A/N: We're in the home stretch now, only a couple more chapters to go.
There are only .... 26 in this story, I think. I guess I've got to start
planning out the next story.
Thanks to ice-baby-bubbles; Jordan; WolfMoon; Maximum Poofy-Pissed Off Queen: Why are you a pissed off queen now?; RaistlinofMetallica; Calani; ER; Lady Knight of Kennan; and Layce74!!!
CH22: Two Thousand Leagues Over The Sea
~"No. This was enough for today. I'll have someone bring you dinner tonight and your meals tomorrow."
Harry started towards the door, but Albus stopped him. "You have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. But don't let that own you. It's your choices that decide who you are. Never forget that."~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry spent the next day in his dorm room, deep in thought, barely acknowledging as his friends came to visit him. Finally, Cho had enough.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked, sitting next to Harry on the bed. "You won't speak, you hardly eat .... we're worried about you." Harry looked up and saw the rest of his group in the doorway.
"Alright," he said, his voice hoarse. "Come in. But .... anything I say never leaves this room, okay?"
Fred and George exchanged nervous looks. "What is this - "
" - about Harry?"
Harry took a deep breath and changed back. Hermione gasped loudly.
"Your eye! It's - "
"Slytherin colors," Draco finished.
"Yeah. Guys, I'm - I'm - I'm the Silver One."
The effect was instantaneous: Fred and George's eyes opened wide; Draco's eyebrows became part o his hairline; Hermione was gaping uncontrollably; while Cho fell straight to the floor in shock.
"The Silver One?" squeaked Draco. "As in .... the Information Keeper? The Balance of the Universe? That Silver One?"
"Uhuh. You guys know about hi - me?"
"It's a legend, Harry," Cho said. "Children grow up hearing the story of the Silver Ones."
"Oh. But that's not all."
"There's more."
He slowly describe the Prophecy, the reactions almost identical as before.
"So, You-Know-Who," Hermione began. "Is not really gone?"
"That's the gist of it."
"And you have to stop him?" Fred asked.
"Right."
"Boy," said George, breaking the silence. "You had an interesting day."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Welcome to the fourth match of the year - Ravenclaw v.s. Gryffindor!" Lee Jordan yelled. "The winners of this match will be playing Hufflepuff for the championship!"
By some stroke of luck (two of the Slytherin chasers were sick with the flu), Hufflepuff had actually beat Slytherin by 250 points. The first time in over 100 years.
The players lined up in the middle of the field for a toss-up. Harry flashed a smile to Hattie Kane.
"How are you feeling, Andrews?" Hattie whispered as they shook hands.
"Better. Thanks for asking."
"I'm sorry you had to test Morgan's concoction. He's never been very good at brewing potions." Harry nodded. That was the excuse they came up with - something was wrong with the potion. They couldn't let the school find out he was allergic to Veritaserum; it would give him away as the Silver One. "Did they ever find out what was in it that made you react that way?"
"No, but they're working on it."
"Mount your brooms!" Madame Hooch called out.
"Good luck," Harry said.
"You too," Hattie returned.
"On the whistle - three - two - one - go!"
They kicked off and the game began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry soared high above the stands, watching the game below. Gryffindor was leading: 120-100. He need to catch the Snitch soon, before they amounted to much of a lead.
He was just about the circle around again when it hit.
Another vision.
"No, no, not now," Harry whined desperately. "Please not now." He was hundreds of feet above the ground and teetering dangerously. "God - " His mind went blank.
' .... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus .... '
'Oh, I thought we'd keep this private. Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all.'
"Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked quietly.
'Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?'
"Fluffy belongs to Hagrid?"
'B-b-but Severus, I - '
'You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell.'
'I-I don-t know what you - '
'You know perfectly well what I mean.'
The sight started to get blurry and Harry struggled to hear more.
' - your little bit of hocus pocus. I'm waiting.'
'B-but I d-d-don't - '
'Very well. We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie.'
Harry snapped out of the vision quickly. It was then he realized he was plummeting towards the ground.
50 feet - 40 feet - 30 feet. At 25, something flew into his mouth and he gagged.
Harry hit the pitch on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand.
"I've caught the Snitch!"
Final score: Ravenclaw 280 - Gryffindor 120
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Harry Potter, the only Seeker who can do a perfect impression of a wide-mouthed tree frog," Fred announced. George and Draco clapped.
"Shut up," Harry grumbled playfully.
"It was the best match I've ever seen," laughed Draco.
"What happened up there?" George asked. "One minute you were searching for the Snitch, the next - you were whizzing past me at twenty miles per hour!"
"I had another vision."
"What about?" Cho and Hermione exclaimed in unison.
"We need to have a small talk with Hagrid."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why didn't you tell us about Fluffy?" Harry asked. "Where'd you get him."
"What do yer know 'bout Fluffy?" questioned Hagrid.
"Just that he's guarding the Philosopher's Stone."
"Shhh! You're not suppose to know about that."
"Wait," Cho asked. "Is that the same Stone from your report, Harry?"
"Yes and apparently, it's hidden in the school."
"Harry," said Hagrid. "Yeh shouldn't even know 'bout this. It's between Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel."
"Flamel himself asked to have it transferred here?"
"Yes. Look, it was al'eady almost stolen from Gringotts. This is the safest place in the world fer it."
"And all of the teachers are protecting it?"
"Yeah."
'Guess we know what hocus pocus Quirrell has.' Harry thought. 'And Snape needs.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------
I had to use the swallowing-snitch thing, that's one of the best parts of the book.
Okay, I've got to explain the Quidditch points:
In the third book, it says that they win the cup based on who has the most points at the end. So in my story ...
Ravenclaw vs Slytherin = R won by 110 points
Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff = G won by 100 points
Slytherin vs Hufflepuff = H won by 250 points
Slytherin vs Gryffindor = G won by 20 points
Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor = R won by 140 points
Now R and H are tied at 250 points each. Thus, they are both in competition for the Cup.
Thanks to ice-baby-bubbles; Jordan; WolfMoon; Maximum Poofy-Pissed Off Queen: Why are you a pissed off queen now?; RaistlinofMetallica; Calani; ER; Lady Knight of Kennan; and Layce74!!!
CH22: Two Thousand Leagues Over The Sea
~"No. This was enough for today. I'll have someone bring you dinner tonight and your meals tomorrow."
Harry started towards the door, but Albus stopped him. "You have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. But don't let that own you. It's your choices that decide who you are. Never forget that."~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry spent the next day in his dorm room, deep in thought, barely acknowledging as his friends came to visit him. Finally, Cho had enough.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked, sitting next to Harry on the bed. "You won't speak, you hardly eat .... we're worried about you." Harry looked up and saw the rest of his group in the doorway.
"Alright," he said, his voice hoarse. "Come in. But .... anything I say never leaves this room, okay?"
Fred and George exchanged nervous looks. "What is this - "
" - about Harry?"
Harry took a deep breath and changed back. Hermione gasped loudly.
"Your eye! It's - "
"Slytherin colors," Draco finished.
"Yeah. Guys, I'm - I'm - I'm the Silver One."
The effect was instantaneous: Fred and George's eyes opened wide; Draco's eyebrows became part o his hairline; Hermione was gaping uncontrollably; while Cho fell straight to the floor in shock.
"The Silver One?" squeaked Draco. "As in .... the Information Keeper? The Balance of the Universe? That Silver One?"
"Uhuh. You guys know about hi - me?"
"It's a legend, Harry," Cho said. "Children grow up hearing the story of the Silver Ones."
"Oh. But that's not all."
"There's more."
He slowly describe the Prophecy, the reactions almost identical as before.
"So, You-Know-Who," Hermione began. "Is not really gone?"
"That's the gist of it."
"And you have to stop him?" Fred asked.
"Right."
"Boy," said George, breaking the silence. "You had an interesting day."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Welcome to the fourth match of the year - Ravenclaw v.s. Gryffindor!" Lee Jordan yelled. "The winners of this match will be playing Hufflepuff for the championship!"
By some stroke of luck (two of the Slytherin chasers were sick with the flu), Hufflepuff had actually beat Slytherin by 250 points. The first time in over 100 years.
The players lined up in the middle of the field for a toss-up. Harry flashed a smile to Hattie Kane.
"How are you feeling, Andrews?" Hattie whispered as they shook hands.
"Better. Thanks for asking."
"I'm sorry you had to test Morgan's concoction. He's never been very good at brewing potions." Harry nodded. That was the excuse they came up with - something was wrong with the potion. They couldn't let the school find out he was allergic to Veritaserum; it would give him away as the Silver One. "Did they ever find out what was in it that made you react that way?"
"No, but they're working on it."
"Mount your brooms!" Madame Hooch called out.
"Good luck," Harry said.
"You too," Hattie returned.
"On the whistle - three - two - one - go!"
They kicked off and the game began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry soared high above the stands, watching the game below. Gryffindor was leading: 120-100. He need to catch the Snitch soon, before they amounted to much of a lead.
He was just about the circle around again when it hit.
Another vision.
"No, no, not now," Harry whined desperately. "Please not now." He was hundreds of feet above the ground and teetering dangerously. "God - " His mind went blank.
' .... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus .... '
'Oh, I thought we'd keep this private. Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all.'
"Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked quietly.
'Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?'
"Fluffy belongs to Hagrid?"
'B-b-but Severus, I - '
'You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell.'
'I-I don-t know what you - '
'You know perfectly well what I mean.'
The sight started to get blurry and Harry struggled to hear more.
' - your little bit of hocus pocus. I'm waiting.'
'B-but I d-d-don't - '
'Very well. We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie.'
Harry snapped out of the vision quickly. It was then he realized he was plummeting towards the ground.
50 feet - 40 feet - 30 feet. At 25, something flew into his mouth and he gagged.
Harry hit the pitch on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand.
"I've caught the Snitch!"
Final score: Ravenclaw 280 - Gryffindor 120
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Harry Potter, the only Seeker who can do a perfect impression of a wide-mouthed tree frog," Fred announced. George and Draco clapped.
"Shut up," Harry grumbled playfully.
"It was the best match I've ever seen," laughed Draco.
"What happened up there?" George asked. "One minute you were searching for the Snitch, the next - you were whizzing past me at twenty miles per hour!"
"I had another vision."
"What about?" Cho and Hermione exclaimed in unison.
"We need to have a small talk with Hagrid."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why didn't you tell us about Fluffy?" Harry asked. "Where'd you get him."
"What do yer know 'bout Fluffy?" questioned Hagrid.
"Just that he's guarding the Philosopher's Stone."
"Shhh! You're not suppose to know about that."
"Wait," Cho asked. "Is that the same Stone from your report, Harry?"
"Yes and apparently, it's hidden in the school."
"Harry," said Hagrid. "Yeh shouldn't even know 'bout this. It's between Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel."
"Flamel himself asked to have it transferred here?"
"Yes. Look, it was al'eady almost stolen from Gringotts. This is the safest place in the world fer it."
"And all of the teachers are protecting it?"
"Yeah."
'Guess we know what hocus pocus Quirrell has.' Harry thought. 'And Snape needs.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------
I had to use the swallowing-snitch thing, that's one of the best parts of the book.
Okay, I've got to explain the Quidditch points:
In the third book, it says that they win the cup based on who has the most points at the end. So in my story ...
Ravenclaw vs Slytherin = R won by 110 points
Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff = G won by 100 points
Slytherin vs Hufflepuff = H won by 250 points
Slytherin vs Gryffindor = G won by 20 points
Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor = R won by 140 points
Now R and H are tied at 250 points each. Thus, they are both in competition for the Cup.
