chapter five
It was the first day he was in the open once more, a Tuesday and he was sitting in transfiguration, listening to McGonagall explain theory which he somehow already knew, taking notes almost subconsciously, not even aware of what he was writing.
They were each handed a matchstick and told to transfigure that matchstick into a needle.
Harry managed to do it on his first try, the knowledge of the shard showing him how it is done, guiding his hand, mind and magic. It was a rush of power, surging through his arm, into his wand and lastly through the matchstick.
“A wonderful effort Mr. Potter, ten points to slytherin”, McGonagall smiled at him and at his needle.
“How did you do it”, Draco asked in a whisper.
Not wanting to explain the entire situation he found himself in, Harry simply shrugged and told him that he just did it. This frustrated his friend, who couldn’t get the matchstick to do anything more than sharpening a bit at the head.
By the end of the lesson, only a Gryffindor girl came close to Harry, her matchstick had changed color and taken a bit of a sharp point. For this she was awarded five points, only half of what Harry got, which seemed to annoy her beyond all means and measure.
The next few months all went down the same way, with Harry dominating all of his classes. Everything was just so easy, as if he had done everything a thousand times before. His potions were superb, his wandwork flawless, though in time his perceived genius seemed to lessen, as the foreign memories drifted further away from him into his subconscious. He actually had to put in effort to excel in class but he didn’t mind. These weeks of success had gotten him hooked on the feeling of excellence, of perfection. He wanted to continue being the best, it was just so addicting. And so, he put in more and more effort, constantly being at the top of his classes. The first to master a charm, the first to transfigure something, the first to perfect a potion. Everything went perfectly till halloween…
{In the teachers lounge}
“Welcome, welcome everyone”, Dumbledore greeted his staff, with open arms and a big, knowing smile on his face. He had a good feeling about this teachers meeting. Everything would be good.
“A good day to you too Albus”, Minerva whistled as she was putting her hair in a bun.
“Now, it has been a few months since the school year started and I wanted to ask how the classes have been going”, Dumbledore implored, looking at all the faces present.
“Rather well I would say”, Trelawny chuckled, “this new batch of third years is rather well connected with their inner, third eye. A generation of future seers in the making”
“All good here as well”, Kettleburn added, “the Weasley twins are up to their usual mischief but other than that, my classes have been going well, not a single hurt student -or teacher- as of now”
“Wonderful to hear, what about the primary subjects?” Dumbledore looked over to Minerva, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.
“Oh, just great, We have some real talents in transfiguration, especially Miss Granger and Mr Potter, those two continuously fight over the title of best in class”, Minerva smiled.
“And here I thought those two were only great in charms”, Flitwick whistled, “same here as in minerva’s class, both Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are prodigies. With them helping the other students, I’ve been able to progress through my lessons way faster than usual”
“Oh, is that so?” Dumbledore asked, “and how are our two over achievers doing in potions?”
“They are- they’re not complete failures at the least, though Miss Granger has been rather loudly answering questions that I ask other students, a know-it-all if I’ve ever seen one. Longbottom on the other hand is a complete fool and how not an ounce of potioneering skill in his bones”
“Yes, young mr. Longbottom seems rather clumsy”, Minerva added, “I suspect his wand isn’t a match for him, it just doesn’t do at he wills it to. Perhaps you should write an owl to his grandmother albus, I am sure that with the right wand, he will do just fine”
“I will do that”, Albus assured her, “Now Pomona, how are your herbology classes coming along”
“Quite fine”, Professor Sprout exclaimed with a happy smile, “Both mr. Potter and Miss Granger are well versed in the theoretical aspect of Herbology, though their practical output is only average. Mr. Longbottom on the other hand is a prodigy, both in the theory and in the practical portions of my class. Mr. Dursley is the one struggling the most in my class”
“Yes Dudley Dursley lacks the finesse required for charmwork, though he has a talent for jinxes and hexes”, Flitwick mused.
Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands into one another, “Very nice to hear that everything has been going so well, now our next meeting will be in a few months. Hopefully by then everything will be just as great as it is now”