After Hogwarts
Chapter 5
Upon getting back to Potter Manor Harry and Hermione grabbed their trunks, old habits die hard, and Harry locked up the house for the time being until Christmas. The two floated their trunks out the gate and apparated to Hogsmead and started their walk up to the castle. "Harry, why didn't we just go straight to the Chamber and then up to our quarters?" Hermione asked. Harry's response was "Tradition I guess. None of the others can do it that way." Once inside the castle the elves took their trunks to their quarters and the two new Professors went to see the Headmistress.
All of the students had arrived and the first years had been sorted when McGonagall stood and called for quiet. "Welcome back to Hogwarts those who returned and welcome to those who are here for the first time. It is a new term and there are many surprises for all of us. Some of the courses have been re-examined and as such they have been changed. Divination will end after this term, muggle studies will have a new look and a new instructor and is now required for all first and second year students who are magically raised. Wizarding Culture is a new course and is required by first and second years who are muggle-raised. We will welcome several new instructors this term and some will be staying on for a long time while others will move on at the end of term. It should come as no surprise that the Heirs of the Founders have returned and as such there have been many changes. The board of governors has been replaced with a new board of advisers, the ministry has been removed from any interference with the school, and the wards around the castle have been redone and are stronger.
"Now I am sure many of you have noticed the empty seats at the head table; I would like at this time to introduce the new instructors. A new co-professor in Herbology who will handle 4-6th years is our own Neville Longbottom who holds a Mastery in Herbology. The new co-professor in Charms and Transfiguration is Hermione Granger who holds her Mastery in both subjects and will be instructing 4th-6th year students. The new Muggle Studies instructor is Mrs. Dursley and the new Wizarding Culture instructor is Prof. Lupin. Assisting Prof. Lupin will be Prof. Bill Weasley. Assisting in Care of magical creatures is Mr. Charlie Weasley who holds a newly awarded Mastery of Creatures with emphasis on dragons. Now the one you have all been waiting for Defense, the new Defense professor holds his Mastery in Charms, Defense, and Transfiguration which is in keeping with the requirement that all courses be taught by a Mastery instructor, Prof. Harry Potter. And your new Potions instructors are our own Fred and George Weasley, both of these young men scored an Outstanding Plus on their NEWTs so they are well qualified to instruct Potions.
"Breaking with tradition, the new head of house for Slytherin is Charlie Weasley and his brother Bill Weasley will be taking over as head of house for Gryffindor so I may have more time to work as Headmistress. Over the summer holidays Hogwarts has undergone many changes and classrooms have been relocated. There are maps and copies of the student handbooks in your common-room, you are encouraged to pick one of these up and study it so you don't get lost and to make sure you are on time for class. The handbooks also contain the guidelines for awarding and taking of points. Now I think it is time to get on with the feast". With that McGonagall sat down and food appeared on the tables.
There was much talk heard from the tables and most of it was from Slytherin and they were quietly complaining about having a Gryffindor as head of house. One question that was voiced the least was "Where is Malfoy?" the most common answer was "Who cares". When the noise from the table got too loud Charlie made it known that he didn't want them calling attention to the table. The use of a few zipper mouth spells made his point very well. It was after the desserts were over with that McGonagall stood again.
"As usual a very fine meal; I hope you enjoyed it as it will be the last of that type until the end of term feast. Starting tomorrow after breakfast the house tables will disappear and be replaced with 4 and 6 person tables and the meals will be served cafeteria or buffet style. Breakfast will be cafeteria style and the house tables will be there so as to make it easier for heads of house to pass out your schedules. Some of you will have noticed that there were no book-lists sent out, that is due to some professors not getting their choices in in time and the books haven't gotten here yet. But do not fear the school now has a school store where you can purchase your books and supplies, sometimes at prices below what you pay in Diagon Alley. The school store will also carry a few personal items and health care needs. All first years and second years who have not had their magical exams are to schedule those exams this week with the hospital wing. Students should also note that any instructor can send a student to the hospital wing at anytime to determine if the student is suffering from anything that needs treatment.
"Another of the surprises this year are the several seminars that have been scheduled, most are not required at this time but instructors may decide to require one for class credit. The sole exception to that is a seminar being given by Charlie Weasley and that one is required of all 6th and 7th year students as this will be a once in a lifetime experience. I don't know what all is scheduled as some arrangements are still pending. Students will notice that there are several new electives and that even first year students may select a few of them. Quidditch try outs will be in three weeks and any student 2nd year and up may try out for their house team. Most of you will be glad to hear that thanks to the efforts of Professors Longbottom and Potter we have new brooms here at Hogwarts and these will be replaced as they wear out by the manufacturers.
"I am sure there are a few questions out there but I ask that you direct your questions to your Head of House and he or she will answer them or seek the answers for you. Slytherins this is the last year that your dorm will be in the dungeons, they will be moved to one of the vacant towers next year once the towers have been checked out and declared safe again. The Forbidden Forest is just that, FORBIDDEN. The centaurs who live there will capture and report any who enter the forest without consent. Now if the prefects will lead the first years to their dorms and the returning students can make their way to the dorms I will bid you all a good night." McGonagall finished.
The two oldest Weasleys, plus Prof. Flitwick and Sprout left to oversee their charges and houses. In the Slytherin dorm Charlie Weasley eased into the common room unnoticed and watched as several of the first years were being intimidated by the upper years. "Just what I would expect from a Slytherin, you try to intimidate your own dorm mates. Well those days are over, you will all conduct yourself as ladies and gentlemen at all times. You will treat others as you want yourself treated. I have been informed that the Heir of Slytherin is a pretty sneaky snake and has it in for all the wrongful actions that have spoiled the reputation of this house. There is nothing you can hide from the heir or from Hogwarts herself. You are all expected to keep you rooms clean, I will be inspecting them without notice. And just so you know, the house elves will not be cleaning up after you. If you make a mess you clean it up, if you don't then the elves have been instructed to report who is the messiest and that person will lose 50 points on a monthly basis per house.
"I overheard several of you at the feast asking about Draco Malfoy, he will be allowed to return when he can find someone willing to sell him a wand that works and is approved by the school. If you would like to join him in his exile then just act as he did and attack a hero of Hogwarts in public. There are two young ladies here that have been excused from having to live in this dorm since they seem unwelcome by most of you. Those two ladies are to occupy the old quarters of the head of house and new quarter have been provide for myself. This is a new year and there are new rules, if you have a problem you come to me with that problem. Harmless pranks on others will be overlooked most of the time, pranks against me will be handled by my twin brothers – do any of you want those two looking for you? Now if you have any questions you are welcome to knock on my door, once you find it, and ask them. There will be a prefect meeting tomorrow night at 7pm and once a month thereafter to discuss this house and any problems" with that Charlie walked out of the room.
Upstairs Bill Weasley was doing much the same thing with the Gryffindors, he was introducing himself and setting out the rules. Professors Flitwick and Sprout both set their dorms straight and Flitwick made it a point to say the actions of a few in the past of hiding student's belongings would now cost the house all of their points if it happened to another student (it would seem he was still a little upset about Luna).
In the Gryffindor Quarters Harry and Hermione were just settling in when an elf appeared and asked if they would like some tea before bed and to congratulate the two on behalf of all the elves on their upcoming wedding. Hermione said that a cup of camomile would be nice before bed and she soon had her cup of steaming tea. In the Hufflepuff Quarters Neville and Susan were enjoying their own tea and quiet time before Neville had to leave to return to his quarters, it wouldn't be proper for an instructor to be seen with one of his students. Luna was also enjoying a cup of tea in the Ravenclaw Quarters, even though she was listed as a 7th year she only had to attend certain classes namely Arithmancy, Charms, Defense, Herbology, and Runes. Her free time was spent doing self study on spell creation with Hermione and studies with Poppy on medical magic. Charlie Weasley was the sole occupant of the Slytherin Quarters, but access had been removed to the other quarters and the ward control room, he still had access to the secret spy hole looking over the common room.
The next morning Harry and Hermione awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and an elf laying out their running suits and shoes. The two were soon up and outside to do their morning run then back inside to cleanup and get downstairs to breakfast. All of the new instructors watched as the students came in for breakfast, some of them remembered the procedure but several were surprised when nothing just appeared in front of them. A few tried to steal from others only to caught by prefects or heads of house. Harry was doing all he could to keep from laughing out loud at some of the antics. It wasn't long before all the heads of house were passing out the schedules, the first class didn't start until 9am so that gave the students plenty of time to get to classrooms on time.
Hermione's first class was sixth year Charms and she surprised them with an exam to test what they knew as compared to what they were supposed to know. The next thing was she called on random students and had them demonstrate different Charms. By the end of class Hermione told them she was glad to see some of them had actually studied over the summer, or at least remembered basic Charms. These students soon found out that every class started with an exam of some type.
Harry's first class happened to be 7th year Defense, and they got a surprise when they walked into class since Harry and Bill Weasley were waiting and started to attack as soon as the students entered. The spells used were simple and harmless ones but they did get the attention of the students. After about 10 minutes Harry and Bill quit attacking and let the students relax some. "Welcome to 7th year Defense, what you just experienced is what you are being prepared to counter, the unprovoked and surprise attack on your person or property. During the course of the year you will be attacked when you least expect it, either as a group or individually; so from this day onward be prepared to defend yourself against either myself, Prof. Weasley, or maybe another of your classmates. The first thing we will cover today is your ability to shield yourself. Now I want you to count off from one to however many it takes. The odd go to that side of the room and the even go to the other side of the room. When I give the go ahead evens will shield and odds will send a simple tickling hex, then we will switch it up somewhat and do it again. Any questions?" was Harry's welcoming speech. By the end of the class, which was two hours, the students were covered with spots of color and neither instructor had a single spot on himself.
In sixth year Transfiguration Hermione only had a total of 10 students and to say that McGonagall was upset that more couldn't pull an Acceptable on their OWLs would be an understatement. The test they faced was to change each other into specific animals as Hermione watched. Luna and Susan were the only ones to do so without problems, Ron Weasley did the transformation well except he turned his subject into the wrong animal, "There is a difference between a squirrel and a hedgehog Mr. Weasley".
At the end of the day all the students were talking about the tests they had to do, all except the first years who were talking about all the amazing things they had seen. It was in the middle of the meal when a blob of color flew toward Harry only to be intercepted by Harry's shield. Harry stood up and looked out over the students for a few seconds then laughed and said "Better luck next time." then sat back down. McGonagall looked concerned until Harry told her that it was a simple demonstration for his seventh years Defense, Harry knew exactly who had sent the blob of color and where it came from. When a second blob of color was stopped in front of Hermione's face by a shield the whole room got very quiet and still, Hermione stood and like Harry looked out over the students before speaking, "Whoever did that will pay dearly when I catch them." then she smiled and every 7th year Defense student except two were caught by the color blobs that hit them in their foreheads.
Harry stood and motioned for quiet then said, "Tomorrow we add sixth years to the fun. So be prepared." with that he sat down and smiled at McGonagall who just shook her head. The rest of the meal went well, right up to the time that every student turned the colors of their houses. McGonagall looked at the twins and they both shook their heads indicating they had nothing to do with the prank. The effect only last a few minutes and then everyone changed back, except for three first years from different houses. Those three were laughing and enjoying themselves and Hermione recognized then from the summer session. Surely three first year students weren't responsible for such a prank on the whole school, if so the twins had some serious competition as pranksters.
By the end of September there wasn't a single 6th or 7th year Defense student who couldn't put up a shield at a moments notice, some of them were rather weak but strong enough to keep the paint off them when they were targeted. Harry had told them that in order to pass they had to be able to shield against a strong stunner by a second year student. What Harry didn't tell them was who that student was, Sam from Ravenclaw and she had been practicing to strengthen herself physically and magically. The evening pranks against the students continued at least once a week and the same three students were always the last to recover and they always laughed about it.
The first Defense class in October was when Harry brought in a second year student and had her cast a stunner at each of the students so they could see if their shields were strong enough, most of them weren't. Harry asked them "If you can't defend against a 2nd year student, how are you going to defend yourself against someone stronger? I do not expect any of you to be able to defend against all attackers but I thought defending against a 2nd year should be easy. That 2nd year is not the one who will test you at the end of the year, oh no that student is much stronger than this student who you faced today. And think about it by the end of the year they will be even stronger yet. I have said it many times, 'A strong body means a strong core, and a strong core means stronger magic, and stronger magic means better defense'. Now to put it in very simple terms, you lots are soft and lazy – you need to get out and work on making your bodies stronger. I met a girl about 9 years old this summer and she would wipe the floor with most of you. She runs four to six miles a day and her magic is strong enough that even accidental magic sends people several miles away when she is threatened. If any of you are interested I run each morning and you are welcome to join me and Prof. Granger on our run like several others do. Don't worry if you don't have the right clothes we can fix that and they are available in the school store."
Hermione was surprised when several sixth and seventh years showed up to run with them the next morning, she had to transfigure several sets of warm-ups but in the end they had over 30 people running with them. Many of those students made it a point to come back each day and run with Prof. Potter and his friends.
McGonagall was a little worried, she had heard that first and second year Defense students were being instructed in wand-less magic and when she had asked Harry he had admitted it, and then asked if she could do the same in Transfiguration and maybe Flitwick in Charms. What Harry didn't tell her was that the students who were mastering wand-less magic were the ones doing the evening pranks on everyone at his suggestion.
It was time for the first special seminar and it was announced at supper one night. The first seminar was to be the one by Charlie Weasley so it was mandatory for all sixth and seventh years in addition to all Care of Magical Creatures students. Harry announced in his classes that each student was to write a paper on what they saw and how to defend against the creature shown as he had been assured that Charlie would tell the best way to defend against the creature. The day of the seminar which was to be held outside in the Quidditch stadium Charlie Weasley walked out and told the students that he needed them to be real quiet as the first animal was a baby and easily frightened. Charlie walked behind a curtain and when he walked back out there was a "small" dragon following him around. Small as in only coming up to Charlie's waist. Charlie explained that this was a young Swedish Short Snout, and explained all about that species of dragon.
The next creature Charlie showed them was a fully grown Norwegian Ridgeback, once again Charlie explained all about the species and how best to defend against them – "STAY AWAY!"
Charlie finally told the students that if they were quiet, calm, and orderly they would be allowed to approach the dragons and see them up close, but only in groups of two or three at once. Anyone upsetting a dragon was risking their own life, and maybe that of their friends. Hagrid was the very first one to approach the adult dragon and was surprised when it just rubbed its head against his chest, it was the dragon Hagrid had hatched come back to visit.
Several students tried to crowd around the baby but it ran back behind the curtain and when it reappeared it was followed by its mother, it was all Charlie could do to keep her from hurting the students, until Harry walked up and spoke to her quietly and she calmed down as long as Harry or Charlie were standing there. Hagrid didn't have any problems with the students upsetting his dragon, they were too afraid of the large creature. After everyone had a chance to look at the dragons up close Charlie told them they had been given a very rare treat as most people never saw a real dragon, much less been able to touch one safely. Charlie Weasley was the most poplar professor on campus now, and one of the most respected – even by his Slytherins.
McGonagall was amazed that Charlie Weasley had actually brought live dragons to the castle and that the dragons had not attacked anyone but remained quiet and even let a few of the students pet them. What next would Charlie and Hagrid come up with? That question was answered soon when a notice went up in all the common rooms that there were two openings for trainees to work with dragons starting that summer. The requirements were an E on their NEWTs in CMC, an overall average of Acceptable on NEWTs, and a willingness to spend the summer away from home and in the company of dragons of all sizes, species, and temperaments. The pay was listed as G100 and board, the duties were "anything that needed doing for the dragons, including trimming their talons". It was later noted that there were very few applications.
So far there had been very few detentions handed out, that changed when Flitwick caught some of his "Claws" taunting a first year. All the students involved were given detention with Prof. Sprout and Longbottom, that detention to be served on two consecutive Saturdays mixing dragon dung. It appeared that since the stars of Charlie's seminar had left fresh dung it needed to be processed. The Weasley twins had only one person assigned to them for detention so they were having their first years clean cauldrons in class. McGonagall was pleasantly surprised to see that the number of detentions were lower than they had been in many years.
The headmistress wondered why she had not heard anything bad from Muggle Studies classes so she decided to sit in on one of them herself. It didn't take long to see why the students were behaving, Mrs. Dursley made ample use of the zipper spell and the students were being treated to several films and muggle movies. She even had them doing simple things the muggle way, like making beds and cleaning dishes by hand. The students were having a ball in class and everyone of them were asking questions that were relative and on subject. This class was also the class that provided the most interaction with computers and how to use them, those lessons were being taught by her son Dudley. It was soon noted that many of the first and second years were learning to play muggle computer games and comparing the "spells" with actual spells.
When McGonagall went into the Wizarding Culture class she was surprised to see the students practicing formal dining, dancing, and learning the laws that differed between the two cultures and the reason behind those laws. In this class students were encouraged to do many things the magical way as opposed to the muggle way, and the students were always asking why magical folks were so lazy.
McGonagall decided it would be prudent to monitor all the different classes so she could see how the new teachings and techniques were being used and dealt with by the students and the staff. All of Hermione's Charms students were being encouraged to practice wand-less magic and again there was much time spent learning about computers and their use as a study aid. All assignments were to be done on the computers located in class or the library. In Transfiguration classes Hermione was teaching things that McGonagall had only taught to higher level classes, fifth years were already learning about Animagus transformations – in theory only.
Runes classes were making use of a newer overhead projector that allowed the professor to draw the runes and everyone being able to see them clearly. Once again the use of the computer was stressed as the system contained most of the runes and allowed the students to practice without an instructor looking over their shoulders. In Arithmancy the students were learning how to dissect spells and to see how they worked and why. Again the computers were being stressed, and the more advanced students were asking for more computer time and availability until they received their laptops after Christmas.
Herbology was one of the few courses that had not changed that much, though Neville's sixth year students were responsible for gathering potion components and preparing them for use in the potions classes. The first three years were still being introduced to, and shown how to work with, different types of plants. It was the 3rd years who had to learn how to mix the fertilizer for use in the greenhouses and what mixtures were needed by different species of plants.
The headmistress was reluctant to sit in on the Potions classes at first, but she finally gathered up her courage and did so. The first years were spending more time learning how to cut, dice, mash, squeeze, or manipulate ingredients than actually making the potions – making would come second semester. And the twins were taking the time to explain why potions were mixed a certain way and why they needed special stirring techniques. The students were not just using cauldrons they were using several different types of chemistry apparatus and setups. This usage was producing potions that were much superior to those made the traditional ways. The Headmistress had to admit that she learned something in those classes.
Having saved Defense for last, McGonagall was very quiet in her entry into Harry's classroom, she sat in the back of the class and just listened. Harry wasn't sitting or standing behind a desk, he was sitting on a stool in front of the desk in a very relaxed manner and instead of lecturing the students he was talking to them. Everyone of the students were paying attention and writing notes, even the Slytherins. When Harry finished the lecture part of class he gave the class a 10 minute break before he started the practical part of the class. Today Prof. McGonagall was sitting in on the class that covered the integration of Charms and Transfiguration into defensive techniques, and this was a first year class. As she watched, the students were asked to combine the levitation charm with the transfiguration of a button into a beetle. When Harry demonstrated the technique he ended up with a beetle that was flying across the room only to change into a button at the last second and hit a target. "The idea of this exercise is to develop your aim and to get you used to thinking outside the box so to speak. It is not how fast you do the spell-work right now but how well you do the spells, speed will come with practice. Now the targets have been charmed to sound differently depending on how hard your button hits. So, the first five step up to the line, chose your button, change your button, levitate it and send it down range, change your button back and hit the target."
The first five students stepped up the headmistress saw that these students were some of the best in the Transfiguration class, the first five students changed their button and sent them down to the target, every one of the beetles changed at the last second and hit, some made a loud pop while some made a bang. The exercise had taken 10 seconds! McGonagall watched as each group did the same exercise. Then Harry asked her to show the students how to do it quicker, her attempt took 9 seconds. Harry did it again and inside of 3 seconds the button had hit the target and produced a loud bang and the meter above the target showed a score of 100. "Now that shows what practice can do, the Headmistress is very learned in Transfiguration and her speed in doing that part of the exercise was the fastest. But she hasn't practiced the whole thing so her overall speed was a little slower. Your goal is to get your time down to 10 seconds or less and to score a 60 or higher by next week. Now let us try it again but change your groups around this time." Harry explained.
When McGonagall was finished observing at least one class in each subject taught in all seven years, she knew much more about how the teachers and students interacted and how the classes were being handled – she was even pleasantly surprised how smooth everything was going. When it was announced that it was almost time for the first Hogsmead visit the announcement was met with cheers and groans, cheers from the 3rd years and up and groans from the 1st and 2nd years. Harry then stood and added his own announcement, "Since 1st and 2nd years aren't allowed to go to Hogsmead, Professors Longbottom, Granger, and I have made arrangements for several shops to setup booths on the grounds for those who can't get to Hogsmead. This is an experimental thing so if it fails it won't be tried again any time soon. The shops selected are shops that won't be in competition with the school store and will sell things that we don't usually have available. Butterbeer will be limited to two bottles per student on school grounds, there will be no Firewhiskey allowed on school grounds at all. If any student is caught with, or bringing back, any contraband then all will suffer. And I should warn you that we have several experts on smuggling contraband on staff, so you will be caught." That last sentence caused a few of the professors to snicker and look at the Weasley twins, who had the good graces to blush somewhat.
The Hogsmead weekend came and the first day two Slytherin girls were caught by Charlie trying to smuggle in "love potions", but since they were caught off school grounds they were the only ones punished, but their situation was made public that night at supper as a warning to the rest. As their punishment, the girls were assigned to clean up after the Hippogriffs used in CMC. Charlie threatened to have them expose who they wanted the potions for, but decided not to force the issue – this time. The staff also overlooked the penalties imposed by the other students, both Slytherin and other wise. Hagrid didn't overlook the students who fed a laxative to the Hippogriffs, they had to help clean up also.
The second day of Hogsmead went very well, and the shops that setup booths made a good profit. The first and second years were also treated to a demonstration of flying by Harry, Hermione, Daphne, and Tori. Tori becoming very poplar with some of the boys after she showed them how well she handled a broom. That night the pranksters hit again at supper, and even McGonagall had to laugh when all of the boys were wearing dresses and the girls were wearing men's suits.
The next event was another seminar, this one hosted by Harry the topic being Magical Aids it would run for the whole weekend. The first day was an overview of Magical Aids such as jewels, rings, belts, and staffs. The second day was devoted to further demonstrations of each of the items, everything except wands and staffs were presented in the morning. The afternoon session dealt with the wands and staffs and how they differed, both in construction and usage. For the first time many students were shown how a staff was more powerful than a wand. Susan Bones was chosen to do that demonstration. She used her wand to shoot a Reducto at a target, then use her staff to repeat the spell. The difference was almost tenfold, when Hermione did the same demonstration the students were shocked to see the target explode when hit with a staff blast. To close out the seminar Harry explained, "In England there is only one wand maker, Mr. Ollivander. His family has been creating wands since 382 B.C. As he has no children when he retires there will be nobody to craft wands in Great Britain unless one of the students from Hogwarts is willing to learn to make wands. While capable of creating a staff Mr. Ollivander has not done so in many years, at present there are only two people in the world known for making staffs; one lives in America and made my staff, and the other lives in Japan and only creates staffs for very special people. It isn't that hard to craft a wand since most wands only have a single core; but a staff can have up to six different core components. But there are specialty wands that use up to three cores and those are difficult to make as you have to place the cores inside in a specific order. I took a seminar like this one a few years ago and was so impressed with it I took it upon myself to learn more about wand and staff crafting. My own wand is composed of three cores and took the craftsmen and myself almost a week to create. Some of you were in the summer session and watched as I helped you chose your wand materials, both the wood and the core, it was fun and I hope you learned something from it. If any of you here today think you might be interested in learning this dieing craft please see me at your convenience to discuss this further." There was a very loud round of applause for Harry and his information.
Harry was sought out by several students over the next few days and many asked if he might do another seminar on just wands and staffs and maybe include some practice in making wands. There were three first years, the ones who required the special wands, who asked if he would be willing to show them more about making wands and they all volunteered to meet with him on Saturdays if needed to learn more. Harry was impressed and said he would look into setting something up for them.
The following Saturday Harry met with the three first year students and escorted them to the room he had setup for wand-crafting. The three were surprised at the amounts of wood Harry had, not to mention the many different types. Harry explained that each piece of wood was tagged with its particulars such as type, age, where it was found, and location of the specific tree it came from. Harry explained that while any Oak would work for some people he had found that certain trees worked better for some than others within the same species. The same was true for the different core materials, of which he had almost 300 specimens each tagged with the same information. One of the three students was a boy and he said he enjoyed working with wood, carving things and he even had a few samples of his work in his dorm. Harry asked him to show him the samples sometime. Harry then explained that there were several spells that had to be used to gather, prepare, or deal with the wood and the cores. There were also spells used to determine what a wand was made of and how it was constructed, and if you were really good you could determine who made the wand if it was made by a well known craftsman.
"It is a matter of courtesy to never pick up someone's wand without permission, but another reason is that some wands are personalized and to pick it up is to risk harm to yourself. My wand is that way, and a few that I have made are that way also. This is done so a wand can't be stolen or used against you. There are ways around that protection if you know that it exists, but even then it is dangerous. Once you learn how to make wands you can learn to make staffs, they are more complicated but as I said before they are more powerful and not every witch or wizard can use a staff. I have run across very few people who can handle a staff, you saw two of them – Susan and Hermione, they both have the power and ability to use one. If I remember correctly each of you required a special wand that didn't use the most common components and I imagine you had to pay a little more for your wands. Now who wants to see if they can make a wand, a practice wand that is?" Harry asked.
They all wanted to try so Harry chose the most common wood blanks he had and gave each of them a piece. He then explained that the first thing after choosing the components was to shape the wood itself. There were two basic ways to do that, one was to use a knife to carve out the wand and the second was to use a wood lathe to shape the wand. Harry took a piece of Pine and placed it on the lathe and showed them how to shape it that way. The boy commented that it might take longer but he preferred to carve the wood, so Harry handed him a knife. The girls both decided to use the lathe and went to work on their own pieces of wood, after Harry got them the correct safety equipment. "Professor Potter, if I wanted to carve some special designs would I do that before or after inserting the core?" the boy asked.
Harry told all three "While we are working in here please just call me Harry. As to your question Tom, you would do all the carving before inserting the core. Once the core is inserted you don't want to do much to the wood at all, maybe a little sanding to smooth out any rough spots. Another thing is that once you have the wand put together you need to seal it somehow. Most wand-craftsman have their own special sealant that they use, I do and it is up to you to come up with your sealant that doesn't interfere with the function of the wand".
"Professor, I mean Harry, do you have any other knives for finer work than this one? It is fine for the overall shaping but is too big for detail work.", Tom asked. Harry handed him a much smaller knife and watched as Tom smoothed out his blank into a wand shaped piece of wood. Tom thought for a few minutes then started to carve again, this time he carve a dragon into the handle of the wand.
While Tom carved, the girls finished their blanks. One of them was kind of lopsided and very much out of balance. The other was still semi-squared on the handle end, again out of balance. Harry took the time to show the girls what was wrong with each blank and to correct the squareness of the one. Tom was still carving on his dragon and it looked as if it was going to be very detailed. Harry asked if Tom planned to take Runes when he was able and was told that the he really hadn't decided yet. Harry explained that Runes were important as they added power to the wand if done correctly and showed his own wand as an example. This caused Tom to ask if it made a difference if the runes were carved into the wood or the wood was carved away leaving the runes outstanding. Harry didn't have an answer for that one he told Tom he would have to ask either Grimstead or Ollivander about that.
Harry handed each girl a tag and told them to label their blanks and they would call it a day so they could have some time to enjoy their day off. Tom asked if he could take his blank with him and finish it, Harry said he could and asked if Tom needed to keep the knife he was using. Tom thought it would be easier if he could borrow the knife as the only one he had was larger and not right for the really fine detail he wanted. That night Harry showed Hermione a pensive memory of the work Tom had done on the blank, she was impressed with the work.
The following Saturday when the four got back together for more wand work the three were surprised when Hermione joined them. All of them were impressed with the work Tom had done on his blank in just a week's time. The dragon on the handle now looked just like the baby dragon Charlie Weasley had brought to show the students. Harry marveled at the detail, and hard work, Tom had done, and told him how much he admired it.
"Now that we have the blank shaped into a wand we need to insert the core. Does anyone have an idea as how that might be done?" Harry asked but none of the kids said a thing.
"You would need to split the blank so you have access to the interior. There are two ways to do that, some just simply split it with a knife or such; but some use a spell to cause the wood to split evenly. I use a modified spell that causes the wood to 'open' up kind of like a frankfurter bun then I can insert the core and close it back up and there is no seam at all" Harry explained. He then showed the three kids on a blank he had already shaped. All three kids were amazed to see the wood just open up and then close back.
"Now since we are just making a practice wand we will use your own hair as the core for your wand. Each of you find a place to work on your wand and decide how you want to split your blank and Hermione and I will help you do the splitting." Harry instructed the three.
Tom said he would like to try the spell Harry used, but would rather not mess up the carving he had done on the handle. Would it be possible to try the spell on another piece of wood first? Harry handed him the piece he had used to show the spell and then explained the spell to Tom. Tom tried the spell and was very surprised to see the wood split almost like Harry had done it. But the split wasn't exactly down the middle, Harry closed the piece and told Tom to try again but to concentrate more on where he wanted the wood to split. This time the wood split exactly where it should.
Meanwhile Hermione was teaching the girls how to do the other spell to split the pieces of wood unfortunately they weren't having much luck since their pieces weren't correctly balanced. Harry looked at the blanks and told them that since the blank wasn't balanced correctly it wouldn't split correctly, but that the blanks had split as well as could be expected and that the girls had done well.
Harry turned back to Tom and watched as Tom "opened" his carved blank. The blank opened exactly where it needed to and was smooth all around. Harry had each student pull out a single hair, one of the girls had really long hair so she had more than was needed. Tom had fairly short hair but the strand he removed was okay for length since this was just a practice wand. Harry used one of his own hairs to show them how to remove the root and then place the hair in the middle of the split blank. "With hair cores you want ½ to ¾ of an inch space on each end, the hair must be as close to the center as possible" Harry explained as he laid his hair into the blank.
Harry watched as each girl trimmed her piece of hair and placed it inside the blanks. Then Harry watched as Tom did the same thing with his hair, Tom's hair was almost perfectly centered on the first try. "This boy shows a lot of promise" Harry thought. Harry had Tom "close" his wand since it wouldn't require any type of glue to join it together. Next Harry handed the girls his glue pot and told them to use a very thin layer of glue the length of the wand and only on one side. Next he showed them how to position the other half of the wand before setting it down on the glue and using rubber bands to hold the halves together. "Now the glue needs to set for 8 to 12 hours before you can finish your wand. That is one of the drawbacks to that technique. Where as Tom's wand is ready to test if it was a real one" Harry explained.
Tom picked his "wand" up and gave it a wave, surprisingly sparks shot out the tip. Weak sparks but sparks none the less. That was a working wand! Harry asked if he could see Tom's wand, after all since it contained Tom's own hair it could be personalized already. Harry examined the wand closely and again marveled at the craftsmanship and detail that had gone into it's creation. The wand was well balanced and only had one or two rough spots on it. "Ladies as much as it surprises me, Tom has created a working wand his first time trying. He only needs to do a couple more things to finish it. But don't be discouraged since he got lucky on the first try. You all three show remarkable skill and aptitude for wand-crafting. You two girls just need more practice shaping your wood and learning how to split it. We will try and finish your wands next week." Harry said as he handed the wand back to Tom.
"Tom, there are two things left to finish your wand. First you need to sand it so it is smooth, I felt a couple of rough spots on it. The second thing is to apply the sealant and let that dry overnight then smooth out any rough spots left by the sealant. Here is some very fine sandpaper so go ahead and smooth it out, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to do that" Harry instructed as he watched Tom run his fingers over the wand and then sand lightly to smooth the rough areas. "Girls if you want to meet Hermione and I here tomorrow we can finish your wands since I would like to see Tom's finished as soon as possible" Harry continued. Both girls said they would be back the next day.
Harry asked again to see the wand and could find no rough spots left. Handing the wand back, "Now since you haven't had a chance to discover your own sealant I will let you use some of mine. Use only enough to apply an even coat over the whole wand. I will show you how to get to the whole thing so there are no spaces", Harry said.
Harry did show Tom how to coat the whole wand and then he placed the wand in the warm air drying column so it would be dry by the next day. As they walked out of the room Tom asked if Harry would eventually show him how to do that trick to dry the wand. Harry said he would think about that as it required some very special magic to accomplish that trick. That night once they were alone Harry asked Hermione what she thought about his three students. "Harry, that boy Tom showed some real potential for wand-crafting, and the detail he put into the handle was amazing. If he stays with it some of his wands will fetch a high price for the specially carved ones. Even though all three are first years they have shown some very impressive magical abilities in both the Charms and the Transfiguration classes that I've had them in. I heard what he asked you as we were leaving and I know that the method you use is a combination of your elemental abilities, so he would have to be at least an Air Elementalist to do that trick. I think we need to test all three of them with your rods to see if they have what it takes. I know Grimstead was amazed when he saw you do that and he still can't improve on it even with all of his experience", Hermione replied as she snuggled closer to Harry.
The next morning all three students came up to Harry and Hermione to ask what time to meet up since it was raining outside anyway. Harry and Hermione suggested they meet at the workroom about 10am. After the three left McGonagall stopped by and asked what was up with those three students and Harry explained that the threesome had shown much interest in wand-crafting and they had each made a practice wand already, except Tom's turned out to be a real working wand instead. McGonagall asked if she could join them when they tested that wand Harry said of course.
When Harry, Hermione, and McGonagall arrived at the workroom the three students were already there and waiting outside, the room was locked to keep anyone from entering without Harry being there. Once inside they checked the girls wands which were dried and ready to finish. Harry removed Tom's wand from the drying area and checked it for dryness, it too was dry and ready. Harry had Tom take a small amount of steel wool and remove any roughness from the finish while he showed the girls how to sand their wands.
Once the girls had started to smooth out their wands Harry examined Tom's wand again and could find no rough areas anywhere on it. After asking Tom's permission Harry handed the wand first to McGonagall and then to Hermione. Hermione received a small shock when she touched the wand. "Oops, sorry I forgot to specify both of you. It would seem that the wand has personalized itself to Tom and since I had only instructional contact even I can't handle it without permission" Harry said. Hermione just frowned at Harry as she rubbed her hand.
Tom was apologizing for his wand shocking Hermione but she told him it was as much her fault as Harry's and it just showed how well the wand was made. Harry asked Tom what his best Charm or transfiguration was and was told Tom had no problem with any of the ones he had been taught so far. McGonagall just nodded, as did Hermione. The Headmistress suggested that Tom try the porcupine to pincushion transformation since that was the last one he had been taught. Tom used his regular wand and did the change with little trouble, next Harry had him reverse the change but use the new wand. The reversal was a little rough but it finally worked. Tom was frowning, but Harry was smiling brightly and patting Tom on the back saying he had done great.
The girls finished their sanding and neither Hermione nor Harry could find any rough spots. Hermione told the girls to point the wands away from people and to give them a wave. Neither wand produced sparks and when they tried to do a simple spell it wouldn't work either. "Girls, that just shows that you created what we set out to create, a practice wand. It doesn't do magic so it is great for practicing your wand motions for Charms and no worries about stray spells. I kind of wish I had had a similar wand when I was learning, then I wouldn't have made so many mistakes that had to be fixed by my instructors" Harry told the girls and this seemed to lift their spirits.
"Young man, may I see your new wand again. I want to look at the handle some more, that is an amazing likeness of a dragon that bares closer examination" McGonagall asked. When she had the wand in her hand she could see all the detail work Tom had worked on the handle and complimented him again on the workmanship. When McGonagall waved the wand to feel the balance it produced sparks again, this time they were stronger. Hermione asked to examine the wand and was still amazed at the workmanship and detail, but for her it didn't produce sparks.
"Mr. Potter I think you might consider introducing this young man to your instructor as he shows much aptitude for wand-crafting. I would imagine there aren't many who show such aptitude and such fine craftsmanship at his age" McGonagall said, Tom's smile was so bright you almost needed dark glasses. Both of the girls came over and asked if they could see Tom's wand and told him how proud they were of him, one of them even gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay you three, there is one more thing we would like each of you to try today. You all saw how Harry set Tom's wand up to dry. Now as Harry explained yesterday to Tom it takes a special kind of magic to do that little trick. We have here four rods, we want you one at a time to pick one and give it a wave to see if you get any type of response. Before you do anything listen, you must not point these at anyone as the response sometimes is kind of strong and dangerous" Hermione explained as Harry pulled the four rods out of his robes.
Sally was first; she received a response from the rod of water as it produced a nice stream that hit the wall. Sarah had a response from the Air rod producing a nice breeze. Then it was Tom's turn and he was nervous, but Hermione just told him to aim the rod away from anyone and have at it. Tom got a response from Air, the response was a small whirlwind.
"I am what is called an Elementalist and so is Hermione. While I have very strong ties to both Fire and Air, Hermione is linked to only one, Air. We have friends who are linked to Earth and Water so when we get together we represent all four elements. The Headmistress has been aware of these special abilities for a few years since it wasn't in our best interests to keep her in the dark about them. Now what I do to dry the wands is a combination of my abilities concerning Air and Fire. All witches and wizards have a connection to one of the elements, but some have a stronger connection and can summon a full-fledged elemental, some can only exert a small amount of control over that element", Harry explained.
"But if each rod is for a particular element then how do you do both of it at the same time?" Sally asked.
"We don't, if your connection is strong enough then once you learn how you don't need the rods anymore. Hermione and I have practiced enough that we don't have to use the rods; watch" Harry said as he called Windford and Hermione called Windy. "Kids, meet Windford and Windy, our friends who happen to be Air Elementals. If you learn to call a full elemental then the two of you can communicate with each other on a kind of psychic level. While Windford can hear anything you say to him, he can only 'speak' to me – except in special circumstances. Hermione and I can communicate with each others elemental because they are brother and sister, which is very very rare, and because we have asked them to allow this.
"Remember what you were told about wand-less magic, that it has always existed but because of wands it fell out of use except in the young? Well, working with an elemental is the same way, people have forgotten how to do that. There are a few witches and wizards who try to summon an elemental through a ritual; but they have to be very powerful to control that elemental or it will turn on them and kill them. What an Elementalist does is different, in our case the elemental comes because it wants to not because it was made to. As such we are friends, the more you call your elemental the stronger it becomes and the closer you become to each other – just like a friend" Harry explained as he got a strange look on his face. "I will be sure and tell Tom about your friend later. I don't want to over load him or make him seem too special right now", Harry thought to Windford.
"Mr. Potter, that was one of the best explanations I have ever heard describing wand-less magic and the use of elemental magic in today's society. You and Ms. Granger continue to surprise me, and so do these three. If there were many more students like you I would soon be out of the job I really enjoy, most of the time. But I have things I need to do so I will leave you two with your students. But I expect you to keep me advised as to their progress" McGonagall said as she left the room.
A/N: Well, it appears we have another wand-maker and possibly another Elementalist. We shall see what develops.
Please be kind and comment