AN: Hello all, as promised this chapter is not nearly as delayed as the past one. This chapter is where things really pick up, Harry has discovered the room of requirement and it has provided him a fully functional observatory. Now there are many theories to how the room works, but my theory is that the room constructs the items through very advance conjuration and rune schemes, not pulling items from the lost item room. I see no reason why the room could not provide Harry a similar room to Star Augur Estranus. Anyway onto responses.
Senju Sowdowwen – Oui, il y a plusieurs exoplanètes pour Harry à découvrir. Pendant, l'intrigue est en 2000. Harry est le premier Astrologist à trouver les planètes.
Son of Thanatos 64 – Thanks! We are going to try and get it down this week. We are a semi casual raiding guild so it is amazing that we have made it this far.
PascalDragon – Well, this was an interesting comment to read. For many of the points I will say that this is fiction, so it does not have to be completely logical, but to answer your point about mundanes naming the planets the same as Neptune, well, back then there was no separation between the two sides so his names eventually spread to the Romans. As for your second question on the differences between an Asteroid and a planet, the main difference is that Harry can draw power not from the planets themselves, but rather the leylines that lie within each planet. Asteroids do not have leylines. This means that a planet must be rich in magic for Harry to draw upon it. As a final point, my theory of the room of requirement is that it directs the user's intent into automatic conjuration using the inherit magic in the castle. Harry wanted a tri-pod, so the room conjured one using his intent as a template. I hope this answers your question but if you have more feel free to PM me.
Anyway on to the chapter!
Chapter 2:
The Dark Beyond
Harry slowly stepped into the room, marveling at the perfect representation of his dream observatory. Walls a soft purple and white forming an octagonal shaped room.
The ceiling appeared to be made of glass, so clear that it was almost invisible, perfect for observing the stars above.
In the center of the room the tripod shimmered as he approached and transformed in response to his desire, transforming into a large telescope, a beautiful work of interlocking glass and machinery to observe far into the cosmos.
'This room…responds to my desires?' He thought in amazement, resting a hand on the magnificent telescope.
Closing his eyes he imagined the ceiling expanding, removing the walls, leaving only the floor beneath him.
Slowly opening his eyes, he gazed upon the universe around him, no longer looking up at the cosmos but having it all around him.
The walls of the observatory were gone, instead replaced by the same invisible glass as the ceiling, showing the universe stretching on forever.
Shining above him the rings of Saturn spun slowly, illuminating the room with the planet's brilliance.
Looking into the scope of the telescope he saw that the room was mimicking what the telescope was viewing, creating a true three-dimensional image.
Standing up he noticed a few missing slots in the telescope, the perfect width and position for his improved lenses.
Pulling out his own telescope he removed the enchanted lenses and inserted them in the missing slots.
Suddenly the room seemed to vibrate, the image soaring past the rings of Saturn, the beautiful orb of Jupiter, the frozen planet of Pluto, the galaxy.
The image expanded until multiple universes stretched across the eye could see, each one teeming with potential life and energy.
Harry gulped, feeling the sheer power at his fingertips. The font of knowledge that he literally stumbled upon.
Shifting the telescope he pointed it at a galaxy at random, watching the room zoom in on it, following his desire.
'Amazing.' Harry thought, observing the red supergiant of a sun and the thirteen planets orbiting it.
'Now are any of the planets supporting life.' Harry thought, approaching the image and observing the image with interest, looking for signs of water or vegetation. None of the planets looked very hospitable, many of them a lifeless gray. But one glowed red. The entire planet seemed to be a solid orb of magma.
'There is energy, caused by the flow of magma, but would that count?' Harry thought, expanding the image with a thought, he was getting better at controlling the observatory.
He observed the planet for a few minutes, not feeling any sudden surge of power or any indicator that the planet was usable for his purposes.
'This galaxy is useless then.' He observed. He was about to shrink the image again when he hesitated. He would never get anything done if he did not have some sort of map to sort out these planets.
The room, reading his mind created a pedestal on the edge of the room, displaying a chart for him to draw a map from.
Taking out a pencil he traced a rough image of the galaxy, writing notes about the location and data he gathered from observing it.
After finishing his notes, he moved back to the telescope and zoomed back out, returning to the black expanse with galaxies as far as the eye could see.
He eyed the different galaxies, looking for one that could support life. Many of them looked different, the only similarity being the large star in the center.
Adjusting the telescope, he pointed at one with a yellow sun, zooming in on the galaxy.
'Wow.' Harry thought, the galaxy only had three planets, each orbiting in a triangle formation around the sun. One planet appeared to be a gas giant while the second was another lifeless orb of solid stone. But the third drew his attention, the entire planet was a solid sphere of ice.
Ice meant water, which could support life.
Shifting the telescope, the image of the planet enlarged, filling up the screen.
Leaving the telescope, he approached the image, eyes flittering across the surface.
He did not feel any different observing the orb. Feeling slightly disappointed he decided to name the planet as well.
'Hrm, a planet made of ice…Rime.' He eventually decided.
At the thought the planet seemed to shine brighter and Harry gasped, feeling as if he just dived feet first into a cold pool of water.
The sensation lasted a few minutes, leaving him shivering as it ended. He did not feel that different, despite the coldness he felt, but on the edge of his senses something felt…different. He felt stronger, as if he had just worked out for a few days and just now starting to see the results.
'Interesting.' Harry thought. Before he could not feel the magic beneath his skin except when casting a spell. But now he felt a faint flicker within himself, constantly on the edge of his consciousness.
As Harry observed the frosted planet for a few more minutes. He wondered what was different. He had read that the wizard who discovered the nine planets gained a power from the planets even if they did not support life.
'What made this one different, is simply discovering it not enough?' Harry thought, idly tapping a pencil on the note book, looking at the differences between the two interesting planets he had discovered so far.
'Do I have to name the planets to gain the power?' Harry thought, noticing that he had deemed the ice planet Rime while the magma covered planet merely had a page of short hand notes describing it.
'Perhaps one does not need to merely discover the planet but claim the discovery by naming it?' Harry thought, moving away from the class and back to the telescope.
'I want to return back to the magma planet.' He thought, picturing the red orb in his mind.
Glancing back up as the room glowed red he blinked as he saw the telescope had automatically adjusted back to where he had imagined.
'That is convenient.' Harry thought idly, realizing that his star journal would be even more important than he thought.
Observing the planet for a few minutes he came up with a name.
"Magnus." He said out loud, bracing himself for a surge of power.
While the ice planet was feeling like he stepped into a cold pool of water, the fire planet predictably felt like he had just entered a scalding hot bath.
Breathing in deeply he felt even stronger than before, that flicker turning into an ember inside his core.
'This is incredible.' He thought, knowing that only two planets increased his magic enough that he could feel it without actively channeling it.
'Now, on to another.' He thought eagerly.
*Beep…Beep…Beep*
Blinking he turned to his bag, opening it to reveal a clock he had packed to ensure he did not overstay during his observations.
Both hands of the clock were on 2 AM, the time he set for himself to return to his dorm.
Glancing back at Magnus with sadness he packed his new journal into the back and pulled out his enchanted lens from the observatory, causing the room to revert to where it was before, the octagonal walls reappearing and the image above back to displaying the familiar night sky of his own planet.
Storing it safely within his bag he carefully exited the room, ensuring that no one was around.
With the coast clear he moved silently through the hallways, re-entering the Ravenclaw common room with no one being the wiser.
After pushing his bag into a deep corner of his trunk he slipped into bed, falling asleep immediately as he finally allowed his exhausted body time to rest and absorb what he had just learned.
-The Next Morning-
The next day he was surprised to find himself energized and fully awake.
Normally he hated mornings, having to drink two cups of tea to keep him alert throughout the day from his nightly activities.
But today the minute he opened his eyes he felt as if he slept for twelve hours instead of just five.
Moving through the morning activities he had a spring in his step, something his housemates noticed at the breakfast table.
"You seem happy this morning Harry. Something good happen?" Cho Chang, a 2nd year girl asked him as he ate his porridge.
Swallowing his food he shrugged "I just feel energetic today, its nice to not be really tired in the morning."
Cho's friend, Marietta Edgecombe, spoke up at his response "Yeah I have noticed you are not one of the morning people. Frankly I just don't understand how some people can function without a cup of tea in the morning. But today you seem to be right as rain. What is your secret?" She asked, leaning forward inquisitively.
He grinned bashfully "Just getting a good night's rest I guess. I often have some trouble sleeping, but last night I fell asleep pretty early. Just tired from homework I guess."
Edgecombe nodded in agreement, moving back to her bacon and eggs.
'Why am I so energetic today?' He wondered as the bell rang for everyone to head to class.
Remembering his activities from last night he wondered if the added magic he felt pulsing through his veins was responsible for his noticeable change in energy.
'Well if more magic means more energy, I don't see the downside.' He thought to himself with a grin as he moved to charms.
Entering the Charms classroom he nodded at the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students before sitting down in his usual seat by the window.
Flitwick was already on his pedestal of stacked books, looking very excited to see everyone there.
"Welcome everyone, is everyone here? Yes? Ok then! Since today is Halloween I thought I would have a special treat for you all! Do not worry it is not a trick!" Flitwick said with a chuckle, causing the class to laugh or grown playfully at the pun.
'Its already Halloween?' Harry thought in surprise. He had been so wrapped up in his project he had not realized it was already October 31st.
"Today we will finally put the theory you have been learning into practice, making objects fly!" The charms professor exclaimed, causing excited murmurings to spread through the class.
The professor slowly swished and flicked his wand, sending thirty or so feathers to fly to each student and land gently on their desks.
"Remember everyone, swish and flick! It is very important you understand the wand motion, swish and flick!" The professor instructed, once again exaggerating the wand motions for them to copy.
"After the motion pronounce very clearly, Wingardium Leviosa!" He stated firmly, pointing his wand at his own feather, causing it to once again lift up and fly around the room.
"Now you try!" He announced, gesturing for them to begin.
'Seems simple enough.' Harry thought, picking up his wand and focusing on the white feather in front of him.
So far, he had learned that magic was all about intent mixed with perfect wand motion and pronunciation.
Clearing his throat, he pointed his wand at the feather, moving the wand back and forth and then with a flick he stated clearly "Wingardium Leviosa!"
*Twang! *
Eyes wide he stared at the feather, now embedded in the ceiling.
A solid stone ceiling.
The rest of the class was also staring at him in surprise.
Flitwick coughed "Too much power mister Potter! A little less oomph if you ple-"
*BOOM *
The class was distracted from the feather as a Gryffindor's feather exploded in his face, covering the poor boy in soot and making his hair extra crispy.
Flitwick climbed back onto his book stack, having fallen off in the explosion "You too Mr. Finnegan! Much, much less power!" The diminutive professor exclaimed as he once again perched atop the books.
The class started laughing after the shock worn off, returning to their own feathers.
Getting a new feather as the one in the ceiling was rather firmly embedded he once again pointed his wand at the feather.
Closing his eyes he envisioned the feather gently floating above the table, barely suspended with the force of his magic.
'Swish and flick'
"Wingardium Leviosa." He stated firmly, causing the feather to lift off the table with a jerk. While it was still forceful it was nowhere near the deadly force he had accidentally used before.
"Oho, look here everyone, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have done it. Well done! 10 points for both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for your wit and cleverness!" Flitwick exclaimed, watching as the two feathers slowly floated above the students.
Harry glanced over at the curly haired girl he had first met at the welcoming feast, nodding to her in acknowledgement of her feat.
The girl beamed back, before focusing back on her feather which was slowly gliding dangerously close to the fireplace.
By the end of the class quite a few feathers were in the air, darting about as the students learned to control the flight path of the feathers, playing with them in the air.
Walking out he decided to head to the library and check out a book he had his eye on.
As he walked to the back of the library he paused as he heard the sound of a girl crying.
Slowly turning around, he walked back to the ancient history section of the library, finding Hermione Granger slumped over a desk tucked away in a corner crying.
Harry felt very out of his depth, should he comfort her? How does one comfort a crying girl? He had never really interacted with his peers before, so his social skills were sorely lacking in this area.
Desperately glancing around for an adult or older student to pass this off too he slowly approached Granger.
"Erm, are you ok Hermione? Do you…uh…need anything?" He asked hesitantly, slowly resting his hand on her shoulder.
"No. It is not ok. Just go away!" She muttered, pulling away from his hand.
Feeling quite useless in this situation he slowly sat down next to her he decided to try again, vaguely remembering an older student saying once that when a girl's upset and asks you to go away that they actually want the opposite.
"It is ok, what's wrong?" He asked gently, hoping that the girl would stop crying.
He nearly flinched as the girl shot up, glaring at him with eyes still filled with tears "I have no friends and apparently I am a complete know it all that everyone hates!"
Harry recalled after class a redheaded boy, Ronald Weasley, had loudly insulted Hermione after the class, at the time Hermione had seem to shrug it off but it had clearly affected it more than she had let on at the time.
He had no idea how to comfort her. He never really sought friends due to his experiences in middle school and his sudden fame in the wizarding world. He had also never been much of a know it all, mostly keeping quiet until asked upon.
Deciding the tackle, the issue he knew better he spoke slowly "What is wrong with being a know it all?"
Hermione glared at him and he hurriedly explained "That just means that they are jealous of you."
The glare softened and turned to confusion "What do you mean? How could they be jealous of me?"
"You are obviously smarter than them and you prove that to them whenever you answer a question. They are jealous that they are not as smart as you are." He explained.
Hermione still looked confused "But how will I make friends if everyone is jealous of me?"
He smiled "But why would you want to be friends with people that call you a know it all and mock you for being more intelligent? It sounds to me like you have been looking for friends in the wrong place."
Hermione sniffed "But I don't want to be alone and friendless."
"Then I will be your friend. I think you are very intelligent and a good person to be around. Don't let people who are jealous or afraid of your intelligence keep you down." He finished, patting her on the shoulder.
She gave him a watery smile and gave him a quick hug "Thank you Harry. You are a lot nicer than the student say about you."
He blinked "People say I'm mean?"
Hermione blushed "Well…no, but a lot of students say you are very anti-social and stand offish. But that is another example of people who are jealous or afraid of you right?" She asked brightly.
Harry nodded with a grin "Your right. I usually don't like to talk to people because they often think they know me due to the story of my childhood or ask unpleasant questions."
Hermione blushed "Oh! I remember when we first gathered before the sorting, I am sorry for making assumptions like that…"
Harry blinked and then remembered it was Hermione who had said that Harry Potter would be a grandiose figure that everyone would noticed and chuckled slightly "Yeah I don't think I met a lot of people's expectations. But I am comfortable with who I am."
Taking out the home work from Potions due tomorrow he laid it out on the table "Well, why don't we get this homework out of the way, together we can blow the others out of the water. Let's show them what some standoffish and know it all people can do."
Hermione chuckled and brought out her textbook "Alright, lets see who gets the highest score this time shall we?"
He chuckled in response "If we both don't get a hundred percent on this then Snape is biased…oh wait."
Hermione nudged him playfully and they both laughed as the two got started on the difficult potion's essay.
Three hours later the two left the Library after the Librarian finally caught them and kicked them out since it was nearing curfew for first year students.
"It is too bad we missed the feast. I can't believe we lost track of time like that." Hermione sighed as they began passing through the second floor for a shortcut to the sixth floor, where both their dorms were located.
Harry shrugged "I don't really celebrate Halloween, for…well you know the reason."
Hermione nodded in sympathy before pausing "Hold on…do you smell that?"
Harry stopped beside her, sniffing the air "Smells like. Eurgh, that smells like old socks and rotten eggs!"
The two moved closer to investigate the smell when they heard it. A shuffling thumping noise as something very big slowly walked down the hallway in front of them.
Then the thing walked around the corner.
It was ugly, smelly, and absolutely revolting.
And also, it was big.
Very big.
"A troll." Hermione whimpered, remembering it from Quirrel's class.
His only instruction for them had been to run if they ever encountered the creature.
Needless to say, when the thing roared at them they followed his advice.
"We will never out run that thing!" Hermione yelled as they darted around the corner, heavy footfalls behind them signaling that the Troll had indeed seen them and was following.
Harry glanced behind them as they turned a corner, spotting the Troll catching up to them "Yeah, we need a plan. Know any spells that could hurt that thing?"
"No! Trolls have magic resistant hides, nothing we throw at it would even tickle it!" She screeched as they continued to run.
"Damnit where are the teachers? We could really use Dumbledore or Flitwick right now!" Harry grimaced, knowing that Hermione was right.
"Wait! Flitwick Harry! Remember in class when you over powered that levitating charm? Could you use that on the Troll's club?" Hermione asked, her face lighting up at the idea.
"Worth a try." Harry said, hearing the heavy breathing and roars from the Troll as it gained on them.
Skidding to a halt he drew his wand and pointed it at the corner the troll was going to come through.
*Smash! *
The troll skidded into a wall, severely cracking it and making it angrier. Roaring at them it lifted its club, ready to smash them to a pulp.
'Come on, screw restraint I'm giving it all I got!' Harry mentally shouted pointing his wand at the Troll.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry shouted as the troll swung the club at him.
Just as the club was about to reach them it seemed to jerk in the troll's hand and shoot backwards at a blistering speed, right into the Troll's face.
*Crack! *
Harry nearly vomited at the sight. The club had not knocked the troll out, but had smashed the head of the disgusting creature like a pumpkin, splattering the entire hallway behind it in gore.
Behind him he heard Hermione vomit.
He stared numbly at his wand and at the creature, realizing what he had just did.
Soon voices erupted down the Hallway, attracted to the noise they had been making as they escaped the Troll. Soon the teachers and Dumbledore rounded the corner, stopping short at the sight in front of them.
Slowly they walked forward, and McGonagall was the first to speak, sounding flabbergasted.
"Oh my…oh my goodness. Mr. Potter, what happened here."
All he could do was stand there, covered in gore holding his wand tightly, unsure how to answer her question.
AN: And that's a wrap for this chapter. I hope you all liked it! I really enjoyed writing the observatory scene. As always if you have any questions or comments please let me know.