A/N: NO DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS. I'm not evil like some asshats I know. -glare- So if you'd like to read it please do! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing this chapter!
Chapter 10 - Between the Lines
Thursday morning rolled around, and Harry and Ron were soon off to Divination with Professor Trelawney. Harry was rather thankful that he wouldn't see Professor Trelawney next Thursday, while they climbed up into the aroma filled room. The only light, seeping from the fireplace, bathed the room in an eerie glow. Quickly Harry ducked for a table in the back closest to the window, that he cracked open immediately, feeling the cool breeze upon his face.
Ron tucked himself in next to Harry, while the boy-who-lived prayed that Professor Potter would send someone for him to say that she wanted to see him as soon as possible. Harry daydreamed; someone sent by the Headmistress, would rescue him from the sweltering heat of the room---, preferably Ginny Weasley.
"Good morning my young seers!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed. Her extraordinarily, large glasses made her look more of a nutter than Harry already thought she was.
"Today, we shall look even farther into the beyond!" Trelawney said, in her usual airy tone. "We'll be studying Chiromancy; the reading of the palms! Now open your books to page thirty-two. You shall be looking at the shape of the hand, the lines and the mounts of your dominate hand."
"Dominate hand? Does that mean the hand you write with?" asked Megan Jones, a rather dim witted Hufflepuff.
"Duh!" retorted Ron loudly, waving off some of the smoky incense that had floated his way.
"Page thirty-two!" Trelawney snapped, before the girl could retaliate. "Study your neighbor's hand and write what it is that you see!"
Harry sighed and opened his book, looking over the odd drawing on the page next to several, very long, looking paragraphs. Ron suddenly started to mimic Jones' facial expressions, contorting his face in different inquisitive looks, and he clapped his hands softly as though excited about something. It took all Harry's will power not to laugh because Jones herself was looking at Ron with the exact same expression his best mate was copying.
Half way through the class, Harry found it better to make up wacky things like he often did, then actually have to stare at Ron's hand to figure his future. Harry certainly didn't need his own read to tell him that dark times lay ahead. Out of the blue Trelawney's large eyes magnified behind her overly, large glasses stared at him as though a deer caught in headlights.
"So boy; tell me what it is that you see," she said, looking at Harry.
Harry, who had slumped down to rest his head on the table, straightened up and flipped through his book a bit.
"Ah, well---," he started.
"Not you," she said, in her usual airy tone, and turned her headlight eyes upon Ron.
"Ah…well, Harry has ah…," Ron riffled through his textbook, which he had used as a sleeping pillow. "Harry's got ah…strong hands so, he's represented by the…element Earth?"
Trelawney shook her head and grabbed Harry's hand abruptly; her dry hands shifted over Harry's slightly sweaty palms, yet again the older woman shook her head ruefully.
"Just like your friend, Grander---"
"Granger," Ron corrected the Divination teacher, rather irritated.
Trelawney continued as though she hadn't heard the interruption. "I knew that you did not posse the things needed for the sight," she paused, as though what she would say next would hold some great insight. "Mr. Potter's element is water, but of course. His lines give tell that he has had many slippery escapes from death. Ah---, but his heart line interrupts with his head line. That can only mean one thing. …Death will come on swift wings!"
Snatching his hand from Trelawney, Harry unconsciously rubbed his palm with his other hand, as though that might get rid of her surprisingly, stinging prediction. The teen was used to her yearlong predictions of his death. Though he had thought her nuts; she had predicted, while in a trance, about Wormtail and Sirius' return in his third year. She had even been the one that gave the prophecy that had once lay held in the Hall of Prophecy's of Harry and Voldemort's future.
"Both cannot live while the other survives," mumbled Harry
"What did you say?" questioned Ron, after Professor Trelawney moved onto another table.
"Nothing," Harry responded, as he shook off the odd feeling that had come over him.
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Harry was grateful for the break that followed Divination, but not to thoroughly pleased with the amount of homework that had been assigned. Despite this, Ron and Harry headed for the Gryffindor common room to relax and possibly start on their Double Charms homework that would be due on Monday. It was highly doubtful that would happen.
"Hippogriff," said Ron, when they approached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Indeed dears," she smiled brightly, and swung open to allow them entrance.
"Harry!" someone suddenly called out behind them.
Harry turned at the sound of his name to see a particularly pretty, long haired blonde who jogged up the stairs to catch up to them. Ron stared at her rather lack jawed, to Harry's amusement, as they girl handed over a thick looking bit of rolled up parchment.
"Professor Potter asked me to give this to you," she said, and smiled warmly; her perfect, white and pearly teeth stood in an even row.
Glancing down at the parchment, Harry recognized the Hogwarts seal the Headmistress had impressed upon it. Ron continued to stare, and the door to the Gryffindor common room still stood wide open.
"Would you like me to stay like this forever?" the Fat Lady said indignantly. "Letting all sorts of people come and go as they please without the password?"
"Yeah if you could," replied Harry jokingly. "Thanks," he turned back to the girl who quickly gave a wave and trotted back down the stairs, avoiding the dreaded seventh step that was on the revolving stairs, like it was elsewhere in the castle.
"Who was that?" demanded Ron, in awe.
"What? Oh, that's Sally-Anne Perks," Harry said, shifting his bag on his shoulders, aching to read what the Headmistress had written on the parchment.
Quickly, Ron followed after him subsequent to the blonde having disappeared out of sight. The Fat Lady swung shut with a crisp slam that nearly caught the end of Ron's robes.
"What year is she in?" asked the red head, with a rather dreamy look on his face. "I think I'd remember her."
Harry laughed a loud the same time as he set his bag down in front of the couch taking a seat. "She's in our year. She shares a dorm with Hermione," he said, chuckling.
Ron sat up at the news and said, "She's a Gryffindor? No way!"
Shaking his head, Harry tore open the seal unceremoniously.
"So what does it say?" asked Ron, while he shifted through his bag. He yanked out the thickly bounded Standard Book of Spells Grade Seven by Miranda Goshawk and Quintessence: A Quest.
The black haired teen looked rather perplexed. "She wants me to learn these spells," he answered.
"That's it?" Ron asked glumly. "What kind of spells?"
Harry looked over the small list that was labeled: Jinxes.
"There's only two," Harry replied.
Ron took the parchment from him as he said, "Let me see that!"
"What are you two looking at?" Hermione asked, returning from her Arithmancy class, that she had when they had Divination.
"This completely mental letter from Professor Potter," Ron said dolefully.
Hermione sighed and took a seat on the couch beside Harry. "Let me see it," she said.
Scanning it, Hermione's eyes paused on the list of two Jinxes, and her face lit up as though Christmas had come early.
"This is amazing!" she whispered.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, realizing she was having a bookworm moment. Hermione looked up, smiling rather brightly, but caught sight of her best mate's looks and began to frown.
"These jinxes are required learning for all Aurors in training. They came into required learning in nineteen-seventy nine and were created by---," Hermione's grin returned. "Avrilynn Potter. The Headmistress."
Ron rolled his eyes and slumped back into his chair at the same time as Harry's eyebrows rose in question.
"You two!" Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "The Geminus Jinx, also known as the Twin Jinx or Clone Jinx. When cast the spellcaster can create a shadow copy of him or her…though it's rather dangerous. The spellcaster has got to have great concentration, because the shadow twin can cast the same spells you can. Jinxes, hexes, charms and the like. If you can cast it, the shadow can too."
"Sweet!" Ron suddenly shot up, sharing a glazed over expression like Harry's own, the clogs in their heads working already.
"Ron it exceptionally hard! Witches and Wizards have been known to loss control over it and have it attack them! That's why hardly anyone uses it," Hermione said sternly. "The point of the jinx is for the shadow to sort of watch your back."
"If it's that hard, why does she want me to learn it?" questioned Harry, pushing his slipping glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
"She must believe in you a lot to ask you to learn it. They don't teach it to the Auror's-in-training until their third year…she hasn't listed the counter so she probably wants you to only try it out with her present," Hermione answered, glazing over the letter again. "The other one is a really good one! They teach it to Auror's-in-training their second year. She's got the counter listed so you could give it a try without her I guess."
"Well; what does it do?" inquired Ron leaning over to catch sight of the parchment again.
"It's the Invisibility Jinx---,"
Harry cut her off. "Isn't that the Invisibility Charm?"
The bushy, haired girl shook her head. "Fundamentally they're the same, but the Invisibility Charm only makes objects invisible. The Invisibility Jinx makes people. It's hard to do too. Takes loads of concentration and the counter wasn't released to the Magical Community. Tonks...," Hermione looked around the crowded Gryffindor common room and leaned in a bit; Ron and Harry following suit. "Tonks told Ginny and I about it when we were at Grimmauld. Said she was real nervous trying this one, because the jinx makes you invisible and you can't see your hands or anything, but if someone else is using it too, you can see them, and they can see you."
"Wait a minute. So you can see each other, but can't see yourself?" Ron asked.
"Yes," Hermione replied straightening up.
"Wicked," Harry mumbled. "It's better than the Invisibility Cloak!"
"Harry---," Hermione began in her strict tone.
"Don't worry. I won't use it to go down to the kitchens to nick food," Harry said, laughing.
Ron chuckled taking the letter from Hermione. "It does say here that if you learn to use it, you'll surprise Lupin…. What d'you reckon that means?"
"Lupin probably can't do it," rejoined Harry.
Hermione shook her head, while she pulled out the Advanced Potions Year 7 book and set her How to Indentify Dark Objects book atop it. Ron suddenly glared at the blood red book with vehement loathing.
"I still can't believe Fred and George gave us homework!" exclaimed Ron, heatedly.
"At least it shows their being serious about their job!" Hermione huffed.
"But they're my brothers!" said Ron despite the fact that he pointed exaggeratedly at himself.
Rolling her eyes Hermione turned to Harry. "So have you read that book, Professor Potter wanted you to read?" she asked.
Harry's eyes grew wide. He hadn't even thought about the book. That in itself was odd; as it was the author who in some respect led Harry (in his opinion) to be in possession of Espy, the small jade bird with gold lined wings. Consequently, he had come across the other name that threw him for a loop. Godric James Potter; the author of the book Items Not to be Caught With, the very book in which he learned what Espy was.
"I take that as a 'No'," said Hermione, while she dipped her quill into her ink.
"I forgot," confessed Harry. "I'll get to it tonight."
"Well, we can work on the Invisibility Jinx after dinner," declared Hermione.
"Yeah, sure," Harry mumbled. His mind mulling over the small discoveries he had made recently, just his first week back at Hogwarts.
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Harry was happy to see the DADA classroom door unlocked and wide open, and he dashed through it rather quickly, wanting to get a good seat while he had the chance. Hermione and Ron looked equally excited. Entering the room, the three took in that no one else was there yet. They were a good ten minutes early after all. Remus looked up from his desk, hearing the footsteps of approaching students, that dashed into his classroom as though they might be late; which was impossible.
"Professor Lupin!" Hermione said, grinning just as broadly as her other friend's.
Remus smiled himself and stood. "Hello, Hermione," he said. "Harry, Ron."
Hands were shook and the trio settled their things on a three-seated desk in the very front row.
"How have you been doing?" Remus questioned, looking between the three. "Was your summer alright?"
Several renditions of the three's summer flew abound before Ron blurted out what Harry and Hermione were thinking.
"How did you get past the Werewolf laws?" Ron asked uncouthly.
Despite that, Remus chuckled, not surprised by the young man's question. "If I had a galleon for how many times someone has asked me that this week, I'd be rich," he replied.
"Sorry, Ron can be a rather crude individual," Hermione said, scolding Ron.
The DADA Professor laughed. "It's quite alright Hermione. He's the right to ask," Remus replied. "Though I'm afraid only the Headmistress and the Ministry of Magic know that."
Harry was rather confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Professor Potter approached me at my home a few days before I saw you at the Dursley's, Harry and told me that I had a secure position at Hogwarts if I so chose to take it. Though I really had no choice in the matter as she refused to leave," Remus smiled softly, pulling his chair out to sit upon.
"You didn't have a choice?" asked Hermione, rather lost as much as Harry and Ron were.
Remus laughed quietly. "Let's just say I now officially hate, Henry the Eighth I Am and A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall," he responded.
It didn't take Harry long to understand what the Headmistress had done, and before he realized it; he was roaring in fits of laughter.
"That's terrible," Hermione said.
"What is?" Ron inquired, looking to Harry with a rather mixed expression of amusement and concern. "What's Henry the Eighth I Am and A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall?"
"Their muggle songs that repeat endlessly. The point behind them is to basically annoy the person you're singing them to," replied Hermione matter-of-factly.
Ron laughed. "That sounds like something Fred and George would do."
Harry broke his laughter and posed a question. "So, if the Ministry knows that you're working here, does that mean they're doing something about anti-werewolf legislation?"
Sighing, Remus took a drink from his cup of tea that had lain hidden under his papers. "I'm afraid I also don't know anything about that either."
"Bet Umbridge isn't happy about that," Harry sneered.
"Don't even mention that ghastly woman!" retorted Hermione.
"Be that as it may, she will be attending our fair Hogwarts in a few days to overlook my--- teaching ability," Remus responded, running a hand through his hair.
"YOU'RE JOKING?" Ron shouted, enraged.
"And after all we did to get rid of her!" Hermione said, indignantly. Having realized what she said, she slapped a hand over her mouth as though it might make it go unheard.
Laughing Remus stirred his tea. "McGonagall told me what you did when I arrived," he smiled. "Definitely the sort of thing the Marauder's would have done."
Harry felt his heart swell with sudden pride, yet to know that his father would have done the same thing, rather than let a woman like that roam the halls of Hogwarts, he was glad to know he was more like his father then mere looks. Unexpectedly, as they weren't paying any attention to the time, the five minute bell rang warning that classes would start and students began to file into the classroom.
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Managing to get away from Hermione before she demanded that they go find an empty classroom to practice the new jinx in, he dodged his way up the stairs to his dorm and riffled through his trunk to find Espy snuggled under his knickers.
"Get out of there!" Harry exclaimed, shaking the blue cloth.
"Hello, master! Espy was just resting, I was," Espy replied cheerfully.
"I see that," Harry said. "Listen; Espy I need you to find out as much as you can about a Wizard called, Godric James Potter. I got a feeling that he's connected to me or both Professor Potter and I in some way."
"Yes, master of course!" the jade bird screeched and hovered in the air before him.
"Don't get caught Espy!" Harry said, doubtful if the bird who squawked at the worst opportunities could do any spying of the sort without getting caught.
"Of course not master!" said Espy before she flew out of the door and disappeared from sight.
Harry trotted off down the stairs to join the anxious looking Hermione and fairly excited Ron. It didn't take them long to find an empty classroom on the lowest most dungeon floor and give a first attempt to the Invisibility Jinx.
Hermione said, "Alright then, give it a try Harry. If you do the right wrist movements that we read up on then it should work. Oh, and remember to concentrate!"
Harry sighed and gave a wave of his wand while he said, "Occaecocorpus!"
Hermione cried out and Ron gave a great lurch, his face with the utmost repulsion upon it.
"He's splinched himself!" cried out Ron.
Hermione didn't even try to correct Ron, because she stared in revulsion at the sight before her. Harry did indeed give the impression that he had splinched himself, but instead of one part of the body, it seemed to have happen to different parts. Half of Harry's leg was missing, a bit of his upper arm gone and his neck was no longer visible. It was rather revolting to look upon due to the fact that one could see his bones surrounded by his muscles and tissue. It exposed as though severed.
"Can…ah…can you move?" Ron asked, frowning deeply.
Harry looked down at his leg to see that half of it was gone, but could still feel it completely attached as usual. Shifting his feet, he walked about the room able to despite the look of being splinched.
"That's sick," mumbled Ron.
Hermione appeared to have composed herself again. "You didn't concentrate the first time, Harry. You've got to concentrate, because I don't think either Ron or my stomach can take it again."
"Sorry," Harry mumbled. "Appareo." Harry's body became whole again.
"Alright then give it another try," Hermione replied, while Ron covered his eyes.
Harry tried several more times over the weekend and the impression of being splinched rather severely got worse and worse by the days. Pressing on determined to become skilled at the jinx; it wasn't until Sunday evening around four in morning Ron passed out at the polished teachers desk on the fifth floor, while the Marauder's Map under his face, that Harry managed to get the spell down.
"YES!" Harry shouted as he looked down to his hands, or where they might have been, unable to see them.
Ron shot up, drooling slightly, and Hermione chuckled.
"You can't see me right?" Harry asked.
"No, Harry we can't," said Hermione, grinning broadly.
"Where are you?" Ron asked, looking about the room.
The Marauder's Map suddenly shot out from under the red head's hand, startling him, and danced in front of his face.
"Very funny Harry," Ron said, yanking the Map from the air.
"Appareo," Harry's voice carried in the room and his body manifested as though it was the wind, taking a form. The windy vapor of his form filled out until he was solid looking again.
Ron who had decided that he wanted to learn the spell joined in with Harry and Hermione, giving it try. It took Hermione no time to catch on; three hours later Ron followed suit, and soon the three were able to make themselves invisible--- though the clock read that it was seven in the morning and their eyes were relatively red.
"Good thing we've got a break first thing in the morning," Ron said, smiling while they walked through the portrait hole to the abandoned Gryffindor tower common room.
"Yeah; good thing," Harry mumbled, his limbs rather sore for some reason.
"Good-night; Ron, Harry," Hermione said softly, while she rubbed her eyes a bit.
Ron and Harry said their good nights to Hermione before they disappeared into the boys dorms. Harry had barely managed to change into his pajamas before he heard Ron's steady familiar snoring. Slipping his glasses off and settling them beside his wand on his bed side table, he briefly wondered if Espy had found anything out before he fell into a dream of pink, cotton candy clouds that Fred and George sat upon laughing at Harry who was unable to reach them.
A/N: I had way too much fun with this chapter! The splinching look-a-like and spells where fun for me. When I made them I didn't think I'd use them outside of 'To Start with a Memory' but surprise, surprise! Haha.
- I own all OC's, plot and the jinks named in this chapter: Geminus Jinx, also known as the Twin Jinx or Clone Jinx & the Invisibility Jinx & their counters & properties/actions.
- I do not own HP and the canon's. Megan Jones is a canon character of J.K.Rowling's but was never put into the books so far. She was listed on the list of students in Harry's year on a piece of notebook paper Rowling showed on Harry and Me. (I think that's the title. Don't know it off hand)