2. Master of Disguise
Harry spent the whole afternoon and night reading this "Prince's" books. There appeared to be five chapters.
1. Spells for Enemies
2. Advanced Spell Casting
3. Spell Creation and Theory
4. Potions
5. Dark Rituals
Harry began reading the first chapter, highlighting spells he didn't know. At first he shuddered at how gruesome they were, but then he reminded himself that if he was to stand a chance against Death Eaters such as Bellatrix Lestrange and finally Voldemort, he would have to broaden his knowledge of magic. Expelliarmus just wouldn't cut it for the final battle; plus the idea of trying out some of these curses on the woman who had killed his godfather was quite satisfying.
So far from chapter one he had underlined the Severing Curse, Flaying Curse, Greater Incineration Curse (Incendio Maximus), Propelling Charm, Bone Breaking Curse, Rupturing Curse, Centering Curse, Siphon Life Curse, Blinding Curse, Blood Boiling Curse, and many more curses; most of which led to a horrible death if not countered.Many of these curses disgusted Harry, but he reminded himself once again that this is what he was up against. The Death Eaters and Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to harm him or the people he cared for, so he had to be able to stop them, even if that meant using lethal force.
Whoever the author was certainly had a vast knowledge of dark spells. A part of Harry wanted to never look at the book again, since it was likely written by either Voldemort or some other dark wizard who rivaled his knowledge of the Dark Arts, but he reminded himself that he had to kill Voldemort whatever the cost, and that was not going to happen using a Dumbledore-approved method. Harry resolved to put off the moral questions involved in learning dark spells by simply pursuing another field of magic that was also very important.
Harry wandered off into more cheerful sections of the library, picking up a book called Disguises and Appearances: for Wizards. Harry read through the book, picking out charms to change hair length, hair color, eye color, and facial hair. Harry found that with a little bit of practice he could change his hair color and length naturally. Intrigued at the possibility of being a Metamorphagus, Harry tried to change other facial features, but with no success. Harry shrugged, not really concerned; from what he had read, a few glamour charms in addition to completely different hair would be enough to fool people who were either determined to shut him away or take photographs of him and put his business in the news.
Harry decided to go with shining hazel eyes; the eyes of his father. However, Harry decided against using the dark red hair of his mother's because that was sure to attract attention. Harry settled with light brown hair, which he grew into elegant, long curls. A tear formed in his eye as he remembered viewing a sixteen year old Sirius casually tossing his graceful hair, capturing the attention of more than one witch. Stop it, Potter! Sirius would be proud of using his hairstyle in your plans. Make him proud, don't sit around and mope, you've done enough of that already! Harry mentally told himself. Harry proceeded to place a glamour charm on his forehead, disguising his scar. With a long look in the mirror, he felt sure he wouldn't be recognized.
Satisfied for what he had accomplished that day, Harry went outside for a quick nighttime flight around the Potter Quidditch pitch. Harry let everything fade into the background as he flew faster and faster, pushing his Firebolt to its top speed. No plans for his future, no strange dark book to study, and no Voldemort; only the wind in his face and the thrill of motion. As Harry finished his flight with a perfectly executed Wronski Feint, Harry found that he was exhausted from his day's work. Still, it was a 'good' exhausted. He had done some exercise, learnt a few new curses, and created a good disguise. Harry mused that if every day he simply slightly increased the pace of his various types of training, he would be a completely different person when Hogwarts started. It was with that thought that he fell asleep to dreams of single handedly taking out the ministry's top Auror team.
However he found himself being ripped out of that dream and planted in another. He was surrounded by figures clad in black robes. He recognized Lucius Malfoy's sleek blonde hair, as well as Bellatrix and Snape. There were a few others, but they had just donned their masked and Disapparated after hearing their lord dismiss them.
"Severus, what news do you have concerning the Order and their missing boy?" Harry heard a high, cold voice that seemed to come from himself.
"They are in quite a panic, my Lord," Harry heard the oily voice of Snape utter. There was no telling from his tone whether he was going to betray the Order, or give Voldemort trivial truths. "Dumbledore has sent members to many locations. I believe he thinks Potter was captured by our forces while the foolish brat got bored and decided to wander."
Harry wracked his brain, searching for any piece of information that would clue him in concerning Snape's loyalties, but he simply did not have enough information.
"Good… good," Voldemort said wickedly. "This can easily be worked to our advantage. Dumbledore values that boy such that he will use all of his forces to find him. We will take this opportunity to strike hard and fast. Lucius, I believe last week I asked you to prepare a list of traitors in the Ministry?"
"Yes, my Lord." Harry couldn't decide what was worse, Lucius's arrogant drawl, Voldemort's deathly pitch, or Snape's oily sneer. "The few figures left in the Ministry who won't be either corrupted or cowed are Bones, Weasley, and Shacklebolt. Without them, the Ministry will be completely unable to put up any resistance."
"Good work Malfoy… you have redeemed yourself. However should anything go wrong in our purging of the Ministry… I will not be so forgiving this time."
Lucius and Bellatrix both shuddered, remembering how "forgiving" their master was after their failure to acquire the prophecy.
"Bellatrix!" Voldemort snarled, breaking her out of her memories. "Have you had made any progress in claiming the house of Black?"
"N-no Master. My deceased cousin went to great means to ensure the House would never end up in my hands. I suspect he willed it to Potter."
"Very well then, our goal becomes clear. We must put out a search for Potter, as well as remove Bones. It is critical that we find Potter, as the boy's death will mean the house will fall into your hands. Then we can weasel out Dumbledore's rag-tag group of blood traitors," Voldemort said, a horrendous expression of glee written across his face.
Voldemort pressed his forearm, calling his servants back. He assigned them their tasks, remembering to remind them what the price of failure would be.
Harry jerked out of his vision and found himself lying in his bed, covered in sweat. Harry was completely at a loss of what to do. Voldemort was going to strike a terrible blow, and was starting the upcoming war officially. Thankfully, Harry was safe in Potter Manor, and the Weasleys currently were safe in Grimmauld Place, but Madam Bones and Shacklebolt were not. Harry had to get warnings out; any way he could. Harry didn't trust Snape to inform the Order about Voldemort's plans, and Harry had a nasty suspicion that Snape might 'forget' about the fact that the Weasleys were going to be targeted. After all, if all of Voldemort's operations were unsuccessful, Snape would have a hard time convincing his master the Order didn't have a spy. Dumbledore may believe Snape, but whichever side he was working for Harry knew the greasy git's top priority would be to save his own skin.
But how to ensure that the targets were protected without giving away his disguise? If he did just barge into an Order meeting and try to explain, he would probably drown under an ocean of questions… Harry's brain worked furiously for a few minutes, before coming up with a plan. Harry guessed that there would be an Order meeting in the night, and that Snape would be there. Harry rubbed the Black and Potter Keys; they would be put to good use in about twenty hours. With that thought, Harry fell back asleep to dreams of booting people who insisted on treating him like a child out of Grimmauld Place.
Harry woke up to the smell of a hearty breakfast, realizing he had overslept. He asked Madee to put a warming charm on his breakfast as he went outside and performed his laps around the pitch, and a series of exercises that did not require machinery. He realized how out of shape he was as pangs of soreness shot through his body, but he forced himself through the motions. Feeling ravenous, he quickly showered and proceeded to devour his breakfast.
He then remembered that he had promised to meet Ginny in Sirius's room. Harry couldn't explain the nervous feeling he had at meeting Ginny. Well, he could explain that he was nervous of Ginny being upset at what he had done and running to her parents or Dumbledore, but what Harry couldn't explain was why her acceptance mattered more to him than Ron's or Hermione's.
Harry shrugged, accepting that there was nothing to do but to see how it would go. With a flash he disappeared from the house of his parents and appeared in the house of his godfather.
"Harry!" Ginny ran up to him and hugged him. "Where have you been? How did you get here?! We were all so worried… Mum's going bonkers… and so is the Order from the looks of things…"
"Erm… Ginny? Maybe you should sit down, this will take a while."
Ginny nodded and they sat on the couch. "Well, you see, I left the Dursleys because I realized that I could not keep living with Dumbledore in control of my life. I know I sound calm now, but I was furious back then… He had just done so many things that had made my life miserable..."
"You mean by how Dumbledore put you in the Dursleys? And about Sirius?" Ginny inquired. She knew about Dumbledore forcing Harry to live with the Dursleys, but she knew that there must have been something more to make Harry angry enough to run away.
"Ginny, do you promise not to repeat this to anyone?"
"Of course, Harry. I'd never tell a soul," Ginny said, holding Harry's hand reassuringly.
"Sorry, Ginny, I mean… I trust you, but it's just that… well, these secrets are pretty surprising…well, here goes…" Harry proceeded to tell her about the prophecy, which made her mouth open wide, and the beginning of a tear to fall down her face. When he began to talk about how Dumbledore had kept this from him, and ignored him all year, Ginny could literally feel the waves of anger and hurt cascade off Harry.
"… and then after ALL he did last year, I find out at Gringotts that my parents had a wonderful, safe house that Dumbledore could have taken me to at any bloody point in time… It was under the Fidelius for godsakes… and I saw that Dumbledore was on the list of people able to Floo in. That's when I lost it, when I realized that it was his fault I never got to talk to my parents' portraits, or even be around their things," Harry concluded.
"I understand, Harry, really, I do," Ginny said. "It wasn't his place to take control of your life when you were a baby and every year as Hogwarts has gone by, he has slowly made more and more decisions for you. And then with the prophecy…" Ginny shuddered, wishing that the burden could be placed on someone, anyone, other than Harry. But deep down, everyone who knew Harry knew that if anyone could kill Voldemort, it would be Harry. Harry Potter was a hero, Ginny knew, in every sense of the word, even if he didn't believe it himself. Ginny knew, in that instant, that she would believe in him to the very end. Ginny reached out to squeeze his hand. Her heart broke to see his green eyes look so lost, like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Harry, we believe in you. We all do. You're going to win, and we will be there every step of the way!"
"You don't understand… As long as I hide from Voldemort, the more people are going to keep dying! I'm supposed to be able to stop that but I can't. I don't want people to die for me!"
"Harry! Listen to me," Ginny said, determined to somehow lift the burden that was crushing him inside. "You can't kill Voldemort yet, but one day you will be able to. Until that day you need to live. Sirius may have died for you, but he didn't die because of you. He died because he loved you and would do anything to see you enjoy life. You can't let Voldemort rob you of that."
"How can I let people die when I sit around on my-"
"You're not letting them die! You can't save everyone, and you can't go out to fight him yet. People who are killed by Voldemort die because of his actions, NOT through your inaction." Ginny's voice was raised, not in anger, just in a desire to force him to understand that the prophecy didn't make him responsible for everyone in the bloody wizarding world.
Harry was stunned by Ginny's statements. How did she see right into him and make him feel as if everything would be ok? "Th-thanks Ginny, I… wasn't thinking that well… I suppose it would be best for me to train for a while without worrying about going after Voldemort. Err, thanks for understanding." In all honestly, Harry had been half expecting Ginny to not want to be anywhere near someone who had temporarily run away from society, and either would get murdered or turn out to be a murderer. In addition to the fact that Harry had subconsciously excluded her from his adventures…
"It's not a problem. As I said earlier, we all are here for you," Ginny said, feeling the urge to wrap her arms around Harry, but restraining herself. "Were you going to tell me what you have been up to? You don't have to if-"
A part of Harry did want to keep Potter Manor a secret, but a greater part of him wanted to share everything. Also, considering how he had ignored her for the past five years, the least he could do was not hide things. "After Sirius's d-death, I was called to Gringotts, and I received everything of Sirius's, except for a few things he gave to Moony. I also found out about Potter Manor. It's amazing, Ginny, I wish… well, no use worrying about that now, what's done is done."
"I'm glad for you, but you do realize that Dumbledore and the Order are going completely nutters trying to find you? I agree that you cannot go back to your aunt's house, but maybe you should talk with Dumbledore?"
"Ginny, after all that Dumbledore's done to me, would you really put it past him to just put me back in Privet Drive and place a memory charm on me? Dumbledore has gotten so used to running everything, that he's forgotten that he isn't right about everything. I respect him and his contributions to the war, but I can't let him use me like tool, especially since he never reveals his plans to me beforehand." This was the most important point of the conversation; whether or not Ginny would side with him or Dumbledore.
"I get it; you're sick of being treated like a child. That I understand rather well."
"Good." Harry was very relieved to know Ginny could relate to him. "Well, that's about everything. Thanks Gin."
Ginny tensed at the use of "Gin", but then reminded herself that Harry could not know that she hated nicknames that Fred and George used to tease her with. She smiled at him; he could call her anything and she probably wouldn't mind. Well, anything but "ickle Ginnikins". "So what have you been up to in your new house? You do look a lot better than you did on the train ride back."
"I've been training, mostly in Occlumency and defensive magic." Harry decided it would probably be best to 'forget' to mention the Half-Blood Prince, whoever he was. He had told her enough wild things for the day. Thinking of the wild things he had been up to, he whipped out his wand and changed his face into his disguise.
"Bloody hell! Harry is that you? How? Are you a meta-" Ginny's face was a mixture of shock and excitement.
"No, I can change my hair, and I put a glamour charm over my face. It's so I can go out in public without being snagged by the Order, Ministry, or Death Eaters. Can you tell that it's me?"
"Hmm, not unless you look really closely. I don't think anyone will be able to recognize you. It's a good idea too. There are Order members everywhere looking for you," Ginny said thoughtfully. "What do you plan on doing?"
"Well, today I have to go on a shopping spree," Harry said with a chuckle. His expression turned dark, however, when he thought about his evening business.
"What's wrong?" Ginny inquired.
"I had a vision where Voldemort was planning to attack certain people. Snape, Lucius, and Bellatrix were all assigned tasks, and the Order needs to know what is going on with Voldemort. Normally, I wouldn't mind keeping them in the dark… a dose of their own medicine… but Voldemort has sent out teams to attack you family, Madam Bones, and Kingsley," Harry concluded, knowing Ginny would not be happy at the threat to her family, but Harry decided she had to know. It was of utmost importance to Harry that the Weasleys stay safe, but knowing the Order, they probably wouldn't tell the minors Voldemort's plans.
"You're … sure?" Ginny said weakly.
"Yes. And I need you to promise me that you will do your best to keep you and your family safe. The Order won't tell you about the danger you're in… Please, stay safe." Harry pleaded.
Normally Ginny would have hexed anyone trying to be overprotective of her, but Harry's pleading look dissolved any anger she possibly could have had. "I promise."
"Good," Harry muttered in relief. "Snape knows you lot are in danger, but he's a git and there's no knowing what he will tell Dumbledore. This will also be a good test of how loyal he is."
"But Harry, how do you plan to listen in on the Order meeting?"
Harry chuckled. "You're talking to the owner of two of the most ancient houses in Great Britian. I can silently Apparate in, and wear a cloak. If the meeting doesn't go the way I plan, I can come out and tell the Order the whole story, and hopefully expose Snape."
Ginny thought for a moment, then asked a slightly unrelated question, "Do you plan on letting anyone see Potter Manor?"
"Well, eventually," Harry said thoughtfully. "I would take you there now, but your family would notice you missing."
"I meant why are you telling me everything, but not Ron and Hermione?" Ginny questioned, making sure her face showed no emotion. She was excited by the prospect of Harry including her in his plans, but confused as to why he was doing so now. Could it be that he is finally… Ginny scolded herself for allowing herself to think along those lines, reminding herself that she got over him years ago.
"When I read your letter, err, I realized that you really understood me. I knew I had to tell someone, and I thought that no one would understand. Hermione would make me 'fess up' to Dumbledore, and Ron would probably blurt it out if we got into a row. I do plan to tell them, but I need to see that they have both grown up before I confide in them." Harry also felt that a part of the reason he was talking to Ginny was because of the way he had ignored her for years, but he knew Ginny wouldn't respond well if he hinted that he was doing this out of pity. "When I read your letter, I realized you might be younger than them, but you're older emotionally. I don't know how you understand me so well, considering how I've been a git to you all year…"
Ginny was shocked; Harry actually understood that she was not a child? How could that be? She had been trying to convince her family of that fact for years without any success… Before today she had given up hope of Harry ever seeing her as anything more than a girl with her elbow in the butter dish. Of course, she knew it was impossible for Harry to ever fancy her, but for him to notice her as a good friend was still a massive improvement. "Harry, last year was a bad year for all of us, don't worry about it." Ginny paused wondering how to word her next sentence. "Thanks for … for talking with me. It means a lot to me. If you need help with anything or want to talk more, I'll be there."
Harry smiled, realizing that she was saying that she would be his friend and that she trusted him. "Thanks. I'll come by sometime to show you my house. If you want, that is."
Harry got up to leave, but Ginny wasn't going to allow him to go anywhere without a quick goodbye hug. Harry had to admit that the hug had been rather comfortable… Ginny had grown up after all… A tiny bit of red crept into Harry's cheeks, but he quickly popped into Potter Manor before Ginny could see the formation of his blush. Of course, that also made him miss Ginny's reaction to the hug.
Harry James Potter, what was that all about! his mind told him. He had received many hugs from Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny before; never had his thoughts led in that direction, however. He decided he was just glad that the conversation had gone well. That was all, nothing out of the ordinary…
Harry decided to occupy himself by going shopping. Harry decided his first stop would be to Gringotts. He had a list of things he wanted, and purchasing them would require a good bit of money; both wizarding and muggle money.
His only methods of travel were using Floo, house-elf Apparation, or riding the Knight Bus. He decided using the Knight Bus would be best, since Floo travel could be tracked and it was uncommon for people to use the abilities of house-elves for transportation. Harry walked outside of Potter Manor and walked to the nearest road and called for the Knight Bus. After a few minutes, he saw it approaching rapidly.
"Oi, hello there… come on board." Harry saw Stan Shunpike reaching out from the bus and grabbing his luggage. "What's your name and where ya need to go?"
Harry groaned inwardly, he had forgotten to come up with a name. He tried to think of one that was unrelated to the people he knew, but he wasn't able to. The fact that Stan was looking at him curiously didn't help either. "John… John Andrews", Harry said, quickly slipping Stan a nice tip to dowse his curiosity. Harry got the name 'John' from James and 'Andrew' from his grandfather. Harry reminded himself that he would need to get used to saying it; it just wouldn't do to slip up if people were watching. "Gringotts, Diagon Alley please."
"Step on it, Ern!"
Harry got of the bus at Gringotts after paying for his ride. Harry dropped his disguise when talking to the goblin cashier; he would need to be Harry Potter to access Potter Vault. "How may I help you?" the goblin said, neither in a happy manner nor in a grumpy manner.
"Harry Potter. I need to withdraw money from my vault."
The goblin inspected his key, and then asked him if he wished to open a 'Bottomless Bag'.
"Err… what's that?"
"For those who wish and need to withdraw large amounts of money regularly, Gringotts offers a bottomless bag. It is a bag linked to your vault, from which you can take money out of. You must say the amount you require, and it will be withdrawn from you vault and placed in the bag. It can also convert your Galleons to Muggle money," The goblin explained in a business-like manner, obviously trying to convince Harry to purchase one.
"How much to they cost?" Harry inquired, although he really did like the sound of this bag. He had thought he would have to lug around a heavy sack of gold or constantly have to stop back at Gringotts.
"One thousand Galleons. I must remind you that these are only for those who feel the need to regularly spend great sums of money. These are not aimed at the student market."
"I'll take it," Harry said firmly. One thousand Galleons was a bit steep, but the bottomless bag would certainly make his shopping a good bit easier.
The goblin proceeded to charm his bag to his vault, and handed the bag to Harry. Harry immediately tried it out. "Five Galleons," he said and reached into the bag, finding five coins. He placed them on the goblins desk, causing the goblin's face to immediately brighten. "A pleasure doing business with you Mr. Potter."
Harry had one more thing to discuss with the goblin. "Can you make sure that no one, especially an individual by the name of Albus Dumbledore, receives notification of my business here?"
The goblin nodded and told Harry that Gringotts would keep his gold and his secrets. Harry thanked him and left, making sure to wear his disguise.
He decided that the next item on his agenda would be to buy some clothes that didn't look like they were made to fit a baby hippopotamus. He called the Knight Bus again and asked Stan to take him to a muggle shopping center. He entered a Muggle clothes shop and filled his cart with all kinds of shirts, jeans, socks, underwear, sweaters, coats, and shoes. The thought of being able to choose what he wore was really exciting to him, so naturally his cart was overfilled and he could barely push it. Of course, he would never admit to anyone how much he enjoyed clothes shopping, but it felt good to be able to just buy whatever he wanted without worrying about anything else.
After paying a good seven hundred pounds for his clothes, Harry was left with the problem of what to do with them. He didn't want to carry them with him, but he didn't have time to go back home and return. Normally he would have performed a shrinking charm on them, but the last thing he needed was to get in trouble for underage magic. Harry decided to go behind the building, out of sight, and call Jonny. Jonny took his clothes back to Potter Manor while Harry planned his next destination. He went to a Muggle sports shop and purchased a variety of exercise equipment and weights, which Harry had Jonny transport while no one was looking.
Next he went to Diagon Alley, for two purposes. One was to pick up some various magical items, but the other reason was to see if there were any Order members or Death Eaters stationed there. He first went into the Apothecary's, buying the ingredients for an Animagus-Revealing Draught. He would be able to practice that because that didn't require a wand. Harry suspected that using magic would be safe in Potter Manor, but either way, it would be cool to be an Animagus. He only wished he could have Sirius there to teach him…
While he was thinking about wands and ways to not get a letter by Madam Hopskirt, he had a brilliant idea form in his mind. He hurried over to Ollivander's. Flourish & Botts bookstore was on the way, and Harry saw Kingsley Shacklebolt milling around nearby trying to look inconspicuous. Harry chuckled, guessing that his job was to nab Harry as he went book shopping. Harry walked past him and got to Ollivander's shop without seeing any other familiar faces. Harry entered the shop, greeting the wand-maker.
"Hello, Mr. Andrews, you are here to buy a wand I presume?"
"Yes sir," said Harry quickly, hoping Ollivander wouldn't ask too many questions. If he did, then Harry hoped he would buy the story that John went to Beauxbatons and had his French wand broken last year.
Luckily, Ollivander didn't press Harry for more information, and proceeded to give him a selection of wands to try.
When none of them yielded Harry great results, Ollivander began to start getting suspicious. "Mr. Andrews, it seems as if you have already been chosen. Are you sure your old wand is broken?"
"Yes," Harry said, hoping that the next wand he tried would give him at least a few sparks. "My old wand, which was made in France, had a phoenix core. Would you happen to have any of those?"
"Hmm…" Mr. Ollivander said thoughtfully. Harry knew it was dangerous to give Mr. 'I remember every wand I ever sold' this information, but Harry had a plan for that little snag. "I do, indeed, have one wand with a phoenix core. It is from the phoenix Moltres, who has not been sighted in nearly twenty years. Rumor has it that he was bound to some sorcerer in India. I did, however, meet him a long time ago, when I received one feather; twelve inches, made of eucalyptus. A very strange wand, which I believe will be most powerful for combative spells."
Harry held the wand and gave it a wave. He saw many colors burst out of the wand and swirl together. Among those colors, red, orange, and black were the brightest. "It feels… right," Harry said, hoping Ollivander would let him purchase it.
"Yes… you must be a very powerful wizard to have been chosen by such a wand, Mr. Andrews. However, due the rarity of this wand, it is very pricey."
"That won't be a problem," Harry said firmly
"Good, then there is only one more matter to handle. I must register this wand, but you see, I cannot do that for you yet, Mr. Andrews, or should I say…"
The old wand-maker whipped out his own wand at a frightening speed. Finite Incantatem!
"… Mr. Potter. As you must recall me saying, I recall every wand I ever sold. I also know that no French wand-maker uses phoenix feathers. I suggest you explain yourself," said Ollivander in a deathly calm voice.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir" said Harry, using his new wand to petrify Ollivander. "I'm sorry, you don't deserve this, but it must be done. Obliviate!
Harry removed the memory of the wand being sold and made to exit the shop. Harry felt sorry for the Ollivander, so he left him nearly twice the amount of gold he was planning to charge for the wand. Harry reapplied his disguise and left the shop, his emotions a mix of excitement that he could now use a wand without ministry detection, and sadness that he attacked Ollivander, who had helped him find a great wand his first year.
Harry walked past Quality Quidditch Supplies, deciding he would take a look for Ron's sake. Displayed in the window, Harry saw many brooms, including a Firebolt. Harry started at one end, reading and comparing all of the statistics. So far the Firebolt was best in the areas that mattered most to a Seeker; top speed, acceleration, and maneuverability. However, when he got to the middle of the section, he came face to face with a long, sleek broom with a lightning bold running down its beautiful shaft. Harry made to inspect the statistics, and was very impressed with what he saw.
Nimbus Lightning Strike 5000
This state of the art racing broom is designed for professional Seekers. With an acceleration of 75 mph a second and a top speed of 300 miles per hour, it blows away all competition! No broom has ever been made that can rival the Lightning Strike 5000's speed. But that's not all! Not only is this THE fastest broom every made, it is specially designed to be extra responsive, able to make inhumanly quick turns to aid your pursuit of the Snitch.
WARNING: This broom is only to be used by professionals who have a mastered the art of controlling their broom. Please do not push the broom to its top speed until you are completely comfortable with its extreme agility.
"Bloody hell," Harry croaked, sounding very much like Ron. Harry looked at the broom again and turned to look at the Firebolt. There was no comparison; while the Firebolt was still one of the best brooms out there, the Nimbus Lightning Strike 5000 blew it away. It even looked better cosmetically, the golden lightning bolt trailing down the elegant black rod. Harry knew that he had to have this broom. Normally he wasn't concerned with material possessions, but he loved flying at high speeds, and by Merlin, three hundred miles per hour! What did it matter that the price was twenty times that of the Firebolt. Sirius would have wanted Harry to have it, and Harry couldn't think of a better way to spend the money he received from his godfather.
"I'd like to purchase a Nimbus Lightning Strike 5000, please," Harry said to the store clerk.
The store clerk looked at him as if he were a stray dog. "Do I look stupid to you? Go on, get outta here!" he said angrily, proceeded to mumble something about stupid teens and their pranks.
"I am serious," Harry said firmly, looking the man straight in the eye. "I have to money to purchase this broom, and I plan to do so. If you don't want to sell it to me, I suggest you call the manager."
"Uhh…" The clerk was obviously not sure what to do
"I'm waiting. Your manager won't be happy to know you blew a 5000 sale." The one thing Harry hated was when people treated him like a child.
"Yes, I suppose… I must ask for you to show me the money before…"
Harry sighed and said, "Twenty thousand galleons." He reached into his bag and started stacking the gold on the clerk's counter. "There. Now let me have the broom."
"Are you sure you wish to purchase this broom… read the warning… professionals only… dangerous-"
"Yes!" Harry said angrily, snatching the broom and leaving the shop, leaving a flustered clerk behind him.
Harry used his key to take him home, and rushed out to the Quidditch pitch, bursting in excitement to try out his new broom. He ripped off the wrapping and mounted it. With a strong kick he found himself zooming upward. The broom reacted to his slightest touch, zooming off in whichever direction Harry pointed it in. He imagined himself following an elusive Snitch as he flew around the pitch, the breeze buffeting his face. As he grew more comfortable with the Lightning Strike, he imagined the Snitch becoming more and more elusive and fast, and Harry pushed himself through hair pin turns, loops, spirals, and dives. Harry then zoomed high enough to see all of Potter Manor, taking in the view. This is amazing! Harry thought. A wicked grin flashed across his face and he thought about what he was going to do next. He was a bit terrified of trying that trick on this broom, but he made himself remember his family motto.
"AHHHHHH" he screamed as he plummeted down as fast as he could. His stomach was screaming at him to pull the nose of his broom up, but his hands were frozen. The wind in his face was almost blinding as he reached the top speed. When got to the point where he could see each individual blade of grass, he ripped the nose of his broom upward, pulling out of the dive just quick enough to allow his fingers to touch the grass but not collide with it. "They weren't lying about the responsiveness…" Harry muttered. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, pumping burning adrenaline through his veins. It took a full ten minutes for Harry's body to calm down and realize he was no longer zooming towards a certain death at three hundred miles per hour.
He realized with a groan that he had been out there for nearly three hours. The Order meeting would be beginning in ten minutes! He ran into the kitchen, asking Madee to fix him a quick sandwich. Harry thanked his house-elf thoroughly, then quickly ate the sandwich and grabbed his invisibility cloak. With the cloak covering his body, he transported himself directly into the room where the Order was meeting. Sure enough, he saw all of the Order members there, except Mrs. Weasley who was in a shouting match with Fred and George.
"I DO NOT CARE THAT YOU'RE OF AGE! IM YOUR MOTHER AND YOU WILL NOT BE JOINING THE ORDER," Mrs. Weasley yelled fiercely, looking more like a saber tooth tiger than a kindly mother.
Mr. Weasley stood next to her looking very conflicted. Harry knew that he was devoted to his wife, but he was also secretly quite proud of the twins. When their mother was scolding them, their father was secretly proud of their ingenuity and inventive spirit. "Molly! Boys! Calm down!"
Fred and George, looking angry and mutinous, ignored their father. "Mum, we can help the Order, and we want to! It's OUR choice now!" one redhead said, which Harry guessed was Fred. George also didn't break eye contact with their mother. "We are adult wizards; you can't keep us from joining. As it is we should have been able to join last year…"
"You are my children and I absolutely will not be letting you put yourself in danger. It is OUT of the question," Mrs. Weasley vehemently said.
Now everyone looked at Mr. Weasley knowing that he would be the deciding factor in the argument. He sighed. The last argument like this was allowing Charlie to go off to Romania to train dragons. When he sided with Charlie, his wife hadn't spoken to him for a week. "Molly, I think we need to make a compromise. We will let them join the Order, but we will ask that they be given no missions."
"Arthur! They must not be allowed-"
"What bloody good is that!? We're adults and we want to help. We can't do that by sitting on our arses-"
"Molly! Boys!" Mr. Weasley said firmly. "Let's just see how this decision works for the next few weeks. I believe it is as fair a compromise as we will reach. We will discuss it later."
Mrs. Weasley stalked off to her seat in the meeting room and Fred and George began to mutter darkly to themselves. Harry was personally in favor of the twins getting in the Order. The Order needed all the help it could get, and Fred and George were brilliant when they set their mind to something. Plus, Harry thought acceptance into the Order should by judged by accomplishments and skills rather than age…
"Ahem. Let us begin the meeting," the voice of Dumbledore rang out, silencing the other members. His gaze lingered over the two newest additions to the Order, his eyes twinkling. "First, I would like to begin by asking if anyone has seen any sign of Mr. Potter."
After everyone had answered that there had been no "Harry-sightings", Dumbledore proceeded to ask the Weasleys their opinion. Harry groaned inwardly, praying they hadn't read Ron or Ginny's mail.
"They tell me they do not know where Harry is," said Mrs. Weasley coldly, wearing an accusing expression towards Dumbledore. It was a well known fact that she had been urging Dumbledore to remove Harry from his relatives.
Mr. Weasley added that they had not seen Harry's owl. Harry smiled at this comment, deciding to give his clever owl a few treats.
"Very well," Dumbledore said, looking old and worn. "We need to raise the number of people on lookout duty. It is imperative that he be found." Dumbledore proceeded to assign many different locations that needed to be monitored, all of which Harry memorized. "Severus, I take it from your silence that Harry has not been captured by the enemy?"
"No, the foolish boy hasn't gone and gotten himself killed," Snape sneered. "However, the Dark Lord has put out many Death Eaters to search for him. He wants to capture him very badly."
"Yes, I suppose he would." Dumbledore paused for a moment, clearly thinking hard, then said, "Is there anything else you wish to inform us of, Severus?"
Harry turned to his potions master, staring at his face, looking for anything that would give away what was he was thinking.
"Yes, the Dark Lord is setting plans in motion. Aside from the hunt for Potter, he has plans to eliminate certain figures in the Ministry. He is pleased with Fudge's bumbling incompetence, and selfish mindset. As you know, Amelia has been pushing for a vote of no confidence," Snape muttered, his face expressionless.
"I take it that it is necessary for her to go into hiding?" Dumbledore asked calmly
"Yes. She is not the only one being targeted," Snape said, pointedly looking at the redheads in the room, as well as Shacklebolt. "Everyone who is opposed to Fudge is being targeted."
"Oh no…" Molly muttered. Arthur put a comforting arm around her and said, "Albus, is Grimmauld Place still safe for us?"
"Yes, as far as I know. Severus, do you have anything else to add?" Dumbledore responded.
"Only that it is likely that I will be killed if you abruptly place Amelia in hiding right now…" Snape muttered darkly. As much as Harry hated Snape, he had to respect the fact that Snape had conveyed all of the information to Dumbledore. If Dumbledore was to randomly put Mrs. Bones in hiding right now, Voldemort would suspect Snape.
"That I understand, Severus," Dumbledore said, his eyes devoid of any twinkling. "Arthur, I would suggest you continue to go to work, but carry a Portkey to Headquarters at all times. I would suggest not making any trips to Diagon Alley either. Inform your children of the need to stay in headquarters for now, and Hogwarts when school begins. As for Amelia, I will set up a Portkey to her house. In the event of an attack on her home, we can port in to assist her. It is the best we can do, I believe."
The only other important event of that meeting was Snape's announcement that Malfoy Jr. had begun his Death Eater Initiation.
"He has used all of the Unforgivables save the Killing Curse," Snape said. "I believe the Dark Lord has plans for him at Hogwarts this year, as the last part of his test. I highly suggest you devise some plot to expel him."
Dumbledore's eyebrows came together in what Harry thought was a look of confusion. "Surely if I was to immediately expel him, it would raise suspicion…Why do you wish for me to do that?" the old man inquired.
"Because he is up to something Albus! Do not underestimate him;, he's as bad as his father. I do not know what his master has planned for him, which worries me. My guess is that he is there to spy on me and perhaps slip Potter or Weasley a Portkey. But he has tortured people! You must get this foolish notion out of your mind that everyone can be saved!" Snape shouted angrily. It was obvious that he was angered by the fact that Draco would be spying on him, but was there a hint of concern for Harry evident in his voice?
Don't be ridiculous Potter, he just needs you alive so you can help him escape from his wretched life as a spy… Harry thought to himself.
"I will take all necessary precautions where Mr. Malfoy is concerned," Dumbledore said with a tone of finality. Harry inwardly sighed; Dumbledore never gave a straight answer.
Mrs. Weasley, as well as the angry potions professor, had no intention of letting Dumbledore get away with that statement. "Now Albus! I will not be sending my children to a school where you allow Death Eaters to run rampant in! You know Malfoy hates us, and we are targets, yet you will let him near my children! He should be in Azkaban, not Hogwarts!" This was the last straw in her mind. Dumbledore had refused to see reason where Harry was concerned, but how could he let someone capable of casting Unforgivables loose in Hogwarts?
Harry also agreed with Mrs. Weasley and Snape, and from the looks on the twin's faces, they did as well. Malfoy may be an annoying little ferret, but he was capable of ambushing Harry or one of Harry's friends. Harry resolved then and there that he would keep a very sharp eye on the Slytherin, and that he would hex first and ask questions later.
Arthur was next to speak. "Albus, if you allow Mr. Malfoy Jr. to return to Hogwarts, I shall have to make a complaint to the Board of Governors. It is time for you to listen to us. As parents, we absolutely will not allow our children to be in the same environment as someone who has tortured. You know perfectly well that the children have exchanged hexes multiple times. What if, in a fit of anger, he uses the Killing Curse? I believe he hates Harry enough to use it." Everyone's eyes now bore into the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, waiting to see his reaction.
"Arthur, I do not believe he hates Harry enough to use that curse. His hatred is a result of horrible parenting. I believe the time will come when he will realize what he is doing is wrong. We cannot give up on him and leave him to the mercy of Voldemort. Severus, you and I will watch him very carefully. I will not condemn him to a life of-"
"AND TELL ME, EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HE GETS HARRY KILLED? THEN WILL YOU CONDEMN HIM TO THE LIFE HE HAS CHOSEN?" Mrs. Weasley's voice exploded, sounding very much like a real-life howler.
"Molly! He has not had any choice," Dumbledore said, his voice just slightly raised.
Remus Lupin finally entered the conversation, speaking with a sad but firm voice, "As sad as Draco's life may be, he is a danger to Harry. Last time, I wasn't able to realize who the traitor was, and not a day goes by when I don't feel guilty for not spotting who the traitor was. That WILL not happen this time. We know who Voldemort's spy is, and we must stop him before the damage is done!"
Harry was touched by Lupin's statements; especially the one about feeling guilty for his parents' death. Harry then realized that Sirius's death must have been as hard on Lupin as it was on Harry. The Marauders were the brothers he never had, and now they were all lost to him. Harry felt guilt eating at him for not talking to him after Sirius died and Harry resolved to talk to him sometime.
"Let us at least wait until the beginning of the school year before making any decisions. It is possible that we may have more knowledge pertaining to young Mr. Malfoy's task. In any event, I promise you that I will have Mr. Malfoy under constant surveillance and will take every step I can to ensure your children's safety. If there is nothing left to discuss, then this meeting is over." Dumbledore spoke with such a strong tone of finality that everyone knew that they were dismissed. Harry could see Snape stalk off angrily, Lupin look gravely at Harry's headmaster, and Mrs. Weasley loudly express her displease at Dumbledore's decision to her husband.
Harry headed back to his manor and decided to let out some tension by trying out some wicked curses on some humanoid dummies. Harry charmed them to look like Draco Malfoy and decided to try out a 'Half-Blood Prince special' by the name of Sectumsempra.