"Wands out. Today we will be learning the bubblehead charm, something that will come up on your mid-tests," professor Oduct instructed in a stern voice. "Miss Simmons, please elaborate on a use of the bubblehead charm."
"To breathe underwater," the bubbly girl responded.
"Adequate," the professor acknowledged. "Would anyone care to elaborate on the answer? The transfer, perhaps?"
"The bubblehead charm is useful in most toxic environments. It was used to great effect protecting wizards and witches from gas attacks during the blood war of 1914 to 1918."
"And perhaps, you would care to elaborate on the weaknesses?" the professor challenged, clearly intrigued by the answer.
"It is vulnerable to magical attacks and even passive conditions. In areas of extreme high or low pressure, large amounts of concentration would be required to maintain such a bubble. Thus, combat underwater, for instance, would not be advisable using the bubble head charm. Furthermore, its nature to filtrate requires the environment to have sufficient particulates to convert to breathable air. This is why use underwater is the most common instance, as the presence of dissolved oxygen means even an unskilled practitioner can achieve it with relative ease. To cycle air internally within however, for instance in the vacuum of space, would require far greater concentration and control of magic, professor," Harry answered. Most in the class stared in envy, in particular Simmons who gave him a heated glare. Beside him, Katerina held a scrutinising look.
"An...excellent answer," the professor commended, faintly smiling. "I would have expected the former, but not the latter. Do you have personal experience?"
"Several gas attacks, sir," Harry answered. The man nodded sympathetically.
"That would explain it. Mister…"
"White," Harry supplied.
"Mister White is correct," the professor affirmed. "The bubblehead charm, when mastered, can be the difference between life and death."
He drew the wand movement on the board, similar to an omega, and wrote out the incantation 'spiritus'. "Practice the charm, I will test it by the end of the week. Mister White, would I be wrong to presume you know this charm?"
"You wouldn't be, sir."
"Excellent, then step forward." Obeying, he stepped to the front of the class, casting the bubble with the flick of his wand. A faint translucent bubble appeared around his head. "Silent casting...impressive."
"Viowindus," the professor cast, spraying out a tear gas like mist. It surrounded his bubble, and upon seeing no reaction from Harry, the professor dispelled the mist, nodding satisfied. "Excellent, now let's test it's integrity."
Firing a stinging hex, he nodded approvingly as it bounced off the bubble. At a punching curse, the bubble rippled slightly, but didn't show any signs of breaking, causing an eyebrow to raise. When he cast a weak blasting curse, many of the students winced, yet the bubble rippled and held, causing several gasps to escape the students.
"Incredible...for a sixth year...I am most impressed, this would be worthy of a merit if you performed this at the end of the year…" the professor muttered to himself, before seeming to realise the two were standing in front of the class. Shaking his head, he waved for Harry to return to his seat, where Katerina quickly accosted him.
"How did you do that?" He noticed that several others were not so discreetly observing his answer, including the professor, and so carefully chose his words.
"When you cast a charm, what are the things you need?"
"A wand?" she commented wryly, before guffawing at his shake of the head.
"Technically unnecessary. Think of apparition or accidental magic?"
"But-but-"
"While it is more difficult for certain, a wand is not strictly necessary. What is?"
"Intent?"
"Go deeper than that. What does intent involve?"
"Um...understanding what you want to do?"
"Partially, but also how you do it, but let's focus on the first aspect. What's the most obvious thing you're thinking of doing when casting a bubblehead charm?"
"Protecting yourself."
"From what?"
"Your...surroundings?"
"Good, always remember that understanding the precise purpose is important. A bubblehead charm can function in different ways, though in general, it works by sucking in air from the surroundings while filtering out other particulates. This is the main goal, and thus the easiest part. To achieve what I did, you must do this, in addition to having a desire and channeling that desire into protecting the bubble. Now, intuitively, your magic will try and brute force this in moments of danger, pumping magic into it. This is because in danger, you realise the threat to your survival is immediately connected to the survival of your bubble, and thus subconsciously pump magic to strengthen it. What I've trained to do, is to manifest such intent unconsciously through practicing the spell repeatedly."
"How do you...have multiple intents manifest?"
"That...is a more abstract question. What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Um...a duellist."
"And where do you want to live?"
"Um...how is it relevant?"
"Just answer the question. It doesn't have to be truthful, this is for an example's sake."
"Northern Germany...probably?"
"Right, so you have a desire to live in Northern Germany and a desire to become a duellist. Two different desires, yet they manifest both within you, within your actions, your thinking. Is this contradictory?"
"But I don't have to focus on both at once."
"And that's the key, isn't it?" Harry mused. "To be able to will yourself to concentrate on multiple things at once. In my opinion, practicing in such a controlled environment will not be conducive to efficient results."
"And how would you conduct this?" the professor queried, no hostility in his voice.
"If I threw you under a lake, waiting until a moment before you drowned to death before pulling you out, I believe more students than not would be able to manifest a bubblehead charm of some sort. When I faced my first gas attack, I knew not the wand motion, nor the incantation, nor even what a bubblehead charm was. I merely willed my magic to protect me, using my knowledge on muggle gas masks, and created a bubble around me that filtered for air. You see, while knowledge, wands, wand motions, incantations, practice are all elements that can make a spell easier to cast, fundamentally the only three components required to successfully cast anything are will, intent and magic." Several students blanched when the professor looked thoughtful, as though considering the idea.
"An enlightening lesson, mister White. I will think on your comments. Now I do believe lesson is over. Class dismissed." Harry and Katerina were among the last to leave the room, wandering sedately down the corridors.
"That was...impressive," she mused. "Did you intend to wow professor Irman? I don't think I've seen him this excited before, though that admittedly isn't saying much."
"Partially. Mostly I just enjoy teaching," Harry admitted.
"You don't fear others using it against you?"
"It is competition that breeds innovation and improvement. My comments, while perhaps insightful from most students' perspectives, could have been deduced easily with sufficient dedication to the study of magic. By expediting such a study, I am losing little, while gaining prestige and acknowledgement from others."
"There will be those that are jealous."
"I am an outsider, I will be scrutinised regardless. It may as well be because of my abilities," Raven shrugged. She hummed thoughtfully, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"You've defense next, right? Just up this set of stairs until the top, and you'll be on the defense floor," she advised. "Wait for me, I'll meet you outside your class for lunch."
"What do you have?"
"Dark arts, just a floor below yours."
The two part ways, with her stopping at the DA floor while he continued up until reaching the defense floor, where he saw a cluster of fourth years gathered outside a classroom. Walking forward, he offered several polite nods, but no one felt the need to speak with him, a sentiment that was returned.
"Enter," the jovial voice of the professor called, and the class quickly filled in. Harry was surprised at the sight of the professor, a springy young man who looked no older than twenty five. The man offered him a kind smile, "Ah, the transfer. Mister...White?"
"Yes professor," Harry answered, finding a seat near the front. The man nodded, simply glancing across the room before frowning. "Where is mister Otark?"
"He's in the infirmary, sir," one of the boys answered, eliciting a nod from the professor. Harry was slightly impressed that the man had memorised all his students' faces.
"Very well, we're going to begin our study of counter jinxes and countercurses today." the professor announced, causing a smatter of groans to emanate from the students. "Yes, yes, it's a lot of memorisation, I know, but the dark arts is constantly evolving, and thus our defenses must as well. We will start with something simple, the counter to the jelly leg hex. Can anyone tell me what it is? Yes, miss Nieta?
"Kcolang," she answered confidently, causing the professor to nod approvingly.
"Excellent, for a point, can you recall the jelly leg hex's incantation?" Harry mentally frowned, wondering what these 'points' were and why professor Irman hadn't seen fit to award him any.
"Locomotor Wibbly," the girl answered, causing the professor to clap his hands.
"Excellent, miss Nieta. The first step to countering a hex, jinx or curse is to identify it. Only when it is properly identified can a counter be applied safely," he warned. "Now I'm going to demonstrate the spell. Watch."
He cast the jelly legs spell on himself, causing the man to fall to the ground, somehow with grace. Waving his wand in an intricate motion, he undid the hex and stood back up, drawing polite applause from the students.
"Right, pair up, those on my left will cast the jelly legs hex, those on the right will cast the countercurse. Hmm...it seems we have an odd number today. Perfect, I'll take the opportunity to assess mister White's abilities next door then. If there are any problems, do not hesitate to come and find me. , please follow me."
They walked through the door to the adjacent, empty room, where with the flick of his wand the tables and chairs were all levitated to the side. "So, mister White, I must admit my curiosity towards the disparity between your charms work and your defense placement. Cast a reductor for me, would you?"
Harry nodded, flicking his wand in the appropriate motion and vaporising a table. Professor Petrov nodded thoughtfully. "An excellent spell, you certainly have the groundwork. Can you cast the disillusionment spell?"
Harry nodded, and at the professor's gesture to demonstrate, tapped the wand on himself, causing his body to disappear from sight. The professor looked closely at the detail, before instructing, "walk around me clockwise."
He did so, until arriving back at the start.
"Now undisillusion yourself." Harry tapped the wand on himself, and appeared again. "Cast a protego for me."
Harry did so, casting a protego maxima so powerful it flickered a brief gold. It was the most powerful spell he could reasonably explain away, even if he could cast more powerful protections. The professor cast several spells against it, before gesturing for him to lower it.
"That was excellent work. I know aurors who are less proficient at the skill," he mused suspiciously, "which brings us to a problem. You're clearly going to be bored out of your mind if you remain in this class. Those were late fifth year spells, and ones usually only perfected in sixth year. Protego maxima isn't even taught until seventh year. That you demonstrated such mastery...I would not be disinclined to consider putting you in seventh years if I didn't know your age, mister White."
"Sir? If I may be so bold, while I have mastery of many more practical spells, I remain ignorant to many...simpler spells. For instance, I would be unlikely to know the countercurse for the jelly leg hex because I would simply overpower a general counterhex. This is because training at my old institute focused on survival. By the Durmstrang curriculum I would be a master of roughly thirty percent of the content."
"No...I suppose you have a fair point...I imagine this is the case for the dark arts as well?"
"Probably more so since I do not use much of the dark arts, but in essence yes," Harry confirmed.
"Well, I won't intrude on Isard's class, but I'm moving you up to sixth year, it's clear you won't be doing much in a fourth year class," he scoffed. "Make no mistake, this isn't Hogwarts or Beauxbatons. In many ways, we share a similar philosophy to you, preferring mastery over a single spell rather than adequacy at many. I'll provide you some study notes for the more...particular knowledge you need to know. You'll sit your NEWTS at the end of year, and so help me Merlin you're going to be one of the greats. I doubt even Ivarin had this much potential!"
"Ivarin?" Harry questioned.
"Another student, don't worry about her. She's a prodigy in the dark arts, probably the best the school has seen since Grindelwald. Friendly advice, do not cross her."
"Duly noted," Harry inclined his head, causing the professor to smile.
"Since we still have a bit of time to spare, how about a friendly duel? Type 2b?"
"I'm honoured, duelling master," Harry returned, raising his wand and bowing. The professor mirrored his actions, before quickly lashing out into action, firing a barrage of blasting curses at the floor around him. Leaping into the air, he sent several cutting curses, forcing the professor to shield and allowing him the time to land on undamaged ground safely. Conjuring some ropes, he banished them towards him, watching as they were incinerated and flames begin to rush towards him.
A burst of aguamenti quickly covered the room in mist, and Harry slipped into the stealth training drilled into him, sneaking around the room after masking his scent, crouched low to minimise his profile. He levitated a piece of robble and dropped it, after which several spells materialised, jetting towards the rubble. Leveraging this, he launched an onslaught of curses, causing the professor curse as he was placed on the defensive. After a shieldbreaker and a battering curse that sent the professor flying, he dispelled the mist, to see the professor standing uneasily.
"That's...enough, I think," the man chuckled. "Very well done with the misdirection. I daresay that you should go for an early lunch."
"Are you alright, professor?"
"Quite, mister White, I've had worse, don't worry about me," he chuckled. " Before I forget, fifty points, for a spectacular performance and as tradition, one hundred points for an even more spectacular duel. Count yourself the second, after Ivarin. You'll be one to watch in the duelling lessons though, I look forward to it."
"Likewise sir," Harry inclined his head in respect, a motion the professor mirrored, before quietly leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Waiting outside, he opened a book on alchemy and began reading, going over the basic principles of equivalent exchange and the conversion mechanism.
After fifteen minutes, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and looked up to see a sweaty but beaming Katerina walking up to him. "Good lesson?"
"Very," she answered cheerfully, inclining her head in thanks when he passed her a handkerchief. "We got to practice the retching curse, I got to see that smirk wiped off the bitch Avent. How was the defence?"
"I got promoted to sixth year classes," he mused nonchalantly, hiding a smirk at her gobsmacked look. "Is there something the matter?"
"We'll be sharing another class it seems," she beamed, clearly happy for him. It was a strange feeling, one Harry decided to ruminate upon later. "Come on, let's get lunch, I'm hungry."
"What happens after lunch?"
"Oh, we get free periods. You're expected to work on your end of year projects, but there are also a boatload of activities to join. Every single damn Wednesday we have to watch a quidditch match, attendance is, unfortunately, mandatory."
"Lovely," he drawled, causing both to chuckle at their shared distaste for the sport. "Care to tell me what points are?"
"Oh, right. Students are basically ranked by points, at the end of the year, those with the highest points get rewarded. There are also guilds, which consist of students banding together. A guild's point total is also ranked, and brings certain perks along with it, such as preferential booking of facilities, etcetera. There are several hundred guilds, and most students are part of one."
"And which one are you part of?"
"None. Who would take me?" she chuckled bitterly. He was slightly unsure of what to do, but tentatively wrapped a hand around her. She looked at him strangely.
"I believe...friends comfort each other?"
"They do," she chuckled, allying his worries. "It's...rare to have someone care."
He resisted the urge to mention it cost him very little to appear sympathetic. Such thoughts were only meant for internal use. Instead, he provided a reassuring smile, squeezing her shoulder.
"What are the rules for a guild?" Harry asked, causing her to shrug.
"Never really paid much attention," she admitted. "We can go to the archives, guild registration is there, and they'll probably have rules."
"And are there any advantages to having points?"
"You get preferential access to resources, for instance jumping library queues. When you graduate, there's also the pot, which is a prize pool divided amongst the graduation class based on the points you have. I believe this year's is twelve thousand galleons in total."
"That's...a lot of money," Harry mused politely, refraining from commenting about his own wealth. "Though split between around three hundred individuals, it's a respectable sum."
"Right, but see, those that score under fifty points are ineligible for the pot, which significantly culls the amount of people eligible."
"And how are points awarded or lost?"
"Professors can give or take points from students, they have a guide that specifies what activities are given how many points, but students don't have access to it. From speculation, if a teacher poses a challenging question and you answer right, you can get one to two points. Completing a major task earns anywhere from five to ten. At the end of the year, your grades also add to your count. Honours gives you thirty. A mastery is a hundred and fifty, honour gives you thirty, merit five. Passable costs twenty, disappointment costs fifty and failure one hundred. Note that at the start of each year a hundred twenty points are deducted."
"Wow, so one hundred and fifty points is a lot," Harry mused. She nodded, peering at him. "I got that from the professor just now."
"What?" she exclaimed, drawing curious stares from the few individuals along the corridor they were walking down. "I...that's incredible...but the only way...you beat him in a duel?"
"A lucky strike, not unlike the mindset I used against you," he distorted the truth slightly. She nodded, still looking at him awed.
"Lucky or not, to have beat him...wow, I must admit, that truly is something else. You must be an excellent dueller."
"I'd like to think so," Harry admitted. While he was far more efficient when truly letting loose in a fight, he would not pretend to be incapable in a duel. "Tell me, who is Ivarin?"
"The Dark Arts teacher?"
"No, his daughter or grand daughter?"
"Daughter," she confirmed absentmindedly, before questioning, "what about her?"
"The professor mentioned she was a prodigy in DA and DADA, I admit I'm curious about her."
"Best stay away," Katerina chuckled uneasily. "She's one of the few who got a masters in Dark Arts, twice, mind you. A ruthless dueller, she's ranked sixteenth in the global duelling circuit. She's pursuing a mastery in the Dark Arts under her father, and has already published a paper."
"I'd like to meet her some time," Harry admitted, causing Katernia to look at him incredulously. "Don't tell me you wouldn't be intrigued by someone so talented."
"I suppose so...but there's a reason she's feared, In her second year, apparently a seventh year tried to...have his way with her. The seventh year was found with exposure to the cruciatus and his body damaged beyond repair of even magic several hundred meters below on a cliff."
"Rumours, I assure you," a silky voice interrupted, causing the two to turn, Katerina anxiously and Harry sedately.
"M-m-miss Ivarin-I-"
"A pleasure to meet you, miss Ivarin, I must say, your reputation precedes you," Harry inclined his head. She returned the gesture amusedly.
"So polite…may I inquire as to who you may have heard from?"
"Professor Petrov spoke most highly of you. That you hold two masters in the dark arts is a testament to your undoubted proficiency," Harry answered. She hummed thoughtfully, completely disregarding a shaking Katerina.
"I admit, I haven't seen you around before...transfer?"
"You would presume correctly,"
"Where?"
"Small school in the former Soviet Union," he answered, causing her eyebrow to raise delicately.
"Impressive...well, I must be off, but I'll be watching you with great interest, mister White." It was a power play, stating his name without asking it. Both knew it, yet Harry merely smiled genially.
Once he sensed he had left the vicinity, he turned to a still shaken Katerina and sighed. "Be aware of your surroundings, Katerina. Anyways, to the archives?"
"Yes...yes, of course. The archives are...just round this corner," she affirmed, dragging him along as she walked at a near jogging pace until they entered the area. "Right...guild...guild...ah, here."
-Durmstrang Guild Handbook-
A guild is a group consisting of two or more students who enter an agreement into joining a guild. Guilds must be registered at the archive centre. A guild can only be registered when the total number of points of its prospective members at the time of registration exceeds one hundred. A guild which falls below this number is immediately disbanded.
Except for where ICW, Magical Nordic laws or Durmstrang regulations contradict, guilds are free to enact any of their policies regarding their members. Any affairs within the guild are considered outside the jurisdiction of staff members unless otherwise against law or regulations.
Each guild must have a leader to represent them at guild assemblies, which occur every Saturday at noon. Attendance at all guild assemblies is mandatory, and failure to attend two sessions in a row will result in a guild being disbanded.
Guilds must have a mechanism for members to join and leave. The nature of these restrictions is left to the jurisdiction of the guilds, though guilds may not target members outside their own guilds.
Guild members may act on behalf of their guild to book facilities and resources, though this may be displaced by a guild with a higher total score. Points are tabulated live and scores can be read in the archives and outside the great hall.
Guilds that possess over two hundred points are eligible to request a common room, subject to availability. For each two hundred points a guild has, they may request an additional common room. At the end of the year, leases on the common room can be ensured for the next year provided a guild possesses five hundred points per common room.
Note that trades between guilds must be recorded in the archives to be considered official.
-Durmstrang Guild Handbook-
Peering through the booklet, he found mundane rules on the operations of guilds, but found no reason that he could stop them from applying. The two stepped up to the stern secretary, who peered over her spectacles.
"We'd like to start a guild," Katerina announced, causing the woman to snort.
"Names?"
"Katerina Zakharov and Harry White."
"Hmm," she flipped open her ledger. "Zakharov...eighty points...and White...hmm, impressive, one hundred and fifty points. Very well, you fulfill the requirements for forming a guild. Would you like to bid for a common room or facilities?"
"What common rooms are available?" Harry interjected at Katerina's unsure look. She passed them a list, causing both to frown, looking over the various rooms available. There must have been hundreds, though many were marked as taken.
"How about that one?" he asked, pointing to one near the Duelling Arena."
"What's the point? Our dorms are a five minute walk away. How about here," she indicated to one between the duelling arena and the quidditch pitch. Harry considered for several moments before shaking his head.
"Too high traffic, how about...this one," he pointed to one between the Transfiguration and Creature floors, halfway up the stairs. She scoffed.
"And smell of animals, I think not."
"Hmm...that one then," he proposed, pointing to one near the cliffside. Before she could reject it, he supplied, "It's a good distance from our dorms, and we both have potions, transfiguration and creatures, and you have healing as well. It would be far more convenient to have a common room there than not. Besides, it's in a low traffic area, is relatively big, and perhaps we could do something with the cliffside."
"You...have a feeling for this one?" she questioned. At his nod, she gave her assent with a wave of his hand. "This one it is, then."
"Excellent," the secretary hummed, scribbling on a ledger. "Two more things, a name and a leader."
"The Revolutionaries?" he proposed jokingly. She shrugged amusedly. "I'm joking, let's not provoke half the school into targeting us."
"How about...the Lost?" she proposed tentatively. He hummed his assent. "The Lost then. Now...who will be the leader?"
"You can have it if you want, I don't want to attend the meetings," Harry chuckled, causing her to frown. She missed the slight gleam in his eyes.
"Making me leader would instantly cause a lot of people to target our guild. Having you in the lead makes us more neutral...I think you should be the leader. That way we won't be targeted as much."
"Very well," he nodded after stalling for several seconds.
"Excellent, excellent," the secretary nodded. "The ledger has been updated, a reminder the common room is your duty to defend and maintain."
"Thank you, madam," the two chorused, before leaving the archive building and descending down a flight of stairs, where they found their common room at the end of a disused corridor. It seemed the ledger was connected to the magic of the school, as the door already had the name 'The Lost' emblazoned on it. However, what caught both their attentions was the mark of Grindelwald, the famed symbol of the three hallows, etched permanently on the side of the wall.
"So that's why most people avoided this place," Katerina spat. "We're in his domain!"
"And isn't it beautiful irony that two people who oppose him are now using his room," he tempered, sensing there was something very promising in the room. There was magic calling out for him inside, he would not be giving this up anytime soon.
"I suppose," Katerina conceded uneasily, pushing open the door and coughing at the dust that had gathered. Casting several cleaning spells, she gestured for them to enter.
It was a large room, around thirty meters deep and fifteen meters wide. The ceiling seemed oddly low, at only three meters high, yet neither could complain. "Well...let's begin. What do we want here? I'd imagine toilets, beds, book cases, desks, chairs, sofas, a small kitchen, maybe a brewing station?"
"Definitely," she agreed. "A duelling pit would be good too, and I suspect you might want a ritual area?"
"That would be good," he agreed. The two divided up the tasks, with him starting off with conjuring the equipment for two toilets, then moving on to beds, then the desks and chairs. He carved runes in them to make them permanent, keeping one eye on Katerina as she worked had on the duelling pit. By the time he finished with his sections, she had only just finished with the duelling pit, though seemed extremely pleased.
"I've managed to charm it to nearly international specifications," she declared proudly, before sobering slightly observing the large amount of the room he had already completed. He, however, had a bright smile, pulling her in a hug.
"That's great, can you go to our rooms and grab our trunks?" he inquired. She nodded, seemingly shocked in the trust he placed in her. What she didn't need to know was that his more valuable possessions were left in his apartment in Voronagrad, safely behind wards that made the ancient Egyptians look like amateurs. Instead, he merely assured warmly, "I trust you, we're friends, right?"
"Of course," she quickly assured, leaving the room. Once he sensed her presence had left the vicinity, he cast several diagnostic scans on the roof, frowning when they didn't return a signal. Quickly drawing a set of runes that functionally had the same purpose as a mirror for magical pulses, he climbed up the stairs up a floor, walking to a similar position near the dead end of a corridor, and cast a sonar charm directly down below him. He waited with bated breath...and there was no reflection.
Something was absorbing magic.
This means someone had hidden something in between.
Quickly descending down the stairs back to the room, he removed the reflection runes and he sent a blasting curse upwards towards the roof, only to have it be absorbed by the rock, energy distortions rippling much like how his bubblehead charm did.
Deciding to investigate later as he sensed a presence nearing their common room, undoubtedly Katherine, he began casting blasting curses onto the end of the room, destroying large areas of rock and creating much rubble, until he saw light penetrate into the cave from the outside, along with bitter snow. He couldn't help a laugh, as he waved his wand, making a crude balcony transfiguration rock before creating a window to seal the room once again.
"Harry I'm ba-what in merlin's name!" Katherine gasped, dropping both trunks as she basked in the natural light. "H-h-how is this…"
"Would you believe me if I said magic?" he asked humorously. This seemed to snap her out of her trance, as she dragged the trunks in and sealed the door, before walking up to the window, pressing a palm against it as she watched the snow billow outside.
"It's beautiful," she admired, waving her wand and making the windows and fittings more ornate. Opening the door, she quickly transfigured the balcony to be more presentable, before withdrawing inside, shivering slightly. "It's cold as hell, but damn if it's not worth the view."
"I'll get started on the wards. Can you unpack our cauldrons and set up a small kitchen?" She nodded, and they set about their respective tasks.
Author Note:
Much more my speed! Harry's first lessons, and among his favourites. I can already anticipate several points, so let me point out several things:
Neither Harry nor professor Petrov were giving it their all. The professor underestimated Harry, believing him an extremely talented fourth year at around sixth to seventh year level. While impressive in its own right were this the case, such a student would not have been able to challenge him. Harry, showing both skill and creativity, used a distraction through creative use of the environment that most duellers wouldn't think of. This in combination with him being caught flat footed by Harry's unexpectedly harsh attack ended the victory in Harry's favour. In a proper duel under 2B rules, Harry might win six to seven times out of ten, but it would be far from certain. This is because you have to remember, Harry is trained to fight, not to duel. A duel is a magical exhibition of abilities, where you're fighting to dominate an opponent, whereas a fight is for survival. In a fight, have no doubt over 9 in 10 times Harry would win, at this point in the story in a true all out fair fight to the death, only against a caliber of opponent such as Voldemort, Dumbledore and Grindelwald would he struggle. He's dominate witches and wizards in Moody, Crouch and Snape's caliber. However, in a duel, Harry has to restrict himself, not only to hide the true extent of his abilities, but because many of his tactics and magics are designed to kill or inflict pain and damage to an extent he would be disqualified from even a type 3 duel. A quick note on duels, they are split into four categories: type 1 is the most basic, where only wands are allowed (no physical combat) and nothing that can potentially cause permenant damage. The limit of what you'd see in such duels would be prank spells, and a stunner. Even a blasting curse, reducto, would get you disqualified in such a duel. Type 2a is an advancement into proper duelling. While physical contact is still forbidden, more dangerous magics are opened up. While quite dark spells with clear intent to permanantly maim or kill such as a decapitation curse, even powerful neutral magic such as a reductor as well as dark jinxes and hexes such as a bat boogey hex would be fair game. Type 2b is an advancement on type 2a, with even greater leniancy on magic and allowance of physical contact, for instance a bone breaker, which would not be tolerated in type 2a, would be tolerated in 2b. Type 2b is the international standard in adult duelling tournaments. Type 3 duels are very rarely declared in the modern day. Pretty much anything short of an unforgivable is fair game, so a decapitation curse, a blood boiling spell and the warhammer spell would all be fair game. Type 3 duels are meant to simulate the honour duels of old, and while it is still frowned upon to cause permenant physical damage to an opponent, such would be reluctantly accepted in a type 3 duel. The magic we've seen in the Soviet chapters was deliberately largely limited to elemental magics and the mind arts, because with few exceptions, these are the areas Harry uses most of the time to complete combat missions. His performance in DADA, while outstanding even by Durmstrang's rather high standards, is not exceptional, in that you could expect maybe one to three people like Harry each year at Durmstrang alone. While still impressive, this isn't the dominance we see with Grindelwald, Dumbledore and Voldemorts' educations. To hammer home the point, against a sixteen year old Voldemort, Harry would win in a fight to the death nine times out of ten, similar with Dumbledore and Grindlewald. This is because at their age they aren't as powerful as they would become, and have not developed sufficient knowledge to counter the overwhelming power that Harry brings. Yet in a 2b duel, the reverse would likely be true because Harry has a far more limited breadth of magic. This isn't as evident now as it's going to be in the dark arts, though I'll say that the Harry now would not get an O in OWLS because, as he suggests, while he has perfected more useful spells such as a shield and disillusionment (with the ability to perform such acts silently and wandlessly), Harry would not have knowledge of most jinxes and hexes, for instance, seeing as they would be largely useless during his service of the Union. This is something that Harry is going to rectify over the course of the next few years. In terms of potential, Harry definitely surpasses both light lord, dark lord and dark lady. However, you have to remember we aren't comparing them at the same age. Those magical titans have decades if not over a century of experience over Harry, which inevitably means they're going to have esoteric magic tricks up their sleeves that would significantly harm Harry's chances in any confrontation.
On the second point for which I wish to elaborate, Harry and Katerina have seemed to grow unnaturally close in the week since they've met on the Durmstrang ship. I want to shed some context on Katerina's side, which has no direct place in the story (that I could fit in thus far, perhaps in a remaster). She is the granddaughter of one of the most infamous wizards during the Great War (Magical equivalent of our World War 2, in this canon magical involvement in WW1 was far more limited on the magical side and thus they would not have termed it a 'great war', I will refer to it as the blood war) As touched on in the prior chapter, Grindelwald supporting families, of which there are still many, resent her for being on the other side. On the other hand, even those who were against Grindelwald were horrified by his tactics and thus shunned them. This was in no small part due to influence from prominent French and British magical leaders at the time who abhorred such destruction. Thus, when she has another person to connect to, she latches on. I've tried to hint at it a bit, but essentially, Harry is manipulating Katerina to an extent, knowing that she is isolated and desperate for companionship. It is a similar reason why he befriends Jade so readily, because she is both capable as a fighter (though perhaps not exceptional), but well connected and intelligent.
A question from Poseidon3000: Will I bring Harry back to England to interact with the events of the books? Absolutely! The plan is for Harry's seventh year to take place in Hogwarts, where a tournament will happen. There will be a reunion with his family then, and Harry's past as Raven will have a significant impact on how they interact. To a lesser extent, this is also true of Harry's relation with Dumbledore. In terms of exploring the Hogwarts timeline, would people be interested in a companion fic? Because it could definitely happen with a focus on Rose's perspective. As is, the events are so unrelated that it wouldn't make sense to place any significant amount of her adventures in this story.
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