Harry Potter and the Staff of Slytherin
Chapter Sixteen - Education
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Disclaimer: I am not JKR, I am Kitch. I do not live in a Mansion, I live in a house. I do not own Harry Potter.
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If anyone wishes to join the Mailing list, leave your email address in a review and I'll email you whenever I put up a chapter.
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Please review after reading this. It will help make this story be better. Also, it's quite a nice thing to do. 150 REVIEWS IS BEATEN! WANDERINGWOLF WAS THE 150TH. Thanks for the reviews so far, they've been helpful. Keep em coming!
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We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow
How soft your fields so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords
~ Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
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A/N: By the way, I will be uploading the next chapter at the weekend as it's more of an interlude and has nothing to do with Harry.
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"Stop dropping your shoulder, Potter. How are you going to hit your target if your shoulder is on the floor?"
"I am trying," Harry's teeth gritted as Salazar Slytherin criticised him, as he had countless times today and for the two months that Harry had been staying with his friend, Rowena Ravenclaw.
He tossed his head upwards in an attempt to remove the hair from over his eyes as he lifted up his heavy bow and loaded it with an arrow, drawing the string back as his emerald green eyes concentrated on his target, an apple on a tree across Rowena's garden.
His fingers moved back towards his chest as the string flew towards the bow, releasing the arrow with a loud 'twang'. Harry left his bow in the air momentarily, making sure his shoulder did not drop, as the arrow soared straight towards its target and hit it, the arrow sailing straight through and landing, with the apple, in an ageing oak tree in the adjacent field.
"You dropped your shoulder again. The wind blew it towards its' target. Had there not been any wind, the arrow would have been way off," he sneered.
"There was no wind, and I made sure I didn't drop my shoulder," Harry frowned and glared at the man standing to his left.
"Whatever Potter. Either way, I am a busy man and I don't have time to teach little children how to do simple tricks with a bow and arrow." Salazar walked off
before Harry could say anything, leaving him to think about how much he hated Salazar and to practise his archery. Salazar had been unreasonably unfair to Harry ever since his arrival. He reminded Harry of Snape, which scared him slightly. He was still in two minds about whether or not to reveal to Godric that Salazar was a Dark Lord in the making. It wrenched his heart to thing of the lives that he could save but he knew that he couldn't affect time so greatly.
For example, if Godric killed Salazar now before he had children, Voldemort would never have been born and it would create a giant paradox, as Voldemort would not be able to unknowingly send him back in time. A couple of years ago, he might have made such a rash decision without considering the consequences but now he was older and wiser and had learnt enough in his short life in the magical world to know what not to do, and affect time so greatly was one of them.
He practised for a short while until his arm was aching and he was thirsty. He was gradually improving in archery. His sword fighting and duelling were 'outstanding' as Godric had said. His wandless magic skills were very helpful in his duelling, as he could perform spells just by thinking about them. This made it quicker to do spells, as he didn't have to say the incantation or flick his wand. He found that the wand helped his concentrate his magic, however, so he used it in duels. He did not need to say the incantations however, so he was much quicker at duelling than anyone he had been up against, apart from Rowena and Salazar. He could beat Helga nearly every time, and Godric and he were more or less even, but Harry usually edged it, and he was getting better.
Godric was teaching him in the Martial Arts skills and Helga was teaching him how to heal. He found healing rather hard to learn for some reason. Helga had told him that he was more of an 'offensive person' than a 'defensive person' and had told him not to pursue a career in healing. He fully agreed with her but he found the healing very useful, as he would no longer need to visit the infirmary as often.
Over the last two months, Harry had noticed that magic was very different in these times. The wizards seemed to be much stronger in these times than in Harry's own, both physically and magically. People depended on physical strength here a lot, whereas in Harry's own time people were lazy and fat, depending on magic to get themselves about. To prove his own argument, he started gather his own arrows by hand from their various landing place instead of summoning them. After a while, he grew tired.
He did not need to call an incantation but, instead, concentrated on summoning the arrows and imagined them flying towards him. Within seconds, they were in his arrow sack across his shoulder and he was making his way back to the house. Rowena, his usual archery teacher, was currently helping Godric with his plans. He was, at the moment, positioning and designing the transfiguration rooms. For the previous two months, Harry had been helping the Four Founders to plan the castle. They usually placed a marker on the place that they wanted a certain room, then design the room itself. They had done all of the classrooms, apart from the transfiguration and potions, and they needed to locate and design the Great Hall and teacher's offices. Godric had given Harry permission to make his own room, which he had decided to plan after the rest of the castle was built.
They would probably be finished with the planning in about 3 months. Then they were going to start, with the help of the building company that had given them a quote, to build the castle. The original plans, before Harry had shown up, were to raise money in this period. The Ministry had agreed to fund the school once it was up and running, money for equipment and staff, but refused to give a large sum of money to build the castle itself. They did, however, agree to give them money for the building of the castle once it had been built.
The Ministry was not a very rich company. Wizards did not pay taxes and, as a result, the Ministry's money came from contributions and businesses that it owned. They could not afford to lend money to the Founders, as they were not 100% sure that it would work out, and they would be stuck with a huge debt.
Harry had offered the Founders a large sum of money to get the school built and running. This offer they had refused at once, but had eventually agreed that there was no alternative and had grudgingly taken a 'large sum of money', which was only 50 galleons.
The Ministry, when the school was up and running, would give this money back to Harry. Harry knew that the idea would work and his money would not be lost so he had no problem with this. If he had returned to his own time by the time the school was up and running, Godric had offered to put the money into an account that Harry would make next time he was at the bank.
The Founders had been away sometimes fighting against Mordrin. She had, since taking control of Russia, been attacking various Wizarding places across Europe, especially Britain, as it had the strongest Ministry and because the Staff of Slytherin was currently in England. Salazar's Grandfather had gone to the Ministry asking for protection, which they gave him, and he was hiding away in a place not even known to Salazar. Harry was not sure about this Staff but he was sure that it was a very strong magical devise due to the way the others talked about it, with deepest respect and great fear. Harry had heard from Helga that, if Mordrin gained control of the Staff, they were all as good as dead.
Harry had been exploring the Forbidden Forest a lot since his arrival. He did not want to help with the planning of the castle much as it bored him. The forest was much bigger than Harry had originally thought. He had flown over on his broom once, trying to reach the end, but gave up after an hour of fast flying.
He had been exploring as far as he could walk into the forest, which was quite deep. He did not recognise any of the forest and he was sure that it would all be different by the time he got back to his own time, but he found it exciting for some reason. He had not yet met any magical creatures in the woods but was sure that he had spotted a unicorn or another horse-like creature running near him a few days ago.
Unlike when he was living with the muggle villagers, he did not need to kill and prepare his own food, as Rowena's house had house elves. He dearly missed hunting and so he sometimes went riding on a horse he had received as a gift from Rowena with his bow and arrow. He tore through the woods at full pace, dodging low branches and other such obstacles as he shot targets he had painted on trees. The others encouraged this, claiming it was helpful to his archery training. It was also a very fun activity and Harry hoped Dumbledore would give him permission to continue this if he ever got back.
Harry had been practising his elemental magic with Rowena, who could also perform it. Harry was better at it than she was now, he could put more power behind the spells, especially lightning for some reason.
He wondered why he was better with lightning than any other of the elements briefly as he made his way to the dining area of Ravenclaw Manor. Was it related to the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead?
"Harry," Godric started as Harry sat down to his dinner, "It will not be you're usual Transfiguration lesson this evening."
"Oh?"
"I will be training you how to become an Animagus. This will take up your Transfiguration lessons until you are fully able. This usually happens in about 6 months. I expect you to be able to do it in 2 months. If you train hard enough that is. Go to the lounge after dinner," he added before he departed, leaving Harry alone to eat his dinner of beef.
Harry could barely contain his excitement as he wolfed down his dinner and jogged to the lounge. He was finally going to learn how to become an Animagus, like his Father and Sirius.
After a ten-minute lecture on Animagus theory, Godric said that it was time for Harry to perform the spell that would reveal his future form. They stood in preparation near the fire and Harry lifted his wand, pointing it at himself before muttering the incantation, "Visio Animagus."
Godric gasped, his eyes bulging. It was a creature he had never seen before and he could feel the power raining from it. Harry's creature was the darkest shade of black he had ever seen. It seemed to be a cross between at least two animals that Godric recognised. Godric noticed that it had blood red lightning bolt scar above it's emerald green eyes, eyes that gazed at Godric intelligently as it shook it's mane, stretched its long wings and looked around the room.
A sudden flash occurred and Harry returned, falling to the floor with a broad smile and a question. "What was that?"
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Anyone guess what kind of animal it is? It's a cross between three animals. I've left little clues in.
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If anyone wishes to join the Mailing list, leave your email address in a review and I'll email you whenever I put up a chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Please review after reading this. It will help make this story be better. Also, it's quite a nice thing to do.
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Thanks to the reviewers:
Coolpadfoot – Wow, you reviewed about 5 minutes after I submitted the chapter. I don't think that Harry is the kind of person to 'show off his money' at all. Would have been a bit out of character. He seems kind of shy in the canon books. Thanks for the review.
OrionTheHunter – Thanks for the review
Mikito – Here I updated!
HiddenCamera – Immigrant Song is there for you. Damn good song too. You're a Zep fan? Or do you just like that particular song? I like Zeppelin, second best drummer in the world ever John Bonham was, after Keith Moon from The Who. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are Gods.
Brat2Princess – I've put you on the mailing list. And don't worry, I'm not going to leave this unfinished unless I die or something.
Ironic-humour – Don't worry about it, thanks for reviewing. What've you been busy with? Happy holidays to you to. I hope you're getting completely ratted for New Years Eve.
Flamefire – Ah but that would be way too typical, I'm trying to be original here! Besides, how would blacksmiths make a sword out of lightning???
Cr1Ms0n^D3v1L – Yeah mythril, good guess. What is orich ore?
TuxedoMac – Nah, not 200 reviews. Maybe in several chapters. 150 reviews in 35,000 words is above average though!
Lord Shinji – Whoa you read that fast. Pity it didn't take me 15 minutes to write all 15 chapters!
Wanderingwolf – Ah I might. I'm going to be having more of a Godric-Salazar fight rather than Godric + Harry-Salazar. May I add 150TH REVIEWER
Lost Soul – Best on the site? That's three times that's been said!!! And you'll have to wait and see!
Sab – Why thank you.
Legolas Bowmaster – Ah I'm sure young Harry will invent some new magic yet. He's got some time here left yet!
David M. Potter – Yeah he's gotta make some money. I like how I had him give his money to the Hogwarts Building too.
Veronik – You're on the mailing list now.
Prd2bAmerican18 – Thanks. And here it is.
Angelis1 – I agree. I mean, if it was the same currency 100 years ago in the muggle world then inflation would have had such an effect, I don't see why it would be any different.
Wytil – Thanks. It says on your profile that your probably the oldest ff writer on this site. I know a 59 year old grandmother who writes the stuff, can you top that?
violentstorm32 – Thanks for the strange review. I'm afraid that the Malfoys are ugly no matter what you say :P
Thanks for the good suggestions, I will use some of these. Keep 'em coming! 158 reviews! Happy New Year by the way, it's the 30th right now.
Hey am I on anyone's favourite story or author list??? And can anyone guess what animal(s?) Harry turns into?
By the way, I will be uploading the next chapter at the weekend as it's more of an interlude and has nothing to do with Harry.