Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.
Hi all,
Here's the next chapter. Harry and the girls explore the Room of Requirement, and Harry has an exciting flying lesson.
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Chapter 19
Harry showed the girls the Come-and-Go-Room, and to say they were excited was a massive understatement. The things they could do with the room were only limited by their imagination. He had to stop Hermione from disappearing into the Room of Hidden Things when he mentioned the bookshelves. She would most likely be lost in the convoluted maze of belongings and never be heard from again. Besides, he wasn't sure if everything inside was safe. For all he knew, there may be cursed objects.
Daphne was more reserved, but he knew her well enough to see her excitement. Tracy looked impassive as always, making it difficult for him to read her. She must practice Occlumency already, as no one so young could be so stoic. The most expressive were Susan and Hannah, but their personalities were more open, so they didn't bother to hide how they felt.
After experimenting a lot, they settled on a layout that satisfied everyone. Rather than just creating a room to study, they added a total of five separate rooms that had a specific function.
There was the lounge area; the study room with plenty of bookshelves; a spellcasting room for practising magic; a boys' and girls' bathroom, and a crafting room for Harry. Upon learning some crafting professions, he could set up some crafting stations here so he could continue to create things while at Hogwarts. It still required some experimentation to see if the room could conjure up some crafting stations.
The room was so versatile, that if they added some bedrooms, it would allow them to stay here indefinitely, as long as they brought their own food inside.
"Should we tell someone about the room?" Hermione asked. They were in the lounge area, seated on some comfortable stuffed furniture arranged in a semi-circle. A fireplace was lit behind them, keeping them warm and comfortable. Daphne stretched out her legs and placed them on Harry's lap.
"No," Daphne replied. "If the teachers find out, they would find a way to restrict access to this room."
"I wouldn't blame them. This room can provide us with anything we can think of that is physically located in the castle," Hermione pointed out.
"Yeah, we could gain access to all of the books in the restricted section," Tracy said. "If we knew the names of the books."
"Does it have to be that specific?" Harry questioned. "What if we just ask it to conjure the entire restricted section for us?"
There was a moment of silence as they considered whether they should try out the idea.
"We need to set limits," Susan said with a firm voice. "There is no point in us reading books and practising magic that is too advanced for us. It would be difficult for us to understand, and dangerous. Magical education is structured for a reason since we need to lay a solid foundation of concepts and ideas. Exploring other areas of magic or learning second or third-year materials is fine, as long as we are prudent."
"I nominate Susan as our voice of reason," Hannah said cheerfully, raising her hand. "She gets her responsible nature from her aunt."
"You're not wrong," Daphne replied to Susan, ignoring Hannah's comment. "However, I think Harry is going to completely ignore that and do whatever he wants."
"Hey," Harry stuck his nose in the air. "I'm allowed. I happen to be a genius in one particular subject, and I am not going to hold myself back. Besides, my grandmother believed magic should be explored without limits. That is what leads to new innovations and growth within our society."
"I think you are willfully misinterpreting what your grandmother said," Daphne replied. "She was speaking about general knowledge and basic principles, not advanced magic."
Harry did not want to hear it, so he tickled the bottoms of her feet and she yanked them from his grasp, glaring at him with a promise of retribution.
Hermione scribbled something on her parchment. "I think we should share with everyone before we read or practice anything that comes from the room."
"That's a good idea," Susan agreed.
"So, should we add more members to the study group?" Harry asked with a pleading voice. "I'm kind of feeling outnumbered here."
"Is the poor little Potter feeling intimidated by all the beautiful witches around him?" Daphne teased.
"I will put you over my knee and give you a spanking," Harry threatened, causing the other girls to blush.
"Promises, promises," Daphne smirked.
"I think we should wait a couple of weeks before thinking about adding any more members," Hermione said. "I think we can safely assume that the current group will not divulge the existence of this room, but we can't be sure about others."
"Well, then, let's get to know some other people to determine whether they are trustworthy," Harry said.
Hermione looked at the grandfather clock standing next to the fireplace. "Should we get started on the Occlumency lesson? We only have an hour left until curfew."
"I suppose we should," Daphne sighed, pulling 'Occluding the Mind' from her bag. "Susan, Hannah. Are you going to be joining us?"
"My aunt has taught me some Occlumency," Susan replied. "Like you, I am not very far along, so I can start from the beginning again."
"I don't know if I will be any good at it," Hannah admitted.
"Well, you can try the first part," Daphne said. "It involves clearing your mind of all thoughts. Although it sounds simple in concept, it is very hard to master. I am still having trouble with it."
"Okay, I will give it a go," Hannah said cheerfully.
Daphne stood up with the book in her hand to make sure that she held the group's attention.
"To speed things along, I won't read the first chapter verbatim, but summarise," Daphne said. "Besides, it is very dry reading and the author tends to go on a tangent. If you would like to read it later, then let me know. You have to be careful with it, however, because it's a very rare book. My parents would kill me if I lost it."
"Isn't there a spell that can make a copy of a book?" Hermione asked.
"There is a spell, but the Ministry made it illegal to use. It is a hefty fine and a short stint in Azkaban if you are caught using it." Daphne explained. "There are quite a few books out there that they don't want you to read, so they actively look to destroy as many copies as they can. Hence, the spell is a huge problem for them."
"They are destroying books," Hermione said in a small voice.
"Watch out, Hermione is about to lose her mind," Hannah giggled.
"The Department of Mysteries is involved. They hoard secrets like nobody else's business. They think it is safer that the general public is ignorant of what they consider Dark Magics," Tracy said with air quotes. "Only the noble families are allowed to keep their books out of the Ministry's hands. There are advantages to being part of the governing body that determines its legislation."
Hermione frowned but refrained from commenting.
Daphne continued. "If you do read it, don't go any further than the first two chapters, as Occlumency is a very structured discipline and can be dangerous later on, since you are basically rewiring your brain to behave in a certain way. Skip ahead and you are likely to regret it.
"Now, what is Occlumency? It is the magical defence against external intrusion. As far as I am aware, it is the only method that can repel Legilimency. It allows you to detect and create shields that block the person from reading your thoughts. There are several levels of mastery, with a number of benefits that derive from practising it.
"There are some out there that are Natural Occlumens, meaning they have fully developed mind shields from birth, but they are very rare. From what I understand, some witches and wizards are born with their brains wired differently from everyone else. Their minds are so convoluted that it is painful for Legilimens to navigate them."
Daphne paused to take a drink of water before continuing.
"The first level of Occlumency is called Passive Legilimency Defence, which is quite a mouthful. It allows you to detect intrusion from Legilimens that are attempting to read your surface thoughts. Passive Legilimency does not require a wand or eye contact, so it is very inconspicuous."
Harry raised his hand like he was in class and Daphne nodded at him.
"What is considered a surface thought?"
Hermione raised her hand as well, and Daphne sighed in exasperation, causing the others to laugh. "You don't need to raise your hand."
Hermione lowered her hand sheepishly. "Surface thoughts are the words that you hear or images that you see in your head as things happen to you. Unlike the subconscious mind, you are fully aware of them."
"Five points to Gryffindor," Daphne said dryly. "Hermione is correct. Surface thoughts are very reactive and hard to control. They may contain a lot of information, depending on what you are thinking at that moment. Legimens will try and manipulate you into thinking of a specific topic before reading your thoughts. By doing so, they can extract information from your mind without having to dive deeper into your subconsciousness.
"So, the first level of Occlumens is essentially defending yourself from passive Legilimency and is broken up into three stages. First, learn to empty your mind and control your emotions to a certain extent. Secondly, learn to detect surface-level breaches. When a Legilimens tries to read your thoughts, it creates ripples inside your mind which can be detected if you are perceptive enough. The third stage is by far the hardest. It is learning how to recognise the intruder's identity.
"Everyone's mind is unique, and no matter how proficient a Legilimens is, there is always a small part of themselves that bleeds over into their target's mind. This is usually manifested in the form of an animal or object that represents who they are as an individual. That means you may be able to recognise them if they have intruded on your mind before or if you have prior information about them. Any questions before we get started?"
"How are we going to determine our progress?" Hannah asked.
Before Daphne could answer, a small plinth appeared in the middle of the room, with a large crystal ball placed on it. Everyone jumped to surprise. After getting up, they walked closer to examine it but kept a safe distance. The crystal ball was slightly smaller than a basketball and looked like it was trapping a turbulent storm inside, as there were a number of swirling dark purple clouds.
"What the hell is that?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"I think it was something to do with what Hannah asked," Hermione said. "Maybe the room provided it because it helps in some way?"
It was a logical conclusion, as the room did respond to their thoughts and wishes. Thinking about it more, it seems like the room must have its own form of Legilimency if it could extract information from their minds.
"Let's figure it out later," Harry said. "For now, we don't need to worry too much about how proficient we are. It's going to take time for us to make any progress."
The others nodded and they sat back down. Harry planned to return to the room alone and use one of the Appraisal Scrolls on it. He wanted to know exactly what the object did.
"My mother taught me to empty my mind in a way that seems counterintuitive, but it is effective," Daphne said. "Instead of trying to empty your mind from the very start, it is easier to visualise an image first. Once you have this image firmly in your mind, you are going to slowly shrink it down gradually until it is barely noticeable. By this point, you should have sufficient control that emptying your mind comes naturally."
Daphne had them choose an image, and Harry chose the Elder Futhark rune, Laguz. It was a very basic image, looking like an upwards pointing arrow, except the left side of the arrow was missing. The rune represented water and was associated with intuition, emotions, and movement. It seemed appropriate for the situation.
Harry closed his eyes and tried to visualise the image. He had a hard time sustaining it for more than a few seconds. It was like holding onto smoke, and other images and thoughts kept intruding on it, breaking his concentration. It wasn't long before they had to call it quits for the night. They had to return to their common rooms before curfew.
"Wait," Harry paused as they were about to leave. "How is the room going to retain the space we have set up? I don't want to have to adjust it every time we enter the room."
"I can't believe I didn't think of that?" Daphne slapped her forehead.
A small table with a ledger and quill appeared beside the doorway. Looking closer, they noticed that the ledger was mostly blank, apart from one small section on the left-hand side.
The Room of Requirement Memory Retention.
Write down the name and password for the room that you want to save for later use. To regain access, just think of them while standing outside the room.
0: The Room of Hidden Things: Password - Come and Go Room
1: -
2: -
"So, it's called the Room of Requirement," Daphne said. "It certainly is more palatable than what the house elves call it. They must have passed down knowledge of the password from the previous generations."
"This room is amazing," Harry said, grabbing the quill. "What should we call the room we created?"
"What about the Hogwarts Study Group?" Hannah suggested.
"Too generic," Daphne said. "Besides, I am thinking that it is more appropriate to call us a club rather than a study group. It sounds more official."
"The Academics Club?" Hermione ventured.
"Still too generic," Tracy said. "Maybe the Literacy Circle?"
"I love it," Hermione exclaimed.
"Too specific," Daphne said. "I think we need to think of what we actually want to accomplish to give us some direction."
"We have both Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs among us," Susan said, looking around. "I think our goal should be to have students from all four houses in our club at some point."
"That's an ambitious idea," Daphne smirked. "Finding some agreeable snakes will be a challenge."
"Blaise Zabini is tolerable," Tracy said with a blush.
"The United Quartet," Hermione said.
As they couldn't think of anything better, they went with that idea. After writing down the name, Harry chose 'The Four Houses' as the password.
Seeing that time was running out before curfew, they quickly left the room and returned to their common rooms.
7th September
Severus Snape watched impassively as the first-year students entered the class and took their seats. In keeping with tradition, the Gryffindors and Slytherins sat on opposite sides of the classroom.
His godson sat down with his usual cronies; Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle. He felt like he should warn his godson about sitting too close to the two dunderheads, as he would likely be in danger of being hurt from an exploding cauldron. Then again, maybe he should teach him a lesson. He wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards Draco and Lucius Malfoy. When he visited their manor over the summer holidays, he had to listen to their angry rants over the fact that Lord Black had disowned Draco and his wife. While Narcissa had not shown any visible emotion, he could tell that she was deeply affected by the news.
His gaze fell on Harry Potter, who was sitting next to Daphne Greengrass.
He had to work hard not to show any emotion. He could see Lily's green eyes looking at him, provoking a tumult of emotions. It was hard to hate the boy, even though he looked like his father. After all, he had believed he was dead for over a decade. Add that to the fact that he realised Lily Evans wasn't the woman he loved, but rather an obsession.
It was obvious in hindsight why he became close to Lily Evans. The abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Tobias Snape, had him searching for something good and pure to help him cope with his unfortunate circumstances. Lily was the one he chose to place on a pedestal. As a young boy, he thought she was the epitome of perfection, and the fact that she was a witch only made him even more obsessed.
While Lily Evans was an amazing woman, she also had her own share of faults. She had a temper and could hold grudges for a long time if you wronged her or her friends. Her biggest flaw was that she fell in love with James Potter.
Dumbledore didn't think it necessary to confide in him about the boy's survival. Given all the other secrets he kept secret for him, he found it strange. It was obvious Dumbledore had his own secretive plans and he was merely a pawn. He was not surprised, since he knew very well what Dumbledore was really like. At times, he thought that he preferred the Dark Lord over Dumbledore. At least Voldemort's intentions were straightforward.
Dumbledore had sent him a letter a few days ago. The man had the absolute gall to ask him to keep an eye on Harry Potter and report back to him. He even suggested reading the boy's mind and trying to figure out where he lived, among other things. In the past, he would have obeyed the man without question. He was subjected to oppressive magical oaths that essentially made him a slave. There was little choice at the time, as he was willing to do anything to save Lily and avoid being sent to Azkaban.
However, unbeknownst to Dumbledore, he gained the ability to obtain his freedom when he became a Level 5 Occlumens. It represented true mastery of the discipline and was exceedingly rare for someone to reach that level. The only ones he knew of who achieved it were Voldemort and Dumbledore. The most important aspect of reaching level 5 was that it gave you the ability to remove all binding magical oaths, including the Unbreakable Vow.
As soon as Dumbledore made the requests regarding Harry Potter, he decided it was time to remove the shackles binding him. True happiness filled his heart every time he imagined Dumblesore's expression when he felt the magical oaths break.
Breaking out of thoughts, he realised that the students were waiting for him.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art…."
9th September
It was late afternoon on Thursday, and Harry was making his way over the grounds with the rest of the Gryffindor class, heading for their first Flying lesson.
In the past few days, Harry had become increasingly interested in flying. Ron had bombarded him with a load of Quidditch facts, so it felt inevitable that he would have some level of interest. Aside from that, his grandmother told him that his father had played the sport, and had been an amazing Chaser. Considering his grandmother's obsession with the sport, he felt that her reasons for telling him were highly suspect.
Hermione was the only one who didn't seem happy about the Flying lesson. Her anxiety had been increasing all day, and she even read a book on the subject to prepare for it. As if it would actually help her fly a broom. In contrast, Tracy was really excited, and he witnessed an entirely new aspect of her personality. She walked alongside him with a spring in her step, evidently excited for the upcoming lesson.
"Is that really Tracy?" Harry whispered to Daphne. "Or is it someone masquerading as her using a Polyjuice Potion?"
"Quidditch is the one subject that turns her from a quiet mousy girl into a raving lunatic," Daphne grumbled.
"She has been hiding it well."
"I fear she can no longer suppress herself."
Harry wasn't pleased when he saw the Slytherins waiting for them with Madam Hooch. Over the past few days, Draco Malfoy has constantly insulted him and his friends, trying to get a reaction out of him. He could think of two reasons as to why the boy hated him so much.
It all started with their first meeting, which was fairly innocuous in his opinion. He didn't ask Fawkes to attack the boy and cause him to fall into the freezing water. The second thing was that Draco found out that Harry was the Black Heir. It wasn't like he had been hiding it, as he wore the Heir ring on his finger.
"Right, I want everyone to stand beside a broom," Madam Hooch instructed, and everyone scrambled to grab a broomstick that was lying on the ground.
The scuffle that followed was pretty intense. The students were looking for a broom that looked reasonably intact. It wasn't a secret that they desperately needed to be replaced. Ron emerged from a pile of bodies sporting a black eye, although he was holding a broom and grinning in triumph.
"They are all the same," Madam Hooch said irritably.
Harry seriously doubted it. Some of the students looked to have brooms that had half their twigs missing. He managed to obtain one that appeared to be in good condition. Daphne stood next to him, looking completely unruffled. She had commanded her boyfriend to secure her a broom and rewarded him with a smile for his efforts.
"Now, place your hand above the broom and say 'Up' in a commanding voice," Madam Hooch said. "If you do it right, it should jump into your hand."
Harry's broom jumped into his hand, surprising him. Looking around, he could see that the other students were having mixed results. Hermione's broom rolled limply on the ground, and Seamus's broom jumped up and smacked him in the face.
Then she demonstrated how to mount their brooms and grip the handle properly. Harry expected to feel very uncomfortable with a stick between his legs, but it felt like he was straddling a soft cushion. There must be some enchantments placed on it to ensure comfort.
"When I blow my whistle," Madam Hooch stated, "then I want you to kick off with..., what are you doing, silly boy!"
Neville Longbottom rose into the air prematurely, looking like he had little control. He continued to rise until he was twenty feet in the air before the broomstick gave a violent jerk. It unseated him and sent him tumbling to the ground. Harry winced when Neville landed with a thud, followed by a crack that indicated that he broke something. He felt bad for him, as it was obvious that the boy had picked the wrong broom.
Madam Hooch bent over Neville as he cried. "Broken wrist," she muttered before helping him to his feet. "I am taking the boy to the Hospital Wing. Stay here, and do not attempt to fly the brooms while I am gone."
"Dammit, is the Flying lesson going to be cancelled?" Tracy sighed.
"It's nice to see your genuine concern for a fellow classmate," Daphne laughed.
"Madam Pomfrey will fix Neville up in no time," Tracy waved her hand dismissively.
"I am never mounting a broom ever again," Hermione said with a pale face, placing her broom back on the ground.
Harry spotted a piece of parchment on the ground, and he picked it up. It was a letter, and it was written by someone named Augusta Longbottom. Was that Neville's grandmother? The letter must have fallen out of Neville's pocket when he fell. Harry put it away, planning to return it to Neville later.
Instinctively, he ducked down, feeling something brush against the top of his head. Harry looked up and glared at Draco, who had mounted his broom and looked to have deliberately targeted him. There was no way it was a mistake, as the boy looked competent in flying a broom.
"You got lucky there, Potter," Draco smirked. "Next time, I won't miss."
"Bastard," Daphne spat, looking like she was going to summon her wand and curse him.
Harry was not going to take it lying down. He mounted his broom and rose in the air, without caring about the fact that he hadn't flown on a broom before.
"Harry, no!" Hermione shouted.
"Kick his arse, Harry," Ron egged him on.
Draco's eyes widened as Harry flew directly at him, and he turned around and flew higher into the sky. Harry followed Draco as he performed a series of dips and turns in an attempt to lose him.
Despite being over a hundred feet above the ground, Harry didn't feel an ounce of fear. It felt like the broom was an extension of himself, responding effortlessly to his every thought. Harry didn't know how it was possible, but flying was effortless. Grinning, he leaned forward on the handle to gain some speed.
Suddenly, Draco looked less confident. As he neared the castle, he swerved, hoping the tight manoeuvre would cause Harry to hit the side of the castle. He was kidding himself. Harry hit the brakes as he was about to hit a window in one of the towers. Through it, he was able to see his grandmother's shocked expression before he shot forward, continuing his pursuit.
Draco was distracted from watching Harry and wasn't prepared when he was hit by a powerful gust of wind. Screaming, the boy fell off his broom, clutching it desperately before falling towards the ground.
Harry pointed his broomstick down and accelerated. He could feel it shaking in his grip as he pushed it to its limits, but he gritted his teeth and continued without a thought for his own safety. When he finally caught up to Draco, they were about thirty feet off the ground. Reaching out, he managed to snag the boy's robes. Harry cried out when it felt like his arm was being torn out of his socket, but continued to hold Draco determinedly as they descended to the ground.
Immediately after Draco touched down, he released him and landed next to him. He lay down beside his nemesis and groaned. It felt like his arm was dislocated, and he was bitterly regretting saving Draco. The pain wasn't worth it in his opinion.
"I'm not going to thank you, Potter," Draco said.
"Shut up Malfoy."
Harry grumbled as Madam Pomfrey tended to his shoulder. Beside him, his grandmother was standing there with a stern expression. She told him that she had witnessed the entire incident from the window, and the only thing holding her back from scolding him was his injury. He was certain that would change as soon as it was fixed. Perhaps he should wait a couple of days to get it healed. The pain would be preferable to the lecture.
"Didn't I just see you a few days ago, Mr Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she poked his arm with her wand. A wave of warmth spread throughout his arm, and he felt his shoulder shifting back into place, though he did not feel anything.
"That wasn't me," Harry fibbed. "That was my evil look-alike, Harry Plopper."
"Right," Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. She turned to his grandmother. "He is all yours now. It was only a dislocated shoulder. Easily fixed."
Madam Pomfrey left and his grandmother sat beside him in a chair. She looked at him with piercing eyes, and Harry looked away, unable to endure it.
"Do you know how worried I was about you?" Minerva asked finally.
"I was okay," Harry reassured her.
"You wouldn't be in the situation in the first place if you did not chase after Mr Malfoy like some bloody baweid hallion," Minerva growled.
"Translation?" Harry asked weakly.
"It means empty-headed scoundrel," Minerva shouted.
She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, and you will spend a week of detention with me, Mr Potter. I hope this will teach you a lesson about using your head and not acting rashly."
"What about Draco Malfoy?" Harry whined. "He deliberately attacked me. I could have been seriously hurt if I didn't dodge in time."
"You don't have to worry about him. He will be suitably punished," Minerva said, standing up.
Minerva reached over and hugged him tightly. "I am glad that you weren't hurt too badly."
"I am fine," Harry mumbled.
"Do you know what really disappoints me most about the entire situation?"
"What?"
"I cannot make you the Seeker of the Gryffindor team. It would smack of favouritism if I rewarded you for your reckless behaviour. It's a shame since I could see Gryffindor winning the Inter-House Quidditch Cup with your help. Oh, well, there is always next year."
His grandmother left him sitting there, speechless. His grandmother's priorities seemed a little skewed to him.
It was time to go down for dinner in the Great Hall and think about how he was going to grovel to Daphne and his friends. They were not pleased with his behaviour, even though Daphne seemed only angry at him for getting hurt.
Harry was about to put his robe on when he felt the parchment in the left pocket. He forgot to give it to Neville. To be fair, the boy had left soon after he arrived in the Hospital Wing and had been distracted by the pain.
Harry hesitated briefly but decided to read it. He justified his actions by thinking that his grandfather would want him to collect information on potential enemies.
Neville,
What progress have you made in making friends with Harry Potter? I should not have to remind you that reforming the Potter-Longbottom alliance is of utmost importance. We took considerable financial losses when I decided to sever ties with them the first time, but I deemed the losses acceptable. Now that Dumbledore has been ousted, we have suffered even more damage. Both to our finances and our reputation.
I look forward to hearing good news from you over the holiday season, or I may need to use tougher measures to ensure that my orders are followed precisely.
Do not disappoint me.
Augusta Longbottom.
Neville's grandmother sounded like a real bitch. In the letter, she seemed to imply that the boy would be punished severely if he didn't follow her orders. Was he being abused? It would explain why the boy seemed to be so shy and timid.
Is there anything he can do about it?
So, what do you think? I wanted to give Snape some time to develop his character. He will not be antagonistic to Harry, but neither will they be friendly.
Thanks for reading.