Happy Days of Growth
"Alright, that's enough exercising for today. Time to practice with the dummies!"
After his birthday, his godfather had asked if Harry would like for more intensive training, and Harry had agreed. He didn't want to always be protected by his godfather, after all. Harry loved the man, but he knew he needed to grow up as he can't always expect Professor Emrys to be there for him.
And so Professor Emrys divided the remaining days to a timetable.
07:00 - 07:30 (Breakfast)
08:00 - 10:00 (Exercises For Physical And Magical Finesse)
10:30 - 11:30 (Practicing With Dummies)
12:00 - 12:30 (Lunch)
13:00 - 15:00 (Physical Training)
15:30 - 18:00 (Magical Training)
18:15 - 18:45 (Sparring With Mentors)
19:00 - 19:30 (Dinner)
20:00 - 22:30 (Magical Studies)
"What do you think? Are you feeling more physically fit and more magically powerful?" Harry smiled at his godfather's question.
"Yes. It's been helping me out a lot! By the way, don't you have Hagrid to teach next? How's he doing?"
"He's a remarkably talented student, and fortunately, he had also received some further magical education from Albus before this. His magical skills would probably be able to match that of the other teachers within a year or so."
Harry smiled, pleased to hear his friend was doing well.
"How about his teaching skills?"
His godfather gave an amused chuckle. "He's coming along quite nicely. Don't worry."
"Can I spar with him magically? Like, he's been helping me out by being my sparring partner in martial arts, but maybe he can duel me too?"
His godfather hummed. "I'll see what I can do, but don't expect you'll be able to win just because it's not me. I've been teaching Hagrid dueling too."
Harry smirked.
"Now, go ahead and spar with those dummies, Harry. They aren't going anywhere after all. I'll watch the records later."
With that, his godfather left as Harry allowed himself to rest for a couple more minutes before standing up.
The exercises his godfather mentioned started out from physical ones, such as bench-presses, pushups, and squats, before they moved on to mystical ones. His godfather then had him meditate to focus on his magic, telling him to be more in-tune with his magic.
"Meditation is not only useful for suppressing emotions and negative feelings, but also a very efficient magical refining method. Meditate and allow yourself to harness the magic inside you. Breath and expel and reabsorb your magical energies."
2 days after he had done those meditation, his godfather added in exercises where he would only have access to one eye and must rely more on his ability to use magic for senses to accurately aim. He was allowed a few moments to enter meditation for now, but Professor Emrys said he would eventually have to master being in a constantly focused and magically meditative state.
Harry discovered that his spells seemed much easier to use and more powerful than normally, which Professor Emrys approved.
"By meditating, you are able to refine your magical control and your power. Not only that, it would seem you are able to subconsciously tap into the magical energies of the world around you quite soon, a feat that very few could have done. You truly are blessed... By Love. It was Love that saved you, and it was Love that would ensure you could live a long and happy life."
"Can anyone else tap into the magic of the world?"
His godfather's smile seemed a little bit more strained. "Not everyone can. You see, Harry, back in the ancient ages, sorcerers and sorceresses were able to harness magic without any need for a wand. Their form of magic can be called "Ancient Magic" or "Old Religion". Alas, in time, such practices and magic have waned. Modern Magic replaced it, and while by no means without potential, as our Headmaster can prove, it would seem the ancient arts would never quite reach the same prominence as it once was. Now, while Ancient Magic can no longer be tapped into, it still exists and is everywhere around the world."
"Only those who are highly blessed by magic are able to channel it, but even they would need years of training before they could master any of the old ways. The Founders, Albus, and Gellert Grindelwald are among the very few modern wizards who are capable of harnessing Ancient Magic to a sufficient degree to be called a master, which is part of why they are among the most powerful of us."
"What about you, Professor? You're as powerful as the Headmaster, and you could cure the Basilisk's Petrification and beat Salazar Slytherin. Does that mean you are a master of Ancient Magic too?"
His godfather gave a sadder smile than most smiles he had seen him use. "I have many secrets, all of which you shall learn in time, but it is not time yet for you to know them. You WILL know what I am and how powerful I am, and you WILL learn the greatest of magics, but only when you are ready to take it with the proper responsibility and discipline."
"Okay. I can wait. You've done so much for me, and I hope one day you can be honest with me." Harry said with an understanding smile.
"I hope that day would come too, Harry."
And so it was that Harry took on several dummies in magical combat.
With the fact that he may have to take on a seasoned magical veteran, his godfather had insisted on focusing on his ability to pace himself in dueling as well as more strategy and flexibility in his spellwork.
"When dueling masters fight, they are automatically aware of their surroundings and can quickly analyze their opponent's fighting style if they are not skilled enough themselves. They are also quick to adapt to the paces of their opponent. For example, when fighting an opponent who prefers to quickly overwhelm their enemies, a dueling master can either simply opt to take it slow to conserve strength and wear out their unskilled enemies before counter-attacking and ending the fight, or they can simply fight just as agressively with far greater focus and overwhelm their enemies quite decisively."
"A slower pace may seem more favorable, as a dueling master would have to truly try to form the proper analysis needed to take down their enemies, but actually, fighting slow would still allow a dueling master to catch on the tactics and preferred techniques of their enemies and while it may be difficult, depending on their opponent's level of skill and caution, in time, they will be able to come up with a strategy to grant them victory. Strategy and flexibility can come in many ways. Even the most subtle and most harmless forms of magic can prove vital in victory."
"So to be a dueling master, you would need to be at top shape, cunning, cautious, analytical, proficient in magic, and efficient in using the skills they have, is that it, Professor?"
Professor Emrys chuckled. "That's the basics of it. You now have fulfilled the qualifications of being at top shape, proficient at magic, and analytical, but cunning and cautious is different. Efficient in using your skills, that you can qualify, but not quite enough yet."
Harry kept his godfather's words in mind as he applied all the footwork, the focusing techniques, the tactics, and the spells his godfather had taught him against 20 "average" dueling dummies, calmly and effectively dodging attacks through slight shifts of stances and as much of unwasted movements as he could and firing spells with greater control and precision by taking a few breaths and focusing on his will and energy.
After the 5 minutes warm up, Harry then was immediately pitted against 10 "above average" dueling dummies. He focused himself now, as he made sure to keep a watchful eye on their more versatile skills and stronger attacks and deduce their weaknesses before attacking. The exercises on using the Shield Charm fortunately worked wonders here, able to shield himself from most of their spells with a single burst and give him enough time to avoid the rest with his footwork techniques.
It was much harder to focus on these set of dummies, but such an exercise was helping him improve.
He allowed himself to pant as he finally took down the 10 "above average" dueling dummies. Professor Emrys had stated after he was ready, he would be practicing against "expert" before eventually practicing against "master".
But the practice was far from done.
Now, there was physical combat.
As Professor Emrys had stated, this was meant to improve his physical and magical energy, by having him develop both while being pushed. He wasn't allowed to rest because he needed to learn how to fight in numerous bouts and still remain tall and strong.
The first round of practice for physical combat was against several magical dummies, where he would have to dodge their spells and take them out using his sword or spear. He wasn't allowed to shield himself with the shield form.
And yet Harry surprisingly found it rather easy as he nimbly avoided their straightforward spells and cut them all down within a minute or two.
The second round, however, wasn't as easy.
Harry was now pitted against 3 sword wielding dummies, who were enchanted to have "average" combat skills. Their swords can't kill, but it would still hurt a lot.
Harry threw in all the fencing skills he had at them and just barely managed to defeat them after 20 minutes.
He winced as he gingerly touched the spots that were stabbed by their swords. It didn't exactly cause blood, but it still left him with phantom pain, an enchantment his godfather put to make sure he wouldn't be injured.
Oh well, this is fun! It's good too. I have a godfather who loves me, and my friends are all with me. Even the Dursleys are starting to be better at me. Now, time to change clothes and be ready for lunch. I'll also have to read some of the books Professor Emrys gave me for supplementary material.
"Very well done, Hagrid." Merlin declared as Hagrid managed to successfully complete the practical tests Merlin had set up for his O.W.L.
Hagrid was very talented, indeed, and highly determined to prove he was worth Merlin's time and effort. Since Albus had taught him much of the spells used by adults, Merlin simply needed to fine-tune his spellcasting skills and teach him some more advanced spells. It didn't take much time before Hagrid was ready for his O.W.L now. He had passed quite spectacularly in the pratical aspects, and Merlin had not actually held back the difficulty at all. Hagrid was simply that skilled.
In Charms, he had Hagrid complete an entire course where he had to catch in enchantments and troubling stuffs and use Charms to undo them, which Hagrid did 10 minutes earlier than the time given to him, that of 30 minutes. As for Transfiguration, he had Hagrid perform all kinds of Transfiguration to pass by setting up a course where Hagrid was required to come up with what was best to transdigure to pass. He did quite well, succeeding within 23 minutes, 7 minutes early.
Herbology required Hagrid to successfully handle all the dangerous plants he had acquired and placed on the dimension they were holding his O.W.Ls on, and Hagrid solved it all within 15 minutes. He stated that as he had been traveling and experienced the Forbidden Forest, dealing with dangerous plants were like tuesday. For Potions, Merlin put Hagrid through brewing various types of Potions, starting from the basics to the more complicated ones. He got it all in time, and even had some early successes. It was to be expected. After all, Hagrid HAD been dealing with many dangers, so he would be expected to be capable of brewing his own potions.
Defense Against the Dark Arts required Hagrid to counter numerous curses, jinxes, and hexes that Merlin placed on objects and conjured creatures, and also made him tangle with Dark Creatures. Hagrid got them all done in 12 minutes, but even that paled in comparison to how quick Hagrid got the Care of Magical Creatures done.
It was one of the best performances Merlin had ever seen, on par with that of Albus's and Newt's own performance in their O.W.L exam (Merlin had been disguised as the sole O.W.L examiner for the latter). He got it done within a matter of 7 minutes, starting from caring for creatures, recognizing them, and handling them.
Hagrid had also did brilliantly in the theory part of his O.W.L. This was sure to grant him the proper certification to be acknowledged as the right choice for Care of Magical Creatures Teacher for sure. He just had to tweak it a bit to make it be accepted, since Hagrid had yet to finish his N.E.W.T.
Merlin had reserved the Badge of Qualification from his time as a Wizarding Examinator, which granted him the right to make the form of credentials for all kinds of jobs, an authority that proved useful whenever he found some struggling fellows with potential.
"'s all thanks to you, Professor!" Hagrid had declared excitedly.
"Don't downgrade your talents, Hagrid. I simply gave you the proper education you needed. Now, the results will be given to you later, but rest assured, you have already more than proven yourself. I'll deal with the certification. Now, let us enjoy lunch, shall we?"
When they arrived, Harry was already there, reading some of the pages of the journal Merlin gave him.
"How's it going, Harry?" His godson smiled at him as he set away the journal.
"Can I learn some healing spells? This book spoke about how healing skills could be useful in all-out battles. If I'm going to have to get roughed up, then I'll need to make sure I could heal myself or if necessary, my friends."
"Of course! If anything, you can learn together with Hagrid in the sundays. There is still 2 weeks before the term starts, so we'll have enough time to get started on it!"
"Healin' spells ain' easy, Harry. I have more experience o' i', so I could help you a little bi'."
"Thank you for the offer, Hagrid, but I wonder if you would also be willing to be Harry's dueling partner?"
Hagrid beamed at him. "O' course! Why not?"
And so Merlin cooked for him and his two students.
Hagrid had offered to help out too, and Merlin had fortunately taken upon himself to teach Hagrid how to make his branch of food much more delicious, showing him the proper discipline, usage of the ingredients, and many cooking spells, along with also introducing him to a significantly wider plethora of dishes and sweets. He was fortunately capable of digesting and eating Hagrid's Rock Cakes and Treacle Fudges and finding some enjoyment from it, but none of the rest of the teachers could, although they did not have the heart to tell him so.
By now, Hagrid had improved enough that Merlin was confident Harry would truly enjoy his cooking. He had been wisened up a bit to avoid cooking too much Rock Cakes or taloned cassaroles and focused more on bath buns, fries, and other more salty things, under Merlin's guidance.
They ate the lunch in silence, Harry enjoying both Merlin and Hagrid's cooking nicely, while Merlin allowed himself to be at peace and content with both his godson by his side and the man who was unfairly denied of a complete education by the actions of a descendant of one of his sons now very well on the way of completing his magical education.
"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you about how to power up your spells."
"Power up?" Harry asked confusedly.
"Yes, Harry. This is a practice that is taught at fourth years. As you are particularly advanced and in need for more skills than ever, I will teach you. Now, the first thing you need to mind is that as soon as you perform the gesture for your spell, if you wish to charge up your spells, you must wave your wand in at least a single circular motion and focus on strengthening it. The reason why I waited this long to teach you this is because this kind of practice is best learned when you have achieved a level of ability in the art of precise magical control and refinement."
"Now, as a beginner, you would need to at the very least wave your wand in circular motions at least 5 times for maximum power. Give it a try. Cast all the offensive spells you know using the power-up method."
Merlin watched as Harry managed to pull it off successfully, and nodded in approval, allowing a smile to grace his face.
He's coming along quite nicely. Usually, powering up spells would make most fourth-years a bit tired, yet he seems to be hardly winded. There is a chance his raw strength would exceed even Albus's own, although it would still not be enough to match mine, even with the Old Religion.
After finishing casting all the powered-up spells, Merlin had Harry practice on refining so he could cast the powered-up versions od more basic spells, such as the Knockback Jinx and the Disarming Charm, with only 3 circular motions.
It took Harry an hour and a half, and a few backfires from not charging enough power, but Merlin was patient, and Harry eventually pulled a decent amount off.
"You did well, Harry. Now, let me introduce you to one of the most common dueling spells around. The Stunning Spell. The incantation is Stupefy. It is capable of instantly knocking out an enemy with a single hit, highly practical and useful in dueling."
"That said, however, such spell might be resisted by powerful magical creatures, such as Giants and Dragons. It would take either the level of power able to destroy half a building to single-handedly stun one of them, or dozens of wizards working together. You also have to remember that multiple Stunning Spells can cause some serious damage, so don't use that unless for serious fights."
Not for me. Very few magics can affect me significantly.
As the most powerful being of the Old Religion and the single mightiest wielder of magic in all of the world and beyond, Merlin's sheer strength and magic was such that he became immune to practically almost anything magical.
He first discovered such resistance years after Camelot's downfall, where he attempted to commit suicide by removing his magic with the fearsome Gean Canach, but it didn't work. The creature couldn't even devour his powers, burning itself upon trying. His magic had grown too pure and powerful for even a fraction of the Triple Goddesses power to work on him. A Nathair burned into ashes when he tried to use it to kill himself by causing him so much pain.
He tried to enter the Veil Between the Worlds as another attempt, but his body's magic immediately sealed the rift. Not even the mighty Dorocha could kill him when he tried to have them touch him. They did make him freeze, but the magic in his body quickly healed him. The Cailleach had pitied him enough to let him keep trying and had even cast a death spell on him, which only allowed him to embrace darkness for a few minutes until he was brought back to life.
As Merlin finally gave up, staring at the ground despondently, the Cailleach made it clear that very few forms of killing or harmful magics could affect him and none of them could kill him before leaving with a few cryptic words.
Your time amongst the living may be endless, Merlin Emrys, but there is hope. One day, you shall be the one who brings about a new golden age. It is you, not Arthur Pendragon in the form in which he will return. With your immortality, the golden age of union between the wizards and the muggles will last forever.
Afterwards, Kilgharrah had came to him and snapped him out of his suicidal stupor, reminding him that Arthur was the Once and Future King and he shouldn't be committing suicide, but waiting for Arthur to return.
Although Merlin had almost entirely given up on it until Harry came in, resigning himself solely to watching over the worlds, Kilgharrah had sternly rebuked him in the few times they kept in touch, telling him to believe, until he eventually resigned himself that Merlin would not believe without seeing it himself.
Anyway, when Modern Magic came into existence, Merlin discovered he was immune to any wards crafted by it's power. In fact, not even Old Magic wards could stop him from leaving, although he did have to try hard to avoid burning through them with apparation or disappration, and any remaining problems were swiftly erased when Merlin developed the spatial distortion skill, even more advanced the whirlwind teleportation spells of the Old Religion. It simply bent space to create a portal, and so the wards designed to stop one from teleporting would not work as it wasn't teleportation technically, but a gateway, similar but different.
That wasn't to say that he can't be affected by magic at all. Spells that can cut and manipulate elements can still damage him, although the magic in Merlin's body meant he could quickly close them even without any need for a healing spell. It was particularly effective when the damage he took was from magic.
If Merlin focused, he could use his energy to form such a powerful aura that no spell, not even the Killing Curse, would be able to affect him. Such an ability proved handy in the most dangerous of situations, but he rarely used it when around others.
Normally, Merlin could still shrug off the Stunning Spell with his abundant amounts of magical energy. He had tried it out, and it turned out it would have taken 15 stunning spells, 3 more times than that of a Giant, to stun him, and even then, immortality meant he would be left with no side-effects.
Merlin watched as Harry didn't need much time to use the spell successfully. Yet another example of Arthur's reincarnation truly prodigious gifts in magic. It almost reminded Merlin of how HE himself had developed his magical skills naturally, without any training, how it was his talents that ultimately lead to him developing much of the Modern Magic used by his people.
"Now, to power-up the Stunning Spell is more difficult than most spells, since it's effects are meant to incapacitate, not to inflict actual harm on the target. That was why such a usage is rather uncommon. Powering up normal offensive spells is easy enough, but spells with a special effect such as the Disarming Charm and the Stunning Spell is more complicated. We shall practice on you getting it done for now with 7 circular motions."
"What kind of effects it would have, Professor?" Merlin simply smirked.
"Test it out yourself, Harry."
"Now, Harry, we're going to learn spear skills." Harry eyed his godfather anxiously.
The magical training had him learn how to charge up the power in his spell to produce more powerful effects. He got it done fairly easily for the normal spells, but the Disarming Charm and Stunning Spell needed him to try 5 times before he finally managed to produce a single charged-up spell. It also tired him out surprisingly easily despite all the training he had been through.
According to Professor Emrys, it was because his magical control and precision was far from perfect yet. To charge up additional power into spells meant not to harm but to win a duel in instant ways was much more difficult than normal spells.
Nevertheless, the power of the spell truly surprised him. The Stunning Spell and Disarming Charm both unleashed a small wave of magical energy that could affect 3 targets simultaneously.
The incantation was that of Stupefy Duo and Expeliarmus Duo. His godfather had introduced to him about Spell Modifiers. They were said to have been developed by Merlin himself, who discovered how the usage of additional Latin words into the Latin incantations of most spells could amplify them.
Skills that were difficult for him were now starting to be taught, and Harry wondered just how vastly much more his godfather still had to teach him.
Considering he's on par with Dumbledore, probably still thousands more skills.
"Now, spears are not particularly used by modern age, with how much more practical swords are. Nevertheless, such less usage would make it a powerful and versatile option if a sword would not work. The first thing you need to understand is that spears work best in an opened space. You have to keep a distance from your opponent to prevent them from being close enough to exploit the weaknesses of a Spear."
With that, Professor Emrys displayed several moves with the spear against several creatures, and Harry could not help but marvel at his teacher's style. It was elegant and powerful, fierce yet fluid, and he fought as beautifully as he would with a sword.
Just how talented and experienced Professor Emrys must be to be this good? How long had he lived? His eyes sometimes look even more ancient than Dumbledore's.
"Now, you try."
A Week Later
"Alright, Harry, Hagrid, you ready?" Both Harry and Hagrid beamed at their teacher.
"Ready, Professor!"
"Ready, too, Professor Emrys, sir!"
The moments he spent with Professor Emrys was the happiest Hagrid had been for a long time. The man had always been friendly and nice to him from the beginning, even letting him keep Norbert and Fluffy in the Forbidden Forest, granted under a sanctuary that Professor Emrys had made sure to be permitted by the Ministry of Magic, and later on keeping Aragog and the Acromantula comfy and happy with those food of his, but even that paled in comparison to how he had cleared Hagrid's name of what he had never did that lead to his expulsion.
He was given not only a full apology from the Ministry of Magic, with Cornelius Fudge himself personally expressing remorse for the public's previous treatment of him, but also allowed to formally complete his education, all while the greatest teacher in Hogwarts, on par with even Professor Dumbledore, taught him freely.
He learned many great things under his new teacher, Professor Emrys teaching him new useful skills even for someone who had experienced countless dangers like him, but above all else, Professor Emrys knew he was a Half-Giant and didn't even care. He even taught him how to better use the strengths available to him by his half-gianthood.
A great man, Professor Emrys truly was, and Hagrid was proud to assist, even offering to help out in his own classes when he had the time. Hagrid was now assured to be Care of Magical Creatures Professor, thanks to Professor Emrys pulling out his card of the Badge of Qualification from the Wizarding Examinations Authority.
Hagrid had passed his O.W.L with distinction, Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms, as well as Exceed Expectations in Potions, History of Magic, and Astronomy. Professor Emrys was also starting to teach him Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies too. The man wanted him to be proficient in all fields, and Hagrid was happy to accept.
Right now, Professor Emrys had suggested Hagrid spar with Harry magically, as he had grown into a highly advanced wizard. Previously, Hagrid and Harry had sparred physically, but this was the first time they were going to duel.
"I'll try ter go easy on yeh, harry." Hagrid assured as they took dueling stances.
"Yeh don' need ter hold back much, I think."
With that, Harry fired the first spell, a Knockback Jinx. Hagrid easily blocked it with a Shield Charm.
For 3 minutes, they started slow, Harry firing spells rapidly without using any particularly advanced skills while Hagrid would block and fire back just as fast. Hagrid had to admit he was impressed. He was taking it easy, but Harry truly had become a proficient duelist. His spells were powerful, controlled, his dueling style precise and focused, and his footwork was good too. He had applied the same martial arts approach Hagrid had seen him use properly into dueling.
Eventually, Harry started to display just how far he had progressed, and Hagrid had to admit he was astounded, even actually taking Harry a bit more seriously.
Harry could use the Shield Charm in short bursts with a surprising degree of skill even compared to fourth-years, he could power-up his spells within 2 circular motions, and he was able to cast numerous Spell Modifiers. His range of skills were way above third-years and Hagrid believed he would easily beat a decent amount of fifth-years. Not only that, but Harry was now displaying much more flexibility and strategy in his dueling spells. Hagrid needed to truly concentrate to anticipate what Harry could throw as he mixed in and threw spells after spells in increasingly unpredictable manner.
It was truly remarkable how far Harry had come. Hagrid had been trained by Professor Emrys in dueling too, though Professor Dumbledore had trained him before and whenever necessary, he could combine his fighting skills with magical dueling. While Hagrid wasn't exactly the best out of the Order of Phoenix, he was still good enough to dispatch Death Eaters with a wand, and Professor Emrys further improved those skills.
However, Hagrid eventually did win out in the end without having to go all-out. It took a full 10 minutes, but Hagrid won in the end by landing the first spell in, a particularly strong Stunning Spell that he precisely aimed at a blindspot he noticed from Harry.
As Professor Emrys revived Harry, Hagrid smiled at his soon-to-be student and friend. "Yeh did well, harry. Ter be honest, i never thought yeh'll be tha' good. Yeh could easily take down some fifth-years fer sure. I actually had ter take yeh a bit seriously, back then, an' tha''s with me having improved me dueling after professor emrys taught an' helped me get better from wha' professor dumbledore had taught me."
Harry smiled as he shook Hagrid's hand. "Thanks, Hagrid."
Next, they resumed to martial arts dueling. The reason why Hagrid was mainly Harry's sparring partner was because he was a Half-Giant, meaning he would be the best combat partner for Harry.
Hagrid blocked several of Harry's sword thrusts with skillful unarmed blocking techniques, his body, trained to move fast despite his large size, reacting to most of Harry's attacks with ease and dodging some that did manage to penetrate his defenses with proficient footwork. Hagrid then pressed the offense, pushing Harry back even with Harry managing to block Hagrid's attacks with his sword.
As Hagrid did not complete his education until recently, he focused more on martial arts rather than magical dueling to get around, relying on his inhuman physical abilities to give him the edge he needed and practicing and mastering numerous unarmed combat techniques and forms to get around, which often proved enough as he could easily knock out Death Eaters and beat dangerous magical creatures with his fists, more powerful than his own magic.
Of course, even after Professor Emrys took over his training, Hagrid only continued to develop his skills under Professor Emrys's teachings. Professor Emrys sparred with him and won while teaching him new skills.
Hagrid could still remember how awed he felt when Professor Emrys could strengthen himself to where he could match his strength and proceeded to beat him to the ground after 5 minutes of dueling, demonstrating fighting skills that had clearly been well-honed from years of training. Professor Emrys wasn't gloating, however. He patiently gave Hagrid tips to improve his form and taught him more complex forms both inside and outside of the boxing, wrestling, and grappling he had already learned.
Professor Emrys also taught him how to focus his strength for even greater power into his strikes, and other useful disciplines. He was truly a man of countless talents.
Eventually, Hagrid grabbed Harry's sword and ripped it out of his hand along with the gauntlet used to spawn his sword before gently grabbing and tossing him to the ground with minimum force, enough to down Harry but not enough to crack a few ribs.
Professor Emrys simply smiled as he went to Harry's side.
"You did well, Harry. It was just that Hagrid had been improving his martial form too. Being able to last against a Half-Giant, an actually masterful physical combatant at that, was quite impressive. Now, I think that's enough sparring for a day. Time to have dinner, and then we'll cover magical studies."
"Now, Harry, the first thing you are going to learn today is Runic Magic." Merlin smiled at Harry's confusion.
"Runic Magic is actually a form of the Ancient Magic I talked to you about. Runic Magic was first crafted by Merlin, the most powerful wizard and the greatest known practitioner of Ancient Magic, upon realizing that it was one of the easiest ways to channel powers of the old. Now, you need to hold out your hand, Harry."
Harry nodded anxiously, and Merlin smiled.
Ah... Children. How I wish you could have remained one for at least a couple more years, my boy. Alas, we do not have the luxury of time.
Merlin proceeded to enchant Harry's body with several runes, designed to allow him to use a degree of Runic Magic, glowing runes being woven into Harry's body before vanishing.
"I have taken the liberty to enchant your body with the power of runes. With that, you will be able to use Runic Magic to an extent." Harry eyed him in surprise and quickly tried to search his body for runes, as Merlin watched amusedly before he turned serious. This wasn't like common magics where he could take it easy.
"No, Harry. The runes did not leave a physical mark on your body. For now, you'll need the runes in your body to cast Runic Magic until you have mastered this magic to a sufficient enough degree. We are going to learn this in steps. I have mentioned before that you have the potential to harness Ancient Magic, but do not for a second believe it would be without decades of study and practice. You may not actually need a teacher, but you still need to develop your skills and NOT push yourself. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded, a bit unnerved by Merlin's warning.
"The first thing you need to know is that as a form of the original magic, Runic Magic can amplify a spell's power and efficiency, allowing it to be maintained for half an hour at worst and several hours to permanently at best. Much of Hogwarts wards consist of runes to amplify and make the defensive charms woven around the school permanently. I also cast a runic spell to enhance Hogwarts to automatically deduct house points upon any usage of racial slurs."
Merlin frowned at that unpleasant memory of Draco Malfoy uttering the despicable words "mudblood", before regaining himself and smiling at the reminder that he had done something to prevent any such words from being spoken without consequences again. At first, there were still a couple few, but by the end of the year, no one, not even Slytherins, ever muttered those words again and lost house points from it.
"The reason why Runic Magic can produce such powerful effects is because they practically keep gathering the boundless energy from the universe that is the Old Religion to fuel the spells. Depending on the level of skill, a user can either harness it just enough to keep a spell lasting for an hour, or make any spell permanent."
Merlin then taught Harry various runic-augmented forms of simple magics. for the whole "Magical Studies" session. He saw that Harry was able to upkeep the Runic Magic for a surprising 15 minutes straight before he started to tire. It was quite impressive and actually a little bit more impressive than Albus's own record, as when Merlin taught him such spells, at the beginning, he could only keep it up for 10 minutes.
And so Merlin concluded the session after having spent it solely on focusing Harry's ability to learn Runic Magic. Harry had asked Merlin why they had not used runes in duels yet, and Merlin told him the simple truth quite bluntly.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but like I said, Runic Magic is a form of Ancient Magic. You will eventually learn how to use runes in dueling, but you're not at that level yet to be efficient in using runes while dueling. You would need to practice more before you could wield any form of Ancient Magic in battle. Your magical control and skills must advance more before you could begin to wield the powers of the Old Religion."
That was the truth. With how the Old Religion had diminished, the Ancient Magic that can only come from it had waned as well. Only those with the power of the greatest and gifts on the level of being "blessed" could wield the power of the Old Religion, and even they would need years of practice. To be honest, Merlin was hoping Harry could learn a few Ancient Magic spells so he would be able to hold back dangerous enemies in emergencies.
"How long would it take?" Harry asked curiously. "I mean, I'm not hurrying, but if Black is coming for me, then I need to be able to defend myself. What if he attacks me with my friends around? I have to protect them. They mean more to me than my own life."
Merlin smiled at Harry's unhesitant and blatant bravery and nobility at those last words.
"Be patient, Harry. In time, you will get there. Now, go to bed, my boy."
As Harry nodded and left, Merlin allowed himself to sigh as he stared at the open-space room they were using for "Magical Studies".
Harry was coming far indeed. His talents exceeded every student Merlin had ever known of. In time, Merlin was assured that Harry would become the second greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth, surpassed only by Merlin himself.
Was this Harry's destiny? To become the magical version of Arthur, to unite the wizarding and non-wizarding worlds using his magic, his understanding of Muggles, and his compassion for Muggleborns, with Merlin by his side as he ruled?
Merlin could only hope so. He wasn't in a hurry or actively seeking to make the destiny happen.
The one single greatest lesson and belief that Merlin firmly clung into was that holding on to prophecies and destiny only lead to pain. It would happen, but not because it was foretold. There was no actual "flawless" Divination, only seeing the choices of individuals and how they decide their fate.
And he swore he would not repeat the same mistake. He would be better.