After having met with Fate and learned what he needed to know to progress, Harry told the Vipers about the Beltane ritual, which made Elias very smug at having guessed it, a smugness that only rose upon finding out that Fate had shaped it to match what he said.
Before he could even find time to meet Professor Dumbledore, Harry had to go through a normal day of lessons, starting with Charms.
"Today, class, we shall be covering the Eradication Spell, which, despite its name sounding rather malicious, is actually a spell designed to disintegrate certain objects and which can also serve as the counter-charm to the Reverse Spell, also known as Priori Incantatem, vanishing the shadow emitted from the wand. The incantation is Deletrius, with emphasis placed on the second syllable, and requires a simple flick of your wand to cast it. Any questions before we begin?" Professor Flitwick introduced the lesson as he normally did, and as per usual there were many hands in the air.
"What is Priori Incantatem?" Theo asked when the professor indicated that he could speak.
"Ah, you see, there are two phenomena that we attribute to that name, the first is a side-effect of the Brother Wand Effect, a rare event that occurs as a result of two wands sharing a core from the same source that prevents them from acting to kill the master of their brother. In retaliation to fighting each other, the wands expel a trace of every spell they have cast starting from the most recent and going to the furthest away. The second is a spell that was created around the very principle that governs the previous one, more specifically the ability to reveal a trace of the most recent spells, though to a much lesser degree. Now, I do hope the next question doesn't result in as grand a tangent as this one." The professor added the last bit as a joke, with everyone knowing he loved to discuss Charms to no end.
"What would happen if we were to put the emphasis on a different syllable?" Harry questioned with a smile.
"With this specific spell there would be no effect, at least none that I am aware of, but some spells can change drastically. For instance, Alohomora, which normally has inflection on the second and fourth syllable, will actually melt the lock if you place your emphasis on the third and the final syllable. I would advise you to visit the Library and check out Emphasising the Unheard Sounds of Spell Syballence by Norstrum Goshawk, the Grandson of Miranda Goshawk. It is meant to complement the entire Standard Book of Spells series, with handy page reference numbers included with each spell that can benefit from it. We really must get on with our lesson and so I shall take any further questions during lunch if you have any, as you all have a lesson to go to after this."
The class practiced the Eradication Charm with mixed levels of success, some, like Harry and Blaise managing to understand it in seconds, while Draco and Theo did not manage it until the end of the lesson. As Harry headed down to Arithmancy, he became lost in his own thoughts, he would check out the book Flitwick mentioned and try out variations on his spell from last year, having kept the vial of Hawthorn sap under a powerful series of preservation charms and had more than enough to experiment with. He decided that he wouldn't do so without having his Charms Professor present, though.
/_-_^_^_-_/
Ron was currently in Potions with the Hufflepuffs and couldn't be more bored, they were doing the exact same activity as the Ravenclaws and Slytherins did yesterday, namely brewing a Hair-Raising Potion in preparation for their O.W.L.'s in June.
"Weasley, why can't you brew a simple potion without catastrophic results? Are you so incompetent at everything in your life that you're willing to accept mediocrity in your life?" Professor Snape shouted at him after he had melted his cauldron, which resulted in him being kicked out of the lesson, something that suited the boy just fine.
Happy to be leaving the dungeons, Ron made his way up to Gryffindor Tower to enjoy his newly acquired free forty minutes. He saw Loony Luna Lovegood and made to go another way to avoid her, choosing to make his way through the fourth floor and up a secret passageway to avoid her. He walked slowly along the hallway and spent a moment trying to remember the password; it was in times like this that he wished his brothers had given him the Marauders Map.
While he was standing there he was unaware of the fact that someone was walking up to him.
Lifting his hand Ron activated his ring to ask his friends about the password to the passageway, a decision that unknowingly saved him from the mystery person, not wanting to be caught yet.
/_-/^_^_-_/
Third and fourth period that day was Defence, which might spoil Harry's plan to meet Professor Flitwick during lunch, but Harry was prepared to leave at the drop of a hat.
"Today I want to deliver a lesson that isn't on the syllabus. Make your complaints to the Headmaster if you wish, though I suspect many of you will listen to me. Earlier this year I was asked by the Minister to come to Hogwarts to ensure that the students here were able to receive safe instruction in the art of Defensive Magic. However, the programme they sent me here with was dictated by the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, one Dolores Jane Umbridge, and would have prevented the teaching of any and all practical lessons. I'm sure that by now you have become accustomed to my style of instruction and are well aware that such a thing is abhorrent to me; when you're out there in the real world theory isn't going to help you, nor will rote copying of notes pertaining to the spells in question. Unfortunately, the Minister has seen fit to send her to observe my N.E.W.T. and O.W.L. classes, to ensure that they meet her very strict guidelines as detailed in the Educational Decree for the Teaching Regulations of Young Wizards, specifically the fourteenth decree that was created in conjunction with her course notes. During her visit, I shall have to teach you in accordance to her wishes or she will replace me as the Defence Professor."
At this there were murmurs of disappointment and disapproval at the idea of losing their third decent professor in a row, even Harry was saddened at the idea of him going, something that startled him.
"Fear not, I know you're all smart enough to pull this off, it does however mean that I have to assign you the normal coursebook as homework to be completed by our first lesson of May as she will be here from the second lesson onwards." Professor Gaunt sent the books floating down the aisles, leaving one per person as they passed. "Before all of that begins, I have decided to provide a few more enjoyable lessons to precede the undeniably boring few lessons you have ahead. I admit to recycling this from my Defence Professor many years ago, but who cares about that? The idea is that you will all perform small scenes from Shakespeare while also jinxing each other with the Tongue-Tying Jinx, ostensibly as an exercise in negating the effects of the Jinx, but in reality, it's just amusing to all parties, I did this myself in my Second Year, but such a thing hardly matters."
What followed was an unintelligible mess of over-the-top Shakespearian accents and complete gibberish, leaving the entire class in a jovial mood for the day, highlighting Harry's decision to study with Professor Flitwick after eating a small lunch. On the way up to visit Flitwick, Harry stopped at the Library and saw Blaise and Hermione discussing their project already. Harry could see food on the table suggesting they were accustomed to skipping their meals to research, they never noticed him walk past and search for the book Flitwick mentioned. It wasn't overly hard to find and as Harry made his way over to Madam Pince to check out the book, he was stopped dead in his tracks for a moment when Blaise casually kissed Hermione and went back to his studying.
He wanted to be angry, but he knew that it would be stupid, he was with Daphne and was very happy with her, they had even managed to move past the time she told her parents about Harry's plans to go out with his family, though he had also forgiven her parents and participated in a ritual to bring back Lord Voldemort, so he couldn't exactly hold a grudge against anyone involved.
Continuing on his way without letting it bother him, Harry walked up to Professor Flitwick's classroom and the cheerful man was alone waiting for any students with questions, though he appeared to already know Harry was on his way by the knowing smile on his face.
"I have come to see if there is any way to workshop the spell I invented last year, affectionately referred to as the Blinding Curse, Lux Tenebris Maxima, which I had placed emphasis on the third, fifth, and final syllable. We will not have to worry about blindness being permanent with the Hawthorn sap on hand."
"Mr Potter, I must advise you that this is a dangerous road to go down, you may inadvertently cause more damage to your eyes than can ever be healed. You don't need to work on emphasising different syllables, what you could start with is dropping the Maxima prefix, though I can suggest a much more elegant solution that I have worked out since you first came to me with this problem, but I shall need your glasses for a moment." Harry took them off and handed them to Flitwick, who tapped his wand against them and intoned quietly "Licht Bringt Dunkelheit" before handing the glasses back to him.
"What did that do? They're still the same," Harry asked, confused by his professors' actions.
"Lumos Maxima!" Professor Flitwick called out, aiming the light at Harry's eyes. In response, the lenses of his glasses tinted to black and he could stare directly at the light without it hurting his eyes.
"Are these…"
"Sunglasses, Mr Potter? Of course they are, while you are to be commended for creating a Blinding spell, this operates on the same principle, but not applied directly to your eyes."
"Am I an idiot?"
"Of course not, you simply don't appreciate the simpler things in life. Not everything has to be solved with a grandiose mental concoction, sometimes the easy option is just as valid. The Headmaster likes to preach that there is a difference between what is right and what is good, while I can appreciate the sentiment it indicates that the two are mutually exclusive. However, sometimes apathy and inaction can be the easy option, but does that sound like the right option?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, just the ruminations of a man who has spent the better part of his life studying magic."
"Okay, well thank you for helping me, I can use these sunlight reaction glasses to great purpose."
"The Muggles call them Transition Lenses, it's less of a mouthful to say."
"I should head to Transfiguration, but I look forward to our next lesson."
"As do I Mr Potter, Charms is truly a fascinating discipline."
./_^_^/_-/.
"Today's lesson will be on a more misunderstood concept in regards to Transfiguration as many Wizards choose not to pursue it, I foresee it becoming a lost art in the future. What I am talking about is the art of Animagery, the art to turn into an animal and back. You may remember in our first lesson I waited on my desk in my cat form and transformed back into myself once you all were here. Of course, more recently there was Mr Potter's display at the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the debut of his sea serpent form, and I'm sure there are other Animagi within the school." Professor McGonagall's gaze lingered on Dudley for a moment before she continued.
"I won't be instructing you on the process by which you become an Animagus, it is a project that you must embark on yourself if you wish to pursue it. Be warned that once you leave Hogwarts you will have to register with the Ministry as an Animagus. You are allowed to remain unregistered during your Hogwarts years, however, if you were to use your Animagus form to gain some bonus points on your N.E.W.T.'s or O.W.L.'s then it would be officially registered. As it stands, Mr Potter will have been registered after his aforementioned display."
The rest of the lesson was spent discussing the various ways people have become animals in the past, including the Artificer who created amulets that granted the same level of control, but only while worn, and the Mages who developed a ritual that had been lost to time.
After leaving the Transfiguration classroom, Harry left his friends. Ron and Draco stayed to talk with the Professor, while the rest of his friends went to do their own things. Harry began heading to Professor Dumbledore's office, intending to have a long-overdue talk.
He walked up to the gargoyle and said the name of the first sweet to come to mind, Cockroach Clusters, causing the gargoyle to move aside to allow him to pass. The small journey upwards was made for him by the rising nature of the staircase, which stopped moving once he was directly outside the office. As usual, he was invited in before he could knock and so he walked right in and headed straight over to Fawkes, who had just gone through a burning and was very small with barely any feathers.
"Harry, my boy, what can I do for you?" Professor Dumbledore asked him, sounding terse immediately.
"I have two things that I wish to discuss, the first is that I've met the entity known as Magic, who tells me that you once received great knowledge from her and that you would be able to pass it down to me to continue the cycle." As Harry spoke he could see the shock rising in the wizened Professor's face.
"To think that Magic would choose an Heir within my lifetime, such a thing hasn't happened in centuries. As I'm sure you know it is a rare thing for her to select anyone- but of course, that makes sense."
"I'm sorry, but you lost me, what exactly is going on?"
"The knowledge and power given to me by Magic is already part of you, she taught me the true power of love and asked me to spread that love throughout the world. You would have found out about this during breakfast anyway, but last night there was a massive explosion at Azkaban resulting in the escape of some of Voldemort's top men."
"Which leads me into my second point to make: Professor Gaunt, as much as I loathe to admit it, is not here with malicious intentions, at least not any that I can see. Could it be that he is more like Tom than Voldemort?"
"I had thought the same myself, though I am not one to underestimate anyone anymore. I am sorry to be more invested in your life, I am your Headmaster and yet I gave you a task that could have been dangerous, what you must think of me I don't know," Professor Dumbledore finished, his attitude failing to regain its normal upbeat colouring.
"It's not your fault, Professor, you have been put in a difficult position of late and have been forced into doing things you normally wouldn't do. As for the breakout, nobody could have known what Voldemort was up to since his return."
"Thank you, Harry. For everything you've done," Albus said genuinely.
"I'm going to go find my friends now, Professor, have a good night," Harry called out as he headed to the door, giving Fawkes some fuss as he walked past. If Harry had looked a bit harder he would have recognised the ring that Sirius had purchased now sitting on the Headmaster's hand, a faint grey tinge now staining it.