DISCLAIMER: SEE CHAPTER ONE!
Harry awoke the next morning feeling more refreshed than he had all summer. It seems that being away from the threat of Voldemort and the pressure of being the Boy-Who-Lived was therapeutic for him. Maybe this was why he was sent to the Dursleys? Certainly he would enjoy his time there if he liked them and they liked him. But, they don't, so it doesn't matter.
He looked out the window to see that the sun's position indicated that it was eight o'clock in the morning. Harry had gotten a bad case of vertigo when he first looked out the window. It was a shock to look and see that he was seeing from Gryffindor towers. Now normally this wasn't that strange for him, being in the Gryffindor towers for the last four years. But, this year he was in an underground dungeon enjoying the Slytherin dorms. He certainly didn't expect to see any windows. When he asked Professor Slytherin about it, he told him, "It's a charm that Godric and I created in order to make the dungeons much more pleasant. My Slytherins would go mad if they had no daylight in their dorms. Helga agreed with me and similarly charmed her Hufflepuff windows to show outside the Ravenclaw dorms. It does put you off kilter if you aren't expecting it though, doesn't it?"
Harry hurried into the shower for a quick wash, dressed hurriedly (though he felt weird wearing the Slytherin Crest) and ran to breakfast. The Great Hall was very similar to how it was in his time except with some noticeable differences. One would be the absence of the Headmaster's chair. All four Founders worked equally and thus didn't need a chair for a unified leader. Harry wasn't sure if this was good or bad, it was just different. The next was the absence of the House tables, there was only one. Although Harry suspected this was due more to him and the others being the only students (for now) in the entire school. The only other difference was the lack of ghosts in the school, there weren't any. Not a single ghost. It felt surprisingly empty without Nearly-Headless Nick and Peeves. But, luckily for his sanity there were some aspects that won't ever change; the beautifully enchanted ceiling, by Professor Ravenclaw, the stained glass windows, the magically appearing food and Ronald Weasley stuffing his face like food was going to go out of style.
Of course seeing Professor Gryffindor do the same thing was a bit disconcerting and also made Harry wonder if Ron was related to Godric Gryffindor. That might explain why every single Weasley was in Gryffindor. On the other hand every Malfoy has been in Slytherin and Voldemort was supposed to be the last of that line. Either way Harry sat down across from Ginny and grabbed some eggs and bacon. A plate and a half later, Professor Hufflepuff came over and gave them their schedule. She only gave them one for all four since they'll be taking all of the same classes today. Luckily, it seemed that Hermione's spell allowed them to read as well as speak Anglo Saxon.
"So, we have Herbology at nine o'clock and Divination at ten-thirty with Professor Hufflepuff and Potions with Professor Slytherin at one o'clock," Ron read. "And, what the…?"
"What is it? 'Wand and Wandless Lore' at three o'clock with Professor Ravenclaw?" Ginny read confused.
"I may have mentioned to Professor Ravenclaw that we don't know how to do wandless magic," Hermione said blushing.
"It's okay Hermione; it will be cool to learn wandless magic. I mean Snape and Professor Dumbledore can do it, right?" Ron said.
"Yeah, but I'm more interested on how Divination is going to be without Trelawney though," Harry said.
"Yeah well, I'm wondering what Potions will be like without Snape breathing down our necks," Ginny said happily. She's always been interested in Potions, but with Snape's blatant favoritism it's hard to enjoy the work.
"I don't know, it's THE slimy Slytherin we're talking about," Ron said.
"Hey!" Harry said indignantly.
"What?" Ron asked stupidly. Hermione whacked him upside his head. "Hey! What the hell Hermione?"
"Really Ron, how thick can you be?" Hermione asked and sighed exasperatedly at Ron's confused face. She pointed at Harry's clothes.
"What about Harry?" Ron asked dumbly.
"Harry is a Slytherin. S–L–Y–T–H–E–R–I–N!" Ginny shouted finally losing her temper.
"Wha? Oh." Ron said with a look of realization, "Oh. Sorry mate." Harry just chuckled and walked into the greenhouse.
"Please take a seat, dears," Professor Hufflepuff said walking in a minute later. "Now I and your other professors are wondering what year you have come from so that we know if we chose an appropriate schedule for you."
"We came here from the year nineteen ninety five A.D. on the Julian calendar," Hermione told her immediately.
Professor Hufflepuff nodded happily. "It seems we made an appropriate choice in giving you our first year schedule. You see, it is the year nine thirty A.D. on the Julian calendar here and I have no doubt a great bit of information had been lost over the thousand years."
Even Hermione could not stop herself from groaning a little at this, but she was still excited to learn new information. Today they were learning how to properly plant and prune Devil Snare. Ron, Harry and Hermione flinched slightly at the sight of the plant since the last time they saw this particular plant it was as big as a full grown tree and tried to strangle them to death.
All in all, it was a boring class since Harry learned all about Devil Snare five years ago. However, there was a bit of new information loaded into it. According to Professor Hufflepuff, magical flames are the only kind of flames that can actually kill Devil Snare; non-magical flames will only lure it away from you. Also, the size of the Devil Snare determines how much magical flame is needed to kill it. This, Harry realized, is why Hermione's flames didn't kill the plant, but rather just lured it away.
"Class dismissed. I will meet you up in the Divination Tower in fifteen minutes, please don't dawdle," Professor Hufflepuff told them.
"You know, it's strange. I think I actually learned something today," Ron said and everyone snickered. "But, seriously, ever since we read The Tale of the Left Alone Brother I've finally felt the motivation to learn. I mean we're supposed to help Harry defeat You-Know-Who, and I'm going to need to be a lot better for that to work."
"Yeah, it's kind of amazing. I've always been pretty good at school, but I've never wanted to try this hard." Ginny asked, "What do you think about that Hermione?"
"It's good to see you two finally taking your education seriously. Imagine how much you'll be able to do once we get back. You might even be able to prank the twins," Hermione said climbing up the stairs.
"Prank the twins? I didn't know you were suicidal Hermione," Harry said. Hermione just shrugged. "But, yeah, I'm not really surprised that I have to fight Voldemort. All that means is that I've actually got a fighting chance against him. It's comforting in a way."
"Comforting?" Ginny asked incredulously.
"Yeah, Voldemort's been trying to kill me since I've been a baby, but it's nice to know that I might be able to beat him," Harry told them. "But, if you guys are going to help me, even though I wish you weren't involved—"
"Don't even go there mate," Ron said.
"No way would we let you go by yourself, even if we weren't meant to help," Hermione told him.
"Right, I get it. Sheesh, so pushy. Anyway, you should start saying his name. You won't be helpful if you're afraid to say his name." They reluctantly nodded their head in acknowledgement but didn't say anything else.
The Divination tower was much different without Trelawney's strange influence. Rather than looking like a mix between a person's attic and a tea shop it looked like an actual classroom. There was one table in the middle of the room with four Crystal Balls in front of each chair. A teacher's desk sat at the front of them, and portraits were all around them. They all took a seat wondering if they'll actually learn.
Professor Hufflepuff walked in and took a seat at her desk. She turned toward them and asked, "So, how much do you know about Divination?"
"Not much really, our teacher was more interested in telling us how we were going to die than actually learning how to predict any sort of future," Ron told her. "In fact, Harry and I were able to fake our entire year's worth of homework just by coming up with horrible ways to die."
"She's a right old fraud," Hermione added huffily. Professor Hufflepuff looked absolutely aghast at their explanation of Professor Trelawney.
"Well dears, my Divination class shall not be like that. You will not be able to fake your way through this class—" She gave a sharp look at Harry and Ron that instantly reminded him of Mrs. Weasley. "So, do not even think to try." They nodded mutely.
"Good, now that that's out of the way, let's start class. Divination is in fact one of the most difficult classes to learn. One is because True Seers are extremely rare and the other is that you must be open-minded about what you predict.
There are actually three levels of Seers. The first is Dream Seers, those who can see the future in dreams. Even muggles have Seers who have this ability. Many Dream Seers do not remember their dreams and experience a case of déjà vu when their dreams come to pass.
The Second is Magical Seers, that's all of us. Every magical person has some capacity to predict the future. Though they are usually some insignificant things, usually stuff that can be passed off to mere coincidence; we will be learning how to harness this ability. You may be able to predict things that will help you even a little, such as predicting a pop quiz.
And, lastly are True Seers, extremely rare Seers. This type of Seer can say full prophecies depending on how much they learn about their Inner Eye. A True Seer who doesn't truly understand their ability will be unable to remain aware of the prophecies they've seen while one who had done everything to learn will know everything. It is in fact my belief that Fate from the story The Tale of the Left Alone Brother and Death from A Tale of Three Brothers are actually True Seers seeing into the future."
The four of them were in awe, none more than Harry and Ron who realized that they had just learned more in that one speech than they had with two years of Trelawney. Hermione was very glad that this class wasn't going to be rubbish this time, but a question came to her mind. She raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Granger?"
"Professor you said that 'This type of Seer can say full prophecies depending on how much they learn about their Inner Eye', right?" At Professor Hufflepuff's nod of affirmative Hermione asked, "But, what is the Inner Eye?"
"The Inner Eye is the eye of your mind. In other words, it is a part of your brain to use your magical energy to actually allow your eyes to see to see so powerfully that they can predict something that happens. It then sends that image to your mind and the part that allows you to interpret what you see can be interpreted by your Inner Eye.
Each Seer type has a type of Inner Eye. A Dream Seer has a nearly closed glazed eye, a Magical Seer has an eye that is half way open, and a True Seer has a fully opened eye. You must understand that these are just representations that make it easier for you interpret it you don't actually have a third eye inside your head.
Now a True Seer's Inner Eye is slightly different than the other two types because the pupil is different depending on the True Seers training. One with absolutely no training, a True Seer who cannot say prophecies but can randomly predict future events, has a blank pupil. This type of True Seer is no better than a Magical Seer.
The next is a True Seer with a little training, one that may have the abilities to say prophecies but may only speak one or two in their entire lifetime if left at that, will have a glazed eye. The glazed eye represents that this Seer will not be able to remember that he or she has actually made a prophecy.
The last is a True Seer that has mastered his or her training, they cannot control their prophecies but will remember all of them, have a normal eye. It is very difficult for one to get to this point it may take twenty to a hundred years to master."
So that's what that crazy old bat has been blabbering about all last year, Ginny thought. She wondered though how they were going to find out what their Inner Eye looked like; she asked Professor Hufflepuff just that.
"It is a cross between a technique known as meditation and using your crystal ball. By learning to meditate you will be able to channel your magic properly into the crystal ball. The crystal ball will sense that your magic is trying to reveal the picture of your Inner Eye and will show that.
As you improve with the crystal ball you will be able to see memories in the ball, although not as clearly as you would in a pensive. The next step is seeing good or bad omens of the future that are actually quick images of the future, but can't show more than the most distinct pictures. And, the last step is seeing a full picture of the future, but it will only allow you to see something that is one to two days away."
As Professor Hufflepuff called the end of class telling them that they had to write two rolls of parchment based on the type of omens that may appear in crystal balls for homework they never felt like they enjoyed a Divination Class so much. Harry found it a bit strange coming out of the class without hearing that he was going to die and actually learning something.
They headed to the Great Hall for lunch and Harry once again couldn't help notice the empty feeling. On the other hand, at least he didn't have to deal with Draco Malfoy, his Slytherin archenemy, this year. Ron ate lunch as he ate breakfast, like it was his last meal. Ginny was eating similarly except she somehow managed to keep her table manners. Harry decided that it must be a Weasley thing since he saw the twins eat like that at the feasts back in their time. Hermione finished simply enough and wrote something down in what looked like a small book.
"What are you writing Hermione?"
"I decided to keep a journal cataloguing the events going on around us, you know sort of like Anne Frank's Diary."
"Dat's a goob ibea Kehmeove," Ron spoke up with a mouth full of food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Ronald," she snapped at him. "But, thank you."
"You know what, I think all four of us should do this," Ginny said. "That way if anyone ever reads these, they will have four perspectives."
"I'm not really sure about how to write an entry though," Ron confessed.
"Here you guys can read my first entry. We should keep these separate from each other until we finish this journey though. That way we'll be able to write our more private thoughts," Hermione said taking her little brown book back out. "Here, read."
August 2, 930 A.D. 12:00 noon
Well, I am keeping this journal to catalogue the journey of my trip through time with my friends Ronald "Ron" Weasley, Harry Potter and Ginvera "Ginny" Weasley. We landed in the past when the four Hogwarts Founders, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, first opened Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We couldn't understand a word they said as they were speaking in Anglo Saxon. Luckily, I learned a translation spell last year so I could speak to my Yule Ball date, Viktor Krum, in his native language.
After the shock of seeing the Founders in person wore off, I explained our situation and we headed off to the library. I eventually found a book that mention a stone that said "Destiny", "Time" and "Fate" (the only three words that Harry saw on the stone that brought us back in time) on it; the book was titled The Tale of the Left Alone Brother. It was a sequel to child's tale called The Tale of the Three Brothers, and was about a stone left by Fate herself. The story about Fate and Death may just be a mere child's tale, but it seems the items are real. So, we will be in this time period for an entire year.
We had our classes today, and both morning classes were handled by Lady Hufflepuff, Herbology and Divination. Herbology was nothing more than a review, but I actually learned something in Divination today. It seems there is more to it than what that batty old fraud Trelawney was "teaching" us in our Third Year. Learning about the three different Seers, Dream Seers, Magical Seers and True Seers, what the Inner Eye really was and how we'll be able to actually use a crystal ball was great. I'm looking forward to my afternoon classes, Potions with Lord Slytherin, and Wand and Wandless Lore with Lady Ravenclaw. Hopefully, Lord Slytherin will not be overly biased like Professor Snape is because it would be great to actually learn something in Potions as well. It is very frustrating to me that most of what I learned in Potions was done by me with text books.
I have to go; Harry's looking at me weirdly. Hey maybe they'll write their own journals. After all, Lord Gryffindor was kind enough to go into Hogsmeade last night and buy our school supplies, and I know he bought all of us a journal.
Hermione Jean Granger
"Get it?" When everybody nodded she put the book back and went back to eating lunch.
The Potions classroom was a lot homier than it was in Harry's time. It was still in the dungeon and still didn't have the best light, but a classroom without Snape and his seriously messed up pickled animal parts was an extreme improvement. Professor Slytherin beckoned them towards the front of the classroom and told to take a seat at the front tables.
"Today, we shall be making De-aging Potion or Shrinking Solution as it's called." Everyone nodded and made to put away their wands but Professor Slytherin stopped them, "What are you doing Mr. Potter?"
"Uh—"
"Very articulate Mr. Potter. Now can you explain to me why you are putting your wand away?"
"Because, at least in our time, we don't use our wands for brewing potions." Professor Slytherin scowled at him.
"Okay, listen up my students; it seems that in your time an essential part of potions has been forgotten. Potions are of the only magic that muggles and squibs can actually do. It does not take much magical energy to produce a proper potion. However, what's special about a witch and wizard is that they can increase a potion's potency.
Take for instance a Changing Potion or Polyjuice Potion which only last an hour when brewed by a muggle or squib, but by stirring the potion at certain times with your wand you can cause the potion to last two hours instead.
And, while we are at it, let me remind you to experiment at times with your potions. You never know when you might find a more effective solution to brewing a potion."
They nodded and followed the directions, dipping their wands into it every now and then. Ginny actually stirred her potion counter-clockwise three times and then clockwise once with her wand at some point. Harry found he was much better at potions than he thought he was now that he didn't have Snape glaring daggers at him and trying to get a rise out of him. It seems that potions are Ginny's forte though; she somehow managed to brew her potion in half the time it took to brew his.
"Miss Weasley, your Shrinking Solution is very well done and finished so quickly, can you explain to me how?" Professor Slytherin asked with sincere interest. Harry was honestly surprised at how likable Salazar Slytherin turned out to be now that he was meeting him in person.
"I thought it would be more effective to stir my potion around with three counter-clockwise strokes rather than seven clockwise stirs sir," Ginny explained to him. "That seemed to also add a greater potency to the potion as well giving it a slight glow."
"Very well done Miss Weasley, five points to Hufflepuff. Class dismissed."
Professor Slytherin assigned them a roll of parchment for homework about why Bezoars aren't always the most effective way to cure a poison.
"Well, who knew I could like Potions?" Ron asked laughing.
"Not me," Harry said. "It's really starting to feel strange enjoying all of my classes so much."
"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "Not having to deal with that ferret Malfoy or his cow Parkinson."
"I don't have it so bad since I have Potions with Ravenclaws," Ginny laughed and Harry, Ron and Hermione scowled. It was a known fact that Ginny's class got lucky, and got to have most of their classes with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs rather than Slytherins. "But, I'm a lot better at Potions than I thought I was."
"Yeah, you're really good Gin," Harry told her. That's when he realized something, "Hey! You're talking to me!"
"Hey, you're right Harry! What happened Ginny?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"She got a boyfriend," Hermione told them and they looked incredulous.
"What? WHO?" Ron yelled.
"Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw in our year."
"I remember him, I hate him." Ginny rolled her eyes at him. Though she still felt bad for getting with Michael since the only reason she got with him was so that she could relax around Harry. She doesn't know what it is about Harry, but she just can't stop liking him no matter how much she tried to move on. It's ironic, the more she realized that he wasn't like the legendary Boy-Who-Lived, the more she liked him. But, he likes Bloody Cho Chang and not her. Yet.
"Enough about who Ginny's dating Ron, she's not a little kid. She can make decisions for herself or do you not trust her?" Harry asked. When Ron remained silent Harry's eyes widened, "You don't! You don't trust her!"
"Ronald! What is wrong with you? How could you not trust your own little sister?" Hermione exclaimed and Ron mumbled something. "What did you say Ron?"
"The Chamber of Secrets," Ron said and everyone froze. "The last time I left Ginny to make decisions to herself she got possessed by You-Know-Who, how can I still trust her judgment after that?"
"I-I was only eleven years old Ron!" Ginny said trying to convince him as much as she tried to convince herself. "Michael isn't like that anyway!"
"And, how do you know that Gin?" Ron asked forcefully.
"Well for one, Michael is a Ravenclaw, not a Slyth—"
"Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor Gin, people can be treacherous in any House," Harry told her. "And, there are other ways a boy can be problematic for a girl."
"But, he's really nice!"
"So, Tom was too!" Hermione reminded her. She was the one who convinced her to start dating, but she can tell that she needs to do some damage control. "When I told you to try dating other guys I didn't mean for you jump head first into a relationship! What do you even know about Michael besides that he likes Quidditch and is in Ravenclaw?"
"Uh…" Ginny answered back intelligently.
"You know that you're a very beautiful young lady Gin, and many guys will want to go out with you," Harry said missing her blush and pleased smile. "But, just as many will want to take advantage of you, so just learn more about why you like this Michael bloke and what he likes about you, okay? You'll do that for me right Gin?"
She nodded her head, although she already knew what she liked about Michael. She decided to date him because she felt she needed to date other people in order to get more comfortable with Harry and he complimented her. He was also very handsome and not very much like Harry. She was also sort of hoping that Harry might get jealous if he heard that she had a boyfriend. She realized that she is basically stringing Michael along but she just couldn't help it, she likes Harry a lot. She had a crush on him since she first saw him at King's Cross Station shyly asking her Mum about how to get on the platform. He had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, in the year she was stuck at the Burrow by herself they were the only thing she could think about.
Unfortunately, he being the Harry Potter left her completely star struck. She couldn't speak in front of him the entire summer before her first year at Hogwarts, and then that stupid diary started possessing her. What she did remember of her first year was that every time she saw him he was less and less like her story book character and more like a real person. By the end of the year she really knew that Harry Potter wasn't the Harry Potter, but she felt even more infatuated with him.
And, then he saved her life from a twenty foot snake, and she fell even harder. He wasn't the Harry Potter, but he still risked his life for her. The more and more she knew about him, the more she loved him. But, he had to meet that damned Cho Chang and fall for her. Here she was without a date for a Yule Ball and he asked Cho Chang who was already with Cedric. Then Neville had to ask her only for Harry to finally think of asking her. So, she decided to get with Michael who seemed to like her at the Yule Ball. She's been trying to like Michael and move on, but she knows it's impossible. One compliment from Harry and she felt as if her entire body had butterflies in it.
As Ron and Harry walked ahead talking about Quidditch Hermione fell back to talk to Ginny. "So, Harry now thinks you're very beautiful, what do you think of that?" Hermione asked her smiling cheekily as Ginny blushed.
"It-it was nice to hear, Hermione it's not working! I just can't over Harry," Ginny said.
"I didn't tell you to get over Harry, I told you to learn how to relax around him," Hermione reminded her.
"Well, I did that; I think it's time to break up with Michael though. I'm just stringing him along," Ginny said and then added, "Like you did with Krum."
"Viktor was very nice and I actually tried to like him. I even kissed him once, but I couldn't do it either," Hermione said sadly. "I guess when we fall for someone, we plummet."
"Hey, Hermione, Ginny, what is taking you so long?" Ron asked and Hermione looked away flustered. Ginny on the other hand…
"We were just talking about what this new class is going to be like," She said lying through her teeth.
"Oh yeah, to actually be able to use wandless magic is going to be great," Ron said enthusiastically.
Harry, Ron and Hermione felt very strange, the class just happened to be in the third floor corridor where Fluffy was posted to guard the Philosopher's Stone. Looking around Harry noticed that the trapdoor wasn't there. It seems that it was added later; though he has no idea if it was Professor Dumbledore or some other time.
"Welcome to Wand and Wandless Lore… is something the matter Misters Potter and Weasley? You as well Miss Granger?" Professor Ravenclaw asked.
"It's a bit strange for us Professor, you see in our first year the teachers were hiding a very valuable object in the school from a madman. In the corridor that this classroom is, they had a giant three headed dog named Fluffy guarding it. It was actually the first obstacle in a series of them," Ron told her.
"And, you would know this why?" Professor Ravenclaw asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because these three decided they had to stop this madman that was working with a very Evil Wizard," Ginny said shaking her head at them.
"Evil Wizard? Is this the same what that you mentioned wants to kill you with something called 'Death Eaters'?"
"Yeah, his name is Lord Voldemort and Death Eaters are his followers. He caused a war for eleven years until his killing curse rebound on him and he lost his body. He possessed one of our teachers, and the item was going to bring him back.
We couldn't let that happen, but the teachers didn't believe us, we were only eleven and twelve year olds after all, so we decided to stop him ourselves," Harry explained.
"Yeah, by getting through obstacles that most grown wizards couldn't get through," Ginny added much to their embarrassment. If there was one thing that Ginny found hilarious was how difficult it was for the entire trio to accept any type of compliment.
"Ah, I see, would you like to go to a different classroom then?" Professor Ravenclaw asked.
"No, it's alright Professor, it was just nostalgia. We would like to start the lesson, right guys?" Hermione asked them and got confirming nods from everyone.
"Alright then… as Miss Granger told me yesterday, you four cannot use wandless magic. In this time period, that is very strange for your age. You see, while wands are used we only use them for dueling and very complicated charms. But, spells like simple transfigurations are done wandlessly.
It is actually an advantage to use your wand very little. You see wands have a magical core and when using a spell you must fill the core with your magic and enough to do the spell. This means that using your wand causes you to use more of your magical energy than needed.
An advantage of using a wand though is that it boosts the effectiveness of your spells, that's why more complicated spells are used with a wand. More complicated spells would use much more energy without a wand because they would require you to send magic all through your body. With a wand, you have a focal point in which you can release the energy to create the spell.
Simple transfigurations, like turning a splinter into a needle, can be done wandlessly because the little amount of magic needed will allow you to focus it into your finger or hand like that has become your wand.
In other words, more powerful magic would require use of your entire body to perform the spell which would possibly exhaust you while simple magic needs only a finger or hand to perform the spell. With a wand, a more powerful spell will work because you can fill its core to substitute filling your body, and the amount it takes to fill the core is significantly less than the amount needed to fill your entire body. It is also much quicker. Now, with simple spells it becomes the amount of magic added to the amount needed for the core. Any questions?"
As Harry expected, Hermione's hand shot straight into the air, "Yes Miss Granger?"
"Professor I was wondering if you could explain magical energy and magical cores? They are only briefly mentioned where we are from and most of the information about them had been destroyed over two hundred years before."
"Very well then; magical cores are the source in your body that all magic comes from. Every living creature actually has them. muggles, squibs, wizards, witches, goblins, elves, and so on and so forth; what makes wizards and witches special is that when born their magical core had connected with your body and have a large crack to allow magical energy to be extracted. As they grow older their magical cores shell eventually breaks completely away. This happens at the age of seventeen and it is then that they can use their magic to its fullest potential. I should mention that the shell normally is half dissolved by the age of eleven and that is when a witch or wizard can start using controlled magic. Accidental magic is your body trying to destroy more of your shell in time for your eleventh birthday.
Now some muggles may be born with larger cracked cores than normal, but never dissolve, these muggles are the ones that can be Dream Seers. A squib's core has a small crack just like a muggle. Goblins are born with a fully opened core from birth and that's one of the reason that they fight a lot, too much power goes to their head. Elves are born with two magical cores and that's why elf magic can override other magical creatures' abilities.
Wands have a core of their own, and use creatures, unicorns, dragons and phoenixes normally, to respond to your magical energy. Each wand is special in its own way because of how tuned to your magic must be to it for it to properly fill the core. An unfit wand requires you to fill the core, use the amount to start the spell and use enough to break through the magical barriers to use the spell. That's why using someone else's wand will never work as well as your own, it will exhaust you. It also takes conscious thought to release enough to break through the barriers which will ruin the spell.
Magical energy is the energy that is in the core of your body. Every spell you do requires a certain amount of magical energy. This is why it's essential to know the theory behind spells. If you know how much energy you have to use it make learning and using the spell much easier. Do you understand now?" They all nodded in confirmation though Ron a bit slower than the others.
"Good, the first step to using wandless magic is to locate your magical core and be able to feel your magical energy. A person's magical core is in different location all over your body, so you will not always be able to locate it at first. In order to find it you must meditate and relax your mind; this is not an easy task as you must stop all conscious thought and rely only on subconscious thought. Now please do as I do."
Professor Ravenclaw sat on the floor and crossed her legs. She placed her hands in front of her stomach having them form an upside down triangle and closed her eyes. They tried to follow her example but were having some difficulties. Hermione, who was always thinking, found it difficult to relax her mind for even a moment. Ron, as he is impatient, was slowly becoming frustrated. Ginny was not one to stay still for long periods of time kept fidgeting. Harry though was actually doing very well, but his impatience was slowly getting the better of him. Before he lost his concentration though he did manage to see a green light, but he couldn't tell the exact location.
"That was a good job you lasted longer than I did on my first try. Well, that's all for today; I want you to write a roll of parchment on magical cores and how they different from person to person."
Hermione had never enjoyed a day at Hogwarts as much as she had today. With all she learned, no harassments from Malfoy or Snape, and actually being taught by the Founders. She always liked books and learning, but this year seemed like the best year she would have at a school since she went to primary school. But, that didn't matter right now because she was enjoying dinner (at least when she avoided looking at Ron). Ginny was being strangely quiet though.
"Hey you guys," Ginny started and got everyone's attention. Well everyone but Ron's, but Hermione took care of that by whacking him on the head. "I think we should write books about subjects we learn about as well as a journal."
"Wha? Why?" Ron asked still appalled at doing so much extra work.
"Well, look at all we learned just today. I know you've learned a lot more today in Divination than you did in two years with Trelawney. We could really help teach some of the forgotten art when we get back home," Ginny said.
"That's a great idea Gin, but we should wait until we had all our classes before assigning writers for each subject," Harry said and she did an internal jig. "This way we can determine who is the best at what subject."
"But, how are we going to take them with us? Or, anything we get here for that matter?" Ron asked surprising everyone. Maybe going back in time got his brain jumpstarted, everyone thought.
"I dunno," Harry said. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"That does indeed sound like a problem," Professor Gryffindor said with obvious mirth. It was like he was making fun of them…
"You wouldn't happen to have a solution to our problem would you Professor Gryffindor?" Harry asked narrowing his eyes in suspicion. From what Ron told him about his walk to Gryffindor Tower with Professor Gryffindor was that he was a very jovial man. Ron even suspected that he may prank them before the year is over.
"Me? Oh no, I have no way of helping you," he said smiling in merriment. Harry suddenly remembered when Dobby came to warn him about the attacks that would be taking place that year and how he couldn't go back to Hogwarts.
"Hang on — this hasn't got anything to do with Vol — sorry — with You-Know-Who, has it? You could just shake or nod," he added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.
Slowly, Dobby shook his head.
"Not — not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir —"
But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint.
But, it turned out to be Tom Riddle, Voldemort's real name. Maybe it's the same thing with Professor Gryffindor. Not him by another name, but he knows someone who can help them.
"Professor, you wouldn't happen to know someone who can help us would you?" Instantly Professor Gryffindor's smile turned into a scowl. He obviously expected them to squirm a little longer.
"Damn Slytherins always being cunning enough to see right through me," he said in exaggerated sadness. "Rowena thought you four might do something like this so she decided to give you this."
He handed them a little brown sack to each of them, and Harry was wondering if Professor Ravenclaw had lost her mind. "They have an undetectable expansion charm on them," he explained. "With these you should be able to fit everything you gain in them. We actually used these four sacks to carry every item we placed in Hogwarts."
"This is brilliant!" Hermione said excitingly as Professor Gryffindor walked away. "With these we can store everything we buy or receive over this journey! Who knows how long we'll be? Imagine all we could learn! Imagine all we could teach!"
"Yeah, great; listen I'm heading back to the common room. I'll see you tomorrow?" Ron said getting up sulkily and everyone nodded.
"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked.
"We could be from home a long time, away from our family," Ginny explained. "He's going to miss them."
"Oh," Hermione and Harry said together. "Well, look how late it is already, I'm heading back as well. See you at breakfast." Hermione and Ginny nodded as Harry headed towards the dungeons.
He had forgotten about the Weasleys in his excitement; Mrs. Weasley must be beside herself after they disappeared, but if that story is true than Ron, Hermione and Ginny are supposed to help him defeat Lord Voldemort. Why does it have to be him though? Why is it always him? Harry groaned at this, he just wanted to be normal. But, he can't be as long as Voldemort is around. Until Voldemort is gone he cannot escape his fame or the Dursleys.
"Enough of these pity talks," he told himself. "Fate sent me and my friends back in time to help, and I can't let her down by acting like a bigger prat than Percy." Satisfied with his personal pep talk he decided to do his homework.
After working for three hours, and deciding that he is never doing homework without Hermione again, he decided to write an entry into his journal.
August 2, 930 A.D., 10:00 P.M.
The afternoon classes went surprisingly well. Professor Slytherin explained why a Wizard needs a wand for Potions. Apparently, a wand makes a potion much more potent than without it. It seems that Ginny is very good at Potions when Snape isn't teaching. In fact, all four of us are surprisingly good, but Ginny is by far the best. She even improved a De-aging Potion or Shrinking Solution today.
I think it might be a female red head thing. According to Ron, his Mum was very good at Potions, and according to a rumor he heard, my Mum was one of the very best at Potions. I should ask Hermione about that.
Speaking of Ginny I hadn't realized until today but she's talking in front of me now. She used to run away whenever I used to as much as walk in the room. It turns out she got a boyfriend in our time. Some bloke name Michael Corner from Ravenclaw. Speaking of Ravenclaws, I wonder how Cho's feeling. She dated Cedric Diggory last year, but Cedric was killed by Voldemort last year because I let him take the Cup. I should have taken it like he told me too, but I had to be noble. I should've known it was a trap. I've known all year that someone was trying to kill me and instead I led someone else to their death. Anyway, I really like Cho. She's very pretty, good at Quidditch and strong spirited. Her beautiful re, er, black hair looks to be as smooth as silk. I really wanted to take her to the Yule Ball last year, but she already had a date. Nevi, I mean Cedric was very lucky.
Well, anyway, we also started our lessons about wandless magic. We learned about our magical cores and magical energy. It seems before we can do wandless magic we must be able to find our magical cores. The others didn't manage to see anything at all, but I saw green light. I wonder if that was my magical energy or magical core.
Well, Ginny came up with this great idea of writing books of what we learn while we're here. We didn't have anything to carry them around with us though. Luckily, Professor Ravenclaw had a solution for that. She had these magically expanded sacks for us to carry around, and we can just keep everything there. These sacks apparently had a lot of space because according to Professor Gryffindor they used them to bring all of the items in Hogwarts to the school with them. We're going to choose who's writing which book at the end of the week after we had all of our classes.
I had forgotten about how much Ron and Ginny are going to miss their family. We don't even know how long we'll be gone. I'm going to apologize to Mrs. Weasley when we get back though.
Harry James Potter
Harry put his journal into the sack and went to sleep for the first time in ages enjoying a good night's rest.