Harry Potter and the Keeper of the Portals

Chapter two.

Although Harry's ensuing few weeks in Grimmauld Place was uneventful, they were some of the best days of his life.

He, Ginny, Ron and Hermione had played Exploding Snap, talked to Blaise about the D.A. meetings and the different spells they used, stayed up all night talking about the prophecy and Lord Voldemort and what on earth was behind the door that only Harry could open.

Harry already knew what was behind the door but her felt not to share it.

This made Harry slightly uncomfortable.

He would stay awake, wondering at night that, if the prophecy was true, did he really have powers that the Dark Lord did not? And what was he supposed to do with them?

He would talk to Blaise about this.

"Well," she said knowledgeably, "there was always something there that precious little few have had before you."

"But what does that mean?"

"I used to work in the Department of Mysteries and there were always thousands of prophecies," she explained. "Many others would have powers that others would not have. Like yours for instance."

"What did you in the Mysteries department?" Harry asked.

"Sorry," she said hurriedly. "I'm forbidden to tell anyone."

Harry decided to leave it at that.

She reminded Harry of an awful lot of people. She was like Hagrid with her love for creatures, like Hermione with an amazing amount of cleverness, like Dumbledore as she was tall and gave a sense of power and like, though Harry hated to admit it, she was like Draco Malfoy, as she could be sharp and cutting with her words.

He recalled an incident that Blaise had been so cutting it delighted Harry so much that he, Ron and Hermione would stay up all night laughing about it.

It happened when Snape decided to poke his abnormally long nose into the house. He merely walked through the door and took no notice of Harry, Hermione and Ron making towers form the exploding card deck.

He strode into the room where Blaise and Lupin were sitting. He just took one look at Blaise and screamed out, "YOU?"

"Me," she said.

"How dare you come here after what you done?" Snape shouted.

"What is your problem?" she cried.

"What the HELL are you doing here?" he roared.

"I'm here for Dumbledore," she began. "I'm the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, didn't you hear?" she sneered. Harry, Hermione and Ron had cocked their heads around the door to find Blaise towering over Snape; each of them bore a look of pure loathing.

"It's not even your house, anyway, you disgustingly greased sweat pig!" Blaise continued.

"You can't be trusted," he cried, pointing an accusing finger at her, "because we all know that you... you... work for him you... snake!"

"That is a common misconception!" Hermione blurted out.

"Oh shut up, you stupid girl!" he rounded on Hermione. She fell silent.

"She's not stupid," Blaise interrupted, "she is highly intelligent, and anyone who can't see that is obviously less intelligent, jealous or just downright ignorant."

Snape gave her a look of pure loathing.

"How can people respect you," he sneered, "you have such power and I have yet to see you do anything good with it. It is clear, in this, that we wizards are the more powerful ones!"

"That's pretty rich coming from you when Harry's father," she pointed to Harry, "used to be able to bounce you around the Hogwarts castle walls!"

Harry was delighted to see that that shut Snape up! He shot her a look of pure venom. If Snape had looked at Harry that way he would be running very fast in the opposite direction screaming something about bloody murder.

Snape conjured a very old version of the Daily Prophet on the table and said; "See if he trusts you when he looks at this."

He then walked out of the room, his black robes billowing behind him.

Blaise merely pulled a face at his back and picked up the paper. Her eyes shifted through it. She pulled another face and threw the paper on the table.

"Like that even matters any more!" she burst out angrily. "It's all over now!"

Hermione quickly picked up the paper and read it when Blaise had went storming out of the room.

She gasped.

Harry and Ron came over and read the paper with her. It was a smiling picture of Blaise. It read:

Ministry Official Turns Bad.

Earlier today at 13:45, Blaise Raven, current Unspeakable, was found trying to break into a top-secret room in the Department of Mysteries. Barty Crouch had this to say, "The gorgon is currently in custody today. We have evidence of another attempt of a break in, but that is strictly confidential."

Mr. Crouch is known to hate and despise anything to do with the dark arts. He looked none too happy with the ordeal at all.

"We believe she may be working for He who Must Not be Named," said Crouch, although people may believe that his act would be of inequality, he is right in saying so for, "her appearance practically gave herself away."

The room in question is now being searched for any sign of a force or anything taken. The court case is to be held on the 15 of October 1988.

All Blaise Raven had to say was "It's a crying shame that wizards put two and two together and end up with twenty five! Half snakes have been used for scapegoats for a millennia and this is the last straw. And I'm not a gorgon!"

Blaise came back into the room. She quickly slithered over to them and snatched the paper out of Hermione's hands.

"That was a long time ago!" she said, worriedly. "I wasn't convicted, because there was later evidence of an order for me to try and open that door. It is partly my fourth power. You shouldn't believe all what that slimy, stupid, ugly git tells you." and with that she sidled off.

"Well," started Ron, "at least she whooped his butt!" and with that they all started laughing.

Later that day, they had all received packages from Mrs. Weasley that contained all their necessary school supplies and a good luck card (just for Harry). He didn't dare show this to Ron but he was deeply touched.

Though Harry did not want to leave with Mr. Weasley, he was slightly glad to go back to Hogwarts as everything in Grimmauld Palace reminded him Sirius and he had enough grief already.

He loved the house because it reminded him of Sirius but he hated it for that reason also. It was such a vicious cycle.

He slowly put his trunk in the magical boot of the car and took one last look at Grimmauld Palace. He was going to miss it, but he would come back next time, wouldn't he? Not if I'm killed this year, he thought bitterly.

Blaise clapped a hand on his shoulder, her tail swishing excitedly behind her and said, "Look, don't grieve, be happy. You're going home at last!"

This did cheer Harry up slightly, but he felt like he was moving away from his real home.

"Come on," growled Moody. "Anyone could be watching! We will meet Tonks at the platform and you will make the rest of the way there with Blaise."

His magical eye was swivelling in the direction of Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Blaise and Moody all squeezed into the magical car. Harry and Ron talked about the Qudditch season, while Hermione talked to Blaise. She was asking her questions about some of the things she saw in the Department of Mysteries and asked her what some of them were for. She would tell her over and over again that most of it was classified and refused to tell any secrets about it. It reminded Harry about Area 51 and Roswell, but she said that the Department of Mysteries could be to Muggles; Area 51 and that now and again projections of it would appear out of know where. Area 51 was just a silly Muggle explanation for odd things happening.

"For example," she would explain, with Hermione hanging on her every word, "witches and wizards would think it was a practical joke to use a spell to make themselves flying on a broom look like an alien space ship."

"Silly muggle baiting!" butted in Mr. Weasley, slightly angry.

It was quite a while before they reached Kings Cross station and they loaded all their heavy trunks and equipment onto the carts provided.

"Wotcher Harry!" Tonks smiled as they walked into the station.

Her hair was a bright blue and as she walked with then to the platform she got funny looks from people and they whispered to each other, "Oh she looks dreadful! Just look at her hair, if that is what she calls it!" "Honestly, what people will do theses days just to look cool!"

Her cheeks went slightly red as if she longed to morph her hair a more normal colour. She resisted but frowned.

Harry felt really sorry for her. She actually looked kind of pretty in a gothic sort of way.

The whispers for Moody were even worse. "Oh, what happened to his face?" and, "ugh, look at that!"

Moody ignored them as if they were mere flies buzzing noiselessly around his head.

Blaise hung on to Harry's shoulder, afraid to be seen or bumped into as she was wearing an invisibility cloak.

They finally got to platforms 9 and 10. Harry was so used to Fred and George being there and making jokes, but they were not. It was slightly empty and quiet without them.

"All right," Moody started again, "Harry, you come in with me, Ron..." he started giving the others orders. Harry leaned casually through the barrier with Moody holding his arm with a scabbed hand.

He came in front of the magnificent scarlet engine billowing steam and the crowds around were chattering noisily.

He quickly said goodbye to Moody and shoved his trunk into the nearest compartment, to save a seat for everyone. He leaned out the window to beckon them forward.

When they were all settled in, Ron and Hermione had to go the Prefects compartment, so it was just Harry and Ginny left there.

The train started with a funny jolt and they waved out the window to Moody and Tonks and Mr. Weasley.

"So..." he started uncomfortably, "you're going out with Seamus, right?"

"Yep," she said and took the Daily Prophet out of her bag and began to read it.

It was quite a while before Hermione and Ron got back, but when they did they brought barrels of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and a cauldron full of cauldrons cakes.

They all ate them cheerily and argued about which flavours the beans were.

The atmosphere dropped like a paralysed fwooper when Malfoy stomped by, "So, back again are we?" Draco Malfoy said flanked by his two troll-like cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle who were laughing stupidly.

"I thought you would have stayed well enough away because now that he is out, the first place he'll look is Hogwarts," he said with a smirk so big it would make The Cheshire cat jealous.

"Who, Voldemort?" Harry asked deliberately. They all flinched at the name.

"What, afraid to hear you dad's friend's name?" Hermione said.

"Oh shut up you filthy little mud..."

"What's going on here?" Blaise asked, poking her head around the door. Draco looked her up and down with his eyebrows raised. He had a look of someone who was going to vomit violently.

"And," Draco rounded her on, "who are you?"

"She is the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher." Ginny explained without looking up from her paper.

He very nearly jumped up out of his skin.

"Oh sorry!" Blaise apologised and lifted up one of the snakes that was slowly inching it's way around Draco's shoulders. "That usually happens when they find someone they like." she tapped it impatiently on the head. Malfoy looked faint.

"Well if you are not joining Mr. Potter and his friends," she said while taking on a face quite like McGonagall's, "then I suggest you leave."

"But of course eh... professor!" he sassed and with that they left. Blaise retreated in the opposite direction.

"Idiot!" Ron muttered. They all murmured in agreement.

Soon, the sky started to darken and Hogwarts castle was in sight. Its turrets and towers gleamed in the night sky against the brightly lit moon.

They all moaned with the thought of the beautifully rich food.

Harry watched, admiring the castle and its grounds down to the last blade of grass.

"Home,"