HP: Harry From The Ancient House Of Black [ Chapter 55 ]

"Being one of our heirs can be very dangerous, as some of my children unfortunately learned. No doubt there are some that still believe that if you kill a wizard you gain his power through conquest."

"They are led by a misguided truth." Aries interjected. "Gold, heirlooms, lordships. Such things can be claimed through conquest, but to absorb another's magical core is impossible." He missed the sudden sharp look Godric gave him.

"One should never assume anything is impossible, Aries Black." There had been a certain emphasis on his name that did not sit well with the Black Heir.

Thomas finally regained himself and suddenly had a thousand questions for his ancestor, as Aries had when the portrait of Salazar Slytherin came to life.

Aries busied himself with a few of the books, after checking them for any wayward magic of course.

Gryffindor did not seem the kind to protect knowledge as Salazar did, but no doubt there was family magic that even Godric would not allow others to learn.

"What do you mean there isn't light and dark magic?" Potter's question caught his attention and he closed the book to look at the portrait.

"Well there is and there is not." Godric answered cryptically. "You have to understand that in our time, before even Merlin, dark magic was considered to be blood magic, something that was neither light nor dark although the evilest kind of magic could be accomplished through its use, but perhaps there is a better way to explain it." He paused for a moment and appeared deep in thought.

"Did you know in my time there was no potion to regrow bones or to simply mend them? It was more complicated than that. Spells that you would consider routine were ground-breaking at one point.”

“At one time such curses as the Bone-Breaking Curse and the Blood-Boiling Curse were not dark magic but actually spells used by healers. Sometimes they would need to break a bone further in order to perform a proper healing.”

“Other times a lord or lady had been poisoned and there was not enough time to brew and administer a healing potion, so instead the Blood-Boiling Curse literally boiled the poison out of their system.”

“Painful of course, but effective nonetheless. Countless other spells that in your world are no longer used to help heal but rather to harm did not always start out as such. Medicine is meant to heal you, but too much of it can kill you, the same goes for many spells of magic."

"But how does that explain the Killing Curse?" Thomas asked. "Or the Cruciatus?"

"It all goes down to intent. Despite the intent for the Killing Curse's creation, it was often used by healers during times of war.”

“Too often someone was in unbearable pain and there was no cure or spell or potion at the time that could save them. Tell me Thomas, would you rather die in agony or let a flash of green light take you into the after-life?"

Potter looked as if he did not like what he was hearing at all. "That does not explain the Cruciatus."

"No, it does not." Godric let out a sigh. "My boy, you see the world in black and white. During our time there were wars and mighty battles that held the fate of a country or the entire world as we knew it in balance. Men do unthinkable things in war and that is when they often realize that the world is a varying shade of gray. You're looking for an answer to support your own theory, as many do.”

“But it is one I cannot give. Magic is all about intent. You can have the power, the right wand movements, the right incantation and still be unable to cast a spell. You can use a curse such as the Killing Curse to kill an enemy in anger or to show the dying mercy.”

“Yes, there are spells meant solely to harm another, but that does not inherently make it dark magic. It is the intent behind it that matters. Perhaps it would make more sense to say that there is no such thing as light and dark magic, but rather that there are those people that are inherently good and those that are inherently evil.”

“And then there are some that fall somewhere in the middle, who are capable of both great good and also terrible evil. It is not the tool or weapon that is evil, but rather the person."

Aries did not miss the fact that Godric's gaze landed on him at his last statement. Potter himself looked confused, as if everything he had ever learned had been challenged.

"Maybe you will understand that one day Thomas Potter, Heir of Gryffindor."

….

The library of Hogwarts had been a disappointment since the discovery of the golden egg's clue, offering little to help him accomplish his goal of the Third Task.

It was just a few days away and he had still not chosen how exactly he was going to breathe underwater.

Draco had surprisingly taken an interest in helping him but after having most of his ideas shot down he had taken to playing with the Snitch he had nicked from the last game.

"Why can't you use gillyweed again?" Draco asked in agitated voice.

"Potter is using it."

"What about the Bubble-Head Charm?"

"Diggory and Delacour."

"So? Why can't you do it as well rather than wasting our time in the library?"

"I want to impress people Draco, using a simple charm won't accomplish that."

"Oh, my bad." Draco drawled. "We can't all be like the great Aries Black."

"I am pretty great." Aries said with a smirk. "Thanks for noticing Draco."

"Tosser." Draco looked up quickly and fumbled with the Snitch. Aries followed his line of sight and locked eyes with Arianna.

She looked horrid if he had to be honest. Her normal healthy look had thinned slightly, as if she hadn't been eating and the bags under her eyes showed that she still wasn't sleeping well.