Chapter 10; Impractical Magic

After tea and a short nap, Harry and Remus were once again in the ballroom, this time accompanied by Charlus' painting. All through their meal Charlus had complained about being left out of their important work. His irritation wasn't helped when Harry attempted to spell-o-tape his mouth shut after a half hour or near constant whining. It didn't work of course, but both Harry and Remus were holding their sides in laughter as the painted figure danced back and forth inside his frame trying to avoid Harry's questing hands.

Harry didn't really have a part to play in charging the stones, but he was interested nonetheless. He hovered around Remus as the older man prepared to cast the spell, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. Harry found the entire idea fascinating. The art of artificing, or imbuing non-magical objects with magical properties, was a new concept to him. From his reading he had discovered that it differed from enchanting which only conveyed a magical effect on an object. Wizard's portraits were artifices, as was the famous Hogwart's sorting hat. Those items had their own unique magic and artificer's were also able to convey a form of sentient intelligence to the objects of their craft.

As Remus began to charge the next diamond, Harry picked up one of the other diamonds from the table. Engorged as it was, it was surprisingly heavy. He wondered if he would ever gain enough control over his erratic magic to perform these kinds of spells. He was tired of being useless. If he had been a better wizard, he was sure he could have saved Tippy from her horrible fate.

As his thoughts drifted to his deceased friend, he felt a surge of emotions fill him. Feelings of love, loyalty and protectiveness overcame him until he felt he would drown in their pervasive strength. Harry shut his eyes against the onslaught and tried to calm his thoughts. They would not obey. Opening his eyes again he immediately noticed that he had slipped into mage-sight. Looking around him, he noticed that there were quite a few items in the room that carried the soft glow that indicated latent magic. Charlus' painting gave off a faint but unmistakable aura and Remus and the gem he was imbuing fairly burned with bright intensity. What really surprised him, however, was that his own hands were also giving off a bright, radiant light.

If Harry had been in full control of his mind and senses, he might have been truly shocked. Wizard's magic did not normally emanate from their hands. As it was, he was too absorbed in the inexplicable emotions that flowed like a torrent in his fevered mind. The power, whatever it was, had not abated. It was aching to be used. Without conscious thought, Harry pushed the magic out of his glowing hands and into the diamond. Like a firework, the stone virtually exploded with a fountain of white-hot light. At the same time, Harry felt it draining away from him. It was a curious sensation. It was satisfying, like scratching an itch, but at the same time left him wanting more. Harry scrambled to his feet and grabbed up another diamond from the table. Seconds later it too took on a radiant glow.

Charlus' portrait was apparently startled out of his study of Remus' spellwork by the sudden light bursting from the other side of the table. Looking at his nephew holding a glowing stone in his hands, he was was irritated at the youth's casual handling.

"Here now!" he exclaimed. "Don't you know better than to rub another man's rhubarb? You could hurt yourself. Or even worse, you could hurt me. Put that down, this instant!"

Harry didn't obey. He hadn't even seemed to hear his protestations. Charlus was about to let him have it again, when the boy set down the glowing diamond and snatched another one from the table. Charlus was shocked beyond belief when it too began to glow fiercely.

"Harry! What are you doing?" he cried. "Stop that. Harry! HARRY!"

But Harry didn't stop. He couldn't. Whatever force or power had Harry in its grip wouldn't rest until it had completed its purpose. In the blink of an eye, Harry grabbed up another, then another gem and soon the whole collection took on the same wondrous glow.

It was at this point that Remus completed his spell. Nearly spent from the exertion, he turned to see what all the commotion was about. He looked from Charlus to Harry just as Harry had grabbed up the last diamond. His mind boggled while he watched Harry charge the gem. What he was seeing was impossible. Not only was Harry performing magic far beyond his years, he was wandless! If that realization startled him, he was nearly floored when he noticed the three other obviously charged diamonds laying scattered on the table behind him.

When he recovered his wits, he rushed to Harry's side. Harry was unresponsive as he stood gazing into the gem's glowing depths. Calling his name also had no effect. Finally, he grabbed Harry by the shoulders and shook him.

"Harry! Snap out it!" he yelled.

Harry looked up, blinking owlishly at him behind his spectacles. "Remus? What's wrong?" He looked around. "I guess your finished then?" he asked sluggishly.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked incredulously. "What's wrong, Harry? Look down at your hands."

Harry looked down. His mage-sight had left him but he could still see the unmistakable glow from the diamond. He looked up at Remus with a sheepish expression. "Oh yeah, right. Pretty neat, huh?"

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

The discovery of Harry's remarkable talent was the sole topic of discussion around the house for the next several days. Neither Remus or Charlus could explain it. Harry was amused at first by their confusion, but later became irritated as they discussed him as if he were not even there. He was more than happy that he had solid proof that his magic hadn't abandoned him. He was also thrilled that he could accomplish what Remus obviously could not. Not only had he managed to imbue the diamonds, but he hadn't felt the weariness that followed Remus afterwards. If anything, he felt rather refreshed. And he had done four of them! He felt his accomplishment should be celebrated, not nitpicked to death!

Finally, Remus and Charlus came to the conclusion that his ability had been a product of the botched Deepening ritual. They couldn't understand the how or why of it, but they were determined to find out. First, Remus taught himself the diagnostic charm that Harry had learned. It took him less than an hour. Harry was a little put out that he had picked up the charm so quickly, but put it aside. The man was a full-grown wizard, after all, and was bound to pick up things quicker than a six year old child.

After he had mastered the charm, Remus had Harry stand in the middle of the room as the charm was cast on him. Both Remus and Charlus were astounded at what they found. Harry's core had indeed expanded and stabilized during the ritual. However, what they found was that it was unbounded. Remus explained that it existed, as any core would, in the center of Harry's chest. To Remus, it appeared to be a bright blue-white ball of slowly rotating energy. But instead of a being constrained, it expanded outward to cover Harry's entire body. It was more concentrated at his core and somewhat faded in the rest of his body. To say that Remus was speechless was an understatement. He stood mute for two whole minutes before Harry and Charlus could get him to respond and explain his findings.

Nothing they had ever read or heard described this as even remotely possible. Harry remembered seeing a similar effect in Tippy, but she hadn't had a core at all. They asked Harry to recall everything he could about what he experienced during the ritual. Both Harry and Remus were a little uncomfortable with their memories of that evening, but Harry complied. He explained to them his thoughts during the ritual and about the surge of foreign emotions he had felt at the end. He did his best with halting words, to explain the depth and power of these shifting emotions. Remus became more and more agitated as Harry described the feelings of rage and vengeance he had felt, but calmed down considerably when he described his experience with the unicorn and his unwitting healing of both it and Remus' wounds. Neither of them knew that Harry had performed such healing magics and both of them were somewhat agog at the implications. They asked him to describe, in agonizing detail, exactly how he felt before and after he had performed the magic.

"This is incredible!" Remus exclaimed when Harry finished his explanation.

"So, you know what happened to the boy?" Charlus asked.

"Not precisely, no. But I have a few ideas. Wait a minute!" Remus said, darting off into the kitchen.

"Do you have any idea what he's on about?" Harry asked the painting.

"Not the foggiest." Charlus replied. "You?"

"Nope. I think he's off his nut. I might have broke him. You reckon?" Harry replied.

Before Charlus could answer, Remus ran back in and dropped a book on the table. Harry immediately recognized his copy of Harvest and Plenty. Remus threw himself into his seat and immediately began thumbing through the pages. When he found what he wanted, he began to read. After a few minutes he pointed his hand at the words.

"Here it is! When I first found out about the ritual you were performing, I was curious. I never had much experience with this kind of magic and I wanted to see what you were attempting. When you told us your story, I remembered a passage from the book." Remus said in one uninterrupted breath.

"And?" Charlus asked indignantly.

"Remember the description of the druid who attempted the ritual and was interrupted by a raven flying into the circle?"

"Yes," Harry answered.

"I think that either Pippy, the unicorn or I must have interrupted your circle, Harry. You're magic must have been corrupted!"

"Corrupted?" Harry asked, a frown forming on his face. "What do you mean, corrupted?"

"Just that. I think your magic must have taken on some of the aspects of whatever creature breached the circle. In the druid's case, he took on the hunger that the raven possessed. This ritual imprints largely on the will of the foci. It would explain your emotional swings and the changes in your magic!" Remus explained.

"But the book didn't say anything about the druid's magic being affected." Charlus said. "Just his hunger for unicorn blood. What about that?"

Remus was undeterred. "But you see, hunger is probably the most potent aspect of a raven's personality, so that is what corrupted the caster's intent in the spell. But in Harry's case, the creatures involved were much different. When Harry first explained his feelings of rage, I was sure that I was the one to interrupt the ritual. I'm very familiar with those feelings myself while in my werewolf form." Remus explained with a growing frown on his face.

"So. You think I'm a w..w..werewolf?" Harry stuttered fearfully.

"What?" Remus exclaimed looking over at a frightened Harry. Remus immediately patted the boy on the shoulder. "No, of course not! Lycanthropy cannot be passed on that way. It's not merely a function of magic. There has to be an exchange of blood."

Harry sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin! You had me scared there for a minute."

Remus smiled in understanding. "I understand, believe me."

"So what happened to the boy, then?" Charlus asked.

"I was just getting to that. Like I said, when I first heard about Harry's rage, I was convinced that he had picked up on the werewolf's intent. It's strength too, if my memory is not very much mistaken."

Harry winced, remembering his reaction to Remus in the clearing.

"But when I heard about his feelings of love and protectiveness, I knew that couldn't be the case. Such feelings are quite different from anything I experience while in werewolf form. His healing, too, was completely different. I'm guessing that it was the unicorn that interrupted the ritual. Healing is one of their lesser known powers and they can be fierce, too." Remus said.

Harry just shook his head. So much of what Remus said made sense. His emotional swings and the healing had certainly been indicative that the unicorn may have influenced his ritual. But, Harry knew there was more. He had felt the unicorn's magic in that clearing. Now that he thought about it, he could clearly identify in his mind the instances where he had felt its influence. At the same time, there were other presences that were completely different from what he felt from her. The rage, for instance, could never be confused with the unicorn's goodly presence. Thinking harder about Remus' explanation, Harry could also identify at least one other feeling that seemed different from the other two. The feelings of love and protectiveness he had felt first in the clearing could have come from the unicorn, but Harry didn't think so. The feelings he remembered felt different….more personal, somehow. That was the best he could describe it. He had felt something similar when he had charged the stones. It hadn't felt like the unicorn's presence at all.

"Could more than one creature have influenced the ritual?" Harry asked.

Remus looked doubtfully at Harry. "I suppose," he said. "But the chances are slim. That one such event occurred beggars explanation, but two….I don't think so. Why do you ask?" Remus replied.

Harry explained his reasoning and Remus could find no fault with it. That's not to say he was convinced, but he didn't write it off, either. Harry was glad. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was right. Somehow he had acquired attributes from Tippy, the unicorn and Remus that night. It was the only explanation that fit. It pleased him in a way. Not the werewolf's involvement or even the unicorn's, although the healing skill was pretty neat, but Tippy's. It meant he would always carry a piece of her with him. In a way, she had never really died, at all.

The next few days were extremely busy for Harry and Remus. With the gemstones fully charged, they set about measuring their discharge rate. After that it was a relatively simple matter to calculate the precise placement the stones would need to create the null field. Harry still understood very little of the calculations but watched and questioned Remus as he worked and was able to learn a little of the art. Next, he and Remus built supports for the diamonds. Five of the diamonds would be placed at the pentacles of a five pointed star that had to be sized to precise measurements. After that, one stone was placed above the construction, while one sat underneath. The person or persons who stood within the shielded area would have to stand on a platform that stood exactly three and 1/16 feet off from the floor. When they had completed the project it would create a perfectly spherical null field. The only thing left to do was inscribe the glyph on the diamonds, but Harry and Remus decided to wait to finish that step. As soon as it was done, the diamonds would activate. They wanted to find a safe area, well away from the Manor's wards, before the undertook that crucial step.

In the evenings, Harry and Remus (with Charlus' sometimes helpful commentary) tried to access Harry's magic. Several hours' frustration later, Harry was still unable to use his wand. Remus' wand worked no better. As best they could figure it, Harry's lack of a distinct core prohibited him from wand use. In some ways, Harry's magic was more similar to a magical creature than a typical wizard. Harry was not pleased about that, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Remus speculated that Harry might be able to get better results from a wand with a sympathetic core, like unicorn tail hairs, but without such a wand, it was only a guess. They also tried to consciously access the wandless magic that he had previously displayed.

This was also a quite frustrating process for Harry. They had tried everything they could think of, with no effect. Remus had even gone so far as to cut himself, in hopes that Harry would somehow manifest the power to heal, but all he gotten from the experiment was a bloody hand.

They theorized that the magic was emotionally driven, which made a lot of sense. Underage wizards, for instance, often performed accidental magic in moments of high emotion. Many magical creatures also gained strength from the power of their emotions. Werewolves had their rage and territoriality, phoenix's had magical tears. They had no idea if house elves performed emotion based magic, but they both knew them to be highly emotional creatures. It stood to reason that other creatures would have similar responses. Even some of the more powerful spells that wizards could cast were driven by emotions. The Patronus Charm, and the Cruciatus and killing curses were just a few examples. Obviously, the dark curses were not something that could or should be experimented with. Both Harry and Remus agreed that the darker side of Harry's emotional surges were best left alone, at least for the time being. But, the Patronus Charm seemed like a likely candidate to try to experiment with.

As the charm was driven by happy memories, Harry tried his best to dredge up his happiest memories and see if they illicited any sort of emotional response. He had many happy memories in his young life. His happiest times were the games that Harry and Tippy had played at some pretended adventure in the forest or reading stories around the hearth. Harry had no trouble focusing on those times and indeed his heart was filled with joy as he remembered those fond times. But all those memories also came with a bitter note as he couldn't help but think of all he had lost with Tippy's death.

Try as he did, none of those memories elicited any sort of response from Harry's magic. He tried to cast the spell, both with his wand and without, to no success. Remus wasn't sure if his wandless abilities would require an incantation be used or if Harry should just visualize the effect he wanted.

Remus conjured his own Patroni, which took the shape of an ephemeral wolf, for Harry to study. Seeing it didn't do anything to help Harry focus on happy memories. It only brought up further thoughts of Tippy's unhappy end. Remus felt bad for Harry and for his unwitting role in his troubles. He wanted to discuss Harry's thoughts and feelings on the matter, especially as they impacted his emotional state, but Harry didn't want to talk about it. Remus suggested Charlus as a possible outlet, but Harry could just imagine how such a conversation would go. Probably end in Charlus telling Harry to 'grow a pair' or something equally helpful. All in all, Harry was quite frustrated.

At length, they decided that Harry's magic was reactive and more instinctual than directed. What this meant, as near as Harry could tell, was that he was screwed. Remus recommended that Harry keep a record of every time his power manifested itself, making sure to note the situation and thoughts that had he had experienced at the time. Remus felt that if they could understand what triggered the events, then they could try to duplicate them. Remus also resolved to visit some of the second-hand shops in Diagon Alley and try to locate a unicorn hair wand for Harry to experiment with.

On a more positive note, the null field apparatus was coming along nicely. The diamonds proved to be well matched and they could find no barriers to successful deployment. Remus had scouted locations nearby that would be suitable to give it a test run. Godric's Hollow had a significant enough magical population that any spells cast in the countryside would not raise any eyebrows at the Ministry. After some extensive legwork on Remus' part, they located a small farm on the outskirts of town that would be ideal.

When the time came for the test, Harry had to throw a bit of a tantrum to get permission from his two self-appointed guardians to witness the event. Neither of them was very sympathetic to his arguments, but went along just to shut him up. Harry was thrilled. For him, any excuse to get out of the Manor was a good one. But, as the one who had made the discovery, Harry felt he had a vested interest in its outcome.

In preparation, Harry had created wardstones similar to the ones he had used before. These would help to conceal their presence from anyone wandering by. Harry dragged these and the support braces down to the lawn so that Remus could shrink them down for transport.

The test went off without a hitch. Remus had apparated Harry and their gear to the clearing and Harry had set the apparatus up according to the specifications. In the meantime, Remus had circumscribed the area with the wardstones and had also cast anti-apparation and anti-portkey jinxes to the area. While they weren't nearly as strong as the wards surrounding Azkaban, they would still demonstrate if the null field could bypass the protections.

When they had completed their preparations, Harry removed himself from the area that would be effected by the null field. The field itself would only draw magic from an area of about a twenty square meters. Remus had the difficult part of the exercise. He used his wand to inscribe each stone with the inversed glyph. When every stone was marked he stood in the center. To Harry's eye there was no immediate effect.

Focusing on his mage-sight, which came easier to Harry after extended use, he studied the field. He couldn't detect any emanations from the stones, but he did see a curious haze that surrounded the apparatus and grew thicker as it neared the apparatus. The stones themselves were almost completely obscured by the fog. Harry could only guess that what he was seeing was the negative presence of magic. His ponderings were interrupted by Remus' raised voice.

"What do you see, Harry?" he asked.

"I think it's working. The area is all hazy and I can't see any kind of aura, at all." Harry replied.

"Makes sense, I guess." Remus replied after a moment's thought. "The author hadn't had any mage-sight, so we really know what it's supposed to look like. Okay. Commencing test."

Following his words, Remus readied his wand and cast a levitation charm on one of the stones. The spell left his wand normally, but as it neared the stone it winked out of existence. Otherwise, it had no effect at all. Next, Remus took a small rock from his pocket. With a flick of his wand, he banished the rock toward a spot that was equidistant from two of the diamonds. Just like the levitation spell, the rock travelled rapidly in the direction it was aimed, but as soon as it reached the field it quickly lost momentum and fell to the ground. This proved that the field was working as advertised. It also proved that it had no real affect of the composition of material objects, only the magic that was effecting them. It also proved that it was possible to cast spells within the center of the field.

Having completed the early trials, Remus proceeded with the last and most crucial step in the test; apparition. The book had claimed that a null field would allow for apparition within a warded area, but it was one thing to read it and another to risk life and limb based on its testimony. Initially, Harry was skeptical that it would work. He reasoned that even if you apparate within the protected center of a field, you would still have to cross the boundary where the spell would be nullified. Remus had explained that apparition, unlike portkeys, did not travel through space but instead transferred from one space to another. When Harry was still confused, he explained that if one were to attempt to apparate into a warded area, the ward would not prevent the apparition, but would prevent the person from arriving inside the ward. The result would be the redirection of the energy to the nearest unwarded area, probably resulting in a splinching. Portkeys, on the other hand, travelled across the space that connected the origination and terminus of the travel area. Because it created a spacial link between locations, it couldn't be initiated into a warded area. The explanation did little to clear up the confusion in Harry's mind, but he was content to trust in the knowledge of the more experienced wizard.

When he was ready to make the attempt, Remus took a moment to prepare himself. Taking a deep breath, he twirled in place, disappearing from the center and immediately appearing next to Harry in the clearing.

"You did it!" Harry exclaimed with a huge grin.

"It would seem so." Remus replied patting himself down to check for any missing parts. Satisfied, he returned Harry's grin.

"How did it feel?" Harry asked.

"Just the same as always. I don't think the field had any affect, at all."

"Wow. Just….wow." Harry said.

"I know. This is an enormous breakthrough. I can't imagine why this isn't more widely known. I can think of so many applications. I'm guessing that it must have been surpressed by the Ministry. It would be typical of them to try to keep this kind of thing from the public."

"Probably not too keen on the whole ward-breaking thing." Harry replied.

"Yeah. But still. Almost any spell has illegal uses. To suppress an entire field of study just to prevent a few bad actors…" Remus said.

"Like us, you mean?" Harry replied with a grin.

"Even so. It still seems like they're being a little short-sighted." Remus sighed.

"They're a bunch of bloody plonkers, is what they are." Harry said, slapping Remus on the arm.

Remus smiled back at him, enjoying the moment of camaraderie with his best friend's son. So much of the time, his interactions with Harry were tainted by Harry's obvious discomfort around him. Remus tried hard not to let it bother him. He was well used to the feeling. He hoped and prayed Harry would eventually overcome those feelings, but he was still grateful for the brief reprieve.

"So, what's next?" Harry asked.

"Next we wait for the field to dissipate. I've set up a timer to see how long it lasts. As soon as the diamond's are fully charged from the ambient magic, the field will collapse. Then we disassemble it and hide it somewhere nearby." Remus replied.

"And then?" Harry prompted.

Remus' grin faded as he considered the question. "And then we pay a visit to an old friend."

"Adventure and mayhem?" Harry asked with an all to familiar gleam in his eye. It was a look that Remus was had seem many times on Harry's father's face. The look filled his heart with bitter-sweet memories and something else; a feeling that he had half forgotten in his long years of guilt and isolation….hope.

"It seems to be in order, don't you think?" Remus answered.

"Uncle Charlus will be so proud…"