Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong

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


"What can I do?" Harry smiled at his godfather, who was one of the nicest wizards he knew.

"You're somehow quite acquainted with Artemis Nott, aren't you?"

Harry frowned. "The caretaker? Eh, yes, why?" 'No one but Mum and Dad is supposed to know that he's my colleague as an Unspeakable,' he thought in surprise.

Remus shook his head. "When I heard the two of you talk to each other the other day, you sounded familiar to each other, that's all. Anyway, when we, that is your father, Sirius, Peter and I were fifth-years, we made a map of Hogwarts, the so-called Marauders Map."

"A map?" Harry looked at Remus in confusion.

"Yes, it shows who is in the castle and where they are. You can even look for people. The problem is that Mr. Filch once took it from us and confiscated it. Could you perhaps ask Mr. Nott if it's still in his belongings? Considering that Mr. Filch left from one minute to the next, I can imagine that he didn't take such things with him. Mind you, it doesn't look like a map in its closed state. It just looks like an empty parchment. I just hope he didn't throw it away. It was much work to make it."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Oh, all right. I'll go and ask him right away. Sorry, Feli, I'll be back in a blink."

HP

Harry popped right in front of the caretaker's office, inwardly sighing in relief, when Artemis opened upon his knock.

"Harry. What a nice surprise. Come in."

"Hello Artemis, hello Rebecca," he added, realising that his two colleagues were just having tea together. "Unfortunately, this is not just a social visit. Have you ever looked at the Marauders Map, which you took from Remus and Sirius many years ago?"

"The what map? I can't recall taking a map from anyone."

"Ah, sorry, it doesn't look like a map. It's just an empty parchment."

Artemis chuckled, as he pointed at the drawers of his desk. There were about twenty. "Feel free to check them all out. If I took it from them, it must be there."

"Artemis!" Rebecca groaned. "Why don't you just try a summoning spell?"

Harry nodded and raised his wand. "Accio Marauders Map."

Nothing happened, and he looked at his colleagues in disappointment.

Artemis scoffed. "Didn't you think I had my drawers warded against people who are not allowed to take out things?"

"Oh, sorry." Harry could not help feeling incredibly stupid. However, his feelings quickly turned into amazement, when Artemis re-cast the spell, and one of the drawers shot open with a small "bang." An instant later, an empty parchment floated out of the drawer and right into the caretaker's hand. He looked at it from all angles only to hand it over to Harry.

"If you deem this interesting, we'd appreciate if you shared the secret of this map with us some time."

Harry nodded. "It belongs to Remus. If he'll show it to me and I can borrow it, I will. Anyway, thank you very much. I'll see you later."

HP

Harry handed Remus the blank parchment. "I hope that's the right thing."

"It is, Harry." Remus grinned, broadly. "Thank you so much." When Harry set to return to his spot on the floor next to Felix, who was impatiently trying to continue his floor puzzle, Remus kept him back. "Wait a moment. Let me show you what it is."

Harry nodded and observed how the older wizard activated the map, only to have small, black dots appear all over it, as soon as he unfolded the parchment.

"These rooms are not on it, of course," he explained, apparently having noticed that Harry was looking for the dungeons. "Even if Peter as a rat Animagus was able to get into small spaces, we could only take the rooms onto the map of which we knew."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Do you mind me keeping it for the time being? I just want to make sure that Peter won't be able to get into Hogwarts. The wards probably won't repel him if he's in his rat form. Once the rat is captured, I'll return it to you."

Harry thanked the older wizard, knowing that Felina and Whisker would be more than happy to gain access to such a document.

HP

A few hours later, he was on his way to the entrance hall together with Lucy, intending to meet with his friends and stroll to Hogsmeade to meet their friends at the station.

However, all of a sudden, the Weasley twins appeared seemingly out of nowhere and pulled him into a nearby, empty classroom.

"Harrykins…"

"… we must thank you a lot…"

"… for forcing Mento and Mento…"

"…. to reveal themselves to us…"

"… We'll forever be indebted to you…"

"… for what you did for us."

"You're welcome." Harry smiled.

"They even made us their heirs," the twins added, speaking together to emphasize their amazement.

"Congratulations." Harry grinned, having already heard that fact from the Prewitt twins. "Are you going to take their name then?"

The twins shrugged. "Perhaps eventually we'll have to do that…"

"… But not right now." They chuckled.

"Can you imagine…"

"… our mother's face…"

"… if she happens to find out at some stage?"

Harry smirked. "I can well imagine how upset she'll be, considering that she never realised how brilliant you are. Now, will you let me go, as everyone else is waiting for me in the entrance hall?"

"We shall accompany you…"

"… little bro."

Together, they headed to the entrance hall and further to the station to welcome their friends back to Hogwarts.

HP

While Harry intended to take his dinner between Hermione and Teddy at the Ravenclaw table, Luna pulled him over to a seat between Hermione and herself, leaving Teddy to sit on Hermione's other side.

"Harry, I must show you something," the blonde girl whispered, while Dumbledore said a few words of greeting, for which Harry did not care anyway.

Noticing that she looked down at her own lap, he realised in amazement that a fairy wing similar to his own had replaced her left hand.

"Oh wow, Luna, well done," he whispered back, feeling very happy for his friend. "That's a huge success, and now the rest is going to be much faster." He quickly toyed with the thought of admitting that he could already transform both arms and legs; however, he dismissed the idea again right away. 'I'll wait for some special opportunity,' he recalled what he had already decided weeks ago.

'I wonder if Dumbledore is going to tell the students about the Triwizard tournament,' he thought; however, he told himself that it was not really astonishing that the headmaster kept quiet about the plan. 'He'll surely only tell them at the beginning of the new school year,' he thought, wondering if he should somehow disturb the old wizard's plan and at least give the older students more time to consider if they wished to participate.

Looking at Luna's wing, a sudden thought crossed his mind. 'Once she manages the transformation, I should convince her to tell Arthur Weasley about it.'

HP

The first two months of the new year passed uneventfully for the third-years. Every evening, they spent thirty minutes practising the Animagus transformation together, however, without success so far apart from Luna.

At the end of March, Minerva kept Harry after the Transfiguration class. "Harry, I'll slowly have to begin visiting the muggle parents of our first-years to cast the spell at them, which enables them to see Hogwarts. Will you accompany me again this year?"

Harry nodded, reassuringly. "Of course. I'll also have to spend some time in the first-years' study room to plan the rally with them, although I suppose that I could just ask my classmates to help. Oh right, err, no, forget that. They'll want to go on dates to Hogsmeade."

Minerva smiled in apparent understanding. "Just a few more months and Luna will be able to accompany you."

"Luna?" Harry's eyes widened in shock.

Minerva chuckled. "Oh, sorry, I thought it was obvious that the two of you would go together."

"Do you think so?" Harry stared at his surrogate grandmother.

"I believe that at least your mother assumes the same. Have you not been spending most of your Hogsmeade days in the castle with her?"

Harry shrugged. "Yes, because her classmates won't spend time with her. I don't know if Luna would even want to go to Hogsmeade with me. Oh, by the way, will BABA play again on the first-years' parents' weekend?"

"Yes, and they already asked if they could trust you to play the Suikan again."

Harry nodded, happily. "I will." Suddenly recalling what Minerva had wanted in the first place, he asked, "So, when are we going to visit the muggles?"

"Harry, will you be ready to visit your aunt as well?" Minerva sounded hesitant, however, Harry smiled.

"Of course. Dudley will want her to visit, too."

Suddenly realising that it was time to head to the Great Hall for lunch, they quickly agreed to visit the muggles the following weekend.

HP

'I am so stupid. I should have gotten hold of a wand before fleeing from Malfoy Manor. Perhaps, I should practise apparating without a wand. Otherwise, it'll take me ages to get back to Britain.'

While Peter waited for the ship to arrive at its destination, he reflected everything that had happened ever since he had escaped from Malfoy Manor, where the Aurors had captured all of his friends. He had made his way to his Lord; however, something seemed to be wrong with him. As if he'd accept that the Dark Lord wouldn't want to be his lord anymore. It was strange that he had ordered a house-elf to take him far away, but Peter supposed that it was just some strange kind of practice to make him stronger.

The elf had popped away with him and handed him to another house-elf, who then again carried him even further away. Just when he tried to hand him to yet another house-elf, Peter had managed to wriggled his way out of the elf's grip and vanish from the sight in a nearby field. Unfortunately, he had no idea where he was and if it was safe for him to transform into his human form, which would not help him much anyway – due to the lack of a wand. He spent a few days walking, before he reached a harbour, much to his relief. Spending a few hours in the harbour listening to the people who were getting ready to board this or that boat, he decided on one that seemed to be heading to Dublin. 'Not exactly my destination, but at least closer to Britain than I'm here, wherever here is, and there'll be plenty of ships heading to Britain.'

Once the boat anchored in Dublin, he quickly and as unobtrusively as possible left the boat. In the meantime, a plan had formed in his mind. He had, fortunately, managed to steal a handful of Galleons at Malfoy Manor, which he would now use to buy himself a wand.

Grateful that his old school friend James had made him acquainted with Fairy Alley in Limerick as well as Banshee Road in Dublin, he hurried through the streets of Dublin, glad that he had his aim set.

It was risky, he knew that, but he trusted that he would always be able to get away from anyone by transforming into his rat form. 'Thank Merlin I don't need a want to transform,' he thought, before he changed back into his human form. 'Now I just have to find the wandmaker, before I can apparate back to Britain.'

HP

Minerva smiled, when Regina returned to the living room after tucking Harry and Lucy in for the night.

"While I've known Harry for almost six years by now, I still feel surprised at how kind and forgiving he is. Today, we went to see his aunt to cast the spell at her that will enable her to see Hogwarts. She asked a bunch of questions, and he answered everything as patiently as if she was his best friend."

'That's my Harry,' Regina thought, proudly.

"Harry is used to patiently answer questions." Severus smirked. "Considering that Miss Granger is among his closest friends."

"Still, he is much too nice towards his aunt, who mistreated him over years." Regina shook her head in a combination of annoyance and amazement at her oldest son.

Severus nodded. "He seems to have forgiven her, in contrary to me, but I don't believe that he's forgotten."

HP

On Sunday evening after the first-years' parents' weekend, Harry took dinner at the Gryffindor table together with Draco.

His friend let out a deep sigh. "Since Oliver Wood is going to finish Hogwarts at the end of the school year, he asked me if I was willing to become the Quidditch captain."

"Hey, congrats, mate. That's cool." Harry cast the blond boy a huge smile.

"I don't know. Did you realise that the first-years lost both matches? To the teachers and the parents?"

"Harry chuckled. "I know. I watched them. That's all right though. They still don't have much experience. You'll just have to properly train them."

Draco remained pensive for a moment. "So, you think I should do it?"

"What? The captainship? Of course."

Not being able to play on a house team was the only thing that Harry deeply regretted. When he occasionally had the opportunity to play in a match for one or the other team, he had so far always caught the Snitch, before the opposite Seeker even had a chance, and he knew that all four teams sometimes had one player feign being sick, so that Harry could play for them.

When he pondered the matter for the umpteenth time, a sudden idea crossed his mind.

'Dad, I just had an idea. What if we had the classes play against each other instead of the houses?'

'It would at least help to reduce the animosity between the houses, which is still present in older years. Nevertheless, you should suggest this to Minerva, considering that she's the captain of the teachers' team, not to mention the deputy headmistress.'

'Okay, thanks, I'll do that at the next opportunity.'

HP

Harry was still deep in thoughts, when he left the Great Hall with Lucy in tow.

"Harry, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, sir." Turning around, Harry followed Artemis into his office, where Lucy was happily greeting the older wizard. "Is something wrong?"

Artemis let out a deep sigh. "You probably know about the headmaster's intention to hold the Triwizard tournament at Hogwarts during the next school year, don't you?"

Harry shrugged. "He said something like that. Yes."

"Do you also know why it was abandoned a few hundred years ago?"

Harry shook his head.

Artemis sighed. "That's what I thought. It was abandoned, because people died during the tasks. They were too dangerous, and the headmasters decided to not have such life-threatening events at their schools anymore."

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I suggest that you ask Hogwarts about it. She should know more than me or anyone else alive at this time."

"I'll do that tonight. Thanks a lot for the warning, Whisker."

"You're welcome, little one."

HP

Hogwarts let out a sigh. "Yes, Harry, I remember that tournament. I think it took place here at our school about a dozen times, and no, no one died here on my grounds, but I heard that it happened during the tournaments which took place abroad. Nevertheless, even I found it too dangerous for my students and was glad, when it was abolished."

Before Harry could properly ponder the information, Hogwarts added, "Dumbledore is just speaking with the people from the Ministry of Magic, who are responsible for the organisation. Why don't you head to the spy chamber and listen in?"

Harry jumped from the seat he had occupied. "Thanks Hogwarts, I'll do that."

HP

The discussion in the headmaster's office was boring to say the least. It all revolved about having the champions swim in the lake for an hour to the merpeople's village and having a labyrinth made by fast growing trees.

Harry only became alert, when Dumbledore mentioned that the Quidditch pitch would be ready for them to prepare, as soon as the school year was going to end.

'The Quidditch pitch?' he wondered. 'No, Dumbledore, you're not going to use the Quidditch pitch for the tournament, as we need it for our usual Quidditch tournament.'

HP

Later the same evening, Minerva came to visit Regina for tea like she often did around curfew, and Harry innocently addressed the deputy headmistress.

"I heard from Hogwarts that the tournament was abandoned in the past, because students died in it."

Minerva nodded, wearing a grave expression. "That's why some of us were reluctant to agree with it," she admitted, letting out a deep sigh.

"Do you know the exact content of the tasks? Are they that dangerous?"

Minerva shook her head. "No dear. There are people from the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Ludovic Bagman and Bartemius Crouch, and they decide on the tasks. I don't know how much Professor Dumbledore is involved in this."

Harry shook his head in annoyance. "Minerva, will you please accompany me to his office? I am not going to accept that students might die at MY school."

Harry noticed that Minerva exchanged a glance with Regina and Severus, before she rose from her seat.

"I'm coming as well," Severus announced. "Harry, will you pop us to save some time, please?"

"Of course." Harry held out his hands, and a moment later, the three of them found themselves in front of the gargoyle, which stepped aside the instant Harry came into view.

HP

The headmaster looked up in apparent surprise, when Harry entered his office followed by Minerva and Severus, which only intensified, when Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick arrived shortly later.

'I've asked Cicero to bring them both here quickly,' his father informed him, and Harry noticed that the older wizard was unable to hide a small smirk.

"Harry and the four heads of the houses." Dumbledore let a hand wander over his beard wearing a confused expression. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please." Minerva beat Harry to a negative response, and Harry patiently waited for Twinkle to serve refreshments, before he spoke up.

"Headmaster, Hogwarts herself has alerted me to two points, which I find greatly disturbing."

"Is that so, my dear boy?" Dumbledore cast him a compassionate look.

"Yes sir. One is the fact that previously in this tournament, students have died. Not here at Hogwarts, fortunately, but at other schools. I am sorry, but I must tell you that I do not wish anyone to die at my school."

#Tell him, my friend, tell him.#

Harry looked at Fawkes in amusement and gave the phoenix an unobtrusive nod.

While Dumbledore tried to alleviate his fears as he called it, Harry urgently thought to his fellow Unspeakable who was the caretaker of Hogwarts. 'Whisker, would you be willing to handle the tournament in your Unspeakable persona, of course, and discuss the tasks and safety with those responsible for the organisation?'

'Yes, Paws, I can do that.'

'Thanks.'

"… and the organisation lies with the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, Ludovic Bagman. Apparently, Barty Crouch is assisting in this, but there is not much that we can do to interfere from our side here at Hogwarts."

"There must be." Harry cast Filius Flitwick a grateful look, when the half-goblin contradicted. "This is about the safety of our own students. Their parents have entrusted us with their lives."

"Ah, but Filius…"

"I fully agree with Harry and Filius." Minerva glared at the headmaster.

"Ah, but Minerva…"

"Nonsense, Headmaster." Harry interrupted the old wizard. "If we cannot do anything from Hogwarts' side, I will ask the Unspeakables to handle this matter for us."

Severus nodded, showing his agreement.

"That's a good idea," Pomona voiced her opinion. "Harry, do you know any Unspeakable whom we can trust?"

Harry smiled at the Hufflepuff head. "Yes, Professor. I will call him here."

'Whisker, can you pop right into the headmaster's office please? You're needed here as Whisker.'

An instant later, a feint pop alerted everyone in the office to the fact that the Unspeakable had arrived.

"Good evening. I am Unspeakable Whisker, and Mr. Harry Prince informed me that my presence was required here."

"Good evening, Whisker. Thank you for coming so quickly. The headmaster just informed us that he doesn't have any influence in the tasks for the Triwizard tournament and that the Ministry of Magic is solely responsible. However, Hogwarts told me that people have died in previous tournaments, and I do not wish anything dangerous to happen at Hogwarts."

Whisker turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, who exactly is responsible for the tournament?"

Dumbledore repeated what he had previously told Harry, and Whisker nodded in apparent understanding.

"Tomorrow morning, I shall speak with Messrs. Bagman and Crouch. I will see to it that the tasks of the tournament will not be life-threatening."

"Thank you, Mr. Whisker. Oh, and I have one more point," Harry recalled. "Please see to it that the Quidditch pitch will not be used for the tournament, as we will need it for our usual Hogwarts-wide Quidditch tournament."

"Harry." The old wizard gave him what Harry always thought of his grandfatherly smile. "There will be no Quidditch during the next school year."

"Professor, there will be Quidditch. They can either adapt the tournament to the school's needs, or there won't be a tournament." Harry's voice was firm and allowed no contradiction.

"Well said, well said." Flitwick jumped up on both feet in apparent excitement that strongly reminded Harry of Teddy.

#My my, when did you become so strong, little nestling? You seem to have stunned the old, grumpy one into silence.#

"Fawkes, behave yourself." Dumbledore shook his head in apparent annoyance. "Harry isn't able to understand you anyway."

"Dumbledore, please do not underestimate my heir." With that, Godric transformed into his phoenix form. #Come on, Harry. Transform as well.#

Fawkes let out a series of happy trills, apparently agreeing with the ancient wizard.