Harry Potter and The Shadowed Light

Allies and Enemies

Previously

Thinking about that, Harry considered ways of training up his magical stamina; it would be hard to do it undetected, but he thought the benefits would be worth it. He had gained control over his new power levels, no longer having bursts of magic when he was angry, but he had yet to really explore them. Harry had kept his power masked pretty much constantly; stretching it would probably do his a world of good.

Making sure not to act suspicious when he finally went down to lunch, Harry made sure to casually look around and observed the staff. He didn't notice anything off and concluded that his plan had worked. He had gotten away with taking the stone.

Thinking back on his conversation with Death, Harry almost wondered if he had imagined it in his sleep deprived state, before he flicked the thought away.

~

January 1992 Hogwarts

When the students returned the next day, Harry was pleased to find himself back in the company of Neville and the girls.

"So, how was your holiday? Did you do anything interesting?" Hannah asked.

Harry smirked internally when he thought about all he had accomplished, but outwardly he remained passive. "Not really, I mainly just tried to ignore Ronald," Harry replied.

"Well, next time you will just have to take us up on our offers to have you over," Susan said.

"I'll think about it, I promise," Harry replied.

"You had better," she said before smiling. "Oh, and I wanted to thank you again for the hair pins. They really are beautiful."

"It's okay, Sues, I'm glad you like them. The book you got me was amazing as well," Harry said. He had started to read it just that morning and found that it gave clear instructions and suggestions about how to advance in creating mind shields and protections.

After that, the group went on to talk about presents and their holidays, as though they hadn't already told each other through owls. Harry didn't mind as he sat silently and observed his friends.

~

Harry had been called up to Flitwick's office just after Christmas to have a chat with him; the meetings were for all first years to see how they were settling. Harry had been nervous about Flitwick as he wasn't sure if his goblin heritage would make him pick up on Harry's abnormalities. However, the diminutive professor hadn't, or, at least, he hadn't made it known he sensed anything different.

"Hello, Harry," the Charms professor had greeted jovially.

"Good afternoon, sir," Harry replied. He hadn't really ever interacted with the part-goblin in his last life and was surprised to see how proactive he was in managing his house compared to McGonagall. He always spent the morning of every other Sunday in the common room, making himself available to help his students.

"Why don't you take a seat for me, Harry?" Flitwick suggested.

Sitting in the offered chair, Harry looked up and waited.

"Well Harry, from looking at your scores from this past term, I have to say: I am extremely proud of you. You're at the top of all of your classes and you're producing results that are well beyond the normal capabilities of a first year student."

Harry contained his scowl. He had tried to bring his work level down, but even with that he outclassed his peers by a considerable margin. "Thank you, sir," he said. He didn't mind being thought of as a prodigy, but he felt bad for his peers competing against him.