Seeing Daphne's raised eyebrow, Harry raised a hand, green cables creating a complex pattern. "I can see magic as threads. As guests in my mind, you can see them as well if I wish it."
Tracey reached out and tried to touch one of Harry's ropes. He obligingly moved one over for closer inspection. "I... I still can't touch it."
Harry shrugged. "Unless you will it, magic pretty much doesn't touch anything. It's why science has a hard time believing it exists, since it doesn't naturally interact with the world. Or at least, that is MY opinion on why science can't seem to handle it."
Daphne looked down. Her core had... streaks. The blue looked like water almost, but the black looked like hard stone that somehow flexed. Like obsidian. Her core was... beautiful. Chaotic though, like it was fighting itself.
Tracey was poking Daphne, trying to make her core move. After a couple of swats she looked down at her own... it was pink, like a blushing cheek, and almost tube shaped. She frowned. That... didn't seem right somehow.
Harry gave a smile. "So who wants their core stabilized first?"
Tracey raised her hand. "Please... something looks wrong about mine. It... just wrong."
Harry gave a sharp look, eyes glowing a fierce green. "Oh... oh. Yes. One second." He raised a hand absently and both girls heard a woman call. "Be there soon Harry!"
Daphne paused. "Um. Potter, who was that?"
He looked away from a slowly blushing Tracey. Having his eyes look inside her made her feel... interesting. "I have created avatars in my mind. That was Wisdom. She organizes my mental library and helps me research."
Half way through his words Daphne saw a fairly attractive librarian walking up from some sort of door into the grass... grass? The world had a crystal blue sky with clouds, green grass everywhere... wow she had been distracted.
The librarian smiled. "Hello Daphne, Tracey. Thank you both for helping Harry get the information I need, it has been very useful." She affectionately ruffled Harry's hair. He rolled his eyes.
Tracey relaxed a bit. "Well, we didn't know we were passing it along, but glad to help!" Harry waved Wisdom closer. "Do you recognize what this core shape means?"
She leaned closer to a now nervous Tracey with analytical eyes. "Well it is very unstable. If she received a huge shock to her system, or if she cast a spell too powerful or for too long, her core could collapse."
Daphne gasped and held Tracey's arm tightly. Tracey's face went pale. "My Gran Gran died that way. She tried to stop Death Eaters from hurting my mom." Her eyes started to tear up. "She didn't make it. Without her magic, she was too old."
The crying girl was hugged by Daphne, who was looking at Harry with desperation. "You said you could help, right? You can fix this? RIGHT?"
Harry gave her a solemn nod. "Of course. Tracey, please stand." Holding back sniffles, she stood with Daphne's arm around her. Harry motioned her back. "I don't want to have anything happen during this, so give a bit of space, ok Daph?"
With her quick nod, Harry reached forward to Tracey, a hand on either side of her face. Gently raising her to look into his eyes, he smiled.
Tracey could feel his hands calming her again. The tightening in her chest was gently relaxing... Oh that smile. Her heart fluttered slightly, her skin tingled... suddenly warmth spread through her skin. Every inch his hands touched on her face began warming as if relaxing on a hot beach in summer...
POWER. Her whole body was being hugged, her SOUL was being held tightly and gently. Her body twitched slightly as her muscles tried to somehow be even MORE embraced by this... this WARMTH. Things were shifting in her, moving... it was like a kink was gone, like a strained muscle was relaxing. Her body was... so relaxed.
Daphne watched closely, her chest tight with worry as her best friend was being almost cradled by Harry Potter. His power flowed like green ribbons, surrounding her, holding her... as the light faded, she rushed back in and hugged her. "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Anything?"
Tracey's face was almost glowing. "Now THAT was... wow." Her eyes got a mischievous glitter. "Harry, you're hired."
His face was blank. "What?"
She grinned past a stunned friend. "Whatever you just did, do that forever. Daily. WOW that felt awesome."
His blush was epic. Daphne wasn't far behind. "So... I assume no pain then?" Tracey looked down. Her core was now a perfect sphere, with three pink ropes and lots of pink threads... it almost looked like a pink furry bunny or something. "Honestly, I feel like something that was hurting for years just got better. And I didn't even KNOW it!" Her eyes were starting to glisten a bit, but she didn't seem to notice. "Harry, if you ever need a favor, let me know."
Harry grinned and squeezed her shoulder. "Anytime, Tracey."
Tracey nodded. "Now do that amazingness to Daphne. I want to see her face."
Daphne almost eeped before swatting her friend. "Shush you."
Harry grinned at the relief he could feel from both girls. "So Daphne, what do you want to do with your core? You seem to have two colors. Do you want to blend them, or make them more separate?" She looked down, stepping away slightly from her friend. "I'm not sure... what do you think?"
Harry shrugged. "Combining would be easy, but I bet there are cool things each color can do the other can't... or can't that well. I would keep em."
Daphne took a deep, slightly wavering breath and stood tall. "Then try and keep them separate, please. I wouldn't want to lose an advantage in the future."
Harry had a soft smile on his face as he reached out and cradled Daphne's cheeks. He barely registered her blush as he began to focus.
Oh Merlin he is RIGHT THERE... oh that smile... His hands touched her face and she could feel her whole spine tingle, like someone had just played an amazing song that somehow shook her soul. His skin was so warm it was like a hot cooking stone. It was like a wall of soft stone collapsed on her. Soft sand, warming her, wrapping around her limbs, her arms, her thighs... warm, slightly pulsing... Harry's heartbeat? Against her skin she felt emotions of care, of warmth, of affection. She felt as if the world was falling away as those green eyes slowly filled the universe. She gave a small sound, a sigh? a moan? It felt amazing. Somewhere in her chest she felt something pulling, tugging... just gently massaging her, as if she were covered in warm oils and being rubbed to tenderness.
She almost passed out.
As she refocused on the grass below her, she realized there was a giggling... Oh Merlin. "Tracey, you saw nothing, heard nothing, you were never here."
Poor Harry looked painted red. "Um. That was... well, that was new. Never felt like that before."
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