A/N : Co Writer: Tyler Nator
Beta reader: Arwrite, Luke Knight, LadyLucius, grimmypigeon, Calten
Chapter- 9
The doorbell rang and Mrs Black started to shout from her portrait. Harry pointed his finger towards the portrait and muttered, "Silencio." To his surprise, it worked; Mrs Black went silent, just opening and closing her mouth, but no sound came.
Kreacher was standing at the door preventing the woman from entering the house.
"Sorry, ma'am, but I didn't recognise you," Harry said politely.
"No need to be sorry, Harry," Kingsley said as he stepped out beside the woman.
"Kingsley! I didn't expect to see you today, especially so early in the morning."
"We need to talk regarding your newly required abilities," Kingsley spoke very curtly.
"Please come in."
Harry led them directly to the kitchen where all the Weasleys except for Percy were sitting.
"Kingsley, what a pleasant surprise. Come sit down, have breakfast with us," Mrs Weasley greeted him.
"No thanks, Molly, but I can have a cup of tea," Kingsley refused.
"So, what brought you here so early?" Arthur asked.
"This is my friend Elizabeth Scott. She used to work in the Department of Mysteries. We are here to discuss why and how Harry could perform wandless magic and change his magic pattern." Kingsley said as they both sat down.
Harry noticed for the first time that the woman was nearly equal to his own height, her robes were messy, but he could clearly see that the fabric was of good quality, so he assumed that she didn't pay much attention to her clothing. She had placed her hands on the dining table, and her fingers were covered with ink splotches. Her silver hair glowed from the light of the fire.
"So you can explain why I can't control my powers," Harry said as he sat a bit straighter.
"No, but it will help you to understand why it suddenly got so strong," Scott added the later part when she saw the frown on Harry's face.
"I don't understand. How will it help by knowing why Harry's power increased suddenly?" Ron injected.
"If we know why, we can find how to control it," Bill said.
"OK, please tell us what you know," Harry said eagerly.
"I will, but first, I would like to know how you survived two killing curses," Scott inquired.
"I am not sure, but I have a theory," Harry immediately began, giving the same line that Hermione had written in their story that was published in the Quibbler.
"Mr Potter, please. I want to know the whole truth, not the half truth that you published in Quibbler," Scott interrupted him.
"What do you mean by that, we are telling you the truth. If you don't believe us, then that's your problem, not ours," Ron injected.
"Harry, you can trust her," Kingsley jumped in before anyone could say more.
"Let me tell you a few things about me. As Kingsley has said earlier, I am a retired Unspeakable. I specialize in the study of the Soul and Wandlore."
"How's that going to help Harry?" Ron said, beating Harry by just a moment from asking the same thing.
"Everything! Mr Potter has survived two Killing curses from an incredibly powerful wizard, something that never happened before within our own history of magic. And when it comes to the magical study of life and death, especially in connection with Soul magic my experience and knowledge comes in handy,"
"Just where was your expertise when the Great Professor Dumbdore was working this out?," George commented sarcastically.
"I am just stating the facts, Mr Weasley, and I certainly am not as knowledgeable as Dumbledore, but right now, I may be the only one who can help."
"You really think that we will trust you enough to tell you how Voldemort came back to life and what we did last year so easily," Ron said, his ear turning red from anger.
"It may not be you place to tell, but it looked like Horcrux magic," Scott added.
Hermione, who was quiet for all this time, spoke. "How do you know this?" The surprise was evident in her voice.
"As I said, I have spent my life researching souls. And I didn't know for sure. It was the most logical reason I could come up with, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to come back."
"What's a Horcrux?" Mrs Weasleys asked.
"Kreacher, close the door and make sure Dudley doesn't listen to any of this," Harry ordered.
He looked towards Hermione and Ron questionably. They both nodded in response to his unasked question.
"But we still don't understand what the Horcrux means?" Mrs Weasley asked, clearly getting frustrated for not understanding the ongoing conversation.
"A Horcrux is one of the Darkest magic items you will face in your life," Scott said, curtly, not willing to share much of the information.
"Okay we will tell you everything but you will need to take an unbreakable vow," Harry said.
"Very well, Kingsley can bond us." Scott agreed without even thinking as if she had been expecting this.
Both Harry and Elizabeth Scott kneeled down in front of each other and clasped each other's right hand. Kingsley stood over them.
"Will you tell any soul other than those present here about the things that are discussed?" Harry began
"No."
A thin tongue of brilliant flame erupted from Kingsley's wand and wrapped itself around their hands
"Will you use this knowledge for any type of gain either personal or otherwise?"
"No."
The second flame came out of Kingsley's wand and wrapped around their hands.
"Will you help or encourage anyone directly or indirectly to follow dark arts?
"No."
The third flame from Kingsley's wand wrapped their hands. All the three tongues of flame glowed brilliantly before slowly fading away.
After sitting back in his place, Harry told her about how he survived the killing curse the first time and the theory Dumbledore gave him about the shield her mother's sacrifice provided him. He also told her that Voldemort had, in fact, created seven Horcruxes, and he was the seventh Horcrux.
"Now tell us why Harry got so powerful so suddenly," George said, who has been listening silently until now.
"Well, this is just a theory, but I think this is the most logical one you will ever find," Scott said as she shifted in her chair to get more comfortable.
"You see, you were a living Horcrux. Our body is made in such a way that it can carry only one soul, and when you become a Horcrux, your body has to carry more than one soul. We can't call them two souls because the second one is just a part of another one and not whole," Scott continued to speak in a single breath.
"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Let me try it this way. Our body is a container which can hold only one soul. When you became a Horcrux, your soul was forced to share its space with another. Do you understand?"
When Harry nodded, she continued, "After that part of you-know-who's soul got removed from your body, your soul got the space it needed. And that increased your power to some extent."
"Some extent, that means there is something else as well," Hermione injected.
"Yes, but again it's just a theory. Allow me to demonstrate it to you," Scott said as she took out her wand.
She waved her wand and created a holographic human figure, shield and a sword.
"This is you," Scott pointed at the human figure.
"The shield represents your mother's sacrifice, and the sword is the killing curse," she continued without waiting. "Normally, if the killing curse hit you, you die. But since you had your mother's protection, it couldn't kill you," Scott kept on waving her wand as she spoke.
First, the sword pierced the human figure, and then the second time, the shield moved between the sword and the human figure and blocked the blow of the sword.
"Well, we already know about this. Tell us something that we don't know," Ron commented sarcastically.
"Ronald Weasley, you won't talk to Elizabeth in that tone," Mrs Weasley scolded.
"There is a muggle saying, If something can't destroy you then it will make you stronger," Scott said ignoring Ron's sarcasm.
"Pardon," Harry and Hermione said at the same time, who have been listening very carefully.
Scott waved her wand again this time when the sword hit the shield instead of bouncing back it got absorbed into the shield. The edge of the shield became blue.
"See this? Instead of destroying the shield, the sword provided it with the sharp edge which now could be used as a weapon. Similarly, when the killing curse combined with your mother's protection instead of killing you it made you even more powerful. Add this power with the additional power you got due to getting free of the Horcrux. In result, this made you a sorcerer," Scott finished her explanation and leaned back into her chair in the relaxing position.
Harry's mind raced back to the events of Battle of Hogwarts where everything changed for him
"Can you tell me what happened to my wand after I used it last night?" Harry asked, putting the remains of his wand on the table. The wand looked as if it was heated so much that it just melted.
Scott examined the wand "It seems like your wand was not able to handle your power. I suggest you choose a wand with a stronger core. But it would be best if you use a staff if you want to use any magical instrument."
"What's a staff?" Harry asked.
"Like a wand, the staff is also a magical instrument that helps witches and wizards to channel their power. But the staff is far more powerful than a wand. They don't change their loyalty so easily. It takes a lot of power to control the staff." Kingsley explained, speaking for the first time.
"Also a staff chooses a person who is selfless and brave," Scott added.
"How can we get one?" Ron asked excitedly.
"If they are so powerful, why didn't Voldemort go after one of them?" Harry asked.
"Interesting, you asked this rather than asking how to acquire one. Firstly, there is currently only one staff present in the world and as for You-Know-Who, I don't know why he didn't try."
"You didn't tell us, where can we find it?" Ron asked again.
"Currently the French ministry is in possession of the staff. I think you should try to acquire it for Mr Potter," Scott directed the latter part to Kingsley.
"I will try my best," Kingsley nodded in confirmation.
After a couple of minutes, Harry went upstairs.
"I wasn't able to enter the kitchen. Kreacher told me you were in some kind of meeting. Is it over?" Dudley asked cautiously.
"Yes, it is," Harry replied.
"What are your plans for today?" Dudley asked.
"We are going for 'back to school' shopping. Professor McGonagall gave us the book list. If you want, you can come with us." Harry told him.
"Yeah, that would be great What about Teddy?"
"We're taking him with us," Harry said. After lunch, they went to the Leaky Cauldron to go to Diagon Alley.
"I've been to this part of the city many times, but I haven't noticed this restaurant before," Dudley said, looking around, amazed.
"It is hidden from the Mug... non-magical people," Ginny caught herself.
When they went to Diagon Alley, Dudley's jaw dropped in surprise.
"We will need to split up to complete the shopping on time," Mr Weasley took control of the situation.
Mr and Mrs Weasley took Teddy with them, and Ron and Hermione joined Harry, Ginny and Dudley.
"Where do we go first?" Ron asked.
"I need a new wand, so how about Ollivander's?" Harry asked.
They walked to Ollivander's. The bell rang as they entered the shop; Mr Ollivander came to the front desk from behind the shelves.
"Ah... Mr Potter, welcome, welcome. How may I help you?"
Harry pulled his wand out and said, "Can you tell me what happened to this wand?"
Mr Ollivander took the wand and examined it for a few seconds, "May I see your hand, Mr Potter?"
"Yeah, sure," Harry forwarded his hand so that Mr Ollivander could examine it. "Interesting, very interesting; never seen it-only heard," he said, more to himself than anyone else. He then looked up at Harry. "Mr Potter, I believe that you have more magical power than any wand can handle except the Elder Wand."
"So you mean to say that the wand won't survive much longer if Harry uses it?" Ron asked.
"If you had asked me this a few days ago, I would have agreed with you, but I have created the first dual core wand ever. It's not as good as the Elder Wand, but I think it is the most powerful wand in the world after the Elder Wand."
"Let me see whether it accepts you or not." Mr Ollivander went inside and came back after a minute with a box. "Here it is; ten and three quarter inches long, with dragon bone and Horned Serpent horn as its core, with Red oak wood."
Harry took the unusually thick wand; he felt friendly warmth from it, it felt as though it was an extension of his body.
Mr Ollivander saw that the wand had indeed chosen him.
"How much do I have to pay for this?" Harry asked.
"No, Mr Potter, no need to pay. I made it especially for you, to help you to defeat You-Know-Who, but you defeated him before I could complete it. Please take it as my tribute to free me as well as the wizarding world," Mr Ollivander said.
Harry was about to insist on paying but was cut off by Ginny.
"Harry, leave it."
"Thank you, Mr Ollivander," Harry bowed his head out of respect, then took the wand and left the shop.
"What's next?" Ron asked.
"Well, Mum and Dad are taking care of the books, potion kits and other things except for clothes," Ginny stated thoughtfully.
After two hours, they went to George's shop to meet Mr and Mrs Weasley. Harry warned Dudley, who had been silent for the whole trip, not to touch anything in that shop.
"Are you having fun at George's shop, ah... Teddy?" Harry stopped before he said Fred's name, a small lump coming to his throat. Harry asked, smiling at Teddy, who was inclining towards Harry as if saying, Hold me, Harry.
"Hello, George," Harry said, taking Teddy from Mrs Weasley. "How is the business going?"
"Hello, Harry; business is going well," George replied.
They talked and bought a few Wheezes from the shop and returned to the Burrow half an hour later.
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Harry was woken up by Mrs Weasley at five in the morning.
"Get up. Arthur is waiting for you in the back garden," she whispered.
"Why?" Harry groggily asked.
"It's time you start your training to control your power."
"Can he help?" Harry asked hopefully.
"He thinks so. Now go get a shower and meet him in the garden."
After getting dressed as quietly as possible, Harry walked downstairs.
"Kreacher, what are you doing here?" Harry asked in surprise upon finding Kreacher in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Kreacher is preparing breakfast for the master," Kreacher replied.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Harry asked.
"Kreacher will sleep while master is taking his lesson."
After eating his breakfast, Harry went outside, surprised to see Arthur already there waiting for him. He was sitting on the ground and his eyes were closed.
"Good morning, Dad," Harry greeted him.
"Good morning, Harry; ready to start?" Mr Weasley asked.
"Yes; what are we going to do today?"
"We are going to meditate," Arthur began. "I know it's done by Muggles, but trust me, it is just as effective for magical people. Remove your shoes and socks, and sit down facing towards the sun."
Harry did as asked.
"Now close your eyes and breathe in and out slowly. Yes, you are doing it correctly." He watched Harry follow his instructions. "Now concentrate on your power and its flow."
Harry felt himself slowly relaxing, as he slowly released the stress and struggles of the past few weeks.
After an hour, Mr Weasley asked him to open his eyes. "How are you feeling now?"
"It's like I've taken a long rest and I'm feeling more relaxed than I have all my life," Harry told him.
"What about your power?"
"Yes, I felt it too and it was like there was no boundary for me," Harry tried to explain.
"Good; this means you've done it in the right way." Mr Weasley appreciated.
Arthur said as he conjured a dummy. "Now, disarm it."
Harry cast the disarming spell, and the dummy blasted into pieces so small that they looked like sand particles.
"You need to concentrate on your power level so that you don't blast the dummy like this."
Ten minutes later when Harry and Arthur went inside, Mrs Weasley was sitting in the kitchen, and Kreacher was preparing breakfast for everyone.
"Good morning, Mum," Harry greeted them.
"Good morning, Harry; how was your lesson?" Mrs Weasley asked.
"I can't say anything about it. It seems like I have more work to do than I thought," Harry told her.
"Don't worry you will get there. Just keep practicing," Mr Weasley said from behind.
They were interrupted as Ron, Hermione and Ginny came down and Harry could not discuss it further with Mr Weasley. After breakfast, the two couples went upstairs to get a head start on their seventh year.
Harry told them everything that happened in his lesson with Mr Weasley. When he finished, he let out a long sigh.
"I think Dad is right; he just gave me some clues and asked me to solve it," Harry ran his hands through his hair.
"Do it for a week and at least see what happens. It won't hurt you," Hermione suggested.
"Yeah, you're right; it is too soon to say anything." Harry agreed.
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The more Harry thought about the way to control his powers, the more he got irritated and angry, and the angrier he got, the more he lost control.
On the morning of the fifth day, Ginny joined Harry as he started practicing on the dummy after his meditation, he was still having the problem of disarming the dummy without blasting it into pieces.
"You need to relax a bit," Ginny said from under the tree where she was sitting.
"I'm relaxed," Harry replied.
"No, you're not."
"How do you know that?"
"Because your shoulders are too stiff and hunched down," Ginny said as she put her hands on his shoulders. "You need to let go of all the worries."
"I'm trying, Ginny."
"What are you so stressed about?"
"I don't know. There is so much to do after the battle of Hogwarts, many of the Death Eaters are still free."
"Harry James Potter, look at me," ordered Ginny.
Harry turned to face Ginny who looked him in the eyes.
"You do not have the whole world on your shoulders. You do not need to save the world by yourself. You had a lot of help." Ginny continued, "You don't need to worry about everything right now, just concentrate on the dummy in front of you."
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Concentrate on the wand only," Ginny said, just as Harry was about to cast the spell.
Harry did as was suggested and to his surprise this time only the wand flew out of the dummy's hand, though the spell was still powerful enough to knock down the dummy.
"So have you been able to find a way to control your power?" Mr Weasley asked the next day when Harry came out for another lesson.
Harry nodded.
When Harry told him everything, he said, "Since you have completed your homework, now is the time for evaluation. When do you think you lose your control?"
"Well, I lose it when I get irritated," Harry replied, hoping that his answer was right.
"Harry, you did better than what I had expected from you. I had thought that you would be angry and say something that you would regret later, but I must say that I underestimated you," Arthur told him seriously. "But there is some omission in your answer." He waited for a few minutes to let Harry say something, but when he didn't, he continued. "You said you lose control when you get irritated, you're not exactly right but close to the answer. It is about emotions."
"How do emotions result in losing control?" Harry asked curiously.
Arthur explained how panic also made him lose control with the example of his fifth year when Voldemort had lured him to the Ministry of Magic by showing him a fake scene of Sirius' torture.
"At that time nobody noticed it, because the difference was small, but now it would be disastrous. Grief lowers the ability to think logically as well as make you do irrational things, like using the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange," Mr Weasley said.
When Mr Weasley left after two hours with instructions to continue, Harry came inside looking thoughtful and almost bumped into Ginny.