Harry Potter and The Tomb of Hogwarts

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 22

The next week at Hogwarts was more solemn than any time Harry remembered, including the week following Cedric's death. Nearly every student had been affected by the massacre in the Owlery, if not directly then by their friends or siblings.

Dumbledore had been right when he said that no house had gone unscathed. In fact it was Slytherin house that came second to Hufflepuff in casualties. Even Malfoy's eagle had been injured, though not as seriously as the others.

When Dumbledore had spoken the Monday after he had said that forty-seven owls were killed, eighty-three more seriously injured with another nineteen unaccounted for. Harry was relieved to know that he'd set Hedwig out with a "Thank You" letter to the Cannons for their help in training the Gryffindor team.

When asked Harry held up his side of the bargain by replying that he did not believe that Dudley had actually been responsible for what had happened but was grateful that so few people had asked. Most seemed to have made up their minds, more by Ginny and Ron's response than by anything else.

Both of them were thoroughly convinced that Dudley had to have something to do with it, if not directly than surely by association and they had no problems telling anyone who would listen. By Wednesday nearly all of the school including the Slytherins were wearing brown armbands in remembrance of the lost owls, many of which would turn blood red with the words Dudley the Owl Slayer, May He Rot In Azkaban written in black.

Harry wanted to feel bad for Dudley since he'd also been there in the past, but every time he did he remembered an old birthday or Christmas, being chased up a tree or beaten up for being born, and suddenly he didn't feel so bad about it.

But soon he had to face the idea that maybe he hadn't done it when Amanda raised the question Friday evening.

"You don't really think he did it, do you? I mean, I spent a week with him before school started and yeah, he's a brat and a dope, but to do that kind of damage requires something much more deep. Dudley's just a spoiled brat. What happened in the Owlery was nothing short of pure evil."

"But who else is there. It wasn't Ginny and it surely wasn't a Slytherin cause they were hurt as much as anyone else."

"True, but I was talking to Davie last night and he seems to agree that maybe it was someone outside the school. Maybe it was a rogue Death Eater or something like that."

"But he'd have no way of getting in without help, and he sure as heck couldn't have gotten out without flying."

"So maybe he had a broom. Or maybe he was some kind of bird Animagus. I'm not trying to say that Dudley definitely didn't do it, but at the same time I don't think he did."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. Honestly I don't think I want to. I'm happy enough just knowing that he's staying as far from me as possible. Even if he didn't do it, he's tried doing a lot of things to me, even after we came to Hogwarts and I helped him out. He's the same old Dudley and he deserves whatever he gets."

"Even if what he gets comes from the Slytherins?"

"Well, they might as well put themselves to some use," Harry spat back.

"Harry Potter. There's no need to be taking that tone with me. I'm not trying to say he's innocent, I'm just saying he might be."

"I'm sorry. You're right. I just don't trust him is all, and I probably never will."

"Well, you trust me, don't you?"

"Of course," he said softly, a smile creeping across his face for the first time in a week.

"Well, then trust me when I say he didn't do it."

"You know, you almost sound certain about it. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No." she replied quickly. "No. I just have faith in people and my faith tells me he didn't do it, and that's the same faith that tells me that you're a good man and that you can find it in your heart to give him a chance."

"Fine. I'll give him the rope and let him hang himself, if that's what you want."

"I'd rather you kept the rope for better use," she replied slipping a hand inside his shirt. No other words were exchanged between them less the words goodnight.

Saturday flew by all too quickly and without incident. Harry spent most of the day catching up on his classwork and working with Snape on the following week's schedule, and when he wasn't doing that he was working with Charlie on some last minute meditation exercises.

But there was one extremely annoying thing that seemed to be going around. Both Charlie and Snape seemed to be on Dudley's side in insisting that the evidence did not point to him. So when he sat down to lunch on Sunday with Hermione and Davie he was pleasantly surprised by Davie's impression of Dudley. Waiting until Hermione went to the washroom to clean up, he quickly and quietly told Harry what he thought of Dudley Do-Wrong.

"But I thought you told Amanda that you didn't think he did it," Harry replied.

"Frankly, I don't. But if you watch a dog get beaten up and do nothing about it, your as good as guilty. That's what I think of Dudley. He may not have done the deed but I'd bet he was involved. It's just that David doesn't want us talking that way and I'm the only one who seems to think he had anything to do with it."

"Well why don't you say anything about it?" Harry insisted.

"Because Hermione doesn't think he did it and I don't want to piss her off. You know how she is when she's mad."

"Yeah, I know. Most people around here are afraid of Voldemort, but I'll take Voldemort over an angry Hermione any day of the week."

"Right. And I'm not saying for sure he did, but if it looks and walks like a duck, I don't care if it barks, two out of three is close enough for me."

"Right," Harry agreed, though he had no idea what Davie was talking about.

"Oh, by the way. I might have a lead on the Hufflepuff Medallion. I was talking to a friend of mine back home while we were in London and I asked him if he'd seen anything like a black and gold Medallion with a badger on it and he said he'd seem something like it on a field trip in San Francisco. He's going to send me a brochure as soon as he gets one mailed to him."

"Why can't we just have them send it to us?" Harry asked.

"They only use Muggle Mail in the US. No owls. It's a whole 'Native American rights' thing, don't ask. Anyways, we should have it in two to three weeks. He said there's a picture of it in the booklet. He said there's a whole occult built around it. It's got some really wacky powers and everything. It really sounds promising."

"Yeah, wow," agreed Harry, "and here I figured that'd be the hardest one to find."

"Now all we have to do is find out where that Gryffindor Medallion is. Meanwhile, I'll keep in touch with my friend and see if he can find out anything more about it."

"Great," Harry said just as Hermione sat back down.

"Great what?" she asked, and they went over the whole medallion thing all over, or at least halfway until Ron arrived and they had to start all over again. Neither time did Davie mention his feelings about Dudley.

At ten minutes before one o'clock they headed for McGonagall's office for their Animagus Quest.

McGonagall was sitting at her desk when they entered and looked quite stern as they sat down. For a moment it seemed as though they may have been mistaken in their timing until she looked up, her expression changing quickly into a surprisingly pleasant demeanour.

"Well, today is the big day, isn't it," she asked cheerfully. Harry got the idea that she was compensating for something in the tone she was using. McGonagall was never this happy and pleasant, even with Dumbledore.

"Well, Professor Weasley has suggested that we join him in his classroom for the quest since we will need a certain amount of space for you two while he works with Harry in his office."

And saying nothing else she stood up led them up to the DADA classroom.

When they walked in they found that once again the chairs and tables had all been removed save one which was probably reserved for McGonagall. The room however was quite dim and the roof was bewitched to look like the night sky just as Charlie's office did when he and Harry did their meditation exercises.

Charlie walked out with a big smile and welcomed them, producing a pair of large mats next to McGonagall's chair and ushered Ron and Hermione to join her there, then sent Harry into his office.

Charlie's office looked just as it always looked during their training exercises except that the dressers which were normally at the four corners of the room were nowhere to be seen.

Harry sat down in his standard Zen position and prepared for his meditation. It was nearly twenty minutes before Charlie finally walked in. As the door closed he noticed that the classroom was immersed in total darkness.

"Sorry about the wait," Charlie said quietly, "but there was one final step that Professor McGonagall wanted to show me as she sent Ron and Hermione on their quests."

"Oh," was all Harry could think of in response.

"So, are you ready to begin?"

"I guess," Harry responded shortly.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Charlie asked, obviously concerned.

"Well, it's just that I'm going on this huge Animagus Quest and I still know nothing about what it is."

"I understand, and that's really part of the quest, understanding it. But you'll see what I mean in a few moments. Now, let's begin. First, I want you to lie down on your back and look up at the ceiling."

Harry complied, laid down on the floor and with his hands over his chest he looked up at the enchanted ceiling, stars filling them like the evening sky.

All around him Charlie began placing candles shaped like dozens of different animals. When he finished surrounding Harry with the candles he then took out a large, black potion and began pouring into a circle just outside the candles.

Then Harry could sense that Charlie had finished and had sat back down. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of over a hundred small candles being lit all at once. Then Charlie began talking to him in a very low tone.

"Okay, Harry?" he asked softly.

Harry nodded.

"Good. Now I want you to look up into the sky and pick a star. It can be any star you want."

Harry looked about for a few moments and found one just over his head that seemed to wink at him. "Got it," he said softly.

"Very good." Charlie replied softly. "Now I want you to begin to focus on it. As you do I want you to start counting down from a hundred, alright?"

Harry nodded.

"Good. Now as you count down you will begin to see the star moving closer to you. Do not fear it, but embrace it, for that is the doorway through which your quest will begin."

Harry gave a faint nod, focused on his star, and began slowly counting back from a hundred.

As he approached ninety he though he noticed the slightest movement in the star, and by seventy-five he was sure the star was actually moving towards him.

At fifty it looked as big as a Bludger as by twenty-five it seemed to actually fall out of the sky.

As he approached ten he could actually begin feeling the heat from the star which now covered the entire sky.

As he counted down from ten the room seemed to become enveloped by the star.

At five the entire room was gone.

And then at one Harry's eyes fell hard as feeling throughout all of his body had gone.

Harry awoke in a large green field. As he got to his feet he found himself on top of a soft hill that overlooked the most incredible view he'd ever seen in his life.

To the north he could see off in the distance a large mountain, both dark and beautiful, surrounded by a tall and very dense forest. The forest continued to the east, but the further east it went the shorter and less dense it was until Harry could actually make out small patches of grass amongst the trees.

As he turned towards the south the forest thinned quickly until it had disappeared, leaving behind a dusty and sandy land filled with cactuses and small oasis's. But then, as it moved westward it dropped right into a large lake which spanned all the way back to the dark forest, and Harry was back where he started.

Then he heard Charlie's voice from behind him. He turned quickly, but Charlie was nowhere to be found.

"Harry. Can you hear my voice?" he asked

"Yes. Where are you?" Harry called out.

"I am still here in the office, watching over you as I guide you along your Quest."

Now Harry understood. He was dreaming, but for some reason he could still hear Charlie.

"Okay, so what do I do now?" he asked.

"For the moment, you wait."

"For what?" Harry asked.

"I cannot say. But soon you should be drawn in some direction, for what reason I cannot say. But when you feel it, go with it."

Harry wasn't exactly sure what Charlie was talking about, so finally he began to just spin around, looking for direction.

And then he saw them.

Small animals began coming out of the shallow forest, each seemingly unaware of each other.

At first there were only a cats and dogs of different breeds. Then a few pigeons and bluebirds flew in, followed shortly after by a few rabbits, some squirrels, chickens and pigs, even a few rats and mice.

A few moments later they were joined by some of the more wild animals including wild boar, deer, goats, even some cattle. Then came some of the larger and more fierce creatures including a variety of bears, elephants, lions and tigers, even some apes.

Harry stared in awe at the spectacle, some many animals walking about as though they were the only ones there, and so enthralled was he at watching them that he nearly jumped out of his shoes when he heard a loud "Croork" behind him.

He spun around and saw something ten times more bizarre than the scene behind him. Here were Frogs and fish, whales and sharks, turtles and dolphins and all other sorts of sea creatures swimming on the ground as though it were completely natural.

Were that alone not weird enough, joining them were camels, roadrunners, coyotes, and snakes and lizards of all types.

And flying above were vultures and eagles, hawks and falcons, parrots, seagulls, bees and dragonflies.

It was a zoo without cages, and Harry kept spinning around, searching for anything that made sense. Finally, having no other thoughts come to him he called out, hoping that the animals which surrounded him would continue to ignore him.

"Charlie?" he called out as loud as he dare, though it was no more than a whisper.

He got no response

"Charlie?" he called out a little louder. Still no response from Charlie, but nothing from the crowd of animals either.

"Charlie!" he said, sure he'd shouted it, though it was truly nothing more than a soft speaking tone.

"Yes Harry," Charlie finally replied. "What do you see."

"What do I see? I see animals, hundreds of animals. They're surrounding me." There was surely some urgency in his voice now.

"Very good. That means your quest is nearly ready to begin."

"Ready to begin?" Harry asked, truly amazed. Did Charlie mean to tell him that this was not it?

"Soon you will find an animal that will identify itself to you. Once it does, he will lead you on your quest."

"But how will I know which one to follow? Didn't you say there would be more than one?"

"That is true, but I do not know how I can guide you in that respect. None have been in your shoes in rather a long time. I can only tell you what I know, and that is to search for the one who will guide you forward."

Harry hadn't heard the last of what Charlie had said because at that moment he was staring at a large, brown lion. He seemed to know it, if only from a long lost dream.

And as he stared at it, it did the queerest thing. It winked at him. But could it have really done that? Of course not, though Harry. It's just a lion. It couldn't really have winked, could it?

THERE! It did it again. There was no doubt about it. The lion had winked at him, then turned around and began heading back into the forest. Harry felt drawn to it and before he knew it he had begun walking after it, and then he was running.

But apprehension gripped him as he approached the outer trees of the forest. The realisation that he was chasing a lion, an animal which could tear him limb from limb, had suddenly found it's way to his foremost thoughts.

But when the lion roared, Harry's instincts took over as he started off, running with all his speed after the lion.

Thirty seconds of running later and he caught sight of the lion sitting under a tree, seemingly waiting for him. But no sooner had he reached the tree when the lion pounced away with the grace which only a cat possessed.

Harry immediately chased after it, pounding his feet as hard as he could, running faster and faster, trying furiously to catch his burley prey. But the lion matched his pace effortlessly.

What Harry needed was more speed.

"Harry. Is everything alright?" Charlie called out to him.

"Yeah," answered Harry. "I'm trying to chase the lion."

"A lion," Charlie replied proudly. "Good for you."

"But I can't seem to catch it," Harry interrupted. "It's too fast."

"Indeed. So what do you think you have to do?"

"I don't know," cried Harry, beginning to lose his breath.

"How do you catch a lion," Charlie asked simply.

"You don't. This is insane. I don't even know why I'm trying, but I just know I have to catch it."

"And how can you catch the lion," Charlie repeated.

Harry thought about it. Then an old rhyme came to him and he knew the answer. "To catch a lion you need a lion," Harry replied smartly.

"Indeed. So, what do you need to do?"

"I need to find a..." Harry trailed off. Now he knew where Charlie was going. This was his Quest, and if he wasn't completely wrong, he'd just found it.

"How do I do it?" Harry asked, coming to a full stop.

"What is it you want to do?" Charlie asked.

"I need to become a lion, right? I mean, that's why I'm here."

"Indeed."

"So how do I do it?" Harry asked again.

"How do you walk? How do you breath? How do you move?"

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Charlie was talking in riddles and Harry was not amused.

"Just what I mean. How do you walk."

"That's a stupid question. I just walk."

"And how do you breath?" he asked again.

"I just do. What's this got to do with anything?"

"How do you move?" Charlie asked, ignoring Harry's growing rage.

"I JUST DO!" shouted Harry.

"Then just become the lion." Charlie replied softly. "You have the power, just as you can change your eyes or grow hair, you can change what you are. You simply have to know you can do it, and then it shall be."

Harry was growing more furious by the moment. It's not that easy. It couldn't be that easy because if it was, everyone would be able to do it.

"Think about your training, Harry. Just do it and it will come to you. There is nothing more I can do for you now."

Nothing more he could do? Harry thought. What had he done? Put out, Harry sat down to think.

How was he supposed to become a lion. He was just supposed to do it. But that couldn't be right. His body wasn't made to just change. But this wasn't his body, was it? This was some kind of weird dream. He could dream about being a lion, why couldn't he do it now?

He crossed his legs and thought about being a lion. What it would be like, pouncing from one spot to the next, his mane flowing behind him. He concentrated on his breathing.

A lion's breathing would be deeper, more fierce. His arms and legs would be shorter with paws instead of hands and feet. He'd be covered in hair and he'd have a tail. He'd breath through his snout and he'd be huge, ten times his normal size. That's what it'd be like to be a lion.

But nothing happened. He sat there for five minutes before he finally gave up, calling back to Charlie.

But when he opened his mouth to speak, there were no words. Instead, a thunderous roar filled the forest so powerful that Harry could feel the ground shake beneath him.

Taken aback, Harry jumped up, took two steps back, and fell over himself, falling hard on his tail.

My tail? Harry thought. He looked down and saw that, in fact, not only did he have a tail, but his entire body had changed into that of a lion. Somehow, some way, he'd actually done it. He'd changed into a lion.

The excitement of having pulled it off filled him. He quickly tumbled onto his four paws and before thinking about it he leaped off. He was not ready for it.

His front paws landed first, but unaccustomed to walking on all fours, they buckled beneath him and he tumbled, head over tail, and rolled to a stop in front of a large tree.

Shaking his head he righted himself again, amazed that such a fall caused almost no pain at all. This body seemed much more resilient than his own and he was back on his feet immediately.

Being more cautious this time, Harry started by taking only a few short steps at a time. The way a lion walked was much different than that of a human, the weight transferring throughout his body seemed to flow on it's own.

But there was a natural balance to it that seemed to come to him quite quickly and within minutes he was hopping along, taking small jumps here and there. A few times he'd miss his footing, but he fell less often and was soon able to keep running straight from one leap to the next.

After a while of getting used to being in the lion's body, Harry came upon a stream. His instincts were instantaneous. He walked right up and licked, testing the water to be sure it was safe.

Before long he was drinking with gusto, filling his belly with the sweet tasting water. It tasted so different in this body, sweeter and more refreshing.

As Harry was just taking a final drink he paused, looked into the water and saw his reflection. It was not exactly what he expected. Sure, he was a lion, but a very young looking lion with only half a mane and much less bulk than he felt, though he was still a good five hundred pounds.

Still, the thing that bothered him was his hair, and so he concentrated, thinking hard, and after a few minutes it grew out another few inches. It wasn't perfect, but it was better. He could work on it.

Suddenly, a loud roar came from across the stream and once again he saw the lion. But there was no wink this time. The moment their eyes met, the other lion turned and ran, and Harry ran after it.

He was across the stream and passing through the trees in now time, seeing the lion in front of him. It was, what, two hundred feet away, yet he could see every muscle stretch as it hopped over fallen branches and large boulders effortlessly.

Harry followed it's trail perfectly, gaining more confidence with each step and pounce. Soon he was leaping over the branches and rocks as though they weren't even there, finally gaining a little ground on his prey.

Fifty feet were gone soon enough, and then another, cutting it's lead in half.

The lion in front began to speed up, but Harry was younger and faster. He could catch it, all he needed was to run a little faster, a little harder, and he'd surely catch it.

Soon it's lead was cut in half again, and after a masterful leap from a rather large stone, jumping fully over a ten foot wide creek, he was within ten feet.

He was breathing hard now, his snout puffing hard and loudly. He could hear his own heart beating, and he could hear his quarries heartbeat too. He pushed harder, exerting his muscles as much as possible, his mouth inches from it's tail.

Then he saw it. His chance to catch his prey.

Up ahead was a log perched between two small hills, a pathway beneath it just big enough for a lion to duck underneath. Harry was sure that's what this one would do, but not him.

He jumped right, moving off the path and dodging through the trees, over small rocks and around some small bushes. He wasn't gaining any more ground, but that didn't matter so long as he didn't lose any either.

They were now thirty and twenty five feet away respectively, and Harry pulled just a little further right, preparing himself for his assault.

His paws knew where to land, moving with a finesse Harry never knew himself capable of.

He was almost there, just a few more seconds.

There. He saw the other lion duck his head, ready to go under the log, and that was his cue.

With two last gallant steps he dug in, pounced lightly onto the log, and with all his strength he leaped, flying through the air, his paws stretched out to their fullest.

He could see the lion below him and knew before he made contact that he'd land right on target.

His aim could not have been more perfect. His front paws landed on the other lion's shoulders, his rear paws landing on its back, and before it could react he let off and landed another five feet in front of it.

With a few last steps he drew to a stop and turned around. There, just a few feet in front of him, stood the lion. It looked not defeated as Harry would have expected, but proud. He smiled broadly, then roared.

Harry did the same and soon the entire forest reverberated with the roars of these two mighty lions.

For the next half hour Harry and this lion played, racing and jumping and wrestling around all over the forest.

They were taking a rest after a rather hefty bout when the other lion suddenly became very quite.

After a few moments of this continued silence Harry's ears perked up, aware that not only was his lion friend quiet, but so was the entire forest.

Harry lay still, focusing on the silence around him, smelling the air and searching with his enhanced cat vision, but for all his searching he could not catch a hint of what was wrong. Then, with a twitch of his friends eyes he whipped around, ready for a fight.

What he saw before him astonished him to the point of losing all control over his Animagus form, causing him to revert to his normal body. As he stood up, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled in trepidation, hoping he'd somehow seen wrong. He had not. Standing before him, a broad smile across his face, was Lord Voldemort.

But as scared as Harry was to face his mortal enemy, there was something not quite right about him. It was in his eyes. He couldn't figure what it was, but for some reason he didn't feel the same fear for him as he should have. Instead he felt...

Kinship? Harry wondered.

Suddenly and without any warning Voldemort lept into the air, and as Harry blinked his eyes he watched as Voldemort transformed into a large, black, magnificent looking falcon.

Instincts took over, and Harry transformed back into the Lion, ready to attack, but in the seconds it took him to transform he'd lost all sight of his prey. It was only at the last moment, far after too late to prepare himself, did he hear the falcon's cry coming from behind him. Harry was just able to turn his head before the falcon dug it's talons into the flesh of his back.

Wincing in anticipation of the searing pain that would cover his back, he was shocked when instead of pain he felt a kind of soft tingle that ran through his body causing his mane to stand on end. But if he thought that would be the oddest feeling he could have, he soon learned just how wrong he was.

As the tingling sensation dissipated he became aware that his body did not feel quite the same as it had before. Something was different, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Whatever it was, it would have to wait until Harry found out where that bird had gone.

He searched the skies, trying to find that impossibly large bird circling somewhere above, but after three minutes of searching he found nothing.

Finally sure that it had left, turned around to approach his lion friend. What he saw next shocked him nearly as much as seeing Voldemort a few moments earlier.

His lion friend as he knew it was gone and in it's place stood a sphinx with a full lion's body and large brown and gold tipped wings. Harry had never seen anything like it, even including the book Dumbledore had given him, but it was still a magnificent creature.

Then his eyes went broad as the large brown wings turned black as they pulled away from the lion's body, and soon the sphinx was being torn in two directions, the lion fighting against it's own wings. And then, as though a puzzle had suddenly been solved, Harry understood.

The wings pulled way and began to form it's own body, that of a large black falcon, and leaving behind his lion friend as it first flew up, then circled back down and landed right next to it's counterpart.

As one they transformed again, this time into two wizards. Harry's eyes threatened to leave their sockets as, standing before him was a young Tom Riddle and Harry Potter.

And then, everything went dark.

Harry woke back in Charlie's Office a few moments later, exhausted far beyond anything he'd believed possible before.

He slowly stood up, stretched his legs and neck, and finally released a soft yawn.

Finally he turned around, looking for Charlie, but when he found him he suddenly saw that something was severely wrong. Unless Charlie had grown several feet in the past few hours, something was terribly, terribly wrong.

And then Harry felt the sensation throughout his body, a humming reverberating through his very bones, and it was then that he realised that his vision was not his own, but that of a Lion.

Taken aback, Harry felt his legs begin to give, his body rejecting it's current shape, and that was all it took to release the last bit of energy he had left in him as he fell back to the floor.

He opened his eyes even as the process was coming to an end and he watched as his front paws transformed into hands, the hair on his arms disappearing, and the world itself seemed to glow in a different colour as his eyesight reverted to that of a young boy.

With a final sigh, Harry's eyes closed once again. Even as he felt Charlie covering him in a soft blanket, exhaustion was already taking hold of him and soon he had fallen into a sound and dreamless sleep.

Many hours later Harry awoke back in his own bed still feeling the effects of the quest and quite tired. Still, something had woken him and very quickly he realised it was nature calling.

A few minutes later, as he approached his bed he looked over at Ron, curious about which form he had found. Would it have been a wolf? Maybe. Or perhaps a ram or bull. He could see Ron having horns for some reason.

And what of Hermione. He was sure he knew that answer immediately. She'd be an owl or eagle, something majestic like that.

These questions filled his mind and fed his thoughts as he crawled back in bed, tucked under his covers, and quickly entered the dream world where he and his two best friends met with a wolf, a dog, and a buck, romping and playing the day away.

Coming Soon

Chapter 23

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