Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As First Year winds down, what will Harry do to amuse himself? Maybe give his peers another Magic Show? Could be a chance to also pull a little prank on everyone. Sirius will be so proud!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 9 – Show, Prank, Meeting

On the first warm Saturday of spring, Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table with Hermione for breakfast. The Spellcrafter was enjoying his food and thinking about how he’d spend his day. Hermione was already considering their end of year exams, but Harry kept dissuading her from worrying about them. They had until June before the exams. There was no need to stress out about them months before hand; they could save that for May.

“Any plans today, Harry?” Michael Corner asked curiously. He and Harry were acquaintances at least, if not friends.

“Still thinking.” Harry shrugged after a sip of milk.

“We could head outside, since it’s finally warm again.” Terry Boot offered with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Better than staying cooped up in the castle all day.” Anthony Goldstein agreed with Terry.

“If Harry wants to put on another Magic Show, I’d go outside to watch.” Lisa Turpin laughed from beside Mandy Brocklehurst.

“The last one was amazing, Harry.” Mandy got in on the request with a grin.

“It’s not like I couldn’t do that, I guess.” Harry hummed while looking up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, as if in consideration. “The weather does look nice outside.” The sky shown by the Great Hall’s magical roof was clear and sunny.

“I’d watch too, Harry.” Hermione admitted with a smile.

“You’re my closest friend, Hermione, you have to regardless.” Harry chuckled and Hermione shook her head with a slight giggle.

“When would this hypothetical show start?” Padma Patil leaned forward to be able to see Harry from a little further down the table.

“Hmm, probably after breakfast, I guess.” Harry gave a half-shrug before returning to his food. Already the whispers were beginning at the Ravenclaw table. The blue and bronze table was abuzz with the news in only a moment or two. The whispers and murmurings swiftly spread to the rest of the Great Hall.

“It’s impressive that you can get an entire Magical School excited just by performing Magic, you know?” Hermione mentioned as she noticed many students finishing their breakfasts and heading for the doors of the Great Hall. The words ‘magic show’ were heard more than once.

“Then I guess I’ll have to live up to expectations.” Harry chortled as he came up with a prank to pull on the entire student body. “I guess I’ll take my time with my drink, let everyone get outside first.”

“How considerate.” Hermione laughed beside him as she finished up her own breakfast.

If anyone were to look up at the Head Table, they might’ve spotted a few Professors finishing up their meals too. While most of them hid it well, Flitwick didn’t bother and happily followed after the students heading outside. Professor Vector went a different way, but her destination was merely to get a good vantage point to watch from. Professor Babbling was the next to leave, taking a different route, but having much the same idea as Professor Vector. Dumbledore stood and walked at a sedate pace the same direction that Flitwick had gone, a smile beneath his long white beard.

-Hogwarts Grounds-

“Quite the turnout.” Harry noticed as he walked away from the edge of the crowd. Hermione had stopped nearby Professor Flitwick as everyone seemed to want to give Harry as much room as possible, without being too far away. He stretched a little as he finalized his little prank in his head. He should remember to thank Aunt Andromeda for reading him some poetry books as he’d grown up. It would help him pull off his ruse. He couldn’t wait to see how many fell for it over the next day or so.

“Hurry up, Potter!” Draco Malfoy called out from the area where most of the Slytherin students were standing.

“Don’t rush him, Malfoy!” One of the Weasley Twins shot back instantly. Harry didn’t really care to guess which one.

Harry raised his right hand into the air above his head, palm facing the sky, and actually began an incantation, much to the surprise of most of the onlookers. “My name is love, precious child of light. I offer my body to my sun. My name is sin, jealously of wind. I call a gust of wind to my body. Released ring of fire…come, wind of the west!” Above Harry’s palm wind began to swirl around. Faster and faster the air spun until it glowed a bright yellow as it heated up to incredible temperatures.

“He actually used an incantation?!” Hermione nearly gaped, having never seen Harry do such a thing before.

“That was more of a chant than an incantation.” Flitwick looked on at the spell that Harry had conjured.

All throughout the crowd of onlookers, various exclamations could be heard. The ones that made Harry smile were those that were clearly repeating the chant he’d used. He even saw a few people scribbling it down onto spare pieces of parchment they had on them. A quick transfiguration of the soil and multiple t-posts of compacted dirt rose from the ground. With a grin Harry threw the burning disk of wind at the closest one.

“Whoa…” Was the chorus of the crowd as the spell sliced cleanly through the first post. Harry seemed to be in perfect control of the spinning ring of superheated wind as it swerved through the air to slice into another post. The spell never slowed down, even as it sliced through every t-post that Harry had raised. The yellow disc hovered in the center of the posts before Harry ended the first demonstration with a literal bang. The disc of super-hot wind exploded in a large fireball.

“I think we’ll have to caution Mr. Potter about using that spell against others.” Dumbledore looked over to Flitwick with a knowing gaze. The Charms Professor agreed with a nod, even as the students watching on cheered.

“Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters.” Harry’s words traveled to the crowd, seemingly without him doing anything. Before all of their eyes a blizzard whipped up out of nowhere and was sent howling across the grounds of the school in a straight line away from them. When the spell ended, everything in its wide path was frozen over. The grass was like icicles and even the air was thick with frost and mist.

“That’s…that’s insane…” Someone muttered, but no one could tear their eyes away from the sight to determine who had spoken.

‘Surely, Harry can’t keep casting such powerful spells?’ Dumbledore thought to himself as he watched the eleven-year-old boy perform feats of Magic that most Hogwarts graduates would be incapable of. ‘He must be close to his limit after those two spells alone.’

Harry was quick to prove him wrong as he began chanting again. “The flame will soon be released. Creeping war, unavoidable destruction. The horn of battle sounds aloud, the cruelty of conflict will envelop all. Come, crimson flames, the ruthless inferno. You are the avatar of hellfire. Sweep completely, bring a close to the great war. Burn them through, Sword of Surtr.” Glowing red lines spread out from Harry’s position, crisscrossing each other as the grew longer. They could be seen glowing beneath the frozen ground from the previous spell.

“My word!” Flitwick exclaimed in shock, while multiple students screamed or yelled in a mixture of shock, fright, and excitement.

The ground erupted into powerful flames that twisted into towering infernos. The heat was such that everyone could feel it, even one-hundred meters away. The tornadoes of fire melted and evaporated the ice in mere seconds. Harry kept it up for a bit longer before letting the flames fade and disappear in the wind. The area was scorched black and smoke rose up from the blackened ground from the fire spell.

“I don’t think Harry can cast again after three spells in a row like that.” Dumbledore mentioned and Flitwick looked like he agreed.

“Still, what an amazing spectacle, especially from a First Year student!” Flitwick was practically bouncing in place from the show of Magic.

“I…I don’t think Harry’s done yet.” Hermione pointed out from beside Flitwick. All eyes that had left the young Spellcaster’s position quickly refocused on him.

“In the sky of a now distant forest. Infinite stars scattered in the endless night sky. Respond to my foolish voice, give me now divine protection of starfire. Give the mercy of light to the one that abandoned you. Come, the wandering wind, the wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy.” Harry chanted before spreading his arms wide. A gale kicked up, wind tinted a bright green, and rose high into the air. Among the wind small spots of light shone, even in the sunlight. The green wind spread out and the little lights grew brighter in the air before exploding like fireworks.

“Awesome!” Was the call of many students as the spell seemed to simulate a firework show for all of them to enjoy.

‘This one may seem less dangerous…but that’s only because Harry sent it high into the air.’ Dumbledore noticed of the spell that was still going off overhead. ‘Each of those lights explodes with force comparable to a Bombarda spell. It’s a spell that could easily deal with a great number of enemies at once.’ The Headmaster could only wonder as to why Harry had created such powerful, dangerous spells that were clearly meant for magical combat. ‘Perhaps I should have a talk with him?’

Harry turned to his onlookers with a bright grin, which became a smile as he saw a few more people had taken out parchment to write down his chants. When he was sure that all of their attention was focused on him again, he began to speak. “Now, just so you all don’t think I’m just a destructive crazy person.” He chuckled and a several of the upper years laughed along with him. “I have another spell to share with all of you.”

“Wait, Mr. Potter, are you planning to cast this spell on all of us?” Flitwick stepped forward to intervene.

“Yes, Professor, it’s not harmful, in fact, it’s a very beneficial spell that will help perk everyone up for a bit, like a Pepper-Up Potion, but in spell form.” Harry explained with a smile. “Anyone that doesn’t want to be cast on, please move over here.” Harry marked where ‘here’ was by a Barrier forming a large square in the air over a section of the grass.

“Mr. Potter, do be aware that if this is some kind of prank, there will be punishment waiting for you.” Flitwick gave the Spellcrafter a sharp look, one he’d perfected over his years teaching many unruly students.

“It’s not a prank, sir.” Harry assured his Head of House. Secretly he snickered that the prank portion had already gone off without a hitch. He waited for the students that didn’t want to have a spell cast on them to move under the protection of the Barrier, noting that it was about an even half-and-half split of the onlookers.

“I believe we’re all ready, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick gave him the greenlight, noticeably in the group that was willing to have the spell cast on them.

Harry’s voice took on a strange tone as it traveled farther than it should have at the volume he was speaking. It was almost ethereal, for lack of a better word. “Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. Grow. Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. Grow.” Above Harry dozens and dozens of golden rays of light spun around each other, forming a brilliant golden ring in the air. With a motion of his hands, the glowing ring widened and fell over the group of onlookers that had agreed to have the spell cast on them. A second later and the ring disappeared as all of them faintly glowed with the same golden light.

“My word…” Dumbledore looked over his glowing form. It felt like the weight of his age had been greatly lessened. He hadn’t felt this energetic in a good long while. It was much more than a Pepper-Up Potion that Harry had compared it to.

“Harry…” Hermione breathed out as she felt so energized. It was such a rush that she felt like she could do anything she set her mind to right now.

“Amazing.” Neville blinked as he looked at his hands.

“You feel that, George?” Fred asked his twin, not even bothering with their usual guessing game.

“Yeah…it’s brilliant.” George replied with a wide smile.

“Who knew Harry could do this?” Michael Corner looked at his glowing housemates with wide eyes.

“Not me.” Terry shook his head slowly, still immersed in the feeling.

“What in the world did Potter do to them?” Draco wondered from beneath the Barrier with most of the Slytherins and a few other students from the other three Houses.

“If you’d like, feel free to cast a spell or two.” Harry called over to the glowing group. “I’m sure you’ll find that you can put a bit more power behind them now.”

“Don’t mind if we do!” Fred and George announced simultaneously as they drew their wands. “Vermillious!” From the tips of the twins’ wands a brilliant stream of red sparks was released like fireworks. Both of the Third Years seemed stunned by how many sparks were being produced and the height they were reaching into the air.

From there, dozens of the glowing students began to cast some spells. Flowers appeared across the grass, conjured birds filled the air, waves of sparks, water spraying wildly, even ripples the air as waves of Magic passed through it from various other spells. The glow faded from the students after two or three spells. Dumbledore and Flitwick hadn’t cast anything themselves, but the glow faded from both men about a minute later.

“To answer your question, Malfoy.” An upper year Hufflepuff looked at the First Year. “I believe he temporarily strengthened their Magic.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be impossible?” An older Slytherin asked with narrowed eyes. “You can’t strengthen someone or yourself beyond what your body can take.”

“Maybe he didn’t strengthen them…what if he just let them borrow some of his Magic?” A curious-looking Hufflepuff girl questioned aloud.

“That’s absurd…Potter already cast all those powerful spells; how could he have enough Magic left to share with all of them to make their spells stronger?” A different Slytherin denied the idea outright. It just seemed impossible.

“When has Harry Potter ever been normal?” The Hufflepuff shot right back. No one could answer that question and the topic was dropped.

“I think that will conclude today’s show.” Harry informed everyone as he began to walk off. “Study hard, everyone.” He waved and nearly snickered when he heard a few people mentioning that they’d practice the spells Harry had shown them. Hermione was quick to start walking after him with a smile and a few questions in mind.

-Dumbledore’s Office ~ Later-

“Greetings, Mr. Potter, I trust you’re well?” Dumbledore welcomed Harry into his office with a smile. “Would you care for a lemon drop?” He moved the bowl of candies towards Harry.

“Sure.” Harry shrugged and picked one out of the small bowl. A subtle use of his personal Identification Spell let him know that the only ingredients in the candy were sugar, food coloring, and some part of a lemon (probably whatever had been extracted from it to give the candy its flavor). He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth before sitting down. He briefly noticed that the phoenix wasn’t on its perch right now, which was a little disappointing.

“I wished to speak with you about the spells you demonstrated today, Harry.” Dumbledore decided to start from his concern. “They were all marvelous feats of Magic, to be sure, but I couldn’t help but notice they were almost all offensive spells meant to be used against opponents in magical combat.”

“Yes sir,” Harry nodded in agreement. “I worked out the effects over time as I continuously explore the intricacies of Magic.”

“May I ask why you created such powerful spells?” Dumbledore wouldn’t demand anything of the prodigious Spellcrafter, lest he get on the eleven-year-old’s bad side. Children could be easily angered and many held grudges for quite a long time. He’d learned that in his decades as a Professor.

“Because they’re cool.” Harry shrugged and went with his initial reason for crafting the spells he’d shown today. He didn’t know if he’d ever need them in a real life or death scenario, but it never hurt to be prepared.

‘Right…eleven-year-old…I should have suspected as much.’ Dumbledore nearly chuckled as the thought passed his mind. “I would like to caution you that such spells won’t be of much help on the Dueling Circuit. Formal Duels are not the same as true combat between Wizards.”

“Ah, you remembered.” Harry noted of the Headmaster recalling his interest in Dueling.

“I do try, when I can.” Dumbledore nodded with a genial smile. “I am a bit worried that you may have taught several students how to cast those spells of yours though, if I’m being honest.” He let his worry show on his face to the young Spellcrafter.

“Heh…” Harry hid his snickering behind his hand, prompting Dumbledore to look at the boy curiously. “I hope you won’t ruin my little prank, Headmaster.”

“Prank?” Dumbledore looked momentarily befuddled.

“Yes,” Harry chuckled for a moment. “I’m hoping to see others practicing those spells.”

“That’s rather dangerous for a prank, don’t you think?” Dumbledore leaned forward a bit while looking at Harry expectantly.

“Not at all,” Harry shook his head with mirth. “After all, the incantations or chants are all complete bunk.”

“Bunk?” Dumbledore looked at Harry curiously. “How do you mean?”

“They’re fake, I made them up, they don’t do anything.” Harry clarified with a laugh. “Some of them were taken from poems that Aunt Andromeda read me growing up. I threw in a mythological figure for the fire spell in Surtr. The rest was just kind of strung together to sound vaguely magical.” He explained with a grin.

“So, you wanted to make your peers think they could learn such spells by copying your chant, just so you could get a chuckle?” Dumbledore let out a quiet sigh when Harry nodded. As the Headmaster, he really should’ve seen this coming. Harry had been raised by Sirius Black, after all; one of the most notorious pranksters that Hogwarts had seen in the last fifty years.

“I’m looking forward to hearing them reciting my poem-based chants for a bit before they give up.” Harry admitted with a playful grin. “It’ll be amusing for a while, to say the least.”

“Ha…” Dumbledore could at least take solace that it wasn’t a harmful prank. It might even teach some of the students the difference between actual spell incantations and fake spells. There were several of such that had been passed around as jokes since even he was a boy. “Very well, moving on to my next question that I had for you, Mr. Potter.”

“Yes, Headmaster?” Harry had stifled his chuckles and looked at the old man.

“That last spell that you used, it was a wonderful piece of Magic, but it seemed to do something long thought impossible.” Dumbledore praised the boy before getting to the actual question. “Did you somehow find a way to strengthen others beyond their normal capabilities?”

“Hmm, unfortunately not.” Harry shook his head. “Trust me, I’m looking into it, but so far I haven’t figured it out.” He shrugged at the lack of progress on that front. “All that particular spell does is basically toss you some of my Magic to use as you will until it runs out. It’s not so much strengthening someone as it is giving them more energy to burn on their spells.”

“Ah, I see,” Dumbledore briefly stroked his long white beard. “Still, it is a fascinating spell, Mr. Potter, you should be proud of it.”

“It’s not bad, but not quite what I’m aiming for.” Harry accepted the praise, but his desire to achieve spells that others had labeled as ‘impossible’ for centuries was blatantly obvious.

“I’m sure you’ll astound us all even further in the future, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy. “As all of my concerns have been put to rest, you are free to go and enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

“Thank you, sir.” Harry stood up and gave a nod to Dumbledore before leaving the office.

-Quirrel’s Chambers-

“M-Master…I feel it may be best not to antagonize the boy.” Quirrel only stuttered over the first part of his sentence. Playing the stuttering fool was necessary to try and steal the Stone, but it was actually starting to become a habit after so long.

“You fool…” The disembodied voice hissed and Quirrel’s head jerked to the side as if he’d been struck. “Your only concern is getting the Stone. Once I have it and restore myself, I will not cower before any mere child.” Quirrel tried to huddle in on himself as his body spasmed in tremors of pain.

In the privacy of his own mind, Voldemort did worry slightly. Even he, the greatest Wizard to ever live, couldn’t do the things that he’d seen the Potter boy do today at the same age. His own talent with Magic had seen him far beyond his peers from his very first year at Hogwarts. It had been what led to his rise to power when he saw how stagnant and uninterested the majority of Wizards and Witches were about Magic. Harry Potter truly had to be his destined foe, the one that the partial prophecy Severus had delivered spoke of. Only someone capable of such great feast could possibly be claimed as a rival to Lord Voldemort.

‘Once I get the Stone, the first thing I’ll do is kill the boy.’ Voldemort decided as Quirrel went to sleep for the night. It would be better to be rid of the boy now, rather than deal with what he might grow up to be later. He didn’t need another Dumbledore on his hands, preventing him from assuming his rightful place atop the entire Magical World. ‘Soon enough, Harry Potter. I’ll deal with you properly this time around.’

-Next Weekend-

Harry nearly snorted as he once more passed by one of the many unused classrooms in Hogwarts only to hear someone reciting one of his chants. So many had fallen for his prank and he nearly cracked up every time he heard it. He was a bit surprised though, most people had given up after the first three days. Deciding to peek inside the room to see who it was, it sounded like a girl.

“Bloody hell…” The girl in question had long raven-black hair and slightly pale skin. She looked about Harry’s age, maybe a little older, so she had to be a first year. “What am I doing wrong?” She muttered to herself and looked at her wand in obvious frustration.

“I can answer that.” Harry offered as he pushed open the door. The crackling orange spell coming at him was unexpected, to be sure. A translucent Barrier appeared between Harry and the incoming spell, stopping it cold. “Well…that wasn’t very nice.”

“You startled me!” The girl shot back with her hand over her heart.

“I’m surprised that you can cast silently as a First Year.” Harry mentioned her spell being done without words or wand motion. “That’s pretty impressive.”

“What do you want, Potter?” The girl, a Slytherin judging by her robes and tie, questioned with her wand still in hand.

“You wanted to know what you were doing wrong, didn’t you?” Harry answered her question with a rhetorical one.

“I suppose you’d be the only one that could actually tell me.” The ravenette sighed, her cool blue eyes staring into Harry’s green.

“Could I have your name?” Harry requested of the girl with a polite smile. “I’m afraid I’m not the best with names for people that I’ve probably only seen in class and never spoken to.”

“Daphne Greengrass, a pleasure.” Daphne introduced herself with some of the formality she’d learned growing up in a Pureblood House.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Greengrass, I’m Harry Potter.” Harry completed the formality of introductions even though everyone knew who he was since that night back in Eighty One.

“So, what am I doing wrong?” Daphne questioned the Spellcrafter. “I’ve memorized the chant incantation you used. You didn’t use any motions, but I’m using my wand since I don’t know Wandless Magic.”

“What you’re doing wrong is using a fake incantation.” Harry answered simply, a small grin on his lips.

“Beg your pardon?” Daphne’s eyes narrowed at Harry.

“Yeah, I made those incantation chants up from some poems and just stringing some sentences together that sounded magical enough. It was a little prank and I’ve been getting a chuckle out of it for the last few days.” Harry informed her with the same grin on his face. “I don’t need wand or word to use Magic.” He shook his head. “Technically no one does…but…” He was cut off as the crackling orange spell came at him again only to be blocked by another Barrier. “Can you not do that?”

“Shut up, Potter.” Daphne bit out coldly. “Stop blocking the door, I’m leaving.”

“Sure,” Harry shrugged as his Barrier vanished and he stepped aside. “Still neat that you can cast whatever that spell is with just a point of your wand. You must’ve practiced it for a long time.”

“We can’t all be blessed by Magic, like you.” Daphne glared at him as she moved towards the open door to the old classroom.

“Who said anything about being blessed by Magic?” Harry shook his head with a chuckle. “I just understand it well and read a lot of books growing up.”

“I’m sure.” Daphne’s face was a cold mask as she looked over her shoulder at him. “Next you’ll tell me that if I just apply myself more, that I can use Wandless Magic too.”

“I mean…” Harry shrugged. “That’s not entirely wrong, sort of.”

“What do you mean?” Daphne stopped at the doorway and turned sideways to look at the Spellcrafter.

“Anyone can learn Wandless Magic, it’s not like it’s some impossible thing.” Harry restated for the girl. “I just have reasons that I don’t teach others.”

“I can imagine.” Daphne fully turned to face him now. “Can I ask what those reasons are?”

“Sure,” Harry didn’t mind explaining. He’d explained it to Hermione after the first time she’d asked him to teach her. “One, to teach anyone I’d have to known them well. Two, I’d have to trust said person. Three, they can’t treat Magic like it’s something boring and just there, like most Wizards and Witches do. Four, they have to ask the right question.”

“What question?” Daphne focused in on the one stipulation that she could possibly meet right now.

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be the right question anymore.” Harry shook his head with a grin.

“That’s annoying.” Daphne’s eyes narrowed a bit.

“Yeah, Hermione says the same thing.” Harry chuckled lightly. “So does Nym, but she’s puzzled out a few simple spells wandlessly on her own. I’ve only helped her with some vague advice so far. I’m sure she’ll ask the right question one of these days.”

Daphne had no idea who ‘Nym’ was, but if Harry was to be believed, then it was possible for her to advance her understanding of Magic to what she desired. “Potter…can I ask you something?”

“You just did, but sure.” Harry’s grin reappeared when he noticed Daphne’s cold façade crack a bit as her eye twitched.

“If I can prove that I’m serious about Magic; can you teach me how to break a curse that’s considered unbreakable?” Daphne looked straight into his eyes and Harry was able to see passed the cool gaze to the unfamiliar emotions beneath.

“Perhaps, it would depend on the curse in question though.” Harry answered without a smile or grin. “If it’s unbreakable, then it must be a lingering curse of some kind, yes?”

“It is…but I can’t tell you much, it’s a secret that we don’t tell outsiders.” Daphne shook her head and Harry noticed her fists clenched at her sides. “It shouldn’t be an issue for years yet, but I want to break this curse as soon as possible.”

“I see,” Harry sat down and folded up his legs while holding his chin with his right hand. The fact that he had just casually sat down on the air nearly made Daphne’s eyes bug out. “Hmm, well, worst case scenario, if you give me a hint, then I can look into it as one of my many ongoing projects. I love Magic. It’s always a joy to explore a new facet of it and uncover new things.”

“Potter…this is some of the Darkest Magic you can imagine.” Daphne looked at him like he was crazy.

“And?” Harry blinked at her confused. “You can learn Magic and never use it. I plan to explore as many Branches of Magic as I can throughout my life. Light, Dark, Gray, undefined, whatever, it’s all Magic and I’ll look into everything to learn more. Will I use all of it? No, probably not. But that doesn’t mean there’s any harm in learning it.”

“You know, there are some people that would label you a Dark Lord for talking like that.” Daphne mentioned with a slow shake of her head.

“Yeah, but those kinds of people are part of the reason why a lot of Witches and Wizards are barely interested in Magic.” Harry sighed at the most annoying truth in his life. “People see what I can do, and like you, they assume I’m blessed by Magic or something, instead of trying to learn more themselves.” Daphne’s eyes did widen at his words this time. “Do I understand Magic easier than most? Yeah, I’ve been told that and experienced it most of my life. Is it a subject that only I can learn? Absolutely not.” Harry shook his head before looking at Daphne again. “Anyone can learn if they put in the time and effort.”

“I see…” Daphne looked down for a moment, mulling things over in her mind. “I can’t tell you exactly, but I can ask you a question.” She looked like she considered her workaround sound enough. “Have you ever come across the term ‘malediction’ in your reading?”

“Can’t say that I have, but Sirius was very serious about keeping any book that mentioned Dark Magic away from me as I grew up.” Harry tried to ease the mood with a dumb pun.

“Hah…” Daphne actually sighed at the dumb wordplay before looking at him again. “Look it up if you have the chance, I’m sure you’ll figure it out from there.”

“I’ll put it on the list.” Harry agreed with a small smile. “I can’t guarantee anything though, sorry.”

“It’s fine, if it increases the chance of breaking the curse by even a little, then that’s enough for me.” Daphne gave him a short bow. “Thank you, for whatever help you may be able to offer, Potter.”

“No problem,” Harry waved off. “I have something new to look into, and I’m already getting curious.”

“One last thing.” Daphne stopped before she took a step out of the room. “How would I go about proving that I’m serious about Magic?”

“Learn.” Harry answered simply. “Hermione and I wouldn’t mind a new study buddy.” He canceled his Float spell and dropped to his feet.

“Flagrante.” Daphne spoke after a moment.

“Huh?” Harry tilted his head at the word.

“The spell I launched at you, it’s the Flagrante Curse.” Daphne informed the Spellcrafter. “It makes objects cause burns to whoever touches them.”

“If it only works on objects, why would you cast it at a person…oh…I get it.” Harry realized why very quickly. “Clothes count as objects; you’d basically be setting someone on fire without setting them on fire. That’s almost evil, Miss Greengrass.”

“Slytherin…we’re all evil, Potter. Didn’t you know?” Daphne rolled her blue eyes at the reputation the Slytherin House had.

“I’ll try and remember, Greengrass.” Harry chuckled as he watched her leave.

“We might be seeing each other soon, Potter.” Daphne mentioned from the corridor. “You’re still a prat for that prank though.” A swish of her wand and the door slammed close before locking itself.

“I might have deserved that…maybe.” Harry chuckled at Daphne’s ‘revenge’ on him for his prank. “Now…” The door unlocked and opened for him without Harry touching it. “I’ve got something new to look up.” He grinned as he headed for the library. Hermione would probably be their too, so he’d let her know that they might be getting a new study buddy soon.

-End Chapter-

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Well now, someone wants to learn more about Magic other than Hermione. How interesting.

She gave Harry something new to look up too. Perhaps his intuitive understanding will help out with breaking the unbreakable?

Fans of a certain Light Novel/Manga/Anime Series might recognize those chants. I thought they’d be fun to use!

The end of First Year is closing in! What will Quirrel and Voldemort do?

Will it affect Harry’s plans to enter the Under 17 Dueling Circuit and take a Mastery Exam this summer?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!