Again, I apologise for the long wait of this chapter, a lot of personal things have happened recently and I haven't been in the right state of mind to type anything. So I again apologise if this chapter isn't as fulfilling as the others. Also, Please Review so I know how it's coming along so far. Thank you!
I don't own Harry Potter all rights are reserved to JKR.
P.S: This is probably the longest chapter in this story.
P.P.S: I thought I should verify this now, I'm planning on making this an entire series, so don't expect 'The Chamber of Secrets' in this story, it'll be a
completely new story.
Chapter 6: Consoling, Quidditch and Clues.
Ron turned to see the Gryffindor's heading towards the stairs; he gave a heavy sigh and shook his head violently.
"Ah, bloody hell. Stupid guilt." He muttered as he ran towards the direction of the dungeons.
The three boys raced through the dungeon searching for their house mate. Andrew's mind raced, his chest clenched and his eyes watered. Where was Hermione? There were about six bathrooms in the dungeons and she could be in any one of them.
Both Potter's and Ron froze at what they heard next, a scream, an ear piercing scream that sent shivers down their spines. The troll found her. This wasn't good at all. Speeding towards the area of the scream Andrew kept praying that his new friend was alright. They reached the bathroom where they had heard the scream and found the door had been ripped out. Not wasting any time, the boys rushed inside and were shocked at what they saw. Hermione was crouching in a corner of the room with her head hidden in her arms while someone stood above her pointing their wand at the giant creature threatening to destroy them.
"Nymphadora!"
"Nymmy!"
"Tonks?"
The now red haired, fifth year Hufflepuff, stood on shaky knees as she stared at the beast facing her, her eye's wide with fear and anger. Her face vandalized with a single drop of blood, flowing from her hair line. Her breathing was heavy and uneven. Her arm shook slightly. The three voices calling her name distracted her and she looked over by the door, and a look of confusion washed over her face. Then a low and dangerous growl broke her out of her stupor as her face changed from a look of confusion to a look of fear, almost instantly.
"Oh no, guys run!" she screamed as the troll suddenly and viciously twisted its body and swung a very heavy looking club towards the three boys.
Acting on instinct the three boys dove out of the way and were narrowly missed by the weapon.
"Guys, get out, now!" Tonks' voice echoed off the walls.
"No! Hermione's our friend too!" Andrew yelled back.
"Listen, Ron, Tonks, you guys get Hermione out. Andrew and I will distract it!" Harry said.
"No, it's too dangerous!"
"Do you have a better plan? Because you don't look to be in any shape to hold this thing off any longer! Just go! We've got this!"
Andrew's words left no room for argument, nor did the trolls loud roar as he turned to Harry. Andrew quickly picked up a large rock and threw it at the troll's large head. A hard 'thud' was heard and the troll turned to the darker boy and made a move to grab him. Andrew jumped but the troll grabbed a hold of his leg and hoisted him into the air.
"Oh, this isn't good." He said loudly.
Tonks and Ron made their move when the troll had turned for Andrew. Quickly making their way over to the shaky limbed girl they hauled her to her feet and made their way towards the door. Hermione seemed utterly frozen in fear but inside she couldn't help but be a little happy.
'They came for me, Harry and Andrew actually came for me. But now they're in danger, I've got to help them. My body won't move, no please, please be alright.'
When they had gotten out of the bathroom, the three students heard a loud roar followed by Andrew's voice.
"You know Harry, some help would be really appreciated right about now. Whoa!"
"I'm thinking!"
"Well could you think a little faster perhaps?!"
"I've got it! Wengardium Leviosa!"
They then heard a loud crack and an even louder thud, looking at each other Tonks, Ron and Hermione rushed back into the bathroom and found the troll lying unconscious on the bathroom floor, the top of its head slightly dented and the two Potters breathing heavily.
"What happened?" Tonks asked as she walked up to the past out troll.
"Well, I got grabbed; Harry levitated its club and knocked it out." Andrew stated casually.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked urgently, her voiced wavered slightly and her eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"We're fine. Are you okay? It isn't like you to just disappear like that." Harry said rubbing her shoulder slightly.
Before she could answer, the teachers came rushing into the bathroom and stared at what they saw.
"What happened here?" the voice of Albus Dumbledore asked in a curious tone.
"Well, you see sir, what had happened was…" Andrew started, praying that his silver tongue could get him out of this situation.
"It's my fault, professor." Hermione interrupted, which got surprised looks from everyone in the room.
"Miss Granger?" Prof McGonagall asked flabbergasted.
"I heard there was a troll in the castle. I'd studied them and was confident I could handle one on my own, Harry and the others came to save me." Hermione lied.
"Well, I must say it was foolish of you to do such a thing, I am so disappointed. 10 points from Gryffindor for you Miss Granger." The head of Gryffindor house then looked at the other students in the room before sighing softly.
"10 points apiece to Gryffindor for Masters Potter and Weasley and 10 points for you Miss Tonks, for sheer dumb luck." She said finally.
"Yes well if you would all go to your dorms now and stay there, yes?" Dumbledore said, his blue eyes sparkling at the children in front of him.
The five students nodded their heads and made their way out of the girls' lavatory briskly and towards their respective dorms.
"Albus, how is it five students, four of which are in first year, took down a fully grown mountain troll?"
"I do not know, Minevra. But I do know this, we can expect many exciting moments with those five around." Dumbledore responded looking towards the Deputy Headmistress.
"Headmaster, what do you suppose we should do with this beast?" Snape asked, finally speaking throughout this entire ordeal.
"I suppose we should let, Professor Quirrel deal with it, as it is his area of expertise."
0-oo-0-oo-0
The five students were on the staircase leading to the Hogwarts foyer when they ran into a suspicious character.
"Why Professor Quirrel, enjoy our nap, did we?" Andrew sneered at the approaching teacher.
"E-e-excuse me?"
"Well you're supposed to be the Defense teacher and yet five students just did your job for you. I'm sorry if I don't exactly understand how this entire thing works, but I'm almost certain it isn't supposed to be like this!"
"You respect me boy, I'm still you're superior!" The turban wearing teacher yelled at the dark skinned boy.
Nobody spoke and Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"Hey, what happened to your-"
Before she could finish her question though, Professor Snape suddenly appeared.
"Shouldn't you all be in your dormitories by now? 20 points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff." The greasy teacher said in a smug tone.
Ron muttered something about an abuse of power before Hermione and Tonks pulled the boys away.
Up in the Gryffindor boys' dorms, Ron, Harry and Andrew lay in their beds unable to sleep until late that night.
The next morning saw the two Potter boys acting unusually curious as they seemed to have their minds on something else completely.
"Err, are you guys alright?" Ron's voice echoed through their skulls.
"Wha-?"
"Sorry?"
"Are you alright? You've both had this vacant expression on your faces." Hermione replied in her concerned voice.
Before the boys could answer Malfoy came up to the group again.
"I'll tell you why, their getting expelled today, soon these two won't be around for much longer." He said in a smug tone.
"You really need some friends, man." Andrew said looking at the blond boy.
Draco looked as though he had slapped, when he tried to respond to the dread locked boy he found him looking down at his plate, completely ignoring him. With a few muttered insults the Slytherin took his leave and made his way back to his seat.
Harry looked down the table and saw an older student reading the Daily Prophet, that didn't really surprise him, what did though was the front page headline.
'Gringotts Break-in Still Under Investigation.'
Hagrid's words were once again echoed in his mind, 'The Goblin's aren't creatures you want to steal from, not that it were possible though, Gringotts is one of the safest places in the Wizarding World, well second to Hogwarts of course!'
Who tried to rob the bank and why would they if it were a highly secure facility? Why is it Headmaster Dumbledore wanted whatever Hagrid got out of the bank the day after the attempted robbery? Does this thing have something to do with Gringotts? I wonder what this 'thing' is anyway.
Harry was soon snapped out of his stupor by Professor McGonagall tapping him and Andrew on their shoulders.
"It is time." She whispered to them.
Looking even more nervous than they were before didn't help the rumors of the two boys getting expelled amongst the rest of the student bodies. As soon as they stood and were lead out of the Great hall, the whispers broke out.
"They didn't even get to watch the first Quidditch match today."
"Well, if you ask me, I say that entire incident was that prototype Potter's fault!"
"Yeah well no one asked you, did they, Parkinson?"
"Still, getting expelled on the day your house plays, that's got to hurt."
The whispers continued until the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch players were told to go prepare themselves for the match they would be playing today.
When all the commotion finally died down, Hermione turned to Ron with an anxious expression.
"We've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore about this." She said quietly.
"About what?" Ron asked as he continued wolfing down his eggs and sausages.
"About Harry and Andrew's expulsion, you dolt!"
"Good idea Hermione, I'll come too." A third voice said which caused Hermione to jump and Ron to choke on a piece of toast.
"Tonks! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she bushy haired first year said as she grabbed her chest.
"Sorry, was trying to see if my luck was any better today."
"Your luck?" Hermione asked tilting her head.
"Yeah, you see, I'm usually very clumsy and somehow always end up landing on my arse." She answered with a chuckle before turning serious.
"But you're right; Harry and Andrew wouldn't have been on their brooms if Malfoy hadn't taken one of Longbottom's eye balls!"
"Exa- wait… what?!"
"Longbottom lost an eye ball during his flight, no?"
"Err, no. He dropped his Remember-all." Ron answered looking at Tonks curiously.
"Oh, well that makes loads more sense. Sorry, that was the rumor I'd heard around the Hufflepuff common room." The blue haired witch said meekly.
"Anyway, I say we talk to him now, before he needs to head off somewhere important." Hermione said, getting the conversation back on track.
Tonks, Ron and Hermione walked over to the staff table just as the Headmaster announced that it was time for the students to head off to the Quidditch pitch to enjoy the first game of the season.
Speeding up, the three students caught up with the white haired Professor before he could disappear.
"Sir!" they called out to him.
"Ah yes, hello Master Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Tonks. How may I be of help before I head down to watch this match myself?" he asked his blue eyes sparkling with untold secrets.
"Sir, we wanted to ask you to reconsider Harry and Andrew's expulsion…" Hermione started.
"Ah yes, well about that…"
"It isn't fair, Malfoy's the one who challenged them to take him on, and they couldn't have gotten Neville's Remember-all back any other way…" Ron continued.
"I do believe…"
"And why did only they get expelled? Shouldn't Malfoy have gotten the same punishment?" Tonks finished.
"Calm yourselves! I do believe in a situation like this, a good game of Quidditch would answer any and all questions you might have. Now go on." He replied calmly.
The three student stood gaping at the supposedly, wisest wizard ever to grace England since Merlin. Then out of the silence, a song could be heard, neither words or instruments played, but rather a beautiful, soulful birds song, echoed through the now empty Great hall, the three students looked around for the source but only found a very happy looking Dumbledore staring out of one of the windows.
"It would appear the phoenixes are ready to take flight. Now go on, before you miss it." He said his grandfatherly tone.
Giving a defeated sigh, Tonks, Hermione and Ron walked out the Great hall and made their way towards the Quidditch pitch.
#-oo-#
Inside the Gryffindor Quidditch team's changing room tension was high, no one spoke a word and all eyes were staring at two newly bought broom sticks.
"I don't believe this." Oliver Wood; the Gryffindor Quidditch captain said breathlessly.
"I can't… this is… I've got to be dreaming." Katie Bell; one of the chasers said in awe.
"What? Aren't they just brooms?" Andrew asked curiously, though even he admitted that they looked absolutely beautiful.
"Gasp…" Fred Weasley; one of the twins and beater for the team, said while putting a hand over his heart dramatically.
"'Just brooms?' he asks!" George Weasley; the other twin and beater for the Gryffindor team said in utter shock.
"Those are…"
"Nimbus 2000's…"
"The fastest brooms on the market." They replied together.
Andrew and Harry looked at each other and grinned slightly.
"Well then…" Harry started.
"That's just…" Andrew continued.
"Bloody brilliant." They finished in unison.
The Weasley twin's eye balls seemed to double in size and a huge grin shot across their faces.
"We like you two."
"Hear, hear!"
"But who would send us…" Harry wondered aloud before Wood gave him a piece of parchment with a message written on it.
'Dear Mister Potter's
Your owls are the smartest I have ever encountered in quite a while. I do hope you are treating them well. I purchased these with my own money, no need to repay me, just make sure you get the Quidditch cup, that is all the payment I require! I wish you the best of luck today. Have fun and be careful.
From
Prof. M. McGonagall.'
Smiling Harry turned to face Wood.
"So who's playing today?" he asked.
"Well, one of you would have to sit out of the game if you're going to be playing Seeker, and then the one who sat out plays the next game." Wood answered shrugging his shoulders.
"Alright, Andrew you take this match." Harry replied instantly.
"Wait, are you sure? I don't mind taking the bench this match." Andrew asked in a completely serious tone.
Harry knew better though, Andrew may have been composed and in control on the outside, but inside he was doing backflips and jumping around like a child on a sugar high.
"Yeah I'm sure. Make sure you win this thing for us!" Harry said smiling broadly at his brother.
"Alright, now that's all set, Angelina, would you take the starting line-up out to Professor McGonagall?" Wood asked, when he had finished writing Andrew's name down on the parchment.
"Sure, back in a bit." The ebony girl said taking the parchment and jogging out the changing room.
"Alright, Potter, I know this is your first game and I'm sorry to put you under so much pressure but you know how it is. Catch the snitch and win the game, for Gryffindor!" Wood said slapping the boy on his shoulder.
Making their way into the tunnels, the Gryffindor's awaited Lee Jordan; the Quidditch announcer, to call them onto the pitch.
"And now the moment we've all been waiting for! There have been rumors of the Gryff's getting a new seeker, but who will it be? I am just as excited to find out as the rest of you are!" Lee Jordan said into his microphone, causing cheers throughout the Gryffindor supporters.
"I wonder who it is." Ron said from his place on the stands next to Hermione and Tonks.
"I wish Harry and Andrew could be here, I'm sure they would've loved to watch the match." Hermione said looking across the pitch.
"They should be here." Tonks added.
"Oi! Weasley, Granger, too bad Potter and is pet couldn't be here today, but all well!" Draco Malfoy sneered as he passed the Gryffindor's on his way to the Slytherin supporters.
Before they could retaliate, the sound of Lee Jordan's voice boom through the stadium once again.
"And now, the Gryffindor team line up! We've got Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, all looking very determined and quite adorable if I might add."
"You may not add that!" McGonagall's voice echoed through the stadium, causing the students to snicker at her comment.
"Sorry, professor. Next up are the famous troublesome twins, Fred and George Weasley!"
The announcement caused plenty of cheers and whistles to be blown throughout the Gryffindor supporters.
"And one of the best Keepers and Captain of the Gryffindor team, in the history of Hogwarts, Oliver Wood!"
After the cheering died down the entire stadium went silent in anticipation for the new Gryffindor seeker, everyone was on the edge of their seats, not a single thing was heard.
"And now, the new ADDITIONS to the Gryffindor team please help me in welcoming Harry Potter and Andrew Potter as the new Gryffindor co-seekers!"
The entire stadium froze unsure how to react, most thought it was a joke, two first years making it into the team couldn't be possible. A sudden whooshing sound caused the audience to look up and see a small raven haired boy with glasses and a small dark skinned boy with dreads zooming above their heads.
In an instant the Gryffindor's broke out into loud applause and was soon followed by the rest of the school, sans the Slytherin side. There was cheering, whistling and chanting.
"Potter, Potter, Potter!" the sound of hundreds of students cheering for them, made Andrew and Harry even more excited.
"Now seeing as the rules are quite strict about the game, Andrew will be playing today's game, followed by Harry in the next game! So Andrew good luck to you today and may you not take a bludger to the head!" Jordan said happily.
"That wasn't very inspiring…" Andrew muttered as he flew into position.
"Alright, I want a fair game from all of you!" Madam Hooch said as she released the Bludgers and the golden snitch. Finally she hopped on to her broom, blew her whistle and threw the Quaffel in the air.
"And they're off! It's Angelina Johnson with the Quaffel, she sure is handling it well. Oh, fantastic block by the one of the Weasley twins! There goes Angelina, a quick pass to Katie, back to Angelina, and she scores! Ten points to Gryffindor! The Quaffel is back in, and the Slytherin team seems to want revenge for that earlier goal. Here comes their captain now, Marcus Flint, barreling towards the Gryffindor goals, he shoots, and a fantastic save from Wood! Back to Johnson, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet and it's another goal for the Gryffindor team!"
Andrew hadn't been watching the match but rather chose to listen while he scanned the area around for the snitch. If he said he didn't feel the pressure he'd be lying through his teeth. Andrew was very nervous about today's match, not only was the entire match on his shoulders, he had been doubted by everyone in school about being Harry's brother and Harry's dad… their dad had been a star Quidditch player back in the day so he felt the need to earn the Potter name, and no better way than Quidditch!
He was soon broken out of his thoughts by the sound of Lee Jordan's voice.
"And Marcus Flint knocks Wood out with a Bludger! The Gryffindor's are now substituting the current knocked out Keeper and replacing him. Oh this will certainly have some sort of bad outcome in the long run."
Looking around, Andrew saw a small glimmer and instantly made a move to get it, but unfortunately the Slytherin seeker appeared to see the same thing as he too leaned on his broom and sped towards the intended destination. Coming up next to Andrew the two seekers raced forward, pushing their brooms to the limit when finally the snitch gradually gained speed, the Slytherin seeker fell behind whereas Andrew and his new Nimbus 2000 were able to keep up with the tiny ball. Andrew kept concentrated all his senses towards his sight and sound only, hearing that Slytherin now lead the score 70-50 he then demolished the hearing and solely kept his eyes on the golden ball in front of him. He was travelling at break neck speed; the snitch was still just barely out of his grasp.
Andrew narrowly avoided hitting other players when they got in the way of him trying to get the snitch, but what happened next made him swear loudly. The snitch had been travelling straight for quite a while until it suddenly rose straight into the air. Andrew followed it with his eyes, but when he looked in front of him again, he saw the Slytherin post right there, acting on instinct mostly, he pushed himself up onto his feet, balancing on the narrow broom stick before launching himself up and over the giant hoop while his broom went through the goal post, luckily for Andrew that little boost was all he needed, his right hand caught the golden ball and he held onto it tightly as he suddenly felt his body descend at an alarming rate. Looking down he saw his broom also falling and made his move. Andrew dove down to his broom grabbing it with his left hand and pulled his broom out of the dive at the last possible second, but it resulted in him losing his balance and falling off his broom and landing twenty meters away from where he had fallen.
Gasps filled stadium from the Gryffindor house and snickers and taunts could be heard from the Slytherin's, that is until Andrew rolled over and raised his right hand high in the air and revealed a small glimmer in his hand.
"I don't… I can't… Andrew Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins 200-70!"
The sound in the stadium was insane; everyone cheered and whooped as the Gryffindor team rushed down to the field to congratulate Andrew on his amazing performance. Fred and George lifted him on their shoulders. Oliver shook his hand like a mad man. He also received a kiss on the cheek from each one of the chasers and huge bear hug from his brother and fellow seeker, Harry.
#-oo-#
After a well-deserved shower, Andrew changed into a pair of faded jeans and black v neck shirt, which once belonged to Dudley so the dip of his shirt came down to the middle of his chest. Making his way out of the Gryffindor changing rooms he found Hermione, Harry and Ron waiting for him.
"Well done, Andy!" Harry said when he reached them.
"Bloody brilliant's more like it!" Ron said excitedly.
"Yes, well, it was still really stupid; honestly, you could've gotten yourself killed!" Hermione scolded.
"Yeah, well I didn't, I made it. I had it all planned out, don't worry so much, Mio." Andrew replied shooting her a goofy grin.
"Well, we'd better head on; Fred and George have a party going on and asked us to come fetch you." Ron said as he started making his way back to the castle followed by Harry.
Andrew turned to Hermione and smiled.
"So am I going to have to hold your hand so you don't run into a mountain troll again?"
"No! I'm a big girl now." Hermione said puffing her cheeks at the boy, who chuckled at her.
"I- I didn't thank you or the others for that, I'm really sorry I almost got you into trouble over something so stupid." The brainy girl said looking down at her feet.
"Not a problem, Mio. I promise you, as long as you're my friend and you're ever in need of my help, I'll be there faster than a flash of lightening."
"But, why?"
Andrew took a deep breath before looking up and the now magenta clouds.
"Because, you're my best friend." He replied with a happy smile.
"Now come on, I doubt we should be keeping the Weasley's waiting any longer." Andrew said grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling her along with him.
'You're my best friend…'
Hermione smiled at the thought of finally having someone to tell her parents about, she had been writing them letters explaining the school in vivid detail, but she had hardly mentioned any student names, now she finally had a name she could write home about; her first friend, her first best friend.
Up in the Gryffindor common room things were crazy, students chatting away loudly, butter beer being poured all around, singing and dancing around the room. This was the image that appeared before Andrew and Hermione as they stepped through the portrait hole.
"Andrew!"
"Andy!"
"A-Man!"
"A.P, you made it!"
He was bombarded with congratulations and hand shaking from students around the room.
"What took you!?" Fred or George Weasley asked curiously.
"Got off on the wrong floor, then when I tried to go back, the bloody staircase moved." He answered.
The party went on for hours, with plenty of joking and laughing being heard, all was well until Professor McGonagall, walked through the portrait hole. She closed up shop and told students that even if it were Saturday tomorrow, that the rest of the castle had to sleep, so that was how the party ended.
The next day saw Harry and Ron walking down from the dormitories only to find Hermione and Andrew on the couch in what seemed to be a serious conversation.
"Good morning." Harry greeted cautiously, he never knew Andrew to be up before him and if he were, it meant he had something really serious on his mind.
"Oh good morning, Harry, Ron." Hermione replied politely.
Ron made some sort of throaty groan which the others took for a greeting before slumping into one of arm chairs.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked.
"Harry, remember that article in the paper yesterday? About the Gringotts break in? What if what Hagrid got in that secret vault has something to do with the entire thing?"
"Wait, you saw it too?" Harry asked giving Andrew a confused look.
"Yeah, I saw you looking over at something so I looked too and I read it, didn't want to say anything though, I wanted us to have our minds focused on the match. Well what do you think?" Andrew said seriously
"I was thinking the same think yesterday." The raven haired boy replied thoughtfully.
"Then the answer is simple, we speak to Hagrid." Hermione said standing up.
After finally waking up the four member of their group, the first year Gryffindor's made their way to the Great hall for some breakfast. Ten minutes later saw them walking towards Hagrid's hut on the far side of the grounds. They arrived at his door and knocked a few times.
"Yes? Oh 'Arry, Andrew, well it's a pleasure to see you here and all and you've brough' some friends, well now isn' a grea' time so if you could visit another time tha'll be lovely." The gentle giant said as he slowly closed the door.
"We want to know what it was you got from Gringotts for Professor Dumbledore." Harry said quickly.
"And if it has something to do with the break-in." Andrew added just as quickly.
Hagrid froze and watched the four students carefully before letting them all into his home, and looked around outside before shutting the door quickly.
Andrew watched him and noticed how Hagrid had been wearing a large apron and oven mitts. He watched the man curiously as he went over to get his kettle, and prepare some tea.
"Now what do you know abou' tha'?" Hagrid asked watching the students closely.
"Nothing sir, that's… that's why we were hoping you'd tell us." Hermione said respectively.
"Oh just call me, Hagrid. And you are?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Well, pleasure to meet ya Hermione, and obviously you're Ron Weasley. Recognize tha' red hair anywhere." Hagrid said smiling at Ron.
"Well I can't tell ye anything, really. I've been trusted to keep this a secret by Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flammel." The heavily bearded man said smiling before his face dropped.
"I shouldn't have told you that, I should not have told you that." He muttered quickly looking around for something to occupy himself with, until a small rattling noise came from a pot hanging over the fire place. Rushing over to it, Hagrid pulled his oven mitts on and reached into the pot, pulling out a rather large egg and placing it onto the kitchen table.
"Hagrid, um, what exactly is that?" Harry asked as he inspected the egg closely.
"Oh, that's um, that's…"
"I know what that is! But Hagrid, how'd you get it?" Ron asked in awe.
"I won 'im off a merchant in Diagon Alley, seemed rather glad to be rid of it 'onestly." Hagrid replied thoughtfully.
The egg started rattling faster and faster, everyone started slowly moving away while their curiosity begged them to lean forward and watch closely. Suddenly the egg burst and out emerged a small, scaly creature with wings.
"Is that… a dragon?" Hermione asked.
"Not just any dragon, that's a Norwegian Richback, my brother Charlie works with these in Romania." Ron said watching the small creature closely.
The small dragon was an overall greenish color, with a slight silver hue on its spine. It turned to face everyone on the table, occasionally slipping on a piece of its shell before turning to Hagrid and giving a small squeak.
"Oh, bless 'is heart he knows who his mummy is!" the large man said choking on his unshed tears.
"Hello, Norbert." He said stroking the dragon's chin affectionately.
"Norbert? Really?" Andrew asked skeptically.
"Well his got to have a name, don't he?"
"Well, this has been fun and all, but we've got to go do some research on Nicholas Flammel." Andrew said walking towards the door.
"Thanks for your company Hagrid." The dark skinned boy said before walking out of the hut. After saying their goodbye's the others followed Andrew was in deep thought.
"What're you thinking?" Harry asked Andrew as he caught up to him.
"We've got to get… Norbert out of here soon." He said absentmindedly.
"Why? Hagrid's really happy." Hermione asked not seeming to get the full problem of the situation.
"Think about it, even if Hagrid could keep him, his a wild animal, and I doubt he'd be happy sitting around the Hogwarts grounds all his life, what will we do if he decided to go on a little trip and fly over Muggle London? There would be no way to hide our existence." Ron said seriously.
"Exactly, so Ron, you're brother, think he might like a Norwegian Richback baby dragon?" Andrew asked looking over at the red head.
"I'll ask him, but it'd take an owl a few days to get to him in Romania, so we'd better get the details before sending the letter off." Ron replied thoughtfully.
"Alright, since I know how you two seem to have rare allergies to libraries, books and a thirst for knowledge, Harry and Ron, you go start the letter, Hermione and I will look for everything we can relating to Flammel." Andrew instructed.
"We'll meet up in the common room in three hours, which should give us all enough time to finish." Hermione added.
#-oo-#
Two and a half hours later saw Andrew pounding his head against one of the hundred books he had in front of him, while Hermione's hair seemed to have doubled in bushiness.
"This is hopeless, we've been through every book in this bloody library and there is absolutely nothing on this Nicholas Flammel." Andrew said looking up at Hermione, who was sitting next to him, his eyes doubled in size at the size of her hair.
Hermione turned to answer him but stopped at the look he gave her.
"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, it's just, err, your, uh, hair is kinda… trying to eat your head…"
Hermione gasped turned a bright red before turning away from Andrew and attempted to control the demon on her head.
"I think it looks good." He said trying to help soothe the girl's insecurities.
"Liar."
"No honestly, I like it." Andrew muttered embarrassed.
There was an awkward type of silence after the Dark skinned boy spoke. Hermione blushed slightly at his words and sat staring at her hands.
"We should check on the other two." Andrew said standing.
"Right."
The two made their way towards the Gryffindor common room in silence. They walked up to the portrait and gave the password, entering the common room and made their way over to Ron and Harry who had finished the letter.
"Hey, we think we've got everything, we just need to confirm it with you guys, here what do you think?" Harry said handing Andrew the letter which he held up for him and Hermione to read.
'Dear Charlie
How are you? I'm doing well. We have an issue here at Hogwarts. I friend of mine went and got himself a baby Richback, but it's quite obvious he can't keep it. So some of my friends and I were wondering if you could take it off his hands before he got into trouble. We aren't sure when you're free so could a reply back with this owl with a day you could make it. Also, no one around school knows, so we'll have to give you Norbert- the dragon's name, after curfew.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Ron.'
"This is perfect; now which owl should we use?" Andrew wondered.
"How about we use Hedwig or Arcanum?" Harry suggested.
"Yeah, good idea, let's send it now before lunch."
So the students made their way to the owlery. After a while, they had made it to their destination. Two owls fluttered down to greet their owners.
"Hello, Hedwig." Harry greeted while smiling at his snow white owl.
"Hey there, Arcanum." Andrew said happily.
Both owls hooted and nibbled on the boys' ears affectionately before they saw the rolled up parchment Ron was holding and knew instantly that one of their services would be required. Hedwig; puffed her chest and raised her head showing that she was the better option. Seeing this Arcanum, flapped her wings and hooted confidently before puffing her own chest out and tried to make herself appear larger and stronger than her white counterpart. Forceful Amber eyes locked onto ice-cold Blue orbs as the two birds glared at each other.
"Well, who should we use?" Andrew asked Harry.
"I don't want to make that choice!" Harry answered seeing that either choice would end in an angry peck or two from the losing bird.
"Hermione?"
"Err, the white one…"
"Hedwig," Andrew helped.
"Well Hedwig seems to be the one able to fly the entire distance." She answered carefully, which didn't work as Arcanum snapped her head towards the bushy haired girl and gave her a look that said 'Say that again, I dare you.'
"Or you know, Arcanum…" she didn't get to finish her statement as Hedwig turned her head to regard the girl with an ugly glare which made Hermione's blood run cold.
"You know, they're your owls, the choice should be yours." Hermione said quickly.
Just then the door to the owlery opened and in walked a person the group hadn't seen in a while.
"Oh, wotcher everyone!" Tonks greeted merrily.
"Hey Nymmy."
"Hello."
"Hi, Tonks."
"Why're you all just standing around?" she asked curiously.
"Well we were trying to decide which-" Ron didn't finish his sentence as Andrew slapped his hand over the red head's mouth.
"Hey Tonks, looking at these two owls, who do you think would be able to make it to Romania in the shortest time?" Andrew asked, hatching the perfect plan into place.
"Romania, eh? Sending Charlie a letter are we, Ron?" she asked turning to the red head.
"Yeah, it's a long story." Ron replied.
"Hmm, alright, well the white seems more determined but the black one looks to be a bit stronger, so I'd have to say her." She said pointing at Arcanum.
Arcanum flapped her wings in victory and hooted at Tonks happily before sticking her leg out for Ron to attach his letter.
Hedwig however hooted angrily at Harry and flew up to one of the nests and turned her back to the group of students.
"She's not too happy about that." Tonks said in an amused tone as she watched the owl ignore Harry's apologies.
"So why're you sending a letter off Charlie?" she asked curiously.
Exchanging looks, Harry agreed to let her in on everything. After an hour or so Tonks now understood the entire situation.
"So any idea who this Nicholas Flammel might be?" Harry asked her hopefully.
"Well I can't deny the name sounds really familiar, but I just can't place my finger on it. Have you checked the library?"
Andrew and Hermione nodded their heads.
"Alright, well I'll keep an eye and ear out for it and you guys let me know when Charlie replies." Tonks said as she made her way to her own owl.
After attaching the letter to Arcanum's leg and sending her off they all turned to look at each other.
"Now, we wait."
Hey everyone, again sorry this took so long. I know I've made tons of grammar mistakes, and I'm not sure if I'll get a beta-reader, I'm trying to improve it, so if it's TOO bad just let me know and I'll ask around for a beta, but if it isn't that bad and you guys can handle it, thank you!
Also, what do you guys think of my Andrew x Hermione moments, I figured I should start something there, and all you Honks fans, those moments will be coming up too, just not this early.
So 6 232 words… wow
Arcanum: Enigma.
Peace
Zak!
