Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter & the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers (though this plot here is mine J). I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be) & I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah....forget it & let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
HARRY POTTER & THE POWER OF HOGWARTS
Chapter 12 – Back At Hogwarts
"Just make sure you remember your promise" Harry said as Wormtail bowed before him. "I almost forgot Wormtail..." Harry said as he raised scaly fingers which held a wand made of yew wood and a phoenix core "…Crucio"
&&&&
Harry got up sweating heavily. He had just had another vision of Voldemort where Voldemort had been punishing Wormtail. As much as he hated Wormtail, he never wanted anyone to get hurt by Voldemort.
Looking around he saw the whole room was still shrouded by darkness. "Lumos" He said as he pointed his wand towards his bedside table where he usually kept his watch before going to bed. It read 1:30 a.m. Shaking his head to get rid of the terrible dream Harry felt drained of energy. He needed more sleep than this night would provide and so he took a marble from his trouser pocket and pressed hard on a black spot on it. The next thing he felt was a short pull behind his navel and he found himself in his trunk. Luckily for himself, he had arrived in the middle of the night in the trunk too and hence, both Tonks and Remus were deep asleep.
Harry proceeded to his room and lay down. He tried to get back to sleep but somehow, even though his body felt tired, his mind seemed to have become hyperactive. Finally, after tossing and turning for over half an hour, he gave up his efforts to sleep and raised himself to a sitting position.
Harry's thoughts were focused on his visions of Voldemort. He had been having these visions for quite a while now but somehow Voldemort had been unable to discover his presence. For a moment he went back to what Dumbledore had said at Grimmauld Place regarding the distinguishing between his own thoughts and implanted ones. He knew that there was only one way to know whether these thoughts or visions had been implanted by Voldemort or not. He meditated.
After an hour's meditation, Harry was sure that these memories were not implanted ones. From what Dumbledore had told him and from what he had read in his books, an implanted memory always made a 'watermark' impression on a particular part of the mind. This part of the mind was the one which created the link between two people's minds. After a thought had been implanted, it went on to intermingle and move freely with thoughts but not before leaving a mild impression. The stronger the wizard, the less deep was the impression of the implanted thought. It took Harry over 30 minutes to locate the exact spot and even though he explored each and every part of that region minutely, he could find no impressions. After that, he came to the conclusion that these were certainly not implanted images.
This further deepened the mystery for Harry. If these were not implanted ones then that would mean that all these events had really taken place which, in turn, raised the question as to how could Voldemort not feel his presence? Being the powerful wizard that Voldemort was, how could he have not detected Harry for so long? Harry was deeply lost in his thoughts and was trying to figure out why he had been undetected when his thoughts shifted to those of Percy.
All he heard from the transmission from Percy's robe button was only related to the ministry. It seemed that nowadays Voldemort was not summoning all of his death eaters but rather, he had given some of them long term missions. From what Harry had heard over the past few weeks, Percy had been trying to gain information regarding ministry officials who were likely candidates for recruitment as death eaters. Also, Percy was trying to gain information about some rumors about some kind of a wizarding security council. Fudge had formed the council as Harry had suggested but had not made any public announcement regarding it. Only those in the council knew about its full powers while the remaining ministry officials were rumoring about 'overturned proposals by someone else'. Fudge usually made all the decisions of the council public in the name of the minister but many people doubted that Fudge would take decisions which were not favorable to his bank balance. Hence the rumors about some secondary force were making the rounds and everyone knew that this mainly referred to Albus Dumbledore.
&&&&
"GET UP"
Harry woke up with a start and covered his ears with his hands. Some devilish creature had screamed into his ears and had woken him up when he didn't want to. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the blurred outline of a person standing in front of him.
"Why did you have to do that pink-head?" Harry said in an irritated voice as he tried to get up. His body protested against any kind of movement and he felt as if his back and neck were as stiff as iron rods. Slowly he remembered what had happened the night before and understood that he had drifted off to sleep in a sitting position.
"It's purple-head today and the end justifies the means" Tonks replied. "And when did you come here?"
"Last night after everyone had gone to sleep." Harry said as he stretched his body. Apparently, he had fallen asleep in the midst of his 'thinking session'.
"And what was the mighty Potter doing so late at night?" Tonks teased.
"I was trying to see if you were alone or with someone else." Harry was wide awake now and was ready to give as good as he got.
Tonks blushed a bit before saying "You should keep your nose out of other people's private lives."
"Unless they start bring their lovers in here and do things…cough…" Harry grinned. Tonks looked at him for a moment before stomping off in mock anger. "This girl will never grow up" Harry said to himself as he got up from his bed and proceeded outside.
"Hey Harry" Remus said as soon as Harry came into view who noticed that breakfast had already been served. "You are late today."
"Yeah. Went to bed late yesterday" Harry replied as he took his seat at the breakfast table.
"Any problems?" Remus asked in a concerned voice.
"No…none at all" Harry replied a bit more quickly than he would have liked to. "Well, the events of the past 2 days were a bit tiresome" he said, not revealing his latest vision of Voldemort. Remus gave an understanding nod as Tonks came and sat down beside him.
"Did you talk to the headmaster?" Tonks asked Harry as soon as she had taken her seat. "About the death eater?" she added fast so that Harry had no confusion as to what he was supposed to talk about with Dumbledore.
"No" Harry said as he took a bite on a French toast. "I will talk today hopefully"
"What do you think he was after?" Tonks asked Harry hoping that maybe he could satisfy her curiosity for the time being.
"Don't know" Harry replied truthfully.
"I think it is best if we wait for the time being" Remus said to Tonks. "Harry should talk with the headmaster when he feels that it is the right time."
After that, the conversation drifted back to general topics. Soon, breakfast was over and Harry went to his room to sort out what he wanted to do. As he made a mental list of what he had practiced till date, he remembered two things which he had ignored quite often – practicing the invisibility property of the glove and conjuring up objects. Making up his mind to concentrate on these two things, Harry set about to make a routine for practice.
The next few days in the trunk went by quite quickly for Harry though the timeline in his trunk was now faster with respect to that of the rest of the trunk. He started practicing with the invisibility property first because he knew that the conjuring part would come up sooner or later in the classes. Now he usually spent around 14 hours a day practicing with the rest of the time spent in meditation. Finally, after over 50 hours of practice, he was able to become invisible for about a minute even though he was thoroughly exhausted after these sessions.
Now that he had tasted some success with the invisibility part, he moved on to the conjuring portion. He had been able to conjure up basic objects before and now he wanted to conjure up more complex objects. After another 2 days, he was finally able to conjure up a three dimensional octagon. Both Remus and Tonks congratulated him on this which made him feel much better.
"Hey, don't you have your classes tomorrow?" Remus asked as they were having breakfast.
"Yeah" Harry replied.
"So, you have all the essays ready, right?" Tonks asked this time.
Harry stopped eating at that. "DAMN" he shouted and dashed off towards his room. Remus and Tonks smiled knowingly at each other. Finally Remus gave a sad smile and said "Just like James".
Harry worked the whole morning and the afternoon on his essays. Finally, at 6 in the evening, he was able to finish off all them. Feeling very tired, all he wanted to do was go to bed but he knew he couldn't. After all, he had a party planned for this evening.
Coming out of his room, he found that Remus was working on something in his room while Tonks seemed to be spending her time in her favorite hobby – sleeping. Slowly, he wished for a new room at the far end of the 5'th compartment and entered it. He called for Dobby and then set about on his work. Finally, about half an hour before dinner, he and Dobby were finished.
"What is that?" Remus asked as soon as he came out of his room at dinner time. At the far end of the 5'th compartment, there was a room which seemed to be glowing from inside in a golden color. At this very moment, Tonks also came out and stood staring at the 'new' room.
"You guys will have to find out for yourselves" Harry replied with a wide grin.
"So you two are ganging up on us two?" Tonks asked in mock anger as she eyed a grinning Harry and Dobby. None of them said anything and kept grinning. Finally curiosity got the better of both Tonks and Remus and they proceeded towards the room.
"Oh…" Tonks said as she entered the room. Remus also stood beside her with a look of awe on his face. The room they had entered had seemed small from the outside but was quite big on the inside. But that was not the thing which had surprised them but rather, it was the decoration of the room.
The inside of the room would have been completely dark without the multiple sources of lights – about 50 candles – floating in mid air. These candles were emitting all sorts of colored lights which gave the room a unique and cozy feeling. There was a table in the middle of the room which had four seats and there were four candles placed in the middle of the table. A small soothing tune from one of the CD's which Harry had bought was playing in the room (the room had provided a magical music player) which gave the room a very romantic atmosphere. As Tonks entered the room (Remus was held back by Harry), a spotlight fell on her. She looked around at Harry and Remus at the doorway and burst out giggling like a teenager.
"What is this about? Don't tell me Remus is also into this?" Tonks asked, still a bit in awe of the beauty of the room. Harry came forward, his hand behind his back, and stopped in front of Tonks. Slowly, he brought his hidden hand from behind his back and Tonks gasped. He had the rarest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen.
"To Tonks, for saving the life of my friend Hermione" Harry said in an emotional voice. Tonks looked quite emotional herself and accepted the bouquet. She had never expected anything like this for doing what seemed to have been a routine job for her.
"But Harry, you shouldn't…"
"Shh…" Harry stopped her. "Don't argue and let's enjoy" he said and beckoned Remus and Dobby inside. Soon, all four of them were enjoying a delicious dinner which Dobby had cooked.
After the delicious dinner which Dobby had made, Harry was the first to get up and asked Tonks a surprising question "May I have the pleasure of a dance, my fair lady?"
Tonks looked at him in bewilderment as she didn't know what to say or do. After a few silent moments, she managed to nod dumbly which caused Remus to smile.
As soon as Tonks took Harry's hand, the center of the room changed to a dance floor. The music was still a slow one and though Harry was not a good dancer, he was determined to do everything to make this evening special for Tonks. As soon as they started, he felt that Tonks too was not a great dancer herself as she stepped onto his feet. Slowly, they settled into a steady rhythm.
"Harry, you…you…shouldn't have gone into all this trouble" Tonks whispered.
Harry gave a fake frown and said "Really? You don't like all this? Truthfully I don't know much about what girls like but I…"
"Shut up" Tonks whispered sternly. "This is the best thing I have ever had"
"So why are you scolding me like McGonagall?" Harry asked, with a grin lingering on his face.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to sound like that" she replied meekly. Harry just smiled at her and continued at the slow pace. It really felt nice dancing with Tonks and he really felt pleased that Tonks seemed happy. After the tune came to an end, Tonks was startled by a roar of claps before realizing that it was being done by the room. She looked around and saw that both dobby and Remus were clapping very hard and blushed. As she and Harry were returning to their chairs, Remus came up and stopped Tonks.
"My fair lady, is this worthless werewolf worthy enough for a dance with you?" Tonks couldn't help but blush even more at this praise from Remus. She nodded and danced with Remus to a different tune while Harry and Dobby watched from where they were seated at the table. Finally, at around 11:00 at night, they dispersed but not before Tonks had thanked Harry and Dobby profusely for the 'most wonderful evening' of her life.
&&&&
Harry was having an early and quite breakfast on the morning of 3'rd September when he heard footsteps approaching. He didn't pay any attention to them and concentrated on his breakfast.
"Harry, how are you?" a female voice asked him. Looking up, he saw that it was Soha standing in front of him.
"I am ok. How about you?" Harry asked politely. "It was not the best welcome for new students."
"I was a bit scared initially…" Soha said truthfully "…but when I saw how everyone fought, I knew that I am at a safe place."
"Yes, at least people can fight here" Harry confirmed. "And then there is Dumbledore."
"And you?" Soha asked with a smile.
"What me! You mean the boy-who-lived? He is not anything more than a wizard who can fight" Harry replied sarcastically, his gaze returning to his food. Soha understood his discomfort and decided to steer clear of the discussion. "Well, I should be getting back now" Soha said as she saw that many students were trickling in for their breakfast. "Talk to you later".
"Bye" Harry said with a weak smile on his face. He started finishing his breakfast when he heard some familiar voices near him settle down in their respective seats. Without turning his head, he finished his breakfast and proceeded towards his dormitory to collect his books for the Charms class.
"Harry" someone called just as he was reaching the portrait of the fat lady. Harry stopped and turned, knowing fully well who had called out to him.
"Yes Hermione?" He asked in a calm voice devoid of any emotion. Hermione looked upset at Harry's lack of emotions but managed to say what she had come to tell him.
"I wanted to thank Tonks for saving me" she said, glancing nervously around. Maybe she was hoping that Ron had not followed her but Harry didn't want to contemplate on those issues.
"Ok, I will tell her." Harry replied. Before Hermione had a chance to say anything more in this regard, Harry asked "Anything else?"
Hermione stood for a moment and then shook her head, giving him a negative answer. Without waiting for another moment, Harry proceeded to his room and picked up his books. He then went to attend the first class of his new year at Hogwarts.
Entering the classroom, Harry was stunned for a moment. The classroom seemed to have been expanded to thrice of what its natural size had been and all the 6'th year students seemed to be attending a single class. He saw the familiar faces of the Gryffindor's and observed that Ron and Hermione had left a single seat vacant beside them. Pretending that he had not noticed that, he proceeded towards one of the vacant seats in the front of the class where Soha was seated.
"Is this seat taken?" Harry asked as politely as he could. Soha smiled brightly at him and said a quick 'No'. As soon as Harry sat down, a familiar drawling voice called out from behind.
"What's the matter Potter? You seem too attracted to that new girl already." Harry felt Soha shift in her seat uncomfortably but maintained his silence.
"I must say that your choice is better now" Malfoy continued. "At least, she is much better than the mud-blood."
No sooner had these words escaped the mouth of Malfoy that Harry heard a muffled cry from behind and knew that the D.A. was into action and someone might have even landed a small blow.
"Malfoy…" Neville said in a very serious and confident tone which made many people turn around and stare at him "…10 points from Slytherin for your usage of foul language"
"WHAT? Is this a joke Longbottom?" Malfoy's voice did not sound as confident as he would have liked it to be. "Have you been appointed a professor here? Because if you have, then god help us."
"You believe in god Malfoy?" Neville continued in the same tone. "Why not your dark lord?"
Malfoy seemed lost for words at this. He had never expected Neville to reply in this manner. He opened his mouth once and closed it again. Apparently, he couldn't bring himself to talk about Voldemort in front of all the 6'th year students.
"You will pay for this Longbottom." Malfoy said in a deadly voice. Neville didn't care to reply and went back to his seat as many glares followed him. No one had ever seen Neville as confident as this, much less dream of him taking on Malfoy in this manner. For once however, Neville didn't mind the stares as he knew that with time everyone would become accustomed with his new attitude. He knew that only one person in the whole school knew the real motivation behind his new attitude and inwardly thanked him for it.
"Welcome to a new year" tiny Professor Flitwick seemed to be in a very good mood as he started the proceedings of the Charms class. "You all have done exceedingly well in your O.W.Ls and I expect great things from you. This year you will mainly focus on advanced charms while most of the next year will be spent in breaking of charms".
Professor Flitwick then went on to describe what their classes would hold for them. After that, he took in the essays of the students and set them aside for evaluation. He then revised some of the spells they had learnt in the fifth year. Finally, when the class came to and end, he informed everyone that their grades for the essays will be handed over to them in their next class. He also informed them that the classes following from the next day onwards would be double the duration of today's class as it had all the houses together in it.
"He seems a nice enough person" Soha said as soon as they had made their way out of the class.
"Yes" Harry replied. He didn't feel like talking too much right now but didn't want to be impolite with a newcomer whom he didn't know too well.
"Why is that Malfoy after you?" Soha asked but added instantly "…sorry, I don't want to intrude your privacy"
"No problem." Harry replied. After all, there was no point in keeping his 'relationship' with Malfoy a secret from her as she would know about it sooner or later. "Basically I share a love-hate relation with Malfoy." At the astonished look of Soha, Harry added "We love to hate each other."
Soha seemed to relax a bit and smiled at Harry's explanation. "So, is this a very long lasting relation?"
"It has lasted for the past 5 years" Harry replied with a smile as they turned another corridor. "Hopefully it will be a life-long relation". Soha didn't comment any further and continued to walk in silence. Finally they separated near the transfiguration class. Harry had transfiguration with the Hufflepuff's while Soha had CoMC with the Slytherins. Harry once again successfully avoided looking at his best friends and sat down with a Hufflepuff girl named Ana.
"Welcome to everyone" Professor McGonagall began her introductory speech. "You all did well in your O.W.L's but I am afraid that the N.E.W.Ts won't be so easy." Just like her, Harry thought. At the start of the 6'th year, all she can do is remind us of an exam which won't take place at the end of the next year. Who knows, I may not live long enough for that, Harry thought with a wry smile.
"Mr. Potter" Harry was brought back to reality by McGonagall's addressing of him. "Would you like to share the joke with us or should I proceed with the class?"
"Sorry Professor" Harry replied quickly. Joke, that's what his life was but he didn't want to show his emotions so easily. He put up his poker face expression and started taking notes about transfiguring one living being into another. The steps to transfigure seemed easy enough to everyone but most people looked out of sorts when Professor McGonagall told them that the transfigured animal should have all the characteristics of its new form.
At the end of the class, only Hermione managed to transfigure her toad into a talking parrot while the rest of the students could only manage the transfiguration but not the characteristics. McGonagall awarded Hermione 10 points while the rest of the class was told to write down the reasons why they had been unsuccessful and what they needed to do.
"Can you believe it…" Harry heard Ron say "…10 inches of parchment the first day we come back". Without listening to what else Ron and Hermione were talking about, he proceeded towards the great hall for his lunch as fast as he could without raising eyebrows.
"'ello 'arry" Harry stopped before he reached the great hall and turned around to face his newest professor.
"Hello Professor Delacour" Harry said with a smile.
"Please call me Fleur when we are alone" Fleur said with a warm smile.
"Ok Fleur. How are your classes going?" Harry asked as both of them proceeded towards the great hall. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that many people were looking at him and Fleur but he didn't care about it.
"'ts been ok" Fleur replied.
"Had your first class with the Slytherins yet?" Harry asked knowing fully well that they were the greatest trouble makers.
"Yes. 1'st 'nd 2'nd years" Fleur replied with a bit of hurt in her voice. Harry knew that Fleur was a quarter-veela and according to the slytherins, they were half-breeds. He understood that Fleur had problems with her initial classes and couldn't help but pity her for what she would be facing next. By this time they had reached the great hall and both of them said a quick 'see you later' to each other knowing fully well that they would meet again at their class later in the day. As Harry made his way to his seat for lunch, he noticed that Mark was already in the seat opposite to his.
"Hi Mark" Harry said as he sat down.
"Hi Harry" Mark looked up from his plate. Harry noticed that his eyes were full of excitement and joy just like he must have been after his first class. "You are quite famous here Harry, aren't you?". Apparently most of his fellow first years had asked Mark as to how he knew the boy-who-lived.
"Yeah" Harry replied sarcastically. "So, how is it going till now?" Harry asked, changing the subject quickly.
"It's great here" Mark exclaimed. "I mean, there are so many…" and Mark started to describe his impressions of the first day at school. Harry quietly listened to everything until a voice called from behind.
"Mr. Potter"
"Yes Professor" Harry said, turning around to face McGonagall.
"If you are finished, then the headmaster will like to have a word with you"
"Yes ma'am. I am finished here" Harry said as he got up. "See you later Mark"
"See ya Harry" Mark replied.
Harry and McGonagall started the long walk from the great hall towards the headmaster's office in complete silence. After a while, McGonagall asked quietly "Have you changed your mind on quidditch?"
Harry was a bit startled at the question but recovered quickly "No Professor".
"I see" McGonagall replied. "Have you applied for a license?"
"License? What do…" Harry said before he realized that McGonagall was talking about the apparation license. "I will think about it" he said.
"You can't go on breaking rules Mr. Potter"
"I will keep that in mind" Harry replied quietly. The last thing he wanted now was to get into an argument with his professor. Thankfully, they had reached the stone gargoyle which was the entrance to the headmaster's office. McGonagall gave the password ('Cadbury') and left Harry alone. Harry took the spiraling staircase and was soon in front of the headmaster's office door.
"Come in Harry" Dumbledore said from inside even as Harry had raised his hand to knock. Harry wondered for a moment as to whether Dumbledore had x-ray vision or not but found that he really didn't need any answer to that. After all, even if he found an answer to that, what good would it do to him? Clearing his mind of these thoughts, he entered the office of Dumbledore who seemed to have been waiting for him.
"Have a seat Harry" Dumbledore said with a warm smile. "Want some of these?" Dumbledore said as he held out a box of muggle sweets to Harry. The box had the name Cadbury written on it. "I can assure you that these are very good…" Dumbledore said "…though people say that I shouldn't eat a lot of these" he finished off with a chuckle.
"Thank you for your offer sir but I don't think I will want these so soon after lunch" Harry said as he refused to take up the offer. "You wanted to see me?"
"I thought you wanted to see me Harry" Dumbledore replied as he was putting away the box on the table. Harry looked on for a moment and knew that it was really him that wanted to see the headmaster. After all, it was he who had numerous queries about what had happened on the first night back to school.
"Yes sir" Harry agreed with his headmaster. "I have a number of things to ask you". Getting an affirmative nod from Dumbledore, Harry went on to ask his first question.
"How did they get in sir? I mean, there are wards around Hogwarts and…" Harry stopped at this and looked on for an answer.
"Well, that's a fairly easy question. Basically they didn't break any of the wards. All they did was come to the edge of the Hogwarts wards and walk the distance to the castle. That's the easiest way to get in."
"But sir, if death eaters and giants penetrate Hogwarts so easily…" Harry's voice trailed off at his apparent flow of uneasy thoughts.
"Like I had said before Harry…" Dumbledore said "…Hogwarts is not strong because of its wards or anything. It is strong because of the people in it. And if we had somehow managed to create wards to stop death eaters, then that would have been the first thing we would have done to each and every house in England. And if such magic existed at Hogwarts, Professor Snape would never have been able to get in without sounding an alarm" Dumbledore chuckled at the thought.
"But there were wards around Privet Drive" Harry said.
Dumbledore took another chocolate and continued thoughtfully "Yes…yes. But you are a special case Harry". Seeing that Harry was about to protest at this statement, Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him. With a smile, he continued "I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was that you are special because of your link with Voldemort. Creating wards around Privet Drive was possible mainly because of your scar"
"My scar? But that links me to Voldemort. Then how come death eaters didn't attack me?" Harry looked completely bewildered.
"Yes. Death eaters couldn't have attacked you even if they had known where you are, it is quite advanced magic really". Dumbledore paused for a moment as he seemed to look right into Harry and evaluate whether Harry should be told about what he had in his mind. Ultimately, he decided that being straightforward was the best way. "Actually, your scar links you with the dark mark".
Harry looked completely shocked at this. How could he be linked with the dark mark? He knew about the bond he and Voldemort shared but a link with the dark mark – it seemed a disgusting thought to him. He finally thought that he had been hallucinating but one look at Dumbledore showed him that he had heard everything correctly. Seeing Harry at a loss of words, Dumbledore decided to continue as fast as he could.
"It's not as bad as you think. I can only guess what you must be feeling but I regret to tell you that there is no way we can change this fact". With a sigh, Dumbledore started looking out of the window while Fawkes flew over to Harry's shoulder and gave a trill. Harry seemed to relax a bit as he felt Fawkes on his shoulder. After quite a few moments, Dumbledore continued "The day you got the scar was the day some of Voldemort's magic was transferred to you; like the fact that you became a parselmouth. My belief was that the dark mark was also linked to you and I tried to check it". At this, Dumbledore paused for a few more moments.
"I asked Severus to approach you but whenever he came close to you somehow…somehow you felt him. You were a child then, still unable to talk but you would start crying. This confirmed my suspicions. I was then able to ward off Privet Drive based on your link." Dumbledore's eyes did not have any twinkling in them as he said this.
Harry, in the meanwhile had found his speech and asked "But then why did you keep the Ord…you-know-which people trailing me?"
"Harry, these wards protect you the most when you are near your blood relatives. The scar links you with the dark side…" At this statement Dumbledore noticed Harry shiver a bit but he had long decided that being truthful was the best thing to do. "…but your relatives link you to the light side. So, the farther you go from your relatives, the weaker the wards get. That's why I had asked some of your well wishers to look after you."
Harry sat still for a few moments. He was 'linked' to the dark side. What did that mean? Did it mean that he wanted to harm people just like Voldemort did? And the hat…the hat had said that he would have become a great Slytherin. Were these two things related?
Harry was brought out of his thoughts by a string of notes by Fawkes. He felt a strange calmness pass through him and he decided that it was best if he meditated later on about what he had just heard.
"Sir, I might have more questions regarding this matter later on" Harry said.
"I understand Harry. You will always find your answers in this room" Dumbledore replied with a smile. He knew Harry would come back for more answers but for now he would have to answer other questions.
"Sir, why were you so anxious that evening?" Harry asked remembering very well the expression on Dumbledore's face that evening. Dumbledore gave a slight smile and replied "What would you be if you had been in my place with so many students to protect?"
Harry understood what Dumbledore meant and felt that it was reasonable enough. After all, Hogwarts was like a symbol of hope to the light wizards and it would have been disastrous if children had died on that day.
"What puzzles me Harry is why you still haven't asked about the giants?" The twinkle was back in its rightful place as the headmaster gave a warm smile.
"I was about to ask you about that. Also, I wanted to know what a death eater was doing near your office" Harry said before hastening to add "only if you want me to know about it". Dumbledore adjust his glasses one more time even as Harry absent mindedly continued to stroke Fawkes. Finally, Dumbledore spoke again.
&&&&
"'allo there Harry" Hagrid called out as soon as he saw Harry arrive for the CoMC class. Harry smiled back and noticed that he was the last person to arrive and all the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were looking at him strangely. He didn't mind their looks as his mind was still pondering over what Dumbledore had told him. Also, he knew that if he had to keep up with his current way of avoiding people, then getting used to strange looks was a necessity.
Harry absentmindedly heard Hagrid give them an introduction to what they would be learning this year. He also heard Hagrid say something about learning about dragons and unicorns and some other creatures. At last, after what seemed to be a long time to Harry, he found himself walking off the grounds and making his way towards the Defense classroom.
The Defense classroom was also much like the Charms classroom. All the students of 6'th year were packed into one room which seemed to have been expanded to thrice of it's initial size. Harry quickly found Soha sitting on one of the front row benches and went over to her. Taking a seat beside Soha, Harry noticed that Cho was just behind him while Ron and Hermione were on his right hand side bench.
"So, it seems many people have got O's" Snape said as soon as he entered the class. "You think you deserve these grades?" His eyes were fixed on Neville who didn't shy away from the challenge and kept meeting Snape's gaze. "Those who 'accidentally' got O's will have to watch their backs in this class". All the slytherins snickered at this. Harry, who was sitting beside Neville, also gave a weak smile. He knew that Snape was in for a big surprise if he tried to experiment with the accidental O's students.
"What are you smiling at Potter?" Snape bellowed as he noticed Harry. Out of the corner of his eyes Harry saw Malfoy making a face but ignored him.
"I was thinking about what would happen to those people who got accidental O's" Harry said without hesitation. Almost all the D.A. members sported a grin but none dared to show it in front of Snape. Neville covered his mouth as discreetly as possible while Ron looked down hard at his bench. Cho and the others started to get their books opened in a hurry and found it very interesting. Only Hermione looked angry at Harry for taking on Snape
"10 points from Gryffindor Potter. Don't think what may happen to others. Think what may happen to you in this class if you are not up to the mark"
"May I speak sir?" Harry asked politely. He knew that if he did even the slightest thing wrong, then Snape would strip more house points off him.
"Speak quickly…" Snape said in a low, dangerous whisper. "…I don't have all day"
"Thank you for your advice sir" Harry said in a polite voice. Snape looked absolutely livid at this but knew that he couldn't take points off a student who thanked a professor for advice, added to the fact that the student had asked for permission to talk. Giving a death glare at Harry, Snape started of with the class.
"The headmaster wants you to learn about how to fight dark wizards though I would not be surprised if most of you got fried within seconds. You will learn the ground quaking curse today whose incantation is Humus Contremisco. Aren't you supposed to write all this down?" Snape bellowed.
Harry smiled inwardly as he started taking notes. The hex which Snape was talking about was known to everyone in the D.A. though the intensity of the tremor created by this curse varied from person to person. As soon as everyone had taken down their notes, Snape told them that they would practice the curse.
"LongBottom" Snape called out with a deadly smile on his lips. The slytherins broke out in laughter but Neville didn't flinch a bit.
"Yes sir?" Neville asked.
"Get down here". Neville did as he was told and soon found himself standing about 30 feet from Snape.
"Now…" Snape sneered "Aim near my feet and try not to blow away the whole room". Many of the slytherins laughed openly at this as they thought that Neville wouldn't be able to cast the spell correctly. Harry, on the other hand, could see the anger rising inside Neville and became worried. He knew Neville was perfectly capable of performing the spell but didn't know whether he would be able to control the full effect of the spell in such a mood.
"Humus Contremisco" Neville said in a very angry tone of voice and a jet of light sped towards Snape's feet. With grim satisfaction, Harry saw a look of horror in the eyes of Snape as the light hit a spot about 2 feet from where he stood. The next instant all of those present heard a loud blast and a thud. The place where Snape had been standing had been replaced by a small crater while Snape himself had flown across the room and crashed into the wall behind him. As the dust settled down, people saw a shaking Neville walking back to his seat while Snape lay unconscious near the point where he had crashed.
"Now what?" Soha looked quite disturbed at how Snape had behaved with Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors.
"We wait" Harry replied with a smile. He looked around and saw Malfoy rushing towards Snape with his wand in his hand, obviously to enervate him. Just as Malfoy raised his wand, a voice stopped him.
"Draco Malfoy" Cho called out making Malfoy turn around. "You are not supposed to hex a professor without his consent".
"Chang, don't you see he is unconscious? And who are you to stop me?" Malfoy sneered.
"You may go and get Madam Pomfrey or any other professor to enervate him" Cho said. "But Hogwarts rules say that a student cannot cast a spell on a professor without their permission. And as to what I can do…" Cho looked very angry as she said this "…I will show you if you give me the chance".
Malfoy seemed to regard Cho's words carefully as he knew that she was telling the truth. Harry guessed that Malfoy would take the safe way out and call a professor. He knew he had to do something now.
"What's the matter Malfoy?" Harry said with a sneer which could give Snape a run for his money. "Afraid of a girl's threat? What would papa Malfoy say to this?"
This had the desired effect on Malfoy who shouted "Shut up Potter. I will do as I see fit". With that Malfoy proceeded to enervate Snape. Snape looked dizzy for a few seconds in which Cho gave out a verdict.
"50 points from Slytherin for using magic on a professor without his consent". Malfoy looked furious at this. Snape, who had recovered by this time, looked quite bewildered. "Also, you will serve a detention for a week. The time and place will be told to you by your head of the house. Your head of the house will be informed about the time and place within 24 hours from now" Cho looked quite smug as she finished her statement. She knew that Snape would be really angry with her but, to tell the truth, she really didn't care. She knew that she was well within her rights to do what she did and no one could challenge her on that.
"Miss. Chang" an enraged Snape said; the expression on his face more horrible than the Ravenclaws had ever seen before. "Who are you to hand out detentions and to take points?"
"Professor, I am a member of the Hogwarts Peace Keeping Force and Headmaster Dumbledore has given us these rights". Seeing the look of utter loathing on the face of Snape, Cho added "We use these rights only when someone does not follow the rules set for the students".
Seeing the look on Snape's face, Harry wanted to laugh out but didn't dare to do so. From the mood Snape seemed to be in, Snape would kill him for even moving in his seat. He had seldom seen Snape so furious and was really grateful to Cho for making such a bold move. As he watched on, Snape seemed to be getting angrier by the moment as he understood that he had no method of overruling the H.P.K.F.
"CLASS DISMISSED" Snape shouted at everyone present. Everyone in the class hurried out as fast as they could and no one dared to look Snape in the eye.
"Is he always like that?" Soha asked when she and Harry were out of Snape's hearing range.
"Not with everyone" Harry replied. "If you are a Slytherin, he will go around giving sweets to you". Soha chuckled at this even though she was extremely nervous. She had never had a teacher who behaved in this manner or who seemed to be so biased. Changing countries was a hard enough thing to do but dealing with a professor like this every day seemed much tougher.
"You shouldn't have provoked Malfoy like that" Soha said after a few moments, sounding almost like Hermione. Just then, Cho had caught up with them. "Thanks Harry" she said with a smile and quickly passed ahead. Harry just gave a nod in reply. The same thing happened as Neville came and thanked him along with a host of other D.A. members. Harry was satisfied when he saw that neither Ron or Hermione or Ginny had come up and said anything to him.
"What's the matter with everyone here?" Soha looked surprised at everyone's reaction to the events of the defense class.
"Soha…" Harry turned to look at her as they kept walking. "…hang around the git Malfoy for a few days and you will get the answer to that question of yours". Soha didn't say anything and kept walking.
"We have potions together, right?" Soha asked after a few moments.
"Yeah" Harry replied. "In around 45 minutes".
"What do you plan to do now?"
"I think I will just hang around the grounds for some time" Harry said. Not wanting to be impolite, he asked "You have some other work or would you like to join me?" Soha seemed pleased at this and took up his offer. Both Harry and Soha walked out on to the grounds even as a lot of boys stood staring at Soha.
"Seems like you have already gathered a big fan following" Harry said with a smile as he saw all the boys around. Soha blushed at this. She was quite used to having boys stare at her in her old school.
"Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you." Harry said quickly as they sat down on a green patch of grass near the quidditch field. "So, you must be missing your old school a lot?" Harry said, trying to change the topic. He saw Soha relax a bit and felt good about it. Harry and Soha talked for quite some time. Soon, it was time for their first potions class and both of them proceeded together towards the dungeons.
"Why do they use dungeons for this class?" Soha asked nervously and it was quite apparent that she didn't like the look of the classroom at all. Harry just gave a shrug of his shoulders to indicate that he had no idea about it. Both of them had taken one of the front seats and slowly the class started to fill in with the rest of the students.
"Welcome everyone" Professor Delacour said as she emerged from her adjoining office. "My english iz not ze best so pleaze excuze me". Everyone smiled at this to relieve their professor of the tension she was in. Seeing the smiles of everyone, Fleur relaxed inwardly.
"First zings first, your essays pleaze". Everyone took out their essays and Fleur summoned them. After all the essays were nicely stacked on her table, Fleur proceeded to explain some things. She told everyone that the room had been charmed so as to neutralize her veela charm. Also, she explained what kind of potions they would be brewing this year. Finally, before starting on their first potion, she asked everyone for co-operation as it was her first time in teaching.
&&&&
An exhausted Harry entered the trunk late at night. For the first time in his life, he had been able to brew a potion without anyone constantly hovering around him. He actually enjoyed the class and found that potion brewing was not as hard as Snape made it out to be. Thanking Dumbledore for shifting Snape to DADA, he fell asleep without even bothering to undress.
"WAKE UP"
"Why do you always have to do that?" Harry asked groggily.
"Because I love to do it to people who tease me" Tonks said with a smile. Harry had gotten up by now and performed a quick mouth-cleaning charm on himself.
"Now tell me what happened?" Tonks said eagerly as they made their way to the dining table where Remus was already seated.
"What do you mean what happened?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore" Tonks said. "Did you talk to him about what had happened on the first evening?" Harry gave an affirmative nod but before Tonks could say anything more, Remus stopped her.
"Let him have his breakfast Tonks". Tonks agreed to this and asked Harry to finish up his breakfast as soon as possible. In between drinking a glass of lemonade, Harry told Tonks that Hermione had thanked her.
"So, you are back with your friends?" Tonks asked a bit hesitantly.
"No" came the curt reply. Tonks didn't push the issue any more and let Harry finish his breakfast. Finally when everyone was seated on a couch provided by the room, Harry explained what Dumbledore had told him.
"…and I asked about the giants and the death eater near his office. He told me that the giant killed by Hagrid had been buried in the forest. The other giant whom we had stunned is also in the forest along with the last giant. Both of them are being held captive and are recovering from their wounds. Hagrid is talking to them and trying to get them over to our side. He is explaining to them that Dumbledore won't leave them to die as Voldemort (both Tonks and Remus flinched) had done. Hopefully they will join us" Harry said.
"I hope they do" Tonks said. "Both of them are really huge".
"What about the death eater?" Remus asked quietly. Harry took a deep breath and said "Dumbledore thinks he was after Gryffindor's sword".
"WHAT!" Tonks exclaimed. Both Remus and Tonks knew how Harry had pulled out the sword from the hat during his encounter with Tom Riddle.
"Did he explain anything to you?" Remus asked as calmly as he could.
"Yes. He has a theory behind it. He thinks that Voldemort perceives it as a potent weapon and doesn't want it to remain in Hogwarts. Dumbledore says that Voldemort maybe planning to destroy the sword so that I cannot use it against him" Harry replied.
"But why would You-Know-Who fear it?" Tonks asked. "I mean, it's only a sword."
"No Tonks, it's not just any sword" Remus said. "Godric Gryffindor used it in all the wars he fought. It is even rumored that he had used the sword to defeat Salazar Slytherin himself which caused Slytherin to leave Hogwarts. Even though it might just be a rumor, I think that sword has many magical properties. Maybe the dark side is really afraid of it otherwise You-Know-Who wouldn't have taken such a risk."
"Maybe…" Tonks said thoughtfully. "But at least they failed in whatever they might have been trying" this thought brightened her up. The others also agreed with her and then they proceeded to do their work according to their priorities. The trunk had two timelines now, one which went at twice the rate of the outside world while in the other one, an hour was equivalent to one day in the outside world. Harry always used the faster timeline while Tonks and Remus preferred the slower one. Both Remus's and Tonks's rooms had the slower timeline of the trunk and Harry would find them sleeping most of the time. Also, nowadays he was having a hard time in controlling himself from waking up Tonks in the middle of the night with a shout of 'wake up'.
The next few days in the trunk were quite straining on Harry, both mentally and physically. His physical energy was used up in dueling practice while the rest of the time was spent in meditation. He had meditated a lot about what Dumbledore had told him about his link to the dark mark but somehow, there seemed to be something about the link which he couldn't understand. It was not like that he couldn't understand Dumbledore's words but it was more like he was asking his inner mind for a further explanation ad confirmation of what Dumbledore had told him. He didn't know why but something seemed to be missing and he thought it best to let time decide what he was unable to understand.
Also, his mental strength was tested to a greater limit when Tonks put him through a rigorous test to decide his conjuring skills. He was told to conjure all kinds of objects, even a full version of 3, Sunshine Villa but Harry couldn't conjure up everything. The test lasted a full 3 hours before Tonks gave him an 'Acceptable' grade in conjuring items. Harry thanked Tonks and was about to finish of some other work when Tonks informed him that his test was not over yet. He had cleared only the practical examination and the theory was reserved for the post-lunch period. Knowing that Tonks was doing this for his own good, Harry decided to go through with the whole thing. Finally, his theory test produced an "Exceeding Expectations' grade which left both Remus and Tonks surprised.
&&&&
The first week of school seemed to pass in a blur. His progress in the trunk had been quite good. He had been able to stay invisible for around 2 minutes using the glove while his conjuring skills also seemed to have picked up. Harry was also making good progress in all the classes though Hermione was better than him in almost everything. Harry didn't mind the fact at all as he knew that he was learning things mostly to survive and live, and not to earn grades. He always gave Hermione a run for her money when it came to performing spells and most often than not, they would end up beating each other by some milliseconds. Conjuring was one field where Harry was having a lot of problem and he approached Professor McGonagall for some finer tips. The help provided by McGonagall was put to good use by Harry.
Defense classes had become somewhat dull now. Snape didn't take the chance to call upon any of the H.P.K.F to demonstrate spells though every now and then, Neville would become the butt of jokes. It was another fact that Neville didn't take the jokes too seriously and performed his best whenever called upon. Later in the week, Snape had said that there would be duels in the classes which would have a reflection on their house points. Snape himself would award points to those who demonstrated greater fighting abilities. This had led to many behind-the-back whispers that the awarding of points would be unfair and that Snape had devised this as a method of getting back at the H.P.K.F.
Surprisingly for Harry, Snape didn't pick on him too much during classes which seemed unusual at first but later on Harry understood that Snape knew he was good in DADA. This seemed a logical enough reason for not messing too much with him.
Harry had also developed a good relation with Soha. She seemed a nice enough girl and from what he could gather from the classes, she had the brains to match her beauty. Many students could be heard rumoring that Harry was having an affair with Soha but both of them took it in their stride as they found no reason to go out of their way to shut up other people.
Potions were another portion in which Harry seemed to have developed a keen interest. He found out that about a variety of potions which worked similar to spells and he was trying to learn them as best as he could. He knew that knowing these potions would only help him in the future.
The best part of the week came when the H.P.K.F. informed Snape of the detention of Malfoy. Malfoy was assigned a detention of a week with Hagrid between 7:00 in the evening to 12 at night. These caused a huge uproar amongst the slytherins but even Snape couldn't help it. After all, the H.P.K.F was technically correct and he couldn't overrule them. Malfoy reported to Hagrid the whole week as asked who, in turn, made him cut the grass evenly over the whole of Hogwarts grounds. Malfoy, not used to this kind of work, seemed thankful to Hagrid mainly because he liked this work rather than wandering in the forbidden forest at night.
Malfoy looked sullen throughout the week and didn't poke too much fun at Harry. Harry came to the conclusion that either Malfoy was too tired to make fun of him or he was afraid that Harry would use his friendly relations with Hagrid to make him do more dangerous stuff than usual. Harry had himself decided that as long as he had Malfoy in his grip, he wouldn't let go of any chance which Malfoy offered. But he also knew that Hagrid would not take any rash decisions regarding students and Harry waited patiently for the whole week for Malfoy to make a mistake so that he could convince Hagrid to take Malfoy to the forbidden forest. Alas, Malfoy proved smarter than usual and did not provoke Harry for the entire week.
Everyone received their essay grades soon. Harry saw that his grades were not too bad but nothing to be proud of. In any case he hadn't expected to get good grades, not when he had put in only some hasty hours in finishing up his essays. Mentally he thanked Tonks for reminding him of his essays; otherwise he would have failed in each of them and would have had to do additional essays.
It was on the weekend that two unexpected events happened. The first of them was the meeting between Harry and the Slytherin girl whom he had saved. The girl had asked him to meet him in the library during lunchtime. Knowing fully well that he could skip lunch and just go down to the kitchens for some food, Harry decided to meet this girl.
"Hi" Harry said as soon as he found the girl in the library. The girl looked startled and was relieved to see Harry. Apparently, she didn't want anyone from her house to know she was meeting Harry Potter.
"Hello" she replied tentatively as Harry took down a seat opposite to her. Harry understood that the girl was on the edge and he took a book from a nearby self and opened it. The girl took the hint and did the same and buried her face in the book. If anyone came now, they could always pretend that they had been reading. After a few moments, Harry finally said "I am Harry".
"I know. I am Rowena" the girl replied.
"Rowena Ravenclaw?" Harry asked in an amused voice. The girl giggled at his intended joke and replied with a quick 'no'.
"I wanted to thank you for saving my life" Rowena finally said.
"Ok. I know I can't stop you from thanking me but please try to run the next time" Harry said in an affectionate voice. "Those curses are really bad stuff"
"I know" Rowena said in a cryptic voice. Harry looked up from his book and saw a sad expression on the face of Rowena. As soon as their eyes met, Rowena turned back towards the book in front of her and a cold mask covered her face. Harry guessed that her family must be in the dark arts and didn't force any questions onto her.
"So, is that it?" Harry asked after another few moments of tense silence had passed. Rowena looked up uncertainly and Harry could tell that she had many things to say but it looked like she was fighting an internal force. After some time Rowena's face again set back to a cold mask and she gave an affirmative nod to Harry. Harry gave a reassuring smile and thanked her.
"Why are you thanking me?" Rowena asked in surprise.
"Because you are the first person in Slytherin who has talked to me normally. Whoever has talked to me till now has…" Harry's voice trailed off at this. Rowena seemed to understand his feelings but didn't say anything about it. "Now…" Harry said "…run to the great hall or you will miss lunch". Rowena nodded and went as quickly as possible while Harry sat for 5 more minutes before following her. But even as he was proceeding towards the great hall, someone else called him from behind.
"'arry"
"Hi Professor" Harry said with a smile as he turned to greet Fleur.
"Hello Mizter Potter" Fleur said with smile. Harry couldn't help but laugh at all this formality.
"Are you going towards the great hall professor?" Harry asked.
"Yes Mizter Potter" Fleur replied in a close imitation of McGonagall.
"Ok, then we can go together" Harry said and fell in step with Fleur. After a few steps, Fleur spoke again.
"Can you meet me at my offize tomorrow?"
Harry looked puzzled for a moment before replying "Sure. When should I come?"
"At 3:00 in ze afternoon?"
"Ok" Harry replied. They talked about a few more things before finally reaching the great hall with only 15 minutes of the lunch session remaining. Harry said a quick goodbye to Fleur and proceeded towards his seat, and lunch.
&&&&
"May I come in Professor?" Harry asked as he opened the door of the potions classroom. Inside he saw Fleur working on a potion.
"Yes" Fleur said quickly. "Pleaze take a seat. I will be with you in a minute"
Harry waited patiently for a few minutes as Fleur finally set aside the cauldron which contained some grayish fluid. She set aside the cauldron and asked Harry to follow her to her office. Once inside, Harry saw that it was as nicely decorated as a dungeon could be. One side of the room had a shelf which was filled with different items needed for potions whereas the other side had a stack of books and papers on it. Everything was nicely arranged and Harry thought that the dungeon seemed quite cozy.
Fleur, who was noticing Harry take in the surroundings, sat down on her seat and said "Professor Snape azked me to be careful about disappearing suppliez". This brought Harry back to his senses and he sat down on the chair offered to him by Fleur with a smile plastered on his face.
"I don't know why Professor Snape would do that. You mean he didn't keep a stock of his items?" Harry asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Fleur just returned his smile and said nothing.
"So Pro…oops…Fleur, how is Gabrielle?" Harry asked.
"She iz fine and azkz about you a lot" Fleur said with a smile. "How are you doing?"
"I am fine" Harry replied.
"Headmazter Dumbledore told me about what happened in ze ministry building lazt year. I waz sorry to hear it"
"Life goes on" was all Harry said in reply.
"Yes, thatz true" Fleur said. Not wanting to go into the past too much, Fleur asked "How's Soha?"
"Wha…" Harry gaped. So now even the professors thought that they were an item.
"Kidding" Fleur replied. Harry let out a huge sigh of relief at this. "If I am not wrong, then you two are zust friends, right?"
"Fleur, drop it" Harry said with a bit of irritation in his voice.
"I am sorry if I angered you" Fleur said apologetically.
"No…it's just that some of the students…no…no…no need to apologize" Harry said realizing that his voice may have sounded more irritated than he wanted it to. Fleur gave a weak smile at this but still had a guilty look on her face.
"So, what did you want to see me about?" Harry asked in a gentle voice. Fleur seemed happy with the change of topic and immediately summoned a bag from the shelves.
"Thiz…" she said as she handed Harry a bottle "…iz a bottle of ze bezt French perfume. Thiz iz a gift from Gabrielle"
"But this…" Harry stammered a bit as he looked at the expensive looking perfume bottle "…this is costly. I can't take it…I mean…"
"You have to take it…" Fleur said "…or Gabrielle will kill me. Don't worry, it iz not az expensive az you think"
"But why does Gabrielle want me to have perfume?" Harry wondered a bit too aloud for his own taste.
"Becauze she wantz her hero to be the bezt guy here" Fleur replied with a smile.
"Hero?" Harry seemed shocked.
"Yes. You will get to know more about her when you vizit our home during Christmaz." Fleur seemed to be enjoying the different emotions passing on Harry's face.
"What?" Harry asked in total bewilderment.
"Yes…" Fleur said "…our family wantz you to celebrate christmaz with uz. Would you like to come?" The last part of the statement was said in a tentative voice by Fleur.
"Well…" Harry said before he got lost in his thoughts. He had just got a formal request to visit France during Christmas but Christmas was still too far away and he had not even thought about it. As far as he could guess, he would like to spend Christmas with Tonks and Remus. Whether it was in a big castle or a small dingy cottage, it didn't matter to him as long as they were with him. Still, he couldn't take a decision on their behalf and he knew he would have to talk to them. Also, Harry thought with a smile on his lips, it would be interesting to see Remus in the presence of Veela's.
"You are smiling?" Fleur broke Harry's chain of thoughts with this question.
"Oh sorry…I was just thinking about something else" Harry said. "Look Fleur, actually I haven't thought about Christmas yet". Seeing her crestfallen face, Harry quickly added "I think I will be able to tell you something soon. Look, I am not accepting neither refusing. I just need some time to make up my mind."
Fleur looked happy at this. Gabrielle had been owling her regularly for an answer and now she had one. Even though it was not the one which would make Gabrielle happy, she knew that until Harry replied in the negative, there was hope that he would come. She desperately wanted Harry to come as she knew that his presence meant a lot to her sister and she was ready to do anything for her.
"Ok 'arry, I will tell my family what you told me. Hopefully you will come, Gabrielle wants to meet you very much" Fleur said.
"I will try Fleur" Harry replied. He made a metal note to ask Remus and Tonks as soon as possible so as to put Gabrielle out of her misery. Finally, after chatting for another hour, Harry got up to leave.
"Say to Gabrielle that I love her present" Harry said as he left the office, leaving behind a smiling Fleur.
&&&&
A/N:
Ok guys, here's the 12'th chapter. Ok…ok…this is a week late but I really have to earn a living, right? I really try to update every week but if I don't, then please understand I am having problems. Thanks :)
If you guys are disappointed, then just say it in your reviews. And thanks to everyone who read this.
Altariel4 – I won't comment on the ships now but I am all ears for suggestions.
snelly– In my story, the POV jumps around mostly during battle scenes. Other than that, I try to maintain Harry's POV. Thanks for all your suggestions and I try to update once a week.
snifflers– I might have been mistaken on Macnair's name but I really don't know. Anyway, thanks for pointing it out. As to killing Ron…hmmm… ;). And about reading other fics, all I can say is that I spend all my free time writing this fic. Do you wish me to stop? ;)
bloomimgtownie– Maybe I tried too hard on the fight in the last chapter. I also feel that the POV jumped around too much which is not the case in the Azkaban battle. I will try to provide a more balanced fight scene the next time.
Szihuoko– You seem hell bent on saying that Hogwarts is the safest place on earth. Everyone knows that anybody and everybody can walk into Hogwarts from just outside the wards. As for giants, how come Gwarp lives in the forest? He couldn't have flown to the place. I never mentioned that they apparated right to the front of the door. Obviously they walked upto the castle. It is simple, isn't it?
Other than that, explain Wormtail's presence in Hogwarts for 3 years (he had the dark mark). Also, please tell me how Karkaroff and Snape manage to come to Hogwarts.
Also, how much of Hogwarts is known? JKR never explained what all the headmasters did. Who knows how many times Hogwarts has changed hands? At least I don't know about that and I won't jump to conclusions.
Last of all, I am not desperate to prove anything. And if you want each and every point to be explained, then I am sorry. The people who read a fic must use some of their own imagination. Can anyone EXACTLY describe the world of Harry Potter other than JKR?
If you want to think that I made a mistake, then you are most welcome. I don't know what else to say. If you want a full-fledged discussion, join my group and I will be more than happy to discuss all this with you since reviews are not the best of places for this.
In any case, I had the explanation scene ready before you even asked for it.
Bushido, Nixus – Thanks for pointing out the wand error part.
Black-Hood – I understand the last fight was not as good as Azkaban sigh. As to adding more powerful spells to Harry's arsenal, well…you will have to wait a bit. I have to keep something for the sequel as well.
And all the other guys who reviewed - Thanks for your reviews. Please know that they are very much appreciated and give me a real kick-in-the-back to continue writing. Also, I have a yahoo group; the link is in my profile.
&&&&