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If not working on the cabinet and on the wasp enchantment had cleared up about six hours from Harry's week, then Quirrell putting an abrupt end to their deal freed up about another six.
For his end of that deal Harry had been grading homework about four hours every week, while also suffering the magical abuse disguised as teaching of the dark wizard for two. If he really wanted to, he could have also counted the time that he now didn't have to spend in recovery after their sessions.
Suffice to say, for all that Harry's usage of his higher level spells, the wasps, aqua eruptio, the hydromancy and the transfiguration enchantment had been a bit amateurish during his duel with Quirrell, now that he had more time he was sure he could get them to an acceptable level by the end of the school-year.
There was only one thing that Harry had forgotten to ask, having thought that he'd have more time and having been blindsided by the abrupt end of Quirrell cancelling their deal.
He'd never been able to ask about how Quirrell had seen him that night on Halloween, when Harry had been hiding in the corner of the destroyed bathroom under his invisibility spell.
The answer was, of course, obvious. Just like all living beings had a temperature signature, either more or less warm than their surroundings, so did all magical beings have a magical signature.
The main issue with wanting to have the ability to hide from others under the invisibility spell thus wasn't realising that those with magic sense could pick up that someone was there, but on how to suppress that signature in the first place.
As Quirrell had explained, magic became a bigger and bigger part of what made a wizard's body function. The easiest solution to not wanting to be discovered was thus to cut that connection, which led to the unfortunate problem of self-induced magical exhaustion.
Additionally, even if one somehow managed to completely suppress one's own magical signature, the disillusionment and the noise-cancelling spell one used to hide oneself, always irradiated the surroundings with magic as well.
Thus, there was no really good solution. Harry could work on suppressing his signature to a small point where it didn't quite cause magical exhaustion, but simply became a blip in other people's senses. But, if he did that, his disillusionment spell would still reveal him. Even if he somehow managed to acquire an invisibility cloak, something that was possible, but would break his bank a bit, he would still be vulnerable to the average homenum revelio as that spell picked up life signs and not magic.
Harry's anonymity, at least in regards to high-level magicals who could sense magic, was thus not something he felt like he would be able to achieve.
In a way that was good, as it made assassination attempts on him much more difficult as well.
On the other hand, it was bad because escaping from a dangerous situation against someone who had it out for him and could actually do something about it, a list that was slowly getting smaller as Harry grew older, was very hard.
The safest way out of a pickle still seemed to be the Dobby-Express, which was just all kinds of funny.
It did explain, however, how Dumbledore had never fallen prey to an assassination attempt, considering that he had likely been the target number one during the entirety of the blood war.
If it had been possible to wear an invisibility cloak, suppress one's magical signature and then also be immune to the homenum revelio spell without ruining the suppression of the magical signature, Dumbledore would have likely been dead already.
This whole thing just forefronted why the invisibility cloak currently in the possession of James Potter or Neville was such a big deal. Reading the books, it had been a bit confusing as to why exactly an invisibility cloak, something seemingly replicable with a simple spell, was counted in the same trio as a stone that could summon the shades of the dead and a wand that significantly boosted the power of its wielder.
But, now Harry understood. If the invisibility cloak could really hide the wearer even from death, turn the user invisible, delete their magical signature, as it seemingly could considering how in the books Harry had seen Voldemort execute Snape without getting caught, then it was an og artefact.
Which made him wonder…
He sat in the Potions Room he and Penny had warded for privacy, in which the latter spent much of her time practising, and in which the former often came to not be shit at potions. He sat at the windowsill looking down at Hagrid's hut as it spewed thick smoke from its chimney.
Three small forms ran up to the door and knocked on it, at which point the half-giant opened the door, dressed all over in protective equipment such as a thick apron and oven mitts, and shooed them inside.
Norberta hatching, it seemed. But without Ron, would the golden trio have the connections to get the dragon out of Hogwarts when Hagrid inevitably realised how stupid it was to try and raise a dragon in a wooden hut?
Without Draco being such a prat, would the scene replicate itself, where Neville dropped the invisibility cloak, if he even had it, at the tower when the group got caught by Filch.
Probably not, the world was already different enough, and too many things had changed.
"Been a while since you've been here," Penny commented idly as she added some crushed snake fangs to the ageing potion she was making. The longer-lasting one Harry liked to use during the summers, and occasionally during the weekends, since he could now have Dobby zap him away from Hogwarts.
"It seems me and Slughorn were right back then," the boy said idly. "I just needed to complete most of the basic steps several times to teach my magic how to interact with Potions. The wandless magic I practised as a child disturbed the instinctual interaction required by Potions."
Penny nodded thoughtfully. "With the way you're brewing these days, maybe you'll even manage an EE this year," she tried to say in a gesture of support.
Harry laughed out loud. "Well, I don't think we need to set our expectations that high. At the same time that I'm improving, the potions are getting more difficult to make. You just don't see it that way, because for every part that I'm not talented at potions, you are," he replied encouragingly.
The blonde girl remained silent at that, looking somewhat absent-mindedly at her cauldron.
"You know," Harry said. "You could probably advance this year. I meant what I said last time."
"I'm not like you, Harry. I can't work as hard, and I can't get as much out of hard work as you can," the other Hufflepuff replied.
"Hey, if I'm special and skipped ahead in two classes. I'm sure you can do one," the redhead joked.
Penny breathed in deeply before exhaling. "Do you really think I can do it?" she asked with an amount of vulnerability that was perhaps unnecessary, but made sense. She was a thirteen year old girl.
"Of course you can!" Harry said encouragingly.
"Alright, then maybe it's worth a try, can't have you all leaving me behind," she muttered.
"All of us?" Harry asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Is there something I didn't know about?"
Penny paused and blushed, as if she'd just blurted out something she shouldn't have. "Well, Cedric has floated the idea of trying transfiguration. He took it to heart when you said it's likely easier to skip fourth year rather than fifth year."
"I'm surrounded by overachievers," Harry complained with a sigh.
"Oh, shut up," Penny growled, at which point they returned to a companionable silence.
A few minutes passed, both focused on doing their own thing, Penny on the ageing potion and Harry on basking in the sun streaming through the window.
The interruption came in the form of a black owl which suddenly flew in through the open window and stumbled to a stop on the floor, a letter clutched in its talons.
The black owl tiredly looked around before it saw Harry and narrowed its large eyes at the boy. It hopped towards him and extended a leg, the boy kneeling down to take the magicless letter from it.
"Don't have any treats for you at the moment, sorry," Harry said, causing the owl to huff and wait around as he opened the letter and briefly skimmed its contents. A grimace slowly developed on his face.
"What is it?" Penny asked.
Harry, with conflicting emotions, answered. "It's Snape."
"You were looking all over for him last time for some Merlin-forsaken reason, and now you wish you hadn't?" Penny asked, annoyed. "Make up your mind, he's a very talented Potions Master!" she exclaimed.
"My feelings on the matter have nothing to do with his mastery of Potions," Harry said with a sigh. "But regardless, I think I have to go and discuss something with Flitwick," he said and started for the door.
Just before he opened it, he paused. "Write down any questions you have on the advancement procedure," he told the girl. "I can help you develop a study plan later if you want, after you also get Slughorn's input."
Penny nodded while rolling her eyes, something Harry knew wasn't as easy as it looked. "Go do your thing, Mr. Busy, I'll see you in the common room."
Harry smiled at the girl, waved, and exited the room.
-/-
"Good progress on the mists," Flitwick commented as he finished examining the haunted figures emerging from the Mists of Moria that Harry had conjured for the man.
The visibility of the Charms classroom was zero, thick fog blocking all light and almost even sound.
"Using the spell outside reduces its efficacy," Harry said from his position in the mist. "I thought I was more ahead than I was until I tried it on the Hogwarts grounds."
A moment of silence passed from Flitwick's side. "That makes sense, I hadn't thought of that. Enclosed spaces don't represent as much of a challenge, of course. Regardless, from what I'm seeing now, you'll be ready to use the spell by this summer, even if you won't." The man chuckled at his joke.
Harry grimaced. Losing intentionally even if he could win? Just to not draw parallels to Grindelwald? It rankled.
"Another year, another spell," he said, instead of voicing this opinion.
"We'll figure something out after the tournament," Flitwick replied. "For now, let's continue our work on the mists. I will try to dispel them now, let's see how long it holds up." Another moment passed. "Discute Augurium!" the professor suddenly incanted loudly, causing the mists to promptly shrivel up on itself and dissipate. It was a process that took approximately three seconds, leaving behind a barren classroom where the tables and chairs had been set aside to provide more space.
The short half-goblin professor twirled his moustache and hummed, wand still raised. "The general counter-spell to enchantments," he explained as he finally lowered his wand. He nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good progress, had someone of less skill than me used the spell, it would have taken even longer to dissipate. It will become thicker and more difficult to dispel the more you practice, so do that in your free time. How are the other projects?" the man then asked.
Harry scratched the back of his head. "Everything has been faster since I stopped with the enhancement project. My wasp swarm is enormous now. Decent size if I cast it quickly, which I will have to in the tournament. Aqua Eruptio, I can't say much, I can turn it on and off, then control the water somewhat once it's there."
"Already a feat most struggle with," Flitwick mused, before shaking his head. "Sorry for interrupting. Is there anything else?"
Harry tilted his head and wondered. His control over flames, as seen in his duel with Quirrell, had grown. Not enough to match the man, obviously, but he could increase the temperature and size much more quickly than before.
Instead of answering the man directly he simply twirled his wand in the air, summoning a whip of fire which he slowly willed to increase in temperature until it went from red, to orange and then a bit in the middle, to white. He swiped his once a few times in the air, forming a triangle, a circle and a square, before dispelling the whip.
Flitwick's eyebrows merged together as if to have a private conversation. "White fire, your control has grown again. Don't hit anyone with that; even a touch will cause extremely severe burns. Stick to orange in duels and simply expand in size, that at least can be healed with just a potion or two."
Harry nodded; he'd have to pay attention to that. He was slowly starting to master magic to the point where using too much force could end someone's life. He hadn't learned any truly lethal spells before, other than the killing curse, which he'd used to destroy the diary horcrux, but his flames? They were dangerous. Similarly, Aqua Eruptio, if it were cast at someone's head, would smash it to a pulp as the emerging water shot out with a mighty pressure from whichever depths it resided in.
"I've been meaning to ask," Harry suddenly started before Flitwick could end the session. They'd worked on their fundamentals with a few short duels, before the man had asked him to showcase his progress. It would usually be time to go, but he'd been trying to find something in the library for a while now, but was running out of ideas.
"Go on, I've never begrudged a question," the professor said with a jolly laugh as he started waving his wand to get the classroom back in order.
"I can sense magic, I can even sense if someone is disillusioned. But is there a way to hide oneself from someone who can sense magic, since disillusionment naturally wouldn't work?" Harry asked, thinking of the time when Quirrell had seen through his trying to hide his involvement in the death of the troll back on Halloween.
The professor finished arranging the classroom before he answered. "The short answer is no. The long answer is that it's almost a paradox. If you disillusion yourself, you are using magic to hide, which makes you all the more visible to the magical senses. Casting a spell to suppress your innate magical signature would be using magic to suppress magic; therefore, similarly, you would at best achieve a dampening effect. There are ways to control one's magic as it flows from one's body, even ways to fully suppress it. India, I believe. I have no idea how, but through intense meditation, they can become one with their surroundings."
"So there's no way, truly?" Harry asked.
Flitwick shook his head. "Once a witch or wizard has attained sufficient mastery in magical sensing, it is almost impossible to sneak up on them, perhaps if they are sleeping. In the last war… Many tried to get rid of the headmaster, but none succeeded. There is a reason for that."
"I imagine the same holds true for Voldemort," Harry muttered.
Flitwick looked at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before nodding. "There is a reason a wand-wielding magical of sufficient power is feared above all. It is nearly impossible to get rid of them in anything but a straightforward fight, and if they don't like their chances, they can usually easily escape." He shook his head. "But don't you worry about that, next week we'll learn a special new spell to regulate sensory input to norm-defined levels. It should prevent you from losing because of a sonic attack like last year. It will be quite a complicated charm, so I wanted to wait until you had made progress with the mists before introducing it."
Harry blinked in surprise. He'd forgotten all about his loss at this point. It had been… Half a year. "That would be useful, thank you, professor," he said.
"Off you go then," Flitwick nodded happily and shooed him away. It was getting late, and the man likely had assignments to correct. Harry felt a bit bad for a moment; he'd been taking tutelage from Flitwick for about two years now, but unlike Potter or Quirrell, he'd never helped unburden the man by helping correct the Charms homework. It wasn't like he'd had the time… But now, with Quirrell having finished their tutelage?
Maybe it would be better to be selfish now.
He was made to leave.
"Oh, and about the disappearing from magical senses. There is one way," Flitwick idly said after him. "A myth, more than anything. But supposedly, the Peverells once possessed a cloak, centuries ago, which could hide even magic. Other than the Yogis in India, who have to sit still for their suppression to work, that is the only method I've ever even heard of."
"Thank you, professor," Harry said as he exited the classroom, the heavy wooden door shutting itself noisily behind him.
A glimmer of movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he stepped towards a window from which one could see Hagrid's hut, which, for the first time in months, was not belching thick smoke from its chimney.
A trio of children were running towards it, again. Neville, Harley, Hermione. Their black cloaks flapped in the wind.
"The cloak," Harry muttered. "All three in one castle." Dumbledore surely had the stone by now. He also still had the wand.
There hadn't seemingly been much of an effect when the original Harry Potter had combined the three artefacts. Other than the fact that he'd been able to come back to life after being headshot by the killing curse. Which had been hinted to have been the result of the fact that the killing curse killed the horcrux, not the boy.
"Not worth thinking about," Harry decided. He had other things to do.
If the golden trio got caught smuggling a dragon out of Hogwarts, that was on them. Although… He paused. In the original books, it had been Charlie Weasley who'd helped them smuggle the dragon away. Charlie Weasley, who was now dead.
"They'll manage."
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AN: Probably the last of the rapid updates since we're at 572/500 followers on my original on RoyalRoad now. Maybe one more tomorrow if you squint and I get a bit lucky from other sources as well.
The tutoring with Quirrell is done, quickly onwards to the next mystery and plothook!
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