Author's Note: Hello! I loved the comments on the last chapter, glad people seemed to enjoy it.
I'll be honest, the chapter was rough because I had to rewrite every scene, like, six times before it fit. There was originally going to be another confrontation between Thanatos and Dumbledore, but I decided to save it.
Also, I've been rereading the books to try and glean any info I can from it, and holy hell do these guys have like, zero common sense. It should make sense when you realize a literal 12-year-old with no magical experience was considered the brightest of her age.
Anyway, with the disturbing lack of common sense being set aside, enjoy the chapter!
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The days after the trial were a blur, both good and bad, for Harry.
Harry was partially thankful that he'd told Ron and Hermione about Sirius before the trial under oath of secrecy like Thanatos had done with him; it stopped them from bombarding him with questions regarding Sirius.
However, that also meant the questions they did ask were far, FAR harder to pivot around and answer without revealing too much too soon.
'Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?' was one such question, asked by Ron during breakfast.
Harry had, thankfully, managed to ease his curiosity by simply saying he only knew as much as Thanatos had told him, and so he couldn't tell Dumbledore because he didn't know the full story and assumed Dumbledore had already known.
Hermione had given him an odd look, not seeming to believe him, but didn't push, instead just handing him the Astronomy homework he'd missed due to the trial.
The rest of the week passed like a blur, and soon, it was Sunday, and Harry was on his way to Remus' office for his first training.
It was about a hallway away from Remus' office that Harry stopped, hearing a light, soft singing from an adjacent hallway.
Luna skipped around the corner, stopping as she saw him.
"Oh, hello, Harry Potter," Luna said in her usual bright but serene way. "Are you on your way to Professor Lupin's office too?"
Harry did a double take. "Wha– I– How did you–"
Luna's head tilted. "Professor Marime told me someone else would be joining me. Is that you?"
"Joining you?" Harry asked, managing to get some mental footing. "For what?"
"For extra studies of course!" Luna replied as if it were obvious.
She smiled in her soft, serene way, but her eyes didn't seem focused on him, but rather around him, as if seeing something that wasn't there.
Harry paused. 'Is Luna going to be trained too? Thanatos didn't mention anything about that in his letter. Maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment thing? But why would Luna need to be trained?'
He understood why he had to be trained, to fight Voldemort and any Death Eater that could show up, possibly Dumbledore if things went bad, and to prepare him for the prophecy. But what reason could Luna have?
Luna stared out of a nearby window for a moment before she turned.
"We should go," She told him. "We don't want to keep Professor Marime waiting, do we?"
She skipped away to Remus' office, and Harry confusedly followed, wondering if she really was going to get trained too.
He entered Remus' office a few steps behind Luna, seeing Thanatos, Aahna, and Remus there waiting.
"Good morning Luna, Harry," Aahna said with a smile.
"Hello, Miss Sun!" Luna greeted cheerfully.
Harry's brows furrowed. Sun? Aahna was wearing bright yellows and golds as usual, but the sun wouldn't have been his first thought.
He shrugged internally. Maybe Luna just had an odd form of expression?
Aahna ruffled Luna's hair, much to the girl's delight.
"It's getting better," Aahna told her. "I liked that nickname more than your past ones."
Luna beamed at her. "Thank you!"
Thanatos turned to Harry, arms crossed.
"You're on time, good," Thanatos told him. "You're going to be learning alongside Luna, for reasons I won't disclose at the moment. You'll learn the why once you master Occlumency. Deal?"
Harry nodded. He knew now that Thanatos wouldn't hide stuff unless it was absolutely necessary, and the man had a good track record of telling Harry things, so Harry didn't think to push.
"Good, we'll start now," Thanatos said, waving a hand.
Two comfortable-looking chairs sprung into existence from the floor.
Luna happily plopped into one without being told, and Harry followed soon after, surprised at how soft the chairs were.
"These lessons will be mostly practical," Aahna took over. "We'll cover some theory in the beginning, but after that, it'll be completely hands-on."
"And to start," Remus began, stepping in front of the two students. "What is the most important thing in a duel between two magic users?"
"The spells?" Harry suggested.
"Wrong," Thanatos replied. "Take another guess."
"Their experience," Luna said, her serene, dreamy look dropping.
Aahna made a so-so gesture. "Partially, it can definitely turn the tables, but it isn't the most important."
Both Harry and Luna looked puzzled at that, if spells and experience weren't the most important, then what was?
"The amount of magic they have?" Harry tried again.
Remus shook his head. "Sorry, Harry, but no. The most important thing is magical refinement and control, everything else is secondary."
"Harry, do you remember what I told you in my letter?" Thanatos asked. "What made Dumbledore such a dangerous wizard?"
Harry paused, digging up the memory of the letter as best he could.
"His control?" He half-asked.
Thanatos nodded. "Correct. A wizard's control over their magic will, 95 times out of 100, be the deciding factor in any duel, no matter the spells."
"Notice how, in your first year, you could struggle to perform a Lumos or Wingardium Leviosa," Aahna explained. "But now, you could probably do those spells without thinking about it."
The two students nodded in agreement, and Aahna continued.
"That's because your magic is more refined," She said. "Both in general and for that spell, so more magic goes into the spells you cast instead of dissipating into the air."
"But magical refinement is a complicated art," Thanatos picked up. "Most of your growth will come from Hogwarts, and even then, it isn't much."
He flicked his wrist, and a whiteboard appeared to his right, a marker floating beside it.
The marker uncapped itself, writing '11.2%' on the whiteboard in red ink.
"11.2%," Thanatos told them. "That's the difference in magical control between the average first-year and average seventh-year."
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, really? That little?"
Remus nodded. "Most witches and wizards have very poor magical control, to the point that most of their magic doesn't actually go into their spells, but rather into the air as residue."
"This is also why it's so easy to track magical signatures," Aahna continued. "The leftover magic is so strong that it's like a dog following a scent."
"The average magic user has a refinement of 37.5%, meaning only 37.5% of the magic they pour into a spell actually goes into their target, the rest dissipates into the air," Thanatos told them. "Dumbledore is the most refined magic user alive. Want to guess his refinement?"
"50%?" Luna suggested.
Aahna shook her head. "Higher."
"75%?" Harry tried, getting another negative response.
"95%," Thanatos told them. "Dumbledore's refinement is 95%, more than double the refinement of the average magic user. Remember, 11.2% is the difference between a first-year and a seventh-year, on average."
The two students stared in shock, trying to wrap their heads around the mind-boggling power that Dumbledore wielded.
Harry shivered. Now he knew why people were terrified of Dumbledore.
"Just for context," Thanatos continued. "I'm one of, if not the most magically refined Auror in the world, and my refinement is 83%."
"And my refinement, which is one of the best in the world, is 87%," Aahna told them. "Still 8% less than Dumbledore. And when you're talking refinement, 8% is the difference between an average civilian and a top-level Auror."
"What would our refinement be?" Luna asked, gesturing between herself and Harry.
"We'll check that in another lesson," Remus answered. "But first we have to go into magical control."
Harry's brows furrowed. "Isn't that the same thing?"
Thanatos shook his head. "Refinement is how efficient your magic is when cast, control is how efficient you are while your magic is in your body."
The marker quickly wrote some more things on the board:
– Enhancement
– Regeneration
– Resistance
– Awareness
"These are the four things magical control allows us to do," Thanatos began. "By circulating the magic inside of your body, similar to how your heart pumps blood, you can do everything from heal a lost limb to dodge spells without seeing them."
"Magic is everywhere," Aahna continued. "It permeates everything we do and everything we are. The air, the water, and even our blood are coated with magic, even the blood of non-magicals, though at a much lower rate."
"With proper magical control, we become attuned to the world around us," Remus said. "Our magic merges with the magic outside our bodies, and in dire situations, some wizards can even pull magic from the very air to enhance spells."
"To control your magic properly, you first have to be aware of your magical core," Thanatos took over. "This is also the first step in advanced Occlumency, which then can be used to enhance your refinement."
"So it's all connected?" Harry asked.
Thanatos nodded. "Correct. Magic is, in essence, an intertwined web that connects us all. Everything has magic in some form, it's what allows life to evolve."
"Now," Aahna said, clapping her hands. "You two will be learning a form of Occlumency that many consider advanced, but is actually just a non-linear approach to what is usually linear thinking."
The board changed to read: Linear Defensive Occlumency vs. Soul Defensive Occlumency
"The first method is what's usually taught," Aahna continued. "It starts by taking your stray thoughts and getting rid of them, allowing you to begin the second step: construction of your mental defenses."
"The second method," Thanatos explained. "Does both at once, using your stray thoughts as an initial defense for everything else. It's usually more intuitive for those who are magically or creatively inclined, but worse for those who are highly logic-driven."
"We're going to be teaching you a mix of both," Remus finished. "And constructing what's referred to as 'A False Mind,' which covers your mind and soul with a sort of projection, filled with nothing but random, unimportant thoughts and basic emotions."
Thanatos nodded. "It's the most difficult form of Occlumency, but the one with the highest rewards, as learning it greatly increases magical control and refinement, along with every other benefit of Occlumency like increased memory, more controlled emotions, and faster mental processing."
"To start, I want you both to close your eyes and relax," Aahna told them. "Think of a time when you feel free, unburdened, and limitless. It can be anything, as long as you feel free of everything."
Harry and Luna did as told, with Harry envisioning him on his broom, wind through his hair as he soared at breakneck speeds.
Luna, however, envisioned the small library at her house, particularly the spot near the window where sunlight streamed in as she read.
"Now," Aahna said softly. "Envision everything about that. Everything you feel, everything you hear, everything you see. Try to make that memory as realistic as possible."
Harry focused on the feeling of his broom in his hands, the wind's roar in his ears, the slight chill on his skin as he flew high, and the feeling of his Quidditch robes flying around him.
Luna focused on the heat of the sun on her skin, the feel of paper between her fingers, the soft chirping of birds outside, and the wood of the bookshelf against her back.
Aahna gently tapped the two, bringing them out of their trance with a smile.
"How did you do?" She asked softly.
Luna beamed at her. "It felt… real," She said, somewhat blandly.
Harry nodded. It'd been easy for him to completely immerse himself in that memory, as it was something he did so often.
"Good," Aahna told them. "That's the first step. The more you can envision yourself in that memory, the easier time you'll have later."
Thanatos stepped forward. "Now, this second step will be slightly more difficult. I want you to envision that memory while moving."
The chairs disappeared under the two but didn't fall as Thanatos' magic kept them up.
They stood, the whiteboard and everything else disappearing, leaving the room open and empty.
"You'll be walking around the room while envisioning that memory for five minutes," Thanatos told them. "You aren't allowed to slow down or stop, if you do, I'll hex you and you'll have to start over."
Luna and Harry gulped at that, wondering how exactly they'd be able to concentrate like that without stopping.
Nonetheless, they were soon on opposite sides of the room, backs to the wall.
"Begin," Thanatos called.
Harry and Luna began moving slowly, closing their eyes to envision the memory.
To the teachers, it was slightly amusing to see the two feel for the walls in order not to crash into them, but Luna seemed to quickly grasp it, stopping and turning while keeping a set distance from the wall.
Harry, however, bumped into them constantly and eventually opened his eyes in annoyance.
It was almost impossible for him to do both at once, as whenever he'd get a good grasp on the memory, he'd slow down and get hexed by Thanatos.
Luna, meanwhile, was struggling in a different way. She could envision the memory and keep her pace, but the memory had gaps and was blurry, and any attempt to envision it better made her stop completely.
In the end, it took them over 40 minutes to complete the 5-minute exercise, and by the end, both were tired and sore, with light welts on their bodies from Thanatos' stinging hexes.
A huge, plush beanbag appeared under them, and the two collapsed into it gratefully.
"Difficult, huh?" Remus asked with a mischievous smirk.
Harry groaned and Luna gave a vague head gesture, but neither said anything.
Thanatos hit them with a quick healing spell, gaining mumbles of appreciation from both.
"The mind doesn't like to multi-task," He explained. "It prefers to spend all of its energy doing one thing at a time, as you two noticed. Whenever you focused on moving, particularly after being hexed, you lost focus of the memory, right?"
Harry and Luna, who'd sat up during Thanatos' explanation, nodded.
"That's because your mind isn't organized yet," Thanatos told them. "The mind is like a muscle, and the more you push it, the better it gets. We'll be doing this exercise every training session until both of you can go the five minutes without getting hexed once."
Harry and Luna groaned, garnering chuckles from the three adults.
"Now, we'll be moving on to the second exercise," Remus told them, setting a candle in front of both of them.
"Your job is to light your candles without your wand and without touching it," He told them. "It's another exercise meant to improve your control and refinement."
Thanatos crouched in front of the candles, looking up at them.
"If you can grasp your magic while it's inside your bodies, it'll be easier to control once it's outside your bodies," He said, and the candles lit. "This will help you improve both."
The flame spiraled into a large column, rising until they were beside Thanatos' face.
Luna gasped as the magic moved, her Mage Sight allowing her to see how Thanatos manipulated the fire.
"Stare at the candles and call on your magic," Thanatos told them, and the candles went out. "You'll have ten minutes to light them."
"What happens if we fail?" Harry asked as Thanatos stood.
Thanatos grinned. "You do the walking exercise again."
Harry and Luna paled slightly at that and resolutely stared at the candles, much to the adults' amusement.
Luna had the edge here, as her Mage Sight allowed her to see how Thanatos had lit the candle, but she still struggled to make her magic move.
Harry, meanwhile, was going in completely blind, simply trying to brute force his magic into lighting the candle.
'Light, light, light,' He chanted internally, trying to urge his magic out. 'Come on, LIGHT!'
The minutes ticked by with nothing happening, and the two began getting increasingly worried.
"Focus on it," Aahna supplied. "Think of it like ordering the magic to light the candle."
"Light," Harry muttered under his breath. "Light the candle."
Luna, who was close enough to hear him, giggled a bit, causing him to flush.
"Thirty seconds," Thanatos called.
"C'mon…" Harry muttered, pushing at what he thought was his magic.
Luna wasn't doing any better, even with Mage Sight, as she had no clue how to draw her magic out.
"Twenty seconds," Thanatos told them.
Harry felt his annoyance grow to anger, and a deep pressure began to push from inside his chest.
"LIGHT DAMMIT!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his hands out in annoyance.
The pressure released into his hands and fire roared from the candle's wick, white-hot and blindingly bright, reaching at least a foot high into the air.
Luna's eyes widened, her Mage Sight picking up how Harry's magic had rocketed out of his hands and onto the candle.
She turned back to her candle and took a deep breath.
"Light!" She said forcefully, pushing her hands out.
Her candle lit with a roaring boom, a light-blue flame burning in the air.
"We did it!" She exclaimed happily, her eyes dancing with happiness.
Harry grinned at her, and Luna smiled back, and the two high-fived, proud at their success.
"I'll be honest," Thanatos said, extinguishing the fires with a wave. "I didn't actually expect you two to manage that."
The two stared at him in bewilderment, their eyes wide with confusion.
"So… this…" Harry said slowly, gesturing to the candles.
Thanatos shrugged. "I wasn't actually going to make you do the walking exercise again, but the candle exercise is usually done as an advanced test for those with fine magical control."
"It's actually an old test for Unspeakables," Aahna piped up. "Neither of you was actually meant to be able to do that. It was supposed to show you what your goal by the end of these lessons was."
She paused, brows furrowed. "I will admit, I would've been impressed if a seventh-year had managed their first time, especially with such powerful flames."
"So we exceeded expectations?" Luna asked, somewhat proud.
"I would say that's Outstanding instead," Remus smiled. "But yes, you did, Miss Lovegood. By quite a lot."
The two grinned at each other, and Thanatos waved a hand, and the candles returned to new.
"Do it again," He told them.
Harry and Luna did double takes, staring at him.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Do it again," Thanatos repeated. "You did it once, so you know how your magic feels when it leaves your body. Do it again, but with less power."
The two tentatively tried again, and much to their delight, it only took them slightly more than two and a half minutes to light the candles again.
Thanatos, Aahna, and Remus led them through some more Occlumency exercises, and by the time it was 11 am, both Luna and Harry felt much calmer and more organized than when they entered.
They took a half-hour break before Thanatos stepped up, his wand out.
"Ok, that was the mental aspect," He told the two students. "You'll also be physically trained. I'll be teaching you how to handle yourselves, with and without wands."
He flicked his wrist, and two small targets appeared on the far wall.
"You will be learning three offensive and three defensive spells," Thanatos explained. "The first offensive spell is Reducto."
The spell hit the target, causing it to explode violently. It reformed after a second, and Thanatos turned to the students.
"Reducto is a spell that can reduce a large boulder into pieces, or bring down a full ceiling if you're not careful," He explained calmly. "It blows things apart and is a very good shield-breaker."
The two students were quickly placed facing the targets, their wands out.
"What's the wand motion, Professor?" Luna asked.
"You won't be learning wand motions," Thanatos replied. "They do nothing but allow you to manipulate your magic better, and as you're learning magical control, they are not needed. Simply point and cast."
Harry pointed his wand at the target, trying to remember the pressure in his chest that caused the candle to light.
"Reducto!" He cried, jabbing his wand forward.
Sparks fizzled out of his wand, but the spell didn't take hold.
Harry's grip tightened, his annoyance beginning to grow again.
"Reducto!" He yelled, jabbing his wand more forcefully.
Even less happened the second time, his wand didn't even grow warm.
Luna took a deep breath and raised her wand, trying to focus her magic through her hand.
"Reducto," She called, pointing her wand at the target.
A thin white light shot from her wand but fizzled out before it got halfway to the target.
"Don't focus on casting the spell," Thanatos supplied. "Imagine it's your hundredth time casting it, and focus on hitting the target. Your magic will reply."
Harry took deep breaths and focused, feeling the pressure build in his chest.
"Reducto!" He roared.
The spell flew out like a rifle blast, and Harry's arm flew up from the sheer power of the spell.
His Reducto hit the target square, destroying it, Luna's target, and a section of wall in the process.
A strong wind ran through the room from his spell, nearly knocking him off his feet.
Harry's breath was shallow, but out of exhilaration, like he got when on his broom during a Quidditch match.
His skin was warm, almost uncomfortably so, but Harry felt as if he could cast a thousand Reductos if he wanted.
He turned to Thanatos, who was staring at him with an unreadable expression, arms crossed.
Luna was staring openly at him, her eyes wide and alert and her mouth slightly open.
"I think you were only supposed to destroy your target, Harry," Remus called, hiding his shock.
Harry rubbed his neck nervously, his face flushing as Luna and Remus continued to stare at him.
"Well, good news," Aahna butted in, snapping them from their shock. "You hit the target. Bad news, if you hit someone with that kind of power, you'll kill them instantly. So tone it down, hmm?"
Harry flushed more and nodded, and with a casual wave, the targets and wall fixed themselves.
The two eventually got back to casting, with Luna learning Reducto about a minute after Harry did.
After that, Thanatos taught them Depulso (The Banishment Charm) and Inflamare (The Fireball Charm) for offense and Protego (The Shield Charm), Appore Vestigium (The tracking spell), and Fumos (The smoke spell) for defense.
By the end, neither Harry nor Luna had fully mastered all six spells but had found they had very different skill sets.
When it came to finesse and non-attack spells, like Fumos and Appore Vestigium, Luna had the edge due to her Mage Sight, but when it came to sheer power, Harry was ahead of her by a mile.
The only exceptions were Protego and Inflamare, of which Harry mastered the former and Luna the latter, much to their surprise.
"You'll practice those spells until they become reflex," Thanatos told them. "The same with every other spell you'll learn. Harry, you know why you're training, and as much as I hate to say it, you'll likely have to save your life with the skills we've taught."
He turned to Luna. "You don't have the same pressure, but it's still good for you to know how to defend yourself. People with your talent are rare and hunted for."
Harry's brows furrowed at that. What rare talent did Luna have?
"Each week will be something different," Aahna told them. "I'll join occasionally, especially for the more advanced stuff, but most of your training will be from Remus and Thanatos."
Remus nodded. "You two should study up on the spells you learned here. Practice your Occlumency too, you'll need it."
"Do we do the walking exercise, Professor?" Luna asked.
Remus shook his head. "That'll just be here, mostly because it's more of a warm-up than an exercise meant to better you."
"What you can do," Thanatos jumped in. "Take a candle and light it like you did today, and then try to make the flame rise and fall with your magic while keeping an empty mind. Imagine throwing your spare thoughts, worries, and so on into the candle."
"Do that for as long as you can," Aahna told them. "Once you feel like you can't anymore, don't force it. If you do, it'll just end up hurting your progress."
After a few more tips, which basically consisted of 'Study and talk to each other if either of you need help,' the duo was allowed to leave.
Harry and Luna walked, or skipped in Luna's case, out of Remus' office, feeling like they'd just taken a huge step toward getting stronger.
They'd crossed a hallway when Luna turned to him, her eyes dreamy and serene again.
"Congratulations on your godfather, Harry Potter," She said in her odd but kind way. "Dad sends his regards as well."
Harry did a double take. "I– Err– thank you?" He said, rubbing his neck. "But, uhh– Just call me Harry, ok? The only people who call me Potter are Professors and Malfoy."
"Ok then, Harry," Luna replied with a smile. "You better get back to your common room, your friends are looking for you."
Harry blinked in shock, but before he could ask how Luna could possibly know that, she was already skipping away, humming a soft tune.
When he entered the Gryffindor common room a few minutes later, surely enough, Ron and Hermione wasted no time in dragging him over to a table in the corner.
"Where were you?" Hermione whispered after they sat down. "Me and Ron were looking for you everywhere."
Ron nodded. "Yeah, mate. We checked your bed, the Owlery, and even the bloody library for you, but we didn't find you. Where were you?"
"Oh, uhh–" Harry scrambled to find a lie. "I was in Professor Lupin's office. He was telling me a few things about my dad."
Ron and Hermione seemed to accept that, though Hermione hesitated more than Ron.
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Author's Note: And that's the chapter! I do apologize for just brushing over the aftermath of Sirius' trial, but I really wanted to get to Harry's training because it's been in the background for a bit now.
Harry and Luna are going to be learning fast. By the time summer hits, Thanatos and Aahna are going to have him doing OWL-level stuff, and by the time the fourth year rolls around, they'll be inching close to NEWT-level.
I'm inching toward the headcanon that Luna has some sort of people-reading/prediction ability, as she's canonically eerily observant, and also I want her to stick out beyond just being magically powerful, since Harry already fits that notion neatly.
Though, I am considering a short hiatus for my stories for several reasons, one of which being that my computer is dying on me and I'm currently too broke to get a new one.
Nothing is confirmed yet, and I'm not sure if I'll do it, but if the next chapter is later than usual, that's why.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next one!