"Why are you here?" Harry asked her. "I'm getting my things," she replied. "Get out of here now!" Harry yelled, whipping out his wand. She too had drawn her wand. "Don't make me do it again," Harry told her, "You remember what happened last time we faught." "Yes, I do remember. And I underestimated you, but I will be ready next time," she replied. And with a swish of her cloak, she had vanished in a cloud of smoke. Harry still did not understand how they were able to apparate into and out of Hogwarts. He was very puzzled by this, and decided there was only one way to find out how. He must go to the restricted section and look for something that would clue him in, to how they were able to apparate into Hogwarts.
He researched for a long time, with great intensity within the depths of the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. He did not stop researching until he found something that would make his life a lot easier. There was a book which stated that the founders set up a system that made the castle's apparation system able to be controlled through the minds of their relatives. Harry saw this, and knew this was how Voldemort was getting into the castle. He was the heir to Slytherin, and he was probably controlling the system, and allowing his Death Eaters to penetrate the castle, to attack Harry, and other members of the Order of the Phoenix.
He ran off to Dumbledore's office, where Dumbledore was sitting in his chair at his desk, reading a piece of parchment with great interest. "Sir! I know how Voldemort is getting into Hogwarts!" Harry yelled, running into the office. "Oh you do, do you?" Dumbledore said with great interest, looking up from his studies. "Yes! The founders put a spell on the school, so that they would be able to control the apparation system into and out of Hogwarts. Since the Salazar Slytherin's blood runs in the veins of Voldemort, he is able to open the apparation system at any time he desires, to let his Death Eaters penetrate the shield, and attack us. He has most likely just learned of this special skill, and I'm sure this will help us!" Harry told Dumbledore. "Why thank you Harry! That was most informative," Dumbledore replied. "Yes," Harry agreed. "Well, we must be going down to dinner, we don't want to miss out on any food, do we?" Dumbledore replied. "Nah," Harry said. "Well, I'll be sure to inform the Order on this new news," Dumbledore told him. They walked down to the Great Hall for a feast.
Harry ate all the food in sight. He felt like one of those men that were in those hot dog eating contests he had seen on the television at the Dursley's. He also felt rather a lot like Dudley, stuffing his face with anything he could get his hands on. He was hungry after the game, after defeating the first team he played as team captain. He realized that if he kept this up, he could be the the captain to make Gryffindor win the quidditch cup for the third year in a row. That would be something his father would be proud of. "Hey Harry," Ron said, sitting down next to him. "Where were you?" Harry asked, realizing that he had been sitting all by himself for the whole meal. "I was visiting Hermione," Ron told him. "Oh, how's she feeling?" Harry asked him. "Well, she's not doing all that well. She looks pretty bad, but I'm sure she'll be fine by tomorrow. She seems to think that she'll be going to classes tomorrow. You know how she is about missing classes," Ron answered. Harry laughed. Hermione's attitude towards school had still not changed. She was still as paranoid about her grades as she had been since her first year, even after being knocked off her broom by a bludger that had smacked her in the back of her head.
They continued eating, and Dumbledore stood up after everyone was finished, tapping his goblet with his fork, signalling for everyone to silence themselves. "Today, we witnessed a quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, where Gryffindor came out victorious. The final score being a whopping 220 points to 60 points. A Gryffindor Chaser by the name of Hermione Granger was injured very badly by a bludger, and the only reason for her not being in worse condition is because of a boy named Harry Potter, who saved her from hitting the ground. For this, we thank him," Dumbledore concluded. There was a round of applause for Harry, who's face became red as a cherry, just as Ron always turned when he was embarrassed. Everybody got up from their house tables, talking, no doubt about the quidditch game that had occurred earlier that day. Harry knew that he had done a good job protecting Hermione, and that he had done a wonderful job practicing with his team so that they would become the quidditch champions that year.
He headed off to the common room, and went straight to his dormitory, ready to get some sleep before the next day when he went back to school. The following days went by rather quickly, until that next Thursday, when it was time for his animagus training. He walked into Professor McGonagall's room, where she was standing with Lupin. "Harry, it is time to see how well you can transform," Professor McGonagall told him. This was the day he had always been waiting for. "We think you have been taught rather well, and it is time for you to prove if you can do it or not," Lupin told him. Harry closed his eyes, and concentrated very hard on the shape of a phoenix. He thought very hard about the structure. When he lifted his eye lids, he saw that he had successfully transformed. He flapped his wings, and started to fly around the room, soaring just like he was an actual phoenix. Nobody would be able to tell that it wasn't real. Harry landed on the ground, and in a matter of seconds, he was back to his normal human state. "Well done, Harry," Professor McGonagall told him.
"Why don't you try the stag now Harry!" Lupin instructed, his face lit up, looking extremely happy. This time, he concentrated on a stag, and this time, he transformed into a stag a lot quicker than he had transformed into a phoenix. He galloped around the room, jumping over desks and chairs, finding out all of the strengths and weaknesses of transformation. He transformed back to human state once again, with a round of applause from Lupin, but Professor McGonagall still stood still, as if she was frozen to her spot. "Very good Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall told him. "Thank you," Harry responded. "Well, I don't think he needs any more training," Lupin interjected. "Perhaps not," Professor McGonagall agreed, "What do you think Mr. Potter? Do you think you can handle it pretty well now?" "Of course professor!" exclaimed Harry. "Very well, that is all. You will not be needing these lessons anymore," Professor McGonagall told him. Harry briefly gave a smile of relief, and left the room, heading straight for the common room to let Ron and Hermione know. He knew his friends would be happy for him.
Ron and Hermione were found sitting by the fire, working on some homework, Hermione doing Potions, whereas Ron was working on Herbology. "Hey guys," Harry said. "How was training?" Hermione asked. "It was absolutely magnificent!" exclaimed Harry. "Why?" Ron asked him, confused by Harry's sudden change in feeling for his animagus lessons. "Well, I got to transform! And they told me that since I did it so perfectly, I don't have to go to any more lessons!" "Wow Harry!" exclaimed Hermione. "Amazing! Can we see you transform?" Ron asked. "We'll have to go somewhere private," Harry told them. "Your dormitory," Hermione told them, "Dean, Seamus, and Neville all left to go somewhere, so just go in there." The trio ran up the staircase, and into Harry's empty dormitory. "So, what do you want me to transform into first? Phoenix or stag?" Harry asked them. "Phoenix!" Ron answered. He thought real hard about the phoenix, and in a only about two seconds, he had completely transformed. He flapped his wings, and flew around the air. He dove towards the ground, and then rose back up. He started to circle his friends' heads, before they told him to land, and transform into the stag. He gladly did so, and his friends were just as delighted by that transformation. When he was done, he told them he wanted some sleep, and he laid down in his bed, drifting off into deep sleep.
Time seemed to go just as fast the next couple of days, until his Occlumency lesson that next Tuesday. "Today Harry, I have decided that you shall be done with Occlumency training. But you will not stop training with me on Tuesdays, as we will not begin training you in Legilimency. I believe that you learning this will be very important and crucial to the survival of the Order," Dumbledore told him. "Legilimency?" Harry thought, "Wow! That seems cool!" Dumbledore had continued that night to inform him all about what legilimency was, and how it was carried out. Harry was deeply interested in this, and could not wait until he could read people's minds. He knew why it would be important and helpful to the Order, because he would be able to get into Voldemort's mind because of their mental bond, and find out what Voldemort would be up to.
That night, he made sure he put up his mental barrier before drifting to sleep, especially since he didn't want Voldemort to know about him being a fully trained animagi and about him learning legilimency. The next night, there was an Order meeting with Dumbledore. One person was missing, Charlie Weasley. "Everybody listen up! Tonight, we will not be having a meeting. We will be on a mission. We must go to a cave on the other side of the Forbidden Forest, where the porgybesses are currently residing. Charlie Weasley is being held there, and we need to get him back," Dumbledore told them. Harry heard Mrs. Weasley, and Bill Weasley gasp, and Mrs. Weasley started to weep. "Molly! Calm down, everything is going to be alright. We're going to go get him," Dumbledore told her. "Everybody grab a broom. Harry, I do believe you will want to use your Lightning Star, so I took the liberty of retrieving it for you. Here," Dumbledore said, handing Harry his broomstick.
They exited the office and left the school, going outside so they could fly. When Dumbledore emerged from the building, he told them when to take off, and the members of the Order gladly did so, except Snape, who didn't look very happy about flying. They set off over top of the Forbidden Forest. Harry could see the small clearing where Grawp once inhabited. They kept on flying, and Harry thought he saw a glimpse of a unicorn by a waterfall, but he wasn't quite sure. He stopped concentrating on the forest, and began to concentrate harder on where he was flying, not wanting to get lost, as he had no clue where he was or where he was going. Dumbledore, who was at the front of the pack, started to descend, and so did most of the group, after realizing Dumbledore was. They landed in a clearing, and Dumbledore told them to stay quiet.
"Listen up. The cavern is only about a quarter of a mile away from here. We have to be quiet before we get there. We don't want to be heard. When we do get there, we will raid the cavern. Do not be afraid to take down any creature you see. I will raise my hand when we are ready to start," Dumbledore told them. They immediately started hiking towards the cavern, not wanting it to be dark when they got there. The walk was very short, and when they got into viewing range of the cavern, they all ditched their broomsticks in a bush near the side of the path. Dumbledore rose his hand, and the members of the Order knew it was time for the rescuing operation to begin.
Bill Weasley led the pack, charging into the cavern, wand rose. Harry was at the back of the pack, Lupin and Tonks on either side of him. They ran towards the cavern, and entered it from what Harry supposed was the front. There were many tunnels. They all split up, taking different ways, Harry went with Lupin, Tonks, and unluckily, Snape. Tonks led their group. Harry wasn't sure if that was such a good idea though. They saw their first sign of a porgybess, and Lupin stunned it as soon as it became visible. They kept on walking, until they reached a large area, where there was at least a dozen creatures closing in on them from all sides.
He researched for a long time, with great intensity within the depths of the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. He did not stop researching until he found something that would make his life a lot easier. There was a book which stated that the founders set up a system that made the castle's apparation system able to be controlled through the minds of their relatives. Harry saw this, and knew this was how Voldemort was getting into the castle. He was the heir to Slytherin, and he was probably controlling the system, and allowing his Death Eaters to penetrate the castle, to attack Harry, and other members of the Order of the Phoenix.
He ran off to Dumbledore's office, where Dumbledore was sitting in his chair at his desk, reading a piece of parchment with great interest. "Sir! I know how Voldemort is getting into Hogwarts!" Harry yelled, running into the office. "Oh you do, do you?" Dumbledore said with great interest, looking up from his studies. "Yes! The founders put a spell on the school, so that they would be able to control the apparation system into and out of Hogwarts. Since the Salazar Slytherin's blood runs in the veins of Voldemort, he is able to open the apparation system at any time he desires, to let his Death Eaters penetrate the shield, and attack us. He has most likely just learned of this special skill, and I'm sure this will help us!" Harry told Dumbledore. "Why thank you Harry! That was most informative," Dumbledore replied. "Yes," Harry agreed. "Well, we must be going down to dinner, we don't want to miss out on any food, do we?" Dumbledore replied. "Nah," Harry said. "Well, I'll be sure to inform the Order on this new news," Dumbledore told him. They walked down to the Great Hall for a feast.
Harry ate all the food in sight. He felt like one of those men that were in those hot dog eating contests he had seen on the television at the Dursley's. He also felt rather a lot like Dudley, stuffing his face with anything he could get his hands on. He was hungry after the game, after defeating the first team he played as team captain. He realized that if he kept this up, he could be the the captain to make Gryffindor win the quidditch cup for the third year in a row. That would be something his father would be proud of. "Hey Harry," Ron said, sitting down next to him. "Where were you?" Harry asked, realizing that he had been sitting all by himself for the whole meal. "I was visiting Hermione," Ron told him. "Oh, how's she feeling?" Harry asked him. "Well, she's not doing all that well. She looks pretty bad, but I'm sure she'll be fine by tomorrow. She seems to think that she'll be going to classes tomorrow. You know how she is about missing classes," Ron answered. Harry laughed. Hermione's attitude towards school had still not changed. She was still as paranoid about her grades as she had been since her first year, even after being knocked off her broom by a bludger that had smacked her in the back of her head.
They continued eating, and Dumbledore stood up after everyone was finished, tapping his goblet with his fork, signalling for everyone to silence themselves. "Today, we witnessed a quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, where Gryffindor came out victorious. The final score being a whopping 220 points to 60 points. A Gryffindor Chaser by the name of Hermione Granger was injured very badly by a bludger, and the only reason for her not being in worse condition is because of a boy named Harry Potter, who saved her from hitting the ground. For this, we thank him," Dumbledore concluded. There was a round of applause for Harry, who's face became red as a cherry, just as Ron always turned when he was embarrassed. Everybody got up from their house tables, talking, no doubt about the quidditch game that had occurred earlier that day. Harry knew that he had done a good job protecting Hermione, and that he had done a wonderful job practicing with his team so that they would become the quidditch champions that year.
He headed off to the common room, and went straight to his dormitory, ready to get some sleep before the next day when he went back to school. The following days went by rather quickly, until that next Thursday, when it was time for his animagus training. He walked into Professor McGonagall's room, where she was standing with Lupin. "Harry, it is time to see how well you can transform," Professor McGonagall told him. This was the day he had always been waiting for. "We think you have been taught rather well, and it is time for you to prove if you can do it or not," Lupin told him. Harry closed his eyes, and concentrated very hard on the shape of a phoenix. He thought very hard about the structure. When he lifted his eye lids, he saw that he had successfully transformed. He flapped his wings, and started to fly around the room, soaring just like he was an actual phoenix. Nobody would be able to tell that it wasn't real. Harry landed on the ground, and in a matter of seconds, he was back to his normal human state. "Well done, Harry," Professor McGonagall told him.
"Why don't you try the stag now Harry!" Lupin instructed, his face lit up, looking extremely happy. This time, he concentrated on a stag, and this time, he transformed into a stag a lot quicker than he had transformed into a phoenix. He galloped around the room, jumping over desks and chairs, finding out all of the strengths and weaknesses of transformation. He transformed back to human state once again, with a round of applause from Lupin, but Professor McGonagall still stood still, as if she was frozen to her spot. "Very good Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall told him. "Thank you," Harry responded. "Well, I don't think he needs any more training," Lupin interjected. "Perhaps not," Professor McGonagall agreed, "What do you think Mr. Potter? Do you think you can handle it pretty well now?" "Of course professor!" exclaimed Harry. "Very well, that is all. You will not be needing these lessons anymore," Professor McGonagall told him. Harry briefly gave a smile of relief, and left the room, heading straight for the common room to let Ron and Hermione know. He knew his friends would be happy for him.
Ron and Hermione were found sitting by the fire, working on some homework, Hermione doing Potions, whereas Ron was working on Herbology. "Hey guys," Harry said. "How was training?" Hermione asked. "It was absolutely magnificent!" exclaimed Harry. "Why?" Ron asked him, confused by Harry's sudden change in feeling for his animagus lessons. "Well, I got to transform! And they told me that since I did it so perfectly, I don't have to go to any more lessons!" "Wow Harry!" exclaimed Hermione. "Amazing! Can we see you transform?" Ron asked. "We'll have to go somewhere private," Harry told them. "Your dormitory," Hermione told them, "Dean, Seamus, and Neville all left to go somewhere, so just go in there." The trio ran up the staircase, and into Harry's empty dormitory. "So, what do you want me to transform into first? Phoenix or stag?" Harry asked them. "Phoenix!" Ron answered. He thought real hard about the phoenix, and in a only about two seconds, he had completely transformed. He flapped his wings, and flew around the air. He dove towards the ground, and then rose back up. He started to circle his friends' heads, before they told him to land, and transform into the stag. He gladly did so, and his friends were just as delighted by that transformation. When he was done, he told them he wanted some sleep, and he laid down in his bed, drifting off into deep sleep.
Time seemed to go just as fast the next couple of days, until his Occlumency lesson that next Tuesday. "Today Harry, I have decided that you shall be done with Occlumency training. But you will not stop training with me on Tuesdays, as we will not begin training you in Legilimency. I believe that you learning this will be very important and crucial to the survival of the Order," Dumbledore told him. "Legilimency?" Harry thought, "Wow! That seems cool!" Dumbledore had continued that night to inform him all about what legilimency was, and how it was carried out. Harry was deeply interested in this, and could not wait until he could read people's minds. He knew why it would be important and helpful to the Order, because he would be able to get into Voldemort's mind because of their mental bond, and find out what Voldemort would be up to.
That night, he made sure he put up his mental barrier before drifting to sleep, especially since he didn't want Voldemort to know about him being a fully trained animagi and about him learning legilimency. The next night, there was an Order meeting with Dumbledore. One person was missing, Charlie Weasley. "Everybody listen up! Tonight, we will not be having a meeting. We will be on a mission. We must go to a cave on the other side of the Forbidden Forest, where the porgybesses are currently residing. Charlie Weasley is being held there, and we need to get him back," Dumbledore told them. Harry heard Mrs. Weasley, and Bill Weasley gasp, and Mrs. Weasley started to weep. "Molly! Calm down, everything is going to be alright. We're going to go get him," Dumbledore told her. "Everybody grab a broom. Harry, I do believe you will want to use your Lightning Star, so I took the liberty of retrieving it for you. Here," Dumbledore said, handing Harry his broomstick.
They exited the office and left the school, going outside so they could fly. When Dumbledore emerged from the building, he told them when to take off, and the members of the Order gladly did so, except Snape, who didn't look very happy about flying. They set off over top of the Forbidden Forest. Harry could see the small clearing where Grawp once inhabited. They kept on flying, and Harry thought he saw a glimpse of a unicorn by a waterfall, but he wasn't quite sure. He stopped concentrating on the forest, and began to concentrate harder on where he was flying, not wanting to get lost, as he had no clue where he was or where he was going. Dumbledore, who was at the front of the pack, started to descend, and so did most of the group, after realizing Dumbledore was. They landed in a clearing, and Dumbledore told them to stay quiet.
"Listen up. The cavern is only about a quarter of a mile away from here. We have to be quiet before we get there. We don't want to be heard. When we do get there, we will raid the cavern. Do not be afraid to take down any creature you see. I will raise my hand when we are ready to start," Dumbledore told them. They immediately started hiking towards the cavern, not wanting it to be dark when they got there. The walk was very short, and when they got into viewing range of the cavern, they all ditched their broomsticks in a bush near the side of the path. Dumbledore rose his hand, and the members of the Order knew it was time for the rescuing operation to begin.
Bill Weasley led the pack, charging into the cavern, wand rose. Harry was at the back of the pack, Lupin and Tonks on either side of him. They ran towards the cavern, and entered it from what Harry supposed was the front. There were many tunnels. They all split up, taking different ways, Harry went with Lupin, Tonks, and unluckily, Snape. Tonks led their group. Harry wasn't sure if that was such a good idea though. They saw their first sign of a porgybess, and Lupin stunned it as soon as it became visible. They kept on walking, until they reached a large area, where there was at least a dozen creatures closing in on them from all sides.