Summer's End
August 30th, 1991 - it marked the beginning of Harry's last weekend before he fully submerged himself in the world of magic and started his attendance at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And, more importantly, it was the last week that he'd spend at Grimmauld Place, alongside Kreacher and Sirius. Although he'd still meet the latter frequently at school, it'd be in his capacity as Professor, and Harry was to not expect any favoritism on that front; Geist commented very much to the contrary, saying that Sirius' considerable survivor's guilt would sway him in their favor.
Harry didn't feel comfortable abusing that kind of feeling, though, so he decided to try and avoid doing that.
Aside from the standard practice of magic that neither Sirius or Kreacher knew about - or shied their gazes away from - he also spent the weekend casually lounging around, eating candy, and spying on Sirius as he graded the last sets of his students' summer homework.
The lazy day of August reached its final hours. It was late evening, the sun already losing its incandescent self over the horizon, a half-melted disk of oranges and golds dancing in a uniform shape, lined on every side by twilight scarlet hues. Above the streets of London, its rays spiraled through the open roads and pushed in between the buildings, the streamers of the sun's last gasp before the night. As they watched the sunset together, Geist spoke to Harry with surprising candor.
Alright, Harry, I need to speak to you with surprising candor.
"Hm?"
Do you remember that monstrous ghost-freak from the Dursley house?
"Oh, yeah." He blinked.
It had stopped appearing since the deaths of the Dursleys, come to think of it. A rather suspicious occurrence, but it was possible it had been simply tied down to the location, rather than to himself. Harry looked down, onto the streets below, the sidewalk filled with passing men and women of all ages.
I am under the belief it was another piece of my soul. Your mother's 'love protection spell' hammered me in real good.
"Alright?" He shrugged. "And?"
And I'm just saying, it's probably gonna try to hunt us down, once it realizes it's sentient. All manner of ephemera are drawn to fetters; unfinished business or things they lack. All it ever did was stare into the mirror and disappear when approached, which implies it desires to realize its own self-awareness; to know what the fuck it is.
"Can you not swear?"
Sorry. Anyway, I'm a bit concerned, because I can feel people saying my name a lot in the Ministry.
At that - Harry blinked.
You can hear people using your own name?
Heh, yeah. I invented a sorcerous working that lets me know when people say my name, and leeches a bit of gnostic power from them whenever they do. In my defense, most people don't even use theirs, because they're about as unenlightened as the Muggles.
Oh. Damn.
Anyway, Dumbledore figured out the trick and told people to stop using it. It also probably didn't help that anyone saying my name was effectively putting a tracking device on themselves. And that's why saying Voldemort is forbidden.
Huh. Can we make something like that for me?
Sure, but 'Harry' and 'Potter' are too common a word, so it'd over-stress the spell network to the point of collapse within the first couple of seconds. We'd need to make up a title and convince people to use it. And we'd need to rinse your old name from the annals of history to disincentivize people from using that.
And how do we do that? The rinsing of my old name thing?
Harry wasn't actually interested in carrying out the procedure - he wanted to keep his name - but he was curious as to how that worked.
Ah... Have I ever told you about that time I invented the mosquito?
Err? No way?
Yes way. I had broken into the Department of Mysteries and found this awesome orichalcum gate with a bunch of glowy blue runes on it. Atlantis-era stuff, probably. Anyway, it had this gimmick that if you step past its brim, you step into the realm of Platonic ideals. And I thought to myself, 'huh, it'd be kind of amazing if I used it to fix the world.' So I took a step forward, and I rapidly figured out that traversing the realm of Platonic ideals was an incredibly dangerous thing to do for the unprepared, and I was not even halfway prepared. I ended up knocking the ideal of a vampire into the ideal of an irritating pest, and the half-spawned concept ended up sort of mating with the ideals of a spider and housefly, and mosquitoes were created as a result and introduced to the timeline. I am one of the only beings in existence that still remember a world without mosquitoes. Anyway, I regret having ever stepped into that gate, and if I had known the carnage I would unleash, I never would have.
Liar.
I am not lying, I assure you.
Rrright. Just like you weren't lying that one time when you said you could talk to and understand snakes.
I could, when I was alive. I hadn't known the skill wouldn't carry over to being a poltergeist stuck to your cerebellum. Maybe I'll regain it someday? I still remember the contextual hints of a few hisses, though I suppose that's useless when the snakes are mindless due to a lack of magic...
He wasn't defensive or offended, but rather, matter-of-fact. After learning some of Geist's tells, Harry understood he was telling the truth.
Alright, so let me get this straight, Geist. You made the mosquito?
Yeah.
Fuck you. On behalf of everyone alive.
Wow. Didn't you tell me off for swearing only five minutes ago?
Yeah, that was before I discovered you are scum.
Wow.
Yeah. I'm going to go back to not using swear words now. I won't let you corrupt me.
At that, Geist laughed evilly, and Harry couldn't tell whether his next statement was a joke or a serious threat, which made it somehow even more terrifying: I'm afraid you do not have a choice in the matter, boy. You'll be sacrificing goats and summoning creatures of darkness before the year is out, under my tutelage. I will teach you of such powers that you will have the entire world and make it into a dominion of splendid darkness. You chose to trust me, you fool, so this is a foregone conclusion. And then, once the lesser servants are swallowed by the greater servants, you will swallow them - and all that shall remain in this dark void is the two of us, keeping one another company forever.
A pause in the monologue. Harry was slack-jawed, unable to think straight when faced with the image of ending the world.
Uhm.
Woah, I don't know what happened there. Why did I say all that? Sorry, acid really changed me.
"Ugh." Harry sagged over the windowsill. He reached into his pocket, drawing his wand, and started to fiddle with it.
I'm not talking to you anymore until we get to Hogwarts.
A mischievous chuckle roared from the depths of Harry's brain.
Fair is fair.
---
Alright - next update, Platform 9¾, and the subsequent meetings involved... As such, make a few related choices:
First, who does Harry meet on the way to Hogwarts? This doesn't restrain your options for making friends, even in the early stages; you can speak with as many people as you'd like. These are simply the first people you meet, and as such, the biggest potential influences on your opinions. Make up to four (4) picks or less, do not use plans.
[ ] Ron Weasley - A young ginger boy in decent robes, he says he's definitively headed for Gryffindor. He seems to have a deep enthusiasm for a number of topics, including Quidditch (which you like) and chess (which Geist likes,) which makes him a great and fulfilling friend for the both of you. Also, he seems pretty smart and knowledgeable.
Geist Comment: "Oh, he's good at chess? Nice. I don't trust him, but I like him - I'd love to play against him. Let me play against him sometime!"
[ ] Hermione Granger - A Muggleborn girl that's already mastered a couple of spells that even you do not know. At the very least, she appears to be equally talented to you in Charms, although she casts them using her wand, rather than wandlessly. And isn't that impressive, given she'd have received any magical books more recently than you?
Geist Comment: "A fellow outside-in purveyor of Wizard insanity... And she's already learned this much... Harry, please, be kind to her."
[ ] Draco Malfoy - A kid with blonde hair and grey eyes, dressed in luxurious silk robes. He seems very smug and confident and claims that he can introduce you to the wizarding world and be an advantageous political ally for the upcoming years. Wait, what?
Geist Comment: "OhgodIdidn'tknowLuciusbredandhadoffspring," said so fast you didn't catch most of it. "Okay, I think we can trust this kid, but, also, like, not. Still, a Malfoy is a Malfoy; they're reliable."
[ ] Nevile Longbottom - A handsome, confident, and clever boy who approaches you first and thanks you cordially for defeating the Dark Lord, then steps away and returns to his friends, inviting you to come with. He appears to have a pet toad, Trevor. Hopefully, Trevor and De(bt)s can get along.
Geist Comment: "Oh, God, it's Neville. It figures you two would meet each other. I hate Dumbledore so fucking much." What's that supposed to mean?
[ ] "Gred and Forge" - Or so they called themselves. Their introduction to you heavily involved finishing one another's sentences in a confusing pattern, and attempting to pawn you some kind of fraudulent headlamp they must've stolen from a Muggle vehicle.
Geist Comment: "I think I've figured out how to tell them apart. One of them doesn't hear quite as well from his left ear."
[ ] Daphne Greengrass - A pretty, young girl with long blonde hair. She makes her introduction with a demure and polite - rather archaic, some might say - curtsy, and by inviting you to the peerage of Slytherin with her if you would so endorse.
Geist Comment: "Is she... trying to court you? Also, why is everyone so obsessed with this girl? She's just a Greengrass, probably bound for Slytherin but not much else."
[ ] Seamus Finnigan - A boy with sandy-colored hair, an earnest smile-
Geist Comment: "Fuck that, he's Irish. Find someone else."
[ ] Oliver Rivers - Who?
Geist Comment: "Who?"
[ ] Write-in. Anyone who's in Harry's canonical first year.
And second choice; your House.
[ ] Allow Hat Choice - It'll place you wherever it believes you'll realize your potential and desires the best.
[ ] Insist: Gryffindor
[ ] Insist: Hufflepuff
[ ] Insist: Ravenclaw
[ ] Insist: Slytherin
And the third choice; your Thrice-Great Panoply.
As this matter is one of synergy and clever design, vote by plan as a necessity. It needn't be subjects that are still taught or being officially/evenly taught to everyone; only subjects that existed in some formal or informal capacity in Hogwarts at some point in time. Altogether, growth is faster exponentially for narrow subjects where there is less breadth to learn, but more benefit to extensive practice and study over time; an individual Charm's conceptual boundaries would be unfettered and shattered in a sufficient amount of time, whereas something like Charms overall would only benefit so as to make you a particularly skilled practitioner of the discipline.
Also, as a house-cleaning reminder; in order to vote for an option, you needn't - and in fact, shouldn't - include anything past the hyphen. Only the conveniently color-coded name is required in order for me to know what you're voting for.
[ ] Spells - All possible activities that involve the use of your wand; or your hands, mind, and will - to evoke certain effects.
[ ] Charms - A subset of spells that apply specific properties to a target; as an example, the Wand-Lighting Charm applies the property of 'light' to your wand.
-[ ] Domain: Curses - A subset of Charms that applies nasty properties to a target; as an example, the Scalping Curse instantly removes a person's hair. Also hexes and jinxes.
-[ ] Wand-Lighting Charm - A Charm that lights up your wand.
-[ ] Write-in.
[ ] Transfiguration - A subset of spells that focuses on the alteration of matter into other states or forms; if you so desire, you can make a bird into a cup (I don't know why.)
-[ ] Domain: Conjuration - A subset of Transfigurations that focuses on conjuring magical matter from nowhere; as an example, the self-explanatory Arrow-Shooting Spell.
-[ ] Bird-Making Spell - A Transfiguration spell that makes birds out of thin air, in case you wanted to have a bird on hand to transform into a wine goblet (I don't know why.)
-[ ] Write-in.
[ ] Potions - A practice of combining naturally-occurring ingredients to blend their chemical and metaphysical properties. Baby Alchemy. Good if you want to piss off Snape.
-[ ] Alchemy - An advanced form of Potions, Transfiguration, and several other subjects, blending their knowledge together. Allows for incredible physical achievements...
[ ] Herbology - A practice of learning how to properly handle magical flora and maintain a garden of plants that won't kill you; in higher advancement levels, learning how to splice magical plants and perform masterful deeds of horticulture. Useful if taken with Potion-Making, otherwise occasionally relevant but frankly mediocre until high level.
[ ] Care for Magical Creatures - A practice also known as, "the Sacred Art of Not Dying in The Forbidden Forest;" knowledge regarding magical beasts, creatures, and beings; how to tame and handle them. Most importantly, it'll teach you about these fantastic beasts and where to find them.
[ ] History of Magic - Also known as the only reason ghosts are tolerated in the castle. It's taught by various ghosts on a class-by-class basis, and is known universally as the most confusing subject in Hogwarts unless you're willing to put in your own work. It relates to various events concerning the wizarding world.
[ ] Battle Magic - Also known as Dueling in modern parlance, this is a highly practical subject with little theory involved; includes knowledge of dodging, tactical training, and physical conditioning in order to give yourself an advantage over the opponent. Great in wizard fights.
[ ] Defence Against the Dark Arts (DADA) - Its name is somewhat misleading. It'd be more appropriate to title this subject, "defense against all manner of pests you might encounter when cleaning out your garden," but it can be tangentially useful to fighting off its namesake if you train sufficiently. All Dark Arts are, by definition, performed by humans, so spells that repel hobgoblins, redcaps, trolls, and other garden pests generally aren't the best pick for fighting Dark Wizards.
[ ] The Dark Arts (DA) - A bit of a misleading category; not necessarily spells that involve human sacrifice, dark emotion, brainwashing, or blood magic (though, of course, those are included as well.) Rather, this bracket holds any magics which are formally illegal to practice for the common wizard - oddly and ironically, trained Aurors perform the Dark Arts on a daily manner without batting an eye, and sometimes without even knowing - whether for their danger or moral repugnance. Extremely powerful on average and ridiculously powerful in synergy with a plethora of other subjects, but with minor risk if you're stupid and reckless while using them.
[ ] Astronomy - A subject focused almost completely on rote memorization of star charts, their metaphysical significance, as well as their relative positions and shapes on the night sky; and other such activities that the average wand plankton will refer to as tedious bullshit.
- [ ] Domain: Astrology - The real cream hidden within Astronomy's disgusting hard-boiled shell; rituals and readings that may connect to the stars on a metaphysical level and establish celestial and cosmic correspondence, allowing for incredibly esoteric and widespread effects.
[ ] Broom-Flying - The ability to fly a broom, perform complex maneuvers, not fall off, and even fight while mounted. Altogether very useful if you want to fly on a broom and strike from above, or become a Quidditch superstar (a surprisingly viable career path.)
[ ] Muggle Studies - It mostly relates to stuff you already know, such as what a TV is, but in higher years, will also teach you how to make Muggle technology work under magical conditions. A decent pick if you want to keep in touch with your inner Dursley or become the inventor of the first magical bullet gun.
[ ] Divination - A proud subject concerned with 'finding the truth,' via a plethora of connected or separate methods, such as finding meaning in tea leaves or horoscopes. A subject often scoffed at, but one that holds some power and sway if properly applied (scoffed at because most people don't apply it properly.)
-[ ] Legilimency / Occlumency - Mind-reading and defending against such is, surprisingly, considered a subset of divinations in the Hogwarts charter, though neither of those spells is officially taught anymore.
[ ] Arithmancy - A field concerned with utilizing nonstandard and magical numbers in order to perform high-precision hypercalculations with predictive and often supernatural properties. Useful for Divination and Ancient Runes, but somewhat mediocre (if interesting) on its own.
[ ] Study of Ancient Runes - A discipline of sketching metaphysically stable runes in order to influence reality and produce effects via chaining of aforementioned runes into more complex forms. Very useful and versatile, more so than Enchanting.
[ ] Apparition - A use of magical to enable teleportation, but it'd be suspicious and dangerous for you to start learning right away. Most people don't until they're getting ready to leave Hogwarts education behind. Granted... you aren't most people.
[ ] Magical Theory - All of the nitty-gritty behind spell creation, modification, and how magic works and all its subjects tie together. According to Geist, the Hogwarts curriculum offers little in these regards, because wizards are idiots prone to making stupid theories and never scientifically testing them, leading to many false assumptions and laws of magic, which he personally disproved. He's willing to teach you this subject himself and confident he'd be ten times better at it than any other Professor.
[ ] Other: (Write-in) -
