"I love what you've done with the place Harry." Albus said as he looked around the workshop curiously. It was the first time he'd been inside it since Harry first bought the trunk.
"Thanks. Some of the furniture was bought, but I made most of it myself." Harry replied while looking through his bookshelves for a few specific books.
"Truly?"
"Of course. I did the same thing after building Lakeview Manor for my family. We only had a few specialty items shipped in, while I built most of the basic furnishings myself."
"How amazingly old-fashioned! I can't even imagine trying to build a house with my bare hands, let alone all of the furnishings!"
"You would just conjure them with magic, wouldn't you."
"Of course."
Harry shook his head as he stacked several books on the little table sitting between his chairs.
"So what do you think the chances are of Sirius being declared innocent?" He asked while looking for another book.
"Unfortunately, the only real thing he can do is testify via his memories and truth serum. Especially without Peter himself being available for evidence." Albus answered sadly.
"They can look through his memories?" Harry asked curiously.
"Indeed. There are a few different methods to view a person's memories, but they will undoubtedly be using Legilimency. It's a harsher form of the act, and rarely used for court cases. But it is thorough. They will meticulously pick through Sirius's memories with no regard for his privacy, or that of his family's."
"What other ways are there? And why would they use that one specifically?"
"The most common method to view memories is through the use of a Pensieve. They are incredibly rare, and difficult to create, but also incredibly useful. One can quite literally pull a specific memory from their mind, and place it within for viewing. It helps to recall certain details during events, as the memory in question shows EVERYTHING we see or hear at the moment, even if we don't personally acknowledge it.
"As for why they will use Legilimency... Memories viewed through a Pensieve can be altered, or censored if one is skilled enough. Legilimency is far more effective at pulling the information you're after, and it is borderline impossible to try and alter what is seen. Occlumency is used to shield the mind from invaders, but there would be no point in Sirius trying to block them when that may be his only path to proving his innocence."
"Well, at least he already admitted to being an unregistered Animagus." Harry commented, before locating the last book he was looking for and added it to the pile with the others.
"I've got the books Brief History of the Empire, volumes 1-4, Children of the Sky, Dragon Language: Myth no More, and finally Gods and Worship. These should be enough for you to familiarize yourself somewhat with Tamriel's recent history. If you want more, then come back when you've finished all of them."
"This is amazing Harry! When you get to be my age, you find there isn't nearly as many things left for you to learn. So finding something new is always a joy." Albus declared as he readily opened volume 1 of Brief History of the Empire.
"Glad to be of service. You want some stew?" Harry asked as he went into the kitchen and took the lid off a pot that had been over the fire for.....a while.
"Oh I would love some! Saves me the need to make a trip down to the Great Hall after the day we've had."
"My thoughts exactly." Harry said in agreement, spooning two servings of stew into wooden bowls, pairing them with chunks of bread before bringing one to Albus along with a bottle of Honningbrew mead.
"Thank you." Albus said while accepting his dinner.
"No problem. Want to go up to the common room to eat?" Harry asked, feeling like enjoying the lively atmosphere when everyone started coming back from dinner.
"That sounds wonderfully chaotic!" Albus answered, waving his wand to shrink the rest of the books Harry was loaning him before slipping them into his pocket, save for the one he already started.
The two of them then made their way out of Harry's trunk to the common room to eat, with Harry only pausing long enough to toss a small crumb of bread to Ron's pet rat on the way out of the dorm room. They then claimed the comfiest chairs in front of the fire while enjoying their meal.
"So there I am, in the middle of fighting this damned dragon, when next thing I know this bear comes in and started trying to eat me as if there ISN'T a giant demigod lizard breathing fire less than five feet away."
"So what did you do?"
"Well, thankfully I started studying Conjuration shortly before this. So I Conjured myself a Flame Atronach to try and distract the bear, but I accidentally botched the spell since it was only the second time I tried it. Now I've got a bear chewing on my leg, a dragon trying to swallow me, AND an unbound Flame Atronach burning everything around her!"
Just as Harry was about to get to the part of how he finally managed to handle the situation, he and Albus looked up as the portrait hole opened to admit a Gryffindor. Presumably coming back from dinner.
Or not.
"Neville?" Harry asked when he noticed his dorm mate, who was covered in fresh bruises and limping slightly.
"Harry! Where have you been all day?" Neville asked curiously.
"Azkaban. Where did you get all those injuries, Neville?" Harry answered before asking in return, healing Neville as he did so with a quick Restoration spell.
"D-did you just say Azkaban?!" Neville exclaimed fearfully, his face paling in fright despite his previous injuries.
"Yeah, not as bad as everyone makes it seem. How did you get hurt?" Harry repeated his earlier question.
"Well... I was on my way down for dinner, when someone pushed me from behind while I was going down a staircase."
"Who did it?" Harry demanded, though a certain Slytherin came to mind. He had seen him picking on Neville before, between some of their classes this last week.
"I-I don't know Harry... I didn't get a look at him." Neville uttered quietly, which was about what Harry expected.
"Alright then... Stand there across from me." Harry said, directing Neville to a more open area of the common room. All while Albus silently opened the book Harry loaned him to continue reading it.
"Ok?" Neville said, standing where Harry told him.
"Now I want you to hit me."
"!!!"
"H-hit you?! I can't do THAT Harry!" Nevvile exclaimed fearfully.
"You can, and you will." Harry said firmly, making Neville flinch.
"But Harry-"
*PA!*
Anything Neville was going to say was cut off, as Harry decked him in the face.
"Hit me Neville, or the only one getting hit here will be you." Harry stated coldly as Neville fell to the floor, before looking up at Harry in horror.
"You hit me!" He exclaimed, before Harry grabbed him by the front of his robes and pulled him back up to his feet.
"And I'll do it again, unless you hit me first." Harry stated, circling around Neville like a predator circling it's prey.
"I-I-"
*THOOMP!*
Harry hit Neville again, this time in the gut as the bigger boy doubled over in pain.
"Get up." Harry said, healing Neville yet again before cracking his knuckles.
"This is the truth of the world, Neville." Harry stated coldly.
"It doesn't matter if you want to fight or not, the world and those in it will still force you to regardless. So you can either roll over and let it gut you like a worthless snowback, or you can spit in it's eye and deck it in the face. Just like right now. You can either fight back against me, or I can stand here and beat the snot out of you."
Harry punctuated his words by punching Neville in the face again, making him recoil as a few drops of blood flew from his mouth. But Harry didn't stop.
Again.
And again.
And AGAIN.
Harry beat Neville relentlessly despite his protests, healing him again and again in between just to start the process all over again. And while Neville continuously begged Harry to stop, Harry started to notice the look in Neville's eyes changing the longer he went on.
Soon students started trickling in as they returned from dinner, all of them stunned as Harry viciously beat Neville. Somehow none of them seemed to notice Albus sitting there, alternating between watching and reading his book.
"Harry! Just what are you doing to Neville?!" Hermione shrieked when she got back as well, her bushy hair somehow billowing with rage.
"I'm teaching him." Harry said, before something different happened.
"!!!"
Harry actually blinked as he noticed a fist coming right at his face, which he easily dodged before returning with his own punch as he decked Neville once again.
"Nicely done Neville." Harry said, praising him with a smile, while Neville just panted tiredly.
Harry waved his hand, and Neville was once again enveloped in golden light as he was healed for the last time that night. Except this time Harry restored his stamina as well as healing his injuries.
"Remember that feeling Neville." Harry said while patting him on the shoulder. "Remember what it feels like to fight back. Tomorrow we'll work more on proper form and how to throw a real punch."
"Haaa...." Neville sighed as he slumped into one of the nearby chairs from mental exhaustion, though Harry could tell that Neville wasn't as against being taught by him now as he was before. It was a harsh lesson to be sure, but one that needed to be taught.
Plus, Harry needed to start somewhere as he glanced around at the watching Gryffindors.
"Ten Galleons says none of you snowbacks knock me on my arse." He declared suddenly, pulling the aforementioned coins from his pocket and placing them on a table for everyone to see.
It was like magic how many Gryffindors Harry had lining up to fight him, starting with the Weasley twins, while Hermione just rolled her eyes as she grabbed a textbook and went to go read it while muttering something that might have been 'boys' under her breath.
"Alright." Harry said, pulling his wand out of his pocket to put it next to the gold. "The rules are no weapons, no magic, and no crying. Now let's go."
***
While the Gryffindors downstairs were getting schooled, Nord style, a certain Gryffindor was slumbering upstairs on one of the beds. A Gryffindor that no one knew was present.
Stretched out on Ron's bed, a certain rat slumbered peacefully as he hid from the world. Dreams of cheese and treats drifted through his head, prompted by the fact that he never had to worry about anything as a pet. No Dumbledore. No Voldemort. And no crazed Death Eaters that blamed him for their lord's fall.
But then, his dreams began to change.
The cheese all disappeared around him, and the atmosphere grew dark and eerie.
"W-what is this?!" The rat, who was now a man, exclaimed before realizing that his dream self was now in his human form. A form he hadn't assumed in ten years.
"Hush now...." Whispered a low, sensual voice.
"Do not speak.... Listen...." The voice whispered directly into his ear. And the man felt someone embrace him from behind, even feeling her breasts pressing against his back.
"Listen...." The voice repeated, as her hands stroked his chest. "Listen to their secrets for me.... Such, succulent, secrets..." She hissed, her hands roving lower on his body.
"I shall protect you, my Keeper of Secrets.... You, who sold your own friends out to save your own neck.... Such a delicious betrayal..." She hissed some more, lulling him into a trance-like state as he started to entrust himself to her.
"Watch..... Listen..... And wait..... Wait for my signal to move.... Do that..... And I shall reward you greatly...."
"Yes.... My lady...." The man groaned, entrusting himself to her completely as she fully embraced him, even with her eight spidery legs.