V. The Court Reconvenes
Harry landed heavily in what appeared to be a marsh of some sort. Trying to steady himself and keep his legs from giving way from under him, Harry stumbled aimlessly, trying to gain his bearings. He noticed a source of light that was ahead of him. Being wet and dizzy from Apparating twice in the same day, he slowly walked towards it, unaware of Galdir's appearance and swift disappearance behind him. Muttering a few words in Ancient Elvish, Galdir eliminated the dizziness that Harry felt, removing all after effects of Apparating. He then proceeded to hide behind a nearby tree, where we could continue to monitor and guide Harry if necessary.
It took Harry a while to realize that he was actually approaching the Burrow. Elated at his discovery, he ran, barely paying attention to the suddenly gone dizziness. He knocked on the door, and suddenly he found himself being crushed by the vice grip of a red-headed woman, who was screaming in happiness.
"HARRY!" yelled Mrs Weasley. She hugged him fiercely, nearly snapping the poor boy in half. "How are you dear? Why didn't you tell us you were coming? Are you alright? Why are you still so skinny? Oh, look at how much you've grown...!" Harry just stared at the Weasley matriarch as he tried to track all the questions that were being thrown at him. He could tell she was very glad to see him, as her thought process was in complete shambles. Trying to remember as many questions as he could, he proceeded to answer: "I'm good Mrs Weasley. I didn't know I was coming over, Dumbledore just —" "Oh that man! Come in Harry, come in! Are you hungry? Would you like something?" continued Mrs Weasley. Harry allowed himself to be carried inside, but kindly refused the offer of food. His stomach had recovered quickly from Apparating, but he did not want to tempt Fate by giving it potentially deadly ammunition that could be expelled without any warning. Next in line to greet him was Mr Weasley. Shaking his hand and giving him a quick hug, he left to continue 'clearing' his muggle things. Of course this was not true, but for the sake of maintaining the peace with Molly Weasley, some white lies were acceptable. Harry was then encountered with a wall of two identical red-heads standing in front of him.
"Lookie here Forge!" said one.
"I see, Gred. We have found ourselves..."
"An ickle Harrykins!" exclaimed the twins together.
Harry burst out laughing at the nickname. "Well, I must say that is a lot better than all that rubbish that the Prophet's been calling me" he said between bouts of laughter.
"Well, of course it is!" replied George indignantly
"Remember, you are talking to us!" continued Fred
"Of course we can do better than those old farts!"
Harry continued laughing at their comebacks.
"How is the store coming?" asked Harry.
"Oh we already have a fine establishment", said Fred
"Yeah, and we already have enough products to give Zonko's a run for their galleons!" finished George.
The sudden appearance of the youngest Weasley surprised them. Harry gulped nervously as he faced her, only to find her acting normal.
"Hi Harry!" she gave him a quick hug and left to her room, humming softly.
Harry was shocked to say the least. Previous interactions with Ginny had involved short squeaks and swift vanishing acts. The way she now acted towards him was more reminiscent of her attitude towards her siblings than it was of him.
"She's been acting all weird mate. Don't know what has gotten into her", said Fred.
"We believe there may be a boy involved, but we're not sure", added George. Harry shrugged at their comment, trying to control the turmoil of emotions that had just woken up inside of him. He was confused to say the least. He had been under the general assumption that Ginny had some form of crush on him, but her attitude definitely threw that idea out the window. If what Fred and George thought was true, then Ginny had not only gotten over her crush, but had also found a boyfriend. Harry felt oddly fine with all of this. He knew that he should be feeling some form of jealousy or hurt at the situation, but he felt neither of these things.
Harry congratulated the twins and then proceeded down to the final Weasley, who stood smiling next to the twins. Before he could say hello to Ron, he was almost bowled over by a mass of bushy brown hair. Taking a second to realize what was going on; Harry noticed that Hermione clung to his neck fiercely.
"H-Hello Hermione", he said. His face was quickly turning an interesting shade of pink. Outside, Galdir had to cast several Silencing Charms so he could laugh as loudly as he wanted at Harry, Hermione, and the twins.
"H-Hello Harry", said Hermione, mimicking the shade that Harry was getting. She quickly released his neck, and stood somewhat awkwardly next to Ron, who just stared at his two friends curiously.
"Hello mate! Neck still okay?" he asked. Harry smiled weakly at the comment, and Hermione blushed profusely.
"I think so Ron. How are you?" replied Harry.
"Alright. Hermione's been nagging me about my homework though. Hopefully with you around, I can get a break from it all!" he said with a smile. Whatever tension there was between Harry and Hermione was immediately cracked by Ron's comment, and swiftly replaced by a more uncomfortable kind directed at Ron.
"I have not been nagging you, Ron. Besides, if you listened to me, you could have finished already!" said Hermione indignantly.
"In any case, Ron, I am afraid I already finished all my homework, so I won't be able to help you there." Hermione quirked an eyebrow at his comment.
"With the exception of Potions that is. I am not looking forward to that assignment", he finished quickly. Hermione relaxed, and the three friends retreated to their respective rooms.
Hedwig had not been pleased her arrival to the Burrow, and she had made her displeasure abundantly clear to Harry the next time that they were alone. Though Harry was elated at the fact that he now had someone that could resemble a mother figure, he was reticent to share this with his friends. Some selfish part of him wanted to keep this particular piece of information to himself, hence why he had not asked Dumbledore about it. To Harry, it really did not matter how Hedwig had come to be able to do this, all that it mattered was that she did.
Currently, Harry was talking to Hedwig by a small creek that ran near to the Burrow, safely hidden to prying eyes. Of course, it also helped that Galdir had three different sets of privacy wards, but they were not aware of this fact.
"So have you settled on which classes are you going to take Harry?" asked Hedwig.
"I think so. Like we discussed earlier, I really need to be better prepared, and Divination and Care of Magical Creatures are really not going to do that for me", he replied.
"So are you going to take the same courses as Hermione?"
"Yes. I need to talk to McGonagall about it thought. I really don't want to be stuck one year beneath her, and I feel reasonably confident that if she tutored me, I should be able to pass the tests that they are likely to give me in order to enter the sixth year courses."
"I believe you're right Harry. Ask Hermione when you get your OWL results. I'm sure that she will not refuse to it, but it's always better to ask. What about Ron?"
"What about him?" asked Harry.
"Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he won't react well to the news of you dropping the classes", replied Hedwig.
"I've given this some thought. The way that I see it, if he really wants to, he could also take the exams with me and we could all be together."
"And what if he refuses or throws a tantrum?"
"Then that's his problem. Don't get me wrong, I want Ron to be with us, but if he can't get over his aversion to studying and being prepared then too bad. It's not like I'm going to stop being his friend."
"You know he won't see it that way."
"Yes, but what can I do? I won't lose you or Hermione the way I lost Sirius. I can't." Harry bowed his head at this. Hedwig moved forward and embraced Harry.
"I know Harry. But you won't lose either of us", she said softly.
"Promise?" For the first time, Harry felt like a small child, asking his mother to promise something that he was well aware could never be promised, but asked for his own assurance.
"I promise Harry", she replied. Silently, Galdir joined in to that promise.
"Then that's what I have to do", he said with finality.
A week had passed since Harry's arrival at the Burrow, and he was more confused than ever. Sitting on his bed in the room that he shared with Ron, Harry allowed his thoughts to run rampant, trying to figure out just what was going on. I like Ginny do I not? I know I feel something when I am with her, but then there is Hermione... she has been really awkward this past week. Not that I haven't been either. Is it possible that I fancy her as well? But Ron is interested in her! He has been for a while now! But then why doesn't he do anything? He just teases and argues with her. Ginny... what do I feel for her? Is it love or is it more like a sister that I never had? What do I feel for Hermione? Why can't this just be easy? Honestly, trying to figure out school is a lot easier than— "HARRY!" His thoughts were interrupted by Hermione's screech. Putting his thoughts aside and deciding to worry about it later, he got up and went down to the kitchen, only to find Hermione shaking wildly, staring at three letters that lay in front of an unknown owl.
Harry stared at the scene in front of him. Hermione was a wreck. Her bushy hair was even bushier than normal, and she was trembling in fear. Ron was standing next to her, his face drained of all colour as they stared at the offending letters in front of them. Enclosed in their envelopes, were their OWL results. At first, Harry tried very hard not to laugh at the state that their friends were in. All amusing thoughts were quickly chased away by the sight of his OWLs.
Now, Harry did not tremble like Hermione or become deathly white like Ron. Instead, he contemplated how much nicer it would be to face the Hungarian Horntail again. Resigning to his fate, Harry took his envelope, followed by Hermione who was muttering "I failed everything" like a crazy person. Ron just stood there, seemingly petrified.
Of course, there was one person who had absolutely no reserves in collapsing in gales of laughter at the current situation. Not that anyone could hear him, but Galdir laughed all the same.
Harry ripped his envelope open and read its contents:
Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations
Results for Harry James Potter
Note that the following are passing grades: O=outstanding, E=exceeds expectations, A=acceptable.
The following are failing grades: P=poor, D= dreadful, T=troll.
Results for Harry James Potter
Astronomy: A
Care of Magical Creatures: E
Charms: E
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: E
Herbology: E
History of Magic: D
Potions: E
Transfiguration: E
Total number of OWLs: 8
To say that Harry was floored by the results would be an understatement. He stood there in shock, not really believing his eyes. 8 OWLs! I got 8 OWLs! Outside, Galdir was thoroughly impressed by his results, and immediately started to fill in the blanks with the things that he would teach him, provided things worked out the way that he intended them to.
"Oh, I was almost certain that I did not pass History of—"
"Are you mental?! You have 10 OWLs for crying out loud! Your lowest score was an E! Why are you worrying about it?" asked Ron incredulously. Harry just shook his head and interceded before another argument broke out.
"She was nervous, alright Ron? There is no need to chew her head off. How did you do?" he asked.
"I got 7 OWL—"
"Ronald Weasley! You got 7 OWLs?! That is more than the twins got! I'm so proud of you!" Mrs Weasley hugged him, having appeared out of nowhere. Ron's ears turned a delicate shade of pink.
"What classes are you going to be taking this year Harry?" asked Hermione.
"I think I'm going to give Arithmancy and Runes a shot. They definitely seem more interesting than Trelawney's predictions of my death and Care of Magical Creatures. I like Hagrid, but as a professor he is... lacking", said Harry. Ron's mouth dropped at his comment, and Hermione gasped in elation. Of course, she would not admit to herself that she had wanted her friends, especially Harry, to join her classes, but that did not meant that she could not be happy about it.
"Harry that is wonderful! Are you serious about taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes?" she asked excitedly. Harry blushed mildly at her happiness. Trying to hide his own at Hermione's reaction, he nodded.
"But Harry! You can't leave me alone here! And why would you take the harder courses? Are you mental or something?" asked Ron. Harry turned around and faced him.
"Look Ron. There is a war going on, and even if that is not relevant, I care about my future. Divination is not going to get me anywhere, and neither is Care of Magical Creatures. I am no Seer and I am not like Charlie. I want to be an Auror, or something similar to that. Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are more likely to help me with that than the other courses. Besides, aren't you curious to see what Hermione is always so excited about?" asked Harry.
Hermione was not elated. She had gone to the moon and back in complete bliss. Not only did Harry want to join her classes, but he had also noticed her excitement about them. She caught herself just in time and quickly slapped herself mentally. I want RON. I fancy Ron, not Harry. Yet she knew, deep inside, that she was just deluding herself. Although Harry had never directly expressed interest in her likes and dislikes, she knew that he would never belittle or judge her in any form of way. She reasoned that perhaps it was his shyness, probably due to his upbringing, that had kept him from saying anything before. If we also factor his loyalty to Ron's friendship, then it made perfect sense why he had neglected to mention his interest in this before. This was already miles ahead of Ron's attitude towards her. Yes, he had feigned interest before, but it became obvious very quickly that they had nothing in common. The fact remained that their friendship was held mostly thanks to Harry, and that was not the kind of person that she wanted to get involved in a romantic relationship with. She was snapped from her reverie when she noticed that Ron was turning a very dangerous shade of red; hurt showing clearly in his features.
"You want to be with her? Then FINE!" He yelled as he stormed out the room. Harry and Hermione stood there in shock at Ron's reaction. She started to go after him, but Harry held her back.
"Let him be for now. We will talk to him later."
Outside, Galdir listened to Ron's thoughts. Yes, he was hurt, but he was mad at the truth that lay behind Harry's words. He knew Harry was right. He just didn't like it. Assuring himself that he would turn around and join his friends eventually, Galdir rose from his spot. Checking the wards he had placed, the quickly vanished, returning to his home.
The meeting of the Council took place in Aerbarad, as the previous one. The moon had begun to wane, but the light that was reflected by the centre was still strong. Galdir showed up early, as was his custom. He was followed by Lord Anuon and Canadion. Lady Aglareth also showed up early, hoping to discuss some last minute details with them.
"So do we agree on what we will do?" asked Aglareth.
"Yes. I will restate my position, and Canadion will deny it with the reasons that he gave before. That should appease Duvainor for the time being", said Galdir.
"Then you will change your proposal to just include yourself", said Anuon.
"I will agree and call a vote. Since we have majority, the opinions of Duvainor and Faeleth won't matter", finished Canadion. "I have arranged for you to have access to the Archives, Galdir. You should head there immediately after the meeting is over." Galdir bowed his head.
"Have you been successful in your endeavours, Galdir?" asked Aglareth.
"Somewhat. Things are going roughly as I had intended them. I did not have much of a plan to begin with, but I can say that some things are way better than I had anticipated", replied Galdir.
"Good. We are betting heavily on this move Galdir. Any news from the outside world?" asked Canadion.
"My contacts have reported that there have been no Death Eater attacks for the past week. They have been unusually silent", said Aglareth.
"That is strange. Make sure to keep an eye for them. Voldemort is not one to lay low for long", said Galdir. Canadion nodded in agreement.
"Members of my house have detected a surge in power. We do not know who it belongs to, but it felt evil", said Anuon.
"Yes. I felt it as well" said Galdir.
"Do we have any clues as to who it may be?" asked Aglareth.
"I have a couple of theories, but at this time they are premature", responded Galdir.
"What should we do then?" asked Canadion.
"For now, we need to lay low. Aglareth, try to keep your contacts in the Ministry intact. We need to be able to know if something happens. The same goes for you, Canadion. Anuon, I need you to identify those who are loyal to your House. Do not approach them, simply recognize who they are. We need to make sure we can identify who our allies are", said Galdir.
"Very well. I shall get to it after the meeting", said Anuon.
Lord Duvainor and Lady Faeleth materialized after Anuon finished speaking. Duvainor eyed Canadion and Galdir darkly. Canadion returned the gaze, but Galdir merely ignored it. Faeleth seem to be in a dreamy state, and she did not pay them any attention.
"Since we are all here, shall we begin the meeting?" asked Canadion, gesturing the empty seats. One by one, the six Elven Lords sat down in their chairs. As soon as the last one was seated, Canadion rose and stood in the centre.
"As you are all aware, on our last meeting Lord Galdir proposed something. Before any decision could take place, he was interrupted", Canadion eyed Duvainor as he spoke. "Since it has been a week, I shall ask Lord Galdir to restate his proposal. We shall then vote on this matter accordingly. Lord Galdir, if you please", he gestured at Galdir, who rose and took Canadion's place. Canadion sat down on his throne, not breaking eye contact with Duvainor the entire time.
"Lords and Ladies of the Council. After the evidence that I provided last time, we concluded that one Harry James Potter, Heir to the House of Potter, is the one destined to defeat the one called Voldemort. As I stated before, Voldemort is a threat to the Wizarding world, and by extension, our own. He must be stopped before he can grow too powerful and destroys all that we hold dear. I urge the Council to allow the Elves to aid young Harry Potter and destroy this evil once and for all." Galdir was calm as he spoke, delivering his speech with as much confidence as he could muster.
"As the Council is undoubtedly aware, there is a certain Law that forbids us from intervening in the affairs of man", responded Duvainor, smiling wickedly. "As it stands, Lord Galdir, there is no evidence to substantiate your claims that Voldemort is, in fact, a threat. You have no case here, merely your tainted opinions", spat Duvainor.
"Watch your tongue, Duvainor, or I will have to make good on my threat and banish you from the Council", Canadion eyed Duvainor darkly as he spoke. Duvainor merely shrugged him off and recovered his composure.
"I am afraid I must agree with Lord Duvainor. There is no evidence to support the notion that Voldemort is a threat to our world, or the world as a whole for that matter", said Anuon. Duvainor smiled with satisfaction as the other Lords nodded in approval.
"I agree with Lord Anuon. As far as we know, Voldemort's threat does not extend beyond England. Even then, he is only targeting those humans he feels are inferior. That is hardly a threat to the entire world", added Aglareth.
"Very well then, we must vote. Those in favour of Lord Galdir's petition, raise their hand", said Canadion. No one moved. "Those against?" every elf present raised their hands. "The motion is passed unanimously. Is there anything else that you wish to bring forth to this Council, Lord Galdir?" asked Canadion.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I will abide by the decision of the Council on the proposal that I stated. However, after due deliberation, I have come up with an alternative. Since —"
"This is preposterous! He cannot amend his previous proposal after he has been overruled! How much longer must we listen to this lying, unclean—" Duvainor never got to finish his sentence. Canadion rose from his seat and froze him, preventing any further words from being uttered.
"This is your final warning, Duvainor. Do not test my resolve, for I will banish you from the Council. Continue, Lord Galdir", said Canadion. His voice was dangerously low, and his eyes sparkled with fury. Duvainor blanched a bit at the sight, and wisely held his tongue.
"Like I was saying. I have come up with an alternative proposal. The Council cannot deny that Voldemort is a threat to the Wizarding World. However, as it has been pointed out, I lack the evidence to say that he is a threat to our world. Moreover, if Harry Potter is the Chosen One, then it is in our best interest to ensure that he wins, since the destruction of Voldemort will prevent him from becoming a threat. I volunteer myself for the task of gathering evidence for this Council, as well as investigating the current status of Harry Potter", said Galdir.
Duvainor's jaw dropped and the temperature of the area dropped by several degrees.
"YOU. CANNOT. DO. THIS!" he roared in rage. "The Law very clearly states that—"
"If I may, Lord Duvainor. As it so happens, Lord Galdir is well within the Law in this case. The Law merely states that the Elves may not interfere with human affairs. It does not say that we may not send a single Elf to find out if a Dark Lord is a threat. Moreover, as long as Lord Galdir does not reveal the secret to our world, he can assist Harry Potter in whichever way he sees fit", interjected Anuon. Duvainor stared at him in rage. "Why you—"
"I agree with Lord Anuon's interpretation. When the Elves decided to distance themselves from the world of man, it was never intended that we live completely separate from them. It is completely acceptable to send a single elf into their world", said Aglareth.
Duvainor's eyes flickered dangerously. He restrained himself from further insults after a quick glance to Canadion. The Lord of Mainor eyed him with anger, almost daring him to say something that would warrant an immediate dismissal.
"Very well, it seems that this must also be put to a vote. Those in favour of Lord Galdir's mission please raise their hands", he said as he raised his own hand. Lord Anuon and Lady Aglareth raised theirs as well. "Those against?" he said. Only Duvainor and Faeleth raised their hands.
"By majority decision and the power conferred by the High King Mainor, I give you the blessing of the Council to perform that which you have requested, Lord Galdir, Heir of Aglaron."
Galdir smiled as he bowed. He then took his seat again, trying not to smirk at the face of utter rage that was Duvainor's.
"I believe that there are no more matters to discuss, am I correct?" asked Canadion. After a brief pause, he continued. "Then we are adjourned. May the stars watch over all of you", he bowed and then left, followed by Galdir, Anuon, and Aglareth. Duvainor roared in rage and disappeared, followed by Faeleth.
Galdir arrived at the Elven Archives. Hidden deep within the forest were the House of Mainor was located, the Archives contained the most complete and extensive record of all magical things. The amount of books and scrolls that it contained easily dwarfed the combination of the library at Hogwarts and the one at the Department of Mysteries. The doors were ornate with intricate Elvish runes, carved out of solid oak. Waving his hand, the doors opened, and Galdir walked inside, arriving at the principal rotunda.
The way that the library was organized was similar to a tree, where the nodes were represented by rotundas and the branches were made out of shelves, containing hundreds of books. The classification system was somewhat complex, since the library had to house the entirety of all known magic. Each rotunda had six branches that lead to other nodes, and so forth. In order to accommodate the large amount of books, the Archives had six levels, each one going deeper into the Earth. The levels were organized by time in which the books were created. The lowermost level corresponded to the First Age, which spanned from the appearance of the first Elves nearly 200,000 years ago to the creation of the six kingdoms, approximately 130,000 years ago.
The second level dealt with the Second Age, and so forth. So in essence, the deeper one went the more ancient the texts became. This carried a small problem: the Elvish Language had been developed over thousands of years. As a result, the older the text, the more difficult it was to understand it. Fortunately, the entirety of the lowest level had been translated to Ancient Elvish.
In order to improve the navigation of the Archives, each level was provided with a main rotunda, which mirrored the one of the topmost level.
Since stairways occupied too much space, the Elves decided on a much more elegant solution. Each rotunda contained a central disk, which had markings in Ancient Elvish. In order to access the lower levels, one need only stand at one and say the level that is desired. The disk would then descend to the required level. The trick with this method was enabling the disk to pass through the others, which was solved simply with a Banishing Charm. As the disk neared the next one, the latter would vanish, allowing the person to pass.
Galdir eyed the six branches that extended from the main rotunda: transfiguration magic, defensive and offensive magic, magical theory, and creatures. The last branch was a combination of magical objects and places. Each one was further subdivided into branches, and they often intersected. This made navigating the Archives a dangerous venture, since it was entirely possible to get lost amidst the ancient tomes. The danger was only increased by the fact that the magic housed in there was so dense that it made any form of transportation very difficult, making a quick exit almost impossible.
Sighing, Galdir decided to walk down the transfiguration branch, looking for a way to make himself look younger. Wait a minute, he thought. Hogwarts was constructed by the Founders with the help of the Elves was it not? Then perhaps there is some record here of the wards that surround it. That would be a good place to start. Galdir returned to the principal rotunda and walked down the sixth aisle. Now, let's see. Hogwarts was founded roughly one thousand years ago, so that would make it level one, would it not? Deciding to try it, Galdir walked down the Magical Objects and Places ward, looking for the layouts of Hogwarts.
After crossing several nodes, Galdir found several texts that were related to Hogwarts. In order to prevent thefts, the books can only be summoned when one is within a certain distance of them. There are also very strong enchantments in the main rotunda that prevent any texts from leaving the Archives. Galdir summoned the books, and then retreated to the nearest node.
A little known fact was that the nodes were, in essence, the precursors to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. By simply stating what was needed in Elvish, the node would produce the requirement. Their powers were not limited to producing furniture or other objects. Their other function was to create copies of sections of books for further study. These copies could be taken outside the Archives. Once the user was done with them, he would speak the cancellation charm and the copy would vanish. Galdir asked for a chair and a desk where he could read. In front of him, appeared a beautifully carved desk of cherry wood. It had a separate table for placing books, and a set of glowing orbs that gave a soft light. Carved on it were intricate markings, along with runes to prevent scratching and other forms of normal wear to occur. The chair was designed to be comfortable for extended periods of time, and was made of cherry as well.
Sitting down, Galdir began to read the thick tomes that he had collected.
Alright, so Hogwarts and its wards were partially Elven made. Moreover, the wards were crafted to remove all enchantments. Then how was Barty Crouch Jr. able to... of course. He was using Polyjuice potion. The wards were not constructed to see through potions, which was considered an inferior form of magic, and the Founders did not bother with them either. I am also fairly certain that potion did not exist back then. Once inside the wards, any charm may be performed. Galdir rested his chin on his hand as he thought. Well that is unhelpful. The point is to get past the wards. If I cannot get past them, what is the use of being able to cast a charm inside? Come Galdir, think! What options do we have? Transfiguration is out the window. He continued to discard all options that dealt with charms. Hold on, if the wards reveal enchantments, then how come Pettigrew could pass? He continued reading the lengthy description of what the charms could and could not do. He quickly finished through the third book, and began to read the final one he had brought. Well, that was unhelpful. Why would an animagus be able to fool the wards? Oh! Of course! Because an animagus is not a charm per se, it is a state of being. Using magic to alter states is allowed by the wards. Right. Well, there is a viable option. He returned the books to their places and walked down the aisle of Magical Theory. Picking out three thick volumes detailing the theory behind the animagus, he sat down and opened the first one. He gasped as he saw the runes that were written on its pages. It was not Modern Elvish or Ancient Elvish for that matter. What is this? This book was written less than 15,000 years ago! Modern Elvish was already in full force by then. Only the purists wrote things in Ancient Elvish, unless... He checked the back of the book, were the year was written, along with the details of the place where it was made. Galdir sighed. This book was written by the older sects in the House of Mainor. They still speak a variant of Protean Elvish. Oh well, let's see just how rusty my Protean is. Fortunately for Galdir, this was close enough to Ancient Elvish that, with a bit of work, he could translate it.
It took him six days to translate the three books that he had chosen. Since Elves were born from magic, they could use it to sustain themselves over extended periods of time. The downside was the high toll that it took on them. Tired and frustrated, Galdir returned the books he had taken. So being an animagus fundamentally changes your state of being. But it is far too impractical. While humans transform into common animals, Elves have a tendency to transform into more, exotic, animals. It would be easily noticed, so that is not an option either! Besides, being an animagus does not change my true physical appearance, and I cannot roam Hogwarts constantly casting Invisibility Spells! Galdir banished the table and walked aimlessly through the halls of the Archives. He descended every so often, until he eventually found himself in the lowest level of the Archives. Walking down the aisle of Magical Objects, Galdir picked up a humungous book that was way taller than he was. The title would roughly translate into Encyclopaedia of all Things. Galdir read the synopsis. The book was a record of all magical objects ever created. Since it technically contained the entire knowledge of all six levels, it was kept here for safety.
The book was also heavily laden with magic. Although it was written more than 60,000 years ago, it was imbued with magic that allowed it to remain updated. More pages were created as needed, and so this was the most complete record of all magical objects. Of course, the book did not detail the location of the objects. It merely informed the reader whether the object existed or not.
Intrigued, Galdir decided to ignore his task for a bit and read the book. Asking for a table that could hold it, Galdir found himself staring at a pedestal of stone. Eyeing it curiously, Galdir saw as Elvish runes appeared on its surface. Lay the book on me, and watch it unfold, it read. Shrugging, Galdir placed the book on its surface.
There was a surge of air, as the book levitated in front of him. The bindings then disappeared, and the chapters distributed themselves so they formed concentric rings around Galdir. He laughed as he understood the cleverness of the charm. Of course! Reading such a thing by turning pages would be impractical. This way, one can simply flick, expand, contract, and shift through the information in a much more efficient manner. He smiled as he flicked through the chapters, one for each year. Choosing a chapter that was 50,000 years old, he expanded it with his hands and began to read the names of individual entries one by one. He casually expanded those entries that seemed interesting. He collapsed them and moved on.
He eventually came across an object of which he had never heard of before. At least he thought he had never heard of it. The name seems familiar, but I cannot place where or when I have seen it before. He expanded the entry and began reading the description.
The first couple of paragraphs described its creation, though oddly enough, it did not explain why it was created, merely that it was. The more he read, the more his eyes widened at his discovery. By the time he was done reading, he was as excited as a kid in Christmas morning. This is it! This is how I am going to get into Hogwarts! he thought. He proceeded to make a copy of the entry. He then collapsed the book, banished it to its place and, after finding his way out of the Archives, he ran to meet with Canadion, Anuon, and Aglareth so share his findings.