A/N: Here comes chapter 9! Enjoy!
Oh, and for those who haven't noticed, I got a new poll in my profile, asking for your opinion on if I should turn this story into a serie, with one "book" per year in school or if I should keep it all in the same story?
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way!
Chapter Nine: A very kneazly surprise!
Monday morning found Harry once again sitting by the Gryffindor table early. After the nightly adventures on Saturday, he had decided that he wanted to relax on Sunday and had mostly stayed in the common room, reading Simple but Unnescesary Spells and giving Ron pointers every now and then for his Transfigurations essay. When most people had went down for lunch he, Ron, Neville and Hermione had gotten together to talk about what in the world Dumbledore could be thinking to keep a Giant Three-Headed Dog in a school. Hermione once again pointed out the trapdoor as the reason and relayed her theory that it was guarding something, which Harry was inclined to agree with. But aside from that, they couldn't really figure out anything more. They had no clue whatsoever could be so important for a school that they would put a beast like that on guard duty so they decided to try and not think about it anymore.
Standing up to go back to the Gryffindor tower to prepare for todays lessons, Harry couldn't help but feel excited. Professor Flitwick had promised that they would get to try their first spell today in charms class. Their entire year was excited at the prospect, but Harry felt that none could be as excited as he was. This was what he had come here for! To learn how to actually perform magic! He met Ron on his way back to the Gryffindor tower and gave him a simple "Good Morning" before continuing on towards their dormitory. When he finally made it back, the first thing he did was open his trunk and pull out the box that contained his wand.
He slowly lifted the piece of wood out of its box and looked it over. It was very well crafted, without as much as a milimeter bulge or crack. The Hollywand had been colored a very deep shade of black from the careful and accurate polish it had been exposed to after its creation. Olivander himself had said it was one of his best creations as of yet. 11 inches long, it contained one single feather from a phoenix, the same phoenix who had supplied the feather for the wand he had sold to Lod Voldemort.
"I believe we can expect great things from you, Mr Potter. Actually, he-who-must-not-be-named did great things. Horrible! Yes... but great!" Olivander's voice came floating back to him. Despite his hatred of the Dark Lord, Harry had to admit that Olivander probably was right. Voldemort must have been an incredibly powerful wizard if his name alone was enough to strike fear into anyone but Uncle Al and a select few others. From what Uncle Sev had told him about his parents' murderer, Voldemort had never lost a single duel in his entire life, which made his demise at Harry's hands even more remarkable. How could he have lost to a baby, when he had never lost to any other witch or wizard ever? Whatever the reason, Harry knew he had to find out. Could that be the "great thing" Olivander talked about? For him to discover the truth about the mystery he himself had created? Was that the reason why Harry's and Voldemort's wands shared the same core?
"The wand choses the Wizard, Mr Potter. Never forget that." Was that the reason why their wands had picked the partners they had? The more he thought about it, the more confused he got but at the same time, he found it greatly fascinating. It sounded like the wands themselves had a mind of their own, as if they might even have their own personality and preferences. Harry held up his own wand for a closer inspection.
"You guys sure are one big mystery, aren't you?" he asked the wand absentmindedly. As if to answer his question, the wand shot out a rain of red sparks from its tip. Harry didn't know if it was a sign or if he simply had gotten so excited that he had let a bit of his magic slip through the wand, but didn't get the time to elaborate further as Neville returned to the dorm just then.
"Hey Harry! Excited to be able to perform magic?" the boy asked when he noticed Harry sitting at the floor, inspecting his wand.
Harry smiled at him and stood up. Neville had seemed a little nervous at the prospect of performing magic so yesterday, Harry had asked him why that was, just after they had stopped talking about the dog. Apparently, Neville hadn't shown almost any sign of magical abilities except one time in his entire life and now he feared that he would be sent back home if he couldn't do any magic.
"Definetely. I can't wait to finally get underway!" he said enthusiastically.
Neville just nodded and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, in which Harry joined him as soon as he had safely put the wandbox back in the trunk and sneaked the wand inside his robes carefully. Once they were done, they sat down at their respective beds just as Ron, Dean and Seamus came back from breakfast. The dormmates struck up a light conversation about what kind of spell they would be asked to perform first. Ron hoped they would get to learn something they could use to use at Malfoy the next time he bited down on them, but Seamus quickly pointed out that magic like that probably would come up in Transfiguration or Defense Against the Dark Arts, as charms were more often focused around practical skills like levitation or summoning, to which Neville said that the levitation charm was a fairly safe bet about what they would do today. The boys kept talking as they made their way down to the common room to wait until their first class of the day started. They wouldn't have charms until in the afternoon.
-:-:-:-
While Harry was working himself up about getting to learn his first spell with his wand, someone else was working themselves up over the progress they had just made with another kind of magic, in another part of Britain. After having spent a week of trying to levitate a feather she had pulled from the back of a chicken (she still had some scratches from the incident), Ginny had finally managed to make it move without touching it or blowing at it. It still wasn't flying, but she had managed to get it to move around on her desk, though she felt very tired now that she had managed it. Ever since she had decided she wanted to learn to control her underage magic like Harry had, she had been working most of her time awake to try and learn how to do it. She had done as her mother had asked and was learning about some spells to use in the house, but she had yet to actually get to try any of them. And whenever she didn't have to do that, she had been either practicing or reading whatever she could find that could help her.
And now finally, she had managed to make some real progress. It may not seem like much to others, but to Ginny this was everything. This was proof. It was proof that it was possible for her to learn to control her underage magic. She had been told all her life that it was impossible to control underage magic and she had always believed it, until she met Harry. He had shown to her that it was possible and had encouraged her to believe she could do it too. And he had been right. If she just practiced enough and kept going at this all she could, she knew she could learn to do it, like he had.
After regaining her breath, she got up and quickly made her way downstairs with the feather in hand. She had to show her mom! Her mom had said it couldn't be done, but now she had proof that it could!
"Mom!" she cried as she entered the kitchen.
The kitchen was empty, save for the sponge that had been magically enchanted to clean out a large saucepan. Ginny looked around, wondering where her mother could have gotten off to. Usually during the morning, she was working in the kitchen.
"Mom?" she called out again as she moved further into the room.
"Ginny? What is it?" came her mother's voice from outside the front door and a seconds later, Molly Weasley came walking inside with a bowl of freshly picked potatoes in her hands.
Ginny couldn't help but jump in excitement as she ran over and grabbed her mother's hand and led her to the table, where she sat her down. Molly looked at her daughter with a very confused look when the small red haired girl took the bowl from her hands and put it away at the sink before coming back and climbing onto one of the chairs to put what appeared to be the feather she had gotten into a chicken fight to get last week on the table. When she gave her daughter a questioning look, Ginny grinned excitedly and pointed at the feather.
"Look at this!" she squeled happily and held out her hand and her face took on a look of utmost concentration.
Molly frowned but did as she was told and looked down at the feather. For a moment, nothing happened, except Ginny's forehead burrowing up in concentration. Molly was just about to ask what it was she was supposed to see when suddenly, the feather lifted slowly off the table. Molly stared as the feather floated over the table, just above the surface and then, to her shock, she realized that Ginny was guiding it along with her hand. After a few more seconds, Ginny's face seemed to relax and the feather fell back against the surface. Her daughter took a moment to regain her breath, then looked up at her mother with a cheeky grin.
"See? I told you it was not impossible."
The Weasley matriarch was stunned to say the least.
"Ginny...? How did you...?"
She knew her daughter had claimed that Harry could control his underage magic and that she wanted to learn too, but in her mind she had never expected her to actually succeed. Of course she had tried to seem encouraging but she had never thought it was actually possible. It shouldn't be, right?
"Harry told me in his last letter that it might be better to focus on getting the object to move instead of trying to get it to fly for a start. He said that it got harder to control the higher over a surface he tried to levitate an object so it would be better to just lift it off the surface just barely and then try and move it around to get used to the feeling. I tried it and it worked!" Ginny seemed delighted at her own success.
And with good reason too, Molly thought as she congratulated her daughter on her achievement. Despite her initial shock over this turn of events and in her own mind, bending of the laws of nature, Molly couldn't help but feel proud of Ginny. She had managed something that none of her brothers had. To be honest, Molly didn't know anyone who she knew for sure had been able to control their underage magic. Well, if she didn't count Harry, and she didn't because she really hadn't more than exchanged greetings with him once. But Ginny did know him, and that had been what had driven her to attempt this. Because Harry had encouraged it. For not the first time since the summer, Molly found herself thankful that Ginny had met Harry in Diagon Alley that day. He really did bring out the best of her.
"Well, this is quite the achievement. I think someone deserves a little reward for her hard work, don't you think?"
Ginny looked up at her mother with a questioning look before realization dawned on her face. With a childish cry of happiness, Ginny flew out of her seat and began jumping in joy.
"Yay! Ice cream!" she squeled happily.
Molly chuckled at her daughter's antics. Some things never changed. Ginny had always had an insatiable hunger for ice cream, in all its many tastes and colors. When they were in town to buy food, Ginny always went to the freezer first, in the hopes of laying her hands on some ice cream.
Just as Molly was about to get up from her chair to walk over to the fridge and get the ice cream out, she spotted something in the sky through the window. It started off as 4 black dots but when it got closer, Molly realized with a start that it was what looked like a flock of owls. 2 large eagle owls were carrying a very large parcel towards her house, with a smaller owl flying beside it!
Realizing that the door was closed and the owls were heading straight for it, Molly flew out of her seat and stumbled over to throw the door open just in time for the owls to fly inside with the parcel. The smaller owl followed close behind and the three birds came to rest on the kitchen table, with the parcel in their middle. Ginny, who had been startled by her mother's sudden movement and almost had fallen on her butt when the owls came flying into the kitchen, shook her head to snap out of her shock and looked over at the owls with a curious look.
"What have you ordered mom?" she asked as she made her way over to study the large box on the table. She had to climb up into one of the chairs to get a good look on it since she was so short.
The box was red in color and had been wrapped in a green gift string. It was big enough to fit a full grown rooster inside with space to spare. At least Ginny thought so. Her mother left the door open so the owls could leave when they had been relieved of their burden and walked over to the table with a frown on her face.
"I didn't order anything." she said with a confused look as she detached the strings that enabled the owls to carry the box.
As soon as they had been relieved of their parcel, the owls flew out through the open door. Molly reached over and pulled the box closer to inspect it. She couldn't make out anything strange with it, so it wasn't one of Fred's and George's joke gifts (they had sent a Hogwarts Toilet Seat during the past week). She felt someone tug at her shirt and looked down to see Ginny's excited face.
"Can I open it? Pleeeeaaase?" she asked with pleading eyes. She had never seen a giftbox this big before.
Looking into her daughter's big brown eyes, Molly melted. She hadn't been able to find anything suspicious about it so she just nodded towards her youngest child and Ginny immediately set to unwrapping the box. Molly watched with a thoughtful look as the wrapping paper came off to reveal a big box from... the Magical Menagerie? Ginny however, only took a moment to look at the box before opening up the top and peek in... and gasp in shock. Worried it might contain something dangerous, they didn't only sell fluffy furballs and owls at the MM, Molly hurried over and pulled the top open to find... a kitten. There, in what appeared to be the bottom of a cat basket, a small black kitten with big green eyes looked back up at them with a curious look.
"Mheow!" it piped up.
"Aww, it's so cute!" Ginny said as she reached inside to scratch it behind the ear. The kitten took a step back when its eyes locked on the approaching finger. Seeing this, Ginny held her hand still for a moment. The kitten looked at the finger curiously and then slowly stalked over and smelled it. As soon as it had determined that the finger wasn't dangerous, it gave it a lick.
Giggling at the touch, Ginny reached inside the box with both her hands and lifted the small cat out of the box and held it close to her chest. The kitten looked around the kitchen with a searching look, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. Scratching it behind the ear, Ginny turned to her mother beaming.
"Can we keep him?" she asked.
She didn't wait for an answer though before she turned towards the table again to see what the third owl had left. Her mother did the same, hoping to get an explanation as to why a delivery from the MM suddenly shows up in her house, containing a kitten.
"But who would... wait a minute, I recognize that handwriting!"
Apparently, so did Ginny because her eyes widened and she quickly freed one of her hands and reached over to open the note that had come with the delivery.
Dear Ginny!
I know you said that you had your hands full with your training to control your underage magic and that you were happy with things the way they are at the moment, but you shouldn't just train. It is exhausting and you got less than a year left before you will get to learn real magic anyway, so you should try and seize the day and play around while you still can, because even after a week, I can tell you that you won't have much time for that here at Hogwarts.
I remember you saying in one of your letters that you didn't have any playmates nearby, so I thought I could get the honor of solving it? My friend Hermione helped me pick out this little fellow. He is a part kneazle. She said they are very intelligent so I figured he would be good at understanding games and things like that. He doesn't have a name yet though so I was hoping that you could name him?
And don't you dare call this charity! I have more than enough money for the both of us so it's only natural I would want to spend some on my best friend! Just try to have a little fun with him, I'm sure he will love you! I'm not saying you should stop training, because I'm sure you can learn control in time, but you should try and do more than that and have fun now that you have a playmate!
Your friend,
Harry
As she read it over, Ginny felt her chest constrict with emotion. This was too much! She had always wanted to have a real pet, even if it only meant inheriting Scabbers from Ron when he got something else. But now, Harry had wasted who knows how much money on buying her her very own pet, a cat on top of that. She loved cats! But at the same time, she felt slightly ashamed. She had been raised to not accept charity like this. Her mother had told her that she shouldn't accept it when people bought her things, just because she couldn't buy it herself. But at the same time, she felt so happy to have her own pet, but that only made her feel more ashamed because she enjoyed Harry's charity. But looking down at the kitten in her arms, she just couldn't bring herself to refuse it. He was so cute! And Harry had said that she shouldn't regard this as charity... Perhaps just this once?
"You know we can't keep him, right?" her mother said.
Hearing her mother's voice, Ginny tore her gaze away from the kneazle and looked up at her.
"Please mom! Just this once? I know I shouldn't accept random gifts like this... I really do, but this is Harry!" she said as she felt her chest constrict even more at the thought of giving up her little kitten. She already felt connected to him.
"A boy you met just last month! I know he seems like a nice boy, but if this is how he makes friends, then perhaps he should learn to make friends the real way first?"
Ginny felt her anger rise at what her mother was indicating. Did she think that Harry was trying to buy their friendship?! No, Harry wasn't like that! They had been friends for... well, just a month but still, they were already best friends! They shared things with each other they didn't share with anyone else! If that didn't count as already being friends, then what did?!
"Harry isn't like that! He wouldn't try to buy me, he knows better! I know him better! We're best friends!" Ginny screamed, her temper flaring.
The kitten in her arms gave off a "mheow!", as if to underline his new mistress' statement. Ginny felt tears of anger threaten to spill over as she looked up at her mother with a defiant look in her eyes.
"You do not speak to me in that tone, young lady!" Molly growled back, her own temper flaring to life.
Ginny grit her teeth as she hugged the kitten tighter in her arms, as if to protect him from her mother and keep him out of arms reach from the woman who wanted to take him away. She felt as if she let go of the kitten and let it get taken away, it would be as if Harry was taken away from her.
"AND YOU SHOULD NOT INSULT MY BEST FRIEND!" Ginny screamed furiously at the top of her lungs. At the sudden increase in volume, the kitten shifted uneasily in her arms, but Ginny held firm.
Molly opened her mouth to give an angry response, but froze half way. What was she doing? Hadn't she thought just a few minutes ago, not to mention for the last month or so, that Harry brought out the best of her daughter? She had been happy that Ginny had found someone to talk to, someone who seemed like he genuiely cared for her and now here she was, trying to undermine and break up that friendship just because Harry had tried to be nice?
"I... I didn't mean it like that." she managed to croak out. Thinking it through, Molly felt shame start to build up in her. Had she really been willing to ruin her daugher's friendship with her best friend, just because she didn't like it when people shared things with her family? The Weasleys had always been poor and even though she would really like to have just a little more money, Molly never once questioned that she deeply loved all of her family. But she was also very proud of herself for being able to raise a family of 7 children with the very limited rescources she and Arthur had at their disposal. And she disliked it when people pitied them because of their economy. But did she honestly believe that pity had been the reason Harry wanted to share something with Ginny?
While Molly was trying to come to term with her thoughts, Ginny had finally given in to tears. She hated crying more than anything because it made her feel weak, but she couldn't help it. She was just so angry, and hurt that her mother had even inclined that she should refuse it when Harry tried to be nice. Sobbing uncontrollably, Ginny began stomping towards the stairs again.
"Ginny, wait!"
Hearing the undertone of pleading in her mother's voice, Ginny stopped when she reached the lowest staircase. Turning to look over her should, she found that her mother had reached out with one hand, as if she had tried to grab her. Her face held a pained look and her eyes were glittering.
"I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just..." she stopped herself half way. She wasn't sure what it was she wanted to say. All she knew is that she wanted her daughter to be happy again. Like she had been just 10 minutes ago, when she had come rushing downstairs to show her progress on her training. And what pained her the most was that she herself had been the reason that Ginny was crying now. "Look, I didn't mean to insult Harry. I just don't want you to like him for the wrong reasons."
Ginny's eyes narrowed. Hadn't she and Harry been best friends for a month before this package had arrived? Hadn't she spent hours on end talking about what a wonderful person Harry was? Hadn't her mother seen them at the station? There had been no gifts then, no packages and no charity... just two friends who was happy to see each other! With a huff, she turned back around and stomped up the stairs towards her room. In her wake was a tearful Molly Weasley, who felt almost as if she had just made the mistake of her life.
-:-:-:-
"One of a wizards most basic skills is levitation. So that is what we will be practising from this day onward." Professor Flitwick stated to his first year class.
Despite his glee at finally learning how to perform spells, Harry couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed that it was an ability he already possessed. He had read up on the levitation charm after he had bought his study books and it sounded pretty much the same as what he could do with his underage magic. But ah well, at least he would get to use his wand.
Professor Flitwick went on to talk about the theory behind the levitation spell before showing them the wand movement that was required. Harry payed close attention, wanting to quickly get the hang of the flick of his wrist and was very careful to try and learn it when they were ordered to try it for themselves. Beside him, Seamus had appeared to be a little bored during the explanation and as a result, his wand movements weren't as well in tune and floating as they were supposed to be. Ron was sitting with Hermione a few benches away, where the bushy haired girl tried to teach him how to flick his wrist the right way. This seemingly was getting on the redheads nerves, but he just kept his mouth shut and tried harder. After 10 minutes of wand waving, Flitwick went on to tell them of the incantation they were supposed to chant while doing the wand flick at the same time. Saying it was time to try to perform the spell, he sent around a basket containing feathers for them to try and levitate.
Harry felt excitement build as he flicked his wand to perform his first real spell.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he chanted. Nothing happened.
He frowned. He had focused his magic the same way he was used to. It had even felt the same way! So why didn't it work?
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he tried again and flicked his wrist a little more distinctly. Still nothing.
After several more tries, Harry was starting to feel cold inside. Had he lost his magic? No, it was still there, he could still feel it. But why didn't it work? He kept on trying and trying, growing more uncertain about his own ability for ever failed attempt. At the end of the lesson, only Hermione had managed to get the spell to work, earning Gryffindor 10 points, and a few had managed to get the feather to move slightly. But Harry still hadn't seen any progress. His feather was still lying flat on the surface of his bench. With a heavy heart, Harry stood up and slowly made his way over to the Professor's desk to give Flitwick back his feather with his head hung down.
"Now now, why the sad face Mr Potter? From what I saw, you did nothing wrong. It is just a matter of practice!" Professor Flitwick piped up when Harry handed the feather back to him.
Looking up at the small Professor, Harry pondered if he should tell him the real reason why he was so disappointed. Surely it couldn't hurt? Perhpaps the Professor could help him to understand why it was so difficult.
"It's not that Professor. I have been able to levitate object since I was a child, but for some reason it just wouldn't work today." he said as he held out his hand to demonstrate.
Without warning, the desk and the pile of books Professor Flitwick was standing on began to float into the air, causing the small man to let out a shout of surprise. Digging deeper into his magic, Harry lifted up a bench from the first row, causing the student that was still sitting there to scream. After keeping it floating in the air for an entire minute, Harry let go of his magical grip and all the object floated back into place. The few students who was still in the classroom gaped at him as he looked back up at his Professor, who was struggling to regain his balance on the pile of books.
"See? It works fine, but for some reason it won't work when I try to use my wand. Why is that?" he asked, hoping the Professor would be able to give an answer.
After regaining his balance, Professor Flitwick turned to look at Harry with a stunned expression on his face. He had heard rumors that Severus claimed that the boy could perform magic at a very young age, but he had never really expected it to be to this extent. But if Harry could do that without a wand, then what was keeping him from doing the same with a wand?
"I'm afraid I don't really know why that may be. I will talk to the other Professors about it." he said, to the young boy's disappointment.
Feeling rather confused and a little let down, Harry made his way out of the room. Outside, he found his friends waiting for him. When Ron asked why he hadn' been able to perform the charm, he answered that he didn't know and that Flitwick didn't either. Hermione and Neville looked confused as to why Ron would expect Harry to get it when no one other than Hermione had done it, to which the two boys went on to explain that Harry could make objects float by using underage magic. When Hermione seemed sceptical, Harry proceeded to levitate her school bag, which contained several books, with a wave of his hand. They kept talking about this very unusual matter the rest of their way to History of Magic class.
-:-:-:-
Dinner that evening was a little strained for Harry. Due to his little show in front of Flitwick at the end of the charms lesson, he found himself victim to more stares than usual. The rumor that Harry Potter had showed "powers like no one else" had travelled like wildfire amongst the student body. Sitting by the Gryffindor table, Harry couldn't help but litterally throw his food down his throat to get out of everyone's sight as quickly as possible. His friends studied him with various degrees of concern wirtten across their faces, except for Ron, who was too engulfed in his own food to notice the many stares his friend recieved.
Harry quickly finished his food and told his friends that he would see them in the common room. Hopefully, he wouldn't attract as much attention there. Hermione and Neville looked worriedly after him as he made his way down the rows of tables. He had just made it to the exit hall when one of the Professors caught up with him.
"Harry!"
The boy in question turned around and came face to face with Severus Snape. Since that first day, he and Uncle Sev had both been busy with the school start, Harry with his homework and studies and Severus with getting to know all his new classes. Seeing his favorite uncle again, Harry couldn't help but smile.
"Hey Uncle Sev!" he cheered.
Severus offered a half smile as he grabbed his young friend's shoulder.
"Why don't we go for a walk?"
Harry nodded eagerly and followed Severus out of the great hall. They struck up a light conversation as Severus led them out onto the school grounds. Harry felt the light night breeze caress his forehead and found the tension from earlier leave his body. When they were half way down towards the forest, Severus decided it was time to get on with what he had wanted to talk about.
"I heard from Filius about your problem in class today."
Initially frowning at that, since he didn't know who "Filius" was, Harry realized that it must be Professor Flitwick's given name. He nodded his head, not sure if he should be ashamed or embarrased or perhaps both. The fact that he hadn't been able to perform a magic with a wand that he could normally do at will without a wand was something that really bugged him. He had spent the lesson in History of Magic to try and figure out what it could possibly be but so far, he had come out empty handed.
"From what he described, you did the correct incantation and wand movements, and yet still failed to perform the magic. Is that right?" Severus continued, studying his young friend with an interested eye.
Harry just nodded again. He wasn't sure why he felt nervous about talking to Severus about this, but he thought it might be because Severus had such high hopes for him and he was afraid this might be regarded as a let down or a failure.
"Well, Flitwick asked me about it and I might have an idea as to why you failed to perform the levitation charm."
Hearing this, Harry looked up. His uncle's voice hadn't hinted at any disappointment or anything of the kind, but rather that he was slightly intrigued at what could be causing this. Seeing that he had the young boy's attention, Severus went on to explain.
"The problem in this case could be your use of underage magic. You think you got this ability down and so you automatically focus your magic in a certain way when you want to levitate something. But at the same time, you try to follow the instructions you are given and do the wand movement and incantation. Those are both elements that are supposed to help guide your magic in the way it is needed in order for the spell to work, but since you already have a certain way of focusing your magic when you levitate an object, it interferes rather than helps."
He paused for a second to see if Harry was still with him. This was a rather complicated theory and it was important that Harry got it all down, because it could become a problem in the future if it was not seen to. Harry had a look of slight confusion on his face, but Severus could see that his brain was working in high gears to process this information. When he got a nod to continue, he went on about what he thought.
"The problem here is that in order to levitate something with a wand, you need to focus your magic in a different way than if you want to levitate something without your wand. The wand is a tool that is supposed to help guide your magic and focus it the right way. In this case, it is supposed to focus on the object for you and help you shape the spell's properties to levitate the object. You on the other hand, is used to focus on the object directly and release your magic around you, from all over your body and engulf the object. It is a natural action that your mind subconciously takes when you try to levitate something. When you try to focus on using the levitation spell with your concious mind, but you subconcious mind releases your magic from all over your body, it interferes with the spell and the magic becomes unfocused."
That was a lot to take in. But for a boy his age, Harry was very intelligent and though he didn't quite understand the reasoning, he was able to pick up on the important parts.
"So... The problem is that I still focus my magic as if I wanted to levitate something wandlessly, while my concious mind is trying to force it to become focused through the wand?"
Severus smiled, seeing that he understood the theory thus far. But, there was some more to it.
"That is the base of this theory yes. But there is also another possibility. Since you are used to releasing your magic all around your body when you levitate something, the amount of magic you call upon is many times higher than what is required to perform the spell with a wand, thus causing the charm to shut down from overloading. Charms in particular are very fragile when it comes to the amount of power used to perform them. If you were to try another spell, for example a high powered curse, it is more than likely you would still manage to cast it, because it would be able to tolerate and in some cases even demand the higher than usual release of magic." Severus finished.
He then gave Harry some time to ponder this, which the boy did the most of. He could clearly see the reasoning behind Severus' theory and felt glad that he at least had something to go on. If this was the case of his disability to use the levitation charm, then perhaps he could train himself to master the charm through another way. He remembered that when he had been learning to control his underage magic and levitate things that way, he had been forced to learn how to focus his magic in a certain way. If the same was the problem here, then perhaps if he could first learn to focus his magic through his wand it would be easier for him to learn the levitation charm?
"So what's the plan?" he asked.
"I am going to try and start teaching you a higher level spell that would normally require more magical power than any first year would be able to muster up. If we just get you more used to performing magic with a wand, you will in time learn to better control your powers and hopefully be able to perform the levitation charm then. It is all about getting used to using your wand and I think we have a better shot at that if we teach you something that won't break from overloading." Severus said as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder again and smiled at him.
Harry felt grateful that Severus had taken the time to analyze his problem and try and help him find a solution. This was way more than he would have been able to guess by himself. And if he was to be honest, he hadn't quite gotten everything Severus had said, but at least he understood most of it and was able to understand what Severus was getting at. He was using too much magic and focusing it the wrong way because he was used to performing magic without a wand. When he then tried to do it with a wand, he put too much power into it and the spell broke down before it left the wand because of overloading itself and being poorly focused.
"Thanks Uncle Sev. I really appreciate it." he said as he grinned up at his favorite uncle.
Severus ruffled his hair affectionately, to the boy's great displeasure, before offering a very serious look.
"You can thank me by performing well in your potions class tomorrow. It would be really bad if I had to fail you." he said as the two of them began making their way back towards the castle.
-:-:-:-
Ginny was seriously contemplating not going down for dinner when her mother called her name. They hadn't spoken to each other since their row that morning. She had spent the entire day in her room, except one visit to the loo and one to the kitchen to get a sandwich to take up to her room for lunch. The little part kneazle they had been fighting over had been excited to get to know its knew surroundings and she had felt content with just watching it darting around her room, sniffing and eyeing everything it was unfamiliar with. The mere thought that the kitten might not be here to stay was eating away at her as she watched it attempting to climb up into her bed with its small paws.
She couldn't believe Harry had actually bought her a pet. Well, it wasn't the first time he had given her something, but this was not just some ice cream or a cheap sweet. She had been to the Magical Menagerie with her mom when they had bought Percy's owl Hermes and she had seen the prices on most of the pets in there. They were way out of what her family would ever be able to afford. Even Hermes had been one of the cheaper owls for sale because of its age. The younger the pet, the more it would cost because it would be alive for that much longer. And cats, particularly those with kneazle blood in them, were amongst the most expensive because of their popularity among young witches. How could Harry expect her to not regard it as a big deal?
"Meow!" the little kitten piped up as he once more failed to jump onto the bed. Ginny giggled at his antics and climbed over to lift him up. Looking him over, she couldn't help but feel happy. The little kitten was just so cute and what was more, he represented Harry. She knew it was wrong to accept expensive gifts that came for no reason, she really did but when she held the little part kneazle, she couldn't help but feel that he belonged with her. Harry had given him to her because he cared for her, not because he wanted to buy her friendship. He didn't need to do that, they were already best friends. By now, her mother should have known that. Ginny couldn't believe her mother had even hinted that she thought Harry was trying to buy her friendship! Speaking of which, she could hear her mom calling her down for dinner again...
"Well, we better get going then, right?" she asked the little part kneazle.
"Meow!" was the only answer she got.
Taking a deep breath to try and calm down, Ginny opened her door and made her way down towards the kitchen, the kneazle still hugged tightly in her arms. When she entered the kitchen, she found both her parents sitting by the table already. Her father looked up with a surprised look when he spotted the little black kneazle in his daughter's arms while her mother just gave her a nervous glance.
"Hello Ginny. Who's that you got there?" he asked with a kind voice.
So her mother hadn't told him yet. Ginny turned towards the woman in question, who was still eyeing her daughter as if she was a ticking bomb, and gave her a sharp look.
"Uhm... Harry sent him." her mother explained the little kitten's prescence to her husband.
Arthur Weasley's eyes widened at the revealation. He looked from his daughter, to the kitten in her arms, then back again. He then turned to his wife with a questioning look, but it was Ginny who answered his unasked question.
"Harry sent him to me so I wouldn't feel alone while my brothers were away at school. I was very happy until mom said we should get rid of it." she growled the last part like an angry lion and, as if to underline what Ginny had said, the kitten turned its eyes towards Molly Weasley and gave off what appeared to be a glare.
Molly shifted uneasily under her daughter's and the kitten's gazes, looking helplessly at her husband. Arthur studied her for a moment, looking into the same brown eyes that their daughter had inherited from her. He could tell that despite what Ginny implied, Molly too was pretty torn up at the incident. When he didn't say anything, Molly turned away and seemingly shunk into her seat in shame. Raising his eyebrow at this, he turned back towards their daughter who was still standing in the doorway. Why would Molly want to get rid of something that without a doubt should have made Ginny the happiest girl in town? Then his gaze fell on the kitten in Ginny's arms and he began to make a certain... connection. The kitten in question did share certain traits with a very specific magical creature...
Looking back at Molly, who had returned to looking at Ginny and the kitten, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Pushing aside those thoughts for later, he reached over and grabbed his wife's hand over the table, causing her to turn back towards him.
"Molly." he said in a soft voice. "Am I to understand that this kitten Harry sent is a part kneazle?"
His wife nodded her head slowly.
"Did you try to take it away because of how much it must have cost Harry?"
This time, Molly hung her head in shame, confirming that Arthur had hit the nail on the head.
"Molly, I understand what it was you were trying to do, but the truth is we shouldn't interfere in this matter." both the females in the room narrowed their eyes at him at this, Ginny at the first part and Molly at the second. "While it is wrong to accept charity without a good reason, I believe this would qualify as a good reason to allow it. What Harry does with his money is not our business."
Molly opened her mouth as if she wanted to object to that but Arthur held up a hand to keep her silent.
"No listen. Harry is Ginny's best friend and from what I know, he is a wonderful boy. And he have inherited a lot of gold from his parents, particularly from his father. On top of that, he knows that he cannot buy friendship. He wouldn't need to buy any friendship, he could get anyone as a friend if he wanted to. He is the Boy Who Lived after all. He is world famous and he knows that true friendship comes from something other than fame and money."
Molly seemed to ponder this for a moment. Looking over at Ginny, who had been silent during the entire conversation, she got reminded about how Ginny had been before she met Harry. Withdrawn, sad and rarely spoke to anyone in their family. But Harry had brought her out of that shell she had hid inside and that had not been done by buying her gifts.
"You met Harry, didn't you? Did he strike you as the type to try and buy someone?" Arthur kept pushing for an answer.
Molly shook her head. No, he had definetely not done that. If she wouldn't have known who he was due to Ginny giving it away by hugging him and screaming his name, she could probably never have guessed that he had been rich or famous. And the way he had acted certainly didn't show any signs of arrogance or anything. And when they had said goodbye... Harry had been the only one to give Ginny a proper farewell. Percy had said it, but he hadn't even looked at her when he did. Fred and George had joked it off, though that was to be expected from them and Ron hadn't even paid her any attention. But Harry... he had turned around when he realized he hadn't said good bye. He had run back even though the whistle signaled that the train started to move. And he had... ok, so that kiss on the forehead might have been a little overboard but he had shown then that he really cared for Ginny.
"No, he didn't." she said at last.
Satisfied with her answer, Arthur once again opened his mouth.
"I may not know him very well, or not at all, but I can tell by the way Ginny have acted since they met that they have become good friends, real friends. And real friends give each other presents from time to time, don't they? For example, I remember that you recieved a watch from Mary Cooper in our first year because you tended to always lose track of time."
Molly blushed at being reminded of that very embarrasing habit of hers. Looking at her now, one would never have guessed she used to be late to half the classes in one week during their first year.
"This is the same thing." Arthur continued. "I don't know why Harry sent Ginny a part kneazle, but he did it for a reason, be it to show that he cared for her or because he thought she needed a playmate or both. But whatever the reason, it wasn't because he wanted to buy her friendship, because that is something he already has."
Ginny looked at her father with a whole new respect in her eyes. She never knew he could be so...deep. He was usually so easy going and carefree.
"So you think we could keep the kitten?" Ginny asked hopefully, reminding her parents that she was still there.
Arthur looked over at his daughter and offered her a comforting smile.
"Yes, I think we could. And deep inside, I think your mother does too." he raised an eyebrow at his wife who was looking down at the table at the moment. He gave her a push and she sat back up straight. After looking at her husband, who smiled reassuringly at her, she turned towards Ginny and motioned for their daughter to come over.
Ginny did so, slowly. However, her eyes were narrowed down on her mother and she didn't even blink, as if her mom was a blood thirsty beast that could jump at her if she didn't pay close attention. When she had finally reached the table, her mother reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry for earlier today Ginny. I really am. I shouldn't have said those things about Harry and I realized afterwards how badly you must have taken it. Can you forgive me?"
Ginny studied her mother for a moment, before she opened up her arms and lifted the little part kneazle she still held onto into the air so her mother could see him.
"Do I get to keep Kurt?"
Her mother frowned.
"Kurt?"
"Yeah, he's got to have a name, doesn't he?" Ginny said as the little kitten purred.
Molly smiled slightly as she felt the tension leave the room slightly.
"Yes, you can keep him as long as you take good care of him and thank Harry properly."
Finally hearing the words she had been waiting for all day long, Ginny felt the last of her resentment towards her mother leave her. Seeing that her mother slowly and hesistantly opened her arms, Ginny jumped into her embrace and hugged her back.
"Thank you!" she murmured. It felt good to have made up again.
Molly returned Ginny's hugg and soon Arthur joined in, sneaking his arms into the tangle of limbs that was his wife and daughter. The three Weasleys sighed with content that the little argument was over and all three felt like they had gained something from it. Molly had gained a more open-minded view on money sharing and that not all sharing was made out of pity. Arthur felt like he had achieved something by helping his wife and daughter get along again and Ginny had gained a new friend, a new respect for her dad and she felt like she in a way understood her mother better now. But all of them had gained one thing in common: a whole new perspective of one certain Harry James Potter.
A/N: There we go, yet another chapter finished! This got a little messier than I had planned, but I think it turned out pretty ok. It might be a little messy at certain parts though and the part where Snape explains why he thinks Harry have trouble performing magic with his wand might be a little confusing. If you think so, tell me in some way and I'll try and explain it better.
When it comes to reviews, I just want to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter! And one extra big thanks to Cosmyk Angel, who was the only one who suggested a name for the kitten, even though I settled on a different one. The name she suggested actually gave me this name in a way.
And for those who haven't noticed or didn't read the AN at the top, I got a new poll up, asking if I should turn this story into a serie of "books" with one for each year or if I should stick it all in one story. Please vote!
So, I hope you will have a good time until I see you next time! That might be longer though, since I got sht load of stuff in school atm, so you will have a lot of time to write a big, fat and long review! Cya soon! =)