Failure Is Not An Option

Godric's Hollow, June 27th

"Tempus."

After a glance at the time, Harry dismissed the spell with a flick of his wand. It was early, just past one in the morning, and, hopefully, everyone in the house would be asleep by now. Quickly getting dressed, Harry pushed open his bedroom door and stepped into his own personal hallway. Having spent enough time in Grindelwald's room at Durmstrang, Harry had managed to imitate Grindelwald's method of adding additional rooms, inserting hallways, and vaulting the ceilings. Glancing upwards, Harry felt a great deal of pride as he looked into the night sky overhead, courtesy of his skylight charm. Reaching his room's exit into the rest of the house, Harry placed a silencing charm on both the door and his own feet before cracking the door open to look across the hall.

Noticing that Nathan's door was open, he carefully closed his own door before tapping his wand against his head. Shivering slightly at the feeling of water running down his spine, Harry glanced at a nearby mirror to confirm that the disillusionment charm had taken effect.

Satisfied with the charm, Harry reopened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Carefully, he walked past his sleeping brother and the guest bedroom.

Reaching the stairs, Harry pointed his wand at the steps and silently cast Duro. The steps immediately stiffened and turned to stone, allowing him to walk on them without worrying about his weight causing the wood to make a noise. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Harry transfigured the steps back to wood before walking through the kitchen and out the back door.

Rain poured down and lightning flashed across the sky. It was a terrible night to go outside, but Harry simply stepped out into the storm, a water repelling charm keeping him dry. Walking to the center of his family's small Quidditch pitch, Harry steadied himself for the magic he was about to cast. Taking a deep breath, he carefully waved his wand in a circle above his head before quickly pointing it at the ground and saying, "Aqua Eructo!"

For a moment, an unnatural silence spread across the property. The sound of rain hitting the earth stopped, thunder could no longer be heard in the distance, and the wind had ceased making any noise what-so-ever. Soon, the silence was replaced by the sound of rushing water, which seemed to grow more pronounced with every beat of Harry's heart. The sound grew louder and louder until Harry felt like he was standing in the middle of a hurricane. He grit his teeth as a powerful gust of wind blew his cloak off, and water exploded from the tip of his wand.

Feeling an unnatural resistance, Harry had to use his other hand to help stabilize his wand arm. As the water continued to fly from his wand, Harry quickly found himself becoming encircled by the rising flood. For a single moment, Harry couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer majesty of the magic he had called upon.

However, as soon as his attention had diverted from the spell, the water suddenly stopped flowing out of his wand and immediately surged inward. Steadying himself, Harry jabbed his wand forward to meet the oncoming torrent of water. His wand tip began to glow a bright blue as he did his best to stop the flood from engulfing him. Sweat fell from Harry's forehead and his arm began to shake uncontrollably from the strain of holding back the powerful magic.

Letting out a scream of frustration, Harry felt his arm begin to buckle as the water inched closer and closer towards him. Realizing that holding the water back was futile, Harry turned his wand towards his own head and shouted an incantation a mere second before the water crashed into him, momentarily dazing him and throwing his body like a rag doll.

Eventually, Harry managed to reorient himself as the raging block of magical water thrashed around him. With only the bubble-head charm keeping him from drowning, he brought his wand across his body in an arc, canceling the powerful magic he had called forth. Harry could sense the change in the water almost instantly. There was a sudden stillness before the water began to twist and turn in a very tight downward spiral. With a blast of wind, the water rushed into the ground and vanished, leaving a panting, exhausted, and drenched Harry Potter in the center of the Quidditch pitch.

Rain hit his back as Harry slammed his fist into the soaked earth. He hadn't managed to successfully control the charm. While he heard the spell was not something to attempt casually, he, rather foolishly, assumed that to mean the spell was difficult to cast. Aqua Eructo, however, proved to be one of those magical paradoxes.

The spell was easily cast, almost ridiculously so, it was controlling the magic that was extremely difficult. Only now did Harry realize how the magic had fought him for control as soon as the spell was cast. He hadn't commanded the water to encircle him, it did that on its own. Had he controlled the spell properly, he should have been able to make the water do anything he wanted. Instead, the spell seemed to have only one goal – to rid him of what little control he had over it.

Walking back to the house, Harry couldn't help but wonder just how long he would have lasted if the spell he had cast would have been Fiendfyre and not Aqua Eructo. Not that he had any intention of ever casting the cursed flame, but it was still a sobering thought. If he couldn't control Aqua Eructo, Fiendfyre would have likely overwhelmed him in moments, if not immediately.

After carefully making his way up to his room, Harry walked into his study. The room was small, perhaps only a hundred square feet. The only furniture was a desk and a small bookshelf. Standing directly in front of the desk, Harry did his best to carefully conjure up a chair. The small, rickety looking chair fell to the ground with a thump, and Harry looked at his poor conjuration in disappointment.

He definitely needed more practice.

Pulling open his desk drawer, Harry took out the letter that accompanied his third year score card.

Dear Mr Potter,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a member of the Durmstrang delegation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this fall. As a member of the delegation, you will be one of 40 students eligible to represent Durmstrang in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Please note that students must remain at Hogwarts for part of the Fall and all of the Spring semesters, regardless of their status as champion. Further details regarding the trip will be forthcoming at the start of the fall semester; however, if you wish to not represent Durmstrang, we ask that you inform us as soon as possible.

Congratulations,

Demetri Überzeug

Assistant to the Highmaster

Harry felt himself grow more determined. He needed to get better. Nothing would stop him from showing everyone at Hogwarts just how talented a wizard he really was.