A/N: Nothing was changed in this chapter. Hi, sorry for the extreme delay in getting this chapter out. I had my final exams upon me, and I was unable to find time to write, but my exams end tomorrow, so I will be able to post chapters much more quickly now. However, I am also now a beta reader, so feel free to send me your fics, as well. My e-mail address is: mka9@comcast.net
Chapter 4: Reality and Illusions
Harry was walking on the Hogwarts grounds, when he saw a disturbance in some of the bushes. As he got closer, more and more bushes started swaying in the wind. "Harry...Harry, wake up"
"But I am up!" yelled Harry.
Suddenly, Harry saw something massive rise up, out of the bushes, its claws ready to tear out his heart if he moved one more step. Harry stood there, paralyzed by fear, when suddenly he felt his body being jerked into consciousness.
~@~
As Harry opened his eyes, his vision was hazy; someone had obviously removed his glasses. As he tried to become familiar with his environment, he found that he was staring up into the ceiling of a classroom in Hogwarts. Slowly, he looked to his right and left, and saw that there were two scared faces looking intently at him. Slowly, his memory came back to him. He had seen what no person should ever see. He had caught Ginny and Neville with their pants down, literally. All their other clothes had lain in a pile on the floor, which lay unnoticed at their intense love making session. After seeing the scene, he had blacked out but not before he had seen the horrified pale faces of Neville and Ginny looking around at him.
"Harry, are you okay?" asked Neville tentatively.
"Yeah, I am fine. I just…" Harry trailed off, leaving an awkward silence in the wake of his comment.
"You just fainted, Harry. You've been out for five minutes. We would have gone to Pomfrey or McGonagall, but we thought it might be best if we set a few things straight, first. First of all Harry, I know this must sound awkward, but I have to ask; are you going to tell Ron?" said Ginny, again showing courage from out of nowhere to breach the wall of silence that had built up around the three.
Harry thought, Hell, if Ron knew, then he'd probably kill Neville. But if I don't tell Ron, and he finds out, then he's going to kill me, then Neville. But, I guess…aw damn, where is Hermione when you need her. She'd know what to do. Well, this might work out bad for me in the end, but I guess I'll let them decide whether or not I should tell Ron. "You guys are my friends. I would never do anything that I thought might damage our friendship, but I am stumped as to whether I should tell Ron. I won't tell Ron, but I really think you should tell Ron. It may be too early for him to know, but I think the sooner he knows and understands that nothing he says will make you two break up, the better for all of us. But one thing first, I never, never want to see what I saw again, or I think I might go into permanent shock," said Harry, surprising even himself with his insight into Neville and Ginny's relationship. He had a nagging suspicion that there was something else to his sudden spurt of understanding and knowledge. Something else to ask Hermione about, thought Harry.
Ginny looked immensely relieved at his words and straightened up, along with Harry and Neville. Once Harry had gotten up and brushed the soot that had accumulated on the backside of his robes, Ginny reached into her pockets and retrieved Harry's glasses. She held them out to Harry, who thanked her and left the room. Ginny and Neville stayed behind; Harry didn't need to ask why. As he was closing the door, he silently uttered a locking and silencing charm on the door, so no one else could walk in on what he had walked into.
Harry made his way to the Fat Lady and uttered the password. Upon hearing the correct phrase, the Fat Lady let Harry enter the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry walked into the spacious room, which sported a fireplace, scarlet carpet, and similarly colored sofas, chairs, and tables. Currently, the room only had one occupant: Hermione Granger. Hermione was reading her N.E.W.T. Potions text, Mixtures and Concoctions for the Overly Smart by Miranda James. Her eyes were taking in the extremely tiny print of the book, streaking past each line of the book so fast that her eyes appeared blurred. She was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice Harry creeping up slowly behind her. Harry suddenly seized the book out of her hands and forced her to turn around. Hermione, whose face had initially looked utterly startled, now looked angry, but there was an unmistakable look of humor in her eyes, which was detectable for only a second before she emptied her face of emotions. However, Harry still caught the glimmer in her eyes before it faded away. Now, Harry was fighting to maintain control of his emotions. He wanted to pretend to take offense at the rant Hermione would soon be sending his way, though Harry knew it to be half-hearted.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! You just scared the living hell out of me! I need to study for this term, and so do you! I can't believe you are just going to take N.E.W.T. Potions and not study! I mean, Professor Snape is going to be even harder on you than normal this year," yelled Hermione, her face turning a slight shade of red, a sure sign that something wasn't right. However, one very disturbing thought crossed his mind. Hermione's never called Snape a professor when she's angry. In fact, I don't remember a time when she has ever called Snape a Professor out of his earshot since third year. Something is odd here. She usually never fails to criticize Snape when she can. What happened last year must have done something to her. During his musings Harry noticed that the fireplace seemed to flicker more than was natural. This normally wouldn't be perceived by anyone, but Harry's natural seeker skills gave him the ability to see the slight repetition in the flames. This was something he had also noticed last year when Sirius was almost caught by Umbridge. The fire had gone in a repeating pattern, almost as if it were going around something in the fireplace. Harry became suspicious and stood up to put some water on the fire. Hermione stopped him before he could pull out his wand.
"Don't put out the fire, Harry. It is a bit chilly in here," said Hermione. Harry however, ignored her, and said `Acquais' while pointing his wand at the fire. Immediately, the world around Harry started spinning. After a few minutes, Harry found himself looking at Albus Dumbledore, who was smiling at him. Behind Dumbledore stood Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, all of who were smiling at him. Before he had even opened his mouth to ask what was going on, Dumbledore spoke up.
"I believe, Harry, that you have passed your first test with `flying colors' as Muggles often say. When you entered the Gryffindor Common Room, you saw what you thought was Hermione. In fact, it was a mere magical illusion. The spell I used is known as the Illusion Curse. It lulls the victim into a false reality, which is not very unlike the Imperious Curse. It is part of a group of four curses called the Edward Skinner Curses. Edward Skinner, who was born and raised in London during the Black Plague, created these curses. You will remember that London at that time was a place of terror, and many people died of madness before the plague had ever reached them. His belief that mental pain was more significant and damaging than physical pain was what inspired Edward to create the Four Curses. His intentions at the time were malevolent, but they hold attributes that today's wizards can use to great effectiveness. I believe it is one of the curses you will be reading about in your Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year. I performed the curse on you when Professor McGonagall was talking to you. I regret, however, that the incident with Mr. Longbottom and Miss Weasley was no illusion. I intended the curse to trigger the moment you walked into your common -"
"What incident?" interrogated Ron. His eyes were full of suspicion.
"That, Mr. Weasley, is between Mr. Longbottom and Miss Weasley, and I will not betray their trust and tell you what happened. I assume that they will tell you in due time," said Dumbledore calmly, breaking Ron's resolve as if it were a twig.
Ron stepped down and glared suspiciously at Ginny, who was conveniently not looking at him. Meanwhile, McGonagall dismissed the six students back to their common room. Once she thought it was safe to speak openly, she looked to Dumbledore, who was looking in the direction of the recently departed students. "Do you think they are ready, Dumbledore? They are just teenagers, after all. I mean, why does this war have to take away their childhood?" said McGonagall.
"I believe Harry, Hermione, and Neville are completely ready. Ron is not ready yet because he doesn't realize the extents of Voldemort's power, but I think that when given the choice, he will stand unwaveringly at Harry's side. They have a friendship that is very close, and I doubt anything will tear the two of them apart. Ginny, however, is the one party I am not completely sure about. I think that she despises Voldemort as much as any one else, but I think that she has the ability to be persuaded to come to our side. Hopefully her relationship with Neville will allow this to occur," said Dumbledore, in a troubled voice.
"Very well, Albus. Let us hope you are correct in that assumption," said McGonagall.
~@~
"Anyway, Harry, you should really study for Potions. Snape is going to do anything he can to get you out of his class," said Hermione, looking up from her Charms textbook. The group had returned to the common room, and Ron and Luna had left to do some `studying' in the library. Ginny had asked Neville to help her with her Herbology essay. Hermione had immediately engrossed herself with her Charms textbook, and Harry had just simply sat there, admiring the landscape of the Hogwarts Grounds. When Hermione spoke, Harry looked up into her eyes, seeing that manic glint of her willpower inside them. Realizing that she wasn't going to stop nagging him to study, Harry walked upstairs to his room and picked up his bag. He filled it with his Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration textbooks, and headed back down to the Common Room. Once he got downstairs, he realized that Neville and Ginny had left. Putting his bag down at the table opposite Hermione, Harry took out his Potions textbook and started to read. Hermione, satisfied with his work ethic, continued her reading. A short time later, Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Neville reentered the room, and also took out their textbooks and started to study. They studied their different classes until lunchtime, when they went down to the Great Hall. There was just one table, at which Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Sprout were sitting, chatting idly. When the students entered the hall, Dumbledore conjured enough chairs for them all, and they proceeded to eat a five-course lunch, in which three of the courses remained untouched by all.
During the course of the two weeks, Harry found that he didn't have a problem with Potions at all. Harry was able to remember almost all of the ingredients and instructions by heart. He was doing most of this out of the company of Hermione, as well. Hermione had taken to spending most of her studying time in the Library, where there were even more books she could look in to find the exact definition of something in one of her textbooks. One day when Harry was writing his Potions essay, which was already two inches longer than required, Hermione entered the Common Room, looking for a spare quill. Harry hadn't noticed the disruption in the room, and had jumped out of his seat, his wand half drawn when he heard Hermione let out a squeal of delight.
"What are you so happy about?" asked Harry, still trying to calm himself from his fright.
"Oh, Harry, don't you realize that you have finally mastered Potions beyond the requirements of the class? This is wonderful. I always knew you had it in you, I knew Snape was the only one who was holding you back. Now look at you, you can probably pass your exams this year for potions right now!" said Hermione in an excited voice.
Harry sat down, and found out that to his amazement, he had mastered Potions, to an extent that would probably receive an `E' from Snape, who was one of the most strict graders Harry had ever met. Harry let out a laugh at this realization of this fact, and preceded to return the hug Hermione had given him. I just wish I could be making as much progress in Occlumency as in Potions.
-----~@~-----
FLASHBACK
`Now Harry, I want you to completely empty your mind of any emotion whatsoever. Think about nothing; let your mind wander aimlessly. I know it is hard. It is always hard in the beginning, but try your best Harry. It is imperative that you master Occlumency before Voldemort extracts the Prophecy's contents from your mind,' said Dumbledore. He had his wand out and was waiting patiently for Harry to complete his request. When Harry felt he was ready, he said, "Okay, Professor. Let's go.'
`Very well, Legilimens,' said Dumbledore, his wand pointed towards Harry's forehead. Streams of memories washed through Harry's mind. They were getting progressively less severe, and finally, Harry was finding neutral, unimportant memories flashing through his thoughts. As soon as these neutral memories started flashing past, Harry felt a surge of confidence, but Dumbledore chose that particular moment to remove the spell. Harry was, miraculously, still standing. He felt his legs about to give way, however, but he was still standing. Dumbledore was looking towards him, smiling. "That was an improvement, Harry. I imagine nothing of this sort occurred when you were training with Professor Snape?' said Dumbledore.
`No sir; I kept falling whenever he removed the spell. I guess I must be getting better,' said Harry. However when Harry said this, Dumbledore's smile vanished.
`I am afraid, Harry, that I am not such an accomplished Occlumens, or Legilimens as Severus Snape. No doubt he was using his full powers on your mind. Harry, every night, I want you to completely empty your mind of any thoughts or emotions. This is enough for today. You may leave now, Harry,' said Dumbledore.
END FLASHBACK
-----~@~-----
As Hermione finally let go of him, Harry took out their Animagus text given to them by Professor McGonagall. During the lessons with Professor McGonagall, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all pretty sure which animal they would transform into. Harry would transfer into a lion, Ron would transform into an eagle, and Hermione would transform into a panther. The only reason they had still not attempted the actual transformation process was because of Professor Dumbledore's insistence that they each read and knew as much about their transformation as possible, and in order to do that, the three friends had spent the better part of a week researching and taking notes on each of the animals they would be transforming into. Hermione, of course, had gone to the library catalog and had checked out every single book that had either the word `panther' or the word `cats' in the title. And, surprisingly, she was finished with almost half of her research when Harry and Ron actually finished. Once Ron realized that he had finished something before Hermione, he spent a good twenty minutes rubbing it in, but stopped because of the glare he was receiving from his other two friends. Last night, Professor McGonagall had told the three of them that they would be doing the beginning steps of the transformation the next day. Therefore, Hermione had insisted to Ron and Harry that they review their notes on their transformations. Ron, who had gone to "study" with Luna, said that he would finish reviewing before they took their lesson, which would be taking place in the evening for some reason.
After having studied his notes as thoroughly as he wanted, Harry found he still had one hour left before dinner, and then, their Animagus lesson. Harry had no idea where Ron was, so he couldn't ask him for a game of chess. Therefore, he settled on thinking about the new spells he had learned in his Dark Arts class with Professor Dumbledore. Harry had now learnt two of the four Edward Skinner Curses, and he was due to learn the other two in his lesson next week. Harry's Dark Arts class was held in the Room of Requirement, where there was safety measures put in place that allowed him to practice Dark Arts spells without inflicting any damage to anyone. So far, he had learned that once a new Minister of Magic was chosen to replace Fudge, Professor Dumbledore would personally ensure that Harry would get the proper permits and licenses to perform the Edward Skinners and other Dark Arts spells that he would be learning. However, for the time being, Fudge was undergoing trial, and until he got convicted, no new Minister could be chosen. While reminiscing silently about his Dark Arts class, Harry looked at his watch and realized that dinner would start in a few minutes. Realizing that if Hermione didn't get up soon, he would have to force her to leave her notes, Harry said quietly to Hermione, "Dear, it's time for dinner. Put your notes away so we can leave."
"Oh, is it really time? I wish I could have reviewed more, but I guess this will have to do. Okay, let's go," said Hermione, while packing her bag up.
On the way to the Great Hall, Harry found Ron walking back from the Library looking like he was going to blow his head off. Harry quickly headed him off, and forced him to talk. Once he realized that Harry and Hermione weren't going to give up, Ron said in a disgruntled voice, "When I got to Library, I noticed that the Restricted Section door was ajar. I knew that the Restricted Section was supposed to be locked at all times, so I went to close the door when I saw Ginny and Neville doing... Well something that no guy should ever see happen to his sister. They were both into the moment, and they didn't realize that I saw them. So, I tried to stun Neville, but once I tried there must have been a ward there, or something, to stop the books from being damaged; I was thrown backwards into the Circulation Desk, where Madame Pince usually sits. The next thing I know, Ginny is standing over me, fully clothed, looking at me like I am Umbridge, or something, and Neville is standing behind her, trying to put his clothes back on. Then, Ginny starts yelling like I never knew she could. She just kept saying how I was invading her privacy and everything. Then, I got up and told her that I was in the Library and that they were the ones who were not supposed to be there, and how she never even told me what was going on with her and Neville. Then, I got up and left and met you two," said Ron, each word serving to further scrunch up his face so that he looked positively loathing by the end of his speech. Harry and Hermione stood there, not knowing what to do. Realizing that they weren't going to do anything, Ron pushed past Harry and Hermione and proceeded to the Gryffindor Common Room.
When he left, Hermione spoke up, "I never knew about Ginny and Neville. Is that what you saw before you got to the Common Room that one day?"
"Yeah, I saw them. However, I will tell you up straight that I had no feelings for Ginny beyond friendship. So you needn't worry. I hope Ron gets over it soon because he better not be late for our Animagus lesson," said Harry, looking back towards the route to Gryffindor Tower.
"Oh well. Nothing we can do now," said Hermione. "Let's go to dinner."
With that, Harry and Hermione walked down to the Great Hall, hand in hand.
After dinner, to which Ron didn't attend, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I am pleased to announce that the trial of Cornelius Fudge, former Minister of Magic, was concluded this morning, and the new Minister was chosen. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I hereby announce to you, that none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt, new head of the Auror division, was nominated, and elected, for the office of Minister of Magic. As you all know, Mr. Shacklebolt is a trusted member of the Order of the Phoenix and can be trusted in any way. I am also pleased to announce that both Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge have been sacked from the Ministry of Magic, and Miss Umbridge is currently serving her twenty-year sentence in Azkaban for attempted use of an Unforgivable Curse on Harry Potter, reckless endangerment of Harry Potter, and for substantial physical harm she placed on many Hogwarts students. So, let us raise our goblets to the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt!"
A/N: Hi, sorry again for the extreme delay in getting this chapter out. As stated above, my final exams were upon me, and I was unable to find time to write another chapter. Hope you like this chapter. Also, the idea for the Edward Skinner Curses was from Portkey author Woodrow M. who has written one of my favorite stories so far, "Harry Potter and the Maw" And for all of you who are copywrite obsesses, I have contacted Woodrow M., and NAPPA, and they have both given me permission to use the Edward Skinner Curses. Thanks to both of you! I hope to have the next chapter posted by May 20, as I am also beta reading as of now.
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