Disclaimer:
What's that Mrs. Anti Foam? Why yes, I will run away with you… But what about Mr. Carpet cleaner… he invented Harry Potter; hence, he is rich and surgically beautiful. He'll send his hired goons after us… who are also surgically beautiful.
What's that Dr. Warning label…? I'm going to have to see a physician about the hallucinations I'm having.
Right away Sir! To The Quazi mobile…
Chapter 27 – I've angered the Wrack Spurtles… Now bedlam must ensue!
'They didn't think I was being serious… they didn't think I would have my revenge...'
He watched from the shadows as his soon to be victims walked by.
He recognized almost every one of them. Each of them had humiliated him in their own way.
They degraded him... they laughed and giggled at him… but now was his time. Now was his time for revenge.
But first, he had one boy in mind…. He would be the first to feel his sweet, sweet poison coursing through his veins…
'The boy they called Harry Potter… will know death!'
… .. … .. …
Elsewhere:
Harry Potter was undergoing a monumental task… he had to focus otherwise all his work would be for not.
His opponent looked on gleefully, He watched as Harry's hand shook ominously… one wrong move and it would be a slaughter.
Harry was about to make a move when he hesitated.
Ron watched with wide eyes as Harry's hand shifted….
Harry smirked at Ron's reaction and took the rook; smugly.
Suddenly Ron's face twisted into a smirk of his own, causing Harry's smugness to falter.
Ron's hand shifted; in a move, that to Harry defied all the natural laws of physics… Ron cried out, "Check mate."
"What the hell…" Harry cried in disbelief as he lost yet again… three moves into the game at that.
"I think your getting worse at this game Harry," Ron declared as he leaned back in his seat; watching Harry inspect the board for some kind of trickery.
Harry turned insulted eyes toward his friend before mumbling at him angrily.
"Come on… Transfiguration starts in a few minutes." Ron announced happily, having chalked up another game of chess in his favour.
Harry scowled at his friend as he picked up his bag and followed the boy out of the common room.
… .. … .. …
'He is close by…' the vengeful being thought. He could taste his scent in the air. 'He had walked this corridor not more than ten minutes ago…'
Sliding along a wall, he tried to stay hidden… for fear of being put back in his prison.
The scent was getting stronger. Not long now…
… .. … .. …
"I want you all in partners of two…"
Almost immediately, the class started to pair themselves off.
"Partners, I shall choose…" McGonagall announced with a withering stare.
There were a few mumbles of dissent but they waited for the pairing to commence.
"Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Patil." McGonagall started, with a nod to the Gryffindor twin.
"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Patil…" To the other twin.
"Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Cornfoot…"
"Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger…"
The woman continued on her way seemingly pairing everyone off randomly. Harry wasn't fooled. The woman had encouraged him to partner off with Hermione on any and every occasion possible. From lack of seating, to spell work… no matter what, he always wound up next to his former friend.
At first it had been irritating; now it was just awkward.
Neither spoke any more words than necessary; furthermore, Harry thought that there was something off about the girl that he just couldn't place.
Harry stood up and pulled his things away from his desk, resigning himself to joining Hermione's up front.
Sitting down beside the girl and placing his book down, he nodded at her.
"Hermione…" Harry greeted politely.
"Harry…" She said as well, in a unusually meek voice.
Ever since she had returned from the winter break, she had avoided eye contact. That was odd for various reasons that were too numerous to explain. And this meekness was downright baffling. The last true conversation Harry had had with the girl had been a head on argument with her trying to stare him down...
Trying to put those thoughts out of his mind, Harry focused on the professor who he thought might have been observing them through all the chaos that was the students seating themselves once more; somehow, organizing themselves so they were still seated close to their other friends.
Harry thought McGonagall looked disappointed for a moment before she washed that expression away as quickly as it had come.
"Alright class, proceed with the exercise. Remember, I want details on your assigned objects, so I expect each of you to keep working till you are dismissed for dinner." McGonagall ordered; banishing a scrap of parchment to each pair.
Harry's hand immediately rose upon instinct, and captured the piece of paper within the palm of his hand.
Putting the paper in between Hermione and himself, he opened and flattened it to reveal their assigned project.
Create a Muggle wind up Toy.
Requirements:
Made with at least 3 materials.
One of which must be wood, the other metal.
On the bottom was a diagram of a wind up mechanism.
Harry had to admit, the project sounded fun.
"What do you think we should make?" Harry asked. Looking up, Hermione stared at him for a moment, her mouth open with an idea, but suddenly she stopped and looked at Harry's nose instead.
"Is there anything you want to make?" She asked.
Harry frowned for a second at her behaviour. "Not especially…" Harry didn't want to admit that he hadn't had any toy's growing up, except for the ones Dudley broke or threw away.
She hesitated before pulling out a parchment and a quill.
She started to sketch a shape on it.
"I had a wind up bird once… It flapped its wings and flew." She explained.
"I think I remember what the mechanism looked like…" she said absently as she concentrated on her sketch.
Finishing with a flourish, Harry observed the drawing, it was relatively simple, and he could see how it worked in his head. There was an odd piston like object between the wings… it seemed to caused the wings to go up and down as it turned.
"The only problem is that my one was made with rubber and plastic; I don't know if we can make one that flies with metal and wood." She said downcast.
"No, we might still be able to. McGonagall never said how much of it had to be metal or wood." Harry said as he thought about it. "If we made the wings bigger and maybe out of paper… it could fly I think."
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hermione give his back an inquisitive look. No doubt she was itching to ask about his own wings. He wondered if she suggested the flying bird model simply because of his wings.
Harry waited for it… but the question never came. She let her eyes wander back to the paper and suggested materials.
"Copper for the wing frame then?" she asked instead; indicating the front outline of the wings.
"Sure… "Harry said, somewhat taken aback at her behaviour. Putting But after a moment of quiet he put it out of his mind and focused on his work instead.
Harry conjured up small portions of the metals they needed. While Hermione worked on the wooden frame for the mechanism. Transfiguring the shape into slightly more intricate designs.
Harry conjured up small portions of the metals they needed, while Hermione worked on the wooden frame for the mechanism; transfiguring the shape into a progressively intricate design.
Together they worked on the wind up mechanism, Harry on the coil and Hermione on the improvised gear they were going to use for the piston.
In a move that Harry thought was quite ingenious, Hermione created a thin wooden shaft from the wind up coil to the manual winder. She smiled as it didn't snap when she gave it an experimental twist once it was connected to the mechanism. Harry had transfigured it with thin metal filaments inside the structure to give it some needed strength. Attaching the wings and transfiguring them to fit inside and attach to the complex piston. Hermione gave it another wind up.
The piston locked.
"Oh no…" Hermione said in panic. Looking at her watch, she saw that they were already in the last 15 minutes of the class.
"I'm sorry, Harry, I must have drawn the piston wrong… I was sure it was exactly like what I remember…" Hermione started. Looking up at the clearly panicking girl Harry stared at her confused. She was normally more level headed than this.
"Don't worry Hermione… I think we just have to fiddle with the piston…" Harry coaxed, trying to calm the girl down.
"Here…" Harry pointed his wand at the piston and used his magic to jiggle it within the mechanism.
"I think if we just shrink it…." Harry said while pointing his wand at it, watching as the thing ever so slightly started to shrink down.
Suddenly the piston started to move up and down rotating with the wind up mechanism.
The wing struts flapped up and down excitedly. Thankfully without the material covering it to give it lift….
"See, you remembered it… it works too." Harry said with a smile.
Hermione beamed happily at the working toy.
Quickly mindful of the time they had. Harry conjured a sheet of thin paper. Slightly thicker than tissue paper. And Hermione affixed it to the wings. Hermione created a thin copper cage around the device that gave it a more aerodynamic shape; while also giving it a tail that swivelled.
Harry covered the tail in the same paper… and remembering McGonagall's speech; added some colours and designs onto the paper, giving it a mock phoenix design… red and gold themed.
Smiling, at their finished craft, Hermione gently lifted it up and frowned.
"It's still a bit heavy…" She admitted.
"Well let's see if the wings work at least, if nothing else we should get marks for making a toy bird that flaps its wings…"
Nodding in agreement, Hermione wound it up, and let go of the knob.
Immediately, the mock bird's wings came to life, flapping almost spasmodically. Blowing sheets of paper off their desk, and drawing the attention of the rest of the class.
Harry beamed at Hermione. She in turn, smiled quite pleased with their joint efforts.
"It's still a tad heavy… "She admitted, though she didn't seem to mind as much as she would have earlier.
Harry heard soft footsteps approaching and turned to see Professor McGonagall making her way over to them.
She had a curious expression upon her face as she observed their creation.
"What's this now…" She asked as she observed the bird as it slowly stopped flapping its wings.
"Professor…" Harry asked getting an idea. "Can we put a spell on our projects…?" Harry asked.
"What type of spell Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked as she looked into the bird to see the mechanisms.
"Just something to lighten it… the project restrictions make it a little too heavy." Harry immediately answered. Hermione looked up at Harry and turned to stare hopefully at her professor.
"I suppose it would be alright, but are you trying to tell me that this device will actually…." She looked at Hermione and Harry in surprise.
"Maybe…" Hermione admitted, but she seemed rather excited with the possibility of making it work fully.
Harry levelled his wand and placed the charm on the wind up mechanism as it was the heaviest component…
"A little lighter…" Hermione instructed, as she held the bird.
Slowly making the mechanism lighter, Harry continued until finally Hermione told him to stop.
Hermione ever so gently wound up the bird.
McGonagall watched with a critical eye while stepping aside.
Hermione stopped winding and looked at Harry…
Harry smiled at the girl nodding his head.
Nodding back, Hermione looked at the bird, faced it toward the empty front of the class room, and let go of the knob.
Immediately the bird's wings came alive and Hermione let go.
The bird jerkily lifted from her hand and raced forward. Curving around due to its tail and swooped over Harry's head as it flew at the rest of the class.
It crashed into the stone wall on the opposite end; crumpling up the front and bending a wing in the process… but it continued to twitch and flap its wings spasmodically on the floor.
Hermione beamed happily and practically squealed in joy before she jumped and hugged Harry in success.
Harry hugged her back in elation, before realizing what he was doing.
Hermione too, seemed to come to that realization; quickly letting go and looking from Harry to the floor.
They were saved from the awkwardness by McGonagall's declaration of, "Full Marks..."
"That was excellent work you two." McGonagall beamed.
She walked forward and picked up the bird as it gave a few feeble flaps.
Waving her wand at it, correcting the damage, she looked to the pair.
"Might I keep this, I would like to show the other sixth year classes…" McGonagall asked.
"Of course professor…" Hermione said immediately; immensely pleased that her teacher wanted to show off her project.
Harry nodded as well, though he palmed the diagram of the wind up mechanism… for later use.
Suddenly the bell tolled, announcing the end of classes and the start of dinner.
"Alright class… those of you who I have not had a chance to visit, please leave your finished projects on your tables with your partners name and a description of objects you have made; class dismissed." McGonagall announced with an uncharacteristic smile upon her face.
Harry thought the woman was pleased about something, the smug features announcing to the world that she had achieved something grand.
… .. … .. …
'The noise…!' the stalker cried in pain.
The school bell had rung… never having heard it from the inside of the castle; he cringed in pain at its loudness.
How the humans could stand it was beyond him.
Suddenly the door to a class room opened wide; students poured out of it in droves as they headed away from him. He could feel the ground below him vibrate from the many footsteps… the vibrations carrying from other classrooms around the castle as well.
Shirley the Occamy flicked his tongue out and could sense its prey.
He's close by.
Suddenly out of the door walked the bushy headed one… Where she came the other primate was sure to be.
Racing forward in excitement, Shirley leaped mouth open ready to strike…
… .. … .. …
A day earlier:
"Come in Hagrid…"
The door to Dumbledore's office swung open to reveal the hunched over figure of the groundskeeper; Rubeus Hagrid.
"Hello professor Dumbledore, sir…" Hagrid greeted as he tried to squeeze through the door built for people half his size; a remarkable feat for a man of his grandeur.
"Filius tells me that you have been helping Argus to repair the damage to the first floor corridor…"
"Yes sir, not too difficult now that I can use my umbrel… err… wand sir." Hagrid corrected.
"I'm sure Argus appreciates the help… tell me did you lock away the…"
"I've secured the Lemon drops sir… we won't be having another incident like we did during the summer." Hagrid assured the man.
Dumbledore smiled a pained smile. "I suppose that is good news then… "Dumbledore remarked almost wistfully.
"Professor Dumbledore… sir; there's something else…" Hagrid stated reluctantly.
"Oh…?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"Well you see sir, Shirley's cage… Um the occamy sir; well his cage was destroyed, and Shirley seems to have… escaped." Hagrid said haltingly.
"My, that is a problem…."
"Yes sir… I'm sure Shirley wouldn't hurt anyone, he's just scared is all; he positively adores Ms. Patil, I'm sure he's just looking for a friendly face is all." Hagrid defended.
"Yes, I'm sure…" Dumbledore started, not as confident in the snake's personality as Hagrid seemed to be.
"Well no matter, he will be bound to show up sooner or later… The handlers at the ministry assured me that special precautions had been taken in case of escape."
"Special precautions sir…"
"The standard protocols for poisonous snakes around public places…." Dumbledore explained.
Hagrid frowned for a moment in concentration…. Then realization struck.
"Oh Shirley won't like that at all…."
"Indeed…"
… .. … .. …
Harry sixth sense kicked in and he sensed something approaching him.
Quickly turning he had enough time to see the obscenely large, Occamy lunge at him.
Raising his arm to shield himself, but not managing to erect a magical one in time, Shirley clamped down upon Harry's left arm.
Ron's wand flew out to point at the snake, a spell on his tongue. A couple of students screamed in shock as they watched the boy who lived get bitten by the large magical serpent. Harry un-squinted his eyes to stare at the snake in surprise…
Raising his right arm to halt Ron, Harry spoke to the snake….
"Why are you sucking on my arm….?"
The snake blinked in confusion….
Its jaw opened and re-clamped on Harry's arm… once more… twice… three times.
Harry's arm was undamaged if not slightly wet.
Retracting its head, its jaws opened and the snakes tongue could be seen prodding its upper jaw curiously.
Harry looked to see what the reptile was doing, and couldn't hold his snort in, upon finding his explanation.
The occamy realized just as quickly.
"Those feces flinging apes removed my teeth!" It screeched in rage….
McGonagall came out of classroom to see what all the commotion was.
She stopped though when she came across the sight of a giant occamy who was thrashing in rage, directly in front of Harry Potter.
The boy in question hissed at the creature with a grin….
The snake seemed to snarl as best a snake could… Quickly launching at the boy, faster than she could react…. Its mouth opened and enveloped the boy's left hand.
"Mr. Potter…!" McGonagall cried in shock.
Instead of hearing the boy's pained cries from the attack, he calmly turned around to stare at his professor. "Ma'am?"
"What is the meaning of this…?" She asked in a rush, hurrying toward the boy while reaching for her wand.
Looking down at his arm… he watched as the snake slowly made its way up his arm… swallowing his limb a fraction of an inch at a time.
"I think he's trying to eat me ma'am…" Harry gave his arm an experimental shake…
Shirley didn't let go and clung to him as he shook his arm trying to dislodge the creature.
Feeling the inside of the snake Harry cringed…
"Gross…"
"If, you don't mind ma'am… I'm going to find Hagrid." Harry remarked.
McGonagall just stared at the boy as if he were insane…. He was being eaten alive for goodness sakes.
"Ron, you mind…" Harry indicated towards the lower end of the creature…
Ron slowly raised his wand and levitated the other end.
"Thanks mate…" Harry replied as he made his way out of the castle….one arm wiggling about in the air like some giant tentacle.
Shirley seemed to mumble something that sounded suspiciously like "I'm going to eat you… monkey…"
"Don't talk with your mouth full…" Harry scolded.
"Honestly…."
…. .. …. .. …
Hagrid had managed to pull the snake off Harry's arm eventually. Shirley had managed to work his way up to his biceps by the time he had found the giant.
It had ended in a simple game of tug of war, in which the reluctant occamy had been pulled off Harry.
Once put back in his cage, Hagrid had scolded Shirley like he was some temperamental two year old, before thanking Harry for finding his snake. Hagrid never seemed to comment on the fact that the thing had tried to swallow Harry whole.
When Harry had asked about Shirley's fangs… Hagrid had admitted that they had been removed back in captivity and she only had glammoured versions inside her cage. He honestly couldn't understand why it was necessary… even after Harry had stared at the man incredulously.
Bidding the half-giant farewell, and mocking the snake on his way out…. Harry made his way to the great hall.
Sitting down next too Luna who was opposite Ron.
Harry reached out to give Luna a one armed hug in greeting but was stopped as the girl leaned back.
"Is that the arm that the snake tried to swallow?"
"Yes…?"
Luna cringed…using the handle of her spoon she nudged Harry's hand away from her…
"Wash that arm first…." She said in disgust.
Flipping her spoon around again she scooted away and went back to her pudding.
Ron looked on amused opposite her, a smirk on his lips as he continued to eat his custard.
"It's clean… I scorgified it." Harry poutingly remarked.
"Take soap to it first and then we'll talk." Luna retorted, as she spooned herself some more pudding.
"What, does my arm gross you out….?" Harry asked mockingly; reaching out, his arm hovered close to the girls face.
Luna scooted farther back, nudging Seamus as she tried to put distance between the two.
"Don't you dare…" She warned; her spoon full of pudding was held out threateningly.
A mischievous smile made its way on Harry's face, leaning forward with the back of his hand facing the girl, as if he planned to rub off whatever innards of the snake the girl thought was left, on her…
Within moments, Luna had reacted, and Harry found pudding splattering across his face.
"So Gross Harry…." Lavender cried in disgust… firmly in favour of Luna's actions.
Ron just seemed to choke on his custard in laughter.
Hissing in what later he would realize was parseltongue… he cursed Shirley for ruining his day, as he sulkily wiped off pudding from his face.
… .. … .. …
Harry had woken the next morning, only to find a note on his dresser.
Opening it quickly Harry found a summons for his training. Same time and place… though the script was written in a different hand, that he didn't recognize.
Slightly excited at starting up again, Harry had a spring in his step as he made his way to breakfast.
Turning a corner, he came face to face with Luna Lovegood she waited patiently for him by the entrance doors, to the great hall.
Before he could great her with a hug… she held out his hand indicating she wanted him to wait.
"You're clean now, you used soap, right?" She asked mockingly.
"Yes…" Harry sighed in exasperation.
"Then you may proceed." She allowed imperiously.
Rolling his eyes but still in a too good a mood, he hugged the girl and led her to the great hall.
"You planning any other night time escapades…?" Luna asked curiously as they found seats by a yawning Parvarti.
Parvarti looked at Harry with a quirked eye. He was sure this was going to add to the rumour mill sooner or later. Giving her a warning look which she ignored innocently, Harry huffed and cast a reverse silencio on her head, as he answered, "No I'm starting my training again tonight."
Parvarti huffed in irritation as she fumbled for her wand to end the spell. "Not nice Harry…" She scolded.
Harry stared mockingly at her before noticing Luna's quirked eye.
"You're starting your…." Luna paused and looked to the girl on her left and to Parvarti's scandalized surprise she recast the reverse silencio which Harry had just taught them in DA. Then, with the eaves dropper secured, she continued, "…training?"
"Oh, right… I've been sneaking out at night to get trained by …." Harry explained in realization.
"Luna, how could you…" Parvarti asked indignantly; having finally removed the spell once more.
Harry wandlessly cast the spell yet again confusing Parvarti as she didn't see any wands pointed at her to explain the spells reapplication.
Luna looked at Parvarti in surprise and then at Harry… "Did you just…?"
"I'll explain later…" Harry announced while waving his wand visibly over Parvarti ending the spell.
"How'd you do that…?" Parvarti asked immediately.
"Do what?" Harry asked innocently as he took a sip of his apple juice.
"You cast the … I…" Parvarti stuttered… becoming quite flustered with the situation.
"Are you okay Parvarti… You haven't had the eggs have you?" Luna asked.
Parvarti stopped in confused worry. Her plate contained a half eaten egg sandwich.
"What's wrong with the eggs?" She asked.
"It's a Wednesday right…?" Luna asked.
"Yeah…?"
"Oh dear…" Luna said; she sympathetically patted the girl's hand and went back to serving herself… steering clear of the eggs pointedly.
After Parvarti had traded her plate for a less controversial bowl of porridge, Harry had asked in a whisper, "There's nothing wrong with the eggs is there…?"
"Only on Tuesday's…" Luna confided with a smile.
… .. … .. …
"Why was Parvarti trying to get me, not to eat the eggs?" Ron asked in confusion as they made their way to defence.
"No clue…" Harry answered in mock bafflement.
Walking through the door's into the defence classroom, Harry and Ron found a seat upfront.
"Tonks is still teaching right?" Ron asked.
Harry paused as he pulled his notebook out…
"Crap…" Quickly reaching for his wand he looked around the room in worry.
"What?" Ron asked in confusion, slowly reaching for his own wand as he searched the room for something suspicious.
Looking around the room in a way that would make Moody proud… Harry finally answered, with an equally paranoid, "Tonks is out to get me…"
Ron stared at the boy…" Why?"
"I threatened to tell everyone her first name…." Harry admitted.
Ron blanched. Taking a few scoots away from the boy he whispered harshly… "Are you mental... why would you do that?"
"I had my reasons…" Harry admitted reluctantly through gritted teeth.
Suddenly the office door to the front opened up wide revealing the very person they had been whispering about.
Tonks walked down the stairs imperiously, observing the students, and letting her eyes linger over Harry malevolently for a moment.
"Wotcher. Wands out everyone, today's going to be a practical lesson." She announced.
Harry didn't like the look in the woman's eyes… it reeked of mischief and vengeance.
He was afraid, very afraid.
… .. … .. …
"Maybe she forgot…?" Ron suggested optimistically.
"Maybe she's just bidding her time…" Harry countered as he looked behind him cautiously.
The lesson had been surprisingly tame. Tonks had finished her review of what they had covered before and started them on the subject of spell modification. Simple stuff like making a Lumos glow a specific colour… or using an Accio to pull the caster toward the object instead of the other way around.
Tonks hadn't even made one quip about his wings which Harry found suspicious.
"Probably… Anyway, I got herbology, Hope you make it to lunch…" Ron cheered optimistically as he bid the teen farewell.
Harry grumbled but let the comment slide. Deciding to head to the room of requirement, Harry took a left at the next intersection and made his way to the moving staircases.
He was about to take a step on the next stair well when he noticed a figure approaching him from the right.
She was a strictly dressed woman with grey hair and an alligator skin satchel. She caught Harry's eyes and waved him over.
Cautiously, he approached the mysterious woman, but stopped a couple of steps away…
"Mr. Potter I presume…" She asked authoritatively in a deep rumbling voice. Her eyes automatically traveled up to his scar and back down to stare him in the eyes.
She extended her arm regally and Harry automatically reached out and shook it.
"Yes, I am, Ms…?"
"Hopkirk, Mafalda Hopkirk…" She answered.
"Hopkirk…?" Harry asked in slight confusion. He had heard that name before…
"I run the underage wizarding division of the ministry; I oversee records, apparition, special permissions, Exams…" The woman explained significantly.
Suddenly it struck. He had received a slew of letters from this woman, almost all having to do with his underage magic 'misuse'.
Stiffening a little he put on a strained smile, wondering what she needed.
"Yes of course… What can I do for you ma'am?" Harry asked politely.
"You are unaware of why I am here…?" The woman asked with a quirked eye.
Starring at the woman in confusion, Harry searched his memory for any references to the her.
"I'm sorry; I don't think anyone mentioned you…?" Harry said politely.
"Excellent…" The woman pronounced while pulling a clipboard out of her satchel and scratching a mark on it.
Harry starred at the woman in bewilderment.
Ms. Hopkirk put her clipboard away, and then commanded...
"Mr. Potter, if you would please accompany me to the Headmasters office…"
Harry didn't have time to even respond to the order before the women had taken a right turn and proceeded towards Dumbledore's abode.
Unwillingly, Harry followed… making sure to keep a good distance between himself and the woman.
They walked in uncomfortable silence, at least for Harry.
'Am I in trouble with the ministry again?' Thoughts of political plots and conspiracies were swimming around his mind. Was she some harbinger of ill will…? Was she the next Umbridge?!
Approaching the familiar gargoyle Harry hung back hoping to be free from the robotic woman. She unnerved him with her business like stature.
"Mr. Potter, if you would open the passage way for me…" Hopkirk demanded politely.
Harry was about to just step forward when he stopped to frown. Wouldn't Dumbledore have given the woman his password if he was expecting her… did he really want to grant access to Dumbledore's private domain; to a complete stranger no less.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but it's not my place to invite you into Professor Dumbledore's Office." Harry stated hesitantly. Something about the woman was just wrong… He couldn't place it but he didn't trust her. Harry wondered if he was just being biased considering all the warnings she had sent… but he had learnt not to discount his instincts.
The woman's eye brow rose again, questioning whether Harry had just denied her entry.
"I can respect that, if you would announce my presence though… would that be possible Mr. Potter?" She asked in the same strict yet lifeless tones. She wasn't condescending or rude… she was polite and respectful. She didn't bluster or take any visible offence… Harry's mind whirled; trying to find reasons to reasonably deny the woman access but found none.
He was saved though by the shifting gargoyle, revealing the benign smiling form of Professor Dumbledore himself.
"Madame Hopkirk, Mr. Potter… please come in." Dumbledore welcomed pleasantly.
Harry however immediately noticed his formal address. Hanging behind, Harry waited for the woman to enter first, before he followed… shooting Dumbledore a inquiring stare in the process.
Dumbledore didn't answer verbally, but his eyes quickly flashed to the woman and back significantly.
Harry was to be on guard… that was clear.
Harry heard the door close behind him and waited till Dumbledore requested they seat themselves.
Harry caught the eye of Amadeus, the portrait. He flashed him a reassuring nod not even bothering to pretend to be asleep.
"Madame Hopkirk… I was not expecting you specifically; it is a pleasure as always." Dumbledore started.
"Thank you headmaster Dumbledore." Hopkirk graciously answered.
Getting an odd sensation Harry's head tilted up to stare at the ceiling curiously.
It was as if a sudden scorching heat had appeared above him…
Unsure what was going on Harry turned his attention back to the two adults.
"How was your vacation, I understand the Carpathian Mountains are quite lovely this time of year?" Dumbledore stated curiously.
"Nothing special… I'm sorry to rush things but I have a schedule to keep and must be on my way soon." The woman stated politely.
"Of course…" Dumbledore acquiesced.
"I have reviewed your request and have assigned Mr. Potter a schedule for your perusal." She handed him a sheet of paper from her satchel, then digging out a piece of paper, she handed him another list.
"And here are the time tables for the available instructors." She stated.
Feeling that he needed to make his presence known, Harry cleared his throat in a way that he hoped wasn't reminiscent of Umbridge…
"Sorry to interrupt, but a schedule?" Harry asked.
"So sorry Mr. Potter, I'm afraid that it is an old tradition amongst the education division of the ministry to keep the students involved unaware of things…" Dumbledore stated.
"I have petitioned for you to retake your history of magic examination and your addition into the fifth year O.W.L. exam for Ancient runes…" Dumbledore answered.
"Fifth year O.W.L.'s?!" Harry asked in shocked surprise.
It was far too soon to even be considering those... he was still covering the forth year material… how was he expected to catch up to the fifth years in time.
"Yes I'm afraid the board of governors are pushing for a rather short study period. In late July you will be expected to have completed a standard fifth year O.W.L. for the subject of ancient runes. If I may ask, how far have you progressed in your studies…?"
Harry was about to admit how far behind he was before his eyes were drawn to the woman on his left. She shifted in her seat, her satchel raised onto her lap.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I must be going, please forward the appropriate forms to my office." Hopkirk stated.
"Of course… I am sorry to have kept you, shall I escort you out?" Dumbledore asked politely.
"No, I will find my way; you may proceed with informing Mr. Potter of his time table." The woman stated briskly while standing up quickly and offering her hand for a farewell shake.
Dumbledore took the hand and seemed to shake it a second or longer than necessary before he allowed the woman to escape.
Once the door had closed Dumbledore immediately waved his wand at the window, opening it. Then the wand swung in a familiar movement at the new opening.
Suddenly an ethereal phoenix shot out from his wand only to swoop out the window and down below.
In a burst of fire directly above Dumbledore's right shoulder, a true phoenix appeared, screeching wildly in a very agitated way.
"Shh… there, there Fawkes, I know…." Dumbledore soothingly mumbled toward the bird.
"I take it you were watching…?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically.
Fawkes let out a less aggravated croon, calming down under the mans ministrations.
Harry was very confused.
"Sir…?
"I am sorry Mr. Potter, what must you be thinking…" Dumbledore apologized, while sweeping his wand over the chair Hopkirk had sat in moments earlier.
"I am afraid things are not as they appear..." Dumbledore stated mysteriously as he went around his desk to seat himself.
Fawkes crooned once more before hopping off his desk and over toward Harry.
Harry automatically scratched the bird behind in places Hedwig had liked and listened to Dumbledore's explanation.
Dumbledore observed Fawkes for a moment as he calmed down before starting.
"I am afraid, 4 weeks ago; I received intelligence that Madame Hopkirk had died in an automobile accident." Dumbledore stated blankly.
Harry blanched a little at the morbidity of it all.
"I'm sorry sir, I don't understand." Harry stated, wanting Dumbledore to spell it out for him.
"The woman, who entered my office today, was not Madame Hopkirk, I am afraid someone is masquerading as Mafalda for reasons I do not completely understand." Dumbledore admitted in frustration.
"Poly juice potion?" Harry asked.
"Most likely, it would explain her eagerness to leave…" Dumbledore agreed.
"What is curious though… is that the person masquerading as Mafalda Hopkirk today... was under the imperious curse." Dumbledore stated.
"Imperious? How do you know…?" Harry asked in confusion.
"I have modified Hogwarts wards over my tenure, and the readings I was getting from them were very consistent. They are not fool proof, but they are a fairly good indicator… What bothers me is that the person masquerading as Madame Hopkirk was not instructed to take precautions to hide the fact…" Dumbledore stated in puzzlement.
Harry too was baffled, and disturbed. He had just spent the last half hour with a person masquerading as a dead woman.
"Sir… if you know, why is she being allowed to leave?" Harry asked reluctantly. There was probably a tactically sound reason for the decision… but Harry was still curious.
Dumbledore stared at Harry for a moment inquiringly.
"Would you have detained her Harry?" He asked curiously.
'Was this a test…?' Harry wondered.
"I'm not sure, I was just curious. I suppose letting her wander free could be beneficial, in certain circumstances…?" Harry stated unsurely.
Dumbledore smiled in amusement. "Do not worry Harry; I am just curious as to your reasoning… I so rarely get to confide my strategic moves with non order members. And they are all fairly similar in their though thought processes…" Dumbledore admitted ruefully.
"Please, I am quite interested…" Dumbledore beseeched while leaning back in his seat.
A little startled that Dumbledore wanted to know his opinion on his military move… Harry unsurely answered.
"Um, well I am assuming that you wanted to have her followed, is that what the Patronus was…?"
"Indeed, it was a short message to the Order members close by, I instructed them to keep her watched." Dumbledore admitted pleased that Harry had figured it out.
"Right, well, I just figured that by letting her get away, while it might lead to gaining more information, you also have a greater likely hood of loosing her, or maybe it could be a diversion and whoever is pulling her strings may be trying to identify your order members and where they are stationed… of course you probably already know this." Harry stated rhetorically, feeling like an utter cad for questioning Dumbledore's decision.
Dumbledore stopped to pause… "Interesting…"
Harry wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.
"So you would advise that I have the order members capture her immediately then?" Dumbledore asked.
"I… I don't know…" Harry admitted, unsure what the best solution was.
Dumbledore smiled amusedly down at the boy.
"Welcome to my world Harry… I'm afraid confusion is quite rampant here." Dumbledore stated tiredly.
… .. … .. …
Harry had spent the next half hour in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore had never explained his reasoning for not capturing Hopkirk, but he did fill Harry in on some other less exciting news.
Harry was to be tested at random intervals by a select few instructors to evaluate his level in potions, to make sure that he was studying and therefore, eligible to be enrolled in the Newt examination for that subject.
Also at the end of the year, Harry would be expected to write his O.W.L. for fifth year runes.
Dumbledore had admitted that it was not an ideal amount of time for Harry to get caught up in the subject but he seemed encouraged by the progress Harry had made so far, which Harry thought was quite lacking in his opinion. If he had known he was expected to be prepared to write an exam for the subject at the end of the year he would have spent more time on it.
Also to be expected to have covered three years of the subject within just one… Harry thought it royally unfair.
Dumbledore did not deny that when Harry voiced his displeasure in the situation.
History of magic though, he was expected to write that exam within a month. Harry wasn't worried so much about that, as he just didn't care for the subject at all.
But he would endeavour to go through his notes over the next few days.
This conversation lead back to Hopkirk, as Dumbledore was to select which instructor would be the officiator for Harry's retake.
Dumbledore had confided that he was worried, as each name on the list was someone he trusted. Apparently there were quite a few possible instructors that were not listed, not all of them as trustworthy as the seven that he was being allowed to pick.
It troubled Dumbledore for reasons that he would not elaborate on, that those seven had been hand picked and delivered by the dead director.
That had lead to another round of theorizing which left Harry's head hurting from the possible threats that the man had concocted.
If Harry was to take anything away from the encounter, it was that Dumbledore was a truly paranoid man, he was just better at hiding it than Moody.
… .. … .. …
Elsewhere:
Hermione starred transfixed at her notes, a frown on her face as she tried to comprehend the equations she had been given for arithmancy.
Running her pen (she had stolen a few from home) over the equation, she tried to follow the circular logic.
Feeling a thump on her right, she looked over to Ron as he seated himself beside her.
"I can't feel my ears…" Ron cried in defeat.
"You can't feel your…?" Hermione mouthed in bafflement. "What?"
"You heard me… Seamus fired off one of the twins new pranks." Ron explained despondently.
"They made a prank that makes your ear's go numb…?" Hermione asked sceptically.
"No... It makes whatever part that it hits go numb… they were aiming for my legs but they missed and nicked my ears." Ron stated.
"How long does it last?" Hermione asked slightly amused.
Ron shrugged… "What are you up too?"
Pointing tiredly with her pen at her notes… "Arithmancy."
Ron frowned… "You don't look too enthused… I thought Arithmancy was your favourite subject."
"It was, but it's starting to sound more and more like divinations… so many strange conclusions are reached by the most obtuse information… its completely ridiculous." Hermione huffed in agitation.
"If you dislike it so much, why are you studying it…?" Ron asked curiously.
"I've stuck it out this long; I might as well get my NEWT… "Hermione stated reluctantly.
Ron leaned back in his chair… seemingly struck dumb by Hermione's words.
"I never thought I'd live to see the day… Hermione Granger doesn't want to study." Ron teased.
Hermione sent him a withering stare while lightly flinging her pen at the boy.
"Prat…" Hermione retorted... though the sting had been taken out of her words.
Ron smiled as he caught the pen.
Hermione watched as Ron's eye focused on the writing implement, a question on his lips… He was about to ask when Hermione turned and caught sight of the portrait hole opening.
With his back turned a messily haired figure walked into the room.
Panicking, Hermione quickly leaned over to look through her bag.
Ron watched the girl with a frown… flipping between his room mate and the girl who was trying to be unseen.
Harry turned to and caught sight of Ron, giving him a friendly wave as he made his way up the stairs to their dorm. Ron sparred him an equally friendly nod but focused on the girl beside him.
"Are you hiding from Harry?" He asked in confusion.
"What… no, I was just looking for some whiteout…." Hermione said quickly… pulling out a white plastic bottle from her bag.
Ron didn't buy it…"What's going on, I thought you were fine with Harry now?"
"I am fine with Harry… "Hermione defended evasively.
Hermione's head swivelled as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs… Panicking again she 'accidentally' dropped her white out.
Ron watched the girl with an incredulous stair.
Looking over at the stairs, Ron watched as Colin walked down, dragging behind him his school bag.
"You can get up, it's only Colin…" Ron said sardonically.
Crossing his arms Ron starred at the girl waiting for her to spill.
Hermione slowly got up again; a red tinge to her cheeks told Ron all he needed to know.
"Well…?" Ron asked.
"Its nothing, I'm just taking things slow, is all…" Hermione admitted reluctantly.
"You mean you're just putting it off. Have you even talked to Harry yet?" Ron asked.
"Of course Ron…" Hermione defended indignantly…
"If you say during class I'm going to have the twins jinx your books…." Ron warned.
Hermione's features twisted into an irritated frown… "There's no need to rush things… I'm just giving Harry his space for now." Hermione said ignoring Ron's threat.
Ron rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Just say you're sorry, and get it over with… the longer you let this thing go, the harder it will be to patch things up…" Ron advised sagely.
"I will, just not now… "Hermione reiterated. She didn't want to admit that she knew she was just scared to initiate the conversation. She feared that Harry would reject her again. She didn't think she could take being rejected again…
Ron huffed.
"Fine, but if you think I'm going to relay messages between you two then your mental…"
"I had to relay messages between you and Harry in Forth year…" Hermione reminded the boy indignantly…
"Yeah, but I have the emotional range of a teaspoon… I can get away with it." Ron reminded the girl charmingly.
Hermione could only roll her eyes at the boy… praying that someone would give her strength.
… .. … .. …
Harry had taken a few moments after dinner to fill Luna in on his training… he planned to fill Ron in at a later date. He hadn't gone into a lot of details but he had explained why he had been so tired and busy most of the year.
Luna seemed to accept it, thinking that getting trained sounded like a good idea. Harry had been worried that she might have wanted to train with him. As much as Harry liked the girl, he liked to train alone, it was one of those things that he liked to do alone. He didn't object so much to Luna learning to defend herself… he just didn't want to train with the girl.
He needed that separation, if only to know where his personal life started and hers began.
Harry was currently making his way toward the great hall. The day had been long and semi-eventful; but he was ready to start his training again.
Pulling his wand out… Harry entered the pitch black room.
Casting a Lumos, Harry spotted a cloaked figure at the other end of the room.
"Professor Dumbledore…?" Harry asked unsurely…
The figure didn't say anything for a few moments; instead, the person seemed to shrink slightly as it turned around…
Unclasping the cloak and pulling back the hood, the trainer finally answered.
"You wish…" The violently purple haired Auror replied malevolently.
Harry gripped the handle of his wand just a little tighter… suddenly wishing Luna were there; if only as back up against the sadistically gleeful metamorph.
AN: Ok this chapter was hard to write for various reasons… I haven't even had a chance to do a lot of editing on this myself or send it to my beta, as I've been running behind. Exams are starting this week so yeah.
Sorry to everyone, I haven't replied to your reviews yet though I did read them all. Expect a reply soon. And wow, that's a lot of reviews… I remember the day's when I was happy receiving just two… Thanks everyone who took the time to write.
I'm currently adding a few details to my outline as I wrote my self a little gap in time between now and the end of fic... have to plan it out before I start the next chapter.
I can't promise a chapter next Friday, but at least by the Friday after.
Anyway, till next time…
Quazi