Young Celestial Wizard [Celestial Grimoire, Harry Potter]

---Two Months Later, August 1987---

Harry soared over Hogwarts grounds, his wings catching the warm August updrafts. Below him was the newest addition to the castle's features - the Still Lake. Unlike the Great Lake with its gentle waves and occasional tentacle sightings, this body of water remained perfectly motionless, like black glass reflecting the sky above. Even on windy days, not a single ripple disturbed its surface.

All of the animals had taken to avoiding this part of the grounds entirely. Harry had watched from above as even the bolder creatures of the Forbidden Forest would approach, only to turn away at the water's edge. The house elves whispered that fish introduced to the lake would disappear without a trace within minutes.

Harry banked around for another look at the Still Lake. Last month, he'd watched from the Astronomy Tower as a group of Ministry wizards in fancy robes spent days working on the crater. They'd created a small stream that connected to the Great Lake, filling the massive hole with water. The weird part was how the water just... stopped moving once it settled, no matter how much wind there was.

Nobody had come to ask him or Charlotte about what really happened. Whatever story Grandpa Dumbledore told them must have worked - probably something complicated and boring that made the Ministry people not want to ask too many questions. Adults were like that sometimes, they'd accept a boring answer over an interesting truth.

At least the Boggarts were gone now. The Black Circle had sucked up every single one in the castle before it exploded. No more students running scared from their worst fears popping out of closets and cabinets.

Harry turned away from the lake, trying not to think about how empty and wrong it felt. Even his eagle instincts didn't like flying over it. Time to practice his firebending instead - that always made him feel better.

Harry landed near the Whomping Willow and transformed back, brushing some dirt off his robes. Two months of practice had taught him a lot about firebending, especially since his perfect memory let him remember exactly how each move should feel. It was like drawing - once you got the lines right once, you could do it again and again.

He started with the basics, creating a small flame in his palm. Before, it had been a tad difficult to control precisely how big or small the fire was. But after spending hours feeling how the chi moved through his body, like little rivers of energy, he could direct it better through more precise physical motions. The chi paths felt like warm threads running from his stomach to his hands and feet.

"Okay," Harry mumbled to himself, "let's try the new stuff."

He closed his fist and concentrated, mixing normal fire with the solid kind he'd discovered long ago. A bright orange whip extended from just under his closed hand, moving like a real rope made of flames. He'd figured out that using too much solid fire made it stiff and using too much normal fire made it fall apart. Getting the mix just right had taken lots of tries.

The Fire Whip cracked through the air as Harry guided it in a figure-eight pattern. The practice target the house-elves found (an old training dummy from somewhere in the castle) took the hit right across its stomach, leaving a deep black scorch mark on the metal armor.

"Now for the hard part," Harry said, crouching down like he'd practiced.

The Shield of Fire was trickier. He had to pool the chi at his palms, like gathering water in his hands, then push it out in just the right way to make a wall of very solid flames. It worked against the rubber balls Uncle Filius charmed to fly at him during practice, but it made him tired really fast.

Harry swept his hand forward, feeling the familiar strain as the chi gathered and pushed outward. A semicircle of orange-red flames followed behind his hand, flickering but holding its shape. He managed to keep it up for twenty seconds before letting it fade away, his arm trembling slightly from the effort.

He sat down on the grass to catch his breath, thinking about how far he'd come. The basic moves were easy now - making sparks, punching out Fire Jabs, even the incendio-like Fire Stream that used to tire him out. The Fire Lash and Blazing Rings had taken longer to master, but he had perfected them and didn't have to waste any energy when using both techniques.

"At least the chi mapping helped," Harry muttered, rubbing his arms where he could feel the warm paths of energy. It had been boring work, moving slowly through the firebending forms for hours just feeling how the energy moved inside him. But now he knew exactly where to direct the chi for each move, like following a map he'd drawn himself.

After practicing until his muscles ached, Harry headed to the library. Madam Pince had given up trying to shoo him away from the first-year sections, especially since he was far more careful with the books than most students. He'd already memorized and comprehended most of the standard first-year curriculum, though it felt hollow without being able to practice.

Harry slumped in his chair, chin propped on his hand as he stared at the diagrams showing wand movements. The swish and flick pattern for Wingardium Leviosa looked simple enough - he could trace it perfectly with his finger thanks to all his drawing practice and it was figuratively engraved into his memory. But what did it feel like when magic flowed through a wand? Was it similar to how chi moved during firebending, or completely different?

"It's like having all the ingredients but no cauldron," he grumbled, thinking of the potions books he'd read. He understood what each spell was supposed to do, how to say the words properly, and where to point the wand. But without being able to feel the magic, he couldn't know if his understanding was right.

The books talked about "magical intent" a lot, especially in Charms. You had to really want the spell to work, to picture what you wanted to happen. Harry thought he got that part - it was like when he painted, how he had to see the picture in his mind before deciding to put it on paper. But the books never explained how it felt when the magic actually happened.

He flipped to the chapter on the Unlocking Charm, Alohomora. The theory said it worked by magically manipulating the lock's mechanism. But did the magic push the pins directly? Did it make them weightless so they'd float into the right position? The book didn't say.

"Maybe that's why they make us wait until we're eleven," Harry said quietly to himself. "Because we wouldn't understand how it feels until then?" But that didn't seem right - he could feel and control chi just fine, and his mist spell came instinctively. Why would wand magic be that much more difficult?

He closed the book with a soft thump. Reading about spells without being able to try them was starting to feel like watching other kids fly on toy brooms while being stuck on the ground. He knew all the rules of Quidditch too, but that didn't mean he could play Seeker.

"Ah, there you are, Harry."

Harry looked up to see Grandpa Dumbledore approaching his table, midnight blue robes swishing softly against the floor.

"The enchanted bracelet has been remarkably quiet these past months," Dumbledore said, sitting down across from Harry. He smiled as he eyed the pile of textbooks. "Particularly since the incident with the vault. I believe you're ready for the next stage of Occlumency training."

"Really?" Harry perked up, immediately closing his book on unlocking charms.

"Indeed. Would you walk with me to my office?" Dumbledore stood up, gesturing toward the library exit.

As they walked through the quiet corridors, Harry noticed Dumbledore seemed deep in thought. When they reached the gargoyle guardian, Dumbledore murmured "Sugar Quills" and led Harry up the spiral staircase.

The office looked different than usual - two large purple cushions sat on the floor where the chairs normally were. Harry settled onto one while Dumbledore lowered himself onto the other with surprising grace for his old age.

"Now Harry, I've been considering your request about the dragon hearts," Dumbledore began gently.

"And?" Harry leaned forward eagerly.

"I don't believe it would be wise to pursue that particular path right now."

"But why not?" Harry couldn't keep the whine out of his voice. "It would make me stronger! I could protect-" He cut himself off, face flushing.

Dumbledore sighed softly. "You already have quite a lot to manage with your fire magic, mist spell, and now Occlumency training. Adding unknown powers from eating… dragon hearts of all things would be unnecessarily dangerous."

Harry slumped back on his cushion. They'd had this conversation before, but it still frustrated him. He wanted to argue more but knew it wouldn't change anything.

"Speaking of training," Dumbledore continued, clearly changing topics, "your new eidetic memory will have interesting effects on your Occlumency practice - both helpful and challenging."

"Challenging?" Harry frowned. "How could remembering things better make it harder?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Well, think about it - when I ask you to empty your mind, you now have perfect recall of every thought and memory. It's rather like trying to clear a large library versus a single bookshelf. More books to put away, especially if they're not well organized."

"Oh." Harry hadn't considered that. "And since I remember everything so clearly now..."

"Exactly. It's harder to achieve the emotional distance needed when memories remain crystal clear. However," Dumbledore raised a finger, "we're fortunate that your perfect recall only began after receiving this gift. And you've shown remarkable stability these past two months - partly due to your enhanced intelligence, I suspect, but mostly because of what happened in the vault. You found a new purpose there, didn't you?"

Harry felt his cheeks warm and nodded slightly, thinking of Charlotte's scars.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "And there are benefits too. Your perfect memory will help you maintain specific mental shields once you learn them. You'll be better at organizing your thoughts, and more aware if someone tries to tamper with your memories. Though," he added thoughtfully, "the advanced techniques of hiding specific memories will come much later..."

"Now then," Dumbledore reached into his robes and pulled out a small wooden box, "you've made excellent progress with the first Foundational Phase of Occlumency. Your mind-clearing exercises have become quite consistent, and you've maintained admirable emotional control."

Harry straightened up on his cushion, proud but trying not to show it too much. The breathing exercises and meditation had been boring at first, but they got easier and easier the more he did them until it was nearly effortless to clear his mind of thoughts.

"Does this mean we're done with the white room practice?" Harry asked.

"Indeed. You're ready to begin the Control Phase." Dumbledore opened the box, revealing a thin red bracelet. "This next step will be more challenging. When someone tries to enter your mind, it can feel very... uncomfortable if they're not subtle. Like a stranger walking into your bedroom without knocking."

Harry wrinkled his nose at that thought. He didn't like it when people came into his room without permission at all, even the house elves who cleaned it.

"To defend against this," Dumbledore continued, "you need to stay calm even when your mind is under attack. This alchemically-processed bracelet will help us simulate that."

"What does it do?" Harry leaned forward to get a better look at the red band.

"It creates mental static - like the fuzzy noise you sometimes hear on wizard wireless sets, but in your mind. The timing will be random, and you'll need to stay calm when it happens." Dumbledore held up the bracelet. "If you manage that consistently, it will gradually increase the strength of the static. Once you can remain peaceful even during the strongest interference, you'll be ready for the next phase."

Harry reached for the bracelet, then hesitated. "Will it hurt?"

"No, not at all. Though it may feel quite strange at first." Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. "Think of it like learning to swim - at first the water feels odd against your skin, but eventually you get used to it."

That made sense to Harry. He'd felt the same way about his chi paths during his first couple of months of firebending practice - weird and tingly at times until he got used to them. He held out his wrist and let Dumbledore fasten the red bracelet where his blue mind-clearing one used to be.

"Remember," Dumbledore said as he stood up, "the goal isn't to fight against the static. Just let it happen while keeping yourself calm, like watching clouds pass overhead."

Harry nodded, already wondering what mental static would feel like. He hoped it wouldn't be too distracting - he still had painting practice later, and he wanted to try a new technique with watercolors.

"Shall we test it?" Dumbledore asked, pulling out his wand.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded again. "I'm ready."