Chapter 3: Alohamora
"DIFFINDO!"
The powerful cutting curse exploded from Harry's wand in a flash of red. The spell struck the dueling mannequin with such force that the auror replica was cut clean in half. But Harry didn't care.
Magic was flooding his veins and the air around him seemed to come alive as he fired spell after spell. It felt so wonderful and freeing. He felt like his magic was itching, scratching away at his skin, longing to be set free, and Harry allowed it.
"DELETRIUS!"
The familiar feeling of dark magic warmed Harry's fingertips as the curse crashed into the mannequin, disintegrating it on the spot.
If only I could have done the same to Moody. Harry's eyes darkened visibly as the memory of yesterday's failed mission flashed through his mind. The stupid auror ruined everything.
Lacarnum Inflamari! Harry thought, watching as fire lept from his wand and smashed into the stone walls of his training yard. The stone blackened almost instantly but remained standing, much to Harry's disappointment.
After his interaction with Snape, Harry had been able to elicit little from his father as to the nature of what was discussed in the meeting. Harry couldn't help but feel that the wizard was enjoying tormenting him even further. Part of him wondered if the dark lord had not planned his extreme punishment to have him miss the meeting in the first place. Voldemort had, after all, been very reluctant to agree for him to go in the first place.
Harry had a sneaking suspicion that his father did not want to reveal him as his heir. He had never been allowed to attend any sort of meeting the dark lord held and, therefore, very few death eaters actually knew of his existence, and even fewer knew of his relationship to Voldemort. This was knowledge only afforded to members of the dark lord's inner circle.
As far as any death eater knew, Harry was simply another young recruit. If Harry's seemingly random unannounced appearances on various missions or his distinct shimmering black robes caused anyone to wonder, Harry didn't know. If any of the death eaters suspected something of him, they kept their mouths shut. At least, when he was around. Because, despite no one even knowing his true name, rumors of the 'dark servant' had made him infamous among his father's followers. Every death eater seemed to understand that Harry was somehow close to the dark lord himself and that long commanded their obedience and fear.
Why his father refused to tell the death eaters the truth about Harry, was beyond him. When he was younger, he had naively assumed that Voldemort loved him so much that he didn't want him to be in danger should the wizarding world at large find out about him. But as Harry had grown older and more experienced, he had come to realize that his father was using him as some sort of secret weapon and that his identity somehow played a part in the power he commanded. Not that this bothered Harry much anymore. He had come to accept loneliness and isolation and even found himself enjoying it.
"BOMBARDA!"
The spell shook the blackened, stone wall. Bits of rock, dirt, and moss flew in every direction, but the charmed wall remained whole.
Not enough power behind the spell, Harry chided himself brushing off the dirt that had settled on his robes. Better try harder next time, Harry.
Suddenly a sharp pain flared in his skull. It was so fierce and unexpected that it caused Harry to fall to one knee on the dirt ground, one hand clutching at his scar.
What the hell? Harry thought gritting his teeth, the blinding pain making it increasingly hard for him to think clearly.
His scar seared once more before vanishing just as suddenly as it had begun, leaving the young wizard trembling in shock. After a minute or so of deep breathing and heavy cursing, Harry pushed himself to his feet, suddenly eager for the pain reliever potion Snape had prescribed him. It was unusual for Harry to experience two violent episodes in such close succession. Something was putting his father increasingly on edge.
And, of course, I'll be the last one to know what it is.
Harry's frustration erupted to life. He had the right to know what was going on out of all the death eaters. If he had to suffer with the physical consequences then at least he should know why. Harry's scar prickled again as if warning, but he ignored it trying instead to control his own emotions. He set about trying to construct his Occlumency shields as best he could.
His scar's connection to the dark lord's emotions was notorious for sending Harry's own feelings of anger skyrocketing. Everyone in Voldemort's inner circle knew about this and would do their best to avoid both wizards when they could feel tensions rising. But it was Harry's notorious accidental magic that made this rise in emotions all the more dangerous. His magic would instinctively act out to protect him from the source of the pain and anger, but Harry had nothing to channel it towards so it usually ended with disintegrated furniture or shattered windows.
Harry's scar seared again, this time so powerful that it brought the young wizard once more to his knees. Harry groaned as he clutched at his forehead. It felt like his skull was going to explode or, at the very least, tear itself open.
"Fuck off," Harry hissed, "Why can't you learn to control your fucking emotions better?"
The scar seemed to burn worse in response. It proved too much for Harry who fell onto his side with his anguished groan, his legs unwilling to hold him upright any longer. Harry was eternally grateful that there was no one around to watch him as he curled into himself, his fingernails digging into the skin around his scar. This was the worst attack he had suffered in years.
The stone wall exploded violently as Harry's magic lashed out. Small chunks of rock rained down around him, some smaller stones hit Harry's body, but he was in too much pain to care. All he could do was lay shivering in pain on the ground until the pain eventually passed. Harry squeezed his eyes closed and resigned himself to his miserable fate.
After what seemed like hours, the splitting pain in his skull faded until it was just a dull throbbing. Prying his eyes open with a groan, Harry cautiously pushed himself into an upright position. He was not at all surprised to see the carnage around him. The wall was completely destroyed leaving behind broken rocks. All around him lay bits of burning grass and moss.
Great, Harry thought, At least I managed to finally get past the charms on the wall.
Harry chuckled softly to himself, finding the entire situation morbidly amusing. He reached for his fallen wand with a shaking hand and felt a sense of calm rush over him as he grabbed the smooth wood. Any training he had wanted to do today would have to wait. Harry took a deep breath before staggering to his feet and closed his eyes until the dizziness faded.
Almost without thinking, Harry snapped his fingers twice, calling one of Voldemort's many house elves. The small creature appeared a second later with a soft pop. It instantly bowed low before choking out,
"Master H-h-harry. What can I do for you, my lord?"
Harry just motioned lazily at the demolished training yard before saying,
"Fix it."
Without another word, the young wizard stumbled away toward the door to the manner. The house elf just stood and watched him leave, a sad look on the creature's face.
"Mr. Potter! Miss Weasley!" Professor Burbage's stern voice cut through the noisy classroom like a knife. "Miss Weasley! Stay back for a moment. I will have a word with the both of you."
Both Gryffindors glanced at each other. They had been almost out the door when their muggle studies professor had called out to them, stopping them in their tracks. Ginny grumbled something that sounded remarkably like a swear word before halfheartedly stepping off to the side to allow the rest of their classmates to exit the room.
"What do you reckon, Will? Why's she upset with us now?" The redhead smirked slightly. "You didn't use one of my bothers' glue bombs to stick her fingers together, did you?"
William gave his best friend a look of horror. "I would never even think about doing such a thing to a teacher." His face grew suddenly serious. "Please tell me you didn't get me involved in something, Ginny. I promised my mum that I wouldn't get into any trouble this term."
"Aw relax. I didn't do anything and even if I had I wouldn't've gotten you involved. Wouldn't want to reveal what's behind that goody-two-shoes persona, now would we?"
Both fourteen-year-olds went quiet as they watched the last of their year trickle out of the classroom. Collin mouthed 'good luck' as he headed out of the door. William couldn't help but feel his anxiety rise as the large wooden door closed with an ominous-sounding click.
He had promised his mum just a couple of weeks ago that he would stay out of trouble and focus on his grades. Not that he had ever in his entire life turned in a late homework, let alone gotten a single detention. It had been more of a reassurance to his mum that he would not do anything rash or dangerous. He knew his parents were extremely paranoid about their children's safety after his elder brother's murder. William had never gotten the chance to meet his brother since Harry had been killed just months before he was even born. But it was obvious that Harry's death still haunted both of his parents. They rarely talked about their deceased child, but whenever they did, tears were sure to follow. William had learned from a young age to avoid bringing up anything regarding Harry.
William watched cautiously as the muggle studies professor set her textbook down heavily on her desk and started to work her way toward them. The young wizard began to desperately think over every detail of the last class period but could think of nothing he had done wrong. Meanwhile, next to him, Ginny was looking annoyingly relaxed and that fact alone caused William to worry all the more.
"P-professor Burbage," William managed to stutter out as the middle-aged witch neared, "If this is about the incident from last term, I assure you that Professor McGonagall…"
"Oh hush, Mr. Potter. This has nothing to do with that. Didn't Miss Weasley tell you about the wonderful opportunity the two of you have?"
"Opportunity? What opportunity?" William's brain was still struggling to process the fact that he was not in trouble. He looked over at Ginny who just shrugged.
"Erm well, I see then. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," the witch murmured, sending a glare at the young redhead, "Well, you and Miss Weasley have the opportunity to join some select students in an excursion I will be leading to Dufftown."
"The muggle village?" William's eyes widened, "You're really gonna take students to visit there?"
Professor Burbage smiled gently, "Well, of course, Mr. Potter. I do teach Muggle Studies. It seems only natural that I would take my best students to see a muggle town in action." The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper. "This is a very special occasion because I only conduct this trip every couple years."
William could not believe his ears. "And you want to take Ginny and I with you? Even after what she did to you last term?"
"Hey! I didn't-"
Both of them ignored Ginny's protests. "Well, it was quite an easy decision, to be perfectly honest. You are my best fourth-year student and I always take my best students from each year with me. And Miss Weasley, well her father requested personally, that I bring her and Mr. Weasley along. Seeing that he does work in this department in the Ministry it seems only right, don't you think?"
Ginny grinned at her friend whose mouth had now fallen open in shock.
"You will, of course, need parental approval." She handed both students several pieces of parchment. "And you will have to undergo several extra hours of defense lessons with Professor Lupin, given the state of things these days."
William gently took the form from his teacher's hand and looked at it as if it were made of gold. In all of his fourteen years of life, he had only ever been able to travel to a select few places. Never without his parents and never out into the muggle world. For as long as he could remember he had always wanted to be able to explore the world. Was this finally his first chance?
"If your parents sign the form and agree for you to go, then I would be very pleased to have both of you attend. However, I will need their signed consent back by the end of the month." William was hardly paying attention at this point. He was too busy imagining the things he would get to see and experience in the muggle town.
"There is, of course, great risk with a trip like this," the witch continued, "But the experience will, I am certain, be quite rewarding for both of you."
There was a brief moment of silence before Ginny elbowed him in the side, breaking him from his trance. William glanced up at his professor who seemed quite pleased at the reaction her invitation had garnered from her pupil.
"Th-thank you, professor," William finally managed to force out. "I am honored that you have invited me to go along with you. I can't wait!"
Professor Burbage chuckled softly. Beside him, Ginny just rolled her eyes.
