Hermione was visiting Harry's room once more. It was the third time that afternoon. The two were trying to perfect a ward version of the reflection shield. Dudley, although interested in the results, wasn't as interested in the theory that would lead to it and let them do most of the research without his help.
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Hermione was talking. "I'm not sure we can create this before solving the Arithmancy equations related to it. While they are not at high-school Math level, we haven't yet learned to solve such equations." She sighed with some frustration.
Harry looked at the equations and frowned. He felt like he almost knew the answer, but not quite.
"What if we move this… here, and that… there. Doesn't it make more sense?" He was acting on gut feelings, not knowledge.
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Hermione checked the resulting equations. "Yes, it looks less intimidating this way. Then…" She moved a few more elements around. The complex equations now looked much simpler, yet still way over what they had learned at school.
Dudley probably heard them talking, as he knocked on the door and joined them, also studying the equations. "They remind me of something we've read in the first book about wards."
Harry reached for his copy of that book and leafed, yet Hermione was the first to notice it. "Stop! Go back three or four pages… There it is! Dudley, you seem to be right!"
Discover morehairedStudy BiologyStyle Your HairGet Writing ToolsBrowse Art PrintsThey checked the equations in the book against the ones on their page. While they couldn't yet solve them, the book presented the solutions, although it didn't dwell on the method to reach them. That was Arithmancy, not warding.
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Dudley shrugged. "Does it make any difference?"
Both Harry and Hermione replied in a resounding, "Yes!"
Hermione explained. "We already know that wards are basically spells designed to derive power from external sources to allow them to keep much longer than just casting a spell. Once we found how to cast the reflection shield, we only needed to add the powering part, yet the shield may reflect that power instead of absorbing it. This gives us the way to do it right." She pointed at the equations and the book.
"Then, can we already make such wards?" Dudley asked.
Hermione smiled. "Not yet. We need to finish the theory and translate it into practice. Only then we'll be able to use it, but this shouldn't take much longer than a week. Maybe even less."
Dudley smiled. "I trust you and Harry to do it. I'll be very glad to be able to add this to the ward stones my parents carry. Over the house, too, I suppose."
Hermione smiled. "You need to wait only a few more days."
Indeed, the next weekend, when the two boys came for a scheduled visit, Hermione had all the final details worked out. They first put the ward on a small pebble from the backyard and then tried to hit it with various spells, none too dangerous.
They put the stone in one corner of the backyard and stayed as far from it as the yard allowed. All their spells were reflected, and they barely managed to move aside quickly enough not to get hit by the reflected spells. They even needed to use normal shields a few times when their concentration wavered for only a fraction of a second. These proved barely adequate, though.
Discover moreLearn DIY SkillsShop Art SuppliesLearn MathFan fiction booksWriting software"I think our casting is so powerful that the normal shields can barely stop them. Or perhaps we're not that good at shielding." Harry was unsure about the cause.
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Hermione couldn't agree. "Our shields are just as powerful, but we are pushed back because the power has nowhere to go, so it turns into movement. We may try to make them larger, able to absorb more power, or find a way for the extra power to leak harmlessly outside."
Harry gave it some thought and nodded. "We should research that, but it's not too important or urgent right now. I think we should learn what is called 'The Mind Arts' first. With all that we're doing that others consider impossible, protecting our minds from intrusion seems to become a priority."
Hermione frowned. "Do you think anybody may try to look into our minds?"
Harry sighed. "Maybe not, but we've already read that Dumbledore is considered an accomplished Legilimens, which means that he can read minds whenever he likes. I'm sure he's not the only one, and others may not be as nice as he usually is. It's better if we learn to protect our minds against such attacks."
Hermione's frown deepened, but she could find no way around that. With a sigh, she said, "Alright. I suppose we need to read the book and understand it well before we try to act on the information. We may try to do something next week."
The boys nodded in agreement. Her face then brightened. "I think we can still work on releasing extra power as something unharmful. We could turn it into light, but it might be too bright and cause us to lose our concentration in case of danger. I wonder what else can prove useful."
That started another session of brainstorming. It reached no conclusion that day, but some of the ideas merited some more research. It was all just fun for them.
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They tried Legilimency first. It posed no problem and worked well the first time they tried, not even looking at their target.
"It's much simpler than most of what we already know," Harry noted.
The two others nodded.
"But Occlumency is more difficult," Hermione exclaimed. "Not by much, but it needs a different mindset and constant maintenance. In a way, it is like a ward, only it derives its power from us."
Nobody was surprised that Hermione was the first to build an effective mind shield. She was naturally more organised than any of the boys and delved into each subject with more dedication than any, but the boys didn't lag too much.
Harry, who was normally keeping his room and his mind in order, achieved the same a bit later. His main problem was keeping his concentration for long enough, since he was easily distracted. He made himself a mental note to work on that.
Dudley was the last, just as he'd expected. He wasn't very organised and had much less concentration than Harry. That was the main reason he occasionally needed some help with his schoolwork. Dudley suspected he wasn't as intelligent as either Harry or Hermione, but he didn't mind too much. He felt he was still more intelligent than his parents, so that was alright.
Within a few weeks, each of the children made their minds impenetrable to the others, even when the other two combined forces. They were unsure how good these would prove if somebody really powerful, like Dumbledore, would try to read their mind. They weren't aware of already being at about his level.
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Dudley needed regular visits to the barber to keep his hair nice. Harry never needed them. Petunia had tried to tame his hair with a few different barbers and hair stylists. None made any change. Whatever they had done was negated by the next morning, and Harry's hair looked as messy as before the treatment and even the same length. After a while, Petunia gave up on taming Harry's hair. After all, his father's hair didn't look very different, the few times she'd met him.
Yet their hair was the subject of the discussion the three children were having one day.
"It's so difficult to keep my hair looking nice. Combing it is impossible. Whenever Mum tried to comb it, the comb got entangled in my hair, and either the teeth broke off or the whole comb got stuck and could only be taken out by cutting the hair that kept it there. Brushing is only slightly better, but I need to brush my hair while still wet after the shower, or the brush would be impossible to move. It's quite frustrating!" Hermione was very displeased with her hair.
Harry chuckled. "My hair may not break combs or brushes, but no matter what I do, it reverts to the same mess almost at once."
Dudley had no such experience. "Luckily, my hair stays manageable at all times. I only need to have it trimmed when it grows too long. I don't like it when it covers my ears."
Harry shrugged. "My hair doesn't seem to grow, unless cut shorter. It stays the same length at all times."
Hermione frowned, trying to understand how it could be. "Didn't you ever try to let it grow longer?"
Harry shrugged. "The last time I've seen anybody for cutting my hair was at age five or six. It grew back to this length overnight and has stayed that length since. It looks like my hair has a mind of its own."
Hermione chuckled at his wording but also gave it some more thought. "I think your magic keeps it that length. Have you ever tried to change it willingly?"
Harry wasn't sure he understood. "What do you mean by that?"
Hermione rephrased her thoughts. "When your hair was cut shorter, what did you think?"
Harry tried to find that memory. "I think I didn't like it. I was accustomed to my hair as it is and wished it would soon grow back. The next morning, it did." His eyes grew wider when he caught her intention. "Do you think it was my magic that made it grow back?"
Hermione smiled smugly. "Just the way Dudley made the ball change course, you made your hair grow back and stay that length. Why don't you try to ask your magic to make your hair longer? Not quite like mine, of course, but a bit longer, so you could tie it in the back?"
Harry looked at her incredulously for a moment. He then concentrated for a few minutes, wishing his hair were longer. He didn't think he succeeded. Judging by the expression on Hermione's and Dudley's faces, he was surer.
"Maybe it only works when I sleep?" he suggested.
Hermione considered the idea and shook her head. "I don't think so. I think you take strict control of your magic while awake, only letting it obey your less explicit wishes when asleep. You should explicitly ask your magic to lengthen your hair, not merely wish your hair would be longer."
Harry closed his eyes and tried to do exactly as instructed. He wasn't sure how well it worked, but he heard Hermione's gasp before opening his eyes again.
"Did it work?"
Hermione smiled and dragged him to the mirror. "What do you think?"
Harry could barely recognise himself in the mirror. Oh, the face was the same, but his dark hair was framing it from his cheekbones up and was lying flat on his head. He felt like he was looking at his imitation, but he liked what he saw.
"Why don't you try lengthening it some more? A few centimetres should be enough. But keep your eyes open and look in the mirror." Hermione took it on herself to coach him.
Harry tried. It was more difficult than when he'd closed his eyes, if only due to the visual distractions, but after a while, his hair started growing and reached the requested length.
Hermione looked very happy. "Now, try to bring it back to the previous length."
Harry tried. After the two previous exercises, this seemed almost trivial. He concentrated for a moment, and his hair shortened just the amount he had lengthened it moments earlier.
He turned to Hermione. "You complain so much about your hair, so it would be good if you could also control it. Why don't you try? I suggest you start by making it slightly shorter."
Hermione moved at his side, in front of the mirror. Harry could see her concentrating, wrinkling her nose in that adorable way, and then her hair seemed to reluctantly change, becoming about a centimetre shorter.
Harry clapped his hands. "You did it! I knew you could! Now, why don't you try to make it smoother? Make it only curly, not bushy."
This took a much longer concentration. Harry thought it might be caused by having to think of the whole length of her hair, not merely the tips. Then, her hair started changing slightly. It gradually turned from bushy to extremely wavy and then to merely wavy.
Hermione's expression changed, sporting a wide, thankful smile. "I like it much better this way. I'll ask my magic to make it my regular hair."
After seeing the two change their hair, Dudley became intrigued. "I like my hair the way it is, but I sometimes think that a darker shade of blond could look nicer. Do you think I'll be able to change it?"
Both children nodded encouragingly, pulling him between them, facing the mirror.
Dudley didn't need instructions. He'd already heard them twice, at least. He looked at the mirror and concentrated. His hair started darkening, but he didn't stop at the darker blond Harry had expected. Dudley let his hair get much darker until it reached a dark brown colour, almost as dark as Harry's. He then lightened it gradually, stopping at what was only a shade darker than his normal hair.
"Wow, Dudley! You did very well," Hermione said.
Harry only patted his shoulder in congratulations.
"I want to see if I can do the same," Hermione stated.
She stood straight and looked at her reflection. Her hair started lightening until it became almost white. Judging by her expression, Harry felt sure that she didn't like any of the lighter colours. He didn't, either.
She then let her hair return to its natural colour and get darker until it was even blacker than Harry's. She frowned at that too before letting her hair resume its colour.
"It looks like I like the hair colour I always had the best. It's still good to know that I can turn into a blonde or black-haired girl whenever I want."
That made Harry think. "I wonder if we can change other aspects of our looks or our bodies."
Hermione smiled. "We probably can, but not now. I feel like this was quite taxing on my magic, probably on yours, too. It's better if we try it some other time. Besides, don't you two need to go home for supper?"
Harry checked his watch. "Oh, sure! Uncle Vernon hates to wait for a meal. Bye!"
He vanished on the spot. Dudley also said "Bye!" and vanished seconds later.