Harry Potter and the Wands of Invention

by Sarily

After the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, some exciting things are happening to Harry...but will it be enough to help him stand up to his destiny?

10. Questions and Answers

Chapter 10:  Questions and Answers

Harry awoke with a gasp.  Hurling himself out of bed, he stared uneasily into the darkness, unsure what he was searching for, but feeling a familiar panic overtake him.  What was it that had woken him so abruptly?  Harry wracked his brains, trying to remember.  Then, like a flash of lightening, the memory came to him: A hiss in the darkness!  Frantically, Harry surveyed the room, but as his eyes came to rest on the sleeping form of Ron, he realized his mistake.  Ron's usual snore had evidently mutated into a slow, hissing breath, as the red-headed boy lay sprawled awkwardly across the bed.  Harry sighed with relief, faintly annoyed with himself for his panic. 

Stepping to the window, he pulled the curtains open in a weak attempt to chase away his unease along with the darkness of the room.  Unfortunately, the early morning didn't offer much light; rain fell in a slow, steady drizzle and clouds pushed grumpily across the pale sun.  Sighing heavily, Harry turned to his trunk and pulled on some clothes.

Unexpectedly, his eye fell on a few crumpled papers that stuck out of his jeans from yesterday; his O.W.L.s.   He reached for the pages automatically.  If Dumbledore was making it impossible for him to avoid school, he might as well see what N.E.W.T. classes he was enrolled in.  Harry had to admit to himself that he was very eager to find out what his scores were, even if he wasn't thrilled at the prospect of attending the classes.

He unfolded the pages carefully, selected the one on top, and smoothed it out on his lap. 

To Mr. Harry Potter,

We are pleased to present you with your Ordinary Wizarding Level examination results.  Your scores are based on your performance in both written and practical exams in all subjects addressed in your training.  Your results are as follows:

"Outstanding" marks were earned in:

Care of Magical Creatures

Charms

Defense Against The Dark Arts

Herbology

Potions

Transfiguration

"Exceeds Expectations" marks were earned in:

No subjects

"Acceptable" marks were earned in:

Astronomy

Divination

"Poor" marks were earned in:

History of Magic

If there are any questions regarding the Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations or scoring, please feel free to contact the Department of Magical Education. 

Best Wishes,

Griselda Marchbanks, Head

Wizarding Examinations Authority

With a sense of shock, Harry frowned down at the page.  Six "Outstandings"?  Six N.E.W.T. classes?  His mind whirled at the thought of all the studying—all the homework—that would accompany those classes.  And how in Merlin's name had he managed to get an "Outstanding" potions score?  Harry was numb with disbelief.  He sat silently, unmoving, but he was startled a moment later by the sound of rustling bedclothes.

"'Morning, mate," Ron yawned. 

"Good morning," Harry replied tonelessly, forcing himself to look up at his friend.  Ron seemed to jolt completely awake as he caught the look on Harry's face.

"What's up?  What's wrong….ah…"  Realization dawned on Ron's face as Harry passed him the parchment.  "Blimey, Harry!  You really did get six O's!  Hermione will be pleased—wait!  Potions?  Harry, how….?"  Ron's eyes were wide with surprise, but Harry only shrugged in return.  "Oh, well!  I guess you get to hang out with Snape for a bit longer.  I can't say I envy you, but six O's is good.  I only got four.  Mum was alright though, 'cause I got into six N.E.W.T. subjects, not to mention Muggle Studies."

"Muggle Studies?"  Harry asked, only vaguely remembering his conversation with Hermione from the day before.

"Yeah.  It's an elective, but I didn't have much choice.  I mean, it was that or Magical Arts and Music, the rest looked dreadful!"

"Wait!  I thought Hermione was doing Healing or something?"

"Right!  Me take Magical Healing!  The fact that Hermione's taking it should be a good indication of how difficult it is.  No way.  Muggle Studies for me.  It should be a breeze, considering my two best friends grew up as muggles, and my own dad thinks he is one!"  Ron grinned and jumped out of bed, looking at Harry, "What are you gonna choose?"

"Er…I don't know.  Where did you look to see the choices?" 

Ron gave raised an eyebrow and answered with a smirk, "You could try your Hogwart's letter."  Harry felt like an idiot.

"Oh, right," he mumbled, reaching for the remaining letters.  Immediately, he recognized the rich emerald calligraphy of his Hogwarts letter.

Dear Mr.Potter,

It is with the utmost pride that we welcome to back to another year of study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  In light of your achievements on the Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations, you are been accepted into the following N.E.W.T. level courses:

Care of Magical Creatures

Charms

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Herbology

Potions

Transfiguration

All students are asked to enroll in at least five courses.  Those students who are not eligible for five N.E.W.T. level courses are encouraged to choose from the following list of elective subjects:

Accelerated Muggle Studies for Beginners

Foreign Policy in the Magical World

Individualized History of Magic

International Studies and Languages

Introduction to Magical Healing

Magical Arts and Music

Students may elect to enroll in more than five courses, and in fact, are strongly encouraged to plan a well-rounded curriculum.  The enclosed booklist includes those needed for each elective choice.  If you have any questions or concerns, please notify the staff prior to August 31st.

Harry didn't bother to finish the letter, which went on to say exactly when and where he could catch the train to get back to school.  Instead, Harry looked back to the list of elective courses.  Was he expected to choose one of those?  He crumpled the parchment and threw it aside in disgust, earning himself a surprised look from Ron, and a string of mumbled complaints from Fred, who had been woken by when the ball of heavy parchment hit his nose.

"Oi! Harry!  You wanna watch what you're doing?  What is this anyw—Merlin, Harry!  Eight O.W.L.s?  Six O's?"  Fred had unwrinkled the parchment and sat staring at it, with a look of distaste.  "Hey, George!"  Fred flung a pillow at the pile of blankets in the next bed.

"Hmm?  What the—" George pulled the blankets away from his face, only to be attacked by the parchment as Fred magicked it over to him.  For a moment, George struggled with the page, as it clung to his face determinedly, but he soon gave up and went straight for the source, reaching out with surprising accuracy and snatching Fred's wand from him.  With a little flick, he had removed the letter and began to read, shaking his head sadly, "Gosh, Harry, I would've never expected this from you…after all we've done for you?  You turn around and get six O's?  What next?  Head bo—Wait!  Quidditch captain?  Brilliant, Harry!"  The next second, Harry, Ron, and Fred were all huddled around the page. 

"Alright!  This'll be terrific, mate!"  Ron's grin looked ready to overtake his face as he turned to Harry. 

Shrugging, Harry answered, "I guess this means my Quidditch ban is off…"  He took the parchment back quietly and was about to throw it away when, suddenly, it was pulled out of his hand.  He turned to see Hermione as she settled on his bed, looking intently at the letter she had just grabbed.

"I guess this means you'll be coming back to school, as well," she stated happily.

"Well he'd have a hard time avoiding it wouldn't he?" pointed out a confused looking Fred, "What with Dumbledore's D.A. business and now Quidditch captain…"  He trailed off as Ron and Hermione turned to Harry with eager, questioning looks.

"What about D.A.?"

"So that's what Dumbledore wanted to talk to you about last night?  What took so long?  I fell asleep waiting for you!"

Harry frowned at Fred and George, who were obviously hurrying to get out of the room.  Fred was hastily pulling his pants and T-shirt on over his PJ's, trying to avoid eye contact with Harry, and George merely gave a nervous grin as he shuffled out of the room, still cocooned in his comforter.  "See you at breakfast, then!" they called, as they disappeared down the hall, leaving Harry alone with his two friends, who were still staring at him expectantly.

"So…Dumbledore wants me to run D.A. practices again…" he muttered weakly, hoping his friends would be satisfied with the answer.  Unfortunately, both Ron and Hermione were looking for a bit more detail.

"What?  He's hired another bloody awful Defense teacher?"

"What do the twins know about this?"  Hermione was looking at him suspiciously, and Harry realized he had some explaining to do.  Sooner or later they would find out that he'd become a member of the Order, and they were bound to notice to change when D.A. became an official defensive plan.  So, taking a deep breath, told them about joining the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's request.

"Basically," Harry finished, "He wants students to be prepared to protect themselves."

"But how is it that they let you join the Order?" Hermione asked, "I mean, there are reasons why underage wizards can't join.  Apparation, for one." 

"Probably 'cause he's The Spectacular Harry Potter, no?"  Ron sounded only slightly bitter.

"Well then, why didn't he let you join last year?  Frankly, it doesn't make any sense.  Why would he take you into the Order just to tell you to continue the D.A.? We do have a Defense Against the Darks Arts teacher, after all,"  Hermione reasoned, "No, there has to be some reason, otherwise, why not let us join too?"

"True.  After all, we've done a lot too…and we were on D.A. last year…"  Ron and Hermione both looked up to Harry, who was trying hard to look innocent and failing.  Hermione's words, along with something Fred had said made him think:  Why had Dumbledore asked him to lead D.A.?  It wasn't as if someone else couldn't do it, the teacher for instance.  Harry was beginning have a sneaky suspicion that Dumbledore was trying his best to make sure him came back to Hogwarts.  After all, only last year, Dumbledore had purposely avoided giving Harry the responsibility of being a prefect; why, this year, was Harry suddenly capable of being captain of Quidditch and running D.A.?

"Harry," Hermione said shrilly, "What is this all about?  Why won't you tell us?"

"You could at least tell us what happened in the meeting," Ron muttered, "You of all people should realize that it doesn't help anyone to keep the truth from them."  He was right, Harry had to admit.  Though he was loathe to tell Ron and Hermione about Nagini's mission, he knew that keeping it from them would not protect them from the danger.  Then again, telling Ron and Hermione about Voldemort's plans would almost certainly mean telling them about the prophecy, and he was just not ready for that. 

"Look," Harry said, looking Ron straight in the eye, "I'll tell you, I just…why don't we go eat first?  It's gonna take awhile once I get started."  Without waiting for an answer, Harry stalked out of the room, trying not think of how his friends would react, and wishing they'd just forget about it.

By the time Harry reached the kitchen, Ron and Hermione were right behind him.  Together, they pushed through the door and into what seemed to be a war zone.  Pots and pans were flying everywhere, as the twins stood on the counters, throwing anything they could reach at what looked like a blender gone berserk. Ginny was taking cover behind a livid Mrs. Weasley.  The poor woman was yelling dangerously at the twins, as she tried in vain to avoid the splatters of pancake batter that flew in every direction.  It took Hermione only a few seconds to size up the situation.

"What did you two do to that blender?" she demanded.  Then, braving the storm of kitchenware and batter, she stepped forward and pressed a small button on the top of the machine.  The batter stopped flying at once as the two whisks stopped rotating, but the machine itself continued to spin around like a top.

"We only set a little mixing charm on it!   Bloody muggle contraption!"  Fred seemed to take the blender's behavior personally, and gave it one last whack with the frying pan.  Hermione was about to explain how the blender worked without magic, but Mrs. Weasley had started shouting again after the few moments of relieved silence.

"The two of you!" she raged, 'This is the last time I let you in the kitchen!  You could've killed someone!"  The twins opened their mouths to protest, but were stopped as their mother began pushing them towards the fireplace.  "Out!  You can find breakfast in Diagon Alley!  You're going back to that ridiculous store if I have to escort you myself!  Oh!  Harry, dear!  While I'm there I can pick up your books.  Do you have your list?"  Harry was about to say 'No' when Hermione spoke up.

"Here's his school letter, Mrs. Weasley," she said sweetly, handing the sad looking letter to the woman.

"Thank you, dear!  Now have you chosen an elective subject, Harry?"  Harry shrugged but, once again, Hermione piped up.

"He's doing Magical Healing with me."  Harry could do nothing but gape at his friend, as Mrs. Weaseley nodded happily and reached for the floo powder.

"Very good!" she said.  Then, throwing some powder into the flames, she shouted 'Diagon Alley!' twice, each time pushing a twin into the flames.  Finally, she was preparing to follow them, but she turned to Ginny, saying, "Ginny, why don't you magic this mess away and finish the breakfast, please."

"But, Mum, I can't do magic!  I'm still underage!"

"Oh don't worry about that!" Mrs. Weasley looked at her like she was being ridiculous, "The Ministry can't detect any magic in this house!"  And without another word, she stepped forward and flooed herself to Diagon Alley.   Ginny, Ron, and Harry turned to each other, looks of surprise slowly melting into delighted, scheming looks. 

"Harry," Ron said seriously, "Your parents' house is awesome!"  Herminone, however, sighed.

"Ron, it's not as if you can do anything with magic anyway, aside from helping cook breakfast."

"Why not?  I can think of plenty of things!  We could figure out what the Order is up to…make ourselves invisible and sit in or something.  Though, Harry here should just tell us, as he's—oof!"  Hermione had given him a swift jab in the ribs and looked quickly at Ginny, who fortunately didn't seem to notice.

"Really, Ron," Hermione said, "D'you think all the adults around here are just going to ignore it if we start using magic?  Anyway, we'll be back at school in a few days, I really don't see the point…"  Harry, however, had just thought of something.

"You know," he started quietly, "I can think of a few things too."  His friends looked at him curiously, and found him gazing at Hedwig, who was resting happily on top of her cage.  Harry was thinking, of course, of his animagi form.  If he could do magic, that meant he could practice transforming!  Not to mention the fact that now he could get down to business and start learning other spells too; his weeks of reading hadn't been a total waste—he'd discovered a lot of very useful little spells and guards. 

"Harry," Hermione said slowly, dragging him away from his thoughts, "What are you planning?  Oh! I knew this would happen!"

"Knew?  Are you telling me you've known all along that we could do magic here?" Ron looked as if his eyebrows might jump off his face.

"Well, I asked!  After all, it seems pretty obvious that there'd be a concealment charm along with all the other protections."

"And you didn't tell us?  Hermione!  Mum made me clean and organize my whole trunk!"  As Ron continued to argue with Hermione, Harry decided to get out of their way and went to help Ginny with breakfast.  In no time at all, Harry found himself frying eggs and bacon, while Ginny stood beside him, buttering toast and making tea.   Ten minutes later, the two of them carried plates and serving dishes over to the table, where Ron and Hermione were still bickering.  Ginny grinned at Harry and cleared her throat.

The two arguers looked up in surprise and immediately stopped talking as the food was set on the table and the meal was finished in relative peace.  Though there was one small argument when Hermione scolded Harry halfheartedly, insisting that his eggs and bacon were too good to have been cooked without magic, it was resolved immediately when Ginny did a quick priori incantatum spell.  A faint, fluttering image slipped from the tip of his wand, showing that the last spell he'd done had nothing to do with cooking.  Hermione shrugged and admitted defeat, but she had a strange look on her face as she turned back to her plate.  After eating, Ginny followed the other three up to the boys' room, where Hermione promptly sat by the fire and waited for Harry to speak.  Ron hesitated, looking at from Harry to Ginny worriedly.

"Er…Gin, we sort of need to talk…"  Ginny looked severely annoyed as she turned to leave, but Harry stood in her way.

"Wait," he said, looking to Ron, "You said it yourself; it's not going to help her to keep secrets from her.  You might as well stay and hear this, Ginny. It'll affect you too."  Ron shrugged and took a seat next to Hermione.  As Ginny found a seat, Harry tried to gather his thoughts, suddenly realizing that he had no idea where to begin.  He was about to try, when Hermione spoke up.

"Wait, Harry.  Before you go into this business, I want to know something: What was that spell that just came out of your wand?"  Harry looked at her, confused.

"I don't know…what's wrong?"

"Well, I could have sworn that the last spell you did before holidays was when you stupefied Malfoy, and whatever just came out of your wand was not stupefying." 

'Trust Hermione to remember every spell I've ever cast!' Harry thought, but he could only shrug at Hermione's words.   

"It had wings, Harry!"  At once, Harry's eyes grew wide with understanding, and he grinned.

'Ahh!" He said quietly, "I forgot…and I was just thinking about it too!"  He spoke to himself, but the other three watched curiously as he pulled out his wand.  The last spell he had done was for the animagus transformation, and Harry figured, the best way to explain that was to show them.  So, without hesistation, he began the wand movements and focused on transforming.  A moment later, he was lofting gracefully out of his chair and settling on the mantle of the huge fireplace.

It felt wonderful to fly!  Like broomstick flying, it seemed that he left all his worries on the ground when he took off, and the experience was doubly enjoyable when he got to peer down at the shocked faces of his friends. 

"Wow!" Ron gaped, "I never would've guessed…you look just like…" he gave up talking and, to Harry's chagrin, began laughing.  Harry turned to look at the girls, and though Hermione's face was still set in disbelief, it seemed Ginny was just as amused as Ron.  Harry gave Ron what he hoped was a questioning face, but Ron only laughed harder.  What was wrong? 

"Don't look so worried!"  Ginny chided him, "It's just that, you look awfully like…yourself!  I mean, your hair…and your eyes…"  Ron nodded, trying to catch his breath.

"Not to mention, you're scrawny as anything!"  Harry couldn't help but ruffle at this comment.  Scrawny!  He tried to picture himself as a human…he wasn't scrawny!  Maybe a bit slim, but—

"Ouch!"  Harry's head hit the ceiling sharply as he inadvertently returned to human form, standing precariously on the mantle.  Then, before he could recover from the bump to his head, he found himself pitching forwards off the mantle, which he suddenly realized was quite high, now that he was on top of it.  As he stumbled hopelessly off of the ledge, Harry wished fleetingly that he was still in the owl form, but when he instinctively threw out his hands to catch himself, he saw to his surprise that he had wings!  In a split second, he had spread his wings wide, and instead of crashing painfully to the floor, he stopped abruptly about two feet from the carpet and eased himself the rest of the way down.  Feeling rather impressed with himself, her looked around at his friends again.  Ginny snickered uncontrollably, while Ron gasped, 'You should've seen your face!', but Hermione looked ready to explode with questions.

"Harry!  I can't believe—all this time—how long?  How could you not tell us you were becoming an animagus?"  She strode towards him dangerously.  Harry backed away from her, getting somewhat closer to the roaring fire than he would have preferred.  He opened his mouth to protest, but then decided he'd better return to human form first.  Scooting sideways, Harry angled carefully away from both Hermione and the fireplace before he transformed.

"Wait!  Please!  Be quiet!" Harry begged, looking anxiously around the room, "It's supposed to be kept secret!"

"I'll say!"  Hermione spat, but before she could go on, Harry continued.

"Listen!  I didn't tell you because I only just became one about a month ago—"

"Oh, we both know that's impossible!  It would take years to make the potion and—"

"And Snape made the potion for me; he did spend a year on it.  McGonagall said—"

"Snape?" Ron exclaimed, looking disgusted, "Not him again?"  Harry shrugged.

"Anyway," Hermione continued, "What about Professor McGonagall?"

"She's the one who showed me how to transform and brought the potion to me.'

"And this was when?"

"Nearly a month ago…end of July."

"Harry, you can't have learned to transform in just one month!  That's even more complicated than the potion!"

"What do you mean?  It took about two minutes for her to show me."

"Two minutes!"

"Hermione," Ron said, grinning, "Why not just ask McGonagall.  She'll tell you."  Harry nodded.

"I will," Hermione said pointedly, "But for now, d'you want to tell us WHY IN THE WORLD you felt the need to become an OWL?"  Harry sighed and answered in a markedly quiet voice.

"I didn't 'feel the need,' Hermione.  Dumbledore suggested it…as a protection.  Nobody's supposed to know, incase I need to, you know, disguise myself— which is why I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it down a bit!"

"Protection?"  Now Ron's face was beginning to look just as suspicious as Hermione's.  What is this all about?  First joining the Order and D.A., then you're an animagus? What is the deal?"  He crossed his arms stubbornly and Hermione plopped down next to him on the couch, giving Harry a piercing look.  Ginny's eyes were wide and questioning as she looked up at Harry. 

With his shoulders slumped in defeat, Harry collapsed into an open chair.  As he looked around at his three friends, Harry understood that if he was to tell them anything, he'd have to tell them everything, and so, with a growing sense of fear, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Before I tell you anything, I want you to think about whether you really want to hear this; I know I wish I'd never been told…"

"Of course we want to hear it!" Hermione assured him.  Ginny gave a silent nod.

"Alright, then," Harry sighed, "I suppose there is a lot to tell you, but it all relates to one thing, so I'll explain that first."  Harry couldn't believe he was actually discussing this!  It was the first time he'd talked to anyone about the prophecy, apart from Dumbledore, and it felt strange.  In a creepy way, he felt as if he was sharing the news of his own death, but at the same time, a terrible sense of guilt and despair seemed to fall over him.

"Last year," he started, "You were all with me in the Department of Mysteries."  They all nodded.  "So I guess you remember what we found there: a prophecy.  Now, all three of you were...indisposed…at the time, but I imagine you found out later, that the prophecy was destroyed, broken.  Nobody heard it."  Again, Harry waited for the others to nod before he went on.  "Well, it turns out that a prophecy is not only stored in the Department of Mysteries, but also in the memory of the one who heard the original prophecy.  And it happens that this prophecy, one concerning me and Voldemort, was originally made in the presence of Professor Dumbledore."  Harry avoided the faces of his friends as he recited the prophecy, and focused instead on his hands.  Speaking the haunting words aloud made him feel sick with dread and he feared the reactions he'd get from the others, so it was more than a few minutes before he finally forced himself to raise his head.

Ron's face was frozen in a dead expression, his shock evident.  He held Hermione's hand in his own as she sat with her knees hugged to her chest.  Her face was set in an angry scowl, but tears welled in the corners of her eyes.  Ginny sat closest to Harry, and as he looked into her face, she reached out a hand for his.  Though her eyes were wide and glossy with tears, she faced Harry with a look of such certainty and trust, that he couldn't take his eyes from hers.  Slowly, but surely, a sense of confidence and determination flowed through him; these were the people he cared most about, and he would do whatever it took to protect them.  At that moment he made a promise to himself: To protect his friends, he would succeed against Voldemort, even if it meant that he became a murderer himself.  Shaking slightly, he spoke again.

"There's more," he said, surprised at the steadiness of his own voice, "At the meeting last night, Snape replayed a bit of the most recent Death Eater meeting…and we heard Voldemort's plans.  He's infiltrating Hogwarts…and his top priority is to find my weaknesses…"  Harry paused to swallow.  "I just thought you should know—you guys are my greatest weakness."