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

Hi all,

Here's the first of three chapters for the day.

Chapter 64

Harry was seated in the headmaster's office, speaking to the Sorting Hat in his mind. He waited for the Sorting Hat to respond to his question about who it was, but it remained silent.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Harry demanded.

"No. I think I will keep that secret. Things have their proper order, and you are approaching me at the wrong time."

Harry thought about that cryptic statement for a moment. "Are you talking about the runic puzzle?"

The Sorting Hat didn't reply, but Harry didn't want to concede defeat so easily.

"Did Galahad create you?" Harry asked.

When the hat didn't respond to that question either, he almost growled in frustration. Did he want to sit here and waste his time when the hat wasn't going to give him any information?

"Your thoughts are leaking everywhere," the hat abruptly said. "I would shore up your Occlumency defences if I were you, or you'll give away all your secrets."

Harry inhaled sharply. "Are you reading my mind? Not even the last Sorting Hat could do that."

"Only partially," the hat replied. "I am superior to the old Sorting Hat in terms of functionality. My master made sure of it."

Harry refused to take the bait and ask the obvious question, knowing that it would be futile. It was true that he had made little progress with Occlumency. He had reached the point where he needed to create a world within his mind in which he could store all of his memories while keeping them safe from intruders. However, he found this step particularly frustrating. Every time he built something, such as a building, it would deteriorate over a few days before disappearing. He was missing a crucial step, and the book he was using to learn the discipline wasn't helping.

"Do you need my help?" The hat enquired. "The method you are using to learn Occlumency is convoluted, and it hinders rather than helps. There is a much simpler way to learn it."

"How could you know anything about such an obscure subject?"

"My master fed me a wealth of knowledge about magic in general, including all of the knowledge in the Hogwarts library. I am more than just a tool for sorting students into their houses; I am also the backup plan. If the worst happened and all of the accumulated knowledge was lost, I could transfer the information into someone's mind so it can be preserved."

"Interesting. Can you transfer the information into my mind?"

"It would take me over thirty years of gradually feeding you information before you learned everything. I can't transfer it all at once, as it would fry your brain."

"What a letdown."

A sudden thought struck Harry. "Wait a moment. If you know the books in the library, then your creator must have come here at some point to copy them. Since the books are being updated regularly, it must have happened fairly recently. Maybe in the past few decades?"

The Sorting Hat didn't reply.

Harry grinned. He was sure that he was onto something, and he continued to expand on his theory, hoping to provoke a reaction from the hat.

"If Galahad truly created you, he would not come to the castle as himself. He must have disguised himself as someone else. Even if he had a quick way to copy the books, it would have taken some time due to the sheer volume of books in the library."

"An interesting premise. Maybe you should pursue that line of thought. You may find something if you look hard enough."

"I will do that. Now, what is this about another way of learning Occlumency? I would appreciate it if you shared your method with me."

"It will take some time," the hat warned. "Keep me on your head while you go about your business, and you should have all the information by the time you go to bed."

He would look silly, but Harry did not care what people thought of him. He turned his head to speak to the headmaster. "Can I keep the Sorting Hat with me? It wants to speak with me some more, and it feels bored sitting here all day."

Headmaster Flitwick eyed him curiously. "That's fine. But you need to return it tomorrow."

Harry thanked him and exited the office. Before he attended the club meeting, he wanted to go down to the kitchens to see if he could get in contact with Lady Hogwarts. As he walked, the hat was feeding him a steady trickle of information, which was distracting. Still, he couldn't deny how useful the ability was, and he couldn't wait to see how his Occlumency improved as a result.

When he reached the fruit portrait, he tickled the pear and entered the kitchens. The house elves greeted him, well acquainted with him after the incident earlier this year. He walked over to the wall concealing the hidden chamber, but the password he used previously failed to open the way.

One of the house-elves approached him. "If you are looking for Lady Hogwarts, she left a message behind for you, sir."

"What is the message?"

The elf cleared its throat. "You will have to do without my presence during the school year. Take care of yourself, Harry Potter."

"What's her problem?" Harry grumbled as he left the kitchen.

10th Saturday

Susan knocked on Professor McGonagall's door with a furious staccato, still fuming over her encounter with that jerk, Ernie McMillan. It was her first Animagus lesson with the professor since arriving at Hogwarts, and she had almost arrived late due to him waylaying her on her way out of the common room.

"What did my door do to you that warranted such treatment?" Minerva asked after opening the door.

Susan blushed. "I am sorry, Professor McGonagall. I was upset about something and vented my frustration on the door."

"You can call me Minerva when it is just the two of us," Minerva gently reminded her as she led her into the living room. "After all, you are my grandson's girlfriend."

Susan nodded with an awkward expression. She struggled to address the woman casually, even when she spent time with her over the summer holidays.

"Why don't we have a chat before we begin your lesson," Minerva said, gesturing for her to take a seat.

Susan froze. Minerva's expression suggested that this would be an awkward conversation.

Minerva served her tea and biscuits before taking a seat opposite hers.

"What made you so angry?" Minerva asked.

"Ernie McMillan," Susan complained. "That jerk approached me in the common room and told me that I should stop dating Harry because our relationship was unnatural."

"How does it concern him?"

"Exactly. He dared to offer himself as a potential boyfriend, claiming that he was a pureblood with the right pedigree."

Minerva winced. "I hope you didn't hurt him too much."

"Hannah dragged him away before I could inflict too much damage," Susan said with a satisfied expression, before pausing. "I probably shouldn't have admitted to that."

"I will give you a free pass once. Don't resort to violence to resolve disputes. Words can be far more effective in destroying your opponent if they are properly worded."

Susan nodded, relieved that she wouldn't face punishment for hurting Ernie.

"I would like to talk about your relationship with Harry," Minerva said, taking a sip of her tea. When she saw Susan's terrified expression, she gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm not going to criticise you about your relationship, as I have become used to the fact that my grandson is dating three girls. But I would like to learn more about the dynamics of the relationship and your thoughts on it."

"Okay," Susan replied, her expression relaxing. "What do you want to know?"

"First, allow me to explain why I struggled to accept your four-way relationship. Did you know that I was raised Catholic?"

Susan shook her head.

"The McGonagall line is a minor house that has been dormant for several generations because it only produced Squibs," Minerva explained. "It was only reactivated after I learned that I was a witch."

"That must have been a big surprise for your parents," Susan murmured. "Or were they aware of their magical ancestry?"

Minerva offered a wry smile. "No, my parents knew nothing about magic or the magical community. So, on my eleventh birthday, when a professor came and told them I was a witch, they had some strong reactions. What made things worse was that my parents were deeply religious, particularly my father. He was a bishop who held some extreme views on certain matters."

"He didn't believe in magic or despised the idea of it," Susan guessed.

"Yes. It took a lot for my mother to convince my father so I could go to Hogwarts," Minerva said. "My mother was a lot more understanding, especially after the professor explained how dangerous it would be if I didn't receive a proper magical education. But my relationship with my father was never the same after that, and I spent more time at Hogwarts as time passed to avoid going home."

"That must have been hard."

Minerva nodded. "My mother understood why I avoided coming home, but we continued to correspond in secret. She died before I could complete my education, and after a heated argument at her funeral, I cut off all contact with my father. That lasted until the day he died from a heart attack at the age of 67."

"That's sad. But why are you sharing this with me?"

"Do you know Christianity has some extreme views when it comes to relationships?"

"I had no idea. My aunt provided some basic information about it, but nothing in depth. She wanted me to have a well-rounded education, which included learning about the Muggle world."

"Well, one of the tenets of Christianity is monogamy, which states that a relationship can only be between a man and a woman," Minerva explained. "Some of their views on relationships are outdated, but I was raised to believe that a relationship involving multiple partners was evil. I had held onto those beliefs for so long, and that was the source of my concerns about your unusual relationship. Not with Harry's choice in the girls he dated."

Susan held a hand to her chest. "That's a relief. I assumed you disapproved of me. After all, I was the third girl to enter the relationship."

Minerva smiled. "How can I object to you? Your aunt is an amazing woman, and all signs point to you turning out the same way. What does it feel like to share Harry with two other girls?"

Susan shrugged. "It is actually quite easy. We all have our own interests outside of the relationship, so we don't need to spend every waking moment with Harry to feel validated. It helps that we are taking the relationship slowly, and Harry is good about making time for all of us equally."

"That is reassuring," Minerva sighed. She paused for a second. "How about your physical relationship? I hope that it hasn't progressed too far."

Susan squirmed in her seat. She was uncomfortable with the topic of the conversation. "There have been a few heated moments, but we haven't reached the stage where we are removing articles of clothing."

"My apologies. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I am asking because it may be prudent for you and the other girls to begin taking a contraceptive potion as a preventative measure. I have seen a lot of accidents happen because you have hormonal teenagers living together in the castle for ten months of the year."

"I was going to speak to Madam Pomfrey about it," Susan told her. "I will tell Daphne and Gabrielle."

"Good. To be honest, Gabrielle worries me the most, but not for any fault of her own, but rather because of her nature. Veela are sensual creatures, so I expect her to be more eager to initiate a physical relationship than other girls. I could be wrong about that, though."

"Gabrielle enjoys teasing Harry a lot," Susan said, smirking. "But Daphne and I aren't much better."

Minerva grimaced, not wanting to know the specifics of her grandson's physical relationships with his girlfriends, but it was her fault for bringing it up. "How do you three girls get along with each other? Is there a conflict between the three of you?"

"Not really. Gabrielle and Daphne like to pretend they don't like each other, but it is more of a game for them, and they are actually friends. I get along well with both of them as well."

"Thank you for talking with me. I know it must have been uncomfortable," Minerva said, checking her pocket watch. "Let us begin the lesson before we run out of time. I believe you are getting close to finding your inner animal."

Susan rose to her feet, relieved that the awkward conversation was over. She wished Gabrielle and Daphne had to go through it as well; otherwise, it would be unfair. She grinned as she considered suggesting the idea to Minerva.

11th Sunday

Harry carefully inscribed the final rune on the cabinet, then laid the runic pen down on the floor. Even with all his skills to prevent soreness, his hand still hurt from all the inscribing he had drawn. He could have completed it over several days, but he wanted to get the project over and done with.

He spent half an hour going over the entire array schematic to ensure there were no problems before rising to his feet. He stretched his arms, releasing a huge yawn, before checking the time to see that it was late afternoon.

After being so preoccupied with his project for so long, he had forgotten to eat lunch, and his stomach grumbled at that moment, reminding him that it needed to be fed.

It took him the entire day to fix the Vanishing Cabinet. He had relocated to the Room of Requirement so he could work on it after he returned to Hogwarts. After copying the array schematic from the Vanishing Cabinet that he had in his workshop, he decided to start over with the broken cabinet again and replace the entire array, rather than try and repair the affected parts. It was the most intricate array schematic he had ever inscribed, but he felt that he had learned a lot in the process.

He retrieved the Source and discovered that repairing the Vanishing Cabinet had provided him with a wealth of experience, more than compensating for all of his efforts on the project. If he had done everything correctly, the two Vanishing Cabinets should now be connected, allowing for instant travel between them.

He pulled his two-way mirror out of his pocket. "Sirius Black."

It took a moment for his godfather's face to appear in the mirror. "Hello, pup. Have you finished fixing the Vanishing Cabinet?"

"I just finished it. Can you head over to my workshop so we can test them out?"

"Give me fifteen minutes," Sirius said, before hanging up.

Should he head down to the kitchens and grab a snack while he was waiting for Sirius? He didn't think he could hold out for dinner.

"Wait, I have a better idea," Harry said. "Turf!"

Turf appeared in front of him. "What can Turf be doing for Master Harry Potter, sir?"

"Could you please get me a snack to tide me over until dinner?" Harry asked.

"Turf will get you something to eat," Turf said, then vanished with a crack.

He returned a minute later with a sandwich, an apple, and a glass of water, which he gave to Harry.

"You are a lifesaver," Harry exclaimed, tucking into the sandwich. "So, how is it going, Turf? Have you met any female elves whom you are interested in?"

Turf scuffed the ground with his foot bashfully. "Turf is courting a female elf called Petra."

Harry blinked. He had learnt some Greek while visiting the country and was certain that Petra was the Greek word for rock or stone. Rock and turf. He knew there had to be a joke about the pairing, but it eluded him.

"A match made in heaven," Harry said, and Turf beamed before disappearing with a pop.

Harry finished his snack right. His two-way mirror vibrated shortly afterwards, indicating that he had a call. He activated the mirror, and Sirius' face appeared in it.

"I'm at the workshop," Sirius said. "I will conjure an animated statuette and send it through to your side. Are you ready?"

"Go ahead."

Harry waited nervously in front of the Vanishing Cabinet, concerned that it wouldn't work. He had worried for nothing, as a short statue with a startling resemblance to him opened the door to the Vanishing Cabinet and stepped out. Behind it, Harry could see a long corridor that quickly vanished into darkness, obscuring the other side.

"Did it work?" Sirius asked.

Harry examined the statue to determine if there were any problems. There seemed to be nothing missing. He frowned, examining the statue's face more closely. It was identical to his face, except for an unsightly expression and a long tongue protruding like a dog. It gave the impression that he was leering lewdly, like an old pervert.

"It appears that it worked without any problems," Harry replied. "But what the hell is wrong with the statue's face?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You think you're so funny."

"I conjured the statue while picturing you watching your girlfriends in their bikinis. I think it's a pretty accurate representation of your expression at that time."

"Whatever. Can you conjure up an animal and send it through? I would like to test it on something that is actually alive and see if there are any issues."

Sirius' eyes lit up, and he saluted. "You got it, boss."

Harry sighed and waited for his godfather's next insult to emerge from the Vanishing Cabinet. His mouth dropped open when a small pig emerged from the corridor. The pig on its own wasn't startling, but Sirius had added some additional features.

The pig wore glasses perched on its face and had a lightning bolt-shaped scar on its forehead. In addition, it wore a black robe and had a small patch of black hair on top of its head.

Harry gritted his teeth. "Very funny."

"It worked," Sirius exclaimed, grinning. "Do you like my creation? I call him Harry Plopper. Based on the fact that he sh—"

"I get the idea!" Harry yelled. "Just wait, mongrel. I will get you back for this."

"Why wait? I'm coming through."

"Wait a minute—"

Sirius emerged from the Vanishing Cabinet, opening his arms so his godson could hug him. Instead, Harry punched him in the arm, making him yelp.

"What was that for?" Sirius grumbled as he rubbed his arm.

"Why did you have to act so recklessly?"

"Hey, Harry Plopper arrived unscathed," Sirius said, pointing to the pig that was eating the leftovers of Harry's snack. "The Vanishing Cabinets work now, so I can come see you whenever I want. How about we move the one in the workshop to my house?"

"Not a chance," Harry replied. "Get rid of the pig before I curse you."

Sirius waved his wand, and the pig vanished. "So, how is everything going? How are the girls?"

"They are fine," Harry said. "But they are attracting a lot of attention from the male students. Soon, I will have to challenge them to a duel to keep them away."

"I will be your second," Sirius said, placing a hand on his heart. "What about classes? Are you having any trouble with any of the subjects? Did you know your godfather got nine Outstandings on his OWLs? I can give you some tips."

"That's not necessary," Harry replied. "With everyone in the club, we have all of the subjects covered."

He was already far ahead in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence classes, though Sheena was pushing him hard in the latter. He would be able to improve his bojutsu skills thanks to her, saving him from having to continue the karate classes at the gym. She told him that she wasn't strong with a staff, but that had been a total lie, and he had a few bruises and welts to prove it. He was far ahead of everyone else in his class, who were still trying to figure out what weapon they wanted to learn how to use.

It wasn't all practical, though, and she was teaching them a lot about various dangerous magical creatures they may encounter in the world, and how to deal with them.

The most difficult subject was his mundane education, which he had begun studying in the evenings with Hermione. Before they began working on the actual curriculum for this year, she assisted him in filling any gaps in his knowledge, which he appreciated. With his hectic schedule, he had less time to spend with his girlfriends and his various projects.

"What is the situation with the girl's sister? What's her name? Paddy? Patty? Pamela?"

Harry sighed. "Padma. They have yet to find a cure, and her condition is worsening. Padma isn't taking the news well and is withdrawing into herself."

The club had discussed the matter in great detail and done a lot of research in the library to see if they could help Parvati. But they hadn't come up with anything. There was only so much they could do with limited time and information, and they were only students after all.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You work together with her father in the alliance, right? See if you can persuade him to let me see her and the object she touched."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You think you can discover something the experts couldn't?"

Harry pointed to himself. "I'm a genius. Haven't you heard?"

"Somebody's getting too big for their britches."

Harry sobered. "I'm not sure if I can do anything, but I would like to try. Padma is my friend, and her sister is in trouble."

"Alright. Leave it to me to persuade Ramesh," Sirius said before stepping into the Vanishing Cabinet. "See you later."

Harry left the Room of Requirement. As he walked down the corridor, he heard a flash and turned to see Colin Creevey hiding behind a tapestry, with a camera in his hands.

"Why are you taking pictures of me without my permission?" Harry growled.

"I need a photo of you for the official fan club."

Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Fan club?"

Colin pulled out a badge from his pocket and showed it to him. It was a red and gold badge, with letters etched on it.

"It's called the Official Harry Potter Fan Club," Colin said with a huge smile.

"What makes it official?" Harry asked.

"Well, you have to endorse it."

"Funny. I don't remember doing such a thing."

Colin's smile faded, now looking uncertain. "Your girlfriend gave me permission. I thought she spoke for you, so I didn't see a problem."

"Which one?"

"Daphne."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, resisting the urge to reach out and strangle Colin since he was the only person he could vent his frustration on at the moment. "That little menace. She'd better watch out when I get my hands on her. Did you make that badge yourself?"

"Daphne helped me with it," Colin explained. "She has been extremely helpful. But I am the only member of the fan club at the moment. Daphne gave me some Galleons to make more badges and begin recruiting new members."

Harry was about to say something rude when he was interrupted.

"What is this?" Professor Lockhart appeared from around the corner. "Harry, are you starting a fan club?"

"None of your business," Harry said, his irritation growing with the man's arrival.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," Gilderoy said, shaking his head with a tired sigh. "I should have warned you sooner about the dangers of starting a fan club so hastily. You don't want your fans to get the wrong impression of you. I have a large following, so allow me to share my extensive knowledge on the subject. I will ensure that you make the best impression on your fans."

"Really?" Colin grinned, looking a little too enthusiastic for Harry's liking.

"Why don't you worry about your fans? I'll worry about mine," Harry said to the professor before grabbing Colin's arm and dragging him down the corridor. "Colin, if I ever see you speaking to Lockhart about a fan club, I'm going to feed you to Nagini."

"Your pet snake?" Colin asked with a shudder.

Nagini had revealed her true size to the Gryffindor common room a few nights ago, and it left an indelible impression on everyone.

Nagini poked her head out of his arm. "I don't like the taste of little runts."

"What did she say?" Colin took a few steps backwards.

"She said that she is looking forward to when you mess up," Harry lied. "She hasn't tasted human flesh in a long time."

Colin fled down the corridor.

Gilderoy's smile vanished as he watched Harry Potter, and the other boy disappear down the corridor. He was so angry that he wanted to pull out his wand and destroy something. This was the second time Harry had disrespected him, and he wasn't going to put up with it much longer.

To calm himself, he took out a mirror from his robe and looked at his handsome face in the reflection. He touched up his hair and clothing before putting the mirror away and continuing to his quarters.

Once inside, he glanced at the clock and realised it was time to check in with Eight.

"Why did I have to become involved with those people?" Gilderoy lamented. "They are too stressful to deal with."

Gilderoy took two shots of firewhisky to give himself some liquid courage before approaching the fireplace. He took a bag of black powder from the mantelpiece. It was similar to Floo powder, but it served a different purpose. It allowed wizards to hack into the Floo Network and operate their own Floo connection called the Dark Network. Criminals used it to avoid the authorities and to establish connections with others in the same line of work. Since it worked so similarly to Floo powder, it was easy to hide from magical detection, so long as you were careful, and others didn't observe you using it.

He threw the black powder into the orange flames, which immediately turned black.

"Obsidian Eight," Gilderoy said, before putting his head into the flames.

Gilderoy's head emerged on the other side and he looked around. He screamed as something yanked on his hair, ripping off his wig and revealing that he was completely bald underneath.

"Interesting," a voice said, holding the wig in his hand. "The fact that you were bald wasn't listed in your dossier."

Gilderoy looked up and saw a man looming over him. He wore a pitch-black mask with the number eight printed on it. This was Number Eight, the controller he would serve for the foreseeable future until he could break free from Obsidian.

"I went to great lengths to keep it a secret," Gilderoy whined.

"You are late," Eight said, walking over to the table and sitting down with his legs crossed. "You know how upset I get when you are late to check in."

"I came across my target along the way," Gilderoy answered, lowering his head. "I wanted to check him out further and didn't realise how late it had become."

"Spare me your excuses. This requires a punishment, but it can wait until after your briefing. Tell me about Harry Potter."

Gilderoy shuddered when he learned he was being punished, but then proceeded to tell Eight everything he knew about Harry Potter. After he spoke for a few minutes, Eight raised his hand, prompting Gilderoy to stop.

"Your emotions are affecting your opinion of the boy," Eight said. "Didn't I tell you to be more analytical and not let your ego get in the way? What exactly did he do to offend you? Did he fail to fall to his knees and worship you?"

Gilderoy remained silent.

"I would like to conduct a small test to assess the boy's abilities. It will have to be done on the grounds because there are too many eyes and ears inside the castle. You told me Harry Potter is having strange interactions with the castle as if he owns the bloody thing. It's unexpected, and I will need to adjust accordingly."

Eight approached Gilderoy and bent down to whisper his orders into his ear. "If you fail this task, the consequences will be unpleasant."

Eight grabbed Gilderoy's jaw and shoved a pill into his mouth before pushing him out of the flames. Back in his quarters, Gilderoy tumbled over onto the floor. At that point, the pill's effects kicked in, and he began writhing on the floor in agonising pain. When he opened his mouth to scream, nothing but a keening noise came out. He was so out of it that he grabbed onto the tablecloth on the table, and pulled it off, along with the contents placed on it.

By the time the pain subsided, he was a broken mess on the floor. Tears stained his face, destroying the meticulously applied makeup. Still feeling the effects of the pill, he crawled over to the sofa. He drew himself up and curled into a ball, whimpering quietly.

He needed to complete his task flawlessly because he didn't want to go through that pain again.

So, what do you think? Gilderoy is not who he seems, and just what mischief is he planning for Harry?

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