Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

A/N: Greetings all once again! Sorry about the delay, but writers block clubbed me in the back of the head while I slept (don't you hate that?) Anywho, on with this great work we are in!

Oh, and I'm not telling you where the spelling mistake was. So nya. I fixed it, so don't bother looking.

Later that afternoon, Harry was wandering alone through the castle. He really hadn't had an opportunity to be alone since they had returned to Hogwarts, and with classes starting tomorrow he would have even less time to himself. He needed to be alone to think.

He was terrified of what had happened that morning in the common room. Had he really nearly kissed Ginny? At the time it had seemed like the most natural thing in the world, and yet now, in the clear light of day, he was mortified. How could he? What if she hated him now? But then she had stood up for him with Dumbledore, hadn't she?

Harry wanted to scream in frustration. What he really needed was a window into her head so he could see what she was thinking. That would make things so much easier. But no, they had to make it difficult. He ran his hands through his hair absently, his mind still wrestling with the problem of the youngest Weasley as he entered the Charms corridor.

By the time he reached the Transfiguration corridor, four stories up and across the castle, he was still struggling. He eventually made his way down to the Entrance Hall, slipping out the main doors and into the grounds beyond. He wandered down to the shore of the lake, watching the giant squid gliding effortlessly across the surface. He sat down next to a tree, resting back against the trunk and staring unseeingly across the lake to the mountains beyond.

It was dusk before he moved again. The sun was setting behind the mountains, igniting the underside of the clouds to a brilliant orange red, reminding him sharply of the reason he was sitting alone on the shore of the lake. He shook his head ruefully, standing slowly and stretching his stiff limbs. It seemed that he was doomed to be constantly reminded of Ginny. He wasn't any clearer on his feelings about that morning; if anything he was more confused than ever.

He made his way back up to the castle, finding a steady stream of people heading for the Great Hall for dinner. He entered and made his way to the Gryffindor table, spotting Ginny and Neville sitting near the far end. Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen.

'Where have you been all afternoon?' Ginny asked as he sat next to her.

'Thinking,' he said shortly, piling his plate with food.

'I see,' she looked at him shrewdly. 'What were you thinking about?'

'Can we talk later?' he asked, glancing at Neville and blushing slightly.

'It's okay Harry,' Neville said, standing quickly. 'I'm all finished here anyway. I have to meet Luna in the Library.' He left the hall.

'Well?' Ginny raised one eyebrow.

Harry buried his face in his hands. 'Bloody hell,' he muttered, then raised his head. 'I was thinking about you,' he answered finally.

'Good things, I hope,' she smirked.

'Stop that.'

'Not too likely,' she grinned. 'So what were the conclusions you came to after your afternoon of brooding?'

'Thinking,' he corrected. 'And I didn't really come up with anything.'

'What a waste,' she sighed theatrically.

Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands again.

'Cheer up, Harry,' she rubbed his back lightly, and his stomach lurched.

'I don't think I'm hungry,' he said, standing abruptly.

'Oh sit down,' she yanked him back into his seat. 'I'm going now anyway.' She smiled at him as he stood. 'Don't think too much,' she said as she walked away. Near the doors she passed Alex and Cassie. They laughed at something she said and made a beeline for Harry as Ginny left the hall.

'Having problems, Harry?' Cassie asked sympathetically, placing one hand on his shoulder.

'We can help!' Alex dropped into the seat Ginny had vacated.

'Oh piss off,' Harry said, his voice muffled by his hands. The twins looked at each other and burst out laughing. None of them noticed a pair of dark eyes staring in their direction from the Ravenclaw table.

========

The following day was the first day of classes. McGonagall came around at breakfast and handed them all their class schedules.

'Double Defense first!' Hermione said brightly.

'Yay,' Alex and Cassie said together in a flat monotone.

Ron laughed. 'Come on, it can't be that bad.'

Twenty minutes later they were standing outside the Defense classroom. The door creaked open and Professor Milton's voice came from within the classroom. 'Enter.'

They filed in and took their seats. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the front row, while the twins had deviated to the very back. Harry scowled to see that the class was mixed Gryffindors and Slytherins. Malfoy smirked at him from the third row.

'Settle down, you lot,' Professor Milton ordered, then called the register. When he had finished, he came around to the front of his desk and stood facing them with his arms folded.

'Right then, first thing's first.' He raised one hand in front of his face and snapped his fingers. A small flame appeared on his opened palm, bobbing merrily in the slight breeze from the open window. Most of the class gasped, Alex and Cassie rolled their eyes and faked yawns.

'How did I do that?' James asked the stunned class. No one was particularly surprised when Hermione's hand shot up.

'You're a Mind Mage,' she answered promptly.

'And that means…?'

'A Mind Mage is a witch or wizard who can cast spells without the need of a wand to act as a channel for their magic. Their bodies are more attuned to magic than normal, so they can channel the magic energy to form spells without any external influence.' She said all this very quickly, and the whole class was staring at her by the time she had finished.

'I take it you earn your reputation as a walking encyclopaedia honestly,' James chuckled, and Hermione glowed. 'Right, now who can tell me the limitations of a Mind Mage?'

Hermione's hand shot up again, but James shook his head. 'Someone else this time if you don't mind, Miss Granger.'

Dean raised his hand, and James nodded at him. 'A Mind Mage can't cast spells that cause direct harm to another living thing,' he said.

'Correct! Ten points to each of you. For another ten points, can anyone tell me why a Mind Mage can't cause harm?'

'Because they feel the spells they cast in themselves,' Seamus said from his place next to Dean.

'Excellent! Ten points,' James smiled at the class. 'A Mind Mage such as myself feels every spell they cast as it flows through the body. For most spells, such as what I did earlier,' he indicated the flame still burning on his palm, 'it's not much more than a tingle at the exit point, in this case my fingers. However, if I were to cast, say, the Cruciatus Curse, I would feel the pain I was intending on inflicting within myself. Which wouldn't be fun, I'm guessing.'

He smiled again then glanced at Neville, who was sitting in the second row, and turned away slowly. So quickly Harry could barely see what he was doing he pointed his suddenly flame-less hand at the round faced boy, snapped his fingers, and yelled, 'Stupefy!'

Neville toppled sideways from his chair, Stunned. The whole class gaped at James, who walked over to the prone boy and awoke him with a muttered spell.

'That is the first, and possibly the most important, lesson I can teach you,' he said calmly as Neville looked around in shock. 'Never assume you are totally safe, even with people you know and trust.' He threw a guarded glance around the room. Suddenly James' left hand was pointing at Harry. 'Impedimentia!'

Harry was ready; he leapt sideways out of his seat, narrowly avoiding the jet of red light which hit the floor behind him and left a small scorch mark.

James nodded. 'Much better,' was all he said, then made his way back to the front of the class. 'Periodically I will be testing your reflexes and awareness by sending a spell your way. It may be in class, or in a corridor around the school, or on the grounds. It is your job to be ready.'

'Well,' he slapped his hands together, 'now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, I want to test you all to see how far along you are, and what I'll need to teach you over the year.' He thought a moment, tapping two fingers against his chin. 'Dueling, I think. Alright then, I'll pair you up with someone and you can duel them, and I'll watch and evaluate you that way.'

He glanced at the register, his eyes stopping half way down. 'Potter and Malfoy first.'

Harry and Draco moved to the front of the room, the former scowling and the latter smirking. James motioned for the rest of the class to move to the back of the room, and when they had he banished the desks to one side with a wave of his hand.

'Nothing that will cause any permanent damage,' James warned the two as they drew their wands and took up dueling positions. 'If it can't be fixed in two minutes without the hospital wing, don't use it, got it?'

'Yes sir,' Harry said. Draco's smirk widened.

The two archrivals glared at each other from across the room. Finally Draco whipped his wand forwards. 'Expelliarmus!'

'Protego!' Draco's disarming hex ricocheted off Harry's shield charm and almost hit Parvati, who dived out of the way.

The two exchanged hexes for a few minutes, neither really doing the other any damage. Suddenly Harry remembered the first time he had dueled Malfoy, and a smirk crossed his lips.

'Serpensortia!' A look of fear crossed Draco's face as a massive Anaconda unwound itself from Harry's wand. Several of the girls screamed as the fifty foot snake reared its head and looked at Harry.

'Yes, master?' it asked.

'Bind him,' Harry indicated Draco. 'Gently.'

'With pleasure,' the snake slithered towards Draco, who seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move as the snake curled it's upper half around the blond boy and held him. Malfoy's wand clattered to the ground.

'Very good Harry!' Professor Milton applauded, prompting the rest of the class to follow suit. All that could be seen of Malfoy was his eyes, which were wide with fear. And with good reason; the snake he was currently wound up in could kill him in a heartbeat.

'Lesson number two,' James turned to the class. 'Do not be afraid of using any talents you possess if it will mean victory, especially something as unique and special as Parseltongue,' he smiled warmly at Harry who felt a sudden surge of pride. He turned to go but Professor Milton cleared his throat. 'Harry? Malfoy?'

'Oh, right.' Harry turned to face the snake. 'You can let go now,' he said politely. The snake complied, sliding down until it once again rested on the floor. Draco collapsed, breathing heavily as Crabbe and Goyle hurried forwards to drag him out of range of the snake. 'Thank you.'

'My pleasure, Master,' the snake performed a peculiar half bow in Harry's direction and vanished.

The class stared at Harry in shock as he made his way over to where Ron and Hermione were standing, both smiling widely.

'What was that?' Ron whispered. 'Did that snake just bow to you?'

'Yep,' Harry grinned as Professor Milton called Neville to duel with Blaise Zabini. The duel ended when Blaise was hit with a tripping hex and fell flat on his face, his wand skittering out of reach. It was quite impressive, really, the amount of progress Neville had made through last year's DA meetings.

'Well done Neville!' Harry said loudly, causing the other boy to blush and wave thanks.

Ron was partnered with Crabbe; that duel lasted for all of ten seconds when Ron hit Crabbe neatly in the stomach with a Stunner. Hermione dueled Millicent Bulstrode. Seeming to remember the end of last year when she had been flattened into a wall by the bigger Slytherin in Umbridge's office, Hermione was particularly vicious, toying with Bulstrode as the older girl fought vainly to retaliate. Finally growing bored, Hermione took her opponent down with one well placed Stunner.

'Very good, very good!' James praised them after the last duel had finished (Cassie against Pansy Parkinson, who was currently on the floor trying to stop the blood coming out her ears, eyes and nose). 'There's some room for improvement, but I think you'll all do very well this year.'

The bell rang soon after, and the trio left the room first, trailed by Neville and the twins.

A/N: I'm going to cut this chapter off here. Next chapter is going to continue on directly from this, but this one is long enough already.