Rising to power.

Diagon Alley.

As a child, Remus had always been one to believe that knowledge was power, and that those without it were doomed to be weak and fail in life. It was a view of the world that Harry eventually adopted from his guardian and opted the boy to ask for some home schooling, Remus was more than happy to oblige, secretly glad the boy opened up to him. It eventually proved to be the basis of their bond, one that Remus was more than happy to cultivate.

Why home schooling and not enlist in a regular school, you might ask?

There were a few reasons, both bizarre and fascinating alike. One reason was that Remus wanted to teach the child personally first to see if Harry's inquisitive mind was any sign of his intelligence. Suffice to say, Remus was satisfied with the results.

The second reason was more bizarre than fascinating though; the bulk of what Remus would be teaching Harry just wouldn't be available to the boy if he enlisted in any of the public or private schools London provided - heck, any other school in the world for that matter. What he, of course, was referring to was that the both of them were a part of a world that existed completely parallel to the regular, mundane world.

Harry and Remus belonged to the world of magic where people could utilize and control a spiritual force from within them to perform supernatural and miraculous phenomenon that regular people would think impossible!

Remus could hardly expect the local public school, or private for that matter, to cater to that particular aspect of Harry's life, mainly because the average, non-magical folk - better known as muggles - were strictly forbidden from knowing about the magical world unless they were related to someone who was a part of it. Several hundred years ago with the muggles hosting their witch burnings in the middle of their town squares destroyed any notions witches or wizards may have had for a peaceful coexistence.

How did this affect Harry's schooling though? Well, usually it wouldn't, but Harry was a special case. With a mind that would have anyone label the boy as a genius and an understandable desire and thirst to learn about magic and all that it entails, Remus felt it was his duty to oblige his charge and teach him all that he wanted to learn. So long as Harry promised to keep up with his muggle studies, Remus indulged the child and taught him whatever he asked to learn of magic - the boy seemed to flourish under those conditions.

This is what brought them to the here and now. At the age of eight, Harry had taken an interest in football and had asked to join the local team so he could play. Remus, believing that an active lifestyle would be beneficial for the boy, didn't hesitate in allowing Harry to play for Highbury United, the closest team to their home.

If Remus wasn't certain that Harry couldn't perform magic wandlessley, he would have sworn that the boy was performing some sort of magic on the field as he played. The boy seemed to be naturally gifted at the sport, the coach having immediately placed him in the midfield where he flourished after realizing his incredible talent. Remus didn't boast to anyone about this, but it was clear that Harry was the best player on the team; it was also why he enjoyed coming to watch so much.

The ninety minutes of the match were almost up, and unless something changed, it looked like the game would go into extra time. Normally, that wouldn't be a big issue, but with the fact that their side had suffered a red card when one of their defenders mouthed off to the referee forced them to pick up the slack to cover the empty slot. Brilliant footballers for their age, they may be, but they were still just kids. Their side looked to be running on their last breath, and unless something happened, Remus doubted they would have the legs to run out and continue to perform during extra time.

Remus breath hitched in his throat as Harry received the ball from their goalkeeper in the midfield. Harry would make something happen, that's why the coach loved him so much. The boy's ability to pull out brilliant plays, virtually from his ass, was why he was so good at the game; that and he had a wicked right foot.