TSS: Chapter 5: Of Darkness and Defense

> *"There is no such thing as light and dark or good and evil, only power, and the intent with which it is wielded. The fact that the target did not reconstruct leads you to believe the spell is dark but in actuality, it simply means it is practical. If you are not willing to use spells that are actually useful in combat, we will cease these lessons at once and I will discard you as yet another lost cause. Is that your final choice?"*
>
>

— Mister Bellona spitting hot facts.

## Summary:

Charlus Potter Trains with Mister Bellona, Harry Potter spends some time with his friends and adjusts to life at Weitts Manor. Then there is a private birthday celebration for Harry at Weitts Manor, and, later on, he attends the Charlus Potter Birthday Gala where he receives the Heir ring and Charlus behaves towards him like a prick.

## Plot:

**July 20th, 1992:** Harry Potter visits Greengrass Manor where he spends some time with Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Blaise Zabini. When he returns to Weitts Manor, he ends up spending several hours in the library. Eventually he talks with Emily Riddle via the linked diary. He reveals that he has found someone willing to train him in Active Occlumency and in turn Emily regales him with an introductory explanation about the levels of proficiency in the Mind Arts.

**July 24th, 1992:** Charlus Potter is training with Mister Bellona. While he is frustrated at Mister Bellona's methods, he is really happy with how good a teacher he is. Mister Bellona had to build up Charlus's abilities from the ground up due to his lack of experience. This day, he finally got to the point where Mister Bellona was confident enough in Charlus Potter's fundamentals to actually teach him magic. The first spell he showed Charlus was the laceration curse. When Charlus is appalled by the prospect of learning the Dark Arts, Mister Bellona reprimands him. Charlus struggled with the spell, but Mister Bellona shrugs it off as something normal.

After the Training session, and Charlus' departure, Peter Pettigrew converses with Mister Bellona about the state of their machinations at revolve around Charlus' instruction.

**July 25th, 1992:** While Harry Potter is reading over the contract that James Potter sent him concerning the Potter Gala, he asks Sigmund Weitts for advice, and Sigmund gets him a solicitor to help him with things like this. The Weitts are generous enough to cover the solicitor's cost as Harry does not have access to the Potter vaults.

**July 26th, 1992:** Harry goes flying on the Weitt's brooms. He loves it, and does some Seeker drills.

**July 30th, 1992:** Harry Potter is going to lunch when he is surprised by his friends wishing him a "Happy Birthday". He gets a bunch of really cool gifts, and they hang out around the manor. This marks the first time in Harry's memory when his birthday gets celebrated, even though a day early.

**July 31st, 1992:** Harry Goes to Potter Manor for the Birthday Gala and Charlus is dissatisfied and angry with him the whole time. He sits at the main dinning table at the Gala, with guests including Peter Pettigrew, Amelia Bones, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom, Albus Dumbledore, and Barty Crouch Senior. There is some polite conversation at the table, but Harry mostly stays quiet. At one point after lunch, they run into Griselda Marchbanks, the Head of the Ministry's Board of Education, who asks Harry to confirm the rumour that he received three O+ Grades for his end of year exams. He says that he did, and reluctantly gives a showcase of what he did, while hiding the extent of it because of Dumbledore's presence. After a guest asks him to transfigure a match into a needle, Charlus loses his temper, and starts to show off unwilling to allow the spotlight not to be on him for a while. Harry goes all out in his display of transfiguration, making more and more elaborate needles, before Harry pulls of a *coup dé grace* by transfiguring the matchstick into a flock of birds, at which point James Potter finally decides to shut the competition down.

Peter Pettigrew gifts Harry a suspicious package, and suggests he waits until he is somewhere safe before opening it. Peter had given him two books on the Dark Arts.

## Harry's Presents:

### Apparel:

#### Dress Shoes:

Harry received expensive dress shoes from Draco Malfoy.

#### Silent Shoes:

Harry received shoes that don't make noise from Blaise Zabini.

### Books:

#### Runic Dictionary:

Harry received a runic dictionary from Flora Carrow after he kept borrowing Hestia's.

#### Book on Runes:

Harry received a book on Runes from Hestia Carrow, likely after he kept borrowing her runic dictionary.

#### Book of Questionable Curses:

Calypso Rosier's Gift. Seems she has a rule that whenever Harry receives gifts, hers needs to be the most illegal.

#### *The Unfiltered Evolution of Magical Britain:*

Cassius Warrington's gift of a history book.

#### Book on wizarding families of the Southwest UK

Tracey Davis's Gift. Made Harry so happy he would have hugged her had they not been in public.

#### *Light or Dark: The Truth*

Part of Peter Pettigrew's gift. Purportedly because he's the cool uncle and Harry can use it responsibly, but possibly because Peter's trying to entrap Harry.

#### *Descent into Darkness: A beginner's Guide to the Dark Arts*

Part of Peter Pettigrew's gift. Purportedly because he's the cool uncle and Harry can use it responsibly, but possibly because Peter's trying to entrap Harry.

### Assistance:

#### Money:

From the Watts Family, Harry received a large sum of money earmarked to ensure his independence.

#### Solicitor:

From the Greengrass Family, Harry received a contract for the solicitor Veronica Tate.

## Characters Introduced:

Griselda Marchbanks.

Veronica Tate.

Augusta Longbottom.