A Helping Hand

Chapter 12

It would have been nice to say that Harry was instantly able to adapt and fully utilise his newfound umbrakinesis, from even the moment when he fell out of the shadows. Alas, that was not the case. Indeed Harry fell and collapsed in a ragged heap, whilst Aragog watched on with a surprising level of concern. He seemed to be inclined to allow Harry to recover in his own, which only took a few minutes.

Harry stood, his knees almost buckled under him, but he was able to stand firm and await Aragog's instruction. Well, he was physically ready. Inside, he was emotionally drained, what he had overcome mentally exhausted him, he was practically a shell on legs. But he drove himself to push through it, to keep fighting, to become stronger. Although hunched over, hands on his knees, he looked up to meet the impressed gaze of Aragog.

"Child I congratulate you. You are the first human to gain such powers in a very long time. But just because you have said (Austin) powers, doesn't mean you can yet use them. You remember how I sliced apart the stump with a shadow, as a demonstration. Now, you try to replicate that."

Harry nodded before he took a deep breath in, concentrated on summoning the shadows around him, and then raised an arm and fired. To Aragog's surprise, a shadow did leap from his palm but it weakly dissipated against the stump it was meant to slice apart. Harry fell to his knees, the effort had taken far more from him than he had expected, but when he looked towards the spider, Aragog was still wearing an impressed, satisfied look.

Breathing heavily, Harry voiced his confusion.

"Aragog...why are...you smiling? That was rubbish, I barely produced a shadow and then I collapsed." He studied his palms once more, as if he was trying to find what had gone wrong. Annoyed at his weakness, he looked back at the spider.

"Child, surely you did not expect to master this on your first attempt? Umbrakinesis can only be mastered through effort and practice. Admittedly, you are a special case and it will come much faster to you, but you will still need practice."

"But the First Task is only a week away!" Harry said heatedly, "I'm not strong enough to take on a dragon? Surely there has to be some way to boost this?"

Aragog rose up on only two legs, towering over Harry and it would have been incorrect to say Harry was not afraid, as he took several steps away from the angered Acromantula.

"No. You cannot cut corners to power. You will not search for some way to cheat your way to victory, a Blessed will not do that. Are study, effort and practice is your only option. Do not ask such a thing again or I will refuse to teach you further. I will tell you this before you go; there is no hidden secret, no ultimate method. You must forge your own path, it cannot be spoon fed to you. Now leave, you must practice and come to your own realisations."

And so Harry did. In the week leading up to the First Task, Harry barely left his tent, speaking to no one as he desperately practiced and practiced some more. But for all his effort, it seemed as if it would be in vain, as he found himself the evening before the First Task, having made virtually no progress.

Not until the stroke of midnight.

Harry, summoning the shadows for what he decided would be the last time this evening, went through the motions, raising his hand, channelling the magic and fired a bolt at the tree stump he used to practice. So far, the stump had remained undamaged, the shadows either breaking apart as soon as they struck the tree, or when he was lucky, weakly chipping into the bark. But the stump would remain undamaged no longer. The bolt, black as the wine dark sea, sharp as a knife, sliced through the stump. For a moment, all was still. Then, with a soft sigh, the two halves of stump slid apart, landing on the ground with a muffled thud.