Harry Potter, the Arch-Magus
by
the DragonBard
I do not own any of these characters, or any of the games, books, movies, skills, spells, items, or techniques mentioned in this story, except those specifically created by myself. All others are owned by their respective copywrite holders and/or creators. Especially any characters from the Harry Potter series, which is the property of J.K. Rowlings, or any parts of Dungeons & Dragons, which is owned by Wizards of the Coast.
Chapter 4
Harry was sitting in his compartment on the Hogwarts Express, reading, when the door opened, and a girl with bushy brown hair stuck her head in. Whatever the young brunette was going to say was quickly lost, as she froze in shock at what she saw.
Now, the site of a boy, sitting down reading, would not have normally fazed this girl. However, the book Harry was reading was simply floating in mid-air, as his lap was taken up by a notebook that he would occasionally write in.
"Can I help you?" Harry asked.
"H-how did you do that?" She asked, excitedly. "I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger. I'm a first year student. I'm the first witch in my family, we were all surprised when my letter came, but I'm very please to be going to Hogwarts, it's the best school of magic there is, I've heard - I've memorized my course books, I hope it'll be enough. What's your name?"
Did she just say that all in one breath? Harry asked himself, blinking in surprise. "My name's Harry, Harry Potter."
Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Harry Potter? Are you really? I've read all about you, of course - I picked up some extra books for background reading; you're in 'Modern Magical History,' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts,' as well as 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.'"
"I read those books, made me sounds like a bloody superhero." Harry sighed. "I'd hoped that would have been able to say how I survived, and why he tried to kill me."
Now, at that moment, Hermione was in a bit of a quandry. On the one hand, Harry had just insulted a book, something that, to her, was almost unforgiveable. On the other hand, it was a book that had been talking about himself, and who should know better if the book was wrong or not than the subject?
Just then, the book that had been floating in front of Harry, began to fall to the ground. Harry was just able to catch it.
"Dang, I guess I forgot to concentrate on it." Harry muttered to himself. Seeing Hermione's curiosity and confusion, he elaborated. "I have to keep a bit of my attention on the spell, or it'll stop working. That's part of the reason why I was keeping it floating while reading, to try and work on splitting my attention better."
Hermione frowned. "I've done a lot of reading ahead and tried out a few of the spells in the books. The spell sounds like the levitation charm, but I haven't come across anything like trying to split your focus."
"Not surprising, I came up with it by myself." Harry explained. "Got the idea from watching 'Empire Strikes Back', when they showed Luke's training with Yoda. Still working on the enhanced senses part though."
Hermione blinked at this. "Ah, you 'do' know that 'Star Wars' is just a movie, don't you?" She asked.
"Sure, but it still had some great ideas." Harry replied, putting his book down. "Especially if I go with the idea from 'Mage: the Ascension' that you can use magic to increase your physical skills."
"'Mage: the Ascension?'" Hermione asked, confused.
"It's a fantasy role-playing game, or RPG, that I'm looking into. It has super-science, martial arts, and ESP as all being just different ways of using magic."
"Role-playing game? ESP? None of that stuff is real!" Now, Hermione was getting a little irritated. She really didn't like feeling confused, and Harry was definitely confusing her. She didn't care if he was the Boy-Who-Lived, he was crazy!
"Oh, I know that." Harry said, smiling. "You see, when I figured out I was magical, I used stuff like 'Star Wars,' and role-playing games like 'Dungeons & Dragons,' and 'Mage: the Ascension,' to try and get ideas for how to use it. Sometimes, it worked, some of it, I'm still trying to figure out." Harry frowned at that last part, as if remembering something unpleasant.
"Well, let's see it then!" Hermione said in a 'no-nonsense-and-this-better-be-good' kind of way.
Harry shrugged, then closed his eyes, and faded away.
Hermione gasped. There were only two possibilities, one, he had made himself invisible, two, he had apparated. However, both of them were much too advanced for kids their age to be doing! That's impossible!
Harry blinked back into existence.
"Sorry, it's been a while since I've made myself invisible. Usually I just use it on my things, to keep them safe." Harry said.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Hermione demanded. "There's nothing about how to make yourself invisible in any of the books I've read!"
"I just closed my eyes, and told myself I didn't want you to see me." Harry said.
Hermione clenched her eyes shut, and started muttering "Don't see me, don't see me." like a mantra to herself. After a few moments of this, she opened one of her eyes. Seeing that she had yet to become invisible, Hermione closed her eyes again, even tighter this time, and restarted the mantra. This continued for a few minutes, but Hermione still didn't vanish.
"What am I doing wrong, why can't I become invisible?" Hermione whined.
Harry frowned, as he tried to remember his own first attempts to wield his magic.
"Hermione, why don't we try something a bit different." Harry said. "Do you remember how it felt when you performed accidental magic?"
After a moments thought, Hermione nodded.
Harry took a deep breath, and began to use the Jedi Mind Trick. Normally, it only worked on the 'weak willed' but considering she was simply guiding her, it would probably work. "Okay, I want you to close your eyes, and recreate the feeling, then wrap it around yourself, and concentrate on the idea that you want to be invisible, unseen."
Harry continued coaching Hermione, until finally she started to fade away. Encouraged, Harry continued until Hermione was completely invisible.
"Hermione, I want you to open your eyes, and look at your hands." Harry told her, smiling. "You did it."
Suddenly, there was a gasp, and Hermione blinked back into existence.
"I DID IT!" Hermione squeeled, bouncing in her seat.
Harry chuckled a bit. Eventually, Hermione came down from her success high, and began to rapid fire questions at him about where he learned how to do it.
"Accidental magic." Harry explained. "I just put two and two together, and realised that I had been working magic for years, but hadn't realised it until then."
"Why didn't 'I' think about that?" Hermione asked herself.
Harry shrugged. "Hey, it took me a while before I figured it out too. Anyway, after that, I tried to replicate what I'd done before. I'd also get ideas for new things to try from RPGs, fantasy books, comics, etc. You'd be surprised at how much stuff that's out there is useful, if you don't demand that the casting be identical to how they do it in the story.
"However, I have to admit, some of them 'are' pretty accurate on how they work. Like, that levitation bit you saw me doing." Harry said.
Hermione thought for a moment. "Can you do any of the other things from Star Wars?" Hermione asked. "Like, seeing things?"
"Not too well." Harry grimmaced. "I can sometimes, kind of sense things about people. It doesn't always work. I can also feel things around me, but I can't do it that well yet."
The pair continued to talk for some time, mostly about the magic that Harry had developed, and what they hoped to learn at the school. They stopped for a few moments when a lady brought a cart full of treats by. Harry quickly purchased a bit of everything.
"Want some?" he asked.
Hermione sighed, and shook her head.
"My parents are dentists, so they really don't like me eatting sugary sweets." She said.
Harry nodded. "My aunt and uncle didn't give me many sweets either. So, since they're not here to object..."
The train ride continued in much the same way, with Hermione and Harry talking about magic. Harry occasionally showing a skill he had developed. Though, there 'was' an interesting break in the conversation, when a boy by the name of Neville showed up looking for his toad, Trevor. Hermione volunteered to help find Trevor, and Harry decided to help his new friend. They hunted up and down the entire train, but were unsuccessful. Neville mournfully thanked them for trying, after they had looked just about everywhere.
It was shortly after they returned to their compartment, that they were visited by a trio of boys. The blond that Harry had met at Diagon Alley, as well as two hulks that Harry honestly thought would have been at home in Dudley's gang.
"I've heard that Harry Potter was in this compartment." He said, looking rather pompus. He glanced at Hermione, and then seemed to dismiss her.
Harry nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, that's me." The blond hadn't made much of an impression on him the first time they had met, and if anything, Harry's opinion of him was going even further down hill.
The boy smiled, with an oily grin much like a used car salesman. "I'm Draco Malfoy. Oh, and these are Crabbe and Goyle." Draco gestured at his two companions.
"This is Hermione Granger." Harry said, nodding at Hermione.
Hermione gave a smile at Draco, which faded when Draco pointedly turned away from her in dismissal.
"You'll soon find out there some 'wizarding' families are better than others. You don't want to make friends with the wrong sort." Draco said, glancing at Hermione. It was pretty obvious from the way he said it, that Draco considered 'any' wizarding family better than those who weren't. "I can help you with that."
Draco held out his hand for Harry to shake, seemingly confident that Harry would choose him.
Harry simply glanced at the hand. "Thanks, but I believe I can make that decision for myself."
Draco blushed.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter." Draco said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. Hang around with the likes of this mudblood, or that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."
Harry stood up, staring Draco in the eyes, and clenching his fists. It was all he could do to keep from using the Force Choke on Draco. He quickly summoned the Void.
"How dare you say that about my friends, or my parents!" Harry said, icily. He drew up his magic, ready for anything Malfoy might do. "I suggest you leave, 'now!' Otherwise, I will be forced to remove you."
Draco stared at Harry. He could 'feel' the power radiating off of Harry. It was almost like standing in the path of a lightning bolt. Much like how his father had described being in the presence of the Dark Lord.
For a moment, Draco and his friends were terrified, and almost bolted from the compartment, however, as Harry began to rein in his magic, it gave Draco enough breathing space for his arrogance to reestablish itself.
"We don't feel like leaving." Draco said, his voice cracking a bit. "We've run out of food, and you still seem to have plenty."
Harry thought to himself.
"GO!" Harry roared, his voice like a thunderclap. This was just enough to send Draco, Crabbe and Goyle falling backwards, and scrambling to get away.
Harry sat down, and glanced over at Hermione, who looked rather nervous.
"You really shouldn't have done that." She said. "Now we'll be in trouble, even before we get to school."
"Sorry," Harry sighed. "That git just made me so mad, insulting you and my parents like that."
Hermione was rather surprised. She hadn't expected the fact that she had been insulted to even be a factor.
The two sat in silence for the next few minutes. It was finally broken when the train stopped, and they disembarked. Hagrid stood a bit away, calling for all the first years. Harry smiled and waved at his large friend, who grinned at Harry. Hagrid then guided the group to several small boats sitting on the lake. Harry and Hermione ended up sitting in the same one, along with Neville.
They floatted across the lake, into a tunnel. Harry felt could sense the magic, much as he had at Ollivanders wand shop. It didn't seem as concentrated, but at least as strong. Harry was surprised no one else noticed it. The boats all came to rest on shore, and Hagrid found Neville's disappearing toad in one of the boats. Hagrid then knocked on a large door, though pounded might be have been more accurate, considering the noise. McGonagall opened the door, and took custody of the group.
McGonagall quickly guided the group into a small waiting room, and began to lecture them on their futures in Hogwarts, specifically the Houses they would soon be sorted into. Her eyes quickly lancing on any defect in their appearance. She then left for a few moments, giving them time to prepare. A few of the students whispered amongst themselves about how they would be sorted, while Hermione began to whisper about the spells she had learned.
Harry was a touch nervous himself, so he called up the Void to give him a chance at calming down. Just then, a number of ghosts showed up, discussing what seemed to be one of their numbers by the name of Peeves. Harry, as well as others who hadn't been raised in the wizarding world, stared at them.
Good thing that the books mentioned that Hogwarts is haunted, and that they're harmless. Harry thought to himself. Otherwise I'd probably be making a fool of myself right about now, trying to blast them.
McGonagall returned immediately afterwards, and guided them into a large room, the ceiling of which looked like it didn't even exist, and simply opened up to the sky.
Hermione commented that she'd read about it in 'Hogwarts: a History,' and that it was charmed to look like the sky outside.
It was then that McGonagall brought out a large pointed hat, which looked almost like something you'd see on a kid dressed as a witch or wizard for Halloween. A tear seemed to open up in the hat, and it began to sing, telling about itself and the four houses. Then, as soon as the song eneded, the sorting began. One boy, most likely the younger sibling of older students, grumbled about the joke that his siblings had played on him.
McGonagall would read a name off of a scroll in her hand, and the child named would then step up, to put the Sorting Hat on their head. For most of them, the Hat would call out the name of one of the houses almost as soon as it was placed on their head. For a few, it seemed to take some time to decide. For Draco, it called out the name before it even touched his head.
What's that about? Harry wondered. Is it having trouble determining their qualities, or is it something else? Maybe they're personalities are too balanced, so it has to think a bit.
While he wondered about how the Sorting Hat judged a person, Harry noticed that many of the students chosen for Slytherin either had a look of arrogance on their faces, like Draco and the newly sorted Pansy Parkinson, or they seemed to radiate the kind of meanness that Dudley and his gang did.
Finally, it was Harry's turn.
"Harry Potter."
Harry ignored the murmurings from the tables, as he moved to sit on the stool, and put on the Sorting Hat. He felt 'something' flow into him, similer to the spiderlegs feeling he had gotten at Ollivanders. Harry almost jumped up and ripped the Sorting Hat from his head, but stayed on the stool.
'Ah, now let us see.' The Sorting Hat's voice sounded inside Harry's head. 'Ah, a very good mind. One of the best I've seen in years, in fact. Quite cunning, and with a thirst to prove yourself. Not afraid of hard work, not at all, and loyal to those you call friends. A great deal of courage as well as a very strong will. Well, this is going to be very difficult, deciding where to place you. You would do quite well in any of the houses. In fact, the Founders would have likely been fighting over who got you in their house.'
Harry allowed himself a moment of pride. At the Dursleys, he'd never been picked for any teams, as the kids didn't want Dudley to think they liked him. Here, he'd have people fighting over him.
Can I ask you something? Harry directed his thoughts at the Hat.
'Go right ahead, my boy, though you don't have to project your thoughts with quite so much force. When I'm on your head like this, I can hear them quite easily.' The Hat chuckled.
Well, is that group of Slytherins you've just sorted for my year, are they as... unpleasent as I think they are? And are they about how all the other Slytherins are like?
The Sorting Hat seemed to sigh. 'Unfortunately, yes, to both questions. For the past few centuries, the quality of Slytherins has gone rather down hill. You're one of the few I've seen who would truly fit the ideals of the house.'
Okay. Harry thought. That pretty much rules out Slytherin as a choice, because I don't want to be looking over my shoulder the entire time I'm here. I'd end up with an ulcer before I graduated!
'Are you certain?' The Sorting Hat asked. 'You could do very well there.'
Yes, I'm here to learn how to be a wizard, not deal with would-be politicians. Harry replied.
'Well, while you're certainly qualified for any of the houses, your desire to learn means you should really go to...'
"RAVENCLAW!" The Sorting Hat called out its choice for Harry.
The Great Hall errupted into cheers from the Ravenclaw table, while Professor Flitwick looked like a child told that there would be an extra Christmas that year. Professor McGonagall hid it well, but Harry had a slight feeling of disappointment from her.
Before he vacated the Seat, and gave the Sorting Hat to McGonagall, Harry spent a few more moments in conversation with the Hat.
You've been here, practically since the school was founded, haven't you? Harry said. So, you've probably picked up quite a bit of knowledge over the centuries.
'Some.' The Hat said with a grin. 'Between talking with the various Headmasters, listening to their conversations, and having nothing to do but come up with new songs, I do a lot of pondering about magic, and the world. Not to mention the knowledge I was given at my creation, and the various bits I've picked up from the students. Why?'
Is there any chance that I could talk to you, and pick your brains... er, mind that is? Like I said, I've come here to learn all I can about magic, and being what you are, you've probably got a lot of knowledge, especially about stuff that the rest of the world has forgotten. Harry asked.
'I would be honored, Mr Potter.'
Call me Harry.
'Very well then, Harry. Most of the time I stay in the Headmaster's office, but I'm certain he won't mind you coming to visit occasionally. I look forward to our conversations.'
Harry quickly took off the Sorting Hat, and handed it to McGonagall. He then went over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting beside a girl named Padma Patil. The rest of the night passed quite quickly for Harry, and he soon found himself in his new bed.
The next few days were rather interesting, as Harry started his first magic classes. The first class was History of Magic, taught by a ghost by the name of Binns. Harry figured that the subject would be interesting, but any interest he might have had, was killed by Binns. He soon found out from some of the older students that even among the Ravenclaws, almost no one could muster any interest in History with Binns teaching. There was also a rumor that Binns had bored 'himself' to death, and that's why he was a ghost. Privately, Harry agreed there was a good possibility of it.
"You'd think that, with all the magic around here," Harry commented to Padma. "That they could come up with some more interesting ways to teach history to us. I mean, they should be able to cast some kind of spell to let us look into the past, or maybe have some of the ghosts from those periods come and give us lectures."
Padma nodded at Harry. "Yeah. That's a good idea. You might want to mention it to one of the Prefects later. Though, from what I've heard, it would be impossible to get Binns to change."
The next class was Herbology, specifically dealing with the care and magical properties of magical plants. Harry didn't really find it interesting, though it definitely wasn't dull, considering some of the plantlife was willing to try and eat you if you weren't careful. Fortunately, they wouldn't be getting close to those until much later in the year at the very earliest.
At the end of the first class, as they were filing out of the greenhouse where class was being held, Harry stepped up to Professor Sprout.
"Professor Sprout?"
Sprout turned to Harry with a small smile. "Can I do something for you, Mr Potter?"
"I was just wondering, are we going to be learning any green magic in this class?"
Sprout frowned in puzzlement. "Green magic?"
"You know, spells that deal with plants, making them grow how you want to, make them stronger or weaker, or make them move around as needed."
Sprout shook her head. "I'm sorry, but anything of that nature falls in the area of charms. This class is only about plants, their magical properties, and how to grow and care for them."
"Okay." Harry said. "I was a bit curious."
Harry then headed out of the greenhouse.
Sprout began to prepare for the next class, though thoughts of what Harry had spoken of drifted through her head.
"I'll have to ask Filius if he knows anything about this 'green magic.'" She murmured to herself.
Harry's next class was Transfiguration, taught by McGonagall. She was definitely a no nonesense teacher, and after a quick lecture, started them on their first spell. Basically, a cantrip to turn match sticks into needles.
As soon as McGonagall told them to start, Harry began to practice the incantation and wand movements for a few seconds to make sure he had them right. He then, with a firm image of the needle he wanted the matchstick to become, cast the spell. The transformation was nearly instantanious.
"Very good, Mr Potter." McGonagall said. She had been walking around the classroom, watching the students progress. "Five points to Ravenclaw for getting it right so quickly."
A few of the others glanced at Harry in jealousy, but he didn't notice, as he decided to practice the spell a bit more.
It was several minutes later, and almost time for the class to end, when McGonagall noticed Harry turning his needle back into a matchstick, and then back again into a needle. Harry had been the only one to transfigure his matchstick completely, so she had been busy observing the progress of her other students.
"Mr Potter, may I ask what you are doing?" McGonagall said, curiously.
"Just practicing a bit of fine control. See how much effort I have to put into the spell in order for it to work properly." He explained.
McGonagall eyes widened in surprise, as she nodded in understanding. For most students, at this point in their lives, it required all their effort to get a spell to work. They didn't develop much in the way of fine control until after they had a fair number of spells that they could use in everyday situations, and used them a lot.
When the class was finally over, McGonagall asked Harry to stay a few moments.
"Mr Potter, I'd like to meet with you tomorrow, about 7 o'clock." McGonagall said in a business-like manner. "I wish to continue the discussion we had earlier."
"Okay." Harry nodded.
"Also, I wish to bring your head of house, Professor Flitwick as well, if that isn't a problem.."
"No problem, Professor." Harry smiled. "See you tomorrow then."
McGonagall quickly went to Flitwick's classroom. She knew that he, like herself, would be between classes for a short time, and wanted to speak with him as quickly as possible. When she entered the classroom, Flitwick was sitting at his desk, apparently grading some papers.
"Hello, Minerva." Flitwick smiled at the Deputy Headmaster.
"Filius." McGonagall nodded at her coworker. "I've just set up a meeting with one of your Ravenclaws, and I would like for you to be there."
Flitwick frowned. "Is there something wrong? Who is the meeting with?"
McGonagall shook her head. "Oh, nothing is wrong, it's just... you haven't had a class with Harry Potter yet, have you?"
Flitwick shook his head. "No. I don't have my Ravenclaw first years until tomorrow. Why do you ask."
McGonagall sighed. "Just... keep an eye on him, and then come talk to me. I don't want to bias your opinion."
Flitwick nodded. "Very well, Minerva. Though, I do wish you would explain what this is about."
McGonagall laughed. "I doubt if you would believe me, without seeing it for yourself first."
The next day, after class, Flitwick and McGonagall met in the teacher's lounge.
"I think I know what you were talking about earlier." Flitwick said, sitting down. "Mr Potter was asking questions left and right. First, he asked what the nature of magic was. Then, why, except for transfiguration, and combat spells, all of the spells was taught as charms, when magic was too diverse to be limited to just three classes of spellcasting."
Flitwick stared McGonagall in the eyes "He even started asking about other means of casting spells, besides the method we use now. He made comments about how different types of art might be used to perform magic, and even specifically mentioned rituals."
McGonagall's eyes widened, and she nodded her head. Rituals were very high level magic, and were never taught at Hogwarts. Especially since many of them fell under the category of the dark arts.
"Also," Flitwick continued. "Just after you left, Pomona came to me, asking about something called 'green magic.' Some kind of magic to do with plants, she said. Of course, I had never heard of it, and asked where she had come across the term. Said a student asked her about it, specifically one Harry Potter. I've even had one of my prefects come to me with a suggestion that Mr Potter gave her about ways to possibly improve the way we teach history.
"Now, Minerva, just what is going on? As the boy's head of house, I feel that I have a right to know."
McGonagall sighed. "As you know, because of his situation, we had Hagrid take Mr Potter to Diagon Alley for his school supplies."
Flitwick nodded.
"What you probably haven't heard, though, is that after they finished, Mr Potter disapparated in front of Hagrid."
Flitwick was shocked.
"That was my response as well." McGonagall said with a chuckle. "As I was saying, Potter disapparated in front of Hagrid. When Hagrid told Albus and myself, I went to speak with him. He explained that he had simply figured out he could perform magic, because of his accidental magic over the years, and begun learning how to control it. He had also used muggle literature for ideas on what he might be able to do with it.
"What's more, Filius, not only is the boy self-taught in magic, including apparation, but apparently he has 'never' splinched himself while apparating, or teleporting, as he called it."
Flitwick was impressed. Even 'with' proper teachers, most people splinched themselves at least once.
The pair continued to talk about, what was looking to be their most promising student of the year, if not their entire careers as educators, until it came time for their next classes. As the two left for their respective classrooms, Flitwick agreed to be at McGonagall's office for the meeting.
---
It was just about seven o'clock when Harry knocked on McGonagall's office door.
"Come in."
Harry opened the door, and slowly stepped in. He knew that he hadn't done anything wrong to warrent an office visit, but he was still rather nervous.
"Please, sit down, Mr Potter." McGonagall said from her desk, gesturing to a chair in front of it. "I've asked Professor Flitwick here, both as your Head of House, and as Charms professor."
Harry nodded at Flitwick, sitting down in the indicated seat.
McGonagall looked at Harry, seeming to measure him, inside and out, with her eyes. "Mr Potter, this is not a disciplinary meeting, so you may relax."
Harry chuckled. "Sorry."
"Quite all right, Mr Potter." Flitwick said, with a chuckle of his own. "I would have been nervous too, if I had been called into a teachers office for a meeting the first week of my first year."
"Mr Potter," McGonagall began. "In our earlier meeting, you mentioned you had developed magical skills based on those found in muggle stories. Perhaps you could describe some of this magic to us."
Harry blinked.
"Uh, that's a pretty large order." He said. "I'm not exactly sure where to begin."
"Perhaps, you can tell us a bit about green magic, I believe it is called?" Flitwick said.
"Well, green magic is a term for earth magic, sometimes called nature magic." Harry explained. "Magics that work with the natural order of things, especially plants. Though I've read where it also deal with animals, and the elements. Usually it works by... 'talking' with nature, or the spirits of nature, elementals and the like, is the best way to describe it I think."
"And what do you do with green magic?" Flitwick asked.
"Control plants, and animals, primarily." Harry said. "In some stories they can shapeshift into the form of an animal by calling on its spirit."
At this, McGonagall frowned. That sounds rather similar to the process for the animagus transformation.
Harry continued. "Green magic's usually very focused on the natural world. Stuff like the weather, the seasons, plants and animals, it can deal with. But things like teleporting, turning invisible, levitating things, those aren't really a part of it. It works 'with' or 'through' nature, not against or outside of it."
The two teachers nodded in understanding.
"Well, besides green magic, there's the really interesting stuff..."
"Such as?" Flitwick asked.
"Well," Harry sighed, leaning back in the chair. "There's just so much. There's elemental magics, for one. Spells that control the individual elements of nature."
"Wouldn't that be nature magic?" Flitwick asked.
"There's a lot of overlap," Harry said, shaking his head. "But, they're different types. Nature magic means working with nature, while elemental magic just means controling the elements.
"Though," Harry continued. "Just 'which' elements changes from story to story. You have the basics; fire, earth, air, water. Then, you also have light, darkness, life, death, chaos, order, spirit, void, time, and space.
"Of course, you already knew all that." Harry said sheepishly.
McGonagall and Flitwick looked at each other.
"We do?" They chorused.
---
Later that night, McGonagall and Flitwick came into Dumbledore's office.
"Did your meeting with Mr Potter go well?" Dumbledore asked. "Lemon drop?"
"Albus, if I ever believed the pureblood propaganda about muggles being inferior to us, that boy would be the only evidence you'd need to convince me otherwise." McGonagall replied, exhausted.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he observed his two senior staff (well, senior staff who were still alive.) "And just how did our young Mr Potter convince you?" He asked with a smile.
"Using nothing but ideas drawn from muggle literature, Mr Potter has practically mastered transfiguration and conjuration." She glanced at Dumbledore's tea set. "May I?"
"Go right ahead, Minerva." Dumbledore smiled.
"Filius?" McGonagall asked.
"If you don't mind, I would love a cup." Flitwick said.
"Hadn't you said that, during your previous meeting with him, that he called conjuration 'easy stuff?'" Dumbledore asked, as McGonagall pour tea for the three of them. "So why are you so surprised?"
"I decided to test the boy, to see what he could do." McGonagall stared into Dumbledore's eyes. "For all intents a purposes, I gave the boy a shorter version of the OWLs Transfiguration practical, and he was able to do everything perfectly. I even had him conjure things for me, and it worked. If he could imagine it, he could make it appear."
McGonagall frowned. "Though he seems to have some problems with transfiguring living creatures, though I think it was because he didn't want to harm them by accident. Once I had been able to assure him that I could reverse the transformations if he could not, he did it quite easily. Also, he doesn't seem to be able to perform self sustaining magic. His spells seem to require at least a little concentration from him, or they fail."
"Something that Minerva forgot to mention," Flitwick added. "Is that Mr Potter did all of this without the use of either a verbal spell, 'or' his wand!"
"If Mr Potter is so advanced in your class, what should we do?" Dumbledore asked McGonagall.
McGonagall sighed, and took a sip of her tea. "While the practical skills are very advanced, he still needs to understand the theory. I suppose I could have him continue with the class, and simply use the time to work on extra credit.
"To be perfectly honest, I almost asked him to try and transfigure himself. The only reason I didn't, was because I was half-afraid he'd succeed."
Dumbledore nodded, not showing his surprise.
"There was one thing he mentioned that sounded much like part of the process of becoming an animagus. However, from what he said, he thought it might be possible to assume other forms." McGonagall explained.
Dumbledore nodded in understanding. The fact that a person could assume only one form as an animagus was a well established rule in transfiguration. It was possible to self-transfigure into different forms, but doing so was difficult and dangerous. However, here now was someone who could very well be able to unwrite that rule of magic.
"We talked of several things that the muggles have come up with in their stories about magic. Some of which make me wonder why we never thought of them before." Flitwick said. He took a sip from his cup of tea. "He also mentioned several ideas that I can't wait to explore. Did you know, that according to his ideas, the Point Me charm would be considered a form of divination, as would various detection charms we use? The way he explained it, however, makes me wonder why we didn't see it. Imagine, expanding Divination to teach information gathering charms."
Minerva gave a disapproving sniff. "I'm not entirely sure I like the idea of mixing actually useful spells with Sybill's 'Inner Eye.'" She said.
Flitwick and Dumbledore smiled. It was well known that McGonagall wasn't fond of the divinations professor, or of divination period.
"It's unfortunate that it seems as if Charms doesn't work quite as well for Mr Potter." Flitwick said. "I would enjoy seeing some of the charms he has mentioned that he has yet to develop a means to perform."
"Oh?" Dumbledore said, curiously.
Flitwick nodded. "Apparently, Mr Potter works magic by visualising an effect, and then focusing his will into making it a reality. As long as the boy can visualise it, in some way, he can do it, though he has some difficulty on manipulating more than one object at a time, he said. He also seems to use a bit too much force in his charms, but both will come with experience I believe, as well as a better understanding of magical theory. Unfortunately, there are many charms which are more difficult to visualise, as they deal with less concrete concepts. Mr Potter mentioned some ideas he had to correct his difficulty with working those kinds of magic, however, once we get past this particular problem, I have little doubt I'll be in much the same situation as Minerva here; what to do with a student who can already perform every spell you can teach?"
McGonagall sighed. "I think that the worst part just may be the fact that he described all of these amazing things, and not only was he sorry he hadn't done 'more,' but he believed that we understood most of what he was talking about!"
The three professors sat sipping their tea in silence for a few moments, each one contemplating.
Finally, Dumbledore set down his tea cup.
"I think it would be best if we continued treating Mr Potter as another student. However, I want you too to make sure he knows that if he has any question, you will be there for him. Perhaps suggest some reading material you might feel he could benefit from." Dumbledore said. "Maybe ask for an occasional demonstration of his skills, if he is willing. We should encourage him, and make sure that we do not try to inhibit him, though 'do' make sure his experiements don't endanger himself, or any of the other students."
"Just as we finished his meeting," Filius commented, "Mr Potter asked if there was anyplace in the castle where he could practice some, what he called 'area effect' spells that might be too big for a classroom. I'm not aware of any, myself... ?"
McGonagall shook her head, while Dumbledore looked thoughtful.
"I may have an idea or two," Dumbledore announced. "However, I shall have to look into it more. I'll tell you if I come up with something."
Both professors nodded in understanding.
"Are there any other suggestions?" Dumbledore asked. When the two shook their heads, he continued. "Then I believe that I will bid the two of you, a good night."
With that, the two professors set down their tea cups, and with murmured good night, left for their rooms.
Dumbledore glanced at his old friend, Fawkes the phoenix, and muttered to himself.
"Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed."
It has been brought to my attention that I goofed. I forgot to tell my readers that I had set this story 5-10 years later than most people set the HP timeline. So, figure early 21st Century or so.
If anyone is curious, I'm really not sure about how I'm going to ship this story, if at all. Since Harry's a Ravenclaw, I'd say Cho, Luna, and Padma probably have an edge, especially since Harry's not going to be as close to the Weasley family as in canon. Hermione's also a possibility, though she might well retain the sisterly role she has in canon. I haven't decided. Then again, I might decide that Harry and Ginny are soul mates, and will be together no matter what.
Heck, I might go all out and have Harry end up in a group arrangement like what Kinsfire has.
Once Harry learns of the Weasely twins creativity, he might start working with them to develop magical items.
As before, I've glossed over most of the stuff that is the same as canon, in the interests of saving time. Though, I 'do' need to pick things up. Chapter 4 and I haven't even reached the first class with Snape! Yikes! Maybe I should quit it with the glossing over, and just write what's different, skipping the parts that are too similar completely?
You know, I think I've been taking this story a bit too serious. I'm going to try and relax a bit, and stop trying to make things quite so 'realistic' if you catch my meaning. After all, this story is 'supposed' to be fun! If this means I accidentally make Harry a bit 'Super' then, ah well. At least I tried.