AN: (24 August 09) Here is chapter seven. As I said earlier I really liked writing it. Even if after reading it again I like chapter six better now. First, thanks to all those who reviewed, it gave me some inspiration for chapter 9. What else? Oh yeah, this is on my profile next to my stories' status but I am going to write it here too: My vacations are over and so are Hineko's, chapters aren't likely to come more than once a week when it isn't exam-time (it will of course be much worse then). I will do my very best to write a chapter per week; as I am a chapter ahead of her, things shouldn't be worse than once a week anytime soon. If the difference somehow shrinks the max I see being possible is one chapter per two weeks.

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Gah! So waking up by having my proximity wards going all sirens-of-doom on me isn't really a pleasant experience. Who would have thought? It's duly noted now anyway. I'll fix it as soon as I can think straight again. Maybe a heat signal instead of sound? That way I can get my arm burnt to ashes instead of having my eardrums popped! But now isn't the time for a brainstorming session. Now is the most sacred and ancestral time of the day, or night really, to make whoever tried to go through my wards suffer in unimaginable and unethical ways. People can't just go around disturbing the few hours of rest I can catch per night, thus tiring me, thus not allowing me to perform my research in a way fitting my genius status. Not without facing the consequences of such foolishness at any rate.

So where are the fuckers?

There! Stuck somewhere in an amalgam of my bed's curtains! No, whoever it is isn't so lacking in skills that he tripped and managed that by him or herself. I keyed the curtains to the life-sensing part of the wards with an animation command to capture anyone that crosses the perimeter. My would-be-attacker is literally mummified and the best part is that I embroidered the cloth with enough gold trim to make it very hard to use magic when inside. Just animating the thing was a hassle and I took my sweet time to do it. So whatever I caught definitely won't be escaping anytime soon. Yeah, it. Now that I can get a good look it's obvious that it isn't even remotely human. Way too small.

For a second I wonder if it isn't just an owl that tried to deliver my mail.

But that can't be it. The outer wards wouldn't have allowed one of those to enter. Because if one can enter this far, what's stopping Black or a classmate from sending transfigured or conjured, hell even trained, animals to do the job? So what is it? A goblin perhaps? I hope it is, because there is only one other kind of creature that I can think of with the right size but those don't live anywhere near here. Which is good, because with all the time I spent thinking about it one of them would already have melted all the gold and turned me into an ice-cube by now. Gives you chills huh? But enough about that.

I need to know what Black, or whoever, sent after me. I recast the animation and command the curtains to shift just enough to see.

Oh my God! The Quibbler articles were true! That I never expected! I always thought that the editor used his paper as a mean to diffuse hidden messages that only a select few could decode. I would bet on Unspeakables, as it is known that his wife worked for the ritual creation department for some time. Order of Merlin third class for dying while on duty if I recall it right. How the guys even hope to be in the secrecy deal while revealing their names for all to know I am not really sure… Anyway, turns out that I was wrong. Or at least that I wasn't as right as I thought I was. I do have a subscription to the Quibbler. But I never gave credit to their news. It was just entertaining to see what they came up with as codes.

But this is proof!

They actually give real warnings about stuff that exists at the same time! I'm starting to respect the guys, really. It's like a pro-muggleborn movement. The only people who would take anything inside this paper seriously are the ones that don't know anything about the wizarding world and those who already know. So it warns muggleborns about some of the nastier things that lurk around. You indeed do learn something new every day. Who would have thought?

Seriously, who would?

Ninja elves? Silent assassins that creep in the darkest of nights? Going unseen, unheard, unsmelled even? Heavily trained in combat as well as stealth? Wielders of powerful arcane knowledge they use to bypass most protective measures? Who would have thought? The trice damned would-be-killer went right through the offensive part of my wards without even breaking them! Like they weren't even there! Hell, I'm pretty sure that it could have bypassed the proximity ward in the same way! The little sadist just wanted to see my expression as I realized I was going to die! If it wasn't for its arrogance… if I hadn't put that animation or the gold thread on the curtains…

Another chill goes up my spine as I take in just how close to dying I came.

Talk about giving the Reaper an Eskimo kiss! What? No I don't know how that would go either… It was just a figure of speech damn it! Anyway, it's very clear now that Black, because who else would both hate me enough and have access to such a powerful secret organization, won't stop at anything to get rid of me. It certainly is a sobering thought. But how did it pass through the castle wards? Mine aren't anything special really. I just use them in tricky ways. Most fourth year and above could cast temporary wards like I did if they wanted. They would just need to spend a weekend in the library.

But were the founders so lame that their wards didn't account for elves?

It seems so. Of course I should have known it. Even if you discard the general wizarding attitude of dismissing elves as unimportant, the map should have been my next clue. It didn't show the castle elves. Which means that the monitoring section of the castle wards doesn't pick up on the elves. If they didn't think about it or if they couldn't be bothered to spend ward-power on it when elvish magic is so different from ours I don't know. Well, sounds like my next project! Yay me! Just how much sleep am I going to lose over this? Somehow, I think that knowing beforehand would depress me further…

But I should really take care of the assassin now.

I speak to it. "Go back to your master, foul creature! Tell him that it will be harder than that to kill one such as me! If he thinks that such cheap tricks will have any effects whatsoever he is in for a very rude awakening!" The thing's eyes widen in what would be a comical way if I didn't know how dangerous it could be if not contained as it is. Clearly it didn't think that I knew all about his kind. I don't even try to question it. Rumors of the auto-mutilation of their vocal cords aside, its physiology is way too different to be vulnerable to truth serum. I don't know, nor do I care to, any legilimency. And finally, even regular House elves have a freakishly high pain tolerance. So no torturing either.

It's really a genius idea to have those do this kind of job. Makes much more sense than nannies and cleaners.

Well, time to get rid of it. I wouldn't think much of going murderer on its little ass, as he was going to do just that on me, but I want him to deliver my message. If I can get a rise out of the master it's more than worth sparing the servant. It's not like I can forgo the precautions against future attacks from his kind anyway. There could be more than one. The only down is that the curtain trick isn't likely to work again but it's not like I can rely on my opponents sadism to survive. Still, I wish I knew how to erase memories. Somehow, I doubt that the Hogwarts library holds that kind of information.

I take two dummies from my not-so-official trunk and enlarge them.

I sigh. Why do I feel bad about this? Oh yeah, I can't escort the elf out of the castle wards without actually going with the dummies because passwords can't be uttered by tag and I can't visualize the way well enough to animate them the way they need to be. That, and even if they could and I did, there still would be the problem of the patrols they could encounter. And if I wait until morning the damn thing will melt the gold enough to cause trouble. I can see it now. It's a choice between being killed and being caught out wandering the corridors after curfew. Not much of a choice you say?

Well, think again!

Getting caught doesn't mean lines to write. It doesn't even mean detention. Well, I guess it could mean either of those, but there are more serious consequences. In the first place, it would destroy the frail peace that I have with D. That's already bad enough, but there is also the very real possibility of having a one on one chat with my head of house, or worse still, with the good headmaster. It's been a week and a half since the first day of class and both have tried to talk to me quite a few times. And I'd wager that the two of them are stubborn enough to keep trying hard for yet a couple of years if they ever give up at all.

And that's on the off chance where they don't start being more forceful.

I sight again. Well, it can't be helped. I am way too young, handsome and smart to die. Better take the map with me. I don't want to get lost and it will give me a decent chance at avoiding patrols. Of course, if I do end up being caught that'll be one more thing I'll lose in the deal unless I manage to deactivate it on time. I take it and half a dozen extras bits of parchment to confuse anyone that might see me. The impressive concealment measures should make it safe enough that way. Though I am kind of worried about that fragment I cracked three days ago. The thing may activate on its own when in the presence of key individuals.

Well, I am ready. "Are you ready too?" The elf doesn't answer. "Good, lets go then!"

I start stalking, making use of the full extend of my eleven year old body's natural grace supported by the amazing training I have in stealth. I only stumble once. But really, can I be blamed for others people leaving pillows on the ground? Ouch! Okay, make that two times. Of course it's even harder for my dummies as they depend only on my sight to move around. If they were people I'm pretty sure that at least one would have a broken ankle and the other would likely have bitten its tongue.

But as said earlier, there is little time.

I activate the map. The password is still ridiculously long to utter. Which is bad. I tried to make it something shorter but the thing has got some sort of mind of it's own and the only things it would change to that I could come with was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Holly Thor on his jumping polar bear. Yeah, the guy who invented the thing had serious issues. And no, I won't discuss how I came to even try those two. The good point is that it has given me some clues about how to achieve sentience myself. Not sanity, mind you, but it's a start. The other up is that I don't intend to replicate that part of the scheme myself and it will make things that much easier.

Good, there is nobody in sight.

There are a couple of prefects on the second floor and the crazy-caretaker's cat is on the fourth. Everyone else is too far away to be a worry. Though I guess that someone could use a secret passage. The map doesn't show all of them like that. Sometimes it only shows them if you happen to be nearby. Which is how it can give the passwords only when you actually need them. I start walking. That's it, swiftly but without making noises. Wait, didn't I read about the silencing charm just the other day? Does it only work on the voice or does it affect footsteps and the like? Can't remember anything but the incantation…

Ah well, I'll just try it. Silencio.

I try to snap my fingers. It doesn't make any noise, but I never was all that good at it in the first place. I clap my hands. Once, twice. No sound. Good! Let's keep walking then. It's too bad that I can't do the same about being seen. But wearing a cloak could be of help if I am seen. That way if I escape they won't know whom to punish. I go for my trunk in my pocket. What, your pajamas don't have pockets? Well, where do you put your wands when you sleep then? Oh? Oh! Forgot that you don't have mass-murderers after your hide! Won't happen again. There, now I just have to enlarge it back to real size and take a cloak from a spare dummy.

Wait a minute! Enlarge? I can't do that without saying the incantation!

That means that I can't do it without countering the silencing charm. And that kind of needs a verbal component to work too… I am stuck! I can't even return to the common room! I can't even deactivate the map! How do I end in these situations? I am a genius! I shouldn't forget about important things like this! No matter, keep moving. The people on the map are moving too and some of them are moving my way. I quickly take the cloak of one of the two dummies that are more than an inch tall at the present time and throw it over my shoulders. I'll take care of the elf first and I'll look for an isolated place to rest after.

Rest, not sleep. I am not going to bother to cast something devious enough to protect me from the assassin's kin, only to need to do it again tomorrow.

I start running. If I can't do any sound at all I'll at least take full advantage of it. Or not. The dummies aren't silenced. They can still be noisy if I am not careful. Damn! Well, no point in complaining about it now. There, I am out of the dungeons now. I just need to pass the doors and order the dummies to go past the wards, drop the package and come back. Nobody is around. Perfect. I do so. They take their sweet time to come back but at least they eventually do. Now where to? Not back in the dungeons, that's for sure. I'll surely catch a cold if I do.

How about the fifth floor?

That could work. There's nothing interesting on the north aisle of it. I don't think that people ever go there. When I explored it with Assistant it was pretty messy but comfortable enough for one night. I wonder why there is so much dust in the area. Don't the elves clean there too? Somehow I can't see them being slackers about it… Maybe it's an elf-repelling area? If it is, then all the better. I reach the moving staircases. I just need to wait until one deigns to give me a lift now. Honestly, what the point of doing that to otherwise perfectly fine stairs I will never know.

Shit, are those voices I am hearing?

I can't believe I was distracted enough to stop checking the map. I blame the fact that the food is so small at the moment that it would hardly be a decent pill, let alone meal. Come on you stupid agglomeration of moving steps! Let me up! Do your job, damn it! "Are you sure we aren't lost Minister? I can't recall where we are right now…" "Nonsense, I remember my Hogwarts years perfectly! There should be a passage that leads out of the grounds somewhere nearby. I think that I was the first to discover it in at least two hundred years you know? Of course I gave the information to a few chosen friends… I think I told Lucius just the other month…"

Minister? Crap! And what are they talking about anyway? There's nothing around here. Just go away find your passage! Don't come here!

"Ah, yes! Of course! I'll just look harder." "Wait for a moment Dolores. There is something important we must discuss about and here is as a good place as any…" Yeah! Talk about your secret business inside a castle full of ghost, paintings and others such spies. Good idea! And don't forget to do it at three meters tops from an eleven-year-old boy while you are at it! Why won't that damn staircase just come already? "I have been talking with Lucius about the Black case. Terrible time for such things to happen… The elections are still far away but these things leave their mark. You must be ready for when all the foreigners arrive. We don't know if there are dark supporters amongst them…"

Oh? So I am not the only one worrying? Good! Everybody should take a share of the stress.

"As you already know, it will be Black's best chance to leave the country if he is still there and we can't really have the Dementors around when they are. Too much international troubles if we do. Dumbledore is not being helpful at all. He said that if I brought even one around the students he would be informing the ICW. I don't want another three months of having those old coots breathing down my neck and being all worked up about the way we treat our prisoners again! Anyway, I was just trying to convince him to at least allow me to have them patrol the wards while the other schools are yet to arrive. He refused again! Be careful of him Dolores. Lucius think that it's a political move of his part. That he may be trying to grab my position after all these years…"

"I will minister!" If she had a neck she would probably be nodding with fervor.

"Anyway, maybe it was on the second floor after all…" Damn, where is my lift? I can't wait here. Think, think, think! That's it! If the bloody thing won't move on it's own I'll just move it myself. I never tried to animate something that big but there is little choice right now. Here we go! Hrrghtths! Just a little more… There! I see it bend like some sort of snake by the power of my animation. I jump on it and start climbing while shifting both the base and the arrival point. I make the end drop me in a little alcove in the middle of a wall where an old armored suit is on display. I release it.

No point in doing it if people can just follow me here.

I am far too exhausted to try and reach the fifth floor now. Magical depletion for sure. The funny thing about it is that in about five seconds I'll have recovered enough juice to do it again if I want to, but the strain put on my body by taking in that much magic from the area around me to replenish my core will be enough to make even lifting a finger hard. I don't want to think about what would happen if by some miracle I managed to force myself to do it a second time. It would knock me out cold at the very least.

You didn't know that did you?

Can't blame you there really. The generally accepted theory in England is that when you are what they call magically depleted, it's the lack of magic in your body that brings you down. So naturally they assume that it takes as long to come back as the time they feel exhausted. Some even think that by casting spells after depletion you are spending life force. I disagree of course. Someone in my family liked oriental magical theory and I have this marvelous book that describes one's core as a depression in an otherwise plane surface with water running above it. The deeper it is, the more water, or magical energy as it is, it holds. If the depression is deep, you can use the water in it to successfully fill bigger containers like a jar instead of a glass.

Bigger spells can be used in clear.

But when you take a part of the water to use it in that way, the water running above rushes to fill the depression again. The more you take at once, the more rushes in, and the more violently it rushes. If the depression is big enough, that's very violent. And it puts a strain on it every time. So in fact, it's generally only powerful people who suffer from magical depletion in any meaningful way. Small cores don't hold enough magic to cast bigger spells but even when they used all their juice it just makes them breathe a little harder and they are good to go back to casting in mere seconds without even knowing that they used it all.

Of course, if I started to only cast weak spells it wouldn't be a problem for me either but sometimes the needs overpowers reason.

So, yeah, I'm fairly powerful… that or I have a very frail body… can't seem to make my mind up about that. Maybe I should try to exercise, or get a higher pain tolerance at least? I'm pretty sure that that's the secret behind how house elves can cast all that impressive stuff with the physical weakness that should be holding them back. I can't hear the voices of the Minister and his toady anymore. They must have left already. But I hear something else. Like angry groans and moans. The creaks of the stone and wood of the castle around me. If I didn't know better I'd think that it's pissed at something.

He he. That'd be funny.

… Is the bloody thing coming in my fucking direction? It shouldn't be able to be here should it? I released the animation so why is it coming all the way here? Oh it doesn't look happy at all… it's snapping at me! "Oh come on! Whatever aberration you are, you can't hold what I did against me! I needed to escape!" Hey! When did my voice come back? And did the thing wait for the two others to leave to have this conversation? No matter. It's shifting and tapping. I don't think it liked being called that… This isn't good. Not even a little. "Ho there! No need to take everything personally! I was just saying that you were a little weird, is all…" It rattles against the walls. "Odd! I meant odd! Odd is good right? Like everybody says that the Headmaster is an oddball! That's better no?" Okay, so if I take the way the walls are trembling right about now, I don't think it likes the headmaster either.

How can I even argue that point?

"Huh, are you Hogwarts?" It calmed down some. I guess I was right then. "Listen, there was no offense intended I swear! It's just that you were being kind of slow to give me the lift and…" Not good, not good! It's hitting the alcove now! Truly I must be a desperate case at pink magic if I can even anger a castle this way. A legend of another kind! Well, at least now, we know that it's a girl… There is no way a male would be so much angered by a few idle comments. I wonder if I should owl the people who write Hogwarts a History…

Anyway, now that I can speak again, I gather as little magic as possible and start casting wards by arrays around me.

Little bit by little bit. I can't over-exert myself if I don't want to pass out. I start with a physical barrier and start putting what I think would stop an elf with nefarious purposes. I end by animating the armor to protect me and I feel myself blacking out. Why can't I have a normal life again? Oh yeah, I'm Harry James Potter, certified genius, handsome hero, prime target of the Dark and all around center of the world! Yay me!