Harry Potter and the Icons of Myth
By: souls
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, I know there'll be a couple times I may lose my way so bear with me. I'm not J.K. Rowling so be kind when you review.
Also I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of his co-stars. The situation and a few guests to the Harry Potter world are from my warped mind.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
I would like to thank Moira McDuff and jacy for the great reviews.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Harry Potter and the Icons of Myth
Chapter 10: Secrets and Half-Truths
-----------------------------
Through cracked lids the world is born out of the womb of night. The waking hour was never like this. Things appear to move and stand still all at once. Everything is too alive. A spider crawls across a web in the far corner of the hospital wing. It stands on it's head for a good hour and all I can think is doesn't it hurt to have all the blood in your body rush to your head like that. There's a voice ringing inside my head kinda raspy but familiar. Calling my name I think.
"Her...Mione? How are you feeling?" She turns her head slowly to see both Harry and Ron.
"I'm fine." She says. Her words sound strange in her ears. "How's Draco doing?"
"He's over there. The daffy bastard's been staring out the window since he woke up." Ron said as he stepped down from the bed and walked towards her. She could tell that the ritual had worked right away. Ron and Harry looked different somehow. At the moment she couldn't put her finger on it but there was definitely something different.
Hermione looked around for any sign of Madam Pompfrey. "How did we get here? The last thing I remember was all of us standing outside the forest then nothing."
A faint sizzling and Professor Marlow stood at the end of Hermione's bed. "I brought you all here last night. I think we should save any conversation for later. You've already missed two classes for today."
"How are we going to explain this?" Ron asked but was interrupted by Professor Marlow.
"I had Madam Pompfrey take care of it. She informed your teachers that you were all suffering from a nasty bug of some kind and would be confined to the hospital for a few hours. I suggest you all stick to this story, okay. Now get dressed and return to your dormitories for your books. I expect you in my class in fifteen minutes. We will be talking again later."
~*~
The students quickly dressed and headed for their dorms. Minutes later they made it to the DADA classroom albeit a few minutes late. Which did not go unnoticed by Professor Marlow who stopped them at the door as he continued to lecture.
"Today we will be discussing Dark Mages and Hand-magic or Wandless-magic. Many witches and wizards can cast low-level spells without the use of an incantation but only 39% of all witches and wizards are so proficient that they can use upper-level magic without the presence of a wand. I am going to demonstrate several kinds of spells lower and upper level. Does anyone here know the vanguard charm?"
No one rose their hand as Professor Marlow's eyes traveled around the room. They continued their search before moving to the group standing at the door. Everyone was sure that Hermione's hand was raised without looking. The strange thing was her eyes were locked on a moth flitting around one of the skulls on the wall. "Ms. Granger?"
"Yes, professor." She said, as she was startled out of her reverie.
"Please perform the vanguard charm." He said as he walked a few paces away from Hermione motioning Ron, Harry and Draco back. The other students followed suit.
"Vangarde Reflectere." She said as she drew a small 'x' in the air in front of her.
"This is one of the strongest barrier spells you will learn while in school. It acts not only as a barrier but can reflect most spells. I chose this particular barrier so that I could demonstrate a lower level of hand magic." He cupped his palm making a semi-circle in the air. " Rela?mpago orbe." A pulsing orb with a cascading electric wave appeared in his palm. He tossed the orb at Hermione who flinched as it struck her barrier and rebounded. The orb raced toward Professor Marlow only to be reabsorbed into his palm.
"Bloody brilliant." Ron shouted along with agreements from Seamus and Dean.
"Thank you very much class. Now if someone will transfigure the desk into a brick wall or something just as solid I will demonstrate the upper-level equivalent. " Marlow stepped aside as Draco transformed the desk into a boulder. When Draco had stepped out of the immediate area Marlow faced the boulder and shouted, "Rela?mpago flare." A flash of purple energy like a lightening bolt struck the boulder and carved a chunk from it sending dust everywhere.
The students began to cough as the room filled with dust. A bell rang signaling the end of class. "I would like you all to see if you can cast a low level spell without the use of a wand or without the use of an incantation. Record your results and we'll discuss them next time. I would like to see the four who interrupted my lecture with their tardiness." Marlow smiled as he said this and thinking that there is such a thing as irony.
The room cleared out leaving only Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco and Professor Marlow. Marlow flicked his wand at the door closing and locking it behind the last student. "Mutus exterus." The room glowed blue as a cone of silence was created around them.
"That should keep out any eavesdroppers." The students listened intently. They knew they were in big trouble this time. They'd been caught out of beds their first year but at least that time they hadn't been performing dangerous upper-level magic. They'd be lucky to just get detention this time. "Now we need to have that talk. I have a fair guess about what you four were up to but I'd like to hear it from you."
Draco sat silently looking at something at the corner of Marlow's desk while Ron stared at his feet not know what to say. Hermione and Harry finally answered him at the same time, "the protean ritual."
"I'm surprised that you four would attempt such a dangerous ritual. By the way, where did you learn about it?" He asked. At that moment Hermione pulled an old book from her satchel. He read the title, "'Incantare de deorc'. I haven't seen such an old copy before. You do realize that these rituals have been deemed dangerous that's why many of them were revised. The one that you performed was changed completely because it had adverse side affects. That's the official textbook reason."
"What kind of side affects?" they all said at once. Their attention once more trained on Marlow.
"There were many kinds. You couldn't tell how the spellcaster would react to having their spirit blended with an animal's, especially one in the wild. Since the ritual is permanent, many felt a revision was in order. Only time will tell whether or not you will suffer any adverse affects."
"Does anyone else know what happened last night?" Harry asked.
"No, I made sure of that. I'd like for you to meet me here at seven o'clock. I want to take a look at your transformations." They stood up to leave as he said, "Rescindere." The cone of silence ended with an implosion of blue light.
~*~
Fawkes perched in his spot by the door looking on as Dumbledore sat writing a letter. His mind drifting back to a time past when he first met a young Cassiopeia. . At the time he had just taken the position of Transfiguration teacher. He remembered that first meeting as if it were yesterday. He had been called to a meeting by the previous Headmaster Dippet and Nicolas Flamel, then Alchemy professor, informed him that a very special individual would be gracing Hogwarts with her presence
~*~
~ Flashback ~
"A Muggle in Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked.
"Albus, she's no ordinary Muggle. She's an oracle. This will be a great opportunity for the students here at Hogwarts, you know. An oracle is born only once every 800 years." Professor Dippet remarked.
"I know but, what will she be doing while she's here?" Dumbledore asked as he turned to his friend Nicolas.
"She wishes to see the school and some of the students first hand."
"Is that all? Nicolas you know as well as I from studying History that oracles are not nearly the benevolent souls as they appear."
"I've known her for years Albus and I just know you'll love her."
"Albus no doubt is thinking of Circea, the seer of Atlantis. The death of her homeland drove her mad and she killed herself if I recall." A voice called from the Headmaster's anteroom. "I assure you I'm nothing like that."
"Albus this is Ms. Rosetta." Nicolas motioned towards a petite elderly woman with long silver hair and sparkling blue eyes.
"Professor Dippet, I would really appreciate it if someone would show me around." She said as she winked at Dumbledore. His cheeks warmed at the attention.
"Ahem, I'd be honored to give you a tour, Ms. Rosetta." He said as he stepped to her side and she took his arm.
"Please call me Cassiopeia or just Cassie is fine."
They wandered the halls stopping in on several classrooms until finally ending up in the dungeons. As they turned a corner a tall dark haired young man with piercing eyes stopped before them. "Professor Dumbledore is this the guest Professor Flamel told us about?"
"Ms. Rosetta this Mr. Tom Riddle one of our fourth year students."
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Riddle." Cassie said to him. His expression seemed sour for a second before smiling once again. As he stepped aside to let them pass Cassie reached out and grabbed his arm. "Young man ambition and power without wisdom is a double-edged sword. It ultimately destroys." Riddle turned to regard her with a hollow look in his eyes then disappeared down the hallway.
She turned to Dumbledore her eyes glistening with tears. "Sometimes some things can't be changed. Albus, watch out for that one. No good will come of the power he seeks."
"He is young and a Slytherin that makes him doubly arrogant and ambitious." Dumbledore said with a smile on his face.
~ End Flashback ~
If I had listened then instead of dismissing her words out of hand maybe all of this could have been avoided. Maybe.and maybe not as Cassie said, "Sometimes some things can't be changed." Dumbledore signed the letter and sealed it. "Fawkes come here." The phoenix flew across to the desk. "Old friend when the time is right, you will know when, deliver this to Harry Potter." He levitated the letter to a nearby bookcase and petted Fawkes again.
~*~
TBC
------------------------------------
[A/N: Any suggestions for Draco, Ron and Harry's animagus forms? What was in Dumbledore's letter to Harry?
New incantations:
Mutus exterus: to silence all external sound.
Rela?mpago orbe: lightening orb.
Rela?mpago flare: lightening flare.
Rescindere: to cut back, to cancel.]
By: souls
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, I know there'll be a couple times I may lose my way so bear with me. I'm not J.K. Rowling so be kind when you review.
Also I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of his co-stars. The situation and a few guests to the Harry Potter world are from my warped mind.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
I would like to thank Moira McDuff and jacy for the great reviews.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Harry Potter and the Icons of Myth
Chapter 10: Secrets and Half-Truths
-----------------------------
Through cracked lids the world is born out of the womb of night. The waking hour was never like this. Things appear to move and stand still all at once. Everything is too alive. A spider crawls across a web in the far corner of the hospital wing. It stands on it's head for a good hour and all I can think is doesn't it hurt to have all the blood in your body rush to your head like that. There's a voice ringing inside my head kinda raspy but familiar. Calling my name I think.
"Her...Mione? How are you feeling?" She turns her head slowly to see both Harry and Ron.
"I'm fine." She says. Her words sound strange in her ears. "How's Draco doing?"
"He's over there. The daffy bastard's been staring out the window since he woke up." Ron said as he stepped down from the bed and walked towards her. She could tell that the ritual had worked right away. Ron and Harry looked different somehow. At the moment she couldn't put her finger on it but there was definitely something different.
Hermione looked around for any sign of Madam Pompfrey. "How did we get here? The last thing I remember was all of us standing outside the forest then nothing."
A faint sizzling and Professor Marlow stood at the end of Hermione's bed. "I brought you all here last night. I think we should save any conversation for later. You've already missed two classes for today."
"How are we going to explain this?" Ron asked but was interrupted by Professor Marlow.
"I had Madam Pompfrey take care of it. She informed your teachers that you were all suffering from a nasty bug of some kind and would be confined to the hospital for a few hours. I suggest you all stick to this story, okay. Now get dressed and return to your dormitories for your books. I expect you in my class in fifteen minutes. We will be talking again later."
~*~
The students quickly dressed and headed for their dorms. Minutes later they made it to the DADA classroom albeit a few minutes late. Which did not go unnoticed by Professor Marlow who stopped them at the door as he continued to lecture.
"Today we will be discussing Dark Mages and Hand-magic or Wandless-magic. Many witches and wizards can cast low-level spells without the use of an incantation but only 39% of all witches and wizards are so proficient that they can use upper-level magic without the presence of a wand. I am going to demonstrate several kinds of spells lower and upper level. Does anyone here know the vanguard charm?"
No one rose their hand as Professor Marlow's eyes traveled around the room. They continued their search before moving to the group standing at the door. Everyone was sure that Hermione's hand was raised without looking. The strange thing was her eyes were locked on a moth flitting around one of the skulls on the wall. "Ms. Granger?"
"Yes, professor." She said, as she was startled out of her reverie.
"Please perform the vanguard charm." He said as he walked a few paces away from Hermione motioning Ron, Harry and Draco back. The other students followed suit.
"Vangarde Reflectere." She said as she drew a small 'x' in the air in front of her.
"This is one of the strongest barrier spells you will learn while in school. It acts not only as a barrier but can reflect most spells. I chose this particular barrier so that I could demonstrate a lower level of hand magic." He cupped his palm making a semi-circle in the air. " Rela?mpago orbe." A pulsing orb with a cascading electric wave appeared in his palm. He tossed the orb at Hermione who flinched as it struck her barrier and rebounded. The orb raced toward Professor Marlow only to be reabsorbed into his palm.
"Bloody brilliant." Ron shouted along with agreements from Seamus and Dean.
"Thank you very much class. Now if someone will transfigure the desk into a brick wall or something just as solid I will demonstrate the upper-level equivalent. " Marlow stepped aside as Draco transformed the desk into a boulder. When Draco had stepped out of the immediate area Marlow faced the boulder and shouted, "Rela?mpago flare." A flash of purple energy like a lightening bolt struck the boulder and carved a chunk from it sending dust everywhere.
The students began to cough as the room filled with dust. A bell rang signaling the end of class. "I would like you all to see if you can cast a low level spell without the use of a wand or without the use of an incantation. Record your results and we'll discuss them next time. I would like to see the four who interrupted my lecture with their tardiness." Marlow smiled as he said this and thinking that there is such a thing as irony.
The room cleared out leaving only Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco and Professor Marlow. Marlow flicked his wand at the door closing and locking it behind the last student. "Mutus exterus." The room glowed blue as a cone of silence was created around them.
"That should keep out any eavesdroppers." The students listened intently. They knew they were in big trouble this time. They'd been caught out of beds their first year but at least that time they hadn't been performing dangerous upper-level magic. They'd be lucky to just get detention this time. "Now we need to have that talk. I have a fair guess about what you four were up to but I'd like to hear it from you."
Draco sat silently looking at something at the corner of Marlow's desk while Ron stared at his feet not know what to say. Hermione and Harry finally answered him at the same time, "the protean ritual."
"I'm surprised that you four would attempt such a dangerous ritual. By the way, where did you learn about it?" He asked. At that moment Hermione pulled an old book from her satchel. He read the title, "'Incantare de deorc'. I haven't seen such an old copy before. You do realize that these rituals have been deemed dangerous that's why many of them were revised. The one that you performed was changed completely because it had adverse side affects. That's the official textbook reason."
"What kind of side affects?" they all said at once. Their attention once more trained on Marlow.
"There were many kinds. You couldn't tell how the spellcaster would react to having their spirit blended with an animal's, especially one in the wild. Since the ritual is permanent, many felt a revision was in order. Only time will tell whether or not you will suffer any adverse affects."
"Does anyone else know what happened last night?" Harry asked.
"No, I made sure of that. I'd like for you to meet me here at seven o'clock. I want to take a look at your transformations." They stood up to leave as he said, "Rescindere." The cone of silence ended with an implosion of blue light.
~*~
Fawkes perched in his spot by the door looking on as Dumbledore sat writing a letter. His mind drifting back to a time past when he first met a young Cassiopeia. . At the time he had just taken the position of Transfiguration teacher. He remembered that first meeting as if it were yesterday. He had been called to a meeting by the previous Headmaster Dippet and Nicolas Flamel, then Alchemy professor, informed him that a very special individual would be gracing Hogwarts with her presence
~*~
~ Flashback ~
"A Muggle in Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked.
"Albus, she's no ordinary Muggle. She's an oracle. This will be a great opportunity for the students here at Hogwarts, you know. An oracle is born only once every 800 years." Professor Dippet remarked.
"I know but, what will she be doing while she's here?" Dumbledore asked as he turned to his friend Nicolas.
"She wishes to see the school and some of the students first hand."
"Is that all? Nicolas you know as well as I from studying History that oracles are not nearly the benevolent souls as they appear."
"I've known her for years Albus and I just know you'll love her."
"Albus no doubt is thinking of Circea, the seer of Atlantis. The death of her homeland drove her mad and she killed herself if I recall." A voice called from the Headmaster's anteroom. "I assure you I'm nothing like that."
"Albus this is Ms. Rosetta." Nicolas motioned towards a petite elderly woman with long silver hair and sparkling blue eyes.
"Professor Dippet, I would really appreciate it if someone would show me around." She said as she winked at Dumbledore. His cheeks warmed at the attention.
"Ahem, I'd be honored to give you a tour, Ms. Rosetta." He said as he stepped to her side and she took his arm.
"Please call me Cassiopeia or just Cassie is fine."
They wandered the halls stopping in on several classrooms until finally ending up in the dungeons. As they turned a corner a tall dark haired young man with piercing eyes stopped before them. "Professor Dumbledore is this the guest Professor Flamel told us about?"
"Ms. Rosetta this Mr. Tom Riddle one of our fourth year students."
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Riddle." Cassie said to him. His expression seemed sour for a second before smiling once again. As he stepped aside to let them pass Cassie reached out and grabbed his arm. "Young man ambition and power without wisdom is a double-edged sword. It ultimately destroys." Riddle turned to regard her with a hollow look in his eyes then disappeared down the hallway.
She turned to Dumbledore her eyes glistening with tears. "Sometimes some things can't be changed. Albus, watch out for that one. No good will come of the power he seeks."
"He is young and a Slytherin that makes him doubly arrogant and ambitious." Dumbledore said with a smile on his face.
~ End Flashback ~
If I had listened then instead of dismissing her words out of hand maybe all of this could have been avoided. Maybe.and maybe not as Cassie said, "Sometimes some things can't be changed." Dumbledore signed the letter and sealed it. "Fawkes come here." The phoenix flew across to the desk. "Old friend when the time is right, you will know when, deliver this to Harry Potter." He levitated the letter to a nearby bookcase and petted Fawkes again.
~*~
TBC
------------------------------------
[A/N: Any suggestions for Draco, Ron and Harry's animagus forms? What was in Dumbledore's letter to Harry?
New incantations:
Mutus exterus: to silence all external sound.
Rela?mpago orbe: lightening orb.
Rela?mpago flare: lightening flare.
Rescindere: to cut back, to cancel.]