We cannot state enough how important it is to have either someone that is completely non-magical or a master of the art of walking the dream to hand when you are first trying to learn to crawl. They are the only people that will be able to prevent you from falling to your death should your concentration waver. It is far better to wake with a lump on your head than never wake again.
Excerpt from a manual on learning to walk by the arch druid, 438 AD translated by Madam Pince.
It was only a few days after her meetings that McGonagall was able to give permission to the Meditation group to start the intermediate club. Filch had shown an inordinately large smile when she handed him an enchanted morning star that Bathsheba had made. It had an engraved leather striking ball that would use a variant of the stunning spell to render the person it hit unconscious. The ball itself was filled with loosely packed wool so that it couldn't harm the student. It was attached to the stick by a woven leather braid so that Filch didn't need to worry about accidentally hitting himself. He also insisted that everyone that joined the club had to experience the club and the effects of waking up from it naturally, which Bathsheba had said would result in a monster of a headache. Secondly, she'd received the proof she needed of the bullying in the Slytherin dorms. Once she saw that everyone was in the hall for dinner, she used her wand to let off a high-pitched whistle, it was only a shame that Albus wasn't here, but he'd holed himself up in the restricted section of the library since the beginning of term. Once all the conversation had died down, she stood up.
"Thank you for your attention, I have two things I need to address this evening. First is that the Meditation club now has an intermediate level for those that wish to progress, this will take place at solar midnight every Friday. Filch is the supervising staff member for this club." Gasps of surprise ripple across the hall as she indicates the caretaker.
"Due to the risks associated with this new level of the club students wishing to join need to have parental permission. Would the following students come up to the head table please? Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Padma Patil, Ginevra Weasley, Dudley Dursley, Luna Lovegood, and Daphne Greengrass." They all file up to the teachers table, though Padma had a confused expression on her face.
"Here are your completed permission slips, Padma I know that you aren't a member of the meditation club, but your father included permission for you anyway so if you do join you'll be able to progress when you're ready, you'll need to show this to Filch in order to participate. For everyone else in the club, I either haven't received a response, or your parents denied permission. You may come to see me later if you wish to know which. The club has been assigned a room just outside the Infirmary. Please return to your seats."
Confused murmuring spread around the hall as students tried to work out just what was so dangerous about meditation. However, Lockhart's years pricked up, this was something he could gain some glory for, he just needed to take some time to find out what he could.
"The second thing that needs to be addressed is a matter of punishment. The following students must come up to the head table, and bring your wands. Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Robert McKnight, Joseph Beltran, Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey." She waited while they either came up to the table voluntarily or were fetched by one of the teachers, Professor Snape looked absolutely livid once the list of names was read out.
"All of you have been caught bullying one of your housemates. As this has been a sustained problem, we are skipping the detention. Instead you are currently banned from all clubs and have had your wand privileges removed. You can either wear one of these bands and voluntarily surrender your wands as I said you'd need to do at the beginning of the year, or you can surrender your wands to me and you will need to ask each teacher to retrieve your wand when it's required. Professor Vector will inspect your bands every morning and every evening at curfew, if they are not intact then you will immediately be confined to your dorms for all non-class times, with the exception of an hour during the evenings. Do I make myself clear?"
The students stood there in sullen silence.
"I said. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Professor McGonagall", "Yes, Deputy Headmistress." They all muttered.
Draco added softly, "My father will hear about this."
"I know he will, as I've already sent him an owl, including details of what you did to earn this punishment.", Draco blanched at that news.
Once they had all accepted the wrist bands and stored their wands McGonagall continued.
"In addition to this, Professor Snape has lost his position as head of house, instead he is now the assistant to Professor Vector."
"You can't do this, I am the head of Slytherin and I was appointed as such by the Headmaster."
"Oh do sit down Snape, if you had bothered attending any of the staff meetings you'd have found out that the sole responsibility for appointing the student representatives lies with the Deputy Headmaster. You are most welcome to take this up with your other house representatives, and if you can persuade a majority of them to support you, even have my decision overturned. But until you do, my decision is final. You may return to your seats, and everyone, please enjoy your meal."
───────── ೋღ :hpsd: ღೋ─────────
Daphne approached the intermediate meditation room with trepidation. Last week they'd all been knocked out, and despite what Harry and Hermione said, she wasn't sure she was actually ready for this. To cap it all Tracy had badgered her to go because she was getting annoyed with getting electric shocks every time she tried to wake her up. As if she could talk, Daphne hadn't been able to eat any profiteroles for desert since Tracey had started exhibiting her magic. But her head of house hadn't given Tracy permission yet. Technically neither had Daphne's but her mother had, and that was sufficient for the school.
Filch greeted her with a creepy smile on his face, and he fingered the knock out stick. Oh morgana, she hoped she wouldn't need to be hit with that tonight, as the headache in the morning was just… Suffice to say that she was glad that they were across the hall to the infirmary.
"Take a seat, we've left Chirpy with Nicole for tonight so we don't need to worry about them disappearing on us." She looked up to see someone she assumed was harry gesturing to the cushions and beanbags strewn around the room.
"What have you done with your look?"
"Oh, this. I sometimes lose concentration on my form at this time of night, and if I do and shift forms it's distracting enough that I start to delve the dream. Given the fact that Filch is here to watch over us I'd rather not wake up with another headache thank you. I'm also more comfortable as a girl these days, so I'm staying like this. My mind healer says it's because most of my first positive life experiences happened at Hogwarts while I needed to remain a girl to sleep in the dorms. But you probably don't want to hear about that."
"No, it's fine. I guess like a lot of people I still put you on a bit of a pedestal, even though I've known you for a year now."
"Yeah, tell me about it, that's another reason why I stay a girl. I can't walk down Diagon alley in less than 5 minutes if I'm a boy. At least like this, well like my more normal girl form, people get to know me first. How are things for you in Slytherin?"
"They're doing ok, Crabbe and Goyle are both doing better, they've both been given a phonetic dictionary, whatever that is."
"It's a dictionary that's organised by the sound of the word rather than the spelling." Hermione's voice comes from the doorway.
"Oh, thanks. Why would anyone need that?"
"Some people can't associate certain sounds with letters very easily, so these dictionaries are designed to help them find the correct word, and slowly learn the correct spelling and meaning."
"That makes sense when you put it like that."
"Anyway, Lavender and Parvati are just coming, they helped me get Susan to an infirmary bed as her permission came in yesterday. You might want to get started as you'll want to be already supressing when the hour switches over as it is going to be a shock. We're going to be helping Filch to watch over you and chat once we're sure that you're fine."
"Some people have all the luck."
"Na, Hermione and I have been meditating since before school started last year. I've been doing it slightly longer, but only by a week. We also moved onto the next stage during the summer. We're mainly waiting for you guys to catch up so that we're not alone and have more people to talk to about it."
"Thanks, that makes me feel better I think."
"Don't you've made phenomenal progress considering you only started this year."
Daphne snorts, "Not really, I've been doing occlumency since I was 8."
"Oh shit, you need to stop that then, as it's bad for your development. Would you mind if I mention this to my mind healer tomorrow, I won't use your name. If and if she agrees, ask you to come and see her instead of me for that session?", an edge of panic in his voice as he shifts automatically.
Daphne looks as though she's been struck as she struggles to voice a response in a strangled voice, "Er, yes, ok? But I'm hardly unusual, most of the people in Slytherin do it too."
Harry just holds his head in his hands as Hermione moves over to comfort him.
"Don't worry, it's not you. Occlumency was the first thing he asked about once he found out what it did, and he was then given a litany of horror stories about people who had stunted their emotional development by practicing it before puberty. There were also stories about some children that couldn't express emotions because they learnt it so young and kept themselves sunk in their barriers so much that they never learnt to actually deal with their emotions. He swore to me at that point that he wouldn't even consider starting until a mind-healer said that he was safe to do so after telling me these stories."
Daphne collapses into a beanbag that happened to move right where it was needed, her hair starting to wave uncontrollably.
"I didn't know, oh merlin, Astoria."
"What's going on?" Lavender's voice calls from the entrance.
"Do you remember the stories that Harry told us about occlumency late last year?"
"Yes?"
"Daphne's just found out about that from Harry."
Lavender and Parvati knelt down on either side of Daphne and comforted her until she started to get herself under control again.
Harry sniffed, blew his nose on a Hankey which then disappeared and with a conscious effort switched back to a girl, she then glanced over at Filch who had his whacker out and was looking at his pocket watch.
"Ok, I think you've got a minute or two. Daphne, do you think you'll be ok meditating tonight or do you want him to just hit you now?"
As Lavender and Parvati found a cushion each and started meditating, Daphne took a deep breath and centred herself. "I think I'd like to try."
"Ok, then get started now, you'll know when it starts."
Just before she closed her eyes she saw Filch walk over to stand behind her. Oh great, that's all she needed.
She managed to find her magic and push it down into it's quiet state, and then IT started. When they said that she'd know she hadn't known what to think. But she simultaneously felt like she was floating on top of the deepest ocean with a weight around her middle at the same time as someone had just given her a taste of ambrosia and was holding it tantalisingly just below the surface. At the same time she was at the top of a high mountain and felt like the freedom of the sky was just a moment away, all she needed to do is take a step and fly. She held herself in that state, not allowing her magic to chase after those temptations. She was acutely aware of a trickle of sweat making its way down her cheek to drip off of her chin into her lap. Then she heard the murmur of voices and she lost her grip on her magic, just as she was scrabbling to bring it back under control everything went dark.