Disclaimer: I own nothing
(A/N: Here's the next chapter! It's a little longer than usual, but I'm sure you won't mind! My wonderful mother beta'd this chapter... didn't she do a great job? Anyway, as usual, read, and see my AN at the bottom.)
Chapter 13: Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the Chamber we go!
Hermione was currently in heaven. She was reading some very in-depth books about kneazles—her Animagus form. She glanced up quickly, and smiled at the sight of Ron and Ginny similarly engrossed in books about their Animagus forms. Of course, the very thought of Ron actually reading a book when he didn't have to made her smile widen.
A tapping at the window drew her attention, and she rose to open it. A familiar Snowy Owl flew in, sticking her leg out to Hermione. "Hedwig, what are you doing here?"
That made Ron and Ginny look up, and Remus, from where he had sat in the corner, looked her way.
"What does Harry say?" Ron asked, as curious as Hermione.
Hermione unrolled the note, and read over it quickly. Her eyes widened as she reread it, unable to believe her eyes. "Harry says that he's kidnapping us! We have to gather all of our stuff, and meet him downstairs."
Remus shot up, looking at the letter. He frowned as he read it.
Dear my new Marauders,
I know you're probably wondering why I'm writing you when I just saw you a few hours ago. Well, here's the deal.
I'm kidnapping all of you. I know, I'm not doing it properly, as I shouldn't have told you, but I kind of have to. I suspect that you probably got into a lot of trouble for escaping the Order, and won't be able to see me again until Hogwarts. Seeing as you're going to be Animagi, I can't allow that to happen. I know you swore, but I'm worried about what you'd do to be able to transform. No offense to Moony, but he was never an Animagus, and can't warn you about the transformation. Professor McGonagall is there, but I'd rather not have anyone know that we're going to be Animagi. After all, we do have to take after our predecessors, don't we? That means going illegal. Hermione, don't shudder at that. We're at war, and any extra advantages will help save our hides.
So, gather your stuff now. Including whatever books that Hermione's probably already searched the whole library for. You're not going to be back until next summer, as you're going to live with me in the Chamber of Secrets. I've already made accommodations for everything; all that's missing is you and your stuff.
As soon as you're done packing, get Moony to shrink everything, and come downstairs. Hedwig will guide you. Moony's welcome, if you can find him in time, to come with us. Make sure you burn this letter as soon as you read, and scatter the ashes. Yes, I'm being paranoid, but I'd rather not have anyone discover what we're up to, eh?
See you soon,
Harry
Ron and Ginny also read this, shocked. "You know, I think he's serious about it," Ron mused.
Hermione nodded. "I think you're right, Ron. Well, let's get to packing!"
The two Weasleys looked at Hermione, startled. "You mean you're not going to start wringing your hands, moaning about how this will surely make the Professors mad, and will get us into loads of trouble?" Ron asked. Hermione glared at him, and Ginny couldn't help but chuckle.
Remus decided to step in before an argument started. "I suggest we hurry. Tell me what needs to be packed, and I'll do it with my wand. It'll be much faster. And if you don't mind, I'll take Harry up on his invitation." He decided that he only lived once, and how else was he going to see Harry more?
The next few minutes, Remus didn't get much of a chance to rest his wand. While he was taking care of one teen's belongings, the other two were racing around, making sure they had everything together. As soon as he finished with the teens, he raced to get his own trunk packed. All of the trunks were shrunk, and put in their owners' pockets.
As they were all ready to go downstairs, Hedwig hooted, drawing their attention to the letter. Remus smiled sheepishly, and incinerated it with his wand, making sure to scatter the ashes around, to make sure it couldn't be brought back by magic. Some of the ashes even went out the window, scattering to the winds.
Satisfied that the wizards and witches were ready, Hedwig flew out of the room, followed by the three teens and former Professor. Hedwig almost wished she had a mouth to smile, as she heard her master a few floors below.
A few seconds later, the small group was greeted by shouts of an argument.
"…Do what I darn well please!" Came from the easily recognizable voice of Harry.
The Order was getting nowhere in their reasonable (to their eyes) reasons why Harry should stay at Headquarters. Foremost on the top of their list of "Top Ten Reasons why Harry needs to stay at Headquarters" was that Harry couldn't protect himself. Of course, they did seem to have a memory block of Harry's rather successful hiding place, and disappearance. They were currently trying to make Harry see that security was a big issue. They weren't succeeding.
"I got away from all of you, and managed to evade detection for a few weeks, and the only reason I'm standing here was because I chose to visit here. I can protect myself, and I proved that by hiding some place that no one except myself can get into, and I managed to slip out from under your watch, and stay hidden for over two weeks. You will not keep me here, and I will do what I darn well please!" Harry said angrily, keeping his wand ahead of him.
Dumbledore was standing at this point. "You are not safe, Harry. Here at Headquarters we will be able to protect you better."
Harry snorted in derision. "Like hell I'm not. If you are supposedly so good at protection, then how did I escape so easily?" he shot at them. He did try to play nice, but they weren't, so he wasn't.
A brief pause ensued, as every person present looked shocked at Harry's tone. Snape hid his emotions, and settled back to enjoy the show. Potter's potion had impressed the Potions Master, and if the brat was able to annoy Dumbledore that much, the Professor decided that Potter couldn't be all that bad. It was such a refreshing change to see Dumbledore annoyed, rather than the Headmaster annoying the Potions Professor.
Mrs. Weasley frowned. "Watch your language, Harry!"
"I want to be treated like an adult, but that's probably not going to happen either, is it?" Harry retorted. "With all due respect, if you will not treat me like an adult, then I will do the same to you."
"You are not an adult, Harry! Don't speak to us like that!" Mrs. Weasley radiated fury.
Harry restrained his snarl, reminding himself that the Weasleys were like a second family to him, and he didn't want to yell at the one motherly figure he had. "Again, with all due respect, Mrs. Weasley, I've seen more than anyone my age should've, more than anyone in this room has, save for perhaps Dumbledore. I've seen Voldemort rise again," Shivers ran through the crowd at the name, "I've been tortured by him, fought with him, had him in my mind, and have survived all five times I've encountered him. I've survived all three Unforgivables, a feat that has yet to be beat, if I'm not mistaken. I've driven away over a hundred Dementors, and watched a friend of mine, as well as my Godfather, die in front of my eyes. I'm underage, yes, but I'm not a child. I've never been a child, so stop treating me like one."
His words hung in the air, as he tried to calm his fury and memories that raged through him at the remembering of all the times he escaped Voldemort. The Order members seemed too stunned to speak at Harry's words.
Harry looked at the door leading into the house. "You guys can come in now." He said calmly.
The door flew open, and the girls immediately hugged him, sniffling. They had heard every word of Harry's tirade, and couldn't help the tears at the thought of all Harry had faced. Remus and Ron went to stand right behind Harry, in a silent show of support.
Harry gently disengaged the girls from his side. "Now, if you don't mind, we'll be leaving now."
That got Mrs. Weasley stirred up again. "What do you mean by that?" Harry winced as she positively screeched.
"I mean, we'll be leaving now. Since I cannot trust you to keep me safe, I see no reason to put my friends in danger by letting them stay here." Harry stared defiantly at the Weasley matriarch.
Dumbledore frowned, and was about to speak, but Harry beat him to it. "Yes, I know they're underage, yada yada, and all that stuff. They've agreed to come with me. You can't stop us, Dumbledore, so don't even try!"
"That is where you are wrong, Harry." The old wizard cast a strong Stunning spell out of seemingly nowhere.
Harry had to grant that the Headmaster was quick, but not fast enough. He had seen the wizard stealthily drawing his wand, and had taken some precautions. The spell hit the shield right in front of Harry's face. "No, I believe I'm quite right. You're fast, Headmaster, but I'm faster." Harry smiled pleasantly, as he revealed the wand in his hand. He'd drawn it when he was getting out of Hermione and Ginny's hug, and had set the shield up with a wave of his wand.
Dumbledore looked flabbergasted, and Harry's smile grew. "Really Headmaster, that was quite rude. Now, I believe our ride is coming. Good-bye to all of you, I had a really nice chat!" he said with a false smile and a ton of sarcasm.
Harry watched with satisfaction as Fawkes entered from behind Dumbledore, managing to scratch the Headmaster's head before the old wizard could duck. "Fawkes, aren't you his Phoenix?" he sent the Phoenix, a bit surprised.
The Phoenix mentally grumbled. "I'll explain later. Tell your friends to make sure they have a hold of my tail."
"Guys, grab hold of Fawkes's tail. If you want to say your good byes, you might want to do so now, as you won't see a lot of them until the start of next term."
The group grabbed the Phoenix's tail, and decided to not bother with good-byes; all of the Order looked furious.
Fawkes transported them all in a ball of flame, and the Order stared at the spot where they had been.
"Oh, we are in so much trouble!" Hermione moaned as soon as they appeared.
Harry laughed. "Yeah, we are! Isn't it great?" Hermione only moaned again, muttering something about how they were all going to get detentions for the rest of the next school year for this.
"Actually, Professor Lupin isn't a student, so he won't be getting any detentions," Ginny pointed out mischievously. Ron sniggered as Hermione looked as if she was going to bang her head against the nearest wall.
Remus sighed. "How many times must I tell you that I'm not your Professor any more?"
Harry grinned, and declined to comment. "Everyone have their stuff? I need to show you all your sleeping arrangements."
He looked at the partition, and thought of something else. He frowned, and directed his wand to the area, and suddenly, walls grew around the partition. His frown disappeared, and he nodded cheerfully at his guests, who had turned from their observation of the Chamber.
He led them toward the new boxed-in area. As the guests got closer, they realized that it was actually two boxed areas, one larger than the other, with a shared wall between. He opened a door to the smaller area, and gestured them all inside.
"This room is for the girls. If you want, I could make them separate rooms, but I thought that you'd like to talk to each other at night, and stuff like that." Harry explained, suddenly very nervous that they'd not like what he'd done.
His nervousness abated when Ginny squealed, and jumped on the nearest bed. "This is so soft! Harry, where'd you get these beds?"
Harry ran his hand through his hair, relieved. "I, uh, kind of transfigured them. They're not that bad, are they?"
Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at him incredulously. Harry felt nervous again, and his hand went through his hair again. "What?"
"That's… amazing, Harry! You transfigured all of this?" Ginny gestured with her hand.
Harry gave them a weak smile. "Uh… yeah? Really, it wasn't that hard…"
"Wasn't that hard? Harry, what you've done is amazing! I mean, transfiguring this much is…" Remus struggled to find the words. "Amazing. What did you use to do the transfigurations?"
"Well, the bed that Ginny's on was a pebble. Actually, come to think of it, I used a lot of pebbles." Harry grinned as he thought of what happened earlier. He had even climbed up on the walls, and searched all over the place for pieces of rock to use for the bedrooms.
"You're not serious?" Hermione said, and dropped down beside Ginny on the bed. "This is soft," she observed as she felt the mattress. "This must have taken a lot of time to do!"
Harry decided not to tell her that it really hadn't. Instead, Hermione stared off into space, and began to wonder out loud. "I mean, to be able to change a thing's nature so radically! To make a hard piece of small rock into a big, soft bed must have taken a lot of time!"
Harry coughed, uneasy. "Right. Um, would you like to see the guys' side?"
The girls jumped from the bed, and followed Harry out and to the next door. There were three beds in here, and looked exactly the same as the girls', except for the one on the far right. This one had emerald green covers, instead of the usual white. On the table beside the head of the bed, a few books lay beside a lamp, and at the foot was Harry's trunk.
"Um, as you can see, that's my bed. Moony, Ron, if you want to switch the beds around, or have separate rooms, just let me know, and I'll see what I can do. Oh, and all the mirrors don't talk. I still haven't figured out how they manage to do it." Harry mused.
Ron took a diving leap onto the middle bed. "Wow, you girls weren't kidding! These beds are soft!"
Hermione frowned as she watched Harry laugh, and started telling them all that if they wanted to change their cover colors, he would do it for them. She looked around the guys' room, still sensing something wasn't adding up, trying to look for clarification. Then, it hit her.
"Harry, how did you know Remus was coming? You couldn't possibly have done all this in such a short time! It wasn't more than an hour after we were dropped off and you came…"
"You should probably tell them, Harry. Not about your shifter abilities, but about the Beast Council. They'll find out anyway, and it's best if you start off now." Harry looked at Fawkes, and nodded. He hoped his friends would accept what he was about to tell them.
Harry sighed, as all his friends started. "Hermione, guys, all of you might want to sit down. I have some things to tell you about what's happened so far this summer." He went to sit down in his bed, and his friends spread out, sitting on the other beds and his, making sure that he could see them all. "You see, it all started about two weeks ago when I woke up…" He began.
Harry told his audience about what happened in the Death Eater attack, and how he could suddenly hear Hedwig. How he decided that he wanted to live his own life, and escaped. How he managed to get the Ministry spells off his wand (h didn't tell them who took them off), and came to the Chamber of Secrets so that he couldn't be found. How he discovered that the Beast Council, lead by Fawkes, had done some type of transfer, giving him different abilities, and a boost of power. How he was a Shadow Wolf, and what that meant. "…And that's how I managed to complete the Animagus transformation so quickly, and how I was able to do this much transfiguration in so little time."
The soon-to-be Marauders were in various states of shock, and Moony didn't know what to say. Harry gave them a weak smile. "So, uh, yeah, that's pretty much it."
After they got over the shock, his friends peppered him with questions. Harry managed to evade the more serious ones. They laughed when Harry told him the real reason behind the "owl epidemic," and teasingly asked to see what got it started. Harry obliged, and showed them his adorable "puppy dog eyes" face.
"Oh, and Ron, you'll be pleased to know that Aragog sends his regards. He says that me and my friends are safe." Harry grinned at the redhead, who paled.
"Thanks, Harry, but, uh, I'd rather not test that," Ron stuttered. Ginny and Hermione laughed, knowing how Ron hated spiders. Moony smiled.
Harry turned a bit serious. "Okay, joking aside, I need to tell you how all of this is going to work. I trust all of you, but guys and girls won't go into the others' area, unless the door is opened, or Moony is with us. Sorry Moony, but you're going to be our chaperone." Moony nodded, and Harry continued. "Unless I'm with you, we'll only be staying in the main chamber, so no exploring. There are probably areas that I still haven't found yet, that could be dangerous without a parselmouth. As I'm the only one around, I have to be with you if you want to go exploring."
The teens nodded. Harry smiled at them. "Another thing. Ron, as much as I know you're going to hate this, we'll have to make sure that we all keep up with our studies. I have plenty of materials here, and can always ask Fawkes to transport me to Diagon Alley if we need more. I've already done all of my homework, so I can help you, and Moony could as well, if you ask nicely. If any of you want to write your parents, Hedwig is here, and I can ask some other owls to come if you need them."
Ginny raised her hand, and Harry smiled. "Yes, Ms. Weasley?" The youngest Weasley giggled. "Mr. Potter, what are we going to do about showers and meals and the like?"
Harry frowned. "The meals are already taken care of. About the showers, I forgot about those, but I'll figure something out."
"How could you forget showers? Where did you get clean?" Ron asked.
"I've, uh, used the school's bathrooms to do all that stuff. Let me work this out, while you guys eat. Dinner should be on the table by now." Harry checked his watch.
Ron looked out the door, and was amazed to see a meal appear on the table. "How did that get there?"
Harry grinned. "Some of the house-elves stayed over the summer. I asked them nicely if they could prepare a bit of food for all of us over the summer. They were happy to do it, and Dobby delivers the food down here."
Hermione frowned. "Harry…"
Harry held up his hands to stop what she was about to say. "Yes, Hermione, I know. But really, it was the only way to make sure we were all fed."
Hermione sighed, and Ron grinned at her. "Don't worry, Hermione. Really, Harry saved our lives! Can any of us actually cook?"
"Good point. We'll talk about this later, Harry." Hermione glared at the black-haired teen.
With laughter, Harry's guests went to sit down and eat, while Harry went to figure out how in the world he would install showers and the like.
An hour later, he approached the table, exhausted. Moony and the others had finished by now, and were talking about the new arrangement. They watched as Harry collapsed at the remaining chair, and started wolfing down what food remained.
"Are you hungry, Harry?" Ginny asked, amused. Harry swallowed what he had in his mouth, bared his teeth, and growled at her. She giggled, and the others wore smiles on their faces. Moony wondered if any of them knew what Harry had just said in wolf language. It wasn't really nice, to say the least.
Harry finished eating, pausing only to glare and growl at those who teased him. Moony winced at the last growl; it was really lucky that the recipients of that couldn't understand what Harry had just said. The werewolf grinned as Harry looked at him, an amused glint in his eyes. Oh yes, Harry knew exactly what he was saying.
"Well, I fixed the bloody problem." Harry said as he leaned back, his stomach sated. "You now have your bloody showers and some bloody bath tubs, and even some bloody sinks."
"Watch your language, Harry!" Hermione frowned at him. Harry bared his teeth at her, and Moony chuckled at the human equivalent of saying, "Bite me."
"Hermione, I don't think Harry's in a good mood right now." Ginny stated the obvious.
Harry grunted, sipping at some pumpkin juice. The transfiguring wasn't that hard. It was figuring a way to get water to the bathrooms that confused and exasperated him. He'd had to make new pipes, attach them to previously existing ones, and get them all the way through the castle to the Chamber. Then he'd had to work out how to make sure that when someone turned the hot water handle, they got hot water, and the same with the cold water. Harry had just had to add some extras, and he was exhausted.
The work was worth it, though. Each of the residents had their own shower stall and sink. Both rooms had one big tub, which looked and functioned the same as the Prefect tub that Harry had encountered in fourth year. Harry figured that if they really wanted a bath, they could have one, and that wouldn't happen all the time, so there was no need for individual tubs. Besides, if he'd done any more plumbing, he was sure he would've gone insane.
"I suggest that all of you start unpacking, claim your beds, and all. If you need me, I'll be here, setting up a type of Common Room for all of us," Harry said, when he felt more civil.
Moony was dragged away to un-shrink trunks by the girls and Ron, leaving Harry to finish his goblet, and start looking for a nice place for a Common Room.
Well, there it is! I hope you like! Once again, I'd like to thank my mom, for beta'ing this chapter. Oh, and Spellcheck for the past chapters. ;-)
Review Response time!It's a slightly new format, but not that much different. Thanks to all those that reviewed!
Thanks to:
the momster (thanks mom, nice sn! ;-) ), Post-Scriptum (Fawkes only yelled at Albus for abandoning Harry. Albus tried to make amends by trying to spend some quality time with Harry... He didn't really get the point... ;-D ), HeWhoComesWithTheDawn (o-- for answering), Debbie (none correct, sorry), Bloodless Ace (:-D), jkarr (don't tempt me ;-) ), Treck (lol, no to all the above. o-- for #4), insanechildfanfic (w00t), PsychicLunar (lol, yes, I like lollipops), athenakitty (As you can see, "a bit peeved" was an understatement. None correct, sorry), lmill123 (did you like that?), Wytil (see previous comment), lone wolf blade (see previous previouscomment), DigiBonds, CastusAlbusCor (;-) cliffies are kinda fun!), HarrySlytherinson, TiaraShin, unknown (o--), mewer44444, Bukama Stealth (Yes. Yes I am.), shdurrani (If Fawkes hurt Dumbledore any more, he'd have to heal the old bugger), FireElemental (thanks for the support), wolf (I'll consider your comments), Ferdia (I don't think I live in a shoe ;-) ), NamelessHeretic (I plead the fifth), Cornflake (Erm, o-- for answering, but I'm not sure if that's right...), Shadowed Rains (;-D), george, Wren, Windy River, Dragnedge (Which Ramen Pride member are you? Sorry, forgot who all I told about my story. No names correct, sorry), jenstarfire (oo, so close on one name. No lolly for it, though. o-- for #4), Gangster-Potter, Jaypallas (I'll work on it), vimrods (o-- for answering), Behind Crimson Eyes (o-- for #4), Lina Thanatos, cherrity, Catnip070 (o-- for #4. I'll probably cycle through a bunch of formats for responses...), Tmctflyboy, Rachel Sedai (they are going to shorten it, here's a lolly for something I'm going to use! o--, and another for #4 o--), xkristy101 (o-- for #4), Sky year (you'll see), DaughterofDeath, bandgsecurtiyaw, rocky (o-- for answering, and ask mom! I already have names picked out), webb, Cynthia1850 (ouch), jabarber69, HecateDeMort, Linn-LovesPiperLeo, jenstarfire (later on, yes), CWR, tori, HermioneGreen (WB?), Frisky Muffin (interesting sn)
Well, there it is! I'll probably be cycling through some diff. formats, so be patient. In your review, if you suggest something, and I'll use it, I'll give lollies.
A&Q time!
Answers: NEXT CHAPTER! you'll find out then.
Questions:
1) You already know the questions from previous chapter(s) Last chance to guess
I can't really think of anymore questions. I'll try to make the next chapter longer, due to popular demand.
Until next update!