Saviour of Magic

The Babbling Banshee

The second term at Hogwarts took off on a sombre and panicking note after the winter holidays. There had been no more attacks but everyone had heard and read about the attack on Potter Castle and the attempted kidnapping of Harry Potter and Dylan Lestrange.

"We won't be working in pairs today," said Harry, addressing the group which had dubbed themselves the Defence Association. "The spells I will be teaching you today will be dangerous and deadly, but they are something which you must know so that you can counter them. I don't expect you to learn the spells, but watching me cast them would ensure that you know how effective they are – and how effective you need to be in case someone uses them against you."

"What are we learning?" asked a seventh year Ravenclaw curiously.

"Spells which are not taught at Hogwarts. The Fire whip, the Bone-Breaking curse, the Blood-Boiling curse, the Organ-Liquefying curse to name a few, and how you can defend against them."

Hermione sucked in a breath. "But those spells are dark!" she cried shrilly. "You can't teach us the Dark Arts!"

Harry stood silently as he carefully tied his hair in a short ponytail. Taking a deep breath he said, "I'm not teaching you the Dark Arts, Granger. Those words mean nothing to me. There is something I want all of you to understand. Magic does not come in forms of light or dark. These brands are what witches and wizards give to magic which they don't feel is right for them."

"Magic is always in shades of grey. The balance must always be maintained because too much of either light or dark will have unhealthy consequences. Voldemort and Bellatrix are perfect examples of what could happen if someone uses too much 'dark' magic as you call it. This generation, filled with weak and close-minded witches and wizards, is what happens if there is too much 'light' magic. You can't learn one without learning the other. It would only be a cause for destruction."

"How will you fight an opponent who fires spells you can't even recognise? How will you treat a wounded patient if you can't even identify the cause? You'll be surprised just how much 'dark' magic is taught in Healing and Auror Academies. This is because without knowing the Dark Arts, you can't effectively defend yourselves against it. Magic is varied, with different forms, and is quite unpredictable. Without understanding both light and dark magic, you cannot strive for balance. And without balance, there would be no order, only chaos – like the war that is currently plaguing our country."

'Because that's what it truly is – a war between the Light Lord and the Dark Lord – with innocent people caught in the middle. When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers most. My mother's research was right. Without balance in magic, there would only be chaos. It is time for you all to open your eyes and stop seeing everything in black and white. If I was able to overcome my apparent blindness, so can you.'

"Just because all these curses and rituals have been misused by different people over time does not make them evil," said Harry clearly, enjoying the group's rapt attention. "Parseltongue is a perfect example. The language is feared in Europe and branded dark because of people like Herpo the Foul and Voldemort. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth and we considered him evil for a thousand years and how did that turn out? The language itself is very ancient and it has been used for a variety of purposes, the good and the bad. Healing magic using Parseltongue has saved so many lives over several thousand years. Protective enchantments created using Parselmagic are stronger than the conventional wards we have. Hogwarts itself has wards made using Parselmagic and yet we hate the fundamental thing which keeps us safe. What you might consider evil might actually be used for an act of good, and even if that happens, because of the stigma that is light and dark, it is not accepted. Again, magic in its purest form is just that, magic!"