"We can eat and talk then, after that we'll see what we can do." Tonks offered getting agreement from Harry and Penny. So while the three ate together Harry told them about the strange fluctuation of Quirrel's mana amount and how he couldn't figure out what was going on. Neither girl could offer much explanation for such a large fluctuation when the Professor wasn't casting any spells. Nor did either of them have any idea about why the highest and lowest numbers were changing. Why would the highest number be shrinking and the lowest number be growing? The three agreed to go to the workshop after dinner to test the Scouter and make sure something hadn't gone wrong with the trinket.
"Alright Harrikins, scan me and we'll see if the Scouter is still accurate." Tonks offered to go first for the tests.
"Sure thing, let's see what it says." Harry replied as he scanned the Metamorph. "You've increased your mana amount again Tonks. You're clocking in at '5002' mana now. You must have been practicing a bit more lately."
"Of course, I want to get into the Aurors after I graduate, I need to have every advantage I can otherwise I'll be stuck in some desk job pushing papers around while I go through remedial courses. Screw that!" Tonks explained while looking disgusted at the thought of being a desk worker at the Ministry.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Tonks, even with your klutzy moments." Penny assured her friend with playful ribbing thrown in. Tonks, maturely, stuck her tongue out at the blonde. "My turn, Harry, I've been putting in a bit more practice in preparation for the OWL exams so I'm hoping I've gone up a bit."
"Well the Scouter doesn't seem to be broken yet, so let's get your reading." Harry nodded as he scanned Penny. "Huh, I think we can safely say your extra practice has paid off Penny. You're mana amount is currently '3678' that's a six hundred seventy two unit increase from when you used the Test Frame for the demonstration." Penny smiled happily and even gave a small cheer that her practice had paid off.
"Your turn, Harrikins! Let's see what you've got!" Tonks exclaimed as she took the Scouter from him and scanned the First Year. "Well now, seems you've been playing catch up since you spent so much of the break making your Safe. You're sitting at '582' mana right now. That's around one hundred seventy six units more than your last demonstration. Are you trying to catch up to us?" She asked teasingly getting Harry to roll his eyes at her.
"So the Scouter isn't broken, but that still doesn't explain Quirrel's weird reading." Harry mused as he looked the Scouter over glad that it wasn't damaged.
"Well, just keep an eye on him when you're in class I guess. If it continues you could always tell another teacher about it. Just say you're worried that Quirrel might not be in good health." Tonks shrugged.
"Maybe he did something to himself and his Magic is fluctuating until it stabilizes at his original amount?" Penny theorized getting looks of confusion from Harry and Tonks. "It's just a thought." The Prefect stated with her own shrug.
"I guess I'll just keep checking every now and then. If it goes on for too long I'll bring it up to another Professor." Harry agreed before he stood up and stretched. "So are you two up for some Wandless practice?" Tonks and Penny both agreed and the trio started working on making more of their spells Wandless.
-April 1st-
Nothing much had changed in the daily routine for Harry and his friends since January. Harry, Penny and Tonks practiced their Wandless Magic together often, trying to gain more spells and increase their mana. Harry did have a new Pen Pal thanks to Madam Aveline, one Fleur Delacour, a girl three years older than him that was quite studious when it came to Magical Theory. Learning that Madam Aveline was the Magical Theory Professor at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic had come as a small shock. He was also delighted to hear that she'd bought one of his Test Frames from the first batch he'd sold. Apparently Fleur was quite the fan of his Items and Madam Aveline had teasingly written in one of her letters that Fleur would often ask to test her mana amount when the two chatted outside of classes.
In the intervening time when he wasn't writing to his new Pen Pal, doing schoolwork, practicing with Tonks and Penny, or checking on Quirrel's strange mana reading; Harry had been crafting and working out new skills to use in his Enchanting. He was very proud of himself for what he'd managed to make this time. Today was Tonks' birthday and Harry found it oddly fitting that his bubbly, goof of a friend was born on April Fools' Day of all days. Now he just had to surprise her when she came by the workshop after classes.
"Speak of the devil." Harry grinned when a knock came from the door. He quickly got up and let Tonks into the workshop. Before she could say much of anything Harry had opened the bottom drawer of the desk he'd commandeered as a worktable and pulled out his gift to her.
"Harry?" Tonks questioned as she looked down at the small wrapped gift he was holding out to her.
"Happy Birthday, Tonks, I hope you like it." Harry smiled as Tonks gently took the gift and gave him a beaming smile. Unwrapping the item Tonks found a metal belt buckle with an engraving of a dragon on it.
"Aww, did you make this for me Harrikins? I'm touched." Tonks teased though the smile on her face let him know how much she truly appreciated his gift. "It looks cool and it totally fits my style. You've been paying attention, huh?"
"I know you like the 'Rocker' style so I tried to match some of the things I've seen you wear before." Harry grinned, happy that she liked his gift already. Wait until she found out what it did. "Could you try it out? I'm curious if it'll fit the belts you wear from time to time."
If you want to read ahead by advance chapters from her you can visit my Patre-on.
{P} {A} {T} {R} {E} {O} {N}
🎁 Patreon Benefits:
📚 Access to 20 advance chapters
👥 Join a private fan community
📖 Exclusive unreleased novels
🌟 Ad-free reading experience