Harry awoke to the sounds of Madam Pomfrey going through her morning routine. He closed his eyes and pulled the sheets back over himself in the hopes that he could get a few minutes more sleep but Madam Pomfrey must have noticed he was awake and took the opportunity to stand over his bed and begin casting a few diagnostic charms.

"You can stop pretending, Mr Potter. I know you are awake." the school nurse said.

"Ten more minutes." Harry requested, drawing a laugh out of Pomfrey.

"I'll call for one of the house elves to bring you breakfast." she said and walked away to continue preparing for the day. Harry opened his eyes and looked through a window on the other side of the room to see that the sun must have risen an hour or more before he woke up. Sighing, he decided it probably was time for him to get out of bed. He was preparing to do just that when Dobby appeared in front of him holding a huge serving platter that held at least a dozen plates. Each plate was stacked with what appeared to be every type of breakfast food Harry had ever seen offered at Hogwarts.

"Dobby! What are you doing with all that food?" Harry asked as the little elf struggled to balance all of the plates he was carrying. To Harry's relief he was able to set them down on a nearby table without dropping a single one.

"I is bring it for you Harry Potter sir!" Dobby said proudly. "Dobby heard you would be needing your breakfast brought to you and I told the other elves that nobody but me would do it. Some of the kitchen elves didn't like that, but Dobby insisted."

"You did great Dobby, though I think you might have brought too much food. How about you stay and have breakfast with me?" Harry asked. Dobby immediately started crying and leapt at Harry to give him a hug. Harry was briefly surprised with the house elf's speed and behavior, but then again it was typical of Dobby.

"Harry Potter is too kind! He is being the greatest wizard ever!" Dobby said between sobs. Harry hugged the elf back and hoped he would settle down a bit.

"So how about it? Going to stay and have breakfast with me?" Harry asked. Dobby immediately lowered his head as if ashamed of himself.

"Dobby can't. I promised a kitchen elf I would do his work and mine so I could bring Harry Potter his breakfast. Dobby is sorry."

"It's OK, Dobby. We can do it some other time, alright? You're my friend, don't feel like you need an excuse to come talk to me." Harry said. Dobby nodded and gave Harry another big hug before popping off to get back to work. Harry smiled as he thought about his strangely devoted little friend and began looking over the plates trying to decide what he wanted. Even though he was quite hungry, as was normal after one of his training sessions, he knew there was still no way he was ever going to be able to finish even half of what Dobby had brought.

"Harry!" a familiar female voice called from the doorway. Harry turned to see his friend Hermione walking in. He wasn't really surprised that Hermione had gotten here before Daphne because his girlfriend had told him she would come by at eight o'clock to check on him and she was almost always right on time. He had not seen a clock yet this morning so he knew it must still be before eight. "You don't really plan on eating all of that, do you?"

"I could probably be persuaded to share if you're hungry." Harry replied. Hermione smiled and grabbed a bowl of fruit off of the tray before walking over to Harry's bed and sitting in a nearby chair.

"So what happened?" she asked eagerly.

"I haven't heard anything from Professor Dumbledore this morning." Harry answered. "I guess he will be here sometime soon. Last night he had me duel Moony and then work on permanent conjuration."

"Moony? You mean Professor Lupin right?" Hermione asked as Harry nodded in response. "Did you really perform permanent conjuration? Most people can't do that at all."

"Yeah, I did. It was pretty tiring, but I think that was mainly because of all the bronze I was conjuring" Harry responded. Upon hearing this Hermione's eyes opened wide in shock and she gasped.

"You're not joking, are you?" Hermione asked, still surprised by Harry's statement. "Harry, there are probably only a couple dozen wizards or witches alive that can conjure bronze or silver. Very little research has been done on permanent conjuration because the ability to master it is so rare. In fact the last in depth study was completed over two hundred years ago. You might think this is silly, but I was really hoping I would be able to do it so that in a few years I could begin experimenting and write the definitive work on the subject. Nobody seems to have thought to use muggle chemistry to investigate permanent conjuration."

"Wow, Hermione. That seems like a pretty lofty goal." Harry said.

"I know." Hermione said proudly. "I had hoped it would force the wizarding world to reconsider their opinions on muggleborns as well. You know what this means though, don't you Harry?"

"What?" he asked uncertainly. He could tell when his friend was up to something, and she definitely was now.

"I don't have to wait to start experimenting! Congratulations Harry, you've just volunteered to be my research assistant." Hermione looked as excited as a little kid at Christmas time and Harry knew he would have no choice but to offer her his assistance. She would never leave him alone if he didn't.

"Fine." Harry grumbled, "I will help, but you are going to have to remember that we can't spend every hour of the day working on this. I know how obsessed you get."

"I do not get obsessed!" Hermione said defensively, "I just think that academics and research are more important than you do." Harry shrugged at her response, knowing full well that no one could ever change Hermione's study habits. He wondered how much time she would be wanting to spend on this new project and hoped that since she didn't think she would be able to start it for another few years she wouldn't have too much thought out yet. Hermione began tapping her foot anxiously, a sign that Harry knew meant she was eager to get out of the infirmary and start working. Harry could not help but laugh at his friend's behavior even when his laughter was met with her annoyed glare. Their silent argument was interrupted when Harry noticed Daphne walking in to the room.

"Daphne!" he called as she walked towards him. Harry jumped up from the hospital bed he had been sitting on to give his girlfriend a kiss before leading her back over to where he had been talking with Hermione.

"Are you OK?" Daphne asked, the concern clearly evident in her voice.

"I'm fine, just waiting for Dumbledore." Harry answered.

"I do not believe you will have to wait for much longer." a voice called from the infirmary's entrance. The three teens turned to see Professor Dumbledore smiling back at them. "I hope you had a pleasant stay, Harry. I believe you have been one of Madam Pomfrey's more frequent guests."

"No problems, Professor. Although I would like to get out of here as soon as possible." Harry answered.

"An understandable goal." Dumbledore said with a nod. "I have some results from our observation last night, and to be honest I have never seen anything like it. First off let me ease any fears you may have had and assure you that there appears to be no lasting damage done to either your body or your magic from your brief episode of magical exhaustion."

"So I can keep training?" Harry asked eagerly.

"There does not seem to be any reason for you not to." Dumbledore admitted. "However I would ask you to wear the monitoring belt the next few times so we can perhaps gain a better understanding of what is happening. You see Harry you are now approximately one percent stronger than you were at this time yesterday, a result I was not expecting."

"One percent? That doesn't sound like much." Harry said.

"You're wrong, Harry." Daphne interrupted. "That shouldn't be possible."

"Ms Greengrass is correct, Harry." Dumbledore confirmed. "And there is reason to believe that you have been improving at a similar rate every time you have pushed yourself to the point of magical exhaustion. Think of it this way Harry, if you were to the rate of your improvement is constant that would mean you could double your magical power in just over three months. In a year you could nearly quadruple it. However I wish to further observe you to determine if the gains in strength you are receiving are in fact constant or if they are slowing down."

"You forgot to mention the third possibility, Professor." Hermione said softly. "The increases could be accelerating."

"But why is this happening?" Harry asked.

"I have wondered that myself for a long time now." Dumbledore answered. "I have come to the conclusion that it is an unexpected result of what happened to you the night Voldemort tried to kill you. Previously I told you that I believed it was your mother's love that protected you from Voldemort's killing curse, and I still believe that. However, simply loving another is not enough to grant that kind of protection. Your mother was a very talented which with a thirst for knowledge that would even rival Ms Granger's, and it is my belief that she either found or created a ritual that would use her sacrifice to protect you."

"So you don't really know what she did." Harry said

"No, sadly I do not. There is therefore no way to know what side effects this ritual may have had." Dumbledore responded. "That is not the end of it however. I suspect that Voldemort was attempting to use your death as a part of a very dark ritual."

"Which ritual?" Daphne asked. The Greengrasses had an extensive library full information, including some on dark rituals, and even if she had not heard of the ritual she thought there was a good chance she could find it there.

"Perhaps when you are older I will explain more fully." Dumbledore answered. His response did not please any of the people listening to him. "What Voldemort was not expecting was for his killing curse to be reflected back at him, although since your are the only known person to survive it perhaps we should not be surprised at his mistake. There is also no way to know what the effects of surviving the killing curse are. Finally, you were used in one more ritual that night."

"What?" Harry asked in surprise. "Who did it?"

"I did, Harry." Dumbledore replied. "In order to ensure your safety I created strong protections around your Aunt's home using Lily's sacrifice as their base. It was a confusing time and I admit I was not certain my plan would work, but the wards now surrounding your home are stronger than any I could have ever created on my own. However I must tell you that it is possible my actions could have had unintended consequences."

"So what do you think did it?" Hermione asked as she tried to piece together the puzzle.

"It could have been any one of them, or all of them working together perhaps. What I can say is that it was a series of events that completely unique and I do not expect anyone to ever be able to replicate." Dumbledore said. "I must ask you to keep this information to yourselves, I would not want it to get back to Voldemort lest he try to recreate it. I had considered only telling Harry, however I knew it would quickly be told to the two of you and thought I would save him the trouble of repeating it."

"What now, Professor?" Harry asked. Dumbledore's explanation had left him confused and worried about what had been done to him and what it meant for the future.

"Continue as you were. It appears you have been given a gift, Harry. Take advantage of it." Dumbledore instructed. "You have the potential to be a powerful force for good in our world, try not to let that opportunity pass you by. Now I suppose you are eager to leave and I will not take up any more of your time. Have a good day, to all of you." With that the Headmaster left the room, leaving the three students alone. Each of them was thinking about what they had learned. None of them were very happy with how little actual information they had been given. Hermione saw it as a puzzle to be solved and knew that she was missing a lot of the pieces. Daphne wondered about the ritual that Professor Dumbledore had refused to name. The number of rituals that required a human sacrifice had to be small, didn't it?

Harry, meanwhile, was trying to come to terms with the news Dumbledore had given him regarding his own special brand of training. It meant he could rapidly improve. It meant that perhaps one day he would be able to match Voldemort's power. It meant that he could protect his friends and loved ones. Most of all, it meant that he might actually survive the upcoming war. Harry had never really feared for his life, but still he knew that it was constantly at risk and that trend showed no signs of ending. Now that he knew his training wasn't hurting him he swore to himself that he would push himself as far as he could go.

"Harry, I'm going to go. We'll talk later about our project OK?" Hermione said as she stood up. Dumbledore's talk had not dulled her desire to head to the library and work on her own ideas. Harry nodded and waved good-bye leaving Harry and Daphne alone in the room.

"Let's take a walk." Harry suggested. "I'm sick of this room." Daphne grinned and took his hand as they walked out the door. Harry led them outside, away from anyone who could be trying to listen to the conversation. A quick check of the Marauder's Map confirmed that Rita Skeeter wasn't in the area either.

"Well, what do you think?" Harry finally asked. Daphne paused to consider her response.

"No one can know about this, Harry." his girlfriend answered. "Don't tell anyone else unless it is a life or death situation. Not even your godfather."

"Don't you think that is just a bit paranoid?" Harry asked.

"No. Think of what could happen if someone found out. At best you would spend the rest of your life having tests run on you to find out why you're different." Daphne replied. "And this means that one day you could be one of the most powerful wizards alive, meaning that if anybody wants you dead they should come after you as soon as possible. This is just too important to tell anyone else."

"I see your point, but I still think I should tell Sirius. He can help me with this, I know he can."

"Just wait until you see him, OK? The mail isn't always trustworthy." she said. Harry knew she was right on this, but hiding the information from those closest to him still went against his natural instincts. "I don't trust Dumbledore, either. He's hiding something."

"He always is." Harry answered. "Lots of strange people are constantly coming in and out of the castle to see him and he wouldn't tell me what Voldemort was trying to do the night he murdered my parents. Maybe he shouldn't be expected to spill all of his secrets to a student, but there are things that do affect me that he isn't telling me."

"According to my father that's just the way Dumbledore is. He doesn't seem to think anyone but himself needs to know all of what is going on. That's one of the reasons so many people refused to side with him in the last war. Something's happening, Harry. Something big, and we're not being let in on any of it."

"I get that feeling too." Harry admitted. "But what can we do about it? For the moment, nothing. So we trust Dumbledore to do what's best until we are in a better position and actually know what is happening."

"For the most part you're right." Daphne agreed with a sigh. "How about a less frustrating subject. Next week is a Hogsmeade weekend and you owe me one free of Dementors and Draco Malfoy."

"That's true." Harry said with a laugh. "I'm sure we can be attacked by something far more entertaining this time. How about a mountain troll?"

"You've already done that." Daphne answered, shaking her head. "You need something new and different. How do you feel about manticores?"

"No thanks. We could always just skip Hogsmeade and wonder around in the Forbidden Forest, I am sure that there are all kinds of dangerous things there that we haven't ever thought of." Harry said jokingly. Daphne laughed at his suggestion and soon Harry was laughing too. They spent the rest of the afternoon together in similar fashion, each enjoying the company of the other and trying to ignore the suspicion that soon things would be changing in ways they could not imagine. The fact that they spent the day away from the rest of the student body also ensured that it was not until later that night that they heard about the special edition of the Daily Prophet that was beginning to stir up a lot of controversy.

MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE: SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! PETER PETTIGREW ALIVE!

by Rita Skeeter

The Ministry of Magic has been lying to all of us for almost fourteen years.

Some of you may have a hard time believing that, but the evidence is overwhelming. Following a tip from a source who wishes to remain anonymous I began investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the James and Lily Potter and the subsequent imprisonment of Sirius Black. At the time very little attention was paid to the matter as the wizarding world was caught up in the celebration of the defeat of You-Know-Who. Sadly, while we were not watching a great mistake was made.

At the time it was said that Sirius Black had become a Death Eater and betrayed his friends to the Dark Lord. Black, however, was examined upon his arrest and found to not have taken the Dark Mark. Despite this he was thrown into Azkaban without being given a trial and was held there until two years ago when he managed to become the first person to ever escape from the famous prison. Sirius Black was never given the chance to defend himself or plead his case, a fact that should shame the Ministry.

Still, that evidence is not enough to prove Mr Black's innocence. During my investigation an unexpected source came forward to offer information that has never been heard before which could rock the Ministry to its foundations. Our source was a Auror back in the fall of 1981 and was a part of the team that brought Sirius Black in. He was assigned as Mr Black's guard upon their arrival to the Ministry of Magic and stayed with him until he was left at Azkaban. It was then that he witnessed an event the Ministry has denied ever happened: the questioning of Sirius Black under the influence of Veritaserum. Present during this questioning were Sirius Black, his guard, and two others.

One was, at the time, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Bartemius Crouch Senior. The other was a Junior Minister from the Department of Magical Catastrophes who had been one of the first people on the scene when Black was arrested. He was also a strong supporter of former Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold and willing to do anything to protect her. That man's name was Cornelius Fudge.

After verifying that the Veritaserum was working Crouch began the interrogation. His first question was to ask if Sirius Black was a Death Eater. Black answered "No" to the surprise of all present. He was then asked if he had betrayed Lily and James Potter. Again he answered "No". Then Crouch asked if he had caused the explosion which resulted in the deaths of a dozen muggles. His answer was "No, Pettigrew did it." Stunned, Crouch stated that Peter Pettigrew was dead. Black responded to that by saying "No, Peter cut off his finger and escaped so that everyone would think he was dead."

What you must remember is that at this time it was already being reported that Sirius Black was a traitor and Peter Pettigrew was a hero. Minister Bagnold was being praised for the brilliant performance of her Aurors and her handling of the crisis. Black's admission would ruin all of that and do serious political harm to Bagnold, a fact which both Fudge and Crouch knew. Their jobs and political futures both depended on keeping Bagnold in office and so in a little room in the Ministry of Magic two men conspired to send an innocent man to Azkaban. They agreed that Black could never have a trial and that Minister Bagnold should not be informed of what they had learned. Black was then Obliviated by Crouch so that he would not have any memory of the interrogation. Fudge attempted to do the same to Black's guard, however the future Minister must not have been as good with memory charms as Crouch because his left the guard slightly confused but with his memories intact. Afterward the guard, worried about his own future and the safety of his family, decided not to come forward with his tale. It is only now, after having left the Aurors, that he felt safe enough to tell the truth.

I have personally witnessed the interrogation through the use of a pensieve and have further received a Wizard's Oath that the story is true. I have no doubts that it is. My source is willing to be questioned by the Wizengamot to confirm his claims. Now is the time for action. Minister Fudge has declared that Sirius Black is to be immediately given the Dementor's Kiss upon capture. That decree must be withdrawn and then a full investigation concerning Minister Fudge's actions must be initiated. The good witches and wizards of Britain deserve better from their leaders, and Sirius Black deserves better from his government. He deserves to be reunited with his godson, Harry Potter.

FOR MORE ON SIRIUS BLACK, see page 6

FOR MORE ON MINISTER FUDGE, see page 10

Later that evening Harry sat in the Room of Requirement and read the article with a huge grin on his face. When he had impulsively decided to use Rita Skeeter to try and help Sirius he had never hoped that it would turn out this well. And as a bonus he might even get to bring down Fudge without his name being associated with it. He had gotten extremely lucky and he knew it.

"This is fantastic, Harry!" Hermione said from where she was seated and also reading the paper. Daphne meanwhile was snuggled up next to him so that they could both use the same paper. He felt her hug him a little tighter in agreement with Hermione's statement.

"What do you think will happen now?" Harry asked. He had a few guessed but was always eager to hear opinions from his friend and girlfriend. Although they came from very different backgrounds they were both very intelligent and wanted to help him, a fact he knew he could depend on if he needed to.

"If this is true then Fudge will be out of office by the start of summer." Daphne answered. "It might even be worth delaying our revenge on Skeeter if she is going to keep focusing on this story, which she will since it's good for her ego."

"What do you have planned for Skeeter anyway?" Hermione asked. Harry looked over at Daphne and wondered if she would answer. Even he didn't know what she had been thinking of doing.

"Nothing too bad, she might even come out of it alive and in one piece. Maybe." Daphne said with an evil grin. "It doesn't matter if we delay a bit, father still isn't finished with the potion he's been brewing for her. Don't ask Hermione, you really don't want to know." Hermione looked a little disappointed but wisely decided not to push for more information.

"Fudge is obviously going to fight this." Harry said, "But will the Daily Prophet stick by their reporter even if it means going against the Minister?"

"Yes." Daphne answered with a nod. "This is the best thing that could have happened for them. Their sales are going to see a huge increase because of the controversy, and that is what they are the most concerned with. They act like the ministry's spokesperson when it is a good business decision. It isn't anymore."

"Wherever he is, Sirius needs to be careful." Hermione added. "As long as he is in power Fudge is dangerous and still wants him to get the Dementor's Kiss. Especially since he will be blaming all of his troubles on Sirius now." Harry thought about it and decided she was probably right. He just hoped that Sirius realized that as well.

"How do you two feel about inviting Neville to join our practices?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"Longbottom?" Daphne asked skeptically. "I don't know Harry, I'm still not convinced he can be much help."

"He still deserves the right to learn how to defend himself." Harry responded. Daphne sighed, knowing that Harry had already made up his mind on the subject.

"Fine. Bring him along." Daphne finally said. Harry smiled and kissed her in thanks. "But if he can't keep up he's your responsibility."

"That's OK with me." Harry said, happy that Daphne wasn't going to fight him on this. "I'll need you help too, Hermione. We'll need to figure out what Neville is good at beside Herbology and help him from there."

"I don't know why you think I could help with that, Harry." Hermione said sadly. "I still can't find anything I'm good at, at least Neville has Herbology."

"Don't say that Hermione. You have a lot of potential; I can sense it in you." Harry replied, hoping he could make his friend see reason. "You're good in everything to start with. It doesn't matter that you aren't a prodigy in all branches of magic. We've already figured out you are better with healing charms than me and Daphne. That's a good place to start isn't it?"

"I suppose so." Hermione said, still clearly disappointed with herself.

Harry and Daphne continued talking for a while, but Hermione barely listened. Soon after the couple said their goodbyes and left Hermione alone in the Room of Requirement. She felt weak and worried that when Neville came even he would surpass her. Her whole life she had always tried to be her best and that trait had lived on after discovering she was a witch. She had dedicated herself to learning all there was to know about magic, but now she was coming to the realization that it wasn't enough. In many ways she felt that she was still not good enough and she had no idea how to fix it. Their practicing would help but she did not believe she would ever be as powerful as Daphne, and knowing what she did now she knew there was no hope of ever catching Harry. The only answer she could think of to her problem lay in a few of the rituals that she had heard references to, but they were very dark and had awful consequences.

"I am not willing to go down that path!" she said out loud, even though she was alone. But inside, a quieter voice was asking 'Am I?'

Shaking her head in hopes to make the question go away, Hermione realized that even if she did want to look into rituals that could help her there was no way for her to learn about them. The books that described them were too dark to even be found in the restricted section of the library.

"It was a silly idea." she said with a nervous laugh. "You can't just wish for information like that." Her fake laughs were stopped when a table appeared in front of her with large book lying on it. The book was bound in a black material that resembled leather but with enough differences she knew it was something else. The book was obviously old and fragile, so when Hermione touched it she was careful not to harm it. When she opened the cover she saw that it was written in English but in a very old dialect that was difficult for her to understand. She wondered what it was when the answer suddenly came to her.

"I asked for this book, didn't I? And the Room of Requirement provided it." Hermione gasped. Inside this book, she knew, was information on rituals. Most of which would be very dark in nature. "No!" she yelled and walked towards the door trying to forget what she had found. But as she reached for the doorknob she stopped and turned to look back at the book. 'Surely it wouldn't hurt to just read the book.' she thought uncertainly. Minutes past as she stood, unmoving, and tried to decide what do. Finally, she took her hand off the door and walked back to the table. Carefully, she picked up the book and took it back to her chair and began to read.