Chapter 29

Exciting News

Harry stared at the sticks that Professor McGonagall was passing out. Trying to concentrate, he turned his attention to what she was saying. "Transfiguring an object in to something alive is a much more complicated process then what you have been taught so far. The majority of you will most likely start with a non-living creature that will simply be a shell of the thing you were trying to make. The object will fade back into what it was if it is not held by the person who transformed it. This is because man can not create life, so have no fear that you are turning something alive into something that is not, because it was not really alive to begin."

"Harry," Ron said leaning over to whisper to him. "Didn't you make that kitten and those butterflies for that kid out of paper."

Harry didn't respond, as this realization had just come to him too. "Mr. Weasley, would you like to share with the class?"

Ron looked up startled, and then grinned. "Of course Professor, I was just asking Harry how he was able to make a kitten and butterflies out of paper if this is supposed to be so hard to do."

Instead of scolding Ron for his tone, she turned to face Harry. "Mr. Potter, is this true?"

'Here we go again.' He nodded. Once again just because he hadn't known something was supposed to be so difficult, it hadn't been.

"Well then you wouldn't mind demonstrating for us, would you?" Her voice said that she wasn't buying this.

Harry shrugged, and pulled his wand out of his bag. He held it awkwardly. It felt so uncomfortable lately. He tapped the stick, picturing what it was going to look like. With a very tiny 'pop' a squirrel sat in front of him. It looked around expectantly. With a grin, he twisted the wand once more, making a bit of air solid, and turning it into a acorn, which the squirrel grabbed immediately.

Looking up, Professor McGonagall was staring at him, eyes wide. Her mouth made a small 'o' before she closed it and swallowed. "Mr. Potter," it sounded like a croak, and she swallowed once more before starting again. "Mr. Potter, do you have any idea what you just did?"

Harry looked puzzled. "It's not that big of a deal. I'm sure a lot of people will be able to do it today."

McGonagall shook her head. "Not the squirrel, the acorn. The acorn, Mr. Potter, how did you make it?"

Harry's eyebrows rose, clearly wondering if his teacher had lost her marbles. They had been making non-living objects for three years. "I just turned some air solid and changed it into an acorn." He realized what that meant just as Hermione gasped behind him.

"Transfiguring out of air isn't taught until sixth year, and most don't manage it until seventh," she said faintly. "Class, work on changing your sticks into worms. Mr. Potter, come up here with me."

Silently wishing he could beat his head against a wall, Harry followed Professor McGonagall to her desk, Sally on his left wrist. She sat down behind the desk and looked at him.

"You are very advanced in you skills, but you missed a step. Transforming one living thing into another-"

"I did that," Harry interrupted. "Well, sorta. I transformed a piece of parchment into a kitten, and then the kitten into butterflies, but I think," his eyebrows creased in concentration, "I think it would be almost the same."

"Don't look at me," Sally hissed, making Harry grin and hiss something back to her.

McGonagall reached under her desk and pulled out a fly in a jar. "Try something."

"Something that won't break the jar," Harry muttered, his eyebrows creasing once more. He tapped his wand on the glass, and in place of the fly sat a small mouse.

"Tasssty."

"Sal!"

"Harry, you better get this squirrel!" Ron called, and Harry turned just in time to see it run up Lavender's arm. She squealed and Harry pointed his wand at it. It became a scared little kitten, and Lavender awed and cooed it. Harry rolled his eyes. All girls must like kittens.

McGonagall looked like Christmas had come early. "Harry, this, this is remarkable-"

"Professor," Harry interrupted again in an urgent whisper, "there is enough about me already that is remarkable. Please don't make a big deal about it, please."

McGonagall looked up surprised at his pleading eyes. "Of course, if that's what you want, Harry. Will you still try to make something larger out of air for me?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm sure you like cats too," he muttered, and suddenly a silver eyed black cat sat on her desk. It stared at her.

"Now make it go back." Harry blinked. Without even moving, the cat disappeared. "No wand?" she asked.

"You aren't making magic, you're cutting it off, you don't need your wand for that. You just stop holding it as the cat. Like you said, it would have faded, but I just cut it."

"And you have the concepts too. That's true, but most still feel that it must need a wand, and wave it around anyway. Alright, no big deal, you have just passed seventh year transfiguration, but go sit down like nothing has happened."

A wave of exhaustion swept over Harry, and he hurried back to his desk where he laid his head down. He was aware of Hermione's eyes on his back, but he was too tired to care. At the end of class, he found himself once again being awakened by Ron.

Staring into the fire, Harry wad mildly aware of Ginny, Ron, and Hermione falling down in the seats next to him. He was also mildly aware they were talking about something.

"What about you, Harry?"

Hearing his name broke him out of his daze. "What?"

"The dance tomorrow, are going with anybody?"

"That's tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow night," Ginny said shifting in her seat. "Ron won't ask the mystery girl."

"I can't! She isn't to know until Christmas, how can I ask her to a dance before Christmas?"

"So all four of us are going single, how boring," Hermione said sinking into her seat.

"Hey, how do you know I don't plan on asking somebody?" Harry said with a smirk.

"Do you?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I do now."

"You shouldn't make a big deal out of it," Ginny said as she picked up her sewing. "Just because you go to a dance with a person doesn't mean you have to go and get married. You can just go with friends."

"Says the girl who's turned down ever offer so far," Hermione said with a grin.

"She's right," Harry said, leaning back and closing his eyes. He smiled mentally at how well he had picked up on Ginny's plan.

"I guess so," Ron said slowly, "Books? Want to go to the dance with me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, but a smile was hinted at the corners of her mouth. "I s'pose so."

Harry smiled without opening his eyes. "How romantic," he said sarcastically. "Ron, even if you are going with her as a friend, you should still aim to impress."

"Is that so, Harry?" Ginny said reaching into her bag for a needle. It was in there somewhere. "How will you ask, whoever you are asking?"

"You'll see," he said with eyes twinkling.

She felt something sharp, and tried to grab it, but it wasn't the needle. She pulled the mystery object out of the bag, and gasped when she saw the yellow rose. She could only stare for a moment, and then suddenly, one of the petals flew off. Then the next, and the next, and she suddenly recognized them as butterflies. She watched as they all flew off, until only one remained.

The last butterfly took off slowly, and flew over to land on Ginny's other hand. It sat there for a moment flexing it's wings, and with a 'pop' it became a small piece of light yellow paper, with light green writing.

Told you that you would see. Will you go to the dance with me, lovely rose?

H.P.

Crossing her arms, she looked up at Harry, who grinned at her. She sighed. "I guess I can't say no to that."

"See Ron, it works so well."

Ginny chucked the empty stem at him, which disappeared half way to him. "I can't even throw things at him. This is so unfair."

Harry fell into his seat beside Ron, in front of Ginny. They had the whole day off, and the Great Hall was already transforming under the eye of Heather.

"What are we supposed to wear to this thing, anyway?" he asked as the mail arrived.

"They wear dresses, we wear black pants. Which is good, because I don't fancy trying to dance in robes."

An owl landed in front of Ginny, and she pulled the letter off of it's leg. "We have the whole day to get ready, Books."

"You need the whole day?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked up at him. "Of course we do. Something wrong with that?"

Ron held his hands up in front of him. "No, no, nothing."

Harry grinned. Ron had been brushing past every opportunity for a fight, and it was getting to Hermione. It was getting to Ron too, but he wasn't showing it. Harry wished he knew why. Why would they need the whole day? All he had to do was grab a shower and put on some clothes.

Ginny's eyes turned to the letter she had received, and she suddenly spit out her pumpkin juice. "Thanks, Rose. I was just thinking that I needed a shower."

"Bill and Lynn eloped! And Lynn is expecting!"

"What?" the other three said at once.

A large smile broke across Ginny's face. "Fred, George!" she called. The twins sitting a bit down the table turned to face her. "Bill got married."

Both boys paled, and raced out of their seats. They grabbed the letter from her, and stood reading it for a moment. Fred looked up. "George do you know what this means."

"Besides that the female race has blindfolded our eldest sibling?"

"Yes besides that." They both grinned, and spoke together. "We're going to be uncles!"

"Just think of all the things we can teach the little guy."

"His mother will just hate us."

"Uncle Fred."

"Uncle George." Their eyes gleamed the way it always did when they were making trouble.

"How are you so sure it's a boy? Give that back." Ginny grabbed the letter back from them.

"It has to be a boy. Speaking of which, you better help that boy, before he passes out."

Ginny, Hermione, and Harry turned their attention to Ron, who was so pale that his freckles stood out. "Ron?"

"Married?" he said faintly. "He can't be married!" Hermione reached over and patted his hand, which Ron jerked away.

"Ron, you met Lynn, she's so nice!"

Ron stared down at his hand, and took a deep breath. "Well, I guess he can be married, but a baby? Do you know what that means?"

Ginny hid a giggle behind her hand and Hermione snorted. Ron's ears turned red as Harry shook his head with a smile. "And it starts."

Ginny looked up at Harry. "What do you mean it starts?"

Harry smiled. "There are seven of you. You all get married, and even if you all only have two kids each that's fourteen. And something tells me that two isn't likely."

Ginny grinned. "I think both Bill and Charlie want big families. And Charlie and that Sandy girl are getting very serious. I know Percy wants lots of kids, and he and Penelope are still together. If they ever come home from Brazil."

"I want a big family," Fred said sitting down beside them.

"Lots of kids to pass on the family secrets to," George finished taking a seat across from him.

"See what I mean? Say all five of them have five kids each. That's twenty five right off, and there's still you and Ron."

"Not me," Ron said with a glare. "One clingy little brat is enough for me."

"Ron!" they all said at once. Ron sulked.

"And think of the timing," Harry continued. "Most of them will be born in the same ten years. This school will have more Weasleys then it can hold."

Fred and George were still grinning. "We are going to go write to Bill. Talk to you later." They rose and left, heads bowed together in deep conversation.

"Speaking of clingy kids," Hermione said looking up. "What ever happened to that little girl?"

"I think she's still at home. I don't blame her, really. It should be good for her."

"Did you say she was nine? She really didn't seem even that old."

Harry looked at her. "You came from a Muggle family, Hermione, think about it. I don't think she has a father, so she's ripped away from the only parent she's ever known at nine years old. Not only thrown into a school where she knows nobody, but also into a world of which she knows nothing. You had your research to guide you, Hermione, but she's only nine, I doubt she did any research. She's two years younger then almost every person here, and doesn't know any of them. She had two choices, as I see it. Try to act the age of her class mates, or fall back and act younger and distance herself from them. Then she has a near death experience, and finally finds a person she trusts. It would be natural to cling."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, Ron stared, and Ginny smiled. "You're going to make a heck of a father someday Harry."

Harry shook his head and turned back to wipe the forgotten juice from his clothes.

Heather stormed into the staff room, Sirius trotting at her heels. "This better be important, I have a dance to put on in six hours."

They looked up as Sirius shut the door with his nose, before transforming into his human form. Many of the staff eyed him suspiciously. They believed Dumbledore, but that didn't mean they trusted him.

"Have you heard what happened in Mr. Potter's last class yesterday?" Dumbledore asked.

"No," Heather answered, falling into one of the soft chairs, that unfortunately already hosted Sirius, but it didn't surprise her and she sat on his lap pretending not to notice.

"He performed perfect seventh year transfiguration!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Small, yes, but perfect! He didn't even realize what he was doing! Even James wasn't able to do it that early."

"Calm yourself Minnie," Dumbledore said with a smile. McGonagall sat down abruptly and shut her mouth.

"How, how is that possible?" Sprout asked.

Dumbledore stood and started to pace. It was a mark how much it was getting to him if he was pacing. "It really should be. All that transfiguration really is, is directing your magical energy to do what you want, and then expanding that magical energy with practice."

"He understood the concepts too. He breaks his ties without a wand, and knew that transforming an already transformed animal into another and transforming a real animal into another were similar, but still different."

"He's intelligent, there's no question," Dumbledore continued. "So it would make sense with the amount of power he has, that he would be able to accomplish this."

"He fell asleep, sound asleep, right after. He slept though Mr. Longbottom's explosion, and that sound could have woken the dead."

Dumbledore stopped and stared at the wall. "It shouldn't require his physical energy to tap into his magical energy unless-" he cut off.

"Unless he's reaching though a block," Heather finished faintly, leaning back into Sirius for support as much as comfort.

"Dean, if you are leaving, how are we going to stir that potion when we aren't there?" Seamus said, falling onto his bed. "I can't afford to flunk this project."

"I'll stir it," Harry said walking into the dorm. They had the entire day to blow while the girls got ready. "I'm not leaving, and I have to go stir mine, I can stir yours too. Better put it in writing that I have permission, though. Snape may punish me for trying to tamper with it."

"Would you do that for us, Harry?"

"Sure, and Neville too if he's leaving. And any of the girls."

"Thanks Harry," Dean said grabbing a piece of parchment and scribbling down his permission before handing it to Seamus who wrote the same. Neville walked into the room, and gratefully signed it too.

"I was just about to write to Gran that I would have to stay for the break after all."

Harry took the parchment from them. "I better go get the girls to sign it too."

Harry knocked on the forth year girls dorm. The door opened a crack and a pair of blue eyes looked out. "Make sure you're descent, girls. It's the most eligible bachelor of the school."

"Bug off, Lavender," came a voice. "Why would Harry be out there?"

"Because I need to talk to you girls about your potions," he called.

His voice brought a lot of squealing and the sounds of movement. Lavender's eyes looked away, and then after a moment, turned back and opened the door. "You can come in now."

Harry was surprised to see a number of girls present that were not in the forth year, which included Ginny painting her nails on Hermione's bed. "Books is in the shower, if you wanted to talk to her," Ginny said without looking up.

"No, she's staying for break. The potion Snape has us doing has to be stirred three times clockwise daily."

"It does!" Lavender exclaimed. "Shit! It would be just like that horrible man to do that over the holiday."

"Severus Snape has some problems, but he's not a horrible person," Ginny said carefully closing the bottle of nail polish.

"Yeah, just because he likes you," said Samantha, glaring at her. Harry really was growing to dislike that girl.

"Well, anybody who is leaving I will stir their potions for them, but I need it in writing so Snape doesn't give me a problem with it."

Lavender grabbed the parchment eagerly before passing it to Parvati. "So, most eligible bachelor of the school, do you have a date for the dance?"

"I am not, and I'm going with a friend," he answered falling onto Hermione's bed.

"Funny," Samantha said, "that's what Ginny sa..." she faded off, looking at Ginny who turned red. "It's him, isn't it! You're going with Harry Potter!"

"Hello, I am here."

"Ginny," another girl squealed. "Why wouldn't you tell us? Going to the one guy in school that everybody likes, and all you say is 'I'm going with a friend'!"

"I am here."

"That's the sort of thing you shout from the roof tops, not keep to yourself!"

"We should have known after the way they danced at the Halloween dance."

Ginny crawled behind Harry's back so she wasn't visible to any of the girls. "Help me."

Harry grinned. "How can I? They've forgotten I'm here." He looked over his shoulder at her, hiding behind him. The other girls in the room suddenly fell silent and stared at him.

"They do make a cute couple, though."

Ginny jumped out from behind him. "Friend! Friend! I said friend! Do you not know the meaning of friend?"

"Amanda, write this down, Ginny spoke more then one sentence to us," Samantha said dramatically. Ginny's cheeks tinged with pink.

"Shut up, Samantha," said the girl that Harry hadn't known before, who's name must be Amanda.

"Well, as I am really not allowed in here, can I have that parchment back?" Lavender handed it to him. "Rose, what color dress are you wearing?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I'm curious."

"It's golden yellow," Hermione said, coming out of the bathroom door in a robe with a towel on her head.

"And yours Books?"

"Royal blue. Now, Harry, kindly leave so I can change."

Harry smirked. "Oh, but Ron was going to come and we were going to throw a party."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and turned, slamming the bathroom door behind her. Ginny giggled. "That was mean, Harry."

"I know, but it was so perfect. I'm going to go play cards, as we have hours to kill and nothing to do. Gold?" Ginny nodded, and Harry stood up to leave.

As he shut the door behind him, he only had to stand there for a moment before he heard the squeal; "Ginny, look!"

Ginny turned to the mirror to see the golden rose that had been pinned up in her hair. "He's such a flirt," Hermione said coming out again holding a blue rose of her own.

Ginny sighed, carefully taking the rose out so she could put it back up later. "He is. Let's hope these don't sprout butterflies, shall we?"

"He's good for you, Ginny," Amanda said, then cringed when Ginny turned and glared. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded, though that's true too. I mean he boosts your confidence, you can see it in your face as soon as he walks in a room."

"He's so cute. And charming. And powerful. And famous."

"Shut up Samantha!"

Ginny sighed, going to take her turn in the shower.

Harry had only meant to lay down for a moment, but he woke an hour before the dance was to start. Quickly, he checked for the line of power that held the roses. He sighed when he found it still there and intact. Rising quickly, he took a quick shower.

As he pulling on a green shirt to top his black pants, Dean spoke up. "Is green your favorite color, Harry?"

"Why?"

"Well, like half of your shirts are green."

"Sal picked out most of my clothes. She says I look good in green, she says it brings out my eyes." Seamus snorted. "What?"

"It's just funny! Your snake picks out your clothes!"

"Well, I bet your mother picked out that shirt for you."

Seamus stopped laughing quickly, pulling the shirt on over his head. "Yeah, she did."

"They why can't Sal pick out mine? Besides," Harry said looking in the mirror and smiling, "she's right. It does bring out Mum's eyes. Speaking of which, Sal are you coming?"

Sally slithered out from under the bed. "I suppose I will, but not with you, I'll meet you down there later."

"Alright. I'll meet you downstairs Ron. I'm going to go wait for the girls."

When the door shut, Neville turned to Ron. "Why did he say 'She's right, they do bring out Mum's eyes'?"

"He has his mother's eyes. Everybody who knew his parents says he looks just like his father with his mother's eyes. Here," he said grabbing the picture of Lily and James that Harry kept on his bedside table. "Look."

Dean caught the picture and looked at it. "Hey, he does. That looks like an older version of him. His mother looks like your sister, Ron."

"I know that."