Chapter 21 – New Developments
Harry
laughed quietly as he walked down the corridor, Snape must have been very
confused! He had told him to go to
classes! Harry was on his way to see
Professor McGonagall… Dumbledore wanted to talk to her.
Well
Harry, is there anything you wanted to ask me?
'Yes! To be honest there's a lot. Firstly, how can I hear you, is it normal
for a telepath to only hear certain things? I don't really understand it.'
Well,
it is a rather complicated concept and there haven't been many telepaths over
the last few centuries. I'm sure Miss
Granger would be pleased to explain it to you.
Harry
smiled, yes he thought, I have been avoiding my friends for long enough.
Was
there something else Harry?
'Yes,
um, professor, I thought that people cursed by the soul catcher couldn't
contact anyone, doesn't telepathy count?'
Didn't
you think I'd be fighting the curse? Telepathy is easier in this instance because it doesn't require your
body.
'Oh…
okay, I think I understand.'
Good,
turn right here Harry.
'So,
what is it like where you are?'
I
assume it is similar to the kind of state that Voldemort acquired after your
first encounter. I'm alive but stripped
of my body, I can communicate only through telepathy and I fear that Voldemort
put a lot of strength into his curse and there is little more I will be able to
achieve. I will be confined to the
Hogwarts grounds.
Harry
felt a lump rise to his throat.
Should
he tell Dumbledore about Voldemort's offer? He thought about Sirius and the dream he'd had at the start of
term. He couldn't bear the thought of
what Voldemort and the Death Eaters could be doing to his Godfather.
We're
here Harry.
'But
Professor, I can't see an entrance.'
It's
the end tapestry. I believe the
password is 'fiddlesticks'
'Okay,
here goes…'
"Fiddlesticks."
The
tapestry disappeared with a shimmer and revealed a small tidy office.
It's
an illusionary charm.
'Oh
right.'
"Professor
McGonagall?"
"Harry,
is that you? What are you doing
here? You should be resting!"
"I
needed to talk to you."
Okay,
this might prove a little more difficult than with Professor Snape. But just go by my lead.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Minerva
McGonagall had been very busy all day. She hoped that Arabella was having more success with Fudge than Dawn
Inigma had. She was writing owls to all
of the Ministry officials she knew to warn them of Voldemort's most recent
actions when she was interrupted by Harry Potter.
How
he'd come to find her office she didn't know.
"Professor,
I know you're going to find this hard to believe but you've got to trust me,
this is very important." Said Harry
calmly.
"Erm,
alright, go ahead." Said Minerva
uncertainly.
"I've
been contacted by Professor Dumbledore through telepathy. And he wants to talk to you."
"I
see."
"I'll
simply be talking straight to you for him."
"I
understand."
"Minerva,
I need you to arrange something for me."
Professor
McGonagall's eyebrow raised slightly and her eyes were suspicious but she
remained calm and clearing her throat she said.
"Of
course, what can I do for you?"
"You
have to organise a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix."
McGonagall's
eyes bulged and she suddenly looked a little faint. Her calm façade was gone.
"Oh
my…"
"Are
you all right Minerva?"
"Yes,
um, Albus, of course."
"Good."
"But
how am I going to do it? The order
barely exists any more!"
"We
need as many of the original members as possible, recruitment will have to wait
a while I suppose."
"Gracious,
well, I don't know how long it will take me but I'll do my best Albus."
"I
knew you would Minerva."
"I
can barely believe this. I was so
worried Albus, I thought we'd never… that you…"
"Yes,
I'm sorry."
"Sorry! What on Earth for?!"
"I
failed once again to protect those under my care and now I cannot even help to
make up for it!"
"Nobody
blames you Albus…"
Minerva
McGonagall stared at Harry for a moment he had come out of the trance-like
state he'd been in and was looking as if there was a lot going on in his head,
which of course there was…
~~~*~~~*~~~
'Professor
Dumbledore! It wasn't your fault!'
Harry,
it was my responsibility…
'You
couldn't have known what was going to happen!'
It
doesn't matter. I should have done
better…
'I
can't believe this! Professor, you
could have been killed!'
Harry,
you understand what I mean, you blame yourself as well don't you?
'That's
different! I could have helped!'
It
is in no way different. You and I are
very similar Harry.
Harry
suddenly smiled and blushed, he'd never have dreamed of comparing himself to
Dumbledore.
"Um,
Harry?" Asked McGonagall grabbing Harry's
shoulder
"Oh
sorry Professor!"
"That's
alright, has Professor Dumbledore got anything else to tell me?"
No,
not for now.
"Not
for now professor."
"Okay
then, I think you'd better be getting back to the Hospital Wing, does Madame
Pomfrey know where you are?"
Harry
glanced guiltily up at his Head of House.
"You're
right I'd better get going."
Harry
turned to leave and was surprised to see a small smile on the professor's face.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Harry
was starting to get used to the telepathy, having Dumbledore's reassurance was
comforting but Harry's thoughts were constantly with Sirius and he couldn't
help worrying about the centaur's warning and the decision he was meant to
make.
He
wanted to do whatever he could for his godfather and headmaster, Voldemort had
chosen his victims well, they were, along with his friends, the most important
people in Harry's life.
Harry
finally convinced Madame Pomfrey that he was all right and she allowed him to
leave for lessons the next day.
"Harry!" Shrieked Hermione on spotting him, she ran
over and threw her arms around him.
"We
were so worried!"
Harry
felt a rush of warmth, he was so glad to see his friends again, he knew that
they would be here for him no matter what.
Neville
and Ron weren't as forthright as Hermione but Harry knew that they felt the
same way, he could see it in the way that they were looking at him.
The
rest of the Gryffindors that were in the Defence classroom had stayed at their
desks allowing the friends a moment alone. Everyone was still upset about the attack and everyone was relieved that
lessons were starting again.
"I've
got so much to talk to you about!" Said
Harry.
"We'll
have to talk later. Here comes
Professor Inigma." Said Hermione.
"Class! I am afraid that starting today Professor
Snape will be unable to take your classes, therefore you will be having potions
lessons combined with Defence with me. And extra transfiguration with Professor Figg this afternoon."
The
Gryffindors cheered a little less loudly than they might have ordinarily and
some cast glances at Harry, but Ron was ecstatic,
"No
Snape! Woo hoo!"
"Alright! Now, we'll be learning the uses of specific
potions used in defence against the dark arts, particularly those used by
Aurors such as myself."
Harry
decided to pay close attention to the class, he thought anxiously about the
prospect of facing Voldemort once again.
He
was surprised when he managed to brew a complicated potion used for pain relief
as successfully as Hermione.
They
tried the potions out by pinching each other. Harry squinted slightly and Hermione yelped having tried Neville and
Ron's potions, (Although Ron insisted that his had worked and that Hermione was
being girly…) Ron and Neville however felt the pain being drained by Harry and
Hermione's potions immediately.
"Wow,
that worked really well!" Said Neville
smiling.
"Yeah,
well, wouldn't expect anything less from Hermione, and Harry's must have been a
fluke!" Said Ron grinning.
However
Harry also managed to brew a potion called the Scutum Draught, which even
Hermione struggled with which gave the taker a short-term resistance to the
Stupefying Spell.
This
one wasn't tested but Professor Inigma couldn't hide her surprise at seeing the
bright blue colour of Harry's potion in comparison to the dull blue and in some
cases aquamarine colours that were coming from the other cauldrons.
When
class was over she called Harry over.
"Harry,
I'd not heard that you were that good at potions."
"Well,
the truth is that I'm not usually, although I don't expect Professor Snape
would have really wanted to sing my praises even if I were."
"Harry,
I haven't ever seen a Scutum Draught as blue as yours since I last had some
that had been brewed for the Aurors in my team."
Harry
blushed and looked disbelievingly at his cauldron.
Suddenly
he heard Dumbledore's voice in his head.
So
Harry, you're revealing some more of your potential.
'I
don't understand, why wasn't I always good at potions?'
Your
skills are developing gradually, it was the same with your father, although I
don't recollect him ever being that good at potions.
Harry
turned his attention back to Professor Inigma who was eyeing him suspiciously.
"Sorry
Professor, you were saying."
"Are
you alright Harry?"
"Yes,
perfectly."
"Alright
then, I was wondering if you'd mind me testing your potion."
"Of
course not."
"I
want you to try and stun me."
Harry's
eyes widened,
"I'm
fully confident that your potion will work admirably."
"Um,
alright then."
Professor
Inigma took a long gulp of potion and smiled at Harry,
"Go
ahead."
Harry
raised his wand nervously and said "Stupefy!" sending a fizz of red light at
the professor.
The
spell hit Professor Inigma on the shoulder but instead of being knocked out she
laughed.
"Very
good Harry! Although I'm sure you could
have put a bit more power behind that stun… Never mind, you can go now."
She
said draining off the rest of Harry's potion into a vile, which she pocketed.
Harry
left to try and find Hermione, Ron and Neville so that he could talk to them
before Transfiguration.
Okies! Hope you liked it… I just love being able to
give Harry all these cool new skills and stuff… I can't wait for Snape's
reaction to Harry's wonderfulness!!! And of course decision time is looming for Harry… What will he
decide? And what will it mean for
humanity!????
Transfiguration
will be fun! And so will Harry's talk
with R,H&N…
Plus
we find out how Sirius is holding up in the grasp of Lord Voldemort….
Stay
Tuned!
And
Review!
Luv
Jona
xxx