The Golden Snitch

Blank Pages and New Beginnings

'Harry, I would like you to try something this week.'

'Yes?'

'I would like you to start a new form of exercise, anything, so long as its non-magical. Perhaps walking, or maybe even find a muggle martial arts form, like Tai-Chi.'

'Oh.'

'Perhaps you could do some research? I think it would do you good. Meditative, without having to force it.'

'Oh.'

'Have you heard of Jackie Chan?'

'The muggle film star? Sure. He went round beating people up in a comic sort of way. Dudley used to watch his movies. Though it wasn't so comic when Dudley tried to replicate his moves on me. It usually resulted in bruises, once he cracked a rib. Thankfully he was too unfit to continue that phase for long.'

'I'm not suggesting the violence as a form of therapy. Rather, its about control and the flow of movement, it's about freeing your mind and being in the moment. Jackie Chan's disciplines are Wushu and Hapkido, they're only two variations of martial arts. There are many different forms.'

'Oh.'

'Do some research and have a think, we can always discuss it further next week. But do try to go for at least two walks this week. They don't have to be long, just half-an-hour. Maybe listen to some music and enjoy the moment. Look around as you walk, try to observe, I mean really observe, at least five things you see, and then four things you can feel. I want you to do this each time you are out walking, in such a way that you could write them down when you get home, if you wanted too.'

*****

Harry brought himself an iPod. He figured he deserved to treat himself for once. He also brought himself some walking boots, Gortex ones, but more comfortable and sturdy than his standard Converse. And he bought a notebook. He liked the feel of the leather-bound cover, the suppleness of binding, the smell of oldness. At the top of the first page he wrote 'See', and on the second he wrote 'Feel'. The first things he wrote in his book were 'Blank pages', 'Old leather', and 'Hope'. He kept the notebook in his pocket, next to the Golden Snitch that Dumbledore had bequeathed him.

He knew what the therapist was doing. They called it 'Grounding Techniques'. It helped if someone was having a panic attack: name five things you can see; four things you can feel; three things you can hear; two things you can smell; one thing he could taste. He hadn't had a panic attack, but he understood that he was being prepared in case that moment came. It meant they thought it likely to happen. He felt like a ticking time-bomb.

Of course, walking in Scotland was easy, so many hills. Minerva insisted he wore protective Charms: there were still Deatheaters out there being rounded up by the Ministry's Aurors. She also wanted to create a mobile Ward but he drew the line, the Glamour and a Shield Charm should be sufficient.

'After all, I am the Saviour of the Wizarding World.'

She pursed her lips, distinctly unimpressed.

Finding out about Martial Arts proved trickier. He found a Tai-Chi class but didn't like it, it made him want to giggle. However, relatively near to Grimmauld Place there was a school that taught Jeet Kune Do and Wing Chun, two disciplines practiced by Bruce Lee. Dudley had also liked Bruce Lee films for a while and Harry had secretly enjoyed them too. He liked the idea that Dudley had finally given him something worthwhile. Wing Chun was also known as 'Beautiful Springtime', it made sense to Harry; fresh beginnings, new life. Minerva agreed to set up a Floo network to Grimmauld Place from the year eight common room. He started going twice a week.

He took up swimming too. He liked to go down to the Black Lake and swim far out into the centre. Minerva made him wear a wet suit and he learnt a Body-Warming Charm from Poppy Pomfrey so he didn't freeze. It seemed that no matter how warm the summer got in Scotland, the lake seemed to remain just above freezing level. Still, he liked the way it cleared his lungs when he would dive in from the jetty near the boathouse.

The only thing that really began to seriously bother Harry was how to carry his wand. He didn't feel secure without it bodily close, and that was impossible in muggle classes or when he was swimming and, as the balmy June weather hit in, it was too inconspicuous to carry it openly when he was out walking in combats and a short-sleeved tee-shirt. One week he felt the first flutters of panic. He nearly didn't make it to his Wing Chun class. That night, as he lay in bed, he came up with a solution but, once more, he needed Minerva's help.

In June 1998, Harry got his first tattoo. He went to a muggle tattoo parlour and lied about his age. The artist carefully replicated an exact image of his wand onto his forearm, no questions asked, but then again, the artist was used to the weird and the wonderful. If Harry laid his wand on top of the tattoo, they fitted together exactly. The artist was outstanding, it was hard to tell the difference between the real 11" holly wand and the inked version on Harry's arm. From there he and Minerva came up with away to transfigure his actual wand into the tattoo. Then, should he need it in a hurry, a silent incantation and a rapid figure of eight movement with his thumb brought the wand directly into the palm of his hand. Minerva was impressed, Harry's spell work was far more advanced than N.E.W.T. level, not just the invention itself, but his ability to cast more complex silent spells and channel wandless magic.

*****