Do You Come Here Often? (Sirius)

"Diagnostics is different from normal spellwork. You don't just release the magic, but you hold onto it. The incantation is 'Ostendo Totus'. Once you say the spell, you have to direct the energy toward the thing you're trying to diagnose. It's the same thing healers use, really. It takes some getting used to, but once you've mastered it, you'll be able to tell where a spell is and what it is. How Ostendo Totus works is, it moves ahead of you, but since you're still connected to the magic, you can experience what it's experiencing in a way. It won't actually hurt you, of course, but once you've learned how different curses work, you'll be able to tell what you're up against."

Sirius lifted his wand and cast a stronger version of the herbicidal spell - one that couldn't be stopped with finite incantatum. He added the growing spell, though it would move much more slowly this time. Millimeters at a time, instead of inches. He released the magic on the same spot, right in the middle of the clearing.

"Now, what you're going to do is point the spell directly in front of you. It will move on its own within the parameters you set. I'll teach you how to do that after you've mastered the spell. Until you've practiced fanning it out, it will travel in a straight line, so aim in front of you, but make sure the curse I just set is in the line of the spell. Then say the incantation and see what you can find out."

Christian watched as the destructive spell started moving again. He held his wand in front of himself and thought of the incantation that he was now to be practicing. He'd also been told by some of his teachers that he was to be working on his nonverbal spell casting and he was never one to skimp on the practice, so he decided to continue with this spell as well.

Ostendo Totus! he called in his mind. Instantly he felt a surge of power run from him through his wand. He almost lost it, but getting a firmer grip on his wand, he tried to direct the path of the spell, moving forward with it, and changing his position when needed. It was a rather curious feeling, when he came into contact with a place that had seen magic, he instantly got information in his mind that said what it was, and what it was doing to the area.

He continued to move around until he came into contact with the herbicidal curse. It hit him like a brick to the head and he had to get an even tighter grip on his wand and listened to what the spell was telling him. He moved forward and learned more about the spell, and learned a bit of how to stop it. He closed his eyes as he attempted to sort out the information. A few moments later, his eyes snapped open and the counter curse flew from his wand to the curse. He then added a growing spell of his own, this time verbally.

"Herbivicus!" He then turned to Professor Black and waited to see if he'd done what he should have.

Sirius was impressed, and Sirius was not easily impressed. He smiled and gave a small nod. "Nicely done!" he said approvingly. "You've got a real talent for this. Most people wouldn't have been able to do that on the first try!" In fact, Sirius knew very few people who could have done so well. Most people lost the link to the spell entirely on the first try. It was a wholly different sort of magic, having to hold a bit of it back. Took some getting used to.

Being able to read it so well the first time was equally impressive. He'd known just what to do to stop Sirius' curse. Yes, there was no doubt Christian would be aces at curse breaking.

Sirius gave another small nod and clapped Christian on the back. "I think you're going to make a fine curse breaker, Mr. Hill. The best thing for you to do now is going to be to keep practicing this spell and learn as many curses as you can so that you'll be able to recognize them when you find them. It probably wouldn't hurt to brush up on your defensive magic if you haven't done so recently. And counter-curses, of course. I'm more than happy to help you how I can. I could throw another test your way now, but I think you've got the idea. If you like, we could set up a practice time and work on some more advanced curses. Layered curses, that sort of thing. What do you say?"

A broad, slow grin spread across Christian's face. He felt pleased with himself now. He'd been able to do the charm, do it correctly and learn from it instantly. He wanted to jump up and down with happiness, but that seemed a little undignified for a seventh year on the verge of taking his NEWT's. He moved over to the fallen tree and sat once more, shaking his hand out. It felt a little stiff after performing the spell, but that vanished quickly. He looked at his wand, and then at the flourishing clearing that he was in and thought to himself that if he'd not been able to correctly deduce the curse, that would be spreading all through the forest right now, and he'd be feeling quite stupid, and very disappointed in himself for even thinking that he would be able to handle such a dangerous career. But he'd suceeded and apparently he was a natural!

"Thank you, Professor, I would appreciate any help that you can give me." He stowed his wand in its usual place and sighed. He was more than happy with his choice of career now. He didn't have to force himself to pretend to like a career behind a desk for the next fifty years, or even pretend that he liked a position that didn't require him to be inside all day. He was going to do something that he liked doing, that made him feel good and that would use his mind as well as his ability to use magic!

"How about you tell me what time would be good for you, since I know that you have a busy schedule as a teacher."

He grinned at the professor and winked. He felt much better now.

Sirius thought for a moment. Perhaps a standing lunchtime meeting would be best, if Christian didn't mind giving up his lunch. They could meet on Tuesdays. Tuesday wasn't too busy, and Sirius could arrange for the house elves to send up sandwiches, or whatever he and Christian decided they wanted, really. Sirius had always been partial to cottage pie, himself.

"How would you feel about a lunchtime meeting? I'll ask the house elves to send up food. That way neither of us has to give up an evening. Tuesdays would be best for me, I think. Though if that doesn't work, Thursdays would be all right as well. We can start this week looking at counter curses, and in the meantime, you should keep practicing ostendo totus. See if you can work on directing the magic and making it fan out. That's what you'll have to do as a curse breaker, send it all over a room. You're welcome to come and practice in the Astronomy classroom any time." Perhaps Sirius would even leave a few traps for him, if he did. Just some harmless things for him to find, if he could.

Christian nodded happily and thanked Professor Black. If only it were so easy to prove himself worthy of Lindsey. He knew that Iris Monroe was her best friend, and she'd probably told Lindsey about what had happened between them, though Christian didn't regret it for one second. He loved Iris, but it was only friendship, though he had the feeling that she'd been more attracted to him over time. He'd been extremely attracted to her as well when they'd slept together, but he'd thought that she'd not want to be with him and had just kept quiet. In time, his feelings for her best friend had grown to be very romantic, and he found recently that he wanted to know her outside of being just house mates. He wanted to kiss her, hold her hand, and be able to tell her how he felt.

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are good for me as well, Sir. I also have no trouble with a lunch meeting," he said, bringing himself forcefully back to the present time. He'd just have to learn to be more outgoing and assertive. He'd grown that way about his potential career and he needed to do the same with ever having a chance of proving himself with Lindsey Vanderbilt.

He stood up and cast the charm that Professor Black had taught him and moved around the clearing, trying to learn to expand it now. He felt a new sensation and felt a bit of magic over to his right. He turned that direction and let the spell do its task of telling him what the magic had been. It was a good spell, so he turned back forward and continued, trying to push it further out from himself. It only went a few more feet before it broke.

"Well, I got somewhere," he said, panting softly. "I was able to feel there was magic next to me."

Sirius smiled and clapped Christian on the back. "Well done! You just keep practicing that, and you should master it quickly." Sirius looked around the clearing. It was beginning to get late, and he still had grading to do. What was intended to be a short break had turned into a long excursion. That always seemed to happen to him. It got him into all sorts of trouble when he was young. He'd take off intending to run to the kitchens and get a quick snack and end up running through the forest of exploring a cave or going to Hogsmeade just to see what it looked like at night. He never quite understood how it was that that happened, but it never failed. He smiled to himself. At least now he didn't have to worry about getting detention for it.

"I should probably get back to my grading, Mr. Hill. I'll see you Tuesday; I think one meeting a week should be enough. I'll have the house elves bring us up some sandwiches and crisps and treacle tart. Don't stay out here too late; dinner will be soon and you don't want to be missed. Cheers."

Sirius headed back toward the castle, feeling good about his afternoon. He felt a personal sense of accomplishment whenever he could help a student. That was much more important than grading, he thought. He stepped out of the clearing and into the hush of the large forest, soon to trade the sounds of the wind through the trees and the babbling brook for the sounds of the water lapping at the shores of the lake and the shouts of carefree students. His smile deepened as the first peals of laughter reached his ears.