Harry Potter and the Trail of Stars

A/N: Hey everybody, I'm really sorry this update took so long. I just want you guys to know that since school just started and I have a really tight schedule, the updates can take anywhere from 1 week to 3 weeks. Please believe me that I'm writing as much as I can everyday, which really isn't much time. And please, it's really not my fault, and I hope you can understand. Please don't be mad. It also takes time to think, and you'll see what I mean later.

THE ARCHIMAGE AND NEW NEWS

And then the sky turned black...

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They all watched the sky from the window, eyes wide and glued to the spot, as though their lives depended on it. Darkness crept past the house, and journeyed on towards the west. The whole of the Earth was in complete blackness for several minutes, and during this time, no one spoke.

Wizards and Muggles from across the world felt the sudden chill and saw the blackness of the sky, not remembering if there was ever such an unexplainable phenomenon as this. Muggles had no record of this ever happening. Neither did the common Wizards and Witches, but of course, once something happens, there was always a possibility of history being repeated.

The Sun Phoenixes from the land gazed upward, and flew towards the sky. The Midnight Phoenixes joined their brothers in this mystical flight, unexplainable by the baffled Magical Creatures experts.

The white Unicorns gazed up at the sky, looking towards the same spot as their friends, the Phoenixes. They gently kneeled down, into an unmistakable bow, with their brilliant blue and white horns pointing towards the sky, as did their brothers, the Lumino Unicorns, with their glowing gold and silver horns. They were joined by their cousins, the Thestrals, who bowed, and followed their dear friends, the Phoenixes.

The Dragons and their brothers, the Snagons, all looked up to the sky towards that very spot, the spot in the sky which only magical creatures of the High Ones could see. Their cousins, the Serpents raised their heads towards the sky, and gave a small bow. The Eyes watched their brothers and cousins, and went to peaceful sleep, not looking at the sky with their very eyes, but in their minds.

Royal roars could be heard from the Griffins and their brothers, and the ones with wings joined the flight. Everywhere, the creatures of the High Ones awakened. While no other being could see into the sky, the creatures of the High Ones did, and they knew what to do, and what was taking place, for their ancestors passed on their stories and knowledge, telling them what to do when something like this occurs again because it was foretold that it will.

Following their lead, the High Ones did the same. They watched the sky below from the Elysium Clouds, and knelt down and bowed. Of all of them, two figures were the proudest. They gazed upon the Earth, and saw what they were looking for, and smiled. The Three Sisters looked up towards the stars, and nodded, and then looked down and bowed like the others.

The ones above and the high creatures all knew that he was not just the Lord; he was also something else, something to not yet be revealed until the time comes.

The sky was still black. Panic had risen across the earth. It seemed to many confuse people, that perhaps their God was upset with them, and this day would be the Armageddon. Nothing terrible has happened yet, and so many waited.

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"So it begins," muttered Lord Voldemort, looking out a window. "And Nagini has awakened, along with the others. But how, I wonder? Surely his Awakening shouldn't start this. But why? The Lord is just the lord. He should not be something else, but then how is this explained? How indeed..."

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There was a great celebration in the clouds, Harry could see. His vision blurred. Billions of faces watched him, the new Lord. He closed his eyes. He was in a dream. The clouds swirled around him as he watched. Their colors surrounded him, and the beam of light shown onto him. He could see nothing else but the light, and it spoke to him lightly.

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The room was dark, without light, and somehow they were calm. Without warning, the ceiling of the Grimmauld Place vanished, and they saw a white mist zooming towards them.

"Clouds," whispered Hermione, and they nodded. The clouds had changed to different colors.

"Clouds?" asked Ron. "Thought they were white."

"Clouds from the Elysium Clouds," answered Hermione, to the confused Ron. The clouds had floated towards Harry, and people standing near him stepped back. They watched as Harry closed his eyes, and the clouds swirled around him, looking like a multicolored tornado. They gasped. Some clouds had drifted up to where the ceiling used to be, and had started lightning. Each lightning bolt zoomed towards the tornado and into Harry.

"Fire Elemental," whispered Hermione. They heard her, of course.

"Are you sure? Are you sure this isn't some V-V-Voldem-mort plan to kill him?" Ron whispered back, eyes still staring at the place.

"The leaders aren't moving, so it can't be. Voldemortcan't control the Elysium Clouds, and this isn't really a weather event," Hermione whispered back. Not far from them, Neville was whimpering, having never been prepared to see this. When the tornado had started, Neville had yelped and jumped into Ginny's arms, and fell back on the floor. Now he looked at the scene with terrified eyes, and Ginny trying to calm him down.

"Th-then what's that swirlything?" asked Ron.

"Air and Earth Elemental. It's adding on," replied Hermione. And then it had started raining on the tornado. "Water Elemental." Ron nodded, not knowing what to say to this. It sure wasn't an everyday event. Meanwhile, back where the five leaders stood, Erupses sat back down on the floor, unnoticed by many people.

Then the clouds cleared away quite suddenly. Everything was peaceful again. Then a beam of gold light descended on Harry. People couldn't see where the other end of the light was, as they looked up at the sky. It seemed to come from a long way. They saw that Harry's eyes were opened again, and his head tilted up, as though there was someone in the light speaking to him. "I understand," said Harry.

"Who's he talking to?" people asked, looking for an answer from other people. They watched as the beam of light traveled away, and a light lighted up Harry, and he was now brightly glowing gold. Some people had shut their eyes because the light was so bright, and then it dimmed a tiny bit, so that they could see him. Harry was shining with golden light. The people watched with awe. Was the Awakening over? Nothing else was happening. The ceiling had reappeared. And the blackness disappeared.

The creatures had now gone back to their normal routines. The Awakening was over. It was now the evening, and the sky was dark blue. But Harry was still shining, and it didn't look as though the light would disappear from him. He blinked, and looked around, suddenly aware that their eyes were on him.

"Now, now. Please stop staring at the poor boy. He gets enough unwanted attention with his scar," started Aberforth, smiling at the boy.

"So mate! What did it feel like?" asked Fred, coming over to him and shaking his hand.

"Er...I dunno," replied Harry, unsure of how to explain what he went through. Words could not describe it.

"Harry, you being the Lord Magus must be kept a secret, so the light has to go. It may lead to questions from outsiders," said Gladria. Harry turned to look at her.

"You can't go around looking like this," said Grace. "Control the light." Now more people were confused, and had no idea what they were on about, but Harry seemed to understand, and they saw him close his eyes, and the light slowly went back into him.

"Good! Harry? Please do experiment with your powers," said Dumbledore.

"Please, Professor. Who was Harry talking to?" Hermione asked, thinking back to the beam of light.

"The Oracles always give a speech before the Awakening is finished. There is a different speech for each Magus," replied Dumbledore, now looking back to Harry, who seemed a bit disturbed, no doubt from the Oracles told him. "And if he wants to share what has been told to him, he can. But usually, what is said is for the Magus alone." Harry nodded.

"I imagine the Wizarding World must be in complete chaos!" exclaimed Amos. And people around him agreed. "For Christ's sake, there's going to be a total breakdown at the Ministry tomorrow."

"They will forget about it by tomorrow. Outside, there is a continuing shower of red sparks, which has been started again. They will make the people forget what they had seen once they see the sparks. Unlike the other spark shower, this is one that everyone will see, and once they see it, they will forget what has happened, and the sparks will then be invisible to them," Dumbledore replied. "It will not affect us," he added, "because Harry allows for us to remember. Voldemort is different. He will remember this, and the reason you all know. And he will be able to let his servants remember. And please do not badger Harry about what he had experienced. It is something that cannot be put in words, and it is something only the Magus knows."

"I believe you all want to give the boy your congratulations and blessings, but it's fairly late, and you should be getting on home," said Erupses, who seems to have recovered his strength. Dumbledore nodded to him. "Don't forget to practice resisting the Imperious curse. I'm sure Potter will be able to easily help you with that." Giving the house one more look of dislike, he stepped out of the room. The rest followed and left.

"That was interesting," said Luna. "It scared me. And Neville. He jumped into Ginny's arms and fell back on the floor. He was scared too. The Elysium Clouds must be a wonderful place." No one could think of an answer to that, and they let it pass in silence. Nevilled was staring at Harry, as though the Awakening would start again.

"Hmm...Harry? You tired?" asked Hermione. He shook his head. He felt just the opposite, and full of power. It was the most unimaginable experience, and he felt that he could do anything. "Good!" Hermione brightened up. "You and Ron still have your homework to do then." The two boys groaned.

"You really should get started, you know? And some of it's really hard," said Neville, and Hermione beamed at him. There was a sudden pecking at the windows, which opened instantly, and let in six brown owls.

"School owls!" exclaimed Ron. The owls left their letters to the six students, and flew out the window, which closed immediately.

"Well Harry. You seem to be practicing the Call pretty well," said Hermione, dryly. "Couldn't have used that time to do your homework?"

"Drop it" muttered Ron, frowning at Hermione, who then gave up and sighed. She opened her letters. There were three of them.

"It's the letter back to Hogwarts," said Hermione, reaching for the second letter. "List of books. Good Lord!" They didn't even have to ask her why, as they saw that there were two parchments for the list of books, and the new sixth years groaned again. Hermione then opened the third letter. She read the first couple of lines, and gasped and dropped the letter.

"What is it?" asked Harry. Hermione was pale.

"It-it's our O-O.W.L.s," she whispered. Ron's eyes widened, as he stared at the letter on the floor.

"What did you get? Did you see?" Harry eagerly asked, looking at the letter on the floor. With all the excitement and events that has happened lately, he had actually forgotten about the test results, and now he became extremely nervous. What if he didn't get enough O.W.L.s to become an Auror? What if he was unemployed when he grew up? What if he died before graduating from Hogwarts?

"No! I'm scared. What if I failed every subject?" She looked back at the dropped letter.

"Honestly, Hermione. You can't have. Just pick up the letter and see what you got," said Ginny.

"The O.W.L.s," whispered Ron. "Oh no. Don't tell mom they came in!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "No one else except Hermione is behaving like you. Neville hasn't made a peep about it."

"Oh yeah?" asked Ron, pointing to where Neville was standing, his face white, and eyes wide. He looked like he was in a petrified state.

"I'm sure you all did well. I'll check for you all what you got," said Luna, brightly. Ron shook his head, and opened up his letter with trembling hands. Harry felt sick again. The O.W.L.s. He was sure he must have failed History of Magic and Divination, and maybe some other subjects. Now that the results came in, he wasn't so confident about passing Potions anymore. His heart sank, as he stared at his letters.

"Go on, read it," said Ginny to Ron. He mutely handed the parchment to Ginny, who took it right away and read it silently. Harry watched Ron look fearfully at Ginny after she finished reading.

"Well, Ron. What were you expecting? How many O.W.L.s did you actually want?" asked Ginny.

"What d'you mean? I failed every one of them didn't I?" he exclaimed, head buried in his arms as he sat down on the couch.

"No, silly. Now answer my question," replied Ginny, looking amused. Ron looked up with higher hopes than before.

"Er...Wasn't really expecting much, you know? I figure I wanted to at least do better than Fred and George," Ron answered hesitantly, and then added, "So what did I get?"

"Well, you weren't really expecting to pass Divination, were you?" asked Ginny.

"No. Probably got a T after what I told the guy behind the crystal ball," he muttered, shaking his head.

"You should have given it up, like me," added Hermione.

"You got a T on the Divination Practical and a P on the writing part," said Ginny, looking back to the letter. "So that comes out to be a D, which is not passing. Well, here. It's your exam." Hand trembling, he reached out and took the letter.

"Seven O.W.L.s!" he exclaimed. "And I failed History of Magic and Divination. Didn't expect to get pass those, of course. Could have done better with the crystal ball though..."

"Well, well done Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's loads better than what Fred and George got. I expect your mom will be impressed."

"Well done. What did you get for potions?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Er...A, just passing. Reckon somebody else grade it. Snape would've failed us both for sure," Ron answered. Hermione frowned.

"I don't really think he's going to go that far to hating you to mess of your O.W.L.s and ruining your whole adult life. And for your information, he finished grading the tests the day we left Hogwarts. So there you go, Ron. He isn't such a bad person," said Hermione. Ron smirked, but intelligently avoided an argument, which Harry thought was a first.

"What did you get?" Ron asked Hermione. She bent to pick up the letter, and silently read.

"Ten," she replied, without any enthusiasm. Harry and Ron stared at her.

"Ten?" asked Harry, thinking that the full score was nine.

"Well, I did take one more test than all of you," she reminded them.

"But Hermione. That's full score!" Harry exclaimed, not really understanding what the big distress look was for.

"But I didn't get outstanding on some of them!" she squealed. Ron rolled his eyes upward, and kept silent, which Harry agreed was the smart action.

"I got Es for five of the O.W.L.s! I wished for more," she said. "But enough about mine. What about yours, Harry?" she asked, and seemed to recover a bit. He opened up the third letter and read it:

Dear O.W.L. student Harry Potter,

Your results have been sent back to you after being marked by your teachers. We are pleased to inform you that your score was among the top fifteen of your grade level, and it will be acknowledged when applying for a job. Below are the results of the exams, with the subject, grade for each part, the final grade for the subject, and the final result of your O.W.L.s. Note that the sign + means 'above the grade.' A score of less than P+ accounts as a failure. A score of P+ accounts as half an O.W.L. A score of above P+ is a full O.W.L.

O=Outstanding

E=Exceeding Expectations

A=Average

P=Poor

D=Dreadful

T=Troll

Care of Magical Creatures: Written: E Practical: E Final: E O.W.L. - 1

Divination: Written: D Practical: O Final: A O.W.L. - 1

Astronomy: Written: A Practical: A Final: A O.W.L. - 1

Charms: Written: A Practical: E Final: A+ O.W.L. - 1

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Written: O Practical: O Final: O O.W.L. - 1

Herbology: Written: A Practical: A Final: A O.W.L. - 1

History of Magic: Written: D Final: D O.W.L. - 0

Potions: Written: A Practical: A Final: A O.W.L. - 1

Transfiguration: Written: A Practical: E Final: A+ O.W.L. - 1

O.W.L.s Received/O.W.L.sTaken: 8/9

Once again, be proud of your results, and we hope to see you again this school term. Note: Exam graded by staff members and prospectors.

Sincerely,

Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House

"Got eight O.W.L.s. Failed History of Magic. Same as you mate," said Harry, when he finished reading. It was quite a relief, and he hadn't really expected to pass History of Magic and Divination anyway. Wait a minute... "Hang on." He read back to the letter. "I got an O.W.L. for Divination!" he exclaimed, looking to see his friends' expressions. Ron's jaws dropped and Hermione raised her left eyebrow in surprise.

"What? After what you've told the old prospector?" he asked, eyes wide, not believing it. Harry shrugged. Maybe this wasn't the results...

"Well done Harry! What grades?" Hermione asked.

"Er...a D for the written part and...an O for the practical part," he replied, after looking back to his exam results. How in the world could that have happened?...and after what he had told the prospector about meeting a soggy figure...It was another mystery, yet one that Harry wasn't about to complain about.

"Well done then!" said Ron, grinning.

"Well done, both of you!" said Hermione, cheerfully. "What about you, Neville?"

"I'll check it some other day," replied Neville, not wanting to know what he had gotten. Most of all, he rather thought he probably had the lowest score of the year. Hermione nodded, and understood.

"We lived through the exams. They weren't that tough. Now, come to think of it, I don't know why we were so nervous that week. We shouldn't have been so nervous...that probably brought our grades down a bit...now if I just study earlier for the N.E.W.T.s..." Hermione droned on, apparently not aware that no one was paying attention to her. Then Harry remembered something...the other two letters from Hogwarts. The first one was just about being welcomed back to Hogwarts. Then he started reaching for the second letter. Ron was quicker.

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed, after looking at the second letter, and he looked up at his friends. "These are at least two dozen more books to buy for this year!" Hermione suddenly stopped talking, and immediately brightened up.

"Oh yes! I'd forgotten about this. Books! I think some of these are for new classes. I expect we'll have to go to Diagon Alley for all of them. And it says here that books can be shared in pairs or threes. So, we can just share a book. And since Ginny's talking this subject this year, she can borrow our books," said Hermione.

"Er...How do you know these things?" asked Ron, looking mystified at her.

"Honestly, Ron. Don't you read? It's in the letter. It says that if siblings are taking the same course this year, then they can share. So, we'll only need one book for about three people, plus Ginny and Anna since they're your sisters," Hermione explained.

"Oh," replied Ron, burying his face in the list of books. "Can you believe this? Just look at this. Never mind. We probably got the same list of books. Here." He handed the letter over to Harry, who reached out and grabbed it with haste, and read:

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Dear Mr. Weasley,

In addition to your N.E.W.T. classes, you are required to purchase the necessary books for the exams, and also the usual course books. Please take into consideration that all N.E.W.T. books listed are mandatory and necessary for your N.E.W.T.s in your seventh year! For an important reason, all students will be taking all their classes except for Divination.

The N.E.W.T. Student Collection:

Advanced Transfiguration by Emeric and Emma Switch

The Dark Signs by ParanoPsych

Advanced Common Charms of Enchantment by Beatrice Charma

The Potion Arts by ElixSnape

Advanced Herbology by Venus Snape

Stargaze by SterlingGaze

Magical Marine by Kendra Clearwater

Rebellions of the Outsiders: The Impact on Today's Society by Lori Ann Binns.

Magical Realization Complete Set, Not Distributed For Public Use. Note: These books are extremely expensive, and we would advise you to share with two other students, and especially siblings. To buy the book, please show your id, which will be this book list:

Ready for Reality? by Grace and Hope Riddle

The Three Sisters by EstrinLuminost, Claire Voyanté, Seeress Fortune, and Cassandra Trelawney

Journey to the Past by Estrin Luminost and Forcantris Legend

Enter the Beyond by EstrinLuminost, Albus Dumbledore, and Gladria Luminost

The Dellachantris by Estrin Luminost and Grinch Figg

The Seven Companions by Grace and Hope Riddle

The Most Complex by Missy Time and Ruth Clockworth

The Inner Self by Grace Riddle and Emma Switch

Animals of the High Ones by Estrin Luminost

Counting the Stars by Cassandra and Stacy Sinistra

The Rare Gifts by EstrinLuminost and AlbusDumbledore

The Dark Ones by Grace and Holli Riddle

Devices of Long Ago by Estrin Luminost and Albus Dumbledore

Myths and Legends to Truth and Reality by Grace and Hope Riddle, and Crystal Clearwater

Other Course Books:

The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 by Miranda Goshawk

Vanishing Act by Countess Elaine Clearcrystal

Tales from the Dark Side by Lucia Psych

Dueling With the Master by Evana Duels, Feud Link, Argo Spellworks, and Kris Combatts

Dear Mr. Weasley,

The below list of books are for your career choice as an Auror. If you have any questions, please see me for details and answers, otherwise, please purchase the necessary books. You may have noticed the increase in books. More details will be given at Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor

Consider these books for your future career:

Stealth and Tracking by Hunter Orion

So You Want to be an Aurorby Alastor Moody

Spy Ways by AlastorMoody (see me for details)

How to Recognize the Dark Wizard by Alastor Moody

The Right Way by Rite Wizen (see me for details)

The Right Disguises by Dora Mask (see me for details)

Psychology: How the Dark Mind Works by Parano Psych

The Clever Mind by Lucia Psych (see me for details)

Other requirements for this school year include:

Christmas Dress Robes (the welcoming section, preferably any color except black and white)

A Blank Notebook (preferably non-parchment and at least two-hundred pages)

Muggle-wear (preferably three sets)

A Lion/Badger/Snake/Raven rosette, with the engraving, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Can be found in Diagon Alley)

Swimsuits (preferably blue or green and appropriate for going underwater)

Comfortable clothing (Preferable good for exercise)

Harry gasped. There were at least twenty new books this year, and a bunch of books on new subjects. And what were those other requirements for? He breathed, and tried to relax. He'll deal with it later, and hoped that his friends would just let him pay for all the books. And maybe he won't have to get them Christmas presents. He grinned, thinking about this, and then he thought of something else. He checked Hermione's book list.

"It's the same, really, except I'm taking more subjects, but here."

Harry read it, and it was pretty much the same, except she was taking more N.E.W.T. classes:

Number the Way by Count Numerrick Clearcrystal

Decipher the Cipher by Cody Analytic

And she had chosen a different career than Ron and Harry. Much to the surprise of Harry and Ron (who was reading over his shoulder and eyes wide), she had not chosen to take S.P.E.W. further. It was quite unexpected, and what she had chosen was quite different then what anyone would've expected, and Harry mentally smacked himself for not asking Hermione what she had chose in Professor McGonagall's office.

Consider these books for your future career:

The Art of Healing by Health Serabond

So You Want to be a Healer by Juno Jove

Gift of the Healer by Curesa Serabond (Optional)

The Right Solution by Anisma Snape

The Magic of Potions and Herbs by Elixira and Venus Snape

Encyclopedia of Illnesses and Diseases and Accident Caused Injuries by Persephone Serabondand (Lilanor) Juno Jove

"Hermione! You want to be a Healer?" asked Ron, looking awed.

Hermione nodded proudly. "Yes. I decided there are better ways of helping people, and I've invented a pretty useful spell for it too!" Neville looked pretty amazed.

"Wow Hermione. You'll be a great Healer. I've decided to become a Herbologist. I guess that's the only subject I really like," said Neville.

"That's great Neville," Harry replied, thinking it was a great thing for Neville. Herbology was the only class he always performed outstanding in. Ron and Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

"These N.E.W.T. books cost a lot," Ron muttered, and the others didn't know quite what to say to that. "And these other books aren't a picnic either, but I expect we'll divided the money evenly. And what about these other things, eh?"

"Well, I expect there'll be a lot of events happening at Hogwarts this year. I read in the Daily Prophet, that the annual school coin toss was won by Hogwarts, and another school. I'm not sure what this is for, but I'm sure some of these things have to do with that. I'm pretty sure I have no idea what the swimming and Muggle clothing thing is. I guess we'll find out at Hogwarts. And while you guys were reading my course list, I took a look at Ginny's, and she needs the robes, Muggle clothes, exercise clothes, and Hogwarts rosette too, so I expect that all the students need it," Hermione explained. "And we can probably buy these things when we go to Diagon Alley," she added.

"Didn't Mrs. Weasley buy our supplies last year? Wasn't it supposed to be dangerous for us to go there?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Sirius is coming with us, and some other Animagi. You didn't seriously think they would let us go on our own, did you? Oh Harry, you can be so stupid sometimes. Besides, we have to check out Fred and George's shop," replied Ginny. Harry looked taken back for a few seconds, but then remembered that Ginny had lost hope, and he grinned.

And so, Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the night watching Neville and Ginny doing an extremely well danced Tango, while Ron was humming a lovely tune. It seemed that after a couple of tries, they still couldn't overcome the Imperious curse, and it wasn't even quite strong. Ron had weakened the curse put on him, and that was certainly a good thing. Instead of the curse making Ron sing at the top of his voice, he must have weakened the curse, and was able to just hum softly. Hermione, however, had improved more. She was now able to resist it ten minutes after the curse was put on her. It was interesting to see the two dance without any error. And after about a couple of hours, the amusement had vanished, and Harry took the curse off after some disapproving looks from Hermione. And right after that, Ron and Harry were sent upstairs to do their long forgotten and irritating homework.

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And morning passed without excitement (unless if you counted the fact that Kreacher had planted dung bombs in every corner of the second floor, and when its inhabitants woke up, they were treated to the pleasant smell of dung bombs, and Dobby rushing back and forth around the second floor trying to clear everything up, but without any improvement, and Kreacher standing by and laughing so hard that his ears had wiggled violently and teeth starting to cracking from the pressure coming from his laughter, and finally, Sirius had had enough and sent the pitiful elf to the attic, and started on removing the smell, after performing the bubble-head charm on himself, and snapping at anyone who disturbed his work).

And if you didn't count Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley doing a funky dance after they found out Ron had gotten seven O.W.L.s, and declared a holiday ("Oh my little Ronnie off to become an Auror!"). But by lunchtime, the excitement had died out, and it was a quiet lunch, and conversations about this coming school year and supplies.

"Just a second, Harry. I've heard that the Muggles are working on something new. It's been all over the Mugglenews. See, I was lucky, and saw a glance of yesterday's paper. So tell me Harry. What exactly is A.I.?" asked Mr. Weasley, eyes glowing with interest. "I hear it's got something to do with intelligence of some sort."

"A.I.?" asked Harry, wondering how this came up.

"Do you mean...Artificial Intelligence?" asked Hermione.

"That's what A.I. stands for. They're probably trying to either invent a robot or a machine with human intelligence," said Harry, remembering a television show that he saw when he was at Mrs. Figg's house looking over pictures of Mr. Tibbles.

"Not really. They've been on that for years. Maybe one or two of their inventions have worked?" suggested Hermione.

"Whatever, Dad. You need to get a life," said George, shaking his head.

"No, no. I think I saw something on A.I. in a Wizarding newspaper. It was a small glance, but I caught the two letters," said Mr. Weasley.

"Well, I didn't see anything about it. Some kind of Muggle invention made the Wizarding news?" asked Hermione, frowning.

"Does the Wizarding world have anything like artificial intelligence? Any kind of machine or something that has intelligence like us?" asked Harry.

"No. It doesn't. Only Muggle are interested in machines. Wizards don't need them, but there are objects in the Wizardingworld that can do things and understand things, but they don't come close to being as complex as a human being," said Hermione.

"Well, I actually overheard Lucius speak about it to a stranger in Sinfield Alley. That was earlier this morning," said Mr. Weasley.

"Really?" said Mrs. Weasley sternly. "And what exactly were you doing down there? Isn't that place full of sinners and scenes of crime?" Her eyes flashed dangerously. Mr. Weasley flushed, and started fidgeting with his robes.

"W-well you see Molly, it-it's like this. Not all p-parts of the place are bad, and right in the center of the alley, there's a very handy Mugglestore that sells millions of things that Muggles use. For example, plugs, drills, contaskes lenses, conpooders, an-and other stuff," explained Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley didn't say a word, but breathed heavily.

"Contacts and...computers?" asked Harry, thinking maybe that was what Mr. Weasley meant by 'contaskes' and 'conpooders.' Mr. Weasleygave a nod, and looked bacl towards his wife, who was now breathing heavily, but decided not to argue again, for the sake of the children.

"Well that's not really the point. The machines are interesting. I don't know what Wizards would do with Muggle inventions," said Sirius, scratching his chin.

"Wait. Malfoy knowing about this does have some significance," Bill said suddenly, after some heavy thinking.

"What Malfoy knows, Voldemort knows," said Charlie, agreeing with Bill, and exchanging dark looks, and looking back at Hermione, who was in deep thought.

"And if there are machines with Artificial Intelligence out there, can they act and do and think exactly like one of us?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said Natalie.

Harry watched as Hermione's confused expression was replaced with a deep thought...and then horror...and then she paled.

"Oh my goodness..." whispered Hermione, "They're planning to build an army...and what better way to do it secretly behind Wizarding ears than to use Muggles?"