This time Appoline was slow to respond because she was lost in thought. 'Arry's question was quite literally as old as magic itself, but it had never been definitively answered... yet. It appeared that 'Arry was so strong magically, he was the answer to the question. Is magic sentient or not? Belatedly, Appoline snapped out of it and turned back towards her young friend. "Arry... It doesn't happen to me often, but sometimes I feel like my magic guides my hand when I'm acting in the moment or in a stressful situation. I think our magic aids us as we live. You have so much magic inside of you, 'Arry. Is it any wonder you feel its intentions far more clearly than the rest of us? If I were you, I would listen to those moments of insight unless they look like they lead you toward grave peril."
While Harry completely agreed with Appoline, he didn't immediately respond because he was thinking about the ramifications. Then he snapped out of it and returned his attention to Appoline. "Okay so we've decided I'll meditate and reach out for my memories after dinner. Is there anything you think I should be doing in the meantime? I practice a lot of different magics in my Mindscape, have an exercise routine, and I've started sparring with Lupin most evenings at Hogwarts. At this point, I'm a little thrown off by having any free time at all." Harry grinned as he threw up his hands in a helpless gesture.
While giving 'Arry a sidelong look, Appoline ended up taking his question far more seriously than he intended her to. "Well... Now that you mention it... There are a number of rather mundane skills that I'm not sure you know how to do."
Harry looked at Appoline quizzically.
Leaning to the side, Appoline took a hold of both the boy's shoulders, so that he would take her question seriously. "Arry... Do you know how to play cards, dance, swim, horseback ride, play billiards, fish, play catch, ride a bike, play tennis, golf, paint, sing or play an instrument?"
The look of surprise on Harry's face was genuine. He was very, very surprised at that extraordinarily loaded question. "I'd be quite an accomplished man indeed if I was good at all of those things. I've played the odd game of exploding snap at Hogwarts, and I painted before in primary school, but not with any great skill. Quite a few of the skills you've listed, I've never had a chance to try. I'm curious what you mean by the question though?"
"I have two reasons for asking about those activities 'Arry." Appoline looked like she was hedging towards a difficult topic. "You don't appear to have a hobby of any kind, except for this new self-improvement montage you're taking part in. I would very much like to see you take up a wide variety of hobbies. I want you to find all those things that you enjoy to do in your downtime to relax. The second reason is that you will need to dance, at some point, at your school, this year."
"Does this dancing have anything to do with the reason Fleur's outside lifting hundreds of cinder blocks, using a single Wingardium Leviosa spell?" Harry grinned because this was his newest game. No one seemed to want to divulge information about this mysterious thing that was happening at Hogwarts this year... Harry didn't really mind the secrecy, but he did enjoy pointing it out to them. "You know Appoline... Everyone's still being pretty evasive about why Fleur's pushing herself so hard."
Since she knew exactly what the boy was up to, Appoline just grinned at Harry and shook her head. "Nuh uh uh 'Arry. As you know, Dumbledore has asked us to keep it a secret from you. I wouldn't worry though. It won't affect you beyond the fact that you should learn to dance. Come 'Arry. We will find Gabrielle. She will enjoy bathing you with her allure, while you dance with her."
"Isn't Gabby a little on the... small side?" Harry was seriously wondering how this was going to work. Gabrielle was only about four feet tall and if he stepped on her dainty little toes he might never forgive himself.
"I fear you are correct," Appoline replied with a mischievous grin on her face. "We shall still involve her because it will break her heart if we don't, but I think we also need to impose on my eldest daughter."
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