Disclaimer, Notes, etc: See chapter one, from here on this will not be repeated.
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
CH 2
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
A few days later Harry returned to the Chamber of Secrets armed with a few spells that would, in theory, assemble tapestry hanging devices. He just hoped that he had researched the right ones. He didn't tell Hermione or Ron about it and they didn't seem to mind that he was leaving them on their own. Besides he still didn't have permission to go to Hogsmeade and that's where they were going today, so Harry was going to be on his own for most of that Saturday.
"So you've actually returned," Tiber observed. "I didn't think you would!"
"Couldn't come any sooner," Harry said, as he levitated the tapestry hanging boards out from under the bed. He looked at the parts and his mind fitted them together in a logical order.
(...Assemble...) he hissed in the language of snakes. (...Fasten...secure...) He concentrated on fitting the pieces together like a three dimensional puzzle. His ability to cast multiple spells and maintain focus had been increased by the language he used when he cast the spells.
(...I'm glad that there's another snake-speaker around...) Tiber said.
(...I didn't know that I was one until last year...) Harry told him. He then explained about the duel between his Professors and the one that he'd had with Draco Malfoy. They both chuckled at the thought of turning their opponent end-over-end to win a duel. He paused to look at the portrait and asked, "Sir, do you want me to call you Slytherin or Septim?"
"Call me Tiber," the portrait replied. "I haven't heard that name in years and the last child that came through didn't even ask. He assumed that I was Salazar and kept calling me great or some other such nonsense."
"I imagine that he did," Harry said with a slight frown. "Are you ready to be transferred to a different support? I'm not sure how long the sticking charm will hold you to the wall."
"Ready," Tiber said. "You'll take me with you when you leave the chamber, right?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked and then he did the transfer spell that removed the sticking charm from the back of the tapestry. There were old magically metallic rings or grommets at the top and bottom of the tapestry, which wove and looped onto bars. The bars then fastened themselves to the large frame, which allowed the portrait to become portable and stable. The bars were usually used to roll the portrait when travelling, but for now the young Gryffindor just levitated the whole thing and moved it to the main chamber with the large corpse of the basilisk.
"Wow," Tiber said, as he looked at the body of the dead creature. "I see that you really haven't harvested from it yet. Did you at least check to see, if it had swallowed anything interesting over the years?"
"What do you mean, sir," Harry asked, as he was slowly looking for the other alcoves around the chamber. He found them quick enough and then he opened them before paying attention to the portrait of Salazar Slytherin or Tiber Septim as he wanted to be known.
Tiber noticed that the boy was pre-occupied with assembling the other tapestry holders and with moving the portraits of his friends. He smiled when they started to wake from their hibernating poses.
Harry noticed that Salazar's portrait was right about the other three rooms.
The smithing room contained a local smelter, a forge with anvil, a cooling tank and several other tools related to forging metals, even a grinding stone and a workbench.
The alchemy room contained four tools that he'd seen in his Potions class, but not even his Professor had been seen using three out of the four of them. They were a calcinator, an alembic, a mortar and pestle set and finally something called a retort. He was curious about the other three tools, since he'd already been used to the mortar and pestle set for grinding particular ingredients. He wondered if the other stuff would be used or explained in his coming years at school.
The library room was exactly that, a room full of books and for some reason they looked completely undisturbed since the time they been placed in said room. The young Gryffindor wondered if it would be advisable to remove the books or to wait until he'd learnt the spells of preservation for those books, perhaps a spell to detect, if they've been preserved first.
The three other portraits had awoken and were conversing with each other, as Harry explored the rooms. Once his curiosity about the rooms had been satisfied he approached the portraits for an introduction.
"Hello," he said, looking from the two women and then additional man. "My name's Harry Potter, what're your names?"
"Hallo, young Harry," the red-bearded man said. "My name's Godric Gryffindor and the beauteous lady to my left is..."
"Helga Hufflepuff," the short, cheerful faced woman said with a curtsy.
"I'm Rowena Ravenclaw," the other woman said. She had an air that reminded Harry of his Transfiguration Professor, stern, yet kind in the eyes.
"Pleased to meet you," he told them. "Do you have aliases too, like Tiber?"
"So he's told you, did he?" Godric said. "We do, but they are of no use now. Just call me Godric."
"You may address me as Helga," the Hufflepuff House originator said.
The Ravenclaw woman, nodded her head in a regal way and said, "Rowena, please."
Harry nodded and then he conjured a table to empty his pockets of the tools he'd brought along in order to begin his adventure in carving the ruddy great beast. "Tiber or perhaps any of you, could you please tell me how to begin stripping this creature for component potions parts?"
"What! Don't tell me that apart from getting rid of Alchemy, they've gotten rid of the section on gathering your own ingredients," Tiber asked, horrified with the thought of wondering what the students were doing in most of their potions studies.
"Well, I am a third year student," Harry explained. "We haven't had any ingredients gathering sections to our studies yet, but I haven't heard of such a section in the upper year courses of study either."
"Shameful," Helga said. "To begin you need to know quite a few spells. Most of which are related to skinning animals for food and preparing their skins for the tanning and dying processes. Even harvesting spells for regular gardens would be useful."
"There might still be tanners around, but I have no knowledge of them," Harry told them. "As you can see, things are a little different." He spread his arms so that they could see his clothing and uniform.
"What year is it young man," Rowena asked. "If we know that, then we can begin a review of the changes in our society and at this school, although..." She paused and attempted to move away from the tapestry portrait, but couldn't. "It seems like the spells in the chamber are still limiting our access to the school."
"Why did you do that Tiber," Helga asked.
"I didn't put our portraits away, my dear Helga," he answered. "This chamber was perfect for spell casting practice of some Alteration Spells, including those from the schools for Illusion, Conjuration, Destruction, etc... you do know?"
"Yes, yes," Helga replied. "I understand, but it seems that we may be confusing young Harry, here."
"Not really," Harry said. "I've read most of the book about the schools and the spells under those schools. I'm just curious about the fact most of those spells don't seem to be listed in our current courses of study. I even looked in our school's library and haven't found any explanation or information about them."
"Do you think you can take us out of the Chamber," Godric asked.
"Sure," Harry said. "Shrinking and feather spells will help to get you out of here. Rowena, the books in the library down here, do you think that the spells that Helga was talking about could be found in there."
"Yes," the Ravenclaw originator said. "All those books are under severe preservation spells, so I suggest you find something to carry them in or else create something of your magic to link it to you."
"Create something," Harry asked, confused.
"Yes," Godric said. "You can create or craft and forge your own box or carryall and that's how it's permanently linked to you. You do that in your Smithing Classes or Metal Working Classes."
"Uh...Smithing Classes," Harry said, his tone indicated that it was more of a question.
"You no longer have Smithing Classes, either," Godric asked in a shocked tone.
"No sir," Harry said. "I don't even know about enchanting items to do what you're suggesting."
"By the Ironfire Pit of Blackwood," Godric swore.
"Things seem to have changed dramatically," Tiber observed. "Are there still other Magical Schools around the world?"
"I believe so," Harry said. He had skimmed the book 'Hogwarts: A History', since it had been a birthday gift last year from Hermione. There was a section in it that had mentioned other schools. "Why?"
"How much longer do you have left of your school year," Tiber asked.
"About two and a half weeks," Harry said.
The four founders looked at one another and nodded, as though they just came to an agreement.
Rowena then looked to the youth and said, "Go find a listing of the Magical Schools in your school's library and see if any are still teaching the old school methods, including Smithing and Enchanting."
"If you do find one or two, look into them further and see if they have summer classes or programs in those subjects," Helga recommended.
"Why," Harry asked.
"It'd be difficult for you to use the tools in these rooms without some form of formal instruction," Tiber said. "Besides, what kind of student doesn't want to learn something new?"
"Well that would depend on whether the student was permitted to learn," Harry said with a slight frown on his face. "If you'll excuse me, I'll just dash off to look up those schools before I continue to do anything further down here. Should I apply to their summer programs, if I find any?"
"Good idea," Godric said. "You do that and figure out if you can purchase a travel tent or a caravan cart. We'll teach you the spells to transfer the library and the objects from these rooms, plus us and that carcass into it. That way you'll have us with you at all times and once you take us out of here, we'd be able to visit other portraits, should there be any in your vicinity."
"Tell me how to do the Alias spell," Harry asked. "I'm going to need it before filling out any forms to apply to a new school." He explained his situation and said, "I need to protect the school, as well as myself."
The founders agreed and taught him the spell. After a few moments Harry cast it, as he had spent some of his free time thinking about an Alias name that could hide him. Some paperwork appeared in front of him. It was a new birth certificate, complete with fictional names for his mother and father. There were matching school records for his muggle education, but no medical information.
Harry pocketed the papers, nodded and said, "I'll come back this afternoon." He then pulled out his wand and hissed, (...Date and time, two week countdown...)
A round, faced clock appeared above his conjured table, which included the date and time counting down to the end of his third year of school. He bowed to the Founders and left them to socialize.
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
Harry took his time to find the information on the Magical Schools that still existed in the world. Because he was alone for the better part of the day, he was able to dash off a letter to his Godfather for his opinion in the matter and to say that he was going to try to gain entry to the school of his choice.
After researching the local schools, plus the international ones, only one school had summer programs, of a similar nature to what the tapestries had told him about. He took his time and wrote the entry level essay required in order to apply because his time was running out. He even filled in the entrance form providing that new school with his pertinent information. If he could get into the accelerated program, he could avoid going home to the Dursleys for the coming summer and quite possibly the following summer too.
Hopefully everything could be planned and enabled before he boarded the train to return to London.
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
Harry Potter received an Owl from another Wizarding School one week before the end of his third year at Hogwarts. The Owl carried with it a list of supplies that he'd need, including the basic camping equipment of a house-tent with specific rooms that he had to outfit correctly, for him to study and practice in.
He'd been surprised that such a thing could happen in so short a time period, but then again it was a good thing that he received it now, because he knew that he had enough time to send a letter by muggle post to his Aunt Petunia. It would give her enough time to send him the needed documentation to disappear for the summer holidays. He needed his original birth records and whatever other documentation, like medical records and such...that she may have had. He wanted them, so that they wouldn't exist anywhere else.
Needless to say she was happy that he wouldn't be back to darken their doors for the summer and had enquired about his chances of a repeat the following summer. He didn't make any promises, but he did mention that the school had programs that lasted three to four years.
Harry had applied to the United States Grand Canyon Institute of Magical Learning, when he found out that they were the only Magical School that had accelerated programs in the fields of Smithing and Enchanting. He didn't believe that his new Alias would work or in the fact that his entrance essay was actually good enough for him to be accepted at the school, but it looked like they were. Now he needed to set up a schooling account for the American magical dwarf bank called Stoneguard Bank.
It had all been explained to him by the Goblin at the Hogsmeade Gringotts Branch, that he'd need his magical and muggle paperwork intact before attending the new school for his summer. He'd been surprised when he noticed the little Gringotts Bank Branch during his last illicit excursion out of the school. It had the same features and warnings as the main branch. This office was mainly for the businesses in Hogsmeade, but some students used the resources here in order to pick up their weekly or monthly allowances.
Harry had finally received a permission slip to actually leave the school for the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year from Sirius.
He hadn't told his friends about it because he didn't want them to know what his plans were. After he'd gotten the paperwork from his Aunt in time, he set out to buy most of the supplies he could within the limits of Hogsmeade and with the aid of Gringotts in obtaining basic gems and ore.
Everything had been packed in the magical house-tent that he'd purchased with his trust fund money, since it too was deemed essential for his education. The cost was high, but he needed the best he could find and he needed it to contain multiple rooms for various purposes.
The tapestry portraits taught him the spells to modify his house-tent to allow him to transport the Basilisk carcass and keep it preserved in an independent room.
They had their own room in the house tent and the boy had bought several other magical landscape type tapestries for the portraits to travel through and to meet up in. There was one in the library, the smithing room, the potions and alchemical laboratory, plus a smaller one in the enchanting cubicle he set up in one of the larger storage closets that the tent had. They had insisted that he create ritual chamber and he agreed since it was on his list of rooms to have in his tent.
The Gringotts goblins at the main branch had double-checked his Alias spell and deemed it to be solid and valid. It was also extremely secure too, which had been much to their surprise. They made official copies of all of his paperwork in order to keep them in the Family Vaults. He may not have access to them yet, but they could store them for him.
The goblins chose to send one third of his school trust account monies to Stoneguard Bank in the name of Harry's alias, since that was the name that he would be using while he attended the American magical school. Copies of his alias paperwork were stored in that new vault too.
Harry received his International Magical Visa for travel and education in the name of his chosen alias. It came through with the help of the Gringotts goblin in Hogsmeade. The creature had been bored in his position for quite a while now, so helping the Boy-Who-Lived had diverted his attentions. He aided the boy in scheduling his travel times and had obtained the boy's necessary tickets for the bus and ship that he'd be using to get to the US Canyon School.
It still shocked Harry to have had the audacity to have selected such a name and yet it was the perfect name to hide under. He was absolutely certain that no one from the United Kingdom Wizarding World would think to look for Harry James Potter under the name of Tiber James Snape.
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
TBC…