Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 23 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry can’t just waltz out of Hogwarts while he’s still a student. But none of the faculty would believe that the ever curious prodigy has completely given up on traveling just because it’s against the rules. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick are going to need to discuss this new development. On Harry’s end, he’s got to find a way to curb his boredom or find a way to circumvent Hogwarts’ rules. So both sides have things to think about. Perhaps Harry’s boredom will be alleviated to some degree by others rather than himself? He does have several friends in Hogwarts, after all.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 23 – Pondering Solutions, Teaching Simplicity

-Headmaster’s Office ~ Hogwarts-

Albus Dumbledore sighed lowly, barely a drawn out exhale of breath, as he finished listening to Filius’s news about Harry Potter. “I suppose it should come as little surprise that a young Wizard as gifted as Mr. Potter would be curious about the wider world.”

“Regardless of his accomplishments, he’s still a student of Hogwarts.” McGonagall had a stern look on her features. “We can’t allow him to break rules with impunity, or bow to his whims whenever he’s struck with a flight of fancy.”

“Of that, we are in total agreement, Minerva.” Flitwick agreed with a nod.

Dumbledore nodded once to show he was of the same mind as his colleagues. “That is true, Mr. Potter mustn’t be given free run of the school. However, I believe we all know that he is unlikely to give up on the idea of traveling entirely.” He saw the looks on McGonagall and Flitwick’s faces, both Professors knew his words to be true. “I shall have a talk with Mr. Potter and remind him of the rules against leaving schoolgrounds. Perhaps a reminder that he’s free to do as he wishes while on break from school will suffice to curb his sudden bout of wanderlust until the Yule Break.”

“I suppose that could work…potentially.” McGonagall looked a bit skeptical.

Flitwick hummed thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. “Is there nothing that we can direct his seemingly boundless curiosity towards for a time?”

“Short of giving him access to sit in on upper year classes or classes that he’s not elected to take, I don’t know what else we could offer to Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore had plenty of things he could allow Harry to study, but several of them were incredibly rare or one-of-a-kind items that he didn’t wish to part with if possible.

All three Professors let out a collective sigh as they pondered on a solution to deal with the most prodigious student to probably ever walk the halls of Hogwarts.

-Hogwarts ~ South Courtyard-

The first of the fallen leaves for the year swirled around in the air under Harry’s will. Astoria and Luna were both laughing as they played about in the orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves. Daphne and Hermione were sitting beside Harry, each of them with a book open as they studied.

“Harry!” Astoria ran through the whirlwind of leaves, several of which stuck to her robes, and nearly landed in his lap. “Teach me Wandless Magic!”

“Nope.” Harry playfully patted her head, ruffling her hair just slightly.

Astoria pouted cutely at him. “Why not?”

“Because you have to ask the right question, Astoria.” Daphne answered for Harry.

“Right question?” Astoria looked confused. “What’s the right question?”

Hermione sighed with a pointed look at Harry; the Spellcrafter only smiling at her look. “We don’t know. None of us have figured it out yet.”

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be the right question anymore.” Harry chuckled a bit at the looks he was getting from the three girls. “Not that one person figuring it out would mean that I’d teach anyone they told it to.”

“Why not?” Astoria was curious now. If Daphne asked the right question and then told her, shouldn’t she be allowed to learn Wandless Magic too?

“Because the right question is different for different people.” Harry revealed, making both Daphne and Hermione look at him with wide eyes.

“Are you saying everyone has their own individual ‘right question’?” Hermione asked her best friend in surprise. “You come up with a question for every person that asks you about Wandless Magic?!”

“No, that would be a waste of time.” Harry denied and Hermione nearly facepalmed at the nonchalant response.

“Then what’s the criteria?” Daphne looked at Harry’s green eyes with focus and intent. If she could get some kind of hint or lead, then she’d definitely be able to figure out the ‘right question’ if given some time. She was sure of it.

“It’s all in how the person interprets it.” Harry revealed with a small grin, still making the fallen leaves dance around Luna, who was currently spinning around with her arms held out wide, seemingly dancing with the colorful leaves.

“Interprets the question?” Hermione asked, only to get a small chuckle from Harry. “Wait…” The bookworm took a moment to think, nibbling on her lip while doing so in a way that Harry thought was rather cute. “It’s not the question…but how the person interprets Magic, right?” She looked at Harry as if she’d just had an epiphany.

“It took Nym about this long to figure that out too.” Harry laughed as Hermione and Daphne both looked at each other in new understanding of their friend’s strange and eccentric mindset.

Astoria looked between Daphne, Harry and Hermione. “I’m confused.”

Harry levitated her into the air, making her squawk in surprise before giggling brightly as she was flown around with the leaves.

“Astoria!” Luna was quickly floating alongside her with a bright, bubbling laughter.

“Hey, Luna!” Harry called out to the small blonde with a smile. “What’s Magic?”

Luna flipped around to look at Harry, still moving along with all of the colorful leaves. “Magic is Magic… It’s whatever it is and whatever it wants to be.” She laid back in the air and drifted among the floating leaves with a laugh.

“Huh?” Daphne was clearly perplexed by Luna’s answer. “What’s that mean?”

“That is Luna’s interpretation of Magic.” Harry smiled fondly at his surrogate little sister. “And why she’s the closest to figuring out her question.”

“What?!” Hermione leaned into Harry’s personal space without thinking about it. “She’s close?! Why? How?” The ever curious Witch had been trying to figure out Wandless Magic for three years now, without finding much of anything on the subject beyond it being incredibly difficult and only for those of significant power and wisdom.

Harry grinned at Hermione while the girl realized how close their faces were and squeaked before moving back to her previous seat.

“I’d also like to know.” Daphne mentioned after trying to parse out Luna’s answer and coming up blank. “It just seems like a non-answer to me.”

“Hmm… How to explain it?” Harry looked thoughtful and both Luna and Astoria were gently set on the ground from their flight. “Ah!” he snapped his fingers and the fallen leaves all began to fall to the ground, except for a handful of them that floated over to Harry. “What’s this?” He took a red leaf in hand.

“A leaf.” Daphne answered.

“It’s a leaf that’s changed colors and fallen from its tree.” Hermione’s answer was longer, but no less correct.

“Are you sure?” Harry questioned them both with a knowing smile. “A leaf. A leaf that has changed colors and fallen from its tree. Both answers are right, but one is more detailed… But when it comes to Magic, both answers can be made wrong.” The red leaf morphed under Harry’s magic and became metal in the same shape. “What is it now?”

“A metal leaf.” Daphne answered, feeling like she was starting to understand.

“A leaf that you transfigured into metal.” Hermione mulled over what Harry was getting at, but it wasn’t quite clicking.

“It’s whatever Magic makes it.” Luna smiled at Harry.

Harry nodded to Luna. “Correct.” He closed his hand around the metal leaf for a moment, and when he opened it again, now a small blade rested in his palm. “In contrast to changing the leaf with Magic, this is changing a leaf through physical means.” He took another of the floating leaves and cut it in half with the blade. “What is this?” Harry held up the two halves to the four girls.

“A leaf you cut in half.” Astoria answered quickly, a smile on her face.

“Yep.” Harry grinned back at the youngest girl. “It’s still a leaf. Still yellow. Still fallen. It’s just in two pieces now.” He held up the small blade in his other hand. “But what am I holding in this hand?”

“A knife.” Daphne said as her blue eyes looked between the knife and the cut leaf.

Harry grinned at her answer.

“Technically it’s a leaf that was transfigured into a knife.” Hermione stated while looking at the blade.

“Is it?” Harry held the knife out to Hermione, handle towards the girl. “Hold it and see if it’s a leaf.”

Hermione gingerly took the blade and looked it over for a moment. “You want me to undo the Transfiguration?” She pulled out her wand while looking at Harry for confirmation.

“If you can.” Harry nodded with a little grin that made Hermione hesitate for a second.

“Finite.” Hermione tapped the blade with her wand and used the general counter-spell to undo the transfiguration.

But nothing happened.

“Huh?” Hermione blinked at still seeing the knife in her hand. “Wait, let me try again.” She placed the tip of her wand on the blade and put more effort into her spell. “Finite!”

The knife was still a knife.

Hermione stared at the knife before looking at Harry. “Harry, are you doing something? Did you do something to protect the transfiguration?”

“No.” Harry shook his head at his best friend.

“Then why can’t I change it back into a leaf?” Hermione questioned. “Finite!” The knife remained even after her third attempt.

“Maybe you’re doing it wrong?” Astoria suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I know how to perform Finite Incantatem properly.” Hermione informed Astoria with a slightly firm tone. Daphne cocked an eyebrow at Hermione for the tone she’d taken with her little sister. “Sorry, Astoria, I’m just rather confused and it’s making me annoyed.”

“Apology accepted.” Astoria grinned, clearly not really caring.

Luna put her hand on Hermione’s shoulder with a smile. “You can’t make something into something else with Finite Incantatem, right? It’s not Transfiguration.”

“But you can undo Transfiguration with it! The books say so!” Hermione replied with her firm belief in the written material that they were studying at Hogwarts.

“They do say that.” Harry nodded to Hermione with a little smile. “But why don’t you try Luna’s idea anyway?”

Hermione took a deep breath and then a long exhale to calm herself down. “Scribblifors!” A purple light left her wand and struck the knife. The metal warped and then turned into a white feather writing quill. “It worked!” She beamed at her success before looking at Harry in confusion. “Why did it work?”

“Because you changed it.” Harry answered simply.

“But I couldn’t change it back into a leaf.” Hermione was just getting more perplexed now.

“You could turn it into a leaf if you wanted to.” Harry shrugged with a small grin.

“This isn’t like what the books say at all…” Hermione had success with Finite Incantatem to undo the effects of all kinds of spells in her time at Hogwarts. But to see it fail and a simple Transfiguration spell like Scribblifors work instead was confusing her greatly.

Daphne gently took the quill from Hermione and pulled out her wand. “Reparifarge.” She used the general un-Transfiguration spell on the quill and everyone watched it revert back into the knife. “Reparifarge.” She tapped the knife again, but the blade remained the same. “It still didn’t turn back into a leaf…” Daphne looked at Harry in confusion now. “Why not?”

“You interpretation of Magic is different than mine.” Harry told Daphne with a chuckle. “Transfiguration is changing the form of things, conjuring things into being, or vanishing them from being, right?” He got nods from all four girls. “But what if you simply change the thing and not just its form?”

“Huh?” Astoria tilted her head, now being completely lost.

Luna grinned at Harry brightly. “Then it would be the thing.”

“Exactly, Luna.” Harry patted her head with a laugh.

“Can…can you explain that a bit more, Harry, please?” Hermione requested, and Harry nearly laughed as he could practically hear the gears grinding together in his best friend’s head.

“Do you remember what I told you about Identifying Charms and inanimate objects, Hermione?” Harry tried to jog her memory.

“Exactly, you’d need the stone’s information, that’s where Naming comes in. If I want granite, then I ask for it by the name it was given. The stone has no ability to be concerned or to care about what it is called across the multitudes of languages. Its Name is all of them as long as the person using an Identifying Charm knows what they’re looking for.” Harry informed his friend with a smile.

Hermione recalled what Harry had told her back in First Year after the Troll incident. “You said inanimate objects have no ability to be concerned about what they’re called.”

“Exactly.” Harry held up the knife he’d made. “A leaf doesn’t know it’s a leaf. It has no Identity of itself, only the names that sapient beings give it. So…through how I interpret Magic, what if I simply change its being into another inanimate object?”

“You’d change it’s Identity…” Daphne nearly gasped at the idea. “You can’t do it with living creatures that understand their own Identity, can you?”

“Nope.” Harry shook his head. “Identity cannot be changed if the one that holds said Identity has accepted it as theirs, wholly and fully, from their beginning. It will always be the core of their being, regardless of what happens to their mind or body.”

“So, the knife is a knife because you made it a knife?” Astoria giggled out at the silly sentence.

Harry patted her head with a smile. “Yep, good job, Astoria.” The girl preened at understanding the idea that Harry had explained. “It’s no different than taking raw metal and forging it into a knife for all intents and purposes.”

“I think I need a second…” Hermione said, looking as if she needed to try and wrap her head around this new concept that wasn’t in any of the books she’d ever read.

“Understanding allows us to define Principles, but it’s our own Interpretation that allows us to derive Aspects, and then designate Effects.” Harry simplified his ‘lesson’ into a single sentence.

“Principles, Aspects, and Effects… That’s how you make spells!” Hermione recalled the times she’d watched Harry create a spell.

“Simple, isn’t it?” Harry laughed at the bright look of understanding on Hermione’s face.

Daphne looked like Christmas had come early with a bright smile on her face. “Can you teach us spells that way, Harry? Please?”

“I want to learn too, please!” Astoria raised her hand into the air like she was in class.

“I’ll learn if you teach me, Harry.” Luna nodded with a giggly laugh, happy that her friends were excited.

Harry looked over at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. “My way is not found in any book that I know of… Is that acceptable?” He pointed out Hermione’s reliance and belief in the words written by others whenever she had a question or musing about something.

“I’ll leave my books in my dorm.” Hermione agreed after a solid minute of looking between her friends and then down at her lap.

“Yay!” Luna and Astoria cheered, making Hermione smile at both of them.

Harry laughed at the exuberance of his little sisters and even the excited look in Daphne’s eyes. “Okay then, I’ll teach you simplicity.” He agreed while raising the knife he’d made up to eye-level. Before the girls’ eyes they watched the metal lose its luster and become transparent, then lose its cohesion as it fell to the ground as water, splattering on the stones and leaves that covered the courtyard. “Can anyone guess the Principle that I used to make the knife change?”

The first lesson in simplicity began right then and there.

-Later-

‘There’s ways out of Hogwarts that most others don’t know about.’ Harry mused as he walked through the corridors of the castle. ‘Secret passages definitely exist within the castle,’ He made frequent use of them already. ‘Sirius even told me that there are passages out of the castle and grounds too.’ After thinking over where such passages could be hidden as he walked, Harry came upon an idea to make finding them easier. “I know a certain pair of pranksters that would probably know ways to sneak out of the castle.” He smirked as a ball of light appeared before him (though only he could see it). “George Weasley.” He spoke his target’s name to his personal Locator spell. The ball of light moved ahead of him, leading him along towards the unsuspecting Weasley Twin.

Two staircases, four turns, a door that pretended to be a wall, and then a short corridor led Harry to a long abandoned classroom. A quick glance with his improving Mage Sight spell and he saw that the door was locked with something a bit stronger than the average Colloportus Charm.

‘I could unlock it myself… But let’s startle them a bit.’ Harry decided to pull his own prank and knocked on the door strongly.

“What the?!”

“Who?!”

“Watch it!”

BAFF

What sounded like a strangely muffled explosion went off behind the door and Harry was happy to wait for the Twins to open the door.

A few seconds later and Fred (according to his Locator Spell not changing color) opened the door, letting a brief cloud of smoke out of the room. “Profess…or… Harrikins?” Fred blinked at who’d knocked on the door to his and George’s hidden workshop.

“Afternoon Fred, how’re things?” Harry snickered at the disheveled-looking teen.

“George, it’s only Harrikins! No need to hide everything!” Fred called back into the room. “That was a small prank you got us with.” He mentioned with a grin. “We were in the middle of working out a new product.”

“Terribly sorry about that.” Harry chuckled and Fred opened the door for him to come in. “George, how’re you today?”

George Weasley was covered in some soot from the potion set that was still smoking slightly on a table against the far wall. “Just peachy, Harrikins.” He replied with a shake of his head. “So… What can…”

“We do…” Fred continued.

“You for?” George finished.

“I’m looking for secret passages out of Hogwarts.” Harry told them plainly.

“Well, we might…” Fred began.

“Be able to…” George went next.

“Help you out…” Fred continued.

“With such a…” George kept the back and forth going.

“Thing, Harrikins.” Fred finished with a grin that was matched by his twin.

“I’d appreciate it.” Harry smiled at the pranksters. Both teens suddenly felt a slight chill in the air. “I knew you two would be able to help without any tricks.”

“Y-Yeah…” Fred nodded quickly.

“Of c-course, Harrikins…” George agreed with a slight stutter.

Harry continued to smile as the Twins scrambled to pull out a worn piece of parchment. “Hm?” He held up his hand and the two teens stopped what they were doing. Harry placed his finger on the parchment. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Thin ink lines began to spread like a spider’s web from the point that Harry’s finger had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment: then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words that proclaimed:

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aid to Magical Mischief-Makers

Are proud to present

The Marauder’s Map

What was now shown on the previously innocuous-looking old parchment was a full map of Hogwarts and its grounds. But the most interesting part of the map were the little ink dots moving about, each labeled with the name of the person they represented.

“Huh, you guys found the Marauder’s Map? Sirius was sure that Filch would’ve burned it.” Harry mentioned to the Twins. He’d grown up hearing tales of this map and the exploits it allowed his father and Sirius to get up to with Moony and Wormtail.

“How do you know about the Marauder’s Map, Harrikins?!” Fred and George asked at the same time.

“My father, James Potter, was Prongs; and my godfather, Sirius Black, was Padfoot.” Harry pointed at the two name atop the map. “This was confiscated by Filch when they were still in school.”

“That would explain…” George began the twin speak again.

“Why we found it…” Fred continued on.

“In Filch’s office…” George kept going.

“And nicked it…” Fred grinned.

“For ourselves.” George grinned to match his twin.

Harry looked over the Marauder’s Map that he’d heard stories about and smiled. “Brilliant!” He looked up at Fred and George. “You two mind if I hold onto this for a while?”

“I mean…” Fred rubbed the back of his head.

“Your dad and godfather helped make it…” George motioned to the map.

“It seems like it would…” Fred nodded to George’s statement.

“Be in bad taste…” George grinned at Harry.

“To keep it from you.” Fred patted Harry on the back with a laugh.

Harry took the map with a smile, before grinning at the Twins. “Do you two want to meet Padfoot sometime? Maybe over one of the breaks?”

“Absolutely!” George and Fred both beamed at Harry for the invite. To get to meet one of the Marauders after basically receiving help from them for their own pranks and mischief would be amazing!

From there, the Twins pointed out the secret passages that Filch knew about. The one that they’d used until last year that had caved in and become blocked. And the three that led to Hogsmeade.

“Just stay away from the one under the Whomping Willow.” Fred cautioned while pointing to it on the map.

“I don’t reckon anyone has ever used it before with that dangerous tree planted right above the exit.” George shook his head.

“Got it.” Harry grinned as that left two different passages to get out of Hogwarts and to Hogsmeade. From there, it was only a matter of flying to wherever he decided to go. “Enjoy your afternoon, gentlemen.” Harry conjured a top hat on his head, only to take it off and hold it over his chest as he bowed to the Twins.

“Go cause some mischief, Harrikins!” Fred and George waved him off with laughter.

Harry vanished the top hat and left the room a moment later.

“Hmm… I liked that top hat trick at the end.” George chuckled as they locked the door again.

“We could probably do it too.” Fred laughed as they cleaned the potion set with a wave of their wands. “Don’t mess it up this time.”

“Oi!” George playfully shoved his twin. “Harrikins startled me last time!”

The two pranksters were quick to start measuring out their ingredients as they set the cauldron on the fire. They couldn’t have their dream Joke Shop after they graduated if they didn’t have a line of products, all field tested at Hogwarts and proven to work!

-Ravenclaw Tower ~ Rooftop-

Harry sat atop the tower and looked over the map of Britain, floating in front of him was a map of France. “It’s a far distance to where I’d like to go from here.” The distance alone was a bit of a damper, as Harry wasn’t so sure that he could maintain his Flight spell for that long. “Hmm, perhaps I could ask for a good broom for Christmas? Or I could potentially buy one of my own in Hogsmeade…they have a broom shop.” The Spellcrafter mused aloud as he measured out the distance between the two locations. ‘It would be much easier to Apparate, but even Sirius has kept me from really observing it much, just so that I don’t figure it out on my own. Even Nym wouldn’t teach me when I asked!’ He grumbled a little about that.

Harry’s family knew him well though. And if the prodigious and ever curious boy figured out Apparation, there was no telling where he’d end up. Thus, they’d made sure to keep Apparation out of Harry’s hands, even going out of their way to use the Floo more, despite Sirius, Tonks, Andromeda, and Ted all having Apparation licenses.

“Well, I can still teach my friends for now. Explore for more routes out of Hogwarts too. There may yet be a way in and out that’s not known to anyone still alive.” Harry grinned to himself as he patted the pocket of his robe where the Marauder’s Map was. He had plenty of time to hunt for such hidden secrets.

-Headmaster’s Office ~ The Next Day-

Harry rode the spiraling stone staircase upwards towards Dumbledore’s office. He chuckled that the password to get the stone gargoyle to move had been Lemon Drops. It seemed ridiculous, but very much fit with what he’d observed of Albus Dumbledore over his time at Hogwarts.

“Mr. Potter, come in.” Dumbledore called out before Harry could even knock.

Harry shook his head and opened the door, entering the large office and looking around in interest at all it contained. His eyes zeroed in on the phoenix on its perch and smiled at the red and gold bird. “Good afternoon, Fawkes.”

“Breehh~” Fawkes trilled in greeting, the sound alone making Harry smile as his mood was slightly boosted.

“Good afternoon, Headmaster.” Harry greeted Dumbledore next, something that seemed to amuse the old man.

“Please, have a seat, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Lemon Drop?”

“Thank you.” Harry summoned one of the candies to his hand and popped it into his mouth after a quick use of his personal Identification Charm. Sirius had gotten him with pranked food and candies a few times growing up, so Harry always checked out of habit nowadays.

“Do you know why I called you to my office, Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore asked in a friendly manner.

Harry took a second to adopt a thinking pose and be a little dramatic about what he could’ve possibly done. “I can only think of one thing, Headmaster.”

“And that would be?” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled behind his halfmoon spectacles.

“You want to tell me not to go traveling during the school year.” Harry answered easily while relaxing back into the chair.

Dumbledore nodded to the boy. “Precisely, Mr. Potter.”

“I already told Professor Flitwick that I wouldn’t.” Harry sighed, showing his age to the wizened old man.

“As someone that was considered quite the gifted student during my time at Hogwarts, I can say with some surety that the thought probably hasn’t left your mind entirely.” Dumbledore chuckled lightly as Harry looked at him. “I do understand the lure of the wider world, Mr. Potter. There are a great number of things beyond the shores of Britain that you cannot find here.”

Harry exhaled and looked out the large window on one side of the office. “I’d love a chance to go out and see some of it for myself. Even if it was just one of the countries across the Channel.”

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. Magical Britain was known as one of the more stringent and ‘backward’ countries when it came to some of their laws and customs. With Harry’s gifted mind it was little wonder that the boy wanted to see things from a different perspective. To discover something new to him and try it out. “I can understand the desire to learn and experience new things, Mr. Potter. Some may think scholarly pursuits are boring, but those same people only liken it to studying books in a library or archive, rather than what it really is…traversing the world and learning firsthand.” He smiled when he saw Harry grin and nod along.

“Exactly! That’s what I tell Hermione too!” Harry mentioned with a little chortle.

“Alas, I’m afraid we cannot allow you to leave Hogwarts during the school year to wander the wider world, Mr. Potter. As the ones responsible for your safety and wellbeing while you are a student here, we would not be able to keep you safe if you were outside the grounds.” Dumbledore restated what Flitwick had already told the Spellcrafter.

“Yes, sir.” Harry nodded to Dumbledore. He tried not to show his annoyance, but Dumbledore had been a teacher for decades and was easily able to spot the look.

“Yule Break will be here before you know it, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore reminded Harry with a smile. “I’m sure your family could take you on a trip over the break.”

“I suppose they could.” Harry could ask, but it felt like more fun to do it himself. The spark of teenage rebellion in him wasn’t wild or destructive, just curious and more than willing to bend a few rules (and break a couple) to see and learn what he wanted. “I’ll do what I can to keep myself focused while staying within Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, sir.”

“Thank you for being mature about this, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy. “Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon and evening.”

Harry stood up from the chair with a nod. “I will, Headmaster.” He turned to look at Fawkes with a grin. “I don’t suppose you’ve rethought letting me have a feather or a few tears?”

“Breeaaa…” Fawkes’s trill was flatter this time, the phoenix didn’t seem amused by Harry’s words.

“Stingy.” Harry stuck his tongue out at the red and gold bird before heading for the door.

Once the door was closed, Dumbledore relaxed back into his chair with a sigh that matched the weight of his age. “If only Tom had been more like Mr. Potter.” The Headmaster murmured to himself, once more comparing the two students that had walked these same halls, just separated by almost fifty years. ‘Both prodigies in the Magical Arts, with great understanding of Magic. But one is curious about Magic, while the other used it as a tool for power and his own hatred against the world.’ Dumbledore thought to himself as he absently unwrapped a Lemon Drop and popped the candy into his mouth. ‘At least it was Harry that was so advanced as to already become a High Sorcerer at such a young age.’ He allowed himself to relax for a short time with that small bit of comfort. For a while he reminisced on all that he could’ve done better with the clarity of hindsight.

“Breeah~” Fawkes trilled in an attempt to lift his friend’s mood.

Dumbledore looked over to the phoenix and gave it a small smile. “Thank you, old friend. I should get back to it.” He opened the third draw from the top on the lefthand side of his desk. Dumbledore pulled out a stack of parchment, a notebook, and the half-burned Diary that Harry had brought back at the end of last year. “Now…where did you disappear to after you left Borgin’s employ?”

Dumbledore knew a bit of Tom Riddle’s life before coming to Hogwarts, and despite not having the evidence to accuse him of anything, he knew a very good deal of what the boy had done at Hogwarts as a student. But it was after he’d left Hogwarts that it had gotten difficult to keep track of his wayward student. Being employed at Borgin and Burke’s in Knockturn Alley had been a surprise, but did make keeping tabs on Tom easier. It was after he suddenly left that he’d seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth for years.

“But it was in those travels that you immersed yourself in the foulest of Magics.” Dumbledore murmured as he went through some of the parchments and looked for any hints that would place Tom in various places and countries over the years he’d been missing. “I need to know where you went, to confirm what I’m beginning to suspect.” He eyed the destroyed Diary warily, his previous tests leaving him with a few options as to what it had been…and none of them were anything but Dark Magic of the most twisted variety. “I need to find Horace as well.” Tom Riddle had always been freer in his discussions with his old Head of House; so there may yet be some information with his former Potions Professor.

There were also the talks and planning beginning for next year as well, but Dumbledore didn’t have to worry about that until tomorrow evening after dinner. Maxime, Karkaroff, Crouch, and Bagman all had things to do that kept them busy, much like Dumbledore himself did. But to revive the Tri-Wizard Tournament would take much planning and cooperation.

-End Chapter-

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Harry is still plotting to go traveling. Teenage rebellion! Kek!

But, while the Professors strongly try to dissuade him from doing so, Harry will keep himself occupied with other things.

Like teaching!

Hermione, Daphne, Luna, and Astoria are getting some new lessons from Harry in what he’s dubbed ‘Simplicity’.

Will the girls understand the concepts? Are they getting closer to figuring out their individual ‘right questions’?

Harry also got the Marauder’s Map from Fred and George! That could come in handy for the next few years, huh? *Hehehehehe~*

What will Harry do next?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!