The Potter Cartouche

DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. Looking forward to the next movie! Yeah for Fanfiction – a great place to stretch your imagination and enjoy someone else's creativity too!

Chapter 4 Quidditch Problems and Rune Advances

In the unfortunate Quidditch match with Hufflepuff in November, Harry's Nimbus 2000 was destroyed. He fell from the broom when the Dementors attacked him high in the sky and while the professors used spells to catch him and prevent his death from hitting the ground, the broom flew on and smashed into the Whomping Willow where it splintered into kindling. Once Madam Pomphrey announced he was fit to return to class, he mourned the broom for only a moment.

He decided, 'I'll buy another at Christmas with money from my vault. I have my key and the shop in Diagon Alley takes owl orders.' Then Harry investigated 'sales' and discovered that even the wizarding shops offered cheaper or 'sale' prices on items after Yule/Christmas.

++***++ CHANGE SCENE

Concentrating on runes, Harry wanted to find some way to make the cartouche appear on the sheet of paper without the necessity of drawing it each time. Using several student charms for erasing ink from parchment when a mistake is made in an essay, he figured out how to remove a complete cartouche from a sheet of paper and move it to another sheet of paper. With another night of disassembling the charm, he figured out how to 'copy' the completed cartouche, store the image inside another cartouche on a sheet of paper and then apply the rune to a dozen sheets of paper before the first paper burned away.

"Do I work on making something permanent on paper or learn how to carve cartouche on sandstone quickly?' he debated and decided to go with the sandstone plates.

Professor Babbage allowed her students to start carving on the sandstone plates in late November. The carving tools were magically sharpened each time they were rturned to their case and Harry made steady progress carving a cartouche into his first plate. Justin and he worked side by side in each class, their thick gloves on their hands slowing carving somewhat until Harry found a charm to protect their hands from the sharp ends of the carving tool.

Professor Babbage frowned but allowed the two boys to use the charm for a week without any injuries before allowing the other students to use it.

"But don't tell anyone else about this charm. It's usually my fifth year students who learn how to use the charm."

Every student in this section of the runes class found themselves spending time using the core strengthening charms that Professor Lupin taught them in DADA class once a day. The exercise required meditation and some discipline of the mind that most of the other students in the third year did not have.

In the evenings, in his private classroom, Harry studied a blank sandstone plate and discovered he could duplicate the drawing of the cartouche onto the blank plate. The outline on the plate made carving the cartouche faster.

'But I still have to carve on the sandstone,' he thought. 'Is there a charm or rune for carving?'

Abandoning sandstone plates for the time being, Harry concentrated on using a cartouche drawn on notebook paper to try and activate words written in English as a runic array. He kept the runes simple – light, fresh air, water – and he purposefully underpowered his magic as he experimented. The cartouche with the word 'light' did light up the room for a moment. And 'fresh air' did fill the classroom with summer air that smelled like a freshly mown lawn. The 'water' cartouche covered the desk with water that flowed off the side and onto the floor.

Dobby popped into the classroom to find his Harry Potter dancing around the room, singing and flinging confetti everywhere from the end of his wand. The elf placed a shield over the cup of chocolate that he set on the table before cleaning up the water that had spread across the floor.

Harry kept his discovery to himself and didn't even tell Dobby the details. In a moment of reflection, the young wizard realised that he had to have 'human' friends and while Ron was okay for playing chess occasionally, the youngest Weasley son continued to slack off schoolwork and brought the company of his sister too often. Granger remained 'persona non grata' in Harry's book. So he began spending more time with Neville and with Justin, both of whom were alone in the evenings. He invited them to his private classroom (once his experiments were stored away) and they worked on assignments and projects together.

Neville noticed the two other students were close to the end of the third year textbook in runes and asked, "Are you working ahead?"

"No, we're working with the other students," Harry replied. "Professor Babbage is great and we're going to start on the fourth year textbook soon."

"Potter's being shy, Neville," Justin added. "He asks questions that makes everyone work harder and they ask more questions. Sometimes the professor looks delighted and other times, I think she's likely to strangle him."

"Strangle?" asked Neville.

"A muggle expression that means to choke someone by pressing your hands around their neck so they can't breathe. Wizards use a charm – or a jinx," Harry explained.

"Muggles are not any more violent than wizards," Neville said. "They just go about mayhem differently."

++*** SCENE CHANGE ***++

In the class for runes, Professor Babbage lectured the class on the different types of stone used for carving runes. She admitted that people did carve runes into wood but added that the runes carved in stone generally lasted a century or two longer than wood carvings.

"There are runes carved into the pyramids in Egypt that still function after five thousand years," she reminded them. "Now, here in Britain we use sandstone plates that are carved from our native quarries by wizards in different locations around the kingdom. We also have granite, limestone, and slate. Many stones are sourced from the goblins who mine the rock from deep under the earth."

A Ravenclaw mentioned that the Malfoy family owned the quarry that provided all sandstone plates for carving runes in Britain. He whispered, "How much of their wealth comes from that?"

Glancing around the Claw replied, "About 90% I believe. My Da says Malfoy is over-extended on loans with Gringotts too. They spend more than the quarry earns in a year."

Clearing her throat to bring all eyes back to her, Babbage continued discussing stone, "Sandstone is relatively cheap – well it is cheaper than granite and limestone for the plates we use."

Raising his hand, Justin asked, "How do wizards carve runes in granite? I don't think my carving tool could scratch granite."

"There are charms, runes and spells that wizards and goblins use to put the runes into the hardest stones. In ancient Egypt, every rune was carved by hand in the limestone used in the pyramids," Babbage replied. Staring at Justin and Harry, she added, "They are very powerful, complex spells and charms that you will begin to learn about in your seventh year. Only when you study for mastery with the Guild of Runemasters will you learn their secrets."

&%^ CHANGE ^%&

The library did not have the seventh year textbook for the runes class available, so Harry went to the Room of Requirement, and asked for a room with Rune Textbooks. Stepping inside, he found three bookcases of books – some of them very old and several from recent years. The most recent copies he had Dobby deliver immediately to the library. He took his time and slowly examined the old books, picking out two that gave details of the spells for carving runes into granite and limestone.

"Hogwarts, can I take these books?" he asked. "I want to learn this knowledge."

Feeling a light breeze blow across his face, Harry cast spells to preserve the two books before he slipped them into his book bag.

Watching Harry blossom with classes in magic wihtout the usual interference by the headmaster, and their youngest brother, Fred and George Weasley had an in-depth discussion about the life debt their sister owed Potter for saving her life last year.

"He saved everyone's life Gred," one twin said.

"Right you are less-handsome brother," the second twin responded. "He saved Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets and every one by killing Slytherin's monster."

"And he's gotten no thanks or recognition from the headmaster…"

"…or the professors and students," the twins said switching back and forth.

"Certainly not from the minister or the Daily Prophet," one twin said.

"What should we do?" asked the other half of the set of young wizards.

"I notice he moves around a lot at night."

"Yes, he's out all hours of the night and never gets caught getting back into the dorm after curfew."

"How about we give him the map?"

"We know the secret passages and alcoves around the castle, so let's give him the map."

There was a meeting in Harry's workroom where the Forge and Gred knocked and asked to speak with him. They revealed one of their greatest secrets, the Maurader's Map that displays the location of every person in the castle at any time. After thanking Fred and George, Harry spent an hour examining the map until he found the runes that were used to make the map. The wizrds who crafted this marvel used a combination of Norse and Egyptian runes as well as ones he didn't recognize that must be Sumerian or Babylonian. He was very interested when he found the cartouches that were drawn inside of other cartouches to sequence their launch. And most exciting, Harry finds names used in the runes.

'I won't ask Babbage about this…not this year.'

On Christmas morning, Harry awoke to find several Christmas gifts on the foot of his bed. (Dobby confessed that the eleves received the Christmas gifts all week and with the help of Hogwarts, made certain the gifts were delivered to the bed of the proper student in the early hours of Christmas Morning.

There were several gifts with books, quidditch magazines, parchment and other school supplies from classmates and one small box of Honeydukes chocolates from Miss Weasley. On the outside of the box, Dobby left a note the candies were dipped in an attraction potion. Harry almost banished the chocolates but then decided to have Dobby deliver them to Professor Dumbledore. In a long package, Harry unwrapped the newest Firebolt broom and studied the card that read had one word, 'Padfoot'.

There was some excitement among the few Gryffindors who had remained at school over the break when they saw the new broom. Ron and other Quidditch enthusiasts joined Harry in flying the afternoon of Christmas and on Boxing day. It was on 27 December that trouble erupted over the broom.

Harry returned to the dorm after lunch to discover Professor McGonagall and Hermione Granger in his dorm room, rifling through his trunk.

"Professor! What are you doing?" Harry demanded as he pushed the witch away from his trunk. He noticed the lock was broken and now all his belongings would be handled and searched through Ron on his expeditions for galleons, chocolate and underwear.

"Miss Granger told me that you received a new broom for Christmas. I must check it for jinxes and traps. Someone could have sent you the broom to try and kill you again."

"The broom is fine," Harry said as he anxiously checked for his important belongings. "Where is my cloak? Who took my cloak!"

McGonagall frowned and glanced at Hermione who suddenly looked nervous.

"That is a family heirloom and you'll go to Azkaban if you don't hand it back now!" Harry swore. From a pocket, Hermione drew the shimmering cloak and threw it at Harry who caught it in a hand that seemed to vanish.

"Mr Potter, regardless of the situation, I must confiscate your broom and check it…"

Then Harry Potter lied, very convincingly. While staring McGonagall in the eye, he said, "Professor, I confess that I bought the broom and gifted it to myself. The goblins arranged the purchase."

"You can't do that without a key to the vault," Hermione piped up. McGonagall nodded in agreement though she saw the look in Potter's eyes that resembled his mother when she was angry.

From a pocket in his robes, Harry produced his Gringotts key and said, "My key was returned this summer."

Glancing at Professor McGonagall, he reminded her, "It's been used to purchase a broom for me before; isn't that correct professor?"

Standing back and blushing to discover out the boy knew she'd used his key to gift him with his first broom, McGonagall turned toward the door and beckoned the girl to follow her.

"Granger," Harry called out. McGonagall and Hermione paused as the young wizard continued, "This ends friendship of any kind between us. Stay away from me and don't speak to me again. If you pester me, I'll invoke the life debt you owe me."

Gasping in surprise, both witches stumbled out of the room before the door slammed shut.

In the common room, Hermione complained about Harry and his broom not being safe. Ron spoke up, "The broom is fine, Hermione. The twins and me been flying with Harry on it the last two days."

"What? How could you do that? No one checked the broom for jinxes," the girl argued.

From near the fireplace, George Weasley said, "The manufacturers have runes embedded in the brooms that repel all jinxes and charms added after the broom is finished. Anyone who unravelled those runes would destroy the broom and it would fall to pieces. Brooms are safe from sabotage."

In his dormitory room, Harry struggled not to cry with a sense of betrayal and loss – McGonagall had been hard all year but not to the point of confiscating his belongings. And Herm – no, Granger – had remained somewhat a friend if not close like the first two years. Now, they'd destroyed his trunk and lost all his trust. There'd be no way to prevent more of his belongings from migrating into Ron's used trunk.

Dobby popped into the room and after helping fold and organize Harry's belongings, the elf asked a few questions and came to understand the loss his 'friend' felt. With the help of the grateful elves from the castle (Harry Potter had given them useful work that helped every student in the school), the elves searched the Come and Go Room for a trunk. They found a small trunk left behind when the Duke of Marlborough's son died of Dragon Pox at the school in the early 1700s. The trunk had runes on the faceplate to shrink or enlarge it with the tap of the wizard's wand or finger. It had four separate compartments inside that were accessed by other runes on the top of the trunk.

After thanking Dobby, Harry and the elf arranged his belongings in the new trunk that would shrink and fit underneath Harry's pillow each morning. He could carry it in a pocket from now on and not have to lug a heavy trunk around the Hogwarts Express.

"Dobby be saying that Mr Harry Potters should wear magical cloak all the time," the elf commented when Harry removed the cloak from his pocket.

"I can't walk around school invisible all the time, Dobby," the wizard replied.

"Dobby knows but you tell cloak to make you visible, you be visible until you need to be invisible," the elf said. He blushed a bit when he whispered, "Mr Harry Potters must be naked nude when puts on cloak to invoke magic. But once him dressed, then cloak makes wizard and robes invincible invisible anytime he needs."

A quick trip to the loo with the door locked, Harry stripped, wrapped himself in the cloak of invisibility, and vanished. Staring at the mirror in the room, Harry firmly stated, "I wish to be visible."

In less time than it took to blink, Harry stared at himself in the mirror. He grinned and thought, 'Invisible, please!' And his form vanished again. Then he quickly dressed and practised once again.

"Dobby!" Harry called out while visible. The little elf popped into the bathroom with his hands covering his eyes.

"Be Mr Harry Potters nudey naked?" asked Dobby.

"No, Dobby, I've got my robes on. But I wanted to thank you. This does work!"

Uncovering his eyes, Dobby watched Harry appear and then disappear a couple of times.

"Anytime I want to hide from a professor, prefects or people who used to be my friends, I can really disappear now."

"Only problem be if you want to hide someone else," Dobby said. "Wonder how that work?"

Harry smiled and said, "Give me your hand, Dobby."

The elf jumped up on the counter and Harry slipped his arm around Dobby and thought of being invisible. They both vanished from the mirror and then reappeared. Pleased with their discoveries, the pair left the bathroom.

After the new year, Hermione was discouraged when Professor McGonagall that Headmaster Dumbledore was entirely too busy dealing with the unfair lawsuits to interfere in her problem with Harry Potter. And the Deputy Headmistress didn't want to venture into another confrontation with the boy-who-lived. The goblins already questioned her use of the Potter's key to purchase that first broom two years earlier – the only escape for her was that the 'gift' had been delivered to the boy without delay for his exclusive use.

++***++ End of Chapter ++***++