Harry Potter and the Elvish Magic

Chapter Six: Surprises

The first week went quickly for Harry. They had their training sessions with Professor Dumbledore and Professor Grubbly-Plank. Harry's sessions were always with Professor Dumbledore's voice directing him; he supposed that Dumbledore didn't want Grubbly-Plank to know what he was. He continued to read Magic by Rosel Rolandson, and soon came to a much better understanding of how magic worked and how it was used.

On Wednesday after dinner, Dumbledore called Harry to his office.

"Miss Granger spoke to me about your working through the Orsaf textbook," he said. "I've called you here to ask you if you would like to switch to Ancient Runes, because you are currently at the fifth-year level. I've spoken with Professor Sprecher, the Ancient Runes teacher, and she would be glad to have you."

"Could I?" asked Harry eagerly.

"You certainly could," Dumbledore said. "Would you like to? The class has now been accelerated, so it will be at the same pace as the honors level classes at Orsaf. You would do well in it, and I personally think it would be good for you to drop Divination and take up Ancient Runes."

"If you'll let me, of course I'll do it!" Harry said. "When can I start?"

"Tomorrow," said Dumbledore. "If you'll send Hedwig off to get these textbooks from Flourish and Blotts, she should be able to get back tonight." He handed Harry a parchment which had several textbooks listed on it, as well as the assignments he had missed during the first few days.

"Thank you very much!" Harry said. "Professor, I have a question. How do you have your voice instruct me in the Time Orb sessions?"

"It's a form of magic which takes into account some of the memories and thoughts in my brain," said Dumbledore, "to determine how I would reply to many questions you'd be likely to have while in the session. If you ask a question to which the magic has no answer, I am alerted to the situation and am telepathically connected to the Orb to direct you. I can direct two or three students at once like this. If more were to need my direct attention at any one time, they would need to wait. Professor Grubbly-Plank does the same thing with the students she guides, and we monitor what our respective students are doing using the same sort of magic, intervening if necessary." Harry was very impressed, and excused himself politely. He hurried off to the Owlery, and sent Hedwig off to Flourish and Blotts with a list of what he needed. She returned several hours later, accompanied by another owl who bore some of the packages, and carried the Harry's payment back to the bookstore.

Harry soon managed to complete his various assignments, and collapsed in his bed, still tired from the day's workout session. He had vastly improved his performance from his first session, and Mr. Yang (he didn't have much of a personality, and Harry wasn't sure if he had any emotions, although he acted like he did) was particularly astonished by his progress. They had started doing back-flips and forward-flips. Harry had been scared that he'd fall in mid-flip and break his neck, but that fear had been rapidly abated and replaced by an intense concentration as he managed to do them all too without too much of a problem. It just took a lot of effort.

Harry threw himself into his work, which occupied much of his time, and spent the hours between dinner and bed either reading Magic, playing chess with Ron, Hermione or Eledh (who was very, very good), or simply sitting with Hermione, reading, talking, or playing Exploding Snap, which Hermione had taken an inexplicable liking to. He found that being near Hermione for any length of time was enough to make him happy.

Harry was thrilled with his Ancient Runes class, and not only because it meant that he had identical schedules with Hermione (Hogwarts only offered two levels of Arithmancy, so she no longer had it). Professor Sprecher was very good, and was surprised that he had managed to complete all the assignments he had missed. After introducing him to the class, she began her lesson.

"Today," she said, "we will continue with our study of the old Giantish runes. It is important to distinguish between the giants who wrote the runes we will be studying, and the giants of today. Most giants today are driven to be somewhat savage because the abuse they have been subject to at the hands of humans. In the old days before humans were common, giants were much gentler, and had formed a society of the arts and sciences. This tendency towards academic excellence and scholarly pursuits is reflected in the vocabulary of their runes. For example, there are 37 common separate runic words which can mean "wind" in old Giantish, ranging one from literally translating to "air movement caused by differences in pressure due to heat from the star this planet orbits" to one which translates literally to "goddess' breath". Giantish poetry is very, very rich due to their large, descriptive vocabulary. We will be reading much of their writings.

"Unlike human and Dwarvish runes, which are usually designed to be inscribed in stone, Giantish runes were usually written on wood or on paper, which they developed long before humans did. Therefore, Giantish runic letters have curves and are sometimes quite intricate, and I will expect you to write several essays, the last of which must be four feet, this semester in old Giantish. We will also have some weeks in class where we will only speak Giantish, which we know how to pronounce from certain contemporary communities of giants which preserve the old language to this day.

"Please complete exercises one though four in the first chapter of the textbook." Harry quickly completed the first three exercises, which were mainly practice in writing the Giantish characters. They were fairly easy to write, especially considering that he only needed to write them about a centimeter tall, while in the real world, giants wrote them to be about a meter tall. They were moderately intricate, but with practice, he was soon able to write them well at a rapid pace.

The final exercise was a short essay in Giantish about the construction of ancient monoliths by giants. Many of the monoliths were stone, which was in contrast to much of the ancient Giantish constructions. According to his textbook, the giants had kept the curves in their runic letters even when they were carved in stone, which was very, very unusual among runic cultures, and indicated very, very advanced abilities in stone cutting, as well as extreme dedication.

Harry looked down at the essay he finally wrote, after having visited the library for several hours with Ron and Hermione. It was very strange to look down at a parchment which he had written and see, instead of the familiar Roman alphabet, the Giantish characters. Harry could understand them, but Ron gave them slightly strange looks when he saw their work.

The Giantish numbers were much more intricate than the letters were, and it took Harry a fairly long time to learn to write them in any practical length of time. Fortunately for Harry, giants never used numbers to denote years, but instead spelled them out. Because years were the only numbers he had in his essay, he didn't need to bother with the more difficult numbers in it for now.

***

Harry didn't glance at the Quidditch sign-up sheet after he had signed up except for to notice that he was the only person to be signed up as a Seeker candidate. He didn't glance at the names which were listed in the other slot, or he would have noticed that Fred, George, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell hadn't signed up. This was for several reasons.

Alicia Spinnet, as Head Girl, had decided that because of her new responsibilities and because of an injury she had had over the summer (she'd been in a car crash and had sprained her back, which would take her nearly a year to recover from completely), she wouldn't be playing Quidditch. Fred, George, Angelina and Katie had begun intensive research on developing products for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, the joke shop and brand name which had yet to hit the market (it promised a big success when it did). This occupied their time so much that they decided not to play Quidditch either. This left Harry as the only person on the team who wouldn't be new. This also made him almost certainly the team Captain.

Madam Hooch had announced that the tryouts for Gryffindor would be held that Sunday. Harry walked down to the Quidditch pitch. He was automatically Seeker, but she had him try out anyway. It ended up being more of a performance as he zoomed around the Quidditch pitch and avoided the randomly flying Bludgers as he caught the Snitch and released it five times within ten minutes. Harry had been afraid that his increased size would work against him, but it seemed that he had grown more aerodynamic when he'd grown taller. His reflexes seemed to have improved significantly, and he could actually go faster and maneuver more skillfully than he'd been able to before.

Madam Hooch then led out the Beater candidates. There were several of the shorter, more compact members of Gryffindor who tried out for this position. These included Anthony Greene, one of the second years. However, two smaller, thinner figures were in the ranks of the Quidditch hopefuls, and Harry recognized them as the Creevey brothers Colin and Dennis. He was surprised and a little exasperated at their presence, even though their former obsession with him had become a healthy friendship over the past year. He doubted that they would make the team, because they didn't look as if they had the strength to hit the Bludgers hard enough to direct them. Harry was wrong.

Once in the air, the Creevey brothers became a seamless pair, a syzygy of sorts (Colin had shot up in height, while Dennis hadn't yet), and undoubtedly a set of Beaters to rival Fred and George Weasley. Harry couldn't understand how they could be so different in the air then on the ground, but different they were: they could both send the Bludgers wherever they wanted to, and they easily surpassed any of the other Beater candidates.

The next position people tried out for was the Keeper position. Harry wasn't surprised to see that Ron was trying out for it. Ron had always wanted to be on the Quidditch team, but had always been surpassed by Oliver Wood. Ron shot to the goalposts on the Nimbus Two Thousand and Two (they'd come out recently) which he said had been a gift from Fred and George (Now, where did they get the money for that? Harry had wondered, glad that they had done more for Ron than he'd asked them to.)

Although there were no other competitors for Keeper, it wouldn't have been much of a competition even if there had been. Ron turned out to be a phenomenal Keeper, and he was better even than Wood had been (who was on the reserves for a professional team). Madam Hooch enchanted the Quaffle to fly at him again and again, but every time he caught it easily, his height helping him immensely (although he did nearly need to drop off his broom once or twice to catch a low-flying shot).

"Congratulations, Ron!" Harry said as he landed. "I knew you would do it!"

"Thanks," said Ron. "I hope that you'll be a nice Captain."

"Not a chance," said Harry. "We'll have hour and a half practices every day, with six hours on Sunday." Ron's face fell.

"You mean it?" he asked.

"Yes, of course I do!" said Harry seriously. "Why, is there a problem?" Ron looked horrified, before Harry burst out laughing.

"I - don't - really - mean - it," he managed, between gales of laughter. "Where's Hermione?" he said, finally straightening up. "She would have loved the look on your face."

"I don't know," said Ron, "unless... What?!?" Harry followed his gaze, and saw that Madam Hooch had led out the Chaser candidates, of which there were five. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan came out with school brooms. Harry would have picked them if he'd been asked to choose the most likely people to be on the Quidditch team, if there were slots open. He still thought that they were the most likely people to be on the team. However, three of the people he was least expecting came out after them.

First came Neville, who was carrying a school broom and looking determined. Remembering how he had fared on a broom during their first year, Harry hoped for Neville's own safety that he had improved. After Neville came Ginny, carrying a Cleansweep Seven which Harry recognized as having belonged to Fred or George. The last person, however, was the one who floored him. Holding a Firebolt (how had she gotten one, Harry couldn't guess), Hermione walked happily out onto the pitch, following Ginny. Harry couldn't stop a small sound of surprise from escaping his lips as he saw her.

She turned and smiled sweetly at him before continuing after Ginny. Her brown hair was braided tightly, and she looked more than ready to fly. Harry couldn't imagine her playing Quidditch; she'd always been bored by it and had been afraid to get on broom. Now, however, she looked fairly confident, and was chatting happily with Ginny as they approached the pitch. Harry couldn't imagine that she would get on the team; he was sure that Seamus and Dean would certainly get on, and then probably Ginny (although he still felt a certain amount of anxiety about her getting on the team. She looked simply too tiny to play Quidditch, and Harry was sure that she'd fall off her broom or get knocked off if she did.)

Madam Hooch had herself, Dean and Seamus form one team, and Neville, Ginny and Hermione form the other. While the Creevey brothers knocked Bludgers at them furiously, the two teams tried to shoot the Quaffle through one set of goal hoops while Ron played as Keeper. Harry prepared himself to see Neville and Hermione get knocked out of the air miserably. He thought that Ginny would fare little better. He was wrong.

Even though Madam Hooch herself once managed to get the Quaffle, she soon lost it to Hermione, who was by far the fiercest of the Chaser candidates. Harry watched her with amazement as she shot towards Ron and managed to get the Quaffle past him. That was the only time anyone scored a goal. Neville and Ginny came very, very close, but each time Ron nearly fell off his broom while knocking the Quaffle away just in time with his fingertips. Dean and Seamus tried valiantly, but the Quaffle was snatched away just before they got it by either Hermione, Ginny or Neville. Madam Hooch, who was really a very good Chaser, finally blew her whistle, and, smiling, declared Hermione, Ginny and Neville to be the new Chasers.

"Why didn't you tell me you were trying out?" Harry asked Hermione later.

"I wanted to surprise you," she said. "And I did, didn't I?"

"Yes," conceded Harry, "but that's not the point. I thought that you hated Quidditch."

"When it was cancelled last year, I realized how much I missed it," she said. "For the first few days of summer, I practiced, and then Mum and Dad got me a new broom for my birthday, and I decided to try out. I didn't think I'd make it, but I did."

"Hermione," Ron said, "you were the best! Of course you made it!"

"Well," she said, "the same applies to you." He shrugged.

"There wasn't anyone else," he said. "Of course I got in."

"That's not true, Ron," Hermione said. "Dean and Seamus both wanted to try out for Keeper as well as Chaser; I heard them talking. They decided not to try out when they saw how good you were." Ron blushed slightly, before they reached Gryffindor tower. As Harry stepped through the portrait hole, Hedwig soared in through the window, and held out two letters. He took them while stroking her feathers gently. She hooted softly and went off to the Owlery again.

Harry opened the first letter. It was from Madam Hooch, congratulating him on being named the new Gryffindor Quidditch captain and giving him a practice schedule for when Gryffindor could use the field. Harry handed the letter to Ron, who was glad to see that they wouldn't be having practice every day (they'd in fact been delegated a practice every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after dinner, and one on Sunday as well). Harry opened the second letter, and noticed with guilt that it was from Sirius. He hadn't written him over the summer except for once before they'd left for the past.

"Harry," he read,

"I haven't heard from you for a long time. Don't worry, I know why. However, I would like to warn you that this year will be especially dangerous for you at Hogwarts. Voldemort is determined to destroy you. You are a figurehead of sorts for wizarding society, whether you like it or not, because of what happened the first time Voldemort tried to kill you. If Voldemort manages to get to you, he has scored a major victory, and that could have irreparable consequences, not to mention that we would almost certainly never see you again. For your own sake, as well as that of wizarding society, please stay at Hogwarts unless you are sent out on a mission with Professor Grubbly-Plank, and then do exactly as she says. Trust her, Harry. She was once my principle teacher when I was in training as an Auror, and she can help you. Dumbledore and I both trust her entirely. Write back if you'd like to, but first put a Concealing Charm on Hedwig so that she won't be intercepted, and don't use my name or yours in the letter. Sign it as "Truffles."

Be on the alert for anything suspicious,

Snuffles"

Harry handed the letter to Hermione, who read it quickly, and handed it to Ron. She looked startled as she realized they hadn't been in contact with Sirius for several months. She looked at Harry again, and then leaned towards his ear.

"So, if I write a letter to Sirius, should I be called 'Muffles'? And then Ron could be called 'Duffles'," she whispered.

"Maybe we should refer to Dumbledore as 'Duffles'," Harry said quietly, "considering they both begin with a 'D'. Ron could be called 'Ruffles', and you could be called 'Huffles'."

"Maybe that's a bit much," she said. "But I don't suppose it could do any harm. We could write him back now, while we have time. We'll be very busy during the next few days, with Quidditch practice." Harry became worried.

"I still don't think you should be on the team," he said. "You're really good, but you could get hurt."

"It's the Seekers who are supposed to get knocked about," she said. "Don't worry, I'll be careful." Harry shrugged, and got out a piece of parchment to write a reply to Sirius. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Ron discreetly put the letter into the fire, where it was quickly incinerated. He wished that they didn't have to worry so much about Voldemort finding out that they were in contact with Sirius. Abruptly, Harry remembered that they had originally had to have clandestine communications with his godfather due to the Ministry. He wondered if Mr. Weasley would do anything as the Minister of Magic to exonerate Sirius from the charges he had unjustly been subject to. Surely Mrs. Weasley had told him that Sirius was innocent, after Dumbledore had had her come face to face with him the previous year. Harry quietly looked around to see if anyone was paying much attention to him, and saw that those people who weren't doing homework were watching Ron and Eledh play chess, which they had just started doing. Harry put quill to parchment, and began writing.

"Dear Snuffles," he wrote,

"I got your letter, and will do what you say. I haven't noticed anything suspicious, but if I do, I shall inform D. (R., H. and I agreed to call him 'Duffles', and we also agreed on the names 'Ruffles' and 'Huffles'. I guess you can figure out who they are) as necessary. I am enjoying my lessons with G.P. She is very good. The physical training sessions have been wonderful (they're my only chance to transform into my other forms). I have switched from taking Divination to taking Ancient Runes. I worked through a textbook which I found in the library, and that brought me up to speed for the class of my year. Huffles caught me at it and informed Duffles, and Duffles invited me to make the transition. I accepted. We started three languages with Duffles' brother, and we shall add more before long. All my other classes are going well. Ruffles and Huffles both made the Quidditch team of which I am captain through default as well as vote by other team members (I'm the only person on the Quidditch team at the moment who's not new).

I hope you're well,

Truffles"

Harry read over what he had written, smiling at the code names they had chosen. It seemed much more like a game now, instead of a life-and-death struggle for the sake of the wizarding world. Harry reflected on this for a while, and realized that it maybe wasn't such a good idea to think of it as a game. His actions could mean the salvation or the destruction of witches and wizards everywhere.

Harry suddenly felt extremely depressed. He was connected with Voldemort, and as much as he no longer blamed himself for Voldemort's resurrection, residual currents of guilt did remain. He wondered how it was he had any hope of defeating Voldemort. From there it was a short step to wondering why he was in a school where he was put through a vigorous routine to prepare him for something which he would inevitably lose. He had resolved to run away from Hogwarts when...

"Harry," said Hermione. "I've found the right charm!" Harry looked at her, and suddenly was paralyzed with realization at what he had nearly done.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," Harry said. "I was just thinking for a moment. I'm assuming you're talking about Hedwig?"

"The very same," Hermione said. "Although, it would probably be better if we used Pigwidgeon and Hecate as well, don't you think?"

"You're right," Harry said. "It would make it less likely that anyone would notice the owls if there were different ones, and not the same ones. Shall we go now?" Hermione glanced at Ron.

"Yes," she said. "Just the two of us, while everyone's looking at Ron." They slipped out of the portrait hole, Harry having the letter in his pocket, Hermione carrying a spellbook. They went carefully, avoiding running into Filch. They soon reached the Owlery, which was devoid of owls except for Hedwig, Hecate and Pigwidgeon. Hedwig swooped down immediately, and landed happily on Harry's shoulder, holding out her leg for him to tie a letter to.

"Just a moment, Hedwig," he said, stroking her. Hermione finished casting the charm on Hecate, who had swooped down much as Hedwig had, and turned to Harry. She pointed her wand at Hedwig, muttering a few words. A faint whitish light came out of her wand and struck Hedwig, who hooted, startled, for a few moments before Harry stroked her, calming her down. Pigwidgeon. chose the moment to announce his presence by landing on top of Harry's head, and hooting jeeringly at Hedwig, who promptly took his leg in her beak, and, twisting her head to the side, threw him off. He regained control of himself before he struck the ground, and he zoomed in circles around Harry and Hedwig, hooting angrily.

Harry and Hermione were laughing far too much to do anything, but finally Hermione attempted to calm Pigwidgeon. and have him land in her hand. He refused, tauntingly flying in close, and then zooming out of the way as she grabbed for him. Angrily, she pointed her wand at him and stopped him in midair with a Freezing Charm like that which she had used during their second year on the Cornish Pixies Professor Lockhart had let loose in their classroom. She placed the Concealing Charm on him as well, and allowed him to move again. He zoomed up into the rafters out of sight.

Finally, Harry got around to tying his letter to Hedwig's leg, and instructed her to take it to Sirius. She hooted, nipped his ear gently, and took off gracefully through the window. Harry and Hermione watched her go, and then Hecate shot up into the rafters again. Harry's arm went around Hermione's shoulders, and they watched Hedwig fly out over the Forbidden Forest. Hermione's head leaned over onto his upper arm (it was the nearest she could get to his shoulder when they were both standing up straight), and they stood there for a while, before returning to Gryffindor tower.

***

For the next few days, Harry's life continued as normal. He had all his classes, did his homework, played chess with Ron, Hermione or Eledh, and practiced Quidditch. He found that the new players were all marvelous, with no exception. Neville, who was still somewhat timid on the ground, was quite ferocious in midair, and in contrast to his first flight, to which Harry had been witness, he was more then competent. Although Harry was still undeniably the best flyer on the team, the others were close to his caliber. Ginny had been able to practice Quidditch throughout her childhood with her brothers, so she was used to being on a broom.

Hermione, on the other hand, grew up as a Muggle until age eleven, and therefore had had no experience on a broom until that point. She had originally been slightly disdainful of Quidditch, finding it incredibly boring. Somehow, she had learned to fly, and to fly well. She was the leading Chaser after the first practice.

Another surprise was with the Creevey brothers. Like Hermione, they had had Muggle backgrounds, and hence no experience with Quidditch, but they were hitting Bludgers at everything as if they were born to do it.

It wasn't quite as surprising that Ron could play Quidditch (he came from a wizarding background). However, his talent was amazing. Harry could only wonder why he hadn't tried out for the team before. He supposed, however, that if he had gotten on the team, he would have pushed out the team captain, which would have been embarrassing. Harry wondered if the decision not to apply had been made by Ron himself or if Wood had pressured him into it. He wasn't sure. It wouldn't have been like Ron to decide not to apply under his own free will, but it was also doubtful that Wood would have pressured him into not trying out. Although Wood loved to play Quidditch himself, he was always on the lookout for additional talent for the team, and Ron was undoubtedly more talented than Wood had ever been.

Harry pushed these thoughts aside and led the team through practice. They all did well, and their prospects for the Cup looked high.

Throughout this time, they were in correspondence with Sirius, who took their new code names to heart. Sirius wouldn't say exactly where he was, but it must have been somewhere close to Hogwarts, because they sent letters to each other nearly every day. Their correspondence was as follows:

"Dear Truffles,"

"When did Huffles decide to be on the Quidditch team? What happened to everyone else who was on it? I will come to see you play, but don't bother looking for me, because I doubt you'll be able to find me. When you're at Quidditch practice, be especially on the lookout for trouble, because that is when it is most likely to come.

After talking with Duffles, I've been doing a fair amount of covert work in disrupting communications and transportation by the Death Eaters. The Ministry Aurors apprehended Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy torturing Muggles. They have been sentenced to life in Azkaban (which has had all the Dementors vaporized) under high guard for turning on and killing three of their captors after promising cooperation. Don't tell anyone about it until you hear it from someone else tomorrow (it's bound to be in all the papers, which I'm sure someone subscribes to). Remember, if you hear it at all, it's from them, and from no one else.

Even though the Malfoys are neutralized, we are now in extreme peril. We have recently learned that Voldemort has opened his ranks to recruits from foreign countries, which he formerly did not do. Even though Aurors from around the world have been called in, we are still in danger, and it is extremely likely that all three of you will at some point be fighting, with supervision. I never thought I'd have to say this, but you must be careful if you're called up. I don't like it at all, and I don't want to lose any of you. Be careful!

Sincerely yours,

Snuffles."

"Dear Snuffles,"

"I managed to pass the speed of sound flying in my animal form. In the simulation, Mr. Yang has introduced me to all five forms of the martial arts we will be studying for this year. I won't say which ones, in the event that this owl is intercepted. In Ancient Runes, we're close to the weeks where we'll be speaking only in Giantish. After that, we'll be beginning some other languages. I'm not sure if we'll be starting the Gnome runes next or the Fairy scripts. Either will be fascinating, so I hope that we start both at the same time. Given Professor Sprecher's style of teaching, though, it's unlikely to happen.

Take care of yourself,

Truffles."

"Dear Truffles, Ruffles and Huffles,"

"In Truffles' last letter, he made a slight error. He said quite plainly that he had surpassed a certain speed, he stated quite clearly that he had been flying in his animal form past that speed (there are only twenty known species of animal capable of that speed, so anyone could probably figure out which one is his), and he said that he studied a certain number of martial arts. All of these things are information which could be exploited by the enemy, and it is important for you to learn not to convey information in these letters which means anything to anyone but me! They can be intercepted. Please understand this in the future.

Take this to heart,

Snuffles."

"Dear Snuffles,"

"We understand the contents of your last letter, and we are discreetly burning them after they're read as a precaution. Huffles suggested using a Muggle code known as RSA for our future correspondence. We're enclosing a computer she conjured up, and programmed with everything she could think of which will make it nearly impossible for anyone but you to turn it on without the password. We have also put every protective spell we can think of or research in a day on it so that only you will be able to use it. Please change your password often; the current one is the word you use to open the witch's hump to get into the passage. You know what we mean; you discovered it. Once you've got the thing started (it's been enchanted so that its battery will never run down and it can't be tracked or interfered with magically), open up the program labeled 'RSA' and type in your message. Copy down the numbers it gives you, and send them to us. We have another computer Truffles and Ruffles conjured (no one but us knows about it to our knowledge), which will decrypt the message for us, and encrypt our reply, which you can then decrypt. This code is based on the multiplication of prime numbers and the factorization, and it is used in the Muggle world widely, and is considered to be nearly impossible to break.

Good luck,

Truffles, Huffles and Ruffles"

It had been Hermione's idea to conjure up two powerful laptop computers and send one to Sirius while keeping the other themselves. Harry and Ron had followed along enthusiastically, researching and casting most of the protective charms while Hermione did the programming (unsurprisingly, she was a computer programming genius). After that, their letters were sequences of numbers carried by owls which were nearly uninterceptible. Hermione had assured them that it was even more secure than using encrypted e-mails, a concept which Ron needed to have explained to him in great detail before he got it.

Harry continued with Quidditch practices, which, along with the training sessions every day, kept him very, very tired. Professor Grubbly-Plank's class focused more now on outdoor survival techniques. They worked out of Nondependence on Civilization by Rowena Ravenclaw, and they soon were prepared to survive in the climate and terrain of Hogwarts. Professor Grubbly-Plank soon put them to the test by introducing "tasks" every Saturday night. Their first task was to go into the Forbidden Forest, to an assigned section, and without using their wands, stay there through the night (although they would be allowed their wands for their safety.)

"Naturally, you'll be watched closely," Professor Grubbly-Plank explained to them. "I'd just suggest that you get all your homework done beforehand, because you'll be leaving the castle right after your training session. You will be finding dinner yourself in the forest. This is not a 'real' environment activity, because you will be so closely watched that I doubt you'll even be able to bruise yourselves. The house-elves will be watching you, and so will the faculty. We will be back at Hogwarts, but we'll be able to Portkey to you immediately should anything go wrong. Any questions?" Everyone seemed to be too shocked to have questions.

"Good," she said. "I will see you all after your training sessions this evening." She dismissed them as the bell rang. Harry, Ron and Hermione moved through the rest of the day with a sense of excitement. Harry's training session that day was fairly short, at only an hour. He came out of it feeling energized, and ready to face the forest and all it could throw at him.

"Follow me, please," Professor Grubbly-Plank said. She led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry walked next to Hermione, and Ron walked on Harry's other side. He felt especially safe surrounded by his friends. Although some of his classmates looked scared, most looked as if they were enjoying themselves. As soon as they'd reached a particular point, Dumbledore, who'd been overseeing all their training sessions along with Professor Grubbly-Plank, turned around.

"We will now send you off to your portion of the Forbidden Forest," he said. "Please enjoy yourselves, and understand that this is a portion of your exercise which is more introductory to staying outside for a night than having you do anything. The forest, as most of you know, is extremely vast (although much of it won't show up on a Muggle map because it wouldn't go anywhere), and you will be spaced so far apart that it is incredibly unlikely that you will meet anyone else. Also, you will not be in areas hospitable to dangerous animals and plants. Good luck!" He waved his wand, and Harry felt a whirling sensation come over him as he fell through a purple mist. How did Dumbledore generate all the power to sent them all off to a different part of the forest? Was he really that powerful?

Harry's thoughts were cut short as he abruptly landed in a part of the Forest unknown to him. Looking around, he saw quite a few types of plants, some of them obviously magical, but very few animals. He looked around for a place he could spend the night, realizing that he should first establish a base of operations for the evening. For some reason, the stereotypical image of Elves sleeping in trees came to mind, and he decided that it might be a good idea if he slept in a tree, to avoid any potential predators. Although Dumbledore had said they would be in a part of the forest which wasn't hospitable to dangerous animals or plants, that didn't mean that some didn't go there anyway. Harry's choice of a tree was looking better and better, and he finally selected a tall maple which was aflame with many different colors in the late afternoon September sun.

Harry inspected the tree carefully from the ground, and placed both hands against its thick trunk. He shoved as hard as he could, which was a more than considerable amount. The tree didn't budge, and he was satisfied that it would be reasonably safe. He looked around carefully, and found several other likely candidates just in case this particular tree turned out to be unacceptable at the last moment.

With a place to sleep found, Harry began to forage for food. He found a large gathering of mushrooms which he knew were safe to eat. Nevertheless, he tasted a small portion of one carefully before having more. He noticed no ill effects, so he ate many of the mushrooms, leaving some so that the crop could regrow, and set off on a search for other things. Before he strayed too far from the tree he'd selected, however, he took a careful note of the position of the sun. He set off through the forest. After a while, he found a plant which he knew to be magically endowed with the nutrients that he would need, and he ate several of the leaves.

His stomach was suddenly full. He missed the food at Hogwarts, but he was nourished for the evening. He needed water, though, and he had to look for a long time before he found a stream which appeared to be full of potable water. Knowing, however, that water safety couldn't be judged accurately by sight alone, he searched until he found a rock with a fairly deep depression in the middle, and two other rocks to hold it up. He washed the rock carefully in the stream, and filled it with water, propping it up on the other rocks. Then he built a small fire beneath it, using brush for fuel and starting the fire by striking two sharp rocks together. Harry waited until the water was boiling, and then extinguished the fire using soil. He waited until the water cooled, and finally allowed himself to drink it. It had little taste, which was a good sign.

Harry glanced at the sun again, and calculated mentally the position at which his tree would be. He set off, going straight towards it rather than the winding path he had previously taken, and eventually he reached the tree again. He looked up at it again. He wanted to jump up like he, Hermione and Rubon had outside of Verona, but he didn't know who it was who was watching him and he didn't want anyone who didn't know already to know that he was an Elf. He looked at the branches to see which one he wanted to get to, and decided on a very thick one.

He went to the gnarled bark of the trunk, and his fingers suddenly found crevices he hadn't known existed. His hands left the bark to take his shoes and socks off. He also took off his gray training robes (he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt underneath). He tied his shoes by their laces and his robes onto one of his belt loop, along with his socks. His hands and feet found the crevices again, and suddenly they were in motion as he shot up the trunk. With skill he didn't know he had he went up and soon reached the branch he had chosen, high above the ground.

Once he got there, he knew that his choice had been perfect. The branch not only had two other branches which grew up beside it which formed a sort of natural bed, but it was wide enough that he could lie down on it without fear of falling off. He lay down, and looked around him, at the stars and Moon which were beginning to come out.

"Goodnight, tree," he whispered, and fell asleep.

***

The next day, Harry woke up, and before he had a chance to do much else, he was magically returned to Hogwarts.

"Very well done," Professor Grubbly-Plank said approvingly. "You've mastered the art of tree-climbing." Harry smiled gratefully, hoping she didn't suspect anything. Apparently, Ron had slept in a cave, and Hermione had slept on top of a rocky outcropping. They were sharing stories at breakfast. Suddenly, Harry remembered that they had Quidditch practice in half an hour, and informed Ron and Hermione of the fact. Both groaned, but went off to get their brooms. Harry found Colin, Dennis, Neville and Ginny, and told them to be ready soon. The Creeveys were both disgustingly wide awake. They hadn't had to go off in a forest to spend the night.

Harry was still somewhat sleepy, but as soon as he was down at the Quidditch pitch and up in the air, he woke up. Flying always seemed to do that to him. Hermione was there soon afterwards, and they zoomed around the pitch together. Soon the Creevey brothers came out together, and hit Bludgers at them until Harry somehow enchanted one to fly back at them, nearly hitting Dennis on the nose. They resorted to shooting jets of water out of their wands, and a waterfight rapidly ensued, until Ron, Ginny and Neville arrived and stopped them.

During the practice, Harry had Hermione, Neville and Ginny try to score goals on Ron, while he zoomed around looking for the Snitch and the Creevey brothers tried to hit Bludgers at all the boys while not hitting the girls. Harry's reasoning was that this would help the Chasers and Keeper by giving them practice, it would help the Beaters by training them to hit certain people and to not hit others. After a while, Harry decided to have Colin protect the boys and hit at the girls, and Dennis protect the girls and hit at the boys, so that they would have experience guarding one team and hitting another.

This practice strategy worked fairly well, especially because the Chasers got practice functioning while being the targets of Bludgers. Harry zoomed around, avoided Bludgers, and caught the Snitch, releasing it after he had caught it. He had gotten slightly out of practice during the past year because there'd been no Quidditch, so he needed the practice.

***

"Densaugeo!" Harry shouted. A jet of light shot out of his wand and struck his black-robed assailant. Immediately, the front teeth of the person (Harry couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman) shot downwards, growing rapidly, until they were nearly two feet long. Stumbling awkwardly, the person shot a Stunning Spell at him before tripping and landing flat on their face, their teeth stuck in the ground. Harry raised his wand again. They'd been fighting for about fifteen minutes, every since the figure had jumped out at him and scared him almost to death.

"Stupefy," he said, and a jet of red light shot out of his wand, striking the figure on the back. It went limp.

"Well done, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Now we will resume our session. It's time to see Mr. Yang." Harry sighed, and set off towards the room in Hogwarts. His training sessions were now longer because they included a section on magical dueling. For the past three sessions, he'd either fallen into a trap which he needed magic to get out of, or been presented with a barrier which he needed magic to get by, or been attacked by assailants of various types. He'd passed nearly all his challenges, although he'd needed help getting out of the Bottomless Pit he'd fallen into.

***

At breakfast that morning, Hecate sailed down gracefully followed by Hedwig, their contrasting plumages complementing each other. The two owls had become great friends, and frequently went out hunting together. This time, however, both owls were carrying something; Hedwig a small package, Hecate a bound roll of parchment. Hedwig dropped the package in Harry's lap, while Hecate gave the parchment to Hermione. Harry looked at the package.

"Open in private and read letter first," was scrawled on the packaging. They had to wait the entire day so they could read the letter, which was a long series of numbers. Harry was slightly preoccupied, but he hid it fairly well. To his dismay, the common room was full after they had completed their classes and finished their homework. They were at a loss as to what to do, until Ron suggested the Prefect's bathroom. It had been expanded over the summer, so that there was an anteroom of sorts, which opened off into several rooms which were usually used by the female Prefects for applying cosmetic charms (although most of the female Prefects were the sort of girl who didn't use cosmetic charms). The advantage of them was that they were fairly comfortable, they had places to sit down, and locks on the doors that locked on the inside.

Hermione led them into one after checking to see that no-one was watching. She led them inside, and locked the door behind them. She went to the table, took out the computer, and started it up. Ron was still utterly fascinated by the computer, having never seen one before this one, and Hermione let him start the RSA program and select the proper code set. Then Hermione sat down, and within a minute had typed in the numbers and pressed "Decrypt". The computer processed for a moment, and then a message flashed up on the screen.

"Truffles," it read,

"This package I have sent you encloses something which has been in your family for generations, which Duffles asked me to obtain for you. He would have given it to you himself, but he is so much of a public figure (because of his position, the Ministry is legally required to monitor his actions under laws which exist for good reason) that if he were to give it to you, he would be found out. There are those in the Ministry who would like to have this themselves, but they must not have it. It is loyal to you and your friends, and it will help you in need. It is a very powerful magical object known as the Vampire Ruby. Please be careful with it; and keep it in the box it's in, because then it will be under ancient protection charms.

Sincerely yours,

Snuffles."

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other in some bewilderment, and then Harry carefully opened the package. Inside was a black box with a gold crest of a lion. Harry picked it up, and opened it. Inside, surrounded by gold velvet, was a perfectly round, red ruby. Harry picked it up slowly, and looked at it carefully.

"That's interesting," Hermione said. "It has no flaws that I can see. That's very rare in a ruby of this size."

"Trust Hermione to know that," Harry said to Ron. Hermione scowled. Harry offered it to Ron, who took it and held it carefully for a moment, looking at it, before handing it to Hermione. She looked at it, and then handed it back to Harry, who placed it back in the box. Suddenly, it flared bright, and the room seemed almost to tremble.

"What's it doing?" Hermione gasped. Hurriedly, Harry placed it back into its box, and put the box inside his bag, hoping that the protection charms on the box and on his bag would calm it. It seemed to work; nothing further happened. Still, Hermione hurried put the computer away, and they hurried out of the room.

"All students will return to their common rooms or dormitories immediately," Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the hallway magically. "All teachers, Prefects, Head Boy and Girl, and other staff report to Great Hall immediately." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other, hoping they hadn't caused this.

"Guess that means us," Ron said finally, and they hurried off to Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore was already there, and so were McGonagall and Snape. Other students and staff were rapidly arriving, and soon everyone was there.

"Approximately five minutes ago," Dumbledore said, "several Death Eaters approached Hogwarts with what we believe was hostile intent. However, when they came within five hundred meters of the castle, they were abruptly blown backwards by a form of shock wave. We will now show you what happened." He pointed his wand at the ceiling, and everyone looked up. The ceiling abruptly went from showing the sky outside to showing the Hogwarts lawn, and ten small figures approaching rapidly. As they came closer, Harry could see that they were robed in black and had masks on. They had their wands out, and they looked menacing.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a scarlet shock wave appeared, and collided with them at a tremendous speed. The Death Eaters shot backwards in midair, and Harry noted with anger that one of them had a gleaming silver hand. Wormtail, he thought, recognizing the loathsome Death Eater who'd betrayed his parents. The Death Eaters shot off through the sky over the Forbidden Forest, and disappeared.

"Those Death Eaters have been apprehended," Dumbledore said. "I merely show you this to alert you to how easily we can be attacked. We cannot expect help all the time." He dismissed them, and they went up to the room they'd been in.

"Wow," said Hermione. "I think we know where that came from." Harry nodded, and said, "I think we ought to write Sirius."

"You're right," Hermione said. "My hands are getting tired. You can type."

"All right," Harry said, and sat down in front of the computer, which Hermione had turned on. He knew how to use computers from sneaking into Dudley's room when younger, so it was fairly easy for him to type a message.

"Snuffles," he wrote,

"A really strange thing happened a few minutes ago. We got your package open, and found what was in it. Right as I put it back in its box, it flared brightly red, and the room sort of trembled. We put everything away, and went out into the hallway right as Professor M.G. sent all the students to their common rooms or dormitories, and called all Prefects and staff down to Great Hall. There, Duffles told us that Death Eaters had approached the castle, and he thought that they had had 'hostile intent'. He said that some sort of shock wave had come out of nowhere and knocked the Death Eaters away, and that they were all apprehended by Aurors. Aside from the fact that I'm sure one of them was Wormtail (and you know what it means if he's captured), the shock wave was the same color as what you gave me, and it must have occurred at about the same time as what you gave me flared up. Could the two events be related. We shall inform you of any further developments.

Hoping that Wormtail was captured,

Truffles."

Harry read over what he had typed. Satisfied, he moved the cursor and pressed the button labeled "Encrypt." An hourglass appeared in place of the cursor for a moment, and then a list of numbers replaced what he had written.

"I hope that Snuffles can tell us more about it," Harry said slowly.

"I know," said Hermione. "Imagine having something around you that does things like that without warning."

"You don't need to imagine," said Ron. "At least, we're reasonably certain that it was responsible."

"How so?" asked Harry.

"Well," he said, "Snuffles said that it was loyal you, Harry, and your friends. Because it's loyal to us, it probably wants to protect you. It must have some significance if it's been in your family for generations. Maybe its worth is in its ability to protect you, or now that I think about it, more likely in its magical power and how it uses it. Snuffles did say that it was a powerful magical object, and it must be reasonably famous to be known as the Vampire Ruby, instead of just being called that. The shock wave is the same color as the Ruby, and it targeted the Death Eaters. You have good reason to fear the Death Eaters, and Wormtail holds special significance to you. Maybe it somehow sensed the Death Eaters approaching, and out of loyalty to you, sent out a shock wave that 'blew' them away so they could be apprehended. It makes sense." Harry and Hermione stared at him.

"How did you think all that out?" Hermione said. Harry wasn't surprised, but he was impressed. He doubted he could have thought it out so quickly, but he thought he knew why Ron could, or at least something which resulted from the same reason as Ron's ability to think out the explanation so fast. Sure enough, Ron shrugged.

"I'm a chess master," he said.