Worthy Of Magic

Part 31 - Goblet of Fire

Thirteenth November Nineteen Ninety-Four – Hogwarts: Ancient Runes Class

Runes was one of the few classes that Harry vaguely enjoyed after he had resigned to the fact he had to attend all classes as a part of his role of laying low and killing nothing. It was interesting to see the Professor teach the students what runes had been translated and understood so far and how they could be used.

Today there were going further into the depth of the origins of runes.

"As you all know," Professor Babbling said, "Runes were first discovered in the ruins of Atlantis. They are thought to be the first form of wielding magic until the invention of wands."

Harry scoffed silently in his seat. Runes were a direct translation of magic. To understand what the runes said, you had to understand how the magic felt. It was the root thought that Harry used in his crafting of runes.

What the professor was teaching however, was almost laughable. If Harry had to put in it words, he would say they were being taught the alphabets and not even all of them nor in the correct order. In short they had no idea what runes really were.

It made him feel annoyed and amused. A balance that helped the Void remain calm.

Hermione and Daphne were seated to his right. They listen to Babbling with rapt attention.

By the end of the lecture Babbling assigned them to study chapter four of the Text of Runology which spoke about how runes were used in the present day with wands to help them.

Harry yawned earning a scowl from Hermione. Harry ignored her. He let his mind wander back to the problem that had plagued him since the beginning of his dream. A problem of power. Even now, after the leaps and gains he had earned, it was not enough.

He had discovered how to stabilise the structure by focusing on his violet to influence the catacomb section of the rune structure. He wanted to cast it in the forest to test it but he could not. There were strings of control around him.

He continued to practise patience but he could hear the clock ticking. What way did he have to twist his mind to fully harness the full power of magic to power his curse to the grand scale that he dreamed of? So far he would barely be able to change the landscape for five kilometres in all directions around him. He had used Arithmancy to determine that. It was a lot but it was nowhere near enough.

His control was waning and giving way to a sliver of desperation.

The toll of the bell signalled the end of the lesson and Harry slid out of the bench and moved to leave, eager to return to his dorm and mediate on the source. He had to understand more. Time was running out.

A hand rested on his shoulder. It was Daphne. He recognized her soft touch. It made something strange turn in his gut. It was similar to the feeling he had felt with Tonks.

"We have to go to the great hall," Daphne said. "Today's the inaugural feast."

Harry sighed. Today the contestants were chosen. The students had been ordered to be at the Great Hall. Anyone skipping it would be given detention.

Hermione filled the space on Harry's other side when he allowed Daphne to redirect his path from the Ravenclaw common room to the Great Hall. She was itching to ask him more about his magic. He had never hidden it but it was gaining points in the gossip network of Hogwarts. Since the arrival of the other schools, the different kinds of magic were all the school could talk about and the other schools had not failed to recognise the uniqueness of Harry Potter's magic.

The most awe inspiring were the four students from the Mahoutokoro School of Magic. A mysterious school towering atop the volcanic island of Minami Iwo Jima. The made strange signs with their hands and fingers to use magic. One of them had even blown fire from her mouth much to the amazement of the other schools. It was also rumoured the terrible Bellatrix Black, now Lestrange, had learnt dark magic from Mahoutokoro when she travelled the world after her time in Hogwarts.