AN: sorry for the late chapter! school started up and i've been busy. friends, senior year, so on so forth, its all a bit much. im glad all those gay fanfics i read keep the edge off ;^) gotta love the femslash

on a different note, im thinking of changing the summary again, after some retrospection. lemme know what you think?

hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Booker was relaxing on his bed in the Hufflepuff dorms, staring at his hands and contemplating what he was doing on this strange road of life.

He hadn't meant to really start a forest fire, and felt a small bout of guilt when various magical animals and such had to take refuge on the school grounds due to the fire wiping out their homes. The groundskeeper was furious, waving around a particularly nasty looking crossbow, and Dumbypore had taken twenty minutes to calm him down.

Man, Booker needed to get his shit together. Couldn't go starting forest fires too often.

What if he hurt Hermione or Neville?

Taken aback by the thought, he sat up in his bed. God, he couldn't live with himself if he did that. They were kids... they were his friends... God, he really needed to work on this.

Maybe... maybe he should ask for help. He hated asking for help, leaving himself indebted and fucked over, but this was important.

Flitwick had thought that Harry Potter was an interesting student. The boy was cynical, practical, and an old soul - it was in his aura. This, however, was an interesting request from any student.

"You want help controlling your magic?"

"Yes."

Stroking his mustache, Flitwick replied, "You do realize that this school is supposed to do that, yes? You are supposed to be learning how to control your magic. I'm not sure what you're asking. What else you could possibly want?"

Potter seemed to have some sort of internal battle if his expression was anything to go by, and then the boy admitted, "I... uh, I started the fire. In the forest."

Flitwick's eyebrows raised. "And how did you do this, if I may ask?"

"I saw a guy, eating a unicorn or something, and tried to electrocute him, but it was too powerful and spread to the trees."

Filing away the 'eating a unicorn' part to report to Hagrid, Flitwick considered this request.

"There is not much to be done. Doing mundane spells, such as simple transfiguration, fine tunes your control into something better. The more control you have, the easier if will be to control how much magic you put into a spell."

"Simple transfiguration?"

"Such as turning a matchstick into a needle."

Potter let out a very loud swear and was immediately docked ten points.

The weekly teacher meeting was boring, as always, during the holidays. Having no students around meant that there was nothing happening. No Weasley twins' pranks to chat about, no strange essays to laugh over.

Today, though, Flitwick had something important to bring up.

"Colleagues, I will not reveal names for the sake of this student, but due to recent evidence, I do believe that there is very Dark wizard among us."

Many eyes glanced Severus Snape's way.

"I will not eliminate any possibilities, but let us not draw any conclusions just yet. This perpetrator must have let dangerous things onto the school grounds, which have been the troll during Halloween and an unidentified being in the forest who was caught feasting on unicorn blood."

Hagrid let out a roar of rage and stood up. "Unicorn blood?! Why I outta, I outta bloody-"

"Hagrid, my friend, please calm yourself!" Dumbledore said, arms raised. "Let Filius finish talking."

Disgruntled, the half-giant sat. Flitwick continued.

"Upon finding this being, the student set them on fire, as well as the forest."

Snape scoffed. "I see no reason to hide this student. They endangered many beings and have done significant property damage. They should be punished."

"I agree," Quirrell said, not stuttering for once.

"Did neither of you hear what Filius just said?" Minerva demanded. "Someone, possibly in this room, has been responsible for endangering our students, and all you care about is giving a student detention and docking points? Severus, this is nothing new from you, but Quinirus?"

Quirrell squeamed under her glare. "I-it sounded like a good idea, Professor. I was not thinking."

Flitwick eyed the man with suspicion, and the meeting was adjourned.

"Concentrate, Mr. Potter, Concentrate on making that matchstick into a needle. Sharp and pointy!"

Flitwick had resolved to give Book remedial transfiguration lessons, and while they worked, he did not like being yelled at.

At the very least, he was able to master several spells he'd been having trouble with at the beginning of the year. McGonagall had noticed the change in his work too, but did not ask. She didn't seem to like him all too much.

The best thing, though, was that Hermione could finally stop bugging him to learn proper magical theory.

Instead, she was now on Neville's case about it. He had Booker's sympathy and help there.

"It's not about intent," Booker told the young boy. "It's about want. You want it to turn into a needle? It will turn into a needle. There's hardly anything magic can't do if you just want something."

This was something that Booker had experimented with. Most spells came easily when he applied this new technique. Hermione had argued that this was intent, but Booker knew it wasn't. Intent was something you were conscious of. Want was harder to control.

"Mr. Potter, I apologize for asking this once again, but what did you see out on the grounds that night?"

Booker sighed as he recounted the tale once again. "There was a strange robed figure drinking the blood of a unicorn. Upon my entrance to the clearing, they looked up, but it was too dark to see who it was. They tried to attack me, I retaliated out of instinct, yada yada yada." He knew Flitwick just wanted to find out who this person was, and had been asking for a month now, even after the damage had been rescinded and the woodland folk returned home.

"Listen, professor, if I could give you the memory I could but it's really so far after the fact. I think you should take a break-"

"That's it! Give me the memory!"

Booker gaped. "What? That's possible?" Then he shook his head. Of course it was possible. What a fool he must seem.

"Of course! A very difficult task, but I believe you can master it. Come now, to the library! We must retrieve some books on the magic of the mind."

For another month, 'remedial lessons' with Flitwick continued, thought now Booker was learning newer and stranger things. Occlumency, the act of protecting one's mind. Legilimency, the act of entering another's mind. How to organize and withdraw memories. How to organize and withdraw talent.

There were, of course, dangers that came with this. Booker was still in a child's body and was only allowed to practice one spell, being the one to remove memories. Unwilling to risk this new body of his, this unmarred life, he followed instructions.

But knowledge... well, he could see where Elizabeth came from with her cleverness, Hermione with her books, Lutece with their studies of space and time and how it twists and bends in between.

It was oddly enjoyable. He didn't understand most of it at first glance, having never been a studious person, but once he got the hang of it, it was rather fun.

Fun.

He hadn't had that in such a long time.

It was nice.

AN: GODDDdD this took forever. i just don't want to rush the fic and ruin it or something but i just don't want to stretch it out too much. its a real tug o war.

also this is something i've noticed in a lot of students. they dont really find something interesting until they understand it. well, that much is true for me and a lot of people i know. i decided to apply it to booker. he had the potential to be a good student, he just never had the chance. joined the army at as young an age as possible because he needed money, then wounded knee happened, so on so forth, he's only ever lived in poverty as far as i can tell.

anyways, lemme know what you think about changing the summary (if you wanna of course) and i'll see you all next time!