XV. Quidditch

Harry could barely focus the next morning. Though Dumbledore had assured Harry that there was nothing wrong with him, he was still worried. Why would Dumbledore be unable to see what was in his mind? Why did the memory play differently for him than for its creator? What did the symbol mean? Harry's head pounded as it went through all the questions and with each round becoming more desperate. Dumbledore himself admitted to not knowing why these things were happening or what they could mean. The comment on how the alleged wall felt also worried Harry. Alien, he had said. Was it a result of Voldemort's possession? Could he have somehow blocked certain parts of his mind? But that would make no sense. Unless the spell was designed to react to certain thoughts, Voldemort had no way of knowing that Dumbledore would show that memory to Harry.

Galdir was perfectly aware of the storm of thoughts that was brewing in Harry's head, but had elected to say nothing about it. Neville and Hermione had noticed as well, but due to Neville's insistence, they had refrained from asking him any questions. He would come to them when the time was right. It was like this that the four friends sat on Monday morning during breakfast: Harry brooding over his meal, while Hermione and Neville eyed him worriedly. Galdir remained composed as always, with just a sliver of worry trickling into his eyes. Deciding to break the uncomfortable silence that reigned, Hermione brought out her planner.

"I've been checking your schedule Harry, and I believe that you should be able to hold the Quidditch try-outs by this Friday or Saturday at the latest", she said.

"Oh… right. Thanks Hermione. Do you think that your broom will be here by then, Galdir?" asked Harry. Galdir simply nodded as he slowly ate the plate of fruit before him.

"I have already notified my mother, and she should be able to get me a broom by…" A series of shocked gasps interrupted him. All the eyes of the Great Hall were aimed upwards, some even pointing their fingers at the object of their focus: a single golden eagle that had flown in. It glided gracefully through the air, emitting an aura of majesty as it flapped its wings to slow itself and land softly on Galdir's shoulder.

"Is that yours?" asked Neville.

"My family's, yes", answered Galdir as he bowed his head to the eagle, who bowed back.

"What's his name?" asked Harry, mesmerized by the golden and brown tones of its feathers.

"Soron." His finger slowly stroked its chest feathers, and the eagle rubbed its head against his cheek. It then dropped down to the table, where it stretched its leg revealing a sealed envelope. Galdir took it and offered the eagle his food, which it promptly began to peck at. Galdir eyed the letter carefully as he opened it.

"Who's it from?" asked Neville.

"I believe it is from my uncle" replied Galdir. The letter was written in Canadion's rich script. The glyphs of Ancient Elvish adorned the surface of the paper, making it more a work of art than a mere means of communicating a message. But that was the way of the Elves. Layered on top of the glyphs were many spells that prevented anyone but Galdir from reading the message. Should anyone else catch a mere glimpse of the letter, they would see text written in whatever language was spoken at the time and place were the letter was opened, thereby ensuring complete privacy.

Heru,

I have passed your request to the artisans of Aglaron, who inform me that your broom shall be ready by morn. It will be made according to your instructions, though they were a bit perplexed by the list of spells that you required the item to possess. 'Most unusual' were their words.

We have been unable to track down Lucius Malfoy after his escape from Azkaban. The fact that we have not been on the island itself makes it all that much harder. We have reason to believe that he is just waiting out the storm, though we are unclear as to what his purpose may be. The accounts from the family of the sole Auror that made it off the island are distressing. The state in which the body arrived is consistent with the description of the Ritual of Ohtatyaro. Humans have no knowledge of this, which begs the question of how they were able to perform it. Even then, this is far from Voldemort's style.

On that subject, both Voldemort and his followers have been absent ever since the raid. There has been no gloating or any other form of activity on their behalf, which has the humans on edge, as you may already be aware.

Master, if I may be blunt with you, these issues are mere trifles compared to the problems that are rising in our world. The House of Faeleth is completely destabilized. Lady Faelel has already declared a public allegiance to the House of Daeron, calling him her 'Lord', something that has not happened in the history of the Elves since the formation of the six Houses. Duvainor has been surprisingly absent, and as such one of his nobles had to accept the allegiance on his behalf. Several members of the House of Arnor have already declared their allegiance to Daeron, though thankfully there has been more resistance than was originally expected.

Several members of our courts have already begun making preparations for another Civil War, though we believe that their efforts are premature. Your council would be greatly appreciated in this matter.

Hope you are well.

Sincerely,

Aglareth, Anuon, and Canadion.

Galdir's frown deepened the more he read the letter. The news of the Ritual were troubling to say the least, but they paled in comparison to the current state of the Elven allegiance between Faeleth and Daeron was surprising, though not entirely unexpected. Galdir had already guessed that this would happen since Aglareth had told him of the state in which Lady Faelel was in. However, he had hoped that it was a mere mistake. It turns out that the worst case that he had envisioned did happen. Riddles in the dark, he thought grimly. The whole situation was strangely reminiscent of another incident from his past, but he had long since decided to ignore it. After all, there was no way that he could have escaped was there? He would have definitely felt it had it occurred.

"Is everything alright Galdir?" asked Hermione. Galdir snapped from his sea of thoughts and smiled kindly at her.

"Yes. Some internal affairs that have gone sour. Nothing to worry about" he replied. Hermione nodded, not entirely convinced.

"Are we going to train again today?" asked Neville. Harry perked up at this for the first time since the night before.

"If it is your wish, then I have no problems meeting again tonight. There is something that I tried yesterday with Harry that yielded very good results. Something that I believe that you would both benefit from" answered Galdir.

"What did you try?" asked Hermione anxiously.

"All in good time Hermione. Needless to say that Harry is now one step closer to full wandless and silent magic."

Classes were terribly uneventful for Harry that day. All his mind was focused on was their training session that evening. He had attempted several spells in Transfiguration silently, but he had failed miserably. Galdir smiled and told him that it would take some time, especially since Transfiguration was one of the hardest branches to get right. Harry nodded and proceeded to perform the spell normally, all while thinking how pointless the whole exercise was. The only exception to an otherwise very boring day was Defence. Snape was still attempting to get them to cast their shield charms silently. He still glared daggers at Galdir, who would simply wave his hand and a shimmering shield would appear. Ron was almost kicked out of the class when Snape found out that he was muttering the incantation under his breath. He was also dangerously close to failing him when he saw the quality of his overall work. Ever since their fallout, Ron had been slipping down a dangerous slope. His performance in class was dismal and his grades from the very first assignments even more so. It didn't help that he continued to glare at Harry whenever he had a chance, but Harry had managed to learn how to ignore him.

Harry stared hard at the end of his wand as he willed a shield to appear before him to block the tickling spell that Neville was sending his way. Next to him, Galdir comfortably waited for Hermione to produce hers while launching smiling charms at her on random intervals. Their activities were disrupted by Snape's sneer.

"Aglaron! How do you expect your classmate to learn how to defend herself if all you through at her are pathetic spells?"

"I believe that attacking her would be counterproductive sir", replied Galdir silkily.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your tone! You should learn how to respect your betters." Galdir arched an eyebrow at this, but decided to refrain from answering him. Although he greatly itched to wipe the floor with the greasy professor, he controlled his urges.

"Potter! What pathetic excuse for a shield is that?! A first year could do better!" snapped Snape.

"Sorry professor", muttered Harry.

"Spare me your replies Potter. You are just like your father. Lazy and arrogant! You think that just because you're famous everything will be easy. Well guess what Potter?! You actually need to work!" Harry's ears were tinged with a very delicate shade of red. Had Snape been paying more attention, he would have noticed how Harry had already stopped trying to produce a shield and was instead clenching and unclenching his hands rhythmically. Galdir did notice this and immediately turned his gaze to Goyle, who was staring dumbly at his wand. With a simple stare, his wand produced a stream of fire that immediately caused Crabbe's cloak to begin to burn, while Goyle jumped in surprise, waving his wand erratically. Snape's attention was immediately drawn to this as he cast a shield over the bystanders and a stream of water to quench the fire.

"Goyle! Are you intentionally being daft or are you plain idiotic?!" yelled Snape. Harry relaxed as soon as he was out of Snape's range.

"Did you cause Goyle's wand to start spewing fire?" asked Harry later that evening. They were gathered in the same room, and were currently sitting down on the cushions that Galdir had conjured.

"Yes. Although fire was not my intent. Casting through another person is remarkably difficult, even with one whose mind is already void of… well everything" answered Galdir with a smile. They all snickered at his comment.

"But how were you able to do it?" asked Neville.

"Recall what I taught you before. Magic does not necessitate any additional mediums to flow. As such, it is possible to cast through something or someone else. Granted, casting from a wand will be considerably more difficult than making a gargoyle produce molten rock for example, but the principle is the same. The problem with another's wand is that their own will and thoughts have to be taken into account. It is not a preferred practice, even amongst people that are completely in tune with one another."

"Is that how people make others cast magic when they're possessed?" asked Hermione.

"The principle is the same. The difference is that possession involves forcing the person to do something. Although your will is driving the magic, the source of power is not yourself. There is also the potential difficulty of it being against the person's will. If it goes against their own morals, like killing, it will be considerably more difficult. But I digress, shall we start?" asked Galdir. He received nods from the other three as they stood up and drew their wands, with the exception of Harry. "Now, here's what I want you to do: Harry, I want you to start working on simple charms and spells. Nothing beyond second year. You two, are going to join me in the back of the room."

As soon as they reached the back, Galdir turned to face them.

"I am going to try something with you two. It is the same thing that I tried on Harry and I have reason to believe that it will help you. However, due to several fundamental differences, the effect won't be anywhere remotely as noticeable as Harry's, but it will definitely give you a much better chance of learning how to harness the flow of magic from your core."

"What differences?" asked Neville.

"I am sure that you both have noticed how Harry can be extraordinarily powerful on situations where there is great danger", answered Galdir.

"Yes. During third year he conjured a corporeal Patronus", said Hermione.

"And during fifth there was the battle of the Department of Mysteries", offered Neville.

"Right. During all of these, Harry was using the flow directly from his core. That means that he already knows how to access it and bend it to his will, at least at an instinctive level. You two however, have not had to learn this. As a result, Harry will progress a lot faster than you two. Now, what I—" The sound of an object zipping towards them at high speeds interrupted his speech. Galdir turned around with amazing speed in time to see a cushion flying towards them. He simply smiled and the cushion stopped dead in its tracks, landing on the ground with a soft flop. "Harry. Remember that accessing your core provides you with a lot more power than you are normally used to. So please try to remain focused on the casting." Harry nodded and continued to levitate the cushions.

"Now then, shall we begin?" asked Galdir as he returned his attention to the other two, who nodded emphatically. "Alright then. I want you to close your eyes and focus on my voice. Nothing else exists but my voice…"

Hermione closed her eyes and immediately felt herself becoming entranced by Galdir's soothing voice. She felt like she was floating. Suspended amidst an infinite sky with nothing but clear blue ahead. Behind her was a bright shine encased by a massive thunderhead. She heard a soft voice calling to her, and she slowly drifted towards its source. The temperature slowly dropped, and soon she felt herself shivering as small snowflakes drifted around her. Claps of thunder rattled her skull, and flashes of lightning blinded her. Thick rain descended, mixing with the falling flakes of ice and causing her hair to freeze together. Clouds shifted into shapes, which then became faces. Harry sneered at her, and Neville eyed her with disgust. The voice that drew her in became distorted as it mingled with cold voices that laughed and mocked her.

Bookworm. Hideous. Insufferable know-it-all. Nobody likes you. The rants echoed in her head, becoming louder and louder. Tears streamed down her face, which then turned into icicles due to the cold.

Harry likes me, she thought. He's like my brother…

NO! You are alone! You will always be alone! How can anyone like you, much less treat you like family?! roared the voice in response.

Neville… he … fancies me. The voice laughed with the same cruel laugh that the bullies in her childhood had laughed at her. Ron's eyes materialized, his eyes burning with hate.

He does not love you! You're ugly and disgusting. A pathetic excuse for a woman!

Hermione broke down in tears, and she curled up into a tight ball. She felt something prickling her side, and she roughly pushed it away, only to have her hand meet with something soft and delicate. Raising her head, Hermione turned to see the source of the feeling. There, amidst the battering of the winds and the constant deluge that surrounded them was a single rose. Its petals slowly curled out from their bud, and the rain dispelled around them. Hermione felt a surge of warmth coming from it. She slowly reached out to grab its stem. The rain stopped. The winds died. The cacophony of voices drowned into nothingness, replaced by a soothing lullaby. The snow melted and the clouds parted. Sunlight streamed in, pure and righteous. Clutching the rose tightly against her chest, Hermione turned around to where the faces used to be, prepared to face them down. Instead, she found herself looking into her father's warm eyes. They slowly morphed into her mothers, and then turned into the bright shade of green that were Harry's. The rose seemed to pulse as she slowly floated towards them. Just before she touched them, they turned into Neville's hazel eyes. A bright light seemed to grow from them, until she had to block her eyes.

"Hermione, look", said Galdir's soft voice. Hermione opened her eyes and stared into the hypnotic light that danced from the tip of her wand. It was the same shade that she had seen…

Neville closed his eyes and immediately felt himself falling. He landed suddenly, with something cushioning his fall. He opened his eyes and found himself in a deep forest. Tall trees grew thick around him, and a soft moss covered the ground. Light shimmered magically through the heavy canopy of the trees. Neville walked through the thicket, lost in the beauty and majesty of the forest. Ahead of him was a short trail that lead to a solitary spring with crystal clear water. The bubbling of the water resembled a voice that beckoned him to come closer. Entranced by the way the light sparkled from its glittering surface, Neville slowly walked towards it. Leaves rustled slowly as vines covered in sharp thorns crept beneath his feet. He was so lost in the beauty of the spring that he did not notice them until they suddenly sprang before him, forming an impenetrable wall. The light was blotted out and the forest descended into a deep darkness. All around him, the trees died and the moss dried out. His feet crunched the pile of dead plants that now covered the ground. The trees, with their branches now bare, twisted until their trunks resembled faces. A cackling voice pierced the silence as the wall of thorns slowly shifted until the form of Bellatrix Lestrange was left standing. Her eyes glinted madly, and her wand stroked her cheek.

Your parents and I had such a lovely time together. Their screams were so… delicious, she taunted.

Shut up! roared Neville as he drew out his wand.

Aww… is wee Longbottom angry? Are you going to cry for mommy and daddy? she cackled.

Put that wand down before you kill yourself Longbottom, said the voice of Snape. Neville turned to see a tree that resembled the dreaded professor sneer at him. Honestly Longbottom, how you managed to get this far amazes me. Here you are, a wizard no better than a Squib attempting to take on a Death Eater. Tell me, are you really this daft or do you act like a bumbling idiot on purpose?

No! You're wrong!

Ahh but he's right Longbottom. You've known it all along. After all, it was pity that drew Harry towards you, said Ron's voice. You will always be second best. Never amounting to anything.

Neville's hand trembled in his hand as the voices grew louder and louder. His wand fell, and Neville grasped his head in his hands in an attempt to block the noise. Tears slowly streaked his face, and he felt like the small boy who had lost his toad in first year. Alone and afraid. He heard the patter of paws and he curled himself in an attempt to shield against the oncoming assault. Something nudged him and Neville uncurled himself to see what it was. A lone otter stood in front of him. Its fur shone with dark chocolate tones, and its amber eyes glinted brightly. The vines withered and died as the forest seemed to rejuvenate. The trees grew leaves, and the soft blanket of moss sprouted once more. The bubbling of the spring grew louder and louder until it sounded like a waterfall.

"Neville!" squealed Hermione. He opened his eyes only to find a huge stream of water shooting from his wand. Galdir's robes were soaked through, but his smile could not be any bigger. Even Harry was smiling. He had abandoned his exercises when Hermione's wand lit up and he had come over, only to receive a huge blast of ice cold water from the tip of Neville's wand. Neville ended the spell and they all stood there in shock, with Neville being the only one that was dry. Galdir's smile slowly cracked as he started laughing. The rest soon followed and the room was filled with the joyous sound of four friends laughing and simply being kids.

As soon as they calmed down, Galdir waved his hand and their clothes instantly dried.

"Well, I think that there has been enough excitement for one day. What say we call it a night?" said Galdir. The other three nodded, and Harry started heading towards the door. "Hermione, Neville. Could I talk with you for a moment please?" asked Galdir. They nodded and remained behind.

"I'll see you in the common room", called Harry. The three teens nodded.

"Whatever it is that you saw in the trance is for you and you alone", said Galdir. "Know this: it will become easier to access your cores, however, as your power grows so will the obstacles until you defeat them. What you did today is overcome them, but they will return. Do you understand?" Both of them nodded.

"Will we have to go through this every time?" asked Neville.

"No. It will likely only happen under duress, though I would not discard that idea entirely. Each person has to overcome different things and the process is unique to each one of us."

"It seemed so… real", said Hermione.

"Just because it is in your mind does not imply that it is not real Hermione. What you felt is real, as real as the room around us."

"What will happen once we… beat this?" asked Neville. Galdir only smiled at him and turned, leaving them to ponder his words.

Friday arrived quicker than Harry had anticipated. Galdir's broom had in fact arrived that Tuesday and was greeted with the same fanfare as his letter. The broom itself was crafted out of a blend of ebony and dark cherry, with the single most symmetrical twigs that Harry had ever seen. He was just as anxious as Galdir to test it out. Upon inspection, it seemed to have good balance, though Harry would have to see it in action, since apparently it was layered with a protective charm that would render it useless to anyone but Galdir. So it was that the four teens marched to the Quidditch pitch on an overcast Friday afternoon. They had managed to coax Hermione into joining them, though in reality she was more than willing to go with them, for nothing more than to see Neville fly.

It had not taken Hermione very long to figure out what the rose that she had seen represented, nor why it had driven her fears away. The main difficulty was how shy Neville was. Her inexperience in the area did not help either, but she was at least making the effort. She would sit closer to him and try to strike up conversation more often, even going as far as trying to find more moments when they could be alone. Galdir had noticed this immediately, and had provided them with some space. They had not had another training session since, though Galdir had the very strong suspicion that there may be some reason to have it later that evening, if only with one particular member.

Neville on the other hand had reacted very favourably to his trance. He even had some plans for the evening, although it was very likely that things would not work out as he had expected, but at least he was somewhat hopeful that he would finally be able to have a chance at what he wanted.

After the three had changed, Harry lead the two boys out of the changing room to a very full pitch. It seemed that just about everyone from Gryffindor, and even some that weren't from their House, was there. Galdir smiled while Harry rolled his eyes at this.

"It seems that your reputation precedes you Harry", he said with a smirk.

"Very funny Galdir."

"He's right you know?" chuckled Neville. Harry gave them both a mock glare and stared at the group of kids. He cleared his throat and tried to muster as much authority as he could.

"Alright everyone! If I could…" his voice was drowned by the chatter of the students. Many were so involved in their conversations that they had failed to acknowledge that the person, or rather persons, that they wanted to see where there.

"Very smooth Harry. Let's see if by next fall they notice you", said Neville with a grin.

"Got any better ideas?" replied Harry curtly.

"No. But I'm not the captain", quipped Neville. Harry glared at him.

"If I may, Harry?" asked Galdir. Harry nodded and gave him the go ahead. Galdir bowed his head and simply clapped his hands. What Harry was expecting and what ended up happening were two very different things. Instead of the usual sound that a single person clapping makes, the noise that he generated was not unlike a clap of thunder. The entire stadium descended into absolute silence. Galdir bowed once again and yielded his spot to Harry, who stared at him incredulously.

"Right then. I want to thank you all for showing up here and giving us your support, but if I could have all the people from other houses in the stands that would be great." Noises of disapproval sounded everywhere. Galdir simply arched an eyebrow, which Harry acknowledged. Harry slowly tapped his throat with his hand.

"THAT WOULD BE NOW!" his magnified voice said. The students immediately snapped to attention and left. By the time the crowd settled down, only those that could actually join the team were left. Harry stood there, very impressed. Neville clapped silently, and Galdir gave him a very large grin.

"Now that we have sorted that out, I want to split you into groups. Those that are trying for Chasers, line up here." Galdir was the first to move to the designated spot, followed by Katie Bell, Dean Thomas, Demelza Robins, and a few others.

"Thank you. Now those that want to apply for beaters here. Keepers can go over to the posts, and finally seekers can stay with me", instructed Harry. He was very surprised to see that Ron was there, followed by another kid called Cormac McLaggen, both of which were trying for Keepers. Neville and three more lined up for Beaters, and finally Ginny remained with Harry as a possible Seeker. He gave her a warm smile and then turned to face the others.

"Right, so let's start with the Chasers and then work our way down", he said as he opened the box that he had brought with him. Inside were several balls of roughly the same size as the Quaffle. He then mounted his broom and kicked off, followed by the rest of the prospective Chasers.

If Harry was once impressed by the flying of Angelina Johnson, by the time the Chasers were picked, that notion was scrubbed clean from his head. Galdir managed to marshal the Chasers into very tight formations that literally tore through the Quidditch field faster than anyone thought possible. His acrobatics were another story entirely. One time, Harry threw a ball intentionally out of their reach to see how they would react. Galdir simply zoomed in, and jumped off the broom, catching the ball mid-air. He then twisted and summoned his broom, which flew neatly between his legs as if he had never left it in the first place. Harry chose him as the leader, along with Katie Bell and Demelza. Dean was chosen to be a reserve Chaser, though Galdir told him that he would train as hard as the rest of them.

The Beaters were taken care of fairly quickly. Though Neville lacked the finesse of the Twins, he had more than enough power to compensate for this. Next to him were Coote and Peaks, who although good, were very inexperienced. Harry decided to keep all three, so he would have a reserve Beater. He then chose Ginny as his reserve Seeker, seeing how he had seen her fly before.

The most interesting ones were the Keepers. Harry told Cormac to guard the posts while Galdir and his team of Chasers tried to score against him. To say that the number of goals that were scored were beyond what many would even consider funny would be an understatement. Galdir's insane acrobatics, coupled with the eagle-eyed precision of Katie and Demelza's raw speed, made the trio unstoppable. Dean provided a good sense of balance to the team, since he was not quite as fast as Demelza, but he was certainly more precise than she was, making him an excellent back up. By the time that Harry decided to stop them, Cormac was beet red with shame and panting hard. Harry then called Ron up. He did not last even five seconds against the power house that was now the Gryffindor Team. Katie Bell passed the Quaffle to Demelza, who then zipped it to Galdir, who was flying dead on towards Ron. At the last possible second, Galdir vaulted over the rings, his broom taking a very sharp descent. Galdir twisted mid-air and then threw the ball towards Katie, who had positioned herself brilliantly. Taking advantage of Ron's surprise, she scored easily, as Galdir summoned his broom and flew by.

Harry felt bad for both Keepers, but he decided to choose Cormac, who, although somewhat of a big shot, had been substantially more consistent than Ron. As the new team landed and began congratulating each other, Ron's face turned a very ugly shade of red.

"HOW DARE YOU POTTER?! You also had to take this from me? After you knew how much this meant to me? After…" Ron never got the chance to finish his tirade. Four wands were aimed at him, three of which were glowing with a very deep red. Harry had had more than enough of Ron and was not going to allow him to continue. He drew his wand and aimed it at him, followed by Galdir and Neville. Ginny was the last one, though out of the four, she was the only one that actually had any intention of cursing him. The rest of them merely wanted to threaten him.

"Shut up", growled Harry. "You and I have nothing left to say to each other Ronald. And for your information, I chose the best for the team because I want to win this year. And you don't cut it."

"You little…"

"Add one more syllable and you will find that the beds in Madame Pomfrey's ward are far from comfortable", snapped Galdir. By this point, Ron had already drawn his wand as well.

"Who do you think you…"

"Drop it Ron. You can't win this", said Neville in a threatening tone.

"Ron. I will give you one last chance to lower your wand and walk away or so help me, by the time that I'm through with you, Mom's punishment will seem like a holiday", growled Ginny.

Ron slowly realized what predicament he had dragged himself into and, muttering darkly under his breath, lowered his hand and walked away.

Hermione came rushing down the stands when she saw Ron approaching them. Thankfully, the situation had been fully settled by the time that she arrived, which was lucky for Ron, since she was not pleased at all. Her anger quickly melted as Neville swooped her into his arms, his face beaming with joy at making the Quidditch team. Neville quickly realized what he was doing, and he set her down, both of them blushing furiously. Deciding that this was as good a time as any, Neville screwed his courage and drew Hermione aside.

"H-Hermione?" he stuttered.

"Yes Neville?" she asked expectantly.

"Would you like to celebrate with me?" he managed to blurt out, though it sounded more like "Wouldyouliketocelebratewithme?"

"If I want to celebrate with you?" asked Hermione, deciding to spare Neville further discomfort.

"Yes. Just the two of us. I mean, it's alright if you don't want to…"

"I would love to Neville. Do you have anywhere in mind?"

"I was thinking the Room of Requirement. If that's okay I mean."

"That would be perfect. I'll see you there later then?"

"Yeah" he answered dreamily.

Galdir smiled as he saw the two talking. Although he had not mentioned it, he was more than aware of what both of them had seen when he had placed them under the trance. More importantly, it was blatantly evident what the symbols that they saw meant. What he wondered was just how long it would take for them to figure it out. He was immensely pleased to see that they were quick about it and that Neville had finally decided to do something about it.

"Where did you learn to do moves like that Galdir? I didn't even think they were possible!" said Harry.

"Well, there are no rules that explicitly say that a player must remain on his or her broom at all times. That coupled with silent summoning and you have the foundations for this", said Galdir with a smile.

"Still though, they look hard to do. Especially the timing."

"Practice Harry. Speaking of, do you want to meet tonight?"

"Sure. Have you asked Neville and Hermione?"

"I believe that they are… otherwise engaged."

"Oh. Alright then, I'll see you after then."

Neville fidgeted nervously near the oak doors that signified the entrance to the Room of Requirement. After getting dressed in record time, Neville had rushed here to ensure that everything was perfect. Or at least as perfect as he could manage. So now it was that he now attempted to wait patiently for Hermione to arrive. He failed miserably at it, but he tried nonetheless. Hermione arrived mere minutes after Neville had finished preparing the room. Granted, to him it felt like an eternity, but that was beside the point. She had managed to tame her hair into something very reminiscent of the style that she had worn for the Yule Ball. She had also removed her normal Hogwarts uniform in favour of a nice skirt and shirt. Neville's jaw went slack when he saw her. The scintillating light from a nearby torched danced in her hair, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Shall we go in?" asked Hermione. Neville immediately blushed and opened the door for her. Inside was a small scale reproduction of the Gryffindor Common Room, save for the fact that there were only two chairs in it, which surrounded a small table and a small couch. The fireplace held a roaring fire that gave the room a warm, cosy ambience. Hermione smiled and walked in, preferring the comfy couch over the chairs. Neville followed and sat down next to her, keeping a conservative distance from her.

"So, congratulations on making the team", said Hermione with a smile.

"Thanks. I honestly didn't think I was going to make it."

"Why? From what I saw today, I don't think that there should be any reason for you to doubt."

"I guess I was just scared and…"

"Neville", said Hermione as she placed her hand over his. Neville marvelled at how soft her skin was. "We've been through the Department of Mysteries. I think that there's no need to hide or attempt to impress each other", she said with a warm smile. Neville felt himself melting over her.

"Yeah we have, haven't we", he said sheepishly. "I guess that… being told all the time that you can never do anything right sort of gets to you after a while, you know?" Hermione nodded at this.

"But you're good at many things Neville."

"Yeah. Herbology and… that's about it."

"That's not true. Neville, I saw the way that you fought in the Department of Mysteries. If you were even half of the things that others have told you, you would not have been the only one left standing next to Harry. If anything I should be the one that…"

"That what?"

"I failed, Neville. I failed Harry. I took that stupid curse and left him alone when he needed me the most. Perhaps if I had been faster I would have…"

"Hermione. There was no way you could have done anything differently. Those were trained Death Eaters, and we're only kids."

"I know. I just… I look at Harry and how he continuously pushes himself forward. He always seems to know what to do and I can't help but feel that I should also be able to do this."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. It just seems surreal. Like outside is a dream and in here is the real world, even though you know it's the other way around."

"Look at us. Moping around when we should be celebrating. It's a shame that the Room cannot conjure food."

"Ah, I thought that might arise, so I brought this." Neville got up and produced a small bag containing an assortment of sweets and two cold butterbeers. "I didn't know which kind you liked, so I kind of brought one of everything."

"Thanks Neville", said Hermione as she took one bottle and a few pieces of candy.

"So what do you think of the team this year?" asked Hermione.

"You're asking me about Quidditch?" asked Neville incredulously.

"Well, my three friends are in it, so I may as well ask about it right?" she answered with a smile.

"True. I think that we're going to dominate the other Houses this year. Harry is the best Seeker that this school has ever seen, and Galdir… that kid is something else. Did you see the stunts that he pulled during practice?"

"Yeah. I though he was trying to kill himself when he leaped of his broom!"

"But then he summoned it! The way he does magic so casually is just…"

"Amazing. He reminds me of Dumbledore in that sense."

"I know right? I wonder how he learned all of that?"

"I don't know. I mean, what he is teaching us makes sense but, at the same time, I wonder why we aren't taught this way. If this is so much better, why don't they teach us this from the beginning?"

"I think it may have something to do with wizards as a whole. If you look at the way we live, everything is based on comfort, and doing as little effort as possible. That, and the purebloods won't allow a change. Might disturb the old ways or something like that."

"Possibly. I've done a lot of reading, but I've never been able to find a whole lot on politics and wizard traditions. I guess that this is taught by other wizards?"

"In a way. That and there's also the private libraries. Every Ancient House has one."

"So you have one Neville?"

"Yes. It's pretty big, though not as big as Hogwarts'. You should come see it sometime."

"I would love to."

Hermione turned to stare into Neville's eyes as he did the same. They both stared into each other's brown depths, almost losing themselves in them. Hermione felt a warm feeling surge from her chest as she stared at Neville. It was like she wanted, no, needed to touch him. Kiss him. Feel his strong arms holding her, keeping her safe and warm. Neville was lost in her beauty, his mind drawing a complete blank. For that short period of time, nothing else existed but each other. Neville finally snapped out of it and blushed, followed by Hermione.

"I guess it's getting late."

"I guess so", replied Hermione dreamily.

"Hey, Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"You mean as a date?"

"Yes. As a date."

"I would love to Neville", she said with a smile. She leaned in and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. Neville's smile grew even wider as they both got up and left. By the time they both reached their beds, they had arrived to the same conclusion: this was probably the best night of their lives.

Harry and Galdir stood in the room where they had their usual training sessions. After verifying that he could handle a simple levitation spell, Galdir smiled and congratulated him.

"I see that you have improved, even without the practice sessions."

"I've been trying it at night. Every day before I go to bed I tried to levitate something small, or try another of the spells from first year."

"Very good. However, as you may already be aware, these spells will not help you in combat. So I thought that today we would take the time to start something a little more… interesting. That is, of course, if you are up for it."

"Sure! What do you have in mind?" asked Harry. Galdir smiled and with a flick of his wrist, his wand snapped into his palm.

"This will be a simple combat exercise. I will throw you simple spells: tickle charms and the like. What you have to do is to avoid getting hit by whatever means you can muster."

"What's the catch?"

"You cannot use your wand. You may say the spells if you so choose, however, I highly encourage you not to do so. So, do you want to try it Harry?" Harry nodded emphatically as he made sure that his wand was safely stored inside his robes. "Very well then. The minute you use your wand, or I hit you six times, the challenge will end. Are you ready?" Harry gave him a single nod.

Galdir waved his wand and three spells came shooting from it. Harry waved his hand like he had seen Galdir do and a barely visible shield appeared. It shattered upon receiving the first two, forcing Harry to duck to avoid the third. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough and his leg went numb. Five spells flew out this time, forcing Harry to conjure another shield. This time, it managed to hold off against all the attacks, but it shattered when Galdir threw a cushion at it, causing it to collide with Harry's face. The attack continued, with seemingly random intervals between the spells and number. By the time Galdir had thrown his fifth barrage, Harry had already been hit five times. He managed to conjure another shield, but it dissipated quickly and three spells struck his chest, sending him tumbling backwards. Galdir strode forward and with a wave of his hand, removed the effects of the jinxes that he had used. Harry slowly dragged himself to his feet.

"So Harry, can you tell me what you did wrong?" asked Galdir.

"I couldn't hold the shield long enough", said Harry.

"No. Harry, do you remember my duel with Snape?"

"Yes. It's pretty hard to forget the whipping you gave him", he answered with a smile.

"Indeed. But that is not the reason that I asked you about it. Do you recall what I did, other than throw spells?"

"You batted them away with your palms."

"And?" Harry stared blankly at him. "I moved Harry. Knowing how to do a spell is useful, but it is a moot point if all you do is stand like a statue. You will be dead by the time you have managed to utter the first syllable. Combat is never about remaining still. You weave, you duck, you dodge spells. Whatever you cannot dodge then you either shield against or deflect. That is what you did wrong Harry. You tried to shield first and then move, when it should be the other way around."

"But won't you get more tired that way?"

"If you train, no. That is the fundamental difference between duelling, which is what you have been taught, and combat. For duelling, only strategy matters, since you are constrained by the rules of the match. Combat has no such limitations, and it is not only a contest of skill and power, but also of physical endurance."

"Alright. Let's try again." Galdir smiled and nodded.

Five minutes later, Harry lay on the floor panting and sweating. Though his Seeker reflexes allowed him to react quickly, his body was simply not used to that amount of physical exercise. The only solace he had was that he had managed to last longer against Galdir. He slowly gathered himself and stood up, his muscles complaining every motion that he made.

"How do you deflect spells?"

"Take a guess. How would you deflect a spell?"

"Assuming that shields can be moulded to whatever shape, then you can just modify it so it becomes a track."

"True. However, you are limited by the same constraints as the shield is. What happens if the spell is more powerful than you can hold?"

"I don't follow. If you're just deflecting, it technically isn't bouncing of the surface right?"

"Not entirely true. If a spell is going straight at you, how do you change its trajectory without bouncing it off something? You do not have unlimited space to create a shield with a low curvature that prevents any direct bouncing. Even then, it would still come in contact with the surface. So I ask again: how would you deflect it?"

"Can your will influence other spells?" Galdir smiled.

"No. However, you can influence the current of magic that the spell is travelling through." Harry stared at him quizzically. "Remember what I said about magic flowing from your core. That implies that magic can be compared to a river. However, if magic flows from your core, then where did that magic come from originally?"

"From outside?"

"Excellent Harry! Yes, our cores draw magic from the outside, which is called ambient magic. If the flow of magic from our cores outward is a river, then ambient magic is an ocean. And like one, it has currents. Whenever we cast a spell, we force magic to travel through the natural currents towards our target. However, if one were to will the direction of the currents to shift, it is possible to redirect the spell."

"And how expensive is that?"

"Not as expensive as you might think. It actually requires less energy to cause the current to shift than it does to cast the spell, since all that you are doing is redirecting, not piercing."

"So when you batted Snape's spells you were merely changing the current of magic?"

"Yes. Granted, it does take some training and quick thinking, since you have to shift the current as the spell is flying towards you, but it is entirely possible to do so. That is, however, a bit outside your current skill level."

"Can you train me to reach that level?"

"Indeed I can Harry. Indeed I can."