The Beast Within - Chapter 15

Harry woke up the next morning with a skip in his step. He had plans to visit the trio again before the school year started. They would stay at Hogwarts until their eggs hatched. It was too stressful to move them at this point. The eggs brought with them weren't as fragile since they weren't actually fertilized. It was important for dragons to have a clutch even if they didn't result in baby dragons. The nesting instinct was incredibly strong and blocking it had turned out to be a very bad idea.

Ever since they got back he tried to transform into the hybrid form, but he hadn't had any luck so far. The change apparently had only been caused by the presence of the dragons. He had returned to his human form shortly after they had left the area. The transformation was smooth, and he didn't realize he was in his human form again until he got a shiver. His clothes hadn't survived his earlier shift which left him naked. Thankfully, they were at the Tonks residence when it happened. He had been lucky that the Aurors wanted him in a more secure location rather than taking him to the DMLE for a debrief.

His good mood lasted until breakfast. The two Aurors weren't happy with him. There was another outing planned to test his control in a few days. Friday was his first full moon, so he had three days to prepare. This time it would be an area with only witches and wizards without any sort of magical creature. He was going to have to avoid Care of Magical Creatures until they could test how he handled other creatures. Knowing Hagrid, there would be some rather dangerous, cuddly creatures that wouldn't take too kindly to have a were-dragon nearby.

They got through breakfast without a word. Harry hadn't made it this time. Hestia had taken a turn and had provided a decent meal of eggs and toast. It tasted a little bland to him, but he was pretty sure that was due to his enhanced senses.

Harry was about to head down into the basement when the Floo flared to life. Alastor Moody stepped through. His magical eye spun in its socket taking everything in while his natural eye scanned the room for threats.

"Mister Potter," Alastor nodded at him.

"Auror Moody," Harry returned the nod. "What are you doing here?"

"Today, you're mine," Alastor smiled ferally at him.

Harry felt his inner-dragon start to stir. He did not like that look. This man was not someone to be taken lightly. Whatever could make this wizard smile like that was something that Harry knew to be wary of.

"How so?" Harry asked squinting his eyes at the Auror.

"You took a Stunner to the chest from an Auror with barely a flinch," Alastor explained. "We're going to see if your sturdiness carries over to your human form as well."

There was a mad cackle from the kitchen. It was quickly cut off by a grunt.

"You didn't have to kick me," Tonks groaned.

"You're being childish," Hestia countered.

"Let me show you to the park," Tonks hurried into the room. "It has plenty of space for you to pelt Harry here with spells."

"Thank you," Harry said flatly.

Nym was not kidding. The next three hours proved her prediction true.

Without a warning, or some sort of countdown, Moody hit him with spells ranging from a Stunner to a Bone Breaker with a few different Cutting spells for good measure once they were downstairs. Thankfully, it turned out that his hardiness carried over to his human form as well. A normal Stunner felt like a hard push while an overpowered one was like a punch in the chest. His many thrashings from Dudley and his gang provided him with plenty of experience dealing with those sensations. It allowed him to keep moving after taking a hit.

His speed and natural reflexes had increased noticeably. He had always been sharp, his time as a Seeker had proved that, but now he moved so fast he was hard to keep track of. Moody adapted to the change like the legend he was.

Piercers, Cutting, and other spells designed to break his skin were muted. They stung, but even overpowered ones didn't do as much damage as expected. By the end, Harry was bleeding for dozens of injuries. None of them were nearly as bad as they would have been on a normal wizard. Harry was pretty sure he would have died a few times over without his improved durability.

"Time for lunch," Moody said. "Get patched up and come along."

Harry nodded tiredly. His injuries may have been minor, but he was exhausted. He trudged upstairs. The scent of some sort of food put some speed in his steps. Hestia and Nym had ordered out once more. It wasn't Chinese this time. Judging by the logo on the many, many paper bags, it was McDonalds. They had set aside his portion off to the side. He had never had it before and didn't taste anything until after the fourth hamburger. The food was greasy, salty, and tasted amazing. He was particularly fond of the chicken nuggets.

The others were amused at his antics.

"Slow down, son," Moody cautioned. "We start the real work after lunch."

"The real work?" Harry asked, only after finishing the food in his mouth.

Moody simply flashed him another smile. Nym and Hestia joined Moody after lunch. They attacked him with spells of different disciples they each specialized in. Except for Moody, he seemed to know just about everything. The 'training' only stopped for dinner.

By then, everyone was tired.

"Not bad, Potter," Moody patted him on his shoulder. "Not good, but not bad."

"Thanks," Harry chuckled.

"You're fast and tough, but that won't keep you alive for long," Moody continued. "Tomorrow we'll work on defense."

"No offensive spells?" Harry asked.

Moody looked at the boy.

"If you never learn anything more than a stunner but live to see your grandchildren, I will be a happy man. Defense is not just for you, it's for those around you. Keeping yourself and others safe," Moody nodded to Nym and Hestia. "Right, Aurors?"

"Yes, sir," the two said in unison.

"Think about down there," Moody's voice shifted to that of an instructor. "What would be more important? Trying to hit me with spells, or staying live?" Moody waited a moment for him to think. "You can't fight back if you're dead. We'll focus on shielding and defense tomorrow."

Harry nodded.

Moody stared at Harry for a long moment.

"I fought beside your mother and father last time Voldermort raised his head. Your father was good, but your mother was scary," Moody's voice softened.

"You knew my parents?" Harry nodded.

Harry wanted to say something more, but he didn't trust his voice with the sudden lump in his throat. He silently begged for him to continue. Moody understood.

"I was half-dead when they got attacked," Moody sighed. "Lost my leg in an ambush and got hit with a nasty curse that practically had me done. I would have given my life for them. After Catarina died, I was a broken man, full of hate, and I used it to make any Death Eater I came across suffer. Seeing your parents, how much they loved each other, seeing the love they had for you. It was like looking at the life I lost. Merlin be damn, I should have been there."

"Thank you for telling me, sir," Harry whispered. "I would appreciate more stories about them."

"Stay conscious after each session and I will," Moody flashed him a smile.

The scars on his face didn't make it a pleasant one.

~§~

The next day was more of the same. Breakfast, training, lunch, training, and then dinner. Moody had started to teach him various shields. Hestia and Nym were testing to see which discipline he was the most attuned to in the sessions after lunch. They had initially thought it was fire, for obvious reasons. While he did have a connection, it was Air that really bonded with him. He could use fire well enough, as well as the other elements, but finding an advanced discipline was a challenge.

A discipline was a method of using the element and school with the best connection to the magical core. Two people attuned to Water could have completely different approaches to how it was used. The application of charms, transfiguration, and other schools of magic altered the functionality. All of it had an impact on almost every aspect of experiencing the magical world. Due to the complexity, it wasn't usually learned until after a witch or wizard had reached their full potential. A magical core continued to grow until a magic user reached their physical maturity. Only then were they able to determine how much power they could potentially reach. The magical core settled enough to develop a discipline. Attempting to discover Harry's affinity before his core settled would help stabilize his development, which would help immensely with his condition. All of that meant that the trio of Aurors pushed him to his limit multiple times a day.

On the plus side, he hadn't ever slept so well before in his life. It also had the benefit of helping him adjust to the changes in his body. It wasn't as obvious in his human form, but there were still differences that he hadn't noticed. His reaction time was faster, his senses sharper, and it was more of an adjustment than he had expected. It felt like he was learning how to walk all over again. He had been too tired to try to seduce Hestia again or make any progress in wooing Nym. Annoyingly, they didn't appear to be having the same amount of physical exhaustion. The Aurors weren't spending the training dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging spell-fire from multiple angles. All of it kept him too busy to focus on the approaching the full moon.

The next day was the second outing. This time, there wouldn't be any random magical creatures to encounter. At most, they were planning on interacting with Goblins. Harry tried not to think about how Hedwig hadn't stayed with him since he was bitten. She had delivered a couple of letters but did not stick around for long. He hoped that she just needed some time to adjust to him. It hurt too much to think that she didn't want to be his anymore.

"You with us, Harry?" Nym asked as they waited for the Floo to connect.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Just thinking about Hedwig."

"She'll come around," Nym rubbed his shoulder.

"I hope so," he muttered.

Nym stepped into the Floo. He waited for the fire to calm before he stepped in as well. The Leaky Cauldron wasn't too busy, even though it was lunch time. It was nearly a month before the school term started and the World Cup was next week. The crowd was small enough to walk through without issue. Without his glasses, or being surrounded by Weasleys, people didn't pay too much attention to him.

"How are you holding up?" Nym asked softly.

"Fine," he shrugged.

"Any issues?" Nym pressed.

"It's a little loud," Harry answered.

"You know what I mean," Nym chuckled.

"I have no undeniable urge to rush off," Harry recited blandly. "I'm a bit bored, honestly."

"Harry, is that you?" A familiar voice called to him.

He followed the sound to see Susan Bones nearby. There were girls he knew that would test his control over his urges. Susan was in the top five. She was on the prettier side of cute and had an hourglass figure that made his mouth dry. Usually, he had to fight to hide an erection around her. He still felt a bit of hunger when he saw her, but it wasn't the overpowering need like it had been with the dragons.

Harry waved at her. The redhead noted his escort and approached carefully.

"Auror Tonks, Auror Jones," Susan greeted.

"How do you know them?" Harry asked.

"My aunt is the head of the DMLE," Susan replied. "I know most of the Aurors by name and all of them by sight." She motioned off to the right and behind him. "I can even spot Uncle Alastor back there."

"Uncle Alastor?" Nym and Harry asked at the same time.

"He didn't like Grandpa," Susan shrugged.

Harry tried really hard not to look at her breasts when they bounced with her motion. He failed. Nym elbowed him softly in his ribs. Susan rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," Harry blushed.

"It happens," Susan teased. "You're a sweetie so I'll give you a pass this time."

"I'm a sweetie?" Harry perked up.

"Go easy on him," Nym shared a chuckle with Susan. "He's oblivious."

"I know," Susan laughed. "He has no idea."

"No idea about what?" Harry asked.

That made the two of them laugh harder. Harry shook his head and let the two of them talk. They bonded over his obliviousness about something. He tuned them out as he scanned the area. Harry felt rather than saw Hestia follow him as he headed over to Quidditch Supply. He stared lovingly at the broom, wondering how the experience of flying would change.

Would the dragons be able to fly in their mystical form? Could he fly if he had wings? He didn't have a tail either and he was pretty sure that was important.

A small movement in the background caught his attention. There was a practice snitch loose in the store. A few people tried to catch it while the clerk laughed. Harry tracked every little twitch with ease. In fact, it looked like it was moving in slow motion. He could see each flap of the wings.

"Well, fuck," Harry muttered.

"Something wrong?" Hestia asked as she moved closer.

"I think I have to stop playing Quidditch," he grumbled.

"Why?" Hestia raised her eyebrows in question.

"Do you see the snitch?" Harry motioned to the window.

Hestia took a step closer. She stood beside him to see into the store. Her eyes scanned the interior. She noticed the people trying to catch it but couldn't see the snitch more than a blur.

"No," Hestia answered.

"I can," he said.

Harry held up his finger and pointed to the snitch. He easily followed its movements. Hestia gave an appreciative nod after a moment.

"How is that a bad thing?" Hestia asked. "I'm not a quidditch fan. Being able to spot the snitch sounds useful."

"It would be cheating," Harry sighed.

"How?" Hestia asked genuinely perplexed.

"Because I can see it without trying," Harry explained. "It's too much of an advantage over other Seekers. It's not fair to them."

"You should let the officials decide," Hestia patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess," Harry admitted. "I should see if I even like flying anymore before I start to worry."

"Why wouldn't you like flying anymore?" Susan asked as she and Nym walked over.

"Did you not hear about what happened at the end of last year?" Harry asked.

"I've heard rumors," Susan scoffed. "My aunt raised me to listen to the evidence, not hearsay. No one knows what actually happened."

Harry studied her for a moment. Now that he thought about it, she hadn't been among the people who thought he was the Heir in Second Year. During that time, he hadn't had a lot of time to pay attention to everything around him. Finding the Heir and tracking down the Chamber was more important, especially once Hermione had been petrified.

"How about we go somewhere more private to talk? I'll tell you whole story," Harry offered.

"Look at you," Nym mussed his hair. "Asking a girl on a date all on your own."

"It's not a date," Harry rolled his eyes. "Susan has a boyfriend."

"I do?" Susan asked. "Who?"

"Uh," Harry tried to come up with a name. "You don't?"

Susan shook her head.

"But you're gorgeous," Harry blushed once he realized what he had just said.

"See," Nym winked at Susan. "Oblivious."