Chapter 6: The Feast, Lessons, and More Surprises.
_Author's Note_: I uploaded this in text form. The HTML code I was using on the other chapters put lots of white space in the document. After many attempts at trying to correct this I decided to try this. I'm stickler for special formatting but maybe this will be ok.
The students in Samuel's first class filed into the classroom and laid papers down on his desk. Samuel sat on the edge of his desk and read the papers quietly. After a few minutes he laid them down and smiled at the class.
"Alright. Everyone who turned 'em in gets extra credit if you need it." He said. "Is everyone excited about the party tonight?"
"What party?" one of the students asked.
"I'm sorry, the feast." Samuel said. "I hear the house elves started at two this morning preparing. I've got some announcements today, actually."
"Any word on the dementors?" asked one of the students in the back.
"Yes, actually I've spoken to Professor Moody on that very subject. He told me that starting today; he would double up on that particular subject. He mentioned homework and then laughed insanely before limping down the hall. I shudder to think at what he's going to have you guys do." Said Samuel. Several of the students groaned miserably. "Cheer up guys, it's not the end of the world. Aaah, Mr. Filch talked to all of the professors who teach during the first period of the day. He told us that he added every item from the "Wizard Wheezes" catalogue to the forbidden list. Excepting fake wands and the little talking rubber balls, he apparently gets a kick out of those. If any of you have these items please turn them over to Mr. Filch, or one of your professors." Samuel announced. "If anybody has a catalogue, please turn one over to me personally after class and I'll take care of it." He finished with a cough.
Samuel opened his briefcase and took out a piece of paper. "Aaaah, yes. Calculation devices. Can anyone name a few devices wizards use to help solve math problems?"
A few of the students named several magical devices and one student even produced one from his backpack.
"Very good. I'm going to use this calculator here to solve a math problem. Someone call one out." Samuel said as he took a small, flat rectangle shaped device from his briefcase. "Someone do it on paper to make sure we're right. Ok, Miss Jones, when you're ready."
"57 plus 35 minus 23 divided by 2 times 7" a girl from the front row called out.
"241.5" Samuel called out. About 30 seconds later the boy with the magical calculator called out 242.
"Who was right?" asked Samuel of the girl that called out the problem.
"You were." She said, showing him her calculations. "He was right too but he rounded up."
"Alright, lets try a few more." Said Samuel.
A few students called out equations from their books and made them up. Every time Samuel's calculator was correct, and it calculated the answer much faster.
"You all saw how fast that was." Said Samuel. "This cost me about a dollar in American money. That's roughly equivalent to half a sickle. Muggles have another device called a computer which can take equations hundreds of times larger then any we've played with in here and do them faster then this little calculator here. It wasn't always like that, however. Electronic calculators are not very old, they were first invented sometime in the last sixty years. How long have the magical devices been around?"
"Not much over a hundred if that." Said a Ravenclaw in the back of the class. "Magical abacuses were our first tools."
"What does this tell you?" asked Samuel.
"That muggles have used technology, where we've used magic. It seems the muggles have done a far better job with it then we have with magic." Said a Hufflepuff student.
"I disagree." Said the ravenclaw. "They are more advanced with their technology now then we are with our magic. However, many of their advancements have come in the last one hundred years, and most of them in the last twenty."
"They keep advancing faster and faster." Said the Hufflepuff. "While we're still using steam power, and even our steam engines were built by muggles."
"You both have valid points. Why do you think the wizarding world isn't advancing very fast with magic, or technology." Asked Samuel.
"Our secrecy, and dislike of being around muggles." Said the Ravenclaw.
"I hope this muggle is an exception." Said Samuel. "You're right, secluded cultures rarely develop the equivalent of high technology."
The debate continued for the rest of the hour, and a similar debate broke out in the second and third classes. After the school day was over for Samuel he walked back to his office, where Professor McGonagall was waiting on him, with a book in her hand.
"Minerva, what do I owe the pleasure." Samuel said as a few students walked by. "Please come in." he said as he opened the door to his office and showed her in.
"I thought you might want to see this." She said as she handed Samuel a small, thick leather bound book. Samuel absently reached for the disk on his desk and touched it so it glowed blue.
"Thank You."
"Are you ready for your first lesson?" She asked.
"Yes. Where do we start?"
McGonagall shut the door to Samuel's office and took a seat in front of the desk. She placed a white glass marble on the desk and drew her wand from her robes and pointed it at the marble. "Leviosa" she said. The marble levitated a few inches off the desk and then came to rest.
"That was a levitation charm." She said. "Try to raise the marble up just like I did."
Samuel stared at the marble and tried to will it to rise off the table.
"Willpower isn't enough. In magic a large part of a wand's purpose it to give the wizard something to focus on and with." She said. "Try a simple hand gesture."
Samuel pointed his hand at the marble and concentrated on lifting it up. As he raised his hand up the marble rose from the desk. "Wow." He said.
"Now direct it where you want it." McGonagall said. Samuel moved his hand to the left, and the marble moved to the left a bit. The marble seemed to move with Samuel's hand left, right, up and down. After a few minutes practice he was able to move the marble anywhere in the room he wanted.
"Good, now set it down."
Samuel directed the marble over the desk and gently lowered it.
"That was amazing." Said Samuel.
"I want you to practice lifting things, until you can do it without your hands." Said McGonagall. "If I understand the book right, that's a huge step."
Samuel nodded and pointed to a pencil. The pencil flew into his hand and he wrote down a few notes on a spare piece of paper. "Can wizards do that?"
"Marble Accio!" McGonagall said. The marble on the desk flew into her hand. "Yes." She said as she put the marble back on the desk. "Now to transfiguration. Most of my students find it very hard, but you were able to perform it on your first tries. You may have some sort of talent with it. Turn the marble into a glass mouse."
Samuel concentrated on the marble and waved his hand at it. The glass slowly contorted and legs pushed out from it's sides, the shape of the marble altered until a tiny, and very rough looking glass mouse sat on the desk. "Like that?"
"Not much for artistry." McGonagall said. "Now make it walk."
Samuel waved his hand at the mouse, and slowly it appeared to be coming to life. The mouse slowly walked across the desk. "That wasn't really making it alive though." Samuel commented.
"No but it's a start." Said McGonagall. "Concentrate on a real mouse while you make it move."
Samuel waved his hand at the mouse again. Slowly it began to move around on it's own. The little mouse scurried all over the desk and then sat up and began rubbing it's paws together.
"I can make things live?" asked Samuel.
"Not exactly. While I can turn the marble into a real miniature mouse, you have done what wizards have forgotten how to do. This is similar to a golem, it has a crude form of intelligence, but it's not really alive." Said McGonagall. "I think if you worked at it long enough you could take an object and turn it into an animal, it could be done in such a fashion that it would turn back into whatever it was made from on it's own. You wouldn't need to transfigure it every time." She said.
Samuel nodded. "That would be very useful."
"Yes, it would take a good wizard a day or so to accomplish the same thing." Said McGonagall. "Alright, now 'Look through' the golem."
Samuel waved his hand at the small mouse and concentrated on it for a few moments. The more he concentrated on the tiny mouse, the more he understood. Soon he could see inside the mouse in his head. He saw the structure of the glass, and the flaws in it. Slowly the surface of the desk came into view. Samuel could see the dust on the desk. The desk began to move, he realized the mouse was walking. After a few moments Samuel found he could control the golem's movements as well as what it was looking at. He could even hear what was going on. Samuel shook his head, and the image in his head faded away, it was a lot like releasing a breath of air.
"That was amazing. I could see with the golem, as well as with my own eyes." Said Samuel.
"Yes. It would have taken a magic student years to learn how to do that." Said McGonagall. "I'm probably one of the few that can. I trust this will help you with your mission?"
"Yes." Said Samuel as the mouse crawled up in his hand. Samuel turned the mouse back into the marble and set it back down on the desk. "I think I can alter the structure of the object even further."
"Transmuting it from one substance to another is also possible, yes." Said McGonagall.
Samuel concentrated on the marble and it changed from a white marble to a perfectly clear marble. There were no flaws visible in the marble, and the surface of the marble was so clean that it was difficult to see. The marble changed back to white after a few moments.
"Careful with your experimenting." McGonagall said. "It can be a dangerous thing to experiment haphazardly. Keep practicing and we'll go over some new things in a day or two."
"I will be very careful. I plan on reading this book tonight, or as much as possible." He
said, swatting his desk lightly with the book. McGonagall smiled and exited Samuel's office, her robes flowing behind her. Samuel leaned back in his chair and opened the book and started reading. There was a cough in the room a few minutes later and Samuel started obviously.
"Yes? Hello." He said before looking to see who was in the room. "Oh, Harry, what can I do for you?"
"Sorry to scare you like that." Harry said. "I'm a little worried about tonight."
"Why?" asked Samuel, setting his book down.
"It's just that, my scar has been hurting for a few days." Harry replied.
"Does it do that often? Shouldn't you talk to Miss Pomfrey?"
"Yes, usually when Voldemort is around, or feeling hateful."
"Have you talked to Dumbledore?" asked Samuel.
"Yes, he told me to tell you about it as well. He said it would be better if I explained it." Harry said slowly.
Samuel nodded. "Do you think he's close?"
"I don't know. I think he might be planning something." Said Harry.
"I see, this may sound stupid but what?" asked Samuel.
"I don't know, Dumbledore said you should be aware of it though."
Samuel nodded. "Do you think he'll strike here?"
"This soon?"
"It might be a tactical advantage to attack this soon after his rebirth." Said Samuel. "From what I hear, most of the Ministry doesn't believe a word of your story. All he has to do is gather a small army and attack where it would hurt the most."
"Why here?" asked Harry.
"First of all the two people he fears the most are here. Dumbledore, and yourself. Most of the children here are sons and daughters of wizards and witches themselves. If he obliterates them, then there isn't a new generation of wizards." Samuel said, then paused. "No, I don't think he'll attack. That would anger the ministry beyond all recognition. He doesn't have enough followers yet."
"Followers?" asked Harry.
"Of course, you need people to support your cause to have an effective campaign. Military, Political, or whatever, you still need supporters. Funds, A base of operations, planners, and so forth are all needed." Samuel said absently. "You can't do everything yourself. It would be extremely risky to launch a full scale attack. Maybe a small one, it would be so much simpler to.." he trailed off. "That's it!"
"What??"
"How do you conquer a nation or a people completely?" asked Samuel.
"I don't know." Said Harry.
"Through it's educational system. The children, that's how he'll do it. I'd place money on it." Samuel said, jumping to his feet.
"Doing what? You sound like Hermione." Said Harry.
"He's working from the inside I imagine. The spies, I bet they're recruiting children."
"Not here." Said Harry. "That could never happen here."
"Why not?" asked Samuel.
"It just can't happen." Said Harry. "No one here would join Voldemort. Dumbledore wouldn't allow it."
"Not even that Malfoy kid that everyone seems to hate? An ambitious Slytherin with hopes of power wouldn't? A lonely and desperate Hufflepuff wouldn't join Voldemort if he or she were promised what they wanted? A misguided Ravenclaw with their hard logic wouldn't? What about at a shy Gryffindor girl from an old wizard family, smitten by a young man a year older then her, you're telling me that Voldemort or one of his followers couldn't trick her into doing things they don't want to do?"
"Who?" asked Harry.
"Ginny, she told me about that diary three years ago." Samuel replied. Harry's eyes widened. "You see, it's possible, and easy. The dark preys on the weak, not always the strong."
"We better get to the Feast." Said Harry.
Samuel stood up and showed Harry to the door. As the two walked towards the Great Hall, Samuel absentmindedly dropped a marble that he was carrying. The marble slowly rolled off to a corner and changed from a dark black color, to clearer then the clearest glass. The Great Hall was lit with floating Jack-o-Lanterns and the ceiling was overcast, and a slight mist hovered over it. Students were eating and laughing at the tables. A few students shook Samuel's hand as he walked in between two of the tables greeting and talking to them. Harry sat down at the Gryffindore table next to Ron and began filling his plate. Samuel made his way to the professor's tables and sat down between McGonagall and Nickalroy.
"Not sitting with the students this evening?" asked Alveron.
"I'm a bit disoriented. I seem to have lost my marbles." Samuel said. Minerva started at Samuel's remark and Alveron scratched his head.
"The best of us occasionally have trouble keeping up with our mice." McGonagall said.
Samuel chuckled and started eating, occasionally looking up or around at some invisible object. McGonagall suddenly glanced at Samuel hard and smiled. The feast was soon over and everyone made their way to their sleeping quarters. Hermione cornered Samuel in the Hall.
"What were you and McGonagall talking about?" she asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said as he started to walk past her.
Hermione stood in his way. "You've been seeing her every day for the last several days now."
"Two days hardly constitutes several, and I don't know what you're implying." Said Samuel.
"Something is going on." She said.
"Here, there's apparently always something going on. If you must know, she's been trying to teach me magic." Samuel said.
"Can we go to your office?" asked Hermione.
Samuel nodded and walked Hermione to his office. He took his seat behind his desk, and Hermione sat down in one of the chairs in front of it.
"What can I do for you?" Samuel asked.
"You aren't just an average muggle are you?" she asked. "There is no way a muggle could have made this." She continued as she pulled her wand from her robes. "You stopped that rock from flying at us. Just you being here is proof that you aren't ordinary."
"Fred Weasley gave me the exploding ball that I had in my pocket. I learned the wand making from a book." Samuel replied.
"Really, what about your sword?" asked Hermione.
"What sword?"
"The one you've had under your robes for the past two days. You wear it like you know how to use it." Said Hermione. "Harry told me about the talk you and he had. He said you sounded like a soldier. Don't try to deny your occasional talks with Mary Jenkins."
"Hermione, I don't think I have to remind you that I am a school counsellor. There are probably twenty girls that visit my office at least as frequently as Mary Jenkins. They ask me about such things as study habits, and ask for advice with personal problems. A few boys also frequent this office with similar subjects in mind. The only difference is I refer the girls to Madam Pomfrey for their personal problems. I don't know what you're accusing me of, but you better think about it." Samuel said.
"I am not saying you're doing anything immoral. Far from it. I think there is more to you then meets the eye." Hermione said.
Samuel sighed and waved his hand at his office door. It shut seemingly of it's own accord. He looked down at his desk and rubbed his temples with his fingers. Hermione stared at the door and sat straight up in her seat with a very startled look on her face.
"How did you do that?" asked Hermione.
"I'm an Opposite." Samuel said.
"An Opposite?"
"You know how I told you there were some people that are just naturally resistant to the effects of magic?" He asked. Hermione nodded in response and glanced back at the door.
"In ancient time, they called those people Opposites. They weren't wizards, but they had abilities. They had an ability that seemed to be the opposite of magic. The most powerful wizards and witches were paired with an Opposite. Usually the Opposite was like a personal guard, sometimes a spouse, occasionally the Opposite was a sibling."
"Why would they do that?" asked Hermione. "If what you're saying is true, wouldn't they negate the wizard's power?"
"It doesn't work like that. You see the Opposite could strengthen and stabilize whatever the wizard did. In effect, amplifying, or reducing the effect of the spell. Wands today do essentially the same thing, only to a far lesser degree."
"What happened to them?" asked Hermione.
"Wands and other such items were invented. They became very popular, as there were fewer Opposites then wizards. The magic users could perform great feats of magic without an Opposite's help. There's more to it then that, however. It's not readily apparent who an Opposite is, there's no magical way to find them. Other Opposites even had a hard time finding new Opposites. That was alright though, the wizards didn't need them any more. The last Opposites died, and their children married muggles. Soon they were all but forgotten. The abilities were spread out and those few people with abilities lived and died not knowing what they were." Said Samuel.
"What abilities?" asked Hermione.
"From what the book said, they could move things like I just did. Transfiguration as we know it came from the Opposites. Some had telepathy, some were healers, a few could talk to animals, and of course almost all could strengthen or weaken magic spells. This made them very dangerous to wizards, a few were assassins even. Some Opposites could negate magic entirely if they wanted to, but only the most powerful."
"You say you're one of these? That doesn't explain the sword."
"When I caught my cousin Elanus using magic about six years ago, and he nor any of the Obliviators could work a memory charm on me, Elanus took me in. He's a high ranking Unspeakable and had ways of hiding me. When I was sixteen he sent me to a strange school of some sort, literally in the middle of nowhere. It was there I learned to use the sword. I'm a Wizard Slayer, that's probably why my cousin sent me here. For the last four years I've learned how to defend myself against wizards, and end their existence. Mostly this applies to dark wizards, such as Voldemort. We're the last defense should he rise to power again."
"Four years?" asked Hermione. "That doesn't seem long."
"It was near the end of probably what your first term here was."
Hermione nodded. "That's when Harry beat You-Know-Who the second time. You've been playing dumb all this time?"
"Not exactly, I have historical knowledge of Voldemort, but nothing more then who he is. Strange. That may have been why Elanus sent me there."
"Do you need help learning to use your abilities?" asked Hermione. "It sounds fascinating."
"Possibly later. Do you know any good hexes and curses?"
"Harry and I both do. Why?" asked Hermione.
"I'll need to test my ability to ward off magic. McGonagall has started helping me."
"Of course! The transfiguration!"
With that Hermione exited Samuel's office and ran down the halls to the Gryffindore tower. Samuel followed after her, a group of students started following him soon after, asking him if he was going to play again tonight. So he did, right up to light's out he played his guitar. Two tiny mice, or what looked like mice stood next to each other in the hallways near an abandoned wing of Hogwarts, they peered down a corridor where rushing footsteps had just been heard.
_Author's Note_: I uploaded this in text form. The HTML code I was using on the other chapters put lots of white space in the document. After many attempts at trying to correct this I decided to try this. I'm stickler for special formatting but maybe this will be ok.
The students in Samuel's first class filed into the classroom and laid papers down on his desk. Samuel sat on the edge of his desk and read the papers quietly. After a few minutes he laid them down and smiled at the class.
"Alright. Everyone who turned 'em in gets extra credit if you need it." He said. "Is everyone excited about the party tonight?"
"What party?" one of the students asked.
"I'm sorry, the feast." Samuel said. "I hear the house elves started at two this morning preparing. I've got some announcements today, actually."
"Any word on the dementors?" asked one of the students in the back.
"Yes, actually I've spoken to Professor Moody on that very subject. He told me that starting today; he would double up on that particular subject. He mentioned homework and then laughed insanely before limping down the hall. I shudder to think at what he's going to have you guys do." Said Samuel. Several of the students groaned miserably. "Cheer up guys, it's not the end of the world. Aaah, Mr. Filch talked to all of the professors who teach during the first period of the day. He told us that he added every item from the "Wizard Wheezes" catalogue to the forbidden list. Excepting fake wands and the little talking rubber balls, he apparently gets a kick out of those. If any of you have these items please turn them over to Mr. Filch, or one of your professors." Samuel announced. "If anybody has a catalogue, please turn one over to me personally after class and I'll take care of it." He finished with a cough.
Samuel opened his briefcase and took out a piece of paper. "Aaaah, yes. Calculation devices. Can anyone name a few devices wizards use to help solve math problems?"
A few of the students named several magical devices and one student even produced one from his backpack.
"Very good. I'm going to use this calculator here to solve a math problem. Someone call one out." Samuel said as he took a small, flat rectangle shaped device from his briefcase. "Someone do it on paper to make sure we're right. Ok, Miss Jones, when you're ready."
"57 plus 35 minus 23 divided by 2 times 7" a girl from the front row called out.
"241.5" Samuel called out. About 30 seconds later the boy with the magical calculator called out 242.
"Who was right?" asked Samuel of the girl that called out the problem.
"You were." She said, showing him her calculations. "He was right too but he rounded up."
"Alright, lets try a few more." Said Samuel.
A few students called out equations from their books and made them up. Every time Samuel's calculator was correct, and it calculated the answer much faster.
"You all saw how fast that was." Said Samuel. "This cost me about a dollar in American money. That's roughly equivalent to half a sickle. Muggles have another device called a computer which can take equations hundreds of times larger then any we've played with in here and do them faster then this little calculator here. It wasn't always like that, however. Electronic calculators are not very old, they were first invented sometime in the last sixty years. How long have the magical devices been around?"
"Not much over a hundred if that." Said a Ravenclaw in the back of the class. "Magical abacuses were our first tools."
"What does this tell you?" asked Samuel.
"That muggles have used technology, where we've used magic. It seems the muggles have done a far better job with it then we have with magic." Said a Hufflepuff student.
"I disagree." Said the ravenclaw. "They are more advanced with their technology now then we are with our magic. However, many of their advancements have come in the last one hundred years, and most of them in the last twenty."
"They keep advancing faster and faster." Said the Hufflepuff. "While we're still using steam power, and even our steam engines were built by muggles."
"You both have valid points. Why do you think the wizarding world isn't advancing very fast with magic, or technology." Asked Samuel.
"Our secrecy, and dislike of being around muggles." Said the Ravenclaw.
"I hope this muggle is an exception." Said Samuel. "You're right, secluded cultures rarely develop the equivalent of high technology."
The debate continued for the rest of the hour, and a similar debate broke out in the second and third classes. After the school day was over for Samuel he walked back to his office, where Professor McGonagall was waiting on him, with a book in her hand.
"Minerva, what do I owe the pleasure." Samuel said as a few students walked by. "Please come in." he said as he opened the door to his office and showed her in.
"I thought you might want to see this." She said as she handed Samuel a small, thick leather bound book. Samuel absently reached for the disk on his desk and touched it so it glowed blue.
"Thank You."
"Are you ready for your first lesson?" She asked.
"Yes. Where do we start?"
McGonagall shut the door to Samuel's office and took a seat in front of the desk. She placed a white glass marble on the desk and drew her wand from her robes and pointed it at the marble. "Leviosa" she said. The marble levitated a few inches off the desk and then came to rest.
"That was a levitation charm." She said. "Try to raise the marble up just like I did."
Samuel stared at the marble and tried to will it to rise off the table.
"Willpower isn't enough. In magic a large part of a wand's purpose it to give the wizard something to focus on and with." She said. "Try a simple hand gesture."
Samuel pointed his hand at the marble and concentrated on lifting it up. As he raised his hand up the marble rose from the desk. "Wow." He said.
"Now direct it where you want it." McGonagall said. Samuel moved his hand to the left, and the marble moved to the left a bit. The marble seemed to move with Samuel's hand left, right, up and down. After a few minutes practice he was able to move the marble anywhere in the room he wanted.
"Good, now set it down."
Samuel directed the marble over the desk and gently lowered it.
"That was amazing." Said Samuel.
"I want you to practice lifting things, until you can do it without your hands." Said McGonagall. "If I understand the book right, that's a huge step."
Samuel nodded and pointed to a pencil. The pencil flew into his hand and he wrote down a few notes on a spare piece of paper. "Can wizards do that?"
"Marble Accio!" McGonagall said. The marble on the desk flew into her hand. "Yes." She said as she put the marble back on the desk. "Now to transfiguration. Most of my students find it very hard, but you were able to perform it on your first tries. You may have some sort of talent with it. Turn the marble into a glass mouse."
Samuel concentrated on the marble and waved his hand at it. The glass slowly contorted and legs pushed out from it's sides, the shape of the marble altered until a tiny, and very rough looking glass mouse sat on the desk. "Like that?"
"Not much for artistry." McGonagall said. "Now make it walk."
Samuel waved his hand at the mouse, and slowly it appeared to be coming to life. The mouse slowly walked across the desk. "That wasn't really making it alive though." Samuel commented.
"No but it's a start." Said McGonagall. "Concentrate on a real mouse while you make it move."
Samuel waved his hand at the mouse again. Slowly it began to move around on it's own. The little mouse scurried all over the desk and then sat up and began rubbing it's paws together.
"I can make things live?" asked Samuel.
"Not exactly. While I can turn the marble into a real miniature mouse, you have done what wizards have forgotten how to do. This is similar to a golem, it has a crude form of intelligence, but it's not really alive." Said McGonagall. "I think if you worked at it long enough you could take an object and turn it into an animal, it could be done in such a fashion that it would turn back into whatever it was made from on it's own. You wouldn't need to transfigure it every time." She said.
Samuel nodded. "That would be very useful."
"Yes, it would take a good wizard a day or so to accomplish the same thing." Said McGonagall. "Alright, now 'Look through' the golem."
Samuel waved his hand at the small mouse and concentrated on it for a few moments. The more he concentrated on the tiny mouse, the more he understood. Soon he could see inside the mouse in his head. He saw the structure of the glass, and the flaws in it. Slowly the surface of the desk came into view. Samuel could see the dust on the desk. The desk began to move, he realized the mouse was walking. After a few moments Samuel found he could control the golem's movements as well as what it was looking at. He could even hear what was going on. Samuel shook his head, and the image in his head faded away, it was a lot like releasing a breath of air.
"That was amazing. I could see with the golem, as well as with my own eyes." Said Samuel.
"Yes. It would have taken a magic student years to learn how to do that." Said McGonagall. "I'm probably one of the few that can. I trust this will help you with your mission?"
"Yes." Said Samuel as the mouse crawled up in his hand. Samuel turned the mouse back into the marble and set it back down on the desk. "I think I can alter the structure of the object even further."
"Transmuting it from one substance to another is also possible, yes." Said McGonagall.
Samuel concentrated on the marble and it changed from a white marble to a perfectly clear marble. There were no flaws visible in the marble, and the surface of the marble was so clean that it was difficult to see. The marble changed back to white after a few moments.
"Careful with your experimenting." McGonagall said. "It can be a dangerous thing to experiment haphazardly. Keep practicing and we'll go over some new things in a day or two."
"I will be very careful. I plan on reading this book tonight, or as much as possible." He
said, swatting his desk lightly with the book. McGonagall smiled and exited Samuel's office, her robes flowing behind her. Samuel leaned back in his chair and opened the book and started reading. There was a cough in the room a few minutes later and Samuel started obviously.
"Yes? Hello." He said before looking to see who was in the room. "Oh, Harry, what can I do for you?"
"Sorry to scare you like that." Harry said. "I'm a little worried about tonight."
"Why?" asked Samuel, setting his book down.
"It's just that, my scar has been hurting for a few days." Harry replied.
"Does it do that often? Shouldn't you talk to Miss Pomfrey?"
"Yes, usually when Voldemort is around, or feeling hateful."
"Have you talked to Dumbledore?" asked Samuel.
"Yes, he told me to tell you about it as well. He said it would be better if I explained it." Harry said slowly.
Samuel nodded. "Do you think he's close?"
"I don't know. I think he might be planning something." Said Harry.
"I see, this may sound stupid but what?" asked Samuel.
"I don't know, Dumbledore said you should be aware of it though."
Samuel nodded. "Do you think he'll strike here?"
"This soon?"
"It might be a tactical advantage to attack this soon after his rebirth." Said Samuel. "From what I hear, most of the Ministry doesn't believe a word of your story. All he has to do is gather a small army and attack where it would hurt the most."
"Why here?" asked Harry.
"First of all the two people he fears the most are here. Dumbledore, and yourself. Most of the children here are sons and daughters of wizards and witches themselves. If he obliterates them, then there isn't a new generation of wizards." Samuel said, then paused. "No, I don't think he'll attack. That would anger the ministry beyond all recognition. He doesn't have enough followers yet."
"Followers?" asked Harry.
"Of course, you need people to support your cause to have an effective campaign. Military, Political, or whatever, you still need supporters. Funds, A base of operations, planners, and so forth are all needed." Samuel said absently. "You can't do everything yourself. It would be extremely risky to launch a full scale attack. Maybe a small one, it would be so much simpler to.." he trailed off. "That's it!"
"What??"
"How do you conquer a nation or a people completely?" asked Samuel.
"I don't know." Said Harry.
"Through it's educational system. The children, that's how he'll do it. I'd place money on it." Samuel said, jumping to his feet.
"Doing what? You sound like Hermione." Said Harry.
"He's working from the inside I imagine. The spies, I bet they're recruiting children."
"Not here." Said Harry. "That could never happen here."
"Why not?" asked Samuel.
"It just can't happen." Said Harry. "No one here would join Voldemort. Dumbledore wouldn't allow it."
"Not even that Malfoy kid that everyone seems to hate? An ambitious Slytherin with hopes of power wouldn't? A lonely and desperate Hufflepuff wouldn't join Voldemort if he or she were promised what they wanted? A misguided Ravenclaw with their hard logic wouldn't? What about at a shy Gryffindor girl from an old wizard family, smitten by a young man a year older then her, you're telling me that Voldemort or one of his followers couldn't trick her into doing things they don't want to do?"
"Who?" asked Harry.
"Ginny, she told me about that diary three years ago." Samuel replied. Harry's eyes widened. "You see, it's possible, and easy. The dark preys on the weak, not always the strong."
"We better get to the Feast." Said Harry.
Samuel stood up and showed Harry to the door. As the two walked towards the Great Hall, Samuel absentmindedly dropped a marble that he was carrying. The marble slowly rolled off to a corner and changed from a dark black color, to clearer then the clearest glass. The Great Hall was lit with floating Jack-o-Lanterns and the ceiling was overcast, and a slight mist hovered over it. Students were eating and laughing at the tables. A few students shook Samuel's hand as he walked in between two of the tables greeting and talking to them. Harry sat down at the Gryffindore table next to Ron and began filling his plate. Samuel made his way to the professor's tables and sat down between McGonagall and Nickalroy.
"Not sitting with the students this evening?" asked Alveron.
"I'm a bit disoriented. I seem to have lost my marbles." Samuel said. Minerva started at Samuel's remark and Alveron scratched his head.
"The best of us occasionally have trouble keeping up with our mice." McGonagall said.
Samuel chuckled and started eating, occasionally looking up or around at some invisible object. McGonagall suddenly glanced at Samuel hard and smiled. The feast was soon over and everyone made their way to their sleeping quarters. Hermione cornered Samuel in the Hall.
"What were you and McGonagall talking about?" she asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said as he started to walk past her.
Hermione stood in his way. "You've been seeing her every day for the last several days now."
"Two days hardly constitutes several, and I don't know what you're implying." Said Samuel.
"Something is going on." She said.
"Here, there's apparently always something going on. If you must know, she's been trying to teach me magic." Samuel said.
"Can we go to your office?" asked Hermione.
Samuel nodded and walked Hermione to his office. He took his seat behind his desk, and Hermione sat down in one of the chairs in front of it.
"What can I do for you?" Samuel asked.
"You aren't just an average muggle are you?" she asked. "There is no way a muggle could have made this." She continued as she pulled her wand from her robes. "You stopped that rock from flying at us. Just you being here is proof that you aren't ordinary."
"Fred Weasley gave me the exploding ball that I had in my pocket. I learned the wand making from a book." Samuel replied.
"Really, what about your sword?" asked Hermione.
"What sword?"
"The one you've had under your robes for the past two days. You wear it like you know how to use it." Said Hermione. "Harry told me about the talk you and he had. He said you sounded like a soldier. Don't try to deny your occasional talks with Mary Jenkins."
"Hermione, I don't think I have to remind you that I am a school counsellor. There are probably twenty girls that visit my office at least as frequently as Mary Jenkins. They ask me about such things as study habits, and ask for advice with personal problems. A few boys also frequent this office with similar subjects in mind. The only difference is I refer the girls to Madam Pomfrey for their personal problems. I don't know what you're accusing me of, but you better think about it." Samuel said.
"I am not saying you're doing anything immoral. Far from it. I think there is more to you then meets the eye." Hermione said.
Samuel sighed and waved his hand at his office door. It shut seemingly of it's own accord. He looked down at his desk and rubbed his temples with his fingers. Hermione stared at the door and sat straight up in her seat with a very startled look on her face.
"How did you do that?" asked Hermione.
"I'm an Opposite." Samuel said.
"An Opposite?"
"You know how I told you there were some people that are just naturally resistant to the effects of magic?" He asked. Hermione nodded in response and glanced back at the door.
"In ancient time, they called those people Opposites. They weren't wizards, but they had abilities. They had an ability that seemed to be the opposite of magic. The most powerful wizards and witches were paired with an Opposite. Usually the Opposite was like a personal guard, sometimes a spouse, occasionally the Opposite was a sibling."
"Why would they do that?" asked Hermione. "If what you're saying is true, wouldn't they negate the wizard's power?"
"It doesn't work like that. You see the Opposite could strengthen and stabilize whatever the wizard did. In effect, amplifying, or reducing the effect of the spell. Wands today do essentially the same thing, only to a far lesser degree."
"What happened to them?" asked Hermione.
"Wands and other such items were invented. They became very popular, as there were fewer Opposites then wizards. The magic users could perform great feats of magic without an Opposite's help. There's more to it then that, however. It's not readily apparent who an Opposite is, there's no magical way to find them. Other Opposites even had a hard time finding new Opposites. That was alright though, the wizards didn't need them any more. The last Opposites died, and their children married muggles. Soon they were all but forgotten. The abilities were spread out and those few people with abilities lived and died not knowing what they were." Said Samuel.
"What abilities?" asked Hermione.
"From what the book said, they could move things like I just did. Transfiguration as we know it came from the Opposites. Some had telepathy, some were healers, a few could talk to animals, and of course almost all could strengthen or weaken magic spells. This made them very dangerous to wizards, a few were assassins even. Some Opposites could negate magic entirely if they wanted to, but only the most powerful."
"You say you're one of these? That doesn't explain the sword."
"When I caught my cousin Elanus using magic about six years ago, and he nor any of the Obliviators could work a memory charm on me, Elanus took me in. He's a high ranking Unspeakable and had ways of hiding me. When I was sixteen he sent me to a strange school of some sort, literally in the middle of nowhere. It was there I learned to use the sword. I'm a Wizard Slayer, that's probably why my cousin sent me here. For the last four years I've learned how to defend myself against wizards, and end their existence. Mostly this applies to dark wizards, such as Voldemort. We're the last defense should he rise to power again."
"Four years?" asked Hermione. "That doesn't seem long."
"It was near the end of probably what your first term here was."
Hermione nodded. "That's when Harry beat You-Know-Who the second time. You've been playing dumb all this time?"
"Not exactly, I have historical knowledge of Voldemort, but nothing more then who he is. Strange. That may have been why Elanus sent me there."
"Do you need help learning to use your abilities?" asked Hermione. "It sounds fascinating."
"Possibly later. Do you know any good hexes and curses?"
"Harry and I both do. Why?" asked Hermione.
"I'll need to test my ability to ward off magic. McGonagall has started helping me."
"Of course! The transfiguration!"
With that Hermione exited Samuel's office and ran down the halls to the Gryffindore tower. Samuel followed after her, a group of students started following him soon after, asking him if he was going to play again tonight. So he did, right up to light's out he played his guitar. Two tiny mice, or what looked like mice stood next to each other in the hallways near an abandoned wing of Hogwarts, they peered down a corridor where rushing footsteps had just been heard.