A/N: Rather a short chapter. I had intended to have something else more at the end but I decided instead to add it to the following chapter, which will follow the development of the Mark III until its release.
Don't worry, the next chapter should be longer. About the same size as Chapter 2, if not more. ;)
Hermione left the Hospital Wing at the start of February, nearly a whole month after she and Harry had sold Hogwarts the rights to build their own PMK-2 Robins. She had not kept still while in the Hospital Wing. Having nearly nothing to do while waiting for her cat-like attributes to disappear, Hermione had taken into beginning the development of the Mark III, whenever she wasn't reading books or working on homework.
Meanwhile, Harry had made sure to take as many good notes as possible for classes and often stayed in the Hospital Wing to help Hermione with her work. Their role reversal had greatly amused him. Unknowingly, it had the effect that Harry was now better in classes overall and giving in better homework and getting better grades.
Once Hermione was cured and left the Hospital Wing, she and Harry officially began working on the Mark III. Both had agreed early on in the development that the improvements of the Mark III would focus on speed and manoeuvrability. A lot of the safety features of the Robin would be moved over to the Mark III and improved but it wouldn't be the main focus.
With a top speed of 60km/h (~37mph), the Mark II was not fast. Harry's goal with the Mark III was to make a broom that could be used for backyard Quidditch while still making it easy and safe to fly so that people like Hermione would be able to pick a Mark III and have fun playing and flying. Harry wanted the Mark III to be able to reach a top speed past the 100km/h (~62mph) mark. He also wanted to modify the hover and axes control charms to allow a better turning speed with the broom.
Compared to its predecessor, the development of the Mark III began slowly. Hermione's main focus upon re-joining the student body was to catch up on all she had missed. As much as Harry had helped her, he wasn't a professor and Hermione's understanding of the material for those two months had been dependant on how well Harry understood it himself. Now that she was out of the Hospital Wing, Hermione took the opportunity to seek as many of her teachers, leaving Harry quite alone to work on the Mark III.
Hermione's drive to catch up on her work was not all that was slowing the development of the Mark III. Early in the month of February, Harry and Ron found the diary of someone named Tom Riddle in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and its mystery grabbed nearly all of Harry's attention. On Valentine's Day, an incident with a grumbling dwarf dressed like a cupid, an embarrassing valentine and a bottle of ink revealed that whatever was written in the diary disappeared. That night, Harry tried writing in it and was shocked when the diary wrote back. Harry eventually learned that Hagrid had been accused of releasing the monster fifty years prior. This had given the trio a lead on the mystery of the Heir of Slytherin and the Chamber of Secrets, which further slowed the development of the Mark III.
In April came the Easter Holidays and Harry was more than glad for the week of break that came with it. The Holidays meant that Harry could finally spend some time on the Mark III. One of the things Harry had planned for the Holidays was to ask the headmaster if he could register the Potter Broom Company to make it a real, authentic company. It was the reason why, on an early morning of Monday, the Boy-Who-Lived was standing in front of the gargoyle, apparently reading a list of magical sweets.
"Fizzing Whizbees! Peppermint Toads! Pink Coconut Ice! Fudge Flies...! What the hell is it...!? Jelly Slugs! Exploding Bon-Bons! Sugary Butterfly Wings! Cauldron Cakes! Tooth Splintering! Chocolate Frogs! Shock-O-Shock! Salt Water Taffy! Droobles Best Blowing Gum! Black Pepper Imps! Wizochoc! Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans! Glacial Snow Flakes...!"
"Harry?" said a voice behind him. Harry turned around. It was the headmaster. "What are you doing here, my dear boy?"
"I wanted to talk to you, sir." answered Harry, his face pink in embarrassment.
"Ah. That explains why you are reciting a most succulent list of sweets." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. Approaching the gargoyle, he said "Mars Bars!"
"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Harry, throwing his arms in the air. "It's not even a magical sweet!"
A chuckling Dumbledore led a grumbling Harry inside his office. The headmaster sat down in his chair before conjuring a comfortable looking one for his student. Harry sat down.
"Would you like a lemon drop?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry shrugged. "Sure." he said, taking one. He put it in his mouth. Immediately, he loved it. "That's good!" he exclaimed. "Where can I buy some?"
Dumbledore let out a chuckle. Opening a drawer, he took out a bag filled with Lemon Drops and gave it to Harry. "For years I have waited for someone to tell me they liked Lemon Drops. I always wished I could give someone a bag." he said at Harry's questionning look.
"Well, thank you." said Harry, putting the bag in his pocket.
"Now, what brings you here today, young Harry?"
"Uh, well..." stammered Harry. He wasn't sure how the headmaster would take his idea. "I was wondering if I could go to the Ministry of Magic to register the Potter Broom Company and file a patent for the rune sequence of the PMK-2 Robin. And a trademark the names, now that I think of it." said Harry.
"A capital idea." said Dumbledore, startling Harry. The second-year student had expected a rejection. "It is, after all, your work and we wouldn't want anyone to abuse what you and Miss Granger spent time and effort on for their own personal gains."
"Well... can I go, then?"
"Yes, you can. And I shall accompany you. I have no doubts both Minerva and Miss Granger would have my hide if I left you to face alone the terrible menace that is... paperwork." said Dumbledore with a shudder.
"Thank you." said an highly amused Harry as Dumbledore raised from his chair. Harry followed suit. Dumbledore took out his wand a silver phoenix looking incredibly like Fawkes shot out. Dumbledore murmured something to the phoenix before it flew through the wall, disappearing out of Harry's sight.
Harry was looking at where the silver phoenix had left the room, his mouth wide open. "What was that?" he asked.
"That, my boy, was a patronus. The main use of the patronus is to protect one from a Dementor. The Dementors are horrible creatures which feed on people's happiness and hope. The patronus will mimic those emotions but the Dementor will be unable to feed on it, which will push it back instead. It is a very complex charm. While its main use is for defence, it can also be used as a messenger. Just now, I sent my patronus to Minerva to tell her than I would leave the castle with you. It is better she knows, after all that is happening." finished the headmaster grimly. "Anyway!" said Dumbledore suddenly on a cheerful tone. His eyes were twinkling like usual. "I believe you already used the Floo Network before?"
Harry groaned.
Harry groaned again when he crashed on the floor of the Atrium in the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore, who was waiting for him, chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." he muttered as he climbed back on his feet.
"Pardon me, but it was rather funny to see." said Dumbledore. Harry glared at him. "Do not worry, I was the same when I was your age. You will only get better with time."
"If you say so." said Harry.
Dumbledore led Harry through the Atrium. Harry took a look at the giant golden fountain in the middle of the Atrium as they passed it. Dumbledore, noticing it, explained "This is the Fountain of Magical Brethren. I never quite liked it personally."
Harry could see why. In the middle of the fountain stood the statue of a tall, proud and powerful wizard who was pointing his wand toward the ceiling. Around the wizard were smaller statues off a witch, centaur, goblin and a house-elf. All four were looking up at the wizard with awe. The fountain sold the idea that wizards stood about everyone else, even witches.
Harry gave a wince when he realised the idea. "I can see why." he said. Dumbledore and Harry walked toward the lifts. Along the way, more than one head would turn to stare at them. It was making him uncomfortable but, thankfully, Dumbledore with his brilliant silver beard and his splendidly flamboyant robes attracted most of the attention.
Harry and Dumbledore entered a half-filled lift. Behind them were a wizard and two witches, one which was old and the other was quite young. All three looked as uncomfortable as Harry, although for different reasons. Dumbledore alone looked calm.
The lift jerked away from the room and began moving. The silence was broken when the younger witch bent forward slightly and asked "Are you Harry Potter?"
Harry wanted to groan but he knew it wouldn't be nice. He didn't exactly want to talk with a 'fan-girl' either so Harry simply decided to do something else. Professor McGonagall had once told him that his father used to flirt with many witches, that is until he fell in love with Harry's mother. Harry wondered if he had inherited his father's charms so he turned his head and gave his best loop-sided grin to the witch.
The witch looked away, blushing bright red. Harry simply turned back, appearing calm. Inside however, he was screaming. 'Why is she blushing like a school girl? She shouldn't blush because I smiled at her! She's an adult and I AM TWELVE!'
"Level Five: Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." said a feminine voice from the ceiling. The grate opened, revealing a long, curvy corridor with multiple doors and windows on each side.
"That is our stop." said Dumbledore to Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow at the headmaster. As they exited the lift, Harry watched Dumbledore turn around, look at the two witches in the lift and say "Ladies." with a smile, giving them a small bow.
The older witch looked like her heart had melted while the younger one glanced at Harry and blushed once again. The wizard in the lift looked at the two witches and shook his head in exasperation. As the lift began moving again, Harry heard Dumbledore mutter "I still have it."
Harry raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled and said "You aren't the only one who can flirt with witches, Harry." Harry flushed. "It was always a pass-time of mine in my youth. While I was never interested in the female gender myself, I found their reactions highly amusing when I would smile at them. Anyway, let's continue our adventure."
"Why are we on the level with the Department of... huh... Magical Creatures?" asked Harry as he followed Dumbledore through the fifth floor of the Ministry of Magic.
"Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Harry. Level five also contain the Department of Property, which is our destination." answered Dumbledore. Harry and Dumbledore followed the long corridor until they arrived to an intersection. Dumbledore turned to the right and Harry followed. After a much shorter walk, they arrived in front of a set of double doors. A sign on the wall indicated 'Office of Intellectual Property'.
Dumbledore opened the door and the headmaster and student entered into a small room. The room was nothing special, with a window on each side and three desks. At the back of the room stood another set of double doors. Harry could see through them a big, large room behind with many shelves filled with thousands of scrolls of parchment and books. It was like the library at Hogwarts, except without all the tables.
The wizard sitting at the closest desk to the door raised his head. He looked startled for a moment when he realised just who had entered his workplace. "Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Potter. What can I do for you?"
"Hello, Eugene." greeted Dumbledore. "I am here to accompany a young entrepreneur who would like to register his own company."
'Eugene' looked at Harry with surprise. "Well," he said. "Come with me."
Harry and Dumbledore flooed back to Hogwarts hours later. Harry's head was spinning. Never in a hundred years had he imagined there would be so much paperwork to do! The worse was that Harry would have to go through at least half of that every time he developed a new broom. Just the thought made him groan.
After a Hogwarts house-elf gave sandwiches to both Dumbledore and Harry (after the elf berated both of them for not eating during launch), Harry left to go back to Gryffindor tower. When he entered, he found Hermione sitting comfortably on a sofa in front of the fireplace, a large book in hand. Harry approached and collapsed on the empty-half of the sofa, startling Hermione.
"Harry!" she exclaimed. "Where were you? I couldn't find you earlier today!"
Harry almost slapped himself on the forehead. He was just now realising he hadn't told them about his plans. So, Harry explained. "I was at the Ministry of Magic. As of today, the Potter Broom Company is officially a proper company. Also, both of us now legally own half of the company each, including the program for the PMK-2 Robin, which has been patented."
"Half?" exclaimed Hermione.
Harry took one of her hands. "You deserve it! You're as much part of it as I am." he said truthfully. "Also, I reckon it's better if someone level-headed own part of the company. It means you will be able to stop me from making stupid decisions if it ever come to that." he joked.
"Well, thank you, then." said Hermione. Harry decided to give her the same smile he had given to that witch in the elevator. Hermione blushed. Strangely enough, it didn't make him uncomfortable, like with the older witch. For some reasons, he felt something flutter in him. Suddenly, he yawned. "Tired?" she asked.
"Yep." said Harry. "Woke up early today and filed loads and loads of paperwork."
"Well, you can just nap here, then." said Hermione.
"I think I'll do that." he smiled before he closed his eyes, lowering his head down, intending to rest on the sofa. However, Harry slightly miscalculated and his head landed in Hermione's lap. Startled, he waited for a reaction. As far as he could tell, Hermione didn't react, so he figured it was alright, and stayed there. Her lap was very comfortable, after all.
Unseen by Harry, who had his eyes closed, Hermione had looked at Harry with surprise before her face turned bright red. When she saw that Harry had fallen asleep, she smiled before returning to her book. She had a hard time concentrating, at first, as she kept thinking about how comfortable it was to have Harry in her lap.
Without realising she was doing so, Hermione started playing with his hair. She thought it was very soft and she couldn't help but feel contentment. Unseen by her, Harry smiled in his sleep.
A/N: Got the first hints of Harry/Hermione. Yay! I don't intend for them to start dating until the last half of third year at the minimum. (Maybe early fourth year)