Chapter 22: The Secret Library

The return to Hogwarts (via Portkey) was uneventful, and left Harry and his friends with several hours to unpack and relax before the rest of the student body arrived. Well, more accurately, it left Hermione, Ron and Ginny more time to relax- Harry had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore.

"Milky Way," Harry prompted, and the gargoyle jumped to the side. A short and smooth escalator ride later he was knocking on the Headmaster's door and being called to come in.

"You wanted to meet with me Prof—Albus?"

Albus grinned, and beckoned Harry to have a seat while he finished dictating a letter to his quill. Harry elected to remain standing and walked over to pet Fawkes, who was molting rather fiercely.

"Nearly time to burn, eh Fawkes?" he asked pleasantly. The bird chirruped in response. "You should get on with it, you know," Harry added. "Sanguine burned four days ago and you wont be able to fly together if you don't hurry and catch up."

Fawkes trilled once again and gave Harry what seemed to be a roguish wink just before he burst into flames. Dumbledore clapped softly and cried, "Ah, well done, Harry! I've been telling him to get on with it for days now!"

Harry grinned and shrugged, taking a seat in one of the chintz armchairs. "So what's up?"

Albus smiled, and offered him a lemon drop. The elderly wizard waved his wand and his desk was suddenly clean of parchment.

"Ah, much better. I called you here this afternoon, Harry, because I wanted to ask you how you were doing in your research?"

Harry shrugged once again. "All right, I suppose, sir. It's hard, though. I only go to the Library when I can't sleep, and although that's often, it's hard to sneak around Mr. Filch even with my invisibility cloak. Even then, the library's books don't really cater to what I'm looking for. I must have checked the restricted section a dozen times over by now."

Albus smiled knowingly. "I understand completely, my boy. That is why I have thought of giving you access to my own personal library."

Harry blanched, "You have your own library?"

Albus grinned. "Yes, Harry, I do. Well, I shouldn't be so selfish as to call it "mine", but it belongs to whoever the current Head of Hogwarts might be, so, at present, it belongs to me. I have decided that sharing it with you and possibly your closest friends (especially Miss Granger) might be of great help in your search to defeat Voldemort."

"Really sir? You would let me use your library? Oh- Hermione will be so jealous!"

Albus laughed. "Yes, Harry, really. And if you are so inclined to have Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley and Miss Weas—whoops, I beg your pardon—Mrs. Potter to be able to have access, I would not mind in the slightest.

Harry grinned, and tried to force down the blush that had resulted when the Headmaster had addressed Ginny as "Mrs. Potter". If Harry was honest with himself, he knew that it made him feel like the luckiest man in the world to be able to call Ginevra Weasley Potter his wife.

"I would like that, sir. But I also think that I would like to look around a bit myself first, just so I'll be able to help them find what they need better."

"Of course, Harry," Albus replied, giving a little wave with his hand so as to show he thought nothing of it. "If you would, then, please follow me."

Without another word, Harry followed Albus down the staircase and into the hallway. Just to the left of the gargoyle was a painting Harry had never paid much attention to, having only looked at that particular section of the wall for the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. Looking more closely at the painting, he saw that it was an old man sitting at a desk doing what appeared to be marking mounds of card catalogs for a library bookshelf.

"Excuse me, good sir?" asked Dumbledore politely. "Where is the library?"

The man in the painting looked up and smiled at Albus, then gave Harry a wink.

"Right this way, my good man," he replied, making a large gesture behind him with his hand as the painting swung open.

Harry couldn't suppress a grin. "Brilliant, Albus. No one would ever think of that as a password."

Albus smiled. "Ah, yes, it amuses me quite well. There is also an entrance through my office, but this one will be much more convenient for you, especially if I happen to be in a meeting and you need the library. After you, Harry."

Harry smiled politely and stepped forward into a very long, dark deserted corridor he had the strangest feeling he had been down before, although his mind ruled this quite impossible. Stumbling over a rough bit of carpet made Harry reach his hand in front of him and mutter "Occaeco Lumos", as if on instinct. He heard the sharp intake of Albus' breath behind him, but other than that the older wizard made no sound. At the incantation, a burst of violet iridescent light swelled into a small sphere in the palm of his hand. Moving down the corridor he came to a fork in his path. Looking up, he gasped and turned to Albus.

"This painting! I've seen it before!"

Albus wrinkled his nose, perplexed. "Have you now?"

"Yes!" Harry insisted. "I just don't know where befo—hang on… it was in my dream! My dream last summer!"

Albus wrinkled his forehead, but in a thoughtful manner. "I trust you know how it works then?"

"Yes, I—I think I do, I—Acclaro Arcanus Conclave!"

He stepped in the roughly hewn rock seat, Albus sitting at his side as it turned, facing them into an old, beautiful library. Harry breathed a small sigh, and turned to Albus.

"It's just like my dream. I can't believe it."

Albut only smiled. "Well, then, I'll leave you to it. Where the corridor forks off outside the painting will lead you to my office. There is also a staircase hidden behind the third bookshelf on the right hand wall. Simply push the knothole in the wood and it will open for you. If I don't see you before I leave for the returning feast I shall come and get you, all right Harry?"

Harry nodded, and waved mutely as the headmaster disappeared thought the bookcase back to his office. Looking around, Harry breathed out in wonder. It was exactly how his subconscious had imagined it would be. The books hovered on shelves in the center of the room at exactly the right height for him to pull them off should he need them. Around the room, banked on the walls were numerous other shelves holding many objects besides and including books. Harry determinedly raised his eyes upwards towards the ceiling, almost afraid of what he was sure to find there. Just as he remembered, the most advanced dark books were defying all laws of gravity and lay enchanted beyond the ordinary wizard's reach- on the ceiling, and spelled with and incantation that only let them be removed by hand.

As much as Harry knew he should immediately levitate himself to the ceiling and pull down the book that called to him… he couldn't remember the name exactly… he desisted. He wanted to make sure to look around this entire library and learn as many of its secrets as he could. He decided to start at the back and work his way forward.

The back shelves contained cascades of History Books, including several dozen previous versions of "Hogwarts, a History". Harry couldn't help but smile.

'Hermione would love those…'

Taking a closer look around the outer perimeter of the library, Harry noticed that the shelves each specialized in a Hogwarts subject, all encased alphabetically from Arithmancy to Transfiguration. He made a special notice of the "Defense" shelves (there were seven), and felt around in his robes for a quill. None.

'Bugger… don't they leave any in here? Even Pince has some she'll lend out to people like Hermione and Ginny.'

The shelves in the center of the room caught his eye, and he saw four small podiums standing erect just at the perfect level for him to view. He gazed at each one in wonder, beginning in the center left. A small plaque indicated that the object in question (a small glass bottle with a lipid silver substance shimmering fluidly along its insides) belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw, and was the Silver Lining from a Cloud.

'Wicked. I didn't think those were even possible to obtain.'

Moving to the furthest left, he found a goblin-wrought silver wand holder, twisted into a snake with glittering emeralds for eyes. Harry didn't even have to read the plaque to know who this particular object belonged to.

'Slytherin… must be his.'

The second from right held what Harry took to be a crystal ball on a golden wrought stand of four badgers, paws extended, holding it aloft. Looking more carefully at the inscription on the plaque, Harry learned that he was mistaken. The ball was actually a "Power Sphere" that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Harry gazed into the ball and saw faint traces of clouds drifting along inside it. Feeling bold, he reached out both hands and carefully picked it up. Gazing into it once more, Harry lifted it to his eyes and watched as the clouds swirled round and round, before finally disappearing into nothingness, leaving the ball as clear as pure glass.

'Odd… I wonder if maybe it's broken?'

As Harry went to carefully return the sphere to its stand, he suddenly felt a warm tingle run up his arms, through his chest, up his neck into his face and down his torso all the way to the tips of his toes. Bringing the ball back closer to him, he gazed into its depths to see that it was still disappointingly clear, but that it had become warm around its surface. Staring still into its calm depths, he saw a tiny pinprick of white light form in its center, and begin rapidly flowing to the far outreaches of the sphere. Pure light engulfed Harry as he felt his feet suddenly lift from the floor, his body turning graceful somersaults around the sphere still clutched in his hands. He remained suspended in midair for several minutes, the warm tingling growing stronger by the second before it finally began to subside and lowered him to the ground. Carefully, he placed the Power Sphere back on its stand, and gazed at it curiously as the misty fog returned once again to float around inside it.

'Strange… I'll have to ask Albus about that one. I'm glad it doesn't seem broken though.'

The furthest stand on the right held what had originally captured Harry's eyes- a Golden Eagle Quill, belonging to Godric Gryffindor- standing solitary and quite unremarkable looking on its stand compared to the wonders of the other Founders. Grinning sheepishly, Harry looked around guiltily, as if making sure no one was watching, and carefully picked the quill up from its stand. He carried it to the lone desk in the library where several sheets of blank parchment lay, along with a full pot of deep black ink. Harry looked around the desk, and pulled out every drawer- no other quills were to be found.

'Well, I suppose it can't hurt, just this once. I'll use it to write down the things I found most curious about the library and then I can review them with Ron, Hermione and Ginny when I bring them here tomorrow. …And I'll write down the best defense book titles we haven't read in the Room of Requirement so we can look at those first.'

Smiling to himself at his wonderful logic, Harry loaded the quill with ink, feeling not so guilty about using it as he did before. Grabbing a sheet of parchment, he began scribbling furiously…

Cloud lining—uses? (ask Hermione)

Power Sphere—what does it do besides levitate people? (ask Albus)

Defense Books—

Harry paused, giving the quill a good shake, and looked down at his parchment. He gazed confusedly at the quill tip, and saw that yes, it was indeed loaded with black ink.

'Well why is my writing showing up gold?'

Harry reloaded the quill with the deep ink from the pot and continued his list.

Defense Books—Werewolf Wonders, Advanced Hexes, Spell Improvement—

'What is going ON! That's it…'

Harry marched straight from the Defense Shelves to the third bookcase on the right hand wall, pressed the knothole and sped up the stairs two at a time. Knocking politely on the only door that he figured must be Dumbledore's office, he decided last second to put a glamour charm on the quill to turn in any color but gold—he succeeded in turning it yellow.

"Ah, Harry! Back so soon?" smiled Albus, offering him a seat.

"Um, yes, I… Professor, I was wondering if you could write down for me the top four books of your choice from the Defense Shelves in the library so Ron, Ginny, Hermione and I could get started on those right away."

Albus gazed at him curiously. "Of course, Harry, I would be happy to."

Harry grabbed a sheet of parchment from the stack beside Albus' desk and placed the newly enchanted quill next to it.

"Here, Sir, you can use mine."

"Oh, thank you Harry. I never have been quite good at keeping track of my writing utensils."

Harry watched in interest as Albus loaded the quill with ink once more—black, Harry observed—and began to write in his neat, slanting script.

Advanced Hexes the Ministry Won't Teach You to Defend (Much Less Cast)

Concealment and Disguise: The Auror Trainee Handbook

Incantation Discovery and Improvement

Shields of the Centuries

"There you are, Harry," he smiled, handing him the list with a flourish. "I think that should start you off nicely."

Harry's eyes bore down the list, staring at it with scrutiny. He removed his glasses, squinted at the parchment without them, cleaned them, and then examined the Headmaster's writing once more.

"Is something the matter, Harry?" asked Albus concernedly.

"I'm not sure, sir," Harry answered honestly. "Watch…"

Harry leaned in over the Headmaster's desk and began to copy the list from the top of the parchment to the bottom, using the same quill he had just asked the Headmaster to use, not bothering to reload the ink. Albus watched with wide eyes as the ink poured neatly from the quill in the color of liquid gold and continued to do so long after the original ink Albus had loaded it with had run out.

"Let me see that, Harry."

Harry shrugged and handed it over. Albus tried to write with it, but it would not form a single letter. He dipped it in his inkwell again, and it formed a black inky spot on the parchment. He scribbled a few lines until the ink ran dry and handed it back to Harry, who wrote once again in the liquid gold, shimmery ink without having to load the quill at all.

"Is this possible?" Dumbledore voiced, more to himself than anyone else. "Harry, where did you get that quill?"

Harry blushed, and removed the glamour charm, returning the quill to its original golden color.

"I, um… I didn't have any quills with me, sir,"

"Please, call me Albus, Harry. You always call me 'sir', still, especially when you think you have done something wrong or are unsure of yourself. You should not be afraid of me, Harry. I think of you more as a colleague than a student when we meet like this, and my colleagues do not address me as 'sir'."

Harry blushed. "Sorry, Albus, I guess it's just habit. Any way… I um, well… I didn't bring any quills with me today because I didn't know I would need them. I wanted to make notes for Hermione, Ron and Ginny about the library so I would remember what Defense books I thought we should start with. I also wanted to write down what I needed to ask you if I had questions- like about the Power Ball. I have no idea what it does!

"This was the only quill I could find, and I didn't think it would hurt to use it just this once for a few notes but it started writing gold on me. I thought maybe it was enchanted so I brought it to you. I don't know why I disguised it, I just did. I didn't want its appearance to bias your opinion on why it was writing gold for me." Harry paused, "DO you know why it's writing gold for me, Prof—Albus?"

Albus smiled. "Yes, Harry, I do. In regards to the Power Sphere, we can discuss that another time when I am with you to see what happens when you hold it. Its explanation is a little confusing, and I must admit Helga Hufflepuff's writing is not the most legible. As for Gryffindor's quill—please follow me. I don't think you would believe me if I told you, so I'll let you read it for yourself."

Harry followed Albus back down the staircase and into the library. They headed straight to the back wall, where the History books were shelved. Dumbledore reached a bony, long fingered hand to the very top shelf (which had risen to be precisely at his level) and pulled down a book labeled "Hogwarts: The Four Founders". Opening it to the last section, Harry saw that the book was written entirely by hand- presumably each section an autobiography written by each of the founders themselves.

"Right here, Harry," Dumbledore pointed, indicating the last page of Gryffindor's section. Harry noticed the entirety of Gryffindor's autobiography was written in the same gold-like ink that came out of his quill when Harry had written with it. Harry read on, as Albus took a step back to observe the boy's curiosity from a distance.

As is customary, I, Godric Gryffindor, have left behind one of my most prized possessions- my Golden Eagle Quill. I have been noted for (and teased mercilessly by my best mate, Salazar) quilling with Golden Ink. I have enchanted this particular quill so that any may write with it, but should an Heir or Heiress of mine come along and have need of it they shall never need fill its ink supply. The trademark golden ink of myself shall be visible for all to see should any member of my line happen across my Eagle Quill.

Prophecy has said that the Heir of Gryffindor will rid the world of a terrible evil, but the heir shall not know himself until shortly before he will face this evil for the final battle. My heart is with you, young Heir, as is my blade. Call it forth when you are in need of it, and it shall come to you, wherever it, or you, might be.

Harry turned to Albus, his face bewildered.

"Me? I'm Gryffindor's Heir?"

Albus nodded, eyes shining. "The one and only, Mr. Potter."