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Chapter Sixteen – Godric’s Hollow
Harry arrived in the receiving room and said hello to Andrew. They were chatting away when the door opened and Mattie walked in. “Excuse me Andrew, I believe the most important girl in my life just walked in and I had better cut it short so I stay on her good side” Harry said turning to Mattie smiling. “Mattie, you are a sight for sore eyes. If we had not had our monthly meetings like we did I do not think I could have made it. It is always nice to return home to my family.”
“You are turning into quite the charmer, Harry. Have you been practicing on all those pretty girls at Hogwarts?” asked Mattie.
“I wish. I may have grown exponentially knowledge wise this school year, but figuring out how girls work has somehow escaped me. I’m afraid I am just as hopeless as I ever was regarding that subject.”
“No worries young master Harry. We will just have to keep you to ourselves a while longer then.”
“Nothing would please me more Mattie. I have plenty of time in my future for socializing with girls. Right now I need some of Leru’s cooking, some time with Simon, Grandpa, and Grandma and let’s not forget Rolly.”
“Certainly not! Jojo has reported to me that Rolly has been pining for you something awful. I think it best if you go see him as soon as you get settled. I would offer to take your things but you seem to be missing them. I also noticed that Hedwig showed up earlier so I thought I would see you a lot sooner.”
“Oh, that’s right. I sent Hedwig along so she did not have to ride on the train. I rode it to be with my friends and so I could invite their parents for next weekend. I thought they might enjoy that. It looks like the Weasleys and the Grangers may be joining us along with their kids.”
“Excellent Harry! The elves will be quite pleased to have guests again. Do you need me to help you get settled?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I have what I need shrunk down and in my pockets. I will go and drop them off in my bedroom, change my clothes, and then go see Rolly while there is still plenty of daylight left.”
“Okay Harry, I will let you know when Leru has dinner ready. Welcome Home!”
“Thank you Mattie. It is good to be here, even if it is only for a week. See you in a bit.”
Harry went to his room, said hello to Hedwig, and changed into some blue jeans, a flannel shirt, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. He told Hedwig that he was going to ride Rolly and she could join them outside if she wanted. Hedwig hooted letting him know she would think about it after she finished her nap. She had just flown all the way from Hogwarts after all and would likely need to go hunting after dark. Harry did not understand all that but when he saw Hedwig doze back off he got the gist of it, chuckled, and went on his way.
Striding out to the corrals, Harry climbed up on the fence and began looking around for Rolly. Harry had missed last month’s visit due to being busy, plus he knew he would be here for a week this month so it was not that big a deal to miss a visit, that is except for Rolly. Rolly looked forward to the monthly visits because that is when he got to see Harry again. He missed Harry a lot when he was away. Getting to see him once a month was about all that kept Rolly from getting too sad. Now it had been two months since he spent time with Harry and Rolly was really feeling low. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever see Harry again and be able to give him rides. He enjoyed his time with Harry and would do anything to see him again.
Harry spotted Rolly way over in the corner with his head hanging down. He looked very sad. Jojo ambled up to the fence in his chaps and sat next to Harry.
“Hi Harry. It’s good to see you again.”
“Hi Jojo. It’s good to see you again too.”
“Rolly has been very sad for a few weeks now. I have tried everything I can think of but he will not snap out of it. I hope when he sees you he will be okay again.”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Harry called loudly to his horse, “Rolly, I’m back! Here boy! Come and see me!” Harry then whistled real loud.
Rolly was over in the corner with his head hanging low when he heard Harry’s call. He recognized that voice immediately. Rolly popped his head up with his ears standing erect. He swung his head around in the direction of the sound. He spotted Harry and Jojo across the way sitting on the fence. Rolly whinnied and started bucking and jumping around. He was so excited he could barely contain himself. He stopped all his nonsense and tore off at full speed toward Harry. He stopped about twenty feet away and pranced the rest of the way over. When Rolly closed the gap Harry grabbed him by the head and began rubbing it. He then pulled Rolly into a hug.
“It’s so good to see you Rolly!” said Harry rubbing his neck. “I sure missed you. It looks like you missed me too.” Harry let him go and Rolly nodded his head up and down at Harry.
“I swear that horse understands you Harry” said Jojo.
“It sure seems like it Jojo.” Harry turned back to his horse. “Rolly, you need to understand that I have to go to school and while at school I cannot always get away to come visit. But, don’t worry because I will always come back as soon as I can to see you. So no more getting sad, okay?”
Rolly nodded his head and stood expectantly in front of Harry.
“Rolly, I am going to be here all week so we will get to see each other a lot over the next few days. Plus I have friends coming at the end of the week so we will have to take everyone riding again. Right now though, do you want to just visit or do you want to go for a ride?”
Rolly turned and took off quickly for the stables. A half a minute later he came out carrying his blanket. Harry looked at Jojo. “I guess that answers my question. Would you care to come along with us Jojo?”
“Certainly Harry that would be great. Let me grab a horse that needs some attention and I will join you. You may want to hurry up and saddle up Rolly. He is looking impatient” he said with a grin.
Harry smiled. “Alright, Rolly. Let me have that blanket and we had better go back to the stables for the rest of it.”
Rolly followed Harry into the stables like a puppy. They stopped when they reached Harry’s saddle and bridle. Harry threw the blanket over Rolly’s back then finished getting him bridled and saddled for the ride. Jojo was ready about the same time so they both mounted up and took off. Jojo decided to ride one of the thoroughbreds which was as tall as Rolly but a little longer in the body. The horse was a beautiful chestnut color and looked ready to run. Harry thought the thoroughbred could probably outrun Rolly but after the horses were sufficiently warmed up they took off at a fast clip and Rolly did a fine job of keeping up with the other horse without any real effort. It even looked like Rolly could probably win in a short race but the chestnut would likely take him in a longer one.
“That is a beautiful horse Jojo. Such a nice color as well. What’s her name?”
“She is called Chelsey and she loves to run. She comes from a line of the Kentucky thoroughbreds we bought many years ago. We breed the thoroughbreds for speed and endurance. She is one of the better ones. Her temperament is nice and gentle and not so high strung like a lot of them.”
“I can tell she is very fast.”
“Oh, Rolly could probably beat her in a short race but thoroughbreds are meant to race on mile long tracks so she would likely beat him over that long of a distance. Thoroughbreds really get moving after a bit. Rolly is much like a quarter horse so he has the ability to jump into action a lot quicker and be able to turn on a dime. Quarter horses and stock horses like Rolly are much better for herding cows since they would have to make quick jumps, sometimes back and forth, to keep a cow from running off. That kind of quick speed is good for the short race. Rolly is bigger, faster, and stronger than most and has plenty of stamina so he could give lesser thoroughbreds a run for their money.”
“That is because my Rolly is a very special horse.” Rolly whinnied and nodded his head up and down agreeing. “See, even he thinks so.” Jojo just shook his head smiling.
oo0O0oo
“You guys want to see what I learned at school?”
Simon and Henry looked at Harry from their portraits in the training room. “Well of course Harry, what grandfather would not want to see what his grandson had learned at school? It makes a grandpa proud when he sees his grandson doing so well. Go right ahead and show us.”
“Yes, Harry, we are anxious to see what you have for us” added Simon.
“Okay, here goes.”
Harry turned into his gryphon right before their eyes in about one second. He looked up at his grandfathers in their portraits and saw their surprised expressions. He walked around for a bit so they could see all sides of him. Then he leaped into the air and took off flying around the room. Eventually he came in for a landing in front of the portraits and changed back into himself in about one second.
“How’s that?”
The portraits were speechless.
“Guys?”
“You’re an animagus?” asked Simon.
Harry nodded his head.
“You’re a magical animagus?” asked Henry.
Harry nodded his head again.
Simon and Henry slowly turned and looked at each other with a big grin on both their faces. They then jumped up and started whooping and hollering for joy. They grabbed each other in one portrait and hugged while still jumping up and down. Harry just stared at them in wonder. They finally settled down and went back to their own portraits. They both had big smiles on their faces.
“What was that all about?” asked Harry.
“Pop over and see your grandmother in the study. Show her your animagus and then ask her what hers was” said Henry.
“Come back when you are done” added Simon.
Harry apparated to the study and came back a few minutes later.
“Grandma said she was a phoenix” exclaimed Harry when he arrived back into the training room. “What were you, Grandpa?”
“I was a hippogriff.”
“Whoa!” said Harry. “And you Simon?”
“I was a dragon, a very large Hebridean Black. They are native to the Hebrides Islands of Scotland.”
“That’s fantastic!” exclaimed Harry. “All of us?”
“We were excited because your parents were both regular animagus animals” replied Henry “but we have a bit of a long history in the Potter family of producing magical ones.”
“Why is it so much better to have a magical animagus as opposed to a regular animal?”
“Because, Harry, a magical animagus is capable of using magic and since you are proficient with wandless magic then you can use magic while in your animagus form” replied Simon.
“You’re kidding right?”
“Nope, I wouldn’t lie to you kid. The trick is you have to be able to perform wandless magic extremely well. So if you can’t do wandless magic and your animagus is a magical one then you will not be able to do magic while in your animagus form. However, you do not fall into that category. You can do wandless magic just as easy as you use a wand. Therefore, you will be able to do magic while you are a gryphon.”
“Give it whirl Harry” said Henry.
Harry turned back into his gryphon and started thinking of what spell he wanted to try first. Suddenly he had an idea and cast his first spell as a gryphon. Simon and Henry were watching him carefully when all of a sudden Harry disappeared from view.
Simon and Henry were looking around for Harry when without warning Henry saw a giant eagle’s head appear right in front of his face. He jumped back holding his heart. Harry was reared up on the wall so his head was right in front of Henry’s portrait.
“Merlin Harry, if I were not already dead that would have given me a heart attack” said Henry.
The gryphon started making some strange noises then suddenly it turned back into Harry who fell to the floor laughing. Pretty soon Simon joined him then Henry started laughing as well.
When they got control of themselves Simon congratulated Harry. “Very nice using the invisibility spell. When you go flying as the gryphon you can make yourself invisible so as not to be seen by muggles or anyone else for that matter.”
“I will definitely have to practice some more with that to see what else I can do. Tomorrow I plan on running and flying around the property to get a little more use to my animagus form. I need to fly more anyway to build up more stamina.”
“Excellent Harry” said Henry. “Did any of your friends become an animagus?”
“I am the only one that has managed a full transformation but I did it on my first try just the other day.”
“Your first try and you transformed completely?” asked Henry.
“Yes, Professor McGonagall said I was likely the fastest ever.”
“She may be right about that” said Simon. “The Potters have always found it fairly easy to become an animagus but I do not recall anyone getting it on their first try.”
“The secret Simon is to push your magic toward it. Of course, you cannot do this if you cannot feel your own magic. This is how I am teaching my friends so they can hopefully have a quick transformation too.”
“So your friends all tested positive?” asked Henry.
“Yes they did and they will be here on Friday. I plan to work with them on their transformations some while they are here this weekend. I currently have them working on feeling their magic and trying to cast spells wandlessly. We will see if they are ready this weekend to attempt their transformations.”
“Can you work with them in here where we can watch?” asked Simon. “I would love to see you in action Harry. I have been told you are an excellent teacher.”
“Certainly Simon but I wonder who you have been talking to?” asked Harry. Simon just smiled.
“So what animals are your friends going to be?” asked Henry.
“Well, let’s see…wait a minute. I haven’t told you guys about my vision. Let me tell you about that because you will get a kick out of it, then I will tell you what my friends saw in their visions…”
oo0O0oo
The next morning Harry went exploring around his property and into the various woods in his gryphon form. He practiced several spells while he was about it and spent a good bit of his time flying which was a lot of fun and helped to build up his stamina. He started to go show Rolly his animagus form but decided that might not be a good idea so he squashed that. He was not sure how Rolly would react to a gryphon. Instead he showed up as himself and gave Rolly a bath with water from his wand and a sudsy sponge. He soaked up all the water afterwards and gave Rolly a really good brushing. Rolly, of course, was in heaven.
That afternoon at two o’clock he met in the training room, now dojo, with his sensei Benjamin Preston. The plan was for them to have a lesson and Harry was to be tested to see what level he was now. Ben had given him all the training materials so he could work on his own.
Ben bowed before he entered the dojo. Harry was right behind him and he bowed as well before entering. They walked to the center of the room and began stretching and warming up. Simon and Henry appeared in their portraits to observe. In a short while Ben and Harry both did full middle splits and held it there.
Ben was watching Harry to try and get a reading on how he was doing. He saw Harry place both his thumbs and pointer fingers onto the floor in front of him. Next, Harry started lifting his body up until he was upside down with his arms fully extended but his legs were still in a full middle split. Next, Ben saw Harry lower his legs even more going past the full middle split. Then Harry slowly raised his legs so they came back together and were pointing straight up to the ceiling. All this with Harry only supporting himself with two thumbs and two fingers. Then Harry switched to his full hands supporting him. Next, he bent at the elbow and pushed off hard, twisting his body in a full spin while in the air but somehow landing on his feet, facing his sensei. He then bowed.
“Well, Harry, it looks like I should be bowing to you after that display. You have a tremendous amount of strength and control. What else have you learned?”
“I am anxious to see what belt level I am at Sensei. I have been working very hard with the training materials you provided, which were fantastic by the way. Perfect, even. I was able to follow them without any problem. I made a lot of headway.”
“In that case we should see where you stand. The last time you were tested you were about halfway through your Purple Belt. Let’s start there and see where we end up.”
Ben took Harry through his paces, testing him on everything he was supposed to know and execute flawlessly. He went through the rest of the Purple Belt and then started on the first level of Brown, then the second level of Brown, then the third level of Brown. Ben was wondering when he was going to reach a stopping point. He had no idea Harry could learn this much just using his materials he created. Finally Ben was able to stop him over halfway through the second level of black belt.
“That is superb Harry. I never dreamed you could go that far on your own.”
“Well, I had a great sensei.”
“Do you want to know what belt level you are now?
“Are you kidding? Of course I do.”
“Second Degree Black Belt – you are a very dangerous man, Harry.” Ben went over to his bag and pulled out a black belt. He handed it to Harry. “I hope no one makes the sad mistake of trying to take you on.”
Harry took off his purple belt and started putting on his new black belt. “Thank you Sensei. I owe it all to you. Your teaching is superb. The memories and the pensieve were a tremendous help. The other materials and steps were helpful as well. I am looking forward to advancing further. I will continue to use your materials and will look for additional ones as I get closer to the end of what you have provided so far.”
“In that case I will get busy finishing up to my level, which is ninth degree now by the way.”
“I noticed your belt was mostly red now.”
“You inspired me Harry so I got off the bench and reached the next level fairly quickly. After I complete the tenth level myself I will be able to finish that project. You do me proud Harry. I have taught many students over the course of my career but you are far and away my best student. You are a natural and have the ability to learn quickly and never forget what you have learned. It is a pleasure to be your sensei.” Ben bowed to Harry. Harry bowed back.
“I know it is late Sensei but do you have time for me to show you something I have been working on?” asked Harry. “It will only take a few minutes and I desire your opinion.”
“You bet, Harry. After the impression you just left I am anxious to see more.”
Harry went over and made changes to the room so that it was setup more like the Room of Requirement when he did the demo for his students. He then requested a scenario with ten experienced Death Eaters that would attack him. He would let the room know when he was ready to start.
Harry walked over to Ben. “As you know I have been teaching Isshinryu Karate to my friends and I even have a couple aurors who have joined us. Tonks and Kingsley come as often as they can to our sessions. It was the idea of how the aurors train that got me going this direction. I put together an idea to combine our physical combat with magic. I demonstrated it to my class and we have since then trained in both instead of just Isshinryu. It has slowed down my class a bit on the karate side but given what we are likely to be faced with I think what I am teaching them is more beneficial right now. After I demonstrated it, Kingsley asked me to come train his aurors this summer. I am looking at doing that for him.”
“I am about to show you another demonstration where I combine my karate with my magic. Just watch and hopefully I will not fall on my face. Stand over here and protect yourself at all times just in case a spell flies your way. I will still put up a strong barrier in front of you to be safe.” Harry cast a strong protection spell in front of Ben and then set off to the middle of the room for the demo.
Harry got into position and said “Go!”
Immediately, ten dummies appeared and went into action. A dummy grabbed Harry from behind and a dummy in front of him was casting a spell. Harry grabbed the dummy on his back and flipped him over so that he was hit with the spell. Harry then flicked off a stunner to take down the one in front of him. It put a hole right through his middle. He saw another to his right so he leaped high in the air and kicked the dummy with a roundhouse catching the dummy right in the head which sent him flying a few feet. Before Harry landed he hit him with a stunner that blew his head off. He then fired a stunner at the one he flipped and put a hole through him even though he was already stunned.
When he landed he was close to another dummy. Two spells had already missed Harry because he was moving too fast for them to hit him. However, two more spells were headed his way. Harry picked up the dummy and put his body in front of himself so both spells connected with the dummy. He then turned to his left and threw the dummy at the next one closest to him. Just as it landed Harry cast a stunner that put a whole right through both.
Never stopping Harry quickly jumped over two more spells and then landed with a shield in place that blocked another spell. Seeing three dummies standing too close to each other, Harry hit all three with a stunner in a fraction of a second. All three were disintegrated. Harry turned just in time to see another two spells coming his way. He quickly put up another shield that blocked the spells then performed a spinning back kick that connected with the ninth dummy in a sickening crunch. This put Harry closer to the last dummy that he hit with a spinning back fist.
When Harry came out of the spin he stunned the two last dummies he had just hit without causing any damage this time. These were the Death Eaters who would be saved for questioning in his scenario.
Harry cast reparo on all the dummies and they were fixed right up, except for the three he disintegrated. There was no way of repairing them.
Mattie appeared with water for Harry and Ben then popped back out.
Harry walked back over to Ben and removed the protection spell in front of him. “What did you think? See anything I should have done differently or need to improve on?” He grabbed the water Mattie had brought and swigged it down.
Ben shook his head like he was having to clear some cobwebs.
“That was amazing Harry and no I could not possibly recommend a better way you could have done that. You were not hit with any spells nor were you hurt from any physical attacks. I’d say taking on ten Death Eaters and coming out of it without a scratch is a huge success. I take it the last two that you did not kill were saved for questioning?”
“Correct, in my scenario there were too many of them to let them live so I waited until I only had two left and did not kill them. If all I did was a simple stun then they would have used enervate right behind me and I would be fighting them all twice over. Too risky.”
“Very good. I can see where Kingsley wanted to have you teach his aurors after a demo like that. I might even be interested in your class” he said with a smile.
“I doubt seriously there is anything I can teach you Sensei.”
“On the contrary, Harry. I just learned something from watching your demo. The sad fact is I never thought of combining my karate with my magic. Now that you have shown it to me, it makes perfect sense. If fighting Death Eaters then you will be forced to use magic but you can also use your karate when appropriate. It certainly would throw most of them off their game. By the way, what were those spells you were using on the dummies? You blew holes right through them and completely obliterated three of them using the fastest spell casting I have ever seen.”
“Ben, I am willing to tell you but only if you are agreeable to keeping that information secret for me. I would trust you with my life so I am not worried about telling you my secret. Can you promise to keep this to yourself?”
“Harry I would never break your trust. If you want me to keep something secret then I will keep it secret for you.”
“That is good enough for me, Ben. I used the same spell during the entire exercise – a stunner.”
“Stupefy? But how did you create holes and completely destroy those three?”
“I am very powerful magically. I discovered that my magic had been bound when I was a baby. My parents did it because I was too powerful and they wanted to keep me and others around me safe. They had planned to remove the binding when I turned ten so I could learn to adjust to the extra power over a year’s time before attending Hogwarts. Of course they were murdered when I was just one year old. I did not find out about the binding until last year before you started teaching me. Simon and Grandpa showed me how to remove it and then I had to learn how to control all the extra power. Your lessons gave me the last bit I needed to control it completely.”
“Wow Harry, that is some story but I suppose you being a Potter I should not be so surprised. I have known a lot of Potters but have never met a magically weak one. I know some are stronger than others but it seems Potters almost have a corner on the market for powerful magic users.”
“I know Simon was something to see in his day. He has a reputation in this household as being very powerful and super intelligent.”
“Yes, that is true and his reputation goes far beyond these walls. Your grandpa Henry was no slouch either but every magic user has their own power level. We are all different in that way.”
“Thank you Sensei for your help today. I look forward to more interaction with you as soon as we can work out the schedule.” Harry bowed to Ben.
Ben bowed to Harry. “You are welcome and thank you for that demonstration Harry. I will be pondering that and looking at it over and over in my private pensieve. Don’t worry, no one else will ever see it unless you give me permission. The unspeakables are masters at keeping secrets.”
oo0O0oo
The next day was Sunday and Harry informed Mattie that he was going to take a trip to Godric’s Hollow that morning to see his house there and visit his parent’s graves for the first time. She tried to talk him out of it or at least to let her go with him but he convinced her that he needed to go alone and that it might not be safe since Peter was still the Secret Keeper. He assured her he could handle himself in a bad situation.
Mattie had actually showed up in the training room with drinks yesterday for Harry and Ben when Harry was in the middle of his demonstration. She just waited until he was through before she appeared and gave them the water. However, Mattie had seen plenty of Harry’s demonstration and was quite surprised at how well he handled fighting the dummies. She had no problem with believing Harry when he assured her he could take care of himself.
After breakfast, Harry asked Leru if he would please prepare a sack lunch for him. He was not sure how long he was going to be there but thought it possible he would be out past lunch time. He then went to his room and got together everything he needed including both wands and their holsters. Simon’s wand was on his right arm while his own holly with phoenix feather wand was on his right leg. He dressed in comfortable black jeans, a long-sleeve gray shirt, and black trainers so he would be comfortable. He suspected to have a little work to do at the house.
Harry picked up his sack lunch from Leru, shrunk it, and put that in a pocket. He then pulled out his watch, turned himself invisible, and uttered the phrase “Godric’s Hollow” which ported him away. Harry disappeared from Potter Place and landed in the entry way of his old house where he once lived as a baby. Since he lived there before and had been told the secret, the old Fidelius charm with Peter Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper did not prevent him from seeing the house.
Harry stood there invisible for a moment as he got his bearings. He cast charms on his shoes and clothes so they made no noise when he moved. He was suddenly overcome with emotion knowing he now stood in the house where Voldemort had murdered his parents. However, looking around the room he noticed that it looked a bit lived in. This sobered him up quickly. It was not kept neat but it was not covered in dust either. Suddenly, the front door opened and a wizard in dark robes came through the door and headed for what looked like the kitchen. Harry quickly moved soundlessly to another part of the room to stay out of the way. He then cast a revealing spell to see how many were in the house. The spell revealed that there were six people currently in the house with him.
Obviously, one of them was a wizard. Harry followed the wizard to the kitchen where he heard voices and found three more wizards sitting around the kitchen table. The one that came through the door opened a cabinet and reached up for a cup. When he did the sleeve of his robe fell back and revealed that he had the dark mark. From the looks of all of them Harry suspected they were all Death Eaters who had taken over the house as a place to live and perhaps were here to kill or capture him in case he came back to visit. That was the likely scenario since Peter would have had to tell them the secret. Harry reached out with his magic and could feel the dark mark on all four of them. They were now all sitting around the table drinking tea.
Harry hit all four wandlessly with a simple stunner using both hands in less than a second. He then summoned all four of their wands, placed them in a kitchen drawer, and put a strong magical lock on it. Harry then tied them up quickly using the Incarcerous spell. He knew they would not be waking up anytime soon so Harry left the four Death Eaters and went searching for the other two people his spell revealed.
He looked upstairs and noticed they had not repaired the damage in his bedroom. It was left open to the elements. Harry once again had to push aside his emotions. With Death Eaters about he needed to have a clear head. It looked like they had simply cast a spell to keep the elements out of the rest of the house. He did not find anyone upstairs in the bedrooms or in the attic so headed back downstairs. After he looked in every room on the first floor, he went into a hallway where he found a door that led to the basement. He went down into the basement very carefully looking for the other two people. He was still invisible and very quiet. What he found made him very angry.
Harry found a large cage with two teenage girls locked up inside. One had blonde hair and the other had dark brown hair. They looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years of age. It was obvious from the cuts, abrasions, swelling, and bruises they had been mistreated and since they were completely naked they must have been sexually abused as well. Harry carefully looked around the basement to make sure there was nothing else down here he had to deal with before helping the girls. Both girls appeared to be unconscious when Harry approached the cage removing his invisibility spell.
Harry waved his right hand and the cage was removed completely from existence. He walked over and put a hand on each of the girls. He let his magic flow to see where they needed healing. It became obvious to Harry they were mostly sexually abused and received the other injuries from trying to fight off the Death Eaters when they were attacked. Harry pushed out his healing magic and healed everything. All there pain and soreness vanished and the cuts, bruises, abrasions, and swelling were completely removed and healed.
Harry next performed legilimency on both girls to see how bad their minds might have been effected by the abuse. He viewed their memories of what the Death Eaters did to them. It was all Harry could do to keep his anger under control. He wanted to go back up and give those Death Eaters a beating they would never forget but he calmed himself down and concentrated on helping the girls. He saw from their memories that all four of the Death Eaters he tied up were guilty of the sexual abuse. Harry did not recognize any of the four Death Eaters so assumed they were new recruits added since Voldemort’s return. Harry did not see any bad damage to their minds. They appeared to be coping as best they could. The two girls were obviously muggles.
Harry had just finished his mind probes and was about to try moving them someplace more comfortable when they started waking up. Harry quickly conjured two very soft bath robes for them.
“Hey, who are you? You’re new and just a teenager” said the blonde.
“What happened to the cage?” asked the brunette.
“Please don’t hurt us? We have been hurt enough already” said the blonde tearfully.
“I will not hurt you, I am here to help you. I got rid of the cage and I healed you.” Harry said handing them the bath robes. “Here put these on and I will explain as best I can.”
The girls took the robes from him, stood up, and put them on. They were watching Harry very carefully.
“It looks like you were kidnapped and brought here. My family happens to own this house and when I got here today I found four men and then the both of you. I surprised the men, knocked them out, and then tied them up. They are all up in the kitchen right now. I explored the rest of the house and found you two down here in the basement. You were both unconscious and wounded. I removed the cage and healed you both. You woke up after that.”
“How did you beat up those four men by yourself?” asked the blonde. “They are all bigger than you and you look younger than the both of us.”
“Well, I caught them by surprise and I am a second degree black belt.”
“Oh, well that’s good. Lucky for us I should say” said the brunette.
“By the way, my name is Harry and yes I am a teenager. I am fifteen years old.”
“My name is Mandy” said the blonde “and this is my friend Julie. We are both seventeen. We’re best friends and were together when these men attacked us.”
“It is very nice to meet you both, Mandy and Julie. I wish it could have been under better circumstances. Do you live in Godric’s Hollow?” They both nodded. “Follow me and we will go back upstairs. I need to check on the men I have tied up. Stay behind me just in case.”
Harry led them into the kitchen where the four Death Eaters were still out. Harry pretended to check each one of their ropes but wandlessly stunned each of them again when he checked them.
“Do you recognize these men as the ones who kidnapped you?” asked Harry.
“Yes, they were dressed funny then too in those robes. I thought they must belong to a cult or something” replied Julie.
“Me, too” replied Mandy “but then they started doing things with these sticks that should have been impossible. There was nothing we could do to stop them.” She started crying. The girls hugged and cried together holding on to each other.
Harry did a quick cleaning of the couch in the front room and led the girls in there. “Stay here and I will be right back.” Harry left them and went upstairs where he did some quick work and cleaned up two of the loos and the bedrooms. He made sure all the towels and wash cloths were clean as well. He then made sure there was plenty of soap and shampoo. The girls were both dirty and might want to wash up. Harry came back downstairs to where the girls were waiting.
“There are working facilities here so if you guys want to get cleaned up, I will see if I can locate some clothes for the both of you and then I will see about getting the authorities here so they can lock up those four and take your statements. We can then make sure you get home safely.”
“That would be great Harry if we could get cleaned up. I am very dirty and could use a nice shower” said Julie.
“Two of the bedrooms up there both have attached loos with full facilities. You will find everything you need so help yourself. I will show you where they are. Just follow me.”
Harry put the girls in two of the loos he had cleaned up, shut the doors so they could get started, and immediately began conjuring clothes and trainers for them. He cast the auto-fit charm on all of the clothes and shoes then laid them out on the beds. After going back downstairs, he felt for the magic on the house. He found the Fidelius charm and a couple of wards that had been placed on it. Harry quickly worked his way through them, basically overpowering the wards and the Fidelius charm. In less than five minutes he had the wards and the Fidelius removed. Harry then put up his own Potter wards he had learned from Simon. They were very similar to the wards used at Potter Place. Simon had made sure Harry knew how to cast them. Later he would cast another Fidelius to keep it completely hidden but for now the girls and the aurors would need to be able to see the place.
After completing the wards Harry sent a patronus to Kingsley to let him know of the situation. Kingsley was at home since it was a Sunday. He was sitting on his couch reading when Harry’s patronus showed up. He sat up straight as the very large stag began to speak.
“Kingsley, I went to Godric’s Hollow but found four Death Eaters in the house and two teenage girls they had been abusing. Please send team to collect both. I have removed the Fidelius but will put my own up later.”
Kingsley sent his patronus back to Harry to let him know he received his message and that they would be there shortly. Immediately Kingsley contacted Remus, Tonks and Hestia to let them know the situation. They met at the ministry and took a port key to Godric’s Hollow together.
The girls came back downstairs after twenty minutes with their new clothes on. Their hair was still damp from the showers. They found Harry had cleaned up the living room and was just coming back in from the kitchen.
“Harry, we want to thank you for saving us” said Julie. “I think they were just going to kill us when they were done with us. You saved our lives and I know we were covered in cuts and bruises before. How did you fix all that? I feel great but I know after everything they did to us I should be feeling bad.”
Harry nodded his head. “I have the ability to heal people and when I saw how badly you were both hurt I had to help you.” Harry looked away from them slightly embarrassed when he remembered seeing them naked. “The authorities will be here shortly to collect the men and talk to you. Please make yourselves comfortable. It will not take them that long to get here.”
Harry went back into the kitchen and brought them both some water to drink. He gave them his lunch Leru had packed for him. As usual he packed plenty of food. The girls were both obviously very hungry. They ate the tasty lunch quickly.
“But how did you find all these new clothes that fit perfectly?” asked Mandy. “The trainers are brand new as well and just the right size on both of us. Even the new bras and knickers you provided are the right size.”
“Just another one of my specialties” replied Harry. “It would be best if I do not elaborate on that.”
They started to protest but then there was a knock on the door. Harry went over and checked the window. He saw Kingsley, Tonks, Remus, and Hestia standing outside. He let them all in and introduced everyone to Mandy and Julie.
“Mandy, Julie, these are special officers from the government. They are here because the men who abducted you are very special cases. This is Kingsley, Tonks, Remus, and Hestia. Everyone this is Mandy and Julie. They both live around here in Godric’s Hollow.”
Everyone said their hellos.
“Harry is everyone alright?” asked Remus. Tonks grabbed Harry in a hug. Kingsley looked at him carefully for any damage. Hestia immediately went over and started talking to the girls to get there statements.
“I’m fine. The girls were roughed up pretty bad though but I healed them and they just got cleaned up a little while ago. I found them in the basement in a cage and they were completely naked. I checked for any damage to their minds and found that all four men had sexually abused and beat them. They are pretty strong though and have strong characters. I think they will be okay eventually.”
Tonks joined Hestia after Harry showed them to the kitchen and presented his prisoners. He retrieved their wands from the drawer and handed them to Kingsley who put them in an inside pocket. Kingsley then checked all their arms and every one of them had the dark mark.
After Hestia and Tonks had taken Mandy and Julie’s statements they spent several minutes comforting the girls about the ordeal they had been through. Kingsley came back in and stood behind the girls. When Tonks nodded and gave him the signal he obliviated them both to remove all the memories they had of magic. He replaced the memories with ones that made more sense. Unfortunately, he had to leave the memories of the physical abuse but the girls had been assured that if it became too much to handle they would receive additional help to get over it.
Mandy and Julie hugged Harry, thanked him again for saving them, and said good-bye before Tonks and Hestia walked the girls back to their homes. The parents were told about the four “terrorists” who had abducted their children and abused them. They also advised the girls about talking through all the pain and abuse with their loved ones because it would be very therapeutic. They reassured Mandy and Julie over and over again that they were now safe and those men would never hurt them again. Plus, the girls would not have to face their attackers in court since the “terrorists” were going to be locked away for good any way. Hestia and Tonks returned to Harry’s house when they were done. They left from there after reporting back to Kingsley and after they had all the info they needed. Kingsley, Tonks, and Hestia took the four Death Eaters back with them to the ministry holding cells.
After Harry explained what his original plans were Remus decided he would stay with Harry today and help him fix up the house and also accompany him to the grave site to visit his parents. They sent a patronus to Sirius informing him to meet them there so he could pitch-in as well.
By the time Sirius showed up in the back garden everyone was feeling pretty hungry so decided to take a break and eat before tackling the rest of the work on the house. Harry transfigured Sirius and himself so they would not be recognized. Sirius and Remus approved of his handy work then they apparated to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. They figured it would be less crowded than The Leaky Cauldron right now. Of course Sirius never tired of seeing Madam Rosmerta even if he could not let her know it was him. They all had a nice meal without incident and returned to Godric’s Hollow.
When they arrived back Harry announced that the first thing he needed to do was put his own Fidelius on house and lands, in addition to improving the wards more. Sirius and Remus were anxious to see the young pup’s handiwork so followed him around as he placed the charm then added to the wards. They were very impressed. Harry made himself Secret Keeper then told them the address.
After that was done Harry decided to tackle his old bedroom.
“Are you sure you do not want some help with that?” asked Sirius. “That room is pretty bad off.”
“I think I can handle it. I am going to start with a really strong reparo and then conjure permanent items for whatever else is needed to finish the repair. I have had a lot of practice with building rooms lately.”
“You are starting to scare me kiddo. You are only fifteen years old and can do all this advanced stuff with extreme ease. Don’t let me get in your way. I will go help Remus with the downstairs while you take care of this mess.”
“Alright Sirius, thanks for the offer. I will be done shortly then we can see what else needs to be done.”
Sirius walked back down the stairs and Harry turned to the mess that was once his baby room. He felt for any magic that may have remained on the room but found none. He had evidently removed all of it previously. Harry took out Simon’s wand and cast the strongest cleaning charm on the room that he could muster and immediately saw all the dust, leaves, and other debris disappear. He did not notice the rest of the house becoming spotless as well. Sirius and Remus did though. Next Harry cast the strongest Reparo on the room that he could muster and everything started coming back together perfectly. Some items Sirius and Remus were working on repaired as well in front of them before they could even cast a spell. Harry heard a “Whoa” from a couple of places downstairs.
Harry yelled downstairs “Everything alright down there?”
“Yes, fine” yelled Remus back. “I was just about to repair something and it repaired on its own.”
“We also noticed the entire house becoming spotlessly clean a moment ago” yelled Sirius.
“Oh, sorry. I guess I was using a bit too much power” replied Harry. “I saw this big mess and put a lot into it.”
Harry removed the damaged ceiling, roof, and one bad wall in the small bedroom. He then conjured a new permanent wall that looked just like the others and put it in place. Next he conjured a new roof and ceiling that matched what was already there. This completed closing in the small bedroom. It was no longer exposed to the elements.
Harry called down to Sirius and Remus. “You guys want to come up and see my old baby room now?”
Sirius and Remus rushed up the stairs and came to a sudden stop when they saw the room. They could not believe what Harry was able to do in such a short period of time. The incredible amount of damage was completely removed and everything restored to its original shape and look. It was perfect.
“Harry that is incredible!” exclaimed Remus.
“You continue to amaze me, kiddo” added Sirius.
“I should show you guys sometime what I did to my trunk. You will love my potions lab.”
“You have your own potions lab, Harry?” asked Remus.
“Yes and I am currently trying to teach myself how to make Veritaserum and Wolfsbane…wait a minute, that reminds me. Remus, on the next full moon if you want some company let me know. I will be glad to spend that time with you.”
“But Harry, even if you are very powerful it is still not safe to be so close to me when I am changed, Wolfsbane or not. It is too risky.”
“But you let Snuffles hang out with you and you let Dad, Prongs, hang out with you while you were changed.”
“That is the point though Harry. Both Sirius and James were in their animagus forms. Then it is safe.”
“Hello? That is what I am going to do. I will not be there like this but I will be there in my animagus form.”
“Hang on. You have an animagus?” asked Sirius.
“Yes, didn’t I already tell you guys?”
“NO!” they both replied loudly.
“Sorry, well, let’s get it over with. Come on, let’s go outside behind the house where we have more room.” Harry headed back down the stairs. Sirius and Remus looked at each other worriedly but followed Harry out to the back garden.
“Are you ready?” asked Harry standing in the middle of the back garden facing them.
They both nodded hesitantly.
“It is really cool. Hang onto your socks.”
Harry changed immediately into his gryphon and stood there looking at them. Sirius and Remus both let out a whoop and started laughing. Harry jumped into the air and flew low around the back garden before landing again and walking over to Sirius and Remus who inspected him up close. When they were done Harry changed back into himself.
“So, what do you think? Can I keep you company during the full moon?”
“Yes, as long as your gryphon does not scare my werewolf. That was a very large and dangerous looking animagus Harry. I was most impressed.”
“You Potters and your magical animagus” added Sirius. “I am not sure why James’ animagus was non-magical but Prongs was one magnificent looking stag.”
“That he was Padfoot” replied Remus.
“I saw him in my animagus vision along with Mum right beside him in her doe form. It was so cool. I am not sure how they got into my vision but they helped me find my gryphon who was flying around.”
“Tell us more about your animagus vision where you saw James and Lily” said Sirius.
Harry took them through the story, telling it once again. He then told of his transformation on the first try and working with his friends on theirs. It was late afternoon by the time they finished talking so they decided to call it quits for the day. There really was not much left to do on the inside of the house. Harry planned on asking Dobby to come over to finish anything they missed and to make sure the outside was fixed as well in any place it was needed.
Both Sirius and Remus accompanied Harry to the cemetery by the small church in Godric’s Hollow. Harry’s house was off a little bit from the town itself surrounded by land with some woods behind it. They had to walk about a mile to the church but enjoyed their time together as Sirius and Remus regaled Harry with stories from when he was a baby and they would come to visit him in that very house. Evidently Harry loved to play with Snuffles back then. Sirius told Harry that nearly every time he came over Harry would insist he change into Snuffles so they could play. Sirius said he would change and Harry would just giggle for the longest time. He was never sure though of what Harry found so funny.
They reached the grave site and James and Lily’s graves.
“Harry, we are going to wait over there so you can have some time to yourself this first visit” Remus explained then pulled Sirius with him. They walked off about twenty feet and stood next to a Peverell headstone. They kept a look out for any Death Eaters while they waited.
Harry knelt down in front of his parents graves. There was one wide tombstone that covered the width of both graves and it had their names engraved on it. It also showed their dates of birth and the date they were killed. James Potter was born on March 27, 1960. Lily Potter was born on January 30, 1960. They both died on October 31, 1981. In the middle of the tombstone there was an engraving with the words “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Harry pondered that for a minute.
“I…I don’t know what to say…except…I…wish…it could have been different. I wish we could have had a normal life together. It would have been great to actually grow up with a real family, maybe even have a brother or sister. Thanks for leaving me the trunk. I made great use of that. Thanks for appearing in my vision as well. I am not sure how you did that but it was very nice to see you. Sirius and Remus are here. They are waiting for me several feet away so we could talk. I’m sorry that this is my first time to visit your graves but I was never told until recently where you were. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon did not treat me well and refused to tell me anything about my family. It wasn’t until I left there that I was able to find out. Sirius and Remus helped me repair the house here and fix it back up. There is also a new Fidelius charm on it to keep Peter and the other Death Eaters out. I will come back again sometime to visit as soon as I can. I am still in school so my time is limited somewhat…. I feel like I am just rambling so I will talk to you later.”
Harry stood back up and walked over to where Sirius and Remus were waiting.
“Thanks guys for showing me where the graves are and thanks for all your help today on the house. I can finish up or have an elf or two go there and finish anything we missed. Do you think Peter will notice he is no longer the Secret Keeper?”
“I am sure he will and he likely will be checking on those four Death Eaters we had locked up” replied Sirius. “Of course he will not be able find the house now. I would still love to get my hands on that little rat.”
“You and me both” replied Harry. “He betrayed my parents to Voldemort and killed Cedric on Voldemort’s orders. He will not get any mercy from me the next time we meet. All I need is his still warm but very dead body so your name can be cleared. I might bring him in alive though just so I can see him get kissed by a dementor.”
There was a small gulp swallowing sound at the edge of the fence surrounding the graveyard on the back side near some trees. The sound was far enough away that neither Harry, Sirius, nor Remus heard it. After all the sound came from a very small rodent. They also did not notice two beady little eyes watching their every move and listening in on their conversation.
Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen – Spring Break
Unknown location…
“Wormtail,” said Voldemort in a raspy voice “what happened at Godric’s Hollow? You are the Secret Keeper. How did we lose it?”
“It had to be Dumbledore, my lord. He is the only one I know of that bunch who could get rid of the Fidelius and replace it with another. They have some very advanced wards placed on the house as well. It will be impossible to get in there again.”
“And what happened to our recruits I had you station there to wait for the boy to show up?”
“Evidently they were captured and sent to the ministry.”
“So they failed?”
“Yes, my lord. If it was Dumbledore they likely did not have much of a chance.”
“And, you lost us the Potter house?”
“My lord, there wasn’t anything I could do. The Fidelius was removed without warning and they completely locked me out. I couldn’t get back in and now I can’t even find the place.”
“This is the job I gave you to do so we could capture the boy and you have failed me.”
“Please, my lord, it wasn’t my fault.”
“Crucio!”
oo0O0oo
The next morning, on Monday, after his exercises and breakfast Harry went back to his house in Godric’s Hollow. He took some tea and a few supplies with him this time. He checked to make sure the place was still empty and no Death Eaters were hanging about looking for the place outside. Finding none, he looked the place over for a bit to find any work still left to be done then decided it would be best if he procured some help.
He wanted to have someone check to make sure all the modifications he made to the house were sound and that no problems existed with the wood and other material the house was built with. Since it had been damaged and left open all these years he wanted to make sure everything was fine. Since Harry had other things on his schedule for the week he thought of someone who would be perfect for the job.
“Dobby?”
Pop!
“The Great Harry Potter has called on Dobby and Dobby is here to help Master Harry Potter sir. How can Dobby help?”
“Dobby, it is very nice to see you again. I was wondering, could you do some work for me?”
“Yes! Master Harry Potter only needs to tell Dobby what he needs Dobby to do.”
“Are you sure you are not too busy at Hogwarts?” Dobby was shaking his head no. “This is a big job and I insist you let me pay you for your services before I let you start.”
Dobby looked constricted at that piece of information. Dobby did not want the Great Harry Potter to have to pay him to work.
“In fact, you may want to get some help with this so it will not take you so long to get it all done. Do you have another elf friend that could help you?”
“Dobby can bring Winky to help. Dobby takes care of Winky because Winky was sad and was drinking too much butterbeer but Winky stopped now that Dobby takes care of her. Winky is a very hard worker and will help if Dobby asks her.”
“Great! I’ve always liked Winky. Can you go get her and bring her back? I will tell you what I need done when you both are here.”
“Yes, Master Harry Potter sir. Dobby will be right back.”
Pop!
Harry went to the kitchen and was about to make him some tea when he heard another pop behind him. He turned and there stood Dobby and Winky.
“Well, hello there Winky. It is very nice to see you again. I was just about to make some tea, would you guys care to join me?”
Dobby started shaking his head no and went over to Harry. He grabbed Harry’s hand and led him to the table where he had Harry sit down. Winky took up where Harry left off and began preparing the tea.
“Winky and Dobby will get the tea for the Great Harry Potter sir.” After Dobby had Harry seated he went back over to help Winky. Harry just smiled at the two elves. In a few minutes, after Dobby had popped away and came back with some items, he and Winky came back over with tea and some biscuits. They set everything on the table for Harry and stood back to the side.
“Would you guys care to join me?” Harry asked but the elves were shaking their heads. “I see. That is too bad. I was really hoping I could have some company at the table while I enjoyed my tea and explained what the job is I have for you to do. It is always nice to sit at the table with friends.”
Dobby remembered eating with Harry last year in his room at Privet Drive and being treated as an equal. He started to sit at the table but noticed a big frown on Winky’s face. He walked back over to Winky and started whispering something in her ear. As he spoke to her the frown on her face slowly began to dissolve and when he finished telling her whatever it was he said they both came and sat at the table with Harry. They were looking a bit apprehensive though, Winky more so than Dobby.
“That is more like it. Would either of you care for some tea? Biscuits? They taste great!”
“No thank you Harry Potter sir. Winky and Dobby are just fine.” Dobby answered for both.
“Very well, let me get down to business. Do you guys know what house you are in?”
“This is the house where Harry Potter was a baby and was attacked by that mean dark wizard” replied Winky.
“That is correct Winky. My parents were killed here and Voldemort was defeated. This is a very important house to me and I would not trust just anyone with it, but I trust you two.”
Both of the elves perked up and had smiles on their faces after they heard that.
“When I came here yesterday I found four Death Eaters here and two teenage girls they were abusing. I captured the Death Eaters and healed the girls. I sent Kingsley Shacklebolt a message and he showed up with help to take the prisoners and make sure the girls got back home safely. Remus Lupin was with him and he decided to stay when I told him I had come here to fix up the place. We sent a message to my godfather Sirius Black and he came and helped us. Between the three of us we fixed most of it I think but I would like you two to go over the place from top to bottom, attic to basement, checking the entire house for any problems.”
“Make sure the Death Eaters did not leave anything dangerous. Make sure the wood and other material that the house is built with is in good condition, with no bugs, etc. in the wood work. Please fix any issues you find. And if you would, make sure the house is clean before you leave. Is this something you would be willing to do?”
Winky was nodding her head. Dobby spoke up. “Dobby would do anything for the Great Harry Potter. Dobby and Winky will have all this work done for Master Harry Potter sir.”
“Good. I am glad you guys are willing to help. Now, let’s discuss your fees.” Dobby and Winky looked at each other then back at Harry. “Since it will likely take you guys two to three days to get all this done I was thinking that 20 galleons each would be fair.”
The elves were shaking their heads. “I cannot accept pay to help Harry Potter” replied Winky.
“Dobby does not need the Great Harry Potter to pay him because Dobby will do anything for Master Harry Potter sir.”
“Are you sure you guys won’t reconsider and take pay to do this job for me? It’s real important that you do.”
They both shook their heads no.
“Well,” Harry thought for a minute “it was nice talking to you then. You can go back to Hogwarts. I will see if I can find two more trusty elves to help me, ones that will accept pay for their services. You both know my friend Hermione and if she found out I had you working for free she would hex me into next week. It was very nice seeing the both of you again and I much appreciate the tea and biscuits you made. Have a good rest of the week at Hogwarts and I will see you next week when I return.” Harry stood up from the table, waved his hand and the dishes all went to the sink and began washing themselves.
Dobby and Winky remained in their seats at the table looking at each other trembling. They felt like they had just been dismissed when they were looking forward to the work. They slowly got up from the table and walked over to Harry and stood before him with their heads bowed.
“Dobby, Winky is there something else you guys needed?”
“Harry Potter sir, Dobby and Winky is so very sorry to disappoint the Great Harry Potter such that he felt he had to dismiss us” said Winky.
“If the Great Harry Potter would be willing to give Dobby and Winky another chance then Dobby and Winky would be willing to do the work for pay” said Dobby.
“Guys,” Harry said kneeling down to their level, “I am not disappointed in you. I just cannot have you do all this work for free. It would not be right. You are both free elves and I am not your master. I am just one lucky wizard to have such great friends like you two who would be willing to do all this work for me. But I have to pay you to be fair and to avoid Hermione’s wrath.”
“Then we will do the work for 10 galleons each, Harry Potter sir” replied Winky. “That is more than enough to be fair.” Dobby looked at Harry with a questionable look on his face.
“Deal! I will pay you guys 10 galleons each when the job is done. Please get in touch with me when you are through and we will settle up. I will likely be at Potter Place when you finish. Just pop over to get me and I will meet you back over here.”
“Yes, Master Harry Potter sir. It will be done” replied Dobby happily.
“Oh, be sure not to overwork yourselves. Take breaks when you need to because there is no reason this has to be done quickly.”
“Thank you sir” replied Winky with smile.
“See you later.” Harry pulled out his watch, held it in the palm of his hand, and muttered “Legends of Potter.”
oo0O0oo
The rest of the week leading up to Friday flew by pretty quickly for Harry since he stayed busy. He made portkeys for the Grangers, the Weasleys, Luna, and Neville then sent them over via Hedwig with instructions to activate any time on Friday when they were ready to show up. He sent an extra one for Arthur to use after he finished at work.
Harry never missed his workouts or karate training but he had spent plenty of time with Rolly, he had also taken advantage of Simon and Henry to learn additional advanced spells, and he spent most of his time under the tutelage of Mattie to learn more about all the dealings at Potter Place and beyond. Harry was amazed at how much there was to keep track of and know. Mattie, of course, had it all under control.
Harry had filled everyone in about the happenings at Godric’s Hollow and his hiring of Dobby and Winky to make sure the place was in tip-top condition. They were happy Harry was not hurt in the ordeal and upset to hear what the Death Eaters did to those poor girls. Harry wondered if he should check up on them sometime to make sure they were doing alright.
On Wednesday, Dobby showed up to let Harry know they had finished so Harry met Dobby and Winky back over at the Godric’s Hollow house to see their handiwork. Harry was very impressed and they did a great job cleaning up everything. It was spotless. There was not a speck of damage anywhere inside or outside the house. They assured Harry that the magic on the house kept all the bugs away so no damage was done in that regard. They did find some rotted wood that they replaced and strengthened some areas that the explosion had weakened. Harry thanked them profusely and paid them their 10 galleons each, promising he would call on them again if he ever needed them. He headed back to Potter Place.
That same day Harry received an owl from Kingsley letting him know that the Death Eaters Harry captured were indeed there waiting for him. They were supposed to capture Harry and take him to Voldemort. “What else is new” thought Harry.
On Friday Harry was in his animagus form flying high around the property when he spotted several people on the ground near the house waving at him. He looked with his eagle eyes and was able to make out clearly all his friends from that distance. He saw Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna. Harry circled back and flew down to land about ten feet away from them before he changed back and walked over to greet them.
“Hey guys! Where are your parents Hermione and where are the rest of the Weasleys?”
“We had them get settled in their rooms. Mattie told just us what you were doing so only we came out to find you in case you did not want anyone else to know this secret” replied Hermione.
“Dad will be here later after work” offered Ron.
“Thanks guys but I think this group is okay to know this. Of course the fewer who know, the better our secret is kept. Let’s head back in so you can get settled then we can figure out what everyone wants to do first.”
They all headed back into the manor and five house elves appeared who took the guests to their individual rooms where they had already placed their bags. Harry went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea. He was halfway through making it when Leru came in.
“I am terribly sorry Harry that I was away when you wanted some tea. Let me finish that for you and can I get you something else?”
“Oh, no, no Leru. There is no need for you to bother yourself with this. However, my friends did arrive so if you can make sure they are taken care of when they come back from their rooms I would really appreciate it. They may want something to drink as well and a mid-morning snack perhaps. I am sure Ron will at least.”
“Certainly, Harry” replied Leru smiling. He remembered the young man’s appetite quite vividly.
Harry sat down at the table and was in deep thought enjoying his tea when Mattie came up to him.
“Harry, can I have a word with you?”
“Certainly Mattie. You can tell or ask me anything. You are the most important girl in my life. I would be lost without you. Just spit it out.”
“Okay, I went over earlier to check on the house at Godric’s Hollow. I was not going to tell you this as I did not want you to think I did not trust your judgment, because I do. It’s just that the house was so severely damaged that I wanted to look for myself to see that everything was fixed properly. Dobby and Winky did a marvelous job I am pleased to say and the house is perfect. The reason I am telling you this is because I saw two teenage girls out on the street looking for the house. I assume they are the ones you saved. One had blonde Escort hair and the other had brown.”
“Mattie, first of all do not ever feel bad about checking up on my work. I welcome you having my back. I am not perfect and if we both can check it then it is more likely to be done correctly.”
“Thanks Harry.”
“Now, Mandy and Julie will have to be dealt with. They were obliviated about any magic they might have witnessed but they live in Godric’s Hollow so are very familiar with the area. They know they were rescued in a house down that street so that is why they were so close. However, the Fidelius charm is preventing them from seeing the house and lands around it.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I am going to make a portkey. Can you go and tell our guests that I need them ready to go with me as soon as they can manage?”
“Yes, Harry.”
“Thanks, Mattie.”
Harry conjured a rope pointed his finger at it and said “portus.” It glowed an electric blue for a second indicating there would be no pull behind the naval.
A few minutes later his friends trickled in joining him in the kitchen. They were also joined by Molly, Fred, George, Dan, and Emma. Charlie was still in Romania and Bill was out of town on business for Gringotts. Arthur was going to join them later after work.
“Now that we are all here, I have a question for you after I give you some background information” announced Harry “and help yourselves to any drinks or snacks Leru has available for you.”
Everyone grabbed a drink and then looked at him expectantly.
“On Sunday I took a trip to Godric’s Hollow to visit my parent’s graves and to see the house I lived in as a baby.” Harry heard a few gasps. He cut anyone off who tried to interrupt. “Let me finish what I have to say before you ask questions or make statements, please.” They all closed their mouths and listened carefully. “Thank you.”
Harry told them about the experience he had, about the Death Eaters, the two girls, and all the details. He also told them how Sirius, Remus, and he fixed up the house and how he had paid Dobby and Winky to do the rest that was needed. He then told them what Mattie had just related to him and asked his question.
“After hearing all of that, would all of you care to join me by taking a portkey over to my house in Godric’s Hollow? I would love for you to see it. It is all nice and shiny after Dobby and Winky worked their magic. Then I would like to take just a few with me to visit Mandy and Julie to check on them and make sure they do not come looking for the house again.”
Everyone nodded agreeing to the proposal.
“Any questions?”
“Yes” said Dan. “I know you are good with karate but how did you take on four grown men, Death Eaters at that, and save two girls all by yourself?”
Ron started laughing. Neville joined in, then Ginny, Hermione, and finally Luna. Harry was smiling because he had a good idea what started them laughing.
“What do you guys find so funny?” asked Fred.
“Let us in on the joke please” added George. “We are supposed to be the funny ones around here.”
Molly was just staring at the kids in wonder. Emma was too.
“What’s so funny everyone” began Ron “is that Harry has been training us to fight multiple Death Eaters at one time. Any one of us in our group standing here, he indicated the six students, could take out four Death Eaters without help and all of us have seen Harry in multiple scenarios where he has taken out up to ten Death Eaters all by himself. Harry could take out four in less than a second and not even break a sweat.”
“Of course, everyone knows that information does not need to be told to anyone outside our circle” added Harry.
Their eyes were big after hearing that but they all nodded in agreement.
“So, is everyone coming along?” asked Harry.
At their affirmation Harry pulled out the rope and asked everyone to grab on. Harry then told everyone the address and told them to remember it. When everyone was touching the rope Harry activated it and they ended up in the house in Godric’s Hollow. Most of them landed on their feet.
Harry gave all of them the grand tour then announced that he was ready to go check on Mandy and Julie. He remembered their addresses from when they made their statements to Hestia and Tonks.
Everyone wanted to go to protect Harry in case he was attacked but he had to put his foot down.
“Listen, we all cannot go and visit these girls. I have never met their parents and the lot of us showing up will not look right, plus it will draw way too much attention when eleven people are seen walking down the street together. Half of us is still pushing it but teenagers sometimes travel in groups and I have an explanation to give them that will help in that regard. The six of us are the most trained and know how the other ones react and move. It will be the safest that way because it will take a very large group of Death Eaters attacking all at once to even have a shot at beating us. Please stay here and make yourselves at home. There is tea and other items for consumption in the kitchen. We will be back shortly.”
Molly did not like it but Harry made sense so she kept her mouth shut. She was still wondering how Ron and her little Ginny had learned so much to protect themselves like that. She knew the reason was Harry and she was thankful every day for Harry being part of their lives. Half her family would likely be dead if it weren’t for Harry. She decided she would just have to trust him. He sure was responsible and acted very mature for his age.
Harry and his friends made their way down the street into the neighborhood where Julie and Mandy lived. They finally found Julie’s house and Harry rang the bell. A minute later the door opened and there stood a woman probably in her early forties with brown hair. She reminded him of an older Julie. Her eyes opened wide when she saw there were six teenagers at her door.
“Can I help you?” she asked nervously.
“Hello, ma’am. I did not mean to startle you. I realize there are six of us out here but the people behind me are my close friends and they came along just in case I needed some help while finding your house. You see my name is Harry and I know Julie. I was wanting to check on her to make sure she was alright. I know what she went through was very difficult so I wanted to make sure she was doing okay and I was hoping I could have a word with her.”
“Did you say your name was Harry?”
“Yes ma’am. My name is Harry, Harry Potter.”
The woman grabbed him in a fierce hug so suddenly Harry’s friends almost drew their wands. The woman started crying and thanking Harry over and over. She let go and started pulling Harry into the house and indicated for his friends to come in as well.
Once they were all in, she introduced herself as Joan and explained that her husband Jim was still at work and that Mandy was here right now visiting Julie, but she hardly got the words out when Julie and Mandy came down the stairs wondering what all the commotion was about. They locked eyes with Harry and then shot off running towards him. He stood up to brace himself and was caught first by Julie who was squeezing him with all she had. Mandy was trying to hug him as well but Julie was in the way at the moment. When Julie finally let him go and kissed him on the cheek, Mandy pushed her out of the way and had her turn. Harry was beginning to think that his ribs were cracked. Mandy finally let go and kissed him a big one on the cheek as well. Julie’s mother Joan was smiling to beat the band.
Harry introduced everyone then sat back down and Julie and Mandy insisted on sitting right next to him on each side. They were each holding one of his hands. Ginny was having to keep a firm grip on her jealousy but she kept reminding herself of the ordeal the girls had been through. She could also understand their hero worship. She had some experience with that herself.
“Well, now that you are both here I need to share some information that I was given this week. The terrorists that kidnapped you two were actually there in my house waiting for me. The agents found this out after questioning them. I thought they might have just been squatters who came upon a broken down house but I was wrong. They were sent to wait for me, capture me, and take me back to their leader. They did not know I had the special training and that is what saved me and you two as well.”
“Why would this guy want you?” asked Joan. “You’re so young”.
“It’s a long story ma’am.”
“Wait, you said your name is Harry Potter. Were you the baby that survived when your house blew up those many years ago?”
“Yes, ma’am I was. My parents were murdered in that house by the very monster that wants me brought to him. There was an explosion of some kind and everyone thought the man died. I got lucky, I guess,” Harry said with a frown “and the only physical damage was this weird lightning bolt scar on my forehead.” Harry lifted his hair and showed them the scar. “A friend searched through the rubble and found me. I was taken to some relatives.”
“Wow” said all three women together.
“The point ladies is this. I do not want to see you hurt again. The agents have taken over and added all kinds of protection, new technology, camouflage, and deterrents to my house. The terrorists will not be able to take it over again if they could even find it. If they do happen to find it they will have dangerous traps waiting on them. Plus the house is under surveillance. The monster is alive and for some reason he wants me dead too. I guess killing my parents was not enough for him. What I need you to do is stay away from that house. Do not go there. It is very, very dangerous. If more terrorists are sent they will be looking for the house so stay away. I will not even be there so do not come looking for me.”
Both of the girls had their heads lowered but they were nodding them. Harry knelt down in front of them where they sat. He cupped both their chins and lifted so they were both looking him right in the eye.
“Promise me Julie. Promise me Mandy. Please?”
“I promise Harry that I will stay far away from that house” said Julie.
“I promise Harry that I will stay far away from that house too” said Mandy.
“Thank you ladies. Please be safe. Don’t let all the hard work I did to get you out of there go to waste.” Harry stood up. Mandy and Julie stood up to and this time shared a hug with Harry, he had his arms around the shoulders of both girls. He kissed them both on their foreheads.
“Will we ever see you again?” asked Julie.
“I hope so. I know where you live now. It is best if you do not know where I live or even tell anyone that you know me. It will be safer that way. Once the agents take care of that monster then hopefully it will be safe for me again to venture out.”
“Bye Harry” said Mandy. “I will miss you. I will never forget what you did for me and Julie. I know they were going to kill us sooner or later.”
“I have no doubt about that Mandy. Those guys were cold-blooded killers. Those four have been put away for life but that monster has more followers so be careful.” Mandy nodded her head and kissed Harry on the cheek.
“Bye Harry” said Julie. “I will miss you too.” She then kissed Harry on the cheek but lingered there a while until she stepped back with tears in her eyes. Harry brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
“Don’t cry Julie. You have your whole life ahead of you now” said Harry gently.
“All because of you Harry” replied Julie tearfully.
“No, I just got you out of a bad situation. It’s what is in here (he touched her head) and what is in here (he touched her chest) that makes all the difference.” Harry stared at her for a second. “You know what I told the agents when they arrived? After I told them you had been badly abused I then told them that you were both strong in character and mind. I also said I knew you would both be alright after some time and I still believe that.”
“Thank you Harry” said Joan giving him a hug. “These girls are strong and they will be just fine” she said while grabbing and holding both their hands.
“Thanks for inviting us in. We will get going now and let you get back to your day. I will take my posse with me.” Harry said with a smile. “They are watching my back.”
“Be careful Harry” said Julie.
“I will.”
Harry and his friends left Julie’s house. When they found a secluded place a short distance away Harry stopped them, pulled out his watch, and held it in his hand.
“Everyone place a finger on my watch.”
After all five of them had a finger touching Harry said “Godric’s Hollow” and they all vanished from the spot, appearing in the entryway of Harry’s house. Molly, Emma, and Dan all greeted them.
“How did it go?” asked Dan.
“We did not see any Death Eaters or get attacked by anyone if that is what you are asking” replied Hermione.
“What about the girls?” asked Emma.
“They obviously had been through a lot” replied Ginny “but our boy here was quite a comfort to them and had all the right words to say. I was very proud of him.”
“I thought they were going to break my ribs on the first hugs they gave me. I am pretty sure though based on their promises and my dire warnings that they will not be looking for this place again.”
“You were very convincing Harry” said Hermione “and I agree with Ginny. You handled yourself with those girls quite well. I am proud of you too. I just never thought you had it in you” she said with a smile.
“Harry, those two girls were very pretty” said Ron “and you said they were both seventeen? Maybe we should introduce them to George and Fred. They should be able to cheer them up.”
“I actually thought about that Ron but I believe your brothers have their eyes on some other girls at Hogwarts.”
“How do you know about that Harry?” Fred and George asked in unison.
“I have my sources” Harry said with a smile.
“Harry,” said Neville “those girls were very clingy and all over you but given what they went through and how you saved them I can hardly blame them for showing such admiration and affection. I think you were right in what you told them that they have strong minds and strong hearts. It will be rough for a while but I believe they will be just fine.”
“Thanks, Nev. That is exactly how I feel and I wish them the very best. I will check on them again if the opportunity presents itself but I think for now it would be safer for them if I am nowhere around.”
“You are probably right mate” added Ron.
Luna had never offered an opinion the whole time but when the conversation dropped off she went over to Harry, kissed him on the cheek, and hugged him gently. She finished and then pulled back from Harry.
“Thank you Luna but what was that for?” Harry asked.
“I was just thanking you for what you did for those girls back there. I hope that if I ever am abused that way I will have you there to hold my hand and help me through it.”
“Luna, you are one of my closest friends. You can count on it…but I sincerely hope you never have to go through that.”
oo0O0oo
Leru prepared a scrumptious dinner for everyone that night and Arthur was very thankful that he came straight over after work. It was a wonderful atmosphere at Potter Place and that Leru could sure give Molly a run for her money in the kitchen, he thought.
Kingsley had filled Arthur in about Harry’s Death Eater encounter at Godric’s Hollow a few days ago. He heard the rest about what happened today right after dinner. He was proud of Harry for the man he had become and ever thankful for him coming into their lives.
The twins claimed they had some joke ideas to come up with so scuttled off to their room. They promised not to blow anything up. Harry asked the adults if they would excuse himself and his friends. He explained that they had an extra-curricular but fun assignment they were working on together and he thought they should compare notes after a week away from each other. The adults said they would be fine sitting there chatting and digesting their food and encouraged the kids to go have fun.
Harry took them to the training room by way of the Study and Library (Harry had to drag Hermione back out) where he informed Henry and Simon that he was going to work with his friends now. When the group arrived at the training room they found Simon and Henry already in their portraits.
“You guys all remember Grandpa Henry and Simon of course? They are my backup if I need assistance and are otherwise going to watch.”
Everyone said hello to each other.
“Okay guys, where do we stand? If I recall correctly we discussed feeling your magic so you could use it to transform into your animagus. Then we decided that the best way to work on feeling your magic was to try to perform wandless magic. We worked with that some on the train and all of you were supposed to work on it at home every chance you got. Who wants to show us some impressive wandless magic? Step up.”
Harry waited for a volunteer then asked the room for some dummies to practice on. “Room, please give me six stationary dummies, one for each of us. Everyone spread out so we each get a dummy two on one side of me and three on the other so I am fairly in the middle and don’t think I did not notice no one volunteering.”
“You said ‘impressive wandless magic’ Harry so I could not volunteer” replied Neville. “Had you asked for just wandless magic then I could have obliged.”
“Neville, Neville, Neville – any wandless magic is impressive. You accidentally stunned Ron on the train wandlessly so I assume you have figured out by now how to cast a stunner wandlessly and on purpose. Show us the stunner Nev! Hit that target using your pointer finger.”
“Stupefy” yelled Neville while jabbing his finger at the dummy from twenty feet away. The dummy fell over.
“Way to go Neville! I knew you could do it. Look out everybody, Neville can you knock you out with just one finger!” Harry waved his hand and Neville’s dummy stood back up.
“Could you feel the magic Nev? Did it go right down your arm and out your finger? Can you remember that feeling?”
Neville nodded.
“Practice some more Nev. You can even try some other spells. Each time you cast pay attention to what the magic feels like. You will notice that each spell feels slightly different. The constant though is the feel of the magic. Even though each spell feels slightly different there is a part of each of those spells that feels the same. That is the magic that powers it. That is the one you want to feel in your body and be able to control.”
Harry turned to his other friends and moved them over further away from Neville so they could talk.
“Is anyone wondering why Neville picked it up so quickly?” asked Harry.
They all nodded their heads.
“Neville is a powerful wizard. He has some extra power so it is easier for him to feel the magic.”
“Huh?” said Ron. “Neville?”
“How do you know that?” asked Hermione.
“Actually, it was Dumbledore that pointed it out to me. I have been noticing it ever since. You see Neville has the wrong wand. He is using his dad’s wand which did not choose him. It has been holding him back. Neville’s parents were two of the most powerful and best aurors the ministry has ever seen. They were second to none, other than maybe Mad-Eye, and when teamed up they were a site to behold. Neville does not know about his extra power and while he has come a long ways confidence wise he still needs more encouragement. I am going to make sure he gets a trip to Ollivanders to get a proper wand as soon as he will let me.”
Harry worked with his other friends while Neville continued to practice. Harry asked Simon and Henry to give Neville some pointers while he concentrated on everyone else. Most were still confused over how to do it and none had made any progress over the week, so they were more frustrated than anything. After hearing all their complaints about not being able to do it, Harry decided to take them back to the basics and at the same time hopefully prove to them that this works.
“Neville? Can I ask you to join us again? These guys are struggling a bit so we need to double team them. This exercise will help you too. Perhaps what you say to help them will strike a chord if what I say is not getting through. They may just need to hear it explained a certain way. If we can also demonstrate it that should help as well.”
Harry had all the dummies disappear except one. He next had them all sit down on the floor facing the dummy that was out in front of them about 20 feet away. Harry turned the dummy so it had its back to his friends.
“Everyone, we are going to work on building up your magic. Let me give you a scenario. Pretend the dummy in front of you is Voldemort. He has taken your wands and he is forcing you to watch as he tortures me with the Cruciatus curse. He has had me under for a good minute. Our only hope is for you to use the lessons I have taught you and stun him wandlessly. You must be careful and make sure your one shot counts. If it is too weak or does not go he will turn around and kill you.”
“In order to have the best shot at casting that stunner you will need to build up your magic so that when you release it the spell is powerful and will stun Voldemort. Concentrate now and build up your magic as high as you can wanting to release the biggest stunner on Voldemort you can muster. Don’t cast yet though. Just see how high you can build up your magic first. Give me a nod when you think you have it built up as high as you can go.”
It took them a minute to get into the scenario and figure out how to build up their magic on purpose. This normally happened to them accidentally. Harry slowly started getting nods from his friends. After all had nodded he addressed them again.
“All of you have indicated that you are built up as high as you can go. Now, before I let you cast I want you to turn your mind inward and recognize what your magic feels like. Do you feel all that built up magic?”
They all nodded.
“Good. Remember that because that is what your magic feels like. When you try to transform if you cannot find that feeling then build up a little magic and use it to help you transform. Just push some magic toward it.”
Harry heard several sighs of relief and contentment.
“Harry!” cried Hermione. “That was incredible. I now know what my magic feels like. I never even knew I could feel it before. This is fantastic!”
“Excellent Hermione! Does everyone else feel the same way?”
“YES SENSEI!” they all answered loudly.
“Man, you guys are good” replied Harry. “Alright, everyone build up your magic again. Voldemort is driving me loopy. Somebody has to save me from this mad man. Build it up and hold it so you feel it again. Nod when you are there.”
Everyone got there quicker this time and they all nodded.
“I want you to point your finger at him so you have maximum focus and will be able to stun him with all you’ve got.”
All five of them pointed their fingers at the dummy Voldemort.
“NOW!” yelled Harry.
“STUPIFY!” they all yelled.
It was unbelievable. Harry knew one would be coming from Neville but he was surprised when he saw five stunners leave his friends’ fingertips and smash into the dummy. The dummy dropped like a rock.
Suddenly all five of them jumped up and started congratulating each other, jumping around, and giving each other hugs. Simon and Henry were clapping in their portraits. Harry looked over at them and the two men gave him a silent nod of approval. Harry smiled at the praise.
After they quieted down, Harry got their attention again.
“I would like to try one last thing before we quit for the evening. I know you are all magically tired but this will give me an idea of where you are at now.” Harry conjured six chairs that made a semi-circle with Simon and Henry at the head so they could be a part of the circle. Harry sat in the middle directly facing Simon and Henry with his friends on each side of him. “Please have a seat.”
After they were all seated Harry began. “Tonight, since you made some progress, I want to see if any of you can transform your left hand. Close your eyes and picture your animagus. Pull up that vivid picture you memorized with all the detail. Concentrate on the left front paw, hoof, claw, talons, whatever it is for your animal. Get it clearly in your head. Do you have it?”
All five nodded.
“Good. Now I want you to concentrate on changing your left hand. Just your left hand. Concentrate just on that. While concentrating pull up a little magic and push it toward that image you want to achieve. If you have to build up some magic first do it but remember it only takes a little for this.”
Harry watched as his friends concentrated hard on changing their left hands. He did not see any change at all for several minutes but he wanted to let them go until they either achieved it or gave up. Harry was watching Neville carefully since he had a feeling he would be first again. After another couple minutes Harry saw Neville’s left hand start to grow fur then claws. After another minute he had a big bear paw with huge claws on his left hand.
“Neville, you can open your eyes now” prompted Harry.
Neville opened his eyes and looked at his left hand. He held it up and moved it around in front of him. Pretty soon most of the others gave up, opened their eyes, and looked up to see Neville examining his left paw.
“Very impressive Neville” Luna complimented him.
“Impressive indeed Luna” added Harry “I believe our Neville will be one overly large bear when he completes his transformation. Nice job Neville. You are well on your way. I would suggest though that you do not try more of the transformation unless I am with you. It is not likely anything bad will happen but there is a possibility so let’s play it safe.”
Neville nodded and continued to examine his paw along with the others who wanted a look.
Everyone heard a gasp behind them so turned and saw Ginny looking at her left hand that was now an eagle claw with very large talons.
“Way to go Gin!” exclaimed Harry. “That is very impressive. You have come a long way in just one night. You gained a lot of ground.”
“Thanks Harry. Wow!” she said looking at her talons.
“The same goes for you Gin. Do not attempt a full transformation unless I am with you. We need to play it safe with this project.”
“I won’t Harry. You have brought me this far and I am sure I will need you the rest of the way.” Ginny smiled a big smile at him.
Everyone came over to see Ginny’s talons and then Neville and Ginny compared their talons and claws. They were surprised that Ginny’s talons were about as long as Neville’s bear claws.
“Alright Neville and Ginny, I want you to change back to your regular hand so we can see if you can do it twice in a row.”
“How do we do that?” asked Neville.
“Good question and I have the simple answer. Remember how you wanted so desperately to change your hand? Well, now want just as much to change it back. It is usually easier going back.”
Ginny and Neville closed their eyes and concentrated. In about a minute their hands were back to normal.
“Take a breather both of you and when you are ready change it back to your animagus paw and claw, respectively. I am going to discuss this more with our friends while you do that. If I am still talking to them when you are done then repeat the process so you get used to changing it and can do it quicker.”
“Over here guys.” Harry motioned them to follow him away from Ginny and Neville. He stopped when they far enough away so they would not disturb the other’s concentration.
“I realize Ron, Hermione, and Luna that you are probably disappointed, especially you Hermione since you always push yourself to be first, but I want you all to perk up and remember you did wandless magic tonight. You are not far behind them at all.”
They all smiled at him.
“I suspect that after a good night’s rest, some mulling over of what you learned tonight, and possibly a dream or two about performing amazing wandless wonders with the greatest of ease, we will see some tremendous progress from the three of you tomorrow. However, we will be starting the day with as much fun as we can have. We will have to squeeze in another lesson when we can.”
“What’s on the agenda tomorrow?” asked Hermione.
“Anything and everything, whatever is the most fun” replied Harry. “We can swim, ride horses, hike in the woods, play Quidditch – wait a minute. Let’s play Quidditch on Sunday. Well, you get the picture. We can do whatever makes you happy as long as you promise to spend time with the group, Hermione, and not all your time in the library.”
“I promise.”
Harry looked at her closely. “Let me see your fingers. Any crossed? No? Okay, I am going to hold you to it” he said with a smile.
Hermione grabbed Harry’s cheeks and pinched them. “Oh, you are so cute when you are trying to be funny” she said turning his head back and forth.
“Hey, I am funny” Harry replied shaking her off.
“Keep telling yourself that, little brother” Hermione replied. Luna laughed.
“Just for that, Hermione, could you and Luna go check on Neville and Ginny? I need a word with Ron here – in private.”
“Oh sure, push us away. We don’t have any feelings you can crush” Hermione said pretending to wipe a tear away as she and Luna walked away.
“That was a real moment for me too, Hermione…almost” said Ron.
Hermione turned her head back to them and stuck out her tongue.
Harry and Ron smiled. Harry cast a wandless silencing charm around them.
“Ron, tomorrow sometime you and I need to sneak away to Diagon Alley. I’ll cast some transfiguration spells on us so we are not recognized. We should not be gone all that long but I want you to accompany me to Quality Quidditch Supplies so I can buy some brooms for the Quidditch Pitch. The ones down there are too old. You can help me pick out really good ones for the different positions. Then we can have a really nice game on Sunday.”
“Are you serious? One broom is expensive. That many brooms will cost a fortune!”
“Ron, look around. I have plenty of money.”
“Still.”
“Look, I do not plan on buying enough for a full team. Most people who play have their own brooms but some do not have a broom and some do not have good brooms, or sometimes they might forget to bring theirs. I just need enough extra for that.”
“Okay, but it won’t be cheap.”
“Let me worry about that.”
Harry cancelled the charm and he and Ron walked back over to the others.
“How did it go Ginny and Neville?”
“We were both able to do it two times more each, Harry” replied Ginny. “It is very cool. I can’t wait to fully transform.”
“Very nice work you two” said Harry. “Tomorrow we have fun but we will squeeze some training in. How about we hit the kitchen for a snack and check on the parents?”
“Right behind you, mate” said Ron.
oo0O0oo
On Saturday, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks joined them for the fun. They did several fun things, including hiking, horseback riding, and swimming. While hiking Harry talked to them more about their animagus transformations. The other guests overheard the conversation so were curious.
Harry ended up changing for them and surprised Dan and Emma the most but Arthur and Molly were no less impressed and even more so when they found out their kids were going to be able to change as well. Dan and Emma were incredulous about Hermione being able to turn into a lioness. They were not sure if they would believe it even when they saw it. She promised them that she would show them one day. She just needed to finish working it out in her head so she could do it.
Sirius even joined in the fun and changed into his grim form for them. He gave the friends some sage advice on their animagus changes and helped where he could. Some of his advice was very sound and helped them to understand it better.
While they were at it, Ginny cashed in on her promised ride on back of Harry’s gryphon form. He assured her he had flown enough now that he no longer grew tired when flying. He told her to hang on to his mane for safety but he would fly as even as he could so she would have less of a chance to fall off.
Ginny’s only comment was “Let’s go flyboy!”
Harry transformed and laid down low for Ginny to climb on. Once she was seated he stood up nice and tall. She noticed she was higher than when she was riding that horse earlier. She grabbed a hold of Harry’s mane and was just about to yell “giddy-up” when her mother said, “You be careful Ginny and don’t do anything stupid.”
“Mum, I am just going for a ride. I wanted to know what it felt like to fly on his back and Harry wanted to know what it felt like to carry a rider and fly. We are about to find out. It’s as simple as that.”
“Well, be careful” said Molly.
Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled. Harry turned his big eagle head to Molly and nodded.
“Okay, Harry, I’m secure and holding on. Giddy-up!”
Harry took off from a standstill with a leap into the air and they were flying. Ginny leaned in hanging on to Harry while he climbed higher. When he straightened out she sat back up and looked around. Nothing like flying, she thought. Harry picked up speed and took her over some hills and valleys, a lake, and some more beautiful country. He finished his tour with his passenger and flew back down with a smooth steady landing.
Ginny hopped off after he laid back down. Harry changed back and asked how she enjoyed it. She had a hard time explaining since she could not wipe the grin off her face. Harry told everyone that he barely noticed he had a passenger. Ginny’s weight made no difference at all so he was sure he could carry a large man with little effort. He offered Hermione and Luna a ride but they decided to pass since they were both less interested in flying.
oo0O0oo
It was a little difficult to sneak away but Ron and Harry managed finally. Harry snuck himself and Ron into the Leaving Room where they quickly said hello to Carolyn and Harry transfigured them into men in their mid-twenties. Harry swore Carolyn to secrecy and explained they were just running an errand. They would only be gone a few minutes.
Harry gave Ron darker skin and dark brown hair with long side-burns and a mustache. Harry made himself up with the same disguise as last time. Both wore standard black robes that would not make them stand out.
Last time Harry was in Diagon Alley he saved portkey places to the common areas people arrived such as the Leaky Cauldron. Having Ron touch his watch they left Potter place and landed in the Leaky Cauldron and made their way into Diagon Alley. They went straight to Gringotts where Harry once again had to identify himself but he happened to get the same goblin as before.
“Thank you Rogklaw sir for your help once again. I am needing to make a large purchase and was wondering if there was another way to do this besides having to withdraw each time? Sometimes I am not sure how much I need to spend. Isn’t there a better way?”
“Yes, sir. There are several ways we can accommodate you. Might I recommend a card? This card can be used here in Diagon Alley and also in muggle London. To the muggles it appears as a credit card. Shops here in Diagon Alley know that it draws directly from your vault. There is a 15,000 galleon limit on any single purchase. Will that be satisfactory sir?”
“Yes, I believe that is plenty for any purchase I would need to make like that. How long before a card can be ready for me?”
“Give me just a minute sir.” Rogklaw walked back to an office and returned a minute later with a gold card that had Harry’s name on it. He handed it over to Harry. “Here is your card sir. Please let us know if we can help you further.”
“Thank you Rogklaw sir. You once again have been most helpful. Please say hello to Griphook for me. It was unfortunate I was not able to see him today. Good day sir.”
Harry and Ron exited the bank headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies to buy some brooms. Rogklaw was simply amazed at his good fortune to help the Potter heir again. Harry Potter was indeed a wizard among wizards. “His future will be most interesting to watch” he said to himself.
“Harry, I have never seen anyone talk to goblins like you did today and they were very nice to you too!” said Ron.
“See how being nice and respectful pays off? I am simply getting back what I put in. I have a lot of money and that helps too but I see no reason to be rude. You catch more flies with honey and all that.”
“What does that mean? Why would you want to catch flies with honey?”
“It’s just a muggle expression that means being nice pays off.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Basically, Ron, if you want people to treat you nice then you must first be nice to them. Why would anyone want to reward you with kindness if you were just rude to them? When I am nice and respectful to the goblins then they are nice and respectable to me. Simple.”
“Makes sense, Harry. I have just never seen a nice goblin before. Maybe all the other wizards are being rude to them.”
“That I would not doubt, Ron.”
In the store Ron helped Harry pick out a few brooms of different models for the different positions. All in all Harry decided to buy four models – Keeper, Chaser, Beater, and Seeker. He hoped that would be enough. He spent over 9,000 galleons for the brooms but used his card for the first time without any problems.
Harry shrunk the brooms and put them in his pocket. He then thanked the store clerk and left the store. Harry immediately led Ron around the corner to an alley, had Ron put his finger on the watch and they port keyed back to Potter Place. Andrew was asking who they were so he could announce them when Harry removed the spells and asked Andrew to not say anything. He obliged and let Harry and Ron out with no announcement. They headed to Harry’s room to unload and expand the brooms to normal size.
On Sunday they had a great time playing Quidditch with the new brooms coming in handy. Harry still had his Firebolt so he did not need to use any of the new brooms. Some with their own brooms got a turn on the new ones just to see what it felt like. The players were Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Remus, Sirius, Tonks, Hermione, Luna, and Arthur. They had six per team with Ron and Arthur playing Keepers. Harry and Ginny played Seekers. Hermione, Luna, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, and Neville played Chasers. Fred and George played Beaters.
Molly, Dan, and Emma watched from the sidelines in some very cushy chairs Harry conjured for them. They played three games switching the team players around. The teams Harry played on won twice whenever Harry played Seeker. Harry played Beater once and that was the one game he lost. Nevertheless, fun was had by all. Even Hermione and Luna had a good time flying around. They were not very good at the game but nobody really cared as long as they were having fun.
They had a little more fun in the pool and Jacuzzi afterwards but soon it was time to go prepare for their return to school. They decided to not take the train this time and just portkey over to Harry’s room using his watch. That way they had plenty of time before having to be at Hogwarts. Harry had sent Hedwig to Professor McGonagall earlier to let her know.
Harry and his friends made sure Dan, Emma, Molly, Arthur, Remus, Sirius, and Tonks all got home safely. Then Harry made the twins a different portkey that would take them to Hogsmeade. They planned on leaving a little early to visit The Three Broomsticks before heading to the castle. Then when it was almost time for dinner at Hogwarts Harry had his friends all gather around him in the leaving room and grab a hold on the rope he conjured and turned into a portkey.
They disappeared from Potter Place and appeared in the boy’s Gryffindor dorm room.
Chapter Eighteen – OWLs
Everything went as expected for about a month after Spring Break ended but then cranked into gear quickly because the OWL examinations were rapidly approaching. May was coming to a close and in June OWL preparations would really go into high gear.
Hermione was anxious as usual about the upcoming tests and spent most of her time in the library. Even Ron was a little concerned because this was the first year he felt like he had stepped it up a bit. Hermione always bugged him about doing his homework and studying plus with his best mate so far ahead of him, he was feeling a bit left behind so he stepped it up and put in more effort.
Of course, between Hermione and Harry he had plenty of help whenever he had a question or struggled with a new spell. Both of them were excellent at the theory and no one was better than Harry when it came to the practical application of it. The only class Ron was better at was Divination. Of course, out of the group of six Neville and Ron were the only ones still taking the class. Ron just made everything up that he turned in to Trelawney but apparently she liked his work so he did well in her class.
Neville was doing a lot better since his confidence boost and Harry seemed to have taken Snape down a notch so his troubles in Potions class were practically non-existent now. Of course, Neville was the go to guy for Herbology. Neither Hermione nor Harry could top him in that class. Ginny and Luna did not have to worry about OWLs until next year so unless asked to help they stayed out of the way of their older friends while they were studying, especially Hermione who tended to get a little caught up in it all.
Harry was pretty much ready to take his NEWTs so was not overly concerned about the upcoming OWLs. He spent more time helping his friends prepare than he did preparing himself. He was not sure what else he could do to get ready.
Of course Harry and his friends kept up with their exercises and self-defense. They were all making great headway in combining their karate with magic. After another week all of them had caught up with Neville using wandless magic and working on their animagus. They were not quite there on a full transformation but they were getting close.
After everyone had got into their daily routine of classes and preparation for OWLs Harry decided it was time to take care of Neville’s wand problem. He approached Neville one evening when the other friends, all except Luna, were there in the common room. Harry put up a privacy charm real quick and got their attention.
“Everyone, if I could have your attention please?” asked Harry.
All of them stopped what they were doing and looked at Harry.
“On Saturday, tomorrow, I plan on taking a short trip outside of Hogwarts and I will need you guys to cover for me. In addition, I will need Neville to tag along with me so you will need to cover for both of us. Can you do that?”
They nodded their heads in agreement.
“But what do you need me for?” asked Neville.
“I will explain that to you later Nev but rest assured I have no reason to go if you do not go with me. Sound like a plan?”
“I guess…but where are we going?”
“That is a surprise Neville. You will just have to wait” Harry said with a smile. The rest of them started smiling as well since Harry had mentioned over Spring Break what he planned to do for Neville. “Let’s go around 10:00 in the morning Neville so we will be back in plenty of time for lunch.”
“Okay, but I have never been away from school like this without permission.”
“No worries, mate. I have it all under control. I will transfigure us both so we will not be recognized and we should not be gone long enough for anyone to notice.”
The next morning at 10:00 Harry and Neville went back to their dorm room followed by Ron who made sure Dean and Seamus stayed out for a while. Harry looked at Neville and sized him up trying to decide on the best disguise for him. While he thought about it Harry quickly changed his looks so he looked like Jack Peavey again. He was taller and heavier with sandy brown hair, a mustache, and dark brown eyes.
“What do you think Neville? Shall we go with dark brown hair for you with bright blue eyes and a tan complexion, maybe age you about ten years like me?”
“Sure Harry, whatever you think.”
Harry made the changes to Neville along with standard black robes and let him look in the mirror so he could see what he looks like.
“Wow Harry, you are really good with transfiguration. I have never been so handsome in my life. I do not look anything like my real self.”
“Well, I did not change your height as much as I did mine since you are already taller.”
“I guess I’m ready if you are Harry.”
“Alright, put a finger on my watch and we will portkey over to Diagon Alley.”
Neville touched the watch in Harry’s hand and they quickly went to Diagon Alley. Harry started off toward Ollivander’s Wand Shop with Neville catching up.
“I guess I can tell you now Nev. I am taking you to Ollivander’s to get a new wand.”
“But I already have a wand. It was my Dad’s wand.”
“Precisely! Mr. Ollivander says it best, ‘The wand chooses the wizard.’ The wand you have is your Dad’s wand and it did not choose you. It chose your Dad. Remember that I told you I have a second wand?”
Neville nodded his head.
“I came to Ollivander’s when I was eleven years old. He told me that ‘the wand chooses the wizard’ and my holly with phoenix feather wand chose me. It was different from all the other wands Mr. Ollivander had me try. It was perfect when he put it in my hand. I knew it and he knew it.”
“When I first met with Simon and Henry, they insisted I use a second wand that could not be traced so I could take care of a few things I had to do in order to get fully moved in at Potter Place. They did not have my parents’ wands so I started with my grandparents first…wait a second I need to remember to ask if anyone knows what happened to the wands my parents used. They were not at the Godric’s Hollow house. Perhaps someone took them for safe keeping? Anyway, I just got off topic. Sorry about that.”
“So, I tried Henry’s wand, then my grandma’s wand, and so on until Simon stopped me and recommended I try his wand. His worked for me pretty much as well as my own wand. The point is this. Wands that belong to family members tend to work better for you than wands that belong to strangers. However, that does not mean that any family member will do. I had to go back seven generations before I found a wand that worked correctly for me. Just because it was your Dad’s wand that does not mean it will be a good wand for you.”
“I never knew this” replied Neville.
“And, I imagine that your grandmother simply forgot. Neville, you are a powerful wizard and always have been. You can do wandless magic with more power than you can using your Dad’s wand. That is the opposite from what it is supposed to be. The correct wand will give you more focus and power to your magic. You need a new wand and I am going to make sure you get one today. You have just enough time to get used to it before you take your OWLs.”
“Thank you Harry.”
A couple minutes later they arrived in front of Ollivander’s. Harry opened the door for Neville, let him in, and then followed. Once inside he made sure no other customers were there before he locked the door and turned the sign to say “Closed” with a simple wave of his hand. Ollivander came out from the back to greet them.
“Ah, Mr. Potter and a friend” said Ollivander.
Harry waved his holly wand at himself and then Neville to change them back to their regular selves all the while wondering how Ollivander saw through his disguise.
“You must be Neville Longbottom. I was wondering when I was going to see you. What wand have you been using for school Mr. Longbottom? May I?” Ollivander held out his hand.
Neville took out his father’s wand and handed it to Ollivander.
“I remember this wand very well and the day your father Frank at only eleven years old came into my shop and bought it. It chose him that day and I can tell that it has not chosen you Mr. Longbottom. Since your father is still alive I doubt his wand wants to work for anyone else. Did you not know that the wand chooses the wizard?”
“Harry was just explaining it to me. He told me he learned that from you, sir.”
“I am glad Mr. Potter was paying attention.” He turned toward Harry. “I trust your holly with phoenix feather wand, nice and supple, 11 inches is still in good working order?”
“Yes sir. I make sure it stays that way too.”
“Glad to hear it Mr. Potter.” Ollivander turned back to Neville. “I trust you are here Mr. Longbottom to get your own wand finally?”
“Yes sir. I believe it is well past time for me to have my own wand. My father’s wand does not work well for me. I think my grandmother forgot that the wand chooses the wizard.”
“Well, let me see if I can find the one for you, Mr. Longbottom.” Ollivander went back to his stacks of wands and looked around. He came out with three boxes and laid them on the counter. He opened one and handed Neville the wand that was inside. “Give that one a wave.”
Neville waved the wand and a couple of red sparks came out. Ollivander took the wand back.
“No, that one will not do.” He laid the first one on the counter and handed Neville another one. Neville started to wave it when Ollivander stopped him and took the wand back. “No, that one will not do either.”
Neville looked at Harry and shrugged his shoulders. Harry just grinned at him. He remembered Ollivander’s odd behavior.
Ollivander handed Neville the third wand and stood poised to take it back quickly. Before Neville could give it a wave Ollivander grabbed it back as well and put it down on the counter. “Definitely not that one either.” He walked back into the back where there were shelves of wands and finally came out with one more box. He handed the box to Neville and said, “I believe you should try this one Mr. Longbottom.”
Neville opened the box and pulled out the wand Ollivander handed him. He immediately felt a warmth from the wand and it spewed out a fountain of gold sparks. He knew right away the wand had chosen him.
“Mr. Longbottom, I believe the wand has chosen the wizard.”
Neville just nodded at him while he stared at his new wand.
“Thirteen inches, cherry with a unicorn hair core. Take care of it, use it well, and it will perform for you like no other.”
“Thank you Mr. Ollivander. It’s perfect. I know what you mean now about the wand choosing the wizard.”
Ollivander smiled at Neville and Harry walked over to pay for it. “Mr. Ollivander” said Harry handing him the galleons, “would you mind if we portkey from here so we do not have to change our appearance again and go back out? I will gladly turn your sign back and unlock the door before we leave.”
“Do not trouble yourself Mr. Potter. However, I am afraid you cannot portkey from inside the store. Allow me to check the alley out back before you exit and portkey from there. That should be safe enough. Follow me.”
“Thank you sir, we very much appreciate it.”
Harry and Neville followed Ollivander through to the back of his store. It was interesting to see the tables and the stages of work on different wands he was creating but they kept pace with the old wand maker and allowed him to make sure the alley was empty before going out themselves and using the portkey to return to their dorm room. They were gone for a little less than an hour so were back in plenty of time. They changed their clothes and Neville put away his Dad’s wand for safe keeping.
Harry invited Neville into his trunk and to the large space he had so Neville could practice with his new wand. Harry then conjured some dummies for Neville to practice on. At first, Neville was having some trouble over powering his spells until Harry showed him the techniques he had learned to control his own power. Neville, while a powerful wizard, was not even close to the level of Harry so it did not take him all that long to adjust to his new wand.
“Neville, you are welcome to use my trunk or the Room of Requirement if you prefer over the next few days if you need the extra time to get more adjusted to your new wand.”
“Thanks, Harry. I cannot believe after all these years the huge difference this new wand makes. I can never thank you enough.”
“No need to thank me Neville. You are one of my best friends. After all, what are friends for?”
Harry left Neville to practice and tended to the potions he was making in his lab. Later they met up with their other friends in the Great Hall around noon and joined them for lunch.
“How did it go Neville?” asked Ron.
“Great! My new wand is incredible” he said taking it out to show them.
“Neville,” said Harry “I recommend that when you go home for the summer that you put your Dad’s wand in a safe place so it does not get lost or damaged. I assume your Gran has a safe place for them?”
“I think so Harry and I am going to do just that.”
“Speaking of parent wands, I need to speak with Dumbledore since the wands of my parents were not found in the house at Godric’s Hollow. I assume someone took them for safe keeping. Otherwise, I am afraid Wormtail or his Death Eater friends snagged them. Since we keep all the wands of ancestors in a safe place at Potter Place I would like to have them so I can put them with the others.”
“Someone must have picked them up since it would be dangerous to just leave them laying around” added Hermione. “I am sure Professor Dumbledore might know or at least know who to ask.”
“That is what I was thinking” replied Harry. “Hagrid was the one who pulled me out of the rubble so maybe he picked them up and brought them to Dumbledore. I will just have to ask him.”
oo0O0oo
Later that evening…
“Come in Harry. You wanted to ask me a question you said? Have a seat.”
“Yes, thank you Professor” replied Harry as he walked over and sat in the chair in front of Dumbledore’s desk. “I do have a question that popped into my mind earlier today. I am hoping you will know the answer or at least give me advice on where to go to find the answer.”
“Well, Harry my boy, I will endeavor to help you in any way I can. Let’s hear the question.”
“As you may already know I visited Godric’s Hollow over Spring Break.” Dumbledore nodded indicating he already knew. “It dawned on me today that I am missing my parents’ wands. We have a warded box at Potter Place that contains all the Potter wands that are recovered after a Potter dies, which is most of them. However, the wands my parents used are not in that box like they should be. I am hoping that someone picked them up for safe keeping otherwise I fear that Peter or the Death Eaters he let stay there, took them. Would you happen to know what happened to their wands?”
“Oh, Harry, I fear I must beg your forgiveness. Hagrid picked up their wands and brought you and them to me. Your head was all bloody where your scar is located. I immediately called a special healer from St. Mungos to look at it since it was caused by a dark curse and then I put your parents’ wands away in a safe place with the intention of giving them to you when you first came to Hogwarts. I somehow remembered to return your dad’s cloak but for some reason the wands escaped my memory. Old age, I reckon. Give me just a minute and I will retrieve them for you.” Dumbledore went through a special door back into his personal quarters and came back out a few minutes later holding two wands.
“Harry, my apologies again. These are your parents’ wands. I realize how special they must be to you so I deeply regret my failing. Otherwise you would have had them for several years by now.” Dumbledore handed them over to Harry who reverently took them and admired them carefully.
“No problem Professor. I am just thankful they were kept safe.”
“The one in your right hand…”
“…is my mum’s. I know and this one” Harry said holding up the one in his left hand “is my dad’s. I can tell.”
“How?”
“I can feel the wand magic, Professor, and who they are aligned with.”
“That’s incredible Harry. You may have a profession in your future making wands.”
“I don’t think so Professor. I recognize that Mr. Ollivander is a powerful wizard but he also has an extreme affinity for wands. I, on the other hand, can simply detect and feel magic in any object or person, especially if I am in personal contact but that is not always necessary.”
“Thanks for sharing that with me Harry. That is indeed a rare gift that you should protect from too many people knowing.”
“Thank you Professor for the wands and for your advice. Most of my life is a secret it seems but it is for the best, at least for now.”
“Enjoy the rest of your evening Harry.”
“You too, Professor. At the first opportunity I will get these wands to Potter Place for safe keeping.”
Harry left and Dumbledore stared after him. There was never a dull moment with Harry Potter around, he mused. The abilities that young man had at his disposal were quite astounding. He just hoped Harry was able to call on them and use them when they were most needed.
oo0O0oo
The next day, on Sunday, Harry took a quick trip to Potter Place to put his parents’ wands in the warded box. He met with his grandparents’ portraits in the Study to let them know and to store the wands.
“Look what I have” Harry said when he entered the Study, holding up the wands.
“Harry! It is so good to see you” said Elizabeth.
“It is good to see you too, Grandma.”
“What do you have Harry?” asked Henry
“Grandma and Grandpa, I spoke to Professor Dumbledore and as it turned out Hagrid, who saved me from the Godric’s Hollow house, picked up my parents’ wands when he rescued me. He took me and the wands back to Dumbledore who put them away for safe keeping. He just forgot about them over the years and gave them to me when I asked about them. Here they are.” Harry held up the wands so they could see them clearly.
“That is wonderful Harry. We feared they were lost” replied Elizabeth.
“And, now you wish to put them with the others?” asked Henry.
“Yes, Grandpa. I wish to put them with the others so they will be kept safe. How do I do it?”
“Simple, my boy, just open the box and give the wands to it. It will take them, create holders, and a label for them. It is very nice magic.”
Harry walked over to the box and opened it. He handed his father’s wand to the box. It took the wand and floated it into the middle of the box. It spun the wand a few times then Harry saw a new holder appear with a label for it. The wand moved over and was placed into the new holder. Harry read the label.
Owner: James Charlus Potter
Wood: Mahogany
Length: 11 inches
Core: Dragon Heartstring
Harry did the same and handed over his Mum’s wand. He then watched the same process and read the label.
Owner: Lily Genevieve Evans Potter
Wood: Willow
Length: 10 1/4 inches
Core: Unicorn Tail Hair
Afterwards, he closed the lid.
“I feel much better now that they are safe. Is that too sentimental?” Harry asked turning back to his grandparents.
“No, Harry” replied Elizabeth. “Those wands belonged to your mum and dad. It is perfectly normal to feel that way. James is our son and Lily our daughter in law, she was more like a real daughter. We feel the same way.”
“Thanks, Grandma and you too Grandpa for helping me with the box. I have to go but I am going to stop by and let Simon know about the wands before I head out. I will come by and see you both again when I get another chance. I have to get back to school now.”
“Bye Harry.”
“Bye Sweetie.”
Harry ran over to the Library and told Simon about the wands before he went back to Hogwarts. Simon was glad to hear the wands had been kept safe and Harry had them secured in the box now.
oo0O0oo
D.A. Meeting…
“Listen up everyone,” Harry announced “I have an announcement regarding OWLs and NEWTs.” Harry waited until they had settled down. They now numbered over one hundred students and it was no small task to get their attention. Harry frequently had to use the Sonorus charm so he would be loud enough.
They finally all quieted down and looked up to Harry who had stepped up on a raised platform the room provided so all could see him.
“As you all know OWL and NEWT exams are fast approaching. Many of the fifth and seventh year DA members need extra time to study. You will be excused from the remainder of the DA meetings to give you more time to prepare. It is totally up to you. There are also regular end of the year exams that the rest of you will be dealing with. From this point forward all are excused from DA meetings if they need the extra time to study. However, I will be here at all the meetings through the remainder of the year and will gladly work with those who wish to come. We may be a little short-handed on instructors but I will change up the format a little if necessary to accommodate. As an example, today I am going to upset the Hogwarts staff a bit by teaching all of you to disillusion yourself.” Harry waited until they settled back down again. They were excited about it. “It is the end of the year after all and what better time to teach a complicated spell. Are you ready?”
They all cheered and nodded their heads smiling.
“Are there any present who already know how to perform this charm?” No one stepped up. “Really? None of the seventh years know it?”
“Harry, they do not teach this spell at Hogwarts” answered Hermione “so they do not have to deal with students abusing it. You have to learn it after leaving Hogwarts.”
“Then we are right on track to upset the staff.” Harry waited for the laughter to die down. Then getting serious he added “I am not being rebellious, I am being practical. This spell could be very valuable to you in a dangerous situation. Keep in mind that the spell to disillusion yourself and others is not necessarily an invisibility spell, which is better but far more advanced and complicated. It is still possible to detect someone under the Disillusionment Charm but it is not easy, especially if you are not expecting it. It normally depends on the power of the caster and the skill in which they performed it. If you do not cast it correctly it will not work as well to hide you.”
Harry took out his wand and wove it around himself as if he were wrapping a ribbon around his body. He suddenly became disillusioned, then used his hand to wandlessly cast a silencing spell on his feet. He walked quietly over to the other side of the platform and heard a lot of “wows” before he removed the spell. They had to suddenly look at him in a different location than before.
“Could I get a volunteer?”
Collin Creevey ran up to the stage while others simply raised their hands.
“Well, I guess enthusiasm wins out sometimes” Harry said with a smile. Collin blushed. They got a few laughs from their audience.
“Are you ready Collin?” Collin nodded his head up and down quickly. He was clearly excited. Harry tapped him on the head and Collin faded from view.
“What was the difference between how I disillusioned myself and how I cast it on Collin?”
Several students raised their hands.
“Dean? I believe your hand was up pretty quick.”
“For yourself,” answered Dean Thomas “you twirled your wand around like you were wrapping yourself in something. For Collin you just tapped him on the head. Why the difference?”
“To be honest Dean, I do not know. This is one of the spells I learned quickly and then never read through the theory. I am more of a practical kind of guy if you did not know that already. If Hermione does not know” she indicated she did not “then I am pretty sure she will find out and let us know next time.” Harry looked back at Hermione who nodded at him with a smile. “Thanks Hermione but I think Dean ought to look it up since he asked the question.”
“I’ll do that Harry if you let me borrow your book” volunteered Dean.
“Thanks, Dean but I am sure Hermione will still look it up as well because she just cannot stand not knowing.” Harry smiled at Hermione. “Check with me later Dean in the dorm and I will get that book for you.”
Harry turned to Collin who was still disillusioned.
“Collin tell the DA what it felt like when I cast the charm on you.”
“It felt like he cracked an egg on my head and it slowly ran down all over me. It felt cold.”
Some students reacted to hearing Collin’s voice but were not able to see him.
“Very good Collin. That was a perfect description even though we could not see you describing it” Harry said with a smile.
“Alright, stay there for a bit while I get a few more volunteers.” Harry turned back toward the class. “I need four more, please. Come on up. Don’t worry, everyone will get a chance before we are through learning this one.”
Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil, Roger Davies, and Lavender Brown joined Harry on the stage.
“Just line up next to Collin” instructed Harry. “…Oh, he is right there. Say something Collin.”
“Hello, I am right here” replied Collin.
The other four lined up next to Collin. Harry went behind each of them and tapped them on top of the head. Now that they were all disillusioned Harry joined his DA on the floor so they could all look at the five volunteers.
“Can you guys see them?” asked Harry.
“No” many of them replied.
“The Disillusionment Charm makes the person under the spell become like a chameleon so that they look like whatever is around them. Very difficult to see as they just stand there” added Harry.
“Could all of my hard to see volunteers start walking around on the platform?”
The five volunteers started walking around and bumping into each other, making noises when they did.
“Can you see them now?” asked Harry.
“They are still difficult to see but you can see a bit of distortion when they move if you really look for it” answered Cho.
“Plus, when they bump into each other and make noises it makes it easier to detect them” added Susan Bones.
“Very good, ladies. What else?” asked Harry.
“I can hear some of them walking on the platform” answered Dennis Creevey.
“Excellent, Dennis. Does anyone know why you did not hear me walk across the platform?”
“You used a silencing charm” several of them answered.
“Correct! I am glad you guys remembered that one. So why am I teaching you guys all these stealth tactics?”
“Because it increases our chances of survival and decreases your chances of feeling guilty.”
Harry whipped around to face the speaker. “That was slightly below the belt… Ron…but…you are indeed absolutely correct” Harry said with a smile. He heard a few chuckles from the students.
“Sorry volunteers. You may stop moving around Escort Bayan now.” Harry pulled out his wand and silently cast the reversal spell to remove the Disillusionment Charm. They all became visible again.
“Wow” said Lavender, “it was cold when you disillusioned me but it was warm when you reversed it.”
“Thank you Lavender. That was my next question. So now that we know what it feels like and what the wand movements are, who can tell me the incantations to cast it and remove it? I can tell you right now that Finite or Finite Incantatem will not work. Anyone?”
Harry waited for a few seconds.
“Go ahead Hermione. They had their chance.”
“The Disillusionment Charm” replied Hermione “is cast using the incantation Absconditus which in Latin means hidden or to hide. The charm to reverse it is Aperio which in Latin means to reveal.”
While Hermione was explaining the incantations Harry had wished for a large blackboard behind him where he used his wand to write the spells in large letters so everyone could read them properly.
“Thank you Hermione, that was spot on. Does anyone have any questions?”
Harry spent the rest of the time answering questions and going over the thought process necessary when casting the spell. This was the hardest part of it and only a few older students were able to manage a successful cast before the meeting had to break up. Harry recommended the ones who were unsuccessful to work on the spell on their own but if any of them broke the rules using the spell and got caught that it would be on them, not him since he had properly warned them against it. “Just be careful,” he admonished them.
oo0O0oo
The time for OWLs had finally arrived. Harry found himself wandlessly casting cheering charms on his friends and a few others he thought were too stressed out. Hermione needed them the most.
“Harry, did you cast another cheering charm on me?” asked Hermione with a smile.
“Did you see me use my wand?”
“No, but I know better!” she said with a whisper.
“Alright then. I will make a deal with you, Hermione. I will stop casting a cheering charm on you if you will control your stress level and stop getting so worked up over these exams. You are far too intelligent to get anything less than an Outstanding on every single one of them and you are too young to have a heart attack and die. I want you to use the Isshinryu focus technique I showed you in my karate class. It will do you wonders, so use it.”
“Okay Harry. Thanks. I guess I do need to calm down and focus. Thanks for the reminder about the technique. I will use it.”
“You are welcome Hermione” Harry said while kissing her on the top of the head. “Just stop making me worry about my only sister.”
Hermione blushed as Harry walked off.
oo0O0oo
OWLs started with two weeks left in the month of June. Harry got up early on the day of their first exam and made sure all his friends were up too. Some of them had been missing a workout here and there due to studying into the wee hours of the morning. Harry knew that they needed a good workout to work their muscles before sitting down for the written exam. Their minds would be more relaxed and focused if they did. He made sure none of them missed this morning’s workout. There were a few complaints at first but after they were done they were thanking him since their minds were now sharper, more alert, relaxed, and they felt a lot better as well.
The first test scheduled this morning was the written test for Charms. The practical would follow later. Harry zipped through the Charms written exam and waited for his friends to finish theirs. Hermione wanted to discuss the test but Ron was not having any of that. He figured having to take the test was enough. Talking about it afterwards was not part of his plans.
Pretty soon it was time for the Charm practical exam. Students were called in four at a time. When it was Harry’s turn, he performed all the required tasks with ease. At the end of the exam the examiner offered him a chance for extra points.
“Mr. Potter, I was informed by Professor Flitwick that you are an advanced student in Charms. Would you like to show me an advanced charm for extra points?”
Malfoy was still in the room and Harry had entered with Pansy Parkinson and the Patil twins.
“Certainly sir, but there are some in here I wish to not see me perform it as they will go blabbing about it to people who do not need to know. Let me put up something to block the view first.”
Harry flicked his wand and a long, curved brick wall was conjured behind Harry blocking all view to him and the examiner.
“My, my Mr. Potter that is very advanced and impressive conjuring. I see you are advanced in Transfiguration as well. What did you have in mind for the charm?”
“This.”
Harry waved his wand and made himself invisible.
“Oh my! Is that a disillusionment charm? It did not look like the correct wand movement and I cannot see you at all.”
“Actually, this is the more advanced invisibility spell – Indespectus.”
Harry removed the spell and then removed the wall.
“Bravo! Bravo, Mr. Potter! Very impressive charm work, not to mention the advanced conjuring which you could repeat for your Transfiguration practical for extra points. I can honestly say I have been impressed today and that is thanks to you Mr. Potter. Very impressive indeed.”
“Thank you, sir. Have a good day.”
“Thank you, Mr. Potter.”
Harry exited the Great Hall to the stares of many wondering what he possibly could have done behind that wall to impress Professor Tofty so much.
Hermione, Ron, and Neville were waiting on him when he came out. Hermione had already taken her exam earlier and Neville had completed his a short while ago. Ron had not gone yet.
“How did it go Harry? Mine went pretty well” beamed Hermione.
“Did you do an advanced charm for extra points Hermione?”
“No, I was not asked to do one. Did you?”
“Yes, evidently Flitwick had told him I was advanced in Charms so asked if I wanted to perform an advanced charm for extra points. Malfoy and Parkinson were in there so I conjured a wall to block the view then turned myself invisible. He seemed to like that.”
“You did advanced conjuration and an advanced charm. Of course he was impressed” replied Hermione.
“Next time volunteer if they do not ask” said Harry. “Ron, be sure and do an advanced charm for extra points when it is your turn.”
“What advanced charm would I know?” asked Ron.
“You learned how to disillusion yourself, Ron. That is a charm. Use it for extra points.”
“Right, I do know how to do that” answered Ron.
Ron finished his Charms exam a little happier than when he went in since he was able to get some extra points. After dinner most went back to studying for the next day for Transfiguration.
Harry decided to go into his trunk and build a workout area in the large space. He would then populate it with equipment used for working out. While Harry did not feel the need to review his notes for the Transfiguration exam, he thought actually performing and using transfiguration to build his workout area would serve as good preparation. Besides he had been thinking about this for some time now. After using his workout equipment at Potter Place again during Spring Break, he really missed the convenience of it. He could get the Room of Requirement to provide the same setup but he wanted to have his trunk fully decked out for use in case he ever needed it. There was also much more he could do in the large space if he came up with ideas for anything else.
The next morning after breakfast, the Great Hall was setup again for exams. Everyone found a seat and took the written test. Harry finished early again and Hermione finished just a few minutes later. McGonagall took up their tests and told them to go and relax before the practical exams.
Ron and Neville took almost the whole time to complete their written test but felt they did okay overall. The Transfiguration practical was to take place after lunch. Harry was looking forward to it since he knew exactly what he was going to do for extra points.
When it came time for Harry’s practical he did everything asked of him from the examiner. His transfigurations were spot on and he included finer detail to make them more impressive.
“Very nice, Mr. Potter” said Professor Marchbanks. “I understand from Professor McGonagall and Professor Tofty you can do advanced transfiguration that is beyond fifth year. I did see your conjured wall yesterday with Professor Tofty. That was very impressive as well. You can do that again for me for extra points or if you prefer you can show me something else.”
“Actually Professor, I would like to do both. The wall will hide us from view and then I will use another spell for the extra points. As I explained to Professor Tofty yesterday there are some present in here who will tell everything they see to people who have no right to know. Shall I proceed?”
“Certainly, Mr. Potter. Please proceed.”
Harry conjured the curved brick wall again blocking everyone’s view of himself and Professor Marchbanks. Harry then stared at the examiner before casting a series of spells on himself. Griselda Marchbanks watched in fascination as the student Harry Potter changed right before her eyes. She had a shocked look on her face when he completed the human transfiguration.
“What do you think Professor?” asked Harry in an old woman’s voice.
Professor Marchbanks rose from her chair, walked around the table to Harry’s side and looked at him up close. She walked all the way around him to view him on all sides.
“Mr. Potter, this is incredible. Human Transfiguration is taught in seventh year but nowhere near this level. If I had not seen you cast the spells I would swear you are a metamorphmagus. It is like looking in a mirror. I dare say if we removed that wall no one in here would be able to tell which of us is me.”
“Thank you Professor” said Harry removing the spells. “In my position I need to be able to go about undetected, therefore I have perfected certain spells to keep me hidden if necessary.”
While Professor Marchbanks walked back around the table and sat back down, Harry turned and removed his wall.
“Outstanding Mr. Potter. I am suitably impressed. You earned those extra points and more if I could give them.”
“Thank you Professor. Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon.” Harry nodded his head toward the Professor then turned and walked away. As he was headed toward the exit he once again noticed all the stares and faces with questions, wondering once again what he did behind that wall. Harry just gave them all a smile and continued on his way.
He met up with Ron, Neville, and Hermione. Once again Hermione and Neville were done and Ron was still waiting for his turn.
“How did it go Harry?” asked Neville.
“I think it went about as good as it could go Nev. What about you?”
“Oh, I did alright. I messed up once but was allowed to correct it. I got it right the second time.”
“Good for you Nev. How about you Hermione?”
“It went very well for me but tell me Harry why is everyone staring at you when they walk by? I mean, it is more than they do normally.”
Harry put up a privacy bubble real quick.
“Oh, probably because I put up a wall again before using advanced Human Transfiguration on myself for extra points. Professor Marchbanks was pretty impressed so she was a little loud telling how pleased she was after I removed the spells on myself and the wall.”
“Did you transfigure yourself back into Jack?” asked Ron.
“No, not this time. I decided to have a little more fun with it.”
“So, who did you become?” asked Hermione.
“Before I tell you, Hermione, tell me what you did for extra points.”
“I just conjured a fancy but comfortable chair and sat in it. Any conjuring is above fifth year level so it got me the extra points.”
“Very nice and practical, Hermione. Congratulations!”
“Yes, I am very practical but it sounds like your extra points were far more exciting than mine so spill it. Who did you become?”
“Professor Marchbanks.”
“But…but…she was your examiner! You transfigured yourself into your own Transfiguration OWL examiner?”
“Yes.”
Ron and Neville started laughing. Hermione was speechless.
Harry explained more. “She had a look of shock on her face when I finished casting the spells but she got up and walked around the table to look at me up close. She even walked all around me and said if we removed the wall no one would know which one of us is her. I got the feeling she was wanting to prank the other examiners but she walked back to her chair while I removed my spells and my wall.”
“I still am trying to get my head around the fact that you transfigured yourself into your examiner” replied Hermione finally finding her voice. “Where do you come up with these ideas?”
“It just popped into my head. I thought it was pretty clever myself.”
“Right…I will see you boys later. I have to study for my Ancient Runes OWL.”
With that Hermione left the group, walking toward Gryffindor Tower. They joined her later when Ron finished his practical.
On Wednesday, Herbology followed Transfiguration and the tests went well for all of them. Neville completed his written exam in record time. He finished slightly ahead of Harry who finished about the same time as Hermione. The practical was easy enough although Harry had to dodge a Fanged Geranium that tried to bite him when he was distracted.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was the order of the day on Thursday. Harry was finished so quickly with the written that the examiner was double checking it to make sure he answered all the questions before allowing him to leave. Most of the rest of the students finished earlier than normal but no one was done as quickly as Harry. The ones who remained using up all the allotted time were notably not members of the DA.
When Harry walked into his Defense practical exam he found himself assigned to Professor Tofty again. The old examiner started grinning as soon as he saw who was standing before him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Potter” he said with a smile.
“Good afternoon, Professor Tofty.”
“Let’s get the regular exam out of the way so we can get to the extra points. I am sure I will be impressed again.”
Harry smiled.
Tofty took Harry through all the regular practical tests just like everyone else. As he expected Harry had no issues with any of them. When he finished he congratulated Harry on a job well done.
“Mr. Potter, I was told that you have been teaching defense to the first and second year students all year long after Umbridge was removed. I also heard that you have been teaching the rest of the students via a group called the DA. Is this true?
“I do teach the first and second year students and have done so since a defense teacher was never found to replace Umbridge. The DA is over 100 students strong but it by no means includes the rest of the students at Hogwarts. Some simply choose not to participate. It was originally started to give the third years and above a way to learn defense in light of not having a defense teacher to learn from. I was directly responsible for getting rid of Umbridge so I felt a duty to offer my services.”
“That is very admirable, Mr. Potter and quite extraordinary. I also heard that you can produce a full corporal patronus?”
“Yes sir, I was taught by the best Defense teacher we have ever had – Professor Lupin, at least since I have been here.” Tofty’s eyes grew big when he heard that. “He taught me in my third year when I was 13. We had Dementors around the castle then which were ordered here by the Ministry, and they were constantly singling me out and attacking me. I learned it for my own protection and I have had to use it on more than one occasion.”
“I am sorry to hear that Mr. Potter but it is no less amazing that you were able to produce a full corporal patronus at the mere age of 13. That is extremely impressive. Most witches and wizards cannot produce one, whether corporal or even just mist. Those that do are usually fully grown and no longer students.”
“I would not have been able to learn it had it not been for Professor Lupin.”
“I am glad he was able to teach you so well, Mr. Potter. Now, would you mind showing me your patronus for some extra points?”
“Glad to sir.” Harry raised his wand.
“Uh, Mr. Potter, do you need to conjure your magnificent wall first?
“No sir, I am afraid the cat’s out of the bag on this one.” Harry smiled then turned with his wand.
“Expecto Patronum”
Harry gave it a little extra happiness. His stag came out of his wand as pure a white as he had ever seen. It looked more solid than normal. It was about twenty feet tall and it took off down the Great Hall with all eyes on it. It reached the end and came back, stopping right in front of Harry as if waiting for instructions. It lowered its magnificently antlered head so Harry could pet it. Harry reached up and rubbed the side of its head and it did feel solid. Several gasps were heard throughout the entire hall when they saw that. Harry turned back to his examiner.
“What do you think Professor of my patronus?”
“Mr. Potter, I – I – have never seen a patronus like yours before. He is magnificent to say the least and he is still here even though you are talking to me.”
“Oh, hang on. He is wanting to know what I needed him for so he is waiting patiently.” Harry turned back to his patronus while Tofty looked on in amazement. “Prongs, I just needed to show you off to the Professor here. There is nothing more for you to do. Thank you. You can return now.”
Everyone watched as Harry dismissed his patronus and it just faded away.
“Has your patronus always been that big and solid?”
“No sir, he has been that big for a while but today was the first time I saw him that solid. I used a lot of happiness in that one. Maybe that did the trick?”
“Perhaps Mr. Potter, perhaps. Once again you have not failed to impress me. I look forward to us meeting again.”
“Thank you sir, so do I.”
Harry left the Great Hall with more stares than ever, only this time they saw exactly what he did.
oo0O0oo
The rest of the exams were completed with not much fanfare. The exams left for Harry to do were Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, and History of Magic. All through Harry’s exams he kept getting a vision of the black door leading into the Department of Mysteries. It was the same as the dream he had been experiencing over and over. He suspected Voldemort was behind this. Harry kept pushing the vision aside so he could finish his exams. He managed to do that with flying colors as he zipped through exam after exam with no struggle at all for answers. The information always came to him like he had just read it so he usually finished his tests quickly and ahead of everyone else.
After taking his History of Magic exam, which Harry completed early again, Harry relaxed for a bit because he had completed all his testing and knew that he could rest now. As soon as he relaxed the vision hit him full force. It took him deep into the dream again where he was in front of the black door only this time he went through it and found himself in a circular room with a lot of doors. Harry walked straight across the room and through another door. This opened into a room with a lot of light and loud clicking but he kept walking straight until he went through another door that lead into a large room full of towering shelves filled with glass spheres.
Coming upon row 97 Harry turned and found Sirius lying on the floor, his face was all bloody and twisted in pain. Harry saw himself raise a pale arm clutching a wand and point it at Sirius. Next he heard Voldemort’s raspy voice. “Crucio!”
Sirius let out a scream and fell back writhing on the floor. After a few seconds the white, pale hand lifted the wand and stopped the curse. Sirius let out a groan and then became very still.
“Lord Voldemort is waiting. Do not disappoint me.”
Sirius slowly raised his head and whispered “You will have to kill me.”
Harry broke the connection and opened his eyes. He looked around and saw that the other students were still taking their tests. This is likely a trap by Voldemort, he thought, but it would be prudent to contact Sirius just to make sure he is alright. Harry gathered up his completed test and took it to the examiner.
“I have completed my test and need to leave early sir. I find myself not feeling all that well.”
“Very well, Mr. Potter. I suspect it is the stress of all these exams. Go see Madame Pomfrey and get some rest.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Harry left the Great Hall and went straight to his dorm room as quickly as possible and went through the door into his trunk. In the bedroom he designated as his own (the one with the closets full of clothes), he pulled open the bottom drawer to the nightstand beside the bed and removed a mirror. It was the same mirror Sirius gave him so they could communicate with each other. Sirius and James used them back when they were in Hogwarts together.
Harry looked into the mirror and called his godfather, “Sirius?”
Nothing.
“Sirius!”
Still nothing.
“Sirius, I really need to talk to you.”
Still no response.
“Maybe he does not have it with him,” he thought. “I do not carry mine around either so why would he?”
Harry put away the mirror then quickly pulled out his watch and took the portkey to Grimmauld Place. He looked all through the house for Sirius but did not find him. He looked for Kreacher as well but did not find anyone in the house.
Harry took out his watch again and went back to his dorm room. He went looking for his friends. He knew that Ron, Hermione, and Neville would be done with their History of Magic exam by now. He ran into them in the hallway. They were coming back from the Infirmary.
“Harry, where did you go?” asked Hermione. “Professor Tofty said you weren’t feeling well.”
“What’s up mate?” asked Ron. “You look a little worried. You did not do badly on the exam did you?”
“No, Ron. I am worried about Sirius. You know those dreams I have been having over and over? I was getting the same in visions all through the exams but I have been shoving them aside so I can take my tests. I figure it is just Voldemort trying to get me somehow. After I completed the History exam I relaxed a little too much and I was flooded with the vision but it went further and I saw Voldemort torturing Sirius. It still could be a trap but I have tried the mirror he gave me with no success and I used my watch to get to Grimmauld Place. No one was there. Not even Kreacher. I have not been able to contact Sirius at all. I just want to verify that he is alright.”
“What about sending your patronus?” asked Neville.
“I thought about that but if he is on a mission and spying on someone then my patronus will likely give him away. I do not want to get him killed when I am worried about saving him.”
“Good point, Harry” replied Hermione. “Your patronus is quite large and difficult to miss. That is all anyone has been talking about since you completed your Defense practical.”
“Let’s go to Dumbledore’s office and see if he can help us” said Harry as he headed that direction.
Following Harry at a rapid pace they headed to Dumbledore’s office only to discover he was not there. They next went to McGonagall’s office but she was not there either. They headed back to Harry’s dorm room to look at the map and see if they could locate Dumbledore. Along the way they ran into Ginny and Luna who had been looking for them. They filled the two girls in on what Harry had seen in his vision.
“If Dumbledore is not here then I will have to go and make sure Sirius has not been captured” said Harry. “If I cannot locate Sirius or Dumbledore who might know where he is then I do not see what choice I will have. Even though it is likely a trap, I can’t leave it to chance. If this is real and Voldemort is torturing Sirius then I have to save him and make sure he is alright.”
“If you have to go then we will come with you mate” replied Ron. “We have been training for this and can help you.”
“It really would be best if we can find Dumbledore” added Hermione.
They entered the common room.
“I am going up to get my map” Harry told them. “I will be right back.”
Harry ran up the stairs, grabbed his map, and ran back down. He opened the map and tapped it with his wand.
“I solemnly aware that I am up to no good.”
The map revealed all of Hogwarts and who was in the castle and on the grounds. McGonagall was back in her office now but Dumbledore was not on the map. Obviously he had left Hogwarts for some reason. Harry folded up the map and pocketed it.
“Listen guys,” began Harry “I am not even sure how all of us will get there. I appreciate you wanting to help but trust me, I can handle this on my own. If it is a trap then it will be easy for me to get out and come back without worrying about having to get all of you out at the same time.”
“Just give us a minute Harry and we will come up with a way to get us all there” replied Hermione.
“Sorry guys but I can’t wait. Sirius may be dying.”
Without warning Harry suddenly took off running straight toward the window.
Chapter Nineteen – Ministry of Magic
Harry ran towards the window, vanishing the glass with a wave of his hand. He leaped through it and as he was plummeting to the ground he changed into his animagus form. He then spread his great gryphon wings and flew off towards Hogsmeade as fast as he could go. He flew past the Hogwarts grounds and over the Black Lake then landed at the train station in Hogsmeade.
He changed back into his human form and immediately apparated to the dark corridor he knew so well in his repeated dream. Unfortunately he did not realize that the wards in place will not allow that. He found himself bouncing off the wards and landing in a dark alley in the middle of London. He was lucky he did not splinch himself, he thought. Having never been to the ministry he had no way of knowing how to get in. Thinking for a second he remembered that his Grandpa was once an Unspeakable.
Harry pulled out his watch and ported over to Potter Place. He landed in the Receiving Room and explained to Andrew quickly that he had an emergency and then apparated to the Study.
Appearing in front of the portraits of his grandparents he waved off their pleasantries explaining that Sirius was in danger and he had to get into the Department of Mysteries right away to save him.
“Grandpa, can you please tell me the quickest way to get to your offices? I realize this could be a trap but I am more than ready to face them. Besides if Sirius is really in danger then I am likely his only hope. I have to go find out if they have him. I have not been able to reach him to verify his whereabouts. The vision I got was the same place my repeating dream kept showing me. I saw him in a large room with high shelves full of small, glowing orbs.”
“That is the Room of Prophecy” said Henry. “Alright Harry, listen closely and I will walk you right through it.”
Harry nodded signifying he was ready.
“Normally, from here I could floo right into the Department of Mysteries because I was an Unspeakable. Since you are not an Unspeakable you will have to floo straight into the Ministry of Magic atrium, just say ‘Ministry of Magic’ and when you arrive take the lift to the 9th floor which will be my department. After you go through the black door it will get a little tricky. Now before I give you the remaining instructions I am going to also tell you how to get into the offices where my other portrait resides because I will be over there after I finish explaining just in case you have any more questions.”
“Thank you Grandpa.”
“My pleasure, now here is what you have to do…”
oo0O0oo
Harry listened to everything his grandpa explained to him then apparated to the Leaving Room where he said a quick hello and goodbye to Carolyn before he took the floo to the Ministry of Magic.
Harry came out of one of the many fireplaces at the ministry. He turned and strode toward the lifts. He noticed that there was no one on duty at the security desk which caused him to be even more wary of what might be going on. He continued on toward the lifts and stepped inside one that opened its doors with a loud clang. He then pressed the number 9 button. The lift started with a jolt and rattled along carrying him to the 9th floor. It was quite noisy in Harry’s opinion although he would readily admit he had not been on many lifts. The lift stopped and the doors clanged open loudly again. A female voice said “Department of Mysteries.”
Harry stepped off the lift and into the corridor. He turned toward the black door that he recognized from his dream. Walking up to it he saw that it opened on its own accord as he got close. He walked on through the door and it closed behind him. He found himself in a large circular room that was all black and had many doors with no handles. The room began spinning with the doors going round and round “This is where it gets tricky, Grandpa said” Harry muttered to himself.
Harry pulled out his wand and did the complicated wand movement Henry had shown him all the while wishing to go to the Room of Prophecy. The room stopped spinning and Harry instantly knew which door he needed. Turning he went through the door on his immediate left.
Harry recognized the room right away and then noticed as he became more accustomed to the light that the room was filled with all different kinds of clocks and all were ticking, the sound filling the room completely. Harry went straight through the room and into the next one just as his dream dictated.
The next room was the Room of Prophecy. It was amazing how high the shelves were and the amount of small, dusty, glass orbs on the shelves. Harry looked at the row number he was on. It said 53. He was looking for 97 and any sign of Sirius. He looked to see which direction he needed to go. He found 54 and headed that way carefully looking down each row he passed. Suddenly he stopped. Realizing he needed to be more careful he refocused and stilled his mind. He was so concerned over Sirius he was forgetting himself and not truly focused. If he was to help Sirius he needed to get his act together. After refocusing and stilling his mind, Harry then turned himself invisible, silenced his shoes and clothes, and continued on.
Harry came upon row 97 but still no Sirius. He checked down each connecting and nearby row but still no sign of him. Coming back to row 97 Harry saw that one of the orbs was getting brighter the closer he came to it. Standing on his tip toes Harry was able to read the description on the orb:
S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter
Harry looked around him to see once again if anyone else was there. He had a feeling that there was but he could not see anyone. He reached out with his magic and found at least a dozen magical people, all of them dark and coming his way. Harry walked back down the row a bit until he was sure they would not be able to see him. He then became visible again and walked back to the orb, repeating his movements when he first discovered it. Then, feeling a little daring and wanting to see what they would do Harry reached up and picked the orb up from the shelf and started blowing the dust off of it.
“Thank you Potter” a voice said behind him. “Now, turn around slowly and hand that to me.”
Harry turned and saw that he was now surrounded by Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy was the one that spoke. Bellatrix Lestrange was standing just to the right and behind Lucius. He also recognized Augustus Rookwood from their altercation in Diagon Alley, wondering why he was here instead of in Askaban. He could tell one was Crabbe senior just from the resemblance. Another one was likely Theodore Nott’s father. He also recognized Macnair who was the one that was supposed to execute Buckbeak, a job he never got to do. Harry, did not recognize all the others but he knew all of these together would be a real challenge for him. He felt himself up to the task but reminded himself to be very careful and alert at all times. These were likely some of Voldemort’s best.
“So, this was just a trap?” asked Harry calmly.
“I’m afraid so Potter, now give me the prophecy” replied Lucius.
“That was very clever making me believe Sirius was in danger. I tried to check and see if this was a trap but I could not get in touch with my godfather so I had to come check just in case it was true.”
“Of course you did. That is how the dark lord planned it.”
“So Voldemort wants this prophecy?” Harry heard some hisses.
“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK HIS NAME!” yelled Bellatrix.
“Calm down witch.” said Harry calmly. “Of course I’ll speak his name. Just because you worship at the feet of that lunatic doesn’t mean I will. Besides Voldemort is not his real name. His real name his Tom Marvolo Riddle, son of a pure-blood witch, Merope Gaunt, and a muggle father whom he was named after. He is a half-blood just like me. So, his real name is Tom Riddle. Did you know that Tom Marvolo Riddle is an anagram for ‘I am Lord Voldemort?’ Look it up. Tom told me this himself when I was in my second year down in the Chamber of Secrets.”
“ACCIO PROPHECY” shouted Bellatrix.
“Protego” answered Harry quickly with his wand. Of course Harry had already put a shield around himself and the orb wandlessly. The summoning spell just bounced off. Harry did not want them suspecting any of his power yet though.
“So, why does Tom want this prophecy? It looks like it is about him too. It says ‘Dork Lord’ and then ‘Harry Potter’…oops I guess that says ‘Dark Lord’ not ‘Dork Lord’…my mistake. It is pretty dusty.” Harry said with a smile.
“STUPEFY” shouted Bellatrix.
“Protego” answered Harry quickly again.
“NO” shouted Lucius at Bellatrix. “Stop it. We cannot damage the prophecy.”
Harry had aimed the curse as it bounced off his shield toward the Death Eater on his right. The Death Eater went down fast. Harry was hoping they would forget about him so he would have one less to worry about but the one next to him enervated him right away.
“So, why does Tom want this prophecy so bad?” asked Harry.
“Don’t toy with us Potter” replied Lucius.
“I am not toying with you, Mr. Malfoy. I genuinely would like to know. No one has told me that I have a prophecy about me. Until I saw it here on the shelf I did not know it even existed.”
“Dumbledore never told you about this prophecy? That the reason you have that scar is in the very prophecy that you hold in your hand?”
“No, he has not deemed to share that with me.”
“Well, that explains some things like the reason you did not come sooner when you were having that dream over and over.”
“So, Voldemort wants this prophecy but he wants me to get it for him? Why?”
“The only people allowed to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries are the ones for whom the prophecy was made. Since the ministry conveniently refuses to believe the dark lord has returned he much prefers you come and get it.”
“And he expected that I would just hand it over to you? A bit presumptuous isn’t he?”
“Stop stalling and hand it over Potter” Lucius said with his palm toward Harry.
“Not in your wildest dreams” answered Harry just before he leaped high in the air and did a spinning back kick to the chin of a Death Eater on his left and then spun hitting the one next to him with a spinning back fist. Both went down hard. Completing his spin Harry put up a shield, then exploded the shelves above Lucius and Bellatrix heads. He then shrunk the orb, and placed it in his pocket. His shield gonged with a couple of spells from across the way. Diving under four spells he stunned the three that were on his right originally but were directly in front of him now.
Harry raised another shield as he came to a halt. He blasted the shelves above the ones opposite Lucius and Bellatrix. There were four over there. Lucius and Bellatrix were still fighting to get out from under the falling prophecies when Harry stepped in front of them and stunned both. He whirled around and focused on the four fighting to get out from under the other avalanche he caused. He stunned all four in less than a second and then fired off another stunner at the Death Eater down one row about twenty feet away. He was staying back as instructed and lobbing spells. So far he never hit Harry once. Harry’s stunner was powered a bit because he fully expected the Death Eater to put up a shield. Harry’s stunner blasted right through his shield and sent him careening ten feet back into a shelf where he also created an avalanche of prophecies to fall on him. Turning he stunned the first two he had taken down just to make sure they stayed out longer. He then tied them all up.
Seeing that he got them all, Harry decided it was time to get out of there. What he did not see was a rat scurrying around the room avoiding detection and falling prophecies. Harry found the exit into the room of clocks and made his way back to the large black circular room.
oo0O0oo
Earlier…
Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna were just standing there looking out the window in the common room that Harry had just jumped out of. They saw his gryphon rise into the air and head off towards Hogsmeade.
“Come on we have to either find Dumbledore or get word to him and the Order. Harry might need some help if it is a trap” said Hermione.
Everyone started leaving except Ginny. She just stood there.
“Ginny, are you coming?” asked Ron. “We have to help Harry.”
“Exactly, I am going to help Harry, Ron.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Ron.
“Ginny, what are you planning on doing?” asked Neville.
“Just watch” she replied.
Suddenly Ginny disappeared and in her place stood a large Harpy eagle.
“Ginny, this is your first full transformation. Congratulations by the way. However, you have not practiced flying yet. What you are about to do could be dangerous” added Hermione.
Ginny flew awkwardly up to the window, turned and looked at her brother and friends, then leaped out the window.
All of them ran to the window and saw her struggling to fly. She flew some but had to land on the ground. She hopped around a bit then took off again and landed a couple times more before she finally started gaining altitude and flew off toward Hogsmeade.
The friends all looked at each other then ran to find help. They did not find Dumbledore but did find McGonagall. They told her what was going on and she sent an owl to find Dumbledore and get him the message. She instructed them to go back to their common room and wait for her to update them.
They went back to their common room but did not like it. They wanted to help. Now they were worried about Ginny as well. They sat around for a while but no news was forth coming.
After about thirty minutes Hermione stood up and said “I have had enough of this. I am going to go help Harry someway, somehow. Who has an idea of how to get to Hogsmeade so we can floo to the Ministry of Magic?”
“Brooms,” Ron replied. “Hermione, go get Ginny’s broom and I will get mine. We can double up and fly the four of us out this window to Hogsmeade.”
Hermione just stared at Ron for a second.
“Well?” asked Ron.
“Ron, you are a genius!” Hermione ran over and grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips.
“Stop kidding around Hermione!” said Ron.
“Ron, I am not kidding around and I am going to go get Ginny’s broom to prove it. You go get yours and we will meet back here. Stay here Neville and Luna. We will be right back” she said as she hurried up the staircase.
Ron and Hermione returned after a minute with brooms in hand. Hermione handed Ginny’s broom to Neville.
“Here Neville, I am not a good flier so I am going to ride with Ron. You take Luna with you.”
“But, I am not sure about carrying a passenger, Hermione. I have never done that.”
“Do not worry Neville” said Luna taking the broom from his hand. “I have done this before and we will be perfectly fine. You can ride with me.”
Ron climbed onto his broom and Luna climbed onto Ginny’s broom. “Alright Neville climb on back and put your arms around my waist and hang on so you do not fall off.”
Neville swallowed hard and climbed on behind Luna. Hermione climbed on behind Ron and scooted up real close wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his back. Ron felt a chill go through his entire body when she did that.
“Neville, quit being shy and grab a hold of me so we can go.” Neville wrapped his arms around Luna’s waist and held on. “Not that tight” Luna said with a strained voice. Neville let go quickly but she grabbed his arms and started laughing as she put his hands back around her waist. “Just kidding Neville, you were doing just fine. I could not help myself because you are so easy to tease.”
Neville’s face turned a deep red but he hung onto Luna as she followed Ron out the window that no one had bothered to repair yet. They flew to The Three Broomsticks and then used the floo there to go to the Ministry of Magic. They all came out of a different fireplace.
“Ron, we don’t know where Harry went. This place is too big. We may never find him” Hermione said excitedly.
“Calm down Hermione” Ron said putting his hand on her shoulder. “I know where he went.”
“How do you know, Ronald?” asked Luna.
“Harry, said that the door he kept dreaming about is the same door Dad was guarding when the snake attacked him. That door is the door to the Department of Mysteries on the 9th floor.”
Hermione just looked at Ron in wonderment but he did not notice as he had already walked off towards the lifts. They hurried up and caught up with him just as he neared the first lift that clanged open its doors for them. Sitting there next to the lifts was none other than Ginny. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. Ron ran over and picked her up and hugged her.
“Ginny, don’t ever do that again. I was so worried about you” Ron said hugging her tighter. Ginny let out a cry of pain and he set her down easy.
“What’s wrong Ginny?” asked Hermione.
“I flew all the way here and my back is killing me where my wings were. It hurts so much. Plus I do not know where Harry went once he got here.”
“9th floor, Ginny. He went to the Department of Mysteries” answered Neville.
“Are you going to stay here Ginny or do you want to come with us?” asked Ron.
“I am coming with you.”
Neville and Ron helped her up and onto the lift. Climbing aboard Neville pressed the number 9 and off they went.
They exited the lift as the female voice said “Department of Mysteries.”
After they went through the black door Ginny decided she needed another rest and also thought it wise someone stay here in case Harry came back out one of the doors. The rest of them decided to look for Harry. They started trying different doors after they stopped spinning. Ginny rested on the cold black floor wishing the pain would go away.
Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna had only been gone about five minutes when a door opened and out walked Harry. He saw Ginny lying on the floor and rushed over to her.
“Ginny! Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“Harry, thank Merlin you are okay. I was so worried about you that I fully changed into my eagle and flew all the way here. My back is killing me now where my wings were. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna went through one of those doors looking for you but I have no idea which one because they keep spinning around. I’m sorry Harry I cannot move. I am too tired and my back hurts too much. You go find them without me while I wait here.”
Harry thought for a second.
“Ginny, I want you to put your hands around my neck and hang on. I am going to stand us up.”
“Oh no, Harry, that will hurt too much.”
“Ginny, trust me” he said staring into her chocolate brown eyes.
Ginny saw those deep pools of green that were Harry’s eyes and could not bring herself to disappoint him. No matter how much it hurt she raised her arms and grabbed Harry behind the head with both hands. Harry stood up and brought Ginny with him. She let out a small cry of pain but held back for Harry’s sake. It hurt a lot.
Holding on to Ginny, Harry took out his wand and waved a complicated pattern. This prevented the room from spinning until he released it. He walked Ginny backwards over to the wall and leaned her up against it. He then turned her around so that she was facing the wall. He lifted her hands and arms above her head and placed them on the wall so that her arms were stretched up above her head. He then reached up under the back of her jumper until he found her bra. He undid the clasp and moved it out of the way. He heard a soft “oh” from Ginny. He then put both hands on her bare back where the wings would have been.
When Harry touched her back with his hands she felt a chill go all the way through her body at his touch. She was thinking “this is not so bad.” Harry then let his diagnostic magic flow. He found the issues and then let his healing magic flow through his hands into her back. He noticed her magic core was down some as well so he bumped that back up a good bit. He heard a big sigh from Ginny.
After about five seconds he removed his hands from her back. He was just about to clasp her bra again and pull her jumper back down when one of the doors burst open and out poured two of the Death Eaters he had put down earlier. He grabbed Ginny and shoved her through a door that was close. Harry quickly put up a shield as two stunners headed his way. He stepped to the side of the shield and cast two rapid but powerful stunners at the men. Both were hit and slammed into the wall five feet behind them. Harry heard bones breaking as they were forced back hard into the wall. Neither one got back up.
Harry started the room spinning again then quickly followed Ginny through the door he had shoved her through. He came to an abrupt halt as he saw Ginny fly back through the air, doing a backwards flip and trying to land on her feet but only succeeded in breaking her ankle. She let out a scream then let go with a series of spells that the one Death Eater she was fighting could not handle. Harry noticed when she finished he had giant bat bogies coming out of his nose, his right leg was sliced to the bone, and his left shoulder and arm were hanging weird like they had been crushed. He just stood there staring at the short red head that had done all that to him. Ginny took mercy on him and stunned him. Well, not too much mercy. He did fly back about five feet, slamming into a desk head first.
Ginny then sat down on the floor, grabbed her ankle and cried. Harry walked over to her and sat down next to her ankle.
“There, there little darling. You did quite well dispatching that Death Eater. I am sorry you broke your ankle but I can fix that. Just don’t go making a habit out of getting hurt.”
Ginny stuck her tongue out at him.
Harry chuckled then gently put his hand on her ankle. Ginny saw a white light under Harry’s hand and suddenly she hurt no more. Harry removed his hand and her ankle was perfectly healed and back to normal.
Ginny stood up and started taking off her jumper. She laid it over a chair then started removing her bra.
“Hang on a second Ginny. What exactly are you doing?”
“I am trying to fix my clothes!” she said in an exasperated tone holding her bra up to him. “Do you remember when you undid this?”
Harry nodded his head in an affirmative manner trying not to look at Ginny’s breasts but failing miserably.
“Well, you grabbed me and shoved me through that door. That caused major problems since my bra was unfastened and my jumper was up. Everything got all twisted and tangled up. When I started trying to put myself together that no account Death Eater attacked me causing me to break my ankle. I barely got a shield up in time. After all that my clothes, and especially my bra, were completely out of whack. I am starting over so I can straighten it all out. Stare at me all you want. I am too upset to care.”
Harry, realizing what he was doing, quickly turned around with his back to Ginny to give her some privacy.
Ginny smirked.
“Harry, you need to turn back around because you can’t see the entire room looking that way. Turn back around and keep an eye out for any more Death Eaters that may show up. The last thing I need is another interruption before I get this done” she said getting her bra back in the right place and adjusted. “Besides, I need you to fasten my bra back again. You undid it so you have to put it back.”
Harry turned back around to see Ginny staring at him with just a loose bra on with her hands on her hips. Harry chuckled and walked over to Ginny
“You are enjoying this way too much young lady” he said turning her around so he could fasten the bra in the back.
“That may be but you are not getting out of it, Mr. Potter. By the way, I am not sure what you did to me in that round room with all the doors but I feel like I could take on an army. Thanks for taking my pain away and fixing my ankle too.”
“You are welcome, Miss Weasley. That is likely the boost to your magical core I gave you.” Harry fastened the bra for her then stepped back and took another look around the room. It was odd. It looked familiar. No. Not familiar but something his grandpa told him…. Oh yeah, this is the way to the offices.
“Hey Gin” Harry said looking back at her. She had just got her jumper back on and pulled down when she shivered slightly at the use of that name again by Harry. “Grandpa gave me some great instructions that have been helpful. He told me he would go to his portrait here and wait in case I needed more help. He told me how to get to the offices where his portrait is and I believe they are right through that door over there. Maybe he will know a way to find our friends faster. Come on.”
Ginny followed Harry through the door and down a long hallway, through another room that was empty, another hallway that was short and then into an open area that was obviously the Unspeakables’ reception area. Ginny wondered how many people actually made it back here that were not Unspeakables. She doubted very many. Pretty soon she found herself and Harry standing in front of Henry’s portrait. It was quite a large one located in a hallway.
“Grandpa, as it turns out I could use more help. As you can see I have gained a friend” Harry said indicating Ginny.
“Hi, Ginny. It is great to see you again.”
“Hi, Henry. It is good to see you too.”
“What can I help you guys with?”
“Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna came here as well to help me but they went looking for me trying different doors in the circular room. I have no idea where they might be and I need to find them. There are at least a dozen Death Eaters here as well. Actually, Ginny and I put down three of them pretty good. I doubt they get up anytime soon. I did subdue twelve of them originally in the Room of Prophecy but they revived a lot sooner than they should have. I suspect there was another around hiding that revived them after I left, Peter Pettigrew as the rat most likely.”
“Good for you guys and it was Peter. He woke them all up after you left the Room of Prophecy. Make sure you do not go easy on any of them the next time you see them.” Henry looked at Harry and smiled. “All you have to do Harry is turn around and look at the map on the opposite wall.”
Harry and Ginny turned around and saw a very familiar looking map of the entire Department of Mysteries. He could see all his friends labelled with their name. He saw that the Death Eater Ginny took out was Rabastan Lestrange. The two Death Eaters in the circular room that he blasted against the wall were Thaddeus Nott and Augustus Rookwood.
“This looks a lot like the Marauders’ Map of Hogwarts that my Dad and his friends made.”
“Where do you think James got the idea?” asked Henry.
Harry smiled.
“Using the map,” continued Henry, “I have been following you and your friends’ progress since I arrived. That little show you put on in the Room of Prophecy was quite impressive if I can imagine the moves you had to make to take all twelve of them down. Peter was definitely in there with you but stayed at a good distance. I am not sure what you and Ginny were doing in the circular room after that but that is none of my business anyway.”
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and smiled.
“As you can see your friends have been all over the place and they have met a few of the Death Eaters along the way. Hermione appears to be hurt very badly but we know she is still alive. Ron is acting funny by the way he is walking around. Neville may have been hurt as well but he is still functional. Luna appears to be fine.”
“They got separated at one point. Ron ended up with Luna and Neville with Hermione. Both pairs were attacked while they were separated. That is when they were hurt. They were horribly outnumbered and I believe Harry you have the Death Eaters working a lot harder after what you did to them. I recommend you go help your friends immediately. Hermione could be seriously injured. She isn’t moving. Dolohov was in the room with her when she fell. He is known to have some very wicked and nasty spells at his disposal.”
Harry and Ginny nodded then took off running toward their friends.
oo0O0oo
Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna were not expecting so many Death Eaters who were obviously out for blood. While trying to get away from the onslaught of spells they were being bombarded with, including unforgivables from nine Death Eaters, they got separated somehow. Hermione and Neville had run through a door but were not followed by Ron and Luna. They had been running the opposite way and dashed through a different door.
Hermione and Neville were fighting three of them in one room with desks. They took out one Death Eater and then Hermione was dueling Dolohov. Another Death Eater was hiding and managed to surprise and kick Neville right in the mouth. He went down hard with a lot of blood. This distracted Hermione who took her eyes off of Dolohov for a split-second to check on Neville. That was all Dolohov needed. He hit Hermione with a spell that looked like a purple flame. She let out a gasp and fell down to the floor no longer moving.
Neville got back up and saw Hermione laying on the floor. He dodged a spell from the Death Eater that kicked him and then laid him out with a front snap kick and a follow up knee to the face. Blood splattered everywhere from his broken nose. Dolohov did not turn in time before Neville clocked him with a spinning back kick, sending him flying over a desk and crashing to the floor. Neville ran over to Hermione.
“Hermione!”
He felt for her pulse and thankfully she had one. She did not look good though. Neville lifter her up and put her over one shoulder to carry her. He had to get her out of there and to a healer. He went searching for the circular room and the way out.
He found the circular room but the next door he tried was a room with a large tank full of brains. He watched in horror as he entered the room finding Ron and Luna fighting five Death Eaters. The Death Eaters had learned a lesson and were staying back behind cover and firing curses. Ron and Luna were dodging the curses and throwing a few back at them. It was obvious Ron had been hit with something that had him stumbling around but he somehow managed to keep dodging their spells and casting some good ones of his own. Neville carefully laid Hermione down on the floor and cast a Reducto at the Death Eaters blasting apart what they were hiding behind. This distracted everyone since they did not see Neville come in. Three Death Eaters flew back from the blast. One recoiled from the pieces flying at him. One of them was not caught in it and was concentrating on a particular spell. Too late, Neville saw Ron get hit from behind with one of the brains from the tank. Tendrils came out of the brain and wrapped around Ron’s arm. Ron started screaming.
“Get them off! No! Stop! That hurts! Get them off!”
Neville stunned the one who put the brain on Ron and cast another Reducto at the others again. This caused the one still awake to take off out of the room through another door. Ron managed to get the brain off of him with the help of Luna who carefully guided it with her wand back into the tank. Ron was even worse now after the brain touched him.
“Come on guys we have to get out of here” said Neville as he went back over and picked up Hermione again. “The circular room is this way.”
With Neville carrying Hermione and Luna guiding Ron they made their way out to the circular room again but the next door they tried was a large room with rows of stone benches surrounding a large archway on a raised dais. The archway had a curtain that seem to have a slight breeze blowing on it on occasion. Neville put Hermione down on a bench to rest and Luna sat Ron down next to her. Ron reached over and touched Hermione’s hair.
“Hermione?” he mumbled.
“A Death Eater hit her with a nasty spell” Neville told him. “I have no clue what it did but she hasn’t moved since. At least she is still alive.” Neville finished looking at Luna who appeared a bit worried instead of aloof this time. As he and Luna were staring at each other two people came running through the door. Neville and Luna turned quickly and cast a stunner each.
Harry and Ginny put up shields quickly to block the stunners from Neville and Luna.
“You guys a little jumpy for some reason?” asked Harry with a chuckle.
Neville let out a sigh and his shoulders lowered a bit relieved that it was Harry and Ginny.
Ginny rushed down to Hermione and Ron. Harry followed her and stood before Hermione. He gave a cursory glance at Ron before deciding he could wait until after Hermione was set to rights.
Harry opened her jumper at the top so he could put his hand on her chest. He let his magic flow to diagnose the problem. This was one nasty spell. It appeared to be slowly shutting down all Hermione’s internal organs. Harry quickly pushed his healing magic through until he knew he had removed the curse and restored all her organs back to normal. He then pushed a little of his magic through to her to give her a boost. He lifted up his hand and buttoned Hermione’s jumper back.
Harry stood up and took a deep breath. “That was way too close” he said to his friends. Turning to Ron he said “What happened to Ron?”
“He was hit with a strange spell” replied Luna “that made him kind of loopy and had him staggering around. He still managed to dodge spells and cast several himself. Then one of the Death Eaters levitated a brain from the tank behind him and put it on his arm. It had tendrils that came out and wrapped around him. It obviously was not a pleasant experience from his screaming to get it off. Between the two of us we managed to dislodge it and I levitated it back into the tank. Ron has been far worse ever since. I think it did something to his mind.”
Harry knelt down in front of Ron and looked him in the eyes.
“Harry?”
“I am here Ron. I am going to try and fix you up.”
Ron just stared at Harry.
Harry put his hands on Ron’s face and diagnosed the problem. He removed the spell then saw that the brain had infected Ron’s mind. Harry removed the infection that was still active but did not think he could heal his mind the same way so instead delved into his head with a silent Legilimens.
What Harry saw was a complete mess. He was standing inside Ron’s head looking at Ron’s mind in front of him. The foreign brain had tried to take over and change all of Ron’s memories. There was so much damage that Harry was not sure where to start. He made sure the problem was not worsening, that he had stopped all the infection, then pulled back out of Ron’s mind.
Harry looked at his friend.
“You alright Ron?”
Ron just stared at Harry.
“Ron’s mind has been changed by that brain. It actually tried to take over. I have stopped it but he needs more attention to set him straight. Right now there is not enough time for me to work on it. Personally, I will have to think this through before I can help him further. It will be best to get Ron back to Madam Pomfrey as soon as we can.”
Hermione started stirring so Harry moved away from Ron and knelt beside Hermione.
“What happened?” she mumbled.
“You were hit with a nasty spell Hermione but I was able to heal you up.”
“Yes, it looked like a purple flame. Harry!” exclaimed Hermione sitting up and grabbing him in a hug. “We were so worried about you.”
“I can tell since you all followed me here. Are you alright now? Fully functional again?”
Hermione stood up.
“Yes, I feel great as a matter of fact. Did you give me some of your magic, Harry?”
“Yes, your core was a little low fighting that curse so I bumped it up a little to help your recovery.”
Hermione turned toward Luna. “I know what you mean now Luna. His magic is special. It makes you feel good.”
“It certainly does” said Ginny. “Harry healed my back and then a little later he healed my ankle that was broken fighting a Death Eater. I can still feel his magic and it does feel great.”
“Well, why don’t we talk about how great Harry’s magic is a little later? Right now we have company” warned Neville.
Ten Death Eaters had barged into the room. They looked worse for wear. Harry saw that Rabastan was moving around again but had a nasty limp and was quite banged up. His friends must have healed him up a bit. He did not see Nott and Rookwood though. They were likely still crumpled up in the circular room where he left them.
Harry herded his friends down to the center of the room where the archway stood to make a stand. Hermione and Luna took Ron with them and stood him behind them for his protection. Harry could hear voices coming from the archway but kept his eyes on the Death Eaters. He noticed Dolohov acted surprised when he saw Hermione looking good as new.
“You guys haven’t had enough yet?” asked Harry.
“Did you think we could be bested by a bunch of kids?” asked Lucius.
“Yes I did, and I believe we did just that as a matter of fact. Tell me, where did you leave Nott and Rookwood? They were not able to join us? I see that Rabastan is up again…somewhat. Maybe Ginny should not have taken pity on him and let him off the hook.”
Ginny shrugged her shoulders.
Lucius and the other Death Eaters walked down further toward the kids but Lucius stopped well before he was in kicking range of Harry.
“Shall we call a truce Potter? Hand over that prophecy now” said Lucius in a threatening manner.
“Hmmm…” said Harry pretending to ponder the question, “…no.”
“Why you little – “said Lucius drawing his wand.
Just then the doors burst open and in came the Order of the Phoenix lead by Sirius himself.
“Get away from my godson!” yelled Sirius casting a curse at Lucius. Lucius put up a shield and fired back at Sirius who simply dodged the spell as he came forward and then connected with Lucius’ chin using a right-cross that sent him sprawling across a bench and onto the floor. Pandemonium then erupted between the Death Eaters and the Order.
Sirius went over to Harry.
“Get your friends out Harry. The Order will take care of these guys.”
“We would rather stay and help” replied Harry.
“You have done enough already. We saw Nott and Rookwood on our way in. Somebody did a real number on them. Take your friends and go.”
“Sorry, Sirius but we have been running circles around these guys all night. We are staying and helping mop this up.”
“Alright but protect yourself at all times, that goes for all of you” he said to the rest of the group.
They nodded and went to work. Harry stunned and tied up Lucius quickly while he was getting back up from Sirius’ punch. Harry then squared off against Dolohov while Sirius took on his cousin Bellatrix. Any Order members who were struggling were then assisted by a teenager using karate and magic to subdue the Death Eaters. Hermione remained with Ron to protect him but that did not prevent her from hitting Death Eaters with stunners from where she stood. The students took them down so fast the Order was not sure what happened or if they were even needed.
Dolohov, while dueling Harry, made the mistake of using the same spell he cast on Hermione. Harry recognized the purple flame spell from what Hermione had described. Harry blocked it but it made him angry when he remembered what it did to Hermione. She would have died a horrible death if he had not been able to heal her.
Incensed, Harry cast a blasting hex with a lot of power right at Dolohov’s wand. The hex smashed right through Dolohov’s shield, turned his wand into sawdust, and took off most of his arm. Before Dolohov could even realize what had happened, Harry followed with a strong cutting hex that cut off his other arm at the shoulder. Harry quickly cleaned up the arm he blasted off by cutting it off at the shoulder as well.
Dolohov had a shocked look on his face as he looked down and saw both arms missing. Dolohov then fell over and passed out. Harry then cast a healing spell that stopped the loss of blood, affectedly cauterizing the wounds. Next he stunned Dolohov and tied him up in two quickly cast spells. Harry did not want him to die but refused to feel sorry for him in the least. Dolohov deserved exactly what he got. He had paid for that ticket to a living Hell with change left over.
Harry turned and saw that Bellatrix was trying to get away while dueling Sirius. Sirius was playing with her, taunting her when she cast the killing curse.
“Oh no you don’t” said Harry as he conjured a brick wall that he sent flying toward Bellatrix. The curse exploded the wall but Harry vanished the bricks before they could fall on anyone. After that was done he saw Bellatrix run out a door. Seeing she was the only Death Eater left uncaptured, Harry chased after her. Sirius was wondering where the wall came from and how it disappeared after it exploded. He had turned away when it exploded and did not see where Harry went. Bellatrix, with Harry chasing her, finally ended up in the Atrium. She had been firing curses the whole way, especially dark ones. Harry simply dodged or blocked them with ease frustrating Bellatrix to no end.
“Tired yet, crazy woman?” asked Harry as he caught up to within ten feet of her.
“I’LL KILL YOU” she yelled at him.
“Isn’t that what you have been trying to do?”
They dueled some more. Harry noticed she was real quick with her Bayan Escort shield so he was not able to get his regular stunner through. Deciding that he was tired of toying with her, he sent a cutting hex that broke her shield in half, he followed that immediately with another stunner, and then finished with Incarcerous. The three spells appeared to be cast almost at the same time.
Bellatrix quickly put up her shield again but the hex cut right through it and the stunner connected with her chest, next she was trussed up with ropes. Harry walked up to her and was looking down at her when his scar throbbed and his wand was suddenly summoned from his hand. Harry turned and saw Voldemort standing there about twenty feet away. He let Harry’s wand sail on past him so that it clattered on the floor behind him.
“Hello Harry, fancy seeing you here.”
“Hello Tom, long time no see.”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Why not? That’s your name.”
“I am Lord Voldemort. I am no longer Tom Riddle.”
“Really? Tell me, how do you keep your followers in the dark about yourself? They all appear to be eat up with pure-blood mania so how do they put up with you being a half-blood? Are you just lying to them? Are they too stupid to look it up?”
“Crucio”
Harry was hit with the curse just as he was hoping. However, no one could cast the Cruciatus curse like Voldemort. Harry had already started using his focus technique while he and Voldemort were still talking. The curse still hurt like crazy but Harry started overpowering it more with his focus to ignore the pain and his use of his healing magic that he now had flowing through his entire body. It took nearly all of the pain away. Once he had it under control Harry positioned himself so that he could point his finger at Voldemort while still pretending he was in great pain. Building up his magic he was about to put a hole through Voldemort with a stunner, when a fireplace lit up and out walked Dumbledore who cast a spell at Voldemort immediately to make him release Harry from the curse. Voldemort did drop the curse to block Dumbledore’s spell but Harry was disappointed at Dumbledore’s timing. He thought for sure he would kill Voldemort this time.
Dumbledore and Voldemort began dueling in a manner Harry had never seen before. The spells these guys knew how to do were spectacular. Harry waved his hand and summoned his wand back to him and stood up like nothing was wrong. Voldemort eyed him suspiciously while also keeping an eye out for Dumbledore. He fully expected Harry to be out for the count, possibly insane from the torture but here he was summoning his wand and standing up like he did not have a care in the world.
Voldemort yelled “Avada Kedavra” and cast the killing curse at Harry who was about to dodge it but one of the statues being controlled by Dumbledore jumped in front of it and took the curse instead. Harry started to help Dumbledore take down Voldemort but Dumbledore stopped him. He had just trapped Tom in a ball of water he pulled out of the fountain. Tom was struggling to break out of it. Dumbledore looked at Harry.
“This is not your time to face him Harry. Not yet. Stay out of the way and let me handle this.”
“Alright sir, as long you explain that to me later, but if at any time you look like you need help I am weighing in.”
Harry walked over and leaned against the wall. He kept his wand in is hand just in case and waited, watching the spectacle in front of him. After a minute Voldemort had managed to break out of the ball of water and disappear completely. Did he flee?
“Stay where you are Harry” warned Dumbledore.
The Professor looked extremely worried but Harry could not see why until his scar burst in agonizing pain. He felt Voldemort trying to take over his mind. Harry was fighting him with all his might but Voldemort was too strong.
Harry then remembered what he had to do. Harry had all the really important stuff locked away and buried deep. Voldemort would never find that or even know that it exists. Harry finally gave in completely and let Voldemort think he had broken him, but Harry directed him towards some of his favorite memories – the laughter among friends, the kisses from Tonks and Ginny, joking around, the love he felt for Sirius and his friends. Suddenly Harry heard a scream and felt Voldemort leave him quickly.
After another minute, Harry opened his eyes and tried to focus because he started hearing a lot of voices. He heard a man say that he saw you-know-who disappear with the woman who was tied up over there. Tom must have taken Bellatrix with him, he thought.
Harry found Dumbledore leaning over him and staring into his eyes.
“Are you alright Harry?”
“I think so, Professor. He almost had me but once again he underestimated me and I tricked him.”
“Come on, my boy” said Dumbledore helping Harry into a sitting position. “You handled yourself admirably Harry. He left in quite a hurry. You must have showed him something he did not like.”
“I just shared a few of my favorite memories and love for my friends. He did not seem to appreciate them as much as I do.”
Dumbledore chuckled. “No, I don’t think he would.”
Dumbledore helped Harry up the rest of the way until he was standing. Looking across the way Harry saw all of his friends and some of the Order. Looking around he saw Fudge and some aurors discussing what they had seen and assessing all the damage done to the atrium which was quite extensive. Between Dumbledore transfiguring anything and everything and Voldemort blowing everything up it was quite a mess.
“Professor, I am going to collect my friends, and portkey back to Hogwarts. We have had a long night and we must get Ron to Madame Pomfrey.”
“Alright Harry, give me about thirty minutes to explain all this to Cornelius and I will meet you back there. I will send for you when I arrive. We have much to discuss.”
“Yes, Professor we do.”
Harry walked over to his friends and said hello to the Order members. Sirius was not around.
“Harry?” asked Kingsley “We found Dolohov missing both arms. Would you happen to know how that happened?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I would. When I caught up with Hermione she was unconscious from a spell Dolohov hit her with. She would have died an agonizing death had I not arrived in time and been able to heal her. The spell was slowly shutting down all her internal organs. Hermione told me the spell looked like a purple flame. After you guys came in I ended up dueling Dolohov. In the middle of it he made the mistake of casting the same spell at me. I remembered how deadly it was and what it did to Hermione. I decided if he wanted to cast deadly spells then I would make it more difficult for him. After I blocked his spell I ramped up and cast a blasting hex that destroyed his wand, his hand, and wand arm. I followed that with a cutting hex that removed his other arm. His wand arm was a big mess so I removed it with a cutting hex as well just to make it nice and tidy. He was not able to block any of my spells and certainly cannot now. I then healed his wounds so he would not bleed to death, stunned him, and tied him up.”
“I will write it up as it truly is Harry, self-defense. If you need someone to talk to about this then I will make myself available to you. I know actions taken in battle can sometimes be difficult to deal with after we have time to reflect.”
“Do not worry about me Kingsley. He deserved exactly what he got. He was lucky I did not kill him for what he did. After what I witnessed tonight with every single one of these Death Eaters, I am not letting them get away with those type of spells any longer. I will not kill indiscriminately but if you try to kill me or my friends then I will show you no mercy. You will get back what you dish out.”
“These are tough times Harry. I am sorry you have had to grow up so fast.”
“Thanks Kingsley for the assist tonight.”
“I am not sure we were even needed Harry but anytime I can have your back I will be there.”
“Good night Kingsley. I am taking my friends back to Hogwarts.”
“Get some rest, Harry” said Tonks from a few feet away.
Harry walked over and gave Tonks a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“You too Tonks and thanks for the help.”
Harry walked over to his friends, pulling his wand and conjuring a rope at the same time. He then pointed his wand at the rope and turned it into a portkey. The rope glowed an electric blue color for a second. Fudge saw Harry create the portkey from across the way.
“Dumbledore, he can’t do that right in front of me and while at the ministry at that!”
“Cornelius do not even go there. Harry and his friends took down a dozen major Death Eaters tonight and Harry sent Voldemort packing. You will want to hear all I have to tell you about tonight’s doings. I will give you thirty minutes of my time before I must return to Hogwarts.”
“But – but –”
“Cornelius, the last person you want on your bad side is Harry.”
Fudge sighed. “You will explain everything Dumbledore?”
“Yes, Cornelius, thirty minutes should be enough time and then I must go.”
Looking back at Harry and his friends they saw them all grab a hold of the rope (Ron had some assistance) and they disappeared from the atrium.
Chapter Twenty – Revelations
After leaving the Ministry atrium via a portkey created by Harry, the six of them landed in the Infirmary at Hogwarts. Harry and Neville sat Ron on one of the beds while Luna explained to Madame Pomfrey when she came out of her office what happened to him. Madam Pomfrey came over to diagnose Ron.
“Mr. Potter explain to me what you did to help Mr. Weasley.”
“I ran a diagnostic, then found and removed the curse that had him addled. Next, I removed the infection caused by the brain and the skin irritation on his arms caused by the tendrils. I basically stopped any progress the brain was making. I reversed the affects as best I could but it had made some changes in his mind that I was not able to fix at the time and I did not think I could fix it with my regular way of healing. Not long after that we were interrupted again by some Death Eaters.”
“This sounds pretty bad, Mr. Potter. I will see what I can do.” Madame Pomfrey went to work on Ron immediately. After trying a few spells she went to her supply cabinet to get a potion. She gave it to Ron who immediately fell asleep.
“Mr. Potter you stopped the problem from getting any worse. Thank you. Now, I need to find a way to reverse the effects on his mind. I just gave him a dreamless sleep potion so he can rest while I consult some colleagues about his case. I am afraid I will need some help on this one. We may even have to contact the Unspeakables to question them about the brains. Why don’t the rest of you go get cleaned up and go back to your dorms to rest. He will not wake up until later tomorrow anyway.”
“Madame Pomfrey” replied Harry, “I am fairly confident that if I were given the opportunity and the time I would be able to repair the damage that was caused in his mind. I just need some time to think and study on it.”
“Excellent, Mr. Potter. Do come back and see me tomorrow. If I and my colleagues do not figure out a solution then we may need your help. All of you should try not to worry now. Mr. Weasley will not get any worse since Mr. Potter stopped it from spreading. The goal is to make him better and get him back to normal. I will do my best, I promise.”
The remaining five slowly went back to the Gryffindor common room. After they entered Harry noticed that the window he jumped out of was still vanished so he flicked his wand at the window and the window was immediately repaired. They all sat down on a sofa and chairs and Harry put up a privacy bubble around them so they could talk.
“Everyone,” began Harry, “I want to thank each one of you for coming to help me tonight. What we did was both dangerous and a bit reckless. Any or all of us could have died had they got the upper hand at any point. In fact, they nearly killed Hermione and Ron too for that matter. It makes me sick just thinking about it.”
“Harry, it is not your fault that any of us got hurt” replied Hermione. “You left without us and handled all twelve of them by yourself from what I was told. I was stupid for taking my eyes off of Dolohov even for a split second to check on Neville. Dolohov took advantage of my lapse in judgment and hit me with that spell. I am thankful for Neville who was able to put them down all by himself and carry me out of there.”
“Yes, thank you Neville for taking care of my sister. I will not forget what you did.”
Neville blushed.
“Let’s also not forget Luna” added Harry, “our adopted Ravenclaw and honorary Gryffindor, for helping save Ron from that brain.”
“Poor Ron” said Luna.
“Do not worry about Ron. If Madam Pomfrey cannot cure him then I will. The more I think about it the more confidence I have in my ability to fix it. I will tackle that problem tomorrow if I am needed.” Harry looked at each one and assured them all.
They all started to look a little more relieved. They had learned to trust Harry without reservation.
“Well, just as we suspected it was a trap” Harry said. “I am sure you guys worked that out on your own?”
They nodded their heads.
“I don’t know where Sirius was earlier when I could not reach him but he was definitely not there at the Ministry, until he showed up with the Order that is. I did not get a chance to talk to him about that but will be asking him about it at the first opportunity. I am truly sorry guys.”
“It’s not your fault Harry” Ginny insisted.
“Harry, you did what you had to do” added Neville. “You did nothing wrong and from what I could see you handled yourself admirably. I will follow you anywhere my friend.”
Just then Dobby popped in.
“Master Harry Potter sir?”
“Yes, Dobby?”
“The Headmaster would like to see the Great Harry Potter in his office right away sir.”
“Thank you Dobby. I will go there now.” Harry stood up. “I trust Neville that you will walk Luna back to Ravenclaw?”
“Sure Harry, I would love to do that.”
“Alright then, I will talk to you guys later.” Harry removed his privacy spell as he headed toward the door.
“I am going to take a shower to wash off all that Death Eater scum” said Ginny.
“Me too” replied Hermione.
“Come on Luna. Let me walk you back to your dorm.”
“Alright Neville, I am looking forward to a good shower myself. Fighting Death Eaters is a dirty business.”
oo0O0oo
“Come in Harry” said Dumbledore even before he could knock.
Harry walked in and sat down in the chair in front of Dumbledore’s desk. He was ready to hear what Dumbledore had to share with him.
“Harry, I’m afraid I owe you another apology. I have information that I should have shared with you already. You could have avoided this entire night had I done so.”
“I am not that concerned Professor about having to fight those Death Eaters and Voldemort tonight. We wounded several, some more so than others. We also managed to capture most of them. I am sorry my friends got hurt and I am really sorry that I could not heal Ron completely when I tried but I am very confident now that I will be able to cure him if Madam Pomfrey needs my help.”
“That’s good news Harry about Mr. Weasley. I am sure Poppy will appreciate any help you can give her.” Dumbledore peered at Harry. “I did hear about Dolohov. If you need anyone to talk to Harry, I will be available to you. That kind of thing can be difficult to deal with after the fact.”
“Thank you Professor, but as I told Kingsley, Dolohov got exactly what he deserved. He cast a deadly curse at me that would cause an agonizingly slow death, the very same curse he hit Hermione with. Thankfully, I was able to cure her in time. When he cast that curse at me I recognized it immediately from how Hermione described it – a purple flame. It shuts down all your internal organs slowly, painfully. I simply removed his ability to cast it again. Do not worry about me in that regard, Professor.”
“Very well, Harry but I will be here if you need someone to talk to.”
“I appreciate that Professor but what was the information you wanted to share? I have some information to share with you as well when you are done.”
“There are two secrets I have been keeping that I need to share with you tonight Harry. This is not an easy thing for me to do. I did not want to share this with you when you were younger because it carries with it a very large burden and I did not want to take away what little childhood you had left. The first thing you should know is there is a prophecy about you and Voldemort –”
“Oh, you mean this one?” Harry pulled the shrunken orb out of his pocket and enlarged it back to normal size. He held it up in his hand so Dumbledore could see it.
“Yes, Harry. You managed to hang onto it did you?”
“Yes, Mr. Malfoy was demanding I turn it over to him after I picked it up off the shelf but I decided not to let him have it.”
“I see…. Harry, I take it you have noticed the label and what is written on it?”
“Yes, it says:
S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter”
“Harry, S. P. T. are the initials for Professor Trelawney. The other initials are mine.”
Harry blinked bemusedly.
“All of these initials are yours?”
“Yes, my name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The prophecy was given by Sybil Trelawney to me before you were even born Harry. Unfortunately a young Death Eater overheard the first part of it before he was discovered and removed. He ran immediately to Voldemort and informed him of what he had heard.”
“Tom came after you, Harry, the night he killed your parents and tried to kill you. It is due to this prophecy that he is constantly after you. He most likely believes he cannot move forward with his plans until you are defeated Harry. The fact that you have defeated or escaped him on multiple occasions now just makes him more determined to kill you.”
“How do I hear the prophecy?”
“Simple, given that it is about you, just tap it with your wand to hear it.”
Harry sat the orb on Dumbledore’s desk then tapped it with his wand. He saw a miniature Trelawney appear out of the mist and start speaking in that strange, gravelly voice he had heard her use before back in third year.
“THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES… BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES… AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT… AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES… THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…”
The miniature Trelawney sank back down into the mist and disappeared. Not another sound was heard as Harry stared at the orb trying to comprehend everything he had just heard.
“Harry –”
“Wait, Professor. I need a moment…”
Dumbledore sat back in his chair waiting on Harry as requested. He was not sure how Harry would take this. This is after all a very different Harry from the years before. Dumbledore decided he could be patient.
After a couple minutes Harry got up and started pacing.
“Let me get this straight Professor” stated Harry as he turned to look at Dumbledore. “I was born at the end of July and my parents, who fought Voldemort, defied him three times?” Dumbledore nodded. “Plus, I have the power to vanquish Voldemort but he marked me as his equal…that would be the scar he gave me.” Harry pointed at the scar on his forehead. “What power will I have though that he will not have? And, wait a minute! Is that prophecy saying that I am the only one who can kill him? That one of us is going to kill the other?”
“Yes, Harry. I am so sorry for you to have to bear this burden.” Dumbledore stood and walked over to the window. “I believe it means that you are the only one who can vanquish him forever. What is strange is the prophecy did not necessarily refer to you. Neville was born at the end of July and only one day ahead of you. His parents defied Voldemort three times as well. It could have easily been him. He is after all a pureblood and you a half-blood but Voldemort did not choose Neville, he chose you. Maybe because Tom is a half-blood too, I am not sure, but he tried to kill you, not Neville. There was no doubt after he attacked and marked you that you are the subject of the prophecy. The orb was relabeled after Tom attacked you and your parents that night.”
“Professor, I should tell you that your timing was lousy tonight. I was just about to kill Voldemort when you showed up.”
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry.
“Forgive me Harry but as I recall he had you under the Cruciatus curse when I arrived. I thought it prudent to get you released from it as soon as possible.”
“That brings me to the secrets I need to share with you Professor. I can overcome the Cruciatus. Granted Tom’s is much worse than anyone else’s I have felt but when you came in I had it under control and was pretending to still be in pain. I was lining up my finger and building up my magic so I could cast a powerful stunner and blow a nice round hole right through him and kill him. Your spell prevented that from happening.”
“How are you able to throw off the Cruciatus? You already can throw off the Imperius. How do you do it?”
“It took a lot of experimenting and practice but it is a combination of my focus technique used in Isshinryu Karate to ignore pain and my healing magic. By putting those two together I can overpower the curse and negate most of its effects to the point where I can function. I imagine if someone less powerful than Tom hit me with it I could overcome it completely.”
“So you can do wandless magic and throw off two of the three unforgiveable curses. Actually, we can safely say you have successfully thrown off all three unforgiveable curses. That is amazing Harry but you need to hear the other information I have to share. It is the reason I told you to stay out of it and that it is not your time yet to face him.”
“I was going to ask you about that.”
“Harry, the reason Voldemort was able to come back to life was due to him using some very dark magic, some of the darkest ever used. He created horcruxes.”
“What is a horcrux?”
“A horcrux is a powerful object that a dark wizard or witch hides a fragment of his or her soul in as a means of obtaining immortality. While a part of your soul is anchored in this object, your body can be destroyed but your soul will be anchored to the Earth.”
“How does one go about fragmenting their soul to achieve this, Professor?”
“You have to commit murder, Harry. It is very dark magic.”
“You said horcruxes as in plural. How many did Tom create?”
“I am not sure quite yet on the number. Although he may have created as many as seven.”
“Seven?”
“Yes, seven is a magical number and it would be quite difficult to achieve that many horcruxes, however it would be virtually impossible to fragment your soul any further than that. I am working on finding out as much as I can so I can be more certain about the number. Do you remember at the end of your second year when you brought me Tom’s diary?”
“Yes?”
“That was a horcrux Harry that you destroyed in the Chamber of Secrets. A part of Voldemort’s soul was in that diary communicating with Miss Weasley. We are lucky you were around to save her.”
“Lucky, right.”
“So you see Harry, as long as Tom’s horcruxes are still around he cannot be completely killed and removed from this plane of existence. We have to destroy all of his horcruxes before that can happen.” Dumbledore wanted to go a step further and tell him about his scar but decided Harry had enough to deal with tonight. He would address the issue with the scar another time.
“So, it would have done little good to kill Voldemort tonight. He would have just come back again.”
“That is correct Harry.
Harry sat there for a minute.
“Harry, why don’t you go get cleaned up and get some rest? We will have much to deal with tomorrow.”
“Thank you Professor for sharing that information. I understand the importance of keeping this secret. I also request that you keep my secrets regarding my abilities with wandless magic and the unforgiveable curses.”
“You have my word Harry. Thank you for sharing with me as well.”
“Good night, Professor.”
“Good night, Harry.”
oo0O0oo
The next morning everyone was wondering about all the extra points Gryffindor had gained and the extra fifty Ravenclaw had as well. That is until Dumbledore announced at breakfast the heroic efforts of six fifth years, five from Gryffindor and one from Ravenclaw (he mentioned them by name). Harry did not appreciate the extra attention. More was thrown at him though when the morning edition of The Prophet arrived. Draco and some of the Slytherins were not happy about it one bit. They kept staring at Harry and his friends in a menacing way. Harry imagined that it had something to do with some of their fathers being caught and arrested and the royal thumping he and his team put on the lot of them.
“It looks like Malfoy and friends are not too pleased that we beat up their dads then had them arrested and thrown in prison” Harry mentioned with a chuckle. “Do you suppose those stares are meant to intimidate us?”
“Well, actually Harry, we did beat up their dads pretty badly and had them thrown in jail” Ginny answered. “Now the poor little fellows will have to go home to no daddy.”
“Yes, give them a break Harry” added Hermione. “They are probably devastated after hearing the news.”
Harry stared at Luna.
“Why are you staring at me Harry?” asked Luna.
“I am just waiting on you to add more to what Ginny and Hermione said.”
“Oh, well I have nothing to add. Personally, I was going to give them one minute more to straighten up before I walk over there and beat them senseless.”
“I see…differing opinions. I like that. Neville?”
“I think I will have to agree with Luna.”
“That cancels the four of you out. I say we ignore them for as long as they will let us. If they make the mistake of not letting us then we wipe the floor with them. I mean seriously, if we took down their fathers do they think they will be any better? They are not worth my time. Let them sulk.”
“Just for the record” said Ginny “Hermione and I were kidding.”
“I know and I also know that you both agree with me.”
Ginny and Hermione smiled.
“Neville and Luna agree with me as well.”
Neville and Luna looked at each other for a second.
“No, really, I want to go beat them up” said Luna with a straight face.
Everyone started snickering.
“Oh, Harry, I just remembered” said Hermione. “What did you and Professor Dumbledore talk about last night?”
Harry thought about it for a few seconds.
“Harry?” asked Neville.
“I’m afraid that is something that you will have to wait for me to tell you. Now is not the right time. I am sorry.”
Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna all looked at each other but did not say anything. Harry had his head down, staring at the table. He raised his head back up after a minute.
“I need to go chat with Madame Pomfrey about Ron and see if my help is needed. If any of you would like to join me, you are welcome to tag along.”
Harry got up and left the Great Hall heading to the Infirmary. His friends got up and caught up with him. As they walked along together, Hermione became curious and asked a question.
“What can you do to help Ron if they need your assistance?”
“Well, as you know I have been working on Occlumency and Legilimency for many months now and I have come to a good understanding of how minds work, how memories and thoughts flow. When I saw Ron’s mind and the big mess it was in, I was overwhelmed but since then as I mulled over what I saw I have been seeing patterns in the chaos that looks like a way to turn it back around and put it back the way it should be.”
“And you think you can do this?” asked Ginny.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I am quite confident that I can. I remember everything I see so when I pull up the image of his mind I consistently see the patterns. Each time I look at it the patterns become more pronounced than before. There is no way the brain infection had enough time to create all those patterns. Those patterns are Ron’s. I looked at my mind as well to verify. My patterns are different but I have patterns too. If I looked in all of your minds I bet I could spot your patterns.”
“So, how would you fix it?” asked Luna.
“Simple, follow the patterns. If something does not fit in the pattern then it does not belong. I will then view the memory and see if it is Ron’s or not. If Ron’s I will put it aside until I find the proper place where it fits. If it belongs to that foreign brain then I will get rid of it.”
“Harry that sounds like it will take a long time” warned Ginny.
“It could, but I believe Ron is well worth it.” They all smiled at that and Ginny blushed. “Plus, I am sure the longer I am in their fixing it the better and faster I will be at doing it. I should develop a rhythm of sorts.”
When they reached the Infirmary, they were surprised to see Arthur, Molly, Bill, and the twins all standing or sitting around Ron’s bed looking gloomy.
“Mum, Dad” cried Ginny then ran to hug them. She next hugged Bill.
Harry went into Madame Pomfrey’s office to speak to her.
“Madame Pomfrey? How is Ron doing? Were you able to get him sorted out?”
“No, Mr. Potter. I am truly sorry. The Unspeakables do not know what all those brains can do and St. Mungos’ best healers have not come up with anything yet. I am doing all that I can but this is beyond my scope of work. I need assistance if he is going to be helped anytime soon. I do not know how long it will take for the healers to come up with a viable plan of action. Right now I am just having to wait while I keep him comfortable. I am afraid if nothing can be done quickly then he will have to be moved to the long term spell damage ward at St. Mungos.”
“That will not be necessary Madame Pomfrey. I am here to assist you. I have figured out how to heal Ron. It may take some time but as long as no one disturbs me while I am working on him, he should be right as rain when I am done.”
“What exactly are you going to do Mr. Potter?”
“As I explained to my friends, I have discovered that minds have patterns and I believe all are unique. When I first saw Ron’s mind I was overwhelmed at the chaos but the more I viewed the image in my mind the more I noticed his unique patterns. Looking at my own mind I quickly recognized my own patterns. There is no way that brain had enough time to overwrite all his patterns. I would be willing to bet it was just pecking at the surface and Ron was fighting it with all he had. I know Ron, he is a fighter. He would not quit that easily. I have trained him too well.”
“This sounds very dangerous Mr. Potter.”
“I understand your reluctance, but it is not dangerous. There is nothing in there to harm me, but my friend needs my help and I aim to help him. Even if for some reason I cannot find all of the corruption, Ron will be better off when I am done than he would be if I do not help him at all. I know I can fix the problem. Are you ready to let me?”
Madame Pomfrey stared at Harry for a few seconds.
“Alright, Mr. Potter, I see no other options at this point other than waiting for who knows how long on St. Mungos. What do you need me to do?”
“We are going to have to clear out the family and enclose his bed with screens so I can work without being disturbed. We will need to have one of my friends in there with me at all times in case someone comes in or I get tired. My friends can also switch out every hour. I am not sure how long this will take.”
“Are you ready to start now?”
“Yes, the sooner the better.”
Madame Pomfrey and Harry walked out to Ron’s bed. Harry hugged Mr. and Mrs. Weasley then shook hands with Bill.
“Mr. Potter,” said Madame Pomfrey “do you wish for me to explain it to them or would you like to handle it?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“What is going on Harry? Can no one help Ron?” asked Molly worriedly.
“Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I know how to heal Ron and I would like to get started right away. I have filled in my friends on the way here and I told Madame Pomfrey in her office just now. Let them tell you in general what I will be doing so I can get started. I will try to explain it in more detail when I am done. For now, I need you to clear out of the way so I can work.”
Madame Pomfrey waved her wand and screens surrounded Ron’s bed. Harry walked with the group over to the other side of the room.
“I am going to need one of you to stay with me and Ron inside the curtain. You can switch every hour or on a schedule you agree with. I am not sure how long this will take but I must not be disturbed. Your job will be to take care of anyone who manages to get behind the curtain that does not belong there. Once again, I must not be disturbed. You may also need to help me if I grow tired. Hopefully, it will not take that long.” Harry looked at Hermione. “Hermione would you be first to help me?”
“Sure Harry.”
“The rest of you can figure out who will relieve Hermione and so on after that. Thanks everyone for your help. Now, I’ve got to go save my friend. Come on Hermione.”
Harry and Hermione went behind the screens.
“Alright now, someone better explain to me quickly what Harry is doing” exclaimed Molly.
“I believe I can explain it” offered Luna.
“Thank you Luna” said Arthur. “Please tell us.”
“According to Harry, he has discovered patterns…”
oo0O0oo
Inside the screens…
“Just keep an eye out for me Hermione. It will be difficult to know what is going on out here while I am in Ron’s head.”
“Do not worry Harry. I will not let you down.”
“I know you won’t Sis.”
Hermione smiled at him.
Harry turned toward Ron, opened his eyelids and stared into his eyes.
“Legilimens!”
Harry entered Ron’s mind again and immediately was met with the mess he saw before but as he stared at it the patterns began to emerge. Pretty soon Harry worked out the patterns so that he would know how to follow each one and recognize what did not belong. He decided it was time to go to work.
Harry went in deeper and as he suspected the brain infection was only able to go so far. It did a lot of damage but only to a small section of Ron’s mind, compared to the whole. Harry began picking up memories and setting them aside in piles. One pile was memories from the foreign brain. The other pile was Ron’s memories that had been misplaced. Harry found that the foreign brain memories were easily recognizable – they were horrid. Once he had the memories sorted Ron’s mind started to look more organized and less messy. However, he now had to place the pile of Ron’s memories into the right pattern. The other pile he got rid of.
Hermione sat there watching Harry and Ron. Ever since Harry said “Legilimens” he had not moved. His eyes were trained on Ron only. She knew that he was in Ron’s head right now working as fast as he could to repair his mind. She was not sure how he could do this but Harry never ceased to amaze her. Just when she thought she had him figured out he would surprise her again.
He had been at it for a while and she was amazed that Harry had not moved yet. Just as she was thinking he may get uncomfortable after a while, someone walked through the opening in the screens. It was Mrs. Weasley.
Hermione got up and she followed Mrs. Weasley outside the screen.
“How is it going Hermione?”
“Well, there is not much to see. It is all happening in Ron’s head. Harry has not moved at all since he entered Ron’s mind. I don’t know how he does it, Mrs. Weasley. Just when I think I have him figured out, he surprises me.”
Molly smiled at that.
“You know, he treats me like I’m his sister. He even calls me ‘Sis’ sometimes. I doubt he knows how much I really like that. If I had a brother, I would not want anyone else but him in that role.”
“That is very sweet Hermione. Harry is a very special person. I honestly do not think we deserve him. He is constantly having to save a member of my family. I do not know how we could ever repay him.”
“Do you love him, Mrs. Weasley?”
“Oh, yes dear, as if he were one of my own children. He will always have that place in my heart.”
“Then you have already paid him in full. That is all he would ever want from you. You see, he loves you too. He loves your entire family and would do anything to help you. But remember as well, Ron is his first true friend and best mate. What he is doing in there I believe is more for himself than anyone else. He loves Ron and will make him well.”
Molly hugged Hermione and cried on her shoulder.
“Thank you Hermione. You are a wise young woman and I know your words are true. Why don’t you take a break and I will keep watch. I think Ginny is up next after me.”
The pattern continued. Ginny replaced Molly and Arthur replaced Ginny. Bill stepped in to relieve his father and then George relieved Bill. Fred had just replaced George about five minutes ago when Harry suddenly sat up then stood slowly.
Harry turned and saw Fred.
“Hi Fred. When did you get here?”
“About five minutes ago. George was here before me.”
“How long have I been at this?”
“Let’s see, you started with Hermione who was relieved by Mum, who was relieved by Ginny, who was relieved by Dad, who was relieved by Bill, who was relieved by George, and then me for five minutes. All the other ones were about an hour. That means you have been at it around six hours or so.”
“Really? It felt like I was only in there about 15 minutes.”
“I bet you are tired.”
“Actually, I am a bit tired but I am done now and your brother looks 100% better, at least his mind does. I do not think I missed any of it and all his displaced memories are back where they belong.”
Fred grabbed Harry and hugged him hard.
“Thank you Harry! Thank you so much!”
“Can you open the screens and get Madame Pomfrey so she can check him out?”
Fred moved the screens out of the way and went to fetch Madame Pomfrey. Harry reached down and touched Ron. He sent a little of his magic into him to boost his core. He then walked slowly over to the friends and family who were waiting.
“I am done and Ron should be good as new. I would like Madame Pomfrey to run a diagnostic on him just to check him out. I would think he is going to sleep a little longer as his mind settles down back to normal…I am suddenly feeling very hungry. Dobby?”
Pop
“Yes, Master Harry Potter sir. How can Dobby help the Great Harry Potter?”
The older Weasleys were amused at Dobby’s demeanor toward Harry.
“Dobby, very punctual as usual. Thank you for that. It appears I have missed lunch while I was helping cure Ron. Would you be so kind as to bring me some? Sandwiches or anything you want to bring will do fine. Please also check with the Weasleys and my friends here to see if they need anything as well.”
“Dobby will be happy to feed the Great Harry Potter and his friends. Dobby knows they were not at lunch in the Great Hall so I will bring everyone some nice sandwiches, crisps, tea, and cold pumpkin juice.”
As soon as Dobby left all the Weasleys and friends grabbed Harry in a group hug. Madame Pomfrey came over and reported that Ron looked fine and his brain function appeared to be back to normal.
Dobby appeared with enough sandwiches to feed an army or in this case a family of Weasleys. Harry quickly conjured a table and comfortable chairs for everyone so they could sit and eat. Dobby then arranged all the sandwiches, crisps, tea, and pumpkin juice on the table. Harry praised Dobby profusely before he would let him leave. He liked seeing the little elf blush. However, Dobby did promise to return later to clean up and begged Harry not to do it for him.
They were enjoying their sandwiches that never seemed to run out and most everyone was getting full when they heard someone say “Hey, is that sandwiches I smell?”
They looked up and there stood Ron standing over them looking at the table of food.
“Here Ron” said Harry conjuring another chair and moving over. “Have a seat and dig in. We got pretty hungry waiting for you to wake up so I had Dobby bring up some food.”
“I see that and it looks delicious.”
“We saved you plenty. Well, actually Dobby made sure of that.”
Ron took a big bite of a sandwich and wolfed it down.
“Wow, that’s good. I feel like I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
Everyone started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” asked Ron.
“Nothing dear, just enjoy your food and we will tell you everything later” said Molly.
“Okay then, you don’t have to ask me twice to eat.”
“How are you feeling Ron?” asked Arthur.
“Great Dad! I feel like I could take on an army and win…after I eat anyway.”
Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all looked at Harry. He nodded his head and they all smiled.
oo0O0oo
On the last day of school Harry had asked his friends to join him in his trunk so he could talk to them about a few things. They all followed him up and were sitting in his front room on Harry’s nice, comfortable furniture or sprawled in front of the sofa on top of the rug. Harry stood in front of them.
“Thanks for coming guys. Let me get started right away because we have much to cover and not much time left. First of all, I want you to send owls to your families tonight to let them know that you will not be on the train tomorrow. One of you can borrow Hedwig if you wish. Instead, you are going to portkey with me to my house. From there you can take the floo to your homes while I take Hermione home to her house since their floo is not connected.”
“Why do you want us to do this?” asked Ginny.
“Because it will be safer than going by train. After what we did to those Death Eaters this will be the best option. Everyone agreed?”
They all nodded their heads.
“Excellent! Now I have a question for Ron and Hermione. Why did you two not wear the necklaces I gave you when we were at the ministry being attacked? You could have avoided your injuries. Why did you take them off? Ginny, Neville, and Luna all had theirs on. Neville got his lip busted and Ginny broke her ankle but neither one was hurt by a spell.”
“Sorry, Harry” replied Hermione. “I wanted to wear the necklace my parents gave me for my birthday and the one you gave me would not let it lay right so I took it off and forgot to put it back on in all the excitement. I started to lengthen its chain to get it out of the way of my other necklace but was afraid I might void the spells you put on it.”
“Harry, I simply forgot it” added Ron. “I usually take it off when I shower but I was worried about my OWL test and I just forgot to put it back on. I have it on now though.”
“Alright,” said Harry. “Hermione, you can lengthen it. It will not affect the other spells. Ron, the necklace will not rust so you can wear it in the shower if you want. Please do not forget them again. You both could have died.”
“We will keep them on from now on” they assured him.
“Okay, the next subject is very serious. I will need all of your help on a special project I want to do. With Neville’s permission I would like to arrange a time for me to try and cure his parents.”
“What? How? Are you sure, Harry?” were all the questions coming at him as they all stood up.
Neville walked over to Harry.
“Do you really think you can help them Harry?” he said very quietly.
Harry looked Neville straight in the eyes. “Yes Neville I do. I cannot promise you anything since I have not seen their minds yet but I learned even more when I helped Ron and I really need to try and help them. I believe I can do it. I promise I will not make them any worse but they may get better or even a lot better. Hopefully, I can cure them completely. Will you let me try?”
“Yes, Harry. Please try and help my parents.”
“Harry” said Hermione, “this could potentially take longer than it took for Ron and it took you six hours on him. Plus, you will have two people to work on.”
“Yes, so we have to work out the logistics so I will have enough time to work on them. Let’s plan them one at a time and where I can do it. If we do it in their ward then we will need to be careful so we are not caught. I will still need someone to help me and you guys can switch out every hour. We might use invisibility and disillusionment charms and even my cloak to stay hidden. If it is going to take a long time like Ron’s then it would be best if they were not at St. Mungos since people will be coming in and out to tend to them. They will not be able to move either while I am in their heads.”
“I believe we can bring my parents home for a weekend away. We have never done that before but I believe that is allowed.”
“Do you think your Gran will be okay with that Neville?” asked Luna.
“She will be because I will explain it to her. Besides, she will do just about anything for me now after she read that article about us in the Prophet.”
“Excellent!” said Harry. “Another one out of the way and quicker than I thought it would take. Just let us know which weekend Neville so we can all come over.”
They were all excited thinking about it, especially Neville. He was trying not to get his hopes up too much but it was difficult since he yearned so much to have his parents back to normal.
“For the last item of business, please follow me” said Harry. He led them out the door in the hallway to the large space.
“I want everyone to pick a spot and make a full transformation into your animagus. I will join you after everyone has changed. We know Ginny has already done it and I know the rest of you can do it as well. It’s time. Go ahead.”
Harry watched them start concentrating and calling on their magic. Ginny became her Harpy Eagle in about one minute. Neville was right behind her as an extremely large, brown Kodiak Grizzly. About a minute later Hermione let out a big purr as a golden-brown colored lioness. She was much bigger than Harry thought she would be. A little while later Ron managed his and there he stood as a very large lion with a big mane highlighted with red tips. He let out a loud roar. Harry laughed. Luna was last but finally managed her transformation. She stood there as a beautiful, all white unicorn with a long golden horn.
“Wonderful guys. I never doubted you. Remember if you want to change back that you simply reverse it by wanting to change back into your human form just as much as you wanted to change into your animagus form. Now, let’s have some fun before we have to quit for the evening.”
Harry changed into his gryphon and let out a big eagle screech. Ginny answered him back then took off flying around the room. Harry joined her in the air since he was the only other flyer. The one who was the most amazing was Luna. It was unbelievable how fast she could run. Hermione, Ron, and Neville played together and wrestled each other.
About fifteen minutes later Harry landed and changed back into himself. He went up to Hermione and petted her on the head and scratched behind her ears. He then went to Ron and did the same. He followed that with Neville’s giant bear head. Luna came up as her unicorn and Harry examined her horn and the rest of her before rubbing her head and patting her on the neck. Harry conjured a bird stand and signaled for Ginny to come down and land on it. She did and Harry was able to examine her up close and pet her as well.
“Everyone find your spot again” said Harry “and change back into your human form.”
Ginny flew back down to the ground and the others found a spot. In about a minute each they were all back in their human form.
“Good job everyone. Now change back into your animagus for about a minute or two then return to your human form. Then if you feel up to it, do that a couple more times. This will help you speed up the transformations. Eventually it should only take you a second either direction.”
Harry vanished the bird stand and watched as his friends cycled through their transformations, speeding up the process a little as they continued to change.
“You guys can keep at it as long as you want” announced Harry. “I need to check on some of my potions in my lab. I have been experimenting with a few things. Just don’t forget to send your owls tonight to let your parents know you are not taking the train tomorrow.”
Harry walked into his potions lab.
oo0O0oo
The next morning Harry had Hedwig fly home then he informed Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore about not taking the train and his reasons. They agreed with him and wished him and his friends a good summer.
When the students started heading out the door toward the train, Harry and his friends gathered in the Gryffindor common room with all their trunks and carriers for their familiars. Harry conjured a long rope and turned it into a portkey then he ran the rope through the handles on all the trunks and through the pet carriers. Using his magic he fused the ends of the rope together so it was a complete circle.
“If you are all sure that you have everything then grab the rope and we will go to my place.”
All his friends grabbed the rope so Harry activated it. They landed in the Receiving Room and said hello to Andrew and also to Mattie when she came up. Harry and Hermione walked Neville, Luna, Ron, and Ginny over to the Leaving Room where they said hello to Carolyn. After a few hugs and assurances that Neville would contact them with the date to have them all over, the four friends took the floo to their homes. This left only Hermione and Harry.
“Do you need to go straight home Hermione?”
“Not really. Mum and Dad will still be at work at this time. We could go a little later if you want.”
“Sounds good to me. How about I take you back in time for us to cook dinner for your parents before they get home? Leave around four o’clock?
“That is a great idea and you can have dinner with us.”
“It’s a plan. What would you like to do right now?”
“I would like to visit your library.”
“That’s my Hermione. I need to check on a few things with Mattie and I must go see Rolly as soon as possible before he gets depressed. Are you good on your own?”
“Sure, I know how to get to your library.”
“I’d be willing to bet you can find any library” Harry said smiling.
Hermione stuck out her tongue and did a raspberry at Harry who laughed.
“Just ask Simon if you have any questions. He knows everything. You can leave your trunk and other things in the Leaving Room. We will get them when we leave.”
Harry wandlessly floated all of Hermione’s stuff into the Leaving Room.
“Also, if you want you can let Crookshanks out and close the door so he can run around in here. Carolyn can visit with him while we are busy.”
“I’d be honored to keep your familiar company Hermione.”
“Thank you Carolyn. I will let him out now.”
Harry shut the door while Hermione opened the carrier. Crookshanks hopped out and started exploring the room.
“Crookshanks, you behave yourself and visit with Carolyn” Hermione indicated the portrait “while I run to the library. I will be back for you later and then we will go home.”
Crookshanks looked at Hermione for a moment then continued exploring.
Hermione took off to the library and Harry went with Mattie to discuss business and get caught up. Afterwards Harry headed outside to chat with Rolly. The big horse was very glad to see him. He pranced around for a bit before settling down. Harry explained that he could not ride him today but would be able to tomorrow. This placated the stallion who was very happy Harry was back. They were joined by Jojo a short while later and they talked for a good while.
Leaving Rolly at 4:00, Harry apparated quietly to the library. He found Hermione and Simon in a big discussion that amused him. He waited for a minute before clearing his throat. Hermione and Simon both looked at him.
“Hello Simon. It is 4:00 Hermione. We should get going.”
“Oh, right. Thank you Simon for all your help and lovely conversation. Harry is taking me home where we plan to prepare dinner for my parents.”
“What a great idea! Please say hello to Dan and Emma for me.”
“Will do Simon” replied Harry. “I am sure they will appreciate that. By the way, I will need to talk to you, Grandpa, and Grandma about something important when I return tonight. Would that be alright?”
“Certainly Harry. We are always at your disposal, just let us know when you are ready. I will inform Henry and Elizabeth.”
“Thanks Simon. I will see you later then.”
Harry and Hermione left the library.
“Mattie?”
Pop
“Yes Harry?”
“Mattie, I am going to take Hermione home and then eat dinner with the Grangers. When I return I am meeting with Simon, Grandpa, and Grandma. I would like you to join us and while I am gone I would like you to see if you can get in touch with Sirius and Remus to invite them as well. There are some things we need to discuss.”
“Yes, Harry. I will find them and let them know and I will be ready.”
“Hermione, I will meet you in the Leaving Room. I am going to pop over to my bedroom real quick and change into some muggle clothes.”
“Okay Harry. I will wait for you there. That will give me time to put Crookshanks back in his carrier.”
“I will walk with Hermione to the Leaving Room and keep her company until you arrive” said Mattie.
“Thank you Mattie. That is very nice of you” said Hermione as they headed down the hall.
Harry apparated to his bedroom, changed into some muggle clothing that consisted of nice black jeans, a buttoned down long-sleeved green shirt, a black belt, and black round-toed leather cowboy boots. He then apparated to the hallway just outside the Leaving Room and entered.
Mattie and Hermione turned and looked when they heard him enter. Mattie smiled and Hermione got a big grin on her face.
“I swear Harry if I did not think of you as my brother I would snatch you right up. You look really good. What do you think Mattie?”
“I think my young Harry has turned into quite the handsome young man and I will be surprised if some young lady does not snatch him up soon. He certainly does a great job of representing the House of Potter.”
Harry was turning red.
“I think I better stay close to you tonight Harry in case I have to protect you from my mum. You will not go unnoticed by her looking like that.”
“What have I gotten myself into?” asked Harry.
Hermione and Mattie laughed.
“Come on Hermione, I will apparate us over.”
“But you have never been to my house.”
“Not a problem Hermione. Think of the exact spot you want to go to and picture that in your mind. It can be in the house, outside the house, or wherever we will not be seen arriving. Got it?”
Hermione nodded her head.
“Now keep that picture and look into my eyes.”
Hermione looked at Harry who suddenly entered her mind for a couple seconds and then left.
“That was weird.”
“I just viewed the picture you thought of. That’s all. Now that I have the picture in my head, I can take us right there.”
“Must be nice to be able to use Legilimency.”
“It has its merits. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Hermione felt herself being squeezed through a tube and the next instant they were standing in her house in the middle of the lounge.
“That was quick” said Hermione.
“Beats taking the bus! Come on let’s see what we can fix for dinner.”
“Let me show you where everything is in the kitchen and then I am going to go upstairs and change into muggle clothes as well.”
“Lead on, Hermione.”
Hermione took Harry to the kitchen and showed him where everything was before she went upstairs to change. When she came back down Harry was waiting for her.
“Hermione, I believe we need to go to the store for a few things. I have in mind a chicken dish I can prepare. Is there a grocer close enough nearby so we can walk to it or do you need to give me another memory?”
“There is a store just a few blocks away. We should be able to get there and back in plenty of time.”
“Excellent, let’s go.”
Hermione locked up the house then she and Harry walked down to the store. Harry was able to find everything he needed so they walked back carrying a couple of bags and began preparing dinner. Harry pre-heated the oven and prepared the chicken while Hermione peeled and cut up the potatoes for boiling. The large chicken breasts were covered in Cream of Chicken soup and some seasoning. They were then covered in tin foil and placed in the oven. The timer was set for 40 minutes. After the chicken was in the oven, Harry cut up some carrots and green beans and started steaming them slowly on the stove top. Hermione finished the potatoes and started them boiling. When ready, they would be made into mashed potatoes.
“So now we wait” said Harry.
“My parents should be home soon. They usually get home within the next few minutes or so.”
“Great! I am looking forward to seeing them again.”
Hermione showed Harry her room while they waited on the food and her parents. Harry noted the shelves of books lining her room and smiled. Next, Hermione showed him the back garden and the swimming pool. They had just come back in to check on the food again when they heard the door to the garage open and Dan’s voice as they came into the house.
“That smells good. Hermione must have made us dinner, dear.”
“That was very nice of her” replied Emma.
“Actually Mum and Dad, I had a lot of help” said Hermione as her parents stepped into the kitchen.
“Harry!” exclaimed Emma who ran over and grabbed him up in a big hug. Hermione noticed that her mum hugged Harry first and not her own daughter. As she rolled her eyes at her mother she was engulfed in a nice hug by her father which she returned heartily. She had missed her parents. Then while Dan gave Harry a quick manly hug and then shook his hand, Hermione was squeezed by Emma in a loving manner, making up for her perceived slight.
“Wow Harry! You are looking really nice” said Emma with a big smile. Hermione gave Harry a knowing look. Harry blushed.
Hermione cleared her throat to get her mum’s attention.
“It was actually Harry’s idea to prepare dinner for you. I only peeled and cut up the potatoes, Harry did everything else. He has this chicken dish he prepared and it smells delicious.”
“It looks like we have about 10 minutes before it is ready” declared Harry. “I just put the bread in the oven. If Hermione will start setting the table, I will mash up the potatoes and make sure the vegetables and chicken or on schedule.”
“I can help, Harry” offered Emma.
“No, no Emma. You and Dan get comfortable, put away your stuff, change clothes, whatever you need to do, and then join us at the table in about 10 to 15 minutes.”
Harry bustled Dan and Emma out of the kitchen and then noticed a smiling Hermione.
“Thank you Harry.”
“You are welcome Hermione. I love Dan and Emma and do not mind doing this for them. By the way, I love you too Sis.”
“I love you too, Harry”
Hermione set the table and Harry mashed the potatoes. The chicken was done on time and the vegetables were perfect. The soup on the chicken served as a good gravy for the mashed potatoes. Harry also pulled out the wheat rolls he had put in the oven 10 minutes ago. Everything was ready so he brought it all to the table with a warming charm so none of it would get cold.
While they ate Harry and Hermione filled Dan and Emma in about their year and what happened at the Ministry a few days ago. Hermione was reluctant at first but Harry convinced her to be honest with her parents about it, trusting they would understand. They were pleased at Harry’s ability to heal and protect their daughter. They were equally surprised at what he did for Ron and the possibility of helping Neville’s parents who have not been themselves for many years. They looked at Harry and Hermione closely and questioned if they were seeing each other but after much laughter from the two teenagers and their explanation of being not just best friends but like a brother and sister, they understood.
After a very hearty and tasty meal that everyone enjoyed, along with good conversation, Harry explained he still had some things to take care of so would need to be going. Harry waved his hand and all the dishes went to the kitchen and began washing themselves. Another wave of the hand and the table was clean and shiny. Then after hugs all around and Hermione making him promise that he would teach her how to apparate soon, Harry left to go back to Potter Place. He used his watch and uttered “Legends of Potter.”
oo0O0oo
Back at Potter Place Harry asked Mattie if everyone could make it. She affirmed that all of them could.
“Sirius and Remus will be here any minute” said Mattie. “Where are we meeting?”
“I think the Training Room would be best. There is plenty of room and plenty of portraits to use. Can you get Leru to prepare tea and snacks for the meeting?”
“Certainly Harry. I will bring both when Sirius and Remus arrive.”
“Thank you Mattie. I will inform Grandpa, Grandma, and Simon that I am back and then head over to the Training Room.”
After Harry stopped by the Study and the Library he went to the Training Room where Simon, Henry, and Elizabeth met him there in individual portraits of their own.
Harry told them about his lovely dinner with the Grangers while they waited. Mattie, Sirius, and Remus came in somewhere in the middle of that story.
Harry said hello to Sirius and Remus, giving them both a hug.
“What’s up kiddo?” asked Sirius.
“I have some pretty important stuff to tell you guys. I will need to get through the background information first before we get into the important stuff. Just bear with me.”
Harry began filling them in about what happened at the Ministry, his friends’ injuries that he healed, Ron’s problem that he eventually healed, Dolohov’s mistake, and the potential healing of Neville’s parents that was planned. They were all shocked at that and wondered if Harry knew how really big this was to the healing community, especially if he was successful helping Frank and Alice but they did not interrupt.
“I also had a meeting with Dumbledore that night and this brings us to the important part and why I wanted you all here.”
Everyone sat up straighter and wondered at the serious tone Harry now used.
“Dumbledore told me two secrets that night and you must all promise me right now that you will keep these secrets for me and tell no one.”
They all promised.
“Good. The first secret he revealed is that there is a prophecy about Voldemort and me. I have the orb from the Room of Prophecy with me so I will play it for you.” Harry took out the shrunken orb from his pocket and expanded it back to normal size. “This prophecy was given by Professor Trelawney to Professor Dumbledore before I was born. At first, when it was given it could have been either Neville or me but after Voldemort attacked me that night, there was no more question who it referred to. They then updated the label on the orb to put in my name. I will play it for you now.”
Harry tapped the orb and watched as his family and friends became shocked over what they heard. They were all speechless when it was done.
“As you can see from my scar, it is quite evident that Voldemort marked me and now it is up to me and me alone to finally defeat him.”
“You will not have to do this by yourself Harry” said Remus.
“No, kiddo you will have us there to help you every step of the way” added Sirius.
“I realize that I will likely need help getting to him but in the end it will come down to either him or me. I know this. That is why he is constantly after me but I will take him down.”
Everyone just looked at Harry without saying a word. There was steel in that young man and power just radiated off of him.
“Unfortunately, I have worse news to share” added Harry.
They all looked at him, worried at what else he could hit them with. This was bad enough, but more? What could be worse?
“The Professor also shared with me how Voldemort was able to come back after he was hit by the killing curse he cast at me. You see he used horcruxes.”
“I was afraid of that” said Simon.
“The diary that I destroyed in the Chamber of Secrets when I rescued Ginny in my second year was a horcrux. Dumbledore believes he may have as many as seven.”
“Seven?” questioned Henry. “Then that mad man would be pure evil.”
“Pardon me” interrupted Remus “but could someone explain what a horcrux is?”
“Dumbledore told me that a horcrux is a powerful object that a dark wizard or witch hides a fragment of his or her soul in as a means of obtaining immortality. While a part of your soul is anchored in this object, your body can be destroyed but your soul will be anchored to the Earth. He also told me that you have to commit murder to create one. Murder is how you fragment your soul. It is very dark magic.”
“Oh my word, Harry” replied Remus.
“So, you see Voldemort cannot be finally defeated and removed from this plane of existence until all of his horcruxes have been destroyed. This brings me to my next dilemma…you see…I am a horcrux.”
Pandemonium broke out in the Training Room. Mattie and Elizabeth were crying. Remus was in shock. Sirius was beside himself. Henry was obviously racking his brain for an answer. However, Simon was calmly sitting there looking a little smug.
“Wait, wait, wait Harry” said Sirius. “How do you know you are a horcrux?”
“It’s my scar. Whenever he is near it hurts like crazy. I have also highly developed both Occlumency and Legilimency skills. No one can penetrate my mind, not even Dumbledore or Snape. However, Voldemort can and he can be miles and miles away. He can do that because we have a connection. I have a part of his soul in me.”
“This just can’t be” said Sirius hopelessly.
“Everyone please calm down” announced Simon over the noise. “Harry will not have to die to get rid of the horcrux. I happen to know someone special who can remove it without any real harm to Harry.”
All the noise in the room stopped.
“I was wondering, Simon, why you looked so smug” replied Harry.
“Indeed. Pack your bags Harry, you are going to America…”
The End
A/N: If you are interested, please look for a sequel in the future. It may take a while but the sequel has been planned from the beginning.
this story was written by roff who is an author at fanfiction. net.
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