Harry was glad that Sirius was able to stay with him for a little longer in order to be there for him as he would be first trying to use his powers. Krinos would be the one actually training him since they were close in age, so that meant Krinos could give him real-life examples of how powerful Harry would be as a fifteen-year-old.
While Krinos was actually going to be teaching Harry about his magic, Sirius would be with Olivia as the two of them would start to try and find some ways to out Dumbledore from his positions in power. They needed to try a legal route to do so since outing him in another way would only lead to him being a martyr since he would be able to make himself look like a victim instead of a villain.
Plus, since Olivia had offered him sanctuary in magical Greece and Sirius had accepted, that meant that there was no threat of Sirius being arrested again. They did still have to worry about any political backlash that they would get from that, though. Especially since magical Britain still had that "kiss on sight" order for him.
Though, in the words of Olivia, "Dementors are horrible creatures that need to be destroyed because any being that has the power to suck out a person's soul does not deserve to be in the land of the living." And honestly, Harry agreed with her. Even though the dementors are guards for Azkaban, he did not think that even those prisoners deserved to be treated that way. Always cold, forced to relive their horrible memories over and over again, having their souls sucked out if it was ordered. He thought that was heartless even for a place like magical Britain.
"It actually is a very good thing that you think like that, Harry," Krinos tells him after he told him his opinion.
"Really," Harry was shocked. "Why?"
"Because having a good heart is what makes a good person," Krinos smiled at him. "Being a mystic soul comes with a natural duty to protect the innocent. Demons only care about themselves and they hurt anyone and everyone around them. So, mystic souls are like the protectors of the magical world."
"People have told me that I have a 'saving people' thing," Harry chuckled.
"All mystic souls have natural instincts like that," Krinos tells him. "I can't tell you how many lives I have saved when Melody and I go out to fight demons."
"What type of demons have you fought," Harry was curious.
"Honestly, you lose track of how many types of demons you fight after a while," Krinos laughed a little. "There are so many demons out there that it's impossible to keep track of them all."
"I already have heard about some of them," Harry says. "T'challa and Hawk both talked about a spider demon that attacked the school."
"Yeah, that had not been the most pleasant of experiences," Krinos rubbed the back of his neck. "No one in the school liked spiders before and definitely no one liked them after that. Tends to happen when you are wrapped up in spider-web cacoons. Sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it."
"Remind me never to introduce you to the acromantula nest in the Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts," Harry said.
"I do not even want to know why there is a nest of giant spiders at your school," Krinos shook his head.
"So, what about the other demons, you've fought," Harry asked.
"There have been many," Krinos tells him. "And of all different kinds, as well. Probably the ones that I remember the most would be the demon of fear, the demon of illusion, a demon sorcerer, a demonic alchemist, and there was even a shapeshifter demon that had been after Pandora's box."
"Wasn't that box opened thousands of years ago," Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Pandora's box is more than just what the myth says that it is," Krinos explained to Harry. "It still contains all of the world's evils, but it also contains the worse of each of the evils. Such as with sorrow, it keeps literally everyone on Earth from falling into a deep depression at the same time. And with anger, it keeps a literal worldwide war from breaking out. What Pandora's Box does is stop the evils from becoming a worldwide plague."
"You really know a lot about all of this," Harry really liked Krinos and was glad to have him as a friend.
"Well, other than just how I have always loved to read, I was born and raised in Greece," Krinos chuckled. "I was literally raised on this stuff. After all, what mundanes see as mythology is actually our history."
"Plus, it probably also helps that Olivia is a time mage, right," Harry chuckled.
Krinos nodded as he chuckled as well.
"You got that right, Harry," he said. "It also leads to a very interesting family photo album. Olivia once even took us to the opening of Disney Land in California back in the 1950s."
"At least you, Melody, and Olivia have your own little family to have those memories with," Harry softly smiled at Krinos.
"Yeah, I know," Krinos sighed. "And they're great and all... but..."
"But you still miss your parents," Harry understood what Krinos could not say. "That is something that I can understand more than others. It is always the biggest 'what if' about what would life would be like with our parents."
"As much as it is tempting, both Melody and myself know that it would not be right to use Olivia's powers to rescue our parents," Krinos says. "I am sure that Olivia has told you about how sacred the timeline is. Everything happens for a reason. That is what we learn as mystic souls. Plus, we also know that saving our parents would probably lead to some very unintended consequences."
"The Butterfly Effect, right," Harry guessed.
Krinos nodded. "Saving our parents would already cause one thing to happen. Our older brothers would not be sent to prison and who knows what damage they would do if they were allowed to just walk around and be free."
"I feel so bad for Olivia," Harry said. "With powers like hers, it must be so hard for her not to give in to try and change things to make them better, only to make them worse instead. Like getting rid of Hitler before he starts World War II or keeping the Titanic from sinking. Lots of things."
"The risk is just too big," Krinos says. "Let this be your first real lesson about being a mystic soul, Harry. Even with powers like ours, we are not gods and we can not just do whatever we want whenever we want. Our duty is to protect the innocent, protect each other, and protect magic. We can not just use our magic to do things like winning the lottery, torture innocent people to make them obey us, force people to fall in love with us, or anything else that is completely and horribly selfish."
Harry honestly felt really bad for Krinos, Melody, and Olivia. The three of them were obviously very noble, kind, and great people. So, to actually be able to do something about their parents and yet were not able to because it would lead to something worse happening. For something that they all desperately wanted to be so close and yet so far must have been torture for them. So, them being such great people even with that type of sorrow in their hearts really showed how amazing they all were.
"I will make sure to take each and every single one of your lessons to heart, Krinos," Harry tells him.
"Good," Krinos managed to smile at him. "Because I will not be holding back on the amount of knowledge that I will be shoving into that skull of yours, Harry. I know you are smart enough to handle everything I throw at you."
Harry chuckled at what Krinos was saying. He knew that Krinos was about half-joking and half-serious with what he was saying. He would be teaching him a lot, but he would still be doing it at a pace where he would still be able to learn rather than just forgetting everything that he had been taught after he would fall asleep that night.
The two of them had been heading to the Crystal Rose Garden in order for Krinos to start teaching Harry about his powers. Harry already knew that this was going to be so much fun. He had already seen some of the things that Krinos was able to do with his powers, so he really wanted to see more of that while Krinos was teaching him.
The two of them entered the garden and Harry could almost see Krinos already getting a boost of energy. Something that he probably needed after using a lot of magic from the ritual used to get rid of the block and the Horcrux. So, being around so many plants would help him regain a lot of his energy and magic power.
"I am actually honestly surprised that my powers are not already acting up," Harry admits. "I thought that once they were unblocked, the weather would already be acting weird."
Krinos chuckled. "While magic tends to do what it wants a lot, you also are used to subconsciously controlling your powers. You have been able to call on them in the past even with the block, so you already have a basic level of control."
"Well, at least you are not starting off from scratch with teaching me," Harry snickered at his own joke.
"That definitely does help," Krinos said. "But, you will still need to learn better control. Because just as when you had called that lightning bolt as well as when it started to thunder earlier, your powers act up when you get emotional. Anger being your biggest trigger for your powers."
Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Yeah, I figured that out pretty quickly," he said. "I just hope that I learn to control my magic enough so that I do not accidentally zap Ron, Hermione, or Ginny the next time that they decide to be annoying."
"I highly doubt that they 'decide' to be annoying," Krinos says. "Especially because they are always annoying. I think they are just naturally like that with no choices involved at all."
Harry laughed at that. He did honestly think the same thing. Those three were definitely way too annoying for them to ever actually choose that. As Krinos had just said, they could only be that annoying if they were just naturally that way.
"So, if anger is my biggest trigger for my powers, should I try and be angry whenever I try and use them on purpose," Harry asked Krinos.
"That's actually a very bad idea," Krinos tells him. "Since our powers come from our emotions, then relying on negative emotions would cause our magic to be less controlled. Emotions like anger, sadness, and heartbreak have been known to cause our powers to react, but not in stable ways. Those types of emotional magic can cause our powers to go beyond our control. There was once a fire mage that believed that negative emotions were the best way to fuel her powers. But then she ended up losing control and burning down an entire forest because she did not have control over her fire."
"Oh," Harry nodded in understanding. "So, I would need to find a better trigger for my powers in order to have better control."
"Exactly," Krinos said. "And once you find the right trigger, that will make it easier for you to be able to easily use your powers. And then eventually, you will not need a trigger at all and your powers will come as easily as it is to breathe."
Krinos then waved his hand and the plants around them all grew three times their size. And even some plants that looked like they needed some water sprung back to life from his magic.
"Your powers really are amazing," Harry would never get used to seeing such amazing magic.
"In every generation of the Gardna family, there is always someone born with nature magic," Krinos tells him. "It is something passed down from generation to generation since our ancestor, Calliope Gardna, was one of the Olympian Mages that founded the school. She was the one said to have been blessed by Demeter, the Greek goddess of nature."
"That is so cool," Harry was amazed the more that he learned.
"All of the Olympian Mages were said to have been blessed by the gods," Krinos tells him. "It was why they decided to open Crystal Rose. So that they could share their knowledge and experiences with the next generation."
"You did say that the school has been open for four thousand years," Harry remembered from the tour. "That is very impressive for any school."
"Crystal Rose is one of the oldest magic schools in the world," Krinos said. "A fact that everyone that attends and teaches here is very proud of."
Harry definitely got more and more impressed with everything that he learned. Crystal Rose was such an amazing place. That only made him even angrier with the person that put the block on him. Sirius had told him that his parents were very accepting of him being a mystic soul, there was no way that they would block their son's abilities when he showed that he was one as well. And since Dumbledore was the only one that knew where he had lived in the muggle world, he was the only one with the power to place the block on him.
What Harry didn't notice was that his focusing on his negative memories and feelings was making his powers react. The sky over the garden was darkening as dark clouds rolled in overhead. There was also the sound of thunder.
"Harry," Krinos put his hands on his shoulders, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Harry was quick to figure out what was going on and he took in a deep breath to calm down. The skies soon cleared up again.
"Sorry about that," he apologized.
"You can't help it, Harry," Krinos comforted him. "If anything, this is showing you that you have a starting place from where you can grow in terms of controlling your powers."
"I wish that I had powers like yours," Harry tells the nature mage. "Weather control is not as beautiful as nature magic."
"All magic has beauty in it, Harry," Krinos says. "Just as all magic has destruction as well. As a nature mage, my powers are the prime example of my favorite saying. 'Every rose has its thorns.' I live by that."
Krinos snapped his fingers and a cactus instantly sprouted from the ground between him and Harry. Harry was shocked at first, but then other plants around the garden started to glow. Music started to fill the air as the plants all magically let out the perfect melody. If Harry had not seen a similar thing happen back at Number 12, he would have been so confused.
And then, right in front of Harry for the second time, Krinos opened his mouth and started to sing.
"I just made something unexpected
Something sharp
Something new
It's not symmetrical or perfect
But it's beautiful
And it's mine
What else can I do?"
Harry was starting to think that this was actually a thing that Krinos did. Bursting into song for any reason that he could get away with. Not that Harry actually saw anything wrong with that because Krinos actually did have a beautiful voice. It was also telling how even when Krinos has said how mystic souls stay away from muggles, he still knew muggle music. Meaning that even though mystic souls do not care for muggles, they do not ignore them and things that they create just because they did not like muggles.
"Bring it in, bring it in
(Good talk!) Bring it in, bring it in
What else can I do?
(Let's walk!) Bring it in, bring it in
(Free hugs!) Bring it in, bring it in."
Krinos was then lifted up as he grabbed onto a vine that he had caused to come down next to him. Harry ran to follow him and he was amazed by the sight of a giant circle of all types of roses It was incredibly beautiful. Krinos landed in the center of the circle.
"I grow rows and rows of roses
Flor de mayo
By the mile
I make perfect, practiced poses
So much hides behind my smile."
Harry was really seeing the deep nature of Krinos's choice of song. Just like how he felt that his powers could only cause destruction, Krinos was under the stereotype about how his magic could only make things like roses and flowers appear. It was the lesson that Krinos was trying to teach him. That there was more than one thing that could be done with their magic.
"What could I do if I just grew what I was feeling in the moment?
(Do you know where you're going? Whoa!)
What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect?
It just needed to be? And they let me be?"
"A hurricane of jacarandas
Strangling figs (Big!)
Hanging vines (This is fine)
Palma de cera fills the air as I climb
And I push through
What else can I do?
Can I deliver us a river of sundew?
Careful, it's carnivorous, a little just won't do."
Krinos had summoned a bunch of plants when he had sung those lines. Harry did not know a lot of them, but judging by the lyrics of the song, they were definitely not as harmless as they looked. And the fact that Krinos also smirked and winked at him when he grew the plants definitely meant that he was not going to be going near those plants any time soon.
"I wanna feel the shiver of something new
I'm so sick of pretty
I want something true, don't you?"
"You just seem like your life's been a dream
Since the moment you opened your eyes
(How far do these roots go down?)
All I know are the blossoms you grow
But it's awesome to see how you rise
How far can I rise?
Through the roof, to the skies
Let's go!"
Krinos took Harry's hand and the two of them went for a ride. Krinos had grown a giant sunflower under their feet and the two of them used it to travel all around the greenhouse. Harry was amazed by everything that he saw. The room was definitely bigger on the inside than how it looked on the outside, but he really should have expected that since the dorms were like that. So, that meant that other rooms in the school would be like that as well.
And the bird's eye view made it easy to see just how amazing the entire greenhouse was. There must have been thousands of plants, trees, and flowers all over the place. Some of them had even grown so much that they were climbing up the walls of the greenhouse's glass dome walls. Harry had never seen anything so amazing in his life.
"A hurricane of jacarandas (Whoo!)
Strangling figs (Go!)
Hanging vines (Grow!)
Palma de cera fills the air as I climb
And I push through
What else, what else?"
"What can you do when you are deeply, madly, truly in the moment?
(Seize the moment, keep goin')
What can you do when you know who you wanna be isn't perfect?
But I'll still be okay
Hey, everybody clear the way (Whoo!)
I'm coming through with tabebuia
(She's coming through with that booyah!)
Making waves (Making waves)
Changing minds (You've changed mine)
The way is clearer 'cause you're here, and well
I owe this all to you
What else can I do?"
Harry also found another meaning to the song as Krinos was showing him just how freeing it was to just be himself. He had been forced into the Golden Boy role for so much of his life. Both when he was in the magical world and when he had to force himself to be as behaved as possible at the Dursleys since they punished him so hard if he even did anything slightly out of place. Not that they ever needed that much of an excuse to hurt him, anyway.
But just as Krinos was singing about, it was completely useless to ever force yourself to be a role that you did not like. To really be happy, you really just needed to be yourself and not what others wanted you to be. And it was a lesson that Harry was definitely going to be taking to heart.
"Show 'em what you can do
What else can I do?
There's nothing you can't do
What else can I do?"
As Krinos finished the song, the two of them had fallen into a big pile of flower petals. They laughed as they just had fun. Harry looked at Krinos with a big smile.
"I can not wait to see what I can do," he said.