Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power
Usual Disclaimers apply, folks – but you know that don't you.
AN: Please review and thanks especially to those of you who have reviewed every chapter and added this story to your favorites list.
Contest: Help me name Salazar and Helga's baby. We know it's a boy. Best one will be used. Thanks. I think he will be born the next chapter so hurry with your entry. Choices so far are Richard, Severus, Harry, Kiernan, and Septimus. Any other choices, folks?
AN: Thanks to the over 10,000 hits on this story, and double thanks to the 80+ who have reviewed! This is the chapter that would not end, it was 21+ pages in Word and over 10,800 words so I have split it in two and will post the second half in just a couple of days. Thanks for reviewing.
Chapter 11: Lessons with the Founders
Harry was up bright and early the next day. It was remarkable how well rested he felt after a full nights sleep without nightmares, or visions, or potions. Dreamless sleep kept the nightmares and visions away, but because he didn't dream at all, it wasn't really very restful. After cleaning up in the bathing room and dressing in the clean apprentice robes that he found there, he went out into the sitting room and sat down in front of the fire to read until Professor Snape awoke. They had been informed the night before that their meals would be brought to them, since there were still refugees in the Great Hall for another couple of days.
After just a few minutes of reading, he found himself brooding as he stared into the fire. He wondered how his friends were doing; who had attacked him, though he thought he remembered Snape telling him it had been Malfoy and his goons, and most importantly; how they were going to get back. He knew Ron and Hermoine would be really upset, but he hoped that Ginny was missing him as well. Were they going frantic looking for him? Did they know that Tom had arranged to have him attacked and kidnapped? Would they think he was dead when they couldn't find them? He sunk down into the couch, descending deeper and deeper into his depressing thoughts. Severus came out from their bathing chamber and sat down beside the silent, obviously distressed boy. He drew Harry into his lap, much as he had held him while they had been alone in the meadow and silently rocked the youth without speaking. Severus knew that Harry would talk to him if he kept silent and waited for the child to work through his own thoughts.
After hearing a deep sigh and feeling Harry begin to relax deeply into his chest, he thought it was safe to speak, "Harry, child, I miss them too. Can we talk about it together?"
"Yeah, I guess. I just wonder what's happening with them. Do you think they think we're dead or something? Are they still looking for us?"
"I've known Albus for many years, and he wouldn't give up looking until he found us or our bodies. And do you really think the Weasleys, or Sirius or Remus will give up on finding us? We will do our best to get back to them as soon as we can, but in the meantime, we need to learn everything that we can so that when we return, we can kill Tom once and for all. I for one, hate having my life on hold to cater to that bastard. And I'm sure you would like to be just a 'normal' teenager, one without a homicidal maniac trying to kill you every year."
"Will Professor Dumbledore make me go back to the Dursley's?" Harry said in a quivering whisper, so quietly that Severus could barely hear.
"Never, I won't let him send you back. You will be going home with me. Even Death Eaters or Voldemort himself can't get in the wards at my Manor. My ancestors have been paranoid for centuries; the wards on the Manor are almost as old as the ones on Hogwarts and are even stronger, since we don't have to let in parents and visitors like Hogwart's does."
Harry put his arms around Severus' neck and gave him a shy hug, while whispering "Thank you, Severus." So softly, that the dark haired man almost felt it against his chest, rather than heard it.
Severus gently returned the hug and then pulled back so he could see Harry's face, "It will be okay, Harry, you'll see. Now, let's see about some breakfast so we can go to our first potions class. I am excited to be teaching with Salazar Slytherin. I never thought I would have that opportunity, that's for sure!"
Less than an hour later, Harry was sitting with Severus finishing up breakfast and chatting companionably about their plans for the day. Harry was still finding it weird to have a pleasant conversation with the man who had belittled, tormented, and hated him for the past 5 years. Severus however, was finding it remarkably pleasant to have someone to share his quarters and his formerly solitary meals with. He knew that Harry was having a hard time keeping the old Professor Snape separate from the new Severus, and that he had major issues with adults after the years of abuse from his 'relatives', but he could see small progresses each day.
He realized that it would be two steps forward and one step back, but he wanted to be there to help Harry with every step, good or bad. He vowed to himself to be the father to Harry that his own father had never been. The father, that Albus had tried to be for him. That he had never allowed the headmaster to become, no matter how hard the old man tried. As soon as they returned, he would have to show Albus how much his caring and concern; yes, and even love, had meant to him over the years, and to allow the older man into his heart along with Harry. Maybe he too could have a 'family' after all.
"So we will both be heading to the potions classroom first thing this morning. Helga wants you to wait another week before beginning classes that require the use of magic. So for this week you will have potions, Occlumency, herbology, Arithmancy, ancient languages, and wizarding history, which should be a very interesting class considering it is Merlin who teaches it. Then next week, you will add transfiguration, charms, and defense. Helga also wants you to start walking every morning and afternoon to rebuild the strength and bone density in your legs and to help build up your lung capacity again. If it is all right with you, I would like to join you in your walking exercises."
"I'd like that, sir. I will have to get used to the idea that no one here wants to kidnap me or kill me, and that it is all right to walk around outside without worrying if a dementor or death eater will attack. Do you think I could find a broomstick here and go flying? I know they don't have anything like a Firebolt but at least it will be flying."
"I imagine there are brooms here, or I learned from my grandfather how to build a broom when I was about ten years old. I could show you how if you would like. There is no magic involved in the beginning so Helga shouldn't complain."
"Could you, sir? I would love to have my own broom again. Do you know the charms and spells that are on new brooms, too?"
"Not those on a Nimbus, or a Firebolt, but at least better than the old school brooms that Madame Hooch teaches on." Severus smiled at Harry's enthusiasm.
The two walked down the corridor to their first class, chatting easily. They continued to discuss which type of wood would be best for their new brooms, as Severus had decided he would build one and Harry could watch each step and mimic him. Then they could fly together and maybe play some catching games. Severus knew the boy was missing his friends and Quidditch, and hoped he could ease some of his loneliness until he made friends here or they could return home.
Upon entering the classroom, they were surprised to discover that there was only Sal and three other students present. Harry thought this would be just as good as private lessons. He hoped that Snape's new attitude didn't disappear when he was back in front of a classroom. Apparently Sal and Snape had discussed how they would be teaching over the past couple of days though. Sal had set up one cauldron and Snape had set up another one. The students would each set up two smaller cauldrons, each at their own worktable. Sal first showed them how to brew a nerve replenisher potion, and then Snape brewed the same type only with modern refinements and ingredients. The students brewed each potion along with the one being demonstrated. Harry found it so easy to learn when someone explains each step and he could watch every reaction and interaction.
At the end of the two hour period, he was pleased to see that both of his potions were perfect, absolutely the right consistency and color! Snape seemed to be a little surprised to see every student there made an acceptable potion and they were all bottled for use in the infirmary or to be sold in the local apothecary.
Sal then spent the next hour discussing the differences and similarities in both potions and why certain ingredients did specific things and how they all reacted with each other as the apprentices took copious notes. Then all the students and the two masters discussed ways the two potions might be combined to make them more effective or easier to brew. For the first time in his life, Harry was sorry to have his potions class end. Severus was quiet as they walked back to their quarters for lunch. He seemed to be pondering the differences between Sal's classes and his own autocratic, domineering style.
Over lunch, he plied Harry with questions about the potions they had brewed and was surprised and flabbergasted to discover that Harry was an intuitive brewer. He did poorly with recipes that required precise timing and directions and was much better with a list of ingredients and descriptions of how and why certain items were added and when.
Severus was loathe to admit it, but he had really enjoyed teaching the way that Salazar Slytherin taught! Perhaps he could start to teach that way, especially his NEWT classes. He finished eating in deep contemplation, absent mindedly sending Harry on to the greenhouse for herbology while he returned for an afternoon class with Sal.
Severus and Harry went up to Merlin's chambers to have dinner with the family that evening. Harry was excitedly talking about his first ever Arithmancy and ancient languages classes. He said that Herbology with Helga and Artemus had been interesting but that she really looked tired and he hoped she would rest, it looked like she was ready to have the baby any day even if she said she had another month.
Opening the door, Harry and Severus were surprised to find two children along with the six adults that they had been expecting. The six year old boy was introduced as Galen Gryffindor and the three year old girl was his sister, Isabella, called Bella. Harry immediately liked the two and was comfortably on the floor, playing blocks with them in no time. He was reluctant to say goodnight to them when their nanny came to collect them before dinner was served to the adults. But apparently, that was the way children were raised at this time so Harry didn't say anything about them leaving.
Harry was asked about all of his classes and how they were the same and different from the ones he was used to. He was carefully polite when he explained how he found Sal's potion's class easier to learn because the teacher was demonstrating every step and explaining how everything looked and smelled instead of having everything written out. He told them he had been cooking since he was five at the Dursley's house and he had never had a cookbook, so he did things by sight and smell and taste.
"I guess that's why Sal's class was easier for me, because I could watch everything. But Professor Snape couldn't teach that way with Slytherin's and Gryffindor's in the class. There are too many students, and we would probably blow each other up within ten minutes of class starting. Plus I guess most students would learn better with recipes, than like I do by sight and sound."
He didn't want to insult Severus by complaining about how his classes were mostly incomprehensible to him and many of the other students. He had really understood Sal's class though and would be very comfortable in making the potions again on his own using his notes. Because he could write down things in a way that made sense to him; he understood much better than the text had ever explained it to him. Sal's potion class apparently had no text book at all!
"Perhaps the headmaster would let me split my classes so I could teach those like Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy who do well with precise brewing directions and a second class for those who brew intuitively like you do. The method of teaching the two is totally different and explains why you have always had such difficulty in my class. I am truly sorry for not noticing the reasons for your difficulties all these years, but I refused to see who you really were. Intuitive brewers are very rare and I really did not expect to find one amongst your classmates, even though I cannot say that I really ever looked. I myself am an intuitive brewer, as are most potions masters. Only intuitive brewers can develop and modify potions. Can you think of any other students who you would expect to do much better at potions, but cannot succeed in the precise scientific way in which my classes are set up?"
"Well, I hate to say it, but Neville Longbottom. I mean he knows every plant that's used in any potion. You can always find an answer to any obscure question about a plant from him without him even having to think about it. But it also might be that he's terrified of you, and then you swoop down on us like a vengeful bat in class, watching and just waiting for us to make a mistake so you can pounce. Uh, sorry, sir, I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry…"
Severus cringed at the thought of Mr. Longbottom in his NEWT classes but said, "It's all right, Harry. I know I haven't been fair to the students in my classes. I am too cruel and harsh to the Gryffindors and too lax and lenient to the Slytherin's; which doesn't benefit either group. But my every move was being reported to the Death Eater parents and then to Voldemort after he returned. To be a spy, I had to be so preferential and lenient to my own house. You do understand now, don't you?"
"Yes, sir. But it's hard to forget five years of torment in 10 days. Even if it has been the most eventful 10 days of my life. And now that my head doesn't hurt all the time and I'm not so angry, it's easier to see things in perspective."
"And I don't have to act like that any more. I think I will structure at least the NEWT classes as Sal does his. The students all seemed to learn and to be safe even with hazardous materials. But I will still need to intimidate the lower classes to keep them in line, or convince Albus to make each class much smaller!"
Harry found Arithmancy totally fascinating. Too bad he hadn't listened to Hermoine when they were choosing electives, he would have enjoyed learning magical mathematics much more than Divination with Trelawney. And he found that the better he got at organizing his mind and memories, the more he could remember everything he read and heard so ancient languages came very easily to him. He couldn't wait until next week when he could begin to use magic again. He was sure he was fine and he had always pretty much ignored Madame Pomfrey, but he was afraid to try with Madame Hufflepuff, especially with both Merlin and Severus backing her up! That was a trio he never wanted to get mad at him.
His first lesson with Godric Gryffindor was exhausting. He had Harry and his six apprentices riding horses, running around the outside of the castle and dueling with knives and then swords and staffs. He was very patient and had instructed Harry with infinite patience. But once Harry had the basics, he teamed him up with a first year apprentice named Rafferty, who instantly asked Harry to call him Rafe. The 16 year old acted pleasantly to Harry, but he was hesitant to trust him completely. There was something just not quite right. Harry had a weird feeling about the teen, especially when they were alone together. He hit Harry just a little too hard, he pushed him just a little too much, he reminded Harry a little of Malfoy or his cousin Dudley when they were planning something. But there was nothing he could directly point his finger at or anything to take to Severus or Godric. So he just shrugged and decided he would keep up his guard around the other boy.
Luckily Harry took to horseback the same way he took to flying his broomstick. He felt like he was at home, riding the wind as his horse thundered over the ground. The horse seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and responded without Harry having to consciously direct him. Unfortunately Harry's response to physical combat stemmed from his many years of his cousin Dudley and his gang in 'Harry hunting'. He naturally tended to escape totally, avoid contact, or make as small a target as possible by curling into a ball and protecting his head and chest. None of which would make an effective dueler.
He was able to instinctively manage a sword, but only Godric's own. Harry didn't tell the man he had called that sword to him when he was twelve and used it to destroy a basilisk. Harry thought it might take him all five years of an apprenticeship to learn to handle any other sword or the long knives the other students handled so confidently.
And he didn't think even that long would be enough time to learn to physically defend himself.
Harry's week quickly settled into a routine that he found fascinating and exhausting. Severus would join him every morning to run around the castle, though it took him several days to be able to make it all the way around without frequently stopping to catch his breath and rest, and the first two times, he had had to walk much further than he could run. But his years of 'Harry hunting' with his cousin, and the years of Quidditch and running up and down the stairs at Hogwarts soon had him in shape again. He was pleasantly surprised when Severus patiently waited with him to regain his breath or when he had to stop and walk once again.
After morning exercises, they would return to their quarters to clean up and eat breakfast together. Harry really liked the animated conversations they had begun to have each morning as he shared what he had learned the day before with Severus. He had become more secure with calling him Severus and was less likely to think of him as Snape as time passed, and he became more comfortable and confident in their new relationship. Severus was remarkably good at asking leading questions to help Harry figure out the answers to questions he had about his lessons. Harry was surprised at how few textbooks his classes used, but he guessed that made sense since books were very rare and valuable in this time.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, he had potions with Sal and Severus which he enjoyed very much. Then lunch in the Great Hall with the other apprentices and the teachers. Unlike Hogwarts, lunch was a time of heated debates and discussions about all sorts of topics. With the adults sitting amongst the students, there was no barrier between them and they were more like family, sharing a common meal. Harry quickly found that he liked most of his fellow apprentices, although most of them reminded him of Hermoine more than Ron. And none of them seemed to have the sense of humor that he so admired in the twins. Perhaps he and Severus could show them how to do some pranks? Of the nineteen other students, only Rafe, a 5th year girl named Abigail, and a 3rd year boy nicknamed Gabby apparently didn't care for Harry, or Severus for that matter. The three treated them as if they didn't belong and were trying to take over the school, if that was at all possible with Merlin and the Founders running it and keeping everything under tight control.
On the same days, his afternoons started with history, followed by lessons with Artemus in sorting through his painful memories, and ended with being physically exhausted by Godric's classes in horsemanship and physical defense.
Severus and Harry would end the afternoon by running around the lake. They would spend the late afternoon working together on their brooms, enjoying the activity together. And after each exercise morning and afternoon, Severus would give Harry a potion he had developed just for him that combined a mild pain reliever, muscle builders, and nutrient potions to help him regain the physical strength that Voldemort had been stealing from him since he was only 15 months old. And it actually didn't taste too bad!
Severus found he enjoyed teaching things to Harry and was getting to know the real Harry much better than he ever had in the five years he had known him as Mr. Potter. After working for several hours together they would then clean up and head for Merlin's chambers for dinner with the family. Merlin and the Founders had 'adopted' the two time travelers as family and both of them were very thankful for the opportunity. Neither one had had a proper family growing up, so it was wonderful to be accepted and cared for by others. Harry felt that the relationship with Galen and Bella was rapidly becoming a brother and sister one to him, he missed the brother/sister relationship he had with Ron and Hermoine every day, but the two little ones eased some of his loneliness and heartache. He hoped Hermoine and Ron had turned to each other for comfort in his absence. It was laughable that everyone could see that they fancied each other but they didn't know it, or at least, they didn't acknowledge it yet.
Tuesday and Thursday mornings would be charms and transfigurations, with the afternoons set aside for lessons with Merlin; but none of them could start until Helga, as she insisted he call her, gave the approval to begin using magic once more. So he spent the time organizing his mind, getting new clothes made from the two castle seamstresses, and reading, reading, and more reading. It was fascinating to read now and be able to remember what he had read, to be able to discuss theories with Severus and Merlin, and actually understand what he was reading rather than just memorizing facts.
By the end of the week, Harry and Severus had both completed their basic broomsticks. All that remained was casting the charms and spells that would allow the broomstick to fly and maintain the balance to allow Harry to complete the fancy tricks he had mastered so easily at Hogwarts.
As Artemus had said it would, it had taken him many hours to organize all of his memories, but now that he had finished it only took a few minutes each night as he was getting ready for bed. He was so grateful that the memories could be locked up so that he no longer had nightmares and could sleep restfully all night long. He deliberately opened a book with his best memories of his friends; or his parents each night before falling asleep and dreamed of his friends, or his Mum and Dad every night.
Magical History with Merlin was much more interesting than Professor Binns had ever made any class. Of course Merlin was alive, but he also didn't talk only about goblins or talk in a droning, monotonous tone guaranteed to put even Hermoine to sleep. Merlin talked of the origins of magic and how wizards and muggles were less different than most wizards thought. He told them fascinating stories of elves, centaurs, and other peoples. And none of them were animals like the current Ministry tried to say, they were people, just very different people.
Harry found out that there were house elves in the castle, though evidently Merlin wanted to give the people in the nearby village an opportunity to be gainfully employed, so there were only a few house elves that were very seldom seen. The few elves they had did jobs with magic that the townspeople couldn't or wouldn't do.
Merlin told the history of Camelot and Atlantis from a first hand perspective. Apparently his grandmother had been an Atlantian before the entire island disappeared under a fidelius charm back before he had been born. It seemed they didn't want to associate with non-magical people and feared being outnumbered and persecuted so they voluntarily separated themselves. But Merlin's grandmother had loved and married a muggle and did not want to leave him and her children to isolate herself in Atlantis. So Merlin's father had been raised at home with his mother teaching him magic and his father teaching him muggle ways. And when Merlin had been born, he had been educated the same way, though his father and grandmother taught him magic together.
Harry took copious notes and hoped he would be able to take them back with him to write a new history book that was truly interesting for students. So much that he was learning each day had been lost through the ages. He thought some of it might have been deliberately destroyed by wizards who wanted to think they were better than other non human peoples. Harry was upset to learn of the growing persecution of magical peoples by the muggles. Merlin cautioned all the apprentices to carefully conceal their magic if they were away from the castle or the nearby village. The townspeople were not magical, but because of the close association of the castle and the many who worked there; they knew of magic and understood that it was no threat to them.
The other apprentices invited Harry to go with them to the local pub, the Hog & Meade, on Friday night, but neither Severus nor Merlin wanted him to go, so he stayed with his 'family' as usual. Harry didn't mind, he liked to play with Galen and Bella, and he felt out of place with the other apprentices. It was too easy to goof up with them. They didn't know that he came from the future and he was supposed to be very careful that they didn't find out. He didn't understand their slang, their games, or half the things they talked about. It was worse than when he first came to Hogwarts without knowing that he was a wizard, at least he could ask his friends. Here there was no one to ask, since the teachers weren't hanging around the students during the times that Harry was liable to get into the most trouble.
All of his teachers were careful to make sure that Harry understood. Merlin, Severus, Rowena, and Artemus were able to send messages to him directly using Legilimency and he could ask questions using the same method, but not if he was just hanging out with the other apprentices. Harry still had a tendency to look 'spaced out' when he mind talked to anyone else, and he was limited to a short range of sending messages. He needed to practice his concentration while not looking like he was concentrating so much before it would be believable in a group.
On Saturday, Harry had his last check-up with Helga. He was almost skipping in his hurry to tell Severus that he could use magic once again. It was like every good feeling he had ever had all rolled into one. He had never realized how much his magic was a part of him. He didn't notice, but he was radiating so much happiness, he literally glowed with it. Everyone he passed felt uplifted and full of joy. The entire castle was bathed with Harry's exuberance that afternoon. Merlin felt the castle's happiness from his tower chambers and came to find the source of the feelings. He found Harry, ecstatically telling Severus of his good news.
Harry had run into their chambers and launched himself at Severus where he was sitting on the couch, reading an old potion manual. Severus had looked up, completely startled at the sight of the boy flying through the air towards him. Luckily he had managed to catch the human missile and didn't drop him. Merlin arrived just a moment later to hear, "Severus, Severus, Helga says I'm free to do magic again. Can we go practice the spells I learned this week, can we, can we?" Severus was laughing at the boy's delight as he nodded, chuckling too hard to actually speak. It was still amazing at how old Harry acted most of the time, and yet could revert to behaving like a small child in situations that he had never experienced before. There seemed to be no normal 15 year old. Harry was either three or thirty it seemed! Of course it didn't help that Harry still had the build of a skinny twelve year old. Hopefully, the potions, exercises, and lack of Tom's physical drain on him, would soon help him to gain some weight and grow taller.
Merlin commented, "Perhaps Harry, we should go to my shielded workroom. I have a feeling you will have much more power than you can comfortably contain. I need to teach you several ways to control your power before you can be free to just play with it."
The two men were happy to follow as Harry grabbed Severus' hand and pulled him up and out the door. "Uh, where are we going, Merlin?" Harry looked abashed as he had let his enthusiasm get ahead of him.
Merlin had to contain his mirth and led the two up to his tower. He opened a thick wooden door that Harry hadn't noticed before. Inside the round stone room, there were no windows, no furniture, just several large pillows on the floor and torches high up on the ceiling. The ceiling was about 15 feet above them and the entire circular room was about 30 feet across. Merlin explained that the room was warded even heavier than the castle. "In this room, even an uncontained explosion of pure magic would not be able to escape. Hopefully, we will not allow that to happen. Now pull up a pillow and I will explain several things about wandless magic to you and have you practice each one of them. This will be the only place where you may practice magic until I say you have the complete control that you will need. I will adjust the wards so that you and Severus may enter without me, but Harry, you may not practice on your own until I grant you permission. Promise me?"
"Yes, sir. I don't want to lose control, so I promise not to practice without one of you here. Artemus had to break me out of several terrible feedbacks when I was sorting my memories, so I know that I might need help in control. Thank you for helping me, I appreciate it, but I don't want to be a burden."
"Nonsense, Harry that is what being your master means. And Severus is your guardian, and only wants what is best for you, and that means teaching you control as easily and quickly as possible. Plus, it's much easier to clean up an explosion in this room than one with furnishings in it!" Merlin gently teased the nervous teen to lighten the mood.
Merlin had Harry reach inside of himself to attach his magic to his right hand as he had learned in the infirmary last week. Harry was much faster and Severus had a sneaky feeling that Harry had been practicing that by himself. He couldn't fault the child. He knew that he would have done the same. In fact he had tried to attach his own magical core to his wand hand several times during the past week, but without much success so far. Maybe he could convince Merlin to show him mentally, as he had shown Harry.
"I have it sir. Why is my core so much brighter and larger than it was last week?"
Merlin looked pensively at the curious child. "May I look Harry?" At Harry's confident nod, Merlin locked eyes and entered his mind. He found that Harry was correct; his magical core was pulsing with energy just waiting to be released. It still swirled in beautiful waves of gold and silver, with strands of ruby, emerald and sapphire now added to it. Merlin had never seen a magical core so pure. There were no dark colors or shadows anywhere. Harry's magic looked almost familiar in a way, but he brushed the thought aside for now. He gently left the youth's mind with a mental hug and kiss. When he broke eye contact, they were both smiling.
"You are right Harry. Your core is active and we will need for you to release magic every day so that it doesn't overwhelm you. I did not find out before, when exactly do you turn 16?"
Severus was also curious to know. "Had their travel through time changed Harry's maturational rate?" Severus asked curiously, "Exactly what date is it? We left our time on December the 10th, at about midnight as near as I can remember. I don't know what date it is, but it doesn't seem to be December any more."
"We felt the magical pulse on the Summer Solstice, June 21. We found you on the morning of the 8th day, it took 2 days to return to the castle and it has been 8 days since you arrived. It is now July 9th. I think Harry's maturation might occur on his birthday during our time without regard to when you left. Or he may mature the 6 months after to make it coincide with his birthday in your time. I am not exactly sure, as this has never to my knowledge occurred before. We will have to watch him closely on both dates. It might even be that he has maturation on both dates, but I don't think that will happen."
Harry looked apprehensive. "According to your time I will be 16 in 22 days on July 31."
Merlin didn't look too happy at that revelation. "I had hoped we had more time, we may need to put your other classes on hold while we work on control. I hope it will occur in conjunction with your own time, but we shall see in 22 days. Well, gentlemen, let us begin."
Severus and Harry sat on pillows at Merlin's feet and listened raptly. "Harry, now that your magic is in your hand you need to practice strength. If you keep your fingers straight and move them very little when you cast, that will be the weakest spell you cast especially if you only use one finger. Most of the time, your magic will be perfectly acceptable at this level. This is equivalent to the power you had with your wand or slightly more."
"Curling your fingers and then straightening them as you cast will send more power. You are not to use this amount of power against any living being unless you intend to seriously injure or kill them. You must keep this amount of power under tight control."
"The tighter you curl your fingers and then hold them, the more power you will pool to use. Also, the more you move your fingers, the greater the spell power, and the faster the spell will travel. If you curl your hand almost into a fist, hold it a second, and then fling your hand as if you are tossing a ball, that is the most power. That is the amount of power you would need to blast a hole through solid rock or to raise wards upon a large building, never around living beings. We will practice that outside until we know how much power you can send. I prefer to keep my quarters intact. Now try with one finger straight and very little movement at all. Perhaps a slight flick as you cast."
Harry looked nervous, the way Merlin had explained it was very clear, he was just afraid of how much power he could throw. "What spell should I use, sir?"
Merlin shook his head slightly, "Don't think of a spell, just imagine what you want to accomplish. Wandless magic doesn't require any incantation or specific movement to accomplish it. Just picture clearly in your mind what you want the results to be."
Harry thought hard for a moment, held his finger out loosely and flicked it gently. An elaborate tea service complete with Harry's favorite ginger biscuits, hot scones, and clabbered cream appeared on an sophisticated tea table with three comfortable leather chairs arranged around it. "What, I'm hungry, all right?" The three laughed and toasted Harry's success with his delightful tea before returning to their lessons. Severus refrained from telling Harry that he didn't think Professor McGonagall could do with one spell, what he had just done, even with her wand. And she was his transfiguration teacher!
Merlin worked with Harry on magical control for the next hour before telling the boy to go have fun. Severus took Harry back to their quarters where he taught him the spells to make his broomstick fly. Harry ran ahead of Severus in his hurry to reach the entrance hall. When Severus came into view Harry was leaning nonchalantly against a wall, as if he had been there for hours. "What took you so long, Severus? Getting too old to keep up?"
Severus snarled, "I'll show you old, child!" He took off from the steps of the entrance and was airborne before Harry could even reply. Harry whooped with glee and followed, launching himself into the air. He swooped, climbed, dove and circled the lake, yelling with glee the whole time. 'Severus was right.' He thought, 'They are better than the school brooms, but definitely not in the same class as my old Nimbus, let alone a Firebolt!'
After half an hour of the two learning exactly what they could do, they started a game of tag in the afternoon sun, reveling in the freedom flying gave them. They didn't know that they had an audience watching from almost every window that overlooked the joyous couple. Within minutes, several of the other apprentices had asked if they could join in the fun. Soon a loud, impromptu game of tag had erupted among the students along with Severus, Sal, and Godric. No one wanted to quit flying when Rowena called them down to eat dinner in the Great Hall. Dinner that night was lively with discussions on the merits of different types of wood, and how did Harry get his broom to do such spectacular stunts.
Harry went to bed early that night, tired but finally feeling that he was included as one of the students, for the first time since they had arrived at the castle.