Harry Potter and the Fantasy Quest

Chapter 3 - Naughty Naga

Harry had not been on his watch more than half an hour when he heard a stirring in one of the tents. Shortly thereafter, George came to join him.

"I don't seem to need any more sleep," he explained. "I thought I'd come keep you company."

He sat down beside Harry and just stared into the fire for a little while.

"So, what do you think of all this?" George said at last, waving his arm to encompass their entire surroundings.

"I've been thinking about that," admitted Harry. "Actually, I kind of like it. Here, I'm right in the middle of things, instead of stuck wondering what's going on. And anything is better than the Dursleys."

"It's certainly a lot more cheerful than Grimmauld Place," George agreed, gazing over to where the sky was just beginning to lighten in the east. Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "Even with getting mauled by gigantic wild animals."

"Grimmauld Place?" asked Harry curiously.

"It's where we've all been staying. The headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix."

"What's that?"

"The secret group that's been organized to fight You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. Just like the last time, only some of the players are different. We don't really know much more than you, though. Fred and I have been kept out of things because we're 'too young.'"

"But has anything happened? You know, any attacks?"

"Not a thing. Dad and Mum think You-Know-Who is gathering his strength before he acts."

They were silent for a while, then George, apparently bored, snapped his fingers, and a spear appeared in his right hand.

"Where did you get that?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Oh, I've always had it," said George. "I just haven't needed to use it yet. Watch this." With that, he made it disappear and reappear several times.

"It's a Glove of Storing," George explained. "It will hold one item. Not as impressive as a Fireball, perhaps, but still pretty cool."

Harry nodded his agreement, but he was inwardly smiling. He hadn't actually seen the Fireball George had cast earlier, but he had seen the results. Apparently, the twins still had their taste for mischief and mayhem.

"I kind of miss my reflexes," Harry said then.

"How's that?" asked George.

"Well, I'm used to being able to move quickly, you know. Here, I'm a little sluggish. At first, I thought it was just the heavy armor, but tonight, I was fighting without it, and I still felt slow." Then he laughed. "I guess the perfect vision and incredible strength make up for it, though."

George frowned as he thought this over.

"I feel as strong and quick as I ever was," he said. "My brain doesn't seem to work quite as quickly, though. I don't think I've become suddenly stupid; I just don't feel as sharp as I used to be. I can do magic, but only a few spells, although I have to admit that some of them are pretty amazing things they didn't teach us at Hogwarts. Overall, I think you made out better than I did."

There was a pause then because Harry really didn't know how to answer that. Afterwards, they conversed about random topics until the rest of the camp began to move about. Harry found that he didn't really have to wake anyone. As though an alarm had gone off inside everyone's heads, they all began moving at about the same time. They had some breakfast, several meditated for a while, and they began to break camp.

"Hey, everyone, I just thought of something," said Harry, trying to get everyone's attention. "Since we will find a village today where we can make some purchases and do some trading, I have an idea. Can everyone bring together any items they have that they don't think they'll have a use for? Maybe we can combine them in exchange for something the whole group could use."

Everyone except Draco seemed to think this was a good idea and brought everything they thought was expendable. Harry was rather amazed by the way the group in general seemed to accept him as their leader. He didn't know that his charisma was considerably higher than normal, and since most of the group had been in the habit of looking towards him as a leader anyway, the transition was easy.

"Um...guys?" said Ginny curiously while they were gathering their items together. "Does anyone else think it's strange that the bodies of the lions and the other weasel just sort of disappeared?"

Harry looked around with everyone else, wondering why he hadn't realized it earlier. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but the bodies were definitely gone completely.

"Oh well," said Fred in his usual, easygoing manner. "No messy cleanup."

Harry frowned but turned his attention back to the magic items arrayed in front of him. For reasons he didn't understand, he knew the approximate value of everything that he saw, though he needed to ask the functions of a few of them. He himself had donated his two wands (Shocking Grasp and Summon Monster I; he couldn't see the use of them) and his Quaal's feather token (fan). The fan's only function was to create wind to push a sailboat, and since travel by water didn't look likely, it was easy to get rid of.

"I think the best thing we could do is trade this stuff in for a Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds," said Harry. "That would be beneficial to the group as a whole, in case something happens to Hermione and Ginny or they run out of spells."

There was a little argument to this, but in the end, they all agreed. All of the items were placed in Harry's sack because he was regarded as the most trustworthy one who could handle the extra weight. Most of the items actually weighed very little, but the cumulative effect still could have been a problem for some.

The group traveled for several hours uneventfully. Around midday, they came to a stream and stopped for a bite of lunch and to refill their waterskins. Shortly thereafter, they came to a road that took them out of the hills and into a wooded area. The road cut a wide swath through the forest. The farther they went, the larger the trees became. Suddenly, Harry heard a faint hissing sound, and flames erupted in their midst. Even as Harry instinctively dodged, he wondered if this were what a Fireball looked like. If so, it wasn't much fun from the inside. He only got a little burned, as did Ron. Fred and Draco, showing their uncanny reflexes yet again, appeared to escape unharmed. The remaining three, however, especially George, looked much the worse for wear when the fire had dissipated. Harry looked up and saw that a large, purple serpent with a humanoid head was coiled around a tree trunk and a few sturdy branches, perhaps twenty feet up.

Ron drew his bow with lightning speed, and both his arrows found their target. Fred also drew his bow and hit it with an arrow that exploded on impact. Draco took out a wand, and suddenly, there were four of him, all moving in exact synchronization, making it impossible to tell which was the real Draco.

"Diminish Plants!" Ginny cried out. All of the trees in the immediate vicinity, including the one holding the serpent-creature, shrank to one-third their size and appeared to be neatly pruned. This put the monster within arm's reach of the party. The creature hissed, "Shield," but it was not immediately obvious whether this had done anything.

"Magic Missile," said George, but an invisible force field seemed to absorb the energy. The creature's hideous face grinned maliciously as George stared in disbelief and Hermione cast a healing spell on him. Harry cast Bless on his friends and himself and drew his sword.

Ron fired two more arrows. The first one hit the creature, but the second was deflected by the force field. Fred tried his bow again, but the arrow was deflected. The Dracos came forward to attack but didn't connect. Ginny pulled a furry ball out of the bag at her side and tossed it in front of her. Her Dire Weasel approached the tree and tried and failed to bite the serpent. Another Fireball erupted on the path; Draco, being under the tree, was out of range. Fred, Harry, and Ron again dodged, while George, Hermione, and Ginny took the brunt of it.

"Cat's Grace," George muttered to himself. Hermione cured him again as Harry rushed forward and managed to slice the creature around its invisible shield.

At this point, Ron abandoned his bow, drew both swords in one fluid motion, and ran forward to slash the monster. Fred slung his bow over his back and drew his rapier. The Dracos hacked at the tail with their bare hands and appeared to hurt it. A lion appeared directly in front of the tree and clawed the serpent body as Ginny's shape began to shift and blur. The snake-thing's tail tried to sting Draco but apparently didn't connect with the real him. It also tried to bite Harry, only colliding against his armor. Hermione laid her hand on the shifting form of Ginny to heal her. Harry sliced the creature again, knocking it unconscious, and Ron lopped its head off.

The two friends stood for a moment, breathing hard, looking at each other with a certain amount of surprise and mutual respect. Shortly, the now-headless snake disappeared, leaving Harry free to look around a little more. A black bear now stood where Ginny had been, but even as he watched, its outline shifted again, and Ginny stood there, looking healthier than she had before she'd shapeshifted. She called to the lion, and it jumped back into the bag, shrinking as it jumped so that it fit perfectly by the time it reached the opening.

Harry looked below his feet and noticed a large pile of copper coins erupting from the roots of the diminutive tree.

"Hey, look!" said Fred, pointing and drawing the attention of the others. He and Harry pulled out the coins, but it seemed to never end. Thousands upon thousands of copper coins came from the gap between roots. They also found a vial of potion and something dark that appeared to be a folded piece of cloth.

"How are we supposed to carry all of this?" said Ron in a perplexed voice as Harry examined the cloth with equal puzzlement.

"Hey!" said George suddenly. "I know what that is."

He took it from Harry, unfolded it, and placed it on the ground, where it formed a round, dark place. To Harry's surprise, George then put his arm in it, which disappeared up to the shoulder, just like in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

"Portable Hole," George explained. "We can put lots of stuff in here, then fold it up and carry it so it'll weigh hardly anything."

"Is it made by ACME?" Harry asked dryly. It was somewhat wasted, though, as only Hermione caught the reference and giggled slightly. Everyone else looked at Harry like he had gone mad, so he just shrugged and let it go.

Hermione cast a few more healing spells while the others packed the coins into the Portable Hole. Because the potion vial was breakable, they decided not to add it. Besides, they hadn't identified it yet. George carried it instead.

The group then held a conference to decide what to do next. Some wanted to stop and rest for a while. Harry, however, reasoned that they must be fairly close to the village by now and wanted to risk pressing on until they got there. Again, he prevailed upon them, much to his surprise. George held out the longest, but when Fred agreed to go on, George gave in.

Hermione reminded Ginny to undo the spell she had cast on the trees, and Harry led the way down the road, hoping fervently that he had made the right choice.