The Art of War - Forging
Harry felt a little apprehensive. He had been looking forward to this moment for the last 3 days. Gabriel had waited to begin their extra lessons until he found the two other members that would round off their team. When Harry had received the message at lunch asking him to meet in Grimshadow's office he had nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement. He had barely paid any attention during his potions class last lesson, messing up a potion and losing 20 points for Gryffindor due to 'waste of ingredients.' Clearly Snape was just looking for any reason to get back at Harry for stealing his Gillyweed last year, even though it had been Neville's idea.
Harry had bolted out of the dungeons once the class had finished, and now waited very impatiently beside the DADA class room. He watched as Draco walked around the corner and approached him, nodding slightly at his former enemy.
Draco had changed radically in the past few days. He had started going by the name Draco Black, no doubt in memory of his mother. Any mention of 'Malfoy' led to a bloody nose, and in the case of Blaise Zabini, a couple of cracked ribs.
While the blonde spurned all contact with Slytherins, he was still hesitant regarding the alliance he had begun to forge with Harry and his friends. It was something he had rarely experienced before, acknowledging someone as an equal rather than as inferior.
Harry responded to the other boy's approach by holding out his hand. He knew that for Draco to accept this handshake meant more than one might think. It was an offer of both friendship and acceptance.
They were being brought together by Gabriel Grimshadow or 'The Grim' as the students of Hogwarts had started calling him after his incident with Pansy. There couldn't be any dissension in their ranks. Draco stared for a moment before reaching out a hand and meeting Harry's. He did not smile, still emotionally wrecked from the death of his mother.
Dumbledore had made a public announcement at lunch that day, making sure that the students got the full story before the media or even worse, Rita Skeeter blew everything out of proportion. Apparently Voldemort had been concocting a plot that utilized Draco as its key component, and Lucius' banishment of Draco had made that impossible. Voldemort had used a mixture of the Imperius and Cruciatus curse that left Lucius lucid, but not in control of his body. The Dark Lord laughed as Lucius whispered of his love to his wife, torturing both, then finally making Lucius kill her.
Draco had withdrawn after that announcement, spurning mostly all contact with anyone, especially those in his own house who had turned on him.
Harry went to say something to the boy, but couldn't find the right words. His parents had been taken from him as a baby, so he didn't remember them at all; he couldn't console the suffering blonde.
At this point Harry heard chatter coming from down the hall. Hermione's laugh echoed through the passageway and Harry couldn't help but smile. He loved her laugh, and her smile, and everything about the girl.
He was very surprised to see the two people following Hermione, one a vibrant red-head, the other with silk-like silver locks.
"Ginny? Luna? What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked confused.
"It would seem you weren't to only one chosen for 'special training' Harry," replied his best friend's sister. "And besides, everyone knows that while I'm not the smartest girl, I am the most advanced with charms in my year."
"I guess we needed a Ravenclaw to round out the group," Luna said. "Though there appears to be an overwhelming representation by Gryffindor."
Harry was a little disappointed. He had expected Ron to be coming, the Golden Trio together in almost everything they did. But it didn't matter; Harry would make it up to him by seeing he got accepted onto the Quidditch team, despite Ron's objections.
The five children looked at each other, a combination of nerves and excitement. This was the start of something amazing, something that would change their worlds permanently.
Gabriel looked over his five students. They represented the future of the wizarding world. "So, before I can actually teach you anything, you must reconfigure your minds to be able to not only understand what I will teach you, but also accept it. First question, what is a wizard?"
The children all looked at each other skeptically. Was this really what they would be learning? "Someone who can use magic?" Ginny answered.
"Are you asking me or are you telling me?" their onyx haired teacher replied sarcastically.
"Fine," Ginny came back "someone who can use magic."
"And what does it mean to use magic?"
Ginny opened her mouth to reply but stopped herself. She couldn't think of an answer to that question.
Draco cut in "the ability to concentrate the power within one's self into the physical plane."
Gabriel scoffed. "Nice turn of phrase, but no."
Draco frowned.
"To understand what it means to use magic, you must first understand what magic is, which is why Ginny was able to answer the first question, but not the second."
Ginny frowned and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Harry" their teacher called. "Who are some of the strongest wizards you know, excluding me." he said with a smirk.
"Well, I guess Dumbledore would be the most powerful I know, Voldemort would be second" he replied.
"So then what inference can be made about power relative to the individual?"
"I don't think I understand the question sir." Harry said confused.
"Let me rephrase then. What makes one wizard more powerful than another?"
The boy thought for a moment. "Well, age would seem the likely choice, but Voldemort is a lot more powerful than many older wizards so I guess that doesn't work. Can't it be that some people are just born more powerful?"
"Potentially," their teacher said, "but all wizards are alike in that they can use magic. Perhaps then the answer is not about the wizard, but about the nature of magic?"
"Can't you just tell us?" Ginny asked impatiently. "Aren't we here to learn?"
"Yes, I could tell you, but you may not understand it." Gabriel paused to gather his thoughts. "If you can come to these realizations on your own, then you will be more powerful for it.
Hermione gasped and began waving her hand frantically in the air.
"Miss Granger?" Grimshadow raised an eyebrow.
"Sir, like you said, perhaps it is about the nature of magic. Wizards can use magic to cast spells, but there are many creatures born of magic that exist, like the Centaurs and the House Elves. So maybe, magic just... Is?"
The other students laughed at the obvious statement. Of course magic 'was', they go to a wizarding school don't they?
"You laugh now, but Miss Granger here is the closest to all of you to understanding the nature of magic." Gabriel reprimanded. "Go on, you're almost there."
"Well, magic exists" the girl began, "But it doesn't just exist in us, those who can do magic. It exists in magical animals, but then there's the magical plants as well." Hermione's eyebrows crinkled in concentration.
Everyone leaned in, listening intently.
"But then everything else must be taken into account. If the Whomping Willow is magic, and we're told that the Forbidden forest is magic even though it's just a bunch of trees, then realistically all plant life must contain some magic. And if all
plant life does, then it stands to reason that all animal life does as well."
Luna cut in, "but we can't forget everything else. The rocks, the air, the water. Everything that is, that was and will be..."
"Contains magic," their teacher finished. "And that is one fundamental concept that you must come to understand before we can proceed any further in these lessons."
"But then... Power." Harry said thinking to himself. "Power levels, could they be determined by a person's understanding of the nature of magic?"
"That is correct, but how did you reach that conclusion?"
"Well look at you for one. I don't think I've ever seen anyone able to catch a spell and throw it back at the caster, a deflection spell, yes, but never a catch. You understand magic like no-one else does, and that makes you more powerful."
Harry thought again for a moment then continued. "Dumbledore is old, but he is experienced. As both a Headmaster of Hogwarts and Minister of magic he has access to tomes and tomes of knowledge that some people wouldn't even know exist. His knowledge of magic has clearly opened his mind and his understandings of the limits of magic."
The boy shuddered before making his final point. "And Voldemort. He is constantly testing the boundaries of magic, even if it is dark magic. Then again, can magic itself be dark, or is it the magician using it that turns it dark? Either way that is why he is strong, but his denial of anything except wizards makes his understanding of magic as a whole weak, so he will never be as strong as Dumbledore."
Draco interrupted his train of thought. "But understanding can't be everything. There must be something... More. A missing piece. Where does that magic come from if not ones-self?" He frowned, "But that still doesn't explain why a magician can cast spells day after day without tiring themselves out. Realistically the only exertion from casting a spell is the wand movement and speaking the incantation. So then it stands to reason that they get the magic to power their spells from somewhere else."
"You're almost there Mister Black," Gabriel encouraged.
"Magic we channel... It comes from, well, everything? Doesn't it? We take in the ambient magic from our surroundings and convert that into magical energy that is required to cast a spell."
"And that's what you did to Pansy, isn't it?" asked Luna. "I wasn't there obviously but I heard the story. Instead of absorbing the energy like anyone normally would, you blocked that flow of magical energy. That's why you were able to then direct the spell back at Pansy, who had to absorb the magical energy of the spell."
Ginny started to get excited. "Maybe what makes a wizard different to a muggle, which we now know has magic inside of them, is that wizards can channel that magic into something tangible!"
"Very good," their teacher said with a smile on his face. "This is going to seem very new to all of you. But it's not enough to simply know these things. To be honest I thought it would take a few weeks to reach this point but I'm glad you are here now, it means I chose right when I selected all of you. Younger students may accept the concepts more easily but don't have the maturity to apply them, older students would have the maturity, but have been taught so long it would be too hard to break that limited understanding of magic they posses. You were perfect."
Gabriel Grimshadow stared at them intently. "Your task then until our next lesson is to try and understand and believe in you heart what we discussed here today is truth. You will see that the more you come to accept this new nature of magic that you will begin to become exponentially stronger. Think about things as they stand and come to me with some theories about aspects of magic and we will evaluate them."
Now his face took on a sad expression. "However, there is one sacrifice I must ask of you. We must all make an Unbreakable Vow of silence. That not one of us will voluntarily speak to another person outside this group about what is talked about during these sessions. It is of the utmost importance. You have had a taste of what knowledge I can give you, but now you must choose. If you cannot make this commitment, you will leave here with your memories of tonight removed and will return to your life as normal. I am truly sorry but this is what must be done."
The five students exchanged glances, then simultaneously placed their hands one on top of the other.
"We are with you Mister Grimshadow," said Luna.
"Through all the pain and hardship we are sure to go through," continued Ginny.
Hermione nodded, "For the pursuit of knowledge,"
"and vengeance" finished Draco.
Harry was the last to speak, his voice merely a whisper. "To protect everyone."
Gabriel looked at the five people before him. He was only a couple years older than these kids but he felt connected to them. They would stand by him through the dark times, and they would fight through them. To survive.
In that instant the 6 of them bound themselves to each other. The room shined with fiery light as they all chanted the terms of their vow as if by instinct.
"I will never voluntarily speak of the things discussed by this group."
"I will not abuse the knowledge I receive for personal gain or selfishness."
"I will use my powers to help defeat the Dark Lord and any of his followers"
At the last chant their hands began to glow so brightly that they all had to shield their eyes.
It was done.
*Author's Note*
Gah! Ok well i guess im goin to have to go into an updating spree. The reason being that one of my favourite fics is currently heading in a very similar direction to me.
Therefore i need to write like a madman so that it doesnt look like i have copied anything, which is rather upsetting because i was really proud of my idea.
Support my cause by reviewing when you can :) you may not believe it but every review i receive really does keep me going.
Anyways i really hope you're enjoying the story so far, i promise awesome magical feats soon, as well as love and betrayal later on!