Broken Bonds

The next day when Harry went down for breakfast, he found Remus and Sirius already at the dining table. Remus was sipping a cup of tea while reading the Daily Prophet, and Sirius was holding a cup of coffee in his hands, occasionally taking a sip. Harry sat down in the same seat he had sat in during dinner the night before. Mimi appeared next to him as he sat down.

"What would Young Master Harry like for breakfast?" Mimi asked.

"I'll just have some toast and a hot chocolate, thanks Mimi," he replied. Mimi nodded, popping away. A plate of toast appeared in front of him, along with a mug of hot chocolate and various spreads. He started eating, not glancing at the adults at the table.

"Sleep well cub?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," he replied, not looking up.

"Any plans for the day?" Sirius asked.

"I'll probably do some of my homework. And I have something I want to research," he replied. Sirius sighed, obviously realising he wasn't going to get much out of him.

"Well, we were thinking that we could train you a bit, if you want?" Remus offered. That made Harry look up.

"Train me in what?" he asked.

"Duelling mainly," Sirius supplied.

"I can't do magic outside school," Harry replied in a monotone voice. Honestly, they should know that.

"Yes, you can pup. Within these wards, the trace can't be detected. Plus, you live with two wizards and three house elves. There is always magic occurring around you. Even if the ministry could detect the magic due to the trace, they wouldn't be able to tell who is casting it," Sirius contradicted him. Harry thought about that for a moment.

"That's stupid. Muggle-borns are at an extreme disadvantage. Purebloods and most half-bloods are able to perform magic during the holidays but muggle-borns can't," he exclaimed. Remus laughed at his outburst.

"So, would you like us to train you cub?" Remus asked.

"Sounds good Moony, Padfoot. But can my friends come as well? I told them I would see if they can come over during the holidays," Harry said.

"We'll see what we can do. We don't want them coming over every day, but we can probably work out a schedule for them to visit," Sirius replied. Harry nodded. Even if he couldn't see them every day, he would be able to see them during the holidays, something that hadn't happened before.

"Do you want to start today cub?" Remus asked. Harry nodded, learning to duel sounded fun.

"How does 2 sounds? That should give you enough time to do some homework and research whatever it is you want to research," Sirius suggested.

"Sounds good Padfoot," Harry agreed. "Will I be able to invite my friends over at the end of the week?"

"Who exactly are you planning on inviting?" Remus asked.

"Just Hermione, Ron and Ginny."

"You can invite them to stay for dinner on Sunday if you want," Remus offered. "The whole Weasley family is welcome."

"I'll let them know. And maybe on Sunday we can discuss training with them. Anyway, I'm going to go start on my homework. Snape's essay sounds like it will be vicious." Harry stood, leaving the table and heading upstairs to his room. He pulled out his potions books and a piece of parchment to write the essay on and started writing.

An hour and a half later, he had finished the 2-foot essay on aconite that Snape had assigned. He glanced at the clock. It was eleven-thirty. He had enough time to do an hour research before lunch at twelve-thirty. Then he could have an hour research after lunch before training with Padfoot and Moony. With that plan in mind, he headed to the library.