Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter Universe all other claimants to anything to do with the H.P. story are simply hangers on to her glory. I thank her for allowing us mere mortals to play in her world and I promise that while I have Harry in my care nothing bad will happen to him. I will leave that to J.K.R. herself in her books.
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
Chapter 7 Myrddin Emrys
"What do they do in the Department of Mysteries?" Hermione asked.
Tonks looked uncertain, "They delve into the unknown, I think things on the fringes of magic or maybe science I don't really know."
"That sounds good to me, but what should I drop?"
"Well let me try to be of some help to all of you, by the time we leave here this summer I would expect all five of you to be beyond NEWT level in Defence Against Dark Arts, Charms and Transfiguration also you will be well up in Potions and Herbology. If that is so you could take nine subjects but only have to really work for five and that is possible but still difficult. Anyway, once any of you get five or more NEWT subjects you won't have to decide what you are going to do for two years, everyone is going to want you to be working for them."
Then Harry said to Ron, in a teasing voice, "I think Hermione is only interested in setting records and proving how dumb we all are."
Ron replied, "She doesn't have to go far to prove how dumb I am."
"Don't put yourself down Ron, your results are well above average it's not your fault that Hermione is brilliant, your results are virtually identical to mine at OWLs, so are you calling me dumb?" Asked Tonks with a grin on her face.
Then Harry said. "It looks likely Hermione will be taking Herbology on her own."
"No she won't, all three of you will take Herbology as well, because at NEWT level it is combined with Potions, but you will have to do quite a bit better at it to get an individual NEWT in it, but you may well have the time to put the work in. Ginny the Headmaster has told me that you are equal top of your year in almost all of your classes and he wanted to know if you would like to take your OWLs before the end of the holiday, then you can move up with this shower and start your NEWTS, with them."
Ginny thought for a minute and asked, "If you are going to be taking the Defence Against Dark Arts job I would like to try?"
Tonks said, "I have already Owled the Headmaster telling him that I would like to take it, who do you think picked the books to study. So come on lets all go to the Burrow and tell Molly the good news."
Leaving the breakfast table they all showered, dressed and then went to the Burrow.
x-x
When they arrived at the Burrow they weren't sure that they were in the right place, it was gleaming and it was obvious that Winky had set about polishing almost everything that didn't move.
Molly greeted them all warmly and looking around with a resigned expression she said, "Just carry on as normal, whatever you do, Winky will polish it all again tonight."
Tonks then told her that they had received their Hogwarts letters and they were here to tell her the bad news.
Ron started, "Well Mum, I am not a Prefect anymore."
"Oh! Why ever not, what did you do that I don't know about, or shall I write Albus and get him to sort it out?"
"Wait a minute Mum," said Ron, "it's because I am Quidditch Captain," then he showed her the letter.
"So they've made Harry a prefect instead," she said smiling at Harry.
"Yes Mum," Harry said, "they wouldn't let either of us be both and they let us decide who would be which and we thought that, all in all that this would be the best way around."
"I'm a prefect as well Mum," Ginny said smiling, Molly was delighted and hugged her then she started asking what she wanted because she had become a prefect, she eventually settled for an owl of her own.
"But I would of thought that you would prefer a broom?" her mother said doubtfully.
"Well my new brother, who will remain nameless," she was pointing at Harry, "has already bought me one, as a birthday present." Then she took a miniature broom out of her pocket and expanded it to full size, "If you two had brought yours we could go out to the paddock and I could try my new one out."
The boys both took their miniature brooms out of their pockets and expanded them.
"I should of known," said Hermione, rolling her eyes, as Harry, Ginny and Ron went outside and headed towards the paddock.
x-x
Two hours later they were all back in the training room, they were practicing changing rocks and sticks into spears, arrows and other weapons and then banishing them into targets. These were on a on the twelve inch thick hardwood wall, that Tonks had conjured at far end of the room specifically for this purpose.
The following day Harry and Hermione decided to look in the Special Restricted Section of the library, to try to find out what Merlin's Ring was capable of? So they started a methodical search however, this room appeared to be never-ending, so by the end of the day they had found nothing and seemed to have covered very little of the room.
The next day Harry and Tonks were going to see Mr McMahon the solicitor but the others were going, with Hermione's help, to practice potions until they returned.
Their business at the Solicitors went smoothly until it was time to depart; the next clients were waiting in the reception room when they wanted to Floo out. So Tonks went first and Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and Harry followed her, then they went to the Order's private room and Flooed to the flat. Having changed from the formal robes they had been wearing into more casual clothes, Tonks took over the Potions and Hermione went with Harry to continue their search for information on the ring.
By the middle of the afternoon on the following day, they still had not found what they were looking for and Harry was daydreaming, he wandered out of the library and went to his room, there he took the ring out of its box and put it in his pocket then went back to the special restricted section of the library.
Suddenly he pulled himself together and he asked Hermione to come with him for a walk, he took her hand and they started just walking back and forward along the isles, deeper and deeper into the room.
He reached the end of an aisle, which looked like all the others and said, "This way," and then he started walking straight towards the back of the room, they eventually came to an area that was full of thousands of ancient scrolls, "It's around here somewhere," he muttered and wandered along looking at the racks, they looked like wine racks but the divisions were slightly smaller and each one had a scroll in it, they all looked the same.
Suddenly, for what appeared to be no reason, he reached up and took out a really old scroll. When it was unrolled and he looked at it, its title was My Ring and it was signed M.E., but the rest of it he couldn't understand; however he knew that he had the correct scroll.
For an instant Hermione looked shocked, then she smiled broadly and asked him. "How on earth did you find that, we would have been looking for ever?"
"I think, no I am certain that it wanted me to find it," he told her, "it, it almost called me to itself." Harry carefully took the scroll out with them and spread it on the large table in the study they could not read it.
"I wonder just who 'M. E.' is?" he asked.
"I assume that, that would be Merlin something," Hermione said, "Do you think we should call Dumbledore?"
"I'll try to find him and see what he has to say," he said going into the lounge, he returned a few minutes later with the Headmaster who asked how they had found the scroll and Harry explained how it had drawn him to itself, as though it had wanted to be found.
The Headmaster's eyes were twinkling and smiled to himself as he was looking at the scroll.
Hermione said, "Can you translate it sir?"
"I suspect that I can, however the words are nonsense and they keep changing."
"Oh. Its not just me then?"
"What do you mean? They are all steady for me. I just don't understand them," said Harry.
"Good! I hoped as much" said Dumbledore, "can you write down what you see?" Harry collected Quill ink and some parchment and started writing what he could see, by the time he had written half a line Dumbledore and Hermione both stopped him saying that it must be the words that are enchanted and that they still could not read them.
"Short of me learning whatever language this is, where can we go from here?" he asked. They all sat thinking, then Hermione went and switched on the word processor in Harry's computer.
"Try typing it into your computer." she said. Harry started typing, very slowly.
"I can see it," Hermione said, then she and Dumbledore sat reading, Hermione collected the writing things from the table and started translating the text from the computer. They were debating and changing some of the translation as they progressed in two and a half hours they were finished.
"Why did you call me, Miss Granger virtually solved this all on her own? Tell me why you are in Gryffindor when the sorting hat wanted to put you in Ravenclaw?"
"When we received our first Hogwarts letter's and I went to Diagon Alley, to get my things, I bought Hogwarts a History, amongst other books, as background reading, before I started. When I began reading it I soon realised that all the best Witches and Wizards, not necessarily the cleverest or anything, but the best came from Gryffindor. So when I put the sorting hat on I told it that I wanted to be in Gryffindor, it argued with me but in the end it put me where I wanted to go. Oh and the fact that it was your old house had something to do with the decision, as well."
The Headmaster chuckled. "If I told you the story of my sorting it would be almost the same, except my parents knew the system and they wanted me to be in Ravenclaw, as they and indeed my brother had been." said the Headmaster. "I must say this scroll makes interesting reading, is there anything else?"
The couple told him that Tonks wanted to talk to him, so they went to the Training room and she said. "Albus, I told Miss Weasley what you asked me about her OWLs, she thought that she would try if I would be the DADA teacher and as you know from my owl I will do the job for you, if you still want me, that is?"
"I am glad about both answers, is there anything else?" when there was no reply, he said. "Then I must leave you now so make of the text what you will Harry." and with a crack he was gone, then they all went to the study.
"Well I think we should have dinner before we do any puzzling over this," Harry said, and he carefully rolled up the old parchment then went and took his card out of his slot and the scroll vanished.
Over dinner they all agreed that they would do no more work that evening and they would just relax and listen to some music, so Tonks, Hermione and Harry went and chose some of their favourite records from the large selection in the study, until eventually they all decided that it was time for bed.
x-x
The next morning they were finishing breakfast, Harry could see that Hermione was raring to go, she couldn't sit still, and she thought it was time for them to consider what they had learned the previous day.
She and Harry moved into the study.
What they had translated from the ancient Celtic runes was:
My Ring
My name is Myrddin Emrys I am also known as Merlin and I advise you of this destiny.
In days to come, there will be a time of Great Trouble, when My Ring will be all but forgotten.
Into this time will be born a child of peculiar fortitude and marked countenance.
He will find My Ring at a time of immense sorrow and loss and through means of unusual artefacts,
Open these instructions for his use and to the advantage of all men and women of good hart.
However he will be unable to use the ring until he is of sufficient strength, in both mind and body.
Know first that the power herein may only be used for Good and for the benefit of all people.
Any misuse of the power herein will result in the instant death of the perpetrator.
When the ring is worn it will give the bearer powers central to his needs.
When My Ring is activated and deactivated using the correct incantations its power will last from the time of sunrise at midsummer until noon, and it may be switched on and off at the will of the bearer.
However if the correct opening and closing incantations are not used it will only be active for the time it takes a quick man to run around the Henge at Avebury.
To the child of marked countenance, the instructions are in the language of your birth and are preceded by my name Myrddin; also they may be used in any and all combinations.
Dechrau
Aros
Dim Hudlath
Celu
Disodli
Brysio
Cryfder
Aes
Cwbl
Amlygu
Myrddin Emrys
"What does that all mean?" asked Harry.
"That, I believe, is for us to ponder and you to work out." Hermione said, "but dawn to midday at midsummer must be about eight or nine hours and I would think that it would take a quick man at least ten minutes to run around Avebury Henge, because it is over a mile of rough ground and we don't know what it was like when he lived. So if you switch it on and off properly it will work for about eight hours a day, that should be good enough, we don't really need to know about Avebury."
"The child of marked countenance who finds the ring at a time of great sorrow, could well be me, all that bit fits." Harry said "but what are all these commands?"
"Well it says they are in the language of your birth, where were you born?" said Hermione.
"I have never been there but Remus told me that Godric's Hollow is West of Cardiff, so these commands must be in Welsh," Harry said excitedly, "but none of us speaks Welsh, do we?"
Hermione had been writing all the facts down and she suggested that short of Harry being able to use the ring they weren't going to find out exactly what they did anyway, so until they could get the words translated they should put this project, exciting as it was, away. Harry should keep trying to put the ring on at regular intervals until it would stay on but for now they should turn their attention to something else.
They went to the training room and Harry asked Tonks, "Are there any exercises we can do to increase our magical power?"
Tonks thought for a while then replied, "All the training you are doing is increasing your magical power, what we need to do is devise some way of measuring it, without destroying things, too much. Let's try banishing arrows into the thick wooden wall and measuring how far they sink in, it should work."
So they cleared the training room and they tried this method of measuring their power and it worked reasonably well, Tonks had transfigured twenty identical arrows and they each banished one into the wooden wall. Harry's sank two inches, Hermione's one and a half inches, Parvati and Ginny were level with Ron at one and a quarter inches, they would try again in about a week.
Then it was more Defence Against Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, Charms and Transfiguration, they were getting better and quicker as they kept practicing, they were all enjoying themselves except for poor Ginny who was trying to learn everything for her OWLs as well.
x-x
Harry had started having nightmares again, this was the third night, it was the same thing over and over and in it Bellatrix Lestrange who was laughing evilly and shouting that she had killed Sirius was giving the Cruciatus Curse to Hermione and screaming I am going to kill her as well. He couldn't get to Hermione to save her, his legs felt like they were in syrup, when he awoke screaming at one thirty, on Sunday morning, Ginny, Hermione and Tonks were in his room, looking shaken.
The three of them demanded to know what the problem was, he tried to put them off but they weren't being put off, eventually, by the time he told them everything, he was crying and Hermione was laying beside him on top of his bed cuddling him and stroking his hair, by the time he stopped crying both he and Hermione had fallen asleep. So Ginny and Tonks left them and went back to their own rooms, but they had left both their and Harry's bedroom doors open.
At seven thirty in the morning Ron let out a mighty yell!
"What do you think you are doing in his bed?" they were both struggling to open their eyes and Tonks rushed up and dragged Ron away, starting to explain what had happened the night before. When they were properly awake they realised that Hermione must have crawled under the covers in the night and they had slept cuddling, they were smiling at each other when Ginny came in, in her dressing gown and flopped down on the bed.
"Did you have any more nightmares?" she asked, he told her that he didn't and then after he had described the nightmare to them again they pressed him to ensure that it wasn't Voldemort again, by the time he convinced them it was about eight and Ginny said. "Are you two going to lay there all day?"
"Well I wouldn't mind how about you," said Hermione with a devilish grin, Ginny looked askance, Hermione continued, "and if you keep sitting there we can't get up," and she quickly lay back down and closed her eyes.
"Oh no you don't," Ginny pulled the bedclothes off them and started pulling Hermione's arm.
"Ok, ok I'm coming," she said and swung her legs out and went to her room to get her dressing gown, Harry got out of bed and put his dressing gown on, and then they all went through to breakfast. Ron had calmed down by the time they had reached the dining room and he apologised to them. Ginny, Hermione, Tonks and Harry had all decided, independently, that in future they would each be sleeping with their bedroom door's open.x-x
It was two thirty on the Monday afternoon and Ginny was chatting with Harry and Hermione in the Training Room, they decided that it would be a good idea if they were to go and buy their school things from Diagon Alley. Ginny decided that she would get her fifth year books, they were bound to be useful here with her studying, but she also pointed out to Harry that they would need to go to the Burrow first.
"Why?" asked Harry.
"To get some money."
"You don't need money, I can buy all of your things."
"Yes I know that, but what about Ron? You know what he's like and I don't think Mum would be too pleased either," she said.
"As usual, you are probably right. Ron shall we go and see your Mum about going to Diagon Alley? To do you're school shopping."
"That's a good idea, we will need to get some money, that's if Mum doesn't want to come," Ron said.
So they all stopped their training and showered, changed and went to visit Molly at the Burrow, when they arrived she was in high spirits as she welcomed them
"What's made you so happy then?" asked Ron
"Well, really I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but Dumbledore came by to make sure that Winky was getting on alright and he said that everyone seemed to think that Arthur was the right man for the "Minister for Magic," job. Applications close at the end of this week and if no one else applies by noon on Friday, then the job is your dad's permanently, with immediate effect."
"No wonder you are in a good mood Mum, you deserve it," said Harry as he gave her a big hug.
"And how is Winky Mrs Weasley?" asked Hermione.
"Well she seems alright Hermione, why don't you ask her? Winky!" called Mrs Weasley. POP
"Hello Winky, how are you getting on?" Hermione asked her.
"Oh I is fine Miss Hermione, Mrs Wheezy is treating me very good," they all left Hermione talking to Winky, Harry started asking Tonks what the Auror battle spells were and when they would be going to start learning them, Ron, Ginny and Mrs Weasley went into the lounge talking.
After about an hour they all collected back in the kitchen and Mrs Weasley asked them if they would like to stay for dinner, they all thought that it would be very nice if it weren't going to be too much trouble. Several hours later and well fed they all went back to the flat for the night, Harry didn't have a nightmare that night and at breakfast, the next morning, Hermione seemed quite disappointed.
x-x
On the Wednesday after they had finished breakfast they went to Diagon Alley. Both Hermione and Harry needed to go to their vaults in Gringotts, unlike before Ginny and Tonks went with Harry leaving Ron and Parvati to go with Hermione.
When they started descending to his vault in the trolley, Harry asked Ginny, "What do you think the general reaction would be, if I opened an account for Ron, the same as I have done for Hermione from Sirius's Will?"
"You mean one-hundred thousand Galleons?"
"Yes."
"Well if he didn't kill you Mum would."
"So you don't think it's really the best idea you have ever heard in your life?"
"You could say that."
"So what if I was to do it for you then Sis?" by this time they had reached his vault and he went and filled his moneybag up with Galleons.
"You mean, a vault with one-hundred thousand Galleons?"
"Yes."
"I don't think that I would tell them."
"If they found out you could always say that I did it so you wouldn't have to worry about money, if you needed it."
"And you think that that would make it alright with Mum would it?"
"Well she knows that she has a problem with me and money."
"You can say that again!" she said grinning. They had reached the banking hall again and the others hadn't, so Harry went to a free Goblin, and passed him his vault key.
"I want you to open a bank account in the name of Miss Ginevra Weasley with one-hundred thousand Galleons from my account."
"Is this the lady in question?"
"Yes she is," said Harry. The Goblin put Harry's key on top of his ledger, tapped it with his wand and muttered something they couldn't hear.
"Welcome to Gringotts." said the goblin, smiling and shaking her hand, he handed her a vault key, that she immediately put in her pocket and the Goblin returned Harry's key. Half a minute later the others came through a door from the vaults.
"What took you so long?" asked Ginny.
"Not all of us just fill a sack with gold, some of us have to count it first." Hermione said, grinning. Harry poked his tongue out at her and she grinned again and said, "Where are we going first then, are we all getting new school robes?"
They all answered yes except Harry who looked miserable and said, in a sad voice. "I'm not sure if I can afford them I haven't counted my money." Hermione hit him on the arm and they giggled all the way to Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions. Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry were getting new robes, they were the first new school robes that either Ron or Ginny had had, Harry asked Hermione and Ginny if there was anything else they needed, they told him that there wasn't.
Harry took Hermione to one side and said. "I'm going to buy you new dress robes for parties, do you want to get them here or shall we go to Gladrags."
"I don't need new dress robes the one's I have are perfectly serviceable," Hermione answered, she was sounding quite stubborn.
Then Harry said to her, "You have had those blue robes since the Tri-wizard Tournament and it's time you had new ones, dear."
"But I don't need new ones Harry."
"I am not talking about need, I am probably the richest student at Hogwarts and my girlfriend is not wearing the same dress robes continuously. So is it here or Gladrags?"Hermione went to where Ginny and Parvati were looking at the dress robes and she started having an animated discussion with Parvati, eventually all three of them came over to him and Hermione said. "Ok, let's go to Gladrags." So they all went to Gladrags.
In Gladrags Parvati and Ginny helped Hermione choose her robes, she eventually settled on a Peacock Blue set, which Harry liked very much and he also bought the shoes to go with them.
Next they went to buy some Ink, Parchment and Quills, Harry was looking at the quick quotes quills and Hermione reminded him of Rita Skeeter's.
Harry thought that they couldn't all be like that and the shopkeeper said, "Indeed they're not sir, you can get them to write exactly what is said or all kinds of flowery styles, but I don't think that Hogwarts approves of them sir."
"I was thinking of getting one for History of Magic."
The shopkeeper roared with laughter, "I don't think Professor Binns would notice at all."
"Really I don't think that any of us need one." Ginny said. So they left the stationers and went to the apothecary for their Potion's supplies, they noticed that there was a marked change in what they needed for the sixth year Potions class, with the addition of things like Boomslang skin and Gillyweed amongst others.
It was only their books they had left to buy, they had put off buying them until last because of the weight so they were going up the Alley when they met Neville Longbottom with Luna Lovegood, so they all diverted and went to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour. All of them sat eating ice cream for about an hour and a half, Harry noticed that everyone had excused themselves for a while, even he had been to the bag shop to check on the progress of the magic bags he had ordered, they would be ready in two weeks. Hermione had disappeared with Ginny for over half an hour and when Ron asked where they had been he was told that it was a girlie thing.
Eventually they moved on to Flourish and Blotts to buy their schoolbooks Ron, Parvati and Harry were each going to take six NEWTS the assistant was quite impressed.
However when Hermione told him that she was going to take nine he was astounded and called the manager, who said. "Then you will be Miss Hermione Granger?" she confirmed this and he went on. "We had an owl from Professor Dumbledore telling us that you might be in and he asked that you should be given a discount for bulk buying. I suggest twenty five percent, would that be acceptable?"
Hermione smiled, "That would be perfectly acceptable and thank you very much."
Having all completed their purchases they went back through the Leaky Cauldron to the flat.
Practice, practice, practice.
PLEASE REVIEWAuthors Note. I am well aware that regular computers will not type Celtic runes but the computers in the flat are for wizards to use so they have programmes to cover those sorts of things.
Also this story was written before we knew that Arthur would not be the next Minister for Magic.