January 22, 1945
Friday Afternoon
As it so rarely happened nowadays, his hopes had come true. Hogwarts had not been ruined, devastated or otherwise destroyed in the week that he'd been hiding in the dungeons with Elaine and the majority of Slytherin. In fact, things looked far better for them than they had in recent times.
Dumbledore had returned and with him, a force of newly trained Aurors who were led directly by the Head Auror, Urban Maxis. He was a Polish bloke with two kids - adoptive kids everybody claimed - and while he looked a bit rough for the job, especially thanks to his leather clothing, he turned out to be a real hard arse. He was strict, tough and really, vital to the defence of Hogwarts. Together, those new Aurors led by a strong man such as him and Dumbledore right at the front alongside Auror Maxis, things looked awfully bad for Grindelwald.
He still attempted to destroy or heavily cripple the castle, that much was true, but the amount of wands counter-cursing, repairing and doing whatever else they could do to hamper his activities was very simply, too many for him and his forces to handle. Hogwarts was no longer under threat enough for him to worry, but people were still evacuated and sent away whenever possible.
It was the smart thing to do, getting all of the youth out of Hogwarts and the staff managed to rid nearly ten per cent of the population. The floo accesses were in constant use, new Aurors were still trickling in… a counter-attack for Hogsmeade was likely in the works. There was no way it couldn't be with how many Aurors from Britain itself and her allies had come to Hogwarts.
Elaine, Aster, Walburga, Daphne, sources from all over seemed to agree that the Ministry was trying to capture Grindelwald so that he could pay for the crimes he'd committed. With Dumbledore present, Elaine and him behind him, the numbers in their favour nearly two to one - it was only a matter of time, even if he and Elaine weren't counted on.
The Ministry may not know that it needs me, but when we defeat Grindelwald alongside Dumbledore, it'll be very clear. Elaine will probably cement herself as good and pro-peace, Dumbledore will receive his rewards and I can finally get some peace in my life.
There wasn't a doubt in Harry's mind that it would all be far harder than he currently thought, but it wouldn't be very reassuring if he thought so negatively, now would it?
"Harry," Said a voice he wasn't all that familiar with from behind him, and so when turned to see who it was, he was greeted by a witch a year or two his junior. She was short with pale-blonde hair, light blue eyes and nervousness that he seldom saw. "Gaunt was asking for you - she said that you had a lesson plan that you shouldn't miss. It's best if you go quickly too, she seemed a bit sni- sorry!"
Before he could ask what she was sorry about, what lesson he was forgetting that he had planned with Elaine or even the girl's name, she was off. It happened so quickly that, until he finally registered the very brief interaction a few seconds later, he thought his mind had made it up on account of its tired state.
Six hours, as it turned out, wasn't enough sleep per night. There was eventually a deficit that took its toll and he had begun to find that out the hard way while Elaine took naps all throughout their typical day. He wasn't fond of napping but after his lack of energy, he reckoned it was worth a shot.
Oh, right, he should probably go and see what she wanted too. That would be a good idea.
Nearly twenty minutes later and deep in the passages of the Chamber, far deeper than he'd ever dared delve before, he found himself with Elaine. She was tired-looking, a bit dirty even after a cleaning charm on account of the environment and thoroughly happy. The elation of her name formally being recognised was likely still running as high as their engagement was from months upon months ago, but seeing her smile so often felt like it was a cause for concern.
He was definitely happy for her, that much wasn't a lie… it was just weird seeing her smile for something that he could smile at too.
"Three days," Elaine said, grinning at him as she held out her arms and gestured around. "This should be clean and back to functionality by then. I'll have it stocked with potions, cots and other necessities too."
"You're planning to bring people here in a time of need, then. That's good of you, really good actually, but what happens in three days?" Harry was certain that he was partially correct, he had finally begun to decode the enigma Riddle, after all. Still, be that as it was, he couldn't fully predict what she meant, least of all by something as vague as three days.
"The Battle that they keep bringing more and more forces for, it's in three days. I have it on good authority, nearly the best and to question that would be pointless, need I remind you," Elaine said, her grin still in place even as she gave him a minor reprimand without him having said anything; it was his looks he'd throw, she claimed. "Once it happens and the two drain one another, possibly catastrophically, we will show up with our friends and turn the tide. It's incredibly simple and very genius, might I say."
Harry snickered. "I'm guessing it was you who thought it up?"
"Corene aided in a few, small but still semi-significant instances, I admit as much. Overall, however, you would be correct that it was mainly myself and you that planned this out. At least, that's what I'll share with the world at large when they claim us as their saviours and shower us in crowns and riches," Elaine closed in on him, her arms embracing him as she pressed her lips softly to his forehead and exhaled after kissing him there, her next words quiet but said with absolute conviction. "Everything will be ours."
January 23, 1944
Saturday Early Morning
When Harry had gone to bed that night, it had been with pleasant dreams and hope-filled days ahead. Grindelwald would soon be a problem of the past, the world would be peaceful and all further wars would be stopped by him. Ron, Hermione… they may not come to be, there was no telling that, but the person who would take their place would come to see a peaceful world the likes of which he had never beheld. All of his friends and those that he considered family were equally as unfortunate but that would be a problem that no others need resolve.
Elaine would be contained and guided on a path that would be as moderate as possible. Her friends, many of whom were his friends, would help him in ensuring everything went about without violence and in such a way that all could find a worthwhile home. Muggleborn could avoid a large part of their discrimination if he did his job correctly - the problem had truly formed thanks to Voldemort in the first place, at least that was why it went so mainstream amongst Purebloods and the other Elite that were wealthy enough to 'buy' their blood purity.
Stop. He was getting ahead of himself as he so often did when he wasn't in a conversation. Harry had to focus on the task at hand and really, it wasn't all that hard to do. Obviously, he'd pay for this in the morning when he felt like shite, but tonight was a night that needed to be spent studying as intensively as possible. If his trick were to work before he faced Grindelwald, then he needed to get much more done.
Runes were a way he could work towards his ultimate goal and at the same time, one of the main problems on account of his inability with them. One year and close to half of another one were not nearly enough to allow him to do what he was attempting without hours spent manually searching specific sections.
I need to charge this with a source that self-renews and isn't dependent on ambient magic left behind when a spell is cast, like most modern wards in public spaces are. That means I'll need to use the method Gringotts and other older buildings have… bit hard to do with them keeping the knowledge a lost art, isn't it?
He huffed, angry at his misfortune as he so often was. Gringotts, other Professionals in Rune-working and the few people outside of those circles proficient enough to recognise what he was attempting would so often keep this knowledge amongst their group. It made it far more complex and tedious than it needed to be.
If I use the technique that utilises natural energy and the ways to derive it - like the thing that makes plants Green - then I should be able to get this to work. I've not got a clue as to what the name of it is, C-something I think, but a nature rune with the right conditions should make it work.
With a second huff at his inability to remember words, especially the longer ones, Harry paused his ward work to focus on spellcraft. He was horrible at it, likely to blow himself without divine intervention, but that was just the thing. Surely the being that had directly involved itself to send him here wouldn't let him die to a messed up spell creation, right?
Merlin, that would be a right stupid thing to do, if he did say so himself… which he did.
Mortem, you won't let me down, yeah? Look what I've done here for you before you make me blow up or have something else go horribly wrong, Harry finished his little one-sided conversation and looked at the reflection of himself on the water pitcher he had put on the end table next to him. You've lost it, mate. That or you're entirely over-tired. Reckon the latter-most is what happened.
He nearly verbally responded to himself but stopped when he thought of how stupid that would be. If Elaine saw him or anybody else for that matter, the questions and potential for rumours spreading would do him absolutely no good. There was so much he had left to do before all the craziness could come out of him. It was a horrible thing for him that he wasn't half as intimidating or powerful politically speaking as Elaine.
Ah well, when he takes her as his bride sometime in the future he'll be known as her husband. That title alone should be filled with renown and a mixture of deep, unsettling dread for those who learn of him. It could earn him a great many friends too, so long as didn't put too much time into her crowds.
When a nearby bit of dust floated on by his eye, he was reminded of the current task at hand. One that involved spell-making, runes, massive time spent studying and other, far more boring things that he had to see finished if his goal was to be realised. It shouldn't come as a surprise with who he is that his choice to work on first was spell-making via studious means rather than rune-utilisation.
At least one of those wouldn't see him blown up, electrocuted or who knows what else thanks to one faulty design or missing link. Seriously, the things were way too dangerous for supposed safe, automated means of using magic. It was a wonder all those shops that used them weren't destroyed, much less fully operational as they currently were.
Again, he shook his head and turned towards the book that was meant for the crafting of spells. It was open to the page that he needed, there were many a note from those who came before him and the other materials, they were beside him too. Now all he needed to do was visualize what he wanted to happen, poor massive amounts of concentration to such a vision and finally, test out a myriad of motions with nothing even remotely complex.
An incantation would probably help, but really, he would rather attempt to make it a silently cast spell so that he didn't risk anything else going horribly wrong. As it currently was, there were already too many risk factors with what he was currently doing.
"Let's check the notes one more time," He whispered quietly to himself as he silently summoned the note of parchment he'd made over the last few weeks. There was always time to be cautious even if there was never time to be stupid; that should be something he remembered too, caution and patience are two very important qualities.
Elaine had come by to see him and as he suspected, she hadn't taken his spell-crafting serious in the slightest. It was too advanced for somebody at his level of proficiency, she claimed. Corene, Aster, Reinhard, Daphne… the list went on and on but all the while Elaine claimed none of them were experienced enough in such a field to be able to aid him either. He believed her, there wasn't any reason not to and as far as he was concerned if she still thought he was an idiot that was fine with him.
It would be fine, she wouldn't know what to expect, Grindelwald and Dumbledore were likely the only two who knew of such magic in-depth. There could be others too, perhaps in South America or Asia, but there was not a Magical of enough renown in the rest of Europe for that to be a possibility. Not when he had been in his era, not in this one and not even remotely had an equal for the two older wizards been hinted at.
Voldemort was close to an equal in many ways but magical knowledge in all fields most certainly was not one of those. Elaine knowing as much healing magic as she does was already surprising enough, this time and her youth only made it more curious. When one considers how many stories of Voldemort healing his Death-eaters had come out, the answer being absolutely zero, it began to make him question her motives a bit more than he would normally care to.
Sometimes letting her do whatever she wants is a smart way to go about living my day. It definitely stops any complaining, nagging or similar happenings, Truth be told the more he thought about her, the fonder he was of her presence and the more aware of that fact he grew.
There weren't any more conflicted feelings towards her, those had long since departed. They should have the moment he met her and realised she was different to Voldemort, but old habits die hard for a reason. Trust was a hard thing to gain too, at least when it came to him that would usually ring true; Aster, Corene and the few others close to him were the sole exceptions.
He was definitely aware of how 'sole exceptions' sounded too, but he'd allow himself. Somebody had to and now that he was thoroughly out of focus, he could do something to earn it back without burning himself out; learning from other books of older ages and filled with darker magics was a strong way to go about doing that.
Thus, he picked up the closest book that he'd bothered to grab from Slytherin's attached library and dove into it. There were no expectations on his behalf as to the quality of information or magic within, not with Elaine's ease with which she'd let him take it. Really, it couldn't be remotely high quality if she so easily parted with it and made to continue with their preparations - those preparations this time around were the making of potions.
Blood-replenishing potions. Bone-regrowth potions. Limb-regrowth. Anything and everything that you could think of was being made by Elaine and some, the easier ones he suspected, were made at the exact same time. Her work ethic was impeccable and her skill was unparalleled. Jealousy didn't come close to describing how he felt towards her natural gifts. He doubted there was any word that did.
' The Magic of Magic. It can do anything that you ask of it and at the same time, should you lack a mutual understanding with the incorporeal gift you were given, it will do nothing that you ask of it. One needs a strong wand, a great resolve, good physical health and genes inherited from beings who were once the first, most magical ones alive. If you don't fit with all four of those categories then you'll never be as good as those who do.
Well, that's what they would have you think. Thankfully, you have found your way into this book and whilst rare, the knowledge put into it with a painstaking amount of effort could do far more than simply evening out the differences you have with those fortunate enough to have the previously mentioned gifts. You see, it all st…'
Harry closed the book and huffed. It was pointless. The person rambled and rambled, but did nothing that was useful in the whole first page of writing. He nearly threw the book towards the corner of the room until he shook his head, snapped his fingers a few times to wake himself up on account of their loudness and reopened it.
Nothing had really changed in his opinion of it, but the least he could do was extend some degree of chance to the damned boring book. Maybe if he skipped forward a good dozen or ten pages he could find something that was interesting. Any new spell would be helpful, without a doubt, so long as it was old enough to be in this book.
It was the afternoon now and Harry's hours spent awake in the early part of the morning had proved, by and large, fruitless. There had been the occasional tidbit of information that he learned, but in large part, it was speculation and rambling from the many people who'd used the books before they were stored down below. More often than not, the information or ways they went about doing things were entirely alien to him.
Magic was always evolving with new spells, modifications of existing ones and custom wards added almost every day from all across the world. There were dozens of methods because of that; focuses like wands weren't universal and incantations or motions were varied. Even the runes themselves were different from all across these unique cultures that made up the world. There was so much uniqueness in any country's magic and that proved truer the further the two diverged from one another.
Thus, it thoroughly annoyed Harry when he was finished skimming through all of those books after hours upon hours only to learn next to nothing in terms of information. Each one seemed next to pointless, which made Elaine's openness understandable. That persisted until the final few books were in his hand or on the table in front of him. Once he saw a few of those and read the title of them, their introductory statements too, it was incredibly easy to realise these were the few that actually mattered.
One was an older book of warding that contained a few more obscure runic chains and the other, go figure, spoke of rituals that were long since depopularized. It was funny, it really was - the two books he found to be the most worthwhile were the ones that he couldn't care less about.
The cost of any of those rituals seems far too high and unless people know of a way to avoid the give-back to magic, I'm not messing with them. Wards… wards suck, Harry shook his head and huffed. They're alright, but surely these books could have been far more helpful? Mortem, anything from you would be appreciated if you don't want Grindelwald murdering me whenever it is that I go out to fight him. It would be greatly appreciated.
Hopeful for a response from the being up above - or down below - Harry waited in silence for nearly two minutes. When he realised she wasn't going to be of any assistance, not even remotely, he let out a discouraged sigh and nodded a few times to himself. There could be something beneficial in those books, he told himself. That hadn't been true for the other few that he'd skimmed through, obviously, but either of those two could be the real deal if the introduction and notes within were anything to go by.
"You're still reading?" Came a voice from the entrance of the private office within Slytherin's chambers.
When Harry looked up, he wasn't at all surprised to see that it belonged to Corene. It wasn't often that she popped in unannounced, but when she did so, he wasn't bothered. Her company was pleasant as she was pretty and her personality was equally as amazing. He doubted he'd ever get past the cuteness of her smile when he first saw it during the previous month. She could be the picture of innocence when she had such a light, friendly look to her. Nobody, not even Elaine, could match that look.
"I am," Harry finally said, yawning immediately afterwards. "There's a battle coming, you know that, yeah?"
Corene cocked her head at him and for a split second, he thought he'd messed up. Elaine wouldn't be all that happy if he let a secret slip, but then he realised a very important fact about that… it was Corene. Just like Elaine, Corene could learn exceedingly quick and with her familial resources, there was likely nothing out of her reach.
"Who do you believe passed that information along to Elaine as soon as it was released?" She asked as she drew closer to him, her head still cocked until she gracefully sat beside him with her legs crossed as perfectly as he'd ever seen before. Really, her movement was like somebody dancing and her words always seemed so carefully picked when compared to his own. He bet that her thinking was even more clear and concise if this was how she acted outwardly - that or she was absolutely bonkers when she spoke to herself.
Merlin, that'd be hilarious.
"That's a good point… I didn't think about that. Suppose I'm just a bit over-tired, really. I didn't sleep just like you said when yo- yeah, I didn't sleep and so I've just been studying. If we have to face Grindelwald or his followers, I'd prefer to be ready," Harry sat up, his arms lifting his body thanks to the arms of the chairs so that he could more appropriately seat himself in front of his company. "You should join me since Elaine always seems like she has something to do. I'm sure you could learn a thing or two from these old books, huh?"
Corene shook her head. "I've not the blood or relation to have the privilege to read their pages. Everything down here of note is passed along via ancestry and while it is true that most of us currently are related, there are a few bloodlines far more recent than my own that could claim this as their birthright. Magic may recognise that as the law does, there's a chance it may not, but I'd much prefer to avoid such a risk."
"Doesn't this mean that Elaine and I are clo-" Harry wasn't given the chance to finish before Corene shook her head, a small smile on her face. One that fit her standards, at least.
"Closely related in the sense of being fifth cousins, sixth cousins or so on. You'd be multiple generations removed with distant, distant relatives that eventually come to be the same person, but that's far enough away that the risk of interbreeding negatively is gone," Corene patted him on the shoulder comfortingly, even that touch as lingering and soft as the others she'd give during any form of physical affection. "This may put your mind at ease, so I'll share a fact I learned from the Ministry's genealogy district - the perfect breeding partner is that of a sixth through an eighth cousin. While no data can directly prove this, they claim that the similar DNA with minimal exact copies leads to an easier pregnancy, safer pregnancy and healthier children on account of similar genetic make-up. It's quite fascinating, as is the work that you seem to be reading from if the titles are safe to base that off of."
"Do you believe all of that, or is it Hogwash?" Harry asked curiously, genuinely interested in anything Corene had to say since she was, well… Corene.
If this had come from Daphne, for example, or Malfoy - a boy he hadn't spoken with in quite some time - then the odds of him believing such words were so low that he reckoned they would have been negative. Since it was Corene, however, he was inclined to take her at face value rather than distrust what she had to offer up.
"In my honest opinion, as an amateur genealogist, I can assume that there is merit in thinking that it works that way. Whether it is factual and easy to prove or offers up that much of a difference, I am unsure. There would need to be a study and whilst many of us are related, those that are, tend to be a bit closer than that, lest they look for Purebloods from a different society," Corene motioned to herself and then looked towards the book he was reading, the lengthy title on full display to her; he would have been nervous that somebody saw he was looking into rituals, should that somebody have been anybody else, save for Corene or Elaine.
What can she do, tell Elaine that I'm looking into doing a ritual or at the very least studying them? She already knows - oh, right, I guess it makes sense why all the Frogs have come to Hogwarts now too. It wasn't just the war, they wanted a place to mingle with other Purebloods without the risk of an interbred child. Makes sense, that.
"You never really mentioned you were into the whole family history sort of thing before. I figured it was just your dad and those Roman artefacts of his. Your home probably counts in that collection, I'd imagine. Anyways, what had you come to me? Did something important happen?" Harry was interested in gene work as he said, but currently, there were far more pressing matters.
The murderer outside of the walls of Hogwarts was most definitely one of those pressing matters. As for the people who followed him, the other murderers who didn't care that much for children if the number of spells they fired at Hogwarts was anything to go off of, they were all added up to count as a couple of other, additional issues.
Have enough of those, don't I?
"I wanted to see what you were doing, as Elaine made it very clear to nearly everybody else that you were not to be disturbed unless she explicitly said otherwise. Curiosity found me in my downtime and as I can access this room, I decided after fifteen minutes of deliberation to enter and make an offer of assistance," Corene's eyes once more went to the books in front of him before they, again, returned to him. "Could I tell you that a majority of the books you have laid out are lecture-driven rather than educational? Magical Theory could work as a descriptor too, but that could be too broad a term on account of today's number of theory-based books released."
Harry blinked and looked back down at the books in the hopes of seeing an obviously-missed designation. His eyes scanned the front, the top, the sides, the back, the spine; there was nothing even remotely indicative of a mark for book classifications. In response to that and with utter confidence in his assessment, he turned to Corene with her signature cocked expression on his face.
"How'd you know all that about the books? There aren't any markings, some of them don't even have titles until you open to the first page of parchment and others lack any form of introduction," Harry pointed to a whole stack he hadn't worked himself through since they had no outwardly visible information, to prove as an example of what he meant.
"Most of the titles belong to historic books that one often only hears about in conversations regarding ancient tomes or lost scrolls," Corene picked one of them up, curious and incredibly careful to do so with her wand rather than hand in case she got hurt by it. "I recognise a good many of these names - my father's love for history can be accredited - and as such, I can say with absolute certainty that most of these are useless unless you plan to use this theory to develop your own form of magical casting or ritual writing."
"Want to help me make a ritual without a setback, by any chance?" Harry asked, smiling as widely as he could in his state of tired madness.
Corene raised a brow in response. "Magic would be far too strict as to let you do that. There's always a cost when you bargain with it, else any person could become the greatest wizard or witch of all time," She moved closer and plucked but one book that had been laying without attention a good few feet away on the bottom portion of the end table. "This could be very looking at, still, I suspect you would like to test whatever it is that you're able to learn. Perhaps you could read from it tomorrow or this evening."
"Why not now?" Harry asked as he made to stand and move towards where Elaine kept the potions. He needed a pepper-up, perhaps a good cup of tea too… Corene was here, so there was definitely the chance of her favourite house-elf brewing something up for them.
"Why read when you could gain practical knowledge? You've hidden away with the books enough for one day and while I do respect the quest for knowledge, practical practice is a necessity should you truly wish to improve. The chamber above and in the far corner should be wonderful for such a test," Corene strode over to him and held out one hand. "You can lead the way."
Harry nearly rolled his eyes at her but managed a small smirk instead. She was funny, allowing him to take the lead on a practice she just manifested for him. Still, her idea had merit while his regarding a costless ritual most certainly did not. Thus, he took her arm, moved away from the books and led the two of them towards a portion of the chamber they personally had secured.
At least it doesn't smell like rat dung anymore… it's good to see how good Corene is too, I guess. If she beats me or gets close enough, I won't have to worry all that much about her.
That was certainly a big worry of Harry's too. A lot of his friends were gone, evacuated to their homes and safe from the conflict thanks to influential family members in powerful positions or friends in said positions. All that remained in Hogwarts were those of some distant relationship to him - such as his duelling partners - or those who were down below in the chamber at the present time.
Aster, Corene, Reinhard; that was the list of names he would secure the safety of above all others. If anything happened to them, anything at all, he wasn't sure how he'd handle it going forward. They had become his rocks thus far and whilst there were others like Sarah, he didn't quite feel that same level of bond with her.
"You look worried," Corene commented once the two were securely past the second additional door in the long tunnel that led out of Slytherin's deeper, personal section of the chamber. "I would hope you aren't too scared about facing little old me," she said, her tone completely dead and lacking any infliction of teasing.
If it wasn't for her fake smile that still showed a hint of dimples, he would have missed it was her attempt at a joke or tease at all. She was a bit odd herself, recently, but he chalked that up to Grindelwald and this being the first real conflict she was a part of. He was a seasoned veteran by this point… if past experiences counted.
"Somehow, I think 'little old you' could handle a majority of our housemates," Harry said back to her, snorting when Corene cocked her head and shot him her usual, blank, neutral look that spoke of pure neutrality.
That wouldn't work on him. If she was that confident in staying sideless, it had to mean she was able to back it up. Indifference wasn't a common trait amongst Elaine's followers for a reason and that reason was pretty obvious in Corene's recent actions; telling him information first, acting as a confidant for him whilst he did the same for her, there were truly a good few reasons for him to believe she would side with him in any form of conflict.
"I would like to point out that should you believe in a portion of those books that you read, the ones that mention the size of the body aiding the overall magic you can draw from and store, this should mean I'm a good deal weaker than you are," Corene gestured in a very thought-out manner to her head, then to his and her waist, then his. It didn't seem as if there was an inch of extra or wasted movement, not even her eyebrows had to readjust from where she set them when they raised.
It was pretty impressive and the more that he thought about it, such preciseness had to come from Elaine's common relative with Corene. The woman herself was likely part Muggle-machine based on how robotic or varied the two could be. They were pretty young too, which made their maturity and lack of general stupidity all the more impressive - even he, the always good-doing and helpful, wicked bloke that he was, could occasionally crack a joke or have a moment of levity.
"What do you believe in?" He finally replied, countering her question so that he could see what she personally thought in regards to the centre-point of magical theory.
"I believe in the pursuit of knowledge, perfection, physical conditioning and repetitive training of menial tasks until they fall under the category of mastery," Corene said, giving an answer and at the same time, one that was entirely unhelpful on account of her lack of quote or name.
"We're getting close," Harry pointed out when he saw the familiar bend, but still, he got in one more question. He couldn't resist doing so. "What's that from? It doesn't sound like one that I read - usually the lot of those reference lineage, willpower, focus and a mutual understanding with magic."
Corene scoffed, a rare moment of expressiveness. "Somebody made of flesh, blood and magic could never come to a mutual understanding with a force that's never known either of the previous two qualities. We can show what we want to accomplish in our mind, strive for that to happen, study the qualities of the gift we were given and attempt to test its boundaries. All of that can be and has been done for centuries, but never once has a person been able to prove that magic is of a sentient state."
Harry made a thoughtful face and pondered those words of hers for the remainder of their walk. She was obviously correct in thinking that magic was not sentient, otherwise, there would already be some form of proof, interaction or the like… right?
Another portion of him, one that was thoroughly invested in the mystery that was referred to as Mortem, disagreed with Corene's stance. If magic wasn't sentient or self-aware to some extent, why could so much be done with it by so many different people across so many cultures with beings described similarly? Were those beings not potentially made of pure magic or infused with magic to some extent to do the things that they did?
What wizard, witch or other being alive had the ability to manipulate time?
"You think too much," Corene said blandly, her wand in her hand and hung limply at her side whilst she stared at him. "It's time for you to put to test your newly read spells, tactics and better physical condition. Should you hold your own for, shall we say, one minute? Yes, I think that works - should you hold your own against me for that duration of time then I'll be quite surprised."
"What if I win?" Harry asked curiously, grinning confidently at Corene as a new wave of energy began to go all throughout his body.
Corene cocked her head at him, one eyebrow raised. "Why worry about something that isn't going to happen? Moreover, what could you request that I wouldn't already willingly aid you with and vice versa?"
"I'll take an extra dose of surprise and probably another few duels for practice. That could help us both, couldn't it?" Harry was confident that any future bouts between the two of them would only be mutually beneficial. With how confident Corene seemed and how rarely Elaine enforced that her cousin trained, he was certain that she had to be quite gifted.
"I'll agree to additional lessons including ones that will take place over our summer break. It wouldn't do to have your abilities diminish after a victory over the 'greatest' Dark Lord in centuries," Corene said, her voice without the infliction of teasing or lust as Elaine's would usually carry.
"Wicked. Let's get it started then, yeah? Before I fall asleep on my feet, feels like my burst of energy is already draining," Harry said, another smile on his face as he bowed to the smaller girl and moved towards the opposite side of the chamber so that there would be space between the pair of them.
Corene gave the most professional-looking curtsey he had ever seen before she too moved to the opposite side of the room. It was only a few seconds later when she turned on her heels to face him, her wand still hanging limply at her side while her eyes took on a hardness that he'd never seen before.
"It will begin on your mark," She said to him, no arrogance or reason as her breathing slowed and a small yawn came free from her.
She's either playing with me, or she's that confident she'll bea- nah, there's no way she can handle me easier than Elaine can, Harry shook his head and mentally readied himself, hype included. If I can last a whole minute against Elaine when she's trying her hardest, there's not a chance in hell that Corene can beat me. I've faced Voldemort, Grindelwald's lieutenant and a few of her friends… this is my victory.
Harry nodded once, resolute. This duel would be his, her respect would be his - more so than it already was - and most of all, the confidence boost it would give him would be very well worth it. He started the duel the moment that thought was over, his wand snapping up to take aim at her while a silent stunner zipped from his spell and crackled through the near-perfectly silent air, only the noise of water dripping stopping total noiselessness from reigning.
It was over, just like that. He was certain of it, especially with how Corene didn't immediately react. Merlin, he was so confident in the speed of his spells and the accuracy therein that he nearly moved to put his wand away, until he saw her. Corene moved; it was quicker, faster and with such deadly precision that he half thought he'd started to see things.
When her spells came zipping towards him with a decent level of speed but in a large volley, he realised that it was reality rather than a trick of the mind. His shield went up, barely, and he braced himself as spell after spell impacted it. As he suspected, his shield held with barely a crack in it. Corene's spells weren't strong or cast in an over-powered form. They weren't particularly fast either, they were just large in numbers and slightly quicker than your typical wizard or witch of their year, possibly the one above them. It was still impressive, he was certain of that, but she didn't feel dangerous.
"Curious," Corene stated, the girl back to standing still as she gazed at him with her typical cocked expression. "Had I faced the version of you who duelled Malfoy, I believe that would have been my victory. You've gotten stronger as Elaine always boasts about, but your spells aren't quite as fast as hers. Oh, yes, the silent opening spell was very well done."
"Thanks, I was hoping that'd get you if I'm honest. You're pretty fast, huh?" Harry asked, grinning as he moved to his left and Corene mirrored him by rotating right, her paces slow and deliberate as was always the state of her life.
"I lack an inherent strength of magic. It would be quite problematic if I wasn't able to move as quickly as I can or cast silently as many spells as I previously did," Corene said, shrugging while her eyes tracked him. "Will you be continuing? I do believe it would take a lucky shot on my behalf for this to end in my victory whilst yours is much more certain in a prolonged conflict."
Harry nearly tripped but saved himself, if only barely. "Why are you so certain you'll be fine in the real battle if you're practically recognising that you'll lose to me? Weren't you just saying a minute or two earlier that your victory was a strong possibility?"
"My aim was to fool you into believing that, because if you believed I was dangerous, you would be more wary and cautious. Should that be the case, I could pounce whilst you're," Corene fired off two spells, one aimed for each of his legs at the same time she finished her sentence. "Distracted."
Her frown when both missed was pretty funny but it was very quickly wiped away when she dodged his five spells that he launched in retaliation. Merlin, her speed was a real problem even if her magic left a lot to be desired. It was pretty annoying if he was totally honest. How anybody could dodge that quickly whilst maintaining a look of dance was beyond his comprehension even as a Quidditch player.
"Elaine has mentioned that you showcase your intentions, yes?" Corene asked, the girl now leaning against a pillar of stone with Slytherin inscriptions on it a good thirty feet from him. "If she hasn't, I would imagine it's due to your intimate partnership going as well as it currently is. She's very careful in what she says and how she acts whilst around you, as I'm sure you've noticed."
Harry nodded once. "I've never gone against somebody remotely close to your speed, so it's never been something I cared much to work on. Now that I know how fast you are, maybe I'll have to work on breaking that bad habit."
Corene made a noise of agreement. "That would be for the best, I believe," she cocked her head at him again, this time one of her hands coming up to rub at her arm where a piece of stone had struck her. "Would you like to call it a draw on account of our mutual defenses being too much a bother, or would you look for us to go until we wear one another down?"
Had Harry been on a full night's rest, there was not a doubt in his mind that he would have gone for the latter option. His stamina had to be high, at least as high as hers and then it would be a game of willpower. The version of him that was well-rested and ready for conflict would never lose a battle of willpower against anybody. It was simply impossible for that to happen, even if the other person was somebody like Corene or Elaine.
But… Harry wasn't well-rested, nor was he feeling all that happy with himself after the minute or two of exertion. As it turned out, sleep really was pretty important to the body and while practice could prove equally as vital when one was learning something, it wouldn't be very helpful at this point in time. When he thought that he could always do this again with Corene some other time, when he was in prime condition and had slain Grindelwald, his mind made itself up.
"I wouldn't mind a draw if you could tell me how you're that fast. It's bloody mental, it is," Harry said, sighing as he stowed his wand and recognised that their brief duel was over with no clear victor.
"Genetics and intense physical activity are the two main reasons behind my speed. I should mention that my family has a punishment system that's certainly aided me. One in which they're not violent or potentially problematic down whatever path you decide to take for yourself, but still have you do exercise or additional studying so that you spend your time out of line, learning something."
"I don't imagine you got in trouble all that much with your family," Harry commented as Corene came up to him, her wand already out of view. "Not to cut you off too, but shouldn't Elaine be back before too much longer?"
"Elaine's schedule is known to many but the adherence to it will always leave something to be desired when one has a personality such as hers," Corene answered, essentially conveying to Harry that Elaine enjoyed conversation more so than he already knew. "Would you like to join me on another journey upwards? Elaine has given her explicit permission that I can take you so long as you listen to what I say should anything of note happen."
Harry looked back down the path they had taken then over to Corene again; the decision was an incredibly easy one to make. "I'll go with you, rabbit."
"Rabbit?" Corene questioned, a brow arched as she slid her arm through his. "Explain."
"You're fast, quick I guess might work better, but whatever word you use doesn't really do justice to your speed. It's very inconvenient and after a bit of time, incredibly annoying, trying to hit you with anything regardless of how disabling it could be," Harry shook his head, annoyed with himself before he turned back to Corene, a big, toothy smile on his face. "Still, as annoying as it was to face you, your strategy of running around and firing huge numbers of spells is pretty brilliant. It would probably work against a majority of our housemates and anybody else in Hogwarts."
Corene opened her mouth to speak, but it wasn't to be. Noise from above came, the loudest, most worrying high-powered series of blasts that he'd ever heard. Grindelwald and his followers had to be bombarding them, which was a very strange tactic at this point in the battle.
"Wha-" Harry was cut off just like Corene was, but rather than blasts doing so, it was her elf.
"The Lord Avery wishes for me to let you know that the battle has begun, my Miss Heiress Carrow," the elf said dutifully, its face as stoic as hers even if its voice sounded friendly.
Harry only had one thought; shite.