Chapter 5 – Staffs
Narcissa Malfoy sat alone in a small sitting room just off of her bedroom in Malfoy Manor. She rarely left the comfort of her rooms when she was home as she found the rest of the mansion to be cold, dark and uninviting. It seemed to have an evil quality that she assumed came from being the house of a family that has been closely associated with Dark Lords as far back as anyone could remember.
She was currently contemplating her life, wondering what she was going to do now that she was free for the first time. Narcissa had been thrilled the day she found out Lucius had been sent to Azkaban for life. Her marriage had been arranged when she was young and she had never loved the man. She wondered if she should be upset that her son was suffering the same fate as his father. She wasn't. Draco wasn't her son she realized, he was Lucius son. He had followed in his father's foot steps just as Lucius had intended and ended up living the same fate. Narcissa would mourn the loss of her son for what he could have been, not what he turned out to be.
Narcissa was startled from her reverie when her personal house elf Zilum popped in. "Mrs. Malfoy, there is many peoples here to sees you maam. They is waiting fors you in the entrance hall."
Getting up from her seat she checked herself in the mirror adjusting her hair slightly before heading towards the entrance hall to greet her unexpected guests.
"Hello Mrs. Malfoy. I'm Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. I have a warrant allowing us access to these premises to search for Draco Malfoy who is currently at large after escaping from custody."
Accepting the piece of parchment she was handed she nodded in acceptance. She was shocked at what she was hearing and while she did not fear Draco as she had Lucius she wasn't sure if she would rather have him running free or in custody.
With a nod to his group of aurors they began to search the large manor. After sending his aurors to their duty he returned his attention to Narcissa. "Have you been contacted by Draco Malfoy?"
"No, I thought he was in one of your ministry holding cells." she answered truthfully.
"Are there any secret rooms or passages we should be made aware of? Any possible hiding places on the property where he might be?" asked Kingsley.
"I know of two." she said deciding the best course of action would be to cooperate fully. "Under the drawing room floor is a large room Lucius used to store dark artifacts. Feel free to take them all, personally I'd feel safer with them out of the house."
"Could you please show me?"
"Of course." Narcissa answered.
After leading Kingsley to the drawing room she approached a sconce on one wall. Taking hold of the fixture she twisted it to the right then back to the left. A loud clanging sound was heard and a trap door opened in the floor.
"Brandiff." Kingsley said summoning an auror who was walking by. "Return to the ministry and bring whoever is available. Also contact Arthur Weasley and the Unspeakables. Let them know we have a room full of dark items."
As the auror disappeared to find more help Kingsley turned back to Narcissa. "Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, you said you knew of two places?"
Nodding Narcissa led him into a large formal living room. Approaching a spot on the wall behind a couch she tapped a series of shapes in the wall paper with her wand much the way you do to enter Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron. A moment later a bookcase that was close by sunk into the wall and slid to the side revealing a staircase that led down, disappearing into the darkness.
"What's down there Mrs. Malfoy?"
"A dungeon, I don't know what else." she said softly.
"Could you show me?" Kingsley said gesturing for her to precede him down the stairs.
Narcissa became very agitated and frightened at the suggestion. She backed away from the entrance quickly shaking her head no. "No. I won't go down there, ever. Lucius put me down there once when he was angry. No, never again. No." Her tone and words were filled with fear and the look in her eye told the auror that memories which had been repressed for a long time were returning. Memories she didn't want.
"It's ok." he said doing his best to calm her. "You don't have to. Come on, let's leave this room."
She nodded and let out a breath she'd been holding as they left the room.
"Hello Kingsley." Amelia said as he entered her office and took a seat. "Any luck?"
"Not as far as finding Draco Malfoy. However Narcissa Malfoy led us to a large stash of dark artifacts and a secret dungeon."
"Really, are you planning on filing any charges in this case?"
"I don't think so. There doesn't seem to be a need the stuff clearly belonged to Lucius and he's already serving multiple life sentences. We've destroyed all of the items, here's a list of what we found."
Amelia was surprised at the size of the list; it actually looked more like a small book. "What about the dungeons?" she asked.
A shudder went through the auror as he handed her another report. "I'll let you read about it, I'd rather not go over it again."
"I understand. Do you have any new leads on Draco?"
Kingsley sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Not really, though I did talk to Mrs. Malfoy at length while the artifacts were being disposed of and while she only knew of the two secret rooms which she showed me she was pretty sure there was at least one more. She believes it is Lucius potion lab. So far we have been unable to locate it. Mrs. Malfoy said we were welcome to come any time to continue the search."
"It sounds like she was very cooperative." Amelia surmised.
"Yes she was. I received the impression she wasn't happy with either of the male Malfoys."
Herbology was exciting as Ginny saved Harry from being eaten by a large man eating flower. Ancient Runes was ok, Harry could see why Ginny liked it so much. And during 3rd period they continued their study of Human transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. But both of the teens were most excited about 4th period when they would once again be working with Christopher.
Entering their rooms they quickly deposited their backpack on the table and went into the potions lab where they found their mentor setting out a wide assortment of items on one of the empty tables.
"Hello Harry, Ginny." he said brightly. "And how are my two favorite students this afternoon?"
Harry let out a short snigger. "We're your only students."
"Ahh, well that's a good point but it doesn't make you any less my favorites." he chuckled.
Ginny let out a short laugh before returning her attention to the table in front of them. "What are we doing today?"
Christopher seemed to get very excited at the thought of the lesson. Of course, Harry thought, he always seems excited about everything.
"First we're going on a… field trip I believe is what muggles would call it. We need to visit Harry's vaults to see if we can find a few items to add to my pile here then we'll begin working on your staffs."
Harry and Ginny grinned widely. With their new found fame as the couple that saved the wizarding world they decided it would be a good idea to wear their concealment cloaks which were in the closet at Harry's apartment. Harry winked at Ginny before pulling her into a kiss, tapping her ring three times with his wand. Christopher was left standing alone in the potions lab with a look of complete astonishment on his face.
"Harry!" Ginny yelled as their kiss ended.
He noticed she was wearing a big grin though so Harry just laughed and ran off down the hall to find their cloaks. As he wandered back to the living room he couldn't help but marvel at the place that had become his home. He'd only been gone from here for a few days yet with everything that had been happening it seemed like so much longer.
He found Ginny staring somewhat wistfully at the entertainment center.
"Miss having that around?" he asked.
"Sort of, I miss snuggling with you while we watched movies together."
"Why don't we talk to Dumbledore, maybe he'll let us come here sometimes."
Ginny grinned and leaned in to give Harry a kiss. She was surprised when she opened her eyes and they were back in the potions lab.
Harry was laughing at the look on her face and received a light punch in the shoulder for his actions. As the pair turned around they found Christopher staring at them and looking very excited.
"Can I see the rings?" he asked jumping up from the chair he had been occupying.
Harry and Ginny both looked shocked that he knew about their rings. "What?" Harry asked, not quite sure what to think.
He received an exasperated look from Christopher for his question. The same look in fact that Hermione always gave him when she wasn't hearing what she wanted. "The rings! You do have the rings of Eris do you not?"
The teens continued to look dumbstruck and were not sure what to say.
"Look, you can't have apperated from here and you didn't use a portkey or any other form of magical travel that I could see. You left behind no trace magic to determine what method you used so whatever it was it had to be a powerful magical object. I only know of one that is small enough to be carried and fit's all the clues and that's the rings of Eris." he said still very excited.
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and silently agreed. Walking to the table they each grabbed a scrap of parchment and wrote down the phrases that would let Christopher see through the Fidilius charm they had placed on the rings.
"What a wonderful use of the Fidilius." Christopher exclaimed as the rings came in to view. After destroying the notes he accepted the ring Harry was offering him.
"Absolutely beautiful." Christopher mumbled as he inspected the runes along the band.
Harry had to agree. "Tap it twice and it will transport you to the location of the other ring, three times and it takes you to the last place you activated it."
Christopher looked up from the ring he was examining. "Look here," he said pointing to a rune that was a square box with a single dot in the middle, "you can set the location you wish to go to with this."
"Really?" Ginny asked.
"Really. Just concentrate on where you want to go as you poke this rune with your wand and it changes the last location it was activated to where you want to go, then tap it three times and you're off."
"Wow. That would have been nice to know last summer." Harry said. "What are the rest of the runes for?"
"Well these" he said pointing to some of the markings on the band, "are for what you already know. These two seem to control the power, this one the landing, I'm not really sure what these last three are. We might be able to look them up. I only know what I remembered reading about them a long time ago. These were created by Merlin."
"You're kidding, Merlin made these?"
"Yes, he named them after Eris because of the mischief he used to get up to with them. As I understand it these rings cannot be bound by any type of ward or magic. Very powerful, very useful, make sure to take good care of these."
"We will. Umm, would you mind keeping these a secret? We haven't told anyone about them not even Professor Dumbledore, until now that is."
"I will. That's very wise though I would recommend you share your secret with Albus. I know you've had some rough spots in the past with him but he can be trusted and I'm sure he would be delighted to see these rings. If you would be willing to loan one of them to me over night some time perhaps I could identify the remaining runes for you. I have a very extensive library at my home."
"Sure, I don't see why not."
Christopher became even more excited at the thought of being able to borrow one of them. "Well," he began as he returned Harry's ring, "If one of you would set your rings to the entrance of Diagon Alley I think that would be a much better way to travel than the portkey Albus gave me."
Harry concentrated on where he wanted to arrive and poked the rune on his ring with his wand. He felt a tingling sensation come from the ring for a moment and then it was gone. It was a tight fit, but with Ginny and Christopher touching the ring he managed to tap it three times with his wand and the small group appeared behind the Leaky Cauldron next to the gateway to Diagon Alley.
After tapping the bricks with his wand Harry and Ginny raised their hoods and the three headed into Diagon Alley, their first stop Gringotts.
After a short walk and an exciting cart ride the group found themselves standing in front of the Potter Family vault. Harry who was already holding Ginny's hand took hold of Christopher's and led them through the door. Harry was still amazed by the size of the vault and the number of things it held but today they were here for a reason. They went to the area of the room where most of the jewels seemed to be located and began looking around.
Christopher sorted through the jewels quickly explaining what was needed as he went. "The main thing we need to find is the focus stone. This is the large gem that will be attached to the end of your staff." As he sorted through the piles of gems he began handing some of them to Harry and Ginny. "Let me know if any of these do anything for you."
"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.
"Don't worry about it, just let me know." he replied cryptically.
After a while Harry and Christopher heard Ginny gasp. "This one." she said holding up an oval cut diamond that was about a little over two inches tall.
"What is it Gin?" Harry asked wondering what she felt.
"I don't really know how to describe it. It's like I feel power or connected or something… I don't know it's just right."
Christopher nodded knowingly and Harry just continued to look confused.
"Don't worry about it Harry, just keep going. We'll find yours." said Christopher.
It wasn't much longer when Harry held an emerald cut diamond roughly the same size as Ginny's and understood exactly what she meant when she had tried to explain the intangible feeling that went through her when she held the stone. It was just right.
Taking the stones the pair had selected and a small bag of gems Christopher thought they might need they returned to the cart and enjoyed the ride to the surface.
"Well, it's about dinner time, what say we get a private dining room at the Leaky Cauldron and eat before we go back." Christopher said looking at the two teens.
Harry and Ginny quickly agreed and after an enjoyable meal used Harry's ring to return to their rooms at Hogwarts.
After putting away their cloaks Harry and Ginny returned to the potions lab where Christopher was waiting for them.
"Perfect timing!" Christopher said excitedly. "First we need to add the final ingredients to the silver cauldrons."
He watched closely as the two teens added the ingredients and stirred their potions with gold spoons. As they removed the spoons a fine silver mist formed above the mixture making Christopher very happy.
"Excellent! Couldn't have made them better myself." he said with undisguised glee. "Now, being careful not to touch the mist place your focus stones in the cauldrons."
Harry and Ginny did as they were told and as the stones passed through the mist it seemed to be absorbed into the diamond disappearing completely from the top of the potion.
"What are we doing this for?" asked Ginny.
Christopher returned her gaze with his smile firmly in place. "Think about the purpose of potions. Think about the discussion we had on creating them. What do you think were doing this for?"
Ginny thought for several minutes before answering. "We're changing the magical properties of the potion… no of the focus stone. But the potion can't soak into the diamond can it?"
"Excellent Ginny. Actually we're changing the properties of both and while this potion doesn't soak into the diamond there are those that can. We'll use this potion throughout the creation of the staff to make sure all of the components are magically compatible."
"Then wouldn't we need to soak all of the pieces of the staff in the potion?" asked Harry.
"No. We're still creating the potion at this point and adding any additional components would alter the magical structure. We only add the focus stone because it needs to be a perfect magical match with the potion. As I sort of mentioned a minute ago, the potion makes sure the rest of the components are magically compatible and work correctly with the focus stone which is arguably the most important part of the staff."
Pausing in his explanation Christopher took a quick look at his watch. "Put out the fires under those cauldrons and then they'll need to sit for a week or so."
Harry and Ginny nodded and did as they were told after which they were led back to the table where Christopher had spread out the items he had brought to construct their staffs with.
Christopher gave both Harry and Ginny a long piece of wood that looked as if it had been picked up from the forest floor. They were surprised to realize the wood was the same as what their wands were made from.
"I see you've realized what type of wood I've given you." He said with his usual grin. "Why do you suppose that is?"
"So that it works with our wand when their joined?" Harry guessed.
"Yes. Also if you remember back to when you purchased your wand you probably had to go through several before you found the right one. When you connected with it you not only connected with the core but the entire wand. This wood is what your magic is most compatible with." Harry was nodding but Ginny was chewing on her lip. "Ginny?"
"My wand's a hand-me-down from my brother. We couldn't afford to get me a new one." she said shyly.
"Ahh, no worries then. Why don't you two pop over to Ollivanders and pick out a new one." Christopher said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Before she could protest Harry led her into his room to pick up his money bag. "Don't even think it Gin."
Ginny sighed and hugged her boyfriend tightly. "Thank you Harry. I love you."
"I love you to." He said pulling her into a kiss.
As the kiss ended she found they were standing in Ollivanders earning Harry a smack on the shoulder. "What have I told you about that?" she said almost laughing out loud at the innocent look on his face.
"Miss Weasley. I was wondering when you were going to stop by." said the eerie voice of Mr. Ollivander as he approached from the back of the shop.
A shiver went through her as a measuring tape began to take all manner of odd measurements. She wondered to herself why he would need to know what the distance between her third and fourth knuckle was or how far it was from her right elbow to her left earlobe but decided she'd rather leave when they were done than have a long conversation with the creepy old man.
It took a good bit of time and they destroyed a fair amount of the shop but finally they found a wand that suited her, twelve and a quarter inches, maple with a unicorn hair core. She held it up proudly grinning from ear to ear feeling as if her magic was complete for the first time.
She was surprised when he gave her another package that was obviously wood to fashion her staff with. "I believe you will also need this Miss Weasley."
"And you Mr. Potter will be needing this." he said handing a small sack to Harry.
Opening the sack he found some long white hairs coiled up. "Unicorn hairs Mr. Potter, they will provide a balance to the Basilisk Venom you will be using in yours."
Harry simply nodded wondering how the old man knew the things he did.
Forty five galleons later Harry and Ginny returned to the lab where Christopher was waiting for them. Ginny laid the wood for her staff on the work table and Harry set down the unicorn hairs.
"Mr. Ollivander gave me these saying I would need them to balance the Basilisk Venom." Harry mentioned curiously.
"Yes, a powerful combination. He does seem to have a gift when it comes to these things. Unfortunately I do not posses any Basilisk Venom however I understand you might know where we can acquire some." Christopher grinned with excitement looking forward to a chance to see the famed Chamber of Secrets.
Harry felt Ginny tense up next to him. "You don't have to go if you don't want to Gin. I can take Christopher."
Ginny took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "No, I'll go with you. He's gone now."
"Don't worry Gin I won't let anything happen to you."
Christopher grabbed a knapsack and the three made their way to Moaning Myrtle's restroom. Harry was going to use his ring to get them to the chamber but Christopher asked if they could use the hidden entrance. Having heard of the legend of the Chamber of Secrets since he was little he wanted to see everything. With a word from Harry the sinks parted revealing the secret passage that would take them deep within the rock upon which Hogwart's was built. Harry slid down the passageway first followed by a nervous Ginny and an excited Christopher.
"Lumos!" Harry said bringing a bit of light to an otherwise dark passage. "Gin, you ok?"
Ginny only response was to nod and grip Harry's hand tightly.
"This way." Harry said to Christopher over his shoulder as he began leading the way through the dark musty tunnels. It wasn't long before they came to a spot where the roof had caved in. As Christopher examined the debris he noticed there was a small passage at the top of the pile that Harry was leading them too. A few minutes later they were on the other side and continuing through the network of tunnels.
Ginny became more and more tense and nervous as they grew closer to the chamber. Her heart was beating frantically as they turned a corner and a steel door emblazoned with snakes appeared in front of them.
"I… I… c can't Harry. I can't." Ginny's voice was filled with fear and pain as she stopped and stuttered out her words to Harry, the memories of the Chamber ahead still to painful for her to relive.
"Shhh… It's ok Gin. You don't have to." Harry held the scared girl close kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back as he tried to calm her down.
"It's just he took me… made me tell about you… almost killed you… you almost died… my fault…" she babbled as the tears came.
"It's ok, it wasn't your fault. I'm fine. We're fine." Harry said. "Let me open the door for Christopher. He can get what we need and I'll stay here with you."
Ginny who was now crying, nodded into his chest. They approached the door and Harry muttered a word in Parseltongue. Before the door was even open he nodded to Christopher and led Ginny away from the entrance.
Christopher entered the door with a pang in his heart for what the youngest
Weasley was going through right now. Best get this over with quickly and get her out of here he thought.
As he entered the large chamber large fires sitting atop statues of snakes flared to life illuminating the large room.
"Wow." Christopher said to himself after letting out a long whistle. As he walked across the floor he gazed up at the imposing statues that lined the sides of the room. Their eyes seemed to follow him sending an involuntary shiver down his spine. At the far end of the room he recognized the large bust filling the wall as that of Salazar Slytherin and next to the pool at its base what remained of the Basilisk.
"Now that's a snake." he said to no one. Had Christopher not been following Harry's life from afar since he was a baby and more so since he reentered the wizarding world he would never have believed the boy would have taken on a monster of this size when he was only twelve years old. Not to mention beat it.
Snapping out of his daze he got to work. The carcass was in a terrible state after sitting in the damp chamber for over three years and after a close examination he decided the teeth were the only usable part left. Knowing the venom would have lost none of it's potency he used magic to remove the teeth from the snakes head. He then cast a spell to bind the poison within the teeth to make them safe to handle before carefully placing them inside his knapsack.
With his job done he took one last look around still amazed that he was actually standing in the legendary Chamber of Secrets. The fires faded out returning the cavern to darkness as he passed though the door leaving Salazar's chamber behind.
Harry was sitting against the wall of the tunnel a little ways down from the entrance with Ginny on his lap. She was no longer crying but still held her boyfriend tightly. Harry looked up as he approached them. "All done?"
"Yes, we're all set. Is everything ok here?" he asked sympathetically.
Ginny nodded as she and Harry stood. Harry set the destination of his ring to the potions lab and a moment later the tunnels below Hogwarts were once again empty.
It was getting late so Christopher bid his students a good night and left for the evening after promising to return Friday to begin fashioning their staffs.
The next two days passed slowly for Harry and Ginny but finally Friday afternoon and their time with Christopher arrived.
"I only have one set of these so you'll have to take turns using them." Christopher began as he passed a wooden box containing a dozen small black pyramids across the table to Harry and Ginny. "These are something I came up with years ago. Normally it would take months to fashion a staff and its core using incantations and a wand. To obtain the best results everything needs to be molded to fit together perfectly. These provide a workbench and will keep the staff and its core in perfect synch allowing us to skip all of the fitting and refitting that we would have to do otherwise."
After receiving nods of understanding Christopher had them line the pyramids up on the table in two adjacent rows of six. While the six in each row were spread out to accommodate the length of the staff each pyramid was touching the corresponding pyramid in the other row. Harry then place the piece of wood on top of one of the rows and found that it hovered just above the tops of the pyramids when he released it. He then used a series of spells given to him by his mentor to mold the wood into a long cylindrical shape that would eventually become his staff. It had taken almost an hour to complete and Harry was excited to see it coming into being. Setting Harry's staff aside Ginny went next following the procedure given to Harry.
Christopher then left stating it would be Wednesday before they could continue working on the staffs because they needed the completed potion to continue.
Harry and Ginny spent most of the weekend studying. Ginny's schedule was very aggressive and the amount of work she was receiving from all of her classes was quite formidable. Still Harry was a big help and Ginny was happy to do the work since it meant she was in the same year as the man she had loved all her life.
They worked on potions with Christopher the next week adding ingredients to some of the existing ones and starting several new ones. Finally much to the delight of Harry and Ginny as well as Christopher Wednesday arrived and they were back to working on their staffs.
Harry replaced the wooden portion of his staff back on one of the rows of pyramids as instructed by Christopher after which he was handed a sack of small diamonds.
"I want you to place these stones on the second row of pyramids one at a time." said Christopher.
Unsurprisingly the diamonds floated above the row of pyramids. As each stone was added the spacing between the floating diamonds changed so that they remained equidistant from each other in a line that was almost as long as the shaft of wood floating next to them. When there were enough of the small rocks floating so that they almost touched one another Christopher stopped Harry and had him cast a spell.
The line of diamonds began to glow brighter and brighter as Harry poured his magic into them. Eventually a hum could be detected coming from within the light and Harry cast a second spell. With a bright flash the humming stopped and the light faded away. Instead of a series of individual diamonds Harry now found a long thin diamond rod.
"Excellent Harry, that's perfect." Christopher said as he levitated the cauldron containing Harry's focus stone to the table.
Harry was surprised when he looked in the cauldron and instead of the typical liquid potion he expected to find there was a fair amount of a fine grey powder in the bottom. Using a pair of tongs Christopher handed to him he fished around for his focus stone and removed it from the cauldron. After giving it a quick polish Harry held it up to the light.
"Wow." Harry and Ginny both said as they gazed on the stone. The large diamond was perfectly clear except for the heart of the stone which now held a red mist. Harry could feel the magic thrumming within as he held it.
"The mist you see is the mist that was on top of the potion when you added the diamond. Over the last week it changed from silver to red as the liquid components of the potion evaporated and the magic was altered. This stone is now ready to accept and magnify your spells. Place it on the end of the diamond rod and cast this binding spell."
Harry nodded and carefully set the focus stone on the end of the diamond rod. There was a quick flash of red light as he cast the spell permanently joining the focus to the core. As he returned his attention to Christopher he was handed a small spoon.
"Sprinkle some of the powder onto the diamond rod you've created." instructed Christopher.
Harry did as he was instructed and noticed the entire rod began to change color as he did so.
"Keep adding it until the color matches that of the mist in your focus stone. When it does, the focus should begin to glow."
As more powder was added the color continued to shift from blue to green to yellow and finally red at which point the focus stone began glowing.
"Perfect. Now," Christopher said, "add these one at a time."
Harry was handed another small bag which contained several rubies. Once again as each one was placed above the pyramids it floated into position above the diamond rod. Harry then went through another series of incantations and when the light faded the rubies had molded themselves to the exterior of the rod. More of the grey powder was then added until the focus stone stopped glowing.
Christopher was very excited with the progress. "It's time to add the wand cores." he said.
Raising his wand Harry cast a spell and the rod seemed to break into three separate pieces of equal length.
"We'll need to be very careful with this part." Christopher said as he laid several of the basilisk fangs on the work table and removed the charms protecting them from the venom. While wearing dragon hide gloves he placed the tip of each fang in a vial and cast a spell which extracted the venom. Once the vial was full he handed it to Harry. "Hold this over each section. One will glow. Carefully pour the contents onto that section."
Harry did as he was told and found the section furthest from the focus stone glowed a deep green when the vial was next to it. The glow intensified slightly as he poured the venom on the section until the venom was gone at which point the glow faded. He then repeated the process with some of the unicorn hairs he had obtained at Ollivanders. They made the center section glow white when the hairs were added eventually fading as the hairs became part of the staff's core.
Ginny was about to ask about the third section when there was a flash of fire above the table as Fawkes appeared. Beautiful phoenix song filled the air and everyone's hearts as the amazing bird sang its song. Hovering over the third section he let out an especially loud trill and a feather fell from his tail. The section glowed red before fading as the feather was bonded with the staff's core. His task complete Fawkes disappeared in a flash of flame.
Christopher was grinning manically. "I thought that might happen."
Recovering from Fawkes appearance Harry returned to the construction of his staff. He cast another spell and the three sections of the core were rejoined.
"Now, in case you haven't noticed, there is a hole in the wood of your staff which matches the size of your core precisely." Christopher lectured. "This was created by the pyramids. As we created the core the hole was kept to the exact same size. Tap one of the pyramids with your wand three times."
On the third tap the pyramids floated just off the bench the two rows moving so that they were end to end rather than side to side. They then moved towards each other causing the core to be inserted into the wooded handle of the staff. When it was fully inserted so that only the focus stone remained outside of the wood the pyramids settled back onto the table.
Harry then cast another spell to bind the wood of the staff to the focus stone. As he completed the incantation the wood began to shift until the top of his staff resembled a phoenix with its wings above its head encircling the focus. He then laid his wand on the staff and it was quickly absorbed. As the wand disappeared a series of runes appeared in three bands around the staff just under the phoenix.
"Nicely done Harry." Christopher said with a large grin. "That is truly a work of art."
"Wow, that's amazing." Ginny said in total agreement with Christopher.
As he took hold of his new focus Harry felt the power of the staff flow through him the focus stone flaring to life in a shower of red, white and green sparks as he held it for the first time.
Christopher smiled at the look of awe on Harry's face as he held his new staff feeling its power. "To get your wand just think about it and give the staff a small flick."
Harry did as he was instructed and found himself holding his wand though he noted it now had the same three bands of runes that his staff had on the shaft just below the handle.
"I think you'll find your wand easier to use now and perhaps a bit more powerful though you shouldn't see too much of a difference." Harry nodded as he listened to his mentor. "It's getting late and I've kept you working straight through dinner so why don't we leave it here and I'll come back tomorrow to help with Ginny's staff."
"We have double charms tomorrow though." Ginny said with a slightly sad tone. She was dying to make hers after having watched Harry.
"Leave class early and I'll have Albus let Filius know I need you for a project."
Ginny squealed excitedly at not having to wait.
"Harry, don't try to use your staff until we get Ginny's done and I can help you learn to use them properly. You'll find it's quite a bit more powerful than anything you've used before."
After giving his warning Christopher said his goodbye's and left for the evening.
With Christopher and Harry's help Ginny made her staff the next night. She used the same cores as Harry and Fawkes even made another appearance donating a feather to her staff's core. Rather than the phoenix that topped Harry's staff Ginny's focus stone was encircled with vines.
"Another beautiful staff," Christopher said, "I can't tell you how proud I am of both of you."
Harry and Ginny blushed at his compliments.
"Remember not to use them until I can help you understand the power they hold. I won't be here for lessons tomorrow but I'll talk to Albus about having you out to my house on Sunday so we can give them a go. Sound ok?"
The pair nodded eagerly looking forward to not only learning to use their new staffs but also getting to see the home of their new mentor and friend.
