Harry Potter and the Peverell Legacy
Book Two of the Heritage Series
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gate Crashers
The morning exercise bell rang loudly in the Hogwarts quarters and Harry awoke with a groan and cursed himself for staying up with Neville helping him with some of his work. He managed to climb off his warm fur bed and into the exercise clothes the school provided for its students and it was a further ten minutes before the Hogwarts team made it to the entrance hall to wait for the other students as some of the team took a while to roll out of bed.
"Harrison, you look a little worse for wear today." Elijah said happily and to Harry's horror he seemed to be wide awake and bursting with energy.
"Getting up at quarter-to-four in the morning for a run in these icy conditions is not how I like to start the morning." Harry said sourly "I was up late as well."
"You Hogwarts boys are soft" said Ella, she was another of the Durmstrang team and she was jogging on the spot waiting for the professor to arrive.
"Easy Ella, we don't all have your love for outdoor pursuits" Elijah laughed rolling his eyes at her and added to Harry "Ella here gets up nearly every day to go on the hikes, runs and swims held by the school, she is mad like that."
"Elijah!" Ella complained checking that the braid that kept her hair tight and out of her face was still over her shoulder "the great outdoors is supposed to be explored!"
"You surprised us yesterday Harrison" Henrik said joining them "resisting the allure of a part-Veela was very impressive."
Harry shrugged "That's what my team said, is it really that odd?"
Elijah and Henrik exchanged looks and smirked "You have no idea. You were exposed to a directed concentration of her allure and you overcame it. Nearly every man in the Arena was fighting to enter to get to Fleur, even from a great distance the effect was overwhelming."
Ingrid tutted and rolled her eyes "Boys! You all made such a spectacle of yourselves, fawning over Fleur like you had never seen such beauty, you should have better control over such things."
"You wouldn't say that if you met a male part Veela." Neville muttered with a shiver, "I met one a few years ago in France with my gran, and the reaction my gran had still gives me nightmares."
"Male Veela?" Harry asked surprised having never heard of them.
"Yeah, Veela are all women but they are born from unions with wizards or muggle men and it is a rare thing that they produce male offspring. They are human like their father and cannot transform like a true Veela, but some have been known to keep their fire throwing abilities but what they do have of the mother is the beauty and the allure, and the males cannot control it like female part Veelas." Neville explained and he shuddered again "And seeing how my grandmother reacted to one leaves a lasting memory and respect for the power of an Allure."
Harry had a mental image of the formidable Augusta Longbottom swooning over some blonde young man and acting like a school girl and found it both funny and disturbing.
They all laughed after that, Augusta Longbottom was known to many in Europe from her younger days and had quite the reputation even in Durmstrang, before they could talk any more the Professor arrived and ordered silence and set them off on their run.
Most of the Hogwarts and Beauxbaton students had struggled with the exercises to begin with but over the weeks their fitness had improved, Neville had not been the fittest boy on the Hogwarts team but he now kept pace with the top half of the number and he was trimming down because of it.
The Valley itself was littered with small paths, roads and bridges all of which the Professor knew and led them on depending on his mood and most of the time it was sour and he chose the harder paths to test them.
The cold air was like daggers to their lungs as they ran and while they ran and got hot they sweat which would then freeze immediately and it made the run almost unbearable but Harry distracted himself from the aches and pains of the run by looking out at the scenery which was breath-taking and held a magical beauty.
The mountains and surrounding woods were old and full of life but it was not as menacing as the Forbidden Forrest and unlike the castle it did not express coldness, but it was the views of the valley that Harry found almost enchanting especially now when it was blanketed in snow.
They had been running for around twenty five minutes when the entire valley seemed to shake and rumble and the ground under their feet shook and caused them all to stop and look around for anything that could be the source.
"What was that!" Lydia shrieked looking around clutching Rachel's arm both looking terrified.
The rumbling got worse and another noise could be discerned through it and a set of deep thuds that accompanied the shaking ground and whatever the noise was it was getting closer.
"It sounds like foo…" Harry muttered looking around and an idea of what it could be occurred to him "That's not possible!" he said in horror.
"Harry!" Hermione gasped catching up to where he was looking as horrified as he was "Is that what I think it is?"
"No!" Harry said in disbelief "Surely not, not in these parts, why would they…"
"What is it?" Elijah interrupted looking between them.
"It's impossible." Harry said vaguely and he looked out over the valley that on the opposite side the tree canopies were moving wildly and he felt a sick feeling deep in his stomach, they were in terrible danger.
An almighty roar suddenly sounded across the valley and it echoed off the mountains and it created panic with the students who had no idea what was happening.
"ALL STUDENTS ARE TO REMAIN IN THE CASTLE!" Petrov's voice announced from a magical amplification "PROFESSOR REDWOOD PLEASE ESCORT YOUR STUDENTS BACK TO THE CASTLE IF YOU CAN."
"You all heard the Highmaster" Professor Redwood said sternly looking around in the dim light "the Moon is high use only that light, we do not want them to be drawn to us keep silent and follow me."
"Harrison, you know what this is?" Elijah demanded urgently.
Harry nodded and muttered quietly "Giant."
"No, that's not possible" Elijah gasped "No giant has been able to enter this Valley for centuries or even been seen this far north for just as long."
Harry bit his lip, he knew of someone who had recruited giants to their cause and he didn't think was a coincidence but before Harry could say another word a great horn sounded within the school as a warning and the large front gates that protected the golden entrance doors slammed shut and a metal portcullis was lowered.
"Heimdall's Horn! It hasn't been heard since Grindelwald's army tried to take the school after he was captured, when it sounds the Black Gates are shut and the school's magic prepares for siege." Elijah whispered "This is bad, all entrances to the castle will be sealed!"
All of them began ran hard from where they were atop the valley, the school sat at least three miles away if they followed the paths they had already ran, so instead they left the brick path and took the direct route through the forest and it felt to Harry like he was back in the Black Lodge running from the Order or the magical creatures.
"I thought this castle and this valley had the almost impenetrable wards" Harry managed to say to Elijah as they skirted a large tree at the same time.
Elijah cried out in shock as he sliced his leg on brambles but answered "No wards are impenetrable, with the correct application of magic and thought one could break them. I have no idea how a Giant made it into the Valley."
Harry paused mid step and almost toppled over as he overbalanced, If Durmstrang security was anything like Hogwarts, then the Highmaster held intimate knowledge of all the protections and was tied directly into the very magic of the school.
"But Petrov –"
"No." Elijah said quickly appalled "He wouldn't do this, he was orphaned as a boy because of the Grindelwald wars and he detested Karkaroff so I do not think he supports your Dark Lord."
Harry bit back a sharp remark about the use of 'his Dark Lord' Voldemort was everyone's problem not just his own.
"I would have thought that the wards and enchantments that surround this Valley would have stopped the giant from getting here." Elijah continued not seeing the look on Harry's face.
"A giants blood and flesh is almost entirely impervious to all magic" Neville said gruffly "Why do you think wizards drove them into the mountains when they could have just contained them in caves."
"Enough talk!" Professor Redwood shouted sternly "We are off the path and in the territory of magical creatures we do not want to attract their attention any more than what is currently in the Valley."
"Professor what is happening to the castle?" a Durmstrang student asked pointing.
Harry looked through the trees and saw that each of the four towers had begun to move, the pointed conical stone roofs began to retract and lower themselves to reveal four bright turquoise stones or crystals that lit the entire Valley.
"The Highmaster has activated the castles protections" The professor said urgently and he began he began to increase his speed "Everyone move now! We do not want to be out of the castle when they start to work and it means we do not have long until our entrance is blocked."
Harry looked around and made sure that all of the Hogwarts students were still there and once he was sure he broke into a run and they almost made it to the school arriving on the main road to the schools entrance when a great boulder came soaring through the air and landed in front of them blocking their path.
The rumbling and thuds continues and the students screamed in fear as the trees on the other side of the path parted slightly and something moved in the shadows cast by the moon light, but as they watched the movement turned into skin and outstepped not one but two giants.
Grawp had been big when Harry had met him but Hagrid had said it was undersized and now in front of him stood two specimens of the same species and the truth was looking at him with brutal strength that made his heart race. They were nearly twice the height and three times the width of Grawp but equally as ugly and both were bellowing at the tops of their lungs and baring their teeth and were looking ready for a fight.
Many of the students pulled out their wands on instinct and pointed them at the opposing giants.
"NO!" Neville almost screamed, "Do not use magic on them, it won't work and will only anger them more!"
"The English boy is correct." Professor Redwood said glaring at students with their wands out even though he had his own in his hand ready to defend them just in case. "Their skin will repel almost all magic."
"What do we do Professor." Harry snapped annoyed that they were just standing still but as he spoke he could hear a deep hum begin to sound from the school and the turquoise crystals began to crackle with magical energy.
"We can get to the ship!" the professor shouted pointing towards the path to the lake "Everyone move now and do not look back!"
The student began to panic because of his tone and they broke into a sprint to the closest path and ran as fast as they could down the hill all too aware by the shaking ground that both of the Giants had followed them.
"Harry give me a hand!" Elijah called as he ran behind them but began to cast spells at the trees either side of the path "The trees! Block their way!"
Realising what he was trying to do Harry flicked out his wand and sent out cutting curses towards the base of the trees on his side while Elijah did the same on the opposite, Neville cast enlargement charms on them as some of the other students helped send them to block the path behind them and created barriers which the giants had to climb over or break to get to them.
The magic was shoddy and weak but it gave them extra minutes to run down the path and gave them a small about of distance between them, but it only angered the giants further as they broke them down easily and saw their prey escaping.
Suddenly the humming that had been growing in intensity grew to an alarming level before the stones spat a golden light into the air which then began to fall and formed pillar of golden energy, both giants saw the threat and tried to run out of the way but the largest was slower and the energy hit its leg as it moved driving the beast to its knees as it howled in pain.
The noise was one of the worst things Harry had ever heard but the Giant was not done, it roared and managed to get back up with its blackened leg and staggered towards them with its partner still unharmed.
Three of the Beauxbatons students created a great sheet of ice behind them as they ran as another way to stop the two giants but it did not slow them down overly as they just broke it with a great stamp of their feet and the ice cracked.
Suddenly there was another shot of energy from the crystals and this time it magic hit its mark and struck the slower already injured giant dead on and the magic routed it to the spot while magic coursed through its entire body and it turned into a blackened husk.
The second giant realising that its partner was now dead gave a terrifying roar and picked up two of the felled trees and threw them at the students who were able to get out of the way but it had caught both Harry and Elijah and knocked them from the path and blocked them from following.
"Well perhaps dropping the trees wasn't the best idea," Elijah said almost casually as he used magic to stop another tree from being thrown at them.
"No it wasn't, is there another way to the ship?" Harry asked as he blasted a rock out of the sky that had been thrown at him.
Elijah frowned for a moment and nodded and pointed into the trees "Yeah, follow me."
Harry ran after him and he could feel the giant chasing them, the path they ran through was very tight as the trees were grown close together and the footing was not easy but they managed to get some distance between them and the giant, but the magic of the crystals had not been able to hit the creature while it was within the trees as they directed the magic into the ground.
"Elijah where are we going?" Harry shouted as they ran, they were running along a cliff with the water to their left but the ship was the other side of the valley.
"Keep going!" Elijah said urgently "it's just up ahead."
Harry pushed himself harder and caught up with him and realised that they were heading for a dead end with no further place to run.
"Now what?" Harry asked looking down at the water and rocks below.
Elijah laughed and sent a spell at the last boulder that the Giant had and it shattered into dust and debris which hit them both.
"What do you think?"
Harry looked back down at the water and realised that there was only one way down and he couldn't believe what Elijah was suggesting.
"Oh you cannot be serious!"
Elijah laughed madly again "Maybe"
Harry wondered where this side of his friend had come from as he had never shown this level of recklessness before but he didn't have long to think as the giant caught up with them and ran towards them and with its great arms ready to strike them both.
"JUMP!" Harry shouted at the top of his voice and they both took a running jump off the edge the rocky outcrop and they began to fall towards the water and the rocks below and they both shouted as they went and at the same time the school defences sent up another pulse of energy that finally felled the second giant.
They fell into the icy waters and went under for a moment before both of them swam to the surface and both looked up to see the blackened face of the giant looking down at them and they broke into uncontrollable laughter.
"Well that was one way to exercise in the mornings." Harry said bracingly through his chattering teeth.
"Come on let's get to the ship, I am sure professor Redwood is wondering where we are." Elijah said and he began to swim towards the ship.
The swim to the ship took them twenty minutes and it was freezing, Harry had been glad to arrive at the ship as his arms and legs ached and he barely had the energy to pull himself out of the water and the tide in the lake didn't help matters.
Elijah on the other hand did something that Harry had not thought possible, he had used his wand while treading water to create a spout of water that wrapped around him and lifted him out of the water and he stepped onto the ships deck.
Muttering to himself about the use of flashy magic and stupid thrill seeking jumping Harry pulled himself slowly from the water up the wooden ladder built into the hull and when he drew level to the deck a hand reached out to him.
"Need a hand?" Elijah asked smiling
Rolling his eyes Harry took it and he was heaved up onto the deck where the other students stood waiting for them.
"Never. Again" Harry panted as he regained his breath.
Elijah smirked through his chattering teeth "Wait till Ella finds out, she will be jealous."
"Harry!" Hermione shouted and she ran over to see him and gave him a massive hug, "Are you alright?"
"I am fine 'Mione just need to catch my breath." He said weakly flicking his wand out and drying his clothes with a small motion and stopped him shivering and dried his hair but left the smell of the lake on him.
"You two okay?" Professor Redwood asked concerned looking over him and Elijah "I didn't realise you were not with us for a couple of minutes, and then the giant changed direction."
"We are fine professor, the old plunge point came in handy." Elijah said gratefully waiving off the professors concern but only received a stern look in return.
"You know that jumping from that outcrop was banned, the drop is dangerous because of the rocks."
"Professor between being crushed by a giant or a crushed by rocks, the later seemed less likely" Elijah admitted "Besides I am aware that those rocks are not actually there, they are Illusions."
The professor rolled his eyes at the boy "Well as long as you are both uninjured that is all that counts."
Harry looked over at his students to make sure that they were all accounted for and he was pleased to see that they were, above them the castle was returning back to its normal state and the crystal peaks of the towers were encased within their roofs.
"Can we return to the castle now?" Caitlin asked stepping forward "We would like to get out of the cold."
"Of course." Professor Redwood said "The school will no doubt receive visitors from the Ministries but lessons should continue as normal, go back up to your quarters and get ready for the day."
The remainder of the school day had dragged considerably, the schools professors tried to keep the students minds on the lessons but all anyone was talking about was the giant attack but Harry was also on the receiving end of more looks and whisperings.
"You would think we were back in Hogwarts" Harry said rolling his eyes as they passed an older group of Durmstrang students who stopped to watch him walk passed.
"Look at it from their point of view" Hermione said quietly as she looked back over her shoulder "They know that you are a target for Voldemort and they know that he had Giants in the last war. They probably think it is your fault."
"Thanks Hermione" Harry snapped annoyed "That is just what I wanted to hear."
"Relax Harry." She said smirking "You know better than anyone that these things blow over."
Harry nodded but didn't reply, he didn't think it was a coincidence that it had happened and he was nearly certain Voldemort had ordered it.
"What did you think of those odd investigators?" Neville asked "those men in the grey robes, what did the Professor call them?"
"Grimms" Harry said laughing "I don't think they have anything to do with the bad omens though."
"I think that is a colloquial term for them, but I agree it is an odd name to have." Hermione commented and she looked deep in thought as she said it.
"Have you heard from Sirius yet?" Neville asked "I would have thought he would have sent word or come himself."
"No, I sent him an owl" Harry explained "I actually tried to contact him just after the Giant attack and it did work but just as Sirius answered my call the magic cut out. I think the valley wards were reactivated or at least the magic that stops the mirrors."
"Have you asked permission for the Highmaster?" Hermione asked "Sirius will probably be worrying."
Harry shrugged "I tried but the professor was adamant that all students remain within the Valley, but Viktor was able to leave, hopefully he will be able to make contact, I don't want Sirius turning up and playing concerned parent."
"Harry!" Hermione scolded "You know he has you best interests at heart."
"I know." Harry admitted "But….OUCH!"
Suddenly a great ache resonated from his scar and him stumble forwards and winced at the pain it caused.
"Harry?" Neville said grabbing his shoulder "What's wrong?"
"I have no –" Harry tried to say but his scar began to burn painfully and his vision started to cloud, he tried to raise more barriers in his mind but the pain was clouding his mind and created weaknesses in the defences his raised and an overwhelming sense of anger seeped through them like water through a cracked mug.
"I thought you learnt to stop it." Hermione said quietly shooting Neville a fugitive glance, not wanting to tell him what was happening.
"I did!" Harry snapped grabbing his head in agony "It just doesn't always work."
"What do we do?" Hermione asked looking a little panicked not wanting them to be seen.
"I need an empty room." Harry said gritting his teeth "Somewhere I won't be disturbed."
Neville and Hermione exchanged a look between them and hesitated obviously neither of them knew any place in the castle that would work for that.
Harry realising that his friends had not explored the castle overly since they arrived and almost ran down the corridor to a room that he knew was around the other side of the castle. It was an unused circular room under one of the towers and he had no idea what it was supposed to be used for.
"Keep to the walls." Harry ordered as he sat himself in the centre of the room "make sure I am not disturbed."
"What are you going to do Harry?" Hermione asked gripping his arm "You are not going to look are you?"
Harry shrugged her off, he needed the pain to stop and it needed to happen quickly, "Just do as I say."
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the barriers he had created within his mind and worked his way through them until he found the odd spot in his mind that seemed to represent a connection to Voldemort's mind, his minds mental image of this was a hole in a wall that was patched up with stone but now it was cracked and sand was leaking through them.
He reached out for the breach in his mind and immediately felt his mind move and he became aware of a new room that he had never seen before.
Harry was sitting on a large throne like chair on a raised stage and was looking down on four people who were dressed in black robes and who were bowing to him.
"What happened?" Harry asked quietly "You had your orders."
"My Lord, Markos he betrayed us, he used the giants him-"said one of the male death eaters on the floor.
Harry felt cold anger well up inside him and he raised his white yew wand and pointed it at the offending man and said "Cruico!"
The man screamed in agony as Harry's spell drove into him and he lifted it after a second and the Death Eater was left twitching.
"Rabastan explain what your brother could not." Harry ordered "you allowed Markos to use us?"
"No my Lord!" Rabastan said quickly "He tricked us, he stole the giants and used them for his own ends."
"And what would those be?" Harry asked looking at him but received no answer "What do you have to say Amycus? Alecto? What part did you play in this?"
"My Lord we were not there, we were out spreading word of our cause." Said the women "Had we have been there this would not have happened."
"Really?" Harry laughed "I doubt that."
"My Lord if only we could –" Rodolphus said shakily after the effects of the curse wore off.
"No!" Harry said and his words hit like a whip making the Death Eaters shudder, "You may have just undone all of my work on the continent! We need to act and we need to make a statement. You have lost me two giants and you have left a trail to me, we do not want the European powers rising against us, we are not ready to strike them now."
"My Lord, Markos has family –"Amycus said hopefully "You should- "
"Crucio!" Harry roared furiously and he held the spell much longer this time and revelled in watching his underling squirm "Do you presume to tell me, Lord Voldemort, What he should do?"
"No my Lord he would never." Alecto said looking at her brother out of the corner of her eye "We believed that Markos had left his ties to the Army of Restoration behind and joined us whole heartedly."
Harry sat and considered this and felt Nagini slither down and across his shoulders and he raised and hand to stroke her automatically "Did Markos show you how to break through the wards of Durmstrang?"
"No my Lord" Rodolophus admitted "He had incapacitated us before he left and when we arrived we couldn't get through but we could hear the schools defences activate."
Interesting Harry mused, Markos was very familiar with the Durmstrang protections it would seem "Disappointing. Our plans to attack Potter will need to wait, now before you leave you must learn to never disappoint me again."
He then sat and held the cruciatus curse on each of them for an extended amount of time and left them twitching on the ground, once we was done he used magic to send them speeding out of the room and slammed the door.
Harry pondered how to strike fear into the continental powers hearts, he would not have this Giant attack push them to strike at him. The Army of Restoration was a hindrance and their resurgence irritated him greatly.
"Wormtail!" Harry called loudly.
The door opened and the fat rat like man with his silver hand walked in quickly and threw himself on the floor.
"My Lord" He squeaked.
"I have a job for you –" Harry said and suddenly his vision blurred and the room was reduced to blackness.
Harry opened his eyes and found that he was back in his own body and the pain in his head was receding almost entirely and he could not feel the emotions seeping through any longer.
"Harry?" Neville asked suddenly seeing that his eyes were open "Are you alright?"
"Fine." Harry said weakly trying to shake off the feelings he had experience "I was –"
"We know." Neville admitted looking a little sick "You spoke out loud a few times."
Harry looked at Neville apologetically knowing what he could have heard him doing "Sorry, I can't control my actions when I look into his mind."
Neville shook his head and waved a hand like it didn't matter which only irritated Harry a little.
"Don't worry about it, what did you learn?"
"Voldemort didn't order that attack, or at least not how it happened anyway. Someone called Markos was supposed to help the Death Eaters get in but instead did it himself."
"Who is he?" Hermione asked frowning "A new Death Eater?"
"No." Harry said thinking "I don't think so, I think he was actually a former member of the Army of Restoration."
"Impossible" Hermione said "they were all rounded up."
"He might be the son of a member of the Army?" Neville suggested "but not all members were found, a lot of them fled and took on new names and changed their appearance, which was why there was such a big hunt for them."
"Maybe." Harry shrugged and he looked at both his friends and realised that they both looked a little uncomfortable with him "You two can leave now I will be fine, I just need to relax and quieten my mind down a bit more."
"Its fine Harry we will stay." Neville said looking determined and Harry felt a sense of pride at his friend's behaviour but it was not necessary.
"No I am serious; I need to be alone for a bit."
It took him ten minutes for him to convince them that he was now fine and that he wouldn't have any further episodes but eventually they left him in the room sitting on the floor. Harry took a moment to cast privacy spells on the door to prevent anyone entering or sneaking up on him and he closed his eyes again and worked through the Occlumency techniques he had learnt as he had been lax of late and had not kept up with them.
Occlumency was not something that you could just forget about, to maintain a level of defence that would work you needed to work through memories and emotions in your mind every night at a minimum, it was something that Snape had tried to drum into him but unluckily for Harry he had not listened, while he could maintain a level of barriers they were liable for breaches and that was what had caused his vison today.
Voldemort had sensed Harry's presence in the past and they believed he was now practicing occlumency just like Harry was, but it was possible when Voldemort was in a state of enhanced emotion it was possible that he opened the connection between them without realising and that was what Harry felt and it drew his own mind into it as well.
After an hour of meditating and breathing Harry was satisfied he had worked at his mental barriers enough so he decided that he would attempt another mental magical exercise that he had neglected since he arrived at Durmstrang.
Reaching out to his magic he mentally pushed it out to the barrier that lay in his skins and he imagined himself blanketed in magic and he pushed that magic to change him, reshape his skins and bones, every muscle to change size and shape.
As with all previous times he had done the exercises part of the transformation were easier, he transformed from his finger tips to his elbows, his face changed slightly and his ears grew and a long black tail sprouted at the base of his spine and he felt areas of skin ripple as black hair sprouted seemingly from every pore in his body.
Breathing very heavily from the strain of the transformation and the use of magic Harry opened his eyes and gasped in pain from the incomplete transformation as his legs and arms felt wrong as he shifted his weight and he couldn't barely see his body as his eyes had transformed into the better sight of the wolfs.
Once he had rested he concentrated on reverting back to his normal form and it took longer than turning into a direwolf but he managed to revert to an entirely human form after much pushing and coaxing and he again tried the transformation pushing himself to do it on command and in an instant.
The second attempted had taken just as long as the first but had faltered trying to get his legs to transform, the third attempt had been better with his face transforming more and gaining a snout but it had taken thirty minutes to revert back to fully human.
Harry took a deep breath and drew on what he knew would be the last of his magical reserves, the transformation process took a lot of magic and will and this transformation as his hardest and he pushed as hard as he could the magic changed him sporadically and it was not controlled and it strained every muscle and bone in his body.
His skull transformed into that of the wolf and he sprouted fur and the large ears but his neck was still that of a human and his head felt very heavy, he felt like his shoulders had broken into small pieces was unable to move them, his arms were fully transformed into paws but they were not in the correct positions.
The legs and torso of his body had also transformed and the changed and forced him to lean forwards from his sitting position as his bone structure changed, his leg bones were that of a the wolf but everything else was still human and Harry felt like screaming in agony, his torso however felt so odd that he didn't know what had happened and the pain was getting to high.
A whimpering sound escaped his mouth through his large teeth and he could distantly feel tendrils of the direwolfs mind and instincts at the edge of his mind, it felt so foreign and so unlike his full transformation that he didn't like it.
Trembling from the pain he began to painstaking process of reverting back to a full human form and he could barely manage it, and had to revert back to changing each body part at a time rather than all at once.
The pain prevented the transformation as it stopped him thinking clearly but after an hour of trying he was eventually back to his full self and was left heaving breathlessly on all fours staring at the cold stones under him, all strength had fled his muscles and he couldn't get the energy to stand up.
Bracing himself Harry managed to force himself to the wall which he used as a brace to keep him upright and tried to get some of his strength back, as he moved he realised that the room was much colder than he remembered, then as he moved he realised that the room was not colder, it was more that he was colder because of a lack of clothing.
The transformation magic had stripped him of his robes and trousers and almost half a shirt, Harry sat a laughed to himself even though it pained him but he could just imagine someone walking in on him now and they would wonder what on earth had happened to him.
He flicked out his wand and managed to raise it "Accio robes" he called weakly.
Nothing happened.
His magic failed as he was unable to channel any more magic, tired and wanting to have a hot bath and sleep Harry growled, something he had been doing more often recently, a consequence of his animagus form and took a deep breath and used the charm again and forced out the magic and this time it worked, the robes appeared and he stepped into them.
Harry staggered back to the Hogwarts Quarters and it was clear to anyone who would have seen him that he was exhausted and Harry silently cursed himself for getting into such a tired state as it left him vulnerable but nobody attacked him and he managed to get to the Quarters and when he entered he practically ignored everyone and went straight into the bathrooms and turned on the taps.
He summoned his rune kit from his trunk and pulled out a tool which was tipped with a white chalk, it was basically a quill but had chalk on the end instead of the metal nib, and he used the tool to write seven runes of power onto the stones that made the bath and used a small amount of blood and a flicker of magic to activate them.
Runic magic was nowhere near as powerful as wand magic but it was what he needed, the magic of the runes permeated the water with their magical properties. Thankful for the Durmstrang Runes lessons as without them he wouldn't have been able to do what he had done, he slipped into the water and immediately felt relief spread through him as the magic worked to relive him of tiredness and soreness in his muscles and bones and he was able to relax and regain a semblance of strength.
Harry closed his eyes and breathed deeply enjoying the water and its healing properties and felt himself drift off, he fell asleep in the bath for ten minutes and woke to Ernie shaking his arm and he got out and staggered to his bed and fell asleep almost immediately but promised himself that he would send Sirius an owl in the morning.
o-HP-o
Hogwarts was in the middle of dinner and the Great Hall was full of shouting, laughter and chatter, Sirius sat in the throne like chair, a seat he in truth hated as it was this chair that always made him feel like a fraud, he looked out at the students and smiled ruefully, it had been a week and a half since further students had been removed from the school and he wondered if things were finally settling down.
To his right and down the staff table was an empty chair that caused Sirius some concern, Snape had been called from the Castle by Voldemort, Sirius turned a blind eye to it as Snape was their spy and it was unlike Voldemort to call him away for secret meetings especially at dinner when it would be clear that Snape was gone.
The talk in the Great Hall stopped suddenly as a large black bird swept down from through the owl window in the eaves and flew towards Sirius. There was an old superstition about dark owls, "Dark Wings mean dark news" it had always intrigued him as a child seeing as every owl the Blacks had to black as was their tradition, and when he got older he believed that his family caused that old saying but now sat here faced with a black owl with its leg raised he sat worried.
Noticing that everyone was watching him he calmly reached out to the bird and relieved it of its letter and it flew away immediately leaving him the letter addressed to him.
Headmaster Black
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Turning it over Sirius saw that it was sealed with a black wax seal stamped with the coat of arms of Durmstrang.
Ripping open the envelope he pulled out the parchment and read quickly and as he did he realised why Snape was not in the school, and guessed why he felt the mirror burn earlier.
"Headmaster?" Minerva asked quietly out of the corner of her mouth.
Sirius looked at her surprised and realised that it was still silent with everyone looking at him expectantly; he knew they were expecting bad news so he stood and looked out at them.
"I have just received word from Highmaster Petrov, Durmstrangs Headmaster, that this morning the school was attacked by two Giants" Sirius said calmly making sure to keep his voice level and not to show any worry "He said that both giants were dealt with by the school defences and nobody was injured, it appears that this was the work of Voldemort and his Death Eaters but the Durmstrang Valley is safe and the students were still protected."
"I understand that this will alarm many of you but the European Ministries will be increasing the protections around the school and will investigate this fully, this is nothing to worry about, all three schools are protected by a vast number of enchantments" he told them "Now nothing more can be done so eat your dinner before the elves get offended."
The school was silent for a few minutes as Sirius remained standing watching out over them but eventually talk broke out as they discussed the news, once some semblance of normalcy returned to the Great Hall Sirius retook his seat and saw that the staff was looking at him.
"Please continue to each your dinner, I do not want to alarm the students" he said quietly from behind his goblet that he raised to his mouth "We shall talk after dinner."
The Professors attempted to return to normal but it was clear that none of them had their appetites, well perhaps other that Professor Slughorn and Professor Trelawney, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was not nice for the remainder of the meal and when the students were sent off to their dormitories the professors also got up and went to the staff room.
Once in the room they demanded to know exactly what had happened in Durmstrang.
Sirius read the letter from Petrov which explained that the school was attacked by two giants who could bypass the wards somehow but the school defence wards were initiated and they killed the creatures, he explained that the Hogwarts students were out in the Durmstrang Valley at the time but none had been harmed and had been kept out of the paths of the Giants.
The German and Norwegian ministries were investigating the attack as the giants would have had to cross their bordered to reach the school and the school had been searched by their aurors and investigators, the Highmaster was at a loss to explain how they got through the layers of wards but he would also investigate the schools security.
"I will probably hear from Harry in the next hour or so, and I would imagine the Ministry also" Sirius told the staff, "But for now there is nothing we can do other than reassure our students, Minerva, Pomona and Filius please go and speak to your Houses make sure that they are fine, Horace would you mind if I asked you to look in on the Slytherins?"
"Not at all my boy, no it has been too long since I went into my old dormitory, but where is Severus?" he asked looking around "he was not at dinner."
"Professor Snape is currently out of the castle." Sirius said "I am afraid that the press will have a field day over this and the ministry will be all too happy to try and get involved."