"Amazing..." Hermione uttered in awe, giving voice to what the professors were also thinking as they gazed upon the centuries worth of hidden items.
"To think, the Room of Requirement was real." Albus murmured quietly as he too looked around in awe.
"Room of Requirement?" Harry asked from the front of the group, curious for the second name he had heard for the place they were currently in. The first being the Room of Hidden Things that he heard from Helena Ravenclaw.
"Yes. According to the whispers, the room only appears occasionally throughout history, while also filling itself with whatever the user needs. Most stories involve students or faculty discovering it by mistake, only to be unable to find it later when they go back to investigate." Albus explained as they all began to examine random pieces of junk from amongst the numerous mountains that filled the room.
"That sounds.... Incredibly convient." Harry replied as he thought back to his previous experiments.
After discovering the room he spent the last couple days figuring out how exactly to open the door, and realized that it took him pacing back and forth three times while focusing on trying to find the Room of Hidden Things. Now he was wondering what else the room could provide if given the proper command. Something for him to test later.
"So what now?" Hermione asked as silence descended upon them.
"Now we locate the Horcrux that was hidden in here. The Diadem, correct?" Albus answered while also asking Harry.
"That's right. I have a strong reason to suspect that the Diadem is the one hidden in here. This is a picture of it if anyone needs it." Harry said while holding up a book, the same one that he had been using to research relics left behind by the founders over the summer.
"A part of me is excited at the prospect of finding the legendary lost Diadem." Flitwick exclaimed excitedly, before sobering a second later. "But that will also mean that it's been turned into a Horcux..."
"Let me worry about that." Harry said as he started heading down one of the different paths through the mountains of rubbish. "The reason I haven't tried destroying any of the Horcruxes yet is that I want to try to remove Voldemort's soul from them without destroying them. If I can, then the school can have them afterwards."
The diminutive professor brightened after hearing that, taking his own path through the rubbish to start his search for the Diadem. The other heads of houses did the same, as well as Albus while Hermione elected to follow Harry on his search.
Rather than actively searching for the Diadem though, Harry was strolling casually through the rubbish heaps while plucking any items that caught his interest from them. Harry had already collected the last three Horcruxes, so he didn't mind taking his time for this one instead of just using Clairvoyance to go right to it.
Hermione was also enjoying herself as she grabbed any and all books that she found amongst the rubbish. Or at least the ones that weren't too damaged or otherwise ruined for her to take.
"Be careful with what you grab. Whatever isn't rubbish was probably hidden here for a reason." Harry warned her, having already dealt with numerous instances of possession or mental manipulation from items in Skyrim.
"I will." Hermione said absentmindedly, already focused on another book she just found. Harry just rolled his eyes at her as he continued forward.
Since it was the weekend there was no rush for the two students or the professors as they searched through the mountains of rubbish, though a couple of them thought of drafting the Hogwarts House Elves more than once.
They too however were awed by the history that was piled up before them, as gruesome and sinister as most of it was. Flitwick found himself a book that contained numerous experimental spells for combat, though several were vicious enough to warrant caution. Sprout was busy examining several different cloaks that she found, before being distracted by a massive stuffed troll. Snape meanwhile was surprised to find numerous vials of mysterious potions scattered throughout the room, which he was collecting to either add to his stores or dispose of later. And finally Minerva was finding even rusted and old weapons such as ancient swords, daggers, and even a bloodstained axe.
On and on the search for the Diadem continued, their needle in a mountain of haystacks. And then, right as Harry was busy examining a pendant that was giving off a malicious feeling...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Hermione!"
Turning in the direction that her scream came from, Harry bolted through the mountains of rubbish until he found the bushy-haired girl, on her knees while a figure resembling Minerva loomed over her.
"In all my years as a teacher, I have never had the displeasure of dealing with someone as STUPID as you before!" Minerva sneered down as her.
"Potions, Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration! You failed ALL your classes!"
"No... Please..." Hermione whimpered fearfully, her entire body shuddering as she seemingly fought back tears.
"A disgrace to witches everywhere. You don't deserve that wand, Mudblood."
That seemed to do it, as Hermione, faced with the scorn and disgust of someone she greatly looked up to, broke down entirely.
"That girl." Harry muttered while shaking his head, before focusing on Minerva. Or rather, the fake Minerva that was obviously a Boggart.
There was no warning for it. No preamble, nor build up. Harry's hand crackled with lightning right before he unleashed a powerful blast of Destruction magic on the Boggart all at once.
It was not at all the 'proper' way to finish off a Boggart. But the amount of power Harry put into the spell was more than enough as the Boggart was instantly vaporized on the spot, simply turning into a small pile of ash. At the same time, Harry threw a Calm spell at Hermione to help her recover from the psycological damage the Boggart had done.
"You alright?" Harry asked her as Hermione started collecting her.
"I am now." She said with no trace of the same hysteria she'd had seconds before as she rose to her feet. Though her eyes were still red and puffy from crying.
"Boggarts feed off of the fear of others by taking the form of what terrifies them most. You need to be careful and make sure not to let them cripple you because the slightest hesitation could mean death in a real battle." Harry chastized her seriously.
"I'm sorry..." She muttered dejectedly. Even if she was Calm because of Harry's spell, that didn't mean she couldn't feel dejected from her failure.
"The main thing is that you do better next time." Harry said, before leading her away from that place as they continued searching for the Diadem.
Hermione was pretty subdued after they encountered the Boggart, staying as close to Harry as possible as they made their way. It made him decide that he would need to work on building up her confidence during battles.
Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to train her by using Boggarts, as Harry had no idea what form they would take if they saw him. And the LAST thing they needed was something like Alduin, Miraak or Harkon spawning within Hogwarts. Or worse, one of the Daedric Princes themselves.
They continued searching until the room was bathed with green light, courtesy of the green sparks being sent up by someone elsewhere in the room.
"They must have found it." Harry said to Hermione, before grabbing a broom from a stack that were nearby. It was nowhere near as reliable as his Firebolt, but it would suffice as Harry mounted it and pulled Hermione onto it in front of him.
The bushy-haired girl clung to the broom like it was life or death as Harry kicked off from the ground and soared into the air, flying in the direction of the green sparks while noting the other professors doing the same, until they converged on the source. Professor Sprout.
"Did you find it?" Harry asked before his feet even touched the ground.
"I think so!" Sprout said excitedly as she pointed at the object in question.
It was in fact a Diadem, but one that was covered in grime while showing signs of extreme neglect and disrepair. Aligning with Helena's story about it being hidden in the trunk of a tree for nearly a thousand years. But, Harry knew there was one way to tell for sure.
"Stand back." He said while pulling a large iron battleaxe from his bag, prompting the others to quickly give him space as he swung it down at the Diadem while ignoring a cry of protest from Flitwick.
None of them truly knew what to expect as Harry did that. Maybe just for the Diadem to be cut in half or something. But what actually happened defied explanation as the battleaxe hit the Diadem, before a force sent it flying back and out of Harry's hands, the blade itself shattering into dozens of pieces that went flying in every direction.
"Any more bright ideas?" Snape drawled with disdain in his voice as he and the others protected themselves from the shrapnel, with Minerva protecting Hermione as well.
"Nope. That about confirms it." Harry said while shaking his hands out, which were both jarred after what just happened. He then picked up the Diadem and stored it away in his bag while the others watched. "I'll store it with the others for now. Once we can get the ring, then we can see about dealing with them."
"Excellent." Albus said, his eyes gleaming with excitement at their success. "And now we can hope that with this done, the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position has been lifted."
"That is all well and good..." Snape drawled once more, stepping forward to address the headmaster. "But we should also be looking into something else. The identity of the final Horcux."
There was a humbling silence over the group as they all looked to Snape for clarification.
"The Diary, Locket, Cup, Ring and Diadem make only five. You said that he planned to make six. If so, then we should start looking into what that one may be." He continued, drawing out each word as if he were speaking to his 'dim-witted' students rather than his peers.
"I believe we may not have to actually, Severus." Albus countered, drawing every eye back to him.
"We may know that Tom intended to split his soul into seven, making a total of six Horcruxes, but we have no way of knowing if he ever actually achieved his goal. It is possible that he had, given the amount of people he's killed, but I believe that he hasn't. For Tom, the creation of his Horcruxes would mark his ultimate goal of immortality. He wouldn't just kill anybody for their creation if he could help it.
"Myrtle Warren to create the Diary, Tom Riddle Sr for the ring, Hepzibah Smith for the cup. Even if we have no way of knowing who he used for the Locket and Diadem, I have no doubt they were significant to Tom in some way or another. So, I believe that his sixth and final Horcrux would have been created by using the death of the most significant one of all. The one who was prophesied to be his downfall."
As he finished speaking, Albus turned his attention Harry, drawing the eye of the others to him as well.
"I feel so flattered." Harry stated dryly, earning numerous looks of exasperation.
"So, you think we can assume that the Ring is the final one?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"Yes miss Granger. I believe that would be a safe assumption to make." Albus replied while nodding slightly. "And, I will be giving the task of locating the Gaunt family home my fullest attention to expedite the process."
Tension bled out of the gathered professors at the news, though Harry continued looking at the old man with slightly narrowed eyes. None of them noticed though, as they patted each other on the back for locating the Diadem so quickly. Sprout in particular, as the one who actually found it. As they all began to leave though, Harry lingered momentarily.
"Go on ahead." He told Hermione quietly, who looked at him in confusion, but did as he said so that Harry was alone with Albus.
"You didn't tell us the whole truth, did you?" Harry demanded once they were out of earshot.
"What makes you say that my boy?" Albus asked with his trademarked grandfatherly smile.
"I know you Albus. Even with all of the memories you collected of Tom Riddle and his descent into becoming Voldemort, you would not proclaim the absence of a Horcux solely on a hunch. What aren't you telling us?"
The two looked at one another for a moment, emerald green eyes gazing into brilliant blue, before Albus finally blinked slowly.
"Very well then." He said tiredly. "I do believe that Tom made a final Horcux, though he did so unintentionally. I believe that he started the process that horrible night eleven years ago, intending to use your death to do so. But, he made the fatal error of giving your mother a chance to live. After which, she made her choice to die for you."
"Is that what made the curse rebound and destroy him instead?"
"Indeed. It was her love for you that protected you from him that night, and caused the downfall of Voldemort. But it was what happened afterwards that can only be speculated. I believe that when his body was destroyed, a part of Voldemort's soul attached itself to the only living thing in the house. You."
"..."
"My theory Harry, is that Voldemort unintentionally made you a Horcrux that night, his sixth and final one. Though I also believe that he himself is unaware of this, as he would not have sought your death so vehemently last year if he had known."
"Right. He would have tried to get me under his control, or tried other ways to keep me safe to keep himself safe." Harry stated quietly, his mind going through numerous different thoughts.
"Indeed." Albus said sadly, though Harry could feel his eyes on him still.
"Well, that makes things a bit easier then." Harry said with a shrug, stunning the old man.
"I beg your pardon Harry, but why would they be easier?" Albus asked in confusion.
"Well, basically the reason you kept quiet about this is because that this means that I'll have to die for Tom to die, right?" Harry asked, to which Albus nodded slowly. "Well, my plan wasn't to kill him anyways. Even if it was stolen, I did trap his soul in a Soul Gem, which would send it to the Ideal Masters of the Soul Cairn. Even if I was still alive, he would be killed and forced to endure an eternity under their....care.
"Additionally, I am Dragonborn. My entire existence is about absorbing the souls of dragons that I've slain. What would a partial soul of Tom Riddle be when compared to one of them? Let alone the dozens I've killed and absorbed? So either the soul fragment within me has also long since been absorbed, or it will have no bearing on what we will do to him once we get the Soul Gem back. Speaking of, have you heard any word about that?"
Ending with a question regarding Peter Pettigrew, Albus sighed tiredly.
"Unfortunately, no. We followed the string of killings going south like you said, but nothing ever became of it. It was as if the trail just disappeared entirely."
"Damn..." Harry swore, though he wasn't too surprised. Even Magus Greengrass had lost the trail of Pettigrew a while back.
"Nothing to do but hope he slips up eventually." Albus said darkly, and Harry could only agree as they made to leave the room.
...
"THAT'S ENOUGH YOU LOT!" Yelled a sixth-year Gryffindor student to get the crowd of younger students under control. Which they thankfully did. Somewhat.
Currently they were all gathered on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch for Gryffindor team tryouts for the year. Including Harry thanks to conditions Sirius attached to the Firebolt he gave him for his birthday.
The current team captain, Oliver Wood, was standing across from them with the current Gryffindor team from the previous year. Wood himself was the Keeper, while Fred and George were Beaters, and a trio of girls named Angelina, Alicia and Katie were all Chasers. That just left the Seeker, Pete, who stood near the three Chasers with his chest puffed out.
"Right then, you lot. Today we'll be having tryouts to give you all a chance to make the team. If any of you can outperform anyone already on the team, then you might be able to make it. Hopefully this year we can take the cup back from Slytherin, so you all best be prepared to give it your all if you get on the team. Now lets go!"
The drills Wood put them through were honestly quite tame compared to what Harry was expecting. Even if he wasn't using his Firebolt, the top performing broom that was about to hit the markets, Harry glided through the drills with ease. But then again, what else would one expect from one of the Dovah? Even if Harry didn't actually have the wings of one.
However the drills were enough to eliminate several other students as they struggled banking, diving, or ascending the way Wood wanted. Then came the actual gameplay stuff.
Once the basic flying drills were done with, Wood moved them on to drills involving the different positions in the game. The hopeful Chasers would have to pass the Quaffle back and forth down the pitch alongside the three already on the team while the others would have to try and either steal the ball or block them. The beaters meanwhile had to compete against the Weasley twins in defending their teammates against their fake Bludgers while also aiming them at each other.
Eventually neither group had any new members added to them, keeping the twins along with Katie, Alica and Angelina, while Keeper tryouts were ignored altogether since that was Wood's position, and he was the team captain. This led to a very heated argument between Wood and someone who had wanted to try out for Keeper named McLaggen.
Finally, it was time for the Seeker tryouts.
This was the position Harry was aiming for since it required the least amount of training compared to the others, and he still had other things he wanted to focus on. Plus it seemed like the best spot to make use of the speed his Firebolt gave him, and Harry was already accustomed to snatching gold anyways.
And as one might expect, the competition was brutal. For Pete.
Not only did Harry outperform Pete in every single drill in just regular flying, he also caught every single one of the practice Snitches as well. Seemingly plucking them out of the air each time like it was nothing.
"You're a cheat!" Pete yelled as soon as they landed, with Harry holding each of the fake Snitches that had been thrown for him, as well as some of the ones Pete had missed.
"Don't be a sore loser mate." One of the twins said in Harry's defense.
"Yeah. Harry beat you, just accept it." The other added as the both of them stepped between them. Not to protect Harry, but to keep Pete from doing something to get himself hurt.
"Come off it! No one's THAT good!" Pete yelled angrily.
"Apparently Harry is." Wood stated, standing next to Harry as well. All he cared about was winning the Quidditch Cup, so he couldn't care less about Pete's hurt feelings. Instead, he was actually excited when he saw how good Harry was. He could already feel that cup in his hands after watching him fly.
With even the three Chasers giving him matching looks, Pete realized there was no way he was going to be changing their minds, leading to him storming off to the locker rooms angrily.
"Welcome to the team, Harry." Wood said to him once Pete was gone.
"Thanks." Harry replied before Wood turned towards the rest of the team.
"Now then, I intend to take the cup this year, so I spent the entire summer creating a few different strategies and plays for us to gain the edge over the other houses. We're going to train longer and harder than ever before!"
"""Yeah!"""
With Wood's little peptalk finished, the group began to disban for the day as they all started heading back to the locker rooms. It was then that Harry said to them, "You all remember that combat training I was doing last year?"
"Yeah! The stuff we used to take down those trolls!" Fred spoke up excitedly.
"That's right. I'm starting that up again tonight as well now that everyone is settled back in. If any of you want to be a part of it, I'm moving locations to the seventh floor, across from the tapestry with the dancing trolls." Harry informed them, and while they all looked confused, several said they'd be there.
"Thanks for the offer Harry, but I need to put all of my focus on Quidditch." Wood said.
"Too bad." Harry replied wryly. "I was going to have you help me draw potential battle plans with the aerial support."
"!!!"
"I guess I'll have to ask one of the OTHER Quidditch captains for help with that. Maybe Marcus Flint will make an appearance tonight?" Harry mused, only for Wood to grab him suddenly.
"I'll go!" He declared, his face and voice almost depserate.
"But what about your Quidditch?" Harry asked with feigned ignorance.
"Nevermind that! I said I'll go!" Wood repeated firmly, an almost manic look in his eyes.
"If you really want to." Harry said, while the three Chasers rolled their eyes at their captain and the twins snickered.
Once that was all settled, the group quickly got changed in the locker rooms before heading back to the castle for dinner. Where the Great Hall was already buzzing with news that Harry was going to start doing his lessons again.
Some were excited to go after word spread of him beating up Lockhart, as well as his sparring match against Dumbledore of all people, while a few others weren't too interested since they didn't see the point. After all, when were they going to use this stuff in real life anyways?
The ones most curious about it though were the first years, who were mostly wide-eyed with awe as they heard stories of the troll attack the previous Halloween. None more so than Collin Creevey, a Gryffindor first year that practically worshipped the ground Harry walked on.
Harry for the most part ignored all of them, and quickly ate his meal before heading up to the seventh floor. He had been experimenting with the Room of Requirement ever since they found the Diadem several days prior, and had decided it would be the best place for them to train going forward.
When the door appeared and Harry opened it, he found himself in a hall massive enough to rival the Great Hall in size, but without the mountains of rubbish that had been in the Room of Hidden Things. Instead, racks of weapons lined most of the walls of various sizes and styles, including ones that Harry had never seen before from around the world. There was even a section with targets set out for them to practice spells and other ranged attacks with, complete with slings, bows, arrows, crossbows and bolts.
There were even stands with different types of armor and shields for them to try if they wanted, along with practice dummies that were enchanted to hit them back.
Harry couldn't ask for a better place for all of them to train in, even the room he built himself in his trunk. And it was a sentiment shared by everyone else as they slowly began to arrive shortly after he did.
"What is this place?"
"How did we never see this before?"
"This has been here all this time?"
""Wicked...""
Harry kept count of everyone as they slowly arrived, mostly second years like himself, but also several students from the years above them, and almost all of the first years. Even several Slytherins showed up thanks to Daphne, though they were mostly half-bloods like her friend Tracy. The most shocking arrival however was Draco, who looked as he were trying to avoid being noticed.
"Alright, gather around everyone." Harry called out once he was sure there was no one else coming. "Welcome back to those of you who were here last year, and welcome to those who are here for the first time. Before we begin our training, I'm going to give you all a refresher after the summer holiday."
Everyone immediately made some space around him as Harry held his hands out, and space itself began to warp around him before several figures appeared. A spectral wolf, a woman made of fire, a colossus made of ice, a construct of rocks held together by lightning, a demon, and finally a skeleton covered in armor.
"This is Conjuration magic, the school of magic that specializes in summoning. Through it one can summon familiars, undead, Atronachs, and even Dremora from the Planes of Oblivion, as well as creating various types of weapons." Harry then summoned a sword into his had to prove his point, before continuing.
"Though this school of magic is one of the most versatile, it is also the most dangerous out of the five of them due to the fact that your summons can turn on you if your control slips even a little bit. Like so."
"FOOLISH MORTAL!"
The Dremora yelled suddenly, as Haarry unbound it so that it was able to act by it's own will. Which meant it immediately turned on him and tried to kill him.
"Harry!" Someone yelled worriedly, but Harry ignored them as he focused on his opponent.
The Dremora was wielding a massive Daedric Greatsword, a long black blade made of ebony that possessed glowing veins of red. And while normally the size and weight of a greatsword made them move slower, making it easier to predict the path of the sword, a Dremora had no such drawbacks.
But Harry was no ordinary opponent.
He leaned back slightly to avoid the first attack, allowing it to swing harmlessly past his head before he stepped back, putting just a little bit of distance between them.
"This is why one of the most important spells for a specialist of Conjuration magic is the Banish Daedra spell." Harry continued speaking as he dodged the second attack, and then the third, before he held his hand out and fired another spell. Once it hit the Dremora, it vanished in a flash of light while making a sound like it had been dealt a mortal blow.
"Now the Dremora has been returned to it's home in Oblivion, rendering it harmless to me since it can't cross over on it's own. Of course, no one will be actually be learning how to summon one of them right off the bat. Anyone interested in this school of magic will be learning Bound Dagger and Conjure Familiar first." Harry stated while the sword in his hand changed form to a dagger, and he pointed to the spectral wolf at the side.
"The second school of magic involves manipulation of the mind and senses, Illusion magic." Harry continued as he pointed as said spectral wolf. There was a flash of reddish light, and suddenly the large, manacing wolf was cowering as it desperately tried to hide from them.
"The most basic uses for the school of Illusion is to instill intense emotions like Fear, Bravery, Rage, and Calm into other living beings. One can turn even the most cowardly person into a brave warrior willing to take on even a giant with his bare hands, or reduce the most stout-hearted warrior into a snivelling coward with a single spell. It could also be used to apply spells that help with avoiding detection by others, like Muffle or Invisibility."
As he finished speaking Harry suddenly disappeared before all of their eyes, so completely that not even the best Disillusionment charm could compare.
"There are other applications..." Harry said as he reappeared before them. "But the ones I showed you are the most basic, and what anyone who wants to learn them will focus on. Then there is the school of magic on the opposite end of the spectrum, Alteration magic.
"Alteration magic is manipulation over reality itself, making it significantly harder than Illusion magic. But there is significantly more variety in application." Harry then demonstrated his point by conjuring several balls of light that floated around the hall, before summoning one of the iron swords the room provided to his hand with Telekinesis, and then turning it into bronze with Transmute.
"Magelight, Telekinesis and Transmutation are just a few different applications along with Waterbreathing, while mages can also apply some spells in combat, like Paralysis and armor spells. This is the Stoneflesh spell for example."
To show them Harry applied said spell to his body, resulting in a soft glow that covered him from head to toe before he used Telekinesis to send a sword flying at Draco.
"Use this sword to try and hurt me." Harry told him, while the Slytherin looked between him and the blade stunned.
"Are you serious?" He asked tentatively.
"Sure. Try and kill me even, if you dare." Harry said provacatively, even going as far as to charge up a Fury spell in his hand if Draco didn't have the stones to go through with it.
Draco did hesitate for a second as he looked between Harry and the sword, which looked sharp enough to shave with. And then he recalled everything that happened this summer. All the work he had to do. Being treated like a common servant.
"Have it your way!" Draco cried as he charged at Harry, the sword held high before he brough it down at him. And though Harry wasn't sure if he did it intentionally or not, the blade came down right on his neck as if to try and decapitate him. Only it didn't.
Instead the sword stopped dead against Harry's skin, clanging with a sound of metal striking stone before bouncing off entirely as Draco dropped it.
"GAH!"
The Slytherin cried out as pain shot up both his arms from the impact, while Harry remained unfazed.
"As you can see, this spell alters the users skin to give them a temporary armor, giving them defense against from physical injuries for as long as the spell lasts. Plus there are different levels to it, such as Oakflesh, Ironflesh, and even one that gives the user armor akin to the scales of a dragon."
"Is there a limit to how much damage the spells can take?" One of the first years asked excitedly while throwing their hand up.
"Of course, that's why there are different levels to the spells." Harry answered while nodding in affirmation, before adding, "As well as other limitations, such as Destruction magic."
With that, Harry waved his hand and summoned a small burst of flames, ice, and lightning in his bare palms.
"Though the armor spells will protect you from physical damage, they will not protect you from elemental damage until you've mastered them to the proper degree. Destruction magic however encompassess such spells, like Flames, Frostbite, and Sparks for beginners." Harry said while demonstrating all three, producing a small blast of fire, ice and lightning.
"As you develop your prowess in Destruction though, you can start utilizing the elements in different, increasingly focused aspects." Harry then demonstrated by showing them all a Fireball spell, followed by Ice Wall and then Lightning Cloak.
"And finally there is the school of Restoration." Harry concluded as he dispelled the elemental magic around him, before summoning a Bound Dagger. He then cut his palm open for the entire room to see, earning him several gasps in the process, before a golden glow enveloped his hand to heal it before them all.
"Spells in Restoration magic primarily focus on healing, but there are other applications as well, such as Ward spells to protect yourself from enemy mages, and also spells that will only do damage against dark creatures. Like undead."
Punctuating his final declaration, Harry fired a Vampire's Bane at the undead he summoned earlier, immediately turning it to a pile of ashes before everyone's eyes, before using the same spell on them. This time he got several screams, but they quickly died down as everyone realized that nothing had happened to them. Rather, several of them actually felt pretty good after getting hit with the spell.
"These are the basic schools of magic that I will be teaching each of you who is interested. Additionally, I will also be teaching each of you how to utilize these magics in combat, as well as how to use different styles of weapons such as swords, axes, maces, and daggers." Harry declared to them all, earning numerous looks of anticipation and excitement from the first years, while the older students all looked more determined than ever. "Now then, let's get started."
For the next couple hours Harry led the students in the styles of magic he learned in Tamriel, passing around staves to help them learn the respective spells while also coaching those who preferred to train with weapons for the moment. It was mostly Gryffindors who found themselves in the latter camp, along with a few Hufflepuffs.
Once everyone else was settled and started training, Harry then put all of his focus on the first year students who were there for the first time. Their training consisted almost entirely of Harry helping them choose what type of lessons they wanted to take from him, magical or physical, as well as which shcool of magic or weapon to start them on.
For the most part Harry didn't have any problems with the first years, but there were two that were giving him a bit of grief. The first was Ron's younger sister, Ginny, who apparently held no small amount of affection for Harry as she stared at him every chance she got, only to turn completely red and look away whenever he 'caught' her.
The other was Colin Creevey, another Gryffindor first year who seemed to hero-worship Harry. Apparently, he had been more interested in taking pictures of Harry as he taught everyone instead of actually learning anything. But Harry didn't let that disway him. Instead, he started to get an idea.
"Tell me Colin, what do you know about Bards?" Harry asked him curiously.
"What are Bards?" The younger student asked eagerly, his eyes shining with interest.
"Bards are mostly just considered singers who can also play instruments. But aside from entertaining, they are also story tellers that chronicle historic and important events through their songs."
"Like my pictures!"
"Yes." Harry said patiently to Collin's eager exclamation. "Similar to your pictures. Except you would also be able to tell the stories behind your pictures through song. Additionally, Bards have also participated in many a great battle as they played their songs to either improve morale of the troops, or to direct them when they needed to change strategy."
"Woah..."
The younger fanboy had stars in his eyes as Harry described the importance of Bards, both on and off the battlefield. And soon Harry had him training in Illusion magic to support his newfound dream of becoming a Bard, specifically Courage to boost the morale of his allies, and Fear to sap the morale of his enemies. Harry also made plans to make a set of instruments for Collin to use for himself, each one enchanted to amplify his Illusion magics through playing them.
Soon enough it was time for them to call it a night, as curfew was rapidly approaching and none of them wanted to risk being caught after hours by Filch.
"Alright!" Harry said as he clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention as they slowly stopped sparring. "This is where we're gonna call it for the night. Good work for our first day back, especially to all of our first years. We'll meet here again the day after tomorrow, same time. Until then."
At his direction the students all began putting away their arms and armor with sighs of relief. After all, as wizards none of them had actively trained themselves for combat before Harry came along. Unless you counted Quidditch.
After putting their stuff away the students then dispersed as they quickly returned to their Common Rooms in twos and threes, until it was just Harry left with a few others in the Room of Requirement.
"You better hurry if you want to make it back before curfew, Daphne, Susan." Harry said to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff, both of which had their Common Rooms all the way down in the dungeons.
"I am aware." Daphne said, her tone measured as always, as if she were weighing every word carefully. Even more so when she brought up why she lingered. "I was just wondering, if you could teach me more about the magic you used earlier."
"Which one?" Harry asked, as he had demonstrated magic from each school.
"The Conjuration magic." Daphne answered without even a beat of hesitation.
"Which Conjuration magic specifically." Harry pressed, though he was sure he already knew where this was going. He just wanted to see if Daphne would actually admit it.
Sure enough, Daphne hesitated for a moment as she visibly weighed her options. Which Harry could see as her blue eyes shifted just ever so slightly. Until finally she resigned herself to her decision and admitted what it was she really wanted to learn.
"Necromancy." She said firmly, looking him in the eye as she did so.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked once she finally gave voice to what she wanted. "If you learn this, then others may consider you to be going down the path of dark magic."
"You know it." She pointed out.
"True, but I only summon the undead instead of raising them, unless I find myself with my back into the corner. Plus I have enough power that even the Ministry would hesitate to try and mess with me." Harry pointed out, which wasn't entirely true. But even if the Ministry decided to try and mess with him, Harry wasn't worried about them in the slightest based off what he had seen.
"Is there a difference between summoning and raising?" Daphne asked, her eyes shining with academic interest.
"Of course. Raising is pretty obvious, as you are raising the bodies around you to do your bidding. This is obviously the most frowned upon for how disrespectful and distasteful it can be." Harry explained as he slipped into teacher mode.
"Summoning however is entirely different, even if it doesn't seem like it on the surface. When you summon undead you are calling them from the same realms that the Atronachs and Dremora come from. The obvious moral aspects aside, this is my preferred form of necromancy due to the fact that I can be particular with what I summon to fight for me. By raising undead, you are forced to rely only on the 'materials' around you."
To prove his point, Harry proceeded to summon numerous undead from Oblivion to show Daphne the different types. Skeletons, zombies and ghosts were the most basic ones he summoned, but they all paled in comparison to the Mistmen and Wrathmen he followed up with, and then finally a Bone Colossus.
Daphne soaked up every single word Harry said as he taught her about necromancy, before giving her several books that discussed Conjuration in general. After all, he wanted her to master the Conjure Familiar spell before she even considered trying to summon the undead. And he forbade her from trying any summoning outside their lessons, just in case she lost control of whatever she summoned.
By the time he finished giving her an introduction it was already past curfew, so Harry was forced to escort Daphne and Susan back to their Common Rooms so they wouldn't get caught. Only then was he able to return to Gryffindor Tower.