A/N Ok, these long authors notes are getting to be too much so, I'll make this short and sweet. ^-^ I don't own Harry Potter or any characters in Rowlings books. However, I do own this plot and the characters who are not seen in the Rowling's books. There, is that short enough? Now, without further ado, here is the next installment of my story. ("Celine, start typing.") *Cat look's at her annoyed*
Harry Potter and the Staff of Time
Chapter 13
The Hand of Time
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Savana, were sitting in the library studying for several upcoming tests. The Christmas Holiday was only two weeks away and the professors in most of their classes were administering tests before the long break.
Ron stretched and decided it was time for a short study break. He had also just remembered a question which he had been meaning to ask Harry for several weeks.
"Harry, why did you go to the Shreiking Shack on Halloween? You didn't know who had sent you the note..." Ron stumbled to a halt as he noticed the sheepish expression on Harry's face.
"I thought the note was from Snuffles1." Harry said softly.
"Who the blazes is Snuffles?!" Savana asked in a normal tone of voice. "Ouch!" She exclaimed as Hermione kicked her sharply in the shin.
Savana glared at Hermione across the stack of books in front of her. Hermione returned the glare and hissed at Savana, "I think it's time for you and me to take a little break, now!"
Savana sullenly followed Hermione to a nearby girls' lavetory and, once they had determined that it was otherwise deserted, Savana allowed her temper free reign.
"Who do you think you are, the bloody queen of England?!" Savana demanded savagely. "How dare you treat me like some out of control, two year old, spoiled brat! All I did was ask you an innocent question and you acted like I was some ax murderer!" Savana angerly swiped away tears which threatened to overflow.
Hermione began to feel guilty, as well as a little embarressed, for jumping down Savana's throat so quickly. Hermione suspected she wouldn't have been so quick to condem anyone else. She decided to make a real effort to be nicer to Savana, begining right now. So, Hermione told Savana the story of Snuffles and Harry.
"...so, now you understand why we couldn't explain who Snuffles was in a public area like the library." Hermione concluded.
Savana nodded and thanked Hermione. She felt more in control now and a little ashamed of her outburst. She apologised to Hermione and splashed some water on her face.
"Do I look alright, ...no red eyes, or..." Savana noticed that Hermione was looking at her strangely. "What is it?" Savana asked with alarm as she turned to study herself in the mirror.
"Your eyes..." Hermione murmured as she leaned closer to Savana's face to get a better look at her eyes. "...they're two different colors!"
"Oh, my contact..." Savana moaned as she began to turn toward the mirror again. "I've got to find it!"
"Wait! I see it! It's caught on your lower eyelash." Hermione said. "Your eyes are such a beautiful shade of violet! Why would you want to change their color?"
"Because I can!" Savana said shortly as she prepared to re-insert the contact. Then, remembering her vow to be nicer to Hermione, she added quietly, "And because my other eye is green."
"That's absolutely wicked! May I see your eyes without the contact lenses?" Hermione breathed with excitement.
"Perhaps later, when I take out my contacts for the night." Savana responded as she completed putting the errant contact back where it belonged. She looked back at Hermione, both eyes were now a brilliant shade of aqua-marine.
"Why do I hide them with contacts?" Savana vocalised Hermione's unasked question. Hermione nodded. "Because when I was younger, I got teased about my eyes, alot." Savana's tone was bitter and it was obvious to Hermione that the memories were still quite painful for Savana. "So, when I was old enough to wear contacts, I got them as soon as possible. Now, I just blend in with everyone else."
Hermione made some commiserating comments as they left the lavatory and walked back to the library. Neither of them had noticed Peeves, the resident poltergist, had been evesdropping on them from inside one of the stalls.
Peeves popped back through the wall and into the hallway with a wicked grin upon his his face. "She has two different colored eyes!" He thought with glee. "I could have alot of fun with that!"
With a nasty chuckle, Peeves flew down toward the dungeons where he intended to have some more fun.
...`~*~`...
Hermione and Savana walked back into the library and sat down at the table which was occupied by the rest of their friends. Neville had joined the group during the girls' absence. Savana smiled at him.
"Hey, Neville, good to see ya!" Savana greeted him as she sat down in the empty chair next to him.
Neville smiled shyly at Savana, then returned to his studies.
The texts which they were studying at the moment, had been recommended by Professor Binns. He had told the class that the test would focus on Merlin's relics and tailsmans and this text had a detailed section on that topic.
Harry turned a page in the book and stopped as he studied the illustration and the caption of an odd looking mage staff. He recalled Professor Binns discussing that particular staff in class.
"Look at this, all of you." Harry whispered with excitement as he pointed to the picture.
The illustration depicted a rather plain, gold colored, mage staff with a ruby clock-face affixed to its top. The caption beneath it read: Merlin's Staff of Time.
"Listen to this!" Hermione said in a quiet voice edged with excitement. She proceeded to read aloud to the rest of the group from the text on the page before her.
"The preponderence of evidence indicates that the Staff of Time
did exist but, its existance in the present time is highly doubtful...
Merlin created the staff to control all aspects of time: past, present
and future. It is also believed to be the source of great power and
because of that atribute, Merlin decreed that upon his death the
staff must be destroyed. He feared that without his protection, the
staff could fall into the hands of a practitioner of the dark arts, such
as Morgana LeFey2, who would use the staff's power to preform acts
of great evil...
...some continue to believe that Merlin's descendants possess the
Staff of Time...it is highly unlikely, however, since the staff would have
been used in the centuries since Merlin's death..."
"Could that possibly be true?!" Neville quiered in awe.
"Of course it's true, you git! Otherwise, why would old Binney make us study this stuff?!" Ron responded with exasperation.
"Not the existance of the Staff of Time, or Merlin using it,...the other stuff, about the descendants..." Neville attempted to clairify his thoughts, but was interrupted by Hermione, who had noticed some increased attention from the occupants of nearby tables.
"That's why the book states it as myth, not fact, Neville." Hermione told him haughtily. Then she stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going back to Gryffindor and finish my studying there." Hermione announced.
"We'll see you later." Ron said as he bent back to study the text. "HEY..." He was going to add a colorful epitaph, directed toward Savana who had just kicked him in the shin. He caught onto Savana's silent indication, however, that they were all to follow Hermione's lead.
"I'll be along in a bit," Ron told them. "After I check out a couple of books."
The rest of the group trailed out after Hermione while Ron picked up his books and two of the library texts, including the one with the information on the Staff of Time, to check out. He then followed the rest of the group back to Gryffindor House.
...`~*~`...
Pansy Parkinson was walking alone along the corrider to the entrance of Slytherin House, when something wet, oily, and quite smelly, burst over her head. Pansy was drenched from her head to her knees, with a substance which reeked of rotting fish and felt quite oily. Pieces of the balloon, which had contained the fish oil, lay at her feet. She was assailed by cackling laughter from behind and turned toward it, fury welling up within her.
"PEEVES!! You bloody, little, spectre!" She shouted.
Peeves continued laughing as he bobbed up and down near the ceiling. He was holding another fish oil balloon and he prepared to throw it at Pansy.
"Go ahead and try it, Peeves! I'm going straight to Professor Snape and the Bloody Baron3 and tell them about this little prank of yours..."
"I know something you don't know." Peeves chanted in an irritating sing-song tone.
Pansy stomped her foot in anger, turned and continued marching toward Slytherin House.
"If you promise not to tell anyone about this...er...little incident, I'll tell you my secret." Peeves said nervously as he attempted to block Pansy from moving further on down the corrider.
"Why would I care about your perverted, little, secret?" Pansy demanded as she tryed to duck around the obnoxious poltergeist.
"Because it's about a certain American transfer student who thinks she knows everything." Peeves had returned to his previous sing-song tone, which Pansy found to be irritating, but he had caught her interest, and Peeves knew it.
"Allright, what is it?" Pansy tryed to feign disinterest.
"I want your word first." Peeves sounded more like his usual self.
"O.K., I promise, now spill it! I can't take this smell much longer."
Peeves quickley told Pansy all that he had overheard, while wickedly acting out the entire scene between Hermione and Savana.
Pansy was so delighted with the information that she quickly snuck into Slytherin House and cleaned herself up. She didn't mention Peeve's prank to anyone and enjoyed planning her next strike against Savana.
Pansy couldn't tolerate Savana! The girl acted as though she knew everything and the way she threw herself at Draco was just plain disgusting! Especially since everyone knew Draco loved Pansy. (At least, those were the facts in Pansyworld.)
Pansy was determined to reveal to Draco, and everyone else who thought Savana was SO special, exactly what Savana really was. Pansy felt that if she were really fortunate, Savana would disappear in the process.
Pansy began to formulate her plan for revenge against Savana. She wanted to be sure each detail was perfect. She never even thought about what Professor Dumbledore had told her after the last time she had picked on Savana.
...`~*~`...
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Savana had re-assembled in the Gryffindor House common room. Fortunately for them, the only other occupants of the room were Ginny and Stellaluna. Everyone else was off studying.
"I would be in the library, but I needed to feed Stellaluna." Ginny told the rest of the group. "I'm going back to the library as soon as she's done eating."
The little flying fox deftly removed the last of the pulpy portion of the fruit she was eating from the rind. Then she gobbled it up. Stellaluna searched the now empty rind with her nose and, finding there was no edible portion of the fruit remaining, looked up at Ginny as if to say, "So, where is the next course?"
Ginny laughed softly and scratched Stellaluna's head. "That's all there is until later tonight. If you keep eating as much as you do during warmer weather, when you do more flying, you'll turn into a furry, little, flying football. Now that it's cold out, you don't get as much exercise, so you don't need quite as much food."
Stellaluna cocked her head and eyed Ginny with apparent disgust.
"Giving me that look won't change anything." Ginny admonished the cheeky bat.
Stellaluna ruffled up her fur, then began to clean herself. When Stellaluna finished, Ginny picked her up then waved to the rest of the group as she went up to put Stellaluna back in her quarters.
"Ron, let me see that book, please." Savana requested.
Ron handed the book to Savana who immediately opened it to the section on the Staff of Time. She scanned the section, then sat back and steepled her fingers as she contemplated what she had just read.
"I wonder if Voldemort wanted my family dead because of something more than their association with the Potters?" Savana said in a thoughtful tone of voice.
"That's all the justification he's needed in the past." Ron said with authority.
"What are you getting at, Savana?" Harry asked. His attention had been focused on his studies, so he had only caught part of the exchange between Savana and Ron.
"I understand what she's thinking." Hermione said with excitement.
"Would you be so kind as to tell us beings of lesser intelligence what you're thinking?!" Ron demanded sarcastically.
"Savana's family are descendants of Merlin. This book says there are people who believe Merlin's descendants possess the Staff of Time." Hermione said patiently, as though she were explaining something to a three year old.
"So..." Ron demanded.
"So, the Staff of Time is a source of great power. What if that is the reason Voldemort attacked my family?" Savana completed the explaination.
"That idea may have some merit." Neville said quietly. "Don't you agree, Harry?...Harry!"
Harry stared straight ahead, his eyes were glazed and he was pale. He appeared to be in a trance.
Harry saw a man dressed in long, flowing, black robes. His face was white as chalk and he was standing amidst the ruins of an old building. The man held a gold mage staff with a ruby clock face at the top.
Then the vision vanished and Harry found himself back in the Gryffindor House common room, surrounded by his concerned friends.
"Harry, what just happened?" Neville asked with concern in his voice.
"I think I just had another vision." Harry said shakily. "I saw Voldemort and he was holding the Staff of Time."
1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN: Snuffles is the nickname which Harry
gave to his Godfather, Sirius Black because his animagus form is that of a large, black dog. Harry continues to use the nickname to protect Sirius' identity.
2. Morgana LeFey: The mythical sorceress of King Arthur's Court. She was also believed to be King Arthur's sister
and the mother of Modrid, Arthur's son.
3. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE: Peeves, the poltergeist, is afraid of the
Bloody Baron, who is the Slytherin House spectre. The Bloody Baron is the only being at Hogwart's that Peeves
will obey consistantly.
