1. The Onset of the Layout

The Gryffindor common room seemed to be the perfect place that evening where the house's spectators (especially those who are oblivious to the muggle issues) seems to be witnessing a Cold War and its rather hazardous effects at its wake. On one corner of the room a couple, purely under the will of their rather dominating teenage hormones, were relishing the better part of the rather tense evening. A large share of the third and fourth year boys were concentrating the state of attire of Lavender Brown while Ronald Billius Weasley, oblivious to his surroundings was working his rarely used brains to figure out some inventive ideas about devouring his girlfriend's face.

That said, lets describe the other part of the common room where the younger and mature students were focusing. Sitting at her desk and pretending to read her charms book was Hogwart's supposed Ravenclaw's incarnate, i.e., one Hermione Jane Granger. Sitting opposite to her in the warmth of the fire was the chosen-one or the boy-who-lived and many such ridiculous monikers, one Harry James Potter. But the rather friendly atmosphere that the two usually relished in was rather absent at the moment. The First years wondered what was so odd about them as the other years always gazed upon them in surprise. The fact they may not know is that the tense atmosphere they were witnessing right from their beginning of the year was a rarity or to some, even impossibility. The jovial nature of the friendship of Gryffindor's infamous "Golden Trio" has taken a huge blow from the beginning of the year. For what reason? None knows for sure; or maybe except one…

Harry was sitting and having a go-through to his Potions essay which was due the next week. It turns out that in the absence of Snape and with a rather jovial and a more encouraging instructor he was developing a morbid passion for his once hated subject. It all started with his sudden resolution in the summer at the Burrow after his meeting with Horace Slughorn.

Having learnt more about his mother that day rather than his entire life, Slughorn earned himself a rather special place in Harry's heart righgt from the beginning. Unknown to either his best friends and the Order, he started exchanging letters with old Potion's Master. What earned him more of Harry's undivided attention was that he seemed to be not at all restrained in exposing his parents' character. Sirius and Remus, being his father's best friend, never did expose any traits of his father's rather than all praises. Even more was told to him about his mother. He never pressed them that much for he knew this was still a sore topic to them. But still, that reasoning wasn't enough to quench his thirst about knowing his parents, especially when he never even knew their names for a better part of a decade, all thanks to the Dursleys.

Harry was beginning to come in terms to feel hopeless about ever knowing his parents truly. But it was at this desperate stage that Slughorn came to his rescue. Through all his letters Slughorn talked about his parents methodically. The first being with his familiar grounds, that is his mother - Lily Potter née Evans. A meritious student, Slughorn highlighted her utter brilliance in Charms and excellence in Potions. She was also fairly gifted in Transfiguration as well as the best in Ancient Runes since when Albus Dumbledore was himself a student. But after reading through a page of his mother's achievements , Harry learnt of her flaws as stated by Slughorn – Defence Against the Dark Arts. Though very creative in using advance and regular charms in dueling, Slughorn mentioned Lily Evans as "sloppy and clumsy" enough to take ten stunners even before taking out her wand.

James Potter was what Slughorn considered an "enigma" he failed to "claim". Though not very brilliant in the art of brewing Slughorn mentioned to have witnessed some of his father's pranks where he highered the use of potions that required the skills of brewing to a high optimum. He was a prodigy in Transfiguration and receved the highest ever recorded OWLs in Arithmancy in the last couple of centuries. He was also a decent duelist right after the infamous Sirius Black who excelled in DADA.

Hearing these exploits of his parents Harry was a little ashamed of his own academic progress. He surprised himself by expressing his concerns to the recently highered Professor, whom he had began to look forward to as a parental figure, though from his want or from his grief over Sirius' death he will never know.

Slughorn, being the ever helpful man he is, asked Harry if he would like to sit for his OWLs prepared for a second time to which he agreed. By pulling some strings through his influence in the Ministry, Slughorn managed to set a date at the first of August – right before a week from receiving his OWLs results. He had the entire of July and a couple of days in June to prepare himself. On the closing day of June, Slughorn sent his first ever package through his owl in which Harry found a dropplrganger along with a note on how to use it and setting it to work from him for a couple of months. Along with them was also an old teapot that Slughorn mentioned to be a portkey that will trigger at the wake of July.

Setting for his "disappearance" Harry prepared for his trip and at precise twelve o' clock the portkey triggered and moments later he found himself in a flat. Slughorn was waiting there for him and made him familiar to his surroundings. He was made aware that he was in Slughorns private trunk which was a gift to his family from the goblins and that it was actually a time chamber, wherein time of inside and outside can be counter-balanced. At that moment the time-fixation was a week outside to a couple of years inside. Getting ecstatic Harry was both excited and honored that the old Professor had let him in one of his deepest secrets that was never even disclosed to his most prized students.

Feeling the need to pay for the man's efforts, Harry delved himself into an academic fervor that he suppressed for a long time since he was punished by the Dursleys for out-performing Dudley at his pre-school. He let that continue even at Hogwarts for fear of loosing his friends, that is Ron for "showing him up" and Hermione for competing against her. Through a much needed counseling Slughorn first got him rid of these insecurities and then started dealing with his cemented grief of loosing Sirius. Once they were dealt with Slughorn made him begin with his previous year's courses first to strengthen his grip of the basic concept. Along with them Slughorn regularly drilled him into mastering the mind arts. While his core subjects of Charms, DADA and Transfiguration needed simple brushing up and a few of the Scholastic inputs from Slughorn (who proved himself to be a prodigy in nearly all fields), his concept of Potions was thoroughly crushed and renewed foundations replaced them.

At the end of three years, aided by Slughorn's rather impressive Library, Harry's academic fervor grasped a brilliant concept of all courses offered at Hogwarts until Fourth year, bar Runes and Arithmancy, and was also a master Occlumens and Legilimens (something which made Slughorn very ecstatic). It was then in the next three years that Slughorn started making Harry delve himself into the OWLs and NEWTs courses. He kept reading Herbology and Creatures by himself with valuable help from Slughorn's library. Runes and Arithmancy was thouroughly drilled into him by his mentor. Arithmancy was like solving Mathematic equations which he found rather easier than Runes and he eventually became proficient enough to frame new spells. He maintained a journal for each of his courses. He started maintaining a different one for his new spells. In a matter of two years the self-containing journal took the appearance of a tome which Slughorn found rather amusing, but one look at its contents had him swell in pride for his young charge. The book had four chapters – Creative, Defensive, Offensive and Dark. Through some serious prodding he made Harry confess his view of Dark Arts. That led another week of counseling in which Slughorn, after some minor disagreements, finally successfully hammered into Harry that its not the spell but the intent that can be evil - a knife may be used as a kitchen utensil or a murdering weapon.

Though it took time, but at the end of six years Harry was finally a prodigy in Creating and assembling a Runic Array, raising and dissolving advance Warding and proficient reading of almost all thirty categories of Runic Texts and Algorithms.

The final two years Slughorn insisted on divulging in the basic learning of Latin and Greek (the languages in which spells are created the most), and devoting on revising all that Harry learnt in his time there. Though initially targeting for a basic concept, by end of two years Harry was a proud master at reading and writing both the languages. In the last six months Slughorn also made Harry improve his Penmanship which did reform after some serious attention.

Under glamour charms and securing an oath from the Invigilator, Harry retook all courses offered at OWLs – including Muggle Studies, Divination and History of Magic (memorized for eight years at pass-time as replacement of a fantasy novel) which Slughorn suggested to gain more OWLs – an advice Harry simply can't pass.

After three exhausting days Harry took a break for four days – his first in eight years. Then he along with Slughorn re-entered the trunk for the rest of August, and in the remaining six years Slughorn made Harry master Apparation, Blood Magic, Alchemy, Kido, Wizarding Etiquette, Pureblood Etiquette, Pureblood Politics, Winzengamort administrations and, after some hesitation - Dark Magic, and along with them physical training, horse-riding, sword-manship and other weapon-handling. Harry's talent at catching things led Slughorn to introduce a new language at every six months. In six years Harry mastered French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Afrikaans, Mexican, Arabic, and finally after learning some ancient Indian spells – Hindi and the neglected but still the most ancient language of Sanskrit.

Slughorn also made Harry embrace his power of speaking Parseltongue and encouraged him in learning it which can be used in using both obscure spells as well as advance healing. He even pulled some of his contacts to buy a high-breed female cross of a basilisk and a coral for Harry to help him focus and channel his parselmagic. The snake – Draciel – had all powers and self-resizing capabilities of a basilisk but with a exotic and beautiful body of a coral snake. The creature reminded Harry of Deadly Beauty. Though natural enemies, still Hedwig and Draciel hit it off at the first go (something Harry considered as a trait which he needed a pair of 'X' chromosomes to understand). At the awake of midnight of September 1st harry gave his momentary farewell to the person he considered his grandfather in all but blood and appeared beside a sleeping Ron to replace his Droppleganger.

On September 1st all the hustle at the Burrow prevented himself from the receiving end of scrutinizing gazes for the sudden change in his personality. From his duplicate-self's memory he gathered all that is necessary – including ensuring whether or not they received his secondary and void copy of OWLs. The most amusing of them was to find Hermione getting mortified at not receiving the highest grade in any subjects. He very well knew who did receive the highest marks in all subjects bar Herbology (which he believed was possibly Neville) and History of Magic (which he was better off at not knowing) – himself. But the shocking news had been to know that Hermione was overall sixth in their year.

Though unwilling, he started to realize Hermione distancing herself from him after learning about the phrophecy. His sudden upliftment in academics (which was again suppressed) irked her and gave her another reason to nag him. An old battered book from an unknown "Half Blood Prince" which interested him, seemingly became her main ground of meaningless accusations. Her self-understanding of him cheating by getting aided from the book seemed unmovable and a few times even he had trouble in blocking her off completely. Being a master Occlumens, that says something.

Finally and albeit reluctantly, Harry had to reach the obvious conclusion his best female friend had been hinting upon since a month the school started – severing ties. Ron, having no subtlety, had already conveyed his part of finding a way out by concentrating more on devouring Lavender's face than his problems. Though he knew it would be hard but he took the comfort knowing that he can remember all his better days by not sullying his remaining days of friendship. He also saw this as his only way to get rid of his last anchors holding him back. That is to finally show his true-self. He had already started his part by dealing all his Head of House activities with Professor Slughorn, which Dumbledore (for some reason) supported whole-heartedly and even gave Harry the proverbial push by allocating all his academic reports, missives and other files to Professor Slughorn.

That brings us back to this first week of October amidst the Cold War when one of the greatest Historic moment of Hogwarts ever, commemced…