Ollivander's mind raced furiously. The boy before him had just demonstrated magic that was beyond most fully trained wizards. While small bits of wandless magic were not uncommon, the amount of control Harry had just shown was beyond amazing for someone of his age. Not to mention the fact that fire was notoriously difficult to control beyond the most basic spells. This affinity was curious, but also worrying. He had already noticed many divergences between Harry's magical core and what was accepted to be normal for young wizards, but with each difference, Ollivander's ability to assist him waned.
"Mr. Potter, you must understand. Wandless magic is quite a rare skill, and many younger witches and wizards view it as a sign of extreme power, which is certainly not the case. Wandless magic is a demonstration of control over one's magic, not power. Though I have to admit, your control at your age is a source of concern," Ollivander spoke.
"Why would you be concerned with my control? Isn't that a good thing?"
"Normally, yes, but the core of a young magic user is supposed to be, to some degree, chaotic. This is what allows them to grow as they use their magic. The level of control you have over your core, while impressive, implies that it has stopped growing to some extent."
"Well that… doesn't sound good. Is there a way we can test your theory?"
Ollivander considered for a moment. "There is one test we could run. If we run a full scan of your core, we could get an accurate idea of what it looks like and how your magic is behaving. Though I have to tell you, it is an extremely personal procedure, since one's core is an extension of their soul... though I am willing to assist you with the procedure if you'd like," Ollivander explained.
"It doesn't sound like I have a whole lot of choice in the matter..." Harry responded.
Less than an hour later, Harry was seated on the edge of a stone table in the back of Ollivander's shop. According to the old wand crafter, it was used for lesser rituals, and the runes etched all over the surface were designed to amplify and focus the magic involved. Even with all of Ollivander's assurances, the soft red glow did nothing to ease his nerves.
"Are you ready? Again, I promise you this will not hurt, though it may be… uncomfortable," Ollivander spoke from behind a magical barrier erected several feet away.
"I guess so. Let's get it over with," Harry replied, clenching his fists next to him.
"Alright, just lay flat on the table and we can get started. And remember, don't resist the magic."
Harry swiveled and laid back, hands by his side. With a hum, the red glow of the runes intensified, and Harry could feel the magic become nearly palpable in the air around him. He looked towards his feet and saw a red mist float up from the table. It coalesced to the point of opacity, then slowly began moving towards the soles of his feet. He felt a tingle as it moved through his feet and began its journey to his head. The feeling intensified the further up his body it moved, growing to a peak near his sternum.
The sensation began to fade as the mist ran past his chest and into his neck. It grew once more, though to a lesser extent, as it came to his skull. Then, as the mist ran over the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the tingling sensation become one of pain. It felt as if his skull had been split open at the seams, and liquid fire poured into the gaps. He gasped, unable to make any more sound since the air had already left his lungs.
And then nothing. The extreme pain that had been wracking his head was gone, just as quickly as it had come. He gasped air into his lungs, his limbs twitching slightly as he tried to recover.
"I thought… you said… it wouldn't hurt…"
After Harry had settled into a chair outside of the ritual room with a cup of tea, Ollivander sat across from him, heaving a heavy sigh as he did so. Harry gave him a light glare over the rim of his mug.
"No need to give me that look, Mr. Potter. That ritual should not have produced that effect, and I cannot begin to even imagine why it did. However, results were still collected, so we can look at those and perhaps discover the reason. We could do so now, or if you'd like we could wait until—"
"No," Harry interrupted. "Let's get all of this taken care of now."
"Very well," Ollivander replied. He grasped a stone tablet from underneath the table and hefted it onto the table with a grunt. On it were carved two identical depictions of a human body, though only outlines. Ollivander pressed his finger to a rune on the edge of the tablet, and one of the images lit up.
"This is what the magical core of a young wizard normally looks like. As you can see, the core is concentrated in the chest, with only a small amount of magic flowing through each limb. When a wand is used—," Ollivander pressed another rune, "—magic flows from the core into the wand arm, then into the wand." Light from the chest of the depiction moved from the chest, and down the arm.
"Now, let's take a look at your core." Ollivander pressed a rune underneath the blank body, and it began glowing, much brighter than the first image.
"Hmmm, let's see here… Now this is curious indeed…" Ollivander mused.
"Can you just tell me what is going on?" Harry asked.
"Certainly, certainly. Well, obviously, your core is no longer confined to your chest. It appears to have expanded to include your entire body, your magic existing in your limbs is no different than the magic in your chest, head, or indeed anywhere else." Ollivander pressed a few other runes surrounding the image, and the light filling the engraved body expanded past the outline, beginning as bright as the core within but fading quickly to nothing.
"Now this is interesting. Your magic has recently undergone a change, yes?" Ollivander asked as he inspected the tablet.
"Actually yes, two nights ago my magic went… haywire in the middle of the night. The next morning, I was able to perform what you call wandless magic for the first time," Harry replied.
"You couldn't perform magic at all until yesterday?"
"That's not quite right. I've been doing magic since I was six years old. But up until yesterday, my magic couldn't affect anything outside my body. I can manipulate myself, like increasing my strength or making my skin extremely hot or cold. Nothing I tried could ever actually affect anything except myself."
"Hmmm. That is quite interesting… it's as if something was blocking your magic. But why would it stop so suddenly? Maybe – no, that wouldn't do it. Perhaps a block? But that should have drained his magic, he wouldn't be able to use it…" Ollivander trailed off, looking into the distance. Harry coughed, and Ollivander started before looking slightly embarrassed.
"Errr, anyways, we should try to find out what happened at the end of the ritual." Ollivander moved his fingers quickly around the tablet, and the etched bodies disappeared, replaced by a single image of a head, much larger than before. "Let's watch what happened."
As Harry observed, a red line moved up the tablet, starting below the neck. Behind the moving line, the image lit up just as the bodies from before had. Then, as the line moved past where his scar would be, the tablet glowed… black, somehow. It was as if light in the area was actually being absorbed, instead of emitted.
"Now that is concerning. It almost looks as if there is a sieve in your head, draining your own magic. It is very slight, but still noticeable… May I?" Ollivander had withdrawn his wand from his sleeve and pointed it in Harry's general direction. Harry nodded.
Ollivander began to mutter under his breath, and a pale green glow connected his wand tip to Harry's forehead. Suddenly, Ollivander shot back in his chair and broke the connection. His eyes were wide, almost fearful. "By the gods… I can't believe… how is it possible?"
"Mr. Ollivander? What's happened? Are you alright?" Harry asked, worried.
"Mr. Potter… That magic in your head… it belongs to Lord Voldemort."
Author's Note: Hey everyone, hope you all had a good Christmas! Took me a few days to get back to writing, but I hope you enjoy this new chapter. As always, feel free to leave a review.