Title: Harry Potter and the Staff of Merlin
Author: Legolas-gurl88
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns it all… save Frost and Sarff… I own them… tee-hee!
Author Note:
With a sigh
You turn away
With a deepening heart
No more words to say.
You will find
That the world has changed
Forever
And the trees are now
Turning from green to gold
And the sun is now fading
I wish I could hold you
Closer
This song was sung in ROTK EE, if any of you have seen it, when Éowyn was being healed by Aragorn. This gave me inspiration and just made me cry straight outright. I was sobbing because it was soooooooo beautiful! And what made it more shocking was that Liv Tyler sang it and I just thought she did a wonderful job! I sometimes just turn on ROTK EE just to watch that one scene because it is so beautiful! ::bashfully hides tears::
Story time!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Loyalty Where Disloyalty Lies
The next morning, after Harry got out of bed, he looked over at Ron's bed. Ron was still sleeping, his blankets strewn all over the place, his mouth wide in a silent snore. Harry was slightly glad Ron was asleep; he didn't want to argue with Ron anymore. Instead, he got dressed and walked down the many stairs, tip-toeing through the entry-way to avoid Mrs. Black's screeches and pushed the kitchen door open. The table was populated with more people than Harry expected. Lupin sat at one end, Tonks right next to him, Fred and George sat at the opposite end and right next to them was a sobbing Mrs. Weasley.
"Molly, you-- good morning, Harry." Lupin said, his voice changing from warm and comforting to a forced cheerfulness. He must still be miffed, thought Harry.
"Yeah." he answered back coldly, not wanting to give in.
"Oh, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed, standing up and walking to Harry. She put her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's g-good to s-see you, de-dear."
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley." said Harry and not knowing what else to say, he asked, "Are you alright?"
"Oh, y-yes, I-I'm fine, d-dear." Mrs. Weasley answered, breaking away from Harry and rubbing her eyes gently to rid them of tears. She failed miserably.
"Well, I'm off to feed Buckbeak." Tonks said quickly, pushing her chair back to stand up.
"Yes. I have--work-- to do." Lupin said and followed in Tonks' wake out of the kitchen, leaving the twins, Mrs. Weasley, and Harry alone.
"You alright, mate?" Fred asked Harry, who nodded.
"We heard you had a dream about Dad." George said. "When we were in Dumbledore's office."
"R-really? A dream?" Mrs. Weasley said, pulling a handkerchief out of her large purse on the table to blow her nose.
"I don't-- don't really want to talk about that." Harry said, looking away from the three Weasleys, staring at the door, hoping Tonks or Lupin would come back in to help him avoid this kind of conversation. To his disbelief, the door opened, but the one that appeared wasn't who he had hoped for.
Ron came into view from around the door, looking, at first, surprised to see his mother, then his ears turned red at the sight of Harry.
"Oh… hi." Ron mumbled, earning himself a confused glance from the twins and his mother.
"Hi." said Harry flatly. "Well, I'm going to… go… help Tonks with Buckbeak."
With that, he walked around Mrs. Weasley and quickly walked out of the kitchen, avoiding the stares of everyone at his, Harry's, sudden behavior.
He had no intention of helping Tonks with Buckbeak-- the Hippogriff had had his fun last night. Instead, he walked into the entry way again, careful to not make any noise in order to, once again, avoid waking up Mrs. Black. Instead, he fell back into a moldy chair in the corner and rested his elbow on the arm of the chair, propping his head on his hand in deep thought.
There he sat for several hours that went by like minutes to Harry. No one disturbed him-- most everyone steered clear of the entry-way. This didn't matter-- Harry liked it this way. He didn't feel like talking as he stared apathetically across the room at the fluttering, moth-eaten curtains that were hiding Mrs. Black's hideous portrait.
Mr. Weasley was gone and it was all his, Harry's fault. Ron was right, no matter how much Harry hated to admit it, but Voldemort did go after Mr. Weasley to get to Harry… right? Harry's position shifted and soon, he found himself drifting off into a fitful slumber, right there on the chair.
I have done it! You see, Wormtail, it is not just about hurting the body, but also hurting the mind and Potter's is being torn apart as we speak…
YES!!!
FILTHY SCUM! GREAT OAF HALFBREEDS! WIZARDS OF TRECHERY! WITCHES OF DISLOYALTY! MY HOUSE IS NOT FOR YOU TO DO YOUR EVIL WORKINGS IN! GET OUT!
Mrs. Black's shrieks filled the hall, echoing loudly as Harry woke with a start. He found himself not to be lying on the chair, but standing, his arms stretched to the ceiling, his fists clamped triumphantly and his mouth wide open.
Harry realized that it had not been Voldemort in his dream shouting the last word, but himself. As soon as he found this out, he clamped one hand to his mouth and stared around at Mrs. Black, who was staring right back at him, her eyes bulging and her yellow skin stretched across her face.
Lupin rushed in, looking shocked at Mrs. Black's sudden outburst, but then, looking around and finding Harry, he realized who had woken her up. He ran to Harry and attempted to yell over Mrs. Black's screeches.
"Help me pull the curtains back around her!" yelled Lupin.
Harry seized one side of the curtains and yanked with all his might, but they wouldn't move across Mrs. Black's portrait. Lupin was having just about the same luck with the other side of the curtains. Both pulled and pulled and finally, Harry mustered up all his strength and felt the curtains move, covering Mrs. Black as Lupin did the same with the other side, leaving the hall in silence.
Lupin wiped sweat off from his forehead, gazing at Harry.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Huh?" asked Harry in return.
"What made her wake up?"
"Oh… I… nothing. Something hit the window, I think." Harry lied quickly. "Woke her up."
"Right." said Lupin, looking slightly suspicious. "Why aren't you in the kitchen with Molly?"
"You should know." Harry said coolly.
"Should I?" Lupin asked, more in the sense of a smart remark than a question. He guided Harry out of the room to get him away from Mrs. Black's portrait.
"You have all my best interests at heart. All of you. Every single one of the Order members. You all have to know exactly what I'm thinking, where I am, what I'm doing. You've made it your business to know."
"Harry, this is completely uncalled for. I only wish to help you."
"HELP ME?" Harry thundered. "HELP ME?! IF YOU WANT TO HELP ME, THEN JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
He made to run up the stairs to his room, but Lupin grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Harry, since you came to Grimmauld Place this summer all you've been doing is biting my head off. I can't help you unless you make it easy to help you."
"Not everything can be made easy for you all the time." Harry whispered dangerously. "I should know."
Lupin opened and closed his mouth several times, then looked down at his feet, his hand still clenched to Harry's arm as Harry struggled to get away.
"You're right, Harry." he said finally. Harry stopped fighting to get away, looking shocked.
"What?"
"I said 'you're right.'" said Lupin. "Not everything is easy, this I know. But I still believe you should give us the chance to help you."
Harry's ragged breath was the only thing that answered Lupin's distress speech. Then, Harry sank down on the step he was standing on. Lupin let him go.
"It's all my fault." Harry said, looking down.
"What is?" Lupin asked.
"Mr. Weasley. He-- he-- I-- I didn't tell anyone in time."
"Harry, it wasn't you're fault. I could have happened to anyone."
"But--" Harry swallowed. "I didn't-- didn't tell anyone about my dream…"
"What dream?" asked Lupin.
"Voldemort said he was going to kill those close to me to get to me."
"Am I the only one who knows about this?" Lupin asked.
"No… I-- I told Dumbledore about it yesterday."
"Good."
"But Ron blames me."
"I don't agree with him on the terms that it was your fault, but as I told you yesterday, you need to sympathize for him and help him for you know better than anyone what it's like to lose someone close to you."
"I couldn't help it. The way he blamed me that I didn't care about Sirius--"
"No one thinks that, Harry. Not even Ron. He is just confused. He wants to find a reason for his father's death-- maybe someone who he can blame-- so he can comfort himself. It's natural human instinct to want to find a reason for everything. Only his mind came to the wrong conclusion. You must understand this."
Harry nodded.
"He won't talk to me."
"Then don't force him to. He needs to be by himself to sort out his mind. He'll come around."
The doorbell rang and Mrs. Black's shrieks once again filled the air.
"Again!" Lupin said angrily. "Harry, get the door please while I shut her up."
Both he and Harry retraced their steps back down to the landing. Harry went to the door as Lupin ran to the portrait.
Opening the door, Harry was instantly out of breath as Hermione rushed in, threw her arms around him and broke down into sobs.
"Hermione!" Harry said, trying to pull her away, but his voice could not stretch over Mrs. Black's screeches. He looked around at Lupin, who mouthed at him.
Take her up the stairs.
Harry nodded to show that he understood and pulled Hermione away, leading her back up the stairs. Mrs. Blacks screams stopped and Lupin's low voice could be heard as he pulled Hermione's bags in after her and the door closed.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked.
"I h-heard, H-Harry!" she sobbed. "Mr. Weasley! He's-- he's-- dead!"
"Hermione, it alright." Harry said.
"Where's Ron? Is he alright? Are the Weasley's alright? Where's Mrs. Weasley?" she said wildly.
"It's alright, Hermione. Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George are in the kitchen. The rest are at work."
Hermione attempted to wipe her tears away, but they were immediately replaced with fresh ones.
"And you. Are you alright?" she asked quietly.
"I'm--" Harry said, not sure what he should tell her. He was perfectly not fine.. He and Ron were in a fight, Lupin and him were on thin ice, Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen sobbing her eyes out and now Hermione was too. But he didn't want to upset her. "I'm grand. Yeah. Perfectly fine."
Hermione raised one eyebrow through her tears as if to say 'Are you really?'
Harry sighed again.
"Actually, I'm horrible." he said. Then, he told Hermione about everything that had happened since he's gotten to Grimmauld Place. When he finished, Hermione looked shocked.
"Why would Ron say something like that?" Hermione asked.
"Dunno. Lupin said it was because Ron is confused and I know where he's coming from, but I still can't help but be mad."
"You didn't hurt each other did you?"
"A few bumps and bruises, but that's all." Harry said, not wanting to worry Hermione.
"Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry!" Then, Hermione hugged him again.
Though Harry was shocked, he was slightly pleased that at least someone knew where he was coming from, rather than telling him that Ron was having a hard time. Wasn't Harry having a hard time too?
"What are you sorry about?" Harry asked, trying to get away from his selfish thoughts.
"I can't--" Hermione said. "I don't know."
Harry swallowed gruffly, feeling a slight bump in his throat.
He heard Hermione sniff as she parted with him.
"Harry. I know how difficult it's been for you, but please… the last thing we need is a war between you and Ron."
"Stop beating around the bush, Hermione. What do you want me to do?" Harry said.
"Apologize."
Harry felt as if he had been hit over the head with something hard.
"Apologize? It's him that should be apologizing to me!"
"Please don't start this again, Harry." Hermione said. "We've all been through a trauma. I don't want to have to worry about you and Ron as well."
"Yeah, well…" Harry said, his voice fading. "So, how did you get here?"
"The Knight Bus."
"Who sent for you?"
"Fawks turned up and gave me a letter that Dumbledore sent. He said he wanted me at Grimmauld Place immediately. So I packed my bags and came here, on the way meeting McGonagall, who told me everything."
There were voices below on the landing. It was Mrs. Weasley and Ron.
"C'mon." said Harry as he grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her aside into another room. He shut the door behind them. Then he pressed his ear to the door as Mrs. Weasley and Ron stopped to talk right in front of the door. Hermione's ear came to the door as well.
"And he just won't talk to me, Mum." said Ron, his voice muffled through the wood of the door.
"Well have you tried talking to him at all, dear?" Mrs. Weasley said delicately. There was a slight pause until Ron's voice could be heard again.
"No. I feel terrible. I was just so mad. I couldn't help it."
"No one blames you, dear. But you really need to apologize to Harry. You must have really hurt him to have had him react like that."
"Yeah. But what do I say?" Ron asked as though he were desperate for words. Harry pulled his ear away from the door and reached for the handle. Hermione put her hand on Harry's arm as though to stop him, but then pulled away at the look on Harry's face.
He opened the door and found Ron and Mrs. Weasley staring at him.
"You don't have to say anything, Ron." Harry said, feeling more of an idiot knowing that Mrs. Weasley and Hermione were watching. He would rather have apologized in private. "It's my fault. I should have helped you more."
Ron, recovering fast from the shock of finding Harry standing in front of him, looked down at his feet, his ears turning red which indicated that he would have wanted to hear or say an apology in private.
"No, it wasn't you. It was me. I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm--"
"Don't." Harry said. "Don't say it. We're even, right?" He held out his hand.
Ron grinned and took it and they shook.
"Right."
Hermione came into view, tears in her eyes.
"Hermione!" Ron said, looking shocked. "What are you doing here?"
"Ron, I heard and I'm so sorry."
Pale crept back into Ron's complexion as the reminder of his father came back into the conversation and Mrs. Weasley gave a small sob that had been forgotten in the apology.
"Oh." Ron said simply and quietly. "Right."
Mrs. Weasley walked past Harry and Ron to give Hermione a small hug.
"Thank you, dear." she whispered. "It means a lot to us that you came."
Harry's mind reeled as Hermione and Mrs. Weasley got into a saddened conversation. He and Ron were on good terms again. Yet that seemed to be the only piece of good that had happened. He began to worry for everyone else. First Fleur, now Mr. Weasley. Who would be next? Would there be a next? What was Voldemort planning?
Nothing good, obviously…
But still, Harry worried. Was everyone better off not knowing him as Ron had said?
------------------------------------------------L-----------------------------------------------------------
A bit corny, I know. I also know this chapter is one page shorter than all the other chapters, but I thought this was a good place to end. Before I get into reviews, I want to talk about a few things.
First of all, I had a band concert on the 16th and it went rather well, save the fact that the trumpets were WAY out of tune as well as the flutes. But my solo went really well and I got a lot of compliments about it, so that's good!
As Christmas looms closer, I grow shorter of time, which is why it took me forever to post this chapter, so I thank you all for your very good patience and I hope you still understand that I try really hard to get everything done and sometimes, has to be a last priority ::sobs::
I saw ROTK EE as most of you can tell by he poem I put up on the top. It is not mine, as I must repeat. It belongs to Liv Tyler, so don't think I wrote it!
Also, I am getting VERY agitated about some of my reviews. A lot of you are getting really impatient and I'm not pointing fingers and I do NOT encourage you to go and find out who it has been, but I must get this out of my system.
--I KNOW that Mark Evans is not going to be in any of J.K. Rowling's stories, for crying out loud, so PLEASE stop reminding me! I understand that you know this information and I do too (I knew before anyone pointed it out to me), so please, I beg you to stop reminding me. Fanfiction is not about nailing what happens in the next actual book, so please stop telling me. I feel I should not be reminding you (seeing as you should already know) that is a chance to expand your writing, not be precisely perfect to the books!
--BE PATIENT!
--A lot of you are saying that my story is losing plot. I can't say that I see it that way, but I will attempt to help bring it back together. But you must understand that what I am trying to achieve is to prove that since the death of Sirius, Harry's thoughts are everywhere and his life seems to be in shreds and I thought that putting the plot out like that was the best way, but if you don't like it, I will try to bring it together for your sake. Let me know of what you want me to do in your reviews and I will tally.
--I've spent the past several chapters debating on whether I should tell you or not, but so many of you are getting off with the Lovegood thing…them not drinking their Butterbeer that I want to tell you: Luna and her father were not behind anything at all. Rita was desperate for a good report that she spiked Harry's drink. Luna and her father were acting just like they normally do-- as though they have no idea what the hell's going on. DO NOT EXPECT ME TO GIVE IN TO MANY OTHER THINGS! But I want to remind you that things will be solved out in the end.
--I, personally, like Cho. Though many of you don't, I must say that she will continue being in the story, because I enjoy writing her character. Plot forms around and from her and she's such a cool character, 'cause even I don't know what she's going to do next.
--I'm starting to regret calling my story 'Staff of Merlin' because all of you seem so eager for the staff to show up and are complaining that it's taking too long. Trust me that it will come! If you can trust anyone from a story, trust the author!
--Yes, Dumbledore's letter is OOC but I am now making it a goal to fix that just to stop getting all those reviews about it!
Also, on a lighter note, I know that these things that you guys keep reminding me of are just a way for me to learn and I feel bad about saying this stuff, but too much of it can really get to you, you know? I'm glad that to most of you, my work is just like J.K. Rowling's and I want to keep it that way. But also remember that no matter how much I write like J.K. Rowling, all the info from her books is not going to be precise. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for your help and even if I get agitated, I still read your reviews and think about them. So keep them coming and if more of these 'agitated notes' as I will now call them, start to appear, it's just me blowing off some steam from getting so many of one type of review. Thanks guys for understanding!
Review time!
Trek- I hope you read my first note thing above the reviews. Several people have been telling me what you told me, so I thought I'd get it out in the open. Thanks for being concerned. And please take my little snippet in the last chapter to heart, because the staff will come when it comes.
DaVID- Before I respond to anything else, I would like to question you about that other story that took my idea for the present with exact wording. It's wrong for them to do that, so please, if you could, give me the name of the author and the story and chapter. I would be forever grateful! I wouldn't think of you as an idiot. Many people make mistakes like that. Though I must admit that my heart nearly stopped when I read that, 'cause I would NEVER plagiarize/copy without the other person's consent first and I was thinking that it would have been a very odd coincidence if it had been the way you said it! But please help me out, here, 'cause I think it unfair that that person copied me. Right, now onto your other reviews. The reason I made Harry cold to Lupin was not so I could make them OOC, but just stop to think… would you blame everyone but yourself for the death of someone close to you. It's also the same with Ron. About Mark Evens, please read the first one of my agitated notes. Thanks for your reviews and please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE get back to me on that author!
Potter Girl- I'm glad that you're standing up for me! A lot of people disagree with the way I write certain things and it's always nice to know that some enjoy it and it's those people I write to, not the criticizers.
T.R.Stone- Thanks!
Jolly Rancher- Did I? I'll make a mental note to fix that typo when I'm not incredibly busy (like now! Eek!) Thanks again! No one's ever actually told me WHY Dumbledore's letter is OOC and I've read through it so many times and could never find anything wrong with it until you wrote about what was wrong and I really thank you for that. Right now, I don't have much time to fix that sort of stuff, but if I ever have time, I'll try. And I'm too far into the story to fix the homework thing, so you'll just have to live with it, ok? Thanks!
SaphirePhoenix- I'm glad you like my story and please read what I said about Cho above. Also, Ginny and Harry equals 'not in this story'. I don't like those types of fics.
Red Death- And it has a plot that you probably do not see. I don't like to disagree with my reviewers, but in your case, I disagree. I DO know where the plot is going. I've got pages and pages of plans, what should be in each chapter, new ideas, and everything, so please don't think for one second that I don't know what I'm doing. I strongly suggest reading through my story again if you cannot see a plot thus far, because I have given several and a main one if that's the one you want. And if you'll notice, J.K. Rowling has several other plots in her story before she gets to a main one. And if it is simply not readable, nothing is stopping you from not reading. Also, I will not stop replying to my reviewers. Unless you are a part of and they've made a new rule of that, I will not stop. It's cool that you go to stories that have the most words written and all (I admit I've done it too) but replying to my reviewers gives me a chance to learn, meet new people and listen and ask what they think of my story. So it's no problem of mine and I'm not going to go back and delete them because they help me learn for when I actually/hopefully become a published author. I must tell you that my goal is to write no less than 10 pages for each chapter. Only two have been short of that, but they were 9 pages, which isn't a big difference. You can always be sure that I am going to write at least 9 pages for each chapter, but I will always believe that is a place to learn. Thank you for your time.
Talix- About the thing on Malfoy mouthing off Hagrid and Hagrid not doing anything about it… it's just in Hagrid's nature to ignore. Only a few times has he ever lost it. And Harry has much going on in his life to worry about Trelawney, even when he knows she was in her phase, because he knew last year that either he or Voldemort were going to have to kill each other. Ridiculous to have Umbridge back? I actually liked it!
Trinity-33- No problems at all! Thanks for the compliment. And I never really thought about that 'who' 'whom' thing, but I'll keep a closer eye on it in the future.
WIZ1- Thanks!
Kiara32- You live in Oklahoma? That's cool! About Hermione not being in the chapter… I was saving her for this chapter where her appearance would be a bit more appropriate. Thanks much!
Larna Mandrea- Thanks a lot! I really must say that I enjoy getting compliments! YAY! Sorry that this chapter wasn't mostly mind angst as I said it would be, but once I got to writing it, I really couldn't see where it would start and finish. All he would be complaining about would be the stuff from the previous chapter, so I had to cut it. I hope that you understand.
Mistopurr- Finally! A friendly face! I've been answering complaints, mostly (with the exception of a few people) so it's nice to know that I can answer your review, which are always nice! YAY! Yes, Harry is a silly boy! I was going to have Ron and Harry be fighting for a few chapters, but I couldn't fit that. It just wouldn't work and I was so sad, because I like it when people are fighting! LOL! I also got an idea for a new LOTR fic! YAY!
Cariluv- I think they overreacted too and I've had a few people close to me die (not like, parents, but I've had my dog die and she was family, so it was close!).
Mei1105- Nope. It's not foreshadowing anything. They were just getting rid of anger. I don't really know what movie spoofs you're talking about, to tell the truth.
A.M. bookworm247- Yes, I am evil (again!) LOL! I love angst and writing it. Though this story is not rated angst, I still like putting snippets of it in. I'm glad I was inspiring! Have you seen ROTK EE?
Gogglehead Lover- Have you seen the latest new 'Lost'? The one with Charlie? I was crying!
Shelly101- Thanks!
CurlsofSerenity- Thanks! I was worried that people wouldn't like it, but I'm glad that they did!
Trinityelf- I know you're in Mexico ::boils in jealous anger:: but I'm going to reply anyway. Yes I am evil! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! Wow! I actually confused YOU! You! Trinity the Elf! The smartest person I know!
Trojan Horse- Harry and Ron are friends again! Have I made you happy O Great One? LOL!
Jeanne2- I won't answer that, just for you. I've been playing for five years and I'm not trying to sound egotistical, but I am pretty good at it. I got the solo at our Christmas concert on the 16th and I was really proud.
Emerald-silver Serpent- You'll see more of Voldemort soon (hopefully!) And I'm glad it was confusing, 'cause I loved how it fitted perfectly. When I first started out, I knew that I had to kill someone and I wasn't sure who. But I was proud of who I chose 'cause then it gave Harry and Ron (who have been having a hard time understanding each other) a chance to get into each other's shoes.
Constance Truggle- Thanks!
Allie- Thanks a bunch!
Rhiane Raine- Thanks for your reviews!
Panther28- Thanks!
Lady-Mearie- Thanks guys! Luv ya!
Old-crow- Thanks! I'm glad that someone sees how difficult this is for me (which it is!) Thanks for your words of comfort!
JeanieBeanie33- Thanks!
Kitties-rule878- Thanks! I'm glad you like it!
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! YOU'VE HELPED ME GET 500 REVIEWS! I am really proud of this because I wasn't expecting to get so many reviews and I thank each and every one of you for helping me with that. Let's try for another 100! Thanks again guys! Also, my hand hurts 'cause I've just had to respond to 31 reviews! YAY! Thanks! Luv ya!
Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, all of you!
May broomsticks be in your dreams!
Luv,
Legolas-gurl88
Next Chapter: As Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny return to Hogwarts after the burying of Mr. Weasley, Rita's article comes out, further spreading rumors, Harry shows Hermione the mysterious coin, D.A. starts up again, and the continuance of Harry's bad dreams adds to the plot of this story (just to let you know).