Chapter 41 As The School Year Nears The End.
The game went on and on, it was evening on the third day…though there wasn't any way to tell the passage of time for the players. They rotated often, the main team got four hours of sleep out of every sixteen hours. The game had so far gone on for 73 hours…and they were all exhausted. Sometime in the early morning of this, the third day, Harry had made all of them get six straight hours of sleep; they had been back in the air for about twelve hours. Four times Harry had seen the snitch; and four times he had lost it. The storm still raged terribly around them. Three players and one bystander had been hit by lightning, Ira, Harry, and a Slytherin beater and a Ravenclaw spectator.
Harry twisted to avoid a bludger and rolled again as he saw lightning flash. *Come on Harry, stop it, you used to be so good at this* He thought angrily, bitterly remembering that not two months ago a storm like this would have proved no problem, infact it would have been an advantage. But he seemed to have forgotten how to ride the storm…or maybe not. Harry went into a dive and angled down the pitch before the winds. He turned up just as lightning blasted down missing him by a few feet. Harry started to laugh as the familiar feeling of excitement and roaring power filled him, yes, lightning was definitely his friend. He rolled and went spinning off, laughing almost uncontrollably as he played tag with the storm, swishing about as the lightning zapped at him, breathing the scorched air and laughing his head off with joy. Glorying in the power unleashed all about him, finally he broke off and began his search for the snitch again, feeling much refreshed. There! A flicker high overhead caught his eye and he turned up, then it plummeted, Harry followed. Weaving in and out of other players and grinning like a mad man. He twisted and went into a roll only a few inches from the ground, as he was coming up from under his broom he reached out and snatched it from the air.
His triumphant shout and laughter, followed by a deafening crash of thunder and lash of lightning rang out.
"Potter has the snitch! The game is over! 340 to 250 Gryffindor wins!" Six red blurs came racing at Harry and slammed into him.
"You did it! We won!" Ira was shouting ecstatically, kissing him thoroughly, two hard thumps to the back nearly knocked him off his broom as the beaters arrived. The cheering mass somehow made it to the ground in one piece and headed up to the teachers box. There a drenched and relieved looking Albus Dumbledore handed them the trophy, Harry could see all the students…nice and dry inside…waving and cheering from the windows.
**
The party lasted all night long; Harry finally went to bed well after midnight, completely exhausted. They had all been excused from classes the next day, and for that they were all grateful; it had been the longest match in Hogwarts history…by twenty-one hours and two minutes. And it had had the worst weather.
**
Exams were just a week away. Now that he wasn't worrying over Quidditch or the elementals attack Harry spent just about every minute he could running all sorts of tests on elemental body parts. The blood of the water elemental had turned out to be wonderful for treating burns. He believed that the air one could be a cure for asthma…but he still had to test it on a human. Fire elemental blood would be excellent for engravers because it was so acidic…but its cancer treating properties were amazing. Dried and powered air elemental eye, when added to water elemental blood and mixed with sulfuric acid and powered fire elemental claw, was an amazingly effective antidote for very nearly all poisons. (Though it wouldn't work on basilisk poison or cyanide for some reason) Harry and Snape spent every single class running elaborate tests on elemental blood…they had blown up two caldrons and managed to create the most effective wrinkle remover known to man. The furious arguments had stopped, mostly; Snape had finally figured out that Harry had almost limitless patience. Except when he was being accused of cheating, now they argued as equals over how to tell if the wart a drop of earth elemental stomach fluid had grown on a frog was explosively inclined or merely filled with a Poison Ivy rash removing pus.
To top it all off Harry was taking his Tests for Potions Mastery. It was difficult, but not beyond him, he even rewrote some of the potions used to create a more effective of simple form. Snape grudgingly agreed that there was no doubt over whether or not Harry would make the cut. Though no one had ever gotten a perfect score or above, Harry was going to try. He had negotiated with the staff to take his History, Divination, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Runes NEWTs this year, despite the fact that he was only in his sixth year, and hadn't taken Muggle Studies or Ancient Runes as a course. Reluctantly they agreed, knowing that he would then spend more time next year on his other classes and on his own private research. What they didn't know was that Harry was studying many of the subjects that muggle high school and college students studied. His thirst for knowledge was continuous, especially in the sciences. He mixed muggle chemistry with potions and examined magical creatures trying to find out what their DNA was like. He also kept up to date on muggle Astronomy and technological advances. Harry had developed a terrifying theory that, should the muggles become highly enough advanced, they would find a way to discovery the magical world and all within it. And that would be catastrophic.
Voldemort still held Honshu, and was making stabs into Australia, islands off the coast of Africa and archipelagos around South America and off of Asia. The Order was kept busy round the clock. Voldemort's strong hold had been located, through information of the weather, terrain, and wildlife provided by patrols and spies and some extensive map work by Harry, in Siberia. The only other possible place besides his castle in Siberia at which he could center his forces was Honshu or the small island of Lively, one of the Falkland isles of the coast of South America. Here he had a gigantic, half finished, base. A full acre in size. No muggle could visit it, it was considered a top-secret government facility…actually no one was sure which government it belonged too. It was rumored that the leaders of the Falkland isles were, or some of them, dark wizards firmly siding with Voldemort. But the facility wasn't even nearly finished and currently terrific storms were ravaging the island. Making Honshu the most likely choice for a secondary base.
**
Ira sat quietly in her chair; watch Ron and Hermione argue furiously. They weren't shouting, both were trying to keep their tempers…but the anger was almost visible…something about some guy called Lockhart…a Defense teacher some year…though she'd heard quite a bit of bad language from Ron about the guy…Ira really had no idea. Across the room Draco watched, looking so thoroughly bored and disgusted it was almost funny. Ira checked her watch and shifted nervously. Where was Harry? They were supposed to be pulling a large prank that evening. She looked over at Draco, caught his eye and tapped her watch. Draco looked towards the other rooms, namely the potions room. Ah, so Harry was still at work in there? He'd only been there since noon. Ira stood and glared ta Ron and Hermione.
"How about you get ready, we have to go if we want to finish this prank. I'll get Harry." She said firmly when a brief lull in the fighting came; the others left the room quickly to gather the supplies they would need.
**
Harry smiled as he bent over the small caldron, they had finally stopped arguing. He heard ira enter and pretended not to notice her until her hand rested on his shoulder and she kissed his cheek.
"You coming?"
"Ah yes the prank." Ira snorted and winced away as the caldron let loose a puff of orange fumes, which Harry captured into a bottle with a spell.
"Ah yes nothing, you heard the whole argument, come on or they'll be at it again and we'll never get it done." Harry chuckled and turned off the fire and put a lid on the caldron. He grabbed four bottles from a shelf, shrunk them and put them in his pocket before wrapping an arm about her and steering her out the door. It was an unspoken rule between Harry, Draco, and Ira to never, ever, let Ron and Hermione argue continuously for over a half hour…otherwise full fledge screaming was likely to ensue to the point that neither remembered what exactly they were fighting over or how they'd gotten to that point. Once at this point whole weeks of the silent treatment from both of them to each other could start, even to the point where they refused to even ask each other to pass the butter.
**
The next morning the Slytherins woke up with silver and green hair, the Hufflepuffs with yellow and black, the Ravenclaws with blue and bronze and the Gryffindors with red and gold…the professors were rainbow colored. Not only that but the Ravenclaws hair was spiked straight up, every Slytherins hair was curled into perfect springs which stood up straight all over their heads, the springs were arranged and colored so that they looked checkered, and the Hufflepuffs had a ling of ponytails going all the way around their head and another row from ear to ear over the top. The Gryffindors hair was fine, besides the coloring.
**
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Ira ate a little then hurried from the hall, today they had exams. Harry was taking the end of year exams and the NEWTs he was taking after school or if he finished an exam early.
"What was that stuff you're supposed to mix with werewolf saliva, Himalayan Storm Dragon tears and coconut oil to produce that shiny stuff that is used to pickle those four types of arctic fungus for a year before using them in potions? Question 83?" Ron asked, worried, as they left Potions, which had been particularly excruciating for most.
"Pixie drops, I think," Draco supplied, Hermione and Ira agreed.
"No it's Kraken Wax, Pixie drops can't be mixed with a mixture werewolf salvia and Himalayan Storm Dragon tears unless Copper Crab intestinal acid B or C is added, it explodes. You see Pixie drops react with the special type of salt that is produced when the salts from werewolf tears meets the emeraldic acid in the dragons tears…that I think the product is called emeraldic salt, it explodes when it touches Pixie drops." Harry supplied, the others all gave him bewildered looks, then Hermione gasped.
"Oh your right! Oh no! Do you think he'd-"
"No, it won't hurt you to miss one question, anyway it'd be cheating since Harry told us." Draco said as they hurried to lunch.
Sorry if it's a little short…and the potions junk is confusing…it's supposed to sound really advanced and difficult…I hope it does. Anyhow please review…I probably won't be posting for three or four days…maybe more. Sorry.
The game went on and on, it was evening on the third day…though there wasn't any way to tell the passage of time for the players. They rotated often, the main team got four hours of sleep out of every sixteen hours. The game had so far gone on for 73 hours…and they were all exhausted. Sometime in the early morning of this, the third day, Harry had made all of them get six straight hours of sleep; they had been back in the air for about twelve hours. Four times Harry had seen the snitch; and four times he had lost it. The storm still raged terribly around them. Three players and one bystander had been hit by lightning, Ira, Harry, and a Slytherin beater and a Ravenclaw spectator.
Harry twisted to avoid a bludger and rolled again as he saw lightning flash. *Come on Harry, stop it, you used to be so good at this* He thought angrily, bitterly remembering that not two months ago a storm like this would have proved no problem, infact it would have been an advantage. But he seemed to have forgotten how to ride the storm…or maybe not. Harry went into a dive and angled down the pitch before the winds. He turned up just as lightning blasted down missing him by a few feet. Harry started to laugh as the familiar feeling of excitement and roaring power filled him, yes, lightning was definitely his friend. He rolled and went spinning off, laughing almost uncontrollably as he played tag with the storm, swishing about as the lightning zapped at him, breathing the scorched air and laughing his head off with joy. Glorying in the power unleashed all about him, finally he broke off and began his search for the snitch again, feeling much refreshed. There! A flicker high overhead caught his eye and he turned up, then it plummeted, Harry followed. Weaving in and out of other players and grinning like a mad man. He twisted and went into a roll only a few inches from the ground, as he was coming up from under his broom he reached out and snatched it from the air.
His triumphant shout and laughter, followed by a deafening crash of thunder and lash of lightning rang out.
"Potter has the snitch! The game is over! 340 to 250 Gryffindor wins!" Six red blurs came racing at Harry and slammed into him.
"You did it! We won!" Ira was shouting ecstatically, kissing him thoroughly, two hard thumps to the back nearly knocked him off his broom as the beaters arrived. The cheering mass somehow made it to the ground in one piece and headed up to the teachers box. There a drenched and relieved looking Albus Dumbledore handed them the trophy, Harry could see all the students…nice and dry inside…waving and cheering from the windows.
**
The party lasted all night long; Harry finally went to bed well after midnight, completely exhausted. They had all been excused from classes the next day, and for that they were all grateful; it had been the longest match in Hogwarts history…by twenty-one hours and two minutes. And it had had the worst weather.
**
Exams were just a week away. Now that he wasn't worrying over Quidditch or the elementals attack Harry spent just about every minute he could running all sorts of tests on elemental body parts. The blood of the water elemental had turned out to be wonderful for treating burns. He believed that the air one could be a cure for asthma…but he still had to test it on a human. Fire elemental blood would be excellent for engravers because it was so acidic…but its cancer treating properties were amazing. Dried and powered air elemental eye, when added to water elemental blood and mixed with sulfuric acid and powered fire elemental claw, was an amazingly effective antidote for very nearly all poisons. (Though it wouldn't work on basilisk poison or cyanide for some reason) Harry and Snape spent every single class running elaborate tests on elemental blood…they had blown up two caldrons and managed to create the most effective wrinkle remover known to man. The furious arguments had stopped, mostly; Snape had finally figured out that Harry had almost limitless patience. Except when he was being accused of cheating, now they argued as equals over how to tell if the wart a drop of earth elemental stomach fluid had grown on a frog was explosively inclined or merely filled with a Poison Ivy rash removing pus.
To top it all off Harry was taking his Tests for Potions Mastery. It was difficult, but not beyond him, he even rewrote some of the potions used to create a more effective of simple form. Snape grudgingly agreed that there was no doubt over whether or not Harry would make the cut. Though no one had ever gotten a perfect score or above, Harry was going to try. He had negotiated with the staff to take his History, Divination, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Runes NEWTs this year, despite the fact that he was only in his sixth year, and hadn't taken Muggle Studies or Ancient Runes as a course. Reluctantly they agreed, knowing that he would then spend more time next year on his other classes and on his own private research. What they didn't know was that Harry was studying many of the subjects that muggle high school and college students studied. His thirst for knowledge was continuous, especially in the sciences. He mixed muggle chemistry with potions and examined magical creatures trying to find out what their DNA was like. He also kept up to date on muggle Astronomy and technological advances. Harry had developed a terrifying theory that, should the muggles become highly enough advanced, they would find a way to discovery the magical world and all within it. And that would be catastrophic.
Voldemort still held Honshu, and was making stabs into Australia, islands off the coast of Africa and archipelagos around South America and off of Asia. The Order was kept busy round the clock. Voldemort's strong hold had been located, through information of the weather, terrain, and wildlife provided by patrols and spies and some extensive map work by Harry, in Siberia. The only other possible place besides his castle in Siberia at which he could center his forces was Honshu or the small island of Lively, one of the Falkland isles of the coast of South America. Here he had a gigantic, half finished, base. A full acre in size. No muggle could visit it, it was considered a top-secret government facility…actually no one was sure which government it belonged too. It was rumored that the leaders of the Falkland isles were, or some of them, dark wizards firmly siding with Voldemort. But the facility wasn't even nearly finished and currently terrific storms were ravaging the island. Making Honshu the most likely choice for a secondary base.
**
Ira sat quietly in her chair; watch Ron and Hermione argue furiously. They weren't shouting, both were trying to keep their tempers…but the anger was almost visible…something about some guy called Lockhart…a Defense teacher some year…though she'd heard quite a bit of bad language from Ron about the guy…Ira really had no idea. Across the room Draco watched, looking so thoroughly bored and disgusted it was almost funny. Ira checked her watch and shifted nervously. Where was Harry? They were supposed to be pulling a large prank that evening. She looked over at Draco, caught his eye and tapped her watch. Draco looked towards the other rooms, namely the potions room. Ah, so Harry was still at work in there? He'd only been there since noon. Ira stood and glared ta Ron and Hermione.
"How about you get ready, we have to go if we want to finish this prank. I'll get Harry." She said firmly when a brief lull in the fighting came; the others left the room quickly to gather the supplies they would need.
**
Harry smiled as he bent over the small caldron, they had finally stopped arguing. He heard ira enter and pretended not to notice her until her hand rested on his shoulder and she kissed his cheek.
"You coming?"
"Ah yes the prank." Ira snorted and winced away as the caldron let loose a puff of orange fumes, which Harry captured into a bottle with a spell.
"Ah yes nothing, you heard the whole argument, come on or they'll be at it again and we'll never get it done." Harry chuckled and turned off the fire and put a lid on the caldron. He grabbed four bottles from a shelf, shrunk them and put them in his pocket before wrapping an arm about her and steering her out the door. It was an unspoken rule between Harry, Draco, and Ira to never, ever, let Ron and Hermione argue continuously for over a half hour…otherwise full fledge screaming was likely to ensue to the point that neither remembered what exactly they were fighting over or how they'd gotten to that point. Once at this point whole weeks of the silent treatment from both of them to each other could start, even to the point where they refused to even ask each other to pass the butter.
**
The next morning the Slytherins woke up with silver and green hair, the Hufflepuffs with yellow and black, the Ravenclaws with blue and bronze and the Gryffindors with red and gold…the professors were rainbow colored. Not only that but the Ravenclaws hair was spiked straight up, every Slytherins hair was curled into perfect springs which stood up straight all over their heads, the springs were arranged and colored so that they looked checkered, and the Hufflepuffs had a ling of ponytails going all the way around their head and another row from ear to ear over the top. The Gryffindors hair was fine, besides the coloring.
**
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Ira ate a little then hurried from the hall, today they had exams. Harry was taking the end of year exams and the NEWTs he was taking after school or if he finished an exam early.
"What was that stuff you're supposed to mix with werewolf saliva, Himalayan Storm Dragon tears and coconut oil to produce that shiny stuff that is used to pickle those four types of arctic fungus for a year before using them in potions? Question 83?" Ron asked, worried, as they left Potions, which had been particularly excruciating for most.
"Pixie drops, I think," Draco supplied, Hermione and Ira agreed.
"No it's Kraken Wax, Pixie drops can't be mixed with a mixture werewolf salvia and Himalayan Storm Dragon tears unless Copper Crab intestinal acid B or C is added, it explodes. You see Pixie drops react with the special type of salt that is produced when the salts from werewolf tears meets the emeraldic acid in the dragons tears…that I think the product is called emeraldic salt, it explodes when it touches Pixie drops." Harry supplied, the others all gave him bewildered looks, then Hermione gasped.
"Oh your right! Oh no! Do you think he'd-"
"No, it won't hurt you to miss one question, anyway it'd be cheating since Harry told us." Draco said as they hurried to lunch.
Sorry if it's a little short…and the potions junk is confusing…it's supposed to sound really advanced and difficult…I hope it does. Anyhow please review…I probably won't be posting for three or four days…maybe more. Sorry.