The Lion and the Phoenix

Galadriel Gryffindor

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters and settings are the property of J.K. Rowling. Characters and settings used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended. This author owns only the original characters introduced in this piece. Comments and constructive criticisms will be much appreciated.

Chapter 1

Games and Gifts

It was midway through October at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a sunny, but slightly chilly Saturday morning. The new term had been in session for a month and a half. This was a Hogsmeade weekend, but no one was thinking about the impending town visit just then. The entire school was preoccupied with…

            "A perfectly executed Wronski Feint by Potter! Slytherin Seeker Malfoy is on the ground! Bole shoots the Quaffle-it's going-HAH! Blocked by Weasley, Ron! Take that you slimy-"

            "JORDAN!"

            "Sorry Professor! Potter's diving-HE'S GOT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS, TWO HUNDRED SIXTY POINTS TO FIFTY!"

            The Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff stands erupted while the Slytherins booed. Seven scarlet blurs shot across the Quidditch pitch, meeting at the center in a loudly cheering group hug.

            "Good for you, Ron!" Harry exclaimed happily.

            "You too, mate!" Ron grinned widely, clapping Harry on the back. This had been his first match as the new Gryffindor Keeper, and he was relieved to have acquitted himself well.

            The rest of their dormitory flooded onto the field to congratulate them. Hermione ran over and caught the two of them up in a tight hug.

            "You two were brilliant!" she said when she let go.

            All three of them looked back over their shoulders to be greeted by the sight of Malfoy cursing over his damaged broom. Harry couldn't tell which was more bruised, Malfoy's body or his pride.

            Laughing, the three friends left the pitch to get ready for a trip to Hogsmeade.

***

            The Gryffindor Quidditch team and the rest of their dorm mates celebrated later on that day with an impromptu lunch party at the Three Broomsticks. After a few hours, the still-excited group broke up to do their shopping.

            "I almost never know what to get Ginny," grumbled Ron. He and Harry had sent Ginny and Hermione off together to shop for Christmas gifts. All four of them had decided to try and get their shopping done early this year.

            Harry and Ron had managed most of their gifts over the last two Hogsmeade weekends and the trip to Diagon Alley before the start of school, but they still had the two girls to shop for. They were presently standing inside the Enchantra Boutique, looking lost.

            At least, Ron was. He suddenly discovered that he was talking to himself, Harry having wandered a short distance away to examine a nearby shelf.

            "Hey Ron," he called. "Take a look at this."

            "Found something?"

            "Yeah," answered Harry in a pleased tone. "I think so."

            Ron came over to look. His eyes lit up.

            Harry was looking at a shelf of rectangular cases in different colors. Each one contained a beautiful women's stationary set: parchment sheets and envelopes in matching patterns, a diary with a charmed clasp lock, a quill, and a bottle of ink, all in matching colors.

            Harry lifted a dark blue case and studied it. The parchment and envelopes were edged with a softly shimmering pattern of white roses and what looked like peacock feathers, except that they were drawn in a varying shades of light and dark iridescent blue, with silver highlights. The diary was dark blue, with a fan of the same blue feathers and a white rose on the velvety cover. A quill like the feathers of the stationary pattern and a bottle of midnight blue ink occupied a space in the lid.

            "This is perfect for Hermione," said Harry, closing the case and tucking it carefully under his arm.

            "Oh look at this one," Ron said. He picked up a dark red set similar in pattern to the one Harry had chosen, decorated with red roses and the same type of feathers, only this time in scarlet and gold. A dark red velvet diary with the scarlet feather fan and a red rose, a scarlet and gold quill, and a dark maroon ink completed the set. "Ginny will love it."

            "Excellent choices, boys," said a voice behind them. A pretty witch in her thirties, the shop's proprietress, came over, putting a friendly hand on each of their shoulders.

            "Good afternoon, Madam Estella," Harry greeted her politely.

            She smiled. "White rose and oceancock feather, and red rose with firecock feather. You two picked the most beautiful two. My friend Cara will be most pleased.

            Harry and Ron looked at her curiously. "Oceancock and firecock feather?" asked Harry.

            Madam Estella smiled again and began to explain. "They are similar to the common peacocks. Peacocks actually come in many colors, but most of them have become so rare that the common, unmagical peacocks are the only ones most people know about. My friend Cara designed these sets. Her husband works with endangered magical birds, and he gives her the feathers she uses to make these. Each set is unique, one of a kind, like the birds who gave the feathers. Even the pattern of the parchment is different in each one."

            "Awesome," Ron said. He was happy at the thought of giving his sister something as one of a kind as she was.

            "Cara's also very good at charm work," Madam Estella continued. "The diary locks can only be opened by the owner or someone with her permission, and they also have return charms on them so that she can get it back if it's lost. There is also a privacy charm on the ink so that the girl can make the writing unreadable to everyone except those she wants to understand it."

            "Wow," said Harry, exchanging a pleased glance of amazement with Ron, whose eyes then went back to the sign on the shelf.

            "And that's all you're asking for them?" he said in surprise.

            "Yes," answered Madam Estella, laughing. "They're a new item, and Cara wants to turn these stationary sets into a special order business, so she asked me to sell these in the shop at a lower price as a sort of promotion. You chose the picks of the lot I'm selling for her. She's working on a catalog, and once the ones I've got here are gone, people can either owl order or special order through her or me."

            "If all her stuff's like this, she'll make a killing," Harry said.

            Madam Estella looked pleased. "I'm glad you think so. Let me take these up to the counter for you so I can enclose the instructions for working the charms."

            "Thanks," the boys chorused. Madam Estella walked off, leaving them to continue browsing.

            "What did you get Ginny for her birthday?" Harry asked Ron, knowing that she would be turning fourteen on the coming Friday.

            "A subscription to Young Witch Magazine," Ron replied. "I see her reading it whenever we come to Hogsmeade, so I figured I'd just order for her so she won't have to wait  and come all the way here to read it."

            Harry sighed, glancing around the shelves before gazing down at his own wrist. Ginny had sent him a new watch for his birthday this past summer to replace the one that had broken during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. His new watch was similar to Mrs. Weasley's magic kitchen clock back at the Burrow. Instead of numbers, the hands pointed to statements like "Time for bed" and "You're late!" It was also charmed so that he could read normal time on it as well by tapping the face with his wand. The gift had been very thoughtful and much appreciated, and Harry hoped to return the favor on her birthday.

            "Oy, Harry! Think Hermione will like this?" Ron called from the other side of a shelf.

            Harry went over, and Ron showed him a small silver peacock brooch set with tiny blue stones, very simple and elegant. Harry nodded in approval. "Nice, she can use it to clasp her cloak or just wear it as a pin. She'll love it."

            Ron grinned. "That's everyone for me, then. I'm going to go pay, meet you up front."

            Harry continued wandering down the aisle, the only one in the shop he hadn't checked yet. He had just about given up on finding anything when…

            "Aha!"

            Perfect, he thought, and for more than just one gift occasion. He carefully closed the black box and took it up to the counter where Ron and Madam Estella were waiting.

            "My, such good choices!" Madam Estella complimented, impressed, as she wrapped Harry's purchases. "Four one-of-a-kind items, all in perfect taste. The rest of the Hogwarts boys should have you two do the shopping when they need to buy for girls."

            This caused Harry to blush and smile shyly while Ron cast a curious glance at the black box.

            Harry paid for his gifts and he and Ron left the boutique, thanking Madam Estella as they went.

***

            The weekend passed into another week of school. Harry and Ron pulled high marks on a long research essay for Professor McGonagall, earning a tie for the second highest grade in the class behind Hermione. That, combined with their landslide victory in the match against Slytherin was enough to keep Harry grinning for days. And it only got better in Charms on Wednesday.

            "I've finished grading the group projects you completed last week," said tiny Professor Flitwick. "The prize for the highest grade is a Honeydukes gift certificate for each group member."

            Honeydukes being a favorite shop for nearly all the students, the entire class leaned forward in anticipation.

            "And the reward goes to…" Professor Flitwick checked his parchment, "Miss Hermione Granger, Mr. Ronald Weasley, and Mr. Harry Potter."

            The class clapped as Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to each other happily. Professor Flitwick went on to read the names of the groups with the next highest scores, but they were too busy congratulating each other to hear.

            At the end of class, they left for lunch, calling thank-you's to Professor Flitwick, who waved cheerfully as they went out the door.

            "This is the best week I've had all year," Harry chattered happily as they sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. "We ace our projects for McGonagall and Flitwick and beat Slytherin! And finished Christmas shopping!"

            They laughed, and Ron and Hermione shared a secret happy glance at Harry's high spirits. They had been worried about him since the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Cedric Diggory's death had affected Harry deeply, and he had been very solemn over the summer, only beginning to be himself again after arriving at the Burrow in August. It seemed, at last, that Harry was finally recovering.