Chapter 23 –Potions anyone?
.
I cannot tell you how happy I was when I entered the Potion classroom. I was the only Gryffindor to get into Snape's NEWT class. The other houses didn't fair very well either. Susan was huddled at one end away from the Slytherins. Four Ravenclaws were on the other end with little old me in the middle. Lora detested potions, Tiger was with Lora and Lea couldn't take the smells.
"You are only here because you are good at potions or lucked out on your final testing. We will sort out the latter in the next couple of classes." Snape was his normal sneering self but I knew a secret.
Snape continued, "You will pair off and start the potion listed on the board, you have one hour to compete the potion, begin. Oh dear, our Gryffindor seems to already have a problem which is mathematically unsolvable." I just ignored him as it was typical Snape. I also knew he was maintaining this path to keep the Slytherin junior deatheaters giving him information. At least that was the plan.
The secret was a book he had tossed in my lap over the summer which was over elemental interactions in potion making. It should have been mandatory in first year. My guess was only the Slytherins that got it and without it you could not mix a Marmalade Highball.
The class was moving along and I was happy with my potion in color and thickness. That was until I noticed Nott with a wand in his hand hiding said wand under his desk. I raised a protective shield and two seconds later something bounced off my shield.
"Mr. Potter this is not the DADA class and you're showing your ineptness in shielding will cost you five points." I really tried hard not to laugh but Nott's potion suddenly exploded in his face. I had a feeling Snape was not happy with Nott and did something to Nott's potion. "Mr. Nott I would advise you to seek Madam Pomfrey's assistance unless you want to look like Mr. Potter behind for the rest of your life." Nott raced from the room.
After lunch was our first DADA lesson with Tom Riddle. I can't say I was looking forward to it as it was using some very advanced spells and curses. I didn't really know that many advance spells or how to cast them. Sure an over powered stunner or other third year spells I could do but my magic was my elemental powers. Most people expected to see a 'protego' shield so they saw one. What I really erected was a wind shield or an electric shield. This was all just done without any conscious effort. I was after all a weather elemental and had Phoenix powers, so anything could happen. All in all I had not been in any real duels or fights that I couldn't 'flame' out of or end it with a single spell or minor help from the elements.
Tom Riddle turned out to be a very upsetting Professor. No sooner had we taken our seats when he appeared out of thin air and started throwing curses left and right. None of the curses were deadly just annoying or embarrassing. Of course to start with we did not know that so Lea shot out of my sleeve and became a mini flying torpedo. I diverted her away from the action with a little air as she was heading for Riddle and ground zero. While this only took a second Tiger the large appearing caused total pandemonium. Tiger the large sprang at Riddle as I put up a shield to protect her and another for myself and Lora. Hermione, Neville, and Lora had a number of curses flying and in the end the combination put Riddle in the hospital wing. Having a dozen curses hit you followed by a very heavy Tiger landing on your chest is no way to start the day.
Later I headed to the Hospital wing to get my pound of flesh with Lora attempting to calm me down. "Ok Riddle what was all that about? I demanded.
"Well I thought I surprise attack would give me an idea where the seventh year students stood in spell casting in a surprise attack. No one told me not to mess with Potter's friends."
I lost a lot my anger as it was a reasonable action by a professor, "Sorry about that, a number of us have been in a few scrapes and we try and react to save our asses as best we can in our own way."
"Is that where Luna Lovegood picked up her…"
Lora added to his not being able to find the right words. "Yes Luna has a way of knowing what's going on around her while giving the impression she is not there to react. I hope she didn't send some of her mystical creachers after you."
"I am afraid she did. I didn't know that bunny rabbits had antlers and shark teeth's." Riddle shuttered.
As Lora and I walked to the Great Hall, Lora giggled "That was not the brightest test Riddle cold have dreamed up."
"The only thing that stopped me from sending elemental death at him was he did swear an oath not to hurt the students." I answered.
"Harry you best remember, McGonagall said he swore an oath "he will not harm any students in Hogwarts" that doesn't say he will not outside of Hogwarts."
/Scene Break/
It's November and Saturday morning on the first weekend so that makes it a Hogsmeade Village weekend. "Does anyone here having breakfast not realize there is a deadly dark lord out there and we poor students are venturing out to Hogsmeade?" I grumbled.
"Voldemort wouldn't dare attack the village with all the Aurors patrolling." Hermione replied.
Lora did an eye roll and slapped some more scrambled eggs on my plate before Ron could inhale everything. Tiger was also eyeing Ron as his eyes fell on Tiger's kipper.
I was just torn between not going and going to protect the students. I then asked myself why it was my job to protect the students. It took a nudge from Lora to get me to continue eating breakfast. "Yes Lora my love" I mumbled. That got me to thinking that I should ask her tonight if she was happy as I was. I suddenly realized I was being pushed to leave the carriage as we were now in Hogmeade Village. I was thinking too much.
Hogsmeade was more than a single street but most students only knew of what was called the main street. With the Three Broomsticks at your back the street stretched forever. The left side of the street had shops like Honeydukes, Zonkos and Srivenshift's.
Behind those stores was an open field that stretches a good ways until it met the railroad tracks. To the left of the field was the Shrieking Shack and way down to the right was Madam Puddifoots and the great fountain. On the right of the main street were businesses like the Post office, the Hair Dressing shop and the Caldrom shop. Behind these was again a large open field. On the right of the field was the Three BroomSticks and to the far left the Hogshead. Students were only interested in the main street to get to their favorite candies or maybe a quick snog in one of the many alleys. No one paid much attention to the boring open fields.
We did have our private quarters as a married couple for quiet alone time but I had planned this as a quiet day for two. That is after the rush to get all the sweets, quills and other essentials. Come lunch time I slipped us behind Honeydukes and transformed a couch and a coffee table in front of the open field. The view was not the greatest but we could see the Shrieking Shack and the Forbidden Forest over by the railroad tracks. Dobby provided a fabulous lunch of assorted snacks, meats and breads. The cold butter beer helped wash it down. It was a cozy time for two lovers with snacks, kisses and chats about nothing. That was until Big Mac showed up with about fifty goons dressed in pinstriped suits and ruining the view of the field while approaching the town.
They paid no attention to us as they raced towards the town. Bursts of gun fire was sent towards the sky as if to announce their arrival.
I had enough of this and suddenly the sky started turning dark and the winds increased. Dark clouds moved in over the town and it looked as a large rain storm would start at any minute. Still sitting on the couch I wanted some mini tornadoes to strike and they appeared. I wanted lightning to strike Big Mac and his idiots and lightning rained down from the skies. Suddenly the rest of his forces still standing disappeared leaving a number of dead laying in the now sunny afternoon. I thought, another twenty-second battle with no final ending. I did notice a lack of deadly actions toward us as Lora turned to me and asked, "Harry didn't Thanatos say something to the effect that you were to young and inexperienced with no real knowledge of curses. What the hell did you just do to Big Mac that says you can't kill Voldemort?"
"This whole thing smells alright but they said I was to young not that I was incapable of killing Voldemort. They also said that the first time I hid and didn't mix well and died lonely after killing Voldemort. I mean I always thought that Voldemort would end up killing me because he was stronger than me. They couldn't have done all this to get that way of thinking removed from my poor brain and why bring back Riddle is another good question. Back then I lived and Riddle didn't so why do all of this again?"
"Harry did they say you had to kill Voldemort or defeat him. You lived as a baby while he didn't unless you call being a wrath living" Lora asked leaving me with my mouth hanging open. In another words did we hear what we heard or did we assume what we wanted to hear? Things like the great words of Dumbledore who interpreted them for me for his ends."
Unfortunately our questioning what the meaning of the word is, is, was interrupted by the sound of fighting on the other side of the street. The teachers assigned to patrol Hogsmeade, the Aurors sent by the Ministry and the Deatheathers were cursing each other from somewhere behind the Cauldron Shop.
We ran that direction. While 'Flaming' there was not a problem there was nothing stopping our arrival in the middle of a group of Deatheaters, so we ran to see what was happening. We ran through the alley next to Zonko's and found an empty main street, we exited that heading down an alley to the opposite field. I was wondering the best course of action when Lora grabbed my arm and side along 'apperated' me to the roof of Spintwitches Quidditch Supplies. From almost every alley teachers and Aurors were firing curses. Those fighting in the open field were Aurors that had rushed in from the Post Office side. The Deatheaters had found themselves in a dangerous and unprotected position.
I was staring to gather my clouds gathering when Voldemort arrived down by the Post Office. Lora transformed and swooped off. Lora was dive bombing groups of Deatheaters and laying clouds of deadly gas over them amid a hail of deadly curses and multiple killing curses. I almost lost it right there and then. I was torn between watching Lora almost getting killed, my storm gathering and Voldemort. All I could do was watch and gather my clouds, as a phoenix I was useless in a battle. Voldemort wasted no time hurling incendiary curses followed by exploding curses at Lora, the town and anything that bothered him. People and buildings were suffering from each curse and then all the people fighting stopped to watch. Voldemort hesitated in his cursing as he recognized his younger self flying towards him without a broom. The two started throwing curses at each other but for some reason they couldn't hit the other as it seemed that each had an invisible shield that caused the others curses to hit their shield and slid off in different directions. Neither was standing on the ground but were slowly spinning around each other about five feet off the ground looking like some kind of weird dance. Some idiot threw a curse at the two Riddles but it appeared to have no effect other than starting everyone to start throwing curses at each other again. I joined the fun with an assortment of lightning bolts and wind attacks but they too slid around the two Voldemorts.
As I got to glance at the two combatants I noticed that their curses had started a pale glow on each of the Riddles. They continued to throw ineffective curses and the glow got darker and the combatants got closer as they rotated around each other. The red glow on Voldemort was darker that the one on Riddle but each was increasing in color as they seemed to spin ever closer to each other as they slowly drift off towards the hills.
The two Riddles could play their game as I was not going to mess with something I knew nothing about, the idiots in the field was a different matter. What I didn't know was that there were more than Aurors and teachers fighting, some towns people and students were also throwing curses. Hogsmeade did have a few who where fighting but still more were watching. Standing on the edge of the roof I called thunder and lightning down on the Deatheaters making sure that I missed those not in Deatheater garb. Again the fight was seconds in length and the Deatheaters got out by whatever means possible when it was obvious they had lost this battle.
I was about ready to turn around and hug Lora who had returned to the roof and to her lovely Lora form. Planned on getting out of the area and heading back to Hogwarts when the explosion happened. Explosion is not overly accurate, it was more a release of magic on a very large-scale. I can only say that it knocked me spread eagle on my back with Lora on top of me. Since we were on a roof we got a good slap by the wave of energy. Those on the ground were apparently not that affected until the Dailey Profit was released the next morning.