Harry Potter And The Unexpected Friend

Remus stood still, waiting for Harry to cast the first spell so he could observe his technique. Harry's first spell was a moderately powerful "Expelliarmus!" that had been almost shouted out, giving Remus plenty of time to step out of the way. Remus sent back a "Stupefy" which he cast verbally, just loud enough for Harry to hear. Harry dove out of the way of the spell dramatically before jumping to his feet and sending another disarming spell at his opponent which was easily shielded against.

Meanwhile Dumbledore watched with a growing smile, suspecting he knew how this duel would end.

Soon Remus had Harry on the run, casting a series of minor charms and hexes that Harry did not even try to shield against but instead tried to avoid. Not a single one of his spells had hit Harry yet and he was forced to admit that his opponent had exceptional speed and reflexes. Deciding to end the duel, Remus started trying to force Harry into a corner. Harry saw what Remus was attempting and let him do it, knowing that his opponent was on the verge of being convinced that the duel was over. Finally Harry found himself in a position where he could no longer avoid his opponent's spell, he must either let it hit him or shield against it. Harry smiled and knew it was time to show Remus what he was really capable of.

'Protego!' Harry thought and an impressive blue shield formed in front of him, much to the surprise of his former professor. He then, using the spell linking technique that Professor Flitwick had told him about, began a chain of spells that he had been working on for the past week or so. It began with an Auguamenti aimed at Remus's feet, soaking his shoes and pants. The spell confused Remus so he ignored it and tried to avoid the next spell that Harry had immediately cast, an Impedementia which was designed to trip him up. That did not hit him and Remus was able to shield against the Incarcerous which followed it. By now Remus was beginning to realize he had been fooled but there was little he could do to take back the advantage. Harry was now on the move as he cast, ready to dodge anything that was sent his way but Remus had to keep his shield up to protect himself. The fact that Harry was now casting silently only made things more difficult. Remus, unfortunately for him, had his shield aimed too high to prevent Harry's next spell from hitting him. It was a freezing charm and Remus groaned as he now saw the purpose of the water summoning charm that Harry had cast previously. His shoes and the bottom of his pants were now frozen solid, making movement very difficult.

Harry's chain of spells ended with a cutting curse aimed at Remus' chest. Instead of moving, however, the older man said "Avis" and summoned a dozen birds to stand in the way of Harry's curse. When the spell hit it destroyed two of the conjured birds while the rest flew around Remus as if trying to form a shield. Harry reacted quickly to the spell and cast a wide 'Incendio' which lit all of the remaining birds on fire. He then banished the flaming and panicking creatures back at his opponent who was forced to vanish them. Unfortunately for him the distraction from the birds and the moment it took to get rid of them was all Harry needed to move across the room and fire a stunner from an angle that Remus was not expecting and was not able to block.

When Remus next opened his eyes he was laying flat on the ground staring up at Harry, who had a wide grin on his face. He groaned in frustration, realizing he had been beaten. His humbling at his former students hands was completed when he heard Dumbledore clapping.

"Very well done, Harry. I must say that your reaction to Remus's bird summoning charm was quite unexpected." Professor Dumbledore said as Harry helped Remus to his feet.

"I agree, Harry." Remus added. "I was a fool not to see that you were tricking me into underestimating you. Perhaps next time you won't be so lucky."

"So do you want to go again?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Not tonight, I think I've suffered all of the embarrassment I can for one night." Remus said with a small chuckle. "You should try dueling Sirius, he was always far better than me anyway. I am sure he has lots he could teach you." Harry smiled and nodded at the suggestion, he was planning on suggesting just that to his godfather if they were able to find a way around the restrictions on underage magic.

"Might I offer a suggestion, Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly. "Perhaps you could practice conjuration for the rest of the night. It is one of the more draining branches of magic, especially when attempting permanent conjuration, and I think it might also allow me some insight into how far you have come in these past few months."

"That would be fine with me, Professor." Harry answered. "What should I start with?"

"The easiest items to conjure are inanimate objects, especially if they are constructed of a single material. Greater complexity requires greater strength. Tell me, have you attempted permanent conjuration before?"

"No, sir. I've mostly been focusing on things that would help me in the tournament and I just didn't see how that would help. I've read up on it some though." Harry answered, a little ashamed of himself for overlooking such an important branch of magic.

"No harm there, Harry." Professor Dumbledore assured him. "This is magic at a level beyond even the NEWTs. Temporary conjuration is sufficient for most circumstances, such as during your duel when Remus conjured the birds for use as a shield. A very effective tactic, I might add, considering that even the Unforgivables would be stopped if they struck one of the birds. Also, many witches and wizards are not capable of permanent conjuration unless the object being conjured is very simple and very small. For our first test I would recommend a small item made of a single material. Perhaps a metal spoon? Remember that some materials are harder to conjure than others, such as silver or bronze. And it is impossible to conjure gold without help from the Philosopher's Stone. Do you need any help with the procedure?"

"I don't think so, sir." Harry answered. "The incantation is 'Conjurus Aeternus' and if you don't have a clear enough picture of what you are trying to conjure or enough energy to conjure it the spell simply won't work. Nothing happens."

"Very good. Proceed whenever you are ready." Professor Dumbledore and Remus watched, each wondering what Harry would be capable of doing at this point in his development.

....

Want to read more exciting chapters, then join my P*atreon right now and get access to 60+ premium chapters.

Link: pa#treon.com/KittyLovesMilk (Remove the #)

Free members get 2+ advanced chapters for free.

JOIN NOW