20-Power

Harry stayed after one of their club meetings to talk to Dylan. "Dudley has become suspicious of my bi-weekly meetings. He also overheard Neville talking to me about an afternoon together. He stopped me before I left home today. 'You're going to meet the vicar and some other children now, don't you?' he asked me. I couldn't say much, due to the secret. I only told him I was unable to talk about it. He then said, 'Tell the vicar that I'd like to join this group.' I'm telling you now. What should we do?"

"We can't let him join. All of us are magical, while he…"

"He may also have some magic, I think," Harry interrupted.

"Are you sure?"

Harry shrugged. "After we found a way to check halos, I checked my relatives. Uncle Vernon has no real halo. Aunt Petunia has a slightly brighter and wider halo, but she's certainly not magical. I can't feel any magic in her. Dudley's halo is much wider, although quite dim and it seems to have some parts missing. I also sense some magic in him. Maybe he needs to get a treatment like Lora's to correct it?"

That was a worrying idea. Dudley had no visible sign that could be used as an excuse. Could he use the ADHD as an excuse? And then, how would the boy react to finding his magic, after being taught it was freakish? He wasn't sure what he could do.

"I need to think of that, Harry. With the attitude your aunt and uncle have, it might become a serious problem. In the meantime, I'd like you to check his magical core. Have you found a spell for that?"

"Hermione found, and we checked each other, but we seem to do it wrong," Harry said, looking sad.

"I doubt you're doing it wrong, Maybe you're not interpreting the results correctly. Do you remember the incantation?"

Harry recited the spell, not pronouncing it quite right, but Dylan recognized it. He then took his wand and cast it on Harry. The results made him gasp. It took him a moment to calm down. He then invited Harry to sit down.

"Can you tell me what you think this spell should do?" he asked.

"Well according to the book, it shows the maximum power of the subject on a logarithmic scale of zero to one hundred, where zero is no magic at all and one hundred is a level that's considered Godly. I don't really understand what Logarithmic means, but Hermione told me not to mind it. Normal wizards have levels of thirty to fifty. A few extremely powerful wizards may have up to seventy. The spell can't really measure above eighty. There's another spell for such high levels, but it's not in that book," Harry said.

"Yes, that's what I also remember. What did you measure?"

Harry shrugged. "When I tried it on Hermione it gave me seventy eight, but it can't be. She's merely a child! Children are supposed to be at levels twenty to forty, at most!"

"And what did she measure on you?"

"Eighty one, but it can't be true. The spell can only measure to eighty."

Dylan sighed. How could he explain to Harry how special he was without sounding like an admirer and without making the child feel too different in either direction? And then, he would need to repeat it all with Hermione.

An idea popped into his mind. "Do you still have that mind communication with Hermione?"

Harry seemed disappointed a bit. "Yes. Our Occlumency training did nothing to change it. Why do you ask?"

Dylan wasn't sure what to think. If Occlumency had no effect on that, it made him surer that it was some bond taking place, a very strong bond, but that was for another discussion. "Can you ask her to join us?"

Harry concentrated for a moment. "She's taking a shower. She'll join us in a few minutes."

Dylan thought he could use the time until then. "Do you mind casting that spell on me. It's the version that only shows the results to the caster, isn't it?"

Harry smiled. "Of course, as is the one for seeing halos. We don't want anybody else to see magic, do we? And your measurement is fifty one."

Dylan was surprised. The last time anybody had checked his core was when he finished Hogwarts. It had then been forty six. Had it increased since? It was possible, but quite rare.

"That sounds about right. It means that I'm above average in magical potential, but not very powerful. Did you check others too?"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Well, I checked some of the kids today. Neville measured forty two. All others, except Hermione, measure below thirty."

"And what do you conclude from that?" Dylan prompted him.

"Neville is much more powerful than others, although he doesn't show it and I don't think he believes he is. The others are about average, I think. The book stated these numbers were for eleven year old kids, but we're only eight." Harry sounded very logical.

"That sounds about right, and yet when I cast the spell on you I got eighty two, which probably means that Hermione cast it right on you. We should wait for her before I explain this to both of you." Dylan added in his mind, 'Assuming that I understand it, which I'm not sure at all.' Indeed, what could he tell children who were more than ten-fold as powerful as him? Should he congratulate them for their powers? Should he warn them to keep everything under strict control? And he couldn't even ask for help from anyone. He hoped God would direct him.

Hermione appeared a short while later with her hair still damp. He couldn't refrain from hearing Harry blurt, "You're so beautiful!"

Dylan considered Hermione to be pretty enough, but certainly not beautiful. This only made him surer that there was a bond between these two. He didn't let that take his mind off the main subject. He turned to Hermione.

"I'm glad you could come. Harry told me about you trying to measure each other's power level. He said you were probably doing it wrong. I don't think so. Care to measure my power?"

Hermione didn't move. She only looked at him with some concentration in her eyes. "You measure fifty one. That's quite a powerful wizard, I think."

Dylan nodded. "Harry measured the same. Care to check Harry?"

A moment later she said, "Eighty two! That's impossible. Something must be wrong!"

Dylan lifted a hand to make her pause and asked Harry, "Care to check her?"

"Seventy nine," Harry said, sounding confused.

Dylan took his wand. "Let me check, please."

He cast the spell. It came out, "Eighty?"

Dylan felt like sitting down, maybe even hiding under a thick blanket for a few hours, until his mind caught up with reality. With these two, it all seemed too unreal. He couldn't allow himself this luxury, though.

"I don't think there's any problem with your casting. You simply are much more powerful than expected, and you're probably going to become even more powerful when you grow up." He then sighed and tried to reign his feelings. He needed to stay focused. "I'm going to look for the spell to check extremely powerful individuals during the weekend, but I'm sure it would give similar results. Now, while it's good to be so powerful, or better say – potentially powerful, it may mean nothing in real terms. Unless you learn to harness and control your powers to do exactly what you want them to do, they would become irrelevant. Just like other talents, you should hone it and exercise it, or you won't reach your potential."

Hermione considered his words. "This may explain the readings, but I'm bothered by not being able to block our thoughts from each other. Do you have any idea what we should try?"

Dylan didn't think he was able to help, but he still tried. "I thought that Occlumency would help you. Didn't it change anything?"

Hermione shook her head. "It stopped us from getting random thoughts from each other, but whenever I think of Harry, he can hear my thoughts, and so can I when he thinks of me."

That made some sense. "It looks like you only let the other glimpse into your thoughts when you choose to. If that's the case, why should it bother you?"

Hermione blushed and said nothing. Harry also blushed, but answered. "It looks like we can't stop thinking of each other most of the time."

Dylan chuckled. These kids were too young to really fall in love, but he had no doubt they would, and quite early, probably as soon as they reached puberty. Well, as soon as Harry reached it. He wasn't sure if this bond they were creating was something external to them. The way they interacted since the first meeting, it looked like they fit well together from the start. It could be their own magic that was pushing them closer, based on their own feelings. He still managed to say, "Well, controlling your thoughts is beyond me. Still, I don't think this should worry you. It looks like both of you like to be in each other's company and spend a lot of time together, and not only concerning the club. It's all up to you, really, and you should be attentive of how you feel for each other. That's all I can say."

Neither of the children seemed content. They looked at each other and then shrugged. Hermione turned to Dylan. "If that's all, then I really need to be back home now."

Dylan waved his hand dismissively. "You may go. I'll see you on our next meeting."

Hermione just said "Bye!" and vanished.

Dylan turned back to Harry. "Cast this measuring spell on Dudley and tell me next time we meet. It may become very interesting." 'Too interesting, really. Oh, why did I put myself in such a position?' He already knew the answer. 'To help Harry and save him from abuse, that's why!'

\/\/\/

That evening, when he cuddled with Lora in front of the television, he told her about these two children and their powers. "No wonder they overwhelm me each time. Both are very powerful and very smart."

Lora cuddled closer to him, putting his hand on her baby bump. "You may not be quite as powerful, but you're more powerful than most. And you're smart and courageous. How was I so lucky as to gain your love?"

He chuckled. "You're beautiful inside and out. Now, with your binds removed, I also think you're quite powerful. Want me to check?"

Lora looked surprised and then shrugged. "Why not? It would be interesting to know."

Dylan left his comfortable position, moved a bit away and cast the spell. He then started chuckling.

"What is it?" Lora asked him, a bit confused by his reaction.

"Fifty one, just like me. You're quite a powerful witch, my dear. And with what you learn at the club, you can do much more than most witches and wizards who graduated Hogwarts. Your family could have been proud of you."

"You're my family," she stated. "My biological family lost all rights on me when they let me go and didn't keep in touch, at least. They gave me a good start in life, but were too ashamed of me then. Let them stay that way."

\/\/\/

A younger couple was also talking, although the two were many miles away from each other.

'Harry, can you understand this power stuff we checked today?'

'Not quite, Hermione. It only means that we have potential, so it seems. It's up to us to turn our potential into real power, at least that's what I think.'

'I'll help you, of course. Will you help me?'

'Do you even doubt that? I think we're going to stay close for life.'

'Do you mean like… Best friends?'

'No, Hermione. I think we shall be much closer. We already are, in a way.'

'What do you mean, Harry? We don't even live close to each other.'

'This doesn't seem to stop us from talking or even meeting each other. Have you ever heard about two people so close that they can talk to each other this way?'

'...No, I don't think so. Does it mean we'll become a couple. Like… a married couple?'

'I don't know. Maybe. Would you like us to become a married couple when we grow up?'

'Harry! We're only eight and nine. We can't really think of this seriously!'

'But we do, don't we? I'm not sure I really know what married couples do, except for raising kids. My aunt and uncle are a poor example of a couple. Your parents, though, seem to be nice and seem to be a loving couple.'

'I should hope so! Do you really think we'll get married when we're older, Harry?'

'I think so. I don't know what it means, but we may learn until then. You like learning, don't you?'

'Don't tease me! You like it just the same. You just don't say it so often.'

'True. Well, it's getting late and my aunt wants me to shower and go to bed. Will I see you tomorrow?'

'Of course, unless you tell me not to come.'

'I'll never say that to you. Goodnight for now.'

'Goodnight, ...Harry.'

He felt like she intended to think 'dear' and refrained from it. He wondered why.