I own nothing of the marketing empire birthed from J.K.Rowling's fevered genius, and get nothing from this save the brief satisfaction of favourable reviews…
Harry Potter and the Forgotten Shards
Chapter 2
It had been a hectic first week back, and to the extreme frustration of the 'Ministry Crew', they had as yet been unable to get Harry to talk.
Until now. It was Friday night, and Harry had asked them to find their way to a certain girl's toilet on a certain floor.
Luna was already waiting there when Ron, Ginny and Hermione arrived, Neville arriving a couple of minutes later with Harry.
"Why here?" Ginny asked, an odd lilt to her voice.
"Not here, there." Harry nodded towards a certain fixture.
Ginny hugged herself, her thoughts turning inwards to a time years before.
Ron's eyes narrowed, "Why Harry?" Thinking, This had better be good.
"Because I don't trust the headmaster, and I think we should keep this quiet." Walking over to the entrance. "Open," he hissed in Parseltongue. Looking back at the assembled group, "He knows everything that goes on in this castle…except for this room. Are you with me or not?" With that Harry jumped into the yawning portal, quickly disappearing from sight.
The others caught up with Harry as he stood over the corpse of the Basilisk.
It had decomposed over the last few years, leaving little but bones and tatters of the once impervious skin.
Breathing hard, eyes unfocussed, Harry shook his head as the others approached. "Dobby!" He shouted authoritively.
The excitable house elf appeared, practically drooling at the idea of serving his Master Harry Sir.
"Could you clear all this please, Dobby?" Harry gestured towards the basilisk and remnants of the titanic struggle of his second year. He turned towards his friends, "Only a truly powerful wizard can achieve the sheer power required for a magical animagus form."
His friends attentions had been scattered. Ron and Ginny were shuddering from the flashbacks being in the Chamber again were bringing. Hermione was getting angry over how Harry had just ordered Dobby around. Neville's gaze was captivated by the remains of the basilisk, and Luna was just dreamily drifting along. Harry's words had caught them all again.
"How powerful, Harry?" Ron asked, shaking his head. He had no delusions about his own magical strength.
"Oh, lets see…the only recorded magical animagus was MERLIN!" Hermione's voice had steadily risen, sarcasm dripping from it.
Harry chuckled at the gasps and murmurs that Hermione's revelation brought.
"Harry, just what are we doing here?" Ginny asked, hugging herself, looking around nervously.
Harry sat down on a boulder. "You're right Hermione. However, with a source of magical power strong enough, and an appropriate catalyst…anything is possible."
Hermione sat heavily as the implications of what he was saying sank in. The others were giving him the 'crazy man' look.
Luna suddenly brightened, "Hogwarts, right?"
Harry laughed, "Of course."
Ron and Neville could only look on in confusion, unable to follow the logic of the conversation going around them.
Hermione glared at Harry. "A catalyst…a catalyst…I have never heard of anything that could do what you are suggesting…even assuming you could tap into Hogwarts to supply the power for the transformation, there is still nothing to spark it." She was frowning now, her mind reviewing everything she knew and had read about magical theory and the animagus transformation in particular.
Harry just grinned and took his hand out of his pocket, a small vial was in his hand.
The others sat looking at him in confusion as he rattled the tiny vial in front of Hermione.
"Mischief managed," Harry chuckled as realisation flooded onto Hermione's face.