Harry Potter and the Saviours of Hogwarts: Chapter 10

After lunch was over, the exhausted quartet followed Emily and Dahlia into the conservatory where all six teens sat on the floor in circle.

"Ok guys I know today has been tough and Day and I are so impressed with how well you have all done but we have only just begun the training. For the next few hours we are going to cover what you think you know about magic and what you actually know. So who can tell me what a wand is? Yes, Hermione" Asked Emily.

"A wand is the object through which a witch or wizard channels his or her magic. It is made of wood and has a magical core at its centre. A wand is a quasi-sentient magical instrument through which a witch or wizard channels her or his magical powers to centralise the effects for more complex results. Most spells are done with the aid of wands. Magic with a wand is usually performed with an incantation and precise wand movements. Wands are referred to as 'quasi-sentient' because their being imbued with a great deal of magic makes them as animate as an inanimate object can be"

"Great text book answer. Who has heard of wandless magic?" Emily was pleased to see that all four students raised their hands.

"Who can tell me of an instant where someone used wandless magic?" It took a while but Harry slowly raised his hand.

"Yes Harry?"

"House elves use wandless magic" he said quietly remembering the time Dobby the house elf levitated the cake and he got the blame for it.

"That's correct, anyone else? Luna? Neville? Any ideas?"

"Dumbledore can do it" replied Neville, whose face instantly went red.

"Good Neville, Luna any thoughts?"

"Andros the Invincible, he created a wandless patronus the size of a giant and Carlotta Pinkstone used wandless magic all the time to show magic to muggles"

"Very impressive Luna. These are all great examples but I want you to think more personally and closer to home" Emily was unsurprised to see Hermione's hand shoot up and she nodded for the young girl to give her answer.

"Nearly all witches and wizards perform accidental wandless magic when they feel extreme emotions around the age of seven, it is how Magic Schools find new students"

"Brilliant answer. Now I want examples of when you guys experienced accidental wandless magic. Harry let's start with you, as many times as you can think of."

"Well Aunt Petunia would cut or shave my hair and it would grow back instantly. I turned my teacher's hair blue and shrunk one of Dudley's old sweaters that they made me wear. One time when I was being chased by Dudley and his gang I ended up on the roof and before I came to Hogwarts I let a snake loose in the zoo; the glass just disappeared"

"That's impressive Harry especially the ending up on the roof that is really advanced magic called Apparition; which we will cover soon. Also don't think I won't be having a word or several with our darling cousin"

I'll make them pay for everything they put you through and the old goat that dumped you with them will get what's coming to him.

Harry barely flinched as his sister's voice rang through his mind. He would have argued with her and told her not to bother but the look in her eyes told him it would be a waste of time to try.

"Neville how about yourself?"

"My Uncle Algie accidently pushed me out of a window when he was trying to get me to use magic. Instead of hitting the floor I just sort of bounced to safety, good job really. Gran went ballistic"

"Your magic protected you instinctively, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm glad it did. Luna anything from you?"

"Father tells me that for months after my mother's death I would call her belongings to me in my sleep"

"Your magic provided you comfort. Excellent. Hermione?"

"I mostly had incidents where I changed my hair colour or made the lights in my classrooms flicker on or off. One time though I was being chased by a group of vile children, older than myself of course and they cornered me in an alleyway and as they rounded the corner they couldn't see me. It caused quite the confusion as they had seen me enter the alley"

"Well done guys those are some great examples. So you see that it was never unintentional or accidental at all. Your magic sensed a need and acted accordingly. Dahlia can heal really quickly, not because she is a werewolf, after all wolves don't heal any faster than humans, but the process of shifting from one form to another is so painful and traumatic on the body that her magic, and the magic of all shifters, solves that problem by naturally spelling away injuries. Without the use of a wand. Wizards and witches also age a lot slower than muggles thus the lifespan of a witch or wizard in averaged at about 120 years. Why? Because our magic slows down the rate at which our cells degrade. It has always been believed that only the most powerful witches and wizards can use wandless magic but that is simply not true. The reason most can't do it is because their wand has become a crutch"

Emily could see that her students were confused so she decided a demonstration was in order. She nodded for Dahlia to move away from the group with her and the two older girls stood about 100 yards apart. Instantly the young quartet looked upon the pair with anticipation and excitement.

"As Hermione pointed out earlier, a wand is imbued with a certain amount of magic. The stronger the core the more magic is contained within the wand. The problem with this though is that you can only access the level of magic that is within the wand, which means you are limited in what you can do and the strength of your spells is capped. I am going to cast a stunner at Day first using my wand, then using my own magic. I want you to observe the differences. Day you ready?"

"Go for it, and don't hold back you know I can take it" replied the blonde werewolf who stood with her legs shoulder width apart and her arms relaxed at her sides.

"Stupefy!" called Emily whose wand had risen so fast that none of the quartet had seen it move.

As expected Dahlia was knocked roughly a foot backwards and dropped to the floor unconscious. With a quick flick of her wand Emily revived her fallen cousin who jumped straight back into position. Then the redhead tossed her wand to her brother.

"I have given my wand to Harry so that there can be no doubts that what happens next is completely intentional and wandless. Day, ready?"

"Give it all you got Em" Once again the werewolf relaxed her stance and nodded for Emily to continue.

"Stupefy!" This time Dahlia was thrown across the conservatory where she smashed into the glass wall and landed with a thud on the stone floor; unconscious. Emily rushed to her side and cast the revival and then helped the werewolf to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked.

"Just peachy" replied Dahlia who shook the shards of glass from her hair before banishing the mess and repairing the window; wandless of course.

The two older girls re-joined the quartet who were looking upon them in shock, wonder and fear.

"So, tell me the main difference. Yes, Harry?" Emily asked her brother as she regained her wand from his possession.

"The second spell was so much more powerful. Are you sure you're alright Dahlia?"

"I'm perfectly fine Harry, not a scratch. I know that looked really terrifying but trust me when I tell you that Emily had complete control of that spell. I was never in any real danger, your sister just has a flare for the dramatic in her lessons, hence the shattered glass in my hair" Dahlia finished by pulling out a small shard and flicking it at Emily who pushed her away and shook her head before getting back to her lesson.

"Moving on. Harry hit the nail on the head when he said that the second spell was a lot more powerful, the reason for that is because my personal magic was not obstructed by the magic within the wand. I was completely unrestrained and free to allow my magic to spread. When I said that your wand is a crutch I meant it. Think of it as a wall between yourself and your intention. For example, the Lumos spell. Really simple and easy to cast. Now imagine that you are in a really large room and it is pitch black, you grab your wand and cast the Lumos, a small light emits from the wand lighting up a small perimeter around you as long as you hold your wand up or out in front of you. Tell me a disadvantage of that"

"You can't see what's in the shadows" Harry supplied.

"Brilliant Harry. So now imagine that someone charges at you from within the shadows. Tell me what your problem now is, yes Neville?"

"You have to cancel the Lumos to use another spell but if you do that the room goes dark again so you won't be able to see where to aim"

"Well done Neville, exactly right. Now if you cast a wandless Lumos you can realistically cast that entire room in light eliminating the shadows and allowing you to properly see your surroundings. Then you can cast as many wandless spells as you wish or you can dual cast meaning you can cast spells from your wand and your hand at the same time. Now who has the advantage, you or the attacker?"

"But won't you become exhausted if you use wandless magic for long periods of time?" asked Hermione.

"Great question. Yes you will but the power available to you through wandless casting means that any fight you find yourself in will be greatly reduced in terms of duration. So you see why we believe learning wandless magic is so important? Neville come up here for a moment" Emily waited for the shy boy to join her in front of the group before continuing.

"I want you to try and stun me. Don't worry I trust you and I know you can do this"

"Ok I'll try. Stupefy!" cried Neville.

"Protego! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Emily cast in quick succession and almost as soon as Neville hit the floor he was revived by the redhead.

"I now have your wand and because you can't cast wandlessly yet, I have won this fight. Now if this was between myself and Dahlia who would win?" Emily asked the group after Neville sat back down looking sheepish but determined.

"It would depend on who had the most knowledge" replied Hermione.

"Good thinking Hermione in most instances that is correct but it is not always the case. I could know every spell in the history of magic and Dahlia could still take me out with a Stupefy. Anyone else? Luna?"

"Whoever had the greatest desire to win?"

"Well done Luna. Anyone else have any ideas?"

"The person with the most training?" supplied Harry.

"Another good point. So we have knowledge, desire and training but there is still something missing. What do you need in order to cast one of the three Unforgivables?"

"Intent" said Neville quietly, his eyes misting over at the memory of what one of those curses had done to his family.

"Exactly. Knowledge, desire, training and intent. A person that has all of these will always win. But if you are curious in a fight between myself and Day, she would always win because she has a powerful advantage on her side which she is not afraid to use in a fight but if she wasn't a werewolf I would wipe the floor with her."

"Yeah yeah whatever Emily. So now we have reached the practical part of the lesson where you are each going to practise the stunner and shield spells first with a wand and then without. Work in pairs, Harry you are with Luna, Neville with Hermione. Girls you are shielding first then as soon as the boys can cast the stunner without the wands switch and you take on the offensive role. Everybody clear? Oh and to ensure that you have the correct level of desire to accomplish this task, no one leaves this room until all four of you have cast the stunner at least once without a wand. That means no food, no sleep and no toilet breaks. Begin!"

As the quartet began casting Emily and Dahlia stepped away from the group to speak in private.

"So what do you think?" asked Emily.

"I think they are young and inquisitive so it will definitely make it easier to retrain them. They all seemed to get what you were saying and Neville got that look in his eyes when you took him down like that. That boy is determined. They are so like our guys and yet so timid and quiet but I think they can handle whatever we throw at them. Plus, Harry and Neville are already unlocking their Heir abilities." Dahlia began to shuffle and her eyes flickered swiftly around the room.

"Full moon is coming. How are you feeling?" asked Emily.

"Restless. It will be my first time transforming and I am definitely a little nervous"

"But you'll be with Uncle Moony right?"

Dahlia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Something is wrong in this time, in our own my Dad was treated as a Lord, the Alpha of his pack. He was respected and revered and here he is abused and isolated. I hate seeing him that way. This world might not have Tom and his followers but it's just as cold and dark. We need to find Uncle Sirius, my Dad needs him"

"We will, and we will look at changing the way you and Uncle Moony and every shifter and creature are treated as soon as we have all the tools to do so. This is our home now"

"How can it be home when we left people behind; Shana, your Dad…"

"Your mate. I know who we left and it kills me but there is no way back, only forward. We have to stay strong and move on for their sake" Emily whispered as she gestured towards the quartet.

"I know but it's raw and it hurts. We are teenagers Em. Yet here we are running a private boot camp to train soldiers for the end of the world. All we have ever done is train and fight. I just want this to be over so we can start living instead of merely surviving"

Emily embraced her cousin and both took comfort in the much needed contact.

"We will get our lives back and they will be everything we ever hoped for. But duty first." Emily stepped away and squeezed the blonde's shoulders. "Go take a hot bath and have a breather. I'll keep an eye on the kids."

"Thanks Em. You're the best. I'll see you tomorrow, give my love to those lot"

Emily watched her cousin disappear upstairs and she allowed herself a moment to feel and absorb the sadness and hurt that came with thoughts of their old timeline before she shook herself and focused on the task at hand; she would make sure that this time it would be the Heirs that won the final battle and they would all finally get their lives back.

With that thought, the red head turned towards her group once more and began offering directions and encouragement all whilst planning her revenge on the people that hurt her family; starting with Albus Dumbledore.