Harry Potter and the Elemental Wands

Harry Potter and the Elemental Wands
Chapter 4 - Animagi

Dumbledore had not changed his password since the last time Hermione, Ron and Harry had been in his office, despite knowing that he should change it more often. Thus, they had no problem breaking into his office - yet again.

'What is it you're looking for, Ron?' Hermione asked her excited friend.

The Weasley boy didn't answer. His eyes were busily searching the curved room for one particular object. When he found it, buried under a few roles of parchment, he dove for it and held it up triumphantly.

'The Sorting Hat!' Harry cried. 'You're brilliant, Ron!'

Ron touched one hand to his cheek in mock modesty and even managed to blush. Harry took the Sorting Hat from him and placed it on his own head firmly.

'It's been a while, Harry Potter,' the Hat said inside his brain. 'What do you want this time?'

Harry brought his thoughts together to reply but the Hat had already taken it from him.

'Ah ... so Dumbledore told you the Legend of the Elemental Wands, has he? Interesting ... And your friend Ron wants me to sort your information for you, I gather.'

'That's right,' Harry replied cautiously. He was uncomfortably aware that the Hat was only speaking to him and that Arandelle, Hermione and Ron were all watching him very closely.

'What do you want to know, Harry?'

'Whatever you can tell me.'

The Sorting Hat paused, as if trying to pick a place to start. 'Would you like me to say this out loud for your friends?'

'Yes, please.'

Balanced on the top of his head, Harry felt the Sorting Hat bow to each of his friends. 'Ron,' it said to the red-haired boy. 'The One among Many. Hermione,' it continued to her. 'She who is Sharp.' And at last it turned to Arandelle who was standing a bit apart from the others. 'And Arandelle. Be at peace, One who lives in Dreams. You, who had resigned to this so long ago, should not be so distressed.' Harry felt the Hat fold, almost as if it was smiling. 'You'll touch the sky, Arandelle, the very sky. Be not disappointed with what lies ahead for you to do.'

Her expression was indecipherable as she nodded respectfully, her amber eyes glowing.

'Most of the infomation you want you already know. You know which four are destined to wield the Elemental Wands. You know that Voldemort is the one who was meant to wield one of the wands, but as the result of a mistake, Harry is also able to. You know about the Phoenix Song. And you know that one of you will die. Do not blame Arandelle for this,' the Hat chided gently. 'She is only the one who brought you the information. The death was decided long ago and it is far too late to be changed now.'

'What are we supposed to do about You-Know-Who?' Ron asked, carefully avoiding the name.

'Voldemort -' Ron cringed '- was but the original plan. There are times that an alternative is even better than the original. This may be the case here. But power will be bestowed upon whichever four you choose and Voldemort is power-hungry. He will not stop even though Harry may be a better choice. Only one will be able to hold and command the power of an Elemental Wand.'

'And the other?' Harry asked carefully.

'Will simply keep on living, but without the Wand. It is not the nature of the Wands to destroy. Sometimes they hurt, even kill, but they will never destroy. Destruction is the ultimate Sin. To destroy something completely is to upset the balance of the world, as will creating something from nothing.'

'Where are we supposed to go and look for the Wands?' Arandelle asked the Sorting Hat quietly.

It didn't answer straight away. 'The Wands are the center of power for each of the elements - earth, fire wind and water. To create a center of power is an enormous task which can only be completed by the Universe. Even then, the Wands are over a thousand years in the making. The third time Harry heard the Phoenix Song was the moment the Wands were finished, not only the awakening of the prophecy that would protect them.'

'But where are they?'

'They are hidden, but are not very hard to find. There are only a handful of spells guarding them but they are placed around Hogwarts in their center of power.'

'What is that supposed to mean?' demanded Ron but the Hat only 'smiled' at him.

'That is for you to figure out. You are part of the prophecy, I am only a hat. A hat with some unusual powers, I'll grant, but I'm still a hat. No hat in the world is capable of wielding one of the Elemental Wands.'

'Is there anything else you can tell us?' Hermione asked.

'I'm here only to answer your questions. I can't ask them for you as well.'

Harry took the Hat off and placed it back on the bench. 'Thank you,' he told the silent, ragged Hat. It didn't move.

Hermione opened the door and glanced back at Harry. 'Let's go. It's very late.'

She left the room, Ron just behind her. Arandelle followed, casting a glance at Fawkes' still-empty perch. A smile on the corners of her lips, she turned and began to climb the steps which led back to the main part of the castle. Harry followed but a voice made him stop.

'Sirius will be here in a few days,' the Sorting Hat said. 'He'll send you a letter but I just thought I'd let you know.'

Harry smiled curiously at the Hat, which had become still again, then closed the door behind him.

He slept well that night, the exhaustion of questions and answers forcing his brain under the surface of sleep. The next morning he had classes again but he would've slept until dinner if Ron hadn't poked him rather rudely with his index finger. He grunted wearily and began to climb out of his four-poster bed.

Breakfast was as usual, unless one counted the fact that Arandelle was surrounded by about twenty owls, perched on her arms and shoulders making it impossible for her to eat properly. In the end, she sort of whispered something to them and they flew off into the dappled morning sunlight.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was first that day and Harry was rather surprised that his teacher, Professor Dale, was pretty much normal. She didn't wear queer looking or queer smelling garments, she knew her magical creatures and curses, she had two perfectly whole eyes and Boggarts did not turn themselves into orbiting moons at the sight of her. They changed into immobile piles of human brains which caused most of the class to throw up on the spot. Dale sent the ailed students off to the hospital wing and was just explaining the story behind her worst fear to those remaining when there was a knock on the door.

'Hmm?' she said absently as she cleaned up the mess on the floor with a flick of her wand.

The door swung open to reveal the silvery-bearded Professor Dumbledore. He looked slightly amused. 'I would have been her sooner had I not run into a swarm of vomiting children,' he apologised, smiling.

'I was teaching them some new charms for Boggarts, Dumbledore,' the blonde Professor Dale grinned, flashing perfectly even white teeth.

He shook his head, disapprovingly. 'You've spent too much time as a Muggle historian, Artemis. All those war memories you leeched from those Muggles are starting to upset your stomach - and the stomachs of your students as well.'

'What a pity,' she grinned without the faintest trace of embarrassment. 'Did you come to tell me off or was there something else you wanted to talk about?'

'Um, yes. I was looking for three students who should be in your class; Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.'
'Hermione and Ron have gone off to the hospital wing,' she told him. 'Harry's still here though.' She clapped him on the shoulder in a friendly way. 'Go along, Harry. Dumbledore's waiting. Leave your books here, you can pick them up later.'

He stood up and moved to Dumbledore's side. The headmaster smiled graciously. 'Thank you, Artemis. Enjoy the rest of your
lesson, class,' he added to the handful of students who remained. Harry kept his mouth clamped shut until they were several metres away from the door of the classroom.

'Artemis?' Harry asked, disbelievingly.

'Yes, Harry, Professor Dale's first name is Artemis. We have Minerva McGonagall and Artemis Dale. Minerva is Roman
though, I think.'

'Which Goddess was Artemis?'

'She was the Greek Godess of Hunting. Her Roman equivalent was Diana. She might've also been the Goddess of childbirth, but I'll have to read up on that one.'

'How appropriate,' Harry grinned, bringing an image of Professor Dale as a Muggle war historian up into his mind.

'Quite,' Dumbledore agreed as they stopped outside another door. 'Now, Arandelle Winters should be in here.'

'How-'

'The Sorting Hat is in my office,' Dumbledore pointed out. 'Even if others can get hold of it, I still usually manage to get there first.'

He knocked on the door, which opened to reveal Professor McGonagall and her sixth year class who seemed to be turning pillows into pigeons. Dumbledore spoke quietly to the Transfiguration teacher, who spoke less quietly to her class. Arandelle stood up, grinning. She closed the door as she left the class and turned expectantly at Dumbledore. He, however, turned to Harry.

'Sirius has arrived in Hogwarts, Harry,' he told him. 'His waiting just oustide the Quidditch Pitch on the forest side. I thought that Hermione and Ron would like to come along as well, but they're err ...'

'Sick,' Harry supplied.

'Yes. I suppose 'sick' is the only word for it.'

Their conversation continued as they made their way out of the castle. They walked a good distance - past the Quidditch pitch and into the secluded forest. Dumbledore seemed to know where he was going so Harry and Arandelle simply followed him on the dirt trail, around the woody trees and worn down rocks. They came to a shallow cave and Dumbledore stopped.

'I'll leave you here,' he told them. 'Sirius and I will talk later. I'm sure you'll be able to find your way back, and if not, ask Sirius to show you the way.'

He glanced inside the cave, smiled, then turned around and began walking back down the trail. Soon, he was gone from sight, hidden by the forest trees.

Harry peered around the mouth of the cave, anxiously. He hadn't seen his godfather for quite a while and though he was not happy that Sirius had come all the way to Hogwarts, he would still be happy to see him - after some berations of course.

A large black dog stood in the cave, its pink tongue rolling out and its black eyes watchful. It wagged its tail at the sight of Harry.

'Sirius!' Harry cried, hurrying forward to pat the dog.

Arandelle followed more cautiously. 'I'm confused,' she admitted. 'You mean Sirius Black, don't you? The man who murdered thirteen Muggles?'

'That's a lie,' Harry told her. 'That's what it looked like. He's really innocent - and he's my godfather.'

Arandelle nodded slowly. 'I'll take your word for it. He doesn't look much like a godfather but if you say so ...'

'He's an Animagus,' Harry said. 'Only a handful of people know that. That's how he's escaped from the Ministry of Magic all this time. They've been looking for a human. Most of the time, Sirius Black is a dog.'

Sirius licked Harry's hand affectionately, but stared at Arandelle with his glossy eyes.

'It's ok, Sirius,' Harry reassured him. 'Arandelle is a friend. We can trust her.'

The dog looked dubiously up at Harry, then, with a flick of its head, turned back into his black-haired, tall human form.

Arandelle gasped, more in delight than in surprise. 'So that's how you do it!' she cried, her amber eyes shining.

And with that, she turned herself into a phoenix.

The fire bird's incandescent glow lit up the shallow cave and a good part of the outside forest as well. Harry was stunned by his friend's sudden transformation but Sirius seemed unperturbed.

'Congratulations,' he told the phoenix. 'Becoming an Animagus is no easy task. It looks like you've done your homework.'

Arandelle's amber eyes glowed, even in the shape of a phoenix. She flapped her red and gold wings, rising up into a higher part of the cave. With a squawk of delight, she dipped her wings and flew out of the cave itself and into the forest where she could float much higher.

'Arandelle!' Harry called, hurrying after her. 'You come back here, right now!'

The phoenix gave him what could only be described as a disgruntled look. Grudgingly, it headed back towards the cave, soaring past Harry, and landed on a rock.

'How did you do that?' he demanded of the bird. She opened her beak and let out a heartbreaking note of the Phoenix Song.

'Don't give me that,' he snapped, but he softened just a bit. 'Change back into your normal form so that we can talk.'

Sirius stepped forward and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. 'She might do what you ask this time, Harry, but that will be last time you ever order a phoenix around. They're very powerful and even if they are faithful, they're not very forgiving.'

'She's not a phoenix,' Harry persisted. 'She's human.'

'In her real form, yes, but once she is a phoenix, only she can decide when she's going to turn back. Nothing in the world can alter your perception of free will - except maybe the Imperius curse. But it's quite hard to put an Imperius curse on some animals and I've seen people try.'

At that moment, Arandelle changed back into her black haired, golden eyed human form. 'You have absolutely no idea what it's like to fly like that,' she emphasized. 'It's brilliant. It's nothing less than utterly brilliant.'

'How did you know how to become and Animagus?' Sirius questioned, curiously. 'Did you study the books all by yourself? Or was there something that James and I missed when we were trying?' He deliberately glossed over the word 'Peter'.

'Have you told him about the prophecy, Harry?' Arandelle asked. 'It's sort of got something to do with that.'

'You'd better sit down,' Harry advised him. 'This could take a while.'

And so Sirius was informed of the prophecy and everything they knew about it. The Animagus' eyes continued to widen as Harry's tale progressed and they constantly flickered from the elated Arandelle to his godson and back.

'You seem to have a lot to do with phoenixes,' Sirius noted at the end of the tale. 'Is that how you figured out how to become
one?'

'Actually it's not,' she admitted. 'I was advised how - by some friends of mine. The owls, actually.'

Harry stared at her, startled yet again by his surprising friend. 'You can talk to birds?'

She nodded. 'It's not that hard, really. And I'm not trying just trying to make it sound easy. Most people don't bother to listen to birds carefully enough to understand them, but if you take the time, they actually have some interesting things to say.'

'I don't really bother listening to birds,' Sirius admitted. 'I find the company of mammals more likable and less full of chatter.'

Arandelle grinned mischievously at him. 'How true.'

'How did they know how to become an Animagus?' Harry persisted, intent on getting the answer.

'They didn't tell me everything, of course,' she said. 'But many of them had seen people turn into animals. They didn't know
exactly how it was done but they told me what they saw. Birds have excellent eyes. A hawk can see the thousands of little moves we make that we aren't really aware of. Our thoughts are portrayed in our movements. That's how they knew about the process. I just needed see someone do it for myself. Professor McGonagall refused when I asked her, because I wouldn't tell her what I was doing.' She turned to Sirius. 'Thank you.'

From the tentative smile on his lips, Harry could tell that no one had really thanked Sirius for a long time. 'Uh ... No problem ...' he returned hesitantly.

Harry grinned at Sirius' sudden shyness. Then, his smile faded. 'Sirius, Professor Lupin, Peter Pettigrew -' Sirius flinched, not unlike the movement that Ron made whenever Voldemort's name was mentioned. '- sorry,' added Harry hastily. 'Anyway, you lot and my Dad know more about Hogwarts than almost anyone else.'

'Remus is no longer a teacher,' Sirius pointed out gently. 'Or at least, not an official teacher. He's just Remus now, or Lupin as you might call him.'

'Sorry.'

'Don't apologize to me, Harry, I just thought I'd point it out to you. Anyway, what were you saying?'

Harry tried to pick up his train of thought again. 'Um ... You wouldn't happen to have any idea where these Wands are hidden?'

Sirius thought silently for a moment, his forehead wrinkled. 'Their center of power, that's what the Sorting Hat said?'

Both Arandelle and Harry nodded.

'I have no idea,' he admitted. 'I have a hunch that the Wand of Water will be somewhere in the lake - protected by the giant squid or something like that. The Wand of Earth could be anywhere .... probably buried under a mile of dirt. The Hogwarts grounds extend for many miles, Harry, you could be digging for a while. I have no idea where the Wands of Wind or Fire could be.'

'There's no volcano nearby, is there?' Arandelle suggested, smirking slightly.

Sirius gave her a queer look. 'Not that I know of.'

'I was kidding.'

'Oh.'

'The Wand of Wind could be extended up in the air, couldn't it?' Harry asked, half-heartedly.

Sirius shrugged. 'It's very possible. Nothing is impossible, especially in these matters.'

'There are things that are impossible,' Arandelle disagreed accusingly.

He raised an eyebrow at her. 'Like what?'

'I don't know. Like it's impossible for the sun not to rise tomorrow?'

'And why is that not possible?'

'Because it's happened for thousands of years before now. It rose today,' she pointed out.

'But does that mean it's going to rise tomorrow?'

She pondered. 'I guess not,' she admitted.

Sirius smirked. 'See? The fact that it's risen trillions of times before doesn't mean it's going to happen again. It just increases the odds of it happening.'

'But won't the odds get stacked so high one day that it will be come impossible for it not to rise?' she argued.

'We might want to talk about that, one day,' Sirius smiled. 'I have a lot of free time to think so I'll probably have an answer in a few years.'

'Where's Buckbeak?' Harry asked, suddenly.

'I left him outside Hogwarts,' Sirius replied. 'I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring him inside the grounds in case he
wanted to go and see Hagrid.'

'Good thinking.'

'Speaking of which, I think I might have to go soon. Buckbeak tends to get restless and destructive when I'm gone too long.'

'Didn't Dumbledore want to talk with you, though?' Harry pointed out.

His godfather shrugged. 'I can come back later. I'd better go there to check on my resident Hippogriff first though. I'll walk you back to the castle.'

'People might see you if you walk around like that,' Harry reminded him.

'I'll change when I get to the edge of the forest. Come on. You have classes to get to, remember? And lunch, of course. That's
more important.'

'Truly,' Arandelle agreed whole-heartedly.

They walked in silence from the cave, following the dirt trail as it wound its way back to the Quiditch pitch. At last, the trees began to thin out and they found themselves walking on grass instead of packed soil.

'Here's where I say good-bye,' Sirius told them both. 'I can't talk very well in my other form.'

He turned to Arandelle first, who looked at him with a sort of respect. 'Good-bye, Arandelle. I'll send you a Christmas present.
There's something I saw once that would be perfect for you. I wonder if it's still there ...' He grinned and held out his hand to her in a gesture of parting. She shook her head and curtsied rather prettily to him. He laughed out loud.

'You act as if I'm sort of god,' he chuckled, his face lightening considerably. 'Don't do that. It arouses kingly urges in me. I'll start ordering people around if you keep that up.'

Then he turned to his godson. 'Good-bye, Harry,' he said simply. Then he broke into a grin. 'Did you like that penknife I sent you last year? I couldn't think of anything else. You already have an Invisibility Cloak and a Broom to rival any world champion's. I could send you a pet dragon if you want.'

'The knife was great,' Harry assured him. 'Hedwig might get a bit jealous if you get me a pet dragon, though. You'll think of something, Sirius.'

He hugged his godfather and then shook hands with him. 'I'll see you again soon,' Sirius told him firmly. 'Until then, keep out of trouble and try not to kill yourself or get in Voldemort's way. Send an owl if you need anything. I'll come back as soon as I can
if you need me.'

He smiled at them both and transformed himself into the giant black dog that he was so fond of. Together, Arandelle, Harry and the dog made their way across the pitch. Sirius licked each of their hands with his rough tongue and padded across the grounds to the enormous gates and out of sight.

Harry sighed a little sadly. 'I wish he wasn't so hunted like that.'

'He'll be free one day, Harry,' Arandelle assured him quietly. 'Dumbledore will make sure of that.'

And together, they walked up the stone steps into the castle that was their school.