The Lion Cub Chapter 106: The power of love (Patreon)

Harry was up early, as were all of the Gryffindor quidditch team hopefuls, their hearts pounding with anticipation. They were all standing on the quidditch pitch, their eyes fixed on the selection of the new quidditch team. The sheer number of hopefuls was enough to make Katie sigh in exasperation. Knowing that they’d be stuck forever on the ground if they took every position in the tryouts, Harry suggested a simpler plan.

“I suggest we hold only the seeker and chaser position for the trials. Otherwise, we won’t be able to finish the tryouts by breakfast.” Harry suggested to Katie.

“You’re right. I suppose we can conduct the beaters’ trials with the keeper’s trial.” Katie muttered to herself.

“Hey, listen up. Due to the large number of hopefuls that showed up, there’ll only be chaser and seeker tryouts today. The beaters’ trials will be held on Friday evening with the keeper’s trial.” Katie declared loudly, her voice carrying a note of relief and reassurance, for everyone on the ground to hear.

The group let out several loud groans. Most of them complained that they had woken up so early in the morning for no reason.

When he saw Katie struggling to control the angry crowd gathered and made them leave the ground, he chose to step in.

“Silence!” Harry shouted.

Harry's voice boomed across the quidditch pitch, and immediately, there was silence. It was not just the power of his voice but something else. Harry could feel his magic acting strangely again, connecting with the quidditch hopefuls like threads of energy. His vision shifted, revealing a world bathed in a new light. Wisps of energy poured from his body, weaving a colourful web among the gathered students, filling him with a sense of awe and wonder.

His magical energy was pure white, but the wisps of energy that branched out from his magic and connected with the students were glowing with different shades of colours. It was the most surreal thing that he encountered. He wanted to study what was happening more closely, but he decided to do that at a later date. He immediately clamped down on his magic and withdrew all the tendrils of his magic.  

Once he withdrew the magic into his body, he saw everyone looking confused.

“Now, anyone not having your tryouts today, please leave the pitch.” Harry yelled.

Slowly, the crowd started to dissipate, but he could see Ron running after Romilda Vane with a dreamy look in his eyes.

‘That ought to be entertaining to watch.’ Harry thought.

Soon, Harry was occupied by the tryouts. The tryouts for the seeker position were the first to happen. There were quite a few seeker hopefuls on the pitch. If he were a lesser man, he’d have allowed some poor sod to best hom and take the position. He’d have been free to concentrate most of his time on his training. But Harry held some team spirit and wanted Gryffindor to win the quidditch cup.

But more than that, he loved victories of all kinds. Harry liked winning, even if it was a silly quidditch competition in school or the house cup.

Therefore, Harry gave his best in the air. He flew circles around his opponents and easily captured the snitch in record time. Having the fastest broom played a great part in catching the snitch, but his senses were also obscenely sharper than usual. It was almost as if he was blessed with the ability of forethought or his brain was processing thoughts and time differently than normal. Whatever wonky stuff was going on with him, changes were happening not just to his magic but also to his body.

Whenever his emotions were at their peak, his magic acted out. Similarly, his physical prowess was at its peak whenever his adrenaline was high.

As he chased after the snitch released by Katie for the umpteenth time, his mind was only partially engaged in the game.

He wondered whether the blood ritual he used to heal his eyes had worked far more than he anticipated. After all, he had worked on his eyesight, an area where even the St. Mungo’s healers refused to tread. He had checked with those healers during his fourth-year summer holidays. It was only thanks to the knowledge he gained on blood rituals and old magic from the Founders that prepared him for healing his eyes. That same knowledge made him learn to cleanse the blood curse afflicting the Greengrass family.  

‘It could be a combination of removing the Horcrux and the ritual affecting changes in my brain.’ Harry mused.

The wizarding world had made great strides in medicine, but they had shown reluctance to play with eyes because they were tied too closely to the brain. It was one of the reasons why wizarding healers always suggested using glasses instead of attempting to cure the eyes.

Harry had jumped at the chance to heal his eyes without overthinking about the consequences, mainly because Lady Hufflepuff gave him the necessary knowledge to do so. He had no reason to think there might’ve been any adverse consequences at the time, considering he had more serious matters to worry about in the Founders’ era.

Harry noticed a glint of gold shining near the leg of one of the airborne seeker hopefuls. He immediately urged the Firebolt towards the snitch. The snitch flew straight up, and Harry chased after the golden ball at full speed and easily plucked it out in quick order. With that, his position was secure, and he could return to his dorms. But instead of going straight to the shower, he went to the RoR and asked the room for a pool.

He spent nearly half an hour in the pool, mostly thinking about what he could do to rein in his wayward magic. Using Occlumency was impractical because suppressing emotions for hours without end would undoubtedly affect the psyche. Emotions were not something to be abandoned in pursuit of strengthening the mind or controlling magic. After all, some of the most potent spells were fuelled by emotions. The only other option before him to ensure that his magic never goes out of control was to train continuously.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t an easy or quick solution. Despite the troubles it brought him in the past, Harry desperately needed a Time Turner. Many of his problems could be solved with a Time Turner in hand. Sadly, that was out of his reach.

‘I guess I’ll have to devise a different training method to keep a tight hold on my magic.’ Harry mused as he just floated in the pool with his eyes closed.

****

The Great Hall was partially filled when Harry arrived for breakfast. He slipped in next to Hermione, who was engaged in a whispered conversation with Ginny.

“Hey, Harry.” the two girls greeted once he sat on the bench.  

“Hey, you two.” Harry greeted back as he filled his plate with bread, scrambled eggs, beef and tomato sauce.

“I got in, Harry. Katie offered me the spot.” Ginny shared the good news.

“Congrats, Ginny.” Harry grinned, happy for the redhead.

“Why didn’t you know? Weren’t you in the trials?” Hermione asked, looking confused.

“Seeker tryouts were over first. After that, I went for a swim.” said Harry as he dug into his breakfast.  

“Why didn’t you say anything about what Sirius was doing?” Ginny suddenly asked.

“Sirius? He is on his honeymoon. He should’ve come back yesterday.” Harry frowned, noticing the elevated chatter in the hall and the look on the faces of his two friends, “What did he do?”

“He bought Nimbus 2000s for all house teams except Slytherin.” said Ginny.

“He did what?” Harry’s eyes widened.

“It’s in the Prophet.” said Hermione.

Hedwig gracefully flew into the hall and divebombed him with the Prophet. The snowy owl settled on the table as Hermione and Ginny fawned over the owl and gave her some food from the table. Harry looked reproachfully at the owl when she stole a piece of beef from his plate. But his attention was back to the front page of the Prophet.

Sure enough, he could see Sirius and Brigitte posing with a stack of Nimbus 2000 brooms. The Nimbus makers were also in the picture, quite happy to get some limelight after the disaster of the Nimbus 2001s. Those interested in quidditch knew Nimbus was struggling after the introduction of the Firebolt. It also didn’t help that the Nimbus 2001s were a sham. Those brooms had a fancy handle and speed, but they were only good for broom racing competitions, not for quidditch, which required manoeuvrability and braking.

“Blimey! I thought he’d start a couple of new scholarships or something.” Harry muttered, thinking about their discussion on what to do with Bellatrix’s gold they spirited out of Gringotts.

He supposed having some Nimbus 2000s for the quidditch teams would even the field. Besides, the old Cleasweeps and Comets were difficult to maintain, and most of those Hogwarts brooms performed subpar compared to the Nimbus.

“This’ll make the game more fun.” said Ginny, thrilled at the prospect of getting her hands on a Nimbus.

“And more dangerous.” Hermione added before she set her eyes on Harry, “Didn’t you say the Nimbus brooms were too fast and difficult to control?”

“Not the 2000s. They’ll function smoothly for chasers and beaters. I’d recommend the Nimbus over the Firebolt for chasers and beaters.” said Harry.

Their surprisingly amicable quidditch talk abruptly stopped when a gaggle of giggling girls came close to their position at the table. Harry could see Hermione and Ginny frown at the sudden intrusion by one Romilda Vane, sporting rosy cheeks and a victorious grin on her thin lips.

“Hi, Harry.” Romilda greeted him, her long black hair swept to one side and her eyes gleaming excitedly.

“Hi.” Harry greeted back but kept a poker face as he waited for the inevitable showdown.

“Why don’t you join me at our side of the table? We can have fun.” Romilda winked while her friends giggled.

“I’m quite comfortable here, and I’m having fun. Thanks for the invite, though.” Harry smiled disarmingly at the girl before concentrating on the food on his plate.

“Oh, Romilda. How beautiful you are today.”

Harry struggled to keep the grin tugging at the corner of his lips when he heard Ron’s voice.

“Ron!” Hermione looked scandalised, and for good reason.

Harry found Ron on one knee before Romilda Vane with a palm over his heart.

“Oh, Romilda, my love. How I heart you so.” Ron sang romantically.

The look on Ron’s face, combined with the utter panic on Romilda Vane, made Harry lose his composure. His shoulders started shaking as he struggled to contain the laughter bubbling within. To make matters worse, Seamus entered this scene with a worship in his eyes.

“Oh, my lady Vane.” Seamus fell on his knee and took a gobsmacked Romilda’s palm into his hands. “I see you in my dreams every night. You’re the sparkling dawn of my darkest day.”

With that, Seamus pressed a kiss on the back of Romilda’s knuckles, making her stumble back with a loud ‘eep!’.

“How dare you defile my poor Romilda. She is mine.” Dean shouted and tackled Seamus to the ground.

The entire hall collectively gasped upon seeing a fistfight break out between Seamus and Dean right in the middle of the hall for a girl’s favour.

“I’ll protect my Romilda’s virtue.” Ron declared boldly and promptly jumped into the fight with his fists raised.

“Ron! Stop it! What’re you idiots doing?” Hermione shouted.

But her voice went largely unnoticed as the students in the hall started shouting and clamouring as the three Gryffindors brawled on the ground.

Harry stared at the scene with bemusement as the three Gryffindors fought earnestly while shouting increasingly cheesy lines that claimed their everlasting love for Romilda. Then, Harry saw Neville sneak in next to Romilda Vane and pull her into a full-lip kiss. Several catcalls were let out by the students who saw this, but the girl pushed Neville away and looked way out of depth.

“Look! It’s Professor McGonagall.” someone shouted.

Harry looked at McGonagall's stern visage and looked eagerly at the fun that was about to unfold. He served himself with more beef into his plate and entertained himself with the satire unfolding before his eyes.  

‘This is my best prank ever after Tommy-boy got made in the Ministry.’ Harry thought with delight, stuffing more beef into his mouth while watching the show.

****

“Is Longbottom and your other friends okay?” Tracey asked, standing by his side, watching the Greengrass sisters doing their best to stun Luna, who danced around their spells with a dreamy smile.

“Oh, they’re hunky-dory. But they’re embarrassed out of their minds. Now, dear Romilda, on the other hand…” Harry snickered as he remembered the horrified face she made when McGonagall towered over the girl in her office and declared she was to serve detentions until the Christmas holidays.

“Let’s just say she’ll be rubbing cauldron bottoms and polishing suits of armours for the rest of the term.” Harry let out a snicker again.

“How did she sneak in the love potion anyway? I thought Hogwarts’ security was supposed to be increased this year.” Tracey asked with a frown.

“Security and Hogwarts do not mix well in a sentence.” Harry snorted derisively.

“Daphne has sworn vengeance against Vane and her cohorts for daring to take what is hers…”

At Harry’s amused look, Tracey quickly added,

“Her words, not mine.”

 “I don’t think poor Romilda Vane is in any position to endure an enemy like Daphne.” said Harry. “Besides, that girl has been humiliated before the entire school.”

“I doubt she’ll see it that way.” Tracey rolled her eyes with a grin.

“Enough talk. Now, shield yourself.” said Harry, firing off a slew of spells against Tracey, who did an admirable job of defending herself.

When the lesson ended, the ravens and snakes were exhausted from the physical activity that was involved. Many of them were out of breath and sweaty after the training exercise he had devised for the day.

“All right, everyone. We’ll meet here at the same time next Sunday. Off you go now.” said Harry.

The RoR made two doorways appear so the Ravenclaw and Slytherin students could safely enter their common rooms undetected.

The last to leave was Tracey, who whispered something into Daphne’s ear before disappearing into the doorway. The doorway shut itself, leaving Daphne and Harry in the room.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“Warning me not to stay too long.”

“Why? Afraid that I’ll steal your virtue?” Harry joked.

For his trouble, he got a kick to his shin.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Daphne asked, with her arms folded and a frown on her face. “No funny business.”

“Do you remember what I said about the change in my magic after I removed the Horcrux?”  

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, I’ve got a problem with my magic, and I’d like to pick your brain about what to do.” Harry said before explaining the instances when he started losing control of his magic.

Daphne listened patiently as Harry explained everything, and she immediately devised a solution to his dilemma. The fact that she didn’t even blink when he said that he was randomly doing wandless magic with ease of breathing emphasised that she had become normalised with the brand of crazy stuff that happened around him.

“I’m no master of magic, much less wandless magic. But why don’t you use the Room of Requirement for training?”

“How would the RoR help? I have already used it to the best of its abilities.” Harry shook his head.

“Ask for a place to train in wandless magic.” Daphne said as if it were the most obvious solution.

For a moment, Harry stared dumbly at her before his eyes lit up with understanding.

“You’re bloody brilliant!” Harry crowed.

He picked her up by the waist and kissed her firmly on the lips as he twirled her around. Once he let her stand on her own two feet, he could see that Daphne was left breathless, and her hair was all over the place.  

“Of course I’m brilliant. I’m a Slytherin, after all.” Daphne said with her head held high, trying her best not to seem affected by his sudden spark of affection.

“Let’s check it out to see if it works as you suggested,” Harry said excitedly.

They stepped out of the room, and Harry walked back and forth before the RoR, thinking of a place to train in wandless magic. A doorway materialised on Harry’s last pass. Harry entered the new room the RoR provided and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was entirely different from the room where he used to train the Knights.

“Jolly good! I’m glad you’re on my side.” Harry said, pressing a tender kiss against Daphne’s cheek. "Do you have any other brilliant idea you want to share?”

“I might.” Daphne grinned, enjoying the show of affection before her eyes grew serious, “Now tell me all about this, Romilda Vane. I hear she tried to give you a love potion.”

Harry brushed it off as an unimportant matter, but the vindictive look on Daphne’s face keyed him into the fact that Romilda Vane might’ve earned a dangerous enemy.

****

Harry flicked through the goldmine of transfiguration spells and charms in the book given to him by Dumbledore. While he had some choice words for Dumbledore, the man at least gave him a treasure trove of magical spells. The book's central theme was the tandem use of transfiguration and charms in battle. There were many transfiguration spells, and then they were deconstructed using arithmancy. Subtle changes were made in the transfiguration spell to incorporate charms into the spell to make it versatile.

He particularly liked a spell that used a transfigured, lifelike vine that exploded upon wrapping around an opponent’s limb. It sounded like a fabulous spell to permanently incapacitate enemies quickly and maybe even cripple them for life if the explosive component of the spell was tweaked enough. Another spell detailed in the book used a blasting curse on the ground and transfigured the debris into fine silver blades. The blades could then disrupt nerves within the body using nerve-wracking charms.

The book had many such fantastic spells with a lot of potential on a battlefield. But these spells required finesse and speed. This was the epitome of silent casting and shortening wand movements for speed. While the spells in the book were beneficial, employing transfiguration in battle was not his forte. He was more of a charms and hex expert in battles.

‘I’ll have to train with this often when I have time.’ Harry mused.

He immediately placed his book under his pillow when he heard sounds coming from outside the dorm door. He stared intently at the door and was vindicated when it swung open to show Neville, Ron, Dean, and Seamus.

“Oh, look who is here. Welcome back, lover boys.” Harry teased.

“You! It’s all because of you!” Ron wagged a finger in his direction.

“Me? If anything, you four wouldn’t have fallen under the love potion if you hadn’t taken those chocolate cauldrons off my hands.” Harry expertly turned the argument against Ron, who was now on the receiving end of three glares.

“Oh, by the way. Thank you, Ron.” said Harry with a grin.

“Whatever for?” Ron asked suspiciously.

 “Because of you, I was saved from a major embarrassment. Your sacrifice for the greater good will be remembered.” Harry said gravely.

“Oh, shut up, you wanker.” Ron threw a pillow at Harry, who dived into his bed and drew the curtains.  

“Get some sleep, you three. We have Snape first in the morning.” Harry said, and he could hear four groans from his dormmates at the reminder.