Names
Delores Umbridge's History of the World class continued on Monday the same as before. However, since everyone knew that the classroom's various entrances led to the same room, most students sat with their friends or housemates. Harry and Lyra arrived with Hermione but chose not to sit with her in the front row, eventually settling in with the first and second-year students from their own house.
After the chorus chanting of "Good morning, students," and "Good morning, Professor Umbridge," the class began. Harry tuned out much of it, though what he did hear mostly consisted of Americans claiming lofty ideals for the world and then violating them among themselves. She claimed that this hypocrisy led to American wizards being weaker.
One part he did tune into was the spread of European magic systems. Despite the many native people already living in the territories with their own spells and rituals, most of them were slowly brought to learn magic in schools for MACUSA, and many older magics were lost. At least that is what Harry heard when Umbridge said, "The archaic magics of savage tribes that had been in the land were finally taught in the proper way that we do at Hogwarts and those same methods and spells were stolen to be used in America."
Lyra had been listening closely as well and raised her hand at the end of the section. The teacher ignored her until Harry cast a halo charm on her hand which made it glow too bright to ignore.
"Yes, Miss Black?" she said with a sneer.
Harry could feel his sister's eyes rolling before she asked, "If the older magics in the country aren't taught anymore, does that mean potion instructions and arithmancy rules for the area are like at Hogwarts? Do British arithmancy rules apply in America?"
"This is not arithmancy class," she replied gruffly, "and a second year should not be studying an elective course they are not enrolled in."
Despite the dismissal, there were murmurs around the large room with other students discussing her question. Harry cast a halo charm on his hand and raised it.
"Mr. Potter, if you ask the same question as Miss Black, I will have you in detention," she told him with a certain amount of glee. It was as if that was the outcome she desired.
"No, ma'am," he said to her disappointment. "I just wanted to know if any of the archaic magics from the savage natives were still practiced anywhere in America."
"On isolated reservations, I'm sure you could find pockets of obsolete magic. Just as you have old magic from the druids here on this island." She looked out over the room before asking, "Any other questions before I continue?"
Cedric stopped them as they were out of the classroom.
"Five points for both of you. If I could give more, I would. If Americans are somehow weaker in their magic it wouldn't be because they stole the magic, it would be because the spells and associated arithmancy wouldn't fit the magic of that region of the world."
Gemma joined the conversation and added, "Though there are people much smarter than us, and certainly more than Umbridge, living across the pond. They certainly have adapted any arithmancy from the old Hogwarts curriculum to their own. I'm sure the same happened when the first wand-wizards came from Rome to conquer this territory. That's why modern wars don't happen between magical nations, magic will always be more useful to those who live in the countries that are defending."
There were now a large number of people gathered around, but the conversation turned into a prefect party when Penny also joined in, "That's why Grindelwald was so successful. He gathered supporters from each country to join him in his conquest. Every battle that was fought against a territory was led by their own people. How he managed to adapt to the magic of every place he went and be magnitudes stronger than their native citizens is a mystery."
"Does that mean we have a large advantage in the Olympics next year?" Harry asked curiously.
That was met with silence, until Tasmin Applebee from Hufflepuff spoke up, "As Miss Farley said, smarter people than us would have thought of that. I'm sure something is being done to prevent such an unfair advantage."
"When do we find out what the events are anyway?" one of the people in the crowd asked. "How are we supposed to train if we don't know what to train for?"
That question just led to mumbles and with no one having an answer, the crowd dispersed.
Harry debated going to the afternoon lecture that was being led by Professor Trelawney. On one hand, she had given such an incredible glimpse of Lyra's future. However, on the other hand, most people seemed to accurately describe her as an eccentric kook. In the end, he decided to give it a shot. If he didn't like it, he wasn't required to stay and he could just leave.
As he was leaving The Great Hall, he saw Ron Weasley at the chessboard contemplating his next move. Curious if he was really the source of the ginger boy's previous mistake, he slowly approached him from behind. As he was about five steps away, Ron tensed for a moment then spun around and looked right at him.
"Back off, Potter," he snapped. "I told you that I can't think around you."
Even if he was curious about why he had the reaction, Harry just raised his hands defensively and backed away, then circled around Ron and the board, and left the Hall.
Harry was curious how Professor Trelawney would respond to Whispers, so he brought their little brother along to the lecture. He was feeling a bit sleepy, so he indulged the growing furball with a piggyback ride. He was getting almost as big as Lyra, so he could still manage it. Whispers had grown nearly four inches since the beginning of the summer and Harry smiled at the idea that one day he might be as large as Charlie.
He got several 'awws' from others on the way to the hall and Astoria Greengrass followed closely behind. The girl hadn't gotten over her obsession with Whispers, but at least didn't jump all over him like she used to.
The hall had all the tables removed and replaced with over a hundred bean bags and comfy chairs facing the lectern and professor's table. There was a smell of incense in the air, but none burning that Harry could see. He deposited the lazy demi guise in one of the bean bags and plopped down next to him in another. Astoria took one close by but didn't move closer.
Other students began entering, most with looks of trepidation and curiosity. Tracy, Daphne, Blaise, and the Carrow twins came in and joined him and Astoria in their area. Greg and Neville came in later and joined the group as well.
When it seemed like no more students were arriving, there was a large explosion of colorful smoke at the lectern, followed by coughing, and Professor Trelawney stumbled out of the smoke, gripping the edge of the podium as she continued to hack and wheeze.
When she was done, the professor stood up, and with a wave of her hand, announced, "Welcome to the first lecture on Divination!"
There was a scattering of unenthusiastic applause. Two people in the back of the room got up to leave. The teacher drew her wand and conjured a squishy armchair. When she sat down, it wobbled a bit.
"Today, I will tell you about the mystery in your names, how they may have been picked, and how they might influence your lives. How many of you know what a Naming Seer is?"
There was a scattering of hands around the room. Daphne, Astoria, and Blaise were among them. Harry did as well.
"And how many of you were named by a seer?"
Several of the raised hands stayed up while the others dropped. Harry and Blaise put theirs down.
"To those who don't know, a naming seer will help a family choose what to name their child. Some seers will be employed when a couple has just married and is given several names for their future children, while most others will wait for a child to be born to give one to them directly. Who wants to tell us about their name?"
One older girl stood up, "Willow Springer, I did end up with a wand made from a willow tree, and I get good grades in herbology."
Three other students introduced themselves two of them told how their names relate to their lives and the third said the seer picked the name of their great great uncle who was very successful in business, but hadn't seen anything specific to see a relation yet.
Professor Trelawney continued, "Some families adhere to a scheme of names - flowers, trees, animals, constellations, successful family members, and instruct the seer to abide by those rules. However, even if a seer did not name you, your name will still empower you regardless."
She smiled at the peaked interest from those who hadn't raised their hands before.
"We all know magic comes from speaking. It is how we cast spells after all. Now imagine that a witch or wizard said a name over and over and over… even not casting a spell, our words have power. So when you think of your name and when others speak your name, the thoughts they hold when they say it influence you down to your soul. If others use your name as a curse, it may slowly curse you. If they say it with joy, hope, or love, it may empower you. If your name means something that others believe, it may slowly push you toward that meaning."
She then launched into a series of stories about various people whose names empowered them in different ways. Many students left during that time but Harry stayed for respect.
About twenty minutes, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder and Daphne put a finger to her lips and then pointed behind Harry. Astoria was now cuddled with Whispers and scratching his head while he was half asleep. He smiled at the sight.
Tracy scooted closer and asked, "So when do we get to meet the Usurper in the Chamber?"
"Whenever it wakes up, I guess." Harry shrugged. "No idea how long that will be. I do need to take Gemma and Hayden down sometime to catch fairies. You can explore then but it will be boring. We took the first years and the only interesting thing was making the Slytherin statue talk like a puppet."
Blaise chuckled, "The older students wanted to have Snape suspend you for sacrilege when they heard about it."
"And I assume that suggestion was met with an eye roll and him walking away in silence," Harry replied.
They all chuckled.
"So…" Daphne began slowly, "What are the lessons like that you and Lyra are doing in Hogsmeade?"
"It's more weapon training," Harry told them with a shrug. "Like last year with the knives. Though Brandt hired a muggle I met over the summer to teach me how to use a spear."
"A muggle?" Astoria asked a bit too loudly. Whispers reached up and made her hand continue to scratch his head.
"It's a muggle weapon," Harry told her in a quiet voice as the Professor was telling a story about a man named Amar Amorette and his quest to find love.
"It's also going to be in the competition," Blaise added. "Yeah, I know a few of the events."
He gestured them all closer. Whispers wouldn't let Astoria up from her head-scratching position, so Harry just pulled the whole bean bag with them.
"Muggle weapon duels, regular magic duels - of course, summoning, banishing, levitating, and some various activities with magical animals… not sure what. Many more too, but this is all my mother has told me."
"We haven't learned summoning and banishing yet," Neville frowned. "If there's not a climbing or herbology event, I doubt I'll do anything."
"I wonder if there will be muggle boxing?" Greg said hopefully.
"I bet they haven't finalized everything," Tracey told him hopefully.
"Do you think you'll be ready to compete?" Astoria whispered to Harry so she didn't disturb the demiguise still getting head scratches.
"I hope so," Harry told them. "I fought Lyra yesterday and both our teachers said we were still slow."
"You fought your sister?" Blaise asked, astonished.
"Her uncle gave us a potion that made our skin thicker. It didn't help when Lyra threw a knife into my shoulder though. I got the last hit in with a light poke to her throat."
The others were more than a bit shocked. Greg had the strangest reaction.
"You could have really killed Draco last year…" he said as if he just realized it.
Harry analyzed his friend for a little bit before he realized even he didn't know the full story of what happened in the chamber, and said, "Anyone can kill anyone. I didn't want to when I first met him, I just wanted to knock him down a bit. He thought himself to be a king, which he was not."
"No," Daphne argued, "not anybody can kill. Lord Black can kill. My father says Dumbledore can't kill. He might be able to beat Lord Black, but I don't think he could kill him. Greg could probably bloody someone up, but I doubt he could kill."
Greg looked uncomfortable but nodded, then added "Vincent has killed a kneazle kitten."
Everyone looked disgusted, and then Blaise told Harry, "Even spells need to be cast from a distance, you could probably do it face to face."
Harry nodded without disagreement. Tracy surprised Harry with a hug from the side.
He let her continue the hug for a moment before wheezing overexaggeratedly, "Tracey has no problem breaking a few ribs." She laughed and let him go.
Flora Carrow spoke up, "Do you think we might be able to fight in duels together?" She pointed to her sister.
Her twin added, "We've heard the professional dueling circuits have tandem fights."
"We should make a list of ideas," Harry told her. "Hermione knows some of the organizers, and Blaise's mom knows the events from somewhere. We could give a list of ideas."
They took out quills and parchment to scribble down a few ideas while Trelawney continued to regale more famous wizards with strangely appropriate names for their positions.
-Muggle boxing from Greg
-Tandem duels from the Carrows
-Muggle and Magical
-Problem-solving with potions from Neville
-Ice skating for Daphne
The list had several more entries before their attention was garnered by Professor Trelawney speaking loudly.
"So even if your name doesn't offer you power, it may just give you direction in life. Most of you won't have to worry about naming children for a long time, but you may have to do it for pets. Magical pets will also benefit from an appropriate name."
Their eccentric teacher bowed and got a small amount of applause from the remaining students in the room.
That last statement grabbed Harry's attention, and he whispered to the others around him, "Do you want to go see the unicorns with me later? I have to name one at the end of the month."
Harry managed to find Hagrid at dinner and convince him to bring him and some friends to see the unicorns that night. It was with the added condition of bringing the Jainía and Guryon Scamander as well. Halfway through dinner, Lyra showed up along with Pavarti, Lavender, and a few other Gryffindor girls. Lyra was carrying a thick book, which she brought over with them to where Harry was sitting.
At Harry's raised eyebrow, she showed the cover, "It's the book that the Patils told us about, 'One Thousand and One Nights.' It has the story about the flying carpet and a whole lot of other cool stuff."
Harry opened it and leafed through the pages. Sure enough, there were bits of lipstick and makeup stains on some of the pages. Some of the men in the pictures had hearts drawn around them along with other scribbles in open areas without writing.
"Can we keep it to read?" he asked, half looking toward Pavarti behind his sister.
"I don't read it that often," the Indian girl told them. "I would like it back at some point though."
"Thanks!" Harry smiled. "A bunch of us are going to see the unicorns tonight if you want to come along."
They agreed quickly but then also began to spread the word and the number of students desiring to join the unscheduled trip increased. After sundown, when the group reached the exit to the grounds, there were nearly fifty students waiting. Guryon and his wife were there with the surprising addition of his parents, Newt and Tina.
"You're back!" Harry exclaimed as he rushed to greet them.
"It's always great to see the unicorns," Newt smiled. He looked a bit sad as he added, "They're one of the few animals that are impossible for us to keep in captivity."
"With all these students, it's also good we came. You definitely need more supervision for such a large group. How are my son and his wife doing in our place?"
Harry shrugged, "It's not the same but I guess they are doing alright. Jainaína taught us the difference between dragons and other fire lizards, and how to walk on water. They're both teaching us how to transfigure our dorms to be more comfortable."
Tina looked suspicious, "Is that all she's teaching you? Nothing else?"
Harry looked confused as Newt placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Don't worry, they're just children."
Tina grumbled, "That's where it starts."
The group began to move toward Hagrid's hut where they distributed backpacks with food for the unicorns. The group was a mix of different years, nearly half new students along with those who knew Harry and Lyra, and some older students mixed in. With all the wands lit in the forest, any of the nocturnal animals or pixies didn't seem interested in disturbing the group. Guryon tried pointing out various trees and plants to the new students but they were too wrapped up in conversations to care.
Harry walked toward the rear of the group, his spear stuck across his back, trying to avoid a group of Harrys that had come along, though it was also to feel more at home in the darkness of the trees instead of with all the lit wands. It was at the back of the group that he realized that they were being followed.
The feeling started with just a single hair raised on his neck, and when the feeling became more pronounced, he sped up his pace to where Tina was walking and told her his suspicions. It was nice that she immediately snapped her wand up and whispered an incantation to let him know she believed him.
Harry felt magic wash over him as it pulsed into the darkness beyond. After a moment, Tina relaxed a bit, but her wand was still raised and lit up the darkness with a focused beam of light, illuminating Remus Lupin walking toward them with his arms raised.
"Mister Lupin, do you mind telling us what you are doing following us in the dark?" Tina demanded.
"Just providing a bit of extra security for the kids," he told them, not lowering his hands.
"And why are you not with the group?" Tina pressed.
"Unicorns don't like me," he replied with a shrug. "I don't want to ruin the experience for everyone else."
She whipped her wand in a circular motion and it spat a small orange light at the DADA professor. He didn't bother avoiding it; it disappeared when it hit his chest.
"I don't like people following me where I can't see them," she told him. "But thank you for thinking of the kids with your unicorn problem."
With that, she turned and walked back to the group with Harry running after.
When they had almost caught up, Harry asked, "What were those spells you used on him?"
Tina smiled, "Human presence revealing spell and a tracking charm so I know where he is while we are in the forest."
Both of those sounded incredibly useful, so he asked, "Can you teach me them?"
Tina seemed to think for a moment. Harry could tell that she wanted to say that it was too advanced for him, but was also feeling conflicted. Finally, she made up her mind and replied.
"The tracking charm is too advanced and requires much more knowledge about magic than you will know for at least three years. It's NEWT-level magic. The human presence revealing spell requires less, but I would like you to know the revealing, banishing, and summoning charms before you learn this one."
Harry smiled, "I learned the revealing spell last year." Seeing her questioning look, he added, "My friends taught me when I was exploring the castle."
She nodded, "Then you have two more." She glanced backward into the darkness and fiddled with her wand for a moment before relaxing. "He's like you and your sister. He moves effortlessly through the woods without making a sound."
Harry looked back into the darkness, his night vision slowly increasing as he peered into the abyss. Eventually, he managed to pick out the old friend of his father leaning against a tree in the distance, cleaning his teeth with a toothpick. The scarred man picked up Harry's gaze and gave a two-finger wave toward him.
Harry turned and continued walking with Tina to catch up with the group.
When all the food had been laid out, the unicorns came to the clearing to eat. Harry immediately went out to see them while an adult escorted other students. He quickly found the foal from the previous year. It was still the smallest of the herd but not by much, though it was distinctive by a patch of gold on its flank and tail hairs.
Many of the other unicorns gathered around him, looking expectantly toward him and occasionally sniffing at his pouch and the Lampong staff within. Harry stayed with the young foal, examining him and trying to ponder what kind of name might suit him.
Harry sensed approaching movement in the trees beyond the clearing and saw Agestra and Talos, the centaurs, approaching the group. Lyra quickly joined her brother, along with Hagrid while the teachers pulled the other students back. Talos stayed behind Agestra, his enormous bow in hand as he surveyed the meadow looking for threats.
She looked serious as she addressed the three of them, "Friends Hagrid, Potter, Black. You bring many foals into our woods, know their protection is your responsibility."
Harry looked back at the students and Scamanders at the tree line. While he would fight if he needed to, he didn't want to have to. Hagrid gave a solemn nod as his job was to protect the students.
Agestra saw the apprehension on Harry and Lyra's faces about being given such responsibility, and told them, "You do not need to enter our forest with others. You have proven yourselves capable of doing so alone."
Hagrid looked uneasy at this proclamation but didn't contradict the centaur chief.
Harry asked apprehensively, "How do I know what to name the unicorn?" He stroked the white mane of the creature as he spoke.
Talos trotted forward and replied, "You will know what to say. Unicorns are lords of all horses, they beat back the darkness and keep shadows from falling upon our lands. They are treasures and you will name him appropriately." He spoke with no uncertain tones as if the name had been predetermined. Lyra let out a small gasp and smiled.
The other adults had led many of the students back to the herd where they began feeding some of the unicorns further from the centaurs. Many of the students he was friends with came closer and stared at the centaurs speaking with Harry.
Agestra ignored the other children and gestured to the spear stuck to his back, "You carry the weapon of a guardian."
Harry nodded, "I found someone to teach me during the summer. I have weekly lessons now."
The female centaur looked annoyed and hoisted her spear with the decorative head up, slamming the butt into the ground with a loud thud. All the students jumped at the impact, though the unicorns didn't flinch.
"You wished to learn and did not think to seek guidance from me?" Her tone was not happy.
Harry looked uncomfortable but remembered what Dartian had told him about having his lessons outdoors.
"Can I bring my teacher here?" he asked hopefully. "Could I learn from him and you?"
She scrutinized the small boy in front of her, "I will determine for myself if this human has the skills necessary to instruct a protector of the forest."
Her message had a note of finality to it, and she turned to leave the clearing with Talos. When they were both gone, their friends cluttered around them, asking questions.
Through all the chatter, Daphne commented, "I've never heard of a centaur giving lessons to a wizard. They normally just speak in riddles about the stars and how wizards must keep away from their land."
"Agestra is different somehow," Lyra told her. "I couldn't tell you why."
"What was that gasp for when the tall one with the bow was speaking about the names for unicorns?" Lavender asked Lyra.
"Oh!" Lyra smiled. "I just know what name Harry is going to pick."
"What?" Harry exclaimed. "I don't know what name I'm going to pick."
"You don't know you know yet," his sister smirked. "Sometime in the next week or two, you're going to be sitting around, probably in the Ravenclaw common room, thinking about what Talos said and you'll come to the same conclusion about what is totally obvious to anyone who knows you well."
There was a great deal of silence after her statement before a loud "Eep!" was heard from Hermione. She squeezed around the unicorns and through the group to where Lyra was standing and whispered in her ear, getting a smile and a nod from her.
"What if I just decide to name him something else?" Harry asked the group.
Tracy reached down and scratched under the chin of the unnamed unicorn, then stopped and moved her hand toward Harry so he looked up at him.
"You would really deny this beautiful creature a deserving name because your sister is teasing you?" Tracy asked him.
Harry wanted to reply with an indignant "Yes!" but looking into the soulful eyes of the young unicorn made his annoyance deflate.
"No… I wouldn't do that," he conceded. He looked back at the eyes of the young unicorn and asked, "What do you want for a name?"
Of course, unicorns couldn't talk, so he didn't get an answer. Harry had brought his broom but did not joust with any of the unicorns that night. They chatted with all their friends in the presence of the unicorns which seemed to fill them with pleasant feelings before returning to the castle for the night.
Harry woke up in the middle of the night and remembered that he would also need to give a name to the Usurper when it awoke.