Authors Notes
Happy New Year all! Apologies for the delay on this chapter, I struggled with how to cover the new subjects and even now I'm not 100% happy with it. I am aware that Ancient Runes isn't in this chapter, don't worry it will be in the next along with Transfiguration and Potions. Thank you to everyone who has Followed, Favourited and Reviewed! It is amazing to see the support for this story so thank you.
Reviews
Griffin Blackwood - I think mostly it is just because it is a sign of weakness that Malfoy can jump on and try to use, but reacting poorly to Dementors is definitely not uncommon so I agree. Thanks for the review and support!
BJJPanda - Harry was briefly unconscious and other students walked past his compartment and would have seen, gossip travels fast in any school let alone a magical one.
littleemberlou - Thank you! Yes we will be departing even more from Canon now, with Mad Eye and Castamir hunting for Sirius he will have to pull out all the stops.
littleemberlou - I'm glad you like them! Yes Harry will definitely be learning more from Remus this year and Mad Eye will build on that. Divination is an interesting subject that I think is criminally underused in HP so I am expanding on it in this fic.
William E Cipher13 - I hope this satisfies you for now, I won't say more of Lupin's magic for now but keep an eye for changing details!
MsSpacey - Divination is more than just tea leaves and tarot cards, but yes he will definitely have difficulties with some parts of the subject. He was swayed by adults he trusts, as we all are, particularly Castamir who uses Divination as it is taught differently at Durmstrang.
Phoenyx97 - He is! He has taken Ancient Runes, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures.
Guest - Yes, I plan to finish this fic but I have to prioritise work and my personal life so currently I stick to one chapter a month.
Capricorni93 - Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying it so far. Harry's sight is a combination of Daredevil's awareness from the Netflix show, a kind of 360 radar awareness that he can expand or focus with concentration, but he struggles to see details and, like Daredevil he cannot read written words as his magic cannot detect them ... yet? I won't confirm pairings yet, but I don't think it will be Harry/Terry. In my mind they are very much the classic best buds, Terry is Harry's closest friend with Neville and the others close behind.
Chapter 24
Each new Professor changed the Defence classroom to better suit their teaching method and style. Quirrell lined the walls with depictions of different dark creatures and then installed hanging censers that burned incense that filled the room with so-called 'warding scents'. Lockhart displayed nearly a dozen self-portraits and very little else. Professor Lupin had installed several bookcases and filled them with books on defensive theory and magical creatures, the portraits of Lockhart were gone and replaced with tapestries and paintings of wizard's duelling and fending off every creature imaginable.
It was a change that Harry approved of, anything was better than Lockhart's smarmy face, but as he sat down next to Terry his focus was on the other new addition to the room; a tall wooden wardrobe with what looked to be a standard locking charm binding the doors closed.
"Good morning, for those of you who missed the announcement, I am Professor Lupin and I will be instructing you this year in Defence Against the Dark Arts." Lupin greeted them from the front of the room as he leaned against his wide desk smiled at the class of Slytherin's and Ravenclaw's. "Now usually your third year is spent covering dangerous creatures before the Winter Holidays and then you would cover basic duelling after the Holidays. However, I have spoken with the Headmaster and after its rebirth last year, the Duelling Club will be reforming this year under mine and Professor Flitwick's supervision."
The announcement triggered a wave of interested whispers to fill the room but the muttering stopped when the wardrobe rattled violently, shaking enough to almost topple over before it rocked back into place.
"Ah that brings us nicely to the subject of today's lesson. Who can tell me what a Boggart is?" Lupin pointed at one of the Slytherin girls, Daphne Greengrass.
"A Boggart is a shapeshifter, they are formed when stray magic collects in dark places and typically transform to become a person's greatest fear when seen." Greengrass recited succinctly and Harry nodded as Lupin awarded her five points for the correct answer.
"Indeed, Boggarts are not living beings, much like Poltergeists they are created from random and chaotic magic combining in just the right environment. And as Miss Greengrass explained, they can tap into your mind and magic to become that which you fear most. They cannot harm you physically, but the fear they incite within you can cause its own damage. There are reports of people finding Boggarts and dying of fright or going mad. However, they do have a glaring weakness, can anyone guess what that would be?"
Harry thought back to the passage on Boggarts from their Defence book in first year and raised his hand when he recalled the section on how best to deal with them, it didn't explicitly state a weakness but the method it described implied one.
"Mr Potter?"
"Well the books say the best way to confront a Boggart is with a group, so if there is more than one person does the Boggart get confused about which fear to become? How would it pick which thing to shift into if there are multiple fears to choose from?" It wasn't a perfect answer, but it was good enough judging by Lupin's broad smile and confirming nod.
"Correct. When faced with multiple people, a Boggart will react based on proximity usually, which means there is more time for other's in the group to act while it is distracted. Now theoretically you could dispel a Boggart with a forceful disruption spell such as 'Finite Incantatum', but while a Boggart doesn't feed on fear in the same way a Dementor does, they still grow more powerful when they are inciting fear in a witch or wizard. So a clever witch in 1258 came up with a charm to force a Boggart into a less frightening form while also destabilising them. It can take a few applications but eventually the Boggart will disperse if you cast the spell correctly."
Throughout Lupin's explanation the wardrobe rattled and shook more and more violently, Harry could see the locking spell on the wooden door was wavering as whatever was inside struggled to escape. He was reasonably sure that, given the topic of discussion so far, the Professor had managed to find and capture a Boggart for their lesson and he naturally began to wonder what would appear if he were to face it. Voldemort and then the Basilisk flashed through his mind but then he shivered as a flash of cold burned in his chest. While both of those were truly terrifying foes, he had spent many years fearing the dark and the demon from the train quelled any spark of courage in his heart.
His thoughts caused him to move slowly when the rest of the class stood up to queue and he separated from Terry who somehow made it to the front of the line. Professor Lupin shared some hushed words with him and, after Terry gave a slightly nervous nod, the wardrobe opened as the locking spell faded. The wardrobe was unnaturally dark, a blend of grey and black threads shifted for a moment before they rearranged into the outline of a humanoid figure wrapped in stained bandages. A mummy lurched out of the wardrobe, patches of grey emaciated skin visible between yellowed linen strips as it took an unsteady step in Terry's direction. It was shockingly clear in Harry's sight, the logical part of his mind deduced that as a being of magic it made sense but he still took a half step back from the monster.
"Now Mr Boot needs to picture the Boggart turning into something else, something that conjures the opposite of fear. Something funny, and once he has the image fixed in his mind he can cast the spell, nice and clearly Terry." Lupin encouraged from his spot leaning against a desk off to the side.
"Riddikulus!" Terry shouted as he thrust his wand at the stumbling mummy, a wave of chaotic energy washed from his wand and crashed over the figure of the mummy as the spell collided with it. The shape of the mummy twisted as Terry's spell forced it to change. Dirty linen wrappings unravelled leaving a suddenly embarrassed figure trying to cover a pair of ludicrously bright pink underwear. The class erupted into chuckles and the figure recoiled as if physically struck by the sound.
"Well done Mr Boot, head to the back and let Miss Davis take her turn." Lupin instructed with a grin and Terry swaggered away, giving Harry a high-five when he passed him a few students behind Tracy Davis who had stepped up to the Boggart.
The bandage-less mummy twisted as the blonde girl pointed her wand at it, lengthening and distorting until an enormous centipede extended above her. A hundred jagged limbs, chitinous shell and two dripping fangs twitched in anticipation. Harry had no problem with most insects, although he had developed a disliking for spiders after his second year, but he couldn't help the shudder of revulsion that the oversized critter inspired in him. He was surprised that the Professor didn't step in as Davis stood seemingly frozen at the sight of her fear, but he did notice that the man was no longer leaning casually against a desk and had stepped closer to the front of the line of students.
"Ri-ridikulus…" Tracy half shouted as she waved her wand wildly at the giant insect. Her spell was less controlled than Terry's had been and had less of an effect on the Boggart, but the sight of a giant centipede with two bananas sticking out of it's maw instead of fangs still caused some light laughter and was enough for Lupin to signal the girl to step away.
The Boggart turned into a three-headed dog that looked suspiciously like Fluffy, then a Troll, a swarm of vicious wasps, a vampire and a hag before Harry reached the front of the queue and stood before it. The hag, which had been transformed to look like Filch wearing a dress, swayed in front of him and then it twisted into a swirl of black and grey before it settled into the form of a Dementor. Cloaked in tattered black, skeletal limbs poked from behind the material, too-long arms with claw-like fingers reached for him hungrily while it took a long rattling breath and leaned closer. The room grew cold and he could feel himself growing weak as the Dementor drained his warmth, his strength. This Dementor was bigger than the one from the train, it's arms longer and the shadow it brought with it plunged half of the room into darkness even in Harry's sight.
"Enough!" Lupin cried as he stepped in front of Harry, blocking him physically from the Boggart and drawing its attention onto himself. The Dementor transformed into a shining silver orb that hung in the air before Lupin banished it wordlessly back into the wardrobe.
"I'm sorry everyone, too much fun and all that. But well done to all of you who faced the Boggart, two points to each of you. No homework this time, off you go." Lupin dismissed the class but stopped Harry with a hand as he went to step past him. "Not you Mr Potter."
Terry looked torn but Harry waved him off and once the last student left the classroom Lupin walked back to his desk and leaned back against it.
"I'm sorry Mr Potter, I should have stepped in sooner. I had hoped you might have a more … mundane fear, I suppose I should be glad the Boggart didn't turn into Voldemort at least."
"Voldemort isn't … I mean he's scary, but the Dementor's are just …" Harry struggled to find the words to describe the terrifying creature he had encountered on the train.
"I understand." Lupin smiled softly and shook his head. "Dementors have existed for centuries, sometime after Ekrizdis built Azkaban they appeared and have plagued Britain ever since. The control the Ministry has over them is … delicate, they serve as guards of Azkaban and are allowed to feed on those imprisoned there. In exchange they do not leave the island unless instructed to do so by the Ministry. Voldemort swayed them to his side at the end of the war and for six months they wreaked havoc all over Britain."
"But there must be some way to fight them? Terry said you cast something on the train that scared them off." If he could learn that spell then he could stop dreading meeting one again.
"Ah Harry, that's not … Filius tells me you are very talented, but the spell I cast is extremely difficult. It isn't taught at Hogwarts until seventh year and only a handful of students ever manage to get even a weak result from it." Lupin explained reluctantly.
"But there are spells to fight them?"
"You … yes, there are a few ways to repel Dementors. I only know one of them, the Patronus Charm. It conjures a guardian of sorts to bear the brunt of their ill effects and fight them off but it really is an exceedingly difficult spell to cast Harry."
"Could you teach it to me?"
"Oh you are just like Lily."
The mention of his mother's name threw Harry completely. He didn't say anything as he stared at the Defence Professor who looked to regret his remark as he bowed his head.
"Let me speak with Professor Flitwick, if he agrees then one of us will teach you the theory at least. I make no guarantees that you will be able to cast it though." Lupin turned away and gestured to the door. "Now you should get going, you have class to get to."
Terry grunted as he hefted the Monster Book of Monsters under his arm, he had almost dropped it twice on the trek down to Hagrid's hut and once more on the short walk to the paddock on the edge of the forest.
"I still don't get why you won't let Harry charm your book Terry." Neville commented as he eyed the floating book that hovered a foot from his hip. Harry had charmed his own book as the odds of him not dropping the thing on the walk down were slim and he didn't want to chase it down if it woke up, Neville had eagerly asked for him to do the same to his own copy when he saw him.
"It's – it's the principle of it Nev." Terry dropped the book on the floor and quickly stamped a foot on it to stop it escaping when it growled aggressively. "We're meant to be learning how to deal with magical creatures, can't just float them all when we need t move them."
Harry resisted the urge to question his friend's logic and instead turned to look in Hagrid's direction as the half-giant clapped and addressed the class.
"Alrigh' lets get started. Firs' things firs', who managed ter open their books?" A smattering of hands appeared as Harry and a handful of other students signalled that they had figured out the trick for the books, the rest of the class grumbled lowly in the negative. "Hm well five points to ev'ryone who figured it out. You 'ave ter stroke the spine."
Hagrid stuck two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, even a dozen feet away Harry winced as the sound cut into his ears. The reason for the sound quickly became apparent as four creatures stepped out from the trees, all four were majestic looking beasts that Harry recognised from his book immediately. Equine bodies with the head and wings of an eagle, they were clearly the lesser cousins of Griffins, Hippogriffs.
"Righ' say hello to Hogwarts' herd of Hippogriff's. This big one here is Buckbeak, he's the oldest and biggest we have. Migh' be the biggest in Britain come ter think of it." Hagrid gestured with an enormous hand to the lead Hippogriff, it stood a good ten feet tall with a wicked looking beak but most entrancing to Harry was the magic that clearly filled the creature's form. A beautiful blend of earthy browns and sky blues, it was a harmony of two opposing elements fused into a living creature and Harry had only seen the like once before. Fawkes the Phoenix was the living embodiment of fire and light, his magic was louder than the Hippogriff's more subtle energy, but the similarities were there.
"-nks for volunteering Harry." Harry tore his focus away from the creature's magic at the sound of his name and quickly noticed he was now the only student stood within a dozen feet of Hagrid, even Terry had backed away quietly. "You'll need to bow, nice and low. Sign of respect see."
The urge to refuse battled with Harry not wanting to mess up Hagrid's first lesson, inevitably his friendship with the gentle giant won out and he dropped his bag in preparation to greet the Hippogriff. He made his way carefully across the clearing until Buckbeak noticed him and Hagrid gestured for him to bow.
"You bow now Harry an' he'll bow back to let you know you can get closer." Harry dipped into a low bow, he was a touch nervous about exposing his neck to the Hippogriff's beak but he trusted that he could back away if it looked ready to attack. It took several long seconds before Buckbeak lowered his own head in a graceful bow and Harry let out a sigh of relief. He did his best to ignore Hagrid's own exhale that sounded suspiciously relieved, as Buckbeak stepped closer and leaned his head down slightly. "He'll let ya stroke him now Harry, just don't pull any feathers out."
Harry stroked the long grey feathers that circled Buckbeak's neck and head as Hagrid turned back to the class and talked more about the creatures.
"Hippogriff's will eat most anyfing smaller than them, rodents and ferrets and small deer and the like. Very territorial and very loyal creatures Hippogriffs and most of all, they're proud. Never insult a Hippogriff and always bow to them." Hagrid pulled a dead ferret from a brace around his shoulder and threw it into the air for Buckbeak to catch eagerly. "Righ' one at a time, come an' greet the other Hippogriff's just like Harry here did."
Hagrid sidled over to stand closer to Harry as the rest of the class lined up in front of the other three Hippogriff's who seemed curious as the first students bowed to them. Harry kept stroking Buckbeak for a few moments but he backed away as Hagrid fed him another ferret and observed the others greeting the Hippogriff's. Neville was bowing to one of the other Hippogriff's and looked deeply relieved when it bowed back, and he could nervously stroke it's neck. Terry was a few places behind Neville but quietly cheered for the Gryffindor much to his embarrassment.
"You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute!" Harry was glad he had backed away as Buckbeak reared up in anger at the insult from Malfoy. The arrogant boy had strutted up to the Hippogriff without bowing and was now frozen in fear at the sight of the beast, wings flared and clawed talons descending towards him in retaliation.
"Depulso!" Harry hadn't managed to use the banishing charm on anything heavier than a book until that moment, but as blood pounded in his ears his magic responded to his desire and Malfoy was lifted off his feet and flung across the clearing to land heavily on the grass twenty feet away. Harry kept a tight grip on his wand as Buckbeak snapped his beak in annoyance and wondered if he would need to back away further. Thankfully Hagrid acted at that moment.
"BUCKBEAK!" Hagrid bellowed and, without a care for the razor-sharp talons or beak, he stepped up close to the angry Hippogriff and physically pushed him back away from the group. "Away with ya!"
Buckbeak seemed suitably chastised and trotted away with his head bowed low even as the class backed away from the remaining Hippogriff's in shock and fear, though a few seemed amused by Malfoy's predicament as the Slytherin was struggling to stand after his rough landing.
"J-just wait until my fa-" Malfoy was barely able to get the words out before Hagrid's mammoth shout silenced him.
"MALFOY! Wha' did I say about Hippogriff's?! Ruddy fool, he could 'ave 'ad your arm off!" Hagrid pointed towards the castle and growled at the still shaken Slytherin. "Get back up to the castle an' that'll be detention for a week!" In the face of Hagrid's anger, Malfoy did the smart thing and stumbled away, following the path up to the castle with Crabbe and Goyle following loyally behind.
The rest of the lesson passed relatively smoothly, after Buckbeak's demonstration of how a Hippogriff reacts when disrespected, the rest of the class showed the proper deference to the creatures and soon each Hippogriff had three or four students stroking and petting their necks. Harry promised Hagrid the lesson went well which was echoed by several other members of the class, and promised to join him for tea over the weekend. Despite Malfoy's actions, the lesson proved to be very popular and on the walk back up to the castle Harry smiled as he overheard snippets of conversation that were almost entirely positive. He did catch Pansy Parkinson muttering darkly with Theodore Nott but that wasn't surprising, she was almost always unhappy about something.
Thankfully they had lunch between Care of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration or Harry was not sure he could have made it to the classroom in time. As it was, he collapsed into his seat next to Terry a scant few moments before Professor McGonagall closed the door and began her lecture. They recapped the topics they covered in their second year and then she described a few of the areas they would be studying for their third year.
"This year we will be advancing onto more complex applications of animate-to-inanimate transfigurations as well as some more basic inanimate-to-animate spells, such as Draconifors." McGonagall jabbed her wand at her desk and it transformed briefly into a wooden dragon that roared silently and flapped timber wings before settling back down and reforming into a plain oaken desk. "But until the Winter Break we will be covering some theoretical topics as well, you had a demonstration in your first year of one of the most difficult forms of human transfiguration we know of. Can anyone name it? Mr Rivers?"
"You turned into a cat?" Oliver offered nervously from behind Anthony and Michael Corner who scoffed to themselves.
"I was hoping for a more technical description but yes, you are correct Mr Rivers. I am an Animagus, as such I can transform into an animal form at will, I do not need to speak an incantation or wave a wand to do so. I can see that the thought appeals to many of you so I must warn you, it is not an easy skill to learn. It takes years of study and just the initial steps are enough to put off most who would attempt it, there have been only three recorded Animagi in Britain in the past century. You must keep a Mandrake leaf in your mouth for one month, you cannot remove it or swallow it or you must start again and once the leaf starts to bleed there are side effects. Hallucinations, headaches, insomnia, temporary bouts of mania, spontaneous hair growth all across your body and then the crippling pain as your bones and muscles are affected by the plant's magic. You all remember the use of Mandrake's in the restorative potion used on the petrified victims last year, yes?"
The class all nodded and a few winced at the memory of the screaming plants, they were ugly little things and even with the earmuffs they had caused some headaches after Herbology class.
"I am sure Professor Sprout mentioned their properties in her lessons but for those of you unaware, Mandrake's possess very potent magic. Their magic is naturally destabilising, their cries can kill because they disrupt the magic flowing through your body, thus they are used in potions when there is a need to break down or disrupt a powerful magical effect such as a petrification or an enchanted sleep. Instead of using the roots, the Animagus process requires a single leaf as any more would be potentially lethal to the mage attempting the process but because of this the process takes a month instead of a few days. The leaf destabilises the prospective Animagus enough to imbue the leaf with some of the mage's own magic and to render their magic and body ready to accept the transformation and to retain it as a permanent change." Harry was glad he had already set his quill up to record the Professor's lecture as he leaned forward eagerly at her explanation. He did recall Professor Sprout's lesson on the Mandrake's but Professor McGonagall had a way of teaching that drew him in and he found his mind racing at the potential of what the Mandrake's disruptive magic could be used for beyond killing and the Animagus ritual, although that also interested him even with the mention of all the side effects.
"The Animagus transformation requires an expert knowledge of human transfiguration, something we cover in your NEWT years, but it is an example of human transfiguration which you can study the theory of safely in the classroom unlike other applications of the subject. Now can anyone remember the formula for animate-to-animate transfigurations?"
Harry flipped through his textbook to the correct page and brushed his fingers along the paper but most of his attention was on the previously mentioned Animagus transformation and he wondered what it would be like to become an animal, to soar over mountains or gallop over hills. He spent the rest of the lesson thinking about it and pondering what creature he would turn into if he did attempt the process.
Harry began to doubt the advice of Castamir when the entrance to the Divination classroom turned out to be a trapdoor in the ceiling of the East tower. He stood leaning against the stone wall along with the rest of the dozen students who had chosen the elective and was somewhat shocked when the hatch swung open and a metal ladder extended down indicating they should ascend. Harry gestured for Neville to go ahead of him as their classmates climbed the ladder, it was difficult enough with a bag slung over your shoulder but Harry had to juggle his cane and his bag before he could even attempt the ascent.
"You going for a pirate look there mate?" Neville asked as he offered a hand to help him stand at the top of the ladder and nodded to his belt where he had slipped his cane for the climb.
"You're a real comedian Nev." Harry grunted as he accepted the Gryffindor's hand and stepped into the classroom proper as the hatch closed firmly behind him.
The classroom took up all of the space the top of tower could provide, one half of the curved stone wall was lined shelves that held a variety of odd items and velvet pouches while the other half had twelve tall tapestries that Harry couldn't discern the details of but each one gave off a vibration in his sight, a wavering haze that he had only seen once before when Castamir had demonstrated casting runestones for divining the purpose of a particularly dangerous enchanted ring, hidden among the innocent protective enchantments an obscure curse had been placed. The middle of the room held a dozen small tables each with a pair of wooden chairs tucked in.
"Welcome. Please come in, take a seat." The slightly scratchy voice came from the far side of the room where the end of the shelves met the last tapestry and where a short figure stood watching them. She wore large round glasses, rings on every finger and bangles on her arms that clinked against each other as she moved. Her magic was odd, a silvery grey cloud that hovered within her, small strands of it constantly broke away to float in the air where they formed strange shapes as they dissipated. "Welcome my children. In this class we shall be exploring the noble art of Divination. I am Professor Trelawney, and together we shall cast our minds out into the world. I will endeavour to teach you how to peer through the mists of time, to see the past, the present and even the future. I doubt any of you have been blessed with the Sight, but even without it you can do much with the techniques we will cover. We will begin with reading tea leaves, closer to the Winter Break I will instruct you on how to use crystal balls as foci. After that dream interpretation and perhaps some rune stone reading."
There were a few muttered scoffs from around the room as various students expressed their disbelief at the statements, Harry might well have been one of them if he hadn't had a long discussion with Castamir about the subject. While Divination was seen as a "woolly" subject by many British magicals, in Europe and the so-called 'Old World' it was still highly respected. Castamir had studied Divination at Durmstrang and while he didn't possess the Sight, he could still use rune stones and even performed Capnomancy a few times which had been strange to walk in on. Castamir used a small metal brazier for reading smoke trails and it kicked out a surprising amount of heat, the workshop would quickly become sweltering when the enchanter was utilising the divination technique for particularly difficult projects.
The tea leaf reading went poorly. In hindsight it made sense, the first lesson of any subject rarely went well but Harry was still disappointed. Neville hadn't been able to see much in Harry's teacup beyond some damp brown debris that vaguely looked like a crescent moon if he squinted and Harry couldn't tell anything at all from the Gryffindor's cup, his Fulgomancy didn't work well on small details and he could barely tell that there were dregs in the cup let alone discern a shape to them.
He tried not to let his annoyance carry into his next lesson but when his glass of water exploded into an icy mess on the desk, he couldn't hide his frustration as he reversed his overzealous attempt at the freezing charm. It was still a better showing than most of the class, although Terry had managed to coat his glass in a thick layer of frost. It was doubly embarrassing for him because he had cast a variant of this spell in his first year successfully.
Professor Flitwick was doing his usual rounds, walking between the desks and offering advice or encouragement where it was needed, he didn't say anything to Harry as he passed him. But he did squeeze his shoulder gently. It was enough. The silent reassurance, Professor Flitwick offered no advice because Harry didn't need it, not really. He just needed to calm himself and let the magic flow without doubting himself.
"Glacius"
The reformed and repaired glass of water changed in an instant. The glass cracked ever so slightly from the sudden change in temperature as a thin layer of icy mist surrounded it, dropping it to sub-zero temperatures in a single breath.
"Five points to Ravenclaw." He heard whispered from behind him as Professor Flitwick offered a subtle nod as he continued his walk around the room.
Harry smiled proudly as Terry clapped him on the back and congratulated him. He might night be able to read tea leaves, but this he could do.
END