This was, of course, thanks to the teachings of Salazar. The portrait was very knowledgeable in all forms of magic, telling Harry that it was a side effect of living in a castle with Rowena Ravenclaw. Harry had realised that he was actually fairly talented when it came to magic, but never knew due to a lack of trying. He was not anywhere near the top of his classes, sadly, as using magic only made up half of their grade (with written work making up the other half). He had, however, jumped up the rankings by quite a significant amount.
Harry would ask Salazar for help on essays at another date; he was much more interested in actually using magic, as opposed to writing about it.
Harry quickly organized the boxes of magical components before Salazar could jump over to his portrait frame in the chamber. Just as he finished doing so, Salazar appeared. The portrait gazed critically over the boxes of materials, before having Harry pull off each component to do a head count.
"Powdered Unicorn Horn?"
"Check."
"Sphinx Claw?"
"Got it. That one was hard to get, by the way, I was only able to get it because one of Potter Businesses involves Sphinxes and Gryphons, and some other dangerous creatures."
"I was wondering how you planned on getting that one." said the portrait, "I thought you did not have access to your fortunes yet?"
Harry smiled mischievously.
"Technically, I don't. But I found a loophole when it comes to businesses, specifically the ones under Potter ownership, since it's my birth name. Apparently the Potter family had a lot of warriors, and so we have a lot of businesses involving magical creatures. Turns out I own loads of magical creatures, even if I can't actually do anything about it until I'm emancipated . . . but I can still take out stuff from the business inventory, without having to worry about getting arrested. I mean, I am the owner."
"Yes, the Potters were quite the warriors. I once knew a Potter, when I was alive." Salazar reminisced. Harry looked questioningly at Salazar, who shook his, saying, "It is a story for another time. For now, we have work to do. Fairy Wings?"
"Yup, got them." replied Harry.
"Put them in one pile. We will be doing rituals today, those are the components for the first of the two."
"Two rituals?" questioned Harry, "I thought you said we'd be doing one ritual today, for my first one?"
Salazar shrugged.
"The two rituals are fairly similar anyway, so they can be done at the same time."
"Do you plan on telling me what the rituals do?" asked Harry as he organized the now pile of selected materials.
"They are both normal rituals, and will affect the body you possess, rather than your blood or soul." began Salazar, "The first of the two will restructure your physical characteristics, organizing them as perfectly as possible, defining them just as much. In essence, it will make you more physically appealing. The ritual is known as the 'Decorum'."
"Absolutely not." said Harry, eyebrows raised, "I'm not Malfoy, I'm not spending my time in front of a mirror."
"You said that you are very well known in the magical world, yes?" Harry nodded slowly at that, starting to see where this was going (which happened to be in a direction he did not particularly like), "Then you must look your best, give a good impression. This Tournament you told me about, you said millions wizards and witches will watch. You will definitely be spotted on that Recorder Glass, given who you are, and you must live up to your name." the portrait lectured, only continuing when he was sure Harry was listening.
"Besides, it is a fairly simple ritual, which is incredibly unlikely to go wrong. A good one for a beginner; it is very worth it considering the near impossible chance of failure."
"Fine, but I want to know a few things about the ritual first." said Harry, continuing when he got approval from Salazar, "I thought you said it would reorganize my features. Wouldn't that end up making it symmetrical, rather than - well, appealing?"
"Symmetrical is physically appealing, in case you haven't yet realized." the portrait said in a monotone voice. Harry supposed the portrait was right about that, at least from what he had seen.
"Did Riddle ever use the ritual?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"No, he did not. The ritual is fairly painful for the duration it takes to fully develop, which can take anywhere from a week's time to three. It will continue to work at a much slower pace for a few years, but at the point the changes are similar to the normal changes a person might experience through puberty, and are therefore not particularly painful or noticeable. Riddle thought himself physically appealing enough that the pain simply was not worth it. He did, however, use the other one."
"Before you tell me about the other one, can I ask you one more thing? Without you cursing at me in Parseltongue, preferably?"
The portrait's eyes narrowed slightly, but he still nodded his head.
"Why did you never use the ritual?" asked Harry in an immensely cautious tone.
Salazar rolled his eyes.
"The ritual is most effective during one's teenage years. It is not good for one too young, as all rituals require the user to have a certain level of magic. Past a certain age, your features are too firmly developed to be changed safely."
"Oh, er - alright then." said Harry nervously. He quickly cleared his throat, before going on, "There's only two ingredients left, so I'm assuming they're both for the second ritual?"
"Your assumption would be correct. Frozen Ashwinder eggs, as well as ten Veela hair. Do you have any knowledge on either component?"
Harry paused for a second, before his eyes narrowed.
"According to my copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', frozen Ashwinder eggs are used in love potions. Veela weren't in the book, but I know about them because my friends won't stop talking about them. They're like some magical creature that looks like a witch, but more attractive. According to Hermione, Veela have some sort of allure that attracts all magicals that are naturally attracted to females. I got the hairs via Owl Order from some shady part of Knockturn Alley, on your suggestion, because it was the only component I couldn't find. What are you trying to do to me?"
"You know very little, Harry." replied the portrait, completely ignoring Harry's last question, "If you wish to understand rituals and their creation, you must understand the components you use. Veela are not magical creatures, but women with an extra set of abilities."
"So, they're witches, but are ridiculously beautiful and have an allure that attracts others?" asked Harry, not entirely convinced.
"That, as well as being automatic fire elementals, as well as having an alternate form that they might potentially transform into when enraged."
"If they're witches, why am I using a part of them for the ritual? Shouldn't it be part of a magical creature?" asked Harry, confused, "And tell me that you're not giving me some sort of allure."
"Rituals use magical components, which are any object that is magically charged. The hair of a Veela is indeed magically charged, and is therefore suitable."
"That's great, now answer my second question." said Harry hurriedly.