A/N: Finally started writing a new chapter. Hope to get a few hundred words written every day from now on, I've got a Chromebook which should help massively. Writing on a tiny little tablet was taxing on the run.

It seems the school year may be a bad time of year for me. Perhaps it's the firsties coming through, perhaps it's the chill of the season - either way, I've had bronchitis and pneumonia within the past month. It really isn't quite nice.

Chapter 9: Waking and Preparations

There were not many experiences Harry would classify as horrible, after all, he'd seen how bad things could really get; but when he finally woke up from a magically-induced week-long coma he knew it was something to definitely add to the list. The fact that he even had a list pointed to how shitty his life could get.

As soon as he uttered a sound similar to a dying seal, a ray of happiness shone through all the unpleasant feelings.

"Harry?" Hermione said, doubting she had actually heard him say something after a week of silence.

The boy emitted another strangled grunt. He strained to say something coherent, uttering something like, "Ah ew."

"Water?"

He nodded slowly. She filled a cup with the liquid and put it to his lips, where he drank greedily. After a moment he coughed and spluttered, spilling the water on himself.

"Ah, jeez, what a foul taste," he rasped, "What kind of potions did she give me?"

Now it was Hermione making weird noises. Somewhere between sobs of relief, disbelief, and anger, she choked out, "Potions? You've been dead to the world for a week and you're worried about the taste of potions?" she laughed deliriously.

"Wow, I'm not sure whether to kiss you or smack you. You're so noble and brave and- ugh, Harry! You could have-" she calmed herself, taking a moment to regain her composure. "Harry, you nearly died. Dumbledore said-" she choked with emotion, her composure gone again, "Dumbledore and the Hat figured that the kind of magic you used could have destroyed the castle. That's how strong it was."

"Er… Wow. At least we're both alive?" he placated to little effect.

Hermione conceded that. "Yes, we're both alive, but it was extremely dangerous and very dumb."

Harry set his jaw. He knew it had been dumb. He knew he could have died. But if he hadn't, she would have died. She did die! That was something he simply couldn't agree with, and from somewhere inside of him he got the words to stop it from happening. Still, she was right- it was dangerous and dumb. Now that he'd started to be a little more coherent, he realized that the same whatever that had told him the words to say had also taken his oath seriously. It narrowly avoided taking all of his magic. He knew that at an instinctual level, like a prey animal who had escaped from the jaws of a beast.

He sat up and took Hermione's hand in his. "It won't happen again, then. Not you, not me- nobody we know is going to die. I promise."

A few stray tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks as she put her arms around Harry, hugging him tightly. It had been the worst week of her life, even worse than when she'd gotten to Hogwarts only to find that being a witch didn't make others like her. She dried her tears with the edge of a sleeve, sniffling a little but otherwise contained a little more.

Pomfrey, meanwhile, was preparing another set of vile vials. Potions didn't drink themselves. Interrupting the couple's hug, she promptly ordered Harry to drink them and eat the food she gave him to wash it down. It was understandably as vile as the first time, but at least the elves made good bacon.

"Cedric and I have been talking about raising your reputation a bit this year. We've both noticed how off and on the wizarding world seems to be about you, so we're hoping to see a change. Viktor and Fleur, they've been good too, helping their classmates understand what happened."

"That's awfully kind of them. Has anyone come to visit?"

"Luna has, along with the twins and the rest of the Scamanders."

"Good to know I haven't been forgotten."

They continued to make small talk as they settled back into each other's presence hand in hand. It was a nice, calming gesture, a way for Harry to get used to being conscious. He felt flighty and sore, likely because he'd been lying in bed for a week.

"Whew, I can't wait to get out of here."

"You know what Madam Pomfrey said, not until lunch. Even then, she said she'd prefer it if you stayed another day so she could make sure you're really fine."

"Yeah, but it's boring and I need to stretch. I've got the worst ache in the-" he stopped at the look from Hermione. "Got it. Lunch. Speaking of which, what time is it? I mean, she gave me breakfast with the potions, and she said not until lunch, but what time is it really?"

"Actually, breakfast was eaten in the Great Hall almost two hours ago. Lunch isn't for another three hours."

Harry groaned, another three hours in bed? On any other day that would've been heaven but not after more than a hundred hours in bed. On the bright side, he had Hermione for company.

It didn't take long for the infamous Weasley twins to show up. In their typical fashion, they informed the two that they'd been in the kitchens for a little extra food and had been told about 'the Great Harry Potter sir is awakes!' Even if Harry thought they were a little crazy, you just had to admire the house elves' enthusiasm.

"We'll go-"

"Spread the word."

In that way, the Weasley twins were similar to elves. Always enthusiastic and full of energy. Loyal to a fault and extremely clever.

In their absence the couple sat in comfortable silence, waiting for the time to pass. Fleur came by to wish Harry well, noting that he seemed healthier - likely due to her Veela ancestry and having a closer connection with magic, sensing Harry's strength.

More interesting was when Ron came by. He seemed noticeably distressed. Fleur's aura came over him and for a moment his eyes glazed over, but much to the surprise of all present he pulled his eyes away from her and focused.

"Harry, I, er… I wanted to apologize for being a prat. It's not right how I've been acting," he said, ears scarlet.

Hermione snorted, but Harry spoke up. "I'm not going to say it's alright, but I think I can accept that apology. I don't know if we'll immediately be best buds again but I certainly won't begrudge your friendship."

Ron's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I get it. I'll, er, leave you two to…" he trailed off, leaving the infirmary.

"Zat was almost impressive. Per'aps 'e iz not as much of an imbecile as I thought," Fleur said, looking mildly annoyed. Harry supposed being ignored by someone might be slightly unsettling when you're used to being the center of attention.

"I'm not so sure about that," grumbled Hermione, understandably more upset with Ron than Harry was. "The idea of being chosen by him and not being allowed to date anyone else - the nerve!"

Fleur bid them farewell and began to walk out, bumping into Cedric along the way - Harry wasn't sure if it was just his imagination but he was sure he saw her cheeks turn red. Perhaps something would come of that, he'd be sure to keep an eye on that.

Cedric, on the other hand, seemed to be flushed for a totally different reason. He leaned over, breathing heavily. "Harry," he gasped, "Hermione, they're coming, the school-" he took a long breath. "The Weasley twins got it out that you're fine and now they're all coming to see him."

Harry laughed. "Madam Pomfrey is going to have an aneurysm,"

o0O0o

Meanwhile, in a dark classroom not far from the infirmary, a meeting of undoubtedly mischievous intent was taking place.

"Alright, Peeves, we've got a proposition."

"Yes, ickle pranksties?"

"See, our mate Harry's been having a rough time of it.

"So we'd like you to leave him alone for a bit."

"And what does Peevesies get out of it?"

The red-cloaked heads turned to each other and then to the bag between them. Opening it, they allowed the poltergeist a peek inside.

"Dungbombs, 200 of them. This cost us quite a bit, so use them well."

Peeves cackled and took the bag in his ethereal hand. "Yes, this will do."

"Oh, and one last thing - we've told everyone about Harry, he's just woken up. There should be a sizeable crowd going towards the infirmary right about now," they spoke in unison, the ghost zooming off the find said victims.

"Say, brother of mine, why do we have the cloaks?"

"You suggested them, didn't you?"

"Nope, it must've been you."

"Peculiar."

o0O0o

The disaster that would have happened at the infirmary was averted, luckily, by a surprise attack from a mischievous spirit. Filch was absolutely furious, threatening to hang the perpetrators by their toenails, shouting horrible things about the Weasley family.

After a brief lunch - Harry didn't have much of an appetite, and being constantly bothered by classmates for all manner of reasons was annoying - Harry decided to visit Hagrid. Hermione, despite itching to go to the library, went with him, "There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight, are you kidding?"

And so the pair went, ambling towards the gamekeeper's hut. The smell of Autumn was heavy in the air, leaves turning a vibrant array of colors as they withered. Harry smiled as he walked, the open air was nice. Being mobbed by people, especially after being kept in bed for hours, was suffocating.

A thin trail of smoke split the sky as they approached the hut, a welcome sight; Scotland wasn't quite the warmest place to take a walk. They knocked on the door and heard heavy footsteps before Hagrid opened the door.

"Harry, Hermione! Come in, it's grea' to see ya!" he boomed cheerfully, "The headmaster 'n I were jus' talkin' about ye!"

The two were ushered in and wrapped in a bone-crushing hug by the titanic man, then sat at the table with a rock cake and tea. Dumbledore was there as well, eyes twinkling in amusement for some mysterious reason as normal. Shockingly, it appeared he'd somehow managed to make the rock cakes edible - their surfaces were hard, but not quite rock solid. Taking a bite, Harry was disappointed, they may be less solid but they were no tastier.

"Harry, it's good to see you up and about. You as well, Ms Granger, staying at his side for a week can't be awfully good for your health."

The four engaged in light conversation for some time before the topic of Harry's magic came up. "Harry, my boy, does anything feel different than it did before your, ah, heroics, I suppose they could be called."

"Well, my muscles are a little tight from being in a bed for a week, but otherwise I haven't noticed anything."

"I apologize, perhaps I should have been more specific. Your magic, Harry."

Harry looked confused for a moment, then focused. His occlumency practices seemed a little stale, but he calmed his mind enough to feel his core. All of his focus fell apart in less than a second. His eyes widened and Dumbledore nodded.

"I would think so. You see, the Sorting Hat, as we discovered, is much more than a sorting hat. When you were unconscious he requested that we place him on your head, and when we did, he told us something rather peculiar. Your core has a quirk to it. Now, all wizards and witches learn from a young age that magic is like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets, but you can strain it and damage it permanently. From what we understand, your core not only grows faster but doesn't seem to be damaged."

"Er, headmaster, that's just reminded me of something else the Hat said. He mentioned how Harry may overpower spells at first and I'd like to see if he will," requested Hermione.

"Oh, then it's good ya came ta see me! We could go ou' inta the forest, tes' his spells without bein' seen."

"That's a wonderful suggestion, Hagrid," commended Dumbledore, "Shall we?"

The four stood and followed Hagrid into the woods a ways, stopping in a slightly less forested area.

"I believe it would be smart to start small, in case your spells are stronger than expected. Any proposals for a spell to use?"

"Avis and Oppugno would be fairly safe, I'd say," proposed Hermione

"Commendable indeed," spoke the headmaster as he conjured a fleet of wooden targets for the birds to attack, "Harry, cast at your discretion."

Harry took a deep breath and held his wand in front of him before casting his spells, "Avis!" he shouted, a large murder of impressively sizable emerald-eyed ravens flying from his wand, "Oppugno!"

The conjured birds shredded the simple wooden targets, flocking around them in a cloud of black feathers. Several of the targets were lifted in the air where the birds fought over them, sometimes dropping them.

"Finite," Dumbledore said, dispelling the flock. He turned to Harry, a twinkle in his eye. "That was rather impressive, truly."

Hagrid was dumbfounded. "Blimey, tha's… Tha's somethin', Harry."

Harry barely heard, he was staring at his wand - it was sparking and steaming a little. Even without forcing all of his magic through it, the wand was hot. He wasn't the only one who noticed, either.

"Harry, it appears you may have outgrown that wand. Perhaps you should try a different wand - for the purpose of this test, however, would you be opposed to borrowing mine?"

"Are you sure, sir? I wouldn't want to be presumptuous," Harry said, much to the approval of Hermione.

"Good choice of words," she praised.

"I assure you it wouldn't be any hassle," the Headmaster said, handing his wand to the boy, "But do try not to scuff it."

"I- I won't, Professor."

"Now, perhaps we could try something a little more destructive?" Dumbledore put forward gleefully, hinting at maybe a side to him they hadn't seen. Perhaps everyone liked explosions. "A bombarda, for instance."

Harry took a moment to process everything. Now that he was aware of core's new strength, he realized the dangers of being unpracticed. If he were to attempt a minor spell, he could overdo it and hurt someone seriously. An offensive spell like bombarda could easily kill someone. Taking a deep breath, he pointed the wand at a place far enough away that he was certain nobody would be hurt by shrapnel.

"Bombarda!" he shouted, and the spell pounced forth. Upon hitting the ground about thirty meters away, it detonated.

If Hagrid had been impressed before, now he was positively stunned - there was a crater perhaps four meters across and maybe two deep. The crater itself wasn't the impressive thing, rather the concussive force it had generated. Harry's spell had created an air blast strong enough to strip several trees of their leaves, the intensity of it capable of uprooting the closest trees.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, had an extremely bright twinkle in his eye. "Very good, Harry. I've scarcely seen spells of that calibre, I imagine when you've got your core mastered you'll be quite the force to be reckoned with. Shall we test your defensive spells as well? Afterwards, I'd also enjoy seeing what you can do with transfiguration."

His protego, while very powerful, was less impressive than his other spells, though it may have been simply the physical effects of the other two.

"Now, the transfiguration. First with a wand, then without."

Harry focused, feeling his magic, testing how much he thought it could hold. With a wand, he could probably do something much larger than a simple stone lion. As he began to cast, a form began to take shape, the ground lifting up and the trees bending to become scales. It took almost a minute to form, taxing him immensely, but the scale of it was worth the effort.

A sixty-foot long earthen basilisk rested before them, coiled around itself. Slowly, its head rose into the air, towering over even Hagrid, who looked like was clearly in awe.

"Goo'ness gracious, Harry," the half-giant spoke, looking almost average height next to the beast, "I've never seen anythin' like tha' before."

Meanwhile. Harry leaned against a tree, hunched over. Through his exhaustion he heard the praise of both Hagrid and Dumbledore, but more noticeably he was aware of Hermione's hand on his back.

"Professor Dumbledore, I don't suppose you've brought a pepper-up potion with you?" the girl asked, worried at the state Harry was working himself into. It simply wasn't healthy, and he had just gotten out of a coma.

"No, I don't suppose I have. Had I known you would visit Hagrid and me during tea, I would have." he responded, raising a hand into the air. A flash of fire appeared and he vanished, appearing only moments later with the potion flask in hand. Fawkes, meanwhile, flew over and sat on Harry's head much to the amusement of Dumbledore and the perturbation of Hermione; at least until the bird began to sing. Harry perked up but didn't move, instead allowing the phoenix to finish its song. One peppermint-flavoured potion later and he was in a much better condition.

"Professor Hagrid's assessment of your skill was rather accurate; I've seldom seen such a large transfiguration, myself included. Now, for your wandless talent - something I rather envy, I must say."

"Thank you, professor," Harry said, concentrating for a moment before raising his hands in front of him. Slowly, the air shimmered into the vague form of a small dragon, larger by far than his previous wandless creations though. Focusing harder, the feeling of raw power in the air grew more palpable, coalescing into points along the surface of the intangible drake before a thunderclap echoed and a fully animated stone dragon stood before them. With a twenty foot wingspan, it was considerably smaller than the basilisk but just as impressive.

Harry himself was as impressed as the rest of them, even Fawkes wore an odd expression of surprise. The dragon, meanwhile, collapsed into shards of rock as the basilisk turned to loam.

Dumbledore was speechless. A dragon in itself was a difficult transfiguration for even a master, but to do it wandlessly was unheard of. That, in combination with its size difference from his previous largest wandless transfiguration and the ratio of wand to wandless, was almost unsettlingly powerful. It reminded him of another youthful wizard, the one who became the most feared dark lord in recorded history.

Grindelwald. His unstoppable power came from rituals and the darkest of magic, it was only through quick wit and reflexes that Dumbledore had beaten him. Dark powers had taken their toll on Grindelwald's body, but in Harry, there were no dark powers at work clearly visible. The potential Harry had seemed limitless, which indeed was cause for discomfort.

This was a boy with the power to change the world, for better or for worse. For now, though, he needed guidance - Harry would be a force of the light as he himself had once been.

"I believe we've seen enough for today, my boy. We shall have to look into your wand, and as the First Task is approaching it would be wise to do so with haste. Get some rest, and tomorrow, I think, you should go to Diagon Alley for a visit with Mr Ollivander. I'm sure he'll have some answers for you."

"Of course, sir."

"Er, Professor? Wouldn't Harry require permission from his guardians for that?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Ah, yes, them. Don't worry yourself too much over that, I'll get it sorted out."

Hermione seemed like she wanted a better answer than that, but she didn't continue.

o0O0o

Tumbling through the fire into the Leaky Cauldron earned Harry a few stares. At some point, Harry promised himself, he would learn how to use the Floo system with grace. Grateful, at least, for the glamour, Dumbledore had put on his eyes and scar, he shook himself free of ashes and began the short walk to Ollivander's.

"Ah, Mr Potter! I did not expect you so soon, so I presume you've something to ask?"

"Oh, er… I suppose I do. Has the news of-" Harry looked around to make sure nobody was in the wand shop before casting Homenum Revelio and finding nobody. "Has the news of Draco Malfoy's imprisonment reached the media?"

"It certainly has. They did not, however, release the name of who it was he attempted to murder; something I'm rather surprised of. Both that he attempted to murder someone and that the media kept quiet about who it was he endeavoured to kill."

Harry snorted derisively, "I wouldn't be surprised. Malfoy was despicable."

Ollivander looked down his nose at Harry, somewhat peeved, "Mr Potter, what do you know of the Malfoys? Perhaps, yes, he was spoiled and arrogant, but never murderous. I am good at reading people, child, and Draco Malfoy was not a murderer. It was never in him to do so, but I believe it may have been his father's death that pushed him to his breaking point. His mother was born to the Black family, and madness can often be seen written in their soul."

Paling, Harry remembered a specific member of said family, a member whose contact with Harry was mostly limited to newspapers at the moment. Swallowing, he resolved to send a message to Sirius as soon as he returned to the castle.

The wandmaker looked appraisingly at Harry, seeing his discomfort at the mention of the Black family. Ignoring his feeling that something was deeper than just the person who sold his parents out, Ollivander led Harry to the back of his shop; Harry explaining the predicament with his wand.

"Peculiar. In fact, I've rarely seen a case such as this. Would you be adverse to an examination of your wand as well as performing a spell or two?"

"Er, I don't think I would be, sir. I should probably warn you, though, that I haven't quite mastered my strength yet."

"Whatever do you mean, Mr Potter? Surely you've been in school for long enough to have…?"

"Oh, er," Harry froze, sighing when he realized he'd have to explain his core's growth to the wandmaker, "Well, there was an event that led to my core being depleted. Long story short, I went into a coma and my core grew to about three times its previous size."

Even for his age, Ollivander had heard many stories over the years. He thought he'd seen it all, but never had someone told him about their core changing so dramatically.

"Fascinating. I've never heard of anything like that, in fact. In most cases of an owner needing a new one, it follows a traumatic event or a sudden realization - something that changes who they are. But in your case, it simply can't channel your strength. Now, it isn't unheard of for a young wizard to release far more magic than they intend and damage their wand, but it appears that your raw output is above the capabilities of your wand, though an impressive wand at that."

"Now, as for a wand capable of dealing with strength like that, I'm not sure if an ordinary wand will do the trick. See, Fir or Cypress would normally be one of my first options for a person of above-average power, but in your case, even that might not be enough."

"So, you're saying I might not be able to use a wand without breaking it? Harry said, disheartened slightly. While he was capable of using wandless magic, learning to use it for all of his needs would be difficult.

"Don't be daft, Mr Potter. I am not known as the greatest wandmaker in Britain for my tendency to give up. While experimenting too deeply with wands can be dangerous, I believe it would be safe for you. At the moment, I'm thinking perhaps a wand of two woods and an off-trinity-core would work. Cypress and Elder would balance each other nicely, and I'm almost certain you won't have any difficulties taming the Elder side of it. As for wand cores, I'll have to think."

"When would I be able to get it?"

o0O0o

A/N: I sincerely apologize for any mistakes, errors, and f-ups I make.