Harry
Disclaimer: Yay! I finished writing the rough draft of KatT! It's 25 chaps long, and is followed by two sequels tentativly titled "Harry Potter and the Resurrection of Camelot", and "Harry Potter and the Pyramids of Atlantis". I'm working on the rough draft of RoC now, and I'm happy w/ it so far. I don't really know if the following chapter holds together well...oh well. It's long and adds two more subplots....::readers collectively groan::. Well as always 1 review for Chapter Sixteen. Hopefully posted in a day or two. R/R/E (Read/Review/Enjoy)
Harry returned to the common room late that night with Hermione after finishing the essay, and kissed her goodnight for a long time before heading into his dorm.
To his surprise, none other then Ron Weasley was pacing the dorm room mumbling to himself.
"What's wrong Ron?" Harry asked, concerned for his friend's well-being.
"Cho," was all Ron said, as though this explained everything.
"Uh, right Ron," Harry said, confused, "What about Cho?"
"Her friends say she likes me."
Harry was bewildered, "But isn't that what you want? I mean the song and everything."
Ron nodded, "But that just it!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "She pays no attention to me!"
Harry sighed, "Ron, just ask her out. You did that with Hermione, didn't you?"
Ron shook his head, "But that...that...was different."
Harry rolled his eyes, "How so?"
Ron glared at Harry, "Don't do this to me. My brothers don't know who they are, Calvin and Hermione have taken their places on the Quidditch team. Ginny doesn't spend any time with me, not that I blame her, and your always off snogging Hermione!"
Harry felt a pang of guilt, he had been ignoring Ron a lot, too much, actually. "Look, Ron. For one I'm not off snogging with Hermione all the time. I was working on an essay with her in the library. I made a deal with her that'd I do all of my homework like she does for a month."
A smile slowly crept across Ron's face and turned into some sniggering. Harry frantically tried to get his friend to be quiet, as the others were beginning to move in their sleep. Finally, Ron calmed down, wiping the tears off his face from his hysterical laughter.
"Harry, you're really going to regret that you know!"
Harry nodded, "So, are you going to ask Cho out?"
Ron shook his head, "Where will I get the courage, Harry? How'd you ask Hermione out?"
Harry thought, this would be difficult, as it was a different situation, it had more like love at-no, Harry told himself, like at first, or rather around one millionth sight as he had known her for five years first. Hmmm...what should he say?
"Well, I, er, just asked her, 'Hermione, will you go out with me?'"
Ron looked up hopefully, "Really?"
"Yeah," Harry hoped he wasn't giving his friend bad advice, after all, he had really known Hermione before he asked her out. Ron didn't know anything about Cho. Not that Harry did for that matter. "Now, let me get to sleep. 'Mione wants me up at six tomorrow."
Ron shrugged as if to say, Whatever, and Harry went into his four-poster and fell asleep, forgetting he still had his school robes on, completely exhausted.
Harry was aware of a faint pounding on his bed the next morning, and then felt something cold touch his face. He rolled over groggily, as he was not a morning person. He saw Hermione Granger standing by his four-poster, already dressed for the day, and holding a soaked rag.
"Hermione?!" he asked incredulously, "What's going on?"
"Shh!" Hermione said, putting a finger to her lips. It's six a.m."
"What in the name of Merlin do we have to do at six a.m.?!" Harry said, a little too loudly, and Harry heard Seamus' tired voice call out,
"Shut up, there Harry! Stop talking to yourself! You-Know-Who's not outside the window!"
Hermione giggled, "C'mon Harry!"
Harry protested more quietly, "But I've got to get to the prefect's bathroom and take a shower. These robes are the one's I wore last night."
Hermione sighed, "All right, go take a shower, and meet me at the library."
Harry nodded, grabbed a new set of robes, and headed out the door after Hermione.
After a quick shower in the prefect's bathroom, although Harry preferred taking baths, as the prefect's bathtub was almost like a swimming pool, Harry changed and ran out to meet Hermione at the library. When Harry arrived he noticed she had her collecting tin she used for S.P.E.W. out and her S.P.E.W. badge was on.
"C'mon, Herms," Harry groaned, "Do we have to do this?"
Hermione stared at Harry, "House elf liberation is more important then a lot of other things Harry, like Quidditch."
"But your on the Quidditch team," Harry pointed out.
Hermione shrugged, "Yeah, until Fred and George come back."
Harry shook his head, "I dunno. You're better then Fred or George, I'll admit that in front of them."
Hermione smiled, and Harry felt his knees go weak and he sat down.
"Anyway, 'Mione. You tried collecting money last year, and it didn't work, I mean, why don't you go and see Dumbledore about it?"
Harry had been kidding, but Hermione's eyes widened, "Great idea Harry!"
Oh great, was all Harry could think.
"Why didn't I think of it before! Dumbledore hired Dobby and Winky! He's obviously pro-elf rights!"
"Herm," Harry began trying to tell her that this was dumb, impossible, and embarrassing, but Hermione cut him off.
"Let's go, Harry!"
Sighing and hoping Dumbledore would forgive him, Harry stood up, slipped his arm around Hermione's waist and walked towards Dumbledore's office.
"Cauldron Cake!" he said lazily to the stone gargoyle and it moved away slowly, and Harry and Hermione walked in, up the stairs, and through the oak doors. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk stroking Fawkes, and staring at something that seemed far away. He did however, motion that Harry and Hermione sit down.
"So," Dumbledore said quietly, and Harry was afraid that something was wrong, "You came here. Well I suppose that's best. Harry, I have bad news for you."
A billion thoughts and worries ran through Harry's mind, but only one stood out, "The dementors caught Sirius?"
"No," Dumbledore said sadly, "Your cousin and aunt were murdered by Death Eaters. For some reason , a reason that I'm not sure why just yet, your uncle was spared."
Harry felt like a ten-ton truck had just mowed over his chest. Dudley and Aunt Petunia dead? Why in Heaven's name would Voldemort wish to kill the Dursley's? They were no threat to Voldemort, and why had Uncle Vernon lived? It made no sense whatsoever.
"Oh."
"I understand this must be a shock to you, Harry," Dumbledore said gently, still stroking Fawkes, "But they were obviously important to him. Severus tells me he sent them there immediately, and they were dead before the meeting was over and Severus could warn me. I'll excuse you from classes tomorrow if you wish."
"Oh no, Professor," Harry answered, "It's not that bad, I just...don't get it, that's all."
Dumbledore nodded, "I know the feeling Harry. I wish I didn't, but I do. Now, what did you and Miss Granger come to talk to me about, are you two getting married?" A faint gleam of the familiar sparkle was in Dumbledore's blue eyes.
Harry's face went red, "Uh, no, Professor. No. Er, um, well."
Hermione giggled at Harry's obvious discomfort, "Actually, Professor, last year I formed a society called, S.P.E.W., Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare, and we were wandering if..." Hermione' voice trailed off, losing it's previous courage, "Er, you would help us."
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, "You realize, of course, Miss Granger, that house-elves enjoy working."
Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Er, yeah, but it's because they don't know better."
Dumbledore nodded, "Frankly I believe that you're right, Miss Granger, and the house-elf Dobby really is perhaps the best of his kind. Unfortunately, even he doesn't wish to have equal wages to a human."
Hermione grinned, "So you'll join?"
A smile spread across Dumbledore's face, and it was infectious. Harry found himself smiling as well. "Naturally, I believe it's two Sickles for membership?"
Hermione blushed, "Oh, Professor, er, you don't have to, erm pay."
Dumbledore grinned broadly as he placed two silver coins on the desk and Hermione tossed them into the collecting can, and gave him a badge.
"Oh, and one more thing Hermione," Dumbledore said, pinning the badge to his robes under the Order of Merlin, First Class, "Please tell each of the house-elves they will be receiving payments of one Galleon a week a piece from now one. I believe Mr. Potter knows where they are, and so do you."
Hermione blushed and nodded.
"Go, you have my permission. And don't hesitate to use my name in recruiting," Dumbledore smiled, "And Harry, again, I'm sorry."
Harry nodded, not wanting to think about the fate of his aunt and cousin, and left with Hermione.
"Wow," she said, rattling the two silver Sickles in the can, "I can't believe that."
Harry put his arm around her, "I guess your pretty happy, huh, Herms?"
Hermione nodded vigorously and gave Harry and quick, but soft kiss on the lips, "Yeah. We're helping to free the slaves, like Abraham Lincoln."
"Abraham Lincoln?" Harry repeated, the name was vaguely familiar.
"Yeah," Hermione said, "Muggle President of the United States during the North American War, he freed the slaves in the South, didn't you ever take U.S. History in Muggle school?"
Harry shook his head, "I was going to go to Stonewall High, and take it when I turned eleven, but I never went, 'cause I came here."
"Really?" Hermione said with interest, "I was going to go to Stonewall High. Maybe we would have been friends there."
Harry laughed hollowly, "Not if you saw the uniform I was going to wear, it looked horrible, I mean Ugly with a capital U."
Hermione raised her eyebrows, "And since I would have been ostracized for being a know-it-all, we probably would have been friends."
Harry grinned, "I hope so, but we're more then friends now, aren't we?"
"Yup," Hermione grinned as they entered the hallway that contained the entrance to the kitchens.
Harry tickled the pear on the correct portrait, and as it sniggered, the door opened and Harry and Hermione walked in.
"Harry Potter, sir, has come to visit Dobby, sir! Thank you, Harry Potter, sir!"
Harry looked down at his leg were Dobby, with his big eyes was hugging him gratefully. Dobby's clothes were interesting too say the least, a tea cozy for a hat, a weird-looking Hawaiian type shirt, jeans that had been cut into shorts, with rope for a belt, and two different types of socks, and a tennis shoe on one foot and a Muggle dress shoe on the other. Harry had a lot of trouble to prevent from laughing.
"Hey there Dobby. How have you been."
"Great! Harry Potter, sirs! We really enjoyed playing at the feast Harry Potter. It was wonderful, some elves have even," he huddled closely to Harry and whispered, "taken breaks from work, sir!"
"That's fantastic," Hermione said, "Actually, this leads up to my announcement from Dumbledore."
At these words the elves all looked up expectantly, Dumbledore was their master and they served him, a message from him was important, especially if Harry Potter had been sent.
"You'll all be paid a Galleon a week!" Hermione exclaimed, obviously expecting them to cheer. Instead, a few grumbled but most went back to their work, although they did seem a little annoyed.
Dobby looked up at Hermione, "Really, ma'am? Paying for all elves? House-elves get monies?"
Hermione nodded, smiling that at least one elf was overjoyed to see his fellows become better off.
"Hurrah!" Dobby yelled, in his squeaky voice, "Would you like some food, sirs and ma'am?"
"No thanks," Hermione declined before Harry could accept the offer, "We're going to eat."
"Okay, be sure to comes again!" Dobby waved as they left.
As they walked out, Harry noticed that Hermione didn't look too happy, he put his arm around her shoulders, "What's the matter, huh, 'Mione?"
Hermione sighed, "It just makes no sense, why don't they get ecstatic when they get paid?"
"Maybe because they don't have anything to buy," Harry suggested lightly.
Hermione snapped to attention, "Of course! That's it Harry, your a genius!"
"What the-Herm, I was-" Harry was cut off as Hermione kissed him. Harry put his hands around her waist and kissed her back, but eventually they had to come up for air as both were gasping when they finished.
"Thanks, Harry!" she said again, and they walked off to the Great Hall, hand-in-hand.
Upon arrival at the Great Hall, they found that most of the school had finally woken up and was there. Harry and Hermione sat down for a place at the Gryffindor table, but for forced to sit across from each other. Then, an interesting event happened. Everyone, at every table were sent Howlers, except for Calvin, Ron, and Ginny, which Harry found very suspicious. Sighing deeply, Harry tried to slit open the red envelope that was beginning to smoke out of the sides. But it wouldn't open! Harry vigorously tried to open the Howler. Eventually it exploded in his hands, burning them both pretty bad, but not before he got a look at a logo on the lower right corner of the envelope, 'WWW'.
"EYOWWWWWWW!" Harry's scream was hardly heard by anyone because of the explosions of other trick Howlers and the yelps of others who had the Howler burst apart while in their hands. Harry wrung both of his hands which were both blackened with ash. Hermione, who had been smart enough to let hers blow up on the table, saw Harry's hands, tut-tutted, and then performed a Bandage Charm on them, covering them up with gauze strips. He nodded thankfully. Others asked Hermione to perform the spell on them, while other staggered out in the direction of the hospital wing. Still others glared at Calvin, Ginny, and Ron, who were trying hard to laugh.
Professor Dumbledore, who had been up on the staff table enjoying his breakfast heard the bursting of Howlers and the screams of pain and magically amplified his voice and quickly gained the attention the Hall.
"Those of you injured by the Howlers should immediately head to the hospital wing to get your skin repaired, if you have not been harmed, please continue eating as normal."
Harry was one of the first one's to head out of the Hall after a sideways look at Ron and Calvin who were now concentrated on looking like perfect angels.
When Harry was out of the hospital wing, it had only taken Madam Pomfrey a minute to repair the skin after muttering a charm and smearing some kind of gelatin over the burned areas of his hands and shooed him out, he met up with Calvin, Ron, and Hermione.
"So," Harry said coolly, as though trying to be intimidating, although his smile betrayed that, "Did you Mr. Arrow, and you Mr. Weasley have anything to do with that, er, 'incident' in the Great Hall?"
"Guilty as charged," Ron said, "Fred and George are beginning to get their memories back, and they told us they'd been planning on doing that for awhile."
"They've regained a lot of their memory really fast then," Hermione said.
Ron nodded, "Yeah, really weird, since they were supposed to be completely out for the year, but Dumbledore told us Madam Pomfrey always makes everything seem worse then it is."
Harry nodded, "Yeah, everything, except that regrowing bones are painful." He winced at the memory
Calvin smiled, "Yeah, one time playing Calvinball, Hobbes said a curse wrong, and took out all of the bones in my legs. That's a painful."
Ron and Hermione sniggered, Harry didn't as he could understand more clearly."
"Well," Hermione said, "Time for Transfiguration."
"Yeah," said Ron, "and then Hermione's favorite Divination."
Harry groaned, he'd forgotten about Divination.
As they walked into Transfiguration, they saw Professor McGonagall mindlessly transfiguring objects throughout the room. Looking up at them, she smiled. "Potter, Granger, Weasley, and Arrow. Good morning. Please take your seats, class will begin in a minute."
Shortly after they took their seats, the rest of the fifth-year Gryffindors, and the fifth-year Hufflepuffs walked in.
"Today," trilled Professor McGonagall, "We will began studying Transmogrifying, does anyone here know what the Transmogrifier Spell does?"
Hermione and Calvin's hands both shot up into the air. Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise, usually Calvin failed miserably at answering questions and would be lucky to skim past all of his classes, except Defense Against the Dark Arts, were he challenged Hermione for first in the class.
"Mr. Arrow?"
"The Transmogrifer Spell, invented by a young American wizard," Calvin, Harry thought, "And officially conceived as a spell four years ago," when Calvin was eleven in America, Harry figured quickly, "really chooses the person rather then the person chooses the spell. Normally, Transmogrification is random. However, some wizards can actually transmogrify on demand by saying the magic word, "Zap!"
"Very good," answered McGonagall, "Ten points to Gryffindor."
Calvin beamed, and stared at the surprised faces around him.
"Another question," continued McGonagall, "Does the person who has transmogrified always appear that way to everyone?"
Hermione and Calvin again raised their hands.
"Miss Granger," McGonagall called out.
"No," Hermione answered, "Only by other wizards or magical creatures."
"Excellent. Now your homework is..."
The class groaned.
After classes Harry asked Ron if he'd asked Cho out yet. When Ron said no, Harry encouraged his friend to go and ask her immediately, or else he'd tell the entire school Ron loved Cho with the Quidditch megaphone during dinner. When Ron laughed, Harry quickly the turned the wrong way at a hallway, and Ron asked where he was going.
"To go pick up the megaphone," was Harry's answer.
Ron went completely white. "No, Harry. Please no, Harry."
"Just ask her then, you asked Fleur to the Yule Ball last year."
Ron's face went from white to red in remembrance, "But...I didn't mean too..."
"Just do it," Harry said.
Ron gave an audible sigh, defeated, "All right then."
"Great," Harry enthused, looking behind him. He had heard somebody coming and was right, in fact was Cho! Naturally, she was surrounded by all of her girlfriends, and at the sight of her, Ron went beet-red from head to toe.
"C'mon Ron," Harry said, taking his friend by the arm and ignoring his protests as Harry dragged him over to Cho, and left him there in front of her like any good friend with only the words, "Ron needs to ask you something Cho." and left to meet Hermione and Calvin (who was joining this study session) in the library.
Twenty minutes later in the library, Harry was polishing off the rest of his History of Magic assignment, (detail the works of the first Minister of Magic, Deveen Tyrone") when Ron walked in, literally floating in mid-air.
"Hey what happened with Cho?" Hermione asked trying, but absolutely failing to sound casual.
Ron grimaced, "I'll tell you later, now, would somebody please perform the Delevitation Charm? Malfoy met up with me in the halls, after I asked Cho."
"What'd she say?" Harry asked eagerly.
Ron ignored him, "Would somebody please get me down?"
Calvin flashed a smile that made his mouth look like a triangle, it was so wide, and shook his head, "Not until you tell us?" he said in a sing-song voice.
Ron's eyes flashed with temper, "GET ME DOWN!" he bellowed.
"Why can't you?" Harry asked, trying his best to look innocent.
"I FORGOT THE BLOODY WORDS, NOW GET ME DOWN!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and yanked out her wand, pointing it at Ron, she muttered, "Aleviosisa!" and Ron's feet finally touched ground.
"Thank you, Hermione," Ron said still anger in his voice.
"Now," Calvin said, "What'd she say?"
Ron looked down and sighed.
Uh oh, Harry thought, She must've said no.
Ron looked up, now smiling. "She said yes."
"Why to go Ron!" said Calvin as he put down his quill, "Finally I finished that extra Charms work. You guys done?"
Harry finished his last line on his History of Magic parchment and nodded. "Yeah, I'm done, how 'bout you, Herm?"
"I finished twenty minutes, ago. You want to go back to the common room and play some wizard chess? We don't have Quidditch practice today."
Harry smiled, "I would know, wouldn't I? After all, I do set the dates and times for practices."
"How 'bout I play winner, eh, Harry?" asked Calvin as he placed a few books back on the shelves.
"Sure," Harry answered, "You in too Ron? We can make it a tournament."
"Uh, no." answered Ron, "I, er, need to go to the Ravenclaw common room, "Um, it's a party Cho's friends are throwing for her birthday, and I'm invited."
Harry chuckled, "Go then Ron. Tell us all about it later, of course."
Back in the common room, Harry managed to lose spectacularly to Hermione, and his chess pieces spent more time fighting each other over whether or not to follow Harry's orders so often that he had to sometimes move them by hand.
Calvin then beat Hermione just as spectacularly as Harry had lost to Hermione, and Harry played Calvin. This time Harry managed to keep the game close for awhile, but eventually lost everyplace but his king, and the king faked a stroke so the game could end. Hermione then declined another game as it was getting late and "prefects need their sleep". Calvin promised to meet Harry up in the boys' dorm after he put away the chess set, which Harry did, and then he bent to kiss Hermione goodnight...
"STUPENDOUS MAN! Da da da da dah da da!"
A crimson caped figure zoomed down the stairs in mid-air and flew head-first right into Harry and Hermione. Harry whacked his head against the corner of a table, and broke his glasses while doing so.
Meanwhile, the red superhero pumped a yellow-gloved fist in the air.
"S for Stupendous!
T for Tiger, ferocity of of!
U for Underwear, red!
P for Power, mighty!
E for Excellence, everywhere!
N for Nothing, gets past him!
D for Doctors, who help those who get in his way!
O for, er, Awesome, no wait, that's an "A", um, for Outstanding!
U for, um, why couldn't I have picked Superman, er, Ultra, cool!
S for Superhero!"
"Calvin?" Harry asked shocked, as he performed the Repairing Spell on his glasses.
"No," Stupendous Man said, "I am not Calvin, my 15-year old alter-ego, I am STUPENDOUS MANNNNNN!"
Hermione started laughing.
"What?" Stupendous Man turned around, "It can't be! My evil arch-nemesis, er, AMAZON GIRL!"
Stupendous Man pointed a gloved hand at Hermione, muttered, "Zap!" and she changed into a green-caped outfit, similar to Stupendous Man's, but without the hood.
"Um, er, okay..." Amazon Girl said, "Oh, er, Harry? Help me think of a line...I'm not good under pressure..."
Stupendous Man turned around, "Why, yes! It's," he performed the Transmogrifer Spell again, "LIGHTNING! My good partner in crimefighting!"
Harry looked down at his blue costume, with a yellow belt, a yellow lightning logo on his chest, blue lightning on his yellow gloves, and a yellow cape with a blue lightning on it, but no hood.
"Er, yeah, I'm Lightning! Er, foolish Amazon! Trying to locate, our, er, secret hiding place!"
Hermione, or Amazon Girl, looked confused. "Oh, yeah, um,"
"Did you really think that you could defeat Lightning and Stupendous Man, Amazon?" Stupendous Man thundered.
"Um, er, no." Amazon Girl mumbled.
Stupendous Man laughed, "Ah ha! I see, evil Amazon! Well no matter," he pointed a gloved hand at Amazon Girl, "Stupefy!"
Amazon Girl, quickly moved out of the way, and rolled on the floor, using a sofa as cover. She stood up, Harry or Lightning, pointed at her with his hand, "Um, Expelliarmus?"
Amazon Girl was knocked back on the floor, but no wand came. Lightning supposed she didn't have her wand when she transformed, or he stared at his hand, which itched funnily, maybe it was Transmogrified into the hand?
"Great job Lightning!" Stupendous Man bellowed, "Now we can transform back into our normal selves!"
With that Stupendous Man yelled out "Azap!" and Harry looked down and saw his normal school robes and his wand in his right hand. He gave a sigh of relief and looked at Calvin who was standing there grinning. Hermione then got up, and climbed over the sofa.
"What in the name of Merlin's beard was that for Calvin?"
"Fun," Calvin answered shrugging, "At Salem we always had Superhero battles, and I was either Spiff, a dinosaur, Safari Al, Tracer Bullet or Stupendous Man. Old Stupendous here is my favorite."
"Well," Harry said, "That was certainly new, we'll have to try that again. How 'bout two weeks from now, after Quidditch?"
"Spiffy!" Calvin answered grinning broadly.
