AN: Here is another chapter. The first 4 chapters will be posted quickly. I will say there will be time jumps. I am unsure of the quality, but I will include Flashbacks where I think its best. I have alot already written and overall everything feels organic. Let me know what you think.

As the class ended Harry looked at his responses with pride and he was certain he would be asking to drop divination for Ancient Runes. No matter what, he wanted to continue the class especially if he got to study under Professor Babbling. Maybe magical theory as well. Her way of teaching was just more critical of everything. She made you question what you learned and purposefully looked to stump you. Furthermore, she made you question what you're really learning in the exercises. He was honestly surprised Hermione stayed in her class and not surprised how much she complained about it. She didn't like any of this. It didn't go by a book. It went based on what they did and how it could be deconstructed. Maybe that's why she struggled? He would ask if he could switch over. It's not like he didn't have the time.

He stayed seated with a foot up on the desk leaning back knowing Bathsheda had asked him to stay, but his excitement on discovering a new ability got to him. "Mum was good at Runes according to Babbling and Dumbledore. Something more to remember mom and make her proud."

Harry smiled sadly at his day dream of coming home from summer break hoping to show his mom and dad his grades. He imagined getting picked up at the King Station. Waving goodbye to his friends and going home. Proudly then showing his grades. "Outstanding in Transfiguration, DADA, Charms and Ancient runes. Two for you dad and two for you Mum." Harry in his melancholy dream didn't see two things. The battery rune failed on Bathsheda's robe, as it got overloaded, and an angry Hermione pulled up next to him.

"Harry, get your feet down. And come on, let's wake up Ron for Lunch. We can talk about what Greengrass said in the Great Hall." As she glared at the blonde witch who looked at her with a smirk as she packed up her bag. Hermione continued with a glare. "Also, since when can you read runes? Clearly you know what they say. Did you cheat? I saw you had Professor Babblings notes. Passing it off as you know Runes. Gosh. I don't know why I help you and Ron in classes if you're just going to throw it back at me and spit in my face by cheating."

Hermione was cut off by an angry Harry once again. "Hermione please Shut up and leave me be. I am not in a mood and have now gotten angry at you twice in one day. You know I am not Ron and do not like being belittled. As for the notes. I did not cheat off Professor Babblings notes considering they are her personal notes on the concepts of runes. They are not her class agendas. Also, I do not ask for your help in classes and do fine in transfiguration, charms, and DADA without much of your help. If anything my practical is much better than you-"

Hermione cut him off. "Seriously Harry, where do you get off acting like this? You are gone for essentially a week and you come back like this. What did Dumbledore say? Did he reprimanded you? I told McGonagall you were skipping classes and she told me to leave you alone, and that she returned your broom. That seems unfair considering how much we all suffer for missing one class. Ron lost us how many points just for skipping one transfiguration class and you get to sleep in every day and be lazy." Hermione looked to try to push Harry's feet off the desk.

Harry cut her off by standing up. " Don't touch me Hermione and I said leave me be! I don't need to explain myself to you or anyone!" Hermione was banished from his side as she flew against the wall. Professor Babbling after seeing the final other students leave down the hallway felt her classroom wards report magic once again and had quickly run in and casted a cushioning charm on the walls next to her desk. Harry was shocked at seeing Hermione fly from him and at his magic's response. The intent very much being followed through. He had wanted to do that.

Hermione was unscathed as she landed on her feet but Babbling quickly realized she could not hide the fact of what happened until she saw Miss Greengrass with her wand in her hand. Hermione screeched "Greengrass attacked me Professor with a Depulso!" Looking at Miss Greengrass. The witch nodded.

"Miss Greengrass, explain yourself." Babbling sighed, thanking the quick thinking Slytherin.

Daphne responded. "Granger, once again, was patronizing and antagonizing Potter. Accusing him of cheating and having special privilege with professors even though it's clear Potter is going through something. Any "Friend" could see that, but I guess being smart doesn't make you aware of people's emotions. Yet, I was just going to continue packing, but I saw her reach for Potter's legs to swipe them away." Daphne looked down. "I personally detest physical violence and her actions brought up unpleasant memories. I accept any punishment."

Babbling sighed. Hermione was usually so calm and collected. Was this how she always acted with her friends? Domineering and belittling them for not being as smart as her? "Miss Granger. Please leave my classroom. I will see you for next week's class and please make that assignment I gave you an extra page long. Dismissed."

Hermione was shocked at getting reprimanded again as she collected herself and began to walk out. A glare being thrown at Greengrass.

Babbling continued. "Miss Greengrass for attacking a student in a classroom you will be serving detention for the rest of the school year with me for two days a week. For a total of 6 detentions. I hope you understand your actions although they may seem valid in your eyes; they are not in the eyes of the school." Greengrass nodded and Hermione smirked at her as she fully left the classroom.

Babbling seeing Hermione leave waited awhile while Daphne stood to the side and Harry slumped on his chair exhausted. Walking to the doorway she looked into the hallway and closed her door and froze the portraits one more time. The portraits did not care to report anything considering that to them it was clear to them that Greengrass girl had casted the Depulso. "Miss Greengrass I am sorry that you had to take the fall. I know it's out of the ordinary what is happening to Mister Potter, but I am once again shocked that you looked to help him."

Daphne stayed off to the side almost shyly and looked at Harry. "Payment for giving me a fun class and not being offended by my opinion." Harry looked at her with so many questions but allowed her to keep talking as she collected herself "What will we be doing for my detentions? Do I need to bring my carving tools?"

Babbling nodded. "Please do. You will be tutoring a prospective student who will be looking to transfer in for his 4th year. I believe you have the abilities he lacks in the subject. First detention is tonight followed by tomorrow night. Same for the next 2 weeks. You are dismissed. And again thank you." Greengrass nodded looking at Harry before walking to the door as Babbling unlocked the door for her to leave.

Harry stayed slumped in his chair, but quickly got the energy to stand up and shouted. "Thank you Daphne!" The blonde girl hesitated at the doorway, but continued walking. Babbling smiled at the two young students. Ahhh House politics keeping potential friends apart.

She shook her head and looked at Harry and squatted down to see the robes. "So you overloaded the battery rune. Any reason why?" Harry shook his head as he slumped back in his chair. "I am guessing my emotions got the best of me in my daydreaming or when I got mad at Hermione."

Babbling nodded as she recreated the battery rune as Harry quickly looked to get better. Harry, feeling better, sighed in relief as he stared down. "That wasn't an accident. I intended to banish her from me."

Babbling was surprised, true wandless magic. His magic was easier to tap into then? That further made no sense. She couldn't confirm it, but so far Harry had been very truthful.

Harry continued. "So obscurial? Seems everything does point to it. I have had darker thoughts about my life and what could have been since my adventure."

Babbling nodded but hesitated. Although she was surprised by his casual acceptance. "Surprised that you are not panicking. I think most people would, especially a young teenager. As for the diagnosis, I am not sure anymore, which I hinted at before the class started."

Harry shrugged and looked up. "Eh. Life has not been easy on me and is out of the ordinary even for the wizarding world. Why not add another issue. Although two in one year is a surprise. Would have expected this for 4th year fun. Harry potter and the mystery of Obscurials. I could see the book being written now, by those people who made those crazy stories about my childhood. What do you think it is now?"

Babbling laughed at his little joke, began to think and then responded. "During my studies I looked at how to remove an obscurial via runic ritual in America. I had theories but never got to test them. As they are rare. All my background research highlighted that an obscurial took time to develop and did not just manifest suddenly. Furthermore, it's clear that although your magic flares when under great stress; it comes in waves outside of that based on what you told me. Hence why you had issues with your wand. You can still use your wand, but in my research an obscurial is usually unable to use a wand. The inherent aspect of a wand is magical focus." Babbling looked lost in thought. If it wasn't an obscurial, what else could cause this. She was lost but knew she could ask no one in magical Britain for help.

Harry in thought responded to her. "You mentioned studying America, but I should tell no one here. why?" Babbling smiled sadly, but wanted to show the boy that she would try to not hide information from him no matter how dire. "What I am going to tell you is a very serious thing but I want you to understand that if we keep this between each other nothing will happen to you okay?"

Harry looked worried but resigned himself to add another secret in his life. Babbling continued with a deep breath. "Magical Britain has a long history of Obscurial but most famously it's rooted in Lord Slytherin's hatred for muggles. Obscurials are seen as a direct influence of muggle culture and torture of our kind. My worry is not what happens to muggles but the all or nothing belief system that Magical Britain cultivated in regarding how to handle Obscurials. In magical Britain if an obscurial is detected the wizard or witch is no longer considered a human. They are considered a lost cause and will be exterminated with extreme prejudice. Magical Britain does not want a destructive force of the extreme kind, a force so strong it is able to level city blocks running around."

Babbling stopped wanting to explain further but decided to continue down the path on History rather than implication. " Yet the funny thing is Lord Slytherin did not like this and was one of many reasons he fought with the other founders on. He believed there should be a way to heal the creature. Or so the stories go. It's one of the few positive stories of Lord Slytherin. Ironic in a way considering the other stories. He was overruled and as a result Hogwarts and Magical Britain by extension created a destroy on sight policy. Of course the idea being to not allow any Obscurial run rampant "

Harry was shocked and found what little voice he had as he stared down at the robe. "So if I told Flitwick and or anyone what was happening they would report me and look to kill me?"

Babbling looked unsure and shook her head side to side. "It's hard to say. You are the boy who lived etc. maybe there would be something different but overall based on the last obscurial it would seem so. It's why I told you not to mention it to Dumbledore."

Harry was shocked that even Dumbledore would do such a thing. Babbling sighed. "Dumbledore had a sister who was tortured by a group of muggles when she was very young for being a witch. Their father in retribution killed the muggles and was sent to Azkaban and would end up dying there. In her guilt it's believed she became an obscurial and with that had a death sentence put on her. The Dumbledore's took her into hiding. Not much is known but a few months later Dumbledore's sister was dead by a supposed wayward curse. She was 14. Dumbledore was never the same. He began to preach more lenient rules and quickly became a 2nd chances type person."

Harry couldn't believe it, the one person he thought could help him had maybe killed his own sister because of what she had become. Did he not look for a solution? He clearly has guilt but did he not care about her own feelings? What if she wasn't—? "What if the person is not an obscurial? Can they verify? It's not like they can wait for the magical detonation or the destruction."

Babbling nodded. "They don't. The major sign for an obscurial is unstable magic. Breaking the ground, unstable magic that screeches. Of course detonation and transformation into a black magical entity is there as well. Starting symptoms include the uncontrolled erratic magic; mainly many spells being cast all at once under emotional stress. Uncontrolled wandless magic, lacking intent, is only considered a symptom if you are young. It is one of the reasons young witches and wizards are monitored for magic usage in muggle areas. They are looking to monitor accidental vs. wandless magic and determine if steps need to be made. The can differentiate the two. It's similar to what I saw in the cafeteria and why I brought you to my classroom. Unfortunately, that means there is no spell to detect one and overall no way to know if an obscurial truly has taken hold. "

Harry understood. He was already showing all those signs and it was getting worse. He did not want to become a black mess of magic destroying the Hogwarts grounds. His thinking turned to something else. A question that was nagging at him since this all started. Why was Bathsheda different? Why did she not report him? Was it all for her experiments? She did mention she was an Orphan. Harry asked "Why are you helping me? You were born here and even studied here. Why risk lying to the headmaster and helping me? I didn't even know you before this morning and probably would have never walked into this room if it wasn't for what happened."

Babbling was surprised how deep his mistrust would go. To question people's motives. Why did she help? A sense of educational drive? Yes to some extent. In truth it was complicated? The first idea that came to her mind. To truly live in peace with what James did. To be able to rest easily. Lily helped her. James gave her a second chance. A second chance. In her own desperation she didn't look for a solution except one. She shoved the memories away. A hope to not only bury them, but never have to deal with them. She attempted to placate him. Maybe he could accept a simple story.

"I suppose it's because of my adoptive family's long history with Obscurials and also exposure to American ideas regarding it. My family has had a total of 2 Obscurials. Nothing of note, just a historical fact. In Ireland it was whispered that it became a magical trait of my House. Rumors have it that my family was even hunted for it, by both Grindelwald and Voldemort for a short time. Yet, once most people research how Obscurials work they realize it can't be a magical trait and it's due to circumstance. Extreme circumstances in Irish history where my family saw many of its magical students go to Britain during turbulent times. A hatred of muggle Britain fueling their hatred of having to journey here for Magical schooling. Ranging from massacres to rebellions, it was really due to circumstance. On the other hand, America exposed me to the idea of acceptance and attempt to cure what they consider an illness. Its own long history with the Salem witch trials and puritan religious beliefs in the muggle world caused many Obscurials. In many ways it's a norm for an obscurial or two to pop up every 50 years or so. In magical Britain it's rare to see one every 100 years."

Harry understood the idea of having to deal with an issue such as an obscurial so often could cause opinions to change. Babbling was thinking and then continued. "Exposure to a living obscurial outside of a host also verified that for me, an Obscurus, but you can't tell anyone that okay? It's considered a national secret in America. I studied it during my brief time as a researcher, what we call an unspeakable, in America."

Harry was fascinated by that information. A living obscurial outside of its host. Harry in excitement "Wait does that mean it can be removed." Babbling shook her head sadly. "No the host still died and as they died the obscurus was captured before it could detonate."

Harry nodded, but was lost in thought. Although it was interesting what she said. It didn't paint the full picture. Was she holding back? "Wait, that did not answer why help me? Or is it just that curiosity"

Babbling sighed he didn't accept it. She was unsure. Maybe one day she could tell him. For now, she knew she couldn't. It was too much. Maybe not for him, but it was for her. She decided to stretch the idea of what she said before and decided to give some of her true past. She gave in to at least being somewhat truthful. "Harry, you do know that some people just want to help or have a sense of help? Look at Miss. Greengrass, she helped you multiple times today and based on what I heard she is a very independent girl who keeps to herself. Furthermore, although I am a professor and I am a witch with ambition, I am also a witch that sympathizes with your upbringing. I was made an orphan just before joining Hogwarts. Losing the last of my family in my 6th year. I am also not so unaware of the feelings that come from being alone in the world with no real family and the closest ones betraying me. I did not lie to Dumbledore regarding your emotions and how I sympathize. Everyone knows the story of the Boy who lived. I am guessing not many know the story of Harry Potter. I know it is lonely and I know trusting is hard. The constant being compared to people that are not here and worse; people you don't even know.'' Bathsheda stopped as she wondered in her head. "Worse is being compared to people that are here."

She collected herself. " It's hard and annoying being compared to others. Besides in many ways, this is me paying it forward to the people who helped me, like your mother and father. " Harry looked away at the wall.

She was right. No one ever asked the story of Harry Potter the orphan. No one ever looked to give him space during Halloween. No one looked to inquire about his past either believing the books about his childhood; made without his knowledge, or just simply showing no care. The boy who lived and the adventures of the Golden Trio were always more interesting.

Harry kept staring down. He finally felt that he met someone that understood him to some degree. "The constant being compared to people that are not here and worse; people you don't even know or can ever relate to." Words he didn't even know had such a deep impact. "Thank you Bathsheda. I never had anyone explain what I am feeling. It always felt like it was just me."

Babbling smiled sadly feeling a tad guilty she hadn't told him the full truth. There was no malice, just her own failures. "Call me Sheda, it's what my friends and your mom called me in School."

Harry smiled. "So what's the plan for my magic? Also, I guess you also realized I enjoyed your class. I do want to continue it. At least for mum."

Sheda beamed at him wanting to continue the class and nodded. " I am glad you want to continue my class. I figured you would hence why I will have you sit with Miss. Greengrass and hopefully take the 3rd year exam with them. As for your issue with magic. I will have to do some more research and reach out to some contacts. Yet, I can't do that all at once and some things are better done under the table so it will take some time. The current solution is do you want to keep my cloak? It looks good on you. You can wear it under your House cloak. Could be annoying though. I planned to make some additions to the rune sequence and use metal as the conduit rather than cloth. It should allow the runes to take more magic, it still can break and is not a full proof solution, but at least it should allow you to use your magic normally. Non corporeal Patronus, possibly just a mist. You wouldn't happen to have a magical item that you can wear? I am unsure if you are aware but magical items are the only way to guarantee a rune sequence that can sustain itself and not break. In our case jewelry or a magical item could work."

Harry shook his head. "I will keep the cloak. I don't have anything else really that describes what you mean, I have an invisibility cloak but I guess that wouldn't work?"

Sheda nodded. " No, an invisibility cloak is a combination of runes and enchantment. It wouldn't work. Also, can't have you running around half invisible. A magical item is made with the infusion of pure magic either by ritual, exposure to potent magic overtime, or it being created with magical items such as dragon skin or unicorn hair. I will have to figure out what metal to use and where to get it on such short notice. Maybe in the future we can look to get a magical item and put the runes on it so you don't have to wear the cloak. Do you happen to have access to your family vault? Maybe the Potter family has an item we can use."

Harry looked at her confused. "Family vault? I think I only have a trust vault. It had a lot of Galleons so I could look to buy something that can work."

Sheda was thinking and got up from her seat. "We will think about that later. I will work on seeing what runes to add. I should have something before dinner, in the meantime I will try to find the best metal we can use on such a short notice. Try to find something yourself if you can. It can't be a conjured piece of metal, but actual metal. Preferably a precious one so Gold, silver etc. I will give you some time on your own, but please control your emotions okay? If anything, go straight to your dorm and go to sleep."

Harry got up and made his way to the door but turned around before he left. "Thank you Sheda. I appreciate what you told me. I will see you before dinner."

Sheda looked at him and smiled. "Of course Harry. Remember. You aren't alone in how you feel. Let me know if you need to talk, my door is always open." Harry smiled as he left feeling heard for the first time by an adult in his life.

Break Break Break

As Harry made his way back to the dorms not really sure what to do with himself. Although he debated going to get lunch and decided he wasn't that hungry currently. He then looked to figure out the issue on the metal. Not much he could think about. He walked around the Halls with no real goal. He had no precious items, his most valuable items being his Invisibility Cloak and his firebolt. Maybe he could catch that niffler and have it find something for him? He was deep in thought that he didn't realize he had walked down the grand staircase fully. Realizing where he was when he heard some girls scream and come running out of the girls bathroom. "The chamber of secrets could have something."

Harry quickly waited down the hallway and saw Moaning Myrtle come floating out. "Hello Myrtle. Anyone in the bathroom? I wanted to go into the chamber. I am looking for something."

Myrtle looked at him with excitement. "Hello Harry. You know you're the only one that can use my Bathroom without being disturbed. Can I come down with you to the chamber? I never got to see it after your experience last year."

Harry nodded as he went into the bathroom seeing the pipes spraying water again. "Myrtle I thought we agreed you wouldn't be scaring people by breaking the pipes under them." She giggled and Harry shook her head. He walked over to the fountain and whispered "open" as his parselmouth ability took hold. The entrance opened and he prepared to slide down again.

Myrtle stopped him. "Why are there no stairs? You said a boy released the snake, correct? Would he have slid also?"

Harry thought about it and realized she was right. Tom would have never slid down a pipe. Thinking he spoke "stairs." A set of stairs quickly unfolded. "Thank Myrtle. Let's go down."

Harry was surprised that the rocks had been cleaned, maybe the chamber cleaned itself? Or the Hogwarts house elves? As they made it to the chamber.

Myrtle gasped at the massive snake in the chamber. "Ohhh my. I had no chance did I?"

Harry shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately no. Do you sense anything inside here? Or is this the limit of how far your magic can go?" They walked/floated around the chamber carefully avoiding the snake's head.

Myrtle shook her head. "I do not sense anything else. The snake's pit is right behind the statue, but there is nothing else in the chamber. It is empty. This is more of a hall of worship than a chamber in my opinion. Almost as if the chamber was created to honor Slytherin rather than made by him." Harry took her thoughts with some weight. She had been a Ravenclaw after all.

He sighed "nothing out of the ordinary." As he continued to walk around in a different direction than Myrtle, he noticed magic coming from circles in the middle of the chamber. Runic circles. How had he missed it before?

He laughed as he thought. "Kind of hard to focus and see anything when a 30 foot snake is hunting you all the while it can kill you by just looking you in the eyes." The circle was large, taking up the whole possible radius. Furthermore, 2 parts were hidden by the basilisk head. Yet, Harry quickly realized he could feel the circle. His first observation was that it had only been used a few times based on the magic in the circle. Furthermore, although not his strength(he was actually rather clueless), the carves in the stone also pointed to that. It was a recent circle, something out of the ordinary for a 1500 year old castle.

He didn't realize the language, but squatted down and looked at the center bottom rune. A conduit rune. He surmised that a conduit rune was drawn on the individual and by extension it connected them to the actual rune circle. So that's how rituals worked, he thought. His curiosity getting the better of him he touched the conduit rune.

Suddenly he saw flashes of light and heard screams of pain, a pain that he began to feel as he felt the memory of something deep within himself be pulled away. He quickly pulled his hand away and stumbled back as he tried to catch his balance. His head and scar hurting he quickly checked the robes runes to make sure they had not been overloaded. Seeing them stable, he stood straight trying to think what happened. His memory? He had never used this rune circle. Why did it feel like he was seeing a memory of himself? Harry wondered as he continued to look at the runes. Dark magic it had to be, something about it made him feel dark. He was going to explore the other ones when he was distracted by a floating Myrtle.

Myrtle came up behind him. "You sense the magic of runes so you can read them. I read in the Newspapers when I was alive that Grindelwald could do the same. It's how he built his castle so well. The papers were hoping to leak any information on Grindelwald in hopes that any weakness could be exploited by anyone."

Harry shuddered, not really excited to be tied to another Dark Lord's abilities, he already had parselmouth. "Is it a rare ability?"

Myrtle shook her head. "I looked it up. No it's more of a magical House affinity, think of it as being naturally good because of your magical blood and family history."

Harry caught what she said. "Blood? Like you mean pure blood vs. Half-Blood vs. Muggle?"

Myrtle seemed hesitant. "Not, exactly. As a muggle born, for example, I do not have much magical blood in my system. I couldn't do impressive feats of magic as well as other students. I looked it up after trying to disprove that muggleborns weren't so different. I clearly was better than many purebloods but I was saddened to read that we kind of are. Grindelwald promised a world where muggleborns would be respected as magical beings above everything else like we deserved."

Harry looked at her in shock. "Wait, are you saying there is truth to the pure blood movement and its beliefs and that's how Grindelwald recruited people."

Myrtle scrunched her face. "Not entirely, just a little bit. The pureblood movement here in magical Britain is fueled by xenophobia, racism and classism. The 'pure blood' argument is only a part of their belief system. A stupid one at that. Magic is precious."

"Always some truth." Harry whispered what Sheda had stated.

He looked away in thought. "What else did you figure out about blood, when you researched it?" Harry continued looking at the rune circles and the carvings making sure to not touch them.

Myrtle hummed as she floated by him. "Blood is interesting. I already talked about natural born muggleborns. Although there are strong muggleborns. They are more than likely from squib lines of former great houses that eventually married muggles or muggleborns. Squibs' magic lies dormant it seems for generations even when they marry muggles. I assume no one has figured out why? "

Harry nodded, showing that the same was true now. Myrtle continued. " As for Pure bloods, that was a tad more interesting. Magical blood could be greatly increased and concentrated but it's clear something was wrong based on what I could tell. It's as if the blood has diminishing returns and I theorized it became detrimental. Like I said I was better than some purebloods. Half bloods though were the most interesting."

Harry peaked at that as he listened more closely. "Half bloods, in my understanding, were able to benefit from a magical line with strong affinities while being blessed with a blood that did not have much affinity. Squibs and muggles did the same hence why some are considered half bloods as well. A blank slate is what I thought. Or something similar. A radio is the example I made while in school. There are many channels for purebloods and in that I felt noise was created. Useless information. Muggleborns had to create the actual radio or learn magic. Half-blood's had the radio already built with select channels present so it was clearer. I think that makes sense?"

Myrtle floated around. As if thinking. "Radios do still exist, correct? Like muggle ones?" Harry chuckled. "Yes they do Myrtle. I think I understand you. So half bloods have their abilities and affinities become less complicated and deeper?"

Myrtle nodded, smiled and giggled at being understood. She continued. "True magical blood though was the most interesting."

Harry looked quizzically at her but allowed the normal shy ghost to talk. It's clear the topic was one she enjoyed when she was alive. Maybe a tad too much, who studied blood in 3rd year? "True magical blood is just that; being born of magic or under magical conditions. Magical beasts such as Dragons, Unicorns and even the snake right there." She said pointing to the basilisk. Harry looked thoughtfully as she continued. "Wizards and witches have crossed blood lines hoping to do such a thing, but never has a wizard been born like that. The closest ones coming from a veela."

Harry saw an opening and asked. "Wait there are wizards and witches that seek to create a magically born wizard and witch. What does that even mean? What's a veela have to do with abilities like that?"

Myrtle shrugged but responded. " I never could study magical blood more here at Hogwarts. My research was interrupted by a 5th year Slytherin who was also interested in blood and he threatened me. I wonder if he thought I was spying on him since I kept checking using the same books as he did. All I can say is that blood magic exists as a dark art because of that pursuit. People have tried to infuse their body with Unicorn blood and even other magical beasts. It never works. Yes you do benefit, it's why rituals exist, but the original hope was to become like a magical beast. I was just in my 3rd year like you when I died. Just starting my interests and journey, and in some ways I think I dug too deep. The 5th year tormented me for it. Goaded me. I think he found me interesting to be a muggleborn doing research like this; I think he was a half-blood. I wanted to prove him wrong."

Myrtle looked far away as if being called and then refocused. " Unable to continue that research, I looked to understand Veela and their relation as magical beings, which seemed like the best avenue in my research anyway. Veela are a female-only subspecies of human. They are considered by many to be magical creatures because they have an allure that attracts men, in reality it attracts the soul by what I read."

Harry, deciding to pick the ghost's brain and continue her train of thought. "What makes them different from a centaur or a goblin then in your opinion?"

Myrtle got excited that someone was listening to her. Not like those kids in her class who tormented her. She was smart. "Although unknown how the two you mentioned were created. It's clear that veela come from sirens or fairies, their charm and appearance being very ethereal. My curiosity continued as I dived more into their magic by ordering books from the continent. I felt so smart doing this on my own and so independent. My biggest discovery was that their magic is recognized as human. Not some half hybrid, but human."

Harry nodded. "So it means that magic itself sees them as human beings and not magical creatures."

Myrtle nodded happily and in excitement floating in circles. "Exactly. I was so proud when I figured that out. I never was able to figure out more though. The night I was killed by the snake was the night I was coming back from the owlery."

Myrtle struggled and Harry could tell the girl was struggling to continue as the day she died overcame her. "Myrtle, it's okay if you don't want to continue. I appreciate the lesson."

Myrtle for the first time seemed to beat her emotions and continued with renewed passion. "I was bullied on the way back and ran here. I was sending letters to a small bookshop in the magical town in Vienna, Austria. It was one of the last bastions of semi peace during that time. Grindelwald never attacked it and I liked visiting. I found the book in a corner behind a shelf. I tried buying it but didn't have enough money. It was a rather expensive book at first, but once the owner saw it was about Veela he agreed to part with it at a cheaper price. I had to save up and I sent my 3 month allowance and planned to pick it up in person during my summer vacation with my magical relatives."

Harry looked at the witch in a new light. She was so passionate and in that moment he saw aspects of a young teen excited to discover the wonders of the magical world. Voldemort had extinguished that in his hatred of muggleborns.

Harry shook his head as he looked at Myrtle and responded. "I will get it for you one day Myrtle okay? What's the name of the book? Can you tell me what you theorized you would learn or confirm when you got the book?" Myrtle beamed at him. And flew around in a circle with happiness.

She batted her eyelashes and winked at Harry as she stopped "Thank You Harry. The book was called On the nature of fairies; the title is misleading, I found. The book is supposedly the only collection of accurate information about Veela outside of a Veela coven. It was a book commissioned by a wizard during the Roman Republic. He was a general in the Roman army who had fallen in love with a Veela and attempted to court her with the book. In reality she did not care and got mad at his findings and killed him. I only found out about it in a hidden book in the Restricted section called Secrets of the darkest Art. I didn't care for anything else in the book, such as soul magic. I wanted blood magic and I saw it was referenced with that little history. Learning that books were hidden in the restricted section at Hogwarts. I made a point to always check for hidden books at bookshops. To my surprise I found it."

Myrtle said with baited breath excited to get the book. "I never believed the idea that blood magic could create a magical being or something holier than thou. I felt it was always corrupting and guaranteed the end of your bloodline. BUT I theorized that veela magic acted as a cleanse and or cleaned the blood of a witch or wizard. Preserving magical affinities and abilities for generations. In many ways, a wizard or witch born of a veela could keep all their magical abilities and affinities rather than having a random chance on what you kept. My theory had holes before I even got the book. The first being that Veela only have female children until a few generations pass and then the children are no longer veela. Meaning that Veela magic was very dominant and possibly would not allow any other magic to co-exist with it. Maybe House magic could, but abilities like Metamorphmagus would disappear. The second issue was the allure. A magical ability that is lost as well over time and outside of charming others has no use. It submitted people's souls according to Secrets of darkest arts. According to the book it was the only useful thing it did. I wondered if that meant it submitted someone's magic as well. Also, what did it mean to submit a soul? Thirdly, the avian form. I couldn't rationalize how that wasn't a beast in magic's eyes. My last question. What happened between Veela and the wizard world for Veela to go from being worshiped by a High ranking Wizard Roman General to being considered nothing but play things of the rich. Questions I had hoped to answer with, On the nature of Fairies." Myrtle finished and Harry looked in thought.

He sighed as he stopped walking and realized there would be nothing down here.

"Thank you Myrtle for coming with me and the lesson in magical blood. You are a very bright witch and would have done great things if the unfortunate didn't happen. Like I said if I ever find myself in Vienna I will definitely be on the lookout for the book. I guess there is nothing for us down here then."

Harry stated as he looked to leave, but Myrtle questioned him as she blushed from his compliments. "What were you looking for again? A room? Like a personal study of Lord Slytherin?"

Harry shook his head and laughed at the idea. "Wouldn't that be something? Lord Slytherins personal study. All the secrets. Hahaha. No, I am just looking for some gold or silver. I was looking to create a rune sequence and gold and silver are some of the best materials to do it on. According to Professor Babbling it makes the sequence more powerful and stable. ''

Harry shrugged. Myrtle nodded and responded as she looked and pointed at the snake. "You aren't wrong but you have this here. It's yours. You did beat it. Why not take one of its fangs or skin and make a rune sequence on it? Nothing would compare to an over 1500 year old magical Basilisk that you defeated. ''

Harry blinked at the genius of the ghost. "You're brilliant Myrtle but I don't have a magical knife to do it with and I rather not carry a fang of one of the deadliest creatures in the Magical world."

Myrtle blushed at the compliment again. "Ohhh Harry. You're going to make me blush and squirm even more if you keep giving me compliments. Here. Take this."

Harry was surprised to see Myrtle pull out a small knife in a scabbard from her under her robe. It had white polished ivory handle and had a rather wide bevel. "It's my magic knife. It was sent to me from France during my time researching magical blood and Veela. It has runes on it that store the blood of what it cuts. I surmised it was meant to be a ritual knife, to check for family heritage, and some other things but I used it to just see my magical potency."

Using ghost magic she pulled it from the scabbard and let it float into Harry's hands. Who marveled at its blade and design. Harry commented as he looked at it "its runes are complicated and interwoven. I sense what you stated but I feel other runes. Basic longevity runes, but also stuff I don't even understand. This could also act as a carving knife. Yet something more. The blade is made of silver, I think, and its design is beautiful, especially the branches of roses and thorns on the bevel of the blade." Harry marveled at the knife and continued. "Myrtle this must have caused a fortune. How did you get this? Did you steal it? ''

Myrtle giggled. "No. I am not that naughty, but I can be. Hehe. You know how I stated Veela had a falling out with the wizarding world at some point? Well their crafted items are not considered in high regard so they are much cheaper then wizard items and goblin made items. I got that knife as a gift from a book seller from southern France. He said he could never sell it and decided to toss it in with the books I had purchased. Imagine my joy when I realized the knife had Veela only runes." Harry was surprised to hear that.

Veela made runes. Runes clearly was a deeper subject then most gave it credit based on the runes on the knife and the ones on the floor of the chamber. "Thank you Myrtle. Do you have any idea where it's best to cut a piece of the skin?"

Myrtle nodded. "Based on what I know about magic I would say your best bet is close to its venom glands or where its eyes would be. Both should be the most magically concentrated."

Harry nodded and made his way to the top of the snake's head. Surprised at the snake's lack of rot after one year. Yet, quickly realizing that magical beasts did not rot with large quantities of ambient magic around them. In this case as long as Hogwarts stood tall, the snake would never rot and look as if it was just killed a few minutes ago.

Harry found his footing and began to cut at the head of the snake. Long ribbons of skin going from the top to where the left eye would have been. Looking to cut one more ribbon the knife sunk in and punctured a tiny venom sac of the snake. Panicking about getting the venom on himself Harry quickly finished his cut and jumped off the snake. "Close one right Myrtle?"

Myrtle nodded who in her worry had become silent but found her voice. "You didn't get any on you right?" Harry looked down and checked his clothes.

Seeing nothing he shook his head "Nope I think we are in the clear. 5 long pieces should be more than enough. Let me clean your knife and give it back to you."

Harry moved to the water, but was stopped by a call out from Myrtle." You can't wash the venom away Harry and I gave you it. Keep it. No one deserves to carry it more than you. You avenged me and always talked to me. All I ask is that you keep me company while you can and one day bring me the book I mentioned to you."

Harry looked at the knife as he saw the silver blade now had a green tint to it. The venom clearly had become a part of the blade. He now had a deadly weapon that could kill almost anything with just a scratch. Harry looked up to Myrtle as she gave him the tiny scabbard. "Thank you Myrtle. You really are a great friend. We should head back up." Myrtle beamed at being called a friend and followed the boy out. Not once did she moan and not once was she asked to shut up. Harry was a friend.

Break Break Break

Daphne Greengrass was confused. Not confused by her actions, but confused on what was happening. She had woken up early today hoping to get her notes in order for a day of reviewing in her classes. Her early Breakfast was interrupted by the golden boy's use of accidental magic. A shock for her as it was unheard of for a 13 year old to have his magic react in such a way especially after being rumored to have casted a Patronus.

Her day was further made curious by the golden boy appearance in her rune class where she had decided on a whim to defend the boy not once but twice from Granger. His own supposed friend. Both times in an effort to curb the accidental magic the boy was still letting off. One would assume that the golden boy would be on a one way flo to St. Mungo for a check up, but it was clear that Professor Babbling was looking to take care of him. This also confused the platinum witch who did not understand not only where did the professor get such care for the golden boy, but why she had been secretive regarding it.

Well, in some ways she did understand being secretive. Accidental magic was an embarrassing thing especially the older you got. It showed you as a wizard and witch who had no skill regarding your emotions nor the ability to control your magic.

To have it happen threes times in one day? That was almost unheard. "Flared magic was not so different. My family would know that" Daphne whispered to herself as she collected her stuff for the second half of the day. Daphne shook the thoughts away as she further whispered. "It never was that bad for any Greengrass, but severity doesn't take away from familiarity." She knew why she sympathized; it's a care she hoped to receive when it came for her.

Either way she had questions, but felt she would just wait. She assumed she would be spending time with the Golden boy for a while now in her detentions until the end of the year and there she could pick his brain. Right now she was looking to eat her lunch alone and made her way to the great hall.

Break Break Break

As Daphne sat down at the Slytherin table she rolled her eyes at the incoming Malfoy crowd. She hated the boy for his actions and how he carried himself. Acting more like a Grif than anything else.

"Hello Greengrass another year down and another year you neglect a possible friendship between us." Malfoy sneered as he walked by, not looking for an answer, followed by Pansy and the two trolls. Daphne smirked at the boys' attempt to intimidate.

Daphne kept her head low in the snake den. She had no friends and no one to talk to. Nor did she want them. She wanted to study and become an unspeakable at the ministry. She didn't want to marry, be a trophy wife nor be any one's friend. If anything she wondered when her hormones would kick in and make her question everything again. Yet, she didn't worry, she knew she could control it. Raised by her mom, after her father passed away, she was an only child looking to understand family magic and hopefully understand hers one day.

Although her mom warned her of becoming too engrossed with her studying and the issues of her family magic she knew her mom was proud of her. Yet, Daphne had become a tad worried about her. Her mom had become a shell of herself ever since her dad passed away. The only thing holding her mom together was the fact that Daphne was still here. Yet, Daphne feared what was to come. The thing that killed her dad would one day come to her. A fear that she knew her mom had.

This want to tackle this fear made her completely different from her younger cousin Astoria who ignored what could happen all for the joys of life and worst of all, hanging on Malfoy's every word. Furthermore, Astoria was the one in line to pass the family name on, and in the grand scheme of things Daphne could care less about house tradition and formality. Daphne just wanted to be left alone.

Something she quickly realized wasn't going to happen at all today when a Weasel and Granger came walking up to her table. She sighed. "You slimy snake. What is this I hear you attacked Hermione." Ron came up in front of Hermione.

Hermione stopped him as she pulled up next to him. "Ron, be careful with what you say. You know certain professors prefer Slytherin." She stated as she looked at the head table looking for Professor Babbling after she felt that she was unjustly punished and not catching her at the head table.

She continued. "Personally I came over because I want to know what you did to Harry, Greengrass. Did you control him with an Imperious to get back at me? Did your mind magic also lead to Harry becoming good at Runes, by accident."

Ron looked confused at her statement. "Is Harry good at Runes? He has never opened a book on them. I thought he was in the dorms. His wand is in his bed."

Hermione responded in frustration. "I told you what happened as we came down. I swear you and Harry never listen to me. Only pick and choose what you want to hear." Ron looked a tad embarrassed at her statement and mumbled an apology.

Hermione huffed and continued to look at Daphne for an explanation. Daphne smirked as she looked at them. People had started to say that they bickered like a married couple and Daphne found it amusing. "Since when is bickering a good sign of a married couple" Daphne thought. All it told her is that people who agreed with that statement had parents who would grow to resent each other. For example, her parents never acted like that when her dad was around but her aunt and uncle did, and it was clear her uncle cheated on his wife.

Daphne sighed and decided Granger and Weasel needed a response as she made a sandwich. "Granger, I did nothing to your Golden boy. He had some issues this morning. Issues that Professor Babbling told me to keep in confidence, since I saw them happen. And it's clear our Headmaster agreed it should not be stated to everyone when he himself talked to Potter in private. As for his abilities in runes, I am as surprised as you are. Last I checked Potter was good In transfiguration, Charms, and DADA. Although he lacks any theoretical background, his ability to cast any spell he hears and do any Transfiguration with enough time may point to House magic and his magical blood." Daphne shrugged as she finished making her sandwich. Expecting a response, Daphne did not expect anything from the weasel, but surprised that he spoke up first.

"What do you mean "her Golden boy" you snake? Harry is both our friends." Ron stated with a little bit more than usual venom in the 1st part.

Daphne smirked. "Is the little red weasel jealous of the golden boy? Well, if you must know it's assumed by many that the golden boy and Granger are a couple or at least destined to be one. Isn't that right Granger? I am guessing you have heard the rumors yourself." Ron turned red and looked to grab his wand but hesitated, turned around and walked away.

Hermione meanwhile looked embarrassed herself, but also angry. " You stop spreading rumors and lies about my friends. As for your comment. That pure blood dribble is a lie and no one is better than anyone just because of their blood."

Daphne shrugged. "If you don't care to learn it's not for me to educate. I will say though that magical blood and its influence on who we are is very important and although pure bloods like to think they are at the top it is much more complicated. House Potter has a long history of transfiguration and battle magic or DADA as we call it before you get a mastery in it. Potter's Father was amazing at transfiguration and Lord Charles, Potter's Grandfather, was a battle mage and amazing with Battle transfiguration as well. It's safe to assume then that Potter would get those affinities as well don't you think?" Daphne finished as she took a sip of water and munched on her sandwich.

Hermione was at a loss. Greengrass had made sense. It wasn't pure blood dribble that Greengrass had finished with like she expected. It was a concept. A concept she became curious about. "Wait, are you saying that Wizards or witches are born with affinities based on their blood or house? And that is why House magic exists. " Daphne sighed at the muggleborn.

Although she and her mom didn't agree with the pure blood movement. It's time like these she could see how this ignorance could turn into wizards or witches hating muggleborns. "Yes Granger. Not everything is backwards in our world." Hermione looked embarrassed at her statement.

Daphne continued. "House magic or magical blood, although not one in the same, they do both have close ties, are very powerful. The more magical the blood the stronger it becomes. Magical affinities have a higher chance of being passed down. Think being naturally good at potions, runes, DADA, or the example I gave of Potter. The other thing that can be passed down is magical traits. Think parselmouth like the golden boy. Muggleborns like yourself don't have a lot of magic in your blood and as a result you have to try harder and do more than what others do. You also don't have magical affinities already predestined/known. You will have to work hard in a field and with that it can grow to become an affinity by being exposed to its magic closely. Actually practicing the magic, not just a spell or two. It's why potions is the easiest subject for many wizards and witches. It's the one subject everyone does consistently. Over time that exposure is something your kids may get if you are truly good at it. Muggles must have something similar with certain muggles being better at other stuff no?" Daphne finished as she looked to finish her sandwich. Noting her next class would be starting soon, Potions with the Puffs.

Hermione looked conflicted. So she was at a disadvantage? That seemed unfair to be born into a world where you automatically were less than others because of who you were born into. She tried coming up with a response but she couldn't. She was stuck but found her voice, with some venom in it. "So I am at a disadvantage. Never to be as good as everyone else. All because I wasn't born into some great house or have ancestors who were wizards and witches also?"

Daphne spoke again with some frustration. "Granger. This does not mean that you can't catch up or surpass pure bloods or whoever you want. Lily Potter did so after some hard work. It just means you have to work harder and forge your own path. It also means that your spells won't be as powerful as others also, but you could still do complicated feats of magic. You act as if muggle societies are also not characterized by someone being born in a lesser position than others and having to work more to succeed." Daphne got up and left. Annoyed at the girl's reaction. If only muggleborns studied their world. There was injustice, but it was much more complicated then simple good side, middle, or bad side. The circles overlapped and didn't overlap in so many ways. Its why she hated politics, house politics, and almost everything regarding blood purity and the stupid ideas around it. There where easy answers like muggleborns should be respected but how do you handle the wealth gap between everyone? How do you handle the moderates who grind everything to a halt when change is needed? Lastly, how do you handle an extremist taking control of your wealthiest individuals and plunging the nation into civil war?

Hermione after some time also left with frustrating tears coming down her eyes. A goal of collecting books on magical blood and House magic in the back of her head. There was no way Greengrass was right. It just couldn't be. Yet, a part of her knew it made sense. The muggle world did have it not just socially but genetically. People born to scientists with great capabilities. They would somehow be born just as smart or have similar capabilities as their parents. Was that the same? If so, why wouldn't the magical world have it also? If anything, the magical world was more straightforward. Deeply study a magical branch and your children would be good at it. Then why didn't more people do it? "Laziness and complacency." Hermione realized.

Break break break

As Harry left the bathroom saying goodbye to Myrtle he looked to see what time it was. He realized he did not have a wand. Sighing he looked to find someone he could try to goad to tell him the time. To his surprise a tempus was casted by the knife showing the sun was at its highest. 12 or around it. As he reached to pull it out of the scabbard, he felt the knife warm up and seemingly bond with him like what he felt with his own wand. "What just happened?." He thought.

Seeing the position of the sun he figured lunch would be ending soon and decided to quickly get his wand and head back to Sheda with his findings. He had put the skin of the snake in the internal pocket of Sheda's robe and hooked the knife back on his belt with the scabbard. As he made his way to the Gryffindor tower he attempted to avoid people as best as he could, looking to make it to his dorm as quickly as possible.

In the dorms he found everyone had left and were in classes. So it was probably 1:30. If he had been going to class he would have had History with the claws. He quickly pocketed his wand feeling it fully cold and inert in his hands. Not realizing the significance he grabbed his invisibility cloak, and made his way out of the dorms once again. As he touched the cloak he heard the whispers again. The whispers that had disappeared before, had now come back. Putting on the cloak, he opened the map and looked to see where everyone was. Dumbledore was not at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione were in History. Nothing out of the ordinary. He saw Sheda in her office walking around her classroom. Deciding that this time was the best he made his way to her.

Break Break Break

As he reached her classroom, he took the cloak off and pocketed the items and went into the classroom. "Hello Harry. Your back earlier than I expected. Did you find some metal we could use or an item? I just finished the rune sequence, it's not much. Come into my office."

Harry nodded as he followed her into the office as they sat down. Harry continued. " I did find something that we can use but I am not sure how. We could try weaving it into the robe or we can make a belt."

Sheda wondered what he had found. "I am pretty good at weaving. I can look to weave it with the cloak or we can figure something else out."

Her train of thought stopped when Harry sat down and pulled what looked like ribbons of snake skin from his/her light purple cloak. "Harry what is this?"

Harry looked contemplative and semi nervous. "You said I could trust you, no? Well it's Basilisk skin specifically right above the left eye where one of its venom glands is."

Babbling was shocked. Scared to even touch it; she looked at it in fascination. True Basilisk skin. "How did you get this? Wait, is this from the chamber of secrets? A basilisk was petrifying students and we didn't close the school."

Harry nodded. "We were pretty lucky. No one did ever look it in the eyes but through reflections. I killed it at the end of last year in the chamber of secrets with the sword of Gryffindor through its head and I think a venom gland. Hermione actually figured out what it was right at the end so we couldn't really know. I kind of failed to realize it myself. Not really caring to learn about the beast. Dealing with some other stuff as well. Slytherin's heir."

Sheda was shocked and kept looking at the skin. She levitated it and took in its length of each piece being about 2 feet. It had to be cleaned but it could work. Furthermore, it would work better than anything she could think of. Probably better then a magical artifact since this itself would transform her cloak into one. Seeing she had been quiet for a while she looked at Harry. "Maybe you should start writing your own books, Harry. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets sounds like a pretty good title. No?"

She laughed as Harry grimaced and then chuckled. She looked at the skin and figured she could use the other runes she planned to use. "Well. I can weave it but the cloak will become a robe. I will blend the skin magically into the cloak. It will change the color scheme but it should allow the robe to fully hold the rune sequence. I will put two runes on each piece for a total of 10 runes. The magic of the snake should be able to hold the runes in place. A great solution overall. Only problem is that carving the snake's skin could be hard. We are looking at some of the most magically resistant skin in the wizarding world. Wait, you naturally cut this off? What did you use?"

Harry nodded and pulled his knife from his belt very carefully. "I would be careful with the knife, I accidentally punctured one of the venom glands with it and now the knife has the properties of the venom."

Sheda sharply breathed in. " Harry! Are you crazy? Does the scabbard have some runes on it to protect you?" Harry shook his head.

Sheda started to mumble about teenagers and recklessness. "Give me the scabbard and put the knife on the desk." She quickly summoned her carving tools and began to work on the leather.

Harry looked with fascination as he saw her use a basic looking knife with a few runes. "So the carving knife has a magic channeling rune and an unbreakable rune that are powered via your magic as you work."

Sheda looked up briefly as she focused. "Correct. It's a simple concept, but there is no need to complicate something by adding unnecessary things. My colleagues always argued that having more runes helped, but I felt it interfered with what you created."

Harry moved up and tried to see what she was doing to the scabbard. "Residual magic? I guess? It would affect not only your magic imprint on the rune, but also impact its performance?"

Sheda smiled at Harry's curiosity. "Right on the first part, not the second. I theorize that residual magic affects how your runes take hold. The magic of the runes you have on the knife starts to interact with the runes you are creating. Less runes means less chance for interaction."

Harry nodded as he saw her finish three runes on the scabbard. "So an unbreakable rune, a battery rune, and an identity blood rune I think?"

Sheda smiled. "Correct. Small drop of your blood and the scabbard and knife can't be taken from you because the rune reacts violently. Either by burning the person's hand or rejecting a summoning spell." Harry held his hand out and

Sheda did a small cutting curse on his finger and dropped it on the rune. "Can you also put your blood in it? Want to make sure someone besides me can take it off me in case something happens." Sheda smiled at his show of trust and nodded as she did the same.

The scabbard glowed."There you go. Should be good now. Now let me see the knife but let me get my dragon hide gloves."

Harry was surprised by the idea of using gloves like that in rune making. "Why the gloves?"

Sheda summoned her gloves from her classroom desk as they came floating in and put them on as she began using the knife to clean and cut the skin.

She explained. "They of course just protect me from handling this, but the more magically charged an item the more unwieldy it can be to the user. Looking at this knife I am safe to assume it's more than just a beautiful knife before it was exposed to the venom."

Harry nodded as he pointed to specific points as Sheda held it up. "It's a Veela made knife with Veela specific runes and our standard Nordic runes. It also seems to be able to channel magic as it showed me the sun when I wanted to cast a tempus."

Sheda was surprised. "So it bonded to you? Even more reason for me to wear gloves. Certain magical artifacts can channel magic from an individual based on the potency of the magical item. The more magical the item the more likely it can create, sustain, and do magic. Have you seen Hagrid's umbrella? It's made from a magical willow tree and the cloth is Acromantula silk I believe. It's a magical item and why he can do some simple spells with it. It is the foundation of wand lore also. Using magical wood and a magical animal core to produce a focus. Although I never liked studying it; wands have a sustained focusing effect that is different. Magical artifacts can have a mind of their own while wands, staffs, and grimoires are more tools. Although some cultures argue the opposite and others argue all magical items regardless of creation are alive. "

Sheda was explaining but remembered what he said about Veela runes. "So Veela runes. Interesting. It's a 6th year Newt subject when we tackle other regions and species rune variants such as Goblin, Asian region, African region, and American Region. Almost all of Europe uses Nordic as the base language. Veela runes are based in the Basque language. A pre-Romance language, it is spoken in a region of Spain and southwest France. Makes sense since that is where the French Veela Coven is located. I never studied them since it's Veela specific. You could try to learn Basque but it's considered a complicated language with not that many speakers in the muggle world, much less the magical world." Harry nodded sad he wouldn't be able to learn the runes and what they meant.

Sheda continued. "I will say the only thing I was able to learn about Veela runes is that unlike other runes, they are complete sentences. Not just symbols of characters that we channel magic into based on what those symbols mean or represent. They make up whole sentences, much more complicated than ours. So this sentence could be just something simple or extremely complicated. We have no way to know that. All I can say is that the knife is very beautiful." Both Sheda and Harry nodded. Finishing the cleaning Sheda looked to start a new process. Rune carving and then weaving the skin and cloak together.

"Okay Harry. Take off the cloak, but you will probably pass out. Do you want me to put you to sleep?" Harry nodded. Knowing the feeling he gets when he loses the cloak. He took the cloak off and immediately felt a tired wash over him. At the same time little Lumos started to appear. His wand started to shake violently and fell out of his pocket as he looked to pick it up he was hit by a sleep charm and slumped into his chair.

Sheda sighed and doubts came up in her head. "His magic is getting worse and now his wand doesn't respond to his magic. Maybe it is too late. Should I report him?" Sheda looked deep in thought and was conflicted. Up until today she had never been involved with such a moral issue. She was a rune professor, a researcher and a proud loner. She was not an adventurer, a politician, or a champion. Nor was she a parent.

Yet, she quickly realized that Lily would have been only one year older than her at this very moment. She got up and started pacing as she tried to figure out if she should continue down this path. She felt it. This was a pivotal moment in her life. A choice that would see her fundamentally change her life and Harry's. Regardless of the choice, letting him go on his own, reporting him, or helping him. Each choice would impact her life and all in different ways. There was no going back. There was no what ifs? "Then why do I feel I am doing something wrong. Why do I feel I am not seeing everything." As she looked at her desk and saw everything on it she quickly realized he had trusted her.

She had heard that Harry found it hard to trust people, both McGonagall and Flitwick admitting as much in their professor meetings. He was a boy that had taken their inaction in the first year to heart. An erosion of trust that saw both professors admit that they hurt his chances to grow in their classes as Lily and James had. The worst part was Harry no longer cared that the two professors had spent a great deal of time with his parents. He never asked about memories, history, or any stories. Harry clearly had felt the adults in his life did not care.

Dumbledore was the only one who admitted that he had failed the boy during the professor meeting to discuss the dementors leaving. Although many of the other professors tried to tell him he was wrong to feel that way. That Harry was one of many students and all had suffered this year. Both Snape and her stayed quiet. She knew Snape knew more than her, but it had felt that Dumbledore was admitting failure not just for this year. If felt like he was admitting failure for each year Harry was at Hogwarts and something deep down told her every year previous to that.

She knew that Lily and James trusted the man. Her last letter from Lily telling her that she would not be joining her in their joint mastery of ancient runes because she had to go into hiding at the behest of Dumbledore. Furthermore, ignoring the failures of the adults in his life it was clear that Harry had a hard time trusting his own peers. Any adult could see that he was shunned last year by every student. In the 1st year no one could hold a conversation with him without mentioning his dead parents. All things that would affect a young child's mind in her opinion.

Lastly, it was clear he kept his friends out of his first meeting with them and supposedly going through life or death situations with them. He did not take time to reevaluate not only their attitudes as they grew, but also their actions. Miss Granger's actions this morning are ones that any adult would question if it was done to them. Mr. Weasley's work ethic is also something many adults would question once life truly started. An issue many young people never realized until it was too late and you began to question what you should have done differently in school so your adulthood would have been simpler.

She sighed. "Trust. Trust. Trust. It's only one thing. Trusting him on his word that he didn't hate magic. Trust him that he has told me the whole truth. And finally trust that he will continue to be open with me." She looked at him sleeping in the chair and moved over to fix him so he wouldn't wake up with a sore neck. Sitting him up she passed her wand over his hair and tried to fix it. Remembering Lily's comments on trying to figure out a spell that fixed the Potter hair during their time in the library. A joke as she put it. Such a spell Would give you a newt and a mastery just by figuring it out.

"Darn Potters and their hair." Sheda whispered to herself with a smile. Having to manually fix it she saw his scar and looked at it for the first time so close. The lighting bolt was a healing scar, scabbing over. It would probably leave a white line but it was healing. Sighing, she made up her mind. "The part that is missing is me. I have to show him trust as well. I won't lie to him. He doesn't deserve that. With that, I will get whatever he has out. There is no one better suited." She finished fixing his hair and whispered under her breath. "No one is above our knowledge."

She would trust him and by doing so she hoped she could be someone he truly trusted. She went back to her seat and began to work. Her life would be different after this, that was certain. Maybe life had given her something to strive for. Maybe she didn't need to live in the shadow of her past. Maybe. Just maybe she could move on