"I'm glad to see you've taken our last conversation to heart. This week was the first time you contributed a net positive to our Assembly's weekly total."

Harry mumbled an affirmative, his eyes landing on the well-trodden path leading deeper into the forest as they walked past.

"It's important to continue to better yourself for the benefit of the whole. Just because you're no longer costing the rest of us points, doesn't mean you can rest easy. At least, not until we return from winter break and the quidditch season begins."

"Wait, why does that matter?"

"Assemblies get a large amount of points for winning games. It's why the season is arranged in a series of tournament style weekends, rather than individual games. Every team plays one game per week for five weeks, with a championship game played just before exams start. It's typical that the best quidditch team tops the rankings every week." He gave a serious look to Harry, as though trying to emphasise the import of his words. "Since the quidditch season starts in February, those are some of the coldest weeks of the entire year. Not a time when you want to rank last."

"Hm. Okay," Harry replied, glancing over his shoulder. As the season advanced, falling leaves helped to obscure the path - at least, to those who weren't already searching for it. "Is that why you brought me out here, to tell me about that?"

Viktor chuckled. "No. We're going to fly."

"Oh. Alright!" It was common knowledge that Viktor spent most of his free time at the school's quidditch pitch, so this didn't surprise Harry. He had not, however, flown on a broom since leaving Blackriver

"Have you ever thought of trying out for the quidditch team?"

"Not really," Harry replied. "Wait, are tryouts today?"

"No, not yet. I thought it might be good for you to try something new, to spend more time with our Assembly."

"Why?" he asked bluntly, drawing his cloak more tightly around himself. "Can you recast your warming charm?"

"It's important to feel solidarity with your Assembly. To present a united force against the others, maximise our cooperation to do as well as we can in the standings." Viktor tapped Harry with his wand and some of the October chill lessened. "I'm not the only one to notice how much time you spend with the Semonovs. You shouldn't trust them."

"Why not?" Harry didn't bother trying to hide his disquiet at that suggestion. "They're my friends."

"They are our opponents, not your friends. We went over this before, remember? They're likely using you for some advantage."

He couldn't hold back a snort at such a suggestion. If anything, Masha and Maksim were the only people in this castle who unconditionally supported him. "They're nice."

"So are the other children in our Assembly. Mikhail told me he offered you a spot on the gobstones team, but that you refused."

"He's a liar," Harry spat. The feud with the Russian boy hadn't lessened since their first night, when he spewed his lies about Harry's father, regardless of their residing in the same Assembly. "Anyway, gobstones are stupid."

Viktor gave him a long look, then opened the door to the equipment shed. "Whether it's stupid or not, the tournament is at the end of the month. Extracurricular activities are an important way to contribute. Mikhail will be earning points." He thrust a broom at Harry. "Let's see if you have the potential to do the same."

"That's a pretty owl. Did the Diggorys buy it for you?"

Hannah attached the pink envelope and whispered the destination before turning to regard Susan. "No. She was an anonymous gift. I named her Hedwig."

"She's beautiful." They stood together in silence for several seconds, watching the snowy owl fade into the horizon. "Have you met your new guardians yet?"

"Not yet. They're coming to the first Hufflepuff quidditch match, I'm going to sit with them there. Have the Browns come to see you?"

"Well, no. But that's…" she trailed off. "I mean, they sent me a letter. I'll see them over the winter holidays."

Hannah knew what she'd been about to say. "We've been going to Lavender's for years. Not much point in them 'introducing' themselves, is there?"

"Yea."

"Guess it all worked out pretty well for you, huh?"

"What are you talking about? What's that supposed to mean?"

Hannah turned to face her. It was past time they had this out. "How long have you wanted to get rid of me? You could have just been honest. It- it would have hurt, but not as much as this does."

"I don't want to get rid of you!"

"Did you ask the Browns to take only you in, and not me?"

"What? No!"

"Don't lie to me! I can't stand any more lies!" She stepped closer, hands involuntarily squeezing into fists. "We were supposed to be together!"

"I wasn't the one who split us apart! Do you think I wanted Auntie to die?"

"I-" That effectively drained the anger out of her body. Having lost her own mother, Hannah knew she'd gone too far. "I'm sorry. I miss her, too."

Susan wiped away the tears that spilled down her cheeks, regarding her with an anguished expression. "Why are you being like this? None of this is my fault!"

Guilt tore at her insides, seeing the impact her accusations had on Susan. "I didn't mean- I'm sorry. It's just… I'm so scared. I feel like everything's being taken away from me. I can't lose you too!"

"I know."

"Nothing's going right, not since we got here. I didn't mean to blame you, I know you didn't want any of this. But our new guardians, and Auntie, and the Sorting…"

"Hannah." Susan interrupted her. "There's something you should know. I didn't have anything to do with moving into Lavender's, but the Sorting Hat- it gave me a choice. I chose Gryffindor."

"But… why?" she asked numbly, too weary from the ups and downs to rekindle her anger. "We agreed that Hufflepuff was where we belonged."

Susan took a deep breath, leaning against the Owlery's stone wall. "The Hat, we talked for a long time about who I am, what I want to be, where I'm going, and the path to take me there. It told me I could be great in Gryffindor, that I could meet my potential. That I could be true to myself."

"The Hat talked to you?"

"Yes," Susan responded simply. Hannah came to lean next to her.

"It didn't say anything to me."

Susan shrugged, and for a long moment they stood shoulder to shoulder. At last, she offered, "Maybe the Hat thought you already knew the answers to who you and where you're going."

Standing there, Hannah wished so badly that was the truth.

The distinctive sound of Hedwig's wings fluttering reached her ears, and Lily stepped away from the counter in preparation of the owl's delivery. She extended one arm for Hedwig to perch on, before slowly and carefully untying the letter. Relieved of her burden, the owl hopped onto Lily's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek before springing back into flight, darting up the stairs towards the window she left open.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" Andromeda asked.

The envelope twitched within her grasp, clearly enchanted but seemed in no imminent danger of playing its recording, so Lily set it aside for the moment. "That's alright, I'll open it in a bit."

"How is young Miss Abbott doing at Hogwarts?"

"Given all she's been through, as well as can be expected."

"I still remember when Nymphadora left for school for the first time," Andromeda said, a wistful nostalgia in her voice. "It's hard to believe she'll be graduating this year. They grow up so fast."

Lily remained quiet, choosing not to remark on how some don't grow up at all. After setting the envelope aside, she returned to the counter, picking up the bowl of frosting and whisking it into an airy froth once more. With that accomplished, she spooned the light, sugary topping into a piping bag. "I'm sure you have many things that demand your attention, there's really no need to come and watch me bake."

"Would you rather I not?" This was the third time Lady Black dropped in for 'tea and chats' in the month since Lily's failed custody application.

"It's not that, I only mean- well, you have your own family, and probably a lot of responsibilities. You don't owe me anything."

"Good, then we're agreed." Lily thought she might have heard a smile in her response, but didn't know the other woman well enough to be certain. "Do you have an owl of your own?"

"Um, no, I don't."

With the piping bag, Lily began icing the cupcakes arranged on the counter, and for a few minutes there was no sound beyond her own measured breaths and the occasional clink of Andromeda's teacup.

"You don't send replies to the child?"

"It's difficult, because-"

"-Because you can't see, I know. Why haven't you purchased yourself a dictaquill?"

"Those are activated with a wand."

Andromeda's reply was sharp and immediate. "And no one's ever modified an enchantment before? My idiot cousin and his friends did it all the time." Lily opened her mouth, but the other woman quickly continued, "Don't even try to play the squib card. You've got gold, haven't you?"

"I…" She'd nearly paid off the lien on her bakery, the one she'd taken to pay Remus for investigating the attack on the Abbotts. But cookies, cupcakes, and croissants weren't exactly high-end merchandise. It was slow-going saving any gold at all; if she didn't own the property via Sirius' generosity, she'd have lost her business by now. "I'll start putting aside some coin."

"I'm sure Miss Abbott would appreciate receiving some post from someone that cares for her," Andromeda mused.

She left it at that, and for the remainder of the hour she spent at the PPP, Andromeda merely engaged in small talk. What was happening at the Ministry, upcoming legislation at the Wizengamot, and more mundane topics - who'd married who, rumours of salacious gossip, and of course, the latest round of Nymphadora's (apparently long-running) teenage rebellion.

It was nice. After a solid decade of being treated like a leper, having another adult talk to her, really talk was so refreshing. Almost like having a friend, Lily mused, a concept she hadn't been sure she'd ever again have the pleasure of experiencing.

The next morning, Zonko himself was waiting outside when she opened the bakery. And as the famed entrepreneur of Hogsmeade's joke shop ran through ideas on how to make a dictaquill function for an individual without magic, Lily considered perhaps she ought to remove the 'almost' from the way she designated Andromeda Tonks née Black.

"What does it feel like?"

Harry opened his eyes, looking at Masha who was staring intently at him from the seat next to his own. "What does 'what' feel like?"

"Chaos. The chaotic energy you and Grindelwald harness."

"I don't know. What does your magic feel like?" Masha's expression turned to confusion. "It just… is. It feels natural, normal."

She kept staring, and he could feel her looking at him even after he closed his eyes.

"What are you trying to do?"

Harry grinned. "Right now? Just answering your questions, mostly."

"Sorry."

"It's okay," he said, opening his eyes and stretching his arms. "I was trying to come up with a way to make myself stronger."

Masha nodded fervently. "Yes! Gaining greater power is essential to-"

"No, no. I mean physically stronger."

"Hello!" Maksim entered the unused classroom, holding a stack of books so tall it nearly obscured his face. "I'm back!"

"Hey! Did you get the reference materials for our Dark Arts essay?"

"Yep!" Maksim started to set the books down, but Masha motioned for him to move away.

"Harry's busy," she said in an authoritative tone. "You work on the essay for him."

"What?" Maksim and Harry both asked at the same time.

"This is more important, Maksim," she said, then turned back to Harry. "Please, go on. Why are you trying to make yourself physically stronger?"

The memory of his weak and wobbly quaffle throws on the pitch rose in his mind's eye, and Harry felt his face heat up. "I don't want people to think I'm weak."

Masha smiled warmly and rubbed his shoulder. "You don't need to worry. Sooner or later, everyone will recognise your strength." Her gaze dropped to his white wand. "So. You want to create a spell that makes you stronger. Why not just use a potion?"

"Because I'm a wizard," he immediately replied. "At home, before I came to Durmstrang, I made a similar spell. One to increase the caster's intelligence. All I need to do is modify the attribute it targets."

"You made yourself smarter?"

"Sort of." Harry left off that the spell failed. That was hardly relevant, after all, because it should have worked.

"Remarkable! Creating spells before you even started school. You might even surpass his glory!" Masha breathed.

Harry rolled his wand back and forth on the desktop for a few seconds, then stowed it in his sleeve. "What sorts of things did Grindelwald do? I mean, with his type of magic."

"It is your magic as well," Masha corrected. "As for what he accomplished, it is easier to ask what he didn't. Grindelwald's skill surpassed master-level in multiple areas. The legends say he was casting NEWT-level spells before he finished his fourth year."

"But I don't- I mean, my school marks aren't that good. Maksim can tell you I'm never the first one to manage a new spell."

"You do fine!" the boy in question protested, spinning around in his seat.

"Thanks," he said. "But either way, I'm not the greatest wizard in my year, much less in all of Europe. Just because my magic looks similar to his, doesn't mean-"

"Shhh," Masha hushed him, scooting the desk she sat in closer to his own. "Close your eyes, and listen to me. Gellert Grindelwald was the most dominant spellcaster in all of history, capable of prevailing over dozens, even a hundred opponents single-handedly!"

"But how is that possible?"

"With the gift that you and he both share! There were no wards capable of repelling him; he passed through the most ironclad of protections without detection. On the battlefield, waves of chaos rolled off of him, incapacitating his opponents but passing harmlessly over himself and his allies. Reality itself buckled under his will. Even the laws of magic held no sway over him!"

Harry opened his eyes. "He lost, though. You said he's in prison."

"Yes. Even the greatest among us is not invulnerable, and his enemies were endless and his allies few."

"You said… about the waves of energy. They didn't affect him?"

She nodded. "It was a fearsome tactic, and he could accomplish it even while in the midst of casting a spell. No one could predict or foresee when a chaotic surge would burst out of him. His abilities so terrified our enemies they did their best to avoid direct confrontation, instead attempting to defeat him through ambush and trickery."

"His enemies."

"What?"

"You mean his enemies. Grindelwald's. You said 'our' enemies."

"Did I? Of course, that's what I meant." They were quiet for a few seconds. "Harry?"

"Yes?"

"If you need to test your spell, you may cast it on me."

He started, blinking rapidly at her offer. "What? No, I can manage on my own."

"It's okay," she said, rising from her seat to stand before him. "I trust you. I believe in you."

"Masha-"

"You don't see, don't yet understand. You, Holden Haraldson, are special. You will be the one to set things right, to return to wizards and witches everywhere the freedom that was stolen away from us." She held her hands out, palms facing upward as though in supplication. "Don't you want everyone to be free?"

Maksim turned to stare, and Harry could almost physically feel both Semonov's eyes weighing on him. Father did always tell him he was special, that he had a power unlike any other, didn't he? And wasn't it true that every one - be they muggle, wizard, or even house elf - deserved freedom?

Withdrawing his wand from his sleeve, Harry held it loosely in his hand as he rose from the desk. He approached Masha slowly, grip slowly tightening as he neared. "This won't hurt at all," he promised. "It might not work exactly right, but it won't hurt."

"I'm not afraid," she said, and by her tone he knew she spoke the truth.

Harry thought back to the previous summer, in the sunroom at Blackriver. He'd been so sure his spell would work! There was no reason it shouldn't have, was there? His logic was sound, and nothing he'd learned since coming to Durmstrang made him think otherwise. It must have simply been a fluke, some unpredictable error-

Masha stared back unflinchingly, but Harry hardly saw her as his eyes unfocused. That was it! The unpredictability, the randomness; if everything Masha told him was true, it was the only reasonable explanation!

After all, why should magic formed from raw chaos act in a predictable manner?

He heard Maksim gasp as he raised his wand to point directly to her chest, but he wasn't worried. The familiar swirl of vibrant purple energy formed at the tip of his wand as he molded his magic to his will, entirely focused on the intent behind his spell. There was a brief flash of light that impacted Masha, and then…

Nothing. Nothing at all.

"Did it work?" Maksim asked hesitantly. "Masha, are you alright?"

"I don't feel any different," she said.

Harry remained quiet, choosing to observe silently.

"You should test it out," Maksim said. "Try to lift something heavy!"

She looked around the unused classroom. "Like what?"

"Why not try the teacher's desk?"

Flexing her fingers, Masha walked over to the large wooden furnishing at the front of the room, incanting a scouring charm to clear away the dust as she did. Once she stowed her wand, she squatted on the balls of her feet, reaching out to grasp the wooden legs nearest to her.

The legs were ripped from the desk as though it were made of parchment, sending the entire thing crashing to the floor with a tremendous crash! A desk leg in each hand, Masha turned to regard him with wide eyes, her shocked expression slowly transforming to delight.

Harry only smiled in reply. He couldn't wait for quidditch tryouts.

A/N: Short chapter, I know. The next update's coming quick, I've already got it rolling. Probably Monday or Tuesday.

Hey! Something good actually happened to Lily! Looking back, that might be the first time this whole story, lol. Props to Wakefan for noting a dictaquill solves a lot of problems for her.

Harry finally understands what makes his magic different. He's not going to be full-on CHAOS LORD! for awhile, but from here on out he's definitely going to take a greater interest in what he can and can't do. I think that's part of what makes me love this story so much - it would be so fun to have a power like his that's essentially (to his understanding) unknown to anyone. There's nobody to teach Harry spells, no books to read (or ARE there?), no one else to witness. Just Masha's recounting of the myth of Grindelwald, and his own experimentation. Fun to think about.

Anyway, stay safe, healthy and happy! ~Frickles