Those of you starting to read this before the first book, sorry for the confusion. Go read the first book before this one, or you won't get most of this, or understand who a few people are. Apologies.
This is really chapter 1, but since it's a sequel it makes me feel better to say chapter 30. After all, I've written that much. Besides, I labeled this when I was planning on it being in the same book. But, by request, I've turned it into two. And eventually there will be a third. And a fourth. All because I enjoy writing it.
Disclaimer (as this is the start of another story, I think): I only own who you don't recognize, story changes you don't recognize, and personalities you don't recognize. Other than that, I'm borrowing, with full intention of putting back in the toy box later. Promise.
Summary: In Harry's second year of Hogwarts the Chamber of Secrets is opened again. What happens now, with the real Heir of Slytherin in school, but innocent? And the students still accusing Harry? Can he clear his name and save the school in the process? (Sequel to Book 1, obviously.)
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Chapter 30, Training Starts
Wednesday, Two weeks after End-of-Term
"Come on in." Albus didn't look up from his desk.
Harry came and sat down across from the old man.
"You didn't shut the door, Harry."
Harry swiveled in his chair and stared at the door. Under his pointed gaze the door swung swiftly shut. Harry allowed himself a small smile and turned back to the Headmaster.
Dumbledore looked up and smiled. "Good, Harry. Now bring me some tea."
Harry looked across the room at an expensive china tea set on a table. He concentrated and the pot lifted, pouring some of its contents into a cup. The sugar container opened and a spoon dipped in, scooping some sugar to drop into the cup. The spoon then stirred the tea and dropped back next to it. Harry stared at the cup and it rose into the air, on the little plate, and floated over to a smiling Albus.
Dumbledore took the cup and smiled at Harry, who was now slumped in his seat.
"Are you all right, Harry?"
Harry sat up. "Fine… just need a little recovery time."
"You've never practiced wandless magic before this 'training', Harry?"
"Well, I've done it before, but never on purpose, and it's never so exhausting."
"You need to practice. It's like sports, you need to exercise to keep in shape."
"So I need to constantly practice to make my mind strong enough to do stuff?"
"Yes, like that. And the more you practice the stronger you get."
"Does that mean I should try to work even when my mind is tired?"
"Yes, but don't overdo it. The results could be catastrophic."
"What should I do just for practice?"
"We went over this last week, Harry." Albus went back to his papers. "Remember? I have a lot of work to do during the summer. I just need you to check in with me."
"Please? You told me to make things float around, and go without my wand for everyday activities, but what if that's too hard when I'm tired, and I need to do something easier?"
"Open and shut doors, Harry. They require only the pushing and pulling of the mind. If you exercise enough you'll be moving the school's staircases with your mind by the end of the summer. And you won't have to be staring at it to make it work, either."
"You think so?"
He sighed. "Yes, Harry."
"I'll let you go then," Harry said. He turned and opened the door with his mind, then walked through it, turned and shut it with his mind, and proceeded down the stairs.
He went down into the dungeons and Snape's chambers, where Vitesse was laying on his bed, arguing with Salazar Slytherin's daughter.
"Do you mind if I practice with you, Vitesse?"
The snake came sliding out of the bedroom. "Practissse what?"
"Wandlessss magic."
"Go ahead, Harry."
Harry stared at the snake and lifted his hand, palm up. It began to levitate around the room. The Cobra told him to stop after awhile, which was fine, because Harry himself was feeling much more exhausted than when he had left Dumbledore's weekly meeting.
He read until he was tired and retreated to bed.
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Saturday came quickly, with Harry practicing as often as he could to attempt to make himself stronger. As he practiced harder and harder things, he could plainly see that Dumbledore was right: the practice was indeed strengthening his mind. Slowly, but surely.
"Ready for Defense classes, Harry?" Snape asked, sitting heavily down in a lounge chair.
Harry closed the book and stood. "Sure."
Professor Snape took out his wand and waved the furniture out of the way. "Duel position," he said.
Harry held his wand out in dueling stance, and Snape did the same.
"Expelliarmus!"
Snape blocked it, "Protego!" and sent Harry an "Expelliarmus!"
Harry's wand flew out of his hand, and Harry stumbled backwards a bit. But now Snape had Harry's wand, and Harry was back in dueling position without a wand.
Harry saw it all in slow motion. Snape's wand was rising again, and Harry was concentrating.
First it was an 'expelliarmus', the word not even having to leave Harry's mouth for both wands to go flying out of his Professor's hands and the Professor himself to stumble backwards. Then a mental 'petrificus totalus' froze Snape in place and he fell.
Harry quickly lifted the curse with his wand and ran over, surprised.
Professor Snape sat up and rubbed his temple.
"I am so sorry, Professor. I didn't realize—"
"It's all right, Harry." He stood, wincing. "How did you do that? I couldn't even block it because I didn't hear you say the curse."
"That's because I didn't."
"Pardon?"
"Can we finish this later? My head hurts. Professor Dumbledore says it's mental exhaustion."
"Go rest, tell me later."
Harry nodded and went into his bedroom, where Vitesse was arguing with Saliza Slytherin again.
"Take it somewhere elssse," Harry said, and both caught the tone of his voice. They quieted, and Harry was asleep the moment he crawled into bed.
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"So tell me, then." Snape stared at Harry.
Harry was now well rested and having his brain picked in Dumbledore's office. "I concentrated on the spell and the outcome and it happened. Professor Dumbledore's been teaching—or training, more likely—me to do magic without my wand. He's told me to concentrate on what I want to happen, so I did."
Dumbledore said, "Wandless magic, of course, but usually it would take longer for you to master things such as curses and dueling spells. It takes a lot of training to get that strength of mind, but it's only been two weeks since end of term, since you started this training."
"What does that mean?"
"It means, like I said before, that you're stronger than the average wizard. If you knew the extent of your abilities it would be better, but what can we do?"
Snape said, "We can try to learn the extent of his abilities."
Dumbledore turned to his Potions Master. "That would take extensive tests, things we don't have time for, not to mention it would be extremely exhausting on Harry's part."
"What are the benefits of knowing?" Harry asked. "Because I'm willing to try. And train. Whatever it takes."
"That's very honorable Harry, but it would be unforgivable if you got hurt or worse, killed," said Snape.
Harry turned to him. "If this prophecy Professor Dumbledore told me about is true, then I either kill or be killed. I would prefer to kill, just as I said before. But I won't be able to without these 'tests', so, at the risk of being killed by someone other than Voldemort, I'm willing to do the tests."
"It'll be years before you're forced to kill, Harry."
"You honestly think so? Because I don't. I think that he's going to try to come back at every possible opportunity, and eventually, he will succeed. We won't always be able to stop him from coming back. You've said so yourself. He's brilliant, resourceful, even if a bit insane. He'll be using every resource he has to regain power. We have to be ready for him, or we're in trouble."
Dumbledore and Snape looked at each other. They knew he was right.
"Fine. I'll ask Minerva to deal with the papers and technicalities, she's the Deputy Headmistress after all. We need to train Harry."
Harry broke into a smile. "Good then. Let the training commence."
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Harry's wand flew out of his hand and he turned to his attacker. Filius Flitwick was coming at him. Harry's mouth dropped open and he concentrating on binding the Professor. The mental 'delegavi' was effective and Flitwick fell over, bound and roped. He quickly 'accio'ed his fallen wand and turned to his next attacker, Rubeus Hagrid, who was wielding a spark-shooting umbrella.
"Stupify!"
The jet of red light bounced off Hagrid and Harry got frustrated quickly. He blocked Hagrid's 'expelliarmus' with a 'protego' and tried 'petrificus totalus' on the huge man. Hagrid became stiff and fell over, so Harry turned to his next attacker, who cast 'silentium vox' on him then turned into a cat and ran off. Harry was left incapable of saying the spells, thereby leaving him only to his limited wandless magic.
He sensed something behind him and whirled around to find Severus Snape, wand poised. Harry seemed to feel what was coming and focused on the 'murus vitrum' spell, which reflected his professor's 'stupefy' back to him.
By then Harry was exhausted and didn't even have the power to block the next attacker's 'delegavi'. He fell over, bound from head to foot, and closed his eyes.
"I… surrender," he said, breathing heavily. He opened his eyes to Professor Dumbledore's smiling face and twinkling eyes.
"Good, Harry," the man said, unbinding him and helping him up. Harry watched while the older man undid all of Harry's enchantments.
"Sir," Harry said, catching his breath, after all the professors were moving again, "why couldn't I stupefy Hagrid?"
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "Do you want to tell him, Hagrid?" he asked.
Hagrid shrugged. "I'm 'alf-giant, 'Arry. I figure I can trust ye."
Harry nodded. "So half-giants are immune to 'stupefy'?"
"Nah, giant's are, but I'm just harder ta stupefy than tha average man."
Harry said, "Oh, okay. Will I ever have the power to 'stupefy' half-giants."
Dumbledore said, "Maybe, with practice, Harry."
"Why don't you sit down, Harry," Snape said, rubbing his arse where he had fallen from his own stupefy. "Since it won't hurt you to do so."
"Sorry," Harry said, "I didn't mean to."
"Course not," Severus growled.
They were in the great Hall, in a large square in the center, where it was surrounded by a wall Dumbledore had constructed with hidden doors that all the Professors had been jumping out of individually in no specific pattern to see how well Harry reacted.
Albus conjured up a chair for Harry to sit in while the staff gathered around.
"You up for another round, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "It gets easier to go longer each time. I was just a bit tired. Remember, the first time I didn't make it past Hagrid. Now I only fell to Professor Dumbledore."
"Of course, you didn't fight me, either," Minerva McGonagall said. "I just made it so you couldn't say the spells."
"Which makes it harder for me because I can't use my wand," said Harry.
Dumbledore began looking off into space, thinking. "You know, Harry, you could probably lift jinxes like that yourself."
The rest of the Professors and Harry and Hagrid looked at him.
"If you can make spells happen without saying the spell out loud, then why shouldn't you be able to lift them off yourself?" Dumbledore raised his wand to Harry and said "Silentio."
Harry found himself unable of speaking. He began to worry before remembering the point of the test, and concentrating on 'finite incantem.' After a few seconds he tried to speak, and it worked.
The professors all smiled at him (except Snape, who smirked, of course) and stepped aside.
Minerva McGonagall wore a small frown. "I don't quite understand how all this works," she said to Albus.
He began to think. "Well, the key to almost all magic, with a wand, is pronunciation of the spells and the flick of the wand. But magic without a wand is a completely different story. I suppose you could say the spells out loud, but what good would that do? If Harry had to say 'wingardium leviosa' every time he was levitating something around, why should he bother with the stress of no wand? No, the words aren't necessary. You have to concentrate on the desired result. Only the best of the best can do wandless magic, because not only does it take power and skill, it also takes imagination, because—"
"Visualization," Harry said, understanding. "Whenever I concentrate, I try to visualize what it would be if I got the result, and just try to picture it until it happens."
McGonagall gave a tight smile. "But how do you visualize the lift of the 'silentium vox' spell, or 'silencio'?"
Harry grinned. "That's the difference, you still use some level of visualization, but you're imagining a different result. When I was focusing on getting my voice back I concentrated on the sound of my voice, and what it would be like to hear it again, and of course 'finite incantem' for the spell, and then all the sudden I could talk. When I wanted to bind Professor Flitwick I imagined what he would look like tied up, unable to cast spells."
Snape raised an eyebrow. Flitwick looked absolutely delighted. Dumbledore was twinkling, proud. Hagrid appeared mildly surprised. And lastly, McGonagall seemed slightly perturbed.
"So I can do anything with this, then, and all I have to do is visualize it."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far, Harry," Dumbledore said, a bit pained all of the sudden. "Don't get over power-hungry, or this could end up disastrous."
Harry looked at his lap and suddenly Vitesse was there, looking very confused for a snake. She turned to a grinning Harry, "What am I doing here? Harry, thisss is all your fault! I was busy in a rather heated conversation with Sssaliza!"
"Don't worry, I'll put you back," Harry said, concentrating. And the snake was gone.
The professors were all looking a little shocked. Except Dumbledore. He was still looking mildly pained.
"Aren't you a bit tired, Harry?" Severus asked.
Harry shook his head. "I'm experimenting. Too busy to be tired." He stopped to think. "I wonder…" Harry closed his eyes and concentrated, and when he opened them again, the Professors, except Dumbledore (who was looking amused), were all even more shocked.
"Did he reappear in a different part of the castle?" Flitwick asked. "Is it kind of like apparating?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he could do that, also, but no, he's just invisible."
Harry walked up to Snape and waved a hand in front of his face. The professor saw right through him. Harry concentrated, and his hand reappeared, scaring the hell out of Severus. The man gave an uncharacteristic yelp and jump backwards, to the amusement and fright of the rest of the gathering.
Snape was furious, and Harry doubted whether or not he should make an appearance. He decided to reappear.
"Should I try this apparating-like thing then?" he asked.
Dumbledore shrugged his shoulders, eyes still carrying leftover twinkle from Severus's show. "I don't see the harm."
Harry closed his eyes and tried to picture different scenery around him, and when he opened his eyes, he was in the Potions lab a cauldron was simmering on Professor Snape's desk. He grinned and silently placed himself back into the Great Hall, in front of some very happy professors and Hagrid.
"How hard is that, Harry?" asked Flitwick, after watching Harry flicker back into sight.
"Not very," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders. "The photographic memory helps, since I can easily picture the rooms and scenery in my mind. And even if I don't know what certain things look like, it's not hard to visualize and imagine."
"That's a very good thing, Harry," Dumbledore said. "But for now I think we should exercise this new power you seem to possess, therefore I think another test is in order…"
The old man took Harry's wand and hid it in his extensive robes. He got rid of the walls that were restricting the rest of the Great Hall and said, "Harry, go over there where you can't hear. The other professors and I need to plan. And no sneaking up on us. Believe me, I'll know."