Harry swung around in midair, scowling down at the Slytherins below him. Despite their best efforts in the first match of the new year, they weren't playing up to their usual standard. It didn't help that the Slytherin Keeper, who Harry only knew as 'Bletchley,' was huge for his age. It made for blocking the goals all the easier.
Terence Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, was no threat. Three times, the boy thought he had seen the snitch and, three times, it had been something else. Harry, meanwhile, had made slow sweeps of the field, eyes darting around and only getting distracted when a bludger or two was sent in his direction.
As it stood, however, Slytherin's Beaters were having a hard-enough
time trying to keep Ravenclaw's Chasers from getting down the field.
Tracer, Lynch, and Allenby were a true force to be reckoned with when
they were in top form - the holidays obviously hadn't lessened their
skills.
The game had been going for nearly an hour, however, and Harry was starting to get frustrated. Something about the game just didn't feel right, though Harry was unsure of just why.
Pushing his glasses up on his nose and scowling as the sharp winds made his eyes water, Harry resumed searching for the Snitch. It took almost a full minute, but he eventually noticed a glimmer from near the Hufflepuff stands. Terence Higgs was off on the other side of the pitch, avoiding the bludgers that Ellie Shott and Timothy Ratchett, Ravenclaw's Beaters, were hitting at him.
Leaning forward, Harry sent his broom sailing towards the golden orb, which took off in the other direction as Harry drew near. Harry spun around and took off after it. Shouting something to Ratchett as he soared past, Harry veered upward when the snitch did, shooting higher into the sky over the pitch.
He was slowly gaining on it. Reaching out with his right hand, Harry leaned forward on his broom, fingers flexing as they came within inches of grasping the golden object.
But then, something happened. Harry's broom jerked suddenly and levelled out, sending Harry flying over the front. Thankfully, he had been holding onto the broom tightly with the hand not grabbing for the snitch. He was still holding on after the broom send him flying over the front, but only just. Quickly, he reached up and grabbed the broom with his other hand, but something was definitely wrong.
His broom began spinning and bucking wildly, as if it were specifically trying to get Harry to let go and fall. But Harry's grip was as strong as it ever was, and he held fast to the broom. Harry tried climbing back onto it at one point, but it was no use - the broom was just moving too wildly to get under control.
Knowing he shouldn't, but unable to help it, Harry looked down quickly. He was way too far from the ground, he realized. A fall from this height would almost assuredly be death - a very painful one, at that. Had he survived a dark wizard attack as a baby, then survived eleven years of abuse from the Dursleys only to fall to his death in a game?
His broom gave a quick flick to one side, nearly sending Harry slipping off the front. One hand came lose, causing Harry to gasp and move as fast as he could to slide back down the broom again. Shutting his eyes tightly, Harry couldn't help but see the Tonks' face, staring down at his broken, crumpled body...
Whether it was an outright miracle or whether it was his own will that caused the broom to stabilize, Harry didn't know. But when it did stop jerking and swirling about, it took the boy a minute to realize that he was as safe as he had been before it had started malfunctioning.
Quickly getting back on, Harry's mind instantly went back to searching for the snitch. Whatever had happened to him could wait until after the game... or until the broom started acting up again. As Harry went into a dive to bring him closer to the ground, he began to heard the laughter and pointing coming from the Slytherin stands. Adrian Pucey, one of Slytherin's Chasers, sneered at Harry as he flew by, catching the quaffle as it was passed to him.
Terence Higgs seemed to find Harry's near-death experience rather hilarious, as he was floating in place and laughing his head off.
Harry started to glare at the boy, then noticed a shimmer come from just underneath the Slytherin Seeker. With an evil grin, Harry tilted forward and shot towards Higgs, who looked confused for a moment before he let out a yelp and shot straight up, cursing at Harry for what he assumed to be an attempt to ram him. Only when Higgs looked back down did the cheer shoot out from the Ravenclaw stands. Eyes widening in shock, Higgs' shoulders slumped - Harry Potter had just grabbed the snitch.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"What the hell happened?!" Lynch roared as the Quidditch team, along with a handful of their housemates who had attended, were on their way back to Ravenclaw Tower. "Potter nearly got himself killed out there!"
Tonks and Solieyu looked at one another. Nodding, they each grabbed one of Harry's arms to hold him back. The rest of the team and students, paying attention to Lynch's ranting, didn't notice them slip into an empty classroom.
"Oi, what're you two doing?" Harry asked.
"We know what happened to your broom!" Tonks said.
"What?"
"It seemed to be Professor Snape." Solieyu said, looking off at the wall. "He was staring at you the entire time and seemed to be muttering to himself."
"What?!" Said Harry again, this time a little louder.
"I know a jinx when I see one." Solieyu continued, eyes narrowed slightly. "He wasn't blinking at all... and one needs to keep eye contact with the target..."
"I saw Hermione and the twins looking between you and us... I motioned towards the greasy git an' mouthed his name. They seemed to get the message, because Hermione vanished and a few minutes later, Snape's robes nearly caught on fire!" Tonks said, excitedly.
"That was when your broom returned to normal." Solieyu added.
"Great..." Harry said, his legs giving out slightly, causing him to slump back against the wall. "I knew he hated me... but I didn't think he'd go so far as to try killing me..."
"There has to be something deeper than this..." Solieyu said, sighing. "Why would a Hogwarts professor try to kill a student?"
"Maybe it has something to do with that dog on the third floor." Tonks said before she realized what she was saying.
Solieyu rounded on her, an eyebrow raised. "Giant dog? When were you on the third floor corridor?"
Tonks let out an almost inaudible squeak, looking quickly to Harry once. "Um..."
"We got curious one night." Harry said, shrugging. "It was a stupid thing for us to do, I'll admit... There was a huge, three-headed dog in a room at the end of the corridor..."
Solieyu looked at Harry, then Tonks, brow creasing as his mind began wandering.
"That reminds me, though... I was out one night before the Christmas holiday was over with. I overheard a conversation in the teacher's lounge..."
Harry repeated what he had overheard to his friends, who silently took this information in. When Harry was done, though, Tonks' eyes went wide.
"Harry... Remember what that idiot Terry was going on about that night once we had gotten back?" She asked.
"I try not to think about anything Terry says, Tonks." Harry said, shaking his head. "He gives me a headache."
"He said he thought the dog was on a trapdoor... and that he thought it was guarding something!" Tonks said, animatedly, making wild hand gestures as she spoke.
Harry crossed his arms. "So... The dog is on a trapdoor. There's something being guarded. Hagrid got whatever it is and brought it back here for some reason. Snape wants it, because we saw him limp by that day with his robes all torn up... and a man named Nicolas Flamel has something to do with it all... does that name ring any bells with either of you?"
"Not me." Tonks said.
"Not with me, either..." Solieyu said.
Scowling, Harry closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples, trying to work out just what was going on. "I want to say it sounds familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before...I just don't know where. It's been driving me crazy since I heard it."
"Well, maybe we should head to the library... see if we can't find any information on this Flamel person." Solieyu suggested.
"It couldn't hurt." Harry said, nodding slowly. "I don't know where we'd begin to look, though."
"There can't be that many books on famous wizards. At least, not many from recent times. There haven't been very many really powerful wizards this century." Solieyu said, opening the door and leading the other two back out into the hall.
Tonks scowled. "Well, huzzah. We could be back in the common room, partying over a victory well deserved. Instead, we're going to go to the library to slave over who knows how many books in search of this Flamel character. Not the way I envisioned the rest of my day playing out."
Harry laughed, patting Tonks on the back. "Sorry, Tonks. We'll play some Exploding Snap or something once we get back to the common room, alright? I promise we won't spend more than two hours searching."
"Well... alright. But I'm gonna keep an eye on the time." Tonks said. "It's only a few hours 'til supper, after all. Snape or no Snape, I'm not missing dinner because he's trying to get past that dog."
"Agreed." Said Harry. "I'm just happy I didn't lose my lunch while I was being thrown about."
"I think we're all happy about that." Tonks said. "But it might not've been that bad if you had. Mighta nailed that stupid sod Higgs right in the face!"
"Eww, Tonks! That's gross." Harry groaned.
"Yes. Yes, it is." The girl said, grinning.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The group spent the next few hours searching the library for any information that might pertain to Nicolas Flamel. As the final meal of the day approached, all three Ravenclaws were growing more than a little tired.
"Come on," Harry finally said. "Let's put everything up and get down to the Great Hall. If we don't get going now, we'll miss it."
Tonks groaned.
"Well," Solieyu said, rubbing his chin slowly as the three left the library and began the trek downstairs, "Whoever this Flamel person is, he's nobody new in the various fields of magic."
"Yeah, we may as well have pulled books out, blindfolded... we didn't get anywhere." Harry said, shaking his head. "I KNOW I've heard his name somewhere before, though... We're not doing very good."
"We could be doing worse." Tonks said, hands in her pockets. "At least we have a name to go on. Oi, do you think Quirrell might have something to do with it? I mean, we did hear those two arguing about something back at the start of term, didn't we?"
Harry's brow creased, trying to force his memory to recollect the event. "Yeah... Yeah, we did..." He said, frowning. "And he seems to get glared at by Snape an awful lot, now that I think about it. Maybe he knows something..."
"And Snape wants to get the information out of him?" Solieyu finished.
"Exactly..." Harry said. "But that still doesn't tell us what's being guarded. Hell, I'm all out of ideas - let's ask the twins."
Once in the Great Hall, Harry excused himself and left Tonks and Solieyu, walking to the Gryffindor table. Fred and George were sitting halfway down it, laughing with Lee Jordan about something or another.
"Fred! George!" Harry called to them.
The twins looked up, blinked in unison, then broke out into grins once more. "Harry!" They called back.
"Hey, you two... I need some help and I'm not sure who else to turn
to. You're the only two older students that I know can keep a secret"
Harry said, keeping his voice low as he leaned over between the two
redheads.
"What's up?" George asked.
"Have either of you heard of a Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked.
"Flamel, Flamel..." Fred repeated quietly, head tilting to one side. "Blimey, now why does that name sound familiar...?"
"Glad to know it isn't just me." Harry muttered.
"Dunno, Harry." The two said as one.
"Lee, what about you? You ever heard of Nicolas Flamel?" Fred asked, looking across the table.
Lee raised an eyebrow. "No, can't say as I have..."
"Tell ya what, mate..." Fred began. "We'll keep an ear out - tell ya if we hear his name come up, alright?"
Harry nodded. "Well, thanks anyway, guys. I guess it's back to the library after dinner, as well."
"A fate worse than death!" George cried as Harry headed off towards his own house's table. When he got there, he slumped down next to Tonks, who was next to Solieyu.
"Well?" Tonks asked, mouth partially stuffed with a bit of pie.
"Nothing." Harry said in a weary tone. "I'm going back to the library after dinner. I'm never going to get to sleep if I can't work it out."
"Would you like some help?" Solieyu asked. "I haven't got anything planned for the night."
Harry nodded. "If you feel like doing the same thing we did most of the afternoon."
"Count me out." Said Tonks, swallowing the food in her mouth. "I've had more than enough reading for one day. I'm still new at this. My eyes get tired easier than yours do."
Harry smiled. "Alright. You can go and relax in the Tower, then. We'll let you know if we hit anything useful."
"It's a plan."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Though the trio had a basic plan laid out, it didn't mean that they would get any further than they had in the afternoon. In fact, Harry was slowly realizing that they were going to run out of books on famous wizards of the 20th century. Harry voiced this to Solieyu, who went to do a check for himself.
"It seems you're right." He said, sitting back down next to Harry. "Maybe he's a practicioner of the Dark Arts... That would explain his lack of an entry anywhere."
"Ugh... I really don't want to have to ask a professor for permission into the restricted section." Harry groaned. "Maybe I should just give in and ask Quirrell..."
"That would take hours." Solieyu replied.
"And this isn't?"
"Touché."
Leaning back in his chair, Harry stared up at the ceiling of the library, losing himself in thought. Whoever this Flamel man was, he was making himself incredibly hard to research. There had to be a reason for it. If there was something valuable enough to be kept in a wizarding school, guarded by a monsterous dog, it had to be special. And the owner must have been well known.
"Leon?" Harry drawled out after bringing himself out of his thoughts.
"Mm?"
"What if Flamel isn't a proper wizard at all?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well... I mean, what if he were a squib or something?" Harry asked. During the summer, Tonks had told Harry of the various 'types' of wizards that existed.
"I don't think so, Harry." Solieyu said. "He'd need an active magical
core to deal with magical objects properly. And if what's hidden is,
indeed, valuable... then I would assume it's a very powerful item. No, I don't think Flamel would be a squib."
"I suppose that's true... But still, I think I'm onto something here. If he were famous, surely we would have found him by now, right? I dunno... maybe he's a werewolf or something. They aren't treated very well in the wizarding world, are they?" Harry said, looking aside to his friend.
"They aren't." Solieyu said. "Most wizards have an archaic view on what they deem to be 'dark creatures'... and while some certainly can be classified as such, I don't see the point in exiling someone who's perfectly normal 90 of the month..."
"Even so... if he were a 'dark creatures,' then I doubt he'd be in any of these books." Harry said. "Maybe I'm grasping at straws, I just don't know..."
"It's getting late, Harry. We should head back to the Tower." Solieyu said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "We can come back again tomorrow. I must admit, you've got me curious as to the identity of Mr. Flamel now..."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's call it a night."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
After everyone else had turned in for the night, Harry still lay awake in bed. His mind was working too constantly to allow him to drift off. With a sigh, he decided to do the same thing he always did whenever he needed to clear his head - he grabbed his invisibility cloak, cast a few silencing spells on himself, and snuck out of the Tower. Perhaps, he thought, the answer would come to him as he walked.
It was almost eerie walking around the castle at night. Save for the occasional prefect or professor out, it seemed outright empty. Harry had never traveled very far from the Tower after the incident with Mrs. Norris... But tonight, Harry's mind just wouldn't let the Flamel issue drop.
Harry's mind worked over and over on why Flamel wouldn't be in any books on famous wizards of the 20th century. He wasn't paying attention to where his feet were taking him, either. It wasn't until he realized that he had entered a room that he snapped to his senses once more. The room was dark, save for the hint of moonlight that shone through the windows that lined one wall. It was also empty, save for one object that stood in nearly the center - a mirror.
Feeling compelled, though unsure of why, Harry walked towards the mirror. It looked quite old - Harry was used to seeing ancient-looking things at Hogwarts - and it had an inscription carved around the top.
"...Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi? The devil does that mean?" Harry murmured, bringing a hand out from under his cloak to feel along the side of the mirror.
Stepping in front of it, all Harry saw at first was his disembodied arm. Harry had never looked in a mirror while he had his cloak on and found his floating arm to be rather amusing. That is, until people started appearing in the reflection. Quickly, Harry pulled his arm back under his cloak, for all the good it would do him at this point.
He spun around, only to be faced with an empty room. Frowning, Harry
tugged the cloak off and looked back into the mirror. Once more,
people were walking and speaking to one another in the reflection. Harry blinked, but when he did, he found two more people had arrived. Standing behind him on either side were a man and a woman. The man had
dark, unruly hair and wore glasses. The woman had firey red hair and
had brilliantly-green eyes.
The cloak slipped from Harry's hand, pooling to the floor at his feet.
Harry spun around again, but once more was met with little more than an old, dusty, and quite empty room. His head slowly turned to gaze back into the mirror. The man and woman were still there, still behind him... only they weren't. No one in the reflection was in the room, save for Harry.
So Harry did the only thing he could; he watched. The man and woman didn't do very much, aside from smile and wave occasionally. The man had put a hand on Harry's shoulder, though Harry never felt anything. It didn't take him very long to realize who they were, either. Though he had never seen a single picture of either of his parents before, how could these two be anything but?
Harry closed his eyes and took a slow, unsteady breath. He would not break down while at Hogwarts. He would not cry while he was out after bedtime. He especially would not cry while staring into an oddity of a mirror.
What seemed like hours passed before Harry's eyes began growing heavy. He wasn't sure what time it was, though it seemed to almost be growing light outside. Figuring he should wrench himself away before anyone woke up to find him missing, Harry grabbed his cloak, mouthed a goodbye to his parents, and swept out of the room before he could change his mind.
A few nights later, Tonks came along with him. He had told her all about the mirror during one of their reading sessions on Harry's chair in the common room. She had been intrigued, so he promised to show her. He wouldn't have said anything at all, had she not called him on seeming gloomier than usual.
"There it is." Harry whispered as they entered the room containing the mirror. "Go on, go look in... Mum and dad been there every time I've looked in..."
"You really saw your parents?" Tonks asked, keeping her voice low, as well.
"Yeah... they're always standing right behind me... and there are a lot of other people, too. I guess they're my relatives or something, since I saw a lot of people with hair like mine..." Harry said, draping the cloak over his right shoulder.
Tonks walked up to the mirror, gazing briefly up at the inscription before looking at her reflection. Like Harry, she seemed almost mesmerized at what greeted her.
"Can you seem them?" Harry asked, quickly.
"N-No, not really..." Tonks said after a moment.
Harry frowned. "What do you mean, 'not really'? What do you see, then?"
"I... Well, I see me... Only I'm older. And I had pink hair. And a cuter nose. ...Wow, puberty's gonna be nice to me. I think. I keep changing shapes. One minute I'm me...the next, I turn into somebody else, then back again." Tonks said slowly. "There's other stuff, too. I keep seeing myself curled up in a blanket somewhere, but I can't tell where... everything around me is really hazy."
Harry walked over and peered over Tonks' shoulder. But again, all he saw were his parents and other relations behind him. "...I still see my mum and dad." He said. "...I wonder what this mirror is. You seeing anything else, Tonks? ...Tonks?"
Tonks was blushing a rather bright shade of red, though Harry wasn't entirely sure why.
"Um... Tonks, you okay? Tonks? ...Oi, NYMMY."
Tonks turned and glared at Harry. "Don't call me Nymmy!"
"Couldn't think of any other way to get your attention." Harry said, eyebrows raised. "What were you blushing at?"
"Huh? ...I dunno what you're talkin' about. Wasn't blushing at anything." Tonks said, thickly.
"Yes you were. I saw you!"
"You're seein' things, then." Tonks said, pulling herself away from the mirror. "And I think I might have been, too..."
"You alright?" Harry asked.
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. Can we get back now? I'm gettin' kinda tired..."
Blinking, Harry nodded, pulling his cloak from his shoulder and wrapping it around the two of them.
The whole trip back to Ravenclaw Tower felt awkward to Harry. Tonks was keeping very quiet which, despite the need to keep from being heard, was still odd. Tonks had whispered questions to Harry for most of the trip to the mirror, after all. Why she had suddenly fallen silent was anybody's guess. Harry assumed it had something to do with what she had seen in the mirror's reflection, but he didn't want to seem rude by asking her.
"I'm gonna go back for a bit, alright?" Harry murmured once they had gotten back to Walter's portrait. "I... I just wanna be with mum and dad a bit longer..."
"Alright..." Tonks said in an equally-soft voice.
Harry pulled the cloak off to allow Tonks an easy exit. He also spoke the password to Walter, who swung open groggily. Tonks, however, was not walking through the pathway to the common room.
"Tonks?"
The girl looked up at Harry. For a few moments, the two stood and did
little more than stare at one another. Tonks broke eye contact first,
looking off with slightly-colored cheeks. She shook her head finally, murmuring, "I'm alright. Go on... just be careful, alright?"
"Alright... You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Tonks said. Before she turned to walk back in, however, she stepped forward and threw her arms around Harry. Confused, Harry was about to ask what she was doing... but was stopped when she moved her head up to kiss him quickly on the cheek. Her arms unwrapped from around his body then and she took a few steps back, still looking at him oddly. Tilting her head slightly, she turned and, without a single word of explanation, ran off and into the Tower, leaving behind one very confused young man.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I wish you two could talk." Harry said with a sigh as he gazed at his mother and father in the mirror after his return to the room. "I could really use some advice right now... I may not be the brightest student here, but I'd like to think I know my fair share. But I don't think I'll ever figure girls out..."
The whole way back, Harry had replayed what had just happened over and over in his mind. So lost in thought was he that he almost ran right into Percy Weasley, one of the Gryffindor prefects.
It had been a close call, and Harry needed as few of those as possible, so he tried keeping his thoughts away from Tonks until he was safely back into the mirror's room.
"Back again, I see..."
Harry jumped. He had been sitting on the floor, crosslegged, in front of the mirror. Mainly because he had become lost in thought again. He turned around to see a familiar old wizard walking silently across the room towards him.
"W-When did you get here?" Harry asked. "I...didn't hear you coming."
"Few would." Said one Albus Dumbledore, walking up to stand beside Harry, who had quickly gotten to his feet again. "So... I see that you, like countless others, have discovered the wonders that lie within the Mirror of Erised."
"Is that what it's called?" Harry said.
"Indeed it is. And, by now, I expect you've realized what it does?" Said Dumbledore, looking down his nose at Harry and smiling.
"I think I have... It shows me my family...but it showed Tonks older than she was. It can't be showing the future because... well.. all my family's dead." Harry said, eyes downcast.
"Ah, yes... Miss Tonks seemed to be quite interested in what she saw..." Dumbledore said, nodding slowly.
"You were here earlier?"
"Indeed I was..."
"But... But I didn't see you..."
"Not all of us require a cloak to become invisible." Said Dumbledore, a twinkle in his eyes. "Now... think, Harry - what is it that the Mirror shows us?"
"...I'm not entirely sure, to be honest." Harry said, sighing.
"Let me give you a hint then, if I may..." Dumbledore said, bringing
his arms around behind him as he looked towards the Mirror. "The
happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror like a normal
mirror. He would look into it, seeing nothing but his own reflection.
Do you see now?"
Harry's face screwed up slightly as he pulled himself into thought. "I... think so." He finally said. "It shows us what he really want, doesn't it?"
"It shows us," Dumbledore began, "nothing but the deepest desires of
our hearts. You have never known any family, outside of your aunt,
uncle, and cousin... so, naturally, the Mirror showed you various
members of your family...Including Lily and James, I believe?"
Harry nodded.
"You must be careful, Harry." Dumbledore said, putting a hand on Harry's back. "Men have wasted away in front of the Mirror...or driven mad, not knowing if what they see is real... or even possible. Tomorrow, I plan to move the Mirror elsewhere. And I only ask that you don't go searching for it again. Can you promise me that?"
Harry nodded. "I won't look for it again, Professor... ...and I'm sorry for being out so late..."
Dumbledore smiled, patting Harry's back lightly. "Quite alright. If memory serves, your father was prone to sneaking out when he wasn't supposed to, as well."
Harry turned to leave then, smiling faintly at the thought of his father sneaking around the castle like he had been doing. As he started to put on the cloak, however, a question entered his mind. Looking over his shoulder, he asked, "Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"I believe you just have. However, feel free to ask another."
"What do you see when you look into the Mirror?"
Dumbledore blinked. "I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "...Socks, sir?"
"One can never have too many pairs of socks." Said the headmaster, the twinkle in his eyes returning. "Now then... I believe it is well past midnight..."
Harry nodded. "Right... goodnight, sir."
"Goodnight, Harry."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Almost a week had passed ever since Harry's final visit to the Mirror of Erised. Ever since, Tonks had been rather quiet around him. Harry had asked Solieyu if he knew why she was acting so unlike herself, but the other boy wasn't sure, either.
Harry had since told Solieyu about the Mirror, as well, and apologized for not being able to take him to see for himself. Solieyu dismissed the idea with a wave, saying that it wouldn't have done him any good, anyway.
The Charms class that Harry was currently in only had a few minutes left, and Professor Flitwick usually let his students use these last few minutes however they wished, so long as it wasn't disruptive. Though he hadn't voiced it much, Harry liked the little wizard that was head of his house. Harry had often seen Flitwick pop into the common room from time to time, sitting down to talk with various students about this and that. He had even seen the man comfort a student of two every so often.
He was certainly the nicest of the four house heads. Professor McGonagall seemed almost like a vulture to Harry, at times. Professor Sprout, while nice enough, didn't seem very easy to approach. And it was no secret that Harry had no kind words for Professor Snape.
No progress had been made in finding out who Nicolas Flamel was, either. Harry and Solieyu often retreated to the library on their own, since Tonks had gotten so quiet lately. Harry was beginning to wonder whether he really should try asking Professor Flitwick if he could look into the restricted section. He had pondered sneaking in under his invisibility cloak, but it seemed almost too easy. Harry wasn't sure if there were any warning spells on the entrance to the off-limits area, but he wasn't willing to risk getting zapped to find out.
"--rry? Hey, Harry...come on, snap out of it."
Harry blinked. "Huh?"
Solieyu had been shaking him, apparently, to try and get his attention. They were the only two left in class - everyone else had filed out moments earlier. "I said it's time to go. Shall we head back to the library?"
Harry collected his quill and parchment and shook his head, getting to his feet. "It's no use. I think I may as well ask Professor Flitwick if I can get a pass for the restricted section. I doubt it would work, but..."
"Yes, it would seem we're running out of books to check." Solieyu said as the two strolled out of the Charms classroom. "Down to lunch, then?"
"Sounds good to m--" Harry cut himself off, frowning.
"...Something wrong?"
"I thought I just heard something." Harry said.
"From where?" Solieyu asked, looking around and frowning.
"Down that way..." Harry said, pointing off down an empty corridor. "Come on... I think it might have been someone yelling."
The two boys walked quickly down the hallway, listening close for any further noise. None came, but the two still decided to investigate a bit better. For all they knew, it could have been Peeves flinging water balloons at students again. He liked doing that, after all.
It wasn't until Harry saw Solieyu tense visibly that he knew something wasn't right. His breathing shallow now, Harry murmured, "What is it?"
"I know what's going on." Solieyu said, something odd in his voice. "...Third room coming up on the left. Quickly!"
Solieyu took off running. Harry, who had gotten used to his friend's
odd ability to seemingly know what was going on, took off after him.
Solieyu got to the door to the room first, slinging it open with
enough for to make it 'BANG!' against the wall.
'For someone who looks so tired all the time,' Harry thought as he hurried to catch up, 'he's sure fast!'
Solieyu had already charged into the room and by the time Harry skidded to a halt in the doorway, he knew why. A beam of orange light had just sailed out, barely missing his right ear by inches. Drawing his wand, Harry looked into the room and saw two things.
One, Tonks was leaning up against the far wall. One of her eyes looked really puffy and the area surrounding it was all dark. She was also holding her left elbow with her right hand. Harry could see a small trickle of blood making its way down her arm.
Two, Harry saw Solieyu slinging spells at the person who had apparently hurt Tonks - Ron Weasley.
Harry's eyes went back and forth between Ron and Tonks. Tonks looked as if she had been crying and Ron... well, Ron was too busy avoiding being cursed by Solieyu, who looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him before.
He walked into the room slowly, completely ignoring the fight going on as he made his way over to Tonks. Reaching out, he placed a hand on the arm that wasn't injured. She looked up at him through her good eye. Her breathing was erratic, he noticed, and she seemed rather cold.
Harry's eyes moved from Tonks to Ron, then back again. She nodded once, then looked down at the floor.
"Leon."
Harry's voice caused the impromptu duel to cease, a beam of grey light hitting the ceiling and causing it to grow boils. Ron and Solieyu both looked at Harry, though they kept one eye on each other, as well.
"Take Tonks to the hospital wing, then go get a professor." Harry said.
"What about HIM?" Solieyu growled, jerking a thumb in Ron's direction.
"I'll handle him." Harry said.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Hurry."
Solieyu backed away from Ron, heading for Harry and Tonks, though he
kept his wand trained on the redhead. Once he had reached them,
Solieyu murmured, "Can you walk?"
Tonks nodded.
"Come on, then. Harry... be careful."
"I will. Just move as quick as you can." Harry said, still looking at Ron.
"Right. Come on, Tonks. Let's go get you fixed up." Solieyu said, taking one of Tonks' hands and tugging her from the room.
Once they were gone, Harry raised his own wand at Ron. Advancing slowly, Harry's voice growled out, "What on earth is wrong with you, Weasley?"
Ron snapped out of his trance instantly, raising his wand, as well. "Nothing's wrong with me! It's you that's got something wrong with him!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yeah, I bet you don't!" Ron snapped. "You never know what's going on, do you?! You never look around and see what you've got!"
"Either tell me what you're talking about or start fighting." Harry said.
Harry continued approaching Ron, who was backing away slowly. The two were moving in a slow circle around the room, neither lowering their wands an inch.
"Open your eyes! You're rich! You're famous! But you still act like you're nothing special! What's wrong with you?! Haven't you noticed how everyone treats you?!" Ron yelled.
"I never asked for any of it." Harry said, voice cold.
"Yeah, sure. You never wanted any of it. You've got it all and you act like it's nothing special! You act like you're normal!"
"I am normal!" Harry hissed.
"You are not! You're The Bot Who Lived! You're better than--"
"I'm not better than anyone... except maybe you. And Malfoy. And
Snape." Harry growled. "I don't know what your problem is, Weasley,
but you just made a very big mistake..."
"If I can get rid of your bloody girlfriend, then maybe--"
"She isn't my girlfriend! And 'then maybe' what? Are you still going on about wanting to be around me all the time?! When are you going to accept the fact that I do not - and doubtfully will ever - be your friend?!" Harry yelled. "If you think hurting my best friend is the proper way to get a guy to be your mate, then you've got a really skewed view of reality..."
"This from you." Ron scoffed.
"I'm not going to warn you anymore. I don't know why you can't just be like your brothers! I like them! Mainly because they're funny and haven't tried attacking my friends!" Harry said.
Ron narrowed his eyes. "Yeah... you like them, but not me. I'm one of your biggest fans! Don't you understand? Most people would give their teeth to hang around with Harry Potter!"
"Don't you ever attack one of my friends again, Weasley..." Harry said, warningly. "I'm sure you've heard what I did to Malfoy back in Diagon Alley... I can do a lot worse now."
"You wouldn't hit me." Ron said.
Harry smiled grimly. "You think not? Would you prefer another spider? How about a dozen or two? Maybe I should ask the twins to magic you to your bed like glue and let a few dozen loose on you! I don't know what it is with you and girls, Weasley, but it's grown old. Since you can't seem to learn how to respect other people, I guess you'll need to have it beaten into you!"
Without another word, Harry fired off a spell at Ron. It was only a simple disarming spell, but the force behind it made Ron fall over onto his butt. His wand, which had flown up into the air, came crashing down on top of his head.
Ron's face went red.
"Why did you attack her?" Harry asked, his voice darkly quiet. "Why did you hurt Tonks?"
Ron didn't reply, but slowly got to his feet, aiming for Harry again. "Ever since I could read about you, I've wanted to know you. But now that I do..."
"Don't you dare say you know me. You don't know anything about me! If you had acted normal, we might have been able to be friends. But badmouthing Hermione and physically attacking Tonks? There's no way I'll ever forgive you for that. You might as well go and sit next to Malfoy and all of the other Slytherins! You're no better than they are!" Harry growled, charging at Ron. Wands and magic be damned - Harry wanted to hit Ron like Ron had hit Tonks. Harry wanted the redhead to feel what he had made Tonks feel.
Thankfully, the brawl had only begun when the Solieyu came flying back in, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick in his wake. For the next minute or so, the three tried prying Harry and Ron apart.
When they had, Harry was sporting a few bruises and an aching jaw. Whatever else might be said for the boy, Ron Weasley had a mean left hook.
Ron was looking much better, as Harry had never really learned how to fight - magically or physically. But he had given it his best shot, certainly, and managed to get Ron's right eye rather puffy and black.
"What is going on?" McGonagall demanded as soon as Solieyu had led Harry to the far corner of the room.
"He attacked Tonks." Solieyu said, his voice calm once more. If it hadn't been for the fire in his eyes, Harry didn't think he would even have known the boy was mad. "Physically. I helped her to the hospital wing before I found you two."
Professor Flitwick squeaked. "Is she alright?"
"Define 'alright.'" Harry growled, glaring daggers at Ron, who was doing the same.
"I'm not sure. Once I got her there, I turned and immediately headed for the teacher's lounge." Solieyu said. "But as it seems like we'll all be paying Madam Pomfrey a visit, we can see for ourselves..."
"Indeed we can, Mr. Reinhardt." McGonagall said, looking down at Ron. "What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Weasley?"
Ron, wisely or not, chose to remain silent.
The group was led to the hospital wing by the pair of professors. As Harry entered, his eyes scanned the room. Finding Tonks, he immediately rushed over to her. She gasped when she saw his condition, blinking her wide eyes. "Harry! You didn't..."
"I did." Harry said, glaring at Ron as McGonagall led him further into
the room. "I don't think I would have won an all-out fight against him.
His punches hurt."
"Yeah, they do..." Tonks said, voice going quiet.
Harry and Solieyu exchanged a dark glance.
"Tonks... are you alright? What happened, exactly?" Harry asked, reaching out to once again put a hand on Tonks' uninjured arm.
"Well, I was going to go for a walk after Charms... I've had a lot on my mind since you took me to see that mirror. He blindsided me as I was comin' around a corner an' knocked me out, cold. That's where the black eye came from. I guess he pulled me into a room after that. Took my wand, too..."
"I think Flitwick grabbed it." Solieyu said.
Tonks nodded, then continued, "Anyway... once I came to, I got up pretty quickly and asked what he wanted. So he swaggered up, acting all full of himself, and grabbed my arm. Tight, too... his nails dug into my skin a bit. I think he twisted something, but... it looks worse than it feels, really..."
"That doesn't excuse what he did." Harry growled. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."
"As am I... if I had heard you yell when Harry had..." Solieyu said, looking off.
"Oi, don't you two go blaming yourselves. I should have been able to handle him on my own. If the fathead hadn't knocked me out, then stolen my wand, I wouldn't have bats flying out his arse!" Tonks said, flailing with her good arm.
"Language, Miss Tonks." Came a voice from the foot of the bed. Looking over, the trio saw Dumbledore smiling back at him, though he did look a bit older than usual. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've gotten in worse fights than that before." Tonks said, puffing herself up a bit.
Dumbledore nodded, then looked off in the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office. "Well, continue your conversation. I'm afraid I'm here on rather unpleasant business."
"What's going to happen to him?" Solieyu asked.
"Mr. Weasley? I believe a good, long talk with his mother will help quite a bit. Molly Weasley is... shall we say... good with words." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had returned. Briefly, Harry wondered how he got them to do that.
"He ought to be kicked out." Harry grumbled.
"Ah, the talk of a brief suspension may, indeed, come up. After the trouble he has caused concerning Hermione Granger, he had been warned by more than one of the staff to keep his temper under control. I cannot turn a blind eye to such an unmitigated attack, however. Now, if I may be excused, I believe Poppy is waiting for me..." Dumbledore said, nodding to Tonks once before turning and gliding to the other end of the room.
"Hope he gets expelled, the little weasel." Harry growled, wincing as his jaw let out a twinge of pain. "Ow."
"You alright?" Tonks asked. "You look kinda battered."
"Thanks a lot." Harry grumbled.
"You do look rather...disheveled." Solieyu said.
"Jaw hurts." Harry said, bringing a hand up to rub at it. "Felt like he slammed my face into a wall..."
"Should have stuck to magic." Tonks said. "You probably know more spells than him, anyway."
"Probably." Harry agreed.
Tonks reached over with her good arm and lightly ran her fingers over the bruise that was starting to form on Harry's chin. Harry winced slightly at the touch, but didn't pull back. Tonks' hand was cold and it felt good against his aching skin.
"Thanks, you two." She said after a moment.
"We wouldn't be very good friends if we had just left you." Harry said. "And how are you doing that?"
Tonks blinked. "Doing what?"
"Not hurting my chin! Every time I tried feeling around, it hurt like the devil..."
"Magic?" Tonks offered.
Harry and Solieyu groaned.
"Hey, Leon?" Harry said a few minutes later. "Could you run ahead and let Professor Sprout know that we probably won't be there today?"
"Sure. Should I ask her for the day's homework?"
"If you have to." Tonks said, making a face.
Solieyu chuckled. "Alright. You two concentrate on healing. I'll go deal with the killer plants."
With that, the long-haired boy turned and rushed from the room. The next class began in under five minutes, which would give him just enough time to make it, fully prepared.
Watching him leave, Harry made sure Solieyu was out of the room before he murmured, "Did you see the way he took on Ron?"
"Yeah... he looked mad."
"You should have seen how I looked." Harry said. "I hope this doesn't become a habit..."
"What?"
"People saying or doing things to you that cause me to jump in to fight." Harry said, rubbing his chin again. "Oww... First Malfoy, now Weasley. If he doesn't get kicked out of the school, I'm officially going to ask the twins to pull off some of the more disgusting pranks on the list... it's no more than he deserves."
"My hero." Tonks said, rolling her eyes. Grinning, she leaned back and yawned. "At least we get to miss Herbology today. It wasn't a total loss."
"Yeah...but still." Harry said, looking off. "Tonks... what's been bothering you? I mean, I can understand if you don't want to tell me, I just want to know everything's alright. I've... well, I've been worried, I suppose."
"It's okay, Harry." Tonks said. "I just... saw some things in the Mirror that I wasn't expecting, that's all. Didn't you need some time alone to gather yourself after you saw all of those relatives of yours?"
"I guess so... Sorry."
"For what?"
"I dunno. Being so worried?"
"If you don't know what you're apologizing for, don't apologize, you silly sod." Tonks said, smiling. "Here, want me to scoot over? You look in worse shape than I am."
"Hey, he flipped me over and I wasn't expecting it. Castles floors tend to be hard, see..." Harry began, earning a light swat on the arm.
Eventually, Tonks convinced Harry to sit next to her. Harry groaned
as he laid out straight for a moment, his back screaming out in pain.
"I hate that..." He muttered.
Half an hour later, muffled screaming could be heard from Madam Pomfrey's office. The voice was unfamiliar and female, so Harry could only assume it was the voice of the Weasley childrens' mother.
"I think I like her." Tonks said. "She's been goin' on for awhile without lowering her voice. That's impressive."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Hey, Tonks?"
"Hm?"
"I didn't just see my parents in the Mirror..."
"Oh? What else didja see?"
Harry leaned back and shut his eyes. "I saw the two of us. Older. Not very much - a couple years ahead of where we are now, I guess. You looked really different. I...still looked kinda like I do now. We were leaning against each other or something. We looked pretty happy... I wonder if that's a good sign of things to come. For that matter, I wonder if that's a sign that we'll survive Snape for a few more years."
Tonks giggled. "Ah, we can handle him. Maybe we should see if the twins could de-grease his hair for a day or two. I've always wondered why he doesn't just magic it clean..."
"Maybe he likes being a greasy git. I'd rather not think about Snape too much - it hurts my brain." Harry murmured.
"Falling asleep?" Tonks asked.
Harry shook his head. But it wasn't very much. Though he tried keeping up with the conversation, he eventually just ended up nodding or shaking his head, no matter what was being said to him. Just before drifting off, Harry vaguely remembered seeing Ron, McGonagall, Flitwick, Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and another woman walking back over. But he couldn't focus on anyone and any questions that may have been directed at them went unanswered.
It had been a very hectic and odd week. He had gotten very little sleep. His body was simply too tired to stay awake any longer. As he drifted off, he couldn't help but recall the image of an older version of himself, one arm around an older version of Tonks' waist.
And in the back of his mind, right as he lost consciousness, something clicked into place. It was something that had been hiding from him for quite awhile now. Something that he had been missing all along. Though he wouldn't realize it until later, it was the answer he had spent days in the library searching for. As his body gave in, Harry realized where he had seen Nicolas Flamel's name before.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Yeah, I'll probably hate the conflict scene once I get a few books down the line. But I wanted some final fight between Harry and Ron. As my AU Ron is a real slimeball, I wanted him to do something to get people to hate him. Simply badmouthing Hermione seemed a bit light in comparison to a black eye and twisted arm. As for Ron's fate and whether or not Harry will meet Mrs. Weasley in the next chapter is anyone's guess. I have a few ideas, but I tend to fly by the seat of my pants, so who knows.
And the conflict also gave me a chance to introduce another side of Leon that we haven't seen before. He's no slouch at fighting, even if he doesn't like it. Just like Harry, he has a soft spot for defending his friends. Unlike Harry, however, he's a bit BETTER at doing so.
Yeah, Harry didn't fare so well, did he? I've said from the start that I don't want an omnipotent Boy Who Lived in my fic. Even in the later years, I'll keep away from it. So a mild fist-fight between two young boys seemed just about right.
So, in summary - Ron's an ass, the Mirror is moved, Harry knows who Flame is, and we're rounding into the final stretch. Book 1 has five or six chapters, at best, remaining, I figure.
So what happens next? You'll just have to come back and check it out for yourselves, won't you?