CHAPTER VIII
Authors note: To HermioneGreen, in chap VIII I was considering Hermione as "older" as in more mature and responsible. Sort of someone to look after Harry in a way, please continue to review, I really appreciate your comments. Also same to all other reviewers, thanks for all the positive criticism, please keep reviewing! J
Several days after the attack, Harry went down to the great hall to meet the Gryffindor quidditch team early for breakfast. Fred and George had left Harry with the captaincy last year, before they left school. Right now, the team consisted of him, Ron as keeper, two twin fifth year girls: Tiffany and Lana as beaters, and Blake and Colin Creevy as Chasers. They last chaser had been a boy named Mark, but his parents had pulled him out of Hogwarts after last year to go into hiding.
"Hello you lot." Harry said in greeting, they all waved, mid-chew.
"While you've all got your mouths full, I'll start," said Harry. "Quidditch tryouts are in a few weeks and you all know that if we want to keep together a good team we need the perfect chaser, and a few good reserves."
"Here, here!" said Blake, raising his mug of tea.
Harry grinned.
"So I want you all to start looking for promising students in Gryffindor. If you see any, bring up the team and see if they're interested. Got it?"
Everyone nodded. Harry clapped his hand together.
"Excellent." He said, sitting down and serving himself some porridge.
"Quidditch tryouts are in two weeks, let's hope we get a good turnout."
***
Ginny woke up early by accident, and made her way to the great hall for breakfast. When she entered the hall, she found Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Gryffindor team, sitting at one end of the table eating breakfast. Hmm, maybe I should try out for chaser this year, she thought idly to herself. Ginny made her way over and sat down between Ron and Harry.
"'Morning Gin'" said Ron through his toast. Ginny ruffled his hair to annoy him and reached for the pumpkin juice.
"Having an early morning meeting Harry?" she asked him.
He nodded and gestured that he couldn't talk because his mouth was stuffed full. Ginny smiled.
"I was considering trying out for that chaser position," she told him.
Harry swallowed hastily and grinned enthusiastically. He had a slightly maniac glint in his eye. Reminds me of Oliver Wood, Ginny thought in amusement.
"Excellent Ginny, I'm sure you'll be great!" exclaimed Harry.
Ron didn't look too pleased however.
"Ginny, are you sure you should be playing quidditch? I mean," Ron cleared his throat and looked at her apprehensively, "I can be dangerous" He trailed off uncomfortably.
Ginny laughed to cover up her irritation. Well really, she thought angrily, I'm not made of glass.
"Don't be ridiculous Ron," she said easily, "If I can beat you up, and you play quidditch, then I'm pretty sure I can play quidditch without getting seriously injured."
Ron's ears went pink, but he took the hint, and dropped the subject. Ginny served herself some porridge as well, topping it with honey and cinnamon.
Sitting down to eat, she listened to the team talk about the game. They were discussing "plans of attack", as they liked to call them, everyone leaning over a piece of parchment as Harry traced diagrams on it. Interested, Ginny leaned over to see.
"Look," he said. "If Colin stays at this side of the pitch and the third chaser at the other, then Blake can stay in the middle but closer to the ground. That way we've got all sides and the lower space covered."
Everyone nodded, agreeing with him. Ginny shook her head. She grabbed the pencil and began to talk.
"That's not going to work," she told him. Harry stared. "Look," she said impatiently. " You have a huge space between Colin and Blake." She drew a line between Colin's dot and Blake's. "If Malfoy's daddy buys the Slytherins the new Firebolt05s, a Slytherin could start at the other end of the field and intercept a ball thrown by Colin to Blake as long as he accelerates to twice the speed of the ball. That's not including wind force, and his ability to swerve down or upwards. What you need to do is keep them close together, if they concentrate, they can pass in and out of each other and swerve around people as one body. It'll minimize the risk of an intercept." Ginny looked up. They were all gaping at her.
"How come we didn't think of that?" asked Harry with chagrin, he stared at her in admiration. The team shook their heads.
"Because you're all blockheads that's why," said Ginny, poking her tongue out at Harry.
He grinned happily, and tweaked her nose.
"And you're brilliant, of course."
Ginny went slightly pink,
"Of course!" she said briskly, going back to her bowl of porridge.
Most of the day passed uneventfully. In potions, Harry had become exceedingly bored after easily putting together a truth potion, so Professor Jeanne had set him to reading a rare and complicated book full of ancient potions. Harry laughed when he saw that the author was Merlin and handed it back to her, saying politely that he already new the potions in this book.
She looked at him skeptically, but obviously Professor Dumbledore had already spoken with her, so she threw her hands in the air with exasperation.
"Mr. Potter, I really do not eexactly know what kind of work to give you. Per'aps you have some suggestions of your own?!" She glared at him through stylish, square, plastic rimmed spectacles. Harry looked around the room. The walls were built of boring smooth stone blocks, dank and damp and moldy. Not a good learning environment. Plus, Snape was not longer around. Harry looked at her with a twinkle in his eye.
"Redecorate?" he asked.
At the end of the day Harry made his way down to Professor Dumbledore office. He grinned to himself. To his surprise and delight, Professor Jeanne had actually like his idea. She had clapped her hands, her eyes lighting up. Harry had first used a scouring spell to remove the worst of the mold from the walls. The Professor had then set him to conjuring draperies and tapestries to hang on the walls. He'd then thought to conjure more old fashioned-looking bookshelves, on which he placed all the vials and jars that were for student use. He'd covered the floor with an ancient Moroccan rug that he'd thought to summon from the broom closet that He, Ron, and Hermione had locked Crabbe and Goyle in during second year. The room now had the look of a proper apothecary, full of steaming cauldrons and unusual ingredients.
Upon arriving at the stone gargoyle at the entrance to the headmaster's office, Harry merely apparated inside rather than face the problem of guessing the password. Dumbledore looked up from his papers. He put down his quill and pushed his spectacles a little farther up the bridge of his nose.
"Ah, Harry. What can I do for you?" he asked.
" I had a bit of an idea," said Harry. Dumbledore nodded for him to continue. "I'd like to try an animagus transformation." Said Harry quickly.
Dumbledore smiled.
"I had wondered if you might ask me sometime," replied Dumbledore. "Considering your magical abilities I believe you should have no trouble with it. Have you thought of what animal you might like to become?"
Harry blew out a breath of relief when he heard Dumbledore's assent.
"I had actually thought to try something a little more complicated," said Harry a little hesitantly. He stuck his hands in his pockets. Dumbledore stared back at him expectantly, but something told Harry the old man had guessed what he was about to say.
"I'd like to try a Polyanimagus transformation."
"Indeed?" said Dumbledore, his eyes full of approval. "Now that is a task worthy of your abilities Harry. I have not seen a polyanimagus in many many years. What animal forms did you have in mind? "
Harry thought for a minute. "I thought a silver-winged merlin and a shadowcat. One large and stealthy, the other small and fast"
Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Two excellent choices Harry, they suit your character like a glove." He pointed to a shelf. "I believe you will find a book on that shelf called Altering Appearances: A Guide to Animagus and Polyanimagus Transformations."
Harry went over and picked the book off the shelf.
"This is perfect Professor Dumbledore, I can't thank you enough." He said as he headed for the door.
Dumbledore raised his hand and nodded, with a smile on his face and looked back down to his papers again.
"Oh," said Harry "One more thing." Dumbledore looked up. "I was wondering if I could make use of the great hall certain evenings for the meditative exercise I do. I requires more room than a classroom with desks."
Dumbledore smiled.
"That'll be fine Harry as long as you don't stay there until too late at night." He took a something from his desk. I was a small, flat brass coin, a little larger that a quarter. It hung on a red piece of string.
"This is what we use for permanent hallway passes. I any teacher finds you there past curfew show them this so you don't receive detention. Do you only need one? "
Harry grinned. "Actually Ginny Weasley asked me to teach her what I've been doing a while ago."
Dumbledore pulled another one out of the desk and handed it to Harry with a glint in his eye. He made no comment however. Harry thanked Professor Dumbledore and left his office.
***
Harry entered the Gryffindor common room, his nose buried deep in the thick tome, feeling the excitement building in his chest.
"What are you reading Harry?" came Hermione's voice.
Harry looked up and beamed at her and Ron, who were sitting on the couch. He strode over and sat down between them, presenting the book to Hermione. She flipped it closed and read the title. Her eyes became round and she gasped.
"Harry this is amazing! Did Dumbledore say you could do this?" She asked excitedly.
Harry nodded.
"Bloody hell mate that's fantastic" sad Ron, slapping his back. "A polyanimagus, I've only ever heard of them! No one's tried it for years, but if anyone can it's you" He said grinning. Harry felt his heart swell, Ron was truly the best mate in the world he thought to himself.
"Any idea what you want to become?" asked Hermione eagerly.
Harry chuckled.
"Accio Care of Magical Creatures book!" he shouted. He caught it deftly and began paging through it quickly.
"I'm only going to do two," he said. "Here, this is the first one, read it out loud will you Hermione? I'd like to here it again."
Hermione cleared her throat.
"The Silverwinged Merlin ooh Harry good choice The silverwinged merlin is a most formidable magical creature. About 8 inches from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, and with an 18-inch wingspan, it is perhaps the smallest magical bird of prey. The silverwinged merlin, or silverwing, is capable of flying incredibly fast, and turning sharply and abruptly. As it turns, it does not slow down, but rather maneuvers it's wings into a position to utilize its momentum and send it careening around at twice the speed at which it was traveling. This ability is partly what gives it its name. In addition to this, the Merlin has extendible flight feathers, made out of an organic substance that has similar properties to silver. These feathers are razor sharp, and are used to dismember the silverwing's prey. In older times, silverwings were caught, and trained for combat, as they can be extremely dangerous and agile." Hermione looked up at him grinning.
"Excellent choice." She said, "Now what's the other one."
"A shadowcat," said Harry. Hermione looked perplexed, but Ron's eyes grew wide with approval.
"Find it in the book and you'll see Hermione," he said.
Hermione flipped to the index and ran her finger down the columns, muttering.
"Aha, here we go shadowcatrighto. The shadowcat is an interesting and difficult animal to observe. It is an enormous cat that resembles a panther except that its fur is not truly black, it is actually a deep midnight blue. The shadow cat has the ability to "disappear" or blend into any place that has shadow by altering its body to become only made of shadow and air. This is not however, to be confused with the shadow that dementors are made out of. Shadowcats are only capable of becoming shadow that is or has existed on this earth, rather than shadow from the shadow realms. It can move in direct sunlight comfortably but will be incapable of hunting for food as long as it remains there. They are extremely stealthy and difficult to photograph, by the picture at right has been treated to separate the shadowcat's shadow material from the shadow cast by the tree, creating a discernable shape."
Ron nodded in approval, and Hermione looked up, impressed.
"How did you think of these Harry? I've never heard of a shadowcat." She asked him.
Harry shrugged.
"I just looked through this book, I'd never heard of either of them before that. It's the little red warning sign above both of them that got me interested."
"What does the little red warning sign mean exactly?" asked Ron leaning over the book.
Hermione flipped to the front. "Difficult animagus to complete, caution is advised. Certain ingredients for potion may be difficult to obtain." She read.
"Well don't worry about the ingredients, Dobble and Cook's apothecary down in Hogsmead is one of the best in the world. If they don't have the ingredients, you might not find them anywhere else. Still, I know your very capable of this Harry but try to be careful, we'd hate to see anything happen to you."
Ron nodded in agreement.
***
Ginny skipped down the stairs from the girl's dormitory and entered the common room. Ron and Hermione were just getting up from the couch, both off to bed, but they stopped and beckoned to her.
"Look what Harry's going to do." Said Hermione, pointing at the book on the table.
"Altering Appearances: A Guide to Animagus and Polyanimagus Transformations." Ginny read out loud. "Oh wow Harry this is amazing."
Harry blushed.
"And its gonna he's gonna be a polyanimagus" added Ron, looking proud of his friend.
Ginny smiled enthusiastically. "What fun!" she said.
"Well, Ron and I are off to bed, you two don't stay up too late."
Harry looked at his watch, one that actually worked.
"It's only seven fort-five," he said.
"Yes well you would do well to get some sleep as well." She told him briskly.
Harry glanced and Hermione, then at Ron, and then both of them again, then looked up at Ginny and raised and eyebrow, with a small smirk. Ginny put a hand over her mouth and coughed, but it sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
"G'night!" Harry called over their retreating backs.
He turned back to Ginny.
"Hey listen Gin, if you still want to do this Tai Chi thing I have hall passes for us, so we can stay out passed eight and not get in trouble."
Ginny grinned.
"That would be great." She told him.
Harry removed one of the coins from around his neck and handed it to her. He beckoned with one hand and nodded towards the common room door.
"C'mon, first lesson starts now in the great hall."
Ginny followed him out, placing the coin around her neck.
***
Ron and Hermione lingered at the bottom of the stairs that led to the girls and boys dormitory, talking about who-knows-what just for the sake of remaining in each other's company for a little longer. When both of them ran out of things to say, Hermione looked down at her feet, and scuffed a foot along the carpet. When she looked up again, Ron was staring at her oddly. He leaned forward ever so slightly, but suddenly Dean and Seamus came through the doorway from the boy's dormitory showers, with wet hair and pajamas on. Ron stepped back abruptly and cleared his throat.
"I better go take a shower as well," he said awkwardly.
Hermione smiled at him, not letting any of her discomfort show on her face. After all, Ron was one of her best friends, why should she be uncomfortable around him?
"Yes well, It's actually time for me to go to sleep as well," she replied. "Sleep well."
Ron relaxed a little more.
"Yea, sweet dreams mione" he said before climbing the stairs.
Hermione blew out her breath, damn Dean and Seamus, she thought in irritation.
***
Harry and Ginny entered the great hall, and sat down at the Gryffindor table. He was wearing sweats already, and Ginny had on a pair of stretchy pants, similar to sweats but tighter, without the bunched ankle. Harry bent over and began to take off his shoes and Ginny followed him. She noticed he left his shirt on this time. Should I tell him he can take his shirt off if he wants to? She asked herself. No that would sound like I want him to take off his shirt. She sighed to herself. And the problem is, I do want him to take it off. Arg! No! This is just a lesson. Purely professional, got it Ginny?
Harry clapped his hands together.
"Alright, so I don't really know where to start. I guess I should teach you some basic movements first, and then we can start using then along with the meditation."
Ginny nodded.
"Sounds good to me" she said.
"Pretty much I'm going to be teaching you martial fighting techniques, you can use them to actually fight with as well, like if you need to get rid of a brother or two." He winked at her.
Despite her resolution, Ginny felt her heart thump heavily.
"So first we stand straight with the feet slightly apart" Ginny spread her feet, "no a little more apart," said Harry, she arranged them into the proper position," yea perfectAnd leave your hands at your sides. Now lift both hands as high as your chest, and face them away from you and to the side, fingers straight, palm forward. Yea like that, pretend your pushing against a wall." He adjusted her arm positions a little.
"Good now, curl your right fingers, at the second joint like this. Great see the, that's the basic hand position for almost every hit. You can thrust up with your palm, or punch with that first row of knuckles. Once your hand gets strong enough, you can do real damage punching like that."
"What am I doing with the other hand?" asked Ginny.
Harry glared playfully at her.
"Be patient, that's what I'm about to show you."
***
Two hours later, at about ten, Ginny yawned widely.
"Listen Harry I need to go get some rest" she told him.
Harry smiled at her.
"Sure, you've learned enough for this evening anyway. You're a really fast learner, you pick things up almost immediately," he said while putting his shoes back on.
Ginny blushed, and fumbled at her shoelaces.
"Well, thanks," she answered him.
They both left the great hall, and Harry used some wandless magic to close the great hall doors.
"You seem really good at doing wandless magic," commented Ginny.
"Why do you still use a wand?"
Harry thought.
"Well I suppose I'd hate to throw my wand away, but as it is I only use it for bigger things anyway. Everyone has the ability to use magic without a wand, it just helps most people to focus their magic. So for really big things I still need something to help focus the magic."
Ginny nodded.
"Every now and then I can do stuff without my wand. Like when I want pumpkin juice and no one is listening to me asking them to pass it, I can sometimes make it appear in my glass," she said.
Harry looked mildly impressed.
"Fire-beetle," he told the fat lady. "You should keep at it," he told her seriously as they climbed through the portrait hole, "You could probably get really good."
Ginny blushed again, again? STOP blushing! She told herself in irritation.
They paused at the base of the dormitory steps.
"I had fun tonight Gin," said Harry stepping a little closer to her. Ginny put her hands behind her back.
"Me too," she said timidly.
He ducked down quickly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"G'night" he whispered, and climbed the stairs to the boys dormitory, taking them two at a time.
Ginny stood at the bottom for a moment. Feeling slightly dazed. She raised her hand to her cheek, and then turned and went up the stairs herself.