Chapter 5

After Harry ate breakfast following his birthday party, Charles led him to a wing of the Manor that he had never been in before. The walls were lined with different weapons such as broadswords, double sided axes, daggers and shields made of different metals. There were also different armours scattered around. "What is this place grandpa and why have I not seen it before?" Harry asked curiously.

Charles chuckled before answering. "This Harry is what I like to call the Potter Artifact Room. This is everything we and the Potters before us decided to not store in our vault. Everything you see in this room has been used by our family. To answer your other question, you have not seen it because I had it warded off. You could have been seriously hurt if you were in here by yourself. Now no dilly-dallying and follow me." Charles began walking to a pedestal at the far end of the room and picked up a black book that had the Potter Crest on it. "Do you remember what book this is, Harry?" Charles questioned.

Harry looked closer at the book. He stared down the crest. He noticed that the lion had little sapphires for eyes and the wands underneath were gold. Harry responded easily, "It's the Potter Grimoire."

"Correct" Charles stated with pride in his voice. Charles waived his wand and two chairs appeared. They both sat down as Charles began lecturing. "The Potter Family has had many careers and different paths of life in our long history. The Potter Family started out as just that, potters. They would work with different types of pottery and clays. As the world evolved, our family has been mostly warriors. We have had our share of healers and professors but Potters have always been attracted to danger." Charles caught his breath before continuing. "Potters have always stood up for what is right, not what is easy. Your great-grandfather and my father Fleamont, fought in the war against Grindelwald. We have never been blood purists. The biggest thing I want you to always follow Harry is the fact that Potters do not take what they do not earn. This is why Potters have always been sorted into Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. Potters have been sorted into every house but we always gravitate back to the other two." "Now Potters have always been naturals at battle magic and causing big explosions. Every Potters' strongest spell is a good ole Bombarda Maxima. Charles noticed that Harry was enthralled with the history lesson. "Any questions?" Charles asked.

Harry shook his head no. He thought about his ancestors and everything that he had to live up to.

Charles nodded his head and continued. "This grimoire contains all the spells, potions and inventions that the Potters have ever created. You cannot share this grimoire with anyone that doesn't have Potter blood unless they are married to you. As you get older, I will show you how to add your own creations to the book. Now the magic in here, I will not show you until you are at least thirteen. Your core needs to mature more." Harry nodded his understanding. "Now, I am going to start teaching you some of the basic spells you would learn in your first year. Follow me." Charles stood up and walked over to a safe that Harry just noticed. Charles tapped a pattern on the safe and it popped open. Inside the safe, there were over thirty different wands of all sizes. "The wands in here belonged to the last thirty Potters that have died. The other wands are in our main vault. I want you to test each wand until you find a match" Charles said as he looked down at Harry. Harry nodded mutely as he reached into the safe.

Harry found the two wands he wanted to try first. His parents. Harry picked up James' wand first and waved but nothing happened. He then tried Lily's but once again no sparks. Harry sighed sadly and put the wands back. After about ten more minutes of searching Harry came across the wand of Harold Potter. Harry picked it up and waved. The wands produced blue and red sparks. "Excellent m'boy! Whose wand ended up being a close match?" Charles asked pride, lacing his voice.

"Harold Potter, grandfather. I tried Grandma's, mum's and dad's but none of those ones worked for me." Harry informed Charles sadly. Charles placed both hands on Harry's small shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Charles squatted down so he could look Harry in the eye.

"Just because those wands didn't work for you son, doesn't mean you don't have a connection with them. Wands are temperamental in the best of situations. One person's wand won't always work for someone else. Some woods and cores also only work for the original owner. Now Harold Potter would be your great-great-grandfather. His wand is 10 ½ inches long, Blackthorn wood with a dragon heartstring from a Swedish Short-Snout. This will be an excellent wand for you until you get your own. Harold Potter was famous in the dueling circuit. He won multiple tournaments all over the world. Even in retirement, Harold was still hounded to join up with Grindelwald. Harold refused so they dueled. By that point though, Grindelwald was rising in power and Harold was well into retirement. Harold died trying to defeat Grindelwald. This wand has seen multiple victories and loses. Even after you have your own wand, you will keep this wand as a backup." Charles explained softly. Harry looked up at him with tears in his eyes and a small sad smile.

"Thank you grandpa," Harry mumbled out. Charles handed Harry a blue wand holster for his right arm and he slid the wand in.

"That holster has charms on it that prevent the wand from being summoned. It is also lined with demiguise hair, so it will be invisible to everyone that doesn't know it is there. Now some rules before we begin. You will only cast spells when Sirius or I are with you. If you do not listen, I will take the wand. Second, you will not enter this wing without me present. Lastly, you will not tell anyone about that wand or that you are using it. The wards around the manor will protect us from the ministry but they will do us no good if you slip up. Do you understand Harry James?"

Harry winced when Charles said his name like that. He knew grandpa was serious when the middle name was used. Like a good heir, Harry bowed and intoned "I swear grandfather that I will follow the rules." Harry stood up and gave Charles a lopsided smile and asked "What spell are you going to teach me first?"

Charles shook his head. That smirk was the exact same one James would give every year on the platform when he swore to his mother that he would stay out of trouble. "The first spell you are going to learn is the wand lighting spell Lumos. Now repeat the incantation."

"Lumos" Harry said firmly.

"Well done!" Charles praised proudly. "Now close your eyes and try to feel your magic flowing through your body." Charles stated as Harry shut his eyes. "Don't try to force it. Just feel for it. Your magic runs through your body like a river. When you are calm your magic is calm and smooth. If you are angry, your magic will be rough and choppy. When you are ready, imagine a ball of light at the tip of your wand and say the incantation. Remember the more magic you push into the spell, the brighter the light. It is also true for the opposite. Less magic equals a dimmer light." Charles calmly explained.

Harry closed his eyes and listened to her grandfather's baritone voice. Harry felt a soft hum in his body. Harry let the feeling wash over his entire body. Harry pointed his wand and spoke softly "Lumos" Harry opened his and felt disappointment when he didn't see a light. "What did I do wrong, Grandpa?" Harry questioned with some anger in his voice.

"Relax Harry, just because I said it is a basic spell doesn't mean you will get it on the first try. Remember you are only eight years old. This spell is for kids in their first year. Think about what I said. Picture a ball of light at the tip of your wand before casting. This is how I taught your father and how my father taught me. Now, try again" Charles said with patience.

Harry closed his eyes again, he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He felt the hem of his magic again. He had a smile on his face. Harry pictured a ball of light and said "Lumos". Harry didn't need to open his eyes to know he succeeded. He could feel the light slightly warming his skin. He opened his eyes and shouted in joy. "Look grandpa. I did it!" shouted Harry with a giant toothy smile on his face.

"Good job son, now it is time to learn how to put the light out. The incantation is Nox. All you have to do is let the light disappear and your magic will respond." Charles ordered.

Harry obediently called out "Nox" and the light flickered out. Harry just gave his grandfather a big smile.

Charles laughed and ruffled Harry's hair. "Good job kid! Now do it twenty more times. Your magic is like what muggles call a rubber band. Everytime you use it, it stretches out a little bit more. This will also allow you to start feeling for your magic automatically. We will also be adding calisthenics and some light running into your training regimen. Our magic is stronger when our bodies are healthy." Charles explained when he saw Harry's expression. "I mean feel free to take a break if you don't think you can handle it." Charles said with a sly smile. Charles saw a spark of determination in Harry's eyes.

"I'm not a little kid grandpa, I can handle it and I will even cast Lumos twenty five times just to prove it" Harry said confidently as he raised his wand.

"Well then let's get to it" Charles said challengingly with a smile.

A/N: Well there we go. Harry gets his first taste of controlled magic! Next chapter will have timeskip up to Harry getting his Hogwarts letter. Thank you everyone for the amount of support you have shown me. It truly means the world to me. As always all characters belong to J.K Rowling (unfortunately)