Learning Your Place

Durmstrang Library, (Jan. 31 st )...

"Hello, Lady Doktor," Harry said, giving the resident Durmstrang librarian a charming smile. If there was one similarity between Hogwarts and Durmstrang, it was that both schools' librarians loved to talk –and brag– about their library. Harry had managed to endear himself to the normally short-tempered Durmstrang librarian after they had gotten into a long discussion about the differences between the Hogwarts and Durmstrang libraries. Lady Doktor was disgusted by Hogwarts' Restricted section, and she was very pleased when Harry told her that one of the reasons he came to Durmstrang was that they didn't have such a thing.

"Harry." Lady Doktor smiled at the boy. "What can I help you with today?"

"I'm returning this book," Harry said, placing a very heavy tome on animate-to-animate Transfiguration on the woman's desk.

With a wave of her wand, the book flew off her desk, presumably going back to where it belonged in the massive Durmstrang library. "Very well, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Do you have any good books on revealing Charms?"

"Yes, one was just returned a few days ago." Lady Doktor casually summoned the book from one of the shelves behind Harry. "Would you like it?"

Harry nodded his head, and he soon found himself buried in the book's pages. The tome described everything from a simple 'Finite' charm that would reveal basic codes and hidden text, to the more advanced revealing spells such as Homenum Revelio, which would reveal any human near the caster, regardless of Disillusionment Charms or Invisibility Cloaks.

Glancing at his watch, Harry shook his head. Viktor was late again.

Ever since Viktor had saved him, Harry had done his best to repay his friend. Since he was in Viktor's Charms class, along with Transfiguration, Harry had decided to help his friend do better academically. While Viktor had already taken the classes, he had ignored the theoretical portion of Charms and Transfiguration for a long time, and it was partially the reason for his poor mastery of the spells. Since Harry had a strong background in theory, he did his best to help Viktor grasp some of the concepts that went over his head.

At first, Viktor tried to deny that he needed the help, but Harry wouldn't take no for an answer. Eventually, Harry was able to argue that the better Viktor understood his Charms and Transfiguration theory, the easier the spells would be to cast, which would mean more time for him to play Quidditch and less time practicing spells. While it wasn't exactly true that learning theory made spell casting easier, Harry suspected that Viktor just needed an excuse to mentally justify accepting the help of someone three years younger than him.

Finishing up a very interesting chapter on the Homorphus Charm – a powerful spell that will force an animagus to retake their original appearance – Harry put the book in his bag. It appeared like Viktor had lost track of time again while practicing Quidditch. Getting up to go back to his room, Harry was thinking about the benefits of using the Homorphus Charm to stop his uncle Sirius from pranking him over the summer when he heard someone hiss, "Ossis Fragmen."

A moment later, Harry was on the ground screaming, his bag blasted clean off his shoulder as the bone breaking curse smashed into his scapula.

"Stay down, Mr. Potter," Lady Doktor commanded as she drew her wand and came out from behind her counter to search for the person who cast the curse. Harry didn't need to be told, it wasn't as if he thought he could get up anyway. Slowly, the pain in his back increased until it became too much for him, and he passed out.