Restoration

Chapter Seventeen

***

"I swear it wasn't me this time," Elara annoying complained to Anthony upon leaving Headmaster Dumbledore's office. After Professor McGonagall sent her there, she had no idea how to defend herself, due to her history with pyromancy at Hogwarts.

"Why would I set Tracey on fire? She's been nothing but nice to me," she explained it to Dumbledore, who didn't object but instead ruled it out as an "accident", much to Professor McGonagall's dismay. Elara felt hurt because she felt as if she'd lost her favorite professor's trust, and there wasn't anything she could do to justify it.

"I hear you, but who else would do it then? Maybe you've just lost control-," Anthony thought out loud, trying to reason with her. He wasn't so convinced of Elara's ability to control her powers, even though he had never seen her fail in managing them.

"It's just that," she gasped, "someone else can use the fire spell!"

Anthony chuckled, as he couldn't imagine anyone so clever in their class to confuse Professor McGonagall and make her think it was all Elara's fault. But both he and Elara could name a few people that didn't like her...

Walking towards their usual practicing spot, Elara looked around them, making sure no one was following them. Even though they were allowed to practise shifting realities, she wasn't sure how well others would take it - be it another professor or a student. When she destroyed the cursed necklace that made her and everyone around her forget who she was, she technically didn't need to practice anymore. But as she was intrigued by her subconscious mind and wished to explore it further - to which Anthony agreed. They briefly discussed her past and memories, wanting to dissect them to her advantage.

Whereas they would normally be accompanied by Luna, who was there to help Elara fully relax and enter a different state or a reality, she quickly apologized for missing out on their lesson that day, saying she had a family thing she needed to tend to.

Guessing who could've used the fire incantation and a way to confront Tracey about it, Elara sat down on the cold, cobbled grounds. They both immediately noticed another student approaching them.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" Anthony smiled at him.

"I was told you were in need of, uh, some of my knowledge," Harry awkwardly stood in front of them, observing Elara, who was drawing a circle around her.

"You trained with Snape, didn't you?" she remembered Dumbledore's advice, to partner up with the infamous wizard.

"What for?" Anthony inquired. As Harry opened his mouth, closed it again, then stuttered, they both felt as if they've asked something that he wasn't really allowed to discuss.

"Let's just say it's to keep everyone but myself out of my head," he finally admitted, rounding up the truth. Officially, he had been training with Professor Snape on how to make sure Lord Voldemort wouldn't be able to read his mind and see what he is up to at any given moment.

"Have you shifted realities before?" Elara finished with drawing a circle around herself, shooing the boys away.

Harry's confused face revealed his answer before his words could. Even though he was practically a master at keeping other people outside his head, he'd never even heard about shifting realities. Once Anthony and Elara explained it to him, he seemed amazed yet cautious, as if he didn't fully believe such a thing was possible.

"If someone told you you're going to be riding dragons and transforming animals into objects when you were 10, would you believe them?" Elara raised her eyebrow, as she recalled how Harry never even knew he was a wizard until Hagrid went to pick him up on his birthday.