Episode 15: "Hogwarts Winter"

A few weeks later, or rather more specifically the week before end of the semester, Professor Dumbledore had a rather surprising announcement that Friday evening at dinner.

"Good evening," he began. "Or is it 'good night'? Hm, the complexities of language. Well, I do hope that you're all enjoying your meal, and I do apologize for interrupting, but I have some rather unpleasant news for everyone here."

They all settled down and put down their glasses or food and turned to pay attention to the old wizard. Harry and Gohan, who were right up front at the Ravenclaw table tonight, shot each other a concerned look, before turning and facing the Headmaster as he spoke.

"As you all recall, at the beginning of last semester, we welcomed a number of students from abroad here to our halls. They have been working and living beside you students ever since, as one of you. Alas, it would seem that for some of them, their time here has come to an end."

That got the Great Hall buzzing as everyone couldn't help commenting and speculating about just what had happened. Gohan was suddenly looking quite nervous. It wasn't advertised, but neither was it a secret that he still had yet to successfully cast even one spell. Were they kicking him out?

"Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore said, "left Hogwarts this afternoon after the conclusion of their classes. I'm sure, as all of you would agree, they will be missed. However, Hogwarts doors will always be open for her students, however briefly, to return. I'm certain that Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour would've liked to say goodbye in traditional Hogwarts manner, with a farewell feast, but it would seem that in their eagerness to avoid any teary goodbyes, they departed at the first opportunity for their schools of origin. My apologies to anyone that was inconvenienced by this event. Thank you for your time, and enjoy the rest of your meal." He turned to step down, then about-faced and added one last thing, "Oh, and students reporting to Hagrid need not wash up afterwards. I'm told you'll be helping out at the pigsty this evening."

Amidst the groans from fully half the student body, hardly anybody noticed a small folded piece of paper float down toward the Son brothers, and then it morph itself into a small bearded mouth, speaking in Dumbledore's voice, "Misters Son, if you would both please report to my office after dinner. And bring your charming Sensei with you. We have a matter of some urgency to discuss." The origami mouth then shredded itself into so much confetti.

Now Harry shared his brother's nervous look, as they both contemplated just what was going on. This wasn't because the other two exchange students had attacked them, was it?

Headmaster's Office

Hogwarts

Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Snape were there waiting for them when Harry, Gohan and Piccolo arrived. Sensing the tension prevalent throughout the room, Piccolo decided to 'go on the offensive' as it were, by speaking first.

"This seems like a rather volatile situation," he said in his typical deep growling voice. "Perhaps we should hold off until I can get the boys' parents here. As their sensei, I can only claim responsibility for their training and use of martial arts. I have no say when it comes to their education."

"Let us not be too hasty," Dumbledore was quick to say. "Perhaps it may come to that, at some point in the near future, but I—all of us, truly—would like to see if this cannot be resolved in a more discrete manner. Before anything becomes..." the bearded old man shot a look to the greasy haired Professor at the end of the line, "... Official. Which would mean for things to become, sadly, permanent. One way or the other."

"Mister Son," Professor McGonagall called, looking right at Gohan so there could be no confusion. "It has come to... everyone's attention that in spite of your grades and excellent performance on your homework and tests, you have yet to actually perform an example of practical magic. At all."

"We understand the Sorting Hat wouldn't have allowed you to become a Student of Hogwarts," said Professor Flitwick, "without knowing that you do indeed have a spark of magic within you. But, I'm afraid my boy that as good as your work in the theoretical, you are going to fail my class unless I see that you can indeed cast the spells I'm teaching you."

"Professor Snape and myself," Professor Sprout said, "don't really have anything against you lad. Quite frankly, you're one of my top students amongst the First Years, and taking care of plants doesn't really rely on shooting streams of light at them. And we all know, from the school records, that you have completed every potion that you have been tasked to make, and it is as good as any First Year's, possibly as good as a Fifth Year student making the same potions. Isn't that right, Professor Snape?"

The hook-nosed man scowled, crossed his arms and refused to speak, but that was answer enough for everyone present.

"That still leaves half your other classes, Mister Son," McGonagall concluded. "Between Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence Against The Dark Arts, you will fail out of your First Year at Hogwarts, which will automatically banish you from the Wizarding World and keep you from attaining a magical education. Unless."

"Unless?" Gohan repeated, hopeful.

"Unless you can demonstrate, here and now, in front of us, that you can use a wand to cast a spell, just like any other wizard," Dumbledore stated.

"What about all that hoopla about the 'wand choosing the wizard'?" Harry cried out. "Nobody has actually taken Gohan to go and get a wand, and over the holiday we didn't even know if we'd be invited back! So we didn't go and get one then! Are you proposing to just let him pick up any wand, or let him try each of ours in turn?!"

"Of course not!" Dumbledore said, a bit too quickly and a touch too passionately. "But there are magical skills... spells, which can be taught even to the very young that do not require a wand. In fact, we have all witnessed first-hand how you yourself accomplished this, Mister Son. If your brother were to demonstrate even a mild application of your own innate skill with magic, we would consider the matter closed and allow special consideration to permit Mr. Gohan Son to leave school grounds on the premise of acquiring a wand. But before that consideration can be offered," he folded his long spindly fingers before his beard-covered chest, "we must witness Gohan cast a spell."

"And before either of you think to pass off floating objects, or various shapes and colours shooting through the air, as magic!" Snape suddenly shouted. "Remember that we've all seen just what it is that you lot can do with your... kiwi-energy!"

"It's KI!" Gohan, Harry and Piccolo all growled in response.

"Although," Flitwick as quick to say, "if you can generate a mana ball like Harry and Miss Granger, I would certainly say that qualifies. But it would have to be, er, mana and not... ki."

Gohan looked down, face blushing as he rubbed the back of his neck while Harry looked on rather nervously and Piccolo just stood there, arms crossed over his chest.

"Mr. Son?" Dumbledore prompted.

"Eh-heheheh," Gohan chuckled, much as his father did whenever the man failed to understand something and had been caught in his ignorance. "Well, y'see, I've never actually used magic before, but I understand how it works from watching Harry and what you all have taught me about it. I'm certainly willing to give it a try now, though!"

"Gohan!" Harry growled at his brother, almost slapping himself in the face with exasperation.

"Enough Harry!" Piccolo snapped at the young wizard. "Just give Gohan your wand and let him try it, and then we can get back to training."

Both boys winced, and nobody missed it. Piccolo's inarticulate growl was easy enough to comprehend, however.

"Well, y'see Mr. Piccolo," Gohan started to say, but Harry quickly interrupted.

"I've already let Gohan try my wand," he said. "As has Hermione, and Neville, and Ron Weasley, and Marcus Flint too. Although that last one might have been without permission."

"And?" the green giant growled.

"Um, remember that huge explosion at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, on the lake side, middle of November, which the Weasley Twins took credit for?" Harry addressed the teachers. To which all their eyes went wide enough to see the whites all around their pupils, even Snape's. "That was Gohan trying to make 'sparks' with my wand. And... as much as I'd love to use that as an example of his innate magic going out of control or whatever... from my point of view it looked more like my wand expending all of its magic trying to get away from him. The same happened with Hermione's and Neville's wands, though not quite as... explosive. Certainly fiery though in the case of Hermione's dragon-core wand."

"And nothing at all happened when I tried to use Ron's wand," Gohan admitted. "It may as well have been a stick. With Flint... I don't actually know. I felt like... something... could have happened, but it was hard to focus on it. Like... I don't know... getting Icarus to eat his least favourite food, or something..."

"Icarus?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Family pet," Harry replied, at the same time Gohan answered, "My friend!"

Piccolo just grunted and informed them all, "Icarus is the name Gohan gave his pet dragon. A baby North Mongolian Silver dragon, if you must know."

They all appeared quite dumbfounded, not quite sure how to react to that information.

"Icarus isn't a baby anymore, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan whined.

"Gohan," the Namekian grunted. "Infancy for that species of dragon lasts two decades! He'll be a 'baby' for the next eighteen years!"

"Yes, well," Dumbledore hastily interrupted, "be that as it may, we still need some, er, proof of magic from Gohan. Given the examples already experienced, I do not believe it wise to allow him to use our wands here. So, perhaps a more benign example?"

They all looked to the Headmaster, intrigued.

"Professor Flitwick himself provided what I think to be a suitable example, and I cannot deny my own curiosity behind the process, of generating a, what did you call it Filius? Oh yes, a mana ball? Perhaps, Harry, you could instruct Gohan in how do to accomplish this feat. And, on the off chance that he cannot pick it up immediately, well... I can delay things no further than the beginning of classes on Monday, I'm afraid boys. If Mr. Gohan Son cannot demonstrate his ability to do magic before classes resume, I'm sorry but he will have to leave the school."

The Son brothers gave a collective blink, and then exchanged a look. Gohan nodded at Harry, who returned the gesture.

"Right, so, let's get started then," Harry declared, facing his brother, holding up both hands as though he were about to start gathering energy, but not quite yet.

"What are you doing?" Gohan asked, suddenly confused.

"Showing you how to make a Mana Ball," he automatically answered. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time, and yes, I know how defensive I've been about you learning my techniques before now, but I am not just going to let them kick you out for something we both know you can do! Now will you come on already?!"

"Are you sure this is the best place to be training?" Gohan questioned, raising his hands.

"You heard the Professors, Gohan," Harry snapped. "If you can use mana like I can, that is good enough for them. Now, concentrate!"

"Alright!" Gohan snapped back. "Ugh, concentrate on what?"

"Oh, right, sorry," Harry apologized. "Guess I've gotten too used to Hermione and the rest. Focus on the energy that I'm channeling right now. It isn't ki, so it may not feel like anything at first. But, if you have magic, and I'm certain that you do Gohan, you should be able to sense something here. Once you know what it feels like, then I want you to try and see if you can distinguish the same kind of energy within yourself and channel it the same way."

"And, just out of curiosity," Gohan asked, "if I can't sense anything, what are we going to try next? I know you Harry. You're not going to give this up, no matter what I do. I just need to prepare myself for what is to come."

"Well," Harry confessed, "If this doesn't work, then I'll trying pushing my magic into you so that you can feel what that is like. If that doesn't work, then I'll start hitting you with a low powered spell over and over until you can resist its effects. If that doesn't get you casting, then I'll try sharing my magic with you. Read about the ritual for that in one of the books in the library. Didn't go into details, but I'm sure I can figure it out..."

"MISTER POT—SON!" Dumbledore actually shouted out loud. "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES—not even extraordinary ones—ARE YOU TO EVER UNDERGO A RITUAL OF SUCH NATURE! Do I make myself clear, young man!"

The objects around the room had actually vibrated from the sheer volume of the man's shout, and all of the 'sleeping' portraits were most certainly awake, though staying quiet as even an idiot could read the mood in the room.

Harry and Gohan had both jumped back at the sudden shout, and even the other professors were cowering at the tower of raging power that was Dumbledore in that moment. Professor McGonagall had retreated to put herself between Dumbledore and the children, while Professor Sprout placed herself behind McGonagall, and Flitwick had shot to his feet, his wand almost teleporting to his hand. Professor Snape, at least was still standing where he'd stood, though he'd wrapped himself up in his cloak, (much as he had that first day in class). In fact, only Piccolo was unaffected, still standing there with his arms crossed, though his frown might've deepened a few fractions of an inch.

"Well, uh, hopefully it, um, won't come to that, Professor," Harry stammered. The old man might not be able to punch a mountain into gravel, or destroy an entire planet with his energy, but that didn't make him weak, the young student came to realize.

"Harry Son," Dumbledore's tone broke no argument. "Promise me, here and now, that you will never partake in a magical ritual of such nature!"

"Promise me Gohan can keep attending Hogwarts with, or without, magic," Harry replied, not backing down for one moment.

"Harry!" Gohan pulled his brother away from the confrontation before things couldn't be un-said, so to speak. "Let's just... do this somewhere else, all right? If I can show them before Breakfast on Monday, it should be fine! The important thing is learning how to use mana, am I right? So let's go get started."

"Fine," Piccolo suddenly spoke up. "You two, go to that training room you are always on about. I'll discuss things with the teachers, see what our options are. No more training until Monday. But the moment Gohan manages to use Harry's Mana Ball technique, we'll begin working on how he can use it in battle. Understood?"

"Hai, Sensei!"

"Yes, Mr. Piccolo."

"Is that really necessary?"

The three fighters turned to stare at the Headmaster, and then collectively turned away to ignore his comment as though he hadn't spoke at all. Instead, the boys both immediately made for the stairs, intent on getting to the 7th Floor Training Gym. Piccolo turned instead toward the group of teachers, unfolding his arms as he did so.

"Now then," he growled out, hands loose by his sides beneath his cape, "lets discuss what this is really all about."

Room Of Requirement (AKA, the AWESOME Training Room)

Hogwarts

"This place has the weirdest entry code that I've ever seen," Gohan remarked as they passed the painting of dancing trolls for the third time, and the door finally appeared.

"It's magic, Gohan!" Harry laughed as he went to open the door. "If it made sense, then everybody could do it. Instead of just... the... weird ones... Whoa."

"Um, Harry?" Gohan joined him at the doorway. "It's never looked like this before... has it?"

"Uhm..."

"Harry?"

"I'm... starting to think that the 'entry code' is a lot more than what I'd previously thought it was," he confessed. "I think... this room created the Training Room... and this Room, because we were focused on it as we walked back and forth those three times."

"So, uh, what were you focused on this time? Because I was just thinking about the same Training Room we've been in like three dozen times already," said Gohan.

"I was thinking about the training room too... but," Harry winced. "But I was also thinking about various ways to train you in magic, and maybe a small part of me was thinking about Dumbledore's... er, reaction to magic rituals. Looking at this, I'm starting to understand his point of view."

"What... is all this?" Gohan asked as they fully entered the Room and the door shut behind them.

Rather than the sterile-white walls and reflective chrome exercise machines and cordoned Heavy-G areas, like they were used to, they found themselves in what most might describe as the stereotypical 'Wizards Sanctum' from a fantasy novel. Everything was hand-carved stone mason work, lit torches, and oddly glowing circles (and other shapes) of carved runes. Instead of exercise equipment, there were bubbling cauldrons with tables of ingredients next to them, cloudy crystal balls that shone with an undefined inner energy, and central to the whole chamber was a raised platform with an altar-esque slab of stone in the precise centre of it. Seeing a few other items and cordoned off areas (the runes and shapes were glowing a 'Warning!' red color) that corresponded with what Harry knew of Hogwarts curriculum, he quickly deduced that this was the magician's equivalent of a Training Room.

"Off the top of my head," Harry shared with his brother, "I'd guess that this is what the room manifests when you want to improve your magic, whereas before we were focused on improving our bodies and fighting skills. And we are here to train up your magic, so to speak. And, given the obvious importance it has, I'm going to guess we have to start on that platform in the middle there."

"You mean the great big sacrificial altar?!" Gohan screamed at him, pointing.

"Um," Harry scratched his head, looking around. "Is there some kind of general guide, or instruction manual on how to do this properly? Unlock my brother's innate magic, that is. Not give him mine or anything like that!"

"What are you doing?" Gohan looked at him like he was crazy.

Harry just shrugged. "Asking the room for what we need. I'm not about to do this blind, and like hell I'm going to endanger either one of us by doing things the wrong way. And..." he trailed off as they watched a wooden pillar magically grow out of the floor and 'sprout' a thick hide-covered tome like some kind of flower. The title was embossed in wrought iron lettering, and helpfully called, 'Merlin's Guide To Magic - 1st Edition'.

"... Right, so, let's make sure we both read this and understand it before we do anything with anything in here, right?"

"Right," Gohan nodded.

They both moved forward and opened the massive book together, reading at the same pace as they began flipping through the thick parchment pages. They quickly lost track of time as they got lost in the words of the world's most famous wizard.

Great Hall

Hogwarts

Sunday Dinner

"Have you seen them?" Hermione demanded of all her friends at the Hufflepuff table as she sat down to eat.

The others, who knew exactly what she was talking about, sadly shook their heads.

"It's been nearly three days!" she exclaimed, slamming her platter down on the table. "Where could they be?"

"I don't know, Hermione," Justin replied. "Maybe, just maybe, if you exercised a little patience, you'd get your answer. Wouldn't be the first time a student has gone AWOL over a weekend. Plus, both Harry and Gohan have their sensei person here now. Maybe he took them off campus to give them some training that was too intense to be done in the forest, or around the castle. Or maybe it is something else entirely. My point is, there is no way to know until we see them again. And we will see them again, Hermione. They're out friends."

"That's easy for you to say, Justin," she moaned, toying with her food. "You're a Hufflepuff. Loyalty and friendship are your primary qualities. I'm a Ravenclaw. My brain hasn't stopped producing nightmare scenarios since they got called to the Headmaster's office on Friday!"

"Yeah, but look at it this way," he offered. "Do you see Harry, let alone Gohan, leaving without saying goodbye, even if they'd been kicked out?"

Hermione opened her mouth to refute the argument, but after a few seconds she snapped it shut, as the answer was obviously no, she couldn't see them leaving without saying goodbye. In fact, the only scenario in which she truly could not imagine ever seeing either of them again was if...

"But what if they're dead?" her mouth suddenly asked, without permission.

"Then chances are everyone in the castle would most likely also be dead from whatever had succeeded in killing them, not to mention the place would be in ruins, and we'd all be in the afterlife and see them there," Justin countered without missing a beat.

"I envy your optimism," she sighed and focused on eating.

Thankfully, for Hermione's sanity, the subjects of her worries finally deigned to show themselves. Harry and Gohan, both still in their student robes (from Friday), entered the Great Hall and started making their way down to the front. Rather than one of the four tables to eat. Which was a fact surprising enough in itself that they soon had every eye in the room on them.

"Misters Son," Professor Dumbledore greeted them, "How nice of you to join us. I trust that you have come to us with a, shall we say, demonstration of what was discussed the last time we spoke?"

Harry looked over at Gohan and nodded once, who nodded back in reply.

"We have, Professor," Gohan declared, nodding one final time at his brother, who stepped back and openly held his hands out to the side, no wand in sight.

Gohan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Holding both his hands out in front of him, a small spark of energy began to form. At first, everyone believed he was making a ki blast, but as they watched on it became clear that was not the case. Thirty seconds after he began, a sphere of clear sunshine-white condensed magical energy was hovering there between Gohan's hands. A Mana Ball.

Gohan could use magic.

Professor Flitwick cheered and congratulated the boy. "Oh marvelous! Congratulations my boy! Most excellent! Well, Professor Snape? Does this satisfy you? The boy is a wizard!"

"Funny," Snape snarled between clenched teeth. "I don't see a wand. True, he can misuse magic the same as his troublemaker brother, but that doesn't make him a wizard, now does it? To be a wizard, or a witch, one must use a wand to control their magic. Otherwise, what are we even teaching, Flitwick?"

"Enough," Dumbledore interrupted the argument. "Both of you. Thank you, Mr. Son, that is enough for my eyes, and I appreciate all the work that you have put into this. Rest assured, you may remain at the school and continue your education here with us at Hogwarts. However, Professor Snape is correct. We need to get you a wand."

At that simple statement, both boys winced and shared another look with each other, this one more troubled.

"Ah, Professor Dumbledore, sir?" Harry spoke up.

"Yes, my boy?"

"Gohan," he said somewhat hesitantly, "can't use a wand. He can use magic, we've just proven that, but, uh... during our training, you see, we discovered that, strictly speaking, Gohan isn't a wizard. He's a mage. According to the books we were reading, he's actually an Archmage, though untrained. He uses magic directly, not through, well, any sort of medium or focus. Also, turns out, I'm not a wizard either, I'm a Sorcerer, as I can use magic directly, as well as through different kinds of foci."

The entire Great Hall went dead silent. Even quieter than that, actually, as several of the ghosts present had gone quiet from the shock of the young Son's statement.

Clearing his throat softly, which seemed to be as loud as his usual firecracker explosions in the overwhelming silence, the Headmaster asked the question on everyone's minds. "Mr. Son, who exactly told you this? Because, I'm afraid that I'll need to correct this person, or persons, on several facts."

Harry and Gohan shrugged at one another, answering together, "We learned it from a book."

"Who was the author?" he insisted upon knowing.

"I didn't see one on the spine, and there wasn't exactly a title page," Gohan shrugged again, looking to Harry. "You read it more intently than I did, Harry. Do you know who wrote that tome?"

"I do," Harry replied. "But if I say the name out loud, like this, I'm pretty sure we're going to get called liars, and then asked to produce the book, and then ordered to lead everyone to it when we can't, followed by the book being 'confiscated' and probably destroyed, basically turning this whole thing into one big mess, so..."

"Who wrote this book that obviously has such flawed information in it, Mr. Son?" Professor Dumbledore persisted.

"Merlin."

The silence before was like a rock concert compared to the current void of noise surrounding the Great Hall at that moment.

"Excuse me?" the Headmaster whispered, yet the whole room clearly heard him.

"Merlin," Harry repeated. "Though apparently his birth name was Myrddin, and there was this whole thing with him being only partially human, I think that is how he was able to classify the different types of human magic-users. Not to mention, his teaching of magic to purely human students. Odd little anecdote, for anybody wanting to know it; turns out the 'Merlin' on the Chocolate Frog cards is actually the great-grandson of the real Merlin... who was the one that... taught... the Four Founders... of Hogwarts... magic... I should really learn when to keep my mouth shut."

"Ya think?" Gohan grumbled next to him.

"You little liar, you...!" Snape was turning apoplectic with rage.

Before the greasy-haired Professor could even get started, Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald and Leader of the Light through two wizarding civil wars, forced him back into his seat, while standing tall from his seat of power.

"Where did you find this book, Harry? Gohan?" he asked them, no longer putting on airs.

"The Training Room," they both replied without hesitation.

Dumbledore scowled as their ki-based Occlumency skills kept him from acquiring the location directly from their minds, and he knew of no training room at Hogwarts, not one that could actually aid these two in their kind of training at least. Which left... of course!

Taking a breath, and thereby cutting through the tension hanging in the air like a sabre, Professor Dumbledore resumed his seat in the golden throne behind the teacher's table. He gripped the armrests and straightened his back before speaking again.

"As I said," he spoke in his typical 'grandfatherly' tone, "allow me to correct your education on these matters, Harry, Gohan, and everyone present. Additional studies have been performed since the book you speak of was written, more narrowly classifying human magic-users from the broad spectrum of Druid, Warlock, Witch, Wizard, Sorcerer, Mage, and Archmage. Quite honestly, this sort of lesson would better be taught by Professor Binns in the History of Magic class, but given the circumstances, please forgive me for summarizing."

"According to the classification you are basing your findings upon, Misters Son, the primary division was the method upon which a human could use magic. A Druid used magic through the use of intricate rituals, calling upon celestial bodies as well as the seasons and power of nature. A Warlock, whatever definition you use, bound a magical creature, though in those ancient days it was often some manner of demon or djinn or nature spirit, in service to them and used their magic through that binding. Today, the terms Witch and Wizard are merely determining hers from his, but in the old days, a 'Witch' referred to what historians might call a hedgewitch, or a simple alchemist or potion brewer. Those that worked with ingredients and physical matter, like what is taught in Potions and Transfiguration these days. Whereas a 'Wizard' was identified as those that use wands to cast magic. Or any other magical focus, such as a staff, a gem, a ring. A Mage, however, could use magic directly, some reported to not even need words or gestures, but could cast magic with but a thought. A Sorcerer, by comparison, is the bridge between the two, a magic user that could focus their magic through tools and use it directly through mere thought."

"And an Archmage, sir?" Gohan questioned, going so far as to raise his hand before speaking.

"Ah, yes, the Archmage classification," Professor Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Experts agree that in truth there has only been one Archmage in the history of mankind, and that was Merlin himself. But I can see where your confusion might lie, Mr. Son."

"In the past, those that were classified as Mages specialized in one or maybe a handful of areas of magic. Therefore, it was said that an Archmage was merely a Mage that specialized in a multitude, or perhaps even all avenues of magic. No doubt, using the tests described in that book, you gentlemen discovered that young Gohan's specialty, as it were, fell into greater than that handful, hm?" They nodded their agreement.

"Yes, I suspected as much," said Dumbledore. "I assure you gentlemen, though he might be a Mage, certainly, Gohan is not an Archmage. If he were, he could literally warp and rewrite the reality around him through merely wishing for it hard enough." They both nodded their understanding. Then Harry raised his hand.

"Sir, you keep saying that this was the old way of classifying human magicians," he said. "What is the current method, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Not at all, Harry," Professor Dumbledore grinned at him. "The present day method of classifying wizards is by the amount of power they possess. Their skill with magic. And their prowess with a wand. I'm not certain if you are aware of this, though it is on my Chocolate Frog Card, but one of the titles I hold is Grand Sorcerer. It is a title one gains through publicly performing above a certain level in a noteworthy Wizard's Duel."

"But Professor," Harry stated, "the book was quite clear, and letting Gohan try various wands has fairly proven, that a Mage cannot use a wand like a Wizard can. And by your own words, you just stated that all of that is to classify wizards. Not magic-using humans. How do you propose that we resolve this? Sir."

Professor Dumbledore frowned, slightly, just enough that his beard could hide the expression on his face. He really must stop underestimating this boy. If only he weren't such a... warmonger, with his love of fighting, he'd be the perfect heir apparent.

"Well, to begin with," Dumbledore answered, "I will assure both you, and your brother, Mr. Son, that he shall not be expelled, nor removed from his current curriculum. Gohan Son can use magic, and this a school that teaches magic. These facts are indisputable, and no one can debate them. As to the unique nature of Mr. Son's magic and the methods we teachers may have to employ in teaching him to use it, well. That is something that we shall have to tackle individually with Mr. Son in a one-on-one basis. Though, I would not discount your brother from being able to use any focus, Mr. Son. In fact, I shall personally escort him to Ollivander's and oversee that he tries every wand in the shop, if necessary, to find him some focus to aid in using his magic. Although, if either of you boys, or your sensei happen upon any ideas to shorten the search, all the more to help, yes?"

"Now then," he leaned forward to speak before the conversation could drag on any longer. "I'm sure after all your work, the two of you must have worked up quite the appetite. Please, avail yourselves to dinner. I shall contact you both in the morning and then escort Mr. Gohan Son to get his wand. Best hurry, as I'm afraid dinner will be ending soon."

With that threat delivered, both fighters raced to the tables and quickly started consuming the food like it would be taken away at a moments notice. Though there was still at least an hour to dinner.

Hogwarts

Next Day

Professor Dumbledore and Gohan had been gone for most of the morning, and Harry's classes could only provide so much of a distraction before his impatience won out. He was about to try teleporting to where he could sense Gohan's energy, even though Hermione constantly warned him not to even try it, calling it by some silly name that the Wizarding World identified the ability as. When the teacher-student pair finally returned, just in time for lunch.

"Well?!" was the first word out of Harry's mouth as he raced up to meet his brother at the entrance to the courtyard.

Gohan held up his empty hands, a sheepish expression on his face, while a pole-axed/perplexed look was firmly entrenched upon Dumbledore's.

"It was a most . . . unique experience, I must admit," said Dumbledore. "I've never seen my old friend Garrick Ollivander so... enthused by a challenge as the one your brother presented him. While I cannot say that Gohan tried every wand in the shop, he went through every single last one of Ollivander's closest choices without so much as a glimmer of compatibility. The man finally resigned himself to building a custom wand just for Mr. Son here, and that took up the majority of the morning. Determining just exactly what materials such a focus would require."

Harry's brow raised, intrigued.

"You said 'focus' that last time, not 'wand'?" he pointed out.

Professor Dumbledore then blushed, actually and truly *blushed*!

"Savor it well, Harry Son," the old man replied. "It is rare that I am ever wrong about a thing, as while I freely admit to making mistakes, I do learn from them. I was, in this case, quite clearly wrong about your brother. He cannot use a wand, so he must use another Focus instead. There in lies the problem, I'm afraid."

"Problem?" Harry squeaked. "What problem?"

"Mr. Ollivander didn't have any of the needed materials on hand," Gohan answered. "And it'll take him a long time to find everything. Short version; he can't make me a wand-equivalent. Apparently, my perfect focus is some kind of jeweled stave."

"Stave? Like staff?" Harry blinked, his mind racing. "As in... a magic staff? A magic bo staff?"

"Hn," a deep growl floated down from above them, preceding its owner by a couple seconds. "Took you long enough to come up with the idea, Harry. I'm disappointed," said Piccolo.

"Piccolo-sensei!" "Mr. Piccolo!" Both boys greeted the green alien as he flew down to join them in the courtyard. In his hands was a thin red pole. Their father's Power Bo!

"Could it...?" Gohan's eyes went wide as he looked over at his wizard brother.

"It... might?" he shrugged in reply. "If anything could, it should!"

"Ah, excuse me," Dumbledore spoke up. "But if I might be permitted, what is that precisely?"

"It is a magical weapon," Piccolo replied. "Passed down in the boys' family for generations. From their father's grandfather, to Goku, and now to Gohan. Given its magical nature, and his own affinity with it, Gohan should be able to channel his magic through it, the same way that you lot do so with your wands. Of course, Gohan's ultimate goal should be to emulate his brother and be able to utilize his magic in combat without the need of a focus at all."

"But that is a long-term training goal," Harry stated. "In the mean time, the Power Bo can shrink to the same size and shape as a regular wand. From there, its just a matter of channeling your magic properly, Gohan!"

Gohan accepted the red pole from Piccolo, and with but a moment of concentration, it shrunk itself to just under a foot in length and maybe an inch thick.

"Try for sparks, first lesson in Charms class," Harry suggested, eager and hopeful.

"OK," Gohan nodded, then held the 'wand-sized' Power Bo in his right fist, focusing on the magic within him that they'd spent over two days unlocking, and incanted, "Micandeo!"

At the same time, Dumbledore, Snape and Flitwick waved their own wands about, right as a stream of multi-hue sparks erupted from the 'end' of the small red rod. After about ten seconds or so, the sparks died down and vanished.

"Hn," Snape grunted, his scowl deepening.

"Definitely magic, not any other source," Flitwick almost proudly declared. "Amazing, simply amazing that he could perform the spell without needing to perform the wand movements."

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "Though with Gohan's style of magic being that of a mage's, the majority of his spellcraft is dependent upon the mental quotient, Filius. It requires a great deal more focus and, dare I say, power to perform than standard wizardry to get the same results. Most excellent boys. Most excellent indeed. I shall leave the 'testing' of your practical skills to that of your teachers, Mr. Son," he said to Gohan. "In the mean time, please join your fellow students in their lunch."

"Thank you, Professor," both brothers replied and hurried down to sit at the nearest available spots. Piccolo just grunted, nodded and turned to go, as the teachers all sat back in their seats and resumed their own meal.

Forbidden Forest

Snow had covered Hogwarts and the surrounding valley. Most were of mixed feelings about the weather, because first off; kids love to play in the snow. Even if those kids happen to be in their mid-seventies, but especially kids in their teens!

On the other hand, running in one to three feet of snow, or climbing mountains in nothing but workout clothes is a bit extreme, even for Wizards. Even those that did nothing but fly around using their ki found that difficult as something about the cold weather made it extremely difficult to focus their ki properly. Even bundled up and with warming charms and other winter-protective magic in use, the majority of students stayed bundled up indoors next to their cozy little fireplaces, or around conjured flames to provide some extra warmth while playing in the snow outside.

Only those truly dedicated to their training and developing their ki skills bothered with their usual routines. And even then they stayed out for maybe half the time that they would've on warmer days.

Then there was Piccolo, Harry and Gohan.

He'd taken his two students to the deepest part of the forest, where there were little to no other creatures, particularly that rather large spiders that nested approximately two and a half miles from the school. This area was, like the rest of the valley, covered in snow and ice and was several degrees below freezing. Piccolo had made sure they'd both come dressed only in their combat gis; Gohan in his sleeveless purple with blue sash and thick white collar, and Harry in the red top and pants with navy t-shirt and the Namekian symbol for Piccolo's name on the back. Of course, they were both shivering, though, Harry at least had enough pride to try not to show it too much.

"Listen up, because we don't have a lot of time for the two of you to learn this," Piccolo snapped at them, arms crossed, his cape fluttering in the freezing wind. "A few years back, as I'm sure you both remember, Goku and I were attacked by a former ally of our current headache that is Dr. Gero. Namely a deceased scientist by the name of Dr. Wheelo. His base was set up around the Arctic Circle. Goku and I nearly lost that fight for several reasons, the number one of which was that we hadn't trained to fight in those kinds of conditions. And as we all know, it is more difficult to channel your ki properly in a cold environment."

"Y-y-y-yyooo d-d-don't sss-eemmm to b-b-be havv-vving tr-tr-trouble, P-Piccol-lo ss-ssenss-say..." Harry stammered, having finally lost the battle with his body and wrapped his arms around himself as Gohan had ever since they'd left the castle.

"That is because both Goku and I trained to specifically handle extreme-cold environments and be able to fight at out best without any restrictions after that fight," Piccolo responded.

"Sss-so-oh," Gohan chattered through his teeth, "we, we're out-tt h-here t-to le-errrn h-how t-to ff-ff-fight in-nngh c-c-c-cold w-weather-rr?"

"That is precisely why we're out here, now, at this time," he remarked. "And why we don't have much time. This cold front will be moving on by the day after tomorrow. You only have a little under two days to master this skill and prove it effective in extreme conditions. I know that your bodies are shivering and trying to do all they can to keep warm. It is basic biology, your muscles are constantly contracting and releasing to build up heat from energy use. Namekians are different, though I still struggled to build up my power in the cold."

"There are several ways to adapt and manage to still fight no matter how cold, or hot, the environment may get," he told them. "The most simple and straight-forward is just to allow your body to adapt and train in progressively colder conditions. For humans, that takes about two weeks to accomplish, provided they're taking care of their basic needs."

"Annn-nd n-neither one-of-us-arr-rr nn-normal humans!" Harry grunted through clenched teeth.

"The second easiest method is to cheat somehow," Piccolo teased them, drawing out their suffering in the cold weather. "Wheelo did it by discarding his human body and putting his mind into a robot body that didn't care about hot or cold. The witches and wizards back there," he cast his arm toward the direction of the castle," use magic to keep themselves warm. Now that you both can use magic, perhaps that'll work for both of you, but we're here so you can learn the ki techniques that we all," meaning the Z-Fighters, "developed to be able to handle fighting in extreme weather. At the very least, they'll allow you to more easily build up your power, and guarantee your survival until you can get somewhere more... comfortable."

"Sit down," he pointed at the quarter-meter depth snow drift, while he himself adopted a meditative posture three feet in the air.

Too busy shivering and chattering their teeth, Harry and Gohan couldn't spare the energy to gulp nervously or anything else, so they just did as their teacher bade them and settled into the snow. The only good part about it was that even with their body temperature, it was too damn cold for the snow to properly melt and soak their clothes!

"Now then," Piccolo began to instruct them, "Focus on your breathing. As difficult as it might be, you need to maintain your normal rhythm when gathering strength. Don't immediately begin powering up. Instead, focus on bringing your energy back into its normal flow. If you've paid attention, you will already see how it is spiking and trying to draw inward to your core rather than flowing through your body like it is supposed to. Once you've gotten your energy to flow normally again, I'll tell you the next step. Even if it takes you the rest of the night."

Both boys shivered one final time, and then closed their eyes and began to breath deeply, all the way to their bellies and focusing on getting their ki to flow through every cell of their bodies like it was supposed to. They still felt the cold, and quite frankly the both of them were amazed that their exposed skin hadn't already started turning blue, but this was important and they trusted their Sensei. Focusing on their breathing and internal energy allowed them to, at least partly, ignore the omnipresent cold, or how the heat was being sapped from them by the air and the wind and the snow and even the frozen ground. But then...

Then something started to happen.

The snow started to melt and soak their clothes. And their chilled breath seemed to hang about their bodies like a slowly growing fog bank. Within five minutes they were sitting on the forest floor, soaked grass beneath them and a radius of about a foot of melted snow around each of them.

"Good," Piccolo's voice brought them out of the near-meditative state. "Now power up just enough that you can extend your energy, and no more. Then, once you have the energy for it, start by mimicking the pathways and flow of your energy all around you, so that you are at the 'core', and it is like your whole body's energy field is extending out from there. But keep it as close to your actual body as you can. And be sure to maintain the same flow. If you do this right as you enter into a different environment, you won't lose precious time or waste energy trying to power up. After this, I'll show you ways to counter hypothermia, and also to drop your presence down to nothing without endangering your life."

"Is..." Harry asked, teeth no longer chattering, and still freezing, but at least able to control his body's response to the cold now, "Is it really necessary for us to learn it in Below Zero conditions, Piccolo-sensei? We could've learned this back at the Castle, in that Training Room we showed you! And then, I don't know, tested ourselves out here after you'd already shown these techniques to us!"

Piccolo's evil look told them all that they needed to know about why he'd chosen to show them these skills in this manner. They did indeed spend the entire night out in the forest, learning everything that Piccolo had to teach them about surviving and rapidly adapting to extreme cold. And then, just because he could, he kept them out until after Breakfast was already over to... 'refine' their new techniques. As it was, they barely made it to class on time, having to go back to their rooms to change into their school uniforms.

END Episode 15: "Hogwarts Winter"

(A.N. : OK, change of plans! I thought that I'd be finished with this story already, but between RL, lack of inspiration, and other personal stuff, THIS is as far as I've gotten in the six months since the Hiatus! At the time of this posting, I'm barely through a quarter of Chapter 16, and then there are a whole 4 more chapters after that! So! Here's the deal, and I apologize for the inconvenience, but it is what it is! I'm posting everything that I've got for the story right now, and I'm going to work on the rest as much as I can, but I won't post the rest until the Story Is Finished, and then I'll post and Complete it all at once, however long it ultimately takes. But not to worry. For all the Followers and those that have this story on their Alerts!, you can just sit back and wait for that notification that the story's been updated. Though feel free to read and reread the whole thing as many times as you like.

As to the questions that I keep getting asked and 'powers' to grant Harry and everything; In *this* universe, Merlin was a pansy compared to Harry. Harry Son's power with magic is enough to classify him as the 'next Archmage', though that won't happen until long after he graduates Hogwarts. Maybe by the Buu Saga, but not before then. Therefore, there will be no "granting" of old powers or tools or wands and staves to *this* Harry. The book they found in the Room of Requirement is the closest you'll get in this story. Now, yes, Spoiling it for those that wish to be spoiled, at some point, yes Harry will learn and master the Animagus transformation. I truly hoped to have that chapter where I reveal the available 'transformations' that McGonagall will tutor him in already done by now, but... *sigh*...

As for magic of 'different practices', for the sake of simplicity, let's say that anything at all having to do with runes, enchantments, or casting magic through writing and symbology, gets covered in his "Ancient Runes" class. Well... OK, earlier I misspoke, about Harry not getting any old tools or wands? He'll get the Deathly Hallows and they'll unveil his *FINAL* Transformation, but that is in like the *LAST* Story, so... it might very well be decades away from being written at the pace I'm going at. :( But no other 'outside boosts' OK? Thank you to all my readers for sticking with it, and thank you for all of the suggestions and ideas. Some of them have really helped and even caused me to go back and edit some of the future outlines I have for the story(s). I'll do my best to finish up the Arc here as quickly as I can. And feel free to PM me. I'll do what I can to reply when I can, between writing and IRL stuff! ENJOY!)