# But… I'm Harry Potter. Chapter 60
"Hey, girls — don't you think your prince has gone completely off the deep end with his training and magical experiments lately? From what we can tell, he hasn't even been up on his broom causing trouble in a while," Parvati Patil attempted to wedge herself into the conversation with casual, borderline tactless ease.
The Gryffindor girl — one of Hogwarts' premier gossips and twin sister to Padma Patil, who had by some coincidence already attached herself to the group of witches working on their homework — had spotted an excellent opportunity to gather information and fresh material. She was making her approach to the famously varied "Potter's garden" in a rather distinctive fashion.
"Hmm? Parvati?" Ginny Weasley looked up with mild surprise — she knew the slightly older Gryffindor better than anyone else in the group. "Are you saying that even you've noticed Harry's latest wave of inspiration?"
"Well, if by 'wave of inspiration' you mean several wrecked empty classrooms and some absolutely terrifying charms he's apparently been casting wandlessly lately, then yes… that's exactly what I'm asking about. Even the visiting students from the other schools have started noticing Potter's recent fixation, let alone our own people," said the exceedingly pretty Indian girl, her smile carrying just a touch of sarcasm. She was, by any objective measure, among the top candidates for most beautiful girl at Hogwarts, standing comfortably alongside the company assembled around her.
"Well, he did go back and clean up the classrooms afterward… right after Flitwick gave him an earful," Ginny replied with a noncommittal shrug, in no particular hurry to pull Luna and Daphne away from whatever essays they were writing. They seemed entirely unbothered by the whole conversation, though Astoria and Padma Patil were listening closely. "Otherwise, Harry's just being Harry. He behaved the same way last year. The only difference now is he has a new mentor, so he's pushing even harder."
"A new mentor?" Padma perked up immediately. Unlike Parvati, she wasn't quite as devoted to the art of gossip — but she shared her sister's hobby to some extent. There was always something a little dull about life in the ancient castle for talented young witches not burdened with extra training, and this was suddenly very interesting news. Their hero had acquired a mysterious new mentor. That was practically a sensation.
"My mother has taken Harry on as a personal student," Daphne said calmly, having caught enough of the conversation with half an ear to decide she wasn't going to keep that particular piece of information to herself. "That's why they've been exchanging letters ten times a day lately. I think Mother is starting to regret taking on such an eager and ravenous student."
"Ha, that tracks… Potter has a way of loading you up until your brain starts to turn inside out," Ginny said with a smile that wasn't entirely cheerful, thinking of certain expressions Harry used and of her own training sessions with her… friend, for now and nothing more. "And he picks things up just fine, too."
"Fine? Are you trying to embarrass us, or do you still underestimate Harry?" Parvati said, looking slightly stung. She remained one of the best students on her floor, after all. "Have you actually seen what kind of charms he's been casting lately?"
"Mostly stationary-dynamic shields — he's been learning to hold them continuously, day and night," Ginny said, shrugging without a hint of surprise. She had long since stopped being astonished by her chosen one's magical talents — whatever he himself might think about that. The girl had made up her own mind on the matter quite some time ago, and Luna seemed to support her on it.
"That's exactly what I mean!" The older Gryffindor sat up straighter. "Every single upper-year student on our floor who's aiming for the Auror Office, the Department of Mysteries, or the MLE has been walking around looking like they lost a bet. None of them have managed to hold charms like that, and your Potter has been running around under them practically around the clock — with that exhausted face of his and the impressive bags under his eyes."
"That kind of protection is difficult to cast in the first place, but maintaining it isn't quite as demanding," Astoria Greengrass interjected with a smug little smile. She had been quietly revising her opinion of her older sister's possible future husband over recent months.
The boy was genuinely interesting now, she had to admit. He had a remarkable talent for driving their mother to complete and utterly baffled exasperation, which never failed to send Astoria into suppressed fits of laughter. She hadn't caught the general spirit of fanatical admiration for Potter that seemed to have infected the others, though. In the young Slytherin's view, there were more powerful wizards in the world. And better-looking ones, yes.
"Moody holds two or three shields on himself practically all the time. And you can barely notice them from the outside," Astoria added.
"Well, that's Moody… In an actual fight he could probably hold a dozen," Parvati waved the point aside dismissively. "He's not considered the strongest Auror and combat wizard in Britain for nothing. A lot of people think even Dumbledore would struggle against him in a duel."
"Plenty of people are already predicting no less a future for Harry," Ginny said, a note of pride entering her voice despite herself. "Though I was surprised too, watching how fast he picked up charms that not every Auror can manage."
"That kind of magic is very effective for building magical reserves," Luna Lovegood said quietly, setting down her quill and joining the conversation. She didn't generally enjoy discussions like this one, but she couldn't stay silent on this particular point. "Especially now, while we're still under seventeen."
"Right, except normally nobody under seventeen is even capable of holding charms like that," Padma said with a slight frown. "The initial casting phase alone is enormously draining and complex. And honestly, not many people use that kind of magic even after they're of age. It's too costly, too difficult to sustain, and not particularly reliable. Charms like that only really protect you from Muggle weapons. And even then, protective amulets are considerably more dependable."
"I wouldn't say that — magic like that does a decent job against a sudden attack too," Ginny disagreed, unwilling to let other girls talk down Harry's accomplishments.
"Sure, maybe against the first hit. But after that you've got nothing left to fight back with," Padma snorted. She didn't entirely believe her own argument, but she wasn't about to concede the point so easily.
"Harry still has plenty left over for other training," Luna said, tilting her head slightly. She had decided to participate in the debate after all. "And he helps me with enchanting things." The blonde held out her wrist with a touch of pride that was slightly off-topic, showing off a simple bracelet made from the amber Sirius Black had purchased.
She and Harry had made it together, engraving each individual amber plate with several simple but useful runic chains — essentially wearable everyday charm-work. It was a handy little piece, even if it wasn't particularly durable. It didn't come close to qualifying as a real artifact yet. But Lovegood had taken a real liking to the concept, and she and Harry were already planning to work on something more ambitious down the line.
"Right, so… he's picking up enchantment and runes on top of everything else," Parvati exhaled, her voice carrying a complicated note that she seemed unable to resolve into any clear direction.
"Mm. He has many talents," Luna said, her smile settling into something calm, easy, and almost serene. Her gaze drifted toward nothing in particular. Then she gave a small nod to the two Indian girls and quietly withdrew from the conversation.
"Ahem. So, Parvati — what actually brought you to us with all these questions?" Daphne Greengrass said, watching the exchange and weighing what Luna hadn't quite said aloud.
"Oh, nothing especially — just wanted to find out what's been going on with Potter lately," the Indian girl replied, exchanging a quick glance with her sister, her tone carefully neutral. "There's been a rumor going around the castle that Potter somehow entered his name in the Goblet but wasn't chosen, and now he's training himself into the ground out of frustration and wounded pride. That he's furious someone at Hogwarts turned out to be stronger than him. The Hufflepuffs especially have been talking about it quite a lot."
"Is that all?" The insufferable Slytherin allowed a slightly mocking smile to cross her lips. She understood perfectly well that something here wasn't adding up. "I didn't realize anyone still thought Harry had something to prove to somebody. Most of his magical achievements are already public knowledge. And he almost certainly didn't put his name in the Goblet. With all due respect to Cedric Diggory, he probably doesn't quite match my fiancé in raw magical power."
"It's not as though anyone would be able to convince the Badgers of that right now," Parvati said vaguely, and began shooting increasingly unsubtle looks at her sister — who had, quite possibly, not ended up here entirely by coincidence. Daphne was starting to suspect the whole gathering had been engineered by the twins in some way. Or at the very least, they had chosen their moment very deliberately.
"Though we do personally think Diggory falls a bit short of Potter," Padma added, now fully confirming for the Greengrass heiress that these two bold twins wanted something from her fiancé.
"Pff, anyone with eyes thinks the same," Ginny said, with a sniff that carried a little too much self-satisfaction and pride. She was eyeing the Indian girls with mild suspicion now. Their exchanged looks had been rather eloquent.
"If it were otherwise, all the attention on him would have faded long ago… Setting aside the fact that he's constantly seen around the castle in your company, of course," Padma said with a slightly awkward smile. As the one on somewhat friendlier terms with the assembled group, she had decided to be the one to steer the conversation where she and her sister actually needed it to go.
"Do you genuinely want to discuss the dynamics of our group?" Daphne raised an eyebrow with a hint of irritation. She had grown thoroughly tired of the rumors circulating through the castle. Being the fiancée of a national hero had turned out to be considerably more exhausting than she had originally anticipated or hoped.
"I suppose I do," Padma said with a confident nod, which seemed to mildly surprise everyone gathered — everyone except Parvati and Luna. The former had known where this was going from the start, and for the latter the topic had never been any sort of major concern. Potter's younger friend always operated on her own frequency, paying little attention to the behavior of wizards who didn't particularly concern her.
"Hmph. Go on then, surprise me — what have the gossips come up with about us this time?" the Greengrass heiress exhaled, with something approaching resignation, and began regarding the pair of twins with frank disapproval. Couldn't they have come with questions like this after the Charms essay was finished?
"It actually has nothing to do with that this time," Padma said, her smile slightly apologetic, her gaze fixed on Daphne. The young witch understood clearly enough that the dominant figure in this particular group was Potter's fiancée, and addressed herself accordingly. "My sister and I actually wanted to discuss the possibility of… joining your garden."
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