A/N: So, I'm not dead. Sorry this update is super late. My inspiration has this horrible and frustrating habit of going through long lapses. Apparently, all it takes is a Jack 'n Coke to get the ideas moving. Who knew, right? On the bright side, I've nearly doubled the chapter length and I'm pretty happy with the chapter in general. Thanks to all the readers who've reviewed and followed this fic, even with my spotty updates. I truly appreciate it!

Please enjoy and happy reading.

Onyx Feloric

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The entirety of the room was bare, all furniture long since vanished since he sat on the floor. Only the massive fireplace remained, flames absent leaving it empty and dark. Despite that, the room was hot and so Harry sat, torso bare. A thin layer of sweat covered his chest and small drops slid over the planes of his skin. He'd discovered the windows were only illusion, illuminating the stone room with conjured daylight, making his fear of broken glass disappear. His magic, after all, had the tendency to become wild at times.

Harry breathed calmly, letting go of his physical body and explored his magic. Inside him, his power pulsed lazily, expanding outward from the very center of his body. He'd started hours ago, but his mind still felt fresh and sharp. The only sign of his exertion showed through the heat of the room. It wasn't unbearable, at least to him, but he knew that others would feel its effects greater than he could. His magic was his and couldn't truly hurt him.

He was Magilus.

The Potions Master had been relentlessly searching, looking for any clue or document that would give them guidance. As of yet, the dour man had yet to produce anything of true value, but Harry had faith as he delved further into himself. Magilus existed as a rarity in history and little was written of them but for vague references of power and strength. He already knew that though. Harry knew now of the power that lay inside him, waiting only for the chance to move.

Professor Snape had tasked him with searching for the core of his magic, the very origin of his power. Unknown by many, Harry had already done so. Months ago, by complete accident, he'd found it while recovering from a broken arm courtesy of his dear cousin. Lying on his bed, surrounded in a perpetual haze of pain, he'd slipped into himself and discovered the core of his power. Since that moment, things had changed. Now he knew that it was most likely his magic preparing him for what was to come, but it had been a blessing. So, while he knew how to find it, his current problem lay in that he could not do so now.

He'd been at it for days, spending hours looking inside himself, traveling down well-worn paths looking for the center of his magic. Harry could feel it spreading through him, expanding from the very center of his himself, but he couldn't see it. Even if he made his way down to the very beginning, it was absent, as if it didn't exist.

The young Magilus felt a drop of sweat slide down the middle of his back, running down his spine, over the black inked into his skin. From that alone, he knew he needed to stop. The Potions Master would be due soon to share what he'd discovered for the day and the room would need to be at some sort of bearable level. Just as he opened his eyes, he heard a gasp.

He froze. All around him, lights had been dancing, playing in the tangles of his hair. Greens and whites and blacks twining around his body, moving the air and creating a light breeze. It all stopped and he turned his head, his magic already in line with his intent. The Potions Master would never emit a sound such as that, too much pride to admit such an emotion. When his eyes looked upon the entrance to the professors chambers, he felt an entirely new tension.

Ron.

Hermione.

Harry felt the bareness of his torso acutely. They had never seen him like this, nor had he intended them to. He stood slowly and gave a hesitant smile, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Hey."

Hermione was shocked, she couldn't deny it. She'd never seen this side of her friend, but that one gesture, a hand mussing up his wild hair further spurned her forward, flinging herself into his arms. She ignored the sweat clinging to him and the warmth itching under the collar of her shirt. He was alright. "You're okay." It was spoken softly, the sound of tears in her voice.

Harry smiled and buried his face into her curly hair. "Yeah, I am."

Ron looked on, a wide grin on his face. "Good to see ya, mate." He patted his friend on the shoulder as Hermione pulled away with suspicious wet tracks on her face. "Thought we lost you for a minute."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry."

Hermione wiped the tracks away. "Don't be ridiculous. How could you have known what was happening? How could anyone have? There hasn't been a Magilus for, for centuries!"

"I know." Harry's face darkened a fraction and the air chilled slightly. "But I could have told someone that something was wrong." He looked back at the Potions Master.

Severus stood by the door, staying out of their little Gryffindor reunion. Since he'd woken up, the Potions Professor had been Harry's steadfast ally, doing all he could to help him. Everything he'd done, he'd done with a curbed temper and tongue. The fact that Hermione and Ron were here with him, allowed to share in the secret spoke volumes.

Ron's voice broke his gaze. "What was that?" He was rubbing his arms, gooseflesh broken out on his skin. "Did the temperature just drop?"

Harry grimaced for a moment and let his magic loose, warming the arm to a comfortable degree. "Sorry, that was me. Still trying to figure out how I work now."

Hermione's eyes brightened and Harry already knew he was about to be bombarded with questions. Questions he wasn't sure he could answer yet. Just as the brown-haired witch opened her mouth, Snape's smooth tones interrupted them. "Before Miss Granger gets carried away and takes all my time, we need to discuss my findings. Curfew is in a short while and I will not have two Gryffindors gallivanting in the halls after dark."

Harry let out a small sigh of relief, smiling at the man. "Yeah. We always have tomorrow, Hermione. Then you can question me to your heart's content."

Hermione huffed but nodded. "You're right, Professor. Harry's safety is more important than satisfying my curiosity."

Ron smiled down at his girlfriend. "I bet that hurt to say." Her elbow drew a grunt, but he continued smiling anyway.

Severus ignored them and threw a pointed look at Harry. "Please return the furniture. I have no desire to sit on the ground like a heathen."

The Magilus nodded and waved a hand. From out of nowhere, everything shimmered into view, settling harmlessly around them. Fire crackled softly in the hearth of the fireplace and two more chairs appeared than was normal in the room.

Ron stared around the room in awe, blinking at the sight. "Bloody hell..."

Harry scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm still not entirely sure I made them disappear in the first place. This room is pretty sentient." He sat down in a comfortable chair, pulling on the t-shirt that appeared in the air before him.

The Potions Master snorted, pulling a rolled up parchment from his robes. "Don't be foolish."

Hermione and Ron sat down, eagerly listening, trying to follow an obviously routine conversation.

"Half the time things happen before I consciously think it. You can't tell me that it's my magic doing the work for certain. I know that the castle's sentience is strong here." He gestured to the room around him. "All of this was here when I woke up, not what I needed."

Snape sighed. "Magilus do not need complete conscious direction for their magic. Yes, the furniture was here before you woke, but your mind has already accepted that. You do not need different furniture. What you need is a place to exercise your magic. Why do you think the windows are an illusion? The castle created a place for you to explore your power, not give you false illusions over its limitations."

Harry quieted.

"He is right, Harry." Hermione said quietly, hesitant to interrupt. "If you've been working on trying to control your power, the castle wouldn't hinder you."

Snape leaned back in the chair, watching how Harry's face brightened slightly at her words. He realized just how much influence his friends had over him. Though they were proving to be an aid to opening Harry up to how powerful he could be, he would have to be careful. The manifestation of his magic alone had issued warning. Eventually the Light would fail to overlook the darker nature his magic could become, especially against the Dark Lord. Even his friends could turn against him should the war turn down a darker path.

Severus took in the contemplative look on Harry's face. "Any power can be controlled, Potter. It is only a matter of embracing it and understanding it. Backing away from it and doubting in it-"

"-creates doubt in oneself." Harry finished his words. "I understand. Still, that much power at my fingertips." He held them up, small lights twirling around them, drawing gasps from his friends. "How is it truly possible?"
Severus shrugged elegantly. "That may never be known, but you must accept that it is truth."

Ron watched his friend, knowing enough of Harry to see his inner conflict. Power corrupted, he'd come to know that well. Most who desired power weren't truly capable of handling it and those who didn't sometimes couldn't either. "I know you can handle it, mate."

Ron's words were simple, but Harry felt warmth and sincerity coming from him. He nodded, dropping his hands and letting the lights fade away. Since waking up into this strange, new existence, he'd been hesitant. Hermione and Ron were familiar, and their belief in him made everything seem possible.

Severus unrolled the parchment in his hands, turning their conversation to the original purpose of his visit. "I assume you were continuing the task set forth two days ago?"

Harry nodded, but sighed, leaning against his hand. "My core isn't there."

A raised eyebrow spoke volumes.

"Look, I know where my core is, or was, and it's gone. There is nothing. I can feel my power spreading, pulsing from the same location, but I can't see it."

Severus pointed down at the parchment. "I found a document, not the Magilus journal, but another that speaks of an encounter with a being of magic. A being that embodied magic and was of it." He looked at Harry, locking their eyes. "It does not speak it by name, but he author insists that the being was magic in its most pure form."

Hermione frowned, wrinkling her nose slightly. "A being of pure magic? How could such a thing have corporeal form? Even the most involved rituals don't have an actual physical presence."

Ron punched Harry in the shoulder, drawing his gaze away from the Potions Master with a look of outrage.

"Hey!"

"See? This one has physical presence." Ron snickered and dodged a return punch from Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation and waved a hand at them, turning back to the professor, who stared blankly at them. "Obviously, Ron. Honestly." She shook her head. "You know what I mean though, right, Professor?"

"I do, Miss Granger." He sent a pointed glare at Harry, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Which is why I have had Mr. Potter search for his core."

The brown-haired witch brightened. "Then it would disprove that theory! If Harry has a magical core, even if it is larger than normal, he couldn't be a being of 'pure' magic. It would make sense that…"

Severus tuned the witch out, already knowing what she was theorizing. He watched Harry instead. The boy's green eyes roved quickly over the document, taking in all the knowledge far quicker than he had imagined. It seemed his theory was partially correct. His brain power and capacity had increased. He had no doubt that Harry would also remember it, able to access and apply it to any further subject he studied.

"…right, Professor Snape?"

"I have already thought of this, Miss Granger." His eyes were still on Potter. Severus had looked through document thoroughly, but he knew enough theory about Magilus to see that the boy would be able to make the connections he would not.

Hermione noticed quickly that the Potions Master wasn't listening and turned to follow his gaze. Harry's eyes had stopped, opened wide. Suddenly, the parchment floated to the ground, falling from limp fingers. "Harry?"

He couldn't believe it. There was the answer he'd been looking for, the reason why he couldn't see his core. It's not that it wasn't there…

"It's me." The words were whispered, almost too low to be heard.

"What, mate?"

"It's me." Harry looked at the professor as he spoke, fingers gripping tightly onto the arms of the chair. "I am the core."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're going to start getting into the true capabilities of the Magilus, the developing relationship between Harry and Severus, and how Harry's power will start effecting the outcome of war. Reviews, as always, are extremely welcome!