Within mere three months, Harry learned actual, real spells, and quite a few of them at that. He felt very powerful, and had hardly had so much fun in all his life so far. Perhaps that was due to having his first true friend firmly by his side, or by his arm as it were (that was the snake's favorite place).
- What's your name? - he asked the snake once.
It looked at him a bit coldly, saying: - I don't need a name.
That was it, though he tried to explain how it was customary for people to give names to the animals ("other beings") they liked. The snake was skeptical. - Shouldn't you rather practice some more? - It asked slyly.
Harry cast a string of his favorite fireballs, red, orange, yellowish and bright green, followed by a rain spell (a veil of raindrops inside the room). He was good with the elements, especially fire and water.
- Do you know that mages usually cast spells in a form of the Latin language? - The snake wondered thoughtfully.
- Never heard that. Please mind that you are my only link to the magical world.
The snake hissed proudly. Harry smiled. - I know some things about the Romans, though, hope that would be helpful.
- It might be. Romans were originally of our world, mages. The patricians were, anyway. They invented most of the modern spells. Of course, they were altered during the Middle Ages. By the way, a dark period in our history. Muggles burnt mages and their own folk alike, for not following the Christian church.
Harry frowned and exclaimed, - That's terrible.
- So it was. Well, you'd better recount what you've learned so far, - the snake changed the topic delicately.
Harry sighed thoughtfully.
- Fireball, some more elemental spells, no lightning though, it needs more power than I currently possess, - he sometimes spoke in Shakespearean English, just a bit. - Locking spell, unlocking spell, sphere of light, a spell to shroud the room in darkness, carving and cutting spell, stabbing spell… - He was getting quite proficient in that one, incidentally.
- Would you like to learn the spell to lift anti-apparition wards? - the snake enquired softly.
- Anti-apparition? Against ghosts?
- Not quite. The spell to remove protection against instant traveling (we call it apparition). Wizards apparate as an ordinary way of commuting. So sometimes a need arises to protect one's property. The school you will likely attend has an anti-apparition ward all over its territory.
- What school would that be?
- Hogwarts, the British school of witchcraft and wizardry. It's quite prestigious. I might just come with you there; I've heard they have a big forest.
- That's great! - Harry smiled like a normal six-year-old. He might be a wizard, but he was also a kid; a kid who had one true friend, and that friend was a snake.
- Yes. So, anti-apparition; I have just the place in mind for that. Follow my lead. As far as apparition itself goes, you are still too young, it's very dangerous. You might just lose a piece of yourself. But defence against charms like that is in order.
Listening to the excited hissing, Harry left his perfect hiding place and went outside. He crossed the road, went into the forest, and by midday stood in front of an old mansion. He looked around in awe. - A true wizarding house!
A small boy, thin and with dark hair, stood in the gardens.
- Hello. What are you doing in my home?
- Oh, hi! My name is Harry. I'm actually here with my friend, this beautiful snake. - The snake hissed in pleasure.
- That's so cool! I'm Theodore, and you're welcome here… I guess. Would you like to come in to have some tea with me?
- Oh, definitely! - Harry smiled and entered the house. So that was the place with the anti-apparition wards. The house had tall beautiful halls of white stone, very unusual. Silver lamps with small candles decorated the walls.
- Let's go to the library, - Theodore said. Harry was excited.
There were all sorts of books there, some of them apparently on Dark magic. He was vividly interested in all he could see. Then a tall man came out of the depth of the library.
- Father, this is Harry, - Nott said carefully.
- Can it be? Harry Potter? What are you doing here, boy?
Harry winced. These same words were often used by his uncle, along with the expletive "boy".
- I'm sorry, sir. I just followed the guidance of my friend snake here.
- Oh? - Nott looked genuinely surprised. - So you can communicate with your snake. It's an unusual and rare gift. But ask it, how does it know of our house?
Harry did so, and the snake replied, - my brothers and sisters told me. They were summoned here by the Dark Lord. - Harry grew a little pale; he felt some strange ball of fear whenever he heard of the Dark Lord. He then proceeded to tell Mr. Nott of the reasons for his presence.
Apparently, he was welcome in the Nott household and could stay in their library as long as he liked. That was… unexpected. Harry was used to rejection. And here he was treated like an equal, like an adult and a powerful - or at least promising - wizard.
- So, anti-apparition, - started the snake. - Technically you need a license to apparate, but we'll try to do that here using a distance of one yard. And first, you'll have to lift the ward. Try concentrating your power and hissing at it.
Harry did so, pushing his hands aside as if moving an invisible wall. - Anti-anti-apparition, - he hissed with a slight desperation. He didn't believe he was powerful enough. Then he felt some invisible barrier lift. And just like that, he was able to apparate. It worked on his first attempt, as well. Then the ward moved in again.
Harry spent a lot of time in the Nott library. The Dursleys were tolerable now; they decided that he found some way to vent his freakishness and even supported him when he missed dinners at his old home.
The library was enormous. He started studying and even found an old text-book on elemental magic. It started with different grades of fireball. Harry learnt and practiced them all. Then he started to expand his knowledge in Dark magic, and learnt that many common use spells are actually Dark, and most are of mixed nature. The only truly light spell might have been Patronus, an advanced protection charm Harry had no desire to tackle yet.
He also befriended Theodore, who was a true wizard raised in a magical family. They promised each other to study at the same faculty in Hogwarts. And that would likely be Slytherin.
And Harry spent several years following the same routine, but it was never boring. He learned a lot and even started a small book of his own dedicated to old Roman spells. He wrote it in Parselscript.
Life was good…