Chapter 14

Switching Spells (Jake)

My name is Jake.

The other Animorphs and I had just reached a very important decision: we were going to give Harry the power to morph.

The only problem was the fact that the morphing cube was still in America.

            "There must be a spell or something that can get it over here," I said, rubbing my temples.

            "But what if there isn't?" asked Rachel, tossing her long blond hair over her shoulder.

            "We'll deal." I replied. I thought a moment, then added, "Somehow."

            "I'm here! What is it?" Harry yelled as he arrived. He stopped, panting, in front of me.

            The others all turned to me. They waited for me to tell him. I took a deep breath. "Harry…" I began slowly.

            "I hope your not going to tell me there's another alien invasion going on," he said.

            I shook my head. "No. It's… something else. We have something to ask you. We've come to a major decision. Would you… um…" I faltered.

            "Would I…?" prodded Harry.

            "Do you want the power to morph?"

            I swear, no one spoke for a full three minutes. Harry looked to the heavens, eyes closed, thinking. The muscles in his jaw worked.

            Without so much as a warning, his knees gave way. He crumpled. His hands flew up to cover his scar. His throat constricted, trying to keep down a yell of pain. He hissed through clenched teeth.

            Cassie dropped to her knees beside him. She shook his arm. "Harry! Harry, what's the matter?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. "Harry! Answer me, and I might be able to help!"

            Harry's tensed muscles suddenly relaxed. His hands fell from his face. He was panting, probably still in pain, but smiled. "No help," he said. He struggled to sit up. "I told you that my scar burns whenever Voldemort is near. Sometimes its just a surge of hatred he feels toward me."

            Cassie stood up and helped him to his feet. He turned to me almost immediately. "If I accept this power to morph, will it help me destroy Voldemort?" he asked, face set in a deadly serious expression.

            I met his eyes and nodded, "Yes."

            "Then I accept."

            I sighed in relief. It would have been awkward if he had rejected it.

            "There's just one problem."

            "And that would be…?"

            "We don't have the morphing cube. I mean, the Escafil device."

            "You don't?"

            "No. It's back home, in America. Is there a spell that could bring it here?"

            Harry chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip. "I think so… Maybe the Summoning Spell?"

            Having no idea what this meant, I just watched him. He shook his head.

            "No… That wouldn't work. People aren't accustomed to objects flying by of their own accord, are they?"

            I shook my head, grinning. I tried to imagine the look on Visser Three's face as the blue box flew by and snorted.

            "Wait… I've got it! The Switching Spell!"

            "The Switching Spell?" Rachel asked.

            "Yeah. It takes one object and switches it with another. My friend Neville accidentally put his ears on a cactus when he tried it, last year."

            We all stared at him. This was just not a statement you heard everyday.

            He coughed. "Anyway, I need another object to do it. Do you have something that's the same size, mass, and weight of the Escafil device?"

            I had no idea what these measurements were for the blue box. However, I knew someone who did.

            "Ax?"

            Yes, Prince Jake? Ax replied.

            I gave an exasperated sigh. "Ax, I'm not a prince. Don't call me prince. Do you think you could find something with those measurements?"

            Ax nodded, one of the many human habits he had picked up on Earth. He plodded away, and returned a few moments later with a large rock. He placed it on the ground before him, poised his tail blade, and struck.

            SHING! SHING!

            Harry gasped and jumped back in shock.

            Sparks flew as Ax's tail blade slashed through the stone. In moments, the stone was cut into an almost exact replica of the blue morphing cube.

            Will this do? Ax asked.

            Harry nodded weakly. He walked over, picked it up, and walked a few ways away. He put it down and took out his wand. He swished it to the left, to the right, flicked it, stooped quickly to tap the stone, and muttered a word.

            Brilliant white light flared up from the rock. I yelped in surprise and threw my arms up to shield my eyes. A squealing noise, like metal against metal, rose and echoed through the room. It made my head pound and my eardrums throb. I ground my teeth in pain.

            The light died suddenly. The squealing noise softened down to a purr, then disappeared completely. After a few minutes, I dared to look.

            Harry stood looking down at the Escafil device. It had worked, but something about the box was strange. It wasn't glowing anymore.

            He grinned at me.

            I smiled weakly. "What was with the noise?"

            He shrugged. "I dunno. It was probably because the thing I switched the rock with was so far away. It wasn't that loud in Transfiguration class. Well, Hermione was the only one who actually did it, but it didn't make a noise like that."

            I picked up the morphing cube. I held it out so that it was resting flat on my palm. "If I remember correctly, you're supposed to touch one side of the box."

            Slowly, he stretched out his hand and put it on the box. He stood there like that for at least two minutes before asking, "Should I be feeling something?"

            I felt panic rising in my chest, but quickly pushed it away. "Yeah. You're not? Do you think the magic could have done something to it?" I asked, my breath becoming ragged. If something happened to the blue box, the outcome could be disastrous.

            "No," Harry said, frowning as he thought, "The spell only switched the objects. It wouldn't have done anything to affect the way the device works."

            No one spoke for five minutes, which seemed like an eon. So suddenly it made me jump, Harry slapped himself on the forehead and rolled his eyes. "Puffskeins, what an idiot I am! I forgot, technology doesn't work in Hogwarts!"

            I swear, if an Andalite can look panicked, Ax did. He lost his composure in a total of .5 nanoseconds. What!? Technology does not work at Hogwarts!? How can that be!?

            Harry stared at Ax for a long time, looking a little shocked. "There's a spell on the place that stops it from working."

            Then how will you get the morphing power? asked Tobias, hopping anxiously around on his perch.

            Harry grinned. "We'll go to Hogsmeade. Tomorrow's the trip. Muggle technology works there!"

            "What's a Hogsmeade?" asked Marco, clearly puzzled.

            "It's a village, just outside Hogwarts. It's one of the best places to visit. This can wait till tomorrow, can't it?"

            "Okay. We'll do it tomorrow at Hogsmeade." I said. I started to grin too. Harry's good spirits were infectious.

            "See you tomorrow, eight o'clock sharp!" Harry yelled, running out of the Chamber.

            I didn't know why, but going to this Hogsmeade place seemed like it would be fun to go to.

            I couldn't wait!

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! Special thanks to Reflections of Reality for your review! ::beaming:: It made me feel all warm in tingly inside! And this must be a good feeling, since the Animorphs said so! Anywho, I'm sorry this chapter is kinda short. I couldn't think of anything else to write for it. I could've put the Hogsmeade part in this, but I had a really cool chapter name idea so I made it another chapter.  Stay tuned for my next chapter, "Chapter 15: Butterbeer for Everyone! (Harry)"! Enjoy!