When they arrived by an old house in a wooded area outside of a town in Little Hangleton, Harry set them down on the ground, before dispelling his magic.
"That flight-shield is quite the useful invention." Dumbledore said, smiling at Harry. He'd enjoyed the flight.
"Transportation Shield." Harry corrected. "I invented it, so I get to name it." he added. "So, we're expecting traps and all sorts of protections, right?" he asked, looking at the run-down house and sensing a horcrux which was pretty good evidence that the headmaster had done his research.
Dumbledore sobered and nodded. "There is little chance that the dark lord would not have left protections." he said, nodding. "The Gaunt family was an ancient pureblood family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They were also dark and quite violent."
"Happens due to inbreeding." Harry said. "The 'Sacred Twenty-Eight' are mostly basically hill-billies, with a few exceptions."
"Like the Longbottom Family?" Dumbledore asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"They would be one of the exceptions." Harry said. "But only barely. Not to say something bad about Neville's ancestors, but according to research, there was quite a bit of inbreeding in their history as well, cousins marrying and the like. At least, the last three generations were reasonably exempt from that habit."
Dumbledore, not having done the research but having heard enough in his life to know that that was likely true, nodded, accepting that. "So, is there a horcrux in there?" he asked.
"Yup." Harry said. "Link goes down so I'm thinking it's buried under the house."
Dumbledore frowned. "That's very useful to know, but it also means that we'll likely need to pass through whatever protections were placed in the house to get to it."
"Why?" Harry asked, frowning. Dumbledore frowned at Harry. Harry rolled his eyes and used the interface to focus and target. Then he sent power into his desired effect.
Dumbledore frowned as he felt a shudder under his feet, just before two pillars of hardened dirt grew up from underneath the house, pushing its edges up and lifting the house until it teetered and fell over with a large crash. The house didn't look the same after, but there was no real reason to preserve it and if push comes to shove, they could always repair it, not that Harry could think why they'd need to.
"Earth?" Dumbledore asked. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"Earth." Harry said, nodding. "There was something blocking me from targeting the house, itself, so I just targeted under the house. The hardened earth didn't target the house, only kept itself hardened, so whatever protections are on the house, didn't affect it."
"Clever." Dumbledore said, nodding and following when Harry moved forward slowly. He started scanning, too. "Stop!" he said suddenly. Harry did and looked at the man. "I'm detecting a powerful curse. I don't know what it is, but it may be best to let me handle it from here."
Harry nodded, pointed at where he felt the connection, and stepped back a few steps.
Dumbledore started casting to try and narrow down where the effect was coming from. Unfortunately it seemed that it was towards where he suspected the target was. "I'm afraid that this is likely to take quite a bit of time." he said, looking at the boy.
"Would you like to take your time?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore frowned again.
"I can bring quite a bit of earth with me in a remote transportation shield." Harry said. "It's completely safe and I can do it from a bit away."
Dumbledore considered that. Frankly, it was not a bad idea. They could bring it with them, remove its threat from the world and perhaps even take however long they needed to extract the item. Perhaps the boy could even help? He'd actually enjoyed the research that they'd done together on the basilisk. That project was done now however, and he'd allowed Harry to have the corpse.
Harry had asked Poppy to arrange for the beast to be rendered, and apparently, he'd commissioned a few sets of nice snake-skin boots, belts and jackets. Basilisks were magic-resistant, so anything that was made with its hide, would be protective gear. Healers also had uses for basilisk parts, so it was a welcome addition for the healing community.
"I think that that would be a good idea." Dumbledore finally said.
"Great." Harry said as he pulled something out of his interface. It looked like a metallic plate. Dumbledore did not expect for Harry to simply toss the plate towards where the item was, but fortunately nothing happened.
Harry pulled up a connection and activated the same shield that they'd used to get there, but in the location where the plate was. Then he stepped to the headmaster and activated his own. Before long, they were flying again, on comfortable leather seats that Dumbledore had conjured for them, with the other shield flying next to them, not that Dumbledore could see it. Harry did confirm that it was there and that it was under the same invisibility effect as they were.
"So, you can copy this effect across your interface to others?" Dumbledore asked, indicating the shield.
"I could." Harry said, nodding. "Made a program for it, like I do with pretty much everything. In copying it to someone it would reveal quite a few of my findings and capabilities, however. Aunty Poppy warned me that I should not do that with anyone. Beth was not happy with her but ended up agreeing with her. I think she's working on her own version, now. She loves a challenge."
"Could you not create a program, and then hide how it works, somehow?" Dumbledore asked. He'd give much for the ability to pull up a shield that could transport him, like this could. Sometimes apparition and portkeys were simply not the best option. Sometimes you needed to find your way, first. Dumbledore was more than impressed with this magic. He was proud of the boy for making something that he not only enjoyed but wanted for himself.
"Actually, I could." Harry said. "Easily, too. I just put the program on a plate, like the one I used for the other shield, and make only a connection to the control interface for the controls that you can use. Beth told me that if I ever did that, though, that I should be charging quite a bit. Since I'd be risking the magic that I'm sharing. If someone uses it and the wrong people see, and it gets outlawed, then that would be an ability that I'd lose access to. At least legally."
"What price were you thinking?" Dumbledore asked.
"My current estimate, considering the usefulness and effectiveness of the magic, speed it can go and comparable pricing for objects that allow you to fly and use true invisibility, and calculating the price from there, would put the cost at about fifteen times the going rate for this year's model racing broom and invisibility cloaks, put together." Harry said. There was actually a pretty straight-forward formula when it came to rune-creations, and Harry had just applied that to his calculation. He'd needed to up the scale slightly, since there were more than just runes at work, though.
"That's… a large number." Dumbledore said, frowning. He could afford that, but it would take a hefty bite out of his retirement funds.
"It's a market-related number." Harry said, simply. "I mean, I could give it away for free too, but I just know that Beth and Auntie Poppy would bite my head off."
"What about rental?" Dumbledore tried. "Permission to use it for a set amount of time?"
Harry considered that. "Well…" he said, as he considered it, and did a quick calculation in his head. "I'm thinking around three hundred galleons for a month sounds about right."
"That's much more affordable." Dumbledore said. It was still a large number, but much more affordable.
"There's always the time-value of money to consider." Harry said. "Buying is always cheaper in the long run. If you rented it for ten years, consecutively, it would become cheaper to buy."
"But that's thirty-six-thousand galleons." Dumbledore said, having done his own math, on one of the features he'd had opportunity to add to his own interface. A calculator. He didn't know that Harry had a much better version, but he also hadn't asked. Harry had needed it for some of the more difficult work in arythmancy.
"Still, you'd lose the ability to use the item after that time or need to continue paying." Harry said, reasonably.
"If I'm still alive ten years from now." Dumbledore said, smirking at the boy.
Harry looked at the man and laughed. "Never thought I'd hear gallows humour from you, Headmaster." he said.
"Well, I am quite old." Dumbledore said, still smiling. "Could I commission one of those from you, then? For rental, of course."
"You can borrow that one." Harry said, indicating to the shield that he couldn't see. "It was my test unit. I'll set up the link and then you can play with it for a week and then tell me if you feel you really need it. The magical world has many options for transport, after all. In fact, you can apparate into and out of Hogwarts and make portkeys, so I don't really see the appeal for you."
"Besides the fact that you can't apparate and portkey simply anywhere anytime that you like, that is. It might also not have crossed that brilliant mind of yours, Harry, but I am still a human being." Dumbledore said. "I enjoy things like flight too, and we both know that I won't find faster anywhere else."
"Fair enough." Harry said. "And just so you know, I could go faster, but to achieve it, I'd have to fly over a place where nobody could see us, because the magic that allows for that, would have a visible effect."
"Really?" Dumbledore asked. "Maybe, once we've dropped off the other shield, we can go for a flight over the ocean?" he requested.
Harry smiled at the old man. "Cool. I've wanted to test it, anyway. I know it works but I've not been able to experience it personally." he admitted.
The trip back to Hogwarts was a quick one. Dumbledore even directed Harry to drop the other shield in a clearing in the forbidden forest, where he put up a ward to protect the item. Then they left again.
In no time at all it seemed, Harry and the Headmaster were strapped down into more solid seats, with seatbelts and other magical protections, shooting out over the ocean with a magical jet-engine pushing them faster than either of them had ever moved. Harry was whooping for glee and Dumbledore was grinning madly as he watched the ocean stream by below them at incredible speed, while he felt his old bones protesting to the force that their movement was having on him. They'd hadn't heard it, but there had been a sonic boom as they crossed the sound-barrier and left it far behind.
Still, this was a very draining use of magic and Harry couldn't sustain it for too long, and half an hour later they'd travelled nearly five-thousand kilometres before sedately landing by Hogwarts again.
"I still can't believe it." Dumbledore said, shaking his head, and still smiling. "We travelled nearly half the coast of all of Scotland, in half an hour!"
"If my calculations are correct, we nearly hit Mach eight." Harry said, also smiling.
"That's eight times the speed of sound, right?" Dumbledore asked, as his eyes widened. He'd experienced it, but he hadn't realised. "This is really dangerous, isn't it?" he asked.
"If we'd hit basically anything at that speed, we'd be dead, if we didn't have the shields." Harry agreed. "Well that, and whatever we hit would not be there anymore."
"I saw a few birds flying out of our way, too." Dumbledore said.
"They didn't." Harry said. "The way this magic works bends the air in such a way that the birds just move as the air does. It's a safety feature. I doubt I'd be able to avoid low-flying aeroplanes though, so it's likely best not to do this too high, ever."
"I think caution would be good." Dumbledore agreed, as they set down and he slowly left his seat. "Oh." he moaned, as he felt the repercussions of his latest experience.
"Oh, let me." Harry said, as he pulled up his interface and quickly restored the model of the old man which he'd made before the trip to the Gaunt house.
Dumbledore didn't know what Harry had done, but suddenly, he felt like he'd not done anything straining at all, that day. "How marvellous!" he exclaimed, as he stood up, and stretched out. He wasn't suddenly feeling younger, or anything, but he was definitely experiencing quite a bit of relief.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to complain that I hurt you because I didn't warn you about the forces that you would be exposed to." Harry said, as he looked at his reserves. The overall measure was at below twenty five percent, but his own reserves were already full again. The cores-orbs would likely take a week to recover. That is, if he didn't intend on taking them out, to charge naturally overnight.
"Young man, you, are a marvel." Dumbledore said. "Not just for this Transportation Shield, either. I can tell that you expended quite a bit more power than you should have at your age. Not that I'm complaining, mind you."
"Used something you suggested, actually." Harry said, easily. "I've been training my magical reserves. I'm almost at Aunty Poppy's levels now, in my personal reserve." He'd not mention the core-orbs, because that was Beth's achievement.
"I didn't know she had enough magic, to do everything you did today?" Dumbledore asked, frowning. Harry just smirked at the man, refusing to say more. Dumbledore still smiled at the young man. "Thank you, Harry. I enjoyed working with you again and I even enjoyed the extra experiences quite a bit. Maybe next time, we can work on something to mitigate the extreme forces that affects the body during high acceleration?"
"Already on the books, for the moment I figure out how to hide the visible effects of higher speed acceleration I used." Harry said.
"How did you achieve that?" Dumbledore asked. He'd not seen anything, but then, the jet-streams were behind them, and technically below them, when they were quickly accelerating.
"That's my secret." Harry said, smirking. "I'm not telling." Then, he turned, and walked off towards the infirmary, where he intended to update his Aunty Poppy, and then he'd go back to playing with forces of nature that man was never meant to experiment with. He'd not told Dumbledore everything, obviously. He was looking into time, currently.
III-III
Having had the experience with the Gaunt house, Dumbledore had taken Harry on a few more trips, to suspected locations of other items. Unfortunately, they'd only gotten one more. The Gaunt house had had the Gaunt family ring, and there had been a cave, infested with Inferi, which had a locket. Unfortunately, the locket from the cave was a replica, and it turns out Harry had just felt the remnants of the Horcrux having been there. Someone named R.A.B. had taken the original, and hidden it somewhere else, or gotten rid of it.
How they'd gotten the locket out, was another simple trick. Dumbledore told Harry that a person was meant to drink it, or it would not diminish. Harry had shrugged, conjured a straw and started slurping the potion down while using his body-model to constantly keep himself from being affected by it. Dumbledore had objected, but Harry had asked him to trust him, and he'd allowed it, against his better judgement. He was quite pleased that the boy had so many tricks, in that moment.
Then, Dumbledore had succeeded in getting himself cursed while he was looking into the item from the Gaunt house. He'd never told Harry what he'd done, even though Harry had shocked the old man by being able to restore his body completely in just a few seconds using his interface. Severus had told him that reversing the curse was impossible and that he'd likely die in the next year with the use of a regimen of potions. He'd have to tell the man that someone helped him but would be cautious in how he told him. He'd not tell him Harry was involved.
In fact, that lead to an idea for the old man. He'd made a house-call to Poppy's place, and had a chat with her, Harry, Gryff and Beth. Since they had plans to start using the interface in the magical world, even if it was just the abilities they could perfect and store to share, he wanted to put up a buffer between Harry and anyone that might want to attack him for this magic.
Thus was born a mysterious man who didn't have a name and didn't want to be named, specifically to protect himself from people who would attack him for his claim. A powerful and enigmatic ancient mage, who shared with Harry and allowed him to share with others, but only with permission, because the old mage wanted to pass his knowledge on to someone worthy.
Someone that Dumbledore could confirm he knew, had known for a long time, and who was not interested in being part of the wider wizarding world.
He might even be able to convince his old friend Nicholas, to mention that he'd met the same man, when he was just a boy.
Poppy had not argued. She considered the plan, and finally nodded. She liked the idea. It seemed the old man had been considering things for a long time, and he'd done as he'd promised, and took time to think of ways to protect her boy.
The rest had followed her lead, before they started asking questions about what they were supposed to publicly know, when questions were asked.
Gryff decided to make his own contribution. He could claim that he didn't know the man's name, and mention that he'd never met him, because he'd never gone to Hogwarts, but that he did know of him.
That had turned into a long visit.
Soon after that discussion, the next school year started.
III-III
"I thought the Triwizard tournament was supposed to have been discontinued?" Harry asked Poppy, the evening after Dumbledore had made his announcement.
"It wasn't his choice." Poppy said. "Next year is an election year and the minister was pushing for this, so that he could be seen in the spotlight, a few times."
"Bloody politicians." Beth said, as she sat in her customary seat in Poppy's flat. She'd started working with Harry on her own version of a Transportation Shield. She was considering simply building something though. So, not so much a shield as a re-enforced metal disk with pre-made and powered runes. She wanted to make something that could work without needing to power it yourself, like a broom, but with some more functionality. The current problem with that idea was that Harry's version could go so fast due to using his own magic. She was working on it, though.
"Still, I don't think Harry will do too badly." Beth continued, smirking at Poppy when the woman glared at her.
"He will not be entering." she insisted.
"Why not?" Harry asked. He wasn't really interested, but he wouldn't mind figuring out how to beat the headmaster's age-line, and he did like a challenge.
"Besides the fact that he's ineligible, and that I think he'd be able to beat this tournament with his hands tied behind his back, literally, I don't like Harry putting himself in danger." Poppy said. "People have died, in the past."
"All the headmasters got hurt during the last tournament." Harry agreed, nodding. Despite his many skills and advantages, he somehow still suspected he'd not be able to beat Dumbledore, if the man was serious about it. "Oh, and before I forget, whoever Mad-Eye Moody was, the person that was introduced today, was not him. The map picked him up as someone called Barty Crouch Jr."
"What?!" Poppy exclaimed.
"I felt something was off, during the welcome feast." the hat said, from his customary place on the coffee-table. "The enchanted ceiling has never reacted to a new teacher that way, so I asked Harry to look into it, and allowed him to see the names." He'd not given Harry permanent access to that, after all.
"I've given the hat a copy of the map, now." Harry said. "Best that he can see who's who."
"You've already done something, haven't you?" Beth asked, looking at Harry and seeing his calm and innocent face. It didn't fool her.
"Nothing." Harry said, honestly. "I just informed the person in charge, Professor Dumbledore." he said, shrugging. "I don't know who this guy is, but we've had enough bad luck with bad teachers, in the past. Professor Lupin was great, though. It was a shame they found out about his 'furry little problem'." he quoted Sirius.
"What's being done?" Poppy asked.
"I don't know." Harry said, shrugging. "I didn't ask. One would think that Dumbledore can handle it, himself."
"He should be able to." Beth agreed, taking her cue from Harry. If he was calm about it, then it was likely being handled.
III-III
And handled it was. Dumbledore had not allowed the man to settle in for one night even. He'd gone to the man, under the guise of checking on his old friend, quickly knocked him out, and found his actual friend in the bottom of his expanded trunk. Alastor had not been a happy chappie. In fact, he was so upset with himself that he'd allowed himself to get caught, that he'd decided to punish himself by actually teaching the subject he was there for.
Frankly, he wanted to also meet the boy who'd apparently tipped Dumbledore off. Dumbledore had asked him to keep it quiet though, because Harry Potter apparently didn't enjoy his celebrity status. He preferred to stay out of the spotlight. Moody would also be disappointed when he discovered that Harry Potter apparently liked to stay out of class, too.
He'd gone to speak to Dumbledore about it, the day that Harry hadn't shown up, and Dumbledore had informed him of his advanced status. He wasn't going to any classes, anymore. He'd sit his OWLs and NEWTs when the time came, but the rest of the time he was busy with private research, being something of a prodigy.
Snape had not been happy either, but Dumbledore had overruled him, saying that the boy shouldn't have to sit in classes that he didn't need. His time was far better spent on things that would pave the way to a brighter future for the boy. He'd not added that the world might benefit, too.
That didn't work for Moody, though. He went looking for the boy and found him in the infirmary, helping the matron with a patient that apparently had an ailment.
"This is taking quite a bit of power, Aunty Poppy." Harry said, as he focussed his magic on the task.
"I know." Poppy said. "That is currently still an issue with this spell. You have to remember that Dragon Pox is a magic-resistant magical ailment. Focussing on the virus itself, means that you're attacking millions of microscopic organisms."
"And the virus replicates more quickly with more magic." Harry said, nodding as he continued feeding the spell magic, which was slowly draining the magic from the virus but not the patient. That was how Poppy's new spell worked. Before, you couldn't cast a spell that didn't carry magic to the virus.
"You're doing very well, young man." Poppy said, giving Harry a smile.
"Estimates says that we're fifty-seven percent done." Harry said, nodding. "Two more minutes. How long will she stay knocked out?"
"Long enough." Poppy assured Harry. They weren't spreading the fact that Harry was helping, around.
When the process was complete, Poppy did her own scan, using the model that she'd made of the girl, and found that she was completely cured. "Congratulations, Harry, you're the second person in history to successfully cast that spell to cure dragon pox."
"It's not a deadly disease." Harry scoffed.
"Not really, but it can have long-lasting effects and negatively affect natural magical growth in a patient." Poppy said. "Worst case scenario, the virus could also replicate so fast that it could drain a patient's magic and potentially kill them, anyway."
"That hasn't happened since 1972, though." Harry pointed out. "Before the virus was first correctly identified, and a proper treatment regimen was developed."
"It's not likely that the patient would have died, no." Poppy allowed. "Still, I dare say the girl would thank you for saving her from the discomfort that she would have suffered for the next few days, otherwise." Poppy frowned then. "Wait, have you had dragon pox?" she asked.
"I've got it, now." Harry reported. "Got it from her actually, but I've already isolated it and I'm slowly starving the infection already. I'd like to give my body time to work up the right antibodies, though, so I won't kill it off completely."
"You're infected?" she asked.
Harry sighed. "Would you be able to let this go, if I told you that I can stop myself from being contagious?" he asked.
Poppy frowned, and then smiled. "Sure. I'll let it go, but if you are purposefully allowing yourself to stay infected, then I'm going to have to insist that you stay in the infirmary." she said, sweetly.
"Oh, come on!" Harry objected. "You know that I'm working on something!"
"I know." Poppy said. "And you're refusing to tell me what, so I'm refusing to let you go. It's my duty as a healer, after all." she added, smugly.
"You know what, Aunty Poppy?" Harry asked. "Now I see why some of the children are afraid of healers. You can be pretty damn mean when you want to be. You know I'm here helping you, right?"
"You volunteered." Poppy countered. "You wanted to know the magic and be able to test it, so it's your own fault."
Harry sighed, but just shook his head and went to a bed, climbing into it. "Great. I help you and I'm bedridden for a few days just because I'm trying to encourage my immune system to be stronger." he mumbled.
Poppy just smiled at him, before she came to tuck him in. "I'll let the other patient go and then I'll have a potion with your name on it." she said.
"Oh no, you don't." Harry said. "Not one disgusting potion, or I'm leaving."
"If you want to encourage your immunity, you'll have to do it, like everyone else." Poppy said. "And don't even think of sneaking off when I'm not looking. If you do, you'll find out why healers are really feared."
Harry just grumbled, mumbling about unreasonable healers.
"If I knew half of what you were talking about, I'd have not believed that you were as intelligent as Albus told me." Mad-Eye said, as he walked in. He'd been watching.
"Oh… hi." Harry said, lamely.
"Don't worry, Potter, I'm not in the habit of eavesdropping and spilling other people's secrets, when they aren't up to no good." Moody said. He looked at the healer, who was seemingly stalled, as she looked at him. "Madam Pomphrey." he said, nodding.
"Moody." Poppy said, nodding back. She was not happy that he'd heard that. Fortunately, she knew the man was incorruptible. He had a reputation for standing against the dark.
"I hear you won't be joining for class." Moody said, looking at Harry, again. "I think that that's pretty damn arrogant of you." he said, uninvited.
"I've already studied the curriculum to completion." Harry said. "The OLWs and NEWTs are standardised tests. Studying the books is the only way to pass the tests."
"Not for practical application." Moody said. "You can still do with practice."
"Professor Moody?" Poppy asked, getting his attention. "He's already capable of casting every spell in the curriculum, and he's proven it to me, and the headmaster. That's the only reason that he's allowed to do his own research and stay at the school."
"Well that, and my friends." Harry said. "I mean, writing the tests now would mean that I'll be forced to live with my guardian until I reach majority. That means no more Gryffindor Tower. Hermione would kick my butt for leaving."
"And then she would move in with us to be close to you." Poppy said, rolling her eyes when Harry blushed. That had been happening more and more, recently. It seemed that Harry had an unspoken crush on one of his best friends. He didn't seem to know, either. Poppy suspected that she'd likely have to give the young man the talk, at some point. She was not looking forward to it, but she also refused to entrust Sirius with that task. He couldn't be trusted to take it seriously.
"She'd not!" Harry objected, feeling strange for some reason. He looked at his interface and pulled up some information. Raised heart rate. Slight temperature. 'Huh. Did I miss some of the infection?' he mused, before he started looking through his earlier findings. He'd been the one to bring the girl to Madam Pomphrey, the previous day, when he'd noted similar symptoms in the girl, though her fever was higher.
"I'll be back with that potion." Poppy said, smirking. He'd likely confuse his blush and likely heart-rate increase with symptoms. She didn't doubt that he had done something to the disease but that didn't mean she wouldn't jump on the opportunity to nurse him back to full health. The potion was meant to do exactly what he wanted anyway, by helping the immune system. She just wanted to do it because it gave her a chance to mother him a little. Harry often took care of chores and cooked, just because he felt he should contribute, so treating him like a child would normally just insult him and she didn't want to do that.
"I expect you in class, next time." Moody said, before turning and making to leave. He did not expect his well-honed danger-sense to make him pull his wand and put up an instant shield behind himself as he spun around to see the boy just smiling at him. "What was that?" Moody demanded.
"An example, Professor Moody." Harry said. "I am not untrained, nor incapable. I will not join class, but training in magical combat is something I wouldn't mind. If you insist that I learn, please do it in an environment where I actually will learn something useful."
Moody slowly let his guard down, not realising that his peg-leg was already neon pink. "You don't dictate to me, boy." the man said, sternly.
"A standard dispelling won't fix that, by the way." Harry said, as his eyes flicked down to his leg.
Moody didn't look away from the boy, but his magical eye did. He was shocked to discover the boy had actually landed a spell on him. Both his eyes focussed on the boy again, before he grinned an evil grin at him. "Congratulations. Not many people can claim to have gotten one over on me." he said. He was still smiling that evil grin. "Very well. It seems that you may actually have some skill. I'll set up a schedule, and we can train you up some, but I have a price."
"Oh?" Harry asked.
"I want you to handle some of my grading, for me." the man said. "It will allow me to see if you actually know what you claim you do, and free up some time for me, which I'll then use to train you. Deal?" he asked. It seemed fair to him, and a good way to test the lad.
Harry considered it. It wasn't a bad deal and seemed rather equivalent. However long he freed up for the professor, he'd get for training, and he really wanted some combat training so that he could start working on automatic defences. "Deal." Harry said, nodding.
Poppy walked out of her office with a potion, just then. She would not be ashamed to admit that she'd been eavesdropping to hear what the real reason was why he was here, and to see how Harry handled it.
"How long will he be recovering?" Moody asked, not one to mince words.
"Knowing him, he'll get tired of being bedridden, by tomorrow, and likely figure out some way to escape my clutches." Poppy said, grinning at Harry, and seeing a flash of humour on his face.
"In two days then." Moody said, nodding. "Rest up, Potter. When you start your training, you'll likely regret getting me to agree to this."
"I think you're underestimating me." Harry said, confidently.
"I don't think so." Moody said. "I wanted to train your father you know. He was a very capable magical combatant. I wanted him to join the Aurors, but he was too busy trying to impress his father and that girl of his. Then there was the war to consider, too. If you are his son, I have no doubt that you likely have some of that talent."
"You knew my dad?" Harry asked, frowning. He hadn't heard about what his father's job was, but from what he'd picked up, it seemed that a lot of his father's life after Hogwarts, was a secret. Harry suspected that he was working against the dark lord, and that much was accepted fact, though nobody agreed on how he was involved. Harry had asked Sirius, but he'd said he couldn't talk about it.
"Fought beside him, a time or two, during the war." Moody said, before he turned and walked out. "Remember to rest up, Potter." he said again, just before the doors closed.
"He'll likely be putting you through the equivalent of junior Auror training." Poppy said as she measured out some of the potion in a vial before handing it to Harry, who drank it without question. He'd already numbed his throat and made himself incapable of smelling or tasting. These were simple feats after he'd studied the human body. He even had some of it built into his model. He could numb pain too if push comes to shove, though he knew that that was likely not a good idea. The body was a very advanced piece of equipment. Pain was necessary to point out potential problems and for the body to keep functioning, while internal functions changed to allow a person to function.
"Likely." Harry said, after handing the vial back.
Poppy's eyes were narrowed. "You did something to mute your senses, didn't you?" she asked. Harry just smirked at her. She sighed. "Fine. Let's discuss how you did that, then. I wouldn't mind being able to do this for my patients… on occasion."
III-III
Poppy turned out to be correct, about her estimate. Harry had grown tired of lying there and had pulled up a medical book he had on his interface, and read up about infections, how the immune system responded and inoculation. By the end of that same day, Harry had encouraged his body to build a proper defence, and even had a bit of the resultant antibodies isolated and extracted so that Poppy could use it to start working on an inoculation for this variant of the virus.
Then he went back to his life, which now included going to Moody's office and starting to look through students' homework. He needed to ask a few questions and see how the man normally marked papers, before he could start taking over. It took him about a week of learning how to do that before he'd set up an automated system. He fed the parchments into his interface and let it handle that, while Moody just seemed to accept his word that it was being handled and took him to an unused classroom.
Moody first needed to estimate his fitness level. Considering he was a boy, that meant that he couldn't have the stamina of an adult at their peak, but it also meant that he should recover more quickly. Harry had been practicing for Quidditch, on occasion, and while he wasn't a full-time athlete, he still enjoyed the sport, which still had an effect on his fitness level. In other words, he was more fit than most.
That had nothing to do with his enhancement magic, though. Harry could substitute magic for stamina, and he didn't have small reserves, so he could likely outperform Olympic-level athletes based on stamina alone. Of course, he could enhance himself in many ways that would have him actually matching and outshining those athletes in whatever they specialised in, but he doubted using those functions just then would help him in the long run with Moody's training so he stuck to stamina for the time being.
"You'd do well to put some effort into strength-training at some point." Moody said, after Harry had finished his physical exercises. "You've got a good bit of stamina and that will probably help you increase speed and strength over time. You'll need those to help with reaction time. For the rest, there's more training."
"Makes sense." Harry said, as he wiped his face with a conjured towel. "What's next?" he asked.
"You know stupefy and protego?" Moody asked.
"Of course." Harry said.
"Now we're going directly into battlefield awareness." Moody said. "Knowing when to block, dodge and attack, is the difference between life and death in battle. A duelling instructor would suggest you know the counter to most offensive spells, because they cost you less magic than a shield and are usually quicker to cast. Using a shield works for most spells though, but you also need to be able to dodge any spell too, because the other side doesn't mind using spells that a shield doesn't block."
"The unforgivables." Harry said, nodding.
"Exactly." Moody said. "Stupefy." he said instantly, and Harry knew to dodge when the spell wasn't directed directly at him.
For the next half-hour Harry dodged, shielded and returned fire. Moody likely thought he was doing Harry a favour by holding back, so he didn't go all out, using his wand and body, saying the words and doing things the slow way as was the purpose of this training. He'd refrain from exposing his true capabilities until the time came for it in real battle, or maybe till just before the ex-auror planned to move on.
Still, Moody was impressed. The boy definitely learned quickly. By the end of the half-hour, he'd only hit him once, and he'd since started purposefully dodging everything, keeping a proper distance, and seeing openings, when he should be reacting. Frankly, if the boy wasn't so young, he may have decided to take him under his wing properly and train him to becoming the next Auror to look up to.
"Well done, Potter." Moody said, as he lowered his wand. "You adapt quickly and used the opportunities I gave you, every time. I think I'll suggest that you spend some time on speed and strength training for the next week. Let's see if you can up your reaction time a little bit. I'm still not going at full speed, and you can't rely on those reflexes fully yet."
Harry nodded, as he wiped his face again and dabbed at his neck. He needed a shower.
"Don't get me wrong, Potter." the man continued. "You've got the right stuff, but you are not an adult yet. I'd bet on you taking on some of the pansies that they hire and call Aurors these days, but you'd lose to a person with a few years of actual experience, or a group of lesser fighters."
"I'm assuming that's more an insult at the DMLE, rather than a compliment to me." Harry said.
"Well, you have potential, but I can't argue that the department couldn't cut a bit of their fat." Moody grumbled. "Stick to training and work on your response-times and by the time you leave school you'll be able to waltz through Auror academy."
"I didn't say I wanted to become an Auror." Harry countered.
"Can't say I blame you, lad." Moody said, smirking. "You've got the makings of a hitwizard to you. Maybe even a spook."
"Spook?" Harry asked.
"Unspeakable." Moody said. "They are the muggle government's influence in the Wizarding world, not that you heard that from me."
"I had wondered about that." Harry allowed. "I'm assuming that other nations have similar and they are the deterrents to magic becoming a new form of warfare?"
Moody nodded and smirked again. He saw what Albus saw, now. The kid was sharp as a knife. "Exactly. Magic would always be the ultimate weapon of any government, so we ensure to keep our ranks up, and the Unspeakables do what they need to, to discourage magical espionage and influences on mundane industry and government. You should see the amount of Unspeakables the oil-tycoons have at their disposal. If a magical stole their most valuable resources, the whole world would suffer."
"I hate politics." Harry said, as he pulled out the now marked parchments and handed them to the man.
"Get used to it, lad." Moody said. "Chances are, with your skills you won't be able to avoid it for long."
"Unless I keep my skills a secret." Harry said. "And just so you know, you may have been holding back, but so was I."
"I realised." Moody said. "It's a good instinct. Always keep a trump card. When we train, I'll try and surprise you with new variables and I'm hoping to see you overcome them. Surprise me too, kid. I'm not too old to learn."
Harry smirked and pointed at the man's leg again, which had changed to look like a normal leg, but still made of wood.
"I noticed that, too." Moody said, smirking. "You got knocked on your ass for it, as you'll recall."
Harry's smirk didn't diminish, as he pulled out a small metal plate on a chain and handed it to the man. "Wear it." he said, not elaborating.
Moody frowned but scanned the item with his eye. He found magic, obviously, but he couldn't detect anything malevolent. He still scanned it with his wand a few different ways, finding something akin to an enchantment. It looked almost like the magic in his eye, but also different. He was still a paranoid bastard, so he took his time inspecting it. Finally he shrugged and put the thing on but kept his wand at the ready. Nothing seemed to happen. "What's it supposed to do?" he asked.
"You'll see." Harry said, smirking as he turned and walked away. He really needed to go take that shower.
Moody frowned, when the door was closed. It didn't take him long to discover what the magic did, though. As he went to pick up his jacket, which he'd shrugged off considering that they were training, he heard a difference. He looked down at his stumped leg, and lifted the wooden appendage which resembled a normal foot just then. As he looked at the foot, trying to spot if something was under it which had muffled the sounds, the foot moved and angled itself as if he'd actually moved his own foot.
Shocked, the man placed the foot down and took a step while he watched the foot. It moved, spreading out, and balanced him perfectly. That wasn't even the best part. He could feel the foot like it was his own. "Cocky brat." he grumbled, as a smile came to his face. The kid was definitely something else. Then, the man let out a bark of laughter as he realised that he'd need to get new shoes. He tended to just toss the extras, when he got new shoes, considering he only needed one. Well, he used to know an old man, who'd lost their other foot, and they had usually traded, but that man was living in Australia, now. Using magic to switch the shoe for another foot never felt quite right.
"Going to have to pay him back for this, won't I?" he murmured, as he walked out of the classroom, feeling like a new man, now that he didn't need his walking staff. Having an idea, he quickly increased his pace, and sped along the hallway. It felt like he could run full-tilt, again. The magical leg, or whatever was allowing him to use it through the metal plate on the chain, was obviously sending impulses to his own mind, like the eye, but also feeding magic to the leg, which meant that it would have a drain on his own power over time, but still, this was a wonderful development. He could tell it wasn't taking a lot, either. Normal people would likely not even notice.
What he found funny was that his other leg, so long used to needing to do more work, was stronger now than it had been back when he had two and the new leg seemed to be able to keep up. He was running faster than he'd been able to, before. The only problem with that was that he'd now actually need to exercise, to keep that advantage. That made up his mind for him. He'd be setting up a proper training location, outside the school, and up the training for the kid. He deserved the extra effort.
Moody made his way to Albus's office and glared at the gargoyle, who refused to move just then. "Announce me and get out of my way, before I do it the easy way." he threatened. There was a moment's delay, before the gargoyle moved and he went up to the headmaster's office.
"Ah, Alastor, my old friend…" Dumbledore said, smiling, until he saw how Moody was walking. Then his smile grew. "Met young mister Potter, did you?" he asked.
"Does strange and wonderful often?" Moody asked.
"With a regularity that I'm starting to appreciate." Dumbledore said, still smiling. "I'm assuming you want to discuss him?" he asked.
"I do." Moody said.
"I'm afraid that I have some information that I am not at liberty to discuss." Dumbledore said, seriously.
"Related specifically to Potter?" Moody asked.
"Yes." Dumbledore said.
"So, it's claimed then." Moody said, as he took a seat, falling into the chair as he'd gotten used to doing. He smiled again, as he more easily shifted in his seat, to correct his position.
"How do you reckon?" Dumbledore asked, not giving anything away.
"I've been looking for a proper replacement for the old leg for years now, that works like my eye, but the kid was able to do something mid-duel to set me up with this one, and it can actually feel like nothing I've experienced." Moody said. "Obviously it's new. I also heard part of a conversation a few days ago, where the lad was helping Poppy perform a spell I've never even heard of to heal dragon pox. He's obviously the common denominator."
"Well deduced." Dumbledore said, nodding. He knew about the Dragon Pox charm, because Poppy had needed to get his approval, to allow Harry to try it. "So, what did you want to know?" he asked.
"Get a new defence professor." Moody said. "I need to make it right and I'm not losing another Potter to your schemes."
"Alastor-" Dumbledore tried. He'd worked hard to mend fences for the last few years, and he was feeling pretty good about himself, these days. It seemed he had more to do.
"No." Moody interrupted. "I've seen you making things right for the last while, so I'm not angry at you, but you have a bad habit of moving people around like pawns. That kid's lost enough. I want to give him the tools he'll need to survive anything, including you."
Dumbledore couldn't hear this, and he was getting angry, now. "I will not use the boy. I will admit that I had long-term plans that included him, but that's been thoroughly derailed, and I couldn't be happier about it. He's got a bright future and I don't want you turning him into another war hawk. Harry will have a peaceful life if I have to die to provide it. Do you understand me?" he asked, seriously.
Moody looked at Dumbledore through narrowed eyes, for a moment, before he nodded. "Good." he said. "Still, the boy came to me asking for instruction. I'll be setting up a training ground on the school grounds so that I can give him and any student who wants it, proper instruction."
"I don't think the board would approve of any changes in budget, at this stage." Dumbledore said. "We have the Triwizard Tournament this year, too, as you'll recall."
"About that, what are the chances that Potter will be pulled into that?" Moody asked.
"Well, with Barty Crouch and his son being in prison, and approval to use legilimency on them both, I did discover a plan to enter him into the tournament, to get him killed." Dumbledore allowed. "That will no longer happen, so I feel reasonably safe in saying that that won't be an issue."
"Unless someone else enters him." Moody countered. "We both know that with his advanced knowledge and skills, if his name makes it into the cup, he'll be chosen as the Hogwarts champion."
"I did try to cover every base." Dumbledore said. "The only one that can enter anyone, is the person themselves. Only if Harry bypasses the age-line, will that cup accept his name as a participant."
Moody frowned, as he considered it. It did seem like a proper precaution.
Little did they know that Harry had already found a way around the age-line, and was, at that moment, inspecting the magic of the goblet.
Behind the headmaster, the hat started laughing, since he was speaking to Harry as he was looking at the magic.
"Gryff?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the hat, worriedly.
"Sorry, headmaster. I can't tell you." the hat said, smirking.
"He's already circumvented it, hasn't he?" Dumbledore asked. The hat said nothing. Dumbledore sighed. "I should have just let him inspect the goblet when he asked me." he said, shaking his head.
"What does this mean?" Moody asked, frowning.
"It means, if someone tries to enter Harry's name, the cup will accept it, now." Dumbledore said, sighing.
"Change the protections, then!" Moody barked.
"I can't." Dumbledore said. "To prevent cheating, I had to place strong wards that will be impossible to remove, until the time of the choosing."
Moody grumbled. He had no doubt that the boy was now going to be in this bloody tournament. "What do we do, then?" he asked.
"We could have faith in Harry?" Dumbledore offered. He knew that Harry was likely over-qualified to take part in the tournament. In fact, he knew for a fact that the boy already knew how to overcome the first task. The same spell he'd used on the troll, would likely work to disorient and distract a dragon. "I can't tell you much, but I can say that I have utmost faith in Harry and his abilities. I don't want him entered, either, but if it should happen, I think he'd be able to rise to the occasion."
"And you think his parents would accept that argument?" Moody asked.
"James would likely be over the moon, to be honest, but his mother might have actually threatened to kill me and actually consider following through." Dumbledore admitted.
"I always liked Lily." Moody said, a sad smile coming to his face. "She was a spitfire."
"She'd be disappointed in a lot of my choices over the last decade." Dumbledore said. "Once I was taken to task about my shortcomings, I vowed to protect the boy as if he were my own family. I swear to you Alastor, his security specifically is why I set up extra security around the cup. I didn't want him to enter, either."
"Kid's too smart for his own good." Moody grumbled. "I'm going to need to set up a proper exercise regimen for him, before the choosing." he said. They both knew that the professors were bound from helping the champions once they were chosen. "Would it be considered extra help, if we already had a training regimen planned, before the choosing?" he asked.
Dumbledore frowned, before he nodded. "I think that would be allowed, as long as we have proof of the plan, before the choosing, and that it doesn't just focus on Harry. Perhaps Longbottom, and Granger could join him. They are his best friends, have access to… certain things, and I suspect that they'd be interested in extra studies."
"Frank's boy?" Moody asked, not having missed the bit Albus had thrown in there. They'd likely received permission, or maybe, a grant. Then he nodded. "I like that idea. If the kid is half the man his father was, he'd jump at the opportunity to help a friend."
"Miss Granger is a bit of an academic." Dumbledore said. "She's already finished her education to seventh-year, as well, but she doesn't have the magical reserves to perform every spell, just yet. You'll not be able to train her and Longbottom the way Harry would be able to train."
"That's the point of training, isn't it?" Moody asked. "If they put in the effort, I'd bet that she'll have the capacity, by the end of this year. Longbottom, too. How's his studies going? Also advanced?"
"He's not as quick as the other two, but he is doing remarkably well in class. A big improvement from before Harry helped them." Dumbledore said, still skirting around the edges of what he could say.
Moody seemed to understand. "Then I'll light a fire under his arse. If he's got the ability, and he's not using it, I'll drill it into him not to waste it." With that, Moody stood up, remembering that he didn't need his staff to do so more easily and smiled again. "Fifty points to Gryffindor." he said, then.
"You can't show favouritism, Alastor." Dumbledore said, smiling mildly.
"Tell that to your pet death eater and maybe I'll listen." Moody scoffed, before he walked out of the office. Everyone knew that Snape only gave points to his own students. Bloody child that he was.
III-III
"So… that happened." Harry said, as he walked into the Gryffindor common room, after the choosing of the champions. As many had suspected, Harry was the Hogwarts champion.
"Harry!" the Weasley twins chorused.
"All hail the champion!" one of them said.
"Defeater of dark lords!"
"Modest hero, of legend and bedtime stories!"
"And let us not forget, age lines!"
There was a bit of scattered laughter at that.
"You could have told me that you found a way past that age line." Ron muttered. He was not happy at the development. He would not admit that he was jealous, even though he knew he was.
"Well, I will admit to figuring that out, but I didn't put my name in the goblet." Harry said.
"Who did then?!" Ron exclaimed.
"I did." one of the seventh-year boys said, scowling at the jealous boy.
"Me too." a girl added, crossing her arms.
Three more people nodded, in agreement. Ron looked away, but still muttered to himself.
"It's your own fault, Harry." Hermione said, shaking her head. Harry had been asked since third year, to help older students with their studies, when he stopped going to class. They'd all heard why, and so they'd started asking for help. Harry was good friends with most of the higher-year students and they all had a lot of faith in him. To Hermione, it made perfect sense that they'd enter him.
"I didn't ask to be entered, did I?" Harry asked.
"Oh, come on Harry!" Fred exclaimed.
"We all know you're a genius!" George nodded. "Show off for once!"
"Make a spectacle!" Fred agreed. "Show the other champions that a fourth year Hogwarts student is better than a seventh year from both their schools!"
"Put together!" George agreed, nodding and grinning madly. They couldn't wait to see what Harry did.
"I… uh." Harry said, eloquently, when the other students all looked at him expectantly. He still wasn't good with crowds, and he was experiencing a bit of stage-fright.
"Look at him blush!" Fred joked.
"Come on ladies! Now's your chance, while his defences are all down!" George added.
"You two know that I will punish you, right?" Harry asked, as he narrowed his eyes at them.
"You'll have to catch us, first." Fred joked.
'Tango?' Harry asked, in his head.
'Oh, yes please!' the hat replied. He was obviously connected, because he wanted to see the fun. He had no doubt that Harry would win. He'd be there to help, after all. Harry had even given him a few extra abilities, which he could bring to bear, not that he could tell anyone.
"Do you guys know how to dance?" Harry asked. "I hear there's supposed to be a ball and I think that means dancing."
Both twins frowned at the change in subject, but then strange music started playing from nowhere. And both the twins froze up. They weren't moving, yet.
"Angelina, Katie, I think you two would like to be part of this." Harry made the offer of two of his fellow quidditch teammates. Harry knew the twins liked those two.
"Is this a tango?" Katie asked.
"Don't worry, there's magic involved." Harry whispered to her. "It will allow you to move like a professional."
Katie's smile grew, having seen a live tango performance in her life. She instantly nodded, followed shortly by Angelina.
Harry winked at them, and then the music started picking up pace, while the ladies and twins started stepping to the middle of the common room. "Make space, people." Harry said, indicating for the students to move while he used magic to move some couches.
Everybody was soon entranced as the twins and the girls danced in a very sexy way. Nothing inappropriate, of course, but still, the twins were blushing now which had been Harry's point of course, while the couples danced very close.
For most the scene ended too quickly, with the magic leaving the twins and the girls after a final pose of the twins holding the girls suspended above the floor, looking like they would kiss, and then lifting them up again. When the magic had left them and the music had stopped, the twins were smiling too, and they bowed to the spontaneous applause they received, with the girls following suit.
"I still say that's mind-control." Hermione said. She'd seen this one before, and knew Harry had done it, but she didn't know how. Frankly, with the capabilities of the interface she wasn't even trying to copy Harry anymore. She was having far too much fun discovering the mysteries of magic, with runes, Arithmancy and everything from ritual magic, to discovering the properties of magic in ingredients, with Neville. That was mostly his project, and he'd really started enjoying it.
"I just make their bodies move." Harry whispered back. "Like a marionette on a string. Also, those four liked it. Didn't you see them smiling?"
That was the moment that Harry became the target of two of his female teammates. Katie and Angelina walked to Harry and both of them hugged him, while the twins were still bowing and laughing, joking about taking lessons and skipping classes.
"We'll need to talk about dancing classes." Katie whispered to Harry. "I know you were in control, but I felt beautiful and graceful. I want to be able to do that, on my own."
"Was that a spell, or some sort of specialized Potter magic?" Angelina asked.
"Something like that." Harry said, glad that the twins had taken the cue and were currently the centre of attention.
"You will struggle to stay out of the spotlight." Angelina said. "Still, that was fun. How did you make the music?" she asked, as she and Katie let go of him. She hadn't seen a wizarding wireless and the music was somehow different, like it was being played through something better.
"More of the same." Harry admitted. "I can make the music again if you want to practice, but for the moment, that means I need to be there."
"We won't have a choice, then." Katie said. "You'll just have to be there when we practice."
"Can you do a waltz?" Angelina asked.
"I can." Harry said. He'd needed to study those dances, to be able to make the models do them, and since a waltz was reasonably simple, he'd learned it himself, without needing to use a model. To be fair, he might need to practice with a partner, though. All else failed, he could just use the dance-system on himself.
"Can we do that now?" Katie asked. "I mean, can you make us dance and make music so that we can get used to the movements?" She smiled at him hopefully and noticed that quite a few girls and a few boys were looking at him, hopefully. It seemed that people liked to dance.
Harry sighed. "Pair up, people. And someone clear up some more space, please? Girls and boys too if you don't mind. I realise some of you may be shy, but it would be best to learn the roles that you will be expected to take in the world. Men are meant to lead, or so I hear."
In almost no time there was space cleared, but then a new problem happened. Many of the boys and girls were too shy to step forward and ask for partners. Sighing, Harry started tagging people and paired them up randomly. Well, the twins and their partners were together again, and Harry had tagged Hermione as his partner, but the rest were random and sorted by gender and size.
When the music started, everyone just started moving, going to their partners, or meeting on the cleared space and started dancing. Harry didn't mind doing this because he'd wanted to play with the dance system anyway. He wanted people to slowly take over when they got used to the movements and be able to break the connection when they were tired. This really wasn't meant to be mind-control. He wanted to use it as a form of training. He had a few ideas about how he could use something like that.
It seemed his plan was working out nicely too, since a few couples had broken the connection, two minutes in. It seemed that some of them already knew how to dance. Now that they were already dancing, some even with people that they fancied, it had taken quite a bit of pressure off. Ten minutes later the latest waltz ended, and the music stopped.
There was laughter and chattering, almost before the music finally died out, and Harry bowed out intent on going to his room. He did bow to Hermione, thanked her for the dances and kissed her hand, something he knew was a pureblood custom. He also blushed again, against his will. He'd have to do something about that.
Hermione had also blushed, even as she smiled, which he suspected meant that she didn't have any real complaints. She didn't complain about it being mind-control, either.
A few of the other boys followed Harry's lead and bowed, thanking their partners, which lead to a whole lot of blushing which Harry ignored as he left.
"Harry's going to kick the other champion's arses." Fred said to Katie, who was still standing next to him after they watched him leave.
"I don't know." Katie said. "He doesn't seem like the vindictive sort. I think that chances are higher that he'll befriend them."
"And end up dating the French girl." George said, smirking.
"Jealous?" Angelina asked him, lifting an eyebrow at him.
"It's a prediction." George countered. "We all know that there's a long list of girls that would like nothing better than getting a chance at him."
"Rumour is, Fleur's part-Veela." Fred said, nodding. "Not a lot of men could resist that. If he doesn't watch himself, she's going to join that list, and try to jump the line."
"I don't think so." Katie said, as she watched Hermione, who had yet to stop smiling and blushing. She didn't elaborate, though.
Angelina saw the look and nodded, having had similar thoughts, while both the twins just frowned. Most of the girls in the tower knew that there was something happening between Harry and Hermione. It was unknown if they were aware of it at this point, but none of them dared to address it, because it was fun watching that unfold. Most were hopeful that it would happen, soon, but all were content just watching for the moment.