Chapter thirty six
"As much as I would love to turn you both into frogs," said Harry with a sigh as he allowed the magic to dissipate
Fred and George appeared to become limp with relief
"Now," said Seamus, "I'm sure the last king couldn't manage that"
"King?" asked Dean, "what king? I didn't realise that wizards had a monarchy"
There was a small silence
"I think I am missing something really big," said Dean
"Don't worry," said Seamus, "if you are missing out on something so am I"
"Apart from the fact that you have been talking to Harry in a foreign language for the last hour," said Dean
"I suppose so," said Seamus
"We can't really explain now" said Harry
"Right," said Dean after an awkward silence, "so the Keepers funny lot of people aren't they"
"Yes," said Harry, "got some very strange people in there"
"I know what you mean," said Ron, "Like what sort of lunatic would ride on a giant?"
"They must be crazy" said Seamus, "I mean what if the giant got fed up with you being there or the spells restraining it failed, wots-their-names…Maria and Nigel would be hippogriff meat"
"Well" said Hermione primly, "I suppose they trust the giant and the spells on the giant"
"I wouldn't" said Dean
"I would" said Ron
"What about those flying creatures?" asked Seamus
"They look a lot like angels" said Dean
"Dean" said Seamus apparently exasperated, "how many times do I have to tell you, angels are merely a figment of the muggle imagination"
"If they weren't angels" asked Neville, "then what are they?"
"A subspecies of raptor" said Dean, "at least that is Seamus's theory"
Harry snorted
"See Seamus" said Dean "even Harry thinks the suggestion is stupid"
"You should send it to the Quibbler" said Neville, "they might just print it"
"No" said Seamus, "they are running a story that the creatures are flaming Sadeirers"
"Sadeirers" said Ron, "I swear that magazine has never printed a word of truth"
"So" said Neville, "are you saying that Harry's article last year was all lies?"
"No" said Ron, "of course not"
"It was a ground breaking article" said Harry, "not only did the quibbler publish the truth but Rita Skeeter actually wrote the truth as well"
"Perhaps it is a sign that miracles can still happen" said Neville
"Ever the optimist" said Harry with a laugh
"Optimism isn't to be sneered at" said Hermione
"Give the man his humour" said Fred
"We live in dark times" said George
"And you guys are running a joke shop?" said Seamus, "what about the fight against you-know-who?"
"We don't know who" said Fred
"But we are fighting against Voldermort in our own way" said George
"We are fighting the oppression" said Fred
"And the darkness" said George
There was another awkward silence
"If you say so" said Seamus, "but surely there are more effective ways of fighting the dark lord than hiding away"
"Well" said Harry, "it depends how much of a Gryffindor you are, your bravery is admirable but fighting thus with snakes will only end up with you getting bitten"
"It may only just be me" said Dean, "but I swear you never used to speak in riddles"
"Sorry" said Harry, "it's these people I met over the summer, they had a really bad influence on me"
"You can say that again" said Hermione, "I don't think you have handed in a single piece of homework since we came back to school"
"Well" said Harry, "I've been busy"
"With what?" asked Seamus, "learning how to save the world"
"Yes" said Harry, "but I have also been having to read those books of law as well"
"Hell" said Seamus, "rather you than me"
"Ditto" said Harry
"Hey Harry" said Fred, "the wolf came around the other day"
"You told me already" said Harry
"Well" said George, "my less intelligent half has always had memory problems
"Anyone want to play exploding snap?" asked Dean
"Sure" said Harry, "I haven't been able to play in ages"
"I don't have my ear plugs" moaned Seamus in elvish
"What did he say?" asked Dean
"He said he had forgotten his earplugs" said Harry
"Earplugs?" said Ron incredulously, "But half the fun of exploding snap is the explosions"
Harry rolled his eyes
"Have you got a pack?" he asked Dean
"Sure" said Dean, "my brother really enjoyed playing it…"
There was another uncomfortable silence
"Do you want to deal?" asked Seamus
"Yes" said Dean
The cards were dealt out and they played in silence until Hermione pointed out that they were almost at Hogwarts and that they all needed to change
(Sorry, I know it sucks but that part was giving me writers block megatime…onwards and I must not look back…)
Ron and Hermione started somewhat as they approached the thresteral draw carriages
"You get used to them" said Harry, "Eventually"
"I don't think I will" said Ron staring at the skeletal horses
"What do they look like?" asked Dean
"They are black" said Hermione as she stared at them
"They've got wings" said Ron
"I wish I could see them" said Seamus
"Really?" asked Harry
"No" said Seamus, "I suppose I don't…sorry…"
"It's alright" said Harry, "Death is only a stage of life after all"
"Who have you seen die?" Dean asked Hermione, "You couldn't see them last year…"
"A lot has happened since last year" said Hermione
"But you have been at Hogwarts all term" said Dean, "unless someone was killed in the attack on your house…"
"No" said Hermione, "No one was killed then…"
"Apart from the death eaters who were found in a tidy heap next to your house" said Seamus, "riddled with arrows of all things"
"Harry!" said Hermione
"What are you looking at me for?" asked Harry
"Your Ankion?" asked Seamus in Elvish
"No" said Harry in English
"I really wish they would stop doing that" said Dean
"Its nothing compared to Harry and Draco" said Ron
"Harry and Draco?" asked Seamus
"Like they were before Draco died" said Hermione with a glare in Ron's direction
"Before I met those two I never realised how much two people could argue" said Dean
"Almost as bad as Harry and Moonshine" said Ron with a laugh
"Moonshine?" asked Seamus puzzled, "Harry gets on really well with Moonshine"
Hermione glared at Ron, Harry raised an eyebrow in Ron's direction
"I think this last week did more that kill you" he said, "Or maybe…it's just your gryfindorness"
"What do you mean my gryfindorness?" asked Ron tetchily
"What I think Harry is trying to say" said Hermione, "is that you would never have made it into Ravenclaw"
"And what has that got to do with the price of dragon's liver?" asked Ron
"You are endangering people" said Harry
"Like who?" asked Ron sulkily
They drew to a halt and clambered out of the carriage and during the hustle Harry pulled Ron to one side
"We really don't need anyone making that particular connection" he hissed in Ron's ear
Ron paled as he finally realised how close he had come to revealing the former identity of the current potions master
"Sorry Harry" he muttered
"Just…guard your tongue a little more" said Harry as they walked into the great hall
"Guard my tongue" muttered Ron, "Merlin I really don't know where muggles come up with these strange sayings"
Harry snorted and headed to his customary seat on the Gryffindor table
"Hey Harry" called Lavender, "Have you heard?"
"About what?" asked Harry
"You must of everyone is talking about it" said Parvati
"Just spit it out already" snapped Ron
"Its you-know-who" said Lavender, "the ministry has managed to beat him again"
"Don't be stupid" said Parvati, "It was the Keepers"
"I never realised that the ministry had ever beaten Voldermort" said Harry lightly
"Oh Harry!" said Lavender, "We all know you beat him, but…it was a victory for the ministry"
Harry raised an eyebrow
"Anyway" said Lavender, "Fudge has released a statement saying the aurors beat Voldermort, so it must be true."
"He said that Voldermort as well as all his deatheaters were blown up by that Ed guy" said Parvati
"He's not gone" said Harry
"How do you know?" asked Dean
"I have a wonderful connection to a currently very pissed off dark lord" said Harry
"A loss of ten thousand death eaters though" said Lavender
"It won't be enough to stop the mad man" said Harry
"The Keepers are obviously going to beat Voldermort" said Parvati
"I think the ministry will overpower both of the enemies," said a girl sitting up the table from them "could you pass the potatoes"
"Both enemies?" asked Ron as he passed the requested item, "who do you mean?"
"The death eater and the Keepers" said the girl, "after all the Keepers are evil"
"Why do you say that?" asked Hermione
"They have been summoning demons" she said, "everyone knows that's a dark art"
"Really?" asked Harry, "I thought Dementors were demons"
"But they are under ministerial control" said the girl
"How does that make it any better?" asked Hermione
"The ministry has the right" said the girl
"Why?" asked Harry, "why does the government have the right, if it is a dark art then surely no one should practise it"
"but the ministry only keeps them to ensure that the prisoners are secure" said the girl
"Really?" said Harry, "then how is it that a pair of ministry dementors attacked me last summer?"
"They must have been outside ministry control" said the girl
"if they were" said Harry, "then surely that shows that the ministry should not keep the demons as they are obviously a threat to the wizarding society"
"But they are the only guards which protect against the dark" said the girl
"They are the dark" said Harry, "but as someone I know once said, Dark is the modicum of dark preferred at any given time"
"After all in the sixteenth century the ministry executed the wizard who summoned the dementors and the leithfolds" said Hermione
"That is a lie" said the girl
"No" said Harry, "it's a fact, there is a subtle difference, one which our ministry has a few problems working out"
"Did you just call the minister a liar?" asked the girl
"No" said Harry, "I was merely saying that he modified the truth, extensively"
"Fudge is a widely respected character" exclaimed the girl
"I will admit he knows what the public want to hear" said Harry
"I really liked that Ed put on the ministers back" said Ron
"You must be in the keepers" said the girl as she jumped up from the bench
"Why?" asked Ron looking slightly worried
"They were the only people who were there when the sign was on Fudge's back" said the girl
"My dad works at the ministry" said Ron, "he told me"
"Oh" said the girl settling back down into her seat, "sorry"
"Anyhow" said Harry, "if the ministry has such power then how can it be brought to check?"
"To check?" asked the girl
"To account" said Harry
"You wouldn't understand it" she said, "you haven't had the upbringing"
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione
"Your both muggleborns" said the girl
"and?" asked Hermione
"You don't understand our culture" said the girl
"I'm not muggleborn" said Harry
"As good as" said the girl, "you were brought up by muggles weren't you"
"and since we have lived in the wizarding world for five years we probably have a pretty good idea of your culture" said Hermione hotly
"You have the perversion of muggle ideas" said the girl, "like electricky"
"Electricity" said Harry
"That's what I said" grumbled the girl
"I think" said Harry, "muggleborns have a better view of your culture as we weren't brought up in it"
"But your leader system is stupid" said the girl
"at least it's democratic" snapped Hermione
"it doesn't function" said the girl
"It's better than the stinking corruption you find in the wizarding world" yelled Hermione
The entire hall was suddenly silent and everyone turned and stared at Hermione
"What right have you got to say that our system is corrupt?" asked the girl in the sudden silence
"Well if you can consider the fact that Fudge said that Voldermort hadn't returned but is still in office" said Hermione there was a low murmur throughout the hall, "if you consider that he wished to back out of the battle in little whinging and let the Death eaters have yet another victory, if you consider…"
"Like I said" yelled the girl, "a muggleborn wouldn't understand"
More murmuring was heard
"So the only reason I wouldn't understand why we have a deaf and dumb government is because I am a muggleborn" sneered Hermione very uncharacteristically, "that is the only reason the system is corrupt is because there are muggleborns who see it as such?"
"Precisely" said the girl
there were cries of out rage from several muggleborns around the hall, Harry noticed that the teachers were watching the exchange with interest, McGonagall appeared to be a little more than bemused by the situation.
"Do you realise how ridiculous you sound?" asked Hermione, "have you read the books of law? Have you read almost every single book on the customs of the wizarding world?"
"No" said the girl
"Do you really know anything about muggle politics?" asked Hermione
"No" said the girl quietly
"Do you really think I would be this forceful of my opinions if I had not fully researched them?" asked Hermione
"Yes" coughed Ron behind her
"No" said the girl
"Good" said Hermione, "now sit down and shut up until you can think of anything other to sprout than ministry propaganda"
She sat down herself and turned her back on the girl, slowly a buzz of talk filled the hall once more.
Harry sent a message to all Keeper members meeting to night.
"So Harry" said Seamus, "could I challenge you to a game of chess tonight?"
"Sorry Seamus" said Harry, "I've got to go and see someone"
"Alright" said Seamus, "how about you Hermione?"
"I've got to talk to McGonagall about my prefect duties" said Hermione, "so does Ron"
"Do I need to go as well?" asked Ginny from down the table
Harry noticed Dean frown as the boy noticed that both Ron and Hermione had flinched away from the petite red head
"No Ginny" said Harry keeping his voice level, "Ron and Hermione have been missing their prefect rounds quite often recently, McGonagall wants to know it they are having problems with handling prefect duties and school work"
"Oh" said Ginny it seemed she would have said more but Dumbledore stood up
"Welcome back to another term at Hogwarts, I hope you had a very merry Christmas. I also wish to offer my condolences to all of you who have lost relatives in the Dark activities over the winter. Now off to bed with you"
……………………….
"Hello Draco" said Harry as he walked into his apartment, "I heard you have managed to sort the Slytherin problem"
"Yes" said the wolf demon, "the old Malfoy estate"
Harry raised an eyebrow
"The goblins are currently removing most of the questionable items from the house, they have been instructed to place tracing charms on them and then sell them to Borgin and Burkes" the demon smirked, "I thought it might prove interesting,"
"I'm betting Grindlewald purchases a fair few of them" said Harry
"Really?" asked Draco
"Well" said Harry, "if what you said about the cellar under the dining room was true"
"I guess it was you who came to check if I was the heir of Slytherin" said Draco, "I know that Crabbe and Goyle are stupid, but did you didn't have to make them that stupid"
"Sorry" said Harry
"Who brewed the polyjuice?" asked Draco
"Hermione" said Harry, "do you really think that Ron and I would have been able to brew that on our own?"
"So that was why Hermione looked like a cat demon for a couple of months" said Draco, "she really scared me…I thought the seiter had become fed up with waiting, then someone told me it was Granger"
"what are you saying about Hermione?" asked Ron as he walked into the room
"Draco was telling me that he thought Hermione was a cat demon when he saw her in the hospital wing after the polyjuice incident" said Harry
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Ron
"The cat and Dog demons are the police and army of the demonic plane" said Harry
"So?" asked Ron
"It's a long story" said Draco as Hagrid and Grawp entered the room
"are you two alright after the battle?" asked Harry
"Yeah" said Hagrid
"Sorry I'm late" said Tonks as she ran into the room and tripped up into a chair, before muttering "damn Moody"
"What's wrong with Moody?" asked Draco
"Nothing" said Tonks with a dismissive flick of the hand, "he just kept giving me reports this afternoon to give to you and you wouldn't believe it but he still wants to kill Harry"
"I think we should let him" said Draco
"At the moment" said Harry, "I think there are more important things to do that work out ways of killing me off"
"Who's trying to kill you now?" asked McGonagall as she portkeyed in
"Draco" said Harry
"Well that is nothing new now is it" said McGonagall
"I should take mortal offence" said Harry
"But if you died" said Tonks, "it really wouldn't make a difference"
"Well it's nice to know I wouldn't be missed" said Harry
"Are you Serious?" asked Ron
"Did someone say my name?" asked Sirius as he walked in through the door
"Of course they didn't" said Remus
"Well I don't have your superior hearing" said Sirius in almost a whine
"Of course you don't" said Remus, "you'd have to be a superior being to have superior attributes"
"And of course" said Moonshine as he arrived, "he will never be anything more than superiorly irritating"
"Who was talking about me?" asked Sal as he whizzed into the room
"We were referring to Sirius" said Moonshine
"Who died and made you king?" asked Ron
"I haven't" said Harry, "at least not recently…as anyone see Ayre and Aryan or Fred and George?"
"They are probably doing their mind talking lessons" said Ron
"Sorry we're late" said George as he burst in through the doorway
"Mind talking lessons" said Fred
Ayre and Aryan followed at a more sedate pace
"Out of the middle of the room" said Harry, "we have a portkey entrance"
Five seconds later the Grangers landed in the middle of the room
"Don't mind us" said Mr Granger as he tried to sit up but found his wife on top of him, "Darling could you move a little?"
He prodded her in the ribs, "as in sooner rather than later"
"Alright grumpy guts" groaned Mrs Granger, "there was a time when you used to like me lying on top of you"
"You were always on top" grumbled Mr Granger
Professor McGonagall coughed loudly and the two awkwardly positioned adults in the centre of the room leapt to their feet and the unfortunate professor found herself on the receiving end of four strangely shaped metal wands
"Um…sorry" said Mrs Granger as she blushed
"Next time" said Harry, "I think I won't direct your portkey in here next time, then again…I don't think you would make it to the meeting at all if I did that"
Mr Granger's ears turned a slightly deeper shade of red
"Mama" called a voice from the door, "Papa"
Hermione ran over to them and hugged them before asking why they were blushing so much
"Lets just say" said Ron, "that you didn't want to be in here a few moments ago"
"Are we all here yet?" asked Harry
"The Longbottoms aren't here" said Moonshine
"Neith'rs Flitwi'" said Hagrid
"I am here" said Flitwick from a point below Hagrid's middle
"S'rry, ah didnae she ya there" said Hagrid
"Incoming Longbottom" said Harry, "Neville is in the kitchen"
"How in Merlin's name do you know that?" asked Filius
"Well" said Harry, "this is the apartment…"
"Apartment!" said Sirius, "its practically a mansion"
"Of the fifth founder" said Harry
"Who was a Potter" said Filius
"I suppose he was" said Harry
"By the first name of Harry" said Filius
"How do you know about that?" asked Ron
"well" said Harry "it involved the meeting I had with Flitwick due to an incident which occurred in his class due tome being high on blood"
"When were you ever high on blood?" asked Polik as he walked in
"I was a bit drained after the battle at the ministry and didn't know where I could get a blood flask so I asked Sirius if I could have a drink" said Harry
"You drank from that flea bitten thing?" asked Moonshine
"Yes" said Harry, "I wouldn't advise it though…"
"Why not?" asked Sirius looking offended
"You are a powerful wizard Mr Black" said Polik, "which means that your blood would be literally charged with magic…hence why Harry had problems with his control"
"Well that and the lack of sanity within the person" muttered Moonshine
"Well that makes sense" said Flitwick, "who are we waiting for?"
"We have an incoming Bill Weasly" said Harry
"that just leaves Frank and Alice" said Hermione as Bill landed awkwardly in the middle of the room
"Portkeys are supposed to drop you one foot from the floor, not twelve" the robed heap growled
"Well you try redirecting portkeys" said Harry, "I hope you haven't broken anything"
"No" said Bill, "I haven't"
"Sorry" said Harry, "I would have let you land in the kitchen but I didn't think you would find your way here"
"Alright" said Bill
"I think we should start" said Tonks, "Frank and Alice are still under surveillance by the ministry they may have been unable to come"
"Alright" said Professor McGonagall, "Meeting to order"
Harry once more produced the meeting table and everyone sat down
"What issues are to be brought to the table" asked Professor McGonagall
"I have the latest ministerial findings and charges" said Tonks
"Accommodation for the Slytherins will be ready in three days" said Draco, "we need a team to help with the transfer"
"Right" said McGonagall, "Draco, Moonshine can you manage?"
There were nods from the three parties
"The latest report from Voldermort's sick and twisted mind" said Harry
"Information about the devices to be placed in muggle places of worship" said Filius
"The calling stone is set up" said Moonshine
"The MI5 write up" said Mrs Granger as she threw the folio down on the table
"and the army one and the police one" said Mr Ganger, throwing two folio's down onto the desk
"How did you managed to get hold of them" asked Moonshine
"We borrowed them" said Mr Granger
"But you won't be able to keep them" said Mrs Granger, "we have to get them back before they are missed"
McGonagall coughed, "First order of the meeting ministerial findings and charges"
Tonks stood up
"Alastor has been very helpful" she said, "he has been coming up to me every five minutes with files and folios which he thinks will be useful for us to know about"
She waved her wand languidly and five large piles of folios and parchments appeared
"Now I haven't really had time to look at them," she muttered
There was the sound of a wand swish and someone muttering proritare
"Harry this one is yours, in fact the first few are" she flicked her wrist and a small pile of folios appeared in front of Harry, who picked the first one up and started to flick through it.
Hermione received two folios as did Ron, surprisingly Draco also had a fairly large number of files, soon almost everyone was flicking through a folio
Flitwick was reading through the folio on the explosion at the previous battle whist next to him Moonshine was reading the folio on angels with a highly sceptical look on his face.
"These need to be read through preferably tonight" said Hermione
"Let us press on" said McGonagall, "second order of the meeting, Harry"
Harry slowly laid down the folio he was reading and then stood up
"Through our connection I have been able to see that Voldermort is furious about the mosquitoes and the rain, I am not yet sure if he is aware of the death of ten thousand of his death eaters" said Harry
"How does he manage to recruit such large armies?" asked Hermione, "as far as I was aware the total wizard population of the world is only about sixteen or seventeen million"
"Cauldron born" said Polik
"It is like the muggle idea or cloning" said Harry except there is no parent DNA, different ingredients can be added to give the Cauldron born features, such as Aniseed for brown hair and cornflower roots for blue eyes, but it can go further such as adding a mixture of snake venom and unicorn blood to create a lust for the destruction of all things"
"How do you know so much?" asked Moonshine
"I have free access to Mouldy shorts' brains" said Harry
"I see" said Sirius, "you are reading him like a book"
"Well" said Harry, "we are in trouble because Voldy is planning to actually train his cauldron born and ensure that they are equipped with more spells and weapons, he is also thinking more strategically, which is worrying, I think we may just have scared the little snake a little, but I think this means that when his campaign starts up again it will be a lot harder to counter and you can bet that if we can managed to get hold of these files" he said tapping the one in front of him then you can bet your last knut that Voldie will be able to as well, we can not use this pause as a break, like Voldermort we will also have to train up, we have to improve reaction time and recruit because when the battle start again they will be much harder to win, Voldermort is looking at a six month break, and you can be certain that in this time the order will loose its guard and the ministry will relax and just when everyone has settled back down for peace time he will strike"
"I can just about see where you are coming from on that one" said Ron, "and I agree, but we will also have to ensure that our allies can work well together, we have to maximise our advantages"
"Such as?" asked Tonks
"We can attack an army from any angle we wish" said Ron, "we are like the queen in a game of chess because we can attack in any direction at the same time, we can attack from the sky, from the ground whether to the left or right, behind or in front"
"We can even attack from below the ground" said Harry, "as we demonstrated in the last battle"
"We need to work on strategies" said Ron, "we need to gather our allies together and have them practise battle technique together"
"A meeting later in the week to discuss this at greater length" said McGonagall, "perhaps after we have finished with the re-housing of the Slytherins"
Harry nodded
"Third order" said McGonagall, "the devices to be placed in muggle places of worship"
Filius stood up on his chair
"Our research into the requested item has been going apace" said the Dwarf, "We started with the Gherder prototype," the dwarf produced a thing that was bright orange and a couple of yards in diameter, "we have now managed to refine the Gherder Prototype into the Gherder NO34xx23wgh1232"
He placed an apple sized crystal on the table
"Now that is good" said Harry, "how may of there are there?"
"one" said Flitwick, "but it doesn't have a copy protect charm on it yet, which means you will be able to copy it as many times as you want"
"Thank you" said Harry as he placed the crystal on the table next to the folios
"Fourth order of the meeting muggle write ups" said Professor McGonagall
Mrs Granger stood up
"The MI5 write up concludes that the mission was successful despite the bungling interference of certain parties" she said
"The army report states that a total of eight were killed in the assault, but the overall exercise was a success" said Mr Granger, "the Police one says that they were called they handled a couple of thousand people, it describes the uniform and then goes on to say that they disappeared"
"Right" said Bill, "is that all the order of businesses?"
"Yes" said Professor McGonagall, "we will need to have a meeting solely about training at a later point"
"We have a couple of incoming Longbottoms" said Harry
"Mum and dad?" asked Neville
Harry nodded
"We still haven't got to the bottom yet of how exactly you do that" said Remus
"Well" said Harry, "I thought Filius had put it plainly"
"what do you mean?" asked Filius, plainly very confused
"For Merlin's sake" snapped Hermione, "the fifth founder of Hogwarts was Harry Potter"
"How?" asked Sirius
"It's a long story but the basics of it are that I can travel through time on one day of the year and I went back to the year of the founders and helped found Hogwarts" said Harry
"That sounds like a very tall tale to me" said Draco
"How can I prove it too you?" asked Harry
"What are you having to prove now?" asked Frank as he entered, "I take it we missed the meeting"
"Sorry you did," said Harry, "Oh, they want me to prove that I was actually the fifth founder of Hogwarts"
"Show them the meeting room" said Salazar
"Too small" said Harry
"Your Gargoyle" said Salazar
"Too ugly" said Harry
"The great hall" said Salazar
Harry groaned but nodded
"Alright everyone hold hands around the table" said Harry
There was a brief rustling before everyone had nodded at Harry, who then disaparated to the great hall bringing everyone with him.
………………………
"So what are we doing here?" asked George
"Proving that I was the fifth founder" said Harry
"how are you going to do that?" asked Fred
Harry walked over to the doorway behind the teacher's dais and whacked the central stone above the lintel.
"Hello" glowing letters started to form above the dais on the plain stone wall, "you have release the enchantments on the floor, these many paving stones are dedicated to our fifth founder in memory of his frequent flying lessons, for the guided tour of the castle please press here"
Harry moved the desk with a sweep of his hands, the Keepers could now see a great many marble flagstone set in amongst the granite ones
Moonshine walked over to one of them
"Here Harry James Potter born thirty first of July a thousand years hence fell"
"Here Harry fell again" read Polik off a different marble paving stone
"Here Harry fell, after I pushed him off the rafters" read off Ron
"I was bored, did I need an excuse to push him? SS" read Hermione
"'ere 'arry wen' splat" read off Hagrid
"He slipped he fell he almost flew but the ground really wanted to say hello" read Fred
"Here Harry fell and was then crushed by a small ton of slate" read Bill, "like I asked before why do you keep almost dying?"
"I guess I'm just lucky" said Harry
Ron snorted next to Harry
"Bloody lucky" said Ron
"More like indestructible" muttered Draco
"It's a long story involving a prophecy and a couple of adoptions" said Harry
"Harry passed on here but the guardian of heaven took one look at his face and sent him packing" read Ayre, "I like it"
"Sal." Growled Harry, "that one was below the belt"
"You should read the one by the door" said Sal
McGonagall read it off
"Heaven didn't want him, Hell was scared of him, and so the world is stuck with him, Harry Potter, the eternally falling angel crashed here"
"You are one dead poltergeist" said Harry
"What is with the eternally falling angel part?" asked Bill
"I love making strange references" said Peeves from near the ceiling where he was currently being chased by a white winged Harry
Bill looked up at Peeves then frowned, opened his mouth, saw Harry and then closed it with a definite snap.
"What you have to learn quite quickly in this group" said Ron, "is that most of them are more than they seem"
"Like Harry being king of the elves and the fifth founder" said Bill, "and able to sprout wings?"
"Yes" said Ron, "something along those lines"
"I never realise you were this clumsy, sire" said Ayre
"I'm not" said Harry as he slammed into the wall which Peeves had just floated through, "Salazar was just very bored"
"I have a brilliant mind, it is not very well suited to tiling or carpentry" said Salazar as he popped his head out of the wall a hundred yards nearer the dais than Harry "teaching Harry to clear his wings however, was easy"
"Pity Gryffindor didn't see it that way" said Harry with a shake of his head as he flew along the wall in an attempt to grab the poltergeist's but missed as the poltergeist retreated once more
"Rule abiding honourable idiot" muttered Slytherin from within the wall
"Well he did manage to live longer than you" said Harry as he forced the stone to part and reveal the ghost within
"Pure luck" said Salazar as he flew through Harry
"Probably" said Harry, "but fortune favours the bold"
"Oy, Harry" called Fred, "can't you kill that poltergeist another time
"Some of us would like to go to bed" said his twin
"Well" said Harry, "there is a door over there"
"Training meeting will be?" asked Tonks
"Soon hopefully" said Harry, "but I think most of us are too tired to think straight at the moment"
"that much is true" said Polik, "now Ayre, Aryan which one of you has stolen my blood flask"
"Would we ever?" asked Aryan
"Yes" growled Polik, "and if you don't give it back to me in five seconds I will drain both of you"
"Patience" said Ayre, "after all we have only had it for five days"
"Yes" said Polik, "which is why I am very hungry, not a good thing with humans in the room"
"Right" said Harry, "I'm activating all portkeys now"
Once all the others were gone Harry turned back to Ayre and Ayran
"Give him his blood flask now" he snapped in elvish
Ayre fished the silver flask out of his pocket and handed it back to Polik before both of them stood to attention in front of Harry
"Right" said Harry, "we were lucky, next time if you are going to steal it just make sure that he has it back before he has to teach a class or come to a meeting"
"Yes sire" said Ayre and Aryan in chorus
"Apologise" Harry said
"Sorry Polik" said Ayre
"Good" said Harry, "sorry I yelled at you, I just wanted to get my point across, get you to bed"
"Yes sire" said Aryan
"Five days?" said Harry, "that is impressive"
"The demon blood helps" said Polik
"I can imagine" said Harry
"We have a lesson tomorrow" said Polik, "and I still have to read a pile of folios from the meeting"
………………………….
"Hey Harry" said Ron as he sat Harry sat down for breakfast, "Quidditch match against Ravenclaw this weekend"
"Really?" asked Harry
"Yes" said Alicia, "you should know that, but you wouldn't, after all you haven't been to a single practise this year"
"Sorry" said Harry, "I have been fairly busy"
"If the homework is too much for you" said Ginny, "you could always drop out of the team"
Hermione and Ron both flinched and Fred and George shifted uneasily
"No, Ginny its fine, its just that Dumbledore is training me up to defeat a certain dark idiot" said Harry, "sorry Alicia, I will try and attend more practises, Hermione I need a hand with the defense prep"
"So do I" said Ron
"Let's go up to the library" said Hermione
They walked out of the hall, Harry spun around to look at his two friends
"Do you want me to obliviate you?" he asked
"What do you mean?" asked Ron
"You keep flinching whenever she speaks" said Harry
"But its Voldermort speaking" said Ron
There was a disturbance behind them
"Ron, Hermione and Harry" said Dean as he came storming out of the great hall, "what right have you to brush Ginny off like that, why are you all so disdainful of her?"
"Dean!" said Harry, "Keep your voice down"
"Why should I?" yelled Dean
"Silencio" muttered Hermione cutting Dean off before he could start again
"Come for a walk with us" said Harry
They walked until they reached a certain third floor corridor, Harry released the silencing charm on Dean
"What are you trying to keep this all hush hush for?" shouted Dean
"Please Dean" said Ron, "let us explain"
"Preferably before you yell your head off at as" said Harry
"You know the Keepers" said Ron
Harry raised an eyebrow at how this appeared to be going but didn't say anything
"Don't tell me that you are shunning her because she is a member of the Keepers" said Dean apparently exasperated
"No" said Ron, "they told us some very…"
"Unfortunate" said Harry
"Unfortunate news" said Ron, "you see Voldermort has managed to posses her again"
"Right" said Dean, "but last time she was possessed it was still her…"
"Not this time" said Harry, "Voldermort has taken out her soul this time"
"So…" said Dean, "when we talk to Ginny we are actually talking to you-know-who"
"I think" said Harry, "that for once I do indeed know who…"
He turned towards the door
"What's wrong with your ears Harry?" asked Dean
"Nothing" said Harry as he returned the ears to their normal state
"Seamus" he growled in elvish, "stop eavesdropping and get your half Irish backside in here now"
"I wasn't eavesdropping" said Seamus in English
"And you expect me to believe that even when you jumped a foot in the air when I called you name?" asked Harry
"Sorry sire" said Seamus
"If you ever say that in English again" said Harry in Laarin, "I will personally ensure you are placed under the training master's direct command without your wand"
"Sire?" asked Dean
"Just ignore Seamus" said Hermione, "He's just messing around"
"Pissing Harry off more like" said Ron
"I could have sworn that Harry had pointed ears just now" said Dean
"Balia" said Seamus, "you are so lucky, I mean you are only a quarter blood and you still have pointed ears, I have twice the blood you have and I don't have pointed ears"
"Seamus" exclaimed Harry, "shut up"
"So what blood is this?" asked Dean
Harry glared at Seamus
"Seamus is half elven hence why he know nothing about the muggle world" said Harry
"And you are a quarter elven" said Dean
"Your ears aren't pointed" exclaimed Seamus as he looked closely at Harry
Harry returned his ears to their normal form
"Or maybe they are" said Seamus
"I thought elves didn't exist" said Dean
"We generally tend to hide from the wizarding world" said Harry, "but I am afraid you have heard too much, stupefy"
"Why did you do that?" asked Seamus
"We don't need Grindlewald know about us, he hates elves" said Harry, "obliviate"
"How much are you getting rid of?" asked Ron
"I'm leaving him the reason we are being distant from Ginny and filling him in on why we can not confront her about it" said Harry, "also removing the fact that I stunned him"
"But did you really have to do that?" asked Hermione
"It is my duty as an elven citizen" said Harry, "you could almost say that Seamus was currently guilty of treason"
"That place has strict laws" said Ron
"You're telling me" said Harry, "you should see what the punishment is for people who talk too much"
"The corridor?" asked Seamus
"That is theoretically for spies as that actually tends to kill" said Harry, "but it is a punishment I could choose to inflict on you"
Seamus turned pale.
"We need to go to lessons" said Hermione, "you can discipline him later"
"I think he has learnt his lesson" said Harry, "what do we have next?"
"Defense" said Hermione
"What are we doing again?" asked Harry
"advanced duelling techniques" said Ron
…………………………
"Hey Draco" said Harry as he walked into his kitchen after a gruelling Quidditch practice, "how did the move go?"
"Went alright" said Draco, "some of them were a bit irritated that it took you so long to get them out of there"
"Only a bit irritated?" asked Harry
"Alright a touch more than that" said Draco
"They like their new pad?" asked Harry
"Pad?" asked Draco
"Home" said Harry
"Well there were a few problems with that" said Draco, "quite a few of them had been to my house before"
"Right" said Harry, "what did you tell them?"
"Well...I told them that Draco Malfoy had left it to us in his will which was true" said Draco, "then one of them asked why it had taken so long and I told him that there were problems with the will being cleared"
"Which is true" said Harry
"I told them that the goblins didn't believe that Draco Malfoy was dead" said Draco, "but if I catch them meditating without a guard one more time I am going to kill them, they don't realise how dangerous it is"
"I can imagine" said Harry
"So when is the training meeting going to be?" asked Draco
"Sunday" said Harry, "We will want to start early"
"Are you sure there won't be any morning after the night before feelings?"
"I hope not" said Harry, "the way Angelina is getting at me"
"Is she even the captain?" asked Draco
"Dunno" said Harry, "it's either her or Katie Bell, but I haven't been playing enough Quidditch to know"
"Good luck for tomorrow then" said Draco
"Thank you" said Harry, "I'm going to need it"
………………………………
Harry walked out onto the pitch all of a sudden feeling slightly anxious, as though he had forgotten something very important. He shrugged his shoulders and released his wings.
"Now, we want a nice clean match today" said Madame Hooch as she kicked the box open, Harry shot into the air enjoying the freedom of movement he had being able to fly in the open air
"Hello Cho" he said as he swerved around her
"Hello Harry" said Cho as she eyed Harry warily, "I hope you aren't going to be a brute, Peeves was so evil in our last match"
"I'm an absolute angel" said Harry, "could I ever be evil"
"Yes" said Cho decisively
"Oh well" said Harry, he feigned sudden attention, the slipped around behind her and went for a nosedive, he closed his wings against his body and shot down like an arrow towards the ground, he glanced upwards and noticed that Cho was following him, a mere two feet from the ground apparated his body to the horizontal and shot off to the opposite end of the pitch, behind him he heard a dull crash.
He picked a daisy before returning to a more suitable height. Below him he saw Cho stumble to her feet and clamber back on to her broom.
She floated next to him
"That's what Peeves did at our last match, except he went into the ground" said Cho
"Well I got you a flower to say I was sorry for making you crash" said Harry as he passed her the daisy
"How did you manage the turn around?" asked Cho
"A few tricks I picked up over the summer" said Harry
"really?" asked Cho
"hold still a moment" said Harry, he reached over her shoulder and grabbed the golden ball he had seen hovering there, "now does this belong to you or me?"
"You scoundrel" said Cho
Harry looked down and saw that the game was still continuing, he flew down to sit beside Lee Jordan who was commentating
"Hello there Lee" said Harry
"Hello Harry," Lee's voice was amplified over the entire stadium, "are you sitting there for any particular reason?"
"I've caught the snitch" said Harry presenting the wee golden ball to the astonished commentator
"It would appear that Harry Potter has caught the snitch for Gryffindor" said Lee, "which means that the lions win three hundred and forty to twenty"
"Well done Harry" called Angelina as the headed to earth
"Thank you Angelina" said Harry, "sorry, I'll try to turn up to more practises"
They landed and Harry found himself face to face with gloating Fudge and a squad of Aurors
"Harry Potter" said Fudge, "you are under arrest for being a member of the Keepers"
"And what proof do you have?" asked Harry
"You are of the same sub-species of raptor that are found in the armies of the Keepers who were present in the raid on the ministry" said an unspeakable next to Fudge
A pair of aurors came around behind Harry and shackled his hands together
"Harry are you alright?" asked Ron
"I'll be fine" said Harry, "these people just don't understand partial animagus transformation"
"You aren't a registered animagus" said one of the aurors
"I'm not an animagus" said Harry, "Ron, Mr Lacsa tell him"
"Be silent" said Fudge
"I call upon the founding five to ensure that this meddling git and all members of the ministry here without the consent of the founding five be prevented from meddling in the dealings of the school once and for all time" called Harry
"Be quiet boy" growled one of the aurors, "there no one listening"
I am thought Harry to himself even if the others are not, slowly he felt the ground beneath then sink slightly before it catapulted all of them in the direction of the main gate, Harry grabbed on to the auror squad and managed to ensure they weren't hurt while he glided, however he was tragically unable to catch the minister who landed in a briar, it was nice to know that Salazar and perhaps Helga had been listening too.
"I think someone was listening" said Harry to the auror who had spoken before
"Aye" said another auror, "and I think you have something against the minister"
"Yes" said Harry as he reformed the scars left my Umbridge's blood quill, "his choice of under sectary"
"Umbridge did that?" asked one of the aurors
"Well her idea of a detention was writing lines with a blood quill" said Harry
The auror on his left winced, then flinched as the bush next to him called
"Cuddington, Hadding come and help me out of this bush"
………………………………………….
At 7,616 words this is the end of the chapter…sorry no cliffy…will fudge make it out of the bush or will it self transfigure into a devils snare? I don't know…what do you think?
Thank you for all the reviews, there was one person who was a really pointless flamer who was just like, this story sucks cos I don't normally read Harry potter super power and cos I hate Harry potter super power, then goes on to rant about clocks and exchange rate of gold and Harry being too super for their tasteetc etc unfortunately they were to cowardly to leave a forwarding address sigh, well they did sign it, but their page had no email and no stories…well damn
By the way if any of you were confused by the exchange rate at the beginning of the story, I was putting it at about 1,000,000 pounds sterling to a galleon in the past, I think that is about 2, 000, 000 dollars, not so certain of that.
I got a few right answers for where I live
SCOTLAND, its been pissing with rain all day
PERTHshire if you know scotland really well
I'm really clueless about American culture, cept what I see in the movies and whe American girls at school give me dirty looks for asking to borrow a rubber…(I think you call them erasers) or the curious incident when my beta expressing her complete and utter furry at my writing sent an email saying that I must 'really hate periods', after a few minutes wondering what the hell she was talking about I sent her an email which basically said that I did indeed hate periods but I doubted that she and I were talking about the same thing…turned out that's what Americans call a full stop…weird…
I'm gabbling hey…its almost one in the morning, have I really been working on this chapter for eight hours?
The above is eight hours work, it will take longer to beta…where the hell are my ibuprofens? Head ache, migrane, loss of sight, don't worry, that isn't eight consecutive hours…where the hell did I put those pain killers?
I would do specific responses, but the only internet connection is downstairs which although from where I am lying is about eighteen feet down and eighteen or nineteen feet to the right… but the stairs are at the other end of the house, past my sister's bedroom and my parent's bedroom…so sorry…
Please be so kind as to drop a line
Or two
lol
Just don't tell my mum (please)
P.S. My beta has been getting herself internet grounded quite a lot recently…poor her and you…I betaed this myself but will send it to her once she has finished trying to decifer the previous two chapters