Standard disclaimer applies. [Amanda Warren is mine though]
A/N: I updated again! ^-^ I love reviews! I got a lot so I updated again. I wish this New Year [coz apparently Christmas is over.] that I would get at least 60-70. I do hope you make my wish come true. I didn't get to enjoy Christmas so this is the only thing that makes me happy. Except for the perfume that I got from my sister, I didn't get any more presents or money for that matter. I promise to upload as fast as I can if you make my wish come true. I hope you understand this chapter and not be confused about it. This explains a lot about, hmmm…, almost everything. Don't kill me if they are inaccurate, after all, this is only a fan fiction. So please, review, *looks at reader with big puppy eyes…* Thanks! ^-^
Part 12: Blueprints of Goodness [corny title huh?!]
It's been a day after the full moon. The students have been discharged early to hold a meeting at the Great Hall. The meals have been sent to the common room because nobody is allowed to be in the Great Hall except for the teachers, the Head Boy and Girl, Ron and his family. The prefects are the ones keeping an eye on each of their houses.
"We are gathered here today because of Voldemort. I have to inform those who still aren't aware that he is about to attack the castle. By this time the day after tomorrow, he will come," came Dumbledore's words to all of them.
"Before we begin this meeting, it is important that we know who is on our side and who is not. The people you see here are of course those people, but of course, there those that you cannot see," with this he looked directly at me, signaling for me to come out of the Invisibility Cloak. I came out of course…
"Sirius Black! How dare you come to Hogwarts?!" Professor McGonaggal said, her voice trembling and so is her hand that held a wand pointing towards me. Actually all of the teachers were pointing their wands at me. Hagrid however didn't have any wand to point so I guess he just decided to lunged at me and grab my neck lifting me from the ground.
"No Hagrid!" came Ron, Hermione and Harry's voice. "Hagrid please, let him go!" said Harry as he tried to pull Hagrid's hand away from me.
"Harry, this disgusting creature is the reason why yeh haven't got yer mum and dad anymore!" Hagrid said looking at me furiously.
"Hagrid, I ask you to let the poor man down." Professor Dumbledore said firmly.
"But Professor, he—"
"Hagrid. Put him down." Hagrid let go of me. Hermione came to side.
"Are you all right?" She checked my neck to see if its still there.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said although my neck hurt like hell.
"Professor, what's the meaning of this?" Professor McGonaggal asked without taking her wand away from my direction.
"Minerva, please, put down your wand. All of you please," he signaled to everyone whose wands are raised at me. "Sirius is not a spy for Voldemort. He is here in my invitation." Professor Dumbledore then explained the whole story, the truth. Harry, Hermione and Ron would butt in sometimes to stress a point. I was so tensed while they listened. They all believed eventually and it felt so good not being looked at with fear or suspicion. For the first time I felt that I was home again. Confidence seep through my veins and heartfelt gratitude to Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and of course Hermione filled my heart.
"Ah, Remus. Glad of you to join us finally." Dumbledore said as Remus came to the Great Hall followed by a face I knew well.
"Amanda Warren! Good gracious how you've grown. I wondered what happened to you," said Professor McGonaggal with surprised and amazement in her voice. Amanda was her best student in our time. Even James, Remus and I couldn't keep up with how fast she was going with her transfiguration. Not that we were bad at it or slow learners but she was the only one who could compete with us at it and win for that matter. She and Lily were best friends and helped each other out. If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn she's Hermione's mother!
"I got here as soon as I could. Where's Severus?" she asked.
"I'm afraid that he's in their crowd again for he was called this morning. He showed me his Dark Mark this morning. I told him not to go but he wouldn't let me stop him," said Dumbledore with concern in his voice.
"Headmaster, with all do respect it was not wise of you to let him go. The other side is already getting suspicious. They might already know that Snape is working for us instead of theirs. Given that he was a Death Eater once doesn't protect him from Voldemort's wrath if he knew." Amanda said concerned.
"Why Amanda, that's sweet of you being so concerned with Severus and all," I said teasing. A couple of decades ago you wouldn't have heard her say anything close to what she just said.
"Don't worry, I'll hate him again after we go through this. For now, he's on our side and his as important to us as everybody in this room," she said smiling.
"Okay, let us all sit down and talk about what we're going to do about Voldemort's attack. Suggestions and anything that anybody can do for the protection of the castle and the students are most welcome." Dumbledore said gesturing us all to sit down. I sat beside Hermione and Remus. Everybody contributed and before dinner, a plan was ready for the safety and protection of the students and the castle. The only thing left is for the destruction of Voldemort wherein everybody decided would be better talked about after dinner. Dinner was served and everybody ate heartily since everyone got tired and hungry from all the thinking and planning. I missed this kind of dinner. Every one has somebody to talk to and you can feel the warmth of everybody. Not like when I was in hiding and I had to eat alone with a Hippogriff. Buckbeak was an excellent companion but he was not into much talking.
"God, its like looking at Lily's eyes again! If your head was in the other direction, I could've sworn you were James," said Amanda towards Harry. I noticed that Harry felt a little uneasy. Amanda must've noticed it too, "I'm sorry Harry. You're parents were great wizard and witch. They would've been proud to see their son all grown up." She gave Harry the warmest smile. It was the same smile that could comfort Lilly when she had problems with her sister.
"You must be Hermione, I heard a lot about you from Remus. I heard you and Sirius are together," Amanda said with much fascination about Hermione. Hermione went slightly pink from her remark. Why wouldn't anybody be fascinated about her, especially when she contributed a lot of suggestions and plans for the castle. Everyone was so impressed because not only was she an excellent witch, she was also an excellent researcher. She found everything, as in everything about protection spells, even if the magic and spells involved were thousands of years before her. "I hit Sirius with a bludger so hard once, it knocked him out of his broom and for two days mind you," Amanda said smiling and looking at my direction. "Hey, there are things that need not to be mentioned," I told her hoping she wouldn't tell Hermione what happened that time. Amanda of course eventually told her about all the mishaps we did during our time at Hogwarts that made Hermione look at me in an I-can't-believe-you-would-dare-do-those-things expression and I figured if she was my girlfriend during that time, I wouldn't want to think what she would do to me. The dinner went well, after that we talked about how to get rid of Voldemort.
"Voldemort has devoted his life in making himself invincible and immortal. He has no human weaknesses or heart for that matter. The only time he was almost destroyed was when he tried to kill Harry and failed. Now, nobody knows how or why but we must be able to find something that would be able to stop him or at least weaken him if we cannot kill him," came Dumbledore's voice. This was a serious matter for all of us since we would never hear him say such words as killing somebody.
"We'll actually, I found out something about how Harry survived his curse and weaken him," said Hermione. Everyone was quite astonished.
"But Hermione, if you're talking about the protection my mother gave to me, it would be useless since he already used my blood for the restoration of his body and power and he was able to touch me again without hurting himself," said Harry.
"It's true, even if somebody would die again for Harry, there is no guarantee that the same effect will happen," said Charlie Weasley.
"Well that's true but the real reason why Voldemort couldn't hurt Harry wasn't because his mother died for her. His mother's death only gave him protection from physical harm that could be done by a wizard," he looked at Harry and included, "that's why Dudley and his gang can bully you," in an apologetic look, "but wasn't enough to protect him from curses that could be cast unto him. That was the reason why Professor Quirrel couldn't touch Harry but during our fourth year he used Harry's blood for his revivification allowing him to touch Harry and of course allowing him to do harm on him physically," said Hermione. God, she is so smart. I find her so sexy when she's serious and catches the attention of everyone.
"Hold on a minute Hermione, even if you are right, which you probably are anyway, I have just one question. How come Scabbers was able to puncture him if a wizard could not do him any harm?" asked Ron. It seemed that it dawned to everybody in the room also the same question.
"That's easy to figure out. Voldemort's allies were all pure blood. Lily Potter's protection was for all pure blood and worked wonderfully because she was Muggle born and the magic that came from her was in her heart and mind not in her blood. Not that this was stronger than pure blood's magic of course, but ancestrally speaking, there was no connection that links both their magic. Peter Pettigrew was half muggle and half wizard,"
"How did you know that? You said it yourself that Voldemort's allies were pure bloods. He would never made him one of them if Voldemort knew he was half and half," asked Ginny Weasley.
"But Voldemort knew he was half muggle and half wizard," said Professor Dumbledore which made everybody's head spin with all the pouring of this new information.
"Then how come Voldemort let them in their side and now the right hand of Voldemort?" asked Bill Weasley.
"Because he was never one of them. He was a spy for their side but Voldemort considered him as somewhat useful accessory to his dealings. He could have used a more powerful wizard for a spy but Peter was perfect because he was weak and no one would ever think a powerful wizard would have used him. Even his best friends would have never thought that he would be used. Voldemort was smart. He made Peter his right hand because he was the one there for him when he needed taking care of while he was weak. He was also the person who did the ritual that was needed to revive him. If he kills Pettigrew, along with him is the flesh that he gave to Voldemort. Pettigrew's flesh is important to him because like Pettigrew, he was also half muggle and half wizard." A few gasped at Hermione's last sentence. Some still didn't know that he had a muggle for a father.
"Going back to the basic question, how come with all Voldemort's power, he was not only weakened but was only able to leave with him a scar?" asked Ron.
"There are two theories that I have come to formulate. First is that, Harry might be the Heir of Gryffindor," she paused. Everybody's face was now filled with astonishment, shock and bewildered expression.
"How can you be sure?" asked Harry who couldn't believe what she just said.
"Actually I wasn't before, but a lot has come to my attention recently. First, Harry's birthday is on the 11th of July. That would make him fall under the Zodiac of Leo, the sign of the lion, which is also the logo of Gryffindor. You lived on Godric's Hollow with your parents before they were killed also, something that may be a coincidence but there were more signs proving this theory. Next is that when Harry pulled the sword out of the Sorting Hat when he faced the memoir of Tom Riddle in our Second Year, he pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor himself. In ancient time, when Merlin still roamed the earth he put a spell on Excalibur so that it would be able to identify its rightful owner and the heir to the thrown. From then on, every sword that belongs to any wizard had a spell cast upon it so that it would be able to identify the same thing. You could have pulled an ordinary sword Harry but you didn't. The strongest proof I have is a little bird that told me a lot of things after I wrung it out of him," she then pulled her wand, "Accio Sorting Hat!" Everybody sat still and waited in silence. After a few moments, the Sorting Hat came flying by from the Great Halls' entrance. Hermione caught it in her right hand and placed it on the table. It has been a long time since I last saw this hat but it was as old as it was when I last did.
"The Sorting Hat knew that Harry was the Heir of Gryffindor. He could see anybody's mind, his or her talents and gifts, even their lineage. He never told anyone that the heirs of the Houses of Hogwarts has already came and would battle each other out. He wasn't allowed to interfere also because he swore an oath to the four founders that he would only say something if one of the heirs endangered the students. He was the one who let you pull out Godric Gryffindor's sword because he knew it would work best for Harry." Said Hermione.
"So what if I am? How does being one of the heir of the four founders protect me from Voldemort." Asked Harry.
"The Ancient Spell of the Deities!" Amanda said figuring out.
"Exactly!" said Hermione as if Amanda read her mind. Almost everybody in the room had bewildered expression, especially the younger ones who have no idea what is it exactly.
"That couldn't possibly be!" said Professor McGonaggal.
"Amanda, Hermione, Professor McGonaggal is right. Deities' used the spell for their protection against evil magic, enchantments, tricks and curses. It would have never worked if used upon a wizard or witch and/or even cast upon by a wizard or a witch," said Professor Dumbledore.
"There is actually a possibility. The four founders of this school were the greatest wizards and witches of their time. It may be possible that the four of them are somehow a descendant of a god or goddess. Deities were known to fall in love with wizards and witches. If Godric Gryffindor had a deity blood in him, he would've passed it on to Harry and that would've made the spell worked!" said Amanda with a look of triumph in her face.
"So, if all of the four founders had a godly blood on their veins, why didn't Voldemort used that to protect him also?" asked Fred.
"But he did," I said. Hermione' face lit up and I was so proud to know the answer because she was looking at me with pride in her eyes. Good thing I can still keep a straight face and not blush in front of them.
"He used this power to protect himself. Since everyone else doesn't have protection, they weren't able to stop him. James and Lily performed the spell the night when he came for them. If I am not mistaken they cast all the protection spells that they could on Harry and performed the Spell of the Deities on him before they could cast the spell on James enabling him to protect Lily who was most susceptible to harm. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry, his magic backfired since they both had the same protection. It weakened him because the spell came from him and the spell allows for other spells to work on the person itself. When it backfired, it wasn't enough to kill him since its obvious that he already performed loads of spells for him not to die but it weakened him to the point that he no longer had the power had." I said finishing my sentence hoping that everybody got what I said. I was fortunate that I'm with smart people.
"So then, we could use the spell again to protect Harry. When Voldemort goes for Harry again, the same effect will happen," said Ron.
"The spell lasts as long as the individual is alive. He still has his protection but we can't guarantee that. Voldemort has sort of died. We don't know if he still has his protection and if it will bring about his downfall again. In any case, we can't risk Harry's life," said Hermione.
"Tell us dear, what is your second theory?" asked Molly Weasley.
"Voldemort used ancient magic to make him almost invincible and protect himself from harm or death. That same power also brought about his downfall but not his death,"
"If we can't use ancient magic, what can we use then? Modern Magic is out of the question because Voldemort would already know them," said Percy.
"I actually wanted to propose a combination of both," Hermione said.
"I think that it would work. If Hermione's theories are indeed right, we must draw magic from ancient times that will be useful to us. He would expect that we would either use one of both. Separately it might not work on him but if combined, I think we might've a chance," said Harry.
"Yeah, a wizard can't take both magic at one time," Ron said smiling.
"What do you propose then that we should do? How can we combine ancient magic with our own?" asked Amanda.
"I already have plans how we're going to do it but we need a lot of power to be able to perform it well," Hermione conjured up a blackboard and explained to everybody how it is done. When she was finished, everybody was filled with hope and somehow the fear for the day that is to come decreased its intensity.
"Tonight we rest. Tomorrow, I expect everybody to be up and about in the early morning to execute the plans for the protection of the castle. Goodnight to all," was Professor Dumbledore's final words.
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A/N: Just tell me if this confused you in anyway. I'd make changes if there things you don't get. Oh, and if you have questions on some things that I explained here, pls. state it in you reviews. Thanks again for reading! ^-^
