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 4
With Dobby's aid, Harry had made a few additions to the Chamber of Secrets. The first being light. The Chamber wasn't nearly as scarey when well lit.
The next addition was a rudimentary potions lab.
The next change took nearly three hours of quite violent debate to decide upon. Ginny won out in the end…and the face of Salazar Slytherin now sported a huge bushy moustache.
Finally a huge ritual space was cleared, and preparations begun.
Dobby was afraid, to begin with, but with much encouragement and praise from Harry, he soon completed to measures required for them to tap into the magical energies of Hogwarts. Dobby also promised to be available at the time of the ceremony, his Master Harry Sir would need food and such.
It was four o'clock in the morning. Saturday.
Six young people were yawning into the cups of tea and pumpkin juice Dobby had provided them.
Several metres away, six clear flasks shone with the golden light coming from the glowing flecks within the crimson potion.
It would be only half an hour until the moon set, it's influence removed, and they could begin.
They looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.
"I'll go first." Harry, Ron, and Ginny had all spoken at the same time.
Neville shook his head, Luna just laughed at them, and Hermione placed her clenched fist in the centre of the table. There were six pieces of ribbon sticking up out of it.
"Take one each, they're numbered, we go in order. Easy, right?" She looked each of them in the face, finally looking pleadingly into Harry's eyes.
They all nodded, reluctantly in Harry's case.
Ron got the short straw.
All six of them stood around the edges of the circle, chanting.
The glowing crystals, ten feet tall a foot in diameter, that had been supplied by Dobby, were glowing and had just lifted a couple of inches off the ground as the raw magic of Hogwarts began to flow into them.
The six took a couple of minutes breather, watching as the pillars of glowing crystal began slowly circling the ritual space.
It was time. Ron took a deep breath, stepped into the middle of the circle, and quaffed the potion. Well here goes insanity.
PAIN!
Fire rippled down his throat, into his stomach, and out into his body. It was too much, too fast for him to scream. He held on as long as he could, in his mind's eye he could see something, something large, reaching for him…then it was all gone…
The others looked on in horror as Ron's body was consumed by pure raw magical fire, pouring down on him from the pillars slowly revolving around him. Forced to look away, none of them could bear the intensity of the light.
Despite their fears, despite the crushing despair that threatened to overwealm them, they kept their positions as best they could.
Only moments later the light flickered out…leaving darkness so complete, they thought they were blind.
"Lumos," Hermione's voice sounded weak, but the spell sprang to life at the end of her wand, relieving their terrors.
"Dobby?" Harry called out, "Some light please."
The chamber was lit once more.
Revealing…
Cliffhanger anyone? It could be months before I get back to this…
No? Very well…
The 'Ministry Crew' climbed to their feet, shocked by what the light revealed.
Ron no longer stood within the circle. The pillars no longer glowed, and had once more settled to earth.
At the centre of the circle, lay a sleeping Griffon.
The body of a lion; with the head, talons and wings of a great bird of prey. And he was huge…easily half again the size of Buckbeak. Sleek, dangerous looking, this was definitely a predator to be reckoned with.
They looked at each other.
IT HAD WORKED!
Ron had become a magical creature.
Harry paused to think while the others excitedly talked about it. He remembered the number of times Sirius had succumbed to the animal mind's urgings…if that could happen to someone as experienced as Sirius, it could easily happen to Ron…and Harry doubted a Griffon would want to chase a stick…
Ginny was watching Harry, he didn't seem very excited. "What is it Harry?"
"We should leave, give Ron a couple of hours to recover and adjust to his new form."
"Why?" Everyone had quieted down and were listening now.
"If he wakes up, and the animal is in control…" He trailed off meaningfully, looking at the wicked claws that were just beginning to flex as Ron was stirring.
The other's eyes grew wide at the implications, and they were just about to bolt.
"Da…Damn," Ron's voice.
They turned from where they were about to flee to see Ron getting to his feet. It shocked them. There was something…fluid, graceful, dangerous…in his movements now.
"YOU DID IT!" Ginny suddenly yelled out, rushing forward to throw her arms around her brother.
He caught her easily, spinning her around, laughing as the rest of the group crowded around to congratulate him.
They spent the next few hours talking about his experience. The moment he had awakened, he had found himself human again. This greatly relieved all of them.
Could he transform again? No. He was too tired, but he felt that later he could probably try again.
They all nibbled the meal Dobby brought for Ron, his appetite was huge…even for him.
A few hours later, the pillars of crystal began glowing again, faintly, as they slowly recharged.
It would soon be time for Luna's turn…