Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They all
belong to the gifted Joanne Kathleen Rowling so don't sue me! All I have are my
plot and my computer =).
A/N: I'll try to have fewer cliffhangers, but then, this is
going to be a long story cause I'll be covering the whole of the fifth year,
from start to end.
Back At
Hogwarts
On entering the castle, all the students immediately made
their way to the Great Hall and then to their respective house tables. Harry
and his fellow Gryffindors were of course at their Gryffindor table where their
resident ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, greeted them. While waiting for the
sorting to take place, Harry looked ahead to the staff table to see who would
be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. To his surprise, he
saw Professor Lupin amongst the teachers. He also noticed that Professor
Dumbledore was not at the table.
"Do you think Lupin would be teaching us again this year?"
Harry asked Ron and Hermione.
"Well, he had been the best so far and there doesn't seem to
be any other possibilities except perhaps Snape." Ron replied shuddering.
"Wonder where's Dumbledore. He's usually sitting at the head
of the table by the time we enter." Hermione who had also been scanning at the
staff table voiced Harry's thoughts aloud.
But before they could discuss further, Professor McGonagall
emerged, leading a long line of first years up to the top of the hall.
"There're more first years than usual," Harry muttered.
"Parents probably think that Hogwarts is the safest place
now, with You-Know-Who's return. Well, at least for those who believe," Ron
replied.
Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground
before the first-years, and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched
wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everybody else. But before
it broke into song, Professor McGonagall spoke.
"Would Mr Potter please go to see Professor Dumbledore in
his office?" Professor McGonagall announced.
Harry was shocked at the announcement. He expected that
Professor Dumbledore wanted to ask about the train's incident. He muttered to
Ron and Hermione that he would tell them about his conversation with Dumbledore
later and left his seat with everyone in the hall staring at him. As he made
his way to Dumbledore's office, he could faintly hear the sorting taking place.
Reaching the familiar gargoyle, Harry realized that he did
not know the password to Dumbledore's office. Remembering last year's password,
he tried tentatively, "Cockroach Cluster" but the door did not open.
"Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Lemon Drops…" Harry tried
but to no avail.
When he was about to give up, he remembered Honeydukes and
tried "Sugar Quill" and this time the gargoyle opened for him to enter.
"Professor, you wanted to see me," Harry asked.
"Yes, Harry. There are some important matters that we need
to discuss." Professor Dumbledore replied.
"Did you want to know about the train incident?" Harry
asked.
"Oh, Angelina and Roger had already reported it when they
came to deposit Lucius Malfoy, and we received your owl. I must admit that you
did a good job." Professor Dumbledore said with that familiar twinkle in his
eyes.
"Then what did you call me for?" Harry was confused.
"Voldemort is gaining power quickly and you are the only one
who can defeat him." Professor Dumbledore said gravely.
"But how? I'm only a 15-year-old boy. Lots of wizards are
more powerful than me." Harry said.
"You are the most powerful wizard there is. You just have
not realized your potential yet." Professor Dumbledore remarked.
"Then…" Harry tried to understand.
"Lord Voldemort wants to kill you because you are the only
wizard alive who can pose a threat to him. Without the stone, you are already
powerful enough to harm him and he don't want you to ever find the stone which
would only increase your powers." Professor Dumbledore continued.
"What stone?" Harry asked.
"Oh you mean that you don't know." Professor Dumbledore
said. As Harry nodded his head, the Professor continued, "It is the stone of
Twilight Dawn. It contains powerful magic and has descended from the first
wizard to walk on this earth, Merlin. It has been passed down over the
generations, with each holder of the stone able to choose the stone's heir. And
only that designated heir is able to use the stone. Each holder of the stone is
able to transmit a part of their own magic into it, making the stone the most
magical object ever created. The stone will only be destroyed if it's owner
dies and there is no heir. This is mainly why Voldemort wants to kill you."
"Does this mean I'm Merlin's heir? And where is the stone?"
Harry wondered incredulously.
"No, you are not Merlin's heir. When a wizard has no living
son to pass it to, he can bestow it on anyone he thinks deserves the stone.
This heir can only be a male so even if the wizard has a daughter, the stone
would not go to her. And to answer your other question, the stone disappeared
when your parents died." Professor Dumbledore further explained.
"If I did not have the power of the stone, how was I able to
survive Voldemort all these times?" Harry questioned.
"That is another reason why you are so sought after by
Voldemort. You are the heir of Godric Gryffindor and his powers are in you. Remember
when you were younger, you were able to do magic without a wand. If you train yourself
now, you would be able to do that and many other kinds of magic too." Professor
Dumbledore replied.
"But…" Harry still had many more things to ask.
"I think we should go back to the hall now. All those
information are enough to boggle your mind. The sorting should be over and the
school's waiting for us to start the feast." Professor Dumbledore added.
******************************
They both walked together back to the hall. As they were
walking, Harry remembered to ask, "Professor, is Draco Malfoy on the same side
as us?"
"If you mean if he is against Voldemort, then yes. We had
already administered Veritaserum to Lucius Malfoy and learnt many things from
him. We'll let the Ministry deal with him." Professor Dumbledore said.
As they entered the hall together, the school was already
waiting for them.
******************************
Harry made his way back to his seat where Ron and Hermione
bombarded him with questions. He gave them the gist of what Dumbledore had said
except the fact that he was Gryffindor's heir and that he was the most powerful
wizard alive as he did not want Ron to be jealous at his fame.
Meanwhile, food started appearing on the table and all the
students started to tuck in. At the end of the meal, Professor Dumbledore stood
up again to give his usual announcements and to update the students on
Voldemort's return. Then they all sang the school song before they were all
dismissed. The prefects led the way to their respective houses common rooms and
showed the first years their dormitories.
"Hippogriff," Angelina said to the portrait of the fat lady
and it swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall.
As they entered the common room, Angelina ordered Ron and
Harry to show the first-year boys and also Dudley to their dormitories while
she and Hermione brought the girls to theirs. After some time, they all met
back in the common room and they all made their way to the prefects' room
together.
******************************
Entering the prefects' room, they noticed that they were the
last to arrive. They were surprised to see both Professor
Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall there too. As they took
their seats, Professor Dumbledore started to talk.
"As you all know Voldemort has returned," Professor
Dumbledore paused there as everyone other than Harry flinched at the name,
before continuing, "There's a high possibility that Hogwarts will be one of the
first places he attack so I want all of you prefects to be on your guard. If
required, there might also be need for some of you to patrol the hallways at
night later in the year. We are in perilous times and when the professors are
not around, you all, as prefects, will be in charge. You have all done well on
the train today and I hope that you all can keep that up."
With that he swept out of the room.
Professor McGonagall said, "See me tomorrow Mr Potter,"
before she followed Professor Dumbledore out.
Harry was wondering why McGonagall might want to see him and
noticed some curious stares from other prefects as well when Roger called the
meeting to order. They all discussed how best to deal with breaking of rules
and all the trick stairways and hidden corners about the school. After about an
hour, everything was more or less settled, and the meeting ended with everyone
feeling tired after a long day.
******************************
As they all left the room, Harry was about to make his way
back to the Gryffindor common room with his fellow Gryffindors when Cho called
him. Ron gave him an encouraging grin and Hermione a glare that surprised him before
they made their way back without him.
"So, what's up?" Harry asked Cho.
"Nothing really. Just wanted to talk to you." Cho said.
"Why don't I walk you back to your common room and we can
talk along the way instead of standing here rather stupidly?" Harry grinned.
"Sure," Cho replied with a smile as they walked together.
"So what did you want to talk about," Harry asked after a
few minutes of companionable silence.
"Nothing in particular. I just thought that after the amount
of communication during the holidays…I meant that…" Cho stuttered.
"Thought we were now friends, didn't you?" Harry gave a
smile.
"We were friends before. It's just now…" Cho earnestly tried
to explain.
"You mean that we are more than friends." Harry teased.
"Oh, not that." Cho blushed before continuing, "We
understand each other better now and are closer I guess."
"You only guess," Harry said incredulously, though with a
mischievous grin still playing on his lips.
"Can't you be serious, Potter?" Cho smiled in return.
"I am being serious. If you are only guessing, it means that
you're not sure." Harry was still grinning.
"How am I to be certain what you're thinking?" Cho cried out
in frustration
"Calm down." Harry said as they approached the entrance to
the Ravenclaws' common room before continuing with a naughty grin, "You can ask
to be sure."
Cho grinned in return and took a deep breath before asking,
"Want to hang out together at times?"
"Sure," Harry replied.
"You aren't still joking, are you?" Cho searched his face
for an answer.
"I've never been so sure in my life." Harry solemnly
replied.
"Alright. Anyway, I better go in. Good night." Cho said.
"G'night," Harry replied before turning to leave.
Cho watched him until he was out of sight before entering
her common room. She wondered what was happening to her. Cedric had just died
and she was thinking of someone else. She had better get a hold on herself or
else… But then she couldn't help thinking about Harry. She sensed his presence
when he was near and everything else but him flies from her mind. He was
practically her first crush and he liked her. She smiled at that thought. "No,
stop it Cho. You and Harry are just friends. Remember, just friends." Cho tried
to convince herself. Only remembering Cedric stopped her from being with Harry.
But then again, she was about to break up with Cedric after the third task as
she felt that their relationship was going nowhere. He liked her but she wasn't
that psyched about him even though she was elated at first to be liked by one
of the most sought after guys in the whole school. In the end, she didn't even have
a chance to break up with him and she felt guilty about leading him on. That
was the only thing she didn't tell Harry about during their letters to each
other.
Meanwhile, Harry was also thinking of Cho as he sat in the
Gryffindor common room, watching Ron teaching Dudley wizard chess. He was
amazed at how easily Dudley fitted into the wizarding world. He then thought of
Cho, her smile, her voice, even her uncertainty at their friendship. He was
happy to be friends with her though he wanted much more. He knew that she still
thought of Cedric and he just wanted to draw her close and comfort her. Just thinking
about her sent a sense of warmth through him. He smiled as he remembered how he
felt when he was around her. All other thoughts would flee from his mind immediately.
In his third year when she first caught his eye, he thought that he only had a
crush on her and that would disappear eventually but not seeing her during the holidays
before the fourth year only made his feelings for her stronger. Seeing her with
Cedric last year practically ripped his heart apart and that was when he
realized that she was the only girl for him. No one else could ever take her
place in his heart. When he saw her tears after Cedric's death, all he could
think was his guilt at not saving Cedric. He would rather see her happy and
with Cedric than heartbroken without him. He even surprised himself at the
length he was willing to go for her. He knew that he would only be happy if she
was too. Receiving a letter from her the past holidays was probably the
happiest part of his life. Though now they were only friends, all he could think
was, "At least we're friends." He loved her so much that he was like a dog
picking up whatever scraps his master could give him.
Unknown to Harry, while he was thinking, there were two
Gryffindors who were watching him, noticing his every move. One wanted to ask
about his relationship with Cho but was afraid to hear the answer. The other
was just happy to adore him from afar. They were both secretly in love with him
but he was in love with someone else, and they were afraid of failing to secure
his love and even losing his friendship, should they confess it to him.
