Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Power
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, yada yada yada.
Chapter 20
"Why does all the interesting stuff happen while I'm asleep?" whined Hermione, after Harry filled her in.
"I don't know. Hey Hermione, how old do I look?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Last night Sirius didn't think I was me because he said I looked like a fifteen-year-old," explained Harry.
"Well, I suppose you do look older than you are. I guess I never noticed."
"Weird. Maybe I'm like a vampire. They age quickly, until they reach their prime."
"Yes, and you do take your sustenance from others, but I don't think that's it. I think it is just that your body was too underdeveloped to handle all your magic, so it fixed it." Hermione liked to argue.
"Maybe."
"Harry, Ron has been talking about inviting us to the Quidditch World Cup in the summer. England is hosting for the first time in a while and he says that his dad can get tickets."
"Did you say no?"
"Well, I kind of do want to go. It would be fun." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Then I'll get us some tickets. VIP seats even. But I'm not going with the Weasleys if it means sharing a tent with Ron. Oh, that reminds me; I had a vision last night."
"Harry, I explained to you that division was nonsense."
"There is some legitimate divination, Hermione, but that's not what I mean." Harry then went on to explain the connection in his mind and the vision.
"Oh, Harry! That sounds like your mind is connected to Voldemort's! You should tell Dumbledore!"
"I probably will, but it is nothing pressing. I am a capable occlumencer. Besides, I don't think Voldemort knows that we are connected. Otherwise, he would never have dropped guard, even for just a moment, last night."
Hermione conceded. "Alright."
That day, all the students in Hogwarts were escorted down to Hogsmead for a ceremony. Before the ceremony, Harry was called aside by Minister Fudge.
"Harry! They tell me that you are the one who cleared all this up last night! Good show!"
"Thank you, Minister. By the way, what is this ceremony all about?"
"Oh, this is the public apology to Sirius Black for his false incarceration. He is going to be rewarded with half a million gallons. Quite a sum!" Fudge's face lit up with the idea of that much money.
"Minister, Sirius grew up in a wealthy family, but then gave it all up to run away. I don't think he cares about money too much."
"You don't think he'll go along?"
"I don't know. I do know, though, that he enjoys Quidditch."
"Ah, yes! The World Cup is coming up isn't it! I think that is a wonderful idea! He'll get two tickets to the Cup as well!" Fudge was in a positively buoyant mood.
"Yes, some cheerfulness would help to warm the chill of Azkaban. By the way, on the topic of the Cup, I have been wondering how I would go about getting tickets to it?"
"You don't want to go with your Godfather?"
"I have someone I want to bring with me, and I think he has some friends from before that he would like to take."
"Ah, of course. Well, you don't need to worry about little things like tickets, Harry. That's why there is a VIP box. I'll have two seats and a tent reserved for you," replied Fudge in a fatherly fashion.
"Thank you."
##################
The next day, Harry stayed back in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Harry that was a good thing you did, sparing Pettigrew. I don't know if I could have done the same."
"Spare him? I thought I sent him away to a lifetime of torture?"
Lupin coughed. "Ah, well, then maybe it wasn't such a great thing. Anyway, was there something you wanted to ask me about?"
"Yes, what does the form of a person's Patronus say about that person?"
"Well, usually the Patronus takes the form of the animal that best represents which ever parent that person views as the protector. For most, it is the father, but for some, like people who have never known their father, it can be the mother. For you, I'd imagine, it would be either your uncle, or your aunt." He seemed to honestly believe that.
"Not likely. Mine is a unicorn, so I guess that that is my mother."
Lupin seemed surprised that Harry had already formed a corporeal Patronus, and asked to see it. When the exhibition was over, he said, "Yes, that would be your mother. More than one person would have described her as 'pure.' Tell me, why do you think that she is the one you see as your protector?"
"Well, the last time I ever saw her, she was standing in between me and Voldemort." Lupin assumed that Dumbledore had told him this, as he didn't know that occlumencers can remember that far back.
Later, in Transfiguration, McGonagall held Harry back after class. "Mr. Potter, I'm concerned about your performance in class. You always do exceptionally well on the exams, and you are one of the best in the class, but your homework quality has been getting progressively worse," she said, as she handed him his latest essay. It was marked an 'A.'
After looking through it, he asked, "What's wrong with it?"
"What's wrong? Mr. Potter, the assignment was for one and a half feet. That is barely one half of a foot!"
"Well, what did I leave out?"
"Nothing-"
"Was there not enough detail to understand it? It seems perfectly legible to me; very efficient. I've always had good penmanship."
"Yes, Mr. Potter it made perfect sense, but it was simply not long enough. Nor were your last three essays. I understand what you are trying to say, but you really do have to follow the instructions for the assignment. You have the potential to be top of the class, or at least tied with Miss Granger."
"Professor, I know very well why I was placed in your house. It was the only one where I fit all the qualifications. I am clever enough for Slytherin, but I have no ambition. I am loyal enough to my friends for Hufflepuff, but hard work bores me. I am more than intelligent enough for Ravenclaw, but I lack the love of academics for academics' sake that makes the house what it is. I have very little desire to be top of the class, and, unlike most, my Hogwarts marks will probably not affect my ability to get a job after school. I will not write more than is needed to make my point."
McGonagall, though slightly disappointed, knew that everything he had said was true. Besides, he was easily the most talented magician she had ever taught; it wasn't like he wasn't learning the material. "Very well, but you will still only barely pass like that."
"That's ok."
#####################
That night, after his animagus training, Harry decided to get started on that free troublemaking that the twins told him to do. He spent all night conjuring rats. By the time that everyone was awake, the school had a terrible pest problem. Classes were canceled that day because every girl in the school refused to set foot in the corridors. Meals were served in the common rooms. Each house got a stern talking to about pranks and tapestries. Eventually the staff conjured enough cats and snakes (Snape refused to use cats, as he was allergic) to run the rats out of the school. They would eventually fall prey to the woodland creatures. Harry had made them all male, so they wouldn't become some plague.
After McGonagall told them off, the twins made their way over to Harry. "Harry! That was a very good first prank. It was big, so everyone heard of it, and they couldn't pin it on you, so it shows that you can get it done without getting pinched," said Fred.
George added, "And it got us out of class. Always a plus." With that, Fred and George walked off without waiting for him to either confirm or deny any involvement.
Hermione seemed surprised when he told her that he had come threw on his promise of top box tickets. Harry couldn't understand why. He was a celebrity. People were supposed to bend over backwards for him.
Chapter 20
"Why does all the interesting stuff happen while I'm asleep?" whined Hermione, after Harry filled her in.
"I don't know. Hey Hermione, how old do I look?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Last night Sirius didn't think I was me because he said I looked like a fifteen-year-old," explained Harry.
"Well, I suppose you do look older than you are. I guess I never noticed."
"Weird. Maybe I'm like a vampire. They age quickly, until they reach their prime."
"Yes, and you do take your sustenance from others, but I don't think that's it. I think it is just that your body was too underdeveloped to handle all your magic, so it fixed it." Hermione liked to argue.
"Maybe."
"Harry, Ron has been talking about inviting us to the Quidditch World Cup in the summer. England is hosting for the first time in a while and he says that his dad can get tickets."
"Did you say no?"
"Well, I kind of do want to go. It would be fun." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Then I'll get us some tickets. VIP seats even. But I'm not going with the Weasleys if it means sharing a tent with Ron. Oh, that reminds me; I had a vision last night."
"Harry, I explained to you that division was nonsense."
"There is some legitimate divination, Hermione, but that's not what I mean." Harry then went on to explain the connection in his mind and the vision.
"Oh, Harry! That sounds like your mind is connected to Voldemort's! You should tell Dumbledore!"
"I probably will, but it is nothing pressing. I am a capable occlumencer. Besides, I don't think Voldemort knows that we are connected. Otherwise, he would never have dropped guard, even for just a moment, last night."
Hermione conceded. "Alright."
That day, all the students in Hogwarts were escorted down to Hogsmead for a ceremony. Before the ceremony, Harry was called aside by Minister Fudge.
"Harry! They tell me that you are the one who cleared all this up last night! Good show!"
"Thank you, Minister. By the way, what is this ceremony all about?"
"Oh, this is the public apology to Sirius Black for his false incarceration. He is going to be rewarded with half a million gallons. Quite a sum!" Fudge's face lit up with the idea of that much money.
"Minister, Sirius grew up in a wealthy family, but then gave it all up to run away. I don't think he cares about money too much."
"You don't think he'll go along?"
"I don't know. I do know, though, that he enjoys Quidditch."
"Ah, yes! The World Cup is coming up isn't it! I think that is a wonderful idea! He'll get two tickets to the Cup as well!" Fudge was in a positively buoyant mood.
"Yes, some cheerfulness would help to warm the chill of Azkaban. By the way, on the topic of the Cup, I have been wondering how I would go about getting tickets to it?"
"You don't want to go with your Godfather?"
"I have someone I want to bring with me, and I think he has some friends from before that he would like to take."
"Ah, of course. Well, you don't need to worry about little things like tickets, Harry. That's why there is a VIP box. I'll have two seats and a tent reserved for you," replied Fudge in a fatherly fashion.
"Thank you."
##################
The next day, Harry stayed back in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Harry that was a good thing you did, sparing Pettigrew. I don't know if I could have done the same."
"Spare him? I thought I sent him away to a lifetime of torture?"
Lupin coughed. "Ah, well, then maybe it wasn't such a great thing. Anyway, was there something you wanted to ask me about?"
"Yes, what does the form of a person's Patronus say about that person?"
"Well, usually the Patronus takes the form of the animal that best represents which ever parent that person views as the protector. For most, it is the father, but for some, like people who have never known their father, it can be the mother. For you, I'd imagine, it would be either your uncle, or your aunt." He seemed to honestly believe that.
"Not likely. Mine is a unicorn, so I guess that that is my mother."
Lupin seemed surprised that Harry had already formed a corporeal Patronus, and asked to see it. When the exhibition was over, he said, "Yes, that would be your mother. More than one person would have described her as 'pure.' Tell me, why do you think that she is the one you see as your protector?"
"Well, the last time I ever saw her, she was standing in between me and Voldemort." Lupin assumed that Dumbledore had told him this, as he didn't know that occlumencers can remember that far back.
Later, in Transfiguration, McGonagall held Harry back after class. "Mr. Potter, I'm concerned about your performance in class. You always do exceptionally well on the exams, and you are one of the best in the class, but your homework quality has been getting progressively worse," she said, as she handed him his latest essay. It was marked an 'A.'
After looking through it, he asked, "What's wrong with it?"
"What's wrong? Mr. Potter, the assignment was for one and a half feet. That is barely one half of a foot!"
"Well, what did I leave out?"
"Nothing-"
"Was there not enough detail to understand it? It seems perfectly legible to me; very efficient. I've always had good penmanship."
"Yes, Mr. Potter it made perfect sense, but it was simply not long enough. Nor were your last three essays. I understand what you are trying to say, but you really do have to follow the instructions for the assignment. You have the potential to be top of the class, or at least tied with Miss Granger."
"Professor, I know very well why I was placed in your house. It was the only one where I fit all the qualifications. I am clever enough for Slytherin, but I have no ambition. I am loyal enough to my friends for Hufflepuff, but hard work bores me. I am more than intelligent enough for Ravenclaw, but I lack the love of academics for academics' sake that makes the house what it is. I have very little desire to be top of the class, and, unlike most, my Hogwarts marks will probably not affect my ability to get a job after school. I will not write more than is needed to make my point."
McGonagall, though slightly disappointed, knew that everything he had said was true. Besides, he was easily the most talented magician she had ever taught; it wasn't like he wasn't learning the material. "Very well, but you will still only barely pass like that."
"That's ok."
#####################
That night, after his animagus training, Harry decided to get started on that free troublemaking that the twins told him to do. He spent all night conjuring rats. By the time that everyone was awake, the school had a terrible pest problem. Classes were canceled that day because every girl in the school refused to set foot in the corridors. Meals were served in the common rooms. Each house got a stern talking to about pranks and tapestries. Eventually the staff conjured enough cats and snakes (Snape refused to use cats, as he was allergic) to run the rats out of the school. They would eventually fall prey to the woodland creatures. Harry had made them all male, so they wouldn't become some plague.
After McGonagall told them off, the twins made their way over to Harry. "Harry! That was a very good first prank. It was big, so everyone heard of it, and they couldn't pin it on you, so it shows that you can get it done without getting pinched," said Fred.
George added, "And it got us out of class. Always a plus." With that, Fred and George walked off without waiting for him to either confirm or deny any involvement.
Hermione seemed surprised when he told her that he had come threw on his promise of top box tickets. Harry couldn't understand why. He was a celebrity. People were supposed to bend over backwards for him.
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