[A/N: Here's a short-ish chapter to hold you while I finish up the Makers' Faire chapter.]

Harry was in Potter's Place working on a new glazing experiment. The idea had been born after catching another first year idly blowing bubbles in his chocolate milk and that sparked an interesting idea. Standing at his crafting table, he took a glass and put in three tablespoons of water, one tablespoon of glaze undercoat, three drops of liquid soap and stirred it until it was combined. Next, he took one of his spare bisque fired bowls, put it in a larger tray and using a straw, created bubbles in the glass and allowed them to spill over the surface of the bowl.

After letting it dry and the bubbles to pop on their own, he gave it an overcoat of clear glaze and let that dry before putting it in the kiln. When he pulled it out, he examined it for any defects but overall, he was pleased with the effect. The rings of bubble 'shadows' had feathered edges and looked quite nice. He made a note in his design book and put the bowl aside. At the sound of a throat being cleared, he looked up to see Professor Snape standing in the 'gallery,' quietly examining a cute, rounded zebra-shaped planter.

"Professor," Harry acknowledged, "Was there something you needed?"

"No, not really. Just curious as to what you were working on. I haven't had the opportunity to see your latest works."

Harry nodded politely, "If you see anything or have any questions, please let me know."

"I will. Thank you."

While Harry was busy working on another couple of experiments, Severus continued his examination of the displays. The craftsmanship was as always, exquisite. It still amazed him that the son of James Potter had talents that the elder Potter never showed. True, the boy did pull a few pranks here and there but nothing to the level of his father and definitely not malicious in any way. It was a nice change of pace. 'Not to mention that I enjoy watching the boy work with the ceramics. It's relaxing and soothing.'

"Mr. Potter?" Harry looked up, a paintbrush resting between his lips, "Would you happen to have more of those light-reactive ingredient jars?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips in thought before rising and moving over to his storage cabinet, digging through the collection of boxes. He pulled back with a puzzled expression and tapped his chin with a finger. "I could've sworn I had more. Are they critically needed cause it'll take a couple of days for me to make them."

"No, they're not critical but it would still be nice to have a few extra on-hand."

Harry walked over to his order book and made an entry, "Okay, professor. I should have it ready by next Wednesday."

Severus inclined his head in acceptance, "Thank you, Mr. Potter." He then left the studio.

Springtime rolled around and the castle and grounds were waking from their long wintertime slumber. The hills and fields came alive with swaths of blooming flowers and the skies were filled with chirping birds and humming bees. Harry spent the morning one Saturday sweeping out the accumulated dust and debris of Potter's Place. The studio and its outdoor 'courtyard' had gained popularity as being the 'cool' place to hang out with friends when wandering up and down the Row. Millie Bulstrode had an easel set up and was in the middle of re-creating the scene that Harry had inadvertently presented.

Harry looked up and spotted her glancing in his direction with a small smirk on his face. He smiled back in response but didn't say anything. As he opened one of the windows to let in some more fresh air, he saw Hermione approaching.

"Hey, Hermione! What's up?"

"Hi, Harry. Nothing much, just wanted to see what you're up to."

"Just doing some spring cleaning and Millie's here working on another painting. I got some pottery blanks if you want to do some glazing?"

She nodded happily and entered the studio whilst pulling back her hair from her face. Harry got her set up at one of the worktables and pointed out where the brushes and glaze jars were.

"Don't worry about following a particular pattern, just let your creativity take you where it wants to go. If you make a mistake, just use a damp cloth to wipe away the mess and start over. Remember, even a tiny mistake can have some interesting results."

Terry Boot swung by later to see what Harry was up to and to find out if he were interested in getting together to study for their upcoming Defense test. He poked his head into the studio with the question on his lips only to see a sight that made it die a quiet death. Harry was sitting behind Hermione at one of the pottery wheels with his arms wrapped around her waist as he guided her hands in sculpting a bowl. It was such a touching scene that Terry was loathe to interrupt.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone tapped on his shoulder. Whirling around, he saw that it was the Weasley twins. 'That's cause enough to be jumpy. I swear they need to wear some sort of cowbell to announce their presence.' Terry put his finger to his lips and gestured at the romantic scene playing out in front of them. The twins smiled when they saw it and nodded as they pulled back.

"Not a problem," Twin One whispered.

"We can get together later," finished Twin Two just as quietly.

At the spring meeting of Artist's Row in Potter's Place…

Harry merely observed the goings-on and conversations that the other members of the Artist's Row were having while relaxing in his favorite chair and occasionally tending to the fire in the dragon heater. Some of the others were currently discussing techniques in mixing the proper ratio for a general purpose cleaner for horsehair paintbrushes while those of the different disciplines were swapping tales or deals for this and that. A couple of the artists were experimenting with adding ingredients to a cauldron simmering quietly on the stovetop. Harry's nose told him it was some kind of tomato soup.

A third year Gryffindor leant over, "Thanks again for letting us hold the meeting here, Harry."

Harry waved his hand dismissively, "It's not a problem and I rather enjoy it. It's interesting to listen to everyone's thoughts on how to improve a technique or recommend a solution to a problem."

They turned back to the conversation as it was wrapping up. When their nominal leader asked if anyone had any other questions or conversation ideas, Harry raised his hand.

"I had this wild idea…"

In Professor McGonagall's office…

"Professor? Do you have a moment?" Minerva looked up to see Harry nervously standing outside her door.

"Sure, Mr. Potter. Come on in and have a seat. What's on your mind?"

Harry gingerly sat down in the offered chair and nervously picked at his fingernail for a moment, "Well, the thing is… um, you see… sigh. We in the Artist's Row were hoping to get permission to hold an art sale and gallery exhibition or as it's known in the muggle world as a 'Makers' Faire.' We would open it to the school and if it's possible, to the townspeople of Hogsmeade."

Minerva gazed at the messy, raven-haired boy and smiled internally. She had a number of his pieces as well as a couple of other works from the other artists in the school. "Just Hogsmeade? I would think you'd want to open it up to anyone who wished to visit?"

"That'd be great though I have no idea whom to contact within the Ministry," he replied.

She leant back in her chair and thought for a moment, "Well, how about writing an announcement to the Daily Prophet and include in there that it's open to everyone who wishes to attend?"

Harry agreed with that, "What about the parents of the students? I know that my aunt and uncle would love to see the school."

Minerva shook her head against that idea, "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. We don't have enough of those runic pendants like the one that Doctor Granger used."

Harry hummed in contemplation before perking up, "Are they that difficult to make? What about that Knight Bus I've heard the other students talking about?"

Minerva chuckled at his zeal, "Same problem. The Knight Bus is more like a ride on one of the Gringott's vault carts than a proper mode of transportation. The pendants aren't all that difficult to make. You could probably churn out a full dozen in a matter of an hour. It becomes a problem because the runes have to be engraved by hand and Professor Babbling is busy. Sorry…"

Harry shrugged though still upbeat, "It's no problem. Will you help me draft the notice to the newspaper?" Minerva nodded and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a spare quill.

Harry thought about the runic pendants again later in the evening after everyone had gone to bed. Deciding that sleep was going to elude him until he solved the problem, he opened up his trunk and climbed down into it. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water before heading into his indoor studio. While nowhere near as well equipped or stocked as Potter's Place, it did have a basic set of his most commonly used tools. He dug around in his toolbox and came up with his wooden rune punches. He then grabbed a couple of handfuls of air dry clay and began shaping them into simple ovals before pressing the necessary symbols for the null-magic rune arrays like the one that Dan Granger had worn.

Once they were pressed and dried, he used his wand to infuse them with magic. He watched in fascination as the magic slowly spread through the array and glowed green, showing that the magic had accepted the array. Smiling broadly that he'd solved the problem as he saw it, he nodded and put them in a pouch to be handed off to Professor Babbling in the morning for approval.

Morning came and Harry approached Professor Babbling. He explained what the problem was as it was described by Professor McGonagall and his solution to the situation. He showed her his wooden rune punches and asked her to confirm his theory. Professor Babbling pulled out her own wand and with a few deft flicks, a complicated and ethereal mist rose from the pendant. Glowing green symbols and numbers floated in the air, it was obviously something that she understood and caused her to grin widely and nod once in acceptance.

"Exquisite work, Mr. Potter! You say you did this last night?"

"Yes, ma'am. I couldn't sleep and decided to just try and solve the problem. Judging by your reaction, I'd say it was a success?"

"Most definitely. If you were in my class, this would be worth an easy Outstanding. Do you have any write-up on it?"

Harry shook his head, "No, professor." He shrugged, "I just used the same pattern that was on the necklace pendant that Dr. Granger wore then gave it a shot of magic from my wand."

Professor Babbling handed back the pendant, "When you get to the end of second year, you'll be asked to choose two electives. Based on this work, I'd like to see you in my class."

Harry smiled shyly a bit, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, professor."

With the approval of the test piece, Harry got to work mass-producing the fired versions. He set up an assembly line of sorts and enlisted the aid of a couple of other students. One used a form that he'd created to mold an oval shaped lump of clay. Each form was capable of creating a batch of forty. The next pierced a hole in one end for the eventual installation of a string and arranged them on a tray to partially dry. The third in line took down a previously finished tray and pressed the completed rune array into the leather hard clay. Harry asked a seventh year rune student set up a warded drying rack to accelerate the drying process. Harry was also in charge of loading the completed pendants into the kiln to be fired.

By the end of the day, they'd churned out nearly a thousand pendants. Harry shook hands with his workers and congratulated everyone for a job well done. "I'm really impressed and incredibly grateful for your efforts and time that was spent getting these ready for the parents. I'm hopeful that by next weekend, we'll have the entire job completed."

Tuesday afternoon, Harry was in the Great Hall for lunch. He sat at the Gryffindor table talking with Neville though he kept glancing at the teacher's table. After trying to keep his friend's attention, Neville finally asked him what was going on.

"Am I that boring, Harry?"

Harry turned back to his friend, "Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, Neville. I'm just waiting for Professor McGonagall to fall victim to a prank I set up."

That caught the attention of the Weasley twins who were sitting nearby.

"Did we hear correctly?" asked Twin One.

"Did Harry Potter set up a prank?" asked Twin Two.

Harry grinned evilly, "Yup. It's another one of those non-magical pranks. See that can of candied pecans with the pink ribbon sitting in front of the dear professor?" The twins and Neville nodded. "Contained within is a spring-loaded fake snake that will pop out when she removes the lid."

Sure enough, Professor McGonagall let out a shriek of surprise when she removed the lid and the colorful fake snake jumped up and out of the canister. The Hall erupted in laughter as she gasped and patted herself on the chest as she tried to get her heartbeat to slow down. She glared down at the Gryffindor table in the general direction of the twins.

Harry and Neville managed to escape from the collateral damage of McGonagall yelling at the twins for something that could've only been one of their pranks. They vehemently denied it and tried to pin it on Harry but she wouldn't be swayed. When the twins found the two firsties slumped up against the wall just outside the Hall, laughing their butts off; they congratulated Harry on a successful execution of the prank.

"Impressive, young Harrykins." Said Twin One.

"Indeed, brother of mine. It's not everyday that someone manages to get the two of us." Concluded Twin Two.

They patted him on the shoulder and left with large grins on their faces. Harry turned to Neville and asked if he had anything on his face or back. Those evil smiles from the twins never boded well for the recipients. Neville shook his head and gestured with his hands that he couldn't see anything but that didn't mean anything.

"I know that they do have the capability of casting wandlessly so I'd recommend finding a teacher to cast a detection charm."

"Do you know how to cast a finite charm?" Neville thought for a moment before shaking his head no.

Harry glanced back into the Hall, "Alright, never mind. I'll go see if Professor Flitwick is available. I want to stay away from McGonagall until she stops growling."

That weekend found Harry busy cataloguing everything in his studio, pulling and sorting the pottery to be displayed and potentially sold at the upcoming art sale. He figured he'd be up late finishing up some of his nesting dish and cookware he'd been experimenting with. These were made to look like various vegetables and brightly painted. He included his utensil and book rests that looked like various fish and other marine life. He smiled as he found a salt and pepper shaker set that looked like two koalas hugging each other. 'Like Hermione and I. Cute and always hugging.'

He was so involved with the organization he didn't realize just how late it was getting.

"Mr. Potter?" He jumped and nearly dropped a large vase on the floor. He whirled around and spotted Professor Sprout looking in with a curious expression on her face.

"Professor! You startled me. Sorry, was there something you needed?"

Pomona Sprout chuckled lightly, "It's nearly curfew. I wanted to stop by and see if you were okay." Harry checked the clock on the wall and felt his mouth drop open in surprise.

"Wow, it really is late. Okay, just let me put this away and I'll head back unless you want to stick around for a few?" Pomona nodded and took a seat as she watched Harry quickly pack up.

"So how are things coming along for the Artists Faire?"

Harry smiled happily, "It's amazing! I never realized just how…I hate to use the word 'starved,' maybe 'eager' would be a better choice to use to describe the energy everyone seems to have. I've also heard a rumor from the Council that the name is going to be changed from 'Artists' Faire' to 'Makers' Faire.'" He grimaced, "Really the same thing, I prefer the first one, though." Pomona chuckled.

"I heard from Professor McGonagall about getting the muggleborns' parents up here using the Express and that it was your idea."

"More like a wild thought that happily bore fruit. I'm still surprised that no one's ever thought about it before."

Pomona shrugged, "Well, it's not easy coming up with dozens of charmed bracelets that would negate the anti-muggle charms that protect the castle and grounds."

Harry paused and turned to look at her with a curious expression, "I don't know why that is. I had an assembly line of some friends of mine and we churned out a couple of thousand pendants complete with the rune array in one weekend."

"A couple thousand?"

Harry nodded distractedly as he finished putting away the last of his pieces, "Uh-huh. I built a couple of forms to assist in keeping everything pretty much standard. The rune array was embedded in the pendants using a wooden 'punch' as was the hole for the necklace string. Once each batch was done, I fired them in the kiln."

Pomona shook her head in amazement as she escorted him back to the Puff Common Room.