The first few Elemental sessions were an exercise in meditation and patience, with some leaving due to not possessing the aptitude for patience. For some the act of not doing anything was too much, for others it was too relaxing and they would fall asleep.
The one thing that did make Harry uncomfortable was the presence of Dennis Creevey, who had been more tolerable than his older brother Colin until he was expelled, then he became rather… weird. He wasn't confrontational, nor was he rude or persistent, but the way he looked at Harry was unnerving. So much so that he mentioned it to Elias and Dudley, who had observed it as well.
The class complained about the cold, so Harry placed a barrier of air around them, and because Elias' Animagus training required him to meditate, he could join them for their meetings and heat up the air within the barrier to ensure their comfort. During the latest session, they were joined by Professor Lupin, who found the scene of nearly 100 wizards all meditating outside in the middle of winter to be rather odd. When Lupin asked him what they were doing, Harry told him that he was welcome to join them in each finding their element and so they ended the group session later that day having gained a new member.
Harry, Elias, and Blaise all waited for the hopeful future Elementals to return to the castle, with Neville, Theo, Hermione, Daphne, Draco, and Ron all walking over to wait with them.
"I must confess to thinking the Elementals were a lie," Professor Lupin told them after the lesson. "Or if not a lie then they were only those of a specific heritage. I never would have thought to know three, let alone accept the possibility that I could learn the power. It's an interesting development, to say the least, one of you should consider writing a book about it. I imagine you could make a lot of money if you get out ahead of the demystification of the Elementals," he advised them, with Hermione jumping at the possibility of being considered a pioneering author while Ron seemed delighted with the concept of amassing a great fortune.
Elias spent a few minutes talking to Professor Lupin as they went in, asking questions about the Animagus process while the Professor asked him about controlling the elements.
"Professor, do you intend to incorporate Elemental training in your duelling lessons?" Harry asked as the group walked through the Entrance Courtyard.
"I have no immediate plans to do so, why do you ask?"
"I just think that if it became part of the curriculum then the actual teaching of it can be refined. You could think of this as a precursor to students learning it after third year."
"Oh Harry, that's so wonderful that you want to leave your mark on the education of future wizards!" Hermione interjected excitedly, earning a look from Daphne.
"A very interesting concept, Mr Potter, I confess that I've joined you for purely selfish reasons. I find the idea of studying something that was previously considered a fairytale absolutely fascinating," the Professor admitted with a small smile on his face as they parted ways.
/_-_^_^_-_/
With the removal of the Horcrux from his scar, as well as his new club, Harry was a lot more popular within the school, namely due to his much more upbeat attitude, which had its drawbacks and benefits, the former mainly being that it took a while to get past a group sometimes, but the latter meant that he was on good terms with almost everyone.
This didn't mean that he didn't have problems with anyone, as there would always be people looking to dislike a person. The group who were the most vocal by far were the more traditional Slytherin upper years, as well as a few people who were friends with Dennis Creevey. The boy had told people that Harry was bullying his brother until he snapped, though often there would be no shortage of people telling him to shut up.
Even his lessons were going better, he hadn't had to use a decoy to avoid his DADA lessons, and his worries had seemingly begun to fade. Sure, it was weird to see a version of Voldemort teaching them, but he hadn't done anything untoward to anyone and where Professors Lupin and Moody had taught them about Magical Creatures and curses respectively, Professor Gaunt taught them how to successfully avoid enchantments, ensnarements, or exsanguination, as well as other areas they would be likely to come into harm in during normal everyday life.
There were also the stories. Tales about his life and adventures that all carried with them a lesson, even if Harry believed them to be embellished and downplaying their more sinister overtones.
But what set him apart from the rest of the competition was his willingness to teach them to fight dirty, or as he put it:
"You need to use every advantage you have been given. If you can use your perceived weaknesses as a strength, it will allow you to overwhelm a more skilled opponent; if you're short but agile you could avoid being hit, for instance."
With these lessons also came genuine advice from the Dark-Wizard-turned-Professor.
"Life is about opportunities and waiting for the right moment; it carries with it a series of choices and consequences. Even inaction and apathy are met with something of equal measure, whether that inaction leads to the death of those around you, or if your apathy leads to a world apathetic to your existence. The smartest and the strongest are always remembered, but those are not necessary prerequisites to being remembered. You can rule based on fear, yes, but an empire built on a fragile foundation will crumble to dust. You can earn a place among the remembered by devoting your life to healing or educating."
His Charms lessons had also stepped up in their overall difficulty and enjoyability, though Harry felt he would enjoy a Charms lesson that consisted entirely of theory. Professor Flitwick knew how to make learning even the most mundane things fun at least in Harry's eyes, others like his friend Ronald Weasley thought that the entire subject was "remarkably boring".
The most interesting thing they had learned recently was how to enchant regular furniture to walk, which ended in a chair race and speculation as to what furniture would work best, with Harry earning ten points for suggesting transfiguring a desk into a horse to make riding it a bit easier.