Ripples
Chapter 4: First Year #2
The first week wasn't fun, as far as Harry was concerned, but if he overlooked how early he had to get up, it was actually very enjoyable. Harry wasn't overlooking the mornings today. All of his teachers had either gasped, squeaked, stared, stuttered or paused at his name. Except Professors McGonagall and Snape. His most interesting lesson was potions, simply because of the exchange he had with Professor Snape.
"Potter, what are you doing?" Asked Professor Snape, looking down at Harry.
"Er, I'm taking notes, sir." Answered Harry, suddenly very nervous.
"Potter, I will inform the class when they are to take notes." Instructed Snape, before frowning, "Having the description of the class isn't required as a note."
Harry went red with embarrassment, "Yes, sir."
Professor Snape then told them the names and properties of some potions and cures, including flowers and things that could be found in a goat's stomach. He then had the class make a potion to cure boils. Which ended when Bones grabbed Neville's wrist and accidentally set fire to his robe sleeve. Fortunately, it had been the prosthetic. Unfortunately, it had been the prosthetic, so Bones didn't notice that he was on fire for a good minute before he noticed and produced the fakest scream in his life.
"OH, MY GOLLY GOSH! I'M ON FIRE!" Yelled Bones, plunging his whole arm into a bucket of what looked like water and bringing out his stump, "Oh, no."
"A point from Gryffindor, Stevens, for disrupting the class, and five points from Slytherin, Malfoy, for attempting to sabotage another student's potion." Everyone looked at Malfoy and found him a couple feet away from Harry's cauldron, as Harry had walked over to help Bones put his arm back on, with some powder in his hand.
There was a tense silence, before Bones spoke, "And here I thought that I was the only one red handed."
R
The group was sitting around a table in the common room, as Bones idly waved his wand.
"Did you know that most Seer's have wands with a Unicorn Hair as its core?" Said Bones, small sparks emitting from the end of his wand.
"What makes your wand so special, Mr. Third eye?" Questioned Ron, looking very confused at his homework.
"Silver Lime, Twelve-and-a-Quarter inches, Demi-Guise hair and Heart String entwined." Said Bones, spinning his wand in his hand, "How long does it take to finish a never-ending gobstopper?"
"Bones, why aren't you doing your homework?" Asked Hermione, exasperated.
"I did it during lunch, it's in my bag." Said Bones, as if it was obvious, "I have a very good memory."
Harry frowned, before putting his quill down and looking at Bones, "Where did I put my wand?"
"One's in your pocket, one's hidden in your trunk and the last one is in Potter Manor with Troll's Doom."
Everyone stared at Bones, before slowly turning to face Harry.
"You have three wands?" Asked Hermione, as Neville frowned.
"Is that where you disappeared off to?"
Harry pretended not to hear them and continued with his homework.
R
James frowned at the letter he received, Charles Stevens, Mercutio's cousin, had an inmate from Azkaban in his custody. The inmate had chosen beheading over Azkaban. There hadn't been a beheading in over a hundred years, not since his great-great-great grandfather had removed the heads of Augustus Fletcher, after he murdered seventeen muggles and six wizards in a botched duel that he'd tried to run away from.
James glanced up at Giant's Bane. The Sword hadn't been used since the last beheading, but it was still as sharp as the day it was forged. James would give the High Elves credit; their stuff was made to last.
R
Harry and Bones watched a young man around Charlie's age approach the school.
"Bones, isn't that your cousin?" Whispered Harry, pointing at the man.
"I heard he's meant to be some really powerful duellist." Gasped Hermione, just as Charles tripped on a step, "Oh."
"Yeah, that's Charles." Sighed Bones, as Charles disappeared inside the school.
A few minutes later, Charles came back out, this time with a man with auburn hair. Hermione stiffened, before squealing quietly.
"That's Ben Copper!" Gushed Hermione, before a blonde-haired woman met the other two and headed for the Forbidden Forest, "That was Penelope Haywood, she's one of the best Potioneer's of the twentieth century."
The three eventually vanished from sight.
"Do you think they're going to give us a demonstration is class?" Questioned Hermione, starstruck at seeing some of the 'famous' circle.
"I hope not," Said Harry, as they entered the castle, "They're known to engage is cowboy diplomacy."
Hermione's face froze, before continuing, "Well, I remember you saying the Ron's brothers are part of the Circle."
"Yeah, but Bill works with Goblins and Charlie works with Dragons." Ron pointed out, "Both of those require some of that cowboy dee-plow-mancy you mentioned."
"Diplomacy, Ron, not dee-plow-mancy." Corrected Hermione, as Bones shook his prosthetic.
"What was in that bucket yesterday?" Complained Bones, before removing the glove for his hand.
Everyone recoiled at the unbearable stench that permeated through the air. Bones quickly shoved his hand back in his glove.
"I'll ask Professor McGonagall after class." Bones decided, while everyone looked sick.
They all took a seat at their tables, before a hand grabbed Bones and hauled him to his feet. Professor Snape proceeded to drag Bones out of the great hall.
"Mercutio 'Bones' Stevens. September 26th, 1979, to September 7th, 1991." Snickered Harry, before Bones returned, red in the face and adjusting his prosthetic.
"Unicorn pee." Spluttered Bones, "I stuck my arm in a bucket full of unicorn pee."
Everyone dissolved into laughter, while Bones sat with his head in his arms.
R
A week later everyone was staring at the notice board.
"So, we're going to be flying with the Peacock." Said Bones, after reading the Flying lesson note.
"Peacock?" Asked Hermione, frowning at Bones.
"It's the moniker that Malfoy's father was given, as he's all show and no action." Supplied Harry, before smirking, "I heard Malfoy's father is still trying to buy another family's sword."
"I think I heard him ask Dad once." Said Ron, before frowning, "Dad gave the sword to Bill for safe keeping."
"Probably to stop Malfoy from stealing it." Offered Harry, as the group went to sit down, "I know he tried to have his House Elf try and take Giant's Bane. If he'd bother to check his grandfather's book, he would've seen that the sword was lost to Hadrian Potter."
"Then why haven't your family given it back?" Asked Hermione, disapproval in her tone.
"Because anyone who hands over an Elven Forged Sword doesn't know it's value and doesn't deserve to wield it." Responded Harry, before he noticed Malfoy smirking at him, "What do you want?"
"Wait until my father hears about you blood traitors stealing my family's sword." Smirked Malfoy, making Harry straighten up.
"We didn't steal it and it was your own family's fault for betting it in a card game." Said Harry, keeping his voice even, "Besides, even if we wanted to return it, we couldn't."
"Why?" Demanded Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle appearing at his side.
"The sword was melted down and used to forge Raven, just as Gargoyle was melted and reforged into Crow." Answered Harry, making Goyle flush in rage.
Hermione frowned, before pulling a book from her bag and scouring through it, "Ah, oh, what happened to Claw?"
Harry snorted, while Bones look embarrassed, "It was melted down and turned into an arm."
Hermione stared at Harry, before slowly looking at Bones.
"It's on a time release growing charm." Said Bones, pulling his glove off and showing them the shining metal, "The Crabbe's sided with Grindelwald during his war and House Potter claimed the sword as payment for the deaths of two of its Lords."
Bones gingerly sniffed his glove, "Great, my glove still smells like Unicorn pee."
"Scourgify." Came an unfamiliar voice, a 12-inch, Laurel wand pointing at the glove.
Malfoy and his gang lost all traces of embarrassment and hostility and looked up in awe at the wizard.
Charles crouched down next to Bones and looked at the book Hermione had, "Iron & Steel: A Guide to the High Elven Swords of the Wizarding World. Wow, I didn't think they published that anymore."
No one made any move or sound, making Charles sigh.
"Alright, I can see when I'm not wanted." Charles straightened up and made to leave.
"Can I have your autograph?!"
Everyone slowly turned and looked at Harry.
"What? He's a famous duellist." Defended Harry, getting a smirk from Charles.
"You're my Boss's son, aren't you?" Questioned Charles, folding his arms.
Harry went red and nodded.
R
Grond stomped his way around the mountain. Far below him, the trees swayed, and the rocks trembled. The Giant looked over the Village below him, before turning away from it. When the boy was ready, he'd seek him out.
R
Bones stared out the window, his eyes fixed on the grounds and beyond the Village. Harry had said he'd seen something walking on the mountain side. Bones just chalked it up to the first flying lesson of the year. The boy stiffened and his eyes rolled back into his head. Bones violently shook his head. Since the start of term, Bones' turns had become more and more frequent. There were times he dreamed he could see the world through the eyes of others. He'd seen through the eyes of a dragon Charlie had shown them once.
Bones' most frightening turn was when he dreamed seeing through the eyes of an Obscurial. What made it frightening was that he was looking at Grindelwald and Grindelwald addressed Bones by his name. His birth name.
When Bones dreamt seeing through the eyes of others, everything seems so real. He'd feel the ground under his feet, the smell of the air, the temperature, the sounds and, in one horrible incident, the taste of everything.
Due to Bones's turns, he'd been excluded from the flying lessons, which wasn't surprising, as he had a particularly bad turn in the Great Hall that had him bleeding from the nose, ears and eyes. Needless to say, everyone was treating Bones as if he was dying.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't like being cuddled, but he didn't want to seem weaker than he actually was. The sound of his arm scampering across the stone in front of the fireplace. One of Fred and George's friends, Alicia Spinnet, had been reading up on various conditions that match the symptoms Bones had been showing while at Hogwarts. The girl was almost as bad as Hermione, but she'd listened to Bones when he said that none of the books in the school had any information that matched all of his symptoms.
Which got her to stop for a week, before she opted to buy books from various bookshops. Bones glanced back into the common room. Alicia, and two of the twin's other friends, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, were pouring over some of the books Alicia had bought.
"I don't think Symptoms of Seers is going to help." Called Bones, making the three girls jump, "I probably just have some spell damage from when I was younger."
"But it says younger seers often experience more violent visions that can lead to internal injuries." Protested Alicia, looking up at Bones.
"Yeah, under the chapter titled Green Seers." Retorted Bones, before whistling.
His arm scrambled towards him, and he vanished to his dormitory.
"Did anyone tell him what book we were reading?" Asked Katie, her face pressed against the book.
"Stop drooling on my book!" Shrieked Alicia.
R
"Let me get this straight," Said Bones, slowly, "Neville's broom went berserk, broke his wrist, dropped his rememberall, Malfoy picked it up, flew into the air, you followed, you caught it after Malfoy threw it, McGonagall saw you, took you to Oliver wood and now you're Gryffindor's new Seeker?"
Harry nodded, as Bones scowled, "Why does all the interesting stuff happen when I'm not there?"
"Your little display that left you in the hospital wing for two days." Responded Harry, before glancing around, "Mum and Dad said they'd be sending my broom over."
"I still don't get the fun part of flying around on an enchanted stick, hundreds of feet from the ground, chasing, throwing or hitting a ball into another person with the hope of knocking them off." Said Bones, scratching at the table, "Where's Dumbledore gone?"
Everyone looked towards the teachers table and saw the empty space where the Headmaster usually sat.
"Maybe he's meeting Uncle Abe." Shrugged Harry, before a letter dropped in front of him.
Harry tore the letter open and unfolded the sheet of parchment.
"Great, Mum's pregnant again." Harry's announcement was met with groans from Bones and Neville.
"I thought having a baby was good news." Said Lavender, making the three boys share a look.
"Do you want to tell her, or shall I?" Asked Bones, making Harry abandon his food.
"My Mum has a history of… complications occurring when she's pregnant." Started Harry, as Bones snorted.
"A healer said it was spell damage from the war." Interjected Bones, getting a glare from Harry, "Sorry."
"Basically, most of her pregnancies either end with a miscarriage or a stillbirth, it was a miracle that she and Dad had the twins so soon after me." Finished Harry, going back to his food.
"House Tyler is trying to lay claim to House Skeeter lands again." Said Percy, frowning, "House Stevens is acting as mediator until House Potter can settle the matter."
Harry and Bones both stiffened slightly, trying to hear the conversation, only for Percy to cast a privacy charm on them.
"Honestly, you should've seen that coming." Said Hermione and Harry and Bones shook their head to get rid of the buzzing sound.
"I don't see how," Grinned Seamus, as Harry shook his head so violently his glasses flew off, "Harry needs glasses and Bones's eyes are practically unemployed."
"You're just upset that Bones won't tell you the answers to Snape's test." Snickered Parvati, just as Bones's eyes rolled back into his head. Ron barely managed to get the food out of the way as the other boy's head slammed against the table.
Bones started to twitch, opening his mouth and started speaking, "A sombra axexa na escuridade, agochándose detrás dun veo. Buscará e reinará o terror sobre os mozos, mentres unha pedra escóndese na posesión dun reflexo, intentando non ser usada nunca. O espectro desmoronarase a un poder descoñecido."
Everyone stared at him, before Professor's Snape and Flitwick noticed the boy and quickly removed him from the hall. Everyone was silent, not even Malfoy was attempting to mock Bones.
On a tree, just outside the window nearest to where Bones had been sitting, sat a raven. The bird shook its head and flew off towards the mountains. Grond needed to know the boy was nearing maturity.