Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's
Bit of a boring chapter here in my opinion, nothing too major happens.
Tried to add a bit of comedy in here, still uncertain about how that went.
Harry landed with a thud.
He still hadn't quite mastered the art of portkey landings yet. At least he didn't almost fall flat on his face again.
Sighing, Harry stood up and looked around. He had landed a short distance away from the entrance to the castle. At the sound of one of his fellow students arriving, Harry moved forward and away from the arrival zone.
Carry his trunk used to be such a pain, which is why light-weight charms were invented. Now carrying a trunk is almost as easy and carrying a small bag. It really was amazing.
Making his way over the bridge into the castle, Harry tried to recall where his room was. It took several minutes, but Harry eventually found his room. Walking in, Harry placed his trunk to one side and began to unpack.
Making sure the transfigure the bed immediately as he didn't want to forget later, Harry also worked on the cool draft of the room. With a flick of his wand, the air suddenly warmed slightly.
Smirking, Harry recalled the work he did to learn this spell. The way it worked was that for a certain time it heated up the air in a certain diameter, most useful for closed rooms and small spaces. Therefore, it was perfect for his little dungeon dorm.
As it was about five in the evening, Harry had some time before he needed to walk down to the dining hall for dinner. As he had learned the previous night the opening meal was the only one that was mandatory.
This was so that any new rules could be given to the entire student population, and also so that the new students could see the staff before their first classes.
Taking out his school books, Harry transfigured a small wooden table in one corner. Stacking the books in a pile, he hoped his magic would last.
Before he headed down to dinner, there was one more thing Harry needed to do. He needed to curse his door. He had not done so last year, but at Elena's insistence he agreed to barricade his door with several spells this year.
Apparently the older you got, the more likely you were to get attacked. Sincerely hoping he wouldn't come to blows with any students with year, Harry set to work.
Deciding to put the caterwauling charm up first, Harry cast the necessary spell. It wouldn't do anything to an intruder, but it would let out a loud screaming noise. This would probably wake up half the castle, not to mention startle anyone who entered his room.
Next, he placed the slug vomiting curse around the border of the door. It was the protective version of Slugulus Eructo, which would make someone vomit up slugs continuously. Not a particularly dangerous spell, but it would hinder the opponent all the same.
Harry debated what to put up next. Maybe this would be a change to test one of the spells he learned about this summer? One of those he didn't want to risk failing in the middle of muggle London.
Raising his wand, Harry intoned "Protego Totalum."
This was an area protection spell. As well as making it difficult to see, it would also help nullify most basic and intermediate spells. If someone came in casting unforgivable, then Harry was screwed anyway.
But unless someone fancied a trip to Azkaban by casting an unforgivable (one of the few rules in Durmstrang) then they wouldn't go that far.
'This will have to suffice.' He thought, finishing the spell. It wasn't the full protective barrier he hard about, barely any disruption in the air at all. He decided to try and work on improving this charm in particular.
Recalling how Emsorth challenged him to complete aqua eructo the previous year, Harry decided to put some time to that charm as well.
One interesting piece of information he had learned from Elena is that that classes here are not meant to be the focus of his attention. No, the classes are simply meant to guide a students thinking, to promote a certain line of work.
In other words, the classes are not important. It is the abilities and learning habits that one takes from their classes that matters.
Leaving his room, Harry made his way to dinner. Students were still arriving, and the dining hall was only starting to fill up. Checking the time and noticing that he still had half an hour until the start of announcements, Harry drifted off in his own thoughts.
Someone sitting down in front of him disrupted his train of thought. Initially believing them to be Victor, Harry glanced up and noticing Elena sitting there instead.
'I think this is the first time I have seen her in the dining hall.' He mused. She appeared uncomfortable being here, as if someone could curse her at any time.
Opening his mouth to the speak, Harry closed his mouth when Karkaroff marched to the front of the hall.
"Welcome, welcome to Durmstrang." He bellowed. "Now, for those of you returning here, we hope for another good year."
"For those new to our school, we hope that you prove yourselves capable of our standards."
Continuing on for several minutes, Harry tuned out most of the speech until the end.
"Now, some of you may have heard rumors about the vampire…problem." Karkaroff started. "Rest assured that they cannot hurt you here, and that you are completely safe from them."
Finishing and departing from the room, Harry was once again reminded of the vampires. What about them made them so problematic? Harry used to hear about how werewolves were the worst, but now the vampires were apparently taking the spotlight.
'Now that they are a threat, everyone's changed their opinions.' Harry mused. As everyone began to eat, Harry decided to begin a conversation with Elena.
"How did you do last year, in terms of grades?" He questioned. What followed was Elena describing how she did in her courses the previous year.
Apparently, Harry was advancing faster in charms, and was in a higher level than her. However, she was ahead in terms of the dark arts and transfiguration. They had the same potions class.
Eating a piece of meat that just appeared, Harry decided to lay down his goals for the year. Firstly, he wanted to continue to work and improve Protego Totalum. If not mastered, he wanted to at least have a firm grasp on the protective spell by the time he left.
Secondly, he wanted to continue to work on Agua Eructo. He had made slight progress at the end of the previous year and wanted to continue to improve. Improving his control on a small amount of water he summoned was a necessity before he could raise the flow of water.
Thirdly, he wanted to advance overall in all his classes. By this he meant continue to advance to higher levels each year. This was the least important, because Harry was confident that he if he actually tried, then he would advance regardless.
Lastly, Harry's goal for this year academically was to get his transfiguration grade up to a W. He also wanted to try and get a M in charms, but that would be a bit unlikely.
"I'll see you in the morning." He said to Elena. At her nod, he got up and departed from the room. As one of the first to leave, the halls were mostly empty as of yet. Arriving back in his room, he really wanted to see what would happen if Victor tried to enter.
Closing the door and making sure all of his spells were still in place, Harry laid down for bed.
Drifting off, he hoped that he would continue to learn more this year.
Waking up to the familiar sight of the stone ceiling, Harry sat up in his bed. The faint light glowing in one corner was a nice touch in Harry's opinion.
Enchanting an object with a variation of the Lumos spell proved most useful in walking around at night without crashing into something.
The day passed normally. Each class had their introductory units, and the students were all given their first assignments of the year. For Harry, this was only for one class as he had transfiguration. He also had spell manipulation, but that was just a study anyway.
Leaving the classroom with notebook tucked under one arm Harry proceeded to his room, deciding to use a useful study tactic that he had learned years ago way quite simply. Get homework done immediately.
Watching students refrain from doing their homework until the last night was something that always made Harry sigh in disappointment. It was also something that happened in both Durmstrang and Hogwarts. It was like the students couldn't help themselves.
"Hey Potter!" A voice shouted. Turning around Harry noticed a familiar face. Unable to match names with faces, it took Harry a moment to remember who it was.
It was Blake Rosedell. He was one of the students who had attacked Elena near the beginning of the previous year. Now that he thought of it, Blake would be about fifteen now.
"So, I couldn't help but hear how you are in fifth year charms now." Blake spoke. Harry saw where this was going. Now that he was progressing through the levels faster than everyone else, some jealousy was inevitable.
No one had cared the previous year, on account of him being a transfer and being in relatively low classes anyway. But now that he was in fifth year charms, students would notice. Deciding to work this in the best possible way for him, Harry put on a grim expression.
"It's about he only thing I'm good at." He muttered, adding a frown and scoff for good measure. "I am stuck low in all of my other classes, charms class seems to be an exception."
The point of lowering other's perception of him was to keep eyes off his back. If everyone believed he was bad at everything with the exception being charms, then they might leave him alone. If everyone knew that he was good at everything (and was really good at charms) it could cause problems.
At his self-deprecating remake, Blake appeared to smirk somewhat. It seems he was right about Blake scouting him out. Harry had seen him hanging out with his fellow fifth- and sixth-year friends. Now, he would have to start looking out for that group in particular.
Planning for whatever encounter would come his way eventually, Harry made his way back to his room. Finishing his transfiguration homework in just under two hours, Harry glanced up at the knock on his door.
Opening it, his mouth curved downward at the sight in front of him. It was Victor's girlfriend. Her name was Leila Elgen.
'I think it is anyway.' Harry thought. Once she saw him, Leila smiled in a less than friendly way.
"Have you seen Victor anywhere?" She questioned, her voice sweet as honey. "I've been looking for him."
Debating whether to tell her the truth or lie, Harry opted to tell the truth as that would get rid of her as quickly as possible.
"He's not getting in until tomorrow." He answered. "Quidditch and all that."
"Ow." She looked a bit put off. But then her smiled returned, and Harry internally frowned at her presence.
"Do you know what kind of food he likes." She asked. "I'm decided to bake him a snack and was wondering what he would like."
Now this was curious. Harry had never seen Victor eat much outside of the meat and bread offered at the school. From what he knew, Victor's eating habits revolved around what made him best for quidditch.
Debating on what to say, Harry decided to plead ignorant.
"He usually just eats school food." He answered. At her continued presence, Harry decided to get her out of his door as quickly as possible.
"Sorry, but I have homework." Closing the door in her face, Harry shivered.
He didn't know what he had against her. There was just something off. Near the end of the previous year her behavior bordered on stalkerish towards Victor.
Reapplying all the charms and protections he placed on the door, Harry sighed. No use in getting worked up over something so small. But he had a feeling this was not over.
Sighing, he moved on with the rest of his day.
There was a noticeable change when Victor returned the following day. Before, when Victor came into a room there was smirking and the occasional snicker. There were still condescending looks, but most kept their opinions more reserved now.
It was like Victor was gaining popularity, or at least losing the unpopularity he had. Harry recalled when Victor returned.
"Harry! So good to see you." Victor started, sitting down across from him. He was like a whole new person, with a smile constantly on his face. It was like quidditch had changed him into an entirely new person.
"Good to see you too." He responded. Victor spent most of dinner regaling him with his summer. Apparently, he had performed so well in his tryout that he had been put down immediately as replacement.
His first game (which Harry saw) was his first time in the spotlight, and his maneuvers actually broke a record apparently.
The conversation ended when Harry brought up the inevitable topic of school. Victor's smile faltered, and he looked somewhat put out.
"I spoke to Karkaroff on my arrival." He spoke. "He basically said that as long as I apply myself at all, I will still be a Durmstrang student."
At this, he paused and looked at Harry.
"Apparently something big is happening next year. And the good publicity I am giving the school could help a long way."
"Something big?" Harry questioned. What could be happening?
"I don't know much myself." Victor answered. "I was told that I will be given more information at the end of the year."
Wondering about what could possibly be going on, Harry continued.
"Have you been getting any letters from fans?" He asked. Victor let out a rough laugh.
"You wouldn't believe it!" He began. "Over four thousand letters in two days! It's amazing."
Harry took a moment to stare at Victor in shock. Four thousand? That was absurd, was a guy winning a quidditch game really so important?
"So." Harry started, covering up his shock. "When is your next game?"
"In about two months." Victor replied. He sounded so proud of it.
Shaking his head at his friend's enthusiasm Harry proceeded to continue his dinner, interrupted by the occasional small talk. He had finally gotten over the fact that Victor was more into quidditch than into school.
Who was he to judge anyway? Victor had obviously found the ropes of fame. The only way he could go was up from here, as long as he continued his current performance.
Deciding to turn in for the night, Harry bid Victor good night and made his way to his room.
Harry learned an interesting piece of information about potions: Screwing up sucks. While brewing the Wiggenweld potion, a student in the class accidentally added too many drops of Boom Berry Juice. The results were….unexpected.
The potion took on a greenish tint and began to shake in the cauldron. Professor Mendon waved her wand, and a silver sphere encompassed the potion to protect everyone. Except for the brewer.
Vivian Fashon was completely covered in her incomplete potion. She began to scream, until professor Mendon shot a spell at her and she toppled to the floor.
"Imbecile." She muttered, levitating the body towards the door. "The rest of you keep brewing while I take Ms. Fashon to the hospital."
Leaving the room with Vivian's floating body in tow, the rest of the students resumed their potion making. Harry saw one or two small snickers escape from students around the room.
Sighing, Harry pitied the girl. While it was her fault that she had messed up the instruction, he felt like it was harsh for professor Mendon to expose her to its effects.
'But then, how would anyone learn.' Harry thought. It was true in a twisted sort of way. If students didn't learn the hard way not to make the same mistakes, then there is nothing stopping them from repeating past screw ups.
Bottling his potion and placing it on the front desk, Harry departed the room. He waited outside until Elena finished, before the two headed down for lunch.
The days that followed were much the same with Harry going to classes and doing as instructed, whether that be to perform some task or to take notes on a lecture.
Victor was usually off writing some note to his coach to plan out his practices and matches, and the few hours he wasn't either training or writing he was knee deep in work.
Harry almost felt bad for him, if not for the fact that he chose this for himself. It also didn't evoke pity in him when he saw the galleons slip out of a letter one day.
Letter's only arrived during breakfast and dinner and were usually carried by school owls or the owls of students. Therefore, it was surprising to many when what Harry recognized as a ministry owl dropped a letter in front of him and departed.
'Ah! It's finally here.' He thought, looking at his copy of the Daily Prophet. After he had come back from Germany, Harry had purchased a weekly subscription to the Daily Prophet, and now it was here.
Taking a sip of water, Harry read the first lines.
Dementors stationed at Hogwarts! Black still at large!
The water came blasting out of his mouth as those words sunk into him. Why in Merlin's name would they put something like dementors around a place full of children!? That was a horrible idea.
"Victor!" He nearly shouted, even though Victor was sitting right next to him. "Look at this!"
Victor glanced over, and upon reading the page let out a gasp.
"NO!" Victor shouted. Harry could agree, this was horrible. "They postponed the world cup next year!"
'Hah?" He thought. What was Victor looking at? Taking the page back and looking it over, Harry noticed a little section at the side dedicated to quidditch. Indeed, it did say that the world cup was postponed a week.
"That's not what matters." He said. At Victor's puzzled glance, Harry pointed at the picture of the Dementors.
"The ministry stationed dementors around a school! Aren't you the least bit concerned about the sanity of the minister?"
Victor looked confused. Was Harry missing something here? Dementors were one of the worst creatures in existence, and there was no none means of killing them.
"The ministry had full control of the dementors." Victor said, not the least bit concerned. "They aren't any real threat."
Harry begged to differ, from what he knew dementors were some of the most dark and vicious creatures out there. Harry preferred to stay away from terms like dark and light, but with Dementors they were very much on the 'dark' side.
Sighing and slumping back onto his seat, Harry finished reading the page in silence. Apparently, Sirius Black was spotted closer to Hogwarts. What could he possibly want to go there for? Why would he want to get closer to the creatures that had him captive for years?
Pushing the matter to the side, Harry headed to charms for a lecture on consecutive charm usage. It was quite interesting, learning about how one can weave multiple spells into a single chain.
While they were still technically independent spells, there affects could overlap. One example that caught Harry's focus was being able to combine a water summoning charm and adding a freezing charm to the end of it.
If used during a fight, one could shoot out water from their wands using Aguamenti (or Aqua Eructo). They would then attack then freezing charm to the tail end of the spell, and the water would freeze almost immediately after.
In effect, one could shoot water and then freeze whatever the water covered. It could prove a useful area covering spell.
Deciding the save that particular experiment for the next month, Harry made a mental note to revisit the matter.
Sitting down across from Elena in the library, the two sat in silence while reviewing for their respective classes.
"I was wondering." Harry began. "Just how much dark arts do you know?"
Elena looked up at him with a mixed reaction. It was like she didn't know whether to smile or sneer at his question.
"I've learned my fair share." She replied, before going back to writing. Harry wasn't finished though.
"Did your house elf teach you?" He continued. "Or did you learn them on your own?"
"Does it matter?" Elena spoke, starting to look agitated. "I know the spells; how does it matter where I learned them?"
Deciding that he should withhold his questions until she was more comfortable around him, Harry halted his line of questioning before he made her angry.
Moving away from the castle, Harry moved towards his regular practicing area. He hadn't been since the end of the previous school year but wanted to test his first chain charm group.
He was going to see if he could cast a strong Aguamenti spell and then follow up with a freezing spell weaved in at the end. The tricky part was making sure that both spells were cast properly, while having their effects overlap.
"Augamenti" He said, watching as water came bursting out of his wand. Aiming at a tree, Harry watched as it was drenched in water. Taking a deep breath as the water continued to flow, Harry spoke the freezing spell.
"Glacius." He watched as the last drop of water leaving his wand froze and continued on until all the water that had been summoned had been turned to ice.
The tree that Harry had been aiming at now was partially encased in ice. It was kind of cool. It probably wouldn't unfreeze for quite some time.
Admiring his work on the tree, Harry turned to leave and ran chest first into a piece of ice.
'Forgot about that.' He thought. He was so focused on the tree that he forgot about the ice that had just left his wand when he cast the freezing spell. This meant that there was a ice line extending from the tree to the right where Harry stood.
Walking around his summoned ice, Harry made his way back to the castle. Content with the way this particular experiment played out, he thought about the potential uses for such combinations.
While freezing summoned water in a near instant had its uses, the ramifications of using chain spells was much greater.
One could combine a multitude of spells to create a devastating cascade of destruction. Or, one could use chain spells to weave helpful enchantments, whether it be for potions, transfiguration, or many of the other subjects.
Making his way back to the castle, Harry had someone he needed to talk to.
Walking into professor Emsorth's study, Harry noticed his charms professor reviewing papers.
"Ah, Mr. Potter." He began, setting his quill to the side. "What can I do for you now?"
"Professor, I had a question on my mind for some time." Harry answered. "Some of the stuff taught here, it could be very useful in the wizarding world. But I have never seen some of these methods in the in public, even when they could be very helpful."
"Ah, yes." Emsorth began. "That is a very simple question. You see, many of the students go out and join the ministries or any other affiliated group."
"They are idiots." HE continued. "The best students who graduate from Durmstrang are the ones who forge their own path, with hanging on to any other organization for power."
Silent, Harry thought it over. So, was his professor saying that he shouldn't get involved in any politics? Or any group related to a political organization?
"But then how does one get recognized?" He questioned further.
"truly great witches and wizards don't need anyone to hold them up." Emsorth answered. He stood up and walked around the desk.
Walking past Harry, he started to walk towards the exit of the study.
"You are not the best student I have taught, Mr. Potter." Emsorth said. "I have had students with the potential the change the world."
He fell silent as he opened the door and walked out. Harry followed, curious about the point his teacher was trying to make.
"There are witches and wizards, though few." He began again. "Who put the likes of the so-called Voldemort to shame."
From what Harry understood, Voldemort was one of the greatest dark lords of all time, and certainly one of the best duelers ever. If anyone could top him than they should be well known.
"Then why haven't I ever heard of them?" He questioned. Emsorth cracked a smile.
"The best witches and wizards, are the ones who nobody knows about." Turning and heading back in the direction of his classroom, Emsorth turned in the doorway and looked back at Harry.
"Some of the strongest witches and wizards can go through their whole lives without anyone knowing their power." He said.
"But you are not one of those people, are you? Mr. Potter?" He finished, closing the door.
Standing in the now empty hallway, Harry took a moment to reflect on what he was told. How can someone become great without any help?
All the ministries are built off the cooperation of many witches and wizards, and occasionally other magical creatures too. None of them could survive with just one person.
Even the strongest dark lords have needed followers in order to spread their goals and ideas. They wouldn't be able to put up a strong fight by themselves.
Thinking this over, Harry felt a noise from his stomach. Looking down, he realized that he probably needed dinner. Heading in the direction of the dining hall, a lingering unease about what professor Emsorth had told him remained.
Elena was giving him a headache. Apparently, she had gotten in a fight with a first-year student who she cursed soundly. That first year had an older brother, who was currently in the process of plotting revenge.
Harry hadn't even known what was happening until he saw Elena getting cursed on the ground, in the middle of one hallway by a student.
About to interfere, Harry noticed two other students in the back watching. It was too late to back out, as the three had already noticed him and turned their wands in his direction."
"Not this time." The boy cursing Elena spoke. "We heard about what you did last year to that other student. The one who was paying this girl back for what she did."
"This time." He continued, not moving his wand. "We will give her what she deserves."
Harry had to think fast about what to do. He wasn't going to leave Elena, she was putting up a brave face but looked to be on the verge of tears. Taking a deep breath, Harry decided to take one for the team.
"Leave her alone this time." He spoke. "And if she does anything again, it's on me."
Dead silence. Nobody speaks after that, with the three students staring at him as if he had grown a second head. They glanced at each other, before turning back to face him.
Harry saw confusion on their face. Wondering why standing up for his friend could unbalance them such, he was interrupted as the boy who cursed Elena spoke.
"You'll stand for her?" He said. After nodding his head, the three lowered their wands, but noticeable kept them out and began to back up.
"Alright, if she does anything." The same one who cursed Elena spoke. "Then it's on you."
Watching as the three moved away, Harry went to Elena's side once they turned the corner.
Sighing, he realized that the full extent of her injuring was of his capabilities to heal. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the surrounding skin was blackened. Her skin was pale, and she appeared to be shivering uncontrollably.
Sighing, Harry levitated her with his wand and made his way to the hospital wing.
It was three hours later when Elena finally woke up. Having a strong desire to speak to her after she awakened, Harry opted to sit down with a book and wait.
Once she finally woke up, Harry set down his book as Elena groggily wiped her eyes.
"You can't keep doing this." He began. Elena turned to face him, clarity entering her eyes.
"You can't keep cursing someone jut for the sake of cursing them." He continued. If she continued this kind of behavior in the real world she would be in Azkaban in no time.
"Society locks away people like you, the ones who are always fighting." He finished. While waiting he debated which way to approach the matter.
Her behavior couldn't continue, not like this anyway. It was just which path to take in telling her that. Deciding to start with a fear approach and then finishing with support, Harry continued his lecture.
"How would you like to spend the rest of your life surrounded by sol sucking monsters, until your only release is death?" He said. Elena seemed to sink beneath the covers somewhat. Hoping that this was a sign that he was getting to her, Harry continued.
"They lock people up for less than attacking others, do you think they will have any reservations against sending you to prison?" He spoke, wanting to drive this home. "You need to find other outputs for your anger than attacking people."
She was silent for a minute. Then two. And then three minutes where she didn't say anything. Letting out a disappointed sigh, Harry tried his second approach.
"You're my responsibility now." He said. "If you do anything to anyone else, it's on me now."
"You shouldn't have done that." She said, staring at him.
"Your right." His response silenced her. "But I did, and now we have to live with it."
Getting up and starting to walk out, Harry stopped halfway to the door and turned to face Elena once more.
"You're not crazy. Your angry. You need an outlet for that anger other than hurting others." And with that, Harry turned and departed, leaving a silent hospital wing.
Harry was right. Victor's girlfriend who gave him the creeps finally proved him right. Victor had just returned from his latest quidditch win. He had been overjoyed about his victory and was throwing himself a party.
Harry wondered at what kind of person could throw themselves a party. Deciding to attend in bemusement, he was surprised when he noticed a large number of younger students and some older year students also attending.
Apparently, during the middle of the party Victor's girlfriend Leila Elgen tried to dose him with a love potion. To be more specific it was Amortentia, the strongest love potion in the world.
Harry had to give it to Victor though. Evers since he arrived at Durmstrang, he had taken to testing all his food and drinks with a multitude of spells in order to check for foul play.
It was therefore shocking to Harry when Victor drank a glass of vodka without testing it. He was further surprised to see Victor develop a massive smile and turn to face Leila. Putting a rough picture of what was going on, Harry got out his wand.
He didn't know at the time that Victor was dosed with a love potion, but he could clearly see that something was wrong with his friend. Deciding to intervene, Harry took a step in Victor's direction.
But it was unnecessary. As Victor was about to give her a kiss, he whipped out his wand and sent her into the wall. She crashed and fell over and was clearly not about to get back up.
'Huh?!" Harry thought, watching as everything ground to a halt. Victor stunned her for good measure, and levitated her out of the room they were in. Before leaving, Victor glanced back.
"Sorry everyone, I will be back soon." And with that Victor left, girlfriends' body in tow.
'Or should I say former girlfriend.' Harry thought amused. From what he knew, and the little Victor told him Leila was no longer attending Durmstrang.
The news had spread by the next day, and it was surprising the many that Victor now held some power over the other students.
Perhaps it was due to his friends growing international publicity, and that his reputation was more important than the attendance of an unimportant student.
The point was, Victor got someone expelled. And that made people more cautious of him. Which made them somewhat more cautious of Harry as a result.
He still had one question though. If Victor drank from the infected glass, how had he not succumbed to its effects? His question was answered by Victor himself the following day.
"Victor." Harry started. "When you drank from the glass, how were you not overcome with the love potions effects?"
Victor stopped consuming the meat on his plate and let out a laugh that sounded half amused and half snarky.
"For quidditch we have to maintain a certain image." He explained. "It would reflect poorly on the team if I was involved in a love potion scandal. So, we train to avoid such issues."
So, Victor was taught how resist love potions? Was that even possible?
"I didn't overcome the love potion." Victor said, as if reading hi thoughts. "I was able to discreetly test the glass, and then applied the counter spell to the potion."
Harry stared at Victor in a whole new light. Did his friend really manage to test and nullify his drink without him or anyone else noticing? If so, then that deserved recognition.
"How did you learn to check drinks that quickly?" He asked Victor, genuinely curious.
"Hours upon hours of practice. Honestly, if the quidditch wasn't so good I would have backed out during the training. Its brutal."
'I guess motivation is really the best stimulus for learning.' Harry thought wryly. Here was a guy who couldn't even get the bubblehead charm the previous year.
Now, he was learning how to quickly test and counteract powerful love potions (and who knows what else) without anyone even noticing. That was an improvement, no question about it.
Harry smiled, glad that Victor was continuing to advance in subjects other than quidditch, even If they were limited.
Elena took his message to heart. Somewhat. She now decided it would be better to curse him than other people.
None of the spells she used were malicious, at least not entirely. Although after one particularly long time vomiting purple slime out of his mouth, Harry had enough.
"Will you cut it out!" He spoke, finding Elena in the library studying for transfiguration. He was quite tired of always looking behind his back or into his food.
Harry even got Victor to give him a few pointers about how to check one's food and drink for poison and curses, high as his paranoia became.
"I don't know what you mean." She replied, giving the worst possible innocent look Harry had ever seen. It almost made him feel amused. Almost.
"I am sick and tired of you flinging spells at me left and right." He said, half pleading.
'How has it come to this?' He thought pathetically. He was really boxed into a corner here. It was better that he be cursed than have Elena attack some other random students and have retaliation.
But he knew that he couldn't take this forever, and he could only respond with light spell and jinxes for so long.
Maybe…..maybe he could try guilting her to stop attacking him? He would have to assume that they have become close enough to try such a tactic. Deciding to give it a try, Harry let out a sigh.
"I guess you hate me then?" He said, trying to make his voice as miserable as possible. Elena's face twitched slightly, but she made no response.
"If you didn't want me around, you could have just asked." Deciding to hammer in the nail, he turned and prepared to leave.
"I won't bother you anymore." He said, turning and leaving the library at a brisk pace.
He didn't have to walk far, as Elena caught up to him soon after he left.
"Wait!" She said, but Harry just kept walking.
"Stop!"
"No!"
"I'm sorry!"
Those words brought Harry to a complete stop. Did he really just invoke an apology out of Elena? He had no time to ponder this magical development, as Elena crashed into him.
Both toppling to the ground, Harry almost couldn't help but smile. Almost.
"I'll stop." She said. Harry couldn't hold it in anymore, he burst out laughing. Elena looked at him as if he were insane, before realization dawned in her eyes.
"You didn't." She whispered. Her eyes became slits, and she glared at Harry while reaching for her wand.
Needing to act fast before she cursed him, Harry reached out his hand and lightly grabbed hers. He stared at her for a moment, before chucking.
"You already promised." Elena looked pissed, and grudgingly lowered her hand.
"Come on, let's go for a walk." He told her, moving in the direction of the front gate.
Before leaving, Harry made sure to apply warming charms to the both of them. It was very cold outside, with the water being either being frozen into ice or snowing down.
Exiting the castle, the two walked a distance. Elena seemed uncertain for some reason, which prompted Harry's curiosity.
"How many times have you left the castle?" Asking her seemed to shake her from her trepidation.
"A few times." She replied, crossing her arms and staring ahead. That was a clear tell sign that she was lying. Usually she didn't give such signs, but she was apparently off kilter today.
"Try again." Harry told her. They walked in silence without any answer's forthcoming, for a while.
"Except when I portkey in, I have never been outside here." She whispered. So that explained the slight agitation, it would certainly unnerve someone as twitchy as Elena if she was outside in an unfamiliar place for the first time.
Harry decided to show her his favorite place. Arriving, Harry noticed that the tree that he had frozen partially shut was still partially encased in ice. It was dead though, fancy that. A clearly dead tree surrounded by clearly alive and flourishing trees.
"This is where I practice spells that are too dangerous for the castle." He told her. They stood around for a moment before Elena gave a slight shiver. Even with the warming charm applied, the cold still permeated the air.
'What do you expect from Siberia?' Harry thought dryly. The two continued a way, until arriving in an area that Harry still remembered.
It was here the previous year that several students practiced fiendfyre and died. Unlike the other area's in the forest though, this place bore a clear distinction.
The ground was completely blackened, and it had considerably less snow than other parts. The tree's surrounding the area were all blackened or missing parts, with some holes indicating several trees were simply consumed by the flames.
Staring at the scene in morbid recollection, Harry almost didn't notice Elena walk beside him.
"What was it like?" She asked, voice tinged with slight curiosity. He thought for a while, and summed up the whole experience with a single sentence.
"It was horrifying." He answered. The two stood in silence, and the wind breezed through them almost as if ignoring their warming charms.
"Let's go back." Elena said, almost as if asking a question. Harry nodded, and the two began their walk back to the castle. Before entering though, Elena turned to look at him.
"I guess I'll stop cursing you…too much." She added quickly. Letting out a small smile, Harry admitted he would take what he could get.
'Now time for a little revenge.' He thought. Before she could move on, Harry grabbed her in a light hug. Unlike before, she didn't flinch away but just kind of went still.
'Well, progress is progress.' Moving on before Elena could compose herself again Harry spent the rest of his day hiding in a corner, reading a book about charms.
The quarter point of the year was approaching. Everything was progressing smoothly. Victor was on the verge of his third quidditch game. Harry hoped the best for him in that regard.
Elena had calmed down somewhat. She was still semi hostile but was no longer sending vomiting or entrail expelling curses at anyone.
From what he heard from rumors. Victor's former girlfriend was now working at some back-alley vendor shop.
'I guess what goes around comes around.' He thought.
Classes continued to go well. Harry was interested in getting out again and working on aqua eructo. He resolved to get that started sometime before Christmas.
Also, on the matter of charms Harry had managed to get his first chain spell involving three different spells.
Although he had already completed the spell from a theoretical standpoint, it was still necessary to test the spell. He would do that in the following week.