"Professor Flitwick," Harry began when he and the Charms master were standing in front of the door to the Dursley home in Surrey. "I've recently started reading up on duelling, and I was wondering if there were any tips you could give me in regards to me perhaps competing in the U17 division."
Flitwick looked at him kindly. "Duelling, Harry? You did well in your exams right now. But I don't think now is the right time considering your increased workload with both third-year Charms and second-year Arithmancy."
Harry didn't let go of the topic. His impotence in the face of Twix had been on his mind lately, and he wanted to do something to alleviate it. This and perhaps getting some money were his goals for the following year. Not being able to keep up with the workload that he'd taken up didn't even enter his mind. "How about we reconvene after Christmas break?" he asked. "It should be clear if I have enough capacity for more extra-curricular projects by then."
The professor seemed to consider his words, before looking around and seeing that he was still standing around in a robe in a muggle neighbourhood, in broad daylight. "There are two spells you should know if you're serious about this. The shielding charm and the disarming jinx, we can discuss more after Christmas and see if there's anything to be done. Don't underestimate the workload of third-year Charms though, it's a step up from the first and second year. We'll start dealing with more complex topics and effects," he said, at which Harry nodded and thanked the man. It was nice of him to even consider helping Harry with duelling and he would be foolish to not take the man's advice about the shielding charm and the disarming jinx.
If a former champion said they were useful, they likely were. He still had a few days to grind out his wandless finite as well.
"Thanks, Professor."
Flitwick nodded. "I'm glad today went well, congratulations on your advancement, Mr Evans. Sorry about the circumstances. I couldn't have predicted that such unpleasantness would occur and Albus has always had too high hopes for others."
Harry shook his head at the apology.
"All's well that ends, Professor. I'm quite glad to have staggered my O.W.Ls somewhat, although Professor Vector definitely could have warned me," he said, causing the half-goblin to laugh.
"I'm glad you see it that way, have a nice rest of your summer vacation. Don't worry about the course books, I'll send them to you along with whatever Septima decides on," the professor said, before stepping inside the house alongside Harry when the latter opened the door and disappeared with a quiet crack. Harry looked around the seemingly empty house and checked the shoe rack. Everything was there, so it wasn't like his family had gone anywhere. He rolled his eyes and entered the living room, where he was greeted by a small feast on the table and his family waiting for him on the couch. He looked around and saw a few snacks on the coffee table along with some VHS tapes. They'd been having a television marathon while waiting for him and his results.
"What's the occasion for the tiramisu? I usually only get that for my birthdays, last I remember that was a few weeks ago," he quipped, at which Vernon rose up from the couch and went to sit at the dinner table, the rest of the family joining him.
"Nothing, nothing, just felt like it really, I managed to convince Petunia to make it."
"Had some mascarpone left over," his aunt added, pronouncing mascarpone as 'myscarpony'. "Didn't want to let it go to waste." She feigned and joined her husband.
Dudley, in character for the youngest person in the family, wasn't able to hold in his excitement anymore. The blond boy ran up to Harry and started running small circles around him while repeating over and over. "So did you pass, so did you pass, so did you pass?"
Harry conked the blonde missile on the head, stopping it in its tracks and brought the boy to the table.
"Of course I passed, can't believe you'd doubt it."
Vernon put some salad on his plate and mulled over Harry's words. "Well, there was that one time with, the maths," he started before Harry interrupted him
"Don't know what you're talking about," he said as he sat down and started the meal with the cake, instead of the salad. He did feel quite good about himself after all, and considering that this was his day, as low-key as it was, his aunt wouldn't protest. He glanced up and saw that she was grimacing and holding her tongue. He smirked. Even Umbridge hadn't managed to get a word in between when Marchbanks had loudly proclaimed him to have gotten his desired advancements and that she was looking forward to seeing him at the O.W.Ls. Victory was sweet and tasted like coffee.
"So what are your plans for the following year?" Petunia asked, trying to distract herself from her nephew's crimes against humanity.
"Plans?" Harry replied.
"You've never finished one thing before already having the next in mind." She sniffed, causing Harry to think back and to agree with her.
"I was thinking about duelling, maybe it has some translational aspects into being able to defend myself a bit better."
"Duelling?" Dudley wondered from where he was sitting to Harry's right, looking jealously at his brother's cake, but not having the courage to commit the same audacity. "Is that anything like boxing?"
Harry thought about the question. "Maybe it's a bit like boxing" he admitted, hoping that he wouldn't be getting any of the permanent brain damage associated with the sport.
"Atta boy!" Vernon exclaimed. "Maybe I'll have to show you a thing or two before September, see if there's anything to it," he said, while Petunia rolled her eyes next to him.
-/-
Harry stared at the banana that he'd brought along with him from home and that was now inhabiting the cave floor in which he usually practised magic when not at Hogwarts. He'd noticed, when coming back the first time already, that there was a difference between sorcery and wandless magic, and that he should perhaps start referring to the two distinctly.
Sorcery was manifesting will and desire, fuelled by magic. There were steps of progression involved, from candle flame to fireball. It's what he'd been doing before receiving his Hogwarts letter and he liked to think that he was good at it. There was no guiding principle other than one's own understanding of the world. Which was good, since he'd always considered adaptability one of his strong points. Wandless magic, on the other hand, wasn't as much creating something from scratch, as it was simply applying the spell-matrix as used with a wand, without the instrument. Harry swung his arm at the banana, "animato," he cast and made the banana start rocking to the left and to the right. He watched it for a bit, before snapping his fingers, "finite incantatem."
Nothing changed and the banana continued its odd dance. A sigh echoed throughout the cave and the boy sitting inside of it put a finger to the rocking banana, concentrated and cast again, "finite incantatem." The banana halted its movements and rolled to a stop on the floor once it had stopped dancing. "I don't know what I'm doing differently. The animation charm can be cast without touch, but the counter-spell can't?"
'The counter-charm is a more complicated piece of magic than the animation charm. The only reason it's probably taught in the second year is because of how useful it is,' the hat replied from atop the boy's head.
"I should be able to do this," Harry insisted, but put away the banana into his backpack. He could have kept trying, but considering that he hadn't gained any new insights that would change his approach it was probably futile and just as likely to frustrate him as it was to achieve anything. Harry didn't need that type of vibe. He carelessly batted away a mental probe from the hat and quickly packed the rest of his things, before getting his bike and starting to trudge back home.
'We will continue our practice at Hogwarts,' the hat reassured him, while Harry passed the graves of his past life and mounted his bike, having reached the road.
"What if the headmaster makes it so I won't be able to summon you the way I did? I wish they could just do the sorting some other way. We could keep working on it."
'Well I don't know about you, but I want to sort the first years,' the hat rebutted.
"I'm sorry, it's just… I want to keep making progress," Harry said and Chanithachuah sent a wave of reassurance as a response.
'You've made enough progress to not have to fear almost anyone.'
"I know," Harry said and stopped the bike in the middle of the dirt road that they'd been traversing for the past five minutes. It was in the middle of nowhere, not even surrounded by fields, but by plains. It was truly empty and despite the pleasant weather, there was no one in sight. He left his bike and started walking out into the grass, when he couldn't see the road anymore he took off the hat and laid it on the ground. "You remember what to say?" he asked.
"You take me for a fool? It's one name, let's hope it works. I hate owls," The hat replied and Harry left it there, in the middle of the plain. He waited, once he was out of sight. Not a moment too late, because that's when the hat decided to shout what they'd agreed upon.
"Tweak!" the hat shouted, a crack promptly resounding through the empty landscape. A few indistinguishable words were exchanged before another crack was heard. Harry waited a minute or so, went back to where he'd left the hat, and saw the indentation that it had left, laying on the grass, along with the small set of barefooted foot-steps belonging to the house elf that had come to pick it up.
For all that it had been the most sociable summer he'd had since being reborn, having spent time with Penny, Flitwick and several muggle university students. He felt oddly alone without the sorting hat on his head to prompt his now more than decent mental defences. Harry went back to his bike and made his way home. Tomorrow was the train and needed to spend one last evening with his family before the second year of Hogwarts started.