Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.

Hi all,

Here's the next chapter. The new Pokemon story will be out in a couple of weeks. I am now juggling four stories, so I won't be releasing chapters with a regular schedule. It depends on what the Patrons choose.

Patrons get access to advanced chapters for all of my stories. Read my profile for information on how to join if you are interested.

Chapter 20

10th September

After finishing History of Magic class the next day, Harry quickly packed his supplies back into his bag. The Room of Requirement was waiting. Since he had two free periods, he wanted to spend some time working on his Spell Cards. Due to a seemingly endless amount of homework that the professors assigned, he hadn't returned to the room since the last time.

They also needed to find a discreet way to enter the room without being noticed. A great deal of traffic passed through the corridor on the seventh floor, since it was near the Headmaster's office. Harry could always use his Animagus form, but that would not help the girls. Besides, he hadn't disclosed the secret to anyone other than Daphne yet.

"What's the rush?" Daphne asked.

"There's something I need to check out in the ROR," Harry told her. "I have to retrieve Fawkes from the Headmaster's office as well."

"Aren't you going to put your bag away first?"

"No need," Harry said, rushing out the door. "I will see you up there."

Harry quickly made his way to the seventh floor. There was a reason why he wanted to go first. The crystal orb still was a mystery, so he wanted to use an appraisal scroll on it.

First, he headed to the Headmaster's office. There was no one in the room, besides Fawkes, who had been moved to a larger perch near the window. In the last few days, he had grown considerably, almost reaching his former size. He also sprouted a new set of beautiful red and gold feathers, no longer looking like a plucked turkey.

"Hey, are you ready to go? I have a couple of free periods," Harry said. Fawkes flew off his perch and landed on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck. The phoenix sent him a series of images that convey excitement.

"You will be able to flame travel soon? That's good to hear."

Upon reaching the wall, he thought of the password for the club room, and the door appeared. Harry entered the Room of Requirement and the door closed behind him. There was no need to worry about stopping the girls from entering. As far as he was aware, if they were searching for the same room already in use, they should be able to enter.

When he entered the lounge, Fawkes flew over to the perch that had been set up for him. Harry approached the plinth that held the crystal orb. He grabbed an appraisal scroll from his inventory and summoned his wand. To avoid touching it, he levitated the orb into the air. He placed the scroll on the plinth before lowering the orb back onto it. It took a moment for the scroll to fill up with information, and then he retrieved it.

Omniscient Mind's Eye

The Omniscient Mind's Eye is an artifact dating back to the Founder's era. It was created for the purpose of training students in the Mind Arts. Students can activate it by simply placing a hand on it. To activate Occlumency training, touch the Eye with your left hand, and your right hand for Legilimency. There are several difficulty levels available, and the Eye automatically adjusts based on the student's current abilities, ensuring that it is an excellent training tool for all levels of experience.

Level 1 Occlumens: Stage 1 - Emptying the Mind

Immediately after the Eye is held, it shall perform passive Legilimency, showing within it the student's current surface thoughts. Only when the Eye does not show anything for longer than a minute will the first stage be truly mastered.

Level 1 Legilimency Stage 1 - Discerning the Truth

The Eye will show the student an image, and they must decide whether it is true or false. Mastery of this stage is achieved when the user gets ten consecutive correct answers. There is no guessing either, as the Eye can tell when the student doesn't truly know the answer.

...

The parchment went on to describe the different stages for each level of Occlumency and Legilimency. The artifact was a remarkable piece of craftsmanship, but it also made him wary. In the wrong hands, it could allow them to read people's minds without a need to learn the discipline. It would be a fantastic tool for interrogation or torture.

Furthermore, it sounded like the thing had a brain or some form of sentience considering what it was capable of. It didn't specifically state it on the parchment, so he wondered if the appraisal scroll had some limitations on the information it could reveal about an object.

Whatever the case, it sounded like it was harmless enough and they could use it without fear. He could even show the parchment to the others, and say that the room summoned it at his request. They would be able to use the artifact to gauge their progress, which would motivate them to work harder.

Deciding to try it, he reached out and placed his left hand on top of the orb while trying to hold the image of the rune in his mind. The purple clouds were instantly replaced by a clear image of the rune. Harry managed to hold the image for about forty seconds before it broke down, and various random images began to appear.

Taking his hand off the orb, he nodded in satisfaction. He managed to hold the image longer than he expected. After he was able to consistently maintain it for a minute, he would work on shrinking the image down in size. Harry placed the parchment down and headed to his crafting room.

It was only a basic setup at this point. There was a table and chair, and a chalkboard where he kept any ideas that came to him. Emptying his bag, he placed his enchanting supplies on the table and got to work.

Over the last few days, besides doing his homework, he had put a lot of time into crafting his Spell Cards. The effort paid off, as not only did he gain a lot of experience, but he seemed to have broken through a threshold. Crafting Spell Cards became easier, and now he could craft one in ten minutes or less. He now has created two Spell Cards. Currently, he was working on a third, the Fire Making Spell Card.

While he worked, he pondered what to do about Neville's situation. On one hand, he felt that it was too delicate to resolve on his own, so he considered telling his grandmother. However, he wasn't sure what his grandmother could do, since interfering with another noble house's business was frowned upon. Besides, was it actually illegal for a parent to abuse their children? There were some aspects of the wizarding world that were centuries behind in terms of social development.

Another option was to go directly to Neville and ask him what was going on. There was a possibility that he misread the situation. Then again, Neville might deny that any abuse was happening. It was a tricky situation. However, he had some time to come up with a solution, since Neville wouldn't return home for another few months.

"Harry, where did this parchment come from?" Daphne demanded as she burst into the room.

Harry signed and placed his runic pen down. He wasn't going to get any work done until he answered her questions.

"That'll do for tonight, Harry," Minerva said. "Curfew is in another thirty minutes."

Putting the quill down, Harry stretched his arms and yawned. Even though being in detention was annoying, writing lines wasn't the worst punishment. As soon as he finished tidying up, he said goodnight to his grandmother and left her room.

As a result of the incident yesterday, Gryffindor lost a lot of house points. A few of his classmates were giving him the cold shoulder for putting them in last place. However, he wasn't too concerned. Only a week had passed, so there was plenty of time to regain the lead. Furthermore, he earned enough points in class for Gryffindor to make up for it.

The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up at their ends, and he stopped. Without any hesitation, he transformed into his Animagus form and turned invisible. He dived into an alcove behind a knight's statue and waited in tense anticipation. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps approaching, then passing by. Peeking out, he saw it was Professor Quirrel, heading toward the stairs leading to the third floor.

Harry wondered why his instincts had screamed at him to hide. It wasn't like he would get in trouble as he still had time before curfew was in effect. No, it had to be something more sinister. After a brief hesitation, he decided to follow the professor. Since his invisibility wasn't omnipotent, he maintained a safe distance behind him.

When he reached the third floor, it became apparent where Professor Quirrel was headed. The forbidden corridor where the Enchanted Wall was located. Harry had planned to come here eventually, but he hadn't imagined it would be so soon. As Professor Quirrel turned the corner, Harry followed but stopped before making the turn. Putting his back against the wall, he peered around the corner.

Harry's eyes widened at the sight before him. The Enchanted Wall was more spectacular than he ever imagined. An entire section of wall, about fourteen feet long, was lit up with thousands of shining arrays. They were so dense, that it almost looked like it was a single solid mass, as if someone had roughly painted the wall a luminescent blue. Staring at it for too long made him dizzy, so he looked away.

Standing by the wall were two people. Professor Quirrel and Professor Babbling. She was an attractive witch in her early thirties, with a lithe figure and long chestnut hair that reached her waist. Harry could tell she wasn't comfortable with Professor Quirrel's presence. Harry listened to their conversation, suffering through the man's awful stutter.

"Quirinus, why are you here? Didn't the headmaster tell you the corridor was off-limits to all but a select few?"

"I was only curious," Quirrel stammered. "Such a fascinating discovery should not be hidden away from the world."

"We still haven't determined if it isn't dangerous yet," Babbling scowled.

"You haven't figured out the secret?"

"No. The entire wall looks to be concealed by a very complex obscure array," Babbling sighed. "Even with all my experience, I can't find a way to break it yet."

Harry's attention was caught by the turban on Quirrel's head. Could it have been his imagination, or was something moving at the back of his head? Professor Babbling didn't notice anything, although she probably couldn't see it from where she was standing.

"Do you know why it appeared in the first place?"

"There is a theory that before leaving the castle, Dumbledore did something to the Wards that triggered its appearance. The timing is too coincidental. The Headmaster is working hard to unravel the Wards to see if he can find anything."

"Bad business, that," Quirrel murmured.

"Indeed. What that bastard did to Minerva and her grandson is abhorrent. Harry is apparently a prodigy with runes, so I have been meaning to talk with him."

Quirrel twitched, and Babbling looked at him with concern. "You should see Poppy for a checkup. You don't look so good."

"I will be fine."

"Well, I'm going to bed," Babbling said. "I'm spending way too much time on this. Headmaster Flitwick may be calling in some real experts soon to try and unravel the mystery. Doesn't want to leave a potential hazard in a school full of children."

While she was saying that, Professor Babbling was walking away, so she didn't see Professor Quirrel's look of fury. It was so unexpected that Harry almost gave himself away by making a noise. He had no idea the man was capable of such rage. There was definitely something wrong with the man. Maybe he should share his concerns with the others and see what they think.

It looked like he would not be getting a closer look at the Enchanted Wall tonight, so he turned around and left. He would return another time.

11th September

"When you put it all together, it does sound suspicious," Daphne said.

They were back in the Room of Requirement, discussing what Harry had seen last night. He edited out the part about him being a magical Animagus. It wasn't something he wanted to reveal to the others yet, besides Daphne.

"Do you think he knows something about the Enchanted Wall?" Hermione asked. "Maybe he wants to keep whatever it is hiding for himself."

"Well, if the Headmaster brings in some experts, then Professor Quirrel has a limited time to solve it," Tracy said. "He may get desperate."

"It's all just speculation at this point," Susan opined. "There are no solid leads we can present to the professors. Do you think your grandmother will listen to you, Harry?"

"Do you want me to tell her that I was following a professor last night? That I entered the forbidden corridor? Not bloody likely. I already have detention I need to finish. I don't want to add to it."

"Then we can do nothing for now and merely observe the situation," Hermione stated matter of factly.

"Then let's stop talking about it and get started on what we came here to do," Hannah said cheerfully.

"Explore the Room of Hidden Things," Susan nodded excitedly.

"Are we really going to let Tonks in on our secret?" Tracy asked.

"We have no choice," Harry said. "Tonks is a seventh-year student and she knows a lot more magic than we do. I don't feel safe exploring the room with only a bunch of first-years."

"Tonks can be trusted," Hannah said. "She always helps out the first years. I am surprised that she is not a Prefect."

"Hannah and I will grab her and bring her here," Susan said. "She's probably in the common room."

They left and returned fifteen minutes later with Tonks. Her reaction when she first entered the room matched their expectations. She tripped over her own feet as a result of her excitement.

Tonks dusted herself off after Harry helped her to her feet. "Harry, why didn't you tell me sooner that you were building a love shack for your harem? What if I wanted to join?"

Harry shot her a deadpan look. "Obviously, since you aren't eligible. You're too old."

"You little shit," Tonks laughed. "Alright, why did you let me in on the secret?"

"It's better if we show you," Daphne answered.

The group left the Room of Requirement temporarily so they could reset it. Harry paced up and down and thought of the password for the Room of Hidden Things, and they reentered to find the massive room full of broken and discarded objects.

Harry's fingers twitched when he spotted the goldmine in front of him once again. He had to stop himself from diving headfirst into the nearest pile. His obsession with junk was very similar to Hermione's obsession with books. It has been hard stopping himself from coming here alone to explore it, but he had promised the others he wouldn't.

"What is this place?' Tonks asked.

"This is the Room of Hidden Things," Harry said. "Wobny, the house elf, explained that this is where everything the students leave behind is stored. It must have been accumulating for centuries."

"That means this stuff is basically free to take," Tonks observed.

"That's right," Daphne nodded. "We figured we would sell anything we didn't want to keep for ourselves. Then we split the profits between us."

"So, you want my help?" Tonks guessed.

"In return for a share of the profits," Harry offered. "There are potentially dark objects in here, so we need to know how to cast detection charms. We figured you can teach us, as well as help us sort through the stuff."

Hermione pointed to a pile of ancient-looking broomsticks piled up nearby. "We decided that we will give the brooms to Madam Hooch. She has a lot of contacts in the Quidditch community, so she will make a lot more profit off them for the school. Hopefully, this translates to new Quidditch brooms for the school."

Tonks looked around the room as she considered their offer. "Okay, I'll join you. However, I will only be able to provide assistance once a week. I need to prepare for my Newts, and I still have to finish my project as well."

"That is fine," Harry said. "We knew this was going to be a long-term project."

"May as well start now," Tonks rolled up her sleeves. "How do you want to do this?"

"There are a lot of school trunks here," Daphne said. "Since they have extension charms on them, then we can store the items in there for now. That will allow us to free up some space."

They dived into the task with enthusiasm. First, they levitated some school trunks over and Tonks cast some detection spells over them. Better to be safe than sorry. They started sorting through the items in the left-hand corner of the room, nearest to the entrance.

Harry told the others to sort all the broken items into separate trunks from the rest. Eventually, he would look at them and see if they could be fixed. He knew that there was the Mending Charm that could fix a lot of items, but the charm was not as effective as it first appeared.

First of all, it could not repair enchantments, so that eliminated a considerable number of items. While it was capable of repairing ordinary items, there was a caveat. The spell worked more effectively when the caster was familiar with the object's components and manufacturing process. Generally, the less you know about the item, the more magic it takes to fix it. The user's magic filled in the gaps in their knowledge. An item like a pair of glasses could potentially cost a lot of magic to fix, which wasn't efficient.

Besides, there were skills that he had been neglecting, which he could continue to level, as well as earning a tonne of general experience.

The corner they were working in mainly contained books, so they sorted them into a trunk of their own. Instead of checking them all for curses, they simply levitated them into the trunk. That could be done at a later date. There were also a lot of broken tables, chairs, and cabinets. Due to their size, they decided to place them to the side for now.

It took them several hours to make a significant dent in the corner, leaving a large space behind. Exhausted, they returned to their club room and took a shower to remove the dust and grime.

"Well, that was fun," Tonks said. "Same time, next week?"

"Sure," Harry nodded. After Tonks left, he turned to the others "I have another detention with my grandmother. What are you guys going to do?"

"Work on our Occlumency," Daphne said, following the girls into the lounge.

Harry left the Room of Requirement and made his way down to his grandmother's quarters. Apparently, he wasn't as alert as he should have been because he was ambushed on the way there. When he was passing by a tapestry on the wall, arms emerged and pulled him into a hidden passage. He was preparing to defend himself when he saw who was responsible for ambushing him.

Harry scowled, "Fred, George, what the hell are you doing?"

"Harry, we wanted to ask you something," Fred said, looking unrepentant.

"And you thought an ambush was necessary?"

"It keeps you on your toes, young sir," George chuckled.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, noticing that the hidden passage had a staircase.

"One of the many secret passages the castle has to offer," Fred grinned. "They make it easier to get around.'

"Really?" Harry blinked at them. "Care to share them with me?"

"Don't distract us from our objective, Harry," Fred shook a finger at him. "We are the ones asking the questions here."

"What?"

"We would like to know how you and your friends keep vanishing on the seventh floor."

Harry glanced at them suspiciously. How did the twins know that they were on the seventh floor? Were the twins following them?

"Well?" George demanded.

"I don't see how it's any of your business," Harry retorted.

"Harrikins, everything in the castle is our business," Fred puffed out his chest.

"Tell me how you knew I was on the seventh floor, and I will share my secret," Harry said.

The twins shared a glance. The two of them seemed to be having a silent conversation. Finally, they seemed to come to a decision and pulled out a piece of old parchment.

"This is the key to our various exploits," Fred said, unfolding the parchment to reveal it was completely blank.

"It's amazing," Harry said with mock excitement.

"That's not what we want to show you, idiot," George sighed, tapping the parchment with his wand. "It requires a specific password. I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Harry watched in amazement as lines started appearing on the parchment, quickly drawing a realistic map of Hogwarts. In addition to showing every classroom, hallway, and corner of the castle, it also showed every inch of its grounds, as well as all the secret passages hidden within. The most amazing feature, though, was that there were dots representing people, showing everyone in the castle.

"The map shows everyone's position within the castle and grounds in real-time," Fred said cheerfully.

George pointed to the top of the map where some words were written. "Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are the creators of this map. I swear, they must be deities to create such an amazing artifact. Follow our example and worship their greatness, Harry."

Harry thought that the word 'Marauder' sounded familiar as if he had heard it in passing before. It might come to him later.

"How much?" Harry demanded. This artifact was perfect for his needs. Not only would the club be able to avoid running into professors on the seventh floor, but it had a number of other uses. The map was priceless.

"We are not selling it, sir," Fred said haughtily. "If we are in a good mood, we may let you borrow it if you tell us where you are─"

"100 Galleons," Harry interrupted.

"Do not tempt us, good sir─" George began.

"500 Galleons."

"We cannot be brought," Fred said weakly.

"1000 Galleons. Final offer," Harry stated.

"Sold!" Fred and George shouted together.

While they kind of felt bad for taking galleons from Harry, considering that the map was something they had found by chance, and he was the grandson of Professor McGonagall. But a thousand Galleons would be enough capital to kickstart their dreams of opening a joke shop in the future. Although the family's financial situation was a lot better after Professor McGonagall paid for all of their school fees, it didn't mean they had that sort of money lying around.

Fred handed him the parchment. "Just say 'Mischief Managed' to clear the map. Don't want others to see what it can do."

"Thanks, guys," Harry said. "It may take me some time to visit Gringotts, but I will retrieve your money as soon as I can. It will be the Christmas holidays at the latest."

"Don't worry," George said. "We trust you."

"I need to make it to my detention on time, or my grandmother will kill me," Harry sighed, thinking about how he was delayed.

"Good thing the map shows you all the secret passages," Fred pointed out.

"Right," Harry laughed, feeling stupid.

While it may seem like a waste of Galleons, he was going to compensate for the expense with the items they would sell from the Room of Hidden Things. They could potentially earn thousands of galleons each from it, so he wasn't too concerned. Furthermore, his trust fault had a limit of two thousand galleons, which was renewed every year. He wasn't going to run out of galleons anytime soon.

20th September

Over a week later, Harry and Daphne were heading to his grandmother's quarters after classes. She had requested their presence at breakfast this morning but had not shared the reason. Harry was curious because he could detect an undercurrent of excitement in his grandmother's expression. It was as if she was anticipating something happening, and she was going to enjoy it immensely.

Over the last week and a bit, his schedule remained relatively unchanged. Attending classes, doing homework, practising his Occlumency and inscribing spell cards.

So far, the classes have not been too challenging. After a couple of weeks, it became apparent who were the top students so far. Among their group, they had some impressive accomplishments. Harry was the best student in Transfiguration, as he was always the first to manage the transformations. In Charms, he was in second place behind Daphne and Susan, who were equal in first place.

Hermione seemed determined to dethrone them, rapidly rising up to third, behind him. The girl was already one of the best in their year overall, despite being at a disadvantage for not having any prior lessons like some magic-raised students.

DADA was still a joke, and it mostly consisted of learning about dark creatures. While it was important, Harry wanted to learn more practical spells, and the only thing they had learned so far was the Verdimillious Charm.

No doubt, it was a useful spell for any wizard's arsenal. It could be used offensively as it summoned an orb of glowing green energy that could be thrown. If it hit the opponent, then it could do some damage. A blinding flash of emerald light would illuminate the entire room for a short time after it exploded. As long as the emerald light from the spell remained, objects such as platforms or doors that had been hidden by Dark magic would again be made visible and tangible until the spell ended.

Harry was doing pretty well in the other classes as well. He ranked among the top ten in all subjects except Herbology and History of Magic, which he didn't care too much about.

Occlumency was progressing well. He could now hold the image of the rune in his mind for well over a minute, and he had shrunken it down to half its size. It made the girls jealous, as they hadn't managed the same feat yet. Still, their progress was impressive. Only Daphne and Susan were ahead of everyone else as they had prior experience.

As for his Spell Cards, Harry had made a lot of progress. He had now crafted five different Spell Cards, which had earned him a lot of experience. The new additions to his repertoire were the Fire-Making Spell Card, the Severing Spell Card, and the Hardening Spell Card. All five would form the basis for his experiments in the future.

Out of all of them, the Hardening Spell Card was the most exciting. Instead of hardening the target, he designed it to harden the card itself. What did this mean in terms of application? It meant he had an object that he could throw that could block a spell. By itself, a card was not strong enough to block anything substantial. That is why hardening it into stone was the perfect solution. He didn't know if it was strong enough to block the Killing Curse, but imagine if it could. It would be a literal lifesaver.

The club was also expanding their social circle. They invited two Ravenclaws to study with them in the library on a few occasions. Padma Patil and Terry Boot were both academically inclined, making them perfect for their group. They were going to slowly get to know them and decide whether they could be trusted with the secret of the Room of Requirement.

"I wonder what she wants?" Daphne asked, knocking on his grandmother's door.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Harry shrugged.

Minerva opened the door and allowed them entry into her living room. Harry sat down with Daphne on the sofa, waiting to learn why they were there.

"Why don't we have some tea?" Minerve said, waving her wand to summon a tea set. She poured them all a cup and watched them intently.

"What's going on?" Harry said impatiently.

"There is going to be a Wizengamot session on Thursday," Minerva said, taking a sip of her tea. "Daphne, your father has asked that you attend, so I have withdrawn you from classes for that day."

"It's the Autumn Equinox in three days' time," Daphne realised. "The day is specially chosen to hold one of the biggest Wizengamot sessions of the year. Attendance is mandatory for all able members."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

Daphne glanced at her boyfriend. "They are always eventful, as a lot of new legislations will be proposed, and new alliances may form or disappear at the drop of a hat."

"I see," Harry nodded.

"Why is my father allowing me to attend?" Daphne asked. "He never has let me before."

"Because this is a special occasion," Minerva smirked. "We plan to reintroduce Lord Potter to magical society."

Daphne gasped, and Harry whistled in astonishment. It surprised him that his grandfather would reveal himself so early after returning from the dead. He must have something else in mind for the session. Imagining his grandfather striding into the courtroom and stirring up the hornet's nest, made him excited.

"I have been gathering allies on your grandfather's behalf. We will see how it plays out soon enough," Minerva said.

"Since you called me here, I must be going as well," Harry noted.

"Naturally," Minerva said. "In the future, you will be a member of the Wizengamot, so you have to get a sense of how it functions."

Harry wasn't interested in becoming a member, but he couldn't deny that the upcoming session would be exciting. What did his grandfather have planned?

So, what did you think? Harry has the map a lot earlier, which makes things a lot more convenient. I like the idea of him having to pay for it, rather than the twins giving it away for nothing.

A couple of notes about the map. Voldemort does not show up on the map because he is nothing more than a wraith at this point. I can't recall if ghosts show up on the map in canon, but they won't in my story. Additionally, Peter Pettigrew is not at Hogwarts. I don't think I have touched upon him in the story yet, but I wanted to put it out there.

Thanks for reading.