YEAR Six at Hogwarts
Harry Potter and the Power of the Blood
Ch. 2: Power Revelation
The sun was just beginning to come up as Harry finished the journal. The ruby in the ring was faintly glowing and Harry could feel the power described in the book welling up inside him. While considering what it could do, he was interrupted by the arrival of Fawks in a flurry of flame. He had with him another letter and a sword-belt holding a sword that was very familiar. Fawks had brought him the sword of Godric that he had pulled from the sorting hat in his second year. Harry opened Dumbledores' second letter.
Harry,
This sword belongs to you now, as I am sure you know that you are the rightful heir to Godrics' power. I have placed a strong charm on the belt and scabbard so that they appear to be a normal belt unless you wish otherwise. I have also included, as is customary on sword-belts, a scabbard for a dagger on the opposite side. It will resize according to the size of the dagger placed in it. Use this well.
Dumbledore
Harry placed the belt around his waist and drew the sword just as his uncle burst into the room.
"What the devil do you thin you're doing in here, great flashes of light waking the… whole…" He trailed off as he caught sight of his nephew holding a sword while a red bird and a winged lizard sat on his bed. "Where did those come from?" he squeaked, his face loosing all color. Harry saw his aunt and cousin out in the hall.
" You come in too, I'm not repeating this more than once. Well, Fawks, the bird, is my headmasters' and he brought me this sword that now belongs to me. Emrys is a Wyvern and was sent to me for my birthday along with everything else on my bed. And I would treat both of them with respect, for either one could cause you any amount of damage if you disrespect them. Fawks, you should return to Professor Dumbledore now. Take him my class registration, will you?" Fawks trilled an affirmative, grabbed the parchment Harry held to him and disappeared in the ball of fire. At seeing this all three Dursleys' jaws dropped. "Fawks is a phoenix. The can disappear and reappear anywhere else in a flash of flames. That was the light you saw. Now if you'll excuse me, I've been up busy all night and feel like getting a bit of sleep."
"Right, well you're not to wear that sword around, it's odd like you and attracts unwanted attention." said Vernon.
"You can't tell me what to do anymore. I've legally come of age in the wizarding world and am now allowed to do magic outside of school. So if you ever try to boss me about again, I'll turn you all into fruit bats." Emrys flew up to Harrys' shoulder and gave a warning hiss to punctuate Harrys' comment. All three of Harrys' relatives beat a hasty retreat from his room, Vernon shutting the door on his way out. Harry cleared off his bed and set Emrys back onto the bedpost. "I think I'm going to take a nap, Emrys."
"Of course, friend Harry. I shall guard you from the evil people while you sleep."
"They're my relatives, Emrys. But thank you anyway." Harry had barely put his head on the pillow when he heard a tapping on his window. He begrudgingly looked up and saw a rust red owl. It was one he hadn't seen before. Harry opened the window and let the owl in to untie the message.
Harry,
I know this is going to sound weird considering the way we parted last, but I really need to see you. There's something I need to speak with you about, and it must be done in person. Can you make it to the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley on the 12th? We're going to get my things for my final year at Hogwarts. Please send an answer back with Aki.
Cho Chang
Harry stared at the letter in amazement. Cho actually wanted to see him, after the way they had parted company? Wonders, apparently, would never cease. He quickly scribbled down a note back.
Cho,
Sure, if you need to see me, I'll be there. I'm going to be in Diagon Alley the rest of the summer, actually. See you on the 12th.
Harry"All right, Aki, is it? You get this back to Cho immediately. No detours or mix-ups. Got me?"
The rusty bird gave a hooted affirmative and took wing. "No point in delaying any longer." said Harry. He emptied his old trunk into the new one and tossed all his Muggle cloths into the bedroom compartment. The, with a bit of difficulty, he put the trunk in the pocket of the trench coat. The final thing was to write a letter to Professor Dumbledore to tell him he was leaving early. When he finished, Harry gave it to Hedwig. "Take this to Professor Dumbledore, girl. Then come find me at the Leaky Cauldron. Ok?" Hedwig nibbled his ear affectionately and took off. Harry put her cage in his other pocket. "Come on Emrys," said Harry as he put the trench coat on. "Trip time."
"Of course, friend Harry. To where are we going?"
"We're going to visit some friends of mine." Emrys flew to Harrys' shoulder and settled in for a ride. Harry Picked up his wand and went downstairs. He mused for a moment on how he would look to the Dursleys, with the black trench coat, the sword, his wand and Emrys riding his shoulder and laughed internally at the sight.
"What is funny?" asked Emrys.
"I was just imagining the way the Dursleys would react if they saw me come down the stairs like this." Emrys laughed inside Harrys' head. Harry willed the sword belt into obscurity and tucked his wand into the pocket in his pants. Then he continued down to the kitchen.
"What would you like Harry?" said his Aunt Petunia. Harrys' relations were on pins and needles, not knowing whether or not he had been lying earlier.
"I'm just letting you know that I'm leaving until next summer."
"What about those frea…people from the train station? They'll come here looking for you. What're we supposed to do?"
"I've written to them telling them that I'm leaving. Goodbye." Harry walked outside. "Emrys, you said that you could do almost everything a phoenix can, didn't you?"
"Yes, I can. What do you require?"
"Can you teleport me to the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Of course, friend. Is that where you wish to go?"
"Yes, that would work fine" Harry felt the world swirl around him and then saw the Leaky Cauldron appear before him. Or rather, he appeared before it. Harry walked inside and up to the bar. "Hey Tom, do you have a free room?"
"Why, master Potter, that certainly was fast. Your owl just arrived here with a note from Professor Dumbledore. I sent her up to your old room."
"Thanks Tom. I'll be here for the rest of the summer."
"Ah, yes, that's what the Professor said. But where's your luggage? And, who is your little friend?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Bye, Tom."
"Goodbye, master Potter."
Harry made it upstairs to room number six and made his way inside. Emrys had just enough time to fly to the new bedpost before Harry crashed onto the mattress. He was out before he finished his fall.
Harry woke up the next morning.
"Friend Harry, are you all right?" Emrys sounded worried.
"Yes, I'm fine. But I think I need to get sleep more regularly from now on."
"Do we go to meet your friend now?"
"No, she won't be here for another week. But there is a will reading I have to go to first. Tomorrow."
"This 'will reading' fills you with sadness. Did something happen?"
"My godfather died. A will reading is where we find out what happens to all of his things and what he thought of some people."
" I am sorry. But you should not be sad because he is dead. Be happy because he lived."
"You know, that's really profound. I never saw it that way. Thanks."
"That is not necessary. You are my friend. When you are sad, I am sad; when you are happy, I am happy."
"Thanks anyway. Now we should get moving; there's some things to do beforehand."
"Of course."
Harry got up and pulled his trunk and Hedwigs' cage from his pockets. He set the cage on the bureau, and the trunk at the end of the bed. Emrys flapped to his shoulder as before. "We're going shopping for some things for me." said Harry. Emrys simply nodded his head. They ventured out into Diagon alley. The first stop was Gringotts. Harry walked up to a free goblin. Surprisingly, it was Griphook. "Hello, Griphook. I need to make a withdrawal."
"Mr. Potter! You remembered my name!"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"Most wizards would feel it beneath them to remember something as trivial as the name of a goblin."
"Well' I'm not most people. Now, about the withdrawal?"
"Of course, master Potter. I shall take you personally. And I must say, your Wyvern is beautiful."
"Thank you."
"Oh! Then the legends are true? Wyverns are capable of speech?"
"Only in your head. Telepathy."
"Yes, yes. Also, you have a very nice ring master Potter."
"Please don't call me master. It makes me uncomfortable."
"As you wish sir."
Griphook led Harry back to the carts then down to his vault. The amount of money had definitely increased since the last time Harry had been down there.
"Griphook, how is it that the amount of money in here has increased?"
"There have been a number of deposits in the last few months. At least two from the Ministry, and one from a business called 'Weaslys' Wizard Weezes'. If I recall correctly, the third one was quite large. Then there are of course the investments of your parents and the interest rate from the bank itself. All in all, over the last few months you have raked in about 900,000 galleons."
"Ah. Thank you." Harry was dumbfounded. He had gained nearly a million galleons in about three months. He decided to dump the sickles and knuts from his money bag and fill it exclusively with galleons. Then he had another question. "Griphook, could you do me a favor?"
"Of course sir."
"Could you take the equivalent of 10,000 muggle pounds (the monetary unit, of course) from my galleons, convert it, and put it in a muggle wallet for me?"
"That will be about 973 galleons, sir."
"Yes, that's fine."
"It will be waiting for you at the front desk."
Harry left Gringotts with the money in possession, feeling decidedly happy. He could very well buy anything he damn well pleased, in the wizard world or the muggle one.
"That was fun. What do we do next?"
"Well, just about anything we want Emrys. I think it's Madam Malkin's next. Time to get some new robes." Harry got to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions after a short walk.
"Hello Mr. Potter. How may I help you?"
"I need to get some new robes. The school ones should be normal, but I need some more… specialty items as well."
"Well, I'll do what I can to help you."
"I need something nice to wear to a will reading for my late godfather tomorrow. I wish to honor his memory. Also, I need some dragon hide battle robes for protection."
"The fancy robe I can do well enough, as with the school robes. I assume you'll be wanting three of them?"
"Yes."
"But as for the dragon hide; might I suggest something a bit different?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I have in stock some Graphorn hide from continental Europe. It could be reinforced in vital areas with an underlay of dragon hide. Graphorn skin is lighter than dragon hide, much more comfortable and better at spell reflecting than the Tebo hide your coat is made of. However, it is very expensive."
"If it's as good as you say it is, it's worth it. Can you dye it any color and how much do you have?"
"Yes, I can dye it, and I have enough for two sets of battle robes."
"Make me a set of battle robes and a set of muggle cloths from it. It's good to have protection no matter where I am."
"Of course. What colors would you like them?"
"Make the battle robes ruby red, and the muggle cloths should be black pants and an emerald green long sleeved shirt."
"Yes sir. Now, I need to get your measurements for the robes and cloths. What do you think of a deep sapphire for the dress robes?"
"That will work very well."
Harry left Madam Malkin's with his purchases in the pockets of his coat.
"That was not as fun. All we did was stand around."
"But it was very important. Now I have some decent cloths to wear."
"If you say so. Were do we go now?"
"There are a few more places I need to stop. The Apothecary, Flourish and Blotts, Ollivanders and maybe some other places if they catch my eye."
"All right."
Harry picked up some potion ingredients that weren't in the student cupboard as school as well as refilling his other ingredients during the stop at the Apothecary, picked up his schoolbooks and one on Aurors at Flourish and Blotts, and then stopped at Ollivanders.
"Why have we stopped?"
"Well, Mr. Ollivander is a bit strange, even by a wizards definition."
"There is nothing to be gained by standing out here."
"You're right again." Harry went in.
"Ah, mister Potter. How wonderful to see you again. How may I help you?"
"Mr. Ollivander, I was wondering if it was possible to add into the magical core of a wand after it was already finished?"
"I suppose it would be possible. Why do you ask?"
"I would like you to add a scale from my Wyvern friend to the core of my wand."
"If your friend can supply the scale I can do the rest."
"How about it Emrys? Do you have a loose scale for me?"
"Of course. Here you are Harry."
"Thank you. Here you are Mr. Ollivander. My wand and the scale."
"Very good Mr. Potter, very good. Wait here and I shall return shortly." Ollivander shuffled of to his back workshop. He returned after about twenty minutes, slightly out of breath. "Here you are. I dare say, that one little scale increased the magnitude of your wands' power tremendously."
"Thank you Mr. Ollivander. How much do I owe you?"
"It wasn't much, a sickle should do it."
"Here's a galleon. I shall be back in the future with sixteen more scales, should they come out when he sheds."
"Yes, yes, of course. I'll see you then."
"He wasn't that bad." said Emrys
"I suppose not," said Harry "still, I'm not overly fond of him. By the way, over the course of your next sixteen moltings, save me a scale from each, will you?"
"Alright."
Harry started to wander back to the Leaky Cauldron when he spotted the store he had been looking for earlier. Weaslys' Wizard Weezes. Harry strode briskly across the alleyway to the entrance. As Harry went in, his senses were assaulted with a barrage of stimuli. There was so much noise, confusion and color he didn't know where to look first.
"Harry! Good to see you mate!" said George. "Fred is off at the moment but I'll tell him you dropped by. How can I help you?"
"Good to see you too George. And you can help me by telling me why you two were depositing gold in my account."
"You're our business partner Harry, that's why. As our initial financial backer, you get a third of each quarters profit."
"Well, alright, I know I can't talk you out of it."
"As long as you're here Harry, we have something else too. Go ahead and pick up whatever you want, you get everything you need during your first quarter of school each year free of charge. C'mon, you know you want to."
Harry delighted in searching the shop to see what to get. He ended up with three dozen skiving snack boxes, a dozen and a half canary creams, two boxes of their fireworks and three portable swamps. Harry was sure he would visit again often. He was finally on his way back to the Cauldron when he accidentally ran into an old lady in a shawl.
"Sorry mam, my fault." he said. She started to say something when she saw his ring and stopped cold.
"Boy, what is your name?"
"Harry Potter."
"Of course, it would have to be you. Do you know what you wear on your finger?"
"Yes."
"Then come with me." With amazing speed she grabbed his wrist in a vise-like grip and hobbled towards the wall, dragging him behind. When she got to the wall she pushed on an unmarked section of the wall and it swung away. She pulled him in and shut the passage behind him.
"What are you doing?" asked Harry.
"Quiet boy. I have something for you. For Godrics' heir." Harry fell silent. They were in some sort of dark room, lit only by the glow of a single candle. From what Harry could tell, there were piles of stuff all around. "Now boy," said the crone "This is for you." She had produced a silver dagger from somewhere. But it was odd. It seemed to be beaten silver forming dagger edges around a small flat stone. The edges continued up, twisting back on themselves, the handle forming from a helix. In the pommel sat a perfectly spherical ruby. The stone had marks on it. "Potter child, this is the Runeblade. Its' sole purpose is to combat evil in any form. It was forged in the time of the four founders of your school. I give it to you now. Do much good with it."
"Uh, thanks I guess." said Harry as he tucked it into the dagger pouch on his belt. It disappeared.
"We are not done." The lady produced a dusty box. From within came two beautiful cuffs. One was silver, set with a sapphire, while the other was golden and set with a ruby. "These are the Cuffs of Godric and Rowenna. Godrics' Lion Claw belongs to you." She handed him the golden one. "Put it on your left wrist." Harry did as he was told. As he did it two things happened. It automatically sized to his wrist and the crazy old lady grabbed a knife from another box. She moved as if to attack Harry with the knife. But it never made it to him. Four-foot long claws sprang from the raised surface on the back and intercepted the blade, severing it into five pieces. The old coot cackled crazily at that. "It was reflexive that time, but you can master it. Give it time. Now the silver one is Rowennas' Raven Talon. It has been charmed to help you find the heiress of Ravenclaw. A final lesson: pay attention to the jems in the backs. Should they brighten, the other is near. Cloud, the other needs you. Turn black and they are in mortal danger." She studied his face a moment more, then reached back into the box. "Give this to Miss Chang. It too is old and she will need it." She pressed a raven shaped necklace into Harrys' hand and shoved him. Harry stumbled backwards and found himself again in the alleyway.
"And you thought Ollivander was weird." said Emrys.
"Shut up."
