Draco gaped at Uncle Ted. Harry winced as he spun his wand around his fingers. "Do you think that's a likely outcome, Uncle Ted?"
"More likely if you don't get this fluctuating magic under control."
Harry swallowed. "All right. What kind of power-draining exercise did you have in mind?"
Uncle Ted turned around and picked up one of the iron weights that he sometimes flung at Harry, full speed, with a gust of wind when they were training. He placed it on the ground in front of him and spun his wand above it, murmuring words too low for Harry to hear. They didn't sound like Latin, but the weight began to wriggle and curve in a way that reminded Harry of Transfiguration.
When it finished, it wasn't a weight anymore, but a wooden board with two crystals fastened to it. Harry leaned close to look at them. They were completely transparent, but faceted in a way that made them look like someone had taken care with carving them.
"What do they do?" Draco asked. He had moved up to Harry's side and looked as if he would have liked to step in between him and the crystals.
"The crystals are very hard to enchant, or affect in any way with a spell." Uncle Ted's voice stuttered, and Harry looked up in concern to see that his forehead was wet and he was leaning a little against the box he'd brought the weights and other training equipment in. "Even Transfiguring them out of something else, the way I did just now, is hard. Harry will have to cast with all his will and concentration to affect them."
"And that will mean that more of my magic goes towards the same target and the same place," Harry said, understanding.
Uncle Ted nodded and stood upright, his body swaying for a moment before he got himself back under control. "Exactly. It will allow you to really feel that magic and drain off excess power, as well as get to know what's raging through your veins right now."
"How much magic can it drain?" Draco asked. His voice was tight, and his eyes darted back and forth between the crystals and Harry.
"That depends on the person casting and the spell chosen. But I would say that to affect the crystals at all, a good fifty percent of the person's magic has to go into them."
"Henry still needs his magic for class."
"I won't use all of it, Draco," Harry said, and stepped up beside Draco, pressing his hand firmly on his shoulder, when he noticed how pale and unhappy his brother looked. "Hey, it's all right."
"I don't like it," Draco said, and then he turned to look at Harry and shook his head, while the lines around his eyes deepened. "But I don't have a better solution."
"It's safe, Draco," Uncle Ted said gently. "I used it, and so did other Shadowfollowers, after we'd been undercover in an area filled with Dark magic and had to get rid of that residue. I know people who had to sleep for hours after they filled the crystal, but they didn't have any lasting ill effects."
Draco stared at the crystals again and sighed as if he were being asked to conjure them himself, before he stepped back. "All right, Uncle Ted."
Their uncle smiled at him, then faced Harry. "Think of the most powerful spell you can cast, Harry. Then try to fill one of the crystals with the power of the spell. Channel it straight at them, as if it's an offensive curse or hex."
Harry held his wand up. "Expecto Patronum!" he said, and the silvery swan swam into view on an invisible current of water. After a moment, it spread its wings and flew straight at the crystal on the right.
The crystal bounced and rang like a gong. Then it began to glow with a soft, sullen white light.
"Hmm," said Uncle Ted.
"Is that good or bad?" Harry leaned forwards so that he could see the crystal more clearly. It seemed as though it was the same as before, except for the glow. How much was that really affecting it?
"It's a bigger change to the crystal than I expected you to be able to cause the first time," Uncle Ted allowed. "But it's not much of one. How do you feel?"
"Buzzing," Harry admitted.
"Then let's do some more casting," Uncle Ted murmured, and moved out of the way, motioning Draco to stand with him.
Harry raised his wand and launched a barrage of hard spells at the crystal, hoping that there wouldn't be any more explosions today.
....
Do you want to read ahead by more than 60 exciting premium chapters?
Then join my p*atreon right now.
Link: p*atreon.com/Sonic_Spectre (Remove the *)
Free members can unlock upto 2 chapters.