By the time his private lesson with Professor Dumbledore rolled around that night, Harry was ready for the weekend, though most unfortunately, it was only Wednesday. Things had started off well in Defense Against the Dark Arts, kept on okay in Care of Magical Creatures (Hagrid had taken Harry aside after their class and apologized effusively for the fwoopers), and then turned abruptly and completely sour in Potions, which was a double.
Snape seemed determined to prove that Harry didn't belong in N.E.W.T. Potions, and though he'd performed adequately (with Hermione's help) in Monday's lesson, he had a much harder time today. Snape had hovered around his table for much of the class, and Hermione was unable to help him directly, though she had kicked him under the table whenever he was about to ruin the Veritaserum. Malfoy had twice tried to throw something in Harry's cauldron; only his Seeker's reflexes had allowed him to catch the objects before they contaminated his potion. Harry knew that Snape had seen what was going on, but the Potions master's only reaction was to give another unpleasant smirk to Harry, as though daring him to retaliate.
When the class was finally over, Snape said from the front of the room, "Your potion should now be the pure clear color of Veritaserum. Though it may look finished, it will have to cure for two weeks before you begin the final process of activating the truth magic within it. In the interim, we will be studying in depth the theory of potions. This will require diligence and a considerable measure of intelligence, as the magical laws underlying potion-making are subtle and complex. I suspect some of you will not be sitting here by the end of the year." He said this last portion with a glance at Harry, who forced down his temper with difficulty.
"Be prepared to take a great deal of notes on Friday," he said ominously, then dismissed him.
When they had gotten out of the dungeons, Harry turned to Hermione and said, "Thanks for the help."
Hermione just shook her head. "I don't know how you do it, Harry. I can't imagine why he hates you so much that he'd let Malfoy get away with deliberate sabotage."
Harry didn't say anything, but he had never forgotten what he'd seen in the Pensieve, nor had he forgotten the rage on Snape's face as he'd dragged Harry out of the memory and thrown him out of the classroom. If that was only a portion of the abuse Snape had been subject to... He shook his head. Whatever his father had done to Snape or Snape to his father, it had been in the past, and certainly wasn't an excuse for the man's behavior.
At ten minutes to eight that night, he bade farewell to Ron and Hermione, and headed out of the Gryffindor common room for his first lesson with Dumbledore. The corridors were nearly deserted, though Peeves attempted to delay him by suddenly turning up with a large sack of flour to dump on his head. When he made it to the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office, Harry said "Blood Pops." The gargoyle jumped aside to reveal the moving staircase up to Dumbledore's office. He got on. At the top of the stairs, he was about to use the golden griffin knocker on the door when he heard voices.
"We don't know what he's doing with them," came a familiar voice. It was Professor Vance. Harry leaned closer. What was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor doing with Dumbledore, and what was he talking about? "So far, over fifty of them have been confirmed abducted, and there hasn't been a word in the Prophet about it."
"Why should there be?" came Dumbledore's voice. "The Daily Prophet has little interest in what is going on in the Muggle world." There was a sound like a sigh. "Once again, they ignore the signs of danger."
"I don't suppose you have any theories as to what Voldemort wants with a bunch of Muggles, do you, Headmaster?"
"I have many theories, Darius," said Dumbledore heavily, "and none of them are pleasant." There was the scraping of a chair on the stone floor as someone got up.
"I'll keep an eye out for any more kidnappings," said Professor Vance. "Good night, Headmaster."
"Good night, Darius," Dumbledore replied.
Harry jumped back as the door opened, not wanting Professor Vance to know that he'd been listening. "Potter," said the professor in greeting, and nodded to Harry as he walked past, not showing any surprise at Harry's presence.
"Come in, Harry," came Dumbledore's voice, and Harry walked into his office. Dumbledore was smiling benevolently at him. "Sorry to leave you waiting, but Professor Vance had urgent news for me."
"What's going on with Voldemort, sir?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself. Dumbledore sighed, though it didn't sound irritated, more resigned, and the smile fell away from his face to be replaced by one of vague sadness.
"I told myself that I would not keep any more information from you, Harry," said Dumbledore. "But though I intend to keep that promise, it is still difficult for me to accept that I must bring the horrors of war to yet another person, especially one so young." He raised his hand to forestall Harry's protest. "That was not a slur upon your courage, Harry; after all I've seen you do, I could not ever doubt that. But despite that, you are still only sixteen. I have seen two Wizarding wars, and I have seen what they do to people." For just a moment, Dumbledore looked his age of a century and a half, but then his face cleared somewhat. "I must impress upon you, however, the importance of keeping this information secret. I would ask that you do not share this information with anyone but your closest confidants. I'm sure that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger will be circumspect with what I will reveal to you. I will also warn you that I will not give you any names or any specifics, as your Occlumency is not yet strong enough to fend off a complete attack from Voldemort."
Harry leaned forward in his chair. Finally, he was going to learn what was going on with the war against Voldemort! He could even understand Dumbledore's reluctance to give him all the details, though he hoped at some point that he would be able to hear all of it. Another reason to improve his Occlumency.
Dumbledore sat back and surveyed Harry through his half-moon spectacles. "The most important thing, Harry, is to not get upset by what you are hearing. Yes, you may be the only one who can destroy the Dark Lord, but that is no reason to go haring off unprepared to force an early end. I fear that will only bring your death and darkness to the world for a long time to come." He looked at Harry sternly. "Guilt is a powerful emotion, Harry, and I don't want it to overcome your better judgment. So please, when I tell you of what has been happening in the second war, try not to blame yourself.
"Since the battle at the Department of Mysteries revealed him to the Wizarding community at large, Voldemort has seen no need to restrain himself in the name of secrecy. Though all of the homes of important Ministry officials are well-protected by powerful wards and members of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, Voldemort is a very powerful and very talented wizard, and has made some progress in dispelling the wards. Once the wards are down, as well-trained as the Department personnel are, they are no match for Voldemort and his most powerful Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood—they are very powerful wizards, and no Ministry official save for the Aurors would have much of a chance to defeat them in a duel. We have already lost some important members of the Ministry hierarchy to assassination by Death Eaters. We were quite fortunate that Amelia Bones was able to kill Hephaestus Rackham and badly injure Lysander Travers and escape. But the new Head of the Department for International Magical Cooperation and her two Auror bodyguards were killed, and the Head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has fallen off the face of the earth."
"You mean he's disappeared, sir?"
Dumbledore winced. "No, I mean he's fallen off the face of the earth."
Harry blanched at that, then recovered himself. "But what is Voldemort doing, sir? I...I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard Professor Vance mention something about the abduction of Muggles."
Dumbledore merely nodded. "Over fifty Muggles have gone missing in the last two weeks alone. The Muggle government has no idea where they've all gone, or who's taken them."
"But you do, sir?"
"Of course, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Voldemort has taken them. There is no doubt about that. What baffles me is what he could possibly want with them."
"What about the soul bindings?" asked Harry, remembering what Dumbledore had told him in the forest during the summer.
"Perhaps," said Dumbledore, sounding doubtful. "But remember how Voldemort feels about Muggles and half-bloods—I daresay that he would find the very idea of binding Muggle souls to his abhorrent. At the moment, though, Voldemort is sticking to the same tactics he was using in the last war. Random killings, dementor attacks, vampire attacks, and so on are starting to make people very worried, and the Ministry is, quite honestly, not much better off then they were last year when they had no idea what was going on. At least then, the Order could operate without the risk of Ministry interference. Now, Fudge is beginning to make moves towards drafting any able, qualified wizard or witch into the fight against Voldemort, which would obviously include any given member of the Order."
"A draft?" gasped Harry. He'd never heard of such a thing in the Wizarding world before. Muggle world, yes, he'd had basic history lessons in primary school. But a draft of all "able" adults would turn the Wizarding world upside down.
"Fortunately, the response Fudge received from the focus groups he formed was universally negative—I believe he was hexed twice for even suggesting such a thing. But the fact that he would even put such an idea on the table is something I find very troubling."
"What is the Order doing?" asked Harry. Now that Dumbledore had agreed to include him, he wanted to find out all he could. "I mean, all last year, you had them guarding me, or recruiting, or trying to spread the word that Voldemort was back. But now that he's finally declared himself, what are they doing now?"
Dumbledore sighed. "I can't tell you all the particulars, Harry, but we are still recruiting. Other members are now guarding places that we feel would be vulnerable but the Ministry has not taken action to protect. Some are attempting to discover the whereabouts of Voldemort's headquarters, and others are keeping tabs on known Death Eaters. I really can't discuss much more, but understand, dear boy, that it is not from lack of trust, but from the necessity of protecting the members of the Order. If Voldemort were to again gain access to your mind and see any more detailed information, it could be disastrous."
"I understand, Professor," said Harry, and he did this time.
"Now," said Dumbledore, "that is the gist of what is going on with the war. Let us move on to the lesson, shall we? Do you have any questions about what we are going to do here?"
"I do, sir," said Harry. "Are you going to teach me how to duel like you and Voldemort did at the Ministry?"
Dumbledore smiled down at him. "Perhaps you feel that you will have to duel with Voldemort in order to kill him?" he said, twinkling. "Well, that is certainly a possibility, so to that end, I've asked Professor Vance to give you one-on-one dueling lessons. I think you will find him to be a more than satisfactory teacher—he is an excellent duelist. Professor Vance will discuss those lessons with you in your next Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Your lessons with me, though I will introduce a few useful spells to you from time to time, will mostly focus on how to remove Voldemort's protections against death and ultimately, kill him without the use of the Killing Curse. I will also be teaching you some advanced magic not usually taught to Hogwarts students, but not until later in the term. We will also continue practicing Occlumency, for it is more vital than ever that you learn to close your mind to Voldemort. If he learns just how much I suspect he has done, then things will go very badly."
"How can I do that, Professor?" Harry asked, remembering the night in the Forbidden Forest where despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to do more with the Killing Curse than blacken a few blades of grass. "How can I kill Voldemort without the Killing Curse?"
"There are certainly other curses and spells that can kill with the proper application," said Dumbledore. "The Detonator Curse can easily be deadly if aimed at the proper part of the body. The Severing Curse, if cast with enough power, can remove limbs, and the Fracturing Hex can shatter bones. Then again, we can Conjure heavy objects to fall on our enemies, or Vanish the ground beneath them."
"But you don't think these will work against Voldemort," said Harry.
"Unfortunately, no," said Dumbledore gravely. "His skill as a duelist is far too great for that. You'll remember back in the Ministry when he and I dueled—neither of us was able to harm the other, despite the spells that we were casting."
"So then how am I supposed to kill him? And what's the good of learning these spells if they won't be good enough to kill him?" demanded Harry, starting to feel frustrated. All Dumbledore had told him was that everything Harry had thought of to kill the Dark Lord would probably not work, and he wanted to know more than that.
Dumbledore surveyed him over the tops of his half-moon spectacles. "Well, the good of them is that even if you can't out-duel Voldemort, you will still, in all likelihood, be forced to deal with at least some of his Death Eaters. And as for killing, I will be perfectly honest. I don't know how you will kill him at the moment, Harry, though I have several promising lines of inquiry. For example, I have some very important information on soul binding to share with you."
"I've been meaning to ask something about that, actually," said Harry. He had thought of this while lying in bed the previous night, and the thought had chilled him. "What if Voldemort has bound more than one soul to his own? Does that mean that his body will have to be destroyed for each one?"
"I honestly do not know," said Dumbledore, and his expression was grim. "I have also considered this possibility, though in all my research, I have never seen any references to more than one soul being bound. It is a very rare, very Dark form of magic that even evil wizards have trouble performing. Even Grindelwald, dark and nearly as dangerous as Voldemort, never used the soul bond, though he was never interested in living forever, just in accumulating as much power as he could while he lived. If Voldemort has bound more than one soul to his own, then, yes, it is entirely possible that we will have to remove them one by one. This does bring us to the first bit of good news I've had in this area, however. There is mention of an ancient spell, one that can force a bound soul to go beyond, though unfortunately, I haven't been able to discover anything but its name—the Requiem Charm."
"So I have to learn how to perform this...Requiem Charm in order to defeat Voldemort?" asked Harry, feeling surprised. That seemed fairly simple.
"It's not nearly as easy as it sounds, Harry," cautioned Dumbledore. "First, we must find out exactly how many souls he has bound to his own. Then, we must find out how to cast this Requiem Charm, and it is possible that the means to do so have been lost in the mists of time. And even if we manage to do both these things, we still have to find Voldemort, defeat or incapacitate his Death Eaters—because, I assure you, Harry, he will not hesitate to call them to his aid—and overcome his resistance in order to use the spell against him. This, of course, assumes that there are no other complications—I could be mistaken about how Voldemort prevented the rebounded curse from killing him, or that the Requiem Charm is anything more than just a myth, or that he finds out what we are doing. Make no mistake, Harry, this is a long, dark road that we have in front of us, and I must apologize again for not making this clear earlier. We will speak of this later, for you now know as much as I do about Voldemort's soul bindings. Let us move on to Occlumency. Have you been practicing?"
"I have, sir," said Harry, and this time, it was the truth. Somehow, disappointing Dumbledore seemed infinitely worse than infuriating Snape. Not to mention he'd personally experienced the consequences of not learning it. "I've been trying to clear my mind every night before I go to bed, and I could feel Professor Vance's probing in class on Monday, and at the start-of-term feast."
"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore, his lips forming a wry smile. "Perhaps I should have him give you a few pointers on Legilimency; he's quite skilled at it for someone his age. He also is a bit lax when it comes to his Occlumency studies. Close your eyes, and clear your mind. Do you remember the techniques I suggested in the Forest?"
"Yes, sir," said Harry, already focusing his mind's eye on the blank gray wall. His eyes were closed, and he tried his best to keep his thoughts on the wall. It wasn't easy, but the nights of practice between the night in the Forest and now had paid off, and he was able to keep any spare thoughts from drifting across his consciousness.
"Excellent," said Dumbledore, and the Headmaster's voice sounded slightly muffled again, the way it had in the Forest. "I will now try again to break into your mind, using more force this time. Get ready...Legilimens!"
Dumbledore's spell was much more powerful this time, and Harry felt his head start to ache as he felt the indescribably bizarre sensation of Dumbledore's mind battering against his own. After a short time, Dumbledore broke through, and an image of Dolores Umbridge leering at him as he wrote I must not tell lies in his own blood floated in front of his eyes. As soon as this happened, the Headmaster pulled out of Harry's mind, and Harry opened his eyes, feeling disappointed in himself. The progress he had made suddenly seemed all for naught. Dumbledore had broken through in about thirty seconds, and Harry had been putting up as good a fight as he could.
Dumbledore seemed to pick up on this, for he smiled at Harry, and said, "Don't get discouraged, Harry. Occlumency is something that requires considerable study for one to gain proficiency. You have only been properly studying the discipline for a handful of months, and you have shown considerable promise. I think I will conduct a little experiment. I am now going to probe you as subtly and as gently as I can, and I want you to tell me if you can detect me. Keep your eyes open this time."
Harry nodded, feeling a little better. He looked at Dumbledore and again focused on the blank wall, and waited for the Headmaster to begin. Nothing happened. After a little while, nothing continued to happen. He and Dumbledore were just staring intently into each other's eyes. He cleared his throat, wondering if Dumbledore had somehow fallen asleep with his eyes open and wand raised.
Dumbledore gave a tiny shake as though awakening from a trance. "Did you feel anything?" he asked.
"You were probing me?" Harry gasped, not believing it. "I didn't feel a thing, or see any memories at all."
"Well, not to worry," said Dumbledore. "Your ability to discern even slight probing will improve with time, and as your mental barrier gets stronger, it will also block even probing you don't feel. For the next few lessons, we will concentrate on improving your Occlumency. Let's try again, and I'll be stronger." Again, Harry and Dumbledore started staring at each other over the desk; Harry tried to keep his mind blank, focused on the perfectly plain gray wall, and this time, he had the strangest feeling of...something. The feeling was quite indescribable, but it was definitely there, like the minute buzzing of a fly in a silent room, just barely noticeable. The best he could describe it was as a sort of pressure on his head.
Suddenly the buzzing lifted, and Dumbledore came out of his trance. He grinned at Dumbledore. "I felt it that time, Professor, just barely, but I felt it!"
"Well done, Harry. We'll try this particular exercise again in the future and try to increase your sensitivity. Don't get too confident; this will require a lot of practice. What you felt was considerably stronger than how I was probing you before, but don't get discouraged either, this is a very promising start. I want to to keep trying to blank your mind before you sleep."
Harry nodded.
"And finally, we must discuss what happened in Diagon Alley with Dolores Umbridge."
Harry scowled. He couldn't help it. Dumbledore did not seem offended by the scowl; in fact, he smiled a bit wryly as he saw Harry's reaction. "There's not much to discuss," he said shortly, trying not to be rude. "She attacked me, I fought back, and better. Though Tonks had really good timing when she showed up."
"Remus Lupin told me that you had seen Lucius Malfoy place her under the Imperius Curse." Dumbledore said, and his bright blue gaze gave Harry the not-unfamiliar feeling that he was being X-rayed.
"Well, yeah," Harry admitted. "But Malfoy did tell her to try and get me out of school, and having to testify at her trial would do that, wouldn't it?"
"You are quite right Harry," said Dumbledore. "I myself have considered this. But keep in mind also, if she goes free because you failed to testify, and furthermore, remains under the Imperius Curse, she would continue to be a great danger. Imprisoned in Azkaban, out of the reach of the Death Eaters, she can do little but sulk. Assuming of course, she is found guilty, and Fudge doesn't immediately commute her sentence. And you haven't even been subpoenaed by the Ministry yet. They may have gotten enough witnesses from the crowd that you are unneeded."
"But she attacked me, didn't she?" said Harry, a little bitterly. "And Fudge would love to see if he could get me in trouble somehow."
"All perfectly true. Fortunately, some of our...contacts in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement are sympathetic. Amelia Bones is a dear friend of mine, and she has promised to speak to Cornelius about this incident, though of course she cannot guarantee anything. I won't lie to you, Harry, it is likely that you will be called to give testimony. Naturally, I have a plan for such an eventuality. In the case that you are summoned, you will be escorted personally to the Ministry by Professor Vance, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nymphadora Tonks. Also, please keep in mind that since I have been reinstated as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I will be presiding over the trial. Believe me, Harry, when I say that even if you have to leave the safety of Hogwarts, you will be very well protected. I cannot tell you that nothing will happen, but I have carefully arranged your route to the Ministry."
Harry nodded, feeling relieved, but he couldn't shake the feeling he had that something was going to happen at the trial. He tried to soothe those fears by reminding himself that Voldemort wouldn't dare threaten the Ministry when Dumbledore and several Aurors were there. Kingsley was well known among Aurors (according to Tonks, anyway) for being able to throw his men at ridiculous odds and somehow get them out again. Professor Vance was supposed to be one of the best Aurors currently working for the Ministry, and Harry was quite sure that Tonks was more than capable of looking after herself, near-terminal clumsiness or not. It worked a little bit, though there was something about the whole situation that was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up a little. He'd just have to be careful.
"Goodness, look at the time!" said Dumbledore, breaking into Harry's thoughts. The Headmaster was looking at his immensely complicated pocket watch in apparent surprise. "Best be off to bed, Harry, before Mr. Filch catches you out of bounds. I've kept you later than I intended. Remember to practice your Occlumency exercises every night. Good night, Harry."
"Good night, Professor," said Harry. He rose to leave, then turned on his heel to face the Headmaster again. He'd promised Hermione that he would tell Dumbledore about the incidents with wandless magic at the Burrow and on the train. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I forgot something."
"What is it?" asked Dumbledore, looking perfectly attentive.
Harry took a deep breath."Over the summer, I was practicing a spell, and I made the wand movement with my finger. I cast the spell doing that, though it wasn't full strength—it was a lightning spell, but it just made a spark. Hermione convinced me to try to cast a Stunner wandlessly, and she said that my hand glowed red for a second. And then," he said, somewhat hesitant about telling Dumbledore about the incident with Malfoy on the train, "I hit Draco Malfoy with a Battering Curse on the train and I cast it through one of Fred and George Weasley's trick wands, and I didn't say the incantation then, either. Burned out the wand, though." He hoped that a reprimand was not forthcoming, but regardless of whether or not one was, he still felt that Malfoy had deserved what he'd got.
Dumbledore had steepled his fingers and was looking intently at Harry. "That's very interesting," he said at length. "A young wizard's magic increases in potency for a few years after he begins at Hogwarts—you'll notice that spells you once struggled with become easier and easier to cast as you get older—but that increase generally ceases by fourth or, in some cases, fifth year, with the full onset of puberty. I see yours, on the other hand, has continued to increase. It is not unprecedented; my own power continued to increase until a year after I had left Hogwarts; I believe that Tom Riddle's did the same. Other students gained power up until their sixth or seventh years. But performing wandless magic is an uncommon ability, particularly in someone your age. I would keep this quiet, Harry," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "I will be sure to mention it to Professor Vance, however, and I'll see if he has any experience. Some of the Aurors learn to cast at least two or three simple spells wandlessly—it means that if they're Disarmed, they still have some way to defend themselves. Of course," he added, "this could be a manifestation of strong emotion, similar to accidental magic in young wizards. Am I correct in assuming that young Mr. Malfoy had done something to provoke your wrath?"
"Yeah," said Harry, a bit sheepishly. "But Ron didn't do anything," he added quickly. "The first time it happened, I was just sitting in the Burrow."
"Most interesting," said Dumbledore. "Well, I shall certainly let Professor Vance know. I must say that I'm not entirely surprised by this development—you have the potential to be a very powerful wizard, Harry."
"If you don't mind my asking, Professor, who else can do wandless magic?"
"Well, I can; I believe you've seen me perform spells without a wand. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape are also capable of it. I believe that Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Professor Vance, and perhaps Kingsley Shacklebolt are all capable of it, to some degree, and I'm sure that there are others whom I've forgotten."
"And Voldemort?" Harry asked apprehensively. If Voldemort could cast spells without a wand, then the twin cores would not necessarily protect him.
"Unfortunately, I know perfectly well that he can," said Dumbledore. "I have seen it for myself. But don't get too worked up over it, Harry," he added, as Harry swallowed hard. "It is much easier to cast a spell with a wand than without, even for those of use who can cast wandlessly. It is also well nigh impossible to cast a complicated spell—a wand provides both a focus for your attention and a channel that concentrates your inner magic and magnifies it. I do not believe that Voldemort will be casting wandless Killing Curses at you. And if that is truly all you wish to discuss—though I am not averse to anything else you may have on your mind—then I wish you a good night."
"Good night, Professor," Harry replied, then rose from the chair and headed back down the revolving staircase. He had no idea what time it was, though the halls were deserted, which meant that he needed to get back to Gryffindor Tower quickly, before Filch or Mrs. Norris found him. He felt reasonably confident that Dumbledore would be able to smooth things out, but that didn't mean he had any desire to listen to Filch's wheezing threats.
Harry managed to make it back to Gryffindor Tower without incident, though he'd taken some secret passages just to be on the safe side.
Ron and Hermione were waiting up in the common room when he got back. As he walked in, he realized how late it was—the room was nearly empty. Harry spotted Ron and Hermione at one of the tables in the corner, where they were sitting quietly and talking. Since they had started going out, there really hadn't been much change in their relationship with each other or with Harry, except they didn't fight nearly as much, and were generally more polite with each other than they used to be.
He walked over to them and told them about his lesson with Dumbledore, what he'd learned about Voldemort's soul bonds, and about the trial of Umbridge.
"You're taking lessons from Vance?" Ron said, sounding envious. "Wicked! Let me know some of the curses he teaches you!"
"This soul bond idea is really frightening," said Hermione, who predictably had set her mind on the complicated magic. "I need to go down to the library this weekend anyway; I'll see what I can find about it down there."
"I'm not sure you'll find anything at all about them in the library," Harry told her. "Even Dumbledore doesn't know much about them, and he told me that most of the information on them is lost."
She looked very disappointed at that.
"So when d'you begin your lessons with Vance?" Ron asked, obviously not too worried about how Voldemort had made himself immortal, and how Harry was going to kill him.
"Dunno," said Harry. "Dumbledore said that he'd talk to me in the next Defense class."
"Did you tell Dumbledore about your wandless magic?" Hermione asked, obviously having gotten over her disappointment that the library was likely to be of no help.
"Yeah, I did," said Harry. "Dumbledore said that being able to do it is an uncommon ability, but not unheard of. He's gonna have Vance work with me on it. He said it could just be a higher level of accidental magic, since I was really mad at Malfoy when I hexed him on the train."
"That's entirely possible," said Hermione thoughtfully. "But you weren't mad at Ron when you shocked him at the Burrow, were you?"
Harry shook his head. "I told Dumbledore that, too, and he seemed more interested." He didn't mention what Dumbledore had told him about its rarity at his age.
"Could you teach us how to do it?" she asked excitedly. Harry smiled.
"If I can even learn how to do it, I'll try."
"Thanks, Harry!" she said, looking more excited than ever. Ron gave Harry a look over her head that spoke volumes.
"Great. More things to study," he muttered.
