Chapter 008

"Err, isn't it a little inappropriate to call your teacher by their nickname?" Harry asked tilting his head at her.

"Probably," Babbling said with a one armed shrug. "But like I said, I'm closer to your age then I am to any of the other Professors. I was hired right out of school and I've only been teaching for a year. I can still get away with stuff like that – especially since Dumbledore really doesn't seem to care much. If he did he'd have to come down on Severus too and that's certainly never going to happen." She glowered for a moment before continuing in a softer voice. "I told you, Harry, I'm a prodigy and while I was careful as a kid, I still nearly killed myself twice before my 14th birthday. From what I understand you grew up Muggle so they'll never be able to understand or help you with your experiments. I'd like to do that, even if only so that you have a sounding board to avoid hurting yourself. You can call me whatever you want but I want to make sure you don't go through the same shit that I had to. Especially since you're likely going to have it worse and be a lot more proactive with your meddling. I just liked it and was really good at it. You quite literally speak the language."

"Here," she flicked her wand and four books zoomed out of a drawer to land with a thump in a pile next to her. "You can borrow these for a few months but I'll need them back by the end of the year. These books have some of the more advanced methods and I've bookmarked the rarer prime runes that you won't see so often in other literature. This is stuff I usually give to my O.W.L. students so don't be intimidated if it's a little advanced or confusing at points. I can give you some private lessons as well though I do recommend that you take at least this first year to just poke around on your own. You know, see what you like both in rune terms and more other magical subjects. My door is always open, Harry. Don't be afraid to come and ask for help or advice. About anything."

Harry stared at Babbling in wonder and reverently ran a hand over the books she had given him. "I…I…thanks, Professor…"

"No problem, Harry," she smiled down at him and hopped off the desk, "I may not be a savant but I do understand somewhat how it feels. And I really enjoy Ancient Runes. It's not a subject too many find entertaining so it's always fun to chat about them with those who do. And it's even rarer to find people who actively experiment with new clusters. For now, just remember to be extremely careful with energizing anything that you are unsure about. Don't get overconfident and reckless."

"Yes...Shiva" Harry said hesitantly. He started to head out clutching his new books.

"Oh, and, Harry? Don't give out all your secrets, even to me. You could probably make quite a comfy living off of marketing some of your future inventions."

Harry walked out his head spinning. An adult could be...helpful. And supportive. That was...that was just...Harry shook his head, narrowed his eyes again, and kept walking. Better not to think about it. If adults could be helpful...then something was very rotten in Surrey.

Before dropping his new books off Harry stopped in to speak with Professor Flitwick. He could feel sweat start to bead on his back as he sat down in the office. "Hello, Professor. Before I say anything else I wanted to apologize for what happened in class last week."

Flitwick's brow furrowed before he let out a small chuckle. "Oh the rune shortcut? Don't apologize for that, Mr. Potter. I was simply rather stunned. I didn't even realize you could do something like that!"

"Oh," Harry clutched his books a bit tighter to his chest.

"I see Bathsheda managed to tie you down long enough to give you some extra material. Keep up the excellent work, Harry, and please, if you ever need any assistance or advice let me know and I'll be glad to help in any way I can. Your mother was quite the charms mistress and while I know you seem to be following a different path I'm sure that some charm work could help your research at some point! At least, I certainly hope so," Flitwick said with a wide grin.

Harry finally smiled and let himself relax. "I'll be sure to consult with you if I need it, Professor. Professor Babbling offered her help as well."

"Yes, I imagine she would. We don't usually get two rune prodigies in such short order!"

"Err, she said I was actually a savant, Sir..."

"Oh even better!" Flitwick practically squealed. He almost seemed to be vibrating. "I for one greatly look forward to what you come up with, Mr. Potter!"

"Well," Harry said blushing and rubbing the back of his neck, "for the moment I'm trying not to get too complicated. Also Hermione is helping me with some of the Charms stuff I've had issues with so I probably don't really need to come ask about any of that either."

"Excellent, Miss Granger should be a prime tutor."

"Professor, you mentioned my mum...I have a notebook of hers that she'd left saying you might be interested in. If you wanted to take a look..."

"I'd be delighted to," the man gave a sad smile. "I am so sorry about their passing."

"Did you know them well, Sir?" Harry asked quietly.

"Your mother, yes. Your father, not so much. We got along well enough and I always had a good laugh at the pranks he and his friends pulled, but your mother was my star student. She was always trying to keep young James in line and she complained to me quite often during her workup to Mastery classes later on about his antics."

"Do you know if she ever changed her mind about my Aunt Petunia?"

"What do you mean, Mr. Potter?"

"Well one of her notes seemed very, very clear that my Aunt was to stay far away from me. Since I'm living with them I'm just curious about what happened."

"I'm afraid she never mentioned that to me. We didn't have much chance to talk though, after you were born. I know that Minerva, uh, Professor McGonagall that is, visited a few times afterwards. You could try asking her."

"I will, Sir. Thanks," Harry said.

"Now, about that Dueling Circuit," Flitwick clapped his hands together and a wide grin split his face. "Would you be interested? It centers more on wands than runes unfortunately though if the incident a few days ago is any indication your basic tactical sense is more than keen enough to take you far."

Harry bit his lip. He could do runes. Runes were easy. Coming up with defensive or offensive ones shouldn't really be much of an issue with a bit of time. But...he wasn't anything special with spells. Hermione or Neville or even Lavender could probably beat him with basic spells. "This is still all pretty new to me, Professor. Perhaps I could just get a few spells from you throughout the year and then we can talk more about it next year?"

Flitwick sighed. "Damn, well can't blame a man for trying," he chuckled. "One year I'll be able to claim that I trained the youngest World Champion, just you watch!" Harry laughed at that. "Of course, Mr. Potter, I'll gladly teach some of the more basic spells and we can speak again about competitions whenever you feel more comfortable."

"Thanks, Professor."

"Not at all, not at all," he said. "Now I believe it is nearly time for your detention so I won't keep you any longer. Let's have our first lesson say next Wednesday evening?"

"Sounds good, Sir. Can I bring Neville and Hermione as well?"

"Certainly." Flitwick's grin widened as he laughed again. "Who knows, maybe one of them will be interested in the Dueling Circuit...youngest Champion here I come!"

Harry walked into Professor McGonagall's classroom with a nervous shuffle. "Hello, Professor."