Ch. 3 In Plain Sight
Disclaimer: I again remind that all these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. If they were mine, I'd retire to a tropical island full of beautiful women. As it is, I remain in Wisconsin.
As Harry and Hermione were walking down the path, a pensive silence overtook them both. Harry was deep in thought about the girl walking next to him. When had this change overtaken her? Did he always look at her the way he did now, or was this glazed look in his eyes a recent arrival? He remembered the first day at Hogwarts, coming aboard the Hogwarts Express, and meeting the two most important friends he had: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He remembered Ron's timidity at meeting the Famous Harry Potter, and how Hermione came in looking for Neville's toad. Was she as beautiful back then as she is now? What happened to her? Or did something only happen to me? Maybe I should have been more like Ron, more impulsive, more willing to joke about her brains. Maybe opposites actually DO attract. Harry sighed. Compared to the simple fact of figuring out his feelings towards a girl, A GIRL, the Triwizard Tournament seems a walk in the park!! I could take out a mountain troll, a basilisk, and escape from the clutches of Lord Voldemort more times than I could hope for, and yet Hermione Granger, the brainy know-it-all Hermione Granger, is an obstacle I could not even begin to defeat. Maybe that is my problem. I don't want to defeat this feeling, but how can I explain how I feel to her, when everything I feel seems so abstract? Only time shall tell, Mr. Potter, only time shall tell.
Harry chanced a glance at Hermione, and saw her turn her head away. She was staring at me, I think. Harry grinned. Monsters are easy; its women who I need help with.
Hermione was racing to keep up with both Harry and the thoughts racing through her mind. All the thoughts, indistinct though they were, kept returning to one central point. Harry Potter. The Famous Harry Potter. Why do they insist on calling him that, as if he were Hercules or Superman, a myth to be put on a pedestal? This was not the Harry I know, nor the Harry anyone who had actually talked to Harry knew. The Harry of Hermione's recollection was. but how do I even begin to describe him. Of course he's handsome, but there's more to it than that. He has saved my life on more than one occasion. Is that it? I like him as much as I do because he saved me? No, this started well before the Mountain Troll in the bathroom, back even when Harry and Ron were still very wary of this bossy girl with the frizzy hair. It started when I met the Famous Harry Potter, and found within him the Human Harry Potter. The boy who was famous for something he couldn't even remember, and yet still felt the urge to prove himself, to be a good person. He could have been in Slytherin. He could spend his days calling me a "Mudblood", and hanging around with Draco and the rest of those Slytherin delinquents. But that wouldn't be Harry. He's too. noble. Even when he's breaking the rules. No, I can't figure it out. Why me? Why does everyone think I'm the smartest one in Hogwarts when even simple question of why Harry Potter is my friend (or something more) evades me? For someone so smart, I can be awfully thick.
The castle of Hogwarts was very soon looming over the two wizards. But even from their vantage, they could see differences. The windows all had stained glass. A giant wooden gate blocked the normal front entrance into the Main Hall. And most disturbingly, there were archers at every turret. They all semmed to have noticed the two approaching, but seemed wary about doing anything toward these strangers. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then back at the archers. Harry shrugged.
"Might as well try the direct approach" he said. Harry, more cautious than usual walked up to the heavy wooden gate and rapped sharply on it.
"Urm, Open Sesame?" He tried. Hermione smirked at him.
"Hey it was worth trying. Who knows maybe you need to use a wand to open this."
Harry drew his wand and began to hex the door with a simple unlocking charm. As if in response to this action, a multicolored beam of light came out and hit both Harry and Hermione. Harry felt his limbs freeze, as if he were made of stone. He wanted to turn and look at Hermione, but this was impossible. A voice began to scream, coming from all sides, as if the air had taken offense to the charm performed:
"Magic!!! Magic at the front gate!!! HEEEELLLLLLLP!!!" The piercing scream continued, until Harry thought his eardrums would burst. From his vantage point, he could see a few of the archers lining the towers, and saw to his dismay that all the bows were aimed in the general direction of him.
The sound of the scream mercifully began to fade, only to be replaced by the wet thumping of a horse galloping through snow. Harry heard a voice somewhere behind him, and from the tenor and the urgency of the voice, he figured that the horseman was none to happy.
"Halt!! You mangy curs!! Oh, vile worms, you were overlooked even in your birth, for now fate has prompted you to fall into the hands of the bravest, most virtuous, most glorious knight in all the land, Sir Cadogan!!"
Oh No!!, thought Harry. Not this pompous windbag. He was bad enough as a painting. Great, this just keeps getting better and better.
"Ha!! Dogs!! You rats!! Did you think you could bring down the Great Castle Camelot!! Did you think that I, I, I would let you come near our glorious king!! Hue and cry villains, your day has. what the bloody hell?"
Apparently Sir Cadogan had finally reached the scene and found the culprits. "WALL! Release them!!"
The feeling returned to Harry's extremities, and he mistook his balance and fell face-first into a bank of snow. Getting up quickly and sputtering, he quickly called out:
"Hermione, you Okay?"
"Nothing hurt but my pride Hermione replied." Harry turned around and she looked furious. For one terrifying moment, he thought she was mad at him. If there was one thing he didn't need it was the red outline of a palm on his face. But instead Hermione whirled towards the now visible Sir Codogan, proudly sitting upon his fat pony, who had already seemed to lose interest in whatever was happening with his master.
"What was that for, you greasy, overblown ball of pudding!! We weren't trying to get to any king, we just wanted to get back to the Gryffindor Common Room!!"
Sir Cadogan looked taken aback. "My good lady, there has been no magic allowed here for the past five years! How dare you use your wand in my presence!! I should have you both strung up by your."
"But I was the one who tried to get in!" Harry burst in. He wasn't going to let Hermione be bullied by this knight. But Hermione apparently didn't think she needed the help.
"OH REALLY!" She screamed. "To think that if we wanted to get in, a melted tub of butter like yourself could stop us? Don't you know who this is? This is Harry Potter!" Sir Cadogan looked completely unafraid at this new news. "Harry Potter. The famous. ohhhhh never mind!"
"Famous, eh?!" Sir Cadogan seemed suddenly pompous and full of his old hot air again. "We shall see if we were expecting the presence of any Famous Harry Potter, especially in the company of such a.verbose young lady such as yourself!"
After screaming an annoyed "Open Up!!" to the door, which dissolved into thin air, Harry, Hermione, and their reluctant guide to Camelot entered into the warmth of the main hall.
This Main Hall was not the one that Harry knew and had grown to love. There was no carpet on the stone floor, the ceiling looked up to nothing but wood, and instead of a sea of black, the room was full of squires, pages, and ladies in various colors of brightness. However, in the center of the Hall was a sight that dropped the jaws of both the young Hogwarts students. A magnificent throne was erected, with gold surrounding its many-spired chair, plates of food and drink, and multicolored ribbons flaring over the center. Harry had never seen such a throne, nor such a man as the one sitting in it.
The man was tall and lanky, but wiry, and looked as if he had muscle hidden underneath the immense robe of deep crimson surrounding him. He had a crown, open at the top, so Harry could see his hair, now mostly gray, though with a few specks of black flowing through it. He sat fully in the chair, with quick gray eyes, quick but strangely kind, as if the speed over which he looked at everything was done as protection. His faced was etched with lines, and a large scar ran across his chin.
"King Arthur", Sir Cadogan pronounced, as he stooped into a low bow.
Disclaimer: I again remind that all these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. If they were mine, I'd retire to a tropical island full of beautiful women. As it is, I remain in Wisconsin.
As Harry and Hermione were walking down the path, a pensive silence overtook them both. Harry was deep in thought about the girl walking next to him. When had this change overtaken her? Did he always look at her the way he did now, or was this glazed look in his eyes a recent arrival? He remembered the first day at Hogwarts, coming aboard the Hogwarts Express, and meeting the two most important friends he had: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He remembered Ron's timidity at meeting the Famous Harry Potter, and how Hermione came in looking for Neville's toad. Was she as beautiful back then as she is now? What happened to her? Or did something only happen to me? Maybe I should have been more like Ron, more impulsive, more willing to joke about her brains. Maybe opposites actually DO attract. Harry sighed. Compared to the simple fact of figuring out his feelings towards a girl, A GIRL, the Triwizard Tournament seems a walk in the park!! I could take out a mountain troll, a basilisk, and escape from the clutches of Lord Voldemort more times than I could hope for, and yet Hermione Granger, the brainy know-it-all Hermione Granger, is an obstacle I could not even begin to defeat. Maybe that is my problem. I don't want to defeat this feeling, but how can I explain how I feel to her, when everything I feel seems so abstract? Only time shall tell, Mr. Potter, only time shall tell.
Harry chanced a glance at Hermione, and saw her turn her head away. She was staring at me, I think. Harry grinned. Monsters are easy; its women who I need help with.
Hermione was racing to keep up with both Harry and the thoughts racing through her mind. All the thoughts, indistinct though they were, kept returning to one central point. Harry Potter. The Famous Harry Potter. Why do they insist on calling him that, as if he were Hercules or Superman, a myth to be put on a pedestal? This was not the Harry I know, nor the Harry anyone who had actually talked to Harry knew. The Harry of Hermione's recollection was. but how do I even begin to describe him. Of course he's handsome, but there's more to it than that. He has saved my life on more than one occasion. Is that it? I like him as much as I do because he saved me? No, this started well before the Mountain Troll in the bathroom, back even when Harry and Ron were still very wary of this bossy girl with the frizzy hair. It started when I met the Famous Harry Potter, and found within him the Human Harry Potter. The boy who was famous for something he couldn't even remember, and yet still felt the urge to prove himself, to be a good person. He could have been in Slytherin. He could spend his days calling me a "Mudblood", and hanging around with Draco and the rest of those Slytherin delinquents. But that wouldn't be Harry. He's too. noble. Even when he's breaking the rules. No, I can't figure it out. Why me? Why does everyone think I'm the smartest one in Hogwarts when even simple question of why Harry Potter is my friend (or something more) evades me? For someone so smart, I can be awfully thick.
The castle of Hogwarts was very soon looming over the two wizards. But even from their vantage, they could see differences. The windows all had stained glass. A giant wooden gate blocked the normal front entrance into the Main Hall. And most disturbingly, there were archers at every turret. They all semmed to have noticed the two approaching, but seemed wary about doing anything toward these strangers. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then back at the archers. Harry shrugged.
"Might as well try the direct approach" he said. Harry, more cautious than usual walked up to the heavy wooden gate and rapped sharply on it.
"Urm, Open Sesame?" He tried. Hermione smirked at him.
"Hey it was worth trying. Who knows maybe you need to use a wand to open this."
Harry drew his wand and began to hex the door with a simple unlocking charm. As if in response to this action, a multicolored beam of light came out and hit both Harry and Hermione. Harry felt his limbs freeze, as if he were made of stone. He wanted to turn and look at Hermione, but this was impossible. A voice began to scream, coming from all sides, as if the air had taken offense to the charm performed:
"Magic!!! Magic at the front gate!!! HEEEELLLLLLLP!!!" The piercing scream continued, until Harry thought his eardrums would burst. From his vantage point, he could see a few of the archers lining the towers, and saw to his dismay that all the bows were aimed in the general direction of him.
The sound of the scream mercifully began to fade, only to be replaced by the wet thumping of a horse galloping through snow. Harry heard a voice somewhere behind him, and from the tenor and the urgency of the voice, he figured that the horseman was none to happy.
"Halt!! You mangy curs!! Oh, vile worms, you were overlooked even in your birth, for now fate has prompted you to fall into the hands of the bravest, most virtuous, most glorious knight in all the land, Sir Cadogan!!"
Oh No!!, thought Harry. Not this pompous windbag. He was bad enough as a painting. Great, this just keeps getting better and better.
"Ha!! Dogs!! You rats!! Did you think you could bring down the Great Castle Camelot!! Did you think that I, I, I would let you come near our glorious king!! Hue and cry villains, your day has. what the bloody hell?"
Apparently Sir Cadogan had finally reached the scene and found the culprits. "WALL! Release them!!"
The feeling returned to Harry's extremities, and he mistook his balance and fell face-first into a bank of snow. Getting up quickly and sputtering, he quickly called out:
"Hermione, you Okay?"
"Nothing hurt but my pride Hermione replied." Harry turned around and she looked furious. For one terrifying moment, he thought she was mad at him. If there was one thing he didn't need it was the red outline of a palm on his face. But instead Hermione whirled towards the now visible Sir Codogan, proudly sitting upon his fat pony, who had already seemed to lose interest in whatever was happening with his master.
"What was that for, you greasy, overblown ball of pudding!! We weren't trying to get to any king, we just wanted to get back to the Gryffindor Common Room!!"
Sir Cadogan looked taken aback. "My good lady, there has been no magic allowed here for the past five years! How dare you use your wand in my presence!! I should have you both strung up by your."
"But I was the one who tried to get in!" Harry burst in. He wasn't going to let Hermione be bullied by this knight. But Hermione apparently didn't think she needed the help.
"OH REALLY!" She screamed. "To think that if we wanted to get in, a melted tub of butter like yourself could stop us? Don't you know who this is? This is Harry Potter!" Sir Cadogan looked completely unafraid at this new news. "Harry Potter. The famous. ohhhhh never mind!"
"Famous, eh?!" Sir Cadogan seemed suddenly pompous and full of his old hot air again. "We shall see if we were expecting the presence of any Famous Harry Potter, especially in the company of such a.verbose young lady such as yourself!"
After screaming an annoyed "Open Up!!" to the door, which dissolved into thin air, Harry, Hermione, and their reluctant guide to Camelot entered into the warmth of the main hall.
This Main Hall was not the one that Harry knew and had grown to love. There was no carpet on the stone floor, the ceiling looked up to nothing but wood, and instead of a sea of black, the room was full of squires, pages, and ladies in various colors of brightness. However, in the center of the Hall was a sight that dropped the jaws of both the young Hogwarts students. A magnificent throne was erected, with gold surrounding its many-spired chair, plates of food and drink, and multicolored ribbons flaring over the center. Harry had never seen such a throne, nor such a man as the one sitting in it.
The man was tall and lanky, but wiry, and looked as if he had muscle hidden underneath the immense robe of deep crimson surrounding him. He had a crown, open at the top, so Harry could see his hair, now mostly gray, though with a few specks of black flowing through it. He sat fully in the chair, with quick gray eyes, quick but strangely kind, as if the speed over which he looked at everything was done as protection. His faced was etched with lines, and a large scar ran across his chin.
"King Arthur", Sir Cadogan pronounced, as he stooped into a low bow.