to the spell, Petunia was simply ignoring him! Finishing making his dinner, sandwiches and a few pieces of fruit, Harry went upstairs to eat. Shutting his door, he asked Annwyl, setting the wand down on his bed, "What do we do now? Planning ahead is good, I think."
"Are you sure you're not a Slytherin?" Annwyl teased him after taking on human form, "You were certainly Gryffindor in the Chamber, though. It's pretty simple. You learn. I have a lot to teach you."
Nodding as he ate, Harry considered, "I've done enough rushing into danger. It's almost gotten me killed. The Sorting Hat said I'd make a good Slytherin too. I don't plan on being a coward, but I have to think things through." Harry set his apple core on the tray, looking at Annwyl, "What first? I need to learn everything. Honestly, looking back at the past years, some sort of remedial course would be best to start with. I'm probably lacking in a lot of theory that I should know. I was always better at practical stuff, so didn't study more than enough to pass tests."
"That's a good place to begin. Also, we will need more books. A lot more," Annwyl said. "You'll need to study them, me telling you all the information would take a long time." She considered. "That house elf you freed, Dobby? Why don't you call him?"
"Call him?" Harry asked.
"Yes, he'll hear you, I think," Annwyl stated.
"All right. Dobby?" Harry waited, and after a few moments a familiar house elf appeared.
"Harry Potter Sir calls for Dobby?" Dobby bounced in place, looking curiously at Annwyl.
"Dobby, I'm a friend of Harry's. He needs help," Annwyl said to him. "I was wondering if you'd agree to work for Harry?"
"Harry Potter Sir wants to be Dobby's master?" Dobby asked, glancing from Annwyl to Harry hopefully.
"Yes," Harry answered, entering the conversation. "However, I don't want to be like the Malfoys, okay? I'd like to give you a wage, and a uniform, so you look nice and spiffing, would that be all right?"
"Dobby doesn't need to be paid," the house elf began to speak.
"I know you don't need to," Harry said, "But I want to. Listen, you can keep the money in case you decide you want to buy something for yourself or someone else, but it's important to me, okay?"
Dobby rocked back and forth, "What sort of uniform should Dobby wear?"
"Anything you want. I thought something like a butler outfit might look cool, but as long as it's not a pillow or towel or something, I don't care," Harry said with a shrug. "You're a person, Dobby. I got enough of being treated like a thing growing up, I don't want to treat you like that."
Annwyl watched this, a proud expression on her face, even as Dobby nodded, "Dobby can do that. Dobby swears to serve Master Harry."
"Can you please just call me Harry? I guess if you have to be formal at times, you can call me Sir?" Harry asked.
"Dobby can do that, Harry Sir," the small house elf said, and Harry sighed.
"That'll do, I guess," Harry said before looking at Annwyl. "What next?"
"Next, we get books. Do you have your key to your Gringotts Vault?" Annwyl asked.
"Of course," Harry answered as he knelt on the floor and pulled open the loose floorboard to retrieve said key, "Why?"
"Give it to Dobby. Dobby, we need you to go to Gringotts and withdraw six hundred galleons from his vault. I will provide you a list of books, I need you to purchase these books for Harry," Annwyl told the goblin. "Convert a hundred galleons into pounds for him as well, please."
Harry couldn't help it. He smirked, looking at Annwyl, thinking, "Yes, Annwyl, ma'am." She couldn't help being a bit in charge, though it didn't feel bossy like Hermione did sometimes. She gave him a look in return and moved to the rickety table, bending over to write a list for the house elf. After a few minutes, she got to her feet, "Here's the list, Dobby." Harry handed the house elf the key, and watched him disappear.
"Now," Annwyl said, "There are a few things we need to discuss. First, at Hogwarts, you must always have me on your person or at least within a few feet of you. There are those in the school who practice the art of Legilimency, which lets them see into your mind in a similar manner to mind reading. We do not wish them to find out about me. Your Headmaster would be especially upset at you becoming my pupil. When I am near you, I can block such things, due to our bond. You should learn Occlumency, but that takes a great deal of time. We can work on that over the next few years."
"What's Occlumency? And wait, people read my mind?" Harry asked, voice incredulous at the latter.
"The Mind Arts are divided into two pillars," Annwyl explained, "The Outer and the Inner. Legilimency is the Outer, and involves touching others' minds and viewing their memories. True masters can, combined with charms, manipulate others' minds in ways that those simply using charms cannot. Occlumency is the Inner, and involves manipulating one's own mind. The most basic use is to shield the mind from access or manipulation. A true master can do many other things such as render oneself immune to veritaserum, though true Masters of the Art are very rare." She shrugged, "And yes, Dumbledore reads minds. So does your Professor Snape. I'm sure one or two students have a basic knowledge, though not enough to be truly dangerous."
"Also, why would Professor Dumbledore dislike me learning from you?" Harry asked in confusion.
Annwyl sighed. "You are a Gryffindor who was almost placed in Slytherin. Think it through, Harry. Why are you here in this abusive home? Why did no one in your community notice the difference in how you were treated compared to your cousin Dudley? How come Hagrid took you to Diagon Alley instead of one of the Professors who could better explain the magical world? Look at what has happened the past two years. Why did Dumbledore hide the Philosopher's Stone in my father's school? How could your friend Hermione figure out that the attacker is a basilisk but Dumbledore could not?"
At the woman's questions, Harry frowned, "I don't know..." He trailed off, thinking, "I suppose the simplest answer is he doesn't like me and wants me to suffer, but it's probably more complicated than that. And hopefully something that doesn't make me sound so self-centered. I'm not sure why he'd want me to live with the Dursleys. I suppose for one thing, I never learned anything about the magical world?"
"That's part of it," Annwyl murmured to him before continuing. "When you came to the magical world, you were ignorant, yes. No, Harry, I'm not insulting you. Ignorance simply means a lack of knowledge. Dumbledore could direct you as he wished. All Slytherins are evil. All Gryffindors are good. You also don't know how to talk to people as you'd never had friends before. Your two friends are good ones, if with their own foibles. You are a loner, however, and don't make friends easily. I'm sure a few people have tried and you haven't even noticed. This makes it easier to keep you ignorant. And this lets him control you."
"How do you know all of this? He's bonded to Hogwarts, can she see into his head at all times?" Harry asked.
"It's not that clear cut, I'm afraid. I wish it was, as that would make things easier. The Headmaster link gives Her all of his knowledge, not his plans or thoughts. However, she sees what he does and says in his office and throughout the school." Annwyl's lips twitch, "It helps that he often talks to Fawkes about his plans. From those talks and watching him, we can get a general idea."
"I feel like I'm saying this a lot, but what now?" Harry asked Annwyl.
"Now, you become educated," Annwyl told him. "You will learn a lot faster with our mental link, but you do have to apply yourself. I can't just download all my knowledge into your head." Her lips twitch, "It would be so nice if I could."
"I don't think I'd like it if you could," Harry admitted. "I got enough fame for something my parents did. I want to do something myself. Even if you help me. It wouldn't be worthwhile if you just made it easy, you know?"
Annwyl smiled at him, "That sounds like something Uncle Sal would say," she told him.
Harry blinked, "Wait. I figured Gryffindor, but Salazar Slytherin was your uncle?"
"Oh yes," Annwyl said, a little sadly. "I know that people think Uncle Sal was evil, but he wasn't. The reason he and Father argued was over how to include muggleborns at Hogwarts: they agreed on most things. Uncle Sal wanted to have muggleborns move into the castle to protect them, but Father and Aunt Helga thought that would be cruel to their family. Mother said she could see both sides, so stayed out of it." She shrugged, "Then Uncle Sal's grandson went crazy and people eventually attributed all of that to my Uncle. I hated that. He was a good man. A little stern, but good."
Harry laughed softly, shaking his head, "Now I feel a little better about the Sorting Hat saying I'd do well in Slytherin."
"You would have, once you got your feet under you," Annwyl agreed. "You're a little reckless, but being in Slytherin would have tempered that quickly." She chuckled, "While we wait for Dobby to return, why don't I start teaching you Occlumency? Though first off, it'll be simple meditation lessons."
Harry perked up. Even if meditation sounded boring, he was excited to start learning. "All right, let's do that!"
"Good," Annwyl began. "There are two types of meditation, and both are useful for Occlumency in some way. We'll begin with concentration. Get comfortable on the bed, and close your eyes. Breath in and out. Count your breaths. Think of nothing else, except counting your breaths. If you think of something else, it's all right, especially when you're learning. Just start over."
Harry found that meditating was far harder than it sounded.
HPHPHPHPHP
As the weeks passed, Harry found himself enjoying his summer holidays for the first time ever. Sure, he was actually working hard, but at least it was on interesting stuff instead of doing every chore his Aunt could think of.
By the time July arrived, Harry had managed to finish working through his classes for the first two years. Annwyl had Harry send Dobby out to purchase what she called a 'Potion Lab in a Suitcase', a suitcase that unfolded into a full potions table that was designed for traveling potioneers. Under Annwyl's tutelage, Harry found himself actually enjoying potions; he was also sad that he'd be returning to Snape's classes next year. She also caught him up on what she thought he should have learned the first two years, including a lot more magical theory and a basis grounding on ritual magic, though she said he wouldn't learn any rituals for at least two or three more years.
It was then at that point that Annwyl started teaching him new things. She focused on theory for the most part, introducing him to Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, though she did teach him more spells she thought he'd find useful.
Harry found that he adored Arithmancy. Ancient Runes was interesting to him simply because of all the uses for Runes, but he'd always liked maths as a kid, and Arithmancy was maths that let you do magical stuff! By the middle of July, he'd sent Dobby back to Diagon Alley to pick up the required Arithmancy books for the rest of the years at Hogwarts, as well as a few other ones.
Annwyl found herself amused at Harry's sudden scholarship. But she encouraged him, and Harry found himself blooming as someone he cared about actually cared about him learning.
Things nearly unraveled when Aunt Marge came to visit. Because Harry's relatives were ignoring him, he never heard that she would be visiting. Her arrival was a shock, when he heard her voice downstairs. "It's my Aunt Marge. She hates me worse than the rest," he said to Annwyl.
"Well, you should Confound her then," Annwyl said calmly, offering him her hand.
After Harry took her hand, she became a wand, and he quietly slipped down the stairs. Aunt Marge was talking to Vernon and Petunia, asking where her little Duddles was, and Harry quickly murmured, "Confundo," his thoughts on her ignoring him as long as she was at the Dursleys. Then he slipped back up the steps, collapsing on the bed and putting the wand down. "I was worried," He said, "What would happen if she started talking or yelling at me in front of the others. Would it break the Confundus?"
"Actually, yes, that's very likely, so it's a good thing we got to her first," Annwyl stated after taking her human form. "If she had, you'd have to learn the Memory Charm, and that's even more complicated than the Confundus, like I said before."
"Lucky me, then," Harry commented as he opened a book to read. "Hey, Annwyl?" he asked after a moment.
"Yes, Harry?" Annwyl asked, glancing up at him. She was flipping through a muggle mystery novel she'd had Harry purchase for her.
"Have you done something to me? I'm learning a lot faster than I expected," Harry asked.
"That's a complicated question to answer," Annwyl said with a shrug. "I'm not making you smarter, if that's what you're worried about. Your progress is due to your own hard work. I do help in you retaining knowledge, though. Basically, your own mind applies what you learn. I help you remember things so you can apply it. It's because of our bond."
"So you improve my memory, but how I use what I remember is all down to me?" Harry considered, and nodded, "I can accept that."
HPHPHPHPHP
As July turned into August, Harry found a rather concerning newspaper article in the Daily Prophet. Namely one announcing: Sirius Black Escapes Azkaban!
As he read the article, Harry began to grow angry. This was the person who had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. Part of him wanted to meet him, so he could hex his bollocks off. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. Harry was finding that easier since Annwyl started teaching him meditation, even if they hadn't gotten to actual Occlumency yet. "Annwyl, what do you know about Sirius Black?"
"Sirius Black?" the girl asked, still curled up on his bed, reading. "He was a Gryffindor. He attended Hogwarts the same year as your parents and was James Potter's best friend, along with a Remus Lupin and to a lesser extent, Peter Pettigrew. Why?"
"Apparently he betrayed my parents to Voldemort," Harry said, showing the newspaper to her. "And just escaped from prison."
"Hmm. Interesting," Annwyl said as she read the article. "And surprising. From what Hogwarts tells me, they were incredibly close. He was even semi-adopted by your grandparents after he got kicked out by his parents. I find it unlikely he'd betray your parents. I wonder what he said in his trial."
Harry's mind went back to the last year, when Fudge arrested Hagrid because he 'had to be seen having done something'. "I don't know. I don't entirely trust the Ministry, though," Harry said, frowning.
"With what happened last year with your friend Hagrid, I'm not surprised," Annwyl said to him. "Well, we still have to pick up your books for next year. We can get a room at Diagon for a few days while shopping. Regardless of what Dumbledore might say, this place isn't much safer than any other place."
"Works for me, I'd like to pick up a few things myself, like another trunk. One of the older students had a nice trunk with multiple compartments, it'd be useful for storing books," Harry said.
"We can do that," Annwyl agreed.