Lessons
"I think I should give you a tour," said Severus. "That way you have some chance of finding your way around, but I do warn you, like Hogwarts, the rooms and staircases here can change, although they mainly do so on the command of the Crimson Lord. We will start with the owlery."
"This is the family wing," said Severus as they walked up from the dining room to the owlery at the top of the house. As soon as Harry entered, Hedwig flew over to him. Harry held out his arm and she landed on it.
"That must be a very bright bird you've got, David," said Severus. "I would not have expected her to find us so soon." Harry stroked the top of Hedwig's head. She hooted and flew away to the main perch. "She'll have to give that up when my owl arrives," commented Severus.
They left Hedwig to sleep in the owlery and went down to the bedrooms. They came to a corridor with several doors on each side. Severus opened the first door and let Harry look inside. "This is the master suite – it will be yours when you turn seventeen and become Lord Crimson, until then it is my room as head of the Crimson House." They walked further along the corridor. "This was Roger's, your father's, room," Snape announced, opening the door and going in.
Harry realised it was the room he had used the night before. "This is the room he had as a child. Simba set it up for you, but if you would prefer you could choose another. What do you think? Will it suit you?"
Harry looked around the room. He had been too tired to make much of an inspection before. It was large and airy with a big bay window at the other. The walls were painted sky blue and the ceiling had been decorated with what looked like Muggle glow in the dark stars. The bed was against one wall and a closet was opposite it, with the door to the en-suite bathroom next to it.
"It's mine?" asked Harry.
Severus nodded and waved his wand. "David's Room," appeared on the door.
"Please professor," said Harry, "I'd rather be called Harry."
"David is your proper name," said Severus. "You were named for your grandfather. It's poor courtesy to him, or your parents, to reject the name."
"I suppose," said David.
"Besides," said Severus, "you have always claimed to dislike the celebrity status of Harry Potter, why not embrace the chance to put the name Harry behind you, at least for the summer."
David thought for a while. The professor was right, he always wanted to get away from the fame of 'Harry.' Why not be David for a while?
"Okay," said David. "I will try."
"And while we are on the subject of names," said Severus. "Please remember that I am 'Uncle Severus' while were are here."
Severus showed David the family wing thoroughly. This was where they would spend most of their time. There were several sitting rooms and a couple of dining rooms, and many empty rooms which currently had no purpose.
"That was Roger's playroom as a child," Severus said as they put their heads around the door of a particularly large and brightly painted room. "And these are the potions laboratories. I don't want to catch you in one of these without my express permission. Do you understand? It could be very dangerous if you were to allow the wrong ingredients to come in contact with each other."
"I understand," said David. Potions was hardly his favourite subject, he doubted he would be tempted to put in any extra-curricular practice.
"Now for the public wing," said Severus.
"Wait, Uncle," said David. "What about the kitchen?"
"That's Simba's domain," said Severus slightly surprised. "Your abysmal performance at Potions suggests that your cooking abilities are negligible."
"I'm a good cook," protested David. "I find it relaxing and I've had a lot of practice."
"Well, I'm sure we could set up one of the unused rooms as a kitchen if you'd like," said Severus. It was David's turn to be surprised.
"Thanks," said David.
They walked down a long hallway with several unlit fireplaces.
"This is the Atrium," said Severus. "It is the point of entry for the house, the front doors are there, and the wards will allow you to apparate only into this room. Those fireplaces are connected to the floo network." Severus shot a spell at the grate and it glowed orange. He nodded in satisfaction. "Professor Dumbledore's is the only floo connected to this without appointment," he stated. "If we remove that status he would find out and guess where we are, so we will have to leave it as it is. If you keep to the family wing you should not run into him unannounced. He was good friends with your grandfather, but I doubt he has any reason to come here now."
They walked through the public wing. There were many disused rooms, but Severus pointed out several dining rooms of varying sizes, perfect for different size formal gatherings and there were also some sitting rooms and even a ballroom. Finally they returned to the atrium and went through a door opposite the fireplaces. It led to a large room with a huge mahogany desk in the middle and several comfy chairs in a group at one side. There were also a few portraits on the walls; it was to one of these that Severus led him.
It was a portrait of three people. "This is your father, Roger, and your Aunt Ginevra and Uncle Godric," said Severus. "And that," he stated coldly, pointing at a blank painting, "is your grandfather, when he deigns to come and see us."
"He looks like the Potters," commented a voice from the group portrait.
"What do you expect!" growled Severus. "He only found out about the Crimson House yesterday." David was astonished. Severus Snape had stood up for him!
David looked at the portrait carefully. Family! These were members of his family, they might not be alive but he could talk with them. Roger, David had already spoken to, but he had not said who he was. Roger smiled at David encouragingly, but the opportunity was so unexpected that David could not think of how to begin. Before he had a chance, Severus opened a door hidden in the wooden panelling on the walls of the room. He ushered David through into the concealed room.
The inside room had several tapestries on the walls. On closer inspection David saw that they were diagrams of the Ministry hierarchy and that of somewhere called 'St Mungo's.' The largest tapestry was a wizarding genealogy. Severus led David over and showed him that Harry appeared as the child of James and Lily Potter, distant cousins to the previous Crimson Lord. It would not do for his true parentage to be discovered.
"This is the Quirinius Cella. The most protected part of the house. An earthquake could not touch it. You may only ever bring family members in here. It is the most magical room in the house and so the best place to start your true education."
Severus walked over to a blank portrait. Hovering his palm over the paint he summoned, "Roger!" The smiling man from the portrait outside appeared. "I think we will need your help," Severus said to the image.
"Very well," replied Roger. "Good to see you again David. I'm sorry not to have been there to see you grow up… now where should we start?"
"How about the very beginning? Childhood accidental magic?" mused Severus.
"David, what magic did you do before you got your wand?" asked Roger.
David stopped worrying about how to talk to his father's portrait now that he knew that was who it was, and instead thought back to his childhood, the time before he had found out that magic was real.
"Well, once my aunt cut my hair until I was almost bald, but by the next day it had grown back again. Then there was a time when she tried to get me to wear a horrible orange and brown jumper and it kept getting smaller and smaller until it wouldn't go over my head. I ended up on the roof of my primary school once when Dudley's gang were chasing me. And of course when I speak parseltongue I do it without a wand. Oh, and there was that time at the zoo when I vanished the glass setting that snake on my cousin."
"When your aunt cut your hair, did you want it to grow back?" asked Severus.
"Yes, very much so, I kept thinking about how silly I would look otherwise."
"And since starting Hogwarts, have you ever had a haircut?" asked Roger.
"No," replied David. He had thought that wizards could have their hair any length they wanted just by will power, perhaps he was wrong.
Severus and Roger looked both relieved and excited. "I think you may be a metamorphmagus," Severus announced.
"A what?" asked David. Severus looked at him with disapproval.
"A metamorphmagus," explained Roger, "A witch, wizard or Zia who can change his or her appearance at will. I was one; it runs in our family."
"Now let's see what else," murmured Severus. "Ending up on the roof – that's either a magic aided jump, or apparating. Would you describe how it happened?"
"One moment I was running away from the gang, the next I was sitting on the roof."
"No squeezing through an in between world? Like when I apparated us here?"
"No."
"Sounds like popping to me," stated Roger excitedly. At David's blank look he explained, "Zias don't have to apparate like wizards do. We can pop instantaneously, a bit like house elves do, but unlike them we still can't pop where there are anti-apparition wards."
"And the sweater incident sounds like a simple shrinking charm," concluded Severus. "Well that gives us something to be getting on with."
"Okay, let's see," mused Roger. "That's possible metamorphmagus, wandless shrinking charm, accidental apparition, and a vanishing or banishing charm. Not to mention the parseltongue – a legacy of Voldemort's curse I assume?" he added to Severus.
"Albus believes so," agreed Severus.
"Okay David," Roger began. "Let's try some simple charms to begin with."
"But I can't do magic outside of school."
"That applies to wizard magic, or rather, wand magic. You are learning Zia magic. The Ministry of Magic cannot detect it any more than they can detect House Elf magic. How about levitation? As I recall that is the first charm taught at Hogwarts so you should know it very well. Severus, a feather if you please?" Severus conjured up a large eagle feather using his wand. "Now David, close your eyes and concentrate on the feather. Feel it in your mind's eye. It wants to move, it wants to flutter. It needs a breath of wind. Imagine the wind. Now open your eyes."
David opened his eyes to see his hand pointing at the feather and the feather was hanging in mid-air in front of him. It stayed there for a few seconds before falling back to the floor. "Well done," said Roger. He and Severus kept David at work with the feather all morning. By lunchtime David could move the feather at will through smoke hoops and tunnels created by Severus. David was elated. Somehow this magic felt right in a way only flying had felt before.
In the afternoon Severus took David to the library and summoned several books for him to read said he would test his knowledge in the evening after supper. "They are aimed at five year olds since that is when most Zias begin learning to control their magic – but they do give a good background to the magical theory. Read through them and we will take it from there."
David curled up on the comfortable sofa and began to read. The first book that took his attention was similar to a Muggle popup book, except that the popups moved of their own accord. He read about controlling the focus of his magic and channelling it into the results that he wanted. They were very childish books but having not had much access to books as a child he found he enjoyed them.
Supper itself had also been a lesson. They were having a simple meal when Severus noticed that David held his cutlery in his fists. When he had asked David about it he found that nobody had ever taught the boy how to use his knife and fork properly. Severus took steps to remedy this. He waved his wand at David's hands and the cutlery moved into a proper position. It was uncomfortable at first, but David could not move them back to his normal position and by the end of the meal they felt more natural.
That night David went to bed exhausted. He was so tired he did not even dream of the Basilisk. Before he knew it morning had come and Simba was shaking him awake so that he would be on time for breakfast. Apparently in polite wizarding society the most important person turned up for a meal last, entered a meeting last and so forth. Since David was underage Severus took precedence and David was expected to act accordingly.
Severus entered the family dining room a mere two minutes after David had sat down. They ate in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. The Daily Prophet newspaper was waiting beside Severus's plate and he buried himself in it. From time to time David glanced up at Severus, but all he saw was the front cover of the newspaper. It had a large photograph of Sirius Black. The escapee was skeletally thin and had very long matted hair. He was not someone one wanted to meet on a dark night even had he not been known to be a murderer. David played with his toast as his thoughts dwelt on Sirius Black. The wizard was the reason David had not grown up in a loving family. He was the reason David had not known about his Zia heritage and was having to play catch up. All those years of neglect at the Dursleys' could have been avoided if that man had not acted as he had. David's anger grew as he dwelt upon all he had lost because of Black. The large bay window at the end of the room shattered, pulling David out of his thoughts. Severus calmly put down his newspaper and looked questioningly at David.
"Was that me?" asked David. He wanted to cringe but knew Severus would be even harsher if he did.
"Probably," said Severus mildly. He looked deep into David's eyes as if sensing his thoughts. "Has something like that happened before when you have been angry?"
"No, well, I'm not sure," said David. "Strange things have happened several times when I have been upset. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always thought I'd done them, but I never meant to do them… I'm sorry about the window, sir."
"No matter," replied Severus. "You are still getting used to your magic and it is bound to escape now and then. Hopefully as you come to control it better such incidents will cease. They would be hard to explain away at Hogwarts. I'd ask you to mend the window, but I don't think you have the skill yet." He waved his wand at the broken glass and it jumped back up into place. "It is a rather advanced spell," he said. "Might I ask what made you angry enough to vandalise the house?"
David gestured to the front of the discarded newspaper. "Sirius Black," he said.
Severus sighed. "Well that one is justified," he said. "But I would prefer it if you did not try to read my newspaper while I am reading it in future, it is very rude."
David bowed his head and apologised. He was waiting for the blow to fall, well, not literally. He did not think that Severus would strike him, but he was sure there would be some penalty for shattering the window. Severus had been very laid back so far and not a bit like he acted at school but David did not know how far the changes would go.
Severus appeared to understand what David was thinking. "I am not going to punish you for an accident or for ignorance," he said unexpectedly.
"But at school…"
"That's different. I have a certain image to maintain. We are here this summer for two reasons; firstly to protect you from Black, and secondly for you to learn about your Zia magic and heritage. You have a lot to learn and accidental magic and ignorance and part of the course. I expect you to obey me when I give you an instruction and I will punish you if you disobey, but you are here to learn and as long as you are trying I am not going to jump down your throat each time you get something wrong."
David stared at Severus. At school Severus was nowhere near this understanding. Neville, a classmate of David's, often got things wrong in Severus's class and Severus would ridicule him for it. What was it Severus had said? 'I have an image to maintain.' Why would that be?
"Come on," said Severus rising from the table. "Let's tackle some transfiguration today." He led the way to the Quirinus Cella. The route felt more familiar to David now, but he was still a bit lost as to where they were in the house. Severus once again summoned David's father, Roger, and they began the lesson. David was trying to turn a needle into a pin, one of the simplest transfigurations there was. Once again he closed his eyes and tried to imagine the change he wanted. After several tries he was getting nowhere.
David was becoming extremely frustrated about his task. He had a block somewhere. Severus replaced the needle with a matchstick. "Try changing that into a toothpick instead," he said.
David tried and tried, eventually after about half an hour he succeeded in removing the match head, but it got no nearer to a toothpick. He sat down with his head in his hands, tears of annoyance pricking against his eyes. Severus was conversing quietly with Roger and David paid them no heed. He could not do this. He was a Zia who could not do Zia magic. Slowly David became aware of a third voice in the room calling to him. David approached a very old portrait on the far side of the room. Severus looked around as he heard David's voice and saw him talking to the portrait of a handsome man with flowing red hair and beard and green eyes. This was Godric Gryffindor, the first maternal of the Crimson House. Severus did a double take. He had always thought that that portrait was inanimate. Severus crossed the room and stood with David in front of the portrait as Roger disappeared to reappear in the old painting alongside the original red haired man.
"What comes naturally to you, Small One?" Godric asked David.
David considered for a moment. "Flying," he said. "This Zia magic should… but it doesn't."
"Well, Small One, I think the best thing for you to do is to go flying for a couple of hours. Forget all about the transfigurations and just enjoy yourself."
David looked up at Severus for permission and saw him looking intently at the portrait. Godric and Roger were talking in hurried whispers. Roger nodded to Severus who turned to David. "Perhaps Godric is right," he said. "We are getting nowhere and you need a break." Severus led David through the house to the broom shed in the grounds. Inside, to David's surprise, was his Nimbus 2000 broomstick.
"Simba will have unpacked for you," explained Severus. "After all, this is your home," continued Severus. He caught the look on David's face. "You are wondering about your invisibility cloak? It's safe, you may have it back at the beginning of term if merit it."
"In other words, you're holding it hostage," said David.
"Correct," said Severus. David scowled.
"The enchantments on the house mean that no Muggle can see us, so you can fly around here," Severus said as he conjured up a deck chair. "Just don't go out of sight, we can't be too careful with Black on the loose."
A couple of hours later David and Severus returned to the house and had an early lunch. Roger joined them on the dining room wall and explained that Godric thought David had 'magical repression.' Something had caused him to subconsciously repress his magical abilities. In consequence he had blocks around the magic which prevented him from accessing it all. The situation had been probably been exacerbated by David trying to focus his magic through a wand for two years.
"David," Severus asked, "when you were with the Muggles, what happened when you did magic?"
David looked at his shoes, "They'd get cross."
"So did you then try not to do magic?" asked Severus.
"Yes, I tried very hard not to annoy them."
"What about at your Muggle school, what happened when you did well?" pressed Severus.
"If I did better than Dudley the Dursleys would get cross," admitted David.
"We think you've been repressing your magic," said Severus thoughtfully. "You have been trying for several years not to do magic or do well at school and it has become second nature to you so you no longer have any control over it. I wouldn't be surprised if you did not have a photographic memory like your maternal, when we can get rid of the repression."
"Godric has offered to work with you, David, to help you overcome the blocks," said Roger. "In the mean time we can concentrate on non-magical studies. You still need to learn history and etiquette and so on. Godric thinks that doing something that comes naturally like flying should help you, so he wants you to fly each day, weather permitting." David grinned, that part of the treatment he would enjoy.
The next day when they entered the Quirinius Cella, Godric's portrait was waiting for them. "Let us try some meditation," he said. "David, sit cross-legged on the floor in front of me." David sat down. "Now close your eyes and imagine a candle in your mind's eye. Can you see it? Good. Now let it flicker. Keep watching the flame and empty your mind of everything else."
David imagined the flame and concentrated on it. Severus watched as David levitated into the air and floated next to the portrait. A translucent image of a candle appeared in front of David and the flame flickered quickly. Slowly David opened his eyes and saw where he was. There was a crash and he fell to the floor. The candle disappeared.
"Very good for a first attempt," said Godric. "I want you to practice every day. When you can stay focused enough not to fall down we will look at the next step."
David felt very sore after spending the morning practicing for Godric. It had not been until he had fallen for a fourth time that he had got up the courage to ask 'Uncle Severus' to conjure up a cushion for him. Severus had smiled and waved his wand at the floor and the patch in front of Godric's portrait turned into a trampoline.
During the afternoon David read up on the history of magic. He had never been able to stay awake during Professor Binns's lessons, but the book Severus had given him was much more interesting. It was an account of the history of the Crimson House. Unlike the book he had read when he had first arrived, this one was illustrated. The older parts were painted, but the more recent sections had wizarding photographs. David skimmed through it, avidly watching the moving pictures to see the magic his relatives could do. Several of David's ancestors had been core-healers; able to cure illnesses and curses by manipulating the person's magical core.
There were pictures of the Hogwarts sorting of each of his ancestors, apart from Godric Gryffindor, the first maternal, who had been one of the founders of Hogwarts. All the Crimson Zias who had survived childhood had been sent to Hogwarts and had been sorted into Gryffindor. David was thankful that he had been too. To be the first Crimson Zia not to be a Gryffindor would have been difficult. David watched his father being sorted several times.
Over the next few days David began to explore Lions' Den, in what free time he had. Uncle Severus kept him very busy. He decided to go and visit Hedwig, so he had to find the owlery again. He remembered that it was at the top of the house, and so kept going upwards at every opportunity. He was about to give up and try to find his way back to his room, or anywhere he knew, when he heard a familiar hooting.
"Hedwig!" cried David and he ran forwards and through a large door, out into a familiar looking owlery. He had not noticed before but was almost identical to the one at Hogwarts, except for the size; it was much smaller. Hedwig flew at David as he entered and landed on his arm. She nipped his fingers affectionately. David reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of owl treats. Well, actually he reached into his pocket and reached through thin air into his trunk in his bedroom and pulled out a bag of owl treats. He did it automatically and his magic worked without fault. David fed Hedwig some of the treats and only then did it dawn upon him what he had done. He smiled broadly as she ate. He really was a Zia!
