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Chapter 8: Summer Begins

Harry trudged up the path next to his bouncing Blood Brother. He was tired and dusty, but felt a sense of accomplishment after so much physical labor.

"I wonder what the point of all that was, Dobby," he remarked. "It's so late now that I won't have time for my normal lessons now. What am I going to do tonight?"

Dobby just looked up at him and grinned.

"What?" Harry demanded. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Perhaps, Harry Potter. But it is not Dobby's place to say."

They continued on in silence, and Dobby popped off to the kitchens to visit his friends as soon as they reached the doors to the Great Hall.

Harry continued through the open doors to the table set up in the center of the room.

"Tired, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him as he sank into the chair across from his headmaster.

"A bit, sir."

"Well, let us see what you learned today, shall we?"

"I learned how to build a goat enclosure, sir."

Dumbledore smiled. "Is that all?" he asked softly. "Legilimens."

Harry felt the light intrusion into his mind as Professor Dumbledore looked through his memories of that night in the Department of Mysteries. He saw Sirius' shocked look as he fell backwards through the Veil.

"NO!" Harry yelled, pushing with all his might at the presence. "Anything but that!"

"I do apologize, my dear boy. I was not searching for any specific memory."

Harry opened his eyes to find his hands were braced against the table and his chair had been knocked backwards as he stood to force his professor out of his mind. He took a few deep breaths to settle himself as he'd learned from his readings, then shakily righted his chair and took a seat once more.

"Now this time, Harry, when you feel the intrusion in your mind, I want you to concentrate on the work you did today for my brother."

At Harry's nod, the headmaster whispered the spell once more, and Harry could see flashes of his childhood—running from Dudley's gang and turning his teacher's wig blue, to be precise. Harry concentrated on the work he'd done behind the Hog's Head, placing brick upon brick and recreating the entire wall in his mind.

Suddenly he realized that Professor Dumbledore was no longer in his mind and looked up in surprise.

"Yes, Harry, you pushed me out with your wall. Now try again. This time don't let me in at all."

Harry thought of his wall as Professor Dumbledore began to say the word. He could feel a sort of tapping at the wall, but it held firm.

"Excellent, my dear boy!" Dumbledore flicked his wand and a Patronus shot out of the end and soared out the door of the Great Hall.

A few moments later Professor Snape strode into the Hall, his black robes billowing behind him.

"Yes, Headmaster? How can I be of service?"

"Ah, Severus. Thank you for coming so promptly. I wish for you to test Harry's Occlumency shields, if you will."

"Of course, sir. Legilimens!"

The interchange was so brief that Professor Snape caught Harry unprepared and began sifting through his memories of the day Harry and Dobby became blood brothers. Before he had seen more than a limp Dobby being taken up to the Hospital Wing, Harry slammed his brick wall into place.

He heard a grunt and snapped his eyes open to see Professor Snape climbing to his feet with a grimace of pain.

"Very good, Potter," he said. "I congratulate you. I doubt that even the Dark Lord himself would be able to break into your mind easily now."

"Well, Harry, it appears as though your summer studies, apart from your regular summer homework, of course, are now at an end," Professor Dumbledore announced.

"What? What do you mean? Why?"

"Well, Potter, the potions you brewed on Monday for Professor McGonagall, along with your rewritten moonstone essay, were quite satisfactory. And, although it pains me to admit it, without your assistance on Monday, not even I could have brewed such a tricky potion in time to have saved Dobby's life. I am satisfied that you are, in fact, capable of studying NEWT-level Potions."

"And your Occlumency shields are now strong enough to protect you from dreams, visions, or moods influenced by Voldemort's use of your link," said Professor Dumbledore. "They should even theoretically block the blinding pain you experience every time he is nearby. You will hopefully still be warned of his presence, but will no longer be debilitated by it."

The whole world began to look brighter to Harry at that. He would still probably have to face that monster again, but at least now he wouldn't be blinded by the pain in his head. He might have a fighting chance after all.

It was time to collect his blood brother and go back to Privet Drive. He had a telephone call to make.

(The End?)

A/N: Sorry this took so long to finish off. I guess I felt kind of silly after having taken so very long to write a mere 8 chapters (especially now that canon has made them obsolete) even bothering to post, but I hate leaving unfinished business. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

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