Apprentice Potter
Bridge Building for Dummies
By Draco664
Bridge Building for Dummies
Snape was in far too much of a rage to notice a little thing like now being helpless. He trained his wand on my heart and barked out a curse that would have had me in Madam Pomfrey's tender care for at least six hours.
The expression that flooded his features at his spell's failure was one of the great looks of all time. I imagine that it ranked up there with Napoleon's when he had been informed that his army had just come second at Waterloo, Madison's on being told that the White House had been burned to the ground by the British and on whichever poor, undeserving sod that discovered the platypus. I'd have given half the contents of my vault to have had a camera in my possession at that very instant. I decided that buying a pensieve would be first on the agenda on my next trip to Diagon Alley. I'd replay that memory on cold winter nights to keep me warm.
I gave a quick flick of my wand and magically shoved Snape out of my way, far more gently than he'd have done to me, I'm sure. He crashed into one of Dumbledore's shelves and crumpled to the floor. Though as luck would have it, he did cushion the fall of several rather heavy-looking magical objects with his head. The door to Dumbledore's office remained open through our altercation, and I stormed through, stomping down the stairs as though each one had personally offended me.
Behind me, I heard Snape say, "Why you little-", before the old man barked a warning. A pity really, I'd have given even more gold to see him try to attack me without magic.
I blinked as I reached the bottom of the stairs. Strolling down the corridor towards me were Blaise and Ron, both looking back at me and grinning.
I jogged over to them. "What are you two doing here?"
Ron turned to grin at Blaise. "Well, the others thought you'd spend the entire half hour talking to Dumbledore, but Blaise and I thought you'd be down much sooner."
I glanced from one to the other, a massive smile forming on my face. "Oh, you bastard! You're turning what I taught you back onto me!" I said with delight.
Blaise took a couple of steps to cross the gap between us and slipped an arm around my waist. Once more, I was astounded at just how nice it was to have a soft, female body pressed against my own. "I think I'm rather liking having a devious Weasley around, you know. For the novelty value at least," she said without malice.
Ron's grin didn't waver, his eyes filled with humour. "A bit like a Slytherin who'll stand up for herself, and not run behind Snape's skirt, eh Harry?"
I barked a laugh, feeling my anger at Dumbledore fade quickly. "So only the pair of you figured that Dumbledore would break our agreement? Even after everything he's done, the others still had that much faith in him?" I asked as I slipped my own arm around Blaise's shoulder.
Ron frowned. "No, I thought that you'd trick him into assuming something, so that you could escape."
That brought me up short. Is that what I'd done?
I had gone in there willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but as uncomfortable as the interview had been, I wriggled out of talking to him the first chance I had. Even though he was making some severely messed up conclusions about me, I hadn't exactly given him anything to convince him that he was wrong.
Yes, I'd been cryptic, and I'd explained that away by saying that he had been too. But did I really want to justify my actions on his? Was I becoming more like Dumbledore in my efforts to become independent? Did I really want to turn into someone whose actions infuriated me?
Without answering Ron, I turned to face the still-open portal to Dumbledore's office. He and Snape appeared, slowly descending the stairs. Snape was holding a white handkerchief to his forehead, which was rapidly becoming stained with blood. Dumbledore was holding onto his other elbow, steadying him.
The greasy git noticed me and sent a fiery glare my way. Dumbledore sighed softly and gently steered him away, softly saying, "Come, Severus." The pair left in the direction of the infirmary.
Blaise started, and almost jerked away from me. "Professor Snape? Are you all right?"
An incoherent snort was the only answer she got from her Head of House.
Ron glanced down the hall at the retreating Snape and back at me. "What did you do to him this time?" he asked with an expression of intense anticipation.
"Never mind," I said, not sure how either Ron or Blaise would take the news that I'd shorted out his wand, then tossed him into some of Dumbledore's shelves. "It doesn't matter."
He looked at me closely for a few seconds, then nodded. "Come on then, mate," he said, with a tilt of his head. "Let's get back to the others, and you can teach us that spell."
I bit my lower lip, still looking back to where Snape and Dumbledore had left. With a sigh, I said, "Later. I'll be there as soon as I finish here."
Blaise tugged on my elbow to attract my attention. "You don't need to, you know."
I nodded without looking down at her. "I know. But I don't want to keep fighting him. He thinks I'm turning dark, and having both Dumbledore and Voldemort against me is a little more than I'm prepared to endure."
I gently disengaged myself from Blaise's embrace and again ascended the stairs to Dumbledore's office.
Fawkes trilled nervously at my entrance, but I didn't approach him. "Don't look like that, Fawkes. I'm not going to hurt you, or the old man." I frowned slightly. "Though why you didn't use your tears to fix Snape's head... Can't you use your tears on a Dark Wizard?"
A few of the portraits scoffed at me, and I turned around to look at them. Most of the canvases were empty, their occupants obviously off doing something else. Probably, given what just happened in here, trying to follow me around the castle. Phineas however, was in his usual place, looking down at me with a particularly unexpected expression.
It looked almost like... pride.
"What?" I snapped at him.
The expression on the portrait vanished. "Mr. Potter, you have recently risen in my estimation; enough that I was beginning to understand Sirius' interest and pride in your accomplishments. Keep your tongue civil when speaking to me, and you may continue to enjoy my good graces."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but bit back the sarcastic reply my brain supplied. "Curious. While the current Headmaster regards me as little more than a Dark Wizard in training, a previous Headmaster considers my actions to be praiseworthy," I said, consciously mimicking the style of speech Sirius' ancestor used.
Phineas nodded. "Albus has been exceedingly worried about you, blaming himself for the gulf that has grown between you. Consider that he has seen first hand another students indulge themselves in dark lore, including young Tom Riddle, and you can understand why he has been, shall we say, less than his usual subtle self in trying to keep you safe."
I nodded glumly. "There are a few fairly significant differences between us," I said dryly. "Riddle had a desire for power, I just have a desire to be left alone to live my own life as I see fit. Riddle hated muggle-born and half-blood wizards, whereas I don't hate anyone except those who attack me."
"Indeed. However, Albus has been both expecting and fearing the worst, and it has clouded his thinking. I hope you didn't come up here to apologise, young man."
I shook my head. "No. I came here to hear him out, and to put his fears to rest. I can fight both him and Voldemort if I really had to, but if I can convince him I'm not turning dark, Dumbledore at least should leave me alone. While I won't allow him any power over me, I don't want him distracted from his real obligations to the school."
Phineas nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Then you continued to rise in my esteem. Good luck to you, young Harry."
I nodded my thanks, leaned back in the chair and waited. Within another five minutes, I heard a single set of footsteps on the stairs. Dumbledore slowly cleared the final few steps, only to start slightly when he noticed my presence.
"Harry? Why?"
"You've still got twenty-four minutes," I replied softly.
Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk. "Severus will be fine."
I put on a faintly curious expression. "Who? Oh, that git who just tried to curse me." I shrugged, eloquently expressing just how little I cared for the greasy idiot.
Dumbledore sighed, but changed the subject. "I'm surprised that you decided to return. Exceedingly glad too, for what it's worth."
I looked him in the eye. "Yes, I imagine you are."
"Dare I ask what caused your sudden reversal of intention?"
"I realised that I had been acting very much like you."
Dumbledore winced. "I see."
I leaned forward, and rested my elbows on my knees. "Look, I'm not turning dark. I tried to neutralise Malfoy in a way that would be humiliating for him but wouldn't hurt him. It didn't work, and he was, well, maimed."
Dumbledore nodded, but stayed silent.
"You said that a younger me would have been devastated at causing that sort of injury to another. Well, you were probably right. But that boy accepted too much responsibility for things outside of his control. I refuse to even think that I am responsible for what happened to Malfoy's hand, when it was he who took the action that resulted in the injury."
"It was your spell," Dumbledore pointed out.
I rolled my eyes. "Stuffing that potion down his throat opened himself up to a far greater potential for injury no matter what tactic I used. Even if I hit him with a simple body bind it may have caused the excess magic in his system to poison him if he couldn't release it. It's happened before when Potensavenenum has been administered incorrectly. It was a dangerous thing he did, and while I wish he hadn't, I'm certainly not crying over it." My lips twitched. "I bet he wishes he hadn't either."
Dumbledore looked at me for a long while, a mental argument going on behind his eyes. Finally, he made his mind up and leaned forward himself. "As interesting as that is, what is the real reason you returned for this conversation, Harry?"
I smothered the flash of anger I felt, and analysed my reasons internally. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps there was a different reason. "When we spoke through the mirror, I made some assumptions, and didn't listen to what you said. Because of that, I resolved to give you the benefit of the doubt today, but, as you said, I was cryptic and evasive. So in that way, I was acting very much like you. After I met Ron and Blaise downstairs, I decided that I didn't want to act like someone who I've lost respect for." I shook my head. "But I suppose the real reason is that I'm tired of fighting you. If you can accept that I've made decisions about my own life, and if you can release any desire on your part to control me and my life, then we can co-exist without fighting. I may at some point in the distant future forgive you for keeping that information from me, but I will never forget it."
Dumbledore was silent for a long time. "I have been roundly criticised for how I have handled your situation, by nearly everyone with whom you have come in contact during your lifetime. All I can say is that prior to the events in the Department of Mysteries, I made decisions for what I truly believed were your best interests. Since then, however, I have been stumbling somewhat blindly; seemingly proving that I am incapable of changing my ways when events do not transpire as I expect them."
"You mean you've been acting like an idiot?"
Dumbledore gave me an almost bleary expression. "Blunt, but not inaccurate. Harry, I made a mistake in not telling you the contents of the prophecy earlier. I made a mistake in not ensuring that your life at the Dursleys was satisfactory. It was an enormous mistake on my part to insist that Severus instruct you in Occlumency. I made several more mistakes over the holidays, including making assumptions on the amount of anger you stoked within, and the reasons for that anger. I would like to say that if I knew then what I know now, I would not have made the same errors - especially that I would not have used force against you in an effort to return you to your relatives - but I am honest enough with myself to admit that I probably would still have attempted something."
"And you just might have saved yourself a rap on the noggin with a poker in the meantime."
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "Quite possibly," he said vaguely, probably wondering just how much I knew about what he knew. Changing the subject, he asked, "Will you answer some questions I have then? Truthfully?"
I nodded sharply. "Provided I haven't been forbidden to answer them."
I saw a flash of something behind his eyes, but it was gone too quickly to identify. "What are you learning?"
I leaned back, and crossed my arms. "On the active magical side, I've learned several techniques to disarm or disable an opponent in combat, along with a fair few defensive, camouflage and misdirection spells. I'm also beginning to learn to apparate. On the passive magical side, I've been practising both Occlumency and Legilimency to both defend my mind and to learn how attacks are made, enabling me to defend my mind even more effectively."
Dumbledore held up a hand. "You are learning both disciplines? Simultaneously?"
I nodded. "How else do you think I was able to break into your mind at The Burrow?"
Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid that I again made an incorrect assumption. I was afraid that you were actively studying Legilimency specifically to break down people's defenses, not to help understand weaknesses in your own mind. I'm sorry."
I nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm also trying to recreate an ancient potion that I only have a little over half the recipe for, and I've been brewing several other potions that have similar effects or use a similar base in an effort to discover the original recipe." I laughed softly with humour here. "One of the potions I brewed in the last week was Potensavenenum."
Dumbledore actually slightly smiled at that.
"On the non-magical side, I've been studying tactics and strategy, both in duels and in large scale magical combat. Psychology too, both of the individual and of a group. I've been learning how to deduce answers from what information I have, so my logic and reasoning skills are being developed.
"The most time consuming part of my learning has been experimenting with a new way of casting spells. Half of each day is devoted to that. So, as you can see, I'm keeping myself busy. I've learned more since I started my apprenticeship than I did in the whole of last year."
Dumbledore's expression went from apprehensive expectation, through pleasant surprise, finishing with open-mouthed shock. "A new way of casting spells? What on earth do you mean? Wandlessly?"
I shook my head. "No, 'new' as in not done before. By anyone. I've seen you use wandless magic before. No, I'm talking about a new way of casting spells, and anything more than that, I'm not permitted to discuss." At his expression of acute disappointment, I added, "Not yet, anyway. Not until we test the limits of what is possible. Don't worry, you're taking the news far better than Hermione."
Dumbledore coughed, and flushed slightly. "Yes, I imagine Miss Granger was far more vocal on discovering this facet of your education. May I ask though, is it magically draining?"
For a fraction of a second, I froze, wondering why he would think that. "Yes, quite." I offered cautiously. "Why would you ask that?"
He nodded. "Your aura is, well, impressive to say the least. It has grown at least ten-fold since our encounter at The Burrow. I've only seen something similar during one exceedingly drawn out battle during Voldemort's first reign. Your father had magically exhausted himself day after day in a series of particularly nasty skirmishes that in total lasted nearly a week. Two days after it was over, his aura was very similar to yours. Similar, but not as..." he trailed off.
I frowned. "As what? What does it look normally like?"
Dumbledore winced softly. "There are no really acceptable words in English to describe an aura. But currently," he said, tilting his head forward to look at me over his spectacles, his eyes faintly losing focus, "yours is far more, vivid than usual. It is almost... musical... with uncountable, well, multi-hued tendrils coiling and writhing within."
I chuckled softly. "Multi-hued?"
"I mean they are changing colour as I look. It's almost fractal. Yes, the closer I look, the more the patterns repeat themselves. It is both chaotic and ordered. It is... beautiful." Dumbledore blinked and shook his head, seemingly trying to clear it. Once more he focused on me, but looked through his glasses. "You are turning into a particularly powerful wizard, Harry. I must admit, I'm very relieved to hear that you are not focusing on dark material. I had made even more assumptions recently that appear to have been incorrect."
I nodded, keeping my mouth shut. Verbalising what was on my mind at that point would not help matters at all.
Dumbledore leaned back, looking more relaxed than I'd seen in a while. "What of your other subjects? Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology? I assume you are no longer interested in taking History and Astronomy, or even Divination, despite your exceptional OWL score."
"My Divination score was luck, nothing more. As for the others, they haven't yet turned up to any great degree in my lessons yet, but I'm assured they will. I've been harvesting my own ingredients for the potions, both from the greenhouses on site and from creatures themselves on occasion, which has been exhilarating. I even managed to obtain about fifteen litres of giant's blood for my potion experiments."
Dumbledore tilted his head to one side. "You extracted it from Grawp, I presume? He is the only living giant in the British Isles."
I smiled without answering immediately. It wouldn't do to give him a clue that I was actually living in the UK. "No," I replied. After all, I didn't extract it from him, Zab had. Despite feeling a little uncomfortable being deliberately evasive and cryptic, I was determined not give him a clue as to the whereabouts of Zab's home.
"No? Then that was exceedingly dangerous, Harry. The giants-" he said, his voice gruff with recrimination.
"Don't go there," I snapped warningly, waving a finger at him. My patience was beginning to fray.
He sighed, but fell back into a more relaxed pose. "Yes. I'm sorry. It's just that I'm still worried about you. I still feel that it is my responsibility to do all I can to reduce the amount of danger you tend to find yourself in."
"Well, that's something you'll have to deal with yourself. I'm in danger no matter what I do, so learning in a secret place is better than learning in a place where everyone knows where I am."
Dumbledore sighed. "Perhaps there is something in that. You have managed to quite convincingly evade even the most determined pursuit recently, despite the fact that you appear to have a great deal of freedom of movement. I don't suppose you have any idea how three separate Ministry departments all thought on the same day that you were hiding in my office?" he asked, his eyes faintly twinkling for the first time since before I trashed his office.
I raised my eyebrows. "Only three? There were four tracking charms on me that day. What departments?"
Dumbledore almost smiled. "Ah. The auror division, the Unspeakables and Minister Fudge's office all thought I was hiding you. Perhaps the Unspeakables planted two charmed objects on you. They are known for ensuring redundancy in their operations."
I thought about it for a second. "Nah, for my money, it was either someone from Voldemort's camp or someone from the press. I suppose if someone learned of my new location it would be front page material?"
He nodded with a smile. "Yes, I imagine so."
"Speaking of the Ministry, what is the latest?"
The old man suddenly looked older than a few seconds before. "Minister Fudge is still clinging to power, though his support base is dissolving quickly. His idea to hold back wages from high-level Ministry personnel is backfiring quite spectacularly. Rumours of his payments to loyal underlings have destroyed any chance he had of retaining the Minister's office. Unless a miracle happens for him, this coming Friday's vote of no confidence will remove him from power."
I nodded, satisfied. "Finally. What about Sirius? Has his case been reopened?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Not formally. But since your rather vivid expose, only a tiny minority of people still believe him guilty. I imagine whoever takes over as Minister will call for an inquiry as one of their first acts. I doubt that most would like to have you as an enemy."
I shrugged, not at all concerned with how I was viewed by the Ministry. "Who's the smart money on to take over?"
If my choice of phrase surprised him, he gave no indication. "Many people are backing Madam Bones, though young Percy and a large group of middle-level Ministry personnel have thrown their support behind his father."
Huh? "Sorry? Did you say Percy?"
Dumbledore nodded. "He travelled to The Burrow one night, a day or so after your story broke. He sought forgiveness from his family for his actions over the past year. I understand that while Molly and Arthur have fully embraced him back into the family fold, his relationship with his siblings remains cool."
"Only cool? I can't believe that Ron would be anything but livid with him."
Dumbledore winced at a memory. "Yes, you are correct at that. Ronald has not forgiven Percy for what he sees as a betrayal of family. Although during his rather heated exchange with Percy, I caught reference to a letter about you."
I chuckled. "Yeah, that would be a bit of a sticking point between them."
Dumbledore actually looked curious. "I gather Percy wrote a letter to Ron?"
I nodded. "It was after Percy found out that Ron was a prefect. He wrote to congratulate him, and to suggest he join the Ministry side of things; you know, stop listening to you and start supporting Umbridge. He also suggested that Ron should stay away from me. For what it's worth, Percy seemed to be picking up every trick Fudge could teach him. He said that I was unbalanced, and for all he knew, violent too."
Dumbledore sighed. "You can be," he whispered.
I shook my head. "Not at the time," I said flatly. "That built up over the course of the year. It was as much the Ministry's fault as Voldemort's that I've turned out this way."
Dumbledore inclined his head, acknowledging the point. "At any rate, young Percy has returned to the family home, and is currently trying to rebuild his reputation, something that may take a while."
I barked a short laugh. "Two monumental stuff ups in the two years he's been employed? I'd be surprised if he isn't considered jinxed by the people he works with."
Dumbledore gave me a sad nod. "Yes, he hasn't exactly had a dream start to his career, has he? I imagine that many of his goals will have to be abandoned once the inevitable fallout from the Ministry's blindness comes full circle. I simply hope that there will be enough people who still wish to work for the government afterwards for it to function effectively."
I almost snarled. "A functioning government? Why would you want one of those? It's not like we haven't gotten along fine without one."
Once more, a look of pain crossed Dumbledore's features, and he rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "Harry, regardless of your personal views, deeply cynical as they are, the government does have a necessary role in maintaining our society. Claiming otherwise simply ignores the sterling efforts made by the majority of civil servants. Good, honest people who are for the most part, underpaid, overworked and undervalued."
I leaned forward. "Perhaps there are people who fit that description. I'd be happy to include Ron's father in that lot. But in my experience, it is full of self-serving morons who simply want whatever power and prestige they can get. In other words, overpaid, under-worked and overvalued. You know Percy actually claimed that his father was a traitor to the Ministry by siding with you? This came from someone who had been working for the Ministry for just over a year." I snarled, revealing my anger at the situation. "Here I was thinking that you could only be a traitor to your country. I had this seemingly quaint notion that not only was it legal, but that I actually had the right to question the workings and decisions of the government. Colour me surprised to discover I was wrong."
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Yes, the Minister and his staff did lose sight of the fact that they are servants to us, and not the other way round. His paranoia has weakened our standing at a time we cannot afford to be anything less than strong."
Again, we sat quietly for a long time, lost in thought. I looked at my watch at one point and noticed that the agreed time was nearly over. "Is there anything else you'd like to talk to me about? Anything else you'd like to ask me?"
Dumbledore nodded quickly, thinking I was about to walk out the door. "Just one last thing, if you don't mind."
I smiled softly. "Take your time. I'm not leaving until you're done."
Dumbledore actually sighed with relief. "Are you happy?"
I blinked and answered without having to think for a second. "I'm in a place where I can learn about potions without having to worry about someone knocking my potion off the desk and getting a zero for that lesson. I don't have to worry about losing house points for simply daring to exist. My teacher has passed me more knowledge about protecting my mind than I thought existed; enough that my scar has only itched on occasion, and I haven't had a headache or had to listen to Voldemort since my apprenticeship started.
"I don't have to bother with idiots taunting me; I don't have to watch my back for attacks from behind or worry about being set up. My teacher is patient, proficient, and caring. While he does his best to keep me safe, he realises that there will be times when I will be in danger, and has taught me to look for ways to minimise the risks. We got into a fight before managing to get the giant's blood, but his first order to me was to escape at the first sign that things were getting out of hand.
"I have been able to set my own schedule, help with truly pragmatic research, and through it all, my teacher still insists that I have contact with my friends at every opportunity. He wants to make sure that I still enjoy my time.
"Am I happy? Hell yes."
Dumbledore seemed far less stressed after I left, even reiterating that I could have full access to the Library and other Hogwarts' resources during my apprenticeship. Zab may be interested in some of the books in the restricted section. Perhaps I could borrow and copy the ones we needed.
I pushed the door to the Room of Requirement open and stepped inside, only to be brought up short. Not only were the Ministry Crew, Blaise and Susan there, but a large group of senior students from every house too. All waiting with an expectant look on their faces. I grinned as I entered, feeling almost as though I was back with the DA.
My grin widened without help. I had no idea how much I missed teaching. This was going to be interesting.
"OK, I assume you're all here to learn the jinx I just used against the ferret." With a quick thought, the room provided me with several dozen foot-long crystals, lined along the far wall. "Each of you take one crystal, and charm it so sparks flow up through the crystal and are emitted in a stream from the tip."
Without hesitation or question, each and every one of the students in the room stood and collected a crystal. Most cast the simple Mano Lux charm to produce the flowing motes of light, but a couple, including Hermione and Blaise, used a far more advanced spell, one that would keep the sparks flowing more or less permanently.
Oh, that might be interesting. Would the crystal shatter?
"Right, the jinx. What it does is force magic back through a wand the wrong way. If cast correctly at a wand, it will effectively fry the wand's core, making it impossible to cast a spell from that wand until it gets repaired. Do not try this on each other. I mean it. Ron? No, you can't cast it on Crabbe and Goyle's wands. No! Look, practice all you want on these," I warned, holding up and wiggling one of the crystals. "Although, you can use it on every Death Eater you see," I relented, before sighing at Ron's grin. "Neither of them are Death Eaters yet."
A couple of hands rose. "Um, doesn't it blow up a wand? That's what you did."
I shook my head. "That's not what is supposed to happen."
I took some time and explained what Malfoy had done to give himself a power boost and how that reacted with his wand. "Right, When you cast the jinx, the motes of light will be pushed back through the crystal. Watch, here is the wand movement. Got it?" I asked, repeating the movement a few times. "The incantation is Everto Veneficus. Watch."
I placed my crystal down on the shelf, its tip spitting sparks. I aimed my wand at the crystal and cast, "Everto Veneficus."
Immediately, the motes of light were forced back into the other direction. Without a source of tiny lights, the crystal darkened.
"There. Now, give it a go yourselves."
In a chorus, they all cast the spell. Most people had no lingering effect on their flowing lights, a handful slowed down the flow, but only Neville managed to stop it. Oddly, no one managed to reverse the direction of the sparks. "Right, again," I called out, knowing that this could take some time.
I wondered if my teaching methods needed improvement. I had no difficulty in turning the flow of sparks in the practice crystal Zab set up for me.
I stepped through the fire, landing lightly in the main room of Zabini Manor. I was not surprised to see Zab sitting in one of the armchairs facing the fire, obviously waiting for my return.
"I understand that you have had a rather interesting afternoon," he remarked. "Would you care to relate a version of events based from your point of view?"
I nodded, a small smile on my face. "It's nice to have someone ask me for my side of the story for a change. Normally everyone assumes the worst."
Zab tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Fortunately, that will not happen during your apprenticeship."
I chuckled softly, and threw myself into a spare chair. "Don't bet on it. Dumbledore just accused me of turning dark."
Zab leaned back in his chair, and steepled his hands, placing his fingertips together. "Very well. I will say that I will not assume the worst during your apprenticeship. Though that is certainly a conclusion one could come to, given one side of the story and a few assumptions."
I nodded glumly. "Yeah. Anyway, Malfoy, er, Draco that is, was hunting for me in Hogsmeade. He had a doll made up with certain charms that could direct him to me if he hit it. Just before he-"
Zab held up a hand. "I do believe I asked you to relate events from your point of view, not Mr. Malfoy's. At the time, you had no way of knowing what his motivations were, so I would appreciate an uncluttered version from your perspective only."
I blinked, not having thought of that. "Uh, OK. Sure. I met my friends in the Hog's Head, then we went for a walk around Hogsmeade. A group of Slytherins, Malfoy in the lead, rounded a corner ahead when we were in a park. They bore down on us, Malfoy tossing taunts and insults."
Zab raised his eyebrows. "How did you respond?"
I shrugged. "Insulted him back."
Zab rolled his eyes. "Displaying such maturity in the process."
I shook my head. "Ignoring him would have been a mistake. I could feel his aura, and it was hissing and spitting like mine does when I'm angry. He was ready to attack me."
Zab actually looked curious. "And what did you do?"
"I challenged him to a duel, at which point he threatened to kill me. I cleared the area behind me of people, and lined up ready for him to attack."
"Go on."
"He used some pretty heavy-duty spells. Affligo and Vulnero curses, along with some other spells that would have crippled me if they'd connected. I just stood there and gently deflected them behind me."
"You toyed with him?"
I took a breath to deny that, but it caught in my throat. "I suppose I did. By taunting him like I did, I forced him to lose control of some of his more powerful curses."
"And then?"
I pursed my lips together. "Well, I used the Everto spell you taught me. I tried to neutralise his wand."
Zab's eyes remained steady, but something behind them told me that he was surprised. "You used it? It worked correctly?"
I frowned. "Well, yeah, it neutralised his wand, but no, it didn't work correctly. I had to get close enough that I wouldn't miss, but I felt the sensation of forcing magic back up the ferret's wand. The only problem was that instead of fizzing out, the thing exploded. Ruined his hand."
Zab leaned forward, lacing his fingers together, leaving his index fingers pointing out towards me. "That spell should not have had that effect."
I nodded. "I know. But afterwards, one of the Slytherins with Malfoy admitted that he drank a potion before confronting me. Potensavenenum."
Zab's eyes finally showed some semblance of surprise. "Ah, I see. And you believe that dosing himself with Potensavenenum was what caused his wand to explode after your spell?"
I frowned. "Well, yes, of course. He had forced more magic through his wand's core in the previous five minutes than he had in the last five months. What else could have caused it?"
Zab waved a hand airily. "A result of your mutual enmity, maybe over-excitement, or a subconscious miscalculation on you part on the amount of power to use, maybe even a miscalculation on my part on the result of using that spell on the wood that particular wand was constructed from; it could be any number of things. But yes, I agree that the most likely reason by far would be young Malfoy's use of that potion. Just remember to keep your mind open. Once you have made your mind up, you have closed it off to anything else you could possibly learn from that experience."
I laughed softly. "Fair enough, but I think that trying to determine if it was something else that caused the explosion would be a waste of time. I hardly think that you'd be able to find a willing volunteer to experiment with."
Zab inclined his head in acknowledgement. "What happened after you maimed young Malfoy?"
I shifted in the chair to get comfortable. "I tied off his forearm to slow the bleeding, then got Blaise and Hermione to take him to the infirmary at Hogwarts."
"No, I'm referring to your soapbox oration delivered in front of the gathered Hogsmeade residents."
I didn't even bother to try and figure out just how he knew what had happened. Zab had already demonstrated that he had a great deal of information about recent events in the wizarding world.
"Oh, well, all I said was that they needed to stand up for themselves. To stick together and attack anyone who attacks them. I suggested that Snape is coddling the Slytherins in an effort to produce dud followers for Voldemort, which seemed to both shock and annoy the Slytherins present."
"I can imagine."
"I sort of accidentally let slip that Voldemort is a half-blood. Well, when I say accidentally, I mean-"
Zab held up a hand. "I believe I fully understand what you mean. Please continue without the tiresome justifications."
I hummed an agreement. "That news was greeted with suspicion, alarm and not a little shock. At least one student didn't believe me, and I suggested that he examine the wand that is casting the Cruciatus curse on him when he fails whatever task Voldemort sets him. I described Tom Riddle's wand for comparison purposes."
Zab actually chuckled.
"Anyway, after that my close friends and I went to Hogwarts, to the Room of Requirement. Blaise was included, you'll be happy to know. I answered their questions, keeping a few inconsequential things under my hat."
"That's good to hear."
"Then Dumbledore interrupted. He said he wanted to speak to me, and that in return I could have free run of the castle."
Zab rolled his head around, stretching his neck. "Hardly something of worth to give away, since it would give him ample opportunity to observe you."
I shrugged. "Anyway, I agreed only if I could leave if he didn't listen to what I was saying. He accused me of being dark. No, sorry, he accused me of becoming dark." I shook my head at the memory. "He was trying to convince me to rejoin Hogwarts, so that my friends could keep me grounded."
Zab ran his fingertips around the edge of his goatee. "He thought you deliberately maimed young Malfoy, didn't he?"
I nodded glumly. "Yeah. I fried his wand when he wouldn't let me leave, and I fried Snape's wand when he tried to attack me."
Zab's head slowly twisted around to face me directly. "I beg your pardon?"
I swallowed, but pressed on. Zab had been understanding up to this point. "He refused to let me leave. I said if he didn't open the door I'd blow it up, he drew his wand, I neutralised it. It worked that time correctly."
Zab's eyes narrowed. "And Snape?"
I shrugged. "He barged in as angry as I'd ever seen him. He'd obviously just come from the Hospital wing. He took one look at me, whipped out his wand and demanded to know what I'd done. I cast it on his wand too."
Zab narrowed his eyes at me. "Wonderful. You just demonstrated a relatively unknown spell in front of two highly intelligent wizards. Perhaps we should again go over the principle of keeping some skills secret."
I winced. "Um, I sort of tried teaching that spell to a few dozen people."
Zab almost bolted upright. "What?!"
Oh, bugger. "Um, Blaise, Ron and a few others wanted to know how to cast that spell. I showed them."
Zab's face coloured. "Do I need to specifically define what you can show others?"
I took a deep breath. "Perhaps it would help. On the rather good chance that any of them encounter a Death Eater some time soon, they may stand a better chance of survival!"
Zab loomed over me. "Damnit, I developed that jinx specifically for a reason. To have an advantage over everyone I met in a duel! I used it quite extensively in the past, and I was famous for refusing to teach it to anyone! Once Ollivander starts getting a long line of wands with burned out cores to repair, someone is going to put two and two together and realise that I'm still around!"
My eyes narrowed. "What, two people can't come up with the same or similar spells with no contact between them? Anyway, for all Ollivander knows, you showed your son, who showed his Granddaughter, who showed me. Yes, it is a bit of a roundabout explanation, but now that Blaise knows it too, your anonymity is preserved."
Zab drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Perhaps. But you've got more to lose than I should knowledge of my continued existence become public."
I nodded. "But consider. Besides Dumbledore and Snape, there aren't going to be any more wands sent to Ollivander to repair. I told the group to only use it on Death Eaters. I'm pretty sure that those wands will be snapped rather than repaired."
"And what of Snape and Dumbledore?" he snapped. "Ollivander's memory is legendary. If he happens to mention that their wands have been burned out like some others he fixed forty years ago, connections will be made!"
I felt my face flush, not with anger, but with shame. "That didn't occur to me."
"Obviously," Zab spat, flushed with anger.
Should I say that I was sorry? No. I wasn't. I'd happily take whatever punishment Zab deigned to deal out ten times over and I'd still take the chance to teach my friends that spell again. I was sorry for putting his lifestyle at risk, but again, I'd do it again to help my friends.
I remained silent, waiting for him to respond.
The way he did so surprised me. "Go. Leave me be. I shall decide what I am to do with you once I have composed myself."
Considering the Dursleys blamed me for everything, and the teachers at Hogwarts gave me detentions for things that I did out of everyone's best interests, being told that my punishment would be decided with a clear mind was certainly different. I realised that once he thought about what I had done, Zab was less likely to punish me severely.
Of course, if his location was discovered, that would be punishment enough.