Chapter 5
It had taken a full hour before Harry had managed to make the small stone float. Even exhausted Harry struggled to control his power and it had the tendency to fly up about 6 feet before falling to the ground, either that or it was just as his first attempt and the stone simply wobbled.
When Harry finally achieved the levitation charm on the small stone professor McGonagall had been in a simple wooden chair she had conjured, grading what seemed to be essays. She had just happened to look up from her work hearing Harry try the for probably the two hundredth time, as soon as Harry managed it realizing he had succeeded he almost lost concentration but managed to hold it.
"Very good mister Potter, now I want you to concentrate, focus on how much of your magic this is taking you. Once you have it I want you to ask yourself how much of your overall control does it take? What sort of knowledge was required? What was your intent? And can you change them?"
Focusing on the stone didn't help. Harry couldn't even tell he was using any magical energy it was such a small amount.
Control. The only hard thing about it was how small it was, it was more effort not to throw or drop it then actually maintain it.
Knowledge. Of what? It's a stone and I'm picking it up.
Change them. How? What's to change?
Another twenty minutes before Professor McGonagall packed up her stuff and turned to Harry.
"Alright mister Potter, times up. Let's go back to the castle and we can continue tomorrow"
Harry let the stone fall to the ground. Breathing heavy, sweating, exhausted, Harry got to his feet.
Professor McGonagall vanished her conjured chair and desk. "Tomorrow, we can try again, but we might need to find another way to drain your magic instead of fire. I'm sure at least a few students saw that. The rumor mill will probably spread it by morning. Come to my office after dinner tomorrow. Make sure to get some rest tonight"
M.A.
The moment Harry's head hit the pillow he was out cold. No dreams, no nightmares, nothing at all, his mind and body were both too tired to even conceive a dream.
Harry awoke feeling pretty rested, after his morning routine he grabbed the map and his cloak to head to breakfast then classes. Between classes he used both items and avoided people so as to not have a repeat of his fall. Especially if he might not be able to defend himself properly with his magic in the state it is.
Skipping potions and history ended up freeing most of his day. Defense wasn't very exciting, just a theory class. Charms was his last class for the day. Taking off his cloak and putting it with the map in his pocket he shouldered his bag and slipped into class to sit at the back. It was another theory class.
Harry wasn't totally interested in his charms theory though. Instead he had a couple different books he checked out from the library earlier while skipping classes. The first was a book on basic spells of offence and attack, mostly shields, cutters, stunners, basic stuff but Harry thought it might come in handy and possibly save his life in the tournament. The second book was on elemental spells. Mostly a curiosity thing. But after almost drawing himself in an empty class, then lighting half of the black lake on fire, his interest was piqued. Did he have a talent for it? Or did he simply enjoy the feeling?
Marking down notes for different shields and simple attacks made charms fly by pretty fast. Once it was done Harry packed up his stuff, went around a corner and slipped on his cloak and headed to the great hall for lunch. As his norm as of late he sat alone on the end of the table close to the doors and started putting food on his plate, before he could even take a bite a couple potion vials appeared next to his plate.
Harry frowned and looked at the staff table and made a sour face. Madame Pomfrey catching his eye made a drinking gesture to him. She did say she was going to put him on a potion regime. Taking a deep breath he downed one after the other.
The first tasted like he was chewing on paper, the second was like orange juice and toothpaste. Harry didn't bother looking at the staff table. He knew the medwitch would have a terrible grin.
Harry was enjoying his meal. Even if it tasted a bit like toothpaste from the second potion.
He had been thinking about some of the spells he read about while eating. Conjured ropes to tie people up sounded cool. Stunners, cutters, spells to create slabs of wood or metal from air to defend yourself. Even the stuff from the other book sounded cool. Ice spikes, earth boulders, fires of different types and intensities, even lightning.
Halfway through his lunch Harry was surprised when Hedwig showed up with a letter. After a few good pets and some bacon from his sandwich the snowy owl offered her leg and the letter with it. Taking it and opening it a small shrunken box came out. Tapping the box with his wand to unshrink it, Harry's curiosity got about the box won over on the letter. Two rings sat in the box. The first, a silver ring with a gray stone in it, almost like a cloudy diamond, with the letter P carved into the top.
The second ring was some kind of black metal with light purple looking diamond with the letter B carved into it.
Harry's mind went through a multitude of questions, but before he could question himself to death he figured reading the letter might be a good start. So opening it he read.
Dear Mr Potter
I hope this letter finds you well.
I have been reading into the Black trial as I said I would, you were right about the lack thereof, however without first removing the kiss on sight order by the minister of magic we can't call for another.
With that I do have an idea, madam bones, the head of law enforcement can remove that order, but she won't by simply asking out of the blue, and that's where your attack on the stairs can be used. Set up an appointment with her and get the law involved in the attack and at some point point out the lack of trial to her. It should be enough to get her curious and with some luck we can progress from there.
You're probably wondering about the rings.
One will be for potter and one for black. They are both heir rings and not lord ones. I was going to send you the lord ones too but thought better of it. Your adult status is temporary so the rings have a possibility of rejecting you, the adult ones might kill you where the heir ones won't. Place the potter one on your right hand middle finger and the black one on the left. Right hand means prominent family and left is secondary. As you are a potter first that one shall be on the right.
I've also found that your grandmother was originally a Black before marrying into the Potters and that's why Sisius's claim of you as heir has stuck even though there are a couple other descendants alive. Attached is a small Black family tree.
I have also started managing the potter vaults and so far it is a steady growth. Attached is the numbers and what i have placed investments into.
When you have time we can discuss your properties, make an appointment at your leisure.
Kel Strongtooth, Potter account manager.
The first thing Harry did was slide the rings on. The Potter one first then the Black. To Harry it was a surprise that the rings could automatically resize to fit properly. There was no big flash or magical moment when he put the rings on except for the Potter jewel seemed to flicker with life for a moment and the Black one warmed for a second.
Harry picked up the paper with the family tree next. So his grandmother was Sirius's aunt? And he was cousins with Malfoy because of Narcissa, who had two sisters. Bellatrix and Andromeda. The first being in Azkaban and the second was cast out for marrying a muggleborn, so.. He did have some family? Even if it was distant?
Before his thoughts got too far they were interrupted by just one of the people he had been thinking about.
"Potter. Did you know most of the Slytherin house are making bets on how long you'll survive the first task? The average is about ten minutes. I personally think you won't last five minutes." A big grin overcame Malfoy's face as he spoke, clearly thinking this might bother Harry.
Harry wasn't in the mood and honestly not intimidated in the slightest, he kind of wanted to beat his face in and tell him to run back to daddy, but a sly idea overcame Harry. Placing the paper with the family tree on the table and making a bit of a show grabbing the paper with the investments and such making sure to lift it with his left hand so Malfoy could see the ring.
Pretending he even knew what any of the investment numbers and words meant, Harry stared at the paper and spoke as clearly and calmly as he could.
"Draco, no need to be so formal with me. We are cousins after all. I am quite busy and will need to reply to the goblins rather soon and make an appointment with Madame bones, but if you want to discuss something like a civilized adult then please take a seat and let's talk." Gesturing to the seat in front of Malfoy" If not then please return to your table as i enjoy the quiet here. It helps me think you see."
Looking over the paper of numbers that meant nothing to Harry, he could easily see Malfoys confusion. Weather at the ring, his form of address, his lack of hostilities or even the invite to join him Harry didn't know.
The great hall went rather quiet while Malfoy stood there deciding what to say.
"Well, what will it be?" asked Harry "sit and discuss whatever it is you have to say like a proper human instead of shouting or shall we try for another time?"
Another pause before the blond slytherin almost mumbled out "another time then.. Potter"
"Then enjoy the rest of your meal. I However have business to attend to" Harry packed up the now empty box and the papers, folding them carefully and placing them in his bag. He turned to Hedwig and gave her a pat. "I'll find you later after I've written my replies." The snowy owl gave a soft hoot then took flight, presumably to the owlery.
After gathering his things Harry left Malfoy there still stunned and left the great hall to find the same unused classroom he almost drowned in that he had started to think of as his class. Once in the class he started to write his replies. The first was to Strongtooth. Mostly thanking him and asking if he could find any information on his family, be it Potter, Black, or Peverell, or at least a suggestion where to look. He also asked for them to meet that following Sunday.
The second letter Harry wrote was to Madame Bones stating who he is and asking for a meeting regarding his attack and fall down the stairs.
The third letter was to Sirius giving him a basic overview of his recent events from being thrown into the tournament, to his fall down the stairs then his family accounts and being the Black heir.
Once they were written Harry decided since he was in his room he might as well read up on his spells and maybe practice some shields as overpowering them wouldn't, or .. wouldn't be able to harm him.
After managing a few shields Harry moved onto levitating chairs and desks once more. But after smashing a handful he decided better to wait for McGonagall for that. But now was as good as time as any to master the repairing spell seeing as he had a multitude of broken chairs and desks. He didn't want to leave his room a mess after all.
The first few attempts to fix anything were awful resulting in deformed chairs and one where the desk and chair fused to make some kind of abomination of furniture with legs sticking out at all angles. Once Harry figured out repairing was all in visualization of what you want it only took twenty minutes to fix up the room.
Killing time reading more spells till it was almost super, Harry then went to visit Hedwig and sent her off with the letters to Strongtooth and Madame Bones. Once his familiar was out of sight he got a school owl to deliver his letter to Sirius.
Diner was a quiet affair though it was filled with a bit of tension and possibly excitement from the other students. Like they expected something to happen. Harry ate his fill rather quickly and made his way to the transfiguration classroom. The door to the class room was open so Harry went in and sat in his usual seat at the back and pulled out his spell book and continued taking notes and marking out spells in a notebook to learn once he was able to get his power under check.
Being rather into his note taking he almost didn't catch the professor enter the class.
"Ah mister Potter, just the person i was hoping for. Has anyone said anything about the weighing of the wands this coming monday the fourteenth?"
Harry could only come up with shaking his head "no mam"
"Well Monday ten am you'll need to be easily found to participate. It's simply a formality. They check the champion's wands are in good working order and that's it."
"I'll make sure I'm available." Harry answered and packed up his books "I may have a solution for the fire professor"
The transfiguration teacher arched her eyebrow "I've also thought of one. Let's hear yours first mister Potter"
"The chamber of secrets"
Whatever professor McGonagall was expecting it clearly wasn't that as her eyes widened in shock.
"Well nobody would see or hear any sort of spells there seeing as only parseltongues can enter" Harry rubbed the back of his head no longer very sure of his suggestion because of her reaction.
"Well i can see how that might work. But that chamber contained a basilisk, who knows what other dangers it might contain. No, until someone clears it with you I won't allow that. We shall go with my idea for tonight at least." Professor McGonagall motioned for him to follow and quickly left the classroom. Harry scrambled to put away his book and notepad and ran after her. It didn't take too long to catch up, she had only gone down the hall but when he did catch her he asked.
"Uh professor? What exactly is your idea?"
The tall professor stopped halfway down a flight of stairs turned to Harry and one of her rare smiles graced her lips.
"Why mister potter, I happen to be the transfiguration teacher and along with it comes conjuration. I might know a way or two in order to drain an overly large core" Just like that the transfiguration teacher continued her quick pace down the stairs.
It didn't take long for the two to reach the same place on the other side of the black lake where they were the night before. Once Harry had caught his breath professor McGonagall simply stood and motioned with her hand to the open area of pebbles and grass by the shore.
"I want you to conjure a boulder for me"
It didn't seem hard so Harry flicked his wand into his hand and waited for instructions. After a moment they didn't come so he spoke up.
"Professor? What are the wand movements and incantation? I don't know how to conjure anything but fire and water"
Professor McGonagall simply pulled out her wand and pointed it in front of her, then her eyebrows dipped in concentration and a large rock about the same size as a muggle basketball formed from nothing and fell to the ground with a large thump.
If life was a cartoon Harry's eyes would have fell out of his head in surprise. He could do nothing for a moment but stare wide eyed and mouth open. Eventually Harry walked up to the rock and inspected it.
How? What makes it happen? Was it from nothing?
"I thought we could start here" began the transfiguration teacher. "I could teach you wand movements and incantations, but now is a good time for you to learn silent casting and without the movements or speech you'll have to get in touch with your magic, and that may help your over powering issue."
Harry wanted to believe her but he had serious doubts. Silent conjuration of a spell he has never done? Even before mastering anything else silently? It seemed absurd.
McGonagall walked herself to a nearby tree and conjured a desk and rather comfy looking chair before pulling a stack of parchment from her bag and got to work without another word.
Harry immediately attempted it only to get nothing. Pointing his wand at nothing in particular he thought about making a rock. Forming one. Transfiguring one. Nothing worked.
He tried waving his wand. He picked up a stone and studied it and tried to copy it to no avail.
Nothing got any sort of progress. He couldn't make, brake, summon, or even change the color of a stone without saying anything.
It only took an hour for Harry to run out of ideas or motions or attempts.
Frustrated, Harry sat down hard onto the ground. McGonagall's only advice in the last hour was that he had to feel it. Harry didn't have a clue what he was supposed to be feeling. All he felt was frustrated. The familiar warmth of Harry's wand left his hand as he let it roll from towards the rock McGonagall had conjured. Messing up his hair even more than it normally was Harry took a deep breath to try and relax. Breathing in and counting to three followed by breathing out and counting to four.
It was something he had learned late one night while locked in his cupboard. Fresh after another beating he had been fuming with no way to express it. Vernon had fallen asleep in the living room with the tv on and it ended up on some meditation mumbo jumbo. The breathing exercises calmed him down but the rest made no sense to him.
Trying to keep his breathing calm, Harry was thinking about all his attempts at creating even the smallest stone from nothing. It didn't make sense. How was he supposed to feel it if it was from nothing? What did he feel?
Wait.. he didn't feel the normal warmth of his wand. Well that was because it wasn't in his hand, but why would it feel warm? It was wood, a bit of metal and a whisker.
What made the warmth?
A simple question that would slowly change His life even if he didn't know it.
Harry reached out and grabbed his wand from where it lay on the ground. The same warmth flowed up his hand and arm the moment he touched it, but instead of enjoying it he frowned.
Where did the warmth come from? Why warm? Why not cold? Or tingly? Shocking? Anything else?
Harry sat there holding his wand and questioning the feeling and as he was thinking it and it went cold in his hand, the chill traveled up his arm but it wasn't unwelcome. The cold feeling was like a cold glass of water after being in the sun all day.
Then as Harry's thoughts went to shocks the wand felt charged with electricity, like he was holding a cable with power running through it, the hair on his arms stood up at the thought and an electric tingle went up his arm instead of the previous cold.
He sat on the ground and stared at his wand like it was the first time holding it. Harry studied it. Rolling it in his hand, looking at the dark wood, the red lines, and the flecks of silver that showed up every so often.
Am i imagining it? Was it reacting to my thoughts? Or was it changing to match something? What exactly is going on?.. Is it the wand? Or is it me?
This got the teen thinking. What was a wand? What was its purpose?
The latter was easier for him to answer. The purpose of a wand was to cast spells right? Or maybe more like direct spells?
Then what was a wand? A conduit for magic? A focus? Then wandless magic should be possible but harder, right?
Instantly Harry remembered Lupin lighting candles without a wand in his third year. Dumbledore did the same on a much bigger scale in the great hall and another occasion where the aged wizard made all the candles in the great hall dim with a wave of his hand. Those were wandless right? What about himself? Was accidental magic considered wandless? Or just wild magic?
Maybe the difference between accidental and wandless was intent? Accidental had no control and wandless was all control for exactly what was intended? If that's the case then turning his primary school teacher's hair blue would be accidental, the same with getting Dudley stuck in the snake exhibit, accidental. Following that train of thought, that meant third year, blowing up Marge was accidental, but when the locks to the closet that kept his trunk unlocked on their own and the door flew open.. That was wandless? He wanted his stuff to leave and needed the door opened.
Then what was the feeling up his arm? And why just his arm?
This led Harry's thoughts back. Was it the wand or him causing it? Maybe somehow both?
Like a slap to the face it struck harry. Both. Like touching a live wire to a lightbulb. It creates a connection. This feeling was him connecting to his wand. It was his magic getting ready to flow through and out his wand at his command. The feeling changed because he wanted it to. It was HIS magic after all. It was simply him feeling it and directing it to the conduit of his wand unconsciously.
But if that's true he should be able to feel it at all times, shouldn't he? Closing his eyes and keeping the breathing exercise going he relaxed even more. Focusing on the now electrical feeling, The connection created from holding his wand. Following it from his palm, up his wrist and forearm, through the elbow and up the arm to the shoulder. It was there. The feeling didn't go away. He just never listened to it before.
It was his whole body. Humming with the feeling of power. Almost like he was going to burst with the explosion of a nuke. It was so much energy, all compressed into his body as a part of him, and it felt excited, like a puppy when its master comes home from work. Barking, jumping, wagging its tail and wanting out, wanting to play.
Harry knew the moment he felt it flowing though his body that it was his, it had been bound until recently, like a dog stuck in a kennel much too small for it, and now it was out and it wanted to play. His magic wanted to be used. That's why his spells had been overpowered. Before when he cast his magic he was reaching into the kennel to simply touch the dog, now it was out and wanted to run and play.
In that moment of clarity Harry had another thought.
I'm not separate from my magic. It's not a dog, I'm not its master. Nothing could be the master of this power. It's a part of me. We are part of the same being. I want out. I want to use magic. I want freedom. To do as I wish. I have been caged and was reaching through the bars before and now I'm no longer caged. I want out.
Harry was sitting there drinking in the feeling of his magic flowing through his body. Through his chest up and down his legs. Running through his arms up his shoulders to his neck. Up through his face and head. When he came to his most famous scar he paused. Was it a dark spot? Like a poison? It was a deep dark and black feeling. Like a leach? It was almost like..
"Harry?" The voice of his favorite teacher full of concern broke through his thoughts.
The sight that greeted him when he opened his eyes was completely unexpected. It was dark, the sun had apparently gone down sometime ago. How long have I been sitting here?
Focusing his eyes he could see floating around him was pebbles from the beach, lazily orbiting his body while he sat cross legged with his hands on his knees palms up in a bhudist meditating pose. His wand floating in front of him lazily rotating and pointing towards the lake. When did I let go of it? He couldn't remember.
One of the floating stones came close to Harry and he reached out with his left hand feeling the charge build in his pointer finger as he got closer. When his finger was about two inches from it a bright electrical shock came from his finger zapping it and sending it to the lake to skip a handful of times before sinking into the depths. This was his magic. He was controlling it.
Letting out his breath the temperature dropped to cold and the charged feeling went away with it. The floating stones started to gather ice crystals and both Harry's and McGonagall's breath became visible. It wasn't an uncomfortable cold. More like the excited cold of the first snowfall.
McGonagall was scared, but also excited.
Her idea was to get the young Potter to conjure stones then boulders then transfigure them to wear him out in order to keep practicing control. She had been grading papers and essays and hadn't been paying attention to the time. When it got dark she simply conjured a light near her desk and kept going. It wasn't until a stone floated by that she realized she hadn't checked on Harry in a while.
Looking at the young man he was what appeared to be meditating. That wasn't too much of a surprise, to conjure objects and silently you needed to feel your magic and understand it. What was a surprise was that there were about thirty pebbles floating around him and every so often an electrical spark passed between the pebbles if they got too close to one another. Harry's hair stood on end more than usual and sparks came off it to fade away. When she called his name it was almost like he forgot he was there.
When she approached him he zapped away a pebble to her surprise. When she came around and looked at his face she was excited. His eyes were glowing a vivid green full of power, but more than that He was smiling. Not the grin he normally got, but a full facial smile.
Then the temperature dropped and she got a little scared, ice formed on the stones and started to spread at the nearby shore. Panic ran through her. Was he alright? Was his meditation going bad? Would she have to stun him?
But seeing that the smile on his face never wavered so she relaxed a little. As soon as the cold came it was replaced by warmth, like sitting by the fire after being out in the snow all day. Was he experimenting? Did he find his core? She was going to ask if he felt alright, but before she could he snatched his floating wand and stood and the pebbles fell away as the warmth faded.
The raven haired teen pointed his wand at his hand and there materialized a stone. McGonagall was impressed and about to congratulate him when he crushed it in his hand. It was just a shell? Before she could say anything he repeated it. Conjuring a stone then crushing it. This time took much more effort to crush it. Then it was more solid? Once more he conjured a stone but this time he couldn't crush it.
"That's most impress.." Harry threw the stone into the lake before she could finish the sentence.
Harry was vibrating. Excitement poured through his every fiber. On his third attempt he created a perfect stone but it wasn't enough. He had to make a bigger one. Pointing his wand out he made one about the same size as the professor's demonstration. It appeared and fell to the ground with a thump, but it wasn't enough. He had so much energy to burn.
Next was bigger than his chest. Then almost the size of him standing. At once Harry had an idea. Why plain stone? Why not something special? Marble.
The first marble one was the size of his head. Then another the size of himself.
Granite? He repeated his earlier feats, head sized then full body.
At this point he was sweating and breathing hard, stones littered around him but he wasn't done. Concentrating hard he conjured a ball of copper in his free hand about the size of a baseball. That took a huge amount of energy and he bent over feeling pretty drained but still wanted to do more.
McGonagall was stunned speechless once more. Marble, granite, then copper? This was much more progress then she was expecting, and it was all on his own. Waiting a moment for him to continue, he didn't so she spoke up.
"Try shaping it" she motioned to the ball of copper in his hand.
Harry stared at it for a moment before pointing his wand at it and slowly it molded bent and took the form of a tabby cat. Putting all his effort into it to make it as realistic as possible the metal bent to his will and small details showed up. Circles around the eyes, stripes down the cat, it bent into a sitting position with its tail curled around itself. Harry gasped using all his magic then sucking in a deep breath.
Handing the statue to professor McGonagall he managed to croak out "Thank you professor" she took the statue unsure what he was thanking her for. Inspecting the statue she could tell it was a permanent conjuration. Looking at his other conjurations she knew the same was true for them. She didn't think to tell him the difference between permanent ones and temporary ones. The permanent would require almost 3 times as much magic to make it so. No wonder he was so tired.
Harry sat down on the ground hard, totally spent. Pointing his wand at a small pebble and repeating the levitation incantation it flew up twenty feet then came back down "damn" he mumbled. Harry tried levitating pebbles for a few minutes, each time they flew less high but it still happened.
"Alright Harry" McGonagall spoke softly "Times up. Let's get back to the castle"
McGonagall packed up her stuff vanishing the desk and chair. Harry watched her do so and asked.
"Will you come with me to the chamber tomorrow?"
She took a moment to think before replying. "Yes, but i would like to invite professor Flitwick as well if that's alright with you?"
"I don't see why not" Harry replied as they made their way back to the castle.
Once they arrived at the castle the professor told Harry she would speak to Flitwick now and after breakfast meet Harry at ten am in the second floor hallway then sent the teen off to bed.
M.A.
Albus Dumbledore sat in his office going through paperwork with his wand sitting beside him, unaware at that moment Harry Potter was in the middle of rediscovering his magic in meditation when his wand started to vibrate. It almost hummed while it sat on the desk and every so often a spark of electricity shot from the tip.
This caused Dumbledore's attention and curiosity but after a few moments it ceased and lay still. Curious this had never happened before. He had owned this wand for decades since taking it from Gellert.
Little did he know his connection with the legendary wand lessened a tad that night.
M.A.
A great distance away a simple stone sat on a ring with a triangle, a circle and a line engraved on it. The stone vibrated for a moment then lay still totally unnoticed by anyone under floorboards and enchantments sitting in a decaying house.