Chapter 2 – Mentor
Harry and Adora began to back off slowly, Adora's hand wrapped tightly around her wand, but before they were able to take more than a few steps they were stopped by the old man.
"Please don't be frightened I mean you no harm, in fact I would like to offer my assistance if I could."
"You want to help us? Why?" Harry asked warily.
"I'm sorry Harry I've just realized I'm being terribly rude please allow me to introduce myself. David Filch at your service." he said extending his hand.
Harry gaped at the old man in shock barely registering Adora's grip on his arm tightening upon hearing the stranger's name.
"Filch?"
"Yes Harry, I believe you know my grandson Argus." he said smiling.
"Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch is your grandson?"
"Yes I'm afraid so. And yes though I haven't seen him in a decade or two I do understand that being the only squib in a long line of wizards has made him a bit… bitter."
"That's putting it mildly." Harry said causing David to chuckle. "You still haven't said why you want to help us."
Reaching in his pocket he pulled out a folded piece of parchment and handed it to Harry. Unfolding the letter and held it so that Adora could read it as well.
Dear David,
I hope my letter finds you well. I must apologize, I know I haven't spoken to you in a long time but I have been rather busy as of late what with the rebirth of Voldemort and all.
I would like to ask a favor of you. I believe two of my charges will be in your neighborhood soon and would very much appreciate it if you wouldn't mind looking after them. The individuals in question are Harry and Nymphadora Potter. I believe you are already familiar with most of their history so I will digress. It seems the ministry here is once again causing trouble for this young man and though I am unable to provide proof at this time I assure you he is completely innocent of the charges against him.
If you could provide them with safe sanctuary I would be most appreciative. I would also ask if you are willing, to provide the young couple with a bit of training. Unfortunately thanks to a certain prophecy a great burden rests on their shoulders and they will have no choice but to return one day soon.
By the way old friend I would highly recommend a muggle sweet I have recently been made aware of called gummy bears. I find them most enjoyable.
Please give Harry and Nymphadora my regards and best wishes on a happy marriage.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"You're a friend of Professor Dumbledore's?" asked Adora.
"Ahh yes, I've know Albus for close to a hundred years now. In fact it was through our mutual like of sweets that we met." He chuckled merrily as he reached into his pocket and offered them the contents of a small cellophane bag. "Gummy bear?"
Adora smiled and took a few of the offered sweets. Harry however declined still having questions he wished to pose.
"How did he know where we were and that we got married?"
Laughing heartily he replaced the bag in his pocket before answering. "Unfortunately I am unable to answer those questions. In the many years I have been friends with Albus I have rarely been able to get a straight answer from him and have never been able to get him to tell me how he finds out the things he does. As for how I was able to find you, you're marriage is a matter of public record. Your aura was very easy to spot once I knew your general location."
Harry smiled in complete understanding.
Reaching into another pocket David removed a red feather and handed it to Harry. "This is a portkey that will take you directly to my home. Should you decide you would like to accept my offer it will activate when you are both touching it. Regardless whether you decide to accept my offer or not please be careful, though they are few in number there are death eaters here in the states."
After saying their goodbyes David left and Harry and Adora returned to their hotel.
The newlyweds sat on the side of their bed hand in hand contemplating the impromptu meeting they had just come from.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know Harry. Something about him makes me want to trust him. I'm not really sure what, just a feeling. Dumbledore's letter helps. I knew he let us get away that day at the docks."
"True." he said letting out a long sigh. "I'm not sure we really have many options at this point anyway. Eventually I have to go back and face Voldemort, it would be nice to be able to get some training and he must be good if Dumbledore wants him to train us."
"So we're going to do this then?" Adora asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes, let's do it." replied Harry.
After packing quickly they searched the room a final time to make sure they left nothing behind. As they both took hold of the feather they felt the distinctive pull of the portkey activating and disappeared from the hotel room.
David Filch sat on the porch of a log cabin overlooking a small lake in a large wooded area. His gaze wandered over the beautiful scenery as his mind thought back to the meeting he had left only hours before. He was impressed with the young couple and amazed at the amount of power Harry contained though he noted Harry seemed unaware it was there.
As he sat musing over the couple he hoped would soon be joining him he felt a familiar tingle in the back of his mind indicating his wards were being breached. A few moments later the very people he had been thinking about appeared in front of the cabin.
"Welcome to my home." David said merrily as he stood to greet them.
Adora smiled back. "Thank you for having us."
"Please come inside and we'll get you settled in."
Entering the cabin they were greeted by a fairly large and very comfortable looking living room. The wall to the right was covered by a fireplace that seemed large enough to heat the entire cabin. Several soft leather chairs and couches were arranged around the mouth of the fire place with an end table by each. To their left was a simple dining table surrounded by wooden chairs. The walls were adorned with various pictures of the muggle world. In fact everything about the room seemed muggle.
David spoke as they passed through the room and down a hallway situated across from the entry door. "This is the living room of course, that door" he said as he pointed to the left of the hallway they were about to enter, "goes to the kitchen. The first door on your left in the hall also goes there." Opening a door on the right side of the hallway opposite the kitchen door he let them have a look. "This is the library."
David grinned at the look of astonishment on their faces at the sight of the obviously magically expanded room. The library was easily the size of the one at Hogwarts. "Yes well I guess I have a bit of an obsession with reading. Not a lot else to do out here you know." Closing the door he continued down the hall to the remaining rooms. "The door strait ahead leads outside the one on the left is my room and you'll be staying here."
The room he led them into was simply appointed containing a rustic style of furniture which suited the cabin well. A door in the back of the room led to a simple but functional washroom.
"Why don't you make your selves at home and when your ready I'll be in the kitchen preparing dinner."
Closing the door behind him as he left David went back to the kitchen.
Dinner was a simple but filling affair consisting of beef stew and corn bread. After everyone had had their fill David cleaned up the mess with a wave of his hand and led them to the living room to sit in front of the fireplace.
"I can't thank you enough for having us." said Harry, "You have a wonderful home and it's very beautiful here."
David smiled at his thoughtfulness, "You're quite welcome and both of you please make your selves at home. To be honest I'm glad to have you here it has been getting a bit lonely out here the last couple of years."
Harry returned his smile. "You mentioned you might be willing to train us, well actually I guess Dumbledore asked if you would in his letter. We are a bit curious about what training you could provide if you are willing that is."
"I would be delighted to help you both. I suppose we would start with physical and magical endurance training. I understand you both have a firm grasp on Occulmency which we would want to gain complete mastery of as well as Legilimancy. In your particular situation you would also benefit from battle training both in physical and magical combat and tactics. No doubt we will discover other talents along the way you may wish to train in also such as animagus or invisibility."
Harry and Adora kept sharing glances. They were both getting excited at the thought of all they could learn from this man. "Really? You would really be willing to teach us all that?"
"Yes I would." David held up his hands seeing the delighted looks on their faces. "You need to know I'm no easy task master. The training I'm talking about will be very demanding and require a lot of dedication on your part. Anything less than your absolute best effort and that will be the end of it."
"I'm in." said Adora.
"Me too." added Harry. "I will need a new wand though mine was broken at the trial."
David's face showed a look of amusement as he sat back in his chair crossing his arms over his chest. "And what would you need a wand for Harry?"
Harry looked confused as he responded. "Well, to perform magic."
Chuckling softly at his answer David waved his hand summoning three butter beers from the kitchen.
"Harry you have no idea how much power you wield do you?"
"I guess I'm a bit above average and I always got good grades but I've never been particularly good at anything except defense."
"I believe you are capable of far more than you realize, in fact I would rate your power roughly equal to Dumbledore's." Harry and Adora both looked stunned at his words. "We'll need to teach you the basics and work on your magical endurance but you should have no problem picking up wandless magic with your power levels."
"No, there's no way I'm as powerful as Dumbledore."
"I assure you that you are Harry."
The young couple sat in silence for several minutes flabbergasted at what they had just learned before David finally stood up. Walking to the fireplace he removed a long thin box from the mantel which he gave to Harry.
"However you are correct. To perform the more advanced magic's you will still require a magical focus."
Opening the box Harry was startled to find his wand. A wand he was sure he had seen snapped at his farce of a trial. Along with the wand was a note written in the familiar loopy script of Albus Dumbledore.
Harry,
Some things are not always as they seem. There are many of us who never lost our faith in you. I have taken the liberty of removing all of the tracking charms from your wand.
Sincerely,
The Order of the Phoenix
Harry smiled and handed to note to Adora to read. Waving his wand in the air red and gold sparks emitted from the tip and the familiar feeling of magic and power washed over him.
David grinned at the young man before him as he started for the hallway. "Well I am going to bed. I would recommend you do the same as you're in for long hard days starting tomorrow."
The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Harry and Adora had both mastered Occulmency and Legilimancy and were coming along well in their physical combat and magical battle training. Harry's wandless magic was amazing but whether he used a wand or not Harry still seemed to lack the raw power in his spells that David knew he had. Four months had passed and they were working on battle magic when David decided they were ready to learn a special spell that would assist them in acting as a cohesive unit rather than two individuals.
Sitting them down in the living room he began. "Have either of you heard of a spell called 'Communico Alucinor'?"
Both Harry and Adora shook their heads no so he continued. "Basically it allows two people to communicate telepathically though it's actually a spell and not true telepathy. It's extremely dangerous until mastered as you can easily loose pieces of your mind to the one you are connecting to. In many cases involving the use or rather the training to use this spell so much of the individuals mind is lost that death is the result."
The worried voice of Adora spoke up. "Are you sure we should risk learning something that dangerous?" Harry nodded in agreement.
A smiling David continued. "I believe the benefits in battle will most definitely outweigh the danger of learning. I've had you master Occulmency before even suggesting this as that particular skill will eliminate most of the danger."
Seeing the pair relax a bit he returned to his explanation. "The spell has an operating range which depends on your level of magical power. On a magical level the spell works by creating a thread of magic between the two individuals magical cores over which the communication occurs. As you get farther apart the thread stretches and eventually breaks ending the spell and subsequently your ability to communicate in a telepathic manner."
David gave them several minutes to digest the information before asking. "Would you like to try this?"
After sharing a look they both agreed to try.
"Ok, before you cast the spell I want you to both clear your minds and bring up your strongest Occulmency shields. Once one of you casts the spell you should both feel a push against your barriers very similar to what a tentative Legilimancy intrusion feels like though with practice you should be able to tell the difference between the two. Don't open your mind to the connection all at once, but slowly. This will be the dangerous part, just make sure you do it a little at a time so you don't run the risk of merging your minds and loosing yourself. Do you both understand?"
"I do." said Adora.
"So do I." said Harry. Turning to his wife he continued, "Would you like to try first?"
"Sure."
After clearing their minds and bringing up their shields Adora pointed her wand at Harry and said the spell. "Communico Alucinor."
They both felt the familiar sense of their mental shields being probed though it was different somehow, almost comforting rather than intruding. As they allowed their shields to weaken at the point of the connection they were able to project their thoughts to one another.
'- Adora? –'
'- Harry can you hear me? –'
'- Yes! This is so cool! –'
'- Amazing, think of all the stuff we can do with this. –'
Harry mentally laughed through their connection. '- We should end the spell and let David know its working. –'
'- Alright luv. –' "Finite Incatatem."
Harry and Adora were both visibly excited after ending the spell. "That was brilliant!"
"Ah, I take it you were successful then." said a smiling David.
"Yes we were I can see were that will be really useful."
"You will need to practice it eventually you should get to the point where you can make the connection without having to worry about your mental barriers. We should also check the distance to see what your effective range is. Remember that the range will depend on the power behind the castor so I would expect the range to be greater when Harry casts the spell."
They spent most of the day practicing the spell. I wasn't long before their magical cores recognized the magic and readily accepted it without their needing to manipulate their mental shields. During their practice they found that if Adora cast the spell they could communicate up to about fifty meters. With Harry casting it would increase to around one hundred and fifty meters.
The Potters were walking back towards the cabin hand in hand when Harry had a thought.
"Adora, I wonder, if we both cast the spell at the same time do you think we would get a larger strand of magic?"
"I don't know for sure, it makes sense. If it worked we should be able to go two hundred meters or more."
"Do you want to try it?" asked Harry.
"Sure."
Stopping they turned to face each other and with a nod both cast the spell.
"Communico Alucinor!"
As the spells connected they felt the familiar feeling of their mental connection spring to life for a few seconds before their worlds exploded in pain and darkness took hold.
Two days had passed since David had discovered his charges unconscious outside the cabin. He had performed every diagnostic spell he knew and had researched many more in his library but had been unable to determine what was happening to them. Physically he could find nothing wrong with either of them but magically he could sense great shifts in magical power within the couple. He dropped the book he was reading and leapt up from the chair he had been keeping his vigil from as Harry began to stir.
"Harry? Harry, can you hear me?" David nervously asked.
"Mmmm." Harry mumbled as he sat up, his hands rubbing his eyes. "How did I get inside?"
"You had an accident Harry I'm not sure what happened. How do you feel?"
"I feel great, better than ever." Harry said feeling more invigorated and powerful than he had ever felt before.
"What were you and Adora doing before you passed out?"
"Adora!" Harry stated, frantically looking around to find his wife next to him on the bed.
"Relax Harry, she's fine, she's still sleeping. You both have been out for a little over two days now. What's the last thing you remember before you woke up a few minutes ago?"
Harry thought hard before answering. "We were coming back to the cabin after practicing 'Communico Alucinor' and wondered if we could increase the range if we both cast the spell to put more power into it. It seemed to work at first then I remember a lot of pain and waking up here."
David was shocked that they would try to manipulate such a dangerous spell without thoroughly researching the possible consequences first. As he thought about the possibilities he realized what must have happened, what must still be happening. He cast several spells over Harry and Adora to confirm what he suspected and as he did his expression of shock changed to one of delight and he began to laugh out loud.
"David?"
"Oh, sorry Harry. First I need to say that what you did was a very unintelligent thing to do. You should always study a spell thoroughly before attempting any modifications such as you did, your lucky the magic didn't kill you both."
Harry looked down clearly upset that he'd put his wife at risk. David placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Harry, it's ok. You're both fine, in fact I'd say your both better than fine."
"What do you mean better than fine?" said Harry as he looked up at David.
"I've been wondering all week what happened to you but I believe you've given me the final pieces to the puzzle. Apparently instead of creating one larger thread as you had intended you still created two smaller ones but the attraction of the two threads caused a rush of magic to fill the void between them. It appears as though you now have a permanent channel between your cores and an extremely large one at that. Not only should you be able to share your thoughts over a virtually unlimited distance but I believe raw magic and possibly your abilities as well."
"Raw magic and abilities?" asked a confused Harry.
David smiled broadly. "I mean Harry that the two of you are now sharing each others magic. If you were as powerful as Dumbledore before, you would be more powerful than him now as you have Adora's magic added to your own. She also has access to your magic and would therefore be equally as powerful as you. What's more since your sharing your magic you should also inherit each others magically determined abilities for example you should now be a metamorphmagus."
Harry smiled broadly and began to chuckle as David continued. "There's more Harry. It looks like the problems we were having with you manifesting your true power were being caused by the remnants of the killing curse Voldemort used on you when you were a baby. The magical backlash from the creation of the connection seems to have washed that away so you should find magic much easier to use now. The other thing I see happening is that your and Adora's cores are changing, seeking equilibrium across the connection between them and their doing this by increasing the size of Adora's magical core to match your own. I'm guessing that's why she hasn't woken up yet. Judging by the rate of increase I say she has another week or so."
"Does that mean that when this is done we should both be about twice as powerful as Dumbledore?"
"Of course this is all speculation at this point but yes I believe that is correct."
"You're sure she'll be alright?" he said looking at the sleeping face of his wife. "I'll never forgive myself if she's hurt by this."
"Try not to worry Harry I'm sure she'll be fine. Until she wakes and we have a chance to train you to control your new power I would try to avoid using magic though. Come on, let's go to the kitchen. You must be starving after being asleep for so long."
Harry leaned over kissing Adora on the forehead and reluctantly left her to sleep following David to the kitchen for a much needed meal.
It was almost exactly a week later when the magic between the pair seemed to settle. Harry had only left her side to eat and get books from the library to help him pass the time. He had discovered a couple old tombs which had given him some ideas on how to address the current Dark Lord and Death Eater problems he was facing. These books included several on advanced warding, two on magical map making and two on the history and construction of wizarding prisons.
Harry's book fell to the floor as he jumped from his seat when Adora began to shift on the bed finally waking from her long slumber. As her violet eyes opened they were met with the concerned look of her husbands face.
"Hey luv, nice of you to finally wake up." Harry said as he lovingly stroked the side of her face.
Her voice cracked from disuse as she tried to speak. She stopped to lick her lips and was handed a glass of water.
"What happened? How long was I out?"
"Too long luv, too long. I know your hungry, why don't we go to the kitchen and I'll explain what's happened while you get something to eat." Harry said with a grin.
Nodding in agreement as she realized how hungry she actually was she pulled him into a long kiss before heading out the door and down the hall to the kitchen followed closely by a beaming Harry.
With the Potters awake and their new found strength and abilities they resumed training once more. David marveled at the pair's progress over the following months. He had been amazed at what they had been accomplishing before the accident but was nothing short of astounded with their new found power and ability to learn and use what he taught them.
It had been a year since Harry and Adora had accepted David's offer of sanctuary and training and the results were undeniable. David had given up sparring with the couple several months earlier when he realized he was no longer in their league. He continued to instruct and assist them in their training but their skills now far exceeded his own and they had resorted to practicing against each other. He was most impressed with the young couple's wandless abilities. With the large well of power they shared between them they were able to cast almost every spell, only needing a wand for the most complicated ones.
It was a sad day for David as he stood in front of his cabin with Harry and Adora. He hated to see them leave but knew the time had finally come. The war was escalating and Harry was the only one who could end it.
"I'm gonna miss you two." David said.
"We're going to miss you too David." Harry replied pulling David into a hug. As he stepped back Adora took his place.
"We can't thank you enough for all your help."
"Well don't be strangers I've adjusted the wards and you're both welcome here anytime."
Harry and Adora stepped back holding hands and with a final wave and grin disappeared.
"Stay safe you two." whispered David to no one as he headed back to his now empty cabin.
