Ch 32 The Great Library
As November ended, Hermione noticed that Harry and Ron were spending a lot of time together, even more than normal. And Ron often looked very tired. Concerned about them, she spoke with Harry who brushed it off easily, explaining that they were just hanging out more, trying to take Ron's mind off of the coming full moon. The answer seemed logical enough, but there was still something that did not quite seem right, but Hermione was very busy with her school work and going over her research on Atlantis to make sure she hadn't missed any important clues.
On the eve of the full moon, it turned out that she was scheduled to do rounds, and therefore would be unable to go with the others to the Room of Requirement where Ron would be given his wolfsbane potion and allowed to spend the night. She felt very bad as she said goodbye as Ron and Harry headed up the stairs to the seventh level. The pair met Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape inside the room.
Ron looked at the Professors again, pleading his case one final time. "Harry and I both know I can control the transformation without the potion. I've done it before."
"Mr. Weasley, I understand and sympathize, but it is simply too dangerous to be taking such risks right now. We are looking into all sorts of different leads that might explain what happened a month ago. But until we are certain, we cannot take the risk that you might harm either yourself or someone else," explained Dumbledore sadly.
"But I can't hurt anyone here in the Room of Requirement. The room itself can be set up to protect…"
"That is enough Mr. Weasley. We have been through this same conversation a dozen times already. Here is your potion, now drink up," insisted Snape as he passed over a frothing goblet. Ron held it for a moment as the bubbling increased for a moment and then drained the cup before handing it back to Snape.
"Fine then. Are you going to tie me up like some stray dog then?"
"Of course not, Mr. Weasley. Please try and remember that we are only trying to help you," admonished Professor McGonagall.
"Don't worry Ron, it will all work out," insisted Harry, punching Ron lightly in the shoulder before following the professors who had already left out of the room, leaving Ron all alone.
Ten minutes later and four floors below, Dumbledore made a comment over Snape's grumbling directed towards Harry. "You have been very quiet this evening Harry. Up until tonight, you have been very adamant about the need to attempt to control the transformation without the potion, but you barely protested tonight…"
"The potion…" Snape suddenly stopped and Harry bumped into him, knocking his arm and causing the goblet to fall from his grip. Harry made an awkward attempt to catch the goblet, but his grip simply bumped the falling cup, sending it spinning to crash loudly on the stone floor. As the goblet rolled on the flag tiles, what appeared to be a small, yellow marble rolled out of it. Dumbledore and McGonagall turned to look at the commotion and Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Is that a…"
"A moon pearl!" hissed Snape. If it was in the potion before Mr. Weasley drank it-the potion has been neutralized. Moon pearls counter the effects of wolfsbane completely!" He then spun on Harry angrily. "Potter! What have you done?! You're behind this somehow-when I gave Mr. Weasley the potion, it began bubbling-you somehow slipped the pearl in his drink right before he took it! Of all the stupid, foolhardy stunts to pull, I would never…"
"Harry! What's going on? Did you and Ron…" began Hermione as she came running up with one of the Ravenclaw prefects trailing behind her. Hermione then stopped and whipped out her wand, her eyes narrowing in fear and anger. "You're not Harry! Who are you and where is Harry?!" she demanded, her wand aimed directly at Harry's heart.
Harry backed up a step, raised his arms up and then stumbled backwards, landing hard on his seat. When he looked up again, he saw the angry and anxious faces of three of the most powerful professors in the school as well as one very peeved witch.
"Neville Longbottom! What on earth are you doing? What have they done? Go on, spill it!" commanded Hermione.
"They're fine. They're both in the Room of Requirement. Nobody would listen to them so they decided they would provide a demonstration for you."
"They don't know if they can control it, despite their claims otherwise," snarled Snape.
"He can. I've seen him control it." There was a surprised silence as Neville continued. "They've been practicing in the Forbidden Forest. I saw Ron headed there late one night and I followed because I was worried about him. He met with Harry and the twins and he practiced transforming back and forth, I'm telling you he can control his werewolf form without a potion," explained Neville spiritedly.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly as McGonagall rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Mr. Longbottom, I'm not sure if that is one of the most foolish or one of the bravest choices you have ever made…"
"He's certainly a Gryffindor, all heart and very little brain," grumbled Snape, ignoring Hermione's snort of indignation. "We still do not know whether he can control his shape under the influence of the full moon however, when the urges of the wolf are strongest."
"You are correct Severus, we should check on them immediately," decided Dumbledore, and led the small
group back upstairs at a run. Dumbledore threw the doors of the Room of Requirement wide open to a room bathed in soft
light from a full moon visible in a large window on the wall. The room was a wreck, claw marks everywhere indicated
that the entire room had served as a huge scratching post for the three large cats that were currently growling and
hissing and rolling and wrestling on the floor.
While Hermione and Dumbledore tried to maintain a stern look while watching the playful cats, McGonagall roared out "ENOUGH!!" The largest cat, nearly twice the size of the other two, froze in place with one paw on the throat of one of the smaller cats and his other paw in the middle of the chest of the other. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her, blinked, and then widened in shock. "TRANSFORM!!" Before the eyes of everyone present, the three cats slowly turned into three red headed and very red faced teenagers in shredded robes. "YOU TOO POTTER!" Suddenly, a second Harry appeared right next to the first.
"All five of you will be serving a week's worth of detentions with me," declared McGonagall.
"But…" protested Ron.
"we were right!" added Harry.
"We don't even attend Hogwarts!" explained the twins in unison.
"I'm glad you were right, but nevertheless you took extremely dangerous and unnecessary risks. If you had been wrong, you could have seriously injured or killed yourselves or some of the other students here. As for you two, you can either serve your detentions or I can ask Molly to think of a more appropriate punishment."
"We'll see you for detention on Monday night, Professor," affirmed George.
"Would you like us to bring anything to help pass the time? Sweets, chocolates, a dozen roses?" offered Fred as McGonagall did her best to ignore him.
"And I believe I'll take a hundred points from Gryffindor, from each of the five," added Snape. "These rules were put in place to keep you safe, not for you to break when you didn't agree with them." Snape and McGonagall spent a moment glowering at the five humbled teens, and then left the room.
"Professor, you know that we did the right thing," insisted Harry.
"In the search for knowledge, it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between being overly cautious and careful and risking stagnation or being too bold and daring and risking life and limb. Your theories worked out well tonight, and I am extremely happy for all of you, especially you Mr. Weasley. Professors McGonagall and Snape are as well, but they were very concerned and worried about you as well which may explain their particular reactions. But never forget that older, far wiser wizards than yourselves have taken similar risks and paid a very heavy price. I do not want to keep you from challenging old ideas and pursuing new approaches, but I also hope you will be more careful and thoughtful than you have been. You all have friends and family that would have missed you very dearly if your hunches had been wrong tonight and one of you would have been hurt."
"What about the punishments?" asked Ron. "I mean, it's not fair, after all, we were right and…"
"I am afraid that even as Headmaster, and especially as Headmaster of this school, I cannot undermine the authority of my teachers. But let me ask you Ron, is not the knowledge you have gained tonight, and the possible use it may have for others, worth losing a few points and spending a few hours cleaning? There is nothing worth gaining that does not have a price, and the price of knowledge can be high indeed, though it is often well worth it." With a wave of his hand, he restored the cushions, couches, and wall hangings that had been trashed by the wrestling cats and then turned to leave. His eyes twinkling at the twins he added, "I assume the two of you can find your own way out of the castle? And please, no sidetrips to the Slytherin dungeon on your way out." Turning to Ron, Hermione, and the two Harry's he said, "I hate to ask this of you yet again Miss Granger, but if you could please make sure that these three make it back to their rooms and don't get into any more trouble tonight, I would be very grateful. Good night."
Hermione looked at Ron for a moment, than ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. "I'm so happy for you, you big dopey idiot! You could have gotten hurt tonight, or hurt one of your brothers, or…"
"I know, I'm sorry Hermione, but we were very careful. Harry and my brothers were always there when I tried to control the transformation, just like the Marauders were with Remus. It all worked out…"
"Well, I'm glad but…"
"I know Mione. And I'm sorry too. I-I shouldn't have kept this from you," added Harry as he stepped closer.
"Why did you?"
"Well, you were very busy with all of your classes and your research on Atlantis and I knew you wouldn't really approve of our `research' methods or experimental `methodology.' I should have let you know about it-I'm sorry."
Looking at the twins, she added, "Well, I wouldn't expect any better from the two of you," she added with a small smile.
"Thank you Hermione," replied Fred.
"We try to meet and exceed expectations," added George.
"As for you Neville," she said, turning towards him, "I was hoping that you would have more influence on Ginny, and not the other way around." Neville gulped loudly as he turned to face the three Weasleys, who suddenly seemed very interested in him.
"What does she mean by that Neville?" demanded Ron.
"Ooooh, little Ginny's getting all grown up. Does she looove you Neville? Is she in looove with you?" asked Fred.
"Details! Details!" shouted George.
"Shut it!" snapped Ron at Fred while he glared daggers at George.
"Fantastic! Christmas came early this year!" chuckled George as he rubbed his hands together delightedly.
"I'm warning you two, this isn't funny. Ginny is our little sister and we have to protect her from…"
"from boys like Neville?" laughed Fred.
"No offense, Neville," said George.
"Uhh, none taken," replied a slightly confused Neville, as he watched with Harry and Hermione as yet another bizarre aspect of the internal dynamics of the Weasley family unfold before their very eyes.
"We think Neville would be great for little Ginny," added Fred.
"Look. Neville's fine, well he's OK, I mean he's great, but this is our sister we're talking about and I think…"
"Uhh, thanks. I think," said Neville, though nobody was talking to him.
"Actually, we think Neville might need protecting from Ginny," snickered George.
"Yeah, he doesn't have any older brothers to protect him from the wiley wiles of a wiley wittle witch wike Winny," laughed Fred.
"This isn't a joking matter," insisted Ron, his ears starting to turn bright red. "We have to protect our family honor!"
"Hey!" protested Neville. "I'm not going to betray your family honor." He turned to Harry and Hermione and asked, "What are they talking about? I would never do anything to hurt Ginny in any way. I'm in lommmfff," finished Neville as Harry and Hermione's hands clamped over his mouth quickly. None of the Weasleys were paying much attention to Harry, Hermione, or Neville since Ron had tackled Fred and George had then jumped on top of him.
"I think you should say that to Ginny first, not to her rather thick headed brothers," whispered Hermione. She summoned their wands and put them in her pocket. "You know, for being born into a wizarding family, I'm always surprised that they always think with their fists first. They never start fights with their wands."
Harry added, "It's probably for the better that way, don't you think? I think we'll just let the three of them finish this little family discussion in private. Don't worry, Neville, those two will help Ron see the light. If not, Hermione and I can always help."
"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it."
"Yeah, well, you're on your own with Ginny though. Can't help you there mate. Oww!" yelped Harry as Hermione punched him.
"Come on, I can make sure that at least the two of you get back to Gryffindor Tower in one piece. The left the three wrestling Weasleys and locked the Room of Requirement behind them.
*-*-*
"You missed a spot," observed Hermione.
"You know, if you really wanted to help you could…"
"We are helping Harry. We're supervising," explained Hermione as she turned back to her book.
"What are you reading?" asked Luna, sitting down beside her.
"It's Lanci's Applied Arithmancy: Everyday Uses for the Modern Witch."
"It's a very solid book. Her approach is very straightforward and coherent…"
"I agree, but I think Wilson's insights were much more profound, especially regarding…"
Ron looked up from his mop bucket and glanced over at Harry who was scrubbing one of the walls. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"
"Vaguely. But most of my study has been on developing physical skills and learning spells to defeat Dark wizards, not trying to bore them to death with arithmantic equations and the related theories of numerology."
Ron laughed until Luna shot him a glance.
"I heard that Harry," warned Hermione.
"Well, at least they can talk about it with each other," shrugged Ron.
"Hey! Would you two stop chatting with your girlfriends and get back to work? This place needs to be clean by the time McGonagall checks back…"
"Or she's going tell Mum and let her deal with you two?" teased Ron.
"I can't believe you two are letting McGonagall blackmail you-you used to be my heroes," taunted Harry.
As the voices of the four wizards grew steadily louder, Luna flashed Hermione an exasperated look while Hermione shook her head in resignation.
While the wizards were distracted, Hermione looked at her sympathetically and asked her "How are you doing Luna?"
"I'm doing as well as can be expected. It's been tough and there hasn't really been anybody to talk to, but…"
"Luna, I know we've had some differences in the past, but I would like to put that behind us. I would be happy to talk to you anytime you want about anything you would like."
"Even the theoretical underpinnings of Arithmancy and Numerology?" smirked Luna.
"I would love to have a deep intellectual discussion with somebody about anything other than the odds of the Chudley Cannons having a winning season or who's going to be selected for the next national team." Rolling her eyes at the arguing wizards who were now sending wet sponges flying around the room at each other, Hermione finished. "You can see the maturity level of the companions I have had for the last six years."
Luna just laughed.
*-*-*
At the end of the week, McGonagall let them out of detention early so that they could get ready for the Durmstrang match along with the rest of the students who were going for the weekend. Later that evening, they arrived at Durmstrang castle, thanks to the portkey Dumbledore had created for the students.
Durmstrang castle itself stood on top of a windswept mountain amidst several feet of snow. When the Hogwarts students arrived, they rushed through the outer gates and courtyard and hurried to get inside the slightly warmer confines of the castle walls. A huge welcoming feast was awaiting them and they quickly sat down to the warm food. While they were eating, a figure from the head table walked over to where Harry and his friends were sitting enjoying the wonderful spread.
"Hello, Herminny. Hello, Harry. It is good to see you both again."
They both looked up at Viktor Krum.
"Hello Viktor," they replied.
"How are you doing? And what are you doing here?" asked Hermione.
"I am doing very well, thank you. I am playing for the Baarnlang Hawkers. But I am here helping my alma mater win the Tri-school Quidditch match. They have asked me to coach the Durmstrang team."
Harry and Ron looked closely at him while Hermione congratulated him. Bowing to Hermione, Krum added, "You are a very lucky young man, Harry Potter." He then turned towards Harry. "But I'm afraid your luck will run out tomorrow on the Quidditch pitch." Then he turned back to Hermione. "Good night Herminny. Boys," then he turned and left.
Ron looked at Harry and silently mouthed "What a git!" while Hermione watched him head back up to the head table.
"See, Ron, I told you that the Tri-Wizard cup was a good way to strengthen international ties and build friendships."
"Yeah," mumbled Ron while he rolled his eyes at Harry. "Let's go Harry. We need to get a good night's sleep before the match tomorrow."
"But Harry, there will be tours of the castle and its grounds as well as a special magical demonstration later by some of Durmstrang's best duelers. Don't you want to see it?"
"You go ahead, Mione. I'm beat. I'll see you in the morning. Besides, I've already seen most of what Durmstrang has to offer-you'll like their library, Mione. It's one of the biggest on the continent, and has a few more books on Dark Arts than at Hogwarts, though they're in the Restricted Section and the librarian has a temper that makes Madame Pince look like a girl scout. As far as their duelers, I've watched them practice and any one of our 7th year DA students could easily hold their own, and most of our students would win."
"What?! How?!" sputtered Hermione.
"I was pretty busy last year as you recall. Some of the books I needed to consult don't exist anywhere in England, so I had to expand my search. I made several research trips here to Durmstrang. Good night."
*-*-*
The next morning, Harry and the rest of the team walked out of the locker rooms into a bitterly cold wind whipping heavy snowflakes everywhere.
"Are you kidding me?!" exclaimed Ron. "How are we supposed to play in these conditions? You can't even see twenty feet in front of you."
To his side chuckled Viktor Krum. "Welcome to Durmstrang. It appears to be a perfect day for flying here."
Ron looked after Krum and then turned to Harry. "You know Harry, I don't think he's too happy that you ended up with Hermione. If he's been training this team, I'd watch your back up there."
In the middle of the field amidst the swirling snow, the referee introduced the two teams. Ron elbowed Harry. "Bloody hell!" he muttered to Harry, "Is this a Quidditch team or an American foosball team?"
"A football team?" asked Harry for clarification.
"Yeah, whatever. Those guys are huge. They can't all be students from Durmstraang, Krum must have brought in a few ringers from his team or something."
When the Durmstrang Seeker was introduced, Ron's jaw dropped. He towered four inches above Ron and easily carried another fifty pounds and Ron was the largest player on the Gryffindor team. Ron turned to Harry. "He's got to be part giant. There's no other possible explanation. I think I'll put Malfoy in today for you."
"What?!" exploded Harry.
"I guarantee he's not in the game to catch the Snitch. He's in the game to pound you into mush. That is if they've actually found a broom big enough for him to sit on. Believe me, I'd rather have Malfoy ground into powder than you mate."
"Thanks, but I can take him Ron."
"Hermione's going to kill me for letting you play when she has to scrape up what's left of you off the pitch later."
"I said don't worry about it Ron-it won't be a problem."
Five minutes later, the referee blew the whistle and the balls quickly disappeared into the blinding snow.
From the very beginning, Ron's words proved prophetic. The Seeker Harry was matched up against weighed more than twice what Harry did, and spent the first twenty minutes leaning, bumping, shoving, elbowing, gouging, and punching Harry everywhere he went. Harry lost track of the number of fouls and realized one was never going to be called. The low visibility meant that none of the fouls would ever be witnessed by the referee. Harry knew he was going to be black and blue for probably a week after this match.
Thirty minutes into the match, it became very obvious that Durmstrang held a tremendous advantage because they were used to flying in this type of weather. They had also put together an excellent team for this type of weather. Their beaters were solid and their chasers had excellent vision and had played together for years. They did nothing fancy, but with their superior size and strength, simply out muscled their opponents in nearly every position. The most lopsided matchup was at the Seeker position. The Durmstrang Seeker simply refused to let Harry break loose and fly free. Ron finally called a timeout.
"We're down 150-40. Another ten minutes and it won't matter if we catch the Snitch, we'll be too far behind for it to matter. We're going to have to shake up our lineup a little bit if we're going to have a chance at pulling this out. This is what we're going to do. We're going to keep the same Beaters. Stenton, you're coming in for me at Keeper. Gin, Malfoy you two are the Chasers. Harry, you're going to be the third Chaser. I'll take the Seeker spot."
"What?!" exploded about half the team, including Harry, Draco, and Ginny.
"Hear me out. We need to buy ourselves some time. Have you even seen the Snitch yet Harry?"
"No," he admitted.
"We're going to buy you some time. We need to slow down their scoring and try and pick up a few points for ourselves. And I'm going to wear down their Seeker so that when we switch later Harry you'll have a better chance of finding the Snitch." Ron glanced around to make sure they understood his strategy so far. "Now the rules say that no player can carry the Quaffle longer than five minutes before he or she has to pass it. We're going to use that to our advantage. Harry, I want you to take the Quaffle and just fly off with it. Set your watch and don't give it up until four and a half minutes have passed. Pass it to either Malfoy or Gin who will do the same thing. The two Chasers without the Quaffle will fly interference. Whatever you do, keep the Quaffle out of their hands and don't turn it over. If you can make a sure goal, one where you are one on one with the Keeper within ten feet, take the shot. We'll take our chances on forcing a turnover, but we can't fall any further behind. I'll work on the other Seeker and try to wear him down a bit. If I see the Snitch, I'll go for it. Harry, if you see the Snitch, you yell `Switch!' and go get it. I'll inform the referee of the changes we're making and that we will be switching later during the game. Any questions? Good. Let's go."
Half an hour later, Ron's strategy was beginning to pay off. Hogwarts had closed the gap to 150-70 and several of the Durmstrang players were beginning to get frustrated. Ten minutes later the Hogwarts team had scored another goal and two bonus goals they were awarded on blatant fouls on the Chasers in front of the referee. Only fifty points separated the two teams.
Harry caught a glance of Ron and the other Seeker through the whipping snow. Harry winced as he saw Ron duck a punch thrown by the other Seeker and then smiled grimly as Ron threw an elbow that landed solidly and rocked the Durmstrang Seeker's head back. Then the snow obscured the ongoing battle again. Harry was glad he wasn't the only one who would have bruises for the next week. Ginny passed him the Quaffle and he dived hard towards the ground, easily dodging the opposing Durmstrang players. They were big and strong, but they were not as quick or agile as Draco, Ginny, or Harry, and couldn't keep up with them. As Harry rolled back to the right to put more space between him and the pursuing Durmstrang players, he spotted a glimpse of gold. "Switch!" he yelled as loud as he could and tossed the ball over to Ginny. His entire focus narrowed to the Snitch itself. He dodged right in pursuit of it through the blinding snow as a Bludger sailed at him, barely grazing his left arm. Plunging forward recklessly, he was determined not to lose sight of the zooming Snitch. Fighting the wind and blinding snow, Harry slowly gained on the Snitch until at last he could stretch out his hand and grab it within his hand. He waited for the announcement by the referee and then ducked as another Bludger nearly took off his head. He then soared upward, heading towards the last place he had seen the referee. Suddenly he was nearly knocked from his broom as Ron and the other Seeker crashed into him. The other Seeker saw the tiny wings fluttering in Harry's fist and reached to grab it, but Ron's hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him away. He tried to pull away, but Ron's grip was too strong. As Harry tried to break loose from the tangle, the Durmstrang Seeker's flying elbow caught him right below his left eye and he saw nothing but stars and then blackness.
As he shook his head a moment later he realized he was in freefall, plummeting towards the ground at an increasing rate of speed. He closed his hand tighter around the Snitch, reassured that it was still in his grip and stretched out his other hand to summon his Firebolt. A moment later it slid into his grip and he rolled to land on top of it and control his descent. He nearly hit the referee as he swooped down over the Durmstrang goalposts, who immediately began blowing his whistle when he saw Harry raise his fist triumphantly. Amazingly, he could hear the whistle above the roar of the blasting winds. As the teams descended to the ground, they quickly headed for the locker rooms to begin the process of thawing out.
The afternoon feast was somewhat subdued, the Durmstrang students were shocked at their loss, and the Hogwarts students were wisely choosing not to rub it in. After the meal, they happily touched the portkey and returned to Hogwarts to begin their celebrations. After Madame Pomfrey had looked over their various injuries, she allowed the Quidditch team to rejoin their celebrating classmates. Harry and Ron were the last ones to enter the Great Hall, both walking very stiffly as the surge of adrenaline wore off and their various bruises and aching muscles began to hurt.
Though very happy to win, both were extremely exhausted from the grueling match, as were their teammates. After an hour, Ron stood up slowly and announced he was going to go soak in a hot bath for a while. As he turned to go, Hermione stopped him with a thought.
"Wait Ron. I think I've got a better idea." She glanced at Luna for a moment, who grinned and nodded. She then glanced over at Neville and then down the table at Gabrielle. "Harry? Bring Ron, Ginny, and Draco up to the Room of Requirement in five minutes. I have a surprise for all of you. You can teleport there if you don't feel like climbing the stairs."
"What's this all about? What's going…"
"Just trust me. I'll see you in five."
Harry nodded, and five minutes later the four were making their excuses and left the Great Hall. Harry then teleported them just outside the Room of Requirement and then walked towards the door. Before he could open it, the door opened and out poured a cloud of steam.
"Come on in, you're letting all the warm air out," came Hermione's voice from inside.
In confusion, the four battered Quidditch players stepped into the hot, humid room onto what felt like warm tiles.
"What the…" started Harry. Whereas normally the room was filled with books on the Dark Arts and various equipment to practice dueling, now there was a wooden bench on two walls with a huge, steaming pool of water in the middle of the room. And floating effortlessly in the middle of the pool was Hermione in a blue, one piece swimsuit.
"Hermione, this is brilliant!" shouted Ron. "But I need some trunks to…"
"Here you go," came a soft voice from behind him as a piece of cloth hit him in the back of the head. "The changing rooms are over there," indicated Luna with a toss of her long blonde locks. Ron watched in amazement as she then took two running steps and executed a flawless dive into the pool, finally surfacing two thirds the length of the pool away.
"If you can put your eyeballs back into your head, maybe you could go and join her," snickered Ginny. Ron then headed towards the pool before Ginny caught his arm. "Go put some trunks on first," and pulled him back towards the changing rooms. "I hope you made a two piece for me," she called out teasingly, and laughed when Ron's cheeks blushed bright red.
"Ginny," he started.
"Relax Ron. Modest swimsuits for everyone. It seems even the Room of Requirements has certain limits," called out Hermione.
"Hurry up Draco," came another musical voice from behind Harry and Draco. "I hear the water is perfect," purred Gabrielle as she sauntered between them and then stepped daintily into the pool.
"You better not be watching Potter," growled Draco.
"I wasn't."
"I wasn't!" He heard Hermione laugh.
"What's keeping you Harry?"
Harry grinned and with a wave of his hand, transformed his clothes into a set of long blue swimming trunks. Then he ran for the pool and jumping high, curled into a ball in order to cannonball heavily into the water. He gave his entry an extra push of magic as he hit the water, and sent gallons of water flying around the room, soaking everyone not already in the pool or in one of the changing rooms.
When Harry came up for air, someone's hand immediately pushed him back down again. He grabbed the wrist and then pulled Hermione down into the water as well. Then they both surfaced again gasping for air. With a huge grin, he surveyed his handiwork. Draco was soaked and muttering under his breath as he headed to change, but everyone else was laughing, except Gabrielle who didn't appear to be pleased that her hair had gotten all wet.
"Ron was right Mione. This was a fantastic idea. But what I could really use is a neckrub. Did you see the size of that gorilla I had to fly against today?"
"Yes. Professor McGonagall and I created a magical box around the Hogwarts section that kept out the cold and wind. Then Dumbledore created a screen that allowed us to watch the match without the snow blocking out everything. I don't know how you guys could play in that weather. That was the worst weather for a Quidditch match I have ever seen. And that was about the most brutal exhibition I have ever seen. You guys are really lucky nobody was seriously injured."
"Yeah, but we won. That's all that matters."
Hermione resisted the urge to continue discussing her views on it and instead pushed Harry over to the side where he rested his arms and chin on the side while she began rubbing his neck and shoulder muscles. He muttered "Ahhh," and began to melt under her massaging fingers. A few minutes later and Ron, Draco, and Ginny had begged their girlfriends or boyfriend to give them backrubs as well.
Fifteen minutes later, Ron was snoring loudly while the other Quidditch players were sound asleep as well. Hermione snorted in mock disgust. "What a load of fun they turned out to be!"
"Hmmmph," snorted Luna. "I guess the only question is whether or not we prank them before we tuck them in for a good night's sleep."
Neville's eyes lit up mischievously. "Well, there was a new powder that the twins gave to Ginny for her to try out on some of the students at school. This seems like as good a time as any, right?"
Hermione laughed. "She is having a terrible influence on you Neville. You do realize she'll try and get you back, don't you?"
"She doesn't really scare me that much. The twins have given me a few prank items and told me a few family secrets to help keep her in line," he chuckled. "Don't worry about me, I can hold my own with her."
Luna giggled. "What ever happened to our sweet, innocent Neville?"
"He met the Weasleys and had to grow up fast," chuckled Hermione.
*-*-*
The next morning at breakfast, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Ron were laughing and eating with their roommates in the Great Hall when there were three soft pops at the table and a soft pop heard over at the Slytherin table. Harry looked up and began laughing when he saw the Weasleys. Both of their heads had shrunk to the size of tennis balls. It was like looking at two normally robed students, but there was a bright mop of red hair on one, and very long red hair bouncing around in a ponytail on the shoulders of the other. Harry suddenly stopped laughing when he realized the high pitched squeaking he heard was the sound of him laughing. When he saw his classmates looking at him in horror and noticed Hermione's decidedly expressionless face, he screamed in a very high pitched wail. "Mione! What did you do?!"
At the sound of his voice, the entire table burst into laughter. He looked over at the Slytherin table and saw one student who was a head shorter than everyone else but had short spiky blond hair apparently growing out of his shoulders. Ron and Ginny realized what had happened and began yelling and screaming in their own high pitched voices, making everyone laugh even harder.
Later that afternoon, when the Twins' Shrinking Head Powder had worn off, Harry cornered Hermione to inquire about her involvement.
"Actually, it was probably a good thing Harry. Some of us were worried that you all might be getting a big head after your victory yesterday," she smirked.
"Ha ha, big head. Very funny. But I guess you're right. But I never got to thank you properly for the back rub yesterday. So thank you." He bent down to kiss her on the lips.
"You're welc…" murmured Hermione as he kissed her. "Mmmmaaaaahhh! By blipps! By blipps!" she screamed as her lips began to swell as Harry kissed her.
"Oh my! Terribly sorry about that, Mione. I must have forgotten to spit out that Big Kiss Bubblegum I was chewing earlier. I wish I could remember the counterjinx for that one. Well, I'm sure it will wear off in time for dinner-tomorrow!"
"Berry Bopper!" yelled Hermione through her enormous lips, but he had already disappeared.
When all five met at the Gryffindor table the next morning, Harry started chuckling when he noticed everyone had brought their own food directly from the kitchens. Nor would anybody else from Gryffindor sit right by them-apparently they were all worried about getting caught in the crossfire of another prank war. Harry grinned as he admired the handiwork of the Twins evident in his classmates. Hermione's lips were still huge and her ears were now decidedly elflike with large, pointy tips. Ron's face was hard to watch for very long, because it was constantly changing colours, like an out of control kaleidoscope. Ginny had bat wings growing out of the back of her shoulders and horse hooves for feet, which she kept using to try and kick people. Ron was sporting the Cyclops look, with one large eye centered right in the middle of his forehead. Unfortunately, someone had also replaced his arms with octopus tentacles, which were constantly flailing around. Neville didn't even need his arms, which was lucky, they had been turned into fish fins. He simply opened his mouth and his frog-like tongue shot out to grab whatever he wanted to eat. Harry heard a squishy sort of sound followed by a clunking noise and turned his head slowly and carefully, his own nose was now about three feet long, and painfully sensitive of bumping into things. He saw Luna squish up, which was the only way to describe her movement, since it appeared all of her bones had been removed and her body now resembled animated rubber. She sat down very carefully to avoid bouncing back out of it. Gabrielle clunked over as well, she appeared to be a carved wooden puppet without strings. At least, Harry was pretty sure it was her, since she had no face-it looked like an uncarved piece of wood. Draco stalked over to the table as well. He appeared the most normal of the eight, except for the fact that he was completely bald and kept scratching himself. It was only when he opened his mouth that one could detect the various curses he had been hit with.
"Ok, I think-I love Gryffindors!-this has gone on long enough.-Slytherins are slimeballs!-I think we should just call a truce now and forget about who did what-If only I had the courage to be a Gryffindor!-to whom. If we keep this up-Gryffindors rule! Hufflepuff is cool! Ravenclaws are bright! Slytherins run in fright!-oh, when I get my hands on those two idiotic Weasleys…"
"Baco's bight. I cab bonounce bells wib by libs bike bis," complained Hermione.
"When I find the twins, I'm going to give them a swift kick in the…" threatened Ginny.
"Is that a plea for help dear sister?" asked Fred as he swept into the Great Hall.
"Nah, it sounded more like a plea for the full dose of the Bedeviled Moisturizing Cream."
"It looks like it's lucky she didn't put any on as a…"
"Face cream-what an excellent idea Fred!" and George whipped out a clipboard and started taking down notes.
"Whab are boo too dobing heh?" asked Hermione.
"Well, Dumbledore told us there was some sort of weird outbreak of pranking jinxes…"
"and he decided to call in some experts to help solve the problem."
"You pair of idiots are the problem here."
"Hmmm. Judging by one-eye over yhere, I would say that the Octopus noodles should not be eaten with our One-eyed peas. Yes, it seems to have made his temper worse-and I didn't think that was possible."
"It does look like the Gryffindor Lover Lozenges were a big hit though. Thanks for demonstrating Ferret."
"And look, two various effects of the Pinnochio paste. Hmm, if we could somehow combine them…"
"If you two are through, can you just undo the effects, or do I have to?" bubbled Harry, since as he spoke, bubbles came out of his mouth and his voice was only heard as each bubble then popped.
"Excellent Harry. The Bubblespeak Bubblegum worked like a charm-er, no pun intended. But you realize that as an investor and partner, we need to carefully document all of the effects that occur during these test trials," explained George as he scribbled madly on his clipboard. "We wouldn't want innocent victims injured because our research wasn't thorough enough."
"Oh sod off you two-How I love Gryffindors! Let me count the ways!" Everyone at the Gryffindor table, as well as the tables of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw began laughing as Draco sang four verses to the Great Hall extolling the virtues of Gryffindor house.
Wiping the tears from their eyes, Fred and George began muttering the counterjinxes once Draco was done serenading the Gryffindors.
"Harry, you knew the counterjinxes to these curses and you didn't…"
"Hey, I thought it was all in good fun. I was going to break the curses after breakfast today anyways if the twins hadn't shown up. Besides, I think we should think of something to do to the twins now."
"I think I've had all the pranking I can stand for a couple of months, Harry."
Once everyone was back to normal, Harry announced, "I am willing to agree to a pranking truce in Hogwarts if the rest of you are…" Hands and voices indicated the sentiment was unanimous among the friends.
George turned to Fred, "Maybe we should have left them like…"
"Oh shut it you two and grab some breakfast," ordered Hermione.
And the Weasley twins, never ashamed to take food freely offered, did exactly that.
*-*-*
Once the prank wars were over, Harry and Hermione spent the next few days working feverishly on their school assignments, trying to get ahead so they wouldn't fall behind when they went to Egypt a week before the Christmas holidays were to begin. When the day for them to leave arrived, Harry and Hermione used a portkey to travel to the outskirts of Alexandria just after dark.
"Harry, are you sure all of this was necessary? We could have just flooed into the wizarding hotel-now we have to hope that the Egyptian Medjai don't detect your illegal portkey and send someone to investigate."
"Don't worry Mione. They won't. But just to be safe, you should stay disillusioned and I'll stay invisible while we fly over Alexandria towards the East Harbor."
They both transformed, Hermione into a beautiful owl and Harry into his small dragon form, and took to the skies above the sprawling city of Alexandria. It was a beautiful night, clear and cool and perfect for flying. They flew steadily over the various sections of the city, working their way northeast, towards where the growing metropolis ran up against the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean. The shapely and graceful minarets of the hundreds of Muslim mosques added beauty and variety to the skyline above the city. The sounds of people laughing and talking in the streets mingled with the aromas of grilling meat and savory dishes.
"We would have to get here about dinner time, wouldn't we?" grumbled Harry as his stomach rumbled.
Hermione chuckled, which sounded very odd coming from an owl. "There's the beachfront of the East Harbor. Our hotel should be three blocks from the main thoroughfare that runs along the shore. Why don't we land over there in that alley, grab a bite to eat and make sure that they have our rooms ready."
"Sounds great." Harry checked the alley first, and satisfied that they were alone, told Hermione it was safe to land. Hermione quickly sipped an aging potion, which made her old enough to be Harry's aunt. Harry changed his appearance to that of a twelve or thirteen year old boy with curly brown hair and grey eyes. He quickly created several suitcases which he carried to the street where they hailed a cab to take them to the hotel where Harry had made reservations.
Hermione took charge at the front desk, speaking with the manager without a hint of her British accent.
"Ahh, Ms. Fraley. This must be your nephew Thomas? I hope you enjoyed your flight from New York…"
"It was long, but thankfully uneventful. We slept for most of it. I believe we'll just drop off our things and then go grab a bite somewhere. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Well, there is always the house restaurant…"
"Of course, but I was hoping to help Thomas see the real Alexandria, take him off the beaten path away from all of the usual tourist traps…"
"Of course Ms. Fraley. There are several small outdoor restaurants just down the street that offer some of the best food Alexandria has to offer, seafood, grilled kabobs, and falafel. Simply take a left out of the front doors-you can't miss them, they'll be the ones with all of the locals crowded around their outdoor tables."
"Thank you very much," finished Hermione, and slipped him a generous tip. Ten minutes later, they had dropped off their bags in their separate rooms, created some clothes to put in some of the drawers, and met to plan their next step.
"Why don't we grab some food and head on over to the beach where we'll have to begin searching?" suggested Harry.
"Sounds great," replied Hermione.
Half an hour later, they were walking along the beach, heading slowly northwest. Holding her hand towards the water, Hermione explained quietly, "That's the Buchion, or the palace quarter that existed in ancient Alexandria. Alexandria itself was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great while he was here. After his death in 323 BC, one of his generals, Ptolemy I took control of Egypt. His descendents would rule until Cleopatra VII was defeated by Augustus Caesar in 30 AD. The Great Library was founded by Ptolemy's son as part of the Museum, which was near the palaces of the monarchs. Its aim was to preserve every work of Greek literature and eventually every manuscript it could get its hands on. At its height, the Library was said to have contained over half a million scrolls-most of them now lost to the Muggle world. Rumors within the Wizarding world hinted that there was a similar type of library created by Wizards here, hidden in the shadow of the Great Library. Though nobody knows exactly where it was, almost all historians agree that the palace quarter, the Buchion, lies now beneath the waves of this harbor in front of us. A number of earthquakes during the Medieval period toppled parts of the city and caused them to fall into the ocean. See out there, that darker shadow above the horizon?"
With his excellent vision, Harry easily found the spot she indicated. "It looks like a fort or a castle of some sort…"
"It is Fort Qaitbay, it was built in 1480 by the Muslims who had conquered Northern Africa. It was supposedly built on the ruins of the Pharos of Alexandria."
"The Pharos…"
"It was an ancient lighthouse that towered over the seas to guide sailors safely into these dangerous harbors. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the World."
Harry looked around over the waters. "So it's supposed to be under these waters somewhere, huh? Any idea where we should start looking?"
Hermione looked thoughtfully at the waves lapping up on the shore.
"I wish Dumbledore could have just told us where it was, or better yet, made a portkey to take us right there…" complained Harry.
"You know he couldn't, Harry."
"I know, I know…" muttered Harry. "Anyone looking?" he asked as he glanced around. He pulled out his wand and cast a Disillusionment charm on Hermione and made himself invisible. They walked to the shore and then cast Bubble head charms before stepping into the sea.
"Brrrr," chattered Hermione.
"What are you talking about? This is so much warmer than the lake at Hogwarts," laughed Harry.
Fifteen minutes later, they were perhaps half a mile from where their search had started, searching very slowly with the pale light provided by Hermione's illuminated wand.
"Do you have any idea what we're searching for, Mione? All I've seen is lots of sand and broken rocks. Are we looking for a wall, or a set of columns, or a doorway or what?"
"I'm not sure exactly Harry, but if you see any hieroglyphics or anything that looks like writing on
any blocks or anything, let me know. You might be able to sense something, I imagine that the Library must have some
pretty powerful enchantments on it for it to have survived, though it is probably unplottable."
"All right then, I'll just…Mione?" Harry looked around quickly as Hermione increased the intensity of the light, thinking maybe she had found something. Expecting a large building or ruin to emerge from the inky blackness, Harry was surprised to see several dark shapes stirring in the water. "What are they Mione?"
"I don't know, they have no name for themselves, it's as if they have no sense of identity."
"Could these be the guardians? But I thought Dumbledore said there was only one guardian…" Harry's look grew more concerned as he realized they were completely surrounded by the approaching figures, who were moving very rapidly towards the pair. As they got closer, he realized they looked like mossy boulders with long, powerful limbs. Though they appeared to shuffle awkwardly as they moved, he could tell they moved through the water much more quickly than either Hermione or himself, despite the fact that they had both shed their robes for snug fitting rubber suits like surfers would wear that had been magically enhanced by the twins to allow them free movement underwater.
"Any ideas about how we're supposed to get past them Mione? Are we supposed to answer a riddle or do we have to defeat one of them or…"
"Let me try talking to them, I'm sure we're not supposed to fight them. We came here to study after all…" Hermione focused intently while Harry slowly drew his wand, watching and counting as the rock-like creatures came closer and closer, making what Harry felt to be a quickly tightening noose.
He moved closer to Hermione, close enough to grab her arm and teleport if they needed, when suddenly, as if by an unspoken command the thirty humanoids drew a variety of weapons simultaneously.
"Harry, I don't think they'll attack, they're just trying to defend something, trying to prevent something from happening by-WATCH OUT!" She felt Harry's hand on her shoulder and they disappeared as nearly twenty short spears came flying at them much faster than one would have expected underwater. She heard Harry whisper "Nox!" and then he teleported them again.
"Can you see them Mione? You should be able to, they're warm-blooded."
"Yes."
"Then we stay in the dark for now, we don't know if they can see us as well, though they probably can. If we need to, we'll cast a Flare charm and blind them for a moment. If we can get past them without fighting, that would be best. Did you see anything they might have been guarding-an entrance or anything that appeared important?"
"That's just it-there was nothing unless it's buried in the sand."
"Then we move away from them and search elsewhere-we'll avoid them if we can."
Harry led her slowly around in a large arc but minutes later realized the shapes were closing in again. Harry concentrated briefly and tried to camouflage them thermally, trying to make their body temperatures appear the same as the water around them, but they still moved closer. "I don't know how they're tracking us, but we've got no choice but to fight Mione."
"Well, let's try to stun them first. I don't think the guardians of the Great Library actually expect to be killed by those seeking admittance."
Harry grunted with grudging acceptance. Anticipating another launch of short spears, Harry teleported them behind two of the creatures. He and Hermione both shouted out "Stupefy!" within their Bubble Head charms, but the spells bounced harmlessly off the heavily scaled skin of the two humanoids. They turned much faster than Harry anticipated and one launched a small trident at Hermione. Harry managed to teleport in front of Hermione and push her out of harm's way as the trident from the second boulder-like figure nearly gutted him, but he twisted at the last second and it merely sliced his side instead of his entire abdomen. Blood spurted out and quickly floated away with the current as Harry reflexively clamped a hand on the open wound. There was a sudden flash of purple light and the two crablike men flew backwards through the water, hit by a powerful spell from a very angry witch.
Harry kneeled on the sand, his left hand covering his bleeding wound, his face screwed up with intense concentration. Hermione watched in awe for a moment as a huge bubble appeared between herself and Harry and slowly grew in size. Realizing what Harry was doing, she watched the bubble of air slowly push back the sea water away from the two. At the edge, as she suspected, waited the scaly crabmen, seemingly unsure of how to attack. Several launched short spears, but when the spears left the water and entered the air bubble Harry had created, their trajectory altered significantly, and they fell short, as if they weren't created to be thrown through a thinner atmosphere.
"Now Mione. They will kill us once they figure out a way past the air bubble and I can't hold it indefinitely."
Hermione nodded grimly and began casting much more powerful curses than a Stunner, looking for a weakness in their magically resistant rock-hard scaly skin. After the second one fell, she relayed to Harry "Their necks at the base of the throat are weak. So are their eye sockets."
On her right side, she saw a number of bubbles began rising rapidly around a number of the crablike men. She quickly shut out their screams of pain as they quickly boiled to death. To her left, she saw a number of the crablike creatures cross the barrier and enter the air bubble, where their run slowed quickly to an agonizing walk. She saw the gills on the cheeks of one flapping open and shut rapidly, as if he were suffocating.
"Solaris inflammis!" screamed Harry beside her as she quickly closed her eyes tightly.
Hermione turned again to cover Harry's back and partly to be able to avoid having to watch the agonizing death of the confused and blinded creatures who were slowly suffocating to death in the air bubble. In front of her, the half dozen creatures did not dare cross the deadly barrier of air, but their short spears were coming closer and closer to Harry and Hermione. "How many more do you have Harry?"
"Three or four. You?"
"Six. And their spears are coming closer-they've just about got the range."
"We need to split up to finish them off. They're faster than we are, but we might be able to surprise them. Besides, I can't hold this bubble much longer. I'll take your six and…"
"I'll take them Harry. You've got a bad side, remember?"
"Can you do it alone?"
"Trust me Harry. Besides, I have Saldar with me."
"Fine. Let's do it. Quick, easy movements-nothing fancy. And don't hold back Mione because they won't. I'll be back to help as soon as I can." Then Harry let the bubble collapse and teleported Hermione and himself behind the six throwing short spears. The shock of the water filling the vacuum he had created threw the creatures off balance momentarily, allowing Harry and Hermione to each stab one fatally before Harry disappeared to fight the remaining crab men twenty-five feet away.
Relying upon Saldar's help to parry with the Sword of Gryffindor, Hermione had transformed her own wand into a short thin stabbing sword which quickly found the throat of a third monster. Raise, parry, thrust, counterthrust, block, stab-Hermione quickly found herself falling into a trancelike state like those she often entered when she was sparring with Harry during their morning practice sessions. While she was completely focused on the swordplay, she was at the same time perfectly patient, waiting for any weakness or opportunity given her by her enemies. And when it presented itself, she took full advantage with a singleminded ruthlessness. In the back of her mind she knew that she had tried to communicate with these creatures to work things out peacefully and they had tried to kill her and Harry-and were still trying to do so.
Meanwhile, Harry's method of attack resembled that of a berserker. With blood still seeping from his side, he was worried that Hermione might get hurt or worse before he dispatched the remaining crabmen he faced. Using a combination of violent stabbing attacks, blinding and tripping jinxes, Harry made fairly quick work of his three opponents. With a wry smile, he realized that he would have been disqualified for at least fifteen different violations had this been a dueling match. But then again, three on one was rarely considered a fair fight, which reminded him of Hermione's predicament. Reappearing a moment later, he found her stepping on the chest of her last opponent, pulling both of her swords from his body. Looking up, she asked innocently, "What took you so long-you only had three."
Harry smiled thinly as he pressed harder on his side. Hermione's grin quickly faded and she stepped closer to him to look at the wound. Transforming her sword back into a wand, she explained to Harry "I can stop the bleeding, but not much more than that. It's too deep for me to try and close magically, we should probably head back to Alexandria and find a Medi-Wizard. Besides, you look beat, you could probably use some rest after all that."
"If I get medical help, they'll have to report it to the Egyptian Medjai and the Egyptian Council. We're not even supposed to be here, remember? Stop the bleeding and I'll promise to walk slow."
Hermione began to argue and then realized Harry had made up his mind and there was no changing it. She muttered the incantation and the blood flow stopped.
"Which way now?" he asked as he put an arm around her shoulders tiredly.
Hermione shrugged and pointed vaguely to the northwest. Forty-five minutes later they had crisscossed the harbor twice and were heading southeast back towards the shore where they had started when they both saw it-a huge stone patio on the floor of the ocean. There were large blocks that were the remains of a wall surrounding it. Hermione moved quickly to them and excitedly began interpreting for Harry the meaning of the inscriptions and hieroglyphics she found there.
"This is it Harry. We're very close now. This is the Temple of the Muses, the Museum. It was built shortly before the Great Library. Some think the Great Library was connected to the Museum or was built very close to it."
Broadening their search, they found the remains of another small building about fifteen feet away. As they walked slowly around the perimeter of the ruined walls, they saw a toppled statue of what appeared to be an owl. There appeared to be some sort of inscription carved into the base of the owl which glowed faintly in silver.
Harry couldn't understand a word of the flowing, elegant script, but then the lines reformed themselves and he read for himself, "For those who pursue me to lift up others, stretch forth thy hand that ye may go forth to serve. For those who seek me to lift up themselves, hold back your hand lest you receive what you deserve." Looking at Hermione, who was nearly shaking with excitement, Harry grasped her hand and together, they slowly reached towards the beautiful owl statue. They felt that slightly uncomfortable jerk of a portkey being activated, and closed their eyes.
When they opened them again, they found themselves in a large, dry hall lined with massive pillars and flaming torches. Their bubble head charms were gone and they were still soaking wet, but there was air in the chamber to breathe. Above them loomed an enormous ceiling and before them stood an enormous stone sphinx, much larger than the one Harry had faced in the maze during the Third Task of the Tri-Wizard tournament.
Hermione and Harry quickly took a step backward when the massive head dropped to rest on its front paws at their eye level and the enormous mouth opened to greet them.
"Greetings Scholar, Paladin. I am Rachathutr, the Guardian of the Great Library. What knowledge do you seek and for what purpose?"
Harry and Hermione glanced at each other in disbelief and then returned their attention to the gigantic sphinx. There was something wrong in the hall, something didn't feel quite right. Harry looked around quickly to determine if the sphinx had any allies, not that it needed any help-it appeared to be a very formidable foe all by itself. When he tried to mindspeak to her and could not reach her, he knew something was terribly wrong. From Hermione's look, he could tell that she had sensed it as well.
"You are both very perceptive. How interesting. That odd feeling you feel is your lack of magic."
"What?!" exploded Harry and Hermione.
"All who wish to learn in the Great Library must pass through me. But none can pass using magic or physical force. I alone decide who will enter, and who will not. Magic does not function properly here within this ancient hall, nor can I be defeated physically, since the owl statue sends only a single scholar at a time."
"Then why are we both here?" asked Harry.
The sphinx seemed to grin, but only managed to reveal very large, very sharp teeth. "Partly because you both seek different types of knowledge, partly because I find the two of you very interesting-especially the bond you share with each other and with the Sword of Griffindor. Its last master was, and is, a good man."
Harry's grip tightened on his wand reflexively as he glanced meaningfully at Hermione. He then tried to reach out with his elemental magic to see if he could do anything, even if it was something as simple as creating a slight breeze. A whisper of wind on his cheek let him know that he could at least attempt a spell before he died if it came to that.
The sphinx seemed to grin even more widely. "Ah yes, the mage who can use elemental mage, very interesting indeed. But you will not be able to defeat me Paladin," it continued in an amused voice.
"I've heard that before," growled back Harry.
"and you need not fear me if your quest is noble."
"Yeah, well the scaly crab guys defending the library weren't very friendly or chatty so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little skeptical."
"There are no other guardians of the Great Library. I am the Guardian!" boomed the sphinx.
"Then who were those other creatures trying to kill us?" demanded Harry.
"They are known as the Baruscapi, you would probably call them crabmen. They were created to defend the portals of ancient Atlantis."
"You knew about them? What were they doing here? Is there a portal nearby?" demanded Harry.
"I do not know either their purpose or whether there is a portal nearby."
"Well if you're the guardian, why didn't try and help us? What kind of guardian are you?"
"I am the Guardian of the Great Library, Paladin. I have no other task nor any other power but to guard these halls of knowledge from the undeserving." Looking deeply into Harry's eyes he added. "I am sorry I could not be of more assistance, but should you pass into the Great Library, they will be able to heal your wounds."
"Harry," warned Hermione under her breath, "let me try talking to him."
"Guardian of the Great Library, we seek knowledge about long lost Atlantis. We believe there are others who wish to recover a lost artifact of great power from Atlantis and use it for evil. We simply want to find it first and destroy it if necessary."
"That is a worthy goal and a worthy quest Scholar. You should know there are many who desire these secrets. Guard well what you learn and good luck in your quest. You may enter."
Hermione bowed politely and moved past the sphinx with Harry close behind.
"Where are you going Paladin?"
"I'm going with her," sputtered Harry.
"Tell me of the knowledge you seek and your purpose in searching for it," demanded the sphinx.
"I'm here to help Hermione prevent the artifacts of Atlantis from falling into the wrong hands."
"True. What else do you seek?"
Harry looked at him steadily, glanced at Hermione quickly, and then replied. "I am also seeking information about lyncathropy. I want to see if a werewolf has ever successfully undergone the Animagus transformation as a way of defeating the curse. I have a friend who has been a werewolf for most of his life. I want to help him and others if I can find a cure."
"Very good Paladin. What other knowledge do you seek?"
"Harry?" asked Hermione.
Harry looked at her as he answered slowly. "I am also looking for any information about mages and elemental magic. I want to know about the effects of wielding so much power can have on their lives-like does it shorten or expand their lifespan. More importantly, I want to learn how to better control it so that I don't accidentally kill myself and hundreds, perhaps thousands of innocent people around me."
The sphinx seemed to nod slightly. "Another worthy quest Paladin. Perhaps I should have named you Scholar-Paladin instead. You may enter as well."
"Thank you," whispered Harry and joined Hermione, clasping her hand firmly.
As they headed towards a set of double door at the top of a platform over three steps, they paused and turned as the sphinx offered some final advice.
"As you have entered together, go forth on your quests together, supporting and sustaining each other. The responsibilities you carry are great and the tasks you wish to accomplish are difficult-but they should not be impossible for the two of you and your allies. Remember always who you are, what you wish to become and achieve, and what you mean to each other. Farewell Scholar and Scholar-Paladin. You are both young, I hope to visit with you again in the future."
Harry and Hermione nodded thanks, then turned back to the double doors and pushed them open. As they stepped over the threshold, they felt rejuvenated and realized they could feel their magic again. They paused for a moment, reveling in the powerful feeling, and decided never to take that feeling for granted again. As they stood hand in hand, a grey robed figure approached them clucking disapprovingly.
The figure began rattling off what Harry suspected were phrases in various languages while he and Hermione looked at what seemed to be a reception area. Several chairs and couches with tables sat in front of an enormous desk where several figures were bent over their paperwork. Hermione finally answered in a language Harry couldn't identify and the robed figure continued in English.
"English then? Very well dear. It's your first visit I see. No overnight bags, no dry clothing, nothing to write with-never mind, we can provide all of that. Names please?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Harry Potter."
"Yes of course, I should have guessed. I can't think of any other witches or wizards as young as the two of you who might have either the reason or the ability to find the Great Library. Though Xia Ghiannon, Marcus Aurellio, and Gina Topenski are very bright, none of them have faced the kinds of opponents you two have defeated.
How long do you plan on staying with us?"
"What do you mean? We have hotel rooms in Alexandria…" began Harry.
"Well, you can certainly return there every evening if you want-I hear it's a lovely swim, but we do have rooms for scholars here if you'd like."
"It's an ancient custom Harry. The ancient museum and Great Library provided room and board for visiting scholars. Isn't this exciting?"
"They will, of course, be separate rooms,"
"Of course," thought Harry, grinning at what he imagined would be Ron's indignation.
Two hours later, Harry and Hermione were in their separate rooms asleep. Both had been provided with several simple, clean robes they could use while studying at the library as well as all the materials they would need to take notes and conduct research. There was a healer on staff who had treated Harry with two drops of phoenix tears to heal his injured stomach, though she seemed slightly disturbed when she saw the other scars crisscrossing his arms and torso as well as the black and blue bruises still healing from training with Samuel. Harry laughed when he thought they probably didn't get many scholars who led as `active' a life as he did. Hermione had been ecstatic during the very brief tour they had been given of the main hall with its records where they would be allowed to work. She was also very happy with the exquisite quills and parchments which had been provided for their notetaking and had a hard time getting to sleep. Harry on the other hand was exhausted and quickly fell sound asleep.
*-*-*
Several days later Harry sat back and looked at the endless rows of scrolls and parchments. Glancing over at Hermione, he could tell by the smile on her face and the glow in her cheeks that she was in heaven as she sat scribbling furiously as she translated an ancient manuscript. Behind the table they sat at were towering shelves lined with books, scrolls, and manuscripts in every condition and language. Hovering globes provided light to read by without damaging the physical condition of the delicate records. Harry had wandered off the first day and been lost for two hours wandering the seemingly endless aisles of shelves of the enormous library.
Initially, the librarians had been hesitant about allowing Hermione to look at some of the more ancient and unique transcripts. However, when they discovered to their utter amazement that Hermione could fairly easily translate nearly any document in any language they brought before her, they changed their minds quickly. There were several languages she had trouble translating and couldn't decipher at all. Harry chuckled when he remembered how frustrated Hermione had been to discover she couldn't translate everything. After a few minutes of thought, Hermione realized they were written by magical races she had never met-some of them were extinct, some were extremely isolated and lived far from Great Britain. Since she had never met a member of those races, she didn't have a sense of how their minds worked or how to interpret their language.
Suddenly she looked up with a sparkle in her eye. "I think I've found something. Part of it is missing, the page has been torn, but it's part of a prophecy. Listen:
A queen of death will arise to destroy the old world
The dark queen will bring to pass a new world
And shatter the old world"
Hermione looked intently at Harry. "Does that sound familiar?"
"Yeah, it could be part of the prophecy that Quintus was going on and on about. Is there anything else there?"
"No, the rest has been torn away and lost. I wonder if…"
At that moment, one of the librarians appeared at their table with an enormous box in her arms.
"Miss Granger, this is one of the oldest manuscripts we have here in the Great Library. It was discovered in Wales and I was hoping you might take a look to see if you could read it. Nobody else has ever been able to decipher it."
"Well if it's that old and nobody else has had any luck, I probably won't either, but I'd be happy to look at it for you," replied Hermione eagerly.
Hermione opened the lid carefully and pulled out the delicate scrolls and began unrolling it slowly. For a few minutes, she just sat there quietly, her lips moving softly as she focused on the beautiful, flowing script. She then looked up at Harry and the librarian. "This is incredible. It is much more elegant and tragic in the original language, but I'll try to do it justice. Listen." She cleared her throat and began reading, unaware of the slowly growing crowd of librarians and researchers that came to listen.
"The Lament of Luthior
the first storm that hit our land
was fierce and long and wild
it split our homes and turned ourselves
upon each other like bloodied wolves
Luthior raised his troops
And Collientum brought his armies
None were spared to stand between
While Athlanti chose her fate
the two sides met and crashed together
like waves upon the shore
amidst the chaos they left behind
were the dead and dying
like wood and shells upon the sand
left by a falling tide
the city streets were strewn
with bloodied limbs and broken bodies
like boulders long worn down
by rain and wind and cold
both sides were left weakened
and neither could prevail
Riptoria fell with his ten thousand
As did Meancum, Tipimia, Brochias, and Jarconi
Each with their ten thousand
And ten more captains with their ten thousands fell that week
Collientium fell with his ten thousand
As did Numenur, Hildris, Wertom, and Desidir
Each with their ten thousand
And ten more captains with their ten thousands fell that week
Collientium brought hordes of cursed creatures
Cruel mixtures of lesser beings
And our own slaves fell in countless numbers
As the streets ran red in Athlantius
Luthior captured the orb of death
But failed to break its evil power
He had a moment of peace, a calm between the two
but could not stop the second storm from breaking
Collientur, the rebel heir
Rose to challenge his loss
To regain his father's power
He made a hellish pact
From the darkest pits
Where courage wanes
He summoned demonic aid
That turned on him and gained control
Valypsa serves only itself
It admits no mortal master
Valypsa seeks only death and ruin
And brought both to our land
Luthior once again called upon us
To stand with him against evil
But we were too few, and they too many
To survive another gale of such fury
Collientur and Valypsa sought the orb
But Luthior wielded it as he died
And unleashed a force that killed all around
As the early frost cuts short the harvest
Collientur, mad with grief and hate
Was but a pawn played by the demon
That brought the doom
Wrought by our pride and greed
We sought too much power,
For all the wrong reasons
And when balance restored itself
We were found light on the scales
The island shook, new mountains grew
The island cracked and fell into the sea
Some fled thru portals to distant lands
While others of us still sought an end
We walked through walls of dead
Drawn by the cries of misery
We beheld the great black wyrm writhing in pain,
Its goal complete but the orb beyond reach
it spied us out and turned towards us
a jungle cat playing with its prey
we cast our spells and launched our missiles
as it merely laughed and taunted us
We knelt in fear and without hope
As with voice of thunder and crashing rocks
it spoke with terror and with power
and announced to us our doom
"No mortal hand can do me harm,
Nor magic of your world
Surrender now and live to serve
Or die now with your race."
Alone brave Althius stood and faced the fiend
he took red fire from the sky
and hurled white lightening
which struck down the wyrm where it stood
As Valypsa lay bleeding out
It laid one final curse
That stripped our power and our will
Just as we sought it over others
We stood again and wept anew
Amidst the carnage and destruction
An entire nation lay before us
Never to rule again
Broken, weak and powerless
We left our ancestors' home
Feared and hated as exiles
in a new world where we had no place
Fifty years and more have passed
Since the fall of our homeland
Yet I remember every detail
As if it were just yesterday
Perhaps there will be another spring for us
After our long winter of despair
Perhaps there is nothing left for us
But to serve, and suffer, and die."
Hermione looked up, startled to see the size of the group that had gathered around her listening in awe while Harry simply stared at her with his mouth open. When he finally found his voice he whispered, "I think that is the saddest thing I have ever heard. Tens of thousands dead in their civil war-their entire civilization collapsed-their entire homeland destroyed. You said they were the Athlanti and one of their cities was called Athlantius? Do you suppose…"
"Yes, I think this is a partial history of the destruction of Atlantis."
"But if you can read it Hermione, that would mean…"
"I have met an Atlantean, or the descendent of an Athlanti I guess I should say."
"Wow," muttered Harry. "Is there anything else about where Atlantis was located, or anything else about this orb of death or this demon Valypsa?"
Hermione shook her head.
"So now we know a little more about what happened, and at least we know that there was a powerful item that was created, but we're still no closer to finding it or Atlantis than we were before."
"We'll just have to keep looking. The story did mention something about portals, so maybe we could…" Hermione drifted off into thought while Harry turned back to the book he had been reading.
*-*-*
The night before they were to leave for Christmas, they were looking through several books when Harry stood up quickly, nearly knocking his chair over backwards.
"What is it Harry?" asked Hermione with some concern.
"The hotel! We haven't been back to the hotel in a week and a half. They probably think we've been kidnapped or something. I can't believe I forgot to cover our tracks after we arrived. I'll have to go back and place some memory charms to make them think we had to return home early or something and already checked out. Don't worry, I'll be back in an hour or so." Harry got up, went back to his room for his wetsuit, and headed for the great hall with the sphinx. Five minutes later, he was on the shore of the bay and dressed again in the clothes he had arrived in a week and a half earlier.
He walked quickly back to the hotel. He recognized the desk clerk and stepped towards the front desk. "I would like to leave a message for Ms. Fraley," he stated politely.
The clerk looked through the register and then glanced back at Harry. "I am sorry sir, we have no record of a Ms. Faley staying here."
"She would have checked in about a week and a half ago, with a young boy who was her nephew," explained Harry.
The clerk flipped through several pages of the book and shook his head again. "I am sorry sir, are you sure it was this hotel? There is another one just down…"
Harry stopped listening as he realized something was very wrong here. Someone had already erased any trace of Hermione and he registering. "But why would anyone want to…" Harry was diving and rolling to the side, summoning his wand to his wrist even as he felt a bite of sharp pain in his calf. He aimed his wand and shouted "Stupefy!" at the darkly clad, heavily tattooed man behind him who was getting ready to throw several more darts at Harry. Harry hit him directly in the chest with a spell strong enough to knock him to the far wall, but the man didn't even flinch. The man threw three more darts at Harry who simply waved his hand and warped the wood in midair, deflecting them to the side and the ground. His keen sense of smell detected a sharp, acrid odor from the misshapen darts lying on the floor. "Fabulous! Poison darts!" he thought and cast another, more powerful offensive spell that sent a column of flame shooting at his opponent. Harry gasped in shock as the man did not flinch or try to duck as the spell struck him, but then the spell seemed to fizzle. Two more pinpricks in his side informed him that there was at least one other attacker and then Harry realized that there were anti-Apparation and anti-teleporting spells in place. Harry saw the second, and then a third heavily tattooed man as Harry felt his body stiffen up and darkness covered him.
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