Thx to the great review over the last pair of weeks, enjoy! ~F
Chapter Nine
Magic of Another World
Hermione was startled out of her anger and self pity but a bellowing roar just outside the bathroom she was hiding inside. She knew she was missing the Halloween feast, and it was likely that the sound was simply part of the festivities, but something down inside her feared that it might not be. Sating from her position perched on the lid of a toilet, she quickly made her way to the door, crinkling her nose at the awful stench that seemed to waft from outside in the corridor. If this was some sort of prank, she was going to be mightily cross with whoever was doing it.
An almighty crash jarred her from the thought, and she wrenched open the door, eyes widening as she say the massive creature charging down the corridor at Harry Potter of all people. The boy stood defiantly against the rampage, magic whipping around him as a mass of water droplets congregated before him, forming a creature made from the element, which began to throw gallons of torrential water at the beast, which Hermione recognized as a troll.
The troll roared in anger, trying to push through the geyser of water being pumped at it by the elemental creature, even as Harry conjured a massive, molten fireball and hurled the orb at the troll, catching it in the chest. A scream of pain, and the troll was staggering back, swatting at the patch of its leathery hide that had caught aflame, while the small water elemental darting around it, slamming bodily into the troll to keep it off balance.
But Harry refused to stop there. Eyes starting to glow a strange, purple radiance, he raised a hand, causing pure magic to detonate all up the troll's body, miniature explosions tearing jagged cuts into the flesh, even as the power seemed to build up in the amazing boy. Hermione could only watch in shock and awe as Harry lifted off the ground with the force of the magic, before spreading his limbs wide, and unleashing a barrage of purple and white bolts in all directions, which turned and homed in on the troll, slamming into it with concussive force.
The beast was thrown well past Hermione, colliding with the stone was beyond with a thunderous crash. Taking her chance, Hermione ran toward Harry, even as the boy advanced on the troll, magic seeming to roll off of him like sweat.
But the troll wasn't finished yet either. Roaring in complaint and anger, it swung madly with its club, catching the elemental with a strong swing, and causing the magically animated water to disperse, drenching the ground over which it had hovered. Fire leapt to life in Harry's hands, and flaming spheres were thrown at the troll in succession, like a baseball pitcher, over and over, slamming into the torso and legs of the great beast, before a lucky one detonated, setting the monster on fire once again.
Roaring its indignation, the troll tried to lurch to its feet, but Harry conjured once again a massive molten sphere, causing it to crash upon the head of the creature, exploding with a terrible bang, and sending the troll crashing to the ground one final time.
Chest heaving with the exertion, Harry knelt, trying to gather his strength, even as Hermione went to him. The sound of running feet suddenly became audible as the troll fell silent, and within moments they were surrounded by very confused and worried Professors.
"What on… oh my goodness!" Professor McGonagall said as she spotted the troll's smoldering body. "Ex…explain yourselves, both of you!" she demanded, worried anger on her face, while Professor Snape went to examine the body of the slain creature. Professor Quirrell was present as well, but looked merely overwhelmed at the sight, and slumped against a nearby column of stone.
Still gasping for air, Harry spoke, "Hermione…didn't…know…about… the Ogre…" Professor McGonagall didn't seem to understand, so Hermione took over. "He was looking for me, as I hadn't come down to the feast because someone had upset me. There was no way I would have known about the troll. And from the looks of it, Harry saved my life by attacking it, as I was in that bathroom that it's currently next to."
"Is this true Potter?" McGonagall asked, looking at the boy for confirmation. Still trying to regulate his breathing, Harry could only nod, but he was slowly regaining control. He sat on the cold floor and leaned back on his hands, trying to relax his body from the exertion.
"Even still, it was a very foolish thing to do, tackling a fully grown mountain troll, and alone at any rate." The Transfiguration Professor said, but her voice was wavering as she looked over Harry's unharmed body, then over at the quite dead troll. "Professor Dumbledore will hear of this, but there will be no punishment for your noble intentions, we merely want to know how you managed it, when you're able to tell us."
Harry seemed to act as though a punishment would be preferable, which confused Hermione, but soon enough she was being escorted back to Gryffindor Tower by Professor Quirrell, leaving Harry alone as Dumbledore arrived personally. Whatever the outcome, it didn't matter to her; Hermione knew that Harry cared about her, to go out of his way to save her life, and she would always remember that.
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Severus couldn't believe his eyes when he, Professor McGongall and Quirrell rounded the corner to the girl's restroom. Potter, kneeling in a state of clear magical exhaustion, with the Granger girl huddled behind him, while a fully grown mountain troll lay dead at the opposite wall of the corridor.
Leaving the head of Gryffindor to take care of the children, Severus immediately went to investigate the corpse, feeling a vast wafting of foreign magic coming from the blackened body. It was not possible, and Severus' eyes widened as he saw the various fire, frost and pure magical residue that littered the troll's filthy, leathery hide.
The levels of magic present just could not have come from a single first year wizard, and turning back to glance at Potter, Severus wondered what sort of magic the boy had touched to allow such a feat. What was more, the magic was not dark in the slightest.
Turning as Granger was dismissed and Albus arrived, Severus got the old wizard's eye and transmitted his concern wordlessly, which cause the old man to come to him first, instead of going straight to the boy. Albus looked at the corpse, brow furrowing in concern at the heavy amount of magic that resided in the air, but also confused at the sheer power behind it with absolutely no darkness. But to Severus' consternation, the old man merely smiled, before turning back to Potter and beckoning the boy to them.
"Would you care to explain the heavy amount of magic that is still on this troll's body, Mr. Potter? We would be most intrigued to learn how a first year, with little magical training could harness such a vast amount so quickly, with barely the hint of exhaustion." The Headmaster said congenially.
Potter looked as though he wanted to do just about anything but that, but the boy was indeed trapped now, with so much evidence it was unlikely that Albus would allow him to escape without a satisfactory answer.
"I learned it from the moment I could walk and talk," Potter replied neutrally, avoiding eye contact with either of them.
"From who?" Albus persisted gently, but the boy looked as though he had been slapped.
"There were a few, but primarily my mentor, an Archmage of Dalaran…" he said after a moment. Severus for one didn't believe a word of it, knowing that there was no such place as Dalaran, nor that anyone in the Wizarding World used the title of 'Archmage' anymore, the title seen as some sort of hierarchy that was unfit in a modern society.
Albus however, once more to Severus' annoyance, seemed to accept the answer without question, but instead press a different line of thought, "And what sort of magic is it? I ask only because it is most unfamiliar to me personally which, if I may say so, is extraordinary in and of itself."
"The magic of the Arcane," Potter replied, which Severus heard but did not understand.
"I'm afraid that I do not know what you mean by 'Arcane,' Harry," Albus pressed. The boy turned away, obviously not wanting to discuss his past, or more likely hiding something of great importance, but eventually answered.
"It's a form of magic quite different from your own." He explained slowly, and both adult wizards waited as the boy spoke, "From what I've seen, this whole school teaches that magic is used from within, drawing from a personal pool of it in your very core, very fast but tiring after a time or extended use. The Arcane differs greatly in this as you do not pull magic from yourself, but draw it to you from assorted Ley Lines scattered across the world, several of which happen to converge under this very building. The magic that passively radiates from it powers the wards on the castle, but can also be tapped for personal use, not nearly as readily, as it requires a special ritual or knowledge on how to use them, but once done it is nearly an infinite source of power, so long as you can channel it."
Severus could not believe his ears as the eleven year old boy waxed deeply into magical science that he had never heard of, but the boy seemed more than confident about its existence, and the fact of the dead troll at their feet stood as proof that it just might be real. "Fascinating," Albus said, smiling, "I presume that there are bountiful means and ways to harness this magic, other than for purely destructive purposes?"
"Naturally, albeit I was trained to use this magic to defend myself primarily, but I suspect there are other methods that I do not know as of yet." Potter replied, looking more than ready to leave, and weaving slightly as he stood there.
Albus noticed this immediately, and sighed, "Well, I suppose that this conversation, highly thrilling though it may be for us, should wait until you're rested and once again at full capacity. We thank you for your honesty, Harry, off you trot to bed, although I daresay that you're house is probably continuing the Halloween feast in the common room as well, so whatever you wish to do to spend your evening. Good night." Albus said dismissively, and Potter nodded, walking slowly away while resting a hand against the wall to support himself.
Once the boy was gone, Severus turned to the Headmaster, "Thoughts?" he said swiftly.
Albus was stroking his long beard, studying the troll as he thought. "I am not inclined to believe Harry to be lying, not when he seemed so irritated to give up even that much information, but at the same time it is indeed hard to believe… I mean, the term Archmage hasn't been used since…" at that Albus paused, eyes widening as he considered something else.
"What?" Severus asked, "Albus, what is it?"
"The last Archmage to be worthy of the title was Merlin, was it not Severus?" Albus asked quietly, before simply walking away back toward the stairs leading up to his office. Severus could only gape at the man, unsure what had just occurred to distract the Headmaster so effectively.
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Albus couldn't believe that he hadn't figured it out before. Harry's secrecy, the ancient seeming magic that tapped into the very land itself, the title of Archmage, it all appeared that it would add up to a very particular solution, one that Albus was hesitant to guess at.
Merlin was the last Archmage to live, and no one ever confirmed the nearly all powerful wizard's death after his great duel with Morgan le Fay. If, and it was a very great if, Harry had learned this magic from Merlin himself, then it would give a massive indicator of just how powerful the boy could be.
Returning swiftly to his office, Albus set to pacing the floor. Most of the questions regarding Harry could be answered with the concept that Merlin had taught him, but there was still some questions, such as where he had been, and what this 'Dalaran' place was that he had mentioned.
It was odd, but Albus felt no satisfaction from figuring out this puzzle as he usually had with all others, but perhaps that was because it only spawned even more questions. Albus' thoughts raged with hundreds of things that he could potentially learn about the master wizard from Harry, not to mention how to access this Arcane magic for himself, which would be a great advantage when Lord Voldemort returned.
And that thought spun itself off to Albus recalling the stone that was hidden on the third floor, just waiting for the madman to try and seize it, like he had this very evening. It was good of Severus to be so bold as to confront Quirrell there, even if he was wounded in the process by the Cerberus. Amid all the confusion with the troll, Albus was certain that even the Potion's master had forgotten the wound, but the limp he had was quite obvious.
It would still prove an excellent point of testing for Albus to gently guide Harry to investigate the third floor himself, and eventually confront Quirrell. Some sensory magic in the room that would house the mirror would not go unadvised, and perhaps he would be able to see some of this arcane magic first hand.
Until then, Albus merely whispered a fifty point increase to Ravenclaw's house points, smiling to himself at the thought of all the surprised and cheerful faces that would blossom in the house of eagles when they saw the drastic change. The rumors were probably already spreading, even if he and the other Professor had nothing to do with it. The portraits alone were horrible gossips, and the students actually paid attention when it was something to do with one of their own.
Albus fully expect Harry to be heralded as a hero, if not the reincarnation of Merlin to his fellow students by lunchtime tomorrow, and set about with his evening tasks before retiring.
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After the indecent with the ogre, Nobu'tan felt the scrutiny of the Professors shoot up well over a hundredfold. Even Flitwick, his head of house and personal favorite, paid him extra attention when there was nothing of importance for the Charms Master to focus on, and it unnerved the young warlock.
He knew that telling Dumbledore and Snape partial truths about the Arcane would not be pleasant for him, but it was unavoidable. The old man could tell when he was lying, Nobu'tan was sure of it, and so long as his ties to the Burning Legion and Gul'dan were protected, all else was expendable.
The whispers among the students grew as well, mentioning some man named Merlin that Nobu'tan hadn't heard of before, but he presumed that it had something to do with whatever conjecture they had created to explain where he had been for his entire life. That was the beauty of his position. There was nothing outside of his affiliation with demons that would significantly hurt him, as these fools had never heard of Azeroth before, let alone the concept of other populated worlds.
The month called November began, and the weather started to turn colder, much similar to the same time of cold in the area around Stormwind and Kaz Modan. Nobu'tan wished that his fur robes were allowed to be worn, but most of the children simply wore their heavier cloth cloaks, which the young warlock felt was not nearly enough to conserve precious body heat.
Most of the students started to get excited about some game of Quidditch that was to start being played publicly for them all to observe, and while Nobu'tan enjoyed flying on the strange items far more than he expected, watching others fly didn't have the same appeal.
So, instead of being down at the stadium with the vast majority of the school to watch the beginning of their tournament, Nobu'tan was up on the seventh floor practicing his rituals and other magic. His fight with the ogre had given him some ideas of new tactics and abilities that he could have employed better. More mobility might have allowed Nobu'tan to lead the ogre away, and area covering powers may have been used to box the beast in with powerful demonic fire.
But one of his newest tricks would prove to help him in scouting out the castle and other areas while not endangering himself or even betraying his presence if discovered. Even now Nobu'tan watched himself, sitting cross legged on the ground channeling the spell that powered the little sphere-like glowing eye.
The spell, which Nobu'tan jokingly named the Eye of Kil'rogg after the one eyed orc that had looked rather favorably upon him back in Azeroth, was simple enough to cast, but needed to be channeled to maintain and took all of the casters senses away from their body, transferring them to the stealthy and flying eye.
Dismissing the spell, as it was limited to the room he was in, Nobu'tan prepared to go somewhere out of the way so he could test the range of the spell, but as he started down from the seventh floor, Hermione Granger turned the corner from where the young warlock expected Gryffindor Tower was located.
"Harry," she called in greeting, running up to join him, "I'd've expected you to be at the Quidditch game with everyone else."
Nobu'tan shrugged, "Watching others fly isn't especially entertaining. How about you though?"
Hermione shrugged as well, "About the same reasoning I expect. But it's good that I ran into you Harry, there's something that I wanted to ask."
Nobu'tan braced himself for the bombardment of questions along the same lines as Dumbledore's, but he was surprised by what she actually asked. "I want to learn those spells you used against the troll. The sheer power was nothing that I had ever expected from what we would be taught in our first year, which means that it's something that you alone know about, and I want to learn it."
Lifting his eyebrows, Nobu'tan paused at the very notion. Could these backward wizards be taught to learn the Arcane? He hadn't really considered the concept when Dumbledore had mentioned it, and the old man didn't meet with Nobu'tan again as of yet, but at the same time…
If Nobu'tan was a denizen of this world originally, and he learned the fel magic of Gul'dan as well as the Arcane power of the Kirin Tor, that would mean that these others could conceivably learn as well. And having a close ally would be most welcome at this point.
"I suppose it would be possible," he said slowly, "But be prepared to completely change your concept of magic, there is a mighty difference between the magic taught here and the Arcane."
"I'll try to keep an open mind," Hermione said with a smile, "so when can we begin?"
"Give me some time to think about how to begin, perhaps a week or two," Nobu'tan said, stalling for time. He had much to consider, especially how much he could teach this girl without giving away crucial information that could easily be transferred through the rumor mill back to Dumbledore.
Things would have to be done extremely slowly for this to work, and what was more, if Hermione would be willing to learn, perhaps there would be others that were willing to learn, and be much more easily swayed to his side of this madness. More allies would be welcome if he was to try and get back to Azeroth and have some measure of vengeance on Dumbledore for keeping him here.
For the moment though, the girl departed happy, which left Nobu'tan back to his original scheme of testing the Eye of Kilrogg. Retiring to an empty classroom just off Ravenclaw Tower, Nobu'tan settled into a meditative position, incanting the spell to summon the observational eye.
The distortion of his consciousness switching to the tiny floating eye was jarring, but soon enough he was darting through the air as the tiny, fiery green eye. Corridors blurred by as the eye whizzed along, skimming through open doors and bobbing along as it floated.
Once he reached the grand staircase, Nobu'tan decided to have some fun. Launching the eye into the air, Nobu'tan felt the joy of flying as the sphere darted at high speeds through the open area, dodging the stairs as they occasionally changed positions at random.
When he finally grew bored of that, Nobu'tan changed course drastically, speeding to the ground floor and through the open door to the entrance hall, squeezing through an open window above the front doors and exiting to the open air of the grounds.
Once out in the open, Nobu'tan took to the sky, soaring up and around the owlery, and for the sheer joy of it, darted toward the crowded stadium. The Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams were darting all around, chasing that various balls as part of the game.
Dipping through the confusion, Nobu'tan circled the field once, getting a good view of what was happening. It seemed that the Slytherin team was flattening the Gryffindors with cheap tactics and a heavy amount of cheating, but that was rather unimportant to Nobu'tan.
The vantage point given to him via the eye allowed him to spy around mostly undetected by anyone around the stadium. Naturally, it helped that most people were also focused on the game and therefore too distracted to notice the shimmer of magic that hid the floating green and orange eyeball from being seen. But, as Nobu'tan flew up around the box that the Professor were sitting in, the eye spotted something rather strange and interesting.
While Dumbledore was currently absent from watching the game, which was the first and pure reason that Nobu'tan even dared to send the little thing out to this spot, the eye spotted that both Professors Snape and Quirrell were easily tracking its motion, seeing through its disguise and probably wondering greatly at the sight. What was more, because of the eyes enchantments, it was able to pick up the massive assortment of soul based fel magic on Quirrell, radiating off the man in waves and yet no one else seemed to notice it.
However, with the eye revealed to these two, Nobu'tan did not have the time to linger and observe. Turning and darting away across the pitched, Nobu'tan steered the eye toward the castle, flying just over the stands where the Slytherin students were sitting. Once the eye was within range of the castle, Nobu'tan dismissed the spell, feeling his consciousness rush like a speeding arrow back to his body, which disoriented him greatly as vision and hearing returned to him.
Even as he stood and prepared for dinner to start down below, as the game was about to be finished, Nobu'tan was smiling. The field test went perfectly with little to no hitches, and the Eye of Kil'rogg would be a great asset to him in keeping his true knowledge a secret.
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Draco was steadily growing bored with the progress of the Quidditch match. Slytherin was going to win, and it wasn't even an idle boast. The Gryffindor team had a shoddy seeker and simply couldn't keep up with the points that the chasers were racking up, so the blond first year allowed his mind and attention to wander.
That was the only reason that he was looking straight up just as the strangest thing he ever saw flew over the Slytherin stands. At first it was a shimmering blur, but then magical concealment peeled away before his eyes and a large, Bludger sized eye with a mane of green fire soared over them towards the castle.
What was stranger was that it seemed that only he and maybe Theodore Nott seemed to notice. Both boys tracked the orb as it flew towards the castle and vanished over a hill before the entrance, and shared a confused look with each other, before casually standing and making their way from the stadium.
They had only made it out when the crowd roared in approval from the Slytherin stands, and Draco presumed that the game just ended with a Slytherin victory. Unfortunately for the Quidditch fans, he was no longer interested; this new mystery had usurped his attention well over the game results.
"I presume you saw the strange glowing eye as well?" he asked Theodore, who nodded as they walked well ahead of the crowd starting to exit the pitch.
"What do you think it was?" the boy responded, his quiet voice barely audible over the crowd behind them.
Draco had known Theodore for a while, since they were little children and the current batch of Slytherin first years were all tutored together. While Draco had been made to spend the majority of his time with the burly lumps that were Vincent and Gregory, Theodore was his real best friend. The two had equally respectable families, and while the weedy boy was not the greatest conversationalist, he was brilliantly talented when it came to memory and facts, and it both amused and intrigued Draco with all the random facts that the boy collected.
"I have no idea, but maybe we'll catch a glimpse of it again before reaching the castle." Draco replied. Unfortunately they did not see the orb again, but the castle doors were partially open, so they pair of Slytherin first years decided to just go to the Great Hall for dinner, and ponder what they might have seen.
"Well, it was the shape of an eye," Theodore said, speculating, "So it could very easily have been some sort of spell for spying or observing, perhaps a parent watching their child during the Quidditch game, or maybe even Dumbledore…"
The pair shared a look. Despite their parent's great dislike for the Headmaster, both boys had been taught strictly to respect the man for the offices he held, as well as the vast magical and political power that he controlled. It was a fact, Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard in Britain, even the Dark Lord had known it, and feared the man for that. Draco would not put it past the barmy old man to have devises such a spying spell, but he wondered why he and Theo were so easily able to pierce the concealment magic on whatever it was and see it.
They continued to discuss the object as they turned from the Entrance Hall and entered the Great Hall, where Draco paused, considering what he saw. Potter was already seated at the Ravenclaw table, casually reading a book as he waited for the meal to begin.
"Theo," he said slowly as they walked past the raven haired Ravenclaw, "do you recall seeing Potter at the match?"
The weedy boy thought for a moment, "I do believe he was not there, I scanned the crowd right when the game started, and he does rather stick out…"
"Do you think…?" Draco started, and Theo widened his eyes at the implication.
"It's possible…" he said, thinking quickly, "not nearly as probable as Dumbledore mind, but who knows where Potter's been all these years or what he's learned. But how would we confirm it?"
"Leave that to me," Draco said, glancing across at the Ravenclaw even as the rest of the school started filling in for dinner, and the sound level rose dramatically. He knew that classes were starting to wind down for the approaching Christmas holidays, and there would be ample opportunity to catch Potter before or after classes in the coming week alone.
However, to Draco's surprise, opportunity knocked far quicker than even he had expected. The next day, Sunday, while there were no classes for all students, he and Theodore were going up to the library to complete a potions assignment for Professor Snape, when they spotted Potter getting directions from Madam Pince, who smiled fondly at the boy as he turned to walk to where the woman had directed.
"He can even charm the old crone of the library… freaky," Theodore said quietly as they entered. Whatever book Potter was after was in his hands when the boy reappeared, and he sat down at a table strewn with various parchments and a few other books, but there was plenty of space. The two Slytherins exchanged a look and a nod, before taking their assignment and books and sitting across from Potter.
"Hello Potter," Draco said casually, and the boy hummed in response, thoroughly engrossed in the book he was scanning. "Typical Ravenclaw," Theodore joked lightly, smirking at Draco.
"Ah well," Draco sighed, "and here we were thinking that Potter might know something about the eye that flew over the Quidditch Pitch yesterday."
The boy paused, and Draco grinned in victory. He did know about it. Potter set the book down and looked up at the pair of them, green eyes carefully scrutinizing each of the Slytherins, "You both saw it too?"
"Of course, but how do you know about it," Nott said, catching on to the trap Draco had set, "especially when you weren't at the game…"
That did it. The boy narrowed his eyes, knowing that he was caught. "So it was you, then," Draco said, striking for the heart of the matter.
"And if it was, what then?" Potter said suspiciously, his face turning to ice. Draco was quite surprised how Slytherin the boy could become when he felt threatened.
"Then," he said slowly, knowing that Potter probably was use to dealing with people that wanted to use him, such as Dumbledore, and that the last thing they wanted was to make an enemy of the Ravenclaw by pushing him too hard, "we would be more than appreciative to be better acquaintances with someone capable of such interesting magic…"
There was a good few moments of silence as Potter watched the pair of Slytherins impassionedly, seeming to judge the pair of them with his eyes alone. Then Draco felt the tickle of magic as the boy washed a thin veil over them, as though scanning them for enchantment or other indicators of mistrust.
"I suppose it would be possible, but you would have to be used to sharing my time with another, besides my own pursuits as well naturally." Potter said finally, hefting the large book once again. Draco had a feeling that the Ravenclaw referred to the Gryffindor bookworm, Granger, but in truth the girl wasn't too terribly obnoxious. It was more the principle that she was a Mudblood that irked Slytherin house more than her overachieving nature.
However, if it meant closer relations with Potter and his strange magic, then Draco knew that both Theo and himself could hold their tongues. "We will need some sort of proof that you actually know this magic of which we speak." Nott said astutely, and Draco almost kicked himself for not catching that fact. If Potter had just been leading them on they might have been humiliated.
Potter sighed, setting the book down once again, before bringing his hands together before his chest, and a small ball of green flames appearing, with the shape of an eye in the midst of the fire. It was quickly snuffed out again before it drew any extra attention, but the small demonstration was enough for the pair of Slytherin first years. It may start slowly, but Draco and Theodore were both determined to outshine their fathers and their failed allegiance to the Dark Lord, and if this new magic would help them break free, then they owed it to each other to attempt it at any cost.
But who knew when or what time table Potter had for such a thing, and Draco wasn't sure how long he could wait. As the Ravenclaw returned the book to his hands and began reading it once again, Draco asked casually, "So, Potter, what plans do you have for Christmas day?"
The boy shrugged, "I don't really even know what that is…"
Theodore and Draco exchanged a glance, aghast. How could any wizarding child not know Christmas? "Well, that's settled then," Draco said proudly, "while it's too late for me to invite anyone else to spend the holiday at my family manor this year, I can and will invite you to attend the Malfoy Yuletide festival, on Christmas day at our home in Wiltshire. An owl will come sometime during the break with an invitation and portkey for you."
Harry paused again, but refused to let the book be removed from his hands, "That does sound somewhat delightful, and I accept."
"Excellent," Draco said. Neither Slytherin had touched their essays for Potions but, while the conversation had been far more productive than that, it was almost time for lunch. "We shall depart now," Draco added, checking the time, "I need to write my father regarding the slight change of plans, and then it's almost time for lunch. We'll see you in the Great Hall, Harry."
Potter nodded at the pair of them as they stood to leave, returning to his book almost instantly as the pair of Slytherins made their way to the door.
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Albus smiled as he let the Mirror of Erised land with a gentle bump in the middle of the unused classroom off the Library. Not only was it a good staging ground to hold the mirror for a short time before moving it to the third floor corridor, but it would allow for Harry to stumble across it, and learn how it functioned.
Albus had paid some attention to the boy's activities, outside of his semi frequent disappearances up on the seventh floor, which still confused the old wizard as to where the boy disappeared off to, but so long as nothing untoward was happening, it was a time of privacy that he allowed Harry to have, for now.
Through his network however, Albus knew that the boy was at least aware of something down the third floor corridor, even if the boy hadn't been bold enough to traverse it as of yet. Placing the Mirror here would normally not be enough with the current bookishness and quite one minded obsession with his project that Harry had, but Albus was certain that he could find a means to tempt the boy away to exploring the library at a time he normally ought not to be.
The other Professor may not agree with his idea of encouraging Harry to break the rules, but if in the end the boy was destined to defeat Lord Voldemort, then he could not be tied down by the conventions of magical warfare. This was but one step in a long plan that Albus had come up with for Harry long before the boy had disappeared, and even if he had to modify it last minute for a few changes, it would be effective enough to ensure the downfall of the Dark Lord.
Setting a small ward to notify him if someone entered the room with the Mirror, Albus departed, turning his brilliant mind to finding a reason for Harry to find his little prize, especially with the new time limit he had heard of through the grape vine of Hogwarts. Apparently the Malfoy heir had invited Harry personally to the country manor in Wiltshire for the Malfoy Christmas festival.
If everything had gone according to how Albus would have expected Harry to grow up it would have never happened, but things as they were, he saw little problem with Harry attending the party of a dark family, especially one that had supported Voldemort in the previous war.
The Death Eaters also had no idea the power that Harry had, as a possible student of Merlin himself, and the magical abilities that Harry knew would keep him safe enough. But perhaps to be sure, Albus thought he might convince Severus to accept the invitation for the first time since the first war ended, and go keep an eye on Harry.
And speaking of Harry's powerful magic, Albus had an idea of how to get the boy into the library after hours. All he needed to do now was find the right opportunity to drop the hint at a casual time. As it was still just before the winter holiday, perhaps he needed once final visit with Harry to discuss his unique abilities and ask the boy about what he planned to do over the break.
The next day, Albus did exactly that, summoning the boy after dinner to his office. Harry was prompt, and arrived exactly one minute before the appointed time. "Ah, Harry, punctual as always, have a seat. Lemon Drop?" he offered, which the boy refused. A pity, but Albus was starting to think that Harry might not like sugar as much as other boys his age. Not unusual, but still…
Harry did not begin their conversations, ever, so Albus took the initiative, "Well, Harry, I presume that you've been enjoying all your classes so far into the school year?" Albus asked, starting with pleasantries. Harry nodded, looking around the room at the great collection of tomes and other knickknacks that Albus had collected over the years. The only thing that he seemed to shy away from was Fawkes, but Albus chalked that up to a combination of shyness about animals and the lingering Dark Magic in the boy's body making him uncomfortable in the Light bird's presence. Hopefully time away from such magic would quell it eventually. "I wanted to ask you about your plans for the holidays, going away with any friends?"
"No, Headmaster, for the most part I will remain here at the castle, aside from Christmas day," Harry replied slowly.
"Ah I see, you've been invited to a Christmas party, how delightful," Albus said, allowing his eyes to twinkle grandfatherly.
"I've also called you here to let you know that I found a book in the Hogwarts Library that may allow us to understand your brand of magic a bit better," he said, noticing how quickly the boy reacted, turning his full attention to Albus as he spoke, "it documents a few wizards of past ages that used magic describe very much like your Arcane, as well as great feats with fire and ice. Hopefully between your first hand knowledge and this tome we may unlock even greater secrets."
"That… would be wonderful…" Harry said, pausing at his changed the words he wanted to say. Albus knew that the boy wanted no one to know of his abilities, and it probably galled Harry that Albus and Severus alone knew about them, but that was the price to pay for trying to keep things hidden from him wasn't it?
"Trust us or not, Harry my boy, but we do want to help you. I won't give you the details, but there are those out in the wizarding world that would wish you harm, and your ability in the arcane is an advantage that one cannot pass up on perfecting. Once the holiday is over, I'd like to see some demonstrations of your ability in the arcane, and with the book we may come up with ways for you to improve it?"
"I'd… like that very much, Sir." Harry said, almost gritting his teeth as he withheld great annoyance at Albus. The Headmaster ignored the blatant irritation, knowing that it was a big step that the boy was fighting to be civil over this. "Well, if you don't have anything you'd like to talk to me about, then you may go and enjoy your evening," Albus said after a short while, watching as the boy almost ran for the door. It was going to be an uphill battle with Harry, but Albus was willing to fight it if it was going to be this way, all for the Greater Good.
