Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By: Fred and George Weasley are MY kings
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't own the sentence I just wrote, or the words that make it. I don't even own the last sentence I just wrote… Or… yeah you get the point. (I don't own the point either)
Firstly Reviews:
Chocolate Frog Cards: I think I am just going to avoid that question for now – suspense won't kill you, after all. Here's the next chapter, and thanks a ton for the review.
Nandhp: Thanks loads for the great review. Hope you like this chapter.
Blue Mittens: Thanks as always for the great review. Enjoy chapter 22!
Vertigo4ever: Anytime! You really did help me out a lot. I was stuck, cursed writers block, and you, thankfully, handed me a hammer :o) Here's chapter 22. Can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday when I started this thing! It's crazy.
Madame Whitbrook: Thanks for the complement on the plot line. As far as everyone going way OOC, I must say that I really don't agree. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Yet without any real solid evidence to back up such a claim, I hope you won't mind that I have no desire whatsoever to take your comment seriously or change any of the character's reactions/interactions. On another note, perhaps Luna isn't as crazy as she used to be, but I feel that that too is justified – Her family was brutally murdered. Wouldn't that change you a bit? I thought it would be simply unrealistic to have her go on as she always did after something so traumatizing like that occurred. Regardless, thank you for your input.
Laura Depravi: Thank you! Enjoy chapter 22!
Author's Note: Special thanks goes to: My Betas (for this story and all the rest, you know who you are), Freddie, and Shywriter. Without you all, I would not be nearly so motivated to write this. Your encouraging feedback (and sometimes catching me in my blunders, hehe – thanks again Shywriter) keeps me going and is appreciated more than you'll ever know! Editing Errors in Chapter 21: to add more of a competitive nature around the dueling tournament, I have decided to increase the winnings. House points are still to be awarded yet the winning team will be awarded The Dueling Cup of Hogwarts, a prestigious honor that has not been received for over fifty years. Plus all the bragging rights one can back up… Also, instead of Hanh competing in the tournament, I have replaced him with Michael Corner, a fellow Ravenclaw who is probably better suited to dueling.
Again, thanks to Vertigo4ever for her contributions to this chapter.
Chapter 22: Hermione's Discovery
Hermione continued to beam as she looked at both Harry and Ron.
"It's the Trelawneys," she said in a low tone, as she stepped closer to both Ron and Harry. Exchanging a confused glance, Harry and Ron questioned her immediately in hushed tones to make sure any stray wanderers out and about in the vast corridor couldn't possibly overhear them.
"What are you on about?" Ron hissed.
"The Trelawneys… their descendant is the half-blood prince; I am almost positive."
"Almost?" Harry asked, feeling his stomach flutter with excitement. They were getting closer… it would only be a matter of time until they found the Half-Blood Prince.
"Well, I can't be completely positive," Hermione reasoned, managing still to speak quietly even though she was radiating with excitement. "I checked everything. Went through each book, and nothing matched. But that's when I realized that the Trelawenys were missing from the records. I went back to the place in which it should've been located, and noticed that someone had very cleverly ripped all the records out of the volumes."
Ron's mouth was hanging open. "Someone doesn't want us to find out, do they?"
"Exactly what I had been thinking. But they might not be hiding the truth from just us… maybe they're hiding it from the whole student body. I say someone took the pages in effort to protect someone."
"I am not sure I follow," Harry admitted.
"I think that the person, the descendant, the half-blood prince, is here, at Hogwarts. He's a student, Harry. By taking the pages out of the book which gave a detailed account on his family history, someone successfully managed to protect his identity… even from the prince himself," said Hermione, her eyes shining.
"Blimey! The bloke has no idea who he is," Ron concluded.
"Which is why it has been even more difficult to find him," Hermione nodded.
"But who ripped the pages out, and how do they know about the prophecy?" Harry questioned.
"A fair question, but first you have to realize that the Trelawneys were in a lot of bad fixes over the time period of the Royal Age. Whoever destroyed the pages that focused in on the Trelawney descendants, like the family trees, didn't destroy all of the other historical documentation on the family. I read that by the end of the Age, hundreds of commoners had struck against the Royals, killing many. Trelawneys, for their dealings in fraud and theft, were the most targeted of any of the other Royal families. Even after Cassandra Trelawney, a very celebrated Seer, redeemed the name of the Trelawneys, many still blame them for the corruption during the Royal Age. Whoever ripped out the pages may be trying to protect the present day generations from persecutions based on that."
As Harry was about to retort to Hermione's comment, Neville and Ginny came climbing up the staircase, looking at the three with some interest, and Harry couldn't really blame them. Anybody congregating around the portrait entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room was bound to look a little bit odd and considering that the people were Ron, Hermione, and himself, it made it all the more interesting.
"Hullo Ginny, Neville," Ron said casually with the air of one merely commenting on the weather.
"What are you three up to?" Neville asked with a small smirk.
"Chatting about the dueling tournament," Hermione covered quickly, showing no trace of fibbing.
"Oh really? Congrats on making it Harry, and you too Ron. Sorry to hear about you and Malfoy though, Harry," Neville said pleasantly.
"You too, Neville," Harry replied, choosing to ignore the comment on Malfoy, seeing as he really didn't want to think about such a thing at the present time. "Ginny, I assume you made it, too?"
Blushing with pleasure, Ginny replied in the affirmative.
"Well, it'll be great fun watching all of you competing tomorrow," Hermione remarked lightly as she checked her watch. "I want to go down and catch a quick breakfast. I'll see all of you in a bit." The others gave their regards as Hermione began to depart.
Before she clamored down the great staircase she threw a sidelong glance at Harry and Ron, subtly stating that they would continue their previous conversation at the next possible moment when they didn't have to worry about being over heard.
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After Hermione had left, the remaining four decided that it was as good a time as any to begin practicing for their duels against the other sixth (and in Ginny's case, fifth years) year competitors. Though all agreed it was a shame they were not on a team together, Neville, Ron, and Harry vowed not to take on each other unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. With their new alliance in tow, the four headed to the Room of Requirement, all rather cheerful. That was of course until they entered.
It seemed as though many other students had had the same idea. The Room of Requirement was overflowing with D.A. members and a few others, all practicing for the upcoming event. Harry was pleased to see Luna among them and signaled her over to join them. However, it was then that he noticed that there was hardly any room to move let alone actually duel.
"You can't even move without knocking someone over," Ron exclaimed, exasperated.
"We should probably find somewhere else… anywhere is better then here," Ginny agreed.
"I've got an idea," Harry said, hoping desperately that Professor Hall wouldn't mind some visitors.
Professor Hall indeed certainly did not mind at all. In fact, he even left them to themselves saying that they were on the honor system.
"I trust that nothing will be disturbed when I return," Hall had said just before leaving through the door.
With the wide-open space, (with Hall's permission, they had cleared the desks to the side of the room) the five were free to practice as they felt necessary. Harry and Neville went over simple yet effective stunning spells while Ginny tried to help Luna improve in her Bat-boogey hex. Strangely enough, Ron retreated to Professor Hall's rule packet, which had yet to be delivered to the students. Harry couldn't help but smirk when he saw his friend peering over the small handbook, eyes narrowed in concentration; Hermione seemed to be rubbing off on Ron whether he liked it or not.
The five continued to practice well past the lunch hour until finally their hunger became too persistent to ignore. They headed to the Great Hall, happy with their rather successful morning. Luna parted from them, retreating to the Ravenclaw table, with a slight waving signaling her goodbye. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Neville all proceeded to the Gryffindor table, all hungrier then they had been in a long time. Digging in rather ravenously, it was probably the first and only time in which Ron's table manners were not the worst out of the whole lot during a mealtime… something that Ron himself felt rather cheerful about.
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The evening passed rather quickly and it wasn't long until everyone grew tired of practicing. Each of them felt quite confident of their skills and went off in individual directions after about 3:00 PM. Luna and Ginny claimed to have loads of O.W.L. preparation to catch up on, and Neville had to help Professor Sprout with some new Herbology project. With that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left alone to discuss what they had been wanting to all day; the Half-Blood Prince.
After retreating from Hall's office, the three were relieved to find the sixth year boy's dormitory empty. Settling down, Hermione merely continued where she had left off.
"As I was saying before, I really don't think that the person who took the family trees from the volumes knows of the prophecy. It's possible, I suppose, but unlikely."
"So you think they just took them out entirely, just protect the living Trelawneys?" Harry asked, skeptical.
"I know it sounds off, but no one else could really know of the prophecy," Hermione shrugged.
"Well, what about Harry's vision? Karkaroff said that a hooded figure had given him the prophecy. At least one other person knows. Who's to say this hooded figure didn't tell anybody else?" Ron stated.
"Actually, I considered that," Hermione said, "But then I realized that whatever Karkaroff was told certainly was not the prophecy by any means. Otherwise, Karkaroff wouldn't have been led to believe that Viktor was even a possibility."
"The thought actually occurred to me too, when you mentioned that there was nothing to even make them suspect Krum. It had to have been a bogus copy of the prophecy, maybe given out by the order to throw Voldemort off track," Harry agreed.
"Exactly; I happen to think that Snape gave Karkaroff the prophecy, under disguise of course, since he was the one who warned the Order members in the meeting that Ron and I overheard. Snape must've realized that he put Viktor in danger and had to put all effort into saving him before it was too late," Hermione said simply with a sad expression. She then continued, determination overtaking whatever sadness had been displayed on her face.
"While you two are working on the dueling tournament, I am going to find out everything I can about the Trelawneys… even if it means go to talk to the old fraud herself in North Tower… Ron, why are you looking at me like that?"
"I just find it amusing when you sod off on teachers," Ron commented a playful smirk coming to his face.
"Humph!" Hermione cried indignantly. "I don't consider that woman a teacher. But I suppose she could help us… she'll be a last resort."
Harry could only smile at Hermione's remark. Thank goodness he could count on her and Ron both to help him out with this. He felt a good deal happier after the their chat and knew that without his great friends, he never would've gotten anywhere. With their help, Harry was almost there. He could only pray that he found the prince in time.
Unfortunately, others elsewhere were pulling their strings. And fate, as cruel as it may sound, was not smiling upon Harry Potter.
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Although Harry found himself wanting to help Hermione raid the library for anything dealing with the Trelawneys, Hermione tried to refuse to let him.
"You and Ron have to practice!" She shrieked as though the very idea of him helping her was mad.
"Bugger off, Hermione," Ron said playfully. "This is loads more important then some bloody dueling tournament."
Hermione seemingly couldn't resist Ron's charm (Harry saw this with great amusement) and she allowed them to help her, only saying softly, "Fine, fine. Don't blame me when you're lying hexed in front of the entire school, embarrassed beyond reason."
Harry and Ron just grinned, as the three of them began to overtake the library, all the while under Madame Pince's watchful stare. Unfortunately the Restricted Section was still just that – Restricted. Hermione was rather miffed at being turned down after inquiring about a pass for Defense Against the Dark Arts fro Professor Hall.
"Don't know why he turned me down. I don't know quite what I think of him," Hermione whispered in a hurt tone.
"Me either," Harry agreed. Even though he and Hall had been in each other's company for quite some time what with classes and Occlumency lessons, no true bond of anything much besides for some respect had taken place. Harry believed it to be partly his own fault; he merely could no longer trust his Defense Against the Dark Arts professors – his experiences were enough to stop anyone from doing so. Though it was not exactly fair to Hall, Harry remained firm in believing that it was all for the best.
And so they continued, up to dinner, when Hermione proclaimed that she was rather proud of their search. Overall the books had totaled to well over twenty volumes. Some contained mere mentions, while others focused completely on the history of the Trelawneys.
"If this doesn't come up with something, I don't know what will. Whoever ripped the pages out of the books about the Royal Age couldn't have possibly destroyed information in all of these," Hermione said proudly as they headed back to the common room, each of them carrying stacks of books to be dropped off in the dormitory before they went to the Great Hall.
Dinner proved to be more eventful then normal, which Harry was thankful for. Although he had been excited about finding some clue that could possibly lead him to the Half-Blood Prince, the Library and the monotonous hours of searching had gotten to his nerves a bit. He was therefore delighted to see that everyone was excited about the upcoming dueling tournament. The expectations for an amusing and exciting night were still ever climbing, since Professor Hall had recently assigned the rule handbooks and the first fighting assignments to the students.
Dean jokingly declared the ultimate defeat of Ron's team during the first round, well everyone else continued in great humor about his or her upcoming defeats. Even Neville was heard joking, and even more surprisingly, it was rather funny: "I fear the person who comes in contact with my Bat-Boogey hex." All the D.A. members couldn't help but snort, as the memory of last weeks meeting was still fresh in their minds. They had been working on hexes, and Neville and Colin Creevey had been partnered up. The resulting chaos that ensued by Neville's Bat-Boogey hex was not pretty at all. Colin, now fully recovered from the horrible acne Neville had bestowed upon him, laughed good-naturedly among the other Gryffindors.
The rounds for the tournament had been settled. For sixth years, the order was as follows: Team One (Potter, Malfoy, Bones, and Goldstein) VS. Team four (Boot, Finnigan, Smith, and Bulstrode). Yet the first duel to take place was Team two (Weasley, Greengrass, Macmillan, and Corner) VS. Team three (Abbott, Zabbini, Longbottom, and Netherfield). Personally, Harry was relieved to learn that his and Ron's teams were not to fight each other the first round. It would've been rather devastating had both teams not had the chance to compete in the final round.
And so the excitement bubbled still, as the students competing turned in early, Harry, Ron, and Ginny rightfully among them.
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As the time for the first round drew nearer, Harry began to notice his own nerves coming to an uneasy fluttering in his stomach. He and Ron had woken in early in hopes of catching up on some of the preparation they had missed while helping Hermione in the Library the previous day. Though, Ron had soon complained that it was much too early, and fell back into an easy slumber. Harry had been willing to follow Ron's suit. The resulting happening consisted of both of them sleeping well past their normal times of waking. Worried, Hermione had thankfully inspected and woke the two up.
Now the two boys sat, trying to keep their nerves together as well as trying to keep their eyes open, as the first round was due to begin shortly. Why they were both so tired had them lost for any explanation. However, with the excitement of dueling, the exhaustion was beginning to ebb away ever so slightly. All of the other competitors from all of the years that were permitted to duel stood patiently waiting in the Great Hall, which had long been cleared of the house tables, only to present a perfect open space for the teams to duel. Spectators stood outside of dueling lines (ropes that slightly resembled the 'caution' warning tape, only without the yellow color, that muggles used, marked off the dueling are) and Harry could see Hermione flashy him and Ron a huge grin.
To Harry's left, Luna and Ginny stood, quite a good deal more nervous then what he and Ron were. Squeezing Luna's hand reassuringly, Harry noticed that she seemed to slightly loosen, as she smiled up at him gratefully. Ginny, who had apparently noticed the gesture, only smiled knowingly at the two of them with great satisfaction as though rather pleased with herself about something. However, Harry didn't have time to ponder about what. As he released Luna's small hand from his grip, Hall, followed by Professor Dumbledore, strode to the center of the Great Hall, clearing his throat loudly, efficiently gaining everyone's attention.
He then ranted on a rather boring dialogue of the true meaning of dueling and sportsmanship, of teams and loyalty, and of life and courage. He speech seemed almost endless as the students all began to feel their attention drift from the young man's words and to their own anxious thoughts. Harry had tried listening, but found that it was rather pointless and instead took pleasure in glancing every now and again at Luna.
She really is gorgeous, can't believe I didn't notice it before, when I first met her.
Truth be told, if anyone had told Harry last year that he would've been admiring Luna Lovegood in such a manner, he never would have believed him or her. It was a bit ironic how fast everything could change.
Suddenly, Dumbledore broke in. "Thank you, Professor Hall for those wonderful words of wisdom. I now wish to direct all of you towards the proper dueling areas. Seventh years shall be reporting to the Room of Requirement under the supervision of Professor McGonagall, you may follow her out if you will."
The seventh year teams scrabbled to follow McGonagall, who was beckoning them to move quickly.
"Sixth years will remain here in the Great Hall, under the supervision of myself and Professor Snape" Dumbledore continued. "The fifth years shall report to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom under the supervision of Professor Hall. Fourth Years will be placed in The Charms classroom under the supervision of Professor Flitwick. I bid you all good luck!"
With the speeches and destinations made, Harry waved a goodbye to Luna and Ginny, wishing them good luck, which they returned to him and Ron. Ron just nodded, apparently even more nervous then before. But then again, Ron's team was to duel first… not exactly what Ron thought of as a comfortable position. However, Harry was just dreading having to work with Malfoy.
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Despite Ron's fumbling nerves, he and his team easily defeated the opponent, which happened to be Neville's team, in a rapid pace. The defeat was clean and respectable, which gained Ron's team quite a lot of points.
Without a chance to congratulate Ron on his victory, Harry was ushered onto the Dueling area, his team amongst him. Susan Bones, a quiet Hufflepuff girl and member of the D.A. offered a friendly smile as did Goldstein. Malfoy seemed to be giving off the air that he was extremely bored with the situation, his arms crossed over his chest, a look of pure tiredness claiming his pale ferret of a face. Harry would've liked nothing more than to smack the git, but he held his temper. B
Before the duel each team had time to get acquainted with one another and develop a strategy towards defeating the opponent. Now was that time, and although the other team was huddled together whispering, Harry's team remained silent as if scared to speak. Finally he brought himself to say something. "I… err… think each one of us should all focus on one specific person. It might make things more orderly," Harry suggested.
"Potty, no one asked you. Why even care, really? You think that this other team has a shot against me? Besides you aren't calling the shots," Malfoy drawled.
"Well, neither are you," Susan Bones retorted before Harry had the chance to. Malfoy only looked down at her with distaste. "The nerve of Hufflepuffs these days," he said shocking his head in mock surprise.
Susan's eyes flared, as she gritted her teeth. "It's a lot better then the load of slime that the Slytherins have."
If she was expecting to get a rise out of him, she was disappointed. Malfoy just smiled and opened his mouth ready to disperse yet another snide remark.
Goldstein, apparently sick of the arguing and wasted time, interrupted. "I think Harry's got a decent plan there. I'll take Finnigan."
"I'll take… Smith," Harry stated.
"No one put Potter in charge. I am not going about chasing after one person," Malfoy spat. "Unlike you two other half-wits, I don't take orders from a Gryffindor."
"Sod off, Malfoy," Goldstein replied angrily. "It wasn't orders – just a damn good plan. If you've got anything better, I'd love to hear it."
Harry made a mental note to thank Goldstein later as Malfoy finally shut his ever-flapping mouth. Unfortunately it opened all too soon.
"Fine, take orders from him. I won't."
"Don't be difficult… you've got Boot, Malfoy," Susan replied.
"Oh really? And you think I answer to you, a Hufflepuff, now, do you?" Malfoy asked in a cold voice.
"What? Why not? Surely you aren't afraid of Terry Boot? Is that why you refuse to fight him?" Susan questioned mockingly.
"Don't be stupid. Boot couldn't hex me in my sleep, you idiot," Malfoy retorted.
"Then why not prove it?" Goldstein challenged.
Malfoy didn't respond.
"Now that that is taken care of," Goldstein said, with a hostile glance in Malfoy's direction, "I think we ought to get ready. We nearly wasted all of our time fighting."
Sure enough, as they broke away to face the other team, Dumbledore signaled the beginning of the match. The dueling was to start.
A/N: AHH! I can't believe it is taking so long to finish up with this Dueling Tournament. By next chapter, it will be finished, that I can promise. Hope you enjoyed the chapter; there was quite a lot revealed dealing with the Half-Blood Prince. Now, be sure to REVIEW! Thanks!
Preview for next chapter: The Missing Family Tree: With the dueling tournament finished, some new and somewhat disturbing repercussions come into light. Yet, a new discovery is made; the Half-Blood Prince is finally revealed… But will it be too late? Surprises abound at every corner, clearly showing that not everything is as it seems…
Yes, we are coming down to the final chapters here, everyone. And I must still warn that there are quite a few bumps that we have yet to go over. Hold on tight! And don't forget to review!