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Chapter 4 – Up, up, and away

"I'm through! I quit!" The large bellowing man was red and puffing from his yelling.

His superior, however, a little man in his early fifties, stayed calm. "You are not quitting. We fired you. Since we took control of your company three years ago, I told you countless times to stop drinking and harassing your young employees. You were even caught stealing money from the charity box. We lost some really big contracts because of you, and..."

"It wasn't my fault! I swear! It was that wretched..."

"Enough is enough! We don't want our reputation anymore soiled by your actions. As you were warned way beforehand, our contract stipulates that you won't receive any form of compensation from your job loss. Now you have one hour to get your personal belongings from your office, under the supervision of Rufus here, then you'll hand your keys and access card to him." he waved at a man who was standing at the door. Both men eyed each other. They were the same bulk, but Rufus was all muscle, and his scarred face inspired fear.

Deciding that forcing his way was not working, the fat man whined "You can't throw me away, sir, I gave my energy to the company, all these years. I have a family to feed..."

The little man sneered. "A family, yes indeed. We sent them job application forms the previous week, for them to join us if they so whished, but your wife did not answer and your son replied with all sort of... naughty comments, on the form. We called and your wife thought useless to work for us. Now you will take your responsibilities, and head back home. Now."

"Please, it wasn't my fault..."

"Now!"

Seeing that he was beat, and couldn't exert physical revenge because of the brute at the door, the fat man left, pounding his way through the huge building, and followed by a silent Rufus.

In a large bedroom, a young scholar was reading...

He couldn't make out all the content of the text, but he was learning it nonetheless. After the first part, as interesting and immediately usable as it was, it rapidly digressed into family lines and blood feuds. Such stories were for the kids, he thought, and he felt no need to read them. But he did, as he was instructed to, a long time ago. The weirdest stuff he read was about magic power held by humans who were neither wizards nor witches. Reading that part, he reflected about the legends his friends knew and shared with him on the occasion, and one struck him with the similarities. Was it possible that this kind of power existed then? Could it exist now?

...and they seem to possess a mastery over the natural elements. There is no proof that it could be learnt because they seldom appear to the outside world, much like we do for muggles. Every occurrence of seeing their power was promptly hidden. I devoured Rowena's library on this topic and found naught. What troubles me the most is that some members of seemingly random wizarding families disappeared after demonstrating that power. The account is never clear...

At last! I managed to personally interrogate the witness of such a disappearing. The man is distraught so it's easy to slip him some mild truth serum. He's a wizard, and will notice if I give him anything stronger. As it is, I believe he'll take his spillings onto his distress. Man, was I for a discovery!

They do exist. His wife was one, but without wizarding talent, we don't distinguish them apart from muggles. When their son was eleven, she took him away, for 'proper' education. He tells me that they fought over this because the child, being a crossbreed, had the potential of both talents, if properly educated and trained. But, as he loved her, he gave in, not understanding that he wasn't to see either of them again. Three years had passed, and he's nearing nervous breakdown; he practically begs me to wipe his memory. So I do.

Reading this, he was mildly surprised that the author had been able to do so without a second thought. After all, that was a very Slytherin thing to do. It led to interesting questions about last year's ceremony in September and what that wretched decider told him. Unfortunately, any research concerning blood lines at that time had to dig for dirty secrets and the methods were always straightforward. Quieting his qualms, he read again, to the light of his wand in the big, dark bedroom. Besides, he had to finish the text soon.

I started to observe closely all magical children around age eleven to see if they develop that weird talent, focusing on those having at least one muggle parent. I think I can safely ignore some blood lines in my quest. The De Male Foi elder, on that regard, is always seeking pure wizarding blood. I wonder if they will be able to continue for long, as consanguinity inexorably leads to squibness. I try to hide the real aim of my quest to everyone, especially that old snake. So far, I noticed eight kids with what I'm searching, and three of them confirmed it in front of reliable witnesses.

- Name: Tina Smalridge, age 10
Lives: Salisbury
Father: Thomas Smalridge, muggle navigator
Mother: Carolyn Felton, witch dedicated to her little family
Siblings: 2 little brothers, ages 7 and 5, both magical
Head: blonde hair and aquamarine eyes
Personality: bright
Incidents: levitation

- Name: Josh O'Malley, age 11
Lives: Glendalough, Ireland
Father: Muircheartach O'Malley, muggle blacksmith
Mother: Maud Clarke, muggle barmaid
Siblings: none
Head: fiery red hair and blue eyes
Personality: hot-tempered
Incidents: pyromania

- Name: William Clover, age 8
Lives: Haddington, Scotland
Father: Donald Clover, deceased wizard
Mother: Mary McLeish, muggle money lender
Siblings: a sister, age 6, non-magical
Head: brown hair and eyes
Personality: quiet
Incidents: gardening

I wrote down everything about them so that I can find them later, or even their kids. A parent written as 'muggle' may be one of those people. Listed incidents are usual for accidental magic, but these kids are doing it consciously and stay in control, without a wand. The 'muggle' parents seem wary of me, but I have a plan. They can't really object when I invite their kids to Hogwarts for an open-doors day, can they? I don't want for such people to 'abduct' ours, even with the best intentions, so I think I'll mark them one way or another. Personal or blood?

The remaining two inches of the page were blank, except for a hastily written paragraph:

Two years have passed, and I was right. They took all eight kids away, and some others that I didn't notice disappeared as well. Same scenario each time, the kid and the muggle parent disappear. Sometimes both parents too. No body, no witness. But I'm sure to find their lines again, as I did bloodmark the eight children I knew when they visited, though, with a different symbol for the three I was sure of...

He couldn't make heads or tails of that last paragraph, especially from the marking stuff, but supposed that there would be more information about that in a future page. With a brief look at his watch which read half an hour past midnight, he hid the book under his mattress and drank half his remaining draught before turning the light off and curling in his bed. He would have time tomorrow night for the last fifty pages. Even if the whole thing wasn't as organized as his bookworm friend would like it, reading it was fun, and memorizing it was easy. His last conscious thought was that, because of this randomness, his friend would certainly find it more difficult to memorize than him, and he went to sleep with an amused smile on his face.

Hogwarts library, on the last day of school...

The last week of school went smoothly, with the infamous trio getting a fourth member between classes, in the person of Ginny Weasley. She and Harry were seen chatting all the time, sometimes laughing their heads off about some pranks, and other times in tears. All Gryffindor knew what they had been through, so they didn't dare to interrupt. Only Ron was sulking about it.

"Honestly, Ron! Why are you so moody?" inquired Hermione, seeing her red-headed friend stomping through the library entrance. Even on the last day of school, she was reading at the library. She liked the stillness and the power of knowledge around her, just asking to be read.

"What's it with Harry and Ginny?" He retorted "She's my little sister, and he's acting as if he's dating her!"

"Shh, Ron. Besides, when people are dating, that implies both of them agree, don't you think?"

"So you agree with the situation?" He was red at the ears too now, a sure sign that he was about to explode, and Hermione tried to quickly defuse the situation, especially in front of the always stern madam Pince.

"They are not dating, Ron."

"Huh?"

"I said they are not..."

"I heard that. How do you know? They are all lovey-dovey all the time."

"Ron, you have to open your eyes all the time, not only when you don't like a situation."

"Meaning?" he was squinting at her, now. 'How predictable' she thinks. But introspection about her knowledge of Ron's mind could wait; there was a more pressing matter at hand, namely Ron himself.

"Did you notice times where they are crying together? We could not push them to speak then, and I gather from a little eavesdropping," she blushed "that they are speaking about the Chamber and what happened."

"I know! I was down there, remember?"

"Yes, Ron. But Harry fought a sixty feet long bloody snake! And Ginny was possessed by the spirit of the previous Dark Lord. How do you relate to that?"

A pregnant pause ensues, which Hermione delivered.

"I don't. So I don't intrude when they are like that. And if they are 'lovey-dovey', as you said, it's a feedback of their sad memories. A relief, if you want."

Ron seemed to understand. 'At least, he seems to think about it' Hermione reflected.

"Okay, Mione. I was wrong, I suppose. I still don't like that it appears as if they were dating, sometimes. She's too young for that. I also wouldn't want to cut Harry off me because of her."

"I agree, we are a little young for 'dating', but how long are you going to think that way? Until she's of age? She's living her own life, Ron. And, knowing her, I bet she won't be ordered around, especially from now on."

"I just wish we had a peaceful school, without trouble."

"We perhaps wouldn't be friends then..." Hermione reflected aloud, "remember that troll in first year? And the chess game that followed? I thought I lost you..." she stopped, shivering, and Ron hugged her awkwardly.

"Harry and Ginny shared this year, but we shared other experience also, Mione," he muttered. "As long as we remember them, we'll never be apart."

Her head shot up. "Since when are you so wise, mister Weasley?" she joked through her sadness.

"Since I met you." he answered, and they spent the better part of the next pregnant pause looking into each other's eyes.

Still Hogwarts, in the Great Hall, that evening...

The Leaving Feast was sumptuous. It always was, but, concluding the troubled year where the school almost closed, it is particularly welcomed. Albus Dumbledore rose from his chair, and started his concluding speech in the light of the floating candles.

"Year after year, I see students pass through this school, and I wanted to hold a toast to the special students who, through the years, helped the staff to allow the school to stay on the ground." He raised his cup, and turned towards Hagrid, who blushed, then to Harry and his friends. "To heroes and friends." The whole hall repeated the toast, and everyone drank. That's when the most unusual sight graced the eyes of every student. All the teachers were transformed into animals, though keeping their human head, Dumbledore included. Hagrid was transformed into a black grizzly. Professor Trelawney, the glassy-eyed divination teacher, took the form of an owl. Professor McGonagall was a dignified panther. Professor Flitwick, charms teacher and Head of the Ravenclaw House, was morphed into a mouse, even if nobody noticed due to his diminutive size. Professor Sprout, Herbology teacher and Head of Hufflepuff, transformed into a mole. And Severus Snape got the aspect of an oily black snake. Finally, Dumbledore himself got transfigured into a wrinkled turtle.

The Great Hall was speechless for a time, but after professor Trelawney's indignant hooting, everyone collapsed, laughing. From the corner of his eyes, Harry noticed Fred and Georges Weasley patting each other's back. 'We'll try to get those two next year', he reflected, thinking about the discussions he had had with Ginny about pranks, 'they should appreciate it.'.

After a few minutes of laughing, each professor turned back into himself or herself, and Dumbledore spoke again.

"Thank you to whoever did that. It's always interesting to change one's point of view, and making everyone laugh at the same time. I heard once that laughing heals every wound," he continued, looking briefly towards Harry and Ginny "so I hope the perpetrators of today's prank will continue their work good-naturedly over the summer." that last part was sent towards the Weasley twins.

"Without further delay, let the feast begin and the year end!" With these last words, everyone launched themselves towards the food, Harry and Ron being the first to begin, and the last to finish. At the end of the meal, Ron won, but only by a little. Besides, Harry had been eating more properly and his place wasn't littered with food remains. Harry also wasn't paling due to an excess of ingested food, like Ron was, now.

After the feast, the students went calmly back to their dorms, anxious to pack for the morning ride to London. It was only in the late hours of the night that the castle returned to its silent normalcy. In Gryffindor's second year dorm, though, a wand was still alight with a Lumos spell. Even in the last night of the school year, Harry was awake, reading. He knew that he wouldn't be able to use anything magical, sadly including doing his homework, at the Dursleys' and that his trunk would probably be locked away.

Suddenly, the drapes of the left side of his bed, opposite Ron's and the others' beds, opened and an invisible form settled on his bed.

"Good evening, Ginny."

She removed the cloak's hood, and looked into his eyes. Despite the numerous talks they had the previous week, she was still self-conscious about meeting Harry in his official bed for the first time. But she couldn't let go the last opportunity to be alone with him before the summer holidays. Even without romance yet, their relationship was becoming more than friendly. Noticing the book, she asked. "Is this the one you told me about?"

"Yes. I'm almost finished. I just finished his explanations about house-elf magic, and right now it's about magic capabilities of woodland creatures. It's weird how everybody thinks of him as a warrior whereas he spent so much of his last years abstracting models for magical theory."

"Did you manage the shape shifting? You told me you were training this at night."

"Yes, look." and he extended his hand, concentrated hard. After a few seconds, a yellow fur appeared on it. He then transformed it back into a human hand, before smiling lightly. "I can't get the claws yet, though, but I feel the ability progressing each day."

"Claws?"

"Yes. I don't know why, but the first animal I think of is a lion. Perhaps it's because of... our house's emblem." he said, indicating his surroundings with a nod of his head. He was thinking about his ancestor, but didn't really feel ready to share that one huge secret with Ginny right now, even if he spoke freely about the shape-shifting theories. Still, both of them understood he was speaking about Godric Gryffindor's coat-of-arms, where nobody could miss the standing lion. Ginny was thoughtful, though.

"What?" he asked, after a moment of silence.

"You know, Harry, not so long ago, we had to write essays for History of Magic, and the topic was the Hogwarts Founders. I found some information about Godric Gryffindor in a book Hermione lent me. You know what his family name is, right?"

"Yes. Gryffindor."

"Well, it appears that it wasn't his name at first." She was nervous, so Harry took her hand to soothe her. Smiling back, she continued. "His previous family name was an old Gaelic term for 'of the lake'. But it's not what's important here. Do you know why he was called Gryffindor?"

Harry was really intrigued now. "Go ahead, I'm dying of curiosity."

"He was rumoured to have an animagus form of a golden griffin. You know? As in 'Griffin d'or' – of gold, in French. But it has never been confirmed. Besides, griffins and especially golden griffins are rare magical beasts, and no known animagus has been registered with a magical form. You know what a golden griffin looks like, Harry?"

He shook his head, but his mind was tugging at details he had forgotten, a long time ago.

"A winged lion."

At this, Harry stayed aghast for a long time, while Ginny held his hand, looking expectantly at him.

"A winged lion." he repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes. And if you look at the early versions of his crest that are in the books, you'd see the folded wings."

A pause. Then he muttered "Well... that certainly explains a lot of things."

Another silence.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be okay, this summer?" after all, he did tell her he didn't want to go back there.

He sighed. "Dumbledore almost forces me to stay there. I can't very well refuse. He knows everything... I should be alright."

"You could go with us." she countered, blushing.

"You proposed that to me already, and you told me that your parents would agree. So I proposed the idea to Dumbledore, and, besides the annoying light in his eyes going brighter, he didn't change his directions. I'm still going back to that pitiful place."

He thought about that for a second, and then looked up to her, with a wide smile. "You know, I'm not to use my stuff this summer, the Dursley are really allergic to magic. I even made all my potion homework in advance."

"Wow. Hermione would be so proud." they laughed quietly.

"What I wanted to say is that you could take my invisibility cloak with you. After all, you are most proficient with it, by now." She blushed, again, while giggling. He continued "And that way, you can play some pranks on your brothers."

Her eyes lit up, and they began to discuss pranks and summer plans. Some time later, a tired and invisible Ginny couldn't be seen leaving Harry's bed and dorm, and heading towards her own.

Going back to the book, Harry remarked that only a-dozen-or-so pages remained, and decided to finish the book that night. Most of the remaining pages described how some weird creatures do their magic, including faeries and dragons. That research was done partly because, when he had successfully transformed into a magical creature, Godric had felt he didn't have the corresponding magical powers, and he had felt that these powers weren't linked to the physical form, but the inner core. He could still use the physical powers of the creatures, like the golden griffin flight, for instance. Harry felt somewhat smug that his ancestor, while not widely known for his research, was brave enough to fetch ancient dragons for that goal. After that part, another prank was described, as well as a spell enabling you to list ancestors using some blood samples. The very last page appeared only like a random enumeration of names, starting with Godric Gryffindor. Thinking that it was a credits page, Harry scanned it without paying real attention until he stumbled upon the very last name. And he got the surprise of his life. The last name was his own!

His own.

Harry James Potter.

And just above it, there was his mother's.

Lily Evans.

He scanned the list, but there was no other name he knew of.

What could it mean?

He read the short paragraph scribbled on the back cover, and started to understand.

To my dear descendant (again)

I didn't explain it at the start, but you should have now the knowledge to understand most of my research about blood. This book is charmed to recognize your blood, and if you drop a little of it on the book, it should display your genealogy line from me. In my office in Hogwarts, I deposited some blood of mine too, and of my three friends and co-founders, so that you can do some research of your own about it. I also included blood samples from the eight supposedly elemental children. Don't worry about their conservation; I did cast a preservation spell, doubled with a permanency charm.

Take care of you, my flesh and blood, and many cheers from the past.

G.G.

Harry was crying, now. No more than a week before, he hadn't known much about his family. Now, he knew his entire lineage from his illustrious ancestor down to him. However, he always thought his mother was muggle-born, and his aunt for sure hasn't an ounce of magic, so he wondered about his family. Anyways, him being Gryffindor's blood, that was the sort of fact which would make Draco jealous, he reflected with a small smile, before preparing to sleep for whatever remained of the night.

In a shoddy part of northern London...

The crack team of Aurors, sent to eliminate the vampire vermin, was waiting. They had encountered several problems. Firstly, there were obviously not two troublemakers, but three. Secondly, they were cut from their intelligence, as Tonks had tripped at some point, thus damaging the team's Comtact receiver. She had been carrying it because the others were more intent on going to battle and couldn't risk damaging it, and now, it was useless. Thirdly, they had entered the building when what they thought being the only two vampires left it, thinking that no one was there, and had stumbled on the third one. Now, one vampire was no match for the team, but the fight had caused much noise, and they were certain that the other two heard it and were heading back.

The room was obviously lived in by three vampires, and more coffins were one the side, waiting for the immigrants. What disturbed them more was the lavishly decorated dais under one of the vampires' "bed". It couldn't be worse if one of the vampires was the elder they had been told about, and judging by the state of the room, this one was ancient and powerful. Kingsley had told them that no one knew his face or identity, because the beast kept changing them, seemingly at random.

They were positioned in the vampires' living quarters, around the door. Melinda was full centre, katana at the ready. She had the agility to escape curses, and was most proficient with her weapon of choice. John and Stuart were at an angle towards the entrance, wands drawn. Tonks was beside Melinda, trying her best to imitate the dead vampire's facial features, but not succeeding completely; cross-gender metamorphmagus transformation had never been her forte. And they had hidden the remains of the slain vampire. Now they only had to wait for the incoming disaster.

The door opened, but the curses flew through the air, not encountering anything. It took them a precious few seconds to understand that one of the vampires, probably the elder, had used magic to open the door. During that time, a blurry shape pounced through the open doorway into the room and his knife properly gutted John.

"What a shame," was John's last conscious remark "he just ruined my suit."

The blurry shape then lunged towards Melinda, but, glimpsing Tonks in her best effort to imitate his fallen comrade, couldn't help but stop suddenly. It never helps to stop wondering in mid-fight. The easy prey was decapitated on the spot by the oriental sabre.

"That wasn't..." started Melinda.

"Yeah. Wasn't me."

The sing-song voice coming from the dark entryway seemed to come from a boy's throat, but appearances can be deceiving, and the voice conveyed centuries of experience in death. The smallish frame of the elder, with blonde hair, crimson eyes, and clad in black, appeared in the door frame, before continuing darkly. "You just killed two of my lieutenants. You'll suffer before begging for death!"

And pandemonium ensued. Tonks and Stuart threw curse after curse towards the elder, and Melinda attacked with the katana, for all she was worth. The elder, though, didn't seem to have problems deflecting curses and blade. Conjuring a sword from mid-air, he even went into a mock sparring contest with her, his wand in his off-hand lazily shielding himself from the curses.

One innovation the Aurors of the British Ministry had learned, though, and which was not quite well-known in the outside world, was the ability to channel several persons' magic into a much more powerful spell than any of the participants may achieve. That's why the elder's shield suddenly collapsed while he was pointlessly swinging his blade left and right. He even got on his knees from the effort and Melinda slashed at his sword arm. But, far from being dead, he panted, raising his sword to parry Melinda's next lunge, and pointed his wand towards her.

"You're not playing nice. I won't either." and he uttered a curse that neither of the Auror there knew about. After all, innovation was running everywhere in the world. The curse was aimed, and landed, on Melinda's chest and, not having a magical shield in place, she took the brunt of it, staggering backwards. Her eyes went wide, and she dropped her sabre which clattered on the ground, before falling on her knees while holding herself.

The elder smirked, while standing up again. "Efficient one, I admit. I love acid, it causes so much pain before allowing you to die. You have thirty sec..."

The elder couldn't finish his sentence, as two angry Aurors started casting curse after curse towards his back. Without his shield, and having his good arm bleeding, he could only dodge them, but some were really hitting home, and he decided to flee towards the exit, pushing furniture around in doing so. Tonks inadvertently got herself in the way of a falling statue, and was knocked down and buried under a pile of rubble. Looking grimly around, Stuart promised himself to avenge his fallen comrades. He activated and dropped his emergency signal for the rescue team, and started pursuing the vampire in the streets while the track was still hot.

To be continued in next chapter: Wandering...

What is it with those youngsters?
Why are these fighting gangsters?
If you really want to know,
Go review, guys, you know how.