Year Five
Thanks for all the reviews.
So, if you’ve read any of my prior stories, you know my hands and my muse fight over who is more important. Right now, my muse is like, “Take a pill, I have shit to write.” And my hands are like, “We can’t take that much Tylenol 3.”
It’s a constant battle. My muse is winning. Though, I’m not overdosing on Tylenol 3. If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to write anything.
I might be taking a bit too much Excedrin though.
And before you ask, I’ve tried dictation, but it really doesn’t work with storytelling.
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The first thing they did was place Grimmuald Place under the Fidelius Charm, with Harry as the Secret Keeper. He wrote the secret for Remus to hold. Remus would be the decoy, but they told Amelia Bones of their plan, just in case. They weren’t making that mistake again.
Kreacher had been a tougher nut to crack than originally thought. Finally, Harry got the full story though. Once Sirius got the necklace it was simpler. Kreacher couldn’t tell Sirius, but he could tell Harry. Harry told his godfather about the man’s brother’s demise, and that had led to tears. Sally was more than happy to bite the vile neckwear.
“That’s three,” Harry said as they sat for lunch four days into the vacation. They had a full spread today because Winky and Dobby were fighting over who was cooking, so they were overloaded with food. Kreacher didn’t much care who cooked, he was more into cleaning. There were sandwiches, soups, salads, and homemade crisps.
Harry was loaded up with all of them. He was happily munching away with an appetite that only a teenage boy could have. Then again, Remus seemed to be outdoing him today.
The three house elves had the house shiny clean. The house had never looked this good according to Sirius. Not even when he was a child. The wallpaper was all replaced. The carpets were in good repair. The furniture was all new and clean. The oil lamps were shiny and bright. The kitchen and dining area were so clean it could almost be called clinical. Everything was like a brand-new sickle.
All the insects, bugs and pests were moved to Harry’s bug house or suitcase. They were more than happy to be there. They had all gone willingly to their new home. The house was not hospitable for them, and Sirius was more then happy to let Harry have some of the dark items to keep in his biodomes to keep the pests comfortable.
However, there wasn’t enough work for the three elves. So Winky and Dobby were going to go and work on Potter Manor for the rest of the summer when they weren’t needed here. It still needed a lot of repairs. Though, they were reluctant to do so since there were going to be people here. That and they helped Harry tend to his animals in both the bug house and the suitcase.
“Either that’s the last of the horcruxes, or there are four more,” Sirius said, hoping it was the last. The last thing they needed was to go horcrux hunting. They wouldn’t have the first clue as to where to start. “Three and seven are magical numbers,” he explained at Harry’s questioning face. “Merlin forbid, he made elven,” he mumbled under his breath. He didn’t think that was possible.
“We’d better go under the assumption that there’s four more,” Remus said, taking a ham and cheese sandwich from the center of the table. It was his second one, but he was hungry. It had been a full moon the night before. “Or three more and Voldy himself,” he stated, thoughtfully.
“Yeah, if Tom was going to go all out, he’d do as many as he could,” Harry agreed, remembering the egotistical boy he met in the diary.
“You’re both probably right,” Sirius said, still chewing on his roast beef sandwich. Dammit, now he was going to have to do some research and reach out to Amelia and the DoM. He hated talking to them. They were so weird. Still, they might have a better idea where to start than he did.
“Sirius, why did you tell the Order that they can meet here? Albus has a restraining order with Harry,” Remus said confused. “That and Snape and Fletcher will be here,” he pointed out. “I wouldn’t trust either of those two in my house,” he added, looking around at all the expensive stuff on display in the kitchen alone.
“I have the house elves on alert to keep sticky fingers to themselves. If Fletcher tries anything, he’ll learn not to steal from the House of Black,” Sirius said, a maniacal look in his eyes. “As for Snape, I’m not overly concerned about him. He’s more bark than bite.” He had a wicked grin on his face with those words. Like he knew something they didn’t.
“And Albus?” That was the real mind-boggler.
“Haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’? I want him where I can watch him,” admitted the dogman with a nonchalant shrug.
“And the restraining order?”
“Harry won’t be at the meetings,” Sirius said, looking at Harry. “So, there’s no worries there. Don’t worry, Harry. If it’s important we’ll let you know. If you have something that they need to know, you can tell us and we’ll tell them,” he said, not wanting the teen to feel left out. “Besides, I have the biggest house of all the Order members. With the best wards.”
“I’m not worried,” Harry said, knowing his godfather wouldn’t leave him out. Sirius tells him everything. He really should tell him about his fears about his scar. He wasn’t sure yet. It was just a theory. What if he worried everyone for nothing?
“I don’t plan on letting Albus keep his secrets this time. Last time too many people died because of that. I want everyone to know what we know,” Remus said, having been told all about the horcruxes and the dreams Harry had.
“We’ll tell them all first thing,” Sirius promised, wiping his hands on a napkin to rid them of crisp crumbs. “I’ve already shared everything I’ve told Albus with Amelia Bones. There are no secrets there.”
“Good,” the werewolf said, wolfing down his sandwich and grabbing another. This time a BLT. He also grabbed some crisps. They were just so good. He’d never had homemade ones before. These were so crunchy and thin; it was like biting salty goodness.
“Why are the Weasleys moving in? They have Bill to ward their home,” Harry asked, very puzzled by that move. There was no reason for it. It wasn’t like Voldy was doing anything.
“That I’m not sure about. I think Bill is out of the country right now and it’s only for a couple of weeks,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee. “I only agreed because the twins are your friends.”
“I just hope that Ginny has gotten over her crush on me,” Harry said, with a shudder. It wasn’t that she was bad looking or anything. But she wanted the Boy-Who-Lived and not Harry the Magizoologist. That and she hated bugs. It was going to be hard to find a girl that liked insects. He knew that.
“I don’t think so,” Remus said, in a sympathetic way. He recalled her homework with ‘Mrs. Harry Potter’ in the margins. He wasn’t going to tell Harry that though.
“Damn,” Harry muttered. Then he got up and went to his room to check on his dragon egg. It had yet to hatch. When he was done checking on all the animals, he joined Sirius and Remus in the study.
“Harry, I want you to wear this ring,” his godfather said, holding out a plain black ring.
“Why?” he asked but put it on anyway. He trusted the man, he just wanted to know what it did.
“It’ll detect potions,” Sirius said, smiling at his godson’s trust. “It’ll vibrate if there’s a foreign substance in your drink or food.”
“You don’t think…” Remus started, trailing off.
“Just a precaution,” the dogman said, holding out his hands in a ‘it’s all good’ way.
“Well, I, for one, thank you. I’ve been worried about love potions,” Harry said, looking at the ring. “Not just from Ginny. There have been a lot of girls giving me the side-eye.”
“All the more reason for the protection,” Sirius said with a grave tone.
“Thanks, Padfoot,” Harry said, sincerely.
The rest of the week went by with their normal schedule. Harry went to the Scamanders, then home for the night. Sirius and Remus just hung around the house doing nothing but reading or sparring. More sparring than anything. They had tapped out on where to find the horcruxes, so they were leaving it up to the DoM and Amelia. Maybe Dumbledore knew more, though they were loath to ask the man.
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The Order was going to meet for the first time tonight, but Harry wasn’t invited, so he didn’t get to meet who was there. Hermione, Neville, and Luna were all out of the country visiting various places. Lee was at home with his parents. The Weasley kids were in 12 Grimmuald Place while their parents were in the meeting.
“Are you lot moving in this week?” Harry asked George, while they were in his suitcase feeding Jeffery, the Blast-Ended Skrewt. He was looking good and was adapting well to the environment that Harry had set up for him.
It was a dry and arid place that was hotter than Hades. There were tarpits and some smoldering firepits as well. There was a small volcano that was dormant. Harry and Rolf had set it up, hoping that Jeffery would thrive there, and he did. He was one of the few that survived from the batch that Hagrid had bred.
Fred and George were outside the barrier, while Harry was feeding him, and they were glad of it. That thing was scarier now that it was fully grown. It stood over twelve feet tall and was just as wide.
“No, Dad decided to stay at the Burrow. Mum was making some pretty nasty derogatory remarks about Sirius, so he decided that we’d be better staying home,” Fred said, sighing as Jeffery blasted away into his enclosure.
“Dad’s going to have Bill come home for a day to do the wards,” George said, eyeing his young friend for injuries. Those skrewts were not to be taken lightly. He remembered them from class and the third task. They were unpleasant buggers.
“Right, the goblins aren’t too happy about that, but they’ll let him for a fee,” Fred stated, also keeping a close eye on Harry.
“Why doesn’t she like Sirius?” Harry asked, coming out of the area, clapping his hands to clean them off some. “I mean, it’s not like he’s even met her,” he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his arm.
“Beats me, but she’s got a hate on for him,” George stated, handing the teen a cloth to wipe his hands. “It doesn’t help that Percy’s being a prat,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Weird,” Harry said, taking the cloth and using it to clean his hands and sweat. Then they moved to the dragon enclosure.
The egg was ready to hatch soon. He couldn’t wait. He’d fireproofed the whole area and it was magically enlarged to accommodate a fully grown dragon. It would have room to fly and move around. Magic was a wonderful and powerful thing. All of his animals could be as free as they wanted in his little suitcase.
Newt and Rolf had taught him great things, and what he didn’t know yet, they did for him.
He turned the egg in the fire with giant tongs, and then went and checked on the Sphinx, Buckbeak, and Sally. Everyone was happy and healthy. So, he and the twins left the suitcase.
He was a bit saddened that he had yet to talk one of the Acromantula into coming in here. However, they were a colony type creature, and he couldn’t tend to them yet. He had no way of controlling the growth rate. That was something he needed to talk to Rolf about before he took on a nest.
“Dinner!” was the call that greeted them when they emerged, as Molly called up the stairs. She was so loud that her voice was heard throughout the house. It was a good thing they had gotten rid of the portrait of Mrs. Black ages ago, or there’d be a cacophony of noise.
They all trooped down with Ron and Ginny, who both looked put out that they weren’t invited to the suitcase. Harry just smiled at them in a friendly manner. Ginny smiled a charming smile back, which had Harry cringing inside. It wasn’t that she wasn’t cute, but he wasn’t interested in her.
They went to the dining room and sat at the table. Dinner was a boisterous affair with the twins, Ginny and Ron trying to find out what happened at the meeting. None of the adults were talking though, so soon the talk turned to mundane things, like school and quidditch.
There were a few people there that Harry didn’t know, who Sirius introduced as Tonks, Shacklebolt, Fletcher, Diggle, Doge, and Jones. Dumbledore and Snape had to go because they couldn’t be around Harry. Well, Snape could but he chose not to. To which Harry was thankful. Even if it was funny to see the man attempt to hold his tongue. His face turned many shades of purple. It reminded Harry of his Uncle Vernon.
After everyone ate their fill, they all left in ones and twos, or in sixes in the Weasleys’ case. Then it was just Remus, Sirius, Tonks, and Harry.
“Tonks is my baby cousin, a few times removed,” Sirius said, nodding to the pink-haired girl. “She’s allowed to know everything,” he added, nudging her in the side.
“Wotcher, Harry,” Tonks said, winking at the teen. She was a pretty young woman, who was dressed in what would be best described as a perky goth. As in plenty of black with lots of lace and pinks. But in a cheerful manner and not depressing.
“Hello, Tonks,” Harry said with a dusting of pink on his cheeks. She really was quite attractive.
“Do you want to know what happened at the meeting?” Sirius asked, a chuckle in his tone. Harry was cute when he was embarrassed.
“Yes,” Harry said, excitedly. He gave his godfather his full attention.
“Well, after everyone was introduced, I laid down the rules of the house. Not everyone was happy about those, but, oh well. My house, my rules,” Sirius said, smugly. He grabbed a leftover roll, buttered it up and munched on it. “Fletcher was the most put out,” he reminisced. He knew the man was going to test the boundaries at least once. He’d be in for a surprise when he did.
“Too right,” Remus said, taking a bite of some chocolate cake that had been left over from the meeting.
“Then Albus said he wanted us to guard something in the Department of Mysteries. But I said, unless he tells us what we are guarding, I’m not going to put my life on the line for it,” Sirius continued, reaching, and grabbing the decanter of firewhiskey that was off on the side table. He poured himself a small glass and sipped it. Then he went back to his roll and finished it off.
Tonks took the firewhiskey, poured herself some and let it sit on the table. “Dumbledore was not happy about that, let me tell you,” she said, playing with the drink, watching the liquid swirl in the glass. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone defy him,” she added, looking at Sirius with a bit of awe.
“Get used to it,” her cousin said, then he turned back to Harry. “Finally, he told us that it was a prophecy. A rotation was set up, but I’m going to tell the Unspeakables that there will be Order members there. I don’t want them caught unawares,” he said, making a mental note to do that in the morning.
“Good call,” Harry said in complete agreement with him. “Do you think the prophecy is about me?” he asked, hoping beyond hope it wasn’t.
“Indubitably,” Remus stated with a lot of gloom.
That caused the mood in the room to plummet, until Sirius continued. “Then I brought up Tom and the horcruxes, and didn’t that cause quite the stir,” he said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, it turns out that Snape, Moody, Shacklebolt and Arthur all know what they are,” Remus said a bit of laughter in his tone. “And Moody knew Tom from school,” he added, still chuckling.
“Why is that funny?” Harry asked, tilting his head to the side.
“The way they lit into Albus was hysterical. He was caught flatfooted,” Sirius said, this time laughing aloud. He was slapping his leg with how hard he was laughing.
“So, we have a prophecy and the horcruxes, what else?” Harry asked, trying to get them back on track.
“Fudge is in denial,” Tonks said, sobering up a bit, though her eyes still sparkled with mirth.
“How so?” the teen asked, wondering what that meant.
“He is calling Dumbledore a liar and delusional,” she explained, then got up and left the room for a minute. The three men exchanged looks and were about to continue their conversation when she returned. “I thought I saw this,” she said, returning with the Daily Prophet that she snagged from the living room.
“How the bloody hell did that get in my house?” Sirius asked, looking at it with disgust. They had made a point of not having that newspaper in the house. It was nothing but a Ministry mouthpiece.
“One of the Order members must have brought it,” Remus suggested, his face was twisted in much the same look.
“Here we go,” Tonks said, finding the article she was looking for. She read it and they all noted that it did not have anything nice to say about the headmaster. As a matter of fact, it made him out to be a doddering old fool. Harry’s restraining order didn’t help.
“Well, they are going to be shocked when old Voldy finally strikes,” Harry said, not sure if he felt sorry for them or not.
With that they discussed what to do from there. Other than warning Amelia and the DoM, they couldn’t think of anything else. Tonks went home and the three men went to bed. Sirius called the Unspeakables the next day about the prophecy and Albus’ plan to have the Order members there. He did warn them about Voldy’s obsession over the same prophecy. It was up to them whether or not to protect it.
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As the summer progressed so did the meetings. Harry took the Weasley kids to the movies, with Hermione and Lee joining in every now and then. They all had a great time, even though Dumbledore tried to prohibit the outings, citing that it was too dangerous. That went over like a lead balloon, and he was ignored.
Harry’s dragon finally hatched, and he named her Ling. All of his friends came and cooed over the baby from behind the safety of the barrier. He was a proud papa.
It was on one of the outings to the muggle world that they ran into a problem. They were on their way back to Grimmuald Place when it got cold. Very cold.
“Dementors,” George said, whipping out his wand. Fear laced the group as they huddled together, trying to find shelter. They were on an open street with few houses and no protection.
Everyone else armed themselves. They all, bar Ron and Ginny, knew the Patronus Charm.
“We’re of age, you lot get in the middle,” Lee said, crowding the underage kids between him and the twins.
Harry and Hermione kept their wands out and ready, while Ron and Ginny got between them. They too had their wands, but they kept them down.
There were two dementors and they were coming in fast. Fred fired off his Patronus and George did the same. The foxes ran towards the dementors and chased them off. Lee’s Labrador circled the group in case anymore showed up. Harry and Hermione didn’t cast anything, but they stayed ready. They all started walking quickly to Sirius’ place.
“What happened out there?” Sirius asked when they got to Grimmuald Place. “I just received a notice that Harry did underage magic.” He had the notice in his hand.
“That’s bullshit,” Fred said, tucking his wand away now that they were inside. “We were attacked by dementors. Only George, Lee and I did any magic, and we’re of age,” he stated, yanking the notice from Sirius’ hand to verify what it was saying.
“Fred, George, how could you?” Molly said, taking her sons to task for doing magic in the muggle world.
“There were dementors,” George said, like she was crazy.
“Nonsense,” she said, waving that thought away.
“No, there were,” Harry said, looking at her queerly. “There were two of them. The twins and Lee saved our lives,” he stated emphatically.
“Oh, dear,” she said, worrying her hands. “Should we call Albus?” she wondered aloud.
“I’m calling Waters,” Sirius stated, going to the fireplace without delay. Within minutes the solicitor was in the house and talking to the teens about what happened. He called Amelia and she came and got their statements and checked their wands.
“I’ll find out what dementors were doing in muggle London,” she swore, frowning so hard her monocle was pressing hard enough to leave marks. “Heads are going to roll for this. This is a breech of the Statute of Secrecy.”
“There were no muggles around,” Fred pointed out. “At least I don’t think there were,” he added, scrunching up his brow.
“We were more concerned for our lives at the time,” George put in, he too was thinking hard.
“I don’t remember seeing any,” Lee added, rubbing his forehead in thought.
“It was deserted,” Hermione said, decidedly. “We were alone on that street,” she added with note of finality.
“Did the rest of you see any?” Amelia asked the other teens.
“No, ma’am,” Ron and Ginny stated, shaking their heads.
“No, ma’am,” Harry said, a moment later.
“Very well,” Bones said, sighing in relief that she didn’t have to send an Oblivation Squad to alter the memories of an entire street.
Waters stepped up and said, “I need a copy of those statements. For my records.”
The two of them stepped to the side, exchanged a few words, and then departed. Everyone talked about what happened for the rest of the night, until the Weasleys went home. Hermione and Lee were staying the night. They’d be going home in the morning.
The next morning, Sirius met the parents of the two muggleborn and made sure to tell them what had happened the night before. They were not happy but were glad that their children survived.
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Amelia took care of the charges, and nothing came of them, so summer ended on an okay note. Crouch Sr. and Malfoy Sr., along with all his cohorts, were still in prison. Wormtail and Barty Jr. had been Kissed for escaping. That greatly reduced Voldy’s forces, which did put everyone on alert that the man might try a prisonbreak.
Well, not Fudge, and he wasn’t authorizing any extra forces to beef up security around Azkaban. Amelia was at her wit’s end over that man and his ostrich mentality. She really needed to keep an eye on the Death Eaters there, but she could only keep a skeleton crew to do it. The dementors had already proven they could be compromised.
She still hadn’t found out who sent them after the teens. This all was according to what she told Sirius.
“So, she’s being stymied by politics?” Harry said as he waited for the time to board the train. They were waiting for the Weasleys. Neville was already on board looking for a compartment with Luna and Hermione.
“Yup,” Sirius said, checking his watch. “You’d better get aboard. They’re going to be late as usual,” he said, shooing his godson to the train.
“Alright,” Harry said, picking up his suitcase and rushing on to the locomotive. He waved to his dogfather and went to look for his friends. He found them in the third car and settled on the bench next to Luna, putting his suitcase under the seat. His trunk was already on the luggage rack, thanks to Neville.
He proceeded to tell them what Sirius told him that morning, and they all agreed that it wasn’t fair to Madam Bones.
The twins showed up in a flurry of robes with Lee in tow. Late as usual.
“What took you this time?” Harry asked, smiling to take the bite out of his words.
“Mum tried to take our prank items. We had to remind her we’re adults,” George said, slumping down in his seat.
“She’s got some nerve,” Fred said, matching his twin’s posture. “Dad set her right though,” he added with a smirk.
Their father had been standing up to their mum more and more lately. It was heartening to see. They talked some more about Mrs. Weasley’s domineering attitude and then settled for happier topics.
Hermione had to leave for her prefect meeting. She along with Ron, of all people, where the fifth-year prefects. Harry was just glad it wasn’t him. He had enough to do. She came back upset that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were Slytherin’s prefects. Like that was a surprise.
Soon they were at the school and were in the Great Hall. They were listening to a disturbing speech by a woman wearing far too much pink. Harry was tempted into letting Sally out to eat the woman.
“This is our DADA professor?” he asked in dismay. He had been upset to find out that Remus would not be returning this year. Snape had outed him as a werewolf last year. The bastard. This was his OWL year, and he wanted a good teacher, not this monstrosity.
“That explains our books,” Lee said, looking at the woman with disgust.
“How so?” Neville asked with a puzzled note in his tone.
“She doesn’t want us to learn anything,” George stated, his lips were curled with disdain.
“Yeah, that book is drivel,” Fred agreed, he too looked disgusted. “Looks like self-study for our NEWTs, lads,” he said to his brother and Lee. They nodded.
“Sirius told us that if we got more than four NEWTs than he’d help fund our shop,” George said, conspiratorially. “We’re going to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley,” he clarified at their blank looks.
“Oh,” both Harry and Neville said, dawning looks of understanding on their faces.
“Something will have to be done about her. I’m not giving up my education for that toad,” Hermione stated to no one in particular.
Harry silently agreed but was unsure how to accomplish such a feat. With Kettleburn gone, he had no one to go to. Hagrid was a nice man, but he was a child in an adult’s body. Now that he was looking, Hagrid wasn’t even there, only Grubbly-Plank.
The rest of the feast went on with a lot of grumbling and complaining about the new professor. Soon it was time to go to the dorms. Still the students complained and whinged, though mostly under their breaths.
Harry got on his mirror first thing when his dormmates were asleep. “She’s a nightmare,” he told Sirius.
“Umbridge? Yeah, I know her,” the dogman said, running a hand down his face. “Stay away from her if you can. She’s a sadistic bitch,” he added, giving Harry a warning look. “She’s behind all the anti-werewolf laws.”
“If she hurts me, I’m introducing her to my friends,” the teen threatened. He meant it too.
“Just don’t get caught,” Sirius said, seriously. “I mean it, Harry. Keep your suitcase in your dorm, so you have plausible deniability. If I were you, I’d turn her into a toad first and then feed her to Sally,” he semi-joked.
“That is a thought,” Harry said, completely serious.
“I was joking,” his godfather stated, though his eyes were shifty.
“I wonder if Dobby will help,” Harry said thoughtfully, no longer completely in the conversation.
“Harry, seriously, stop thinking of ways to kill Umbridge. She hasn’t even done anything yet,” Sirius said, getting frustrated.
“Fine,” the teen said, settling down and telling him about the rest of his day, which was boring in comparison. They disconnected soon after and Harry went to sleep dreaming of pink toads and their natural habitats.
The weeks went by, and Umbridge’s class was the nightmare everyone thought it would be.
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Hermione was in hell, and she let everyone know it. She tried to shanghai Harry into teaching everyone DADA. But he didn’t, stating that he had enough on his plate with his extra classes and his animals. She was miffed with him for weeks after that. Sometimes he wondered how they remained friends. Then he remembered that she always stood by his side when things got difficult, which true, wasn’t often. Still…
Dumbledore tried to get Sirius to have Snape teach Harry Occlumency, but Sirius just laughed at him and gave Harry a book on the subject. It was one that he and James had written on how to protect your mind from the likes of Dumbledore. They had based it on how werewolves protected their minds. Which was to superimpose a creature over your mind to protect your sanctuary. It worked perfectly, and Harry learned it quickly.
Speaking of books that the Marauders had written, Harry’s foray into animagus training was coming into fruition. He was a spider, he just needed to narrow it down to what type. All he knew right now was that he was tiny.
It turned out that Umbridge was terrified of spiders, which Harry took full advantage of. He’d have his little friends always around him. They’d crawl out and scurry across his arm at the most opportune time. She’d run screaming in the other direction. Of course, if Ron was around, he did too, and Harry would have to apologize, but it was worth it in the end.
He also talked them into invading her living space. They would creep out and scare her when she least expected it. She had the house elves spray for them many times. Although, the elves forewarned Harry, and he called them back before they died. He had to call that prank off.
Umbridge kept trying to get Harry to admit that he agreed with Dumbledore about Voldemort. However, he had never said that in public, so he didn’t now. One day, he disagreed with her in class about her teaching methods, and she gave him detention. The hair on the back of his neck rose up. This would not end well.
He decided to coat some Acromantula venom on a hatpin to paralyze her if he had to. He tucked into his robe lapel and kept it there. All he had to do was wait for the opportune moment. Not during the detention, that would be too obvious. However, he wasn’t going to let her hurt him.
He showed up and sat at the desk indicated. She gave him a quill and told him to write lines. ‘I will respect my betters.’
“With what ink?” he asked, looking around for the inkwell.
“You won’t need any,” she simpered in that hated little girl’s voice she did. She was dressed in pink still, like it was the only color she knew.
He shrugged and started writing. When the pain blossomed across his hand, he stopped. He was aghast to see words etched in his non-dominant hand. He didn’t even stop to think, he just bolted out of the room and headed towards the nearest empty classroom. He warded the door and mirror-called Sirius.
“She’s having me write with a quill that is carving into my other hand. It’s using my blood as ink,” he all but shouted into the mirror. He was that upset. How dare that woman make him hurt himself.
“You stay put. I’ll be right there,” Sirius said, calling for Kreacher before he even disconnected.
Harry stayed where he was, until he heard Sirius in the hallway arguing with Umbridge. It had been about ten minutes. He came out of the classroom and went to join the conversation. He had the quill in hand, and he wasn’t going to let it go to anyone but Sirius.
“You were torturing my godson,” Sirius said, seeing Harry and gesturing for him to join them. The look on his face could melt metal.
Umbridge was standing there looking for all the world like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She was looking coy at Sirius like he was a Lord and she had done no wrong. Then she spotted Harry, and a vile look came upon her face. She sneered at him as if he were a werewolf and she was a hunter.
“Yeah,” Harry said, coming up to them and handing the quill to his godfather. “With this,” he added, glaring at the hated woman. He’d see her punished if it was the last thing he did.
“I don’t know where you got this, but you will not be getting it back,” Sirius said, having never seen a quill like that before. It was large, fluffy, and as black as his family. On the nib was Harry’s blood. His blood boiled. That was dark magic.
“It is my own invention,” Dolores said proudly, trying to snatch it from Black. “I’ll thank you to hand that over,” she sneered, once again trying to retrieve it, and failing. Her pudgy arms were far too short to reach.
“I’m giving it to my lawyer,” Sirius stated, seeing Dumbledore coming down the hall. Since it pertained to school, the restraining order allowed him around Harry.
“What seems to be the problem?” the old man asked, looking at everyone over his glasses. He was acting like it could all be resolved with words. But in his defense, he had no clue as to what was happening. Though, he really should. It was his school.
“She was torturing Harry,” Sirius said, picking up Harry’s left hand and showing the fading words carved in the back of it.
“Dolores?” a very upset Albus asked, seeming to hold on to his temper with a fingernail. Gone was the twinkle in his eyes. In its place was granite.
“I am merely trying to instill some discipline,” she simpered, batting her eyelashes, like that would help. “The Minister feels that the students are running amuck.” She said this as if it were commonplace to torture children to make them behave.
“There is no blood-shedding in Hogwarts,” Dumbledore stated firmly. His tone brooked no argument. “We have our own form of discipline on file. You will abide by that, or you will be dismissed,” he stated firmly.
“That’s it?” Harry asked, shocked. “You’re not going to fire her?”
“Alas, only the Minister can dismiss her unless she is caught, as they say, red-handed,” Albus said, shaking his head.
“Here is my hand and there is the quill,” Harry said, pointing to each. “How much more red-handed do you need?” he asked, fuming so hard there should be smoke coming from his ears.
“I did not see the act,” Dumbledore stated as if that were obvious. He did look contrite. “However, my warning does stand. You will be closely monitored,” he told Dolores, the warning was there, and everyone believed him. However, it felt too little, too late.
“This is still going to my attorney,” Black stated, holding up the quill, which he then tucked in his robe. He then started leading Harry towards the entrance.
“Where are you taking Mr. Potter?” the old man asked, dread in his voice.
“I just have a few things to say to him,” Sirius said, airily as they continued on. The two of them said their goodbyes at the doors, with Sirius saying he had his permission to do what he wanted to Umbridge and to mirror call him that night.
Harry waited a week and then he struck. He waited until everyone was asleep and snuck into her classroom. He was under his invisibility cloak. She was grading what she jokingly called homework. He went up to her and scratched her in the jugular. The venom worked quickly, and she was stiff as a board in seconds.
He then cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm on her and floated her to his dorm, passing no one on the way. There he took her into his suitcase. Once he got there, he pondered if he was truly up to murdering someone. So, he decided to turn her into a toad and put her in a pond. The venom would wear off eventually, but the transfiguration wouldn’t until he undid the spell.
It was a Black Family curse that Sirius had taught him just a week ago, when he had given him the go-ahead. They had talked that night over the mirror and Sirius had given him this spell. He said it was poetic justice. She needed the kiss of a prince to undo it. Good luck there. Or the caster would need to take pity on her. Again, good luck. Who knew there was truth in muggle fairytales.
That done, Harry called it a night. He dreamed nice dreams and woke up feeling better about himself.
The hubbub of Umbridge’s disappearance was funny. Most of the students cheered and the staff were lackluster in their attempts to find her. Finally, they called the Aurors, and Amelia was once again not happy about being called to the castle for the fifth year in a row. She questioned everyone that had any interaction with the woman, which included the students who had detention. When she found out about the quill, she was livid.
She was placated when she was told that Sirius was suing the woman, or her estate, as the case may be. Still, she put in a charge of assault and battery against children and added Dumbledore as an accessory.
Hphphp
Harry found out that he worked well with Grubbly-Plank. She was a nice woman who was very knowledgeable in her field. She tended towards the gentler animals, but she knew of the dangerous ones too. Harry learned a lot from her.
Hagrid finally showed back up with his baby brother in tow. Grubbly-Plank and Dumbledore were not pleased. They had nowhere to stow a baby giant. Harry offered to keep him in his suitcase but that was vetoed by all the adults, including the Scamanders. They all stated that giants were not creatures, therefore Grawp didn’t qualify to go there. Hagrid agreed, and said he’d take care of his baby brother.
Remus came back as the DADA professor, to everyone’s, bar Snape’s, agreement. He was a well-loved teacher and very few cared that he was a werewolf. At least he taught them something.
One day Dobby came to Harry and said, “Dobby thinks he has found one of the horcruxy thingys.” He was bouncing in place at a job well done.
“Oh, how?” Harry said, excited and confused at same the time.
“Dobby was looking in the Come and Go room for things for Harry Potter’s house, when he is feeling bad magic,” the elf explained, still not standing still. Like he was a Mexican Jumping Bean.
“What is the Come and Go room?” Harry asked, getting up from his bed, where he had been resting. He put his shoes back on and then put his hand on Dobby’s shoulder to calm the elf down.
Dobby started walking and the teen followed, carrying his suitcase. There were few people around, since it was Sunday, and it was an unseasonably warm day out.
“It is being where elves is putting lost things,” Dobby said, leading the way to the Come and Go room. “Wizards bes calling it the Room of Requirements.”
“Oh,” Harry said, liking the Come and Go room better. It was easier to say.
They walked in silence and were soon on the other side of the seventh floor. Dobby showed him how to call the room and what to ask for to get the Room of Hidden Things. He then led him to a diadem that reeked of evil. There was just an aura of it waving off the thing.
“Yup, that’s another one,” Harry said, opening his suitcase. He found some dragonhide gloves and grabbed the crown and carried it to Sally. “Sally, I have another one for you to bite,” he hissed.
“You know, those are unpleasant to bite, right?” she hissed back, but came and dropped her teeth around the diadem anyway. “Eww,” she said, slithering back to her sun rock.
“Thank you,” Harry called after her as he took the melted crown away. When he entered the Room of Hidden Things, he asked, “What were you looking for in here?”
“There is being a great many treasures hidden in here, Harry Potter, sir,” Dobby said and as if to prove his point, he pulled out a chest full of jewels from under a broken bed.
“Wow,” Harry said, looking at the stones and gems. “Is the whole room like this?” he asked, looking at all the junk.
“Dobby is thinking so,” the elf said, looking around also.
“How do you know about it? You never worked at Hogwarts,” Harry asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Dobby is asking his cousin, who works in the kitchens,” Dobby answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Figures,” Harry said. If all the wizards are related, it would figure that all the elves would be too. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to call Sirius,” he said, picking up his suitcase and exiting the room. He’d remember where it was and bring his friends here. They’d have a great time going through this junk.
He called Sirius, who was overjoyed to hear one more was gone. That left two and Voldy. They hoped. Sirius in turn called all those in the know.
The rest of the year was spent studying for OWLs, going through the room with his friends, and taking care of his creatures. He did find time to talk to the Acromantula.
Aragog was dying and they needed to find another place for the nest. Hagrid didn’t think he could control the rest without the leader. They called Newt and Rolf and found an Acromantula farm that would come and take half of them. The rest would be split between Newt’s and Harry’s suitcases. Harry was unsure but determined.
The Centaurs were just glad that the giant spiders would no longer be in the forest. Harry finally got to meet the herd, who had been avoiding him in his forays into the woods. They were very cryptic with him and only told him that Mars was bright around him.
Hphphp
There was a breakout of Azkaban and Fudge finally admitted that maybe Voldy was back. Mostly since he couldn’t blame Sirius like he wanted to. The man was still upset that his biggest supporter was a Death Eater, and his Undersecretary was missing. Nothing was going Fudge’s way.
Harry got to go home for Yule, and he learned that Arthur Weasley was saved from being bitten by a huge snake, by the Unspeakables. They too were posting guards on the Room of Prophecies. They saw, around the same time Harry was getting his dream, Arthur get attacked and almost got the snake. However, the serpent got away.
Harry was of two minds about that. He didn’t want Mr. Weasley hurt, but he didn't want the snake to die either. Even if the snake was Voldy’s.
Yule was loads of fun and Harry went back to school in great spirits. He studied hard and spent a great deal of time with his friends, human and not.
It was during his History OWL that he was ensnared by a vision. In it, Death Eaters had Sirius trapped in the Department of Mysteries. They were trying to make his godfather take the prophecy down. He was confused because he knew Sirius was at Grimmuald Place. He finished his exam and then mirrored Padfoot.
“You say this came to you while you were awake?” Sirius asked after he was done explaining his vision.
“Yeah. Well, I was bored, if that helps,” Harry said, trying to lighten the mood.
“This is serious,” Sirius said, not even going for the pun.
“Sorry. But you’re there, so it really isn’t,” the teen said, looking around to see if anyone had found him in the empty classroom. “Besides, why is it so important that he not get the prophecy? I mean it’s not like it will help him win or something,” he stated.
“I don’t know,” his godfather said, rubbing his forehead. “Let me call Amelia and Dumbledore. They can handle this,” he said, disconnecting the call.
Harry shrugged and left the classroom. He was just glad that this time his life wasn’t on the line.
The Aurors and the Order of the Pheonix converged on the Department of Mysteries and found a group of Death Eaters lying in wait. They captured them and they were all sent through the Veil of Death for escaping prison. Including Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, her brother-in-law, and five other dark wizards. They were of course tried first, but in the end, they got the Veil.
So, Harry’s year ended on a good note. One more horcrux down, he was sure he passed his OWLs, and he still had all his animal friends as well as his human ones.
As much as he hated to take away from his good mood, now it was time to tell Sirius about his scar. The vision during his OWLs scared him more than he let on.