Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter
Chapter Seven
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Rachel gasped. Sirius Black! This man was a murderer! He killed thirteen people and he escaped from Azkaban. How could her friends be treating him like family? What was wrong with them? Did they want to get killed? She looked up. Harry was speaking excitedly with Sirius while Ron and Hermione would occasionally chime in. They're mad!.
"No offense to you, sir." Rachel stammered, addressing Sirius. She turned to Harry, "Why are you conversing openly with a convicted murderer? It just baffles me! Does Dumbledore know he's here?" Rachel was near hysterics. She had heard from friends about the crazy things that happened at Hogwarts, but she never thought that housing criminals was one of them.
Harry laughed. "I'm sorry, I should have said something. Rachel, I'd like you to meet my godfather, Sirius Black." Sirius stuck out his hand, sheepishly; Rachel quickly shook it and backed away. "I know you think we're mad, but let me explain…" Harry proceeded to tell Rachel of the events of their third year at Hogwarts. He explained about Scabbers, the Marauder's Map, Wormtail, Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs, and even the death of his own parents. By the end of the tail, everyone in the room had shed a few tears.
"I'm sorry I jumped to a conclusion like that. It's just that I've been taught for quite a while that you were a horrible person. At my old school, we would the Daily Prophet and you're face would be staring back at us. It was quite a shock for me to see you in person, I hope you'll forgive me." Rachel didn't know why she was so apologetic; she had just met the man a few minutes ago. In fact, she wasn't altogether sure if she could trust him, however, something inside of her said that he was telling the truth.
Sirius smiled. "That's quite all right. No one has found Peter Pettigrew yet, and until they find him, I'm still considered guilty. That's why Dumbledore brought the Chalice here, I assume you know about that."
Hermione looked confused. Rachel could almost see the gears in her head turning at lightening speed. "I thought the Chalice of the Enchanter only stored magic. Why would that help find Peter?"
"The Chalice of the Enchanter is also the Chalice of Truth, and the Goblet of Fire. There are so many purposes for it. The Chalice of Truth will answer any question, if it's asked properly. No one has every found out the true way to ask the Chalice a question, some have some close, though. You have to have a broad knowledge of magic to be able to read the spells that have been laid into the Chalice." Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment.
"The Goblet of Fire! The book never said anything about the Goblet of Fire being the same as the Chalice of the Enchanter!" Harry was flabbergasted.
"That's because the book you read was very old. There haven't been any books published that contain the Goblets for over five hundred years. Back then, the Goblet had only been seen by a few dozen people. None of them really had studies it, so they all assumed the goblets were separate."
Hermione gasped, "There might be more than one reason why You-Know-Who wants the Chalice!"
Sirius looked at her curiously. "Yes, that's right. It has been rumored that an omnimagus has been born within the last two decades. There has not been an omnimagus for centuries. It is speculated that only an omnimagus can unlock the secret to the Chalice, thereby defeating Voldemort."
Rachel passed out.
***
Rachel awoke on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room, it was early morning. The fire was slowly dying. She looked around, Harry and Ron were playing chess and Hermione was reading Quidditch Through the Ages. Hermione looked at her.
"Looks like someone had a good night sleep."
Rachel smiled weakly. "What happened?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you hit your head? You just passed out halfway through Sirius' story."
Rachel remembered now, he had said that only an omnimagus could help defeat Voldemort. There was just too much pressure. She had overloaded and passed out. "I'm fine." She smiled weakly.
"No, you're not. You don't just faint halfway through a story. I called Madame Pomfrey, she'll be here in a minute." As soon as the words were out of Hermione's mouth, Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room.
"What happened? Is she awake yet?"
"She just woke up. What happened was this: I was telling her about my Arithmancy assignment and she just passed out. I'm not sure if she hit her head."
Rachel stared at Hermione, she might have hit her head, but she did know that Hermione had not been telling her about Arithmancy. Hermione stared back and mouthed If I tell her what really happened, we could get in (pardon the pun) serious trouble.
Rachel sat up. "I'm fine." she mumbled. "Really. It's no big deal. I was just tired, that's all." Madame Pomfrey didn't look satisfied with that response.
"No matter what you say, you are spending the day in the hospital wing. I will not have students passing out in classes." Madame Pomfrey continued to mutter to herself as she led Rachel to the hospital wing.
Ron and Harry looked at Rachel helplessly. "We'll visit!" Hermione called after her.
***
As soon as Madame Pomfrey released Rachel from her care, Rachel raced to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Until now, their new professor had been ill. They had not even met her at the banquet. Rachel didn't want to miss this opportunity. She had heard that Hogwarts had never been able to keep a D.A.D.A. professor for more than a year.
She reached the door and rushed inside. "Sorry I'm late!" she panted. "I was in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me go!" Rachel was looking at a class of smirking Gryffindors and a short, stout woman who sat in front of the class.
"That's quite alright. I know how Madame Pomfrey is. I practically had to fly the Tour de France before she was convinced that I had gotten over pneumonia. Of all the diseases to keep me in bed, it's a muggle one." The woman was in her mid-fifties with white blonde hair and glasses that perched on the tip of her nose. She wore robes of a deep emerald and a witch's hat that was perfectly balanced on the pile of curls atop her head.
"I'm Professor Stapf. I believe that we have met before. I was at your graduation. Morwenna told me some interesting things about you. The air around Professor Stapf glowed a dim emerald that matched her robes. This woman reeked of powerful magic.
"Hi Professor, I'm Rachel Witt. It's nice to meet you." Rachel sat down next to Harry. "Do you notice anything, um, strange about her?" she whispered.
"No." Harry whispered back. "It must be something with your magic." Rachel nodded and focused in on the day's lesson, boggarts. Rachel was about to raise her hand to say that she had already learned about boggarts when Harry beat her to the punch.
"With All due respect, Professor Stapf, we already studied boggarts with Professor Lupin."
"Hmm, and I suppose you studied the Unforgivable Curses last year? I heard that you all became quite familiar with them." She winked at Harry.
"Yes, you could say that." This time it was Hermione who spoke.
"Very well, then. Have you studied omnimages?" Professor Stapf looked directly at Rachel, who slunk down in her chair.
She knew! How could she know? Rachel's mind reeled. Did Dumbledore or McGonagall tell her? No, they couldn't have. They wouldn't betray my trust like that.
"No, we haven't studied them!" Hermione chirped. She was always ready to learn something new.
"Well then, that seems like a good place to start." Professor Stapf opened a worn textbook and began to read in a monotonous tone:
Omnimages: The Wizards of All Worlds
Omnimages, or omnimagi, are among the most powerful beings known to our world. They have the ability to use any type of Light Magic and can decipher almost any spell. Omnimagi are also able to see how magic flows in nature.
Omnimagi have no distinguishing traits. They look and act as normal wizards. However, they do have a flair for Transfiguration. Many omnimagi are also animagi.
Professor Stapf closed the book and laid it on her desk. Hermione looked riveted. She almost burst out that the Chalice of the Enchanter could be deciphered by an omnimagus, but she stopped herself. Revealing that information would undoubtedly lead to their midnight run-in with Sirius being discovered. That wouldn't be good. Instead she sat still and listened to Professor Stapf ramble on about various famous omnimagi and what their accomplishments were.
Rachel was glued to her seat. Somehow, this new Professor had learned about Rachel and was on the verge of divulging her secret to the entire class. Maybe she'll change the subject. Rachel wanted to disappear before this discussion got out of control. A girl, Rachel didn't know her name yet, was asking if any omnimagi attended Hogwarts. Professor Stapf was opening her mouth to answer. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut.
Being a bird would be nice right now, maybe a chickadee. Yes, that would be wonderful. I could fly away from the classroom unnoticed. She envisioned herself as a bird, flying around the room.
Rachel opened her eyes and sighed. She felt a lot better now. She looked up and saw Harry staring at her; his mouth was dropped open. Now that she thought about it, Harry looked gigantic. In fact, the whole room looked huge. Her vision was a little off as well. She couldn't see in front of her very clearly.
"Y-y-you're a bird!" Harry stammered, blinking his eyes in disbelief.
Rachel heard someone gasp, or rather several someones. The entire group of Gryffindors surrounded her desk. They murmured among themselves, while staring at her in astonishment.
"What happened?" she asked aloud, though her voice was only a sweet chirping to the class. Professor Stapf scooped the girl up in her hands.
"Class dismissed everyone! My avis potion fell on Rachel. I'll have to turn her back." She briefly looked at Harry. "You may stay." Harry obeyed. The class filed out of the room, seeming to have forgotten all about Rachel.
Once the class was gone, Professor Stapf turned her attention to Rachel again. "You have some explaining to do. But first, transfigure back. Just imagine yourself as a human again."
Rachel shut her eyes and thought about being a human again. She pictured herself standing in the D.A.D.A. room, talking with the professor and Harry. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked into the astonished face of Harry. "Didn't know I could do that." Rachel said meekly.
"That's alright, I just don't want you changing in my class. It's rather distracting to me, not to mention the students. Poor Harry nearly had a heart attack. Now I assume he knows about your magic."
"You mean that she's an omnimagus? Yes, I do know that." Harry smiled sheepishly.
"Good, that will make this whole discussion easier. For starters, I am an omnimagus. You may have noticed that, Rachel. An omnimagus can tell if a wizard is an omnimagus by their aura. Normal wizards don't have them, however Harry dear, you do have the slightest tinge of an aura. My aura is an emerald green." She looked at Rachel closely. "Yours is a royal blue. Harry, you have a reddish mini-aura."
"What does that have to do with me turning into a bird?" Rachel's curiosity was tugging at her hard.
Professor Stapf paused, thinking of the right words. She finally gave up, deciding upon being blunt "You're an animagus. I thought you knew that already, though. As an added bonus, since you're an omnimagus, you can transfigure into any creature you desire. You just have to imagine yourself as that creature." She straightened her witch's hat and led them to the door. "You two had better hurry, Professor Snape frowns upon tardiness."
Rachel and Harry exchanged a worried look as they raced out the door and down the hall towards the dungeon where Potions was taught.
***
September was far in the past, and October was slowly fading. The four friends had become even closer in the past weeks; however, Rachel still had not revealed her secret. Why should she? No one needed to know. She would just as soon live her life as a normal Hogwarts student.
Rachel's parents had sent her an owl, describing their latest mission with the Ministry and congratulating her on her attending Hogwarts. They hadn't mentioned when they were coming home, though. Rachel missed her family. She longed to hear Aunt Megan's tinkling laugh or Megan's cunning sense of humor. Sure, her friends were great, but they didn't replace her family.
***
Harry snuck up behind Rachel as she and Hermione were discussing their Arithmancy assignment in the corridor down by the kitchens. "Quidditch tryouts are today!" he shouted happily, startling the two girls.
"Harry!" Hermione snapped. "Please don't do that! We're having a conversation." She looked at Rachel, who was now staring at Harry dreamily. "Well," she continued, "we were."
Harry shrugged, apologetically. "Sorry Hermi, I just couldn't control it. Quidditch is starting soon and we have a position to fill on the team. Hint. Hint."
Hermione turned around to face him. "What did you just call me, Hermi? What is that? I'll go by nothing other than Hermione, and if Viktor so desires, Herm-own-ninny. Now as for the Quidditch team, you know as well as I that I have never set foot on a Quidditch pitch, and I don't plan to anytime soon."
Rachel hid a small grin beneath her hand. She loved watching the playful banter between the two friends. Harry new exactly what to say to make Hermione angry. Even in the two months she had known them, she had picked up on that. As soon as anyone mentioned a sport to Hermione, she went off her rocker. "I'd be interested in joining the Quidditch team." Rachel piped in. "It would be fun, and I'm not half bad as a Seeker, however Chaser really is my forte."
Harry's face lit up, wouldn't it be great to be on the Quidditch team with Rachel? He could spend even more time with her. As much as Harry had liked Cho last year, he liked Rachel twice as much, and he had a feeling that she liked him too. "Sure! We need a new chaser. All you have to do is go to tryouts today!"
Rachel grinned. "I'll be there! But be warned, I haven't played Quidditch in over a year. I'm a little rusty." She scuffed her sneaker against the stone floor and looked back for a response.
"That's okay, neither have I. In fact, I'm not really sure how many more players we need on the team. He shrugged and started walking towards the common room. "See you at tryouts!"
Rachel grabbed Hermione's robes and whispered, "Do you have a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages? I need to catch up on the rules. To be honest, I've only played once, with my sister when we were little."
Hermione smirked. "Sure, if you really want to impress Harry that much. I'm positive that we find a copy at the library." The two girls raced to the library. They only had two hours until tryouts.
***
Rachel stepped out onto the Quidditch pitch. The autumn sunlight played in her hair, making the strands dance with shimmering colors. Her robes billowed in the breeze as she walked towards the middle of the field.
Hermione stood off to the side of the pitch. She didn't want to miss Rachel's debut. About an hour ago, they had borrowed the Snitch and Quaffle from Madame Hooch. Hermione had let them loose and Rachel had practiced for a good half hour.
Rachel bit her bottom lip as she stood in line with the other hopefuls. This Quidditch team was the only way she could impress Harry. She needed to make it! Two older girls were standing next to Harry and the Weasley twins. All five of them were wearing the scarlet Quidditch robes of Gryffindor. One of the girls began talking.
"Hello everybody, I'm Katie Bell. This, " she said, indicating the girl on her left, "is Angelina Johnson. I'm assuming you all know Fred, George and Harry." Every student nodded emphatically. As you know, Quidditch teams normally have seven people. However, Dumbledore is allowing each team to have an extra this year. We need someone who is good at all positions. So, we will have each one of you play a different position during the scrimmage. Katie and I, being seventh years," the two girls nodded solemnly, "will observe you during the scrimmage. We will take notes and post the results tomorrow in our common room."
Katie looked around at the eager faces. There were only eleven people trying out. She thought for a moment. "Fred, George, Harry, you guys are going to be on the red team with… Daine, Ginny, Seamus, and Colin." She touched each student with her wand. Instantly their robes were now a vibrant red. "The rest of you will be the black team. Now, I want everybody to play every position. When you here the whistle three times, switch with someone. All right, everybody grab a Nimbus 2000 from the pile. We don't want any advantages because of the brooms. 1… 2… 3… GO!" Fourteen players rose into the air at once. Angelina released the four balls and the game was underway.
Rachel and Ginny started out as Keepers. This was a harder job than Rachel had imagined. She did manage to save it quite a few times. Ginny, however, never let one in. Three shrill "tweets" sounded throughout the stadium as Katie blew the whistle. Rachel was now a Chaser. This was more her cup of tea.
The Quaffle soared through the middle goal. Rachel had scored. She was about to congratulate herself when Katie blew the whistle again. She was now a Beater.
Back in Salem, Rachel had played the Muggle game of baseball. That helped her prepare for this. A Bludger was headed towards a third year that was on her team. Instinctively, she raced towards the girl and bashed the Bludger hard towards Harry, who was playing Chaser. They missed him, but just barely. She smiled to herself and the whistle blew again. This was the final change. She would now be playing Seeker, opposite Harry Potter.
Rachel looked around the pitch, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the winged ball. This was the most important part of the game. The Seeker was the one who could determine whether or not the team won the game. So far, no one had even spotted the Snitch.
Rachel circled the pitch a few times and noticed Harry doing the same thing. There it was! The Snitch was hovering about five feet away from the red goal posts. Both Harry and Rachel were about fifty feet away. She crouched on her broom and raced to the Snitch, so did Harry. They were neck-in-neck, getting closer to the Snitch every second. 40 feet, 30, 20, 10. Rachel looked at Harry, he looked back. She flashed him a large grin and caught the Snitch. Harry's hand closed around air.
The black team erupted in cheers. They had won! The red team shook their heads in disbelief. They had just lost. Harry had missed the Snitch, and Rachel had caught it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this took so long! And Jill, I know you're reading, please review!
