Harry Potter 6

"You're really working hard on your Occlumency." Said Filius to the meditating Michael. Once again, the short Professor was keeping him company during his morning workout.

Michael let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, staring at Filius intently. 'I'm not sure if his presence or the fact that I'm getting used to it is bothering me more.' Letting out a sigh, he closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"That and meditation helps me recover a bit of my energy." Replied Michael.

"It does? Never heard of that before." Filius said and cupped his chin, thinking it over.

"It does with me." Michael replied as he stood up.

"Maybe that's an Aura thing? Hmm." Said Filius. "On that note, I wanted to try something today while I teach you. With your permission of course."

"Which is?" Michael asked, noting the book the short Professor was holding under his armpit. He had already prepared himself for the day.

"Yesterday, you mentioned you are unsure if Aura can protect you from magic or not." Started Filius. "I would like for us to test that out while also teaching you a second-year spell. Rest assured, the Charm isn't very powerful and I will be able to patch any small wounds it may cause."

"Okay." Said Michael and shrouded himself, giving permission to the Professor.

Filius nodded to him and grabbed his wand. With slow movements, deliberately done for Michael, he swirled it at him. "Diffindo." Filius intoned, again, purposely so, so Michael could pick up on it. He had been a Duelling Champion in his younger years after all. He could easily cast such an easy spell non-verbally and without wand movements.

A light green light flew out of Filius' wand and impacted Michael on the arm. There was no visible damage on his skin from the spell, but a good amount of his Aura was drained from it. 'So Aura can protect me from magical attacks, though it took a lot of me for that. With higher reserves, this should be more manageable and work as a shield against spells.'

Filius hoped in joy, getting even more excited about the prospect of Aura. Their little experiment was an obvious success, making Michael's ability even more valuable. He couldn't wait to get his Aura unlocked and study its mysteries.

"A resounding success!" Exclaimed Filius. "I will make sure to inform the Headmaster of it."

Michael was thankful for that. He might be even able to get more support from them due to this. The more useful Aura was, the more he could bargain for unlocking it in others.

"Ahem." Filius cleared his throat in a moment and a more serious expression formed on his face. "Now… we might as well get started with your lesson for the day. Unless of course, you wish to for us to do it later or not at all?"

"Now is fine." Replied Michael. He'd already eaten in the morning and was planning to work on his Aura now, but he could do that later.

"Great!" Exclaimed Filius. "The weather is still good this time of the year, so we could do it out here."

It was actually a bit chilly and there were a few clouds in the sky. It was far from what Michael would consider good, but he kept that to himself.

"Let us begin with the Severing Charm, the one I just used. It's a spell that does exactly what its name suggests, it cuts. Earlier I said it's not very powerful, but that's because there are spells that outclass it. However, that doesn't make it weak. A powerful wizard could make great use of this simple Charm in the right circumstances." Explained Filius, giving Michael a moment to process his words. Once he nodded, Filius continued.

"As you heard, the chant for it is 'Diffindo.' A simple one word, not that hard to get. And the hand movements for it." Filius swirled his wand slowly a few times for Michael to memorize them. "Now, would you please try it?"

Filius purposefully didn't hand Michael the book he held. The description on how to use the Charm was perfectly described there, but he wished to see if the boy could replicate it without it. He wanted to know how talented Michael was with a wand. Depending on the result, he would know how to better teach him in the future.

Michael grabbed his wand with his left hand and gave it a few practice swirls, trying to mimic what he saw from the Professor. Filius noted that he held it a bit awkwardly, but he didn't mention it. A minute later, Michael intoned. "Diffindo." A weak, light green light flew from his wand, but he was far from successfully casting the Charm, as it hit the grass on the ground without damaging it.

"Your intonation was perfect and the flick at the start was good, but you have to finish with a gentler swirl. Like so." Filius said and repeated it for him to see again. Michael nodded and practiced the movements for another minute before trying again. "Diffindo." This time he was successful and the spell cut the grass he was aiming for.

"Great!" Exclaimed Filius. "You will master the Severing Charm in no time if you continued like this."

"Before I continue teaching you any more spells, I need to ask, which is your main hand?" Questioned Filius.

"My right." Replied Michael and switched his wand over to it. "But this is my sword hand. Which is why I'm using my left. Though I do try to cast the spells with both hands."

Michael repeated the hand movements with his right, his flicks and swishes much more fluid with it due to the years he spent practicing with a sword. "Diffindo." He intoned and got the spell on the first try.

"I see, I see." Filius nodded and cupped his chin. "You plan on using a weapon in the future no matter what." He stated. That much was obvious to him. "A weapon in your right hand and a wand in your left. I'm much more comfortable the other way around, but that's just my preference." The short Professor grinned at him.

That caught Michael's attention. Filius' teaching became just that much more valuable from that alone. He could definitely help him mix magic with his fighting style.

"I could advise you on a few hand exercises, which I used in the past to improve my dexterity if you are interested, but for now, let us continue." Said Filius, to which Michael nodded. That would be more than helpful.

Their session continued on for a couple of hours. During that time, Filius showed him a few more Charms and the correct hand movements for all of them. When Michael cast all of them successfully, the short Professor then made him repeat them all until he got them down perfectly with both hands. Afterward, they worked on casting the Charms non-verbally, and Filius promised to teach him how to reduce the hand movements in the future once he gets a few more spells in his repertoire. The short Professor also showed Michael the exercises he promised earlier. All in all, he was happy with his first one on one training session.

The two of them then returned back to the castle, intending to put something in their craving stomachs. On the way, Filius told him stories of his Duelling days, mentioning more than a few spells that caught Michael's interest. The Shield Charm being at the top of his list. One could not only reflect spells with it, but also block physical projectiles as well. The Shield Charm perfectly suited the style Michael planned for his future.

"Tomorrow, Professor McGonagall will be teaching you. I'd suggest reading a bit from your first-year Transfiguration book." Advised Filius as the two ate in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Michael would've just returned to his room for his meal, but he got roped in listening to the short Professor's stories.

"The day after, you will have with Professor Snape." Continued Filius. "He's the Potion Master of Hogwarts and became one at a very young age. However, Professor Snape's skill with a wand is also impeccable. He could teach you either how to brew potions or how to fight with a wand."

"I'd prefer potions." Replied Michael. Filius had been a Duelling Champion and could also use a weapon with his off-hand, so he planned on learning how to fight from him. Michael also knew how invaluable potions could be as they had saved his life on a few occasions in Liorderat. Learning how to brew them could also help him in the long run after he completes his objectives in this Dimension.

Filius nodded and continued. "You will get a free day afterward. Then we'll continue with the sessions. Me, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape in that order."

"That's fine with me." Michael said and finished his meal shortly. He got up and returned back to his room, planning to continue working on his Aura. Reading the Transfiguration book would follow after that, and he will start working on Meditation and Occlumency once the sun goes down.

The next morning, Michael started with his usual routine by going to the lake for his workout. Surprisingly, Filius was nowhere to be seen that day, and for the briefest of moment, he felt slightly disappointed, missing the short Professor's stories. The feeling quickly faded away however, and was replaced by his determination to quickly grow stronger and get into shape. He had a long way to go before he felt satisfied with his condition.

Done with his workout, Michael returned back to the castle and decided to read up a bit on Transfiguration before Minerva calls him. While he was doing that, one of the tiny creatures popped in his room.

"Misses has called for yous." The little one said. "Dimpy's leads yous to Misses, Sir."

Michael followed after the creature into an empty classroom, where Minerva was already waiting for him. "Thank you, Dimpy." She said with a kind smile before turning to him with a stern expression on her face.

"Have you read any of the Transfiguration book for your upcoming year?" Minerva asked.

"Yes." Nodded Michael. "From the first page up to the middle of it. Read through it a few times, but I haven't tried any of the spells yet."

Transfiguration was something much more similar to the type of magic Michael was used to. Chanting wasn't as important and what truly mattered was one's understanding on magic and its laws. The practitioner had to know what he was doing; else he won't have much success with Transfiguration. Michael was looking forward to learning this branch of magic, as he could already think off at least a few ways to make use of it.

"Good." Nodded Minerva, allowing a small smile to form on her face before beginning her speech. "Transfiguration and its many branches are some of the most complex and dangerous magic a wizard can learn. Experimenting on your own is inadvisable, but fine as long as you know what you are doing. I will make sure of that."

Seeing him nod, Minerva continued by pointing at the blackboard behind her, where she had written down a formula. "You should've already read about this, but take a look at it once more. The transformation formula, which is that the intended transformation is directly influenced by bodyweight (a), viciousness (v), wand power (w), concentration (c), and a fifth unknown variable (Z). Memorizing the formula and being able to apply it quickly would lead you far with Transfiguration, but experience is also needed."

Minerva walked over to Michael and placed a box of matchsticks on a desk near him. She pulled out one of them and looked it over before nodding and placing it down.

"The first, and most basic spell, would be the match to needle one. Now, observe." Minerva, like Filius, waved her wand slowly so he could watch her movements before intoning. "Verto Acus." As expected, the matchstick turned into a needle.

"You'd best no underestimate this spell, despite how simple it looks. Taken to the highest level, a wizard could transform even a tree to one mighty weapon." Minerva explained, receiving a big grin from Michael. He'd been thinking of requesting a weapon, but it seemed he didn't need to at the moment. He could just make one for himself. With extra determination, he picked one matchstick and got to work.

"Verto Acus." Intoned Michael as he swirled his wand and cast the spell. Minerva quickly snatched the needle he made and inspected it closely.

"A very good first try." She said. "You successfully turned the match into a needle." Minerva poked herself lightly to check further. "It is sharp and seems to be made out of metal, but it's missing the hole at the top. Nevertheless, this was a good first try."

Michael realized his mistake quickly. He was too focused on what the spell could be for him, a way to create his own weapons, which is why it turned out like that. Picking another matchstick, he imagined it turning into a needle this time. "Verto Acus."

"Excellent!" Exclaimed Minerva, seeing the hole at the top. Inspecting the needle, she found out it was just as good as the previous one, only with the added detail.

[New Skill Acquired: Transfiguration(Novice)]

[Transfiguration(Novice): The magical art of changing the form and appearance of an object or a person. At current level, transfiguring objects costs 2x more energy.]

Michael was surprised at the notification, as he expected for Transfiguration to be part of Spell Casting. Apparently, that wasn't the case. He didn't get to think too much about it, as Minerva continued her lesson.

"I would like for you to repeat this spell a few more times, and we will move on to the next one afterward." She said and thought to herself. 'If he continues like this, Michael might finish with the second or even third-year spells before the start of school.' Minerva watched him switch hands, casting the spell again, but made no comment on that. Filius had already informed her this would happen.

Their session continued on, and Michael quickly picked up on whatever spells she taught him. After successfully doing a couple of them without the incantation, he even leveled up his new skill to Apprentice. So far, it was seemed that getting to that level wasn't too hard, but he hadn't managed to level up past it. Still, it has only been about a week since he arrived at this world, so it wasn't that bad.

On the next day, Michael was sitting in his room, waiting for someone or something to call him for Snape's session. A knock on his door alerted him that it was time, and he went over to open it. The slimy fellow stared down at him with his blank look.

"I heard you wish to learn Potions from me?" Snape asked. With how much Michael trained, he expected him to want more magic training.

"Yes." Nodded Michael.

"Follow me to the dungeons." Ordered Snape and turned around. Michael quickly grabbed his Potions book and his Herbology one before walking after Professor.

"Why are you interested in Potions?" Asked Snape on the way.

"A good potion can save your life." Answered Michael simply.

Snape reluctantly nodded. Potions might save one's life where a magic might fail him.

"I hope you've read just a little bit, because I loathe teaching the very basics. I have much better ways to spend my time." Said Snape, and Michael had to resist the urge to punch the slimy Professor.

"If you have any unanswered questions, ask them now as we walk." Continued Snape.

"Most recipes described the ingredients and the way to brew them, but not the properties of the ingredients. I had to check them all in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Why?" Asked Michael.

"Maybe you can be taught." Murmured Snape before answering. "Herbology and Potions walk hand in hand. You cannot learn how to brew without knowing what you are working with. However, teaching the properties of ingredients and how to combine them at the same time would be too time consuming."

"And what about Astronomy? One of the recipes described how the alignment of the planets could boost the potions effect. How does that work?" Michael wasn't sure how that made any sense.

Like that, Michael continued asking Snape any questions that plagued his mind after reading the Potions book. Despite looking reluctant, the slimy Professor answered all of them. At the end of the day, he acquired one more skill to his repertoire after learning whatever he could from Snape.