Chapter 7: Healing, Wands, and an Elemental. Part 5

Harry looked at the couple in wonder. It warmed Harry's heart to hear stories like theirs. If only people were as reasonable as these two.

"Thank you for telling me your story and thank you for telling me something about my grandparents."

Andromeda shook her head lightly and smiled, "You deserve to know about such a wonderful pair of grandparents. I can tell stories of them at another time if you want."

Harry nodded rapidly and Ted chuckled, "You told us your story and it was only right you heard ours. But mostly, we want you to know that we are there for you. We are not going to let you be alone."

They set the dinner table and just as they placed the last piece of cutlery, Nymphadora 'Don't Call Me That' Tonks arrived. She followed the nice smell with a dreamy expression, however she tripped over a coat rack and dell into the floor.

Ted winced slightly, and Andromeda palmed her face and sighed, "Nymphadora! Pay more attention to your surroundings young lady!"

Nymphadora "Oh no you didn't" Tonks grumbled, "Stop calling me that."

She froze when she noticed that they had a visitor again. Nymphadora wore her trademark pink hair, the prominent 'Weird Sisters' shirt, and cargo pants.

Harry looked at her with amusement written all over his face. She narrowed her eyes at her parents, who rolled their eyes at her. She marched up to Harry, vigorously shook his hand, and brightly proclaimed, "Wotcher Harry! Just call me Tonks."

She sagely nodded and Harry tilted his head slightly. "If call you Tonks, that seems odd since your parents are also Tonks, wouldn't it?"

Tonks reiterated, "Just. Call. Me. Tonks. Capeesh?"

Andromeda elegantly lifted a hand and lightly poked her daughter's nose. "Nymphadora, you are being too demanding of our house guest. I shall not have it, young lady."

She turned to her husband and demanded, "Ted! Reprimand your daughter! This all because you spoil her too much."

Ted lifted both his hands and replied, "I am not getting in the middle of another fight. You can sort out your differences together."

Both women rolled their eyes at Ted. Andromeda went into the kitchen and Nymphadora headed upstairs to change her clothes.

Ted whispered conspiratorially to Harry, "Take it from a married man with twenty years of experience, never get in the middle of a mother daughter squabble. The two of them are going to turn back on you and will yell at you instead."

A menacing voice echoed from the kitchen. "Are you putting any weird ideas into the sweet boy's head, honey?"

Ted responded a little too quickly, "Not all dear."

Harry could not help but laugh at the whole exchange, his heart a touch lighter.

It was a week since his initial dinner with the Tonks family. Ever since then, they would have Harry over for dinner every other day and spoiled him with their lovely cooking. He re-read the letter Neville sent him the other day.

Dear Harry,

I think I will take up your offer once the other two come back from their trips. I want to take this time to work on Gran. Ever since that day, she has been a little bit withdrawn and despite what I said to her, she is still my only family. The positive sign is that she has been a little bit nicer to me and has not been ignoring my opinion completely.

On a more positive note, Hermione will be returning to the country sometime this week and Luna will be arriving next week, so it will not be long before we meet again.

Take care and tell Dobby I said hello.

Best,

Neville.

Harry sighed. He understood that despite how Neville's grandmother essentially shackled the boy and nearly did not allow him to reach his full potential, it is hard to cut off someone who has taken care of you. Unless they are scumbags like the Dursleys.

He had tried to write letters to Luna, but Hedwig would look around in confusion and then screech in annoyance. He had to give her many pieces of bacon to placate Her Owlness. Harry remembered with both fondness and amusement how she had both Harry and Dobby run back and forth to provide her meal.

He had exchanged a few letters with Hermione. She said she had talked with her parents and had reluctantly agreed to follow his course of action with his relatives. In each letter she sent, she outlined the places they went to visit, the activities, and what she thought Harry would enjoy. In her last letter, she invited Harry to her house for lunch the day after she arrived. Harry very much looked forward to meeting her once more and have a relatively normal time with her, not worrying about giant monsters and serial killers.

Harry noticed that he had hit quite the growth spurt. Over the last few weeks, Harry grew by a couple of inches to about 5'1 and put on about 15 pounds over the duration. He repeated training has helped him put on more muscle and he has not felt better, ever.

He took a deep breath and started to practice his perception and elemental magic. According to his readings, the two types of magic go hand in hand. One must have a degree of perception to control the elements, something that Harry seemed to have developed over the last few weeks.

Perception requires a practitioner to spread their magic in way that encompasses their surroundings. He has been working on using several meditation techniques that help him spread his magic around him. Initially, this is a task that he can only do while remaining still.

He found out the reason why he could not perceive magic when he was at the Diagon Alley. In areas with great degrees of magical concentration, the difficulty to perceive magic rises a several notches. In fact, it is nearly impossible for someone who just began their road to hone their magical perception to even feel an iota of an eldritch tendril of magic. Harry felt immensely smug when he found this out.

At least I am way ahead of other beginners.

Elemental magic is a type of magic that requires a lot of power and tremendous talent in perception. To control the air, fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning, it requires a tremendous amount of power and control.

The difference between elemental magic and elemental conjuration is that elemental conjuration is just that, conjuration of elements. Conjuration of elements does not allow one the fine degree of control and precision to command the elements at will during a battle. Harry remembered the intense duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore and the use of fire by Dumbledore when repelling Inferi. Those were not feats that traditional conjuring could achieve. Another vital difference between conjuration and elemental magic is that elemental magic can only be accomplished nonverbally.

The most important distinction is that elemental magic connects the user to the element, something that mere conjuration could not accomplish.

Harry sat down on a chair and let his magic spread throughout his surroundings. He felt the wind brushing against the grass in the clearing, the deer galloping back and forth across the forest, the stream that flows serenely through the forest, and several other sensations. He tried to focus on the air around him and coalesce around him. It was advised that one must not begin their elemental magic journey with fire, for often many practitioners lose control over the element due to their inexperience and get consumed by the very element they choose to control.

Over the last week, he has been getting increasingly better at feeling and guiding the wind. When he first started, he could barely even feel a breeze, but within a week, he was able to feel the air surrounding the entire clearing. He breathed in and out, the air steadily synchronized with his breath. He felt the air coalesce around his magic; a sense of excitement filled his being.

He stood up, and he was able to maintain his control over the air. He took a couple of steps forward, but his control did not falter. Instead, his connection deepened as he stepped outside to the clearing.

He flourished his wand and the wind stilled and the air stiffened. He twirled it like a conductor would lead his orchestra, and the wind sang in delight as it responded to his call. The wind twirled around his being, shaping according to the whims of magic. He kept guiding the wind, and the air around his responded to his call. His excitement now grew into a full-blown laughter at the wonder of the magic at his fingertips and the air around him thrummed with joy at the prospect of the young mage.

Dobby was watching the display by his young master with great reverence, He can feel the warmth of his master's magic flowing through the clearing and how the air listens to his master's whims.

Dobby whispered to himself, "And that is why I call you the Great Master Harry Potter sir."