Bound

Training

The headmaster visited them in the middle of August. He spent a few minutes just hearing about their vacation and how their bond was strengthening. He was also interested in their training, both with Sirius and with Dave. He then asked, “What do you know about wandless magic?”

“Wandless magic is considered a very advanced form of casting. One normally needs long and intense training combined with a powerful magical core to achieve it”, Harry replied in a very Hermionish style, surprising the headmaster.

“When combined with silent casting, which is also achievable only by very powerful mages, it can prove invaluable at combat,” Harry continued in the same tone.

“I can see she has rubbed on you already,” Albus chuckled before continuing in a more serious tone. “Both techniques are very important. Casting silently, your opponent would not be able to know what spell you were using until he was hit, or even know when you were casting it. Wandless casting is extremely useful if you don’t have access to a wand for whatever reason. Combined, they make a formidable weapon. I believe you can master both.”

“Are you sure I can handle such advanced magic?”

“There’s only one way to be sure – try and master it.”

He continued by describing how to channel one’s magic in the appropriate direction without a wand. Hermione seemed to grasp the explanation first, but Harry followed in a matter of seconds. Understanding was the first step, but using it in practice was a different matter altogether. After some more explanations, Albus gave them a simple training task: try to cast the levitation charm wandlessly on a pencil or a similar object. He expected them to need the rest of the vacation or even longer to master even that simple charm without using wands.

They tried a few times that evening, but got no results. It frustrated Hermione, which actually amused Harry. “The headmaster said he wasn’t sure we weren’t too young to even try it. You can’t expect to master it in one evening.”

Hermione didn’t reply. She only shot him a look that said ‘You should have known better’.

Harry didn’t sleep well that night. Hermione was upset by his behavior and refused to let him hug her, and he could no longer sleep without hugging his wife. Instead, he contemplated all the explanations and all that they had tried. He felt that he should be able to find the crucial point, and then everything will flow freely. It just alluded him.

They tried again after breakfast. Hermione was soon getting annoyed by her lack of success. Harry was paying her close attention. “I believe you should try and direct your magic to the tips of your fingers instead of your hand,” he commented after a while.

“If you’re so smart, why don’t you try it for a change?” she retorted.

Harry didn’t hesitate. “Wingardium Leviosa,” he said. Pointing his finger at the pencil and trying to direct his magic into that finger’s tip.

The pencil moved a bit. It wasn’t a real success yet, but it was much more than Hermione had managed to achieve.

She seemed somewhat offended. ‘Please, love, don’t feel bad about it. I’ve just spent half the night thinking of this problem, not being able to fall asleep without your hug,’ Harry told her silently.

Hermione tried once again, under Harry’s silent guidance. It was not an immediate success, but an hour later they both could levitate any object without using a wand.

Encouraged by their success, they tried other spells as well. “Lumos” proved quite easy, although it looked spooky, having a finger glowing brightly. By the end of the day they were even able to disarm each other without a wand. Harry got a hug and a kiss from his wife, with a promise for more to come after they retired for the night.

When the headmaster visited once again, a few days later, Hermione brought the tea-kettle by levitating it, while Harry brought the cups the same way, yet no wands were present. Albus could hardly hold his surprise.

“Have you tried other charms as well?” he asked.

“We’ve gone over the whole list of charms and spells that we know and tried every one of them that would not cause irreparable damage. We can now do them all wandlessly,” Harry informed him proudly. Hermione just nodded.

The headmaster had a hard time keeping his face neutral. He knew both were talented, yet this was much more than he could justly expect. Was it another effect of the bond? He didn’t want them to become too confident. Still he needed to train them further.

“Then, it’s time to learn silent casting”, Albus said. He spent the rest of his visit going into the very details of the theory behind silent casting as well as the ways to use it. Despite his previous doubts, he was now quite confident that his students would master this technique before the end of the vacation.

Sirius was not aware of these lessons, so when he disarmed Harry during training, being sure this would end the duel, he was surprised when a red stunner came to him from Harry’s direction, although he hadn’t heard a sound and he was holding Harry’s wand. They told him of their new knowledge after reviving him. Sirius was deeply impressed. He had never mastered either of these techniques. “Your mother could sometimes do it, but it required her deep concentration,” he told Harry, “and your father failed at it every time, like I did.”

He was now forced to think much more creatively in order to train the children. He was actually amazed at how childish they could both be at times, and how mature they would be just moments later, yet he couldn’t ignore the fact that their powers were stretching his almost to the limit. He could still teach them new spells and new uses for the spells they already knew, but he was losing more duels than he was winning, and he could no longer win when dueling them both together.

They were only able to meet Ron a few days before the end of August, shopping for their books in Diagon Alley. They didn’t tell him about the new techniques they had learned or abut their magical training. They only told him about their training with Dave, as they couldn’t really hide the results: both were now significantly more muscular than when he last saw them and Harry looked much stronger and healthier as well. Even Mrs. Weasley commented, “You seem to be well cared for by your new in-laws.”

Harry and Hermione thought of buying only one set of books, but then decided to buy two, so that they would not attract any more attention by using one book for them both, although by now it was clearly redundant, as each could see what the other was seeing whenever they wanted. Actually, blocking information from each other was their main concern, being unable to surprise their mates or even keep the most innocent secrets to themselves.

Ron was oblivious to this, as usual. He was full of stories about Bill, about Egypt and about all that he had seen and heard (and eaten). He was also excited to retell the story of Peter’s capture. He was not interested to hear about their visit to the French Riviera or to Paris, and the Disney parks, lacking real magic, seemed to leave him indifferent. Harry didn’t tell him about their attire at the Riviera, or Ron might have been more interested.

It was a pleasant day. They bought their books first, Hermione finding several more books of interest which were not on the list. They then spent some time at the ice-cream parlor, where they were soon joined by Neville, who seemed genuinely glad to see them and was interested to hear about where they got their nice tan.

It was especially nice not seeing many of the arrogant Slytherins who had previously used to bother them. Some left the country, while others were still dealing with their parents’ imprisonment or pending trials.

They also got themselves new robes and uniforms, enhanced with growing spells to still fit them by the end of the school year. Harry supplemented these by a visit to a muggle shopping area, where Hermione bought some more clothing, including some undergarments which made Harry blush repeatedly. She also insisted on buying him some more clothes. “As Lord Potter you should always be well dressed,” she explained, easily overcoming his objections.

They had a long discussion the night before returning to school.

“Why don’t they leave me alone? I just want to be Harry, to live my life normally.”

“You can never be ‘just Harry’, dear. Not only are you ‘The Boy Who Lived’, which makes you famous for something you had no control of, but you are also a hero for what you actually did: you fought a mountain troll in your first year and later defeated Quirrel and Voldemort, then you killed a Basilisk, saving a young girl from death, defeating Voldemort once more just a few months ago. Not much later, we had become the youngest soul-bound couple known. Add your family’s fortunes and your political and financial influence to that and you can see why you can never be ‘just Harry’ for the magical populace.”

“Then what should I do?” As usual, he was seeking Hermione’s advice.

“Use your fame and your position to achieve your goals, or, as the saying goes, ‘if you can’t beat them – join them’.”

Harry didn’t like the idea.

“Don’t you see,” Hermione tried again, “You can use your power for good deeds. Let’s start with school. We can make some changes there, you know.”

“What do you mean? What kind of changes?”

Hermione smiled internally. She managed to pique his interest in the right direction. “How about Snape?”

Harry snorted. “Do you think Dumbledore will sack him just because we want him to?”

“Not exactly, but we may force him to see Snape as he really is. As powerful as Dumbledore is, you are more powerful and more influential. Do you remember the alliance vows we’ve seen in your vault?”

“Our vault,” Harry corrected her automatically. “What are those documents worth, if anything at all?”

“They are magically enforced. Once you ask those families to side with you on whatever issue, they don’t really have a choice. Then there are some who would support you even without such vows: Longbottom, Bones and Black, to name a few. You can easily pass any legislation in the wizengamot even without being present there. Now, with Malfoy and his cronies out of the way, you can even control the school board.”

Harry needed a few moments to grasp this. “So... we can really make a change...” He smiled at her. “I may eventually like it, you know?”

Harry and Hermione who boarded the Hogwarts express on the first day of September were very different people than the ones who left it merely two months earlier. They were more powerful, both physically and magically; they were fitter, more confident and much more a couple.