Chapter 6

Transfiguration was an interesting class. Professor McGonagall had begun the class with a warning, foolishness would not be tolerated; Transfiguration was a dangerous discipline and had to be treated with respect. A miscast spell could cause the structural integrity of an object to fail, or worse explode, let alone if casting on animals or people.

Then the Professor had cast a spell and transformed her desk into a tiger that roared hungrily, a deep rumbling sound that reverberated in Harry's chest, before it reverted into her desk once again. The magic she had cast had been complex, Harry had been able to see the threads of her magic that had wrapped around the desk, sinking into the wood as the change took place, the same threads of crimson magic were twined throughout the tigers shape as it roared, before they withdrew and dwindled as the shape returned to that of a desk.

It was interesting, the tiger had the shape of a tiger, but the colour was still mostly the same as it had been, the dull brown of the desk but twisted and held into the new shape by red lines of magic.

Professor McGonagall had explained the basic rules of any Transfiguration, which seemed similar to the fundamentals for most wand magic in Harry's opinion.

"In order to transfigure correctly, you must remember to visualise the change, Will the change to happen, and always remember to account for the differences between the items." Professor McGonagall nodded to a girl sat at the front of the class with her hand raised.

"But, Professor, what differences? And how do we Will the change to happen?" The girl asked nervously, sinking deeper into her seat with every word.

"Ah, well the differences are easier to explain, does the object you are transfiguring look like what you are trying to make? The same colour? Same weight? Size? Material? All of these factors must be accounted for when transfiguring, eventually it will become second nature for you to take these factors into account, but for now you must think carefully about them as you cast." Seeing the girl nod, the Transfiguration Mistress continued. "As for how to Will the change to happen, that is more difficult to explain. Each person experiences this differently, you must want the change to happen, you must want it and believe it so fiercely that your magic will follow your desire, your belief." The Professor must have seen some confusion in their faces because she tried to explain further. "I know that the desk is not a tiger, but when I cast the spell you saw before, I believe with every fibre of my being that it is, in fact, a tiger and not a wooden desk, I know without a shadow of a doubt that it will become a tiger when I cast the spell because it already is a tiger. It is a tenuous mental balance you must achieve, and not every wizard or witch is able to Will the same way."

"For some it is simpler, they are able to focus their Will without needing the help of the belief, and for others an entirely different method is needed. Your first year of transfiguration is as much about finding this method that works for you as it is learning the basic forms." Professor McGonagall gestured with her wand and a box opened on her desk, a stream of small objects floating from the box to lay in front of each student.

Harry had to brush his fingertip across the thin object to realise it was a matchstick as the Professor wrote something on the board before she turned back to the class.

"Now, for the remainder of the class we will be practicing the match into needle transfiguration. The incantation is 'Mutatio Acus', remember to visualise clearly the change you want to make. Raise your hands if you have questions." There was a flurry of motion as all around Harry, students began poking their matchsticks and calling out the incantation.

Harry sat quietly as he tried to reach the state he had been in last night, able to feel his magic, but was distracted when Terry suddenly cheered. He had been able to make his matchstick form a shiny point and was showing Susan and Hannah as well. Harry patted him on the arm and congratulated him before he settled back and resumed his long slow breathing.

It took almost ten minutes for him to get close, feeling his magic pulse with every breath, he was interrupted only once by Susan who asked if he was okay, but he was able to placate her quickly and lost little progress.

He sank deeper into his breathing, feeling his magic and letting it move naturally until he was happy he had reached close to the same state of control he had found the night before. He felt the magic that ran down his arm to his wand pulse heavily as he raised his wand. Doing his best to imagine the matchstick transforming into a pointed needle while not losing the precarious balance he had reached with his magic. He imagined the threads of emerald magic entwining around the match, sinking into it and changing its shape. It was a struggle for him to hold the different images and ideas in his head and he worried he would let one slip if he waited any longer, so with a final deep breath he whispered the incantation as he twisted his wand in his best approximation of the movement McGonagall had described.

"Mutatio Acus" He felt the magic rush from his chest down his arm and out through the wand, leaving a trail of tingling warmth behind it. The magic split into strands of green, each one latching onto the surface of the pale wood and wrapping around it, burrowing beneath its surface as its shape began to warp and shift.

It was a little disconcerting to see the shape of the match change, even as its colour remained relatively unchanged, but the spell seemed to work. Harry picked up his creation and examined it with his fingers, it was a touch crooked, and the metal twisted slightly, likely due to his visualisation as that was how he had pictured the change taking place, but it was definitely recognisable as a needle.

"Hey, we got it at the same time! Good job Harry" Terry clapped him on the back as he examined the needle Harry had made. "The colour is a little… well it looks good mate." Harry noticed Professor McGonagall approach, attracted by Terry's voice and was nervous as she wordlessly held out a hand for the needles.

She turned them over in her palm, poking them with her wand before she handed them back. "Well done Mr Boot, an excellent example, ten points to Ravenclaw for the first success." Terry thanked her as she turned to face Harry. "Mr Potter, this is an excellent attempt, but Transfiguration requires strong visualisation as well as being able to relate those visuals to the physical world, you may find that getting details such as colour and exact shape are more difficult for you. However, with time and practice you should be able to reach an adequate level. Five points to Ravenclaw for an excellent first attempt."

Harry sat holding the needle until the end of the class, thinking over what the Professor had told him. He was disappointed, he had not considered how his vision, or lack thereof, would have affected his magic. It didn't seem to matter with Charms, if anything it helped, but Transfiguration relied heavily on visualisation, and he would always struggle with visualising details the same way as others. The colours he saw did not always match up with what everyone else saw, he knew this, to him most stones were a shade of grey, brick or marble it didn't matter. Metals were a different grey, they had a shine to them and a few had red tones mixed in, but even then it was hard for him to differentiate them. And it was definitely difficult for him to picture a silver needle, he had wondered why Terry had mentioned the colour, but now he realised that it must have looked different to the normal colour of a metal needle.

Neville tried to cheer Harry up as they packed their things up, pointing out that he had only been able to make the matchstick look a little shiny by the end of the class. Harry forced what he hoped was a comforting smile onto his face as they made their way down to the Great Hall and Neville seemed relieved and began to pepper the group with questions on the Herbology lesson they were due after lunch.

The greenhouses were located on the outside of the castle, there were four which ran down the length of the castle walls. Big glass things, they were each filled with plants, some that seemed benign and even friendly, like the Puffapods which flowered sweet smelling petals when bumped or jostled in any way, but others were more dangerous, like the Venomous Tentacula whose long dark tendrils had tried to snatch at several of the students as they were shown around the greenhouse. Its dark green colour was speckled with crimson and looked bloodthirsty even in Harry's limited sight.

Their first lesson was spent answering questions and learning the rules of the greenhouses, Neville was in his element and earned thirty house points alone, his knowledge of plants and their uses seemed endless, and Harry was impressed at the normally timid boy's confidence around the plants, even the Tentacula which Neville had calmly slapped away when it tried to ensnare him.

By the end of the class, Neville was beaming as they packed away their notes and made their ways back to the castle. As they made their way back, Neville's smile only faded when they had reached the Great Hall, his shoulders slumping slightly as he made to leave the group to join his table. Harry had seen that Neville struggled with the louder Gryffindors boisterous natures and grabbed his arm.

"Neville, do you think you could eat with me and Terry today? I don't remember the maturing cycle of the Flitterbloom's Professor Sprout showed us today and I could do with a little refresher?" Harry asked as he gently guided Neville across to the Ravenclaw table.

"Oh well yes of course Harry, so the Flitterbloom can mature quickly, its tendrils are actually often confused with Tentacula, I think it's a defence mechanism really…" Neville continued, sitting next to Harry and opposite Terry at the table.

Harry felt Susan squeeze his arm as she made her way to the Hufflepuff table with Hannah and smiled as he listened to Neville wax poetic about the germinating methods the Flitterbloom used.

Soon dinner was over, and the friends made their way to their own common rooms, Terry settled down to read more of his Transfiguration textbook as Harry sat in one of the comfy chairs and read his Charms book, already eager to try out some of the spells it contained.

That evening, Harry sat on his bed with the drapes closed and once again tried to relax into his breathing. He found his magic more quickly this time, and once again he practiced drawing on the magic as he breathed. Only this time, he held his wand as he drew the magic to his hand. He watched as the green pulsed down his arm and pooled in his hand, his wand was barely visible, it was suffused with emerald light.

He didn't try casting a spell, he didn't say any words, he just let his magic flow. In. Out. He found it easier than the night before, Professor Flitwick was right; he didn't need to force his magic, it flowed naturally when he let it. His hand shone in his sight, a beacon of viridian, faint wisps of lighter mint green floating from it and disappearing into the aether.

After a few minutes he grew tired and he let the magic fade, the emerald light drifting apart until only a few dim motes remained hovering above his hand. His wand still glowed a little, the golden-red rod was surrounded by a warm green that slowly swirled around it and as he watched, the colour didn't fade, the green continued to surround the wand and sink into the wood. Too tired to think more on it, he put the now warm wand away and fell back onto his pillows.

He couldn't wait to show Professor Flitwick the progress he had made tomorrow, though he was still a little disappointed at his performance in Transfiguration. The thought that his wonderful sight meant that his transfigurations may never be correct was difficult for him to grasp. He fell asleep with his mind filled with dreams of wondrous charms and misshapen transfigurations, wood creaking and metal shearing as they bent into unnatural shapes while all around lights exploded, and in the centre of it all, a cloaked figure waving his wand and weaving impossible magic.

Their second Charms lesson was on the Sparks charm, after they handed in their short essays the Professor demonstrated the charm and went over the wand movement and incantation. When Flitwick demonstrated the charm, he conjured dozens of sparks of light that burst from his wand tip and hovered in the air before they slowly faded from sight, the motes falling and disappearing before they reached the floor.

This time they were allowed to practice at the same time, a successful casting would be obvious and there was little danger from the charm, the sparks were heatless and couldn't ignite anything according to the Professor. As the room filled with shouts and muttered incantations, Harry settled into his now instinctive breathing, deep and slow, in and out. In only a few minutes he had reached the state of control he had been practicing, feeling his magic ebb and flow with each breath as green pulsed through his body.

He lifted his wand and let his magic fill his hand, and when he was ready, he whispered the incantation and let the magic flow from him.

"Parlux"

Green sparks erupted into life. Shining above his head and though his vision wavered and wobbled, darkness claiming the edges of his normally very stable awareness, he could still see. He tilted his head back, his face split by a wide smile as he reached a hand up to brush against one of the floating motes of light.

"Good work Mr Potter!" Professor Flitwick clapped once and then leaned in conspiratorially to whisper. "I take it you have been able to overcome your earlier problem then, Harry?"

"Yes, thank you Professor, it's getting easier with practice." Flitwick nodded and smiled as he patted Harry on the arm.

"Not at all Harry, not at all. If you keep practicing it will aid you tremendously in all of the practical magics you will be learning, especially for the more complex spells in your later years." The professor stood and said a little louder for the class. "Ten points for Ravenclaw, well done Mr Potter."

Neville whispered a "well done" to him as he concentrated on his own attempt, his eyes scrunched, and his fist clenched in focus. Now that Harry was able to observe him attempting to cast a spell, he noticed there was something strange about the colour of Neville's wand. There was a deep black crack, a rift that spanned the length of the wand that only allowed a little of Neville's warm brown magic to pass, most of it being swallowed by the jagged shadow. Even as he watched, more of Neville's magic disappeared into the dark, it was unnerving, everything else Harry had ever seen had a colour, only the edge of his awareness was bounded by dark emptiness, and the crack reminded him of that emptiness.

Harry resolved to ask Neville about it after the class, he didn't want to bring it up in class, the quiet boy was nervous enough without an audience.

Harry sat back and began to cast the charm again, this time picturing a shape for the sparks to form, just a circle at first before he moved onto more complicated ones with each success. The warmth that throbbed down his arm with each casting was comforting, though with each spark he created his awareness narrowed and shrank, darkness claiming more of his surroundings. He stopped when his sight could reach no further than the end of the row of desks, his love of magic couldn't win against his fear of the darkness after that and he instead sat quietly, doing his best to breathe slowly as his awareness began to creep outwards again. By the end of the lesson his sight could once again encompass the entirety of the classroom and the darkness beyond was far enough that he could ignore it and the cold dread it unearthed in him.

They had a study period after lunch and then Astronomy that night which Harry was not looking forward to, his sight was incredible and let him see things few others could, but he couldn't see the sun or the moon and stars, so Astronomy would be a difficult class for him. He spent most of the study period with Terry and the girls in the Library, Neville had gone to the greenhouses to ask Professor Sprout about a plant in his own greenhouse that the others had never heard of.

Terry and Harry spent some time reading up on the Transfiguration they'd be doing on Thursday before they made their way to the common rooms, the older years had all recommended they try to sleep a little before Astronomy that night and the group had decided to listen to their advice.

That night they made their way up the long winding staircase to the Astronomy Tower and Harry was reminded of the boat ride when the rest of the group gasped and whispered, he overheard one of the louder girls as she gushed about the enchanted tower and how you could see the stars and planets through the giant lens in the roof.

Harry was taken aside by Professor Sinistra, a pleasant witch who sadly informed him that, as yet there was not an alternative method for him to observe the celestial bodies and their movements, he could do little but share notes with another student to complete the work. Terry was quick to offer his notes to Harry which he gratefully accepted, but the faint hope he had carried that there would be some magical method for him to see the stars was dashed.

He didn't know why it affected him so much, he had long ago accepted that he would never see such things, but perhaps finding out about magic had rekindled the hope for a short while. He knew not, but that night as the other first years collapsed, exhausted into their beds, Harry curled up and wept silently at the deep pain in his chest.

The next morning they had a study period, though Penny informed them that it was expected that they would likely sleep for a part of it to make up for the late night before. Harry spent the morning sat in one of the comfy chairs in the common room in front of the fire, he was reading the Advanced Charm Casting book that Filius had bought him, it was very interesting. It detailed a few techniques for more controlled casting, as well as several spells that seemed quite simple like the Bluebell and Coldfire charms; the Bluebell charm could warm you safely, its flames unable to burn living things while the Coldfire's icy flames sucked in heat, it could be used to cool or freeze rooms, objects or even living things. There was a warning under the Coldfire charm to never cast on a person as it could cause terrible frostbite. The book even had a chapter on how charms could be used for unconventional results, what mattered the most was your imagination and will.

Though it was tempting, Harry resisted the urge to try casting one of the spells he read about, instead he packed his bag and stood in time to join a still yawning Terry to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They met Neville on the way, and he sat with them again, and soon they were joined by Hannah and Susan, the small group chatting amicably as they ate.

After their break was Defence with the stuttering Professor Quirrell again, and again the room was filled with a soft haze and the pungent odour of garlic that thankfully seemed limited to the room itself and not the corridor outside. This time Professor Quirrell was going over the different types of magic used to defend oneself.

"Def-defence against t-the dark arts i-is a subject t-that d-d-draws on Tr-trans-transfiguration an-and Ch-charms, as w-well a-as yo-your own kn-knowledge." Harry tapped his quill to copy down what was said for notes and did his best to ignore the growing headache he was already feeling, the thick haze from the burning incense in the corners and the stench that filled the room made it hard to breathe and he had to take slow breaths to remain calm.

Harry soon realised that it was easier for him to read along on his page instead of trying to listen to the Professor, his stuttering could be confusing, and the braille was simpler to follow.

"When faced with an attacker, your knowledge of the opponent should be considered before you respond. For instance, if you were travelling through mountains and attacked by a large humanoid, you could reasonably assume it was a Mountain Troll or perhaps a Giant, and with this knowledge, you could respond appropriately.

When under attack, the Ministry recommends that a witch or wizard flee and alert the appropriate authorities, however in cases where this is not possible, you must know how to defend yourselves. Against most species of Troll, fire and bright lights are an effective deterrent, the beast's skin can resist most magic, but their blood is highly flammable, so they have an instinctive fear of it. However, the same tactics would not work against Giants as they do not have the same fear or weakness to flame, and so a different method would be needed. Without the appropriate knowledge to draw from, your defence will be lacking, you may use magic that would not hinder your attacker at all and could even help them.

Now if you open your books, chapter three details the different breeds of Trolls, their habitats, and distinguishing features. Start reading now, the next chapter details Giants, I will require a short essay no more than 6 inches on the similarities and differences between the two and how to identify them."

Harry managed to finish the chapter on Trolls and had started the chapter on Giants when they were let out, almost as soon as he stepped into the corridor his headache had begun to recede and soon the throbbing was gone entirely. He listened with half an ear as Hannah and Terry discussed the upcoming Transfiguration lesson at lunch, helping himself to a sandwich as he did.

"Are you okay Harry? You look awfully pale?" Susan asked as she pushed another sandwich onto his plate which he gratefully picked up.

"Yeah, its just the fumes in Quirrell's classroom, I got a headache last lesson as well." Harry shrugged as he started on the new sandwich.

"Professor Quirrell, Harry." Susan corrected him before she huffed slightly. "Alright, but if you're still this pale after Transfiguration I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing."

Harry nodded absently as he grabbed an apple for later, tucking it into his pocket as he stood in time for Neville to join them. They made their way to Transfiguration slowly; they were still a few minutes early, but the door was unlocked when they reached it, so they made their way inside to sit.

The room was empty except for a cat sat silently atop front desk, though when Harry focussed on it, he was confused, it had the shape of a cat, but the magic was almost identical to Professor McGonagall's crimson red, even the way it moved through the cat's form was the same. His confusion lifted when the cat leapt from the desk and in mid-air, its shape changed, lengthening, and contorting until Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room. It was an impressive piece of magic, and one Harry quickly realised must be incredibly difficult, to change the shape of a creature so completely.

The others all gasped and Neville fell from his chair in surprise, Professor McGonagall eyed the five of them before she turned to the blackboard and began writing something on it, presumably for the lesson ahead. Harry did his best to help Neville back into his seat as the room began to fill with the rest of the first years and Professor McGonagall thankfully waited until the class was full before she began to speak.

They were given a brief refresher of the basic laws for Transfiguration before she moved onto the next spell they would be learning. Once again, they were all given matchsticks, but this time they were to transfigure the matches into thread.

"And remember, you must account for the differences, thread is not rigid, it flows, now begin." Professor McGonagall made her way around the desks as the class all made their first attempts.

This time, it was a Gryffindor girl who was the first to make any change to her match, it became thinner and slightly floppy, and McGonagall awarded her two points for the partial success. Terry also managed a similar attempt, but it was Susan who succeeded in completely transfiguring the wooden stick into a length of thread, she was awarded five points for being the first and Harry clapped with Hannah and Neville when she managed it.

Harry was perhaps a little lacklustre in his attempts, he could reach the odd state of calm control within a few minutes now, but he couldn't help recalling the Professor's words from the last lesson; if he was never going to be able to succeed in Transfiguration, why should he bother focussing on it?

He did in the end, manage to transfigure the match into a length of thread, though again he was told that the colour was wrong and his brief flicker of pride at the success was snuffed. He did notice Neville again struggling with the spell, his magic barely trickling through his wand, and resolved to speak with Professor Flitwick about the strange absence within the wand, he didn't want to reveal his sight to anyone else yet, though he didn't think his friends would share his secret.

As Professor McGonagall let the class go, with an assignment to practice the two transfigurations they had learnt so far, Harry turned to his friends as they debated going to the library to begin the assignment for Defence.

"I need to see Professor Flitwick about something, but I will meet you in the library if that's where you will be?" He asked.

"At least until dinner I should think, do you want a hand getting to the Charms room?" Terry offered as the others voiced their agreement.

"No, I should be fine, thanks. I'll see you there in a bit." Harry waved goodbye as he turned in the direction of the staircase they had been shown on their first day.

He made his way up the, thankfully unmoving, staircase and then along the corridor to the Charms classroom, stopping outside the door as he heard noise from within. After a few minutes the door opened and a crowd of older students surged out, Harry stepped back hurriedly but the majority of the crowd parted around him, though one older boy with grey-green magic attempted to kick the cane from his hand as he passed. Harry had grown used to attempts like this from Dudley and Vernon over the years and was wise to it, he switched hands on the cane casually and tilted it just far enough that the boy's leg hit only air. The older boy was quickly carried away by the crowd behind him thankfully and Harry was left alone in the corridor.

He knocked on the door to the classroom and was quickly invited in.

"Come in, come in. Ah, Harry, what can I do for you?" The Professor seemed pleased to see him and gestured for him to take a seat as he perched on a desk himself. As Harry sat, he realised that Flitwick was one of very few people who knew that he could perceive and respond to such gestures and chuckled to himself.

"Thank you, Professor, I'm sorry I know you must be busy, but I don't know who else to go to."

"Not at all Harry, any distraction from marking essays is welcome." The man laughed to himself, "Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, sir, it's Neville, or his wand at least." Harry explained the strange dark crack that he had seen in Neville's wand, how his magic couldn't flow through it properly. Flitwick remained silent until he finished describing the way the darkness seemed to actually take in some of Neville's magic.

"Hmm, I can't imagine Garrick would ever sell a damaged wand, I will speak with Minerva and contact Garrick about this, perhaps young Mr Longbottom damaged his wand after he bought it."

"Thank you, Professor, I didn't know what else to do and Neville has been struggling so much with his spells and I don't think it's his fault really."

"No, you have done the right thing Harry, I will speak with Professor McGonagall today, in fact she should have finished with her class by now, one moment Harry." Flitwick jumped down from the desk and made his way over to his own larger desk, scribbling a quick note onto a piece of parchment. He tapped the note with his wand, and it lifted into the air, folding as it did so until with a few flaps, a paper bird winged its way across the room and seemed to pass through the door as if it were a cloud, disappearing from sight.

"Right, Minerva will contact Augusta Longbottom to inform her of the problem, and I will pay a visit to Garrick this evening on my way to Castamir's."

"Thank you, Professor, oh would you thank Castamir for my quill? It works great!"

"Ah yes, he mentioned that, he will be glad you like it I am sure. I am afraid I have a rather busy evening ahead of me Harry, so I must be off, but well done on coming to me with this." Flitwick paused before he added. "Five points to Ravenclaw seems appropriate, for helping another student, hm?" Harry smiled as he stood from his seat, feeling better already about his decision to speak with the Professor.

"Thank you, Professor, and thank you for helping Neville."

"It is my duty as an educator to help all of my students, Harry. But you are very welcome." Flitwick ushered Harry from the room and tapped the doorknob with his wand, a web of blue igniting briefly across the doors surface as he did so. As Harry turned, he noticed a speck of red light approaching the two, the light grew until he could see that the paper bird had returned, now with a red light shining through the blue that coated it. It landed in Flitwick's hand, and he opened it and scanned the contents with a glance before nodding and tucking the bird into his pocket. "Professor McGonagall is writing to Mr Longbottom's grandmother now; I will inform Garrick tonight and we should get to the bottom of the problem soon."

"That's great, thanks again Professor."

"Not at all, Harry, though a bit of advice? You have Potions tomorrow, yes?" Harry nodded, confused, "Then I would recommend you revise the textbook tonight, just the first few chapters. Professor Snape often quizzes students in their first lessons."

"Ahh, okay Professor, we will, I think the Gryffindor's have him tomorrow afternoon so I will let Neville know as well."

"Good man, have a good evening, Harry." With that, the short wizard waved and turned, making his way in the direction of the Great Hall.

Harry turned and made his own way in the direction of the library. He found his friends gathered around a table behind a tall dusty bookcase, a brush of Harry's hand across the braille marker informed him the books were filled with mating rituals of Flobberworms, he didn't know what a Flobberworm was, but it still caused a shiver to run through him.

Neville was the first to spot him, or perhaps hear him as the distinct 'tap-tap' of his cane on the stone approached and he pulled out a chair for him. Neville was reading a book quietly and Hannah was working on an assignment of some kind, but Susan and Terry seemed to be arguing on what they should be studying now that they had finished their Defence assignment. Terry was advocating for Transfiguration, which had quickly become his favourite subject, and Susan was insisting that they read up on Potions, she had heard from a prefect that Professor Snape could be very strict and often tested the first years.

Harry briefly considered weighing in, but decided caution was the better part of valour in this instance and instead opened his Potions book and began to read quietly while they continued their hushed argument.

Soon the hushed argument developed into a louder argument with Hannah now weighing in as she had finished her assignment as well. The noise had apparently drawn the guardian of the library as Harry noticed Madam Pince's dark orange magic approaching a few aisles away. He raised a finger to his lips and shushed the three arguing friends and was pleasantly surprised when they all immediately fell silent. Just in time for Madam Pince to round the end of the aisle where she paused and seemed to eye the group for a few uncomfortable moments before she continued past, prowling deeper into the stacks. The group all let out a collective breath of relief as she left.

"Blimey Harry, thanks mate, that could've been bad. Apparently, she has a deal with Filch, anyone caught breaking the rules here gets the worst detentions!" Terry whispered in thanks.

"Yes, thank you Harry." Susan seemed to look at him closely before she blurted out, "Aha! Look Terry, Harry is reading his Potions book already, Cedric said we should really read up on it before the lesson tomorrow, and then tomorrow we can work on Transfiguration together."

Hannah threw her support behind Susan wordlessly, pulling out her Potions book and beginning to read it. Terry sighed and capitulated reluctantly, agreeing that if so many had recommended it then perhaps it was a good idea.

They spent the time before dinner reading up on the Potions book, even quizzing each other on the contents of the first five chapters. Neville proved to be very good at remembering the ingredients and what they did, but they all did fairly well by the end and departed for the Great Hall and dinner feeling confident about their lesson tomorrow.

That evening Terry and Harry tested each other before bed on Potions and Transfiguration, Terry insisted on including the latter, and soon fell asleep, their heads swimming with strange ingredients, ointments and potions.

Diagon Alley

As night fell across London, the moon hidden behind dark clouds in the sky, a short figure appeared with a nearly silent crack at the top of Diagon Alley and made their way down towards the oldest shop on the street. Filius Flitwick stopped outside Ollivanders and rapped his knuckles on the door twice, the door swinging open with a creak after his second knock.

The Master of Charms entered and did not have to wait long before Garrick Ollivander made his way from the back of the store, a leather apron across his chest and his large silver eyes glinting in the dim candlelight.

"Filius, my friend, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The wandmaker asked.

"Good evening, Garrick, I am afraid I am here on business. I came to ask about young Mr Longbottom's wand, I have been given reason to believe it could be damaged. I don't believe you would ever sell a damaged wand, but-" The aged wandmaker held up a hand.

"I am afraid I won't be of much help to you there Filius, I did not sell Mr Longbottom a wand, I had thought perhaps Augusta decided to make use of one of the Nordic craftsmen for the young heir, I know Harfang used one in his youth." Flitwick nodded at this, it was uncommon but not unheard of for British families to venture to other lands for their wands, though normally it was due to family tradition.

"Ah perhaps that is it then, well I will pass that onto Minerva, maybe she will be able to convince Augusta to bring the boy here one evening." Garrick frowned at this.

"I should hope so, a damaged wand is a dangerous thing, some have been known to react rather violently."

"Well, thank you for your help old friend, I am heading to Castamir's after this for a spot of dinner, I am sure he would be delighted to see you if you can drag yourself from your workshop for the night?" Filius offered.

Ollivander seemed to think for a moment before he nodded and took off his apron, hanging it from a small hook on the wall. The two friends made their way out of the shop and after Garrick tapped the door with his wand, it swung closed behind them with a heavy reverberating thud that seemed wrong coming from such a flimsy looking wooden door.

"Did I mention, Castamir picked up an old stave from Egypt at an auction last week? Gringotts believed it was at least a thousand years old, they almost lost a curse breaker getting to it…" The two wizards made their way down the alley and up a side street, disappearing from view as the elderly wandmaker exclaimed his interest.

They did not see the hooded figure appear from the shadows and approach the Wand shop, nor did they see him wave his wand in a twisting spiral before a single mote of crimson light drifted across the street to brush against the door to the building, like a snowflake carried on the wind. The mote had barely touched the door when it was violently dispelled, bursting into sparks and flying apart with a BANG. With a scowl and a curse, the hooded figure turned and made their way down to the entrance to Knockturn Alley, the dim lamps along the street illuminating a flash of purple beneath the hood of the cloak as they hurried away.

[End of Chapter 6]

A/N Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, work was crazy and unfortunately has to be prioritised over this.

WOW a hundred favourites is amazing and I am very grateful to everyone who has favourited, followed, and reviewed, it means a lot that so many people are enjoying this.

There will be one more chapter before Halloween and the events that will unfold then, and I won't be doing lesson by lesson descriptions after the next chapter, but it seemed necessary to build the foundation and show how the lessons would progress.

I will be trying to stick to a chapter a week, but I have no set days, I will just be releasing them when they are ready and I am happy with them.

Thank you again to everyone reading and enjoying the story, please let me know if you like what you read, and if not then please feel free to send constructive criticism!

Thanks,

Daedalus!