Chapter 5
Harry awoke to the sound of rustling movement to his left, for a moment he was confused at his surroundings, the soft bed beneath him and the warm sheets that lay atop his body, before he remembered where he was. With a deep breath, he climbed out of bed and took a moment to observe his surroundings.
It seemed that he was the only one fully awake, though Terry was stirring behind his drapes. Harry made his way to the bathroom, clutching his towel in one hand while the other brushed along the wall to his right. After a quick shower, he returned to the room to find Terry awake and on his way into the bathroom. He noticed Terry freeze for a moment and wondered at the cause before he remembered his glasses, or rather the lack of them. The glasses hid his eyes and the worst of the scarring, he had learnt a long time ago that people didn't like seeing his milky eyes and the burns that surrounded them. He was about to apologise to Terry when the boy seemed to shake himself and continue his path past Harry.
"Good morning Harry, are the showers any good? I was too tired for one last night." Terry greeted him cheerfully. Harry nodded his head as he turned slightly to make room for the taller boy.
"Morning Terry, yes they're lovely." Harry made his way to his bed and immediately snatched up his glasses, slipping them onto his face and covering his eyes. He sat with a sigh, his hand trembling as he reached out for his cane, gripping it tightly in his hand until his knuckles whitened. He hadn't removed his glasses in front of anyone in years, not even his Aunt Petunia. It was a silly mistake, and one he wouldn't make again, nobody would like to see his scars in full.
He took a few deep breaths before he opened his trunk and pulled out his clothes for the day, the handy braille tags his aunt had stitched into each item letting him know what they were and the colour. Over his shirt went his tie and then his wand holster before he slipped his open front robes over the top of it all.
By the time he was finished getting dressed, Terry had returned from the bathroom and was halfway dressed as well. Harry lingered for a moment longer as he grabbed his bag and picked his cane back up and the two ventured down to the common room together in a comfortable silence.
They weren't the first to the common room, there were a few older students sat scribbling notes by the bookshelf and in front of the fireplace Jeremy and Penelope were sat discussing exams until Harry and Terry neared them.
"Hello boys, eager for your first day, eh?" Jeremy asked them cheerily while Penelope gestured to the sofa opposite her and Jeremy's chairs. "I'm afraid we will have to wait for the rest of your year to come down before we make a move, but feel free to browse the books while we wait, we still have ten minutes."
Harry retrieved the charms book from his bag and opened it up to where he had gotten to at home, the book did a good job of describing the spells and effects as well as how they were developed. Terry decided to pepper Jeremy with questions about classes instead, asking what spells they would be learning first and if there was a place for them to practice them. Jeremy was quick to reply, informing Terry that the spells changed every few years but that they would likely be learning the wood to metal transfiguration and the wand-lighting charm first before they moved onto more complicated spells like the animation charm for the end of the year.
Soon the common room filled as students descended the stairs and congregated in the common room. Once all the first years had gathered, Harry had put his book away by then to discuss the wand-lighting charm with Terry and Penelope, who insisted the boys call her Penny, Jeremy called out for them all to follow him as he led them out of the common room and down a flight of stairs, pointing out the Charms corridor and the classroom they would be using for the first year. Then it was down several more staircases until they reached the Dungeons, which Penny explained was where the Slytherin common room was, they were shown the Potions laboratory and Professor Snape's office before being led back upstairs.
The two prefects led the group back up a few flights and through a few corridors before they reached the transfiguration corridor and were pointed to the classroom they would be using for the first year. Then it was down and out the main doors as they were shown the path to the greenhouses before they returned to the Entrance Hall and made their way into the Great Hall.
As they sat down to eat, Jeremy informed the group of where the Library was and the Hospital Wing, the group of hungry first years all nodded and mumbled their thanks as they set upon the platters of food with a vengeance, it was tiring work to wander all over a castle.
The Great Hall was barely half full when they first settled but there was already food covering the tables and Harry lifted a ladle from a bowl nearby and gave it a wary sniff before he recognised the familiar scent of oats and eagerly took a few ladles of the warm porridge. Terry also took some porridge as well as a couple of apples, one of which he offered to Harry who took it with a quick thanks.
Michael and Anthony were gulping down glasses of juice by the jugful as they chewed through bacon and eggs and Oliver had to snatch the last jug within arms reach and offer it around to save it from their thirst. Harry tried a sip of the strange smelling juice and was immediately struck by the sweetness, it was a little cloying, it tasted like someone had blended an apple pie with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg. It was delicious, but Harry had to turn the jug away when it came back around, it was far too sweet for breakfast. Terry seemed to empathise with his reluctance as he offered another, so far untouched jug which was filled with water that Harry happily topped up his cup from.
Harry was happily sipping from his strange bronze goblet as the Hufflepuff's entered the Great Hall and he was pleased when both Susan and Hannah greeted him as they sat down at their table. Terry nudged Harry's elbow and he quickly introduced the girls to his housemate; they were going through the introductions when they were interrupted by a gentle cough.
Professor Flitwick stood smiling at them holding a small stack of papers and next to him was a short (though stood next to Professor Flitwick she did seem taller) slightly plump witch who was also smiling at the group of first years and carrying a stack of parchment as well.
"Here are your class timetables gentlemen." Professor Flitwick handed the two Ravenclaw boys their timetables before moving down to the other first years and handing sheets of parchment to them before making his way up to the head table.
Harry ran his fingers across his timetable and was pleased to note that it was typed in braille as he read the list.
Timetable
Monday
9:00 – 10:30 Charms
10:30 – 12:00 Defence Against the Dark Arts
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 History of Magic
Tuesday
9:00 – 10:30 Transfiguration
10:30 – 12:00 Transfiguration
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Herbology
Wednesday
9:00 – 10:30 Charms
10:30 – 12:00 Charms
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Study/Free Time
23:00 – 01:00 Astronomy
Thursday
9:00 – 10:30 Study/Free time
10:30 – 12:00 Defence Against the Dark Arts
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Transfiguration
Friday
9:00 – 10:30 Potions
10:30 – 12:00 Potions
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 History of Magic
For the first month of term
Saturday
10:00 – 12:00 Flying
As Harry read through the timetable Jeremy stood and made his way over to him and Terry and explained the different lesson lengths.
"For the first year, all of you have to be brought up to the same level, so you need to be taught all the fundamentals, the theory behind the basics. Once second year starts, you'll have double lessons, but they start to show you the more practical magics and introduce little aspects of the elective's you can choose, so in Herbology Professor Sprout might start bringing up magical creatures a little, and in Charms you might discuss some basic runes to do with enchanting." Jeremy explained before reminding them that they only had fifteen minutes before their Charms class.
Harry was about to stand when suddenly an owl swooped down into his awareness and gently dropped a rectangular package in his lap. He reached down and ran his fingers across the box, finding a small note tied around the box. The note was written it braille and read –
Dear Harry,
It occurred to me that you might have need of something to write with and I thought this seemed a little easier to carry around than a typewriter. It's a prototype, but you should be able to tap the quill inside with your wand and it will write down everything said, so you can use it in class for notes, or dictate your own work to it. The quill will write in braille, it's a tricky combination of charms so if it seems to stop working, let Filius know and he will send it back to me.
Good luck with your first year.
Your friend,
Castamir Leventis
Harry smiled as he opened the wooden box to reveal a feather quill, it glowed a deep purple with stars of copper red dotted throughout to his sight. He closed the box and slipped it into his bag as he and Terry stood and made their way out of the Great Hall, they were met by Susan and Hannah at the stairs and the small group made their way to the Charms classroom together.
The door to the classroom was closed but a moment after they arrived it swung open and Professor Flitwick's familiar voice invited them inside. The classroom was arranged in tiers, with seats and desks sitting higher the further back you went in the room. The front of the room was dominated by a large chalkboard and in front of it was a lectern where the Professor was stood, a thick tome open in front of him.
Harry followed Terry's lead and the group made their way up to the second row, the added height giving them a slightly better view of the board, not that it would affect Harry's view much anyway.
The group pulled out their textbooks and some spare parchment, Harry opened the box and withdrew the enchanted quill he had been sent, laying it down next to a small bottle of ink. Professor Flitwick had turned to the large board at this point and seemed to be writing on it, but Harry couldn't tell what it was that was written, the boards surface a blur in his awareness.
The room filled quickly and once the trickle of students through the door had stopped, the professor cleared his throat and addressed the first years.
"Good morning class, as some of you may already know, I am Professor Flitwick, Charms Master of Hogwarts. In this class, we will be covering the branch of magic that is known as Charms. But what are charms? Well, Charms is a very broad term for an enormous branch of magic. As a general rule, any piece of magic which is used to imbue characteristics or properties to an object, person or place without changing its essential nature, is a charm. This includes things like making a feather float, casting enchantments or wards as well as some duelling spells such as the shield charm. There are other magics which don't fit within this definition quite as neatly, but are also classified as charms, but you won't be studying those until much later in your schooling." Here the professor paused, perhaps to let the students catch up with their notes. Harry had been pleased to find that after tapping his new quill with his wand, it had leapt into the air before drifting across the piece of parchment, a faint wisp of purple drifting across the page behind it and as Harry ran his fingers across it he had felt braille.
"Charms are, if you will forgive my obvious bias, the most useful branch of magic you will study here. There is little that cannot be accomplished by the right combination of charms, and where charms alone might fail, combining charms with other branches of magic allows for endless potential." Here the professor waved his wand above his head and a rainbow of magic erupted from it, contorting in the air until it formed the shape of a dragon in flight, its mouth agape as it roared soundlessly. The magic took up most of the room and the dragon made of lines of coloured light let out a breath of bright red flame that licked the ceiling before it faded into nothing. Once again Harry was mesmerised by the awesome beauty of magic at work and couldn't help but imagine himself casting magic like that. The rest of the class let out cheers and screams as the dragon faded away and it took several moments for the room to calm.
"Now, we will, I am afraid to say, have to work up to that particular charm. Today, we will be practicing channelling magic, and to do so you will be learning to perform the wand-lighting charm. If you turn to page eleven in your books it should explain the fundamentals. A simple jab forward, focus on the light you want to create and speak the incantation clearly. Lumos!" The professor held his wand aloft as it let out a bright white light to demonstrate.
Susan and Hannah giggled to themselves as they turned to the page and after a few minutes of silent reading, Professor Flitwick announced he would be having them all attempt the charm. He had them attempt it in groups of four and Hannah was the first of them to try.
She managed a small light, it wavered but it shone, and Professor Flitwick awarded five points to Hufflepuff for her success. Susan was next and also succeeded, her light was perhaps a little brighter than Hannah's and didn't waver so much. Again, Flitwick awarded five points and then it was Harry's turn.
He was still shaken from his attempt on the train and the fear of returning to the dark emptiness from before his sight lingered in his mind. But overpowering the fear, was his desire to do well, to impress Professor Flitwick. So with a deep breath, he pushed his magic into his wand, this time it seemed a little easier, the magic moving a little more smoothly, as he cast 'Lumos'. And again his awareness began to flicker as the light swelled at his wand tip, darkness closing in until he couldn't see anything. He waited for a few moments before the fear won out and he released the spell, pushing his magic back outwards again, driving out the dark with colour as his surroundings burst into his minds eye once more.
"Well done, three students succeeding on their first attempt, very good work." Professor Flitwick eyed the three students for a moment before moving on.
Terry was next and also succeeded in producing a light, though his flickered and sputtered out fairly quickly, he was awarded two points for his attempt. Only a few others managed in their first attempts, the rude Malfoy boy sitting at the back was one of them, he was hard to miss as he loudly scoffed any time someone failed the charm, there was also a girl from Gryffindor who succeeded on her first attempt. By the end of the class though, everyone had managed to produce a light, though some were brighter than others.
Professor Flitwick asked for four inches of parchment on the potential uses of the charm and a brief description of how it felt to cast, recommending they all practice the charm as it would help them all find their "centre's". With that he dismissed the class, giving them plenty of time to make it to their next class.
As the class emptied, Harry lingered, letting his friends pass him as he slowly packed his bag until the room had all but emptied. Once it was just the professor and Harry in the room, he hurried over to the Charms Master's desk.
"Harry, what can I do for you?" Filius asked kindly as he hopped up into his chair.
Harry had been carrying the fear of having to choose between casting magic and seeing and at the professor's gentle prompt, it all exploded from him. He explained how he had first discovered the problem on the train and again in class, though he did his best to downplay his fear of the emptiness that his sight replaced.
"Hmm, well firstly Harry, do not worry, I know for a fact that it is entirely possible to utilise Fulgomancy and cast magic at the same time." At this Harry slumped with relief before the Professor continued. "However, perhaps due to your youth when you first started using Fulgomancy, your magic is unused to flowing in multiple directions. This is what you must work on, not only so that you can cast and still see, but also so that you can cast more complex magic." Another pause. "You say that you push your magic, yes?"
"Yes professor, its like I'm tensing a muscle in my chest, except… well its not a muscle." Harry tried to explain as the teacher nodded.
"Very well, we will begin there. You were listening when I spoke of finding your centre earlier, yes? Well, you seem to have found your centre but instead of letting the magic flow naturally, you have found a way to force it, impressive but ultimately unnecessary. Your magic is a part of you Harry, it is no different to the blood that flows about your body, and while you can control it by force, true control comes from acceptance. You needn't force magic to do anything, if you want it to do something it will, you just have to open yourself to it. So tonight, I want you to practice feeling for that 'muscle' in your chest, but don't push it, just feel it, you will know when you have true control." Here Flitwick leaned across the desk and looked closely at Harry as he warned him. "This will not be a quick endeavour Harry, you might be able to learn how to control your magic in this way in a few weeks, but true control will take you years to achieve. Now, hurry along or you will be late for Professor Quirrell."
"Thank you, Professor." Harry said as he turned to leave.
"And Harry, well done today." Flitwick shouted as he hurried out the door and down to the staircase.
Harry made it to the staircase before he noticed three familiar individuals up ahead, making their way up the stairs.
"Harry! We thought you'd gotten lost, we were coming to find you, are you alright?" Susan asked as she hugged him tightly. Terry patted his arm but said nothing as Hannah also gave him a quick hug, before the girls tugged on his arms as they lead him to the stairs.
"I was just asking Professor Flitwick a question, we still have time before the next class starts, don't we?" Harry asked as he gripped the stair banister, he was wary of it suddenly moving beneath him.
"If we hurry yes." Terry answered as they made their way off the stairs and down a corridor, Harry was able to see a few students stepping through the door up ahead and the four managed to slip inside behind them and seat themselves at the last desks available, all up at the front of the class.
They sat down as the teacher stepped out from behind his desk, his pale-yellow magic seemed even dimmer than it had the night before.
"G-Good m-morning cl-class, I am Pr-Pr-Professor Q-Quirrell." The man seemed nervous, his stutter only exacerbating the sense, and the overwhelming stench of garlic filled the dimly lit room as the professor explained that he would mostly be covering the theory of various magical creatures and some very basic spells later in the term. There was a clatter as a student knocked their inkwell off the desk and Professor Quirrell dived to the floor, his hands covering his turban wrapped head in fear. The students all laughed as the man stood and straightened his robes in a poor attempt to regain some dignity before he continued his lecture.
The class seemed to drag on as the professor explained the potential dangers of creatures like Vampires and Werewolves, his stutter only getting worse as he did. Eventually the class ended, and the students all hurried from the room, eager to escape the now headache inducing stink that hung heavily across the class. Harry was eager to leave as well, though as he left, he felt the faintest bloom of darkness begin to swell at the edge of his awareness. As soon as the door to the room closed, and he was able to breathe slightly fresher air, the sense of darkness vanished. Harry thought about it before realising it was possible that what Professor Flitwick said was right, perhaps his way of pushing his magic was causing problems.
On the walk to the Great Hall for lunch, the group was joined by Penny's familiar magic as she congratulated them on earning points in Charms. It appeared news travelled fast in Hogwarts as they were given pats on the back by several older Ravenclaw's as well, some even congratulated Susan and Hannah on their success as well.
After lunch, the four friends took their time on the way to History of Magic, Jeremy had warned the group to use the lesson time to read their textbooks but didn't explain any further. They were among the first to the classroom and took seats near the back before more students trickled in. One of them Harry recognised as Neville who made his way to the group.
"Hi Harry, I just wanted to say thank you again for helping me find Trevor on the train." The boy said shyly before he turned away, Harry remembered his time in primary school and stopped the nervous boy with a hand.
"Why don't you sit with us Neville?" Susan offered kindly and Hannah introduced Neville to Terry as the boy sat next to them.
"Nice to meet you Neville, I'm Terry." Harry smiled as Terry greeted Neville in his usual friendly manner, Terry seemed like a good person, always happy to meet new people.
The lesson began rather abruptly as the ghostly form of Professor Binns floated through the wall at the front of the class and immediately launched into a speech on the Goblin Rebellion of 1882, his voice was monotonous and almost instantly Harry understood why Jeremy had recommended they read their textbooks.
As Binns began to describe how an ancestor of his had led a charge against the goblin rebels, Harry opened his History book and whispered to Neville to do the same. Soon all five of the friends were reading quietly as they did their best to ignore Binns' lengthy lecture.
Interestingly, the history book they were assigned spent very little time describing the goblin wars and instead began with an introduction to early Britainic magic, the druids, and their practices, as well as how the introduction of Roman magic had spread across Europe and changed how magic was used forever after.
They spent the full lesson reading and by the end of the class, the five were eager to discuss it as they made their way out of the room.
"No, I don't know any of it myself, but the Longbottom family is originally from Norway, we were Vikings apparently and I know there are a few tomes of the older magics in the family library." Neville explained to the group after Hannah insisted he demonstrate some of the older magics described in the book. "And besides, I don't think it's like normal spells, it was used with animals and nature."
"It seems interesting, but the Roman style seems more reliable, Transfiguration is incredible!" Terry added as they descended the stairs.
"Yes I must admit, Charms are fun and all, but Transfiguration is definitely better, being able to turn something into something else sounds amazing." Susan agreed with Terry, Harry was dubious, after everything he had seen Flitwick do, he couldn't imagine Transfiguration being better.
"But surely, they are at least equal? Charms is used in so much; enchanting and wards, how can Transfiguration be 'better' if they are used so much?" Harry asked, surprisingly it was Hannah that piped in at this.
"Transfiguration is seen as more powerful because of Professor Dumbledore I think, and others like him. The Headmaster is the most powerful wizard in Europe and he is a master of Transfiguration, and all the best duellers use Transfiguration according to my dad." Hannah explained, Susan and Neville nodded as she did so. "And You-Know-Who could never beat Dumbledore in a duel, even with all his dark magic."
"But surely, he doesn't just use Transfiguration?" Harry wondered aloud as they reached the main staircase.
"I'm not sure, but the library might have something about it. Maybe about Charms versus Transfiguration in duels?" Susan offered.
"An excellent plan, we need to do Professor Flitwick's assignment anyway so we could do that at the same time." Terry suggested as the group followed his lead down the corridor Jeremy had described earlier.
They soon reached the Library doors and Harry was momentarily stunned at the sheer mass of colour that covered the doors surface. Layers and layers of magic lay heavily across the doors and Harry was eager to see what the doors protected. He was not disappointed as the doors opened to reveal the interior. It was massive. Bookcases stretched up thirty feet high, each shelf filled with books about magic. The bookcases were arranged in even lines to begin with, but Harry could sense at the edge of his awareness the bookcases began to twist, forming the beginnings of a maze-like structure as you journeyed deeper into the Library.
There were tables dotted throughout the front of the enormous room and it didn't take long for them to find an empty one. They all took out their quills and parchment and began to write the assignment for Professor Flitwick. Harry was surprised at how many ways he could think of using the wand-lighting charm, though only a few actually applied to him such as blinding an attacker or signalling someone, it was still an interesting exercise to imagine scenarios. By the time he had dictated how it felt to cast, doing his best to whisper so that only the enchanted quill could hear him, he was well over four inches of parchment, but decided that too much was better than too little.
When he finished, he waited for a few minutes before his curiosity won out, standing as quietly as he could, he made his way to the central circular desk where Madam Pince the librarian was stood.
"Excuse me Miss, could you help me with finding records of duels using Transfiguration against Charms?" Harry asked, doing his best to whisper the question.
The librarian turned to him and opened her mouth before she paused, it took Harry a moment to realise she had seen his glasses and as she peered over the desk and caught sight of his cane, she seemed to relax slightly. "Ah, Mr Potter, yes Professor Flitwick informed me of your impairment, follow me I will show you how to navigate the stacks."
Harry was a little surprised at her kind tone but smiled and followed as she slowly led him to one of the bookshelves a little deeper into the Library. She quietly told him to feel along the base of each shelf they passed and when he did, he was pleased to find that there were braille markers on each shelf, some were just a single word like 'Potions' but others were more descriptive such as the one the tall witch stopped at which read 'Historical Articles 1900 - Present'.
"This is where the Historical articles are kept, if you want more recent histories then check the next shelf down. Now the Grindelwald duels are mostly recorded around the 1940's, and the one you want is here." She handed him a heavy book and then continued. "Generally, the older the book, the deeper into the stacks it will be, I should warn you; there are records of students becoming lost in the deeper sections. When so much knowledge and magic is amassed in one location it can have strange effects. You are allowed to read any book in the open stacks, but the Restricted Section is off limits. It is warded and locked so do not attempt to enter it, it is grounds for immediate expulsion if you are caught there."
With that she led him back out of the bookshelves and he re-joined his friends at their table. He found them all finished with their assignment's as well and placed the heavy book down in the middle of the table as they all turned to him.
"Madam Pince gave me this one, said it's got historical records of the most famous duels and mages of the past century, she recommended we check the Grindelwald duels." Harry explained as Terry opened the book and flipped through a few pages before he began to read one fully.
"I remember Gran talking about Grindelwald, she said he was terrible, he nearly broke the Statute a couple of times and he had almost all of Europe under his control at one point." Neville said as Susan nodded.
"Yeah, I have a few cousins from France, and they still believe he was the worst Dark Wizard in centuries, but I don't know how they can say he was worse than You-Know-Who, everyone says he was unstoppable…well before that Halloween anyway." Susan said as she patted Harry's arm.
"Well, they said the same thing about Grindelwald as well, according to this the International Confederation of Wizards-?" Terry trailed off at that as he looked up at them before Hannah explained.
"The ICW are like a higher government, almost every country is a part of it, and they make rules everyone has to follow. Some of the Ministry don't like them because if a country is endangering the Statute or there are too many deaths from something like a disease or rebellion, then the ICW can step in. Every country has a representative, but they also take on any wizards or witches who are more powerful or talented, like Dumbledore. My great-great-grandad was a member." Hannah added proudly.
"Right well the ICW sent five of their top Warlocks to take Grindelwald into custody in 1938 after he escaped from the States, only two survived but even they were injured horribly apparently." Terry pointed to a page in the book as he read aloud.
"Wow … the ICW Warlocks couldn't stop him? Bagnold tried to get the ICW to send Warlocks to help against the Death Eaters, but they were all away at the time, a group of dark wizards were trying to take over south Africa." Susan said quietly before Terry continued.
"Yeah, see here it says Grindelwald wasn't defeated in a duel until 1945, until then he was undefeated. Though he did famously retreat from Henry Potter in Calais in 1940, Henry lost his right arm in the fight but was awarded the 'médaille du templier' which is France's highest medal for valour in battle." They all turned to Harry then.
"Henry Potter? Are we related?" Harry asked, leaning forward and once more frustrated at his sight's limitations as he could not read the text on the page.
"It doesn't say, sorry mate, but I'm sure we could look that up. It goes on to describe Grindelwald's duel against Professor Dumbledore, it says that only parts of the duel are recorded because people kept having to retreat from the fight. It does say that Grindelwald used charms and combined with his knowledge of dark magic, the area the two duelled in couldn't be repaired as its still soaked in dark magic." Terry gasped. "Wow, it says the duel lasted three hours!" They all sat back at that.
"I guess that explains why Gran always said he was terrible, You-Know-Who never managed to fight the Headmaster for that long…" Neville whispered, perhaps it was intended just for himself, but they all heard the words and for a few of the group it seemed to shake them deeply.
That evening Harry sat on his bed, his wand in his hand as he took deep calming breaths. He had been trying to push his magic in two different directions, but he was struggling, every time he made progress in one direction, he would lose it in the other.
Professor Flitwick's words rang in his mind as he sat there, but how could he control his magic without controlling it? He had always had to push for his sight. Although that wasn't strictly true, the first time he hadn't consciously done anything, he had felt his magic in his chest and then it had just happened. So maybe that was what he needed to focus on.
He did his best to relax, taking long slow breaths and just watched his magic as it moved around him. The soothing shades of green that suffused his body, darker at his chest it was more of a bottle green around his heart and head, growing steadily paler and softer as it reached his hands until faint wisps of mint green light drifted from his fingertips. Where the green met his wand, the colour didn't slow or change, it merged with the golden red of the wand along his arm without issue.
As he watched his magic, observing the patterns it seemed to form, swirling eddies and currents that sat beneath his skin, he felt something. He could feel the flow of colour. It was more than just seeing it, he knew absolutely in that moment exactly what the circulating colour would do, he knew that even if his sight were to fail, he could still feel how his magic would move. As he inhaled, it swelled and deepened at his chest and as he exhaled the colour diffused slightly, spreading throughout his body, and causing the thick branches of green down his arms and legs to pulse and thicken. He was captivated by the movements, he looked at the palm of his free hand, watching as new wisps of pale green drifted from his hand, curling around his fingers before they dissipated in the air.
Inhale.
Exhale. New wisps.
Inhale.
Exhale. New wisps.
And on every exhale the wisps grew thicker, more defined. Before they had barely been visible, but now thick green mist swelled in his palm and settled there, little tendrils winding around his fingers. He could feel it flowing there, a thin vein of warmth connecting his chest to his palm, pulsing with every breath. This was progress. He could channel magic and use his Fulgomancy at the same time. It would take time, but he would practice and soon he wouldn't need to sit calmly for an hour to do this. He pictured himself stood before a crowd like Professor Flitwick, waving his wand and conjuring great beasts of light in the air. He couldn't wait to learn that spell. The magic in his palm flickered for a moment, twisting and collecting into a vague shape before it collapsed, and the green cloud drifted apart.
Still needed practice, he thought, but that was definitely progress.
Harry fell asleep, tired but hopeful and dreamt of the great magic he would one day perform.
[End of Chapter 5]
A/N Hi everyone, apologies for the delay in releasing this one, I ended up rewriting a big chunk of it because I really wasn't happy with the ending, hopefully you all like it!
I am absolutely floored by the support for this story, 136 followers is madness!
Once again thank you to everyone who has read the story so far and please continue to review or PM me if you have questions, I love hearing if you like the story and I also appreciate the constructive criticism I've received so far. I have tried to take all of it into account when writing the next few chapters.
Please share/follow/favourite the story if you like it, it helps a lot to show that people are enjoying what I'm writing!
Also, I've had a few people ask about Quirrell/Voldemort and Harry in this, as with everything else in this story, the way Voldemort interacts with Harry will be different because of the protection Lily and James used and how it protected/affected Harry. I won't go into further detail because it would spoil some elements of the story.
Thank you for reading and I hope you like the story so far!
Additional Note – Apparently Fanfiction servers were messed up recently and a lot of people missed the update so rereleasing this chapter and a few others with minor corrections.