Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Schooling with the X-Men
The first official school week started at the Institute and Harry attended a class with each of the instructors while getting to know the various kids who returned from summer break. Harry's experience with traditional schools ended when he was nine but he didn't find Hogwarts all that different from normal teachers.
From what Harry recalled, standard teachers would introduce information from a book then get the students to employ various means of memorization through lectures, notes, assignments, quizzes, homework, and exams. They taught uniformly and if the average student reached the minimum acceptable standards of comprehension, the teacher was considered competent.
Harry felt he should have seen this coming as each of the teachers were from the first X-Men team, but each had a completely different style of teaching.
Domino, also called Ms. Thurman, was the math teacher. Her own mutant power, according to her anyways, was luck. She demonstrated this by flipping ten coins in the air and having them all land on her desk, heads up. Harry's senses told him it appeared to be a subconscious based psionic field that telekinetically made adjustments to things within her line of sight that were advantageous for her. The subconscious was a lot more powerful than the conscious so it was a very impressive and subtle power.
Rather than give the class a hundred math problems and have them solve them all, she would give a single math problem and then tell a story about something that happened to her during a mission or event which had measurements that matched the story. After going over the story and solving the problem while doing so, she'd ask the class if a specific variable was different, how would the outcome have changed both in the equation and the effect in the story? Rather than just memorizing procedures, this got everyone to use all of their brain in thinking over the procedure itself making it easier to retain.
Dr. McCoy taught biology and chemistry. In his first class, he brought out a tank with a meter long squid and said the squid would be his teaching assistant. This caused everyone to laugh until Dr. McCoy left the room and the squid started talking and telling them what they would be going over that day. Dr. McCoy's preferred method of teaching was to draw out the innate curiosity towards the wonders of science to get his students interested in them and become more invested. This didn't work on everyone of course but it was certainly far from boring.
World History class with Colossus, known in class as Mr. Rasputin, was actually one of Harry's favorites. The man's distinct Russian accent actually made the subject easier to listen to and Colossus did not teach history in any way Harry was familiar with.
Rather than reading off each section of history piece by piece and expecting the kids to memorize it, Colossus divided history into a series of choices made by specific people and specific countries and the consequences of those choices. It was an approach Harry had not seen before but made history itself more interactive as Colossus would often ask the class if a specific person made a different choice, what could have happened as a result. In addition to making history easier to remember this way, it also showed everyone the long lasting impact of choices and their consequences.
Not that it was always large things. Colossus had a great sense of humor and would often point out small and humorous facts in history and their consequences as well. Like the fact that Benjamin Franklin was not allowed to work on the final draft of the Declaration of Independence because they feared he would slip a joke in there no one would notice until it was too late. Or that time when Napoleon Bonaparte and his top brass were thoroughly defeated by an army of 3000 bunny rabbits which used military tactics against Napoleon and his men because they were farm raised bunnies instead of wild rabbits. Or the fact that Hitler's over reliance on quack doctors and their drugs made him terribly gassy. Mr. Rasputin's class would often be filled with laughter and Harry was not the only one who enjoyed it.
Ms. Munroe didn't allow others to call her Storm in the classroom and taught English class which everyone had to attend at various grade levels though she also taught several other languages as electives. What was interesting was that a large number of students had noticed that she became more expressive and overall happier looking which made her classes more fun to attend. Although she had not yet mastered the tricks written in the text Harry had given her, just what she had already accomplished allowed her more ranges of emotion without affecting the local weather patterns.
Forge didn't care if you called him Professor Silvercloud or not but anyone who goofed off in the Physical Sciences class would suddenly find themselves 'volunteered' for a practical demonstration of whatever they were teaching that day. There were times when Forge would actively look over the class, hoping for a 'volunteer' to present him or herself, meaning the students were by far, the most well behaved in that class.
Something Harry liked about Forge was that the man himself didn't like Science books. Such texts had pictures and graphs and pages of information, but retaining such information through such media was difficult for most types of learners. Instead, every other class Forge would switch back and forth between a live demonstration and a lab environment. Basically, I'll show you first, then you do it. There were still students who had problems learning like this, but they often found themselves 'volunteered' to assist in the following class where Forge would thoroughly demonstrate through the volunteer how the subject they were having issues with worked. By the end of class, it was guaranteed that the volunteer would certainly comprehend the subject. Students who had trouble on their own would either have to study harder or risk getting 'volunteered.'
Physical Education was of course taught by Logan. Sometimes the age groups would participate in sports like basketball or volleyball. Sometimes the groups would be thrown into the new and improved Danger Room where Danger herself worked with Logan to make sadistic obstacle courses and hazardous environments for the students to navigate through. Harry didn't make too many friends in that class when they found out he was the one that helped Forge upgrade the Danger Room.
Mr. Worthington taught economics in a somewhat similar way to Mr. Rasputin in that he gave histories of various companies and the decisions those companies made and the consequences of those decisions.
And of course, Professor Xavier taught a mandatory Ethics class. In addition to requiring the class to familiarize themselves with specific source material, Xavier would often introduce an ethical dilemma a mutant with a specific set of powers might face and have the class discuss the long term and short term consequences of the various choices that could be made.
Xavier and Forge were the only two teachers who you could use the Professor title with because they had both produced works which had been published. Dr. McCoy had as well and could technically be called Professor McCoy, but he preferred the Doctor title.
Three days into the classes, the teachers unanimously decided to change Harry from student to teacher aid. Most of the teachers had such aids and they could always use more. After a round of discussion, they decided Harry would rotate between them. Technically he should have been assigned to just Dr McCoy or Forge but the group discovered Harry simply knew too much.
In his first class, Ororo asked Harry to list off how many languages he knew and then proceeded to quiz him on them. Although his accent needed work because he hadn't been to the regions, his pronunciation and ability to read and write each of the languages he listed off were all acceptable. He even listed off languages she didn't speak herself. Ororo didn't even know snakes had a language and had never heard of Gallifreyan.
Similar situations occurred in the other classes and Angel and Domino agreed they had nothing to teach him when it came to their own subjects.
When asked about it, Harry told them he was interested in teaching as well and wanted to learn more about the teaching styles of the X-Men. That was the final say which led the group to agreeing to share him as an aid. Of course since Harry actually had things he could learn from Dr. McCoy and Forge, they had priority. It was decided Harry would follow a two week rotation schedule where Tuesdays and Thursdays, Harry would assist Dr. McCoy in the morning and Forge in the evening. The other days of the two week schedule would have Harry assist the other teachers on various days and assist with setting up lesson plans and grading papers. This would continue for one or two semesters and next year Harry would be the full time assistance of Dr. McCoy and Forge and work on his own degrees.
Rather than go to a college or university, both Dr. McCoy and Forge were fully accredited to give out Masters degrees if Harry studied under them and if Harry produced a Doctoral Thesis that got published afterwards, he could theoretically get his own Doctorate without stepping foot in a college.
After classes, the Library study group would still form and Jean introduced Harry to everyone who easily took over for Study Head. Though she became a bit worried when she learned of Harry's transition to Teacher's aid.
Jean asked, "Are you ok with staying with the Study Group? I mean you're already pretty busy."
Harry easily answered, "Teaching is one of the things I like and something I could easily see becoming a career for me so this sort of experience is actually pretty good."
Jean didn't look convinced and conveyed telepathically, 'Are you sure you're not just saying that to get me to like you?'
Harry showed some real surprise and smiled back before thinking aloud, 'I really do like teaching but now it seems I really can't stop. Since I've found that I really like you as well, I see no reason to stop doing something that helps you like me.'
Jean rolled her eyes and turned away to hide her light blush and thought, 'As if you needed help.' Then her eyes shot up and she turned back to see Harry's smile which made her realize she'd conveyed that instead of thought it to herself.
And she promptly moved over to another desk. Harry's smile didn't wane as he pretended to ignore it and continue answering questions in the study group. It didn't take long for the returning members to figure out Harry was a Grade A know-it-all but didn't speak with any condescension when asked a question or when walking someone through an answer. Some of the kids were a bit peeved when they asked Harry a direct question and he showed them a different way to find the answer instead of just giving it to them, but they couldn't exactly fault Harry for that.
Saturday morning of the following weekend had Logan driving a nondescript car with Harry and Xavier to the West Salem Mental Institution. Harry had gone over Wanda's file and her reported abilities. High tech machines going on the fritz or exploding in her vicinity, structures breaking down or shifting when she got emotional, and strange phenomenon occurring when she fought back. These all looked like a severe case of accidental magic of a magical child. The thing was however, the MACUSA never came for her meaning her magic didn't register, she wasn't a witch. At least not in the traditional sense.
Harry was the first, and as far as he knew, only magical to awaken an X-Gene. There was no record of Wanda dying at some point meaning she was likely a mutant with a power that resembled witchcraft rather than a witch herself. There were other possibilities of course so Harry wouldn't jump to a conclusion before meeting her.
Logan explained how on the way, they would be checked for anything and would not be allowed to bring anything inside. Harry considered this and took out two Smoky Quartz from the bag he'd brought along. In front of Xavier, he made one glow and vanish back into his inventory and cast a disillusionment charm over the other, causing it to become invisible.
Harry showed his 'empty' hand to Xavier and asked, "Should I bring this along to use as an example when I meet her?"
Xavier experimentally poked the invisible stone and after a moment of consideration answered, "Yes, I think that would be acceptable."
After parking outside, Logan got Xavier in his chair and the three headed into the facility. Once they reached the gate, Xavier said, "Don't make sudden moves and follow us inside. They won't question your age if you don't bring it up."
Harry nodded back. A fifteen year old was not an acceptable visitor for someone considered to be dangerous inside a mental institution, even if that someone was also fifteen. On paper Xavier and Harry filled out the forms correctly and were properly documented, but Harry's admittance should have been rejected.
The only reason Harry could be brought here was because Xavier was willing to use his own powers to break the rules for him. Harry figured this decision did not come lightly or else Xavier would have introduced him to Wanda much earlier.
Harry considered the reason Xavier was willing to do so at all had to do with the quests Harry had done since arriving. Harry's original recruitment quest stated he had to show Xavier his magic, something he had not intended on doing earlier. Since then he used magic to upgrade the Danger Room and had successfully taught Rogue how to use her powers which Harry stated resembled magic he was familiar with. Three quests with three results which combined gave Xavier a great deal of confidence Harry could in fact assist Ms. Maximoff with her control problems.
The Ancient One and Harry knew the quests would have a further reaching impact than just the success of the required task. This meeting was certainly one of those impacts which to Harry meant that the quest giver wanted Xavier to ask Harry to help Wanda.
Logan remained outside the security area because he didn't get along with metal detectors and Xavier was led to a small room to wait for Wanda while Harry silently followed.
After thirty minutes, the door was opened and a teenage girl who looked more than a little sleep deprived wrapped in a tight straight jacket was brought in. The moment she entered, cracks started forming in the room and the door itself seemed to be heating up as it were going to melt. The guard moved to restrain her but Harry interrupted by grabbing and holding onto her instead.
She flinched back and struggled to get away, but not out of fear for herself. Her magics started attacking Harry and she knew he would get hurt if he didn't let go. The guard knew this too and the sight of Harry hugging her sent a lot of alarms off in his head and he moved to get her away.
Xavier noticed Harry's calm demeanor and motioned to the guard, "Wait!"
Wanda's magics sent the equivalent of a dozen spells with curse-like effects into Harry which should have twisted or burned his organs, shocked his skin, or broken his bones. Wanda kept trying to get away fully aware of what was happening but Harry didn't let up. She said, "Stop, you'll get hurt!"
Harry answered back, "Haven't you noticed yet? I'm completely fine."
Harry's magic defense didn't see much use but it was still much higher than his physical defense. Wanda's magic wasn't weak, it was at the level of a sixth or seventh year student which was remarkable considering the fact that she had no training, but Harry barely received any damage from it and what little he did receive was too small to observe and healed almost right away.
Wanda froze for a moment and paid attention to Harry for the first time, noticing that nothing happened to him no matter what her powers did to him. She met his gaze and didn't see any fear, only a kind smile. Even Xavier didn't completely lack fear in her presence. Her power was simply too dangerous and would make anyone unconsciously wary. Even her father, the self proclaimed Mutant Messiah, feared her and put her in this place due to that fear.
Xavier smiled and motioned to the guard, "You can go, everything is under control."
The guard didn't argue and left without saying anything else.
Harry released Wanda but took her hand and held it tight. In her eyes Harry saw a terrified little girl crying for affection she could never have which was why Harry wanted to show her she wasn't dangerous.
Wanda didn't move to shake off Harry's hand though she was still confused by it. Xavier said, "Wanda, this is Harry. He is a mutant as well and I believe he can help you with controlling your powers."
Wanda's frown seemed almost instinctive. She couldn't believe anyone was able to help her and she retorted back, "How can he help, no one can help me."
Harry put the hand containing the invisible Smoky Quartz behind him where only the Professor could see it and had it glow with Lumos for a moment before he put it back in his inventory.
Wanda hadn't noticed the glow behind Harry's back before Harry waved his hand over the door and walls which seemed to slowly fix themselves into their prior state with his Reparo charm. The room they were in had no cameras since Wanda's power would bust any within so Harry didn't have to hide his magic here.
Harry turned back to Xavier and said, "Can I talk with her alone for a few minutes?"
Xavier nodded, he already had quite a bit of trust in Harry and Wanda was still staring bugged eyed at the door Harry fixed. When Xavier left, Harry put a silencing charm around the room and transfigured Wanda's straight-jacket into a dress. He then conjured two comfy chairs and for his finale, he conjured a corgi which appeared in his lap and gave Wanda a happy bark.
Wanda fell back into the chair from shock and after a moment asked, "Is this real?"
Harry considered it while petting the fuzzy smiling corgi in his lap and answered, "That's a complicated question. But at the moment, the answer is yes." The corgi let out another happy bark.
Harry continued, "Although not exact, I can pretty much do what you can do, except under controlled circumstances. With training, you can also do what I can do."
Wanda stared at the smiling corgi staring back at her and when Harry released it, the fuzzy doggo jumped into Wanda's surprised lap and curled up. Wanda unconsciously started petting it and couldn't help smiling.
Harry continued, "There are a few reasons you can't control your power, the main reason is that you have no training, but the training else would be difficult because you are tied down by your hatred of your father."
Wanda froze at the mention and the chair she was in started to smolder. The corgi in her lap stiffened which reminded her there was a dog with her and forced her to take a breath to prevent herself from harming the conjured dog.
Harry shook his head and said, "The file I read on you says they've just been telling you to get over your anger of him, but your powers are fueling your memories of him which are in turn fueling your powers. I'm sure you've tried, but without a miracle or a telepath to deal with the memories, staying here isn't going to help you control your powers."
Wanda wanted to get angry but she didn't want to hurt the doggy so instead she started to cry. "I know. I've always known. I want out of here. But no one is willing to take me away. I'm too dangerous."
The corgi in her lap got up and climbed over her chest to set its head at her neck while laying over her torso. Wanda continued crying and wrapped her arms around the dog who knew she wanted a hug.
Harry Paused to go over what he could do. First of all, it was obvious why the universe wanted her trained. Her magic had Chthon's signature, she was the one Chthon intended to make a vessel. Harry hadn't caught it at first, but her file actually said she and her twin were born on Mt. Wundagore, the place Chthon's spirit got sealed the last time he tried to take over earth. That meant it was likely the Elder Demon God had a direct hand in the shaping of Wanda's power. From what Chthon had mentioned about how Chaos Magic and Wizard Magic were pretty much the same, Harry understood now why Wanda's magic looked like wizard magic and why she was so powerful without training.
Although it was the safest option, the idea of harming Wanda was never considered. He would ensure she was trained and able to resist Chthon should the two ever meet. The only question was how to do so effectively?
Harry spent a long time going through each possible method and their long term implications before eliminating the other choices and arriving at the best one. After unpausing, Harry said to Wanda, "How would you like a 100 year long vacation?"
Wanda's crying stopped and she looked up at Harry in disbelief and directly asked, "Are you crazy?"
Harry answered, "There are several ways to dull your anger, but most of them require messing your head in ways that neither I nor Professor Xavier would ever consider an option. The only other method left to deal with that kind of anger is time. I have a way for you to live 100 years of peaceful time, doing whatever you want and it will only take the span of a few moments. In that time, I could train you or teach you or just take you on walks on the beach and fill your head with experiences of you living a life. Once you've lived long enough, the memories of your father will be diluted enough to fade the bite of anger you have for him."
Wanda frowned and said with heat, "I will never forgive him."
Harry replied, "I'm not asking you to, but you can't let your anger at him determine your future. He is not nearly important enough to have such a large effect on your life."
That caused a light chuckle from her which Harry thought was quite the improvement.
After taking a few more moments to pet the corgi she asked, "How would we do it?"
Harry smiled and said, "I'll come back in a week and we'll do it then. I need to get some things for prep work."
Wanda looked disappointed she would have to wait but accepted it.
Harry asked, "Is there any place you'd really want to visit or live for that time?"
Wanda thought about it and answered, "Surprise me."
Harry nodded and got up from his chair. The corgi faded into the air as it was dispelled and Wanda got up just as the chair she was under faded as well.
Harry noticed her depressed expression looked over her attire before saying, "Take off your shoe."
Wanda gave a questioning look but did so. Harry cast a series of spells on it before finishing with a satisfied smile. Harry said, "Come here Twinkie." The shoe suddenly transfigured into a corgi. Harry petted it again and said, "Back to bed Twinkie." The corgi returned into a shoe and Harry handed it back.
Harry explained, "Using those commands aloud will change your shoe to and from a corgi."
Wanda raised an eyebrow and asked with a smirk, "Twinkie?"
Harry smiled brightly and answered, "Golden on the outside and white on the bottom. That and corgis are in fact twinkie shaped."
Wanda rolled her eyes but her smile brightened and she put her shoe back on.
Harry said, "I'll need to return the jacket too."
Wanda sighed and nodded. A moment later her dress returned to the form of a straight jacket.
Harry removed the silencing spell and opened the door to invite Xavier back in who had been chatting with the guard.
Harry said, "I have a way to help Wanda get control over her powers and even help her anger, but it will take a week to prep so I'll need to return next weekend."
Xavier looked over Wanda and instantly noticed a change in her demeanor. She almost looked like she had been smiling earlier. Xavier still asked, "What way is that?"
Harry answered, "I've already discussed all the details with Wanda and it is a way I know you would approve of. However the actual means is something I can't tell you."
Xavier looked over at Wanda and asked, "And you feel it is safe?"
Wanda sighed and said, "It sounds a thousand times better than anything else I've tried. And if what he says is actually true, then I think it actually has a real chance of working."
Harry noticed Xavier wasn't exactly intruding on his mind but was checking his overall mindset to determine if he was lying. Xavier more than anyone knew the dangers of 'quick fixes.' Of course there was nothing 'quick' about this particular fix, it only seemed that way.
Xavier seemed satisfied and said, "Alright, we shall return next week. Can you behave yourself Wanda?"
Wanda unconsciously moved her foot and said, "I think I'll be fine Professor."
With that, the group departed. Harry was aware that her heavily enchanted shoe would still fry every electronic within a meter of her foot, but since her power seemed to do so anyway, no one would really notice. The enchanted corgi had a constant silencing field around it so others would not hear its barks unless they were within a foot of it. There was another spell that would activate when someone came close and would cause the corgi to automatically change back into a shoe and slip itself back onto her foot. Of course, a shoe is not a fantastic material to stick such heavy enchantments to, but the effect would at least last a few weeks and give Wanda some company. Harry wasn't sure if he could stop himself from breaking her out if she was just going to go back to being all alone again.
Rather than return to the institute, Harry said he wanted to head to New York to get the materials needed to help Wanda. Xavier and Logan knew Harry didn't need a car to get around so they let him out on the road. Harry found a spot out of sight and opened a silver portal to a back alley near the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. The alley had a few Sorcerer spells that kept others from hanging around it as it was the standard arrival destination of Sling Ring Portals for the area.
Harry used his inventory to change into his robes before knocking on the door and waiting patiently.
An African man in a fitted martial gi answered the door and Harry said, "Good Morning Master Drumm."
The master smiled and said, "Apprentice Harry, welcome back. Is this a social call?"
Only the Ancient One knew Harry had reached the Master level and their pair had no intention of spreading that fact around.
Harry shook his head which caused Master Drumm to smile back, "It never is," before gesturing for him to come in. He said, "I heard about that matter with the demons. Most impressive."
Harry answered back, "The group I'm working with is very skilled. I'm learning a lot from them as well."
Master Drumm nodded back and returned to his own affairs leaving Harry to head over to the portal to Kamar-Taj. Sure, Harry could portal directly there, but that was a bit rude and since he was here to ask a favor, formalities should be observed. Especially since the Ancient One couldn't see Harry coming so it really would be rude to come over unannounced.
After making his way in, he asked Master Wong if the Ancient One was available. He was one of the few who knew that Harry was invisible to the sight of Ancient One and confirmed she was at the temple. Harry then asked politely if he could check if she had time to speak with him about a sensitive matter.
Wong returned a few minutes later and escorted Harry over and left the room. Harry took a steaming tea set out of his inventory and poured a cup. The Ancient One took a sip before giving a light smile and stating, "You must want to ask me something if you're using this tea. It is not so easy to find after all."
Harry nodded and poured himself a cup. To those he trusted, he was an easy man to see through as he disliked deception not based around a prank. Harry sat down and directly stated, "I found Chthon's future vessel and want to borrow the Eye of Agamotto to speed up her training."
Although it looked like the Ancient One was taking her second sip of tea, she had in fact only put the cup to her lip, fully expecting Harry to say something outrageous. This meant Harry didn't get any good spit takes which his prankster soul always insisted on trying for.
The Ancient One ignored the attempt and put down her cup and asked, "How will the use of the Eye be of assistance?
"Well, I wanted to invite her mind into my own and with the Eye, use Mental Infinity."
The Ancient One's eyebrows shot up and she revealed a slight smirk. Mental Infinity was not a training tool, it was an attack spell she created using the Eye and occasionally used on Harry when they sparred. Very few beings had resistance to time magic and Mental Infinity sped up the speed of thought by a billion times. One would think this granted the target an advantage, but in fact it would practically cripple the target. The body would ot be able to process such fast intentions and would not respond to the will to move. A person hit by the spell couldn't do much more than stand still and pray it ended.
The spell itself was quite cruel to use on anyone without a highly developed mindscape as it would trap them within their own body in a frozen world where they could do nothing but wait for the effect to end. Less than three and a quarter seconds under the spell would have the user experience a hundred years of frozen time.
Harry however was so used to pausing, a hundred years of silence didn't affect him much. He'd already figured out the trick to moving his body in real time with accelerated senses and could dispel the effect when used on him. The Ancient One got his permission before using it on him of course and learned that when Harry reached level 300, he would likely start fighting monsters made of time energy so he would likely have to face such effects eventually and the sooner he started to adapt, the better.
The reason of course Harry never used such a means to train himself was that Pausing was infinitely superior and didn't require the Eye of Agamotto to use. However Harry could not take the minds of others while pausing, even if he used Multiplayer with them. This was the only means he could think of.
Harry explained the details to the Ancient One and after a moment of contemplation, she answered, "No, I will not let you borrow the Eye."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone