A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed, positive or negative. Extra points to whoever guesses some of the allusions set in this chapter. Quick note: A lot of Dumbledore action. He will be getting less screentime later. It's still an important role. Also, H/Hr will start slowly, because I don't want a fic that like "harry I love you" "mee too" (proceed to go NC-17). Just unrealistic, I find. I might have malicious snape, good snape, or Grey-snape not Dark or Light, just epic. Thanks!
Albus Dumbledore stepped onto the worn cobblestone with a renewed confidence. Gazing up at the gorgeous manor, his eyes scanned the dark windows. The manor was tall and elegant, formed out of pure white marble, enchanted to repel wind, rain, snow, or sleet. The roof was slightly slanted, and had four majestic gargoyles guarding the four corners. From the top, it was a perfectly four sided mansion, one corner pointing in each direction. It was made out of a dark, jade green limestone, a rare and magically gifted rock. It was one of the most sought after materials in the Wizarding world, possessing such properties as shields strong enough to stop quite a few Unforgivables.
The windows were made out of muggle shatterproof glass, and enchanted against fog and mist. All of this culminated in a large, archway of dark mahogany. Sweeping his eyes across the lawn, Albus Dumbledore's eyes rested on twin fountains, one on either side of him. They were encircled by multicolored stones, and impossibly green grass. The gates rose high, and including the metal fence were enchanted with muggle-repelling, ill intent, anti-apparition, portkey, and were blood-coded. Only members of the Emrys clan could activate or even touch them. And even then, only scions could use them.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and the large doors swung open, silently on well-oiled hinges. He quietly walked into the manor, doors clanking shut behind him. The inside of the mansion was well decorated, with rugs of red and gold, swords hung with hints of emeralds and diamonds, banners of purple and bronze, knickknacks of yellow and black. Ignoring all of these, Dumbledore slowly walked up to a fireplace, and picked up a small, plain, metal spinning top. Looking around before continuing, he took the top and spun it on the fireplace. It spun around, and around, until it finally stopped and fell, rolling in a perfect circle. Dumbledore sighed, strode over to the study, and slammed the door shut.
All was silent as Minerva McGonnagall strode into the Headmistresses office. Her eyes met with three unfortunate teenagers. Flicking from one raven haired teenager standing in front of the late Albus Dumbledore's portrait, to the red haired, freckled teenager awkwardly crouched next to various instruments, to a bushy haired brunette, standing next to the personal library of the Headmistress. Her expression remained unchanged. Fearing for the worst, the three teens stood up straight. Harry glanced to Ron. Ron glanced to Hermione. Hermione glanced to Harry. Simultaneously, they yelled "I can explain!" "There's a logical explanation…" "This is all a dre-"Ron trailed off. Harry shot him a Shut uplook, and Hermione shot him an I will kill you look.
McGonnagall's face changed quickly, from utter annoyance, to curiosity. She calmly walked over to the gold throne, and sat down. She motioned for them to have a seat. "Two matters. One, how did you get in here? The gargoyle shouldn't let anyone in?" Harry puzzled to answer. Hermione came to the rescue: "Professor, someone let us in. The gargoyle slid open after Harry called out." McGonnagall puzzled for a second, and then cast Homenum Revelio. Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt a cold shiver run down their backs, while McGonnagall thought further. "Who let them in? No one else has access to this room. That's something to think about." "Anyway," McGonnagall stated "What did you want to come in here for?" Harry smiled sheepishly as he produced a worn, black book to her. She gasped audible, and incredulously turned to Harry. "How did you get this? More importantly, how can you read this?" Harry shrugged, and turned to the page where names were written in. She noted that Harry's name was written in a indiscernible script, neat, but different from all the others.
She asked, "So, Harry. You have stumbled upon the Book of Merlin. Was there anything you wanted to ask me?" Ron piped up. "Nothing much Professor, we just kinda started to read, and since you're one of the only living people on the list, we came to ask about your… experiences with the book." Harry and Hermione started to protest, but after computing what he said, sat back down.
Hermione looked sheepish. "That's about right, Professor."
McGonnagall sighed, and opened the book. "This book contains one of the most dangerous things in the world to possess. Information. The secrets of old laid bare, to read. You should feel safe that this book is protected against destruction, and that those are the most powerful wards this world has to offer. The only thing I can offer as advice, is that you do not show this to anyone else that you feel may discern this information. I advise you brush up on your silent spells, and I have a few sections to recommend."
She tapped her wand on the book, and it turned to a section titled Wandless and Silent spells. "This section will help you greatly, as you can manipulate magic without a wand, and without speaking, which most people won't expect. You could even catch Dumbledore off guard if they didn't know you could cast both silently and wandlessly. Another section is here." She tapped her wand to the book again. It was titled Power Levels and Scaling. She continued. "In here are various spells that can help you decide on the power of one person. Now, it does not really give a definite measure of their power, but it helps you know how much spell power they could in theory put into a spell. For example, this spell here calculates a combination of power and intelligence. I will cast it on Miss Granger."
Silently, she waved her wand, and a small number appeared over Hermione's head. It read 1520, in gently floating white letters. They dissipated after a second. "This can gauge a person's ability, but you cannot gauge simply with numbers. There is one last area."
She tapped her wand on the book one last time. It flipped to a page titled Occlumency and the powers of the mind. She said, "If you were to gain access to someone's mind, applied with the earlier concept of power, you can virtually tell what someone will do, how they will do, and it will give you the upper hand in a battle. These are the most helpful sections, apart from spell casting. I have just a little more advice. First off, do not attempt to begin a ritual nor a portal anywhere in this building," she said sternly. "These can go wrong, and wreak havoc. You would not want an immortal, flesh consuming demon that feeds off lust in this world. Feel free to come up to me if you have any questions at all with a spell in this book. Now, I must prepare for the End of year Feast. She sighed sadly. "You may go."
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Albus Dumbledore was surrounded by a whirlwind of notes and quills, various spinning objects, silvery liquid floating in the air, and several hovering sheets of parchment. He was making various hand movements while muttering underneath his breath. The object of his desires was a small stick, about 15 inches in length. It was one of the oldest magical objects in existence, and was made of Elder wood. They say it was fashioned by death itself. Currently, however, it was being experimented upon by one of the most brilliant minds ever to exist. It was suspended in mid air, with sparkles dancing around it, changing in color every now and then. The sparkles exploded, and a quill immediately began writing on a piece of parchment. Dumbledore strode around at the self-writing quills, and the moment one parchment was done, it flew into a neatly arranged pile. Dumbledore sighed, feeling all of his one hundred and fifty years catching up. He began to write a short letter, and sealed it with a tap of his wand. Popping a lemon drop into his mouth, he pondered how he would continue.
He walked into the ancient study, clutching a small golden trophy, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Mother? Mother? Where are you?" He received no answer. Shrugging, he sat down into his room, and opened a book. Minutes passed, until the fluttering of wings alerted him. "I don't have any other reasons to get mail, other than my birthday tomorrow. Humph, might as well see what it is." He walked over to the shockingly black owl, and tickled its beak. He gently pried the large piece of mail from its talons, and opened it. It contained shockingly few words.
Turn to the first page.
-M
He picked up the rest of the package, and saw a heavy, black-covered book. It was well worn. Curious, he turned to the first page. His name was scrawled into a list of names. The names intrigued him, but the most curious thing is that he did not recognize the script at all. Casting a few indiscriminate charms to see if it was safe, he opened the book and began reading.
Albus had left the book inside his dorm room a year later after he had copied the most important parts of it. It had lain untouched, hidden underneath the floorboards for over one hundred years. Then, it was taken out only once since then, and promptly put back in.
On the night of October 31, 1981, nearing midnight, passing into November, a tall, cloaked figure tiredly slinked into the common room. He walked to a direct point on the floor. Casting a silent spell at the floor, the area lifted up to reveal a dusty book. He set his glasses on the bed nearest him, and opened to the first page. He wrote two words, before replacing it under the table. Picking up his half-moon glasses, Dumbledore hoped that Harry would discover it on his own, one day.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione trudged back over to the Gryffindor common room. Harry broke the silence. "Now what?" Hermione checked the time. "We still have about half an hour left until the End of Year feast, so we could visit someone, or read from the book more." Her musings were interrupted by the sound of steps.
Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom were walking down the steps. Seamus and Dean half-heartedly waved to the trio, while Neville approached them. "I hope you realize there's a hole near your bed, Harry." He grinned weakly and left.
Harry shrugged, and collapsed onto his favorite couch by the fireside. Hermione plopped down on his side, and opened the venerable book. She turned to one of the pages McGonnagall recommended. "Power Levels and How to Find them" she read. "Power levels can be detected by performing a Malton charm and applying Druggner's principle." She paused, and bit her lower lip. She looked like she was doing complex math in her head. Ron was staring into the fire, and Harry couldn't help but stare at Hermione. With her eyes half-crossed, looking up, her mouth looking ver-. "STOP THAT!"he screamed mentally. Harry pushed those thoughts from his head. "Ah, ok." Hermione shook her head, as if she understood, and kept reading.
"The incantation is as follows: Invenire Potentiam! You can cast this charm virtually wandless, as it does not require much power. This spell also works otherwise. If you cast it at a piece of parchment, or a book, there are several positive side effects. First of all, the imbued item will be able to transmit the power level (but not the identity) of the person holding it, to the caster. Second, any name written in the book will become Green, or Red. Red indicates the person is dead, Green indicates the person is alive. Their power level will be indicated on the paper, but the farther the caster will be from the person, the more inaccurate the gauging is. The space below has been enchanted with this spell. Note: When fighting groups, remember one thing. Sometimes, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole."
Hermione finished, and glanced at the space underneath it. There were several names, written all in neat black ink.
Myrrdin Emrys (red) 41037
Godric Gryffindor (red) 9529
Salazar Slytherin (red) 9237
Helga Hufflepuff (red) 9173
Rowena Ravenclaw (red) 9174
The list continued, but the most baffling names were the two underneath. Written in a completely different handwriting, the names were emblazoned in Orange ink.
Albus Dumbledore (Orange) 6273
Tom Riddle-AKA Lord Voldemort (Orange) 6271
Alastor Moody (green) 3196
Amelia Bones (green) 3190
Bellatrix Lestrange (green) 2975
Lucius Malfoy (green) 2963
Kingsley Shacklebolt (green) 2109
Harry and Ron were now both crouched behind Hermione, reading the list. Nearly all the names were written in an impeccable, slightly slanted handwriting. "Dumbledore!" Harry recalled. Hermione and Ron looked at him. "This is Dumbledore's handwriting!"Harry explained. Hermione took out a quill and scrawled three more names on.
Harry Potter (green) 1584
Hermione Granger (green) 1579
Ron Weasley (green) 1570
Ron checked his gold watch, and said "C'mon, it's almost time for the end-of-year-feast."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and said "Ron, do you ever think of anything besides food?"
Ron shot back with a grin "I'll have you know, I think about Quidditch fairly often, thank you very much. Come to think of it, I spend quite a while thinking about how NOT to get caught in one of Fred or George's new pran-AHH!"Ron stumbled back, and suddenly sprouted green colored whiskers under his nose, which quickly turned into a full-grown handlebar mustache. Harry and Hermione burst into laughter, and this sound drew the attention of two girls walking down from their dormitories. Lavender giggled a little, but was still a little miffed at her and Ron breaking it off. Parvati was laughing openly, while attempting to step through the portrait hole, which ended in a hurt head and a chuckling Parvati. Ron looked angry, and looked up. He yelled with conviction "Why hast thou abandoned me!" At this, Harry and Hermione laughed even harder, literally falling to the ground. Ron took the opportunity to cast a finite on the mustache, and rouse his two friends. "Seriously though, it is time for the feast."
The three friends clambered through the portrait hole, and walked down towards the feast.
I know, I know, awkward ending. I wanted to get a chappie up for you guys before rage began.