Chapter 7
First Day
Harry slowly opened his eyes as he drifted from slumber to wakefulness. What had happened the night before? He was sure he had a vision; he remembered vaguely the pain of the Cruciatus curse as it left Voldemort's lips, but somehow, the pain was diminished and he returned to sleep. That had never happened before, he had never fallen asleep again after a vision, the pain of the Cruciatus was enough to keep him awake for hours, until his fried nerves regains their ability to send signals other than pain. Distantly, he remembered a calming presence after the vision, protecting him, maybe that was what allowed him to fall back to sleep after the dream.
Now was not the time to puzzle over the reason why he fell asleep again, Harry reached for paper and quill left on his bedside table just for this reason. He wrote down as much as he could remember about the vision tucked it safely in the pocket of the set or robes he will be wearing today. He would send the vision to Dumbledore during breakfast.
Stretching leisurely, he rolled out of bed and began to get ready. There was no point in worrying about the vision right now, since he didn't have enough information about what Voldemort was looking for and no way of knowing what this 'Artifact' was going to do. Harry quickly to the bathroom that the seventh year boys shared as his roommates began to stir. After all, hot water was a precious thing in the mornings.
When all of them were ready, Ron and Harry led the way downstairs to meet with Hermione before making their way to breakfast. During breakfast, Harry sent the message to Professor Dumbledore through Hedwig, telling her to give it to the Headmaster when he was back in his office. He wouldn't want all the students in the Great Hall noticing Harry Potter's owl delivering a letter to the headmaster.
"Mr. Potter, here's your class timetable, I'm happy to see that you planned on taking my Animagus class. Sirius would be proud if he could see you now." Said Professor McGonagall as she passed out the schedules.
Harry smiled a little sadly at her, "I'm sure he would be too, thank you Professor."
Looking at the timetable he groaned, he saw that almost every single space he had was filled, from normal classes to the elected classes to private lessons with Snape. "I'm going to die."
"What is it?" Asked Ron as he pried the piece of paper out of Harry's hands, "No kidding, you're definitely going to die mate! Look at this, the only free period you have is on Tuesday after Charms."
"Yes, well, I guess I'll just have to deal with it, I'm seriously glad that I didn't take Divination because that little free time I have would be gone."
"Guys, come on, let's get going" said Hermione, "or we'll be late for class."
"What do you have right now" Ron asked, he groaned when he saw his table, "I have Divination first thing on a Monday morning."
"We have Double Potions, Malfoy will be there." Said Harry.
"Ouch. I don't envy you."
"I don't envy you with Trelawney either." Harry replied, "At least she's not going to 'see' your death every time you walk into the class room."
"Boys! Lets go!" Hermione said impatiently, "Come on Harry, or we'll be late for Potions."
Harry grumbled as they made a mad dash towards the Dungeons, what a way the start the new school year – get a detention from Snape. Harry sighed in relief as they entered the classroom to find that the Potions Master had yet to arrive. The class consisted of a collage of students from all the Houses; since it was a NEWTS class, only the students Snape accepted into the class was allowed in. Theoretically, that should prevent large explosions from happening in class, but since Slytherins liked to throw ingredients into unsuspecting student's cauldrons, the theory is proven false. Just as they got their texts out, the doors slammed open and Snape swept in like a dark cloud, cloak billowing behind him.
"Turn to pages 1520 in your texts, can anyone tell me what this potion is? Mr. Potter?"
Harry gave a start at his name and quickly glanced at the page, "It's the Ignis Potion, sir." He replied, this was one of the potions that Snape had Harry learn over the course of the summer. Although they had never brewed it, since it was potentially dangerous to brew in someplace where there was no protection against exploding potions.
"And what does it do?" Professor Snape looked sharply at Harry, daring him to say he didn't know. The look promised unbearable pain if Harry had forgotten information about the potion in question. The Slytherins snickered, expecting Harry to say he didn't know and be humiliated by Snape.
Harry straitened, not to be cowed by the snickering students, "The potion, when diluted is known to be used as a base for most anti-inflammatory potions. It could also be used to regulate temperature as a substitution for fire in potions that take a prolonged amount of time to brew." He paused, the potion could also be used in making explosives, but he wasn't going to say that in front of the class, half of which were Slytherin. Who knew what type of trouble they might cause with that knowledge.
The Professor looked at Harry for some amount of time before grudgingly saying, much to the surprise of the Slytherins, "That is correct," He turned to the rest of the class and glared, "What are you waiting for? Get your ingredients and start, the instructions are written on the board."
Hermione nudged Harry as they began preparing the ingredients, "You've been studying haven't you?" she smiled proudly at him, as if he had just done something incredible like winning the Quidditch World Cup.
"More like I was forced to study," Harry whispered back while chopping the Fire Dragon Grass, "Snape practically drilled potions information into my head. I'm surprised I don't have an actual hole in my head, dripping out potion facts."
Hermione stifled a giggle; the rest of the lesson was passed in companionable silence. Harry was glad, as the lesson ended, that his potion had yet to blow up the dungeons and the shade of the potion, while not perfect, was the right colour. He placed the potion a container charmed against heat and positioned in front of the Professor waiting for him to examine it.
"Acceptable" Snape said neutrally after he had scrutinized the vial for several seconds, "you may leave, and Mr. Potter? Meet me in my office tonight, after dinner."
Nodding his acceptance, Harry left the room and met with Hermione who was waiting outside. "Come on, let's go." The bushy haired girl said, "We have Charms along with Ron next."
Charms proved to be an interesting class; Harry had been bombarded with music as the students attempted to cast the spell they were learning. He had become aware of some interesting things as he watched his classmates cast spells; he noticed that the magic only functions after the spell is spoken instead of during. He had always thought that spells built up as the caster was speaking the incantations, as he could feel the magic course through his hand to his wand as he was casting spells, he had thought that magic gathers at the tip of the wand as the incantation was spoken and then released.
Instead, it was like a burst of sudden energy with no prior warning, like a gunshot, he though. He also noticed that sometimes, when the spell failed, the magic released from the wand sounded distorted in his ears. Instead of the clear distinct notes of music a successful charm caused, it was chaotic collaboration of many notes. If he were to describe it, he would say it sounded like someone slamming their hand onto the keyboard of the piano with no mind to what notes they played.
In failed spells, he observed, while having no results, still expends magic. The burst of magic power from the wand is still present, only that the magic had no purpose and dispersed into the surroundings. With a jolt, he realized now, why Hogwarts was so magical, it was not that the castle began this magical, but because centuries of students practiced magic within these walls. Failed spells, rich with undirected magic, seeped into the walls of the castle and enchanted the building to what it was now.
Feeling experimental, he listened closely to Hermione's spell, attempting to commit the notes to memory. The memoriosus charm was designed to retain certain memories in the mind, somewhat similar while different to a Pensive. Instead of drawing a memory out, it helps the caster commit things into their memory for a short period of time. Say, if you wanted to remember that you had potion homework due the next day or if you need to keep in mind the location of a store you wanted to take a friend to. Harry grinned, if only Neville had learnt this spell four or five years ago, he wouldn't have trouble memorizing the Common room passwords every month.
Focusing on the task at hand, Harry listened again to the notes coming out of the spell, trying to make some sense of them. Right, he though, here goes nothing. He lightly hummed the notes and waited for something to happen. When nothing happened he sighed, there goes that idea. Just to be sure, he tried again, this time, thinking of the results, he wanted to remember his meeting with Snape tonight. Again, nothing happened.
Harry frowned, maybe this spell was a little too difficult, and he should probably start with something simple, like Wingardium Leviosa or Alohamora, something that had a physical effect.
After that, the lesson ended with no more experimentation by Harry, the rest of the day passed by without too much of a hitch.
They began the theory of Human Transfiguration in Professor McGonagall's class. She warned them, under threat of expulsion, never to try this until she has given permission and even then, only under her supervision. Looking at the face of several Slytherins, he wondered how much they would dare to do. So long as he wasn't the target for their unauthorized spell practices, they could end up in the hospital wing with beaks or tails for all he cares.
Herbology consisted of taking care of five-foot tall evil acid spitting plants and Harry wondered why in the name of all that's holy and good that he had decided to take NEWTS Herbology. He was fairly certain that more than half of the students in this class would end up in the hospital wing treating acidic burns by the end of this class. Thankfully, Quidditch trained skills came in handy avoiding the dangerous liquid projectiles from the monster in the form of a plant. Sometimes he wondered if the plants were more actually sentient beings rather than just leaves and bark; this one seemed to know exactly where he was standing.
The moment Hermione returned to the common room, she began studying and working on homework, Ron had cohered Dean into a game of Chess and was currently methodically smashing his opponent's pieces. Harry had learned long ago never to go up against Ron in Chess if he ever wanted to become skilled at the game; the only thing he got out of a game with Ron was a bruised ego and confusion. Going up against someone as skilled as Ron with his meager amount of knowledge of the game only got him trounced.
Not feeling like starting the homework like Hermione and with nothing to do, Harry took out the book of Lost Abilities and settled down to read. He was interested to find that many of these abilities were never truly recorded down other than mentioned in passing by some scholars. Some had journals written about them by people who wielded the abilities, but not many. Flamel theorized that it was mainly due to the period in which these powers existed in large numbers.
Literacy in the lower class had not been common until the last few hundred years, and unless you were nobility, there was little chance to learn. The wielding of these abilities and their powers were mostly passed down through verbal teachings. Apprentices that study under a Master often only focus on one subject, and that was their gift.
Hogwarts might have taken in a small number of these Apprentices and those were where the journals had been written. But for several reasons the number of these Apprentices were small and in-between. One reason was that Hogwarts, while taught by the Hogwarts Four had little people that specialize in specific abilities like Shifting and Weather Control. Another reason was the fact that the Witch Hunts had begun in earnest and few dared to show their abilities as openly as attend a school for magic. Flamel had then, speculated several theory behind the workings of these powers and how people had wielded them and Harry read all these with fascinated curiosity.
Shadow Walking,Flamel wrote, is the ability to blend into to the shadows and move around undetected. There was even hypothesis that suggested that the user could travel through the shadows and appear where they want. That had never been proven, as there had been no record of that spoke of such a talent. It is also said that people who could Shadow Walk had the power to bend shadows to their will and that they could become virtually impossible to find if they wish it. Thus Shadow Walkers often become spies during times of war.
Harry's thoughts drifted towards Snape then, the Professor often lurked in the shadows of the hallways in an attempt to catch students misbehaving. He was nearly undetectable when he wanted to be, only swooping down like a great bat to assign students detentions or to take points. Harry wondered if Snape somehow received Shadow Walking abilities or if the Professor was just naturally good at hiding in the shadows. Harry wondered if he should ask the dour Potions Master.
Harry can't be the only person with special abilities that have been lost through time, he reasoned, there must be people who, through some bizarre reason on another realized they had powers they never had before. Harry still wondered how he came into possession of these abilities, but it must have been with him before now and he only found out about it after his magical maturity. But these thoughts are neither here or there, since he had these powers, he needed to learn how to use them.
His thoughts had occupied him for the rest of the afternoon and he only snapped out of his silent contemplation when Hermione gently called his name.
"Harry," she waved a hand in front of his face, "it's time for dinner, and you've been completely zoned out until I called you. What are you reading?"
Harry smiled; trust Hermione to find a book lying casually hidden in the folds of his robe. "I found this in the library when I was browsing through some books and thought it might be interesting to read," Hermione's curious look prompted him to continue into more detail. "It's about abilities lost through time, I just found it interested when I glanced through it and decided to borrow it."
Hermione's interest was immediately peaked, "Can I borrow the book when you're done Harry?"
"Of course, I would never stand between you and an interesting read, Hermione. That would be too cruel!"
Hermione made a mock swipe at the back of his head which he ducked, "Come on Harry, it's time for dinner. You want to hurry, or else you won't have time to eat and meet Professor Snape."
"Yes mother!" Harry grinned, it was good to joke with his friends again, they had all grown up during the six years and times are getting hard. Moments like these make all the hardships these past years seem insignificant.
Dinner was an uneventful affair, the students chatted about their first days and many of the first years were soon spellbound by the stories told by the older students. Especially the muggle born students, many of them stared wide eyed and listened with solemn attention to the advice of their seniors.
Dumbledore watched all this with a smiling face and twinkling eyes and Harry wondered if the Headmaster laced his lemon drops with a potion that made his eyes sparkle this strongly. He shuddered to think what it might do to the Headmaster's already questionable sanity.
While the Headmaster's eyes twinkled, the Potion Master's eyes practically glared spite fire at the unruly students. Harry could almost read the man's mind: more dunderheads, joy, I should just use them all in my potions and put them out of my misery.
Harry wondered I that was just how the older man was of if it was due to the proximity to the seemingly perpetually cheerful Headmaster or the amount of children he had to deal with everyday. Perhaps it was a combination of both. Lately, Snape had become a sort of enigma for Harry, since their summer spent together. While he never had reason to truly hate that man, unlike Voldemort or Wormtail, he never liked the Potions Professor either.
After seeing the man watch him perform in the bar and seeing Snape's slightly relaxed expression when Harry sang, he couldn't bring himself back to their previous level of animosity. Then, there was the Vernon incident; Snape's actions then had confused Harry, still confused Harry, in fact. Didn't the Potions Master hate Harry? If so why bother saving him?
Harry hadn't realized that he had been staring at Professor Snape for the past ten or so minutes until the object of his gaze turned and glared at him. Harry blinked, stunned for a few moments after realizing what he had been doing before returning the glare. A light blush stained his cheeks. Afterwards, he violently pushed all contemplations of Severus Snape from his mind and proceeded to finish the rest of his meal.
Once dinner was over, he bid his friends good evening and journeyed to the depths of Slytherin Territory. Unbidden, the song: "The Wizard Oz" came to mind and Harry wondered if he was expressing the first signs of insanity.
Arriving in front of Snape's office, he knocked lightly, before long, the door opened and the Potions Master stood in his black teaching robes. They stared at each other for a while.
"Well?" Snapped Severus, as the swirled around to make his way back inside the room, "Are you coming in or not? Don't loiter around like an idiot."
Harry sighed, while the words didn't have the usual bite to them it still annoyed him a little, but Snape was human as well and he couldn't change that quickly. Harry followed the Potions Professor into the room and sat down in the seat he indicated. Once he sat down, Severus followed suite and went to sit behind his desk.
"Since we have determined that Occlumency does not seem to work for you, we will have to decide on some different topic of study during our evening sessions." Said the Professor. "Minerva has told me that you signed up for all the extra classes, good, that is someplace we can begin."
"Professor," Harry began and paused, not really knowing how to continue.
Snape raised an eyebrow at his hesitation and said, "What is it Mr. Potter? I don't have all evening."
Harry hesitated before carrying on, "I think I might know the reason why I can't do occlumency."
The Professor looked surprised for a moment and said, "I doubt that you could find out the reason when Professor Dumbledore and I could not come up with an explanation, but do go on."
Harry glared for a moment but chose not to rise to the bait and took out the book he borrowed from the library, "I found this in the library when I was looking for the reason I've been hearing weird things when I cast spells."
The second eyebrow soon joined the first, "A book on Lost Abilities Mr. Potter? What does it have on our current problem? But first, what do you mean by hearing weird things when you cast spells? And why did you not tell me?" Now, the face shifted into a scowl.
Harry was fascinated by the myriad of expressions that the normally stoic man was showing tonight, the only expression that the man tended to show was annoyance and anger but he seemed to have evolved into curiosity and questioning tonight. "I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure at first, then I thought I might have gone insane and decided to do some research before I said anything."
He saw that the Professor was about to comment of the fact that Harry had decided to do research but was glad that he refrained from doing so.
"As to what I was hearing, it was music" Harry paused, thinking of the best way to continue, "I been hearing music when spells are cast. At first I thought it was the neighbors playing music too loudly but then I noticed that I heard them whenever magic is being cast and I decided to do some research when I got back to Hogwarts."
"And you found this?" Severus muttered, looking at the book Harry had placed on the table.
Harry nodded and reached over to the book and flipped it to the right page, he pointed to the last paragraph, detailing facts about Spell Singers, "I found this and it matches with what I've been noticing."
Snape reached over and grabbed the book; quickly scanning through its contents while Harry leaned back and watched. When he finished, he placed the book down and looked at Harry, "I have a hard time believing that you are one of these Spell Singers, since there is no proof that you can give me right now unless you have learned how to cast spells with song." He looked expectantly at Harry who shook his head.
"No, I haven't managed to do anything of that sort yet, I tried to cast thememoriosus spell in Charms today by humming the notes, but it didn't work."
The Potions Master frowned and asked, "Other than hum the notes what else did you do?"
Harry shrugged, "Nothing else," then he sat up, "what else should I have done?"
Severus sighed, "If you could truly hear spells being cast, then do you notice anything other than the music when that is happening?"
The emerald eyed teen frowned in thought, "I noticed that the magic didn't build up and was expelled from the wand in a burst and also that failed spells didn't just have no reaction, magic was also expelled, but it just wasn't useful magic."
The Professor nodded, "That is correct, while you would feel magic build up in the body when spells are being cast, it is undetectable until the spell is released. Unless you have been trained or have a magical device that can detect magic in the body, it is impossible to trace. Contrary to popular belief, the wand does not draw magic from the body and release it during the incantation. The wand is only a tool that helps amplify and direct the spell being cast.
The body pushes the magic through the wand and the wand focuses the power through a magical medium, your core before releasing it. In effect, the wand is acting as an extension of your body, therefore you would not 'hear' the spell before it is released."
He paused and looked at Harry, making sure that the teenager was paying attention before continuing, "Theoretically, every wizard or witch have the ability to perform wandless magic but because they do not have the ability to focus and concentrate the magic, spells often do not work and disperse before they could cause an effect. This is similar to when spells are not cast properly, the magic is still released, but it does not have a direction and so nothing happens or the wrong thing happens."
"But what does it have to do with my failed experiment?"
"Because, Mr. Potter, you are not attempting to expend magic when you hummed those notes, you were just humming. In order for a spell to succeed, you would need to physically draw magic from your body. The wand makes it easier for you to do so therefore many do not need to consciously attempt it. Your Spell Singing does not require a wand, consequently you would have to learn to access your magical core before you could cast successfully."
Harry crossed his arms thoughtfully and contemplated the implications of this knowledge for a moment before asking, "So, basically, I would have to pull out my magic while singing the notes and sort of… imbedding the notes with magic to cast the spell?"
"That is one way of saying it, yes. Sadly, it is only theoretical, while wandless magic could be cast this way, it might not be the same for your ability." Agreed Severus.
Then, Harry grinned, "Can we try it then?"
Snape smirked, "Then we shall try something simple first, pay attention," he pulled out his wand and pointed to a book lying on top of the shelve in the back of the room and said, "Accio book"
He turned back to Harry who had tilted his head to hear the music. Frowning in concentration, Harry tried to imagine the feel of magic running up his body when he used a wand; this took him several minutes to succeed. When he finally felt the warm flood of power coursing through him he sang the notes he had heard. The book that Snape had placed back on the shelf shuddered but made no other movement. Harry frowned and tried again, this time pulling up more power, immediately, several objects in the room flew towards him and he had to duck to avoid being hit by them.
"Focus on what you want to summon instead of just letting your magic loose!" Snapped Severus as he avoided a flying vial, he waved his wand and muttered a spell to send everything back into their original positions before looking at Harry again.
"This time, focus on the book and let your magic concentrate there. You had enough magic the first time, but it was unfocused and so dispersed, the second time you added more power and caused several other objects to fly to you as well. This time, use the amount of magic from the first attempt but focus it instead of letting it go wherever it pleased."
Harry nodded and tried again, this time, he willed the book to him at the same time and felt his magic respond, flying out to the book and connecting instead of scattering like his second try. He grinned happily and caught the book when it flew to him, turning to the Professor, he felt like jumping in joy when he saw the slight approval in the older man's eyes.
"Let us conclude here tonight," Snape said, "on Wednesday we shall try something different."
Curiously Harry asked, "What?"
Severus looked down at him as he led Harry to the door, "Since I do know the extent of your Spell Singing abilities and cannot really help you in their development, we shall work on learning how to play instruments. You may not always be able to sing, for example if you were sick or had a sore throat, traditionally Bardic instruments range from the lap harp to the lute or flute but it does not really matter. We shall find an instrument that suites you best."
"Who am I going to learn from?" Harry then asked.
"Though I do not look it, Mr. Potter, I am a pureblood and we are taught how to play multiple number of instruments as a show of sophistication and nobility." Sneered Professor Snape.
"Oh" was all the teen said before he was pushed out of the room and the door slammed behind him. This will be interesting, he thought as he made his way back to the Griffindor Tower.
Once Potter had left his office Severus went through a passage that lead from his office to his personal rooms. There, he poured himself a glass of scotch and sat down in front of the fire to think. Potter was a Spell Singer, the thought came with a headache and he took a drink from the glass in his hands. Of all things magic, he had to be something that there was no record of, this not only complicated matters but also made it more difficult. Without the knowledge of how Spell Singers protect their mind Harry would be open to the Dark Lord's influence.
Then again, this new revelation certainly revealed Potter's musical talent when neither Lily nor Potter Sr. had particularly amazing musical aptitude. Even Severus himself had to admit that Potter's singing is something special all together, after listening to the boy sing for most of the summer he could still hardly believe that the sounds he heard came from Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, of all people.
Severus was also surprised though, at how quickly the boy seemed to grasp the concept of drawing magic. For many people this idea is completely foreign and different from what they had learned about magic that they might never be able to truly use wandless magic. While for others, they could understand the concepts but have not the power or the mentality to accomplish the feat. While there were some, like Harry, who understood and could easily call upon the magic at their disposal.
Severus blamed the Ministry for the ignorance of the Wizarding population to their true potentials. Under the Ministry degree, all that is taught about pure magic theory, theory that deal purely with magic instead of its various subcategories like Transfiguration or Charms, are that it is basically manifested through the use of a wand. This led to many believing that the only way to cast spells is through wand magic and that without a wand, Wizards are just like defenseless.
The dark haired Potions Master wondered if people ever asked why children are able to display wandless magic in the form of accidental magic if it was true that magic could only be cast through a wand. But then again, in his opinion, most of the Wizarding World is no better than sheep following the highest authority and never questioning.
Back to the problem of Mr. Potter, Severus debated whether or not he should inform the Headmaster of this new development. While he feels obligated to tell the aged Professor, Severus felt that it would be best if it were kept secret. Albus would undoubtedly tell the rest of the Order and from there it might leak out, and the edge that Potter would have had would be gone.
The problems reasoned through to a certain degree, decisions made, and no more could be done about them, he took another deep drink from the glass in his hand and stood up. Placing the now empty glass on the table for a House Elf to clean later, he moved to his bedroom to get ready for the night.
That night, he dreamt of green-eyed divas with enchantingly beautiful voices. The next morning, he woke up in a foul mood.
After his first success with casting magic through music he had attempted several more spells in the past two days. While he felt that this Spell Singing had more to it than just casting spells through song, he had yet to figure it out. So far, he had only been able to cast simple spells, more and it became slightly draining. Harry wondered if he had gone about it the wrong way and was determined to find out how to cast spells effectively without too much drain on his own person.
Classes passed in a whirl of homework and new classes and before Harry knew it, Wednesday night had arrived. He thought back to when he finally had the first of the elective classes. Healing with Madam Pomphrey had been informative; they had first learned the basics of muggle First Aid. That got a lot of Slytherins complaining, a few, like Pansy Parkinson had threatened to leave but surprisingly, Draco Malfoy never voiced a complaint.
Harry learned CPR and emergency first response; they went through all sorts of possible scenarios in that double lesson. Madam Pomphrey then told them that they would continue on to magical First Aid in the next lesson. She had, to the despair of Ron and several other students, assigned a research essay on muggle and magical First Aid.
Dueling with Professor Flitwick had been a source of amazement for Harry and many other students in that class. Who knew that he small professor could move so fast? That very first lesson the Charms professor had paired them up and held a mini dueling competition in which the winner would duel the professor.
After several rounds of dueling, Harry finally emerged as the winner, and he was left to face with Professor Flitwick. Spells are fired in rapid succession soon after and in the end Harry was taken out by a leg locker curse after he avoided an unidentified pink coloured curse.
"Wonderful Mr. Potter, wonderful!" Flitwick had cried after he un-did the curse, the tiny professor was nearly dancing around with glee, "See that? Very good defense Mr. Potter, you need to learn how to anticipate for your opponent's attacks, think ahead and not just react after the spells are thrown at you."
Flitwick then proceeded to point out common errors made by duelists and how to correct the. Then there was another mock duel between pairs before the class ended. The students left the class with enthusiasm for the next Dueling class and several people who passed by him to the next class congratulated Harry.
The class had been very interesting and Harry would be looking forward to the other classes that they had signed up for. Excitedly, he remembered that Animagus training was to begin tomorrow.
When he stood in front of Professor Snape's office once again Harry was nervous about the lesson today, the only time he had any contact with musical instruments were in music class in elementary school. He had not been allowed a recorder like the rest of his class though, since the Dursleys would not pay for it, so he had only sat and watched as his fellow classmates attempted to make music out of the instrument.
Belatedly, Harry wondered if Snape had told Dumbledore about his discovery, and for some reason, hoped that he hadn't. Since he had not been called to talk to the Headmaster, Harry only hoped that it meant his secret was safe. He still had yet to tell Hermione and Ron, although it made him feel guilty about keeping secrets from his friends he still thought it best if they didn't know. There are some things that do not concern them and this was one, plus, there was nothing they could do even if they knew.
Finally, thoughts collected, Harry knocked on the door lightly and was instantly greeted by Professor Snape. "Follow me," said the Professor before briskly striding away from his rooms.
Confused, Harry followed Snape to the third floor where the room of requirement was situated. When he arrived, the door had already appeared and Snape was standing before it waiting impatiently. "Come along, we don't have all night, from now on Wednesdays and Fridays we will meet here instead of my rooms. We will be continuing your defense lessons every Monday evening, and until you discover your method of Occlumency, those lessons will be postponed." Severus said as he opened the door to the room, "When you do find it, then those lessons will be held on Fridays."
Harry nodded in understanding and walked into the room after Snape. The room was large, littered with different instruments ranging from woodwind to strings to bass, a Grand Piano placed in the center of the room with a slightly raised platform. The room was decorated to look like a lounge, there was a comfortable looking chair on the far wall overlooking what Harry would call a small stage.
Not really knowing what to do Harry kept his attention of the Potions Professor and waited for instructions. Severus had moved to the grand piano and was sitting down when he looked over to see Potter standing like a deer caught in wand light, he indicated for the teen to come over and gestured for Harry to sit next to him on the bench.
"We'll start you off with the Piano first, since this was the first thing I had learned as a child."
Harry gave a start as Professor Snape grabbed his hands and placed them on the keyboard, arranging his fingers to over the keys correctly. Harry's face heated slightly due to the close proximity to the other man but he ignored it in favor of studying the positions of his hands.
Severus had then proceeded to teach him different scales and how to read music, before long Harry was able to produce a small piece by himself. Nothing as extravagant as the ones Severus had played as examples but all in all, it was a success for Harry. They had decided that other than the instrument Harry would feel most comfortable with, they would he would also continue the Piano.
Depending on how fast Harry learns the basics of the some instruments, they would move to a different one every two weeks. Until after Harry has found what he is most compatible with, after that they would only focus on that instrument as well as the Piano.
Harry found that he enjoyed learning to play the piano with Snape; the Potions Master had more patience teaching the instrument that he does Potions. Although, this might be because Harry was able to learn more quickly than he does with potions and mistakes does not end with explosions. In the end, their lesson went well and Harry enjoyed the slightly more relaxed atmosphere they found themselves in.
Near the end of their session, Snape played a piece that Harry recognized as one of the songs he had sung in the Silver Meadow. Closing his eyes, he sang in accompaniment to the piano. Soon, music filled the air, different from the lesson a moment ago, this music was filled with the rich tones of Harry's voice drifting softly as he sang to the piano.
When the song finished, Harry slowly opened his eyes to find Severus looking at him impassively, "Bravo." Severus said softly and Harry blushed and ducked his head. But before he could answer to the praise, the Professor had already stood up from the bench and was moving towards the door.
"We will meet again on Friday to continue on from today," he said tonelessly, acting as if nothing had happened a moment ago, "Now, it's time for you to return to your rooms, Mr. Potter, curfew is in 15 minutes." Then he left Harry in the room staring at the door.
With a sigh, Harry stood up from the chair and stretched, feeling a joint pop from sitting in the same position for too long. He took a last glance at the room and left, his mind on what had happened near the end of the lesson. While he has had many people praise him for his singing, this had been the first time Snape had done so. For some reason it made Harry very proud to know that Severus Snape, hater of all things Griffindor and Harry Potter had praised him. This new development had only added more to the enigma that was Severus Snape and Harry was determined to solve it.
Music and magic permeated the area and he found himself in a slowly spinning world of music. Instinctively knowing what to do, he plucked the strands of music to him and knowledge flooded his mind.
Here was the power lying dormant within him, here was the knowledge to use this power. Knowledge that a Spell Singer is born with and he only had to find it.
He released the strand he had grasped and let if flow back to its original position. Now was not yet time for him to know. Until then, he would wait.
TBC
Endnote
Just a little tiny bit of fluff at the end, I hoped you enjoyed it.
I just noticed: I'm turning Harry into a really philosophical guy. Not that I mean to (but I don't mean to make him an idiot either), I just have so many theories that I couldn't resist having Harry discover them one by one. I don't think Harry himself is complaining, but he might have a headache after all this is over.
You'll noticed that I refrained from calling Severus…well… Severus, throughout most of the chapter, it wasn't until after Harry enters his office. (You have no idea how annoying it was, there's only so many ways you can type someone's title: Professor Snape, Snape, The Potions Master, The Potions Professor, Professor… and in the office, the situation is just a little more intimate, enough to garner the use of his first name.) That is because I don't want Harry to sound too familiar with him since, they're really just tolerating each other. That will change but if anyone asks why I never really refer to Snape as Severus in the first half of the chapter, there's the answer.
I know I promised that I won't write any AN and I'm sorry, as compensation for the long note, here's a challenge for my wonderful readers:
1. If anyone can guess the instrument that is going to be most compatible with Harry, then they can help me decide what Ron and Hermione's Animagus forms are going to be. (Unfortunately, I'll have to limit people to non-magical animals)
2. Second challenge: If anyone guesses what Harry's Coat of Arms (for his ability) is going to look like, they can decide the names of Harry, Ron and Hermione's Animagus once it's been revealed. (Since this one is harder, here's a hint: it's something to do with the Tuatha De Dannan)
Reply to Reviews: only)
-Grins sheepishly- Normally I'd reply through the site but since not everyone logged in (or have an account)…
Dreamweaver: I had planned to write a reply last chapter, but I was too eager to post the newest installment. I do hope, though, that last chapter made sense to you. You were probably the only one that mentioned Bardic magic –grins–
-Hands Dreamweaver a cookie-
Silver Lady: To tell you the truth, I completely agree with you on the fact that I need to update more often. Plus the half-year gap is a little toolong; I agree but well… I can't help landing in the hospital twice – for 2-3 weeks each – in 6 months, anymore than I can help the weather.
I'm really glad you liked the story though, all things aside.
Saia: Thanks for the support! I'm glad you like it; I enjoy thinking up magic theories. It makes things more interesting, not to mention I feel that it's unrealistic for magic to be able to do anything and everything, there's got to be some limits!
Thanks for the tip with grammar; sadly, I'm really bad at those (it comes with being a science major I think… or it's just me making excuses –grin–)
Replies to reviews from please see my profile at http:// hp. adultfanfiction . net / authors . php ? no 12705 (without spaces)
Word count: 6825
Feb 10 2008
Illusionary Angel
PS. Sadly, I won't be able to update next week as I have midterms coming up. But after that, I will be able to get back on track since I have a week of holiday. Don't forget to review!