Chapter Seven- The Orbs of the Phoenix
Harry walked up towards the picture frame, hoping that he wouldn't wake up from this dream. Hoping that everything he was seeing was not a lie. His godfather, who was killed nearly two months ago, was sitting in a picture frame, at Hogwarts. Harry wanted to touch the frame so badly, but both Sirius and the man began to dive into conversation, and Harry thought he needed to hear.
"Albus just hired you?" asked Sirius, his voice coming as a huge relief to Harry.
"Yes. I explained to him what you told me, and he hired me right then and there. He told me to come down and give you the news as soon as I could" said the Man, his voice sounding deep, and calm.
Sirius smiled at him. "That's great"
"But, you haven't answered my question" said the Man, stepping a little closer to the frame. Harry did the same. "Is Harry going to find out about this?"
Harry saw Sirius give a hopeful smile. "I damn sure hope so! That boy has discovered so many things, that's its hardly surprising if he does find us"
The Man smiled. "Quite the little detective isn't he?"
"Yes. He, Ron and Hermione are in the league together. All of them have done extremely well on their O.W.Ls"
Harry's eyes widened again and his heart hastened. How was it that Sirius knew about their results?
"Were you seen?"
"Nope. No one had any idea I was watching from the portrait in Molly's fireplace" said Sirius, still smiling. He looked dead at the place where Harry stood, and looked back to the man. "But.have you found out anymore about the orbs?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me" said the Man, as he pulled out a roll of parchment. "The orbs are perfectly safe. Voldermort hasn't found them yet, and with the rest of the order guarding the orbs around the Phoenix Lair, Voldermort wouldn't dare show his face!"
Sirius looked happy once more. "As long as the order is guarding the orbs, everything should go off without a problem then"
"I hope you're right, Sirius"
"Kevin, when have I ever been wrong?"
Harry was happier to know the mans name. Harry looked around him and saw that the hallway was spinning around him. His eyes closed and when he re- opened them, he found himself staring into a dark ceiling. He sat up as fast as he could, breathing a little hard. The sun had set and the sky looked a dusky purple, and he could hear voices from the kitchen. It must have been dinnertime, but he didn't care at all. His mind was still within that hallway.
His godfather had returned. His godfather was within Hogwarts. Harry sat there, in the dark room, thinking about the dream. He couldn't believe it.Sirius was alive.
The Holidays began to draw to a close, and before anyone knew it, it was September first. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were awaken at 6am, to get a head start on their last things to pack. Finally, they were loaded into 2 Muggle Taxis along with Fred, George and Mrs. Weasley and they began their trip to Kings Cross-station.
When they arrived, their trunks were unloaded, and they began to cross the station and head for the barrier to platform 9 ¾. Harry glanced at the station's clock that read a quarter to eleven. The Hogwarts Express was set to leave in fifteen minutes. Mrs. Weasley began to hurry everyone to the barrier. She told Ron and Harry to go first. The two of them ran through the barrier with their luggage carts in front of them. They made it safely through the barrier and Harry saw the Hogwarts express. It was a red gleaming locomotive, adorned with gold frames around the windows. Harry watched as the other students and their parents were milling around, giving last good-byes.
Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Hermione and Ginny arrived a moment later.
"Come on dears, let's get your trunks settled!" said Mrs. Weasley.
After they stored their luggage, the four of them boarded the train and began to look for a compartment to sit in. Ginny was called by some of her fellow fifth year friends, and went to sit with them, leaving Harry, Hermione and Ron alone.
Hermione then gave a loud gasp when they had found an empty compartment.
"Ron! We've got to go to the Prefects compartment!" she said, grabbing Ron by the hand and leading him off down the corridor.
Harry sat down and before he could settle himself in, two people appeared at the doorway. Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom.
"Hi Harry" called Neville, in his usual high pitched voice. "Hi Neville. Hi Luna"
"Hello Harry" said Luna, in her usual dreamy voice. "Had a nice summer?" She asked as she and Neville entered and sat down.
"It was good. Spent most of it at Ron's" he said, smiling.
"That's good. I'm glad you and Cho made up," said Luna, looking very pleased about something. Harry looked confused.
"What's the matter?" he asked. He knew that Luna had always been a little 'weird' since last year, so he didn't know why he had asked her this question.
She stared into his eyes. "You saw it to, didn't you?" she asked, sounding as though she were about to jump out the window. Harry didn't even feel the train moving, because he was so into Luna's question.
"Saw what?" Harry asked.
"Sirius"
Harry's heart began to race. How did Luna know about his dream?
"H-How did you-"
"I had the same dream. I was standing right behind you, in a corner. I didn't know it was you until I saw the back of your head" she said.
"Then you know about the orbs?"
"Yes. And I too, was a little confused. I have never heard of the Phoenix lair" Luna said, sitting a little closer to Harry. Neville looked at the two of them, confused.
"What.Orbs?" he said.
"Yeah. Harry and I had the same dream a few weeks ago and we saw Sirius sitting in a portrait at Hogwarts, talking to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He spoke about orbs in a phoenix lair" Luna explained.
Neville's eyes widened.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked.
"My grandmum* talked about that this summer" he said.
"She did?" Harry asked, in a voice of hope. He hoped Neville had heard some valuable things.
"Yes" said Neville, closing the compartment door. "She was talking to a friend of hers. She's a witch. She said that the orbs of the phoenix were an important factor in You-know-who's rise to power, because if he had found them, he would have been unstoppable" Neville continued, his voice lower.
"You mean, he would have become immortal?" asked Luna.
"Yes. She said it was similar to the Sorcerer's stone. She said that the orbs would have guaranteed him unimaginable power. But the only thing that stopped him from getting them were Harry's mum and dad" he said, looking at Harry.
Harry's eyes widened. "M-My Mum and Dad?" he said, nervously. "What did they have to do with this?"
"She said, they were the protectors of the Orbs. She told her friend that thanks to them, You-Know-Who never got his hands on the orbs.and that thanks to Harry, You-know-who was stopped"
Harry's heart was still racing. His mum and dad were a reason Voldermort was denied true evil power. He felt like he wasn't to be dubbed as a hero after all. He felt that his parents should have been given the same glory he was given.
"But now that Volder-You-Know-who is back, there is nothing stopping him from getting the orbs" said Luna.
"But, Sirius knows about them. Remember that Kevin told him the orbs were safe. You-Know-Who still doesn't know where they are" Harry said, his voice sounding triumphant.
"Yes, that's true Harry, but there's still questions to be answered. Remember last year, You-Know-who found out where the prophecy was, and Dumbledore thought he didn't. It's only a matter of time before he finds out about the orbs" Luna said.
This was in fact true. How long would it be before Voldermort found out where the orbs were?
Neville's voice broke into Harry's mind. "Lets just hope that he doesn't find out about them"
Luna nodded. "And, if it's possible, we shouldn't tell Ron and Hermione, as well as Ginny. There's no need to get the involved" she said.
Harry thought this task was going to be extremely hard. He often found it hard to keep secrets from Ron and Hermione. He thought he was bound to slip and tell them what he, Luna and Neville were talking about, but he told himself he wouldn't say anything.
"Sorry we took so long!" said Hermione, panting as she and Ron entered the compartment. Both of them looked Red, and the both of them looked as though they had been kissing too. Harry broke into a grin.
Ron looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"You two really think hiding it makes a difference?" Harry said, still laughing.
The Red in both Hermione and Ron's faces deepened.
"Well.we thought we wouldn't trouble you, and tell you that we were dating each other" said Hermione.
"I figured it out during the summer. I saw the letters Ron was writing to you, and the one's you wrote to him, and I saw the way he looked at you when you arrived at the burrow" Harry said, sounding as though he were running for Supreme ruler of the universe.
Ron punched him in the arm. "Well, the next time you figure out stuff like that, you need to tell someone!"
The compartment broke into laughter. The rest of the day went smoothly. The bright sunshine and deep blue sky didn't change. When the trolley came around, they brought almost all of the food on it, and engaged in a sort of celebration lunch. Neville had shared his O.W.L results and Harry was very pleased to see that he only had one acceptable, which was in potions. Harry felt weird as the train sped south, because not once during the afternoon had Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came by. They usual take perfect opportunity to badger Harry while there are no teachers around.
Finally, night began to fall and everyone changed into his or her robes. The Train then pulled into Hogsmeade station and came to a halt. Everyone disembarked, and Ron and Hermione did their prefect duties helping first years off the train. Finally a familiar voice rang from the front of the platform.
"Firs' years, this way! Come on firs' years!"
Harry had a huge smile on his face. He was glad to see that Hagrid was back. Last year, Professor Grubbly-Plank had his job for a few months. Hagrid's tall figure came, and Harry was pleased to see his face was back to normal. All the cuts and bruises he had last year were gone. "Hi Hagrid!" called Harry.
"'ello there Harry!" said Hagrid, still waving the nervous crowd of first years to him. "See yeh at the feast"
Harry turned and grabbed Hedwigs cage, and started to head for the carriages. Ever since last year, he had been able to see what pulled the carriages. Threstals. They were big horses with black fur and wings. He also had ridden one on his journey to the Ministry of Magic.
"Come on Harry" called Ron, standing near an empty carriage with Hermione.
Harry gathered Hedwigs cage and headed toward the carriage, and got inside with Ron and Hermione. The carriage set off for Hogwarts Castle.
Harry walked up towards the picture frame, hoping that he wouldn't wake up from this dream. Hoping that everything he was seeing was not a lie. His godfather, who was killed nearly two months ago, was sitting in a picture frame, at Hogwarts. Harry wanted to touch the frame so badly, but both Sirius and the man began to dive into conversation, and Harry thought he needed to hear.
"Albus just hired you?" asked Sirius, his voice coming as a huge relief to Harry.
"Yes. I explained to him what you told me, and he hired me right then and there. He told me to come down and give you the news as soon as I could" said the Man, his voice sounding deep, and calm.
Sirius smiled at him. "That's great"
"But, you haven't answered my question" said the Man, stepping a little closer to the frame. Harry did the same. "Is Harry going to find out about this?"
Harry saw Sirius give a hopeful smile. "I damn sure hope so! That boy has discovered so many things, that's its hardly surprising if he does find us"
The Man smiled. "Quite the little detective isn't he?"
"Yes. He, Ron and Hermione are in the league together. All of them have done extremely well on their O.W.Ls"
Harry's eyes widened again and his heart hastened. How was it that Sirius knew about their results?
"Were you seen?"
"Nope. No one had any idea I was watching from the portrait in Molly's fireplace" said Sirius, still smiling. He looked dead at the place where Harry stood, and looked back to the man. "But.have you found out anymore about the orbs?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me" said the Man, as he pulled out a roll of parchment. "The orbs are perfectly safe. Voldermort hasn't found them yet, and with the rest of the order guarding the orbs around the Phoenix Lair, Voldermort wouldn't dare show his face!"
Sirius looked happy once more. "As long as the order is guarding the orbs, everything should go off without a problem then"
"I hope you're right, Sirius"
"Kevin, when have I ever been wrong?"
Harry was happier to know the mans name. Harry looked around him and saw that the hallway was spinning around him. His eyes closed and when he re- opened them, he found himself staring into a dark ceiling. He sat up as fast as he could, breathing a little hard. The sun had set and the sky looked a dusky purple, and he could hear voices from the kitchen. It must have been dinnertime, but he didn't care at all. His mind was still within that hallway.
His godfather had returned. His godfather was within Hogwarts. Harry sat there, in the dark room, thinking about the dream. He couldn't believe it.Sirius was alive.
The Holidays began to draw to a close, and before anyone knew it, it was September first. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were awaken at 6am, to get a head start on their last things to pack. Finally, they were loaded into 2 Muggle Taxis along with Fred, George and Mrs. Weasley and they began their trip to Kings Cross-station.
When they arrived, their trunks were unloaded, and they began to cross the station and head for the barrier to platform 9 ¾. Harry glanced at the station's clock that read a quarter to eleven. The Hogwarts Express was set to leave in fifteen minutes. Mrs. Weasley began to hurry everyone to the barrier. She told Ron and Harry to go first. The two of them ran through the barrier with their luggage carts in front of them. They made it safely through the barrier and Harry saw the Hogwarts express. It was a red gleaming locomotive, adorned with gold frames around the windows. Harry watched as the other students and their parents were milling around, giving last good-byes.
Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Hermione and Ginny arrived a moment later.
"Come on dears, let's get your trunks settled!" said Mrs. Weasley.
After they stored their luggage, the four of them boarded the train and began to look for a compartment to sit in. Ginny was called by some of her fellow fifth year friends, and went to sit with them, leaving Harry, Hermione and Ron alone.
Hermione then gave a loud gasp when they had found an empty compartment.
"Ron! We've got to go to the Prefects compartment!" she said, grabbing Ron by the hand and leading him off down the corridor.
Harry sat down and before he could settle himself in, two people appeared at the doorway. Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom.
"Hi Harry" called Neville, in his usual high pitched voice. "Hi Neville. Hi Luna"
"Hello Harry" said Luna, in her usual dreamy voice. "Had a nice summer?" She asked as she and Neville entered and sat down.
"It was good. Spent most of it at Ron's" he said, smiling.
"That's good. I'm glad you and Cho made up," said Luna, looking very pleased about something. Harry looked confused.
"What's the matter?" he asked. He knew that Luna had always been a little 'weird' since last year, so he didn't know why he had asked her this question.
She stared into his eyes. "You saw it to, didn't you?" she asked, sounding as though she were about to jump out the window. Harry didn't even feel the train moving, because he was so into Luna's question.
"Saw what?" Harry asked.
"Sirius"
Harry's heart began to race. How did Luna know about his dream?
"H-How did you-"
"I had the same dream. I was standing right behind you, in a corner. I didn't know it was you until I saw the back of your head" she said.
"Then you know about the orbs?"
"Yes. And I too, was a little confused. I have never heard of the Phoenix lair" Luna said, sitting a little closer to Harry. Neville looked at the two of them, confused.
"What.Orbs?" he said.
"Yeah. Harry and I had the same dream a few weeks ago and we saw Sirius sitting in a portrait at Hogwarts, talking to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He spoke about orbs in a phoenix lair" Luna explained.
Neville's eyes widened.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked.
"My grandmum* talked about that this summer" he said.
"She did?" Harry asked, in a voice of hope. He hoped Neville had heard some valuable things.
"Yes" said Neville, closing the compartment door. "She was talking to a friend of hers. She's a witch. She said that the orbs of the phoenix were an important factor in You-know-who's rise to power, because if he had found them, he would have been unstoppable" Neville continued, his voice lower.
"You mean, he would have become immortal?" asked Luna.
"Yes. She said it was similar to the Sorcerer's stone. She said that the orbs would have guaranteed him unimaginable power. But the only thing that stopped him from getting them were Harry's mum and dad" he said, looking at Harry.
Harry's eyes widened. "M-My Mum and Dad?" he said, nervously. "What did they have to do with this?"
"She said, they were the protectors of the Orbs. She told her friend that thanks to them, You-Know-Who never got his hands on the orbs.and that thanks to Harry, You-know-who was stopped"
Harry's heart was still racing. His mum and dad were a reason Voldermort was denied true evil power. He felt like he wasn't to be dubbed as a hero after all. He felt that his parents should have been given the same glory he was given.
"But now that Volder-You-Know-who is back, there is nothing stopping him from getting the orbs" said Luna.
"But, Sirius knows about them. Remember that Kevin told him the orbs were safe. You-Know-Who still doesn't know where they are" Harry said, his voice sounding triumphant.
"Yes, that's true Harry, but there's still questions to be answered. Remember last year, You-Know-who found out where the prophecy was, and Dumbledore thought he didn't. It's only a matter of time before he finds out about the orbs" Luna said.
This was in fact true. How long would it be before Voldermort found out where the orbs were?
Neville's voice broke into Harry's mind. "Lets just hope that he doesn't find out about them"
Luna nodded. "And, if it's possible, we shouldn't tell Ron and Hermione, as well as Ginny. There's no need to get the involved" she said.
Harry thought this task was going to be extremely hard. He often found it hard to keep secrets from Ron and Hermione. He thought he was bound to slip and tell them what he, Luna and Neville were talking about, but he told himself he wouldn't say anything.
"Sorry we took so long!" said Hermione, panting as she and Ron entered the compartment. Both of them looked Red, and the both of them looked as though they had been kissing too. Harry broke into a grin.
Ron looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"You two really think hiding it makes a difference?" Harry said, still laughing.
The Red in both Hermione and Ron's faces deepened.
"Well.we thought we wouldn't trouble you, and tell you that we were dating each other" said Hermione.
"I figured it out during the summer. I saw the letters Ron was writing to you, and the one's you wrote to him, and I saw the way he looked at you when you arrived at the burrow" Harry said, sounding as though he were running for Supreme ruler of the universe.
Ron punched him in the arm. "Well, the next time you figure out stuff like that, you need to tell someone!"
The compartment broke into laughter. The rest of the day went smoothly. The bright sunshine and deep blue sky didn't change. When the trolley came around, they brought almost all of the food on it, and engaged in a sort of celebration lunch. Neville had shared his O.W.L results and Harry was very pleased to see that he only had one acceptable, which was in potions. Harry felt weird as the train sped south, because not once during the afternoon had Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came by. They usual take perfect opportunity to badger Harry while there are no teachers around.
Finally, night began to fall and everyone changed into his or her robes. The Train then pulled into Hogsmeade station and came to a halt. Everyone disembarked, and Ron and Hermione did their prefect duties helping first years off the train. Finally a familiar voice rang from the front of the platform.
"Firs' years, this way! Come on firs' years!"
Harry had a huge smile on his face. He was glad to see that Hagrid was back. Last year, Professor Grubbly-Plank had his job for a few months. Hagrid's tall figure came, and Harry was pleased to see his face was back to normal. All the cuts and bruises he had last year were gone. "Hi Hagrid!" called Harry.
"'ello there Harry!" said Hagrid, still waving the nervous crowd of first years to him. "See yeh at the feast"
Harry turned and grabbed Hedwigs cage, and started to head for the carriages. Ever since last year, he had been able to see what pulled the carriages. Threstals. They were big horses with black fur and wings. He also had ridden one on his journey to the Ministry of Magic.
"Come on Harry" called Ron, standing near an empty carriage with Hermione.
Harry gathered Hedwigs cage and headed toward the carriage, and got inside with Ron and Hermione. The carriage set off for Hogwarts Castle.