Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Now that Harry is at Hogwarts, how will he like his classes? Will his Professors be a problem? How will the other students react to him? What is our ever-curious Spellcrafter trying to puzzle out and understand now?

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So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 3 – Classes and Altercation

Bored.

Harry Potter was so bored!

His classes so far had all been beyond boring for him! Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, none of them was even remotely interesting. All of them were teaching things he’d been capable of since he was practically a toddler! It was somewhat fun to shock his Professors though.

In his first Transfiguration class they’d gone over the basics of the Branch of Magic and then been given matchsticks. They were asked to turn the matchsticks into needles. Harry, bored already, had blown on his matchstick a moment after McGonagall had set it on his desk. Transferring a spell to a target could be done through any medium and in this case Harry had used his breath. The young Spellcrafter had formed his personal inanimate to inanimate Transfiguration spell and set the parameters for it. His breath had carried the small bit of Magic towards the matchstick and instantly turned the wood into a metal needle.

“Mr. Potter?” McGonagall looked utterly shocked by the display. “Where is your wand? My class is no place for fooling around and casting spells while trying to hide your wand.” Though she’d spoken at a calm and level tone, everyone in the class was now looking towards the Professor and Harry.

“I don’t have a wand, Professor.” Harry replied without any real thought. “I’ve never needed one and thought it was kind of pointless to buy something that I’d never use.”

“Don’t have a… Never needed?” McGonagall looked flabbergasted as she stared at the First Year. All around the classroom whispers and hushed comments burst forth.

“I performed the Transfiguration though.” Harry motioned towards the needle on the desk in front of him.

“Y-Yes… I see that, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall nodded as she picked up the transfigured needle and inspected it for a moment. “Very good, take fifteen points for Ravenclaw.” She set the needle back on his desk. The look of shock was still on her face as she moved to hand out the rest of the matchsticks. Harry spent the rest of the class with Hermione practically staring a hole into his head. A few words of advice, here and there, and Hermione completed the transfiguration within a short time. She was the second student to finish and earned Ravenclaw ten more points.

His Defense Against the Dark Arts class hadn’t been any less of a bore. The stuttering Professor Quirrel was barely coherent and took so long just to go over the Course Goals that they’d only had the last few minutes of class to try out a simple jinx. Flipendo, the Knockback Jinx, gave the equivalent of a good shove to whatever it hit with a small, bluish ball of light. They’d all lined up to attempt to cast the Jinx at a dummy target. A few of the First Years managed some sparks, some managed the Jinx but their aim was off.

“Ha…” Harry exhaled when it was his turn. He raised his hand, tucked the tip of his index finger behind the tip of his thumb, and then flicked the Jinx at the target. The small ball of light hit the dummy and made it shake for a second. This, naturally, led to hushed whispers breaking out amongst the students from Gryffindor House that they shared the class with.

“M-M-Mr. P-Potter, h-how did y-you mange t-th-that with-without your w-wand?” Professor Quirrel stuttered out. The man’s eyes were wide in shock and what Harry thought might be fear? That was odd, to say the least.

“I don’t need a wand to perform Magic, Professor.” Harry informed the turban-wearing man. “I didn’t purchase one in Diagon Alley because I wouldn’t use it, sir.”

“I-I see, ex-excellent work, Mr. P-Potter, take twen-twenty points f-for Ravenclaw.” Quirrel managed to stutter out as Harry stepped out of the way and returned to his desk. The rest of the class still needed to attempt the jinx after all.

Charms Class with Professor Flitwick, Ravenclaw’s Head of House and rumored to have some Goblin Ancestry, hadn’t been much better. The short Charms Master was full of energy and a passion for teaching. This made the class more engaging for the students. They were even taught two Charms on the first day; the simple Color-Changing Charm and the Lumos Charm.

Harry blew lightly on the white handkerchief in front of him, turning it blue and bronze in a striped pattern. Then, with a thought, a small ball of white light appeared above the altered cloth. He once again held back a grin as he felt Hermione’s eyes gazing at him with such intent his head might start smoking from the sheer focus. Flitwick was practically bouncing as he took in the ease, as well as the silent and wandless nature, of Harry’s work. The Professor had given him twenty more points for Ravenclaw and left Harry to his own devices while he moved around the class assisting those that were having trouble.

History of Magic was a bore, a ghost Professor was a novelty that quickly wore off. Professor Binns barely seemed to notice the class even being there. He regurgitated information verbatim from their textbooks and his droning voice put more than one student to sleep. Harry ended up pulling out one of the books he’d gotten from the library and started reading it. Hermione didn’t seem pleased with his actions as she was taking notes. The young Spellcrafter didn’t understand why as she could copy the textbook and get the same notes.

It was Harry’s first Potions Class that had the most entertainment, but it was for all the wrong reasons. The class had started with the greasy, dungeon bat, another nickname from Sirius, storming into the room with his robes billowing behind him. He’d waxed on about Potion Making, while making some rather dubious claims about brewing Fame, bottling Glory, and stoppering Death. Then he’d insulted the whole class by calling them dunderheads. It was as the dour man was taking attendance that the problems began.

“Ah, Harry Potter, our new celebrity.” Snape had drawled as he got to Harry’s name. Harry sighed lowly as Sirius was proven right. Severus Snape would indeed act like a child and hold a grudge against Harry’s father, James Potter, against him too. What a disappointing discovery to make about a Professor at one of Europe’s foremost Magical Schools.

‘This is going to be great…’ Harry drawled internally as he saw Snape’s gaze stay on him as the man opened his mouth.

“Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to and infusion of wormwood?” Snape barked out a question.

“A mess, if those are your only two ingredients.” Harry replied evenly. He wasn’t even wrong, technically. If you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood it wouldn’t make anything but a mess. You needed more ingredients to actually make a Potion. Even Harry knew that much. Snape hadn’t given him anywhere close to enough information to come up with a final product.

“Five points from Ravenclaw for your cheek Potter!” Snape lashed out verbally, a glare boring into the First Year. “Let’s try again, shall we? Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?”

“Any Potion Cabinet would have a few in it to prevent poisonings, if the one maintaining said cabinet was doing it properly.” Harry slipped a subtle barb into his reply before continuing. “But if you want a fresh one you’re going to need to extract it from a goat’s stomach.”

“That’s another five points from Ravenclaw, Potter! I don’t take sass from my students!” Snape fired back, completely ignoring the fact that Harry’s answer was correct. “Let’s see if you can answer a question properly this time. What is the difference between monkshood and Wolfsbane?”

“Nothing, just different names for the same plant.” Harry rattled off the answer without any barbs if it would get the man off his back.

“Another five points from Ravenclaw for that look on your face, Potter.” Snape bit out as he ignored another correct answer. “I expect respect from my students, not to be looked at as if talking to me is beneath you. Clearly fame isn’t everything.”

‘Okay… So we’re just ignoring my correct answers too. I’m not dealing with this!’ Harry growled in his own mind. As an eleven year old, it was rather natural for a boy like Harry to lash out against what he saw as unfair treatment. Unfortunately for Severus Snape, this particular eleven year old wasn’t limited to yelling and shouting. Harry channeled the Principle of Rejection and chose Snape as the target.

“Urgh!” Snape seemed to choke as his body was hit by the force of Harry’s spell. The man’s feet left the floor of the dungeon as he was launched backwards and over his desk. He crashed to the floor with a shout as parchment and vials were knocked off his desk. The other students blinked at the sudden display before one of the Hufflepuff students screamed and panic ensued. The First Years tore out of the room in fright, none of them understanding what exactly had happened. Hermione was one of the only ones that remained behind, the brunette clearly confused and unsure if she should have followed her peers.

“Sirius was right about you.” Harry stated with a bitter tone as he packed up his things. “You’re a hateful man-child that’s still holding a grudge and is petty enough to take it out on a child.”

“Potter! How dare you?!” Snape was practically spitting as he glared daggers at the impudent brat. “One hundred points from Ravenclaw and a month of detentions with me every night!”

“No.” Harry denied and took some pleasure in the shocked look on Snape’s pale face before the anger returned.

“Potter!” Snape bellowed and Harry noticed the wand in his right hand.

“Really? You’re drawing your wand on a student? A First Year?” Harry arched an eyebrow and Snape sneered at him. Harry noted that the wand was still clenched in the Potion Professor’s hand and not put away.

“What is going on here?!” Flitwick bellowed as he stormed into the room. The diminutive man was incredibly loud when he wanted to be. Harry noticed a few heads of his year mates peeking into the doorway. Apparently they’d run to their Head of House when the altercation started.

“Potter attacked me.” Snape spat while glaring at the boy.

“You started it.” Harry replied flatly, his bag over his shoulder already.

“Severus, put your wand away or I’ll take it from you!” Flitwick’s wand was already in hand and neither Harry nor Snape had seen the Charms Master draw it. “We do not draw our wands on students, Severus! You know this! He’s a First Year at that!” With great reluctance, Snape put his wand away and continued to glare at Harry. “Both of you will be coming with me to the Headmaster’s Office, I’ll hear nothing against it!”

“That’s fine, Professor.” Harry gave a shrug and fell in-line behind the short man.

Snape was put in front, with Flitwick between him and Harry, as the three of them walked up stairs and headed for the Headmaster’s Office. Flitwick still had his wand in his hand, in case of any outbursts from either of them. When they got to a stone gargoyle, Flitwick uttered the name of a type of candy for some reason. The gargoyle suddenly animated and moved aside, revealing a spiral staircase that had moving steps like a Muggle escalator. The three of them rode up to the top and Dumbledore’s voice called out for them to enter before anyone had even knocked.

“Severus, Filius, Mr. Potter? What has prompted this visit to my office today?” Dumbledore questioned as he looked over all three of them.

“Potter attacked me!” Snape nearly shouted as he spoke first. “I want him expelled for assaulting a Professor!”

“Severus, I’ll remind you that I found you with your wand in-hand, clearly drawn against a student.” Flitwick spoke up with a fierce look on his face.

“That was after I had already been attacked!” Snape retorted loudly, looking down on the other Professor.

“That’s enough.” Dumbledore spoke softly, but with such finality in his voice that both men stopped talking immediately. “I will hear both sides and then determine a course of action. But for such an accusation, I’ll need to have a Legal Guardian present for the meeting. I’ll Floo Sirius Black and inform him of what’s going on.”

Snape grumbled something unintelligible but Harry ignored him and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore’s desk. Dumbledore had made his way to the fireplace and tossed in some Floo Powder. In a very short time Harry saw Sirius’ face in the flames. Dumbledore spoke for a moment before Sirius’ voice practically blasted from the fireplace.

“He did what?!” Sirius roared and Harry cocked an eyebrow. “So help me if he’s done anything to Harry I’ll strangle the life from him with my bare hands! You open this Floo immediately, Dumbledore!” A few words from the Headmaster, along with some argument from Sirius, and the flames turned green as Sirius stepped through them. Seeing Harry, Sirius was by his side in an instant. “Harry! What happened? Did he do anything to you?!” The Lord Black’s eyes found Snape and glared death at the man. “Snivellus! I knew you’d be a bastard about Harry’s attendance! Only a petty, childish, hateful, pathetic little man like you would hold a grudge against a dead man’s son!” Sirius’ words practically dripped with venom as he laid into the dour Potions Professor.

“That’s enough; we’re here to get to the bottom of this incident, not start another one.” Dumbledore settled the room quickly as he looked at both Snape and Sirius.

From there Harry was asked about his side of the story. Then Snape gave a similar, but distinctly different version. Flitwick gave the account he’d heard from multiple Ravenclaw first years as well. Sirius was either giving silent support to Harry or glaring at Snape. Dumbledore thought over the three accounts he’d heard, Harry’s admittance to using a spell on Professor Snape, and the fact that Harry’s story lined up with the other student’s much more closely than Severus’ did. With a stone face, Dumbledore gave his verdict.

“Severus, you’re on warning, a single new incident and I will terminate your employment here at Hogwarts. We will also be going over how you run your class and making changes where needed, are we clear?” Dumbledore looked his staff member directly in the eyes. Snape stiffened and looked like he’d swallowed a lemon, but nodded in agreement. “Mr. Potter, as you admitted to using a spell against a teacher, your House will be docked one hundred points and you’ll serve two weeks of detention with Professor Flitwick. I will ask that you attend Potions like the rest of the students since Professor Snape will be teaching properly, as stated in the Hogwarts Charter, from now on.”

“Yes Headmaster.” Harry nodded even though Sirius looked like he wanted to refuse that last point.

“Thank you,” Dumbledore gave Harry a grandfatherly smile. “Sirius, I assure you that this will not happen again. Young Harry will be treated the same as any other student while he attends Hogwarts.”

“It had better not, Dumbledore.” Sirius looked the old man dead in the eye. It was a powerful and protective gaze that told Dumbledore that Sirius would see Snape lynched should the Potions Professor ever threaten his godson again. “Harry, if anything happens you contact me immediately, I’ll deal with it personally.”

“Thank you, Sirius.” Harry smiled at his godfather. The Lord Black gently ruffled Harry’s hair.

Sirius left a few moments later and Harry was escorted from Dumbledore’s Office by Flitwick. Snape was left alone with Dumbledore and the last thing Harry saw as the door closed behind them was Dumbledore levitating a large, well-worn tome onto his desk. The Headmaster motioned Snape to take a seat as the old man opened it to the first page.

The story of the incident spread through Hogwarts like wildfire. Harry was congratulated by upper year students he didn’t even know from every House except Slytherin for his actions. The most vocal of praise came from the twins, Fred and George Weasley, who also gave him some sweets from Honeydukes as a ‘reward’ of sorts. Snape was not a well-liked Professor in Hogwarts, at all. Hermione had been cross with him for a while. The girl having thought Harry had gone too far; though she did agree that Snape was far out of line and had been planning to report him to Flitwick herself after the class.

Harry’s detentions with Flitwick were fairly standard. Things like writing lines, cleaning up the classroom without Magic, and various other tasks of that nature. Harry did find some enjoyment out of discussing Charms with Flitwick when the Professor wasn’t busy grading papers. So it wasn’t the worst that it could have been. Flitwick seemed to find Harry and his thoughts and theories on Magic fascinating. The two were well on their way to becoming acquaintances aside from being Professor and Student. Harry had even earned back the one hundred points he’d lost Ravenclaw in just two days with his performance in his classes.

Herbology was a bit of an odd Branch of Magic for Harry. He didn’t mind it overall, but something about the various magical plants always felt off to him. His current theory was that it was because they were plants and not animals. Every Magical Creature, including Witches and Wizards, used Magic in similar ways, even if the end goal was entirely different. Magical plants acted in ways that crossed the line between plant and animal in many cases. They used their Magic not just as a way to survive, but to also animate themselves, or to produce substances that no normal plant could ever hope to. He listened in class, participated when he was called on, and Professor Sprout treated him just like any other student. So Harry had no real problems with the class.

Astronomy was similar for the young Spellcrafter. He knew certain, often very specific, Branches of Magic relied on the alignment of moons and planets to take full effect. But as Harry had not yet come across any Magic that interested him among those Branches, it wasn’t very interesting to him. Being up late was also kind of a chore. Harry preferred to try and keep his sleeping schedule as it was. It was probably his age, but he did agree with what he’d overheard some of the older boys talking about in regards to Professor Sinistra. She really was the loveliest of the female Professors of Hogwarts. She was also the youngest too, which didn’t hurt at all.

Outside of classes Harry could often, pretty much all the time, be found in the library looking through stacks of old tomes. The Spellcrafter couldn’t help but love the vast collection of books that Hogwarts possessed. There were books on Magical Theory and Spellcraft here that he’d never heard of. Some he was certain were one of a kind, not published at all! Some were outright handwritten and Harry was in heaven as he gleaned what knowledge he could from the old pages. Many of the books he’d found did turn out to be letdowns though, so it wasn’t as though Hogwarts was infallible or anything. Dozens upon dozens of the books he’d looked through were rigid and claimed things like wands and Foci being required for Magic. Harry scoffed whenever he saw such books and quickly returned them to their places on the shelf. Hermione often read with him, the two of them becoming friends at their own pace. He often chuckled as he noticed Hermione reading books on Wandless Magic Theory or Basic Spellcraft.

‘I have to give her credit for trying to figure it out for herself.’ Harry chuckled quietly as the two Ravenclaws read together. He’d help her if she proved a willingness to abandon the stale and rigid form of thinking that most of those books prattled on about. Until then, she was only curious about Magic, it would remain to be seen if she’d become one of the regular Magicals that were content to scratch the surface. But there was a chance her curiosity was like his, and that she’d be willing to toss away the ‘right way’ espoused in books to really learn. Harry wasn’t against teaching after all.

It was on a Saturday that Harry took a break from the Library and headed outside for some practice. He couldn’t go getting rusty after all! He noticed a fair few students lounging around outside today. It was getting later into September now. The warm days would soon be gone completely and only the chill of the Scottish winter would be available until late spring. Harry stretched a bit as he found a place a good distance away from anyone else. He was close to the lake, but still had plenty of space around him to practice on dry land.

“Let’s start with some Transfiguration.” Harry reached out with his Magic and tore up five large hunks of the ground. He levitated the five dirt and rock balls in front of him before beginning to change their form. The first ball deformed, seeming to sag a bit before becoming clear and colorless. With a smile Harry set the new substance to spinning. A ball of water now spun in place where dirt used to be.

The second earth ball went the opposite direction. It compacted, became rigid, and shaped itself into a cube. Harry levitated it on one corner and set it to spinning as well. Now a ball of water and a cube of metal spun lazily next to three earthen balls. Harry noticed that he’d attracted some attention from his peers with his display and chuckled lightly. There was no harm in them watching.

The third earth ball began to smoke. Steam rose off the ball as the dirt and grass dried out and hardened. The dried dirt and rock then began to blacken as Harry worked his Magic through the material. Flames leapt from the ball before starting to die off as the earth ball lost its solidity partially. With a bit of focus, Harry finished the transfiguration and set the ball of lava to gently spin with the other two.

The fourth earth chunk went completely different from its predecessors. The grass on top changed first, turning a light brown. The roots hanging off the dirt seemed to wave back and forth before changing color and expanding. More and more of the dirt disappeared as the chunk formed into a sphere. Harry heard someone figure out what he’d done just as he was finishing up. Now a wooden ball was spinning in rotation with the first four.

“This last one is much more boring.” Harry mused to himself as he turned the dirt ball into a sphere and the dirt quickly became stone. He set the stone ball into rotation with the others and let them orbit him as he looked them over. The Five Elements of Chinese Philosophy all transfigured from dirt. Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood, all were accounted for and Harry wondered if anyone at Hogwarts would understand the significance.

With a reversal of his Magic each elemental ball began to revert back to its previous form. Stone quickly became dirt and filled in one of the five holes. Lava cooled and hardened, then broke apart and reverted to dirt, filling a second hole. Metal lost its rigidity and collapsed into dirt, quickly filling the third hole. Wood seemingly broke apart and filled the hole below it as dirt once again. Water gained solidity and then color, and was deposited in the final whole as dirt.

Seeing that he had a crowd now actively watching him, even though they were keeping their distance, Harry figured he could surprise a few of them. Maybe it was the beginning of his burgeoning puberty, but he noticed quite a few girls watching him with awed faces. He walked forward, towards the lake. He heard a few gasps as instead of walking into the water, Harry walked on top of it as if it was merely more ground. Several meters out onto the lake and Harry quickly constructed a new spell.

“Going up.” Harry couldn’t resist saying as the water under his feet froze and then rose up as a rectangular pillar of ice. The water under the ice continued to lift him upwards as it was drawn in and then frozen to create a taller and taller pillar. When Harry reached a height of about ten meters he stopped his spell. Many of the watching students were sure the long pillar of ice would collapse, as buoyancy dictated it should, but Harry stood on it without trouble. The ice pillar didn’t so much as wobble or shake, even though the lake water was moving below it. The pillar stayed exactly where Harry had formed it.

The young Spellcrafter enjoyed the view from atop his pillar of ice for a bit longer before turning and taking a step off. In front of a large group of students, Harry Potter walked on small platforms that formed under his feet with every step. It was as if he had an invisible staircase and the only parts that could be seen were the parts his feet touched. When Harry reached the shore and stepped onto land he smiled at the gathered crowd and looked back at the ice pillar. The ice shattered into snow.

A wave of Harry’s hands and the snow stopped falling straight down. It changed direction and now blew towards the students. A dusting of the cool white flakes covered the area the students were in, making several people whoop and cheer at the display of Magic. Harry gave a short bow to his onlookers, prompting a short applause, before standing upright again with a chuckle. He noticed several of the girls giving him curious looks and shoved the feelings of pride and enjoyment aside. That was Sirius’ influence as he’d grown up! There would be time for such things later, while he was still young Harry was going to delve ever deeper into Magic.

Seeing that he was almost surrounded by other students now, his onlookers having formed a half-circle around him. Harry decided to demonstrate another bit of Magic while also getting out of the partial encirclement. With a few startled yelps, the very ground beneath all of the students’ feet began to turn. Harry only smiled pleasantly as the ground rotated until his position and the crowd’s had flipped one-hundred-eighty degrees.

“Have a nice afternoon, everyone.” Harry bid them as he took a step backwards off the revolving ground. The ground continued to move with all of the students on it even as Harry headed off to enjoy a leisurely stroll around the lake. The fresh air and exercise would help as he pondered on his next bit of Magic to learn or experiment with. The students continued to turn until the ground they stood on made a full three-hundred-sixty degree rotation and then the spell ended.

“That was neat!” A girl from Second Year exclaimed.

“He can do Magic like that and he’s only a First Year!” A Third Year boy was shocked and spoke loudly to be heard over the chatter that had begun to erupt from the students that had watched Harry practice.

“So that’s Harry Potter, huh?” A Sixth Year girl mused and two of her friends giggled. "Hey, none of that! He’s eleven! Don’t go thinking things about me!”

Harry heard none of this as he continued his walk around the lake. The young Spellcrafter was already deep into his musings and thoughts. At the moment he was thinking about Script-based Magics, imparting a spell onto an object or area through writing, such as in Runes. Harry wasn’t one to write off any idea as impossible until he’d tried it a multitude of different ways first. His current thoughts were wondering if a physical medium was required. For that matter, did one really need a full Runic Sequence? If you only wanted to impart a single effect, wouldn’t a single Rune be enough?

‘So many questions, so few answers, how exciting.’ Harry grinned to himself as he continued to walk. His current thoughts even led back to his reading on Wards. If Magic didn’t require wands and Foci, why would Wards require physical anchor points? Why would Runes require physical mediums? It was all Magic, right? Maybe he was thinking too hard about it? Or maybe he was onto something? Magic technically existed everywhere. It was in areas of incredibly high concentration that Magical Effects tended to occur naturally. These were the places that Wizards and Witches dubbed as Magical. Hogwarts and the nearby Hogsmeade were both such places.

Harry knew one thing though; he had plenty more to learn. The very thought put a smile on his face!

-End Chapter-

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So classes are boring, but I think we all suspected that, right?

Harry and Snape have an altercation and Sirius was almost on the warpath! You don’t mess with his godson and get away with it!

Harry enjoys the library and Hermione is slowly coming out of her shell with him. They’ll be full-on friends before you know it!

How long before Hermione cracks and admits that the books she reads don’t have all of the answers?

Harry’s practice becomes a show for his fellow students. Rather shocking to see a First Year with this kind of ability already! Me thinks Harry will be very popular amongst the female students in later years!

Now Harry is pondering on the connection between Magic and physical mediums. Can he delve deep into the Magic of Runes and Scripts? What about Warding? There are many surprises in store for our young Spellcrafter!

After all, there are Hierarchies in everything. The Magical World is no exception. Perhaps the Title of this story has more meaning than I’ve let on?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!