Chapter 5

Vermagi

Where am I? Harry thought to himself, looking around. He recognized the walls, or actually the scratches on the walls. How did I get to the shrieking shack? He wondered. Then he remembered the argument. He was still extremely mad at him, and he could feel the blood curdling inside of his body. How could Dumbledore do that? Harry knew that he had to learn to fend for himself. He would use the book he had found to learn the magic inside. First, however, he was going to find a way to get back at people. He had to take revenge on Lestrange. He took out his wand and the spell book he had shrunk in his pocket. He opened to the page for conjuring small animals. Luckily he had practiced this; he knew it was going to be a hard spell and he had been working on it since school let out.

He practiced the wand movement a few times before actually casting the spell. "Nerenti Mammar," he said, and a small ball fell out of his wand and morphed into a opossum. "Now, to make you suffer." He already knew that he could cast the cruciatus curse. He had accidentally cast it on Kreacher earlier this summer. Let's get a spell to kill, he thought. He remembered the few Latin lessons he and Dudley shared as children. He knew the word for death is 'morte,' but a quick death was too good for these people. He remembered the total petryfying charm: Petrifcus Totallus. He decided to bond the two together. How about Morte Totallus, he thought. He concentrated hardly on what he wanted, pointed his wand at the animal and shouted, "Morte Totallus." The opossum flew into the air and fell back down. The only thing that happened was that it pissed the little marsupial off.

The animal ran at Harry and scratched his leg. "You little fucker!" Harry yelled. "Morte Totallus!" This time that animal flew into the air and landed on the ground passed out. That's better, Harry thought. He waited for the opossum to start moving and figured that he would need to be extremely mad at the creature for this spell to work. He shot sparks repeatedly at the animal until it got so mad that it charged Harry again. Harry kicked it away to make it even madder. This time it jumped at harry and bit his hand. Harry waved his arm, trying to throw the opossum off of himself, but it would budge. Finally, Harry hit the opossum on a wall and his arm began throbbing with pain. That's it, Harry thought, and he yelled, "Morte Totallus!" This time the opossum flew high into the air and its tail was ripped off its body as it came to a stop, completely dead. Harry figured that this spell would only get better the angrier he was. All of the sudden, however, Harry scar was throbbing with pain. He shut his eyes, hard trying to kill the pain, but it wouldn't go away. When it only got worse his eyes shot open and saw, standing over him,

"-Salazar Slytherin. Harry, did you hear me? I would like you to meet Salazar Slytherin." Harry awoke from his dream. He looked up and saw Slytherin himself sitting across the room.

"Hello," Slytherin said. "Mister Potter, I presume. Such pleasure to make your acquaintance." Harry realized why his house was represented with a snake. Slytherin seemed to linger on all of his "s's" and he had a way of talking without moving his mouth very much. This reminded Harry of Lucius Malfoy. "Godric, here, has told me plenty about you. Visiting from Surrey, was it? Hope you come from a pure family. Don't know of many wizards in that area." He squinted his eyes at Harry, obviously angry that there was no response yet. "Well? Are you taught not to talk to strangers? Don't worry; I won't bite you. I'm only here for a little while anyhow. I understand we are to have lunch in a few moments. Am I correct, Godric?" Slytherin took his eyes off of Harry for the first time since they met.

"Yes, that is correct, Salazar," Godric replied with a coy smile. He had a certain air around him. He was friendly enough to invite a conversation, but Harry was sure this man could use his bare hands to rip him apart. Which was nothing compared to what he could do with a wand. "You go on ahead, Salazar, I would like to talk to Harry alone for a while. We will be right in." Slytherin cast one more glance at Harry before he reluctantly walked out of the room.

"I don't like him," Harry said the moment the door was shut.

"I know, Harry, but he will be here for a while. I have to convince him that I will be the best choice for the school that he wants to build."

"All right," Harry said, "I just wish I could take care of him now. If he doesn't give birth, then—"

"No, Harry. You must not fiddle with time!" Harry remembered about the time turner Hermione used during their third year at Hogwarts. Had they not "fiddled" with time, then Sirius would be...well, at least his name will be clean soon. "Harry, what I would like to teach you should only take three months."

"Excuse me, sir, but what is it that you would like to teach me?" Harry asked. He was still a little angry that Dumbledore was still keeping things from him, especially something as big as his being absent from his own time for months at a time.

"Harry, Dumbledore told me about your entire history. He has informed me that this Voldemort has only one problem with killing you: you are protected under a certain magic that he does not quite understand. This "old magic" as Albus calls it, was cast upon you by your mother. The problem is that Albus, nor anyone around him, knows this magic either. Only a few select wizards today know how to harness the true energy. So, there would be even less in your time. This magic, though it is very strong, has unfortunately died down. I, however, happen to be very knowledgeable in this area of magic. It is my job to teach you how to harness this energy. The magic is called 'Vermagi', which translates as 'True Magic'. The first thing about True Magic is that you will not use your wand. True Magic comes straight from your heart, which is why it is so strong. Therefore, I must ask you to hand me your wand."

"What? Sir, with all due respect, I do not wish to give it to you. This wand has gotten me out of so much."

"Harry, if you cannot master the strength to part with it, then I am afraid that you will never grasp True Magic. Please, relinquish your wand." Harry slowly pulled his wand out and, giving it one last look, handed it to Gryffindor. "Good. Now, off to lunch." Godric put the wand in a case on the hearth of the fireplace, and the two of them headed out the door to meet Slytherin in the dining hall.

Lunch was nearing an end, and Harry had taken a slight liking to Slytherin. Although his obsession with the requirement that all wizards should be of pure blood was overwhelming, he was not nearly as bad as either Malfoy or Voldemort. Harry figured that this attitude would have changed if he thought Harry was half-blood.

"Well, Godric," Slytherin said as they were finishing off their delicious pecan pies, "I have a strong feeling that you will be perfect for the position of headmaster. As for helping us found the school itself, I will have to speak to Helga and Rowena. I will get back to you soon." With this, Slytherin started to rise.

"Thank you very much," Gryffindor replied rising immediately as Slytherin began his slow ascension, motioning Harry to follow suit.

"Harry, it has been a pleasure to meet you," Slytherin said when he finally got to full height.

"Yes, sir. I have found it much more pleasurable than imagined," Harry said sticking out his hand for Slytherin. Slytherin reached forward to shake it, but as he got within a few inches he stopped. He shot a glance at Harry narrowing his eye. Something kept him from touching the boy. He drew his hand back and said, "Maybe our next meeting will call for such informalities. For now, I must simply bow to you and wish you luck in your future endeavors. Good day." With this, Slytherin was gone.

Gryffindor stood staring at Harry. "Harry, did you know he couldn't touch you?"

"No. I just wanted to shake his hand."

"Harry, you must already have a strong inner magic. Has anything strange ever happened around you when you weren't casting spells?"

"Plenty. Would you like the short list or the long list?"

"Neither. Harry, this is the magic I spoke of, the magic that lies within you. I have a feeling that I do not have much to teach you. I have some business to attend to this evening. We will begin early tomorrow morning. Get plenty of sleep. You will be run hard tomorrow. I hope to keep you for as little time as possible. Although this is an instantaneous spell, it can be detected. The longer you're here, the easier it will be. Tonight, I encourage you to take my private carriage into Hogsmeade. See what's there, and get some robes more fitting for this time. Here is a small allowance." He handed Harry ten galleons.

"Sir," Harry replied, eyeing the small amount of cash in his hands, "what can I get with this?"

"Harry, you are hundreds of years in the past. Money is a lot more valuable right now. These ten galleons should get you more than enough to wear around. Ask for a personal tailor at Fabriggio's. It's an Italian shop, but don't let that discourage you." With a wink, he turned and left the room. Harry looked around. This room looked vaguely familiar. It was then that he realized that he was standing in the exact spot of the future great hall.

"I wanna go to Hogsmeade," Harry said to no one in particular. In an instant a man in scarlet dress robes appeared.

"Follow me, sir." Harry walked after the man who led Harry to a carriage awaiting him outside the mansion.

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I would like to continue this story. Of course, this is all pre-HBP. I found it sittin around collecting dust and was wondering if there is anyone who would be interested in reading on were I to finish it. Either that, or I will begin working on a 7th book fanfic. Readers respond!