Harry Potter and the Chains that Bind

Chapter 8 - Spatium Sinus

"I'm not giving you the silent treatment, Harry. I just don't have anything to say...and there are other things on my mind." Connor had remained aloof since the last 'dirty word' incident, and Harry had been trying over and over to convince him the sixth year students weren't really that bad.

"Well, what are they? Maybe I can help you out."

"I doubt it. In fact, it would probably be best if you didn't even know about them."

"Suit yourself," Harry replied. "I'm only trying to help.

"I know, and I appreciate it, but you've got enough on your plate." They were walking to the library to study Potions and Transfiguration. Other than the issues the men of Gryffindor had with Connor, he fit in well with Harry's group of friends. Hermione was pleased to have found someone who took History of Magic seriously, and Neville was excited that Connor was a fellow botanist. He wasn't nearly as good as Hermione with Potions, or Neville at Herbology, but he had a knack for explaining what he did know, so he was alright with Harry. Ron waffled back and forth between distrusting Connor and using him to threaten and mock Malfoy, which made him nearly as happy as playing Quidditch. Ginny, much to Dean's chagrin, had begun running with the tall American in the mornings. She claimed she had wanted to before, but had never felt entirely safe from Malfoy and his goons. At this, Ron swore and promised he'd take Connor's place, and he even tried once or twice, but getting up early in the morning apparently wasn't in Ron's nature.

Hermione and Neville were already in the library, and Connor was paging through his notes before they even sat down. Hermione was explaining something to Neville; Harry didn't catch it all, but he was pretty sure it had to do with human transfiguration, which they were due to start this year.

"So you can get whole new teeth, or you can re-grow the ones you have?" Neville asked. Hermione smiled and pointed towards her own front incisors.

"I've had these done, and you can't even tell!" Neville, who had largish front teeth himself, looked impressed and wistful.

"Now I wish I'd stayed in Transfiguration. My wand has really improved my magic! I bet I could handle it..."

"I think we're due to run through teeth next month. Maybe I can help you out. It'd be good practice!"

Harry didn't know if he'd want to subject his teeth to "practice," even if it was Hermione holding the wand, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn't his discussion.

"Mouths next month," Connor said, "noses and eyes in November, ears and hair in December, and then full body stuff after that."

The American slipped his wand from his sleeve and tapped the parchment. It was the first time they'd ever seen it up close, and Hermione couldn't help but gasp. Neville's eyes widened and immediately the whole group leaned in as if they were sharing a communal secret.

"Oh look! It's beautiful!" Hermione couldn't contain herself as she saw the golden-grained wand glow in the faint light of the library. Neville vehemently thrust out his hand and Connor handed it over for inspection.

"Olneya Tesota," said Neville, beaming proudly, "Ironwood." He hefted it a few times and then waved it through the air. Red sparks hung like a ribbon of glittering smoke.

"It likes you," Connor was smiling slightly. It looked a bit foreign on his face, as though he hadn't done it enough lately to keep up with the proper movements. Though it appeared at first to be an anatomical impossibility, Neville's grin grew even wider.

"What core?"

"This one is made with a braid of Iemisch fur."

"Ooooh...Water Tigers?" Hermione seemed positively giddy. Connor looked both pleased and surprised that she knew of them.

"I've never seen one except for in books...what are they like up close?" Connor's reply was characteristically concise.

"Dangerous."

The next day, Harry again tried to contact Remus, but he realized even before anyone had appeared in the mirror that last night had been the full moon, and Remus would likely be very ill. He waited long enough for Professor Dumbledore to appear in the mirror to explain he'd forgotten Remus would be unavailable, then went to meet the Quidditch team for practice.

After practice, Harry helped Ginny carry the equipment back to the storage shed.

"Well," she said, brown eyes flashing, "what do you think? Do we have a chance?"

"We're fast, that's for sure! But there was something I wanted to tell you. About the team, I mean." Ginny looked at him expectantly, and Harry wondered how to phrase it.

"You've really pulled us together...I don't think we've been this close since Wood captained. Maybe not even then. It feels like we're a family, and I think it's almost all because of you." Ginny didn't say anything, and for a moment, Harry thought she may be about to laugh at him. Then she embraced him in a solid hug and kissed him squarely on the lips.

It was the least opportune time possible for Ron to walk in, so of course he did, stopping dead in his tracks and staring at his little sister and his best friend. Ginny broke away quickly.

"Ron! It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

"Yeah!" Harry added. "I..."

"I'm not even going to ask, sweetheart. Just don't get me involved when Dean is looking to thump you." He continued on with what he was doing, making a point out of ignoring them. Harry and Ginny slunk out, blushing madly and going opposite ways without looking at each other. It was only the second time he'd been kissed on the lips, but it was certainly much better than the first. For one, Ginny didn't seem in any way weepy. Kissing seemed much nicer when you weren't getting wet. That made Harry think of Hermione, and he struggled to get something else into his mind. He didn't need to start pouting over her again; especially when Ron probably already thought he fancied Hermione and his sister.

On the way back to the castle, Harry forced himself to do some of his Occlumency exercises. He'd only had marginal success so far, though not for lack of trying. Snape hadn't kicked him out again, so that was a plus. Harry didn't know if his mind was more or less impervious...he hadn't had any thoughts or nightmares that felt like Voldemort rooting around in his head, so maybe he was keeping the dark wizard out. Or perhaps Voldemort was keeping Harry out. Either way, the exercises helped clear his mind of the more immediate events in his life.

Later, Harry was alone in his dormitory room except for Neville, who was quietly tending to his plants. When Ron entered, he seemed to have forgotten about Harry and Ginny, because he started right in with talk about Quidditch formations.

"I've got red and gold numbers running through my head in my sleep. Ginny is really pounding them into us. I hope it's worth all the work."

"Well, you're a Keeper. You don't have to worry about the formations so much, do you? I've been paying attention, but honestly our jobs are a little different, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just kind of amazing to see Ginny taking charge...you don't expect it out of her, do you?"

"Not by looking at her. I saw that Hermione was wearing her gift. It looks nice, mate."

"Thanks. She told me she's considering making something like your mother's. She said I ought to help, that it would be good practice."

"It probably would be," Harry agreed. "Say, have you noticed anything about Hermione lately?"

"Like what?"

"Well, she seems kind of...I don't know...cranky in the last few days. Is she mad at me?" Ron immediately blushed.

"It's...er...girl things, Harry."

"Girl things?"

"Yeah."

"I don't..." Harry trailed off.

"You know. Oh, come on! Don't make me say it!"

"Woman things," Neville added, looking oddly contemplative. Harry immediately started to blush.

"Oh. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, mate. I er...yeah. Okay." Harry blushed as well, and to Ron's great relief, immediately changed the subject.

That Monday, Harry was sitting in his Temporalism class. He had nothing on his mind but what they were about to attempt; for the moment, the events of the past weekend were all but forgotten. Professor Walken was pacing in front of them, lecturing about the relationship between dimensional space and time. All the students seemed quite excited, because this was the day they were to begin working on their first true time magic: the Spatium Sinus charm. They were only going to learn a handful of actual spells this year, and everyone in the class was eager to be working on something other than theory.

"Please stand, but remain in your place," Professor Walken glanced around the room, surveying where each student stood. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he announced "All right, I want you to pair up with the person I call off...Mister Weasley and Mister Macmillan. Miss Granger and Miss Chang. Mister Potter and Mister Nott...wait, Potter and Nott, I'm not sure I want you two together.

"I can stand him if he can stand me," Nott volunteered. Professor Walken pulled them both aside and whispered to them "It's not as much whether you can stand each other that I'm concerned about. I'm..." he dropped his voice even more, glancing around to ensure that no one heard them. "I'm trying to place people in groups with an average magical ability..." Seeing Nott's face, he clarified, "I want to make sure each group is about the same as every other, magically. You're going to be working together to cast this charm, and though I don't want to give either of you a big head, you're both a bit more powerful, magically, than most."

"Oh," Nott said.

"Ah," Harry added.

"Yes. So, if you wish, I'll leave you placed together, because I know you are both particularly attentive in class. You can stand each other for five minutes or so? You may easily be stuck in that bubble for that long, maybe even longer, working together."

"We'll make it," Nott said. Harry remained quiet. He didn't know Nott that well; the boy was an enigma.

"Alright," Professor Walken said, and moved on. When he was done forming groups he gave them last minute instructions and information, most of which Harry and Nott already knew, because they'd gone over it in class before.

"This is the Spatium Sinus charm. Who can tell me what that means? Miss Chang?"

"Space Pocket."

"Very good. Five points to Ravenclaw. Spatium Sinus creates a pocket in space, or as you'll see when you hopefully create one, a bubble. This bubble is formed around the caster or casters, and takes up no three-dimensional space objectively to those outside it. The amount of space on the inside depends upon the caster or casters. This should be information you all know. If you manage to create a temporal pocket, and if you are in that bubble for more than fifteen minutes, I will come in and get you, whether you want me to or not.

"Spatium Sinus is not incredibly dangerous, as long as you or someone who knows where you have gone can perform the Spatium Tornare, or as some people call it, the Step. We will learn that as a class later on this year, but I can do it quite well, so, as long as I'm here, you are very safe.

"Now, I need you to take your partner's hand - don't be shy, we're all grown ups." Harry could see Hermione and Cho Chang scowling at each-other, and Ron looked as if he dearly wanted to trade partners. Nott's hand was cool and dry, and he had a grip that was neither firm nor limp. Harry could feel his heartbeat in his ears as he attempted to loosen his grasp on his wand.

"Now," Professor Walken said loudly, "just as we've practiced...on three. One, two, three..."

"Spatium Sinus echoed through the room, and with the sound of a vibraphone or very soft bell, Harry and Theodore Nott found themselves inside a faintly translucent blue bubble. Everything appeared to have moved outward at the same time. It made Harry's eyes throb, so he closed them as he leaned against the side of the bubble and slid down it. He didn't know what to say to Nott, so he just kept his mouth closed.

"Wow," Nott said, "I think I see Professor Walken out there...and a few people...Weasley and Chang, it looks like...hmm. They must not have been able to pull it off. Rather odd looking out like this. Gives me a bit of a headache."

"Yeah," Harry said, "I think I'll just refrain from looking too much." After a minute of silence he added, "so, uh...how's Slytherin?" How's Slytherin? Harry would have kicked himself, if his legs would have bent that way.

"Full of Slytherins," Nott replied nonchalantly. "How's Gryffindor?"

"Oh, you know, full of Gryffindors."

"That's a shame," Nott replied. "It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't have so many Gryffindors in it." Harry laughed in spite of himself. Even though Nott was making fun of his house, it seemed casual, and certainly not personal.

"So you don't mind me, eh?"

"Not particularly."

"I thought I was the enemy of all the true Slytherins."

"Most of them," Nott acknowledged. "Of course, most everyone is the enemy of most true Slytherins. They have a problem with sharing, it would seem."

"But you don't?"

"I have a different view."

"So why are you there?"

"What do you mean, why am I there? Because I'm cunning and ambitious, and not to be trusted. Why are any of us there?"

"Well, Malfoy seems to be cunning, ambitious, and not to be trusted. You don't seem much like him."

"Ah yes...Malfoy. Well, he has certain advantages I don't, so I have to make do." Harry thought Nott sounded a bit resentful.

"You're better off, anyway," Harry said, "Malfoy is a first-class git. What use is being all-powerful if you're stuck being like him?"

"I have news for you, Harry. Malfoy is far from all-powerful. If he thinks that his old man having a load of galleons to blow on getting his way makes him some kind of all-powerful anything, then he's been sadly misinformed."

"What about Voldemort?" Nott didn't flinch as much as most of the students did, and Harry noticed a look of distaste cross the Slytherin's face.

"Voldemort makes a good Slytherin. Anyone that would be content to follow him though...They seem to forget the Dark Lord does not share power. Anyone who thinks otherwise has simply bought into a dream." Nott shook his head. "Sadly, they just put us in Slytherin when we're ambitious. There aren't any provisions about brains, or common sense, or a proper sense of pride."

"A proper sense...what are you talking about?"

"No one ever said we had to defile ourselves to become great."

"Wouldn't some people argue that you should do whatever it takes?"

"Sure, if you're inadequate. The problem is some people-- I don't need to mention names-- can't tell the difference between 'easy' and 'anything it takes.' There are certain...people...and someday I will look into their faces and know that no matter how they debased themselves, no matter whom they cheated, how much they lied, and what they started off with, I still beat them...and they'll know it too. After they take the easiest path, when they've bartered off all their humanity for the chance to grovel at my feet, only to discover that I've beaten them with my honor intact; then they will understand despair." Harry digested this for a while.

"Bit chilling, isn't it?"

"If you wanted cuddly, perhaps you should have held out for a Hufflepuff. Bones is passable, I hear. Consider, Harry, why you so enrage Slytherin...you are obviously one of the most powerful wizards of the age; and yet your honor prevents you from even considering what some of them have been doing since they were old enough to figure it out."

"I don't feel like one of the most powerful wizards here."

"Then it's a good thing it doesn't require your assent to make it so."

"So your whole game is to be civil to me so when you beat me, I'll feel worse about it?"

"No. It's not just you, and it's not just everyone else. Ambition isn't entirely evil. I simply hold a great deal of contempt for those who act totally without honor, and I intend to prove to them how much more powerful I am by beating them according to my standards. There are plenty of witches and wizards from Slytherin that aren't in any way evil."

"Like who?"

"Well, do you think I'm evil?"

"I don't know." Harry thought about it. He remembered the name Nott being mentioned in the graveyard after the final task of the Triwizard tournament during his fourth year. There couldn't be that many of them around. "So you aren't interested in becoming a Death Eater, then?"

"I thought I'd made that abundantly clear."

Harry thought for a bit. They'd been in the bubble for nearly eight minutes now, and it didn't show any signs of fading.

"Why not? I mean, besides their lack of honor, or whatever."

"Potter, consider this: Why do people become death eaters?"

"Power, I suppose. They hate non-pure blood wizards and Muggles."

"Do you think Voldemort shares power? Really?"

"Well, no. I mean, he does a little...he let's people do bad things."

"Things they couldn't do on their own?"

"Er...well no, I guess not."

"And do you think he'll ever share it?"

"Well, I don't know. No, probably not."

"And he'll never let another grow more powerful than him."

"I wouldn't think so."

"So why," Nott asked, "would I ever give up my power to the likes of him, and virtually assure myself that I will never rise above a level he would consider dangerous to himself?"

"That's...a good point. How do I know you're not lying or tricking me?"

"I suppose you don't," Nott said. They sat in silence for a good minute before Nott spoke again. "I know - it's a misguided sense of nobility, isn't it?"

"Well, maybe that nobility got you into this class. Professor Walken did say we all could have been sorted into other houses."

"That's possible. You don't know that for a fact though, so you'd still be best off being quite perceptive around me. I am, after all, cunning, ambitious, and not to be trusted."

"And I'm too brave for my own good, so I'll take my chances, for now. You know," Harry said, pushing himself upright against the back of the bubble, "you're not half-bad." It was the best compliment his pride would allow him to deliver to a Slytherin. Around them, the temporal bubble started to flicker.

"Actually, I am," Nott replied gracefully. "On my father's side." With a whish of fresh air, the bubble dissolved, and Harry, who had just been rising to his feet, stumbled backwards. He found himself tightly in the grip of Cho Chang. She glared at him and pushed him away, and Ron caught him by the shoulders. Harry could tell his friend was about to say something, and moved to interrupt him. Hermione beat him to it.

"Well, we can't keep you two apart...can we?" Her timing was excellent, and Cho bit back whatever comment she had been about to make. Ron laughed, even though it sounded a bit forced, and Harry righted himself. Hermione slid an arm around Harry's neck and guided him and Ron away, avoiding any further exchanges. She was polite enough to nod at Nott, who returned a barely perceptible flick of the head. Ron chose to ignore the Slytherin completely, which Harry felt was probably for the best.

"Well," Ron said, referring instead to Cho, "at least she didn't leak on you, hey mate?"

"Yea...there is that. My streak is broken."

"Well, there's always next time."

As they headed to the door, Professor Walken shouted out their homework assignment. "For next Thursday, I want fourteen inches on the differences and similarities of the Tempus Sinus and Spatium Sinus charms."

"Fourteen inches!" Ron hissed miserably. Harry smiled to himself, thinking about how last year; it would have taken him a weekend to do. He was willing to bet he could sit down and write that paper now, if he had too. It felt good to achieve.

Harry Potter and the Chains that Bind

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