Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong

Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.


Harry was taken aback. 'You killed my parents?' he thought back in shock. 'Who are you?'

'I am Marvolo. It is a long story. I did not kill them by my own free will. I also tried to kill you, but the curse backfired. I am a mere spirit now, but at least, I'm free. I wanted to contact you sooner, but only now, I am strong enough to do so. Please hear me out. Very soon, I will tell you everything. Just one thing now. I like your ideas of fighting for the rights of minorities, and I will help you if you let me. Sorry, but I am still weak. I will contact you again.'

'Marvolo?' Harry thought back, feeling flabbergasted; however, there was no response.

"Harry?"

"Are you all right?"

The twins' voices penetrated his mind, and he nodded, wearily, resolving to speak with Severus about the matter later on.

"Do you know the man who often visits Professor Lupin?"

"Lord Black?" the twins enquired, causing Harry to smile.

"Yes," he simply replied, uncertain if it would be all right to admit that Sirius was his unofficial godfather. 'Probably better not, as no one should know that I'm really Harry Potter.'

"Anyway, he taught us…"

"… how to make a Howler…"

"… and we sent one to our mother right before dinner…"

"… Let's see if she'll find out who sent it…"

"… and send one back…"

"… during the evening."

"Won't you mind?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"We don't," the twins confirmed, simultaneously.

Harry readily allowed himself to be pulled into a conversation about the large Weasley family. It was quite late the same evening, when Ginny's thought penetrated his mind.

'Hi Harry, happy Halloween.'

'Hi Ginny, happy Halloween to you, too,' he thought back, smiling.

'Are my favourite brothers nearby?'

'If you mean the twins, then yes, they're sitting next to me.'

'Please ask them if they by chance sent my mother a Howler. I promise that I won't tell her or anyone else that it was them.' Ginny sounded highly amused.

'Ginny asks if you send your mother a Howler.'

Lucy was just devouring a piece of chicken under the table, so that Harry was unable to see the twins' faces; however, their spluttering from his left and right was enough of an answer. 'Ginny promised to not tell anyone let alone your mother,' he added to soothe their minds.

"Well, who else could do such a thing…"

"… if not our brilliant minds?"

"Although it is frightening…"

"… that Ginny knows us too well."

'Yes, it was them,' Harry thought to Ginny.

'Wait, I'll try to send you an image.'

An instant later, Harry found himself in the Weasleys' kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ronald and Ginny surrounded the table. All of a sudden, an owl knocked at the window and was let inside, only to drop a red envelope onto the table, right into Molly Weasley's dinner. An instant later, a voice, which Harry could not recognise, began to shout.

'Molly Weasley,
this is The Ugly Witches' Coven speaking. We have sent you an invitation to join us many times. Our latest annual general meeting of the Ugly Witches' Coven took place this evening. We have invited you to join our esteemed ranks on numerous occasions offering you the prestigious position of Chief Howler, as we would not need to use magic when sending a Howler if you held this position. Please reply stating the reasons why you have ignored our communications so far.
Yours
Verity McAngry
The Ugly Witches' Coven'

With that, the letter tore itself into small pieces, before it vanished into thin air.

Harry could not help chuckling at the twins' antics. 'Thank you for sharing this with me,' he thought back, feeling very grateful at his thoughtful friend. 'They're doing great in Slytherin by the way, and they've become really good friends.'

"Does our mother know?" Fred sounded worried, and Harry quickly relayed the question to Ginny.

'No, she has been wondering for two hours now who sent that to her,' she admitted. 'I'm having a hard time to not laugh too much.'

Grinning, he informed the twins, before he was brought out of his silent conversation, when he suddenly felt his adoptive father's magic nearby and heard his voice.

"Mr. Snape, as your familiar has fallen asleep, I believe that it's time for both of you to go to bed."

Harry nodded in understanding and, inwardly groaning, said good night to the twins, before he gently woke up Lucy. They quietly headed towards the dungeons together with Severus, who insisted on accompanying them though the empty corridors, since all students were still gathered in the Great Hall, as the Halloween feast continued. Harry considered talking about his earlier mental conversation with the strange spirit; however, instinctively knew that it could bring up at least many questions, which he would not be able to answer, if not outright trouble and decided to leave it for a different time. 'He won't be able to do anything to me anyway, will he?' he thought, resolving to speak with Lucy about the matter first. He was tempted to tell the older wizard about the twins' Howler to their mother; however, recalling that he was their head of house, he decided to keep the prank to himself.

HP

At breakfast the following morning, Marcus Flint, a third-year Slytherin, addressed Harry, who was once again sitting at the Slytherin table between the twins.

"Harry, as you probably know, Jenny graduated in the summer, and I am the new Quidditch captain. I'd like to ask you something. While first-years are not allowed on the house teams, I have decided to have promising first-years attend our practice. When I invited the twins to join our team practice as reserve Beaters, they told me that you're absolutely brilliant in catching the Snitch. Therefore, I'd like to ask you if you'd be willing to attend our practice as Seeker, even if only to give our current team's Seeker some good competition."

"In other words…"

"… to train the Seeker…"

"… until you can become the team's Seeker in three years' time," the twins added, sounding extremely amused.

"Well, something like that," Marcus admitted, smirking.

"I'd like that," Harry said in a small voice, feeling very happy at the prospect. "I can only fly if Lucy is allowed to fly with me though."

"The twins already told me so," Marcus confirmed. "That's not a problem, provided that she doesn't catch the Snitch."

"You won't, Lucy, will you?" Harry smiled at the canine, who eagerly licked his hand, sounding slightly indignant, as she responded.

"She won't," he translated for the Quidditch captain, who nodded, seeming contented.

"That's decided then. Quidditch practice is on Monday and Friday right after dinner."

'Tonight,' Harry thought in excitement. 'But after dinner, Lucy is already tired. Maybe I need to make her take a nap before dinner. But then, I have to be in the Potions lab with Severus and the twins. Perhaps, in the afternoon.' He resolved to discuss the matter with his familiar, and Lucy suggested taking a nap right after lunch every day, so that she could stay up a bit longer, when they had Quidditch practice or if something extraordinary happened, which did not seem unlikely at Hogwarts with so many students around.

The matter was still in the front of Harry's mind, when he popped Lucy and himself into the elves' quarters right after breakfast.

HP

"Harry!" Misty sounded exasperated. "Please tell Misty what is on your mind. You are not concentrating enough for this healing spell to possibly work."

Harry let out a deep sigh, before he apologized profoundly, wondering why Misty began to chuckle at his explanation. At the same time, he noticed a bout of some strange magic coming from the elf. 'What was that?' he wondered, startled.

"I might have a long-term solution to your problem." She somehow sounded pleased. "As you know, Cicero and I am a married couple. Now, I am pregnant, and little Teddy will be born in January."

"Wow, that's amazing," Harry replied, feeling very happy for his favourite elves. "That's very fast though, isn't it?"

Misty chuckled again. "Elves' pregnancy is shorter than with humans," she explained, "only four months. If you wish, Teddy can be bonded to you, provided that Master Severus will agree."

"What?" Harry perked up in shock. "Why would we do that? Teddy should be a free elf like you and Cicero. I can pay him for his work, and I am sure that Severus will agree."

Misty gently pulled him into a light hug. "Thank you, Harry. That is very generous, and Cicero and I would be happy for Teddy to work for Harry as a free elf. You can still bond with each other, so that Teddy can take turns with Lucy relaying images to you."

"Thank you, Misty. That's fantastic. Please tell me what I have to do once Teddy will be born."

HP

During the following weeks leading up to Christmas, Harry could not wait for Teddy to be born. Every time he went to the elf quarters, Lucy showed him Misty's stomach, which seemed to be becoming bigger by the day.

In the week before Christmas, Harry realised that Christmas was going to be completely different from what he had experienced so far. At the Dursleys, he had been made prepare the food for the family, before they had locked him into his cupboard, where he had remained during the whole festive season. He had also been told that Father Christmas would only bring presents to good boys, which he – at least according to the Dursleys – was not.

At Hogwarts, Severus took the time to help him brew fruit drops and essences for tea, which he could give his friends and teachers for Christmas. Regina surprised him by asking what he wished for Christmas, and Minerva offered to teach him how to decorate the enormous Christmas tree in the Great Hall.

Harry felt incredibly happy, when he and Lucy walked to the Great Hall for the leaving feast on the day before the students were going to travel home for Christmas. All of a sudden, he felt a bout of magic, before his vision failed completely. He could only hear heavy steps that sounded like someone running away quickly.

'Lucy, what happened?' he thought to his familiar in panic; however, the canine did not respond. Harry's thoughts went haywire. 'What happened? Did someone attack Lucy? I can find my way to the Great Hall, but I can't leave Lucy here alone,' he thought, horrified at the idea of Lucy being hurt. Kneeling down onto the floor, he gently caressed the canine's fur, glad that Lucy was at least still at his side, even if she neither moved nor was responsive in any way. "Misty!" he finally called out in panic. "I think someone attacked Lucy. Is she dead?" he asked, as soon as he felt the familiar magic of the elf nearby.

"No Harry, she's only stunned." Misty's voice was comforting and soothing, and Harry quickly relaxed, when the elf cancelled the spell on the canine, and Lucy shook herself to release some stress.

"Lulu, what happened?"

=I think it was the boy who plays the Seeker on the Quidditch team. He came and cast a spell at us.=

When Harry translated for Misty, the elf decided, "Let me accompany you to the Great Hall. I shall inform Master Severus about the matter."

"May we have dinner in the elves' quarters?" Harry was too shocked to join the students in the Great Hall, considering that one of them had willingly harmed Lucy to harm him.

"Of course, Harry. Pop yourselves. I shall inform the professors about the incident."

HP

Harry spent the evening with his elf friends and teachers and only returned home on time for curfew.

Severus and Regina were sitting in the living room nursing a glass of red wine.

"Harry, Lucy, are you both all right?" Regina was the first to enquire.

"Yes, we're fine. Sorry."

"Harry, you have nothing to be sorry about." Severus' voice was firm but gentle. "I have taken Mr. McKayne to the headmaster, and he has been questioned under Veritaserum. Apparently, he was jealous, because you always manage to catch the Snitch before him in spite of not being able to see by yourself. McKayne has been suspended from Hogwarts until February 1, which means one month in addition to the winter holidays, and he and his parents are aware that he will be expelled if he ever does such a stunt again. As he will not be able to remain on the Quidditch team, I wish to ask you to train Slytherin's new Seeker. Marcus will arrange for tryouts for the position during the first week of January."

"All right, sir. Thank you, sir," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm sorry for running away."

"As I said, there is nothing to be sorry about, and Misty informed me what happened and that you were spending the evening in the elf quarters. That was fully all right. By the way, the Minister of Magic floo called earlier," Severus suddenly changed the topic. "She invited us to join her at the Ministry of Magic together with the heads of the ministry departments on New Year's Eve."

"Will Lucy be allowed to come?"

"Of course. Lucy will always be allowed to join you, and I have invited Regina to accompany us to the party.

"I like that," Harry replied, casting Regina a shy smile, before he said good night and retreated to his room with Lucy.

HP

Harry was shocked, when Lucy showed him the room, where the New Year's party at the Ministry of Magic took place. 'So many people,' he thought in surprise. 'Oh well, he said all the department heads,' he then recalled, knowing that Severus and he had been invited as the recipients of the Order of Merlin for their wolvescure potion.

Severus, Regina and Harry were invited to sit at the same table as Minister Bagnold, and Harry was glad that there were many others at the same table, so that he die not have the feeling as if they were placed into the spotlight. Arthur Weasley and his wife Molly were sitting opposite of them.

The minister only held a small speech, during which she introduced Severus and Harry as the inventors of the cure for lycanthropy. They received huge applause, however, to Harry's relief, did not have to say anything.

During the meal, Harry listened quietly, when the people at their table made small talk. He perked up in amusement, however, when all of a sudden, Molly Weasley addressed the minister asking if she knew the Ugly Witches' Coven.

"The Ugly Witches' Coven?" Minister Bagnold repeated in apparent disbelief.

"Well, they sent me a letter, but I wasn't able to reply, as our owl seems unable to find them. As old as Errol may be, usually she finds all recipients."

Harry listened in amusement that only intensified, when Minister Bagnold stated, "I am sorry, Mrs. Weasley, but I've never heard anything about such a coven. Are you certain that it even exists?"

"Yes, they sent me a Howler on Halloween stating that I had missed their annual meeting."

'That sounds like a prank, which her children might play on her. Do you know anything about it?' Severus asked, telepathically.

Harry's amusement vanished completely. 'Yes sir, but please don't punish them. The twins only did it, because their mother sent them a Howler for being sorted into Slytherin.'

'It's all right. I won't give them away, but I'll get back at them, when school commences again.'

Harry could feel the older wizard's amusement, wondering what the Potions master intended to do.

HP

He should not have to wait long. On the first day of classes, when Harry joined Severus and the twins in the Potions classroom, Severus placed a recipe in front of the twins.

"Weasley and Weasley, through the Minister of Magic, we have received a request from the Ugly Witches' Coven. They need this specific potion. Harry, in the meantime, I'd like to ask you to brew the potion for sunburn." The older wizard turned to him, placing a small parchment onto the table in front of him.

"Err, Professor?"

"Squashed basilisk eggs…"

"… swivelled lizards' tails…"

"… mashed goose stomach…"

"… and mice liver…"

"Is this a joke…"

"… or how are we supposed to obtain these ingredients?"

Lucy relayed an image of the twins showing their absolute disgust at the idea of these ingredients, making Harry inwardly chuckle.

"Well, I am afraid that you need to visit the coven to harvest these specific ingredients. I trust that you'll be able to be back on time for dinner. Hagrid will surely agree to accompany you, seeing that you're still first-years and not able to apparate yet."

Harry could not help laughing aloud at Severus' seemingly bored voice and the twins' confusion. 'They won't really believe that, will they?' he thought in amusement.

tbc...

Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please tell me what you liked or disliked in this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas are welcome, and my muse appreciates any constructive feedback.