By the time the five children said goodbye, they were all friends. Hermione seemed to be most enthusiastic about finding new friends. Dylan thought she enjoyed the company even more than learning about Magic, although not by much. There was also something else, that Dylan wasn't even sure about. At times, during the meeting, he felt like there was some connection between Harry and Hermione. It was nothing tangible, and they didn't seem to treat each other any different than they treated the other children, and yet…
Dylan was also fascinated by how quickly she learned everything. By the end of the meeting, she was helping Harry teach Colin some things that she'd only learned a few minutes earlier. He wondered if she could also learn the way Harry did. He'd have a chance to check that during the next meeting, he was sure. While Harry had already experienced levitation, glamour and some coloring charms, that all the children were able to perform silently and wandlessly by then, both Colin and Hermione asked about apparition, once Colin told the others how he'd been brought to the meeting. Would Harry be able to master it? He felt quite sure Harry would. He'd already done it once, "jumping" to the roof of the school, hadn't he? Would the others be able to do the same? Judging by what they had already achieved he should be confident about their success, but his previous knowledge contradicted it. Apparition was only for of-age wizards and witches and there was always the hazard of splinching. He wasn't sure that once Harry duplicated it, it would stay apparition. Using Harry's method, it could be a very different kind of magic that still gives the same effect.
Discover moreMoviesFiction genre analysisOrder Sweet TreatsOrder Fresh BakescookiesA thought about the house-elf magic came into his mind. They were also moving magically, but no anti-apparition wards could stop them. Maybe Harry would move that way too?
And then he thought of his nieces. Astoria was still too young to join the group, he was sure, as was Denis Creevey, but how could he add Daphne? She could benefit tremendously from joining it, but he couldn't risk revealing the location of The-Boy-Who-Lived. Was there a way to protect it? He'd heard about the Fidelius charm, but he'd never learned it. Could it even be used to hide the identity of a person? He needed to check some books for that.
He chuckled to himself. Darius Greengrass had left the magical world and had become Dylan Roberts intending to live as a muggle. Now he was teaching muggle-borns about Magic and learning from children some things he never thought he could. Fate was really joking about him. And yet, he didn't mind. He felt confident in his way. Helping Harry was the best decision he had taken for quite a long time. Just seeing how Harry had turned from a frightened, malnourished and beaten little boy into a confident and powerful young wizard was heart warming. Adding the other children to the group was also helping all of them. He would never be sorry for doing it. Still, he should search for ways to add Daphne, and maybe a few more to the group and still keep Harry safe. A visit to the library in Greengrass Manor was a must. Maybe even a search at Flourish and Blotts.
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The next meeting, he brought both Hermione and Colin by side-along apparition. He then explained apparition to the children and waited to see what Harry would do of it. He was a bit surprised that Hermione approached Harry and started whispering in his ear, looking very intense. Harry nodded a few times and then whispered back, making her think a bit before answering in another whisper, that made Harry smile. He then called the others to attention.
Harry's explanation had nothing of the three D's, the traditional method of teaching apparition. It had no use for a wand either. Still, a few minutes later, he was apparating from place to place within the church, laughing with delight. Hermione's competitive nature kicked in immediately. Within a minute, she was doing the same. Dylan wasn't sure if they could do it for larger distances, but he felt almost sure they could. Was there no limit to the surprises?
Discover moreFiction writing softwareWriter workshopsWriting toolsFreelance writing servicesBooksIt took the other children the rest of the meeting to reach the same level of proficiency. Still, Dylan preferred caution. "I'm very glad that you mastered this so well, but I urge you not to try it alone yet. Any mistake could cause you severe harm. Next time, we'll try covering greater distances. If you manage then, I'll consider it safe to let you come for your meetings and go back using this method."
Hermione and Colin frowned a bit, but accepted his words. The others didn't mind. They lived close enough to walk.
Dylan gave it much more thought after he brought the children back. He hadn't tried to duplicate their method during the meeting. In a way, he was afraid that he wouldn't succeed, not because of lack of talent but because of his preconditioning during his school years. Back at home, he tried to forget everything he had learned at school about it and use Harry's (and Hermione's, since it seemed to be a joint effort.) method.
Discover moreRead BestsellersMobile app developmentApp store optimizationMobile app marketingAnimeIt only took him a few minutes to get in the right state of mind, and then he could move from room to room in his house at the blink of an eye. He then tried moving to his room at the church. It went just as easily. Then, without quite thinking, he found himself in the study at Greengrass Manor, startling his brother.
"Darius! How could you come here?"
Dylan looked around, not quite knowing how to answer. He then decide to tell the truth. Mostly. "I've come upon another method of apparating and tried it. I didn't even intend to come here, but I probably thought of you or of this room, and suddenly – I'm here!"
Cygnus frowned. "The wards are supposed to redirect all apparition to the entrance hall, even family. I'll need to check them."
Dylan sighed. "I'm not sure this is really apparition. Have you heard the usual 'crack' noise?"
Cygnus's frown deepened. "No, it was completely silent. You just appeared in the room with no sound at all. Had I looked somewhere else I would have thought you just walked in."
"Then it's probably not apparition, although I don't know what it is or how it's called. Still, if I'm already here, do you know if we have any book about the Fidelius charm?"
Cygnus looked surprised. "What do you need it for? It's supposed to be quite difficult, you know."
Dylan sighed. "There's something I want to tell some people yet I also want it protected from reaching the wrong people. I thought that this charm could be helpful, assuming I can master it."
Cygnus smiled at his younger brother. "You used to be quite good at charms, as I remember. Dad was surprised that you didn't try to get a charms mastery."
Discover moreCookiesFan fiction booksFan fiction writingFan fiction communityFiction writing guidesDylan shook his head. "By that time, I already decided to leave the magical world. I needed a very different kind of education for that. Do you know of such a book as I need?"
Cygnus hesitated. "I don't think we have any book dedicated to this charm. It may appear in some of the advanced charms books, though. It's been years since I checked any of them, but you're welcome to browse the library."
He couldn't escape his nieces, of course. Daphne looked at him and scrunched her nose in an adorable way. "Is this how you dress for the muggles? It's so… simple."
He smiled at her. "Muggles don't like robes. They consider them impractical. They like clothing to be simple and practical, except for formal clothes, of course."
"And no robes?" she insisted.
"They have bathrobes and dressing robes, but nothing else."
Daphne seemed to think of it and then shrugged. "Maybe I need to see some more to decide. Will you join us for dinner?"
There was no way he could refuse. After eating dinner and telling a goodnight story to each girl, he could finally go to the library. It took him some time, but he managed to find three books where the Fidelius charm was mentioned in more than a single sentence or paragraph. Not wanting to take such precious books away, he used his wand to make permanent duplicates that he could take home and read leisurely. He vaguely thought that the children may like to learn this charm too, but he first needed to focus on the Fidelius.
He returned home the same way he had left it a few hours earlier. This was surely not apparition. He didn't get the feeling of being squeezed through a tube, nor the disorientation that usually followed most apparitions. He didn't need to turn to start it either, and there was absolutely no noise. Still, remembering the war, he thought that even this should better be kept secret from some elements in the magical world, or it could be used for harmful purposes.
He spent a lot of time searching the books during the next few days. He didn't neglect his girlfriend, though, nor did he forget to test each of the children for the ability to magically move greater distances. On Thursday, they all used the new method to return home. It was most welcome due to the rainy weather, that made even a short walk on the street become unpleasant.
Despite reading all he could find about the Fidelius, he didn't feel like he could do it, not the way it was described, at least. After the meeting, he asked Harry and Hermione to stay a bit longer and then told them. "There's a magical way to make something a secret. Once it's done, only the designated secret keeper can disclose the secret to others. People who are told the secret cannot reveal it to others, cannot even mention it. The charm used to do this is quite complex. I was wondering if you could find a way to simplify it, so I could easily cast it."
"Can you tell us some more about it?" Harry asked.
Dylan showed them the three books. "I marked the chapters about the Fidelius – that's the name of that spell."
"You only have one set of books," Hermione remarked sadly.
"I can make you another copy," Dylan suggested.
"May I try first?" Harry asked.
Dylan nodded. Harry concentrated a bit and then waved his hand at the stack of books, making a duplicate stack appear at its side. Dylan tried not to gasp. Even using a wand, he could only duplicate one book at a time while this child…
Hermione didn't ask. She concentrated just the same. She didn't even move her hand, but another stack of books appeared on the other side of the original, including the bookmarks.
"Oh, we can both read all these books now!" she said happily.
Dylan wasn't so happy about it. He hadn't paid much attention to the other spells in those books, but he was sure that some of them could prove dangerous, especially if tried without supervision. He could no longer turn back, though. He tried a different approach. "I know some other spells in these books may interest you, but please read only about the Fidelius for now, until we can do it either the original way or in a different way. It's becoming quite urgent for me to use it and I need your help." He hoped this would keep them safe at least until the next meeting.
He then looked at the stacks. Weren't they too bulky and too heavy for the children to carry? He could shrink and lighten them, but would the children be able to reverse his spells?
Harry seemed to think along the same lines. He looked at his stack for a moment and then the books seemed to turn into miniatures, small enough to take in his trousers pocket.
Hermione, who was watching attentively, seemed to get the gist of it, as her stack shrank a moment later. "We'll read the relevant chapters and think of it. I'm sure we'll have some ideas by the next meeting," she said. Dylan wondered why she talked for them both, yet Harry nodded approvingly. Had he missed something? These children were so confusing!