Last time…
Harry spent a rather enjoyable three hours being stroked and talked to by Hagrid, and sniffed and pawed at by Fang. The dog didn't seem to mind him, but was merely curious. Harry smiled to himself at the picture they must make.
He looked out the window and saw that it was nearly dawn. He stood and stretched, his ten-foot wingspan taking up nearly the whole cabin. He then walked over to the door and looked at Hagrid expectantly. The giant seemed sad to let Harry go, but he had enough sense to know that if he forced a gryphon to stay in a place it didn't like, it would most likely force its way out and never return.
"You will come back and visit, won't you?" he asked, and Harry nodded. He took
off into the gray morning sky, and made his way back towards the castle. Today would be a good day.
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Harry went to Divination that day in light spirits. He was determined not to let Trelawney get him down, no matter how many times she predicted his death.
He sat with Dawn again, and they sniggered as Trelawney announced that she would be beginning palmistry this semester.
"The left hand, children, reveals your traits and characteristics. The right hand reveals what lies ahead for you, including victories and defeats, so we will begin with that today. I have already explained the lines to you, and your books will be used as references. Begin, and I will walk around and help you individually as needed."
Dawn wasted no time in taking Harry's right hand and examining it closely.
"Hmm. Oh, very grave, mister Potter," she deadpanned. "Your Apollo line seems to be invisible, indicating that you are not content with life. Your life line is broken and short, therefore indicating that death lies in wait for you somewhere. Your head line indicates that you cannot focus well, which tells me that you will suffer death from carelessness. And your heart line says that you are in emotional turmoil. Therefore, I predict that you will die in exactly six point eight days. You will fall head over heels in love with McGonagall, and propose to her on a windy clifftop. She will turn you down, and you will walk away only to fall off the cliff into the mouth of a lion who is on fire. Very tragic indeed, Mister Potter," she finished gravely, an utterly somber and desolate look on her face.
Harry couldn't help it; he started to snigger quietly. Trelawney instantly swept over to him and shrieked as she saw his hand.
"Mister Potter, it appears that Miss Rowland is correct! Death lies ahead, my boy, and sorrowful times!"
Harry was hard pressed to keep in the laughter, as Dawn was making horrid faces over the teacher's shoulder. Padma was chuckling as well, though Lavender and Pavarti were glaring at them. Trelawney looked sadly at Harry, and patted his hand gently.
"Class dismissed. This tragedy is too much to bear."
Dawn clapped him on the back as they exited.
"Oi, Harry, keep predicting your death, and we'll get out of class early every time!"
Harry smiled and made his way to the Library, wanting to check over the books and remove any that might have any clues about him or Adara. He'd seen Snape looking at both of them suspiciously, and he knew that he'd detected concealing charms on one or both of them. They could be detected, but not broken—at least not the kind that he and Adara were using. He was concealing many of the cuts and scars that he had received during training, and of course, his Power-mark, which was shown as an intricate green band that ran around his head like a crown of intertwined vines and leaves.
It was permanently tattooed into his skin, put there by his own magic when he had achieved his mastery of the elemental magics. Adara's was a pattern of tiny stars that ran all the way up her arms, because of her affinity for the sky and night. Adara, of course, was concealing her own Power-marks and her obvious Elven heritage.
Harry knew that if Snape found out about any of this, they would both be discovered. So he had to go to the library and make sure that there weren't any books in there that had the counter-charm to their concealing spells.
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He walked into the library late that night, after everyone else was sleeping.
He stood in the very back and whispered a charm that would tell him if there were any books that held the necessary information. It was dead useful in the Elven libraries back at the Vale, which could hold thousands of shelves and millions of books.
He felt a slight tug on his wand hand, and followed it until he reached the Restricted section. He quickly cast the Invisibility charms on himself, and disarmed all of the alarms in the section, just in came he heeded to take it from the library.
He stepped into the Restricted section, and looked around. The tugging drew him to an aisle in the very back. He stepped around a shelf, and gasped. Snape was standing there, browsing through the shelf!
Snape looked up at the sudden intake of breath, and Harry berated himself for his careless mistake. Maybe he would die by his own carelessness!
Snape went back to browsing, however, and Harry carefully and stealthily crept up beside him. He scanned the shelf, and his eyes rested on the book that he knew contained the answers that Snape was looking for. Fortunately, Snape was on the other end of the shelf, and wasn't looking. Harry snuck over to it and grabbed it out of the shelf, glad that he had put out the alarms.
He carried it carefully out of the Restricted section and out of the library, unaware that Snape had looked up to see the book floating out of the door. He walked up to the Astronomy tower, sure to be vacant on a cloudy night such as this. He didn't know that a black-cloaked, shadowy figure was following him.
Once he got up to the top of the tower, he opened the book and flipped through the pages until he saw the one that held the answers.
There are many types of concealing charms, it read, but among the lesser known and used are the Illusion-based charms. These depend on the caster's ability to set a spell into something permanent, such as a pendant or bracelet that never leaves the caster's body. They are set in three layers—first, the layer that is set directly above the skin, that can conceal anything that is directly on the skin, such as tattoos, blemishes, and birthmarks. The second layer can conceal any physical trait that cannot be actually touched, such as eye color and voice tone. The third layer can conceal actual features, such as noses or eye shape or scars, or even an extra appendage. These three layers on top of each other make the charm extremely difficult to break and see through, and therefore are considered the most effective. They are, however, the most difficult to learn
One of the only ways to break the spell is to remove the object that the caster has set the spell into, such as a pendant. Removal of the object from within three feet of the caster will result in failure of the spell, and the revealing of whatever was previously concealed. The only other way to see through this charm is to actually know what the person really looks or sounds like, and you may get a flickering image that appears over or under the layer of illusions.
That was all that there was, but Harry was very glad that he had gotten to the book before Snape had read it. It would be a dead giveaway for sure.
Carefully, slowly, he tore the page out of the book and concentrated hard on it, calling up the feelings of dry, pressing air, and bright flickering colors that danced in the breezes. Instantly the paper burst into flame, and Harry smiled, closing the book. He stood, and turned, and gasped as he came face-to-face with Snape.
Snape was staring at the book with confusion, and Harry realized that he himself was still invisible. The book must have appeared to float up to the tower on its own, open, tear a page out of itself, and somehow make it spontaneously combust.
Harry realized that he still had a chance to escape unscathed, and he threw the book at Snape, who ducked. Instantly, Harry ran swiftly and silently down the stairs, turning himself into a swift and silent owl. He winged his way back to the dormitories and landed on his bed, shaking, before turning back into his normal self. That had been close, too close.
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The next morning, Harry woke up slowly, and looked around. It was still before sunrise, as usual, and he decided that he was going to go visit Hagrid again. He transformed and flew to the cabin, and scratched at the door as he had before. It opened to reveal a sleepy but hopeful Hagrid, who looked delighted to see him.
They spent a wonderful few hours sitting before the fire, before Harry knew that it was time to go. He scratched at the door, and Hagrid let him out, waving a happy goodbye.
After breakfast, Harry looked at his timetable and realized that he had Potions first that day. He groaned. Hopefully Snape would make no connection between the events of last night and him.
He entered the classroom with some trepidation, and took a seat in the back next to Hermione. Snape was sitting at his desk, and gazed intently at him. Harry repressed a shudder before turning to sit down.
Snape announced that they were to do Healing drafts for Madame Pomfrey that day, and listed the ingredients and procedure on the board. Harry immediately set to work, making sure to get everything exactly right. When he was finished, he slipped a bit into a phial that was hidden in his sleeve. He was going to need some soon, for he and Adara had both agreed that they should start patrolling the Forest at night. It seemed that in the last few years, the numbers of attacks on students by forest creatures had increased, and Harry and Adara both felt compelled to do something about it.
At the end of class, he bottled his potion and brought it to Snape's desk. The black-eyed professor stared at him for a moment before saying, "Potter, stay behind a moment."
Harry sighed and waited patiently as the class filed out. He turned to face the Potions master as the formidable man stood up and walked around his desk.
"Potter."
Harry waited for him to say something.
"I had a small…incident last night. Do you know what that incident was?"
Harry shook his head.
"I was browsing through the Restricted section, and a book just…floated from the shelf. I followed it, and it proceeded to the Astronomy tower, where it then ripped out one of its own pages and set it aflame. Have you any explanation for this?"
Harry shook his head again, looking innocently curious.
"Books do not simply float off of the shelves, Mister Potter, nor do they spontaneously combust. There had to be someone there."
"Yes, sir, probably," Harry said carefully.
"And do you have any idea of who might have been there?" Snape asked, his voice menacing.
"No, sir," Harry said, standing up. "I'm late to my next class."
Snape sat back down and nodded, glaring at him.
"Then go."
Harry made it to Defense with twenty seconds to spare. Adara glanced at him but said nothing.
:I need to talk to you after class: he told her, in Mindspeech. She gave him the slightest of nods to show that she'd heard him, and went on with the lesson.
That day, they learned about the different kinds of Dark creatures.
"Who can tell me what the two most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world are?" Adara asked. Both Harry and Hermione raised their hands.
She pointed to Harry, and Hermione put down her hand, looking faintly disappointed.
"Professor, the two most dangerous creatures on the magical world are the Lethifold and the Nundu. The Lethifold, also known as the Living Shroud, looks like a great black shadowy cloak that glides along at night and smothers its victims, and then digests them. The only thing to repel one is a Patronus. The Nundu is like a giant leopard, and it moves swiftly and silently. Its breath can cause disease that cam wipe out an entire village, and no less than a hundred wizards have been known to subdue it at one time."
Harry didn't mention that a Lethifold could also be repelled by pure Light magic, or attracted by pure Dark magic. Also, a Nundu could be subdued by about seven fully trained Elves, but he wasn't about to mention that.
"Very good, Harry, five points to Gryffindor. Now, who in here knows how to perform a Patronus?"
Harry looked around to find that his was the only hand in the air. Adara motioned
him to the front of the class.
"Can you perform the Patronus for us, Harry?"
Harry closed his eyes and remembered the day that he had achieved his Mastery in elemental magic.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, and out of the end of his want burst a great creature – a huge, magnificent winged serpent. It hovered at the front of the room for a moment, before going over to Harry and touching him with its nose briefly and disappearing.
"Very well done, Harry, excellent work," Adara said, and Harry smiled, sitting down. He took notes on the rest of the lesson, never noticing that Hermione was frowning and glancing at him every few seconds.
After the lesson was over, Harry waited around until the room cleared out. Adara motioned him into her office, and shut the door behind him.
"What is it, Harry?" she asked. "What's so important?"
It's best not to be overheard, Harry replied in Elven. Adara nodded and waiter.
Snape – you know, the Potions master – has been doing some snooping, Harry said. He's seen some connections between us, and sensed the concealing spells. I snuck into the library, invisible, and took the book that would have revealed the way to break them. I took it up to the Astronomy tower and ripped out the page before burning it. He followed me, though, and he saw the whole thing. He didn't read it, but he saw it tearing out and burning. He asked me if I had anything to do with it this morning, and I denied it, but he's onto our trail. We have to be really careful from now on—he saw me coming out of your office and got suspicious.
This is serious, Adara replied, looking grave. If anyone finds out—
It would be a disaster, Harry finished for her.
Adara looked ponderous for a moment. All right, she said finally. No more meetings in my office during the day, and we'll cut down our practice sessions together to twice a week, on weekdays. We can still go out to the Forest on Sundays together, but we can't be seen.
Harry agreed, and realized that he was late for Herbology. He waved to her and exited her office at a run. He seemed to be running a lot these days.
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That night, Hermione sat in the Common room with Ron, Harry having gone to the library. Again.
"Ron," Hermione said, turning to him and frowning. "Did you notice anything – odd in DADA today?"
"Um…..no," Ron said. "Why?"
"Harry's Patronus," Hermione said, brow furrowed. "It used to be a stag. Now it's a – a snake with wings. Almost like a dragon."
"So?"
"Ron, a Patronus reflects a person's inner nature or something that represents the person's mind," Hermione said. "They are not supposed to change."
Ron sat up and frowned. "But…then how could it be?"
"I don't know," Hermione said, looking worried. "I would guess that he's changed over the last two years, drastically. Enough that his magic has taken on a whole new tone—a whole new set of 'fingerprints', if you will. That should be impossible."
Ron frowned. "Should we talk to someone about it?"
Hermione shook her head.
"He's been doing fine so far this year. He doesn't act very different, just more…withdrawn, and he spends a lot of his time in the library or somewhere else. But he's not in trouble, and I don't want to reveal anything that he might be keeping secret. He might be keeping it secret for a reason. I do, however, think that I will try to research winged serpents and see what I can find."
Ron nodded and agreed, and they sighed and broke apart, Ron to play chess with Seamus, and Hermione to do some serious thinking