Disclaimer: Anything familiar to JKR's books probably comes from there and is hers not mine. Also, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, the Wizarding World, and anything else that has to do with it belongs to the lovely JK Rowling, not me. I'm just playing in her sandbox and building my own Hogwarts in it.
Chapter Ten
"This talk of the Tournament is going to drive me up the wall soon," Harry groaned as he sat down at a table in the middle of the Great Hall for lunch after Ancient Runes the first day of classes. "It's as if there's nothing else going on in this world."
"Maybe it's because there isn't for most people," Ginny suggested as she gave him an amused look.
"Right…" he muttered under his breath as he began making a sandwich. "Well, it's bloody annoying, that's what it is," he said louder for the others to hear.
"That sort of thing is always annoying for you, Harry," Theo laughed, making Harry glare at his friend in annoyance.
"Why are you so annoyed by all of this?" Tracey asked softly, and Harry relaxed a bit when he heard her calm voice, though it was obvious he was still annoyed.
"Because it hasn't even started yet!" he exclaimed quietly, trying not to draw any attention to himself. "If the other schools were already here I would understand this better, but right now when it's just a normal school day? It's just plain annoying."
"You should be used to people talking about annoying topics, seeing as they're almost always talking about you, you know," Maya said as she slipped into a seat on the other side of the table from Harry. "Just ignore it and go on with your life like you do when they're talking about you."
"True…" Harry admitted, and he saw the others giving Maya thankful glances for obviously stopping him from driving them mad.
"So, Theo and I have Arithmancy after lunch," Blaise began. "Are we still doing the same thing as last year – the two of us teaching the rest of you?"
"I think we should," Daphne said, and Tracey and Harry nodded in agreement.
"Great," Blaise concluded with a clap. "Theo, I took the notes in the last class last year, so it's your turn today."
"Damn," Theo muttered as it was obvious Blaise was right.
"Are you three even going to take Arithmancy after OWLs?" Ginny asked suddenly, and Daphne, Tracey, and Harry looked at her curiously before sharing looks.
"Probably not, but it would be better to know we've at least got the background in it and can learn more because we've taken the OWL," Daphne said for the three, shrugging a bit.
"If we do pretty well, maybe it'll make a difference in what we can get a job in," Tracey added.
"I guess you do have a point," Ginny admitted. "But do you really expect to do well?"
"We're expecting to pass, but Theo and Blaise will probably do better than us because they're actually in the class," Harry said, and the two mentioned smiled. "Though we'll probably beat them in Ancient Runes, which they're doing for the same reason the three of us are going to take the Arithmancy OWL."
"Makes sense," Maya said from where she had been listening to the conversation.
"Well, I think you all should get to class," Harry said. "Trace, Daphe, Draco, and I have Ancient Runes homework to work on, and lunch is almost over."
Everyone said their goodbyes and went their own ways.
…
"I hear you're planning on entering the Tournament," Harry said as he unexpectedly sat next to Cedric at his table full of older Hufflepuffs, surprising the older boy.
"Yeah, I am," Cedric said once he had gotten over the shock.
"Good on you," Harry told his friend with a smile. "I wish you a lot of good luck if you're chosen. Just realize that Angelina's birthday is about a week before the other schools get here, so you might have some competition for the spot of Champion."
"You're not going to try and enter?" one of Cedric's friends asked in surprise.
"Why would I want to do that?" Harry asked, a bit shocked by the question, though he realized quickly that he shouldn't have been. "I'd love nothing more than to have a quiet year. Besides, it's a deadly Tournament, and I think I'd at least like to survive my time here at Hogwarts."
"Oh…" the boy said. "It's just… well, entering seems like something you'd do…"
Harry laughed before answering. "It sure seems like it with the trouble I get into, doesn't it? No, I'd rather sit this one out this year. I'll let Cedric here or Angelina over there get the glory." Harry slapped Cedric on the shoulder with one hand while gesturing in the direction of Angelina and her friends with the other.
"Thanks for the vote of support, Harry," Cedric said with a smile and a bit of an amused laugh, and Harry returned the smile. "It's great to know you're behind me if I'm chosen for Champion."
"Of course I am!" Harry said indignantly, insulted that Cedric would think he would do anything less. "I'd be behind anyone, even if they didn't have…" Harry trailed off, but Cedric nodded in understanding, though his friends were confused. "Though I'd rather it be you or Angelina because they are part of the group," he added with a smirk.
"I can believe that," Cedric laughed.
"I'd better go over to my friends," Harry sighed. "They're getting twitchy."
Cedric looked up to see that Harry's closest friends were, indeed, looking at him constantly, something Harry had seen the whole time he had been sitting with Cedric.
"I came over here to say I think it's brilliant that you're entering, but my friends have no idea what I'm doing here," Harry told Cedric, making all of the Hufflepuffs laugh at the innocent look on his face.
"Go before they come charging over here, and thanks for the support," Cedric told Harry, and Harry nodded as he got up and headed to the others.
…
Ginny dragged Harry and Tracey outside on Sunday afternoon to relax, stating they needed a break from the pile of homework their professors had put on them in the single day of classes they had had so far. They were all sitting under a tree by the lake, Ankh and Bast with them. Hedwig was flying overhead.
"How did she know to come out here?" Ginny asked, looking up at the snowy owl.
"She knows me well," Harry said with a smile as he held out his arm for his owl. "Hagrid gave her to me on my eleventh birthday – she was my first gift."
Harry saw Tracey and Ginny share sad looks, though he could tell they were happy that he didn't have to live with his relatives ever again.
"You know," Harry mused aloud as he looked around and saw so many students outside enjoying the nice weather, "it's too bad we don't have somewhere inside for all of us just to hang out in during the winter or when it's raining. I mean, during autumn and spring it's fine as the weather is nice, but during winter or just those terrible days we're all stuck in either the library, classes, or our Common Rooms."
"What can we do about it?" Tracey asked skeptically, and Harry knew his two friends were spotting the glint in his eyes that said he had an idea.
"I've got a few ideas," Harry said with a smirk, and the two girls shared looks before leaning in closer to hear his ideas.
…
"Professor?" Ginny said as she walked up cautiously to Professor McGonagall after her class on Monday afternoon just before dinner.
"Yes, Ms. Weasley?" the Transfiguration professor asked. "Is there something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, per se," Ginny began, "but Harry, Tracey, and I had an idea that we wanted to talk to you and Professor Snape about before bringing it to the Headmaster, and we were wondering if we could talk to you both after dinner somewhere?"
"I'm guessing Mr. Potter and Ms. Davis are speaking to their Head of House as we talk now?" McGonagall asked in amusement, and Ginny nodded a bit. "I'll speak to him and we'll tell you three where to meet us and when."
"Thanks, Professor!" Ginny said happily before slipping out of the room to meet the other two outside of the Great Hall.
…
"Professor?" Harry asked as he and Tracey slipped into the Potions classroom just as the bell rang and Snape dismissed his OWL class of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It had been a double Arithmancy class that afternoon, so they had spent most of it doing homework and deciding how to talk to their Head of House about this.
"What is it Potter, Davis?" Snape snapped, and Harry could tell that it hadn't been a good class just now.
"We were wondering if we could talk to you and Professor McGonagall about an idea we had along with Ginny Weasley that we're planning on telling the Headmaster about," Harry said.
"It took a bit, but we decided we should bring it to our Heads of House to see if it was possible and to get help if it was possible," Tracey added.
"I'll speak to Professor McGonagall at dinner, but this had better be worth it," Snape snarled, but Harry knew he wasn't angry at them and put a hand on Tracey's arm so that she knew it as well.
"It's definitely worth it, Professor," Harry said quietly. "We have an idea of something we think Hogwarts should have that'll make it easier for the students to interact."
Snape's head flew up sharply, and he looked at them with an unreadable face and hard eyes for a few moments before nodding once sharply. His features softened a bit, and Harry knew he had reminded his professor of his mother again.
"Thank you, Professor," he said softly before turning Tracey around with him and leaving.
"What was that about?" she asked as they headed up to the Great Hall to meet Ginny.
"I reminded him of my mother again," he told her, and she nodded in understanding. It had taken him many weeks this summer, but he had finally told her about Snape and his mother being best friends when they were younger.
"Come on, Ginny is probably going to be waiting for us," was all Tracey said, knowing that Harry had understood her silent message of understanding.
…
"My office, Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked the professor next to her quietly so as not to draw attention to it.
"Seven," he agreed.
…
"What is this all about, you three?" McGonagall asked Harry, Tracey, and Ginny as they sat down across from their Heads of House.
"We were outside yesterday and Harry brought up the idea that it's too bad the students don't have somewhere that we can all just hang out when it's too cold or wet outside," Ginny said. "Then he got an idea, and… I'll let him explain it."
"Why can't we take an unused section of the school and turn it into and area for the students to hang out in?" Harry asked.
"What do you mean by that, Potter?" Snape asked sharply, though Harry saw the wheels turning in his mind as his professor looked at him calculatingly.
"Well, we could have a very large room with couches, tables, chairs, bookshelves of normal textbooks and novels, cabinets with games, snacks, and drinks. There could be some smaller rooms if people want to study in a quieter area because I know I've read about a charm that can dull the noise from another room but still make it audible just in case. Maybe some rooms for practicing charms specifically so that no one will be hurt as easily. You know… a place we could all hang out in."
Professors Snape and McGonagall shared looks of surprise and curiosity, the idea definitely sounding interesting to them, Harry knew. If the looks on their faces were any indication, the three of them might just have gotten some help for their idea.
"We also thought it could be used for when the other schools get here so that we can interact with one another," Tracey added, and Harry smiled as that had been her idea.
"Do you have any ideas for a design?" Professor McGonagall finally asked as she and Snape shared another long look.
Harry reached into his bag and pulled out a roll of parchment tied up with a small, green ribbon. He looked at Tracey and Ginny, received nods, and passed it over to the professors.
They opened the scroll and looked it over, their eyes widening as Harry knew they were probably amazed by the detail the three of them had put into the ideas that had just kept on coming.
"This is very detailed, you three," McGonagall said without looking up from it.
"Ideas just kept coming, so we kept changing it," Harry said quietly. "This is actually the final draft of ten, fifteen?" He looked at the girls, who nodded.
"It took a few hours yesterday," Ginny added, "but if we can actually have it, all that time will be worth it."
"Is this possible, Professors?" Tracey asked softly.
"It's very possible, Ms. Davis," Snape said as he looked up at them quickly before going back to studying their ideas. "In fact, this is one of the most thought out designs I've ever seen. We professors could make this design from this piece of parchment alone."
"Though I'm curious about this room here between the restrooms," McGonagall said, finally making the comment all three of them were expecting as she looked up at them. "You haven't put anything there at all."
"We were actually wondering if you could just leave that room to the three of us," Harry said. "The three of us know a bunch of charms we want to put on it."
"Of course, and we'll leave you three to decorate the room with the furniture and other decorations," McGonagall agreed with a nod. "The training rooms, bookshelves, tables, food, drink, and games we can provide. You'll have to order and buy the books yourselves, but I believe you can cover that, Mr. Potter. Otherwise, I believe I even know the perfect section of the school to put all of this in."
"Really?" all three of them asked as Snape looked up at McGonagall with a questioning look, and she nodded.
"There's a section of the third floor – not the right hand side corridor you two are thinking of! –" she added sharply when Tracey and Harry shared looks – "that has been empty for centuries. If we rebuild that section of the castle, this idea of yours might just work."
"Can it be done without anyone but the professors and the three of us knowing and no announcements being made until it's opened?" Harry asked quickly. This was something the three of them had worried about, as they wanted it to be a surprise.
"A few glamour charms, silencing charms, and careful timing…" Snape said quietly to McGonagall, and she nodded at the three, making them relax in relief.
"Do you have a specific time limit for all of this?" Snape asked suddenly, and the three shared a long look as they silently decided how long.
"At least a week before the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang get here?" Ginny suggested aloud.
"We could have this done within the month, if you want it," McGonagall said, and all three students looked up in surprise. They had thought it would take longer than that. "That is, if Professor Dumbledore agrees to it," she added, "which he probably will do willingly."
"That's better than we could have hoped, Professor," Harry admitted with a smile. "If you can have it done by then, that would be amazing."
Harry patted the pocket with his Journal in it, and he knew the girls had caught the movement and understood. If the area was ready by the end of the month, that meant they could use the room the three of them were going to charm to give the first years their Journals, seeing as they normally waited about a month anyway. It was the perfect way to show everyone the new rooms.
"Very well," McGonagall said with a nod. "If you wish, Professor Snape and I would be willing to be in the room when you bring up the offer to the Headmaster."
"That would be brilliant, Professor," Harry replied with a smile.
…
"A very interesting idea, Mr. Potter, Ms. Davis, Ms. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore said slowly, his eyes going between each of the students curiously. "This was all your idea?"
"Yes, Professor," Harry said, and Tracey and Ginny nodded from their seats on either side of him.
"Well, then," Dumbledore said with a smile slowly growing on his face, "I've only got one question for you. What are you going to do with this unlabeled room here?"
Harry looked at the design that was flat on the Headmaster's desk and saw he was pointing to the room between the restrooms, just as McGonagall had been the day before.
"We were planning on charming, designing, and working on that room ourselves," he admitted softly, looking straight into the blue eyes of his professor.
A soft push on his Occlumency shields startled him, though Harry managed to hide it well as he realized what was going on. Hissing nonsense in Parseltongue, Harry gently forced the probe away from his mind as he looked away from the blue eyes staring into his green ones, knowing the Headmaster would think it was lack of eye contact that had ruined his search in Harry's mind. Luckily it had been a soft probe and not a full-scale attack with Legilimency, or Harry would cause many problems for Professor Dumbledore.
"Will the professors be allowed into that room?" Dumbledore asked, and Snape and McGonagall gasped almost silently from their places by the wall to Harry's left.
He glanced in their direction before sharing a look with Ginny and Tracey. Ginny nodded at the look in his eyes, and she spoke up.
"We weren't planning on it, Professor," she stated, but she hurried on before anyone could say anything. "The students need at least one room that's for us alone, and we thought we could use that one for it."
"Very true, Ms. Weasley, that is very true," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes shining and a smile on his face. "Very well, I give permission for the professors and yourselves to build these rooms without anyone else knowing until you're ready to share them."
"Thank you, Professor," Tracey said for the group as Harry and Ginny shared smiles.
…
"I was really worried there for a minute," Ginny said as they walked towards the library to do homework for their classes the next day.
"Lucky you," Harry muttered darkly, and both Tracey and Ginny looked at him, surprised by his tone. "Dumbledore tried to use Legilimency on me."
"He what?" Tracey exclaimed, and Harry nodded stiffly.
"Tried to use Legilimency on me while I was looking him in the eye," he repeated, elaborating a bit. "Lucky we know Occlumency, eh?"
"That's illegal, and he knows it!" Tracey growled.
"Calm down, Trace," Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder as he led both her and Ginny into an empty classroom so that they didn't draw attention to themselves. He put a silencing charm on the door so that no one could hear anything from outside the room.
"How can I calm down when he was trying to read your thoughts?" she exclaimed.
"Trace, it didn't work, and I don't even think he knows I know what he had been doing," Harry said calmly, and he felt her begin to relax a bit. "I made it look like he had lost contact when I pushed him out by looking away from his eyes as I did it. Besides, we've always known that there were reasons your father taught us Occlumency, and it wasn't just from Voldemort."
"Now we know to be careful around Dumbledore, especially when looking him in the eye," Ginny added softly, her hand on Tracey's back.
"He's not making it easy to like him, is he?" Tracey asked as she sighed and moved out of their reach to sit down on a desk.
"No, he's really not," Harry agreed as he sat down on the desk next to her, Ginny on her other side. "In fact, it's a worry since we know Voldemort is planning to come back sometime in the near future."
"How so?" Ginny asked, leaning around Tracey to look at Harry more clearly.
"Dumbledore is seen as the leader of the light, but if he's like this all the time, it's going to make it hard for him to get people to agree to follow him when the time comes," Harry sighed. "Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who will side with him, and they're going to be the problem as they'll listen to him without hesitation."
"Like my parents and brothers," Ginny realized with a nod.
"Yes," Tracey agreed with a nod.
"That's why Ron is only being treated like someone with a black Journal, Gin," Harry said. "When Tom comes back – and he will be back – we're going to need someone to get us information from Dumbledore's side, someone they won't expect. You and the twins are close friends to me, and everyone knows it, but if only a few of us realize that Ron is someone I'm willing to talk to and teach, your parents and Dumbledore won't realize that he's able to feed me information or anything like that."
"Planning ahead," Ginny gasped and Harry saw she was finally understanding what had confused a lot of people since the Quidditch World Cup and was still confusing most.
"Your brother agreed to the idea when I told him my thoughts away from everyone else," Harry said with a nod. "He said that he wanted to be useful, and he felt this idea was the way he could do that as well as redeem himself for the past, though I tried to tell him that he didn't have to make up for that. Figured out then that it isn't just you who's stubborn in the Weasley family."
"We're all pretty stubborn," Ginny admitted with a soft chuckle, and they all fell silent for a bit.
"Harry, if you aren't on Tom's side, or on Dumbledore's side, then whose side are you on?" Ginny asked finally, and Harry knew how to answer as he had been expecting this question for a long time now.
"My own side," he said, and Ginny looked at him in confusion.
"He's against Voldemort, Ginny, but he's not willing to become Dumbledore's weapon, which is obviously what Dumbledore wants, seeing as he still hasn't told Harry about the Prophecy," Tracey elaborated. "When Dumbledore starts treating Harry like an equal, then he might just work alongside Dumbledore."
"Until then, I don't trust him," Harry finished for Tracey with a nod.
"Why not?" Ginny asked, and Harry could tell that she had realized this wasn't the only reason.
"In my first year, Quirrell – the Defense professor at the time – cursed my broom to try to throw me off, and do you know what Dumbledore did about him?" Ginny shook her head slowly. "Nothing! He did absolutely nothing! Quirrell was still at the school until he mysteriously died protecting the Philosopher's Stone. I'm betting you Quirrell was the one trying to steal it!"
Ginny was gaping at him, and Tracey had her hand on his arm, but Harry was remembering so much about Dumbledore right now that he couldn't pay them much attention at all.
"In your first year, Ginny, it wouldn't surprise me if he had guessed that it was at least a Basilisk and that it was somehow Tom opening the Chamber. Plus, I handed him the diary! If he didn't realize it was a Horcrux from my description, then he doesn't earn the title of being the most powerful wizard. Had he told me anything about it? NO!"
"Harry, calm down," Tracey said weakly, but Harry was on a roll as he stood up and began pacing.
"And Sirius! He didn't even give him a second chance, let alone try to actually get him a trial! Dumbledore just threw him to the Dementors without a second thought, not even imagining that there might be something else to the story.
"That reminds me: He left me with the Dursleys thirteen years ago! Did he even check on me once? No, he just left me there to their abuse and my horrible life. Even when my Hogwarts letter was sent to me with the Cupboard under the Stairs as my place of residence, no one bothered to check on me." Harry was growling by then, but he didn't care.
"Harry!" Ginny said sharply, and he froze in place before turning to look at her. He knew his face showed his anger on it, but Harry also knew Ginny would know it wasn't aimed at her.
Suddenly, a light brown cat jumped towards him, and Harry caught her instinctively, holding Tracey to him gently. She must have transformed, knowing that he would be calmer with something in his arms. Also, they all knew that Tracey could calm Harry down when he was only a bit upset, but only Ginny could get him calm when he was in a terrible mood. In fact, just looking at Ginny while holding Tracey was calming him down greatly.
"I know it's hard – thinking about Dumbledore and all that he's done to you throughout your life, all that he's kept from you, but you've got to calm down," Ginny said slowly, walking up to stand in front of him with a hand on his arm as her brown eyes looked into his own.
"He's done so much that affects me, and it's so hard to realize it," Harry sighed as he looked at Tracey in his arms instead of at Ginny.
"I know, Harry, but you can't let this anger rule you," Ginny said softly. "For once I have to take a leaf out of Tracey's book as say that you're acting like a Gryffindor."
"I am not!" Harry exclaimed, eyes flashing dangerously as he looked up at Ginny sharply. "If I was a Gryffindor, I'd probably be ignoring all the wrong Dumbledore's done and be following him blindly instead of cautiously like I am."
Tracey made a noise of agreement from his arms as she looked at both Harry and Ginny with her blue eyes.
"Just calm down, please, Harry," Ginny said desperately, and Harry realized she had noticed he was getting worked up again, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them, a bit calmer.
"Let's just go," he sighed, bending down to place Tracey on the floor so that she could change back before grabbing his bag and leaving the room, all the while feeling both girls watching him from behind, their worry obvious.
There's the beginning (or continuation - your choice) of the Harry/Dumbledore conflict. I'm not going to explain about the rooms, so you'll have to be as patient just like Hermione. XD
As for me posting faster now that school is done... I want to be well into the third story (I know how far I want to be) before I start posting twice a week. Unfortunately for all of you, my first week of summer has been pretty bad, actually matching the time I missed my last week of 8th grade and spent three weeks with Shingles and the rest of the summer recovering from it. So... Yeah, until I'm actually in the mood to write more of this series, it'll only be once a week postings. Sorry.
ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE READ! Now that I've gotten your attention, this is a major announcement for the next couple of weeks that has to do with posting. Next Sunday, the 26th of June, I'm flying to DC for a nine-day trip that, unfortunately, will keep me quite busy the entire time. So while I will have a laptop with me, I won't be able to post. So, to make it easier on myself (and because I won't be coming home until Monday the 4th of July in the last afternoon), I'm going to be posting TWO chapters next Sunday. This means I will NOT be posting on the 3rd of July at all.
Also, on the 6th of July, I will be going to Canada until the 10th of August, staying with family. My grandparents only have Dial-Up, so except for certain reviews or PMs I receive, there will be no replies from me as I'll be online for 30 minutes to an hour at the most in a day, usually using that time to update and check in with friends from Florida. I will still post consistently, but I won't be able to reply to reviews unless there's a question I feel I have to answer in one.
You have all been warned ahead of time, so don't say I didn't warn you.
Posted: 6/19/11
Dedicated to and in memory of Kit Kat, who died early in the morning of June 16th, 2011 after falling sick the night before. RIP Kit Kat. I'll never forget you.