Avian Anarchy
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling or Disney, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, magically powerful Harry. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
A.N. If you have not read chapter 36 yet, which I only posted 24 hours ago, please go back so you won't miss it :)
'Harry transform. Change into your phoenix form. You can do it,' his mother's urgent voice penetrated Harry's mind.
'Help!' he thought back, as he instinctively obeyed and transformed into his blue water phoenix form in full panic mode.
'Well done. Now, flap your wings, so you can fly,' Hedwig instructed him, and Harry noticed in relief that it worked and that his mother was flying right next to him.
They flew right towards the stage, where the winner of the task was supposed to arrive. 'Land on the stage and transform back.'
Harry obediently transformed back, readying himself for the pain from the burns on his arms and legs, which, however, did not come. While his clothes were still burnt and torn, showing that he had not merely dreamt the attacks, the pain was completely gone. 'Perhaps changing into my water phoenix form helped with that,' he thought in relief – only to notice that everyone around him was in huge uproar.
"Harry!" Annika was the first to reach him. "Are you all right? I thought you were going to die."
"I'm fine."
Seeing Mr. Bagman approach them, Harry handed over the cup, just an instant before Fleur arrived, seemingly by Portkey, holding an identical cup in her hand.
"Mr. Potter, I don't understand," Bagman said, frowning. "You have taken a completely different path from the other champions, and the cup you brought me was not a Portkey, as the original cup was supposed to be. The cup that Ms. Delacour brought here seems to be the real cup."
Harry stared at the man in shock. "You mean, I did all that in vain, let myself be attacked by monster bears and dragons, let myself almost be killed by being kicked off from the roof, only to be told that this is not the real cup? Only because of my phoenix Animagus form, I even survived that thing."
Mr. Crouch appeared from behind Bagman, together with Merlin, Dumbledore and the heads of the other schools.
"Now Ludovic, we have seen everything on the screen, which has been taking turns showing each of the champions. For Mr. Potter, the path into the centre of the maze was not visible. Someone efficiently manipulated the task for him. He met more vicious obstacles than the other champions, but still managed to survive and bring his cup here first, even if the cup must be a fake, which is, however, not Mr. Potter's fault. I will discuss the matter with the four heads of the schools. Mr. Potter, Ms. Delacour, please give us five minutes. Ludovic, please contact Amelia Bones and have her send a team of Unspeakables to Hogwarts and investigate the maze on the roof immediately."
"I've already contacted the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well as the Unspeakables," Moody said, sounding grumpy, as he approached the group.
"Thank you, Professor Moody and Mr. Crouch," Harry said, giving the older wizards a weak smile.
"'Arry, I fully accept zat you won ze tournament, and I congratulate you."
Harry shook his head. "Thanks Fleur, but someone manipulated me, which is not your fault. I have been manipulated from the time, when someone put my name into the Goblet of Fire."
"Mr. Potter," Fleur's father approached them. "My daughter is absolutely right, and I'd like to add my congratulations to a well-deserved victory. Without your assistance," he added in a whisper, "Fleur wouldn't even 'ave managed the second task."
"Minister Delacour," Crouch acknowledged the presence of the French Minister of Magic. "Thank you very much for your understanding. We have come to the same conclusion and declare Mr. Potter as the winner of the Triwizard Tournament." Taking the cup from Harry, he handed it to Croaker, the head Unspeakable, asking for investigation. Reaching out for the cup, which Fleur was still holding, he handed it to Merlin, before he passed a small bag to Harry. "One thousand Galleons," he explained on Harry's questioning look.
"Professor Clause, congratulations to the Selective Academy of Magical Sciences. Your champion, Harry Potter, has won the Triwizard Tournament."
"Thank you, Mr. Crouch," Merlin replied, smiling.
Suddenly, Cornelius Fudge, the former Minister of Magic, joined the group, just when Cedric and Viktor showed up, accompanied by two Unspeakables.
"Here's the rest of the champions," one of the Unspeakables said, shaking his head in apparent annoyance. "Apparently, they fought over the cup and prevented each other from moving ahead."
"That's why Fleur managed to grab it," Cedric added, sounding disappointed to say the least.
"What I do not understand," Fudge spoke up, "is why everyone believes that Mr. Potter has been manipulated. What if he conveniently conjured that fake cup by himself to win the tournament?"
Harry stared at the former minister, who was still a ministry employee for whatever reason, with a combination of shock and anger, only to look up in surprise, when something white came down in a swoop, almost touching the man's bowler hat before landing next to him on the stage.
Ignoring Fudge's protests at her behaviour, Hedwig transformed into her human form, provoking a collective gasp from everyone around. She instantly found herself at wand point.
"Mum," Harry whispered in amazement.
Lily raised her wand and with a flick of it unarmed everyone who had pointed their wands at her, including the French Minister of Magic, glad that she had asked Holly to bring her wand over earlier. Putting the wands next to herself onto the ground, she raised her wand again. "I swear on my magic that I am Lily Potter and that I was sitting on the edge of the roof and observed the champions seeing that Harry did not do anything to manipulate the tournament. He merely struggled through the task, and I am happy that he is still alive. So mote it be."
The golden simmer engulfing her was immense, and Harry cast her a proud look.
"Lily Potter?" Dumbledore stared at the witch in bewilderment. "But you died more than a decade ago."
Before Lily could reply, Santa and Merlin stepped forward and joined them on the stage.
"I am Santa Clause. Many people also know me as Father Christmas. I am living on the North Pole, where I am a father to all the white animals. People who have sacrificed their lives for others use to become re-born as the famous white animals of the North Pole. Hedwig here is one of them. Only recently, she managed the Animagus transformation, first into one of my white puppies and finally into her original human form. Congratulations, Hedwig, by the way."
"Thank you, Santa," Lily replied under huge applause from all sides.
"Now, many of you must have been wondering about Merlin," Santa continued. "My brother Merlin Clause here is what you all call the Great Merlin. Only because of the magic of the North Pole, he and I are alive after one thousand years."
With that, Santa stepped down from the stage, giving Merlin a sharp nod.
"Congratulations Harry for winning the tournament. I would like to find out who put your name in and why, although I cannot deny that I am proud of you and my school. Herewith, I invite you, Harry, to study at the Selective Academy of Magical Sciences during the next school year, together with your friend Luna if she so wishes." With that, he stepped down from the stage as well, and Lily quickly followed his example.
"Thank you so very much, Merlin. I'd love that very much, and I happily accept the invitation." Harry looked around in surprise, when Luna stepped over to them. "Hello Godmother, I am delighted to have you back."
"Hello Luna, it's a pleasure to meet you. You've become a fine young lady."
Before Harry could continue following the conversation between his mother and his friend, he was surrounded by reporters, who bombarded him with questions about the tournament, the SAMS and the North Pole.
To his relief, Santa and Merlin saved him from the reporters by answering one question each, and Lily and Luna quickly pulled him away and into the castle, closely followed by his friends and Paws.
Just when they reached the entrance hall, Minerva caught up with them and pulled Harry into a bear's hug. "Congratulations, Harry. I am so glad that you survived that ordeal. I hope that the Unspeakables will be able to find out who manipulated the task."
"Thank you, Professor." Harry cast the Gryffindor head a genuine smile. "I'd also like to know why they put me into the tournament in the first place."
"As to the manipulations today," Lily spoke up, "I know for a fact that a certain blue ghost was involved, whom the headmaster is meeting every Sunday. Let's head to the founders' quarters," she added in Harry's direction.
A few minutes later, the whole group was sitting in the living room of the founders' quarters, where Malcolm, Minerva's personal elf, served refreshments for them.
"There is not much that we can do, except for hoping that the Unspeakables will find clues on the roof," Merlin said, as he joined them together with Santa, Severus and Remus.
"I don't think that Albus did anything," Minerva said, seemingly pensive. "He might be manipulative, but he's not outright evil."
"At least, it wasn't him who added my name to the goblet, as he swore an oath," Harry added.
"We definitely saw that blue-pinkish ghost on the roof earlier this morning, and we know that he is in contact with this ghost," Santa said.
"Are you sure that it's the same ghost?" Moody enquired.
"Yes." Harry was absolutely certain. "Ever since I fought that ghost in the Chamber of Secrets, he's not blue anymore but has a blue-pinkish colour."
=Perhaps, we should simply prevent Dumbledore from meeting the ghost on Sundays,= Paws suggested, as he made himself comfortable on Harry's lap, giving his children a light growl upon realising that they occupied Lily's lap.
"It's all right, Paws," Lily said in a soothing voice. "I hope you'll be able to transform back soon as well."
Paws leaned over to gently lick her face.
"Harry and Luna, are you really going to attend Merlin's school during the next school year?" Daphne asked, giving them a curious look.
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Professor, is it all right to just skip my fifth-year and then come back for the sixth?" Harry turned to Minerva.
"That's of course not a problem; however, to get into sixth year, you'll have to take your OWLs." Minerva remained pensive for a moment, before she added, "I suppose that you'll have enough teachers to teach you in private, so that you could either sit the OWLs at Hogwarts if your classes at the SAMS allow it or otherwise at the Ministry of Magic."
"Of course, we'll teach Luna and Harry," Lily promised, smiling.
"I can collect the assignments from the other professors and send them to you."
"That would be wonderful," Luna replied, giving Harry a dreamy look. "Then we could study during the weekends."
"Minerva, would it be all right if I came here to collect the assignments in the evenings? That's something my phoenix form is useful for," Lily added, smirking.
"Of course, dear." Minerva nodded, smiling at her former student. "I'm really happy to have you back."
"As to Dumbledore and the ghost, I will see to it." Lily's expression was firm, and Harry knew that he and probably everyone else assembled was glad to be not the object of his mother's attention at that moment.
HP
In the morning, the headlines of the Daily Prophet were full of news from Hogwarts.
The first headline screamed in red letters: 'Harry Potter wins Triwizard Tournament for the Selective Academy of Magical Sciences'
Underneath was an article about the third task of the tournament including the manipulation by an unknown person. Apparently, the Unspeakables had only been able to confirm that there were spells and charms involved to manipulate the task; however, they had been unable to make out a magical signature that proved a possible culprit.
The following paragraph dealt with Merlin and the SAMS, even if not much was known about Merlin's school, not even where it was situated – much to everyone's amusement.
Finally, another headline stated 'Lily Potter, re-born as one of Santa's white animals on the North Pole'
The article recited what Santa had explained in front of the journalists and finally congratulated Lily Potter for having managed to return to her human form.
"It's too funny how everything and everyone just became busted yesterday," Dudley commented, causing their friends to laugh.
"Indeed." Severus smirked.
"That's true," Harry agreed, "although I feel sorry for Merlin, considering that he wanted to keep his school a secret.
"Well, but winning the Triwizard Tournament and the Quidditch tournament is a big deal for a small school, which was not even known to the world before." Luna was wearing a dreamy expression, as she added, "I look forward to studying at the academy."
"Yeah, me too."
Only on the third page of the Daily Prophet it was noted that Minister Malfoy had dismissed Cornelius Fudge as a ministry employee. Apparently, Fudge had put up a huge fight; however, was unable to do anything against the current minister's decision.
There were only two weeks left before the end of the school year, and for the first time since coming to Hogwarts, Harry could not wait to return home to the North Pole. 'I really don't trust Dumbledore,' he thought, somehow feeling that the headmaster had to be responsible for the disaster of the third task.
HP
During the holidays, Minerva, Severus and the Weasley twins as well as Luna joined them on the North Pole as usual, and on Harry's birthday, his other friends would come over to visit for a few weeks.
Hedwig alternately spent time in her canine form with Paws, Lucy and Regulus and also changed into her human form to spend some quality time with Harry and Luna and the other humans on the North Pole. She also eagerly taught her sixteen-month-old children to transform into human forms. To her relief and Harry's surprise, his younger siblings managed to instinctively change into their human forms upon seeing their mother do so.
While Lucy in her human form was the spitting image of Lily, Regulus looked exactly like Harry. They were incredibly cute and everyone on the North Pole fawned over them.
HP
One day during the first week of the holidays, Hedwig excused herself for a while, instructing Paws and Harry to watch the twins, who were asleep in their canine forms.
"Mum, where are you going?"
=I'm going to Hogsmeade to run a small errand. I'll be back in an hour at the latest.= With that, Hedwig transformed into her phoenix form, turned herself invisible and flashed.
'She really got better flashing,' Harry thought, as he wiped tiny bits of ice out of his face. 'I need to practise that, too. It would be quite useful if I was able to flash, at least at Hogwarts.'
Harry and Paws dashed into the screen room, closely followed by Lucy and Regulus. He quickly adjusted the screen to show the main street of Hogsmeade. 'Perhaps, she's going to visit Aberforth's place,' he thought. 'It's not Sunday though.'
To his annoyance, Hedwig did not show up on the screen, and while he and Paws were still looking for her, his mother came into the room in her canine form.
=Where did you go?= Paws cast his wife a questioning look.
=To Hogsmeade to run a small errand.= With that, she carefully jumped onto the sofa and began to feed the children.
HP
Just like every Sunday morning, Albus Dumbledore hurried along the main street of Hogsmeade. After breakfast, Pomona and Filius had kept him back with annoying questions concerning the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's position.
'Well, if Harry isn't going to be at Hogwarts during the next school year anyway, I could as well give in to Minerva's demands and make Black the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor,' he thought, as he approached his brother's pub to do his weekly obligations.
However, when he stood in front of his brother's house, the thought 'I need to go to Honeydukes to buy some liquorice dinosaurs' pressed itself to the front of his mind, and he hurriedly turned around and headed to the sweets shop.
His pockets filled with liquorice dinosaurs and lemon drops, he then returned to Hogwarts in a much better mood than when he had left twenty minutes earlier.
HP
Unbeknownst to Dumbledore, everyone living on the North Pole was sitting in front of a certain screen observing his every move – except for Lily and Severus, who preferred to busy themselves in the potions lab. Everyone else watched how Albus Dumbledore walked to Hogsmeade, turned around in front of his brother's pub, how he went to the sweets shop and finally returned to Hogwarts, and they also saw a certain blue ghost with pinkish injuries wait for him in a back room of the Hog's Head.
The ghost waited for about two hours, before Aberforth spoke up. "Ariana, return home."
"I'll do that. Bye, Aberforth."
"Ariana Dumbledore." Minerva paled visibly. "I wonder what Albus has been talking to her about."
"Perhaps, he instructed her to do harm such as the attacks at Hogwarts or the manipulation on the tournament." Harry gave the Gryffindor head a questioning look, causing Minerva to stare at him in pure shock.
"He wouldn't do such a thing," she said in a firm voice. "He's not evil. Alone the fact that he has a phoenix familiar should suffice as proof."
"Ah, but Fawkes told me that he's considering leaving Albus," Lily spoke up, as she and Severus entered the room just in time to hear Minerva's statement.
"Mum, that was your doing, wasn't it? You cast some kind of confusion spell at Aberforth's place, didn't you?"
"Why of course." Lily cast him a questioning look. "Did it work?"
Minerva quickly filled the younger witch in, only to add, "Well done, Lily."
"Thank you. Just to be sure, I'll go and repeat my charm next week."
Severus merely smirked, somehow seeming strangely contented.
HP
During the following weeks, Lily diligently repeated her charm, causing Albus Dumbledore to return to Hogwarts each time he was about to enter his brother's pub.
It was at the end of July that everyone sitting in front of the screen realised in surprise that Ghost Ariana did not show up at Aberforth's place.
"I wonder what that means," Harry spoke up, giving his mother a questioning look.
"It probably means that the ghost is not blue anymore," Severus said, seemingly absentminded.
tbc...
Thanks to the kind readers for your feedback for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think about this chapter and the story as a whole.