A/N Author relaxes and stretches lazily. Ah, the joys of being unstressed. Finally time to write. Thanks for bearing with me.

PS: remember what I said in the first chapter about liking extravagant displays of power? So far I've held back, but no longer!

A week after the Ministry attack, Harry entered Dumbledore's office.

"Here are the last reports, sir. Neville is doing loads better, but he'll be stuck in St Mungo's for another week at least. His healer is worse then Madam Pomphrey, honestly…"

The headmaster chuckled.

"Don't let her hear you say that. How are the others?"

"Draco is fine, his bones were healed quickly and he was sore for a few days, but that's all. I've tried to talk to him about how he feels about his father's death, but all he says is that his father died to him a long time ago already. The others who were injured have been discharged as well, and are home recuperating. Except for Neville they should all be able to resume their normal duties by the end of the week, though I think we should not let them join any missions for a little while longer."

"I doubt there will be that many missions. It was quite a blow to Voldemort that we were waiting for him, armed and ready. Do you think he suspects your scar has anything to do with it?"

"I don't think so. If he tries to send me any visions, he should just notice the shields that keep him out. I'm always very careful not to let him notice me when I enter his mind. And Severus' mindlink helped a great deal this time."

Dumbledore nodded, and sighed. "How is he, Harry? I know I keep expecting too much, but I haven't heard from him all week…"

Harry sat down in one of the chairs. "He is doing well, but you have to understand that he takes one step back for every two steps forward. He will get there, eventually, but he has his ups and downs. He has withdrawn a bit this past week, even from Draco and me. This battle took a lot out of him, especially since some Order members took it upon themselves to harass him afterwards about how he tricked Voldemort and Lucius."

"What? Why? It was obvious that it was a trick, he saved my life!"

"Not to them, apparently. Anyway, Arthur and the Twins had a…chat…with those particular members and I daresay they will leave him alone from now on."

Dumbledore smiled. "Good. I will make it very clear at the next meeting, however, that such things are not going to be tolerated." He sobered.

"Harry, can I write Severus? Would he be ok with that?"

Harry hesitated. "I think so. Why don't you write him a note now? I'm going home anyway, I'll take it."

At that moment though, a familiar owl flew in through an opened window.

"Ah, Pothos. I'll wait a little longer, then." Harry grinned.

Dumbledore relieved the bird of the note and offered it a lemon drop. Upon receiving a sneer, he chuckled before turning his attention to the short note.

Harry stroked Pothos, who had landed on his shoulder.

"Good news?" he asked, when the headmaster smiled.

"He invited Minerva and myself over for dinner at your mansion tomorrow."

Harry's face brightened. "Ah, he's taking a few steps forward. I'm so glad he doesn't feel the need to ask my permission to invite people over anymore."

The Headmaster wrote a quick response and handed it to Harry.

"I was wondering something, though…why did you deposit some of the money I returned back into my account?"

Harry looked at him straight. "I am Mr Jones. I bought Severus' mansion, and sold it back to you so I could give him back both his house and some of his money. When you returned all his funds, we didn't think it was fair to keep the extra you paid for the house. So we returned it."

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled. "I should have known. But Harry, that means that basically, you are the only one who lost money over this."

Harry shrugged. "Compared to what I own, it was nothing. Severus hasn't realised it yet, and I'm not planning to bring it up. Basically you lost the most, but you'll excuse me if I'm not all that concerned about that."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I didn't lose money. We had no right to take Severus' money in the first place."

Harry got up. "Well, that's true. I'm going back to the house now, I'm supposed to meet Severus. Something he wants to show me, he says. Maybe he exploded his first cauldron…"

Dumbledore laughed. "He demolished dozens of cauldrons over the years, it would definitely not be his first. When he was experimenting with the Wolfsbane potion, he had to order a new cauldron every other day or so."

Harry's eyes gleamed. "Oh, I am so going to tease him with that…"

At the Mansion

"Hey, Sev. What did you want to show me?"

Severus led Harry down to the training room.

"I've never been a good teacher, Harry, but this time is going to be different. I'm going to train you."

Harry grinned. "In what? Occlumency?"

Severus glared, then his face relaxed, though he kept a very serious look. "That is what gave me the idea, really. You are very advanced in Occlumency and Legimency. Can you do wandless and silent magic?"

Harry shook his head. "Only a bit, simple summoning and levitation spells. I've been training, but I don't seem to get on with it."

"How are you training it?"

"I don't know, I just try to tap deeper into my magical core I guess."

Severus nodded. "I thought so. It's quite a feat that you can manage to do simple spells wandlessly if you only use your core. See, the key for wandless and silent magic is not your core. Your core is your supply of magical energy. HOW you tap into that is what defines the kind of magic you use. Most wizards use a wand and spells, because that is the easiest way. You don't need anything for that except a wand and some practice. Think of your magical core as a large deposit of raw gems in the rocks. To get them out, and to use them, shape them into precious stones, you need tools. A wand is like dynamite. You plug into the rock, blow the thing up, and presto. But there are other tools, that require more patience, more skill, but are very rewarding because they leave all the gems intact. Well, as with most analogies, this one isn't perfect, but you get my point, right?

Harry nodded. "To do wandless and silent magic, I need a different tool then my wand."

"Exactly! And the tool you need for that is right inside your own head. Magic, despite what your friend Hermione thinks, is something that can be studied, analysed, but the actual use of it will always remain a matter of feeling. Intuition. A lot of sweat, of course, that too, but basically, when it comes down to it, that's what it is. A muggle could study magic, could know everything there is to know about it, but would still be unable to even charm a feather. When you use a wand and spells, you channel the magic from your core through your wand and shape it into what you want it to do by the words you say. Magic in itself is not good or evil, Harry. It is the words and the intent of the caster that make it what it is. Now, your new tool will be your brain. You already mastered Occlumency, which should help you greatly. I'm impressed, actually, that you can already do some wandless magic without the right tool. I am confident that once you have that tool, you will be very powerful."

Harry wasn't convinced, but willing to learn. "How much can you do wandlessly?" he asked, curious.

Shrugging, Severus answered: "Everything that can be accomplished by spells. Theoretically, it should be possible to advance beyond the limitations of what spells can do, but I haven't managed it yet. Maybe you will. Anyway, the 'tool' you need resembles the one you use for Occlumency and Legimency. In the case of Legimency, you force your mind into another persons mind. You can use that same force to draw from your core and let the magic work for you. Eventually you will see that your core and the tool melt, and your core will no longer be a separate part of you. Why don't you try it? Use Legimency on your core. If it doesn't work, adjust the tool until it feels 'right' to work with. Don't worry if it doesn't work the first few times."

Harry furrowed his brow in concentration and tried to pick up one of the weights he used to train with. It moved slightly, but didn't get off the ground.

"Very good," Severus said, "Not at all bad for the first time."

Harry growled. "It just doesn't feel right. I wish I could just watch you do it so I can see how it's done…"

His face brightened. "If we mindlinked, would I be able to see how you do it?"

Severus raised is eyebrows. "I never thought of that…" he stroked his chin with a finger. "It might work. We can at least try. Just remember that your 'tool' may not be the same as mine."

Harry nodded. "I know, but it would give me at least some idea of what I'm looking for. Hey, if we stay linked, you could see directly what I'm trying to do and tell me exactly what I should or shouldn't do!"

Severus smiled at his enthusiasm. "A very good idea. I'll link now, ok?"

Harry watched in amazement when he saw inside Severus. The man indeed no longer HAD a magical core; he WAS his magical core.

"Now Harry," he heard inside his mind, "watch this."

The weight lifted from the ground and started an intricate dance with one of the javelins. A pair of boxing gloves joined them. Harry saw that Severus was indeed using his mind to control his core, and his core co-operated with his mind in almost fluent unity. Finally Severus put the stuff down.

"Now you try."

Harry, now having an idea what he was looking for, gave up trying so hard to control his core with his mind; instead he began to probe it, looking for co-operation. His core responded and a bucket nearby began to slowly transfigure into an armchair.

"My, you go straight for the big stuff, don't you?" he heard Severus' amused voice in his head, "never mind the simple charms, right on to transfiguration!"

Harry wanted to grin, when he felt a weird sensation. His core seemed to grow and grow, and he felt himself lifted into the air as an unbearable heat raced through his body. It took all of his courage not to cry out, and then it was over. He dropped onto a mattress and passed out.

"Harry! HARRY!" Someone was, really annoyingly, tapping his face.

"Ger off me," he groaned, batting at the hand.

"Come on, wake up," he heard a very relieved and happy voice say. Severus?

Harry sighed. If Severus was relieved and happy he should probably wake up to see why that was. It wasn't a common occurrence after all.

"Severus?" He sat up. "What happened?"

The Potions Master helped him sit up and gave him a glass of water. He took a sip and slowly his memory returned.

"What happened? I remember thinking I'd burn alive…"
"Yes, that was what it felt like for me too," the elder wizard said brightly.

Harry groaned. "I take it it's a good thing, then? I mean…if it can make you sound THIS happy…"

"Harry, I didn't expect this to happen right away or I would have warned you. It took me months to get that far, you must be even more powerful then I thought. Your mind and your core melted. Go take a look."

Harry cast him a look of disbelief, then he sighed and turned his mind inwards. He nearly jumped.

"I look like you now!" He said, "I am all magic now."

Severus scowled. "You do NOT look like me, Mr Potter!" then he helped Harry up and looked at him proudly.

"Very well done, Harry. Now, try something."

Harry thought of summoning a book. Immediately they were pelted with what looked like half the library. Instinctively, Harry created a shield around him and Severus, knocking all the books into the far wall.

His eyes widened and he stopped trying.

Severus brushed off his robes and looked at the pile. "I guess we need to work on control a bit," he said casually.

Harry felt ecstatic. This was wonderful!

"When I've trained a bit more, can we duel wandlessly too?" he asked, eager.

"Absolutely. But I prefer you work on refining your control first, I don't want to be blown to bits when you only mean to disarm me. I don't think I could bear the shame."

Dobby appeared.

"Harry, Harry! The wards is all going crazy!"

Severus nodded. "That was to be expected. The wards are tied to you. With your increase in power, so did they. They'll calm down once the magic in you settles."

"Can you show me some more? Please?" Severus burst out laughing. Harry so much resembled a small boy, bouncing on his feet and large, pleading eyes, that he demonstrated a few more things and then helped Harry practice.

At the end of the session they summoned down some butterbeers and leaned back contently.

"So, Severus," Harry said, teasing, "I hear you are having a party tomorrow. Let me remind you, young man, no loud music, no booze, and curfew is at 11."

Severus turned scarlet. "I would have asked you but I didn't know if they'd come and I was going to invite you, really!" he said.

Harry laughed. "Merlin, Severus, your face is redder then Ron's when Hermione catches him doing something stupid. Actually I was with Dumbledore when your note came, he gave me this note."

Severus opened it. "Minerva is out of town for a few days, but he is coming," he said.

The whole next day they practised. Harry, thanks to his Occlumency studies, soon controlled his new powers and had a lot of fun using them.

"Is it possible to use both a wand and wandless magic at the same time?" he asked, "they're different tools, would it be possible to use two different tools at once?"

Severus shrugged. "Don't know, I never tried. I trained in Azkaban without my wand and I haven't used it yet since Minerva returned it."

Harry nodded and tucked it away for future reference.

Finally, in the late afternoon they decided they were ready for a duel.

They dressed in Harry's battle outfit (which he preferred to robes). Black pants, kneehigh dragonhide boots and a dragonhide vest, leaving the arms bare.

"There is a sidepocket for a wand in the pants," Harry said, "but because most wizards wear wandholsters on their arms, walking around with bare arms gives your opponent the idea that you are unarmed. Of course, with this wandless magic, that level of deception even increases."

Severus nodded and tied his hair back in a ponytail, as did Harry.

They bowed and then the fun began. They were pretty evenly matched. Harry's power was greater, but Severus was a very strong wizard too, and more experienced. They literally danced around each other. Harry noticed that he had to work on his duelling techniques. This new use of magic meant he didn't have to point anything at his opponent; he worked only with his mind. That left his entire body free to dive out of the way of hexes. Severus had clearly been practising on that as well; Harry hardly hit him at all.

None of them noticed the Headmaster coming in, having been shown in by Dobby. The old wizard watched the intricate dance in amazement.

Harry began to forget even thinking of the name of a spell; he merely thought of what he wanted to accomplish. Up until that moment, the bright flashes of light that normally accompanied a spell disappeared. Severus' eyes widened when he felt the results without ever having seen anything coming. The spell knocked him over, but not out. He grinned and held up his hands in surrender.

"Excellent, Harry, truly exceptional!" he said, "Remember what I told you yesterday about going beyond the limitations of spellwork? I think you have just proven you are well on your way to doing that! You have to teach me how!"

A soft cough at the door caught turned their attention to the gaping headmaster.

The Headmaster didn't regain his speech until Harry and Severus had cleaned up and changed into robes, and they were all seated at the dining table.

"How…when…" were the first words the ancient Wizard uttered.

"Good evening, professor Dumbledore, nice to see you too," Harry smirked.

Severus' face showed the same smirk. "Honestly, Albus, you taught me the first bits of wandless magic yourself, why are you so surprised?"

Dumbledore glared. "Because that was nothing compared to what I saw the two of you do just now! You were a menace with wandless magic when I first began to teach you!"

"Oh, just because I threw over a few of your instruments."

"AND set my beard on fire!"

Harry doubled over in laughter.

They chatted a little over everyday things during dinner, all avoiding painful issues. Until the room suddenly went dark.

"Ack!" Harry said, "Been having that a few times since yesterday. Apparently occasionally the increased power of both me and the wards cause all the lights in the house to go out simultaneously."

He waved his hand and the light returned. It was then that they noticed Severus curling in a corner.

Harry cursed. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and moved to the trembling figure.

"What's wrong, Harry?" his voice was painted with concern.

"He's having a flashback," Harry said, "he gets them occasionally. Different things trigger them; this time the sudden dark."

He carefully approached the trembling man and spoke softly to him, rubbing his shoulder and back. It took a long time for the shaking to stop. When the body unclenched and went limp, Harry picked him up and tucked him in on the couch. Then he looked up at Dumbledore.

"Well, Headmaster, here you see a bit of what Azkaban has done to him. I suppose you understand now why he has such a hard time to forgive and forget."

The headmaster rested his hand on the dark hair of the sleeping man and nodded sadly.