Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Power
Disclaimer: I reserve the right to write right. Rowling owns Harry Potter and I don't own anything. I'm poor so I write some more.
Chapter 12
It was a month later, and Harry was sitting on a rock near the top of one of the mountains he had built in his head. He was watching the dragon, learning its behavior and habits. He had built his mind to hold a variety of different terrains. He had plains and mountains and a forest. He thought a dragon would like mountains, and he made the forest incase the dragon wanted something to burn. Harry knew that he would.
Harry had decided that Lockheart must be taking the credit for what other people had done. That was the logical conclusion considering that Harry knew that Lockheart hadn't done the stuff, but he also knew it had been done. The only thing he wondered about was how he had kept the others from coming forth with their knowledge. Harry supposed the simplest answer was that Lockheart had memory charmed them, but Harry had a hard time imagining Lockheart as competent enough to handle a difficult charm like that.
The next day, he decided to give Hermione a talking to about Lockheart. She was too intelligent for this. She was the first one down the girls' stairs, like always. "Hey, Hermione, I've got a bone to pick with you." She looked slightly startled, not being able to remember any reason for this.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"I need to talk to you about Lockheart." He could already see her getting defensive.
"What about him? You going to apologize for the way you have been talking about him?"
"No, I need you to wise up and see him for what he is. A sham. A phony." Harry was going to continue giving synonyms until she responded, but she responded then.
"No, he isn't! How can you say such a thing?"
"Well, I suppose it is easier for me, seeing as how I'm not attracted to him like you are, but you are too intelligent to believe that that idiot could do any of the things in his books."
"What makes you think he is an idiot?"
"Just look at the first exam he gave us! 'What is my birthday. What is my favorite colour? What size underwear do I wear?' Now, that'll save me from the Dark Arts, that will. Lockheart's underwear."
"Harry, he was making sure that we read the books. If we remembered those details, we remembered the ones about defense too. You are just mad that you failed that test."
"Hermione, I failed that test on purpose. Granted, I didn't know the answers, but knew that what I put down wasn't the answers. I was making fun of him with my test." Harry started sniggering at the memory of what he put down on that test. Then he snapped out of it. "Fine, I'll prove it to you that he is a fake. Today, I want you to walk up to him, look him in the eye, and ask if he really did all the things in his books. I bet you anything that he lies to you."
"Fine, and when he tells the truth, you better apologize to him." Harry nodded his head slightly.
Classes went normal that day, until defense. Lockheart, who learned in the first class that it was a bad idea to set a cage of pixies loose in a classroom, spent every class reenacting his books. He would always ask Harry to help him, and he would always get the same response: a particularly loud, fake snore. Today, however, Harry wasn't pretending to be asleep.
"Today, we are going to be reenacting my defeat of the Wala Wala Werewolf. Harry would you help me out?" Harry, pretending to just try to be helpful, pointed his wand at Lockheart's chair, and transfigured it into the likeness of a Werewolf (it wasn't actually a Werewolf; wouldn't change into a person, and was under Harry's control). Lockheart screamed like a little girl. The wolf just looked at him.
"Mr. Potter, I meant for you to help me by playing the part of the wolf!"
"Well, I'm not a particularly good actor. This will be much more convincing." Now the wolf was walking towards Lockheart, slightly menacingly.
Lockheart looked terrified. "Well, I believe you are scaring your class mates, so just get rid of it!" His voice squeaked at the end. Looking around, Harry noticed that most of the guys were watching happily, glad to see the idiot freak out. The girls, also, did not look afraid, though that was because they thought Lockheart could handle it.
"Oh, very well." And he dissolved the Werewolf. Lockheart seemed to forget that he was going to reenact anything. He told them to read their books, and he disappeared into his office. Several guys gave Harry a pat on the back.
Within the last two minutes of class, Lockheart returned looking fully recovered from his ordeal, if perhaps a little drunk. When the bell rang, everyone hurried out of the class except for Harry, Hermione, and Lockheart. Hermione shyly approached the professor.
"Professor Lockheart, didn't you really do all those heroic things in your books?"
Lockheart looked down beaming at one of his adoring fangirls and said, "Of course Hermione."
Hermione grew a thoughtful expression for a few moments. Finally, she sighed slightly, and said, "Well, you're still pretty," and walked away. Lockheart looked confused for a few moments before he decided that it wasn't important, because he was still pretty, and turned away. Harry laughed the whole way back to the common room, with Hermione chuckling occasionally, as well.
Back in the common room, Harry and Hermione got into yet another conversation about the Chamber. Hermione seemed convinced that Voldemort was behind it; basing most of her theory on what Harry had said that he felt in the book store. He told her that he hadn't felt the decaying energy since then, and that her theory pointed the culprit to either be Draco, or a Weasley. She suggested that they investigate Draco. She wanted to brew some illegal potion to turn someone into someone else and infiltrate the Slytherin common room. Harry hadn't heard of the potion, but Hermione insisted that Snape had mentioned it in one of his classes. Harry checked the book she said it was in, and realized that it would take a month to brew it.
"Nah, lets just corner him and pull the answer out of his brain." Hermione really didn't like this solution. She still thought that Legilimency was an invasion of privacy. Harry just thought that Hermione was disappointed that she didn't get to brew the difficult potion.
The next day (after another night studying the dragon's habits), Harry and Hermione saw Draco turn to go into the bathroom, while the two big guys that are always following him continued to the Great Hall. Harry told Hermione to make sure that no one came in.
When he went into the bathroom, he checked the stalls. Only one was occupied. Harry stood near the door and waited. When Draco finished, he came out of the stall and noticed Harry.
"Well, well. If it isn't Potter. Getting a little scared for your mud-" Harry interrupted him.
"Now, Draco. Remember what happened the last time you used that word in front of me. Now, wash your hands, and then I've got something I want to talk to you about." Draco looked a little frightened now that he noticed that they were the only two in the bathroom.
When he had finished washing his hands, Draco tried to leave the bathroom. "Get out of my way, Potter. I've got more important things to do than talk to you," he said with a sneer.
Harry just smirked at him and raised his wand. Draco looked especially frightened now. Concentrating, Harry wordlessly cast Legilimens! Sifting through Draco's memories, Harry realized just how little Draco knew. Malfoy Senior was obviously behind this, even Draco knew that, but that was all Draco knew. Either Lucius didn't tell his son because he knew Dumbledore was a legilimencer, or he just didn't trust Mini-Malfoy. Either way, this was useless.
That evening, Harry and Hermione were sitting in the common room doing homework (Harry couldn't do it at night anymore, with his animagus work). Harry was finding it hard to ignore the chatter from the other students. There had been another attack today: some first year kid, a muggleborn. They were all getting rather jumpy.
A week later found most of the second years in the great hall, waiting for the new dueling club to begin. But all hopes Harry had of this being worth any amount of time went out the window when Lockheart walked in. He gave a pompous speech, then went on to tell how he would be putting on a demonstration with Professor Snape, who Harry had just noticed. Harry knew from the expression on Snape's face that Lockheart was going to be hurt. After Lockheart gave some useless information about dueling etiquette, the duel started. And finished. One disarming charm from Snape had Lockheart slammed against a wall without his wand.
When they started teaming up people, Snape got to Harry before Lockheart. He partnered Harry with Draco, of course, and then Hermione with Millicent Bulstrode. Harry was pleased to see that Draco was not pleased about this. When the duel began, Harry immediately batted away the little hex Draco had sent him and returned with one that made all of Draco's clothes come alive. His tie became rather snake-like (without teeth, but with a mouth), and all his clothes were either trying to eat him, or get away from him (which would leave him rather embarrassed). Before anything could really happen though, Snape cast a Finite Incantatem over the room.
Looking around, Harry noticed the carnage that comes with putting a bunch of second years together and telling them to throw spells at each other. Most people were supporting nose bleeds or a bruise. Millicent was lying on the ground, bound and gaged. Harry smiled.
Lockheart decided to impart more of his unparalleled wisdom, rather than acknowledge his mistake. "I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells. I think I need some volunteers. Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you?"
Snape insulted Neville, again, and volunteered Harry and Draco. Lockheart loved this idea, but Draco didn't. While Lockheart was showing just how not to deflect a curse, Snape was whispering something into Draco's ear that was giving him the confidence to sneer at Harry.
When the duel was signaled to begin, Draco immediately shouted, "Serpensortia!" launching a large black snake out of the tip of his wand. The crowd screamed. Harry briefly considered scaring the school by revealing his parselmouth abilities, but decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.
Snape was about to dispel the snake when Lockheart tossed everything into the shitter. Waving his wand, he threw the snake ten feet into the air. When it landed, it was extremely agitated. It immediately flew strait at Hermione, who was the closest to it. Before he had time to think about it, Harry yelled, "STOP!" The snake froze, and so did everyone else. 'Oops.'
What followed was an incredibly awkward silence. Snape, while staring at Harry with a strange, calculating look, vanished the snake. Everyone else just gawked. Harry decided that it was time to go.
When they had gotten to an unused classroom, Hermione pulled Harry inside. "Were you never going to tell me that you are a parselmouth?"
"Well, it is kind of hard to work into a sentence. 'Good day, Hermione. By the way, I'm a parselmouth.'"
"Yeah, but this is something rather big. I'd think you'd tell me sometime."
"I wasn't hiding it from you, but it never came up. I haven't spoken to a snake since I found a grass snake in the yard about four years ago. It's not a big part of my life, or anything." Hermione seemed to understand that and calmed down. She hadn't been very upset in the first place.
"You know that everyone is going to think you are Slytherin's heir, right?"
"Hermione, I don't even know my grandparents' names. For all I know, I am. Besides, this should be fun: seeing all the stupid people running away as I walk down a corridor." Hermione just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then Ron found them.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were a parselmouth?" He seemed angry. Harry had been completely ignoring him since the beginning of the school year. He didn't see any reason to stop now.
Chapter 12
It was a month later, and Harry was sitting on a rock near the top of one of the mountains he had built in his head. He was watching the dragon, learning its behavior and habits. He had built his mind to hold a variety of different terrains. He had plains and mountains and a forest. He thought a dragon would like mountains, and he made the forest incase the dragon wanted something to burn. Harry knew that he would.
Harry had decided that Lockheart must be taking the credit for what other people had done. That was the logical conclusion considering that Harry knew that Lockheart hadn't done the stuff, but he also knew it had been done. The only thing he wondered about was how he had kept the others from coming forth with their knowledge. Harry supposed the simplest answer was that Lockheart had memory charmed them, but Harry had a hard time imagining Lockheart as competent enough to handle a difficult charm like that.
The next day, he decided to give Hermione a talking to about Lockheart. She was too intelligent for this. She was the first one down the girls' stairs, like always. "Hey, Hermione, I've got a bone to pick with you." She looked slightly startled, not being able to remember any reason for this.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"I need to talk to you about Lockheart." He could already see her getting defensive.
"What about him? You going to apologize for the way you have been talking about him?"
"No, I need you to wise up and see him for what he is. A sham. A phony." Harry was going to continue giving synonyms until she responded, but she responded then.
"No, he isn't! How can you say such a thing?"
"Well, I suppose it is easier for me, seeing as how I'm not attracted to him like you are, but you are too intelligent to believe that that idiot could do any of the things in his books."
"What makes you think he is an idiot?"
"Just look at the first exam he gave us! 'What is my birthday. What is my favorite colour? What size underwear do I wear?' Now, that'll save me from the Dark Arts, that will. Lockheart's underwear."
"Harry, he was making sure that we read the books. If we remembered those details, we remembered the ones about defense too. You are just mad that you failed that test."
"Hermione, I failed that test on purpose. Granted, I didn't know the answers, but knew that what I put down wasn't the answers. I was making fun of him with my test." Harry started sniggering at the memory of what he put down on that test. Then he snapped out of it. "Fine, I'll prove it to you that he is a fake. Today, I want you to walk up to him, look him in the eye, and ask if he really did all the things in his books. I bet you anything that he lies to you."
"Fine, and when he tells the truth, you better apologize to him." Harry nodded his head slightly.
Classes went normal that day, until defense. Lockheart, who learned in the first class that it was a bad idea to set a cage of pixies loose in a classroom, spent every class reenacting his books. He would always ask Harry to help him, and he would always get the same response: a particularly loud, fake snore. Today, however, Harry wasn't pretending to be asleep.
"Today, we are going to be reenacting my defeat of the Wala Wala Werewolf. Harry would you help me out?" Harry, pretending to just try to be helpful, pointed his wand at Lockheart's chair, and transfigured it into the likeness of a Werewolf (it wasn't actually a Werewolf; wouldn't change into a person, and was under Harry's control). Lockheart screamed like a little girl. The wolf just looked at him.
"Mr. Potter, I meant for you to help me by playing the part of the wolf!"
"Well, I'm not a particularly good actor. This will be much more convincing." Now the wolf was walking towards Lockheart, slightly menacingly.
Lockheart looked terrified. "Well, I believe you are scaring your class mates, so just get rid of it!" His voice squeaked at the end. Looking around, Harry noticed that most of the guys were watching happily, glad to see the idiot freak out. The girls, also, did not look afraid, though that was because they thought Lockheart could handle it.
"Oh, very well." And he dissolved the Werewolf. Lockheart seemed to forget that he was going to reenact anything. He told them to read their books, and he disappeared into his office. Several guys gave Harry a pat on the back.
Within the last two minutes of class, Lockheart returned looking fully recovered from his ordeal, if perhaps a little drunk. When the bell rang, everyone hurried out of the class except for Harry, Hermione, and Lockheart. Hermione shyly approached the professor.
"Professor Lockheart, didn't you really do all those heroic things in your books?"
Lockheart looked down beaming at one of his adoring fangirls and said, "Of course Hermione."
Hermione grew a thoughtful expression for a few moments. Finally, she sighed slightly, and said, "Well, you're still pretty," and walked away. Lockheart looked confused for a few moments before he decided that it wasn't important, because he was still pretty, and turned away. Harry laughed the whole way back to the common room, with Hermione chuckling occasionally, as well.
Back in the common room, Harry and Hermione got into yet another conversation about the Chamber. Hermione seemed convinced that Voldemort was behind it; basing most of her theory on what Harry had said that he felt in the book store. He told her that he hadn't felt the decaying energy since then, and that her theory pointed the culprit to either be Draco, or a Weasley. She suggested that they investigate Draco. She wanted to brew some illegal potion to turn someone into someone else and infiltrate the Slytherin common room. Harry hadn't heard of the potion, but Hermione insisted that Snape had mentioned it in one of his classes. Harry checked the book she said it was in, and realized that it would take a month to brew it.
"Nah, lets just corner him and pull the answer out of his brain." Hermione really didn't like this solution. She still thought that Legilimency was an invasion of privacy. Harry just thought that Hermione was disappointed that she didn't get to brew the difficult potion.
The next day (after another night studying the dragon's habits), Harry and Hermione saw Draco turn to go into the bathroom, while the two big guys that are always following him continued to the Great Hall. Harry told Hermione to make sure that no one came in.
When he went into the bathroom, he checked the stalls. Only one was occupied. Harry stood near the door and waited. When Draco finished, he came out of the stall and noticed Harry.
"Well, well. If it isn't Potter. Getting a little scared for your mud-" Harry interrupted him.
"Now, Draco. Remember what happened the last time you used that word in front of me. Now, wash your hands, and then I've got something I want to talk to you about." Draco looked a little frightened now that he noticed that they were the only two in the bathroom.
When he had finished washing his hands, Draco tried to leave the bathroom. "Get out of my way, Potter. I've got more important things to do than talk to you," he said with a sneer.
Harry just smirked at him and raised his wand. Draco looked especially frightened now. Concentrating, Harry wordlessly cast Legilimens! Sifting through Draco's memories, Harry realized just how little Draco knew. Malfoy Senior was obviously behind this, even Draco knew that, but that was all Draco knew. Either Lucius didn't tell his son because he knew Dumbledore was a legilimencer, or he just didn't trust Mini-Malfoy. Either way, this was useless.
That evening, Harry and Hermione were sitting in the common room doing homework (Harry couldn't do it at night anymore, with his animagus work). Harry was finding it hard to ignore the chatter from the other students. There had been another attack today: some first year kid, a muggleborn. They were all getting rather jumpy.
A week later found most of the second years in the great hall, waiting for the new dueling club to begin. But all hopes Harry had of this being worth any amount of time went out the window when Lockheart walked in. He gave a pompous speech, then went on to tell how he would be putting on a demonstration with Professor Snape, who Harry had just noticed. Harry knew from the expression on Snape's face that Lockheart was going to be hurt. After Lockheart gave some useless information about dueling etiquette, the duel started. And finished. One disarming charm from Snape had Lockheart slammed against a wall without his wand.
When they started teaming up people, Snape got to Harry before Lockheart. He partnered Harry with Draco, of course, and then Hermione with Millicent Bulstrode. Harry was pleased to see that Draco was not pleased about this. When the duel began, Harry immediately batted away the little hex Draco had sent him and returned with one that made all of Draco's clothes come alive. His tie became rather snake-like (without teeth, but with a mouth), and all his clothes were either trying to eat him, or get away from him (which would leave him rather embarrassed). Before anything could really happen though, Snape cast a Finite Incantatem over the room.
Looking around, Harry noticed the carnage that comes with putting a bunch of second years together and telling them to throw spells at each other. Most people were supporting nose bleeds or a bruise. Millicent was lying on the ground, bound and gaged. Harry smiled.
Lockheart decided to impart more of his unparalleled wisdom, rather than acknowledge his mistake. "I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells. I think I need some volunteers. Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you?"
Snape insulted Neville, again, and volunteered Harry and Draco. Lockheart loved this idea, but Draco didn't. While Lockheart was showing just how not to deflect a curse, Snape was whispering something into Draco's ear that was giving him the confidence to sneer at Harry.
When the duel was signaled to begin, Draco immediately shouted, "Serpensortia!" launching a large black snake out of the tip of his wand. The crowd screamed. Harry briefly considered scaring the school by revealing his parselmouth abilities, but decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.
Snape was about to dispel the snake when Lockheart tossed everything into the shitter. Waving his wand, he threw the snake ten feet into the air. When it landed, it was extremely agitated. It immediately flew strait at Hermione, who was the closest to it. Before he had time to think about it, Harry yelled, "STOP!" The snake froze, and so did everyone else. 'Oops.'
What followed was an incredibly awkward silence. Snape, while staring at Harry with a strange, calculating look, vanished the snake. Everyone else just gawked. Harry decided that it was time to go.
When they had gotten to an unused classroom, Hermione pulled Harry inside. "Were you never going to tell me that you are a parselmouth?"
"Well, it is kind of hard to work into a sentence. 'Good day, Hermione. By the way, I'm a parselmouth.'"
"Yeah, but this is something rather big. I'd think you'd tell me sometime."
"I wasn't hiding it from you, but it never came up. I haven't spoken to a snake since I found a grass snake in the yard about four years ago. It's not a big part of my life, or anything." Hermione seemed to understand that and calmed down. She hadn't been very upset in the first place.
"You know that everyone is going to think you are Slytherin's heir, right?"
"Hermione, I don't even know my grandparents' names. For all I know, I am. Besides, this should be fun: seeing all the stupid people running away as I walk down a corridor." Hermione just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then Ron found them.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were a parselmouth?" He seemed angry. Harry had been completely ignoring him since the beginning of the school year. He didn't see any reason to stop now.
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