Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Elementary Calculations
I do not own Harry Potter.
Thank you to all my readers. Doubly so for reviewers. I do like you so.
And yes Harry will be strengthening the shield by mixing his power with it little by little over the next few years. It took a long time to degrade it to where it is now, so the revitalization won’t be instantaneous. The nature of the shield will also change a bit to reflect the type of energy going into it.
Chapter 4: (212-32)/1.8
Harry looked at the leaf as it drifted on a tendril of power in front of his eyes.
In the three weeks since he had discovered the latticework surrounding his core, he had made good progress with accessing his powers and directing it outward. The first time he had tried this exercise, the rush of power that escaped his grasp had left him panting and covered in sweat. The leaf had not moved so much as a millimeter.
Slow and steady.
A second tendril wrapped around a small pebble. When the pebble was half way up, the leaf wobbled dangerously for a moment. Harry exhaled slowly as he steadied the leaf while holding the power around the pebble constant. He brought the two abreast while reaching for a second leaf.
His early attempts were like a two-year-old with a paintbrush and an open can of paint: good for broad strokes and a huge mess, but no fine control. And control, that was the difference between a masterpiece and a child’s finger-painting.
It actually takes more effort to restrain my power than it does to just let it run wild. At least this way it will work how I want it to and when.
A second pebble joined the three floating objects. When he was sure he had them all under control, Harry started to move them in a pattern, a simple circle at first, then adding loops and turns. He separated the leaves and stones and put them through opposing patterns.
Now came the most difficult part.
It’s all about power, intent and focus.
He lifted his hands and very carefully directed the tendrils to attach to his fingers, a leaf and pebble per hand. For the next exercise, it would be easier to keep his focus if he didn’t have to worry as much about dropping them. Creating a new tendril of energy, he touched one of the leaves. It promptly turned blue.
Harry repeated the previous patterns of movement, changing colours as he went.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. My own personal rainbow.
A fine sheen of sweat glistened on his brows by the time he stopped. Putting down the brightly coloured practice tools, he settled back into his meditative state. Basking in his core, he only drifted, enjoying the slow pulse of his power.
Harry had taken to waking earlier in the mornings. He spent the extra half hour feeding power slowly into his shield. Some of the smaller degenerated areas had started showing visible improvement and he was feeling very good about himself.
After about fifteen minutes, he came back out of meditation. There was something new that he wanted to try today. Taking a bottle of water out of his bag he twisted of the cap and created a now familiar tendril.
Carefully putting the strand of power into the opening, he tried to will the water out. Three seconds, five, ten.
This isn’t working. Maybe more power . . . ?
Nothing.
Eyes narrowed, he considered the problem.
What happened? Theoretically, my intent should have translated into the water doing what I wanted. The tendril picked up one of the pebbles. I touch the object with my power and as long as the power, intent, and focus are there, then it does what I want it to. He picked up a leaf. Same thing. He tried again with the water. Nothing.
What is different? The water should follow the same rules as . . . the water . . . Harry felt like smacking himself. The water is water. I might as well stick a knife in there and try to drink.
He flattened the tendril out and widened it before fashioning it into a hollow tube. This time he got the water to rise inside his improvised straw. Closing the end, he moved his length of water.
The next ten minutes were spent manipulating his power into various shapes around the water. As long as the water was completely surrounded, it conformed to the shape. He amused himself for a minute by stretching the water paper thing and into a rectangular shape. If anyone had been able to see him, they would have noticed what appeared to be clear glass floating lazily in front of his face.
How do I . . . ? Yes, that works.
He gathered power around his hands and used it to keep the delicate sheet of ice cool as it lay flat on his palms. He released the energy encasing it.
The power, intent, and focus rule still hold true. It is only how I shape the power that differs. But that is just for moving it in liquid form. He created a solid tendril and touched the ice. It lifted just as easily as the leaves did. Away from the cooling energy in his palms, the ice slowly melted in the summer air.
Half the bottle of water was still available. He used the same tendril to touch the water. Ice radiated out from where the water met his power. Changing his intent briefly he watched as the ice melted just as quickly. Swirling the water around, he smirked as he observed the steam that escaped the lip.
At least now I know I’ll never have to worry about a hot or cold drink ever again.
----------
The rest of vacation passed quickly. Harry had learned, through trial and error, that if he kept a thin skin of energy around his body, he could be as cool or as warm as he wanted. It had taken days to learn how to keep it up constantly, even while practicing. The pull on his power from this activity was negligible and after a week he did not feel it at all. It did not escape his notice that his core had gotten bigger.
It is either that A) the more I use it, it gets stronger, B) it is still growing as I grow, or C) both of the above. Only time will tell. For right now, I have something more important to take care of.
It was only one week before he began his last year at primary school. Over the summer he had found that the cupboard had become rather cramped. If things went how he thought it would, then his days in that cage were numbered.
Today he had cut his practice short and returned to the house while Petunia was watching her soaps. She wrinkled her nose as she saw him enter the house.
“May I speak with you Aunt Petunia?” no need to be antagonistic.
“What do you want, boy?” Her shrill voice grated his nerves, but he kept his tone and face neutral.
“I would like to move into Dudley’s second bedroom.” Unlike Vernon, it was better to be blunt with her.
“You want what? Why would I deprive my darling Duddykins just to make space for you? Isn’t it enough that you steal the food out of his mouth, you want to steal space from him too?”
Her face was red with outrage and she was breathing heavily. It was time to put an end to this nonsense. Good thing he had planned for this eventuality. Reaching into his ever-present bag, he pulled out several photos and dropped them on the coffee table. He had bought a disposable camera in the past few weeks. On it were various pictures of the woods and several special ones.
“What is. . .” the colour leeched out of her face as she came to one that showed a childish scrawl detailing ‘this is my room.’
“You are going to give me what I want because I have copies of these photos with a letter to Vernon’s boss, detailing how he has treated his poor orphaned nephew for the last eight years. Because I have proof of your neglect to show the principal of the school, who, I might add, is not very impressed with your behaviour regarding me. I am his star pupil after all. Rip them up if you want, I have more. The way I see it, we can do this quietly, and keep this conversation just between us. Or we can do this the hard way. Both of us know Vernon may do something, unfortunate, if the details of this little talk get out.”
Malicious green eyes bore into her soul.
“I don’t care how you convince him, but I will be moving out of that cupboard. One way, or the other. I’m a growing boy after all, I’ll need my space.” Harry watched the trembling hands cover her mouth. He spun on his heel and walked to the door.
“I’m glad we could have this talk. Enjoy the rest of the evening, Aunt Petunia.”
----------
He moved into his new room three days later.
AN: Now wasn’t that fun? The next chapter will deal with the next two years and then Minerva and Dumbledore will be making their appearance.
Thank you to all my readers. Doubly so for reviewers. I do like you so.
And yes Harry will be strengthening the shield by mixing his power with it little by little over the next few years. It took a long time to degrade it to where it is now, so the revitalization won’t be instantaneous. The nature of the shield will also change a bit to reflect the type of energy going into it.
Chapter 4: (212-32)/1.8
Harry looked at the leaf as it drifted on a tendril of power in front of his eyes.
In the three weeks since he had discovered the latticework surrounding his core, he had made good progress with accessing his powers and directing it outward. The first time he had tried this exercise, the rush of power that escaped his grasp had left him panting and covered in sweat. The leaf had not moved so much as a millimeter.
Slow and steady.
A second tendril wrapped around a small pebble. When the pebble was half way up, the leaf wobbled dangerously for a moment. Harry exhaled slowly as he steadied the leaf while holding the power around the pebble constant. He brought the two abreast while reaching for a second leaf.
His early attempts were like a two-year-old with a paintbrush and an open can of paint: good for broad strokes and a huge mess, but no fine control. And control, that was the difference between a masterpiece and a child’s finger-painting.
It actually takes more effort to restrain my power than it does to just let it run wild. At least this way it will work how I want it to and when.
A second pebble joined the three floating objects. When he was sure he had them all under control, Harry started to move them in a pattern, a simple circle at first, then adding loops and turns. He separated the leaves and stones and put them through opposing patterns.
Now came the most difficult part.
It’s all about power, intent and focus.
He lifted his hands and very carefully directed the tendrils to attach to his fingers, a leaf and pebble per hand. For the next exercise, it would be easier to keep his focus if he didn’t have to worry as much about dropping them. Creating a new tendril of energy, he touched one of the leaves. It promptly turned blue.
Harry repeated the previous patterns of movement, changing colours as he went.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. My own personal rainbow.
A fine sheen of sweat glistened on his brows by the time he stopped. Putting down the brightly coloured practice tools, he settled back into his meditative state. Basking in his core, he only drifted, enjoying the slow pulse of his power.
Harry had taken to waking earlier in the mornings. He spent the extra half hour feeding power slowly into his shield. Some of the smaller degenerated areas had started showing visible improvement and he was feeling very good about himself.
After about fifteen minutes, he came back out of meditation. There was something new that he wanted to try today. Taking a bottle of water out of his bag he twisted of the cap and created a now familiar tendril.
Carefully putting the strand of power into the opening, he tried to will the water out. Three seconds, five, ten.
This isn’t working. Maybe more power . . . ?
Nothing.
Eyes narrowed, he considered the problem.
What happened? Theoretically, my intent should have translated into the water doing what I wanted. The tendril picked up one of the pebbles. I touch the object with my power and as long as the power, intent, and focus are there, then it does what I want it to. He picked up a leaf. Same thing. He tried again with the water. Nothing.
What is different? The water should follow the same rules as . . . the water . . . Harry felt like smacking himself. The water is water. I might as well stick a knife in there and try to drink.
He flattened the tendril out and widened it before fashioning it into a hollow tube. This time he got the water to rise inside his improvised straw. Closing the end, he moved his length of water.
The next ten minutes were spent manipulating his power into various shapes around the water. As long as the water was completely surrounded, it conformed to the shape. He amused himself for a minute by stretching the water paper thing and into a rectangular shape. If anyone had been able to see him, they would have noticed what appeared to be clear glass floating lazily in front of his face.
How do I . . . ? Yes, that works.
He gathered power around his hands and used it to keep the delicate sheet of ice cool as it lay flat on his palms. He released the energy encasing it.
The power, intent, and focus rule still hold true. It is only how I shape the power that differs. But that is just for moving it in liquid form. He created a solid tendril and touched the ice. It lifted just as easily as the leaves did. Away from the cooling energy in his palms, the ice slowly melted in the summer air.
Half the bottle of water was still available. He used the same tendril to touch the water. Ice radiated out from where the water met his power. Changing his intent briefly he watched as the ice melted just as quickly. Swirling the water around, he smirked as he observed the steam that escaped the lip.
At least now I know I’ll never have to worry about a hot or cold drink ever again.
----------
The rest of vacation passed quickly. Harry had learned, through trial and error, that if he kept a thin skin of energy around his body, he could be as cool or as warm as he wanted. It had taken days to learn how to keep it up constantly, even while practicing. The pull on his power from this activity was negligible and after a week he did not feel it at all. It did not escape his notice that his core had gotten bigger.
It is either that A) the more I use it, it gets stronger, B) it is still growing as I grow, or C) both of the above. Only time will tell. For right now, I have something more important to take care of.
It was only one week before he began his last year at primary school. Over the summer he had found that the cupboard had become rather cramped. If things went how he thought it would, then his days in that cage were numbered.
Today he had cut his practice short and returned to the house while Petunia was watching her soaps. She wrinkled her nose as she saw him enter the house.
“May I speak with you Aunt Petunia?” no need to be antagonistic.
“What do you want, boy?” Her shrill voice grated his nerves, but he kept his tone and face neutral.
“I would like to move into Dudley’s second bedroom.” Unlike Vernon, it was better to be blunt with her.
“You want what? Why would I deprive my darling Duddykins just to make space for you? Isn’t it enough that you steal the food out of his mouth, you want to steal space from him too?”
Her face was red with outrage and she was breathing heavily. It was time to put an end to this nonsense. Good thing he had planned for this eventuality. Reaching into his ever-present bag, he pulled out several photos and dropped them on the coffee table. He had bought a disposable camera in the past few weeks. On it were various pictures of the woods and several special ones.
“What is. . .” the colour leeched out of her face as she came to one that showed a childish scrawl detailing ‘this is my room.’
“You are going to give me what I want because I have copies of these photos with a letter to Vernon’s boss, detailing how he has treated his poor orphaned nephew for the last eight years. Because I have proof of your neglect to show the principal of the school, who, I might add, is not very impressed with your behaviour regarding me. I am his star pupil after all. Rip them up if you want, I have more. The way I see it, we can do this quietly, and keep this conversation just between us. Or we can do this the hard way. Both of us know Vernon may do something, unfortunate, if the details of this little talk get out.”
Malicious green eyes bore into her soul.
“I don’t care how you convince him, but I will be moving out of that cupboard. One way, or the other. I’m a growing boy after all, I’ll need my space.” Harry watched the trembling hands cover her mouth. He spun on his heel and walked to the door.
“I’m glad we could have this talk. Enjoy the rest of the evening, Aunt Petunia.”
----------
He moved into his new room three days later.
AN: Now wasn’t that fun? The next chapter will deal with the next two years and then Minerva and Dumbledore will be making their appearance.
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