Harry's Protection
Harry and Hermione were on the corner of privet drive before Harry realized his problem. "Hermione. I know you managed to become an animagus, but it takes normal wizards like me years to master." "Not an animagus Harry, that does take years. I told you. It's a spell I invented. Not at all complicated." Harry groaned. "Easy for you to say that Hermione! To you the imperious curse is 'Not to complicated.'" "Well this time I really mean it." Hermione smiled. "You know that piece of transfiguration Viktor used in the second task? The one that turned him into a shark..." Harry nodded, beginning to understand what Hermione was getting at. "Well, that only lasts for just over an hour, but if you mix it with a few other spells and some aging potion." Hermione smiled slyly, and Harry smiled back. An hour later, they were flying over Surrey as owls.
"Hermione!" Harry tried to say, but all that came out of his beak was a hoot. "Yes?" Hooted Hermione in reply, and to Harry's surprise, he understood her. It was a bit like being able to talk to snakes. "This is the weirdest feeling I've had in my life. It's like the gillyweed, a bit." "Harry, I've got to warn you. Changing back isn't easy. I haven't worked out how to do it simply, but it could be dangerous." "How could it be dangerous?" Harry asked, puzzled. He didn't like the sound of this. "Well, what if you transformed back into a human now, whilst you were flying?" "I wouldn't be stupid enough to do that!" Said Harry, hooting with laughter. "But you could do it by accident." Hermione hooted nastily in reply. "S'pose so." Hooted Harry. "So, to do it, we have to use, well drink.er.polyjuice potion." "WHAT?" Hooted Harry angrily. "It's just. well you see it's not like being an animagus really. After you drink the polyjuice potion you can transform at will whenever you want for an hour. That's what I did when I came through your bedroom window. Mine's worn off now though." She said nervously. "Sorry." She said, seeing Harry glaring angrily at her. "Why didn't you tell me this BEFORE I became an owl!" Harry hooted. "Then you would have held us back and we do need to Hurry!" With a very angry look back at Hermione, Harry swept off and landed on a high branch of a tree.
When Harry and Hermione finally arrived at Diagon Alley, they were both tired and irritable. "Oh Don't make such a fuss Harry!" Hermione snapped " I've already made up the polyjuice potion. All you need to do is put one of your feathers into it. And don't ask me how it works because I don't know." She added as Harry opened his mouth, perhaps to protest. Harry glared at Hermione, but finally gave a sulky 'Ok.' "I'll bring our trunks." Said Hermione, attempting to withdraw her wand from under her wing. "Hurry up." Moaned Harry. "I'm beginning to get hungry." "Oh sorry Harry." Hermione snapped back sarcastically. "It's rather difficult, believe it or not, to cast spells as an owl." She frowned and finally managed to slip her wand out, "Accio!" She hooted. "How do we know when they're coming?" Asked Harry, swallowing his anger. "Seeing as they're invisible." "We don't." Said Hermione bluntly. "Oh, Here they are." She said as a gust of wind swept over them and there was a loud clunk. Hermione nudged the trunk open with her beak, and withdrew the polyjuice bottle (which wasn't invisible) she took a sip, and Hermione appeared before Harry. Harry took a deep breath, and then took a quick peck of the potion Hermione had just put one of his feathers in. "Come on! Let's get a room then!" Said Hermione, as Harry appeared in front of her. "Yuck!" Exclaimed Harry. "It doesn't taste as bad when you're an owl." Said Hermione, although it was evident she hadn't enjoyed it either.
The wizarding shopping center wasn't as crowded as usual. They walked though the arch that two seconds before had been a solid brick wall, into the Leaky Cauldron. "Hello?" Said Hermione, poking her head around the corner of the door. They walked in curiously. They exchanged uneasy looks. At last, they heard movement from the door behind the bar and Tom the innkeeper's toothless face appeared. "Mr Potter!" He said, with a mixture of horror and confusion. "Er.sorry." said Harry, puzzled. "Mr Potter are you sure you should. I mean. well are you with someone?" Hermione came around the corner. Tom stared and said "I think I'd better let Dumbledore know that you're here!" He said, taking some floo powder from a dish behind the bar. He threw some into the fire, uttered a few words, and was gone.
Harry and Hermione only had time to exchange mystified looks before he reappeared by the fireplace, looking grim. "Mr Potter." Said Tom, Seriously. This was a dramatic change from his usual, bubbly self. "Dumbledore said that he gave you specific instructions to stay at your aunt and uncles house, and now you have left, the magic he cast to protect you has been broken. However, seeing as it's too late for you to go back now, Dumbledore says that you can stay here for the remainder of the holidays. You will not be allowed anywhere when it is dark, or when there are no other witches or wizards around. And Miss Granger, the ministry have received knowledge that you are able to practice magic outside school without them seeing. As you know, that is illegal and against the school rules, but the ministry is prepared to overlook it if you register the spells you have invented so the ministry is able to use them. If anything like this happens again, you will be expelled from Hogwarts." He looked steadily from Harry to Hermione, checking they had been paying attention. " I think that is all. Oh yes, Dumbledore wishes for you to tell me before you go out into Diagon alley, and you must not be gone for more than four hours at a time. If you are more, then I will come looking for you and bring you back here. You will not be allowed out for the rest of the holidays if you force me to do this." He stopped. It was evident that he did no enjoy bossing his guests around, and he way trying not to give them his usual cheerful smile and escort them upstairs. "Mr Potter, you will be in room 11 and Miss Granger, room 10." He said bluntly. " If you would like to follow me, I will lead the way." And with that he turned and led them up the rickety staircase.
Harry recognized room 11, and he remembered that he had stayed in it once before at the beginning of his third year. There were evidently no other guests staying because all the other doors were wide open, and the smell of Mrs Skowers All-purpose magical mess remover was drifting out. "Your trunks will be brought up soon." Tom added as he turned to go back downstairs. "I'm sure he'll calm down soon." Said Harry nervously to Hermione. "I'm starving, why don't we get some food?" "Right." Said Hermione, and they hurried down the stairs to tell Tom where they were going.
It wasn't until two weeks later that they realized how fast time had been going by. It was a sunny Saturday morning, and Harry could hear a chorus of birds singing outside his bedroom window. Hedwig gave a good morning hoot as Harry pushed his round glasses up his nose. "Good morning Hedwig." Harry said groggily in reply. He heard creaking floorboards next-door which told him that Hermione was already up. Yawning, Harry climbed out of bed and rummaged in his trunk for some clothes.
In the next room, Hermione pace up and down, agitated. Where could she have put it? She thought back to when she had last used it. It had been last night, she had been studying it before she went to bed, and then put it on her bedside table. She groaned inwardly. Harry couldn't have taken it could he? She would have to ask him.
She walked down the corridor and tapped gently on Harry's bedroom door. "Harry," she said quietly, so as not to disturb him if he were still asleep. She heard Harry's footsteps padding towards the door, and a second later, a fully dressed Harry appeared at the bedroom door, his unbrushed black hair even more wild than usual. "Harry!" Said Hermione before he had a chance to greet her. "Did you take anything from my room last night?" Harry was surprised to see Hermione so flustered. He frowned. "No." He said "Why would I?" He asked, giving Hermione a curious look. "Oh." Hermione sighed. "It's just that my miniature moving modal of the galaxy that my parents gave me as an early birthday present has gone!" Harry recalled seeing one of these on his first visit to Diagon Alley on his 11th Birthday. He also recalled the price and understood why Hermione was so anxious about it. "I'll have to ask Tom." She added.
Harry had been right about Tom calming down, because as the two weeks had passed, he had become a lot less hostile towards them. "I'm sure it'll turn up." Said Harry, but there was something disconcerting, even in an object going missing, because there was the ever- increasing possibility that Lord Voldermort was behind it. Harry shook himself. Of course Lord Voldermort wasn't behind it. Hermione had probably just misplaced it.
Tom the innkeeper hadn't seen it either, which made Hermione even more anxious, but she seemed to calm down slightly after having some breakfast. "Why don't' we get our school equipment?" Said Harry as soon as they had finished breakfast. The thought of school seemed to cheer Hermione up considerably. "Oh Yes!" Said Hermione brightly "I needed to get that book on advanced transfiguration." "I'll just get my money." Said Harry running up the stairs, relieved that he had managed to take Hermione's mind off her galaxy modal. Ten Minutes later, they were walking along the cobbled street, Diagon Alley.
"I haven't had this much fun all summer!" said Hermione happily as they walked out of Flourish and Blotts, arms full of glossy new spell books. Harry laughed, and then laughed even more as Hermione walked straight into a stack of neatly stacked cauldrons which clattered all over the street. Hermione let out an exasperated 'Honestly' but Harry could see she was trying not to laugh as an old and dignified wizard waggled his finger at her and told her to stop 'goofing around.'
When all the cauldrons had been restored to their rightful place, and the old wizard was out of sight, Harry and Hermione burst out laughing. Five minutes later they were still in hysterics, and it wasn't until Harry felt a tap on his shoulder, that they finally stopped. Harry turned round slowly, hoping it wasn't the old man with more tirades about 'Youths of today,' but instead, a red haired, freckled faced boy of fifteen was staring at them impatiently. It was Ron Weasley, Harry and Hermione's best friend.
"It's about time you two!" He said imploringly. "I thought you were choking!" This sent them all into more fits of hysterics. "I thought you were the old man!" Harry managed to splutter through his laughter. Ron tried to look offended, whilst wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, but failed. By the time they had all stopped laughing, there was no need for greeting each other, and so Harry suggested that they all go and get a Sunday form Florean Fortesques.
"Where have you been?" Asked Ron as they sat under the bright umbrellas outside Florean Fortesques. "Well, until three weeks ago, we were both at our houses, and then we came here," said Harry. "Why didn't you send Pig? I would have sent you an owl, but Hedwig was out all summer with a letter for Hermione." Ron looked puzzled at this. "Pig only came back yesterday, it's the first time he's failed to get a letter to someone. I sent him at the beginning of the holidays with a letter to you Harry, and I assumed that he was just resting with Hedwig, but then he came back." They were all silent for a moment, pondering on what could have happened, then Hermione began to explain the events of the holidays to Ron, prompted occasionally by Harry.
After they had finished their ice cream, Harry told Ron and Hermione that he needed to go to the Magical Creatures shop for some ointment for Hedwig's sore leg which hadn't been getting any better. Ron went in first, and Harry saw him grin at someone in the shop. He walked in, expected to see another Weasley, but instead, he saw the large red face of Hagrid beaming down at him. "Harry!" He boomed (his voice rattling some of the cages hanging from the ceiling.) "Good to see yeh! Having a good holiday I hope?" Harry nodded, but something in Hagrid's hand had just caught his interest. It was a box of dragon food, the type he had seen lying around the Weasleys household last summer, which Charlie had brought home. "Um.Hagrid.what have you got Dragons food for?" Harry asked curiously, he saw Ron and Hermione looking Curiously at Hagrid as well. "Oh, er. its for a friend, who keeps dragons in um. Brazil. Oh I'd really better go, see yeh at school." And with that he swept out of the shop, his face a deep shade of plum.
Harry and Hermione were on the corner of privet drive before Harry realized his problem. "Hermione. I know you managed to become an animagus, but it takes normal wizards like me years to master." "Not an animagus Harry, that does take years. I told you. It's a spell I invented. Not at all complicated." Harry groaned. "Easy for you to say that Hermione! To you the imperious curse is 'Not to complicated.'" "Well this time I really mean it." Hermione smiled. "You know that piece of transfiguration Viktor used in the second task? The one that turned him into a shark..." Harry nodded, beginning to understand what Hermione was getting at. "Well, that only lasts for just over an hour, but if you mix it with a few other spells and some aging potion." Hermione smiled slyly, and Harry smiled back. An hour later, they were flying over Surrey as owls.
"Hermione!" Harry tried to say, but all that came out of his beak was a hoot. "Yes?" Hooted Hermione in reply, and to Harry's surprise, he understood her. It was a bit like being able to talk to snakes. "This is the weirdest feeling I've had in my life. It's like the gillyweed, a bit." "Harry, I've got to warn you. Changing back isn't easy. I haven't worked out how to do it simply, but it could be dangerous." "How could it be dangerous?" Harry asked, puzzled. He didn't like the sound of this. "Well, what if you transformed back into a human now, whilst you were flying?" "I wouldn't be stupid enough to do that!" Said Harry, hooting with laughter. "But you could do it by accident." Hermione hooted nastily in reply. "S'pose so." Hooted Harry. "So, to do it, we have to use, well drink.er.polyjuice potion." "WHAT?" Hooted Harry angrily. "It's just. well you see it's not like being an animagus really. After you drink the polyjuice potion you can transform at will whenever you want for an hour. That's what I did when I came through your bedroom window. Mine's worn off now though." She said nervously. "Sorry." She said, seeing Harry glaring angrily at her. "Why didn't you tell me this BEFORE I became an owl!" Harry hooted. "Then you would have held us back and we do need to Hurry!" With a very angry look back at Hermione, Harry swept off and landed on a high branch of a tree.
When Harry and Hermione finally arrived at Diagon Alley, they were both tired and irritable. "Oh Don't make such a fuss Harry!" Hermione snapped " I've already made up the polyjuice potion. All you need to do is put one of your feathers into it. And don't ask me how it works because I don't know." She added as Harry opened his mouth, perhaps to protest. Harry glared at Hermione, but finally gave a sulky 'Ok.' "I'll bring our trunks." Said Hermione, attempting to withdraw her wand from under her wing. "Hurry up." Moaned Harry. "I'm beginning to get hungry." "Oh sorry Harry." Hermione snapped back sarcastically. "It's rather difficult, believe it or not, to cast spells as an owl." She frowned and finally managed to slip her wand out, "Accio!" She hooted. "How do we know when they're coming?" Asked Harry, swallowing his anger. "Seeing as they're invisible." "We don't." Said Hermione bluntly. "Oh, Here they are." She said as a gust of wind swept over them and there was a loud clunk. Hermione nudged the trunk open with her beak, and withdrew the polyjuice bottle (which wasn't invisible) she took a sip, and Hermione appeared before Harry. Harry took a deep breath, and then took a quick peck of the potion Hermione had just put one of his feathers in. "Come on! Let's get a room then!" Said Hermione, as Harry appeared in front of her. "Yuck!" Exclaimed Harry. "It doesn't taste as bad when you're an owl." Said Hermione, although it was evident she hadn't enjoyed it either.
The wizarding shopping center wasn't as crowded as usual. They walked though the arch that two seconds before had been a solid brick wall, into the Leaky Cauldron. "Hello?" Said Hermione, poking her head around the corner of the door. They walked in curiously. They exchanged uneasy looks. At last, they heard movement from the door behind the bar and Tom the innkeeper's toothless face appeared. "Mr Potter!" He said, with a mixture of horror and confusion. "Er.sorry." said Harry, puzzled. "Mr Potter are you sure you should. I mean. well are you with someone?" Hermione came around the corner. Tom stared and said "I think I'd better let Dumbledore know that you're here!" He said, taking some floo powder from a dish behind the bar. He threw some into the fire, uttered a few words, and was gone.
Harry and Hermione only had time to exchange mystified looks before he reappeared by the fireplace, looking grim. "Mr Potter." Said Tom, Seriously. This was a dramatic change from his usual, bubbly self. "Dumbledore said that he gave you specific instructions to stay at your aunt and uncles house, and now you have left, the magic he cast to protect you has been broken. However, seeing as it's too late for you to go back now, Dumbledore says that you can stay here for the remainder of the holidays. You will not be allowed anywhere when it is dark, or when there are no other witches or wizards around. And Miss Granger, the ministry have received knowledge that you are able to practice magic outside school without them seeing. As you know, that is illegal and against the school rules, but the ministry is prepared to overlook it if you register the spells you have invented so the ministry is able to use them. If anything like this happens again, you will be expelled from Hogwarts." He looked steadily from Harry to Hermione, checking they had been paying attention. " I think that is all. Oh yes, Dumbledore wishes for you to tell me before you go out into Diagon alley, and you must not be gone for more than four hours at a time. If you are more, then I will come looking for you and bring you back here. You will not be allowed out for the rest of the holidays if you force me to do this." He stopped. It was evident that he did no enjoy bossing his guests around, and he way trying not to give them his usual cheerful smile and escort them upstairs. "Mr Potter, you will be in room 11 and Miss Granger, room 10." He said bluntly. " If you would like to follow me, I will lead the way." And with that he turned and led them up the rickety staircase.
Harry recognized room 11, and he remembered that he had stayed in it once before at the beginning of his third year. There were evidently no other guests staying because all the other doors were wide open, and the smell of Mrs Skowers All-purpose magical mess remover was drifting out. "Your trunks will be brought up soon." Tom added as he turned to go back downstairs. "I'm sure he'll calm down soon." Said Harry nervously to Hermione. "I'm starving, why don't we get some food?" "Right." Said Hermione, and they hurried down the stairs to tell Tom where they were going.
It wasn't until two weeks later that they realized how fast time had been going by. It was a sunny Saturday morning, and Harry could hear a chorus of birds singing outside his bedroom window. Hedwig gave a good morning hoot as Harry pushed his round glasses up his nose. "Good morning Hedwig." Harry said groggily in reply. He heard creaking floorboards next-door which told him that Hermione was already up. Yawning, Harry climbed out of bed and rummaged in his trunk for some clothes.
In the next room, Hermione pace up and down, agitated. Where could she have put it? She thought back to when she had last used it. It had been last night, she had been studying it before she went to bed, and then put it on her bedside table. She groaned inwardly. Harry couldn't have taken it could he? She would have to ask him.
She walked down the corridor and tapped gently on Harry's bedroom door. "Harry," she said quietly, so as not to disturb him if he were still asleep. She heard Harry's footsteps padding towards the door, and a second later, a fully dressed Harry appeared at the bedroom door, his unbrushed black hair even more wild than usual. "Harry!" Said Hermione before he had a chance to greet her. "Did you take anything from my room last night?" Harry was surprised to see Hermione so flustered. He frowned. "No." He said "Why would I?" He asked, giving Hermione a curious look. "Oh." Hermione sighed. "It's just that my miniature moving modal of the galaxy that my parents gave me as an early birthday present has gone!" Harry recalled seeing one of these on his first visit to Diagon Alley on his 11th Birthday. He also recalled the price and understood why Hermione was so anxious about it. "I'll have to ask Tom." She added.
Harry had been right about Tom calming down, because as the two weeks had passed, he had become a lot less hostile towards them. "I'm sure it'll turn up." Said Harry, but there was something disconcerting, even in an object going missing, because there was the ever- increasing possibility that Lord Voldermort was behind it. Harry shook himself. Of course Lord Voldermort wasn't behind it. Hermione had probably just misplaced it.
Tom the innkeeper hadn't seen it either, which made Hermione even more anxious, but she seemed to calm down slightly after having some breakfast. "Why don't' we get our school equipment?" Said Harry as soon as they had finished breakfast. The thought of school seemed to cheer Hermione up considerably. "Oh Yes!" Said Hermione brightly "I needed to get that book on advanced transfiguration." "I'll just get my money." Said Harry running up the stairs, relieved that he had managed to take Hermione's mind off her galaxy modal. Ten Minutes later, they were walking along the cobbled street, Diagon Alley.
"I haven't had this much fun all summer!" said Hermione happily as they walked out of Flourish and Blotts, arms full of glossy new spell books. Harry laughed, and then laughed even more as Hermione walked straight into a stack of neatly stacked cauldrons which clattered all over the street. Hermione let out an exasperated 'Honestly' but Harry could see she was trying not to laugh as an old and dignified wizard waggled his finger at her and told her to stop 'goofing around.'
When all the cauldrons had been restored to their rightful place, and the old wizard was out of sight, Harry and Hermione burst out laughing. Five minutes later they were still in hysterics, and it wasn't until Harry felt a tap on his shoulder, that they finally stopped. Harry turned round slowly, hoping it wasn't the old man with more tirades about 'Youths of today,' but instead, a red haired, freckled faced boy of fifteen was staring at them impatiently. It was Ron Weasley, Harry and Hermione's best friend.
"It's about time you two!" He said imploringly. "I thought you were choking!" This sent them all into more fits of hysterics. "I thought you were the old man!" Harry managed to splutter through his laughter. Ron tried to look offended, whilst wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, but failed. By the time they had all stopped laughing, there was no need for greeting each other, and so Harry suggested that they all go and get a Sunday form Florean Fortesques.
"Where have you been?" Asked Ron as they sat under the bright umbrellas outside Florean Fortesques. "Well, until three weeks ago, we were both at our houses, and then we came here," said Harry. "Why didn't you send Pig? I would have sent you an owl, but Hedwig was out all summer with a letter for Hermione." Ron looked puzzled at this. "Pig only came back yesterday, it's the first time he's failed to get a letter to someone. I sent him at the beginning of the holidays with a letter to you Harry, and I assumed that he was just resting with Hedwig, but then he came back." They were all silent for a moment, pondering on what could have happened, then Hermione began to explain the events of the holidays to Ron, prompted occasionally by Harry.
After they had finished their ice cream, Harry told Ron and Hermione that he needed to go to the Magical Creatures shop for some ointment for Hedwig's sore leg which hadn't been getting any better. Ron went in first, and Harry saw him grin at someone in the shop. He walked in, expected to see another Weasley, but instead, he saw the large red face of Hagrid beaming down at him. "Harry!" He boomed (his voice rattling some of the cages hanging from the ceiling.) "Good to see yeh! Having a good holiday I hope?" Harry nodded, but something in Hagrid's hand had just caught his interest. It was a box of dragon food, the type he had seen lying around the Weasleys household last summer, which Charlie had brought home. "Um.Hagrid.what have you got Dragons food for?" Harry asked curiously, he saw Ron and Hermione looking Curiously at Hagrid as well. "Oh, er. its for a friend, who keeps dragons in um. Brazil. Oh I'd really better go, see yeh at school." And with that he swept out of the shop, his face a deep shade of plum.