ssHPss
Harry sat outside, the wind was cold against his skin. Before him paced a wizard who had done something to stop the icy drops of rain from falling. He also had preformed the translation spell Snape had mentioned earlier. It was the first class and the sun had barely even risen over the horizon.
Snape had surprised him by coming to the first class, which he soon learned, all the personal tutors did. That personal tutors were required to come with their students to all mediation classes. The wizard in charge, Professor Glasmil did his translation spell on all the new students and brought them all out here. Facing the huge ocean, where the waves crashed against cliffs with a soft boom, a sizzle of foam and a swish as it was dragged back out again. Snape sat behind him.
"What part of clear your mind of
thoughts was too difficult for you Mr Potter?" Snape voice drawled out.
Harry sighed. He closed his eyes again and tried to breathe in the same
rhythm as the waves as he was taught...
His foot itched...
Harry wriggled and tried to ignore it...
He clenched his fingers and tried to focus on the water instead...He tried the rub the spot against a handy spot of stone...
With a sudden wrench, he ripped his shoe off and tackled at the itchy spot with a vengeance.
"Mr Potter. What are you doing?" That cold, calm voice asked in that insulting way.
"It itches"
"Your point is"
"It's bloody hard to ignore"
Snape heaved a sigh.
"Come here." Harry froze as large hands with long fingers clasped his arms. "For Merlin's sake Potter! I may be the most hated teacher at the school but you need to relax!"
Harry drew in a deep breath and forced himself to relax.
"Better."
One hand touched the base of his ribcage. "Remember, breath from the
diaphragm. Close your eyes. Listen to the waves. Breathe in, hold, and
out. In, hold and out. Just focus on the breathing and the waves. There
is no Hogwarts; there is no Dark Lord, no Death Eaters or horrible
potion teachers. Just this. By the ocean, the waves smashing against
the rocks, drawing back, only to be thrown right back out again. Driven
by the tide, which in turn is driven by the moon, which rotates
steadily around the earth, which circles around the sun.
"One tiny little circle of rock, water and atmosphere among a whole buddle of other bits of rock and gas which gravitate toward the sun. It's amazing isn't it? One small little bit of rock. Just in the right spot, just that right size, with just the right conditions for life. How rare, how precious, how unlikely considering the odds. Yet here we are, two people here, on one little planet circling a single star among so many other stars. The odds of another tiny little other planet out there is enormous and yet we dream, we hope and fear that maybe, some where, some how out here is an other strange, odd little plant of rock, water and atmosphere not so different from ours that will have some form of life there and may yet prove to be not so very different from us."
Harry had no idea how Snape did it but somehow he was there amongst the stars, watching the spheres of rock, ice and gas go tumbling around the sun. So hazardous, the slightest slip could be disaster. Yet still they continued, so fragile and yet so consistent and among the planets the rarest and most fragile of all. For this one planet was special, it had more then just rock and ice and gas. This one was the home of living creatures. One's whose very lives depended on the continuation of the planet as it took them around the sun. One planet circling a single star, amongst the billions that exist out there. The chances of another were so small and yet, with so many other stars and so many other chucks of rock out there, steadily circling around their piece of the galaxy, it was possible that there was something out there for them to one day find.
"Potter!' Snape's voice caused his eyes to open groggily and he looked up at a pale face smirking down at him.
"What happened." Harry asked groggily. He sat up and stretched.
"You
fell asleep Mr Potter." Snape continued to smirk. Harry glanced around
and saw he wasn't the only one. He felt surprisingly well rested and
alert.
He rose to his feet and looked around feeling invigorated.
"Am I supposed to feel like this?" He frowned slightly.
"With
luck you may achieve something like this every time you mediate,
without falling asleep. Still, your first time wasn't utterly helpless"
Harry
glanced at him and saw there was, almost a glow to his professor he
hadn't seen before. He blinked. Now that was just weird.
"A compliment, from you?" Harry couldn't contain his disbelief.
Snape looked at him a moment.
"Haven't you ever noticed I tend to be in a better mood in the morning classes? Particularly first period"
Harry thought on it awhile. "In comparison to the other times, I guess so"
"In
comparison." Snape snorted slightly. "Not the most observant of sorts
are you Mr Potter. Even Miss Granger knows to corner me before
breakfast in respect to assignments. By the time breakfast is over I've
already being barraged by the smarter students so you'll forgive me if
I'm all ready short of temper by first period."
Estelle wasn't
there at breakfast, neither was Professor Trent. He frowned worried as
the food appeared without their appearance.
"I would imagine your
newest acquaintance is currently in Transition." Snape murmured as he
daintily set about cutting up the waffles on his plate.
"All ready?" Harry asked.
"Yes,
you'll find once your gone through the transition, you'll be able to
sense magic in people. It is one of the ways Albus knows when a muggle
child has magic. You'll be able to sense the build up of magic in
potentials and you will tell when enough has built up to burst out from
with them"
"Doesn't sound pleasant."
"It's, unpleasant. Your
whole body seems to burn so hot that you can't escape it and never
will. It will be harder for you, as it was for me. For most potentials,
the heat will be there but they will only sense it, they won't truly
feel it. But for those of us, the more powerful highers, we feel the
heat until you feel as if you must be no more then charred ash. After,
your body tingles and your skin itches with the excess power. You will
feel drunk, exhilarant for awhile, because of the power. The charge of
power can kill a lesser wizard if they happen to touch you while in
transition"
"Oh. How do you know? That I'll be a higher wizard or whatever. I might not gain much power at all"
"Most
unlikely. While that charm placed on you by your mother was designed to
protect you, it shouldn't have being enough for what happened to have
happened. Besides all that, I can sense the magic in you, just as Albus
can. I can tell the difference between a potential and the ordinary
witch and wizard. Then there is everything you've done since you've
come to Hogwarts. If all that isn't enough Mr Potter, you should
consider the mediation we just had"
'What do you mean"
"The
mediation is designed to prepare your mind and body for what will
happen. The first part is designed to throw out your inner self as far
and as wide as you can manage. Most potential can manage our solar
system. Some only get as far as the moon or Mars but few can manage to
go beyond our solar system and cast out to the other stars. I
deliberately tried to send you out further to see how far you could go.
What you did, how far you went. I doubt even I went that far." There
was a note of awe in Snapes tone that Harry pushed aside.
"What about the second part"
"The
second part of the mediation involves gathering yourself and the magic
back to yourself. By getting a hold of the magic you have now, you will
find it easier to gather and control your magic after. The least likely
accidents will happen. All that raw power is very dangerous without
conscious control. You are going to have to control that temper of
yours Potter"
"What will I be able to do with it?" Harry asked, a
bit frightened by the prospect. Snape paused and picked up a salt
shaker. He frowned at him in concentration and suddenly it turned into
a tiny shot glass.
"Wandless magic Mr Potter. Is only the beginning of it." Snape placed the glass down.
"Estelle said that magic is controlled by re-directing it to go through the wand which is designed to pull the magic from you and do as it is bid. The chants we learn is partly to create focus but it is also for the wand, so it knows what you want it to do. It some how is able to know what a spell is for and directs your magic to react appropriately."
"Paying
attention for once Potter? I am surprised. Anything can happen when
magic is involved. I am sure you experienced as a child that things
happened especially when you were emotional but you had no control, it
was unpredictable, it was as likely to do something unexpected and not
always wanted and was never consciously done"
"Yeah." Harry couldn't help but think of the time at the zoo and smiled slightly.
"Dare I ask?" Snape lifted an eyebrow at him, his expression unreadable. Harry flushed.
"Oh, just remembering the time I set a cobra on Dudley"
Snape
cocked his head and burst out in laughter. Not the ugly, bitter
laughter, but more like a snigger, which for Snape was as good as
bursting out in laughter.
"That must of being interesting. By
learning to direct your magic to go through the wand however, you gain
conscious control over your magic. Most are satisfied with the idea
that the wand is the channel through which your magic can be
controlled. Higher Wizards and witches know however that all it takes
is the right focus and the mental ability to force the magic to do as
asked. It makes things both easier and harder. Magic amplifies the
mental as well; there is no higher wizard who has this power without
the metal ability to also control it. The magic and the metal must be
equal for them to be able to have control over their power."
"All right. Makes things easier as well as harder you said. What do you mean exactly"
"Your
mind must be able to direct your magic much the same as your wand does
now. The magic will come more easily to you which makes it harder to
control. You may have noticed that I still use my wand, especially for
lesser magic or very hard magic, why"
"Oh, you mean, " Harry had to
think on this a moment. "The magic, you have a lot of it, so, it's
excitable I guess, you might mean to stun a mouse but there is so much
magic in you it only takes a touch to stun the entire brood without
trying. So by getting the wand to take the magic from you and
controlling the magic for you saves you from trying to control all that
magic for that one simple, single thing. One the other hand when you
need a lot of magic, gaining control of all that magic is tricky. You
can try your best but you can't be entirely sure you'll be entirely
successful, the wand just makes sure. But wouldn't you have to be
careful not to let the wand draw the magic out of you? It would either
overload the wand or burn the wand out wouldn't it?" Harry frowned.
"The trick is to let the wand take enough magic to be able to control what your doing without it trying to take all you've drawn up for the spell. Learning how is tricker then it sounds. I imagine that even when we return to Hogwarts, you'll probably still be spending time with myself teaching you what to do with your new abilities. While you're mental ability will thankfully be amplified and you will gain some knowledge, of magic in general and with luck a few things besides but you still will need to be taught how to use your new abilities and learn everything that your mind doesn't conveniently supply for you.
"This
school does no more then ready you, teach you the essentials, puts a
few ideas in your heads about what you should be able to do, make sure
you can control your magic, and then sends you off again. It is part of
the job of the personal tutor to teach you what to do next"
"Oh." Harry blinked thoughtfully.
"Albus
will no doubt help all he can but he has other concerns as well. Even
Tonks might help. It can be lonely, being one of only a few"
"But I'll still have Ron and Hermione." Harry frowned at him challengingly.
"Oh they will be there but you will find it won't be the same. It will never be the same again."
Harry was glad Professor Snape had told him to read ahead. He understood most of what was covered already.
"One of the things you need to start thinking about is which way you think the magic will take you. The question is often asked, do you shape the magic, or does the magic shape you and the answer is still not known exactly. Most lessor wizards are unaware of how the magic can drive you a certain direction. They may find that they are stronger with charms, or stronger with enchantments, they may have in interest in becoming an Aura, or work for a wizard bank. It is more generalised and they fall into something that suits them well enough and they are satisfied. You will find you won't have that luxury. But finding out who you are, what your interests are now. By uncovering your strengths, you can figure out how your magic is likely to reveal itself. It may not turn out exactly how you might think but your main gift will be linked to a current interest or skill you have, it's just a matter of pin pointing what."
"What does that mean?" Harry asked Snape later.
Snape
sat in his black leather chair. Harry hadn't seen Estelle all day but
he'd being told it may take her some days before she will be trusted to
have enough control of it to go out of the specialized rooms and go
about in public again.
Snape steeple his hands as he sat back.
"It's
a little hard to explain. Strong emotion can cause magic to do
unexpected things. But personality, the likes, dislikes, character
traits, the things that makes a person different, individual, special,
is also affected and does affect magic"
"That's contradictory."
Harry challenged. Snapes eyes flashed at him and he bit his tongue
quickly. Somehow in less the three days, he'd gotten comfortable
talking with Snape and for the most part Snape had being..., affable?
Not that that stopped the man from being, well Snape. Those scowls,
sneers, smirks and that cold, deliberate tone still were all there.
"Yes,
but true. Not even high wizards know for sure which affects which. As
adverse as I am to the idea, let's take myself as an example. This is a
generalisation mind you"Harry nodded, he was lying on his bed and he propped his head up, looking at Snape attentively, curious as to what he would say.
"I
was never, popular." Snape glared at him and Harry wisely kept his
thoughts to himself. "It stands to reason then that my strengths are
towards areas that doesn't require me to be, friendly"
Harry raised an eyebrow at that.
"Oh
do stop that!" Snape snapped at him. "I do not get on well with people;
they annoy, irritate and get on my nerves, the less I have to deal with
them, the better for everyone. Satisfied"
Harry shrugged.
"So Potions, because you don't need any help, it can be just you and the cauldron and no bothersome, idiotic students"
Snape grunted in a way that could have being an agreement.
"Of coarse potions isn't the only thing that can be attributed to that particular personality quirk."
Harry grinned at that. "So what else?"
"Can not believe I am doing this." Snape muttered, Harry assumed mostly to himself. Snape let out a sigh.
"It's
fair enough to say I've always had an interest toward potions, it
wasn't the be all and end of all things like so many assume. I had
other interests. Like Dark Arts. The sort of upbringing I had did
predispose me toward some of the nastier aspects of magic"
"Brew fame, bottle glory, put a stopper of death and all that." Harry mused.
"You remember that?" Snape glared at him. Harry blushed slightly.
"That
first day in class is one I have never forgotten. It all sounded rather
glorious until you ruined it with that celebrity shit and giving me
hell." Harry hurriedly shut his jaw before his tongue could run off on
him again.
"Humph." Snape stared at him. "Most of all I wanted a way
to escape and yet I also craved recognition, I wanted the glory of
being known added with the animosity of not being sort out by anyone in
particular who did not share or could not tolerate my, personality
quicks or at least have the same sort of interests"
"Known and recognised but still invisible." Harry mused, he could recognise and understand that.
"There
are a lot of other things as well. I always quite liked gardens and
plants. I am stronger in potions that require plants. There is enormous
satisfaction in taking the time to go out of your way to travel through
some place, even the forbidden forest on the elusive hunt for some
particular ingredient and taking the trouble and care of harvesting and
brining it back and then using it in a potion." Snapes voice had gone
deep and almost soft. "Potions don't ask a lot of you. Just that you
make them correctly"
"Which is asking plenty to my mind." Harry shifted to his side. Snape met his gaze and his lips curved up slightly.
"I
think it is safe enough to say that you won't find yourself developing
an obsession for potions any time in the near future Mr Potter. It
shall be interesting to see what your magic does actually?"
"Hopefully it'll be something in Defence against Dark Arts." Harry yawned, it had been a long day in many ways. "I'm good at that"
"Considering what you did to the Dark Lord at the tender age of one Mr Potter. Your odds are pretty good. Go to bed"
"Yes sir." Harry scrambled in under his sheets. "Night Professor."