Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Shades of Gray
Title: Shades of Gray: The Focus
Author: Shadow Rebirth
Beta Reader: StormyBabe1988
Rating: T/PG-13
Warnings: Death, blood and gore, language, spoilers
Chapter WC: 5,607
Story WC: 57,455
Last Edited: November 17, 2008
Posted: October 21, 2008
Summary: Harry has a dark secret: He isn't a wizard. But that certainly doesn't mean he can't do magic. It was too bad it also meant that in the face of fanatical governments and enraged demigods, Voldemort was going to be the least of his problems. AU, Gray!Harry, foreign school, vampires, werewolves, politics, no pairings.
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Shades of Gray
Chapter 11
The Focus
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Harry couldn't help but stare at the professor, completely bewildered. Their foci? What the hell was that? A quick glance to his friends that sat on either side of him showed that they actually did know what she was talking about, especially considering the excited look that lit up even Senka's face.
"Your focus," the dark haired werewolf professor began, "Will be something that will stay with you for your entire life. They will be more important to you than your soul, in a way.
"To be more specific, for those of you who don't know your focus is quite literally exactly as it sounds. It is an object very personal to you that helps your magic to flow better. It's nothing like a wizard's wand," she waved her hand lightly as if waving off the idea, "It's just something that your magic uses as kind of a conduit to make it even more controllable than it already is. Your focus will not be something that you hold. In fact, usually it's a piece of jewelry of some kind, though I've heard a couple of cases of a focus manifesting as a tattoo or the like. Actually, I believe that both Professor Demetrius and Professor Cordula have foci that manifested as tattoos.
"Anyway, today you will be creating your own focus. Do not worry too much about the process—which I will explain in just a minute—as it's really very simple, and your own magic will guide you through it. In fact, it's actually your magic which will unconsciously cause your focus to manifest it the form that best fits you.
"For example, my focus is my bracelet." Professor Darya then held up her arm, showing the whole class the simple, unadorned golden bracelet that rested on her wrist. At first, there didn't seem to be anything special about it, but after a moment Harry realized that he could feel...something...about it. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, as it was different from anything that he'd ever felt before, but it was almost a humming vibration.
"So," Professor Darya exclaimed, a bright grin on her face once more, "Let's get started, shall we?"
The werewolf waved her hand at a large box that was sitting next to her desk that Harry hadn't noticed before. Immediately, the box opened up and a bunch of small objects zoomed out of the box. The objects quickly flew around the room, one landing before every student.
When one was dropped in front of Harry, he leaned forward to examine it. It was a small metal object, he noted. It was kind of a round shape, but had a flat bottom that allowed it to rest easily on the desk. Its diameter was about that of a Galleon.
"These are what we will be using to create your foci. They're specially made from a magical metal alloy that is quite easily manipulated by magic. However, once they take on the final form of your focus, they'll be damn near indestructible." The professor paused and blinked, realizing that she'd just sworn in front of her students, before finally just shrugging it off, not really caring.
"To start with, what you're going to do is pick up the metal and cup it in between both of your hands." Professor Darya waited until everyone had complied before continuing. "Now clasp your hands together so that you're holding it firmly, but still fairly loosely." Again she paused. "Good, good, that's right. Now, reach out with your magic and envelope the metal. Don't actually do anything to it; just let your magic hang around it. Wait for a few seconds, and your magic should just take control and do what it needs to do. Don't try to stop it, just let it be."
Harry looked down at his hands—which were currently before him, holding his piece of metal—a bit skeptically, before just shrugging. He called up his magic and wrapped it around the small piece of metal. He waited for a few moments, and nothing happened. Harry felt his stomach start to drop. What if it didn't work for him? What if, just like with the wizards, he was different from normal mages too? What if—
Before Harry's thoughts could go any farther, the metal—and, by extension, his magic—suddenly started to move in his hands. Harry held himself back from yelping aloud and stared at his hands in shock. He was quite tempted to move his hands apart to see exactly what the metal was doing, but knew for some reason that that would be a bad idea. Instead, he just contented himself with focusing on what he could feel his magic doing.
The metal itself seemed to be reshaping itself. The magic that Harry had around it was quickly moving around the metal too, and seemed to almost have a mind of its own.
Harry sat there for nearly five minutes while his focus changed in his hands. Around him, Harry noticed that everyone else finished with changing their foci in no more than thirty seconds. By then end of the third minute, both Damion and Senka were staring at him in surprise, wondering why it was taking so long. As time entered the fifth minute, Professor Darya walked up to his desk, curious as to why it was taking so long.
"Hmm," she murmured as she stared at Harry's hands. "I don't believe that it's ever taken so long for someone's focus to take shape before. This should definitely turn out to be very interesting."
Almost as soon as the werewolf finished her comment, Harry sent felt all of the magic in his hands being sucked into the metal. At the same time, the metal suddenly stopped changing shapes and lay still and cool in his hands. Harry paused for a moment, hesitant, and then slowly opened his hands up to see his new focus.
As it turned out, Harry's focus had manifested itself as a single silver earring. It was fairly simply for the most part, though the pendant part of it held a gleaming crimson stone. Upon seeing the earring, Professor Darya breathed in sharply. Harry looked up at her questioningly, but her eyes were riveted to the stone.
"A...a blood ruby...." she murmured, still shocked. She quickly regained control of herself and looked up at Harry, her face unreadable. She studied him for a moment before a small smile suddenly lit up her face and she laughed quietly. "Very interesting, Mr. Gray, very interesting." And with that she swept away, off to help some other students.
To his left, Damion was chuckling as well. "You really do get more and more fascinating everyday," he commented, amused.
Harry looked between him and Senka, completely confused. "Can someone please fill me in? It's just a stone..."
"It's not just a stone," Senka replied quietly. She was still starring at the earring. "It's a blood ruby." She paused to look up at him, meeting him eye to eye. "You don't seem to understand, Blake, exactly what a blood ruby is. They're very rare and can only be found deep, deep in the ground underneath areas that have been soaked with magic for a very long time. Blake, they take millions of years to form. For your focus to have manifested as one....Well, it's quite literally impossible and I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself."
Harry blinked in surprise and then looked back at the little earring in his hands. Why couldn't he ever do things normally? Among wizards he'd been different and now, even among mages, he was too. Harry sighed and then froze. Wait, how was he going to wear his focus? He didn't have his ears pierced, and certainly had never considered getting them done.
Fortunately, Senka seemed to recognize his dilemma. "Here," she sighed. She reached across him and the hesitated. "May I?" she asked. Harry nodded and so she then completed her reach and brushed her thumb against the earlobe of Harry's left ear. Harry immediately hissed, feeling a sharp pain in his ear, but the pain left as soon as it had come.
Harry reached up to his left ear, and could feel that there was now a small hole there. He carefully picked up his focus and slipped it on. For some reason, he thought with a light smirk, it almost seemed like his focus was a part of him, like it was just meant to be where it was. Harry chuckled lightly and then turned his attention back to his two friends.
"So, how about you two?" he asked. "What're your foci?"
Senka was the first to reply. She gestured to her neck, showing Harry that she had already slipped her focus on. Hers, Harry saw, had taken the form of a black chocker with a gleaming sapphire embedded into it.
"See," he commented wryly. "I'm not the only one with a stone in their focus."
Senka just rolled her eyes. "Stones aren’t that uncommon in foci," she replied. "Blood rubies, on the other hand, are incredibly rare to find as it is. I believe there are only a scant hundred in existence. You could probably buy a couple small countries with that stone, though anyone who even considers selling their foci is insane on a level that is currently unimaginable."
Harry blinked, surprised. He was pretty sure that was the most that he'd ever heard her say. He quickly shook it off however and then turned to Damion. The vampire picked up on the unspoken question and gestured to his own focus, which rested on his right bicep. The focus was a strap of leather around his bicep with a pendant imbedded into it. That pendant was basically a gold and black circular symbol with a silver dagger running through it, point down.(1)
Harry absently nodded his head as he examined it. It seemed that everyone really did have very different shapes that their foci took. He couldn't help but wonder what shapes his other friends' foci were in...
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It wasn't much of a surprise that Magical control turned out to be the most boring of Harry's classes. All they did was practice different ways of controlling energy. Harry couldn't deny that the class would help drastically though. They'd be taught chemistry and physics in that course as well, which would help their magic.
The teacher was a surprisingly interesting person for the class. He was a Greek professor named Erebus Ciar who only looked like he was in his mid thirties. He had the appearance of a dark elf—that is to say, shoulder length black hair, obsidian eyes, and pointed ears—but Harry had heard rumors that the man was actually half dark elf and half vampire. Whether this was just gossip spurned by Professor Ciar's white skin and vampire-like grace or actually truth Harry didn't know.
In fact, all Harry really knew about Professor Ciar was that he was usually calm but had a wicked tempter and that he was a master at mind, soul, and death magic. An interesting and powerful combination to be sure. It made Harry wonder just how old he really was, but he doubted that Ciar was very forthcoming with information like that.
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When Harry stepped into the Magical Creatures classroom he found that Ryan was already there waiting for him. Harry joined him quietly while suppressing a shiver caused by a cool breeze blowing through the room.
The classroom itself was rather large—about twice the size of most of the others—but had no desks or chairs. The back wall was made up of a series of wide arches that led out onto the school grounds. Harry could just barely see the school's stables in the distance.
"Come!" a voice boomed in the distance just as the last few students walked through the door.
Harry turned to face the wall of arches and found a man standing there. He was clearly a fayerie, from his blue skin and short white hair, but he was far different from all the other thin, wispy fayeries that Harry had seen. Instead, thick cords of muscle ran along his arms and shoulders, practically bulging from beneath his skin. He was also surprisingly short, only just past five feet tall.
As one the class shuffled forwards towards the glaring professor who, despite his small stature, seemed to tower over them. Once they'd all stopped the fayerie finally uncrossed his arms and stood tall in front of them.
"I am Bora Talbot, your Magical Creatures professor," he began gruffly. He had a strange accent that Harry couldn't quite place. He'd have said Turkish, but Talbot was a fayerie so that wasn't quite possible. "You will listen to what I say and abide by my every rule or else I will kick you out of this class, no questions asked. This is one class that you will not be able to fool around in. Ever. Here my word is law. If you've got a problem with that, well, that's your problem, not mine."
Professor Talbot began pacing in short, quick strides. His gaze flickered over the students as he did so, never resting on one for more than a few seconds. Harry could already tell that he was definitely a "no frills" sort of person.
The professor continued, "Over the next year we will delve into how to recognize and handle various types of magical creatures. For those of you who want to continue with this line of work there are a few advanced classes that you can also take as upper years. For this class in specific we will be dealing with many types of dangerous and deadly creatures. This is the main reason why I expect you to follow my every instruction; more than just one student has died from carelessness before.
"The first subject that we will be focusing on is the difference between mundane animals, magical beasts, and magical creatures. Like humans, all animals also have a magical core. Mundane animals are mainly the animals known only to muggles and, also like muggles, they have no access to their cores. Their energy will simply sit inside of them until they die. Both magical beasts and creatures, on the other hand, are able to access their magic, even if they rarely ever use it. The main difference between the two is that magical creatures often have better control of that magic and that they have a much higher intelligence—usually a near-human level.
"We'll go into more depth on how magical creatures use their magic at a later date. For today we're going to start out with Re'em."
As he finished his little lecture, Professor Talbot waved his hand in the direction of one of the walls. Instantaneously the air there shimmered slightly before a small fenced in area was revealed, as if it'd been previously covered up by an invisible veil. The animal—a Re'em, apparently—standing in the small stable was unlike anything Harry had seen before. It somewhat resembled an ox, but its fur was a sparkling golden color that instantly drew all eyes to it. Spiral-shaped horns curled on either side of the Re'em's head, much like a ram's.
Ryan let out a low whistle. "Wow," he murmured. "I've never actually seen a Re'em before. The fayeries are usually very protective of them." Upon seeing Harry's confused look he elaborated, "Fayeries are the guardians of the Re'em. They raise and protect them and in return the Re'em allow themselves to be used for transportation. Supposedly Re'em are very fast both over land and in water. They can be a bit too noticeable though, since they cause a cloud of dust to rise in the air when they're moving.
"Re'em actually aren't the only animals that fayeries use for transportation. They've apparently domesticated quite a few magical creatures. It's because they have a special connection with animals, you see. A few rare fayeries even have the ability to communicate with certain species. I suppose that this is why Silvermoor has a fayerie as the professor for this class..."
"Very good, Mr. Henderson," a voice behind them growled. "But why don't you leave the teaching up to me, hmm?"
Both Harry and Ryan jumped in surprise and then quickly spun around. They paled upon finding Professor Talbot standing behind them, his arms crossed over his chest and a glare on his face. Ryan gulped and stuttered out some form of apology that was promptly ignored by Talbot. In fact, the fayerie then swept by them as if nothing had happened and began his lecture on Re'em.
Harry and Ryan shared a relieved glance. They'd been sure that Talbot would eat them alive just then. It just went to show that neither of them really knew their professors very well.
As he stood listening to Professor Talbot Harry's mind eventually began to wander. It wasn't that the class was boring, but rather that his conversation with Ryan had sparked an idea in his mind. He wasn’t quite sure if it would work, but there couldn't be any harm in asking.
Harry waited until the end of the class before quietly approaching Talbot. He'd told Ryan to go ahead, that he'd see him at dinner. The werewolf had hesitantly agreed, clearly wondering what Harry was up to.
"Professor Talbot?" Harry enquired once the room has emptied.
The fayerie turned to face him with one eyebrow raised in question. His gaze quickly scanned over him before coming to rest on his eyes with an intensity that almost caused Harry to flinch. When Talbot said nothing and just continued to stare, Harry finally cleared his throat and continued.
"I know of a hippogriff that needs shelter and I was thinking that the Greenland Reserves might be the perfect place for him. Since you're the Magical Creatures professor, I thought I'd ask you..." Harry trailed off unsurely.
Talbot's expression turned thoughtful and his eyes finally left Harry's. "Hmm," the stocky fayerie mused. "A hippogriff...I'll have to speak to the Headmistress about it. I'll get back to you on this."
Harry nodded and then quickly left the classroom. All the while he could still feel Talbot's eyes digging into his back.
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Harry's sixth class of the day was Elemental Manipulation. He'd been looking forward to the class all day because he kept hearing about how interesting and fun it was. Upon first catching sight of the professor however, Harry had to wonder if he should revise his initial opinion.
Chuntao Daiyu, the professor, had to be the strictest looking woman he'd ever laid eyes upon. She was an older Chinese mage with short graying hair and sharp gray eyes. Her mouth was stretched out into a permanent thin line that seemed to radiate displeasure. She was also a diminutive woman who didn't even reach five feet tall and walked around in short, quick strides.
She was, however, the most talented elemental manipulator in the world and when she spoke all of the students hung onto her every word.
"Welcome," Professor Daiyu said once they all had been seated in the large classroom, "To your first day of Elemental Manipulation. For those of you who don't know, this class will be all about learning how to manipulate the natural elements around us: Fire, water, wind, and earth and—to a lesser extent—light, darkness, lightning, ice, air, and metal.
"The first thing that you must understand is that all people are more compatible with certain elements. You will all have one or two elements which you are able to control and others which you have no power over whatsoever. Today you will learn which elements you are able to manipulate and then we will begin on precisely how you control them."
Harry exchanged glances with Zahra and Damion, who sat on either side of him. All three of them were anxious to find out what elements they were compatible with.
"We will begin with fire," Daiyu said. She snapped her fingers and suddenly small flames appeared over each of the desks, floating about four inches in the air. "Manipulate the flame; make it move."
Harry frowned at the small flame, concentrating. If he added a bit of oxygen to the flame then it'd grow and—
"Manipulate the flame," Professor Daiyu voice suddenly barked from directly in front of him. Harry jumped in surprise. "And only the flame." She glared at him for a second, as if she'd known what he been about to do. Harry quickly nodded his agreement and then released a relived sigh when Daiyu moved on. She could be down right scary.
The flame flickered almost mockingly at Harry as he returned to staring at it. Manipulate only the flame? So just the energy then...
Manipulating the flame turned out to be harder than Harry expected. Because fire was pure energy it was wild and uncontrollable. Harry had to use all of his will in order to get it in the direction that he wanted it to move, and even then it just seemed to slip through his control. Zahra seemed to be having the same sort of problem, but Damion made controlling the fire seem easy. In a matter of seconds he was able to do almost anything with it.
The second exercise was for water. Professor Daiyu snapped her fingers for a second time and the flames were replaced by small bowls of water.
For Harry, the water turned out to be even more difficult to control. No matter what he did he couldn't control it with his magic any more than he could with his fingers. Had he been allowed to he could have easily used the air outside the water to move the liquid, but with the water alone it was impossible. His only respite was neither Zahra nor Damion were having any more luck than he was.
Next was the wind exercise, in which they were told to create a miniature whirlwind on their desks. For Harry this came surprisingly easy. Perhaps it was because he'd already been manipulating air for many years, or maybe it was because it was the element he was most "compatible" with. Either way he finished the exercise in a few scant seconds.
The final exercise that they were given was for manipulating earth. Professor Daiyu snapped her fingers again and this time a rock appeared on each of the students' desks.
"Break the rock," was all she said. She gave no other instructions beyond that and they all knew better than to ask.
Harry stared blankly at the rock, wondering how to complete this task. Again he was surprised to realize that he knew exactly how to break it had he been using wind; he would have just shoved air into the natural holes in the rock and then expanded it outwards. But using only earth he honestly had no idea, so he decided to do what he did best: Wing it.
The dark haired mage concentrated all of his power onto the rock and channeled it through it, trying to get it to break. To his surprise the rock began to vibrate slightly before finally cracking into several pieces.
Harry blinked down at the rock. "Huh..." he muttered quietly. "Well I guess that works." He glanced over to check on how Zahra was doing and instantly his mouth fell open in shock. "Bloody hell! How'd you manage to get it to do that?!"
Zahra's rock hadn't just cracked like his had: It had turned into a finely powered dust mixed with pebbled of various sizes. Damion leaned around Harry to get a look and found himself similarly gaping.
"Very good, Miss Sadiki," Daiyu croaked from behind them. You're a true earth elemental it'd seem; you're almost on par with some elves."
As the older mage strode away, Harry gave Zahra a questioning look. "...The elves? What'd she mean by that?"
"Ah, well you might have noticed that there aren't any elves in this class right?" Zahra asked. Harry glanced around and suddenly realized that she was right; the class was made up of mages, werewolves, vampires, etc. but no elves. "Well that's because all elves attend a different sort of elemental manipulation class. You see, each race of elf has power over one element—and only that element. But the control that they do have over it far surpasses what most other races are able to accomplish."
Harry considered the Egyptian girl's explanation for a moment. "So then ice elves control ice and fire elves control fire?" he asked.
Zahra nodded. "And wood elves control earth," she agreed. "Though a few have been known to control plants instead, but that's rare."
"Almost as rare as dark elves that can control people's emotions," Damion added. "Most dark elves can just manipulate darkness and shadows, but for whatever reason there's a few whose power instead extends to the darkness in people's souls."
Harry shuddered lightly. Dark elves that could control what emotion someone was feeling? Now that was a scary thought. If there was one thing that should not be tread upon it was the soul, but it seemed that magic crossed that line without a single ounce of hesitation.
By the end of the Elemental Manipulation class all of the students had figured out which of the elements was the one they'd be most compatible with. Harry's was without a doubt air, Damion's was fire, and Zahra's was earth.
Professor Daiyu told them that starting in the next class they'd be receiving instruction specific to their own element. They'd learn the basics in how to control all the other elements too, but would be focusing on their main one for the time being.
"I can't wait for the next class!" Zahra babbled excitedly as they left the classroom once the bell had rung. "Eventually I'll be able to crush people under thousands of pounds of rock or turn the ground beneath to quicksand and bury them alive or—"
Harry chuckled and turned away from the violently enthusiastic girl to speak to Damion. Caught up in her excitement as she was, Zahra didn't notice.
"How about you? What are you looking forward to?"
Damion absently ran a hand through his bangs. The rest of his hair was tied back in a waist length braid, as always. "Well, at the moment I'm interested to learn how to form fire from nothing. Professor Daiyu mentioned something about using raw energy and friction..." The rest of Damion's sentence turned inaudible as the vampire began to mumble, lost in thought. Harry chuckled once more and left both of his friends to their musings.
For his part, Harry was also quite eager for their next class. He'd learnt throughout his life that the air around them could be used for so much, and so to actually be taught the specific ways to control air would doubtlessly only enhance his control. He definitely looked forward to learning how to use wind as a weapon too.
Eventually Harry waved goodbye to Zahra and Damion and then sped through the school towards his next class, Enchantment. No sooner had he stepped into the Gamma Building when he—almost literally—ran into Azrael. The crimson eyed vampire gave him a calm nod in greeting and then the two of them headed into the class.
For once, Harry found that the professor was already in the class, waiting for the students. He was sitting calmly in a chair in the front of the class, his legs propped up on the wide desk in front of him. Harry couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; considering his body language and messy clothing, this professor had to be one of the most relaxed men he'd ever seen
Surprisingly the professor was an Italian vampire. He had fair hair that flew every which way and couldn't seem to lie flat on his head and eyes so pale that they almost seemed silver. His clothing consisted of a pair of muggle jeans and a button up shirt that was crumpled and missing the first two buttons. Harry doubted that he'd ever worn a tie.
"Afternoon everyone!" the vampire greeted brightly once everyone was seated. A wide grin stretched across his face, making him very handsome for someone who looked as if he'd spent his entire life out of the sun. "Welcome to your first Enchantment class! If you just suddenly had an epiphany and realized that you're in the wrong class, please leave now and scurry along to find the place you're supposed to be in. No? No one? Alright then, let's get started!
"If you hadn't already figured it out, I am Gaea Aetius, the head Enchantment professor at this Academy. I teach the advanced class and you little newbies, so that I have a chance to get my hands dirty with all sorts of students. And before anyone points it out, yes I do realize that with my fair hair, pale eyes, and white skin that I look rather washed out, but guess what: I don't care! If you've really got that much of a problem with it, take it up with my parents for being vampires and thus giving me the inability to get any sort of a tan.
"Anyway, we're going to be covering a lot of different topics this year in Enchantment. Today we'll go over some of the basics..."
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Harry heaved a sigh as he plopped down into one of the chairs in the Soul Magic classroom. He'd had an interesting day, but it'd also been very long. He was glad that it was almost over.
Next to him Senka smiled slightly. "Hard class last period?"
"No, just a long day. My last professor, Professor Aetius, was actually pretty cool."
"Ah, that's right, you just came from Enchantment. I have Professor Theos for that class."
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but before he could the professor swept into the room. All the students fell silent as they waited eagerly for their first Soul Magic class to start.
"I am Adhamh Aglaeca, your Soul Magic instructor," the professor began. He was an older fayerie with wispy white hair and dark eyes. He wore a black cloak that swept around him like living shadows. "There will be no tomfoolery in this class. You will pay attention or you will leave, it's as simple as that. Now, to begin, let me ask if any of you know precisely what Soul Magic is. No? Then listen well.
"Soul Magic is, quite simply, the art of the soul. And by soul I do not mean that you will be manipulating your soul—never that. The soul itself is one of the realms that magic never touches, for it is what makes us who we are. No, by soul I am referring to your magical essence, your magical core. In this class you will learn the basics of how to control your magical core for rituals, divining, and mind magic. If you choose to continue the path of Soul Magic, then in more advanced class we shall delve into how to use raw energy from your core in bulk.
"Today, however, we shall be starting with simply meditation. Meditation will teach you how to regulate your energy and once that's done we'll be able to explore more about what Soul Magic can accomplish. Everyone please come and sit on the mats..."
The second half of the room was devoid of desks and instead was covered completely by mats. When he'd first come into the classroom Harry had wondered why the setup was the way it was, but now he understood. He and Senka shared a glance before getting up with everyone else and moving to sit on the mats.
Once everyone was seated Professor Aglaeca stood facing them. He lectured on the proper way to meditate and then started them off with a few simple exercises that involved a lot of silence and breathing.
As they meditated Professor Aglaeca walked among them, instructing them in soft tones. Eventually he reached Harry. The fayerie crouched down in front of the young mage and studied him with a frown. Harry kept his eyes closed as he was supposed to, hoping that Aglaeca would just move on. Unfortunately, he didn't.
"Not quite, boy," the professor murmured. As he spoke he reached out to tap Harry's forehead, as if to make a point. "Try concentrating more on—"
Abruptly Aglaeca cut himself off with a strangled gasp. He lost his balance in his surprise and fell backwards where he sat, staring at Harry in shock. The young mage opened his eyes, surprised and confused, as were most of the other students.
"Out!" Professor Aglaeca suddenly howled. He scrambled to his feet. "Out of this classroom now!"
Harry gaped at the fayerie. "Professor? What did I—?"
But Aglaeca wasn't listening. He quickly scribbled something out on a piece of paper and then shoved it into Harry's hands without actually touching him. His face was neither angry nor afraid, but instead somewhat haggard. Harry wasn't quite sure what to make it.
"Out!" Professor Aglaeca repeated. "Now!" Under the shocked gazes of the other students he then quickly ushered Harry out of the room.
"But sir—"
The classroom door slammed in Harry's face, leaving him staring blankly at the grains of the wood.
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(1) - A link to the picture of the symbol in Damion's focus can be found here: photobucket(DOT)com/albums/nn35/Shadow_Rebirth/DamionsPendant(DOT)jpg
A/N: Argh, the number of characters is starting to get a bit out of hand. Most of them won't really be mentioned again, and thus are inconsequential, but there are a couple who will become major characters. I might eventually put up a list of bios, but I'm not sure at this point...
I think that Aetius just turned out to be one of my favorite characters. I had actually originally planned for him to be completely different than he is, but as I wrote that's just how he turned out. That's actually one thing that I really love about this story: While I've got everything for it planned out, a lot of the little details seem to be writing themselves as I go along. In my opinion, those are the best sort of stories; the ones that just fall into place on their own.
And yes, Buckbeak will be in this story! Why? Because there's so much that can be done with him and he's never used in anything, either fanfiction or canon (seriously, he just kind of disappears after the fifth book). Am I the only one that notices that a giant, flying monster with deadly talons and a sharp beak that's highly loyal to Harry practically screams "plot device"?
And finally, I hope that the whole "dark elves that can control emotion" thing wasn't too confusing. For those of you who've read Twilight, think of how Jasper can control the mood of the room. For those of you who haven't, they're basically able to control the emotion that a person is feeling at any given time (ex, make them feel calm when they're angry or really sad over nothing in particular). Kind of like a genetic anomaly, they're very rare though; only one or two every few generations.
Please review!
--S.R.
Author: Shadow Rebirth
Beta Reader: StormyBabe1988
Rating: T/PG-13
Warnings: Death, blood and gore, language, spoilers
Chapter WC: 5,607
Story WC: 57,455
Last Edited: November 17, 2008
Posted: October 21, 2008
Summary: Harry has a dark secret: He isn't a wizard. But that certainly doesn't mean he can't do magic. It was too bad it also meant that in the face of fanatical governments and enraged demigods, Voldemort was going to be the least of his problems. AU, Gray!Harry, foreign school, vampires, werewolves, politics, no pairings.
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Shades of Gray
Chapter 11
The Focus
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Harry couldn't help but stare at the professor, completely bewildered. Their foci? What the hell was that? A quick glance to his friends that sat on either side of him showed that they actually did know what she was talking about, especially considering the excited look that lit up even Senka's face.
"Your focus," the dark haired werewolf professor began, "Will be something that will stay with you for your entire life. They will be more important to you than your soul, in a way.
"To be more specific, for those of you who don't know your focus is quite literally exactly as it sounds. It is an object very personal to you that helps your magic to flow better. It's nothing like a wizard's wand," she waved her hand lightly as if waving off the idea, "It's just something that your magic uses as kind of a conduit to make it even more controllable than it already is. Your focus will not be something that you hold. In fact, usually it's a piece of jewelry of some kind, though I've heard a couple of cases of a focus manifesting as a tattoo or the like. Actually, I believe that both Professor Demetrius and Professor Cordula have foci that manifested as tattoos.
"Anyway, today you will be creating your own focus. Do not worry too much about the process—which I will explain in just a minute—as it's really very simple, and your own magic will guide you through it. In fact, it's actually your magic which will unconsciously cause your focus to manifest it the form that best fits you.
"For example, my focus is my bracelet." Professor Darya then held up her arm, showing the whole class the simple, unadorned golden bracelet that rested on her wrist. At first, there didn't seem to be anything special about it, but after a moment Harry realized that he could feel...something...about it. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, as it was different from anything that he'd ever felt before, but it was almost a humming vibration.
"So," Professor Darya exclaimed, a bright grin on her face once more, "Let's get started, shall we?"
The werewolf waved her hand at a large box that was sitting next to her desk that Harry hadn't noticed before. Immediately, the box opened up and a bunch of small objects zoomed out of the box. The objects quickly flew around the room, one landing before every student.
When one was dropped in front of Harry, he leaned forward to examine it. It was a small metal object, he noted. It was kind of a round shape, but had a flat bottom that allowed it to rest easily on the desk. Its diameter was about that of a Galleon.
"These are what we will be using to create your foci. They're specially made from a magical metal alloy that is quite easily manipulated by magic. However, once they take on the final form of your focus, they'll be damn near indestructible." The professor paused and blinked, realizing that she'd just sworn in front of her students, before finally just shrugging it off, not really caring.
"To start with, what you're going to do is pick up the metal and cup it in between both of your hands." Professor Darya waited until everyone had complied before continuing. "Now clasp your hands together so that you're holding it firmly, but still fairly loosely." Again she paused. "Good, good, that's right. Now, reach out with your magic and envelope the metal. Don't actually do anything to it; just let your magic hang around it. Wait for a few seconds, and your magic should just take control and do what it needs to do. Don't try to stop it, just let it be."
Harry looked down at his hands—which were currently before him, holding his piece of metal—a bit skeptically, before just shrugging. He called up his magic and wrapped it around the small piece of metal. He waited for a few moments, and nothing happened. Harry felt his stomach start to drop. What if it didn't work for him? What if, just like with the wizards, he was different from normal mages too? What if—
Before Harry's thoughts could go any farther, the metal—and, by extension, his magic—suddenly started to move in his hands. Harry held himself back from yelping aloud and stared at his hands in shock. He was quite tempted to move his hands apart to see exactly what the metal was doing, but knew for some reason that that would be a bad idea. Instead, he just contented himself with focusing on what he could feel his magic doing.
The metal itself seemed to be reshaping itself. The magic that Harry had around it was quickly moving around the metal too, and seemed to almost have a mind of its own.
Harry sat there for nearly five minutes while his focus changed in his hands. Around him, Harry noticed that everyone else finished with changing their foci in no more than thirty seconds. By then end of the third minute, both Damion and Senka were staring at him in surprise, wondering why it was taking so long. As time entered the fifth minute, Professor Darya walked up to his desk, curious as to why it was taking so long.
"Hmm," she murmured as she stared at Harry's hands. "I don't believe that it's ever taken so long for someone's focus to take shape before. This should definitely turn out to be very interesting."
Almost as soon as the werewolf finished her comment, Harry sent felt all of the magic in his hands being sucked into the metal. At the same time, the metal suddenly stopped changing shapes and lay still and cool in his hands. Harry paused for a moment, hesitant, and then slowly opened his hands up to see his new focus.
As it turned out, Harry's focus had manifested itself as a single silver earring. It was fairly simply for the most part, though the pendant part of it held a gleaming crimson stone. Upon seeing the earring, Professor Darya breathed in sharply. Harry looked up at her questioningly, but her eyes were riveted to the stone.
"A...a blood ruby...." she murmured, still shocked. She quickly regained control of herself and looked up at Harry, her face unreadable. She studied him for a moment before a small smile suddenly lit up her face and she laughed quietly. "Very interesting, Mr. Gray, very interesting." And with that she swept away, off to help some other students.
To his left, Damion was chuckling as well. "You really do get more and more fascinating everyday," he commented, amused.
Harry looked between him and Senka, completely confused. "Can someone please fill me in? It's just a stone..."
"It's not just a stone," Senka replied quietly. She was still starring at the earring. "It's a blood ruby." She paused to look up at him, meeting him eye to eye. "You don't seem to understand, Blake, exactly what a blood ruby is. They're very rare and can only be found deep, deep in the ground underneath areas that have been soaked with magic for a very long time. Blake, they take millions of years to form. For your focus to have manifested as one....Well, it's quite literally impossible and I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself."
Harry blinked in surprise and then looked back at the little earring in his hands. Why couldn't he ever do things normally? Among wizards he'd been different and now, even among mages, he was too. Harry sighed and then froze. Wait, how was he going to wear his focus? He didn't have his ears pierced, and certainly had never considered getting them done.
Fortunately, Senka seemed to recognize his dilemma. "Here," she sighed. She reached across him and the hesitated. "May I?" she asked. Harry nodded and so she then completed her reach and brushed her thumb against the earlobe of Harry's left ear. Harry immediately hissed, feeling a sharp pain in his ear, but the pain left as soon as it had come.
Harry reached up to his left ear, and could feel that there was now a small hole there. He carefully picked up his focus and slipped it on. For some reason, he thought with a light smirk, it almost seemed like his focus was a part of him, like it was just meant to be where it was. Harry chuckled lightly and then turned his attention back to his two friends.
"So, how about you two?" he asked. "What're your foci?"
Senka was the first to reply. She gestured to her neck, showing Harry that she had already slipped her focus on. Hers, Harry saw, had taken the form of a black chocker with a gleaming sapphire embedded into it.
"See," he commented wryly. "I'm not the only one with a stone in their focus."
Senka just rolled her eyes. "Stones aren’t that uncommon in foci," she replied. "Blood rubies, on the other hand, are incredibly rare to find as it is. I believe there are only a scant hundred in existence. You could probably buy a couple small countries with that stone, though anyone who even considers selling their foci is insane on a level that is currently unimaginable."
Harry blinked, surprised. He was pretty sure that was the most that he'd ever heard her say. He quickly shook it off however and then turned to Damion. The vampire picked up on the unspoken question and gestured to his own focus, which rested on his right bicep. The focus was a strap of leather around his bicep with a pendant imbedded into it. That pendant was basically a gold and black circular symbol with a silver dagger running through it, point down.(1)
Harry absently nodded his head as he examined it. It seemed that everyone really did have very different shapes that their foci took. He couldn't help but wonder what shapes his other friends' foci were in...
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It wasn't much of a surprise that Magical control turned out to be the most boring of Harry's classes. All they did was practice different ways of controlling energy. Harry couldn't deny that the class would help drastically though. They'd be taught chemistry and physics in that course as well, which would help their magic.
The teacher was a surprisingly interesting person for the class. He was a Greek professor named Erebus Ciar who only looked like he was in his mid thirties. He had the appearance of a dark elf—that is to say, shoulder length black hair, obsidian eyes, and pointed ears—but Harry had heard rumors that the man was actually half dark elf and half vampire. Whether this was just gossip spurned by Professor Ciar's white skin and vampire-like grace or actually truth Harry didn't know.
In fact, all Harry really knew about Professor Ciar was that he was usually calm but had a wicked tempter and that he was a master at mind, soul, and death magic. An interesting and powerful combination to be sure. It made Harry wonder just how old he really was, but he doubted that Ciar was very forthcoming with information like that.
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When Harry stepped into the Magical Creatures classroom he found that Ryan was already there waiting for him. Harry joined him quietly while suppressing a shiver caused by a cool breeze blowing through the room.
The classroom itself was rather large—about twice the size of most of the others—but had no desks or chairs. The back wall was made up of a series of wide arches that led out onto the school grounds. Harry could just barely see the school's stables in the distance.
"Come!" a voice boomed in the distance just as the last few students walked through the door.
Harry turned to face the wall of arches and found a man standing there. He was clearly a fayerie, from his blue skin and short white hair, but he was far different from all the other thin, wispy fayeries that Harry had seen. Instead, thick cords of muscle ran along his arms and shoulders, practically bulging from beneath his skin. He was also surprisingly short, only just past five feet tall.
As one the class shuffled forwards towards the glaring professor who, despite his small stature, seemed to tower over them. Once they'd all stopped the fayerie finally uncrossed his arms and stood tall in front of them.
"I am Bora Talbot, your Magical Creatures professor," he began gruffly. He had a strange accent that Harry couldn't quite place. He'd have said Turkish, but Talbot was a fayerie so that wasn't quite possible. "You will listen to what I say and abide by my every rule or else I will kick you out of this class, no questions asked. This is one class that you will not be able to fool around in. Ever. Here my word is law. If you've got a problem with that, well, that's your problem, not mine."
Professor Talbot began pacing in short, quick strides. His gaze flickered over the students as he did so, never resting on one for more than a few seconds. Harry could already tell that he was definitely a "no frills" sort of person.
The professor continued, "Over the next year we will delve into how to recognize and handle various types of magical creatures. For those of you who want to continue with this line of work there are a few advanced classes that you can also take as upper years. For this class in specific we will be dealing with many types of dangerous and deadly creatures. This is the main reason why I expect you to follow my every instruction; more than just one student has died from carelessness before.
"The first subject that we will be focusing on is the difference between mundane animals, magical beasts, and magical creatures. Like humans, all animals also have a magical core. Mundane animals are mainly the animals known only to muggles and, also like muggles, they have no access to their cores. Their energy will simply sit inside of them until they die. Both magical beasts and creatures, on the other hand, are able to access their magic, even if they rarely ever use it. The main difference between the two is that magical creatures often have better control of that magic and that they have a much higher intelligence—usually a near-human level.
"We'll go into more depth on how magical creatures use their magic at a later date. For today we're going to start out with Re'em."
As he finished his little lecture, Professor Talbot waved his hand in the direction of one of the walls. Instantaneously the air there shimmered slightly before a small fenced in area was revealed, as if it'd been previously covered up by an invisible veil. The animal—a Re'em, apparently—standing in the small stable was unlike anything Harry had seen before. It somewhat resembled an ox, but its fur was a sparkling golden color that instantly drew all eyes to it. Spiral-shaped horns curled on either side of the Re'em's head, much like a ram's.
Ryan let out a low whistle. "Wow," he murmured. "I've never actually seen a Re'em before. The fayeries are usually very protective of them." Upon seeing Harry's confused look he elaborated, "Fayeries are the guardians of the Re'em. They raise and protect them and in return the Re'em allow themselves to be used for transportation. Supposedly Re'em are very fast both over land and in water. They can be a bit too noticeable though, since they cause a cloud of dust to rise in the air when they're moving.
"Re'em actually aren't the only animals that fayeries use for transportation. They've apparently domesticated quite a few magical creatures. It's because they have a special connection with animals, you see. A few rare fayeries even have the ability to communicate with certain species. I suppose that this is why Silvermoor has a fayerie as the professor for this class..."
"Very good, Mr. Henderson," a voice behind them growled. "But why don't you leave the teaching up to me, hmm?"
Both Harry and Ryan jumped in surprise and then quickly spun around. They paled upon finding Professor Talbot standing behind them, his arms crossed over his chest and a glare on his face. Ryan gulped and stuttered out some form of apology that was promptly ignored by Talbot. In fact, the fayerie then swept by them as if nothing had happened and began his lecture on Re'em.
Harry and Ryan shared a relieved glance. They'd been sure that Talbot would eat them alive just then. It just went to show that neither of them really knew their professors very well.
As he stood listening to Professor Talbot Harry's mind eventually began to wander. It wasn't that the class was boring, but rather that his conversation with Ryan had sparked an idea in his mind. He wasn’t quite sure if it would work, but there couldn't be any harm in asking.
Harry waited until the end of the class before quietly approaching Talbot. He'd told Ryan to go ahead, that he'd see him at dinner. The werewolf had hesitantly agreed, clearly wondering what Harry was up to.
"Professor Talbot?" Harry enquired once the room has emptied.
The fayerie turned to face him with one eyebrow raised in question. His gaze quickly scanned over him before coming to rest on his eyes with an intensity that almost caused Harry to flinch. When Talbot said nothing and just continued to stare, Harry finally cleared his throat and continued.
"I know of a hippogriff that needs shelter and I was thinking that the Greenland Reserves might be the perfect place for him. Since you're the Magical Creatures professor, I thought I'd ask you..." Harry trailed off unsurely.
Talbot's expression turned thoughtful and his eyes finally left Harry's. "Hmm," the stocky fayerie mused. "A hippogriff...I'll have to speak to the Headmistress about it. I'll get back to you on this."
Harry nodded and then quickly left the classroom. All the while he could still feel Talbot's eyes digging into his back.
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Harry's sixth class of the day was Elemental Manipulation. He'd been looking forward to the class all day because he kept hearing about how interesting and fun it was. Upon first catching sight of the professor however, Harry had to wonder if he should revise his initial opinion.
Chuntao Daiyu, the professor, had to be the strictest looking woman he'd ever laid eyes upon. She was an older Chinese mage with short graying hair and sharp gray eyes. Her mouth was stretched out into a permanent thin line that seemed to radiate displeasure. She was also a diminutive woman who didn't even reach five feet tall and walked around in short, quick strides.
She was, however, the most talented elemental manipulator in the world and when she spoke all of the students hung onto her every word.
"Welcome," Professor Daiyu said once they all had been seated in the large classroom, "To your first day of Elemental Manipulation. For those of you who don't know, this class will be all about learning how to manipulate the natural elements around us: Fire, water, wind, and earth and—to a lesser extent—light, darkness, lightning, ice, air, and metal.
"The first thing that you must understand is that all people are more compatible with certain elements. You will all have one or two elements which you are able to control and others which you have no power over whatsoever. Today you will learn which elements you are able to manipulate and then we will begin on precisely how you control them."
Harry exchanged glances with Zahra and Damion, who sat on either side of him. All three of them were anxious to find out what elements they were compatible with.
"We will begin with fire," Daiyu said. She snapped her fingers and suddenly small flames appeared over each of the desks, floating about four inches in the air. "Manipulate the flame; make it move."
Harry frowned at the small flame, concentrating. If he added a bit of oxygen to the flame then it'd grow and—
"Manipulate the flame," Professor Daiyu voice suddenly barked from directly in front of him. Harry jumped in surprise. "And only the flame." She glared at him for a second, as if she'd known what he been about to do. Harry quickly nodded his agreement and then released a relived sigh when Daiyu moved on. She could be down right scary.
The flame flickered almost mockingly at Harry as he returned to staring at it. Manipulate only the flame? So just the energy then...
Manipulating the flame turned out to be harder than Harry expected. Because fire was pure energy it was wild and uncontrollable. Harry had to use all of his will in order to get it in the direction that he wanted it to move, and even then it just seemed to slip through his control. Zahra seemed to be having the same sort of problem, but Damion made controlling the fire seem easy. In a matter of seconds he was able to do almost anything with it.
The second exercise was for water. Professor Daiyu snapped her fingers for a second time and the flames were replaced by small bowls of water.
For Harry, the water turned out to be even more difficult to control. No matter what he did he couldn't control it with his magic any more than he could with his fingers. Had he been allowed to he could have easily used the air outside the water to move the liquid, but with the water alone it was impossible. His only respite was neither Zahra nor Damion were having any more luck than he was.
Next was the wind exercise, in which they were told to create a miniature whirlwind on their desks. For Harry this came surprisingly easy. Perhaps it was because he'd already been manipulating air for many years, or maybe it was because it was the element he was most "compatible" with. Either way he finished the exercise in a few scant seconds.
The final exercise that they were given was for manipulating earth. Professor Daiyu snapped her fingers again and this time a rock appeared on each of the students' desks.
"Break the rock," was all she said. She gave no other instructions beyond that and they all knew better than to ask.
Harry stared blankly at the rock, wondering how to complete this task. Again he was surprised to realize that he knew exactly how to break it had he been using wind; he would have just shoved air into the natural holes in the rock and then expanded it outwards. But using only earth he honestly had no idea, so he decided to do what he did best: Wing it.
The dark haired mage concentrated all of his power onto the rock and channeled it through it, trying to get it to break. To his surprise the rock began to vibrate slightly before finally cracking into several pieces.
Harry blinked down at the rock. "Huh..." he muttered quietly. "Well I guess that works." He glanced over to check on how Zahra was doing and instantly his mouth fell open in shock. "Bloody hell! How'd you manage to get it to do that?!"
Zahra's rock hadn't just cracked like his had: It had turned into a finely powered dust mixed with pebbled of various sizes. Damion leaned around Harry to get a look and found himself similarly gaping.
"Very good, Miss Sadiki," Daiyu croaked from behind them. You're a true earth elemental it'd seem; you're almost on par with some elves."
As the older mage strode away, Harry gave Zahra a questioning look. "...The elves? What'd she mean by that?"
"Ah, well you might have noticed that there aren't any elves in this class right?" Zahra asked. Harry glanced around and suddenly realized that she was right; the class was made up of mages, werewolves, vampires, etc. but no elves. "Well that's because all elves attend a different sort of elemental manipulation class. You see, each race of elf has power over one element—and only that element. But the control that they do have over it far surpasses what most other races are able to accomplish."
Harry considered the Egyptian girl's explanation for a moment. "So then ice elves control ice and fire elves control fire?" he asked.
Zahra nodded. "And wood elves control earth," she agreed. "Though a few have been known to control plants instead, but that's rare."
"Almost as rare as dark elves that can control people's emotions," Damion added. "Most dark elves can just manipulate darkness and shadows, but for whatever reason there's a few whose power instead extends to the darkness in people's souls."
Harry shuddered lightly. Dark elves that could control what emotion someone was feeling? Now that was a scary thought. If there was one thing that should not be tread upon it was the soul, but it seemed that magic crossed that line without a single ounce of hesitation.
By the end of the Elemental Manipulation class all of the students had figured out which of the elements was the one they'd be most compatible with. Harry's was without a doubt air, Damion's was fire, and Zahra's was earth.
Professor Daiyu told them that starting in the next class they'd be receiving instruction specific to their own element. They'd learn the basics in how to control all the other elements too, but would be focusing on their main one for the time being.
"I can't wait for the next class!" Zahra babbled excitedly as they left the classroom once the bell had rung. "Eventually I'll be able to crush people under thousands of pounds of rock or turn the ground beneath to quicksand and bury them alive or—"
Harry chuckled and turned away from the violently enthusiastic girl to speak to Damion. Caught up in her excitement as she was, Zahra didn't notice.
"How about you? What are you looking forward to?"
Damion absently ran a hand through his bangs. The rest of his hair was tied back in a waist length braid, as always. "Well, at the moment I'm interested to learn how to form fire from nothing. Professor Daiyu mentioned something about using raw energy and friction..." The rest of Damion's sentence turned inaudible as the vampire began to mumble, lost in thought. Harry chuckled once more and left both of his friends to their musings.
For his part, Harry was also quite eager for their next class. He'd learnt throughout his life that the air around them could be used for so much, and so to actually be taught the specific ways to control air would doubtlessly only enhance his control. He definitely looked forward to learning how to use wind as a weapon too.
Eventually Harry waved goodbye to Zahra and Damion and then sped through the school towards his next class, Enchantment. No sooner had he stepped into the Gamma Building when he—almost literally—ran into Azrael. The crimson eyed vampire gave him a calm nod in greeting and then the two of them headed into the class.
For once, Harry found that the professor was already in the class, waiting for the students. He was sitting calmly in a chair in the front of the class, his legs propped up on the wide desk in front of him. Harry couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; considering his body language and messy clothing, this professor had to be one of the most relaxed men he'd ever seen
Surprisingly the professor was an Italian vampire. He had fair hair that flew every which way and couldn't seem to lie flat on his head and eyes so pale that they almost seemed silver. His clothing consisted of a pair of muggle jeans and a button up shirt that was crumpled and missing the first two buttons. Harry doubted that he'd ever worn a tie.
"Afternoon everyone!" the vampire greeted brightly once everyone was seated. A wide grin stretched across his face, making him very handsome for someone who looked as if he'd spent his entire life out of the sun. "Welcome to your first Enchantment class! If you just suddenly had an epiphany and realized that you're in the wrong class, please leave now and scurry along to find the place you're supposed to be in. No? No one? Alright then, let's get started!
"If you hadn't already figured it out, I am Gaea Aetius, the head Enchantment professor at this Academy. I teach the advanced class and you little newbies, so that I have a chance to get my hands dirty with all sorts of students. And before anyone points it out, yes I do realize that with my fair hair, pale eyes, and white skin that I look rather washed out, but guess what: I don't care! If you've really got that much of a problem with it, take it up with my parents for being vampires and thus giving me the inability to get any sort of a tan.
"Anyway, we're going to be covering a lot of different topics this year in Enchantment. Today we'll go over some of the basics..."
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Harry heaved a sigh as he plopped down into one of the chairs in the Soul Magic classroom. He'd had an interesting day, but it'd also been very long. He was glad that it was almost over.
Next to him Senka smiled slightly. "Hard class last period?"
"No, just a long day. My last professor, Professor Aetius, was actually pretty cool."
"Ah, that's right, you just came from Enchantment. I have Professor Theos for that class."
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but before he could the professor swept into the room. All the students fell silent as they waited eagerly for their first Soul Magic class to start.
"I am Adhamh Aglaeca, your Soul Magic instructor," the professor began. He was an older fayerie with wispy white hair and dark eyes. He wore a black cloak that swept around him like living shadows. "There will be no tomfoolery in this class. You will pay attention or you will leave, it's as simple as that. Now, to begin, let me ask if any of you know precisely what Soul Magic is. No? Then listen well.
"Soul Magic is, quite simply, the art of the soul. And by soul I do not mean that you will be manipulating your soul—never that. The soul itself is one of the realms that magic never touches, for it is what makes us who we are. No, by soul I am referring to your magical essence, your magical core. In this class you will learn the basics of how to control your magical core for rituals, divining, and mind magic. If you choose to continue the path of Soul Magic, then in more advanced class we shall delve into how to use raw energy from your core in bulk.
"Today, however, we shall be starting with simply meditation. Meditation will teach you how to regulate your energy and once that's done we'll be able to explore more about what Soul Magic can accomplish. Everyone please come and sit on the mats..."
The second half of the room was devoid of desks and instead was covered completely by mats. When he'd first come into the classroom Harry had wondered why the setup was the way it was, but now he understood. He and Senka shared a glance before getting up with everyone else and moving to sit on the mats.
Once everyone was seated Professor Aglaeca stood facing them. He lectured on the proper way to meditate and then started them off with a few simple exercises that involved a lot of silence and breathing.
As they meditated Professor Aglaeca walked among them, instructing them in soft tones. Eventually he reached Harry. The fayerie crouched down in front of the young mage and studied him with a frown. Harry kept his eyes closed as he was supposed to, hoping that Aglaeca would just move on. Unfortunately, he didn't.
"Not quite, boy," the professor murmured. As he spoke he reached out to tap Harry's forehead, as if to make a point. "Try concentrating more on—"
Abruptly Aglaeca cut himself off with a strangled gasp. He lost his balance in his surprise and fell backwards where he sat, staring at Harry in shock. The young mage opened his eyes, surprised and confused, as were most of the other students.
"Out!" Professor Aglaeca suddenly howled. He scrambled to his feet. "Out of this classroom now!"
Harry gaped at the fayerie. "Professor? What did I—?"
But Aglaeca wasn't listening. He quickly scribbled something out on a piece of paper and then shoved it into Harry's hands without actually touching him. His face was neither angry nor afraid, but instead somewhat haggard. Harry wasn't quite sure what to make it.
"Out!" Professor Aglaeca repeated. "Now!" Under the shocked gazes of the other students he then quickly ushered Harry out of the room.
"But sir—"
The classroom door slammed in Harry's face, leaving him staring blankly at the grains of the wood.
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(1) - A link to the picture of the symbol in Damion's focus can be found here: photobucket(DOT)com/albums/nn35/Shadow_Rebirth/DamionsPendant(DOT)jpg
A/N: Argh, the number of characters is starting to get a bit out of hand. Most of them won't really be mentioned again, and thus are inconsequential, but there are a couple who will become major characters. I might eventually put up a list of bios, but I'm not sure at this point...
I think that Aetius just turned out to be one of my favorite characters. I had actually originally planned for him to be completely different than he is, but as I wrote that's just how he turned out. That's actually one thing that I really love about this story: While I've got everything for it planned out, a lot of the little details seem to be writing themselves as I go along. In my opinion, those are the best sort of stories; the ones that just fall into place on their own.
And yes, Buckbeak will be in this story! Why? Because there's so much that can be done with him and he's never used in anything, either fanfiction or canon (seriously, he just kind of disappears after the fifth book). Am I the only one that notices that a giant, flying monster with deadly talons and a sharp beak that's highly loyal to Harry practically screams "plot device"?
And finally, I hope that the whole "dark elves that can control emotion" thing wasn't too confusing. For those of you who've read Twilight, think of how Jasper can control the mood of the room. For those of you who haven't, they're basically able to control the emotion that a person is feeling at any given time (ex, make them feel calm when they're angry or really sad over nothing in particular). Kind of like a genetic anomaly, they're very rare though; only one or two every few generations.
Please review!
--S.R.
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