//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Charmed // Story: Equestrian Vacation // by Dragonboy111 //------------------------------// Rita Skeeter wasn't heard from for the rest of the holidays, which was a total win in Harry's book. Skeeter was a menace and deserved whatever affliction she was suffering from, not that Harry officially knew anything about that. The first day of term was unusually calm, at least by Hogwarts standards. Term started late, due to the concerns of whoever spiked the punch bowl on Christmas. So the first day was on Wednesday, which meant Harry had Charms that morning, which was preferable to History of Magic and Double Potions. However, entering the classroom, Harry was greeted with the bizarre sight of green robes. For some obscure reason, Slytherin was occupying half of the room. Harry was quick to spot Ron and Hermione, and he took a seat next to them. "What's Slytherin doing here?" "Apparently their schedules got shifted around. We'll be sharing class today with them." Hermione eyed the Slytherin class warily. "Worse yet, Malfoy and his cronies are here." True to Ron's words, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were sitting on the exact opposite side of the room. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. "Alright class, settle down. First off, I'd like to welcome you all back from winter break," said a rather jubilant Professor Flitwick. "Your schedules are out of place today, and I know Gryffindor hates sharing classes with Slytherin, but please manage for today. Secondly, about today's lesson. I was planning on new spells to teach, but have instead opted for a more practical lesson." Whispers spread through the class. "Do you all remember first year, when you were all taught the spell Wingardium Leviosa?" The class slowly nodded. "Today we will focused on a more advanced method of spellcasting. Anyone care to guess?" Several hands were raised in the air, Hermione noticeably first. "Miss Granger?" "I know we're not supposed to learn it until sixth year, but are we learning nonverbal spells?" Hermione asked curiously. "Good guess, but no. Anyone else?" Flitwick pointed to another student. "Advanced counter-charms?" "Nope." "Defensive charms?" "Try again." "Wandless magic?" Draco sneered sarcastically. "Certainly not. Good guesses, all of you. Today will be much simpler. You will practice dividing focus between spells today." Flitwick walked to stand in the middle of the classroom, where various objects from boxes to fruits were placed. "For example, when casting Wingardium Leviosa," a single box floated up, "I must keep my concentration on the spell or else—" the box dropped to the floor with a loud clang— "the spell fails. This is easy with one spell, but as the number of spells increases, so does the difficulty. So today you will be taking turns holding multiple spells active at once. You will not be graded on success, only effort. So, let's get started." At random, Flitwick took volunteers to demonstrate their ability. Many students opted for simple levitation of an object, though many couldn't manage an attempt at more than one instance of the same spell. The result was, more often than not, both spells failed. Some, like Hermione, managed to get two different spells active with manageable difficulty. But some ended up trying too much, like Malfoy. "Wingardium Leviosa! Wingardium Leviosa!" Malfoy said. It appeared to work for a second, with a box and one stack of papers shakily floating. "Ha! Look at this every—" His concentration lapsed, and the box he was floating dropped, harshly on his foot. The papers fluttered about, as they hadn't actually been levitating, but flying in the breeze. "OW!" Harry snorted. Classic Malfoy. Apparently, Malfoy took offense to that. "What, think you can do better, Potter?" he challenged. Harry smirked. "Yes, yes I can," Harry replied. "Anything you can do, I can do better." Harry asked if he could try, to which Flitwick had no objections. Harry walked to the center, briefly crossing eyes with Malfoy, both smirking all the while. Harry looked down at the pile of items, suddenly insecure. What if this didn't work? Harry was quick to stomp out those fears and took a deep breath. He'd practiced plenty. Harry held out his wand and hands, and for the briefest of moments, his irises reflected an emerald shade. He called upon the magic Twilight had taught him as he lifted his wand hand up like a conductor. Several boxes of various sizes were lifted, and Harry started moving them to be sorted by size. Harry could feel the looks of his classmates on him as he cast the magic, unaware he wasn't done. When Harry's left hand raised, Malfoy's stack of spilled papers rose to match, fluttering around him like a whirlwind. Whispers followed the stares, but Harry didn't care, he was having fun. Harry stacked all the papers in a clean stack off to the side, and he deposited the boxes in a nice pile, sorted exactly by size. Harry stepped back to admire his work. The class was uncharacteristically silent. "Well done Mister Potter! Twenty points to Gryffindor for exemplary magic! Give him a hand!" Flitwick declared in an uncharacteristically loud voice, the class not far behind in a round of applause. "A masterful example of not only multiple charms, but nonverbal magic as well! Let's review this." Flitwick walked up to Harry. "Now, can you tell that class what spells you used?" Oh ponyfeathers, Harry hadn't counted on Flitwick asking for an explanation. "A levitation spell, professor." "Which one? Would you mind repeating the incantation?" Harry was beginning to sweat. "It... Uh... Doesn't have one." "Mister Potter, all spells, even one intended for nonverbal use, have an incantation." "I was never taught it," Harry said numbly. "It's casting has no verbal components." "Than how does one know what spell they are casting?" Flitwick asked. Harry drilled himself on what Twilight had said about unicorn magic. "It's less about the spell itself, and more of the intended effect. Normally you wave the wand and say the words and the spell does its job. This magic is more like the 'spell' is merely knowing what I want and how my magic does it," Harry said, trying his best to explain the phenomenon of Equestrian magic. "Well, that doesn't quite make sense, Potter," Flitwick replied, obviously confused. "I'm sorry professor, that's how the spell works," Harry apologized. The class chatted excitedly. "Professor, Potter's clearly lying. Obviously the attention from the first task is getting to him," Malfoy sneered. "Next he's going to say he can cast wandless magic, like his fake ball partner. Arrogant Mr. Chosen One," Malfoy mocked. Harry's anger flared. "Bet." Harry replied hotly. "Excuse me?" Malfoy said. "I bet I can." "Bet five point you can't!" "Double or nothing!" "Professor!" Protested Hermione. "They can't do that, can they?" "Ordinarily not, but I can't deny my curiosity. I'll allow it, just this once." Flitwick turned to the two boys, missing Hermione's horrified look. "Potter, if you can do even the slightest bit of wandless magic, I'll award you an additional twenty points, and deduct five from Slytherin. If you can't, ten from Gryffindor and five to Slytherin." Flitwick held out his hand, into which Harry deposited his wand. Harry backed up a few steps. "Harry! What are you doing!?" whispered Hermione. "Wandless magic is far beyond our lessons! It's not in the books! Most wizards can't do it!" Harry paid her no mind. He needed to focus. Unicorns didn't use wands for powerful spells, their bodies naturally channeled it through their horns. Wizards used wands instead of horns. Elves and goblins could easily cast spells on their own. Madame Pince had confirmed that wandless magic was a feat some wizards could do. Twilight had done it easily enough, and she was using Equestrian magic. Harry just had to concentrate on his spell without his wand. Harry closed his eyes and focused on one item small enough to be easy to lift. His hand stretched out, eyes focusing on an item behind closed eyelids. Harry moved his hand up and opened his eyes. Nothing on the pile had moved. "Ha! All bark and no bite, Potter! Looks like I win!" the Slytherin declared triumphantly. Harry smirked. "Check again, Malfoy." Harry dropped his hand, and Malfoy's thick, heavy, potions book slammed down on his head. Everyone had been too focused on Harry and the pile they hadn't noticed he was actually aiming for the book in Malfoy's bag. Once everyone realized exactly what transpired, hushed whispers perforated the room. "Oh... Uh, well done Harry. Uh, twenty points to—" The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Harry was quick to dash out of the classroom. Harry ran, though he wasn't sure where he was going. Charms was his last class of the day, so he was free to go. Harry continued to rush through the castle, randomly teleporting throughout the building in an attempt to find a quiet place. Eventually, he arrived in one of the quietest places in the school. The restricted section of the library. Harry quickly sat himself down and took deep breaths. He forgot how heavy the class's eyes felt to him. He could feel the envy and ire seeping from those who felt like Harry had shown them up. It felt so much worse here, worse than normal. This was so much easier in Equestria. There was no Boy Who Lived, the scar meant nothing, and Harry's skills were his. His magic was nowhere near Twilight's level and (in his humble opinion) probably below average by unicorn standards, but his achievements felt real, they were his own. But in this world they were strange, abnormal. How ironic. Even amongst wizards, he was different. Why was being normal so hard!? It wasn't like Harry wanted to be average, but the animosity that came with attention was less than desirable. "I thought I might find you here," an old voice said. Harry looked up to see Dumbledore enter the library's restricted section. "I was told you left your class after a rather impressive display of magic." "I let my ego get ahead of me," Harry sighed. "At first it was just the nonverbal magic, but then I got prideful because I wanted to show up Malfoy with wandless magic. The class is jealous of me and that's my fault." "Not necessarily. There is no shame in using your skills, it happens to the best of us. I wasn't called the greatest wizard of the century for nothing." Dumbledore let out a little chuckle. The headmaster moved to stand next to Harry. "We cannot always control every skill we have, but we can always choose how to use them." He sat down in a nearby chair. "I take it this was a skill learned from your vacation spot?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded. "That place clearly has had a positive affect on you, not just magically." "Yes sir." The edges of Harry's mouth curved upwards. Suddenly, Harry was reminded of some very important facts. "Headmaster, I have a few questions." "Of course, young Harry, what is it?" "I've been thinking about my scar. I always thought it was a mark left by the killing curse. But... The more I learn about it, the less sense it makes," Harry said, tracing the mark. A curious, yet grave, look came over Dumbledore. "Ah, yes. I too have been thinking about that particular part of you. It's my theory that you two are connected by the curse that failed." "Professor," Harry protested, "how could a killing curse forge a mental connection? Why was Voldemort's body destroyed when the spell rebounded? Nothing about what happened that night makes any sense. It's just, the more I think about it, the more I believe that theory can't be right." "What prompted this questioning?" Dumbledore asked, a concerned look about him. "While in Equestria, I visited a place called the Crystal Empire. It's an entire city made of gemstones that recently reappeared after over a thousand years. It's absolutely gorgeous." Harry reached up to rub at his scar, content to feel it as no different than normal. "I got to meet the ruler, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. And then..." Harry spaced off. He was unconscious for the whole thing and delirious for even longer, but Twilight was kind enough to fill him in. "I take it something happened to your scar. Did it give you a vision again?" Harry looked puzzled at the oddly specific question. "How did you—?" "You are not Sirius's only contact. I am aware of your previous dreams. Now, about your scar, did it hurt?" Dumbledore put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Yes, it did. When we touched, there was a spark, and my scar felt like it was on fire. I passed out in seconds. While I was unconscious, Twilight said a shadow... thing came out of me." "A shadow?" Dumbledore sounded very concerned, the closest Harry had ever heard Dumbledore to being scared. "Apparently, its magic acted like the former dark king of the empire. I was lucky Cadance was there to subdue it." "Cadance?" "The princess, it's the name she prefers," Harry explained. "Anyways, after she stopped it from spreading the shadows retreated into my scar. It's been too weak to do anything since. We think it reacted to Cadance's unique magical source, love. My mother's protection, formed from love, must have gained power from Cadance's aura, and tried to expel the darkness left behind." Harry was silent as Dumbledore began to think deeply. "So the magical protections tried to expel the remains of Voldemort's curse." "With all due respect, professor, whatever this thing is, it doesn't feel like a curse, it feels alive, or at least not-dead. It tethers me to Voldemort's mind. I've see through Voldemort's eyes, felt his emotions, stolen his skills. Professor, what is this thing in my scar?" Harry watched as Dumbledore's face contorted through numerous emotions, ranging from contemplative to concerned. The familiar shine in his eyes had been snuffed out. Eventually, his face became impossible for Harry to read. "I... I don't know." Dumbledore placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder. "But I promise you, I will find out."