Harriet, Evan and Minerva sat around the desk in Minerva's office. Evan was nursing a tender spot on the back of his head where the school nurse, Hannah Longbottom, had healed his cracked skull. He was feeling foolish for having been knocked unconscious by a first year.
"If he is as powerful as you describe then there is no shame in it Evan." said Minerva. "To cast such a strong spell without speaking or holding a wand, it's almost unheard of, why even Albus would not have been able at that age."
"The child is obviously in possession of Lord level powers." said Dumbledore's portrait. "He appears to be capable of anything, provided he does not know he should be unable to do it. Did you explain to him how advanced wandless and wordless magic was?"
"I simply told him it was common with powerful wizards." Evan said.
"Then he didn't understand the limitations of what should be possible," said the portrait, "which means he can be taught to control it."
"Can the country handle another wizard of Lord level powers so soon after Voldemort and Grindelwald?" said Evan.
"He won't necessarily become a dark Lord just because he has that sort of power." protested Harriet. "He's a good kid, he could be a Lord of the Light."
"Ah, my dear," said Dumbledore's portrait, "but remember that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
"His father was a bully," frowned Evan, "what if he uses his powers to intimidate?"
"My father was a bully," scowled Harriet, "that didn't mean I was the same. You of all people should know that Ev."
"Perhaps he can be taught a different way," said Evan, "if he is taught the ways of light magic and encouraged to scorn the darkness, maybe he can be a catalyst for change."
"The boy deserves a normal school life." Harriet said. "Isolation from his peers won't help him."
"Is it safe to teach him with the other students Albus?" said Minerva, looking worried. "What if he accidentally injures one of them?"
"I think he should be taught to hold his powers back first," the portrait said thoughtfully, "if he masters that I see no reason for him to be a danger to his classmates."
"There will be little he can learn at the same level as his peers." Evan said. "He may be required to take an accelerated program of study, but he needs to learn the basics like any student first."
"The contol of his powers must be learned alongside the usual studies." said Minerva. "Harriet and Evan can help with things such as Occlumency and Battle Magic, but I'm afraid there is no one living who is capable of teaching him Aurology and how to control that level of power for the light."
"No one living," agreed the portrait, eyes twinkling over his spectacles, "but there is no reason I cannot teach the child. I have all the knowledge my counterpart did, if not the magic."
Minerva, Harriet and Evan looked at each other and nodded. It made sense. Max could learn from them all and be able to stay in school with his friends, learning the basics of magic. Until such time as his knowledge outstripped them and he was placed in an accelerated program. It was the best they could do for him now. Hopefully as he got older and matured they could find some other ways to develop his skills. An apprenticeship could be arranged, once the boy learned to conceal the extent of his powers.
XXXXXX
The next morning Max recieved a message to come to the Headmistress's Office after breakfast. He worried that she might be about to tell him off for injuring Evan Snape, but he really hadn't meant to. He had ran to fetch the School Nurse when he couldn't rouse Evan and made sure he received immediate medical attention. As he ran past the potions classroom with Madam Longbottom Professor Strychnine had spotted him, coming to the door as if to scream at him, but when he had seen the unconscious Evan levitated past on a stretcher he had disappeared back inside his classroom.
Max gave the password to the stone gargoyle (Unity), and stepped on to the moving spiral staircase, his heart thudding wildly. He knocked at the door and it swung open.
"Come in Mr Dursley." said McGonagall, from behind her desk. She gestured to a hard backed chair on the opposite side of the desk, "Please take a seat."
Max sat down and looked around nervously. Portraits of former heads of the school looked down on proceedings with interest. One, a man with half-moon spectacles and a long white beard, waved cheerfully at him. Max looked at him with interest.
"Is that Albus Dumbledore?" Max asked, "I recognise him from the Chocolate Frog Cards."
"It is indeed Mr Dursley." said McGonagall, her face unreadable. "Tell me, how much do you know about what happened to Mr Snape last night?"
"Erm," said Max, starting to panic, "I didn't mean to hurt him, I was just trying to do what he told me."
"Max," McGonagall said soothingly, "I know it wasn't intentional. I just wanted to know if you understood what happened."
"Not really," said Max, "he was casting wordless hexes at me and telling me to block them with a wordless shield. I was doing alright, so he told me to try it without the wand. Wordless needed more focus than saying the spell, so I figured that wandless would need even more concentration."
"If Evan was casting wordlessly how did you know he was casting?" asked McGonagall.
"It was like I could see what he was going to do." Max said, thoughtfully. "It was like mind reading or something, but I don't know how I did it."
"Go on." McGonagall said, nodding.
"Anyway," said Max, "I thought it would need a lot more focus, so I concentrated as hard as I could on the shield spell, once I saw he was about to cast at me, and then he just flew backwards. I tried to wake him up, but I couldn't, so I got Madam Longbottom. He is alright isn't he?"
"Evan is perfectly fine." McGonagall said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "My concern here is you."
"Me?" said Max, eyes widening. "I wasn't hurt Headmistress."
"No Max," said McGonagall kindly, "and we want to make sure that you don't get hurt either. If you remember we talked about your unique abilities with Mr Ollivander and your wand was one that would work best with your powers."
"Yes Ma'am," said Max, "I don't have to see all of the colours and lights unless I want to now."
"Well, that is only part of the extra provisions you need." said McGonagall. "We have come to the conclusion that your gifts need carefully shaping, to avoid any accidents similar to the one with Evan, and to enable you to conceal your true powers from, shall we say, negative influences." McGonagall stared at him for a moment. "You will receive initial instruction from a source well practiced in Aurology, that is the technical term for a Mageseer, and well versed in controlling unusually strong magic. When you are considered sufficiently in control of your powers, you will rejoin your classmates for normal classes. The basics must be learned, but you could be fast tracked in your studies if you progress sufficiently."
"I'm being taken out of classes?" said Max, miserably. "What do I tell everyone? I just want to be with Al and the others."
"Whilst the Potter-Snape's, the Malfoy's and the Weasley's will know what is going on it would be unwise to tell anyone else." said McGonagall. "This is why your lessons will start now. We can tell your classmates there was a family emergency and keep you out of lessons today. Your instructor feels one day should be sufficient for you to bring your powers under enough control so you can rejoin your house at dinner time. You will continue to have daily evening lessons with different instructors, we can cite extra study sessions as an excuse for those."
"Who will be my instructors Ma'am?" Max asked.
"Evan and Harriet have volunteered to floo in for some lessons and I shall be tutoring you for some sessions." said McGonagall. "Your instructor for today will be Albus Dumbledore's Portrait."
"How can a portrait teach?" asked Max.
"Oh believe me young man," twinkled Dumbledore's Portrait, "I happen to be quite skilled at teaching. I have the knowledge if not the physical presence."
"I shall leave you to it Albus," said McGonagall, "I shall return at five this evening. Good luck Mr Dursley."
XXXXXX
By the time a plate of sandwiches appeared on the Headmistress's desk at lunchtime, Max had learned how to control his Aurology and was slowly learning what the different colours meant about the type of magic he was seeing. The portrait quizzed him as he sat munching happily on cheese and ham sandwiches and drinking apple juice.
"So with place auras green indicates magical plants or nature magic," said Max, "red is offensive or blood magic, and blue is protective or concealment magic."
"Correct Max," said Dumbledore, "and what do black auras denote?"
"Dark magic, either in the form of dark protective spells, residual contamination or dark creatures." Max recited flawlessly. "Purple shows a place of deep magical energy and brown is linked to animal magic and earth magic."
"Now these colours can have different meanings when they are auras of people or magical artifacts." Dumbledore said. "Humans and other beings are much more complex, changing with their moods and experiences, their auras are in a state of flux and reading them can be tricky. Magical artifacts are complex for another reason, they are created by aforementioned beings. Multiple enchantments are layered into the artifacts and picking apart the different magical signatures takes practice."
"I don't mean to be rude sir," said Max, "but how does knowing about these colours help in controlling my powers?"
"Indirectly I'm afraid," chuckled Dumbledore, "if you know how to tell when a place is safe or free from magical eavesdropping then you can be sure that you are not being overheard. Discretion must be the watchword of those with extraordinary power. Don't worry, I will teach you to control your power after lunch, but you must understand what you can see to be able to harness it."
"I don't understand." Max frowned.
"If you can see the type and strength of magic being used around you," Dumbledore said, "then you can pitch your own to match it."
"I get it," nodded Max, "Like pulling a punch when sparring in boxing. I only use part of my power so everyone thinks I'm of a similar strength to them."
"Very good Max," chuckled Dumbledore, "that will suffice for your peers. Other adults may however sense your magic level if they are so inclined."
"So they would know just by looking at me?" Max asked.
"Some more powerful wizards certainly," said the portrait, "and that is why Mr Snape will be instructing you in occlumency."
"Occu-what?" said Max.