Chapter 3
"Any news about Potter?" Severus started the meeting just before Albus could. He had begun to take all gossip regarding Harry Potter with an unholy glee, which was definitely disturbing to his colleagues, with the sole exception of Albus who thought it was grand.
"He taught a lot of sixth and seventh year girls some spells, though which I don't know." Minerva said. "With the exception of Mr. Potter, it was girls only, from all houses equally."
"Yes, and it changed the dynamic with his friends. They were all shy all of a sudden. Miss Jones still can't look him in the eye." Pomona added. "It's rather worrisome. Though his students have all taken a liking to him, it seems, they seem to mother him these days."
"Don't worry, it's all benign." Bathsheda Babbling smirked a wicked smile. "I'll tell you later, it's a girls thing."
"Then how come Potter taught them? He's rather young and male after all?" Flitwick asked, confused.
"I've heard a rumor that he's invented a spell that removes bogeys, rather remarkable actually." Albus mused. "Though I can't imagine how that becomes a girl thing."
"Don't worry yourself about this, I assure you it's nothing harmful." Babbling reassured the men. "I'll tell Pomona here about it so that she can confirm this in our next meeting."
"That's alright then." Albus decided.
"Anything else?" Snape asked.
"Well. It's just a guess but I think he discovered one or more unknown shortcuts through Hogwarts. He sometimes gets from one side of the castle to the other in seconds." Aurora Sinistra said.
"That's impossible, isn't it? Are we sure there isn't an imposter going around posing as Mr. Potter?" Flitwick asked, concerned.
"Well, I did hear one of his friends ask him if he could take them somewhere really really fast one day." Pince said with a frown, "a few seconds later and they were gone."
"It does seem connected, doesn't it? Highly mysterious for a first year." Snape added intrigued but not at all concerned.
"I could ask him about it?" Pomona offered.
"You do that, I think we'd all like to be reassured on this." Albus decided.
"Alright."
"Now Severus, do you have anything to add at this time?" Albus asked, he had noted that something seemed different about the man, though he realised this much later than the rest.
"I'm implementing a change for the first year. I've made them a syllabus with some help and will be teaching a little more about potion theory and techniques in an optional setting."
"My, Severus, what prompted this change?" Minerva asked him.
"Someone happened to give me some advice and I decided to take it."
"Mr. Potter, I presume?" Flitwick smirked. "You mentioned this at the start of the year, I believe."
"Yes, actually." Severus nodded.
"Marvelous!" Albus declared. "I hope it will work out."
"Aye!" Minerva agreed, it was a good change.
-X-X-
"Mr. Potter, can you come with me for a moment?" Pomona asked from the entrance of the common room. Harry excused himself from his friend Megan's side and followed her out.
"What's this about, Professor?" Harry asked when they had arrived in her room.
"I've heard some disturbing things from some of my colleagues and wanted to check in with you."
"About?"
"You seem to be in two places at once sometimes. You have been reported to travel to the other side of the castle in seconds, or if not that, you have a doppelganger."
"Oh," Harry said uncomfortably.
Pomona just stared at him, she could wait him out. Dealing with kids for over forty years had taught her that she was in charge here.
"Can you keep a secret, Professor?" The small boy in front of her asked, he really looked small for his age sometimes, especially at moments like this.
"Only if it's nothing harmful, I can't stand by and do nothing if you are hurting yourself or others with this secret." Pomona allowed.
"That won't be an issue." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, he immediately sat up straighter. "Alright, here goes, but it's better if I show you. Faster at any rate. May I have your hand for a second, madam?"
Not seeing any harm in the request, she held out her hand. As soon as he touched her the world blinked. There really was no better description for it. One second she was in her office and the next she was in greenhouse one.
"What?!" 'That's impossible!' Pomona Sprout was a middle aged and experienced witch, but this had well and truly surprised her.
"Well, you see." Harry shyly stood his ground. "I experienced apparition with McGee, erm, McGonagall I mean, but I really didn't like the feeling. So I wanted to find something better, or if need be, make something better. I did."
"Just like that, eh?" The still incredulous professor murmured.
"Took some doing, I admit, but that's how I've been going around the school. It isn't bad, right?"
"No, I dare say it's not. Have you told many others, Mr. Potter?"
"Only my friends, I'm keeping it secret for obvious reasons, never mind the security risks, you understand."
"Security risks?" It clicked. "Oh god!" The wards! Merlin!
"You understand why you need to keep this secret, Madam." There was a hint of insecurity in his voice now. Not too surprising, she wanted nothing more than to tell Albus at least.
"Yes." She breathed, "have you taught your friends this? Can you even replicate this ability?" That was important.
"I'm trying, though I can already tell you that Su and Hermione won't succeed. Megan is the most likely to succeed out of my remaining friends."
"How is that?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"The technique requires you to do magic in an entirely different way. It's wandless for one, unlike apparition. But more importantly, you need to learn to think in a different way. Hermione and Su just can't wrap their heads around it properly."
"What do you mean?" Wandless okay, that she could take, more magic could be done without a wand, like an animagus or metamorphmagus did. That would also mean that it could not be learned by just anyone, wandless magic was rare after all.
"The reason for that is connected to another secret of mine, one I'd like to keep secret. But the short of it is that you need to think like a House Elf, because this is derived from their popping method. It's not the same obviously, this is silent for one.
"Elves? Silent?" She hadn't even noticed that, what with the shock of it all. Deciding to focus on what she did understand, she said, "So not everyone can learn. That's something at least."
"Oh that's not true. It's just really really hard." He disagreed. "I was just uniquely suited to learn this easily."
"May I ask why that is?"
"That ties into my other secret, do you mind if I keep that quiet? Another of the faculty knows and argued strongly for me to keep this to myself. Suffice it to say that my mind is flexible like that. I actually think that young children have a better chance at learning this than adults do, because they haven't learned the bad habits yet."
'I'm not going to ask. I'm not.' "Alright. If you do succeed in teaching another, send them to me will you? But try not to teach everyone, I can only imagine the nightmare that would bring. And please, whatever you do, keep this a secret."
"Didn't plan to tell anyone else, madam." He reassured her.
"How do you ensure nobody sees you when you arrive? Do you have some other new magic for that or did you already have something for that. Invisibility spell, maybe? It's an incredibly hard spell but I'm not sure anymore that you can't do it."
"Oh, I got that covered, madam. I don't need to work on something else for Megan either, my solution can be copied. But invisibility? Good point, I'll figure something out."
"Good, now how the hell am I going to justify keeping this a secret from the rest of the faculty?" She asked aloud.
"Just tell them you promised me, madam. Surely they will understand that." Harry advised her.
"That might just be the best option. Thank you for telling me this, Mr. Potter. Now I think you need to go back to the common room, curfew is fast approaching."
"Good night, madam." He said as he closed the door.
"The door? Weren't we in the greenhouse? When did he even bring us back?!"
"Oh god, where did I put that bottle!" Pomona abandoned her strong persona in favour of some cold liquid comfort. "That kid could be the perfect assassin if he was so inclined." She giggled hysterically as she opened the bottle.
-X-X-
"Happy birthday, Megan! Harry told his best friend as she was dragged down the stairs by Susan and Hannah.
A bleary eyed Megan smiled at him as he stood to hug her. "Thanks, Harry."
"Here's your present, my dear lady." He intoned solemnly, going on a knee for her. Giggling like a loon she took the present and opened it. It was a wizarding camera. "It's amazing, thank you! We need someone to take our picture later."
"About that," Harry smiled. "I brought you another gift, I think you'll like her."
"You know you didn't have to do that right, this gift is more than enough. In fact, it must have been expensive."
"This next gift was free, and priceless you could say. I just needed to get her here." He grinned, as did Susan and Hannah, they were obviously in on it.
"Her? Alright Harry, what did you do?"
"Why don't you turn around and see, Megan?"
She turned around and gave a shriek of happiness. "Mum?!"
"Hi Sweety. I'm here for a few hours, Harry here made it possible. Though I did have a hard time believing him at first."
"You're not kidding. How did you do it?"
"I just went there, really really fast like." Harry was grinning like a loon now.
"This gift is even better! Thank you, Harry. But how are we going to explain your presence here mum?"
"Harry thought of that. Since I'm not that tall, he borrowed a friend's cloak. With it, I look just like a proper witch. Nobody would believe a muggle like me would be able to come here anyway, right?"
"Awesome!" Susan said, she and Hannah had known of the plan but this was news for them too.
"Yes, now you could eat breakfast in the great hall together. Since it's a Saturday, if we go early, nobody will notice. Anybody hungry?" Harry explained.
"Yeah!"
"I look forward to seeing that enchanted ceiling I've heard so much about."
"You'll love it mum!" Megan started talking a mile a minute as they left through the portrait hole.
-.-
"Did you just see that Tonksy?" Stella the Puff bookie asked her fellow puff.
"Yeah, great gift, innit?"
"Makes you rethink your bet, right? I certainly see the odds in a different light. Natalie should have seen this, her bet might win after all."
"Oh yeah, there's nothing stupid about that boy. He's something else."
"He makes me rethink my stance on men, alright, but he's eleven years old. There's no saying what will happen here."
"Ha, did you just say something positive about a male? We're definitely telling Natalie now."
"Joke all you want. If they were five years older, he'd be getting laid tonight."
"Yeah, one heck of a gift." Tonks agreed.
"Wait a minute, how did he get her here! She's a muggle!"
"Beats me, but that kid can do anything. I hear he's got all the older girls happy a week back or so, ALL of them. If that ain't a miracle, I don't know what is.
"You weren't there? Well, let me tell you all about that. Something to alter the odds some more, I reckon."
"Ooh, Tonksy, do tell."
"..."
"Hahahaaa! That's priceless! And he doesn't know, does he? What a kid. But you need to teach me that stuff too, Tonksy."
"You bet, all the girls are supposed to teach the younger ones of their houses before they graduate. We made a pact on that, called it the Potter deal, we did."
"Ha! Priceless doesn't begin to cover that fact! He'll be even more famous, amongst the girls that is. I pity that kid when he starts going through puberty, they'll be on him like flies on manure."
"He'll be doing some back-door deals, alright!" Tonks laughed.
"Yeah, all those girls will be winking at him in no time." Stella countered. Their subsequent laughter woke half the girls in the dorm.
'Lumos.' The tip of his finger emitted a small ball of light, it hovered for a few seconds before blinking out.
"Damn, I need to work on that."
Harry was alone practising his newest project now, nobody could know before he spoke to Flitwick, maybe not even after. Harry couldn't imagine all the implications that would arise from this. He had already figured out that wands were the most prominent method for the ministry to track magic, there was no telling how they would react to this.
-X-X-
'Lumos.' The ball emerged and stayed tethered above his head.
"Yeah!" Harry felt he was on track to 'git gud.'
Not only had he realized that the wand was another crutch, he literally could manipulate all spells as long as he could visualise the desired outcome.
"Now stay." He told the ball of light, before thinking of nothing. When he opened his eyes again, the ball was still there, it worked.
'Now, how to prank Hermione?'
'Also, I really need to talk to Flitwick.'
"Professor, can I come by this afternoon? I figured out the obvious." Harry told Flitwick during class, pointing at his wand that was lying on his table.
"You did, did you? Alright then, but you should know, my door is always open."
"Thanks, Sir." Harry said as Flitwick went on to tour the class.
"What was that about, Harry?" Megan asked him.
"Figured out a secret project of mine. I'll tell you tonight alright?"
"That's fine," Megan said.
-X-X-
"Aah, do come in, Mr. Potter. Can you show me?"
"Of course." Harry said, pointing his finger at a quill that he'd brought with him specifically.
The quill got cut in half, repaired itself and started to fly around the room by itself, no wand in sight.
"Marvelous!" Flitwick clapped. "I think you're ready, Harry."
"For what, Sir?"
"Everything, dear boy, whatever you can imagine."
"I can." Harry told the man.
"Figured that out too, did you? Well then, what did you come here for?"
"Sir, you told me you could offer advice. I wanted to know what you imagine the reactions would be to my magic, should I show everyone or keep it quiet?"
"You will face backlash, but that is to be expected, as I told you before. Now though, I suggest keeping this secret for as long as you can. It's going to be easier to deal with when you're older."
"That's what I thought, Sir. And what about the ministry?"
"What could they even do, Mr. Potter? With your newfound understanding, I expect they can do nothing but surprise you. Another reason to wait."
Harry took a moment to reflect on that before grinning. "Any requests, Sir?"
Flitwick smiled widely, "I think I can think up one or two spells for our amusement. I'll get back to you on that."
"Can't wait, Sir." Harry laughed.
-X-X-
"Harry, hey, what's up?" Megan asked a grinning Harry as he entered the mostly empty common room.
"Everything, my dear Megan." He answered happily, explaining nothing.
"Shall we go somewhere really fast?" She asked him, knowing he needed privacy to tell whatever it was.
"Yes, let's." He took her hand and disappeared, as seen by only a select few people.
-.-
"Where do you reckon they're headed?" Hannah asked Susan. "Wherever, I guess. He did take a risk there, I bet these fifth years here spotted their abrupt departure."
"What, did their dropped jaws clue you in to that fact, or was it the fact that they're staring at us now?" Susan asked drily.
"Both, I guess. Lucky it's them, they should be able to keep this secret." Hannah raised one eyebrow in question.
"."
"Tell us what that was and we'll keep your secret." Natalie decided for her and Stella, who nodded.
"Harry figured out how to pop. It's like but not quite the same as a House Elf travels." Hannah told them.
"Woah!" Natalie said.
"Yeah, is there nothing that kid can't do?" An irritated Stella agreed.
"I reckon there isn't."
"Hrmm."
"Why does she sound mad about it?" Susan asked Natalie.
"I think she's having trouble reconciling his abilities and inherent goodness with the fact that he is male." Natalie explained.
"Can't she just make an exception for Harry?"
"She'll have to, eventually. The more she sees of him, the more she's proven wrong about guys."
"You do know I'm right here, right girls?" Stella asked rhetorically.
"Harry does seem the type to prove her wrong, but he already IS an exception." Hannah butted in. "There's no comparing him to the rest."
Stella reluctantly nodded, "isn't that the truth."
"Phew, crisis averted." Natalie joked.
"Well, I guess I can see him as an honorary girl. He did help the girls of Hogwarts already." Stella decided.
"That's no exception, that's a loophole." Susan laughed.
"Harry does have a habit of finding those." Hannah joined her friend in laughter.
-X-X-
"Hi Megan, where's Harry?" Su asked her at breakfast.
"He's badgering a seventh year about a spell, he'll be here in a minute." Megan replied dreamily.
"Oh, that's alright then."
"What'd you need him for anyway?" Susan asked curiously.
"I've a good idea for a spell he can create."
"He'll like that." Megan sighed.
"I want to fly without a broom, Megan."
"That's nice."
"Think he could do that? It's supposedly impossible."
"Sure." Megan replied absently. Su looked at her suspiciously. "Think he can get me the moon too, he might as well bring me a present while he's at it, yeah?"
"Yeah…"
"Alright, that's it! What happened to her, Susan?"
"Harry took her and showed her something, she's been like this since then." Susan told Su with a shrug.
"I don't know what that boy did but if he doesn't fix this I'll hurt him so bad!" Su decided.
"He'll show you later." Megan told them.
"He'd better."
Of course that's when Harry showed up.
"I'd better do what?"
"Tell us what you did to her!" Su demanded.
"Err, I really don't want to do that here, how about I show you tonight?" Harry tried awkwardly.
"Fine, but it'd better be a good reason."
"Well… I don't really understand what went wrong. I hope it'll be better tonight."
"Grrrr." Su growled, which was altogether cute from the black haired eleven year old girl, though Harry didn't think so right at that moment.
"By the way, Harry," Susan interrupted Su's dog impersonation, "Natalie and Stella here saw you take away Megan really really fast yesterday and they wanted to know what that was. We had to tell them to make them keep it a secret."
"Oh, well that's okay then. Thanks for looking out for me, I guess I was just a little too excited yesterday."
"Not a problem."
"Say, Harry, do you think we could join you tonight?" Stella asked. "Yeah, we're very curious." Natalie added.
"In for a penny in for a pound, I guess."
"Great!"
-X-X-
"Let's do it in this classroom." Harry decided as he led the group towards the fourth floor.
The moment they had all entered the room, Su closed it and pointed her finger at Harry. "Spill it, Buster!"
"So, I uh." Harry hesitated. He'd seen no harm in what he did yesterday, but to do it again, with seven girls instead of one, he started to doubt if this was really his best course of action.
"Don't worry your cute little arse about whatever you're about to do, Harry, we're here for safety." Natalie assured him.
"This is kind of a big secret and I want you to please keep calm as I show you this."
"Get on with it already!" Su growled.
"We'll keep it secret, okay." Hermione said.
"Okay then. See the thing is I don't need a wand to do anything, it's just another crutch I've discovered. A misconception, really."
"."
"Alright. An example then." He waved his hand for show and shot five little balls of colored light out of his fingers. The balls floated to the ceiling, hanging there suspended.
"That is amazing!" Hermione yelled, "Wandless magic is supposed to be really rare! And that's no normal spell."
"I agree and all, but how did this affect Megan so much?" A puzzled Susan asked before Su would lose it.
"As it happens, I showed her using a different tactic."
"Well, tell us then."
"I asked her what she wanted me to conjure and she said she wanted a puppy. I went a little overboard and made a few."
"Puppies? Really?" Su asked, suddenly no longer hostile.
"Puppies!" Megan agreed happily.
Seeing the remaining skeptics still unconvinced, mainly the elder two, Harry gave up. "Ah, what the hell! Here you go."
He waved his hand making the furniture move to the side of the room, clearing a pit. Another wave saw a plush carpet appear under their feet and the last wave made 15 puppies appear. They were really cute puppies.
"Oh my god!"
Squeals rang loudly through the room, the younger girls immediately fell in love with and played with the puppies. Natalie tried to look away but soon gave up the fight, she joined the other five on the ground.
Stella stood her ground and looked at Harry. "Don't think this changes anything, Man." She said menacingly, before falling to her knees, a puppy immediately raced towards her.
The thought of spending another two hours with puppies and delirious girls almost saw Harry leave them to it.
Seeing their shared happiness made him change his mind. 'I'll watch a few minutes at least.' He decided.
Three hours later, the puppies expired and returned to being nothing, Harry was still there to comfort his girls, which now included the elder two.
-X-X-
"... They're calling it the Potter deal, isn't that just hilarious?!" Albus heard Bathsheda tell Minerva as they entered the teacher's lounge.
Minerva just about cracked up harder than he'd ever witnessed her doing. "That's amazing!" She breathed after catching her breath.
"What happened now?" Albus asked them.
"Oh, this ties in with our girl thing from last time, it's perfectly harmless, I assure you. Don't worry about it, Albus." Pomona assured him.
"Yes, perfectly harmless," Minerva agreed after she had regained her composure.
"Oh, that's alright then." Albus agreed.
"Good afternoon," Fillius greeted as the rest of the faculty entered.
Severus closed the door and claimed a seat before Albus started the meeting.
"Pomona, did you talk to Mr. Potter?"
Pomona sat up straight and nodded yes. "I did, I can tell you that there was no impostor and that nobody did anything wrong."
"Did he find a secret passage? Or did he deny your story outright?" Septima asked.
"I'm sorry, but Mr. Potter asked me to keep his explanation a secret. I agreed so long as it wouldn't harm him or others. It did not, so I cannot tell you."
"You let a kid strong arm you into silence?" Hooch laughed.
"No, I made a kid tell me his secrets by giving him a promise. Hardly that high a price to gain a child's confidence." Pomona defended her point.
"That's nice, how big can an eleven year old's secrets be, anyway?" Sinistra said.
Flitwick, Snape and McGonagall all saw Sprout flinch, but chose to hold their silence.
"You know, I think we should move on to a more pleasant topic for now. Does anybody want to share something nice?" Albus asked.
"I saw Mrs. Jones visit her daughter on her birthday, I thought it was a nice surprise for a first year." Filius smiled.
"Yes, I had a chat with her at the breakfast table, very pleasant woman I say." Minerva agreed.
"Wait a second, wasn't Miss Jones a daughter of Peter Jones?" Hooch asked.
"Yes?" Pomona asked.
"Miss Jones is a half-blood, isn't she?"
"Oh my god, you're right! How could she visit then?! The wards should have stopped her, shouldn't they?" Minerva gasped. "Albus, are the wards failing?!"
"No, I can assure you they've never felt stronger." Albus assured her. "Though that leaves us with quite the mystery."
"Are you sure that was, Mrs. Jones?" Snape asked.
"Miss Jones did call her mum, I've heard her say so at least twice." Minerva said. "As did I," Filius agreed.
"I guess you're interrogating a student again, Pomona, better not promise silence this time though." Hooch said.
Pomona sighed. "I'm pretty sure I might have to. Albus, I'll ask her if I might include you at least."
"Related then?" Snape asked rhetorically.
"Possibly." Pomona admitted.
"How about you let me join you instead?" Filius offered. "I'm sure they'll trust me and the headmaster is a busy man."
A subtle wink let Pomona know he was the one Harry had been talking about. Luckily most of the other faculty had been looking at Albus to see his response. Snape had noticed and took careful note of Pomona's subtly changing demeanor.
"I do know both students like Filius very much." Pomona let her opinion be known.
"I suppose that is fine too." Albus acceded finally.
"Next meeting then." Filius said happily. "Anything else on Mr. Potter?"
"I don't know if it's relevant but all of his friends as well as two upper years were out of it in my classes. The only thing I could get out of any of them was 'so many puppies' and Mr. Potter's first name." Aurora said.
"Yes, I've noticed the same thing. Curious really, but I don't think this should be a concern, they were fine at breakfast this morning." Minerva said. "Also, one of them is a prefect."
"Agreed. Done with Mr. Potter for today then? Anything else?" Albus asked the group. "Let's move on then."
-X-X-
"It doesn't matter you haven't been able to go really really fast yet, or that you might never get it. Don't you want to learn how to become invisible anyway?" Harry tried.
Sprout did have a good point, regardless of other tactics like only porting to abandoned classrooms it was always good to have a double defense. Harry had decided to call his teleportation porting because it was easier to say.
"Alright, but I'm telling you this is post NEWT's spellwork, this is way too hard for us." Hermione argued.
Harry sighed and waved his hand. "Explain this then."
Susan grinned. "I can still see you Ha- Whoa!" Hannah was invisible, as was Su.
"Did you just port them away?!" Hermione asked incredulously, "you didn't even touch them!"
"Seriously, that's what you made of that? Su, squeeze her ass for me will you?"
"Aaah!" Hermione screamed.
"Wasn't me!" Su said quickly. Making the also invisible Hannah laugh out loud.
"Whatever," Harry grinned. "If I can do it, so can you."
"We'll do it, Harry!" Megan agreed.
"That's the spirit!" Harry cheered. "We can do anything!"
"You might." Hermione grumpily said from where she stood after having fallen over in fright due to Hannah's ass grabbing. She looked a little peeky.
Harry turned to face Megan, grabbed her hands and gently commanded her. "Now, be invisible for me, Meg."
A thud announced Hermione's body hitting the ground as she fainted dead away.
"Did it work?" Megan's disembodied voice asked.
"Ha, we got her good!" Harry cried with laughter.
"That was a joke?" Hannah asked incredulously.
"Man, you two are good." Susan fervently agreed with her best friend.
"Let's bring her to the hospital wing." Megan suggested guiltily, "she might have hurt her head there."
"Yeah, you're right." Harry agreed. "Damn, now I feel guilty too."
"Let's stop with the practical jokes, alright?" Megan asked him.
He just grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "She'll be fine, and of course we'll stop."
Megan squeezed him right back.
-X-X-
".. and then they held hands!" Hannah explained happily to Hermione, who looked none the worse for wear. Harry and Megan had just been summoned by their head of house.
"It was so adorable." Hannah ended her story.
"So them tricking me and feeling guilty about it has ended up in their holding hands?" Hermione summarized, she was still a bit miffed by the whole ordeal.
"Yeah, they didn't even enjoy their joke, we immediately brought you here." Susan added.
"I guess they did apologise already." Hermione admitted.
"At least four times." Su said helpfully.
"Yeah, yeah. I won't torture them with guilt. Happy?"
"Yes." All three girls said.
"Are we telling Natalie and Stella?" Hermione asked.
"Of course!"
-.-.-
"Professor Flitwick?" Megan asked surprised as they entered Sprouts office.
"Yes?"
"You're here for this talk too?"
"I am."
"Don't worry, Megan, he knows already." Harry told her, he was already holding her hand and could feel her rising tension.
"Oh, that's alright then."
"We called you here because you brought Mrs. Jones to Hogwarts and someone remembered she's a muggle." Pomona said.
"So?" Harry asked.
"Muggles can't enter Hogwarts, Harry, the wards make them turn around. No muggle has entered Hogwarts in forever." Flitwick explained.
"You're telling me the only reason they can't enter is that they don't want to cross the wards?"
"Yes?" Pomona asked.
"So anyone can push them through, levitate them, drag them, or blindfold them through. Or how about stunning them and bringing them in, even more painless that way." Harry mused.
"My god!" Pomona cried. "Are we so stupid?" She asked her colleague.
"I suppose we are." Filius grinned. "It seems magic makes you overlook the obvious."
"What happens now?" Megan asked, quite bewildered by this turn of events. She had expected lots more trouble and anxiety, certainly not this. Harry hadn't even blinked extra.
"Well, I suppose we pick any one of those likely theories and highlight the other possible loopholes. They'll be too busy panicking over that to worry about who did bring her in. That gives you time to send a letter to your father to get an alibi if needed, though I doubt it will be needed." Filius laughed.
"You're going to make me gray before my time, young man." Pomona admonished him wearily, she had been stressing over this meeting all day.
"It'll suit you, madam." Harry cheekily declared.
"Get going already, you troublemakers, let the adults lie for you." Filius said laughing.
"That kid will go far." Pomona said once they had left her office.
"That's why we're doing this." Filius agreed.
"What will he do next?"
"What do you know of controlled wandless magic?"
"Structureless magic?!"
"Everything he wants." Filius agreed.
"."
"I'll get a bottle."
"Good idea."
"We're just lucky there's only one of him."
"Eh, I wouldn't bet on it."
"What?!"
"See, there's this goblin prophecy."
"How bad?"
"He'll teach his skills to the worthy."
"Worthy?"
"A few."
Pomona slammed down the bottle and tossed the cork behind her, they weren't going to need it, she reckoned.
-X-X-
"I did it!" Megan shouted out loud. The three young puff girls were off practising whilst Harry, Hermione and Su were brainstorming new spells.
"What did you do?" Susan asked.
"I ported over to the other side of the room!"
"Weren't we trying to become invisible?" "Hannah asked.
"I thought about it, and there's really no reason to become invisible without first learning to port. It's not like I'm going spying or walking around naked."
"Good point, but you still need to become invisible now. Get to casting, girl." Hannah laughed.
"Still, it is amazing. Does it feel exactly like Harry described?"
"Yes!" Megan agreed.
"There's that good old motivation." Susan laughed.
"Yeah, instant painless travel!"
"And there's the fact that a normal person can do it now. Means we can too, no offense to Harry, of course." Hannah cheered.
"He isn't really normal, is he?" Susan mused. "I mean, with the stuff he does."
"He doesn't have to be normal, I like Harry the way he is." Megan stated seriously.
"You're right, of course." Susan quickly agreed. "That's all that matters."
"How about you pop us around a few times, I don't feel like practising anymore." Hannah proposed.
"Sure! He did warn me that sidealong porting was a little different though."
"What do you mea-" Hannah tried asking before she was whisked away through space.
Susan sighed. "I'd better start cleaning, there's no poin-"
"t practising now." Susan finished before she noticed the shift.
"Where are we?"
"We're at my home!" Megan told her.
"Well, there's that good old motivation." Susan blinked.
"Megan?!" her mum shouted from the stairs, having come to see what the commotion was all about.
"Hi mum, I brought my friends for a visit."
"I see, where's Harry? Did he pop you over?"
"No, I did, he taught me. Now I can visit anytime."
"Well that was nice of him dear, and I'm very proud of you, how are your studies?"
Watching this tableau, both Hannah and Susan were doubly determined to get this skill down too. They didn't usually show it, but they missed their parents too, or aunt, in Susan's case.
-X-X-
"What got into them?" Harry asked Su as they watched the three puffs practice with a vengeance.
"No clue. They've been casting like this since last week, almost every evening too, I think."
"Well, they seem to be enjoying themselves." Harry observed. "We might as well work on your sustained flight project then."
"Great!" Su said. "I got Hermione searching the library. Let's brainstorm!"
"Such enthusiasm all of a sudden." Harry mused. "I can get used to this."
"That's what you get, doing what you love." Su told him.
"Way too deep, Su, it's the weekend. I'll fall over trying to work my brain that way."
"Fall over! That's it! Think you can redirect gravity?" Su asked.
"You want me to overpower the earth?" Harry laughed.
"Well, we do have magic."
"Right, guess we can then."
"What do you need?"
"What I always need. A spell to work with, wingardium leviosa would do, maybe. Wasn't that spell based on an older one? One that worked more with visualization?"
"Leviosa."
"Yeah, that's it. We can definitely use that. We need to change the incantation though, that spell was the reason I wanted to never use incantations again."
"What, you want to call it 'Scotty beam me up'?"
"Ha! That would be hilarious, yes, but I think we can think of something better."
"Well, that comes later, let's get this Leviosa spell down already."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Harry saluted Su.
"Get to casting already you nerd!" She slapped his shoulder.
"Hey, that's my line!"
"Got to have the last word? Child!"
"Yes, I am, and proud too." He puffed his chest.
"Whatever." Su snapped.
"Fine."
"Oh, I give up already."
"Fine."
-X-X-
"You know, we're almost halfway through the school year, shouldn't we plan to study for exams?" Megan asked Harry lightly one afternoon. They had been lounging on a loveseat in the common room for an hour already, stress was the farthest thing from their minds.
"How far along are you on the list of spells we've been practicing?" Harry asked her.
"Just over halfway there, I think. Some of them are quite hard and I've learned how to port as well."
"Most of those spells are composed of first and second year spells, but there are also fifth year spells on there and that disillusionment spell you've just gotten down, that's post NEWT level. Being over halfway there is well beyond incredible, especially considering our silent point casting." Harry explained. "Did you know that aside from the OWL's and NEWT's, no other exam scores are needed to find employment?"
"Yes?"
"Then dear Megan, you're doing great! Especially considering you've learned how to port, even the headmaster cannot do that, even if he tried."
"Thanks, Harry, I needed that." Megan sighed happily against him. "One question though, considering the way you say magic works, shouldn't transfiguration be much easier?"
Her question perked Harry right up, gone was his relaxation. "My god, you're right of course! Seeing how backwards magic users seem to be, I have the feeling that's a post NEWT skill. Got to ask McGee immediately. Are you coming, Megan?"
"Nah, I'll stay here for a while, I'm so relaxed right now."
"Right, see you later then!"
-X-X-
Minerva looked up as her office was knocked upon. Harry Potter opened her door.
"Professor, might I come in for a second? I've a small question." Harry asked her from her office's doorway.
"Naturally, Mr. Potter, I've a feeling your question will prove interesting." 'Most his questions are, according to Filius.'
"Thanks, professor. I was wondering. Considering that magic is nothing but intent and imagination, isn't there such a thing as free transfiguration? I mean, one incantation to change whatever you can imagine."
McGonagall laughed out loud at his question. "So there is, Mr. Potter. Though most people cannot do it, it's actually something you learn to become a master of transfiguration."
"Will you teach me then? A very short and to the point explanation should suffice."
Minerva smiled at the young boy. "Since it's free magic, why would an incantation or wand movement matter? Most masters make up their own, which often only works for them. Though I do caution you, we practice for a reason, especially animate transformations can prove disastrous. If you are going to practice this, try the coursework first and show me in class before you progress beyond."
She saw the eleven year old grow pensive for a second before his new smile grew massive proportions.
"Thank you, professor, I'd better get some matchsticks then."
As she watched the boy leave her office, a thought entered her head. 'If this works for kids, he'll revolutionize the entire course. I doubt it, though he will most likely succeed anyway. Might as well think up alternate lesson plans for him already.'
-X-X-
So, did you find another project?" Megan asked Harry when she saw him again.
"Yes, I did. This is going to be pretty awesome. It's free transfiguration." Harry answered giddily, he couldn't wait to try. This was going to save him so much time and brainpower by skipping all those incantations and wand movements.
"How does it work?"
"Depends on the person."
"You mean, literally?"
"Yup!"
"Wow, that is going to be difficult."
"That's what she said."
"I'm guessing we start at the beginning?" Megan asked, mostly resigned to it.
Harry just took out a box of matches in answer.
"Start tomorrow, alright? I want you to relax with me today." Megan asked, making room for him on her seat.
"That's fine with me." Harry easily conceded, slipping onto the seat next to her. The Sunday was almost over anyway. Besides that, he liked doing nothing with Megan.
-X-X-
You know, it's not easy to say who's going to win. Looking at them, I'd say they are comfortable like boyfriend and girlfriend already. At that age though, it might mean nothing at all." Natalie told Stella from across the common room.
"He might still drop her like a brick once the hormones kick in." Stella said half-heartedly, she'd given in to believing in Harry.
"You know that's not going to happen." Hannah stated confidently.
"She's just making the effort at this point." Susan realized out loud. "Those two are solid like a rock."
"Where did you two come from anyway, I'd have sworn we were alone just now." Stella noted grumpily.
"Oh, we just popped in silently. You two were so engrossed in your birdwatching that you didn't notice us." Hannah smiled.
"Yeah, we came in really, really fast like." Susan grinned.
"We did, but it was like we were invisible, wasn't it, Sue?" Hannah asked her friend.
Both burst out in laughter.
"I don't even want to know." Natalie decided.
"So, I was thinking. We need more girls in on the bet; this is world class entertainment, better than betting on quidditch anyway." Stella said, neatly sidestepping the younger girls' odd behavior.
The other girls agreed and started a discussion on who was eligible to join their bet.
-X-X-
"Mr. Potter, what do you think you're doing?" McGonagall asked Harry during class.
"Ma'am, seeing as I've already mastered today's spell, do you mind if I go back to the basics?" Harry asked McGee in class.
McGee raised an eyebrow before nodding. "I see you brought your own matches. Next time ask first, Mr. Potter."
Harry just nodded, pointed his wand at the match and stared.
McGee looked at him and sighed. "You won't even start with an incantation and wand movement, will you?"
"Course not, what would be the point?" Harry asked incredulously.
Having no answer to that, she huffed and walked away, not seeing the match turn into a needle.
In fact, only Megan saw it shift into a needle and back a few times until it was noticed by a fellow classmate who just shook his head and got back to his own casting.
Seeing how he got it working already, he looked at a sheet of paper listing the various transformations they had practiced that year and started on the next one.
-X-X-
"You know, there's nothing keeping you on the ground, don't you?" Su prodded him.
"I'm trying Su, but what do you mean?"
"It's not like there's a rule that says you can't, even if there was, you wouldn't care."
"I know, but it still isn't working." Harry admitted.
"How about you make me fly first?" Su suggested.
"Why would that work?" Harry asked with a pensive expression. "Oooh, right. It's a perspective change!"
"A what?"
"I've been thinking about this wrong. In the back of my head, it was still the leviosa spell, making things fly. Forcing it from the outside, whereas this comes from within." Harry explained. Seeing Su's stupefaction, he elaborated. "It's like getting porting to work, I first need to wrap my head around it."
"So, you don't think I can do this?" Su asked with clear disappointment.
"No, that's not what I'm saying, at all." Harry quickly reiterated, "what I'm saying is that since I got the wrong idea in my head, it didn't work. Now that I've got this right, I will be able to do it, and then teach you to do it."
"That makes sense, just like-" she was cut off by Harry, who was on a roll.
"Come to think of it, maybe this was why you didn't get porting to work, my explanation didn't make enough sense to you! We might need to try it again. Did you understand the concept of porting?"
"As I was about to tell you, no I didn't, not really." Su explained crossly.
"Well, I'm sorry to say I don't know how to explain it any better. You might want to try the girls, they have gotten it down too." Harry apologized. "The best I can do for now is learn how to fly, so that you can learn it later."
A little mollified, Su decided to drop it. "Right, get back to flying, pretty boy."
"Aww, you think I'm pretty?"
"Just get to it already."
"Yes, Sir!"
"I'm a girl, Harry."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Still wanting to get the last word in, I see."
"Yes, Ma'am!"