CH 13
HPHPHP
A couple of days after the meeting with the Goblins, Professor Dumbledore summoned Harry to his office in order to discuss the meeting that had taken place.
Harry was standing outside of the Headmaster's Office, and pacing in front of the guardian stone gryphon wondering if he should rattle off the names of sweets or wait for the man to find him there. It was just chance that he hissed his displeasure in Parseltongue, (...Damn that man...) he said. (...He wants the bloody meeting, but why does he set up such stupid passwords and why didn't he tell me what it was before requesting this meeting...)
(...To re-set the password or change the conditions put your hand on the beak of the gryphon and state the new word or the conditions for the password change...)
Harry looked around and noticed a one of the smaller paintings on the wall. It had a huge apple tree with a snake slithering in it. The bronze plate under it called the painting 'The Tree of Eden'. (...Not a very original concept...) he hissed. (...Were you the one telling me how to change the gryphon's password?...)
(...But of course...) the snake hissed. (...We snakes must stick together...)
(...Do you like staying in this corridor?...) Harry asked the picture. (...There aren't many paintings around this area to keep you company...)
(...I miss my companion portraits...) The snake confessed. (...They used to be on either side of mine, but have been moved a few years ago by that colour-blind old buzzard who's now the Headmaster of this school...)
(...I see...) The Gryffindor paused with a chuckle at that comment and then asked, (...Would you like to live in my quarters or be moved somewhere else?...)
(...Why...)
(...I need to practice your interesting language, as I'm not always aware of when I'm speaking it and I would like to see if language will affect certain spells...) Harry explained. (...My door does not have a guardian portrait, but rather a set of programmed bricks. I don't recall seeing any paintings in the corridor near my quarters, but I'll be on the lookout for your matching pairs, unless Hogwarts knows where they may be. I could always bring in a couple of extra paintings my rooms that you'd be comfortable conversing with or just to get a change of scenery, whatever you prefer...)
(...If I prefer staying here?...) The snake in the painting hissed.
(...Well then I'd greet you whenever I happen to be summoned by the Headmaster...) Harry said.
The snake in the painting knew full well that the boy was there more often than most other students, but he wasn't by often enough for a decent conversation. (...I will ask Hogwarts to move me to your rooms. At least there I'll have company that can speak to me...) The snake in the painting said. (...I'll talk with her to see if there is a way for her to help you find my companion portraits. They have the name plates of "Gate to Heaven" and "Gate to Hell"...)
(...Someone Muggle-born or Muggle-raised, must have painted the three of you…) He speculated and the snake hissed his agreement. (… I'll see you when I get there...) Harry said turning to face the stone gryphon that seemed to be looking at him to see what he would do.
'Dumbledore still hasn't sent me a notice about the password,' he thought. 'I wonder if I should add an override just for me...'
He was about to put his hand on the gryphon's beak when it suddenly moved out of the way. He waited to see if anyone was there before stepping onto the bottom stair and riding up to his appointed meeting time. As he was about to knock on the door he heard, "Come in young Harry."
Harry frowned and stepped into the room. "Headmaster," he said to the old man behind his desk full of nick-knacks and paperwork that the man was shuffling about on his desk. He noticed that Professor Snape was also in the room, so he greeted the man. "Professor Snape."
"Mr. Potter," the dark man said politely.
The Headmaster was surprised that the two of them were cordial, but then he hadn't seen them interact for the majority of this year. He was too pre-occupied with the Order of the Phoenix and with Fudge's idiotic issues to notice that there were no more disparaging remarks about Boy-Who-Lived from his Potions Master during their staff meetings. His eyes twinkled brightly at the thought that it was something that he had done to bring them together in peace and in a gruesome sense it was. Not that they told him about it because it was clearly obvious that the old man had chosen to forget most of his past, at least the Dark part of it.
"Well my boys," Albus Dumbledore said. "I'm pleased to see that you're getting along. Now, Harry why don't you have a seat and we'll discuss what the Goblins wanted with you a few days ago, hmm?"
"Sir," Harry said still standing in front of the desk. "It was simply a matter of personal financial business."
"No need to keep it a secret," the old man said jovially. "Severus has told me all about it."
"I sincerely doubt that Headmaster," Harry said. "He is a man of honour and would never divulge private financial information. It is beneath him to do such a thing." He looked at the Potions Master who rubbed his temple to indicate that the old man had tried to get the information by using Legilimency, but failed. He looked more closely and with a concerned tone he asked, "Are you all right sir? You don't look to be feeling too well."
"I'm quite all right and you are correct," the Potions Master said. "I have not said anything, but he's still trying." He looked at the Headmaster whose eyes were now hard chips of light blue glass. Harry moved to cut off the eye contact and that helped his Professor to form better Occlumency shields.
"Professor Dumbledore what are you doing to him," he asked. The look of Legilimency was re-focused in his direction, but the Headmaster was suddenly trapped in a bubble of darkness within the boy's mind and couldn't extract his consciousness until the young man chose to let him go.
The Gryffindor shook his head and let the old man explore his confinement while he questioned his Counsellor. "Sir, are you sure you're all right?"
"Yes, but shouldn't you be paying attention to the Headmaster," Severus said, but that's when he noticed that the old man was sitting there not doing anything. It was like he wasn't aware of his surroundings. "Potter?"
"He's a bit busy right now," Harry said with a smirk. "Would you like to stop by for tea after we're finished here? I could use your advice as to what to pack for our March Break."
"Of course," the man said. "That is if your wonderful house-elf will have those fruit tarts that I like."
"I'm quite certain that she would," Harry said. "She likes you."
"I don't see why," the Potions Master said in a huff. He crossed his arms for a show of irritation that he did not feel. "Now would mind explaining to me how it is that he's occupied?"
"He's in the dark," Harry said slightly rubbing his own temple to tell the man that the Headmaster was still in the boy's mind.
"I don't understand," Severus said. "You're doing something?"
"You haven't tested me since last year sir," Harry said. "If you had you'd know what's happening to him, but let's get him out of there now before he gets even more irked at his failure to do so himself." He sat down quickly and winked at his Potion's Master.
The Headmaster refocused on the two sitting in front of him quite quickly, but he felt slightly disoriented. "Harry," he said and then looking at his Potions Master he asked. "Young Harry has not been acting up in class again has he, Severus? I haven't heard you complain about him yet this year and I was hoping that the peace would be kept between the two of you."
"No sir," Harry said. "I'm here because I've come to realize that I'm might still be in need of Occlumency training. You've said that Professor Snape here is the most proficient in the school regarding that talent and I've since come to believe it too. So I'm here to ask if you could arrange time for him to teach me again, that is if 'you' believe I still need that training."
"Excellent idea," Dumbledore said with his eyes lighting up. He turned to his Potions Master and noted the thoughtful look on the man's face. "Would that be agreeable with you Severus?"
The dark man scowled slightly and then sneered, "I suppose I can give up some of my precious time to attempt to teach the Gryffindor something useful."
Dumbledore just chuckled at the dark man's antics. "Very well," he said. "I will leave it to the two of you to decide on the time of the lessons. Severus, I expect you to be fair and keep me up-to-date on how the two of you are doing. Owl me when you've picked a place and time for the lessons."
"Yes Albus," the Potions Master said standing up, knowing that the last statement was a dismissal of their presence.
"Yes, sir," Harry said looking down at his clenched hands. It was a show for the old man and he was buying it. He too stood up, but he hunched over looking ever like the boy who was being punished.
They left the old man thinking about how the two were seemingly getting along or at the very least not fighting with one another and he said to his Phoenix, "It does this old heart good to know that those two trying to get along. This war needs its fighters working together."
Fawkes looked at the Headmaster and chirruped a tune to indicate that he didn't disagree, but the beautiful creature knew about the darkness in the old man. He had never bonded with this Headmaster, as he had with others from time to time. He allowed the man to claim him as a familiar verbally and it helped to be around when the humans were fighting the 'good'fight against the Dark that was seeping into the land and their culture. That was the reason he stuck around and allowed them to use him as a symbol for the Light.
He had even permitted the use of his feathers in things and objects like wands, but these were only done when he felt like it. But he was beginning to regret releasing the last two feathers due to the opposite natures of the humans that were using them. Also he felt that one of the Wizard's, the one the other Humans were calling the Boy-Who-Lived was not truly well matched with his wand. However at this point in time, he remained where he was observing the meetings in this room and sleeping when they were over. He tucked his head under a wing to snooze, tuning out the mutters from the old man currently in charge of the school.
HPHPHP
Harry waited until the stairs stopped moving and with a mischievous grin he asked the Potions Master, "Does he make you come here and force you to guess at the password using the names of sweets?"
"There have been times," the man confessed, not liking the look on the young man's face. It was too much like his father that he had to reign in a need to hex the brat.
"What's your favourite potions ingredient," Harry asked thoughtfully.
'Why is he standing there asking me these questions,' Severus thought. 'He promised me some of Winky's treats.' He paused and looked at the young man's face. 'It doesn't sound like a prank question, maybe he really wants to know.'
"Basilisk Venom," Severus said with a dark grin at the fact that he had quite a bit of that rare ingredient now.
Harry smirked, knowing that the man liked his 'new toys' in the form of Basilisk potions ingredients. He placed his hand on the beak of the gryphon and hissed softly in Parseltongue. (...Instant override of any password to Hogwarts' Headmaster's Office only for Harold James Potter, Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, keyed to phrase Super-Cala-Fraga-Listic-Expy-Ally-Doe-Cious or by magic fingerprint stamp of the finger with the Family Ring to the left eye of the statue...)
(...Password override and alternative conditions accepted for Harold James Potter, Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Fingerprint Identification required...) Harry put the finger with his Family ring to the left eye of the gryphons and heard. (…Fingerprint accepted…)
"Potter, what are you doing," the Potions Master asked.
"Your turn," Harry said. "Put your hand where I put mine and just let me do the talking. I'll explain later."
"I don't have to poke it in the eye do I?" The Potions Master asked.
Harry shook his head and said, "No. Just put you hand on his beak."
Severus put his hand on the beak of the sentry gryphon statue and listened to Harry hissing something to it. It was clear that the young man was doing something, but the older man could have sworn he heard a reply hissing back at Harry.
"You can let go now, sir," Harry said with a grin. It was his contagious one, but Severus wasn't about to play nice until he found out what just happened.
"What did you just do, Mr. Potter?"
"Would you care to join me for tea Professor?" Harry asked completely ignoring the question. He did notice that the portrait that used to hang next to the door was no longer there and he hoped that the Snake in the Portrait had moved to his quarters.
"Yes," Professor Snape said. "Now will you..."
"Thank you," Harry said. "Winky..." He called out to his house-elf, trying to drive his Professor nuts by refusing to answer any questions at the moment. When she popped up, he said, "Tea and treats for me and Professor Snape in my rooms. We'll be right there."
"Yessir, Master Harry," Winky said with a curtsy.
"Potter," Snape growled out.
"Come along Professor," Harry said walking quickly. "The tea will get cold if we dally here."
"Very well," the man huffed his impatience and stalked off at a paced that announced his annoyance and frustration. This only caused the Gryffindor to chuckle and walk faster just to keep up.
Once they were safely in Harry's assigned rooms with tea in hand Harry explained what he had done. "I've programmed an override to the current password for the Headmaster's office," he said sipping his tea and nibbling on a strawberry flavoured biscuit. He looked up when he heard a plonking splash. His Professor had let the cookie he was eating fall into his tea when he heard that. "Sir?"
"You what," the man asked.
"I programmed an override to the current..."
"That's what I thought you said," the man replied. "Are you out of your mind, Mr. Potter? What about the security of the office and the Headmaster? What about the security of all the personal files in there and you've just overridden the password, whatever for?"
"To quit playing the Headmaster's games," Harry said calmly. "He summons me there, but expects me to rattle off a number of names to sweets. How secure is that particular method? Everyone is aware that the Headmaster's passwords are the names of sweets."
Severus was stopped in his thoughts there because the Gryffindor made sense. Everyone knew what kind of password it was. The Headmaster wouldn't even have to be in the office because anyone could walk up to statue spout off the names of candy and still get into the man's office.
"So what did you do," the Potions Professor asked.
"I programmed it to open up for me using two methods different methods," Harry said. "I have a password and the other I'll keep to myself at this point in time. I wouldn't want someone finding it by accident."
"So why did I have to put my hand on that statue's beak," Severus asked.
Harry timed it again for shock value. "I put in a password override just for you sir," he said. "The Headmaster can't change it because I programmed it using Parseltongue and so the only person who can change the conditions has to be a Snake Speaker. He can still re-set his password to whatever he wants, but we won't be affected by it ever again."
"That's why you asked me…" Snape let out a chuckle and then a pleasant deep laugh. "So now I'll never be stuck trying to figure out the names of sweets, thank Mr. Potter."
"You're quite welcome sir," Harry said politely. "Feel free to call me Harry while you're visiting here. I don't want to feel as though I'm attending class in these rooms."
"Very well, Harry. Now would you mind telling me why you didn't ask for Counsel about the items you need help deciding to take with you," the man said turning the conversation onto the original reason for his presence in the young man's rooms.
"Well," Harry began. "Since it wasn't just for me and it wasn't really a Wizarding matter per se, I just thought you'd be the best one to render an opinion or provide me with several options and opinions for how to pack and travel like you did this past summer. I don't want to bring everything of mine with me because this school year is not yet done, but I don't want to dishonour my new Family motto either."
"You do not have to pack up everything," Severus told him. "If you had gone home for the Winter Holidays, what would you have taken with you?"
"Mostly my essentials," Harry said. "I was going to take very few changes of clothes because I already had some at home. I'd have mainly taken my books and things to study, plus all the extra assignments."
"I suggest that you first get a piece of scratch paper and make a list," the Head of Slytherin said.
"What is scratch paper?"
"Yes, get a piece of any old paper that you care nothing about and use it to create a starter list of things that you think you'll need," the man said.
"Oh," Harry said. "Okay, will you still help…"
"Go get those things first," Severus told him. "I still would like to at least finish one cup of this delicious tea without losing a cookie in it and creating unappetising sludge at the bottom of the cup."
Harry laughed and walked over to the dark scroll-top desk in one of the corners of the room. His house-elves had found it for him to match the wooden accents in the room. From it he took a plain lined notebook of the old 'Cahier' variety that he was used to using in his primary school in the Muggle World, which came in a variety pack of five and ten and in multiple colours. He also fetched a mechanical pencil of the type normally used by drafters because the lead was larger and his special sharpener made for that particular type of lead.
Professor Snape just observed his activities and wait patiently for the young man to return. He snorted when he saw that the book cover of the 'Cahier' was a pale pink colour.
The Gryffindor noted the look and said, "I acquired a lot of these from someone who kept all of the other colours. These books come in packages of five, ten and twenty in a variety of base colours. They're only available in, bland white or beige, pale pink, pale green, pale blue and pale yellow. They are usually purchased for use in primary school. It was the only school supply that I ever received that was never begrudged to me because of the colour, no boy wants to use a pink note-book, but since I wasn't allowed to have any others I was grateful for these ones. I used what I could for primary school, but I still have quite a few of these pink ones left, so now I use them to plan out my essays."
"Why would anyone begrudge you the basic supplies required for your education," Severus asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Harry said. "I made a Magical Oath to never reveal past issues relating to the care or lack thereof I may or may not have had before I entered Hogwarts. Please don't pry any further."
"Very well," the Potions Master agreed. "Begin your list with basic clothes and necessities like socks, undergarments and toiletries. Those should always be first on any travel list. You need to make them first in your list as they are used most often and most necessary. They are also the things that tend to get overlooked if they are at the bottom of a list and be sure that you add twice as many socks and under garments as there are days for your travel unless you are certain that they can be cleaned in a timely manner. While you do that, would you mind explaining what you did to the Headmaster?"
"I..." Harry said in an exaggerated pose with his left hand to his chest. "I didn't do anything." He stopped his posturing with a giggle and said. "Test my shields and you'll see."
"Hmm," Snape noised. He took out his wand and said, "Next add any school assignment that you have due and everything you'll need to complete the work." As the Gryffindor continued to write his list he mentally cast the spell, 'Legilimens'.
Harry smirked privately and continued to add a few things for extra study because he had a strange feeling that he'd need it.
Meanwhile his Professor was in a similar, dark, room to the one that Harry had used to confine the Headmaster. It was similar and yet vastly different because this one would not affect the man's memory.
'The Greasy Git need to keep his memory,' Harry thought fondly of the man. 'Still that 'cupboard' in my mind will be enough to drive whoever is in there complete nutters because of the seeming cracks. They'll assume that there are cracks in the shield when in fact it's just light filtering from under the door or through the vent holes that only allow shadows to be seen walking by. Those bits of light will temp the infiltrator to actions and when they do...'
The young man was grinning darkly at his Professor's attempts to 'break out'. He felt every attempt, but they were only noticed as a minimal and vague in sensation. However, it was physically visual in the fact that the Professor's eyes were unfocused and it looked like the man was about to drool. Harry quickly finished his basic list and that's when he gently pushed the man away from his mind.
The Head of Slytherin house never once found a single memory, but he had been able to form a very small light to illuminate his surroundings. What he had seen and smelled was shocking. It was so realistic that in a way he felt that he had experienced something utterly real. He was about to get frustrated by the lack of progress, but then realized that he was locked in the boy's defence mechanism and without knowing what it was he didn't know how to breach it.
Professor Snape blinked as his awareness to the here and now returned. "Interesting," he said. "However that does not explain what you did to the Headmaster to make him forget about the fact that a contingent of Goblins came to the school seeking you?"
"Once you're in that room I have a full reciprocal access to the mind trying to infiltrate mine," Harry explained. "I was able to seek out that bit of data and basically remove it completely from his mind. I altered a bit of it so that from now on, anything mentioned of me related to Gringotts or to Goblins, the Headmaster will wave it off as unimportant and therefore he'll be unable to meddle in my personal financial business."
"Fascinating," Severus said. "How were you able to come up that kind of defence?"
"I learned it through meditation and I had found a book on Muggle exercises for the mind," Harry said. "It helped that the book was written for the purpose of organizing thoughts and other whatnot. The Muggles are strange sometimes. Some of the things I've learned, well did you that there are some groups of them come together to test their memory capacity? They're official contests and there are categories based on faces, whole novels, articles and mixed media. I personally think they're crazy, but that doesn't mean that they don't write books about how to improve your memory and how to create chambers in your mind to store things." He shrugged and let the man decide if he wanted to believe that the boy used Muggle methods to improve a magical talent like Occlumency.
Severus looked at the young man and knew that what he was talking about might be exaggerated. Unfortunately he was fully aware that he had been living in the Wizarding World for quite some time. He may have been raised partially in the Muggle World, but his whole adult life was centred on being a Wizard and living the life of a Wizard. Now it was clear that he might be missing a few things.
'This sounds like Draco's questions about those North American trees and his other potions questions,' he thought. 'My godson refused to site the source of where his queries were coming from, but I'm now having strong suspicions that the Boy-Who-Lived is responsible.'
Harry noted his thoughtful expression and waited to see what his Professor has to say about his sources for improving his mind. It wasn't like it was difficult once his magic had settled, but those books did help him to find a method that suited him to Occlude his mind and create the defences for it. He didn't have proper magical instruction in this matter and so what should have been impossible has now been changed because of a different set of belief in ability.
"You are the source of Draco's questions related to the strange flora that Muggles have access to," Severus stated firmly, finishing his cup of tea and declining another from the ever-eager female house-elf attached to Potter.
Harry grinned at that and then laughed. This statement was way out from left field and it just struck him as absolutely funny. The Professor must have been wondering, for quite some while, about the blonde's strange new curiosity about Muggle plants. The dark man only grinned wryly and waited somewhat patiently for the boy to finish.
The Gryffindor nodded and said, "Yes. We've been meeting every Wednesday based on 'your'," he gave the man a pointed look stating he knew just where the idea came from. "Suggestion to improve his magical Defence and sometimes we discussed potions in Defence and have came up with several ideas. He was going to present them to you regarding which would be the better ones for supplementing the weaker spells or re-enforcing the abilities of other spells. We used the books that the Room provided, but we also accessed the Internet through my net-book."
Severus waited for the boy to explain the 'net-book', but the stubborn Gryffindor was refusing to volunteer the information. The Potions Master had to admit that the boy was learning caution. Still he was forced to ask, "What is a net-book? Could you please show it to me and demonstrate it?"
"Of course," Harry said. "Follow me." He led the man to his corner scroll top desk. He conjured a second comfortable high-back chair for the man and then pulled out the interesting device from its hidden compartment. He showed the man everything that he had showed to the blonde Slytherin during the train ride to school.
His Professor asked several questions to search on the little computer under Muggle and Wizarding search engines. He was surprised by the variety of sites available and knew quite a bit about what he was asking, but any leads to new methods of curing, processing or preparing specific ingredients and their results in potions made him realized how he had been limiting himself by relying solely on the magazines available in the United Kingdom's Wizarding World.
Harry printed up anything that the man wanted and cautioned him that some Muggle data was actually true and tested and that the Wizarding speculations were the incorrect ones. He was sure that the man had received Draco's proposal for extra-credit studies and had been wondering just how the blonde Slytherin came to make such strange and inspired connections.
"How much is one of these little devices and how can I acquire one?" The Potions Master asked.
"I found it in Muggle London on a street near the Leaky Cauldron," Harry said. "The business is new and these are imports from other countries under the supervision of their Magical Exports Divisions. Stores in Diagon Alley aren't permitted to import anything new and non-traditional for some reason, but businesses especially those opened and run by mainly Muggle-born students are smart. They've opened primarily Muggle businesses in the Muggle World because the Ministry prevented them from getting permits to sell these in primarily magical areas like Diagon Alley. Their stores are set up with a magical veil or shield to protect their magical products and Muggles don't wander into those parts of the store."
He paused and then answered the man's next obvious question about where they can be found. "They can only be found by accident or by word of mouth. Accidentally it's usually small Muggle-born children that wander into an area and those are the ones that learn early on about the Wizarding World. Others are like me, looking for something Muggle for semi-Muggle-type homes and suddenly find that they're in a completely magical shop that is not governed by the UK's Ministry of Magic because the Ministry refuses to allow the mix of new merchandise in primarily Wizard Areas of the Magical Commonwealth."
Again, this was a strange new and yet completely unsurprising revelation. "Have you found other stores of this nature in the Muggle World?"
"Yes, I was given a list and I visited them briefly," Harry said. "There's book store that imports magical books that can't be found among the regular offerings, a clothing store, a cobbler that specializes in mixing new teenage Muggle-trends and converts them to their Magical equivalent, plus a glazier that specializes in unique bottles and glass ornamentation. These stores only allow serious Muggle-Wizard buyers to visit their hidden sections and one has to plonk down a substantial amount in one of them before getting the name of another store or location. They are also prejudiced against those that are considered 'pureblood' in the Wizarding World and someone like Malfoy would never get anything from them unless accompanied and vouched for by someone like me. He's expressed interest in getting a net-book of his own, but I haven't told him about the conditions to purchasing one, other than to mention that it could only be found in Muggle London."
"I'm sure that when you tell him, he'll have a fit, but then again, it might be something that he has to learn on his own," Severus comment on. "What about me?"
"I don't think that you'll have a problem," Harry said. "It will only depend on how you act in the Muggle World and how well you are comfortable by walking into such an establishment."
"I do not believe that I would be comfortable, but I would appreciate the recommendation and your company for such a trip and purchase," Severus told him truthfully. He was used to the young man's presence and had found that over time it was somewhat peaceful and less grating on his nerves than certain others, 'the Weasley Twins' in his class, have affected him in the past. "I would prefer to know the total amount for all the equipment you have and how to get supplies during the year."
"They have Owl Order for standard things like machine parts for the printer, ink, and scroll paper," Harry said. "For servicing the machine, you'd have to go in person and hope to Merlin that the programs have not changed so much. They tend to come out with new versions or 'updated' versions of the standard stuff. I will caution you on those because this is still relatively new to the Wizarding World whereas the Muggle World has been using something similar in house-holds since the late nineteen eighties."
"Would you list the standard equipment that you have and the method that you use to re-charge them," Severus asked. "I'd also appreciate a cost list per item. Now what about your list of items for your week long break and what supplemental advice were you looking for."
"Well," Harry began. "Since I have this open could you please look at a couple of things for me and give me your advice or opinion about them, if you've experienced using such or not."
"Of course," Severus said watching the Gryffindor pull up a back-packers web page of the Wizarding variety. It contained supplies like 'magical tents', with a number of rooms. There was a listing of portable, collapsible loos and showers, plus food storage devices of many shapes, sizes and configurations.
Severus gave his opinion on several and watched the young man make notes regarding the basics versus better comfort versus top-of-the-line products. Harry was making dialogue type notes regarding the comments that the Potions Master had from the experience with the different products. "I do recommend the towels that we used this past summer," the man said. "They were useful and would be easier to use for clean up, depending on what the Goblins expect the three of you to learn during only one week's time."
Harry developed a strange look on his face, but it was quickly replaced by his usual open expression that clearly stated that he had nothing of import on his mind. The Potions Master knew differently, but wasn't about to question the boy about it.
They developed a couple of lists for the boys' week away from the school and then Harry said, "Do you think that we'd be able to get leave to go to Muggle London during one of our Hogsmeade week-ends before the week long break?"
"Some students do, but that is only because their parents come to fetch them for 'family outings' and such," the Professor told him. "I believe that you'd only be able to go with adult accompaniment and only if that adult was an Order member. Why do you ask?"
"I was thinking that depending on what the Goblins demand that we bring with us, we might need to access those stores that I mentioned to you," Harry said. "We'll see soon enough. They don't ever delay their correspondence especially if they expect us to bring something task oriented for training purposes."
"You are quite correct," Severus said, standing up. "When you get their task lists, meet up with the other two to analyse your needs. Then come to me, I will make sure to be available to escort the three of you. You will be responsible for their behaviour."
"Yes sir," Harry said, putting his notes away, until he could meet up with Draco and Ron. "Thank you for your assistance."
"Thank you for the tea and the excellent biscuits," the man said leaving the rooms, with a plate full of fresh fruit tarts, in order to prepare for the next day's classes. He still had things to mark and he wasn't looking forward to that. Many of the students seemed to be having difficulties producing adequate work and he didn't know how to correct that and still keep up his distant attitude.
HPHPHP
On the Saturday following the boy's Hogsmeade meeting with the Goblins, they each received a letter delivered by a most unorthodox bird. They weren't Owls, that's for sure. These birds were completely unexpected and two could be considered very rare sight in the Wizarding World period.
In front of Ron sat a 'Silenced' Fwooper with the most colourful plumage. It was looking at him waiting for something after the letter had been taken from its leg. The redheaded Gryffindor was polite and hand fed the bird some sliced fruit that he knew the creature liked. He had actually learned something in Hagrid's class that day and it was a good thing that he had paid attention when the class about Fwooper's took place.
"I need to meet a friend of mine," he said to the bird, quickly pocketing the letter without fully reading it. He didn't want any of the Gryffies to be peeking or reading the contents over his shoulder. "Would you like to come along?" The bird hopped to the boy's shoulder with a clicking of its beak as a sign of agreement. Ron took a small bowl of mixed fruit with him.
Hermione was preoccupied with her book, as she had learned to never pay attention when Ron was eating because his eating habits had truly irked her over the years. She never noticed the recent changes in him and at this point in time she was preparing for exams that were approximately two months away. She didn't want to be distracted.
"See you later," said some of the other Gryffindors that had been sitting at the table.
Harry had chosen to spend most of his mornings eating in his rooms. He found that he preferred to go to class directly from his rooms rather than from the Great Hall. Mornings for him were too hectic if he did that, so he normally ate breakfast in his rooms and the rare few times he ate his evening meals there too. Depending on the day his training sometimes surpassed the evening meal times in the Great Hall.
He received his letter from the Goblins too, only his was delivered with an actual 'Snidget', which was odd since no one can own one and they are a known protected species. However he did recall that his Godfather, Sirius Black, had asked an Owl to deliver a note and it was obviously not an Owl sold in a magical menagerie of some kind because he had been on the run from the Ministry of Magic back then. That was how Ron obtained his little Pygmy Owl, affectionately named Pig. Therefore he shrugged at the sight of the Snidget and he wasn't about to advertise the fact that the bird came to the school.
The Snidget arrived with a letter in its beak and then it chose to roost in his hair just like Pig did whenever it delivered a letter to him from any of the Weasley's. It peeped now and again, but still had not left him for some reason. The Goblins were not waiting for a response so the Boy-Who-Lived suspected that there was another purpose for the bird to remain with him for now.
Winky had brought a small bowl of 'Pink Sweetflower'and'Blue Sweetflower' (...i...) petals for the small bird. She used a sticking charm on her Master's head for the bowl and spelled the bowl to never spill its contents. The bird and the bowl were so deep in his thick rat's nest hair that they were almost not visible.
He didn't care and he was glad that Winky knew what the bird would like to eat before it journeyed back to wherever it came from. He took his time reading the letter and then re-read it more slowly to absorb the contents, trying to understand what was being asked of him.
'Why would they want me to get those things,' he wondered as the doorway to his rooms slid open to allow the very few who had permission to enter, to come in.
Ron had learnt where those rooms during the Winter Holidays. The Boy-Who-Lived had programmed a password just for him and Draco. The password for them was 'Chamber of Secrets' because, as Harry explained, it was in the Chamber of Secrets that the two had cooperated with each other without fighting and that the password would serve as a reminder that they were capable of getting along to accomplish great things.
"Weasley," Draco said getting his attention, while a Jabbernoll was perched on his shoulder.
"Malfoy," Ron responded with a smile as Draco's bird was preening the blond shoulder length hair. They both stepped into the concealed room one after the other and were both hit with the smell of fresh home baked bread. "That smells wonderful Harry, like the Burrow."
"Come in and join me for breakfast," Harry said walking out of his mini-kitchen nook area.
He pulled out additional stools from under the table and magically set two additional settings for the two boys. He turned to see Draco take a fork and transfigure it into a perch for the bird on his shoulder, while Ron did the same with a spoon, but his included a place for the dish of fruit that he had carried with him.
"I take it that you both received a letter from High Chief Borak of the Goblin Clan Grendel," Harry stated, sitting down at the table. Winky popped in the breakfast foods for all of them including something for the Jabbernoll, which was the only bird that didn't have a dish of treats.
"Good observation Mister Obvious," Draco snarked and the huffed. "What'll you do for your next trick? The real question should be why are they still hanging around?"
"No reply was needed," Harry agreed, moving his head very little so as not to disturb his passenger.
"I think it's because of my task," Ron said.
"What is it?" Harry asked buttering the warm bread lightly and adding mashed strawberries to it, as opposed to jam. He was curious about what the others were asked to find.
Ron bit his lip. The letter did say not to tell the others, but that wasn't a very good idea because he knew that he'd need a lot of help to gather the things that the Goblins were asking for.
"Don't tell," Draco hissed at the red-head. "The letters are very specific about that."
"Yes they were weren't they," Harry said in a tone that made the other two look at him. "It makes me wonder, if that isn't some sort of test?"
"Why would you think that Potter," the Slytherin asked.
"The letters gave us a date and time to meet in order to get Port-Keyed to the Grendel Clan Compound. The letters would turn into the needed Port-Keys that are programmed to let us leave from the Shrieking Shack," Harry said. "They did mention that they'd send a request for us to gather a few items or at least it was implied when we met them last Saturday. However the letter also also said that we were not permitted to ask for help to gather the items when it's obvious that we'll need help. I just find that a strange thing to demand is all. It was mention in three different lines and three different ways too."
"Well I know for a fact that I will be needing help," Ron said. "Do you believe that knowing we need help and asking for it is the test?"
Draco thought about that and then added, "Maybe it's about knowing who to ask, as well as gathering these things. I know that I'd need help too, but these things are strange to me and I don't know where to even begin looking for some of them."
"Well let's look at the lines regarding help," Harry said. "I have one that says, 'do not ask an untrustworthy trusted friend'. I guess they know something about my friends to be stating something like that."
"One of mine says, 'the hand that supplies the food is not providing nourishment,' I don't get it," Ron said. "Because the house-elves are the ones supplying the food here, so why are they not providing nourishment?"
"Maybe it's referring to something else Weasley," Draco said. "Have you been taking potions or other stuff like sweets from someone? What about the stuff you get in Hogsmeade?"
Ron shrugged and said, "I've been eating different flavoured peanuts and trail mix stuff that Hermione has been bringing to school. But I've been having that stuff since second year. I like the dried fruits with the seed mixed ones. I don't buy much in Hogsmeade, but when I do doesn't last long."
Harry nodded because he knew about that stuff of Hermione's. He never accepted them from Hermione after he had gotten sick one day and discovered something in the homemade packets that she prepared in Muggle 'zip bags'. He never mentioned this to Ron, but he thought it was because he had a food allergy to one of the bags' contents. He had been known to spit up banana bits when he was younger and he figured that it was just one of those things that he had to watch out for. Muggle news was always full of food allergy type stories and that's what he figured he had.
When he couldn't eat the mix, he figured that he had more than just a banana allergy. He never told the girl and always gave his trail mix to Ron by putting it in the boy's trunk whenever he had the chance. He didn't think that Ron knew about it, but now he was wondering if there was something else going on.
Ron had been acting strange on occasion which is why Harry was reluctant to trust him too far. He was still cautious about it because of the conversation that he had overheard this past summer. It was one thing to guess, but quite another to 'know' that he wasn't liked.
Draco told them that his line was, 'find comfort in the new and discard the old as they are not reliable'.
"None of those indicate who they're talking about," Harry said. "I think it only means that we have to choose who to trust and just not show the lists to anyone we would usually trust or ask for help."
"I'd normally go to Hermione," Ron said. "And you Harry, but usually I'd go to her because she's brilliant at research."
"I would too," Harry said. "Draco?"
"I have a few 'old' friends that I'd normally consult, but I guess this line means I should trust my new friends," Draco explained. "That's how it's coming across to me."
"I think so too," Harry said. "So do we share our lists with each other?" Draco and Ron looked at each other and then to Harry. "Should we do a blind vote about it?"
"How would we do that," Ron said.
Harry summoned a small bag that made a clacking sound when it dropped into his hand. He opened it up and pulled out six small marbles. Then he used a colour charm on their inner contents, turning three of them to all green and three to all red. "Green for yes," he said. "Red for no and Dobby will walk around to each of us taking our decision and put it on the table."
Dobby nodded happily to be of service and created a small round wooden vase from a cup. It had one hole in the top big enough to accept the marble and conceal it from the other boys' sight. He walked around the boys who all turned their backs making their decision by putting their colour choice into the vase. The house-elf turned the vase over into a clean cup and left it there after three plinks fell into the stoneware cup. It was up to the boys to remove the vase in order to see how they had voted.
"Ron or Draco," Harry said. "Do you want to do the honours?" The Slytherin snorted, but shook his head. Ron put his hand on the bottom of the vase and lifted it. In the bottom of the cup were three green marbles. "Well then I guess we'll work together to see how we can help each other. Maybe we can suggest the name of someone else, if we get stuck."
Ron produced his list first and it was a strange list of nine items in various quantities.
9 Snidget feathers, mixed
9 Jabbernoll feathers, mixed
9 Fwooper feathers, mixed
6 Phoenix feathers, mixed
30 Onyx stones, various sizes, 24 of similar size and grade, 12 paired
30 Jade stones, various sizes, 24 of similar size and grade, 12 paired
10 Feet of chains or spools of the following: boxed metal, snaked metal, twine, wool, small double-chained metal, stringed beads (varied), silk, fleece, & ribbon (varied colours)
96 Pieces of unformed cherry wood planks
96 Pieces of unformed white birch planks
The boys looked at it and immediately knew that three could be accomplished by asked the birds that delivered these letters and by asking the Headmaster's Phoenix, if it would allow the feathers to be taken. The Slytherin and Ron have yet to notice that Harry had the ultra rare Snidget sleeping in his hair.
"Be polite," Draco said looking at the birds that were paying attention to what they were saying. "Be very polite, but first let's get you something appropriate to contain them. You wouldn't want them to be ruined during transport."
"Suggestions," Ron asked them.
"Boxes with silk lining," Harry said. "I bought something that I had thought to use for transporting things like jewellery from the properties was I cleaning up this summer. Winky," he called his other happy elf. She brought him one box that had several separate sections and drawers. The separate sections each had their own lids so they could be individually charmed to not spill over. "What do you think?"
"This will do just fine," Ron said. He opened the two drawers and noticed that they were compartmented into three quadrants the top tray had three long compartments and four half sized ones. This was obviously a box made for the larger jewellery like bracelets and necklaces. "I can probable charm the interiors to hold more in order to bring the larger items, the top tray too."
"The silk is new and the box looks unused," Draco said suspiciously. "Did you find any jewellery during your inspections?"
"I did," Harry said. "I bought several types of these boxes. However most of the jewels that I did find were the small stuff like rings, broaches, hairpins, hair combs and earrings. I bought two of these one for the longer stuff like necklaces or bracelets, but I hadn't found any yet. That's why it's still unused and new. They already have preservation spells to prevent tarnishing of the contents and they can be expanded in their interiors up to a certain point. Each section or compartment can be individually spelled and the reason for that is to put dummy 'temptation' pieces in some part of the box to catch thieves, or so the clerk said."
"Makes sense," Ron said. He turned to the Fwooper and asked politely. "Would you be willing to donate nine of your feathers for my task, please?"
The bird clacked its beak in an agreeable fashion. It flew to one of the top tray sections. It sat for a minute and then flew out of the room through the Owl entrance leaving behind, two tail feathers, a top or cockscomb feather, three flight pinions and three small down feathers.
Ron put the lid over them and used his penknife to carve a couple of spell holding specific runes. The runes were then spelled for content preservation, security, which included a locking charm, an apprehension charm, a loud alarm and an untouchable charm, which prevents the contents from being touched at all until he released the overall charm by touching the runes and saying his chosen password. Those he was planning to set up when he was on his own or by using Harry's bedroom.
He repeated the process with the Jabbernoll receiving six flight feathers and three tail feathers before it flew away. He was wondering about the Snidget when Harry gently took the bird out of his hair and set it on the box.
Draco gasped and Ron was stunned. The red-headed Gryffindor repeated his request stammering his sincerity. The bird chirped and hopped to one of the smaller openings and dropped one tail feather, two flight features and six mixed down feathers. It peeped again and flew back to Harry's head, settling down for a nap in the black hair.
"Wow," Ron said looking at the yellow-gold feathers. "Thank you," he told the bird and quickly, but precisely repeated the process to protect the precious contents of the box. "Do you think these are gifts for the Goblins?" He asked them.
"Maybe," Draco said. "Here's my list and I must say that I don't where to get some of these things, but others I think that'll need your help Harry."
"What are they," the Boy-Who-Lived asked.
Draco's list was composed mainly of books and seeds, but he too had to get a number of stones.
"Magical Programming for Animation" (6 copies)
362 Onyx stones of comparable size, approximately a half inch cubed
362 White pearlescent mage-coral of comparable size, approximately a half inch cubed
12 Branches or planks of the following: Greater Red-Wood, Petrified Wood, Whomping Willow Wood, Black Oak, Yellow Cyprus and Blue Evergreen
"Boxx Books - Magical Box Makers Set" (6 copies), contains "Boxes, Clocks, Lamps & Small Projects", "Box-Making Projects for the Scroll Saw", "Creating Beautiful Boxes with Inlay Techniques" (...i...), "Magical and Tips to Use Them for the Beginner Wood-worker in You" and "Measure, Measure, Measure - Instructive Guide to Making Correct Measures & Diagrams for the Results You Want" (...ii...)
"Transfiguring for Action & Charming for Fun" (6 copies)
"Dirt Diggers Drama" (6 copies)
Magical seeds harvested by hand (20 of each): Tiger Lily, Fairy Lily, Purple Dragon Orchid, Rosemary Green, Pink Dill, Yellow Buttons and Hot Sprouts
Muggle seeds (20 packets each) - Green-Bean (varied sizes), Tomato (varied), Radish (varied), Potato (varied), Cucumber, Zucchini & Carrots (varied)
"Weird list," Ron said with a mouthful of tea biscuit.
"The books we can pre-order and pick up," Harry said. "I know a place that can get them, same with the Muggle seeds. I don't know where to get the magical ones, plus those have to be hand harvested."
"Most are here at the school or in the Forbidden Forest," Draco said. "I can get my godfather to take me for the ones that aren't here. But the branches or planks...I don't know where to begin."
"With me," Harry said. "We can check out the internet for those. I think that we can check it out for most of our items. I know of a place that they can get shipped to, depending on the cost or amount. However I think some of these items are going to be harder to find. Ron?"
"I know that there are some mines in the area and since I don't have a lot of money, I'd rather see if I can pay a fee to harvest the stones I need from the mines around here. That is if they're they have the stones I need," he said. "Some stuff we already have back at the Burrow, like the wool and twine, but we have several types and I guess I'm going to have to provide one of each. These lists look like their testing our ingenuity to produce some things."
"True," Draco agreed. "Books are simple, but I guess they could be difficult if they've been through several printings and I don't know which ones are needed. I do know that first printings may contain different information from third or fourth printings or 'revised' editions."
"That's right," Harry said.
"What about your list Harry?" Ron asked. "Are you going to tell us what you have to get?"
"Sure," Harry said. "Here it is."
The list was different in that he had to get a mix of things, but most looked like tools:
Wood Carvers set, Wizard & Muggle (6 sets)
Stone Carvers set, Wizard & Muggle (6 sets)
Engravers set for engraving on varied surfaces, Wizard & Muggle (6 sets)
Handyman's Kit, Wizard & Muggle (6 sets) and must contain the following: three hammers (different sizes), screw drivers (varied), planes (varied sized), hand-sanders (varied), etc... (get varied items Mr. Potter, at your discretion, but you get the idea) This note was written by the Goblin High Chief in a different colour.
Varied hinges, handles, latches, locks, etc... all must match in standard configuration of four, six and eight (different types, like wood or metal, etc...)
Skin from a magical large animal (100 yards total), teeth or fangs from same (9 if possible), hair or scales or feathers from same (24 if possible)
Skin from a magical mid-sized animal (30 yards total), teeth or fangs from same (9 if possible), hair or scales or feathers from same (12 if possible)
Skin from a magical small animal (10 yards total, if possible), teeth or fangs from same (9 if possible), hair or scales or feathers from same (6 if possible)
Magical drills and threading drills, sewing machines (industrial & commercial, Wizard & Muggle), clamps, hobby tables, anvils (varied sizes), scissors, glue (varied types Wizard & Muggle), large scale sanders and varied saws (6 of each, if possible)
"There's only three in there that you actually have to go out and harvest," Ron said. "Why is that?"
"They're Goblins," Harry said. "They're well aware of what I can and cannot afford. Also I'm going to have to probably buy specialized trunks or carrying cases for all of theses. I doubt that it'll even make a dent in my vaults and even if it does I still want to train with the Goblins."
"I agree," Ron said and the he looked over the lists again. "Don't you think that this is an awful lot of stuff for only one week of training?"
"I'm thinking that we're going to be given a very unique opportunity," Harry said. He pulled out his other list and the two boys scoffed at the colour of the pale pink notebook, but they didn't say anything about them.
As Wizards they were used to seeing a variety of colour and quite frankly some Wizards did chose to wear pink robes with blue shooting stars or something of that nature. They were the odd ones, but even Dumbledore had been seen at the school with such a combination although his was an old pink with bright yellow snitches whizzing around.
Harry had prepared one for each of them and handed them a similar notebook with the list of items that he had created with the help of the Potions Master at Hogwarts. "These are simple lists," he stated. "One for classes and supplies, another for our clothing and there are three lists of potential items that we may need depending on what Winky and Dobby have to say when they visit the place in order to prepare it for our arrival. We can spell our lists into the book and track the items that we collect."
"Where will we store them," Ron asked. "It's not like I can keep them in the dorm, the guys would have a field day and I certainly wouldn't want to lose these feathers."
"You can leave it here," Harry said. "I have a huge bedroom and no portraits in it either. I can store the stuff there and can set up a way to pack them once we seriously begin the harvest of certain things. However I need both of your advice on what is considered a mid-sized animal and a small animal?"
"You're going to use the Basilisk for most the large magical animal," Draco stated. "That's actually a smart move because I know that Goblins have a difficult time getting parts from such. I wonder if we should cure some of the Basilisk meat for them or would it be too rotten?"
"Winky," Harry asked.
"I can be curin' the meat," she said. "The older the beast the tougher the meat and they's be liking things that are 'off' for humans. Remember the meeting." She told him to get him to remember that some of the food was definitely not for the digestion by a human, but it was obvious that he would have to question her about the actual recipes that she used. He was planning on asking only when he wasn't about to eat or after he had just finished eating.
"I guess there's no harm in doing it," he said and the other two just shuddered at the thought of eating Basilisk meat, let alone something that had been sitting in a cold, dank cavern for four years. "I'm going to be looking into magical trunks our stuff and magical packing crates for the tools that I have to buy."
"Unicorns," Draco said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Unicorns or something of that size would be considered mid-sized," Draco explained. "However the forty yards of the same would be difficult unless it came from the same herd, what do you think Ron?"
"It's a herd," Ron said with nod. "Maybe you could find out about some place has been hit with a natural disaster and then you'd probably find a lot of the animals that you're looking for. Just be careful though because it might all depend on what the Goblins truly want."
"So Potter," Draco said drawing the conversation back to a point that Harry had deftly avoided speaking on. "What makes you believe that our 'unique opportunity' will not last only a week?"
Harry grimaced at that and had hoped to avoid speculating, but he had the book from the Room, so he showed them the passage. "When I had that meeting with the Goblins, I had told them that I studied some of their greeting and customs from a book," he said. "It's called, 'Wizard's History & Relations to Other Sentient Magical Species' and was written by Braxton Hufflepuff. Here's the part that makes me wonder about the amount of time that we'll actually be away. They're end chapter notes."
HPHPHP
End Chapter Notes:
"...My great-great Gran has told me tales about the Goblins and their First King, Gruggenhiem Alloskang. The First King decreed that in times of need that Goblin Tribes would offer to train Human Wizards in various magical ways that may eventually be lost to time.
All training was planned at the discretion of the Goblins and never to last longer than one Human week, however all training will be held Under Mountain, using Under Mountain Rules.
Training begins with a series of tests. Tests can be comprised of intelligence, strength, skill or other. Only one Goblin teacher can instruct one Human student, but is not limited to the student should there be multiple students invited at the same time for training.
I have never seen nor heard anyone in my generation being accepted for such training, however there have been tales of Muggles wondering into the Under Mountain and disappearing forever. Therefore I caution any Wizard that be offered Under Mountain training. Consider carefully before accepting as the Goblins have never once provided us Wizards with a full listing of their Under Mountain Rules..."
HPHPHP
"Well what do you suppose those rules will be," Draco asked. "You have an idea so spit it out Potter."
"I'm only speculating, but the tales about the Muggles come from the Muggles and have been set down in books known as fairy-tales, fables or other," Harry said. "The most common element in relation to any reference to Under Mountain is that once you go in there, if you don't follow the rules you'll never get to leave at the right time or at all. Should you leave before it's time to go, you'll find yourself out of time in some fashion, either decades or centuries later only to die by aging rapidly. There are other stories where they came back to find all their friends and family have aged and they have begin living their life once more, whereas others are driven to insanity by trying to get back to where they were in the Under Mountain because they had been happiest there."
"We've already agreed to the training," Ron said. "We cannot change our minds about it either no matter how this might seem. They'd consider it a breach of contract. Do you think that we'll get the proper rules before we go?"
"I have a feeling that we'll get them once we're there and not a moment sooner," Harry said. "Do you guys still want to train with them?"
"Of course Potter," Draco said vehemently. "Only a fool would turn it down, but we'll have to be careful too! We'll have to plan accordingly and maybe they'll hint at your elves what we need. If we're actually going to be longer we need to plan for it now instead of last minute or if it turns out to only be a week, we'll have to have everything we need for some other magical adventure with the famous Harry Potter."
Harry snorted and said, "That's if I invite you a second time around, prat."
Ron grinned and agreed. "We should plan for the additional time anyway and then wait and see what happens. The notes indicate that they'll be training us in some fashion, but I guess that will depend how we're tested by them."
"All right," Harry said. "Most of my stuff and some of yours I can order and have ready for pick up. Do you guys want me to do that?"
"Sure thing Potter," Draco said. "Get me the books, some of the planks and the muggle seeds. Can I look the seeds up on your toy? I'll harvest some of the planks or branches from their Magical Counterparts in the Forbidden Forest with Snape's help."
"Sure," Harry said. "I'll set up my net-book in the Room when the three of us are together. I need to charge it completely before we use it."
"Could you get me the planks of wood on my list," Ron asked. "I'll need some help finding the mines and then I hope that one of the Professors will show me how to magically mine the stones. All of this depends on where the mines are."
"I think that with Professor Snape's assistance we could plan some week-end trips to various locations as Potions Projects or Detentions," Harry said. "He'd be disappointed if we left him out."
"Disappointed," Ron said loudly. "What do you mean disappointed? We can't tell him this stuff."
"Why not," Harry said. "One he's a Professor and a Potions Master at that, which means that he'll likely know about where we could go for a few of these things and help teach us to harvest them safely. Two, he's a Death Eater, which means that he'll be the likeliest to spot trouble and know how to cope with it, if he's with us. Three, he's the Head of Slytherin House and would keep our secrets as exactly that. I sincerely doubt that he's one to gossip like some washer woman. Finally, he helped us with the Basilisk and I don't know about you, but I think he needs to get out of the school or else he'll crack. Didn't either of you notice how the students didn't lose points in Potions after the Holidays. How he didn't give out that many detentions for vindictive things, but only sent away students that were causing trouble in his classes. He needs to get out of the school without going to a DE meeting or thinking about school stuff twenty-four seven. Tell me I'm wrong and we can figure out how to leave the school without adult support."
"Blast you Potter," Draco said. "When did you develop logic like that?"
"My mum would tan my hide if I thought of doing this without an adult present," Ron agreed. "Snape is the logical choice." He looked at the pink cover of his notebook. "Could you link the three of these together, so that when one of the items for our list comes in we'll know about it?"
"Sure," Harry said, stacking the three books and casting the spell. "I suggest you cast a spell that will change the cover and contents to something that no one else would read, but also so that if it get destroyed or binned then you can get it back in one piece."
The boys did the spells and agreed to meet regularly in order to gather the items from their lists. Harry was the one that the boys volunteered for speaking with the Potions Master and Severus agreed to stage the outings as Detentions only. If he turned them into projects, he'd have to let more students accompany him and that he flatly refused to allow.
The preparation of the crates and trunks took time, but Harry managed it with a little help from his house-elves and from his staff at Gringotts. They were affected by his plans too and were able to find the proper containers by using the new contacts that Harry's Gringotts elf, Mandolin, had developed when she was looking around to properly store and shelve items in his vaults.
The boys were still nearly run ragged with their studies, extra-activities, supplemental training and trying to obtain the required items on the Goblins' lists. However by the time the day came to actually port-key out of the Shrieking Shack, they all felt that they had succeeded in getting everything that had been asked of them.
Severus had accompanied them to all their locations and was pleased when Harry provided him with a net-book, plus all extras needed to maintain it and use for the remainder of the year as a thank you payment. The man was disappointed that his Dark Mark had made him an unacceptable candidate for training with the Goblins. He hoped that a day would come, when the Dark Lord was completely defeated that he'd have the same opportunity to train with them as well.
Ron and Draco each had a net-book so that if the boys were separated, they could email each other and stay in contact. They did agree to limit the time on the machines, as they were not certain how well they'd work during their time Under Mountain.
HPHPHP
TBC...
(...i...) Pink Sweetflower & Blue Sweetflower - made up magical plant names.
(...ii...) Boxx Books (doesn't exist) - first three titles are actual books available from "Lee Valley Tools"
(...iii...) Boxx Books (doesn't exist) - last two titles are completely made up