A/N: here you go, read, enjoy and review. One question, to athenakitty, why would Harry need a second wand? I'm intending on having him learn wandless magic anyway, if I ever get around to it.
Harry sure now that he was going to be studying harder now than he ever had in term- time, as Dumbledore led him through a side door at the back of the hall and up a hidden flight of stairs to the office. When they were ready, Dumbledore asked,
"Which book did you get the "Ire" charm from, harry? And where did you get the book from?"
"Uh, 'Sorcery, a Student's Guide'. Hermione sent it to me - she got it for some extra reading and thought I might want to read it once she was done."
"The charm to summon the book from any location is 'Acci'. Try using it now."
"Okay, uh, Acci Book!"
The book appeared on the table with a flash. The headmaster calmly picked it up and flicked casually through it, pausing on some pages as if to renew his memory.
"Yes, this is definitely a genuine copy, I wonder how she got hold of it. Harry, what do you know about magic and why people are either wizards or Muggles?"
"Big question," Harry said, stalling for time as he searched his mind for the information needed. "Magic is power stored in a human body that wizards can manipulate and Muggle's can't."
"My, my Harry, you have been busy, haven't you? I'm very impressed. That was a quote from 'The Science of Magic', wasn't it? An excellent book, very accurate, but somewhat on the stuffy side for my taste."
"Yes sir, Hermione sent me that one as well. She's into that sort of thing at the moment, I think she's hoping to find a connection between Muggle science and magic."
"Interesting, I would appreciate it if you told me if she finds anything. So, magic is energy from within that you can use, focussed by a wand. Do you know why, let's see, I am stronger than Professor Lockhart, for instance?"
"Well, no. It's just a guess, but have you studied more, so you know more spells?"
"That is one factor - focus. Your skill in manipulating the energy. I'll try to explain it to you. Picture what I'm describing as a pyramid, with Muggles at the bottom. They are the most numerous and because their bodies can hold so little magic at a time, they are unable to use it. With me so far?"
"Muggles outnumber wizards and don't have enough energy to do magic."
"That's it. The next group up is hedge witches and hedge wizards. They can manipulate very small amounts of magic but don't consciously know they're doing it because the power levels are so minute. They don't require any teaching, of course. It sometimes shows in the form of a gift of something, like being very good with animals. A good number of Muggles have this sort of wizarding abilities, more than you might think from appearances."
"Do my aunt and uncle?" Harry asked, curious as to whether they to were 'freaks'.
"Not a hint of it at any point in their lives, even with a witch in the family. However, I believe your cousin Dudley shows signs of it occasionally."
"Dudley?!"
"He's changed from a useless, if you'll pardon the expression, slob to an excellent boxer in a short period of time. That shows signs of unconscious magic use."
"Okay sir, I'll take your word for it. So, who comes next - wizards and witches?"
"That's right, the ordinary magic users, we call them witches and wizards. Most have the ability to pass practical exams in OWLs and a small minority scrapes a few NEWTs. Examples from your year: Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Dean Thomas, Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott - it's not hard to list a large number off the top of my head."
"So most magic users fall into that group, they aren't so powerful. Anything else?"
"There are certain charms that they are physically unable to perform, the Patronus Charm for instance, which is a complex piece of magic."
"But. . . I. . . ."
"You learned to do that in your third year, correct? It was Remus Lupin that taught you, and he told me of your request. That you were able to produce a corporeal Patronus at that age implied that you had the potential to become a very powerful magician in time, if you kept up your studies."
"What are you then, sir?"
"Patience Harry, I'll get there in the end. Our next group up is the magi. They will get decent NEWTs on the whole and do well in most future careers, although it is rare for them to be taken on in a job such as Auror, where great skill and power is needed just to pass the initial tests."
"Uh, will I need to write all this down later?"
Dumbledore smiled benevolently at him, pulled a piece of parchment out of his desk and tapped it with his wand. An annotated 'population pyramid' appeared in ornate gold ink.
"Sorry about the decoration, I haven't worked out how to get plain black ink yet."
"Its great sir, can you teach me the charm? It would really help in History of Magic."
"Maybe later."
He seemed to bring himself forcibly back to his original subject then, and continued,
"Where was I? Magi?"
"Yes sir. Would most of the people who produced a Patronus in DA last year be magi then? That would be, uh, Cho Chang, Seamus Finnegan, Hermione . . ."
"I believe that due to her skill and mental capabilities, she might actually be counted as one of the next category - an enchantress. An enchanter or enchantress is a powerful magic user. Almost all Aurors are this - your parents among them. It also takes this amount of power to perform Avada Kedavra, or an extremely high charged wand. I believe Wormtail used Riddle's wand to kill Cedric? That was probably because he is unable to perform it with his own. Enchanters are fairly rare - there are three in your year to my best estimate: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom. However, the boundaries are sketchy . . ."
"What about Ron? He's good, manages all of the things we do in DA easily."
"He lacks the mental effort that might have moved him from being a powerful mage to a weak enchanter, although he has the power in the correct amount."
"So if he worked hard . . ."
"Yes, he would be up there, just as Miss Granger is. You must remember that young Mr Malfoy is also an enchanter - it would not do to underestimate him."
"I won't. Is there another group? You haven't mentioned yourself yet."
"Of course Harry, the sorcerers. The most powerful magic users around, who can utilize spells others wouldn't even think about. I am a sorcerer myself; so unfortunately is Tom Riddle."
"How am I supposed to kill him then?" Harry asked desperately. "I mean, if he's that much more powerful, than anyone else is, why me anyway?"
"The spells you used earlier showed me fairly conclusively that you, Harry, are also a Sorcerer of an extremely high degree yourself, the first, to my knowledge, since Voldemort to be born. It isn't particularly surprising, considering the remarkable talent you have already shown. Who knows, perhaps, in the very beginning, it was triggered by Voldemort's attack?"
"I'm one of three sorcerers alive at the moment? It's kind of hard to believe. . ."
"It is true, nevertheless and you will be coming to my office everyday from now on, holidays or otherwise for lessons from myself or another member of the faculty. We will add more lessons this summer while you have the time, but they can wait while you get settled in, I think."
"Uh, thank you sir," 'I think' Harry added mentally.
"Think about it Harry, and maybe reread that book. Your first session will be tomorrow, directly after breakfast. I'll see you at dinner, now why don't you go and play some Quidditch, it will take your mind off it all. Help yourself to a Snitch from the broom sheds if you want."
"Yes sir."
Harry sure now that he was going to be studying harder now than he ever had in term- time, as Dumbledore led him through a side door at the back of the hall and up a hidden flight of stairs to the office. When they were ready, Dumbledore asked,
"Which book did you get the "Ire" charm from, harry? And where did you get the book from?"
"Uh, 'Sorcery, a Student's Guide'. Hermione sent it to me - she got it for some extra reading and thought I might want to read it once she was done."
"The charm to summon the book from any location is 'Acci'. Try using it now."
"Okay, uh, Acci Book!"
The book appeared on the table with a flash. The headmaster calmly picked it up and flicked casually through it, pausing on some pages as if to renew his memory.
"Yes, this is definitely a genuine copy, I wonder how she got hold of it. Harry, what do you know about magic and why people are either wizards or Muggles?"
"Big question," Harry said, stalling for time as he searched his mind for the information needed. "Magic is power stored in a human body that wizards can manipulate and Muggle's can't."
"My, my Harry, you have been busy, haven't you? I'm very impressed. That was a quote from 'The Science of Magic', wasn't it? An excellent book, very accurate, but somewhat on the stuffy side for my taste."
"Yes sir, Hermione sent me that one as well. She's into that sort of thing at the moment, I think she's hoping to find a connection between Muggle science and magic."
"Interesting, I would appreciate it if you told me if she finds anything. So, magic is energy from within that you can use, focussed by a wand. Do you know why, let's see, I am stronger than Professor Lockhart, for instance?"
"Well, no. It's just a guess, but have you studied more, so you know more spells?"
"That is one factor - focus. Your skill in manipulating the energy. I'll try to explain it to you. Picture what I'm describing as a pyramid, with Muggles at the bottom. They are the most numerous and because their bodies can hold so little magic at a time, they are unable to use it. With me so far?"
"Muggles outnumber wizards and don't have enough energy to do magic."
"That's it. The next group up is hedge witches and hedge wizards. They can manipulate very small amounts of magic but don't consciously know they're doing it because the power levels are so minute. They don't require any teaching, of course. It sometimes shows in the form of a gift of something, like being very good with animals. A good number of Muggles have this sort of wizarding abilities, more than you might think from appearances."
"Do my aunt and uncle?" Harry asked, curious as to whether they to were 'freaks'.
"Not a hint of it at any point in their lives, even with a witch in the family. However, I believe your cousin Dudley shows signs of it occasionally."
"Dudley?!"
"He's changed from a useless, if you'll pardon the expression, slob to an excellent boxer in a short period of time. That shows signs of unconscious magic use."
"Okay sir, I'll take your word for it. So, who comes next - wizards and witches?"
"That's right, the ordinary magic users, we call them witches and wizards. Most have the ability to pass practical exams in OWLs and a small minority scrapes a few NEWTs. Examples from your year: Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Dean Thomas, Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott - it's not hard to list a large number off the top of my head."
"So most magic users fall into that group, they aren't so powerful. Anything else?"
"There are certain charms that they are physically unable to perform, the Patronus Charm for instance, which is a complex piece of magic."
"But. . . I. . . ."
"You learned to do that in your third year, correct? It was Remus Lupin that taught you, and he told me of your request. That you were able to produce a corporeal Patronus at that age implied that you had the potential to become a very powerful magician in time, if you kept up your studies."
"What are you then, sir?"
"Patience Harry, I'll get there in the end. Our next group up is the magi. They will get decent NEWTs on the whole and do well in most future careers, although it is rare for them to be taken on in a job such as Auror, where great skill and power is needed just to pass the initial tests."
"Uh, will I need to write all this down later?"
Dumbledore smiled benevolently at him, pulled a piece of parchment out of his desk and tapped it with his wand. An annotated 'population pyramid' appeared in ornate gold ink.
"Sorry about the decoration, I haven't worked out how to get plain black ink yet."
"Its great sir, can you teach me the charm? It would really help in History of Magic."
"Maybe later."
He seemed to bring himself forcibly back to his original subject then, and continued,
"Where was I? Magi?"
"Yes sir. Would most of the people who produced a Patronus in DA last year be magi then? That would be, uh, Cho Chang, Seamus Finnegan, Hermione . . ."
"I believe that due to her skill and mental capabilities, she might actually be counted as one of the next category - an enchantress. An enchanter or enchantress is a powerful magic user. Almost all Aurors are this - your parents among them. It also takes this amount of power to perform Avada Kedavra, or an extremely high charged wand. I believe Wormtail used Riddle's wand to kill Cedric? That was probably because he is unable to perform it with his own. Enchanters are fairly rare - there are three in your year to my best estimate: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom. However, the boundaries are sketchy . . ."
"What about Ron? He's good, manages all of the things we do in DA easily."
"He lacks the mental effort that might have moved him from being a powerful mage to a weak enchanter, although he has the power in the correct amount."
"So if he worked hard . . ."
"Yes, he would be up there, just as Miss Granger is. You must remember that young Mr Malfoy is also an enchanter - it would not do to underestimate him."
"I won't. Is there another group? You haven't mentioned yourself yet."
"Of course Harry, the sorcerers. The most powerful magic users around, who can utilize spells others wouldn't even think about. I am a sorcerer myself; so unfortunately is Tom Riddle."
"How am I supposed to kill him then?" Harry asked desperately. "I mean, if he's that much more powerful, than anyone else is, why me anyway?"
"The spells you used earlier showed me fairly conclusively that you, Harry, are also a Sorcerer of an extremely high degree yourself, the first, to my knowledge, since Voldemort to be born. It isn't particularly surprising, considering the remarkable talent you have already shown. Who knows, perhaps, in the very beginning, it was triggered by Voldemort's attack?"
"I'm one of three sorcerers alive at the moment? It's kind of hard to believe. . ."
"It is true, nevertheless and you will be coming to my office everyday from now on, holidays or otherwise for lessons from myself or another member of the faculty. We will add more lessons this summer while you have the time, but they can wait while you get settled in, I think."
"Uh, thank you sir," 'I think' Harry added mentally.
"Think about it Harry, and maybe reread that book. Your first session will be tomorrow, directly after breakfast. I'll see you at dinner, now why don't you go and play some Quidditch, it will take your mind off it all. Help yourself to a Snitch from the broom sheds if you want."
"Yes sir."