Training

Charles and Logan were sitting and talking in the study when Harry and Jean entered. They stopped whatever their conversation was when they noticed them.

Logan stood up and moved to one side of the room without saying a word, while Charles made his way to the center of the study.

"A precautionary measure." Charles said as he noticed his curious glance at Logan. "Now then, if you would sit down on the ground here."

The professor pointed at two specific spots on the ground. Jean settled onto the right-hand side while Harry went to the left one. They were sat facing each other, with Charles being in the middle, a little to the side.

"Now, to begin." Charles started. "This session will last slightly longer than the following ones. I have to make sure of the fact that you're doing it correctly."

"What happens if it's done incorrectly?" Jean asked.

"Going crazy would be the least of your worries in that instance."

That was news to Harry. Then again, doing something like this and expecting it to have no risks whatsoever did seem a tad too good to be true. So, in the end, it didn't worry him overly much.

Jean, in contrast, seemed slightly more nervous now. The professor noticed that.

"Your mind is far too strong for it to be affected like that. It is something that only concerns Harry in this case." The professor tried to reassure Jean.

It didn't have the desired effect. Not to mention lessening her nervousness, it only seemed to increase it. She was almost openly fidgeting at this point.

"We've practiced this, Jean." Charles sighed. "We've spent weeks honing your skills to make sure it won't happen, and I'm already confident you can control yourself to avoid that. This is just to be a 100% sure."

"Right." She stopped fidgeting, but she was still obviously nervous, even if she did try to hide it behind a weak smile.

"Now, Harry." Charles turned to him. "Do you remember what to do?"

"Yes." Harry closed his eyes and concentrated.

Every mind held within themselves some rudimentary defenses, but most were weak enough that just the passive perception of even the weakest telepath would be able to read them. The natural defenses within Harry's mind were stronger than the average joe.

Even if Jean could pierce them if she really wanted to, if he didn't lower them slightly, the training would be less effective. Brute forcing herself into his mind would only weaken her presence within his mind, and thus the needed pressure would be lower, too.

While Harry was doing that, Charles turned to Jean.

"Remember and stay calm."

Harry didn't hear a response from Jean, but he felt the presence that was approaching his mind. It felt odd, and very different from Charles' mind.

It was also far easier to detect than Charles'. The professor's powers were high enough that one might only become aware of them once they were already within your head. It was honestly quite a disconcerting thought.

If the professor had any evil intentions, Harry didn't know of anyone that would be able to resist the man. Powers like his were just a tad too convenient.

If Charles ever turned out to be a psychopath, Harry would be in quite the pinch. The professor was quite literally the only thing keeping him alive at the moment.

His thoughts were interrupted and muddled by the sudden entrance of another mind within his own. It wasn't uncomfortable, or even unfamiliar.

Maybe that was because she had already been inside of his mind once, or maybe he was just familiar enough with foreign minds within his own because of the dragon. Harry didn't know for sure, and it wasn't like it was some important thing he needed confirmation on.

"Are you ready?" Jean spoke through the manifestation that represented her mind. She was an exact copy of herself.

She spoke as if that was her physical body, as if she was using her vocal cords when it was just a pure manifestation of her mind. There was nothing physical about her, yet she was able to interact with the space they were in.

It was weird, when one was inside their mind the outside world seemed blurry, indistinct, and hard to focus on. He could faintly hear some words that were spoken but couldn't make anything out of them.

"Go ahead." Harry nodded.

Jean closed her eyes, and concentrated. While she was doing that, Harry took the opportunity to survey his mind.

It was almost completely empty, with the walls made out of Charles' power that contained the dragon being the only thing present.

Looking around, it seemed like they were floating adrift a space that was painted with a mixture of red and orange. Looking down, it looked like an endless void beneath them, yet it felt like he was standing atop ground.

There were obvious ends to the space they were in, indicated by the appearance of the indistinct pictures of the outside world. Harry could barely make out the silhouette of Jean sitting down in front of him.

He turned back to look at Jean's manifestation. After a few moments, it disappeared without a trace.

Suddenly, a pressure descended that made it hard for him to breathe. Almost at the same time, a high-pitched static appeared that muddle his thoughts and made it hard for him to concentrate. Harry quickly recalled and utilized the teachings that the professor had given him yesterday.

The training had begun.

/-/

"Are you sure this is safe, Charles?" Logan asked while intently watching the two teenagers sitting on the floor.

Harry's teeth were gritted, and his breathing was labored.

"Nothing is ever absolutely safe, Logan." Charles replied. "But this is the only method we have."

They both continued watching over the two as the minutes slowly passed into hours, the sun was starting to disappear over the horizon and the lights within the study were lit up as it disappeared completely.

The boy's face transformed multiple times between two states during this period. Going from the gritted teeth and labored breathing to a relaxed posture before it once again went back into the previous one.

"What do you think will happen once Magneto or Mystique find out about him?"

Charles turned to look at him with a curious gaze. "What do you mean?"

"His mutation is this powerful already, and from what you told me, there seems to be no limit on his future growth potential." Honestly, the professor was so smart and still asked stupid questions. "They're going to try and get him to their side."

"That won't be a problem in the near future." Charles said as he turned to look at Harry again. "Magneto is within Shield custody and his people hid when he was detained."

"You know as well as I do that no prison can hold him for long."

"That is true, but Harry has not shown any indication to support their ideologies, so I doubt they could tempt him even if they tried." Charles tapped his head. "He also needs us as much as we will need him."

"They have Frost. She could help him with the thing in his head."

"Emma Frost may be a telepath, but she is not powerful enough to hold that thing back." Charles looked over Jean. "The help they can provide to Harry isn't even a fraction of ours."

"If you say so." Logan didn't bother arguing because the professor's words made sense. "I hope you're right about this."

"As do I, Logan. As do I." Charles closed his eyes and sighed.

/-/

"I don't." Harry replied.

"Who doesn't have a phone?" Scott asked incredulously.

"What kind of cave man are you?" Kitty mirrored his expression. Even Jean looked surprised.

The four of them were sitting on the couches in the lounge, watching tv when the topic of social media had come up.

"It's not like I used it that much even when I had it." Harry smirked, amused by their reactions. "The app I used the most was the alarms."

Jean caught the implied meaning within his words. "So, you had a phone?"

"Yeah."

"Did you break it?"

"Not everyone is as careless with their phones as you are, Kitty."

The idiots got into another squabble. Harry had gotten used to it within the last two weeks. Jean still looked at him like she wanted an answer to the question.

"I guess you could say that." Harry said, it was enough to stop the duo's word fight as they both looked at him before turning to face each other once more.

"In your face, Scott!" Kitty seemed triumphant. Scott just narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

"Why haven't you gotten a new one, then?" Jean asked.

"Haven't had the chance to, or even really wanted to."

"You're always wearing the school's clothes, too. Why's that?" Kitty asked, activating her powers, and phasing through all the paper balls that Scott was throwing at her.

"I haven't really had the chance to go out shopping." Harry replied. "In fact, I haven't left the mansion grounds since I got here."

Scott snapped his fingers and pointed at him, the paper balls laid forgotten. "Illegal! We must go and present the world to our indoors friend. I expect you all at the car within ten minutes!"

Both Kitty and Scott rose up and actually sprinted out of the lounge. Harry was left confused, staring at Jean who also stood up.

"Come on," She smiled at him. "Go get what you need and be outside in ten."

Harry shook his head and stood up, following their example, and going to his room. He fished out the suitcase beneath his bed and opened it.

There the charred remains of his clothes, his shirt and hoodie were completely destroyed while his pants had almost survived. The right side of the jeans were almost completely burned through, but the left side was almost completely intact.

His phone hadn't survived that night, as it was usually in his right pocket, but his wallet and credit card had, and his account still had some of his savings left. At least it would be enough to get a few clothes and a used phone or something along those lines.

Harry made sure he had everything he needed before heading outside towards the garage. Scott and Kitty were seated in the front of the red, open roofed convertible while Jean sat at the back. He hopped in the back next to Jean.

"Alright, let's go!" Scott laughed as he started the engine.