Chapter Eleven – A Seeker Falls

Chapter Eleven – A Seeker Falls

It had been nearly three weeks since the trial and Harry still didn't have a clue why Avery had tried to kill him. The death threats had stopped so Harry could only assume that Avery was the source. His studies were progressing. He was soon given a break from Transfiguration as he had mastered the skill. He had got to the point where he was able to transform into any animal at will. He only needed to see what an animal looked like or to recall one from his memory. Professor McGonagall had even decided to take a sabbatical so Professor Dumbledore took over her course work.

Potions even took a turn towards the positive. Snape had started to take interest in Harry's abilities after the trial. It would seem that Harry being able to do the impossible was all it took to convince Snape that he was worthy of instruction. What would it take to convince him that Harry was an equal?

A new theory was brought up for Harry in Charms. He had nearly forgot about his first year at Hogwarts, when he was visiting the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore so much as told him that he was able to become invisible without a cloak. Professor Flitwick told Harry that a few wizards had mastered the ability to do just that and Harry was intrigued. No longer would he have to use the cloak, he would be able to pass it onto somebody who may be needing it. His first thought was that of Ron and Hermione, if they were caught making out it would be bad for Hermione's image. That and the fact that Ron's mom would kill him.

After a few days of trying it out Harry was able to make his body appear translucent. It would take a few more days in order to perfect it but for the time being it would be very useful during the evening hours.

Since the incident the work in Defense Against the Dark Arts had slowed down. Not only did they not know where to go from there but they also wanted Harry to rest. They spent their time talking with each other; Harry, Fleur, and Mrs. Figg. Mrs. Figg would talk about the old days, before Voldemort. Fleur would talk about growing up in France and her unique family. Harry told his tales about his times of mortal peril and his days with the Dursley's. He nearly choked when he realized that he was talking about the time he found Dudley watching a porno down in the living room.

"Oh Harry, we're all adults here." Said Fleur.

"Still, I know the boy and that is a very disgusting story. How could he even reach it?" Asked Mrs. Figg.

"You're making me think about it and I don't want to. Please, let's change the subject." Said Harry.

"Very well, Fleur tells me that you are seeing a Ravenclaw girl named Cho. How are things going?"

"I broke up with her last night." Said a very sullen Harry.

"What?!" Fleur was shocked.

"She's in love with somebody else and I just found it out the hard way last night."

It was at that moment that Fleur noticed a few things about Harry. His hair, which had been well kept the last few weeks, was now back to its disheveled appearance. Also, he was now wearing his usual glasses on his face.

"Harry, what happened?" Asked Fleur.

Harry looked at Mrs. Figg. "Um, no offense to you but it is a little weird discussing this in front of you."

"Oh, but you can tell me about when Dudley spanks it? I'm kidding Harry, I'll give you kids some privacy."

"Thank you."

Mrs. Figg got up from the desk and walked into her private office. Harry knew she wouldn't eavesdrop but still he had to be sure. He performed a silencing charm around the door so that no sound would reach her ears.

"Okay, you have to promise that this doesn't get discussed with anyone."

"I promise Harry, but do Ron and Hermione?"

"Sadly, Hermione knew before I did. She wanted me to be happy so she just dismissed her theories and decided to be just as blind as I was."

"Okay, I just wanted to know who was allowed to know about it."

"Yes, Ron and Hermione do know about it but I hope that this doesn't become a topic for open conversation."

"Fine, just tell me already."

"I'm sure you've noticed my hair and glasses over the last few weeks. These were some suggestions from Cho about how to make me look cute."

"But you're already cute."

"Don't I know it, but you do have to admit that my hair is a mess."

"Fine, it is a mess but it's you."

"I know, but I gave into her. After all, she was my crush. Anyway, she had been making these suggestions to me over the last few weeks and she seemed really happy with the results. In fact, she was so happy that I have even been getting some lately."

"Um, I think you can stop there." Fleur was noticeably uncomfortable.

"Hey, you're my friend and you wanted to know. Relax, I won't go into too much detail. Anyway, so we had been getting more intimate recently. Well, last night I got to what we call third base. Are you familiar with this term?"

"Um, no."

"Well, let's just say that last night I touched a spot that gives women extreme pleasure."

"Oh." Fleur began to blush.

"Yeah, so that's what happened last night. For almost any other guy it would have been great but for me it was horrible."

"Why?"

"She called out Cedric's name when I did it. It was at that moment when I began to think about the glasses and the hair. Hell, I should have realized that I had Cedric's haircut. Anyway, that's when I realized that I was being molded to replace him. I told her that this was too soon for her and that she should take some time to grieve. She obviously wasn't as over Cedric as she thought she was."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, I can now say that I've had my first girlfriend." Harry looked a bit sad but also a bit relieved.

"You don't seem to be taking it as bad as I thought you would."

"You know, I think I was dating the crush instead of the girl. She was a great girl but not the one for me. I guess her calling out another guys name was just what I needed to realize that we weren't right for each other."

"Well, if you think it's for the best then I'm glad it didn't go any further."

"I do hope you know that I probably won't be stopping by the Ravenclaw common room any time soon. Tell Gabrielle that I can meet with her any time she wants in the library."

"I'll let her know, and I won't tell her that you and Fleur broke up."

"She's a lot smarter than you think, she'll probably figure it out on her own fairly soon."

The two of them continued to talk for a while longer before Harry felt it was time to head back to the common room. He told Ron and Hermione that he would be coming up and meeting them for lunch.

"So Harry, how are you feeling today?" Asked Ron as he took a big bite out of a sandwich.

"I'm alright, I was able to think it out rationally and I realized it was for the best." Harry then looked over at the Ravenclaw table and didn't see Cho. He knew that he had hurt her but he also knew that she was living a lie.

"I'm so sorry Harry, I wanted to tell you about my fears but you just seemed so happy." Said Hermione.

"Don't worry Hermione, you didn't do anything wrong." Harry then felt a tap on his shoulder, it was Dumbledore.

"Harry, I just thought I would tell you that you will be having your Transfiguration time as scheduled."

"Is Professor McGonagall back from her trip?" Asked Harry.

"No, I will be instructing you from now on."

"You will?"

"Yes, you've gone as far as you can with Professor McGonagall and I'm going to take you to the next level." Dumbledore then went back up to the head table and took his seat between Snape and Mrs. Figg.

"You get to learn from Dumbledore himself!" Hermione was almost more excited than Harry.

"Hey, you do too. He's teaching your classes or have you already forgot?" Harry reminded her.

"I know Harry, but he's just following McGonagall's lesson plan. He's going to be doing stuff with you that almost no other wizard will be able to do."

"Hey, I wasn't saying that I'm not excited. Still, I have no idea what we're going to do. I'm already able to change into any animal I can think of."

"Hey, the inferior wizards are within earshot." Piped in Ron.

"I wasn't bragging."

"Could have fooled me. So, are you pumped for Saturday."

"Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, who wouldn't be? I want to see what Justin has been able to do with the Hufflepuffs. That, and that it's been over a year since I've seen or been in a Quidditch match." Remarked Harry.

Harry then noticed that Gabrielle was coming over to the Gryffindor table. This wasn't all that strange because she was seeing Godric a fair amount and would often come over and talk with him. This time was different though because Godric was further down and on the other side of the table. It was obvious that she was coming over to see him.

"Hello Harry, I'm sorry about you and Cho." Said Gabrielle.

"Did your sister tell you?" Asked Harry.

"No, you don't have to be too observant to notice a girl skipping a day of classes to cry in her room."

"Maybe I should go talk with her."

"No, I think you should give her some time. Some of her roommates are in there with her now and they probably would rip you a new one for what you did to her."

"Do you feel like that?" Asked Harry.

"No, I know you better than that. I know you wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt Cho."

"Are you sure you're a first year?" Asked Hermione.

"When it comes to relationships I know a lot more than most adults. Veelas have a certain knack for the subject. As for the other stuff, that is the other reason why I came over here. Harry, we have a Potions test on Monday and I'm having trouble with the material. Do you think that you could help me with it this weekend?"

"Sure I can, when do you want to work on it?"

"Can we start Saturday morning?"

"Um, Saturday may not work. The first Quidditch match of the season is on Saturday and I should really see how Slytherin and Hufflepuff look."

"Harry, that's why you have a strategist." Piped in Hermione.

"We have a strategist?" Asked Ron.

"Me, dummy." Said Hermione.

"Since when?" Asked Ron.

"Harry asked me at the start of school when you guys started practice. I've been helping him come up with some of the plays you've been doing in practice."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Well, haven't you been seeing me writing plays?" Asked Hermione.

"I thought you were doodling."

"Guys!" Yelled Harry, loud enough to attract the attention of a few people around him. "Ron, she's our strategist because I knew she would be able to come up with some original plays. We didn't tell you because some of the people on the team would probably feel a little strange taking orders from her."

"Yeah."

"Well, I could have kept a secret." Replied Ron.

"Ron." Said Harry.

"Fine, I would have said something. I'm only human."

"Anyway, as I was saying earlier before Ron interrupted. You have me there so you don't need to be there. I tell you everything that happens and I'll even develop some plays to counteract the two teams. You go help Gabrielle with her test."

"Well, it looks as if you have a tutor for Saturday Gabrielle." Said Harry.

"Thank you everyone." Gabrielle then threw her arms around Harry and ran off towards the door. Harry looked over to make sure that Godric hadn't seen this display of affection. Harry knew that Godric hated it when Gabrielle hugged him.

"Damn, he saw." Said Harry as he looked down the table. Godric had turned beet red and almost seemed to have smoke coming out of his ears.

"What's his problem with you Harry?" Asked Ron.

"As far as I can tell it's because of Gabrielle. He likes her and she hugs me in front of him."

"Have you ever asked him about it?" Asked Hermione.

"I tried once but he didn't tell me anything."

"Well, he does have one thing going for him." Said Ron.

"What's that?" Asked Hermione.

"He's not a Slytherin." Replied Ron.

Harry once again tried to work on his invisibility charm with Flitwick. By the end of the most recent session he had nearly perfected it. He had got up to the level of his cloak but there were still some problems. The light around him didn't bend perfectly and as such it seemed like he was a body of water. Although it may work in a pinch, he could be easily detected if someone were searching for him.

As for Transfiguration, Harry wasn't sure what was going to happen in there. As far as he could tell he was able to turn into any animal he wanted to, what else was there?

"Harry, can you turn into a chair?" Asked Dumbledore.

"I've never tried that sir."

"Well don't start now, you and Professor McGonagall can work on that when she gets back."

"What are we going to work on then?"

"Harry, can you turn into any animal you want?"

"Name an animal and chances are I can turn into it."

"Okay, turn into a Polar Bear."

Rather easily, Harry turned into a twelve foot Polar Bear. Like always, a mark of a lightning bolt was on his brow.

"Very good Harry, now turn into Kangaroo."

Once again, Harry transformed as requested.

"Splendid, now turn into me."

Immediately Harry transformed back into his old self.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I asked you to transform into me."

"I can't do that."

"You said you can transform into any animal and am I not an animal?"

"No, you're a human."

"Still, humans are animals just different."

"Fine, but I can't do it."

"Nor did I expect you to. We'll leave that for later. For now, turn into a dragon."

"But a dragon is a magical creature, they aren't a normal animal."

"True, but they are still creatures and you should be able to transform into one."

"Very well, I'll try my best. I'm only going to do a small transformation as a full dragon would crush this room."

"Fine."

Harry, with great effort, began to transform into the great beast. He had decided to take on the form of an adolescent Chinese Fireball. Much to his surprise it was very easy for him.

"Very good Harry, now breath fire."

Harry once again switched back to his human form.

"I can't do that."

"That is what I'm going to be teaching you Harry. When I'm through with you you'll be able to transform into any magical creature and will be able to perform their abilities."

"How can I do that?"

"Simple, you'll have to learn about their abilities before you do the transformation. If you know how to perform appropriate spells then you'll be able to have the creatures abilities."

"I'm confused."

"Think about it, are you able to produce a fireball with your wand?"

"Yes."

"Then why can't you perform one as a dragon?"

"Because I'm not holding my wand."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'll let you think about this for a while. The real training will start next week."

Harry returned to the common room still pondering what Dumbledore had been talking about. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he bumped into Godric while going through the room.

"Hey Godric, I just saw your Grandpa."

"Good for you." Replied Godric before turning away from Harry. Harry made a grab for his arm.

"What's your problem?"

"You are, it is always you."

"What do you mean?"

"I hate you, I've hated you for as long as I can remember. You've brought me nothing but pain."

"What do you mean?"

"Just leave me alone!" Yelled Godric before slipping out of Harry's grasp and making a dash for the portrait hole.

"What the hell was that about?" Harry asked himself.

The day of the first Quidditch match quickly came but Harry would be missing it to help out his friend with her studies. He desperately wanted to be there but he found Gabrielle's company very soothing. Besides, with his help she was soon grabbing the concepts very easily. Harry felt good that he could help her, he felt good helping anyone.

"Think you're ready for the test now?"

"Yeah, thanks Harry."

"So, why isn't your sister helping you?"

"I don't know, she said she was busy. She's been acting very strange this weekend.."

All of a sudden Harry could hear running come towards the library. It started off very faint but it was soon becoming very loud. Harry was surprised to see that it was Ron and Hermione.

"What's going on?" Asked Harry.

"He's dead Harry!" Cried Hermione.

"Who's dead?" Asked Harry.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley." Said Ron.