Hermione was still wide-eyed as she wandered through the Room of Requirement, her hands lightly brushing the spines of the books lining the shelves.
"I can't believe this place," she murmured, her voice ecstatic. "All this... right here in Hogwarts. Do you think there might be other hidden rooms like this one?"
I chuckled. "Maybe, but I doubt they'd be as useful as this one."
She turned to me, curious. "What have you been practicing here?"
I grinned. "Let me show you."
I led her to the training area, where a large, clear space was surrounded by magical targets and dummies that reset themselves. Some runes glowed faintly on the ground.
"First, I focused on refining the basics," I explained, summoning a training dummy with a flick of my wand. "But then, I realized I could push myself beyond what they teach us in class."
Hermione folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Like this."
I pointed my wand at the dummy and cast Expulso. The force of the spell sent it flying back, but I wasn't finished. With a quick flick, I transfigured the dummy mid-air into a boulder, which I caught and levitated gently to the ground.
Hermione gasped, her eyes flicking between the boulder and me. "Harry! That's... that's advanced transfiguration! How—"
"I've been studying," I said with a shrug, though I couldn't help but feel a little smug. "And practicing. A lot."
She shook her head in disbelief. "That's incredible."
I nodded, stepping aside to clear more space. " Here, watch this."
I raised my wand and concentrated. "Inferno Glacias!"
A stream of ice-blue fire erupted from the tip of my wand, spiraling into a controlled arc that froze one of the targets solid. The air around it shimmered with frost, and Hermione's jaw dropped.
"I call it Frostfire," I explained. "It combines fire and ice magic. Took me weeks to get it right without the flames canceling out the freezing effect."
Hermione approached the frozen target, her fingers brushing the surface as frost clung to her skin. "You've been working so hard, Harry," she said softly.
"I know," I said with a small smile. "That's why I brought you here. This room isn't just for me—it's for us. Anything we need to learn, we can do it here. Together."
Hermione's eyes lit up with determination. "Well, then, we'd better get started. If you're going to face a dragon, you'll need every advantage you can get."
Over the next few hours, the Room of Requirement became a whirlwind of activity. Hermione, ever the scholar, quickly adapted to the training environment.
"Okay, Harry, try that Protego spell again," she instructed, her wand ready.
I raised my wand and cast, "Protego Maxima!" A shimmering golden barrier appeared in front of me, but Hermione was already firing a Stupefy at it.
The spell collided with the shield, sending sparks in every direction but leaving the barrier with no damage.
"Your spells are so strong Harry, I doubt anything other than the unforgivable curses can damage that barrier." Hermione said in admiration.
"Okay, Harry," She said, standing by to observe. "Show me that flame-conjuring charm you've been practicing."
I nodded, with a relaxed wave of my wand I muttered. "Incendio Maxima!" , and a swirling pillar of golden fire erupted from my wand forming a tornado around one of the dummies.
I waved my wand again and focused on manipulating the shape of the fire. With a thought I changed it from a phoenix to a tiger and then finally to a small dragon before finally extinguishing it.
"That was brilliant!" Hermione cheered from the side.
Next I taught Hermione some simple spells and also focused on making her understand how you could change spells to suits your need.
"Alright, Hermione," I said, rolling up my sleeves. "Let's start with something simple but useful. Ever heard of the Aguamenti charm?"
"Of course," she replied, eager as ever. "It's for conjuring water, but I haven't practiced it much. Is there more to it?"
"Plenty. You can control the pressure, direction, and even the temperature if you master it enough," I explained, summoning a small target dummy. "Watch."
I flicked my wand and said, "Aguamenti!" A steady stream of water shot out, hitting the dummy square in the chest.
With a quick twist of my wrist, I shifted the stream to a powerful jet, then softened it to a gentle spray.
Hermione's eyes lit up as she observed. "That's amazing! I didn't know you could control it like that."
"Your turn," I said, stepping aside.
She took a deep breath, raised her wand, and gave it a precise flick. "Aguamenti!"
A stream of water emerged, wavering slightly before stopping. She frowned. "It's harder than it looks."
"Not bad for your first try," I said encouragingly. "Try again, but this time, focus on channeling a steady flow of magic into the spell. Don't force it—just let it flow naturally."
She nodded, her brow furrowed in concentration. This time, a steady stream of water shot out, splashing against the dummy.
"There you go!" I said, grinning. "Now, try adjusting the flow. Imagine turning a tap on and off in your mind."
After practicing for some time she was able to change the pressure of the water as it shoots out of the wand.
"Excellent progress," I said with a grin as she lowered her wand, beaming. "You'll have this down in no time."
"It's not as easy as you make it look," she admitted, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "But I can see how controlling the spell flow makes a difference."
"It's all about intent," I said. "Once you understand how your magic responds to your focus, you can start adapting spells to fit your needs. Like this."
I raised my wand again and performed a quick demonstration. This time, I cast Aguamenti, but instead of a jet, a fine mist surrounded us, cooling the air.
With a twist of my wand, the mist condensed into small water droplets, hovering in the air like floating beads.
Hermione's eyes widened. "You're... reshaping the spell entirely."
"Exactly. It's like thinking outside the spell's 'default' box," I explained. "The incantation and wand movement give you the framework, but your intent and control fill in the details."
"Fascinating," she murmured, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
While she practiced her spell I also experimented with some more magic spells especially some soul related magic as I wanted to create a spell to trap Voldemort in his soul form so that next time I face him he can't escape.
I already had experimental material in the form of his soul currently present in my scar.
Although, because of the way Essence of Archmage had changed my magic, it was now basically trapped by my magic with no means of escape.
I went some distance away from her and focused on envisioning the spell I wanted.
Above my hands, a shimmering orb of light formed, dark tendrils swirling within as I carefully refined the containment.
This was the temporary prison that I was building for Voldemort. I had already tried to test if I could trap his shard of soul that was in my scar and I had been somewhat successful.
But it had only worked temporarily before the shard escaped one again returning to my scar again.
With enough refinement and some practice I was sure that I could build a stable prison for him.
So for the next few hours we both practiced in the room trying to master our spells. In the meantime , I taught Hermione some more spells and how she could change them to be more suitable in combat.
"You're making great progress, Hermione," I said as she sat down on one of the training mats, panting but grinning. "At this rate, you'll be ready for anything."
"Thanks," she replied, wiping sweat from her brow. "I couldn't have done it without your help."
After some time, we were done for the day. After checking the Marauder's Map, we started heading toward our rooms.
As we walked through the dimly lit hallways of Hogwarts, we began talking about everything we'd learned and practiced.
Without really noticing, we found ourselves walking closer and closer to each other. Our hands brushed lightly, then again, until they were almost touching.
Neither of us said anything, but we both noticed the subtle closeness.
We reached the common room to find it empty. Hermione gave me another hug before quickly separating and dashing toward her room, blushing.
Following her example, I made my way to my room with a big smile on my face.
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