Epitome of a Soldier - What it is to be Necessary

Hi everyone :)

Thank you to those who were kind enough to leave me their thoughts though. It really does mean the world to me when you review so for you guys that did are letting me know how I'm doing, this chapter's for you :)

PantiesAreOverrated
I know it isn't true, but I wasn't going to spend any more time having the basics explained to Harry. And did that bit really annoy you so much that you couldn't being yourself to comment on anything else? ^_^;

Polka dot
I think any reluctance he may have had was over-shadowed by his bravado. I always imagined Sirius as the sort of person who would really enjoy a sex talk XD

Snivelly
I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much; I must admit that it's one of my favourites as well (and that's in any of my stories, not just this one). Ah, anxiety for what's to come; can't be sunshine and smex all the time, can't it? XD

dana_aeryn
I always like to improve on people's imaginations :D

DTDY
Thank you, I'm glad to hear it :)

thrnbrooke
I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint then ^_^

Kuromei
I know, Remus being anything but a bottom is rather mind-boggling isn't it? XD And Christmas school holidays usually last between 2 and a half to three weeks (depending on when Christmas falls). I may have extended it a little in this fic with the logic that a boarding school might give longer as students actually have to travel to get home. *hugs Kuromei-chan*

Let's begin, hmm?

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7th January 1998: Morning

The next morning, when Harry woke up, it wasn't simply because his energy was restored and he no longer needed sleep. It was actually because he had shifted and a sharp pain shooting up from the base of his spine made him freeze in position. A small wince creased his forehead as he slowly tried to settle back down in a more comfortable position again. He still felt rather tired, his limbs felt weak and oddly achy, like they had been stretched for a long time and were still recovering, and he had more aches in places he didn't even realise could ache. Nonetheless, he couldn't stop himself from smiling because he remembered the process which had led to his muscles and lower back aching so.

Harry idly wondered what the time was and started to consider getting up when he felt a stirring from his lover laying next to him. Green eyes glanced to the face of the sleeping blond to the expression which twitched for a moment before the mouth opened and the barest hint of a yawn escaped before Draco had turned his head away to muffle it. When the yawn had stopped and the Malfoy turned his head back towards Harry, his eyes were open and there was a lazy smile on his face.

"Hmm, good morning, love." He hummed happily and he shifted his body enough so he could sling an arm around his bed-mate's waist.

"Good morning."

The blond gave another contented sigh then and brought himself a little closer to Harry. "I think we should spend the rest of the day in bed."

"The other students return today, we have classes this afternoon." Harry reminded him despite the fact he thought the idea of staying in bed for the rest of the day was an awfully good one, if only because he knew moving around would only make various parts of his body ache more than they already did.

"We'll stay in until the last possible minute then, perhaps half an hour before lunch, just enough time to shower and dress." And with that decided, Draco settled back down and promptly shut his eyes again.

A soft smile curved Harry's lips as he copied the Malfoy's example and relaxed again as well. He snuggled against Draco who pressed a kiss to his head in return. If the morning was always like this afterwards, Harry decided that he and Draco would have to couple more often.

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8th January 1998: Afternoon

Harry was rather surprised by just how quickly he had grown used to Hogwarts not being populated with the other students and he had to admit he rather missed the quiet. With everything back to normal, he once again had to tolerate complete strangers greeting him in the corridors like they were old friends, he had to ignore the stares which still sometimes followed him around (though admittedly not to the extent they had during the first few months), and he had to put up with the level of noise which went hand in hand with several hundred teenagers being gathered in one space. At least there was a safe-haven away from the noise and it was where Harry was currently sitting in with Hermione; the library.

It was the first time they had seen each other since the Gryffindor had left for the Christmas holidays and so, predictably, Hermione was a bit more chatty than she usually was. "So did Draco like the gift you got him?"

"He was very pleased with it." Harry revealed, his eyes not straying from the book in front of him on the table despite the fact he wasn't actually reading it.

"Did Professor Black and Professor Lupin get you anything?"

"They gave me...Heirlooms, from my parents."

That news seemed to calm the girl somewhat, no doubt because of its rather sombre connotation and she paused in her barrage of questions. It wasn't long before she was biting her lip and glancing to her friend a little uncertainly though and only a second or two later and she was speaking again: "You know, Draco and I were talking the night of the Yule Ball, when you were in the Infirmary."

"Hmm." Harry hummed, more as an acknowledgment he had heard than anything else.

"The way you kept beating Ron in chess was quite extraordinary. Some say that chess is a good test of logical intelligence." Hermione paused again, still obviously hesitant about whatever it was she wanted to say. Abruptly, she leaned to the side and brought a book out of her bag. "I found this book during the Christmas holidays when I was out shopping for my parents. I thought you might like it, as a late Christmas present of sorts."

That finally prompted green eyes to glance up from his book and look over to the girl. She was still looking somewhat anxious and holding out the book she had bought with him in mind. Harry accepted it without word, admittedly feeling rather surprised on the inside, not that it was obvious on his face. "An IQ test." He said simply as he read over the title which told him as much.

"I know it's not really a traditional gift," the Gryffindor admitted. "But I thought it would be interesting to see just how smart you are."

"So you wish to study me as one might a Science project?" Harry asked without emotion, his gaze not straying from the book as he opened it and slowly flicked through the pages.

"Oh no Harry! I didn't mean it like that!" Hermione immediately disagreed, sounding anxious. "I just thought it would be something interesting to find out, for you and Draco as well as me."

Harry continued to simply look at the papers. Truthfully, his comment had been in jest but it obviously hadn't been taken that way. Perhaps it was his delivery that needed work. "I have nothing else of significance to do." He murmured as he lay the book out flat before leaning to the side in order to pull a quill and a fresh sheet of parchment from his bag which rested on the floor beside his chair.

"You don't have to do them if you don't want to," the girl continued to needlessly pacify. "I only suggested it because..."

"I would not consent if I was reluctant." Was all Harry said as he interrupted her.

Thankfully, that seemed to give the Gryffindor the hint as she fell silent. She did continue to watch Harry fretfully but she didn't speak and so it was a minor distraction, one which the Slytherin could easily ignore. So, he opened the cover of the book and was confronted with the first question; multiple choice. He found he barely had to think about it before he was able to write down the correct answer. It was only the beginning of the test though, the question would most probably get harder the further along he went.

And so for the minutes after that, Harry got on with the Muggle IQ test in silence while Hermione attempted to do her own school work but found her concentration frequently gravitating towards the stoic youth. The quiet of the library was disturbed only by other students as they moved around them.

Then, the quiet was broken more definitely by the clicking of heels as someone with a swift pace strode in. The clear arrogance of the sound told Harry that it was Draco who had just entered and, a quick glance over to the clock on the other side of the large room confirmed that it was five minutes past the time the Malfoy's class would have ended. Sure enough, the sound of the foot steps drew in closer and Hermione turned back to her essay having looked up at the blond's initial entrance.

"Good afternoon Malfoy." She greeted him politely when he reached them.

"Granger." Draco nodded in reply before focussing completely on Harry. "Hello, my love." He practically leered as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Harry's temple. He pulled away slightly once the kiss had been delivered and peered down at Harry's quickly moving quill. "What's that you're doing?"

"It's an IQ test, like I was talking about just before Christmas." Hermione answered on Harry's behalf.

"Ah, so you decided to go along with it." The blond said to Harry. "How is it?"

"Simple."

Draco grinned at the one word answer as he straightened up and moved to sit in the chair which was free beside Harry. "How long has he been doing it?"

"About twenty minutes now." The Gryffindor revealed, glancing over to the clock on the other side of the library.

"How much longer until he'll be finished?"

"Now." Harry said abruptly, catching the attention of both Draco and Hermione. "It is complete."

"You're finished? Already? That's not possible." Hermione said with a shake of her head. "With a hundred questions, it should at least take you an hour at the absolute minimum."

"That does not change the fact that I have already completed it." Harry said simply as he slid the parchment and book over to the girl. "If you are doubtful, feel free to check them."

"It's not that I'm doubting you Harry, I just don't think you really put your full effort into it." She sighed but turned to the back of the book and began to check the answers nonetheless.

As easy silence settled then as the Gryffindor marked the test and Harry and Draco waited, content to simply sit and not talk. It took about ten minutes in total and the Malfoy was just starting to get shifty and impatient when Hermione's expression took on something other than concentration. She suddenly looked very shocked and rather unnerved as well.

"So, how did he do?" Draco asked with great interest, assuming the girl had finished marking as she lifted her head from the book and parchment and set down her quill.

Hermione could only shake her head, her mouth slightly ajar and her eyes wide. "I...I don't know..."

The blond frowned. "What do you mean you don't know? I thought you said the test was accurate?"

"It is, it is, but..." Her gaze flickered onto Harry. "Your score's off the chart it's so high."

Harry seemed completely uninterested in that fact while Draco seemed unimpressed. "The chart probably isn't high enough then."

The Gryffindor shook her head. "No, it's not that. The chart goes up to two-hundred. Most Muggles considered geniuses have an IQ of around one-hundred and twenty, for Harry to have an IQ of over two-hundred...I'm not sure that's even possible!"

"Are you accusing him of cheating?" Draco asked her sternly.

"Of course not!" She denied, aghast at the accusation. "I'm just...I can't believe it's so high...But I suppose if anyone's going to be so out of the ordinary, it would be Harry."

That seemed to appease Draco who smiled slightly and gazed down at the young man he loved with a sort of pride in his gaze. Hermione continued to look fretful, almost as if the result of the test was something to worry about. All the while, Harry ignored what was going on around him completely. He hadn't needed a test to tell him he was intelligent and he saw no reason to get in a state over just how smart he was. It was just another thing that made him different from others, something he had long ago stopped caring about if he had ever cared about it before.

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14th January 1998: Afternoon

Divination was always a time of mixed opinions for Harry. Most of the time, he was sceptical of the practise but just when he was thinking about discarding its every merit, something would happen to make him think again and wonder if, perhaps, there was something more at play then mere dramatics and guess work. But such incidents were so brief that he would soon start to doubt again, only for something to happen to keep his interest up. It was a vicious cycle which could be quite irritating at times.

Another thing about Divination that Harry had mixed feelings about what his company during it. Neville Longbottom was his ever constant companion inside the Divination classroom and Harry both appreciated it and was greatly annoyed by it. Longbottom was a pleasant sort of chap who knew when to give up trying to goad Harry into a conversation. The young man was so terribly timid at times though and that was something which exasperated Harry. He saw no point in it and thought that it was merely a weakness which Neville could over come if he put his mind to it. The fact the Gryffindor was still like it at the age of seventeen merely made Harry assume him weak and if there were only two things the Boy-Who-Lived was intolerant of it was bigotry and weakness. He said nothing about it though, knowing to do so would cause nothing but problems and it was really none of his business since he only had to interact with Longbottom four times a week in Divination class.

"Harry?" Neville spoke from where he sat beside the saviour, who was concentrating on a book rather than their assignment of doing Tarot card readings, at their table.

"Yes?"

"What does The Death card mean when it's upside down again?"

"In what context?" Harry enquired, his eyes not leaving the book even once.

"C-context?" The Gryffindor repeated, clearly unsure about what Harry meant.

A light sigh left the Slytherin at that. He considered himself a very patient person and he was confident that a lot of people would agree with him. Neville Longbottom inadvertently managed to always get under his skin though. Harry knew it wasn't on purpose, he would have pointedly told the other young man to go away if he thought for even a moment that the behaviour was intentional. It was just that Neville was a bit...Slow, sometimes needing a bit of a reminder or a bit more explaining. Why he had to ask Harry and not Professor Trelawney though was something the dark haired saviour often pondered.

Despite his worn patience, Harry was fully prepared to answer his classmate's question but was prevented from doing so as Trelawney called their attention to the front of the classroom in her usual eccentric, overly dramatic manner. Harry wasn't sure if having to listen to the woman was any better than having to assist Neville but he turned his gaze to the front along with everyone else nonetheless.

"My apologies for asking that you sever your connections with the beyond, my students," the woman began to speak again once most people were looking at her. "But since we are coming to the end of the lesson, I thought it best to explain to you all your next assignment while we still have time. Following with our recent work on divination with Tarot cards, your assignment will be to do a reading for yourself and then to write an essay on your method and findings. Any layout may be used, allow the energies around to guide you in your decision. You are to record which layout you used and why and also, of course, the result of the reading and how you interpret it..."

"We have to do them by ourselves?" Neville said anxiously, drawing Harry's attention away from Trelawney. "I don't think I know enough to be able to do that."

"Professor Trelawney said nothing to forbid the use of text books or references." The Slytherin pointed out.

Neville said no more after that reassurance and Harry was quite glad for it. He doubted that the Gryffindor had spoken with the intention of fishing for an offer of help but he hadn't wanted the conversation to carry on just in case Neville had come right out and asked. Harry wasn't sure whether he could've remained nonchalant enough to refuse a request asked right out especially from Neville who may have had some annoying personality traits but over-all was a decent person. Just because Harry was stoic, didn't mean he was emotionally cold after all.

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14th January 1998: Evening

Harry sighed very lightly from where he sat with crossed legs on his bed, using one hand to open his text book on Tarot cards and the other to open his borrowed pack of Tarot cards. He thought it best to get the assignment out of the way so he didn't have to think about it anymore. The accompanying essay he would write tomorrow during his free period and so with Draco in the library looking for a book for his Arithmancy, that moment was the perfect time to do the actual reading.

He had chosen one of the simplest layouts he had been able to find, more because he didn't want to spend an age on the reading and the simple ones used only a few cards and little interpretation. The layout he was using was the four points of a diamond, and the question he had chosen to ask was:

"Who is the one trying to kill me?"

He imagined Professor Trelawney would appreciate the dramatic nature. The first three points in the layout represented the situation of the question in the past, present and future (each point representing one time) and then the fourth point was the best advice to go on to get the answer to the question. In this case, it would be the best way for Harry to go about finding out who was trying to kill him. In theory at least, Harry was incredibly sceptical on just how accurate it was all going to turn out to be.

So, he kept that question at the front of his mind as he cut the cards and then shuffled them, repeating two more times before he laid four of them out in a diamond formation in front of him on the bed. The first one was laid face down on the right, then the second on the left, the third above and the fourth and final below. He set the rest of the cards aside when he had finished. Taking up his parchment and quill, Harry settled them on his lap before reaching out and turning over the cards, starting from the first one he put down to the last one. What he found was:

The Devil in the first position, the situation in the past. The card's meaning: violence, extraordinary effort, force, fatality, that which is predestined but is not for this reason evil.

The Moon in the second position, the situation in the present. The card's meaning: hidden enemies, danger, darkness, deception, error.

Justice in the third position, the situation in the future. The card's meaning: equity, rightness, probity.

The Reversed Emperor in the fourth position, the best advice on how to deal with the situation. The card's meaning: benevolence, compassion, confusion to enemies.

Harry's quill flew over the parchment as he jotted down his notes quickly. It was only when he had all the initial information down that he allowed himself to really consider what cards had appeared and what they meant. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to relate to his life and situation. The card representing the past was quite fitting as a referral to the struggle against Voldemort, and considering that it was no doubt someone who had a connection with Death Eaters who was trying to kill him, it did apply to his current situation and his question. The card representing the present situation also seemed correct; his enemy was certainly keeping themselves hidden very well and was obviously doing so through deception which made things very dangerous for Harry. The card representing the future, well, he couldn't judge the future but everything turning out right and fair couldn't be a bad thing. And the card which gave the best advice, perhaps a bit disconcerting that it was advising him to be benevolent and compassionate at the same time but he thought that confusing his enemies would be a good move.

Now, all of this threw up a very interesting question in Harry's mind. Was it possible that there really was some merit to Divination and the cards were giving him ample warning as to what was going to happen to him? Or was it the more likely scenario in his mind that his knowledge of his own life was colouring how he was reading the cards? He had his own suspicions about the current dangers in his life and perhaps those suspicions were influencing how he interpreted the reading.

There appeared to be no immediate answer to the question of how accurate the reading was and Harry supposed it didn't really matter. He had done the assignment, he would have an essay to hand in and that was all that really mattered. As for whether he should take the cards as a genuine warning or not, to let his guard down would be a completely stupid thing to do at that moment in time anyway and so no warning, real or otherwise, was actually needed.

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15th January 1998: Morning

"Did we have a Potions essay due in today?" Millicent asked as she sat down for breakfast at the Slytherin table with the other Seventh Years.

"No." Draco answered when it became clear Harry was concentrating on stirring his tea and had no intention to answer (not that there had been any real chance of him answering anyway).

"Good, because I didn't do one." She said quite cheerfully, reaching forwards for a piece of toast.

"Don't you think it would've been a more intelligent to have asked that question last night?" Parkinson, who sat to the dark haired girl's left, queried, sounding condescending and superior.

Bulstrode shrugged at that while she loaded her plate with food, still chomping on the toast. "I could've whipped something up. Besides, I'm sure either Draco or Harry would've helped me."

"What makes you so sure?" The Malfoy challenged with a raised eyebrow and Harry paid attention if only because he was curious as to what made the girl so confident he would assist her with school work.

"Because you're my friends." Millicent said sweetly. At Draco's sceptical look, she gave a light huff. "Well, Harry's my friend at least, aren't you Harry?"

"I do not know why you assume such a thing when the fact I address you as Miss Bulstrode implies that I see you as nothing more than an acquaintance." Harry replied to that, his gaze not moving from where it was fixed on his tea cup.

"What's the matter, Potter? Too good for Bulstrode's friendship?" Parkinson sneered nastily.

"It may have escaped your attention but I am not one for friendships."

"Unless they're Gryffindors and Mudbloods of course."

"Those who result to slurs of house and blood do so because they are unable to think of an actual reason to insult a person."

"Are you implying something?" The blonde girl asked dangerously, her eyes narrowing into a harsh glare.

"I would have thought it was quite obvious that I am implying something."

"Well then how about you just come out with it and tell me to my face?"

"Now, now, Parkinson, calm down." Draco drawled then, effectively stopping the ever-heating confrontation. "There's not need to start getting so defensive."

"I'm not going to sit here and let him insult me!" Pansy said indignantly.

It was then that someone from somewhere in the Great Hall decided to note, very loudly, that the mail was arriving. Indeed, owls began to swoop down to various students dotted around the room, delivering letters and parcels. Rather surprisingly, three owls flew down to the older end of the Slytherin table and landed in front of Bulstrode, Parkinson and Goyle. They all quickly freed the envelopes and the birds once again took to the air.

"There, you have mail, concentrate on that." The Malfoy told Pansy carelessly.

"Who'd be writing to you?" Millicent asked with a wrinkled nose as she looked at the envelope the blonde girl was neatly ripping open. "All your relatives are in Azkaban."

"Not that it's any of your business, Bulstrode, but it's from my penpal." Parkinson said with a dark glare.

"I didn't know you had a penpal." Draco said and even if everyone else missed it, Harry caught the hint of suspicion in the Malfoy's tone.

"Well since you decided to terminate our friendship, I'm not in the least surprised by that fact." The blonde girl replied in an icy tone. "And why, might I ask, is everyone so intent on observing my mail? Both Bulstrode and Goyle have received letters and none of you have commented on that."

"My letter's from my maternal grandparents, they're Muggles so they, naturally, weren't caught up in the Death Eater scandal." Millicent revealed easily.

"Mine's from the Ministry." Goyle grunted, holding up an official looking document. "I have full possession of my parents' stuff since I came of age during the holidays."

"So you see Parkinson, your letter is really the only one that's suspicious." The dark haired girl summed up.

"I don't see why you should think me getting a letter is suspicious." Pansy said, her tone haughty.

"Someone had to have poisoned Harry that night just before the holidays and I think you're the most likely suspect."

All movement and conversation at their end of the Slytherin table stopped and that included a few of the Sixth Years who were sitting within hearing distance. Whether it was because people were shocked by the accusation or whether they simply wanted to hear Parkinson's reaction to it was unclear but Harry watched with disguised interest as the blonde girl seemed to be genuinely shocked at Millicant's words.

"I'm sorry, but what?" Pansy said in an overly controlled voice.

"Well, you're the only one with real motive." Millicant said easily and Harry watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she leaned back in her chair and set a somewhat triumphant stare on the girl opposite her. "Both your parents were Death Eaters and you were well on the way to becoming one. Not to mention you've disliked Harry since the moment you met him and you're clearly jealous about the fact that he's managed to take Draco away from you, someone who you've been firmly attached to for years now." The dark haired girl paused and nodded. "Yeah, as far as I can see, you're the perfect suspect for the attempted poisoning."

The silence in the immediate area resumed and lingered then as everyone awaited Parkinson's reaction with baited breath. Harry's gaze shifted from Millicent to the blonde girl and saw that although there were no tears in her eyes, it was clear Pansy was more than a little upset about the accusation. Perhaps because it was all true and she was scared of being found out. Or maybe it was because one she had thought of as a friend had suddenly turned against her. It could have also been from the sheer disbelief that someone could think her capable of doing such an awful thing as trying to poison a house mate, even if that house mate was Harry Potter.

Those who were waiting for a reply to Bulstrode's accusation found themselves severely disappointed when Parkinson did nothing more than stand up and make her way out of the Great Hall with long, quick strides. Many people watched her leave and when she was out of their sight, a low chatter broke across the Slytherin table.

"Are you all right?" Draco's voice murmured in Harry's right ear then.

"Should I not be?"

"Well, Bulstrode did just accuse Parkinson of being the one who tired to kill you."

"Yes, she did."

"And that doesn't bother you?" The blond checked, sounding surprised.

"Unless Miss Bulstrode has evidence to support her accusations, I believe all to be innocent until proven otherwise." Harry explained, lifting the strength of his voice slightly so that more people may hear. He didn't want a so called witch hunt to break out on his account and he didn't want Parkinson even more ostracised than she had already been that school year.

Glancing across to Bulstrode again, he saw that she looked a little put out by his words and he made sure to file that away at the back of his mind. It was true, everyone was innocent until evidence was produced to prove them guilty but that didn't mean that anyone was free from suspicion. Harry would suspect everyone until the guilty was named and proved beyond reasonable doubt.

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18th January 1998: Afternoon

Ever since he had recovered from his poisoning, Harry had been pushing himself with his wandless practice even more. Although he made sure to always keep his wand on him, he had to admit that he never felt completely comfortable when using it. Wandless magic was just so much more natural for him (and he did realise the strangeness of describing something which required so much effort as feeling natural). That was why he had been determined to master the ability. Perhaps not to his previous ability of being able to use it even within the confines of magical wards but at least to the level of being able to cast the basic spells wandless and wordlessly.

He'd already had some success. The saviour had managed to Accio his wand wordlessly on several occasions and he was also able to summon a Lumos without his wand though he did have to speak the word for the sake of concentration. He wanted to be able to do more which was why he was using his free period that day to practice in his dorm room.

Harry had a theory which might very well come in very handy in the future if he could pull it off. It had come to him when he had been practicing summoning his wand to him. Sometimes, the flight path of the object wasn't clear or could be obstructed. Surely, it would be far more convenient if the object Apparated to a person rather than simply floating/flying? Harry's plan was to try and make his wand Apparate from its spot resting on his bed and into his hand. Was it even possible? He wasn't completely sure but he was going to give it his very best shot.
Despite the hope he felt for his theory to turn out to be a reality, the majority of Harry's mind was very sceptical about his latest attempt working. So, when he held his hand out, concentrating as hard as he could with his eyes tightly shut, and then heard a crack, he was more than shocked. A second later and that shock increased when the sensation of his wand pressing against the palm of his right hand registered in his mind. His eyes flew open and, there it was, his wand in his hand, held in place by his fingers which had automatically curled around it.

For long moments Harry simply stood there, staring down at the wand in his hand with slightly wide eyes (though his expression was as neutral as always). Then, the reality slowly began to sink in and a smile curved the corners of the dark haired youth's lips.

He'd done it! He'd done what he honestly thought would have been impossible. Not only had he wordlessly summoned his wand, he had made it instantaneous! There had been no flight path, it was more like the wand had Apparated into his hand! He couldn't believe he had actually done it! It was incredible! He was so ecstatic, it even beat the day he defeated Voldemort (though that honestly wasn't too surprising considering that "battle" had been woefully anitclimatic). Could he repeat it though? It meant nothing if it couldn't be repeated after all.

Quickly, he moved over to his bed and set the wand down again. Then he resumed his previous position and went to hold his hand out towards the length of wood...But then paused. Perhaps he should test himself? He made up his mind quickly and turned to leave the room. He opened the door and slipped out before closing it again. Outside in the corridor, he held out his hand, closed his eyes and concentrated completely on summoning his wand to his hand.

Time seemed to stretch ridiculously thin. The actual half a minute which passed seemed like so much longer but that was all the time it took for the wand to suddenly appear in his hand with a very quiet pop. Harry's eyes flew open the moment he heard the sound and felt the wood in his palm and he immediately took in the sight of his wand resting in his slightly curved hand. His fingers curled around the length and a slight smile curved his lips.

Success.