Harry Potter and the Betrayal of the Phoenix
Chapter 6 - Return of Ron, The Sorting Hat, and Classes
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, the canon herself JK does…or maybe Warner Brothers does…maybe Scholastic…who knows? Anyways, it's not me, and I am not here to make any money…and I got a Beta reader who is new to the job…so forgive her and me for the mistakes :-)
Harry woke up the next morning, this time in his dorm room, and realized that it was Sunday, September First. Normally on this day he would be making his way towards King's Cross to board the Hogwarts Express. Although he always liked the train ride to Hogwarts, getting caught up with his friends, he felt slightly relieved that we wouldn't run into anyone, like Draco Malfoy, that would only cause him to get angrier.
Harry looked at his watch, which he found hidden in his gifts from the Order of the Phoenix, and it replied to him "10:36…late sleeper aren't we" in Tonks's voice. Well at least I know whom the watch is from. Harry glanced over next to his bed and saw Corning, sleeping with her head next to her wing on a perch. Well, at least I know where she's decided to stay for now. As Harry was thinking about what to do until the Train came with all the students when he heard an all too familiar tapping at the window.
Hedwig. What will she think of Corning? Hedwig has been with my ever since my first day as a wizard, and she was a beautiful gift from Hagrid.
Harry walked over to the window and let Hedwig in, took the note from her, and watched as she flew over to Corning.
"Harry,
I thought I would let you sleep in for a while today. Whenever you feel like joining me, I'll be in the library.
-HermIONE (not Hermy)"
As Harry looked up from the note, he noticed that Corning had woken up and was singing to Hedwig, who was hooting at Corning. The two of them must be working out for themselves on what to do. How odd! Hedwig hooted once more, in what Harry could tell was a hoot of agreement, flew over to Harry's shoulder, nipped him on the ear, and took off for the owlery. Corning flew over to Harry's now vacant shoulder and began to sing, and somehow Harry knew that Hedwig would still be of service to Harry and Harry's friends for regular letters, but if he had any packages or heavy objects that Corning would take them for Harry, but only Harry.
I have got to see what is up with Corning's songs. Why is it that every time she sings to me I can understand her? I guess I ought to keep reading that book Dumbledore lent me. I think I left it in the trunk…
Harry climbed down to the bedroom in his trunk, noticed another perch just like the one by his bed, and began to read.
The phoenix song, noted to inspire confidence in the Light and fear in the dark, is also a means of communicating to the one the phoenix has decided to serve. It appears that only when the phoenix wishes to communicate to its companion that the companion understands, but the companion will not understand when the phoenix is singing to someone or something else.
It appears that phoenixes can communicate with any being capable of understanding communication, no matter how or what language they speak, and all beings are able to understand the phoenix song when the phoenix is singing to them. Singing appears to be the only way phoenixes can communicate, although they seem to be able to understand any language or other means of communication.
Well that explains why I suddenly can understand what Corning says every now and then. I'll have to get used to that. It's pretty odd that a phoenix would choose me, of all people. I guess it's because of that damn prophecy again. I bet this will just isolate me even more than my classmates. I wonder if I ask Corning not to come with my to classes she will agree. It would be such a big distraction…and I bet Snape would flip out at me. Merlin, I bet Snape will flip out me for merely being in his NEWT Prep class, although the look on his face when he seems me in there will be worth it!
Harry continued to read…
One of the most spectacular traits of the phoenix is its ability to be reborn. Its cycle, which lasts approximately a month without any external interruptions, goes from burning day to burning day. It is very hard to kill a phoenix, and only phoenix in recorded history has ever perished. The phoenix belonged to Merlin, and while protecting Merlin from the dark forces of his time sustained a lethal curse and was immediately reborn. However, this is the most fragile time in the Phoenix cycle, and Merlin's phoenix, Garrison, was attacked right after his rebirth from the first lethal curse. The second curse caused Garrison to sing a final note, collapse, and vanish. No one can be certain where Garrison went after he perished, but he never came back to Merlin's side. All other recorded phoenixes left their masters only upon their master's death, whether it be natural or pre-mature.
The rest of the morning, and into the afternoon, all Harry did was read the book on phoenixes, with a quick break to eat a late breakfast / early lunch that Dobby fetched for him. Around two o'clock, Harry finished up the book Dumbledore had lent him.
I can't wait until I start to train with Dumbledore to find out what he knows about Phoenixes…I am really lucky Corning chose to aid me, although I am still slightly unnerved by it. I mean, all the wizards who have ever had a phoenix went on to defeat the dark of their day and they are all legendary. Does that mean one day I'll be a legend too? I hope not. I don't want to be remembered for anything after I die, just that there was a boy called Harry Potter who did some things, and that's it. I better go find Hermione so we can talk about DA.
After changing into his Hogwarts robes, Harry walked down to the library to meet up with Hermione.
I hope I don't run into Nick anytime soon on my own. I don't think I'd be able to talk to him the same way after our conversation last year. I was just so upset and wanting some sort of hope I would be able to see him again. I wonder if I should find him and apologize…
"Hi Harry!"
"Hey Hermione. I finished with the book, so enjoy."
"Harry, I found out the first DA class is on Tuesday and the second on Thursday…I think we should plan out the first month or two…I have a feeling we will be way to busy to plan once classes start tomorrow."
"I agree…how about on the last Thursday class of the month we have some form of test to make sure people aren't forgetting the spells we teach them. I still think we should do one spell a day, and whatever time we have left do some sort of physical training. I think all of our reflexes could use a little work."
"Oh, that's a great idea Harry. And on the weekend we could recommend to people that they go jogging around the Quidditch pitch or something. I also think we should make this like the DA, with the same atmosphere, at least for the first term. After people have the option of joining in the class we may have to change the rules a bit."
"Definitely Hermione. As for grades, I think we should mainly focus on completion. I don't think the point of the class should focus on the grade, just learning the spells. If they don't learn the spells, and can't past the end of the month tests, then we can talk to Dumbledore about what we should do, although I hope it won't come to that."
For the rest of the afternoon, Harry and Hermione planned out how their class should progress. After they had the spells they wanted to teach, they asked Corning, who flew in about halfway through, if she would take them to Dumbledore.
Corning sang to Harry, "I think you should take them yourself. I noticed the train you mentioned earlier off in the distance on my way here."
Hermione, who sat transfixed as she watched Corning sing, demanded "Harry! Tell me what she said!"
"She said, Hermione, that the train's arrived in Hogsmeade. We should head over to the Great Hall so we won't miss the sorting. Corning, I'd like to ask you to stay back in my dorm room for now. I think having you at the Sorting would cause too big of a disturbance."
"I agree. I will see you later this evening" sand Corning in reply as she flew away.
Harry stood up, "Well Hermione, what are you waiting for. Lets go. You can give those to Dumbledore down in the Great Hall."
The two students made their way down to the Great Hall, just in time for the arrival of the rest of the students.
"Hermione, go run that over to Dumbledore. I'll meet you at the Gryffindor table. I'll be sure to grab a seat by Ron."
"Sounds good Harry. Meet you over there."
Harry noticed on his way to the Gryffindor table that everyone seemed to be staring at him for some reason. It looked like they wanted to ask him a question, but were forcing themselves to be quiet. Harry simply shrugged and kept walking, as he had spied Ron sitting down looking around.
"Hey Ron," said Harry as he approached, "what's up? How was the train back?"
"It was OK. Draco annoyed me until I went into the prefect's compartments. Although he followed me the sight of everyone else there made him stop. How was your summer?"
"Mine was OK too. I didn't get to do much other than read and homework while I was cooped up in Privet Drive. I have a lot to talk to you about, but I can't do it here. Lets talk tonight in my trunk."
"In your trunk?"
"Oh, I thought you knew. I'll explain it later. Here comes Hermione."
"Hey Hermione. Long time no see!"
"Ron, it's only been two days. Harry, Dumbledore said the plans look great and that he wants to come to the first class to observe."
"Sounds good."
"I don't know how I will be able to concentrate with Dumbledore looking over our shoulder. Oh, Harry! Did Ron tell you yet? Both Ginny and Luna were made prefects! Isn't that cool! Mrs. Weasley was so thrilled! Right Ron?"
"Yah Hermione. She…"
"She was so excited! I would be too if I were her. Anyways, so Ron, did Harry tell you about Corning yet? Its so exciting!"
"Corning? Who is Corning?"
"Um, Hermione, I told Ron that I would tell him later."
"Oh, ok. So Harry, I really can't wait till Tuesday. I wonder what all the DA thinks about the class. I would be worried if another student was teaching me, but since Dumbledore is also helping out I don't know how worried I would be. I just can't wait to start classes! You know Harry…I was looking through that book and…"
"HI GUYS, REMEMBER ME?" belted Ron to his two friends.
"Gee Ron, we knew you were there. Just a lot has happened these past two days. Oh look! Here comes the first years." spoke an exasperated Hermione.
As Hermione pointed out, a line of about fifty students that looked so tiny they could break walked into the Great Hall led by Professor McGonagall. McGonagall marched right up to the teachers table and stood next to the famed Hogwarts Sorting Hat."
Last year at this same time
I warned of a great danger growing.
It has only grown worse,
And not many took my warning.
To bond with your fellow houses,
Traditional rivalries must cease.
Because an outside force will harm us all,
But not without help from inside, at least.
Wise Ravenclaws, you know better.
Than to give heed
To former house prejudices
Based off of a silly decree.
Loyal Hufflepuffs, you must
Look outside your own kind;
For loyalty within is a must
But loyalty to others must be on your mind.
Ambitious Slytherins,
You must overcome your fears,
Blindly following other's logic
Will only shorten your years.
Brave, Noble Gryffindors,
You cannot save the world alone.
Others have desirable qualities,
That you would normally not condone.
Last year three houses bonded,
But one was left apart.
You must work with all four
Or else you will lose your heart.
No one was quite sure what to make of the Sorting Hat's new song, but gave it polite applause nonetheless. As the sorting progressed, Harry felt someone staring at him from behind his back. As he turned, he locked eyes with Draco Malfoy, who gave him a sneer worse than Harry had ever seen before. Harry turned around, to watch Marie Pimpledragon be sorted to Ravenclaw.
Last year, the DA had only members from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The Sorting Hat must have been referring to us. Its obvious the hat wants us to include Slytherins into the DA, but which Slytherins are trustworthy enough not to backstab us in the end with what we taught them. We'll have to see who signs up for the class after the first term.
Some applause brought Harry out of his thoughts, apparently because the Sorting Hat had finished sorting the first years into their new houses.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts. Normally, I would save my opening remarks until after the feast, but I feel that I should go ahead and do it now. Students, with the return of Lord Voldemort, we have to be more careful than ever to protect ourselves. Hogsmeade visits may continue, and they may not. As of right now, the first Hogsmeade weekend for those third year and over, will be in October although I may change it as I see fit. The Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students. There is a reason it is called the Forbidden Forest, and it holds true now more than ever. As of now, Quidditch will continue to be played, although this may change as well if we perceive any threat. If you are interested in playing please contact your Team Captains, Ron Weasley for Gryffindor, Draco Malfoy for Slytherin, Cho Chang for Ravenclaw, and Peter Williamson for Hufflepuff, or Madame Hooch. Curfew has been set for 10:00 unless given permission by a professor. I am pleased to welcome back Professor Lupin, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts along with Professor Moody, who both will be arriving tomorrow for in time for classes. One last comment, before the feast begins, take heed to what the Sorting Hat told us. He has been around longer than any of us, and has wisdom far greater than even I could imagine. Now Enjoy."
"Wow…Congrats Ron!"
"Thanks Harry…now lets eat!"
After the feast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the Fat Lady, and as Hermione gave the password, "Padfoot," Ron said, "That's nice of Dumbledore to make that the password for Gryffindor Tower. Kind of like a memorial."
"Are you KIDDING Ron? I hate the new password. That's all I need. Every day when I walk in to Gryffindor Tower I get reminded of the only person I ever thought of as a father dying to try to prevent his godson fro making a STUPID MISTAKE, and who died because his stupid godson was too weak to stop from being manipulated" roared Harry.
"Harry! Calm down. Ron and I will change the password as soon as we can. Now, go tell Ron about Corning, and about you-know-what. I'll meet you guys down here at seven for breakfast. Good night."
"Night Hermione" chorused Ron and Harry.
"Ok Harry, what do you want to tell me? Not like, you know, I'm as close to you as Hermione is these days, but you can still tell me anything."
"Sure Ron," said Harry as they climbed up the stairs to the 6th year dorm.
"Harry! Ron! You'll never believe what's in our dorm! It's a phoenix," said Neville as they walked into the room."
By Harry's bed, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all admiring Corning.
"That's Corning, guys. She decided she wanted to serve me a couple of days ago, so get use to seeing her around. Corning, its ok, these are my friends. You don't need to worry about them harming you or me. Come on Ron, let's go into my trunk. I've got something to talk to you about."
Harry heard Ron mutter something under his breath, but when Harry questioned Ron on it he replied, "Oh, it was nothing. Lets go."
Ron followed Harry as he climbed into his trunk and down to the fifth compartment.
"This is the trunk Dumbledore got me for my birthday. Now I've got something I want to tell you. I told Hermione all of this yesterday, so I decided to tell you as soon as I saw you."
"It seems you and Hermione spent a lot of quality time together yesterday," said Ron in a voice whose tone Harry couldn't place, so he just shrugged it off.
"Well, we had a lot of planning to do for DA. Dumbledore's going to let us teach it with him taking a hands-off approach. Anyways, you remember for the most part about the Department of Mysteries last year. Well, it turns out that although Neville accidentally destroyed the prophecy, it wasn't the only copy left. Trelawny gave the prophecy to Dumbledore, and I can see why Voldemort wanted it. One of Voldemort's minions overheard part of the prophecy, but not all. What Voldemort doesn't know is that it pretty much comes down to either I have to kill him, or he has to kill me, and it seems like I will be the only one that can. Not a pretty outlook overall. You have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this...if it got to Voldemort…I don't want to imagine what would happen if he found out."
"Gee Harry…everything seems to happen to you. Well, I won't tell anyone. I'm tired…goodnight. How in the name of Merlin do you get out of here?"
"Take the steps over there. Night Ron, see you tomorrow morning."
Hmm, Ron seemed to be acting strange. I should have asked him how everything was going at home. I really should have asked him about Percy. Be sure to remember to do it tomorrow thought Harry.
The next morning, Harry woke up in his bed to find that it was almost seven o'clock, and that Ron had already gone downstairs to meet up with Hermione.
Gee…thanks for waking me up RonHarry pulled on his robes, grabbed his supplies for the first day of classes, and met up with Ron and Hermione in the Common Room.
"Hi Guys. Lets go!"
When they arrived at breakfast, McGonagall was starting to pass out their timesheets. "Here you go Mr. Potter."
Class Schedule for Mr. Harry James Potter
M,T,W,R,F stands for the days of the week in which you have the class. Unless otherwise noted, classes meet every day of the week, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
8-9: NEWT Preparatory Potions
9-10: NEWT Preparatory Transfiguration
10-11: NEWT Preparatory Charms
11-12: NEWT Preparatory Defense Against the Dark Arts
12-1: Lunch
1-2: NEWT Preparatory Care of Magical Creatures
2-3: NEWT Preparatory Herbology
3-4: Animagi (M,W) / Dueling and the DA (T,R) / None on Friday
4-5: The Return of Lord Voldemort (M,W) / Occlumency (T,R) / None on Friday
5-6: Dinner
6-8: Practicums
Practicum Schedule:
Monday: PotionsTuesday: Herbology
Wednesday: Transfiguration
Thursday: Charms
Friday: Defense Against the Dark Arts
All Homework for your NEWT Preparatory classes is due during the Practicum, which is a two hour class dedicated to practical applications of what you will be learning during the daily classes.
"Well Ron, do you want me back on the Quidditch team?"
"Why do you ask Harry?" asked Ron in between bites.
"Well, because if so, the only days I can be at practice are Fridays from 3-5 and on the Weekends," moaned Harry as he showed Ron his schedule, "Come on! They are going to cause all of us to have breakdowns within a month!"
"Ouch mate, you've got it bad. At least NEWT Prep History of Magic is only three days a week and doesn't have a practicum."
"Harry! Ron! Have you seen our schedules!"
"Yes Hermione," groaned the two of them
"I can't wait to get started!"
"Figures," mumbled Ron under his breath.
"Ron, I meant to ask you this last night. How are you doing? How was your summer?"
"It was OK Harry…Mum was thrilled with my OWLs and with Ginny being names a Prefect. Bill and Charlie are both doing well, and Fred and George's shop really took off. Also, unbelievably, Percy had the gall to owl Mum and Dad. He said something like, "Although you may have been right about Voldemort being back, it is still no excuse for your outrageous anti-ministry behavior."
"Wow. I hope he makes up with them soon."
"Harry! Ron! Hurry up and eat…we don't want to start off the year being late to our first class. Ron, you've got Charms, and Harry and me have potions. We'll see you later Ron in Defense Against the Dark Arts," told Ron as she pulled Harry from his seat and pushed him down towards the dungeons, off to their first class, NEWT Preparatory Potions, with Professor Snape.
A/N and other ramblings: I got a Beta reader everyone!!! Her name is Annerimae. As for romantic pairings…only thing Ill promise is no Harry/Cho…Cho's too much of a basket case…Harry doesn't need that kind of drama. Also, when I am on AIM (although it may be rather rare) feel free to IM me. I noticed the italics didn't some through on the last chapter…I'll be sure to double check that in the future. Also, for those who were wondering, I'm a Hufflepuff with some Ravenclaw tendencies. And lots have asked if I could email them when I update…do you want me to start up a Yahoo Group emailing list? I can if enough people want me to. Ron's Quidditch captain because, well, there was no one else to do it. Harry isn't on the team technically, and Ginny's too inexperienced along with the two beaters. As usual…all your reviews astound me. Keep 'em coming :-)