F/N: - Disclaimers and warnings stand as usual (as if they wouldn't!).

I know it's a bit late, but here's my Xmas pressie to all of ! I hope you all had a great Christmas and everything, and welcome you back with this, the ninth chapter of my story. And hey, we're still not in termtime! This is turning out way bigger than I thought it would be, unfortunately interrupted by other plotbunnies. I apologise for the lateness of this, but it would be posted slower if I wasn't torn between this and a few other things that will be posted soon! Look out for them…

Anyway, this chapter is rather short, mainly just a bit of filler and fluff (or as I call it f 'n' f) with a continuation of the story. Ok, like most chapters I have!

Continued thanks to all who review, and to those who don't, please do, I really really value your input and thoughts, and it's nice to know people are still reading it!

Here it is, (at last) Merry Xmas everyone!

Chapter 9. The Staff of Quattuoris.

Harry awoke refreshed the next morning, as, fortunately, his utter exhaustion had meant his sleep was undisturbed by nightmares and visits from Voldemort. He sighed, knowing Ron and Hermione would want a blow by blow, or in this case, power by power account of what had happened with Dumbledore. He also remembered he had to go to Diagon Alley with Dumbledore to buy a new staff. The thought filled him with wonder, excitement and nervousness. Just another thing for Malfoy to tease him about. He had a sudden image of toting around a gigantic log of wood, with Malfoy laughing in the background. He really hoped it didn't come to that.

Getting up, he changed his clothes for fresh ones after a quick hot shower. Feeling much more energetic and mischievous, he felt for the power from last night, and conjured the ball of water. Creeping over to Ron's bed, he pulled back the curtains silently, almost laughing at the comical sight of Ron, fast asleep, snoring with his mouth open, and draped across the bed. He moved the ball of water over his best friends' head, and dropped it.

Ron awoke immediately with a loud yell, spluttering through the water, which dripped from his face. Looking up, he saw Harry doubled over with laughter, and sprang out of bed, tackling him to the ground. Unwittingly, Harry conjured up fire, his hand splayed out by the fall, and Ron sprang back, horrified.

"How the hell did you do that?" Harry smirked.

"Well, I am an elemental, what did you expect?" Quickly extinguishing the unwelcome flames, he dodged from the room as Ron threw a pillow at him, slamming the door as the pillow bounced off of it. Still chuckling, he went down to see Hermione sitting demurely in the common room.

"I heard the yell and thought it was you." Walking over to kiss him, she felt odd. His lips burned, but not painfully. Drawing back, she saw he was confused as she was.

'What the hell was that?' she thought to herself.

'I don't know. What's going on?' she heard Harry's voice in her head, and looked even more shocked.

'Did you say that?' he nodded.

'Maybe the who soul mate thing means we can talk to each other telepathically.' He thought carefully, making sure she heard him correctly.

'Yes, I suppose so, but why now and not when you first got your powers?'

'Well,' he thought to her, 'last night was the first time I used my powers, maybe it has something to do with that?'

'Could be, we will have to ask Professor Dumbledore later.'

'That reminds me,' he walked further towards her and pulled her close. ' I can't spend the day with you today. Dumbledore wants me to go shopping with him.' Hermione smiled at him, clearly imagining Dumbledore clothes shopping. 'No, he says I need to get a staff.' A look of realisation passed over her face, and just at that moment, Ron thumped grumpily down the stairs, noting the two 'lovebirds' with a grunt. Harry and Hermione laughed, managing a small grin from Ron, who realised it had, in fact, been quite funny. They went down to breakfast, Ron still half-heartedly grumbling about being woken up, and Harry explaining what had happened, to Hermione's scholarly (and personal) delight.

After an uneventful breakfast consisting of bacon, chipolatas and egg, in which Harry and Ron dreamily discussed the possibilities of dumping water over an arrogant Malfoy, Remus approached the trio. Going to Harry, he gave him a customary hug in greeting and spoke quietly.

"Dumbledore will take you to Diagon Alley in 10 minutes. He says to meet him in his office, and you can floo there."

"Remus, why are you telling me? Where's Dumbledore?" Remus smiled.

"He just went to send a few messages on ahead, something about notifying Mr Ollivander. I'll see you later Harry." Remus walked off. Harry said goodbye to Ron and Hermione, giving the later a quick kiss. Hermione as usual turned beetroot red, but looked pleased all the same. Harry made his way quickly up to the dormitories to fetch a cloak, as the wind was particularly strong today, and the fluffy clouds and bright sunshine had been replaced by less wonderful weather. Tucking his wand into his pocket (he saw no need for the holster yet), he made his way to Dumbledore's office and was starting to wrack his brain to find the password, when it opened, and Dumbledore stepped out, beaming.

"Good morning, Harry. Feeling better I hope?"

"Yes sir." As Harry followed Dumbledore back into his office, they continued the conversation.

"If I may ask, and you don't think it is too personal a comment, the thought I told you to think of yesterday, was it of Miss Granger?"

"Yes sir." Harry blushed, and Dumbledore turned to face him, eyes twinkling full blast.

"Ah, young love is a wonderful thing. And I would guess that something odd happened this morning?" 'Does he read minds? I mean, he is a master Legillimens, but, well…' Harry thought to himself.

"Yes sir, Hermione and I, well, we could talk to each other without speaking. Like telepathy. I thought it might've had something to do with our being soul mates."

"You are correct, Harry. Your powers awakened your ability to talk to your soul mate, Miss Granger, via your mind." They had reached the office now, and standing in front of the ever-blazing fire, Dumbledore handed Harry a handful of floo power from a small velvet pouch. 'Very different to the Weasleys' plant pot.' He thought to himself as he stood before the flames, threw the powder down and spoke to the emerald flames.

"Diagon Alley." He stepped into them and felt the familiar sensation of travelling by floo powder. As he reached the other end, he picked himself up and dusted himself down, muttering to his again broken glasses occulus reparo and they flew back together. Whilst waiting for Dumbledore to arrive, he examined his surroundings. He was in the Leaky Cauldron by the looks of it, a side room especially for floo powder travellers judging by the many fireplaces that framed the room. Suddenly, Dumbledore appeared next to him, and led the way out of the Leaky Cauldron and, tapping the magical brick, let them into Diagon Alley.

As it was near the end of the summer, Harry saw a few of his school friends who had come to buy more supplies. They were all in awe at the fact he was travelling with Professor Dumbledore, and said no more to him than 'hello'. They moved quickly through the bustling streets, and were soon outside of Ollivanders'. Dumbledore made his way inside, setting off the bell, which rang throughout the shop. Harry saw Mr Ollivander glance out from behind the counter to see who was coming into his shop, and his face lit up.

"Ah, Professor Dumbledore. It's good to see you again. I got your message of course. And hello to you, Mr Potter. Keeping your wand in good condition I hope?" Harry nodded. The little old man was slightly intimidating in the way he knew who everyone was. "I suppose you'll be wanting to see my selection of staffs?"

"Yes, Mr Ollivander. Though, I'm not sure if you will have something appropriate. Harry here is rather a special case." Mr Ollivanders' eyes lit up at the prospect of a challenge.

"I told you we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter. If you'd care to step this way." They followed the little man out of the main shop and down a dark, musty passage. At the other end, there was a sign on the door which read 'Do not enter – strong magic.' They went through, and Harry was surprised to see it was quite a big room. Dumbledore stood off to one side, and Mr Ollivander went straight in, pottering around, until he found what he was looking for. At one end of the room, stood a bookcase like set of shelves, very similar to the ones in the main shop, but the boxes on it looked much bigger, and longer. Mr Ollivander pondered for a moment, and then, reaching up, withdrew one box, which he opened.

Inside was a tall, wooden staff, heavily decorated with stones and seashells, and a deep blue stone at the top.

"4 foot 3, oak, seaweed and octopus tentacle. Take it." He handed it to Harry, who took it. As soon as his fingers wrapped around the tin wood, the gemstone at the top of the staff glowed faintly. Mr Ollivander gave him a curious look, and snatched the staff out of his hands, narrowly missing swiping Harrys' head in passing and replacing it in the box. He withdrew another box, and took out another staff. This one was shorter and more rounded, a silvery white colour and decorated with vine leaves and tiny flower buds. The stone at its' top was a bright green, the same colour as Harry's eyes.

"3 foot 9, silver birch, deadly nightshade and rose petal." He handed it to Harry, and, as before, the stone at the top glowed faintly, not enough to light the room, but enough to show the power he held. Mr Ollivander gave him another odd look, and took back the staff, replacing it in the box and on the shelf. Harry was, by this point, confused. He wasn't really sure what Mr Ollivander was looking for, but he obviously hadn't found it. Harry was thrust another staff, this one was quite tall, dark, and with a pattern of phoenixes and flames dancing around it. The stone at the top was a brilliant red-orange, and looked almost as if it was on fire.

"4 foot 9, mahogany, phoenix feather and salamander tooth."

He took it, and the stone glowed faintly. Mr Ollivander gave a small cry of delight. Harry resisted the urge to back away from the peculiar gentleman.

"A tricky customer, eh? Lets try one more, and then, if it's not for you, we'll have to try the Other one." The way he said 'the other one', made it quite clear that that was something special, and not exactly for the average customer, as if elementals walked in every day looking for a staff. Mr Ollivander handed him the final staff. This one was more refined, slender, and delicately marked with a sky-scape. The stone at the top was a clear white.

"4 foot 5, rowan, hippogriff feather and dragon scale." Harry took it, but was disappointed when it did as the others had. When would he find the staff? He didn't particularly want to spend the entire day here holding different staffs. As soon as the annoyed expression was placed on his face, Mr Ollivander looked excited. "Why yes, a tricky customer. Maybe," he seemed to start to talk to himself here, and trailed off. Then he saw Dumbledore and Harry watching him and decided to risk it. "Mr Potter, there was a staff made, centuries ago, by my great great grandfather. It was his life's work, a most impressive and mystifying staff. He named it the staff of Quattuoris, Quattuor, which is the Latin for four, would suggest it would be for an elemental that controlled the four elements, but to my knowledge, no one has ever been so powerful.

However, judging by the odd reaction you received from the last staffs, I think you might be the one the Staff of Quattuoris was destined for. I have had to keep it in a separate room as it gave off so much raw magic it was upsetting my stock. It was made from the strongest of magical elements known to wizard. Phoenix feather, dragon tooth, unicorn hair and mermaid scale. It is constructed of hazel, again the most powerful magical wood known to wizard."

He led them to another room, which he opened the door to. He gave an uncharacteristic sheepish smile. "I'm sorry I can't come in with you, but the magic is a bit disconcerting." Harry looked into the innocent looking room. Or, it would have been innocent looking, if it weren't for the staff that stood in the middle of the room, hovering slightly above the floor, and seemed to give off a little light, just enough to cast strange lighting where there should have been shadows. From where he stood, he could see it was as old as Mr Ollivander had said it was. As he looked closer, he felt a strange sense of kinship. As if he'd seen it before. Looking at Dumbledore for confirmation, the old man gave a short nod.

Taking a deep breath, Harry walked slowly up to it, feeling as if he was in slow motion. He reached out his hand to take it, and a short spark of white magic burst from it, settling into Harry's hand. As he wrapped his pale fingers around the polished wood, he felt his fingers warm, and saw the stone at the top, which was a clear quartz, glow brightly, casting a blinding light throughout the dim room. As it faded, Harry examined the staff. Its carvings were intricate; he could pick out leaves, birds, flames and fish, all trailing around it. Despite the clear carvings, the wood felt smooth and perfect under his fingers. Dimly, he could hear clapping, and turned back to face the door. He saw Dumbledore, with a look of amusement on his face, and Mr Ollivander, who looked positively beside himself. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and his face was beaming.

What Dumbledore saw of Harry, however, was slightly different. Harry's emerald eyes seemed to glow, he looked powerful, fully in control. His face seemed more refined, his posture more confident. As Harry walked across to him, he seemed to act like the staff was a part of him.

"Well done, Mr Potter, well done indeed! How curious that you should be the one to link with the Staff of Quattuoris! We can definitely expect great things from you now, of that we can be sure." Said Mr Ollivander, who then bustled off to find a bag and things for his customer. Harry was pleased to see Mr Ollivander had a special velvet bag, which comfortably held his staff, but could be shrunk to a more discreet size. When payment was mentioned, Harry was surprised to see it cost just double that of the average wand, and gladly paid 20 galleons to the happy shopkeeper.

As they left the shop, Mr Ollivander had one final word.

"It is very curious that you, Mr Potter, should be the one to take the staff off of my hands. Just remember that with great power, comes great responsibility. Goodbye Mr Potter, Professor Dumbledore."

Outside the shop, as Harry and Dumbledore made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry had one last question.

"How did my staff be made centuries before I was born?"

"It seems like the prophecy. For centuries, it seems, we have been waiting, building up to the creation of the greatest wizard of all time. The one who can defeat the Dark. You, Harry." Harry was still slightly confused, but decided against asking more questions. Besides, all he would get would be more riddles. He remained deep in thought as the returned to Hogwarts by floo, and it was only in Dumbledore's office that he noticed it was late afternoon. Hastily pardoning himself from his benign headmasters' presence, he ran down to meet Ron and Hermione, who were walking in from outside.

"Hey, Harry." Said Ron, smiling brightly. Hermione looked up from a book she had her nose in, and smiled.

'Hi Harry' she thought at him, then echoing it aloud so that Ron wouldn't suspect what was up.

"Hi Harry."

'Hi Hermione.' He thought at her as he said 'hi' to Ron and Hermione aloud. He disregarded Ron's grimace and leaned forwards to kiss her on the lips.

'Had a good day?' Hermione thought.

'Yeah, you'll never believe when I tell you later. I'll have to say it aloud though, Ron would get a bit confused.'

'Yeah, I supposed he would.' Harry and Hermione pulled away slowly, smiling secretively. Then, with Ron, they went up to the common room, where the first thing Harry did was to pull out his staff. On seeing it, Hermione and Ron gasped. Ron looked impressed.

"What the hell's that?"

"I think it's a staff, Ron." Hermione said sarcastically, punching him lightly on the arm as they sat down on the comfy armchairs, Harry and Hermione cuddling next to each other on the same chair beside the fire. Harry explained what had happened, and how the staffs had behaved. When he sae their impressed faces, he felt a bit embarrassed. They sat in silence, apart from a silent conversation only two of them could hear.

'Ollivanders' right, you know. You are a really powerful wizard.' Thought Hermione, laying her head against Harry's chest.

'I don't want it, I only want to be with you. I don't want the fate of the world on my shoulders. I didn't ask to be the only one who can defeat Voldemort.' Harry thought miserably. Hermione clutching his hands reassuringly.

'That's why you have this power – because you don't want it. If someone else had it, even Dumbledore, it would take him over, the desire for power and control. You'll be fine, we'll look after each other. And I'll never leave you. I love you.' Harry stroked her hair. Hermione looked into his eyes mischievously.

'Come on then, saviour, show us your stuff.'

'What? But, I don't want to, and you saw me last night, I was exhausted!' Harry could see her point though; Ron and Hermione were obviously itching to see what he could do. So as to not look odd, Hermione repeated her thought-comment aloud, changing it slightly so it sounded more in keeping with her personality. Ron looked up excitedly. He had been on the receiving end of it earlier, but he was dying to see the powers in motion. Sighing deeply, and protesting feebly, Harry stood up, and grasped his staff.

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" Hermione smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Well, just show us what you did with Dumbledore." Sighing again, Harry held out his hand, palm up. Focusing his mind, he thought 'fire' and the ball of fire sprang into his hand, the staff barely glowing at all, as if to say 'I'm here, but I'm too important for this.' He heard Ron and Hermione's gasps, and made the ball disappear. Next, he said to himself 'water' and the ball of water appeared. This too disappeared, and he looked up.

'Wow, Harry' thought Hermione, and he smiled slightly.

"What about earth and air?" said Ron after a brief pause.

"I can't show them very well, I mean, unless you have a plant on you, all I can do is this." Quickly refocusing, he thought 'air', and a slight wind blew around the common room, ruffling the notices on the notice board and the spare pieces of parchment on the tables. Harry stopped the wind, and, before anyone could speak, he fell heavily onto his knees.

'Harry "Are you all right?" said Hermione, switching from thought to speak quickly mid sentence. Harry groaned, forcing his eyes to stay open. He felt so tired again. Feeling Hermione drop to her knees beside him and try to pick him up, he leant tiredly on her.

'Tired.' He thought weakly, not even bringing himself to speak. He lay there on top of Hermione for a few minutes, before forcing himself up by sheer willpower. Pulling himself unsteadily up, he sank onto the armchair, and drifted off into sleep before anyone could say another word.

Review Responses

hurry – ok, ok, ok, ok!

Ankesh – Thanks, and Harry hasn't really got full power yet over his powers, it's more of 'accident control' at the moment – Dumbledore is showing him how his powers 'feel' so that he can prevent any, um, accidents.

Harry and 'the animagus thing' will be explored later, I think (I haven't worked it into the plot yet, but the idea is floating around), so you can wait in suspense for that one!

Malfoy hasn't been introduced again yet, and at this stage, he is remaining hidden. I'm not telling you if he's gonna be a nice guy, remain a Death Eater like Daddy or follow Snape, so you can wait for that one too. Pairings for Malfoy go for the same – not telling!

Hoping to hit 20 chapters too, and it's pretty likely, as we're on 9 and not even at school, and I'm hoping for this to be a full-year fic… Sheesh, it's gonna be long!

Thanks for the review, it must be the longest one I've had so far, and I hope I've answered all the questions you asked (and I'm going to answer)!

Treck – I'm glad, even if you sound like you're doing a Gollum impression! No offence.

That's all, I see, and I suppose three is an improvement on two, but where are my reviewers?! Come on guys, tell me what you think, even if you've been reading, found a bit you don't like, and will never read it again!

Though I hope that's not the case.

Obviously.

FireOpal.