Harry Potter and the Ruby of Karda

Chapter 6: The Potter Family Secret

Harry's mood didn't get any better over the weekend. By Monday morning, the whole school had known who the new Keeper was. At breakfast, six large screech owls had delivered Priya's broomstick, much as they had delivered Harry's broomstick four years ago. Even Ron joined the Gryffindors crowding around her, asking to see the broomstick. It was custom made for her, Priya told them, she had been riding it for the last two years. It was definitely very exotic looking, the handle was painted red, and inlaid with sparkling gems and mirrors, and the twigs glowed golden.

Only Hermione stayed away, she had her nose buried in a book and she was looking extremely worried. But Harry didn't wonder why, he was too busy trying hard not to feel jealous of Priya. Harry had been the first first-year to play in the Quidditch team for over a century. But that seemed forgotten, as everyone made a fuss of Priya, and admired her broomstick.

The first class of the morning was Potions; Harry made his way over to the dungeon that was the Potions classroom. He normally had no desire to get to Potions early, but today, he just had to get away. He arrived at the classroom over fifteen minutes early. The door was closed, Snape wasn't there yet. He stood waiting, trying to clear his mind of the jealousy that had engulfed him the last few days. "It is good that she's great at Quidditch," he told himself sternly. "We should win the Quidditch Cup this year for sure." But that didn't make him as happy as it should have.

"Why are you here, Potter, instead of admiring Manohar's broomstick like the rest of your stupid House?", a voice drawled, and Malfoy stepped into view, flanked as usual by Crabbe and Goyle. "Sod off, Malfoy", Harry responded. About the last person he wanted to deal with right now was Draco Malfoy. "Why, Potter, could you be jealous?", Malfoy laughed. "What's the matter, can't take the fact that you aren't the hottest thing on a broomstick any more?

Harry lunged towards Malfoy angrily, but luckily for him, the dungeon door opened at that moment, and Prof. Snape stood in the doorway. "Fighting again, Potter?", he said silkily, "that will be 10 points off Gryffindor."

Fuming silently, Harry entered the Potions classroom. When the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins had filled in, Prof. Snape handed them an instruction sheet that told them how to make an Invincibility Potion with dragon blood. "I have to attend to something", he said abruptly. "Keep working on your Invincibility Potion, I will test your potions at the end of the class. Any disturbances will earn you a Detention." And giving Harry a pointed look, he left the classroom.

They got to work on their Potions silently. Harry had partnered Neville, and he needed to concentrate on the Potion formula to prevent Neville from blowing up the classroom. Neville looked a lot more relaxed than he usually did in Potions, though. "Wonder why Snape left?", he commented cheerfully, as Harry stopped him from adding the Leaves of the Nightshade before the Dragon Blood had boiled for 15 minutes.

Largely due to Harry's efforts, their Potion tested fine at the end of the class. Snape looked disappointed, he made up by giving them enough homework for the rest of the week. "Due Wednesday", he said. The class groaned, as they saw their already limited free time vanish.

"Divination next", Ron announced. "Coming, Harry?"

"You go ahead, I'll catch up...", Harry mumbled. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he felt betrayed by Ron admiring Priya's broomstick. Ron gave him a peculiar look, but nodded and headed off. Harry detoured off to the bathroom. "Stop it", he told himself severely, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He really was being rather ridiculous. Yes, he thought, he wasn't the Quidditch star anymore, Priya certainly was the center of attention, but that didn't make him a worse player than her. "Besides", he muttered to himself, "we'll see how well she does in our first match." And he resolved to catch the Snitch in a most spectacular fashion. "I'll give everyone the best Quidditch match ever - let's see who the star is then." And nodding firmly to himself, he headed up to Divination.

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, but as the day passed, Harry began to feel excited. Amidst the appearance of the broomstick, he had forgotten, but this evening was their first Defense Against Dark Arts apprenticeship. In their class that afternoon, Prof. Manohar had set them to work on trying to reproduce her spell to create a force field. And to his great surprise, Harry had realized that the people with the most success with that spell were also the people selected for Defense Against Dark Arts apprenticeships.

They were in the passage outside the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom, waiting for Professor Manohar to show up. Ron was chatting with Hermione; he looked as excited as Harry felt. However, Hermione didn't look very excited; she just looked worried. Harry idly wondered how many classes she was taking this year. Next to Ron, Hermione was his closest friend, but she had a tendency to take her schoolwork very seriously.

He was going to ask Hermione exactly why she was looking so worried, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Prof. Manohar. She smiled at them. "Good, all here, I see.", she said, opening the door to the classroom. They trooped in after her, and took their places.

"This year", began Prof. Manohar, "we are going to do some extensive research into Force Fields. Now, I have done research on Force Fields like the one I showed you in class for many years. Many witches and wizards have the ability to create Force Fields to temporarily protect themselves. But these require a great deal of power to uphold. The ancient Indian texts tell us of a Force Field that protects for over a year. Imagine that. You cast a spell once a year, and you are protected from malicious harm throughout the year. Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione, who had raised her hand for a question, asked, "Isn't that the same thing as being immortal?"

"Good question, Miss. Granger. But no. A Force Field will protect you from harm, but it will not stop you from aging. It neither stops the spread of disease, nor does it stop the ravages of time. When the time comes for you to die, there is no Force Field powerful enough to stop that."

Prof. Manohar took a sip of water and continued, "Through extensive research, I have learned how to keep a Force Field up for over a day. Even when I am asleep. But then, it dies out. And it leaves me weak and drained. This year, we are going to try to learn how to keep a Force Field up for a week, and we want to get some kind of warning sign when it is about to die out." She handed them all copies of a thick book.

"You will notice that this book is written in Sanskrit. To be able to read it, I will first teach you a very useful little translation spell. Once you cast it, you will be able to read any written language for 2 hours. Get your wands out, please, and repeat after me. Matlab Bholo." Prof. Manohar lifted her wand up, and said those words softly, pointing her wand at her eyes. "Matlab Bholo." A pale blue light emerged from the wand, it lit up Prof. Manohar's eyes for a second, then disappeared.

Harry took his wand out, and pointed it at his eyes. "Matlab Bholo", he said. His eyes itched for a moment as the blue light shone in his eyes, then they cleared.

Ron had been eyeing Harry rather apprehensively as Harry tried the spell out, seeing that Harry was unharmed, he also cast the spell. "Weird feeling, isn't it?", he remarked. "Tingly."

Hermione shushed them sternly. She was poring over the book in front of her, which Harry saw was still written in Sanskrit, but now he could understand what the words meant. "Neat!", he exclaimed, reading his copy of the book.

Prof. Manohar cleared her throat. "Now that you can read the book, let me tell you something about it. It is a copy of an ancient Indian text on Magic that has been in my family for generations. The original text is over three thousand years old. I'd like you to split up, read the book, and see if there is any reference to sustainable Force Fields in it. We have many such books to read this term. I hope that with your help, we will find something in one of these books that gives us back the knowledge we once possessed." Prof. Manohar paused, and looked searchingly at the class. For a moment, Harry could have sworn she looked terribly, terribly sad. Then she straightened. "That's all for today. For homework, read the first chapter of the book. We will discuss what we have learned in the next class."

...

The Defense Against Dark Arts Apprenticeship had taken Harry's mind off Priya Manohar's Quidditch skills, and he was determined to keep it that way. But his resolve was severely tested that very evening. Harry wanted to go out to the Quidditch pitch to practice flying his broomstick, he was anxious to try out a maneuver he had seen Mr. Ajouer perform over the summer. But as he walked out to the field, he could see someone there already. It was Priya. She smiled and waved as she saw him. "Hey Harry", she said. Her skin was flushed and glowing, and she looked happy. "I really have missed flying", she confided. "I'm glad my family decided to send me my broomstick. Are you practicing too?"

Harry wanted to deny it and leave, but as he had his Firebolt with him, he could hardly lie. "I'll wait for you to finish", he said, not wanting to sound churlish, but hoping she'd get back to practice. But Priya was evidently in a chatty mood, she made no sign of getting back to practice. To make conversation, Harry asked her about her broomstick. "Patel and Lalwani", she said proudly. Harry looked blankly at her, and she explained. "Patel and Lalwani are Professors at the University of Bombay, they have been doing research into ancient racing brooms for over fifty years, my broomstick is a replica of one flown by Vayu over a thousand years ago."

Harry still looked confused. "Who is Vayu?"

"Indian Muggles refer to him as the God of Wind. But he was a very powerful wizard. He loved to fly, and turned the best minds of his time on researching broomsticks, and the science of flying." She straightened proudly and her face took on a haughty look. "He was an ancestor of mine, Vayu. It is fitting that I ride a broomstick modeled after his own. And someday, I will find his lost treasure, the tribute he was paid by thousands of worshipping Muggles. And there, along with his treasure, will be his lost broomstick. I will ride it to glory, like he did." Her eyes flashed coldly as she said this. Then suddenly she seemed to remember whom she was talking to. She laughed. "I'm joking, Harry. Fooled you, didn't I? Now, I have to go in. Good luck practicing..."

Harry shook his head. "Mad", he told himself. "She's off her rocker, that one." But that encounter had shaken him more than he would admit. There was something in Priya's eyes, it was a look he was convinced he had seen in Piers' eyes the night Piers had come to beat him up.

However, later on that night, he had to admit he might have been mistaken. He told Ron the story, and Ron wasn't very impressed. "I wanted to be a treasure hunter too... all kids want to find hidden treasure. She's only eleven, she's just being fanciful. Anyway, have you seen Hermione? The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up, and I want to ask her to come with me for a drink at the Three Broomsticks."

"We always go together, don't we? What do you need to ask her for", Harry said, rolling his eyes. Ron turned pink and mumbled that he needed to go to bed. Harry chuckled. Ron and Hermione had been acting normal lately, but it seemed like Ron had just been biding his time. The Hogsmeade weekend ought to be fun, he thought, as he also went to bed.

...

Tuesday was the day that Harry hated the most, he had Double Potions in the afternoon with the Slytherins. So far this year, Prof. Snape had been mostly ignoring Harry, but that changed in the Potions class. Prof. Snape had set them to work on a complicated Invulnerability Potion, it involved brewing two separate Potions and then combining them when they were at precisely the same temperature. Harry kept his head down, concentrating on his Potion, when something came whizzing through the air, and fell in his cauldron, turning its contents a sickening shade of green.

"That's your Potion, Potter?", Prof. Snape sneered. He seemed to have a knack of knowing when the Gryffindors were in trouble during Potions. "Let's try your Potion, shall we? No - not on you, how about on your good friends? Weasley, Granger, let's try this Potion on you."

Harry gulped. "Something fell into it, you can't try it out on them", he protested.

"Can't, Mr. Potter? I don't think you should be telling me what I can and cannot do... let's make that 10 points off Gryffindor, shall we?"

Hermione stepped forward bravely. Ron stood by her side, a determined look on his face. They each took a beaker full of Harry's Potion, and gulped it down. Much to Harry's relief though, nothing happened to them. They looked perfectly normal.

Snape frowned. He looked annoyed that something horrible hadn't happened to Ron and Hermione. He was going to take points off Gryffindor, Harry was sure, but there was an interruption. Someone knocked at the classroom door, and the door opened. It was Prof. Manohar.

"Severus, can I get those ingredients from you now?", she asked abruptly, "I need them rather urgently."

Prof. Snape smiled greasily at her. "Lakshmi, I was expecting you. I have taken the liberty of brewing the Potion for you."

Prof. Manohar raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, Severus, that's very kind of you. I'll wait here while you fetch it, shall I?"

Prof. Snape disappeared into his office to get the mysterious potion, Prof. Manohar glanced around at the students. She looked at Harry's Potion, then her gaze lingered at Ron and Hermione. Rather uncharacteristically, she grinned. "I don't think Prof. Snape would care to know you drank your Invulnerability Potion before you tried Potter's potion", she told them amusedly. "But it is just as well... Potter's potion looks like it will carry some unpleasant results... if I were to guess, I'd wager you would have started growing a tail... Amusing, but not quite the intended effect. Although, that tail would have been invulnerable..." She turned to face Prof. Snape, who had just appeared in the doorway of the classroom with a beaker filled with a golden steaming liquid. "Ah, Severus, good. That looks excellent. Thank you very much..."

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged curious looks as Prof. Manohar took the potion and left. "What could it be for", Harry whispered to Ron when Snape was occupied criticizing Neville's Potion.

Ron shrugged. "Beats me... who threw something into your Potion, I wonder? I saw it fall into your cauldron. Thank heavens Hermione came up with the idea of swallowing some of her Potion first. No doubt Snape thought it would be funny if we both grew tails."

Harry grinned. "Well, it would have been funny, but I'm glad it didn't happen. I bet Malfoy had something to do with it though. It's just the sort of thing he would do."

Hermione edged over to where they stood talking. "What could it have been?", she asked. "Maybe Prof. Manohar is a werewolf too", Ron replied, grinning. "Or a vampire. And Snape has brewed some potion that will prevent her from transforming in Defense Against Dark Arts class..."

Hermione punched Ron on his arm in annoyance. "I was being serious", she said frostily. Turning to Harry, she continued, "It didn't look like any potion I've ever seen or read about."

Harry raised his eyebrows. If Hermione had never seen or heard about it, that made the Potion very rare. "Maybe you can find out in your next Potion apprenticeship.", he suggested.

...

After that eventful Potions class, Harry had to rush off to Quidditch practice, Ron wanted to come too, but Hermione dissuaded him. "I need to talk to you", she said, looking very serious. Harry smiled to himself, maybe Hermione was going to ask Ron to go with her to the Three Broomsticks?

Fred and George were the only ones on the Quidditch field. "Hello, Harry", they hailed, as soon as they say him. Fred looked at him slyly. "What's the next trick, Harry? We were just planning ours." Harry, who knew Ron and Hermione hadn't even started thinking about the next trick, just tried to look mysterious. They spent a couple minutes chatting about the tricks they would play on Snape if they got the chance, laughing at the idea of Snape in the Stuffed Vulture Hat that Mrs. Longbottom, Neville's grandmother regularly wore. Then Angelina, Katie and Alicia walked out to the field.

"Where's Priya?", Angelina asked. "She's going to be a few minutes late, I think.", George replied. "We had Defense Against Dark Arts, and Prof. Manohar mentioned it."

"Well, lets get started then. I've found out our first match is in a couple weeks, we are playing against Ravenclaw. Cho Chang is their new Captain, and I know she's found some great new players, and they have been practicing hard. We have to beat them."

They started practicing. About 15 minutes into the practice, Priya joined them. She looked pale. "Sorry I'm late", she said, as she mounted her broomstick. They stopped to watch her fly her broomstick. It was fast, that was certain. Harry reckoned it was about as fast as his own Firebolt. But that was until Priya pressed one of the gems on the handle, then the broomstick suddenly accelerated. "Its not much use when you are Keeper", she yelled over the noise of the wind. "But I used to play Chaser, and it was great for that." It looked like she was going over 200 miles an hour. Harry felt that familiar pang of jealousy. She was controlling the broomstick beautifully, and she looked like she had spent her entire life flying. They watched for a couple minutes, then they resumed practice. Angelina had a lot of complicated charts that she went over with them, of various maneuvers they had never tried out before. Overall, it was a good practice, but as Angelina pointed out, the! y couldn't afford to get complacent. "We don't know what Cho Chang has in store for us...", she said grimly. "But we are going to win. We have the best Keeper ever. And the best Seeker, great Beaters, and great Chasers. That Quidditch Cup belongs to us, and we will win it, no matter how hard we have to practice."

The practice over, Harry set off in search of Ron and Hermione. They weren't in the Common Room, then Dean mentioned he thought he had seen Hermione in the library. Typical, Harry thought as he made his way to the library. He met Nearly Headless Nick on the way, and chatted with him for a couple of minutes.

Ron and Hermione were indeed in the library, they were sitting in one corner, looking very serious and grave. "Is something wrong?", Harry asked, as he joined them. Hermione exchanged a sober look with Ron. "Harry, sit down, won't you. We have some bad news for you."

Harry sat, fighting a sudden feeling of dread. "Harry", Ron started, then looked helplessly at Hermione. "Hermione, you tell him."

Hermione swallowed. "Harry, I was reading this book from the library." She pointed to Famous Dark Witches and Wizards of the 20^th Century. "Harry, I found this." She opened the book to a page she had marked. It had a picture of a wizard with dark hair and green eyes. He scowled at them. Harry's eyes moved to the text underneath.

Richard Potter

Many dispute that Richard Potter was a Dark Wizard. This much is certain, though, Richard Potter was responsible for the rise of almost all of the Dark Wizards of this century. Both Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort studied with him at his Institute of Experimental Magic.

Richard Potter researched into Dark Arts in his quest for knowledge. He was noted for his research on Necromancy, Resurrecting the Dead, and Zombification. He might not have ever intended to use this knowledge, but the graduates of his Institute had no such hesitation. Much of the havoc Lord Voldemort wreaked came from knowledge he had learned at the Institute. Lord Voldemort's peculiar mastery of the Imperius Curse was widely believed to have originated at the Institute.

Richard Potter was very well paid by Lord Voldemort for the research he did, the money he received from Lord Voldemort funded future research. At the time of his death, Richard Potter's personal fortune was estimated at over 1 Million Galleons. But it was money believed to be cursed by the souls of the people who had died because of the research Richard Potter did.

Hermione looked anxiously at Harry before continuing. "I looked him up further. Harry, he was your grandfather's brother. Your great-uncle."

In the background, Harry could hear laughter. But he could barely register it. He couldn't breathe. This was why he was rich. "I have to go", he said, rising abruptly.

"No, Harry, stay and talk with us.", Hermione pleaded. Ron stood up too. "I'll come with you.", he said firmly.

"No", Harry said. He looked at them. "I need to be by myself." And with that, he walked out.

He walked for hours, all over the castle. His stomach was churning, he wanted to be violently sick. He now knew where the money in his Gringotts vault came from. Blood money, he thought. Money he had been spending happily was money that Voldemort had paid his great-uncle. Money his great-uncle had used promptly to research more ways people could be killed and controlled. How could Dumbledore and Hagrid not tell him, he thought angrily. They must have known. He wanted to leave the Wizard world. Better live life as a Muggle, with the Dursleys, he thought darkly, than live with the deaths of so many on his conscience.