Chapter 34
Harry's mind often produced exceptionally good ideas. Occasionally those ideas weren't feasible due to a lack of resources. Such was the case this time. More men were needed. Several more regiments and battalions were briefed on magic and the wider universe. Everyone from the SAS to the Territorial Army. If they had the skills required, then they were recruited for this mission.
In the meantime, Moros had a few more suggestions for Harry. This lead them to the stargate in the Chamber of Secrets.
"If you have one of the power cells we can just use it to boost the range of the stargate."
"Stargates are only to be used for the transport of inanimate objects."
"We used them for thousands of years! It takes a fool to get hurt by one!"
"Look, if you want to use it then fine. We'll go to Atlantis and you can use that one. This stargate stays locked." Harry said firmly. "Now, will you please just enter the addresses into the map so we can go?"
Moros grumpily complied, muttering to himself all the while. He managed to hide the fact he was impressed by the intergalactic map Harry and his team of professors had created.
"There." He finished waspishly.
"Right, let's go." Harry said as he marched over to the portal. "Urk!"
"Forgetting something?"
Harry looked over his shoulder to see David and Tonks glaring at him. Tonks had a firm grip on his shoulder.
"Dave, you take the lead." Gemma instructed as she tried not to laugh at the sight of Harry trying not to fall over as Tonks pulled him back.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!"
Everyone turned to see Hermione come running down the stone pathway from the massive doors to the chamber.
She was completely out of breath when she reached them.
She couldn't talk and had to just grab Harry by the arm and sluggishly dragged him off.
Nobody paid attention to the grumbling Moros as Tracey shut down the portal.
"Lieutenant, please fire on the mannequin."
David rolled his eyes as he hefted his weapon. He had made it clear that the kids didn't have to use his rank, but Hermione still refused to call Filius or Minerva by their first names... or even Yoshiko! She always curtsied when she found herself addressing Toyotama.
"FIRING THREE ROUND BURST!" David shouted before pulling the trigger.
*BA-BA-BANG*
As everyone lowered their fingers from their ears, they let out various impressed noises. The mannequin, at the end of the special firing range of one of Binns' classrooms, was untouched, unmoved, undamaged.
"MAN ON THE RANGE!" David shouted before gesturing to Harry and Hermione to lead the way.
"That's a hell of a bulletproof vest, Hermione." David commented as they drew closer.
"All it is, is a bulletproof vest charmed and enscribed to act as a portal. A lot like the one in the Chamber of Secrets." Hermione smiled.
"Wow!" Harry grinned. "Where do the bullets go?"
Hermione removed a pouch from the side of the vest and handed it to Harry. "We don't have any uses for it yet, but if nothing else, they could be used for transfiguration in the field."
In the little pouch were the distended and squished projectiles.
"The major downside is that the portals currently require a flat surface, they don't extend to the arms or sides."
"Hell 'Mione!" David looked at her incredulously. "You have just saved thousands of servicemen's lives. This vest protects what is necessary, the vital organs."
Harry and his group were kitted out with the new vests. As this was supposed to be a peaceful diplomatic venture, it was deemed a good field test for them.
That being said, Harry had sent a polite message to the Asgard the day before. Unfortunately he used Ember to deliver it instead of Fawkes or Phoenix. God knows what mischief his little friend got up to.
Fortunately the Asgard were fairly hard to rile and they had an envoy waiting for them.
Unfortunately, Harry had insisted that Hermione accompany them for the test run.
"Roswell aliens!"
Everyone had to agree with her snap assessment. The Asgard did resemble the creatures of modern legend.
"Roswell. A small town on the continent you refer to as 'America'." One of the little grey men mused. "Yes, I believe there may have been some trouble with an observation ship."
"Well, that was a few decades before we were born." Harry shrugged. "And he was asleep for all of it." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Moros.
Moros scowled at him and moved in front, much to the displeasure of the girls.
"I am Moros, of the Alteran people. I descended several millennia ago to help prepare the humans of Earth for the possibility of the Ori invading their galaxy."
"We are pleased to greet one of the Ancients." Another little grey man stepped forward. "I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet and a member of the Asgard Council. This is Freyr and Baldur, they are also members of the council."
"I don't suppose your king is Odin?" Harry grinned.
"Odin was the head of the council before he died. This was many centuries ago." Thor nodded. "You recognise our names from the Norse culture. We were required to intervene when the Goa'uld were still active on Earth."
"May we know your names?" Baldur asked respectfully.
At this, Pansy stepped forward and curtsied. "May I present my Lord and King, Harry Potter. He rules the islands of Great Britain off the eastern coast of the European continent as well as being the head of the Commonwealth.
"The gentleman is Lieutenant David Macdonald, he along with Miss Nymphadora Tonks are His Majesty's personal bodyguards. This is Miss Hermione Granger, currently a student but a budding scientist."
Hermione just blushed.
"I am Pansy Parkinson and I am a consort of the King along with my friends, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Gemma Farley and Fleur Delacour."
"We are familiar with Britain." Freyr mused. "But not this Commonwealth."
"Britain conquered a good percentage of the planet and maintained an empire for some time." Harry shrugged. "As time and culture developed, personal freedoms were given higher values. The empire was disbanded in favour of a voluntary Commonwealth. Every country is independent but at the same time, they hold close ties to the throne of Britain."
Of course, what Harry didn't mention was that the magical side of the commonwealth was still considered part of the empire.
"It is good to hear that humans have come so far." Baldur said approvingly. "What brings you to our galaxy, I did not think humans had access to inter-galactic stargates."
"Technically I have the one on Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy. But we don't use stargates, too dangerous."
"You have developed engines capable of inter-galactic travel?" Freyr was impressed.
"Probably." Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We've never tested it as it would still take centuries to travel. At the moment we use a special portal. It's how we arrived here."
"Yes, whilst the feat is quite impressive, the fact that you managed to bypass the stargate and all our planetary defences is cause for concern." Thor said gravely.
"Information on creating the portals is one of our countries most classified secrets, sir." Hermione spoke up timidly, but trying to reassure them.
"And still you arrived on our planet."
"We did send a message." Daphne said, her expression beginning to darken at the insinuations. "Moros wrote it himself."
"Quite." Moros was feeling a bit insulted himself. "I used the same wording that Alterans used before they ascended. A phoenix voluntarily delivered the message and only one of our party is visibly armed."
"Apologies." Baldur said as he stepped between the two groups. "Things are not well for our people at this time. We face a relentless enemy and the possible end of the Asgardian people as a whole. We are wary of anything that may cause trouble for our people in light of these facts."
"What possible enemy could trouble the Asgard?" Moros was shocked.
"We call them the Replicators." Freyr answered. "They are an artificial lifeform with a hive mind and take the physical manifestation of metallic insects. They measure this wide and this tall." He held his arms a foot apart. "They consume all resources and use them to create more of themselves.
"Our weapons appear ineffective."
"Gem, make a note: Have someone from the Pottery Club contact the Asgard to help with these Replicators." Harry ordered.
"Done." The young woman nodded as she made the note.
"What is the, urm... thing that could end your people? It sounds like that might be more pressing." Harry asked.
The three asgardians shared a look. Baldur spoke up. "Forgive us, we are surprised that you are freely offering aid, or that you even might be capable of providing aid."
Harry grinned. "Like your colleague said, we bypassed all your defences."
Despite not wanting to be involved in the day-to-day running of the country, there was system in place that allowed for the courts and people to call for his personal attention.
He never expected Arthur Weasley to be the first person to call for it.
Harry was seated in a conference room at the Ministry with Gemma, Amelia, Augusta, Arthur and Adam Bowers, the head of the Wiggle-Muggle Relations Department.
It was the last department Harry was able to name before Amelia booted him from the building.
"Alright, Arthur, you called for this hearing, please explain things to me." Harry began.
Arthur cleared his throat, a little nervous at being in the same room as the ruling monarch. "I believe I am being unfairly discriminated against. I have applied for a position in the Wiggle-Muggle Relations Department three times and have been rejected each time. I was the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office for eleven years. I believe that, in of itself, is sufficient to prove my suitability for the department despite my Pureblood heritage."
Harry wrinkled his nose and turned to Adam Bowers. "Mister Bowers, what were the reasons for Mister Weasley's application being denied?"
Bowers was clearly frustrated at being brought to this meeting, but he maintained his professional demeanour. "Mister Weasley's record and his official documentation and application show that, despite being a competent head of department, he had a very poor grasp of muggles and their culture."
"Th-" Weasley's outburst was silenced by Harry's raised hand.
"Gemma, could I borrow a piece of paper and a pen, please?"
"My Lord."
"I just need a page, Gem."
"I've been carrying that around and putting your ideas in it. It is your notebook, Your Majesty."
Harry looked from the thin leather bound book to the woman at his side. He could see the triumphant amusement in her eyes.
He sighed and turned to a blank page. He'd make sure to do something extra nice for her later.
"Mister Weasley, please answer the following questions to the best of your ability:
"How do muggles make light for their homes?"
"They use a substance called 'Elekticity'." Arthur said firm in his 'knowledge'.
"What is the correct procedure for using a London bus?"
Arthur paled a bit at that. "Put your wand out and wait for it to stop."
"Bu-" Bowers was silenced by Harry's raised hand.
Harry thought for a few moments. "What subjects are muggle children taught in school?"
"I- I don't know." Arthur admitted.
"Last one then, what is the function of a rubber duck?"
"Ah ha!" Arthur said triumphantly. "A rubber duck is used to clean toilets and sinks. The muggles animate it and it produces a special liquid that is said to clean the surfaces."
Harry sat there, mouth opening and closing dumbly.
Gemma turned away and was trying extremely hard not to laugh.
Harry shook himself as Augusta cleared her throat. "Erm... I think I can see where you got that from. You've been watching adverts, right?"
Arthur looked very pleased with himself. "Yes. On the TeeVee."
Harry put his pen down, closed his book and sat back. "Mister Weasley, your knowledge of muggles is so bad that I will have to ask Minister Bones to give your department a serious investigation."
Arthur looked mortified.
"You can't even pronounce 'electricity'. You've mistaken fiction for science and quite frankly, if you attempted to catch a bus... you'd be dead."
"Or in prison for breaking the Statute of Secrecy." Bowers added.
"Mister Weasley, when it comes to working with muggles in a professional capacity, you are grossly unqualified. My advice is that you stick to what you know when it comes to your career and learn about muggles in your own time. Just, make sure you have a muggle raised with you if you head into the muggle world."
"But...I used the tube before!" He pleaded.
Harry had flashbacks to his first time through. He remembered having to pry the muggle coins out of Mister Weasley's hand to pay for the ticket.
"How many times before?" He asked cautiously.
"At least ten." Arthur said proudly.
"Arthur Weasley, you will present yourself to the Aurors. They will need to investigate whether you have broken the Statute of Secrecy and if you have broken any muggle laws.
"Amelia, Augusta, work with Mister Bowers, I want everyone in the magical world to be able to pass for non-magical." Harry was pretty pissed. He didn't want to be involved in things like this. Having to come down on a man he admired and respected was one reason why.
After his disaster of a meeting with Arthur Weasley, Harry stormed into the Department of Mysteries, it was now simply the headquarters of the Royal Society of Innovation. The office of the head of the department was luxurious, it had its own bathroom and lab as well as a small bedroom.
Harry had ordered Hermione and Dudley to make use of it together so that it would be ready for Terry when he was back on his feet.
Which was actually today.
Harry had given a royal order for Terry to be placed in the goa'uld sarcophagus. They knew the risks of addiction but as soon as Terry was healed, the sarcophagus was moved to Harry's personal lab and locked away. It was the same lab that held the instructions on making portals. Only Harry, Aurora, Terry and Hermione had access. Harry could enter on his own, but the others had to do it with him or in pairs.
"Ha- Oh bugger." Terry's smile vanished as he saw the black look on his young friend's face. "What happened?" He asked as he stood up and began to prepare some tea.
"I just had to send Arthur Weasley to the Aurors. He will probably just be cautioned... but I practically stomped on his dreams and then shat on them."
Terry winced and sent a spell at his desk. It sealed the room for privacy. "I know you were close to the Weasleys in your first life."
Harry shuddered. He hated that term: First life. It reminded him that he died.
"Arthur Weasley is a decent man, but his actions showed that he had little to no respect for muggles. He made a passing attempt at learning about them and then assumed he was an expert! He couldn't even pronounce 'electricity'."
"I'll have a word with the DMLE." Terry said as he placed the tray on the coffee table in the middle of the room. He then sat opposite Harry in his arm chair whilst Harry sat on the couch.
"Why?"
"I want to make sure he doesn't have any learning problems, like Greg. Unlike most pure bloods, Arthur Weasley made an effort."
"Because they amused him." Harry sighed.
"Why were you dealing with an inter-office dispute?" Terry asked curiously.
"He'd been through the proper channels and wanted to take it further. I was the furthest he could take it."
Terry frowned. "No. That's not right." He said firmly. "I'll speak with Minister Bones and the Chief Witch. You deserve better than this."
Harry gave a tired snort. "Yes Lord Higgs."
"It's your own fault for elevating me." Terry smirked.
"I do have a project I'd like your department to work on." Harry said as he sat forward.
Terry pulled his wand and summoned a notepad and pen from the desk. "Go on."
"I want the Obliviators to be put out of business. The only people they should work for are hospitals and your department. I don't want them going around and wiping people's minds because, through no fault of their own, they witnessed magic.
"I want you to create a spell or potion or something that will prevent people from talking about it to those who don't know. Something that will stop little children from accidentally blabbing as well."
Terry knew that Harry had some fairly bad experiences with the memory spell. Lockhart had been exposed whilst he was a student himself.
"I'll have a team start on it immediately."
"Don't forget to ask other countries for advice."
"Out Harry! Go and play with your harem or something! Leave the work to your subjects."
Harry grumbled as he apparated from the couch. As the magically recognised king, British wards meant nothing to him.
Terry walked to the door of his office, opened it and sighed. "He's gone back to Hogwarts." He informed Gemma and Tonks who were waiting patiently for Harry.
"I'm going to kick his scrawny ass." Tonks muttered as she stood and left. She missed a hastily reappearing Harry as a result. He spent a good ten minutes apologising to Gemma.
He later spent twenty minutes getting tossed around the room by Tonks in a 'self-defence class'.
"I AM MOROS OF THE ALTERANS. I. SEEK. A. MEETING!"
Harry and his group grimaced at the volume the former ascended being was putting out. They had been on the planet for an hour and he had been calling out and trying to get the attention of the Nox for all that time.
Moros was getting pissy.
"Let's just leave." Harry whined. "It's a nice enough planet, why spoil things for them?"
Moros whirled on him angrily. "The Ancients, the Nox, the Furlings and the Asgard were part of the Alliance of the Four Great Races. We swore to always heed the call of the others."
"The Alliance died a long time ago."
The group turned to see a young woman with wild hair that had leaves and stick growing from it.
"The Asgard failed in their choice of guardian and the Ancients left this plane of existence. The Furlings... suffered at the hands of their own chosen guardians." She said calmly.
"Falling into disarray is not the same as dying." Moros said sternly. "It is true that we would have shunned any call made by the younger species, we would have refused direct and personal intervention should the Alliance have asked, but we would have answered the call from any of the Four. The fate of the Furlings is... disturbing."
"You come on behalf of the humans, not the Ancients." She countered. "You are not ascended."
"We weren't ascended when we helped found the Alliance." Moros retorted. "Ascension was not part of the requirements of membership."
"We know why you have come." She sighed. "We will have no part in violence. It is no longer our way."
"You want to remain in solitude." Harry said as he stepped up.
The woman inclined her head. "We are content with our ways. We have been on this plane for millions of years. I have personally seen the fall of civilisations. We will have no part in it."
"Ok, I wish you well." Harry said simply. "We are done here." He said to Moros firmly.
"They have an obligation-"
"Moros, the woman just stated that she watched civilisations fall." He turned back to her. "How did they fall?"
"Most fell to atrocities by the Goa'uld. Some were the instruments of their own destruction."
"See. I don't really care to associate with someone who can sit back and watch others suffer."
The woman quirked an eyebrow at that, but remained silent.
"Incidentally, the violence you want to avoid? It will come for you regardless. I've read about you in the archives of Atlantis. You left your own imprints on my planet. I know of the magic of the wood nymphs." Harry drew his wand and waved it across the sky. "Revellio."
The girls gasped as a massive city shimmered in to view in the sky.
"If I can find it, so can others. The Goa'uld will descend on your people like a ravenous beast. No one is asking you to fight. But sharing ideas and aid so that we can all survive? That we can expect of decent people."
Harry turned and left. The others followed leaving Moros to shake his head in disgust at the woman... who was showing her first emotion of the day: Shock.
On returning through the portal to the Chamber of Secrets, they were greeted by Teyla... and twenty individuals in uniforms pointing weapons at them.
"Teyla." Harry said neutrally.
"Forgive me Harry." She said, clearly upset. "They threatened my people if I did not bring them."
"So... not friends of yours?"
"They were... once."
"Silence!" A tall man with tanned and scarred skin snapped. He strode up to David. "You are this King? You will give us the codes to Atlantis and the plans for your portals and ships."
"I can't." David answered with a dark look. "They are buried beneath unbreakable protections. Atlantis is bound to my blood and DNA."
"Then we will take your blood."
*BANG*
"Did it work?" Harry asked calmly as both the scarred man and David looked down at David's chest.
"Felt nothing." David was clearly surprised. He had been steeling himself for a lot of pain.
"Excellent. Hogwarts, let's trying and keep a few alive for interrogation and... fun."
The invading soldiers paled at the look of glee on the kid's face.
Then came the sound. The horrifying grinding of stone, the type one associates with a ceiling descended.
But it came from the walls. The walls seemed to vibrate and crumble, figures stepped out, completely made of stone. There were dogs, large cats, snakes and even birds.
"FI-!" The scarred man dropped like a rock.
"On your knees, hands behind your heads, or they will break all of your limbs." Harry gestured to the approaching rock creatures, his wand pointed at them.
The soldiers shared a look and began firing at the figures.
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated before Ember flamed in, dropped off Blinky and then flamed out with Teyla.
Blinky: Now four years old. Devoted to his daddy. Thirty feet long, three foot in diameter.
Pissed.
The soldiers: Originally numbered twenty. Down to nineteen. Assumed a superior position due to stealth, surprise and blackmail.
Pissed themselves.
Harry: Fifteen. King of Britain. Loved by most.
Smug.
"Teyla, what sort of force did the bastards leave with your people?" Harry asked.
They were aboard his ship in the briefing room that had been created for his soldiers. Dudley was currently flying.
"They came with fifty men and women. They had weapons like Lieutenant Macdonald's, but, as you saw, they were different. They are called the Genii. We always believed them to be simple people like ourselves. Farmers, merchants... we never saw any signs of technology like this."
"Teyla, what sort of defences did they set up?" David asked kindly. "Have they been hurting your people?"
"I did not see much. I only came after they ki- killed Jinto."
Harry growled. Jinto was Halling's son. A young boy who was barely three.
He turned to the soldiers. "Bury the stargate. Capture everyone you can but kill if you have to.
"I won't be with you. I need to speak to the higher ups about spanking the Genii as a whole." A second later he had left the room.
Harry arrived at the Athosian's village with four ships filled with soldiers of all trades. Engineers, medics, riflemen, administrators... they immediately began setting up a temporary base a mile away from the village whilst the medics tended to the people.
Harry had sought out Halling and found him being consoled by his brother, Jallen. Jallen could pass for an older Harry with his black hair and new glasses.
Jinto... the little black haired boy was not dead, but he might as well have been.
"Halling, you have to let me take Jinto." Harry said earnestly. "I- I might be able to save him."
Tonks was running healing spells on the toddler, he had been shot in the head, he would be severely brain damaged... unless Harry put him in the sarcophagus.
"Go!" Jallen said desparately, pushing Harry to Jinto. "Save him!"
Harry roughly grabbed the unconscious boy in his arms. "Ember!"
Tonks was just fast enough to grab hold of Harry.
"Tonks, here." Harry handed the toddler to his bodyguard as they arrived in his lab. He quickly moved to the sarcophagus and opened it. "Put him in."
Tonks carefully laid the boy down and Harry closed the lid. "Harry, I thought you put a ban on that thing." She pointed out worriedly.
"If you use it often you can become addicted to it. But I intend to see that Jinto never needs it again. One time won't hurt him."
Tonks let the issue drop. She only ever gave him a hard time about when he went off without her. He had certainly earned her trust and respect by virtue of how he treated everyone.
"What's the plan for the Genii?" She asked.
"We interrogate the ones we captured. Learn the names and locations of their leaders. Then we invite them to have a chat."
Tonks was pretty sure that Harry had a different interpretation of 'invite' than she did.
"So, Mister Cowen, how have you enjoyed your stay so far?"
Cowen looked up at the boy standing outside the bars to the cell. Smirking at him.
"Informative." He replied evasively.
Harry just leaned in closer. "You do realise that you admitted to us that you intend to steal all our technology? The truth serum we used is full proof."
"I don't steal." Cowen shrugged. "But I will acquire and confiscate on behalf of the Genii."
"Not to mention murder, threaten-"
"Simply removing obstacles and convincing people." Cowen sat back.
"And what did three-year-old Jinto do to be an obstacle?"
"Perhaps he didn't do enough to get his parents to obey."
Harry just nodded thoughtfully. "Right, so you are completely irredeemable. You're gonna die, question is when, where and how painfully."
"You don't have what it takes to be an interrogator." Cowen chuckled. "You give up too easily."
"Oh, I'm not the interrogator. I just wanted to meet the monster who sanctioned the murder of my friend's son." Harry held up his hand to stop Cowen from talking. "Save it. I'm not interested. Like I said, you're irredeemable and you're going to die."
"You ok Harry?"
Harry was sat at his desk, staring blankly at the paper that rested there. It was filled with details about the raid made by the SAS and their new magical technicians. They had gutted the Genii government. It was practically a military dictatorship.
"Yeah, Pans. Just tired."
"You really should try not to get involved so much." She said as she walked over and perched on the edge of the desk. "You have a whole army and government to do it for you."
"I don't really have a choice. These things tend to fall right in my lap."
"Well, we have been talking to some people. Colonel O'Neill, Moros, David, Professor Dumbledore, we've come up with some ways to make it easier on you."
"Such as?" He sat back and gave her his full attention.
"We are finding a secluded area away from civilisations and important places where a base can be created to house the portals and the stargate. That will mean you aren't so close to it if more people like the Genii try to pull anything."
"I'm going to have to go through so much paperwork every time I want to go off planet." He groaned.
"No, but you will have to let people know you want to go so they can add to their schedules." She said teasingly.
"Pans, tell me the truth, do you think I should dismantle the portals and bury the designs? We're talking about the ultimate weapon here." He elaborated at her shocked look. "Imagine if China, North Korea or Russia got their hands on them... what if the Genii or Goa'uld did?
"They would be able to send a weapon, a bomb, an army to any location. Imagine we were sitting down to dinner in the Great Hall when all of a sudden a nuclear weapon appeared on the staff table.
"Bloody hell! I just used it to over throw a whole planetary government! Th-"
"Harry!" Pansy put her hands on his shoulders and sat on his lap, she needed to break his current tirade. "Harry." She said softer. "I think... I think you are looking at this in the wrong way." She took a deep breath and continued. "Instead of trying to destroy this amazing work because it could be abused, why not focus on methods of preventing it from being used against us?"
Harry was confused.
"What I mean is- " Pansy paused as she gathered her thoughts. "Ascended beings can't get into Hogwarts because of her wards, right?" Harry nodded once. "Then create a new ward that prevents the portals sending people to restricted areas."
Harry looked down at his lap... well, Pansy's lap as she was covering his. His brow was furrowed in thought. He eventually began to speak, but it was clearly he was talking with himself.
"Wards are life long." He muttered. "I can control Albion's wards easily."
Pansy's eyebrow rose at that. She didn't even know there were country wards in the first place. She remained silent though.
"But wards are just energy. I could also use a shield. A disruption field. No. That would be unnecessarily messy. Shields are strong and sturdy but they are fairly blunt in what they do. A ward could be used to redirect in case someone made an honest mistake."
Pansy quietly spoke a request. "Dobby, please get Harry's pensieve."
Two seconds later the little guy was standing there with the massive bowl.
"On the desk please, Dobby." She requested as she slid off Harry's lap. "Harry, put your thoughts in the pensieve so you can remember and focus on them later." She gently instructed as she pulled him forward in his chair.
When Pansy and Harry left the room they joined the others and headed down for dinner. Harry was accosted by Moros.
"Those golems that came out of the walls downstairs, what are they?" He asked curiously.
"You know how Hogwarts can control the suits of armour to an extent? It's similar to that except that she can make them when she wants. I taught her the runes, charms and so on and now she can walk around her own body."
"And she is very appreciative!"
The occupants of the Great Hall gasped as a six foot tall golem walked in with the Sorting Hat on its head.
"Hogwarts made this on her own?" Harry asked in surprise.
"This and so much more, my young friend." The Hat said happily.
Harry closed his eyes with a beautific smile. "That'a girl."
"Just how sentient is this castle?" Moros asked in wonder.
"As sentient as you or I, young man." The Hat said sternly. "Sentient enough to be able to identify as a female."
"I'm sorry, I fail to understand." Moros was confused.
"Hogwarts is female. She has a name. It is polite to refer to someone by their name or gender, especially when they are in earshot."
Moros finally understood he was being admonished and merely ducked his head in acknowledgement.
