CHAPTER 18: Furious, Uncontrolled Magic.
For Harry Potter, the aftermath of Professor McGonnagle's confession was hard to take. His anger and bitterness about what both she and Dumbledore had done with him as a baby was seething around his mind like a tsunami; wave after wave of unbalanced, vengeful thoughts of how he could get his revenge. His anger at McGonnagle, though, was secondary to the hatred of that man. The man that had perpetrated on him the worst act of cruelty, of imposing his will on others to get his way, to inflict on him an upbringing that was the worst of its kind, beatings, starvation, slavery, servitude, imprisonment, denial of his rights as a child. That imposed on Harry no kind of a life at all. The man who had left him at Privet Drive, without any kind of check on his welfare, for ten years. The man who, by saying nothing, had condemned his Godfather to twelve years in Azkhaban, thus denying Harry and Sirius the chance of a much better life together.
Albus Dumbledore!
Harry was barely aware of the presence of Hermione sitting next to him on the bed. She said nothing, but continued to hold his hands, to have her shoulder to his, to just be there for him, if and when he needed someone. His magic was still pouring from him, coursing around the room, the dark combinations of colours of black, maroon, deep purples and blues swirling around the bed like a night-time storm, the bright sunlight from outside barely penetrating the gloom. However, there were no flying objects this time, nothing travelling at speed that could injure a person. Hermione hoped that this may have been the result of her being present, that Harry, even in his highly emotional state, would not risk hurting her, but she wouldn't bank on it. She felt she was safe enough where she was but would not risk walking anywhere within the room …. Just in case. Hermione's own magic gave her the signs that there was a greater agitation building up in Harry, an explosion waiting to go off. How could she defuse him, bring him back to some semblance of control? …. Too late ….
A huge surge of magical power burst from the young wizard, a surge of power so great it blew out the side wall of the bedroom, taking the window, frame and all, along with all the furniture and remaining ornaments that were in front of it, turning it into splinters and broken shards, the whole lot ending up as refuse in the garden. Some of the stonework flew yards out over the boundary wall. Hermione screamed in shock, pushing her head and as much of her body as she could behind Harry, but none of the debris came close to her. The air around her was crackling, visible bolts of light shooting through the dark magic, all emanating from Harry Potter. His eyes were a luminescent green, but a very dark pond green, in keeping with the dark aura that surrounded him. This lasted for only a few seconds before Harry slumped against her, unconscious.
"HARRY!" The scream from Hermione was strident and panic-stricken. The door to the bedroom flew open and the two McGonnagle witches were about to enter, but, even before Hermione could do anything or before the other witches could get through the door, there was a 'POP' and a small elf wearing assorted socks and an oversized Hogwarts vest tied round his middle with yellow and red cord appeared at the end of the bed.
"Dobby feel strange things from Harry Potter. Even without saying Dobby's name, Dobby feel Harry Potter need him."
Then Dobby noticed the damage to the building and his eyes went wide.
"Huh! This be like the Winging house! When the great Harry Potter was attacked by his bad muggle peoples, Harry Potter blew away walls and peoples together. I have to get Harry Potter away like last time!"
Dobby went to grab 'his great Harry Potter' but was prevented from doing so by Hermione blocking his way.
"No Dobby, no. Harry is still safe here. He … he is just disturbed and angry and …. And ill! He is ill in his head, Dobby! He needs help and there is a Healer here, but he needs someone else. He needs Sirius!" Then turning to the senior witch in desperation, she asked,
"Professor. Please, I need Sirius here. Harry needs him."
Professor McGonnagle was shocked by the demand from her favourite pupil. "Black! Why would you want him here? How can he help?"
"Professor, just his presence will help calm Harry. Even unconscious, he will just sense Sirius' presence. He is innocent, Professor! Black did not commit the crimes he was shoved into Azkhaban for. Please, Professor. He would want to be here. They only have each other left. Harry needs his godfather here."
The senior McGonnagle thought for only a few seconds, then asked,
"Does Black have a wand?"
"I am not sure, but yes, he could have. Professor Lupin may ha ….."
"Remus! Of course. He would have gotten Black a wand. Very well, Miss Granger. But I will be ready for Sirius when he appears. His actions will determine mine. But he must not know where this place is. He can be brought here without him having any knowledge of my home."
"Thank you, Professor, thank you." Then turning to the house elf, she said, "Dobby, go find Master Sirius. Wherever he is, bring him here. You heard the Professor, just bring him here. Do not tell him where. You understand?"
A nod and a "Yes, Harry Potter's Miss Grangy. Dobbie find Harry Potter's Dogfather. I go now!" and 'POP!' He was gone.
While all this was going on, McGonnagle the younger had gone straight to the bed and laying her hands to Harry's head and chest, was assessing his condition for the cause of his unconsciousness, but she was staring in amazement at the hole in the wall and the complete mess that was outside.
"Hermione, what happened?"
Her aunt answered the question for her.
"A massive pulse of very powerful magic from your young patient, I'm guessing. Is that correct, Miss Granger?"
"Yes, Professor. Harry has said nothing in the couple of minutes or so since you both left. He …. He …. He was .. it was like he was breathing out magic! It was pulsing off of him, getting more and more agitated. The dark colours in the room, swirling around and in and out of each other, building up speed like you wouldn't believe. His eyes were a smouldering rage, this deep, deep green colour, then suddenly all the rage in his magic just blasted through everything over there, the furniture, the window, the wall! I …. It was so incredible but so frightening."
Minerva nodded, accepting the explanation, then she spoke to her niece. "Meghan, how is he?"
"Well, believe it or not. No signs of ill health or any worsening in his condition over and above what injuries he already has. Just exhaustion and a bit of magical shock from whatever it was he launched at that wall. It is purely as a result of his magical state and the physical trauma that he has already gone through the last couple of days that has rendered him unconscious. His brain has just shut his body down to protect him. Give it a couple of hours or so and he will likely wake up."
She paused for a few seconds, looked back at Harry, then to Hermione still holding his uninjured side and hand, then Meghan addressed both the other witches.
"I have never witnessed anything like this before, not just the now two visible examples of Harry's magical power, but him! Harry! According to all the signs I am getting from him through my magic, his core level is huge, and I mean immense! But it is fluctuating inside him like a raging torrent, ebbing and flowing through his body. It's as if the magic has just been released inside of him and he does not know what to do with it. His core level has increased since I first examined him yesterday, but not just to the sort of level that would have equalised his usable magic to what it was before the attacks on him, but it has at least tripled! His power levels are off the charts. This is …. He is ….. extraordinary! …. I think that is why he is unconscious. Harry's brain is working at an incredible pace to try and catch up with his magic, to try and understand what has happened, so it has shut his body down, basically disabled the switches that make it work, till it can cope again. A magical safety valve, basically."
"Well, thank Merlin and Mr. Potter's brain for that safety valve or I would have to rebuild more than a bedroom wall! Miss Granger, I am assuming that you are unhurt?"
"Yes, professor. Not a mark, but my heart is still going at one hundred beats a minute, I think! All this power, Professor, where has it come from? I mean, Harry has been no slouch in the defensive magic side of his schooling, better than most in the school even at fourteen, as you know, the power required to produce his patronus proves that, but nothing on this scale. This is frightening magical power."
The old Hogwarts professor shook her head, then answered.
"That I cannot even hint at Miss Granger, I have no clue. I will conduct some tests on Harry to try and get to the bottom of this …. Phenomenon …. because that is what it is, but I cannot do so whilst Harry is unconscious and certainly not without his consent. Enough damage has been done to him against his will, I will certainly not be going down that route ever again. And besides, I would rather not be on the receiving end of another uncontrolled magical outburst as has happened twice, now. He is angry enough at me as it is, and rightfully so, without him waking up to find me doing some sort of unsolicited hocus-pocus on his person. I would prefer not to be joining the wall of my home smashed to bits in the garden. We shall bide our time. Meanwhile, a cup of tea, maybe something stronger to calm my rather shot nerves, then I shall fix the afore mentioned wall and window. I may even think about a nice set of French doors for in here. The view is lovely, and Mr Potter here has given me the hole to put them in! I have wanted to change the furniture and décor in here for years so now is the opportunity. A wee shopping trip may just be in the offing and that is something I have not indulged myself with for some time."
At that, McGonnagle turned around and headed for the kitchen.
-HJP & HJG-
As Meghan predicted, the mixed-up magic within Harry began to slow, the pulses lessened, his core stabilised, but at a magical level way above anything that Meghan could accurately measure. She was monitoring him every fifteen minutes, always with her left hand on his head, but the right was placed in different places, his chest, his stomach, his arms and legs, giving her an assortment of magical measurements which she could compare.
The magical core of a witch or wizard always emanates from an area that was slightly below and behind the heart, hidden behind the breastbone, not easily accessible to a witch having to do magic with her hands and no wand. She could not 'pull' the core levels out with a spell, she had to take the time to lay the hands on and allow for the levels to flow into her own core, in that way she could get a direct comparison as to how much her core level would rise from the magic flowing into her. What this method did do, though, was give her highly accurate readings of not just the core condition of the patient, but the magical transfer flow of magic around the patient. This allowed her to even judge the abilities of the magical being she was examining, as the greater the speed of the flow of magic around the patient's body increased the power and abilities available to them. Meghan had experimented over the years that her healing magic was available to her and found that she could not only get the variety of magical signals from assorted parts of the body, but the strength and speed of the magic flow from the core was clear to her.
In Harry Potter's case, she was stunned by its speed, strength and intensity! His magic was at a high, pure level that she had never, ever came across before. It was also so dense, his blood stream and whole body thick with magic, his magic pulsing at a rate that was beyond even her incredible abilities to judge. When she laid her hands on Harry, for the minute or so each time, her own magical core was literally feasting on the boost in power and information that was gushing into it.
"His system is slowing Hermione, the surges from his overactive magic is easing down but the actual power in his core is increasing, if anything. But there is something else, something I cannot put my finger on. The only way I can explain it is ….. wait a minute." Then she raised her voice a little and turned her head towards the door. "Aunt Minnie, can you come in a minute, please?"
The Professor came into the room with a tray hovering behind her with a pot of tea, cups, saucers, a plate of biscuits, milk and sugar on it.
"Was just on my way, good timing. Help yourselves." As the tray was settled onto a still upright cabinet. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"Aunt Minnie, I need some wand magic. It won't be till Harry wakes up and we ask him if it is alright. If he is dubious about you doing the spell, maybe Hermione could do them if you show her how. The spells I need are for you to test his core for any restrictions or bindings on his magic. Anything that has been there or still is there. Is that possible? It is something I cannot do with my hands."
"Well yes, there is spells that can be cast on a person for such a reason, but why on Harry? His magical power is huge, you said so yourself! His magic is certainly not bound."
"Aunt Minnie, I am not so sure. The sudden, involuntary outbursts of his magic, his core fluctuating although at a high level, his apparent inability to control the outbursts when they do happen, then slipping into unconsciousness; these are all signs of instability in his core. It's as if his system is unbalanced, large chunks of magical power that has been in him a long time suddenly pushing out and he doesn't know what to do with it. The fact he is very upset and angry, under serious stress and trauma, this is all a contributary factor in the breakdown of his mental state and therefore in these increasingly powerful rages he is having. But, by past signs, powerful for his age as he is, he has never had this amount of power to be able to blast out walls, do bombardia and multiple spells together, all without a wand!"
Now it was Hermione's turn to be shocked. Of course, she still knew nothing about Harry's use of the wandless spells he used to defend himself, to demolish Privet Drive and kill his relatives; or, for that matter, the Petronas spell to fight off the Dementors in Little Whinging.
"What wandless spells? Are you saying he actually cast wandless spells somewhere, not just these explosive magical rages?"
Minerva nodded at the young witch.
"Yes, Miss Granger. Harry intentionally used wandless magic before he was brought here by Dobby. And highly powerful wandless magic, I might add. But, before you start firing off a hundred questions a minute, that is not up for discussion at this moment. That is for Harry to tell you when he is able and willing. Right now, let us hope he will come too soon. We both want him recovering and conscious."
Now the circumstances of why he was brought to this unplottable and inaccessible cottage began to make sense to Hermione.
"Professor, just one question. Is his use of these spells part of the reason why he has been brought here, to where you say he cannot be found?"
"Yes, Miss Granger, that and ….. other reasons, all tied in together."
Hermione sighed. "Oh, Harry. What have you done?"
_HJP & HJG_
