DISCLAIMER- I own nothing. Except the idea for a book called "Checkmate-or is it?" My brother's obsessed with chess and I know he'd read a cheesey book like that.
READ AND REVIEW!!
Chapter Five
Unless you have had both parents die in a horrible fire and are currently living with a terrible relative, you cannot possibly understand how the Potter orphans felt that night. I will not describe it, because that would fill you with such woe that you might just waste away, as I am doing as I think about my dear Aries, who is long gone. You can probably understand, however, that if you are feeling very sad, going to bed and waking up the next morning can make you feel better. In the light of a bright new day you can think about your situation in a more positive manner. So it was with the Potter siblings.
This morning, Lord Voldemort's harsh voice ordered them to go outside and clean out his yard, which was full of broken Firewhiskey bottles, leaves and bits of trash. "You can weed the garden tomorrow." He'd informed them.
Harry, Hermione and Ron went outside and began their work. Hermione used her wand to charm the broken pieces of glass into the trash can, Harry flew around on one of Voldemort's old broomsticks and picked up trash, and Ron took care of raking the leaves.
While the children worked, they talked about thier situation. "We can clearly not stay in this horrible situation any longer." Harry concluded, rubbing the back of his head, which still sported a large bruise from where he was thrown against the cupboard.
"But at least we have a house, and a guardian." Hermione argued. "I don't think we'd be safe on the streets."
"A guardian is supposed to protect you." Ron said logically. "Voldemort is clearly not protecting us, unless knocking Harry unconcious was in some way saving him from grave danger."
"I wish we could use our money now!" Harry sighed sadly. "We shouldn't have to wait till I'm older. Then we could buy a nice mansion to live in, which guards trained to arrest Lord Voldemort if he happened to come by." he smiled. "And a huuuuuge Quidditch field where the best teams would play, right in our backyard!"
"I'd want a library." Hermione said softly. "Filled with hundreds of spellbooks."
"How about a giant chessboard, where the pieces moved by themselves and you commanded them," Ron murmered, "Like a captain in the army. But I don't think they could make a chessboard that big."
"We should talk to Mr. Fudge." Hermione decided. "He said we could talk to him at any time. He works in Gringotts bank."
"Uh, Hermione." Ron tapped her shoulder. "Have you seen any communication devices whatsoever in Voldemort's house? No Floo powder, the fireplace isn't magical and I haven't noticed any special seeing-mirrors."
"Ron, you're being silly." Hermione said. "I could make a seeing-mirror. I've made one before."
"But that was with our father's help." The Potters went silent for a minute at the mention of their father. Then Hermione broke it. "I'm sure I can manage."
Encouraged by their plan, the Potters worked faster then ever and soon the yard was free of garbage and leaves. This did not make it any more homey, however, seeing as their were still many weeds and clumps of dry grass remaining. The Potters ignored these and rushed inside where they began working.
Harry went flying out into the yard where he got water from the well so they could wash the only mirror they could find, which was so filthy it was impossible to see one's reflection in it. Then he began scrubbing the mirror. Hermione carefully made a list of all the things she would need to create a looking glass. Ron went around looking in all the places that the objects should logically be, in a normal house. Of course, he soon remembered they were not *in* a normal house. The youngest Potter then began looking in some of the least likely places, and he managed to find lemon juice and some other ingredients in a boot that was hanging on a hanger in Lord Voldemort's closet.
Once they had gathered up all the ingredients, Hermione began to get to work. In order for the mirror to become a looking-glass and be able to communicate with Mr. Fudge, it needed to be cleaned with a mixture of certain liquids. After the mirror was clean enough to see through, she hung it on a hook that was attached to the wall. Then she held her wand up and said clearly
"Mirror, mirror, on a hook, I would like to take a look."
The mirror's surface rippled and turned pearly-white. Then a voice asked "What or who would you like to see?"
"It's Mr. Fudge I'd like to see, Gringotts bank is where he'll be."
"What's with all the rhyming?" Ron snickered. Hermione glared at him. "It's just the way it works." she said defensively. "*I* didn't make it up. The mirror doesn't respond unless you talk in rhyme."
Then the mirror's surface rippled again. This time it showed Mr. Poe working at his desk, which was covered in parchments. He had at least four quills that were scratching away busily by themselves. Behind him was another mirror and two fireplaces.
"Hello, Mr. Fudge?" Harry called into the mirror. Mr. Fudge gave a start and looked up at them. "Why hello, Potters." he replied. "I'm very busy at the moment. Is this important?"
"Yes." Harry assured him.
"Well," Mr. Fudge rubbed his head. "What is it?"
The Potters paused for a moment, unsure how to phrase their situation. Then Harry said, "Lord Voldemort is insane. We can't possibly stay with him anymore and expect to remain unharmed."
"We haven't even remained unharmed up til now!" Hermione exclaimed. "Look what he did to my brother!" she showed Mr. Fudge the back of Harry's head.
"He makes us do all his chores." Ron added. "And-"
Just then, Mr. Fudge looked down at one of the quills that was writing on a parchment. "No, no!" he cried. "Stop writing down everything they say! You're only supposed to write what I say!" Mr. Fudge paused to sneeze into his hankerchief. Then he cried. "No, don't write what I'm saying right *now*!" The pen continued to scribble along the page. "Stop!" Finally, Mr. Fudge took about his wand, pointed it at the quill and said "Inflamous!" the pen caught fire and burned to a blackened crisp.
"Oops." Mr. Fudge muttered. "Wrong word." Then he finally turned about to the Potters. "What were you saying?"
"He made us cook dinner for him!" Harry cried out.
"And for the rest of his theatre troupe." Hermione added.
"And we didn't know how to cook." Ron pointed out.
Suddenly, one of the fires behind Mr. Fudge turned green and a man's face appeared in it. "What's the command code again, Cornelius?"
"It's quite simple." Mr. Fudge sighed. "It's one-two-three-four-five-six-eight. How hard can it be?"
"It's the last number that I get stuck on." the man replied. "We should have made it a seven." then the fire returned to its normal firey red.
Mr. Fudge looked down at his papers and sighed.
"Uh, Mr. Fudge?" Harry asked. Mr. Fudge jumped. "Oh, you're still here! You didn't heard that code, you understand? It wasn't for the room where we keep our rubies! Definitely not! So don't try it on the room at the end of the second floor hallway because it won't work!"
"Okay, we won't." Hermione assured. him.
"And Lord Voldemort drinks too much Firewhisky!" Harry continued.
"He only gave us one bed!"
"He calls us orphans all the time!"
Mr. Fudge sneezed into his hankerchief and held up a hand. "Are you familiar with the Latin term 'in loco parentis'?" he asked.
The Potters stared at him. Latin was none of their strong suits.
"It means acting in the role of a parent." Mr. Fudge explained. "Lord Voldemort is your legal guardian, and is therefore allowed to use any methods of parenting he sees fit to use. There's nothing I can do about the way he treats you. Besides, I think you children are simply looking a gift horse in the mouth. Have you heard of that expression? It means not appreciating what is given to you and being critical. It was nice of Lord Voldemort to agree to house you. You really should try to work out your differences with him, understand? "
The orphans understood too well. They understood Mr. Fudge was far to busy to listen to their concerns. They understood that he didn't find it nessesary to try and fix their situation. And lastly, they understood that they were all alone and if anything was to be done, they'd need to do it themselves.
"Well, I really must get back to work." Mr. Fudge broke the awkward silence. "Goodbye."
The mirror turned opaque. Harry sighed. "Let's go see Madam Hooch." he began to walk toward the door.
"I don't think she can help us." Hermione said gloomily. "Not with Lord Voldemort being 'in loco parentis'." the middle Potter quoted Mr. Fudge rather sarcastically.
"We're not going there for help." Harry explained. "We're going there for books."
And so the Potters spent the rest of that day happily curled up in Madam Hooch's puffy chairs, reading books. Harry was reading a book called 'Quidditch through the ages.' Hermione was skimming a spell book entitled 'Removing Pimples and Other Unwanted Facial Features'. She was also waving her wand and trying some of the spells. Ron had chosen the book 'Checkmate!-Or is it?" a book on chess strategy. He'd begun reading the book after beating Madam Hooch three times in wizard chess.
While the Potters did not literally escape Lord Voldemort and his treachery, they felt as if they had, because they were out of his disgusting house and away from his horrible breath. They couldn't help hoping that soon they would turn their figurativel escape into a literal one.
REVIEWERS-
Always Rosalind- Just curious, what's your pen name mean? I'm glad you liked my story. You need to read more of the books! The fifth one is my favorite because they meet the Quagmires!
VisualPurple- Hello! We have a half day of school on Friday! Muahahahahaha!!!!! It's because the little fifth graders are coming to look around at our biiiiiig (not really) school. I wish we could be there so we could tower over them and look really mean. Then they'd be really scared. Hee hee. I know, that wouldn't be nice. Bad PearlGirl! Bad! I'm free the weekend after Mother's Day.
READ AND REVIEW!!
READ AND REVIEW!!
Chapter Five
Unless you have had both parents die in a horrible fire and are currently living with a terrible relative, you cannot possibly understand how the Potter orphans felt that night. I will not describe it, because that would fill you with such woe that you might just waste away, as I am doing as I think about my dear Aries, who is long gone. You can probably understand, however, that if you are feeling very sad, going to bed and waking up the next morning can make you feel better. In the light of a bright new day you can think about your situation in a more positive manner. So it was with the Potter siblings.
This morning, Lord Voldemort's harsh voice ordered them to go outside and clean out his yard, which was full of broken Firewhiskey bottles, leaves and bits of trash. "You can weed the garden tomorrow." He'd informed them.
Harry, Hermione and Ron went outside and began their work. Hermione used her wand to charm the broken pieces of glass into the trash can, Harry flew around on one of Voldemort's old broomsticks and picked up trash, and Ron took care of raking the leaves.
While the children worked, they talked about thier situation. "We can clearly not stay in this horrible situation any longer." Harry concluded, rubbing the back of his head, which still sported a large bruise from where he was thrown against the cupboard.
"But at least we have a house, and a guardian." Hermione argued. "I don't think we'd be safe on the streets."
"A guardian is supposed to protect you." Ron said logically. "Voldemort is clearly not protecting us, unless knocking Harry unconcious was in some way saving him from grave danger."
"I wish we could use our money now!" Harry sighed sadly. "We shouldn't have to wait till I'm older. Then we could buy a nice mansion to live in, which guards trained to arrest Lord Voldemort if he happened to come by." he smiled. "And a huuuuuge Quidditch field where the best teams would play, right in our backyard!"
"I'd want a library." Hermione said softly. "Filled with hundreds of spellbooks."
"How about a giant chessboard, where the pieces moved by themselves and you commanded them," Ron murmered, "Like a captain in the army. But I don't think they could make a chessboard that big."
"We should talk to Mr. Fudge." Hermione decided. "He said we could talk to him at any time. He works in Gringotts bank."
"Uh, Hermione." Ron tapped her shoulder. "Have you seen any communication devices whatsoever in Voldemort's house? No Floo powder, the fireplace isn't magical and I haven't noticed any special seeing-mirrors."
"Ron, you're being silly." Hermione said. "I could make a seeing-mirror. I've made one before."
"But that was with our father's help." The Potters went silent for a minute at the mention of their father. Then Hermione broke it. "I'm sure I can manage."
Encouraged by their plan, the Potters worked faster then ever and soon the yard was free of garbage and leaves. This did not make it any more homey, however, seeing as their were still many weeds and clumps of dry grass remaining. The Potters ignored these and rushed inside where they began working.
Harry went flying out into the yard where he got water from the well so they could wash the only mirror they could find, which was so filthy it was impossible to see one's reflection in it. Then he began scrubbing the mirror. Hermione carefully made a list of all the things she would need to create a looking glass. Ron went around looking in all the places that the objects should logically be, in a normal house. Of course, he soon remembered they were not *in* a normal house. The youngest Potter then began looking in some of the least likely places, and he managed to find lemon juice and some other ingredients in a boot that was hanging on a hanger in Lord Voldemort's closet.
Once they had gathered up all the ingredients, Hermione began to get to work. In order for the mirror to become a looking-glass and be able to communicate with Mr. Fudge, it needed to be cleaned with a mixture of certain liquids. After the mirror was clean enough to see through, she hung it on a hook that was attached to the wall. Then she held her wand up and said clearly
"Mirror, mirror, on a hook, I would like to take a look."
The mirror's surface rippled and turned pearly-white. Then a voice asked "What or who would you like to see?"
"It's Mr. Fudge I'd like to see, Gringotts bank is where he'll be."
"What's with all the rhyming?" Ron snickered. Hermione glared at him. "It's just the way it works." she said defensively. "*I* didn't make it up. The mirror doesn't respond unless you talk in rhyme."
Then the mirror's surface rippled again. This time it showed Mr. Poe working at his desk, which was covered in parchments. He had at least four quills that were scratching away busily by themselves. Behind him was another mirror and two fireplaces.
"Hello, Mr. Fudge?" Harry called into the mirror. Mr. Fudge gave a start and looked up at them. "Why hello, Potters." he replied. "I'm very busy at the moment. Is this important?"
"Yes." Harry assured him.
"Well," Mr. Fudge rubbed his head. "What is it?"
The Potters paused for a moment, unsure how to phrase their situation. Then Harry said, "Lord Voldemort is insane. We can't possibly stay with him anymore and expect to remain unharmed."
"We haven't even remained unharmed up til now!" Hermione exclaimed. "Look what he did to my brother!" she showed Mr. Fudge the back of Harry's head.
"He makes us do all his chores." Ron added. "And-"
Just then, Mr. Fudge looked down at one of the quills that was writing on a parchment. "No, no!" he cried. "Stop writing down everything they say! You're only supposed to write what I say!" Mr. Fudge paused to sneeze into his hankerchief. Then he cried. "No, don't write what I'm saying right *now*!" The pen continued to scribble along the page. "Stop!" Finally, Mr. Fudge took about his wand, pointed it at the quill and said "Inflamous!" the pen caught fire and burned to a blackened crisp.
"Oops." Mr. Fudge muttered. "Wrong word." Then he finally turned about to the Potters. "What were you saying?"
"He made us cook dinner for him!" Harry cried out.
"And for the rest of his theatre troupe." Hermione added.
"And we didn't know how to cook." Ron pointed out.
Suddenly, one of the fires behind Mr. Fudge turned green and a man's face appeared in it. "What's the command code again, Cornelius?"
"It's quite simple." Mr. Fudge sighed. "It's one-two-three-four-five-six-eight. How hard can it be?"
"It's the last number that I get stuck on." the man replied. "We should have made it a seven." then the fire returned to its normal firey red.
Mr. Fudge looked down at his papers and sighed.
"Uh, Mr. Fudge?" Harry asked. Mr. Fudge jumped. "Oh, you're still here! You didn't heard that code, you understand? It wasn't for the room where we keep our rubies! Definitely not! So don't try it on the room at the end of the second floor hallway because it won't work!"
"Okay, we won't." Hermione assured. him.
"And Lord Voldemort drinks too much Firewhisky!" Harry continued.
"He only gave us one bed!"
"He calls us orphans all the time!"
Mr. Fudge sneezed into his hankerchief and held up a hand. "Are you familiar with the Latin term 'in loco parentis'?" he asked.
The Potters stared at him. Latin was none of their strong suits.
"It means acting in the role of a parent." Mr. Fudge explained. "Lord Voldemort is your legal guardian, and is therefore allowed to use any methods of parenting he sees fit to use. There's nothing I can do about the way he treats you. Besides, I think you children are simply looking a gift horse in the mouth. Have you heard of that expression? It means not appreciating what is given to you and being critical. It was nice of Lord Voldemort to agree to house you. You really should try to work out your differences with him, understand? "
The orphans understood too well. They understood Mr. Fudge was far to busy to listen to their concerns. They understood that he didn't find it nessesary to try and fix their situation. And lastly, they understood that they were all alone and if anything was to be done, they'd need to do it themselves.
"Well, I really must get back to work." Mr. Fudge broke the awkward silence. "Goodbye."
The mirror turned opaque. Harry sighed. "Let's go see Madam Hooch." he began to walk toward the door.
"I don't think she can help us." Hermione said gloomily. "Not with Lord Voldemort being 'in loco parentis'." the middle Potter quoted Mr. Fudge rather sarcastically.
"We're not going there for help." Harry explained. "We're going there for books."
And so the Potters spent the rest of that day happily curled up in Madam Hooch's puffy chairs, reading books. Harry was reading a book called 'Quidditch through the ages.' Hermione was skimming a spell book entitled 'Removing Pimples and Other Unwanted Facial Features'. She was also waving her wand and trying some of the spells. Ron had chosen the book 'Checkmate!-Or is it?" a book on chess strategy. He'd begun reading the book after beating Madam Hooch three times in wizard chess.
While the Potters did not literally escape Lord Voldemort and his treachery, they felt as if they had, because they were out of his disgusting house and away from his horrible breath. They couldn't help hoping that soon they would turn their figurativel escape into a literal one.
REVIEWERS-
Always Rosalind- Just curious, what's your pen name mean? I'm glad you liked my story. You need to read more of the books! The fifth one is my favorite because they meet the Quagmires!
VisualPurple- Hello! We have a half day of school on Friday! Muahahahahaha!!!!! It's because the little fifth graders are coming to look around at our biiiiiig (not really) school. I wish we could be there so we could tower over them and look really mean. Then they'd be really scared. Hee hee. I know, that wouldn't be nice. Bad PearlGirl! Bad! I'm free the weekend after Mother's Day.
READ AND REVIEW!!