After his order of the Phoenix meeting and making sure his potion master was taken care for, Dumbledore hurriedly went back to his office. Albus wanted some answers for the recent disturbing event he had witnessed during his meeting. He knew those answers were with the four people who were currently standing around in his office. He knew that these four people would not be a threat, since he was the only one that could authorize a portkey with his office as its destination.
Dumbledore took a very deep breath. He entered his office and saw a man, whom he recognized, his wife, and his two little children.
Dumbledore forced down a surprise. " ardeus, what happened? "
Ardeus Zabini still shocked from his earlier ordeal could not form a better answer. " headmaster…. you wouldn't believe the night my family and I just had… "
Dumbledore surveyed the Zabini family and it looked to him that they were in condition not too far from his potion master.
" are you and your family alright? do you require any medical assistance? " Dumbledore asked Ardeus Zabini.
" if the nurse don't mind that is, then yes, I think my wife and my children would need some medical assistance " Ardeus replied.
" I'm sure she would be delighted to help your family… " Dumbledore assured the distressed man.
Dumbledore walked to his fireplace and called Hogwarts' resident nurse to his office.
Madame pomfrey stepped out from the fireplace and was surprised to see the Headmaster already had a family of four as his company. She even more surprised the family was the Zabini family.
" what can I do for you, headmaster? " Pomfrey asked the Headmaster.
" poppy, please take mrs. zabini and her two children to the infirmary and make sure they are okay…I believe they had suffered the same fate as severus " Dumbledore informed the nurse.
Pomfrey's eyes widened at what the Headmaster told her. She snapped out from her shock within second and she immediately went into action as the infamous strict nurse.
" don't worry about them…I will make sure that they will be fine "
" thank you madam pomfrey " Ardeus gave the nurse his most sincere thanks.
Pomfrey smiled. " no need to thank me mr. zabini "
After Pomfrey took his wife and two children, Ardeus faced Albus Dumbledore and prepared himself to relive his earlier ordeal.
" ready to hear my story, headmaster " Ardeus asked the headmaster.
" why don't we sit down first? "
Mr. Zabini agreed immediately, " that would be a good idea "
" so what happened? " The headmaster asked after he and his guest had seated.
" well, here it goes ….. " Ardeus told his earlier ordeal to Dumbledore. Dumbledore listened attentively and gave his nod on the right place.
Ardeus finished his story.
" so, when voldemort was in the process to launch the killing curse, but for some reason stopped….then he started yelling as if he were feeling the cruciatus curse himself…hmm…interesting " Dumbledore summed up the weird part of Ardeus' ordeal.
" I'm telling you, headmaster….he was yelling like a madman, I don't exactly know what made him scream like that….but whoever helped me and my family….I owe my greatest debt to that person " Mr. Zabini said the last part with intensity.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled for the first time since his meeting.
" ahh.. no need to immediately give your declaration of debt, ardeus … who knows what the person's real motive was for helping you and your family "
Ardeus looked straight at the Headmaster eyes. " headmaster, whoever he or she was…..that person helped my family without any motives behind the act.. other than the desire to help " Mr. Zabini said with all the confidence in the world.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled too much.
" why are you so sure of this? " He had to ask.
Ardeus stared hard at his own hand. He, then, looked up, " I know it was so, because… because the way how that person stopped the dark lord from trying to kill us…it was as if he or she was a survivor from such brutality "
Dumbledore looked directly at his former student and the father of his current student. Dumbledore saw only determination to pay back Voldemort and deep gratitude to whoever it was.
" If my guess were correct, you have another wizard owing you a life debt, mr. potter " Dumbledore mentally said to himself.
Dumbledore checked his watch. " I think it is best for us to retire for the night…do you still remember the way to the infirmary, ardeus? " Dumbledore asked his former student.
Mr. Zabini laughed. " as long as I won't get a detention for walking around this late "
" good night, headmaster " Ardeus bid the headmaster
As his former student walked out from his office, Albus Dumbledore were immediately immersed in his own thoughts about his current student.
" harry you really are an admirable, mysterious, annoying, and a brave young man " Dumbledore mused.
" It seems mr. riddle, that you finally meet your match " Dumbledore chuckled on this thought.
" I know that you have been keeping a secret… and it seems people will not know your secret unless you tell them yourselves… "
" I just hope I don't have to find another potion master…." Dumbledore chuckled again.
" mr. potter you seriously making me age faster than biology itself.."
Dumbledore checked his watch, " 2:30 in the morning, I need some sleep " Dumbledore went on to sleep in his own chamber.
…………………………………….
" harry, wake up…wake on mate, you've missed breakfast and quidditch too….do you want to miss our celebration party for beating the hell out of slytherin? we beat slytherin 350 to 50 for merlin sake…." Ron Weasley tried waking up his best mate.
Harry did not give any indication of, well, anything. Ron started to get annoyed, and so he whipped his wand out.
" this ought to wake him up a bit " Ron mentally said to himself.
Ron murmured an incantation, " harry, I'm warning you..on the count of three… if you don't wake up…there will be the-boy-who-got-wet….one….two….three.. "
SPLASH…
Ron was very ready to run when the bucket full of ice water poured out its content on his lazy mate.
Ron, of course, considered being lazy on Saturday evening meant skipping a celebration party for quidditch victory against the slimy snakes.
Ron started to get nervous since there was no yelling Harry Potter. He walked over to his mate's bedside, " hey harry… stop scaring me mate! … "
Ron immediately shook Harry, " harry…harry…are you alright mate? … "
Ron ran out from the sixth year dormitory as if Voldemort himself were there. Ron immediately went to the spot where Hermione, Ginny and Neville were occupying.
" hey ron….where's harry…ron, you look like you've seen Voldemort….what's up? " Ginny asked her paled brother.
Ron who was in a state of panic explained, " guys….harry…. wet…. no wake …but I shook him hard… something wrong…need to get Dumbledore " with his hands pointing on all sort of directions.
By now, everyone at the Gryffindor tower had taken interest when they all heard the word 'Harry' and 'something wrong'.
Neville took control. He ran to the sixth year dormitory and he immediately went over to Harry's bed. Making sure Harry had a pulse and still breathing, Neville felt Harry's breath was not of sleeping breath. He immediately took off.
" go get dumbledore " Neville said in passing to Hermione.
Hermione got into action. " ron, ginny, please clear a way for madam Pomfrey and professor dumbledore " she ordered her two friends. Then, she took off running to the headmaster office.
" alright you lot, clear the stairway and please someone hide all these bloody craps away before we get into trouble " Ron commanded the Gryffindor students.
The Gryffindor students immediately worked like a pride of lions.
No more than 4 minutes later, Neville came back with Pomfrey followed by Hermione, Albus Dumbledore, and professor McGonagall.
" you all stay right here, no buts " McGonagall told Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville as they tried to follow the faculties to the sixth year dormitory.
" what's wrong with harry, albus? " McGonagall asked as she entered the sixth year dormitory.
Pomfrey answered McGonagall's question, " mr. potter seems to suffer from some kind of exhaustion… and I have no clue what it is "
" do you think we should take mr. Potter to the infirmary? " Dumbledore asked Pomfrey.
Pomfrey gave a frustrated sigh. " I wouldn't have it any other way, headmaster "
" do you think he's going to be alright poppy? "
" he should be alright, minerva… I just don't know when he'll wake up " Pomfrey stated.
Dumbledore worried. " what exactly do you mean by you don't know when mr. potter will be awake? "
Pomfrey stared at the Headmaster. " let me put this way, headmaster… mr. potter has all the indications of someone suffering magical exhaustion… yet his magical strength is as powerful as ever… "
" It's like mr. potter has another source of power he had exhausted " Pomfrey finished her explanation.
Dumbledore gave a very silent sigh of relief.
McGonagall was one very confused lady. " poppy, I'm sorry but you're not making sense at all…how can mr. potter suffers a magical exhaustion yet his magical power is still strong… have you ever encountered any cases like this poppy? "
Pomfrey gave another frustrated sigh. " minerva, if I had any cases such as this, would you honestly see me as confused as you "
Dumbledore eyes twinkled just a bit. " ladies, while we could argue all day……perhaps it is best if we take mr. potter to the infirmary first "
" I'm sorry " Pomfrey and McGonagall said at the same time.
As the three faculties went down the tower's stairway, all students stretched their neck wanting to see if there was anything wrong with Harry Potter. The only thing noticeable was wet Harry Potter.
" Is everything okay with harry, professor " Hermione asked Dumbledore.
Dumbledore smiled at Harry's concerned friends. " you can come with us to the infirmary if you want "
After the group reached the infirmary, Hermione could no longer hold her curiosity. " what's wrong with harry, headmaster? "
Dumbledore looked at all his student's expression and he decided to give as much as he could.
" harry is suffering from a 'somewhat' magical exhaustion, ms. granger "
" what the fu… "
" DON'T YOU FINISH THAT SENTENCE MR. WEASLEY "
" RONALD WEASLEY "
McGonagall and Hermione yelled at the same time.
" I mean what in the bloo… I mean, what? " Ron settled as he received another glares from McGonagall and Hermione.
Neville stepped on his own toe, Ginny pinched her right thigh, and Dumbledore coughed to stop them from laughing.
After making sure no laughter would escape, " why did you say harry suffers a somewhat magical exhaustion, professor " Neville asked Dumbledore.
Dumbledore had to smile for Neville. " because none of us are sure, "
" harry has all the symptoms of magical exhaustion, but his magical power is powerful as ever "
" that's impossible " Hermione blurted out.
" what's impossible, ms. granger? "
" there is no way that harry could suffer from a magical exhaustion yet he still have a strong magical power…it's just simply impossible.. …right, headmaster? " Hermione became unsure of herself.
" well, if it were any other wizards or witches, I would say that you are correct, " Dumbledore paused.
" but since we are talking about mr. potter… I'd say we could make an exception " Dumbledore winked.
" so, the conclusion is… who knows? " Ron finally put together.
Neville smirk. " you really did grow some brains over the summer "
Ron growled.
Ignoring Neville's joke, Hermione pushed for more information.
" headmaster, does this mean harry have another source of power?… that would mean harry is quite powerful "
" honestly hermione! none of us ever fought Voldemort and lived to tell a tale about it, fought a basilisk in second year of schooling, produce a solid patronus in third year of schooling, AND produce a black patronus… to think you're the smartest witch… "
" are you finished, ronald weasley? " Hermione said with a glare.
Ron probably had lost his brains somewhere. " no.. not really, I.. " Ron did not go any further as Neville kicked him to stop.
Ginny immediately asked a question, " headmaster, say if hermione were correct… is.. is harry as powerful as vol..demort? " Ginny shivered for saying the dark lord's name.
Dumbledore was cornered. He did not want to share anything to Harry's friends unless he had Harry's approval.
" he could be " Dumbledore answered vaguely.
" no disrespect to you professor dumbledore.. is he or is he not? " Hermione cornered the already cornered Headmaster.
Albus Dumbledore had never been so relieve as Remus Lupin barged through the infirmary's door.
" I heard what happened… is harry okay.. he's not in any serious condition is he? … "
" he will be okay remus " Dumbledore calmed the panic Lupin.
" all of you need to keep your voice down or else " Pomfrey popped out of thin air.
" yes, yes… you are very right poppy… how is severus and mr. malfoy "
" snape is here " Ron blurted out.
" It's professor snape, ronald weasley " Hermione reprimanded.
" what did I say? " Ron asked Hermione.
" snape is here " Hermione repetead.
" It's professor snape, hermione granger " Neville reprimanded Hermione with a smirk.
Everyone laughed. Pomfrey was boiling.
" sorry madam pomfrey (poppy) " Everyone chorused.
" they will be back to their normal self in no time, headmaster " Pomfrey answered Dumbledore's earlier question.
" no justice in this world, I tell ya.. "
" what was that mr. weasley? " Dumbledore asked in amusement.
Ron blushed. " uhhm.. nothing professor "
Ignoring the children's questioning looks, Dumbledore decided to break the group, " remus, shall we go to my office?… and children, I think it would be beneficial for mr. potter…if you let him rest in a quiet place "
" yes professor " the children chorused.
………………………………….
" uggh…damn you voldemort… stupid mongrel… " Harry mentally cursed the dark lord.
Harry wanted to open his eyes, but the ache all over his body seemed to grow exponentially for his effort to move his eyelids. Hermione would have scolded the boy-who-lived till next year if she were to hear some of Harry's mental cursing.
Harry decided to be a wimp. He was feeling too much pain.
" go away ron….I don't want to go to the celebration party..we beat the slytherin by how many… nice… " Harry mentally answered his friend Ron.
" don't you dare dump that cold water on me….I swear you would regret it……can't believe…hey, my body feels better "
" okay..this is weird….why can't I wake up.. "
Harry tried to open his eyes again, his body flared in pain again.
" damn…stupid dark lord….hey, is that neville…why is he checking as if I'm dead…oh great…everyone surely would gossip about this.. " Harry mentally groaned.
" madam pomfrey, dumbledore, and professor mcgonagall….this definitely would end up as a gossip…hmmm…Pomfrey is checking me…I could actually feel her magic is prodding around…. "
" WHAT…. I'm suffering from magical exhaustion…wait did they say my magic is still strong..wow… I might have another source of power…."
Harry renewed his effort to open his eyelids, no such luck and so much pain.
Harry mentally laughed, " ron is so whipped and he's not even…. "
" ….good question Neville….not impossible Hermione.. I agree with you Ron….damn Ginny just asked a forbidden question … good answer professor….damn Hermione, you're too nosy…. good timing remus "
"…snape is here…what the hell is wrong with him… "
" great I'm all alone with malfoy and snape…. "
Three hours later… " damn I'm bored…why can't I go to sleep…it feels like I'm in prison here….grrgrrr….. "
It was fifteen hours later Harry experienced something interesting.
" what are these….should I even touch it…curiosity kill a cat.. this is ridiculous…how can I set a trap for myself…. "
Harry had been moaning for his boredom for the last fifteen hours, but of course he did not know that. After fifteen hours passed, Harry found himself in a place somewhere and found two spheres floating in front of him. The two spheres had sizes twice the size of a quaffle, one was black in color and the other was reddish black.
Harry had been contemplating whether to touch one the spheres. He did not think it would be a good idea to find out what the two spheres were. His fifth year experience had thought him to always be cautious before giving in to his curiosity. However, he felt a very strong urge to touch one of the spheres and he also felt that those two spheres would benefit him.
Harry originally wanted to touch the reddish black sphere, but somehow his urge to touch the black sphere overpowered him.
He touched the black sphere.
The moment Harry touched the black sphere; he was taken to a scene that started the tale of his lives.
Harry found himself staring at Voldemort with his wand pointed at him. He immediately willed himself to get out before Voldemort kill him. he found himself at the same place earlier before he touched the black sphere.
Harry was confused. " okay…what the bloody hell just happened?.. wasn't that voldemort…."
Harry realized that he would not know unless he touched the black sphere again after several minute of pondering.
He touched the black sphere again.
Again he found himself staring at Voldemort with his wand pointed at him. Harry decided to see what would happen next.
Harry realized immediately that he was watching a memory of him becoming the-boy-who-lived.
The moment Voldemort's curse hit him, Harry felt something being pushed into his head and he knew no more.
…………………………….
A group of five students gathered around Harry Potter's bed. They had been talking about their dueling class, which was over twenty minutes ago.
" did you guys see how malfoy seemed to be less annoying than usual? "
" honestly, ron…harry could have hurt him really bad " Hermione scolded Ron.
" harry really did hurt him bad…too bad malfoy recovered " Ginny pointed out with giggles.
Hermione huffed to her friends' childish behavior.
"add to the fact that snape wasn't there tonight….malfoy was not gloating like he usually does "
" I wish that snape passed out more often, " Neville said to Ron.
Hermione immediately reprimanded Neville, " how can you say that, neville? he is a professor and you should respect him "
Neville whose confidence had been growing since school started refused to be reprimanded for what he felt, " hermione, the moment snape starts acting like a professor….I would give him the respect he deserves "
" you know why he always acts like that, neville "
" yeah well you have your opinion and I have mine " Neville decided to end his argument with Hermione.
Hermione, however, was not finished scolding Neville.
Ron tried to save Neville, " when do you… " But was too afraid of Hermione's glare….so he tried no more.
Hermione started again, " as I was saying nev.. "
" shut the bloody hell up! " Harry snapped in pain.
" I have a headache and you're all making it worse "
" harry, you're awake, "
" nice to have you again mate! "
" do you need madam pomfrey, harry? "
" ah.. my harold has awaken "
" thank you, harry "
Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville immediately greeted their conscious friend.
" luna if rumors start going around about you and me… I would make your life a living hell " Harry threatened Luna while clutching his head.
" you're such a joker, harold " Luna giggled.
Harry could do nothing but groaned at Luna. Ron, Neville, and Ginny laughed for Harry's disbelieved expression.
" you're finally awake, mr. potter " The nurse immediately prodded Harry around with her wand.
Madam Pomfrey nodded her head. " can you move any parts of your body without aching, mr. potter? "
Harry moved his hand and he felt no pain. " no pain madam pomfrey, except this headache I have "
" how long do I have to wait for the potion to start? " Harry asked the nurse after drinking the potion for headache.
" no more than one minute, why? "
Pomfrey gave her patient a glare. " I don't think so…you can leave tomorrow morning right before breakfast "
Harry felt his head about to burst by her yelling. " yes ma'am "
" and for the rest of you, leave.. out the door, let my patient have his rest "
" madam pomfrey.. can't they stay here for just a few minutes, please? " Harry begged to the nurse with his puppy eyes.
Pomfrey held a groan, " fine, ten minutes and keep your voice down or I'm kicking you all out "
Pomfrey went back to her office.
" how long have I been out? " Harry asked.
" you've been out for two days, " Ron answered.
Harry suddenly remembered what Ron did to him, " ron, you know that payback is in order… right? "
Ron visibly paled a little and he gave a nervous chuckle, " payback for what, harry? "
Harry smiled a bit evil smile. " I guess you just have to find out in due time…wouldn't you "
Neville wondered why Harry was threatening Ron with a payback prank. Then he realized, " Oh.. I know…the water dumping "
Ron glared at Neville. " how exactly did you know harry? … I mean you passed out at the time "
" I have my ways, ronald…I have my ways " Harry replied cryptically.
" that was you, ron? …oooh you're in trouble now " Ginny giggled.
" listen mate… I was just trying to wake you.." Ron begged for mercy.
Harry decided he had enough fun at Ron's expense, " It's a good thing that we won quidditch or I wouldn't have spared you "
Ron smiled, " you should have been there, harry….we kicked the sh…"
" RONALD WEASLEY! " Hermione cried out.
Ron flinched making everyone there laughed.
Hermione decided that it was time to be serious. " harry, what happened to you? "
Harry raised his right eyebrow, " I was hoping you could tell me "
Herminone huffed. " You've been keeping secret from us harry potter "
" how.. " Harry plastered an innocent look.
Hermione saw right through it, " don't you put on that look… I know better "
Harry chuckled. " indeed you do "
" so…what happened to you? " Hermione pushed.
Harry decided to toy with Hermione, as she was being too serious. " I thought I was suffering from a somewhat magical exhaustion "
Harry's entire friend went rigid with surprise by his statement.
" you have been doing this for quite sometime harold… and I like it that you've been acting so mysterious…it's very sexy " Luna said to the boy-who-lived.
Harry decided to fight back, " I'm a teenage boy, luna…. no compliment necessary if you know what I mean " Harry wiggled his eyebrows.
Ron was shocked with his friend suave ness. Ginny and Neville laughed for the banter between the two. Hermione was not easily swayed by the subtle change of subject.
" harry potter, tell me what happened? " Hermione said angrily.
Harry was saved. " all of you.. get out, now " Pomfrey yelled to his five visitors.
As the night wore on, Harry had been pondering about the black sphere and his disturbing forgotten memory. He wondered whether the black sphere was some kind of dark arts.
Harry really wished for his dark arts books, as he might find some information there.
" you idiot, potter, don't you have a house elf " His inner Slytherin sneered at him.
" dobby " Harry called quietly.
" harry potter sir…are you alright sir…I thought dobby lost you sir.. harry potter sir is fine, yes…. "
Harry peeled off Dobby's arm from his neck. " I'm fine dobby…and could you do me a favor? "
Dobby puffed out his chest. " anything for harry potter sir "
Harry checked his surrounding to make sure he was the only one awake and no body invisible was watching him.
" I just need you to get my dark arts book on ritual and curses, and my wand "
" I'll be right back harry potter sir "
Harry checked his surrounding again to make sure nobody was watching him stealthily and to make sure Snape was really out.
Dobby came back right after Harry had done his checking. " here are your books that you have requested harry potter sir "
" thank you dobby " Harry gave his house elf a smile. Dobby disappeared with a smile on his face.
Harry read both his books with speed he did not know he possessed. He was confused how he could read both of his books so quick and was able to understand all the information in both books. He felt as if he had read both books from front to back before, but that was not possible as he only read a few chapters ever since he bought them. His knowledge of the dark arts seemed to have expanded and amazingly his headache was almost gone. He thought that perhaps the black sphere was what the sorting hat had mentioned during his sorting. However, both books gave no explanation about the sphere or his disturbing forgotten memory.
Harry fully understood now that the three unforgivable curses attacked another wizard's mind, specifically his brain.
The imperius curse heavily relied the part where the human brains feels pleasures. Human brains had a tendency to be addicted to some pleasure sensations. Harry believed that the two most addictive sensations for human brains were from illegal muggle drugs and sexual pleasure. Although Harry had never tried illegal muggle drugs, he guessed that the sensation those drugs produced was a floating sensation as if nothing mattered or untraceable happiness. Once another wizard's brain accepted a very pleasurable sensation, then he would be easily manipulated. Harry remembered perfectly how he felt when the fake Moody put him under the cruciatus curse.
The cruciatus curse simply attacked the human brain by invoking pain to all nerves sensory in human body. The brain would receive messages of pain from all over his or her body, thus a prolonged exposure would have resulted insanity. The most difficult part of casting this curse was the end result from the curse. Like Bellatrix had said, one had to want to hurt the other person. The curse had to be connected to the other person or the other person would no longer feel any pains, which meant that the caster must not care about the scream of pain from the victim. Therefore, this curse would be most difficult for people who hated to hurt others or had no ounce of cruelty.
The killing curse attacked the human brain directly. The curse served as a connector from the caster's brain to the victim's brain, the caster then would try to override the victim's brain. Once the caster had an override to the victim's brain, the caster would immediately shut down the victim's brain.
Harry understood now that all three unforgivable curses did not really require a lot of power; instead they required a very focused concentration from the caster. Strong feeling, however, could motivate the three unforgivable curses by increasing their effect power. Hatred and anger were some of the most powerful feeling able to motivate the unforgivable curses by increasing one's desire to do bad things to others.
Harry started to wonder just how powerful human's feeling could be. He had a feeling that the main reason unforgivable curses were hard to block was due to the difficulty for the victim to overwhelm the caster's feeling.
Harry knew that a person with strong willpower was less likely to be controlled by the imperius curse. He believed, due to his own life experience, that it would always take a strong willpower to think for oneself. Strong people would always have better control than weak people. He would be damned if he were to let himself be a weak person.
Harry could now see some advantages from using the unforgivable curses in many scenarios. Those advantages, however, would be useless if he could not cast the three curses. He, then, saw a rat at the foot of his bed. He then had an idea, a stupid idea. He checked his surrounding again just to make sure nobody was watching.
" here goes nothing, "
Harry took a deep breath and concentrated. " cru.. "
" privacy charm first…. you idiot… " Harry chastised himself.
Once the privacy charm was in placed, he concentrated again.
Harry pointed his wand at the rat, " imperio "
' do the chicken dance….. ' Harry ordered the rat.
The rat almost danced, but stopped itself and ran away.
Ever since his third year and fourth year, Harry had very big problems with rats. He originally wanted to cast the cruciatus first, but he was pretty sure he now could cast it rather easily. It would be better to cast the ones he was not sure.
" crucio.." Harry wanted the rat to suffer (and to stop running).
The rat stopped running and twitched like mad. Anybody would have run away seeing Harry's facial expression.
" run again…it would be worse " Harry told the rat evilly.
Harry tried the imperius curse for five more times with no success. He then decided to cast the killing curse after his sixth failure.
Harry concentrated hard on his hatred and anger for some people.
" avada kedavra " Green light shot out from his wand.
The rat was thrown back several feet away from its original spot still alive.
" what … it should have worked…what did I do wrong? …of course I didn't desire for the rat to die….okay.. one more try.. " Harry talked to himself.
As he prepared to cast the killing again, he felt Snape had regained his consciousness.
" damn "
Harry vanished the rat, took the privacy charm off, transfigured his books into much smaller size, and pretended to sleep.
" you need to learn how to apparate as soon as possible " Harry mentally told himself.
………………………………………………..
(One week later)
Harry was reading 'Pranks from little to big', courtesy of Fred and George, at one of the table in the library. The book was one of his many birthday gifts and he planned to put some of its materials into use for some Slytherin students and their head house. Malfoy and Snape had become more vindictive toward the Gryffindors. Malfoy had been cursing the Gryffindor's younger students for the embarrassing lost Slytherin suffered. Snape had taken points off from the Gryffindor's older students if they were found walking with the younger students.
Harry felt that McGonagall was too incompetent to be the Gryffindor's head house. She would take action only if her students had some proofs. Many students had witnessed Malfoy and his cronies' action, but it was not good enough proofs for McGonagall. She believed that those witnesses could have been a conspiracy. Moron
Harry decided to take action himself. He would not just prank Malfoy and Snape; he would prank the entire Slytherin house. He felt that this would be a good way to start dividing the Slytherin house. Everyone in Slytherin house would pay for one student's sin. Harry hoped some students were bold enough to tell Malfoy to stop acting like a moron. However, one thing was for sure to Harrry, screwing around with his house, it equaled to screwing around with the dark lord.
Harry was reading his book in concentration, he was so focused that he did not notice Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.
" harry it is time to tell us what happened " Hermione interrupted.
He immediately scolded himself for a lack of 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE'.
" what's there to tell, hermione? " Harry kept on reading.
Hermione took some deep breaths. " would you please stop reading for just a moment…we want to talk to you "
Harry stopped reading his book and immediately plastered an unreadable look. He nodded for Hermione to continue.
" why have you been keeping secrets from us? " Hermione asked without tact.
Harry mentally smirked. " what secrets would that be? "
" you know what I'm talking about.. why were you suffering from a magical exhaustion? "
" did I really suffer from a magical exhaustion, hermione? "
Hermione glared. " dumbledore said so….and please don't say nothing happened "
" If dumbledore said so, why are you asking me…I was the one unconscious the entire weekend " Harry said the last part in 'confusion'.
Ginny had enough. " what hermione meant was….what caused you to suffer from a magical exhaustion or whatever it was you suffered from? "
He tried to test the water. " fine, I'll tell you "
Harry watched his friends' eager expression and mentally chuckled.
" I was reading a book in the library when a girl from Hufflepuff was bothered by four slytherin students…like always I helped her out by dueling those idiots…. " Harry purposely paused.
All three leaned forward in suspense.
" well…I barely won ..then she took me to a room ….."
Harry could have died from laughter as they all waited in suspense.
" …….and she shagged my brains out " Harry said with a very straight face.
" did she really? " Ron asked innocently. Hermione and Ginny were seeing red all over the place.
" ronald, he's pulling your leg, " Hermione told her disappointed male friend.
" why wouldn't you tell us the truth, harry? we're your friends " Hermione told her other male friend.
" and…what…does that suppose to mean? " Harry asked 'curiously'.
" remember last year when the sorting hat's advice..about trusting your friends " Hermione answered.
" I do trust you " Harry stated.
"…then why aren't you start telling us what happened to you on the night prior to your two days in coma "
Harry decided to be serious.
" why must you know what happened to me that night? " Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ginny answered his question, " because we care for you..and we want to know if we can help "
" yes…and aren't you forgetting how much we all went through together… like last year " Hermione followed.
Harry knew the best way to get someone singing like a canary was to tickle his or her emotions. Once someone's emotions ran wild, there would be no chance for him or her to regain control his or her emotions.
" thank you for caring and your offer of help….but I don't need any help…yet.. so please don't worry about me.. I can handle myself "
Harry raised his hand, " now, if you want to talk about me keeping secrets… hmm….. let's see…in our third year you kept a secret pretty much the entire year… I know that mcgonagall told you to not tell anyone.." Harry said the last part to stop Hermione.
"…I respected that you had to kept it a secret and I didn't make you felt guilty for it….so why are you trying to make feel guilty about keeping some secrets of my own…it's not like my secrets have anything to do with any of your lives…but they do with mine "
Harry waited for them to reply.
" they have something to do with vo..voldemort don't they? " Ginny asked.
" If they do? "
Ginny's face went cold. " I guess you've already forgotten again that you are not the only one to have been possessed by voldemort… or the fact that you are not the only one…..who want to see him defeated " She said coldly.
Harry did not really have a come back for this one. If he lied, he would feel guilty. He didn't want any guilt when he needed to focus on learning about the dark arts. He would have to bluntly change the subject before they cornered him any further.
Harry knew back during the train ride that Ginny's crush on him had almost gone, but with his little changed in attitude, her crush on him grew back little by little as the school year progressed. She seemed to think that Harry was better suited with his current attitude. Harry decided to use Ginny's crush on him to not answer her question.
Harry took his chance. " I didn't know you can be this pretty when you're angry, ginny " He said in sexy voice.
Harry mentally smirked as he felt all sorts of things from his best mate's sister. She was angry, happy, embarrassed, and wanted to strangle the boy-who-lived.
Ginny stood up from her chair. " fine, don't come crying to me when you need help in the future " She said with forced coolness.
" Aww ginny….now that I know how pretty you are when you're angry…please don't leave " Harry whined.
Harry mentally apologized to Ginny, as he would not divulge any secrets, yet. HE MUST NOT BE WEAK.
Hermione was very annoyed with her friend. " harry, why would you joke something like that? it is very insensitive of you " She scolded.
" hermione, why would I joke something like that….beside I think you're pretty too… " Harry immediately snooped on Ron.
Harry had to hold down his laughter as Ron tried to not be jealous but failing. Harry had constantly kept a close watch on Ron's feeling since the beginning of the school year, specifically on the night Ron snogged Hermione. He had been trying to confirm his suspicion about Ron's feeling toward Hermione and confirm he did. Harry thought their training would put a little distance between himself and his two best friends. He did not consider the fact that his two best friend tried harder to make time for him.
Harry immediately realized a way for him to have a little distance with Ron and Hermione. If they were to go out with each other, he would not have to worry about the two of them snooping on his business too much.
Harry wondered whether he had depended too much on Hermione's brain, as he should have thought out this plan a long time ago. He just hoped Ron was not too much of a chicken shite to ask her out.
Harry continued, " but someone…I will not tell you who it is… think that you're perfect in every way "
Ron blushed tomato red.
" harry you're quite annoying, you know that, " Hermione said slightly blushing.
" hello madam pince, " While Hermione got suckered, Harry winked at Ron.
If Ron got any redder, he would have looked like a giant tomato.
" Served the bastard right for not bailing me out " Harry thought to himself.
" there is no madam pince " Hermione asked innocently.
" I thought it was her " Harry shrugged his shoulder.
" ron, are you alright…you're all red " Hermione finally acknowledged Ron's state of blush.
Ron chocked on his own spit. He got redder.
" HAHHAHHAHHAHHAH ……. " Harry rolled around the library's floor laughing.
…………………………………………………………….
Harry had been trying to apparate within Hogwarts for exactly one week and two days with no success. He had thought about masking his energy signature, equivalent to hiding his fingerprints. No information was available for masking his energy signature however, as the wizarding world seemed to be ignorant of anything muggles.
Since Hogwarts' ward was able to be a conductor for him to feel others' feeling, Harry had tried using his own feeling to mask his energy signature. Success, however, was not achieved by the boy-who-lived.
" AACCHHH….why can't I do it… " Harry Potter yelled out of frustration.
" harry, some people are trying to sleep " Dean Thomas yelled at him.
" sorry…sorry "
" I've tried everything…..maybe it is impossible for human to apparate inside hogwarts…. " He mumbled.
" wouldn't it be cool if I could borrow dobby or winky's energy signature….I can apparate anywhere…those slytherin wouldn't know what hit them…. "
" hey…that's it… " he said a bit loud.
" QUIET! " Four boys yelled at him.
Ignoring their yells, Harry ran out from his dormitory to go find an empty area. He found the astronomy tower and its surrounding area to be very empty of people.
He reached the astronomy classroom and wasted no time to prove his theory.
Harry recalled on how Winky's energy signature felt. Once he remembered how Winky's energy signature felt, he concentrated very hard for it to fill his body. He, however, did not pop away as he was too concentrated on masking his energy signature.
" bloody hell " he growled quietly.
" I concentrated too hard…..try again potter until it's second nature for you… you've wasted too much time on this….. "
Harry kept practicing until he no longer had to concentrate as much. His incentive to succeed was heading toward his direction. Snape was a good 20 meters away from Harry.
" curse you snape….. alright…must have success…where should I go…"
Decided to go back to his bed, Harry filled his body with fake energy signature in no time and immediately willed himself to be in his bed.
He did not disappear. Snape was 16 meters away.
" I thought I had it….try again potter and hurry… " Harry motivated himself.
He was still standing on the same spot with Snape at 12 meters away.
" alright…I know I've masked my signature then willed myself to go to the place I've pictured….it should work…Snape is walking faster…bloody hell… "
It occurred to him that he got the order of operation wrong.
Snape was 6 meters away.
"alright picture my bed first…then…."
Just as Snape about to entered the classroom, Harry had done the impossible.
" hmm….I thought I heard a student… "
Back in the Gryffindor tower, Harry Potter went to sleep with a very sadistic evil smile.